Some help with Exodus

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AnnieW

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Hi all,

Not sure if this is the correct place for this post, but I was looking for some help with real-world evidence of the exodus out of Egypt.

After I watched the Ten Commandments the other day (because we all know that is accurate 👍), I decided to do some reading up on Ramses and Moses. I found it very interesting that there was no real world archaeological or written/recorded evidence to support that the Israelites were ever in Egypt. But, I did read some modern theories about a Semitic tribe once being imprisoned and forced to build a city. Also of interest was that apparently the time of Ramses’ rule does not match up to the time line of Exodus.

I did find this article which was very interesting; it briefly mentions the Semitic tribe:

bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/history/moses_1.shtml

Just looking to see if any of you have any additional resources or opinions on this. I definitely believe this happened, but I just find it strange that there is no evidence.

Thanks,
AW
 
AnnieW said:
Hi all,

Not sure if this is the correct place for this post, but I was looking for some help with real-world evidence of the exodus out of Egypt.

After I watched the Ten Commandments the other day (because we all know that is accurate 👍), I decided to do some reading up on Ramses and Moses. I found it very interesting that there was no real world archaeological or written/recorded evidence to support that the Israelites were ever in Egypt. But, I did read some modern theories about a Semitic tribe once being imprisoned and forced to build a city. Also of interest was that apparently the time of Ramses’ rule does not match up to the time line of Exodus.

I did find this article which was very interesting; it briefly mentions the Semitic tribe:

bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/history/moses_1.shtml

Just looking to see if any of you have any additional resources or opinions on this. I definitely believe this happened, but I just find it strange that there is no evidence.

Thanks,
AW
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Do not believe the BBC, they are not what they used to be.

Why don’t you believe what is written in the Bible?
Why do you need a scientist to tell you?
 
The article from the BBC was supporting the Exodus. It’s not that I don’t believe what’s written, it’s just that I feel that there should be some archaeological evidence supporting the existence of such a large group of people. I wanted to see if anyone else had any ideas or thoughts on that.
 
AnnieW said:
The article from the BBC was supporting the Exodus. It’s not that I don’t believe what’s written, it’s just that I feel that there should be some archaeological evidence supporting the existence of such a large group of people. I wanted to see if anyone else had any ideas or thoughts on that.
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There is this site.
You can see a picture of chariot wheels in the sea.

arkdiscovery.com/red_sea_crossing.htm

It is very interesting what they have on Sodom and Gomorrah and Noah’s ark.
 
Thanks for that link Nelka. I did look at that previously, but apparently there is a lot of controversy surrounding Ron Wyatt, as he has also claimed to have found the Ark of the Covenant and Noah’s Ark as well. I will keep reading and talk to my parish priest the next time I see him.

I appreciate everyone’s (name removed by moderator)ut!

Thanks,
AW
 
AnnieW said:
Thanks for that link Nelka. I did look at that previously, but apparently there is a lot of controversy surrounding Ron Wyatt, as he has also claimed to have found the Ark of the Covenant and Noah’s Ark as well. I will keep reading and talk to my parish priest the next time I see him.

I appreciate everyone’s (name removed by moderator)ut!

Thanks,
AW
Click to expand...
😊
 
AnnieW said:
Hi all,

Not sure if this is the correct place for this post, but I was looking for some help with real-world evidence of the exodus out of Egypt.

After I watched the Ten Commandments the other day (because we all know that is accurate 👍), I decided to do some reading up on Ramses and Moses. I found it very interesting that there was no real world archaeological or written/recorded evidence to support that the Israelites were ever in Egypt. But, I did read some modern theories about a Semitic tribe once being imprisoned and forced to build a city. Also of interest was that apparently the time of Ramses’ rule does not match up to the time line of Exodus
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That’s it. There is a whole debate about who exactly the unnamed Pharaohs of the Exodus really were (related and intertwined with the question as to when the Exodus really happened and the Conventional Chronology/New Chronology debate), and there is a large pool of candidates to choose from.

