The Exodus, Egyptian Chronology, & The Bible
Part 2
24. THE IPUWER PAPYRUS
Are there any other sources concerning these disasters which Egypt experienced? There are several reasons why there should be very little information regarding these events. They happened approximately 3450 years ago and there are not many documents preserved from that time. Furthermore, there were two different sorts of people who could write. Only a limited elite in the country were privileged in being able to write, and this important education was probably given to the oldest son (the firstborn). We know from the biblical texts that all firstborn Egyptians died at the Exodus of the people of Israel. If one was not a scribe because one was firstborn then one was a scribe because one was in service with important people in Egypt anyway.
These important people belonged to the ruling class as administrators or military officers. The entire Egyptian army was its officers and lower ranks that followed the people of Israel went down in the Red Sea. Of those who remained in Egypt the scribes either had no-one for whom to work or, more probably, the country was in complete chaos.
If a country suffers from a great disaster in nature or extensive warfare or something similar, the most important thing is to survive and not to document different events. In addition it may be noted that the whole course of events was hardly something to be proud of. And thus we have a political/historical reason for those in power later on to surround this crises with silence. To these reasons can be added a psychological reason. Very few leaders (perhaps not even one) confess to defeat. We can see this in what happens today, when it is quite clear that a country has lost a war. But for his own people the Leader points to total defeat as a victory.
24.1 An Ancient Papyrus
Although there are many reasons for not finding any documentation of the dramatic course of events in Egypt, nonetheless the question remains whether there is any written record.
There is a document which is probably a description of these events, which Egypt had to experience before the people of Israel were allowed to leave. It is an ancient papyrus document from Egypt. The document was written during the 19th dynasty, the dynasty that took over shortly after the events of the Exodus. The papyrus document is called “Admonitions of Ipuwer” and is 347 cm long (42. M. Lichtheim (1973) Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol. 1, University of California Press, Berkeley, USA.)
The Ipuwer document is one long description of a society in total crises. It has more the character of a poetic description, with many repetitions, than of a news report.
It is debatable whether this is a description of actual events, or merely a fictitious story. One reason that it is said to be fiction, is that the country (Egypt) is suffering total disaster while the slaves have become rich with the wealth of their former owners.
Based on the biblical texts this is exactly what happens when all the slaves (the entire people of Israel) take with them all imaginable riches as gifts from the wealthy Egyptians, while the Egyptian upper class has either perished in the Red Sea or remains at home in a situation that can only be described as one of total disaster. According to the biblical texts precisely this argument, which is put forward as an argument against the text describing an event that really happened, is an argument for this text describing the disaster that befell Egypt.
The bible tells of the wealth of the slaves (the people of Israel) immediately after the disasters in Egypt:
“And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men. And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading-troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.”
From later events at Mount Sinai we know that this people of slaves had silver, gold cups, finest materials and yarn, precious stones, incense and many other things of great financial value.
[Editors note: Enough gold and other precious jewelry of which they were able to make their golden calves]
24.2. Interesting notes of the Ipuwer Papyrus
The Ipuwer document consists of a 3.5 m long roll of papyrus, with a lamentation over the situation in Egypt. With the exception of several brief sections which have been damaged, the document is intact and readable. In this long document there are a number of lines which are of particular interest (42. M. Lichtheim (1973) Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol. 1, University of California Press, Berkeley, USA.)
1. “Let us go plunder”, “The mayor of the city goes unescorted”.
There is no police force if one can plunder. The military were the police of those days. The Bible describes how the entire army was destroyed.
“There remained not so much as one of them.” (Ex. 14:28)
2. “Foreigners have become people everywhere”.
The people of Israel, who were foreigners to the Egyptians, increased so greatly that for a time Pharaoh had all newborn boys executed in order to reduce the rate of growth.
“And the people multiplied and waxed very mighty.” (Ex. 1:20)
[Editors note: That statement is rather mind-blowing to say the least. It should jolt the senses in anyone that if the Egyptians would say such a thing, that foreigners are people everywhere, it would be logical to conclude that the Biblical narrative of a mass Hebrew population isn’t far off]
3. “Foreigners are skilled in the works of the Delta”.
The people of Israel lived in the delta region, were foreigners and were put to work making bricks, building and in different ways doing work for the Egyptians. (Ex. 5)
4. “What the ancestors foretold has happened”.
Joseph, who was second in command in Egypt approximately 260 years earlier, had foreseen that the people of Israel would leave Egypt and this is also mentioned as a promise from the Lord in several biblical texts. According to the Bible, at his death (which must have been an important, well-known occasion in Egypt considering Joseph’s position there for about 80 years) Joseph says:
“I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence. So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.” (Gen. 50:24-26)
So the Exodus was foretold by the minister of state of Egypt.
