Bibliotheca Sacra 140 (1983) 225-43.
Copyright © 1983 by
The
Date of the Exodus Reexamined
Charles
H. Dyer
Why reexamine the date of the
Exodus? Some might object to such
a reexamination of the evidence as simply “beating a dead horse.” However,
this type of objection fails on two counts. First, each generation needs to
reexamine the problem to decide for itself the validity of the possible
solutions based on the most recent textual and archaeological studies. New
evidence can help condemn or confirm previous hypotheses. Second, the
problem must be reexamined because other options are continually being
advanced which must be evaluated.1
Because of the limited scope
of this article, only the two views which
currently hold sway in the Exodus problem will be examined. These are
known as the “early date” and the “late date.” The early date places the
Exodus in 1445 B.C. while the late date identifies the Exodus as having
occurred about 1290 B.C.
The Late Date
The late date is that date
held by nearly all liberal scholars and by a fair
number of conservative scholars. Four lines of evidence are presented in
favor of a late date.
The Cities of Pithom and Raamses
A biblical argument used to
support the late date of the Exodus is based
on Exodus 1:11. “So they appointed taskmasters
[Charles H.
Dyer, Assistant to the Academic Dean, Instructor in Bible Exposition,
Theological Seminary]
1 The most recent theory is
that advanced by Hans Goedicke which places the Exodus in 1477 B.C.
during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut (Hershel Shanks, “The Exodus and the
Crossing of the Red Sea
According to Hans Goedicke,” Biblical Archaeology Review 7
[September-October 1981]: 42-50). This
position was popularized in a recent issue of Reader’s Digest (Ronald
Schiller, “The Biblical Exodus: Fact
or Fiction,” Reader’s Digest, April 1983, pp. 133-38). For a
critique of the new theory see Eliezer D. Oren,
“How Not to Create a History of the Exodus—A Critique of Professor Goedicke’s
Theories,” Biblical
Archaeology Review, 7 (November-December 1981): 46-53.
225
226 / Bibliotheca Sacra -- July 1983
over them to afflict them with hard labor.
And they built for Pharaoh
storage cities, Pithom and Raamses.” The thrust of this argument is this: (1)
The Israelites built the city of
is to be equated with the city of
who ruled from 1240 to 1224. (3) Therefore the Exodus must have occurred
sometime in the 13th century during the reign of this pharaoh. Kitchen feels
that this argument alone is determinative for dating the Exodus in the 13th
century.2
Those who hold to this
position have failed to prove two links in their
chain of evidence. First, they have failed to prove that the city of
mentioned in Exodus 1:11 should be equated with Pi-Ramesse built by
Ramesses II. Rather they have assumed the connection solely on the basis
of similarity of the words “Raamses” and “Ramesses.” Second, they have
failed to prove that a similarity of names requires a chronological unity
between the two events. That is, even if the two cities are to be
equated, this
still does not by itself prove that the events occurred simultaneously.
Those
holding a late Exodus date must still demonstrate a chronological harmony.
Unger attempts to argue against
the late date of the Exodus by using
the second argument from the preceding paragraph. He argues that the
reference to Raamses in Exodus 1:11 does not provide a chronological
marker that can be used to date the Exodus. Instead it is a later
“modernization” of the Hebrew text used to designate a city which was in
existence before Ramesses II.3
While Unger’s explanation is
possible, it does (to this author) raise
some questions concerning the validity of the biblical text. And yet the
possible validity of his argument must be allowed by those who attempt to
use Exodus 1:11 to prove a late date. The reason for this can be explained
as follows. If the Exodus took place about 1290 or 1280 B.C. and if Moses
was 80 years old at the time of the Exodus (Exod 7:7), then Moses was born
in 1370-1360 B.C. The text of Exodus 1 indicates that the building of
the cities of Pithom and Raamses preceded Pharaoh’s command to kill all
newborn males, which preceded the birth of Moses. Therefore the building
of the city of
45 years before the start of the Nineteenth Dynasty and the first Ramasside
king! Thus either the city of
Ramesses II (which would allow for a prior city in Exodus 1:11) or else the
name is a later modernization (which would allow for Unger’s
2 Kenneth A. Kitchen, Ancient
Orient and Old Testament (
pp. 57-59.
3 Merrill F. Unger, Archaeology
and the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House,
1954), pp. 149-50.
4 John H. Walton, Chronological
Charts of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing
House, 1978), p. 31.
Date of Exodus / 227
argument). In either case those who hold
to a 13th-century Exodus cannot
argue against the early-date interpretation of Exodus 1:11 without
destroying their own argument.
Because of the doctrine of inspiration,
this writer feels more
comfortable in adopting the first argument—the lack of evidence for
associating the city of
built by Ramesses II. In fact, the biblical text provides some support for not
making this identification. Genesis 47:11 clearly indicates that the name
“Rameses” was in use before the time of Ramesses II. “So Joseph settled
his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the
in the best of the land, in the
Obviously no one would date the entrance of
reign of Ramesses II on the basis of this verse. But since the presence of the
term here does not indicate a chronological correspondence, then why does
the presence of the term in Exodus 1:11 indicate such correspondence?
