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Admin moved page Did the Biblical Exodus Actually Happen? to Did the Biblical Exodus Actually Happen
[[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.
More recently, Kitchen updated Hort’s arguments. The scholars argued that the plagues began in July or August around the time of the annual inundation of the Nile Valley and ended about nine months later, with each of the events happening in a logical succession. The Nile River turning to blood was the result of oxygen fluctuations, which killed much of the fish population, forcing the frogs to flee and die, bringing infection to the valley, The excessive water would have attracted more insects, such as lice, and the livestock would have then been infected with anthrax. Locusts then arrived from the southeast, as they often did in ancient times in the region, and the darkness took hold of Egypt in March or April when seasonal winds create dust storms that block out the sun.
As the Egyptian people were infected with various maladies caused by the perfect storm of weather and disease, the children would have been the most susceptible and prone to death. <ref> Kitchen, p. 251</ref> Of course not all of Egypt would have been effected affected uniformly, and the Hebrews would also have suffered, which would have been another reason for their Exodus.
====Conclusion====
The historicity of the Old Testament Book of Exodus has been debated for generations. Followers of the Jewish and Christian religions believe that the book accurately tells the story of how the Hebrews escaped enslavement in Egypt, while skeptics have written the account of as purely a religious story.
After a careful examination of the Book of Exodus, along with evidence from Egypt, many modern biblical scholars and Egyptologists have determined that a sizable migration of people from Egypt probably did take place in the Late Bronze Age. The event was quickly forgotten by the Egyptians, who never wrote about defeats of any kind, but became the primary historical origin story for the people who would create the Kingdom of Israel approximately 200 years later.
====References====
<references/>
[[Category: Ancient History]] [[Category: Bronze Age History]] [[Category: Ancient Egyptian History]]
[[Category: Late Bronze Age]] [[Category: Historiography]] [[Category: Religious History]] [[Biblical History]]
[[Category: Wikis]]
