The size of the Exodus

True. But what was the cause? Hebrew incoming or simply more cultivation due to iron technology?

Agree. There is no archaeological evidence of Exodus from Egypt for such large numbers of persons.

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Biblical chronology is just an attempt to guess when certain events happened.
OT does not usually tell the years in a way that would be easily connected to our calenders - they did not know how many years was to the birth of the promised Messiah. People try to relate biblical events to other historical events that have a guestimated time stamp, such as the years when a ruler probably reigned. Sometimes the guestimates are accurate, sometimes there is a probable time frame (between years xxxx-xxxx), sometimes there are just competing hypotheses.

As far as I know, the exact timing of the Exodus is not known. Attempts to guess the years are based either on what happened in Egypt or what happened in the promised land, after the Exodus.

Based on the thesis of Junkkaala, we can say that the invasion happened somewhere between the raids of Tuthmoses III and Soshenk. That is a wide time frame. There are no archeological findings from the period when the israelites walked from Egypt to the promised land. Cultural remains found from the towns can be dated by using ceramics, radiocarbon or other methods. Even this is uncertain because we can only assume that the cultural change was caused by the invasion of israelites. Yet, it seems that 1200 BC is closer to the truth than 1400 BC, assuming that there are no major flaws in the timing of the cultural remains.

Population increase: Relatively accessible accounts in Finkelstein BAR 14(5):34-45, Zertal BAR 17(5):28-49
Pigs: Stager BAR 17(2):31

Not details that I had memorized when initially reading.

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  • Did Hebrews sing while walking around the whole place, at Canaan and the wall fell? How come later Hebrews didn’t build another wall?

So Israelites felt safe not have a wall?

What tribes usually had walls around their camps to feel safe?

Are there any tribes who regretted not having a wall?

Some archaeological or literary evidence for Exodus from Egypt is available at 1300-1200 BCE. But Biblical chronology suggests Exodus closer to 1400 BCE. Archaeological evidence from Israel is uncertain both at 1200 and 1400 BCE. Does this match with your understanding?
Please give links to Junkalaa if u may.

@paleomalacologist

The link to the thesis is:

He has published 60+ books but these are written in Finnish and most from other topics. No use for those who do not understand Finnish - pity that Finnish did not become the global common language of science, instead of English :wink:

This is less productive than pulling teeth.

Zertal’s work was not without controversy, and, in particular, his claims about Mount Ebal, where he worked for nine years, never gained traction within the wider archaeological community. Many archeologists agree that the structure was a site of an early Israelite cultic activity, however, its identification with Joshua’s altar is disputed.

Stager & Finkelstein were and are United Monarchy men in the battle of OT historicity. As long as we exclude Evangelical and Zionist opinion.

And? At which BAR did they drink?

Ah, the quarterly Biblical Archaeology Review.

I don’t do subscriptions, so this is as far as I can get:

Biblical Archaeology Review 17:5, September/October 1991

Israel Enters Canaan—Following the Pottery Trail

By Adam Zertal

an article over 30 years old

As for pigging it.

Correlation between religious restrictions and the archaeological evidence during the Iron Age I and II appears to be far more complex an issue than we originally thought.

None of which validates the Exodus. Any more than this does.

Nonetheless I’m happy to go along with disinterested archaeology and that ten thousand monotheistic Canaanites migrated back to their homeland over a century just 200 years before the brief United Monarchy. Those are the maximum orders of magnitude that could possibly be involved.

While the Romans typically constructed fortifications around a military camp I doubt this was unusual for a nomadic group of that period. There’s no indication in the bible that they had walls or fortifications.

By now I’m sure you are aware of the discovery of a “curse tablet” at Mt Ebal. This supports the contention that this is the site of Joshua’s altar and the site of the blessings and curses described in Joshua 8.

If there is archeological evidence for both ends of the exodus it is reasonable to conclude the exodus itself happened.

Alleged, it hasn’t yet been written up and peer reviewed. I note it was found in a dump of previously excavated material not in situ which raises concerns on dating and of deliberate forgery. The text as transcribed and translated seems to be a generic curse (it is not a verse from the Bible). It could very easily have been done by someone upset with an unknown thief. At most if the dating and the transcription is correct it would be the earliest known example of YHW (though not it seems YHWH).

Not the absurdly exaggerated Exodus of Exodus.

“Cursed, cursed, cursed - cursed by the God YHW.
You will die cursed.
Cursed you will surely die.
Cursed by YHW – cursed, cursed, cursed.”

If the dating of the tablet to the Late Bronze Age – the 14th to 13th century B.C.E. – is accurate, it is the earliest such tablet by a century or two. Inscribed in proto-alphabetic writing also known as Sinaitic script or proto-Canaanite script, which dates to the Late Bronze Age, the hex text is early Israelite, the team claims.

