Evidence that the Exodus of the Hebrews from Aegypt is a historical event

Evidence that the Exodus of the Hebrews from Aegypt is a historical event

https://reasonandscience.catsboard.com/t1718-evidence-that-the-exodus-of-the-hebrews-from-aegypt-is-a-historical-event

Bryan Windle: TOP TEN DISCOVERIES RELATED TO MOSES AND THE EXODUS 28 July 2022
https://biblearchaeology.org/research/chronological-categories/exodus-era/4919-top-ten-discoveries-related-to-moses-and-the-exod

1. The Merneptah Stele: The most famous, and arguably the most important, discovery related to Moses and the Exodus is the Merneptah Stele. In ca. 1208 BC Pharaoh Merneptah erected a 10-foot tall victory monument (called a “stele”) in a temple at Thebes to boast of his claims of victory in both Libya and Canaan. It was discovered in 1896 by Sir Flinders Petrie. On it, Merneptah boasts, “Israel is wasted, its seed is not; And Hurru [Canaan] is become a widow because of Egypt.”47 The inscription likely refers to a small campaign into Canaan (only three cities were taken), and despite Merneptah’s boast, Israel was not destroyed.

Most scholars agree that this is the oldest definitive reference to Israel as a nation outside of the Bible, and certainly the clearest Egyptian reference to Israel. It is also important because it points toward an early date for the exodus (ca. 1446 BC) and not the late date that some scholars hold to (ca. 1270 BC). It is doubtful that there would be enough time from 1270 BC to 1208 BC to account for the Exodus, the 40 years of wandering in the desert, the seven-year Conquest of Canaan, the settlement of the tribes in their territories, and the establishment of a national presence in the land, all before Merneptah claims to have conquered the Israelites. Merneptah’s Canaanite campaign instead likely dates to the time of the Judges, when the nation of Israel was already settled in Canaan. The Merneptah Stele is evidence that the Exodus from Egypt, led by Moses, took place in the 15th century BC as the biblical data indicates.

2. Berlin Pedestal: The Berlin Pedestal is an Egyptian inscription housed in the Egyptian Museum in Berlin that almost certainly refers to Israel as a nation in Canaan. The inscription has three name rings, two of which clearly read “Ashkelon” and “Canaan,” and the third of which has been reconstructed to read “Ishrael.”43  In a recent reexamination of the inscription, Peter van der Veen, Christoffer Theis, and Manfred Gorg noted that the names “Ashkelon” and “Canaan” largely were written consonantally and better reflect examples from the reigns of Tuthmosis III and Amenhotep II (15th century BC) than those from the times of Rameses II and Merneptah (13th century BC).44 While the inscription reads “Ishrael” instead of “Israel,” there is no other candidate near Canaan and Ashkelon other than biblical Israel. It may be that the “sh” spelling is an older way the Egyptians spelled “Israel” or perhaps is borrowed from the cuneiform version.45 If this interpretation is correct, it would indicate that the Israelites had migrated to Canaan sometime in the middle of the second millennium BC,46 exactly at the time the Bible says they did.

3. Soleb Inscription: At the end of the 15th century BC, the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III built a temple to honor the god Amun-Ra at Soleb in Nubia (modern-day northern Sudan). He left a list of the territories he claims to have conquered on a series of columns in the temple. Each territory is depicted by a relief of a prisoner with his hands tied behind his back over an oval “name ring” identifying the land of the conquered foe. One of the enemies is from the “the land of the Shasu [nomads] of Yahweh.” Given the other name rings nearby, the context would place this land in the Canaanite region. In addition, the prisoner is clearly portrayed as Semitic, rather than African-looking, as other prisoners in the list are portrayed.40 Two conclusions are almost universally accepted: first, this inscription clearly references Yahweh in Egyptian hieroglyphics (the oldest such reference outside of the Bible41), and second, around 1400 BC Amenhotep III knew about the god Yahweh. Moreover, the Soleb inscription would indicate an area in Canaan in the 15th century BC inhabited by nomadic or seminomadic people who worshipped the god Yahweh. Charles Aling and historian Clyde Billington summarize: “If the Pharaoh of the Exodus had never before heard of the God Yahweh, this strongly suggests that the Exodus should be dated no later than ca. 1400 BC because Pharaoh Amenhotep III had clearly heard about Yahweh in ca. 1400 BC.”

4. Seti War Relief: The famous relief of the campaigns of the pharaoh Seti I (ca. 1291–1279 BC) at the Karnak Temple depicts the eastern border of Egypt in pictorial form (like a map) and likely relates to the route Moses and the Israelites took during the Exodus. In Exodus 13:17 we read, “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, ‘Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.’” The Seti relief depicts this road, known as the Horus Way, as well a number of fortresses, including “Tjaru,” the staging point for Egyptian campaigns into Canaan.35 A vertical waterway lined with reeds and labeled “the dividing waters” is visible, as well as a larger body of water at the bottom of the waterway (a feature that was seen by earlier explorers but is no longer visible).36 The Seti relief is evidence that there was, at one time in the distant past, a canal or waterway on the eastern border of Egypt, even though the area is a desert now.

This has been affirmed by geological studies that have demonstrated that there was indeed a man-made canal joining a string of lakes between the Gulf of Suez and the Mediterranean Sea. These canals and lakes—from the el-Ballah Lakes in the north to Lake Timsah to the Bitter Lakes in the south—formed a defensive barrier on the eastern frontier of Egypt. The Bible says that Moses led the Israelites through the Red Sea (in Hebrew, the yam suf, literally “sea of reeds”37), which may correspond to the wetlands and lake systems on Egypt’s eastern border.38 Egyptologist James Hoffmeier has matched Egyptian place-names with the locations mentioned in the Exodus itinerary and suggests that the yam suf the Israelites crossed was likely in the area of the el-Ballah Lakes.

