Chronology check . . . Pharaoh who?

The fact that Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Jewish historians all noted the Exodus begs one to take a closer look at the Pharaoh(s) involved. The story of Israel's release from Egyptian bondage is one that would have left its mark on the Egyptian rulers and people. Who was this God of Israel compared to the stronghold of Egypt?

"Awesome God" by Glad

Some parallels of Scripture and Egyptian history:

• Reverse chronology from "Pharaoh Necho" back to Exodus:
• Reign of King Josiah of Judah -  31 years (II Kings 22:1)--Josiah killed by Pharaoh Necho
• Reign of King Amon of Judah - 2 years (II Kings 21:19)
• Reign of King Manasseh of Judah - 55 years (II Kings 21:1) 
• Reign of King Hezekiah of Judah - 29 years (II Kings 18:2)  
• Reign of King Ahaz of Judah - 16 years (II Kings 16:2) 
• Reign of King Jotham of Judah - 16 years (II Kings 15:33)  
• Reign of King Azariah/Uzziah of Judah - 52 years (II Kings 15:2)
• Reign of King Amaziah of Judah - 29 years (II Kings 14:2)
• Reign of King Joash/Jehoash of Judah - 40 years (II Kings 12:1)
• Reign of Queen Athaliah of Judah - 6 years (II Kings 11:3)
• Reign of King Ahaziah of Judah - 1 year (II Kings 8:26)
• Reign of King Jehoram/Joram of Judah - 8 years (II Kings 8:17)
• Reign of King Jehoshaphat of Judah - 25 years (I Kings 22:42)
• Reign of King Asa of Judah - 41 years (I Kings 15:10)
• Reign of King Abijam of Judah - 3 years (I Kings 15:2)
• Reign of King Rehoboam of Judah - 17 years (I Kings 14:21)--Pharaoh Shishak plunders the Temple and palace during Rehoboam's 5th year.
• Reign of King Solomon - 40 years (I Kings 11:42)--Pharaoh Shishak ruling Egypt
• Time from Exodus to Solomon's 4th year of reign - 480 years (I Kings 6:1)
• Total from Exodus to Pharaoh Necho: 480 years + (36 + 17 + 3 + 41 + 25 + 8 + 1 + 6 + 40 + 29 + 52 + 16 + 16 + 29 + 55 + 2 + 31) years = 887 years
• Encyclopaedia Britannica - Pharaoh Necho, who killed King Josiah, is identified with Pharaoh Necho II. Accordingly, King Josiah was slain ~608 B.C. when he went to Megiddo to oppose Pharaoh Necho II. This places the Exodus at ~1495 B.C. (608 B.C. + 887 years from Pharaoh Necho to Exodus).
• Livius.org - Pharaoh Necho in II Kings is identified with Pharaoh Necho II of Egypt, who reigned from 610 B.C. until his death in 595 B.C. Pharaoh Necho II slew King Josiah in ~609 B.C. at Megiddo. This places the Exodus at 1496 B.C. (609 B.C. + 887 years from Pharaoh Necho to Exodus).
• Tour Egypt Site - Pharaoh Shishak, the ruler of Egypt during the days of King Solomon and King Rehoboam, is identified with Pharaoh Shoshenq I, who founded the 22nd Eygptian dynasty in 945 B.C. Solomon by comparison died in 930 B.C., placing the Exodus in 1450 B.C. (930 B.C. + 40 year reign of Solomon + 480 years to Exodus).
• Oriental Institute Publications at the University of Chicago - Pharaoh Shishak is identified with Pharaoh Shoshenq I, by aid of the Bubastite Portal inscriptions at Karnak in Egypt. Pharaoh Shoshenq I made the inscriptions in ~925 B.C., after completing his Palestinian campaign. This would place the Exodus at 1450 B.C. (925 B.C. + 5 years of peace under Rehoboam + 40 year reign of Solomon + 480 years to Exodus).
• Therefore, it does indeed appear that the Exodus Pharaoh ruled no later than 1450 B.C., and at least as early as 1500 B.C. from combined Scriptural and Egyptian records.
• Egyptian Pharaohs during 1650-1450 B.C.:
• Upper and Lower Egypt disambiguation - Lower Egypt corresponded to the fertile Nile delta region (i.e. Hebrew Goshen), while Upper Egypt consisted of inland setttlements primarily along the Nile valley.
• c. 1630-1603 B.C.--Pharaoh "who did not know Joseph":
• Hyksos foreign kings - Ruled Lower Egypt during the period of c. 1630-1523 B.C. The Hyksos came from an influx of foreigners and Palestinians into Egypt (which I have previously linked to Joseph's famine). Then the Hyksos dynasty arose to usurp rule from the Egyptians in Lower Egypt, possibly through a famine in the delta region. Therefore, the Hyksos dynasty would fit the pharaoh who did not know Joseph and subjected the Hebrew people to forced labor. Interestingly, the Hyksos brought the compound bow, the horse and chariot, and better metal weaponry to Egypt.
• Death of infants -  Pre or early Hyksos period excavation layer with 65% of graves belonging to infants 2 years or younger found at Avaris Hyksos capital in Lower Egypt.
• Exodus1:8-10, 22, "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' . . . 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.'"
• c. 1603 B.C.--Naming of Moses:
• List of Pharaohs - Scroll down to the 16th dynasty (c. 1650-1580 B.C.) which was a native Egyptian dynasty ruling Upper Egypt at Thebes. The suffix "-mose" begins to appear with the names of Dedumose I & II, and continues in usage up to Pharaoh Thutmose IV (1400-1390 B.C.) of the 18th dynasty.
• Reshafim - Hyksos ruler Khyan finally conquered Thebes (see Fifteenth Dynasty section) c. 1610-1580 B.C., bringing Hyksos Lower Egypt into direct contact with the culture, rulers, and names in Upper Egypt.
