Outline of the Book of Exodus
Chs. 1 - 17: The Egyptian Bondage and the Exodus
Chs. 18 - 24: The Revelation at Sinai: the Ten Commandments and the Laws; the Brit with G
Chs. 25 - 40: The Mishkan: the appeal, collection and construction
Chapter 32: the Incident of the Golden Calf, and Moses' response
Determining the time-frame for the Exodus
(Based upon N.Sarna and others.)
Does Tanakh provide a date or time-frame?
Or, can we determine the period when the Exodus occurred?
What are the issues that we must take into consideration when determining a time-frame?
Is there extra-biblical evidence for the bondage and the Exodus?
Tanakh gives various datings for the bondage period or its duration.
According to I Kings 6:1, since Solomon's reign and construction of the Temple is around 960 BCE, 480 years after the Exodus, that would place the Exodus in the 15th century.
This is difficult since the Pharaohs of that period, the Eighteenth Dynasty (see chart below), were powerful rulers who extended the Egyptian empire to the Euphrates and had control of Canaan.
Also, the biblical book of Joshua makes no mention of an Egyptian presence in Canaan, which would have been the case in the 15th century.
It is unlikely that an exodus could have occurred in the 15th century.
Many scholars propose the 13th century as a more likely time since Egypt's power had been diminished both locally and beyond.
Also:
Jacob and his sons were settled in the Nile Delta to be close to Joseph.
Pharaoh's daughter bathes in the Nile, not distant from the royal palace. She seems able to come from the palace and bathe in the Nile, and can easily connect with Israelites there.
Later, Moshe - who lived in the Nile Delta - appears frequently in the court of Pharaoh.
Therefore, the city where Pharaoh had his court/palace must have been near the Nile Delta.
The royal capital was constructed in the northern part of Egypt during the reign of Rameses II, which is also when Pithom and Rameses were built.
All of these factors make the 13th century to be a more likely time for an Israelite exodus.
If the 13th century BCE is more likely to be one when an exodus occurred, do Egyptian sources refer to an Israelite presence in Egypt or elsewhere?
Some Pharaohs of Egypt: 18 - 19 Dynasties
18 Dynasty: (dates approximate)
Thutmose III - 1458-1425
Amenhotep II - 1425-1400
19 Dynasty:
Seti I - 1290-1279
Rameses II (The Great) - 1279-1213
Merneptah (13th son of R II) - 1213-1203
The Merneptah Stele
(Adapted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
| Material | Granite |
|---|---|
| Writing | Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs |
| Created | c. 1208 BCE |
| Discovered | 1896, Thebes, Egypt |
| Discovered by | Flinders Petrie |
| Present location | Egyptian Museum, Cairo |
The Triumphal Song of Merneptah
The Merneptah Stele, also known as the Israel Stele or the Victory Stele of Merneptah, is an inscription by Merneptah, a pharaoh in ancient Egypt who reigned from 1213–1203 BCE.
The stele is a black granite slab, over 3 meters (10 feet) high, and the inscription says it was carved in the 5th year of Merneptah of the 19th dynasty.
Egypt was the dominant power in the region during the long reign of Merneptah's predecessor, Ramesses the Great, but Merneptah and one of his nearest successors, Ramesses III, faced major invasions. In 1208 a Libyan king invaded Egypt from the west in alliance with various northern peoples. The text is largely an account of Merneptah's victory over the ancient Libyans and their allies, but the last three of the 28 lines deal with a separate campaign in Canaan, then part of Egypt's imperial possessions. The final two lines mention a campaign in Canaan, where Merneptah says he defeated and destroyed Ashkalon, Gezer, Yanoam and Israel.
This stele is sometimes referred to as the "Israel Stele" because a majority of scholars translate a set of hieroglyphs in line 27 as "Israel". (Alternative translations have been advanced but are not widely accepted.[3])
The stele represents the earliest textual reference to Israel and the only reference from ancient Egypt.[4]
The princes are prostrate, saying, "Peace!"
Not one is raising his head among the Nine Bows.
Now that Tehenu (Libya) has come to ruin,
Hatti is pacified;
The Canaan has been plundered into every sort of woe:
Ashkelon has been overcome;
Gezer has been captured;
Yano'am is made non-existent.
Israel is laid waste and his seed is not;
Hurru is become a widow because of Egypt.
אמר רב יהודה אמר רב בשעה שעלה משה למרום מצאו להקב"ה שיושב וקושר כתרים לאותיות. אמר לפניו רבש"ע מי מעכב על ידך? אמר לו אדם אחד יש שעתיד להיות בסוף כמה דורות ועקיבא בן יוסף שמו שעתיד לדרוש על כל קוץ וקוץ תילין תילין של הלכות.
