Is The Exodus Fact Or Myth?

Biblegems #297

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Question: Is there historical, archaeological evidence for the biblical Exodus?

The short answer is “Yes!”

The Biblical Record

The year the Exodus began can be established from1Kings 6:1:

         1Kings 6:1 “In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build the temple of the Lord.” (NIV)

Solomon’s fourth year as Israel's king dates around 966 BC. 480 years earlier puts the Exodus at 1446 BC. The last two Jubilee Years observed by the Jewish people (see Lev. 25:8-55), as recorded in the Talmud[i], also confirms 1446 BC.

The Archaeological Record

• Archaeological evidence from Jericho, Ai, and Hazor—key cities in Joshua’s conquest of Canaan 40 years later (1406 BC) also supports the biblical date, and reflects the biblical descriptions of how these cities were destroyed. Archaeological finds from rebuilt Jericho during the period of the Judges, including Eglon’s palace (Judg 3:12–30), and evidence of the destruction of Hazor by Deborah and Barak, around 1230 BC (Judg. 4:24), also support the 1406 - 1400 BC date for Joshua’s conquest.




• Evidence in Egypt’s eastern delta known as Pi-Ramesse of Pharaoh’s royal palace supports the biblical date of Moses in Egypt. Also, remains of an earlier settlement are consistent with the arrival of Abraham’s family’s in Egypt.




• The “Amarna Letters” sent from desperate Canaanite kings seeking help from Egypt against the ‘apiru (Hebrews) who were “taking over” their settlements in the highlands during the mid-1300s BC, point to the biblical Israelites.

• The name “Israel” has recently been found inscribed in a partially preserved list on the base of an Egyptian column dating back to the 1400s BC that contains two other biblical names: Ashkelon and Canaan. This firmly places the Hebrews in Egypt at the time the Bible gives for the Exodus.

Why It Matters

The biblical Exodus is history—not allegory, not myth—emphasizing real places, real people, and real events experienced by thousands of people at the same time. If the Exodus never took place the authority of the biblical books describing the event from an historical perspective would be seriously jeopardized.

Jesus treated the Exodus as Jewish history experienced by their ancestors:

         John 6:49-51  Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven. which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

If the Exodus did not occur then Jesus’ teaching would be incorrect, and all of His life and teaching would be suspect. Year after year, however, scientific disciplines continue to confirm the accuracy of the Bible, whether in history, biology, geology or astronomy.

         Ps. 33:4  For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.

For further study on this vital subject please check out this link:

http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2008/04/The-Rise-and-Fall-of-the-13th-Century-Exodus-Conquest-Theory.aspx#Article

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[i] Rodger C. Young, “When Did Solomon Die?” JETS 46 (2003) 600-1

   

Evidence Of The Exodus From Egypt

Biblegems # 285

Question: Is there historical evidence for the ten plagues associated with the Exodus of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt?

First, it should be stated that the biblical account itself should be regarded as the premier source of historical evidence for the Exodus and related events.

Archaeological research in the Near East and Middle East (secular or faith-based) is dependent far more upon the Bible for locating ancient, long buried sites than any other source. On the other side of that coin, scientists and researchers often express great surprise when archaeological discoveries conflict with modern theories and confirm the biblical record.

A classic example of this is the discovery in 1887 of the famous Armana Tablets from the time of Moses and the conquest of Canaan under Joshua (approx. 1400 B.C.) These tablets (nearly 300 of them!) are letters in stone from the Canaanite king Abdi-Heba to the Pharaoh of Egypt begging for protection from the Hebrew invaders.

Likewise, the Ebla Tablets, unearthed in Syria in 1975, provide extra-biblical confirmation dating back to approximately 2300 B.C. (Abraham’s day) of the existence of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 13-18), and of a priest-king (Melchizedeck?) who ruled over Salem—the region that would later become Jerusalem (Gen. 14:18). 

Another, very recent, example the Bible’s historical accuracy is the earliest known reference to Jerusalem outside of the Bible found in Hebrew script on a 7^th century B.C. papyrus that authorities rescued from looters.[i] That places this document in the time period of Solomon’s Temple.

With regard to the ten plagues associated with the Exodus, another ancient papyrus surfaced in the 1970s known as the Ipewur Papyrus. This is a poetic account of historical events taking place in ancient Egypt that corresponds to the time of the Exodus (1400’s B.C.). This account parallels 6 of the 10 plagues recorded in the book of Exodus, chapters 7-12, followed by the release of the Hebrew slaves, as seen below:

Plague                                                  

1. Water contaminated with Blood (Ex. 7:14-25; Ipewur 2:3, 9)

2. Frogs (Ex. 7:25-8:11)

3. Lice (Ex. 8:16-19)

4. Flies (Ex. 8:20-32)

5. Livestock epidemic (Ex. 9:1-7; Ipewur 5:5)

6. Boils on skin (Ex. 9:8-1)

7. Devastating hail & fire (Ex. 9:22-26; Ipewur 9:23; 2:10)

8. Locusts (Ex. 10:1-20; Ipewur 4:14; 6:1)

9. Darkness (Ex. 10:21-29; Ipewur 9:11)

10. Death of Egypt’s firstborn sons (Ex. 11 & 12; Ipewur 2:13; 3:14; 4:3; 6:12)

                                                              

Slaves Freed with Egypt’s wealth (Ex. 12:31-36; Ipewur 1; 2; 3; 5; 10)                                                                            

While historians disagree over the dating of the Ipewur Papyrus (some think it’s too old!), and whether it should be understood simply as poetry or history, the description of the events read like an anguished eyewitness account of the biblical plagues. The parallels are too striking to be ignored.

Moses and the Exodus from Egypt following the ten plagues are treated throughout the Old and New Testaments as factual history, and they are thoroughly attested to in the archaeological record as well. As Jesus said would happen, “the very stones cry out!” (Lk. 19:40).

                                            

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[i] Live Science: Owen Jarus, Live Science Contributor | October 26, 2016

God, And The Death of Saul’s Sons

Biblegems #221

Question: In 2 Samuel 21, is God approving of David’s actions in the killing of Saul’s seven sons?

The first fourteen verses of 2 Samuel 21 records king David asking God to reveal the cause of a 3 years famine. God reveals that “It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house…because he put the Gibeonites to death” (v.1). So David asks the Gibeonites what he can do to rectify the injustice done to them years before (2-3). The Gibeonites, who had been nearly wiped out as a people by Saul (5), understood the Law of Moses on this matter and requested that seven of Saul’s sons be executed, and David agrees to their terms (5-7).

There are several key points of background that help makes sense of this tragic event:

• The Gibeonites should not have been in the land of Israel at all at this time. All the Canaanite tribes were supposed to have been utterly destroyed when Joshua led the Hebrews into the Promised Land (Dt. 7:1-6). The reason for this was—

         Dt. 7:4  …for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods, and the LORD’S anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you.

• Joshua failed in this directive:

         Josh. 9:15 Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.

Consequently, when king “Saul in his zeal for Israel and Judah…tried to annihilate them” (v. 2), he was breaking a generations-old treaty with the unsuspecting Gibeonites, thereby shedding innocent blood.

• The Promised Land was granted to Israel, tribe by tribe, as an inheritance from God (Dt. 19:10). God considered both His people Israel, and the land itself, to be holy, His “treasured possession” (Dt. 7:6; Lev. 27:30). Consequently, innocent blood shed on His land had to be atoned for:

         Num. 35:33   Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.      

 

As God had forewarned, destruction (in the form of a famine) came upon Israel for ignoring His command to rid the land of the Canaanites in the first place, but also for breaking the covenant that had been made with the Gibeonites, slaughtering an innocent people.

According to Israel’s own legal system, the Gibeonites knew they were within their rights to ask for the guilty to be punished for the innocent. And even though king Saul was already dead, his family survived and thrived while the Gibeonite people had been nearly exterminated. The request for “seven” of Saul’s sons represented the ancient Semitic concept of “completeness”—7 sons for the whole decimated tribe of Gibeonites.

David realizes he is obligated to remove the “blood-guilt” from God’s holy land and restore justice, which kicks in Israel’s own God-given legal system of justice.

As is so often the case in spiritual things, the trouble that rains down on our heads is often of our own making.