• Exodus 2:5-6, 10, "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' . . . The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, 'Because I drew him out of the water.'"
• c. 1523 B.C.--Death of [Hyksos] Pharaoh seeking Moses' life: 
• Pharaoh Ahmose - Re-united Upper and Lower Egypt by the conquest and expulsion of the Hyksos dynasty from Lower Egypt. Pharaoh Ahomose ruled during c. 1550-1525 B.C.
• Exodus 2:11-12, 15, 23-24, "Now it came about in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his brethren and looked on their hard labors; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. So he looked this way and that, and when he saw there was no one around, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand . . . When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian . . . 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. So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
• Exodus 7:1-2, 7, "Then the LORD said to Moses . . . 'You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh that he let the sons of Israel go out of his land' . . . Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three, when they spoke to Pharaoh."
• c. 1526-1500 B.C.--"Exodus" Pharaoh:
• Pharaoh Amenhotep I - Ruled Upper and Lower Egypt beginning his rule in ~1526 B.C., according to the apparent heliacal rising of Sirius during Amenhotep's 9th year, and reigned ~25 years. Amenhotep I and his mother were both deified to the rare status of patron gods of Thebes (capital of Upper Egypt) upon Amenhotep's death. Pharaoh Amenhotep I's tomb has not been discovered, only his mortuary temple. In break with tradition, his mummy was not buried in the mortuary temple.
• An Egyptologist's summary - Little is known about Pharaoh Amenhotep I. His mummy was found in a royal mummy cache at Deir el-Bahri. Although the mummy was rewrapped by Egyptian priests in the 21st dynasty, it remains the only mummy yet unwrapped in modernity.
• Exodus 14:8, 27-28, 30, "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 . . . 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 . . . Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore."
• c. 1526-1500 B.C.--Plagues and upheaval of Egypt:
• Admonition of Ipuwer (unabridged) - Describes overturning of societal ranks and  power in both Upper and Lower Egypt. The discovered Ipuwer papyrus appears to be a copy made during the New Kingdom (c. 1543-1064 B.C.), with the date of the original remaining uncertain.
• Roman Historian Tacitus - See section 3. Tacitus named the Exodus Pharaoh Bocchoris, who saw the Egyptian people afflicted with disfiguring disease during his reign. Bocchoris expelled the Hebrews from the land to cleanse his land.
• Greek Historian Diodorus - Described that the Jews were expelled from Egypt in a general expulsion of foreigners from the land to please the gods and remove a great plague.
• Exodus 12:30-36, "Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians . . . 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 . . . Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and bless me also.' The Egyptians urged the people, to send them out of the land in haste, for they said, 'We will all be dead' . . . 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."
• c. 1500 B.C.--Death of Egyptian firstborn:
• Amenhotep I (1526-1506 B.C.) - Amenhotep's only heir died in his youth, resulting in appointment of his brother-in-law to inherit the throne.
• Thutmose I (1493-1982 B.C.) - Thutmose I held half-royal sonship right to Pharaoh Amenhotep's throne, likely ruled as co-regent for some time with Amenhotep I, pursued the expelled Hyksos rulers, renovated the Thebes temple of Amon, suffered loss of two crown princes (one led his armies), and expanded the Dayr al-Madīnah workers village.
• Exodus 12:29-30, "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 [excluding the Hebrew people who observed their first Passover--see Exodus 12:21-23] 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."
• c. 1500 B.C. (see first part of post)--Red Sea crossing:
• Egyptian account: the Egyptians who pursued the Israelites are said to have all perished in the Red Sea and thus could not write an account of this event.
• Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews - See Chap. 16, section 2. When the Israelites had crossed the Red Sea on dry ground and the Egyptians pursued after them into the Red Sea, the waters fell back on the Egyptians, drowning the entire army, accompanied by wind, rain, thunder, and lightening. No Egyptian survived to return with the tale to Egypt.
• Psalm 77:16-20, "The waters saw You, O God;
              The waters saw You, they were in anguish;
              The deeps also trembled.
        The clouds poured out water;
              The skies gave forth a sound;
              Your arrows flashed here and there.
        The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
              The lightnings lit up the world;
              The earth trembled and shook.
        Your way was in the sea
              And Your paths in the mighty waters,
              And Your footprints may not be known.
        You led Your people like a flock
              By the hand of Moses and Aaron."

