1300-1200 BCE

After Joseph reunited with his father and brothers in Egypt, the nation of Israel prospered and became strong and numerous. But Pharoah and the Egyptians grew hostile towards the Israelites and oppressed them. Our story now takes us to the events that led up to the Exodus from Egypt through G-d’s appointed servant, Moses.

Moses And King Tutankhamun,
1332 -1323 BCE

Deuteronomy 34:7
Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died…

According to the Merneptah Stele, the Israelites are in the Land of Israel in 1207 BCE. Working backwards, Moses, who lived 120 years, was alive at the time of King Tut (1332–1323 BCE).

Moses and the King Tutankhamun connection circa 1332 -1323 BCE

Deuteronomy 34:7 states:

Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died…

According to the Merneptah Stele which we will soon explore in detail, the Israelites are in the Land of Israel in 1207 BCE. Working backward, Moses, who lived 120 years, was alive at the time of King Tut (1332–1323 BCE).

Egyptian Museum, Cairo

The Pharaoh's Daughter Finds Moses

Exodus 2:10

She brought the child to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses…

Egypt greatly oppressed the nation of Israel with harsh labor. In an attempt to curb the nation’s growth, Pharaoh ordered all the newborn baby boys to be drowned in the Nile River.
In a brave attempt to evade this decree, Yocheved, Moses’ mother, put her son into a waterproofed basket and placed him in the Nile. There, Pharaoh's daughter found the boy, took pity on him and adopted him as her own. She called him Moses or Moshe in Hebrew, which means drawn from the water.
Exodus 2:10 She brought the child to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses…

The Finding of Moses by Rembrandt, The Morgan Library and Museum, New York

Mummy of Rameses the Great, Egyptian Museum, Cairo

Pharaoh Rameses II,
“The Great”
1279 - 1213 BCE

A consensus of archaeologists suggest that the Pharaoh of the Exodus was Rameses “The Great.”

In this photo is the Mummy of Rameses the Great, as displayed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Pharaoh Rameses II or “The Great” lived from 1279 - 1213 BCE.

A consensus of archaeologists suggests that the Pharaoh of the Exodus was in fact Rameses “The Great.”

Facial Reconstruction of Ramesses II

Scientists at Liverpool John Moores University and Cairo University reveal the face of Ramesses II using CT scans and software that allow accurate facial reconstruction.

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FaceLab, Liverpool John Moores University, UK

Exodus 2:11
He (Moses) saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his kinsmen.
Wall Painting from the Tomb of Menna, Thebes, Egypt, c. 1350 BCE

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Moses at the Burning Bush
by Rembrandt

Exodus 3:3-4
Moses said, "I must turn aside to look at this marvelous sight; why doesn’t the bush burn up?"

When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him out of the bush: "Moses! Moses!" He answered, "Here I am."

Moses married Jethro’s daughter, Zipporah. One day while shepherding Jethro’s sheep at Mount Horeb, Moses encountered a strange site, that would change his world forever.

Exodus 3:2-4
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. Moses said, "I must turn aside to look at this marvelous sight; why doesn’t the bush burn up?" When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him out of the bush: "Moses! Moses!" He answered, "Here I am."

It is at the burning bush where G-d declared that the time of Redemption is at hand and commissioned Moses to return to Egypt and lead his people to freedom.

Private Collection

The Louvre, Paris

Quota for Brick-making

Exodus 5:18
Pharaoh: “…you must deliver the quota of bricks.”

The Leather Scroll, 1274 BCE
“Yupa, son of Urhiya, (quota of ) 2,000 bricks
1,630 arrived, deficit 370”

Back in Egypt, the Israelites were suffering under the heavy burden of slavery.

Exodus 5:18 recalls the command to deliver the quota for brickmaking.

In the picture is The Leather Scroll circa 1274 BCE from the fifth year of Ramesses II currently displayed in the Louvre. It speaks of one of the brickmakers who failed to deliver his quota: “Yupa, son of Urhiya, (quota of ) 2,000 bricks1,630 arrived, deficit 370”

Straw for Brick-making

Exodus 5:18
Pharaoh: “So go now and work; for you will be given no straw…”

Papyrus Anastasi IV, 1250 BCE

“. . . and there are neither men to make bricks, nor straw.”

Moses, requesting freedom for his people angered Pharoah, and he increased the workload of the Israelites.

Exodus 5:18
And now, go and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet you will deliver the full quota of bricks

In this picture is the Papyrus Anastasi IV (no.4), circa 1250 BCE which speaks of a brick and straw deficit. “
. . . and there are neither men to make bricks, nor straw.”

The British Museum, London

Let My People Go

Exodus 10:3

So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, “This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.'”

G-d sent Moses back to Pharoah with a dire warning that unless Pharoah releases the Israelites, terrible plagues will lay waste the land of Egypt.

Exodus 10:3
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, “This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.'”

Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh by Rembrandt

The Ten Plagues

The Ten Commandments, 1956, Paramount Pictures

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Slaves Escaping into Sinai Are Seen at Migdol

Numbers 33:5-7
“The Israelites set out from Rameses… and they encamped before Migdol.”

Papyrus Anastasi V, c. 1250 BCE
“I was sent forth from the broad halls of the palace... following after two slaves. When I reached the fortress, they told me that the scout had come from the desert saying that they had passed the walled place north of the Migdol.”

The Papyrus Anastasi V (no.5) circa 1250 BCE speaks of two slaves that escaped from Egypt. It mentions Migdol, one of the Israelite encampments on their way to Mount Sinai.
The Papyrus reads as follows: “I was sent forth from the broad halls of the palace... following after two slaves. When I reached the fortress, they told me that the scout had come from the desert saying that they had passed the walled place north of the Migdol.”
The Bible recounts the Israelites camping in Migdol in The Book of Numbers 33:5-7 “The Israelites set out from Rameses… and they encamped before Migdol.”

