February 6, 2006
Great Discoveries in Biblical Archaeology:
The Mari Archive
Bryant G. Wood, Ph.D.
This article was first published in the Winter 2005 issue of Bible and Spade.*
The ancient city of Mari, located in northern Syria, was a thriving
metropolis ca. 2800-1760 BC. From about 2000 BC until its demise in 1760 BC,
Mari was the capital of the Amorites. Amorites were spread far and wide throughout
the ancient Near East, including the hill country of Canaan vanquished by the Israelites
(Nm 13:29; Jos 10:6). The French have been excavating Mari almost continuously since 1933.
The major discovery was an enormous palace covering 6 acres, with nearly 300 rooms on the ground
level and an equal number on a second floor. It was in use from ca. 2300 BC until its destruction
by Hammurabi in 1760 BC. An archive of about 15,000 texts from the final years of the palace provides
a detailed insight into the common social, economic and legal practices of that time. Contained
in the archive are administrative and legal documents, letters, treaties, and literary and religious texts.
The value of the Mari texts for Biblical studies lies in the fact that Mari is located in the
vicinity of the homeland of the Patriarchs, being about 200 mi (320 km) southeast of Haran. It
thus shares a common culture with the area where the Patriarchs originated. Some documents detail
practices such as adoption and inheritance similar to those found in the Genesis accounts. The tablets
speak of the slaughtering of animals when covenants were made, judges similar to the judges of the Old
Testament, gods that are also named in the Hebrew Bible, and personal names such as Noah, Abram, Laban and
Jacob. A city named Nahur is mentioned, possibly named after Abraham’s grandfather Nahor (Gn 11:22-25), as
well as the city of Haran where Abraham lived for a time (Gn 11:31-12:4). Hazor is spoken of often in the Mari
texts and there is a reference to Laish (Dan) as well. A unique collection of 30 texts deals with prophetic
messages that were delivered to local rulers who relayed them to the king.
The findings at Mari show that the Patriarchal narratives accurately reflect the socioeconomic conditions of
that time and place.
(For further information, see The Archive of Mari, by G. Herbert Livingston, Bible and Spade 5 [1992]: 105-108.)
*The back issue of Bible and Spade where this article was first published, complete
with pictures, can be purchased through the ABR Catalog.
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