5. Evidence for Amenhotep II as the Pharaoh of the Exodus: Numerous scholars have identified Amenhotep II as the Pharaoh of the Exodus;30 he was reigning in 1446 BC when the Israelites left Egypt. Amenhotep II is known to have spent considerable time in the delta region, likely in the 18th-Dynasty palace at Avaris, where he would have met with Moses. According to Egyptologist Charles Aling, “Amenhotep II was born and raised in this area [the Nile delta region], built there, had estates there, and in all probability resided there at times, at least in his early regnal years.”31 Interestingly (and in keeping with the tenth plague—the death of the firstborn), Amenhotep II was not the firstborn son of his father, Thutmose III, nor was Amenhotep’s son Thutmose IV his firstborn son.32

Another piece of evidence for identifying Amenhotep II as the pharaoh of the Exodus is found by comparing the military campaigns of Amenhotep II with those of his father. While Thutmose III led 17 known military campaigns into the Levant, Amenhotep II led only two or three.33 Thutmose III boasted of having taken 5,903 captives on his first campaign, while Amenhotep II claimed to have taken 2,214 captives on his first. However, Amenhotep II’s final campaign in the ninth year of his reign (ca. 1446 BC) appears to have been a hasty and limited excursion into Palestine to take 101,128 captives. One plausible explanation for this campaign and its dramatic number of captives is that he was seeking to replace a large portion of his slave-labor base that had just left Egypt.34 Moreover, Amenhotep II never took another campaign into Canaan, and the 18th Dynasty began to decline in power.

6. Discoveries at Avaris:  According to the biblical text, the Israelites settled “in the land of Rameses” (Gn 47:11) sometime in the 19th century BC. While they were initially free, at some point they became slaves to the native Egyptians and were pressed into building the city of Rameses (Ex 1:11). When they left Egypt in 1446 BC, some 430 years later, they departed from Rameses (Ex 12:37).23 The use of the word “Rameses” is an update of the biblical text by later editors to replace an archaic place-name with one that was more recognizable, as in Genesis 47:11: “Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.”

Thanks to five decades of excavations by the Austrian Archaeological Institute of Cairo at Tell el-Dab‘a in the eastern Nile Delta, we now know that this was the site of the city Rameses, which was itself built over a previous city named Avaris. While the site is most famous as the Hyksos capital,24 it was originally settled in the 19th century (the time of Joseph) by a group of non-Egyptians from Canaan, as evidenced by the Canaanite pottery and weapons they used.25 There is even evidence of a four-roomed house in the village (the same layout as houses typical in Israelite settlements in the later Iron Age), as well as a prominent tomb in which the remains of a statue of a Semitic man with a multicolored robe was found. The town grew and became more Egyptianized, with a mansion built atop the four-roomed house, which some believe to be the residence of Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph’s sons.26 A palace precinct was later built at Avaris during the Hyksos period, and then expanded during the 18th Dynasty, forming a new royal citadel.27 This later palatial complex dates to the time of Moses and is likely where he spent time when he was raised in Pharaoh’s courts. Interestingly, the excavators at Tell el-Dab’a noted that the site was suddenly and mysteriously abandoned after the reign of Amenhotep II, suggesting that a plague may have been the reason.28 Bryant Wood summarizes the occupational history of the site: “The excavations at Tell el-Dab’a have revealed the presence of an ‘Asiatic’ community who first settled as pastoralists, then grew in number as well-to-do entrepreneurs, became subservient to the Egyptians and finally left. This scenario exactly matches what we read in the Bible.”29

7. Egyptian Records of Slaves Making Bricks: One of the tasks the Israelite slaves were pressed into was making bricks (Ex 5:7–8 ). When Moses petitioned Pharaoh to let God’s people go, Pharaoh responded by making their labor more difficult (Ex 5:6–18). The biblical description of slaves making bricks is affirmed by a painting in the tomb of Rehkmire (ca. 1470–1445 BC), the vizier of Egypt under Thutmose III and Amenhotep II. The painting depicts Nubian and Asiatic slaves (Egyptians called people from Canaan “Asiatics”) making bricks for the workshops of the Karnak Temple.20 Slaves are seen collecting and mixing mud and water, packing the mud in brick molds, and leaving the bricks to dry in the sun. Nearby Egyptian officials, each with a rod, oversee the work.

In addition to the Rehkmire tomb painting, a leather scroll in the Louvre that dates to the time of Rameses II mentions forty stablemasters (junior officers) who each had a quota of 2000 bricks to be made by the men under them.21 Two further Egyptian papyri (Anastasi IV and V) record that “there are no men to make bricks and no straw in the district,”22 highlighting the importance of straw as a binder in brickmaking, as well as the dismay the Israelites would have felt when Pharaoh stopped supplying it but still required the same number of bricks to be made (Ex 5:18–21). Egyptian records affirm the biblical description of the process of making bricks.

8. Papyrus Brooklyn 35.1446: Central to the Exodus account is the presence of Israelites in Egypt to begin with. The Bible describes Joseph’s entrance to Egypt as a slave (Gn 37:28), his rise to power (Gn 41:41), his initiative in bringing his family to Egypt (Gn 45:18), their subsequent growth (Ex 1:7), and their eventual bondage (Ex 1:11). Some scholars, however, do not believe the Israelites were ever in Egypt. For example, in a 1999 article in Ha’aretz, Ze’ev Herzog boldly declared, “This is what archaeologists have learned from their excavations in the Land of Israel: the Israelites were never in Egypt, did not wander in the desert, did not conquer the land in a military campaign and did not pass it on to the 12 tribes of Israel.”14

There is evidence, however, of the Israelites in Egypt. Papyrus Brooklyn 35.1446 is an Egyptian document written in hieratic script that names 95 household servants of a noblewoman named Senebtisi.15 Forty of the names are Semitic (Hebrew is a Semitic language),16 and several have been identified as Hebrew names. These include “Menahema,” a feminine form of the Hebrew name “Menahem” (2 Kgs 15:14), a woman whose name is a parallel to Issachar, one of Jacob’s sons (Gn 30:18), and also parallel to Shiphrah, the name of one of the Hebrew midwives prior to the Exodus (Ex 1:15).17 To be clear, this papyrus dates to the 13th Dynasty (ca. 1809–1743 BC),18 just after the time of Joseph, and does not refer to Hebrew slaves at the time of Moses. Titus Kennedy summarizes the papyrus’s importance: “This list is a clear attestation of Hebrew people living in Egypt prior to the Exodus, and it is an essential piece of evidence in the argument for an historical Exodus.”

