- Perhaps the most difficult to explain bit of evidence, if one should choose to deny that Israel actually spent time in Egypt, is the presence of a surprisingly large number of Egyptian personal names in the genealogies of the Levites. Some significant examples would be: Moses, Assir, Pashhur, Hophni, Phenehas, and Merari.
Most critical scholars grant that the proportion of Egyptian names among the Levites is surprisingly large and could scarcely be accidental. Accordingly, they are ready to agree that the tribe of Levi, or at least part of it, spent some time in Egypt. Other scholars point out that since the Egyptian names seem to be confined to Levites, then perhaps they are the only tribe that really lived in Egypt. Of course, arguments from silence are notoriously weak
Archeology and Moses’ Birth
The name of Moses, the great deliverer and law giver, dominates the last 40 years of Hebrew residence in Egypt. The story of how the Egyptian princess found him in the boat of papyrus among the reeds by the riverside has many parallels in ancient lore.
For instance, the story of Sargon I (The Great) of Akkad (c. 2100 BC), is recorded on a tablet dating from the 9th century BC:
My humble mother conceived me; she bore me in secret, placed me in an ark of bulrushes, made fast my door with pitch and gave me to the river which did not overwhelm me. The river lifted me up and carried me to Akki the irrigator…Akki the irrigator hauled me out…took me to be his son and brought me up.
Similar stories are told of Romulous and Remus, Bacchus, and Perseus. As one writer commented (Caigen):
There is no need to postulate a common origin for such simple and natural romances, but if one must do so, the episode of Moses (16th century BC) may have been the inspiration of them all
Also of significance: at least some of the plagues seemed to be directed against specific gods of Egypt, not just the people – perhaps to demonstrate thereby Yahweh’s superiority. That Egypt’s gods were being cursed, in some way, is made clear by Exodus 12:12. Just in what way and to what extent the pagan cults were involved in the plagues is not entirely clear, however.
The knowledge extant concerning the practical, everyday worship of the Egyptian pantheon is meager; moreover, the source materials tell us little about their metaphysical assumptions.
It is obvious, however, that the twenty-two Egyptian provinces each had their own religious centers and totemic animal or plant.
It is precisely the attributes of these deities which are involved in the plagues, but whether each of the plagues was thought to be the special domain of one or another of the Egyptian gods cannot be stated with certainty.
Sophisticated computer calculations indicate that the biblical parting of the Red Sea, said to have allowed Moses and the Israelites to escape from bondage in Egypt, could have occured precisely as the Bible describes it.
Because of the peculiar geography of the northern end of the Red Sea, researchers report Sunday in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, a moderate wind blowing constantly for about 10 hours could have caused the sea to recede about a mile and the water level to drop 10 feet, leaving dry land in the area where many biblical scholars believe the crossing occured.
An abrupt change in the wind would have allowed the waters to come crashing back into the area in a few moments, a phenomenon that the Bible says inundated the Israelites’ pursuers.
This explanation “should not affect the religious aspects of the Exodus,” wrote meteorologist Nathan Paldor of the University of Rhode Island and oceanographer Doron Nof of Florida State University. “Some may even find our proposed mechanism to be a supportive argument for the original biblical description of this event.”
Although few religious scholars or scientists were familiar with the report, oceanographer Gabriel Csanady of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., said the new scenario is “very plausible.” Csanady was one of the reviewers who recommended publication of the report in the Bulletin
Shalom
God Bless
It’s not like they knew where it is, to begin with.
