Archeology: November 2013

http://www.bible.ca/archeology/bible-archeology-exodus-date-1440bc.htm

Introduction:

The date of the exodus was 1440 BC when Israel left Egypt and 1400 BC when they crossed the Jordan into the promised land.
The Bible is consistent and clear on this date: 1 Kings 6:1; Judges 11:26; Acts 13:19. The three verses are powerful, convincing and consistent.
When Moses killed the Egyptian, he fled to Midian for 40 years from Thutmoses II who was Pharaoh from 1492-1479 BC.
Thutmoses III was the Pharaoh of the Exodus who reigned 1479 - 1425 BC in three phases. The exodus occurred in Thutmoses III's 18 year of rule after his mother died.
The date of 1250 BC where Ramesses II was the Pharaoh is not accepted by Bible scholars, only Bible trashing archeologists who reject the Bible as true and accurate history.
Archeologists who trash the historical reliability of the Bible refuse to recognize 1400 BC as the date Israel entered the promised land. When they excavate at Timna or Jericho, for example, and find stuff that is from 1400 BC they use it as proof that the Bible cannot be trusted. So they reject the Bible's date for the exodus of 1400 BC and claim it is 1250 BC. Then when they find archeological evidence from 1400 BC they say it proves the Bible wrong. When we remind them that the date of the Exodus revealed in the Bible of 1400 BC matches the archeological evidence they become silent. It is important to always keep in mind that secular historical sources bend over backwards to ensure there is no apparent presence of any kind of the Hebrews in Egypt. Many major reference books totally ignore any possible connection with Moses.
There is only one argument from the Bible, an invalid one at that, which is used to support the false notion that Ramesses II was the Pharaoh of the exodus. Advocates of a 1250 BC exodus point out that Israel lived in the city of Ramesses and helped build it. They say, "Obviously the city did not proceed the Pharaoh whom it was named after. Sounds convincing until you read the passage that says Joseph lived in "the land of Ramesses" (Genesis 47:11). This proves that the land of Ramesses existed 430 years before Pharaoh Ramesses II was born! But it gets worse. Exodus 1:11 says that when Israel had to make mud bricks with straw, that "they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pithom and Raamses." Remember that the 4 hour "Ten Commandments movie" we have all seen a hundred times has many errors, one of them being that the Pharaoh from whom Moses fled from to Midian, is the same Pharaoh to whom Moses said 40 years later, "Let my people go!" In fact they were two different Pharaohs! "Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God." Exodus 2:23; 4:19. This makes it impossible then, for the city of Ramesses to be named after Pharaoh Ramesses II. The final nail in the coffin of this vacuous argument is the fact that the city and the Pharaoh were spelled differently. The city is spelled Raamses, whereas the Pharaoh was spelled Ramesses or Ramesses. Ramesses means "begotten of Ra". Ra is the Egyptian sun god of the Hyksos. With such a central and common meaning to Egyptian religion, it is not hard to see how Ramesses II was named after the sun god, but with a different spelling. But those who make such arguments are not really interested in what the Bible says because they don't believe it in the first place. After all, if they read 1 Kings 6:1 and still hold to a 1250 BC Exodus date why would the fact that the city of Ramesses existed almost 500 years before Pharaoh Ramesses II?
We have reviewed all the reasons why some reject the Bible's 1440 BC date of the exodus in favor of 1250 BC and have dismissed them as being vacuous and without merit. The bulk of the reasons given involve nothing more than, "We haven't found archeological evidence of such and such". Evidence may or may not ever be found but we are reminded of the recent discover of evidence of the Hittite nation. At the turn of the century, skeptics viewed the Bible as myth rather than real world history . For example, the Bible makes over 40 references to the great Hittite Empire. You see, 100 years ago, no archaeological evidence had ever been found to prove it really did exist. "Just another Bible myth!" skeptics charged in an attempt to destroy our faith in the Bible. This, however, cannot be said today, for in 1906, Hugo Winckler uncovered a library of 10,000 clay tablets. These ancient records fully documented the long lost Hittite Empire and confirmed the reliability of the Bible. Later excavations uncovered Boghazkoy, the capital city of this "mythical" empire.
Summary of dates revealed in the Bible:
-Leaving Egypt to 4th year of Solomon's reign is 480 years: 1 Kings 6:1 (Solomon reigned in 960 BC)
-Crossing the Jordan to Jephthah is 300 years Judges 11:26 (Jephthah lived in 1100 BC)
-Enter Egypt to the time of Samuel was 450 years: Acts 13:19 (400 + 40 + 10: Joshua took 10 years to take the land)
-The period of the Judges is 308 years. (From death of Joshua to birth of Samuel)
-The many genealogies of the Bible verify and confirm everything.
Summary of dates from history and archeology:
-Cypriot pottery discovered at Jericho proves the walls fell about 1400 BC.
-The Amarna Tablets which chronicle the conquest of Joshua in the promised land in 1400 BC
-The conversion of Akhenaten to monotheism, 10 years after Israel crossed the Jordan. (1379 BC)
-The Merneptah Stele written at the time of Deborah (Judges 4, 1224) and shows Israel an established nation effectively refuting the notion that Ramesses II is the pharaoh of the exodus.
Trust the Bible when it dates the exodus to 1440 BC. Reject 1250 BC for the date of the exodus.