BIBLE STUDY MANUALS: TEN PLAGUES OF EGYPT

TEN PLAGUES OF EGYPT - FACT OR FICTION?

I) THE WRITER OF EXODUS HAD AN INTIMATE ACQUAINTANCE WITH ANCIENT EGYPT MOST LIKELY DURING THE 12TH DYNASTY

The writer of the Book of the Exodus had an intimate acquaintance with Ancient Egypt which is corroborated by ancient writings and other archeological evidence outside of the Bible, especially of the 12th dynasty. What follows is a partial list of the many historical points about Ancient Egypt which testify to the writer's intimate knowledge of life in Ancient Egypt at the time indicated in the Bible of the presence of Israel in Egypt, the ten plagues and the Exodus of Israel about which he wrote and evidently personally experienced:

(1) The position of the Egyptians with respect to foreigners - their separation from them, yet their allowance of them in their country,

(2) their special hatred of shepherds,

(3) the suspicion of strangers from Palestine as spies

(4) their internal government, its settled character,

(5) the power of the King,

(6) the influence of the Priests, the great works,

(7) the employment of foreigners in their construction,

(8) the use of bricks, and of bricks with straw in them,

(9) the taskmasters,

(10) the embalming of dead bodies,

(11) the consequent importation of spices,

(12) the violent mournings,

(13) the fighting with horses and chariots.

II) ARCHEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE FROM THE 12TH DYNASTY CORROBORATES THE EXISTENCE OF ISRAEL IN ANCIENT EGYPT, THE ACCOUNT OF THE EXODUS - EVEN OF THE 10 PLAGUES

A) There Was Little Motivation To Recount The Facts Of Israel In Egypt, The Ten Plagues And The Exodus. Nevertheless, There Is Significant Evidence Available For One Who Is Seeking The Truth Of The Matter

The events of ancient history in Egypt relative to Israel, the proposed ten plagues and the Exodus are supposed to have taken place - if one admits to them taking place at all - during the period of time before there was mass communication. Thousands of years ago, people were far less informed of current events and even less impressed with the supernatural than we are today. The last thing that an Egyptian official commissioned by the Pharaoh would inscribe on the wall of one of their temples 3,300 years ago would be the Exodus story, regardless of how amazing it seems to us today. Rulers of ancient and modern times have limited the recording of their history to their victories and not their defeats. They have often tried to erase / cover up anything historical that is contrary to their personal or nationalistic image or to the ideology they are trying to inculcate in their people. Even in recent times rulers have tried to obliterate the works and reputations of their predecessors. It is evident from archeological evidence that anything regarded as embarrassing or distasteful was left out of Egyptian inscriptions or effaced as soon as possible. An example is the chiseling away by her successor, Thutmose III, of the name and representation of Queen Hatshepsut on a stone monumental record uncovered at Deir al-Bahri in Egypt. See Archaeology and Bible History, by J. P. Free, 1964, p. 98 and photograph opposite p. 94. So it is not surprising that there is not a plethera of information concerning Israel in Ancient Egypt.

The most predominate reports by historians and archeologists on this matter so far are largely based upon a flawed dating system that has made a practice of ignoring / discarding evidence that conflicts with its own viewpoint, such as evidence from the 12th dynasty that corroborates the existence of Israel in ancient Egypt, the ten plagues and the Exodus in accordance with the Biblical account.

B) THE TIMEFRAME OF THE 12TH DYNASTY HAS MANY CORROBORATIVE PIECES OF EVIDENCE MAKING IT THE ONLY FEASIBLE TIME PERIOD WITHIN WHICH THE TEN PLAGUES AND THE EXODUS COULD HAVE OCCURRED

1) SEARCHING FOR MOSES, BY DAVID DOWN

The traditional chronology of Egyptian history stipulated that the 18th dynasty ruled from about 1550 to 1320 BC. According to the Bible the Exodus occurred about 1446 BC. But there is no evidence from the 18th dynasty of a major disaster such as would have resulted from the 10 devastating plagues that fell on Egypt, or of the destruction of the Egyptian army during this period - or even of the presence of a great number of "Asiatics," i.e., Semitic peoples like the Israelites. Nor is there archaeological evidence for an invasion of Palestine under Joshua during this period.

But when the evidence from the archeology of the 12th dynasty is compared to the biblical account and the time of Moses and the Exodus, there is found abundant evidence for the presence of large numbers of Semitic slaves at the time of Moses, the devastation of Egypt and the sudden departure of these slaves. Furthermore, this comparison, which is at the end of the Early Bronze Period, and not at the beginning as some contend, provides evidence of Jericho's fallen walls and the arrival in Palestine of a new people with a new culture who would then be identified as the invading Israelites under Joshua.

The 18 December 1995 edition of Time magazine had on the front cover a picture of Moses holding a slab of stone, on which are the Ten Commandments, with the question splashed across the centre of the page asking, 'IS THE BIBLE FACT OR FICTION?'

