The Exodus Reality: Unearthing the Real History of Moses, Identifying the Pharaohs, and Examing the Exodus from Egypt
289
The Exodus Reality: Unearthing the Real History of Moses, Identifying the Pharaohs, and Examing the Exodus from Egypt
289eBook
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Overview
In this groundbreaking work, the authors reexamine humanity’s most enduring account of bondage, emancipation, and freedom. The Great Exodus is the story of how one man, empowered by divine epiphany, brought the mighty ancient kingdom of Egypt to its knees. For thousands of years, this story has bolstered the faithful of three major religions, though little historical data confirms it. So the question must be asked: Did it ever really happen?
Roberts, a historian and theologian, and Ward, an archaeologist, Egyptologist, and anthropologist, dig deeply into historical records to answer the most vexing questions:
- Is there any historical evidence for the biblical account of the Great Exodus?
- Was Moses a real person?
- Where is the Biblical Mount Sinai?
- What is the Ark of the Covenant, and where did it come from?
- Why did Moses write about the Serpent and the Nephilim?
- Is there a Templar and Masonic connection to the events and personages in the story?
Did the Exodus take place under Amenhotep II or Amenhotep III, two pharaohs of the same royal house separated by two generations and eighty-odd years? Or were Thutmoses III, Hatshepsut, and Amenhotep Son of Hapu at the core of the action? The authors present two opposing, yet strangely interlaced historical accounts for the Exodus, naming the historical pharaohs and surprising candidates for the historical Moses. While Roberts presents an account that finds its moorings in the efficacy of scriptural historicity, Ward presents a new and completely unique theory for the Exodus and its cast of characters.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781601635006 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Red Wheel/Weiser |
| Publication date: | 06/23/2023 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 289 |
| Sales rank: | 50,605 |
| File size: | 15 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
An Anthro-Archaeological Perspective
Tip your head back, close your eyes, and breathe deep the air around you. It is filled with the aromas of your life and environment — sometimes the things we take in so subconsciously — such as the scent of our homes, the leather upholstery in our automobiles, the oven in the kitchen, the soapy smell of the clothes dryer exhaust, and the scent of hewn grass wafting in through open summertime windows blending with the sound of passing garbage trucks, sirens, and children playing in the backyard. Now, imagine your senses being transported to another time and another place, where the air is arid and dry and hot, with only the faintest hint of moisture filling your nostrils as the massive Nile waters roll slowly by, evaporating into the air around you. The scent of water, fish, and papyrus reeds bending in the mild breeze from their place in the marshy patches leading up to the river's edge fill your nostrils with the sweet, pungent odor of green. In the distance, carrying on the ever-so-faintly incensed air blending into the warm dustiness are the low, melancholic, minor-keyed melodies of the priestly chants, mixed with the sound of the bustling city life echoing off the stone structures. Cheers and joyous shouting are raised into the mix as the Pharaoh rides his chariot along the processional way, throngs of people crowded along the route, in, around, and atop the sphinxes lining the avenue. The smellof kitchen fires, baking bread, and boiling stews of oxen mix with the smells of roasting geese, leeks, garlic, and onion. A cacophony of sensuality greets you. And when you open your eyes to that first, blinding white of the desert sun, the city is bathed in bright light, glistening above the sparkling waters of the river Nile. ...
Any good story relies not only on its characters, but also on the setting in which they are placed. Likewise, qualitative study on any topic from antiquity needs a good reference point; a stage on which to block the characters who move in and throughout the play. Establishing the life and deeds of such enigmatic figures as Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, and their more-than-probable connection to the royal houses of 18th Dynasty Egypt is possible only by taking an acute, intrinsic look at the stage whereon they acted out their destinies. It is our intention to establish not only the circumstantial evidence that links these biblical protagonists and antagonists to real history, but to remove their Sunday school pageant bathrobe and bedsheet costumes, raising them out of relegated storybook myth and legend to stand openly and unabashedly on the stage of human history within the walls of the temples and palaces of ancient Egypt.
