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THEBES

(Gk. Thebes)

The second most populous and important city in Egypt after Memphis. Heb. nōʾ corresponds to Egyp. nỉw(t), “the City,” and No-Amon corresponds to Egyp. nỉw(t)-ʾImn, “the City of (the god) Amun.” Thebes is its Greek name.

Thebes is located ca. 483 km. (300 mi.) S of Cairo. The site spans the two banks of the Nile, and is surrounded by an unrivaled combination of sacred precincts and temples, attesting the religious importance of the city. The ruins of the ancient city cover an area of ca. 41-47 sq. km. (16-18 sq. mi.); because of the sparse occupation of the site over the last 1500 years many ancient buildings have survived. The east side of the Nile is marked by the two vast temple precincts of the god Amon, now known by the Arab names Karnak and Luxor; the west side is marked by a row of royal funerary temples behind which extends a vast necropolis of rock-cut tombs. Thebes straddles the Nile at a point where the alluvial plain broadens to a width of ca. 15 km. (9 mi.) providing the region with moderate productivity in crops.

Thebes was capital of Egypt during most of the nation’s periods of political unity from the Middle Kingdom to the Assyrian invasion under Assurbanipal (ca. 661 b.c.). During the imperial 18th-20th Dynasties the treasures of Asia and Africa poured into the coffers of Amon of Thebes. All this wealth plus the continuing gifts of Late Period pharaohs such as Shishak fell as spoil to the conquering Assyrians under Assurbanipal.

It was during the 11th Dynasty that Thebes rose from relative obscurity to become the capital of Egypt. The city lost this prominent position with the coming of the Hyksos at the close of the Middle Kingdom but regained its supremacy at the beginning of the New Kingdom.

The 7th-century prophet Nahum compares the imminent fall of Assyria with the conquest of Thebes that has already happened (Nah. 3:8, 10). In the early 6th century both Jeremiah (Jer. 46:25-26) and Ezekiel (Ezek. 30:14-16) spoke against Thebes.

Larry L. Walker

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

THEBES

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)