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The ancient Egyptian Soleb Inscription lists Yhw among the southern lands of the Shasu nomads, the earliest trace of the divine name outside the Bible. Deuteronomy 33 describes God’s origin in that same region, coming from the south, from Seir and Paran.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Soleb Inscription
Soleb Topographical List
Ancient Near East
From the inscriptions on the columns of the hypostyle hall of the temple of Amun-Re at Soleb, built by Amenhotep III. Column N4 preserves a list of subdivisions within the “Shasu-land” (ta shasu), a regional designation for mobile pastoralist communities in the southern Levant. ta shasu trbr (Shasu-land: Trbr) ta shasu yhwʒ (Shasu-land: Yhwʒ) ta shasu smt (Shasu-land: Smt) pyspʒys (Pyspys)
Deuteronomy 33:2
Hebrew Bible
1 This is the blessing Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death. 2 He said: “The Lord came from Sinai and revealed himself to Israel from Seir. He appeared in splendor from Mount Paran, and came forth with ten thousand holy ones. With his right hand he gave a fiery law to them. 3 Surely he loves the people; all your holy ones are in your hand8. And they sit at your feet, each receiving your words.
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Notes and References
... for the knowledge in Egyptian texts of the Late Bronze Age of a deity called "Yhw" in connection with the Shasu nomads of southern Transjordan. After all, it was there, in the "land of Midian," according to the Bible, that Moses learned of the existence of this deity in one view from his father-in-law. And numerous later biblical passages depict Yahweh, the God of Israel, "coming forth from Seir" (that is, southern Edom; see Judges 5:4 and Deuteronomy 33:2). For these reasons, even some rather radical scholars would take seriously the notion that some of these "Shasu of Yhw" were among the tribal peoples who became early Israel, and that they may indeed have been guided through the desert by a charismatic, sheikh-like leader with the Egyptian name of "Moses." ...
Dever, William G.
Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From?
(p. 261) William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2003
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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