[Editors note: You may argue that this idea may be nullified by the fact that we claim Joseph was during the Hyksos period. Unfortunately, I’m forced to disagree with this notion. We have plenty of evidence suggesting that Joseph was Imhotep of Egypt, Vizier under king Djoser of the 3rd dynasty. We believe that Joseph built the Egypt’s first pyramid, the pyramid of Saqqara. Moller goes in great depths proving that the characteristics as well as the writings of Imhotep match up quite well with that of Joseph in the Bible. To read a good article on the Imhotep/Joseph relationship, here is the link:
http://www.arkdiscovery.com/joseph.htm . Although this article is quite lengthy and good, Moller does even a better job on expounding on the life of Imhotep (aka~Joseph). I believe the Hyksos are stated as coming after Imhotep/Joseph. Also, based on well-calculated work of years mentioned in the Biblical text, the existence of Imhotep/Joseph tallies well with the 1446 BC Exodus as you will see in upcoming data.]
5. “We don’t know what has happened in the land”.
When the plagues fall on Egypt, Pharaoh’s magicians say to him:
“This is the finger of God” (Ex. 8:19).
By this they probably meant that it was beyond their comprehension and control. Pharaoh and his magicians had good control of all the Egyptian gods otherwise, not least as Pharaoh himself was regarded as an incarnated god (the sun god).
6. “Poor men have become men of wealth”, “Gold, lapis lazuli, silver and turquoise, carnelian, amethyst, ibht-stone … Are strung on the necks of female slaves”, “Gold is lacking”
At the Exodus the poor, enslaved people of Israel took with them a large part of the Egyptians wealth.
[Editors note: Yet more evidence suggestion of the existence of slaves in Egypt]
“And they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment. And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.” (Ex. 12:35-36)
This people of slaves had silver, gold cups, finest material and yarn, precious stones (including the sorts mentioned by Ipuwer), incense and many other things of high, financial value. This is related in the Bible when the people of Israel had arrived at Mount Sinai (Ex. 25:1-9, 11, 17, 24, 29, 31; 26:1, 6, 7, 11, 14, 19, 25; 28: 15-28 etc.)
[Editors note: Again, this relationship made between the papyrus and the Bible is rather remarkable. Any unbeliever of the word of God should not hesitate to acknowledge that there definitely has to be something here]
7. “The river is blood”
This is an extraordinary comment. Merely stating that the Nile is full of blood, is a statement that is not found in every text. Furthermore it is exactly what the biblical text mentions as one of the hardships which affects Egypt.
“And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. He lifted up the rod and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants. And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.” (Ex. 7:20)
It is also worthy of note that Ipuwer does not say that the river looked like blood, but was blood. This is exactly as the bible text explain the situation (Ex. 7:20)
[Editors note: This should by far be the most STAGGERING—MIND JOLTING statement, that ANYONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD BE ABLE TO SEE THAT THERE IS A CLEAR RELATIONSHIP HERE. “THE RIVER IS BLOOD”, HOW MUCH CLEARER CAN AN INSCRIPTION GET??]
8. “There’s blood everywhere, no shortage of death”.
This comment that there was blood everywhere can have bearing on two things. Firstly, mentioned above, that all the waters was turned to blood according to the biblical text. But it can also refer to the extremely fierce hailstorm which kills everything living that is out-of-doors. The latter is perhaps more likely since it also says in the Ipuwer text that there were large numbers of dead. The Bible tells about the hailstorm:
“And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along the ground. And the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast.” (Ex. 9:23-25)
9. “Many dead are buried in the river”.
The comment that many were buried in the Nile, may imply that so many people died in the plagues that it was impossible to bury them all, so they were thrown into the Nile. If this was the case, it was a marked deviation from the usual way of handling and burying the dead and must indicate that it was an exceptional situation with a large number of dead. The Bible relates that in just one of the plagues at least one in each family dies (every firstborn). (Ex. 11:4-10)
10. “Exhausted are materials for every kind of craft”, “Lacking are grain, charcoal, irtyw, m3w-wood, nwt-wood, brushwood”, “Trees are felled, branches stripped”
After the disaster in Egypt there is a scarcity of almost everything, this section shows that crops were scarce and raw materials for craftsmen, especially wood (the signs quoted show that a translation has not been found for the specifies that Ipuwer mentions). Trees have fallen down or been knocked down from the trees that remain standing the branches have been knocked off. The Bible tells of similar consequences to the hailstorm mentioned earlier, which was such as seldom seen.
“And the hail smote every herb of the filed and brake every tree of the field.” (Ex. 9:25)
11. “Food is lacking”, “Great hunger and suffering”, “Ladies say , we want to eat”, “Women are barren, none conceive”, “Their bodies suffer in rags”, “The storehouse is bare”.