The article claims that there are

'parts of the Old Testament where the evidence is contradictory or still absent, including slavery in Egypt, the existence of Moses, the Exodus and Joshua's military conquest of the Holy Land … . Kathleen Kenyon, who excavated at Jericho for six years, found no evidence of destruction at that time' (p. 54).

In fact, she claims that Jericho was uninhabited in 1400 BC, the Biblical date for the Exodus.

'When the material is analysed in the light of our present knowledge, it becomes clear that there is a complete gap both on the tell and in the tombs between c.1580 BC and c.1400 BC.' 1

The expression 'at that time' is extremely significant. The fact is that there is plenty of evidence for slavery in Egypt, the existence of Moses, the Exodus and Joshua's military conquest of the Holy Land. At Jericho, Professor Garstang uncovered toppled walls and a thick layer of ash all over the tell which denoted a fire that had been deliberately lit.

'The outer wall suffered most, its remains falling down the slope … . Traces of intense fire are plain to see, including reddened masses of brick, cracked stones, charred timbers and ashes. Houses alongside the wall were found burnt to the ground, their roofs fallen upon the domestic pottery within.' 2

But it was not at the time archaeologists had allocated to the event.

'It had been believed in the earlier excavations that the defensive walls of the Late Bronze Age town had been discovered, and that they had been destroyed by earthquake and fire. It became clear in the course of the recent excavations that these walls had been mistakenly identified. They actually belonged to the Early Bronze Age.' 3

From the information revealed in 1 Kings 6:1, the date of the Exodus can be calculated. It says, 'And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD'.

Most historians agree that Solomon ascended the throne about 970 BC. 4 His 4th year would be 966 BC, and 480 years before that would be about 1446 BC. According to the traditional dates accepted by most archaeologists, that would be during the rule of the 18th dynasty of Egypt.

b) A Proposed Revision Of Egyptian Chronology Which Corroborates Archeological Evidence And The Bible

It is true that there is no evidence for Moses, the ten plagues that fell upon Egypt or the Exodus 'at that time' [i.e., the time of the 18th dynasty which was imposed upon the Biblical account in the sense of demanding that it had to have occurred during this dynasty by certain archeologists]. But there are a number of scholars who claim that a gross error in chronology has been made in calculating the dates of Egyptian history and that they should be reduced by centuries. 5 Such a re-dating could bring the 12th dynasty down to the time of Moses, and there is plenty of circumstantial evidence in that dynasty to support the Biblical records.

One of the last kings of the 12th dynasty was Sesostris III. His statues depict him as a cruel tyrant quite capable of inflicting harsh slavery on his subjects. His son was Amenemhet III, who seems to have been an equally disagreeable character. He probably ruled for 46 years, and Moses [might well] have been born near the beginning of his reign.

Amenemhet III may have had one son, known as Amenemhet IV, who was an enigmatic character who may have followed his father or may have been a co-regent with him. If the latter, Amenemhet IV could well have been Moses. Amenemhet IV mysteriously disappeared off the scene before the death of Amenemhet III - [as Moses did in the Biblical account].

Amenemhet III had a daughter whose name was Sobekneferu. It is known that she had no children. 6 If she was the daughter of Pharaoh who came down to the river to bathe, it is easy to understand why she was there. It was not because she had no bathroom in her palace. She would have been down there taking a ceremonial ablution and praying to the river god Hapi, who was also the god of fertility. Having no children she would have needed such a god, and when she found the beautiful baby Moses there she would have considered it an answer to her prayers (Exodus 2:5-6).

But when Moses came of age he identified himself with the people of Israel and was obliged to flee from Egypt. This left a vacuum on the throne, and when Amenemhet III died there was no male successor. Sobekneferu ascended the throne and ruled for 8 years as a Pharaoh, but when she died the dynasty died and was succeeded by the 13th dynasty.

c) THE ISRAELITE SLAVES

For the past 15 years I have been promoting a revised chronology for Egypt. 7 This results in identifying the Semitic slaves, who were employed in building the pyramids of the 12th dynasty at Kahun in the Faiyyum, as the Israelite slaves referred to in the book of Exodus. Fifteen years ago I was regarded as being out of touch with archaeological reality, but time has changed all that.

Of course, Dr Immanuel Velikovsky proposed the same revision before I did, 8 and so did Dr Donoville Courville, 9 but they were written off as irrelevant because they were not archaeologists. Since then, recognized archaeological scholars have joined the chorus of revision.

In 1991, Peter James published his book Centuries of Darkness, claiming that the chronology of Egypt should be reduced by 250 years. 10 James was a reputable scholar, and his book carried a preface by Professor Colin Renfrew of Cambridge University recognizing that 'a chronological revolution is on its way' (p. XVI), claiming that 'history will have to be rewritten' (p. XIV). In 1995, David Rohl published A Test of Time, in which he claimed that the chronology of Egypt should be reduced by 350 years. 11 All this meant that the end of the 12th dynasty of Egypt would be dated to the 15th century BC, which would be about the time of the Biblical Exodus, and the slaves known to have lived at Kahun and laboured on the building of the 12th dynasty pyramids were the Israelite slaves.

