There aren’t too many scholarly journals that can be read recreationally; one of them is the Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR). Despite what the name might suggest, the BAR is in no sense a religious publication; it is, rather, a serious academic look at discoveries and developments in the archaeology of the Levant—principally in Egypt, Jordan, and of course, Israel. This month, the BAR updated one of its best features, “Archaeology Confirms 50 Real People in the Bible.” Three new ones have been discovered. BAR’s new feature “53 People in the Bible Confirmed Archaeologically” makes fascinating reading.
Some of them are no surprise: Cyrus and Darius the Greats, for instance, are both mentioned in the bible, though they’re much better known for their extra-biblical work. King Xerxes, of Thermopylae, is mentioned in the bible, as are the Pharaohs Shesonq, Osorkon IV, Taharqa, Neco II and Apries.
Some of the real-life biblical figures BAR lists are charmingly obscure. In the second book of Kings, the Priest Hilchiah discovers an ancient Torah scroll, which he sends to King Josiah by way of a scribe named Shaphan, father of Gemariah. A clay bullae, used to seal a scroll, was recently discovered in Israel, stamped with the name “Gemariah, son of Shaphan.
The most famous figure on the list, by an order of magnitude, is King David. Stunningly, David is referenced four times in three archaeological sources: two stone stelae, the Tel Dan Stele and the the Mesha Stele, both refer to the “House of David.” The Mesha Stele also mentions the “altar of David.” And an Egyptian relief carving describing the Pharaoh Shosenq’s exploits refers to a raid on the “highlands of David.”
(The Tel Dan and Mesha Stelae are also significant as being two of only four contemporary sources that specifically mention the biblical kingdom of Israel.)
I suggest reading through BAR’s complete cast of biblical characters; it’s captivating. As a scholarly collection, though, the BAR list excludes biblical identifications that come with an asterisk. BAR takes no chances. One such identification is so interesting, though—so thought-provoking—that everyone really ought to hear about it, even if it turns out to be wrong.
This much is historically certain: A powerful and important Egyptian courtier named Yuya lived in the 14th century BC. He had a wife named Tjuyu, and a daughter named Tiye. Tjuyu was a noblewoman; a descendant of Queen Ahmose-Nefertari. Time married the Pharaoh Amenhotep III. Yuma and Tjuyu had at least one son. You can see Yuya’s face; Tjuyu’s too. When they died, they were mummified. Their mummies were discovered in 1905, in a staggeringly perfect state of preservation.
Yuya is believed to have been unusually tall, and according to the prominent anatomist, Egyptologist and mummy-expert Grafton Elliot, Yuya has notably non-Egyptian features, including an usually large nose, and a beard. His is the only mummy ever discovered to have its hands clasped under its chin, rather than crossed on its chest. Combined with an atypically-Egyptian name, spelled with hieroglyphics than imply something foreign, it is speculated that Yuya was an immigrant.
Though Yuya was not a nobleman himself, he was one of Amenhotep III’s top advisors (as well as his father in law). He held the titles “King’s Lieutenant,” “Master of the Horse,” and “Father of the god”—the last evidently being a reference to his son-in-laws pharaohic divinity.
In the Bible, Joseph does not have a daughter. However, in Genesis—after Pharaoh makes Joseph one of his top advisors and lieutenants—he is proclaimed “avrech,” an unusual word sometimes translated as “father of the king.” Because of that, and because Joseph was a foreigner who married a noblewoman, and because the bible says that Joseph was mummified and buried in Egypt, and because the names “Joseph” and “Yuya” and etymologically similar (and because Yuya has a Jewish nose and a beard), Egyptian journalist Ahmed Osman has speculated that the two are in fact the same man.
As a bonus, Yuya and Tjuyu are believed (historically) to have been the grandparents of the Pharaoh Akehnatan. Akehnatan is easily the most interesting of all Pharaohs; he attempted to introduce a form of monotheism to Egypt. Freud believed the real-life Moses was one of his monotheistic followers.
It must be stressed that this is all purely circumstantial speculation that has not be accepted as fact, or even accepted as likely, by any Egyptologist. Unlike the later biblical books of Judges and Kings, few scholars believe anything in Genesis is in any way historical. And, in fact, the historicity of Osman’s Yuya-Joseph theory has been explicitly rejected by the Biblical Archaeology Review. Given the charged field in which it works, BAR is careful to entertain nothing but concrete, verifiable data.
None the less, it’s too intriguing an idea simply to dump on the ash heap of history. Perhaps someday some new chunk of evidence will lend it new credibility. After all, as BAR has demonstrated, new biblical figures are confirmed by archaeology on a surprisingly regular basis.
In the meantime, have a look at Yuya’s perfectly preserved face and let your imagination run wild.
