Questions
I don’t remember being interested in archaeology as a child or teenager. However, as a young man searching for answers to questions about the existence of God, archaeology became of great interest to me.
It was early 1971 and writings about archaeological discoveries in the Middle East were abundant. Some of the books and articles available to me dated from the 19th century AD, but the majority were from the early to middle 20th century.
I remember asking Dr. Edward Hindson, author of a book in the Baker Studies in Biblical Archaeology series, question after question about people and places in the Bible. As an atheist I was quite surprised to hear that archaeological evidence already existed to answer many of my questions. Dr. Hindson was answering me with scientific evidence! It is most helpful when people who say they believe something to actually have evidence to support their beliefs.
[A reminder that I am including only those archaeological references available for my research during the first half of 1971.]
In our most recent posts, we looked at some of the archaeological evidence concerning the Hebrew patriarchs including Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his sons. We pick up the story after Jacob’s sons sold their brother Joseph into slavery.
“Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority. So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field. Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate.” Genesis 39:1-6
I remembered this story from when I was a kid in Sunday School class. However, as an atheist I viewed everything in the Bible as a fairy tale. There was no Joseph, no Jacob, no Isaac, no Abraham. Yet, I was seeing through the investigative process that there might be more to the Bible stories than just fairy tales. The story of Joseph in Egypt was another opportunity to test the Bible against archaeological discoveries in the region.
We’ve already seen that Asiatics were known to have visited Egypt during the Middle Bronze Age (MBA, 2100 – 1550 BC). Many of these people were West Semitic (including Hebrews). Renowned Egyptologist Sir Alan Gardiner wrote this about the Asiatics – “on stelae and in papyrii Asiatic slaves are increasingly often mentioned, though there is no means of telling whether they were prisoners of war or had infiltrated into Egypt of their own accord.” (Sir Alan Gardiner, “Egypt of the Pharaohs,” Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1966, p. 133). Archaeologist Joseph Free wrote that “Syrian slaves were highly prized in Egypt. The word ‘Kan’amu’ or ‘Canaanites’ even became a synonym for ‘slaves’ in the Egyptian documents” (Joseph P. Free, “Archaeology and Bible History, Scripture Press, 1969, p. 74). [See also George Alexander Frank Knight’s 1921 classic, “Nile and Jordan Being The Archaeological and Historical Inter-Relations between Egypt and Canaan,” James Clarke and Co. LTD, 1921.]
I didn’t believe in the “supernatural” as an atheist, so I wasn’t interested in what the Bible said about God blessing Joseph during his captivity. What I was interested in knowing was if archaeological finds supported the basic physical aspects of the ancient text (e.g. names, places, events, etc).
What about the prison where Joseph was held? German Egyptologist Georg Moritz Ebers identified a fortress in Memphis as the prison where Joseph would have most likely been placed. Other possible locations (prior to 1971) included a prison at Thebes and one near the Palestine frontier. Drawings and monuments gave Egyptologists a clear view of life in ancient Egypt, which included servants, slaves, butlers and bakers.
What about the “seven years of plenty” and “seven years of famine?” American Egyptologist C.E. Wilbour discovered a large granite stela (also spelled stele) in the late 19th century on the island of Sahel in Egypt (near Elephantine). It is often referred to as the Famine or Djoser Stela. Several Egyptologists have deciphered the writings on the stela and say it includes the story of the Pharaoh Djoser and his scribe and architect Imhotep. Egyptologists believe it was engraved during the 3rd century BC, but was based on a much older document from the Old Kingdom period. While it is not identical to the story in the Bible, it does speak of the pharaoh’s dream and seven years of famine. The writing also details building with stone.
The story of Joseph includes three dreams: chief butler, chief baker, and pharaoh. Archaeologists have discovered that the ancient Egyptians believed their gods would communicate to them through dreams and that knowing how to interpret those dreams was a key to success. The Papyrus Chester Beatty 3, also known as The Dream Book, was discovered by archaeologists at Deir el-Medina, an ancient Egyptian village where tomb workers and their families lived near the Valley of the Kings during the New Kingdom period.
