Habiru (sometimes written as Hapiru, and more accurately as ʿApiru, meaning "dusty, dirty";[1]Sumerian: 𒊓𒄤, sagaz; Akkadian: 𒄩𒁉𒊒, ḫabiru or ʿaperu) is a term used in 2nd-millennium BCE texts throughout the Fertile Crescent for people variously described as rebels, outlaws, raiders, mercenaries, bowmen, servants, slaves, and laborers.[1][2][3][4][5]
Cuneiform of Sumerian SA.GAZ and corresponding West Semitic ha-bi-ru
In the time of Rim-Sin I (1822 BCE to 1763 BCE), the Sumerians knew a group of Aramaean nomads living in southern Mesopotamia as SA.GAZ, which meant "robbers".[6] The later Akkadians inherited the term, which was rendered in their phonetic system as Habiru, more properly ʿApiru. The term occurs in hundreds of 2nd millennium BCE documents covering a 600-year period from the 18th to the 12th centuries BCE and found at sites ranging from Egypt, Canaan and Syria, to Nuzi (near Kirkuk in northern Iraq) and Anatolia (Turkey).[7][8]
Not all Habiru were murderers and robbers:[9] in the 18th century BCE a north Syrian king named Irkabtum (c. 1740 BCE) "made peace with [the warlord] Shemuba and his Habiru,"[10] while the ʿApiru, Idrimi of Alalakh, was the son of a deposed king, and formed a band of ʿApiru to make himself king of Alalakh.[11] What Idrimi shared with the other ʿApiru was membership of an inferior social class of outlaws, mercenaries, and slaves leading a marginal and sometimes lawless existence on the fringes of settled society.[12] ʿApiru had no common ethnic affiliations and no common language, their personal names being most frequently West Semitic, but also East Semitic, Hurrian or Indo-European.[12][13]
Areas of reported Habiru activity during the Late Bronze IIA period (based on the Amarna letters corpus)
In the Amarna letters from the 14th century BCE, the petty kings of Canaan describe them sometimes as outlaws, sometimes as mercenaries, sometimes as day-labourers and servants.[3] Usually they are socially marginal, but Rib-Hadda of Byblos calls Abdi-Ashirta of Amurru (modern Lebanon) and his son ʿApiru, with the implication that they have rebelled against their common overlord, the Pharaoh.[3] In "The Conquest of Joppa" (modern Jaffa), an Egyptian work of historical fiction from around 1440 BCE, they appear as brigands, and General Djehuty asks at one point that his horses be taken inside the city lest they be stolen by a passing ʿApir.[14][broken footnote]
Habiru and the biblical Hebrews
The biblical word "Hebrew", like Habiru, began as a social category, and evolved into an ethnic one. [15] Since the discovery of the 2nd millennium BCE inscriptions mentioning the Habiru, there have been many theories linking these to the Hebrews of the Bible.[6]
As pointed out by Moore and Kelle, while the ʿApiru/Habiru may be related to the biblical Hebrews, they also appear to be composed of many different peoples, including nomadic Shasu and Shutu, the biblical Midianites, Kenites, and Amalekites, as well as displaced peasants and pastoralists.[16][17]
Scholars such as Anson Rainey have noted, however, that while ʿApiru covered the regions from Nuzi to Anatolia as well as Northern Syria, Canaan and Egypt, they were never confused with Shutu (Sutu) or Shasu (Shosu), Syrian pastoral nomads in the Amarna letters or other texts of the time.[18]
Coote, Robert B. (2000). "Hapiru, Apiru". In Freedman, David Noel; Myers, Allen C. (eds.). Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Eerdmans. ISBN9789053565032.
Finkelstein, Israel; Silberman, Neil Asher (2007). David and Solomon: In Search of the Bible's Sacred Kings and the Roots of the Western Tradition. Simon and Schuster. ISBN9780743243636.
Moore, Megan B.; Kelle, Brad E. (2011). Biblical History and Israel's Past: The Changing Study of the Bible and History. Grand Rapids, Michigan; Cambridge, UK. ISBN9780802862600.
Na'aman, Nadav (2005). Canaan in the Second Millennium B.C.E. Eisenbrauns. ISBN9781575061139.
