Section Three: From Moses to Joshua
The Exodus
The story of the Exodus is a familiar one
- The new pharaohs wanted to keep
down the growing population of
Hebrews so they first forced them into
slave labor and then ordered their
male children to be drowned
- Moses escaped this plot and was
raised as an Egyptian in the family of
Pharaoh
- Moses killed an Egyptian to trying
to save the life of a Hebrew but was
forced to flee Egypt when word got out
- God chose Moses as the instrument
by which Pharaoh would release the
Hebrew people from slavery
- Pharaoh refused to release the
Hebrew people despite a series of
plagues
- Finally, after the Angel of Death killed
each first-born Egyptian male child
on the night of the Passover,
Pharaoh relented and the Exodus of
the Hebrews out of Egypt began
3.1
When Did the Exodus Take Place?
There is no firm agreement about the exact dates of the Exodus. There are
two extremes of estimates.
On one extreme, there is the estimate of James Ussher, the Anglican
Archbishop of Armagh in Ireland from 1625 to 1628. He was famous for
calculating 4004 BCE as the date of the creation of the world. Bishop Ussher
believed that his calculations were precise and biblically based and therefore
his calculations should take precedence over any future archaeological
discoveries. Bishop Ussher believed that the Exodus took place in 1491 BCE
On the other extreme is the estimate of a group of scholars (the Late Day
camp) who noticed that Exodus 1:11 seemed to point out a flaw in such early
dating. This passage mentioned two cities, Pi-thom and Pi-Rameses.
Archaeology has proven that these cities did not exist until well after
Ussher’s time frame for the Exodus. This dating suggests that the Exodus
may have taken place two centuries after Ussher’s estimates (@1250 BCE).
On the other hand, the Late Day camp estimate ignores 1 Kings 6 which
states that the building of the Temple in Jerusalem (est. @ 980-950 BCE) took
place 480 years after the Exodus. Like most archaeologists, this group
believed archaeology always trumps scripture
There are, of course, a number of suggested dates between these extremes.
There are also a number of critics today who claim that the Exodus never
happened at all.
3.2
Ancient Trade Routes Through the Promised Land;
The Jezreel Valley and Har Megiddo
3.3
Where did the Exodus
Take Place?
• No one is certain of the
exact route but some places
were named;
a. Desert of Paran
b. Kadesh
c. Midian
d. Moab
• What seems clear is that the
Israelites avoided the usual
routes between Egypt and
Canaan
• By the time of the Exodus,
The “Sea People” (the
Philistines) likely had
already arrived in the region
and taken over the coastal
plain and the trade route
that passed through it
Note: If the Exodus took place somewhat earlier than
the late 1200s BCE, the coastal road was blocked as
well at that time by a number of regularly-spaced
Egyptian garrisons known to have been located along
the coastal road through Canaan
• The inland people were
called “nephilim” (Num.
13:33 and Gen. 6:4) taken
to mean giants
3.4
Or Did the Exodus Take
A Different Route?
• Scholar Frank Moore Cross
offers a reason why there
was scant evidence of an
Exodus in the eastern Sinai.
He believed the Israelites
didn’t pass that way
• Cross points out that when
Moses fled from Egypt, he
fled to Midian. Moses
married the daughter of a
priest of Midian. Moses
lived in Midian for a long
time and encountered the
burning bush there. Midian
also shows much evidence
of developed civilization in
the time frame of the Exodus
• Moore speculated that Jebel*
al-Lawz in Saudi Arabia
might be the location of the
true Mt. Sinai and not Jebel
al-Musa in the Sinai
* Sometimes spelled Jabel
3.5
Jebal al Lawz In Modern Day Saudi Arabia ?
These drawings,
found at the foot of
Jebal al Lawz are
suggestive of
Exodus 32
This split rock in the
area of Jebal al Lawz
is suggestive of
Exodus 17
This blackened top
of Jebal al Lawz is
suggestive of
Exodus 19
3.6
Another Candidate: Har Karkom
Did Moses mistake
this cave with a
naturally
luminescent
entrance for the
burning bush?
