evidence for the exodus Archives - Biblical Archaeology Society

The Exodus: Fact or Fiction?

BAS Staff — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 11:00:25 +0000

Dated to c. 1219 B.C.E., the Merneptah Stele is the earliest extrabiblical record of a people group called Israel. Set up by Pharaoh Merneptah to commemorate his military victories, the stele proclaims, “Ashkelon is carried off, and Gezer is captured. Yeno’am is made into nonexistence; Israel is wasted, its seed is not.” Ashkelon, Gezer and Yeno’am are followed by an Egyptian hieroglyph that designates a town. Israel is followed by a hieroglyph that means a people. Photo: Maryl Levine.

Is the biblical Exodus fact or fiction?

This is a loaded question. Although biblical scholars and archaeologists argue about various aspects of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt, many of them agree that the Exodus occurred in some form or another.

The question “Did the Exodus happen” then becomes “When did the Exodus happen?” This is another heated question. Although there is much debate, most people settle into two camps: They argue for either a 15th-century B.C.E. or 13th-century B.C.E. date for Israel’s Exodus from Egypt.

The article “Exodus Evidence: An Egyptologist Looks at Biblical History” from the May/June 2016 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review¹ wrestles with both of these questions—“Did the Exodus happen?” and “When did the Exodus happen?” In the article, evidence is presented that generally supports a 13th-century B.C.E. Exodus during the Ramesside Period, when Egypt’s 19th Dynasty ruled.

The article examines Egyptian texts, artifacts and archaeological sites, which demonstrate that the Bible recounts accurate memories from the 13th century B.C.E. For instance, the names of three places that appear in the biblical account of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt correspond to Egyptian place names from the Ramesside Period (13th–11th centuries B.C.E.). The Bible recounts that, as slaves, the Israelites were forced to build the store-cities of Pithom and Ramses. After the ten plagues, the Israelites left Egypt and famously crossed the Yam Suph (translated Red Sea or Reed Sea), whose waters were miraculously parted for them. The biblical names Pithom, Ramses and Yam Suph (Red Sea or Reed Sea) correspond to the Egyptian place names Pi-Ramesse, Pi-Atum and (Pa-)Tjuf. These three place names appear together in Egyptian texts only from the Ramesside Period. The name Pi-Ramesse went out of use by the beginning of Egypt’s Third Intermediate Period, which began around 1085 B.C.E., and does not reappear until much later.

FREE ebook: Ancient Israel in Egypt and the Exodus.

These specific place names recorded in the biblical text demonstrate that the memory of the biblical authors for these traditions predates Egypt’s Third Intermediate Period. This supports a 13th-century Exodus during the Ramesside Period because it is only during the Ramesside Period that the place names Pi-Ramesse, Pi-Atum and (Pa-)Tjuf (Red Sea or Reed Sea) are all in use.

A worker’s house from western Thebes also seems to support a 13th-century Exodus. In the 1930s, archaeologists at the University of Chicago were excavating the mortuary Temple of Aya and Horemheb, the last two pharaohs of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty, in western Thebes. The temple was first built by Aya in the 14th-century B.C.E., but Horemheb usurped and expanded the temple when he became pharaoh. (He ruled from the late 14th century through the early 13th century B.C.E.) Horemheb chiseled out every place where Aya’s name had been and replaced it with his own. Later—during the reign of Ramses IV (12th century B.C.E.)—the Temple of Aya and Horemheb was demolished.

During their excavations, the University of Chicago uncovered a house and part of another house belonging to the workers who were given the task of demolishing the temple. The plan of the complete house is the same as that of the four-room house characteristic of Israelite dwellings during the Iron Age. However, unlike the Israelite models that were usually constructed of stone, the Theban house was made of wattle and daub. It is significant that this house was built in Egypt at the same time that Israelites were constructing four-room houses in Canaan. The similarities between the two have caused some to speculate that the builders of the Theban house were either proto-Israelites or a group closely related to the Israelites.

Is this a proto-Israelite house? This plan shows the 12th-century B.C.E. worker’s house in western Thebes next to the Temple of Aya and Horemheb. The house is undoubtedly a four-room house. In Canaan, the four-room house is considered an ethnic marker for the presence of Israelites during the Iron Age. Is the Biblical Exodus fact or fiction? This favors “fact,” so the question becomes, “When did the Exodus happen?” The presence of such a house in Egypt during the 12th century B.C.E. seems to support an Exodus during the Ramesside Period. Photo: Courtesy of Manfred Bietak.