These quotations from Ipuwer show that there was famine. Food is lacking, people suffer and starve, the stocks are exhausted, so the situation is incredibly difficult. The women may be childless because the children have died, or that starvation has made the women infertile and so unable to have children. This is a probable consequence of the disasters that fall on Egypt, described in the book of Exodus chapters 7 – 12.
12. “See he who slept wifeless found a noblewoman”, “See, noblewomen go hungry”.
This comment that upper class women are hungry and seek the company of the lower classes indicates two things. That which provided their income is no more, and the upper class men are no more. The upper classes in Egypt mainly consisted of soldiers, officers and high-ranking civil servants seconded to Pharaoh. The Bible reports that the entire Egyptian army perished (Ex. 14:26-29), i.e. a large group, specifically of men, disappears (around 250,000) in addition to what the entire population has suffered.
[Editors note: Once again, we see a correlation here of a massive degeneration of the upper class—tallying quite perfect with the idea that a host of Egypt’s finest people are no more]
13. “Scribes are slain, their writers are stolen”, “Their books are destroyed”.
The chaos which prevails in Egypt also implies a hard blow to the whole of Egyptian culture. Scribes are killed and their work scattered in the wind. This may be a reason why, in spite of everything, there is not much written about these disasters. The art of writing was a privileged of the few in high positions of Egypt.
14. “One says ‘woe’ to the place of secrets”, “What shall we do about it? All is ruin!” “Gone is what yesterday was seen”, “See now, the land is deprived of kingship”, “See, all the ranks, they are not in their place, like a heard that roams without a herdsman”.
These secret places which were despised refer to the gods worshipped, the wisemen (priesthood) of that time, the secret rituals, the embalming of the dead and the godlike characters that the Pharaohs represented. That which controlled the whole of Egyptian life, now shows itself incapable of standing firm during the crisis which the country is suffering. The population shows contempt which leads to disorder and chaos. It seems as though the entire leadership of the country has disappeared or is not functioning. The whole of the Ipuwer text is about this chaos, which means that in general nothing functions in Egypt. It must have been something very forceful that could crush the super power of that era so completely.
[Editors note: Wow, this just keeps getting more unbelievable. We have an almost exact description here of what the Bible implies—when the high ranks are not in their places—after Amenhotep III leads his entire army into the Gulf of Aqaba. His remains as well as the remains of the priesthood and a host of other high officials lie at the bottom of the Gulf of Aqaba, which is why we find Egyptian bones, horse bones, horse hooves, cattle bones, hub cabs, chariot wheels, chariot bodies, pieces of wheels, rib cages, and many other identifiable skeletal remains---of which the book shows clear pictures of which I have been unable to find on the net. Absolutely breathtaking as well as spine chilling. There is most certainly a supreme God that caused all of this]
15. “If I knew where god is I would serve him”
This is a strange comment. The Egyptians knew very well where their gods were, in which guise they appeared, which areas of responsibility they had and now one made sacrifices to them. But the Ipuwer text does not ask for these gods. The Egyptians knew that all the people of Israel worshipping the “One God”, and they were obviously no longer in doubt concerning whether it was the gods of Egypt who had the power or whether it was the One God.
The biblical texts tell about all the good that Joseph and the people of Israel did in Egypt. Not least the fact that Joseph saved the whole country of Egypt and gave it great wealth. After a time the Egyptians enslave the people of Israel and later, in spite of being given 10 chances to let the people of Israel leave Egypt, when the biblical texts tell of the anger of the One God expressed in very extraordinary events, they force the people of Israel to stay. They cannot hold them back and soon the Exodus begins, the great migration.
Finally the entire army of the super power perishes when they try to take back a people of slaves led by a man, Moses, who is only equipped with a shepherd’s staff. It is completely understandable that at last the Egyptians realize they have challenged the One God, and their gods were of no help in the struggle. One can really hear the despair of the text. “If I only knew where to find the One God I would serve him.”
24.3 Dating of the Ipuwer Papyrus
Ipuwer was a scribe who most probably documented an event that actually occurred. Since the Ipuwer is said to have worked during the 19th dynasty (42. M. Lichtheim (1973) Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol. 1, University of California Press, Berkeley, USA.), this description many well concern events at the end of the 18th dynasty, which also influenced and probably led to the change which is described as a new dynasty, the 19th dynasty. The event, or events were a disaster for Egypt and their consequences tally well with the descriptions in the Bible.
The Exodus, with the events described in that chapter, occurred around 1446 BC according to the biblical texts, which correspond to the end of the 18th dynasty. The Bible’s chronology is described in chapter 45.
