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There is [https://faithfulphilosophy.wordpress.com/2016/10/24/historical-evidence-for-the-exodus/ substantial historical evidence for the exodus],<ref>https://faithfulphilosophy.wordpress.com/2016/10/24/historical-evidence-for-the-exodus/</ref> which cannot be addressed in its entirety here. An unofficial survey conducted by [[James K. Hoffmeier]]<ref>Hoffmeier, James K. "Egyptologists and the Israelite Exodus from Egypt." Israel's Exodus in Transdisciplinary Perspective. Springer International Publishing, 2015. 197-208.</ref> examined the views of twenty-five Egyptologists on the historicity of the exodus, where they were asked "Do you think the early Israelites lived in Egypt and that there was some sort of exodus?" Out of the twenty-five respondents, nineteen egyptologists answered YES, whereas not a single one of them answered NO, and the other six simply expressed views from this being likely to unlikely. The large majority of egyptologists are thus in support of the exodus.

There is [https://faithfulphilosophy.wordpress.com/2016/10/24/historical-evidence-for-the-exodus/ substantial historical evidence for the exodus],<ref>https://faithfulphilosophy.wordpress.com/2016/10/24/historical-evidence-for-the-exodus/</ref> which cannot be addressed in its entirety here. An unofficial survey conducted by [[James K. Hoffmeier]]<ref>Hoffmeier, James K. "Egyptologists and the Israelite Exodus from Egypt." Israel's Exodus in Transdisciplinary Perspective. Springer International Publishing, 2015. 197-208.</ref> examined the views of twenty-five Egyptologists on the historicity of the exodus, where they were asked "Do you think the early Israelites lived in Egypt and that there was some sort of exodus?" Out of the twenty-five respondents, nineteen egyptologists answered YES, whereas not a single one of them answered NO, and the other six simply expressed views from this being likely to unlikely. The large majority of egyptologists are thus in support of the exodus.

=== Criticisms ===

=== Egyptian Records ===

A popular criticism of the exodus is that the event is not explicitly mentioned in surviving Egyptian records. Aren Maier complains "For the literal understandings—those that profess that the story occurred, more or less as described in the biblical text—the archaeological and inscriptional evidence does not corroborate most of the story. Why do the Egyptian texts not mention this explicitly? Why do the Levantinetexts (when relevant, such as the el Amarnaletters) not relate to this—or show evidence of the aftermath of these supposed events?"<ref>Maeir, Aren M. "Exodus as a Mnemo-Narrative: An Archaeological Perspective." Israel's Exodus in Transdisciplinary Perspective. Springer International Publishing, 2015. 413.</ref> This criticism however, is largely problematic. Firstly, the Egyptians never recorded their defeats, and secondly, virtually all papyri and records of ancient Egypt are no longer available and have been either lost or destroyed. Joshua Berman points out that "Ninety-nine percent of the papyri produced there during the period in question have been lost, and none whatsoever has survived from the eastern Nile delta, the region where the Torah claims the Hebrew slaves resided. Instead, we have to rely on monumental inscriptions, which, being mainly reports to the gods about royal achievements, are far from complete or reliable as historical records. They are more akin to modern-day résumés, and just as conspicuous for their failure to note setbacks of any kind."<ref>https://mosaicmagazine.com/essay/2015/03/was-there-an-exodus// Was There an Exodus?</ref> Surviving Egyptian records are primarily focused on either recording or mentioning the life of the pharaoh, his companions or militaristic battles, or propaganda espoused to promote the Egyptian gods and goddesses.

