Hey, I know it's coming, I just wanted to be In Before the Comment. ;')
Posted on 11/05/2008 3:47:04 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Because of the surface similarity of the words habiru and "Hebrew," many scholars assumed the habiru were closely related, if not identical to, the earliest Israelite tribes. Upon closer examination, however, all similarity disappears. It is linguistically impossible to equate habiru and 'ivri (the Hebrew word for "Hebrew") and, in any case, the word habiru was not used to describe a single ethnic group but rather an array of disenfranchised social groups that inhabited the fringes of Bronze Age Near Eastern society.
Since then, we have literally hundreds of references to habiru ('apiru) from Egypt, Nuzi (beyond the Tigris), Syria and Canaan. Most recently an 8.5-inch-high square cuneiform prism was recovered from Anatolia that lists 438 names of habiru.a We now have a plethora of references to habiru from over a 600-year period, from the 18th to 12th centuries B.C.E.
It is clear from these references, however, that habiru is not an ethnic designation. The habiru are a social element. It is likewise clear from the personal names of individual habiru that they are not from a single linguistic group.
There seem to have been several kinds of habiru -- but always of inferior status. The term itself has a negative connotation. The word is sometimes used as a synonym for mutineer or pauper. Sometimes habiru are individuals and sometimes members of a group. Some are servants or slaves. Others are members of robber bands who attack and plunder, especially in times of disintegrating rule. Elsewhere they seem to have become a ruler's militia. In other instances, individual habiru are recruited as mercenaries into a militia. Sometimes as a benefice, they were given lands and estates.
(Excerpt) Read more at bib-arch.org ...
Hey, I know it's coming, I just wanted to be In Before the Comment. ;')
AN EARLY ISRAELITE PORTRAIT? Author Anson Rainey believes a social group known as the shasu provides a more accurate depiction of early Israel than habiru. The shasu appear repeatedly in Egyptian texts of the Late Bronze Age and often show up in Egyptian art as bound prisoners with bag-shaped headdresses, as in this colorful faience tile found at the temple of Medinet Habu, near Luxor. The shasu moved widely throughout the Levant -- sometimes working as mercenaries or laborers for Canaanite kings -- but they are most often identified as nomadic pastoralists originating from the steppe east of the Jordan. The nomadic character and eastern origins of the shasu are strikingly similar to the Biblical description of early Israel's wanderings. [J. Liepe]
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To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. |
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A breakthrough in scholarship consistent with the canonical texts.
:’) My answer is, “neither”. Be sure to read Rainey’s brief discussion of Frank Yurco’s work in this area (there are illustrations to support the discussion).
Inside, Outside: Where Did the Early Israelites Come From?
Biblical Archaeology Review [34:06] | Nov/Dec 2008 | Anson Rainey
Posted on 11/05/2008 3:59:31 PM PST by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2126477/posts
excerpt:
...'The king of Jerusalem pointed to the roving tribes penetrating from the wastes of Trans-Jordan, and called them Habiru. Habiru is derived from the Hebrew root haber , a member of a band, and habiru means "bandits" and is used for "companions of thieves" in Isaiah 1:23, "troops of robbers" in Hosea 6:9, and "companion of a destroyer" in Proverbs 28:24.
This meaning of the word "Habiru" should have been suggested by the fact that sa-gaz , which is translated "bandits", "Cutthroats", is interchanged with the terms "Habiru". The various theories about Habiru (Khabiru) of the el-Amarna letters - that it signifies "Ivri" ( Hebrew), or "apiru" (miners), or "Afiru" (from the Babylonian region of Afiru - are thus found to be without foundation...'
:’) (from 1952) Thanks!
and, from the “Theses” (1945):
136. The invasion of the Moabites, Ammonites, and the tribes of Seir is described in the Letters. Khabiru means bandits.
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Just updating the GGG info, not sending a general distribution. |
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