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CTSJ3:1 (Summer 1997) p. 1

Pharaohs Nine Bows

Dr. Glenn Carnagey *

Chafer Theological Seminary

[*Editors note: Dr. Carnagey earned his B.A. at the University of

Houston, Th.M. at Dallas Theological Seminary, and Ph.D. at theUniversity of Tulsa. Glenn has done extensive archaeological work

in the Near East and editorial work for a major archaeological

journal, as well as presenting scholarly papers at meetings of the

Evangelical Theological Society. Dr. Carnagey has also pastoredchurches in Texas, Oklahoma, and Minnesota. He is a member of

Chafer Seminarys National Board of Advisors, is a contributingeditor to the CTS Journal, and was instrumental in the formation of

CTS.]

Introduction

In the year 1210 B.C., Merneptah, 13th son of the mighty Pharaoh Ramses II

(already an old man), assumed the throne of Egypt. Almost immediately in histhird year he had to fight one nation after another along the long borders of Egypt.

Breasted describes the menacing armies like this:

[W]ith the Libyans on the one hand and the peoples of remoterAsia Minor on the other, they broke in wave on wave upon the

borders of the Pharaohs empire. Egypt was inevitably thrown on

the defensive, her day passed for conquest and aggression, and for

six hundred years the empire made no serious effort to extend herborders.

1

According to his account of the results of his battles (never totally reliable in

Egyptian history) on the Merneptah Stele: Israel is laid waste, his seed is not.2

This is indeed a strange comment in such an important document. How did Israel

come to be reckoned among the most dangerous nine enemies of Egypt by theyear 1210 B.C.? Furthermore, Merneptah had to go north and east into the interiorof Palestine to find and fight the Israelites. Why would he do this if Israel had just

recently arrived in Palestine and had no real army of substance to be a threat?

More to the point, if the Liberal late-date theories are even partially true, why

1Breasted, J. H.A History of Egypt (New York: Bantam Books, 1905/1964); 390.2Breasted, 395.


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would Merneptah even bother with Israel, since Israel at this time would not have

even partially left Egypt, if indeed it existed at all?

Toward a Biblical Answer

The answer, of course, is found in the biblical chronological framework of the

Exodus, Conquest, and Settlement of Palestine. If we accept the literal numbers of2 Kings 6:1, then the period of time between the Conquest and the time when

Merneptah noted his victory over Israel is about 190 years (about 1400 B.C. to1210 B.C.). Allowing approximately 30 years per generation, there would have

been roughly six generations for Israel to grow as a nation and spread out throughthe central hill country of Palestine. With a population of around 600,000 men at

the Exodus, six additional generations would have given Israel a formidable army

of men indeed. We should note that there is no mention of a Jewish defeat byEgypt recorded during the entire period of the judges, nor for that matter any

mention of Egypt in Judges at all. In fact, the main threat to Israel seems to come

directly from the Amalekites (at the time of the Exodus) or from Philistines

(during the latter part of the period of the Judges).

Now it is possible that the Holy Spirit may have omitted to record such abattle for spiritual reasons, but this is certainly not the case in later periods when

Sheshonq invaded during Rehoboams reign or Zerah during the early years of

Asas reign. In fact, the Amalekites may have been the original reason for theNortheastward venture of the army of Egypt. They were perhaps the remnants of

the Hyksos and were certainly every bit as cruel and rapacious and as much of a

problem to the Israelites.

Such contact as Merneptah may have had with Israel could only have been a

glancing blow as Merneptah pacified his Syrian province. In keeping with thePhilistine period, Ashkelon was his most dangerous enemy, and Merneptah

adopted the tutelary Binder of Ashkelonfrom this campaign onward. Egyptian

battle tactics were ill-suited to mountainous terrain, and the route of his campaign

suggests that only peripheral Israelite sites were affected, as was also the case for

the Hittites, who had been intimately involved in stirring up rebellion in the north.

So what can we conclude from the two sources for this period? If Merneptahdid fight the Israelites, the battle was either a draw, or possibly even repulsion, or

real defeat for Merneptah. We know from many other Egyptian sources that

Egyptian Pharaohs were accustomed to claiming victory and rulership over

nations and peoples that they most certainly did not control. It is significant thatMerneptah does not claim to have brought back any captives to assign to the

Temple Corps in Egypt.