9. Egyptian Words in the Hebrew Text: One of the often-overlooked elements of the Exodus account in the Bible is the use of Egyptian words in the Hebrew text. After the birth of Moses in the narrative, we read, “When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank” (Ex 2:3). Egyptologist James Hoffmeier has highlighted the numerous Egyptian words that are often missed in this verse. The Hebrew word for “basket” is tebat (nan) and derives from the Egyptian word dbjt. Similarly, the words “bulrushes” and “pitch” have Egyptian etymologies, and the Hebrew word “reeds” is unquestionably the Egyptian word twfy. The word “river,” clearly referring to the Nile, is not the normal Hebrew word for river (nahar) but rather a transliteration of the Egyptian word for the Nile.12 Even Moses’s name is Egyptian, having been given by Pharaoh’s daughter (Ex 2:10). Hoffemeier writes, “There is widespread agreement that at the root of the name of the great Hebrew leader is the Egyptian word msi, which was a very common element in theophoric names throughout the New Kingdom (e.g., Amenmose, Thutmose, Ahmose, Ptahmose, Ramose, Ramesses).”13 The Egyptian loanwords in the Hebrew text are difficult to explain unless one acknowledges Moses’s Egyptian education and authorship.

10. Proto-Sinaitic Inscriptions: Some have suggested that Moses did not write the first five books of the Bible, but that rather they were written a thousand years later by a supposed group of priests living in exile who were trying to invent a glorious history for their people. When this theory was first proposed in the 19th century, there was no known alphabetic script with which Moses could have recorded such lengthy reports. We now know that there was indeed an alphabetic script Moses could have used. Remember that Moses was literate, having been educated in Pharaoh’s household (Acts 7:22). In the early 20th century, Sir Flinders Petrie discovered examples of alphabetic writing inscribed on stones at Serabit el-Khadim, an Egyptian turquois mine in the Sinai.6 They date from the 19th to the 15th century BC.7 The proto-Sinaitic script, as it is often called, was invented by Semites who worked at the turquois mine and adopted Egyptian hieroglyphic symbols as pictographic letters for their language. Most scholars agree that the language behind this script is from Canaan, but which language it is has been a matter of debate. Douglas Petrovich has presented evidence that these inscriptions were written by Israelites, and that Hebrew is the language behind the script.8 His translation of one inscription (Sinai 361) contains the name of Moses.9 Not all scholars are convinced, however,10 and this has resulted in much debate.11 It is interesting that an alphabetic script developed at the precise time the Israelites were in Egypt, and that the language behind it is from their place of origin. At the very least, we now know that there was indeed an alphabetic script Moses could have used to write the first five books of the Bible.
https://biblearchaeology.org/research/chronological-categories/exodus-era/4919-top-ten-discoveries-related-to-moses-and-the-exod



The History of Israel in Egypt  - The Veil Removed
Examine over 100 new discoveries of archeological evidence  for the time of Israel in Egypt from Ensettlement to Exodus  and from Joseph to Moses

THE MURDER OF MALE NEWBORNS AND THE NAME MOSES ARCHEOLOGICALLY EVIDENCED IN HEBREW INSCRIPTIONS
In his book "The World's Oldest Alphabet" Douglas Petrovich deciphered 15 found as Hebrew identified inscriptions of ancient Egypt. One of them called Sinai 349 says:
"He (the King of Egypt) sought occasion to cut away to barrenness our great number, our swelling without measure.  They yearned for Hathor (Mother goddess & Turquoise Mine goddess), but the quiver of our brothers was thoroughly despised. He performed terror against their quiver & brought about a cry of wailing."  One of the Hebrew slave work miners of the Royal Turquoise & Copper Mine in the Sinai desert must have engraved it after the murder of all Hebrew male newborns Exodus1:22 in 1686 BC. This is archeological evidence confirming, and strongly indicating the sojourn of Israel in Egypt, the idolatry of Israel in Egypt, the enslavement of Israel in Egypt, and the command of the King of Egypt on the mass murder of all male Hebrew firstborn and its execution.  A much later second inscription (Sinai 361) of this Royal Turquoise & Copper Mine in the Sinai desert (1666-1646 BC) shows besides several Hebrew words unequivocally the Hebrew name of Moses: "Moshe" (see yellow alphabetical Hebrew letters M and Sh in the third picture). It says:
"Our bound servitude had lingered. Moses provoked astonishment.  It is a year of astonishment because of Baalath."  One of the Hebrew slave work miners of the Royal Turquoise & Copper Mine in the Sinai desert must have engraved it in the midst of the Ten Plagues. This is archeological evidence confirming the historical existence of MOSES in Egypt, the ongoing slavery of Israel in Egypt until MOSES' return, his biblical evidenced provoking astonishment Exodus4:30,7:9,7:20,8:1,8:12,9:8 and the biblical evidenced idolatry of Israel in Egypt (Baalath). More information in the passage headlined THE FIRST AND OLDEST ALPHABET WAS FOUND IN EGYPT IT WAS HEBREW AND FIRST CAME UP  IN THE STRICTLY BIBLICAL TIME OF JOSEPH
https://www.israelinegypt.com

The Biblical account of the Exodus contains many tiny details that place it within a distinct historical and chronological context. Those who ignore this evidence refuse to give the Biblical record a fair hearing.

For instance, in the events leading up to the Exodus, the book of Genesis records that Joseph’s brothers sold him for 20 shekels to slave traders who took him from Canaan to Egypt (Gn 37:28). Egyptologist Kenneth Kitchen notes some of the flaws in the logic of those who reject the Biblical Exodus or assign it to unnamed writers many centuries later. He notes that the price of 20 shekels is the price of a slave in the Near East in about the 18th century BC...If all these figures were invented during the Exile (sixth century BC) or in the Persian period by some fiction writer, why isn’t the price for Joseph 90 to 100 shekels, the cost of a slave at the time when that story was supposedly written?...It’s more reasonable to assume that the Biblical data reflect reality in these cases (1995:52).

