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[[File: Nile_Sinai.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left|Satellite Photo of Northeast Egypt and the Levant: The Eastern Nile Delta Is Visible in the Top Left, the Sinai Peninsula Is in the Middle, and the Southern Levant Is in the Top Right of the Photo]]__NOTOC__
The Old Testament Book of Exodus has played an essential role in world history. It represents one of the most fundamental aspects of Jewish religion and early history and is also recognized as an important event by Christians and Muslims. Beyond the religious connotations of the story, the Exodus has taken on its own life in modern times and has been used extensively as a metaphor in a variety of different contexts. For example, moving to a new location or taking a new job is often referred to as an “exodus,” which is usually complete with overtones of slavery and colonialism that are just as telling about modern sensibilities than anything about the relationship of the ancient Hebrews and Egyptians. The Exodus has also influenced modern pop culture, being the inspiration for numerous books, television shows, and movies, namely the 1956 hit, <i>The Ten Commandments</i>, starring Charlton Heston, or more recently, <i>Exodus: Gods and Kings</i>.
The world today is very different than the one when the Bible was written and portrayed in the Book of Exodus. People are generally more cynical and skeptical of legends and religious stories, so most would probably shrug off any suggestion that the biblical Exodus happened, but that would be a mistake. After a careful and objective examination of the Book of Exodus and archaeological and textual sources from Egypt, some of the most respected and renowned biblical archaeologists and Egyptologists are convinced that something significant happened in the Egyptian Delta during the Late Bronze Age that inspired the story of the Exodus.
The term “Hebrew” will be used here because it is more anthropologically and historically accurate as it refers to the language spoken by a specific group of people from the Levant (the area roughly congruous with the modern-day nation-states of Israel, Palestine, and southwestern Syria). Although the Hebrews would later establish the Kingdom of Israel and become known as Jews, during the period of the biblical Exodus they were without a kingdom.
During the period when they were in Egypt, the Hebrews were just another Semitic speaking people from the Levant who were closely related to other Canaanites and for the most part indistinguishable from them in the eyes of the Egyptians. <ref> Kuhrt, Amélie. <i>The Ancient Near East: c. 3000-330 BC.</i> (London: Routledge, 2010), p. 417</ref> The Old Testament heavily documents the history of the Hebrews’ sojourn in and exodus from Egypt, which although historically based, was “ideologically motivated . . . to drive home particular lessons of the past.” <ref> Kuhrt, p. 417</ref> With that in mind, it is critical to consider some of the more important biblical passages that relate the early Egyptian-Hebrew relationship.
In the Old Testament, the Hebrews’ first major encounters with the Egyptians take place in the Book of Genesis. The book describes Abraham’s descent into Egypt (Gen. 12:10-19), which some modern scholars believe took place around 2116, or during Egypt’s Tenth Dynasty of the First Intermediate Period (ca. 2125-1975 BC). <ref> Redford, Donald. <i>Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times.</i> (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1992), pgs. 258-9</ref> After Abraham, Joseph was the next major Hebrew figure to spend considerable time in Egypt, which was followed by a large migration of Hebrews into the Nile Delta.
Since the Hebrews’ deliverance from Egypt was the most defining and decisive event in their early history and the primary influence on their historiographical tradition, <ref> Millar, p. 111</ref> so the account is probably reasonably accurate, at least regarding the significant points. With that said, there are no mentions of any Egyptian kings by name in the Book of Exodus, and no Egyptian or other Near Eastern sources mention the mass Exodus.
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As mentioned earlier, the Book of Exodus states that the Hebrews helped build Pithom and “Raamses” and worked in “bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field” (Exod. 1:14), which very well could have been the case if the Hebrews were brought to Egypt from the Levant as war booty. The fact that the Hebrews dwelled in Egypt in great numbers appears quite likely, and few biblical archaeologists or Egyptologists would doubt the possibility, but many consider the fabled “biblical plagues” to be the primary problem with the Book of Exodus’ historicity.
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