A Nation Redeemed. (Part II)

The next installment on the Exodus follows. Since this is a highly contested account in both Christian and secular circles, it seems important to examine it in detail. Might it be contested due to failure to carefully read the Exodus account and parallel accounts in Scripture? Or is it being contested because it portrays supernatural events?


Facts, customs, and widespread beliefs:

• Hebrew language links to Ancient Egyptian:
• Egyptologists' Electronic Forum - Ancient Egyptian words are denoted AE. Scroll down and see entries: [A] 2, 11, 12, 14, 18.
• Menachem Mendel - Blog written by Michael Pitkowsky, who is the Rabbinics Curriculum Coordinator at the Academy for Jewish Religion. Pitkowsky presents recent scholarship associating many Hebrew words with Egyptian roots.
• Genesis 15:12-16 (NIV), "As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the Lord said to him, 'Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here [Four generations certainly allows time to become fluent in Egyptian and begin adopting words into Hebrew] . . .'"
• Genesis 41:46-52, "Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh [likely requiring understanding of Egyptian] king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout Egypt . . . Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On [Joseph must have spoken Egyptian with his wife]."
• Genesis 42:18-23, "On the third day, Joseph said to them, 'Do this and you will live, for I fear God: If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.' This they proceeded to do. They said to one another, 'Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come on us.' Reuben replied, 'Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood.' They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter [implying that Joseph now fluently spoke Egyptian, as he spoke Egyptian to the interpreter]."

• Chariots in Egypt around B.C. 1550:
• Egyptian tourist site - Introduction of chariot technology in Egypt dated to Asiatic Hyksos arrival.
• Ancient History Encyclopedia - Hyksos charioteers introduced the chariot to Egypt around 1650 B.C., when their dynasty in Northern Egypt was established.
• Exodus 14:5-9, "When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people, and they said, 'What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?' So he made his chariot ready and took his people with him; and he took six hundred select chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he chased after the sons of Israel as the sons of Israel were going out boldly. Then the Egyptians chased after them with all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and they overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon."

• Story and name of Moses:
• An Islamic website - Names Moses as Musa, and relates a story closely paralleling Scripture.
• Another Islamic website - Again names Moses as Musa, and relates a story paralleling Scripture.
• Roman Historian Tacitus - Named Moses as Moyses in his 5th book of Historiae. See third section in linked page. Some parallels to Scripture are evident in Tacitus' story.
• Torah.org - Names Moses as Moshe under Judaism and affirms the historicity of Moshe's life.
• Greek Historian Diodorus Siculus - Identified Moses as the leader of the people who left Egypt to settle in Judaea, as well as the one who gave this people their laws and priesthood.
• Egyptologists' Electronic Forum - Scroll down to entry [A] 11 to see Egyptian origin of the name "Moses".
• Egyptian Historian Manetho:
• According to Josephus, Manetho declares that the Hyksos were expelled from Egypt during the time of Pharaoh Tuthmosis, of the 18th Dynasty. 
• According to George Syncellus, who was commenting on Julius Africanus' preservation of Manetho's Aegyptiaca, Moses and Israel's departure from Egypt should be placed during the reign of Pharaoh Amos, the first king of the 18th Dynasty.
• Compare to Exodus 1-14

• Hebrew Passover:
• Judaism 101 - Provides extensive details on the Passover meal, noting that the Passover is still observed in some form by 67% of Jews to this day.
• Reform Judaism - Similar description of the Passover meal, noting that the first Passover was associated with the Exodus from Egypt. The Passover was also one of the three feasts for which the Israelite people congregated, and yet seek to congregate, in Jerusalem.
• Exodus 12:1-13, "Now the LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 'This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, "On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household . . . You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight. Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails. And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire. Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste—it is the LORD’S Passover. For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance."'" 

• Hebrew calendar beginning with Passover month:
• Reform Judaism - According to the Jewish calendar, Passover is observed in the month of Nissan, the first month.
• General Source - Scroll down to months section. Nissan is the first month and is the month of Passover.
• Exodus 12:1-3, "Now the LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 'This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, "On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves . . ."'"

