The Scientific and Scriptural Impact of Amos’ Earthquake



by Steven A. Austin, Ph.D. *

The Bible is often regarded as a book of stories based on a primitive people's understanding of the world around them. As such, many people--and even some Christians--believe that it is not a reliable source of history. But science continues to prove them wrong.

An Ancient Earthquake
The Kings of Israel and Judah ruled during the period of time designated as the Iron Age by archaeologists. Widely separated archaeological excavations in the countries of Israel and Jordan contain late Iron Age (Iron IIb) architecture bearing damage from a great earthquake.¹ Masonry walls best display the earthquake's effects, especially those with broken ashlars or displaced rows of stones, walls that are still standing but are leaning or bowed, and collapsed walls with large sections still lying course-on-course.
Earthquake evidence is seen prominently at Hazor, Israel's largest ancient city. In excavations beginning in 1955 by archaeologist Yigael Yadin, twenty-two successive cities were discovered to have been built on top of each other.² Excavations in Hazor's Stratum VI revealed tilted walls, inclined pillars, and collapsed houses. In the Iron Age building called "Ya'el's House" within Stratum VI, objects of daily use were found beneath the fallen ceiling. General southward collapse within Stratum VI argues that the earthquake waves were propagated from the north. After more than 50 years of excavations at Hazor, earthquake damage continues to be revealed in even some of the strongest architecture.
The city of Gezer was also severely shaken. The outer wall of the city shows hewn stones weighing tons that have been cracked and displaced several inches off their foundation. The lower part of the wall was displaced outward (away from the city), whereas the upper part of the wall fell inward (toward the city) still lying course-on-course.³ This indicates that the wall collapsed suddenly.
A Magnitude 8 Event
Earthquake debris at six sites (Hazor, Deir 'Alla, Gezer, Lachish, Tell Judeideh, and 'En Haseva) is tightly confined stratigraphically to the middle of the eighth century B.C., with dating errors of ~30 years.⁴ So, the evidence points to a single large regional earthquake that occurred about 750 B.C. The accompanying map displays the site intensity (Modified Mercalli Intensity from archaeology or literature) and lines of equal intensity of shaking (isoseismals).
The epicenter was clearly north of present-day Israel, as indicated by the southward decrease in degree of damage at archaeological sites in Israel and Jordan. The epicenter was likely in Lebanon on the plate boundary called the Dead Sea transform fault. A large area of the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah was shaken to inflict "general damage" to well-built structures (what is called Modified Mercalli Intensity 9 or higher). The distance from the epicenter (north of Israel) to the region of "significant damage" to well-built structures (what is called Modified Mercalli Intensity 8 that is south of Israel) was at least 175 kilometers, but could have been as much as 300 kilometers.
Using the pattern and the intensity of damage through the region of the earthquake, the earthquake's magnitude can be estimated. Through a process known as scaling, the damage areas of smaller historic earthquakes of known magnitude are used to scale upward to estimate the area of damage and magnitude of the regional earthquake. Based on this method, the earthquake in question was at least magnitude 7.8, but more likely was 8.2.⁵ This magnitude 8 event of 750 B.C. appears to be the largest yet documented on the Dead Sea transform fault zone during the last four millennia. The Dead Sea transform fault likely ruptured along more than 400 kilometers as the ground shook violently for over 90 seconds! The urban panic created by this earthquake would have been legendary.
Scriptural References
In the mid-eighth century B.C., a shepherd-farmer named Amos of Tekoa de livered an ex tra ordinary speech at the Temple of the Golden Calf in the city of Bethel in the northern kingdom of Israel just "two years before the earthquake" (Amos 1:1). Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam II was king of Israel. Amos spoke of the land being shaken (8:8), houses being smashed (6:11), altars being cracked (3:14), and even the Temple at Bethel being struck and collapsing (9:1). The prophet's repeated contemporary references to the earthquake's effects is why it bears his name.
Amos' Earthquake impacted Hebrew literature immensely.⁶ After the gigantic earthquake, no Hebrew prophet could predict a divine visitation in judgment without alluding to an earthquake. Just a few years after the earthquake, Isaiah wrote about the "Day of the Lord" when everything lofty and exalted will be abased at the time when the Lord "ariseth to shake terribly the earth" (Isaiah 2:19, 21). Then, Isaiah saw the Lord in a temple shaken by an earthquake (Isaiah 6:4).
Joel repeats the motto of Amos: "The Lord also will roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem," and adds the seismic theophany imagery "the heavens and the earth shall shake" (Joel 3:16; compare Amos 1:2). After describing a future earthquake and panic during the "Day of the Lord" at Messiah's coming to the Mount of Olives, Zechariah says, "Yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah" (Zechariah 14:5). The panic caused by Amos' Earthquake must have been the topic of legend in Jerusalem, because Zechariah asked his readers to recall that terrifying event 230 years later.
The author of Hebrews asks us to keep in mind the coming cosmic shakedown that will finally usher in the future "kingdom which cannot be moved" (Hebrews 12:28). In light of God's marvelous promises to those who believe, "let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear."

