Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Yigal Levin <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>]

Karl,

The story gives so little historical detail (names of kings, reference to 
events that we could identify in Egyptian records etc.) that claiming that 
it "is consistent with it being a history of events with the exodus itself 
being at the end of the Hyksos period" is simply unbased. The fact is that 
the Exodus, whether it "really" happened or not, is totally undocumented in 
Egyptian history.
I agree that the Exodus story reads like a record of historical events, 
albeit seen through a very biased theological lens. So does the flood 
narrative. But there is no extra-biblical corroboration for either.

Yigal


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Karl Randolph" <kwrandolph AT email.com>
To: "b-hebrew" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Saturday, November 05, 2005 9:43 PM
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] midwives


> Yigal:
>
> Whether we believe that the text gives an accurate history
> or not is irrelevant: stylistically the story is consistent with it
> being a history of events with the exodus itself being at the
> end of the Hyksos period.
>
> If you remember from over a year ago, Marianne Luban
> mentioned that an Egyptian princess going to the river
> and calling the boy by a Semitic name were not consistent
> with Egyptian history, but why not if she were Hyksos?
>
> Personally, if I run across a document that claims to be a
> history of events, unless there is evidence to the contrary, I
> tend to give it the benefit of the doubt. Stylistically, Torah is
> written as a history. It is written in prose, not verse, though
> it includes a few snippets of poetry. There is no evidence
> either internally or externally that it is anything other than
> history.
>
> The only claims I have seen that ague against its
> historicity are philosophic, not historical. It is for this
> reason that arguments concerning history are to be
> off list for this forum.
>
> So in conclusion, whether you accept it as history or not
> is irrelevant, stylistically we have a story taking place in
> Egypt apparently during the Hyksos period, where it is
> possible that the midwives were Hyksos with Semitic
> names.
>
> Karl W. Randolph.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Yigal Levin" <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>
> > Karl, now you're back to advocating a 15th century Exodus. There is no
> > reason to think that the author of Exodus had ever heard of the so-called
> > "Hyksos". And that, as I wrote before, the real issue - what the author 
> > of
> > Exodus intended his readers to think about the midwives, not who we, with
> > our "understanding" of "real history" think they might have been.
> >
> > Yigal
>
> --
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