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." 

A sojourner's footprint: Escaping Famine

Genesis goes into some detail regarding the family line of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Famine ties all four generations together. How do their stories compare to modern thought?

Facts, customs, and widespread beliefs:

• Famine in Canaan & Abraham's sojourn in Egypt: 
• Famine during 2300-2000 B.C. - Previous blog post noted that between Muslim and Jewish accounts Abraham lived around 2166-1700 B.C.
• 4.2 kiloyear event - Famine in Egypt and Mesopotamia ~2200-2100 B.C., with resettlement of Northern Mesopotamian plains ~1900 B.C.
• New York Times - 300 year drought starting ~2200 B.C. may have caused fall of Akkadian empire in Mesopotamia.
• Yale - Same 300 year drought starting ~2200 B.C. in Mesopotamia linked to agriculture failure from the Greece to India (need to scroll halfway down page).
• Genesis 12:4-10, "So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran . . . and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan . . . Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev. Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land."
• Rachel's tomb
• Tourist website
• Israeli news article (Oct. 23rd, 2015)
• British-Muslim website - See bottom of page
• Washington Post article
• Jewish timeline of the Tomb
• Genesis 35:15-20, "So Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him, Bethel. Then they journeyed from Bethel; and when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and she suffered severe labor. When she was in severe labor the midwife said to her, 'Do not fear, for now you have another son.' It came about as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named him Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). Jacob set up a pillar over her grave; that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day." 

 
Official Trailer for Patterns of Evidence Documentary

• Joseph's Famine:
• Semitic Hyksos dynasty in Egypt - Evidence of influx of Semitic people from ancient Palestine into Egypt during ~1800-1700 BC, and Semitic "kings" over Egypt
• Egyptian tourist website - Hyksos capital at Avaris/Tell el-Dab'a
• Some archaeological finds - Including Syro-Palestinian dignitary's statue and Syro-Palestinian "traders".
• 2nd source citing same archaeological finds 
• Journal Article - Details archaeology of the "Joseph"/Asiatic statue for those with access to JSTOR (keeping a copy of this).
• "The figure is approximately one and a half times life size. On the back of the right shoulder the top right corner of a back support is still visible, thus making its placement and height certain. Emerging from the fragment of the fist tiny traces of the throw-stick or crook can be detected, thus clearly placing it in the right hand." (Schiestl 176)
• "Larger than life size statuary of non-royal Egyptians in the middle Kingdom is very unusual, but rare examples do exist throughout the 12th Dynasty, both from tombs and from temples. They seem to be limited, however, to families of highest ranks." (Schiestl 176)
• "The skin is painted yellow and its combination with red hair constitutes the Egyptian ethnic code for Asiatic people. Parallels for these features are well known in Middle Kingdom art, such as for example on a relief from the pyramid complex of Sesostris I from Lisht (Hill 1995, 153) or the representations of Asiatic group from Beni Hasan tombs 2 (Griffith 1900, pl. XXIII, 3) and 3 (Newberry 1891, pl. XXX)." (Schiestl 176-177)
• Head of another Asiatic/Syro-Palestinian statue 
• Detailed discussion from a Jewish-Christian standpoint 
• Genesis 42:1-5, "Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, 'Why are you staring at one another?' He said, 'Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy some for us from that place, so that we may live and not die.' . . . So the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who were coming, for the famine was in the land of Canaan also."
• Genesis 45:25-26, "Then they went up from Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. They told him, saying, 'Joseph is still alive, and indeed he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.'"
• Genesis 47:4-6, "They said to Pharaoh, 'We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now, therefore, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen.' Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is at your disposal; settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land, let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know any capable men among them, then put them in charge of my livestock.'"
• From Abraham & his Canaan famine to Joseph in Egypt and his 7 year famine: 25 years (after Abraham's famine Isaac is born) + 60 years (Jacob is born) + ~80 years (Joseph is born in Jacob's "old age") + 30 years (Joseph placed 2nd in command to Pharaoh) + 7 years (7 years of plenty before famine) = ~202 years from Abraham's famine to Joseph's 7 year famine
• Genesis 21:1-5, "Then the LORD took note of Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had promised. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him."
• Genesis 25:24-26, "When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. Now the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau. Afterward his brother came forth with his hand holding on to Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob; and Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them."
• Genesis 37:2-3, " . . . Joseph, when seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he was still a youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father. Now Israel [Jacob] loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a varicolored tunic."
• Genesis 41:44-46, "Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “'Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.' Then Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, as his wife. And Joseph went forth over the land of Egypt. Now Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt."

This always gets longer than I expect.