References

1. Austin, S.A., G. W. Franz, and E. G. Frost. 2000. Amos's Earthquake: An extraordinary Middle East seismic event of 750 B.C. International Geology Review. 42 (7): 657-671.
2. Yadin, Y. 1975. Hazor, the rediscovery of a great citadel of the Bible. New York: Random House, 280 pp.
3. Younker, R. 1991. A preliminary report of the 1990 season at Tel Gezer, excavations of the "Outer Wall" and the "Solomonic" Gateway (July 2 to August 10, 1990). Andrews University Seminary Studies. 29: 19-60.
4. Austin et al, Amos's Earthquake.
5. Austin et al, Amos's Earthquake.
6. Ogden, K. 1992. The earthquake motif in the book of Amos. In Schunck, K., and M. Augustin, eds., Goldene apfel in silbernen schalen. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 69-80; Freedman, D.N., and A. Welch. 1994. Amos's earthquake and Israelite prophecy. In Coogan, M.D., J. C. Exum, and L. E. Stager, eds., Scripture and other artifacts: essays on the Bible, and archaeology in honor of Philip J. King. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 188-198.

* Dr. Austin is Senior Research Scientist and Chair of the Geology Department.

Cite this article: Austin, S. 2010. The Scientific and Scriptural Impact of Amos' Earthquake. Acts & Facts. 39 (2): 8-9.

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Taken from: http://www.icr.org/article/scientific-scriptural-impact-amos-earthquake/

Amenhotep III Contemporaneous With Ashurnasirpal II

 

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Ashurnasirpal II was also a great builder. He too raised monuments throughout Assyria. These included a new capital named Calah. In Calah archaeologists found numerous artifatcs of Egyptian manufacture. There were, for example, many scarabs of the latter Eighteenth Dynasty, especially from the time of Amenhotap III. (See Austen Layard, Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon (London, 1853) p. 282)

So, just in the place where we would expect to find the monuments of Ashuruballit, who was a contemporary of the latter Eighteenth Dynasty, we find the monuments of Ashurnasirpal II, whose buildings are full of artifacts of the latter Eighteenth Dynasty. ….

The “Middle Assyrians” were a mysterious line of kings who ruled Assyria before the time of the Neo-Assyrians and supposedly after the time of the Mitannians. Yet we know of no Assyrian stratigraphy which can give a clear line from Mitannian to Middle Assyrian to Neo-Assyrian. On the contrary, as we saw, the Mitannians are followed immediately by the Neo-Assyrians of Ashurnasirpal II and Shalmaneser III. This can only mean that the Middle Assyrians must have been contemporaries of the Mitannians, and were most likely Mitannian kings using Assyrian names. We know that ancient rulers often bore several titles in accordance with the various nations and ethnic groups over which they reigned. Since the Mitannian royal names are Indo-Iranian, and therefore meaningless and probably unpronounceable to the Semitic speakers of Assyria, it is almost certain that they would also have used Assyrian-sounding titles.

