Faith Archaeology
THE SOJOURN AND THE EXODUS
The Holy Bible tells us that the nation of Israel was held captive in Egypt over a span of 430 years but the record of this historical event found in the Book of Exodus does not go into much detail and that has fueled debate for centuries. What is there about the ancient Hebrews sojourn in the land of Egypt and their subsequent exodus from it that arouses our curiosity? One question that comes immediately to mind is, who was the Pharaoh of the Sojourn? Another is, why were the Hebrew’s enslaved? Still another, what is the date of the Exodus? And finally, who was the Pharaoh of the Exodus? These are important questions for the serious student and wherever the subject is discussed they are subject for debate. The problem then becomes how to resolve this debate. One way to attempt a resolution is to survey the evidence for ourselves, but how should we begin? There are three authorities available that should prove invaluable to any such inquiry: the Holy Bible; Archaeology; and Expert Opinion. Which allows us to narrow our search down to three areas: what the Bible teaches; what Archaeology reveals; and what the Experts suggest. So let us begin with the most reliable record available, the Holy Bible.
“And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord.” (Exodus 12:40)
Because there is general agreement plus or minus a half dozen years on the date Solomon ascended the throne in Israel we can assign the date 967bc to the fourth year of his reign with some degree of confidence. Which gives us the year 1447bc, 480 years earlier, for the Exodus. Hence, with these dates in mind, let us once again return to the Bible.
“Now the sojourning of the children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.” (Exodus 12:40)
This gives us the year 1877bc, during the reign of Sesostris III over Egypt, for the beginning of the Sojourn. So there, we have already answered two of those thorny questions. Or, have we? Some experts date the Exodus toward the reign of Ramses II (1297bc) and that is some 150 years after our date. Why this vast difference? And even more important what occurred during that 910 year period from 1877bc to 967bc? Scripture goes into detail only on events that transpired toward the end of the Sojourn, so what do we do? It is clear if we wish to learn more about this period we must turn to other sources. Maybe the archaeological record will aid us in out inquiry?
The logical place to begin is at the beginning with the patriarch Joseph and his entry into Egypt. If we adopt the perspective of an Historian we immediately are faced with another difficult question. Why did the Egyptians so readily accept Joseph and his brethren into their midst? Those of us familiar with scripture know the answer, but what does the record reveal that will satisfy the secular mind? Turning to archaeology, we learn from the experts that the admission of nomads from outlying desert areas onto, and within, the borders of agricultural countries in the region was a common practice at all times, these periodic migrations serving a practical purpose for host and nomad alike. Now it is obvious how the nomads were served by this custom but what about the host? They benefited by a natural tendency on the part of the newcomers to defend their pastures thereby serving the host country as a sort of first line of defense against foreign invasion and affording them heightened security along their borders.
All well and good, but what about the specific case of Egypt? The historical record reveals that migrants were frequent there because the nomad lands to the east of Egypt were subject to periodic drought. The Egyptians themselves managed to avoid drought by controlling the Nile River through the use of extensive irrigation canals. Famine, therefore, was the driving force. It was famine that brought the nomads into the rich fertile lands of the Nile basin. As in a specific case illustrated by a well known wall painting found in an Egyptian tomb at Beni Hassan (a small village with limestone cliffs nearby containing many tombs of Egyptian royalty) which depicts a desert chieftain bringing his people into Egypt around the year 1900bc. The immigrants shown in the Beni Hassan fresco were entering into an Egypt that had since the end of the reign of the great Pharaoh Anenemhet I, around 1984bc, been rife with internal dissension. Which brings up another important factor we should examine in order to understand why Joseph and his brethren were so readily accepted in the land of Egypt, the political situation.