3.7
The Israelite Camp
E
N
There is a debate about the
location of the Tent of
Meeting, the Tabernacle
where the Ark of the
Covenant was kept.
S
W
1.
*
According to Exodus 33:8
and Number 11:26, it
seemed to have been
located outside the camp.
However, according to
Numbers 2:2, it was located
in the middle of the camp,
as illustrated here.
The tribe of Joseph was split in two, Ephraim and Manasseh
Exodus 33 places the Tabernacle (the Tent of Meeting) outside
the camp.
3.8
Did the Exodus Take Place At All? (at least in the
manner described in the Bible)
Some scholars have called into question the historicity of Moses and
the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. They note that;
•
There seems to be no archaeological evidence of the passage of
such a large group of people across the eastern Sinai even by Israeli
archaeologists during the time that Israel controlled the land
•
The story of Moses has elements in it similar to the Egyptian Tale of
Sinuhe and the Akkadian tale of Sargon
•
A theory called the Immigration Theory holds that there was no
Moses nor was there was there a mass Exodus event. The
Immigration Theory suggests that different groups of people in
separate waves migrated from Egypt over time (perhaps to escape
the invading Sea Peoples). Supporters of this theory see the
‘Children of Leah” representing one wave, the “concubine children”
a second wave and the “Children of Rachel” a third wave
3.9
Moses, an
Improbable Prophet
Moses was an improbable person to have
played such an important role in the history of
the Jewish people. Consider these facts;
- Moses was a Hebrew (born to Amram of the
tribe of Levi. He had a brother Aaron and a
sister, Miriam) but;
- While it is commonly believed that Moses’ name
-
-
A common speculation is that Moses
was an Egyptian priest of
Akhenaten who preached
monotheism to the Hebrews
-
-
comes from a Hebrew root word ‫משה‬
“drawn” as in “drawn from the water”. Since
Pharaoh’s daughter named him, some scholars
hold that the name Moses was more
likely from an Egyptian root (mss) meaning
“child of” (Thutmosis = child of Thoth and
Rameses = child of Ra)
Moses married two women, neither of whom was
of Hebrew ancestry (Numbers 12:1 and Exodus 2
and 3)
Moses sons, Gershom and Eliezer, were not
kohanim as were Aaron’s sons, but simply
Levites (because their mother was a Midianite?)
Exodus (4:24) mentions that God considered
killing Moses himself during the journey to
Egypt to confront Pharaoh
Unlike Joseph, even Moses’ bones were not
allowed to enter the Promised Land
3.10
Moses’ Other Wife
There is a passage in the Book of Numbers that
Bible readers have found puzzling. In Numbers
12:1-2, Miriam, Moses’ sister and Aaron his brother
complained that Moses was getting too much of the
glory that they felt should come to them as well.
They complained that Moses was known to have a
Cushite (Ethiopian) wife. Yet Exodus 2 tells us that
Moses married a Midianite woman, Zipporah,
daughter of Jethro/Reuel, a Midianite priest. Moses
seemed to have had two wives. Many readers may
have missed this passage in Numbers. Director
Cecil B. DeMille clearly did not miss it as shown by
this scene from The Ten Commandments
In Book II of Josephus’ work, Antiquities of the
Jews, Chapter 10 tells the story of how Moses, then
still a Prince of Egypt, led Egyptian troops in battle
against Ethiopian armies. Moses was so successful
that he laid siege to Saba, a royal Ethiopian city.
Tharbis was the daughter of the king of the
Ethiopians and was living in Saba during the attack.
She fell in love with Moses and Moses took her as
his wife in exchange for her surrender of the city.
What then happened to Tharbis is unknown.