Why could not Exodus 1:11 be referring to a city of this area called
Rameses the name of which existed centuries before Ramesses II? Merrill
argues cogently for this possibility.
…it
is by no means certain that the city of
after
the Pharaoh of that name. In fact, Genesis 47:11 states that Jacob
and
his family settled in the land of Rameses when they entered Egypt
in
the nineteenth century; unless we postulate an anachronism, for
which
there is not the slightest proof, we must conclude that there was
an
area by that name before there was ever a Pharaoh Rameses. It could
well
be that there had been an ancient Ramesside dynasty long ages
before
and the Ramessides of the Nineteenth Dynasty were named for
them,
the city also having taken this name. In any case, there is no need
to
assume that the mention of the city of
Exodus
must have taken place during the reign of Rameses II.5
Exodus 1:11 offers little
proof for the late date of the Exodus. The city
mentioned was founded and named at least 70 years before the reign of
Ramesses II even if one assumes the late date. It was located in an area
which had been designated as “the
Ramesses II. Thus there is no compelling evidence for associating the city
with Ramesses II solely on the basis of similarity of name.
The Status of
The second argument advanced
in favor of the late date focuses on the
status of
5
1966). p. 107.
228 / Bibliotheca
Sacra -- July 1983
Exodus. “From
Kadesh Moses then sent messengers to the king of
‘Please let us pass through your land. We shall not pass through field or
through vineyard; we shall not even drink water from a well. We shall go
along the king’s highway, not turning to the right or left, until we pass
through your territory.’
through us, lest I come out with the sword against you’…. And
out against him with a heavy force, and with a strong hand” (Num 20:17–
20). “Then the sons of
and beyond the
was king of
These
verses indicate that
period shortly after the Exodus. However, according to Glueck the
Since the book
of Numbers refers to established kingdoms in the
namely, the kingdoms of the Moabites and Ammonites, through whose territories
the Israelites had to cross, and since
surface explorations carried on for two decades
by Nelson Glueck showed little or no
trace of sedentary life in that region until the
thirteenth century, some see in this
another evidence that the Exodus took place in
the thirteenth rather than in the fifteenth century B.C.7
The Bible
records the fact that
Glueck no evidence of any nations inhabiting this area between 1800 and
1300 B.C. has been found. His archaeological work sought to prove that the
appear till the 13th century.8
Can
this argument be answered? Merrill offers a simple explanation,
which attacks the central weakness of Glueck’s position.
The answer is
quite obvious from a careful study of the Old Testament
record and even a superficial knowledge of Biblical geography. We are
told that Moses wanted to take the King’s Highway, a road which passed
through an extremely narrow mountain pass into and out from the city of
(Sela). This pass could easily be defended by only a very few hundred
well-trained
troops, and they need not be sedentary
peoples. Nomads or semi-nomads
could well have occupied the area in such sufficient numbers that they
precluded
6 Nelson Glueck, The
Other Side of the
Research, 1940), pp. 125-47.
7 Siegfried J. Schwantes,
A Short History of the Ancient Near East (Grand Rapids: Baker Book
House. 1965), p. 158.
8
(Fall 1977): 12.
Date of Exodus / 229
their existence
would explain the lack of any material remains such as permanent
structures…. The absence of remains of a settled people need not militate
against
the early date of the Exodus if the people simply did not leave remains. Argumentum
ad silentum is not sufficient to overthrow the Biblical position.9
Merrill’s
point is well taken. An argument based on negative evidence is
always tenuous. Thus it is interesting to note Kitchen’s inconsistency in this
regard. He uses Glueck’s survey as his first line of proof from Palestinian
archaeology to argue against the early date and for the late date of the
Exodus.10 However, he offers
a different explanation of the evidence when
excavations at Dibon failed to find any support for a settlement there in the
13th century (which would be required according to the Book of Num).
In
excavations found virtually nothing of Late Bronze Age date, even though
Dibon is mentioned in Numbers (21:30 ; 32:2, 34, 33:45–46 , etc.). precisely
like the “gap” at the Negeb sites.
However, in this case we have independent
written evidence at first hand to prove the existence of Dibon in the
thirteenth
century BC: the war-reliefs of Ramesses II depicting his conquest of Batora
and of Dibon “in the land of Moab,” these being shown as fortresses…. the
archaeological data from Dibon (Dhiban) are clearly inadequate, as is so
often the case with mute, uninscribed, time-worn, incompletely-dug,
archaeological
sites. Such evidence is a very unsatisfactory basis from which to pass
judgment
upon the biblical or any other literary source.11
Perhaps
Kitchen should be more consistent in his application of the
biblical and archaeological evidence. Glueck’s surface explorations are
hardly sufficient to pass judgment on the occupation of the
area. Archer provides the most complete attack on this position.
But Glueck’s
investigations were largely in the nature of surface exploration,
and could hardly have been called thorough. Moreover, there has come to
light more recently a new line of evidence which seems to belie his deductions.