Already when Joseph entered Egypt around the year 1877bc, during the reign of Sesostris, the Egyptian political situation had been in turmoil for nearly a century. Indeed, there may even have been two competing Pharaohs at the time. Sesostris ruling in the north, where Joseph and his brethren settled, and another Pharaoh ruling in the south. Accordingly, as it was not a common practice for Egyptian rulers to elevate foreigners to positions of authority within their state we may deduce from the case of Joseph that Sesostris, possibly insecure in his rule, harried from the south, and as scripture informs us facing drought and famine, turned to the ablest administrator he could find which of course was Joseph.
Thereafter finding a safe haven in Egypt, the Hebrew people survived the lean years through the efforts of Joseph on behalf of Sesostris and they prospered.
“And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen: and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly. (Genesis 47:27)
So what happened? Here we have the Hebrews safe, secure in Egypt, prospering. So what happened?
Toward the end of Joseph’s life an event took place that proved disastrous for the Hebrew nation in their adopted land. The Hykos Invasion. The Hykos, translated literally as “rulers of foreign countries” began filtering down into the center of the Fertile Crescent from the northeast around 1900bc, swept through Philistia, crossed over into Africa and began a conquest of most of Egypt a century later. Whereupon they established their capital at the city of Avaris in the area of Goshen, precisely where the Hebrews had settled, and initiated the Hykos Dynasties that would last until the Egyptians under Pharaoh Ahmose reemerged nearly two centuries later and expelled them from the country.
Because the Hykos, like the Hebrews, were Semitic nomads from the area around Syria and Canaan it has been suggested the two peoples were allies. Indeed, some experts have even made the assumption that the Pharaoh who welcomed Joseph into Egypt was one of the first Hykos rulers. However, this hypothesis does not withstand the spotlight of contradiction. Consider the fact that when the Egyptians finally rose up and expelled the Hykos from the country the Hebrews were not expelled from the country along with them. Why not? The only reasonable explanation is that the Hebrews had initially remained loyal to their Egyptian friends and as a result were enslaved by the Hykos.
“And he said unto his people. Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: Come let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.” (Exodus 1:9&10)
Obviously the Hebrews were not as numerous as the Egyptians surrounding them, but quite possibly their numbers did overshadow those of the occupation forces of the Hykos. The Pharaoh who is quoted here is most certainly one of the first Hykos rulers of northern Egypt. As for the Pharaoh who welcomed Joseph we need only consider the following from the Book of Genesis:
“… because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians.” (Genesis 43:32)
We know that the Hykos retained a power base in the Semitic lands to the east all during their days of hegemony over Egypt. Therefore it hardly seems likely they would harbor such attitudes toward other Semitic visitors onto their lands. On the other hand should we be surprised to learn that prejudice was characteristic of the highly cosmopolitan, thoroughly sophisticated Egyptians? Furthermore, we know that the Egyptians harbored a definite abhorrence for shepherds. For example, cattle are often depicted on their bas-reliefs but sheep never are. Again quoting from Genesis:
“… for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.” (Genesis 46:34)
Clearly this could not refer to the Hykos who were known to future generations as “Shepherd Kings” therefore the Pharaoh who welcomed Joseph into Egypt was Egyptian not Hykos. It was nearly a century later that the Hykos began their conquest whereupon the Hebrews true to the memory of Sesostris and their patriarchs sided with the Egyptians and as a result were oppressed by the victorious Hykos.
“Thereafter they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.” (Exodus 1:11)
This reference in the scripture to Pithom and Raamses is often relied upon as evidence that the Exodus occurred toward the end of the reign of Ramses II (1292bc to 1225bc). And indeed he did initiate extensive building projects in the area of Goshen during his reign. Notwithstanding, however, Ramses was not the Pharaoh of the Exodus. The name Ramses translates as “begotten of Ra” a sun god revered by the Hykos as well as the Egyptians. Indeed, there is a very good possibility the name was of Hykos origin and was common in their day. Beyond which, the ancestors of Ramses II were very likely those same foreign rulers. Did the Hykos build in Goshen using the pool of Hebrew slave labor they had established? Did they name at least one of their projects Raamses? The evidence suggests they did.
