by
Damien F. Mackey
Abdi-hiba “also makes clear that it was not his “father or mother who put
me in this place” (on the throne), but rather the “strong arm of the king”.”
The question is: which “king”?
The
following would be a typical view of the El Amarna [EA] situation of Abdi-hiba of Jerusalem (“Urusalim”),
that he was a C14th BC Canaanite king enthroned
by a pharaoh (https://www.bibleodyssey.org/en/places/related-articles/jerusalem-in-the-amarna-letters.aspx):
Jerusalem in the Amarna Letters by Christopher Rollston
The Amarna Letters are a group of inscribed clay tablets
discovered around 1887 at Amarna, a site in Egypt on the east bank of the Nile
about 190 miles south of Cairo.
The city was founded by the Egyptian king (pharaoh) Amenhotep IV, who later
became known as Akhenaten. Akhenaten was known as a heretic king; he worshiped
only the Egyptian god Aten,
perhaps becoming history’s first monotheist, and he apparently attempted
(unsuccessfully) to impose this monotheism on Egyptian religion more broadly.
The tablets total almost 400 in number and are written
(almost without exception) in Akkadian. Most of these letters come from vassal cities in Syria-Palestine, including Byblos, Tyre, Gezer, Hebron, Shechem
(Nablus), Ashkelon, Megiddo, and Jerusalem, and contain diplomatic
correspondence with officials in Babylonia, Assyria, Mitanni (an area of northern Syria and southeastern Anatolia), Alashia (Cyprus), and Hatti (central Anatolia). They date to the 14th
century B.C.E., primarily to the reigns of the Egyptian kings Amenhotep III
(reigned circa 1382–1344 B.C.E.) and Amenhotep IV (reigned circa 1352–1336
B.C.E.).
The letters from Jerusalem (written as “Urusalim” in the
Amarna texts) are from a Canaanite ruler named Abdi-Heba. He states that he is
a “soldier for the king, my lord” and requests that the Egyptian monarch send him a messenger and some military men to help
resist his enemies. In multiple letters he states that he “falls at the feet of
my lord the king, seven times and seven times,” a stock phrase and common
ancient Near Eastern motif that conveys his faithfulness to his Egyptian suzerain. He also makes clear that it was not his “father or
mother who put me in this place” (on the throne), but rather the “strong arm of
the king.” Here Abdi-Heba reveals that he was not the heir to the throne but
given the throne of Jerusalem by the Egyptian king himself. He goes on to state
that for this reason he will always be a faithful vassal of his Egyptian lord,
regardless of any accusation by an enemy to the contrary. Among the enemies he
refers to in his correspondence are the “Apiru” (people living on the fringes of society in the second millennium B.C.E., sometimes
serving as mercenaries) and the Kashites (a Hittite people from Anatolia).
The Amarna Letters from Jerusalem have attracted
substantial attention because of their dialect. It is normally argued that they are quite different in
terms of cuneiform signs used, orthography, and syntax from the rest of the letters from Canaanite
cities¾more sophisticated in certain ways, which may indicate the scribal
culture at Jerusalem was of a particularly high quality.
The Amarna Letters from Jerusalem are of interest for a
number of reasons, not the least of which is that they come from Jerusalem a
few centuries before King David would ostensibly vanquish the Canaanite
(Jebusite) population of Jerusalem and make it his own capital (2 Samuel 5).
Also, the correspondence with a Jerusalem ruler in the 14th century
provides evidence for occupation in the city in a period (Late Bronze
Age II) for which there is little
archaeological evidence. Recently a fragment of an Akkadian tablet (now called
“Jerusalem Tablet 1) was found in excavations at Jerusalem, and some scholars
have claimed that this tablet contained some correspondence between a king of
Jerusalem and a king of Egypt. But this tablet is ultimately too fragmentary to
determine if it was a letter. Among the most important things that these
tablets demonstrate is that there was a vibrant and sophisticated scribal
apparatus in Jerusalem during the Late Bronze Age. This Canaanite city was certainly not a
backwater, but precisely the reverse.
[End of quote]
In
terms of the revised chronology, however, Abdi-hiba
was instead a C9th BC Jewish king of Jerusalem – a name not known for the city during
the C14th BC, when it was called Jebus.
