Now I'd like to summarize the archeological evidence that does exist in support of the Hebrews' sojourn in Egypt, of their Exodus from Egypt, and of their subsequent Conquest of Canaan.
Evidence of the Sojourn in Egypt
Evidence of the Exodus
Evidence of the Conquest
Significant additional evidence exists. This is just a summary of some of the major evidence.
Evidence of the Sojourn in Egypt
- There is lots of evidence of lots of Semites living in Egypt at that time (~1450 BC). Semites are indistinguishable from Hebrews in the archaeological record for many reasons, but if you were looking for Hebrews, you'd look for Semites. After all, Hebrews were simply a subgroup of Semites at that time, not yet having any cultural or even religious differences from other Semites.
- The Semites in Egypt were slaves, depicted in Egyptian paintings as making mud bricks, herding cattle, and working in fields, just as described in the Bible.
- The remains of the Semites found at Avaris (the capital of Egypt at that time) show that they were in terrible physical condition, suffered from diseases, and displayed Harris lines (a sign of significant malnutrition and another indicia of slavery).
- The regional feudal lords of Egypt (called nomarchs) disappeared, with their power being concentrated in the Pharaoh, for reasons unknown that puzzle archaeologists. However, that event occurred precisely at the time that Joseph would have lived, matching the Biblical account of Joseph using the grain stored during the "years of plenty" to buy all of the land of Egypt for Pharaoh and to subjugate all of the people of Egypt to the Pharaoh.
- Linguistic clues also exist of a prolonged stay of the Hebrews in Egypt. Moses' own name is based on an Egyptian root word and has parallels in the names of such pharaohs as Amenmose, Thutmose, Ahmose, Ptahmose, Romose, and the great Ramesses. The Hebrew language contains many Egyptian "loan" words such as the words for basket, bullrushes, papyrus, reeds, river, and river bank.
Evidence of the Exodus
- Dramatic and profound changes in Egypt exactly when the Exodus would have occurred. Egypt experienced radical changes in its population, capital, military and foreign policy, and religion.
- Population changes as mentioned above, Avaris was the capital of Egypt at that time and was also its primary military and naval base. It was located in the Delta along one of the tributaries of the Nile. It was perhaps the largest city in the Mediterranean area with a population of 200,000-500,000 people, the majority of whom were Semitic slaves. Exactly at the time that the Exodus would have occurred, Avaris, including its military post and naval harbor, was suddenly and completely abandoned. The excavator, Manfred Bietak, has no explanation why.
- Military and foreign policy prior to the time of the Exodus, Egypt was very aggressive militarily with constant military excursions into Canaan and wars against its chief rival, a nation called Mitanni. The Pharaoh at that time was named Amenhotep II. Early in his reign, he did engage in two relatively minor excursions into Canaan, but then suddenly and completely stopped. Egypt's foreign military adventures remained suspended for a long time. Egypt also suddenly entered into a peace treaty with Mitanni. In his last excursion into Canaan, Amenhotep captured and brought back as slaves a shockingly large and unprecedented number of prisoners, over 100,000, perhaps to replace the Hebrews and other slaves that had suddenly left Egypt.
- Religious crisis Amenhotep had been a devout follower of the God Amun-Re. He suddenly turned against Amun-Re, ordering all of the god's images to be destroyed.
Evidence of the Conquest
- Two inscriptions in Egypt, dated to 1400 and 1300 BC respectively, reference the "land of the Shasu of Yahweh." "Shasu" was a generic Egyptian term for shepherds or nomads, so these references are to the "land of the nomads of Yahweh", a reference to the Israelites after they had entered Canaan.
- Several hundred letters on clay tablets were found in Amarna, Egypt. These letters were from Egypt's puppet rulers in Canaan to Pharaoh, dated to around 1400 BC, and complain of the attacks of a group referred to as the Hapiru and beg for Pharaoh's aid in resisting them.
- Kenyon dated Jericho's final destruction to around 1500 BC, 150 years prior to the Conquest. Yet her dating is extremely unconvincing. She dated the destruction of Jericho's walls to material in place during their construction, not their destruction. And she dated the final occupation of the tell based on pottery that she failed to find in the tombs of Jericho, an extremely dubious basis for dating. She also ignored other pottery that was found that was similarly dated to the pottery she claimed she could not find.
- Otherwise, Kenyon and other excavators' findings at Jericho match the Biblical account precisely. The walls of Jericho fell outward, not inward, and created a ramp up which the conquering forces entered Jericho. Numerous jars were found full of burnt grain, indicating that Jericho had been conquered in the spring (harvest in Canaan is in the spring, right after Passover) and had not been subjected to a prolonged siege (the grain would have been eaten during a siege). Jericho was destroyed by an intense fire that left a yard of ashes in the strata. The poor part of town had apartments built directly into the wall, just as Rahab's home was described in the Bible.
- Back in Egypt, the Merneptah Stele specifically mentions Israel and the Merneptah Battle Reliefs show Egyptians battling Israelites. Both are dated to ca. 1211-1209 BC, showing that Israel was already an established power in Canaan by that date.
- A broken piece off of an Egyptian monument mentions 3 political entities in Canaan: Ashkelon, Canaan, and Israel, and is dated to 1400 BC.
- Hazor, the largest and wealthiest city in Canaan, experienced two destructions by intense fire, once in 1400 BC and then again at precisely the time the Bible describes Deborah destroying it.
- The Bible describes Joshua and the Israelites building an altar on Mt. Ebal right after they crossed the Jordan. There is significant evidence that that altar has been found.
- For years, archaeologists have pointed to the lack of evidence of any Late Bronze Age occupation at Ai as proof of the "lack of evidence" for the Biblical accounts. However, it is now almost certain that they identified the wrong site, et Tell, as Ai. Another site named Khirbet el-Maqatir is almost certainly ancient Ai and was not only occupied during the LBA, but shows evidence of the destruction described in the Bible.
Significant additional evidence exists. This is just a summary of some of the major evidence.