Evidence for the Exodus

Before we start with the evidence for the Exodus, we must look to the evidence that records the end of Genesis; with Joseph and the Hebrews entering Egypt.

Soleb Inscription
The Soleb Inscription dates to around the 13th century BC. The inscription states:
 * "The Land of the Shasu of Yahweh."

Frank Moore Cross calls the inscriptions:
 * "... the earliest appearance of what appears to be the independent form of the name [Yahweh]... No other suggested occurrences seem to withstand close linguistic scrutiny."

Shasu Letter
In relation to the "Shasu of Yaweh," an ancient letter dating to about 1192 BC, stating:


 * "Another communication to my Lord: We have finished letting the Shasu tribes of Edom pass the fortress of Merneptah Hotep-hir-Maat...which is in Tjeku, to the pools of Per Atum of Merneptah Hotep-hir-Maat, which are in Tkeku, to keep them alive and to keep their cattle alive..."

The Shasu Edomites were known as a semi-nomadic, Semitic group that were closely related to the Israelites. The treatment of the Shasu Edomites by the officials of Pharaoh is reminiscent of Pharaoh’s earlier treatment of the Israelites in Egypt during the time of Joseph.

It is also important to note that the Pharaoh of the Exodus states that he does not know who Yahweh is (Exodus 5:2), so therefore either the Exodus took place before this Shasu tribe were in existence, or the Egyptians were not aware of the tribe.

Book of the Cow of Heaven
The Book of the Cow of Heaven (also called The Destruction of Mankind), inscribed on the tomb walls of Seti I, Ramesses II, and Ramesses III, describes Hathor’s divine punishment of Egyptians with the foreigners, who survive the suffering, separated from Ra to live on the back of Nut, the heavenly cow.

Erik Hornung, in his German translation of the inscription, finds a startling name for Ra that has Exodus parallels.


 * "Evidently [it] means “I am I” or “I am that I am” [Egyptian root Yawi]. Since in the given context it must mean: “... as whom I have proven to be” ..., the phrase indeed recalls the Old Testament: see Exodus 3:14 “I am that I am” .... What is here of interest is of course the early [ancient] theology [surrounding] God’s name YHWH, but not its origin and actual etymology."

Brad Sparks also affirms Hornung's translation, stating:


 * "Checking the tomb of Seti I for example, I discovered “similar content” documents with colour pictures of the Exodus - the parting of the Red Sea and the mass drowning of the Egyptian army."

Israel Enslaved
The evidence for the oppression of the Hebrews comes in the form of four inscriptions discovered by Flinders and Marie Petrie in the early 1900s, as well as a famous papyrus.

Sinai 349
This inscription details a people in Israel being oppressed and cut down in number by the ruler of the land, mirroring Exodus 1:8-10


 * “He Sought occasion to cut away to barrenness our great number, our swelling without measure They yearned for Hathor, but the quiver of our brothers was thoroughly despised, so he performed terror against their quiver and brought about a cry of wailing.”

This amazing inscription actually confirms the Bible directly that the Egyptians feared the rising population of the Hebrews while in Egypt. The inscription is dated to 1480 BC and is a perfect match for the oppression of the Hebrews by the Egyptians who feared their large population. They called upon Hathor, the cow goddess, but she failed to protect them from the king of Egypt.

Sinai 357
This inscription details more of the oppression detialed in Exodus 1:11-14.


 * “A curse of 100-fold has passed through our people. A swooping has befallen us. A multitude has surrounded us. My father was completely depleted by the king.”

This inscription also dates to around 1480 BC, perfect timing for the Exodus story.

Sinai 360
Another part of the Sinai collection.


 * “Oh Man, you have arrived. You have been pruned off, in a year to forget.”

Given the dating of 1480 BC, it is a perfect match for the oppression of the Hebrews when they groaned after a particularly bad year (Exodus 1:14, 2:23-24).

Sinai 353
The final part of the collection on the Hebrew suffering.


 * “It is a time to be hopeless. The Lady (Baalath) had organized for battle. We banded together to remain with heads held high. We celebrated a festival of the sun,  which came out in order to hold us back.”

The Hebrew's worship of Baalath failed to protect them, so they worshipped one of the Egyptian sun gods. At Sinai they revert to worshipping Baalath as the  golden calf (cow goddess Hathor) who "defeated" Egypt on their behalf (Exodus 32; Nehemiah 9:18; Acts 7:41).

