Biblical Hebrew Forum

[James Christian <jc.bhebrew AT googlemail.com>]

Thanks for that. Seems to mention lots of different places both on and way
off the kind of routes I have seen. Doesn't seem to be any mention of any
roads or specific routes there either. Unless they are lost in the funny
style of translation somehow.

James Christian

2010/2/11 Arne Halbakken <1stluth AT smig.net>

> For what it's worth, here is an excerpt from Papyrus Anastasi I from COS:
>
> (18.7) You do not go to the land of Hatti; you do
> not see the land of Upi. Khadum's manner you do
> not know, nor Yagadiya either. What is it like,
> the Zimira of Ramesses II, LPH? The town of
> Aleppo is on which side of it? What is its river
> like? You do not campaign to Qadesh or Dubikh;
> you do not go to the region of Shasu with the
> archers. You do not tread the road to the Magara,
> where the sky is dark by day. It is overgrown
> with junipers and alluna and cedars (that) have
> reached the sky, where lions are more numerous
> than leopards and bears, and surrounded with
> Shasu on every side. You do not climb the
> mountain of Shuwa; you do not plod with your
> hands on your legs, your chariot netted with
> ropes, your horses in tow.
>
> (19.6) Hey, come that you may see Birata and make
> h‡afidja from its ascent, having crossed its
> river. You will see what it's like to be a mahir
> when your markabata is set on your shoulders
> because your aide is exhausted. When you finally
> unburden your-self in the evening, your whole
> body is crushed and battered, your limbs
> thrashed. You will lose your-self in sleep only
> to awake at reveille in the short night, alone at
> the harnessing, for no brother comes to (help)
> brother. The naharu}a have entered the camp, the
> horses are untied. The [...] has with-drawn in
> the night; your clothes have been stolen. Your
> maru}a has awakened in the night, learned what he
> did, and taken the rest. He has gone over to
> those who are bad; he has mingled with the Shasu
> tribes and made himself an Asiatic. The enemy has
> come to make sûadda in thievery and found you
> inert. You will awaken and find no trace of them;
> they have made off with your things. Now you know
> what it's like to be a mahir.
>
> (20.7) I will mention to you another inaccessible
> town, the one named Byblos. What is it like? And
> its goddess? Once again, you do not set foot in
> it. Inform me, please, about Beirut, and about
> Sidon and Zarepta. Where is the river of Litani?
> What is Uzu like? They tell of another town on
> the yumma, named Tyre of the Port. Water is taken
> to it in freighters; it is richer in fish than
> sand.
>
> (21.2) I will tell you another subject. The
> passage of Zir{am is difficult. You will say it
> burns more than a sting: how sick is the mahir!
> Come, put me on the road north to the region of
> Akko. Where does the way to Aksap start? At which
> town? Inform me, please, about the mountain of
> Wasir. What is its rusûa}u like? Where does the
> mountain of Shechem start? Who can take it? Where
> does the mahir march to Hazor? What is its river
> like? Put me on the track to Hamat, Dagan, and
> Dagan-el, the parade-ground of every mahir.
> Inform me, please, about its road, and let me see
> Ya{anu. When one is marching to Adamim, where is
> he facing? Don't withhold your teaching: let us
> know them.
>
> (22.2) Come, that I may tell you other towns that
> are above them. You do not go to the land of
> Takhsi, Gur-Maruni, Tamintu, Qadesh, Dapur, Asya,
> or Hermon. You do not see Qiryat-{anabi and
> Beit-sopiri. You do not know Aduruna, or
> Zitti-padalla either. You do not know the name of
> Khalsa, which is in the land of Upi, a bull on
> its borders, the place where the troops of every
> hero have been seen. Inform me, please, about the
> manner of Qiyana. Let me know Rehob, and ex-plain
> Beit-she}an and Tirqa-el. The river of Jordan,
> how is it crossed? You should let me know the
> pass of Megiddo, which is above it.
>
> (23.1) You are a mahir learned in the work of
> heroism. May a mahir like you be found to sagga
> in front of the army. Oh maryana, forward to
> shoot! Look, the face of the murad44 is a
> sûadiluta 2000 cubits deep, full of scree and
> pebbles, so that you must make a sawbib. You will
> take the bow and make a pirtji on your left so
> that you might let the chiefs see. Their eye is
> good, and weakness is in your hand: "abatta kama
> eri mahir na{imu." You will make the reputation
> of every mahir of Egypt who passes: your
> reputation will become like that of Qatsra-yadi,
> the king of Asuru, when the bear found him in the
> bika}i.
>
> (23.7) The face of the pass is dangerous with
> Shasu, hidden under the bushes. Some of them are
> 4 or 5 cubits, h nose to foot, with wild faces.
> Their thoughts are not pretty, they do not listen
> to cajoling, and you are alone, no {adjira with
> you, no djabi}u behind you. You do not find the
> ir}ir to make passage for you. The decision is
> made to go forward, but you don't know the way.
> Your face starts to djanna, your head is sûalafi,
> your ba lies in your hand. Your path is full of
> scree and pebbles, with no toehold to pass,
> overgrown by asbarru with dangerous qadja and
> wolfspaw. The sûadiluta is on your one side, the
> mountain stands on your other. You go in
> hastakkata, with your chariot on its side, afraid
> to press your horse, lest he be thrown to the
> Duat. Your yoke has been thrown off and bare,
> your kusûana has fallen. You will unharness the
> team to renew the yoke in the middle of the pass,
> but you are not experienced in the manner of
> binding it, and do not know how to refasten it.
> The anqafqafa has been thrown from its place, too
> heavy for the team to bear. Your heart is
> disgusted; you will start to trot. When the sky
> is open (again), you think the enemy is behind
> you. You will start to tremble: if only you had a
> wall of shrubs, that you might put him on the
> other side. The team has been worn down by the
> time you find a cot; you will see the taste of
> sickness.
>
> (24.2) You have entered Joppa and will find the
> field verdant in its season. You will break
> through for food and find the little maiden who
> is guarding the garden, and she will fraternize
> with you as a companion and give you the color of
> her embrace. It will be perceived that you have
> given witness and you are judged with a mahar.
> Your cloak of fine linen, you will sell it.
>
> William W. Hallo and K. Lawson Younger Jr., eds.,
> Archival Documents from the Biblical World (COS
> 3; Accordance electronic ed. Leiden: Brill,
> 2003), 12-13.
>
> Arne Halbakken
>
>
> Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:31:24 +0200
> From: Yigal Levin <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>
> Subject: [b-hebrew] FW:  The King's road
> To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
>
> I assume Rainey is referring to Papyrus Anastasi
> I - see the map on p. 101 of Sacred Bridge.
>
> Yigal Levin
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
> [mailto:b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of James Spinti
> Sent: Thursday, February 11, 2010 4:24 PM
> To: b-hebrew
> Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] The King's road
>
> Check out p. 41 in Sacred Bridge, by Anson Rainey
> & Stephen Notley (Carta, Jerusalem). He mentions
> "an ancient Egyptian treatise on roads in Canaan"
> but doesn't cite the source. See also page 123,
> 199, and 328, ranging in date all the way into
> the Hasmonean times.
>
> James
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