Amarna letter EA 290, titled: "Three Against One",[1] is one of the two shorter letters, of six, from Abdi-Heba the governing man of Jerusalem. In the Jerusalem letters, Jerusalem is "Uru-Salem" ("City-Peace").
The short letter of EA 290, summarizes the local discord of neighboring city-states and their rulers, and the problem with the warring Habiru ('Apiru). The letter is wider than it is tall, approximately 6.1 cm tall x 7.3 cm wide. It has some damage (lacunae), but not enough to obscure the short letter's story/
(Lines 1-4)—[Sa]y [t]o the king, my lord: Message of 'Abdi-Heba, your servant. I fall at the feet [of the kin]g, my lord, 7 times and 7 times. (i.e. "Over-and-over again")
(5-13)—Here is the deedagainst the land1that Milkilu and Shuardata did: against the land of the king, my lord, theyordered2troops from Gazru, troops from Gimtu, and troops from Qiltu. They seized Rubutu. The land of the king deserted to the Hapiru.
Reverse & Left Side: (See here: [4]) (Or here: [5])
(14)
(15-21)—And now, besides this, a town belonging to Jerusalem, BitdNIN-URTA by name, a city of the king, has gone over to the side of the men of Qiltu. May the king give heed to 'Abdi-Heba, your servant, and send archers to restore the land of the king to the king.
(22-30)—If there are no archers, the land of the king will desert to the Hapiru. This deedagainst the land3was [a]t the order of Milki[lu and a]t the order4 of [Shuard]atu,[together w]ithGint[i] .5So may the king provide for [his] land.—(complete, EA 290, with restored minor lacunae, lines 1-30)
The mention of the Habiru shows the conflict of the time, as the takeover of city-states or regions by the Habiru. The map shows various cities and regions, and their respective dealings with the Habiru. (There are only 3 letters from Labaya of Šakmu/Shechem.) The next closest mention of the Habiru is from the Jerusalem letters of Abdi-Heba, directly south at Jerusalem, letters EA 286, 287, 288, 289, and EA 290.