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History, Archaeology, and the Exodus the Story According to the Biblical Account

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History, Archaeology, and the Exodus the Story According to the Biblical Account History, Archaeology, and the Exodus The Story According to the Biblical Account: • The End of Genesis • Joseph • Children of Israel in Egypt (Goshen). • Exodus: • New Pharaoh who Enslaves • Moses and the burning bush (Revelation of Yahweh). • The 10 Plagues • Leaving Egypt and the Destruction of Pharaohs Army • Exodus – Deuteronomy: • 40 Years of Wandering. • Receiving 10 Commandments • Battles in the Desert • Joshua: • The Conquest of the Land The Search for the Historical Exodus: The Biblical Clues and Archaeology’s Original Impetus Biblical Clues • Chronology – When? • Places – Where? • Events –What? Archaeology Proof and Truth Chronology: When was the Exodus? • “In the 480 th year after the Israelites left the land of Egypt…Solomon began to build the house of the Lord (1 Kings 6:1).” • 1440 BCE. • Symbolic Number? • Pi-Ramses • 13 th Century BCE. • No Named Pharaoh. Places and Sites : Where Should We Dig? • Egyptian Cities • Pi-Ramses, and Pithom. • Districts: • Goshen • Locations from the Wanderings Events: • 10 Plagues. • Parting of the Sea. • The Act of Exodus. • Conquest and Destruction of Cities The Roadmap to Nowhere? Results from 200 Years of Archaeology Problems in Egypt and the Problems in Canaan Wilderness: • No Evidence for Arrival of A Large • No Mention of Enslaved Ancient New Population Israel. • Land Under Egyptian Colonization • No Mention or Evidence of Plagues. during possible Exodus periods. • Sites Mentioned in the Narrative Exist at the Wrong Time. • No Evidence for Large Camping Population in Sinai. Between History, Historical Memory, and Myth Lack of Concordance Between Archaeological Evidence and Biblical Text Historical Memory The Story Is Entirely Fictitious Archaeology is Biased, The Story As Presented Is Not and Was Created to Provide Confirmation from History but Can be Picked Apart to Ethical Guidance or an Evangelical Archaeology Find Some Underlying Truth. Impressive Foundation Myth The Hyksos Narrative, Canaanites in Egypt During the 2nd Millennium : The Hyksos • 15th Dynasty (1650-1550). • Kings of Canaanite Background. • Controlled Northern Half of Egypt • Dispersed by Founder of New Kingdom, abandoning Egypt for Area of Gaza The Hyksos and the Exodus, The Proposal • Hyksos Invasion = Migration of Joseph and Family. • 2nd Intermediate Period and the Pharaoh who ‘did not know Joseph’ as echo of New Kingdom’s rise and Egyptian Historiography. • Expulsion of Hyksos to Canaan by Egyptians is our Exodus. • Deep Historical Memory Called Upon in Story • Issues: No later references to Hyksos, Hyksos seem to have moved out of significance. No actual slavery. No clear connection to wandering or story of Yahweh’s emergence. Bondage as Memory of Egyptian Colonization • Canaan as Colony of Egypt in the Late Bronze Age (c. 1500-1200). • Governor’s Residences, Military Occupations, Lack of Political Autonomy. • Extractive Colonial Resource System. • Issues: Still no clear reason to set story in Egypt itself, does not explain wandering or other features of the story. Little interference by Egypt outside of valleys and trade routes, laissez faire empire. Moses and Monotheism: A Psychologist Walks into a Bar. • Released in 1939. • Pharaoh Akhenaten r. 1353– 1336 BCE. • (father of Tutankhamun) • Changed Egyptian Religion to Monotheistic Atenism. • Moses as Follower of Atenism fleeing for religious freedom? Seen on the Discovery Channel: Volcanoes and Plagues. • Major eruption on Santorini c. 1600 BCE • Visible natural effects throughout eastern Mediterranean and beyond. • Infotainment Programming and a turn to Science. No Exodus? The Earliest Mention of Israel • Late 13 th Century Inscription Detailing Invasions of Egypt. “Canaan has been plundered into every sort of woe: Ashkelon has been overcome; Gezer has been captured; Yano'am is made non-existent. Israel is laid waste, and his seed is not.” • Israel Referred to as a People Rather than a Country. Returning to the Text, the New Way Forward, and a Little Exodus • Historical Critical Scholarship. • Source Theory. • Text is a Composite, so why Look for Exact Correlations? The Song of the Sea: An Exodus as the Oldest Part of the Tanakh. • Victory song sung by Miriam and Women (Exodus 15: 1-18). • Similar vocabulary and form to 13 th century Canaanite poetry. • No numbers of how many people left Egypt. • No mention of Israel, Bondage, or Plagues. • Record of victory for people (referred to as such) leaving Egypt and being saved by divine intervention at the Sea of Reeds. The Levites and A Little Exodus (A New Theory) Who are the Levites? • According to Biblical Narrative, descendants of Levi. • One of the 12 Tribes of Israel. • No land allocation. • Instead in charge of operating temples throughout Canaan. • All Cohens are Levites, but not all Levites are Cohens. The Levites and the Exodus: • Do not appear in the Song of Deborah, 13 th Century Text in book of Judges. • Key figures of Exodus Story (Moses, Miriam, Aaron are all Levites). • All known Israelite Characters in the Tanakh with Egyptian names are Levites (i.e., Moses, Miriam, Hophni, Pinchas, etc.) • Outsiders to Egypt as well with non-Egyptian God? • After Exodus, melded into ethnic entity called Israel. • Biblical Text with Protections for Strangers. The Levites, Moses, and Midian • Midianites Responsible for Taking Joseph to Egypt, a historical memory of people of Midianite origin entering Egypt? • Moses with a Midianite Wife, Children, and Father-in-Law. • Strange Connections for Leader of Israel. • Using source theory, possible to read story with Moses starting off in Midian, without origin in the Egyptian Palace. The Midianites and Yahweh. • In one version of the text, Yahweh first introduces his name to Moses at the burning bush saying that it was previously hidden. • Mount Horeb, a Mountain of God in Midian? • Different from Mount Sinai? • Yahweh is not a Canaanite God. • First appearance in historical record related to Egyptians talking about the inhabitants of area of Midian. A New Reconstruction. 1. Group of Midianites who Worshipped Yahweh Settle in Egypt. 2. As non-believers experience some sort of oppression under the Egyptians. 3. Leave Egypt, Experience Sea Event. 4. Settle in Canaan bringing their God (Yahweh) and Traditions (Circumcision) with them. 5. Attach themselves to already emerged Group Called Israel becoming Priests. (Levite Means Attached). 6. Eventual Syncretism between Canaanite Deity El and Levite Deity Yahweh. 7. Story of the Levites becomes a National Tale (Story of Victory and Resistance against Scary Neighbor?) Happy Passover! Any Questions? .
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