Changes

[[Image:AmenhotepII.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Amenhotep II, considered to be the pharaoh of the Exodus according to the 1441 B.C. date.]]

[[Image:AmenhotepII.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Amenhotep II, considered to be the pharaoh of the Exodus according to the 1441 B.C. date.]]

[[Image:Rekhmiretomb.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Wall painting showing Semites engaged in brick-making; from the tomb of Rekhmire, vizier to Pharaoh Amenhotep I.]]

[[Image:Rekhmiretomb.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Wall painting showing Semites engaged in brick-making; from the tomb of Rekhmire, [[vizier]] to Pharaoh Amenhotep I.]]

[[Image:Nomads1895.JPG|thumb|200px|right|Egyptian wall relief of Semitic nomads, c. 1800 B.C.]]

[[Image:Nomads1895.JPG|thumb|200px|right|Egyptian wall relief of Semitic nomads, c. 1800 B.C.]]

The '''[[Exodus of Israel]]''' was the event described in the [[Bible]] when the Hebrews left Egyptian slavery for the Promised Land under the leadership of [[Moses]].  The actual date with which this event took place has been the subject of serious study, speculation, and controversy.  Currently, debate has centered on two dates: an early date of 1441 B.C.; and a late date of 1290 B.C.

The '''[[Exodus of Israel]]''' was the event described in the [[Bible]] when the Hebrews left Egyptian slavery for the Promised Land under the leadership of [[Moses]].  The actual date with which this event took place has been the subject of serious study, speculation, and controversy.  Currently, debate has centered on two dates: an early date of 1441 B.C.; and a late date of 1290 B.C.

Remaining Semites who stayed behind after the Hyksos were driven out were treated brutally by the next several kings (Thutmose I and Thutmose II), culminating in Thutmose III, who ''"...made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field..."'' (''Exodus'' 1:14).  Thutmose III was known as "the Napoleon of Egypt", and who set about conquering large swaths of territory once occupied by the Hyksos and their allies.  He was also a great builder who used many slaves in his building projects; the population of slaves included large numbers of Semites, who were hated by Thutmose as a result of the Hyksos period. Archaeologist and historian W.F. Albright confirmed that the Hyksos invasion of Egypt was led by a Semetic people, not Hurrians or Indo-Aryans as some scholars contend; the fact that the remaining population was Semetic help fuel the hatred that many Egyptians felt for the Hebrew slaves remaining in Goshen. (Albright, pg. 44)

Remaining Semites who stayed behind after the Hyksos were driven out were treated brutally by the next several kings (Thutmose I and Thutmose II), culminating in Thutmose III, who ''"...made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field..."'' (''Exodus'' 1:14).  Thutmose III was known as "the Napoleon of Egypt", and who set about conquering large swaths of territory once occupied by the Hyksos and their allies.  He was also a great builder who used many slaves in his building projects; the population of slaves included large numbers of Semites, who were hated by Thutmose as a result of the Hyksos period. Archaeologist and historian W.F. Albright confirmed that the Hyksos invasion of Egypt was led by a Semetic people, not Hurrians or Indo-Aryans as some scholars contend; the fact that the remaining population was Semetic help fuel the hatred that many Egyptians felt for the Hebrew slaves remaining in Goshen. (Albright, pg. 44)

Rekhmire, the vizier to Thutmose III, left behind splended wall paintings in his tomb in which scenes of the making of bricks and other tasks are being carried out, similar to the scene in ''Exodus'' 5:6-19.  Found among the figures in the paintings are Semitic foreigners engaged in brick-making, with the hyroglyphic text having them say ''"He supplies us with bread, beer, and every good thing,"'' while they get a stern warning from the task-masters: ''"The rod is in my hand; be not idle!''  (Unger, pg. 333)

Rekhmire, the [[vizier]] to Thutmose III, left behind splended wall paintings in his tomb in which scenes of the making of bricks and other tasks are being carried out, similar to the scene in ''Exodus'' 5:6-19.  Found among the figures in the paintings are Semitic foreigners engaged in brick-making, with the hyroglyphic text having them say ''"He supplies us with bread, beer, and every good thing,"'' while they get a stern warning from the task-masters: ''"The rod is in my hand; be not idle!''  (Unger, pg. 333)

==Early date of 1441 B.C.==

==Early date of 1441 B.C.==