20 Discoveries that Suggests there was an Exodus

Many skeptics attack the Bible's historical record, claiming that there is no evidence for the Exodus, or that there were even Hebrews in Egypt at any point in their history. Many of these people are using the latest possible date for the Exodus, around 1225 B.C., saying that the lack of evidence for an Exodus around this time proves that it never happened. What they often ignore is the second, earlier proposed date for the Exodus, at around 1446 B.C. This earlier date is derived from the chronology the Bible provides, like the 480 years mentioned in 1 Kings 6:1. Today, we will examine some discoveries that provide a solid case that the earlier date (1446 B.C.) is the correct date for the Exodus, and that the event itself actually happened. Before we begin, I must give Frank Turek, the founder and president of Christian apologetics ministry CrossExamined.org, a ton of credit for providing a video presentation for most of the discoveries mentioned in this article. The links to the two parts can be found here: (https://youtu.be/G2LlW4fqng8?si=XciXls_CdioYj0Pb, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceguwdviGGo). These discoveries range from inscriptions on rocks, all the way to preserved mummies of Pharaohs and tombs. I must also mention that there is no absolute chronology for Egyptian history, but we do have an idea of events and how they may have happened. Most of this evidence may be open to interpretation on an individual level, and perhaps a skeptic can "explain away" a single piece. However, this case is an accumulative one, meaning that we are examining the history and artifacts in their entirety.

I think that I must also get out of the way the critique that assuming the Biblical record as true before examining evidence is circular reasoning. But this stance is very mistaken. While yes, I am assuming the Exodus record is true, I am extrapolating predictions from what we should expect if such an event happened, and then examining the evidence and seeing if it matches those extrapolated predictions. Now, when we examine the earlier date for the Exodus, we actually find some interesting details that suggest an event like the Exodus happened, and that the Egyptians did not directly record the event. Why is this? Well, Egyptian history is full of propaganda, with Pharaohs erasing previous ones, exaggerating their claims, and never mentioning losses in battle. But from other ancient records, we know that Egypt found its fair share of losses, but they were mighty and advanced nonetheless. With this known fact in mind, let's examine this evidence and see if an Exodus could have happened.

1. Beni Hassan Painting (1870 B.C.)

Genesis 46:6 mentions the Hebrews migrating to Egypt from Canaan. Surprisingly, there is evidence of Semitic people groups moving into Egypt from Canaan. Enter the Beni Hassan Painting - Migration to Egypt Panel. Discovered in Beni Hassan, near Minya, Egypt, inside the tomb of Khnumhotep II, who reigned from 1911 B.C. to 1870 B.C. The painting depicts a nomadic Semitic group migrating to Egypt alongside their children and livestock. This is stark evidence that supports the Bible's record of Hebrew people migrating into Egypt from Canaan around this exact time in history.

2. The Brooklyn Papyrus (1600s B.C.)

The Brooklyn Papyrus is a list of names that has been dated to somewhere in the 17th century B.C., and it contains several names that originally belonged to Semitic groups, the language family from which Hebrew originates. The document shows that these people had their names changed to Egyptian names, with their original names written down aswell. There are nine biblical Hebrew names in this list of Semitic names, offering evidence that there were Hebrews in Egypt before the time of the Exodus. Exodus 1:15 says, "The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah." Frank Turek mentions that one of the names on this list is the name Shiphrah. He also says that the name of Jacob's son Issachar is on the list as well. This offers evidence that Semitic people were being brought into Egyptian culture. It was a common practice for foreigners entering a new country to be given names related to the language of the people, such as Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, being renamed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3). So when we see the evidence of a common ancient practice, it offers credibility to the Bible's record of those events.

3. Tomb of Rekhmire

   
   

Exodus 1:8-11 describes how the Hebrews were enslaved by the Egyptians and were forced to make mud-bricks for their construction projects. On the other side of the valley of kings, there is an area where high offices were buried. One such person was Rekhmire, the 2nd in charge of Thutmos III, the Pharaoh who wanted Moses dead, and Amenhotep II, his son, who was the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Inside Rekhmire's tomb, there is evidence that slaves were present making mud-bricks around the early date of the Exodus (Seen above). There are depictions of non-Egyptian slaves making mud-bricks exactly like the Bible records.