That the Middle Assyrians were in fact contemporary with the Mitannians is shown in numberless details of artwork, pottery, epigraphy, etc. (See for example P. Pfalzner, Mittanische und Mittelassyrische Keramik (Berlin, 1995).

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Taken from: http://www.emmetsweeney.net/article-directory/item/54-shalmaneser-iii-and-egypt.html

Similarities between Jonah and the Elijah-Elisha narrative

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The similarities between Jonah and the Elijah-Elisha narrative run deeper still. Consider the following parallels between Elijah and Jonah: “both flee, both are faced with death, both fall asleep into a deep sleep, both sit under a tree and ask to die, and both are associated with a forty-day activity.”⁸ Like Elijah-Elisha, Jonah not only prophesies concerning the king of Israel, but also on foreign soil concerning its king/kingdom (1 Kgs 19:15; 2 Kgs 8:7-15; Jonah 3:1-4). Interestingly, Elisha proclaims the desired recovery of the deathly ill king of Syria, while knowing that God’s plan ultimately entails the king’s death (2 Kgs 8:10). Sadly, this outcome will extend the divine discipline of Israel, which evil comes through the hands of the usurper who murders the Syrian king on the day after the announcement of the favorable prophecy (2 Kgs 8:11-15; cf. 10:32-33). Similarly, Jonah reluctantly announces his desired ruin of the royal city of Assyria, while knowing that God would rather extend mercy to a repentant Nineveh (Jonah 3:4; 4:2). Shockingly, the entire city repents and turns from its evil way on the very day of the unfavorable oracle, which results in the Lord turning from the evil he was going to bring upon it.

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Taken from:

http://miqra.net/journal/miqra-11.2-spring-2012-obadiah-and-jonah/reading-jonah-the-book-and-its-message

King Joash Acording to Jewish Legend



JOASH

When the prophet Jonah, doing the behest of his master Elisha, anointed Jehu king over Israel, (1) he poured the oil out of a pitcher, not out of a horn, to indicate that the dynasty of Jehu would not occupy the throne long. (2) At first Jehu, though a somewhat foolish (3) king, was at least pious, but he abandoned his God-fearing ways from the moment he saw the document bearing the signature of the prophet Ahijah of Shilo, which bound the signers to pay implicit obedience to Jeroboam. The king took this as evidence that the prophet had approved the worship of the golden calves. So it came to pass that Jehu, the destroyer of Baal worship, did nothing to oppose the idolatrous service established by Jeroboam at Beth-el. (4) The successors of Jehu were not better; on the contrary, they were worse, and therefore in the fifth generation (5) an end was put to the dynasty of Jehu by the hand of the assassin.

The kings of Judah differed in no essential particular from their colleagues in the north. Ahaziah, whom Jehu killed, was a shameless sinner; he had the Name of God expurged from every passage in which it occurred in the Holy Scriptures, and the names of idols inserted in its place. (6)

Upon the death of Ahaziah followed the reign of terror under the queen Athaliah, when God exacted payment from the house of David for his trespass in connection with the extermination of the priest at Nob. As Abiathar had been the only male descendant of Abimelech to survive the persecution of Saul, so the sole representative of the house of David to remain after the sword of Athaliah had raged (7) was Joash, the child kept in hiding, in the Holy of Holies in the Temple, by the high priest Jehoiada and his wife Jehosheba. (8) Later Jehoiada vindicated the right of Joash upon the throne, and installed him as king of Judah. The very crown worn by the rulers of the house of David testified to the legitimacy of the young prince, for it possessed the peculiarity of fitting none but the rightful successors to David. (9)

