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'Mortuary temple' of Merenptah, 'Israel stela'

The so-called 'Israel stela' is a monument listing victories of king Merenptah. The inscription is engraved on the back of a stela ofAmenhotep III. The stela is of special interest because it mentions for the first and only time the word 'Israel' in Egyptian hieroglyphic sources:

'the people of Israel is laid waste, their crops are not'

(click here to see the inscription; the word 'people of Israel' or 'Israelites' is marked red)

Spiegelberg, in Petrie 1897: 26-28 (translation of the text)


 

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