Amarna Tablets

The following is a listing of the Amarna Tablets relevant to the Bible with dates and sources of the scanned tablet photos as well as English translation. There's plenty of detail about the Apiru or Habiru, the Hebrews of the Bible, and how they were taking over Canaan. In the letters one can read the words of multiple Canaanite kings begging Egyptian pharaohs to intervene stop the Jews, since Canaan at the time had been under Egyptian sovereignty.

Name	Date	Institution	Notes
Amarna Tablet 35	14th cent. B.C.	British Museum	Mentions the Canaanite practice of killing all metal-workers in a land to stop weaponry mentioned in 1 Samuel 13:19.
Amarna Tablet 75	14th cent. B.C.	Cairo Museum	Refers to a war with the Apiru or Hebrews and how they are taking over the country, perhaps in alliance with the Hittites.
Amarna Tablet 79	14th cent. B.C.	Vorderasiatisches Museum	Mentions the Apiru/Habiru influenced by Abdi-Ashirta to rebel against a Canaanite king named Rib-Hadda. Also says the Apiru have taken over all but 2 cities in the entire land.
Amarna Tablet 286	14th cent. B.C.	Vorderasiatisches Museum	More detail of how the Apiru are rebelling to take over Canaan as the Canaanite King Abdi-Heba pleads for archery assistance.
Amarna Tablet 298	14th cent. B.C.	British Museum	Pleading by another Canaanite king asking Pharaoh to stop the takeover of Egyptian-ruled lands by the Apiru.

Please be aware that these are just a few of the hundreds of Amarna tablets and are selected for their clear relation to the Bible. Other possibilities can be seen from the external sources.

External Sources

• K.C. Hanson's Collection of Mesopotamian Documents