Apiru

    The term 'Apiru has been the subject of wide discussion and speculation. It occurs in both Syria and Mesopotamia as a general term applied to soldiers, mercenaries, raiders, captives and slaves; there is also general acceptance that it can be identified with the Habiru (Hapiru who are mentioned in the Amarna Letters) as a general term for 'bandits' or 'outcasts', but with no reference to a specific ethnic group.

    In a stela which dates to the reign of *Ramesses II, there is a reference to the building of a city bearing the king's name in which the 'Apiru are employed as labourers; at one time, it was speculated that these people should be identified with the Hebrews of the Old Testament who were engaged in building works immediately before the Exodus. The identification of the 'Apiru with the Hebrews is not now widely accepted, and in the Egyptian texts, the term is probably used as a general reference to the *Asiatic prisoners who were employed in the state building and quarrying projects. The word may be derived from the Egyptian verb 'hpr' which meant 'to bind' or 'to make captive'.

BIBL. Wilson, J.A. The 'Eperu of the Egyptian inscriptions. AJSL 49 (1932-3) pp 275 ff.; Bottero, J. (Ed.) Le Probleme des Habiru. Paris: 1954; Greenberg, M. The Hab/piru. New Haven: 1955.

Biographical Dictionary of Ancient Egypt by Rosalie and Antony E. David