“Papyrus No. III, as we have seen, is in its present condition incomplete at both ends, and since there are no means of ascertaining the extent of the loss in either direction, it might seem rash to choose a comprehensive title for the principal work to which it was consecrated. On a first reading the fragmentary eleventh page of the recto seems irrelevant to its surroundings, and arouses the suspicion that both at start and finish there may have been other sections of a general divinatory character. Closer study, however, points in the opposite direction, bringing to light reasons for thinking that the whole composition was constructed on a consistent and homogeneous plan, and that it truly deserves the name of Dream-book which I have given to it. It is, indeed, the earliest Dream-book in existence and may well date back to the Twelfth Dynasty (approx. 2000—1790 B.C.), though this cannot be proved with certainty. The core of the work consists of a long enumeration of dreams in clear tabular form, accompanied by their interpretations.” (Hieratic Papyri British Museum, Alan H. Gardiner, D.Litt., F.B.A. 1 Text, 1935, p. 9)
This may explain why the chief butler, chief baker, and pharaoh were so concerned about finding an interpretation to their dreams and why Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams was held in such high esteem. However, could a foreigner really rise to the position of second-in-command to the Pharaoh? German Archaeologist Adolf Erman wrote:
“Amongst the court officials also we often meet with foreigners who may have been slaves. For instance, the office of “first speaker of his Majesty,” whose duty was to take charge of the intercourse between the king and his attendants, was, under King Mcrenptah, invested in the Canaanite Ben-Mat’ana, the son of Jupa’a, from D’arbarsana. At court he of course assumed an Egyptian name; he was called ” Ramses in the temple of Re’ ” of his colleagues, he bore the additional name of the “beloved of Heliopolis.” All barbarians were probably not so conscientious as Ben-Mat’ana in ^ 2; – An.,4, 16, 2. ‘ I’.j.T., 4, 12, 14, 15. An., 3, 8, 3 ; and as this distinguished name might also belong to some ; confessing their foreign origin, consequently we may suppose that many of the officials named after the reigning king may have been Phoenicians or Cilicians.” (Adolf Erman, Life in Ancient Egypt, London: Macmillan, 1894, p. 106).
I asked Dr. Hindson many other questions about archaeological finds concerning the possibility of Joseph and his family living in Egypt, but the most important questions may have concerned the Israelites leaving Egypt by way of a great exodus. Were my questions answered?
Answers
Did pharaoh’s daughter find baby Moses in an ark of bulrushes in the reeds by the bank of the river and raise him as her son? Did Moses become the leader of the slave nation of Israel? Did Moses lead Israel out of Egypt in a great exodus after humiliating the pharaoh through multiple miracles of God?
During my investigation into the claims of theism more than a half century ago, specifically Christianity, I had learned that many archaeological discoveries during the 19th and 20th centuries AD supported a variety of truth claims in the Bible from the 19th and 20th centuries BC. However, no truth claim of the Old Testament may have been more of a challenge than the supposed exodus of Israel from Egypt. Anyone who had any knowledge of ancient civilizations knew there was not a shred of evidence that the story of the Israelite exodus from Egypt was true – including no archaeological discovery.
Or so I thought.
I was helped to a great degree during my investigation by two men, Dr. Edward Hindson and Rev. Terry Lytle. I had interviewed Terry on my radio talk show and he introduced me to Ed Hindson. They worked together in the same office and I visited them as often as I could with the kinds of questions an inquiring atheist would ask of Christian theists.
Both Terry and Ed were a great help to me as I researched the truth claims of the New Testament, but Ed was especially helpful as I looked at the Old Testament evidences. He was a young scholar at the time having just published The Philistines and the Old Testament as part of the Baker Studies in Biblical Archaeology. Ed told me he was indebted to a Professor Charles Shaw who first introduced him to the serious study of the Old Testament and archaeology. I am also indebted to Professor Shaw because of what I learned from his student.
Dr. Hindson introduced me to the archaeological expeditions of people like Dr. John Garstang, Dame Kathleen Kenyon, E.A. Wallis Budge, Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie, William F. Albright, R. A. Stewart Macalister, Howard F. Vos, Joseph P. Free, Henri Édouard Naville, James Henry Breasted, Auguste Mariette and Nelson Glueck.
However, could any of these or other archaeologists shine any light on the Israelite exodus story in the Bible? Let’s begin with the death of Joseph and a pharaoh who did not know him
“And Joseph died, all his brothers, and all that generation. But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them. Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, ‘Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we; come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land.’ Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel. So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor. And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage—in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.” Exodus 1:6-14
Could this be true? If Joseph had done all the Bible claims he did for the Egyptian people, how could any pharaoh not know about him? Why would the new pharaoh fear the children of Israel? Why would he want to make them slaves of Egypt?
