The Amarna Letters and the Biblical World of Canaan: Ḫabiru, City-States, and the Historical Context of Joshua

Three hundred eighty-two Akkadian-language clay tablets inscribed in cuneiform script were discovered at Tell el-Amarna, ancient Akhetaten, on the east bank of Egypt's Nile River. Ninety-nine percent of the tablets were excavated by local inhabitants and sold to antiquities dealers in Cairo before archaeologists had knowledge of the site.

Approximately 350 of these tablets were identified as letters. Forty-four represent correspondence between Egypt and the major political powers of the ancient Near East, while most of the remainder preserve communications between Egypt and the Levantine vassal cities of its eastern empire.

The Tell el-Amarna Letters open an extraordinary window into the political world of the fourteenth century BC and the Late Bronze Age IIA. In particular, they provide a fascinating backdrop for the study of the later part of Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty, biblical Canaan, the Canaanite city-state system, groups identified in the correspondence as Ḫabiru, and the historical context of Joshua.

Gary A. Byers serves as Dean of the College of Archaeology at Trinity Southwest University in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and as Co-Director of the Shiloh excavations for Associates for Biblical Research. His archaeological field experience spans several decades and includes excavation and research projects in Israel and Jordan. His work focuses particularly on biblical archaeology, archaeology of the Southern Levant, ancient Israel and Canaan, and the relationship between archaeological and textual evidence for the biblical world.

His archaeological field experience includes substantial work at Shiloh, Israel (Co-Director, 2017–present), archaeological field leadership at Tall el-Hammam, Jordan, and administrative and archaeological responsibility at Khirbet el-Maqatir, Israel (1995–2000, 2009–2011), Khirbet Nisya, Israel, and Tel Miqne/Ekron, Israel (1984).