Endnote 13 – Pharaoh’s Man, ‘Abdiel: The Vizier with a Semitic Name
Nevertheless we must note that the name ‘Abdiel (‘Aper-El) appears as a toponym in a letter dating from the Ramesside period (Papyrus Anastasi VIII). The text mentions an expedition of grain and the death of a certain Any, son of the sailor Pay, and of his children. These people are said to be “of/from ‘Aper-El of the great statue of Ramses beloved of Amun, sun of princes.” These events happened under the 19th Dynasty. Their geographical frame was the Eastern Delta, and therefore the toponym ‘Abdiel (‘Aper-El) was probably located in that part of Egypt. For this letter, see the study of Sarah Groll, “The Historical Background to the Exodus: Papyrus Anastasi VIII,” in Marcel Sigrist, ed., Études égyptologiques et bibliques à la mémoire du Père B. Couroyer, Cahiers de la Revue Biblique 36 (Paris: Peeters, 1997), pp. 109–114. The author tries to directly connect the events and the general frame related in this letter with several themes in the narrative of the Exodus, but this aspect of the article is not really convincing from my point of view.