The Greek rendition, followed by English translations, of Hebrew no' (from the Egyptian name Nowe) or no' 'amon, an Egyptian city mentioned three times in the Old Testament: Jer 46:25; Eze 30:14-16, & Nah 3:8.
Located on the banks of the Nile about 670km south of Cairo, Thebes was at one point the second largest and important city in Egypt after Memphis, and the major city dedicated to the cult of the god Amun (hence the Hebrew name). Located at a point in the river where the flood plains extent to a width of about 15km, it was a complex city composed of sites well-known today as Luxor, Karnak, Medinet Habu, the Rameseum and the Valley of the Kings, and connected by sphinx-lined boulevards.
Although the city is believed to have been founded sometime in the 3rd Mill BC, it did not come into prominence until the late 23rd Cent BC. The rise to power of several Thebean dynasties added to the importance of the city; this was particularly so with the 18th Dynasty, whose rulers were responsible for the expulsion of the Hyksos when the city reached its acme. Rameses III was reputed to have given more than 86 thousand slaves plus vast estates to the temple. The decline of the city began c. 1000 BC (about the time of King David) when the city lost its royal connection with the death of Rameses XI, and corruption—including the theft of royal mummies by competing priests and temple officials—set in. The city was sacked by the Assyrians in 663 BC, and again by the Persians in 525 and 343 BC. By Roman times the temple of Amun had largely been abandoned, and the city reduced to a mere village. With the arrival of Christianity, many of the temples were converted into churches and monasteries.
In both its mention in Jer 46:25 and Eze 30:14-16, Thebes appears as one of the objects of God's punishment on Egypt, while Nahum's oracle against Nineveh asks rhetorically, "Are you better than Thebes, situated on the Nile, with water around her? The river was her defense, the waters her wall. Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength; Put and Libya were among her allies. Yet she was taken captive and went into exile. Her infants were dashed to pieces at the head of every street. Lots were cast for her nobles, and all her great men were put in chains" (3:8-10).
Archaeologically, Thebes has proven to be a treasure trove too rich to catalogue here. The list of conquered places in Palestine and Syria of the various pharaohs, and esp. of Thutmose III, the war reliefs depicting the wars of Seti I and Rameses II in Palestine and Syria, and the inscriptions of Rameses III describing the invasion of the Sea Peoples have helped us understand so much better the history of Palestine. Of particular interest, with regards to understanding the Bible and the history of Israel, however, mention must be made of 1) the Merenptah's so-called "Israel stele," on which is inscripted the earliest extra-biblical mention of Israel as a people in Palestine, 2) the inscriptions of Shoshenq I describing his triumphant invasion of Judah and Israel during the reign of Rehobaom.
©ALBERITH
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