Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Stephen Segall <segall AT umich.edu>]

Many biblical scholars contend that there is no evidence that the Exodus
actually took place. They believe the Israelites were an indigenous
Cannanite tribe that never lived in Egypt, that there never was an Exodus,
that Moses never existed, that the Law of Moses was derived from the Code
of Hammurabi, and that the Torah is a work of fiction created by
Babylonian Jewish exiles. If the Israelites never were in Egypt, then
studying Egyptian history to understand the historical process that led to
the Exodus is a waste of time.

A new book that addresses these issues is "Understanding the Exodus and
Other Mysteries of Jewish History" by S.B. Segall, published by Etz Haim
Press. This book is written by a scientist and shows that in addition to
archeological evidence and comparison with other ancient documents, the
description of natural phenomena (described as miracles) in the Torah can
be used as evidence supporting the occurrence of these events. The
accuracy with which the phenomena are described can give some indication
of the accuracy of the rest of the story. In the case of the Exodus, the
phenomena described are sufficiently rare and localized that there is
virtually no possibility they would have been included in the story if the
Exodus did not occur.

You can find out more about the book from the Etz Haim Press website
www.etzhaimpress.com. The book was written for a general adult audience.