Brooklyn Papyrus
The Brooklyn papyrus, also known as the Snakebite Papyrus, is a manuscript fragment dating from around 589-525 BC, the time of the Thirtieth Dynasty.

It is a medical document that details the names of up to 95 slaves that were owned by an Egyptian. What is curious is that 70% of the names in the papyrus are Asiatic (or Semitic names). In fact, Shiphrah, one of the Hebrew midwives mentioned in Exodus 1:15, is named in the papyrus.

The Asiatics are described as being "household slaves" and "stewards." These are similar to the roles that Joseph held (Genesis 39:4, 17) as well as those of the Hebrew midwives in Exodus Chapter 1.

Manetho
We have the extant records an historian named Manetho, from around the 3rd century BC, who wrote about a time in Egypt's history that seems to resemble that of the Exodus:


 * "There was a king of ours whose name was Timaus. Under him it came to pass, I know not how, that God was averse to us, and there came, after a surprising manner, men of ignoble birth out of the eastern parts, and had boldness enough to make an expedition into our country, and with ease subdued it by force, yet without our hazarding a battle with them. So when they had gotten those that governed us under their power, they afterwards burnt down our cities, and demolished the temples of the gods, and used all the inhabitants after a most barbarous manner; nay, some they slew, and led their children and their wives into slavery."

Hecataeus of Abdera
Another writer from the 3rd century BC who mentions the Exodus is Hecataeus of Abdera, a Greek historian who wrote this concerning a known historical event:


 * "When in ancient times a pestilence arose in Egypt, the common people ascribed their troubles to the workings of a divine agency; for indeed with many strangers of all sorts dwelling in their midst and practising different rites of religion and sacrifice, their own traditional observances in honour of the gods had fallen into disuse. Hence natives of the land surmised that unless they removed the foreigners, their troubles would never be resolved. At once, therefore, the aliens were driven from the country, and the most outstanding and active amongst them banded together and, as some say, were cast ashore in Greece and certain other regions... But the far greater number were driven into what is now called Judea, which is not a far distance from Egypt and was at that time utterly uninhabited. The colony was headed by a man called Moses, outstanding both for his wisdom and his courage."

Josephus
I would be foolish not to mention Josephus when talking about Jewish history. Writing for the Romans in the 1st century AD, Josephus affirms.


 * "[Israelite] forefathers (who) were delivered out of Egypt, and came thence and inhabited this country (Judea) 393 years before Damaus came to Argos."

Some may state that Josephus was just repeating the mantra of Jewish tradition, however, Kyle McCarter states concerning the legitimacy of the Sinai story:


 * "... the old Sinai tradition was so venerable and well known... so persistent and authentic that it couldn't be suppressed."

The Ipuwer Papyrus
The Ipuwer Papyrus is a manuscript fragment of an apocalyptic poem that somewhat resembles the Exodus. The dating of the Poem itself is unknown. Harco Willems dates the original poem to the Middle Kingdom John van Steers claims it was written from 1850-1600 BC during the Second Intermediate Period. . . However, Dr David E. Graves date the papyrus itself to the New Kingdom, around 1543 to 1064 BC. There are also some significant namedrops and mentions in the papyrus that help link it to the earlier evidence. Read Sir Alan Gardiner's translation of the papyrus for yourself.

Tempest Stele
The Tempest Stele was discovered between 1947 and 1951 and dates to around the early 18th dynasty. It remarkably details events in Egypt's history similar to that of the Exodus:


 * (7) ... ...the gods expressed
 * (8) their discontent... The gods (made?) the sky come with a tempest of (rain?); it caused darkness in the Western region; the sky was
 * (9) unleashed, without ... ... more than the roar of the crowd; ... was powerful... on the mountains more than the turbulence of the
 * (10) cataract which is at Elephantine. Each house, ... each shelter (or each covered place) that they reached...
 * (11)... were floating in the water like the barks of papyrus (on the outside?) of the royal residence for... day(s)...
 * (12) with no one able to light the torch anywhere. Then His Majesty said 'How these (events) surpass the power of the great god and the wills of the divinities!' And His Majesty descended
 * (13) in his boat, his council following him. The (people were?) at the east and the west, silent, for they had no more clothes (?) on them...
 * (14) after the power of the god was manifested. Then His Majesty arrived in Thebes ... this statue; it received what it had desired.
 * (15) His Majesty set about to strengthen the Two Lands, to cause the water to evacuate without (the aid of) his (men?), to provide them with silver,
 * (16) with gold, with copper, with oil, with clothing, with all the products they desired; after which His Majesty rested in the palace - life, health, strength.
 * (17) It was then that His Majesty was informed that the funerary concessions had been invaded (by the water), that the sepulchral chambers had been damaged, that the structures of funerary enclosures had been undermined, that the pyramids had collapsed(?)
 * (18) all that existed had been annihilated. His Majesty then ordered the repair of the chapels which had fallen in ruins in all the country, restoration of the...

