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Reason and Revelation, 2024
This is part two of a two-part article focusing on determining the Date of Exodus based primarily on internal scriptural evidence. An upcoming two-part article will address extra-biblical/archaeological evidence for the Date of the Exodus. Many scholars argue that the Exodus described in the Bible never occurred. Among those who accept its historicity, there is a division regarding its dating: the "early" date (1447/1446 B.C.) versus the "late" date (ca. 1250 B.C.). A straightforward assessment of the textual evidence in Scripture leads to the early date of the Exodus. However, some scholars argue that the archaeological evidence does not support this early date. Instead, they assert that the evidence supports a late date, leading them to reinterpret key biblical passages accordingly. Upon re-examining the available evidence, it becomes evident that the early date for the Exodus remains not only tenable but also preferable. When history and archaeology are properly analyzed in light of the biblical text, they can significantly enhance our faith in the reliability of Scripture, affirming its historical and factual foundations.
Reason and Revelation, 2024
Many scholars argue that the Exodus of the Bible never occurred. Among those who believe it did occur, scholars are divided about when it happened: "early" (1447/1446 B.C.) or "late" (ca. 1250 B.C.). A straightforward assessment of the textual evidence in Scripture leads to the early date of the Exodus, but some scholars believe the archaeological evidence does not support an early date. Instead, they argue it supports a late date of the Exodus and, subsequently, interpret key Bible passages in a way that supports the late date. A re-examination of the available evidence reveals that an early Exodus date is still not only tenable-it is preferable. Article In Brief... Article In Brief...
We can now date the Exodus confidently in 1386 BCE. Both astronomy and radiocarbon dating more than establish the absolute dates of the Biblical timeline. This is a casual look at the aspects of this absolute dating timeline.
Determining a date and Pharaoh for the biblical Exodus has been a major scholarly undertaking for years. This paper seeks to look into all the theories and discuss them in full detail.
Prior to the 21 st century, neither biblical historian nor Egyptologist had been able to locate the time period of Biblical Joseph-the first Israelite in Egypt, the pharaoh who elevated Joseph to such high status and the exact date of the Exodus. No doubt that if there were a significant number of Hebrews and Israelites in Egypt and then there were none, only two outcomes could have occurred – genocide or mass Exodus. The second scenario is preferred but requires detailed research to find such an Exodus event. Present-day historians have used the chronology given in I Kings 6, which relates that Solomon " s Temple began to be built in his 4 th year of reign when the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt AFTER " four hundred eighty years… " (*1*). With high confidence the date of Solomon " s Year 4 is set at ca. 966BC. Biblical literalists use the well documented Year 4 of Solomon to add on 480 years to get back to 1446BC to claim the time frame of the Exodus only to continually be wrought with disappointment when no evidence is found during that time period to substantiate an Exodus of the Hebrews and Israelites 1 out of Egypt after their captivity. This literal one dimensional thinking has led to a path of disappointment filled with roadblocks because they go too far back in time and end up in an era where there is no archeological or written record of the Israelites and Hebrews in Egypt. They come up with empty, unsuccessful discoveries when trying to find out when Joseph lived in Egypt, who were the pharaohs during his time and the later pharaohs of the Exodus generations later. The root cause of the unsuccessful discovery has been due to the same error used in calculating the length of a historical " year ". Biblical researchers in particular, have not taken into account how a year was calculated differently by the Israelite biblical scribes millennia ago when they were rewriting their history after being freed by the Persian King Cyrus the Great. I offer the following profound insights into that Exodus-to-Temple building calculation in correcting the time frame: That evidence that the ancient Israelites used two calendars of 6 months per year in length is still recognized today with the " First of Nisan " and 6 months later in Tishri with " Rosh Hashanah " , therefore the length of time from Exodus to Solomon " s temple is not 480 (Gregorian or Julian Calendar) " Solar " years but 240 " Solar " years. That the evidence of the ancient Israelite scribes using 40 years as the age of a " generation " and also using it as a default age or time period has been misinterpreted by a factor of two and should be correctly translated as 20 " solar " years as the age of a generation according to our present-day understanding of time. That this " Re-calculation " of the time period given in I Kings 6 should now lead to the time period of the Exodus at the conclusion of the 19 th Dynasty ca.1200 BC and not in the middle of the 18 th Dynasty ca. 1446 BC. Before the divided Kingdom only one calendar was needed but after the division, Judah continued to use the calendar based on its beginning in Tishri (Ethanim) while Israel started to use a calendar based on its beginning in Nisan (Aviv). After the exile from Babylon, both were used in the restoration of texts with a year meant to be interpreted as a year of 6 months/182 days. Later editors and biblical historians mistakenly interpret these amount of 6-month " years " to reference a 12-month/365 day year and thereby have doubled the amount of time elapsed of the following: The elapsed time the Israelites spent in Egypt; The elapsed time of the period of the Judges; The elapsed time of the genealogy of the Israelite tribe of Judah between the 12 generations from Judah (son of Jacob-Israel) to Solomon (son of David) and The elapsed time between the Exodus and the building of Solomon " s Temple. The recalculated time periods provide three main reasons to prove why the nation of Israel had not formed until well after the conclusion of Egypt " s 19 th dynasty: 1 All Israelites are Hebrews but not all Hebrews are Israelites.
