Letter of Pabi to Akhnaton

Letter of Pabi, Prince of Lachish, to Akhnaton, King of Kemet (i.e. Egypt)

circa 1350 BC

This letter was found in the mound of Tell-el-Hesy (ancient Lachish) Clay 14, 1.i92, by F. I. Bliss, and awakened great interest because it obviously belongs to the same series as the Tell-el-Amarna letters and possesses the additional interest of having been actually discovered in the soil of Palestine. Published by Hilprecht, "Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania," vol. I; "Old Babylonian Inscriptions," part 2, Plate 64, No. 147. Translated by Winckler, "Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek," v, No. 219, and by Ungnad in Gressmann, "Altorientalische Texte und Bilder," i, pp. 127-128, and by Knudtzon, "Die El-Amarna Tafeln," No. 333.

To the Great One, thus speaks Pabi, at your feet do I fall.

You must know that Shipti-Ba'al and Zimrida are conspiring, and Shipti-Ba'al has said to Zimrida "My father of the city Yarami has written to me: give me six bows, three daggers and three swords. If I take the field against the land of the king and you march at my side, I shall surely conquer. He who makes this plan is Pabi. Send him before me."

Now have I sent you Rapha-el. He will bring to the Great man intelligence concerning the matter.

Source:

From: Robert William Rogers, ed., Cuneiform Parallels to the Old Testament (New York: Eaton & Mains, & Cincinnati: Jennings & Graham, 1912), pp. 268-278.

Scanned by: J. S. Arkenberg, Dept. of History, Cal. State Fullerton. Prof. Arkenberg may have modernized the text.