4. Louvre Leather Scroll (1274 B.C.)

This leather scroll is stored in the Louvre Museum in Paris and records brick-making quotas for the Egyptian slaves. Some of the slaves had to make as many as two thousand bricks a day, and failure to do so resulted in punishment. This record supports the Bible's claim about the abuse of Hebrew slaves and the large brick quotas.

5. Ipuwer Papyrus (1300s B.C.)

Discovered near Memphis, and with a debated and uncertain date, the Ipuwer Papyrus mentions events similar to the plagues mentioned in Exodus. There is only one manuscript with a debated date, ranging from around 1800 to 1200 B.C., but examining what it records, it is easy to see that it is a record of the Plagues of Yahweh, from the Egyptians' point of view. Below is a list of events recorded in the Ipuwer Papyrus:

Moses made the water of the Nile turn to blood: The Ipuwer Papyrus says, : The river is blood, yet men drink of it," and "One thirsts for water."

Exodus 7:19 says blood will be everywhere in Egypt: Ipuwer says, "Pestilence is throughout the land, blood is everywhere, death is not lacking."

Exodus 12:35-36 mentions the Hebrews demanding the Egyptians hand over their jewelry before leaving: Impuwer says, "Gold and lapis lazuli, silver and malachite, carnelian and bronze… are fastened on the neck of female slaves,” “Poor men have become owners of wealth, and he who could not make sandals for himself is now a possessor of riches.”

"Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead. (Exodus 12:30)": The Ipuwer Papyrus says, “Groaning is throughout the land, mingled with laments.” “Lo, many dead are buried in the river, the stream is the grave, the tomb became the stream, and he who puts his brother in the ground is everywhere.”

It seems to me that the Egyptians did, in fact, record the events of the Exodus.

6. Egypt's Pantheon

While this is not an archaeological discovery, like an inscription or writing, the similarities between the plagues and the Egyptian pantheon of gods show that Moses really knew their theology. The plagues that God sent upon Egypt reflect the Egyptian pantheon, and each plague was a judgment on the gods of Egypt. The turning of water to blood reflects Khnum, the protector of the Nile. The plague of frogs reflected Heget, the frog-headed goddess of childbirth and fertility. The plague of gnats and lice appearing from dust reflects the Egyptian beetle-headed god of creation and resurrection, Khepri. The plague on the livestock was directed at Hathor, the cow-headed sky goddess. The boils were an insult to Isis, the goddess of medicine. Hail was directed at Nut, the sky goddess, often depicted as a canopy covering the heavens. Locusts represent Osiris, the god of fertility, harvest, and vegetation. Darkness and the death of the firstborns were directed at Ra, the sun god, and Anubis, the god of death. All of this displays that Moses was familiar with Egyptian culture (Acts 7:22).

7. Webensenu (1400s B.C.)

   
   

   

Inside the tomb of Amenhotep II (1455-1418 B.C.), a large sarcophagus was discovered. Inside it was the mummy of Amenhotep II, but archeologists recognized something in a side room inside the tomb. They found a small box with another mummy of a young boy inside.

The mummy is known as Webensenu, the firstborn son of Amenhotep II, the Pharaoh of the Exodus (1446 B.C.). Based on the condition of his mummy, researchers have determined that he was between the ages of 10 and 15 when he died, but how do we know it's Amenhotep II's firstborn? Egyptians would shave the heads of a prince, leaving only a single lock of hair to grow, and the Pharaoh's firstborn son always inherited the throne. This single lock of hair designated that person as the next Pharaoh, and as you can see, Webensenu has this exact lock of hair. Also from the mummy, we can conclude that Webensenu died as a young boy, never inheriting the throne, exactly as the Bible records in Exodus 4.

8. The Dream Stele (1400s B.C.)

In front of the Sphinx, there is a giant stone slab erected, and it was added to the structure in the 1400s B.C., some 1100 years after its initial construction. It is 12 feet tall and placed between the paws and tells of Thutmose IV, one of Amenhotep II's sons, on a hunting trip where he was told by the gods that he would inherit the throne.