• Enmity between Israel and Egypt enduring into modern times:
• The Middle East Quarterly - Modern-day wars and tensions between Egypt and Israel.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica - Egyptian-Isreali conflict example in six-day war between Israel and its Egyptian-led Arab coalition in 1967. 
• Jerusalem Post - Egyptian study showed that the Egyptian people view Israel as the most hostile nation toward them (Egyptian public opinion research site - poll referenced in Jerusalem Post article is 3rd from top on web page).
• Exodus 1:8-11, "Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. He said to his people, 'Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we. Come, let us deal wisely with them, or else they will multiply and in the event of war, they will also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us and depart from the land.' So they appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with hard labor. And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pithom and Raamses."
• Exodus 14:28-30, "The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even Pharaoh’s entire army that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them remained. But the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore." 

• Red Sea and the Sinai wilderness relative to Goshen, Egypt:
• Red Sea:
• Islamic viewpoint - Scroll down to Part 9. The Red Sea is considered to be an actual portion of the Red Sea, with deep water, and not marshland.
• Jewish viewpoint -  Jewish interpretation of the Torah holds the Red Sea to name a body of deep water also, not merely marshland or a flood-plain.
• Exodus 13:17-18, "Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, 'The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.' Hence God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in martial array from the land of Egypt."
• Exodus 14:26-29, "Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen.' So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the Egyptians were fleeing right into it; then the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even Pharaoh’s entire army that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them remained. But the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left."

• Mount Sinai/Horeb:
• Islamic viewpoint - Both the Islamic Quran and the Old Testament require that Horeb be located in or near the land of Midian (the people of Moses' father-in-law), which corresponds to modern-day Saudi Arabia. Jabal al Lawz is one suggested candidate mountain in Saudi Arabia.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica - The Midianites were nomadic people believed to have lived east of the Gulf of Aqaba in modern-day Saudi Arabia.
• Jabal al Lawz - A mountain with a visibly darkened peak, as seen below:

• Exodus 3:1-2, "Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed."
• Exodus 19:17-20, "And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder. The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up."
• II Chron. 5:10, "There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets which Moses put there at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of Egypt."
• Psalm 106:19-22, "They made a calf in Horeb
              And worshiped a molten image.
        Thus they exchanged their glory
              For the image of an ox that eats grass.
        They forgot God their Savior,
              Who had done great things in Egypt,
        Wonders in the land of Ham
              And awesome things by the Red Sea."           

• Split rock in the wilderness:
• Al Naslaa, Tayma petroglyph - Lone rock in Saudi Arabia at Tayma with very uniform split running through middle, visibly eroded base, and clear trace of nomadic presence. 
• Geography of modern day route from Cairo to Tayma (see split rock Al Naslaa above):

Google Maps modern day route from Cairo, Egypt to split rock at Tayma, Saudi Arabia

• Psalm 78:13-18, "He divided the sea and caused them to
        pass through,
              And He made the waters stand up like a heap.
        Then He led them with the cloud by day
              And all the night with a light of fire.
        He split the rocks in the wilderness
              And gave them abundant drink like the ocean
              depths.
        He brought forth streams also from the rock
              And caused waters to run down like rivers.
        Yet they still continued to sin against Him,
              To rebel against the Most High in the desert.
        And in their heart they put God to the test
              By asking food according to their desire."

• Rock Art in Saudi Arabia:
• Cattle petroglyphs - Artistic work is very similar to that seen in ancient Egypt. The Saudi petroglyphs may date to sometime in the 2nd millenium B.C.
• Exodus 12:37-39, "Now the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, aside from children. A mixed multitude also went up with them, along with flocks and herds, a very large number of livestock. They baked the dough which they had brought out of Egypt into cakes of unleavened bread. For it had not become leavened, since they were driven out of Egypt and could not delay, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves."
• Sheep petroglyphs - Awassi, fat-tailed sheep drawn on surfaces of rocks were bred and domesticated prior to 2000 B.C. Their fat tail allows them to endure arid climates in Africa, the Middle East, and other regions (see fao.org website for more information).
• Leviticus 6:6-7, "Then he shall bring to the priest his guilt offering to the LORD, a ram without defect from the flock, according to your valuation, for a guilt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD, and he will be forgiven for any one of the things which he may have done to incur guilt."
• Leviticus 7:2-3, "'In the place where they slay the burnt offering they are to slay the guilt offering, and he shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. Then he shall offer from it all its fat: the fat tail and the fat that covers the entrails . . .'" 