For nearly two centuries the Hykos were supreme while the Egyptian Pharaohs made their capital in the south and were relegated to ruling over a portion of their own country from there. Not before Sekenenre became Pharaoh at Thebes did events unfold that would eventually lead to the downfall of the Hykos. Sekenenre’s son, Kamose, began a revolt that was later taken over and completed by his son, Ahmose I, with the capture of the Hykos capital sometime around the year 1580bc. The capture dutifully recorded on the walls of a tomb of one of his officers, a ship’s captain also named Ahmose, at El Kab (80 miles south of Luxor).
“When the King besieged the town of Avaris…” The officer states. “I fought gallantly on foot in the presence of his majesty. I was thereafter promoted to the ship ‘Appearing in Memphi’”
Thus ended Hykos rule in Egypt.
Avoiding and suppressing most references to the “Great Humiliation”, the archaeological record for the period is scant, the Pharaohs entered upon a new era. But what did all this mean to the Hebrews who had been in bondage throughout the centuries. Their condition did not change. The Egyptians free of their Semitic overlords opted to maintain the status quo. No doubt loyalties of the past had dimmed from memory and the burden on Israel far from being lifted became greater.
“And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour.” (Exodus 1:13)
Thereafter, since we now have a very good idea of what happened, what led up to the enslavement, let us turn out attention to the Exodus.
The Pharaoh Ahmose ruled a reunified Egypt for approximately twenty-five years, the beginning of a “Golden Age”. After which, his son, Amenhotep I, succeeded him, ruled for a decade or so, and died without producing an heir. The throne thereafter fell to his sister the Princess Ahmose. However under Egyptian law a woman could not rule alone so her husband Thutmose was named King for as long as his wife lived. Pharaoh by marriage if you will. Was Thutmose insecure in his reign? Probably, remember, this is only some thirty years after the era of turmoil and upheaval. In any case less than half a century after the demise of the “Shepherd Kings’ the Hebrews even in slavery became stronger and multiplied which precipitated a momentous event.
“ And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.” (Exodus 1:22)
That decree on the Hebrew children was, of course, carried out. Only to lead to the rescue of the infant Moses from among the bulrushes by Thutmose’s own daughter. Before proceeding further however we need more background.
The royal couple, Thutmose and Ahmose, unlike the Queen’s parents, Amenhotep I and his wife, had four offspring, two sons, Wadimose and Amenmose, and two daughters, Hapshepsut and Nefrubity. Additionally, it appears Thutmose had previously been married to another woman, possibly the Queen’s sister, and she had given him a son, Thutmose II. We know from archaeological records that neither Wadimose nor Amenmose, both of whom were in the direct line of succession, ever ascended the throne and that leads to an inescapable conclusion, both must have died while their parents were still living. Evidently of the four children of the royal couple only Hapshepsut survived to advanced years.
Now, armed with these facts let us proceed to the year 1527bc and the rescue of the future patriarch of Israel beside the bank of the Nile. What about the circumstances whereby the infant Moses avoided the consequences of Pharaoh’s decree? Was the mother of Moses exposing him to an uncertain fate or did she have something else in mind? Let us examine the facts.
The future patriarch’s mother, Jochebed, was certainly familiar with pagan folklore of the day and may have been inspired by these stories. For instance there is the Egyptian legend of Isis, according to which the goddess Isis upon the murder of her husband, the god Osirus, draws him from the river and brings him back to life. Another legend of the time was that of the great king Sargon conqueror of Mesopotamia who stated in his biography that he was brought into the world in secret, set adrift in a basket of reeds, and saved by a benevolent guardian.
It is quite possible, knowledge of these pagan legends guided the trembling hands of Jochebed as she daubed the basket with pitch and placed it among the bulrushes. In any event, she was not simply abandoning the babe for we know that Miriam, Moses sister, stood by at a distance to watch over him.