I was introduced to a group of pharaohs known as the Hyksos. Egyptologists like John Garstang, Percy E. Newberry and others dated the reign of the Hyksos pharaohs to Egypt’s Second Intermediate Period (between Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom). Date estimates for that period are early 18th century to middle 16th century BC. That’s the same period estimated for Joseph and his family moving to Egypt and settling into the northern Delta region.
Egyptologists believe the Hyksos were an ethnic mix of Semitic-Asiatics who immigrated to the Delta region of Egypt and settled there during the Middle Kingdom period. The Egyptian word heqa-khase meant “rulers of foreign lands.” Egyptologists believe the first Hyksos pharaoh was able to gain control of Lower Egypt (northern part) because of weak rulers toward the end of Egypt’s Middle Kingdom.
Salitis is believed to have been the first Hyksos pharaoh – beginning the 15th Egyptian Dynasty from his capital in Avaris. Native Egyptian pharaohs continued to rule Upper Egypt (southern part) at the same time from Thebes and battle with the Hyksos to the north. The Egyptian 16th and 17th Dynasties run concurrently with the Hyksos 15th Dynasty. Successful military campaigns at the end of the 17th century played a vital role in the Egyptians defeating the Hyksos. Ahmose 1 finished the fight against the Hyksos and was able to reunite Upper and Lower Egypt in what became known as the 18th Egyptian Dynasty and beginning of the New Kingdom.
Understanding the history of Egypt during the 2nd Intermediate period could explain why Ahmose I did not know Joseph and would have been concerned about a large group of Semitic-Asiatics (Hebrews) living in the Delta region formerly ruled by the Hyksos. There would have been more Hebrews in the Delta region than Egyptians since the Hyksos would have known Joseph and approved of the Hebrews living there. Ahmose I may have viewed the Hebrews as a risk in case the Hyksos would try to return and fight again. He may have viewed the Hebrews as having more loyalty to the Hyksos than to him and Egyptians from the south. What might have made the most sense to Ahmose I for the security of the reunification of Upper and Lower Egypt was to force the Hebrews into rigorous slave-service. However, it did not accomplish all that the pharaoh wanted.
“But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel.” Exodus 1:12
The pharaoh made the lives of the Israelites “bitter with hard bondage,” but even that was not enough to control the population growth of the Hebrews. So, the pharaoh introduced a new plan for population control (or eventual extermination).
“Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah; and he said, ‘When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.’ But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive.” Exodus 1:15-17
Archaeologists found evidence of midwives and special birthing areas, including birthing stools, to at least the New Kingdom period. Children were important to the ancient Egyptians and were called “the staff of old age” because they would help their aging parents at the end of their lives. Killing the baby boys would certainly impact the future of the people of Israel in many ways.
Exodus 2 is the story of a Hebrew woman who gave birth to a boy. She hid the child for three months, then placed the boy in an “ark of bulrushes, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank.” The sister of the baby boy watched from a distance to see what would happen.
“Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it. And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, ‘This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” Exodus 2:5-6
According to the story, pharaoh’s daughter kept the child as her son and called his name Moses. Is there any archaeological evidence that anything about this story is true?
Egyptologists discovered that the name “Moses” or “Mose” was not unusual for the 18th Dynasty. The names of pharaohs of that dynasty included Ahmose (I) and Thutmose (I – IV). In fact, the name was known in earlier dynasties. Two of the Egyptian pharaohs from the 16th Dynasty were named Dedumose (I & II) and two from the 17th Dynasty were Ahmose and Kamose. Also, using asphalt (Hebrew chemar – bitumin) and pitch (Hebrew zepheth) to make something waterproof was well known in the New Kingdom and had been used for centuries before that. It was plentiful as were the bulrushes (Hebrew cuph – reeds) that grew in the shallow water at the edge of a river.
Archaeologists discovered that Ahmose I married his sister, Ahmose- Nefertiri. They had many sons and daughters. One of their daughters may have been the woman who adopted Moses and brought him into the palace.
Next Time
Moses never existed ... or if he did, he was only a minor historical character and most of his life was expanded by legend. That’s what I believed as an atheist. However, is there any archaeological evidence that Moses was the man who God used to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt? Some thoughts in the next part of my series, From Atheist to Theist.
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