The Aper-al Tomb

[LostSheep]

Somewhat breaking news of a possible Hebrew high official serving the priesthood in Egypt during the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten;

To read, read the Oct 30 2009 entry in Claude Mariottini's blog, here: http://www.claudemariottini.com/blog/

[FreezBee]

Somewhat breaking news of a possible Hebrew high official serving the priesthood in Egypt during the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten;

To read, read the Oct 30 2009 entry in Claude Mariottini's blog, here: http://www.claudemariottini.com/blog/

Interesting

But not too conclusive

From Hawass' letter (reproduced in the blog article):

link above

In addition to this, there has been prolonged controversy between Torah scholars and archaeologists over the credibility of Aper-al in fact being a Hebrew name. This creates the impression that Hebrews were present in Egypt during the eighteenth dynasty, and that some Egyptianized Hebrews held senior state positions. It is important to emphasize that all the artefacts discovered in the Aper-al tomb, such as the sarcophagus, the mummies, as well as the carvings on the walls of the tomb, are consistent with the Egyptian style of the time. Even Aper-al’s portrait, his cloths, and his jewellery, are purely ancient Egyptian. This is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

© source where applicable

Was this Aper-al a Hebrew? Maybe, maybe not. And even if he were, what conclusions can we draw from that?

Amenhotep III had a foreign queen, so maybe he generally trusted foreigners more than Egyptians?

Mariottini writes:

link above

I agree that scholars must be cautious about the conclusions they develop out of this discovery. However, if Aper-al was indeed a Hebrew man and the vizier for King Amenhotep III, and later for his son King Akhenaten, then the discovery may provide a possible connection between the religious reforms of Akhenaten and the Hebrew presence in Egypt.

© source where applicable

Again, maybe, maybe not. Akenaten's preference for the minor sun god Aten need not have had foreign impetus. The Aten worship is attested with certainty from as early as the early Middle Kingdom, and Amenhotep is known to have offered to both Aten and Amon-Re. The Amon-Re priests in Thebes had gained increasingly more power during the Middle Kingdom, and the decision to relocate the capital and to place Aten (who didn't sport a powerfull priesthood) as the only god with Akenaten as his high priest might be explained as simply a part of a power struggle, not necessarily any religious conviction.

That said, it will be interesting to see the further development of this; I just don't think that people should have too high hopes for anything related to the Bible.


- FreezBee