The Exodus

“When I realized that no archaeological or historical evidence supported the biblical Exodus, it became clear that the Bible was not divinely inspired history but rather a collection of myths.” - Kenneth Daniels, Former Christian Missionary, Author of Why I believed.

Worked for Wycliffe Bible Translators, translating the Bible in West Africa for people who did not have the Bible in their own language.

Began to have questions about certain issues in the Bible, and over the course of his missionary journey, he began to look into these issues. This journey led to Kenneth Daniels leaving his faith.

Exodus 6:6–8 LSB

6 “Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am Yahweh, and I will bring you out from under the hard labors of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their slavery. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7 ‘Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out from under the hard labors of the Egyptians. 8 ‘And I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am Yahweh.’”

Summary of Exodus:

Hebrews were enslaved by the Egyptians to make store cities of Pithom and Raamses

Pharoah refuses to let them go

God sends 10 plagues on Egypt

Pharoah let the Hebrews go

Pharoah chases the Hebrews with chariots

The Hebrews cross the Red Sea and the Egyptians drown

God gives the Law at Mt. Sinai

The Hebrews wander for 40 years in the wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula

The Hebrews finally arrive in Canaan

Problems

Egyptian Records Problem

Numbers Problem

Archeology Problem

“No Egyptian text, inscription, or archaeological evidence supports the biblical story of an Israelite mass departure from Egypt. The absence of records is significant given Egypt’s detailed administrative and military documentation.” - Donald Redford, Egyptologist

“The Exodus never happened. The Egyptians, who were meticulous record-keepers, somehow ‘forgot’ to mention the loss of an entire slave race, a series of plagues, and the drowning of their army. Either the world’s first bureaucracy suffered an unprecedented paperwork failure, or the story is a fairy tale.” - Christopher Hitchens

Numbers Problem

Exodus 12:37 LSB

37 And the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, aside from the little ones.

Numbers 1:46 LSB

46 even all the numbered men were 603,550.

Exodus Excursus: Large Numbers in Exodus

There is most likely some kind of “epic” use of numbers here, but it is tied to the surrounding context of Israel’s covenantal and theological world. The inspired author-editor uses metaphoric language to describe the extent to which God will multiply the descendants of Abraham—like the stars of heaven and the sand of the seashore in number (

Exodus 23:29–30 LSB

29 “I will not drive them out before you in a single year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. 30 “I will drive them out before you little by little, until you become fruitful and take the land as an inheritance.

Deuteronomy 7:7 LSB

7 “Yahweh did not set His affection on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples,

Archeology Problem

“Despite extensive excavations in the Sinai, no material evidence has been found to indicate the presence of a large Israelite group traveling through the desert for 40 years.” - William Dever

“Archaeological surveys and Egyptian sources provide no evidence of a large migration of Israelites from Egypt. The story appears to be a later ideological construction rather than a historical event.” - Israel Finkelstein

Christian Response:

There is a bit of Egyptian evidence for a Hebrew slave population (the findings at Avaris, the tomb of Rekhmire, Papyrus Leiden 348, Abandonment at Avaris)

Egyptian Records would not have recorded such an embarrassing event.

The Sinai Peninsula has some of the most difficult archeological conditions in the world (ex. Bedoiuns).

Exodus details do not reflect myth

What does the Exodus Teach?

God is a deliverer (v.6)

God is a redeemer (v.6)

God desires to be known (v.7)

God is faithful to keep His promises (v.8)