Dr. Anson F. Rainey (center), emeritus professor of ancient Near Eastern cultures and semitic linguistics, Tel Aviv University, lectured at La Sierra on "Pharaoh Merneptah and the Israelites", Feb. 12. He's joined by Drs. Lawrence Geraty and Bernard Taylor.

World-renowned archaeologist and biblical historian Anson F. Rainey will lecture at La Sierra University, on February 12 at 11:00 a.m. Held in the La Sierra University Church, 4937 Sierra Vista Ave., the lecture will be titled, "Merneptah, Pharoah of Egypt, and the Israelites." The event is open to the public, and there is no admission charge.

"Merneptah was a pharaoh who reigned in the 13th century BC and you'll see that Rainey advocates interesting connections between the Bible and Egyptian history," says Dr. Lawrence T. Geraty, president of La Sierra University and a world-renowned biblical archaeologist himself.

The Merneptah Stela was found in the mortuary temple of Merneptah (1213-1203 BC), and lists the pharaohâs triumphs. Merneptah boasted of defeating Israel in the central highlands of Canaan. This is believed to be the earliest extra-biblical reference to the Israelites, placing them in Canaan in the 13th century BC. *

Merneptah Stela

Rainey is Emeritus Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Cultures and Semitic Linguistics, Tel Aviv University, Israel, where he has been based since 1963. He was born in Texas, earned three bachelor's degrees, two master's degrees, and a doctorate. Rainey's fields of study were history, religious education, theology, Mediterranean studies, archaeology, and ancient languages, including Egyptian and Semitic languages. His southern California connections include several years as a San Bernardino County social worker, as a graduate student and assistant professor at California Baptist Theological Seminary in Covina, and as a student at UCLA.

. . . . . . . . . . .

by Christy Robinson

*(For more information on the Merneptah/Israel connection, visit:

http://www.christiananswers.net/q-abr/abr-a015.html or
http://olrcweb.bham.ac.uk/deryn/Merneptah.htm)