Image Details
Staatliche Museum, Berlin
The ‘Apiru. The highlighted area at lower left on this Amarna tablet contains a reference to an ‘Apiru leader named Lab’ayyu. “‘Apiru” was an Egyptian term for bands of Semitic warriors or brigands who had destabilized numerous locales in Egyptian dominated Canaan. According to some scholars, the term is related to the later Israelite word ‘ivri (Hebrew), used in the Bible to describe the Israelites to other ethnic groups.