Egyptian Execration Texts
Curses on Canaanite cities and chiefs from the patriarchal age
Found 1926 — Bowl fragments published by Kurt Sethe (Berlin, 1926); figurines from Saqqara published by Georges Posener (Brussels, 1940); later groups from Mirgissa (1960s)
Where Thebes and Saqqara, Egypt; Mirgissa, Sudan (Egypt)
Dates from c. 1900–1750 BCE · Middle Kingdom, 12th–13th Dynasties · Age of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov
Now at Egyptian Museum, Berlin; Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels; Egyptian Museum, Cairo
How Egyptian Execration Texts was found
Egyptians wrote the names of enemies on red pottery bowls or clay figurines of bound prisoners, then smashed and buried them as a ritual curse. The Berlin bowls were purchased at Thebes; the Brussels figurines came from Saqqara.
What it is
Hundreds of inscribed potsherds and small clay prisoner figurines listing Egypt's enemies by name and city, in hieratic script. The Asiatic sections name places in Canaan and their rulers.
Why it matters for the Bible
These are the earliest Egyptian texts naming cities of the promised land: Jerusalem (Rushalimum), Ashkelon, Shechem, Hazor, Beth-shean, Aphek, Acco, and others, together with their chiefs, who bear West Semitic names like those in Genesis. They show Canaan in the patriarchal period as a land of many small city-states under local rulers—the picture Genesis assumes. The older Berlin group lists several rulers per city; the later Brussels group lists one, which some read as growing urban centralization.
The Hebrew word: shah-LEM
שָׁלֵם
שָׁלֵם is pronounced shah-LEM and means Salem, the early name of Jerusalem (Strong's H8004).
Places
- Jerusalem — יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (ye-roo-shah-LAH-yim) — foundation of peace (traditional)
- Shechem — שְׁכֶם (she-CHEM) — shoulder
Events
Canaanite city-states of the patriarchal age · Malki-Tzedek king of Salem
Egyptian Execration Texts in Scripture
Genesis 14:18 Malki-Tzedek king of Salem; the execration texts are the earliest outside mention of Jerusalem.
Genesis 34:2 Shechem's ruler Chamor in Yaakov's day; the texts name Shechem and its chiefs in this era.
Joshua 10:1 First mention of Jerusalem in Scripture.
Questions people ask
What is Egyptian Execration Texts?
Hundreds of inscribed potsherds and small clay prisoner figurines listing Egypt's enemies by name and city, in hieratic script. The Asiatic sections name places in Canaan and their rulers.
When was Egyptian Execration Texts discovered?
It was found in 1926 by Bowl fragments published by Kurt Sethe (Berlin, 1926); figurines from Saqqara published by Georges Posener (Brussels, 1940); later groups from Mirgissa (1960s), at Thebes and Saqqara, Egypt; Mirgissa, Sudan.
Where is Egyptian Execration Texts today?
Egyptian Museum, Berlin; Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels; Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
Which Bible verses does Egyptian Execration Texts relate to?
Genesis 14:18, Genesis 34:2, Joshua 10:1.
Related discoveries
- תְּעָלָהHezekiah's Tunnel (Siloam Tunnel)533-metre rock-cut water channel bringing the Gihon Spring inside Jerusalem's walls
- חֻרְבָּןJerusalem's 586 BCE Destruction LayerBurnt Room, House of Ahiel, Givati ash and arrowheads — the fall of Jerusalem in the ground
- הַר הַבַּיִתHerodian Western Wall and Temple Mount PlatformThe retaining walls of Herod's expanded Temple enclosure
- נִקְבָּהSiloam InscriptionHebrew record of the moment two tunnelling crews met under Jerusalem
- תְּקִיעָהTrumpeting Place Inscription'To the place of trumpeting…' — a stone from the Temple's southwest corner tower
- הַחוֹמָה הָרְחָבָהThe Broad WallSeven-metre-thick fortification from Hezekiah's expansion of Jerusalem
Sources
- Posener, 'Princes et pays d'Asie et de Nubie' (Brussels, 1940)
- Wikipedia: Execration texts