{"id":5116,"date":"2026-05-08T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thesimpleanswers.com\/articles\/?p=5116"},"modified":"2026-05-07T01:43:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T01:43:53","slug":"the-birth-and-youth-of-moses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesimpleanswers.com\/articles\/2026\/05\/08\/the-birth-and-youth-of-moses\/","title":{"rendered":"The Birth And Youth of Moses"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/span><\/p>\n

The Egyptians, duly impressed by Joseph and his God, were slow to turn on their Hebrew friends. The Bible specifically says it took the lifetime of Joseph, and the death of all those who knew him, before the Egyptians started to oppress the Hebrews.<\/p>\n

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Exodus 1:6-8<\/span><\/strong> Joseph died, as did all his brothers, and all that generation. The children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them. Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who didn\u2019t know Joseph.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This would have taken at least 30 years or so after the death of Joseph, more likely 50 or more. This puts the beginning of the persecution no earlier than the late 12th<\/sup> dynasty, or possibly the early 13th<\/sup> dynasty.<\/p>\n

Israel was still dwelling in the Fayoum\/Goshen in the time of Moses (<\/span>Exodus 9:26<\/span>)<\/span><\/strong>, and Moses was regularly going back and forth between him and the elders of Israel, a journey that is not pictured as lengthy in the Bible.<\/p>\n

This means that Pharaoh and Israel lived fairly close to each other, and since no other capital was near Goshen, Pharaoh must have still had his capital at Ity-tawy. And since no other dynasty but the 12th<\/sup> was based in Ity-tawy, the Pharaoh of the Exodus had<\/em> to have been one of the kings of the 13th<\/sup> dynasty.<\/p>\n

In later texts, this dynasty is usually described as an era of chaos and disorder<\/strong>. However, the period may have been more peaceful than was once thought since the central government in Itj-tawy near the Faiyum was sustained during most of the dynasty<\/strong> and the country remained relatively stable. The period was undoubtedly characterized by decline, with a large number of kings with short reigns and only a few attestations. The true chronology of this dynasty is difficult to determine as there are few monuments dating from the period<\/strong>. Many of the kings\u2019 names are only known from odd fragmentary inscriptions or from scarabs. (Wiki, Dynasty 13)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Furthermore, since the events of the Exodus so badly weakened Egypt that they may not have even had a government left at all, he must have been one of the final<\/em> kings of that dynasty. Regarding the transition between dynasties and the beginning of the persecution, Josephus says\u2026<\/p>\n

And having, in length of time, forgotten the benefits they had received from Joseph, particularly the crown being now come into another family,<\/strong> they became very abusive to the Israelites, and contrived many ways of afflicting them; for they enjoined them to cut a great number of channels for the river<\/em>, and to build walls for their cities and ramparts, that they might restrain the river, and hinder its waters from stagnating, upon its running over its own banks: they set them also to build pyramids<\/strong>. (Josephus)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Between Joseph and Moses the crown \u201ccame into a different family.\u201d So we would expect the persecution to be after the 13th<\/sup> dynasty began, or at least at some point late in the 12th<\/sup> where the family lineage changed. More on that later.<\/p>\n

Josephus also says \u201cthey cut a great number of channels for the river.\u201d Egyptologists tell us there was an immense amount of hydraulic engineering, particularly of the Fayoum, in the Middle Kingdom – which is what we would expect from people with food-security issues and an immense slave-labor source based in Goshen, the Fayoum.<\/em><\/p>\n

By far the most interesting part of the quote says that the Israelites built the pyramids; while the Bible does not explicitly mention pyramids, although it does mention large-scale brickmaking for various projects. But if Josephus is correct here, there is only one possible dynasty for Moses\u2019 timeframe.<\/p>\n

The Old Kingdom pyramids (3rd-6th<\/sup> dynasties), were made of solid stone or rubble cores, not brick. These are the famous pyramids at Giza, the ones on all the postcards. But what many people don\u2019t realize is that the later pyramids were not made of solid stone – they were a stone outer casing surrounding a brick core!<\/em><\/p>\n

This architectural fact alone requires the Exodus to have been in the Middle Kingdom period (11th<\/sup>-13th<\/sup> dynasties). The vast majority were built in the 12th<\/sup> dynasty, although building continued to the end of the 13th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