3.11
God Considers
Killing Moses
In Exodus 4:24, another unusual passage can be
found. God sends Moses to tell Pharaoh to set His
people free or suffer the death of the first born male
children of the Egyptians. Along the way.......
At a lodging place on the way, the LORD met Moses
and was about to kill him. But Zipporah took a flint
knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’
feet with it.“Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to
me,” she said. So the LORD let him alone. (At that
time she said “bridegroom of blood,” referring to
circumcision.)
The interpretation of this odd passage of Exodus is
the subject of much debate. One that I found
interesting is the idea that the Midianites used
circumcision as a rite of passage into adulthood. As
a result, Zipporah forbade Moses from circumcising
Gershom, Moses’ first born (and still a child).
Zipporah immediately understood what was going on
and performed the circumcision. She then touched
the foreskin to Moses because Moses himself was
not circumcised since that would have given away
the fact that he was a Hebrew child
3.12
Moses-Like Characters?
Sargon
Sargon
Sargon, strong king, king of Agade, am I. My mother was a high priestess, my father I
do not know. My paternal kin inhabit the mountain region. My city (of birth) is
Azupiranu, which lies on the bank of the Euphrates. My mother, a high priestess,
conceived me, in secret she bore me. She placed me in a reed basket, with bitumen
she caulked my hatch. She abandoned me to the river from which I could not escape.
The river carried me along: to Aqqi, the water drawer (origin of Moses’ name?), it
brought me. Aqqi, the water drawer, when immersing his bucket lifted me up. Aqqi, the
water drawer, raised me as his adopted son. Aqqi, the water drawer, set me to his
garden work. During my garden work, Istar loved me (so that) 55 years I ruled as king.
Points of Comparison
Born in secret
Moses too was born in secret (but in a different context of secrecy)
Placed in a reed basket, covered with bitumen
Moses was also placed in a reed basket covered with Bitumen
Set in a river
Moses was set in a river (but not set into the current but left drifting among the reeds near
the shore)
Recovered, adopted and led his people
Moses was drawn from the water, adopted and led his people
3.13
Moses-Like Characters?
Sinuhe
Sinuhe
Sinuhe was a Middle Kingdom Egyptian official who fled Egypt to Syria. As a guardian of
Pharaoh Amenemhet's harem, he went on an expedition to Libya. When he learned of the
Pharaoh's assassination he fled because he feared false accusations. Winds on the Nile blew
him northward and he wandered through Palestine and Lebanon. He finally settled in southern
Syria and married the oldest daughter of a chieftain in the region. Some years later, Pharaoh
Sesostris I welcomed Sinuhe back to Egypt. The king forgave him and granted him gifts. From
that point forward, Sinuhe remained in Egypt and was granted an honorable burial.
Points of Comparison
Was a member of the Royal Court of Egypt
Moses was a member of the royal court
Was involved in a murder and had to flee
Moses was involved in a murder and had to flee
Married the eldest daughter of a foreigner
Moses married the Midian (or was it Cushite?) woman Zipporah , the daughter of Jethro
Returned to Egypt
Moses returned to Egypt (but wasn’t quite welcomed or honored!)
3.14
Joshua Enters the Promised Land
The Torah ends with the death of Moses and we transition to the Nevi’im, including
Deuteronomic History (explanation later), in the Book of Joshua.
Moses was only allowed to see the Promised Land, but not enter it The task of
conquering and then settling the Promised Land fell, not to Moses’ brother and not to
either of Moses’ sons but to Joshua. Joshua accomplished this task by waging three
campaigns against the tribes of peoples who lived there. Once the land was
conquered, Joshua then divided the conquered territories among the twelve tribes of
Israel. Archaeological remains of many (not all) cities in Canaan do show evidence of
major destruction. Yet.....(later slide).
