This post is about a very tentative theory that Sisera of Judges 4 (in the Bible https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisera ) matches Seqenenre of the 17th dynasty of ancient Egypt ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seqenenre_Tao ). This theory is probably wrong for some reasons mentioned in a few places below but I can help wanting it to be true and being intrigued by some remarkable similarities. Now here below are our comparisons of details of Sisera and Seqenenre for peoples consideration.
Head wound same/similar, & both when laying/fell down:
Sisera:
"Then Jael, Heber's wife took a tent peg, and took a hammer/mallet
in her hand, and went softly to him, and struck the pin/nail
into his temples, and it pierced through into the ground;
for he was in a deep sleep; so he swooned and died. ....
He came to her; and behold, Sisera lay dead, and the tent
peg was in his temples."
".... She put her hand to the tent peg, and her right hand to
the workmen's hammer. With the hammer she struck Sisera.
She struck through his head. Yes, she pierced and struck
through his temples."
"At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay. At her feet he bowed,
he fell. Where he bowed, there he fell down dead."
Seqenenre:
"The terrible wounds on Seqenenre's skull were caused by ... people attacking him with a dagger, an axe, a spear (or javelin) and possibly a mace. The horizontal nature of the ... wounds indicate that he was lying on his right side, either asleep or having been felled by a blow."
"... evidence of terrible wounds about the head."
"A blow from an axe must have severed part of his left cheek, exposed the teeth, fractured the jaw, and sent him senseless to the ground; another blow must have seriously injured the skull, and a dagger or javelin has cut open the forehead on the right side, a little above the eye. His body must have remained lying where it fell for some time"
"...it is not known whether he fell upon the field of battle or was the victim of some plot"
"The wound on his forehead was probably caused by a Hyksos axe and his neck wound was probably caused by a dagger while he was prone. There are no wounds on his arms or hands, which suggests he was not able to defend himself."
"Until 2009 the main hypotheses have been that he died either in a battle against the Hyksos or was killed while sleeping."
Note the similarities of both descriptions: both temples/forehead/head/skull, both mention similar mace/axe or hammer/mallet, both similar peg/pin/nail or dagger/spear/javelin, both horizontal/ground/prone/lying/asleep/sleeping/fell or unable to defend himself, both a plot, and both implied to be terrible.
The source mentions a few different possibilities for the weapon(s) implying they are not sure as to the correct exact one/ones used, and the ones mentioned all tend to quite likely be uncertain due to confusing nature not knowing that a tent peg and mace had been used?
Though there are a few doubts that the head wounds of Seqenenre could be the same as Sisera's. The bible says the temple(s) of the head, but Seqenenre's wound is in the front of the forehead.
The bible says a tent peg, but Seqenenre's wound is maybe a different shape (linear like a sword blade, not roundish like a tent peg).
The bible implies only two wounds where the peg went in and where the peg went out and stuck into the ground. Seqenenre has 5 wounds and there is no wound where peg went out and into the ground?
Though that there are also maybe one or two other holes/wounds doesn't necesarily prove that the two heads wounds can't match, because there are perfectly possible explanations in our scenario, eg:
The tent peg might have had more than one spike?
The peg "pierced through to the earth".
He fell down and might have been damaged in fall.
It was a clumsy-like striking with a tent peg and a mace by a woman and the hammer could have slipped, or one of the verses imply she hit him with the hammer?
She might have stabbed more than once.
Sisera had just come from a battle and might have been wounded.
The Kenites or Hebrews might have mutilated Sisera out of hate/spite.
The bible text doesn't necessarily say there was definitely only one blow/stab/wound.
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Names similar:
Sisera:
His name is Sisera or See-ser-aw' or Ciycara' or Siys'ra or Sisra or Sus-sera or Ses-ra.
Seqenenre:
His name is Seqen-en-re / Seqenera / Seknener / Sekenenra (Tao 2).
