Proof for the Biblical Exodus

[Stu]

Found this article relating to proof of the Exodus.

As Passover draws near, there’s a dramatic scholarly breakthrough linking archeology to the Biblical Exodus.

There’s now a new translation of an ancient Egyptian monument known as a “Stela” that has just been published in the Journal of Near Eastern Studies by Professors Robert Ritner and Nadine Moeller, of the Oriental Institue of the University of Chicago. The translation basically links Pharaoh Ahmose (18th Dynasty/New Kingdom) with the eruption of the Thera/Santorini volcano. In the past, scholars argued that Ahmose and Thera were divided by more than a century. The new translation proves that they were contemporaneous i.e., Ahmose witnessed the effects of one of the deadliest volcanic eruptions in human history. This goes a long way towards linking Thera, Ahmose and the Biblical Exodus.

Find the rest here.

[bippy123]

Stu great find, but the link isnt working for me. Is there another way to access the article. This is huge towards building a positive case for the exodus

[Stu]

Not sure how else you can read it but try this link which is less convoluted than the one I posted http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/13517 ... al-exodus/

[Ivellious]

This author either has no idea what the word "proof" means, or is an expert in the field of "incredibly hyperbolic article titles." All this guy has done is draw some really weak links between a couple texts that don't even remotely describe Exodus and apparently that proves Exodus was real? How does "ancient volcanic super-eruption" plus "text that could possibly describe two of the ten plagues" equal "Exodus was real!!!"?

[PeteSinCA]

This author either has no idea what the word "proof" means, or is an expert in the field of "incredibly hyperbolic article titles." All this guy has done is draw some really weak links between a couple texts that don't even remotely describe Exodus and apparently that proves Exodus was real? How does "ancient volcanic super-eruption" plus "text that could possibly describe two of the ten plagues" equal "Exodus was real!!!"?

"Proof" is a very over-the-top word for something that is (potentially) a piece of a much larger series of events. I don't think we'll ever know with certainty when the Exodus happened. Between the passage of time (3.25-3.5 millennia!) and numerous waves of war, our knowledge of New Kingdom Pharaonic Egypt is barely fragmentary.

That said, I do think placement of the Exodus in the 18th Dynasty plausible. Genesis and Exodus don't have extensive chronological information, but dating Abraham to the Middle Kingdom, dating Joseph toward the end of the 12th Dynasty (and end of the Middle Kingdom), and placing the Exodus in the middle of the 18th Dynasty works with information we do have in Genesis and Exodus: Joseph being the equivalent of Prime Minister over all of Egypt; the >400 years Israel was in Egypt; a major historical crisis being forgotten (during the fragmentation, invasion(s) and chaos of the Second Intermediate Period); a paranoid native-ist Pharaoh enslaving the Israelites; a century and more in which the enslavement would be made the more oppressive; a very prideful and stubborn Pharaoh resisting Moses in the face of disasters; that same Pharaoh resorting to military force to pursue Israel. Ahmose, the founder of the 18th Dynasty also reunited Egypt from fragmented control by Semitic peoples. He would have viewed Israel's presence - even if peaceful - in some of the best land in Egypt with hostility; that that land was also the path of invasion from the newly driven out would have made Ahmose distrustful as well. Thutmose III had been co-regent with his stepmother, Hatshepsut, and commander of their armies. Then he overthrew her, and as sole Pharaoh, was known as a conqueror. A ruler such as Thutmose III would have been very self-willed, prideful, stubborn and inclined toward using and leading his very able army.

And such an 18th Dynasty placement also permits time for the events of the Books of Judges (the famous boastful inscription by Ramses II might have been a short-lived victory over Israel through a surrogate/ally, possibly one of those mentioned in Judges) and 1 Samuel. Like I said, plausible, not proven.