Historian Ralph Ellis states:


 * "The testimony of Manetho and exactly matches that of the Tempest Stele; yet the Tempest Stele was not even visible in Manetho's time, as it had been reused as hardcore during the construction of another temple. Thus, although these two accounts were written quite independently of each other, they agree remarkably well."

Overiew

 * 1) The Hebrews travelled out of their home of Rameses to Succoth (Exodus 12:37, 13:17-18)
 * 2) They travelled night and day to Succoth and then to Etham (13:20)
 * 3) They turn back from Etham to Pi-Hahiroth, facing Baal-zephon to feign a panic in order to draw Pharaoh in (Exodus 14:2). Although the Hebrews did panic, God was in control.
 * 4) They travel from their encampment to across the sea to Midian, where Mt Sinai awaited them.

Rameses to Succoth
After being set free by Pharaoh, the Hebrews gathered in the Land of Goshen, which is located in the fertile Nile Delta that extended as far as Pi-Ramesses, the Land of Rameses. They would have then travelled out of Egypt proper and into the Sinai Peninsula.

From here, all northern crossing points on the Mediterranean sea, like Lake Bardawil, another popular proposed route for the Exodus, are wrong because the Bible says they did not go the short route towards the Philistines, but the long route to the Red Sea:


 * "Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, "The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt." Hence God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in martial array from the land of Egypt." (Exodus 13:17-18)

In addition to directly contradicting the Bible, all northern crossing points like Lake Bardawil must be wrong because like the Bitter Lakes, they provided no absolute security and protection from Egypt. Therefore, we can deduce that the Hebrews travelled South, along the eastern shore of the Gulf of Suez.

We can also debunk Suez itself as the site of the crossing as it is only called the "Red Sea" once (Exodus 10:19), whilst the Gulf of Aqaba is called the Red Sea 5 times (Exodus 23:31; Numbers 21:4; Deuteronomy 2:1; Judges 11:16; 1 Kings 9:26). It is clear that when any Hebrew mentioned the "Red Sea" they were thinking of Aqaba.

The most logical candidate for the route is the coastal plain which runs down the western and southern shores of the Sinai Peninsula towards the Straits of Tiran. The mountains of Gabel Katrine would block Egypt from chasing them and shut the children of Israel between the mountains and the sea.

This candidate for the route would also be suitable as Nehemiah 9:21 states that the feet of the Hebrews "did, not swell," which would make sense if they were walking on soft, flat, and open land.

We can then assume that wherever Succoth was, it was a point between the northernmost point of the Strait and the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula.

Succoth to Etham
The mountains that trapped Israel "shut them in" and are the end of the 200 mile coastal plain, "on the edge of the wilderness" (Exodus 13:20). God told them to "turn back" the direction they came and camp in front of the Migdol "military watch tower" (Exodus 14:2, Numbers 33:7). William Propp notes that this phrase in Hebrew would most likely mean to "change direction, most likely back to Egypt."

Biblical geographer J. Simmons states that in this passage:


 * "... the verb used means not only a change in direction but more particularly a change involving a setback, in this sense namely that by this manoeuvre the Israelites moved somewhat away from their immediate goal - the crossing of the border of Egypt."  

Several ancient sources also confirm this geographical idea of the Hebrews being boxed in. Philo states in the early first century AD:


 * "... and not being able to escape, for behind was the sea, and in front was the enemy, and on each side a vast and pathless wilderness"

Josephus states around 70 years later:


 * "For there was [on each side] a [ridge of] mountains that terminated at the sea, which were impassable by reason of their roughness and obstructed their flight."

This mirrors perfectly with what we see in the above picture. The flat and open lands that run along the Peninsula's western shore curve at the end of the land and end abruptly with a steep hillside. God then tells them to turn back, feigning a panicked people to coerce Pharaoh into attacking them.