Professor Bryant Wood, from the Associates for Biblical Research, has also concluded that the Semitic slaves who lived at Kahun were indeed the Israelites. 12 He reaches his conclusion from a different perspective but the end result is the same. He concludes that the period of 430 years 13, 14 mentioned in Exodus 12:40 was not the total period of time from Abraham to the Exodus, as seemingly implied in Galatians 3:17, but was the actual period of the Israelite presence in Egypt. This assumption would likewise place the Israelite slaves in the 12th dynasty.

References

1. Kenyon, K., Archaeology on the Holy Land, Praeger, New York, p. 198, 1964.

2. Garstang, J., The Story of Jericho, Marshall, Morgan and Scott, London-Edinburgh, p. 136, 1948.

3. Kenyon, Ref. 1, p. 210.

4. Mazar, A., Archaeology and the Land of the Bible, Doubleday, New York, p. 369, 1992; Ben-Tor, A., The Archaeology of Ancient Israel, Yale University Press, p. 304, 1994.

5. James, P. et al., Centuries of Darkness: A Challenge to the Conventional Chronology of the Old World Archaeology, Rutgers University Press, p. 318, 1991; Rohl, D., A Test of Time, Century Ltd, London, p. 143, 1995.

6. Edwards, I.E.S. et al., The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. II, part I, Cambridge University Press, p. 43, 1975; David, R., Ancient Egypt, Harper Collins, p. 20, 1988.

7. Diggings, Vol. 1, No. 3, p. 2, March 1985.

8. Velikovsky, I., Ages in Chaos, Doubleday, New York, 1952.

9. Courville, D.A., The Exodus Problem and its Ramifications, Challenge Books, Loma Linda, 1971.

10. James, Ref. 5, p. 318.

11. Rohl, Ref. 5, p. 143.

12. Wood, B., New evidence for Israel in Egypt, Newsletter of the Horn Archaeological Museum, p. 3, Winter-Spring 1999.

13. There are two main schools of thought on the 430 years of Exodus 12:40. One regards the period as commencing with the entrance of Israel into Egypt or the beginning of slavery, and the other commencing with the covenant with Abraham. As translated in the KJV, the Exodus 12:40 text seems to suggest the entrance of Israel into Egypt, but I consider the Hebrew in Exodus can be translated to support either view. I prefer to build on Galatians 3:17, which seems to place the period as beginning with the covenant with Abraham. Based on the ages of the patriarchs involved, I would consider it 215 years from the covenant with Abraham till Jacob entered Egypt and 215 years in Egypt. It is not possible to determine the years spent in slavery but, based on the pharaohs involved, I would think about 100 years.

14. See also: Beechick, R., Sojourn of the Jews; Williams, P., Reply to Beechick, Letters to the editor, TJ15(1):60-61, 2001.

d) The Evidence Very Well Fits The Biblical Record Which Says:

'There arose a new king over Egypt who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, "Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we; come, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply and it happen in the event of war, that they join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land." Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens' (Exodus 1:8-11)."

Note that the archeological "record" has changed many times throughout the years and continues to have many inconsistencies and contradictions. On the other hand, the Biblical record from the earliest manuscript evidence has neither been substantively changed - variants never effecting or altering the meaning of any verse when manuscript evidence is extrapolated and compared to determine the original word(s), nor does it have any internal contradictions when properly and objectively read .

C) ARCHEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE - SEARCHING FOR MOSES, BY DAVID DOWN, (cont.)

1) Excavation Of The City Of Kahun In The Faiyyum

Sir Flinders Petrie excavated the city of Kahun in the Faiyyum and Dr Rosalie David wrote a book about his excavations in which she said, "It is apparent that the Asiatics were present in the town in some numbers, and this may have reflected the situation elsewhere in Egypt."

There was another interesting discovery Petrie made. 'Larger wooden boxes, probably used originally to store clothing and other possessions, were discovered underneath the floors of many houses at Kahun. They contained babies, sometimes buried two or three to a box, and aged only a few months at death.' 16

There is a Biblical explanation for this. Pharaoh had ordered the Hebrew midwives, 'When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birth stools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him' (Exodus 1:16). The midwives ignored this command so 'Pharaoh commanded all his people saying, "Every son who is born you shall cast into the river … " ' (verse 22). Many grieving mothers must have had their babies snatched from their arms and killed. They apparently buried them in boxes beneath the floors of their houses. 17

Another striking feature of Petrie's discoveries was the fact that these slaves suddenly disappeared off the scene. Rosalie David wrote:

'It is apparent that the completion of the king's pyramid was not the reason why Kahun's inhabitants eventually deserted the town, abandoning their tools and other possessions in the shops and houses.' 18

'There are different opinions of how this first period of occupation at Kahun drew to a close ... . The quantity, range and type of articles of everyday use which were left behind in the houses may indeed suggest that the departure was sudden and unpremeditated.' 19

The departure was sudden and unpremeditated! Nothing could better fit the Biblical record. 'And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years-on that very same day-it came to pass that all the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt' (Exodus 12:41).

