The Merneptah Stele, erected in 1208 BCE, contains the earliest known mention of Israel outside the Bible. Carved to celebrate Pharoah Merneptah’s victories, it lists Israel separately from Canaanite cities—using grammar that denotes a people group rather than a territory. This distinction is crucial.

Archaeology and linguistics together reveal that Israel existed in Canaan as a decentralized tribal society, matching the biblical account of the Judges period. With no capital, no monarchy, and settlements concentrated in the hill country, Israel fits perfectly into the historical window Scripture provides. The stele places Israel in the land shortly after Joshua’s death and rules out alternative Exodus timelines. The stone doesn’t preach theology—but it speaks history very clearly. And its testimony aligns with the Bible.”

The Canaanites had a pantheon of gods, and the main or chief deity in that culture was named “El” (Baal was a subsidiary God in that same pantheon). This information comes from texts excavated from Ugarit (Lebanon). Parts of the Pentateuch (first 5 books of the hebrew scriptures) also refer to God as “El” or some variant of that. It is thought that Hebrews who called their God “El” lived in the north of Israel, and constituted the “10 lost tribes” of Israel, who were lost from history after the Assyrian defeat.

The name “YHWH ” was used by the 2 southern Hebrew tribes, which included the tribe of Judah (which had Jerusalem as their capital city). The origin of that name for God may be from Midian or other sites south of Israel (where Moses fled from Egypt). Other parts of the Hebrew........

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