Etham to Pi-Hahiroth
Pi-Hahiroth means "land of the desert hills/mountains," The site of this indicates where the mountains terminate at the water, so it would be the very tip of the Sinai peninsula.

Herodotus states in 450 BC (2500 years ago) that a canal needed to be dug between the Mediterranean sea to the Red Sea and it was a four days journey. This means that the sea level was about as we see it today. We also have the archaeological site of El-kheleifeh which was ancient Elat, built by Solomon around 1,000 BC. So the water levels have not significantly changed over the last few thousand years.

The Isle of Tiran, which would be ancient Baal-Zephon as it is visible from the proposed crossing site. The language of the Bible makes it clear that it was on the opposite shore of the Red Sea: "camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it." (Exodus 14:2).

Crossing the Sea
At this point, the Israelites would have been travelling for 24 days after leaving Egypt. They would have spent one whole day crossing the Red sea for a total of 25 days on the other side. Subtract the 8 days camped at Etham waiting for Pharaoh to come gives a travel time of 17 days to go 250 miles from Rameses to Red Sea gives us an average daily 15 miles per day. This is easily possible seeing as they were travelling both day and night and that they had supernatural help from God (Isaiah 63:13).

From here it is easy to see where the children of Israel passed from the Sinai Peninsula to Midian. The Gordan Reef, the Thomas Reef and the Woodhouse Reef creates a perfect pathway to Arabia across the Straits of Tiran.

Ken Parsons, in an attempt to justify a naturalistic answer for the Red Sea crossing, agreed with the aforementioned conclusions on the route of the Exodus and stated concerning the crossing itself:
 * "...a wind speed of between 100 and 118 kph blowing from the northeast for 12 hours could hypothetically expose the coral reef of the Straits of Tiran for between 4 and 8.4 hours, according to the wind speed."

He later concluded:


 * "Hypothetically then, it was possible for the Hebrews to have crossed the Red Sea that night and for the Egyptian Crown Prince and his chariot regiment to be wiped out."

Dating the Exodus
The central text for dating the Exodus as a historical event is 1 Kings 6:1, which states:


 * "And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt... he [Solomon] began to build the temple of the Lord."

This verse connects the Exodus to later Israelite history by noting that Solomon began constructing the Temple in the 480th year after the exodus, signifying an time gap of 479+ years All but the minimalists agree that the counting of the 479+ years should begin with May of 967 or 966 BC, depending on whether one accepts Young's version or Thiele's version of Solomon's dates. Thus the 479+ years began either in 1446 or 1445 BC, either of which can be substantiated by the Biblical text and harmonised with the conclusions drawn from the present work.

A compelling argument for choosing 1446 BC is that the Jubilee cycles agree with this date exactly, yet are completely independent of the 479+ years of 1 Kings 6:1. The Jubilee dates are precise only if the priests began counting years when they entered the land in 1406 BC (Leviticus 25:2-10). The Talmud lists 17 cycles from Israel's entry into Canaan until the last Jubilee in 574 BC, which is 14 years after Jerusalem's destruction by using the Tishri calendar. A similar statement is also found in the Seder Olam, which predates the Talmud.

Consequently, 1446 BC is preferred over 1445 BC.

This fits well with the evidence that we have seen thus far, fitting a good time frame for the Exodus from the 15th to the 14th century BC.

Moses Inscription
Alongside the pillar discovered by Wyatt, there is another attestation of Moses' existence in Egyptian history. Sinai 361 (nicknamed the Moses Inscription) provides amazing evidence to the historicity of the Exodus events.


 * "Our bound servitude has lingered. Moses then provoked astonishment. It is a year of astonishment because of the Lady."  

This inscription mentions:
 * 1) Moses, by name (Exodus 2:10)
 * 2) A lingering servitude (Exodus 2:23)
 * 3) Inference to astonishing miracles (Exodus 7-17)
 * 4) "The Lady," likely a reference to the cow-god Baalath/Hathor which the Israelites worshipped whilst Moses was on Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 32)

Sinai 375a
Another of the Petrie's discoveries, this inscription mentions a minor character in the late Exodus narrative.


 * "The Overseer of minerals, Ahisamach."

A reference to Ahisamach from Exodus 31:1-11, who was filled "with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship."

Academic Sources


Ancient Sources
