EXODUS

A review of the biblical account of the Exodus and its possible correlation with the history of Egypt. Interpretations of Egyptian stelae and texts, as well as ancient Arabic documents and traditions, shed new light on the stay of the People of Israel in Egypt and their epic departure led by Moses. Was the Exodus an historical event? When did it happen? How can the plagues of Egypt and the crossing through the Red Sea be interpreted? Is there evidence of some ancient catastrophe that can satisfactorily explain these extraordinary events? By Alfonso J. Treviño E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño ABSTRACT This essay reviews the biblical account of Exodus and its possible correlation with the history of Egypt. Egyptian stelae and texts are visited, as well as ancient Arab documents and traditions, whose interpretations shed new light on the stay of the People of Israel in Egypt and their epic departure led by Moses. Answers to questions are investigated, such as: Was the Exodus an historical event? When did it happen? Regarding the first question, fragments of the story of high historical possibility are identified, based on Egyptian texts where the Israelites are mentioned as Shemau or Amu (Asians) and archaeological findings that confirm their stay in Goshen (Wadi Tumilat) and towns cited in the Bible as Succoth (Tell Maskhuta) and Pi-Rameses. In relation to the second question, dates of the Exodus according to Egyptian chronology and consistent with Jacob/Israel genealogy (and descendants) are critically analyzed. Finally, possible interpretations are provided to explain the extraordinary events of the Biblical plagues and the crossing of the Red Sea that opened to the passage of the Israelites and closed on the pursuing Egyptian army, drowning them all. And a possible relationship of these events with the volcanic eruption of Tera (c1625 BC) on the island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea. Keywords: Exodus Moses Sea of Crossing Ipuwer Papyrus Eruption of Tera 1 Biblical Plagues Santorini Island E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño RESUMEN En este ensayo se revisa el relato bíblico del Éxodo y su posible correlación con la historia de Egipto. Se visitan estelas y textos egipcios, así como antiguos documentos y tradiciones árabes, cuyas interpretaciones arrojan nueva luz sobre la estancia del Pueblo de Israel en Egipto y su épica salida conducida por Moisés. Se investigan respuestas a preguntas como ¿Fue el Éxodo un suceso histórico? ¿Cuándo ocurrió? En cuanto a la primera pregunta, se identifican fragmentos del relato de alta posibilidad histórica, con base en textos egipcios en donde los israelitas son mencionados como Shemau o Amu (asiáticos) y hallazgos arqueológicos que confirman su estancia en Gosén (Wadi Tumilat) y ciudades citadas en la Biblia como Sucot (Tell Maskhuta) y Pi-Rameses. En relación con la segunda pregunta, se analizan fechas congruentes del Éxodo con la cronología egipcia y la genealogía de los descendientes de Jacobo/Israel. Por último, se aportan interpretaciones posibles para explicar los sucesos extraordinarios de las plagas bíblicas y el cruce por el Mar Rojo que se abrió al paso de los israelitas y se cerró sobre el ejército egipcio que los perseguía, ahogándolos a todos. Y se encuentra una relación posible de estos sucesos, con la erupción volcánica del Tera (c1625 a.C.) en la isla de Santorini del Mar Egeo. Palabras clave: Éxodo Moisés Mar del cruce Papiro de Ipuwer Erupción del Tera 2 Plagas Bíblicas Santorini Island E x o d us P R E F A Alfonso J. Treviño C E MIRACLE ON THE RED SEA (This is a fictitious story based on the Scriptures) FIFTEEN DAYS OF THE SECOND month of travel had passed since their departure from the Nile´s country, and now the congregation of Israel, led by Moses the Levite (descendant of Levi), was preparing to leave behind their camp in the oasis of Elim, and begin the march towards Sinai, through the desert of Sin. At fourteen years of age, Ofni, son of Merari, ─from the tribe of Reuben─ had seen with his own eyes the greatest miracle that he had ever imagined; something that could not be possible without the help of Yahweh. Ofni remembered everything in detail, and would surely never forget it. When his people left Succoth, they first camped at Etham, at the entrance to the desert. In the distance an enormous column of white smoke could be seen during the day, and a column of fire during the night. ─It is Yahweh who has put these signs to guide us! said the elders. Finally, they reached the bank of the Yam Suph1 and camped before Pihairot, opposite Baalzephon. The cavalry of the Egyptian army was in pursuit, and the tribes seemed trapped between the plain and the Yam Suph. Suddenly, a strong wind from the east swept the waters of the lake away, leaving it almost dry. The leader Moses raised his staff and urged the people of Israel to cross the shallow waters of the lake, and up the hill opposite Baalzephon on the other bank. The Egyptian army practically followed on their heels, while the people of Israel waded through the lake knee-deep in water. When the last son of Israel finished the crossing and reached the opposite side, a gigantic wave like a wall of water appeared on the horizon, rushed forward and crashed on the Egyptians, crushing men and horses, who drowned before the eyes of Israel. The memory of this miracle performed by Moses, surely with the power of Yahweh, would be in Ofni´s mind and would relate it to his sons and his sons' sons. ISRAEL'S JOURNEY THROUGH THE DESERT OF SIN LEAVING ELIM´S OASIS BEHIND, the aridity and heat of the desert of Sin became apparent. The older ones began to complain to Moisés for the lack of food and water. Ofni could not conceive how his people would obtain food in this hot, arid and lifeless plain. Ofni had never been hungry like now; before starting this journey 1 Hebrew: Sea of Reeds or Lake of the Papyri, erroneously translated in the Bible as the Red Sea 3 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño from the Nile´s country, he had always enjoyed a good diet: wheat or barley flour bread, papyrus, honey, cheese, figs, fish, various waterfowl, and on special occasions, lamb meat, or newborn kid. The supply of dried fish that his family kept had run out; he likewise lacked wheat and barley to make bread, and honey to sweeten it. Ofni knew that they would not be able to resist the march through the desert without these indispensable foodstuffs and with the little water that remained after filling the leather bags with water from the Elim oasis. During the afternoon of that day, a quail cloud appeared in the sky. Many perched on the ground and could easily be caught with the hands. Where they came from? The miracle was repeated every day, providing food for everyone. We will not die for lack of meat, Ofni thought. The next morning, Ofni awoke to the cries of surprise and delight that the people uttered, upon finding a whitish thing that covered the earth like frost; it looked like wheat flour and tasted like bread with honey. Man-ha? Man-ha? 2 the people exclaimed. "This is the bread that I promised you," Moses pointed out. "They will have all the bread they want until they are fed up," added the leader, "but on the sixth day of the week they must gather twice as much as they can eat, because Saturday is the seventh day, the rest of Yahweh, and on that day, they will not find the Bread from Heaven”. TRIP OF ISRAEL THROUGH THE DESERT OF SIN TO REPHIDIM DAY AFTER DAY, THROUGHOUT the journey through the desert of Sin, Ofni verified that manna flakes appeared daily with the dew of the cold dawn. The manna that was not collected melted under the rays of the hot morning sun. Ofni observed that manna was more abundant where there were more shrubs and desert tamarisk trees, but the connection between the appearance of manna and the shrubs was beyond Ofni's comprehension; surely Moses knew about this relationship, because no one but him had lived in the desert ─when he traveled to the land of Midian, fleeing from justice after killing an Egyptian who mistreated one of his own─ but Ofni did not dare to ask him. Israel's march continued through the desert until they camped in the mining region of Dophca3 where the children of Israel,4 Moses noted, had worked as slaves obtaining copper and turquoise for the king of Egypt. Ofni observed the mouths of the numerous caverns on the sides of the mountain, as well as the remains of bonfires and previous camps that proved the stay of his ancestors in this mining center. From Dophca the caravan advanced to Alu’s, where they camped again. Three days later they arrived at Rephidim, where there was no water. The elders once again claimed Hebrew: What is this? Exclamation later transformed into manna, which means “bread from heaven”) Philology reveals that Dophca means “mining center”. 4 In this essay, the children of Israel are the descendants of Jacob/Israel from the Bible. 2 3 4 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño that Moses had taken them out of the Nile and the wells of Elim to take them to the desert where they would die without water. Ofni, with a parched throat from thirst, thought that this would be the end, since Moses looked troubled, restless, as if searching for something in the rocks of the desert. Faced with the desperate situation, Moses raised his rod and struck a rock hard, from which clean and fresh water flowed to drink. Moses, Aaron and other elders also managed to make water flow from the rocks by hitting them strongly with their rods. The people of Israel would not die of thirst. But behind the rocks something more than water arose: the tribes of Amalek were encamped near the place, and they were certainly not friendly to the children of Israel... 5 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño F O R E W O R D OF THE BOOKS THAT MAKE UP the Old Testament of the Bible, none is as important because of its meaning for the Israelite people, or as exciting and interesting because of the miracles and wonders it contains, as the book of Exodus. In this exciting story, Moses the Levite, under the orders of his god and clothed with his great power, frees the people of Israel from the slavery imposed by Pharaoh of Egypt, after causing numerous plagues that relentlessly fell on the country of the Nile. He leads them through the Red Sea, which opens before them, then closes on the pursuing Egyptian army, drowning many of them, including Pharaoh; and finally, he leads them to the Promised Land after a forty-year wilderness wandering. During his journey through Sinai, Moses makes manna fall from heaven to appease hunger, and water gush forth from the rocks to quench the thirst of his people. At the climax of the story, Moses gives the people of Israel the tablets engraved by the finger of their god Jehovah, (Yahweh's deformation) with the Ten Commandments, the laws on servants, property, homicide, various civil laws, moral laws, and the three solemn festivals in which the people of Israel must celebrate Jehovah. The main and quintessential hero of the people of Israel is Moses. Four generations before Moses, the Israelites, brought to Egypt by Joseph,5 at the time grand vizier of Pharaoh, “they had multiplied until they covered the face of the earth”. Pharaoh, surprised by the rapid growth of the Israelites in the Nile´s country, and fearing that in the event of war the Asians would ally with the enemy, orders the midwives that every male newborn of a Hebrew woman be drowned in the waters of the river. To save him from Pharaoh's threat, Moses' mother, who had hidden her newborn son for three months, placed him in a reed casket caulked with mud and bitumen, and placed it in the river next to a reed patch. Pharaoh's daughter, accompanied by her maidens, was washing on the river bank when she noticed the floating reed box, and ordered one of the maidens to bring it to her, discovering the "Hebrew child" inside it. Moses was taken to the palace where he was raised and educated as a prince. As an adult, Moses kills an Egyptian who was whipping an Israelite slave, for which he has to flee Egypt. In Midian, Jehovah commands him to return and break free his people from oppression. Upon their return, Moses and his brother Aaron request permission from Pharaoh for the Israelite workers to enjoy 5 Son of Israel, grandson of Isaac, great-grandson of Abraham. 6 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño privileges to carry out the rites and festivals of their people, but faced with Pharaoh's refusal, and with the power of their god Jehovah, they drop numerous plagues on the people of Egypt. Pharaoh finally agrees to the departure of the Israelite people, but later changes his mind and pursues them until he reaches them at the "crossing" of the Red Sea, where he is drowned as the waters close over the Egyptian army. What is the true meaning of the Exodus account? Is it perhaps a legendary foundational history of Israel? Or a mythological passage of the Israelite people, in the style of Greek and Mesopotamian myths, where the hero's exploits are promoted and exalted? Does the story have a historical background turned into a legend due to inexplicable events taken by the people of Israel as a manifestation of their god Jehovah? In the latter case, how could the plagues and passage through the Red Sea be explained? Most Biblical scholars consider the Exodus to be a historical event, occurring during the 13th century BC, most likely during the reign of Ramesses II or his successor Merenptah. At first, it is clear that only the Bible refers to this story. In the history of Egypt that we know, there is no mention of the people of Israel occupying the land of the Nile; the succession of events as notable as The Ten Plagues that befell the Egyptians is not described; nor the epic flight of the Israelites and their passage through the Red Sea; still less the death of a drowned pharaoh with his army in an attempt to reach them. To explain the lack of mention of the Israelites in Egyptian history, it is alluded to the little importance that the Egyptians gave to the pastoral people settled on the eastern margin of the Delta; it is almost certain that they referred to the people of Israel as Asians (Amu) and not as Israelites. In fact, both the terms Israelite and Hebrew 6 began to be used late, after the conquest of Canaan by the tribes of Israel. As for the flight of the Israelites and the death of Pharaoh and his army, one could also allude to the fact that the Egyptians only wrote about their triumphs, and not about their defeats. But in this way, we only manage to explain the possible reason why the Israelites do not appear in the story of Egypt, without providing authentic evidence for the Biblical account of Exodus. For this reason, it is extraordinarily difficult to give credence to the story, except perhaps for believers, who accept it without the slightest analysis of it and without evidence, since it represents the word of God. On the other hand, if it were possible to find any written evidence of Biblical plagues from non-Israelite sources, many would be willing to accept the probability of this account. It would also require, from a logical and completely neutral point of view, a physical explanation for such remarkable events, including what happened at the Red Sea, and even more, evidence that such physical phenomena occurred precisely Israelite: descendant of the tribe of Israel. Hebrew: hibru, probably “from the other side” – the Jordan River. The use of these terms in the Bible -during the Israelite stay in Egypt- is anachronic. 