In the Biblical Archaeologist for
February 1953, C. Lankester Harding reported
that the discovery of an ancient tomb in Amman containing numerous artifacts
(including black pricked ware, button-base vases, oil flasks, scarabs, and
toggle
pins) dating from about 1600 B.C. In Harding’s Antiquities of Jordan
(1959) he
also speaks of characteristic Middle Bronze pottery and other objects found
at Naur and
1967 (ASOR newsletter, Dec. 1967). A Late Bronze Age temple was
uncovered
under a runway at the
excavations at Deir Alla and those of Siegfried Horn at
9 Merrill, Historical
Survey, p. 108.
10 Kitchen, Ancient
Orient, pp. 61-62.
11 Kenneth A. Kitchen, The
Bible in its World: The Bible and Archaeology Today (Downers Grove,
IL: InterVarsity Press, 1977), p. 88
(italics added).
230 /
Bibliotheca Sacra -- July 1983
Heshbon have
shown that the pottery of Transjordan was quite dissimilar
from that produced on the west bank of the
Yamauchi suggests that Glueck mistakenly assumed the homogeneity of
pottery from both regions and thus may have introduced confusion into his
interpretation of the data (ibid.).
Further excavation will no doubt uncover more
products of this intermediate period and demonstrate once again the fallacy of
hasty conclusions from superficial investigations.12
Once
again an argument for the late date of the Exodus must be rejected.
The argument is primarily an argument from silence which can be
explained in the light of the lack of archaeological evidence left by a
nomadic or semi-nomadic people. Also, additional evidence has been
trickling in, evidence which does seem to confirm the existence of
people
in the
The Situation in
Perhaps
the strongest evidence in favor of the late date is found in the
archaeology of western
Various
Palestinian city-sites show evidence of clear destruction in the
second half of the 13th century B.C., which would agree with the onset
of the Israelites placed at roughly 1240 B.C. onward. Such sites are Tell
Beit Mirsim (possibly biblical Debir/Kiriath-sepher),
The evidence in this section is too numerous to
examine in detail. However,
some material needs to be considered carefully. Two specific archaeological
sites
will be considered.
the Israelites as they entered Canaan was
approximately 40 years after the Exodus, the dating of the fall of
provide a clue for the dating of the Exodus. Initial work by Garstang seemed to
provide good support for the early date of the Exodus.14
While Garstang’s position is still held by some
conservative writers,15 most
have abandoned the position in favor of that proposed by Kenyon. Kenyon has
done extensive work at
The evidence of
the published pottery makes it clear, in the first place, that none
of the areas excavated were occupied in the thirteenth century, nor the tombs
discovered used then. There is no trace of any of the comparatively well-known
thirteenth century forms. On the other hand, it is clear that there was
occupation
within some part of the fourteenth century. Our knowledge of
12 Gleason L. Archer,
Jr., A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, rev. ed. (Chicago: Moody
Press,
1974), pp. 225-26.
13 The Illustrated
Bible Dictionary. s.v. “Chronology (OT),” by Kenneth A. Kitchen and T. C.
Mitchell, 1:275.
14 John Garstang and J.
B. E. Garstang, The Story of
& Scott, 1948), p. 179.
15 Unger, Archaeology
and the Old Testament, pp. 146-48. See also Archer, Survey of Old
Testament Introduction, pp.
223-24.
Date of Exodus / 231
pottery makes it
difficult to assign very exact dates. It would appear that
most of the typically fifteenth forms are lacking. . . . 16
The
question now, however, is this: which date of the Exodus does the
archaeological evidence from
the ruins themselves is somewhat sketchy. Kitchen notes that “the Late
Bronze Age levels appear to have been almost completely washed away
during the four centuries that the mound lay desolate from Joshua until
Ahab’s time….”17 Thus much of
the evidence has been lost or jumbled
through erosion and weathering over the centuries. Still, Waltke believes
that a date can be established through the use of other archaeological markers.
Now can the fall
of the city be dated more precisely during the Late Bronze
period? Garstang argued convincingly that the Conquest must have occurred
before the reign of Akhenaten, who began to reign ca. 1375 B.C. because
(1) not one of the distinctive, plentiful, and well-established archaeological
criteria characteristic of Akhenaten’s reign has been found in either the city
or in the tombs; (2) there is no reference to Jericho in the Amarna letters
dated
to Akhenaten’s reign, though numerous cities of Canaan are mentioned
frequently:
(3) there is no scarab after Amenhotep III (1412 B.C.-1375 B.C.) though there
survived an abundant and continuous series of scarabs of the Egyptian kings
from the Middle Bronze Age right on down through the reign of Hatshepsut,
Thutmose III, and Amenhotep III of the Late Bronze I period. Confessedly these
are all negative evidences and may be subject to other explanations than that
the
Canaanite city ceased to exist before 1375 B.C., but together they lead to the
plausible suggestion that the destruction of the city previously established by
the ceramic evidence between 1410 B.C. and 1340 B.C. occurred before 1375 B.C.18
While
Waltke labels his evidence for a 1375 B.C. destruction “negative
evidences,” one item could be considered in a more positive sense as an
answer to Kenyon’s position. Kenyon has argued that there is no evidence
of occupation suddenly ending about 1375 B.C. However, she is then
forced to deal with a 15th-century royal scarab which was found in one of
the tombs by proposing a concept that has no supporting evidence.