45. WHEN DOES THE EXODUS TAKE PLACE?
In the biblical texts there is a basis on which to draw up a chronology for the periods of time with which this book deals. Important key events can also be verified with other historical sources.
45.1. The Destruction of Jerusalem
The destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC (48. J.R. Bartlett (1997) Archaeology and Biblical Interpretation, Routledge, London, England.), is the starting point of this chronology. This event is referred to the Bible and is named in a definite way in historical sources. These sources originate from Babylonian documents, with astronomic references to points in time.
Ordinary encyclopedias also give this date for the destruction of Jerusalem. This date is discussed thoroughly in literature. The destruction of Jerusalem occurs, and the captivity in Babylon begins, in the 19th year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, and the 11th year of Zedekiah’s reign (II Kings 25:2).
45.2. The Books of Kings
King Zedekiah was reigning in Jerusalem when Nebuchadnezzar invaded the city, and the incidents occurred which led to the destruction of Jerusalem (II Kings 25:1-17). This is the last event mentioned in chapter 25 of the second book of Kings. Every preceding king is mentioned in the two books of Kings: 47 chapters in all. If one counts back from king Zedekiah through the books of Kings, one comes to the beginning of the first book of Kings, which refers in detail to king Solomon.
Every king in between is specified, especially with regard to the length of his reign. Furthermore, during many years the country was divided into two kingdoms, Israel and Judah respectively. This means that there are two parallel royal lines, which make a number of cross references possible since at regular intervals they refer to each other or to other events. Some things remain uncertain, but these lie within relatively narrow margins (when one refers to the thorough, parallel royal lines), in spite of the length of the period and fact that the events occurred several thousand years ago.
45.3. King Solomon
To the year 586 BC (the destruction of Jerusalem), can be added approximately 384 years (from the royal lines), which gives us approximately 970 BC as the first year of the reign of Solomon. King Solomon reigned for 40 years.
Later, in the first book of Kings a precise comment is made, which relates the reign of king Solomon to the date of the Exodus:
“And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.” (I Kings 6:1)
[Editors note: Ah yes! This you say is absolute bogus and has been proved wrong for proving the Exodus date to have occurred in 1446 BC. But as you will see my friends, this verse has more meaning to it than you think. As you will discover throughout the upcoming charts, diagrams, and additional methods for dating, you will see that the 1446 BC date is one of the most unshakable!]
[Additional Emphasis from Book: [i]There is a growing support for an approximate year of 1446 BC for the Exodus compared to other suggestions (25. A.J. Hoerth (1998) Archaeology and The Old Testament, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, USA.). Furthermore, 14 C-dating of remains of Jericho suggests that the destruction to have happened around 1400 BC (27. B.G. Wood (1990) Dating Jericho’s destruction, Biblical Archaeology Review, 5.). The destruction of Jericho would, according to the hypothesis of this book, have occurred approximately 1406 BC.]
“The house of the Lord” is the temple in Jerusalem. To arrive at the fourth year of king Solomon’s reign, four years are subtracted from approximately 970 BC, giving us approximately 966 BC. That year, states the biblical text (I Kings 6:1), it was exactly 480 years since the Exodus took place. Then approximately 966 can be added to 480, giving approximately 1446 BC.
Figure 347: A summary of how to calculate the approximate year of the Exodus, according to the biblical texts.
According to this calculation in figure 347, in this book the Exodus is said to have occurred in approximately 1446 BC. There is some uncertainty about this date. Firstly there are four uncertain years (miscount) during the last 2000 years, connected with the birth of Jesus and the founding of Rome respectively. This uncertainty is generally known. With regard to other years given in figure 347, 480 years and 36 years are individual indications (not calculated/worked out). In the presentation of the royal lines, there may be a margin of error of about a decade. This figure is an estimate. With 4 + 10 years presumed uncertainty, there may be a total of around 15 years uncertainty in the years given in figure 347.
45.4. Estimation of the Period in Captivity
When we now know the probable point in time of the Exodus (approx. 1446 BC), the next step is to begin to count from the birth of Abraham.
[Editors note: The following information is crucial for the critics not in favor of placing the Exodus date at 1446 BC. Thus, it is about to be shown that the 1446 BC date can be arrived via different routes of calculation]
We put Abraham’s birth at the year 0, and count forwards according to the biblical texts. Isaac is born when Abraham is 100 years old (Gen. 21:5), Jacob is born when Isaac is 60 (Gen. 25:26) and Joseph is born when Jacob is 91 years old (Gen. 41:46-47; 45:6, 9-10; 47:9). Furthermore, Joseph attains his high position in Egypt when he is 30 years old (Gen. 41:41), and Jacob and h is family move to Egypt when Joseph is 39 years old (Gen. 47:9). As is shown in figure 348, this gives a total period of 290 years.