At the instigation of Jehoiada, King Joash undertook the restoration of the Temple. The work was completed so expeditiously that one living at the time the Temple was erected by Solomon was permitted to see the new structure shortly before his death. (10) This good fortune befell Jehoiada (11) himself, the son of Benaiah, commander-in-chief of the army under Solomon. So long as Joash continued under the tutelage of Jehoiada, he was a pious king. When Jehoiada departed this life, the courtiers came to Joash and flattered him: "If thou wert not a god, thou hadst not been able to abide for six years in the Holy of Holies, a spot which even the high priest is permitted to enter but once a year." The king lent ear to their blandishments, and permitted the people to pay him Divine homage. (12) But when the folly of the king went to the extreme of prompting him to set up an idol in the Temple, Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, placed himself at the entrance, and barring the way said: "Thou shalt not do it so long as I live." (13) High priest, prophet, and judge though Zechariah was, and son-in-law of Joash to boot, the king still did not shrink from having him killed for his presumptuous words, not was he deterred by the fact that it happened on a Day of Atonement which fell on the Sabbath. (14) The innocent blood crimsoning the hall of the priests did not remain unavenged. For two hundred and fifty-two years it did not leave off seething and pulsating, until, finally, Nebuzaradan, captain of Nebuchadnezzar's guard, ordered a great carnage among the Judeans, to avenge the death of Zechariah. (15)

Joash himself, the murderer of Zechariah, met with an evil end. He fell into the hands of the Syrians, and they abused him in their barbarous, immoral way. Before he could recover from the suffering inflicted upon him, his servants slew him. (16)

Amaziah, the son and successor of Joash, in many respects resembled his father. At the beginning of his reign he was God-fearing, but when, through the aid of God, he had gained a brilliant victory over the Edomites, he knew no better way of manifesting his gratitude than to establish in Jerusalem the cult of the idol worshipped by his conquered enemies. To compass his chastisement, God inspired Amaziah with the idea of provoking a war with Joash, the ruler of the northern kingdom. Amaziah demanded that Joash should either recognize the suzerainty of the southern realm voluntarily, or let the fate of battle decide the question. (17) At first Joash sought to turn Amaziah aside from his purpose by a parable reminding him of the fate of Shechem, which the sons of Jacob had visited upon him for having done violence to their sister Dinah. (18) Amaziah refused to be warned. He persisted in his challenge, and a war ensued. The fortune of battle decided against Amaziah. He suffered defeat, and later he was tortured to death by his own subjects. (19)

 

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Taken from: http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_text_jewslegends4i.htm

The Disgrace of King Joash

 

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TOC

Rebecca Lee—Vancouver, Canada

Joash had a unique reign as king of Judah, where he took over the throne at the age of seven. He was raised by a priest, and, at a tender age in his youth, he set his heart on repairing the temple of God.

In three separate verses, the Bible records that Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days in which Jehoiada the priest was alive and instructed him (2 Kgs 12:2; 2 Chr 24:2, 12). Jehoiada adopted Joash when he was only an infant, after his father King Ahaziah had died.

As a matter of fact, Joash’s existence was not known until he became king. He was hidden in the temple of God because his grandmother, Athaliah, had massacred all of Ahaziah’s children in order to take the throne.

Joashgrew up under the care and instruction of Jehoiada, who must have instilled in Joash a solid understanding of God’s statutes and commandments. As king, he led the people in serving God and repairing the temple.

Unfortunately, everything changed for Joash shortly after Jehoiada’sdeath. In a dramatic turn of events, Joash left the house of God to serve idols instead. Consequently, when he died, Joash was not buried in the tomb of the kings.

In contrast, Jehoiadathe chief priest was buried “in the City of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God and His house” (2 Chr24:16).

How did this come about? What caused Joash’s change of heart?

A Dependent Faith?

One way to explain this change of heart is that Joash’s faith had not been independent and rooted but had been based on Jehoiada. Perhaps Joash knew only how to be a good king under Jehoiada’s instructions. Perhaps, like a puppet, he only knew how to take orders from Jehoiada.

In fact, every time a big decision was made or where money from the house of God was concerned, the Bible records that it involved “the king and Jehoiada” (cf. 2 Chr 24:6, 12, 14). Joash’s two wives were even brought to him by Jehoiada. Perhaps Joash was lost without the guidance of the only father he ever knew.

But wasn’t Joashthe one who took the initiative in repairing the house of the Lord? The Bible records that “Joash set his heart on repairing the house of the LORD” (2 Chr 24:4). He also took the lead in setting up a system for contributions to fund the repairs (2 Chr 24:5-8).