Why would this Stele need to be erected? Amenhotep II was the Pharaoh of the Exodus in 1446 B.C., and as we have seen, he had a firstborn son, Webensenu, who died at a young age and was erased from Egyptian records. This means Thutmose IV, the secondborn, had to make the Stele to give himself status and a reason to gain the throne from his father. This aligns perfectly with what we should expect if the Bible's record is true. The Pharaoh had his firstborn son die, so his secondborn son had to gain the throne, but he needed a valid reason to do so. So he claimed that the gods told him he would inherit it, and the rest is history.

9. Shasu of Yahweh Inscription

These inscriptions were discovered in two Egyptian temples in modern-day Sudan: Soleb (1400 B.C.) and Amara West (1300 B.C.). They contain the earliest inscriptions mentioning Yahweh, and they come from Egypt!

The inscriptions discovered on it mention the "land of the nomads of Yahweh" and tell us about a people group with no settlements that worshipped one God named Yahweh. It is by far the oldest mention of Israel, and confirms the existence of the Hebrews that early in history.

10. Senenmut's Tomb (1526 - 1414 B.C.)

Exodus 2:10 tells us that Pharaoh's daughter pulled Moses out of the Nile. Frank Turek says that this daughter was most likely Hatshepsut. Thutmose I (1493 B.C.) was the Pharaoh who ordered the killing of Hebrew babies, meaning Moses was probably born around 1526 B.C. Thutmose I had a daughter, Hatshepsut, and a son by another wife, Thutmose II. Both Hatshepsut and Thutmose II marry one another and have Thutmose III. This is also the time when Hatshepsut pulled Moses out of the Nile and raised him in the palace.

While Thutmose III was out for military training, he was too young when his father died, and he needed to finish his preparation. Hatshepsut, his mother, took over for him until he returned, leaving him only 34 years that he actually reigned out of the 54 years he records for himself. Thutmose III reigned and had a son, Amenhotep II, who was known as a prideful and arrogant Pharaoh. Amenhotep II becomes Pharaoh and then has Webensenu, who dies before he can reign in his father's place during the plagues of the Exodus. Amenhotep II also has another son, Thutmose IV, who places the Dream Stele at the Sphinx to give him a reason to reign instead of the now-dead Webensenu.

To the right of Hatshepsut's monastery lies an unused tomb for someone named Senenmut from the 18th dynasty. Egyptologists have translated Senenmut to mean "Mother's brother," and some archeologists are saying that this was Moses' Egyptian name. This would make sense if Moses was raised by Hatshepsut, having lived in Egypt but never returning after the Exodus to fill the tomb his foster mother made for him.

11. The Evidence from the Mummies

Thutmose I (1506 - 1493 B.C.)

We have mummies for practically all the people mentioned surrounding the Exodus, and the evidence from their mummies strongly supports the events of the Exodus as recorded in the Bible.

The picture to the left (above on a phone) is the mummy of Thutmose I, the Pharaoh who ordered the killing of the Hebrew babies at the time of Moses' birth. "Then the king of Egypt told the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 

'When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth, look at the child when you deliver it. If it’s a boy, kill it, but if it’s a girl, let it live.' However, the midwives feared God and didn’t obey the king of Egypt’s orders. They let the boys live. So the king of Egypt called for the midwives. He asked them, 'Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?' 

The midwives answered Pharaoh, 'Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women. They are so healthy that they have their babies before a midwife arrives.' God was good to the midwives. So the people increased in number and became very strong. Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. 

Then Pharaoh commanded all his people to throw into the Nile every Hebrew boy that was born, but to let every girl live."

Thutmose II (1493 - 1479 B.C.)

The first Mummy, wrapped in white, is Thutmose II's wife, Hatshepsut. The second mummy is Thutmose II.

Thutmose II married his sister, Hatshepsut, but got sick and died relatively young. His wife eventually would pull Moses out of the Nile River and raise him, possibly alongside Thutmose III, for a short period before he left.