An interesting phrase in Joshua (Josh.22:22) shows God being addressed by three of
his biblical names; El, Elohim and YHWH
3.15
Controversy Over the Capture of the Promised
Land by Joshua (I)
•
Steles in Egypt and clay tables from Ugarit tell of invasions of “Peoples
of the Sea” to both the north and the south of Israel
•
The Egyptians were successful in defeating the invaders. Some scholars
have suggested that the Exodus of the Hebrews (and others) from
Egypt may have been an attempt to flee from these invasions
•
Ugarit, north of the land of Canaan, wasn’t so lucky. It was burned to the
ground sometime around 1190 BCE
•
The “Sea People” who invaded from the north swept south along the
coastal plain and established their pentapolis (Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gaza,
Ekron and Gath) along that plane. Pottery excavated from these cities
was much like the pottery made by the Mycenean Greeks with one
exception. The clay used to make the pottery proved to be of local origin.
So, were these Greek-speaking peoples?
3.16
Controversy Over the Exodus and the Capture of
the Promised Land (II)
Another group of scholars who question the historicity of the Exodus and the
conquest of the Promised Land by Joshua hold to a different theory. They
claim that there was neither an Exodus from Egypt nor a conquest of
Canaan, at least not from outside invaders.
These scholars believe that the Tribes of Israel represent a loose
confederation of city-states that rebelled against the ruling Canaanites while
the Canaanites were busy fighting off the Peoples of the Sea. They point to
the names of the some of the Tribes of Israel as evidence;
-
Asher (from Assur, the god of Assyria or Assherah a Canaanite goddess?)
Gad ( Gad was the name of a Canaanite God)
Zebulon (meaning “of the princes”, an epithet of Baal Hadad)
Dan (perhaps one of the first tribes of Sea Peoples pushed inland by
tribes arriving later. Dan is a root name often used to refer to Greeks.
Recall the famous line from the Aeneid “Timeo Danaos dona ferentes”)
Interestingly, Dan’s original allotment of land was the territory that became
settled by the Sea Peoples, later known as the Philistines. Dan was forced to
relocate to the northernmost part of the Promised Land
3.17
One Thing Is Certain
In 1207 BCE, a stele was created
to honor the victories of the
Egyptian Pharaoh Merneptah in
his campaign against a number of
peoples inhabiting the territory of
Canaan which began in 1212 BCE
Israel is mentioned on this stele
(see the insert). This is the
earliest mention of Israel found
outside of the Bible however the
determinative (unpronounced
marker before a word) used with
Israel indicates that Israel was
neither a country or a city-state at
this time but rather a people living
in the hill country of Canaan
Based on Judges 5:11, some
believe they called themselves
‫עַם־יְ הוַח‬, people of YHWH
3.18
Another Story With a Reference to Moses
•
A man named Micah (not the prophet), a worshipper of Y*WH, stole 1,100
shekels from his mother but, when he confessed his sin to his mother, she
blessed him and promised to use some of the silver to create an idol
• Micah then created a shrine for the idol complete with ephod (sacred
clothing) and teraphim (hard to translate, likely means household gods).
Ephod and teraphim seem to have been used in divination. Micah then hired
a Levite, Jonathan, son of Gershon who was the son of Moses* to act as a
priest to his shrine
• Some men from the tribe of Dan, unable to win over the land originally set
aside for them by Joshua, passed by Micah’s shrine and asked the priest if
they would be successful in winning over the new land to the North set aside
for them. The Levite priest assured them that they would succeed
• They did succeed. They destroyed the major city of the land, Laish, rebuilt it
and named it after their ancestor, Dan, the son of Jacob/Israel. They then
returned to Micah’s shrine, took the idol, the ephod and teraphim and even the
priest to the city of Dan where they re-built the shrine. Jonathan, was named
the chief priest of the shrine. Judges claims that the shrine remained there all
the time while the Ark of the Covenant remained at Shiloh (until shortly before
the time of David) When Israel split into two kingdoms after the death of
Solomon, Dan became an important center of worship in the Northern
Kingdom
*
This story can be found in Judges 17-18. Most manuscripts say Jonathan was the grandson of
Moses ‫םשה‬, some say he was the grandson of Manasseh
3.19
The Tribes of Israel in the Promised Land
• When the Israelites entered the Promised
land, the region was divided up among the
different clans. The tribe of Levi, was
removed from landowning status for it was
from this tribe that the priesthood of Israel
was formed which served all the tribes
• Dan was first given land in an area that
looked on Joppa, east of Benjamin.
