Adam When?

    A second solution is possible. If Merneptah’s statement that Israel is without seed were actually written one, two, or three years after the murder of the sons of Gideon, and there is at least a possibility that is so, and during this period Israel was still in a state of anarchy, then Merneptah’s first year could have been two or three years later and the first year of Rameses II would have been 1276. This year is one of the five possible as his first year. Until additional information is obtained relative to the time of Merneptah’s accession, either date of 1279 or 1276 must be considered to be concordant with the Biblical date of 1207 for the death of Gideon. For the moment, the date 1279 appears the more logical of the two. In any case, the Biblical date provides the possibility of far more accurate dating of Rameses II’s reign than anything that has been available strictly from the secular record.