A popular criticism of the exodus is that the event is not explicitly mentioned in surviving Egyptian records. Aren Maier complains; "For the literal understandings—those that profess that the story occurred, more or less as described in the biblical text—the archaeological and inscriptional evidence does not corroborate most of the story. Why do the Egyptian texts not mention this explicitly? Why do the Levantinetexts (when relevant, such as the el Amarnaletters) not relate to this—or show evidence of the aftermath of these supposed events?"<ref>Maeir, Aren M. "Exodus as a Mnemo-Narrative: An Archaeological Perspective." Israel's Exodus in Transdisciplinary Perspective. Springer International Publishing, 2015. 413.</ref> This criticism however, is largely problematic. Firstly, the Egyptians never recorded their defeats, and secondly, virtually all papyri and records of ancient Egypt are no longer available and have been either lost or destroyed. Joshua Berman points out that "Ninety-nine percent of the papyri produced there during the period in question have been lost, and none whatsoever has survived from the eastern Nile delta, the region where the Torah claims the Hebrew slaves resided. Instead, we have to rely on monumental inscriptions, which, being mainly reports to the gods about royal achievements, are far from complete or reliable as historical records. They are more akin to modern-day résumés, and just as conspicuous for their failure to note setbacks of any kind."<ref>https://mosaicmagazine.com/essay/2015/03/was-there-an-exodus// Was There an Exodus?</ref> Surviving Egyptian records are primarily focused on either recording or mentioning the life of the pharaoh, his companions or militaristic battles, or propaganda espoused to promote the Egyptian gods and goddesses.

Secondly, some historians criticize that there are no archaeological remains of the actual Israelite exodus from Egypt. In the same paper, Maier goes on to say "The same goes for the archaeological remains— Where is the evidence of a large group (even if it was less than 600,000 men as suggested for example by Kitchen traversing the desert and archaeologists can identify the camps of small groups of ephemeral prehistoric hunter-gatherers)?"<ref>Maeir, Aren M. "Exodus as a Mnemo-Narrative: An Archaeological Perspective." Israel's Exodus in Transdisciplinary Perspective. Springer International Publishing, 2015. 413-14.</ref> The typical translation of biblical text says that there were over 600,000 men who went out of Egypt in the exodus (Exodus 12:37; Numbers 1:46), although there is debate about these translations.<ref>Mendenhall, George E. "The Census Lists of Numbers 1 and 26." Journal of Biblical Literature (1958): 52-66.</ref><ref>Waite, Jerry. "The Census of Israelite Men after their Exodus from Egypt." Vetus Testamentum (2010): 487-491.</ref> The biblical text may reveal that the number of Israelite's was actually considerably smaller. For example, the Book of Deuteronomy says that the Israelite's were the "fewest of all peoples" (Deuteronomy 7:7), showing the biblical text implies there were much less than 600,000 men alone in the Israelite population. Secondly, the Book of Exodus says "I will not drive them out ahead of you in a single year; otherwise, the land would become desolate, and wild animals would multiply against you. I will drive them out little by little ahead of you until you have become numerous and take possession of the land" (Exodus 23:29-30). According to the Book of Exodus, the Israelite's were so few that God could not immediately give them the entire promised land, as the population of the Israelite's were few and could not immediately inhabit the entire land, so God gave the land to the Israelite's in small portions at a time while they increased in their numbers, implying a small population of Israelite's. Several scholars believe the biblical text conforms more closely to an exodus population of somewhere between 20,000-50,000,<ref>Humphreys, Colin J. "The number of people in the Exodus from Egypt: Decoding mathematically the very large numbers in Numbers i and xxvi." Vetus Testamentum 48 (1998): 196-213.</ref><ref>Driver, S. R. "An Additional Note to Two Recent Articles on the Number of People in the Exodus from Egypt and the Large Numbers in Numbers I and XXVI." Vetus Testamentum 51 (2001): 3.</ref> rather than 600,000 men alone. This smaller population gives much less reason for us to find remaining archaeological traces of the actual exodus, especially when considering the exodus migration was semi-nomadic, and archaeological traces of nomadic migrations are virtually never found. Thus, there exists no archaeological challenge for the exodus and wilderness narratives.

=== Archaeological Remains ===

=== Evidence ===

 