Thutmose III (1479 - 1425 B.C.)

Thutmose III reigned for 54 years, during which 20 of them were actually spent by his mother, Hatshepsut. He wanted Moses dead after he killed an Egyptian who was beating some Hebrew slaves. After Moses left, he spent 40 years in Midian until Thutmose III died, and then he returned to Amenhotep II, who was reigning in his place.

Amenhotep II (Approximately 1427 - 1401 B.C.)

Thutmose III had a son, Amenhotep II, who was known as a prideful, cruel, and arrogant Pharaoh. He was very similar in character to the Pharaoh of the Exodus recorded in the Bible. Take a look at the two photos of his mummy. Notice how there are bumps on his face and neck. Those look like scars from a skin disease, possibly even boils, exactly like Exodus 9:8-11 records!

12. The Memphis Stele (1440s B.C.)

Amenhotep II, the Pharaoh of the Exodus, erected this Stele, in which he brags about entering Canaan and conquering some 101,128 slaves and bringing them back to Egypt. Why would Amenhotep II need so many slaves out of nowhere? Perhaps he had his brick masons run away from him after he got spanked by the God of the universe, and needed to replenish his slave labor. The timing and circumstances all support the indication that the Exodus, as recorded in the Bible, is a faithful and accurate record of what actually happened.

Frank Turek mentions that before Amenhotep began his reign, not long before 1446 B.C., his father, Thutmose III, had a vast army and recorded 17 successful military campaigns, while Amenhotep II only records a measly 2 campaigns. Where did his vast army go? Maybe he lost a large amount when God closed the Red Sea, thus not having enough military power for as many campaigns as the usual Pharaoh.

13. The Walls of Jericho (1406 B.C.)

If the Hebrews spent 40 years wandering before beginning their conquest, that places the Conquest of Jericho at about 1406 B.C., and when we look at the modern-day site of Jericho, we find that its rubble aligns with what the Bible describes. "When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city." (Joshua 6:20). The Bible mentions that the walls of Jericho fell, not from the Israelite's inward attack, but from the LORDS outward power.

When Joel Kramer brought Dr. Peter Parr and Dr. Bryant Wood to what remains of Jericho today to examine the walls, they discovered that they perfectly align with what the Bible records.

They mentioned that the remains of the walls of Jericho (shown in red) were said to have "fallen beneath themselves," or fallen outward. The yellow is the inside of the wall, with the red bricks lying like the wall fell outward, just like the Bible says happened. When archeologists dug in the area, they found the pile of bricks surrounding the retaining wall, and the way the pile was lying indicated the outward destruction. This is exactly what the bible says, that the Israelites marched around Jericho seven times, and then all shouted, at which God made the walls of Jericho crumble.

14. Amarna Letters (1300s B.C.)

These letters were found in Tell el-Amarna near Cairo by William Flinders Petrie in 1891. He discovered 382 letters that reveal there was a Semitic people group threatening Canaanite kings. They are 2-sided Akkadian tablets written in cuneiform, ranging from 2.5 to 9.5 inches. They make several references to a people group called the "Haribu," the Egyptian equivalent of the Hebrews, but could also mean enemy, depending on its use.

These letters record requests from Canaanite kings asking Pharaoh to aid them because the Haribu were threatening their kingdoms. 150+ of these letters were between Canaanite kings and Amenhotep III, the grandson of the Exodus Pharaoh, Amenhotep II. One letter mentions Labaya, the King of Shechem, offering land to the Haribu on peaceful terms. The term Haribu could be a derogatory word for any Egyptian enemies, or the word for Hebrew, or could also mean a slave or low-class ethnicity, depending on its usage.

15. The Berlin Pedestal Relief (1550 - 1292 B.C.)

Exodus 19:4-6 describes how God was making Israel into a nation, ultimately one in which the Messiah would come. But remember that God didn't choose Israel because of their deeds or character; there are numerous passages where God calls Israel stiff-necked and stubborn. In fact, one needs to go as far as opening the bible and reading about the constant idolatry Israel commits, it's clear that God chose them purely by grace.