Rainey, Anson F. (2008). "Who Were the Early Israelites?" (PDF). Biblical Archaeology Review. 34:06 (Nov/Dec 2008): 51–55.
Rainey, Anson F. (1995). "Unruly Elements in Late Bronze Canaanite Society". In Wright, David Pearson; Freedman, David Noel; Hurvitz, Avi (eds.). Pomegranates and Golden Bells. Eisenbrauns. ISBN9780931464874.
Redmount, Carol A. (2001). "Bitter Lives". In Michael David, Coogan (ed.). The Oxford History of the Biblical World. Oxford University Press. ISBN9780195139372.
Van der Steen, Eveline J. (2004). Tribes and Territories in Transition. Peeters Publishers. ISBN9789042913851.
Youngblood, Ronald (2005). "The Amarna Letters and the "Habiru"". In Carnagey, Glenn A.; Schoville, Keith N. (eds.). Beyond the Jordan: Studies in Honor of W. Harold Mare. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN9781597520690.
March 03, 2023
habiru, sometimes, written, hapiru, more, accurately, ʿapiru, meaning, dusty, dirty, sumerian, 𒊓𒄤, sagaz, akkadian, 𒄩𒁉𒊒, ḫabiru, ʿaperu, term, used, millennium, texts, throughout, fertile, crescent, people, variously, described, rebels, outlaws, raiders, merce. Habiru sometimes written as Hapiru and more accurately as ʿApiru meaning dusty dirty 1 Sumerian 𒊓𒄤 sagaz Akkadian 𒄩𒁉𒊒 ḫabiru or ʿaperu is a term used in 2nd millennium BCE texts throughout the Fertile Crescent for people variously described as rebels outlaws raiders mercenaries bowmen servants slaves and laborers 1 2 3 4 5 Cuneiform of Sumerian SA GAZ and corresponding West Semitic ha bi ru Contents 1 Hapiru Habiru and Apiru 2 Habiru and the biblical Hebrews 3 See also 4 References 4 1 Citations 4 2 BibliographyHapiru Habiru and Apiru Edit Idrimi of Alalakh King of the Habiru In the time of Rim Sin I 1822 BCE to 1763 BCE the Sumerians knew a group of Aramaean nomads living in southern Mesopotamia as SA GAZ which meant robbers 6 The later Akkadians inherited the term which was rendered in their phonetic system as Habiru more properly ʿApiru The term occurs in hundreds of 2nd millennium BCE documents covering a 600 year period from the 18th to the 12th centuries BCE and found at sites ranging from Egypt Canaan and Syria to Nuzi near Kirkuk in northern Iraq and Anatolia Turkey 7 8 Not all Habiru were murderers and robbers 9 in the 18th century BCE a north Syrian king named Irkabtum c 1740 BCE made peace with the warlord Shemuba and his Habiru 10 while the ʿApiru Idrimi of Alalakh was the son of a deposed king and formed a band of ʿApiru to make himself king of Alalakh 11 What Idrimi shared with the other ʿApiru was membership of an inferior social class of outlaws mercenaries and slaves leading a marginal and sometimes lawless existence on the fringes of settled society 12 ʿApiru had no common ethnic affiliations and no common language their personal names being most frequently West Semitic but also East Semitic Hurrian or Indo European 12 13 Areas of reported Habiru activity during the Late Bronze IIA period based on the Amarna letters corpus In the Amarna letters from the 14th century BCE the petty kings of Canaan describe them sometimes as outlaws sometimes as mercenaries sometimes as day labourers and servants 3 Usually they are socially marginal but Rib Hadda of Byblos calls Abdi Ashirta of Amurru modern Lebanon and his son ʿApiru with the implication that they have rebelled against their common overlord the Pharaoh 3 In The Conquest of Joppa modern Jaffa an Egyptian work of historical fiction from around 1440 BCE they appear as brigands and General Djehuty asks at one point that his horses be taken inside the city lest they be stolen by a passing ʿApir 14 broken footnote Habiru and the biblical Hebrews EditThe biblical word Hebrew like Habiru began as a social