05/04/2015

AmarnaTablet298

AmarnaTablet298
LetterfromYapahuofGazrutothePharaoh

DESCRIPTION

picturesfromwww.heptune.com/art.html

Language:

Akkadian

Medium:

claytablet

Length:

33linesofwriting

Genre:

Letter

Sender:

YapahuofGazru

Recipient:

Pharaoh

Date:

14thcent.BCE

Placeof
Discovery:

TelelAmarna,
Egypt
(ancientAkhetaten)

Dateof
Discovery:

1887

Discoverer:

peasantwoman

CurrentLocation:

BritishMuseum
(London,England)

Inventory
Number:

BM29833

TabletNumber:
http://www.kchanson.com/ANCDOCS/meso/amarna298.html

EA298
Knudtzon1907
1915
BB50
1/6

05/04/2015

AmarnaTablet298

Bezold&Budge
1892

TEXT
TRANSLITERATION

TRANSLATION

(fromMercer1939:2:736,738)

(adaptedfromMercer1939:2:737,
739
Albright1969:490
andMoran1992:340)

anamarribliiailniia

Totheking,mylord,mygod,

dam iiadama

mysun,thesun

ituansamei

inthesky.

ummamYapahuamlu

ThussaysYapahu,therulerof

alGaazriki

Gazru,

ardukaipri

yourservant,thedustof

2pkaamlqartabbi

yourtwofeet,thestableman

ofyourhorse:

ana2parribliia

Atthetwofeetoftheking,mylord,

dama i tusamei

10

thesuninthesky,

11

seventimesandseventimesI
prostratemyself

luitahahiin

12

bothupon

kabattummau

13

thebellyand

siska

7u7taaan

http://www.kchanson.com/ANCDOCS/meso/amarna298.html

2/6

05/04/2015

AmarnaTablet298

sirumaumema

14

back.Andtoall

iqaabbi
arrubliiaanaia i

15
16

thattheking,mylord,hastoldme

itimedannidanni

17

Ihavepaidcloseattention.

aradarrianaku

18

Iamtheking'sservant

uipri2p

19

andthedustofyourtwofeet.

liilmaadarru
bliiainuma

20
21

Lettheking,mylord,beawarethat

amlahiiasihhiru

22

myyoungerbrother,

nakaaritu

23

hasrebeledagainst

isiuiruub

24

meandhasentered

anaalMuuhhazi

25

Muhhazu,

unadaan2qa

26

andhehasgivenoverhistwohands

anaamlSA.GAZ.KI

27

totheleaderofthe'Apiru.

uanumamt[Ti]anna

28

Andsince[Ti]anna

nugurtummuhhiia

29

isatwarwithme,

umilikanamtika

30

takecareofyourland.

liipurabliia

31

Maymylordwrite

anaamlrabizi

32

tohisdeputy

muhhiipannu

33

aboutthismatter.

NOTES
MygodisMoran'sreading.Mercerreadsitasaplural"mygods,"which
correspondstoAlbright's"mypantheon."
http://www.kchanson.com/ANCDOCS/meso/amarna298.html

3/6

05/04/2015

AmarnaTablet298

YapahuisalsothesenderofEA297,299,300,and378.
Ruler(amlu)isliterally"man,""person."Butconnectedwithacity,itindicates
theruler.

GazruisbiblicalGezer,locatedintheJudeanfoothills,approximately21miles
westofJerusalem.IntheAmarnacorrespondence,itisalsomentionedinEA253,
254,287,290,292,299,300,369,and378.Forbiblicalreferences,seeJoshua
10:3316:10Judges1:291Kings9:1517.SeeRoss(1967)andDever(1992).

SeventimesisacommonSemiticexpressionfor"repeatedly."Notesomebiblical
examples:Psalm12:6119:164Proverbs24:16Matthew18:2122Luke17:4.

Muhhazuisthenameofatown,butitslocationisunknown.Thisistheonly
mentionofitintheAmarnacorrespondence.

Hehasgivenoverhistwohandsappearstobeanidiomformakingapledge
(Moran).

TiannaisareconstructedreadingbyMoran,followingNa'aman.Itseemstobea
townnearMuhhazu.ItmayalsobementionedinEA284and306,butthoseare
bothreconstructedreadingsaswell.

Deputy(rabitsu)referstoapalaceofficial,whowouldreporttotheking.