A Nation Redeemed. (Part I)

Genesis 15:12-16 (NIV), "As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers [or sojourners, just like Abraham] in a country not their own [no land that they dwelt in was their own until the conquest of Canaan] and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”'"

Exodus 12:31-42 (Septuagint), "And Pharao called Moses and Aaron by night, and said to them, 'Rise and depart from my people, both ye and the children of Israel. Go and serve the Lord your God, even as ye say' . . . And the children Israel departed from Ramesses to Socchoth, to the full number of six hundred thousand footmen, even men, besides the baggage. And a great mixed company went up with them, and sheep and oxen and very much cattle. And they baked the dough which they brought out of Egypt, unleavened cakes, for it had not been leavened; for the Egyptians cast them out, and they could not remain, neither did they prepare provision for themselves for the journey. And the sojourning of the children of Israel, while they sojourned in the land of Egypt and the land of Chanaan, was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass after the four hundred and thirty years, all the forces of the Lord came forth out of the land of Egypt by night. It is a watch kept to the Lord, so that he should bring them out of the land of Egypt; that very night is a watch kept to the Lord, so that it should be to all the children of Israel to their generations."

Dating check on 400 vs. 430 years:

• Exodus 6:16-20 (NAS), "These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon and Kohath and Merari; and the length of Levi’s life was one hundred and thirty-seven years . . . The sons of Kohath: Amram and Izhar and Hebron and Uzziel; and the length of Kohath’s life was one hundred and thirty-three years . . . Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed [daughter of Levi who entered Egypt], and she bore him Aaron and Moses; and the length of Amram’s life was one hundred and thirty-seven years."
• Passage confirms that the number of generations in Egypt following Joseph's famine totaled four generations (tracing from Moses back through his father Amram to Levi, the first generation).
• Since only 40 years wandering in the wilderness was required for the rebellious generation to die (with the help of plagues), one should give 40-60 years per generation.
• Calculating: 4 generations * 50 years per generation = 200 year sojourn in Egypt following Joseph's famine.
• Therefore, the 400 years foretold to Abraham must begin many years before Joseph's famine.
• Interestingly, in my prior May 7th post, I already calculated ~202 years from Abraham's famine to Joseph's famine. These additional ~200 years of sojourning would complete the four hundred fortold to Abraham.
• Galations 3:16-17 (NAS), "[apostle Paul writing] Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, 'And to seeds,' as referring to many, but rather to one, 'And to your seed,' that is, Christ. What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise." 
• According to apostle Paul, the timespan from God's promise to Abraham to the post-exodus Mosaic Law numbered 430 years, matching the 430 years referenced in Exodus 12.
• Therefore, this timespan appears to be a timespan of sojournings (plus time in the wilderness receiving the Law), including those of Abraham (post-promise), Isaac, and Jacob.
• The last 30 years of the 430 years in Gal 3 may lead up to God's final instructions to Moses regarding the Mosaic Law. 
• Josephus on the Exodus - See the beginning of Chapter 15, section #2. Josephus assigned 215 years to the sojourn in Egypt, dating the beginning of the 430 years to Abraham's entry into Canaan.

Facts/Archaeology/Historical documentation:

• Early Historians on the Date of the Exodus - Exodus dated to about 1550 B.C., following a ~215 year sojourn in Egypt.
• Storage cities of Pithom and Rameses:
• Pithom
• Rough Guides travel site - City identified by some with Tell al-Maskhuta.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica - Hebrew Pithom transliterates to Egyptian Per-Atum/Per Tum, meaning "Estate of Atum", and may correspond to present-day Tall al-Maskhuta, near Ismalia. Tall al-Maskhuta did have a Hyksos period settlement.
• Rameses
• Rough Guides travel site - city identified anachronistically with site of later Pi-Ramses which corresponds to present-day Qantir with extension to adjacent Avaris (which dates to before the Hyksos settlement around 1800 B.C., although it became the Hyksos capital)
• Bietak and Forstner-Müller Archaeology - the southern part of later Pi-Ramses overlapped with the earlier Hyksos capital of Avaris, which was conquered in 1530 B.C. by Pharaoh Ahmose. The brickwork citidal was destroyed and replaced with large storage facilities, including many silos.
• Journal of Near Eastern Studies (JSTOR) - According to E. P. Uphill in his article "Pithom and Raamses: Their Location and Significance", the city of Rameses/Pi-Ramses was located at Qantir (p. 39). It was described by scribe Pbes as having graneries filled with barley and emmer, along with abundant production of onions, leeks, figs, fish, etc. (p. 15).
• Exodus 1:8-11 (NAS), "Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. He said to his people, 'Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we. Come, let us deal wisely with them, or else they will multiply and in the event of war, they will also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us and depart from the land.' So they appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with hard labor. And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pithom and Raamses."
• Egyptian subjection of Hebrews/Semitic peoples to forced labor:
• Medical Hypotheses journal article - Quote from p. 907, "Confirmation of the Hebrew settlement comes from an Egyptian document, which places Hebrews in the Nile Delta, and it places them around the time of the epidemic in Avaris. Brooklyn papyrus 35.1146 is a record from the brief reign of his majesty of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt Sekhemre’ Sewadjtowy, also known as Sobekhotep III (1700 BC). It is a register, which on one of its sides lists 95 slaves and/or domestics (hry-pr), who were transferred from the Nile delta to an estate in Southern Egypt. Several names on the list are Hebrew, or reflect prayers of the Hebrews interned in the labor camps in Egypt (Ps.18.7, Ps.22.5-6, Ps.77.1-11). Both the 10th (Haiimi) and the 62nd person (Hi-abi-ilu) have names meaning, 'Where is my father?'. The name means the same as the Hebrew Ayyabum (Job), which is known in biblical literature. The 62nd person was also known by her Egyptian name 'Neh-ni-em-khasut', which stands for 'there is a prayer for me in foreign land'. Her son's name (63rd slave) was Abi (Hebrew: 'my father') also known as Seneb-nebef (Egyptian: 'his Lord is in good health'). Weaver Menahem (11th on the list) carries a name that will surface in the 8th century BC as the name of a Hebrew king. The list also includes members of the Hebrew tribe of Issachar (13th, 14th, 16th, 22nd and 67th servants on the list), and Asher (23rd and 24th servants). Shepra, the 21st domestic, carries another Hebrew name, which is found in the biblical account of exodus (Ex.1.15). The Asiatic servant Aduna (33rd on the list) carries a Hebrew name that means 'my lord'; her son (34th on the list) would also be Hebrew. Aqaba, the 37th deported person, carries a name that is related to the Hebrew patriarch Jacob, also known as Israel. The 59th person was Asiatic, and was also known as Iun-er-tan ('can we go back to our land?'). Finally, the 80th domestic carries a name implying '[God] shines', and is known from Hebrew sources as 'Shaddai shines'." (Science Direct link).
• "'House of Bondage': Can We Reconcile the Biblical Account of Hebrew Slavery with Egyptian Historical Records?" (Marla A. Samaan) - See pp. 17-22 of this undergraduate senior research project paper for similar attestation to finding Hebrew names among a list of domestic servants. Note is also taken of Asiatics working as brickmakers under Egyptian overseers.
• Exodus 1:8-14, "Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. He said to his people, 'Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we. Come, let us deal wisely with them, or else they will multiply and in the event of war, they will also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us and depart from the land.' So they appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with hard labor . . . But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out, so that they were in dread of the sons of Israel. The Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously; and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them."
• Putting to death of the Hebrew male newborns:
• Rough Guides travel site - Avaris excavation layer unearthed with 65% of graves belonging to children under 2 years old.
• Medical Hypotheses journal article - Quote from p. 906-907, "It follows that the presence of the Minoans also places chronological boundaries regarding the disease. This epidemic stemming from Asia must have taken place in the window 1800–1600/1550 BC, when Minoans traded with Egypt . . . Furthermore, the so-called stratum F of Avaris also links the Avaris epidemic to the biblical texts. This layer contains archaeological material, which has been dated to roughly 1710–1680 BC, thus spanning the generation right after the epidemic. This layer shows two peculiarities. Many tombs belong to non-Egyptians. For instance, the so-called tomb p/14-Nr.18 contained a non-Egyptian warrior, most likely a mercenary. His copper sword with riveted socket attests to the presence of Asiatics in the Eastern Nile Delta at the time, and shows that the culture at Avaris was quite similar to the one existing in urban centers across Canaan, Syria and Transjordan. The F layer also contains an unusually high number of tombs for young children. This layer, which is later than the epidemic, parallels the biblical texts of the aforementioned massacre of the Hebrew newborn, which took place sometime during the period of the enslavement." (Science Direct link)
