Shechem
in The Amara Period
While the Tell el-Amarna letters
contain only a single reference to Shechem, their importance for the history of
the city extends much beyond this reference. The city is referred to in letter
289, 'Abdu-kheba, prince of Jerusalem, writes to the Pharaoh (probably
Akh-en-aton) for aid to wishstand the enemies who are attacking the land of the
Pharaoh. If such aid does not come quickly, 'Abdu-kheba is doomed. In this
context, 'Abdu-kheba raises the question: "Or should we d like Lab'ayu who
gave the land of Shechem to the 'Apiru?.” Thus we have the name of Shechem and
also the name of the prince of the city. "The land of Schechem"
must be taken to refer to the city and the adjacent territory under its
control.
Lab'ayu's name appears in several
other letters. It is difficult to assess his precise place in the history of
the Amarna period, of course, but the following general sketch appears to be
fairly reliable. Lab'ayu's own letters (252-54) are addressed to the Pharaoh
Amenophis III (cf. 1406-1370 B.C.). In the first of these (252) he replies in defiant
terms to the charge of disloyalty and maintains that his enemies will be
resisted. The dispute between him and his enemies concerns two towns, one of
which is the ancestral town of Lab'ayu. This town cannot be Schechem, his
capital city (on the basis of letter 289), since the loss of Shechem would have
meant, we must suppose the loss of significant influence in Palestine. The
other two letters from Lab'ayu depict him as a loyal vassal of the Pharaoh,
although they contain his acknowledgment that in Gazri (Gezer) he had
complained publicly about the Pharaoh's unfair preference of Milkilu of Gezer
over him. Milkilu elsewhere is found as an ally of Lab'ayu but he apparently
suffered a change of heart and renewed his loyalty, a fact which the Pharaoh
has acknowledge with suitable concessions. (Walter Harrelson, "Shechem
in Extra-Biblical References," The Biblical Archaeologist 20,
no. 1 [February 1957]: 6)
