Footnote 2 – What’s a Pleasing Sacrifice?

The name “Israel” is much older than the time of the United Monarchy, although it is only with the monarchy that we see a whole Israel that unites these component tribes. The term “Israel” first appears in the archaeological record at the end of the 13th century in a victory stele of Egyptian king Merneptah. His defeat of a people named Israel in the Canaanite highlands probably refers to one of the smaller groups that eventually lent its name (and religious traditions) to the larger entity. See Frank J. Yurco, “3,200-Year-Old Picture of Israelites Found in Egypt,” Biblical Archaeology Review, September/October 1990.