So, before we can even begin exploring the various evidences, ideas, suggestions, and theories that we wish to present, we felt it appropriate to pull back the heavy velvet curtain, walk you to center stage, and begin taping off the players' marks on the stage floor. As the backdrop unfurls behind you and the flats of history roll into place on stage left and right, use your imagination and let us transport you from whatever chair, sofa, bed, or bench you now find yourself on to the banks of the sun-sparkled waters of the River Nile and one of 18th Dynasty Egypt's ancient capitals, Thebes, the bustling, magnificent river city of the pharaohs, where the Temple of Luxor was referred to in ancient times as Ipet-resyt, the "Southern Sanctuary."
Located in middle Egypt, some 400 miles south of modern-day Cairo and 118 miles north of Aswan, sandwiched between the western and the eastern deserts with the Theban mountain range hovering over the western boundary, Thebes embraces the many secrets and epic legends that it has witnessed over the centuries.
The city of Luxor (ancient Thebes), as it appears today, rising around the ancient Temple of Luxor.
Although the city of Thebes was home to the Egyptian monarchy in the New Kingdom, it is difficult to understand how Moses interacted and traveled between the Pharaoh in Thebes and the Hebrews in Goshen, in the northern Nile Delta. According to Genesis 49:9–10, when Joseph, the son of Jacob, was made vizier in Egypt some 400 years prior to the events of the Great Exodus, he relocated his Canaanite family to the Land of Goshen, which has been placed in the delta region of the Nile, to the east of present-day Cairo, in the fertile, marshy expanse of the Wadi Tumilat. And there, throughout the next four centuries, the family of Jacob — about 70 people — grew into the vast number of Hebrews, eventually enslaved by the Pharaoh, who, according to Exodus 1:8, "had no regard for Joseph."
The big question is: If the Pharaoh and his family primarily lived in Thebes, how could he interact with the representatives of the Hebrews who were living and working 400 miles to the north in Goshen? He could if there is some historical credence to the idea that the royal family moved back and forth between Thebes, the capital, and Memphis, the religious center. Its logistical proximity to Goshen would certainly open the door for two glaring points in the biblical story: 1) The mention that Moses' birth mother, Jochabed, sent him down the Nile in a basket, eventually ending up in the pools of the royal palace, could not have happened at the palace in Thebes, if, theoretically, the Hebrews were living 400 miles north in Goshen. Distance notwithstanding, keep in mind that the Nile River flows north, toward the Mediterranean Sea, not south toward Thebes/Luxor. The city of Memphis, however, stood in the region just west of Goshen and north of present-day Cairo, and was filled with Nile River canals intersecting all over the place, so the Hebrews were just down the canal, and 2) 80 years later, when Moses and Aaron confronted the Pharaoh demanding the release of the Hebrew slaves, the monarch is said to have angered at their insolence and issued an edict that the Hebrews would have to go find their own straw for their brick-making. This would have been unlikely were he at the royal palace in Thebes while the Hebrews' brick-making operation was in Goshen, 400 miles to the north. Without the convenience of video conferencing or Moses possessing an iPhone, the Pharaoh would need to be in some close proximity to the slaves' base of operations. So, the plot thickens. Thebes or Memphis? We'll examine this in much deeper detail later in these pages.
The Pharaonic Seat of Egypt
Thebes was a city of ancient splendor; a beautiful, artistic center that was the jewel of Egyptian royalty and spirituality, whose east bank was the celebration of light, life, and living mortals, while its west bank was an equal celebration of death, eternity, and the immortals. Nowhere does there seem to be a settlement of common slaves near this immaculate city. Thebes was set in a spiritually charged landscape, and the question of communication between Moses, Pharaoh, and the Hebrews is brought to bear by simple logistics on a map of ancient Egypt, and the absence of a major slave population's expansive settlement in this cultural heart of the kingdom.
1 And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD GOD OF ISRAEL, LET MY PEOPLE GO, THAT THEY MAY HOLD A FEAST UNTO ME IN THE WILDERNESS. 2 And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, THAT I SHOULD OBEY HIS VOICE TO LET ISRAEL GO? I KNOW NOT THE LORD, NEITHER WILL I LETISRAEL GO. 3 And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD OUR GOD; LEST HE FALL UPON US WITH PESTILENCE, OR WITH THE SWORD. 4 And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens. 5 And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens. 6 And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, 7 Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. 9 Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words. 10 And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw. 11 Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not ought of your work shall be diminished. 12 So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.
