Biblical Proper Names

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Habiru

A Dictionary of the Bible | 1997 | | Copyright

Habiru Sumerian term for refugees of various races scattered round the Fertile Crescent from about 2900 to 1200 BCE. The Tell el-Amarna letters found in 1887 at a town on the River Nile, were sent to the Pharaohs in the 15–14th cents. BCE from Egyptian governors in Palestine; they mention hostile incursions of the Habiru, whom some archaeologists identified as the Hebrews of the Exodus. But the hypothesis has the difficulty that Jerusalem, from which one of the letters was sent, was not taken by the Hebrews until its capture by David in c.1000 BCE.

The term is now thought to be a description of a social rather than an ethnic group.

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W. R. F. BROWNING. "Habiru." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

W. R. F. BROWNING. "Habiru." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Habiru.html

W. R. F. BROWNING. "Habiru." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Habiru.html

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Habiru

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions | 1997 | | Copyright

Habiru (ʿprw of the Egyptian Tel el-Amarna letters, hab/hapiru in correspondence of Amenophis III and IV). A group or groups of people mentioned in Middle Eastern documents from the 18th to 12th cents. BCE. There has been much scholarly speculation as to the connection between the Habiru and the Hebrews (Heb., ʿibri), but identity between the two is unlikely.

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JOHN BOWKER. "Habiru." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN BOWKER. "Habiru." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Habiru.html

JOHN BOWKER. "Habiru." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Habiru.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Habiru-like bands in the Assyrian empire and bands in biblical historiography Magazine article from: The Journal of the American Oriental Society; 10/1/2000
	Habiru-like Bands in the Assyrian Empire and Bands in Biblical Historiography. Magazine article from: The Journal of the American Oriental Society; 10/1/2000
	The Long-Lost Diary of an Egyptian Magician. Magazine article from: The Other Side; 3/1/1999