Moses, The Exodus And A Family Feud -- By: Joseph LoMusio

Journal: Bible and Spade (Second Run)
Volume: BSPADE 02:3 (Summer 1989)
Article: Moses, The Exodus And A Family Feud
Author: Joseph LoMusio


Moses, The Exodus And A Family Feud

Joseph LoMusioa

Fixing an Exodus Date is Very Important

An attempt to fix a date for the Exodus of the Hebrew slaves from the land of Egypt remains an intriguing quest for many scholars and students of the Bible. The endeavor is frustrated significantly in that neither an exact date1 {related to our own century) nor any Pharaoh’s name is given in the scriptural text. From a Biblical perspective, Moses

Sphinx - seven stories high and nearly a football field Thutmose IV cleared the sand around it in the 15th c. B.C. the large tablet - the Dream Stela - between its paws. This stella may give a clue as to who was the Pharaoh of the Exodus and why.

maintains the position as the central character, however all would agree that the identity of one or two key Pharaohs could be essential in determining when the Exodus occurred.

Most scholars are in harmony that the Biblical narrative implies the last Pharaoh of the period of the oppression had a long reign. While the oppression of the Hebrews undoubtedly spanned the administrations of a number of rulers, the most oppressive period, leading up to the years just before the Exodus, was the result of a Pharaoh who ruled for many years.

This can be deduced from the reference in Exodus 2:23, which reads:

“And it came to pass in the course of those many days, that the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage and they cried” (NIV translates: “During that long period...”).

The third chapter of Exodus then goes on to record God’s calling of Moses to leave the land of Midian, return to Egypt, confront the new Pharaoh, and orchestrate the exodus from bondage.

The sense of the narrative seems clear in showing that the Pharaoh who died was, in fact, the one who can be identified as the “Pharaoh of the Oppression,” and that his reign was for “many days” (yamim harabim). Furthermore, it should be logical to expect that his suc-

SIDEBAR:

Merneptah and the Israelites

Bryant G. Wood

The Merneptah Stela records a campaign into Palestine by Pharaoh Merneptah in the 13th century, BC. On the stela he specifically mentions Gezer, which has a destruction layer dating to the time of...

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