And,
in terms of the revised chronology that I follow specifically in the case of Abdi-hiba (following an early idea of
Peter James), he was a biblical king, namely, Jehoram of Judah, son of the
great king Jehoshaphat:
King Abdi-Hiba of Jerusalem Locked in as a ‘Pillar’ of Revised History
https://www.academia.edu/7772239/King_Abdi-Hiba_of_Jerusalem_Locked_in_as_a_Pillar_of_Revised_History
To
establish who may have set Abdi-hiba
on his royal throne, as indicated by him in EA 286:
Seeing that, as far as I am concerned, neither my father nor my mother
put me in this place, but the strong arm of the king brought me into my father’s house, why should
I of all people commit a crime against the king, my lord?
-
and one presumes from the above that it could not have been king Jehoshaphat
himself - might the better be determined by an examination of who was/were the
recipient/s of his letters (EA 285-290).
EA Letters of Abdi-Hiba
“Abdi-Heba
was the author of letters EA 285-290”
One
is surprised to find upon perusing these letters of Abdi-hiba, that - despite Rollston’s presumption that Abdi-hiba’s “the king, my lord” was an “Egyptian monarch” - no Egyptian ruler appears
to be specifically named in this set of letters. Moreover, “Egypt” itself may
be referred to only once in this series (EA 285): “ … Addaya has taken the garrison that you sent in
the charge of Haya, the son of Miyare; he has stationed it in his own house in Hazzatu and has sent 20 men to Egypt-(Miṣri)”.
When we include the lack of any
reference to Egypt in the three letters of Lab’ayu
(252-254):
Is El Amarna's Lab'ayu Biblically Identifiable? Part One (b): Was Lab'ayu
even writing to a Pharaoh?
and likewise in the two letters
of the woman, Baalat Neše - ten letters in all - then we might be prompted to reconsider
whether the extent of Egyptian involvement was as much as is generally claimed.
EA
285 is as follows:
To the king [my
lord, thus hath spoken] Abdi-{iiba, thy
servant. [At]
the feet [of the king, my lord], seven times
and seven times
I fall. Behold, I am not a [loeal ruler] ;
an officer am I
to the [king, my lord]. Why has the king
. . . not sent a
messenger . . A Under sueh cireum-
stanees Eenjiamu
has sent. . . . Let the king [hearken] to
Abdi-Juba, his
servant! [Behold], there are no troops.
Let the king, my
lord, send an officer, and let him take the
loeal rulers
with him! The lands of the king . . . and
people . . . who
are . . . and Addaya, the offieer of the
king, [has]
their house. . . .
Let the king
take heed for them, and let him send a
messenger
quiekly When ... I die. . . .
Letter from
Lachish (Constantinople, W. 21 9). 2
[To the] great,
thus hath spoken Pabi, at thy feet I fall.
Thou must know
that Shipti-Ba'al and Zimrida are eon-
spiring, and
that Shipti-Ba'al hath spoken to Zimrida:
" My father
of the eity, Yarami (?) has written to me — Give
me [six] bows,
and three daggers, and three swords ! If I
go forth against the land of the king, and thou dost join me, I shall surely conquer. He who makes (?) this plan is Pabu. Send him before me. w Now I have sent Rapi-el.
Ho will bring to
the great man information about this
affair (?)
EA
286 is as follows:
--Say [t]o the king, my lord: Message of Abdi-Heba, your servant. I fall at the feet of my lord, the
king, 7 times and 7 times.
(5-15)--What have I done to the king, my lord?
They denounce me : ú-ša-a-ru[2] (I am slandered) before the king, my
lord,1 "Abdi-Heba
has rebelled against the king, his lord." Seeing that, as far
as I am concerned, neither my father nor my mother put me in this place, but
the strong arm of the king2 brought me into my father's house, why should I of all people commit a
crime against the king, my lord?
(16-21)--As truly as the king, my lord, lives,3 I say to the commissioner of the king,
[my] lord, "Why do you love the 'Apiru but hate the mayors? Accordingly, I am slandered before the king,
my lord.
