263 “ WHY TARRY THE WHEELS CHARIOT ? ” (JUDG 5,28) OF HIS 2. Egyptian Chariotry and the Merneptah Stele The greatest symbol of Egyptian prowess on the battlefield in the late Bronze Age was the chariot. This vehicle of warfare had assisted the Hyksos in taking control of the Egyptian empire in the late 18th century BCE, and innovations in chariot design is regarded as a major contributing factor to the successful re-assertion of native Egyptian power following the expulsion of the Hyksos in the 16th century 18. The Ramesside kings especially promoted themselves through chariot imagery and claims of being master charioteers ; the reliefs at Karnak commemorating the battle of Kadesh especially emphasize the cariot skills of Rameses II. Egyptian hegemony in the lowland plains of Canaan were doubtlessly aided by the formidability of their chariot forces throughout the late Bronze Age 19, and the retention of this technology among Canaanite lowlanders in the early Iron Age perpetuated the idea and imagery of Egyptian military strategies. The attention drawn to Sisera’s chariot in Judg 5,28 doubtlessly relates to the fact that while chariots were suited for battle on the open plains, they were ineffective in campaigns that took place in highland hills such as those where early Israel established themselves by the late 13th century BCE 20. The case of Merneptah’s campaign (ca. 1210 BCE) sheds light on the role of chariotry and its resonance in Israelite imagination. Though Merneptah boasts in his victory stele that he managed to destroy “Israel” in his campaign at the end of the 13th century, archaeological remains do not support kingship. In this case, however, the text utilizes tropes from Assyrian sources and likely transforms an old tradition ascribed to Samuel into a meditation on 8th–7th century experiences. See M. LEUCHTER, “A King Like All The Nations: The Composition of I Sam 8,11-18”, ZAW 117 (2005) 543-558. P.R.S. MOOREY, “The Emergence of the Light, Horse-Drawn Chariot in 18 the Near East, ca. 2000-1500 B.C.E.”, World Archaeology 18 (1986) 208, 211; C. MEYERS, “Procreation, Production and Protection: Male-Female Balance in Eary Israel”, JAAR 51 (1983) 577. On the firmly set administrative occupation of the lowland cities, see 19 N. NA’AMAN, “Economic Aspects of the Egyptian Occupation of Canaan”, IEJ 31 (1981) 177-179. There is a general consensus that some form of an Israelite social entity 20 existed in the central Palestinian highlands by the end of the 13th century BCE (see, e.g., STAGER, “Forging an Identity”, 90-91), though the process by which this entity coalesced remains a matter of debate.