The Amarna Letters

Rating:
Summary: At Last
Review: If you've been tantalized over the years by references to the Amarna Letters in scholarly works, and disappointed by the few examples in Pritchards, here they are, finally and completely, in all their repetitious, formulaic, fragmentary glory. This isn't exactly light reading, due ancient prose style, the condition of the tablets and the limitations of the translators, but the letters do provide a unique window into a small period of the Bronze Age. Particularly compelling (and annoying!) are the 70 or so letters of the perpetually beleaguered mayor Rib Hadda, who was apparently under siege and begging for help from Pharaoh for several years straight. Besides letters from mayors of towns under Egypt's influence, there are some from Assyrian kings, and a couple from Pharaoh himself. Fundamentalists often refer to the references to the Apiru in these letters as evidence of the Hebrews, but once you read these, it becomes apparent that the Apiru designate mercenary outlaws who ranged throughout Canaan, Syria and Anatolia. Why anybody would want to claim that these Bronze Age Hole-In-The-Wall- James-Gang-type outlaws were God's chosen people is a mystery to me. Anyway, it was great to finally read these letters for myself.

Rating:
Summary: It is really all you have if you don't know Akkadian
Review: Not being able to read Akkadian at the time that I write this article, Moran is really all I have. It is just about the only book that I know of that has enough of the Amarna tablets (all of the 'letters') to be a handy reference for an armchair-scholar like myself to begin to answer the many fascinating problems and questions surrounding these texts. I have discussed the Amarna letters via this translation with a number of respected Old Testament and Ancient Near East scholars who, though knowing Hebrew, Aramaic, etc., are not adept enough with Akkadian to seriously study the cuneiform. Among those people, Moran is considered the final authority, though we are fully aware of the great many criticisms that our Assyriologist brethren (who read the Akkadian fluently) have of Moran's methods of translation. If you don't read Akkadian then you will have to share this book with a number of Hebrew and Near East scholars who also have to trust it. But be warned, those who read Akkadian do not have much good to say about it. I would not be suprized if another such translation appears in the near future. To Moran's credit, I am well-familiar with the egos in academia and this book's detractors may well be denouncing Moran's work in order to make a name for themselves or get their own books and articles published. Academia, much like Hollywood, is founded on fame and good repute. Over all, the book has given me access to the Amarna letters and for that I am thankful, but I have heard enough sceptical talk about the book to make me keep my eye out for another translation.

Concerning content, the book is well organized and has excellent indexes for looking up biblical names of people, cities, tribes, Middle Eastern gods, etc. There is a fairly extensive article at the beginning which tries to date the tablets and talk about the character of their language. Except for the criticisms of the translation, the book is very well put together. Lastly, if you haven't gathered as much from my earlier commentary, there is no cuneiform in the book. It is strictly and English translation.

Rating:
Summary: Necessary tool for historical studies of Egypt, Israel, ANE
Review: Tel El Amarna is the modern name of where the Nile capital of Egypt once stood. Egypt was briefly ruled from this location by Pharaoh Amenhotep IV (1352 - 1336 B.C. 18th Dynasty). Amenhotep, meaning "Amon is satisfied", took on the name Akhenaton, "he who is serviceable to Aton", when he exalted Aton by making the cult of the sun disc the primary religion of Egypt. Under Akenaton the capital city of Egypt was moved from Thebes to Akhetaton, "the horizon of Aton."

This new capital city was later abandoned by Tutankhamen when Egypt returned to her old orthodoxy. Akhetaton was never re-occupied in any significant way, and in her ruins were found hundreds of administrative documents known as the Amarna tablets (the first batch found in 1887 by locals). These cuneiform (wedge-writing) tablets are, primarily, communications from Asiatic kings to Egypt.

Moran has done a superb job in giving the English speaking world access to the Amarna letters. To my knowledge, this book is the first single volume collection of these important letters in English! Moran is to be thanked.

Among other things, these letters are useful to the historian for studies of Canaan during the Israel conquest period. For example, the letters are full of requests for help from Canaanite kings to Egypt concerning a mysterious people called the ha-BI-ru (Hebrews?). Note: To assist us in reading these letters in terms of the ha-Bi-ru and their relationship to Israel, we have three informative articles by M. G. Kline published in the Westminster Theological Journal in issues 18, 19 and 20. He concludes that the ha-Bi-ru are a "scourge employed by Yahweh to chastise the Israelites for their failure to prosecute the mandate of conquest."