The suggestion put
forward in the report that [the scarab] was the insignia of
office of the person buried is tempting, but it is so much at variance with the
lack of what we now know as fifteenth century pottery, that it can only be
suggested that it was an heirloom. We have not sufficient evidence of how in
allow such a find by itself to contradict other evidence.19
16 Kathleen M. Kenyon,
“Some Notes on the History of
Palestinian Exploration
Quarterly 83 (1951): 121-22.
17 Kitchen, Ancient
Orient, p. 62.
18 Waltke, “Palestinian
Artifactual Evidence Supporting the Early Date of the Exodus,” Bibliotheca
Sacra 129 (January-March
1972): 40-41.
19 Kenyon, “Notes on
the History of
232 /
Bibliotheca Sacra -- July 1983
Kenyon
seems to be guilty of manipulating her evidence to fit a
preconceived idea. If evidence is found which contradicts her thesis she
explains it away even though there is no warrant for doing so. Taken as a
whole the evidence for
destruction of the walls in 1400 has been challenged by Kenyon, she has
not conclusively shown that her alternative is correct. Additional evidence
points to a destruction sometime between 1400 and 1375 B.C. Still, the
evidence is mixed.
Hazor. The second city
to be examined is Hazor. This site has been
extensively excavated by Yigael Yadin. He discovered evidence of 21 cities
covering a span of 2,550 years from 2700 B.C. to 150 B.C.20 Yadin
accepts
the late date for the Exodus and Conquest and associates the destruction of
the city “at the end of the Late Bronze Age II in the second half of the 13th
cent. B.C.”21
However,
Yadin does present some other interesting evidence. He notes
the discovery of a Late Bronze II period gate erected on the foundation of
the earlier Middle Bronze Age II gate.22 He then writes:
This gate must
have been destroyed in a violent conflagration, though the
exterior walls still stand to a height of nine feet. Traces of the burnt bricks
of its inner walls and the ashes of the burnt beams still cover the floors in
thick heaps. The evidence suggests that this destruction occurred
before
the final destruction of Hazor by the
Israelites, but this problem remains
to be studied.23
While
the point could easily be missed, it is significant. Since Yadin
accepts the 1250 B.C. destruction as being that of
another earlier destruction also took place during the Late Bronze II period.
Walton dates both phases of the Late Bronze II period as extending from
1400 to 1200 B.C.24 Thus if
two destructions were in this period, how does
one know which is to be associated with the Exodus? The first would
correspond to the early date for the Exodus and the second would
correspond to the late date for the Exodus. But which destruction is correct?
The problem is even more complex because a third period of destruction is
also in evidence during this period.
There are then
from the Late Bronze Age Canaanite city layers of destruction
at ca. 1400 B.C., ca. + 1300 B.C. and ca. + 1230 B.C.
Moreover, there is no occupation
after 1230 B.C. on the
1230 B.C. and the era of Solomon. The interpretive problem then is: “With which
of these strata shall one associate Joshua?” Most probably Yadin is
20 Yigael Yadin, “The
Fourth Season of Excavation at Hazor,” The Biblical Archaeologist 22
(February 1959): 3.
21 Ibid., p. 4.
22 Ibid., p. 8.
23 Ibid., p. 9 (italics
added).
24 Walton, Chronological
Charts, p. 28.
Date of
Exodus / 233
correct in his
suggestion that the destruction level at ca. + 1300 B.C. should
be associated with the burning of the city by Seti I (ca. 1318 B.C.). So
then
one is left with the destruction levels at 1400 B.C. and 1230 B.C. Yadin opted
for the 1230 B.C. level.25
Which
date should be assigned to Joshua? The Bible itself helps provide
an answer. Judges 4:2–3 indicates that Jabin, king of Hazor, oppressed the
Israelites during the period of the Judges for 20 years.
delivered by Deborah and Barak when they destroyed Jabin (4:23–24).
Whitcomb places the defeat of Jabin approximately 165 years after
Joshua’s destruction of Hazor.26 This passage argues strongly
against the
1230 destruction as that of Joshua since the city was uninhabited between
1230 and the time of Solomon. As Waltke notes, “If the city ceased to exist
after 1230 B.C., and if it is still in existence at least three or four
generations after Joshua, then Joshua’s destruction cannot be attributed to
the destruction level dated at 1230 B.C. . . ”27
Rather
than arguing for the late date of the Exodus, the destruction at
Hazor actually favors the early date. In fact, neither Hazor nor
argue conclusively for the late date of the Exodus. The data are capable of
harmonization with the early date and in fact sometimes fit better with that
date.