6 7 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño at the time that preceded the Exodus. This task seems impossible to carry out, since there is no agreement about the date of Exodus, and the Bible itself does not indicate it, of course. The name of the Egyptian king referred to as Pharaoh is not even mentioned, in order to relate it to a dynastic period and a probable date. In fact, the term Pharaoh 7 is used ─as if it were the name of the king─ from the time of the patriarch Abraham and his great-grandson Joseph, until the time of Moses (Levi's great-grandson, brother of Joseph, children of Israel); and even this title is anachronistic, indicating that the writings of Genesis and Exodus are much later than the date in which these accounts are set. This essay intends to demonstrate that the stories of the plagues, the Exodus and the events of the Red Sea could have occurred and have a natural explanation (which does not exclude divine intervention). The possible dates are analyzed and a connection is established with the greatest natural catastrophe in times of historical man. The title of pharaoh from par-h or par-o, which means the great house, came into use during the XVIII Dynasty (1570 – 1321 BC) of the New Kingdom. 7 8 E x o d us P A R T Alfonso J. Treviño I THE BIBLE'S STORY: FROM JOSEPH TO MOSES JOSEPH IN EGYPT JACOB, SON OF ISAAC, GRANDSON of Abraham, chosen by his Lord God (Yahweh) under the name of Israel, fathered twelve children: Reuben, Levi, Simeon, Judah, Issachar and Zebulon, with Leah, Rachel's sister; Gad and Asher with Zelfa, servant of Lea; Joseph and Benjamin with his wife Raquel; Dan and Naftali with Bela, Raquel's slave. Joseph, the favorite son of Israel ─because he had had him in his old age─ dreamed once that the sun, the moon and eleven stars bowed down before him, which his family interpreted as arrogance, and his father rebuked him saying: “What dream is this that you dreamed? Shall I, your mother and your brothers come to bow down to you to the ground?” Because of their jealousy and envy, the children of Israel sold his brother Joseph to the Midianites, who took him as a slave to Egypt. Potiphar, captain of Pharaoh's guard, bought Joseph and brought him to his house, where he made him steward and entrusted him with all his goods. Potiphar's wife tried to seduce Joseph to no avail, but when she was rebuffed, she falsely accused Joseph of trying to dishonor her, for which reason Joseph was sent to prison with the king's prisoners, including the royal baker and the chief of the king's cupbearers. Joseph interpreted their dreams, telling the baker that in three days he would be hanged, and the chief cupbearer that in three days he would be freed and restored to his position. Joseph's interpretations were fulfilled and the baker was executed, and the cupbearer released. Two years after these events, Pharaoh had a disturbing dream: seven skinny and lean cows on the banks of a river devoured seven beautiful and fat cows. In a second dream, Pharaoh dreamed of seven full and beautiful ears, devoured by seven small and dejected ears. The next morning, Pharaoh awoke in agitated spirit, and called all the magicians and wise men of Egypt; he told them his dreams, but there was no one to interpret them. It was then that the chief cupbearer remembered his cellmate Joseph, who had predicted his release and reinstatement to his royal position, and thus referred him to Pharaoh. Pharaoh sent for Joseph to prison, who after a haircut and a change of clothes appeared before the king, and heard about his dreams. Joseph told Pharaoh that both dreams were one; there would be in Egypt seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. Joseph recommended to Pharaoh, get a prudent and wise man to 9 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño rule over all the land of Egypt, and order requisition during the seven good years, saving the excess wheat for the seven bad years. Pharaoh agreed to this deal and made Joseph his grand vizier, ruling over all the land of Egypt. ISRAEL AND HIS SONS IN EGYPT Pharaoh named Joseph ZAPHNATH-PAANEAH (revealer of the occult), and gave him Asenath, daughter of Potipherah, priest of On, for wife. Joseph begot with Asenath ─before the first year of famine─ two sons, and he named the firstborn Manasseh (Oblivion) and the second Ephraim (Fruitful). And the seven years of bonanza followed by seven years of drought came. When famine struck, Joseph opened his barns and sold the wheat to the Egyptians. In those days, drought and famine also ravaged the lands of Canaan, and Jacob-Israel sent his sons to buy wheat in Egypt. Joseph recognized his brothers without their identifying him, and commanded them to bring his father and his younger brother Benjamin to Egypt, after which he reconciled with them. The children of Israel, with their families and livestock settle in Goshen, on the eastern banks of the mouth of the Nile (east of Avaris). The tribes of Israel grew and multiplied, finding prosperity and harmony with the natives. When Israel died, he was embalmed in the Egyptian custom, and then, according to his wishes, he was taken to Canaan and buried in a cave at Machpelah. Joseph forgave his brothers for the harm they had caused him, and asked them to take his bones to the land of Canaan sworn to by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because the tribes of Israel would certainly return to the land of his fathers. Joseph saw the sons of Ephraim and Manasseh to the third generation; he died at the age of one hundred and ten, was embalmed and put in a coffin in Egypt. (And thus ends the last verse (26) of the final chapter (50) of the book of Genesis). SLAVERY OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL (The book of Exodus begins with the names of the sons of Jacob who entered the land of Egypt with their families) The tribes of Israel grew and multiplied in Egypt, until the land was filled with them. But a king "who did not know Joseph" came to power in Egypt, and Pharaoh said to his people: The children of Israel form a stronger people than ours. Tributes were intensified and the Hebrews were subjected to slavery and mistreatment. Pharaoh ordered the building of the tent (warehouse) cities Pitom and Pi-Rameses, and used the children of Israel as slave laborers in the construction. Despite this, the children of Israel multiplied and grew, so the Egyptians increased their toughness; They 10 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño embittered their life with hard servitude, forcing them rigorously to make clay and brick, in the field work, and in all their service. To prevent the multiplication of the tribes, Pharaoh ordered the midwives first, and then the people, to throw all the newborn sons of Hebrews into the river, and save the lives of the daughters. MOSES THE LEVITE (DESCENDANT OF LEVI) A MAN OF THE FAMILY of Levi took a daughter of Levi as his wife, who conceived and gave birth to a beautiful son who she hid for three months, and then decided to put him in a reed bed on the river bank in a reed box caulked with mud. and bitumen. Downriver, Pharaoh's daughter noticed the casket in the water, and sent a maiden to bring it; she saw the crying child and felt compassion, deciding to keep him, and then she called a Hebrew for the upbringing (who was the same mother of the child), and she called him Moses. Grown up, Moses left the palace and saw the enslaved Hebrews; and he observed an Egyptian wounding one of his brothers, so he killed him, hid him in the sand, and fled to the land of Midian. The prince of the place, Jethro, had seven daughters and numerous sheep; As Moses defended his daughters from some shepherds, and grazed the sheep, Jethro gave Moses his daughter Zipporah as his wife, with whom he fathered a son whom he named Gershom: a foreigner in a strange land. During his stay in Midian, Moses had a revelation: Yahweh appeared to him in a bush that was on fire, told him about the pact he had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and ordered Moses, Joseph's great-grandnephew, to bring out his people of Egypt and take them to the land of their ancestors in Canaan. Moses returned to the land of Egypt, where the old king had died and the children of Israel sighed because of his bondage and cried out for his deliverance. Moses would be the instrument of Yahweh to free his people from slavery and take them to the Promised Land of Canaan. THE PLAGUES SENT TO EGYPT BY YAHWEH MOSES AND HIS BROTHER AARON request permission from the new king of Egypt so that his Hebrew brothers could celebrate offerings to Yahweh in the desert. Not only did Pharaoh refuse to grant this permission, but he intensified the mistreatment and workloads of the Hebrews, so Yahweh established Moses as a god for Pharaoh, and his brother Aaron as a prophet; he commanded him to show miracles before Pharaoh and lead his people out of Egypt. Moses threw his staff before Pharaoh, turning into a snake. But Pharaoh's wise men and magicians did the same, and turned their rods into snakes. 11 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño Through Moses and his brother Aaron, Yahweh casts a series of calamities on the Egyptians, failing to make Pharaoh relent and free the people of Israel. Ten successive plagues struck the Egyptians: Moses smote the river with his rod and the water turned to blood; the water was repulsive to drink; the fish in the river died. The frogs of the rivers, canals and ponds jumped out of the water and covered the land of Egypt; When the frogs died in the houses, in the atriums and in the fields, the land became infested. All the dust on the earth turned into mosquitoes that descended on men and animals. A multitude of horseflies fell on the house of Pharaoh and his servants, and on all the land of Egypt, which became corrupt. A deadly plague annihilated the cattle that were in the fields, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the oxen and the sheep. Men and animals developed pustules and tumors. Thunder, hail and fire fell on the land of Egypt destroying the trees and pastures. A hurricane wind brought the locusts to Egypt that devoured the grass, the wheat and the fruit of the trees. Dense darkness covered Egypt for three days. Finally, in the middle of the night, Yahweh killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh to the firstborn of the prisoner, and all the firstborn of animals. A great cry resounded in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not a dead person. That night Pharaoh called Moses and his brother Aaron and granted them permission to go out with their families and livestock. THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL LEAVE EGYPT (EXODUS) THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL DEPARTED from Rameses to Succoth, but they did not follow the path of the Land of the Philistines, ─for fear of being persecuted─ but the path of the desert, towards the Red Sea (Reed Sea) There were about 600,000 infants without counting the children. By day a column of cloud guided them on their way and by night a column of fire gave them light. Pharaoh regrets having granted permission to the Hebrew servants and has his chariot prepared. He took six hundred chariots with their chiefs, horses, and armies, and reached the children of Israel at Pihairot, opposite Baalsephon. Clothed with the power of Yahweh, Moses raised his hand over the sea, and a strong east wind divided the waters. The tribes of Israel crossed the dry sea between two walls of water, but when the Egyptians pursued them with their chariots and armies, the waters came together and Pharaoh and his knights were drowned without a single escape. The people of Israel continued on their way to Sinai, through the desert of Shur, where they walked for three days without finding water. They arrived at Mara (Mara means bitterness, hence the name the Hebrews gave to the place) where they could not drink the water because it was bitter. And they continued to Elim, where there were twelve sources of water and seventy palm trees, and there they camped. 12 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño The people of Israel continued on their way to Sinai through the desert of Sin. Yahweh provided them with quail for meat, manna from Heaven for bread, and Moses made water flow from the rocks. While they were camping in Rephidim, they were attacked by the sons of Amalek, but Joshua exterminated the Amalekites with “the edge of the sword”. On Mount Sinai, Moses received from Yahweh the Ten Commandments and the moral code that would govern the people of Israel from then on. And so, after the Exodus, the long forty-year pilgrimage of the Israelites began, towards the Promised Land of Canaan. 13 E x o d us P A R T Alfonso J. Treviño I I DOUBTS AND MYSTERIES ABOUT THE EXODUS THREE QUESTIONS THE BIBLICAL STORY OF THE EXODUS, where the Israelites flee from Egypt and the enslaving tyranny of the oppressive pharaohs, is among the most dramatic and spectacular stories in the Old Testament of the Bible, sacred scripture for Jews, Christians and Muslims. Certainly, there are many doubts and unsolved mysteries, regarding the account of the Exodus, the plagues, the passage through the Red Sea, the survival of the tribes of Israel in the desert, their long pilgrimage of forty years in Sinai and the conquest of the Promised Land of Canaan. THREE BIG QUESTIONS loom over the Exodus story, and especially about the portents of the plagues and the crossing of the Red Sea, whose waters “open to make way for the Israelites” and suddenly “close on the cavalry of the Egyptian army”, drowning them all. 1. HOW CAN IT BE INTERPRETED? Distorted true event? Folklore tradition? Religious myth? 2. WHEN DID THE EVENTS OF THE EXODUS ACCOUNT OCCUR? 17th, 16th, 15th or 13th centuries BC? 3. WHAT CAUSED IT? Natural phenomena? Divine intervention? Unknown forces? ۞ THE FIRST QUESTION ۞ HOW CAN THE EXODUS ACCOUNT BE INTERPRETED? Some argue that it is a nice adventure tale, or perhaps a legend from the folklore tradition of the Jewish people about some (very distorted) event in their remote past, before their settlement in the land of Canaan. In Egyptian history, from at least 3000 years BC, the stay of the Israelites in Egypt is not mentioned, even less, their massive departure from the country preceded by the very notorious events that must have been the Ten Plagues, and the terrible defeat of the army Egyptian when trapped by the waters of the Red Sea, a place where even the pharaoh drowned. Indeed, in the known history of Egypt no allusions to these events have been found. 