Discovered by Ludwig Vorchardt in 1913 in Egypt, the Berlin Pedestal Relief contained three nameplates, called cartouches, and all had Egyptian heiroglyphs on them. It contains one of the oldest mentions of Israel, but the name of Israel is only partially intact, which has led to a lot of skepticism. But how do we know Israel is what the missing part would say if retrieved? That is derived from the context. The relief displays the names of three nations, with one nation only retaining half of its structure.

The names on the cartouches read Ashkelon, Canaan, and then the missing nation, but we have part of the name present, and Israel is inferred from the context, and fits the missing piece very well. It's very similar to me saying "we are going on a road trip through Virginia, North Carolina, and South Car...", you'd be able to infer the last state is South Carolina from the context. The Berlin Pedestal Relief tells us that Israel existed alongside Canaan as a nation, just as scripture tells us, and that they existed as a nation before the later date of the Exodus at 1225 B.C..

16. Merneptah Tomb and Stele (1208 B.C.)

In the valley of the kings, there is the tomb of the Pharaoh Merneptah, who followed Ramses II and erected the Merneptah Stele in 1208 B.C.. His Stele tells about his conquering of Israel as he "Laid waste to the seed of Israel".

The Stele not only mentions Israel, but also contains some interesting symbols as well.

The symbol above means a city-state is being identified. While the symbol below means a foreign person. In the Merneptah Stele, Ashkelon is referred to with a city-state symbol. The Stele identifies Gezer and Yano'am as city-states aswell.

But the Israelites are different; the foreign peoples' group symbol is used to identify them.

"In those days, there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes." (Judges 21:25)

The tablet says that Israel is a people group and not an established nation with a king yet. This perfectly aligns with the Bible's record that Israel did not have a king for a good while into its existence; they followed God as their king.

So here we have yet another Pharaoh mentioning the Hebrews as a nomadic people with no official king. That is exactly what we should expect if the bible's record were faithful.

17. Herodotus (440 B.C.) and Strabo (54 B.C.)

Herodotus, a Greek historian, mentions the Exodus in his writing Polymnia Section c. 89: “This people, by their own account, inhabited the coasts of the Red Sea, but migrated thence to the maritime parts of Syria, all which district, as far as Egypt, is denominated Palestine.” This is a historical corroboration of the Biblical record of the Exodus, where a non-Hebrew historian mentions the event in detail. There are also mentions of the Exodus from the Greek geographer Strabo, who wrote in 54 B.C.,

The Sinai Inscriptions

In 1905, in Wadi Mukatteb in the Sinai Peninsula, a group of ancient inscriptions was found, and when they were deciphered, the researchers concluded they were recording the events of the Exodus in great detail. We know these inscriptions are ancient because Diodorus Siculus (writing between 60 B.C. and 30 B.C.) recorded them in his Library of History. In which he wrote,  “Moreover, an altar is there built of hard stone and very old in years, bearing an inscription in ancient letters of an unknown tongue. The oversight of the sacred precinct is in the care of a man and a woman who hold the sacred office for life.” (Diodorus, Library of History, book 3, section 42). Strabo also mentions them in Geography in A.D. 24.

The Language of the Inscriptions

The most notable work done in translating the inscriptions is some work done by Rev. Charles Forster, who concluded they were records of an ancient Hebrew-Egyptian alphabet describing the events of the Exodus. Arthur Penrhyn Stanley in Sinai and Palestine notes that graffiti and Christian crosses located near the sites indicate that Christian pilgrims visited them at later dates and left their record, like they do in other surrounding areas (Grant R. Jefferey, Signature of God, Pg 45). But a detailed analysis of 700 inscriptions revealed that there were only about 10 genuine pilgrim crosses found. The Egyptian cross form is the letter T, or Tau, and the Rosetta Stone contained more than 70 different cross forms for Tau. In other words, we can identify which cross forms are from later Pilgrims, and which ones are genuinely ancient.