The Location of Pharaoh’s Residence
A fourth
argument in favor of the late date for the Exodus centers on the
location of pharaoh’s residence during the time of the Exodus. Those who
hold to the late date argue that during the Eighteenth Dynasty (1580-1314
B.C.) the capital of
Nineteenth Dynasty that it was moved to the north to Pi-Ramesses. Thus
for the pharaoh to have been geographically close to the Israelites (as the
Exodus account seems to indicate), the pharaoh must have been from the
Nineteenth Dynasty since only the Nineteenth Dynasty capital of Pi-
Ramesses is close enough to the land of Goshen.28
Kitchen
concurs with this assessment when he notes, “The official
building-works of the Ramesside kings in the E. Delta are usually found to
be the first original works there since the Hyksos period four centuries
earlier. . . .”29 Obviously if this evidence is true, then one would
be hard
pressed to place the pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty near the
evidence actually support these claims? This writer thinks not.
25 Waltke, “Palestinian
Artifactual Evidence,” p. 44.
26 John C. Whitcomb, Chart
of the Old Testament Patriarchs and Judges (Chicago: Moody Press,
1968).
27 Waltke, “Palestinian
Artifactual Evidence,” p. 44.
28 J. A. Thompson, The
Bible and Archaeology, 3d ed. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co., 1982). pp. 60-62.
29 Kitchen, Ancient
Orient, p. 59. n. 11.
234
/ Bibliotheca Sacra -- July 1983
pharaoh’s presence in the Delta region during the Eighteenth Dynasty.
However, it is
well known both from archaeological remains and important
inscriptions that the Eighteenth Dynasty pharaohs did have a keen interest
in building projects in the northern
part of
granite obelisks erected by Thutmose III in front of the Temple of Ra’-
Heliopolis, a scarab has been discovered that refers to the birth of
Amenhotep II as having taken place in Memphis just below Heliopolis.
It appears that as a youth Amenhotep II
spent considerable time in that
area. It has also been demonstrated that in the Eighteenth Dynasty there
were two viziers in
Since Eighteenth Dynasty pharaohs were very active in Palestinian
campaigns, it would seem reasonable that they would have established
garrisons and store-cities somewhere in the Delta region to facilitate movement
between Syro-Palestinian sites and
Other
archaeological evidence found in
statement. A stela from Amenhotep II was found in
recorded some of his military exploits. One section dealt with his victorious
return to
the God’s Wife, King’s Wife, and King’s [Daughter] beheld the victory of
his majesty.”31 The text
seems to imply that the king at least had a
temporary dwelling in the Delta area where his family would at times reside
and which he would use as his base of operation for excursions into
The
location of the pharaoh’s residence has little bearing on the date of
the Exodus since the pharaohs of both the Eighteenth and Nineteenth
Dynasties had residences in the northern delta region. Thus the pharaoh
could easily come from either dynasty and still meet the scriptural
requirements.
Conclusion
Much
of the evidence advanced in favor of the late date is based on
archaeological data which are subject to different interpretations. None of
the material offers compelling evidence in favor of the late date. Instead, all
the data can harmonize with the early date.
The Early Date
The
early date of the Exodus (ca. 1445 B.C.) is held by many (but not
all) conservative scholars. Several lines of evidence,
30 John J. Davis, Moses
and the Gods of
31 James B. Pritchard. Ancient
Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 3d ed. (Princeton,
NJ: Princeton University Press,
1969), p. 246.
Date
of Exodus / 235
both biblical and
archaeological, are often presented as support for an early
date.
First Kings 6:1
Perhaps
the strongest evidence in favor of an early date is the statement
of 1 Kings 6:1 which dates the beginning of the construction of the temple.
“Now it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons
of
reign over
began to build the house of the Lord.” Whitcomb dates the fourth year of
Solomon’s reign to 966 B.C.32 Thus 480 years prior to the fourth year of
Solomon would place the Exodus at 1445 B.C.
Since
the statement of 1 Kings 6:1 is so straightforward, one wonders
why the early date for the Exodus would ever be questioned. And yet
questions are raised.
Against this
line of reasoning stands the plain statement of
1 K. 6:1 that
there were 480 years between the Exodus
and the building of the
If the reasoning is correct, how can that figure be explained? Commonly
it is seen as a round figure, the sum of twelve generations of forty years
each. The presence of two stock numbers, twelve and forty, is enough to
create some presumption in favor of this explanation. Although there is no
direction in the text that the number should be interpreted as an
approximation,
neither is there any evidence that the Hebrew people during the judges period
had any need for, or any inclination to keep, an exact overall chronology.33
This
argument is very tenuous. First, Oswalt argues in a circle. He takes
the 480-year figure, divides it into two figures (12 and 40), and then argues
that the presence of these “stock numbers” points to the fact that the
number is an approximation. But where in the text are the numbers 12 and
40? He produced these himself from the 480 figure (i.e., 12 x 40 = 480).
Yet the text itself does not have these “stock numbers”; it simply has
480.
Second, Oswalt, fails to account for the specifics of the text in which the
“480” is couched. This was also “the fourth year of Solomon’s reign.” “the
month of Ziv,” and “the second month.” These are hardly
“approximations.” Rather the author of 1 Kings was citing a specific date
for the beginning of the temple’s construction. Should not this “create a
presumption” in favor of a literal interpretation of the 480-year figure?