14 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño Those who grant some credibility to the story can be divided into three groups: Devotees, who do not analyze the event, do not ask questions or make interpretations; They accept the story as a historical fact and the miracles by the work and grace of God. The other two groups do not necessarily rule out divine intervention, but partially accept the supposed events. The enlightened defend the narration, but explain that miracles are natural phenomena (some resort to divinity to generate them) such as tremors, volcanic eruptions or tidal waves, and their consequences, such as hail, hurricanes, mortality, insect plagues, etc. Finally, the most critical reject most of the story, as well as the portents or miracles, considering that it is a late myth ─turned into a folkloric tradition─ about the departure of a group of Semitic families from Egypt, where they lived in conditions of social and economic inequality with the natives, or in outright slavery. The most mysterious aspects of the Israelite Exodus are: The Ten Plagues that fell on Egypt, causing selective death for the Egyptians; The Passage through the Red Sea; The Journey through the desert, and the survival of the emigrants with the manna from heaven, the quails and the water that springs from the rocks. Since it is not easy to prove that the biblical plagues and events at the Red Sea were natural phenomena, thousands of researchers over hundreds of years have debated the type of events that could have given rise to such an impressive story. Since cultural anthropology supports the thesis that a germ of truth exists underlying almost all legends and folklore traditions, even the most critical should consider that the Exodus story has a historical background, and that something may have made a deep impression in the Israelites, which was taken as the unleashed wrath of their God against the Egyptian oppressors. Considering this as the most probable and unprejudiced interpretation, allows us to continue the analysis of the story. But an event of such magnitude must have been recorded in the annals of Egyptian history and that of other neighboring peoples, and although these descriptions apparently do not exist in known historical documents, some researchers maintain that they do, and not in one, but in various writings of the time or later. These documents establish a clear relationship between Hebrew and Egyptian history, and between these two and that of an Arab people who faced the Israelites when they began their pilgrimage through the desert towards Canaan, after the commotions caused by the plagues: this people are referred to in the Bible as the sons of Amalek. VELIKOVSKY AND THE EGYPTIAN DOCUMENTS THE PSYCHOANALYST AND WRITER Immanuel Velikovsky in his work "Chaotic Centuries" presents an in-depth analysis of Egyptian and Amalekite documents, which leaves no doubt regarding the description of numerous calamities that simultaneously 15 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño afflicted both peoples. The Egyptian documents are two papyri and a black granite inscription found in the town of al-Arish, on the current border between Egypt and Israel. The Ipuwer papyrus was found in Memphis and acquired in 1828 by the Leiden Museum, in the Netherlands. His writing is hieratic and contains descriptions of ruins and horror, earthquakes, “rivers of blood”, repulsive water undrinkable by the thirsty, devastating fire, crops ruined by hail and locusts. Some passages describe: "the geese and fish die", "the cattle moan and scatter", "the earth is left without light"; “even the sons of princes are thrown against the walls and into the street”, “there are moans and lamentations throughout the land”. The last two passages suggest an earthquake with multiple casualties and injuries. The Hermitage papyrus, kept in The Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, also refers to a series of catastrophes that ended the Egyptian empire, and the country then fell victim to invading nomads. The literary style of this papyrus is prophetic, that is, it does not describe the present or the past, but what will happen in the future; however, the description of the plagues, darkness and general ruin are similar to those of the Ipuwer papyrus. The granite inscription discovered in alArish, and currently in the Ismailia Museum, describes the same plagues, darkness and ashes, desolation and death in Egypt, at the same time that intruders led by King Apophis invade the convulsed country of the Nile (This last allusion could refer to the Hyksos invasion in c1650 BC) According to Velikovsky´s conclusions, the invading nomads of the Hermitage papyrus are none other than the Amalekites who flee from the Arabian desert and take advantage of the chaos and confusion in Egypt to settle as invaders and later become a dynasty of pharaohs, the so-called Hyksos or “foreign kings” (also known as Asiatic kings) This invasion, according to Velikovsky, occurred after the Exodus (which is unacceptable) and the sons of Amalek who confront the Israelites fleeing from Egypt, are the Hyksos who arrive in the country of the Nile to invade it. Similarly, Velikovsky suggests that the first Hyksos pharaoh, Apophis, is none other than the Amalekite king Agog. The exact time when the Egyptian documents were written, or the time to which they referred, is not known. History places the invasion of the Hyksos between 17001650 BC, well before the earliest date that has been considered for the Exodus. Egyptian documents possibly refer to the end of the Middle Kingdom ending with the Hyksos invasion, and were written sometime later. Despite not sharing Velikovsky's ideas regarding an exodus prior to the Hyksos invasion, his analysis of the Egyptian documents about the calamities that afflicted them, similar to the plagues described in the Old Testament of the Bible, is useful to support the thesis that these are true and perhaps periodic events in the country of the Nile, and not only the product of the imagination. 16 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño VELIKOVSKY AND THE ARABIC DOCUMENTS VELIKOVSKY ALSO ANALYZED THE ARAB TRADITIONS regarding plagues. The Book of Songs (Kitab-Alleghanyite) points to the Abul’s Farad tradition, written between 897 and 967 A.D. where plagues, earthquakes and a flood by an immense wave are described. In this story the plagues are from ants that forced the Amalekites to leave Mecca. Then came drought and famine. Finally, as the Amalekite tribes were marching to their homeland, the Lord sent them the “toufan” – a flood. According to tradition, this punishment was applied to the Amalekites when they "violated the privileges of the sacred territory." Sheba, in southern Arabia, Mecca and the 1,500 kilometers of the Red Sea coast were destroyed. Masuda, an Arab historian who died in about 956, also recounts "plagues of ants", "flying clouds" and other signs of "the anger of the Lord" that caused many to perish in Mecca. A torrent flooded the land of Djohainah and the entire population drowned in one night. In tumult and disorder, fleeing the plagues and driving their herds of animals, the Amalekites arrived on the shores of the Red Sea. Other ancient Arab historians described similar disturbances, coinciding with the torrential deluge preceded by the plagues that struck the Arabian Peninsula, and the mobilization of the Amalekite tribes toward the Red Sea, where many drowned. In conclusion, it is important to point out that the common fund of calamity highlighted in these stories allows to establish a historical and geographical context of a terrible catastrophe: tremors, plagues, floods, darkness due to the hiding of the sun and tidal waves registered by Egyptians, Hebrews and Arabs; undoubtedly affecting a vast territory of Egypt, Sinai, Arabia and the natural watery separation between these lands: the Red Sea, the Gulf of Suez, and the portion of swampy land and lakes now occupied by the Suez Canal. AN EGYPTOLIST DECLARES SOME EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS, ATTRIBUTED TO Queen Hatshepsut, (1513-1470 BC) have been used by the Egyptologist Hans Goedicke, from the Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, Maryland, as proof of the Israelite stay in the Nile´s country, of their departure from Egypt and of a notable calamity that befell during their flight. According to Goedicke´s translation of the text, Hatshepsut refers to a people called the Amu, which included a group of foreigners known as the Shemau. Amu is the Egyptian term that denotes the Semites or Asiatics. The Israelites were foreign Semites, having been authorized to occupy the eastern bank of the mouth of the Nile. Queen Pharaoh had revoked the Shemau's special privileges because they "had not 17 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño fulfilled the tasks assigned to them." After allowing “these abominations of the gods” to leave the country, the “father of fathers” (Nun, god of waters and storms, according to Goedicke) “appeared suddenly” and “the earth swallowed up his footprints". In this Egyptian version of the exodus interpreted by Goedicke, it is the Israelites who are drowned, and not the forces of Pharaoh. Despite Goedicke's critics accusing him of taking too many liberties with translation and interpretation, he highlights at least one undisputed reality: a group of undesirable foreign Semites left Egypt and was never heard from again. This event occurred during the period of Hatshepsut, who reigned from 1513 to 1470 BC The reason for the discrepancy refers rather to the identity of the "father of fathers", which in the opinion of these critics is the sun-God Amun-Ra and not Nun, God of the waters, and the phrase "the earth swallowed their tracks” simply means that the Semites disappeared. Goedicke's statement establishes at least the stay of Semitic emigrants, workers or slaves in Egypt, and their subsequent departure under unclear conditions, the latter event which was not well received by the Egyptians. THE ROUTE OF THE EXODUS THE DEPARTURE OF THE ISRAELITES from Egypt can be easily traced on the map. In the first place, the account expresses that they did not follow "the way of the Land of the Philistines", which would be the main route between Egypt and Asia via Palestine, a term derived from the Peleset Sea People who probably migrated from Crete.8 Although this was the shortest route, it was surely well guarded by soldiers who controlled traffic in both directions. If the main road was risky, the Israelites should have headed south of this road. They left Pi-Rameses (or perhaps Avaris, a much older city around the same site) in the eastern arm of the Delta, to Succoth (Sukkot), presently identified as Tell Maskhuta in the Wadi (dry river bed) Tumilat. After camping in Etham (Ethan), at the entrance of the desert, they continued to Pihairot (maybe a site called “mouth of the channel”). The Bible places this place "between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baalsephon". In Egyptian texts, Miktol appears, which means “tower”, probably a military fort that guarded the caravan route to Sinai, a site that corresponds to the excavations of Abu Hasan, 23 kilometers north of Suez. The next episode refers to the crossing of the Red Sea. The Hebrew words “Yam Suph” have been translated as Red Sea in the Bible, however, the modern translation admits that this is an error, since Yam Suph should be read as “Sea of Reeds” or “Lake of Reeds or Papyri”, and therefore, it is not about the Gulf of Suez (arm of the This People of the Sea emigrated to Palestine (land of the Philistines) around 1200 BC, so the story of the Exodus was written after the Philistine settlement, regardless of when it occurred. 8 18 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño Red Sea), and even less about the Red Sea itself. This Sea of Reeds, disappeared by the construction of the Suez Canal, connected with Lake Timsah (Lake of Crocodiles), and further south with the Bitter Lakes. Therefore, the crossing through a Lake of Reeds, surely shallow, seems more feasible. 78 kilometers from the northern end of the Gulf of Suez there is still a spring of salty and sulphurous water, called by the Bedouins "Ain Haw rash". It is probably Marah, where the Israelites refused to drink the water because of its bitter taste. 23 kilometers to the south, approximately a day's walk away, is the Wadi Gharandel, with multiple water wells and abundant palm trees, which allows its identification with Elim, the second stop of the Israelites. After Elim begins the plain of Sin, on the shores of the Red Sea, currently known as the El Kaa Plane. QUAILS, MANNA AND WATER THAT SPOUTS FROM THE ROCKS THE EXODUS OF THE ISRAELITES happened at the beginning of spring, when the great migrations of birds occur. From Africa, which becomes hot and dry during the summer, the birds fly to Europe via two routes: from the west coast of Africa to Spain; and from the eastern coast to the Balkans. During the first months of the year, the quails, along with other birds, fly over the Red Sea, and exhausted by the flight, they settle to rest on the shore, to continue their journey over the mountains and the Mediterranean. The Jewish historian Flavio Josef describes such an experience, and even today, the Bedouin catch by hand the birds that settle to rest. Regarding manna, the German botanist G. Ehrenberg discovered in 1823 that manna is nothing more than the secretion exuded by tamarisk bushes when their bark is pierced by a Sinai flea. There is extensive botanical and commercial information, since this product is one of the main exports of Sinai. Indeed, the production and export of manna is registered in the botanical indices of the Middle East, and comes from the Tamarix Manifers Ehr plant. In years of good production, the Sinai Bedouins collect up to two kilograms per head, enough to satisfy a person's hunger. This resinous secretion, the manna, only occurs when the tamarisk tree is parasitized by the flea. Falling to the ground, the manna has the shape and size of a coriander seed, white in color and sweet in taste. If left on the ground, as soon as the temperature reaches 21°C, the manna is devoured by ants, so it seems to "melt" and disappear. After this explanation, there is no doubt that the account of manna from heaven in Exodus is completely true. When Moses, being in Rephidim, struck the rock with his rod, and made water gush forth to quench the thirst of his people, everything seemed to be a miracle. 19 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño However, in the 1930s, a British major, C. S. Jarvis, then Governor of Sinai, discovered while digging a well, that when he slashed through a desert limestone rock with his sword, water gushed out of the rock in abundance, enough to several thirsty men from the Sinai Camel Corps, which Jarvis commanded. The experiment was repeated with other limestone rocks with the same result. Moses must have learned this method of obtaining water from the limestone rocks of the desert during his stay in Midian, but to the Israelites, who did not know it, it seemed like a miracle. Conclusions: The evidence presented above allows us to affirm the stay of the Israelites in Egypt, possibly for 4 generations. The historical record of a series of calamities ─very similar to the Biblical plagues─ that afflicted the Egyptians (and the Amalekites, on the eastern shore of the Red Sea), as well as the departure from Egypt of a group of Semites during the reign of Hatshepsut. The route followed by the Israelites when leaving Egypt, the passage through the Yam Suph, and their journey in the desert, have geographical and archaeological feasibility. The "miracles" of the quails, the manna and the water gushing from the rocks are explainable by natural causes. The Exodus account has some logical, historical, and geographical foundation. ۞ T H E S E C O N D Q U E S T I O N ۞ WHEN DID THE EXODUS OCCUR? This question is still today the subject of bitter debate. The scholars of this subject support their theories about the date of the Exodus in logical arguments and evidence of a historical, archaeological and biblical nature. Others have tried to establish a relationship between the plagues that struck Egypt before the Exodus, as well as the miracles or inexplicable events in the Red Sea, with some natural catastrophe such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis, which have been recorded historically or whose effects we are aware of, to more precisely locate the date of the Exodus. As a result of these studies, four different opinions stand out regarding the date of the Exodus that can be classified as follows: ● Late date, in the 13th century BC during the reign of Ramesses II ─or Ramesses II─ (1279–1213 BC) or his successor Merenptah (1213–1203 BC). ● Intermediate date, around 1450 BC during the reign of Tuthmosis III (1504–1450 BC according to the High Chronology). ● Early date, between 1560 and 1520 BC coinciding with the expulsion of the Hyksos and the foundation of the 18th Dynasty by Ahmose or his successor Amenhotep I. 20 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño ● Recently (2009) Barbara J. Sivertsen has proposed an Exodus in two stages: the first in an early date and before 1560 BC, in fact in 1625 BC, during the reign of the Hyksos from their capital in Avaris, and coinciding with the Minoan eruption of the Tera volcano on the island of Santorini; the second stage in 1450 BC during the reign of Tuthmosis III according to the High chronology (1504–1450 BC) instead of the conventional Egyptian chronology (1479–1425 BC) This stage would coincide with the eruption of the Yali volcano in the Aegean Sea in 1450, and with the end of the reign and death of Tuthmosis III. RAMESSES II THE OPPRESSOR PHARAOH AND MERENEPTAH THE PHARAOH OF THE EXODUS? During a good part of the 20th century, some scholars considered that the Israelite Exodus from Egypt could have occurred during the reign of Ramesses II, that is, between 1279 and 1213 BC. or something after the last date, during the reign of Merenptah, successor of Ramesses. His argument in favor of the 13th century BC it is based on the assumption that the "warehouse cities" called Pitom and Pi-Rameses in the Bible, were built by Israelite slaves under the rule of Ramesses II. The names PiRameses and Ramesses use the same phonetic roots, so they are very similar: PiRameses means "the house of Ra", while Ramesses means "the son of Ra", and therefore, although it is awarded this city to Ramesses II in the 13th century BC, built on or very close to the ruins of another older city (perhaps Avaris), was not necessarily the city built by the Hebrews in the same place but at another time. In addition, the supposition that the Israelites left Egypt in the 13th century BC finds numerous inconsistencies when analyzed in light of certain historical facts: Ramesses II reigned for 67 years; he lived a long life without any mention of Semites or Asiatics in Egypt; he built numerous temples, palaces and statues, though he made no mention of Semitic builders; His main military-political concern was the threat of the Hittites in Syrian-Palestinian territory, but he eventually made peace with them, sealing the pact by marrying a Hittite princess. Merenptah, successor of Ramesses II, left stelae with texts that indicate his fight against the Peoples of the Sea; he made no mention of Semites in Egypt, instead, in a stele with his texts, the nation or tribe of Israel was left "destroyed and without descendants" is mentioned for the first time (military campaign in Palestine, circa 1207 BC). Unless the possibility of a previous exodus, the Israelites could not have left Egypt during the reign of Merenptah, and be at the same time settled in the land of Canaan constituting a nation or country. Furthermore, neither of the two pharaohs, Ramesses II or Merenptah, drowned while chasing a multitude of slaves. This hypothesis is currently abandoned. 