— Exodus 5:1–12 (Authors' emphasis)
Was it from the palace at Thebes that Pharaoh Thutmoses I, Amenhotep II, or even Amenhotep III issued angry edicts for the Hebrew babies to be killed or their tally of bricks to be increased and their labors to be harshened by the gathering of their own straw? Or was there a connection to the northern city of Memphis, which lay in close proximity to Goshen? The necessity of these questions weighs heavily on the substance of a latter part of this book, where we examine the physical logistics of a biblically recorded mass migrational exodus of what would had to have been, by the biblical accounting, nearly one- and-a-half million slaves. Overnight.
Perhaps Thebes, being the political, cultural, and spiritual capital of Egypt gave accommodation, diplomatic immunity, and possibly even some sort of governmental housing to the new faces of the Hebrew slave population, Moses and Aaron, as well as the Hebrew "taskmasters" and "officers," but at this point in these pages, there is a need to engage in less speculation and more digging into the historical efficacy of both places.
Today, the city of Thebes goes by the name of Luxor or Louksour, as the French named it during their occupation, separated by the River Nile as it winds its way northward toward the Mediterranean. The east bank is home to the main city with hotels, restaurants, and other touristic trappings, what one would expect of such a historic center that has catered to numerous visitors throughout the past 2,000 years, but more importantly it is home to Karnak (Ipet-isut), known as the world's largest open-air museum. Hidden behind its crumbling walls, there are ancient secrets and ceremonial practices that glorified the divine Theban triad only known to the High Priests that walked its glorious halls and who bathed in the coolness of the sacred lake that lies within its heart. It is connected by a Sphinx-lined avenue that was once trodden by the feet of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt. Today, this processional route lies in a sad state of ruin, but still manages to inspire and awaken those emotions of grandeur and pompous ceremony that it once enjoyed. The avenue terminates at the Temple of Luxor (Ipet-resyt), a truly magnificent structure built by various pharaohs that eventually succumbed to the Roman occupation. It once housed a beautiful basilica, which now holds the Mosque of Abu Haggag, allowing this sacred location to continue as a place of worship and pilgrimage.
Both of the temples would have figured heavily into the Exodus story line yet are remiss from the biblical narrative. It is not inconceivable to suggest or imagine that in the formative years of Moses' youth he would have walked upon the very stone slabs that so many tourists tread today. The view would not have been that dis-similar within the confines of the pillared halls with the constant sound of wooden hammers against metal while water boys dealt refreshing Nile water to the stone masons as they carefully and gently carved the scenes of the Opet Festival. But at the same time Moses would have enjoyed the company of its incumbent priests with their freshly shaven heads and their flowing white robes, listening intently to their words of wisdom and knowledge as they recited the sacred stories of the Gods to him, and in doing so, preparing Moses for his royal duties that one day he would have to perform.
The West Bank is home to the ancient Theban Necropolis, Land of the Dead, where they rest peacefully within their tombs, emblazoned with sacred texts from the Book of the Dead, while their ka travel freely among the living, visiting their earthly homes and loved ones they left behind, eating and drinking as if life was an eternal pleasure. It is here we find the infamous Valley of the Kings and the sprawling stone mortuary temples of various pharaohs that line the western desert's edge, now preserved piles of stone, resembling a mere fraction of their original grandeur. The lonely doorways now provide access to empty spaces, but once were beautifully decorated chambers adorned by hand-crafted furniture and colorful fabrics. If one could pause for a moment, it is easy to imagine the sweet smell of burning incense as it passed from chamber to chamber, filling the voids with the aromatic odors of the east, their gentle smoke being highlighted by the shards of penetrating light that break through the small carved windows.