The above discussion revolves around the single occurrence of the nameIsrael in Egyptian historical documents. The reference deserves clarification by

those of us who hold to the inerrancy of Gods Word. The remainder of this paperwill be devoted to doing just that. I will survey the evolution of the term The


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Nine Bows throughout Egyptian history. Also I will seek to show that at the time

of Merneptah and those pharaohs who were his intermediate predecessors, as wellas those who immediately followed him, the historical situation was such that

Egypt had to adjust to a defensive posture against its enemies of the Nine Bows.

This continued to be the case throughout the reign of his son, Ramses III.

Egypt makes no impression upon the Israelites for over three centuries afterthe events of the late XIXth and early XXth Dynasty. Not until the reign of

Sheshonq I, first Pharaoh of the XXIInd Dynasty did Egypt return to Israel, and

then only as a divine Whip Nation to punish Rehoboam for his rebelliousnature, and in the manner of pirates looting a city. They appointed no officials and

left no permanent provincial government. Except for the vast amount of loot

Sheshonq took back to Egypt and the record he left in Egypt of the Nine Bowsand the Palestinian cities he defeated and looted, his passage left little impression

on


the politics of Judah and Israel.3His campaign was followed by a lengthy hiatus

after which Zerah the Libyan attacked Judah during the reign of Asa, was totally

routed, and his army looted and sent packing back to Egypt (I Kings 11:40; 14:25;

2 Chronicles 12:29). These events bring us well down towards the middlehistory of the Divided Monarchy.

The Nine Bows During the Old Kingdom

Returning, then, to the matter of the Nine Bows and their significance andevolution, we must begin where mention of them begins, in the Old Kingdom of

Egypt. For much that follows I am deeply indebted to E. Uphill, whosemagnificent article in 1967 remains the starting point for anyone who would

investigate the Nine Bows. He collected the data; I have only brought it to bear

upon a different context in which the single contact between Egypt and Israel isrecorded in the historical records of Egypt.

The individual nations or peoples who made up the Nine Bows during the

Predynastic Period (Dynasties I and II) and the Old Kingdom (Dynasties IIIthrough VI) are not mentioned by name during this period. However, they are

present on preserved decorated artifacts from the first recorded king of Egypt

even before Dynasty I (the Scorpion King) through the Pyramid Texts at the end

of Dynasties V and VI. One of the Mace Heads found at Hierakonpolis shows theScorpion King performing a ceremony of some sort with a hoe in the presence of

the Nome leaders with their standards.4Ranging from the Nome standards is a

representation of a scene with Rekhyt birds (symbolic of the Egyptians) on oneside and opposed by the Bows on the other side. There seems to be room to

3Breasted, 442430.4Uphill, F. The Nine Bows. Jaarbericht van het Vooraziatisch-Egyptisch Genoorshap. Ex Oriente

Lux 19 (1965~66), pages 393420, especially 393.


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restore all nine of the nine bows in this scene. It is, however, such an early

representation that it may merely stand for the archers of Egypt as part of theScorpion Kings armed forces. Nevertheless, since the bows are separated from

the Rekhyt Birds, the scene is more likely to be showing defeated enemies of the

Egyptians rather than extolling Egyptian archers.

Added to this example are the numerous slate palettes currently in museumsthat represent the various peoples who lived in the regions along the Nile not

directly under the Kings authority. The Hunters Palette found in Petries

Ceremonial Slate Palettes (Plate A.3) is an excellent example of this motif.5

These are very likely the first peoples to whom the Egyptians applied the concept

of the Nine Bows.

The first time the Nine Bows definitely appear beneath the feet of the kingoccurs during the rule of Djoser, first king of Dynasty III.

6A statue of this king

was discovered near the south-eastern corner of the Step Pyramid enclosure, and

upon it was engraved a scene much like that on the Mace Head of the ScorpionKing as described above, with Rekhyt Birds opposed by the Nine Bows. The

scene represents the Pharaoh, Djoser, as master of the Nine Bows, who are shown

under his feet to represent his power over them. These were probably not nations

proper at this time, but only peoples who really had no strict borders for theiroccupational territory.