These were the only large-scale pyramids ever built of brick, meaning that somewhere in this period we will find the Hebrew slaves building bricks and gathering their own straw. It certainly wasn\u2019t any dynasty after the 13th<\/sup>, because large-scale pyramids were never again built in Egypt.<\/em><\/p>\n

And that\u2019s not an accident – the Exodus is the reason<\/em> they were never built again.<\/p>\n

PROOF OF THE EXODUS<\/h3>\n

If you ask Wikipedia about the Exodus narrative, it will tell you the following\u2026<\/p>\n

There is no direct evidence for any of the people or events of Exodus in non-biblical ancient texts or in archaeological remains, and this has led most scholars to omit the Exodus events from comprehensive histories of Israel. (Wiki, Exodus)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When this article is done, you will know that statement to be what it is – the reasoned, sober consensus of the most respected historians and archeologists in the world.<\/p>\n

And one of the dumbest things historians have ever said.<\/p>\n

Because there is so much<\/em> hard evidence, both from the ancient Egyptian historians who describe the river of blood and the chaos following the plagues, and also<\/em> hard archeological evidence of specific, unique events in the Exodus narrative.<\/p>\n

And the worst part is, archeologists have known this for over a century. Near the Fayoum, Sir Flinders Petrie excavated the town of el-Lahun, which commands the canal leading from the Nile into the Fayoum. But the town had a very unusual layout\u2026<\/p>\n

At el-Lahun \u2026 it was evident that the west block was a \u2018barrack-like camp\u2019 or a sort of \u2018dormitory for confined people.\u2019 \u2026 The town planning and the consequent social order at el-Lahun may have imposed a condition of coercion over the population, effectively caging people in \u2018ghetto-quarters\u2019 with the intention of centralizing the resources of thousands of individuals<\/strong>. \u2026 the contextual evidence from el-Lahun that seems to indicate that a punitive institution known as a xnrt<\/em> (\u2018prison,\u2019 \u2018fortress\/enclosure\u2019 or \u2018workcamp\u2019) was in existence in the western part of the town called the Sekhem. (The Ghetto of el-Lahun, Mazzone)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This \u201cworkcamp\u201d was a later addition to the city of el-Lahun, which was built at least as early as Sesostris II for laborers, although some researchers make a strong case it was used as early as Amenemhet I to work on building projects in the Fayoum.<\/p>\n

Originally, these laborers were free citizens, but it was only later, probably after the time of Sesostris III – or, as I believe, even later, under Amenemhet IV – that it was turned into a concentration camp. And what was the ethnicity of these slaves?<\/p>\n

The population of el-Lahun, composed mainly of confined men and women, often of Syrian-Palestinian origins and scarcely motivated by religious devotion to the sovereign,<\/strong> were most likely subject to a certain amount of coercion. Seclusion and beatings were probably common, and were most likely aimed toward subduing the foreigners<\/strong>. There is evidence documenting this in the historical record, in literature and in iconography. The role of foreigners within Egyptian society, a society considered by some to have been liberal in some respects, was clearly one of total subjugation<\/strong>. (The Ghetto of el-Lahun, Mazzone)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So the Fayoum in general, and el-Lahun in particular, had a large population of Syria-Palestinian – i.e., Hebrew –<\/em> slaves forced to work on monumental projects against their will. Just to be clear, I don\u2019t believe this town contained all<\/em> the Hebrews – it was unlikely to have held more than 5,000 people.<\/p>\n

However, the Egyptians had a complex system of forced labor required by all citizens, and there is significant evidence that this and other forced-work camps were for those who refused to voluntarily submit to the work – these, then, would have been the more stubborn Hebrews.<\/p>\n

Slaves, especially of Levantine [i.e., Hebrew] origin were grouped in ghetto camps to perform labor for the state where they lived in harsh conditions, often including beating by their masters. The term for \u201cmale Asiatic\u201d in ancient Egyptian language became synonymous with \u201cslave.\u201d<\/strong> (Wiki, \u201cSlavery in ancient Egypt\u201d)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now Sir Flinders Petrie, when he excavated el-Lahun, was shocked to find an immense amount of valuable and useful artifacts left behind – far more than was discovered at other archeological sites. Forgive the length of the quote, but it\u2019s worth it to see what all was left behind\u2026<\/p>\n

