05-28-2026, 01:24 PM
(05-28-2026, 12:54 PM)Datguy Wrote: By the time Josephus drew the connection between Joseph and the Hyksos, Isreal was in open war with Rome. It wasn't long after that the 2nd temple was destroyed by the invading Roman army. This would be about 1600 years after Joseph
Biblical timelines show centuries had passed between the time of Josephs governance in egypt and the hyksos incursions, it would be centuries more before the time of Moses. so no i dont beleive the exodus and the expulsion of the hyksos are even equated through causality.
I also do not ascribe the biblical drought forseen by Joseph as a "great drought" in any term outside a biblical reference, i did not use quotations to depict any significance. There is record of a massive and prolonged drought believed to have been about 2200 bc, but this is likely before the timeline of Joseph, probably before the Isrealites entered Egypt. I have edited out the word "great" from my post, if that helps...
How many great ancient civilizations have attributed their rise or fall to the workers (slaves) who supported them. Regardless, there is more evidence to support the "nation building mythology" of the Isrealites than there is against it. Historically, and within the archeological evidence.
Joseph's "governance of Egypt" is not supported. This leads into "nation building mythology". What is happening here is that the Israelites are "piggy backing" on Egypt. It was their neighbour and sometime ruler for generations, so it's understandable that they make Egypt their "oppressor and bogey man". A change in the religion of the Hebrews from polytheism to henotheism, and I use that word because the Hebrews of Exodus did not deny the existence of other gods, needed a mechanism by which they could create an "evil empire" to justify and explain their new identity. They were engaging in gaslighting and propaganda no less than that which we are subjected to in modern times. They say they were "slaves" in Egypt, yet there is no evidence that the Egyptians ever kept entire peoples as slaves. That they had a form of slavery is not in doubt, but it was never like slavery in Rome, it was more like bonded labour.
You say that there is archaeological evidence to support this, but there is nothing that puts any people calling themselves either Hebrews or Israelites in Egypt. Yes, I know that many people grasp at all sorts of straws as "evidence", but it all falls eventually. Then there are the absolutely ridiculous stories made up about Akhenaten, even by some folks who otherwise seem reasonable and intelligent. Dogma, blind belief in a religion, it is the enemy of truth.