אמר לפניו רבש"ע הראהו לי? אמר לו חזור לאחורך הלך וישב בסוף שמונה שורות ולא היה יודע מה הן אומרים. תשש כחו כיון שהגיע לדבר אחד אמרו לו תלמידיו: רבי מנין לך? אמר להן הלכה למשה מסיני. נתיישבה דעתו. חזר ובא לפני הקב"ה אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם יש לך אדם כזה ואתה נותן תורה ע"י? אמר לו שתוק כך עלה במחשבה לפני.
אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם הראיתני תורתו הראני שכרו אמר לו חזור [לאחורך] חזר לאחוריו ראה ששוקלין בשרו במקולין אמר לפניו רבש"ע זו תורה וזו שכרה א"ל שתוק כך עלה במחשבה לפני.
Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: When Moses ascended on High, he found the Holy One, Blessed be He, sitting and tying crowns on the letters of the Torah. Moses said before God: Master of the Universe, who is preventing You from giving the Torah without these additions? God said to him: There is a man who is destined to be born after several generations, and Akiva ben Yosef is his name; he is destined to derive from each and every thorn of these crowns mounds upon mounds of halakhot. It is for his sake that the crowns must be added to the letters of the Torah.
Moses said before God: Master of the Universe, show him to me. God said to him: Return behind you. Moses went and sat at the end of the eighth row in Rabbi Akiva’s study hall and did not understand what they were saying. Moses’ strength waned, as he thought his Torah knowledge was deficient. When Rabbi Akiva arrived at the discussion of one matter, his students said to him: My teacher, from where do you derive this? Rabbi Akiva said to them: It is a halakha transmitted to Moses from Sinai. When Moses heard this, his mind was put at ease, as this too was part of the Torah that he was to receive. Moses returned and came before the Holy One, Blessed be He, and said before Him: Master of the Universe, You have a man as great as this and yet You still choose to give the Torah through me. Why? God said to him: Be silent; this intention arose before Me.
Moses said before God: Master of the Universe, You have shown me Rabbi Akiva’s Torah, now show me his reward. God said to him: Return to where you were. Moses went back and saw that they were weighing Rabbi Akiva’s flesh in a butcher shop [bemakkulin], as Rabbi Akiva was tortured to death by the Romans. Moses said before Him: Master of the Universe, this is Torah and this is its reward? God said to him: Be silent; this intention arose before Me.
(א) השלים הכתוב ספר בראשית שהוא ספר היצירה בחידוש העולם ויצירת כל נוצר ובמקרי האבות שהם כענין יצירה לזרעם מפני שכל מקריהם ציורי דברים לרמוז ולהודיע כל עתיד לבא להם.
ואחרי שהשלים היצירה התחיל ספר אחר בענין המעשה הבא מן הרמזים ההם. (ב) ונתייחד ספר ואלה שמות בענין הגלות הראשון הנגזר בפירוש ובגאולה ממנו. ולכן חזר והתחיל בשמות יורדי מצרים ומספרם אע"פ שכבר נכתב זה בעבור כי ירידתם שם הוא ראשית הגלות כי מאז הוחל. (ג) והנה הגלות איננו נשלם עד יום שובם אל מקומם ואל מעלת אבותם ישובו.
וכשיצאו ממצרים אע"פ שיצאו מבית עבדים עדיין יחשבו גולים כי היו בארץ לא להם נבוכים במדבר. וכשבאו אל הר סיני ועשו המשכן ושב הקב"ה והשרה שכינתו ביניהם אז שבו אל מעלות אבותם שהיה סוד אלוה עלי אהליהם והם הם המרכבה ואז נחשבו גאולים. ולכן נשלם הספר הזה בהשלימו ענין המשכן ובהיות כבוד ה' מלא אותו תמיד.
(1) In the Book of Genesis, which is the book of Creation, the Torah completed the account of how the world was brought forth from nothingness and how everything was created, as well as an account of all the events which befell the patriarchs, who are a sort of creation to their seed. All the events that happened to them were symbolic occurrences, indicating and foretelling all that was destined to come upon their seed.
After having completed the account of creation, the Torah begins another book concerning the subject that had been alluded to in those symbolic events [recorded in the Book of Genesis]. (2) The Book of V’eileh Shemoth was set apart for the story of the first exile, which had been clearly decreed, and the redemption therefrom. This is why He reverted and began [this second book of the Torah] with the names of those persons who went down to Egypt, and mentioned their total number, although this had already been written. It is because their descent thereto constituted the beginning of the exile, which began from that moment on. (3) Now the exile was not completed until the day they returned to their place and were restored to the status of their fathers. When they left Egypt, even though they came forth from the house of bondage, they were still considered exiles because they were in a land that is not theirs,. entangled in the desert. When they came to Mount Sinai and made the Tabernacle, and the Holy One, blessed be He, caused His Divine Presence to dwell again amongst them, they returned to the status of their fathers when the ‘sod eloka’ (counsel of G-d) was upon their tents and “they were those who constituted the Chariot of the Holy One.” Then they were considered redeemed. It was for this reason that this second book of the Torah is concluded with the consummation of the building of the Tabernacle, and the glory of the Eternal filling it always.