82 Dating the Exodus

Dating the Exodus T. J. Betts T. J. Betts is Assistant Professor of Probably one of the most controversial meaning the oppression of the Hebrews Old Testament Interpretation at The and hotly debated subjects pertaining to may have begun a number of decades Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. biblical chronology is the dating of the before Ramesses II came to the throne.5 He is a fourth generation Baptist minister Exodus. Basically, most biblical histori- Ramesses II finished the construction and has pastored fourteen churches in ans are divided between what are called of the city naming it after himself. It is 1 2 Ohio and Indiana. Dr. Betts is the author the late date and the early date of the inconceivable that the city could have of Ezekiel The Priest: A Custodian Of Exodus. Most proponents of the late date been named after a pharaoh who did Tora (Peter Lang, 2005). believe the biblical and archaeological not even exist. Therefore, it is impossible data discovered so far indicate the Exo- for the Exodus to have happened before dus happened in the thirteenth century a pharaoh named Ramesses was on the B.C. sometime around 1267 B.C. in the throne. Furthermore, the majority of nineteenth dynasty, twenty years into the archaeological discoveries along with reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II (1279-1213 inscriptional references to geographical 3 B.C.). Most proponents of the early date locations from this sight appear to come of the Exodus argue it happened during from the thirteenth and twelfth centuries the eighteenth dynasty in the fifteenth B.C. and not the fifteenth century B.C.6 century B.C. about 1447/46 B.C. The fol- Much debate has risen over this under- lowing is an overview of major arguments standing of the store city of Raameses pertaining to both sides of the debate. by those who advocate the early date of the Exodus. First, archaeologists have The Debated Texts discovered an eighteenth dynasty citadel Exodus 1:11 at the location of Tell el-Dabva. West of Exodus 1:11 is a key passage in the the citadel they located what might have debate. It states, “Therefore they set task- been a temple. About 150 meters south masters over them to afflict them with of the location excavators found a large heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh storage building containing pottery dat- store cities, Pithom and Rameses.” Many ing to the Late Bronze I period. North of have equated the city of Rameses with the the citadel they discovered a number of city of Pi-Ramesses. According to Kitchen, Minoan frescoes from the same period.7 Seti I initially built a summer palace at its Shea says those who have argued against location, then Ramesses II built the vast the early date of the Exodus because there store-city of Exodus 1:11.4 Pi-Ramesses has been no evidence of an eighteenth was located at modern-day Qantir near dynasty presence at Tell el-Dabva must Faqus and is called Tell el-Dabva. Hoff- lay that argument to rest.8 meier suggests Ramesses II probably com- Second, Robert I. Vasholz questions menced work on Pi-Ramesses about 1270 the notion that a pharaoh would indeed B.C., but he recognizes that construction name cities which “were basically depots on this sight predates Ramesses II at least for the storage of supplies and taxes paid to the time of Horemheb (1323-1295 B.C.), in terms of foodstuffs” after himself.9 He 82 argues that Egyptian records of cities prove the case concerning Rameses in at from the old, middle, and new kingdoms least one of two ways. First, though they reveal that pharaohs did not name cities are convinced of it, they have failed to they built or rebuilt after themselves. demonstrate that the Rameses of Exod Instead, they tended to name cities after 1:11 was indeed the city Pi-Ramesses their gods. For instance, during the new built by Ramesses II. They have made an kingdom period, Menfe (also known assumption based on the similarity of as Memphis) was renamed to Hitpuah, the names. Second, even if they are the which means “spirit of [the god] Ptah.”10 same cities, advocates of the late date have Furthermore, a number of pharaohs had failed to show that the events of Exod 1:11 names that came from their gods. Rame- happened during the time of Ramesses ses means “begotten by Ra.” Ra was a II. Dyer believes basing the date of the sun god and was also a primary god in Exodus on the similarity of names fails Egypt. Vasholz concedes the possibility to be a compelling argument.16 