(22-31)--Because I say4 "Lost are the lands of the
king, my lord," accordingly I am slandered before the king, my
lord. May the king, my lord, know that (though) the king, my lord stationed a
garrison (here), Enhamu has taken i[t al]l away. [ ... ]
Reverse:
(32-43)--[Now], O king, my lord, [there is n]o
garrison, [and so] may the king provide for his land. May the king [pro]vide
for his land! All the [la]nds of the king, my lord, have deserted. Ili-Milku has caused the loss of all the land of the king,
and so may the king, my lord, provide for his land. For my part, I say, "I would go in to the king, my
lord, and visit the king, my lord," but the war against me is
severe, and so I am not able to go in to the king, my lord.
(44-52)--And may it seem good in the sight of
the king, [and] may he send a garrison so I may go in and visit the king, my
lord. In truth,5 the king, my lord, lives: whenever the commissioners have come out, I
would say (to them), "Lost are the lands of the king,"
but they did not listen to me. Lost are all the mayors; there is not a mayor
remaining to the king, my lord.
(53-60)--May the king turn his attention to the
archers so that archers of the king, my lord, come forth. The king has no
lands. (That) 'Apiru6 has plundered all the lands of the
king. If there are archers this year, the lands of the king, my lord, will
remain. But if there are no archers, lost are the lands of the king, my lord.
(61-64)--[T]o the scribe of the king, my lord:
Message of Abdi-Heba, your [ser]vant. Present eloquent words
to the king, my lord. Lost are all the lands of the king, my lord.
EA
287 is as follows:
Say to the king, my lord:
Message of Abdi-Heba, your servant. I fall at the feet of my lord 7 times and 7
times. Consider the entire affair. Milkilu and Tagi brought troops into Qiltu against me...
...May the king know (that) all the lands are at peace (with one another), but
I am at war. May the king provide for his land. Consider the lands of Gazru, Ašqaluna, and Lakisi. They have given them [my enemies] food, oil and
any other requirement. So may the king provide for archers and send the archers against men that commit crimes against the king, my
lord. If this year there are archers, then the lands and the hazzanu
(client kings) will belong to the king, my lord. But if there are no archers,
then the king will have neither lands nor hazzanu. Consider Jerusalem!
This neither my father nor my mother gave to me. The strong hand (arm) of the
king gave it to me. Consider the deed! This is the deed of Milkilu and the deed
of the sons of Lab'ayu, who have given the land of the king to
the 'Apiru. Consider, O king, my lord! I am in the
right!....
EA
288 is as follows:
To the king, my
lord, my sun, hath spoken thus Abdi-
hiba, thy
servant. At the feet of the king, my lord, seven
times and seven
times do I fall. Behold, the king, my
lord, hath set
his name upon the East and upon the West.
It is a
wickedness which they have wrought against me.
Behold, I am not
a local ruler, I am an officer 2 of the king,
my lord. Behold,
I am a shepherd of the king, and one
who brings
tribute to the king. Neither my father, nor
my mother, [but]
the mighty hand of the king, hath
established me
in my father's house . . . came to me. . . .
I gave him ten
slaves into his hand. When Shuta, the
officer of the
king, came to me, I gave him twenty-one
maidservants and
eighty (?) asiru . . . gave I into the
hand of Shtita,
as a present for the king, my lord. Let
the king care
for his land I The whole land of the king
will be lost.
They have assumed hostilities against me (?)
As far as tho
territory of Sheri, as far as Ginti-kirmil, it
goes well with
all the local rulers (?), and hostility prevails
against mc. If
one could see ! 3 But I do not see the eyes
of tho king, my
lord, because hostility is established
against me. When
there was a ship on the sea, and the
mighty hand of
the king held Najjrima and Kapasi. But
now the habiru
hold the cities of the king. There is no
local ruler left
to the king, my lord ; all are lost. Behold,
Turbazu has been
slain in the gate of Zilu ; yet tho king
docs nothing.
Behold, Zimrida of Lachish, his servants
havo
slaughtered him . . . the Habiru, Iaptiji-Adda, has
been slain in
the gate of Zilu ; yet the king does nothing.