By the time the Pyramid Texts were being written, numerous references to

Pharaohs as King of the Bows appear. Moreover, the Fifth Dynasty King Unas

importunes the gods to cause thou that this Unas rule the Nine (Bows) and

that he equip the Ennead (also nine) of gods with offerings.7

The Old Kingdom rulers found it convenient to represent their enemies, whichat that time included civil war and hence even the northern and southern halves of

Egypt, as a set of Nine Bows ranged against the people, i.e., the king and hispower. The concept was restricted to the immediate vicinity of Egypt proper and

did not include any people or nation that was well outside its borders. They had

not yet been faced with their more distant neighbors and felt no danger fromthem.

The Middle Kingdom

Unfortunately, the Old Kingdom rulers did not feel it was important to name

these bows in their representations. Not until Dynasty XI and the reign of oneNeb-hepet-re Mentuhotep do we find the first recording of the names of some of

the Nine Bows. In a stele that he erected at Gebelein, Mentuhotep has himself

depicted slaying a Libyan whom he is holding by the hair. Written next to the

5Uphill, 394.6Uphill, 394.7Uphill, 394.


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king are the names of five of the Nine Bows.8The other four are also there, but

are illegible. Those that can be read are as follows: (1) the Setiu (the Nubians), (2)the Setety (the Asiatics), (3) the Tehenu (the Libyans), (4) Upper Egypt, (5)

Lower Egypt, and numbers (6) through (9) are undecipherable.

We may deduce from this evidence that the kings of Egypt consideredNorthern Egypt (Lower Egypt) and Southern Egypt (Upper Egypt) as part of theterritory over which they ruled and included the neighboring peoples as part of

their domain. These neighbors include tribes that were living on the east of the

Nile Valley in the harsh country between the valley and the Red Sea, the southernpeoples of Nubia and the western Oasis Dwellers.

Judging simply by the terminology used with the Nine Bows, the First

Intermediate Period (between Dynasty


6 and 11) did not kindle the same type of fear in the rulers of Egypt that theSecond Intermediate Period did. The single extant mention of the Nine Bows

above seems to hold roughly the same view of them as the Pharaohs of the Old

Kingdom held. Nevertheless, the picture of Pharaoh slaying a Libyan suggeststhat at least one neighbor had become a threat and had to be controlled by force of

arms, the Libyans to the west.

The New Kingdom

From the beginning of the dynastic period up until the end of the MiddleKingdom, Egypt, since its unification under Menes, had never experienced the

disintegration of order into chaos that occurred in the Second Intermediate Period(between Dynasty 13 and 17). It was a traumatic experience for the entire nation.The breakdown of order and government by the Pharaohs was the same, but one

element was terribly different. Egypt was invaded, conquered, and ruled for

almost a century by an Asiatic Power, the Hyksos. That left an indelibleimpression upon the Egyptian mentality. For the first time it hit home that

outsiders could invade Egypt and force them to submit to their rule. This had been

inconceivable to the Egyptian mind before the Second Intermediate Period andthe Hyksos. The savagery and destructiveness of the Hyksos so unnerved those

who became the New Kingdom rulers that well into the XVIIIth Dynasty

Hatshepsut remembered their treatment of Egypt in a stele that shows how

thoroughly the Egyptians had learned the lessons of the Hyksos conquest.9

It is only logical that the Pharaohs should look for a symbolic means ofexpressing their new cognizance that they were vulnerable to attack from outside.

This they found by adopting a new way of expressing their relationship to theNine Bows. No longer is either Upper Egypt or Lower Egypt included in the list.

8Uphill, 394.9Breasted, 180.


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Instead, nine nations that pose a threat to Egypt become the ichnography that is

used. Uphill comments that

What is interesting here is that the Bow peoples are here equatedwith foreign enemies who need to be crushed rather than with

peaceful neighbors or friendly countries.

