A thought about dating the Exodus


Earlier this week I heard a class by Rabbi Yoel Elitzur, where he demonstrated why the popular view of the Exodus - for those that believe it happened - happened in the 13th century BCE. Later that day, or the next, I heard a class by Dr. Aryeh Borenstein where he explained why - when accepting the p'shat or simple understanding of the Tanachic text - the Exodus must be dated to 1442 BCE. Both classes were given during the same Charedi archeological convention - Mitachat Lifnei Hashetach 3 - and both lecturers brought mountains of archeological evidence to strengthen their views.

I found it interesting that the Exodus is viewed as a practically timeless event, and it seems that this even extends backwards, to the Exodus itself and even before that, it seems. It appears that the Exodus could, in fact, have happened in many different generations; several different Egyptian dynasties seem to fit.

In the infamous words of Ollivander: "Curious! Very curious."


Or as they say, "From Pharaoh to Pharaoh, there was none like Pharaoh" - "מפרעה עד פרעה לא קם כפרעה".


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