Shasu
Encyclopedia
Shasu is an Egyptian
word for pastoral nomad
s who appeared in the Levant
and Arabia from the fifteenth century BCE all the way to the Third Intermediate Period. The name evolved from a transliteration
of the Egyptian word š3sw, meaning "those who move on foot", into the term for Bedouin
-type wanderers. The term first originated in a fifteenth century list of peoples in Transjordan
. It is used in a list of enemies inscribed on column bases at the temple of Soleb
built by Amenhotep III
. Copied later by either Seti I
or Ramesses II
at Amarah-West, the list mentions six groups of Shashu: the Shasu of S'rr, the Shasu of Lbn, the Shasu of Sm't, the Shasu of Wrbr, the Shasu of Yhw, and the Shasu of Pysps.
, and antedates the hitherto oldest occurrence of that Divine Name - on the Moabite Stone - by over five hundred years." Donald B. Redford
concludes that the people who would eventually be the "Israel" recorded on the Merneptah Stele
, and that later formed the Kingdom of Israel, were at one time known to the Egyptians as a Shasu tribe. Rainey supports this view with texts from the el-Armana letters
.
The proposed link between the Israelites and the Shasu may, however, be undermined by the fact that in the Merneptah reliefs, the group later known as the Israelites are not described or depicted as Shasu. Some scholars like Frank J. Yurco and Michael G. Hasel identify the Shasu in Merneptah's Karnak reliefs as a separate entity from Israel since they wear different clothing, hairstyles, and are determined differently by Egyptian scribes. Moreover, Israel is determined as a people, or socioethnic group. The most frequent designation for the "foes of Shasu" is the hill-country
determinative. Thus they are differentiated from the Canaanites, who are defending the fortified cities of Ashkelon
, Gezer
, and Yenoam. At the same time, the hill-country determinative is not always used for Shasu, as is the case in the "Shasu of Yhw" name rings from Soleb and Amarah-West.
Egyptian language
Egyptian is the oldest known indigenous language of Egypt and a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. Written records of the Egyptian language have been dated from about 3400 BC, making it one of the oldest recorded languages known. Egyptian was spoken until the late 17th century AD in the...
word for pastoral nomad
Nomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
s who appeared in the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
and Arabia from the fifteenth century BCE all the way to the Third Intermediate Period. The name evolved from a transliteration
Transliteration of ancient Egyptian
In the field of Egyptology, transliteration is the process of converting texts written in the Egyptian language to alphabetic symbols representing uniliteral hieroglyphs or their hieratic and demotic counterparts...
of the Egyptian word š3sw, meaning "those who move on foot", into the term for Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
-type wanderers. The term first originated in a fifteenth century list of peoples in Transjordan
Transjordan
The Emirate of Transjordan was a former Ottoman territory in the Southern Levant that was part of the British Mandate of Palestine...
. It is used in a list of enemies inscribed on column bases at the temple of Soleb
Soleb
Soleb is an antique town in Nubia, today's Sudan. The place lies something to the south of the third Nile cataract on the western side.The place owns a big temple from sandstone which has been established by Amenhotep III. It is the known temple most southern up to now of this king. It was...
built by Amenhotep III
Amenhotep III
Amenhotep III also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty. According to different authors, he ruled Egypt from June 1386 to 1349 BC or June 1388 BC to December 1351 BC/1350 BC after his father Thutmose IV died...
. Copied later by either Seti I
Seti I
Menmaatre Seti I was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt , the son of Ramesses I and Queen Sitre, and the father of Ramesses II...
or Ramesses II
Ramesses II
Ramesses II , referred to as Ramesses the Great, was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty. He is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire...
at Amarah-West, the list mentions six groups of Shashu: the Shasu of S'rr, the Shasu of Lbn, the Shasu of Sm't, the Shasu of Wrbr, the Shasu of Yhw, and the Shasu of Pysps.
"Shasu of Yhw"
Regarding the "Shasu of Yhw," Astour has observed that the "hieroglyphic rendering corresponds very precisely to the Hebrew tetragrammaton YHWH, or YahwehYahweh
Yahweh is the name of God in the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jews and Christians.The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the Hebrew , transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for which the original pronunciation is unknown...
, and antedates the hitherto oldest occurrence of that Divine Name - on the Moabite Stone - by over five hundred years." Donald B. Redford
Donald B. Redford
Donald B. Redford is a Canadian Egyptologist and archaeologist, currently Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies at Pennsylvania State University. He is married to Susan Redford, who is also an Egyptologist currently teaching classes at the university...
concludes that the people who would eventually be the "Israel" recorded on the Merneptah Stele
Merneptah Stele
The Merneptah Stele — also known as the Israel Stele or Victory Stele of Merneptah — is an inscription by the Ancient Egyptian king Merneptah , which appears on the reverse side of a granite stele erected by the king Amenhotep III...
, and that later formed the Kingdom of Israel, were at one time known to the Egyptians as a Shasu tribe. Rainey supports this view with texts from the el-Armana letters
Amarna letters
The Amarna letters are an archive of correspondence on clay tablets, mostly diplomatic, between the Egyptian administration and its representatives in Canaan and Amurru during the New Kingdom...
.
The proposed link between the Israelites and the Shasu may, however, be undermined by the fact that in the Merneptah reliefs, the group later known as the Israelites are not described or depicted as Shasu. Some scholars like Frank J. Yurco and Michael G. Hasel identify the Shasu in Merneptah's Karnak reliefs as a separate entity from Israel since they wear different clothing, hairstyles, and are determined differently by Egyptian scribes. Moreover, Israel is determined as a people, or socioethnic group. The most frequent designation for the "foes of Shasu" is the hill-country
Hill-country (hieroglyph)
The ancient Egyptian hill-country hieroglyph is a member of the sky, earth, and water hieroglyphs. A form of the hieroglyph in color, has a green line- at the base of the hieroglyph...
determinative. Thus they are differentiated from the Canaanites, who are defending the fortified cities of Ashkelon
Ashkelon
Ashkelon is a coastal city in the South District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip. The ancient seaport of Ashkelon dates back to the Neolithic Age...
, Gezer
Gezer
Gezer was a Canaanite city-state and biblical town in ancient Israel. Tel Gezer , an archaeological site midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, is now an Israeli national park....
, and Yenoam. At the same time, the hill-country determinative is not always used for Shasu, as is the case in the "Shasu of Yhw" name rings from Soleb and Amarah-West.