10

Having lost their innocence with enormous accompanying pain, they did not

plan to experience a repetition of the Hyksos period any time soon. The veryubiquitousness of the symbology tells us how deep the fear went. Thutmose I on

his Tombos Stele styles himself as one who turns back against all the NineBows together, like a young panther against a resting herd. Thutmose II insists

that the Nine Bows are under his feet. Thutmose III boasts that he has made a

slaughter among his enemies, the Nine Bows likewise.

One has the feeling that these men were trying to convince themselves that no

outside enemy was going to repeat the Hyksos success on their watch. For anation to whom order and stability were of primary importance, the unnerving

effects of that experience created a deep national concern. After all, if the Hyksos

had succeeded, perhaps another enemy would succeed in storming the gates ofEgypt.

Eight of these names occur during the reign of Amenhotep II, AmenhotepIIIs predecessor. However, the list has eleven bows rather than the nine. BothUpper Egypt and Lower Egypt are included, so if you exclude them, there are

again Nine Bows, though this is a rather erratic list and includes four peoples not

listed in what would become the classical statement of the Nine Bows (1)

Naharin (Two Rivers), (2) Keftiu(?), (3) Mentius(?), and (4) Retenu (Palestine,eretzenuour land). The Ta Shema and the Shat, both southern peoples, are

omitted, as are the mysterious Hau-nebut.11

The first occurrence of what we might call the Classical list of the NineBows occurs on the dais of the royal Sed-Festival pavilion of Amenhotep III, son

of Thutmose III and a Mitannian princess, and the father of Akhenaton.12

Several

copies of this painting are found in various Theban Tombs. The question arises tothe thoughtful observer as to why this particular scene is chosen for wide

dissemination. Again, the answer has to be the memory of the Second

Intermediate Period. Five copies of this scene are found in the tombs of Kheruef

and Surer, officials of Amenhotep III. Even at the height of their power, theXVIIIth Dynasty monarchs recognized the danger that if they slackened their

attention, they might be caught unawares or unprepared. This may have some

bearing on the new drive of the kings of this period to make repeated military

10Breasted, 395.11Uphill, 396.12Uphill, 395.


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expeditions northeast, west, and south. Certainly the desire for empire and wealth

motivated them, but vivid memories of their past contributed as well.

The Sed-Festival pavilion of Amenhotep III portrayed each of the Bows as acaptive figure with his arms tied behind his back. Next to each is an oval

medallion upon which the name of that people which each represents is given.The faces vary in their portrayal according to their locality. The list isconsiderably different from previous examples. There is no mention of either half

of Egypt. Each is represented as a nation that the pharaoh has had to subdue in

battle. They are listed as (1) the Hau-Nebut, (2) the Shat, (3) the Ta Shema, (4)the Sekhet-lam, (5) the Ta Mehu, (6) the Pedtiu-Shu, (7) the Tehennu, (8) the

Iuntiu-Seti, and (9) the Mentiu-nu-Setet.

Without attempting to be too specific as to the location and identity of each,they are placed in geographical orientation to Egypt proper by Uphill as follows.

13

The Shat were apparently among the southernmost of the bows, lying in the

vicinity of the Third Cataract (south of Kush), according to evidence fromThutmose III and a series of alabaster statuettes. The Sekhet-Iam seem to have

occupied the oasis land to the west of central Egypt, though how far north or

south they were located we do not know. On their immediate eastern border lived

the Pedtiu-Shu, possibly on into the Sinai Peninsula, though this is not for certain.They are certainly a Bedouin people, and would have inhabited the Red Sea hill

country. There is no question about the Tehennu, who were the Libyans on the

west and north of


Egypt, and they occupied the land between the Pedtiu-Shu and the Mediterranean

Sea on the west border of Egypt.

During the later Middle Kingdom, the Meshwesh people were added to the

western enemies. The Iuntiu-Seti are a southern people, often depicted as Blacks,and they occupied Nubia. The Mentiu nu-Setet originally were placed in

southwestern Canaan, though at times their territory was expanded to include the

coast up to Ugarit and Alalakh. Sometimes, too, it was reduced again, as forexample during the time of Ahmose son of Ebana who identified the Asiatics

slain by his master at Avaris and Sharuhen as Hyksos. The Hau-nebut are the

most difficult of all the bows to place. Uphill concludes after a lengthy

examination that they were to be found on the coast of Lebanon at first. Later,

their territory was expanded around the northeast Mediterranean coast ultimatelyto include the Aegean Islands.

