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Ancient Israel

A reference page linking a name, group, or concept to the materials that discuss it.

A name for an ancient population and later historical traditions, attested on the Merneptah Stele.

Plate of the Merneptah inscription published by Petrie in 1897: a historical drawing in mirrored orientation. This witness contains the name Israel; the image depicts neither the community nor its beliefs
Plate of the Merneptah inscription published by Petrie in 1897: a historical drawing in mirrored orientation. This witness contains the name Israel; the image depicts neither the community nor its beliefsW. M. Flinders Petrie, 1897 · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · Public domainLicense · Image source

Text

This entry concerns ancient Israel, not the modern state. The Merneptah SteleMerneptah SteleAn Egyptian royal inscription containing an early external attestation of the name Israel.Glossary · Click to read the explanation provides an early external attestation of the name around 1208 BCE, with slight chronological variation. The final element of the name is El; the meaning of the full name has several analyses. The inscription does not by itself establish the group’s religious beliefs. [1]

References and notes

  1. Richard C. Steiner, Merenptah’s Israel, Studies in Ancient Cultures 3 (2024) Merneptah’s inscription and fifth regnal year, approximately 1208 BCE depending on chronology. It does not identify the group’s deity. Return to the text ↑

Research history

Substantive changes are retained here. Minor copy edits remain in the internal operational log.

  1. Edition 2 · 10 October 2026 · editor:aladmin

    Substantive record update

    Read this revision in its original language (Arabic)

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IL Archive, «Ancient Israel», Edition 2, https://ilarchive.com/en/entities/israel