The date of the Exodus can be accurately calculated since the Bible mentions in 1 Kings 6:1 that the fourth year of Solomon’s reign was “the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt.” Surprisingly, there is scholarly agreement about the dates of Solomon’s reign, placing his fourth year in the 960s BC. Subtracting 480 years takes us back to a date for the Exodus in the 1440s BC.

Another Biblical reference used to date the Exodus is found in Judges, where Jephthah tells the Ammonites that Israel had been in the land for 300 years (Jgs 11:26). Again, there is acceptance among the experts that Jephthah’s victory over the Ammonites took place around 1100 BC. This would place the arrival of the Israelites in Canaan near 1400 BC, precisely 40 years after the Exodus. Thus both Biblical dates for the Exodus agree.

http://www.israelvideonetwork.com/if-you-dont-think-the-jewish-exodus-from-egypt-was-real-then-watch-this-video-and-think-again/




Archaeological Finding of Ancient Egyptian Writings Confirms The Story of Exodus
https://jewtube.tv/religion/archaeological-finding-ancient-egyptian-writings-confirms-10-plagues-exodus/?fbclid=IwAR3N-WljrcxmO2FGl9UidqYlwKpAu8A4PvDL0QDYTwBak5ifcmDIndEIrEY

http://www.bible.ca/archeology/bible-archeology-exodus-date-1440bc.htm
http://www.biblicalchronologist.org/answers/exodus_egypt.php
http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2009/08/09/The-Exodus-Controversy.aspx#Article

The Plagues of Egypt, the Torah and the Ipuwer Papyrus


Does the ancient Egyptian document known as the Ipuwer Papyrus describe the events recounted in biblical story of the Plagues of Egypt?
The Plagues are the ten catastrophes imposed on ancient Egypt by Yahweh to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelite slaves go as recorded in the Torah (Exodus, chapters 7–12). 

The Plagues of Egypt imposed on ancient Egypt by Yahweh to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelite slaves go… are they fact or fiction? 

The Ipuwer Papyrus is a single papyrus holding an ancient Egyptian poem, calledThe Admonitions of Ipuwer. It describes the affliction of Egypt by natural disasters and by a state of chaos in which the poor have become rich, and the rich poor, with violence, famine and death are everywhere. A symptom of this chaos is the lament that servants are leaving their servitude and acting rebelliously.

The Ipuwer Papyrus

The date for the composition of The Ipuwer Papyrus is unknown. The papyrus itself (Papyrus Leiden I 344) is a copy made during New Kingdom of Egypt (c. 1550 BCE–c. 1069 BCE). It is in the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Netherlands. There is no agreement on the date of the original composition of the poem. Some scholars have suggested a date between 1850 BCE and 1600 BCE.
The renowned British Egyptologist Sir Alan Gardiner (1879-1963) translated the Ipuwer Papyrus into English in 1909. He believed that the text contained historical descriptions of current and past events.
Some biblical researchers have interpreted the document as an Egyptian account of the Plagues of Egypt and the Exodus in the Torah. The Ipuwer Papyrus is often cited as proof for the Torah account by biblical scholars. However, most Egyptologists reject the association of the Ipuwer Papyrus with the Exodus as describing the same event.

Dr. Roland Enmarch, Lecturer in Egyptology University of Liverpool and author a new translation of the Ipuwer Papyrus, notes: "the broadest modern reception of Ipuwer amongst non-Egyptological readers has probably been as a result of the use of the poem as evidence supporting the Biblical account of the Exodus." Commenting on such attempts to draw parallels, he argues that "all these approaches read Ipuwer hyper-literally and selectively" and points out that there are also conflicts between Ipuwer and the biblical account.
Enmarch suggests that "it is more likely that Ipuwer is not a piece of historical reportage and that historicizing interpretations of it fail to account for the ahistorical, schematic literary nature of some of the poem’s laments."
On a literal reading, there are similar to aspects in the Ipuwer Papyrus to the Exodus account of the plagues of Egypt.

Comparison of the Ipuwer and Exodus Texts

Enmarch examines "the most extensively posited parallel," which is the river becoming blood. He insists that it should not be taken "absolutely literally" as a description of an event but that both Ipuwer and Exodus are metaphorically describing what happens at times of catastrophic Nile floods when the river is carrying large quantities of red earth.
It has also been suggested that the mixing of bacteria with the red earth could conceivably affect the oxygen balance of the Nile’s waters, resulting in the killing off of the river’s fish.
Exodus 7:20-21: “[Moses] raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood. The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.”
Ipuwer Papyrus (IP): Indeed the river is blood, yet men drink of it. Men [shrink] from human beings and thirst for water.
Below: Red-tide algea, River Nile


Consider the following additional parallel passages...
Exod. 9:6: “All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died.”
IP: “Indeed, all animals, their hearts weep; cattle moan because of the state of the land.”
Exod. 9:23: “When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt.”
IP: “Indeed, gates, columns, and [walls] are burnt up… Behold, the fire has gone up on high, and its burning goes forth against the enemies of the land.”
Exod. 9:25: “Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both people and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree.”
IP: “Indeed, trees are felled and branches are stripped off.”

Above: Locust plague in Queensland, Australia in 2010
Exod. 10:15: “[The locusts] covered all the ground until it was black. They devoured all that was left after the hail—everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.”
IP: “Neither fruit nor herbage can be found… everywhere barely has perished.”
Exod. 10:22: “So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days.”
IP: “[The land] is not bright because of it.”
Exod. 11:5: “Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well.”
IP: “Indeed men are few, and he who places his brother in the ground is everywhere… Indeed [hearts] are violent, pestilence is throughout the land, blood is everywhere, death is not lacking, and the mummy-cloth speaks even before one comes near it.”

Conclusion

Gary Greenberg, President of the Institute of History, Archaeology and Education concedes, “to the extent that one
believed the Hebrew God caused these bad times, one was inclined to let him take the credit.” Nevertheless, he insists that
"there is nothing miraculous about the conditions described, nor is there any evidence from Egyptian records that the
firstborn child of each Egyptian family died on one night." 

