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  • From: JimStinehart AT aol.com
  • To: leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il, b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] The King's road: Bezer
  • Date: Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:55:56 EST


Professor Yigal Levin:

You wrote: “In theory, you could be right. However:
1. At least a hundred years separate the Amarna references to Busruna
and the biblical references to Bezer (assuming that the latter are
historically reliable and not anachronistic - which I would not take for
granted).
2. Most of the inter-city conflicts that are recorded in the Amarna
letters are between towns that are closer than that.
3. There are several other places in Transjordan that have names
derived from the root BCR, which means "to harvest grapes". Most famous is
Bazrah, chief city of Edom, but there are others. So why focus on this
otherwise unknown Bezer?
4. Even if so, so what?”

If Biblical Bezer is the Busruna at Amarna Letter EA 197: 13, then
virtually everything that is said at Genesis 14: 5-6 is historically verified!

(1) Genesis 14: 5 refers to Year 14. It is likely that Amarna Letter EA
197 dates to Year 14 (of Akhenaten’s 17-year reign). That’s an exact match
as to dating.

(2) The first place mentioned at Genesis 14: 5-7 is Ashteroth. Amarna
Letter EA 197 likewise focuses first and foremost on Ashteroth. (I believe
everyone agrees that in both cases, this is historical Ashteroth east of the
Sea of Galilee.)

(3) Genesis 14: 5 refers (along with Genesis 14: 1, 9 as well) to a
coalition of four attacking rulers. Three of those four attacking rulers are
specifically referred to in Amarna Letter EA 197. (i) In chapter 14 of
Genesis, the mighty Hittite king in this coalition of four attacking rulers
has
been given the very nasty Biblical Hebrew nickname “Tidal”, effectively
meaning “Murderer”, since the Hittite king in question here is Suppiluliuma
I,
who famously murdered his own older brother named Tidal/Tudhaliya to seize
the
Hittite throne. Amarna Letter EA 197 likewise does not refer to this
mighty Hittite king by his formal historical name (nor does any other Amarna
Letter written by a princeling), but rather at EA 197: 23-31 we see a
reference
to “the king of Hatti”. (ii) At Genesis 14: 1, 9, the Hurrian princeling
member of this coalition of four attacking rulers is “Arioch”, being a
Hurrian princeling name which nicely functions as an apt Hebrew nickname for
this
princeling. The actual Hurrian name of this Hurrian princeling is at EA
197: 31-42: Etakkama (or ‘Itatkama’). (iii) The Amorite member of the four
attacking rulers has the appropriate Hebrew nickname of Amrapel at Genesis
14: 1, 9, with the first three Hebrew letters of that name, )MR, meaning “
Amorite” and/or “Amurru”. The historical name of this Amorite ruler is at EA
197: 23-31: Aziru. Aziru was the Amorite ruler of Amurru in northern
coastal Lebanon. (iv) Finally, wealthy Ugarit effectively financed the
Great
Syrian War, which began in Year 14 after, as accurately referenced at Genesis
14: 4, a league of five rebellious anti-Hittite princelings formed in Year
13. The original, defective spelling of Chedorlaomer’s kingly title very
likely was MLK (LM, being a title unattested at Elam east of Babylon, but a
kingly title uniquely attested at Ugarit (meaning “King Eternity”). Ugarit
King Niqmaddu II is the only member of the coalition of four attacking rulers
who is not specifically mentioned in Amarna Letter EA 197.

(4) Genesis 14: 5-6 presents a small military force, authorized by the
coalition of four attacking rulers, as proceeding south of Ashteroth after
commencing this “minor” phase of military operations at Ashteroth. If
“Busruna”
at Amarna Letter EA 197: 13 is Biblical Bezer east of the northern end of
the Dead Sea, as discussed in my prior post on this thread, then we have
historical confirmation that this small Hittite force not only pressured
Ashteroth, but also pressured princelings south of Ashteroth as well.

(5) Finally, Genesis 14: 6 specifically mentions “Horites”. Though
commonly said to be the Hurrians, perhaps more accurately the “Horites” in
Genesis are people whose rulers had Hurrian-type names (so easily
distinguishable
at a glance from Semitic names, but with pure Hurrian names not being
easily distinguishable from Indo-European names). All three princelings in
Amarna Letter EA 197 have vintage Hurrian-type names: Biryawaza, Biridaswa,
and
Arsawuya. Those are classic Biblical “Horites”.

When you say, “Even if so, so what?”, the answer is: “Everything is
riding on this!” On the foregoing analysis that I have set forth, one key to
which is viewing Biblical Bezer as being the Busruna referenced at Amarna
Letter EA 197: 13, we have virtually every aspect of Genesis 14: 5-6
historically
verified by Amarna Letter EA 197! How close a match could there possibly
be? We’ve got (1) the specific date, namely Year 14, (2) we’ve got the key
starting point, namely Ashteroth, (3) we’ve got a coalition of four
attacking rulers, one with a Hittite name, one with a Hurrian name, one with
an
Amorite name, and one with a Ugaritic kingly title (with all such names being
nastly Hebrew nicknames in chapter 14 of Genesis), (4) we’ve got a solid
reference to a cite well south of Astheroth (Bezer/Busruna in Amarna Letter
EA
197, and a series of cites south of Ashteroth at Genesis 14: 5-6), and (5) we’
ve got Hurrian-type princeling names out the wazoo for the Biblical “Horites”
.

What more could one ask for?

Professor, I assume (without knowing, of course) that most every year you
teach your students that Genesis 14: 5-6 is entirely fictional, having been
composed centuries after the event, which in any case is fictional anyway,
and having no relationship to any actual military operation verifiable in
secular history. But next year, why not ask your students to compare Amarna
Letter EA 197 straight up to Genesis 14: 5-6? I myself see Genesis 14: 5-6
as
being a classic example of the p-i-n-p-o-i-n-t historical accuracy of the
Patriarchal narratives, in the context of Year 14 of Akhenaten’s reign.

The first Hebrew (the author of the Patriarchal narratives) was terrified
that after pressuring the Transjordan, the mighty Hittites might soon invade
beloved Canaan itself. The first Hebrews’ prayers to YHWH not to let that
happen, being prayers that appeared to be fully answered, along with the
first Hebrew’s composition of the Patriarchal narratives, which are based
first
and foremost on the fear that shortly after Year 14 the dreaded Hittites
might overrun beloved Canaan (an eventuality that thankfully never happened),
constitute the historical foundation of Judaism, with Judaism effectively
being born in Year 15. The Hebrews cared little or nothing about pharaoh
Akhenaten’s peculiar, unattractive form of monotheism. But the first Hebrews
cared greatly whether that strange, troubled pharaoh would or would not stand
tall in the saddle and resolutely oppose the seemingly unstoppable advances
of the mighty Hittite war machine, as the victorious Hittites ominously
loomed just north and northeast of beloved Canaan.

In my considered opinion, one key to understanding and appreciating the
p-i-n-p-o-i-n-t historical accuracy of the Patriarchal narratives is to
compare Amarna Letter EA 197 straight up with Genesis 14: 5-6.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois




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