The Language also indicates that these are genuine original records of the events. They don't appear to copy the account recorded in the Torah, and there is no language characteristic of the language Moses uses. This means that none of them were derived from the Biblical record, and suggests that the people who inscribed these were independent eye-witnesses to these supernatural events, written down in their own language. But there were numerous inscriptions obviously made by Pilgrims in later ages, but Forster concludes that the graffiti and crosses were made by pilgrims much later than the Sinai Inscriptions. The older inscriptions were obviously engraved carefully with proper tools, while the graffiti was choppy and looked like swords and such were used to carve them out.

Charles Forster noted that they were written in a 23-letter Hebrew-Egyptian alphabet with 12 Hebrew letters and an Egyptian language pattern. He found that 5 out of every 6 words used were related to the Hamyarite language, the vernacular language of Egypt and Yemen. This is naturally expected if the Hebrews spent 400 years under Egyptian influence. Grant R. Jefferey notes in Signature of God that “although numerous Sinai inscriptions contain Egyptian hieroglyphics as well as the Sinai writings, we find no evidence of pagan gods or symbols. This provides strong evidence that these were created by Jews.” (Grant R. Jefferey, Signature of God, Pg 48). Moses and the Israelites were perfectly capable of creating these inscriptions. Moses was  “learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds” (Acts 7:22).

Clement of Alexandria also notes in his book The Stromata that Moses was taught in Egyptian arithmetic, geometry, poetry, medicine, etc. (Clement, The Stromata, book 1, chapter XXIII). Jefferey also notes that the Minister of Public Instruction and Worship of France sent one of their top scholars to determine if these actually described the Exodus. In February 1851, Professor Lottin de Laval discovered the first of these inscriptions near a place Arabs call “the wells of Moses”. He made 300 plaster casts of the inscriptions and published his photos. This is where Rev. Charles Forster translated them in his book, Sinai Photographed. Forster was a language expert, and when he translated them, he claimed they described the events of the Exodus. They describe the events in their own language, indicating they were not copying from the Biblical record, but describing what they witnessed first-hand. One of the most fascinating inscriptions is one described in Rev. D. A. Randalls The Handwriting of God in Egypt and Sinai. It is an inscription one hundred feet high, written in 41 letters as large as six feet high (Jefferey, Signature of God).

18. Inscriptions Describing the Red Sea Crossing (Exodus 14:21-29)

The following of the Sinai Inscriptions describes the Israelites crossing the Red Sea, which Moses lays out in Exodus 14. These are taken directly from Forster's book Sinai Photographed.

“The wind blowing, the sea dividing into parts, they pass over” (Rev. Charles Forster, Sinai Photographed, Inscription 1, Pg 162)

“The Hebrews flee through the sea; the sea is turned into dry land.” (Rev. Charles Forster, Sinai Photographed, Inscription 4, Pg 163)

The waters permitted and dismissed to flow, burst rushing unawares upon the astonished men, congregated from all quarters, banded together to slay treacherously, being lifted up with pride.” (Rev. Charles Forster, Sinai Photographed, Inscription 5, Pg 164)

The people flee, the tribes descend into the deep. The people enter the waters. The people enter and penetrate through the midst. The people are filled with stupor and perturbation. Jehovah is their keeper and companion.” (Rev. Charles Forster, Sinai Photographed, Inscription 23, Pg 175)

Moses causeth the people to haste like a fleet-winged she-ostrich crying aloud; the cloud shining bright, a mighty army propelled into the Red sea is gathered into one; they go jumping and skipping…” (Rev. Charles Forster, Sinai Photographed, Inscription 41, Pg 198)

Compare this to Moses' account:  "Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. During the last watch of the night, the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left." (Exodus 14:21-29).

A few questions arise when thinking about these. Who wrote them? And what motivated them to write these with such enormous effort? Indeed, if these were created by Christians in later ages, we would expect them to copy the Biblical record, and we also would not expect them to know a Hebrew-Egyptian Alphabet so intimately. Diodorus Siculus wrote in 60-30 BC, "It is an ancient report among the Ichtheophagi, who inhabit the shores of the Red Sea, that by a mighty reflux of the sea which happened in former days, the whole gulf became dry land, and appeared green all over; and that the water overflowed the opposite shore, and that all the ground continued bare to the very lowest depth of the gulf, until the water, by an extraordinary high tide, returned to its former channel” (Diodorus, Library of History, lib. Iii., c. 40). This is some evidence that very strongly supports the case of the Exodus.