The British Museum, London

Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museum, Berlin

Moses Breaking the Tablets of the Law
by Rembrandt

Exodus 34:1, 34:28
“Carve two tablets of stone like the first and I will inscribe upon the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you shattered."

And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

Moses finally brought the Israelites to Mount Sinai where they were to receive the Torah; G-d’s Word and Instruction. Due to i dolatry instigated by the mixed multitude in the camp, Moses is forced to break the first pair of tablets on which the Torah was inscribed by the finger of God Himself. After the people repented, Moses made another pair of tablets that were placed inside the Ark of the Covenant.

Exodus 34:1 & 28 “Carve two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will inscribe upon the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you shattered." And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

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The Ten Commandments
In the Dead Sea Scrolls

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1952년에 쿰란 동굴 No.4에서 십계명이 적힌 고대 두루마리가 발견되었습니다. 십계명의 본문은 전통적인 번역본보다 길고, 출애굽기 20:11과 신명기 5:11의 안식일에 대한 율법을 반영하였습니다. 이 두루마리는 쿰란에서 발견된 신명기 사본 중 가장 잘 보존된 것입니다.

Photo by Ardon Bar-Hama
Israel Museum, Jerusalem

Moses by Michelangelo

Exodus 34:30

Aaron and all the Israelites looked at Moses, and behold, his face was radiant. And they were afraid to approach him.

In Jerome’s Vulgate (382 CE), “radiance” is translated as “horns.” Michelangelo’s Moses is depicted with horns on his head.

For centuries, even in America, many people thought that Jews had horns, due to Michelangelo’s Moses.

Exodus 34:30
Aaron and all the Israelites looked at Moses, and behold, his face was beaming with radiance. And they were afraid to approach him.

A ray of light or radiance in Hebrew is pronounced: “Keren”. The same word in Hebrew also means horn. Jerome’s Vulgate written in 382 of the Common Era, translated the Hebrew word Keren in this passage as “horns.”

Michelangelo’s famous marble sculpture, therefore, depicted Moses with horns on his head.
For centuries, even in America, many people thought that Jews had horns, due to Michelangelo’s depiction.

Moses Cannot Enter the Promised Land of Israel

Deuteronomy 32:48-52
That very day the LORD spoke to Moses: “Ascend… to Mount Nebo… and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites as their holding.

…You may view the land from a distance, but you shall not enter it—the land that I am giving to the Israelite people.”

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The Merneptah Stele, 1207 BCE

“Canaan is plundered… Israel is laid waste, its seed is not.”

Egyptian Pharaoh Merneptah recorded his conquest of the people, "Israel" on this victory stele. Working backwards, if the Israelites wandered the wilderness for 40 years, as told in the Bible, then the Exodus could have occurred around 1250 BCE, during the reign of Rameses the Great (1279-1213 BCE).

Egyptian Pharaoh Merneptah recorded his conquest of the people "Israel" in 1207 BCE, on this victory stele, called The Merneptah Stele.
The inscription reads: “Canaan is plundered… Israel is laid waste; its grain is not.”

Since the Pharaoh of the Exodus has often been identified with Ramesses II, Merneptah was his successor, and because the stele names the people of Israel in the land of Canaan, the stele corroborates the biblical timeframe of the Israelite Settlement.

This stele is sometimes called the “Israel Stele” because it contains the earliest extra-biblical reference to Israel as a people. In Egyptian military descriptions, “its grain is not” is a frequently used description of conquered places and seems to refer to the common ancient practice of the victorious army ruining the crops.

"Israel" as written on the Merneptah Stele in hieroglyphs

Egyptian Museum, Cairo

NEW SITE COMING SOON

1300-1200 BCE

Moses And King Tutankhamun,
1332 -1323 BCE

The Pharaoh's Daughter Finds Moses

Pharaoh Rameses II,
“The Great”
1279 - 1213 BCE

Facial Reconstruction of Ramesses II

Moses at the Burning Bush
by Rembrandt

Quota for Brick-making

Straw for Brick-making

Let My People Go

Exodus 10:3

The Ten Plagues

Slaves Escaping into Sinai Are Seen at Migdol

Moses Breaking the Tablets of the Law
by Rembrandt

The Ten Commandments
In the Dead Sea Scrolls

Moses by Michelangelo

Moses Cannot Enter the Promised Land of Israel

The Merneptah Stele, 1207 BCE

The Merneptah or Israelite Stele:
The Israelites Are in the Land of Israel

1300-1200 BCE

Moses And King Tutankhamun,1332 -1323 BCE

The Pharaoh's Daughter Finds Moses

Pharaoh Rameses II, “The Great” 1279 - 1213 BCE

Facial Reconstruction of Ramesses II

Moses at the Burning Bush by Rembrandt

Quota for Brick-making

Straw for Brick-making

Let My People Go

Exodus 10:3

The Ten Plagues

Slaves Escaping into Sinai Are Seen at Migdol

Moses Breaking the Tablets of the Law by Rembrandt

The Ten CommandmentsIn the Dead Sea Scrolls

Moses by Michelangelo

Moses Cannot Enter the Promised Land of Israel

The Merneptah Stele, 1207 BCE

The Merneptah or Israelite Stele:The Israelites Are in the Land of Israel

Moses And King Tutankhamun,
1332 -1323 BCE

Pharaoh Rameses II,
“The Great”
1279 - 1213 BCE

Moses at the Burning Bush
by Rembrandt

Moses Breaking the Tablets of the Law
by Rembrandt

The Ten Commandments
In the Dead Sea Scrolls

The Merneptah or Israelite Stele:
The Israelites Are in the Land of Israel