Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Banyai Michael" <banyai AT t-online.de>]

There could be of course linguistic problems equivalating Hebrew with 
Habiru/apiru. Of course also, as mentioned graciously by NLP, may this term 
be equivalated with hebr. refugee.

But not to forget all forms may too have been made to fit some popular 
etimology, refugee being only one of them, for some particular word. We see 
the patriarchs, according of course to the patriarchal narrati´ves leaving 
a region best called, Chabur/Chabor region. Its most antique name was 
Subartu, also called Chubur. One has linked this name (as well 
independently the name of eber) with a word meaning grave. Perhaps is this 
right, perhaps this came later to Chubur as a secondary meaning from it 
being identified as the "underworld" region.

You can not expect from such a term to preserve its original meaning over 
millenia. May be is Subartu preserved by the Greek in the later name they 
gave to the region Armenia pro te hesperon. Subartu represented for the 
Babylonian the name of geographic north. Hesperon for the Greek meant also 
a cardinal direction.

So it is little to expect from the interpretation of the word Habiru. The 
meaning doesn´t necessarilly provide an answer about the status of the 
Amarnan Habiru. It just translates a popular etimology.

That it is rather improbable to think of Habiru as being just refugees, or 
a special social group may be infirmed by two documents: one speaking of 
Aleppo of the Habiru, and the other referring to two campaigns of Amenophis 
II in Retenu.

The later enlists 3600 habiru prisoners on the side of 15200 shosu beduins 
(maybe the biblical Susites), and 36300 Charru (not sure the equation with 
the Hurrites, but probably being the biblical Horites mentioned like the 
Susites by the Bible in the Negev). There are no Hurrian names of Charru 
people still known to posit the Charru of Palestine being hurritic.

The traditional geographical closeness of the Horites and Susites, as well 
as their greater numbers sat against the number of the Habiru and the 
shortness of the campaign might leave place to the interpretation this was 
a raid meaning in first line the Negev, thus touching only peripherical 
Retenu. Amenophis seems to have afterwards lost the dominion over Retenu, 
which ran over to Mitanni, whence the Mitannian names in Retenu in the 
Amarna correspondence.

We have also Habiru gods (or God of the Habiru, having a pluralis 
majestatis), thus speaking on the old terms about the Habiru is but utter 
nonsense.

One might propose therefore alternatively a perspective of the Habiru being 
the main ethnical group in Retenu. We see in the biblical texts too, Hebrew 
is simply as a name out. The people are called according to the clan to 
which pertains their temenos. Should they however exceptionally (the Bible 
deals in first line with upper class people) have no temenos, and be people 
worth being accounted like Abraham, they are called simply Hebrews so long 
there is no state like Israel or Juda to which they may be better 
attributed.
Unaware of this such people, fittingly called Habiru, ought have been the 
demographically most relevant element in old Palestine.

What we read in the Amarna correspondence is about a Palestine in the state 
of turmoil: some teritorial state, Retenu was in dissolution (there is no 
mention of a ruler of Retenu in the correspondence, however just about 15 
years later king Tut-ankh-amon sends funeral gifts for the burial of the 
king of Upper Retenu), the Habiru are apparently involved into a national 
reunification movement with religious undertone. Has the royal familly beeb 
murdered?

Most small regents in Retenu are well with the present situation, probably 
owed to the return of Egypt as protector into the region. They are thus 
mostly against the Habiru and think to represent Pharaohs standpoint.

Is this the case? Perhaps not. He is doing nothing against the Habiru but 
awaits patiently that they overcome his former allies.
Is the religious reform in Egypt to correlate with this foreign office 
politics?
The Aton religion stands in Egypt closest to the Heliopolitan ideology, 
exactly as the Jahweh religion too.
We see tradited familiar relationships between the house of Joseph and the 
Heliopolitan clerus. In Ramesside times is Re equated with El. There are 
Iron age Judean beetle (Heliopolitan triad chepre) standards. So on, so 
on.

The famous Jachin and Boas Jerusalem columns have but a single parallel in 
the ANE, namely in Akhet-Aton in the main Aton temple. Their pomegranates 
chain decoration appears identically on its inner court columns.

Could have Amenophis IV pacificated Palestine by his religious reform and 
won the Habiru on his side? There are no more Retenu campaigns or 
interventions during this period.

Best regards,

Banyai Michael