Pharaoh had yielded to Moses' demands to allow his slaves to leave because of the ten devastating plagues that fell on Egypt (Exodus 7-12). The waters of the sacred River Nile were turned to blood, herds and flocks were smitten with pestilence, lightning set combustible material on fire, hail flattened the crops and struck the fruit trees, and locusts blanketed the country and consumed what might have been left of plant life. The economy of Egypt would have been so shattered that there should be some record of such a national catastrophe-and there is.

In the Leiden Museum in Holland is a papyrus written in a later period, but most scholars recognize it as being a copy of a papyrus from an earlier dynasty. It could have been from the 13th dynasty describing the conditions that prevailed after the plagues had struck. It reads, 'Nay, but the heart is violent. Plague stalks through the land and blood is everywhere … . Nay, but the river is blood. Does a man drink from it? As a human he rejects it. He thirsts for water … . Nay, but gates, columns and walls are consumed with fire … . Nay but men are few. He that lays his brother in the ground is everywhere … . Nay but the son of the high-born man is no longer to be recognized … . The stranger people from outside are come into Egypt … . Nay, but corn has perished everywhere. People are stripped of clothing, perfume and oil. Everyone says "there is no more". The storehouse is bare … . It has come to this. The king has been taken away by poor men.' 20

References

15. David, A.R., The Pyramid Builders of Ancient Egypt: A Modern Investigation of Pharaoh's Workforce, Guild Publishing, London, p. 191, 1996.

16. David, Ref. 15, Plate 16.

17. If the sex of the babies could be determined to be all or mostly male, that would harmonise with Pharaoh's edict to kill all the male babies. When Dr Rosalie David visited Australia two years ago, I asked her if the sex of the babies found by Petrie was known. She replied that unfortunately Petrie had only sent three skeletons to European museums and they have all been lost. None of them can be traced. Petrie buried the remainder of the skeletons in a sand dune, but no one knows which sand dune as he left no record of it.

18. David, Ref. 15, p. 195.

19. David, Ref. 15, p. 199.

20. Erman, A., Ipuwer Papyrus, Leiden Museum, quoted from The Ancient Egyptians, a source book of their writings, Harper and Row, New York, pp. 94-101, 1966.

2) The Pharaoh Of The Exodus

There are records of slavery during the reigns of the last rulers of the 12th Dynasty-Sesostris III, Amenemhet III and Sobekneferu (some include an obscure figure known as Amenemhet IV before Sobekneferu). With the death of Sobekneferu the 12th dynasty came to an end as she had no children born to her. Moses, the adopted heir, had fled to Midian.

A period of instability followed the demise of the 12th dynasty. Fourteen kings followed each other in rapid succession, the earlier ones probably ruling in the Delta before the 12th dynasty ended. Kings of the 13th dynasty had already started to rule in the north-east delta and, when the 12th dynasty came to an end, they filled the vacuum and took over as the 13th dynasty. (The idea of dynasties was not an Egyptian idea at the time. It was a later invention of Manetho, the Egyptian priest of the 3rd century BC who left a record of the history of Egypt and divided the kings into dynasties.)

The elevation to rulership over all Egypt by these kings resulted in fierce contention among themselves, resulting in a rapid succession of rulers and more or less anarchy in the country. This only settled down when Neferhotep I took the throne and restored some stability, ruling for 11 years.

I identify Khasekemre-Neferhotep I as the pharaoh from whom Moses demanded Israel's release. I do so because Petrie found scarabs 21 of former kings at Kahun. But the latest scarab he found there was of Neferhotep, who was apparently the pharaoh ruling when the Israelite slaves suddenly left Kahun and fled from Egypt in the Exodus. According to Manetho, he was the last king to rule before the Hyksos occupied Egypt 'without a battle'. Without a battle? Where was the Egyptian army? It was at the bottom of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:28). Khasekemre-Neferhotep I was probably the pharaoh of the Exodus. His mummy has never been found.

In his lecture, Professor Wood associated the name Rameses mentioned in Genesis 47:11 and Exodus 1:11, 12:37 with the Egyptian word 'RW3TY', meaning 'Door of two roads'. He connects it with Stratum d/222 of the new population centre at Tell el-Daba (Avaris, the Capital of the Hyksos), a site which is being excavated by the Austrian archaeologist Manfred Bietak. According to Bietak this stratum has definite evidence for a Canaanite element. It is Stratum d/2 which Wood connects with the Israelites in Egypt. 24

Those who identify Rameses II as the pharaoh of the Exodus cite these verses which include the name 'Rameses' as evidence to support their identification. But if Rameses was the Pharaoh of the Exodus, his body should be at the bottom of the Red Sea, not in the Cairo Museum where it is today. Wood's argument dispels the necessity of linking the name Rameses with the Biblical references.

References

21 The term scarab in archaeological reports refers to seals used for sealing documents though they were often used as ornaments. In either case, they were made of stone, metal or even pottery, with the shape of the scarab beetle on top and the name and title of the king engraved underneath, so when it was pressed down on the soft clay it left his seal impression.

