The Stele of Merneptah and the ancient mention of Israel

The Merneptah Stele in the Kairo Museum. Image by Oltau via Wikimedia Commons.

#Merneptah Stele

The Merneptah Stele is one of the most important and talked about archaeological pieces when talking about the ancient history of Israel

It is a large slab of black granite, more than three meters high, found in 1896 in the funerary temple of Pharaoh Merneptah, in Egypt, by a famous archaeologist called Flinders Petrie.

Merneptah was the son and successor of the even better known Ramses II and ruled Egypt around the end of the 13th century or beginning of the 12th century BC (according to the date most accepted by most scholars).

The inscription on the stone mainly celebrates his great military victory against the Libyans and their allies.

But it is in the last lines of the text that something very special appears: a list of conquests in the region of Canaan (the land that today roughly corresponds to Israel, Palestine, parts of Lebanon and Jordan), where the pharaoh claims to have defeated several cities and peoples.

Among the cities mentioned are Ashquelon, Gezer and Ianoam (probably a location in the north, possibly linked to the region of Bashan).

And then comes the phrase that made the stele famous throughout the world: “Israel is devastated, stripped of its seed” (or, in another very common translation: “Israel is devastated, its grain no longer exists”).

Mention of Israel in the Merneptah Stele. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

What makes this mention so significant is that it is the oldest known reference outside the Bible to the name “Israel”.

And the most interesting thing: the Egyptian text does not speak of Israel as a simple city or a small isolated group.

Hieroglyphics use a special symbol that indicates a people or a nation (and not a fixed place like the other cities mentioned).

This shows that, at the time the stele was written, there was already a group called Israel living in the region of Canaan, with a certain organization and relevance enough to be mentioned in a list of enemies defeated by a pharaoh.

For those who follow the biblical story, this information is very important.

It demonstrates that, around 1200 BC (or a little earlier, depending on the chronology adopted), the people of Israel were already established in the promised land, and were no longer wandering the desert as nomads shortly after leaving Egypt.

This fits well with the traditional chronology of the Bible, which places the conquest of the land in the time of Joshua and the period of the judges shortly thereafter.

Estela Israel

The pharaohs used to greatly exaggerate their victories (it was common in propaganda at the time), so the phrase “Israel is devastated” does not necessarily mean that the people were completely destroyed.

Probably the pharaoh wanted to show strength and say that he managed to cause significant damage.

Even so, the mere fact of mentioning Israel is already strong historical evidence of the existence of this people in that remote era.

Today the Stele of Merneptah is on display in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and continues to be studied by archaeologists, historians and biblical scholars.

For many, it represents an impressive bridge between archeology and Old Testament accounts, showing that, more than 3,200 years ago, the name “Israel” already echoed as a historical reality in the ancient Middle East.

Published in 12/31/2025 06h54

Portuguese version

Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption. Information about DOI, author and institution can be found in the body of the article.

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