Consisting of 40 ancient proto-Sinaitic letters on a lead sheet that was subsequently folded, and could only to be read by tomographic scanning…

And nothing whatsoever to do with God as He is, or even the God revealed in and through Jesus.

I can see why nomadic groups don’t build walls, cause they’re wanderer traveler, so that would be impossible to build a wall, compare to those who settle. Lately I learn the word Hebrew means ‘dirty dusty’ due to traveling, so near by people call them ‘Hebrews’ which means dirty dusty., have you ever heard of this?

Romans used stone I would guess., cause look below what it was like for Hebrews in Canaan after Hebrews arrived.

Check this out showing stone Lev 14 begin at verse 33

33Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 34“When you arrive in Canaan, the land I am giving you as your own possession, I may contaminate some of the houses in your land with mildew.h 35The owner of such a house must then go to the priest and say, ‘It appears that my house has some kind of mildew.’ 36Before the priest goes in to inspect the house, he must have the house emptied so nothing inside will be pronounced ceremonially unclean. 37Then the priest will go in and examine the mildew on the walls. If he finds greenish or reddish streaks and the contamination appears to go deeper than the wall’s surface, 38the priest will step outside the door and put the house in quarantine for seven days. 39On the seventh day the priest must return for another inspection. If he finds that the mildew on the walls of the house has spread, 40the priest must order that the stones from those areas be removed. The contaminated material will then be taken outside the town to an area designated as ceremonially unclean. 41Next the inside walls of the entire house must be scraped thoroughly and the scrapings dumped in the unclean place outside the town. 42Other stones will be brought in to replace the ones that were removed, and the walls will be replastered.

43“But if the mildew reappears after all the stones have been replaced and the house has been scraped and replastered, 44the priest must return and inspect the house again. If he finds that the mildew has spread, the walls are clearly contaminated with a serious mildew, and the house is defiled. 45It must be torn down, and all its stones, timbers, and plaster must be carried out of town to the place designated as ceremonially unclean. 46Those who enter the house during the period of quarantine will be ceremonially unclean until evening, 47and all who sleep or eat in the house must wash their clothing.

I thought that was interesting that stones were used in this area and not bake bricks needing straw

if Canaan areas uses stone what was used in Egypt then as the Pharaohs ask Hebrews to gather lots of straw?

When was it discovered? Who discovered it?

More on the Mt Ebal curse tablet:

There’s Nothing There: Responding to Gershon Galil’s Claim of a “Curse Inscription” from Jerusalem

Professor Cargill responds to Prof. Gershon Galil’s recent claim that he has discovered a curse inscription on a stone excavated in Jerusalem back in 2010—an inscription that the original excavators supposedly missed. Coincidentally, the supposed “Jerusalem curse” inscription is remarkably identical to another inscription Galil claims to have identified on a small lead tablet from Mt. Ebal—inscriptions that Cargill calls “fundamentalist Rorschach tests.”

Mud brick. This has been confirmed by archeologists.

Different object found at a different time in a different place.

Try this one.
Did Archaeologists Discover the Oldest Hebrew Text? An Interview with Dr. Jeremiah Johnston

@bharatjj notices all over Indus Valley India baked bricks

@aarceng you shared about archeologist.

But I notice there are other archeologists too. Example confirmed by archeologist about baking burnt bricks needing a lot of straw. Mud bricks hardly uses any straw. So this confuses me about Egypt mud bricks hardly uses straw when Pharaoh cause Hebrews feeling stressed (lack of straw and yet must have same about of bricks) how are these bricks made and in what location., who added Egypt to the Torah?

  • There are archaeologist findings about baking bricks needing a lot of straw. Egypt used stone to build. Rarely made mud bricks using little bit of straw for binding.
  • Pharaoh asked the Hebrews to collect straw for making baked bricks

From book common Prophets on page 198
The Biblical Archaeology Society Staff
says that only 0.6 per cent straw by weight is added as a binder in making mud bricks. A much greater quantity of straw is
required in making baked bricks.

All over Indus Valley India they baked bricks

Egypt uses stone to build, Egypt don’t use baked bricks, so no need for a lot of straw

  • Pharaohs and Hebrews were living in Indus Valley in India

Exodus 5:19 I found this verse interesting because if making mud bricks only then no fear if order to make bricks without straw., I think there’s a way to make mud bricks without straw, however if using little bit of straw its for binding

However to bake bricks that needs a lot of straw., and that caused Hebrews to feel stressed, how are they going to manage this

Exodus 5:19
New International Version
The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day.

Seriously there’s archeologist who study this.

Anything in peer-reviewed archaeology journals?