Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Walter Mattfeld" <mattfeld AT mail.pjsnet.com>]

Dating the Pentateuch, Exodus Enigmas

My on-going research seeks to establish dates for the Pentateuchal texts by
establishing foundation dates from archaelogy for cities, towns, and places
mentioned in the texts.

No subject is more intensely debated than the date of the Exodus and in this
post we will look at several scholarly proposals, Redford's posited Hyksos
Exodus of ca. 1540 BCE (he regarding this to be "a historical kernel" from
which the biblical account later arose), the 1446 BCE Exodus of 1 Kings 6:1
championed by many Conservative scholars, and the ca. 1250 BCE Exodus which
enjoys popularity amongst many Humanist scholars.

Redford favors the Hyksos Expulsion of ca. 1540 BCE as the "historical
kernel" behind the biblical account which he argues was later composed in
the Post-Exilic period. Being an Egyptologist and possessing familiarity
with the Egyptian records, he finds only one event in all of Egyptian
history that has elements similar to those of the Pentateuchal Exodus
accounts, and that is the Hyksos scenario. The Hyksos are attested
archaeologically at Tell ed Daba (believed to be Avaris). Contemporary
Egyptian records mention  wars with them, their defeat and withdrawal to
Canaan and subsequent subjugation at Sharuhen (Tell Ajjul ?). Other
Egyptologists have pointed out there are no records in the 18th, 19th or
20th Dynasties supporting an Exodus of Asiatics for Canaan.

Conservative scholarship favors the 1446 BCE date of 1 Kings 6:1. It is
argued that by this date Moses and the Israelites were surely capable of
maintaining written records, and as traditions claim Moses is the author of
the Pentateuch, what we have in the Exodus narratives is a contemporary
eyewitness account of events as they transpired. It is further argued that
having been raised up as a Prince of Egypt, he would surely be an educated
man capable of writing the Pentateuch.

Humanist scholars argue that the mention of the store-city of Ramesses and
the land of Ramesses are "historical markers" within the Pentateuchal texts
that the Exodus had to have taken place no earlier than the reign of
Ramesses II ( ca. 1290-1224 BCE  ). The terminal date for the Exodus is
established for the Humanists by Pharoah Merneptah mentioning in his victory
stele the defeat of Israel in the land of Canaan (ca. 1209 BCE). Humanists
reason that if Israel is being defeated in Canaan by this date, the Exodus
had to have occurred earlier.

Ancient Near Eastern history (which includes Canaan) has been divided up
into periods by archaeologists, they are as follows:
Early Bronze Age (3100-2000), Middle Bronze Age (2000-1550), Late Bronze Age
(1550-1200 BCE) and Iron Age (1200-586 BCE).

If the Pentateuchal accounts really are eyewitness accounts at the hand of
Moses or a near contemporary, then we should expect the archaeological data
to support "in toto" _ALL THE TEXTS_ in detail. If  discrepancies appear
between the archaeological record and the texts then explanations are
warranted to explain the reason for the impasse.

Not all the places mentioned in the Exodus narratives have been identified.
Some identifications are tentative and others are challenged, there being no
consensus on some sites. These problems reduce considerably the number of
sites that can be brought to bear for the dating of the Pentateuchal
accounts concerning the Exodus. The archaeological data for the below cities
is available under the city's name in the Anchor Bible Dictionary (6 Vols.)
by Doubleday & Co., 1992.

We are told that shaortly after mourning the death of Aaron at Mt. Hor, that
Israel was attacked by the Canaanite king of Arad in the Negeb. In revenge,
Israel struck back destroying several cities in the region calling that
place Hormah (Numbers 21:1; 33:40). Still later we are told that Joshua was
vicorious over the king of Hormah and the king of Arad (Joshua 12:14).

Tell Arud has been identified as ancient Arad. Hebrew inscriptions found on
pottery shards in the Iron age levels mention the site by name. Careful
archaeological excavations revealed that the city had been occupied in the
Early Bronze Age, but abandoned throughout the Middle and Late Bronze
periods, being resettled in the Iron Age. The archaeological evidence does
not support the Pentateuchal narratives, because the city was abandoned from
ca. 2550 to 1200 BCE, during the three posited periods for an Exodus, 1540
BCE (Hyksos), 1446 BCE (1 Kings 6:1, Conservatives), and 1250 BCE
(Humanists).