One such temple is the magnificent mortuary temple of Djeser Djeseru in Deir el Bahri, built by Hatshepsut under the hand of appointed chief architect Senenmut. The never-ending cycle of temple life included delivery after delivery making its way through huge sycamore doors with heavy bronze hinges, encrusted with green oxidization. Massive lion-headed bolts were drawn back to allow in the stream of men and their donkey-driven carts carrying the necessary supplies of grain, fruits, and precious oils. Behind them were the livestock, many of which would be required for the daily offerings within the ceremonial rites and rituals that were performed for the deities and the deceased owner of the temple complex.
The cottage industry that produced all that was required for the easy running of the temple was constantly busy. The kitchens were always preparing and serving meals to those who had spent the morning laboring in the fields or to the priests who had just finished their first set of daily rituals. But these were nowhere near as tremendous as the feast that was being laid out before the visiting god on his offering table, later to be shared among the temple staff and their families once the deity had satisfied its hunger.
The weavers and their apprentices spun yard after yard of fine cloth and linen in preparation of the ongoing mummification process that took place regularly; the embalming workshops requirement for their supply of sacred linen never abated. It's not a huge leap to place Moses, Aaron, and Miriam into such a scene.
It is worth mentioning that the name of these temples translates as "House of Millions of Years"; it was the belief of their architects that the dead Pharaoh would travel back and forth from the Underworld to visit his earthly house — hence the name.
As we previously mentioned within the Introduction, ancient Egypt is as familiar as the dark side of the moon, and rightly so in many aspects. Archaeologically speaking there is an immense wealth of material pertaining to ancient Egypt and its people. Universities, libraries, and museums across the world have amassed huge collections of Egyptian artifacts that span thousands of years, not to mention the Grand Egyptian Museum. In pop-culture terms, other than the famous tomb of Tutankhamun, the Sphinx, and the Pyramids, not much is really well-known or talked about. The silver screen has portrayed ancient Egypt in many guises, from the mid-20th-century old black and white films of Boris Karloff as The Mummy to the action-packed adventures of Indiana Jones and his conquests across the world of antiquity. And let's not forget the recent adventures of The Mummy trilogy, in which we see significantly important ancient names such as "Imhotep" come to life in front of us, performing rites and ceremonies that quite possibly bear some resemblance to the ancient events.
Ever since the first early European travelers began to navigate the Nile, tales of Egypt's rich history began to filter their way back to mainland Europe, conjuring images related to the age-old stories such as Arabian Nights,Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, and of course the biblical narrative. Napoleon's somewhat forced occupation of Egypt during the later parts of the 18th century led to the great scientific exploration of ancient Egypt's history. His team of scholars, draughtsman, and engineers scoured the Egyptian countryside, recording and documenting all that lay in their paths. We have so much to thank Napoleon and his scientific team for; if they had not been so disciplined in their work, we would not know as much as we do today. It was his team's discovery of the famous Rosetta Stone that eventually led to the decipherment of the ancient and lost hieroglyphic language by Jean- Francois Champollion in 1822, showing the academic world that the ancient text was a mixture of phonetic and ideographic signs.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "The Exodus Reality"
by .
Copyright © 2014 Scott Alan Roberts and John Richard Ward.
Excerpted by permission of Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Father Jack Ashcraft,
Preface by John Richard Ward,
Preface by Scott Alan Roberts,
Authors' Note,
Introduction,
Chapter One An Anthro-Archaeological Perspective,
Chapter Two Faith, in Fact, Is Not Fact — It's Faith. And That's a Fact. (You Can Bet Your Faith on It.),
Chapter Three The Disaster,
Chapter Four Strangers in a Not-So-Strange Land,
Chapter Five Were the Hebrew Slaves Ever Really Hebrew Slaves?,
Chapter Six Victims of Circumstance,
Chapter Seven Senenmut,
Chapter Eight The Aftermath,
Chapter Nine Amenhotep, Son of Hapu: The True Moses,
Chapter Ten Out of Egypt,
Chapter Eleven The Wilderness,
Chapter Twelve The Ark of the Covenant: The Ancient Barque Shrine,
Conclusion,
Appendix A,
Appendix B,
Notes,
Bibliography,
Index,
About the Authors,
Related Subjects
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