Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

EXODUS

Monumental head of Rameses II (1290-1213 b.c.e.), regarded as pharaoh of the Exodus, in the Rameseum at Thebes (Phoenix Data Systems, Neal and Joel Bierling)

The series of events experienced by the Israelites under the leadership of Moses when they left the land of Goshen, located in the northeastern Nile Delta of Lower Egypt, and made their way south to Mt. Sinai. Events preceding the Exodus include the 10 plagues and the Passover. The Exodus also had significant religious meaning for ancient Israel and is recalled by the Jewish communities today at the annual Passover celebration.

Two accounts of the Exodus appear in the Torah: (1) Exod. 12:37; 13:20; 14:2, 5; 15:22, 27; 16:1-2; 17:1; 19:1-2; (2) Num. 33:3-15. They are in essential agreement, but some scholars hold that the Numbers passage is late and based on the Exodus itinerary. Numerous references to the Exodus occur in other books of the Bible (e.g., Judg. 6:8, 13; Ps. 78:12-53; 106:7-46; Isa. 63:11-13; Ezek. 20:5-26; Heb. 11:27-29), but they are based on the traditions of the Torah.

There is no mention of the Israelite Exodus in known Egyptian records. In fact, there is no contemporary reference or description in any extrabiblical source. This means we must use the biblical material carefully and correlate it with a cultural and historical context for the Nile Delta based on archaeological evidence and literary sources.

The date for the Exodus has been debated, and there are still diverse opinions. It has been dated within the reign of various Egyptian pharaohs: Queen Hatshepsut (1477 b.c.e.; Hans Goedicke), Thutmose III (1470; John J. Bimson), Thutmose III (1447; James Garstang), Rameses II (1270; Jack Finegan), or Merneptah (1220[?]; S. R. Driver). This list is not inclusive, and many scholars can be added in favor of each interpretation.

According to Exod. 1:11-15 the Israelites were forced to make mud bricks for the construction of Pithom and Rameses. These two cities have been identified with modern Tell er-Reṭâbeh and Qanṭir respectively in the northeastern Delta region. At both sites excavators have uncovered material related to Seti I and his son, Rameses II. It seems that Seti began building projects at the sites; when he died Rameses took over from his father. This situation would provide the context for the Israelites’ travail as recorded in Exod. 2:23.

Another line of indirect argument for dating the Exodus uses the date of the Israelite entrance into and settlement of the hill country of Palestine under Joshua. The archaeological evidence suggests that this event took place ca. 1200. We can be somewhat more precise because Merneptah, the successor to Rameses II, mentions in a triumphal inscription that during a military campaign in Palestine he defeated the Israelites. The campaign can be dated ca. 1220. Adding 40 years for the duration of Israel’s stay in the wilderness would make the date of the Exodus ca. 1260. Some scholars may argue for a date a decade or so later, but generally agree with placing the events in the 13th century.

An important geographical feature of the eastern Delta has been described which adds a new dimension to the discussion of the route of the Exodus. This new feature is the eastern canal discovered by Amihai Sneh, Tuvia Weissbrod and Itamar Perath on aerial photographs of the northeastern Delta and verified by ground exploration. One part of the canal can be traced beginning at Qanṭarah, then northeast to Tell Abu Òeifeh, then north to Tell el-Her and on to the Pelusiac branch of the Nile just W of Pelusium (Tell Farama). This segment is ca. 15 km. (9.3 mi.) long. The canal was 70 m. (230 ft.) wide at the banks and 20 m. (66 ft.) at the bottom. The depth could have been at least 2-3 m. (6-10 ft.). A 12 km. (7.5 mi.) section of the canal was earlier identified by the French engineer Limant de Bellafonds in 1872. This section can be traced beginning at Ismailia, then north to El Ballah. Sneh and associates suggest that these sections were connected and joined a canal through the Wadi Öumilât connecting the Nile to the Mediterranean Sea. The canal would have served several purposes. In addition to serving as a means of transportation, it would have provided a defense to protect the eastern Delta from attack as well as unwanted immigrants. Another purpose would have been supplying water to the numerous irrigation trenches along its course, making the land of Goshen a very good place for farming.

The Israelites left Rameses located in the area of Qanṭir at the northern limit of Goshen and traveled south to Succoth, a district at the eastern end of the Wadi Tumilât (Exod. 12:37; Num. 33:3-5). They did not use the way of the land of the Philistines, because this was a well-traveled military and commercial highway through the northern Sinai and well guarded by Egyptian forts (Exod. 13:17-18). Some scholars call this route the Way of Horus. The people were led around by the way of the wilderness toward the Sea of Reeds (LXX “Red Sea”). Next they set out from Succoth and encamped at Etham at the edge of the wilderness (Exod. 13:20; Num. 33:6). They were next told to turn back and camp near Pi-hahiroth (“mouth of the canal”), between Migdol (“fortress”; Tell el-µer) and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon (Exod. 14:1-2; Num. 33:7).

Exod. 14:3 contains a piece of archaic verse:

Pharaoh will say,
“Trapped are they in the land (Egypt),
The desert has barred them in.”

References to the “way of the wilderness,” “the edge of the wilderness,” and “the desert (or wilderness) has barred them in” seem to indicate something more than just the semi-arid region of the Sinai. In fact the wilderness of the Sinai did not stop the Israelites. The way of the wilderness could refer to the water course called “the way of Horus” in the Sinuhe story. The one geographical feature that would have closed them in would have been the eastern canal. After reaching Succoth in the south the Israelites were stopped by the canal filled with crocodiles and had to turn back and go along the canal to find a safe place to cross. The exact place for the crossing is still not determined, but the biblical narrative which describes the route of the Israelites as first going south and then north makes sense in light of the eastern canal. The reference to the Sea of Reeds could refer to a marsh along the route of the canal.

The crossing of the Sea of Reeds is described in Exod. 14 and 15. In Exod. 14:21 the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east (LXX “South”) wind. The dry land that appeared provided safe passage for the Israelites. Later (Exod. 14:27-28) the sea returned to its normal depth and covered the chariots of the pharaoh which had been chasing the Israelites. The poetic imagery in Exod. 15:1-18 suggests a sudden storm that capsized the boats of the Egyptians and tossed the chariots and horses into the sea. In any case, Israel praised the Lord for saving them from the Egyptians.

The group under Moses’ leadership turned south and headed for Mt. Sinai. The places mentioned in the Bible, Marah (Exod. 15:23), Elim (15:27), and Rephidim (17:1), are not clearly identified with any known sites. The route would have taken them close to Serabit el-Khadem and the Egyptian turquoise mines. Mt. Sinai (Exod. 19:1-2) is located at Jebel Mûsā in the southern Sinai peninsula.

Bibliography. J. J. Bimson, Redating the Exodus and the Conquest (Sheffield, 1978); J. Finegan, Let My People Go (New York, 1963); N. M. Sarna, Exploring Exodus (New York, 1986); N. H. Snaith, “iws-my: The Sea of Reeds: The Red Sea,” VT 15 (1965): 395-98; A. Sneh, T. Weissbrod, and I. Perath, “Evidence for an Ancient Egyptian Frontier Canal,” American Scientist 63 (1975): 542-48; I. Wilson, Exodus: The True Story (San Francisco, 1986).

Lawrence A. Sinclair

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

EXODUS

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)