that Ramesses II could be that one excep- Merrill argues, tion of a pharaoh who named a city after 11 it is by no means certain that the himself. However, if he is indeed correct, city of Rameses was named after then it would suggest the possibility that the Pharaoh of that name. In fact, Ramesses II of the nineteenth dynasty Genesis 47:11 states that Jacob and his family settled in the land of got his name in much the same way the Rameses when the entered Egypt city of Rameses got its name some two in the nineteenth century; unless we postulate an anachronism, for centuries earlier; both were named after which there is not the slightest Ra at different times. proof, we must conclude that there Third, convinced of the early date, was an area by that name before there was ever a Pharaoh Rameses. Wood believes the name Rameses in Exod It could well be that there had been 1:11 is an editorial updating of an earlier an ancient Ramesside dynasty long name that went out of use.12 Kitchen ages before and the Ramessides of the Nineteenth Dynasty were allows for editorial updating with the named for them, the city also having term Rameses in Gen 47:11 but not in Exod taken this name. In any case, there is 1:11.13 Hoffmeier argues against such an no need to assume that the mention of the city of Rameses proves that updating because it fails to fit the normal the Exodus must have taken place 17 pattern of editorial glossing of names in during the reign of Rameses II. the Old Testament. Typically, both the 1 Kings 6:1 earlier name and the later name occur First Kings 6:1 is another important together with a formula connecting the text concerning the date of the Exodus. It old name with the new name, or the new says, “In the four hundred and eightieth name is accompanied by an explanatory year after the people of Israel came out clause.14 Nevertheless, Wood demon- of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of strates there are number of occurrences Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month where a name that has been changed of Ziv, which is the second month, he appears without any formula or explana- began to build the house of the LORD.” tion in the Old Testament.15 Solomon reigned from 971/970 – 931/930 Dyer says that those who hold to the B.C.18 Therefore, according to this pas- late date of the Exodus have failed to sage, Solomon began building the temple 83 in 967/966 B.C. Taking the number four oning time than just counting years.”22 hundred and eighty literally would then Bratcher says that there are several groups point to 1447/1446 B.C. as the date of the of numbers that perform certain roles in Exodus. Obviously, 1 Kgs 6:1 is a major Scripture. For instance, the number three text for proponents of the early date to often denotes a short period of time or argue their case. In fact, on the surface it extent without intending to be specific seems to be an open and closed case. (Jonah 1:17; 3:3). The number seven often However, advocates of the late date symbolizes completion (Gen 2:2; 29; Matt emphasize the importance of under- 15:35). The number twelve symbolizes standing how the biblical writers used community and wholeness (Gen 35:22; Jud numbers. Hoffmeier addresses the issue: 19:29). And the number forty is a “sche- matized number used for a generation the culture and conventions of the penman’s milieu must be borne in or simply an unspecified long period of mind when addressing the question time” (Gen 7:4; Exod 16:35). Furthermore, of how to interpret numbers. Such Bratcher points out how multiples of these a view of Scripture encourages the researcher to investigate seriously numbers appear in the Scripture, such as how large numbers were used and seventy or seventy-seven (Gen 4:24; Matt understood among Israel’s neigh- 18:22), one hundred twenty (Gen 6:3), one bors. A literal understanding of certain large numbers may not always hundred forty-four (Deut 34:7), one hun- be correct if the authorial intent was dred and forty-four thousand (Rev 14:1), not literal. Such a misplaced literal- ism would be a “misinterpretation” four hundred (Gen 15:3), four thousand 19 of Scripture’s meaning. (1 Sam 4:2), forty thousand (Josh 4:13; 1 Kgs 4:26), and four hundred thousand Proponents of the late date believe the (Josh 20:2).23 Understanding this use of number 480 should be understood to numbers has led many scholars to believe represent twelve generations made up the 480 years of 1 Kgs 6:1 should be taken 20 of periods of forty years each.

Load more