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Did the history as described in the bible happen? Were the Jewish people held wholesale as slaves to the Egyptians at that time?

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According to the Skeptoid episode (quoted above by @EdSG) and other sources, there is no archaeological nor historical evidence to support the biblical account of enslaved Israelites in Egypt, nor the Exodus story. According to Brian Dunning (Skeptoid), there are no Egyptian records of Jews or Hebrews having ever been in Egypt. The greatest of the pyramids, he continues, were completed 600 years prior to the settling of the land of Israel which he dates 1100 BCE. This is chronologically accurate.

This may or may not be entirely fair, though. While Brian is correct there was no Israel until this time, others would argue the nomadic ancestors of the Israelites may be considered Israelites even if not in name. Timelines and the Old Testament do not begin the story of the Israelites with the settlement of "The Promised Land." Support for this position is found on The Merneptah Stele (also known as the Israel Stele) from approximately 1300 BCE. The inscription (see below) reads "Israel is wasted, its seed is no longer."

alt text Missing from this is the hieroglyph for "country," indicating "Israel" at this time referred to a people and not yet a country. Notwithstanding, some people called Israel were in the area and had a store of grain that could be "wasted." This does not, however, support either an enslaved people, nor a great wandering exodus: enslaved people do not have grain stores and nomads by definition do not have stores at all.

The Skeptoid podcast and other Egyptologists are generally correct. There are no Egyptian tablets, stela, nor inscriptions supporting the stories of enslavement nor physical evidence of the "Tribes of Israel wandering around the desert" (quote from Victor Stenger approximately 7 1/2 mins. into an interview with D.J. Grothe on Point of Inquiry).

This sentiment is repeated again and again: If you are looking for evidence of Israelites in Egypt and the desert, you will find no evidence in archaeology. "The only evidence that one might seriously consider is circumstantial." (From Amihai Mazar's The Patriarchs, Exodus, and Conquest Narratives section of The Quest for the Historical Israel: Debating Archaeology and the History of Early Israel). This circumstantial evidence requires elaborate gymnastics to line up known settlements with the Old Testament accounts;reminding me of attempts to fit recent events into centuries-old prophecy, like that of Nostradamus's quatrains. If the shoe doesn't fit, its not Cinderella; though it may be a fairy tale.

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There was a Skeptoid episode about this: "Did Jewish Slaves Build the Pyramids?"

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@EdSG +1 if you can offer a summery and or some quotes. – rjstelling Mar 21 at 12:37
+more if you can cite more corroborating sources for the points made and offer insightful commentary on the points :) – Skrivener Mar 21 at 16:27
Stack Excahnge is not a forum or message board. Answers should be well research and sources cited where possible. If there is an explanation on another site please summerise it in your answer in addition to just providing links. Refer to the skepticexchange.org/faq – rjstelling Jul 10 at 19:22
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Some history as described in the Bible has been verified by archaeology. Other history, such as the exodus, has not had such verification at all. There is very little archaeological evidence for either the slavery in Egypt or the exodus. There is also little historical writing from that period besides the Bible, and thus, not much in other sources to check it against.

A readable source for more information on archaeology is BAR (Biblical Archaeology Review) a magazine about archaeology from Biblical times in the mid-East, although there are vocal readers who wish it to be a magazine to prove or disprove their own views.

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Thanks, I'll take a look. – Skrivener Mar 22 at 4:35
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Biblical Archaeology: Evidence of the Exodus from Egypt

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After reading a few bits and pieces through the link that seemed completely irrelevant, I would ask you to put your argument into some kind of coherent article and post it here, not just link to an interminable wander through history that may or may not be pertinent to your claim of evidence. – Skrivener Apr 4 at 16:42
Stack Excahnge is not a forum or message board. Answers should be well research and sources cited where possible. If there is an explanation on another site please summerise it in your answer in addition to just providing links. Refer to the skepticexchange.org/faq – rjstelling Jul 10 at 19:22

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