Archeology Reveals the Truth of the Bible: The life and times of Moshe Ben Jechobed

SOLUSI UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES

TOPIC: An exposition of Hebrews 11: 24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, using archaeological discoveries.

A PROJECT PAPER PREPARED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE COURSE

RELH 430 BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.

WRITEN BY

LAMULANI B NGWENYA ID# 2 0 1 2 1 2 0 1 0 2

INSTRUCTOR Dr H NDLOVU

APRIL BLOCK 2017

History is riddled with acts that point to very finger of God.
Recorded in stone or buried in the sands of time are historical
records, featuring biblical characters and their acts. Life can be
equated to a theatrical production. And the performers play their
part. It is the role of archeology to dig up the records of these
people and publish them for the public. Many are such records in
museums and Universities. Such paleontological accounts tell of
stories of great and strange men and women who also made history. In
this paper we are going to examine, the historicity of one female
Pharaoh who raised one of the mightiest leaders of the 17^th
century B.C as is stated in the book of Hebrews that “when he was
come to years, [he] refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s
daughter; (Hebrews 11:24 [KJV])”. This is non other than Moses and
her foster mother Hatshepsut, one of the only female Pharaohs ever.

The story of the life of Moses as is told in the Bible has been target
for Bible critics. Of Special interest was the fact that Moses
couldn't have writen the very books that theologians claim were
written by him. However Cottrell states that;

Bible critics had long ridiculed the idea of a written language at
the time of the exodus; but ...[there is]evidence of an extensive
international correspondence being maintained in patriarchal times¹.

Though the exodus and the events that surround it were hotly debated in the
archaeological world, yet there is sufficient evidence to show that
the historicity of Moses and the exodus can be substantiated. Egypt
was invaded by foreigners, who settled in the Nile delta

The Hyksos...were a people of mixed origins from Western Asia,²who settled in the eastern Nile Delta, some time before 1650 BC. The
arrival of the Hyksos led to the end of the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt and initiated the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt³.

This prepared for the arrival of the Canaanites. These Canaanites
were of the same cultural background with the Hyksos. They both lived
well with each other and they both had an akin spirit of being
Shepherd Kings.

Traditionally, only the Fifteenth Dynasty rulers are called Hyksos.
The Greek name "Hyksos" was coined by Manetho to identify
the Fifteenth Dynasty of Asiatic rulers of northern Egypt. In
Egyptian Hyksos means "ruler(s) of foreign countries",
however, Josephus mistranslated Hyksos as "Shepherd Kings"⁴.
The earlier Fourteenth Dynasty of Egypt had also been West Asian and
Semitic-speaking; however, its pharaohs did not style themselves
"Hyksos", and they seem to have been vassals of the
Thirteenth Dynasty who oversaw a community of Asiatic merchants and
shepherds who had been granted land in the Nile Delta. The Hyksos, by
contrast, were largely Amoritic invaders who, capitalizing on a weak
moment in Egypt's history, managed to conquer the entire country
briefly as far south as Thebes (under Khyan, ca. 1582 BC).

The original Egyptians despised the Hyksos and they did not live in
harmony. Yet the arrival of the Canaanites meant protection for both
the Hyksos and the Canaanites themselves. The Pharaoh that lived in
the time of Joseph was of this cultural sort.

Canaanites first appeared in Egypt towards the end of the 12th
Dynasty c. 1800 BC, and either around that time or c. 1720 BC,
established an independent realm in the eastern Nile Delta. The
Canaanite rulers of the Delta, regrouped in the Fourteenth Dynasty,
coexisted with the Egyptian Thirteenth Dynasty, based in Itjtawy. The
power of the 13th and 14th Dynasties progressively waned, perhaps due
to famine and plague.⁵

This being the background to Biblical narrative, Moses’ birth was
marked by a prior declaration of genocide. The Pharaoh who did not
know Joseph was non other Tutmoses I. He is the one who feared the
rise of the Canaanite population. And upon seeing their prosperity
and their wealth they decided to take them over as slaves.

And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died:
and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they
cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.
(Exodus 2:23 [KJV]).

This Pharaoh’s death ushered in the rise of a group of tribal
Egyptians that weren’t in good books with the Hyksos. These
Pharaohs, the Biblical narrative states, they did not know Joseph,
meaning that they hated the Hyksos.

Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And
he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel
are more and mightier than we; Come on, let us deal wisely with them;
lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out
any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and
so get them up out of the land. (Exodus 1:8-10 [KJV].

