Biblical Hebrew Forum

["George Athas" <gathas AT mail.usyd.edu.au>]

> Hypothesis: Jacob was a contemporary of Lab'aya and Hamor.
>
> Common topic: Shechem in the 14th and 13th centuries.
>
>
> - Lab'aya gave up the land of Shechem to the Habiru.
>
> -  Jacob took Shechem by "his sword and his bow."
>
> - Hamor the Hurrian ruled Shechem.

No, Hamor the Hivvite (tent-villager) lived at Shechem.

>
> - Hamor's son was named Shechem.
>
> - Hurrian names are attested at El Amarna.

But Hamor was a Hivvite.

>
> - Some Hurrian chieftains ruled cities.

But Hamor was a Hivvite

>
> - Hamor is a Semitic name.
>
> - Semitic Hurrians were ruled by an Indo-European aristocracy.
>
> - Shechem suffered destruction in the era intersecting with Lab'aya.
>
> -  Lab'aya and Akhenaten were contemporaries.
>
> - Hamor and Jacob are portrayed as contemporaries.
>
> - Lab'aya gave up Shechem.
>
> - Jacob seized Shechem by force.
>
> - Joshua reportedly too possession of Shechem without conflict.

Now, when you consider that half of the evidence is actual correspondence 
between real
people and the other half is folklore, you have a great problem in trying to 
match the two
up to even be comparable in the first place. Your theory requires a drastic
re-understanding of the nature of the evidence.

Best regards,
George Athas
 Dept of Semitic Studies,
 University of Sydney
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< gathas@ mail.usyd.edu.au >