Notes on Part 2 Is the Bible Reliable

1. If you hold a materialistic worldview, then the [parting of the Red Sea / miracles ] simply cannot have occurred.

2. The typical defenses of the historical reliability (aka historicity) of the Bible have been essentially arguments from [silence].

3. There is a lot of extra-biblical evidence that the Egyptians had large public building projects involving the forced labor of [Asiatic] slaves.

4. From the time of King David right up to the Babylonian Conquest, the most common style of Israelite architecture was the [four-room] house.

5. We find distinctive Hebrew names in the [slave records] of Egyptian households.

6. The Amarna letters refer to raids and conquest of several Canaanite cities by a group of [Habiru] .

7. Why are the [Egyptians] talking about the Israelites in 1400 B.C.?

8. An archaeological inscription mentioning “[Ta shasu Yahweh]” by itself puts to rest the whole school of biblical minimalism on the question of the Exodus. How would you translate that inscription into English and explain its significance?

We know that the Hebrews were divided into tribes and that one of their main means of livelihood was raising sheep. Today we would call them bedouin shepherds. The Egyptians had a name for them which was “Shasu” (those who traveled on foot). This was a generic term for tribes from many different places. But sometimes they got specific. For example, there is an Egyptian inscription from the time of Amen-hotep III which mentions the “Shasu of Yhw (Yahweh).” (The foot tribes that followed Yahweh, the God of the Bible.) This is likely a reference to those Israelites who did not reside in a specific city, but lived in the countryside tending their sheep 9. There was a migration of Israelites from Egypt to Canaan about the middle of the 15th century B.C., otherwise known as the [Exodus] .

What is what?

1. 1446 B.C. [F] A. ancient Egyptian reference to various people groups living in Canaan 2. ARGUMENT FROM SILENCE B. nomadic, marauding tribes in the Middle East—possibly [I] referring to the Israelites themselves 3. ASIATICS [A] C. detailed match between the biblical and archaeological records 4. 430 YEARS [G] D. inscription that proves the Israelites were a dominant group in Canaan by around 1209 B.C. 5. SPECIFICITY [C] E. area of ancient Palestine west of the Jordan River,the Promised Land of the Israelites 6. HABIRU [B] F. when the Exodus occurred, according to the Bible 7. MERNEPTAH STELE [D] G. duration of Israelites’ bondage in Egypt 8. CANAAN [E] H. Egypt’s Nile Delta area where the Israelites settled after Joseph’s time 9. IPUWER PAPYRUS [J] I. a conclusion based on the lack of contrary evidence 10. GOSHEN [H] J. possibly an Egyptian account of the 10 plagues

1) The outline of the Exodus story in the Bible: a) Exodus 1:11-15 - the death of Joseph b) Exodus 2:2-10 - the birth of Moses c) Exodus 3:16-17 - Moses flees into the wilderness d) Exodus 12:33-41 - the plagues end & the Israelites leave Egypt e) Joshua 1:2 - the Israelites enter the Promised Land

2) There are two main views of skeptics of the Exodus: a) some Biblical minimalists say there was no exodus b) others say it happened much later than 1446 BC. They postulate it happened in about 480 BC, ca. 4 years after Solomon began building the Temple in Jerusalem.

3) Typical defenses by believers are cogent, but are often arguments from silence: a) They claim the minimalists are predisposed against the historicity of the Bible. b) They claim that the Egyptians would not have recorded their "embarrassing moments." c) They claim that nomads do not typically leave much behind.

4) There is much positive evidence to examine: Israel was present in Egypt before 1400 BC. Israel was present in Canaan after 1440 BC. Worshipers of Yahweh did leave evidence in Sinai.

5) The Presence of Israel in Egypt prior to 1400 BC: a) Three people groups are mentioned in Egyptian texts of the period: "Asiatics" - ie, Israelites, Semites, and Hyksos peoples. b) These people groups are mentioned as slaves involved in the grand building projects of Ancient Egypt. c) Many artifacts have been found at Tell el Dab'a, a site associated with the town of Goshen, mentioned in the Biblical accounts. d) There are Egyptian texts which mention "vagrant sheepherders" who were not worshipers of the god Ra - cf. Papyri Leningrad 1116A e) The Tomb of Rekhmire –sketches showing Semitic slaves depicted on the walls of the tomb.

Tomb of Rekhmire drawings

f) The distinctive 4 room style house found at Tell el Dab'a. See also this link.

6) The presence of Israelites in Canaan after 1440 BC: a) There is evidence that the Canaanites were conquered during the period from 1440-1200 BC. b) See the Amarna Letters which mention a people group called the 'Habiru' - perhaps an ancient name for the Hebrews? Here is a photo of one of the tablet-letters.

Amarna Letter

c) The Merenptah Stele (photo below - and this article is particularly worth reading!) mentions Israelite cities and names.

The Merenptah Stele, Cairo

7) Nomadic evidence in Sinai: a) Although nomadic peoples do not leave much behind typically, since they travel often, and they carry around items which tend to be more light in weight and less durable across the centuries, nevertheless, some important items have been found. b) The "Ta shasu Yahweh" inscription is of particular importance! There are Egyptian texts from before 1440 BC which refer to these people, the "nomads of Yahweh" as living in the Sinai - the Egyptians knew who these people were! In fact, they knew them quite well, intimately was the word Dr. Meyer used. Note that they are called "nomads of Yahweh!" The Egyptians associated them with their God! This is an example of specificity of information - ie, an example of how the Bible is situated in its context. c) The Ipuwer Papyrus - a type of ancient Egyptian poem, bears remarkable allusions to the 10 plagues which Yahweh brought upon Egypt. Despite the similarities, this is suggestive, not empirical evidence.

A fragment of the Ipuwer papyrus

5 What can we conclude? - The Israelites were in Goshen starting at the time of Joseph. - The Israelites were in Canaan after 1446 BC. - There was a migration of the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan - ie, an Exodus!