21 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño ISRAELITE STAY IN EGYPT: 400 YEARS? THE BIBLE INDICATES A PERIOD of silence of four hundred years, during which the Israelites brought to Egypt by Joseph, remained in the country "multiplying until they covered the earth." If one takes into account that the Bible points to Moses as Joseph's great-grandnephew, that is, four generations from his emigration to Egypt, 400 years is an exaggeratedly long and inconceivable period. Four generations cover a period of 80 to 120 years, perhaps some 100 years, if one considers the young age for childbearing at that primitive time. The prolonged longevity attributed in the Bible to the patriarchs is an unresolved mystery, but it ceases to be if a sustainable alternative is analyzed: they did not measure the years of life as they are measured now. The Egyptians had an annual calendar with a religious “year” and a festive one, “two years” running in the time of one; the patriarchs lived in the land of Canaan, under Egyptian influence, and it is possible that they referred to each year of life by two. Another calendrical version defended by some authors establishes that Hebrews counted the years in two times or changes, called shanas, one for winter and the other for summer. Any way, if the years of life attributed to the patriarchs are adjusted to half years, the result is consistent with reality. On the other hand, some Bible scholars have pointed to the possibility that the Hebrew term four hundred means "many" and not a specific number, such as saying "many years passed." There are other biblical quotes in which the word forty is used, to indicate not a number, but "the change" from one period to another: "forty years of pilgrimage in Sinai"; Moses spent "forty years in Egypt," "forty years with Jethro's sheep in the wilderness," and "forty years in the service of God." “It rained for forty days and forty nights” (the Deluge), etc. For all of the above, and considering that four generations cover around 100 to 120 years, the stay of the tribes of Israel in Egypt, from Joseph to Moses, would not be more than 120 years, and possibly even less. A PHARAOH GRANTS PRIVILEGES TO JOSEPH AND ANOTHER REMOVES THEM TO ESTABLISH THE PROBABLE DATE of the Exodus, it would be of great help to know first, at what time the tribes of Israel arrived in Egypt, and second, how many years they were in the Nile´s country, or at what time they left it. The Second Intermediate Period (1720 – 1556 BC) was a time of political instability in Egypt, which Canaanite invaders took advantage of to rule regions in the Delta. Among them were the Hyksos (foreign rulers) who ruled from Avaris. Flavio Josef (Antiquities) suggested that it was a Hyksos pharaoh who appointed Joseph Grand Vizier of Egypt, taking advantage of this opportunity, so that the tribes of Israel emigrated from Canaan, where there was drought and famine, to Egypt. The Hyksos were an Asian people 22 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño possibly of Semitic origin (although a Hurrian Indo-European component is not ruled out), who invaded and dominated Egypt, establishing themselves as rulers between 1650 and 1556 BC. The Israelites may have migrated to Egypt around 1700 BC, settling in the Goshen region to the east of the Delta, and may have enjoyed privileges during the period of Canaanite rulers (14th Dynasty) of the Nome of Xois, (Khaset, ancient Egyptian city in the center of the Delta) with whom they may have shared some ethnic and cultural ties. The Hyksos appear in this scenario around 1650 BC, establish their capital at Avaris, from where they dominate the entire Delta region, found the 15th Dynasty and extend their rule to Thebes, where the Egyptian princes of the 17th Dynasty remain. It is possible that with the rule of the Hyksos kings, the Israelites have lost the privileges granted by the Canaanite kings in Joseph's time, and have eventually been oppressed or enslaved. In this hypothesis, (proposed by Barbara Sivertsen) the pharaoh who "did not know Joseph" could have been a Hyksos pharaoh (Salitis), who forced the Israelites to work on the construction of temples and fortifications for a generation, and then freed himself and return to Canaan. This early Exodus would have occurred around 1625 BC, that is, some 70 years after Joseph, and is consistent with the possibility of "a Moses" great-grandnephew of Joseph, liberator of the family of Israel. In the Bible it is stated that Levi arrived in Egypt with his son Kohath, Moses' grandfather. There is another possibility. The Hyksos pharaohs were finally driven out in a liberation revolt initiated by the Egyptian prince of Thebes, Kamosis, and ended by his brother (or nephew) and successor Ahmose (1560-1525 BC), who reunified Egypt and founded the 18th Dynasty of the New Empire. The expulsion of the Hyksos (around 1556 BC) was identified by many ancient historians as the Israelite Exodus, and as Kenneth F. Doig proposes, Ahmose would be the pharaoh of the Exodus, allowing the people of Israel to leave Egypt. in 1552 BC, a date that coincides, according to Doig, with the chronology of the Exodus established in I Kings 6:11, noting that the construction of Solomon's temple began 480 years after the Exodus (Doig adds 105 years to this figure –with extensive documentation– to complete 585 years). Once the Hyksos were expelled (1556 BC) and Ahmose dead, Amenophis I (Amenhotep I 15251504 BC) ascended the throne, and began the construction of military forts to protect the Egyptian border in the Delta, later incorporating extensions into his country from Nubia to the west, and from Palestine to the east. If the Israelites were not expelled with the Hyksos, there is also the possibility that the Pharaoh who "did not know Joseph" was Amenhotep, since he knew, according to the Bible itself, that the Hebrews would ally with their enemies in case of war. It is logical to suppose that with the new pharaoh, the Israelites would no longer enjoy privileges, and would be treated little less than as slaves. There was a lot of building activity on the Delta frontier, where the Israelites had lived as herdsmen for three generations. Now they would have to work on building the border cities and fortresses. Amenhotep I may have been 23 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño "the Pharaoh of Oppression," and while one generation of Israelites in Egypt was forced into construction, the next generation surely longed to leave Egypt, preferably with their living families and ancestors, until the opportunity to liberation was presented thus constituting the column of the exodus in this version. Barbara J. Sivertsen proposes the hypothesis of two different Hebrew exodus events remembered and later referred to in the Old Testament as one; although this fusion of accounts leaves some clues in the scriptures, so the suspicion of at least two massive departures of Israelites from Egypt is tenable. The first, in 1625 BC during the reign of the Hyksos, as it was referred above. The second Exodus, according to this author, occurred in 1450 BC during the reign of Tuthmosis III, who would be the pharaoh of the Exodus, preceded by Queen Hatshepsut (first, regent of Tuthmosis and later, self-proclaimed pharaoh of Egypt) as the pharaoh of Oppression. During this period the presence of Amu Semites (probably the Israelites) used in construction work, their rebellious attitude, and their aborted escape from Egypt is documented. The date of 1450 BC It had previously been reported in connection with the volcanic eruption of Tera on the Aegean Island of Santorini, but this cataclysmic eruption is now accepted to have occurred in 1625 BC. But Sivertsen, who is a geologist at the University of Chicago, claims that in 1450 BC a volcanic eruption did occur in the Aegean, but on the island of Yali, associated with a large tsunami. Also, 1450 BC coincides with the 480 years that elapsed after the Exodus until the construction of Solomon's Temple in 970 BC In summary, four possibilities have been presented as the date of the Exodus; the first two during the second intermediate period of the history of Egypt and related to the stay and rule of Canaanite kings in the Delta, and very particularly with the Hyksos and their final expulsion from Egypt by Amosis. The remaining two occur during the beginning of the 18th Dynasty, between the succession of Ahmose and Amenhotep I, and between Hatshepsut and Thutmose III. There remains, of course, the possibility of two or more independent exoduses from Egypt, referred centuries later as one. WHERE WAS PI-RAMESES? AVARIS / RAMESES ─ TELL EL-DAB’A ─ ZARU / SILE ─ TELL ABU SEFAH IN THE OLD TESTAMENT (Exodus and Numbers) the word Ramesses or Ramesses is mentioned five times. Only one mention refers to Pi-Rameses, the warehouse city built by the Israelites by order of Pharaoh; in the other four he refers with this term not to a city, but to a land. Indeed, in Genesis 47: 6 the Pharaoh of Joseph assigns to Jacob (Israel), his family, and his flocks the Land of Goshen to occupy and live in it. However, in Genesis 47:11 Pharaoh himself changes the name 24 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño of this land and designates it as Rameses. The other three mentions of the word refer to Rameses as the land from which the Israelites came out in Exodus. In my opinion it is highly unlikely that the pharaoh Joseph, surely a 17th century BC Canaanite, used the name Rameses, which did not come into vogue until the 13th century BC (Similar to pharaoh, meaning the-great-house, which came into use in the New Kingdom, at least a century later.) This anachronism reveals that these Bible passages were written long after the events, in such a way that already forgotten names of places were changed, for others of more recent memory. Currently, the capital of the Hyksos pharaohs in the Delta, Avaris, has been identified at the site of the Tell el-Dab'a excavations. Avaris was surely destroyed by Ahmose, the Egyptian prince from Thebes who expelled the Hyksos, but later rebuilt a palace adorned with beautiful Minoan frescoes with its remains. This palace was occupied seasonally by the pharaohs of the 18th dynasty founded by Amosis, until Amenhotep III, later falling into ruin and oblivion. It was not until the 13th century BC when Ramesses II built the sacred city of Pi-Rameses very close to Avaris. Was this the city built by the Israelites on the orders of Pharaoh? I do not think so. It is more consistent to consider that it was in the Avaris of the Hyksos (1650 - 1556 BC) where said store city was built, which would support both the Exodus in 1625 and in 1552 BC There is also another hypothesis. At the site of Avaris, the early pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom built military fortresses and warehouses to guard Egypt's border with Asia, in particular the route through Palestine, through which the Hyksos invasion had come. This was a strategic place for the country's military defense, as well as the stopover and review site for commercial caravans that brought products to or from Egypt. Several names have been identified by which a fortress in the region was known at different times, although apparently, they refer to the same city-fortress: Zaru and Sile (this last Greek name), indicated as a fortress in Egyptian writings. Although there is no general agreement, some suppose that the "tent city" Pi-Rameses is none other than the fortress of Sile/Zaru, currently identified with Tell Abu Sefah, next to the dry bed of the peluciac arm of the Nile Delta (Ahmed Osman in his work: "Moses, Pharaoh of Egypt"). The hypothesis proposes that the Israelites built the fortress of Sile/Zaru under the domination of Amenhotep I, who reigned circa 1550-1530 BC If the Hyksos were expelled in 1556 BC, the construction of the fortress began after this date. If this is indeed the “tent city (storehouse) of the Bible, then the Israelites built Sile/Zaru during the reign of Amenhotep I, and the Biblical Exodus occurred around 1540 BC, however, this would be 160 years after their arrival in Egypt, if it occurred in 1700 BC This theory is opposed by scholars who consider the construction of Zaru very old, from the Middle Kingdom or earlier, but the possibility of Israelite interventions for expansions and new constructions in the fortified city is not ruled out. 25 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño WHO WAS MOSES? WHAT WAS HIS TIME? IF THE FIGURE OF MOSES could be identified at some time in Egyptian history, the date of the Exodus could be determined with relative precision. But in reality, historical data indicating his existence is lacking, apart from the Old Testament of the Bible, the Talmud (Jewish collection of oral traditions, laws and rabbinic discussions) and the Koran (Islam's holy book), so some researchers called "biblical minimalists", have affirmed that this character did not exist and that the Exodus is only a myth. However, Manetho, Flavius Josephus, and Philo of Alexandria mention him in their writings, although whether they were based on Jewish traditions or other sources is unknown. Manetho wrote that Moses was not a Jew, but a resentful Egyptian priest, and that the Exodus he led was nothing more than the expulsion of a colony of lepers out of Egypt. Regarding the origin of the name Moses, there are several theories. In ancient Egyptian mses means begotten by, or son of, as in the case of Rameses, son of Ra. During the Eighteenth Dynasty, names ending in mses were used, such as Ahmose and Tuthmosis, son of Tut the latter. Those who believe that Moses was a renegade Egyptian priest suggest that he dropped part of the name, leaving only mses or Moses. This conception of the name has perhaps led some to locate Moses and therefore the Exodus in the Eighteenth Dynasty (1550 - 1295 BC) or even in the XIX Dynasty (1295 - 1186 BC), the latter with two pharaohs Ramesses I and Ramesses II. But according to the biblical story, Miriam, the sister of Moses, watched the journey of the basket in the water until the child was saved by the maidens of the Egyptian princess who would later adopt him, and for that reason she suggested the name Moshe, which in Hebrew means saved from the water (Mo: water, uses: bran). This interpretation coincides with the account explained in the Torah, it does not have to be related to Egyptian names such as Amosis, Tuthmosis or Ramesses, and therefore, it does not commit to a specific era in Egypt. On the other hand, according to the biblical account, Moses was the greatgrandson of Levi, brother of Joseph. When Levi entered Egypt with his family, he was leading his son Kohat, Moses' grandfather, "by the hand." Between Kohat and Moses there are only three generations, which corresponds to a period of 60 to 75 years after his arrival in Egypt. We assume that Joseph arrived in Egypt around 1700 BC, and obtained privileges (which would later allow him to call his family to migrate to Egypt) from a Canaanite pharaoh, for having interpreted his dreams and advised him to prepare for years of drought and famine. If we take this chronology of the descending generations of Israel, Moses could have been a young adult of 30 or 35 years old by 1625 BC, capable of leading his people (possibly 1,000 to 1,500 people) to the Promised Land of Canaan. 