The video below about the Merneptah Stele, commented on by leading Egyptologist and evangelical scholar James Hoffmeier in situ at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt, forms the topic of this post. Last week I posted Dr. Hoffmeier’s discussion of Darius I Hystaspes’ Suez Inscription. The Merneptah Stele or Stela is powerful and early corroboration of Israel’s presence in Canaan. In the words of agnostic Egyptologist William Dever:
“The Merneptah Stele is … just what skeptics, mistrusting the Hebrew Bible (and archaeology), have always insisted upon as corroborative evidence: an extrabiblical text, securely dated, and free of biblical or pro-Israel bias. What more would it take to convince the naysayers?” (Source cited here and more information)
I would encourage you to watch this video. Then you can tell skeptics who doubt the historicity of early Israel’s presence in Canaan that you have seen the stele mentioning them in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. If you want to see the Merneptah Stele with your own eyes, going to Cairo with Tuktu Tours and Dr. James Hoffmeier in person is a great way to do it. You can also see a nice picture of the Merneptah Stele in the PDF of my work on the Old Testament and archaeology here.
View the video on YouTube by clicking here, or on Rumble by clicking here, or watch the embedded video below:
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–TDR
Thomas, there is certainly enough independent archaeological evidence to place Israel in the land previously known as Canaan, such as this. How much have you looked in to other archaeological evidence from Egypt’s relationship to the region? Dating the Exodus for 1491, as does Jones et al, suggests that Thutmose II (whose mummy shows signs of a skin-deforming illness, as one would expect for someone living in the time of the plagues) was Pharaoh at the time of the Exodus, depending upon chronology. But then you have the battle between Thutmose III and the Hittites in Megiddo shortly before the conquest, and what appear to be a number of Egyptian interactions with Canaanites cities during the era of Judges. Many of these facts do not contradict biblical evidence, but they are not mentioned, and Egypt is never mentioned as a foreign threat to Israel in the time of Judges.
You have a good eye for some of this and I’m curious if you’ve done any work to reconcile these apparent evidences with the Biblical record.
Hello Slim! Thanks for the thoughtful comment.
I think the Exodus happened in 1446 BC, not 1491, but there are a lot of factors to consider, and Egyptian dating and archaeological evidences are not infallible. Whatever Scripture says happened is infallible, and we try to put together the (abundant although still not infallible) evidence as best we can.
Without a lot of specifics, I am not sure exactly what you want me to comment on. I would say that we have to be very careful about arguments from silence. There could be many reasons why the author of the inspired book of Judges could not mention something he was perfectly well aware of.
I found the book:
Five Views on the Exodus Historicity, Chronology, and Theological Implications
Scott Stripling (Contributor), James K. Hoffmeier (Contributor), Gary A. Rendsburg (Contributor), Peter Feinman (Contributor), Ronald Hendel (Contributor), Mark D. Janzen (General Editor)
very interesting. I agree with Stripling’s view, but Hoffmeier (who takes a 13th century Exodus view) also had a lot of good stuff to say refuting those who deny the Exodus ever happened.
Thanks again.
Thomas, I’ll look into that book, thanks.