22 After archaeologists have completed their reports they identify the strata or layers of occupation from the bottom up, so that the lowest layer may be early bronze, the next up middle bronze, the next up late bronze and the top layers iron age or later. But when they first start digging they cannot know what lies beneath, so they number the strata from the top down numbering them 1, 2, 3 etc. These are likely to be later subdivided with letters, so d/2 would be the second layer down and the 4th (d) subdivision of that layer or stratum.

23 Gardiner, Sir A., Egypt of the Pharaohs: An Introduction, Oxford University Press, pp. 430, 434, 1964.

24 Wood, B., New evidence for Israel in Egypt, Newsletter of the Horn Archaeological Museum, p. 3, Winter-Spring 1999.

3) CONCLUSION

There is plenty of evidence for Israelite slavery in Egypt - the sudden disappearance of these slaves, the devastation of Egypt by the ten plagues, the destruction of the Egyptian army - if we look for it at the right time, and time is a vital element in the interpretation of ancient history.

According to the Biblical records, the Exodus occurred 480 years before Solomon laid the foundations of his temple at Jerusalem (1 Kings 6:1). This would place the Exodus about 1446 BC. God's covenant with Abraham was 430 years earlier (Exodus 12:40, Galatians 3:16, 17) about 1850 BC. From the ages of his predecessors back to Noah, given in Genesis 12 and 13, it can be calculated that the great universal Flood occurred 427 years earlier, about 2302 BC. But according to most authorities on Egyptian chronology the pyramids were built about 1550 BC, and the first dynasty of Egypt ruled about 3100 BC. 23

Thus, there is a conflict between Egyptian chronology as generally interpreted and the Biblical records. Neither the first dynasty of Egypt nor the pyramids could have existed before the Flood. If the Bible is historically reliable, as I believe it is, then there must be a mistake in the usual interpretation of Egyptian chronology which needs to be reduced by centuries.

The issue is clear. An acceptance of the present chronological interpretation of Egyptian history, and a rejection of the Biblical chronology, opens the door to skepticism of the rest of the early Biblical records, including the record of the Creation of the world in six days. But if Egyptian chronology can be shown to be flawed, a major obstacle to the acceptance of the Bible records is removed, and the Genesis history stands justified.

References

15. David, A.R., The Pyramid Builders of Ancient Egypt: A Modern Investigation of Pharaoh's Workforce, Guild Publishing, London, p. 191, 1996. 16. David, Ref. 15, Plate 16.

18. David, Ref. 15, p. 195.

19. David, Ref. 15, p. 199.

20. Erman, A., Ipuwer Papyrus, Leiden Museum, quoted from The Ancient Egyptians, a source book of their writings, Harper and Row, New York, pp. 94-101, 1966.

21. The term scarab in archaeological reports refers to seals used for sealing documents though they were often used as ornaments. In either case, they were made of stone, metal or even pottery, with the shape of the scarab beetle on top and the name and title of the king engraved underneath, so when it was pressed down on the soft clay it left his seal impression.

22. After archaeologists have completed their reports they identify the strata or layers of occupation from the bottom up, so that the lowest layer may be early bronze, the next up middle bronze, the next up late bronze and the top layers iron age or later. But when they first start digging they cannot know what lies beneath, so they number the strata from the top down numbering them 1, 2, 3 etc. These are likely to be later subdivided with letters, so d/2 would be the second layer down and the 4th (d) subdivision of that layer or stratum.

23. Gardiner, Sir A., Egypt of the Pharaohs: An Introduction, Oxford University Press, pp. 430, 434, 1964.

2) IPUWER PAPYRUS

The Leiden Museum in Holland houses a papyrus written by an ancient Egyptian named Ipuwer. 1 Most scholars recognize it as being a copy of a papyrus from an earlier dynasty. It could have been from the 13th dynasty describing the conditions that prevailed after the plagues had struck.

The "Ipuwer Papyrus' was titled "Admonitions of an Egyptian Sage," by A. H. Gardiner, the translator of the papyrus. It 'appears to be an eye-witness account of the effects of the Exodus plagues from the perspective of an average Egyptian'. 2 Excerpts are: 'Plague stalks through the land and blood is everywhere … the river is blood. Does a man drink from it? As a human he rejects it. He thirsts for water …. Nay, but gates, columns and walls are consumed with fire …. Nay but men are few. He that lays his brother in the ground is everywhere …. Nay but the son of the high-born man is no longer to be recognized …. The stranger people from outside are come into Egypt …. Nay, but corn has perished everywhere. People are stripped of clothing, perfume and oil. Everyone says "there is no more". The storehouse is bare …. It has come to this. The king has been taken away by poor men.' 3

Further excerpts are as follows:

"Forsooth, the land turns as does a potter's wheel

The towns are destroyed, upper Egypt has become dry (wastes)

All is ruin

The residence is overturned in a minute

Years of noise. There is no end of noise

Plague is throughout the land. Blood is everywhere

This is our water! This is our happiness!

