Moses neither a holy myth nor wholly a myth

by Damien F. Mackey “There is no archeological evidence of millions of people living in the narrow strip of the Sinai Desert for 40 years”. Michael R. Burch Michael R. Burch, writing a piece on Moses for QUORA, has stuck himself out on a limb, sawing in the wrong place, with many of his uninformed statements on the topic. Or, as I once said of Fr. Axe, for similar reasons, he “can’t see the wood for the trees”. The very foundation of biblico-history/archaeology for the Old Testament era is the presence of the Middle Bronze I (MBI) nomadic people, bearing artifacts from Egypt. This people follows the same path as did the Exodus Israelites, crossing the Jordan and conquering the peoples in the region (e.g. the destruction of the Bab-edh Dhra complex), before proceeding on into the land of Canaan via Jericho (Tell es-Sultan). The destruction of Jericho, its walls collapsing, and of many other Early Bronze III (EB III) forts and settlements, is exactly what one would expect from the biblical accounts. All of this is brilliantly re-captured by Dr. John Osgood (“The Times of the Judges—The Archaeology: (a) Exodus to Conquest”: https://creation.com/the-times-of-the-judges-the-archaeology-from-exodus-to-conquest), whose maps of the MBI settlements and of the estimated Israelite places of occupation are so close to exact as to put the matter beyond any reasonable doubt. I take a piece here from Dr. Osgood’s brilliant article, which, however, is well worth reading in full: …. The Distribution of MB I The distribution of MB I culture (here used as a term to include all that was once referred to as MB I, namely EB IV to MB I) occupies geographically exactly the area that the ancient nation of Israel conquered, plus the area of ancient Moab, plus the area of the Sinai and the Negev consistent with wandering of the Children of Israel (see Figure 4 and compare it with Figures 5 and 6). The MB I people (including EB IV) occupied only that area mentioned above (see Prag 2) but modification must be made to the distribution characteristics as suggested by Rudolf Cohen who has shown that there was a definite geographical gap between the MB I culture in the Negev and the MB I culture in southern Judah. This is totally consistent with the biblical model of Israel’s wanderings. The Artifacts MB I culture was a pottery culture. It was also a metal–making culture, as witnessed by the copper pins, copper ingots and copper daggers that have been found. It was a culture that used mortars and pestles of one sort or another.10 It was a culture that had contact with Egypt.7 It was a culture that did build some temporary stone structures, as witnessed by the beehive shaped stone rings in the Sinai. It also appears to have been a culture that lacked icons and tomb offerings.11 All this is consistent with ancient Israel. An Invasive Culture From the moment of its discovery, the MB I people have been accepted as an invasive people. This has come under some criticism of recent years, but the largest weight of evidence holds true to the suggestion that they were an invasive people. A New People Amiram 3 emphasises both the cultural break between MB I and the previous culture, and the on going development from there until the end of Iron II at least. Again this has come under some attack in recent years, but the evidence of a new culture is strong. The above characteristics are all consistent with the biblical picture of the nation of Israel in its wanderings in the wilderness and its subsequent conquest of Palestine. …. [End of quote] It needs to be said that, whilst the conventional dates for the MBI period are c. 2000-1800 BC, too early for Moses, the Exodus, and Joshua and the Conquest of Canaan, these dates are quite artificial, having been confected from the unwieldy Sothic theory of Egyptian chronology to which the biblical scenario has been hopelessly hog-tied. I completely exposed the Sothic theory in my postgraduate university thesis (1993): Sothic Star Theory of the Egyptian Calendar https://www.academia.edu/2568413/Sothic_Star_Theory_of_the_Egyptian_Calendar a much simplified version of which can be read at: https://creation.com/fall-of-the-sothic-theory-egyptian-chronology-revisited Turning now to some of the points raised by Michael R. Burch, beginning with those more of a chronological and archaeological nature, I think that what I have written so far accounts for much of it. I have added comments to some of his points: HOLY MOSES OR WHOLLY MYTH? by Michael R. Burch Moses is thought to have lived during the 14th or 13th century BCE. Some of the more popular dates include: • Rabbinical Judaism: 1391-1271 