... Fresh examination of the Egyptian evidence changes everything. Whether or not Yahweh could already have existed as a divine name near 1400 BCE, the reference here is not first of all to the god but to a specified unit of what an Egyptian scribe designated “Shasu-land.” The Egyptian evidence derives from a single military encounter, and the older version, from the reign of Amenhotep III, lacks any indication of a southern setting, leaving this to be reconstructed from the later Ramses II text. What is most important in any case is the identification of Yhwʒ as part of the Shasu. This material is by far older than all other evidence, and if the name indeed matches the divine name, as many have concluded, no account of Yahweh's roots can begin elsewhere. Further, my interpretation includes new observations that point discussion in previously unimagined directions, and the reader will benefit from knowing from the start what I have done with Yhwʒ. This is indeed “before Israel.” ...