19. Inscriptions Recording the Murmuring Against Moses (Exodus 17:1-3)

There were two inscriptions found in Wadi Sidri that referred to the murmuring of the Hebrews against Moses about the lack of water.

“Pilgrims fugitive through the seas find a place of refuge at Sidri. Lightning upon plain ground they proceed on their pilgrimage full of terror.” (Rev. Charles Forster, Sinai Photographed, Inscription 77, Pg 245)

“The Hebrews pass over the seas into the wide waterless desert, famishing with hunger and thirst.” (Rev. Charles Forster, Sinai Photographed, Inscription 17, Pg 172)

These inscriptions align perfectly with what happened in Exodus 17:1-3: "The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. So they quarreled with Moses and said, 'Give us water to drink.' Moses replied, 'Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?' But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, 'Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?'"

20. Inscriptions Describing Moses' Provision of Water (Exodus 17:7)

“The people clamour vociferously. The people angered Moses. Swerving from the right way, they thirst for water insatiably. The water flows, gently gushing out of the stony rock. Out of the rock a murmur of abundant waters. Out of the hard stone a springing well. Like the wild asses braying, the Hebrews swallow down enormously and greedily. Greedy of food like infants, they plunge into sin against Jehovah.” (Rev. Charles Forster, Sinai Photographed, Inscription 46, Pg 205)

“The people sore athirst, drink vehemently. They quaff the water-spring without pause, ever drinking. Reprobate beside the gushing well-spring.” (Rev. Charles Forster, Sinai Photographed, Inscription 58, Pg 275)

All of these photos were taken from this link here: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015084519456&seq=1. As we can see, these inscriptions record the provision of water, but not in a language pattern like that of the Torah, indicating that these were not forgeries, or not eye-witnesses to the events themselves. The circumstances and location support the idea that the Exodus really happened.

Conclusion

From this evidence, we can create a timeline of what may have happened. Thutmose I became Pharaoh (sometime before 1500 B.C.), having two children, Hatshepsut and Thutmose II, who married each other and had Thutmose III. Thutmose II succeeded Thutmose I, and around this time, he ordered the killing of the Hebrew babies, and Moses' parents put him in the Nile. Hatshepsut pulled Moses out of the Nile (Around 1250s B.C.) and raised him under the name Senenmut. When Thutmose II got sick and died relatively young, Thutmose III may have been too young to reign, so he had to leave to train. Hatshepsut took over as Queen, constructing her monastery and Senenmut's tomb. Thutmose III returned to reign for the remaining 34 years, and sometime after he began, Moses killed an Egyptian who was beating some Hebrew slaves, which resulted in Thutmose III driving him out of Egypt. Moses then spent 40 years in Midian, during which Thutmose III had a son, Amenhotep II, who also had a son, Webensenu, and later another son, Thutmose IV. God met Moses after Thutmose III died, having him return to Egypt under Amenhotep II, where the Plagues took place, and where Webensenu died as a young boy, being Amenhotep II's firstborn son. Moses then leaves Egypt with the Israelite slaves, being chased by Amenhotep II, using his father, Thutmose III's army. God drowns a large portion of his army in the Red Sea, resulting in a need to acquire more slaves from Canaan. Amenhotep II's son, Thutmose IV, had to erect the Dream Stele to credit himself as the next Pharaoh.

In this article, we have examined evidence that strongly supports the earlier date of the Exodus of 1446 B.C.. Skeptics scoff at the bible, claiming that there is no Egyptian evidence for the Exodus, and they are simply looking in the wrong era. And for those who are aware of the earlier date evidence, but stick to the later date, are simply mistaken. From what we know about Egypt in the 1400s B.C., we can conclude with high confidence that the Exodus, as recorded in the Torah, fits the pieces extremely well, and the Bible's historical record is again standing on top as reliable.