Trees are destroyed No fruit nor herbs are found

Forsooth, gates, columns and walls are consumed by fire

Lower Egypt weeps. The entire palace is without revenues.

Forsooth, that has perished which yesterday was seen. The land is left over to its weariness like the cutting of flax.

All animals, their hearts weep. Cattle moan.

Behold cattle are left to stray, and there is none to gather them together.

Each man fetches for himself those that are branded with his name

The land is not light

Forsooth, the children of princes are cast out in the streets

The prison is ruined

He that places his brother in the ground is everywhere

It is groaning that is throughout the land mingled with lamentations

A foreign tribe from abroad has come to Egypt

What has happened? - though it is to cause the Asiatics to know the condition of the land."

A. H. Gardiner, Admonitions of an Egyptian Sage, (Hildesheim: George Olms Verlag, 1969):

"With this document properly placed at the time immediately following the Exodus, it is difficult to fail to see its author as a witness to the experience at the time of the ten plagues or to recognize that the plagues were followed by an invasion by a foreign people, against whom Egypt was powerless to protect itself." (Donovan A. Courville, The Exodus Problem and its Ramifications, (Loma Linda: Challenge Books, 1971) p. 131.

References

1. Catalogued as 'Leiden 344', it was discovered in 1828, and translated in 1909 by Prof. Alan H. Gardner under the title The Admonitions of an Egyptian Sage from a Hieratic Papyrus. See www.geocities.com/regkeith/linkipuwer.htm, 24 May 2004.

2. Becher, M., The Ten Plagues-Live from Egypt, ohr.edu/yhiy/article.php/838, 21 April 2004.

3. Down, D., Searching for Moses , Journal of Creation 15(1):53-57, 2001, who quotes from Erman, A., The Ancient Egyptians: A Sourcebook of Their Writings, Harper and Row, New York, pp. 94-101, 1966.

3) MANETHO, AN EGYPTIAN PRIEST WROTE OF THE PLAGUES

Manetho, an Egyptian priest who evidently hated the Jews, wrote in the Greek language about 280 B.C.E. The Jewish historian Josephus quotes Manetho as saying that the ancestors of the Jews "entered Egypt in their myriads and subdued the inhabitants," and then Josephus says that Manetho "goes on to admit that they were afterwards driven out of the country, occupied what is now Judaea, founded Jerusalem, and built the temple."- Against Apion, I, 228 (26).

In further writings, according to Josephus, Manetho identifies Moses with Osarsiph, an Egyptian priest, indicating that, even though Egyptian monuments do not record the fact, the Jews were in Egypt and Moses was their leader.

4) CHAEREMON AND LYSIMACHUS WROTE OF THE EXODUS

Josephus speaks of another Egyptian historian, Chaeremon, who says that Joseph and Moses were driven out of Egypt at the same time; also Josephus mentions a Lysimachus who tells a similar story. - Against Apion, I, 228, 238 (26); 288, 290 (32); 299 (33); 304-311 (34).

5) THE ERMITAGE PAPYRUS

"This inscription also tells of a time when Egypt was exposed to some terrific catastrophe. One sees here again a reference to the situation that occurred at the time of the Exodus. The inscription in part reads:

'The land is utterly perished and nought remains.

Perished is this land...

The sun is veiled and shines not in the sight of men.

None can live when the sun is veiled by clouds...

The river is dry (even the river) of Egypt.

The earth is fallen into misery...

Bedouins pervade the land.

For foes are in the East [side or sunrising] and the Asiatics shall descend into Egypt.

The beasts of the desert shall drink from the rivers of Egypt...

This land shall be in perturbation...

I show thee the land upside down, happened that which never (yet) had happened...

Men laugh with the laughter of pain.

None there is who weepeth because of death.

None knoweth that midday is there; his [sun's] shadow is not discerned...'

(Donovan A. Courville, The Exodus Problem and its Ramificaitons, (Loma Linda: Challenge Books, 1971) p. 131-132.

6) THE EL-ARISH SHRINE

A piece of granite weighing two tons was found in 1887 on a farm near the town of El Arish, lying on its side. At the time it was being used as a watering trough for livestock. It was covered in ancient text. El Arish is located in the region of Egypt that is known as Goshen in the Biblical text. That "watering trough" is now housed in a museum in Ismailia, Egypt (northeast of Cairo near the Suez Canal) and is known as "The El-Arish Stone" or " Shrine."

Though well worn over the millennia, some 74 lines of text remain. The text was translated to English by F. L. Griffith and published in: 'The Antiquities of Tell El Yahudiyeh, and Miscellaneous work in Lower Egypt During the Years 1887-1888,' London: 1890. The text was subsequently reprinted in: 'The Mound of the Jew and the city of Onias' by: Edouard Naville, Francis Llewellyn Griffith:

This naos is of the Ptolemaic period when it was evidently used as a shrine. It is of black granite, pointed at the top, four feet high, two feet seven inches broad, and two feet from back to front, weighing two tons. Turned ignominiously on its back, it has seen hard service as a water-trough, so that the stone has been worn away from the front to the depth of an inch, carrying with it all the dedicatory inscription. The angles and edges are also worn away, and the inscription on the left side has been destroyed by natural scaling. However, the inscriptions of the right side and back are complete excepting at the edges; in all there remain seventy-four lines, besides some scraps visible on the left side."