category and evolved into an ethnic one 15 Since the discovery of the 2nd millennium BCE inscriptions mentioning the Habiru there have been many theories linking these to the Hebrews of the Bible 6 As pointed out by Moore and Kelle while the ʿApiru Habiru may be related to the biblical Hebrews they also appear to be composed of many different peoples including nomadic Shasu and Shutu the biblical Midianites Kenites and Amalekites as well as displaced peasants and pastoralists 16 17 Scholars such as Anson Rainey have noted however that while ʿApiru covered the regions from Nuzi to Anatolia as well as Northern Syria Canaan and Egypt they were never confused with Shutu Sutu or Shasu Shosu Syrian pastoral nomads in the Amarna letters or other texts of the time 18 See also Edit Ancient Egypt portal Asia portalAhlamu Foreign relations of Egypt during the Amarna periodReferences EditCitations Edit a b Rainey 2008 p 51 Coote 2000 p 549 a b c McLaughlin 2012 p 36 Finkelstein amp Silberman 2007 p 44 Noll 2001 p 124 a b Smith Homer W 1952 Man and His Gods New York Grosset amp Dunlap p 89 Rainey 2008 p 52 Rainey 2005 p 134 135 sfn error no target CITEREFRainey2005 help Youngblood 2005 p 134 135 Hamblin 2006 p unpaginated Na aman 2005 p 112 a b Redmount 2001 p 98 Coote 2000 p 549 550 Mannassa 2013 p 5 75 107 sfn error no target CITEREFMannassa2013 help Blenkinsopp 2009 p 19 Moore amp Kelle 2011 p 125 Rainey 1995 p 483 Rainey 1995 p 490 Bibliography Edit Blenkinsopp Joseph 2009 Judaism the First Phase The Place of Ezra and Nehemiah in the Origins of Judaism Eerdmans ISBN 9780802864505 Collins John J 2014 A Short Introduction to the Hebrew Bible Fortress Press ISBN 9781451484359 Coote Robert B 2000 Hapiru Apiru In Freedman David Noel Myers Allen C eds Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible Eerdmans ISBN 9789053565032 Finkelstein Israel Silberman Neil Asher 2007 David and Solomon In Search of the Bible s Sacred Kings and the Roots of the Western Tradition Simon and Schuster ISBN 9780743243636 Hamblin William J 2006 Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC Routledge ISBN 9781134520626 Lemche Niels Peter 2010 The A to Z of Ancient Israel Scarecrow Press ISBN 9781461671725 Manassa Colleen 2013 Imagining the Past Historical Fiction in New Kingdom Egypt Oxford University Press ISBN 9780199982226 McKenzie John L 1995 The Dictionary Of The Bible Simon and Schuster ISBN 9780684819136 McLaughlin John L 2012 The Ancient Near East Abingdon Press ISBN 9781426765506 Moore Megan B Kelle Brad E 2011 Biblical History and Israel s Past The Changing Study of the Bible and History Grand Rapids Michigan Cambridge UK ISBN 9780802862600 Na aman Nadav 2005 Canaan in the Second Millennium B C E Eisenbrauns ISBN 9781575061139 Noll K L 2001 Canaan and Israel in Antiquity An Introduction A amp C Black ISBN 9781841273181 Rainey Anson F 2008 Who Were the Early Israelites PDF Biblical Archaeology Review 34 06 Nov Dec 2008 51 55 Rainey Anson F 1995 Unruly Elements in Late Bronze Canaanite Society In Wright David Pearson Freedman David Noel Hurvitz Avi eds Pomegranates and Golden Bells Eisenbrauns ISBN 9780931464874 Redmount Carol A 2001 Bitter Lives In Michael David Coogan ed The Oxford History of the Biblical World Oxford University Press ISBN 9780195139372 Van der Steen Eveline J 2004 Tribes and Territories in Transition Peeters Publishers ISBN 9789042913851 Youngblood Ronald 2005 The Amarna Letters and the Habiru In Carnagey Glenn A Schoville Keith N eds Beyond the Jordan Studies in Honor of W Harold Mare Wipf and Stock Publishers ISBN 9781597520690 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Habiru amp oldid 1118167020, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