Admittedly I kind of find it irksome when many of the films give a name to the Pharaohs. 😉
 
LOL yeah I agree. I was so excited when I came across that, and then did some more reading…

I just look forward to knowing that maybe one day when we all get to heaven there will be a big projector in the sky and we can have movie night, which would go over every book in the bible. LOL!
 
AnnieW said:
Hi all,

Not sure if this is the correct place for this post, but I was looking for some help with real-world evidence of the exodus out of Egypt.

After I watched the Ten Commandments the other day (because we all know that is accurate 👍), I decided to do some reading up on Ramses and Moses. I found it very interesting that there was no real world archaeological or written/recorded evidence to support that the Israelites were ever in Egypt. But, I did read some modern theories about a Semitic tribe once being imprisoned and forced to build a city. Also of interest was that apparently the time of Ramses’ rule does not match up to the time line of Exodus.

I did find this article which was very interesting; it briefly mentions the Semitic tribe:

bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/history/moses_1.shtml

Just looking to see if any of you have any additional resources or opinions on this. I definitely believe this happened, but I just find it strange that there is no evidence.

Thanks,
AW
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Annie, I don’t know if you’re still reading this thread, but I do have a few suggestions for you. There are a great many Jewish scholars, who believe their faith, to help you for the Old Testament (Tanakh) and also many Evangelical/Fundamentalist scholars as well. Sadly, it seems that Modern Catholicism has drifted away from Fundamentalism. This is regrettable, because I do believe that the Bible is infallible, in all ways, else it would cease to be the Word of the Lord. There are also some “Catholic” groups that will give leave for belief in the evidence, but many are anti-papist groups and thus subject to suspicion. Anyway, take the sites with a grain of salt and take the information with prayer.

messianicbible.com (Jewish: They have a newsletter which regularly loads you up with Apologetic information)

godandscience.org (Protestant: This site was responsible for the death of atheism in my life.)

CARM.org (Protestant/Anti-Catholic: be careful with this one. There’s a lot in the realm of Apologetics, but we’re listed in the ‘unbiblical’ section. And if the anticatholicism offends you, don’t write, the guy running it likes to be a martyr.)

Anyway, happy hunting and God bless you,
 
Hi John,

Thanks for the info. I am very interested in history which is half of the reason I was doing this investigating. I also believe the bible is God’s word, but I do feel that some of the timelines are off. I also realize that some things may have gotten lost in translation or mis-translated. That doesn’t shake my faith one bit. I mean, we as Catholics believe in a virgin birth and in the Eucharist. I’m also sure that at one point in our lives each of us has experienced a miracle or something else that has re-affirmed or strengthened our faith, regardless of whether or not we were looking for it.

So basically I just wanted to say that I’m not trying to nay-say the bible. I just like to learn and expand my knowledge. I’m a cradle Catholic who is coming back to the faith after joining my husband in RCIA class, which has been wonderful.

Thanks so much for everyone’s help and God bless!

Annie
 
Anne:

In Catholic high school, my Salvation History teacher said that the Red Sea was actually a marshy area filled with reeds and was actually called the Reed Sea. Further, he said that on a regular basis, the strong winds would blow the shallow waters until the marsh-bottom was dry enough for FEET to walk upon.

If the Hebrews picked that time to flee, the Egyptians’ chariot wheels would be heavy enough to become stuck and soon the wind would let up and the waters would fill the area again. Drowning…maybe a few. But no more pursuit of the Chosen People. It certainly wasn’t “Heston-style.” Definitely less-wrath-of-God, but more scientific.

Drying river beds which expose wet, red clay (“blood”), which kills the fish.
Frogs emerge, blown by strong wind onto land…then drying-out and dieing. What does that lead to? Flies, flies, flies. You get it?