Or other similar names of the same period are Aasehre/Ahsehra, Sheshi, Ases/Assis, Seuserenre, Serkara.
Note the similarity of Sesera/Sesra and Sek(en)era/Sek(enen)ra.
K & s sometimes interchange in Egyptian, eg Khent/Shent, Keb/Seb.
The omission of the -(e)n- is not necessarily a problem since conventional scholars consider the supposed loss of the -n- in their "Sheshonk/Shishak" equation to be a "minor" proposition. Other possible instances of a loss of an -n- might be Aa-en-ru/Aaru, Khuns/Cush, Ankh-em-maat/Ha-massa? (Also compare Rom/Romt/Rot, Shemsu/Schesoo/Shasu.)
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Maybe similar meanings of names:
Sisera:
his name is suggested to mean either "ready for war, battle array" or "(hawk eye, an Hebrew euphemism meaning) servant of Ra (the Egyptian god depicted with a bird head on a human body. He wore a sun disk encircled by a serpent)" or "supporting something/someone + a hand" or "snake"? or "Sisera's name has been variously identified as Philistine, Hittite, Hurrian, or Egyptian".
Seqenenre:
his name is said to mean "(he) who strikes like Ra/Re/sungod" or "he whom Ra makes brave"
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Both foreign/Canaanite/Hyksos dominators of Israelites:
Sisera:
"Sisera's name has been variously identified as Philistine, Hittite, Hurrian, or Egyptian",
"most historians are not sure or agreed on where Sisera was from",
"What I find interesting is the Hebrew spelling - Sisra. The Hebrew term sis has two samekh's in it. This letter carries connotations of supporting something/someone. The middle letter yod represents a hand. And he was apparently a foreign commander who turned his hand to help the Canaanite Jabin attack the Jews."
Seqenenre:
was a Theban Egyptian prince during the Semitic Hyksos domination of Egypt & Canaan/Palestine.
So Seqenenre as an Egyptian would be a foreigner to the Israelites &/or Canaanites like Sisiera is proposed to have been. The Hyksos were also "foreign rulers".
Note that one of the suggested origins of Sisera is Egyptian.
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Similar place/people names?
Sisera:
is implied to have been in/at/near Hazor and/or Harosheth Ha-goyim "Harosheth of the Gentiles".
"Sisera, captain of the army of Hazor ...."
"Sisera, who lived in Harosheth".
"proposed that the excavation at El-Ahwat, between Katzir-Harish and Nahal Iron, is the site of Harosheth Haggoyim"
Seqenenre:
He as at Thebes/Luxor/Karnak in Upper Egypt.
He was during the Hyksos domination of Egypt and Canaan. The Hyksos ruled at/from Hutwaret/Hatwaret/Hawara/Hauar/Avaris / Khatana or El-Arish?
"he had built a new palace made of mud brick at Deir el-Ballas. On an adjacent hillside overlooking the river, the foundations of a building were found that almost certainly was a military observation post."
Note the possible similarity of Hazor & Hatwaret, and/or of Harosheth/Harish & Arish, and/or Katzir & Khatana?
Harosheth of the Goyim/gentiles could link with the Hyksos/Heqa-khase "foreign rulers" were also called Amu "gentiles" and they might be the same as the biblical Edomite Amalekites who are also called "the first of the nations".
One doubt here though is that Judges implies Sisera's mother was waiting at Harosheth or Hazor for his return? Whereas Seqenenre's mother would have been in Thebes. Jabin also probably matches Ibni/Yabni of Hazor. And the places in Judges 3 seem to be in the same northern area of Israel (Hazor, Harosheth/Harish, Ephraim, Zebulun, Naphtali, Kedesh, Tabor, Kishon, Endor, Makir, Tanaach, Megiddo, Meroz).
Sisera:
"Do to them as you did to Midian, as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the river Kishon;"
Seqenenre:
Contemporary of the Hyksos/Heqa-khase who were at (the wadi/river of) El-Arish?
