Who are the Hapiru mentioned in Amarna Tablet?

Answer 1

The Habiru or Hapiru are a group of people or tribe mentioned in the El-amarna letters. These letters were written to the Pharaoh of Egypt around the time of the Israelite invasion of Canaan and repeatedly asked for military assistance against the hapiru. The repetition of the request and the total absence of any record of a reply, as well as no evidence of any Egyptian incursion into the relevant part of Canaan in this time is suggestive that the Habiru were in fact the Hebrew invaders.

The reluctance of the Egyptians to attack the Israelites, given the recent debacle with the plagues and the loss of an army is understandable. In addition they would have been militarily weak as a result, not to mention a reluctance to meddle with Israel and their almighty God. It is also significant to note that the military campaigns into Canaan by the Egyptians during the relevant period avoided the areas where The Bible record states the Israelites had settled.

The habiru are thus identified by many scholars with the Israelite invaders, as recorded in the Old Testament. This is thus regarded by these scholars as another archaeological confirmation of the Old Testament record of history.