Figure 348: A summary of the chronology from Abraham to Joseph, according to the biblical texts.
There are now two time axes which must be linked together. The biblical texts give three different passages which directly indicate a time span from an event with Isaac to the year of the Exodus. The first of those passages is:
“And he said unto Abram, ‘Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not their’s, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.’” (Gen. 15:13-14)
Here Abraham receives a prophecy from the Lord which contains a great deal of information, but the prophecy is couched in general terms. Abraham learns the following:
1. Abraham’s offspring (Isaac and onwards) will live in a foreign country, but it is not said in which foreign country/countries.
2. They will be subject to the laws of that country.
3. They will be slaves, but it is not indicated in which country nor for how long.
4. Later they will leave this country with great possessions.
5. This will, taken all together, happen during a period of about 400 years.
They would not be slaves all the time nor would they be in Egypt all the time and a rounded figure of the length of time is given. They learn of this in general terms and this prophecy lives on among the people of Israel. When Joseph dies in Egypt the people of Israel have to promise on oath to take Joseph’s bones with them when they leave the country later on, although this date is some 190 years in the future.
One can understand the suffering of the people of Israel as slaves in Egypt, and that this became particularly hard when 400 years had passed and still nothing happened. But something was happening. Moses had been in the land of Midian for about 10 years, having fled fro the Egyptian army.
At the Exodus reference is made to this prophecy:
“Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.” (Ex. 12:40-41)
It should be noted that they kept a careful check on prophecy. It was exactly on the day, 430 years later, that everything was fulfilled. A foreign country implies that one lives in some else’s country, i.e. one does not have a country of one’s own. They became slaves and they also received many possessions as gifts from the Egyptians.
The question is to which event the prophecy refers. The event would have happened 430 years before the Exodus, which gives us about the year 1876 BC. In the epistle to the Galatians Paul gives the following interpretation:
“Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed is were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.” (Gal. 3:15-17)
To summarize, these passages tell us the following:
1. There were 430 years between when the law was given, and the prophecy to Abraham concerning his offspring (Isaac). Here Paul refers to the passage discussed above (Ex. 12:40-41).
2. So what happened with Isaac that these passages refer to? That which happened about 1876 BC?
3. In the biblical text Gen. 22:1-19 this event is dealt with under the heading “Abraham commanded to offer Isaac”. We have touched on this event in chapter 4.
45.5. The “Sacrifice” of Isaac
The biblical text tells us the following:
[i] “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here [am] I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind [him] a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which [is] upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.” (Gen. 22:1-19)
To summarize, these concern the following:
1. Abraham shows his readiness to sacrifice his son Isaac in a blood sacrifice on Mount Moriah. Human sacrifices were common in the area, but this was only a test for Abraham.
2. On that day 430 years later, a lamb without blemish was to be sacrificed (blood sacrifice) in every family of the people of Israel, to avoid the death of every firstborn. It is the institution of the Jewish Passover, and the beginning of the Exodus. The promise given to Abraham is fulfilled that year, with liberation from slavery, and the covenant given with the stone tablets on Mount Sinai.
3. As Paul explains (Gal.3:15-17), on precisely the same day and the same mountain, slightly more than 1900 years later, Jesus Christ is sacrificed on the summit of Mount Moriah in blood sacrifice with the promise of liberation, and the institution of the new covenant. It is the institution of the Christian Easter.
4. It is on Mount Moriah that Old Jerusalem is built. The site of the temple was up on Mount Moriah. Here the Jews have the western wall as a sacred place, the part of the temple which is still standing today. Here the Muslims have two mosques on the site where the temple stood. Close by, also on Mount Moriah, the Christians have Golgotha (the place of sacrifice) and the empty grave.
It is this event, the “offering” of Isaac, which permeates the whole Bible, and is indicated as the point of reference for these 430 years. We can then, with relative precision, put together these two time axes (figures 347, 348).
45.6. How old was Isaac?
The question then remaining is what age Isaac was when he was to be “sacrificed”.
The following four alternatives spring to mind:
1. Isaac argued logically with his father Abraham. Isaac should then have been at least 10 years old. However there is no specific reference to age.
2. One might speculate that Isaac was as old as Jesus Christ when he was sacrificed at the same place. In that case Isaac was 33 years old, but there is no reference to this age either.
3. Isaac has to carry all the firewood the last part of the way to the place of sacrifice. A relatively large amount of firewood was needed for the sacrifice, so it must have been heavy to carry. This implies that Isaac was physically stronger than Abraham, who carried only the fire and the knife. According to this comment Isaac would have been in his late teens.
