SkipCaptcha
1,101
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 55:
Line 55: − Virtually all of the arguments for the Late Date rest solely on arguments from conventional [[Egyptian chronology]], however. The Early Date is much better supported from Scripture, which specifically requires four hundred eighty years between the Exodus and the groundbreaking of the [[Temple]] built by [[Solomon]].<ref name=Groundbreak/> Several archaeologists have looked for battle-damage and other evidence for the Early Date in and around [[Jericho]], [[Ai]], and [[Hazor]], and have found it.<ref>Lorenzini, D. Massimiliano. "[http://www.angelfire.com/nm/massimolorenzini/exodus.html Evidence for the Early Date of the Exodus]." 2002. Retrieved July 8, 2007.</ref>+ − The date preferred by [[Edwin R. Thiele]] (labeled "Early Date" above) is only forty-five years later than Ussher's. Thiele's sole warrant for favoring his date over Ussher's is his attempt to reconcile the king lists of the Divided Kingdoms [[Northern Kingdom|Northern]] and [[Southern Kingdom|Southern]] with the [[chronology]] of the [[Assyrian chronology|Assyrians]]. (For a detailed discussion, and a synoptic table showing the differing results for those king lists, see [[Biblical chronology dispute|here]].) Thiele, like Ussher, relies on the Temple groundbreaking interval described above to assign his date for the Exodus. − − The Pharaoh of the Oppression, as stated above, was likely Sesostris III, a Twelfth Dynasty king. [[James Ussher]] initially supposed that the Pharaoh of the Exodus was not Ramesses II, but ''another'' Ramesses whom he mistakenly assumed ruled directly before Ramesses II and for the same number of years. Future scholars accepted Seti I and Ramesses II as the Pharaohs of the Oppression and Exodus, respectively, for decades. Recently, some scholars tried to make a case for other pairings of the Pharaohs of the Oppression and Exodus in the Eighteenth Dynasty rather than the Nineteenth. These included: − − # [[Thutmose III]] and [[Amenhotep II]] − # [[Thutmose I]] and [[Thutmose III]]. These scholars also identified Pharaoh's daughter as [[Hatshepsut]], the first woman ever to rule as Pharaoh in her own right. − − Still other scholars have attempted to identify Moses with Amenhotep IV, also known as [[Akhenaton]], the "heretical Pharaoh" who tried to install a crude form of monotheism in his empire. However, a more likely scenario is that the actual Akhenaton took inspiration from Moses, though his understanding of Moses' religion was thoroughly mistaken. − − === Dating of the Exodus === − {{See also|Egyptian chronology}} − +
no edit summary
# 1290 BC ("The Late Date")
# 1290 BC ("The Late Date")
The Early Date is much better supported from Scripture, which specifically requires four hundred eighty years between the Exodus and the groundbreaking of the [[Temple]] built by [[Solomon]].<ref name=Groundbreak/> Several archaeologists have looked for battle-damage and other evidence for the Early Date in and around [[Jericho]], [[Ai]], and [[Hazor]], and have found it.<ref>Lorenzini, D. Massimiliano. "[http://www.angelfire.com/nm/massimolorenzini/exodus.html Evidence for the Early Date of the Exodus]." 2002. Retrieved July 8, 2007.</ref>
The reign of Solomon lasted between 970 - 930 BC.<ref>http://www.etf.cuni.cz/~prudky/pdf/Kitchen-2001_BAR-How_We_Know.pdf/ How we know when Solomon ruled</ref> According to 1 Kings 6:1, the exodus took place 480 years earlier than the fourth year of Solomon's reign (966 BC), which would provide a date for the exodus at 1446 BC, during the reign of Amenhotep II. Bryant G. Wood states "Working back from Solomon’s fourth year... brings us to ca. 1446 BC for the date of the exodus."<ref>Wood, Bryant G. "The Rise and Fall of the 13th-Century Exodus-Conquest Theory." JOURNAL-EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY 48.3 (2005): 475.</ref>
The reign of Solomon lasted between 970 - 930 BC.<ref>http://www.etf.cuni.cz/~prudky/pdf/Kitchen-2001_BAR-How_We_Know.pdf/ How we know when Solomon ruled</ref> According to 1 Kings 6:1, the exodus took place 480 years earlier than the fourth year of Solomon's reign (966 BC), which would provide a date for the exodus at 1446 BC, during the reign of Amenhotep II. Bryant G. Wood states "Working back from Solomon’s fourth year... brings us to ca. 1446 BC for the date of the exodus."<ref>Wood, Bryant G. "The Rise and Fall of the 13th-Century Exodus-Conquest Theory." JOURNAL-EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY 48.3 (2005): 475.</ref>
Secondly, Judges 11:26 says that the Israelite's entered the promised land 300 years earlier than the Israel's judge Jephthah. Jephthah is thought to have reigned about 1100 BC,<ref>Rowley, H. H. "The Exodus and the Settlement in Canaan." Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 85 (1942): 27-31.</ref> which places the entering of the Israelite's into the promised land at about 1400 BC, and going back 40 years (as the Israelite's wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before entering into the promised land; Numbers 32:13, Joshua 5:6) Judges 11:26 reveals a date for the exodus about 1440 BC, which conforms to the specific dating of 1 Kings 6:1 of the exodus to 1446 BC. Thirdly, 1 Chronicles 6:33-37 lists about 18 generations from the generation of the exodus to the generation of the time of King David. Generations last usually about 25 years, and going back 18 sets of generations, each somewhere around 25 years, the exodus date goes somewhere within the 15th century BC. Bryant G. Wood concludes based on these various passages that the "date of the Biblical Exodus-Conquest is clear. 1 Kgs 6:1 and 1 Chr 6:33–37 converge on a date of 1446 BC for the exodus and the Jubilees data and Judges 11:26 independently converge on a date of 1406 BC for the beginning of the conquest."<ref name="Wood, Bryant G 2007">Wood, Bryant G. "The Biblical date for the exodus is 1446 BC: a response to James Hoffmeier." JOURNAL-EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY 50.2 (2007): 249.</ref>
