Biblical Hebrew Forum

[rob acosta <robacosta AT hotmail.com>]

You wrote:  "In particular, the Amarna Letters confirm that Milk-i-Ilu, who was the Amorite princeling ruler of the Ayalon Valley in Years 12-13,"

This is not directed to you, as you have made it clear in the past you completely reject the scholarly chronologies of the Amarna letters written by K.A. Kitchen, E.F Campbell, Redford and others and prefer your own reconstruction.

However, every once in a while some should set the record straight for the other readers of this site. A brief synopsis:

You often refer to Milk-i-lu, Placing him in Years 12-14 and beyond in your personal reconstruction of the Amarna period. Readers should know the Egyptian commissioner of Milkilu's time was Yanhamu. Milkilu was killed in an uprising that swept away several rulers, (Abdi Heba, ruler of Jerusalem, for example is never heard from again after the uprising)...something you, Mr Stinehart, never mention. 

Yanhamu is transferred to Sumer after the murder of commissioner Pawuru by Aziru, and a new commissioner, Maya is put in place as commissioner with the successor Milikilu of Gezer. 

The point is this. According to E. F. Campbell in his book "the Chronology of the Amarna letters"...from which all the details are taken,  ALL of Maya's letters from Gezer were written before Year 9 of Akhenaten. By then Maya had fallen into disgrace, was removed from office and his tomb defaced.

Long story short...Milkilu was dead long before Year 9 of Akenaten, you of course have him living into Year 12 and beyond supposedly interacting with Abraham....

ANYONE call do a search on the internet and elsewhere and read of Maya's fall and when it took place and conclude your notion of Milkilu alive in Year 12 is nothing more than fantasy.

I cannot find a single incidence of historical accuracy in your Amarna theory

You frequently claim the Syrian war took place in Year 14 of Akhenaten

You refer to Abimilki's (ruler of Tyre)letter 155 and his mention of Meritaten, the new Egyptian Queen, as support. However, Mr. Kitchen and others write that letter 155 of Abimilki was the LAST of all his letters, and based on all the incidents Abimilki relates in previous letters the Syrian war took place no later than Year 12 of Akhenaten.

Mr Kitchen also states that Cyril Aldred's (your hero) theory of a coregency makes it impossible for the Syrian war to take place in any other year but Year 12.

Incidentally, Abimilki write in Letter 155 that he and his people were leaving Tyre due to lack of water, and that the ruler of Beruta had already fled. Beruta was, of course, the place where Ribaddi spent 4 months in hiding before he was betrayed by Aziru and murdered... the incident that prompted Akhenaten to demand Aziru come to Egypt. ... and these events  took place AFTER the Syrian war.

You really should try reading Mr Kitchen's book..."Suppililiuma and the Amarna Pharaohs"

I have seen numerous errors in your reconstruction of the Amarna period. For example you often claim Labayu, ruler of Shechem, was alive in Year 14 of Akhenaten and was thus the reason Abraham went West and Lot East . 

Campbell, Moran, Kitchen and a host of others place Labayu's death in about year 36 of Akhenaten's father,even earlier, and before the death of Abdi Ashirta which also took place under Amenophis lll.

   For the uninitiated, Akhenatten's father, Amenophis lll basically "cleaned house" in his last years in response to rebellions and uprisings and several people Mr Stinehart claims lived to Year 14 and beyond were actually dead....including Milkilu, Labayu, and others.

There are simply too many other errors on your part, Mr Stinehart, to go any further.  However, the readers should be made aware there is simply no correlation between your version of the Amarna period and that of historians.

   A few minutes in a library is all it would take to discredit your theory.

Rob Acosta