Egyptian

[cartoon_priest]

A friend of mine said:

Scripture (during the time of Moses and the Exodus) loses credibility because the Egyptians, who were meticulous recorders of history, never wrote down that any of the plagues happened or that there was a massive Exodus of Jews.

How can one respond to that?

 

[gatewood1988]

The Egyptians were incredibly good record keepers, however in times of embarassment, they would destroy all accounts of that person or event. One example is the King Akenaten who tried to make Egypt a monotheistic empire (didn’t work) and alot of the records of him were destroyed. A huge embarassment of thousands of slaves up and leaving would most likely be stricken from all records. Also, Julius Caesar had the library of Alexandria burned down and many manuscripts were completely destroyed, most likely there was some account of the Exodus in those. There is still a lot to be discovered in Egypt that is buried under thousands of years of sand so there might be some remaining.

 

[NotWorthy]

The Egyptians were incredibly good record keepers, however in times of embarassment, they would destroy all accounts of that person or event. One example is the King Akenaten who tried to make Egypt a monotheistic empire (didn’t work) and alot of the records of him were destroyed. A huge embarassment of thousands of slaves up and leaving would most likely be stricken from all records. Also, Julius Caesar had the library of Alexandria burned down and many manuscripts were completely destroyed, most likely there was some account of the Exodus in those. There is still a lot to be discovered in Egypt that is buried under thousands of years of sand so there might be some remaining.

Add to that the Muslim invasion in the 7th century. The Egyptians were poly-theistic, which would have brought on the ire of the Muslims. Also, the Muslims were iconoclastic so they would have destroyed much of the Egyptian’s arts and treasures. During Moses’ times, the Egyptians would have recorded their history using hieroglyphics (using pictures as words and phrases). That wouldn’t have boded too well with the iconoclasm going on.

 

[Epistemes]

Or the Book of Exodus isn’t factual history yet nonetheless true.

 

[NotWorthy]

Or the Book of Exodus isn’t factual history yet nonetheless true.

Hmmm… I would say “no”. The Book of Exodus would seem to be factual to me.

 

[gatewood1988]

I found a wonderful article that goes through all of what we have discussed so far. biblearchaeology.org/post/2009/08/09/The-Exodus-Controversy.aspx

It’s pretty interesting. Oh BTW I forgot about the Muslim invasion too, that would definitely be another factor as well.

 

[Barbkw]

Every plague sent by the True God, matched and defeated the established false gods of the Pharaonic kingdom.

Did the Egyptians, at any time, record any human conflict in which their Pharoah/human god, got his butt kicked?

 

[GEddie]

Or the Book of Exodus isn’t factual history yet nonetheless true.

It doth behooveth you to explain.

I can see that statement working in regard to Genesis, where even if the 6-days/human-bodies-from-clay/talking-serpent aspects are set aside, there is still a basic truth: GOD created; original sin screwed it up.

But ISTM that doesn’t work in regard to Exodus; if GOD did not set them free from slavery to make them HIS own, then the rest of the story of the OT, and by extension the story of our LORD, would fall apart.

And BTW, haven’t a bunch of stuff been found on the floor of the Red Sea that would seem to come from an Exodus-type event?

God Bless and ICXC NIKA.

 

[NotWorthy]

It doth behooveth you to explain.

I can see that statement working in regard to Genesis, where even if the 6-days/human-bodies-from-clay/talking-serpent aspects are set aside, there is still a basic truth: GOD created; original sin screwed it up.

But ISTM that doesn’t work in regard to Exodus; if GOD did not set them free from slavery to make them HIS own, then the rest of the story of the OT, and by extension the story of our LORD, would fall apart.

And BTW, haven’t a bunch of stuff been found on the floor of the Red Sea that would seem to come from an Exodus-type event?

God Bless and ICXC NIKA.

Although I agree 100% with your theory on Exodus being factual, I wouldn’t hold much stock in the Red Sea findings. If I remember correctly, the archaeologist who found that has discovered numerous questionable artifacts, like the burial box that housed James, the brother of Jesus.