Secondly, Judges 11:26 says that the Israelite's entered the promised land 300 years earlier than the Israel's judge Jephthah. Jephthah is thought to have reigned about 1100 BC,<ref>Rowley, H. H. "The Exodus and the Settlement in Canaan." Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 85 (1942): 27-31.</ref> which places the entering of the Israelite's into the promised land at about 1400 BC, and going back 40 years (as the Israelite's wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before entering into the promised land; Numbers 32:13, Joshua 5:6) Judges 11:26 reveals a date for the exodus about 1440 BC, which conforms to the specific dating of 1 Kings 6:1 of the exodus to 1446 BC. Thirdly, 1 Chronicles 6:33-37 lists about 18 generations from the generation of the exodus to the generation of the time of King David. Generations last usually about 25 years, and going back 18 sets of generations, each somewhere around 25 years, the exodus date goes somewhere within the 15th century BC. Bryant G. Wood concludes based on these various passages that the "date of the Biblical Exodus-Conquest is clear. 1 Kgs 6:1 and 1 Chr 6:33–37 converge on a date of 1446 BC for the exodus and the Jubilees data and Judges 11:26 independently converge on a date of 1406 BC for the beginning of the conquest."<ref name="Wood, Bryant G 2007">Wood, Bryant G. "The Biblical date for the exodus is 1446 BC: a response to James Hoffmeier." JOURNAL-EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY 50.2 (2007): 249.</ref>
Some historians and Egyptologists believe the exodus happened during the reign of [[Ramses II]], based on the text of Exodus 1:11.<ref>Hoffmeier, James K. "What is the Biblical date for the exodus? a response to Bryant Wood." JOURNAL-EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY 50.2 (2007): 231.</ref> According to Exodus 1:11, the Israelite slaves were instructed by the Egyptians to build two supply, named Pithom and Rameses. The biblical city of Rameses (modern day Tell el-Dab'a) only received the name Rameses after it was reconstructed by the pharaoh Rameses II, and so some historians contend that the date of exodus belongs to the reign of Rameses II in the 13th century BC. According to historians who date the exodus to the mid-15th century BC, the name Rameses could be a later editorial gloss to update the name of the biblical text as time moved on, which happens throughout biblical text several times.<ref name="Wood, Bryant G 2007"/>
Some historians and Egyptologists believe the exodus happened during the reign of [[Ramses II]], based on the text of Exodus 1:11.<ref>Hoffmeier, James K. "What is the Biblical date for the exodus? a response to Bryant Wood." JOURNAL-EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY 50.2 (2007): 231.</ref> According to Exodus 1:11, the Israelite slaves were instructed by the Egyptians to build two supply, named Pithom and Rameses. The biblical city of Rameses (modern day Tell el-Dab'a) only received the name Rameses after it was reconstructed by the pharaoh Rameses II, and so some historians contend that the date of exodus belongs to the reign of Rameses II in the 13th century BC.
Other egyptologists, such as Peter James, author of ''Centuries of Darkness'' (1991),<ref>https://www.centuries.co.uk/index.htm</ref> and other scholars such as David Rohl, D.A. Courville, and David Down, argue that rather than linear Egyptian chronology, several dynasties existed simultaneously with each other. The revised Egyptian chronology requires a far shorter timespan and fits better with the biblical record. Concerning the Exodus, the revised chronology supports the early date of the Exodus.<ref>McClellan, Matt (August 24, 2011). [https://answersingenesis.org/archaeology/ancient-egypt/ancient-egyptian-chronology-and-the-book-of-genesis/ Ancient Egyptian Chronology and the Book of Genesis]. ''Answers in Genesis''. Retrieved April 8, 2017.</ref><ref name="Mitchell">Mitchell, Elizabeth (July 22, 2010). [https://answersingenesis.org/archaeology/ancient-egypt/doesnt-egyptian-chronology-prove-bible-unreliable/ Chapter 24 -- Doesn’t Egyptian Chronology Prove That the Bible Is Unreliable?]. ''Answers in Genesis''. Retrieved April 8, 2017.</ref> Under the revised chronology, [[Neferhotep I]] likely was the pharaoh during the Exodus.<ref name="Mitchell"/>
Other egyptologists, such as Peter James, author of ''Centuries of Darkness'' (1991),<ref>https://www.centuries.co.uk/index.htm</ref> and other scholars such as David Rohl, D.A. Courville, and David Down, argue that rather than linear Egyptian chronology, several dynasties existed simultaneously with each other. The revised Egyptian chronology requires a far shorter timespan and fits better with the biblical record. Concerning the Exodus, the revised chronology supports the early date of the Exodus.<ref>McClellan, Matt (August 24, 2011). [https://answersingenesis.org/archaeology/ancient-egypt/ancient-egyptian-chronology-and-the-book-of-genesis/ Ancient Egyptian Chronology and the Book of Genesis]. ''Answers in Genesis''. Retrieved April 8, 2017.</ref><ref name="Mitchell">Mitchell, Elizabeth (July 22, 2010). [https://answersingenesis.org/archaeology/ancient-egypt/doesnt-egyptian-chronology-prove-bible-unreliable/ Chapter 24 -- Doesn’t Egyptian Chronology Prove That the Bible Is Unreliable?]. ''Answers in Genesis''. Retrieved April 8, 2017.</ref> Under the revised chronology, [[Neferhotep I]] likely was the pharaoh during the Exodus.<ref name="Mitchell"/>