26 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño Although much debated, there is a theory about the origin of Moses as the son of an Egyptian pharaoh, which would explain how an Israelite came to the palace of the pharaoh and became a prince. This theory was originated by Artapanes, a philosopher "historian" of the second century BC. quoted by Julius Africanus, in which an alliance between a 13th dynasty pharaoh and a ruling king of a Delta province is noted. This king is identified as Nehesy, first 14th dynasty ruler of Egypt c.1761-1758 BC His name means the Nubian, although it is certain that this sovereign only reigned in the Nile delta, or at least over a part of it. His dynasty, the 14th, controlled the delta in parallel with the 13th dynasty; according to Artapanes there was an alliance, although it is not possible to define with certainty the moment of the beginning, which in any case should be quite close to 1760 a. C. (Recent excavations indicate that scarabs with his name were found in Avaris, modern Tell el-Dab’a). Sebekhotep IV (of the XIII dynasty) is the king indicated by Artapanes (with the name of Ceneferres or Janeferres) who made the alliance with Nehesy the Nubian, and was sealed with the marriage of Janeferres with Merris, princess daughter of Nehesy. What followed is a guess: Merris traveled with her servants (which included a daughter of Levi, Jochebed, noted in the Bible as the mother of Moses) to marry Sebekhotep, who took Jochebed as his concubine, since Merris was barren. If this were true, Moses is born with the right to be a prince and his story does not disagree with the Bible, since his mother nursed him in the very palace of Pharaoh, where he was taken by "Pharaoh's daughter". WHEN DID THE ISRAELITES ARRIVE IN CANAAN? THE DATE OF THE EXODUS MAY be estimated in another way, if the time of the Israelite settlement in Canaan is established. This seems unlikely, since many scholars point out that the "conquest of Canaan" by the Israelites was not a single process, but could have happened gradually, through some battles, peaceful migrations and infiltration of Canaanite cities. It even suggests, not one exodus, but several, and not one conquest, but possibly successive waves of tribes and families migrating, infiltrating, or fighting with the previously established Canaanites to seize their cities. Excavations in the present-day region of Israel-Palestine, in the ancient Land of Canaan, reveal widespread destruction and abandonment of cities towards the end of the Middle Bronze Age (1650-1550 BC). Was this destruction caused by Israelite conquest to Canaan? The abandonment of destroyed cities was apparently followed by a pastoral life that leaves no archaeological trace. All of this might suggest an early exodus, as seems to be indicated by the Israelite presence in Canaan in the 16th century BC, identifiable in the opinion of Kenneth F. Doig, by Israelite names of lands and very ancient villages recorded in Egyptian annals. 27 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño The archaeological ruins of the cities of Canaan and Palestine, supposedly destroyed by the Israelites in their conquest of the "promised land", show evidence of their annihilation in the late 13th and early 12th centuries BC Although this could support the hypothesis of a late exodus in the 13th century BC, archeology cannot determine the origin of the aggressors and destroyers of these cities. Indeed, during the indicated period, the Syrian-Palestinian corridor suffered invasions by the Sea Peoples and military campaigns by Seti I and Ramesses III, in addition to frequent hostilities between the Canaanite cities. On their journey to the land of Canaan, the Israelites requested permission from the kingdoms of Edom and Moab (Numbers: 20-21) to cross their domains, permission that was denied, therefore having to surround those kingdoms. Certain historical evidence seems to indicate that Edom and Moab were not inhabited until the 13th century BC, so some scholars point out that the Exodus cannot be earlier than the 13th century BC However, the possibility of several exoduses is not ruled out, some of them much earlier (in the 17th, 16th or 15th century BC), and others during the 13th century, conveniently remembered as only one at the time this biblical passage was written. WHAT DO THE SACRED SCRIPTURES SAY? THE CORRELATION OF SOME HISTORICAL dates with the Bible´s writings suggests that the exodus may have happened in the 15th or late 16th century BC 1. Solomon's Temple was erected four hundred and eighty years after the Exodus. (I Kings 6:1) It is known that the Temple of Solomon was built in the year 968-970 BC, (in the year 4 of King Solomon) and therefore, the Exodus would be located in the year 1448-1450 BC (15th century), during the joint reign of 2 years of Tuthmosis III and his son Amenhotep II (high chronology). Kenneth Doig adds 105 years (to the 480) of vassalage of the Israelites in Canaan, when they worshiped another god, and not Yahweh, to place the Exodus in 1552 BC 2. The people of Israel wandered in the desert for forty years, and tradition indicates that the times of Joshua, the Judges and the first king, Saul, cover a total of four hundred years. King David was Saul's successor and established his reign in the year 1000 BC, therefore, the date of the Exodus would be very close to that estimated based on the construction of Solomon's Temple: the year 1440 BC 3. The first city conquered and destroyed by the Israelites led by Joshua was Jericho. The archaeological evidence is destruction and subsequent abandonment of this city 28 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño in the 16th century. Kenneth Doig identifies the conquest and destruction of Jericho around 1512, that is, 40 years after the exodus in 1552 BC 4. The Israelites destroyed several cities in Canaan during their conquest of this land; but of the nine identified biblical cities wiped out by them, eight fell in the 15th century BC, and only four were destroyed again in the 13th century BC. These dates were specified by the English archaeologist John Bimson based on the study of the bronzes and pottery found in the ruins. Therefore, these cities were destroyed and rebuilt on more than one occasion, corresponding the first date of the fifteenth century BC. with that of the exodus during the reign of Hatshepsut-Tuthmosis III, which could well be attributed to the Israelites. The second destruction in the 13th century BC, could be the result of the continuous wars in Canaan at that time, where Canaanites, Hittites and Egyptians also participated. 5. The Bible presents two distinct itineraries of the journey to Canaan, which in the opinion of scholars suggests at least two great exoduses. The first occurred in the 15th century BC, and the second in the 13th century BC. However, there is the very attractive possibility of an even earlier exodus, in the 16th century BC, approximately in the year 1520, that is, some 40 years after the expulsion of the Hyksos, during the reign of Amenhotep I. Which of these three groups was headed by Moses? This is not indicated in the Bible, of course, since the sacred scriptures only refer to a single great massive departure of the people of Israel from Egypt: The Exodus, despite numerous evidences and "clues" in the story that suggest various exoduses at different times. Many researchers argue that a single, mass exodus is hardly credible. The journey through the desert of "six hundred thousand people, not counting infants", with animals and belongings, camping in unknown regions, surviving and pilgrimaging for forty years in Sinai, far exceeds the credibility expectations of the most devout believer. Much more viable and feasible is the concept of a long exodus made up of multiple groups, the most important of which, possibly the first, was led by Moses, the hero on whom all the events and wonders that occurred to the various groups, fell. In fact, many scholars, convinced that the people of Israel did indeed migrate from Egypt to Canaan, regard the Exodus epic as a moralistic allegory concocted by later Hebrew theologians to emphasize Yahweh's love for his chosen people. Conclusions: The historical and archaeological evidence, correlated with the Biblical Exodus account, suggests the prolonged departure from Egypt of various groups of Israelite families in route to Canaan. The most probable dates have been previously analyzed ● The first of these groups, perhaps oppressed by the Hyksos, occurred in the 17th century BC, circa 1625, around 70-80 years after their arrival in Egypt with the permission of the Canaanite kings. This was possibly the group led by Moses, (like 29 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño Moshe, “saved from the waters”) Joseph's great-grandnephew, the grand vizier of a Canaanite king. ● Another possible early date is 1552 BC, simultaneous to or after the expulsion of the Hyksos, during the beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty founded by Ahmose. This date proposed by Kenneth Doig, was postulated by Manetho, Flavio Josef and several ancient Greek and Roman historians. ● Another possibility somewhat later in 1540 BC It would be after the expulsion of the Hyksos, when the Israelites, foreign residents in the eastern region of the Delta, lost their privileges and were forced to build the cities-fortresses that would guard the Egyptian border; 9 the oppressive pharaoh would be Amenhotep I (1550-1530 BC) ● There is historical evidence of the departure of another group of Semites subjected to heavy labor, during the reign of Hatshepsut (1490-1468 BC) or during the reign of Tuthmosis III (1468- 1450 BC) The date of this exodus, 1448 - 1450 BC, coincides with the Biblical references regarding the number of years elapsed between the Exodus and the construction of the Temple of Solomon, as well as the period covered by the times of Joshua, the judges, the first King Saul and the legendary, though most likely historical, King David. ● The leader of a possible exodus in the dates of 1552 or 1520 or 1450 BC, could have been someone called Moses, since this name (mses) was used during the Eighteenth Dynasty (Ahmose, Tuthmosis), but it would not be the great-grandson Moses. of Levi, brother of Joseph, separated 130 to 180 years. ● A late exodus, in the 13th century BC, is currently accepted by very few researchers, based on archaeological evidence of Canaanite cities destroyed at that time, supposedly by the Israelite conquest of Canaan. In support of this date, during the reign of Ramesses II the city of Pi-Rameses was built, the store-city cited in the Scriptures as being built by the Israelites, though most likely the city built on or near the site by the Israelites, was a long time before, and its original name, Avaris, or Zaru or Sile, was forgotten and changed to a more recent one, so the name of the city does not necessarily allude to Pharaoh Ramesses II. ● The events that occurred to the different groups of families that emigrated from Egypt to Canaan, led by different leaders at different times, were brought together in a single account, written in the books of Exodus and Numbers of the Old Testament after the 13th century BC, and possibly definitively until the sixth century BC, during the captivity of the Jews in Babylon. ● Moses could have led only one group out of Egypt, possibly the exodus of 1625 BC caused by the oppression of a Hyksos pharaoh, and if the hypothesis of several exoduses is sustainable, it was other leaders or a council of family heads who did it, but the name of Moses remained in the memory of the people of Israel as the only liberator who led them to the Promised Land of Canaan. 9 Possibly it was the fortress of Sile/Zaru near Avaris, capital of the Hyksos, later identified (or confused with the Biblical tent city Pi-Rameses). 30 E x o d us I N T H E Alfonso J. Treviño I N T E R I M DISASTERS IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN THE ENGLISH ARCHAEOLOGIST ARTHUR EVANS, who for 30 years (19001930) worked on the excavations and restoration of the palace at Knossos on the island of Crete, found evidence of violent destruction in the ruins, later dated to around 1520 BC Evans designated the people who built this palace and all its architectural and cultural manifestations as the Minoan civilization (In reference to the mythological king Minos and the legend of the minotaur). After this catastrophe, the palace was rebuilt and inhabited by the Minoans, only to fall again, destroyed by fire, in 1450 BC. The later occupation of the reconstructed palace left evidence of having been inhabited by Mycenaean Greeks. The Greek archaeologist Spyridon Marinatos found in 1932, while working on the excavation of some ruins in northern Crete, a building apparently destroyed by an earthquake. The site, near Heraklion, was later identified with the ancient Minoan port of Amnisos, which served as the landing stage for Knossos. Marinatos found abundant pink stone of volcanic origin among the ruins, so he thought that a gigantic volcanic eruption north of the island of Crete had destroyed both cities, Knossos and Amnisos; however, his theory was not accepted, since the volcano was missing. In 1983, the underwater researcher Jacques Cousteau and his team found near the north coast of Crete, at the bottom of the sea, the remains of numerous Minoan vessels, some with cargo, and others without it, as if suddenly, a tidal wave or tsunami would have sunk them simultaneously. Later, other researchers found shells and sea snails on top of a hill in the north of the island. All the evidence indicated that a gigantic wave had sunk the ships, and penetrating the north coast of the island, it had risen to cover the hill. After his experience in Crete, Professor Marinatos began in 1967 a series of excavations in a place called Akrotiri on the island of Tera, one of the three volcanic islets that make up the island of Santorini, in the Cyclades archipelago. Among the ruins of an ancient city from the 17th century BC, clearly of Minoan origin, he found the traces of a terrible catastrophe that destroyed and buried the city under more than 30 meters of lava. Numerous studies by archaeologists, geologists and volcanologists 31 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño have now established that the Akrotiri site corresponded to a Minoan city that was abandoned by the imminent eruption of the Tera volcano in the center of the island. The eruption occurred around 1625 BC, with