Dr. James K Hoffmeier,professor of Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern History and Archaeology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois argues that the use of mythological language and images in a biblical narrative of the plagues of Egypt does not mean that a fictitious event is being described.
"In the end," he writes, "those who consider the Exodus stories historicized myths, folklorist tales, or legends rest on assumptions about the nature of the literature that cannot be proven.”
There are remarkable similarities between the catastrophes described in the Ipuwer Papyrus and the biblical narrative of the Plagues of Egypt. Are these records of precisely the same events? This is unlikely since the probable date of the composition of the Papyrus, 1850 BCE and 1600 BCE, precedes the date of the Exodus by centuries.
The very earliest date for the Exodus proposed by the most conservative scholars is 1450 BCE. Scholars in the tradition of the celebrated biblical archaeologist William F. Albright (1891-1971) propose an alternative, "late" Exodus around 1200-1250 BCE.


John Van Seters, Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina, suggests that an author he calls the Jahwist (J) wrote the base-story of the Exodus in the 6th century BCE. This was later expanded by the Priestly school of writers (P) in the redacting of the Torah. If Dr. Van Seters is correct, then the Ipuwer Papyrus may precede the biblical text by as much as a millennium.
The biblical account of the Plagues of Egypt reflects events described in the Ipuwer Papyrus. It is certainly possible that the J and P writers of the Torah may have borrowed from the Papyrus certainly in terms of form if not strictly in content and purpose. The Torah undoubtedly reflects the same genre in ancient Near Eastern literature, but this does not negate the probability that the Plagues narrative has dome basis in actual events.


http://www.free-online-bible-study.org/ipuwer-papyrus.html


https://ohr.edu/838

One of the frequently ridiculed passages in the bible is about Talking snakes and Balaams talking Donkey. But there is hard evidence that Balaam the prophet is a historical figure.

THE POPULAR HANDBOOK OF ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE BIBLE



http://blogs.christianpost.com/confident-christian/talking-snakes-donkeys-and-believing-the-bible-11993/

Is there evidence for the exodus from Egypt?

The Exodus is perhaps one of the more difficult areas of Biblical archaeology, and some scholars are skeptical about its reality because finding confirming evidence for it has been very difficult.  But it is a very important event in the history of Israel.  Should we, and do we find evidence for the Exodus?


If we look for Egyptian records we run into the problem that most of them were recorded on very perishable papyrus.  As Egyptologist James Hoffmeier pointed out, most papyrus documents did not survive in the Egyptian Delta because it was too wet.  * And the inscriptions on statues and temples tended to be selective pro-Egypt propaganda, not records of defeats.  Other archaeologists have pointed out that desert nomads such as Israel would have been, leave few traces in the archaeological record.


So is there any evidence at all for the Exodus?  Dr. Randall Price gives some evidences such as that there were foreigners from the land of Canaan living in Egypt and they caused some problems, and that there is evidence that Egypt had a large foreign workforce of slaves spanning several dynasties, and that slaves escaped from Egypt also.**


There is an interesting document that was found in Egypt called the Ipuwer Papyrus, written during the 19th dynasty,  that seems to be describing plague like conditions such as the river becoming as blood, many people buried in rivers and all kinds of crops dying, and other allusions that fit the biblical exodus such as the country in upheaval and slaves and foreigners suddenly becoming rich. ***


There is also evidence for the Red Sea crossing.  Chariot wheels very similar to wheels pictured in Egyptian inscriptions were found on the Red Sea floor.  The design of the wheels fits the time period of Egypt thought to be the time of the exodus.  Along with them were objects that appeared to be chariots and skeletons of men and horses, all piled together on the sea floor.  Two matching memorial markers on opposite shores were found, and across the Red Sea at the crossing site between these markers, it looks as if a path had been cleared on the sea floor, with stones seemingly pushed aside to make the path. ****


It can also be shown that the writer of the book of Exodus showed a great familiarity with the Egyptian environment, by looking at the descriptions of the geography, social customs, and even climate.  And the law given at Mount Sinai has a form that fits the standard of that time period for such documents, and not those of later time periods.


Finally, in regard to the absence of a direct reference to Moses and the Exodus, we must remember the adage that “absence of evidence does not equal evidence of absence”.


*  See exact quote from The Bible Can Be Proven, page 103
** See exact quote from The Bible Can Be Proven, pp. 103-104, referencing The Stones Cry Out by Randall Price, 1997, page 133.
** For full description see The Exodus Case by Dr. Lennart Moller, 2002, pp. 143-149, as referenced in The Bible Can Be Proven, page 104.
**** Ibid, The Exodus Case, pp. 204-229.  This section in Moller’s book contains many photos of the Red Sea artifacts and the sea floor.

Archeological Evidence For The Plagues In Egypt

To many, the biblical account of the 10 plagues and the Exodus is just too fantastical to be believed– pure legend discovered just within the pages of the Bible, Israelite propaganda with no archeological evidence. However what if it isn’t? What if there was an Egyptian eyewitness account of the divine consequences and suffering explained in the Bible?

Introducing the Ipuwer Papyrus.
The Ipuwer Papyrus is a very long scroll written in heiratic text, dating to circa 13th century b.c. It is understood to be a copy of an earlier work. Nevertheless, when the original was composed is a mystery. Dating is simply uncertain, commonly ranging from the early 2000s to the 1500s b.c. (the latter end of the spectrum more directly lines up with the biblical date for the Exodus).

The Ipuwer Papyrus was composed by a royal Egyptian scribe of the very same name. He mentions a long story of outright catastrophe befalling Egypt. Lots of references throughout the papyrus are noticeably comparable to the biblical account of the 10 plagues.

Here we employ a translation supplied by Rabbi Mordechai Becher of OHR Somayach a Jewish Bible school.

River of blood (First plague).

Bible: Exodus 7:20 describes God turning the water of the Nile river into blood and the Egyptians being not able to consume the water and required to dig wells trying to find drinkable water (Exodus 7:24).

Ipuwer papyrus: “The river is blood. Men shrink from tasting– human beings, and thirst after water.” (Ipuwer 2:10)

Animals diseased (Fifth plague).

Bible: Exodus 9:3 records that God struck the livestock and all the animals of Egypt with a sickness.

Ipuwer papyrus: “All the animals, their hearts weep. Cattle moan …” (Ipuwer 5:5). Then in 9:2 -3 it states, “Behold, cattle are left to stray, and there is none to gather them in.”.