So, it appears that Joash’s faith was not completely dependent on Jehoiada, even from a young age. He had been taught well byJehoiada.

This makes it more difficult to comprehend why Joash could so easily forsake the commandments of God that he learned at a young age. After all, it wasn’t until after the twenty-third year of his reign that he fulfilled his dream of repairing the temple (2 Kgs 12:6).

What could have possibly snatched away the word of God from his heart so quickly and made void his long and dedicated efforts in repairing the temple of God?

He Listened to Them

The turning point in Joash’s life came after Jehoiadadied: “Now after the death of Jehoiada the leaders of Judah came and bowed down to the king. And the king listened to them” (2 Chr 24:17).

It seems counter-intuitive that after “the leaders of Judah came and bowed down” to Joashthat he would turn around and listen to them! It appears as if Joash had been desperate for someone to quickly replace his deceased father, who had always provided him with sound advice and guidance throughout his life.

The most powerful men in the country came to offer Joash support. Having the leaders of Judah stand behind him meant that his political future would be secure. Such an opportunity is something a young king could only hope for.

In fact, Joashwas probably flattered when the leaders of Judah bowed down to him. However, in turn, they actually made him bow down to them! Consequently, they were able to easily influence him.

With this critical mistake, Joash and the people “left the house of the Lord God of their fathers, and served wooden images and idols” (2 Chr24:18). But this begs the question: Why didn’t the leaders of Judah come and bow down to Joash before? Was it a mere coincidence that they came to Joash immediately after Jehoiada had died?

The leaders of Judah most likely came to Joash with a hidden agenda. Had they truly wanted to honor him and the ways that were established through Jehoiada, the direction of his ruling would not have changed so drastically—from the worship of God to the worship of idols—in such a short period of time.

When Jehoiadawas still alive, he was a powerful and influential advisor to Joash, so bowing down before Joashand getting him to listen probably would not have worked. But as soon as Jehoiada was no longer around, the leaders of Judah went toJoash and led him to serve other gods, which was utterly against his beliefs. Despite all the time he spent under Jehoiada’s instruction, he had not established a faith that could stand on its own.

This insidious method employed by the leaders of Judah reminds us of temptations today. They don’t come at you full throttle; they bow down to you first. They wait until you are all alone in your faith, when you let your guard down, when you feel desperate or lonely, when you are unsure of yourself, and when you are not close to God.

When temptations invite or bow down to us, the most natural feeling is not repulsion but flattery. They make us feel good about ourselves first, in hopes that we will hand over the steering wheel to our lives. Whether it is the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, or the pride of life, these temptations are all around us in our daily lives.

We must be careful not to be like Joash, heeding the call of temptation instead of holding on to our beliefs, and leaving behind years of obedience and truth for temporary gain.

He Did Not Remember

Recall that Jehoiadathe priest took Joash in as his own son when he was only an infant. Jehoiada and his wife, Jehosheba, had saved Joash from the hands of his wicked and murderous grandmother, Athaliah.

Joashwas supposed to be killed, but his life was spared by grace. Jehoiada and Jehosheba must have spent much patience and effort in raising him secretly in the temple of God. After all, they had to teach him to become a good king, for they knew this was the only way to remove Athaliah from the throne along with all the wickedness and idolatry she used to mislead the people.

But flattery from the leaders of Judah had such a profound influence on Joash that he“did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him” (2 Chr 24:22). All the guidance, care, and instruction that Joash had received from his beloved father was forgotten for the remainder of his reign as king.

Had Joash’sfaith been patterned after Jehoiada’s, Joash would have done much better in comparison to his unfortunate end. He would have been able to recognize the wrongdoing that stemmed from the leaders of Judah. He would have known that the idols should have been removed from the high places (2 Kgs 12:3). He would have relied upon the statutes of God, which he knew by heart. Instead, he remembered neither his father’s kindness nor God’s commandments.

