BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Rare Egyptian Sphinx Fragment Discovered at Hazor

Excavators at the prominent Biblical site of Hazor in northern Israel have discovered part of a sphinx belonging to one of the pyramid-building pharaohs. All that remains of the small granite statue is the base holding the paws and part of the forearms of the sphinx. A hieroglyphic inscription between the front legs bears the name of the Egyptian king Menkaure, who ruled in the IVth Dynasty (c. 2500 B.C.) and was one of the builders of the famed Giza pyramids. According to Hazor excavators Amnon Ben-Tor and Sharon Zuckerman, both of the Hebrew University, no other sphinx belonging to Menkaure has been found anywhere in the world, including Egypt. Even more incredibly, this is the only piece of royal sphinx sculpture ever found in the Levant. The excavators estimate that the entire statue measured 5 feet long and 1.5 feet high.

The sphinx, a mythical half-lion, half-man creature, was discovered at the entrance to the city palace in a 13th-century B.C. destruction layer. The excavators believe it is unlikely that King Menkaure sent the sphinx to Hazor, since there is no record of a relationship between Egypt and the southern Levant during his reign. The statue may have been brought to Hazor as plunder by the Hyksos, a dynasty of kings from Canaan who ruled Lower Egypt in the late 17th and early 16th centuries, or perhaps slightly later as a gift from a New Kingdom Egyptian ruler. Hazor, the once-powerful Canaanite city described in the Book of Joshua as “the head of all those kingdoms,” was destroyed in the 13th century.

Read more about the sphinx discovered at Hazor.

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More on Tel Hazor in Bible History Daily:

Hazor Excavations’ Amnon Ben-Tor Reveals Who Conquered Biblical Canaanites

Where Are the Royal Archives at Tel Hazor?

Crafty Israelites: Iron Age Crafts at Tel Hazor

Scorched Wheat May Provide Answers on the Destruction of Canaanite Tel Hazor

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In Hazor: Canaanite Metropolis, Israelite City, a popular summary of 30 excavation seasons by long-time Hazor dig director Amnon Ben-Tor, discover ancient Hazor’s remarkable history.

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More on Tel Hazor in the BAS Library:

Sharon Zuckerman, “Where Is the Hazor Archive Buried?” Biblical Archaeology Review, March/April 2006.

Amnon Ben-Tor, “Who Destroyed Canaanite Hazor?” Biblical Archaeology Review, July/August 2013.

Amnon Ben-Tor, “Excavating Hazor, Part One: Solomon’s City Rises from the Ashes,” Biblical Archaeology Review, March/April 1999.

Amnon Ben-Tor and Maria Teresa Rubiato, “Excavating Hazor, Part Two: Did the Israelites Destroy the Canaanite City?” Biblical Archaeology Review, May/June 1999.

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