Third, Oswalt is arguing from silence when he intimates that the people
during the Judges period did not keep accurate chronological records.
32 John C. Whitcomb, Chart
of the Old Testament Kings and Prophets (Chicago: Moody Press,
1968).
33 International
Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1979), s.v. “Chronology of the Old Testament,”
by J.
N. Oswalt, 1:677.
236
/ Bibliotheca Sacra -- July 1983
Judges 11:26
indicates just the opposite. Jephthah knew the exact amount
of time that
inclination to keep an exact overall chronology.” Furthermore, 1 Kings 6:1
was recorded during the monarchy; and a glance at 1 and 2 Kings reveals
that the writer was concerned with chronology. Based on his use of
numbers elsewhere in the book it seems probable that he intended the 480
year figure to be interpreted literally.
Wood
provides a telling critique of this position.
This
explanation, however, must be rejected by one who holds to a high view
of inspiration. The text in no way states or implies the thought of twelve
generations. It refers merely to the definite number 480, which means that any
idea of generations must be read into the text, One is minded to say that if
this
plain number can be reduced so drastically by this manner of analysis, then
many other biblical numbers can be similarly adjusted by parallel methods,
making Scriptural numbers very uncertain indeed.34
Those
who would seek to reinterpret 1 Kings 6:1 do so on the basis of
external archaeological evidence. Thus they are seeking to reinterpret the
biblical data to “match” the archaeological data. This is a very dangerous
position because archaeology is a very inexact, changing science. Unless
there is good textual or contextual evidence to the contrary, it is better to
let
the Bible stand on its own.
Judges 11:26
The
second argument in favor of the early date are the words of
Jephthah in Judges 11:26. “While
and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, three hundred years,
why did you not recover them within that time?” Jephthah was saying, in
effect, that
villages) in
before their invasion of
Heshbon occurred approximately 340 years before Jephthah. The problem
for those who hold the late Exodus date is obvious. If the Exodus took
place in 1280 B.C., then Jephthah would have been a judge in 940 B.C.—
during the reign of King Solomon! However, if the Exodus took place in
1445 B.C., then Jephthah judged in 1105 B.C., well within the period of the
Judges.
How
does one who holds to a late date for the Exodus answer this?
Some use a mixture of agnosticism and circular reasoning,
34
89.
Date of Exodus / 237
They begin by
assuming that the Conquest occurred around 1240-1220 B.C.
Since Jephthah’s remark (made ca. 1100) would mean the Exodus occurred
about 1400, his remark cannot be interpreted literally since it does not
square with the “evidence.” That is, they must reinterpret Scripture to “fit”
their archaeological scheme.
But here again,
we do not know the basis of Jephthah’s figure—it could, again,
be an aggregate of partly concurrent periods (e.g., for Reuben, Gad, and
East
Manasseh?), but we have no indications on which to build…. Empty speculation
is profitless, and sound method would counsel one to await fresh light on
matters
of this type. No-one is compelled to produce a complete answer when there is
simply not enough information to do so.35
Jephthah’s statement occurs. It is a prose section involving talks between
two nations, both of which are aware of the historical situation of Heshbon.
It is scarcely
possible, however, that Jephthah should make such a blunder in
the midst of important international negotiations. His knowledge of the Torah
is evident from the context of Chapter
11 of Judges. It is doubtful that Jephthah
could have exaggerated this number as it was used in the argument to the king
and have gotten away with it. The King of Ammon had some knowledge of the
historical precedence involved in
(cf. Judg 11:13). Again it would be well to point out that numerical
information
given in the passage under question does not appear in a poetic section and
therefore probably reflects sober fact.36
It
seems best to accept the testimony of Judges 11:26 at face value.
There is nothing in the context to argue against a normal interpretation.
Thus the early date of the Exodus seems to accord better with the biblical
data.
The “Dream Stele” of Thutmose IV
A
third argument advanced to support the early date for the Exodus is
the “dream stele” of Thutmose IV. This stele records a dream of Thutmose
IV in which he was promised the throne of
One of those
days it happened that the King’s Son Thut-mose came on an
excursion at noon time. Then he rested in the shadow of this great god. Sleep
took hold of him, slumbering at the time when the sun was at its peak. He found
the majesty of this august god speaking with his own mouth, as a father
speaks to his son, saying,
35 Kitchen, Ancient
Orient, pp. 74-75.
36 Davis, Moses and
the Gods of
238 / Bibliotheca Sacra -- July 1983
“See me, look at
me, my son, Thut-mose! I am thy father, Harmakhis-Khepri-
Re-Atum. I shall give thee my kingdom upon earth at the head of the living.
Thou shalt wear the southern crown and the northern crown on the throne
of Geb, the crown prince (of the gods). Thine is the land in its length and its
breadth, that which the Eye of the All-Lord illumines.”37
The
argument here is that had Thutmose IV been the firstborn son, he
would have had no need for the god to promise him the throne since he
would have already been heir. Thus he must have had an older brother who
later died. This would harmonize with the death of the firstborn at the time
of the Exodus.