The Lord was actually merciful to Joash and His people because “He sent prophets to them, to bring them back to the LORD” (2 Chr 24:19a). One of the prophets was Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada. However, Joash was so lost in his faith and unwilling to listen that he commanded the people to stone Zechariah to death in the court of the house of the Lord!

In the same way, our Lord Jesus is always merciful to us and gives us opportunities to return to Him, but how often are we willing to listen?

Sometimes we may be so blinded by the flattery of sin that we may not remember the kindness and grace of our heavenly Father, who sent His only Son to die for our sins. We were supposed to be killed by the evil one, but through the blood of Christ “[we] died, and [our] life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col 3:3).

We should learn from Joash, who forgot this amazing grace when he fell in sin.

He was Not Remembered

Not only did Joashsin, he died in disgrace. His own servants conspired to kill him, and he was not buried in the tomb of the kings (2 Chr 24:25). Despite all the good that he had done, including repairing the temple of the Lord and leading the people by example to offer for the house of the Lord, his failure to keep his faith until the end is what defined him.

As it says in Ezekiel 18:24:

“But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die.”

We need to always remember the love of our Lord Jesus so that the evil one will not be able to snatch away the words of God from our hearts or make void all of our efforts in servitude and holy work. We must cherish our beliefs and understand the importance of our faith so that we will be strong enough to withstand the wiles of sin.

We also need to be vigilant in our own faith, being firmly rooted in the truth. Otherwise, we may stray when our spiritual guardians—the Jehoiada in our lives, such as our family members, spouse, brothers and sisters in church, pastors, or religious education teachers—are no longer around.

Furthermore, if temptations come when we are not watchful, we may turn to them easily and forget everything we have learned before, regardless of how much knowledge or experience we may have gained in the past.

Thus, we must persevere to the very end, despite whatever temptations may come our way and how flattering they may be. Only then can we say to our heavenly Father, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim 4:7).

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Taken from: http://www.tjc.us/library/DetailLibrary.aspx?langid=1&itemid=16623

Wicked Queen Athaliah



The Complete Plays of Jean Racine

Volume 4: Athaliah Jean Racine, Translated into English rhymed couplets with critical notes and commentary by Geoffrey Alan Argent

• Publish Date: 4/11/2012
• Dimensions: 5 x 8
• Page Count: 154 pages
• Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-271-05248-9

Hardcover Edition: $49.95Add to Cart

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As Voltaire famously opined, Athaliah, Racine’s last play, is “perhaps the greatest masterwork of the human spirit.” Its formidable antagonists, Athaliah, queen of Judah, and Jehoiada, high priest of the temple of Jerusalem, are engaged in a deadly struggle for dominion: she, fiercely determined to maintain her throne and exterminate the detested race of David; he, no less fiercely determined to overthrow this heathen queen and enthrone the orphan Joash, the scion of the house of David, whom Athaliah believes she slew as an infant ten years earlier. This boy represents the sole hope for the survival of the royal race from which is to spring the Christ. But in this play, even God is more about hate and retribution than about love and mercy.
This is the fourth volume of a projected translation into English of all twelve of Jean Racine’s plays—only the third time such a project has been undertaken. For this new translation, Geoffrey Alan Argent has rendered these plays in the verse form that Racine might well have used had he been English: namely, the “heroic” couplet. Argent has exploited the couplet’s compressed power and flexibility to produce a work of English literature, a verse drama as gripping in English as Racine’s is in French. Complementing the translation are the illuminating Discussion, intended as much to provoke discussion as to provide it, and the extensive Notes and Commentary, which offer their own fresh and thought-provoking insights.

Geoffrey Alan Argent is an independent scholar residing in Pennsylvania. He was the recipient of a 2011 American Book Award for The Fratricides, volume 1 of The Complete Plays of Jean Racine (Penn State, 2010).