Human afflictions (Sixth plague).

Bible: God judged Egypt with a contagious boil that broke out into open injuries. It not just struck men and women, however animals too (Exodus 9:8 -9).

Ipuwer papyrus: “Plague is throughout the land. Blood is everywhere” (IP 2:5 -6).

Enormous hail and thunder-storm (Seventh plague).

Bible: A huge hail storm demolished the herbs (Exodus 9:24 -25) and flax and barley crops which were close to harvest (Exodus 9:31 -32).

Ipuwer papyrus: It mentions crop failure that impacted the Egyptian earnings. “Lower Egypt weeps … The whole palace is without its incomes. To it belong wheat and barley, geese and fish” (IP 10:3 -6). It additionally reads, “Forsooth, grain has actually died on every side” (IP 6:3). It likewise compares the weariness of the land to the “cutting of flax,” that would occur with a massive hail storm (IP 5:12).

Lightning and fire.

The Bible: Associated with this huge storm was lightning that rolled along the ground. Fire was combined with the hail (Exodus 9:23 -24).

Ipuwer papyrus: Speaks of damage due to fire. “Forsooth, gates, columns and walls are consumed by fire” (IP 2:10).



Darkness over the land (Ninth plague).

Bible: Exodus 10:22 states that a tremendous darkness covered the land for 3 days.

Ipuwer papyrus: “The land is without light” (IP 9:11).

Death of the firstborn (Tenth plague).

Bible: The last plague included the killing of the first-born of every household, involving the Pharaoh’s (Exodus 12:29 -30). The Bible states a great cry was heard throughout Egypt (Exodus 12:30).

Ipuwer papyrus: “Forsooth, the children of the princes are dashed against the walls.” (IP 4:3, 5:6) “Forsooth, the children of princes are cast in the streets” (IP 6:12). “He who places his brother in the ground is everywhere” (IP 2:13) and “It is groaning through the land, mingled with lamentations” (IP 3:14).


Transfer of wealth from the rich to the slaves.

Bible: Now the sons of Israel had actually done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; 36 and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. (Exodus 12:35 -36 NASV).

Ipuwer papyrus: “Gold and lapis Iazuli, silver, malachite, carnelian and bronze … are fastened on the neck of female slaves” (3:2).


The Ipuwer Papyrus is an artifact of hot dispute. Many think it to be simply a make-believe account, although still a literary work of art. Others believe it might have been somewhat based upon a genuine catastrophe. Of course these people could not relate to the Exodus account, because that too (according to the experts) is unproven fiction!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im4lajcBXsk

Top Ten Discoveries Related to Moses and the Exodus
https://biblearchaeologyreport.com/2021/09/24/top-ten-discoveries-related-to-moses-and-the-exodus/?fbclid=IwAR2E0VK5GyeDOpLikjilT5pEmvv0LF5Lo3zMH7OzT-ML9uyQezeURZ-8Euw

Claim: Please explain how the Hebrew people could have had an Exodus to Canaan to escape Egyptian rule at a time when Egypt demonstrably ruled Canaan.
Reply:  The assertion that the Exodus could not have occurred because Egypt ruled Canaan at the time of the purported Exodus is based on an oversimplified understanding of ancient Near Eastern history and geopolitics. To clarify, it's important to recognize the nuanced and dynamic nature of Egyptian influence and control over Canaan throughout history.

First, it's essential to establish a timeframe for the Exodus. Traditional biblical chronologies place the Exodus around the 15th century BCE, specifically around 1446 BCE according to a literal interpretation of 1 Kings 6:1, which states that Solomon began building the Temple in Jerusalem 480 years after the Exodus. However, some scholars and alternative chronologies suggest a 13th-century BCE date for the Exodus, during the reign of Ramses II, mainly due to the mention of the city of Ramses in the Exodus account.

During the Middle Bronze Age and into the Late Bronze Age, Egypt's influence over Canaan varied significantly. In the early part of the 2nd millennium BCE, during the Middle Kingdom and early Second Intermediate Period, Egypt had trade relations with Canaan but did not exert direct control. It wasn't until the New Kingdom period, starting with the 18th Dynasty around the 16th century BCE, that Egypt began to establish a more substantial presence in Canaan.

This presence peaked under Pharaohs like Thutmose III and Amenhotep III, who led military campaigns into Canaan and established a series of vassal states overseen by Egyptian officials. However, the extent of Egyptian control was not uniform across the region and varied over time, depending on the strength of the reigning Pharaoh and the political situation in Egypt and Canaan.

During the reign of Ramses II, in the 13th century BCE, which is another proposed period for the Exodus, Egyptian influence in Canaan was significant. However, this does not preclude the possibility of an Exodus event. The nature of Egyptian control over Canaan was more akin to a hegemony over city-states rather than direct rule over a unified territory. These city-states were often allowed a degree of autonomy, and the Egyptian presence was concentrated in garrison cities and trade centers. Moreover, the borders and extent of control were fluid, affected by rebellions, local power struggles, and shifts in Egypt's political and military focus.

Furthermore, the biblical narrative of the Exodus does not describe the Israelites immediately entering and taking control of Canaan upon their departure from Egypt. Instead, it recounts a period of wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, which could represent a transition period during which the geopolitical landscape of the region could have changed.