4. But there is a reference to another age. In order for the sacrifice of Isaac (which did not need to be carried out) to be righteous, then Isaac should have been adult and responsible for his actions. The Bible gives us several references as to when a man was considered adult and independent.
a) To enlist as a soldier a man had to be 20 years old (Ex. 3:11-15).
b) In a census men old enough to bear arms were counted (Ex. 38:26).
c) The age at which the people could be penalized was 20 (Numb. 14:29, 32:11)
Based on this argument Isaac should have been between 10 and 33 years old. Most probably Isaac was 20 years old, since he would have been responsible for his actions, adult enough to take the consequences of his decisions, and of the age to be penalized when it was a matter of a vicarious sacrifice (punishment for the sins committed by the people).
45.7. Combining the Time Axes
In the link between the two time axes in figures 347 and 348, the age of 20 has therefore been used for the point in time (the “sacrifice” of Isaac) to which the Bible refers. The total time axes can be seen in figure 350.
Approximately 10 years of uncertainty should be added to the time axes in figure 350, because of the uncertainty about Isaac’s age at the “sacrifice” on Mount Moriah.
Therefore, the total time axes in figure 350 has an estimated uncertainty of about 25 years altogether. In Table 11, details of the calculation of the royal lines of Judah and Israel are shown.
() co-rules 4 y with Asa. (2) co-rules with Ahab and Ahaziah. (3) co-rules 5 y with Jehoshapaht. (5) co-rules 2 y with Joash. (5) co-rules 13 y with Jehoash. (6) co-rules 25 y with Amaziah.. (7) co-rules 2 y with Pekahiah. (8) co-rules 2 y with Uzziah. (9) co-rules 8 y with Jotham. (10) co-rules 3 y with Ahaz.
(see also 49. E.R. Thiele (1951) The Mysterious Numbers of Hebrew Kings, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, USA)
[Editors note: I was unable to bloat this last image any bigger due to its length for some reason, but it is the continuation of Table 11]
27. WHO DIED IN EGYPT?
The Bible text is clear regarding those who died in Egypt. That night before the Exodus began, all the firstborn died, i.e. the eldest in each family. The Bible is even more specific when it states:
“And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.” (Ex. 12:29)
The Pharaoh who sat on the throne was not the firstborn as he survived that night (Ex. 12:30-32). According to the hypothesis in chapter 15 this Pharaoh was Amenhotep III. The son, the firstborn son of Amenhotep III was Tutankhamen, which among other things is confirmed by an inscription on the statue of a lion dedicated to the Soleb temple (37. F. Tiradritti (1999) The Cairo Museum Master Pieces of Egyptian Art, Thames and Hudson, London, England.)
27.1 The Death of Tutankhamen
Tutankhamen is remarkable in that one cannot understand how such a young heir to the throne (about 18 years old), who probably had achieved nothing of importance since he had not yet ascended the throne, received such an unprecedented burial. Book after book describes the discovery of the grave in 1922 and all the treasures, often gilded, which were in the grave. The main reason for all the attention given to Tutankhamun is that every grave has been robbed down through the years just because they contained so many treasures, or alternatively because successors have taken measures to reduce the importance of their predecessors and increase their own importance. (Figure 918)
So the first comment is that Tutankhamen’s grave probably does not differ greatly from other graves of members of the reigning family, but it distinguishes itself by not having been robbed. That so much notice is taken of Tutankhamen has nothing to do with political achievement, a long reign, wars of conquest or anything similar but the fact that his grave is one of the few that has not been plundered and that it is so lavishly decorated.
According to the hypothesis in this chapter, the scenario which takes place is that Amenhotep III ruled over a great, prosperous and mighty Egypt. As soon as he comes to power, perhaps already when he was still heir to the throne, building is begun on his burial chamber. The Pharaoh’s burial chambers with their lavish contents took a long time to finish, and building a burial chamber was one of the important measures a Pharaoh took on coming to power.
Amenhotep III, who reigned when things were flourishing, spent a lot on his intended grave and prepared everything well.
Then the events described as the Exodus in this book, the departure of the people of Israel, occur. On the last night all the firstborn die, including Amenhotep’s firstborn son Tutankhamen (Ex. 12:29). Pharaoh himself sets off with his entire army to pursue the enslaved people of Israel and bring them back. When the whole of the Egyptian army has almost caught up with the people of Israel, it drowns in the Red Sea and there is not a single survivor, not even Amenhotep III who was leading his army (Ex. 14:26-28).