“And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.” (Exodus 2:4)
Assume for a moment, Moses mother was well aware of the young princess Hatshepsut’s routine at the river and she placed the arc, perhaps with the Isis legend in mind, expecting the highborn woman to discover it, have compassion and draw the boy from the river. Which of course, she did. Once again however, a question, why would the young Princess ignore a royal decree of her own father in order to rescue a Hebrew infant? Let us examine some interesting facts. The name Moses given to the infant by Pharaoh’s daughter could be translated as “son of the water” or “to beget a child” and it appears as a common component in many royal names. For example, as in the names of the great Uncle of Hatshepsut, the great king Kamose who initiated the revolt against the Hykos and the Pharaoh Ahmose who overthrew them. Or, as in the names of Hatshepsut’s mother Ahmose and her father Thutmose as well as her brothers Wadimose and Amenmose. Each of these royal relatives of the Princess has a name containing the component Mose and if you drop reference to pagan deities from their names you get the same exact name she gave to the infant she rescued from the river, the name Moses. Beyond this, we know that intense bonds existed between brother and sister in Egyptian society. Hence, given these facts let us entertain a hypothesis. Suppose Hatshepsut’s brothers, one of whom, destined to become pharaoh and very likely her husband to be, had died prior to the incident on the banks of the Nile. If so, the mother of Moses certainly would have been aware of the fact and perhaps counted upon the grieving Princess to be overcome with compassion and rescue the helpless infant thereby reenacting this Isis legend and breathing new life into the memory of her dead brother. Recall the Egyptian etymology of the name Moses ‘to beget a child’ and ‘son of the water’ and contrast this with Hatshepsut’s statement.
“ and she called his name Moses: and she said, because I drew him out of the water.” (Exodus 2:10)
Also, we know from Scripture that Miriam and her mother were able to approach the Princess quire casually. Does this indicate a degree of familiarity? Is it possible Jochebed and Miriam served the royal personage in some capacity? Scripture is silent. But from the facts we do glean we might even envision a bit of collusion in avoiding the royal decree. Speculation? Absolutely, but fascinating nonetheless. In any event there could not have been a better protector for the future prophet of the Hebrew Nation.
So what was life like for the young Moses? Again, Scripture offers little in the way of detail. We do know he became the son of Pharaoh’s daughter and of her life quite a lot is known. Hatshepsut, even though she was the sole surviving child of her parents and therefore their heir could not reign over Egypt alone. Thus she was married off to her half brother Thutmose II who was thereby brought into the line of succession. The marriage produced only daughters however and once again questions arose regarding the king’s successor. So just as his father had done before him, Thutmose II named his young son by a minor wife as his heir. And to give his choice greater legitimacy had the lad married off to the Princess Nefrure one of his daughters with Hatshepsut. Subsequently, upon the death of his father, a ten year old Thutmose III was named king. Albeit, in name only. Because at this point in time, Hatshepsut, the “Great Royal Wife” of the dead king, began to take control of the government. For awhile it seems she appears to have been content ruling from behind the scene but before long apparently decided to abandon all restraint. She pushed her stepson aside and named herself sovereign over the two lands. Using every device at her disposal to legitimize her usurpation until in due course she was, despite gender, Pharaoh in all respects.
Thereafter, under her rule, the country entered a period of economic growth not known since before the Hykos. A state of affairs brought about in no small part by the able administration of her closest advisor, Senenmut. Of common origin, Senenmut was discovered by the queen early in her reign and was quickly elevated through a series of powerful positions until he eventually became her right hand. In the Queen’s service Senenmut began building on a scale not seen in Egypt for some time and for a number of years there was an unprecedented wave of prosperity throughout the land. Then suddenly, the wave crested when a fully-grown Thutmose III struck back. He began by toppling the uppity Senenmut and having him banished along with numerous other political supporters of his stepmother. Still the legitimate Pharaoh, he enlisted the aid of the priestly cults and continued to press his right to rule, until finally, sometime around the year 1487bc, Hatshepsut died, and he was king at last. He was thirty years of age.