Under the rule of other kings of the New Kingdom, such as Amenhotep II, theNine Bows included Assyria, Babylon, and other distant peoples, over whom they

never in fact were able to exercise sovereignty. By the late Dynastic Period the

13Uphill, 400420.


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names of the Nine Bows had lost completely their specific geographical locations

and were used during Ptolemaic times for distant lands of which the Egyptianshad heard, but with whom they probably had had few dealings.

Conclusion

The study of the nations that composed the Nine Bows at various times duringthe history of Egypt has interesting implications both for Egypt and for Israel.

During Egypts early history, when it enjoyed a splendid isolationfrom the morefractious peoples of the Mesopotamian Valley the peoples in view were close

neighbors who bordered directly upon Egypt itself Lands outside Egypt sphereof power were for the most part ignored.

This situation was changed forever by the events of the Second Intermediate

Period, which forced the Egyptians to realize that their gates were indeed

vulnerable to more distant nations. The Hyksos period left an indelible impression

on the ruling lines and forced them to consider how to protect themselves from a

repetition of the invasion and conquest by outsiders. This in turn led to theestablishment of an Asiatic Empire, which Egypt was able to use as a buffer to

protect the route into the nation from the northeast. The repeated campaigns ofThutmose III were the means by which this buffer was formed, and after an

abortive rebellion during the early years of his successor, Amenhotep II, the

buffer functioned as planned until Merneptah and his successors.

The reference to the people of Israel on the Merneptah Stele suggests that atleast some sort of military conflict was waged with Israel, but the true outcome of

the battle is not known. Israel may have had to render tribute to Egypt after this

single campaign by Merneptah, but if so, there is no biblical evidence. In fact, the

historical information in Judges strongly argues in the opposite direction. Itsuggests, by its failure to mention Egypt or its armies, that Israel was in reality

unconcerned about Egypt. The Amalekites and later the Philistines were thedreaded foes of Israel during this time period, and the holy Spirit did not choose

to record the transitory contact between Israel and the Egyptians under

Merneptah.

Much the same result occurs concerning the invasion of Shishak, though inthis case there is abundant biblical documentation. In both Kings and Chronicles,

we discover that the Lord used Egypt under Shishak as a Whip Nation to Israel

to get their attention and draw them back to God. When Rehoboam repented and

humbled himself, God spared him and Jerusalem and sent Shishak back to Egyptwith great wealth acquired as tribute from Rehoboam. Zerah and his army were

demolished and sent back home by Asa.

Since Egypt kept meticulous records of tribute received, it is unlikely thatsuch tribute was indeed sent by Israel for any sustained length of time during the

period of the judges, or the early kings of Israel. For one brief period of time, onhis way to another place in Palestine, Merneptah and his army of Egyptians


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crossed paths with Israel, but the contact seems to have left no traces on Israels

historical consciousness. Israel was never again to be elevated to the status of amajor external enemy of Egypt, at least as one of the Nine Bows. Later Egyptian

annals seem to ignore Israel altogether with the single exception of Shishak, as

mentioned above. God saw to it that Israel, after the Exodus, was beyond the

manipulative power of their former tormentors and that it would find its enemieselsewhere.

Additional Works Consulted

Aharoni, Y. and Avi-Yonah, M., The Macmillan Bible Atlas (New York: TheMacmillan Company, 1968).

Aling, C. F.,Egypt and Bible History: From Earliest Times to 1000 B.C. (Grand

Rapids: Baker Book House, 1981).

Beitzel, Barry J., The Moody Atlas of Bible Lands (Chicago: Moody Press, 1985).

Montet, P.,Eternal Egypt (New York: New American Library, 1964).

Pritchard, J. B., ed.,Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament

(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1950/1969).

Vercouter:Les Haou-Nebour (Suite) (1949), BIFAO 48:108.

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