The text, from the Ptolemaic period, is a retelling of a dark period in Egyptian history that sounds very much like the plagues described in Scripture with the climactic event of the drowning of pharaoh and his army in the "Place of the Whirlpool," i.e., the crossing of the Red Sea. There is a unique hieroglyph on it: three waves and two knives. Egyptologist James Hoffmeier has suggested that this is a literal reference to the "parting of the sea" or the "parted sea."

The text is translated in part as follows:

"Then the majesty of [Seb met her] he found her in this ? place which is called Pekharti?: he seized her by force: [the palace was in great [affliction]. Shu had departed to heaven: there was no exit from the palace by the space of nine days. Now these [nine] days were in violence and tempest: none whether god or man could see the face of his fellow."

This is very reminiscent of the plague of darkness. Ex 10:22-23a, (NKJV): "So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days."

Note that the difference between three and nine days may or may not be significant; for the nine days of the great cycle of nine gods was evidently in view which might have been superimposed over the 3 days to conform with Egyptian religious practices, ; rabbinical sources have the time of seven days; furthermore, the subjectivity of time under such conditions as well as the transmission of the details of this event in history before it was chiseled in stone may have come into play. Any one of these points might explain the difference with the biblical account.

Furthermore, it the Shrine a specific location next to where the sea was parted. The place is called "Pekharti." Remarkably, this exact place is mentioned in Exodus 14:2, 9 as the location where the Israelites camped just prior to the parting of the sea. In the Book of Exodus, it is called "Pi-hahiroth."

Another line seems to be referencing Moses: he is referred to as the "Prince of the Desert" and his Israelite followers are called the "evil ones" or "evil-doers." The Egyptian text also tells about how Pharaoh chased the Queen Mother, Tefnut, presumably the royal princess that once raised Moses, as she was leaving with the departing Israelites. This corroborates the Talmud (Sotah 12a) which states that the princess left on the Exodus, marrying the Israelite leader, Caleb son of Yefuneh.

The stone also seems to be reporting some of the Biblical plagues, including prolonged darkness and a terrible tempest.

If all this is not enough the Torah states that, as he was dying, the Biblical patriarch Jacob/Israel blessed his son Joseph wishing for Joseph's children to "fishify" i.e., that they "increase in the land like fish." For this blessing, he made up a new word; "fishify", "Idgu" in Hebrew (Genesis 48:16). Later, when the Israelites are leaving on the Exodus they take the bones of Joseph with them to the Promised Land (Exodus 13:19). Shockingly, the El Arish stone says that when the "evildoers" left Egypt, they took "Dagai" with them. The exact nickname given by the Torah to Joseph!

7) KING TUM DIES AT PI HAHIROTH, 'THE PLACE OF THE WHIRLPOOL'

The following hieroglyphic text appears at the shrine rendered in English as follows:

"Now when the majesty of Ra Harmachis [fought] with the evil-doers in this pool, the Place of the Whirlpool, the evil-doers prevailed not over his majesty. His majesty leapt into the so-called Place of the Whilrpool ? his legs became those of a crocodile, his head that of a hawk with bull's horns upon it: he smote the evil-doers in the Place of the Whirlpool ? in the Place of the Sycamore: the Aart of Seb also in its turn did after this sort."

The Pharaoh according to the hieroglyphic text of the shrine, pursued the "evil-doers" the the place called "Pi Hahiroth," the Place of the Whirlpool.

Compare Exodus 14:8-9 (NKJV) "And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness. So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon."

The inscription also narrates the death of the pharaoh during this pursuit rendered in English as follows: "Now when the Majesty fought with the evil-doers in this pool, the place of the whirlpool, the evil-doers prevailed not over his Majesty. His Majesty leapt into the place of the whirlpool. It was said that he was "lifted by a great force."

Compare Exodus 15:19a (NKJV) "For the horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought back the waters of the sea upon them."

The following includes more of the story and toward the end of the text it includes the name of the king [pharaoh]:

"Then Seb saw [Tefnut] and loved her greatly, his heart desired her: he wandered over ? the earth in search of ? her in great affliction. The majesty of Shu departed to heaven with his attendants: Tefnut was in the place of her enthronement in Memphis. Now she proceeded to the royal house of Shu in the time of mid-day: the great cycle of nine gods were upon the path of eternity, the road of his father Ra Harmakhis. Then the majesty of [Seb met her] he found her in this ? place which is called Pekharti? he seized her by force [the palace was in great [affliction]. Shu had departed to heaven: there was no exit from the palace by the space of nine days. Now these [nine] days were in violence and tempest: none whether god or man could see the face of his fellow. The majesty of Seb came forth appearing ? upon the throne of his father Shu: every royal dwelling ? did him homage. Then after 75 days Seb proceeded to the North country: Shu had flown up to heaven, the great chief of the plain at the head of his city ?? the prince of the hills... came ? he went not to Heliopolis: moreover ? certain Asiatics carried his sceptre, called Degai, who live on what the gods abominate; behold he went to the East of Usher: He entered the house of the Aar the Eastern gate ? of At Nebes: he dicussed the history of this city with the gods who attended him [and they told him] all that happened when the majesty of Ra was at Nebes, the conflicts of the king Tum in this locality, the valour of the majesty of Shu in this city, the deeds of Shu in ...."