However, the Philistines resisted them
there, blocking their efforts to capture the
towns awarded to them in the original
inheritance agreement.
• The descendants of Dan headed north to a
city called Leshem or Laish. After capturing
this city, they renamed it 'Dan' after their
ancestor, and settled that region. This city
proved to be the northernmost boundary of
the land of Israel, stretching from Dan in the
north to Beersheba in the south. More on
this later.
• The bones of Joseph, carried out of Egypt,
were buried with his ancestors at Hebron
3.20
The Book of Judges
•
The Book of Joshua is followed by the Book of Judges. The Hebrew
word for Judges is shophetim
‫שַטְפְ יים‬
•
While the Book of Joshua seems to show the conquest of the Promised
Land was swift and thorough, the Book of Judges takes a different slant
•
When Joshua and his generation died, the Israelites began to worship the
gods of the peoples around them. One might ask, of course, what
peoples? Weren’t most of them conquered and destroyed?
•
Chapter 3 of Judges (Jdg. 3:1-5) explains that God left a number of tribes
in the land to test Israel. Chapter 2 of Judges explains that God would
raise up a judge, a sort of military leader, to deal with these tribes
whenever the Israelites would revert to their evil ways
•
A pattern emerged where the people of Israel would worship foreign gods
and would use these other peoples to punish the Israelites for their
unfaithfulness. God would relent and raise up a judge to rescue His
people. The judge would do his job and, while the judge lived, the people
would remain faithful. When the judge died, the pattern would repeat
3.21
The Time of the Judges
•
Judges tended to be strong military leaders who defeated the enemies of
Israel. Some biblical critics claim that the constant need for military
actions by the Judges cast some doubt on how effective Joshua was in
his campaigns of conquest in the Promised Land
•
In any case, the role of the Judges in the early history of Israel seem to
have some influence on the expectations of the Jewish people concerning
the nature of the Messiah a millennium later
•
There were seven major Judges (Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon,
Jephthah, Samson and Samuel)
•
There were six minor Judges (Shamgar, Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon and Abdon)
•
The terms major and minor referred to the amount of information about
the Judges provided in scripture
•
Some scholars see these Judges as strong leaders who work to save their
people and, as such, are pre-cursors to later Jewish expectations of a
Messiah
3.22
Interpreting Scripture
When reading scripture, it is important to remember some important things;
The Hebrew (and Christian) scriptures were written by believers and for
believers. The Hebrew scriptures are a collection of books about a people
and their encounter with God. Historical events act as a background against
which this encounter takes place. They are not the main focus of the
narrative
Archaeologists work hard to shed as much light as their craft will allow on
these historical events but the Hebrew Scriptures, along with the works of
Josephus, still provide the most amount of detail of what happened during
the period of time between Abraham and Moses. In most cases, the farther
back in history one goes, the fewer actual facts are available
Don’t disregard issues of funding, ego or stature within their field to explain
why some archaeologists are prone to take a few facts and draw massive
conclusions from them.
Facts are concrete things. Real facts, like the Merneptah Stele, are hard to
dispute. The stories that scholars put forth to try to explain the facts are far
less concrete and far more subjective. Key words to look for are “likely”,
“probably”, and “almost certainly”. They really mean “We don’t know for
sure.” Don’t accept anyone’s theory based mainly on their reputation. Be
skeptical and go where the facts take you.
3.23