It is quite
obvious that if Thutmose IV had been the eldest son of his father,
Amenhotep II, there would have been no purpose in divine promise that he
should some day become king. He would naturally have succeeded to the
throne if he had survived his father. It is a necessary inference, therefore,
that the oldest son of Amenhotep must have later predeceased his father,
thus leaving the succession to his younger brother. This well accords
with the record in Exodus 12:29 that the eldest son of Pharaoh died at the
time of the tenth plague.38
While
this argument sounds impressive, it has some serious difficulties.
First, it is an argument from silence. Second, for it to be valid Thutmose IV
would have had to be old enough to go hunting and to have such a dream
prior to the death of his brother (once the older brother was dead the dream
was unnecessary). However, as Aling notes, “This seems highly unlikely,
since the prince was at most five years old at the time of the exodus.
The
events described on the Sphinx Stele should in all probability be dated
some years after the exodus, and therefore the stele is definitely not
evidence for the death of the Egyptian firstborn.”39
While
there might be some latitude on the exact date of Thutmose IV’s
birth, Aling has presented a strong case against using the dream stele as an
argument for the early date of the Exodus. This does not argue against
the
early date; it merely indicates that the dream stele has no bearing either way
on the debate. Thus unless evidence arises which shows that (a) Thutmose
IV was old enough to have this experience before 1445 and (b) Thutmose
IV had only one older brother, it seems better to eliminate this argument
from the evidence for the early date.
The 'Apiru and the Amarna Letters
A
fourth argument for the early date of the Exodus focuses on two
interrelated events. The first is a class of people who
37 Pritchard, Ancient
Near Eastern Texts, p. 449.
38 Archer, Survey of
Old Testament Introduction, pp. 229-30.
39 Charles F. Aling, “The
Sphinx Stele of Thutmose IV and the Date of the Exodus,” Journal of the
Evangelical Theological Society 22
(June 1979): 98.
Date of Exodus / 239
invaded
written from
14th century.
The important
question is whether there is any such invasion of central and
southern
Israelite conquest under Joshua. That there is such an invasion of outsiders
recounted in the famous Amarna Letters, which deal with this period from
about 1400-1366 B.C., has been known virtually since their discovery in 1886.
These invaders, called Habiru, are etymologically actually equatable with the
Hebrews. . . . 40
The
letters of this period illustrate Unger’s point. One example is EA,
No. 271 written by Milkilu, prince of Gezar, to the pharaoh. He writes, “Let
the king, my lord, protect his land from the hand of the ‘Apiru. If not, (then)
let the king, my lord, send chariots to fetch us, lest our servants smite us.”
A second example is from ‘Abdu-Heba, king of
As truly as the
king, my lord, lives, when the commis [sioners] go forth I will
say, “Lost are the lands of the king! Do you not hearken unto me? All the
governors are lost; the king, my lord, does not have a (single) governor
(left)! Let the king turn his attention to the archers, and let the king, my
lord, send out troops of archers, (for) the king has no lands (left)!” The ‘Apiru
plunder all the lands of the king. If there are archers (here) in this year,
the
lands of the king, my lord, will remain
(intact); but if there are not archers
(here) the lands of the king, my lord, will be lost!42
While
this does seem to describe an invasion (a) at the same time as that
of an early date conquest and (b) by a people with a similar name to the
Hebrews, not all associate the ‘Apiru or the Amarna Letters with the
Israelite Conquest. Pfeiffer presents at least four arguments against this
identification: (1) “A strong argument against identification comes from the
fact that ‘Apiru appear in a wide variety of places of which there is no hint
in the Biblical narrative.” (2) “There is considerable evidence that the
‘Apiru were regarded as a social rather than an ethnic group…. The ‘Apiru
of the Amarna tablets are never described as invaders.” (3) “Although the
place names of the Amarna texts are parallel to those of the Old Testament,
the personal names are totally different.” (4) “Most contemporary scholars
date the conquest of
around 1280 B.C., as the probable date of the Exodus.”43
While
Pfeiffer’s points are well taken, his arguments are answerable.
The first argument assumes a one-for-one
40 Unger, Archaeology
and the Old Testament, pp. 145-46.
41 Pritchard, Ancient
Near Eastern Texts, pp. 486-87.
42 Ibid., p. 488.
43 Charles F. Pfeiffer, Tell
El Amarna and the Bible (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House. 1963),
pp. 52-54.
240 / Bibliotheca Sacra -- July 1983
correspondence
between ‘Apiru and Hebrew. If ‘Apiru could denote a
larger class of people of which the Hebrews were considered one segment,
then the argument has been answered. Much as one today might use the
larger designation “American” or “European” to denote an individual who
is actually from
designated by the larger term ‘Apiru. Pfeiffer’s second argument is also
somewhat moot for it is difficult to distinguish social and ethnic traits from
the limited material available. Also it is easy to see the invading Israelites
as both a social group (with their own laws, patterns of conduct, etc.)
and
an ethnic group. Pfeiffer’s third argument assumes that individuals had only
one name. However, there are examples in the Bible of individuals who had
two names (or more). It is possible that the two accounts are reflecting the
two different names (cf. 2 Kings 23:34 where Eliakim’s name was changed
to Jehoiakim by the pharaoh to signify
Pfeiffer’s fourth argument involved circular reasoning. He is assuming
what he is trying to prove.
