Pharaoh’s Nine Bows

By Glenn A. Carnagey, Sr.

Chafer Theological Seminary

Dr. Carnagey earned his B.A. at the University of Houston, Th.M. at Dallas Theological Seminary, and Ph.D. at the University 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 pastored churches in Texas, Oklahoma, and Minnesota. He is a member of Chafer Seminary’s National Board of Advisors, is a contributing editor 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 his third 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 remoter Asia Minor on the other, they broke in wave on wave upon the borders of the Pharaoh’s 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 her borders. [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 the year 1210 B.C.? Furthermore, Merneptah had to go north and east into the interior of 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 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 of 2 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. to 1210 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 through the 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 by Egypt 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 a battle for spiritual reasons, but this is certainly not the case in later periods when Sheshonq invaded during Rehoboam’s reign or Zerah during the early years of Asa’s reign. In fact, the Amalekites may have been the original reason for the Northeastward 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 the Philistine period, Ashkelon was his most dangerous enemy, and Merneptah adopted the tutelary “Binder of Ashkelon” from 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 Merneptah did 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 that Merneptah 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 name “Israel’ in Egyptian historical documents. The reference deserves clarification by those of us who hold to the inerrancy of God’s Word. The remainder of this paper will be devoted to doing just that. I will survey the evolution of the term “The 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 well as 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 after the 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 rebellious nature, 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 Bows and the Palestinian cities he defeated and looted, his passage left little impression on the politics of Judah and Israel. [3] His 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 12:2–9). These events bring us well down towards the middle history of the Divided Monarchy.

The Nine Bows During the Old Kingdom

Returning, then, to the matter of the Nine Bows and their significance and evolution, 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, whose magnificent 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 is recorded 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 III through 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 the Scorpion King performing a ceremony of some sort with a hoe in the presence of the Nome leaders with their standards. [4] Ranging from the Nome standards is a representation of a scene with Rekhyt birds (symbolic of the Egyptians) on one side and opposed by the Bows on the other side. There seems to be room to 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 the Scorpion King’s 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 museums that represent the various peoples who lived in the regions along the Nile not directly under the King’s authority. The “Hunter’s Palette” found in Petrie’s 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 king occurs during the rule of Djoser, first king of Dynasty III. [6] A 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 Scorpion King 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 their occupational 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, which at 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 his power. 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 from them.

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 one Neb-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 king are the names of five of the Nine Bows. [8] The 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 considered Northern Egypt (Lower Egypt) and Southern Egypt (Upper Egypt) as part of the territory 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 southern peoples 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 the Second 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 suggests that 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 Middle Kingdom, 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 indelible impression 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 and the 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 of expressing their new cognizance that they were vulnerable to attack from outside. This they found by adopting a new way of expressing their relationship to the Nine Bows. No longer is either Upper Egypt or Lower Egypt included in the list. 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 equated with 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 very ubiquitousness 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 Nine Bows 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 a nation 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 of Egypt.

Eight of these names occur during the reign of Amenhotep II, Amenhotep III’s predecessor. However, the list has eleven bows rather than the nine. Both Upper 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, eretzenu—our 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 Nine Bows 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 to the 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, the XVIIIth 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 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 a captive 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 is considerably 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 from Thutmose 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 for example 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 ultimately to include the Aegean Islands.

Under the rule of other kings of the New Kingdom, such as Amenhotep II, the Nine 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 names of the Nine Bows had lost completely their specific geographical locations and were used during Ptolemaic times for distant lands of which the Egyptians had heard, but with whom they probably had had few dealings.

Conclusion

The study of the nations that composed the Nine Bows at various times during the history of Egypt has interesting implications both for Egypt and for Israel. During Egypt’s early history, when it enjoyed a splendid isolation from the more fractious peoples of the Mesopotamian Valley the peoples in view were close neighbors who bordered directly upon Egypt itself Lands outside Egypt’’ sphere of 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 the establishment 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 of Thutmose 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 at least 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. It suggests, by its failure to mention Egypt or its armies, that Israel was in reality unconcerned about Egypt. The Amalekites and later the Philistines were the dreaded 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 in this 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 Egypt with 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 that such 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, on his way to another place in Palestine, Merneptah and his army of Egyptians crossed paths with Israel, but the contact seems to have left no traces on Israel’s historical consciousness. Israel was never again to be elevated to the status of a major 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 enemies elsewhere.

Additional Works Consulted

• Aharoni, Y. and Avi-Yonah, M., The Macmillan Bible Atlas (New York: The Macmillan 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.

Notes

1. Breasted, J. H. A History of Egypt (New York: Bantam Books, 1905/1964); 390.
2. Breasted, 395.
3. Breasted, 442–430.
4. Uphill, F. The Nine Bows. Jaarbericht van het Vooraziatisch-Egyptisch Genoorshap. Ex Oriente Lux 19 (1965~66), pages 393–420, especially 393.
5. Uphill, 394.
6. Uphill, 394.
7. Uphill, 394.
8. Uphill, 394.
9. Breasted, 180.
10. Breasted, 395.
11. Uphill, 396.
12. Uphill, 395.
13. Uphill, 400–420.