violence that destroyed the island and left a huge caldera in the center of it, through which the sea penetrated, and generated a gigantic wave that advanced in all directions at 600 km per hour, reaching 150 meters in height upon reaching the island of Crete, and then falling on the ancient port city of Ugarit on the Canaanite coast and the Nile delta in Egypt. The volcanic eruption of Tera in the 17th century BC has been deeply analyzed by scientists and is classified as one of the greatest geological cataclysms in human history. It is evident that the most notable consequences of this volcanic eruption in the Aegean Sea occurred in Santorini, the Cyclades islands, the island of Crete and the coasts of Greece. But given the magnitude of the phenomenon, estimated to be four times greater than the explosion of Krakatoa in Indonesia in 1883 (which had numerous witnesses), it is possible that the manifestations of the eruption and its final explosion have covered a much larger radius, including Egypt, Sinai, the SyrianPalestinian coast, and Arabia. Indeed, the volcanic tephra from the eruption of Tera (identified by its optical refractive index) has been found in some studies, even in the Nile delta, which confirms the suspicion that the activity of this volcano could well have affected Egypt. It is also certain, based on the Krakatoa model, that some manifestations of volcanic activity have had a planetary scope, such as hiding sunlight by dust and ashes, climatic changes, etc. 32 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño THE EXPLOSION THAT BLEW UP THE ISLAND OF SANTORINI LA IN EXPLOSIÓN HIZO VOLAR LA ISLA DEGIGANTIC SANTORINI (TERA) THE 17THQUE CENTURY BC PRODUCED WAVES (TERA) EN EL SIGLO XVI A.C. PRODUJO OLAS GIGANTESCAS WHICH FROM THE AEGEAN SEA WASHED THE ISLAND OF QUE DESDE EL MAR EGEO AZOTARON LA ISLA DE CRETAAND CRETE, THE BEACHES OF EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN Y LAS PLAYASTHE DEL NILE´S MEDITERRÁNEO DELTA ORIENTAL Studies of volcanic rocks, ashes and tephra (glazed stone of volcanic origin), projected by the eruption of Tera in the 17th century, have made it possible to estimate the magnitude of the eruption of the volcano and the scope of its effects, as well as the time of year in which the final event occurred, by the direction of the winds that carried the tephra and volcanic ash. 33 E x o d us P A R T Alfonso J. Treviño I I I THE EGEAN VOLCANO THE SLEEPING COLOSSUS WAKES UP SINCE 7000 BC Crete and the Cyclades had been inhabited. During the Middle Bronze Age, around 2000 BC, the inhabitants of Crete began the construction of large palaces. The palatial society spread to numerous cities on Crete: Knossos, Phaistos, Tylisos, Malia, Hagia Triade and Cato Sacra. Since the year 2000 BC Cretan influence spread to the Cyclades islands and to the early Greek cities of Mycenae and Tiryns in the Peloponnese. By the year 1700 BC an earthquake destroyed the palaces. After this catastrophe, the palaces were rebuilt and expanded. The inhabitants of Crete developed a thriving civilization that made itself felt in the Cyclades, Greece, Egypt and Asia Minor. The eastern Mediterranean becomes the domain of the Cretans, based on their naval power. Their ships cross the Mediterranean bound for the Nile´s Delta 10 and the coastal port cities of Canaan and Phoenicia, where they trade and exchange goods. A gigantic volcano 1,500 meters high above the sea level had been sleeping peacefully for 20,000 years. With its base immersed in the sea and surrounded by a circular lake, it dominated as the highest peak of the island of Santorini in the Cyclades, 200 km north of Crete. It was the year 1625 BC 11 when the fumaroles and earth tremors, which had heralded the awakening of the giant for years, began to intensify. Fearing a catastrophe, many inhabitants had abandoned the island's cities several years before, but now the volcano's explosion seemed imminent. The families that had stayed until the end, loaded their belongings, boarded their ships and left for different directions. The island was completely abandoned. 200 km away, on Crete, the imminence of a volcanic eruption seemed remote to the powerful naval civilization. More than 1,000 km away, the Egyptians, and the Amu Asians installed in the riverside lands of the Delta, go about their daily tasks, ignorant of the omen. On the Syrian shores, the bustling Phoenician and Canaanite cities go on undeterred, their ports bustling with activity, seemingly safe from the roaring colossus that awakens. The nomadic tribes of Arabia move through the desert under the hot rays of the sun; they drive their cattle to the oases and lands with little grass; 2,000 km away from 10 At that time under the Hyksos ‘dominion. Mural pictures, Minoan style and ceramics confirm cultural and commercial relations between Minoans and Hyksos. 11 This date is approximate and has been estimated by C14 and confirmed by dendrochronology. 34 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño Tera, the ominous signs of its awakening are not perceived by the tribes of Amalek and Ishmael. A SHEMAU LEADER RISES (This story is fictitious) IN THE PLACE WHERE the tent city, Zaru-Sile, was built, things were not going well. The king was in a hurry to finish the city, and thus have the warehouses and forts to supply his armies that guarded and defended the eastern border of Egypt. But the situation with the Shemau slave laborers became more and more tense. His reluctance to work and his rebellion was evident. Physical punishment had intensified and they were often flogged. Long ago, a royal prince of the city of Memphis, known as Moses, had been exiled by Pharaoh because a conflict with the succession (his ancestors were Shemau ─Asiatics─ and he had been adopted). He traveled to Avaris, in the Nile´s Delta and became aware of the mistreatment to which his Shemau brothers were subjected. He was planning to leave the country of Egypt, and when crossing the border fort of Zaru/Sile he met a Hyksos overseer lashing out at a worker Shemau; In a fit of anger, Moses killed the executioner and fled to a territory outside the domain of Egypt, Midian, in Arabia, and was not seen again. During the meeting of the heads of the Shemau families, after finishing the day's work, Aaron appears with a stranger, who, upon discovering his face, reveals the dark and weathered countenance of a man who had surely lived in the desert. That man with his face covered was Moses, the brother of Aaron. He was returning to Egypt to free his people from slavery and take them to the land promised to his ancestors by their god Yahweh. It is decided to obtain an audience with the new Hyksos pharaoh, and demand the necessary privileges to offer festivals and rites to his god. They attend the audience with Pharaoh, Moses and Aaron, the latter as communicator and prophet, since Moses "was hard of the tongue". They request that his people be granted privileges, or otherwise, permission to leave the country of the Nile. The pharaoh refused the request and all efforts to convince him were in vain. Moses, enraged, threatened Pharaoh with the powers conferred on him by his god, but the king, sure of his army and his magicians and priests, did not allow himself to be intimidated. The Shemau withdrew, not after foreshadowing some terrible calamity; They would wait for Pharaoh to change his mind, since his god would help them, and with his power, they would leave Egypt. – More than 900 kilometers away in the Aegean Sea, the Tera volcano was spewing smoke and roaring menacingly. 35 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño THE CATASTROPHE BEGINS (This account is real) THAT SUNNY SPRING MORNING in 1625 BC seemed a day like any other. The warm wind was blowing from the northwest and everything seemed calm, although the island of Tera had been abandoned long before by its last inhabitants. An abnormal silence, without the singing of the birds, invaded the environment, interrupted by brief and muffled subterranean tremors. Suddenly, the top of the 1,500-meter-high volcano erupts in a tremendous explosion that is heard hundreds of kilometers away, in the Peloponnese, the Cyclades islands and Crete. Huge amounts of dust, rocks and pumice are thrown out of the volcano's crater with great violence and spread hundreds of kilometers away. A gigantic column of white and gray smoke and ash rises more than 80 kilometers high. The ashes are dispersed by the wind in a south-easterly direction and fall on Crete and Egypt. Intermittent expulsion of dust and rocks continues, followed by lava and fire. The volcano has become fully active and a terrible catastrophe loom over the eastern Mediterranean and its coasts. During the night the glow of the fire is visible hundreds of kilometers away. CRETE AND THE CYCLADES (This story could have happened) AFTER THE THUNDERING NOISE, A shower of rocks and pumice rains down on the islands, Crete, and the surrounding sea. Many islands were evacuated. Islander families take refuge in Crete. The surprised sailors of the Cretan ships head their ships towards the safety of their island. But nothing seems safe in the face of the enormous forces unleashed, which from the bowels of the planet shake the earth's surface. Violent tremors destroy the cities of Tera, and a thick layer of lava and ash, up to 50 meters thick, covers the ruins. The cities and palaces of Crete receive intermittent rain of stones and ashes, followed by a fine dust that obscures vision and causes suffocation. The ashes and dust hide the sun and black clouds end up plunging the entire area into darkness. ۞ THE THIRD QUESTION ۞ THE PLAGUES OF EGYPT (This story supposedly occurred) THAT FINE POWDER OF iron OXIDES that floated in the atmosphere made the inhabitants of Egypt cough and spit. Then the rain came and when the dust dissolved in the water fell, it colored the waters of the Nile and its lakes, red like blood, killing the fish.12 The water was repulsive to drink, and the thirsty Egyptians dug wells to find uncontaminated water to quench their thirst. The frogs of the rivers, canals and lakes Iron, sulfates and nitrates contained in the dust caused the excessive growth of algae and dinoflagellates coloring the waters and producing a red tide. 12 36 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño jumped out of the water and covered the land of Egypt, dying later everywhere, without water and without food. The annual Egyptian plague of mosquitoes, lice and fleas became more intense, causing numerous nuisances to the inhabitants. The flies proliferated abundantly with the dead fish on the banks of the rivers, as well as with the rotting frogs in the fields, atriums and houses. The flies spread a deadly plague among the cattle, killing cattle, camels, sheep, horses and donkeys. The rotten carcasses of the animals became a source of infection, which spread to other animals and to men, who developed pustules and abscesses. Black clouds dominate the skies and hide the sun. The dense atmosphere with ash and dust that covered a huge part of the earth's surface prevented the penetration of the sun's rays, so the temperature dropped and the rain fell in the form of intense hail. The fruits of the trees and many crops were lost due to the hail. The continuous rains, thunder and lightning cause landslides and fires. Famine and tragedy ravage the Egyptians. A hurricane wind swept away a huge swarm of locusts that devoured the remaining herbs, plants and crops, destroying the food of men and cattle. Deaths from starvation and disease became numerous. The cloudy and dark days passed, but calamity still held sway in Egypt. Construction work at Zaru and Pitom was suspended, and the Shemau slaves withdrew to their villages in Goshen. Dense clouds covered the sky of Egypt. The sun's rays did not penetrate the atmosphere of dust and ash spewed out by the Aegean volcano, so the entire earth was plunged into darkness for several days. THE LAST PLAGUE AND THE DEPARTURE OF THE SHEMAU (This relationship of events is fictitious, but it could have occurred) MOSES AND AARON MEETED again with the Shemau heads of the family. Most had decided to take advantage of the disorder caused in Egypt by the plagues – proof of Yahweh's power – and leave with Moses as soon as possible. Although some feared leaving Goshen and facing the rigors of the journey through the desert, most were ready to go. The date set would be the following morning. That night, while some slept and others dreamed of their freedom, a terrible tremor shook the land of the Nile. Numerous houses, palaces and temples collapsed killing many men, women and children who perished under the rubble. If people stayed in or around the buildings, there seemed to be no escape for anyone. Roofs, walls and columns fell on princes and commoners, on lords and slaves. The houses of the Shemau in the fields of Goshen, were huts of light materials; their casualties were light and they soon recovered from the nightmare of the earthquake. It was clear to them that their god Yahweh wanted them to leave Egypt and free themselves from slavery. The signs couldn't be clearer. Shouts and groans were heard everywhere in the houses of the Egyptians; there was not a house where there was not a dead person. 37 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño And so, while the princes and lords of Egypt wept and lamented, the Shemau slaves, led by Moses, left Goshen (Rameses), Zaru, and Pitom with their families, supplies, belongings, and livestock. The escape began earlier than agreed, so the bread had to be taken out of the ovens half-baked. The Shemau, who claimed to be descendants of the patriarch Israel, “sons of Israel”, took the route to Sinai via Succoth, away from the coastal road surely guarded by the Hyksos soldiers. Before dawn, Ofni, the restless and courageous boy, son of Merari, ─from the tribe of Ruben─ exclaimed in amazement: Look, there in the distance! A strange glow of fire was observed on the horizon in the direction of the path they had chosen. THE PLAGUES IN ARABIA (This probably happened) THE STRANGE SENSORS OF THE ants had perceived the vibrations that were produced in the subsoil, heralding the proximity of an earthquake. Through hundreds of millions of years of genetic transmission, the instinctive behavior of these social insects caused massive migratory and provisioning movements. Not only the Shemau tribes ─children of Israel─ abandoned their previous settlement of four generations. The Shasu Bedouin of the Arabian desert and the inhabitants of Sheba and Mecca were also fleeing an invasion of small ants and a prolonged drought, despite cloudy skies. The different tribes claimed to be descendants of Ishmael and Amalek and spoke a language very similar to that of the Israelites. Their leader Agog led them to the shores of the Vermilion Sea (Red Sea), from where they took the road to Sinai. The clouds and the expected rain seemed to escape from them in that direction. THE FINAL COLLAPSE (This really happened) STRONG EARTHQUAKES ROCKED THE ISLAND of Tera as the volcano spewed boiling lava through its crater. A deep fissure had formed in the side of the volcano, and now extended from the crater to the submerged base in the sea. As the water entered through the crack, it immediately boiled within the volcano, producing enormous amounts of gases and water vapor. Inside the volcano, the gases generated considerably, raised the magma pressure in the escape chamber, whose chimney had been blocked by rocks and solidified lava. The pressure built up to blow off the top of the volcano, which erupted in a colossal explosion audible thousands of miles away, the likes of which had never happened before in the history of civilization. Through the cracked and massive crater, magma is ejected at high speed, emptying the volcano's chamber and leaving its walls a brittle shell. A new tremor collapsed the walls of the volcano sinking into the sea. The immersion of most of the land mass that made up the island, and the penetration of sea