Archaeologists find more evidence of Bible story about Moses leading his people to the Promised Land 3,200 years ago READ MORE: Experts discover earliest record of Jesus' childhood By Nikki Main Science Reporter For Dailymail.Com Published: 18:01 EDT, 12 July 2024 | Updated: 18:19 EDT, 12 July 2024

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13629323/Archaeologists-evidence-Bible-story-Moses.html

Archaeologists have uncovered secrets of a Biblical city that sat within the 'Promised Land' where the Israelites settled after Moses led them out of Egypt. The Israeli Antiquities Authority recently shared their findings from Zanoah, which is mentioned in the Old Testament, revealing stone walls, pottery and other artifacts that date back more than 3,200 years. The Bible states that the Israelites reached the Promised Land, also known as Canaan, around 1406 to 1407 BC after wandering 40 years in the desert. The team also uncovered a broken jar handle that featured the name of a king described in the Bible, providing more evidence to the Biblical story of Moses. Archaeologists have discovered ancient artifacts that may coincide with Moses leading the Israelites from Egypt to the Promise Land. Researchers found retaining walls for farming terraces that are used to create level areas for planting and to protect steeper soil from erosion

The Israeli Antiquities Authority recently shared their findings from Zanoah which is mentioned in the Old Testament, revealing stone walls, pottery and other artifacts that date back more than 3,200 years. The Exodus story is spread over the biblical books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

It begins with the Israelites enslaved in Egypt, before the Pharaoh - coerced by 10 terrible plagues - agrees to release them and Moses leads them across the miraculously-parted Red Sea. Once they reached the Sinai Peninsula, scripture says they traveled to Mount Sinai, where Moses received the 10 commandments. The group then headed to the southern border of Canaan, but being too scared to enter, were condemned to spending decades in the wilderness by God. After passing the years at the oasis of Kadesh Barnea, the Israelites then traveled to the eastern border of Canaan, where Moses died and was buried on Mount Nebo. In the subsequent Book of Joshua, Joshua takes over the leadership of the Israelites, leading them into the Promised Land across the River Jordan and conquering Jericho - and Zanoah is mentioned in the Book of Joshua. Joshua 15:34,56 outlines the boundaries and cities within the tribal allotment of Judah once they entered the Promised Land, which includes Zanoah. Archaeologists also recovered well preserved pottery, complete with an LMLK stamp on the jar handle which is very rare in the Judah foothills. These markings are ancient Hebrew seals meaning 'of the King'

The shard had a wide rim with three concentric bands in a grid-like pattern and featured a rope decoration

Archaeologists uncovered several stone walls throughout the ancient city

Researchers excavated the area in 2019 but released their findings in March. The team uncovered walls fashioned with rows of large, white rocks, which they believed were retaining walls for farming terraces used to create level areas for planting and to protect steeper soil from erosion. Preserved pottery was also pulled from the ground, with one featuring a stamp on the handle that read 'of the King,' which was to honor King Hezekiah's reign in Judah in 701 BC. The life of Hezekiah is described in the Bible book of 2 Kings, chapters 18-20. In 2 Chronicles, the king is said to have reopened the Temple of Solomon, known as 'the First Temple' and built on the spot where God created Adam. Hezekiah also smashed the bronze snake statue God commanded Moses to make, which is mentioned in Numbers 21:8-9: 'Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a snake image and mount it on a pole.' The Biblical story of Moses starts with the Israelites enslaved in Egypt, before the Pharaoh - coerced by 10 terrible plagues - agrees to release them and Moses leads them across the miraculously-parted Red Sea

Pottery fragments littered the landscape, with about 20 percent dating to the time the Israelites were said to have arrived after the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness- the rest were fashioned over the next 900 years. A decorated fragment of a cosmetic bowl made of white limestone. 'It has a wide rim adorned with a decoration of three concentric bands separated by gaps: the external and internal bands are narrow and feature a rope decoration, while the central band is wide and features an intermittent grid pattern,' the researchers shared in the study. Other findings included bowls and jugs, one of which had perforations that suggested it may have been used as a lantern, and metal objects were also discovered. However, the researchers did not specify when they were made, only that they were bronze jewelry such as a ring and earring fragment. Other remnants that ancient humans once lived in the region included iron tools, nails of various sizes and bronze strips used for welding iron. 'While it is likely that some of the finds originated in the ruin and were subsequently washed down the slope over the years, the majority of the finds, especially those dating from the early Byzantine period, relate to farming activities conducted on the hill slopes,' the researchers said. They added that the large number of finds indicates the importance of the site 'and highlights [its] potential significance.'

The “El Arish Stone”.

In the tiny museum of Isma’ilya, northeast of Cairo, is an artifact that corroborates the Biblical Exodus.. It’s known as the “El Arish Stone”. It is a piece of black granite weighing two tons, measuring 4 feet in length, and 2.5 feet in width. It was found in 1887 on a farm at El Arish, lying on its side. At the time, it was being used as a water trough for cattle. When archaeologist Frances Llewellyn Griffith found the slab of granite, his clue to its value was the hieroglyphics. By the writing, he dated the object to the Ptolemaic period, specifically the 30th Dynasty (380-360 BC), when it was probably used as a shrine. The inscriptions seem to refer to events some 1200 years earlier (c. 1500 BC) and appear to tell the story of the Exodus, but with a twist: this story is told from Pharaoh’s point of view.

The black granite inscription corroborates the story of the parting of the sea, as told in Exodus 14. There is a unique hieroglyph on it: three waves and two knives.
Egyptologist James Hoffmeier has suggested that we look at the hieroglyphic literally. Seen in this way, the obvious translation is the “parting of the sea” or the “parted sea”.
Because the El Arish stone was being used for water for cattle, some of the inscriptions have been eroded, leaving the ones on the right and back sides of the monument mostly intact. In all, 74 lines are still legible. One line seems to be referencing Moses: he is referred to as the “Prince of the Desert” and his Israelite followers are called the “evil ones” or “evil-doers”. The Egyptian text also tells about how Pharaoh chased the Queen Mother, Tefnut, presumably the royal princess that once raised Moses, as she was leaving with the departing Israelites. This corroborates the Talmud (Sotah 12a) which states that the princess left on the Exodus, marrying the Israelite leader, Caleb son of Yefuneh.
The stone also seems to be reporting some of the Biblical plagues, including prolonged darkness and a terrible tempest. Furthermore, it mentions a specific location next to where the sea parted. The place is called “Pekharti”. Remarkably, this exact place is mentioned in Exodus 14:2,9 as the location where the Israelites camped just prior to the parting of the sea. In the Book of Exodus, it is called “Pi-hahiroth”.

