BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Biblical History at Karnak Temple

Mr. Don Knebel traveled with BAS to Egypt in 2007; subsequently Jordan and many other places in the world.  In 2015 he wrote “Flushed with Curiosity; 101 Travel Tales with a Twist“,  all of which were spearheaded by his travels.  Don says “I have tried to find stories in the places we visit that exhibit not only our common humanity but the traditions and religious beliefs that both unite and divide us”.  Don has graciously agreed to let us include some excerpts on our blog. They have been lightly edited.

Karnak Wall Describing Conquest of Judah
Photo by Don Knebel

In about 2000 B.C., an Egyptian pharaoh named Sesostris ordered construction of a new temple near Luxor, Egypt. For 1300 years, his successors kept building on the same site until the complex of temples, halls and obelisks now called Karnak had grown into the largest collection of religious structures in the world. Grateful pharaohs built and decorated walls at Karnak to thank the gods for enabling their military successes. One of those walls can date the reigns of Biblical Kings David and Solomon.

Amun was one of the most important of the gods worshipped at Karnak. An annotated wall drawing shows Amun delivering about 150 captured cities, each identified by hieroglyphs, to a pharaoh named Sheshonq. The translated names of the cities include Arad, Beth-Shean, Megiddo and other cities of ancient Israel. Scholars recognized that the Karnak wall memorializes an Egyptian campaign against “the fortified cities of Judah” the Bible says succeeded because King Rehoboam had abandoned the laws of Yahweh. The Bible identifies the conquering pharaoh as Shishak, which scholars say is another name for Sheshonq. So we have two records of the same military campaign, with only the god mandating the outcome differing between them.

Using Greek and Egyptian records, scholars have determined that Sheshonq ruled Egypt from about 943 to 922 B.C. Somewhat arbitrarily, they have dated his campaign against Judah to 925 B.C., three years before his reign ended. Since the Bible says the campaign occurred in Rehoboam’s fifth year, his father Solomon must have passed the throne to him in 930 or 931 B.C. Because Solomon reigned for 40 years, his father David died in about 970 B.C.

Jerusalem is missing from Karnak’s long list of captured cities. The Biblical version of Sheshonq’s campaign (2 Chronicles 12) provides the reason.  Sheshonq (or Shishak) spared Jerusalem (and Rehoboam) in exchange for “the treasurers of the temple of the Lord [Yahweh] and the treasurers of the royal palace.”

For people curious about whether events described in the Bible really happened, a visit to Karnak can provide some insight.  It also provides an opportunity to view some truly spectacular ancient structures.

Flushed with Curiosity; 101 Travel Tales with a Twist

From the author’s website:

For years, Don Knebel, an Indianapolis attorney, law professor, speaker and civic leader, has traveled with his wife Jen to interact with the world’s people and learn about their customs and their religions. The idea for this book came when he discovered that not all people find western bathroom plumbing an improvement. From that exposure of his cultural bias, he began looking in the places he visits for stories and pictures reflecting our common humanity and the beliefs and traditions that both divide and unite us. Some of the stories describe people we can never forget. A few are about bodies that end up in more than one place. Some of the stories are quirky, some are inspirational and some contradict common assumptions. All help show our connections to each other and only one is about toilets. The 101 stories are arranged in roughly chronological order, providing a quick and fascinating tour through the 10,000-year history of western and near eastern civilization. If you plan to travel, this book can suggest where to go. If you don’t plan to travel, this book can tell you what you’ll miss.