water into the enormous caldera, 38 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño formed a gigantic wave 50 meters high that advances in all directions at 600 kilometers per hour. All that remains of the volcano's crater is a huge caldera, and from its center, a colossal column of white smoke rises kilometers high. THE COLLAPSE OF THE MINOAN CIVILIZATION (This probably happened) THE CRETANS AND ISLANDERS refugees from the Cyclades had suffered the effects of the Thera eruption, but they hoped to save their lives. Palaces and temples had collapsed from the violence of earthquakes and the intermittent rain of stones and rocks. Ashes and dust fell on the rubble of their cities and on the lands from which wheat, pistachios, olives and grapes came. Everything seemed ruined, but the worst was about to happen. After the deafening noise produced by the explosion and the final collapse of the volcano, the Cretans fled into the mountains with what little of their belongings they could take. From the sea in the distance, a huge wall of water pushed inexorably towards Crete from the north. The 150-meter-high wave made contact with the north coast of the island; the numerous ships anchored in the ports of the north coast were covered by the waters and sank with their cargo to the bottom of the sea. There they would wait 3,600 years to be discovered by Jacques Cousteau. The naval power of Crete had been destroyed in a few seconds by the force of the sea (tsunami), from which it would never recover. The water penetrated the cities, covered buildings and hills, while the survivors in the mountains watched in surprise and fear at the end of their civilization and their mighty empire. Almost simultaneously with what happened in Crete, the Phoenician port city of Ugarit on the Syrian coast was hit by the tidal wave and disappeared temporarily covered by the waters, with most of its inhabitants drowning. ۞ THE THIRD QUESTION ۞ THE PARTING OF THE SEA (This happened according to the Bible) THE ISRAELITES FEARED THAT THE EGYPTIANS, noticing the escape of their former Shemau slaves, had launched themselves in pursuit. Leaving the plain of Succoth behind, they hastened their march towards Baalsephon. The narrow strip of land that joined Egypt with Sinai would be their route to the land of Canaan. Although some pharaohs had built a canal connecting the Great Green (Mediterranean Sea) with the Red Sea through a lake area, parts of the canal were devoid of water and the lakes themselves could be forded in some places because of their low depth. Upon reaching the Yam Suph (Sea of Reeds or Papyri) it was evident that the Egyptians with their war chariots and their Pharaoh in front would soon catch up with them. 39 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño Moses organized the passage of the people and their cattle, while a strange east wind blew over the surface of the lake, whose shallow waters seemed to recede among the reeds. Moses raised his rod, pleaded for Yahweh's help, and ordered the march through the reeds. Knee-deep in water, the Israelites crossed the narrow, shallow pool, then climbed the hill in front of Pihairot (mouth of the channel). In the distance a column of white smoke could be seen in the direction of the Promised Land, while the road they had traveled before reaching the Yam Suph, stood out the war chariots and the Egyptian infantry. The Israelites decide to give battle to the Egyptians from the hill where they had armed themselves; from this height they would have an advantage over the Egyptians whose chariots could not make it up the steep slope. While the Egyptians considered the conditions of the land, the gigantic wave from the Aegean flooded the Nile delta, flooding the region of Baalsephon and advanced towards the Sea of Reeds. As the Egyptians crossed the shallow waters that separated them from the hill where their former Shemau slaves had taken refuge, an avalanche of water, logs, and reeds crashed down on them. The surprised Israelites, safe from the liquid wall, witnessed the destruction of the Egyptian hosts, where many were drowned, and the rest withdrew, unable to cross the now deep and stormy Yam Suph. Their cries of joy and victory were barely audible over the roar of the turbulent waters advancing towards the Red Sea. The children of Israel are now preparing to continue their march. The Amalekites had camped next to a beach that extends to the Red Sea in the direction of the Mediterranean. The prolonged drought that made them emigrate to other lands was about to end. A deluge in the form of a violent flood swept away and drowned many of them. In less than an hour, the flood separated Africa from Asia. The turbulent torrent of liquid flooded the land of Djohainah, Saba and Mecca, where their inhabitants were still recovering from the recent tremor. The entire Tehama coast was devastated. All the tribes of Western Arabia suffered ravages. Finally, the liquid wall emerged in the Red Sea, losing strength to vanish in the Indian Ocean. Before reaching Mount Sinai, the Israelites would face the tribes of Amalek, at Rephidim, from where in the end the Israelites would be victorious, with their new hero, Joshua. The Israelites led by Moses, Aaron and Joshua, free at last from the Egyptian yoke, would begin their forty-year pilgrimage through the Sinai desert before reaching the Promised Land of Canaan. 40 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño ۞ P A R T I V ISRAELITES IN EGYPT AND CANAAN ISRAELITE PRESENCE (WRITTEN) IN EGYPT MOST SCHOLARS place Jews, pro-Israelites, or even Jacobite’s in Egypt during the Hyksos period. There are many scarabs in the ruins of Avaris (Tell el-Dab’a) in the Delta with the name "Jacob-El". This seems to refer directly or indirectly to the "Jacob" of Genesis in the Old Testament. The expulsion of the Hyksos seems to fit well with the Exodus story. Not all Hyksos were pro-Israelites. In Exodus it is noted that a "mixed multitude" came out of Egypt. Although the Egyptians saw the expulsion of the Hyksos as a great military triumph, the Israelites saw it as a great victory of salvation for themselves. This seems similar to other events recorded in ancient history where both sides claim a great victory. The presence of the Amu or Shemau cited in hieroglyphic texts as slaveworkers in times of Hatshepsut (1490-1468 BC) and Tuthmosis III (1504-1450 BC) has previously been noted. Evidence in Sinai shows little occupation during the Late Bronze Age, probably due to the expulsion of the Hyksos pursued by Ahmose to Sharuhen, a fortress that was besieged for three years until its defeat. In the Middle Bronze Age, excavations reveal destruction of some previously occupied sites, which seems to fit well with Joshua's conquest of Canaan. EGYPTIAN TOPOGRAPHICAL LISTS OF CANAAN EGYPTIAN TOPOGRAPHICAL LISTS ARE the key to proving who and where people lived. The oldest list is from Tuthmosis III, who names "Jacob-El" and "JosephEl" as cities in Canaan. It is convenient to understand that the cities were named after an important person or after God. This seems clear evidence of a pro-Israelite presence in Canaan at this time (1481 BC). During the Reign of Amenhotep II (1450-1416 BC) there is a list of 3,600 prisoners designated as Apiru (Bedouins) and 15,200 as Shasu (Bedouins mercenaries) taken as prisoners from Canaan and taken to Egypt. Some of them were probably Hebrews. 41 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño In the temple of Amun in Soleb (Nubia) there is a topographical list from the time of Amenhotep III (1407-1376 BC) in which the name "Yahweh of the land of the Shasu" is given (Giveon, 1964, 244; Redford, 1992, 272; Astour, 1979, 17-34). In the Ancient East, a geographical place where the God was venerated was also designated with a divine name (Axelsson, 1987, 60). This is the first clear extra-biblical evidence for the name "Yahve” (Yahweh). Also named are "Asher" and "Joseph-El" indicating that the Hebrews were in Canaan at the time. In the first Seti campaign (1291 BC) there is a battle with the Shasu, detailed on the Karnak reliefs. The Shasu tribal chiefs met in the Karhu mountains (upper Galilee) to fight against the Egyptians. It seems that this general term "Shasu" refers to the Bedouin Hebrews who lived in the upper Galilee Mountain ranges at that time. In the topographical list of Ramesses II (ca.1275 BC) the place name "Jacob-El" (#9) appears again (ANET 1969, 242; Simons, 1937). The first appearance was in the list of Tuthmosis III. This means that the city of Jacob existed from about 200 years before. Another interesting name that has been found is “Yhw” which is "Yahweh" in Hebrew (Horn 1953, 201; Giveon 1964, 244). It seems very clear from all these topographical lists on Canaan that the Hebrews were in Canaan at this time, but they did not use the name "Israel" until the union of the tribes was well established in the time of Merenptah. The Amarna Letters describe the troublesome Habiru (Hapiru or Apiru) seizing the land of Canaan. This seems to fit well with the Hebrews during the time of the judges. Some authors think the word "Hebrew" came from the word "Hapiru". In the Ugarit Texts one of the most interesting personal names is "ysril", which is the same as "Israel" in Hebrew (Gordon 1965, 2069:3 text; Glossary #1164). Although it is not referring to Israel as a nation, shows the use of this personal name in the Late Bronze Age. Another interesting name is yew (CTA 1 IV: 14; Herdner, 1963, 4) which can be identified with "Yahweh" in Hebrew. While one of these names alone is not conclusive, when considering all the personal and place names together, there seems to be sufficient evidence that the Hebrews lived in Canaan during the Late Bronze Age, before 1481 BC. Therefore, the best explanation for all the archaeological evidence seems to be that Israel was a Confederacy of the Hapiru tribes in the hills of Canaan, and that they formed the nation of Israel until the Iron Age. Originally, Abraham was part of a migration of Amorites (or Akkadians?) to Canaan from Mesopotamia, which continued south to Egypt, culminating under Hyksos rule. The Exodus is identified with the expulsion of the Hyksos from Egypt by Ahmose (1556 BC) (Frerichs and Lesko, 1997, 82, 96). During their wandering in the desert, they were included among the Shasu, and later caused the fall of the cities (Middle Bronze IIIC) in Canaan (the conquest). 42 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño This conquest was not total, but only in the highlands, since Egypt controlled the lower lands and the coast. They were called Hapiru (from which the Hebrew name originates) in the Amarna period (time of the judges), until their league was consolidated into 12 tribes and they became the nation of Israel in the iron age. (Author's note: see in the bibliography section). CANANITES IN AND OUT OF EGYPT (ENTRY AND DEPARTURE) THE CLOSE GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF the Syrian-Palestinian region with the Nile Delta was always a matter of concern for the Egyptians, and even more so after 150 years of domination of the country by Canaanite and Hyksos chiefs and kings. After the expulsion of the hateful Hyksos from their capital at Avaris, and from their last refuge at Sharuhen (near Gaza), by the Theban prince Ahmose, in 1556 BC, the first kings (now called pharaohs) of the Eighteenth Dynasty, among them Ahmose himself and his successor Amenophis I, secured the border with the Sinai coast by building fortresses, customs, and checkpoints for caravans entering the country. In this way, it was intended to prevent the excessive and uncontrolled entry of Canaanites into the Delta region. We must ask ourselves two questions: 1st. Was the Canaanite occupation of Egypt completely ended after the expulsion of the Hyksos? 2nd. Were Canaanites allowed to enter the Nile country in the future? Regarding the first question, it is doubtful that the expulsion of the Hyksos included entirety other Canaanite tribes or families, especially if they were not directly related to the reign and government of the Hyksos. What happened next to these Canaanites? There is a possibility that they were expelled later, or that they left Egypt voluntarily considering that their privileges would be annulled by their status as foreigners, which coincides with Kenneth Doig's opinion of an exodus in 1552 BC, at the beginning of the reign of Ahmose. Their return to Canaan and their struggle to settle and grab land would be indistinguishable from the Israelite conquest of Canaan. In fact, current archaeological evidence for the mid-16th century BC reveals a sparse Bedouin population and probably a pastoral life in Canaan, both for residents and newcomers. If this departure from Egypt really occurred, we do not know if there was a guide-driver leader or an assembly of older adults; with Ahmose's permission, his route would most likely be the shortest: across the coast and the road from the Land of the Philistines (who would reach that region some 350 years later) as this route is referred to in Scripture. In support of this hypothesis, in which Ahmose is the pharaoh of the Exodus, S. Jacobovici in his Discovery documentary “EXODUS DECODED” points out the so-called “Stela of the storm” or Ahmose stele. Its fragments were found in the third pylon of the Karnak temple in Thebes between 1947 and 1951 by the French mission led by Henri Chevrier. A restoration of the stele and translation of the 43 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño text was published by Egyptologist Claude Vandersleyen in 1967 and 1968. Although the translation is debatable, it refers to a terrible rain storm, flooding like a "waterfall", general destruction and darkness. because the “gods are displeased”. Although Jacobovici relates this translation to the biblical plagues that struck Egypt before the Exodus and the eruption of the Tera volcano in the Aegean, he did not take into account the correct dating of this event to 1625 BC, and the expulsion of the Hyksos in 1556 BC, not in the year 1500 BC as he proposes. However, the translation of this stela could well describe all the damage produced by an earthquake and the flooding caused by a tsunami (“the waterfall”). As for the mention of "darkness" it could be a prosaic way of referring to a "dark" time or period of national crisis. The fortification works of the Delta border with the Sinai coast undertaken by Amenophis I, successor of Ahmose, involve the use of many workers. Were these Hebrews or straggler Canaanites? In the book of Exodus, the Scriptures indicate that the Israelites built the store cities of Pitom and Pi-Rameses, the latter built by Ramesses II in the 13th century near the ruins of Avaris. This is surely an error, confusing the fortress of Zaru/Sile on the Delta border, reinforced by Amenhotep I, ─possibly with Canaanite manpower─ with the sacred city of Pi-Rameses built almost 260 years later. Also, in support of this hypothesis of the Exodus in 1520 BC, is the affirmation of ancient historians such as Manetho and Flavio Josef in pointing to Amenophis I as the pharaoh of the oppression and of the Exodus. The second question regarding the entry of Canaanites into Egypt during the reign of the pharaohs of the powerful Eighteenth Dynasty, it is doubtful that they were allowed access as residents, but it is very possible that they entered Egypt as prisoners of war and Like slaves. Indeed, on the victory trails of the numerous military campaigns on Palestine (Canaan) undertaken by Tuthmosis I and fundamentally by Tuthmosis III, a great military strategist and combatant, and his son, Amenhotep II, numerous Apiru slave-prisoners are noted (up to hundreds of them in each campaign) taken to Egypt in ships as part of the booty. This could be referred in the prophecy of Yahweh in Deuteronomy 28:68 “And the Lord will make you return to Egypt in ships, by the way of which he has told you: You will never return again; and there you will be sold to your enemies for male and