"he had built a new palace made of mud brick at Deir el-Ballas. On an adjacent hillside overlooking the river, the foundations of a building were found that almost certainly was a military observation post."
(Compare ".... I conveyed by water the deceased king Serkara...."?)
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Both associated with a ruler who had a name like Jabin:
Sisera:
"... Jabin/Yavin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose army was Sisera .... Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army...." (Judges 4:2 - 5:30).
Seqenenre:
Seqenenre (17th dyn, "1574") is a near-contemporary of Jaib/Ibiau (13th dyn), Yantin (Byblos, 13th dyn), Yakbim (14th dyn), Beon/Bnon/Bebnum (Hyksos king, 15th/16th dyn), Apepi/Apophis (Hyksos king, 15th/16th dyn), Ibni/Yabni (king of Hazor), Iehaenu (king of Hazor).
"New Kingdom literary tradition states that Seqenenre Tao came into contact with his Hyksos contemporary in the north, Apepi or Apophis."
"Apepi 1 complains to his Theban counterpart Seqenenre Tao...."
"... Apepi in connection with an Egyptian under-king Seqenenra...."
Though that fact that Jabin probably matches Ibni/Yabni of Hazor probably rules out Sisera being Seqenenre, and rules out Jabin being Apepi or other Hyksos rulers?
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Supposedly different dates is only orthodox theory:
Sisera:
Jabin and Sisera are ca 1300s in Judges (not "late 1200s" or "1125" as in conventional chronology). (Sisera is not long after the exodus which was 480 yrs before Solomon of 1000s/900s bc.)
Seqenenre:
Seqenenre is ca "1574/1558-1555" in conventional Egyptian chronology. Seqenenre was a near contemporary of Jaib/Iayib/Ibiau of the 13th dynasty ("1725-1714" or "1712-1701"), or Yakbim/Yakbam of the 14th dynasty ("1805-1780"), or Apepi ("1663-1555"), or Ibni(-Addi/Addu) / Ibni(-Addad) / Yabni(-Hadad) of Hazor (ca "1796-1780" bc or "1760s" or "18th-17th" cents bc or "18th" century bc).
However, Egyptian chronology has hardly any proofs of their ascribed theoretical dates of the dynasties and what few dating evidences/methods they have are unreliable, and their overall ancient Egyptian dynastic history is too long/old when compared with sources like the Bible and Herodotus etc and so the true dates of the dynasties will be lower. Two examples that the conventional chronology is at least a couple/few centuries too long/old are Shiphrah and Jabin. Shiphrah is ca bc in the bible. Spra of the 12th dynasty is "1833/1745/1733" in conventional. Jabin is ca 1300s in bible. Ibni/Yabni is "1796/1780/1760s" in conventional.
(Though there is also a "Qishon of Ybn" in a topographical list of Ramses 2 "1303-1273" bc. But these dates are at least 2 centuries too high/old.)
In Rohl's more correct chronology Seqenenre is 1201-1198, and Jaib is 1500-1490, or or Bnon is 1279-1255, or Apepi is 1209-1195.
Sisera:
Is between Moses and David & Shishak.
Seqenenre:
Is between the end of the 12th dynasty and Amarna period and Ramses II.
If we have the exodus at the end of the 12th dynasty, and David in the Amarna period, and Shishak matching Ramses II, then Sisera as possibly matching Seqenenre fits well with the precedding and suceeding Egyptian-Biblical matches.
Sisera:
comes ca 186 + x yrs into the 480 yrs between Moses/exodus (end of 12th dyn) and Solomon/Shishak (Ramses II).
(Moses/wilderness wanderings 40 yrs;
Joshua ? yrs;
Caleb/elders/generation/Kenaz ? yrs;
Chushan 8 yrs;
Othniel 40 yrs;
Eglon 18 yrs;
Ehud 80 yrs;
Shamgar ? yrs;
Jabin/Sisera 20 yrs;
Deborah/Barak 40 yrs.)