A third piece of evidence for the Exodus is the Onomasticon Amenope. The Onomasticon Amenope is a list of categorized words from Egypt’s Third Intermediate Period. Written in hieratic, the papyrus includes the Semitic place name b-r-k.t, which refers to the Lakes of Pithom. Even in Egyptian sources, the Semitic name for the Lakes of Pithom was used instead of the original Egyptian name. It is likely that a Semitic-speaking population lived in the region long enough that their name eventually supplanted the original.

Watch full-length lectures from the Out of Egypt: Israel’s Exodus Between Text and Memory, History and Imagination conference, which addressed some of the most challenging issues in Exodus scholarship. The international conference was hosted by Calit2’s Qualcomm Institute at UC San Diego in San Diego, CA.

Another compelling piece of evidence for the Exodus is found in the biblical text itself. A history of enslavement is likely to be true. The article explains:

The storyline of the Exodus, of a people fleeing from a humiliating slavery, suggests elements that are historically credible. Normally, it is only tales of glory and victory that are preserved in narratives from one generation to the next. A history of being slaves is likely to bear elements of truth.

Exodus: Fact or fiction? This four-room house from Izbet Sartah, Israel, shares many similarities with the 12th-century B.C.E. worker’s house uncovered in western Thebes. Photo: Israel Finkelstein/Tel Aviv University.

So, is the biblical Exodus fact or fiction? Scholars and people of many faiths line up on either side of the equation, and some say both. Archaeological discoveries have verified that parts of the biblical Exodus are historically accurate, but archaeology can’t tell us everything. Although archaeology can illuminate aspects of the past and bring parts of history to life, it has its limits.

Our website, blog and email newsletter are a crucial part of Biblical Archaeology Society's nonprofit educational mission

This costs substantial money and resources, but we don't charge a cent to you to cover any of those expenses.

If you'd like to help make it possible for us to continue Bible History Daily, BiblicalArchaeology.org, and our email newsletter please donate. Even $5 helps:

It certainly is exciting when the archaeological record matches with the biblical account—as with the examples described here. However, while this evidence certainly adds weight to the historical accuracy of elements of the biblical account, it can’t be used to “prove” that every detail of the Exodus story in the Bible is true.

To learn more about evidence for Israel’s Exodus from Egypt, read the full article “Exodus Evidence: An Egyptologist Looks at Biblical History” in the May/June 2016 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

Subscribers: Read the full article “Exodus Evidence: An Egyptologist Looks at Biblical History” in the May/June 2016 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

Not a BAS Library or All-Access Member yet? Join today.

This Bible History Daily feature was originally published on April 10, 2016.

Notes

1. This BAR article is a free abstract from Manfred Bietak’s article “On the Historicity of the Exodus: What Egyptology Today Can Contribute to Assessing the Biblical Account of the Sojourn in Egypt” in Thomas E. Levy, Thomas Schneider and William H.C. Propp, eds., Israel’s Exodus in Transdisciplinary Perspective: Text, Archaeology, Culture and Geoscience (Cham: Springer, 2015). In Bietak’s article, the scholarly debate about the archaeological remains and the onomastic data of Wadi Tumilat is more elaborately treated.

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library

Exodus Evidence: An Egyptologist Looks at Biblical History

Exodus

Exodus Itinerary Confirmed by Egyptian Evidence

The Exodus and the Crossing of the Red Sea, According to Hans Goedicke

How Reliable Is Exodus?

Not a BAS Library or All-Access Member yet? Join today.

The post The Exodus: Fact or Fiction? appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

First Person: The American Bible Society’s Electronic Inquisition

Robert Cargill — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 13:00:59 +0000

As a scholar, editor, and American, I value the rights of free speech afforded me by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. I HATE censorship. Mind you, I’m not a fan of nonsensical, uninformed, illogical, hyperbolic drivel either. I like to see an exchange of ideas—a presentation of evidence—and then use my intellect to decide which argument makes the most sense based on the evidence. What’s more, BAR’s readers have come not only to expect, but to insist on this presentation of the evidence—from both the written records, including the Bible, and the archaeological data—to inform their decisions about history and the claims made by the Bible. This process lies at the heart of BAR.

Then came the internet. One of the internet’s revolutionary aspects was that it democratized information, allowing anyone with a domain name to publish content online. This is not always a good thing. Some sites are full of bad science and false claims, while others are credible sources of reliable information. And while the credible sites gradually separated from the less-than-credible ones, something initially unforeseeable happened: The internet began to run out of practical domain names.

To remedy this problem, ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), which is responsible for overseeing domain names on the internet, decided to expand the list of extensions beyond .COM, .ORG, .NET. The new domain extensions would be more akin to the .EDU, .GOV, and .MIL domains that were reserved for specific types of organizations such as educational institutions, government agencies, and military units.

