Scientists have found confirmation of the confrontation of the Jews with the king of northern Canaan described in the Bible thanks to the clay head of the Egyptian pharaoh, according to the scientific portal Live Science.
The head of an unknown Egyptian pharaoh, found in the biblical city of Hazor (now Tel Hazor) in Israel, was made, according to scientists, about 4300 years ago. It may have been part of a large statue destroyed 3,300 years ago.
“The cracks indicate that the head separated from the rest of the sculpture before destroying the entire statue. Interestingly, no other part of the statue that originally belonged to the head was found in this area,”explains Dimitri Labouri, senior researcher at the Belgian National Foundation for Scientific Research.
The clay head of a pharaoh found at Tel Hazor / Photo: Hebrew University
The destruction of the sculpture, according to him, chronologically coincides with the lines given in the biblical book of Joshua, the leader of the Jews: “At the same time, returning, Jesus took Hazor and killed his king with a sword [Hazor was previously the head of all these kingdoms]; and they struck down all that breathed that was in him with the sword, [all] they were cursed: not a soul remained; but he burned Hazor with fire. " In addition, archaeologists have discovered a number of monuments that were deliberately destroyed.
So far, researchers do not understand who the sculpture belonged to. “The facial features on the sculpture from Khazor are characteristic of the Fifth Dynasty of the Pharaohs (circa 2465-2323 BC). However, it is impossible to determine with any clarity which king she is portraying,”notes Laburi.
In 2013, fragments of an ancient Egyptian sphinx were found in Tel Hazor. On his paws was found an inscription dedicated to Pharaoh Mikerin, during which the famous pyramids in Giza were built.