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A Journal of History, Geography, Language and Archaeology

By Professor Ze'ev Herzog, Tel Aviv University
Deconstructing the Walls of Jericho

Following 70 years of intensive excavations in the Land of Israel, archaeologists have found out: The patriarchs' acts are legendary, the Israelites did not sojourn in Egypt or make an exodus, they did not conquer the land. Neither is there any mention of the empire of David and Solomon, nor of the source of belief in the God of Israel. These facts have been known for years, but Israel is a stubborn people and nobody wants to hear about

This is what archaeologists have learned from their excavations in the Land of Israel: the Israelites were never in Egypt, did not wander in the desert, did not conquer the land in a military campaign and did not pass it on to the 12 tribes of Israel. Perhaps even harder to swallow is the fact that the united monarchy of David and Solomon, which is described by the Bible as a regional power, was at most a small tribal kingdom. And it will come as an unpleasant shock to many that the God of Israel, Jehovah, had a female consort and that the early Israelite religion adopted monotheism only in the waning period of the monarchy and not at Mount Sinai.Most of those who are engaged in scientific work in the interlocking spheres of the Bible, archaeology and the history of the Jewish people - and who once went into the field looking for proof to corroborate the Bible story - now agree that the historic events relating to the stages of the Jewish people's emergence are radically different from what that story tells.
What follows is a short account of the brief history of archaeology, with the emphasis on the crises and the big bang, so to speak, of the past decade. The critical question of this archaeological revolution has not yet trickled down into public consciousness, but it cannot be ignored.

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Originally posted by Kil

I found this fasinating ...

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antiguo
A Journal of History, Geography, Language and Archaeology
About This Site

Antiguo is a journal of my discoveries made while fossicking through the world wide web in search of interesting snippets about history, geography, language and archaeology . These gewgaws are first sifted from the rubble on the basis of their interest or entertainment value. Afterwards, they are polished up and presented, hopefully, for your enjoyment.

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Originally posted by Infamous

The Israelites' sojourn in Egypt has been proven to be factual.

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Originally posted by Dave W.

Actually, it might be interesting to see the sources for the original article, as well. I didn't see a single citation in it, just a lot of "archeologists found blah-de-blah" assertions.

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• Migrations, Ethnogenesis, and Settlement Dynamics: Israelites in Iron Age Canaan and Shuwa-Arabs in the Chad Basin

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Originally posted by Infamous

Most of this article is false. I wonder where the author could have possibly gotten his information, since so much of it contradicts known archaeological facts.

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The Israelites' conquest of Canaan has been proven to be factual as well. Letters were sent from Canaanite tribes to Egypt about 40 years after the "early" Exodus date, pleading for military assistance in defending the last from nomadic invaders. These invaders were called "apiru", which is the origin of the word Hebrew. The letter stated that, without Egypt's help, "all of Canaan will be lost". Help from Egypt never came, and Canaan did indeed fall to the Israelites.

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Originally posted by Infamous

Letters were sent from Canaanite tribes to Egypt about 40 years after the "early" Exodus date, pleading for military assistance in defending the last from nomadic invaders. These invaders were called "apiru", which is the origin of the word Hebrew.

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3) The Amarna Tablets

Amarna is the modern name of the ancient Egyptian city of Akhetaten. It was established briefly as the capitol of Egypt around 1400-1350 BC by pharaoh Akhetaten, who attempted to reform Egypt's religious system and inaugurate the worship of a single deity represented by the sun disk (Aten). That experiment was a failure and the city only existed for 15 to 20 years before being abandoned. Archaeologists discovered a cache of letters at the site written on clay tablets from various city officials throughout the area including Canaan. Some of these letters are appeals to Akhetaten for help in defending against the ‘Apiru (Hapiru, Khapiru) who were threatening the cities of Canaan. This could have been the Hebrews who were invading the land and challenging the Canaanite city-states. If the ‘Apiru were the Hebrews, the date of the Amarna letters would suggest a date for the exodus from Egypt sometime in the mid to latter 15th century.

Difficulties Raised: While it was common in the period immediately following the discovery of the Amarna tablets to identify the ‘Apiru with the Hebrews, further investigation has raised serious doubts about that identification. The identification was originally made largely on the assumption that the word ‘Apiru was actually the linguistic root for the word Hebrew. However, scholars concluded that the term is actually Sumerian (the area of later Babylonian) in origin and dates much earlier than the Hebrews. The term was used throughout the Middle East to refer to groups who lived on the margins of civilized society, outcasts who were often hired as mercenaries. While the term is not linguistically related to the term Hebrew, it is possible that it could have been applied to the Israelites. However, since the term was simply descriptive of a range of people without reference to any national or ethnic origins, there is absolutely no evidence that the references in the Amarna letters can be identified specifically with the Israelites. That eliminates any use of the Amarna letters in trying to date the exodus.

- see Christian Resource Institute: The Date of the Exodus

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