The Egyptian court then faces a situation where the reigning Pharaoh has drowned and disappeared, so cannot be buried in his lavishly prepared grave. On the other hand, the body of the heir to the throne is there, Tutankhamen for whom probably no grave has been prepared. It would then be easy to decide to let Tutankhamen have his father’s grave. All that is personal to Tutankhamen is his own death mask and sarcophagus. This could be a probable explanation of the death of Tutankhamen and why he received such a lavish burial chamber. It is known that Tutankhamen was buried in a tomb that did not belong to him. One reference states the following: “The young king (Tutankhamen), authors comment) was buried in the tomb originally prepared for Ay in the Valley of Kings” (37. F. Tiradritti (1999) The Cairo Museum Master Pieces of Egyptian Art, Thames and Hudson, London, England.), although no evidence mentions Ay specifically.
[Editors note: This makes a great deal of sense. Amenhotep III was noted as one of the greatest Pharaohs in Egyptian history, not Tutankhamen. Since there are inscriptions supporting the idea that Amenhotep III might have been his father, it seems to make a great deal of sense that the tom of which Tutankhamen was buried was originally made for the great Pharaoh Amenhotep III. So this, in order to “fill in the slot”, the only body, the body of Tutankhamen was put in place of his father’s, since his father drowned in the Red Sea.]
Tutankhamen’s own deathmask is impressive, made of pure gold with turquoise insets and weighing about 10.3 kg. this beautiful handicraft is something of a modern symbol for Egypt (figure 280) [Editors note: figure not available]
It is easy to understand that there was chaos at court. Both Pharaoh Amenhotep III and Tutankhamen, the heir to the throne, died within a couple of weeks.
27.2. What Happened in Egypt?
Can this scenario be verified in any way? Firstly it can be noted that the successors to the throne deviated from the usual pattern.
[Editors note: deviated from usual pattern in that the pattern of naming pharaohs (Thutmosis/Amenhotep) changed, for these gods (Thot and Amen) were now shown to be powerless by Moses.]
Instead of members of the reigning family inheriting the throne, it is Ay, an older army officer and counselor accedes as ruler. After a short time the 18th dynasty comes to an end. This in itself is a sign of the chaos there must have been in Egypt in connection with the Exodus. It is said that Ay hastily married Tutankhamen’s wife, Ankhesenamun, so hastily that he is Pharaoh at the burial of Tutankhamun.--- (42. M. Lichtheim (1973) Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol. 1, University of California Press, Berkeley, USA.)
[Editors note: Interesting, you would think that some member of the royal family of Amenhotep III would ascend the throne, but NO! Ay, an old army officer takes over? Does this not indicate a sign of chaos? But say, what sign of chaos of this sort is there during Rameses II (or Shishak)? As we can see, the grand picture here is getting better, and the Bible is ever becoming more real.]
27.3. When did it all happen?
The biblical text specifies the exact date of the Exodus. It was the 14th day of the month when the people of Israel still celebrate their “pesach”.
Tutankhamen dies during the night following this day. This date is interesting, since it indicates so precisely a day in spring. Tutankhamen was decorated in many ways, among others with sophisticated and expensive wreathes of flowers. These wreathes were made from fresh plants and flowers as the leaves and parts of the plants have been bent in such a way that only fresh plants can be bent.
Tutankhamen’s death was unexpected so it may be surmised that the floral wreathes were made in connection with his death. By determining the species of the flowers and fruits these wreathes were made of, and with information about when these flowers bloomed and bore fruit, it is possible to date the death and/or interment as being between the middle of March and the end of April (44. F.N. Hepper (1990) Pharaoh’s Flowers, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, England.).
This strongly supports the hypothesis that Tutankhamen died at a time of year that was exactly, or at least very close to, the time of year of the Exodus.
27.4 A Strange Letter
The person who bore the royal blood, the inheritance, was the royal wife of Amenhotep III, the Pharaoh who was drowned in the Red Sea, and who was the mother of the heir to the throne, Tutankhamen. There is a letter that is preserved in the so-called Tel-Amarna letters (61. J.B. Pritchard (1969) Ancient Near Eastern Texts, Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA.) sent by this widow of the Pharaoh to the Hittite king Suppiluliumas and preserved by the son of the later in an inscription:
"...When the people of Misra (Egypt, authors comment) learned the destruction of Amqa, they were afraid, for to make matters worse their master, Bibhuria had just died and the widowed queen of Egypt sent an ambassador to my father and wrote to him these terms:
My husband is dead and I have no son. People say that you have many sons. If you send me one of your sons he will become my husband for it is repugnant to me to take one of my servants to husband. When my father learned this, he called together the council of the great: Since the most ancient times such a thing has never happened before.