Notice that the text tells that it was king Tum (Thoum) who fought with the evil doers and died at Pi-Hahiroth, the place of the whirlpool."

8) THE PROPHECY OF NEFER-ROHU

The text, known as "The Prophecy of Nefer-Rohu" dates towards the beginning of the Middle Kingdom, about 2040-1650 B.C.E.; it relates to the ninth plague, darkness: "The sun disc is covered over. It will not shine (so that) people may see … No one knows when midday falls, for his shadow cannot be distinguished." 9

Reference

9. J. B. Pritchard Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (ANET), (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1955), p. 445.

9) ADDITIONAL DATA FROM EGYPTIAN RELIGIOUS TEXTS CLARIFIES THE TENTH PLAGUE

Additional data from Egyptian religious texts clarifies the terrifying tenth plague. The famous "Cannibal Hymn," carved in the Old Kingdom pyramid of Unas at Saqqara, about 2300 B.C.E., states: "It is the king who will be judged with Him-whose-name-is-hidden on that day of slaying the first born." Variations of this verse appear in a few Coffin Texts, magic texts derived from royal pyramid inscriptions of the Old Kingdom and written on the coffins of nobility of the Middle Kingdom, about 2000 B.C.E. For example, "I am he who will be judged with Him-whose-name-is-hidden on that night of slaying the first born."11 Although the first-born referred to in the Coffin Text and probably also in the "Cannibal Hymn" are the first-born of gods, these texts indicate that an ancient tradition in Egypt recalled the slaying of all or some of the first-born of gods on a particular night.12

References

11 M. Gilula, "The Smiting of the First-Born-An Egyptian Myth?" Tel Aviv 4 (1977), p. 94. Technical references and additional discussion are available in this brief study. M. Lichtheim renders the line from the 'Cannibal Hymn': "Unas will judge with Him-whose-name-is-hidden on the day of slaying the eldest," noting that the line is difficult (Ancient Egyptian Literature. A Book of Readings. Vol 1: The Old and Middle Kingdoms [Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973], pp. 36-38). The Coffin Text cited is CT VI:178.

12 M. Gilula, p. 95.

IV) SINCE ALMOST ALL, IF NOT ALL VIEWPOINTS ABOUT HOW THE UNIVERSE CAME ABOUT INCLUDES SOMETHING OUTSIDE OF WHAT CAN BE OBSERVED, I.E., OUTSIDE OF NATURAL OCCURRENCES - HENCE SUPERNATURAL; THEN TO CONSIDER THE FEASIBILITY OF SUPERNATURAL CAUSATION OF THE ACCOUNT OF THE TEN PLAGUES IN EGYPT IS NOT NECESSARILY INCONSISTENT NOR CONTRADICTORY WITH ONES OWN PARTICULAR POINT OF VIEW. AND THE MOST CONSISTENT SCENARIO OF BOTH EVENTS IS PORTRAYED IN THE BIBLE WHEN INTERPRETED OBJECTIVELY - WITHOUT PREJUDICE - VIA THE NORMATIVE RULES OF LANGUAGE, CONTEXT AND LOGIC

Since almost all, if not all viewpoints about how the universe came about includes something outside of what can be observed, i.e., outside of natural occurrences - hence supernatural; then to consider the feasibility of supernatural causation of the account of the ten plagues in Egypt is not necessarily inconsistent nor contradictory with ones own particular point of view. And the most consistent scenario of both events is portrayed in the Bible when interpreted objectively - without prejudice - via the normative rules of language, context and logic .

All the processes of the physical universe were evidently supernaturally established and are maintained by laws of nature, many of the observable; yet with the Ten Plagues, the laws of nature were superceded supernaturally. According to an objective study of the Bible, the purpose of the Ten Plagues was to establish the following:

The whole essence of idolatry is the belief that every force in nature has a god that controls it. In Egypt they worshipped the Nile god, the sun god, the cat god, the sheep god, etc. The Ten Plagues were described in Exodus as designed by God to override all the laws of nature to demonstrate - not just for the Jewish people but for all of humanity, for all of history - that He alone controls all of nature, all of the physical world. There is nothing outside of His control.

If we examine the plagues carefully we can readily see that each one was designed to show God's control of all forces in nature: water and earth, fire and ice, insects, reptiles and mammals, light and darkness, and finally, life and death,"