BCE • St. Jerome: Moses was born 1592 BCE and because the bible says he died at age 120, that would make his lifespan 1592-1472 BCE. • James Ussher: Moses was born 1571 BCE, making his lifespan 1571-1451 BCE. • Biblical Archaeology Review: 13th century BCE. • Modern Historians: 1550-1200 BCE. • Consensus: Moses lived sometime between 1592-1200 BCE. • The “Golden Mean”: circa 1400 BCE. Mackey’s comment: Until the later history of the Medo-Persians and Greco-Romans has been properly sorted out, these dates will be only estimations, probably well off the mark. • My personal theory: Moses died in 1492 BCE, after having seen the Promised Land of milk and honey. In 1492 AD, after Ferdinand and Isabella evicted the Jews from Spain, thanks to their money Columbus discovered a new Promised Land that would prove a safe haven to Jews and many other victims of religious persecution. It’s as good a story as any, I believe. Mackey’s comment: But see my cautionary article on Columbus: Book of Jonah elements in the story of Columbus (3) Book of Jonah elements in the story of Columbus However, most scholars believe Moses was mythical, not a real historical figure. Why? Mackey’s comment: For one, they almost universally follow a chronologically misaligned archaeological model that cannot possibly be tied to a realistic history. These same scholars probably embrace quite uncritically a Medo-Persian/Greco-Roman text book ‘history’ that, for much part, has no vitally relevant archaeology in support of it as does the MBI = Exodus Israelites scenario. …. • There is no archeological or textual evidence of any large-scale enslavement of Israelites in Egypt. • There is no archeological or textual evidence of a mass exodus of Israelites from Egypt. Mackey’s comment: I greatly beg to differ. This is a statement of ignorance from someone desperately clinging to a (biblically) minimalized limb. With Joseph and the Famine era now set firmly in the (1st) 3rd and 11th Egyptian dynasties, Joseph being the genius Imhotep: Joseph in Egypt’s Eleventh Dynasty, Moses in Egypt's Twelfth Dynasty (4) Joseph in Egypt’s Eleventh Dynasty, Moses in Egypt's Twelfth Dynasty | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu Moses can be found, nicely symmetrically, in the 4th and 12th Egyptian dynasties. He is Weni/Mentuhotep, Vizier and Chief Judge of Egypt. ‘Who made you ruler (Vizier) and (Chief) judge over us?’ (Exodus 2:14) With the 12th dynasty dying out while Moses was exiled in Midian (Exodus 4:19), he will confront the 13th dynasty Pharaoh of the Exodus, Neferhotep so-called I, during whose reign the workers up and left Egypt, abandoning their tools. This was the Exodus. • The biblical book of Exodus quite suspiciously doesn't name the Egyptian pharaoh in question although it names lots of other kings. Also the first direct correlation between the bible and extra-biblical sources doesn't occur until much later, with the Tel Dan Stele, which has been dated to the 9th century BCE. Mackey’s comment: Egyptologists have shown this to have been standard Egyptian practice before the advent of the New Kingdom. Even when a king of Egypt is named, “Shishak” (I Kings 14:25-28), this is not likely an Egyptian but the name by which he was well-known to the Israelites (cf. I Kings 4:3). The MBI invasion and large-scale assault on EB III Canaan and EB IV Transjordan is a massive biblico-historical correlation a good half century before the Tel Dan Stele. • There is no archeological evidence of millions of people living in the narrow strip of the Sinai Desert for 40 years. • There is no archeological or textual evidence of a military takeover Canaan at the time of Moses, Joshua and Caleb. • The fabled walls of Jericho fell long before the time of Moses, Joshua and Caleb. Mackey’s comment: These points have already been answered. As to the “millions of people”, this is a ridiculously inflated translation (as “thousands”) of the tricky Hebrew word elef (אלף), a stumbling block for many. The word has various meanings and needs to be respected according to context and common sense. • The story of Moses being set afloat as a baby in a reed basket and being found and adopted by a royal family was rather obviously “borrowed” from the far more ancient myth of King Sargon the Great of Akkad. Mackey’s comment: The popular and ancient story of the baby Moses has given rise to many myths: e.g., Akkadian (Sargon); Hindu (Karna); Greek (Osiris), and so on. Sargon of Akkad, as an historical entity, is the one case here who clearly pre-dates Moses. However, the legend about him does not. The earliest copy of this Sargon story we have is from the 600s BC found in the Library of Ashurbanipal.