Manfred Bietak excavated the Egyptian city of Avaris/Tell el-Dab'a, and in a geophysical investigations report on Avaris, Bietak noted "Another important matter is the stratigraphy, which shows the abandonment of the site of Tell el Daba/Ezbet Helmy after the reign of Amenhotep II and its reactivation in the late Eighteenth Dynasty."<ref>Bietak, Manfred. "Perunefer: the principal New Kingdom naval base." Egyptian Archaeology 34.2009 (2009): 1-3.</ref> Bietak's excavations revealed that the major Egyptian city of Avaris (modern day Tell el-Dab'a) was abandoned, and Bietak subsequently dated this abandonment after the reign of Amenhotep II (during the reign of his successor, Thutmose IV). Scholarly investigation ended up revealing that the abandonment of Avaris actually took place under the reign of Amenhotep II himself, contrary to Bietak's initial thoughts.<ref name="Petrovich, Douglas 2013">Petrovich, Douglas. "Toward Pinpointing the Timing of the Egyptian Abandonment of Avaris during the Middle of the 18th Dynasty." Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections 5.2 (2013): 9-28.</ref> The previously discussed dating of the exodus reveals it to have taken place under the reign of Amenhotep II, and archaeological investigations have shown that the entire Egyptian city of Avaris (biblical city of Rameses) was abandoned during Amenhotep II's reign. This provides a serious parallel for the Israelite abandonment of Egypt under Moses in the reign of Amenhotep II.

 

=== Egyptian Background ===

There are several historical indicators that have established the historicity of the exodus. The description of the conditions of the Hebrews under Egyptian slavery in the [[Book of Exodus]] precisely equates to the known historical slavery that the Egyptians put to their own slaves. For one, it is known that the Egyptians had foreign Semitic slaves under their empire. This is especially well known to be depicted in the tomb of vizier Rekhmire, dating to c. 1460 BC.<ref>Kitchen, Kenneth Anderson. The Bible in its world: the Bible and archaeology today. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2004. pg. 77</ref> The Book of Exodus describes that the Egyptians "worked the Israelites ruthlessly and made their lives bitter with difficult labor in brick and mortar and in all kinds of fieldwork." (Exodus 1:13-14) It has been in fact confirmed that Egyptian slaves were forced to make bricks and engage in many forms of both fieldwork and construction work.<ref>Arnold, Bill T., and Richard S. Hess, eds. Ancient Israel's History: An Introduction to Issues and Sources. Baker Academic, 2014. pp. 56-58.</ref> Furthermore, the renowned egyptologist [[Kenneth Kitchen]] has demonstrated that ancient Egyptian brickmakers had to meet quota for their brick production,<ref>Kitchen, Kenneth Anderson. "From the Brickfields of Egypt." Tyndale Bulletin 27 (1976): 137-147.</ref> a fact that is highly reminiscent of Exodus 5:4-19.

There are several historical indicators that have established the historicity of the exodus. The description of the conditions of the Hebrews under Egyptian slavery in the [[Book of Exodus]] precisely equates to the known historical slavery that the Egyptians put to their own slaves. For one, it is known that the Egyptians had foreign Semitic slaves under their empire. This is especially well known to be depicted in the tomb of vizier Rekhmire, dating to c. 1460 BC.<ref>Kitchen, Kenneth Anderson. The Bible in its world: the Bible and archaeology today. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2004. pg. 77</ref> The Book of Exodus describes that the Egyptians "worked the Israelites ruthlessly and made their lives bitter with difficult labor in brick and mortar and in all kinds of fieldwork." (Exodus 1:13-14) It has been in fact confirmed that Egyptian slaves were forced to make bricks and engage in many forms of both fieldwork and construction work.<ref>Arnold, Bill T., and Richard S. Hess, eds. Ancient Israel's History: An Introduction to Issues and Sources. Baker Academic, 2014. pp. 56-58.</ref> Furthermore, the renowned egyptologist [[Kenneth Kitchen]] has demonstrated that ancient Egyptian brickmakers had to meet quota for their brick production,<ref>Kitchen, Kenneth Anderson. "From the Brickfields of Egypt." Tyndale Bulletin 27 (1976): 137-147.</ref> a fact that is highly reminiscent of Exodus 5:4-19.

