Egyptian Hieroglyph with “yehoua[w]”

Egyptian Hieroglyph with “yehoua[w]”
Replica of an Egyptian hieroglyph containing the Tetragrammaton.
The above part is a scientific reconstruction
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Plan of Amun-temple in Soleb, Sudan
[The arrow points to the column with the Tetragrammaton in Hieroglyph]
Aerial view of Amun-temple
[The arrow points to the column with the Tetragrammaton in Hieroglyph]
The Amun-temple in Soleb (Sudan), dating from the time of Amenophis III (14th century
B.C.E.) pictures on the base of the columns captives with name-rings. The hands of these
captives are bound together behind their back. The racial features are easy recognizable.
Drawing of the base of one of the columns
The Tetragram is found on the base of column IV N 4  2 in the Inner Hypostyle.
Unfortunately of column IV N 4  2 only the base is intact. However, a scientific
reconstruction is possible based on other more complete columns. According to scholars this
particular name-shield contains the following Egyptian text: “ta shasouw yehoua[w],”
translated into English “land of the nomads, those of Yehoua.” Although some scholars claim
that Yehoua here refers to an unknown toponym, other scholars question this conclusion.
Several studies for example identify the Shasou with the “ancestral Hebrews.” Jean Leclant
writes: “It is evident that the name on the name-ring in Soleb that we discuss corresponds to
the “tetragram” of the god of the Bible YHWH.” He adds: “The name of God appears here in
the first place as the name of a place.” In a footnote he explains that place-names often are
derived of the names of gods.
Gérard Gertoux provides the following vocalization of this name-shield:
Selected bibliography
B.D. Redford, Egypt, Israel, Sinai, Archeological and Historical Relationship in the Biblical Period, Ed. A.F.
Rainey, p. 151, 1987, Tel Aviv.
Gérard Gertoux, Un historique du nom divin, 1999, Paris.
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Jean Leclant, Le “Tétragramme” à l’époque d’Aménophis III, in “Near Eastern Studies dedicated to H.I.H.
Prince Takahito Mikasa on the Occasion of His Seventy-Fifth Birthday,” pages 215-219, 1991, Wiesbaden.
Michele Schiff Giorgini, Soleb I, 1813-1963, Firenze.
M. Weippert, The Settlement of the Israelite Tribes in Palestine, 1971, London.
P.J.B., La naissance de Dieu. Du Xe au IIIe siècle av. J.C. La révélation de Yahvé, in “Sciences et Avenir”,
01/1999, N° 623.
Shmuel Ahituv, Canaanite Toponyms in Ancient Egyptian Documents, 1984, Leiden.
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