From Moran's work, other Biblical connections await the careful reader. For example, in reading one of the letters, I came across the phrase referring to the realm of the "Great King" as existing "from the rising of the Sun to its setting." Which is an idea that shows up almost word for word in Malachi and one of the Psalms. If I were industrious, I could work on the underlying languages to see if the connection is valid; at this point I should note that the Amarna letters are available on the internet in transliterated form -- produced by Shlomo Izre'el and located on the Tel Aviv University web site. This simple example, however, should give one an idea of the potential of Moran's work for the non-specialist (of which I am one).

Outside of Biblical studies, the Amarna letters provide a rare glimpse of Egypt in her relations with vassals, allies and enemies. The letters are not only informative, but even entertaining at times as we get to see kings wrangling over gift-wives and diplomatic miscues.

In the first section, Moran gives an introduction to the history of the letters and the site itself. However, for a more readable introduction, see Pfeiffer's, Tell El Amarna and the Bible.

For the specialists, Moran has provided technical footnotes throughout; his translations are defended where needed. All in all, this book seems indispensable to anyone who would want to investigate the Amarna tablets (from the casual historian to the advanced linguist).

Rating:
Summary: Necessary tool for historical studies of Egypt, Israel, ANE
Review: Tel El Amarna is the modern name of where the Nile capital of Egypt once stood. Egypt was briefly ruled from this location by Pharaoh Amenhotep IV (1352 - 1336 B.C. 18th Dynasty). Amenhotep, meaning "Amon is satisfied", took on the name Akhenaton, "he who is serviceable to Aton", when he exalted Aton by making the cult of the sun disc the primary religion of Egypt. Under Akenaton the capital city of Egypt was moved from Thebes to Akhetaton, "the horizon of Aton."

This new capital city was later abandoned by Tutankhamen when Egypt returned to her old orthodoxy. Akhetaton was never re-occupied in any significant way, and in her ruins were found hundreds of administrative documents known as the Amarna tablets (the first batch found in 1887 by locals). These cuneiform (wedge-writing) tablets are, primarily, communications from Asiatic kings to Egypt.

Moran has done a superb job in giving the English speaking world access to the Amarna letters. To my knowledge, this book is the first single volume collection of these important letters in English! Moran is to be thanked.

Among other things, these letters are useful to the historian for studies of Canaan during the Israel conquest period. For example, the letters are full of requests for help from Canaanite kings to Egypt concerning a mysterious people called the ha-BI-ru (Hebrews?). Note: To assist us in reading these letters in terms of the ha-Bi-ru and their relationship to Israel, we have three informative articles by M. G. Kline published in the Westminster Theological Journal in issues 18, 19 and 20. He concludes that the ha-Bi-ru are a "scourge employed by Yahweh to chastise the Israelites for their failure to prosecute the mandate of conquest."

From Moran's work, other Biblical connections await the careful reader. For example, in reading one of the letters, I came across the phrase referring to the realm of the "Great King" as existing "from the rising of the Sun to its setting." Which is an idea that shows up almost word for word in Malachi and one of the Psalms. If I were industrious, I could work on the underlying languages to see if the connection is valid; at this point I should note that the Amarna letters are available on the internet in transliterated form -- produced by Shlomo Izre'el and located on the Tel Aviv University web site. This simple example, however, should give one an idea of the potential of Moran's work for the non-specialist (of which I am one).

Outside of Biblical studies, the Amarna letters provide a rare glimpse of Egypt in her relations with vassals, allies and enemies. The letters are not only informative, but even entertaining at times as we get to see kings wrangling over gift-wives and diplomatic miscues.

In the first section, Moran gives an introduction to the history of the letters and the site itself. However, for a more readable introduction, see Pfeiffer's, Tell El Amarna and the Bible.

For the specialists, Moran has provided technical footnotes throughout; his translations are defended where needed. All in all, this book seems indispensable to anyone who would want to investigate the Amarna tablets (from the casual historian to the advanced linguist).