Thutmosis I had a daughter, Hatshepsut, but no sons by his primary wife, Queen
Ahmose. Little else is known about Hatshepsut’s birth-date or her
age at death. Thutmosis I did have sons, however, by secondary wives.
One of those sons was Thutmosis II, the next Pharaoh. In accordance
with a custom in the early years of Dynasty 18, Thutmosis II married
his half-sister Hatshepsut, who had been born of the primary wife and
queen, in order to legitimize his religious right to the throne⁶.

Moses in the book of Acts we are told that he was educated in the
learning of the Egyptians. Archeology has shown that were Moses was
educated, was a place called Deir- Al- Bahr.

The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, also known as the Djeser-Djeseru
("Holy of Holies"), is an ancient funerary shrine in Upper
Egypt. Dedicated to the Pharaoh Hatshepsut, it is located beneath the
cliffs at Deir el Bahari, on the west bank of the Nile near the
Valley of the Kings. The mortuary temple is dedicated to the sun god
Amun and is situated next to the mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II,
which served both as an inspiration, and later, a quarry. It is
considered one of the "incomparable monuments of ancient Egypt."

Moses refused to be called the son of the daughter of Pharaoh⁷.
This statement may seem like Moses was a rebellious son who didn't love
His foster mother. However the historical account of this mighty
female Pharaoh, tells us that she was converted to the Hebrew
religion. As is shown by the archaeological finds at the mortuary
temple in Deir el Bahari after the death of Hatshepsut:

Hatshepsut died ca. 1483 BC and Thutmosis III reigned alone for
another 33 years. Whether Hatshepsut died a natural death, or was
murdered, is disputed by Egyptologists. What is known is that many of
Hatshepsut’s monuments and statues were defaced or destroyed after
her departure. Her name was erased from cartouches across the land
and replaced with the names of her father or husband/half-brother⁸.
This would indicate that Thutmosis III acquiesced to removing her
memory, understandable if he had had to play a secondary role to her
during the first 22 years of his reign.

Davis agrees with this interpretation and writes that, “the vengeance
sought upon Moses was not due only to Moses’ murder of an Egyptian
official, but also to his possible association with Hatshepsut”⁹.
The biblical account tells of the death of
Hatshepsut “...and it came to pass
in process of time, that the king of Egypt died... (Exodus 2:23
[KJV])” but does not record how she died. Yet
the Archaeological digs at Deir el Bahari, show the mutilated statues
of and reliefs of Hatshepsut. Indicating that she did convert to a
religion that was monotheistic. Rather the worship of the goat god
Amon. Hence by faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be
called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; (Hebrews 11:24 [KJV])

Archeology is a powerful tool in the study of the Bible and it shows theologians
how life in Biblical times was like. Many people have tried to
explain the meanings of Biblical texts with regard to the Exodus and
the Egyptian Pharaohs, yet without the light of archeology it is
futile to even try. The descent of Hatshepsut to power still remains
a mystery but what is certain is the she being a female Pharaoh she
defied the norms and cultural values of Egypt. Yet the historical
record shows the faithfulness of Moses and the results were the
Spiritual Rebirth of the foster mother of Moses. Only archeology has
clarified the Bible.

1COTTRELL
F R, THE SPADE AND THE BOOK, THE
VOICE OF PROPHECY, Los Angeles, California
,(1947)

2Hyksos
(Egyptian dynasty)". Encyclopædia
Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved April
24 2017.

3Redford
D., Egypt, Canaan and Israel in ancient times,
1992

4Lloyd,
A.B. (1993). Herodotus,
Book II: Commentary, 99-182 v. 3. Brill.
p. 76. ISBN 978-90-04-07737-9. Retrieved April
24, 2017

5Ryholt,
K. S. B.; Bülow-Jacobsen, Adam, The
Political Situation in Egypt During the Second Intermediate Period,
(1997). C. 1800-1550 B.C. Museum Tusculanum Press.
ISBN 978-87-7289-421-8.

6Robins,
G. Women
in Ancient Egypt.
Cambridge MA: Harvard University. (1993)

7By
faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son
of Pharaoh’s daughter; (Hebrews 11:24 [KJV])

8
LoMusio
J, Moses,
the Exodus and a Family Feud.
Archaeology
and Biblical Research 1989

9 Davis,
J. J, Moses
and the Gods of Egypt,
2d edition.
Winona Lake IN: BMH. (1986)