DISCUSSIONQUESTIONS
1.Whoarethe'Apiru(seeAstour[1976],Gottwald[1979:40126],Greenberg
[1955],Lemche[1992],andMoran[1967]?Whatroledotheyplayhere?
2.Whataresomeofthereasonsthatayoungerbrother(suchasthatof
Yapahu's)mightrebelagainsthisolderbrother.NotethebiblicalstoriesofCain
&Abel,Jacob&Esau,Joseph&hisbrothers,Amnon&Absalom,Adonijah&
Solomon.
3.WhatdoesYapahuexpectthePharaohtodointhissituation?

http://www.kchanson.com/ANCDOCS/meso/amarna298.html

4/6

05/04/2015

AmarnaTablet298

SELECTBIBLIOGRAPHY
Albright,W.F."AkkadianLetters."InAncientNearEasternTextRelatingto
theOldTestament,editedbyJ.B.Pritchard,48290.3rded.Princeton:
PrincetonUniv.Press,1969.
Albright,W.F."TheAmarnaLettersfromPalestine."InCambridgeAncient
History,Vol.II.2:HistoryoftheMiddleEastandtheAegeanRegion1380
1000B.C.,98116.3dedition.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,
1975.
Aldred,Cyril."Egypt:TheAmarnaPeriodandtheEndoftheEighteenth
Dynasty."InCambridgeAncientHistory,Vol.II.2:HistoryoftheMiddle
EastandtheAegeanRegion13801000B.C.,4997.3dedition.Cambridge:
CambridgeUniversityPress,1975.
Astour,MichaelC."Habiru."InInterpreter'sDictionaryoftheBible,
SupplementaryVolume,editedbyK.Crim,38285.Nashville:Abingdon,
1976.
Bezold,Carl,andE.A.WallisBudge.TheTellelAmarnaTabletsinthe
BritishMuseum.London:TrusteesoftheBritishMuseum,1892.
Campbell,EdwardA."TheAmarnaLettersandtheAmarnaPeriod."In
BiblicalArchaeologistReadervol.3,5475.NewYork:Doubleday,1970.
Chaney,MarvinL."AncientPalestinianPeasantMovementsandthe
FormationofPremonarchicIsrael."InPalestineinTransition:The
EmergenceofAncientIsrael,editedbyD.N.FreedmanandD.F.Graf,39
90.SocialWorldofBiblicalAntiquitySeries2.Sheffield:Almond,1983.
Dever,WilliamG.1992.InAnchorBibleDictionary,editedbyD.N.
Freedman,2.9981003.NewYork:Doubleday,1992.
Gottwald,NormanK.TheTribesofYahweh:ASociologyoftheReligionof
LiberatedIsrael12501050B.C.E.Maryknoll,N.Y.:Orbis,1979.
Greenberg,Moshe.Hab/piru.AmericanOrientalSeries39.NewHaven,
Conn.:AmericanOrientalSociety,1955.
Knudtzon,J.A.DieElAmarnaTafeln.VorderasiatischeBibliotek,vol.2.
Leipzig:J.C.Hinrichs,19071915(repr.Aalen:O.Zeller,1964).
Lemche,NielsPeter."Habiru/Hapiru."InAnchorBibleDictionary,edited
byDavidNoelFreedman,3:610.NewYork:Doubleday,1992.

http://www.kchanson.com/ANCDOCS/meso/amarna298.html

5/6

05/04/2015

AmarnaTablet298

Mercer,SamuelA.B.TheTellElAmarnaTablets.2vols.Toronto:
Macmillan,1939.
Moran,WillamL.TheAmarnaLetters.Baltimore:JohnsHopkinsUniv.
Press,1992.
Moran,WilliamL."Habiru(Habiri)."InTheNewCatholicEncyclopedia,
6.878b80b.Washington,D.C.:CatholicUniv.Press,1967.
Na'aman,Nadav."AmarnaLetters."InAnchorBibleDictionary,editedby
DavidNoelFreedman,1:17481.NewYork:Doubleday,1992.
Na'aman,Nadav."HabiruandHebrews:TheTransferofaSocialTermtothe
LiterarySphere."JournalofNearEasternStudies45(1986)271ff.
Oppenheim,A.Leo.LettersfromMesopotamia.Chicago:Univ.ofChicago
Press,1967.
Ross,J.F."GezerintheTellelAmarnaLetters."BiblicalArchaeologist30
(1967)6270.
Winckler,Hugo.TheTellelAmarnaLetters.TranslatedbyJ.Metcalf.New
YorkandLondon:Lemcke&Buechner,1896.

ReturntoACollectionofMesopotamianDocuments
ReturntoK.C.Hanson'sCollectionofAncientDocuments
ReturntoK.C.Hanson'sHomePage

LastModified:26April2007

http://www.kchanson.com/ANCDOCS/meso/amarna298.html

6/6