In 1939, an archaeological expedition found in an ancient site, Alalakh (today Tell Atshanah near the coastal border between Turkey and Syria), the statue of King Idri-mi who reigned in this city around 1550 BCE.
The statue bears cuneiform inscriptions that tell the story of this king, his flight south to Canaan, and his stay there for 7 years among a people called the "Hapiru":
The next day, I set out and journeyed to the land of Canaan. The city of Ammi-Ya sits in the land of Canaanites. [...] For seven long years, I stayed among the Habiru. I released birds [as auguries], I sacrificed lambs. (Inscription of Idrimi)
First of all, let us situate the context of the biblical chronology concerning the patriarchs:
year 1948 (1812 BCE): birth of Abraham, son of Terah, in Ur
year 1996 (1764 BCE): tower of Babel, and departure of the Hebrews from Ur
year 2022 (1737 BCE): God speaks to Abraham, in Harran
year 2024 (1736 BCE): Abraham returns from Egypt
year 2030 (1730 BCE): Alliance of the pieces between God and Abraham's descendants
year 2048 (1712 BCE): birth of Isaac, son of Abraham, in Canaan
year 2108 (1652 BCE): birth of the twins Esau and Jacob, sons of Isaac
year 2123 (1637 BCE): death of Abraham; Esau gives his birthright to Jacob
year 2185 (1575 BCE): Jacob flees to Harran to escape his brother Esau
year 2187 (1573 BCE): death of Eber, ancestor of the Hebrews, then known as the Hapiru
year 2205 (1555 BCE): return of Jacob, and his entire family clan, to Canaan
We note that the dating of the statue of Idri-mi corresponds to the time of the presence of the Hebrew clan of Jacob's family in Canaan, from the year 1555 BCE. The first interest of this text is that Idri-mi mentions the name of the land called "Canaan": it is the first archaeological mention of this name, which corroborates the name given in the Bible at the same period of the Patriarchs. And this text also confirms the presence in Canaan of the "Habiru" (or Hapiru), a name of the same etymological root as "Hebrews": these are probably family clans descended from Eber, including the clan of Jacob. It is possible that the place mentioned as Ammi-Ya in this text is the sacred place of the clan of Jacob, where they made their sacrifices. Because Ammi-Ya means People of the Almighty (Ammi = people, Ya = the one God, of the monotheistic faith). Let us recall here a biblical verse when God commands Jacob to return to Canaan:
"I am the God of Beth-el, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to me. Now arise, get yourself out of this land [of Harran], and return to the land of your nativity [Canaan]." (Genesis 31:13)
So Jacob returned to Canaan and built an altar to God at Bethel, which means House of God. It was there, on the way to Harran several years before, where he had dreamed of a ladder that went up to heaven (on this subject, you can read my article by clicking here). In other words, it is very likely that Ammi-Ya is in fact Beth-el. And it is there that he too sacrificed animals according to the customs of the Hebrews. For Idri-Mi also mentions that he let birds fly and sacrificed lambs: this type of sacrifice was typical of the Hebrews, and later of the Jews, because other ancient peoples did not sacrifice lambs, which they considered sacred. The mention of letting birds fly is also typical of the Hebrew sacrifice: one part of the animal sacrifice was actually sacrificed, and the other part was released. No other ancient people, apart from the Hebrews, did this! The first biblical mention of this type of sacrifice is in the covenant that God makes with Abraham and his descendants, the so-called "covenant of the pieces":
And He [God] said unto him: 'I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land [of Canaan] to inherit it.' And he said: 'O Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?' And He said unto him: 'Take Me a heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon.' And he took him all these, and divided them in the middle, and laid each half over against the other; but he did not divide the birds. (Genesis 15:7-10)
Without going into comments on the subject of sacrificial animals, let us simply note that large animals, such as the heifer, the she-goat, and the ram, represent the material world dominated by great empires that are doomed to be torn apart and therefore doomed to extinction. While the dove is a symbol of spirituality and of the soul, and is even a symbol of the people of Israel (Song of Songs 2:14). Christianity has also chosen the dove to symbolize the Holy Spirit. Thus, one may sacrifice a dove as an offering to God, but it is forbidden to kill it and divide it by separating it into pieces (Leviticus 1:17). Depending on the purpose of the sacrifice, two animals may be taken instead of one, in order to sacrifice one and release the other (Leviticus 16:7-22).
The archaeological discovery of the Idri-mi statue is important because there is a theory that the Hebrew people were a kind of sect from Egypt that arrived in Canaan much later and then established a kingship there. Now this statue of Idri-mi proves that this theory is false! The Hebrews and their specific customs were in Canaan before they stayed in Egypt.
I hope that this article on the theme "the Bible is true" was of interest to you. Do not hesitate to send me your comments, while waiting for a next biblical episode proven by history and archaeology.
To return to the home page of articles on this theme of "the Bible is true", click here.
Albert Benhamou
Private tour guide in Israel
February 2025