In PART ONE, the timeline for the date of the Exodus was reviewed. The age-long calculated date of 1446BC, accepted by a majority of biblical historians originating from the Book of Kings was examined. There is substantial evidence to prove that the statement made in the Book of Kings has been misinterpreted causing biblical historians to calculate the time from Solomon's Temple building to the Exodus twice as long as should be. As reviewed and documented in Part One, " 480 years from the temple of Solomon " , built in 966BC, is twice as long as should be calculated as we understand today as a year consisting of 365.25 days. Going 480 years back in history from Solomon's Temple building in 966BC leads to an Exodus date in 1446BC while 240 years back in history from Solomon's Temple building in 966BC leads to an Exodus date in 1206BC. On one hand, failure to find archaeological evidence near the date of 1446BC has been due to scholars looking for evidence in the wrong historical period and probably the wrong geographical sites. On the other hand, the date near 1206BC provides a multitude of evidence for the proposed date of the Exodus and the Pharaoh of the Exodus. The results of this study here in PART TWO and PART THREE reveals that there was more than one Exodus event out of Egypt by peoples of Syrian and Canaanite descent who were likely genetically related in total or in part to the Hebrews and to the tribe that became an offshoot of the Hebrews – The Israelites. I propose that there were three Exodus events out of Egypt that occurred within a 20 year period. Today the astronomical events that precede the Passover are the Vernal (spring) Equinox followed by the FULL MOON. I propose that two of these three Exodus events did occur near a full moon following the Vernal Equinox but that the Main Exodus occurred during a NEW MOON following the Autumn Equinox. It is after this Autumn Event in which a pharaoh can be proven to have died and whose only son and heir to the throne died just before him. A proposed Main Exodus, in between the other two Exodus events and The Pharaoh of the Main Exodus is therefore revealed!
"Chronology is the backbone of history" is usually taught in schools but what is very disturbing is the total absence of reliable chronology to fix the Exodus because the date goes from 2100 to 650 BC (Sparks: 2015, 60); such a 1500-year gap is not at all serious. Furthermore, Exodus pharaoh identifications and theories (page 61) are absurd because the pharaoh of the Exodus died suddenly in the Red Sea according to the biblical text (Ps 136:15) and it is easy to see that the state of the mummy of Seqenenre Taa (Cairo Museum, The Royal Mummies CG 61051) proves that his body received severe injuries and remained abandoned for several days before being mummified. In addition Crown Prince Ahmose Sapaïr (Musée du Louvre, Paris: statue E 15682), who was the eldest son of Seqenenre Taa (1543-1533), died shortly before his father (Ex 12:29), who himself died on May 10, 1533 BCE. According to the biblical chronology based on absolute dates, not to the scholarly chronology of Edwin R. Thiele, the pharaoh of the Exodus died on May 10, 1533 BCE (exactly the same day). Consequently Seqenenre Taa was the pharaoh of the Exodus, according to absolute chronology.
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