The Shasu and Egypt

Many have heard of a people referred to as the ‘Shasu’, since they are sometimes identified with the Israelites of the ‘Egyptian Captivity’ and/or their later descendants in Canaan. The term (meaning ‘to wander’ in ancient Egyptian) has come to be understood as referring to nomads or Bedouin from the area of Syria–Palestine. However, what the ancient Egyptians themselves meant by ‘Shasu’ is hotly debated. The term read as ‘Shasu’ in English is rendered from hieroglyphs, using the standard transliteration, as Å¡3sw (=Sh+a+s+u). Hieroglyphs for the term ‘Shasu’, transliterated as Å¡3sw. The original meaning of the term is not clear, but it may have been â€