The DeLamar nugget. [volume] (DeLamar, Idaho) 1891-1900, 1891-05-05

Ancient Tablets Exhumed In the
Land OF Egypt.


The Smithsonian institution has just
received information Of the recent dis
covery at Tel-el-Amaria, in Upper
Egypt, of number of tablets relating
to the history Of Jerusalem and dating
back six hundred years earlier than any
records hitherto known. When it Is
understood that these tablets of stone
are letters passed between the King of
Jerusalem and the Pharaoh of Egypt
four hundred years before the birth of
David, who was the father of Solomon,
some notion will be formed of their ex-
treme interest. These letters were
written, so DR.. Cyrus Adler told writ
er for the Washington Star, about the
year 1900 B. c., and cast a great light
upon the relations of Egypt at that
before Jerusalem was captured by the
Jews.
At that time Palestine was a fedora
ton of independent cities, each q
which, like Jerusalem, was governed ~
a 'prefect"-this word meaning literal
ly 'sking of city" Nevertheless, these
towns paid tribute to the Pharoah.
and it was IN relation to this tribut;
that several of the letters found were
addressed to the ruler of Egypt by the
:zi4Ag of Jerusalem, Abdi-Taba. In
them he tries to explain, with due re-
spect, that he occupies more indie
pendent position than the other pre-
fects and ought to be treated according
ly. For example, in one missive he
says:
Behold, this city of Jerusalem Meth
er my father nor my mother has given
unto me, but the call of mighty King"
This refers to the ancient custom in
Palestine by which rulers were some
posed divine call and without any ref
erence to hereditary law. Having been
summoned to his throne by the Deity,
Abdi-Taba argued that he should be
treated more leniently with regard to
tribute. In another OF the letters he
says:
Behold. neither my fas,cr ro- my
mother has appointed M t. thu i'lace.
but the mighty King has n de- IL
enter into the house of my f..tacgs."
That the mighty Ks.-e;' spoken of
was the Deity is proved by the fact that
to Him as authority is referred al oracle
inscribed upon another ttbIet. which
says that: CAS- long as q ship s.4ils
upon the sea, SO long will Mesopotaln..s
and Babylonia conquer"
The chief aim of the three other let
ters written by Abdi-Taba IS to ask tie
Pharaoh for military AID against the
foreign conquerors invatin'y Palestine.
and especially the district Of Jerusalem.
These warlike strangers he calls people
of Habri-iu other words. they were
Hebrews. 1t seems hardly probable
that the Hebrews as nation should
have invaded Palestine at so early :.
date. and SO it is likely thar these We're
some advanced tribes of Israel which
settled down west of the Jordan and
made incursions from time to time. In
one of his letters on this subject Abdi-
Taba says:
''The Habri people are conquering
the cities of the King"--i. c., the cities
tributary to the Observation-Disclosures
the King may turn His face to His sub
jects and send troops. If the troops ar
rive this year the countries of the |
King, my Lord, may be saved, but if |
no troops arrive the countries of the |
King, my Lord, will exist no longer"
This tremendous find" at Tel-el-
Amaria includes two hundred tablets,
largely of Babylonian cuneiform script,
which is thus discovered for the first
time to have been in use at SO early
period in Egypt and Palestine. Many
of the other tablets are dispatches of
about the same date from projects of
other cities of Palestine to the Pharaoh.
Some of the inscriptions are in an un-
known language which no one has SO
far been able to translate. 1t is funny
to think that Solomon himself would
have looked upon these tablets as re-
mote antiquities.