The True “Exodus”
The Hyksos Dynasties of Egypt’s Delta emerged from the influx of Canaanites [Hebrews] for hundreds of years into the Delta. As their prosperity and numbers grew, they became the dominate force. The Egyptians provided labor to the Hyksos who patterned their Pharaohs after the Upper Egyptians. They charged the Pharaohs of Egypt shipping tariffs through the Delta Ports and grazing fees for cattle. The Hyksos took advantage of the Egyptian weakness and their army conquered territory South to Thebes. By 1500 BCE the Hyksos were in control of Northern Egypt and were despised by Egyptian royalty who pressured their Pharaoh to rid Egypt of “This Plague”.
Pharaoh Kamose was the last of 7 kings of the 17th dynasty and ruled for 5 years [1,555-1,550 BCE]. He began the war against the Hyksos King Khamudi [1,555-1,545 BCE] in 1,552 BCE by sailing north in a surprise attack. His campaign advanced close to the Hyksos capitol Avaris, destroying crops and storage areas. He returned to Thebes a victor but died from wounds.
Pharaoh Ahmose I, [1,549 – 1,524 BCE] Kamose’s brother, first king of the 18th Dynasty continued to push the Hyksos south. He overran Avaris and pursued the Hyksos across the Sinai desert to the town of Sharuhen, near Gaza. After a three-year siege the town was destroyed and the Hyksos fled into Canaan and safety in Jerusalem. The year was 1533 BCE.
This was the true “Exodus”. 480,000 Hebrews, also known as “Shepherd Kings” were driven from Egypt after a commanding and prosperous presence which lasted about 400 years.
In the true “Exodus” there was no bondage, no killing of infant males, no “Moses” raised by Egyptians, no plagues from God, no killing of the Egyptian firstborn sons, no making the ocean open to dry ground, no drowning the Pharaoh and his army, no wandering the Sinai wilderness, no great displays from “God”, no rocks with commandments chiseled into them. I may have missed a few points. No Hatshepsut until she became Pharaoh [1,479 – 1,458 BCE], about 50 years later.
And the question of building the Ark of the Testimony and of building the tabernacle? That probably occurred in Samaria after Yahweh rounded up his tribe sometime after 1100 BCE.
THE SECOND EXODUS
Ramesses I, [1,292 – 1,290 BCE] was the first pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty, which lasted about 110 years. This dynasty was full of overthrows and civil war. On the death of last pharaoh, Queen Twosret, [1,191 - 1,189 BCE] Egypt continued its civil and regional wars. Due to perceived weakness Egypt was constantly invaded by various neighboring countries. One of the invading coalitions was called “The Sea Peoples”. These were the Phoenicians and Canaanites.
These invaders joined the Hyksos laborers already living in the Delta, looting many areas and seizing the Eastern Delta. Pharaoh Setnakht, [1,189 – 1,186 BCE] first king of the 20th Dynasty defeated “a large force of Hyksos” who had invaded the Delta. Details show he returned with most of the stolen gold, silver and gems, and paraded captives for the Egyptians to view. The captive invaders were removed to “strongholds” in Canaan and Samaria. A debated Egyptian stele refers to these people as “Israelites”.
These and other stories of the past 800 years were added to the Sumerian Enuma Elish to create the Hebrew “Holy Writ”, enriching Yahweh’s power and his determination for the Hebrews to form a nation. The second exodus came about 350 years after the first. The date was about 1,180 BCE. This could be the part of the “Exodus” fable where the Hebrews “borrowed” all of the gold, silver and valuables from their Egyptian neighbors and hoofed it into the Sinai. They left out the part about getting caught and getting an ass whipping.
