Avaris 'Asiatic Official' Statue and Tomb
A smashed statue of a Semitic dignitary in a striped coat, beside a twelve-pillared house
Found 1986 — Manfred Bietak and Robert Schiestl (Austrian mission, Area F/I)
Where Tell el-Dab'a, Area F/I (Egypt)
Dates from c. 1800–1700 BCE · Middle Bronze Age IIA (late 12th–13th Dynasty) · Sojourn (the generation of Yosef, in some reconstructions)
Now at Fragments stored with the Austrian mission at Tell el-Dab'a; not on public display
How Avaris 'Asiatic Official' Statue and Tomb was found
Fragments of a large limestone seated statue were found in a robbers' pit in the chapel of a tomb attached to a small palace. The tomb itself was empty. An earlier building on the spot had a hall with twelve pillars.
What it is
Pieces of a seated limestone statue about twice life size. The man has yellow skin (the Egyptian color for Asiatics), red mushroom-shaped hair, a throw-stick of office on his shoulder, and a coat painted in stripes of red, black and white. The statue had been deliberately broken.
Why it matters for the Bible
Some popular writers (notably in the film 'Patterns of Evidence') identify the statue as Yosef (Joseph), pointing to the many-colored coat, the empty tomb, and the twelve pillars as echoes of the twelve tribes. The excavators do not accept this: striped Canaanite garments and mushroom hairstyles are common in Middle Bronze art, and the palace dates before the usual Sojourn timelines. What the find does show is a Semitic man holding high office in Egypt, which is the kind of thing the Yosef story assumes.
The Hebrew word: ke-TOH-net pas-SEEM
כְּתֹנֶת פַּסִּים
כְּתֹנֶת פַּסִּים is pronounced ke-TOH-net pas-SEEM and means the 'coat of many colors' or long-sleeved tunic of Yosef (Strong's H3801 + H6446).
People this discovery connects to
- Joseph — יוֹסֵף (yoh-SEF) — he adds
Places
- Goshen — גֹּשֶׁן (GOH-shen) — region of the eastern Delta
Events
Yosef's rise to power in Egypt · Yosef's bones carried out of Egypt
Avaris 'Asiatic Official' Statue and Tomb in Scripture
Genesis 30:24 First mention of Joseph in Scripture.
Genesis 37:3 The special striped tunic; the statue wears a multicolored Canaanite coat, the source of the popular comparison.
Genesis 41:41-43 Yosef made ruler over Egypt; the statue shows a Semitic man honored with an Egyptian official's monument.
Questions people ask
What is Avaris 'Asiatic Official' Statue and Tomb?
Pieces of a seated limestone statue about twice life size. The man has yellow skin (the Egyptian color for Asiatics), red mushroom-shaped hair, a throw-stick of office on his shoulder, and a coat painted in stripes of red, black and white. The statue had been deliberately broken.
When was Avaris 'Asiatic Official' Statue and Tomb discovered?
It was found in 1986 by Manfred Bietak and Robert Schiestl (Austrian mission, Area F/I), at Tell el-Dab'a, Area F/I.
Where is Avaris 'Asiatic Official' Statue and Tomb today?
Fragments stored with the Austrian mission at Tell el-Dab'a; not on public display.
Which Bible verses does Avaris 'Asiatic Official' Statue and Tomb relate to?
Genesis 30:24, Genesis 37:3, Genesis 41:41-43.
Is Avaris 'Asiatic Official' Statue and Tomb authentic?
The statue and tomb are authentic and well published. Identifying the man as Yosef is a popular claim rejected by the excavators and by nearly all Egyptologists; the twelve-pillared building belongs to an earlier phase than the tomb.
Related discoveries
- מִשְׁנֶהStatue of an Asiatic Official at AvarisA Semitic dignitary honored with a tomb-statue in Egypt
- גֹּשֶׁןAvaris (Tell el-Dab'a)A Semitic city in the eastern Delta, in the land the Bible calls Goshen
- עַצְמוֹתJoseph's Tomb at Shechem (Nablus)The domed shrine where tradition says Yosef's bones were buried; never excavated
- רָעָבThe Famine Stela (Sehel Island)A Ptolemaic rock inscription telling of seven years of famine under Djoser
- מִשְׁנֶהHawara 'Labyrinth' and the Faiyum Works of the 12th DynastyAmenemhat III's vast administrative temple and the land reclamation many link to Yosef's era
- עַבְדִּיאֵלTomb of the Vizier Aper-ElA Semitic-named vizier of Egypt under Amenhotep III and Akhenaten
Sources
- Schiestl, 'The Statue of an Asiatic Man from Tell el-Dab'a', Ägypten und Levante 16 (2006)
- Madain Project: Avaris Statue
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