I’ve heard that the “Hab-a-'rew” people (Hebrews?) were great mercenaries who were useful to the Egyptians to guard their borders. After a couple of centuries, the Egyptians needed less defense-contracts and more manual-labor. The warriors decided that they weren’t getting payed to fight anymore so they decided to leave whether the Egyptians would let them or not. Kinda had to sneak out real quietly one night…

Maybe it depends on who’s telling the story… It’s all good to me. 🙂

Glennonite
 
Glennonite said:
Anne:

In Catholic high school, my Salvation History teacher said that the Red Sea was actually a marshy area filled with reeds and was actually called the Reed Sea. Further, he said that on a regular basis, the strong winds would blow the shallow waters until the marsh-bottom was dry enough for FEET to walk upon.

If the Hebrews picked that time to flee, the Egyptians’ chariot wheels would be heavy enough to become stuck and soon the wind would let up and the waters would fill the area again. Drowning…maybe a few. But no more pursuit of the Chosen People. It certainly wasn’t “Heston-style.” Definitely less-wrath-of-God, but more scientific.
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This one has more weight on it. For the record, the Hebrew יַם-סוּף (yam suph) does translate to ‘Reed Sea’, something that has already been pointed out by the French rabbi Rashi in the 11th century (so this is not something that modern-day scholars cooked up! ;)). By itself, the wordsuph means ‘reed’ (Exodus 2:3).* The form we are all familiar with, ‘Red Sea’, is actually from the Greek Septuagint. The Septuagint does not translate Yam Suph literally, but gives another name: Ερυθρὰ Θάλασσα (Erythra Thalassa).
  • I just noted a little fun thing: Moses was rescued from the slaughter of Hebrew male children by being put into a basket and set among the reeds of the Nile, while the Israelites are rescued from the Pharaoh’s army by passing through the Reed Sea! 😃
By the way, did you know DeMille and a few other filmmakers got a few things slightly wrong in the parting of the sea?

1.) He shows the parting of the sea as occurring somewhere during the day. Exodus 14:20-21 however would imply that it actually happened somewhere at night. (He’s not to blame here, though; after all, it’s hard to film at nighttime! ;))

2.) The water is shown to part first from the side the Israelites are standing (the western shores, apparently). However, Exodus 14:21-22 says that the sea was driven by “a strong east wind.” The Israelites were journeying from Egypt eastward toward Canaan (as any good map would imply), and east winds blow from the east westward, so if the sea really did part like DeMille depicted it, it would have parted first from the opposite shore, finally opening toward the Israelites’ side! 😉
 
Interesting! You know, I was never worried about the plagues. I mean, I know God could boo-yah a plague on someone or part the sea if he wanted to. Some people get really stuck on the science behind the plagues, but I never did. I had read the Reed Sea theory too, which definitely makes sense. Apparently crossing the Reed Sea made more sense in their journey.

I agree that it’s the details in the story-telling. One day we will all know the details. I am definitely not relying on films to help me with biblical history. There is a scripture study at my church on Sunday mornings-maybe I will pop in after mass one day.

Thanks again!

AW
 
patrick457 said:
This one has more weight on it. For the record, the Hebrew יַם-סוּף (yam suph) does translate to ‘Reed Sea’, something that has already been pointed out by the French rabbi Rashi in the 11th century (so this is not something that modern-day scholars cooked up! ;)). By itself, the wordsuph means ‘reed’ (Exodus 2:3).* The form we are all familiar with, ‘Red Sea’, is actually from the Greek Septuagint. The Septuagint does not translate Yam Suph literally, but gives another name: Ερυθρὰ Θάλασσα (Erythra Thalassa).
[/INDENT]
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Thanks Pat,

Even as a highschooler I thought the Red/Reed thing was a little lingual-centric to put a lot of stock into it. It was the 70’s after all. Mr. Gruska was just tryin’ to reach us hippie-kids. 🙂

Glennonite
 
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