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Exodus & Settlement · c. 1208 BCE
Merneptah Stele
Egyptian granite stele containing the earliest known mention of "Israel".
Date
c. 1208 BCE
Culture
Egyptian
Material
Black granite
Dimensions
318 cm x 163 cm
Found at
Thebes, Egypt
Held by
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
Discovered by
Flinders Petrie (1896)
inscriptionsteleegyptianisrael
Description
A 10-foot black granite stele of Pharaoh Merneptah (r. 1213–1203 BCE) celebrating his military campaigns. Line 27 of the hymn contains the hieroglyphs for "Israel" — the earliest extra-biblical mention of the people of Israel as an entity in Canaan.
Biblical significance
The Merneptah Stele establishes that a people called Israel were already recognized in Canaan by the late 13th century BCE, providing a crucial terminus ante quem for Israel's presence in the land.