Immediately, Thutmose set out to exact his revenge on his stepmother’s supporters. Afterwhich, still not satisfied, he ordered Hatshepsut’s statues and monuments dismantled and destroyed and wherever her name appeared on monument or wall, he had it chiseled away and covered over with the names of Thutmose I, II or III.
So what is left to say about this remarkable woman. Was she typical of the pagan culture that spawned her? A culture known for self-centered and arrogant rulers. We think not. In her case the usual portrait of the heathen despot is softened by hints of a keen intellect and even a compassionate nature. We know for instance that she ruled over a relatively peaceful era in Egyptian history. Wars of conquest so favored by the effete Pharaohs as a means of heaping glory upon themselves were practically nonexistent during her reign. Prosperity and relative peace seem to have been pillars of her rule. And we are left with the image of a strong willed woman willing to brush aside the corrupt priests and defy the riling elite, the extent of whose grip on the ten year old Thutmose III we can only speculate upon, and take the reigns of power unto herself. In the woman we see the audacious spirit of the young princess who defied Pharaoh in order to save the life of a helpless Hebrew infant and thereby leave a more lasting mark upon the history of mankind than all the Pharaohs who ever lived.
So what about Moses during all this time? Once more we are left with scant facts. But certainly, with a guardian like Hatshepsut, the youthful Moses had little to fear. We could even entertain the notion of a rather shallow youth enjoying the luxury that comes with being the royal ward. However, Moses was not polluted by the moral decay and heathen ritual around him and the day came when he was around forty years old, that he turned his back of the luxuries of Egypt.
“By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.” (Hebrews 11:24&25)
Called out by the suffering of his people the future patriarch had chosen to endure hardship among his own people when disaster struck, the death of Hatshepsut. Moses was forty-five years old when this event took place and with Thutmose III venting his wrath upon her memory it is quite likely that his safety depended on maintaining a low profile and not coming under the King’s scrutiny, but events conspired against him. His fortunes at low ebb, Moses sees an Egyptian smite a Hebrew and they sink even lower.
“And it came to pass in those days when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.” Exodus 2:11&12)
Did the Egyptian recognize Moses? The Hebrew who had been a prince of Egypt. Did he smite the Hebrew slave in order to taunt the out of favor upstart? A not to subtle reminder, perhaps? Who can say? However, the following lines from the book of Exodus are revealing.
“And he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong. Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?
And he said, who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Eygptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known.” (Exodus 2: 13&14)
To the Egyptians Moses was now merely a Hebrew and to the Hebrews he was merely a disgraced Egyptian. The Hebrew man asks Moses “Who made thee a prince and a judge over us?”. Do we detect a note of sarcasm? Hatshepsut had, of course, but she was dead and her enemy Thutmose III was king. Even a slave had little to fear from Moses now. Perhaps, had Hatshepsut been alive and in power he might have been forgiven the deed but with Thutmose on the prowl, ferreting out supporters of his stepmother, Moses stood little chance and he took the only course open to him, he fled from Egypt.
The best reference for the period of Moses’ stay at Median is as always the scriptures which cover events there in detail, so we pick up our inquiry around the year 1447bc.
“And it came to pass in the process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of their bondage, and they cried, and their cry came unto God by reason of the bondage. ” (Exodus 2:23)
The king of Egypt referred to is Thutmose III and Moses, directed by God, returned to the land of Egypt, therefore we turn our attention to the Exodus and once again a question. Who was the Pharaoh of the Exodus? It was probably Amemhotep II although the archaeological record is practically non-existent. What we do know however is this, Thutmose died in 1447bc, Amemhotep II became Pharaoh in 1447bc, and the Exodus took place in 1447bc. Also, we know that it was not customary for the Egyptians to leave records of their defeats, witness the scant information available on the Hykos, and the events of the Exodus would have been a humiliation of monumental proportions. It is quite likely that Amemhotep II was the Pharaoh in question but we simply do not know for certain, and the record reveals little else about him as well. We do know that he reigned over Egypt from 1447bc to around 1420bc and the little that is known indicates his reign was relatively undistinguished.