These new domain extensions included .INFO for information sites, .BIZ for businesses, and .NGO for non-governmental organizations. But the one that has created the most problems for Bible-related academic societies, such as the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) and the Biblical Archaeology Society (BAS), is the new .BIBLE domain.

From https://youtu.be/m-B0G1qCSSU

Surprisingly, ICANN delegated the oversight of the .BIBLE domain to the American Bible Society (ABS). And, instead of administering the .BIBLE domain like other generic top-level domain operators that simply make sure those applying are sufficiently related to the category, the American Bible Society pulled a fast one. After they were approved, they incorporated what is essentially a statement of faith into their Acceptable Use Policy. This means that in addition to wanting a website that pertains to the Bible, and agreeing to refrain from the usual prohibitions (disseminating pornography, selling drugs, and inciting the violent overthrow of the government), anyone signing up for a .BIBLE domain must also agree to various confessional regulations established by the American Bible Society!

The religion section of most bookstores includes an amazing array of Bibles. In our free eBook The Holy Bible: A Buyer’s Guide, prominent Biblical scholars Leonard Greenspoon and Harvey Minkoff expertly guide you through 21 different Bible translations (or versions) and address their content, text, style and religious orientation.

Some of these stipulations are highly suspect. For instance, rule 4.2.B reads, “A Registrant shall not use or permit its Domain Name(s) to be used in any manner that would encourage or contribute to disrespect for the Bible or the Bible community.” Remember, the ABS gets to decide what is “disrespectful.” Thus, if BAR were to publish (on a theoretical .BIBLE site) an article in which the author claims there is no archaeological evidence for the Exodus, this might be considered “disrespectful,” and we could be banned.

Three rules under section “5.4: Prohibited Content” are even more problematic. The ABS says they will ban: “(A) Any content that communicates disrespect for God as He is revealed in the Bible. (B) Any content that communicates disrespect for the Bible, or for any doctrine, symbol or principles of faith derived from the Bible. (C) Any content that communicates disrespect for the Jewish faith or the orthodox Christian faith in any of their historic expressions, or that advocates belief in any religious or faith tradition other than orthodox Christianity or Judaism” (italics mine)!

In fact, according to section 5.4.C, one must advocate only “orthodox Christianity or Judaism” or else fear the digital wrath of ABS’s electronic inquisition. Setting aside ABS’s wholly problematic invocation of “orthodox Christianity or Judaism”—seriously, there are multiple problems with this, including ABS’s apparent ignorance of Orthodox Christianity, and whether they also meant Orthodox Judaism, or just Judaism in general—the insistence that only confessional orthodox Christians and Jews can study the Bible and voice their opinions about faith on a .BIBLE website is diametrically opposed to any serious learned society, including BAS and SBL.

Furthermore, the Biblical Archaeology Society is proudly a non-denominational and non-sectarian organization. And yet, “Biblical” is in our title! The Bible is central to our mission! BAR is committed to following archaeological and Biblical research wherever it may lead, and we do not censor the views of scholars, authors, or readers just because they may not subscribe to “orthodox Christianity or Judaism” as their religious tradition of choice.

Perhaps most tellingly, ABS demonstrates the insecurity of their own position in rule 5.4.I, which lists “holding of the ABS (including its affiliates), its employees, donors, ministry partners or the Bible up to public scorn” or “ridicule” as grounds for banishment, prohibiting also “any content that may harm the reputation of ABS or the .BIBLE domain name space.” Any organization that bans criticism of itself is not off to a good start and is the antithesis of scholarly.

No one “owns” the Bible, and no one should have to submit to the American Bible Society’s ill-conceived holiness code in order to register a .BIBLE domain name. ABS should not be able to deny a .BIBLE domain name because it feels a website does not revere the name of God enough—or because it dares not endorse “orthodox Christianity.” How ICANN ever allowed this is beyond belief!

No one gets to say what is, and what is not, worthy of association with, study of, or applicable to the Bible—that is the judgment of each individual who freely chooses to read the Bible and dares to ask questions of it. Readers of BAR have been doing just that for 43 years. In an effort to continue this tradition, BAR will not be registering a .BIBLE domain any time soon. BAR values scholarship, free thought, and freedom of religion—not the requirement of any author or subscriber to believe in anything other than a love of history, of archaeology, and that the Bible is a book worth studying.

And if you need one more reason to eschew the .BIBLE domain, archaeology.BIBLE is available, but costs $5,900 to register for one year. For comparison, most .COM domains cost about $12 for one year. So, ABS wants exorbitant money and to dictate what you can say and believe. Thus, the .BIBLE domain is well on its way to becoming the internet’s equivalent of televangelism.

——————
“First Person: The American Bible Society’s Electronic Inquisition” by Robert R. Cargill originally appeared in the July/August 2018 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.