Ancient Israel in Egypt and the Exodus

1 Ancient Israel in Egypt and the Exodus 2012 Biblical Archaeology Society1 Ancient Israel in Egypt and the Exodus 2012 Biblical Archaeology SocietyiAncient Israel in Egypt and the ExodusStaff for this book:Margaret Warker eBook EditorRobert Bronder DesignerNoah Wiener Web EditorDorothy Resig Managing EditorSusan Laden Publisher 2012 Biblical Archaeology Society4710 41st Street, NWWashington, DC Photo: Merneptah Stele, Cairo MuseumAncient Israel in Egypt and the Exodus 2012 Biblical Archaeology SocietyiiAbout the Biblical Archaeology SocietyThe excitement of archaeology and thelatest in Bible scholarship since 1974 The Biblical Archaeology Society (BAS) was founded in 1974 as a nonprofit,nondenominational, educational organization dedicated to the dissemination of information aboutarchaeology in the Bible the public about archaeology and the Bible throughits bimonthly magazine,Biblical Archaeology Review, an award-winning , books and multimedia products (DVDs, CD-ROMs and videos),tours and ExcellenceBAS s flagship publication isBiblical Archaeology Review(BAR).

2 BARis the onlymagazine that brings the academic study of archaeology to a broad general audience eager tounderstand the world of the Bible. Covering both the Hebrew Bible and New Testament,BARpresents the latest discoveries and controversies in archaeology with breathtaking photographyand informative maps and s writers are the top scholars, the leading researchers,the world-renowned the only nonsectarian forum for the discussion of two other publications,Bible Review(1985 2005) andArchaeologyOdyssey(1998 2006). The complete editorial contents of all three magazines are available in theBAS Libraryonline. The BAS Library also contains the texts of four highly acclaimed books:Aspects of Monotheism,Feminist Approaches to the Bible,The Rise of Ancient IsraelandTheSearch for Jesus.

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4 In addition to the articles in this eBook, other articles on ancientIsrael in Egypt and the Exodus are available fromBiblical Archaeology ReviewandBible Review,including the following:Manfred Bietak, Israelites Found in Egypt , BAR, September/October J. Yurco, 3,200-Year-Old Picture of Israelites Found in Egypt , BAR,September/October articles on Egyptology s relation to Biblical archaeology include:Orly Goldwasser, How the Alphabet Was Born from Hieroglyphs, BAR, Shanks, When a Woman Ruled Egypt , BAR, March/April S. Fried, Why Did Joseph Shave? BAR, July/August more information on these and other articles by top scholars and archaeologists,consider joining the BAS Library at , the most comprehensiveresource for Biblical archaeology.

5 With an affordable subscription to the BAS Library, you caneasily access every article, every news update, every piece of commentary and image publishedsince 1975 inBiblical Archaeology Review, Bible ReviewandArchaeology BASL ibraryalso includes four popular books based on a Smithsonian lecture series and SpecialCollections of articles on popular out more at or call 1-800-221-4644, ext. 202 Ancient Israel in Egypt and the Exodus 2012 Biblical Archaeology SocietyivTable of ContentsV Introductionby Margaret Warker1 Out of Egyptby James K. Hoffmeier21 Let My People Go and Go and Go and Goby Abraham Malamat31 When Did Ancient Israel Begin?by Hershel Shanks38 The Authors39 NotesAncient Israel in Egypt and the Exodus 2012 Biblical Archaeology SocietyvIntroductionThe Exodus is one of the most dramatic events in the Hebrew Bible the flight of theIsraelites from slavery in Egypt and their miraculous escape across the Red Sea.

6 It is traditionallyviewed as the single event that gave birth to the nation of Biblical narrative of the Exodus is a fascinating account that can be supplemented byadditional historical sources. This eBook, taken from articles inBiblical Archaeology Reviewmagazine, considers texts and archaeological evidence from the second millennium thatdescribe Israel in Egypt and the Out of Egypt , James K. Hoffmeier questions how likely is it that the Israelites wereenslaved in Egypt . And if they were there, which way did they go when they left? Hoffmeier usesrecent archaeological excavation data from Egypt to shed new light on the Israelites time asPharaoh s slaves, the locations mentioned in Exodus and the route the Israelites took out ofEgypt to the Promised Malamat s article Let my People Go and Go and Go and Go questions thehistoricity of the Biblical account.

7 Malamat suggests that once we give up the search for a single,dramatic Exodus , the evidence for a more subtle Exodus one dispersed over time will , in When Did Ancient Israel Begin? Hershel Shanks takes a new look at the late-13th-century Merneptah Stele, which has long been considered the earliest reference toIsrael outside of the Bible. But now three German scholars say they may have found anotherhieroglyphic inscription almost 200 years older naming Israel . The Bible may be more accuratethan some hope that you will find this eBook interesting and thought provoking. These articlesare just a taste of the Ancient insights found inBiblical Archaeology WarkereBook Editor2012 Ancient Israel in Egypt and the Exodus 2012 Biblical Archaeology Society1 Out of EgyptThe Archaeological Context of the ExodusBy James K.

8 HoffmeierEvery spring as Passover nears, TV audiences in America areaccustomed to seeing Cecil B. DeMille sThe Ten CommandmentsstarringCharlton Heston as Moses and Yul Brynner as Ramesses II, the putativepharaoh of the Exodus . For millions, the images from this classic film haveshaped their understanding of the bondage of the Hebrews in Egypt and theirtriumphant departure under their liberator Moses who subsequently receives theLaw from God at Mt. the mid-20th century, the historicity of the Bible s portrayal was, by andlarge, affirmed by leading North American scholars like William Foxwell Albrightand, arguably his best-known student, George Ernest Wright. Not only did theyaccept the general accuracy of the Exodus narratives, but they believed thatsecondary archaeological evidence could be adduced to support the Biblicaltradition.

9 John Bright, another Albright student, maintained this view in hisAHistory of Israel (1959). In the third edition of this classic work (1981), Brightopined that There can really be little doubt that ancestors of Israel had beenAncient Israel in Egypt and the Exodus 2012 Biblical Archaeology Society2slaves in Egypt and had escaped in some marvelous way. Almost no one todaywould question it. 1 Just as this positive portrayal was being made, however, the origins-of- Israel debate was beginning, and battle lines between historical maximalists andminimalists were being drawn. The pages ofBARhave regularly covered thisdebate over the past 20 years. At a gathering of Biblical-minimalist historians inRome in 2005, they reaffirmed their antipathy toward the historical value of theOld Testament.

10 The Exodus story was singled out for special It neverhappened was the who now question or reject the Biblical reports generally do sofor several reasons: (1) the lack of corroborating archaeological evidence inEgypt and Sinai, (2) because they regard the Exodus narratives as myth,legends, folktales, and/or, (3) because the narratives were written so manycenturies after the events and are so theologically and ideologically shaped thatthey cannot be read as the first point, Scandinavian minimalist Niels Peter Lemchehas commented that The silence in the Egyptian sources as to the presence ofIsrael in the country is an obstacle to the notion of Israel s 40 years sojourn.