Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 48:3 (Sep 2005)
Article: The Rise And Fall Of The 13th-Century Exodus- Conquest Theory
Author: Bryant G. Wood

JETS 48:3 (September 2005) p. 475

The Rise And Fall Of The 13th-Century Exodus-
Conquest Theory

Bryant G. Wood

Bryant G. Wood resides at 4328 Crestview Road, Harrisburg, PA 17112.

The 13th-century exodus-conquest theory was formulated by William F. Albright in the 1930s, based largely on Palestinian archaeological evidence, and promoted by him throughout his career.1 In the years following Albright's death in 1971, however, evidence for the proposal dissipated and most Palestinian archaeologists abandoned the idea.2 In spite of the fact that the theory runs counter to Scripture, a number of evangelicals continue to hold to this view, prompting Carl G. Rasmussen to comment, "the Late-Date Exodus/ Conquest Model has been abandoned by many scholars ... it seems that currently the major adherents to the Late-Date Exodus/Conquest Model are some evangelicals!"3 A strong advocate of the theory is Kenneth A. Kitchen, who recently gave a detailed exposition of it in his On the Reliability of the Old Testament.4

I. Basis For The 13th-Century Exodus-Conquest Theory

Albright used three sites as evidence for a conquest in the late 13th century bc: Tell Beit Mirsim, which he identified as Debir;5 Beitin, identified as

JETS 48:3 (September 2005) p. 476

Bethel;6 and Lachish.7 All three were excavated in the 1930s, and in each case a violent destruction layer was found which was dated to the end of the 13th century bc. At both Tell Beit Mirsim and Beitin the destruction of a relatively prosperous Late Bronze Age city was followed by a much poorer Iron Age I culture, which Albright identified as Israelite. At Lachish, on the other hand, the destruction was followed by a period of abandonment. Albright assigned a hieratic inscription dated to "regnal year four" found at Lachish to the fourth year of Merenptah and used it to date the conquest to ca. 1230 bc, based on the high Egyptian chronology in use at the time.8

A fourth major site was added to the list when Yigael Yadin excavated Hazor in the 1950s.9 Again, a violent destruction occurred toward the end of the 13th century bc. This was followed by a period of abandonment, which, in turn, was followed by a poor Iron Age I settlemen...