The Campaign of Shoshenq I to Palestine A Guide to the lO th Century BCE Polity By Israel Finkelstein The campaign of Shoshenq I (biblical Shishak) to Palestine. reported on a wall in the temple of Amun at Karnak (SIMONS 1937. 95 -102) and mentioned in the Bible in 1 Kgs 1 4.25-28 and in 2 Cltr J 2. 1 -12, has pl ayed a pivot al role in two fie l ds of research. For those dealing with the history of early Isr ael. it served as a chronological peg in the JO'h cemury and a datum for destmction layers uncovered in many mounds in Israel. In most cases. the Shoshenq I campaign was rcconstnJcted according to the traditional approach to biblical hi story. It was dated. following l Kgs 14,25, to the ftfth year of Rehoboam - 926 BCE according to the reconst ruction of the regnal years of the Judahite monarchs. And most accepted the story in Kings. which re lates how the temple treasures were given to the Pharaoh in order to save the capital (e. g .. B. MAZAR 1957, 61; Y. AHARONJ 1979, 326: KITCHEN 1986,298.447: NA ' AMAN 1992a. 81; AHLSTROM 1993a, 15 ). 1n biblical studies the Shishak story in I Kgs was conceived as clear evidence of the incorporation of authentic early materi al into the Deuteronomistic History. Scholars argu ed that the report was based on an early Temple or palace chronicle (e. g., B. MAZAR 1957, 58; NA' AMAN I992a, 85; 1997a. 57- 61; REDFORD 1992, 326). Studies of Shoshenq rs campaign concentrated on four main issues: the sites recorded at Karnak; the course of the campaign; Shoshenq's interests and goals in Palestine; the role of Jerusalem and Judah in th e event. The toponyms at Karnak are organized in three groups (KITCHEN 1986. 432-433) . The first five lines are short. They include the traditional introductory names (the 'Nine Bows') and toponyms I I -65. which mention places in the center and north of the country 1 • Below thi s group there are five longer lines. They coma in toponyms 66 - 150, which include places in the sout h - in the Beer-sheba VaUey. the Besor area and probably th e Negev Highlands (below). The last long row is badly damaged. The five names which were preserved include two s ites located on the southern coast. Scholars proposed that this last row included more sout hern toponyms. especially along the coast or in the Shephelah (KITCHEN 1986. 441; Y. AHARONI 1979. 329 respectively). The toponyms which have been safely identified represent the follow ing regions of the country: the Jezreel Valley, the international road in the Sharon pl ai n, the area of Gibeon in the highlands. the area of Penuel and Mahanaim in Transjordan, the Beer-sheba Valley. the southern coast and probably the Besor region and the Negev Highlands. Other important regions are missing. These include the highlands of Judah. the fertile and densely settled hill 1 The boustrophedon theory for the order of toponyms II - 65 (B. MAZAR 1 957) has now been widely rejected (KITCHEN 1986. 444: NA' AMAN 1992a. 79: AHLSTROM 1 993a. 5). ZDPV 118 (20021 2