If all this is not enough the Torah states that, as he was dying, the Biblical patriarch Jacob/Israel blessed his son Joseph wishing for Joseph’s children to “fishify” i.e., that they ”increase in the land like fish”. For this blessing, he made up a new word; “fishify”, “Idgu” in Hebrew (Genesis 48:16). Later, when the Israelites are leaving on the Exodus they take the bones of Joseph with them to the Promised Land (Exodus 13:19). Shockingly, the El Arish stone says that when the “evildoers” left Egypt, they took “Dagai” with them. The exact nickname given by the Torah to Joseph!
Isn’t is curious how academics can ignore inconvenient archaeology..that proves the Bible?

Decoding the El Arish Stone – blog entry 3

I’ve been attempting to decipher the El Arish “naos” i.e., shrine. This is the third entry. The “naos” is a granite stone weighing two tons that once stood in the “Holy of Holies” of an Egyptian temple. Some scholars have claimed – and I agree – that what we have here is the story of the Biblical Exodus from an Egyptian point of view. The inscription has never been systematically deciphered – until now.

Part 1 and 2 are here and here.

Before I continue with part 3, I want to address the main objection to this exercise. Until now, scholars and naysayers have dismissed this archeological proof for the Biblical Exodus because the stone dates from the 2nd century BCE/BC. How could this stone be telling the story of the Biblical Exodus, the naysayers argue, when the Biblical Exodus happened somewhere between 1,500 to 1,270 BCE and the stone is dated to 200 BCE? Meaning, there is some 1,300 years between the stone and the Exodus. To my mind, this is a nonsensical objection.

My edition on the Bible was published in 2012, but it would be silly for a future archeologist to surmise that it was written in 2012. Observant Jews believe that the Torah i.e., the five books of Moses, were written at the time of the Exodus some 3,500 years ago. For their part, scholars argue that it was written after the Babylonian exile of the Jewish people i.e., some 2,500 years ago. In any event, though my edition of the Bible may be a couple of years old, the story depicted in it is at least 2,500 years old.

When it comes to the Christian Bible, scholars identify the earliest writings with Paul’s letters (1 Thessalonians and Galatians) estimated to have been written around 50 CE/AD i.e., almost 2,000 years ago. Again, the moral of the story is: something may be published today, but it may have been originally recorded thousands of years earlier. The same goes for the El Arish granite.

Typically, Egyptian chronology is calculated based on Manetho’s Aegyptiaca (History of Egypt). This text was written in the 3rd century BCE (around 250 BCE). Not coincidentally, the Septuagint i.e., the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible also dates to this period, as does the El Arish granite. What does all this mean? Why are all these stories dated to the same period in Egyptian history? Does it mean that all these stories originated in the 3rd century BCE, the “Ptolemaic” period of Egyptian history? No, it simply means that something happened during the Ptolemaic period to get the rulers of Egypt to commission the writing down of their history.

What happened? The answer is simple: this period represented the liberation from foreign, Persian rule. Until 332 BCE, the Persians ruled Egypt. After this, Alexander the Great and the descendants of one of his generals, Ptolemy, ruled the country. During the Persian rule, the conquerors tried to obliterate Egyptian history. As a result, during the Ptolemaic period that followed Persian rule, the new rulers of Egypt commissioned the recording of their ancient history, so that it should never be lost. It was as a result of this policy that Manetho wrote his Egyptian History, the Hebrew Bible was translated and the Egyptian version of the Biblical Exodus was recorded on a granite stone in El Arish.

Put differently, all those who have dismissed the El Arish stone on the grounds that it is written in the 3rd century BCE, you’ve made a terrible mistake. Here you have – in hieroglyphics – a 2,200-year-old version of the Passover story – from the Egyptian point of view – and you’ve ignored it. It’s time for the evidence to be examined.

Back to our analysis.

We left the story off when a Pharaoh known by his divine name, “Shu”, regrouped his army and dedicated a temple to the Egyptian gods, before resuming hostilities with the “Amu”, a Semitic people from the area of Israel. We have identified “Shu” with Pharoah “Kamose”. Line 18 states that Kamose’s special temple had a holy area that no one could enter – except Kamose:

“…and it became a sacred place in At-Nebes. It’s southern side represented the face of Pi-Yarit. Neither gods, nor goddesses, nor men, nor animals were allowed to enter the sacred precinct to learn …18. its mysteries.” [the Pharaoh’s privilege of entering the holy area] was granted at the time of Ra, who built a great wall around the temple, measuring… cubits on its 4 sides. 19… 20 cubits high and 15 cubits thick.

As for the sacred lake of At-Nebes, it was. 20… cubits… Shu (a.k.a. Pharaoh Kamose) commissioned it himself at the time of his majesty, Ra. Neither gods 21… nor goddesses, nor men, nor animals had seen anything like it. They did not comprehend [the meaning of] its dimensions, which were 190 cubits [in length] and 110 cubits in width. The walls were 20 cubits… 22. in height and 15 cubits in thickness. This temple was different from all other temples. Its plans were mysterious. Its meaning, a secret. Then came his majesty, Shu/[Kamose], and was enthroned at At-Nebes. As sure as the sky is fixed, the secret ritual of the temple proceeded… 23. Now his majesty, Shu, was enthroned at At-Nebes. During the season of Akhet [i.e., July – November]… 24. He was declared king of the gods at Yat-Nebes, when he formally ascended the throne of Harmakhis.”

What we see here is nothing less than the prelude to the Exodus. In the north, in the Biblical “Goshen”, we have the so-called “Hyksos” i.e., a Semitic people that the Egyptians called the “Amu”. In the south, we have Egypt’s indigenous rulers mounting a campaign to retake the north. The first leader, Pharaoh Seqenenre Tao II, falls in battle. His son, Kamose, regroups at a place called “At-Nebes” i.e., the place of the sycamores, dedicates a temple reminiscent of the Biblical Tabernacle and is elevated to his father’s throne prior to reengaging with the northerners. It is this very moment that creates the political and historical window for Moses to confront Pharaoh Kamose with the immortal line: “So declares the lord – let My people go!”.

In the next blog, a major figure from the Biblical Exodus is explicitly mentioned in this non-Biblical inscription. To be continued.
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/decoding-the-el-arish-stone-blog-entry-3/

EXTRA-BIBLICAL EVIDENCE OF THE EXODUS REEVE ROBERT BRENNER
https://jbq.jewishbible.org/assets/Uploads/363/363_dayenufinal