Correspondence: the Exodus

February 20, 2013

Dr. Aardsma,

Hello!

I'm mailing you on account of a question I have concerning the Biblical account of a mass Egyptian exodus, presumably to have occurred roughly, by the extent of my knowledge, in the 16th to 13th century B.C.

As a skeptic of more maximalist schools of thought, I'm doubtful as to the validity of perspectives espousing this purported exodus as archaeological fact, given an apparent lack of extra-biblical physical or literary evidence.

Thus, succinctly, I'm curious as to whether such evidence exists --- and, moreover, whether such evidence would stand up to close scrutiny in the more mainstream of Biblical archaeology.

Your consideration and response is appreciated.

-Elena

Elena,

There is no evidence of a mass exodus from Egypt anywhere in the second millennium B.C. (i.e., between 1000 B.C. and 2000 B.C.). You can be quite certain of this fact.

Meanwhile, there is overwhelming evidence of a mass exodus from Egypt, correlating closely with the biblical narrative, in the middle of the third millennium B.C.

It is clear that traditional biblical chronology, which places the Exodus roughly 1450 B.C., must somehow have overlooked a millennium. The evidence is quite persuasive that a biblical chronology number, "480", found in 1 Kings 6:1, was originally "1480" --- that this is where the millennium has been lost.

In short, the biblical narrative of the Exodus appears to be historically reliable, but its proper chronological setting has been missed by minimalist and maximalist alike due to loss of one thousand years in 1 Kings 6:1.

Trust this helps.

Dr. Aardsma

February 24, 2013

Dr. Aardsma,

I apologize for the late reply.

Could you point to any specific evidence in particular that, to your mind, correlates an exodus from Egypt --- along with related phenomena in Egypt as per the book of Exodus --- within the third millennium B.C.? I don't know of any well-reputed evidence of a massive Jewish presence in or around Egypt during this time frame (i.e., Egyptian records, credible artifacts, et cetera), and I'm having a very difficult time finding this evidence through search engines. And, as far as I know, Egypt during ~2500 -- 3000 BC was relatively peaceful and undertook a number of ambitious projects concerning imperial expansion, construction, and agricultural improvements.

Regards,

Elena

Elena,

I am glad to see you are still concerned to get at the truth of this matter.

I am primarily a researcher, not a communicator. Still I have tried to fulfill my obligation to communicate this particular bit of new truth by writing it up in book form, where it is easily and inexpensively accessible to one and all. Please follow this link: https://www.biblicalchronologist.org/products/Exodus_book.php.

I have attached a pdf of the preface of the book, so you can better evaluate its relevance to your quest.

Dr. Aardsma