He decided to send Hattu-Zittish, the chamberlain, Go, bring me information worthy of belief; While Hattu-Zittish was absent on the soil of Egypt, my father vanquished the city of Karchemish…. The ambassador of Egypt, the lord Hanis, came to him. Because my father had instructed Hattu_Zittish when he went to the country of Egypt as follows: Perhaps they have a prince they may be trying to deceive me and do not really want one of my sons to reign over them; the Egyptian queen answered my father in a letter in these words;
Why do you say they are trying to deceive me? If I had a son, should I write to a foreign country in a manner humiliating to me and to my country? You do not believe me and you even say so to me! He who was my husband is dad and I have no son. Should I then perhaps take one of my servants and make him my husband? I have written to no other country, I have written to you…”
[Editors note: Hmmm…this letter sounds interesting indeed, does it not? Why would both her husband and son be no more so mysteriously? Why does she not mention taking another officer or high official as her husband? Why a servant?]
Finally Suppiluliumas believes her and sends a son, it is not known what happened to him.
This letter is remarkable because Pharaoh Amenhotep III’s widow says that her husband is dead (drowned in the Red Sea), she has no son (Tutankhamun died at the Exodus), and there are only servents left in the country (leaders, ministers, priests, officers drowned in the Red Sea). Bibhuria is probably a linguistic variation among the Hittites for “Neb-maat-Re”, one of the names of Amenhotep III. Further, this excludes Tiy as being the widow since she had another son, Akhenaten.
[Editors note: Bear in mind that it is of utmost priority for Egypt to keep their great disaster a secret to the world. Should the Hittites, or any other Canaanites find out of the great catastrophe that struck Egypt during the Exodus (loss of firstborn and whole army), Egypt would become in great danger of invasion, for foreign nations might see this as “an opportunity to strike”. But, as we all know, Egypt did a marvelous job at keeping secrets. This is why Egyptologists today still cannot agree on many aspects of Egyptian history, because so many inscriptions were chiseled out, for Egyptians were known to record only their victories and accomplishments, but when it came to disasters, Egypt would hide as much of this information as they could.]
27.5. The Threat From the Hittites
At this period in time, the Hittites are a potential threat to Egypt. There is every reason in the world for Egypt to hide for as long as possible the fact that the army has been destroyed. The countries existed in relative isolation from each other, it was desert land between them and there were still border posts guarding the borders. After a time, when there is a risk that the truth will leak out that there is no longer a great and mighty army, then this letter can be an invitation to create an alliance (through marriage) with the Hittites before they fully realize what has happened. Obviously the Hittites are surprised (“nothing like this has ever happened before”) about the letter and send a messenger to look into the matter.
At the same time this is happening, the cities in Palestine which belong to Egypt are having problems. The Tel-Amarna letters show that among other things these cities were threatened by the Hittites. They begged the Pharaoh in Egypt to send troops, but as it says in one of the letters written during this period, “no help came”. The situation was become untenable and Egypt was still incapable of sending troops. A strong Egypt with its mighty army could easily have supported its subject cities in Palestine.
[Editors note: So, would you not find it rather suspicious that it is at this point in time (SOON AFTER THE EXODUS) that Egypt does not come to the aid of their allies, the Palestinians?! It was because Egypt was crippled, and it wouldn’t be until Rameses II that Egypt would climb back up to one final height, and then crumble again.]
27.5. In Summary
Altogether these events show that something dramatic occurred in Egypt at this time. These events were the beginning of the end of the 18th dynasty and include several different incidents which can be connected with each other; letters which state that only servants are left in the country; the time of and reason for Tutankhamun’s death; and the absence of help for the cities subject to Egypt. Similarities to these events described in the Ipuwer document are striking (chapter 24).
”Who formerly could have plundered Tunip without being plundered by
Thutmose III? …and there is no help for us. For 20 years we have been sending to our lord the king, the king of Egypt; but there has not come to us a word – no, not one!” (17. B. Mertz (1996) Temples, Tombs and Hieroglyphs, Michael O’Mara Books Ltd, London, England.)
After the powerful Thutmose something happened that destroyed the super power of Egypt and left the colonies without support.]
[Editors note: Friends, there is enough evidence to suggest that the grand Exodus did actually happen, and that it happened according to scripture, in 1446 BC. Enough archeological data as with as meticulous calculations lead to nothing more than that these events actually happened around 1400+ BC. The dots are slowly being connected, and things are beginning to make sense as never before. Scientists around the world are beginning to realize that there was more to Ron Wyatt’s discoveries than they had originally supposed. Ron Wyatt is passed away, and his discoveries are only living on, but are IMPROVING! Even various enemies of Wyatt are coming to the same conclusion. Once Mollers’ new series are aired on Television for the first time (since they have not been shown yet), the world will begin to start seeing things in a new light they never before viewed in. Regardless of the credentials any of these scientists have, the data is well documented and presented, and this cannot be denied. If a pigmy were to show me the world was flat, and he provided me ample reason as to why he believed so, I would be obliged to give him a fair hearing. But it is encouraging to know that more and more scientists around the world are beginning to acknowledge the compelling evidence associated with the Exodus.]
