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Why do conservative or traditional biblical scholars believe
that we should place the Exodus in the 15th century? It involves two major
scriptures, Judges 11:26 and 1 Kings 6:1, and other material, not as solidly
based, that is more a matter of interpretation of historical data.
Judges 11:26
Jephthah was a judge raised up by God to deliver a portion of
the Israelites from an oppression they suffered from the Ammonite people. The
location of Ammon was east of the Jordan. Before he went into military activity
Jephthah attempted to resolve the conflict through peaceful negotiations. In
this he failed. In the process of the negotiations, Jephthah, in an attempt to
justify Israel's possession of lands east of Jordan, told the king of Ammon that Israel dwelt in Hesban in all the cities
for 300 years. His question was:
While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages,
and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of
the Arnon, three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time?
(Judges 11:26 NASB.)
Biblical scholars date Jephthah to approximately 1100 BCE. Now
Jephthah said Israel dwelled in the land for 300 years. So, according to this
text exactly when did Israel take possession of the land? 1400 BCE. Now, taking possession of that land was part of the conquest
under Joshua. That conquest took place how many years after the Exodus? 40. So, if the Israelites take possession of the land at
approximately 1400 BCE then the Exodus had to be about 1440. Therefore, looking
at this particular scripture (and there seems to be an essentially unanimous
opinion that Jephthah lived at approximately 1100 BCE) it does not seem to be a
disputable point.
Taking this particular scripture on its face value requires a
date of 1440 for the Exodus. This is indicative of an early date.
I Kings 6:1
I Kings 6:1 that the Exodus from Egypt occurred 480 years
before Solomon began building the Temple in Jerusalem. This occurred in the
fourth year of his reign, about 960 BCE; therefore, the Exodus would date about
1440 BCE.
The chapter in 1 Kings that deals with the temple of Solomon
bears on this issue as well. According to 1 Kings 6:1:
Now it came about in the four hundred and
eightieth year after the sons of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the
fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv which is the
second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord. (1
Kings 6:1 NASB.)
This scripture provides two pieces of important information.
First, it was Solomon's 4th year. Second, that it was 480 years after the
Exodus. There is, however, some dispute about exactly when Solomon began to reign even
among conservative biblical scholars (that is why we suggest an approximate date
for Solomon's 4th year as 965 CE -- rounding it off). If we do the mathematical
computation, taking Solomon's 4th year as 965 BCE (assuming we
dated it correctly), it gives a date of approximately 1445 BCE for the Exodus.
So, from two different scriptures, we arrive at approximately
the same point for the Exodus.
The 18th Dynasty
EDITOR'S NOTE: We
took the time to search the internet and the literature to get a sense
of scholarly understanding of the chronology of the 18th dynasty. The
result? There are scores of conflicting
opinions. Please be careful
that you do not become fall victim to psuedo-scholarship.
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Ahmose (pharaoh,
1539-1514)
or Ahmosis founded the 18th dynasty of Egypt. This became the greatest dynasty of
the New Kingdom of Egypt. It was the dynasty that was to develop some of their
greatest expansions. Ahmose took power by ousting an oppressive, foreign Asiatic
ruling dynasty. Ahmose is a
likely candidate as the pharaoh who oppressed the Israelites (Exodus 1:11-14).
Is it not logical to conclude in this connection that once
native Egyptians secured their own power back from an repressive Asiatic
dynasty, which they viewed as a foreign oppressors, that they would be fearful
of the numerous Asiatics, known as Israelites, remaining in their midst? There is no reason
to believe that Egyptians had any motive to favor the Israelites. Exodus records
that the pharaoh believed that Egypt's Israelite population was greater and
mightier than ethnic Egyptians (Exodus 1:9). Israel had become a threat to
national security.
The 18th Dynasty
Thutmose I was probably the pharaoh that initiated the order to throw all
Hebrew male babies into the Nile (Exodus 1:15-16). A later pharaoh gave the second order. A
considerable period of time had gone by but the Israelite population continued
to increase provoking this decision.