Seqenenre:
comes 208 yrs into the 503 yrs between the end of the 12th dynasty (exodus) and Ramses II (Shishak).
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Both next below/under a overlord king/lord:
Sisera:
The bible doesn't call Sisera a king, only a captain, though it doesn't necessarily mean he wasn't a king.
"... Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose army was Sisera .... Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army...."
Jael calls Sisera "my lord".
(The name Sisera might mean "Servant of Ra", or "supporting something/someone + a hand".)
Seqenenre:
He is supposed to have been a king/pharaoh of the 17th dynasty, though some sources say/imply he was a sub-king (of the Hyksos overlord pharaoh/king) or (rebel) prince. Egyptian king-lists might not necessarily always be totally reliable/honest about who were "kings".
And/or maybe compare "My father was a captain of the deceased king Seqenenra...."
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Both linked with chariots/horses:
Sisera:
Jabin and Sisera are linked with chariots of iron.
".... Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots".
Seqenenre:
A contemporary of the Hyksos who supposedly introduced the chariot/horse into Egypt.
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Both possibly similar 20-40 yrs?
Sisera:
Jabin & Sisera ruled over Israel for 20 yrs.
40 yrs peace under Deborah & Barak.
Seqenenre:
Reigned "likely only a few years". "The relatively short length of the reign of Seqenenre...."
Seqenenre "died a violent death when about 40 years of age".
His contemporary Apepi/Apophis ruled for "40 yrs or more".
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Both mean/bad/foul:
Sisera:
was bad in bible.
Seqenenre:
"a foul, oily smell filled the room the moment the case in which his body was exhibited was opened".
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Both at a battle before they died:
Sisera:
his name is suggested to mean either "ready for war, battle array".
"persuaded Barak to face Sisera in battle ... at the Battle of Mount Tabor.... .... After losing the battle, Sisera fled...."
Seqenenre:
"...it is not known whether he fell upon the field of battle or was the victim of some plot"
"The wound on his forehead was probably caused by a Hyksos axe...."
"Until 2009 the main hypotheses have been that he died either in a battle against the Hyksos or was killed while sleeping. .... ... following a Theban defeat on the battlefield."
"The body was hurredly embalmed (perhaps on the battlefield) without the usual careful preparation...."
"killed/died in battle". "battle wounds".
("credited with starting the opening moves in a war of revanchism against Hyksos")
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Both died (nearby a river) in Canaan/Palestine (not Egypt)?
Sisera:
"Sisera's name has been variously identified as Philistine, Hittite, Hurrian, or Egyptian",
"most historians are not sure or agreed on where Sisera was from",
"he was apparently a foreign commander who turned his hand to help the Canaanite Jabin attack the Jews."
"Sisera, who lived in Harosheth of the Gentiles. .... Sisera,
captain of the army of Hazor...."
"Do to them as you did to Midian, as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the river Kishon; who perished at Endor...." (Psalm 83:9-10.)
"at the Battle of Mount Tabor on the plain of Esdraelon. .... Sisera fled to the settlement of Heber the Kenite in the plain of Zaanaim".
Seqenenre:
"His body must have remained lying where it fell for some time"
"The body was hurredly embalmed (perhaps on the battlefield) without the usual careful preparation...."
"His body must have remained lying where it fell for some time: when found, decomposition had set in, and the embalming had to be hastily performed as best it might."
"His mummy appears to have been hastily embalmed. ... his mummy is the worst preserved of all the royal mummies.... ... due to the poor embalming process...."
".... I conveyed by water the deceased king Serkara...."
The above details of Seqenenre could possibly be due to having possibly died in Palestine.
One doubt here though is that Judges implies Sisera's mother was waiting at Harosheth or Hazor for his return?
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Interestingly Seqenenre's other name Djehuty-aa is similar to Jephthah abit later in Judges?
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