. . . l Let the
king take care for his land, and let the king
give his
attention in regard to troops for the land of
tribute (?) 1
For if no troops come in this year, all the
lands of the
king, my lord, will be destroyed and in ruins.
They must not
say before the king, my lord, that the land
of the king, my
lord, is destroyed, and all the local rulers
are destroyed.
If no troops arrive in this year, then let
the king send an
officer to take mo to thee with my brothers, and wo will die with
the king, my lord.
EA
289 is as follows:
Lines 1-4)--[Say t]o the king, my lord: Message of 'Abdi-Heba, your servant. I f[all] at the feet of my lord,
the k[ing], 7 times and 7 times.
(5-10)Milkilu does not break away from the sons
of Labaya and from the sons of Arsawa, as they
desire the land of the king for themselves. As for a mayor who does such a
deed, why does the king not (c)all him to account?
(11-17)--Such was the deed that Milkilu and Tagi did: they took Rubutu. And now as for Jerusalem-(URUUru-Salimki), if this land belongs to the king, why
is it ((not)) of
concern1 to the king like Hazzatu?
(18-24)--Ginti-kirmil belongs to Tagi, and men of Gintu are the garrison
in Bitsanu.2 Are we to act like Labaya when he was giving the land of Šakmu to the Hapiru?
(25-36)--Milkilu has written to Tagi and the sons ((of Labaya)),
"Be the both of you a protection.3 Grant all their demands to the men of Qiltu, and let us
isolate Jerusalem."4 Addaya has taken the garrison that you sent in
the charge of Haya, the son of Miyare; he has stationed it in his own house in Hazzatu and has
sent 20 men to Egypt-(Miṣri). May the king, my lord, know (that) no garrison of
the king is with me.
(37-44)--Accordingly, as truly as the king lives, his irpi- official,5 Pu'uru, has left me and is in Hazzatu. (May the king call (this) to mind when be arrives.)6 And so may the king send 50 men as a
garrison to protect the land. The entire land of the king has deser[ted].
(47-51)--To the scribe of the king, [my lord: M]essage of 'Abdi-Heba,
[your] servant, Offer eloq[uent] words to the king: I am always, utterly
yours.7 I am your servant.—
EA
290 is as follows:
Let
it be known what Milkilu and Shuwardata did to the land of the king, my lord!
They sent troops of Gezer, troops of Gath . . . the land
of the king went over to the ‘Apiru.
|
But now even a town near Jerusalem, Bit-Lahmi (Bethlehem) by name, a
village which once belonged to the king, has fallen to the enemy . . . Let
the king hear the words of your servant Abdi-Heba, and send archers to
restore the imperial lands of the king! But if no archers are sent, the lands
of the king will be taken by the 'Apiru people. This act was done by the hand
of Milkilu and Shuwardata.
|
Good
Correspondence Between EA and Revision
According
to 2 Kings 8:16-17: “In the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab
king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat
began his reign as king of Judah. He was thirty-two
years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years”.
In
favour of Abdi-hiba as king Jehoram
of Judah, and Lab’ayu as Ahab of
Israel, is the fact that Lab’ayu is
appropriately dead by the time of Abdi-hiba.
Thus
EA 280:
Say to the
king, my lord, my god, my Sun: Message of Shuwardata,
your servant, the dirt at your feet. I fall at the feet of the king, my lord,
my god, my Sun, 7 times and 7 times. The king, my lord, permitted me to wage
war against Qeltu (Keilah). I waged war. It
is now at peace with me; my city is restored to me. Why did Abdi-Heba write to
the men of Qeltu, "Accept silver and follow me?"...
Moreover, Labaya, who used to take our towns, is dead, but now another Labaya
is Abdi-Heba, and he seizes our town. So, may the king take cognizance of his
servant because of this deed...
Interestingly,
Abdi-hiba is being designated here as
”another Labaya”.
Jehoram of Judah, who, according
to P. Mauro (The Wonders of Bible Chronology) was both prorex and corex during the latter part of his
father Jehoshapat’s reign (and had three regnal beginnings), was also a
contemporary, then, of the two sons of Ahab, Ahaziah and Jehoram – these being,
according to my revision, “the sons of Lab'ayu”.