Sihon the Amorite is portrayed as the mighty conqueoror of Moab, his
conquests extending to and including Dibon. The Pentateuchal accounts
portray Israel defeating him and taking possession of his lands (Numbers
21:21-31).

Excavations at Tell Hesban have established the site was not occupied until
after 1200 BCE, and then only by a small village. It is not till the 8th-7th
century BCE that actual ruins are found in place, revealing a relatively
properous town.

Excavations at Dhiban reveal that it was unoccupied throughout the Middle
and Late Bronze Age, ca. 2000 to 1200 BCE.

It would appear that Heshbon and Dibon do not support the Pentateuchal
narratives, neither city being in existence when the posited Exodus took
place (1540, 1446, 1250 BCE).

Ai has been identified with et-Tell. Excavations reveal the city existed in
the Early Bronze Age, was abandoned throughout the Middle and Late Bronze
Ages, and settled in the Iron Age period. So, Ai (if Et-Tell) was an
abandoned ruin from ca. 2000-1200 BCE, neither the 1540, 1446 or 1250 BCE
Exodus dates is supported for Joshua's conquest of that city.

Jericho is famous for the falling of its walls as a result of  Joshua's
trumpets blasting (Joshua 6:16). Archaeologists did uncover fallen walls at
Jericho. In fact they had determined the walls had been subjected to
numerous collapses due to earthquake activity, but all this was in the Early
Bronze Age 3000-2000 BCE. There were no fallen walls in any later periods.
So, the story of Jericho's fallen walls is not an event datable to an Exodus
in 1540, 1446, or 1250 BCE.

In Conclusion:

We have several cities which were  unoccupied when the Exodus supposedly
took place ca. 1540, 1446, and 1250 BCE. How to explain this impasse. Those
seeking verification of the Pentateuchal accounts might want to argue that
these cities have been incorrectly identified, or perhaps more excavation
needs to be done,or perhaps the archaeolgical data has been misread, or a
flawed chronological system is being employed by the archaeologists.

For myself, being a Humanist, the archaeolgical data reveals that the Exodus
as portrayed in the Pentateuchal narratives never happened, it is a fairy
tale, with its fairy-tale characters, Moses, Aaron, Phineas, Joshua, the
King of Arad and Sihon the Amorite, and their imaginary dialogs arising from
the fertile mind of the narrator. If Moses wrote the Pentateuch in either
1540, 1446, or 1250 BCE he would not have included accounts about
non-existent cities. The presence of these places indicates the Exodus
account had to have been written many centuries after the events, to get the
history so garbled.

Yet, behind this fairy-tale lies a historical kernel, the Hyksos expulsion
of 1540 BCE. My research suggests that Madai's Japhethic descent (Genesis
10:2) is based on the Persian royal court's reworking of the Athenian Greek
Medus myth in 490 BCE, using it to justify their invasion of Greece. Noah's
blessing of Japheth (Genesis 9:27) alludes to Cyrus' Medo-Persian empire, he
possessing royal Median blood from Astages, his grandfather (the last king
of Media). Greeks and Jews both called the Persians Medes, so as Madai, they
are descendants of Japheth/Iapetos, the father of the Greeks.

My research then, supports Redford's position that the Hyksos expulsion is
the "historical kernel" behind the Exodus narratives, and that the account
was written in Post-Exilic times, probably between 490-458 BCE.

Although I believe the present account is of the 5th century BCE, I do note
that there are motifs in the Pre-Exilic prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and
Hosea that suggest knowledge of an Exodus from Egypt, so some of the
traditions in the Pentateuch's Exodus account are most likely Pre-Exilic.

All the best,

Walter

Walter Reinhold Warttig Mattfeld
Walldorf by Heidelberg
Baden-Wurttemburg
Germany