While
Pfeiffer’s arguments can be answered, he should cause one to
think before indiscriminately applying archaeological evidence to biblical
events. Actually the Amarna letters and the ‘Apiru by themselves do not
prove the early date for the Exodus. Apart from clear scriptural testimony
placing the Hebrews in the same location during the same period of time
the evidence would be incomplete. As it is, the Amarna letters and the
‘Apiru can confirm the early date of the Exodus but they cannot prove
the
early date.
Other Evidence
Other
relatively minor arguments are offered in favor of an early date
for the Exodus. The first of these is the argument from antiquity. Josephus
quoted the Egyptian historian Manetho to show that his records mention the
Exodus. Josephus quoted Manetho as saying that “Tethmosis was king
when they went away.” However, Josephus then chided Manetho for erring
in later declaring that a king named “Amenophis” was the pharaoh at the
time of the Exodus.44 Could it be possible that Josephus was
preserving a
garbled tradition that was associating Thutmose III and Amenhotep II with
the Exodus? One cannot say for sure but the similarity is striking.
A
second minor argument offered in favor of an early date for the
Exodus is based on the chronology of the life of Moses. Moses
44 Josephus Contra
Apionem 1.26.
Date
of Exodus / 241
was 40 years old
when he fled from the pharaoh after killing an Egyptian
(Exod 2:11–15; Acts 7:23–29). Moses was 80 years old when God told him
to go back to
(Exod 4:19; cf. 7:7 ; Acts 7:30). Since the pharaoh had been seeking
Moses’ life (Exod 2:15), one needs to find a pharaoh who reigned for
approximately 40 years to fulfill the chronological gap. Only two kings
lived long enough to fill this gap—Thutmose who reigned for 54 years
(1504-1450 B.C.) and Rameses II who reigned for 66 years (1290-1224
B.C.). However Rameses II must be eliminated because the pharaoh
following him would be Merneptah and it was during his reign that the stele
was written which identified his victory over the Israelites in
Thus Thutmose III must have been the pharaoh of the oppression and
Amenhotep II the pharaoh of the Exodus.45
The main argument against this position is
that it assumes that the
pharaoh must have lived for the 40 years Moses was in the wilderness even
though the biblical text never says that. Theoretically the pharaoh could
have died years earlier. Thus the argument is interesting, but irrelevant.
While it does not prove the early date, neither does it disprove it.
Conclusion
Two
types of evidence have been presented—biblical and
archaeological. The biblical evidence was seen to be very strong for the
early date. Both 1 Kings 6:1 and Judges 11:26, when interpreted normally,
point to an Exodus sometime around 1445 B.C. The archaeological
evidence is interesting but not quite as strong. The “dream stele” of
Thutmose IV, the ‘Apiru and Amarna letters, the testimony of Josephus,
and the historical setting provide interesting, but not incontrovertible,
evidence in favor of an early date. Some of these arguments are stronger
than others, but each of them is capable of another interpretation. Thus the
primary support for the early date must still rest on the biblical testimony.
Conclusion
The fact is that
the available archaeological evidence simply does not
square well with the biblical account of the conquest [and Exodus] regardless
of what one proposes as a date. If the Bible and archaeology are to be
correlated vis-a-vis the
conquest, the claims of the biblical account will
have to be modified in some fashion and/or
45 Adam William Fisher, “The Argument for the Early
Date of the Exodus,” Th.M. thesis,
Theological Seminary, May 1968,
pp. 32-35.
242 / Bibliotheca Sacra -- July 1983
some of the
archaeological evidence will have to be explained away. This
brings into focus a crucial methodological issue which divides biblical
scholars (and Palestinian archaeologists) more than we generally admit.
The issue is simply this: What sort of conclusion is to be reached when
carefully excavated archaeological evidence does not seem to meet the
minimum requirements of the historical implications of the biblical texts?46
Miller
has hit the heart of the question as it relates to the Exodus. Is the
archaeological evidence or the biblical text to be the primary source of
information? Those who opt for the late date of the Exodus do so primarily
on the basis of archaeological evidence. And yet that evidence is always
colored by the presuppositions and prejudices of those interpreting the raw
data. On the other side are those who opt for the early date of the Exodus.
They do so primarily because of the biblical data. So what is the answer?
All truth is God’s truth; yet the only truth which can be known absolutely is
that truth which God chooses to reveal in His Word. Thus the biblical
evidence must be the primary evidence. For this reason the writer accepts
the early date of the Exodus as being the better alternative.
46 J. Maxwell Miller,
“Archaeology and the Israelite Conquest of
Observations,” Palestinian
Exploration Quarterly 109 (July-December 1977): 88.
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