• Exodus 1:15-22, "Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other was named Puah; and he said, 'When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.' But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live. So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, 'Why have you done this thing, and let the boys live?' The midwives said to Pharaoh, 'Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them.' So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and became very mighty. Because the midwives feared God, He established households for them. Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, 'Every son who is born you are to cast into the Nile, and every daughter you are to keep alive.'" 
• Context of Moses' birth:
• Egyptian Tourist site - Basket weaving dates back to ~5000 B.C. in Egypt, with some techniques even employed in making river rafts.
• Exodus 2:1-3, "Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi. The woman conceived and bore a son [Moses]; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile."
• Manfred Bietak Archaeology -  Some citidal structures and palatial gardens along the Nile at the village Ezbet Helmi (at the site of Avaris) correspond to the late Hyksos Period (before 1530 BC).
• Exodus 2:5-6, "The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, with her maidens walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid, and she brought it to her. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying. And she had pity on him and said, 'This is one of the Hebrews’ children.'"
• Egyptian magicians and their claimed powers:
• Admonitions of Ipuwer (unabridged) - See Chapter VI, where magic spells are divulged and frustrated.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica - Egyptians worshipped the goddess Isis, whom they venerated as a great magician.
• BBC History Article - Provides a detailed, general overview of Egyptian magicians.
• Exodus 7:10-12, "So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and thus they did just as the LORD had commanded; and Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same with their secret arts. For each one threw down his staff and they turned into serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs."
• Exodus 7:20-22, "So Moses and Aaron did even as the LORD had commanded. And he lifted up the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood. The fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt. But the magicians of Egypt did the same with their secret arts; and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened . . ."
• Exodus 8:5-7, "Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Say to Aaron, "Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the streams and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt."' So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. The magicians did the same with their secret arts, making frogs come up on the land of Egypt."
• Exodus 8:16-19, "Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Say to Aaron, "Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become gnats through all the land of Egypt."' They did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats through all the land of Egypt. The magicians tried with their secret arts to bring forth gnats, but they could not; so there were gnats on man and beast. Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, 'This is the finger of God.' But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had said."
• Break in the power of Pharoahs around B.C. 1550:
• PBS - The mid-dynasty Hyksos Pharaohs surpassed those of Upper (southern) Egypt in might, killing southern Pharaoh Seqenenre Taa I and his whole army.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica - The Hyksos dynasty ended ~1523 B.C. with conquest of the Hyksos capital of Avaris by Pharaoh Ahmose of Upper (southern) Egypt.
• Rabbi Mordechai Becher - Ten Plagues on Egypt are comparable to calamities noted in the "Admonitions of Ipuwer" Egyptian papyrus.
• Admonitions of Ipuwer (unabridged)
• Exodus 7:16-21, "You shall say to him, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, "Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness. But behold, you have not listened until now"' . . . So Moses and Aaron did even as the LORD had commanded. And he lifted up the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood. The fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile became foul . . ."
• Exodus 9:2-6, "'"'For if you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them, behold, the hand of the LORD will come with a very severe pestilence on your livestock which are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the herds, and on the flocks'"' . . . So the LORD did this thing on the next day, and all the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the sons of Israel, not one died."
• Exodus 9:22-26, "Now the LORD said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that hail may fall on all the land of Egypt, on man and on beast and on every plant of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.' Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very severe, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. The hail struck all that was in the field through all the land of Egypt, both man and beast; the hail also struck every plant of the field and shattered every tree of the field.Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, there was no hail."
• Exodus 10:13-15, "So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the LORD directed an east wind on the land all that day and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled in all the territory of Egypt; they were very numerous. There had never been so many locusts, nor would there be so many again. For they covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every plant of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Thus nothing green was left on tree or plant of the field through all the land of Egypt." 
• Exodus 12:29-32, "Now it came about at midnight that the LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of cattle. Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no home where there was not someone dead [except among the Hebrews--see Exodus 12:23]. Then he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, 'Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, worship the LORD, as you have said. Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and bless me also.'"
• Exodus 12:35-38, "Now the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. Now the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, aside from children. A mixed multitude also went up with them, along with flocks and herds, a very large number of livestock."