female slaves, and there will be no one to buy you.” Also, in other writings, reference is made to some “workers” Amu, as in Hans Goedicke's translation of the hieroglyphics previously mentioned and attributed to Queen Hatshepsut. In this text, the Amu are rebellious and reluctant to work, and eventually manage to escape (obviously they are slaves), only to be caught and drown in a storm (tsunami?). This evidence supports a Canaanite presence in Egypt around 1450 BC, albeit as unprivileged workers. This brief episode could represent the departure from Egypt of a group of oppressed and unprivileged Canaanites, although in this Egyptian version they are drowned. The American geologist Barbara Sivertsen exposes in her book "The parting of the Sea: How volcanoes, earthquakes 44 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño and plagues shaped the story of Exodus" an interesting hypothesis of the Exodus in two phases: the first in 1625 BC during the eruption of Tera in the Aegean, and the second in 1450 BC during the reign of Tuthmosis III, taking advantage of the catastrophe caused by an earthquake and tsunami, together with the eruption of the Yali volcano in the eastern Aegean, next to the volcanic island of Nysros. This disaster, according to Sivertsen, inspired the legend of the Biblical plagues, the Exodus from Egypt, and the persecution of the Israelites by a pharaoh and his army, who are caught up in the tsunami and drowned, including the pharaoh, none other than Tuthmosis III. The discovery in 1881 of Tuthmosis mummy in a cache called TT320 (his tomb, KV34, is empty and was stolen in antiquity) makes no difference to Sivertsen, since she affirms that it is not the mummy of Tuthmosis III, since that it does not have the features and craniofacial bone anatomy of other studied mummies of his family. This hypothesis is supported by written documentation about the presence of Amu slave-workers in Egypt (many of them taken by Tuthmosis III himself as prisoners), the reference to their escape during a storm, and the eruption of the Yali volcano (accompanied by earthquakes and tsunamis) in 1450 BC, inspiration to create a tradition of plagues on Egypt. Despite the fact that the Egyptian text indicates that Nun, God of storms, drowned the fugitives, while the Scriptures affirm that it was the pharaoh and his army who were drowned, it is well known that in the Egyptian texts only the triumphs, and not defeats are accounted, much less the death of a pharaoh so famous and loved for his great military enterprises that turned Egypt into a true hegemonic empire in the Near East. WAS THERE MORE THAN ONE EXODUS? THE EXODUS IN 1625 BC represents, in my opinion, a very attractive hypothesis that reconciles the folkloric tradition of the Exodus written (although many centuries later) in the Bible, with the history of Egypt, and the archeology of Canaan in the 17th century BC with the supposed conquest of the Promised Land (rather occupied by Bedouins and shepherds) by a tribal group not trained in combat and without war equipment, other than slingshots, stones and perhaps arrows. Furthermore, the eruption of the Tera volcano on the island of Santorini in 1625 BC provides the adequate background to explain the Biblical plagues and the partitioning of the Mar del Paso by natural phenomena. Even more important is the fact that this hypothesis provides a date consistent with the chronology of the family of Israel, a first generation arriving in Egypt during the rule of the Canaanite kings in Xois and Avaris, and leaving three generations later under the oppression of the Hyksos kings in Avaris, a span of about 80 years. But perhaps this departure from Egypt in the 17th century BC does not satisfactorily explain some aspects of the Exodus route, the 40 years of wandering in the desert, as well as the entry and conquest of many cities in Canaan whose names are mentioned in the book of Joshua. Nor does it correspond to the time 45 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño elapsed of 480 years, according to the Scriptures, between the Exodus and the beginning of the construction of the Temple of Solomon in the year 968 or 970 BC Therefore, it is logical to suppose two or more exoduses at different times, but remembered as one, especially when these events occurred centuries before they were written and were already partially forgotten and then assembled like segments of a telescope, in an effort to preserve the memory of a single tradition. In this possibility rests a post-17th century exodus, particularly 1450 BC, which coincides not only with the interval cited in the scriptures, but also with the documented presence of Amu Asiatic slave-workers in Egypt, their escape, and the background of catastrophe caused by the eruption of the Yali volcano in the Aegean, earthquakes and tsunamis that in the primitive mentality of the witnesses represent the fury of their god and the way to achieve the liberation of his people. ۞ 46 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño EPILOGUE CONCLUSIONS IT HAS NOT BEEN EASY TO RECONCILE the account of the Exodus in the sacred scriptures of the Old Testament ─an ancient document on the origins and traditions of the People of Israel─ with the known history of ancient Egypt, and its stelae and texts, whose interpretations shed new light on the knowledge of the relations between these two Peoples during the II millennium BC. Even more difficult was establishing a possible relationship between the Ten Biblical Plagues that struck Egypt, and the catastrophic eruption of the Tera volcano on the island of Santorini, around 1625 BC. Although this is a perfectly acceptable date for studies of volcanology and geology, confirmed by C14 dating and by dendrochronology,13 it does not match the late Bronze Age chronology based on the archeology and ceramics of the Minoan and Egyptian civilizations after 1700 BC. Dating of pottery at the Akrotiri site on the island of Santorini, just before the Minoan eruption of the volcano, has caused a discrepancy of around 100 to 150 years, if placing the explosion at 1520 BC, or as previously estimated at 1450 BC. VELIKOVSKY SUGGESTED THAT THE Hyksos kings are none other than the Amalekites, who came to Egypt after the plagues and dominated the country taking advantage of the chaos and confusion caused by the plagues. But this assumption would change the history of Egypt, making the period of the Hyksos occur 300 years after what is granted, which is against all the hypotheses and evidence that exist in this regard. On the other hand, his interpretations of the Ipuwer papyrus and traditional Arabic documents were useful for this essay. THE IDENTITY OF JOSEPH (the great vizier of Pharaoh who authorized the settlement of the Israelites in Goshen) in the history of Egypt, remains a mystery. Ahmed Osman identifies it with Yuya, the grand vizier of Tuthmosis IV, pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty who reigned 1419-1386 BC, and provides as evidence, in addition to Yuya's mummy, (with Asian ethnic features) various Egyptian texts describing his functions and attributions, which compared to Osman's, interpretations of Joseph's in the Bible and the Koran, are surprisingly similar. Yuya, however, came from a wellknown Upper Egyptian family, and if his identity with Biblical Joseph is tentatively accepted, his arrival in Egypt would be many years after Ahmose's expulsion of the Hyksos in 1556 BC. Osman's hypothesis would even be very uncomfortable to explain Study of the successive concentric layers that form the bark of petrified tree trunks, which makes it possible to identify planetary climatological changes, such as those caused by the eruption of the Tera volcano. 13 47 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño the exodus of Hatshepsut or Tuthmosis III in 1450 BC, well documented in Egyptian texts. In my opinion, it is not feasible to identify Joseph in the history of Egypt, precisely because he was appointed grand vizier by a foreign Canaanite or Hyksos king, and not by an Egyptian pharaoh. IT IS EVEN MORE INTERESTING and mysterious the identity of Moses in the history of Egypt. Everything suggests that Moses and possibly his family had contact and perhaps the favor of the royal house of Egypt, and that he lived in the vicinity of the eastern Delta. The father of psychoanalysis and also a writer, Sigmund Freud, published his "Moses and Monotheism" in 1939. For the first time, he drew attention to the older antecedents of absolute and universal Jewish monotheism, probably not developed and practiced until the 6th century BC, and the similarity of concepts with the religion imposed by Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, better known as Akhenaten, “the heretic pharaoh”, who reigned between 1368 and 1362 BC (Possible co-regency with his father, Amenhotep III, between 1379 and 1368 BC). Both Moses and Akhenaten proclaim a single, universal creator god, and point to all other common gods in the overcrowded pantheons of polytheistic religions as false. Ahmed Osman surprises us once again with his excellent comparative analysis between the life of Moses and that of Akhenaten, in his work "Moses, Pharaoh of Egypt". Osman presents his interpretations of the birth and life of Moses in the Bible and the Coran alongside the fragmented and destroyed story of Akhenaten, identifying both as the same person. Osman perhaps allows himself too many liberties, and completely forgets the biblical genealogy: Moses is a great-grandnephew of Joseph, and therefore much earlier than the Eighteenth Dynasty, a contemporary of the Hyksos and of the 2nd Intermediate Period. Was Moses the son of an Egyptian Pharaoh and an Israelite? Or was adopted by a royal prince? IF THE EVENTS IN Mar del Paso have a historical background and a scientific foundation, as we have seen from this essay, the exact site of these events remains to be located. There is no general agreement about it, but the truth is that it is not the Red Sea, too far from the path of the Israelites, too deep and too wide to even try to cross it without boats. For the same reasons it is not about the Gulf of Suez, which in antiquity was known as the Red Sea. The Hebrew words Yam Suph means “Sea of Reeds” (Lake of Reeds or Papyri), which the Greeks, when translating the Old Testament, confused with “Red Sea”. Hans Goedicke identifies the Sea of Reeds with the current Lake Ballah, known to the Egyptians as the "swamp of the papyri". This lake is part of the current Suez Canal and is located south of Lake Manzaleh, the large coastal lagoon located west of the canal. 48 E x o d us 49 Alfonso J. Treviño E x o d us 50 Alfonso J. Treviño E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño ANCIENT EGYPT. EASTERN DELTA CITIES Taken from Ahmed Osman, Editorial Planeta Mexicana, 1992 51 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño BIBLIOGRAFÍA 1. GENESIS. EXODUS. NUMBERS. DEUTERONOMY. IN THE BIBLE. Holy Christian Bible. 2. THE BIBLE AS HISTORY. Werner Keller. New revised edition by Hodder y Stoughton. Bantam Books, New York, 1980. 3. THE ISRAELITES. In THE ORIGINS OF MAN. By the Editorial Team of TIME-LIFE Books. TIME-LIFE International de México, S.A. de C.V., México, 1983. 4. MOSES AND MONOTHEISM. Sigmund Freud, London, 1939. 5. EXTRANJERO EN EL VALLE DE LOS REYES. Ahmed Osman. Grupo Editorial Planeta. Colección Documento. México, 1988. 6. MOISÉS, FARAÓN DE EGIPTO. Ahmed Osman. Editorial Planeta Mexicana, S.A. de C.V., México, 1992. 7. GRANDES CIVILIZACIONES DE LA ANTIGÜEDAD. EGIPTO Pedro Sánchez Torrente y Ángel Luis González Encinas. GR.U.P.O., S.A. Madrid, España, 1999. 8. EGYPT. GODS, TEMPLES AND PHARAOHS. ATLAS CULTURALES DEL MUNDO. Volumen I John Baines and Jaromir Malek. Ediciones Folio, 1993. 9. HISTORIA DE EGIPTO. (Cronología Dinástica) Enciclopedia Multimedia ENCARTA 2000. 10. SIGLOS CAÓTICOS Immanuel Velikovsky. Editorial Diana S.A., México, 1983. 11. THE FIRST CULTURES OF GREECE. IN THE ORIGINS OF MAN. Maitland A. Edey and the TIME-LIFE Editorial Team LITO OFFSET LATINA, México, 1979 52 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño 12. LA ERUPCIÓN VOLCÁNICA DEL TERA EN EL SIGLO XVII A.C. Alfonso J. Treviño, Monterrey, N. L., 2009. 13. LEYENDAS DE LA TIERRA. Dorothy Vitaliano. Biblioteca Científica Salvat, Salvat Editores, S. A. Barcelona, 1986 14. THE PARTING OF THE SEA: HOW VOLCANOES, EARTHQUAKES, AND PLAGUES SHAPED THE STORY OF EXODUS. Barbara J. Sivertsen. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 2009. 15. THE 1552 EXODUS. Kenneth F. Doig. Published in Catastrophism and Ancient History Los Angeles, July 1990. 16. THE DATE OF THE EXODUS ACCORDING TO ANCIENT WRITERS. Stephen Meyers. Institute for Biblical and Scientific Studies (IBSS), updated in 2008. 17. DATING THE BIBLICAL CHRONOLOGY Gerard Gertoux. Academia, 2022. 18. EVIDENCES FOR THE EXODUS BEING HISTORICAL S. Bambrough. Academia, 2022. 19. IDENTYFING THE HISTORICITY OF EXODUS. Alfonso J. Treviño. Unpublished, In press, 2023. AUTOR´S NOTES The section titled: EGYPTIAN TOPOGRAPHICAL LISTS OF CANAAN in Part IV, is taken from the work directed by Stephen Meyers for the Institute for Biblical & Scientific Studies, in the article BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY: EVIDENCE OF THE EXODUS FROM EGYPT. The references appear in parentheses in the text, and are those provided in the article. The dates indicated for the Egyptian dynasties of the Middle Kingdom, Second Intermediate Period and the New Kingdom, as well as the reigns of the pharaohs mentioned in the book, correspond, some, to the conventional chronology, and others, to the high chronology, as they were cited by different authors. 53 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño INDEX ABSTRACT 01 RESUME 02 PREFACE 03 MIRACLE IN THE SEA OF CROSSING 03 ISRAEL'S JOURNEY THROUGH THE DESERT OF SIN 04 ISRAEL´S TRAVEL THROUGH THE DESERT OF SIN TO REPHIDIM 05 FOREWORD 06 PART 09 I THE BIBLIC STORY: FROM JOSEPH TO MOSES 09 JOSEPH IN EGYPT 09 ISRAEL AND HIS SONS IN EGYPT 10 SLAVERY OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL 10 MOSES DESCENDANT OF LEVI 11 THE PLAGUES SENT TO EGYPT BY YAHWEH 11 THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL LEAVE EGYPT (EXODUS) 12 PART II 14 DOUBTS AND MYSTERIES ABOUT THE EXODUS 14 THREE QUESTIONS 14 ۞ THE FIRST QUESTION ۞ HOW TO INTERPRET IT? 14 VELIKOVSKY AND THE EGYPTIAN DOCUMENTS 15 VELIKOVSKY AND THE ARABIC DOCUMENTS 16 AN EGYPTOLIST DECLARES 17 THE ROUTE OF THE EXODUS 18 QUAIL, MANNA AND WATER THAT SPOUTS FROM THE ROCKS 19 54 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño ۞ THE SECOND QUESTION ۞ WHEN DID IT HAPPEN? 20 RAMESSES II THE OPPRESSOR PHARAOH AND MERENPTAH THE PHARAOH OF THE EXODUS? 21 ISRAELITE STAY IN EGYPT: 400 YEARS? 22 A PHARAOH GRANTS PRIVILEGES TO JOSEPH AND ANOTHER REMOVES THEM 22 WHERE WAS PI-RAMESES? AVARIS / RAMESES – TELL EL-DAB’A ZARU / SILE – TELL ABU SEFAH? 24 WHO WAS MOSES? WHAT WAS HIS TIME? 26 WHEN DID THE ISRAELITES ARRIVE IN CANAAN? 27 WHAT DO THE SACRED SCRIPTURES SAY? 28 IN THE INTERIM 31 DISASTERS IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN 31 MAP OF THE TERA VOLCANIC ERUPTION 33 PART III 34 THE AEGEAN VOLCANO 34 THE SLEEPING COLOSSUS WAKES UP 34 A SHEMAU LEADER RISES 35 THE CATASTROPHE BEGINS 36 CRETE AND THE CYCLADES 36 ۞ THE THIRD QUESTION ۞ WHAT CAUSED THE PLAGUES? 36 THE PLAGUES OF EGYPT 36 THE LAST PLAGUE AND THE DEPARTURE OF THE SHEMAU 37 THE PLAGUES IN ARABIA 38 55 E x o d us Alfonso J. Treviño THE FINAL COLLAPSE 38 THE COLLAPSE OF THE MINOAN CIVILIZATION 39 ۞ THE THIRD QUESTION ۞ HOW DID IT HAPPEN? THE PARTING OF THE SEA PART 39 39 IV 41 ISRAELITES IN EGYPT AND CANAAN 41 ISRAELITE PRESENCE (WRITTEN) IN EGYPT 41 EGYPTIAN TOPOGRAPHICAL LISTS OF CANAAN 41 CANANITES IN AND OUT OF EGYPT 43 WAS THERE MORE THAN ONE EXODUS? 45 EPILOGUE 47 CONCLUSIONS 47 DYNASTIES DURING THE 2ND INTERMEDIATE PERIOD IN EGYPT (DIAGRAM) 49 THE SCENARIO OF THE EXODUS (MAP) 50 ANCIENT EGYPT. EASTERN DELTA CITIES (MAP) 51 BIBLIOGRAPHY 52 AUTHOR'S NOTE 53 INDEX 54 56