238: Merneptah Seizes Canaan (feat. A Tribe Called Israel)

Merneptah started his reign aggressively, striking a belligerent tone in his royal names and launching an expedition to Canaan in the first few years. In the process, his troops captured Ashkelon, Gezer, and Yenoam, and dealt with a tribe called "Israel." Simultaneously, Merneptah achieved a great diplomatic coup when we brought Ugarit back into the Egyptian sphere.

Music by Keith Zizza & Luke Chaos.

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Merneptah General

Dodson, A. (2016). Poisoned Legacy: The Decline and Fall of the Nineteenth Egyptian Dynasty (Revised edn).

Iskander, S. (2002). The Reign of Merneptah [Unpublished PhD. Thesis].

Kitchen, K. A. (1987). The Titularies of the Ramesside Kings as Expression of their Ideal Kingship. Annales Du Service Des Antiquités de l’Égypte, 71, 131--141.

Servajean, F. (2014). Mérenptah et la fin de la XIXe dynastie.

Sourouzian, H. (1989). Les Monuments du roi Merenptah.

Canaan, Ugarit, Proto-Israelites (Summary)

Cline, E. H. (2021). 1177 B.C. The Year Civilization Collapsed (Revised edn).

Dever, W. G. (2017). Beyond the texts: An archaeological portrait of ancient Israel and Judah.

Hasel, M. G. (1998). Domination & Resistance: Egyptian Military Activity in the Southern Levant, ca. 1300-1185 BC.

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Kahn, D. (2024). The order of Merenptah’s reliefs at the Cour de la Cachette, Karnak and its implications. JSSEA, 51, 15-43 online.

Killebrew, A. E. (2020). Early Israel’s Origins, Settlement, and Ethnogenesis. In B. E. Kelle & B. A. Strawn (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Historical Books of the Hebrew Bible (pp. 79--93). https://www.academia.edu/101675394/Early_Israels_Origins_Settlement_and_Ethnogenesis_by_Ann_E_Killebrew_2020

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Steiner, R. C. (2024). Merenptah’s Israel, His Shasu Militiamen, His Copper Caravan Route, and the Watering Stations Bearing His Name at Kadesh-Barnea and Me-Nephtoah: Part One. In B. P. Muhs & F. D. Scalf (Eds.), A Master of Secrets in the Chamber of Darkness: Egyptological Studies in Honor of Robert K. Ritner (pp. 329--402). https://www.academia.edu/123986155/Merenptahs_Israel_his_Shasu_militiamen_his_copper_caravan_route_and_the_watering_stations_bearing_his_name_at_Kadesh_barnea_and_Me_nephtoah_Part_One

Yurco, F. J. (1986). Merenptah’s Canaanite Campaign. Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, 23, 189--215. https://doi.org/10.2307/40001099 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices