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

   

Did Moses Have A Second Wife?

Biblegems #256

  

Question: According to Exodus 2:16-21, Moses was married to Zipporah, the daughter of Ruel, the priest of Midian. Does Moses later marry a second wife from Cush (Numbers 12:1)?

Here is the account in Numbers:

Num. 12:1  Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite.

Zipporah, Moses’ one and only wife, was a Cushite from the land of Midian. Here’s how that came about…

         

“Cush” means “black.” Cush descended from Ham and was the father of Nimrod (Gen. 10:8), who became the founder of Babel and the Assyrian Kingdom.

As you can see from the map above, Cush is shown twice. This map represents the division of peoples who migrated from Babel (Gen. 10). Cush is located on the northwest shore of the Indian Ocean, just below Arphaxad and Elam, and then again on the southwestern shore of the Red Sea (not named on the map) across from Arabia, on the African Continent just south of Mizarim. The reason for this is that the people of Cush (ancestors of the Ethiopians) first settled not far from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now southern Iraq. They eventually migrated around the Arabian Peninsula to Africa, settling along the coastline as they went.

The Midianites, named after Midian, the fourth son of Abraham (Gen. 25:2), were the principal tribe responsible for the Arab peoples. In Moses’ day, they were nomads who dwelt in the desert of north Arabia, pasturing their flocks on the fertile Sinai Peninsula. The Midianites controlled most of Arabia and the peoples who lived there, including those descended from Cush.

Moses’ wife Zipporah (whose name means “bird”) was the daughter of Ruel, a descendant of Cush (Numbers 12:1) who served as a priest in the land of Midian (Ex. 2:16). Her father is later referred to by the name Jethro (Ex. 18:2), which translates as “Excellency,” and likely refers to his priestly title. This could be compared to an Asian or Hispanic serving today as a Catholic priest in Italy.

When Moses fled Egypt, he found safety in Midian. It was there that he came to the rescue of Zipporah and her six sisters who were threatened by some ruffian shepherds. Out of gratitude, the Midian priest took Moses under his protection and offered him his daughter Zipporah in marriage (Ex. 2:16-21).

Many years later, during the Exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land, Moses’ sister Miriam succumbed to jealousy over Moses’ leadership and attempted to use his mixed marriage as leverage against him:

         Num. 12:1  Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. “Has the LORD spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the LORD heard this.

God’s quick and decisive judgment upon Miriam (Num. 12:4-15) highlights several spiritual truths, among them:

         Acts 10:34  “…God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation (Gk. ethne, i.e., “ethnic group”) the one who fears him and does what is right.”

And:

         1Sam. 26:9 “…Who can lay a hand on the LORD’S anointed and be guiltless?”

Do The Ten Commandments Apply Today?

Biblegems #242

Question: Are Christians as well as Jews equally obligated to obey the Ten Commandments? And what about those of other religious beliefs?

God gave the Ten Commandments to the Hebrew people, specifically the descendants of Israel, during the 13^th century B.C. (Exodus 20:1-23). These statutes formed the foundation of the entire legal, judicial, military, religious and social system that God established through Moses in creating the nation of Israel. In that sense, then, the Ten Commandments were designed specifically for the Jewish people.

However, God’s purpose in creating the nation of Israel was to have a people set apart from all the other people groups on the planet who would serve as God’s representative to the nations, and as an example to all mankind of a lifestyle in keeping with God’s will and design for humanity. In fact, God’s promise to Israel was that a future day would come when that divine purpose would become a permanent reality:

         Is. 51:4   Listen to me, my people;

                  hear me, my nation:

         The law will go out from me;

         my justice will become a light to the nations.

What this reveals is that the Ten Commandments are more than ten laws; the Ten Commandments reflect God’s character and His standard for human desires and human conduct. The Ten Commandments target what we love as well as what we do. So in that sense, the Ten Commandments are universal. What God gave to Israel on tablets of stone He has also imprinted in the human conscience:

         Rom. 2:14-15 Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.

So the Law acts as a spotlight on the person who breaks it. It exposes sin in a very public way, because those who publicly identify themselves as people of the Law come under its judgment when they break it. Either way, Jew and Gentile—no matter what their religious views—all must answer to God for breaking His commandments. And by that holy standard, all mankind stands condemned:

         Rom. 3:10   As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one…

A true follower of Jesus, however, has died to the sinful nature and has been reborn by the Holy Spirit. Such a person is no longer condemned but—under the control of the Spirit of God—willingly obeys the Law.

         Rom. 8:6-9   The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.  Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

         You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.