What is the proper date of the Exodus?

Next (Pt.6): [ Ссылка ]
Previous (Pt.4): [ Ссылка ]

Recommended Reading
"Israel in Egypt" by James Hoffmeier: [ Ссылка ] (affiliate)

In the previous videos, we have examined the two major proposals for the date of the Exodus; the late-date proposal, which places the Exodus in ancient Egypt’s 19th Dynasty and the early-date proposal, which places it approximately 200 years earlier during the 18th Dynasty.

There is some interesting circumstantial evidence from ancient Egypt that I believe can be useful in helping to identify not only the date of the Exodus, but also its historical reality.

The first thing worth examining is actually the name of the man God used to lead the Israelites out of Egypt – Moses. One of the important things we can take away from the Exodus narrative relative to ancient Egyptian history is just how common the name Moses was during the 18th and 19th dynasties. Many 18th and 19th dynasty pharaohs have Moses incorporated into their names. The Egyptian word translated as Moses is msi/msy; it means, “to give birth,” or, “born of.” In fact, there are 6 terms in Moses’ birth story that have Egyptian origins or influences dating back to the New Kingdom period. The presence of the name Moses as well as these other Egyptian cognate words points to the book of Exodus as being a product of the time when the events it recalls took place.

One of the points of frustration for Bible scholars through history has been the lack of any name associated with the pharaohs recorded in Genesis and Exodus. Skeptics of the Bible point to the lack of any pharaonic name in these texts as evidence of them being fiction or mythology. It happens, though, that the practice of not recording the pharaoh's name was standard practice between the 15th and 10th centuries BC. Thus, pharaonic anonymity is evidence of Genesis and Exodus having been written down during the time of the events they record, rather than at a later date by scribes removed in time and location.

Something that has been very interesting to me in my studies of Israel’s time in Egypt and the Exodus narrative is that in the time period established between the early-date and late-date proposals is the presence of Egypt’s most enigmatic pharaoh – Akhenaten. Akhenaten’s claim to fame is that he is the one ruler in all of ancient Egyptian history who championed monotheism – the belief in and worship of one god. He is generally regarded by historians and archaeologists as the world’s first monotheist. As such, many scholars regard his reign as being of influence on Moses and the early Israelites. For our purposes, this possibility could be considered if the Exodus occurred at the proposed late-date, as Ramses II reigned roughly 100 years after Akhenaten. However, if we propose the early-date for the Exodus, sometime between or around ~1450-1400 BC, something really interesting happens.

Akhenaten’s reign began around ~1350 BC. If the events of the Exodus (namely, the economic collapse of the Egyptian state and the destruction of pharaoh’s army) occured between 50-100 years before his reign, the possibility arises that Akhenaten’s pagan monotheism was not unprecedented – rather, that it may have been a reaction to destruction and humiliation brought on Egypt in the Exodus.

During his time as pharaoh, Akhenaten established a new capital city called Akhetaten, which is now known as the site of Tell-el-Amarna. Discovered at this site was a large cache of cuneiform tablets recording correspondence between the Egyptian royal court and their contemporaries. These tablets are known today as the Amarna letters.

A portion of the Amarna letters are communication from Egypt’s vassal states in Canaan requesting military aid in the face of attacks by a group referred to by the Egyptians as the, “Habiru,” and Mesopotamians as the, “Apiru.” More than a few people have postulated a relation between the Habiru and the Hebrews during their conquest. The military activity recorded in the Amarna letters bears a generic resemblance to the exploits recorded in the Bible under the latter years of Moses & Joshua. The association of the Habiru/Apiru with the Hebrews has fallen out of favor among more recent scholarship – largely due to the assumption that the Exodus occurred at the late-date, during the reign of Ramses II. But, again, if the early-date of the Exodus is to be favored, then the possibility arises that the Habiru of the Amarna letters correspond to the Hebrew conquest recorded in the Bible.

свернуть