Labaya

Labaya (Labayu or Lib'ayu) was a Canaanite prince and the ruler of Shechem in the central hill country of southern Canaan during the Amarna Period (c. 1350 BC). He lived contemporaneously with the pharaoh Akhenaten. Labaya is mentioned in several of the Amarna Letters (abbreviated "EA", for 'el Amarna'). He is the author of letters EA 252–54.

Labaya was active over the whole length of Samaria and slightly beyond, as he gave land to Ḫapiru in the vicinity of Šakmu (Shechem). He and his sons threatened powerful city-states such as Jerusalem and Gazru (Gezer) to the south and Magidda (Tel Megiddo) to the north.

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