Contents

Translator’s Note

Athaliah: Discussion
Racine’s Preface
Athaliah
Athaliah: Notes and Commentary

Selected Bibliography

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Taken from: http://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-05248-9.html

Growing power of priesthood during Egypt's 20th Dynasty



 

 

According to the AMAIC, the 20th dynasty may have been Judaean, of king Joash (Jehoash), greatly influenced by the good priest Jehoiada:

"Joash was seven years old when his reign began, and he was king over Judah for 40 years. Under Jehoiad[a]'s guidance, Joash did what was right. As he grew, Jehoiada selected good wives for him, and he had sons and daughters. He set his heart to repair the temple, so he assigned the priests and Levites to take up financial contributions allocated for the repairs ..." (http://www.sharefaith.com/guide/christian-ministries/kings-in-the-bible/joash-king-of-judah.html)

 

Dynasty revealed

A quartz stela unearthed in the Avenue of Ram-headed Sphinxes in Luxor has changed what we know of the 20th dynasty, writes Nevine El-Aref

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Click to view caption

The newly-discovered stela

For more than three centuries, since historians and Egyptologists began to write the first history in modern times of the 20th dynasty of Ancient Egypt, compiled from hieroglyphic texts drawn on papyri or engraved on tombs and temple walls, the history of the dynasty has remained virtually unchanged. However, this is archaeology, and in archaeology nothing can be said to be fixed. A newly-unearthed stela in the avenue lined with ram-headed sphinxes that once connected the temples of Luxor and Karnak, along which official and religious processions passed for centuries, has thrown further light on this ancient era.

The new information not only illustrates the growing power of the priesthood during the New Kingdom, but also changes some concepts of the 20th dynasty, especially the facts and figures relating to its founder, the Pharaoh Setnakhte.

The stela is a quartzite religious relief engraved in two parts; the upper one featuring Setnakhte wearing the blue crown and kneeling before the god Amun- Re, who holds the key of life in his right hand and the waset symbol in his left hand. The pharaoh is offering the god the feather of justice, while the goddess Mut, standing in the background, raises her left hand as a symbol of protection and holds the key of life in her right. The lower part bears 17 lines of hieroglyphic text followed by a scene showing Bakenkhunsu, the High Priest of Amun-Re, wearing his religious robes and praying.

Zahi Hawass, [former, now sacked] secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), described the discovery as one of the most important finds of 2006. "It adjusts the history of the 20th dynasty and reveals more about the life of Bakenkhunsu," Hawass says.

Ever since the discovery several years ago of his four limestone statues, now exhibited at the Egyptian Museum, nothing was known about Bakenkhunsu except for his title as the High Priest of Amun-Re. Now, Hawass says, after deciphering the hieroglyphic text, the priest's family members and relatives have been identified. The priest's construction achievements at Karnak Temple's Great Hall can also be recognised. The text mentions that Bakenkhunsu carried out and oversaw several construction projects at the Great Hall.

Luxor monuments director Mansour Borayek told Al-Ahram Weekly that early studies on the stela revealed that it was a very well-preserved Ancient Egyptian object carved for Bakenkhunsu during the fourth year of Setnakhte's reign. It was made to be installed in the Temple of Amun-Re at Karnak. This date contradicts with the accepted record, which says Setnakhte ruled Egypt for only three years. According to the new information provided by the stela, Setnakhte's reign certainly lasted for four years, and may have continued for longer. Hence, early constructions at the Temple of Amun-Re in Karnak could be attributed to Setnakhte and completed by his son and successor Ramesses III, who also built a mortuary temple at Medinet Habu on Luxor's west bank.

Ramesses III was arguably the last of the great pharaohs to sit on the throne of Egypt. His reign was a time of considerable turmoil throughout the Mediterranean that also saw the Trojan wars, the fall of Mycenae and a great movement of displaced people from all over the region that was to wreak havoc; even toppling empires.

The stela is now being subjected to comprehensive studies in an attempt to reveal more of the 20th dynasty's secrets and, according to what may be discovered, to rewrite its history.

The stela was found accidentally by an Egyptian excavation team working on a project to reconstruct the ram-headed sphinx avenue in Luxor.

Although the 20th dynasty was founded by Setnakhte, its most important member was Ramesses III ....

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Taken from: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/827/hr1.htm