So there we have it, the Exodus takes place in the year 1447bc when an eighty year old Moses leads the mixed multitude out of Egypt.
“And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.”(Exodus 12:41)
Should we wish to inquire farther however, what other facts are revealed that might lead us to definitely conclude that the Exodus took place 150 years prior to the reign of Ramses II? Let us return to out inquiry. Amemhotep II was succeeded by Thutmose IV who also appears to have ruled without distinction by Egyptian standards and about whose short reign little is known. After whom, Amemhotep III came to the throne, his reign notable mainly for its length, about 36 years. Then, sometime around the year 1375bc a startling event took place. A form of monotheism was introduced into Egypt. Introduced by the Pharaoh Amemhotep IV also known to history as Ikhanaton. Where did Ikhanaton get his concept of monotheism? Well, let us recall the events of the Exodus, the plaques, the destruction of Pharaoh’s army. These events had touched the lives of every single Egyptian man, woman and child alive at the time. Certainly, momentous events. Momentous enough to influence Ikhanaton years later? Did Ikhanaton take his personal concept of a single all powerful god from the Hebrews? An intriguing notion, but perhaps events contemporary with his reign will enable us to make our conclusion definite. Ikhanatons’s reign spanned a period from around the year 1375bc to 1358bc during which time the Hebrews were engaged in the conquest of Canaan. The forty years wandering in the desert had come to an end and Moses, the Lawgiver, had died around 1470bc. The city of Jericho had been taken by 1400bc and the Hebrews were in the process of taking possession of the promised land. All of which gave Ikhanaton every good reason to recall the events of the Exodus. As evidenced by some 370 clay tablets known to history as the Tell el Amarna letters. Some experts do not acknowledge a link between the letters and the Hebrew conquest of Canaan. So we shall briefly review the contents of chosen examples and decide for ourselves. The letters were sent from the outlying regions to Pharaoh and they describe a land in turmoil. They speak of nomads and landless people, frequently referred to as Habiru, banding together in mighty tribes. Dgantakala, one of Pharaoh’s governors in the region, writes,
“Let my Lord protect his land from the hands of the Habirus. If not, let the king, my Lord, send chariots to fetch us.”
And still another letter from the prince, Abda Hebu, to Ikhanaton, states,
“Lost are the lands of the king… All governors are lost… The Habiru plunder all the lands of the king…”
However, Ikhanaton preoccupied with his sun god Aton paid little heed to the pleas of his vassals and throughout his reign offered no relief as city after city fell before the onslaught. And Scripture informs us, after crossing over into the land Joshua unhampered by Egyptian power led the army of the Hebrews in a spectacularly successful campaign which led to the conquest of many of the major Canaanite cities. Afrerwhich, we are told in the book of Judges, the total subjugation of the land became a long drawn out struggle, each tribe playing a prominent role in their own region until the whole became a single powerful political unit. The emergence of a brave new nation which throughout its early history does not escape for long the turmoil and upheaval from which it was forged.
”So Joshua took the whole land according to all that the LORD said unto Moses: And Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes, and the land rested from war.” (Joshua 11:23)
Now at last, we come to a final bit of archaeological evidence that will conclude our review of the evidence and allow us to rest our case. About the year 1225bc, the Egyptian Pharaoh Merneptah, upon returning from a victorious military campaign in the east had a stele erected in honor of the occasion. Two or three lines from which reads:
“The princes are prostrate, saying: Peace! Not one arises his head among the Nine bows… Israel is laid waste, his seed is not… “
Thus for the first time in recorded history, other than scripture, Israel is mentioned as an independent nation and two and a half centuries later King Solomon begins to build the House of the Lord and we draw our 910 year journey to a close. Have we answered those questions we raised at the outset? Have we proven our case? Hopefully, but at the end each of us must, with the Lord’s help, decide that for ourselves.
Faith For Tomorrow...