Various studies have been conducted on the Book of Exodus, revealing that it is heavily influenced by the Egyptian language and uses a large number of specifically Egyptian words.<ref>Lambdin, Thomas O. "Egyptian loan words in the Old Testament." Journal of the American Oriental Society 73.3 (1953): 145-155.</ref><ref>Muchiki, Yoshiyuki. Egyptian proper names and loanwords in North-West Semitic. Diss. University of Liverpool, 1990.</ref> A recent study by [[Benjamin J. Noonan]] has revealed that the [[Hebrew]] language used in the Book of Exodus uses more Egyptian loanwords than any other book of the [[Bible]], and more than any other ancient language or dialect in general.<ref>James K. Hoffmeier, Alan R. Millard,  and Gary A. Rendsburg

Various studies have been conducted on the Book of Exodus, revealing that it is heavily influenced by the Egyptian language and uses a large number of specifically Egyptian words.<ref>Lambdin, Thomas O. "Egyptian loan words in the Old Testament." Journal of the American Oriental Society 73.3 (1953): 145-155.</ref><ref>Muchiki, Yoshiyuki. Egyptian proper names and loanwords in North-West Semitic. Diss. University of Liverpool, 1990.</ref> A recent study by [[Benjamin J. Noonan]] has revealed that the [[Hebrew]] language used in the Book of Exodus uses more Egyptian loanwords than any other book of the [[Bible]], and more than any other ancient language or dialect in general.<ref>James K. Hoffmeier, Alan R. Millard,  and Gary A. Rendsburg

  eds. "Did I Not Bring Israel Out of Egypt?" Eisenbrauns. pp. 48-68.</ref> In fact, the only ancient texts that had a comparable usage of Egyptian words to the Book of Exodus were those written in Imperial Aramaic, a dialect of Aramaic that was only spoken and written inside of Egypt. Thus, Noonan established that the only ancient language that exhibits similar levels of Egyptian influence to the Book of Exodus and wilderness narratives is a dialect of Aramic that exhibited intense Egyptian contact, thus revealing that the influence of Egypt in the Book of Exodus could only have come about through direct influence and life in the Egyptian world itself. This is considered by Noonan to be strong historical evidence for the exodus. Noonan interestingly also revealed that several of these Egyptian words in the Book of Exodus had to be borrowed in the [[Late Bronze Age]] of Egypt, rather than later periods of time.

  eds. "Did I Not Bring Israel Out of Egypt?" Eisenbrauns. pp. 48-68.</ref> In fact, the only ancient texts that had a comparable usage of Egyptian words to the Book of Exodus were those written in Imperial Aramaic, a dialect of Aramaic that was only spoken and written within Egypt. Thus, Noonan found that the only ancient language that exhibits similar levels of Egyptian influence to the Book of Exodus and wilderness narratives is a dialect of Aramaic that exhibited intense Egyptian contact, thus noting that the influence of Egypt in the Book of Exodus could only have come about through direct influence and life in the Egyptian world itself. This is considered by Noonan to be strong historical evidence for the exodus. Noonan interestingly also revealed that several of these Egyptian words in the Book of Exodus had to be borrowed in the [[Late Bronze Age]] of Egypt, rather than later periods of time.

 

Manfred Bietak excavated the Egyptian city of Avaris/Tell el-Dab'a, and in a geophysical investigations report on Avaris, Bietak noted "Another important matter is the stratigraphy, which shows the abandonment of the site of Tell el Daba/Ezbet Helmy after the reign of Amenhotep II and its reactivation in the late Eighteenth Dynasty."<ref>Bietak, Manfred. "Perunefer: the principal New Kingdom naval base." Egyptian Archaeology 34.2009 (2009): 1-3.</ref> Bietak's excavations revealed that the major Egyptian city of Avaris (modern day Tell el-Dab'a) was abandoned, and Bietak subsequently dated this abandonment after the reign of Amenhotep II (during the reign of his successor, Thutmose IV). Scholarly investigation ended up revealing that the abandonment of Avaris actually took place under the reign of Amenhotep II himself, contrary to Bietak's initial thoughts.<ref name="Petrovich, Douglas 2013">Petrovich, Douglas. "Toward Pinpointing the Timing of the Egyptian Abandonment of Avaris during the Middle of the 18th Dynasty." Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections 5.2 (2013): 9-28.</ref> The previously discussed dating of the exodus reveals it to have taken place under the reign of Amenhotep II, and archaeological investigations have shown that the entire Egyptian city of Avaris (biblical city of Rameses) was abandoned during Amenhotep II's reign. This provides a serious parallel for the Israelite abandonment of Egypt under Moses in the reign of Amenhotep II.

== The Exodus in Popular Culture ==

== The Exodus in Popular Culture ==