Chabas came from a modest background, studied at Chalon and became a wine merchant. Self-taught, he learned Latin, Greek and other languages. Interested in anthropology, he turned to study Old Egyptian languages.[1] Chabas was a member of several learned societies and later president of the Conseil departemental of Saône-et-Loire.[2]
Between 1876 and 1880, Chabas edited the journal L'Égyptologie.[2] His works have contributed much to elucidate the history of the invasion and repulsion of the Hyksos in Egypt.[3][4]
Voyage d'un Egyptien en Syrie, en Phénicie, en Palestine au quatorzième siècle avant notre ère (Paris 1866) – Voyage of an Egyptian in Syria, Phoenicia, Palestine in the 14th century BC.
Les pasteurs en Egypte (Amsterdam 1868) – The pasteurs in Egypt (in reference to the Hyksos).[8]
Étude sur l'antiquité historique d'après les sources égyptiennes et les monuments réputés préhistoriques (Amsterdam 1872) – Study of the ancient history according to Egyptian sources and prehistoric monuments.
Recherches pour servir à l'histoire de la XIXème dynastie et spécialment à celle des temps de l'Exode (Amsterdam 1873) – Research in regards to the history of the 19th dynasty and especially to that of the time of the Exodus.
Recherches sur les poids, mesures et monnaies des anciens Égyptiens, (1876) – Research on the weights, measures and coins of ancient Egypt.[9]