Those wooden hoes, and rakes, and grain-scoops; that curious brick-maker\u2019s mould; those plasterer\u2019s floats and carpenter\u2019s tools; and, most interesting of all, that primitive wooden sickle set with flint-saws, \u2026 the ivory castanets and the painted canvas mask from the House of the Dancer, together with the grotesque little wooden figure of that long-departed ballerina. \u2026 flint and bronze tools, and \u2026 numerous forms of cups, jars, pots, ring-stands, bowls, and other domestic vessels in pottery of that remote period. That so large a number of objects, many of them at that time of considerable value, should have been left in the houses when the town was deserted is very strange, and would seem to point to some sudden panic<\/strong>. The women, for instance, left not only their whorls and their spindles, of which a large number were found, but also a store of dyed wool, not yet spun; the net-makers left their netting-needles, their netting, and the balls of twine which were not yet made up; the weaver left his beam and the flat sticks with which he beat up his weft; and in the shop of a metal-caster were found, not only a fine bronze hatchet ready for sale, but his whole stock-in-trade in the shape of moulds for casting chisels, knives, and hatchets. Bronze mirrors, toilet objects, children\u2019s toys, draught-boxes, amulets, scarabaei, beads, rush-mats, baskets, brushes, and sandals, handbags made to draw with a cord, spoons, combs, and other personal possessions of these people were also found in their houses. (Kahun, Gurob, and Hawara by W. M. Flinders Petrie Review by: Amelia B. Edwards, December 1890)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Under what conceivable circumstances would an entire city of slaves leave behind their most prized possessions, their toys and tools, their wool and their metal – and even more shocking, under what possible circumstances would those artifacts be left untouched for 3,500 years??<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Deuteronomy 16:3<\/span><\/strong> \u2026for you came forth out of the land of Egypt in haste<\/strong>: that you may remember the day when you came forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Why, people who knew they would have no need for hoes and plows, no need for mortar-trowels and whose shoes would not age on their feet for 40 years (<\/span>Deuteronomy 29:5<\/span>)<\/span><\/strong>. People whose freedom from slavery depended on leaving NOW. And in an explicit counterpart of this, Jesus warns His followers that when their own Exodus comes\u2026<\/p>\n

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Matthew 24:16-18<\/span><\/strong> then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take out things that are in his house<\/strong>. Let him who is in the field not return back to get his clothes.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And if this didn\u2019t convince you that this city housed Hebrew slaves before the Exodus, I have one last ace to play. Because there is one more thing that Petrie found at el-Lahun that conclusively proves the Exodus narrative\u2026<\/p>\n

Petrie found wooden boxes buried beneath the floors of many of the houses in the village that he found at Lahun (Fayoum) and dates back to the Middle kingdom. When opened, they were found to contain the skeletons of infants, sometimes two or three in a box, and aged only a few months at death.<\/em><\/strong> (Children\u2019s Burials in Ancient Egypt, Magdy)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Note the agreement between the ages of the dead infants, and the story of the Exodus:<\/p>\n

\n

Exodus 2:1-3<\/span><\/strong> \u2026The woman [Moses\u2019 mother] conceived, and bore a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months<\/strong>. When she could no longer hide him<\/strong>, she took a papyrus basket for him\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Thus, three months was as long as she could keep the baby secret; Moses managed to escape because she let him sail down the river, trusting God to save him; other parents, trusting to themselves to protect their babies, had their babies caught and killed by Pharaoh\u2019s agents at about the same age<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2026beneath the brick floors of the rooms were, however, the best place to search; not only for hidden things, such as a statuette of a dancer and pair of ivory castanets, but also for numerous burials of babies in wooden boxes. These boxes had been made for clothes and household use, but were used to bury infants<\/strong>, often accompanied by necklaces and other things\u2026\u2019. (Kahun, Gurob, and Hawara by Petrie)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Do I need to say it? El-Lahun was a city of Hebrew slaves, forced to build monuments for Pharaoh – yes, pyramids among them, although not the famous ones at Giza – and whose babies were murdered because of Pharaoh\u2019s paranoia that one of them would be the downfall of Egypt.<\/p>\n

And he managed to kill all but the most important one, apparently.<\/p>\n

No archeological evidence of the Exodus, my foot.<\/p>\n

THE BIRTH OF MOSES<\/h3>\n

The Bible kept track of the time between Abraham and the Exodus internally, and using that information we can attach Egyptian chronology to a more secure framework; first, we align Sesostris I\u2019s 25th<\/sup> year with the end of the 7 years\u2019 famine and Joseph\u2019s 45th<\/sup> year.<\/p>\n

Doing that, and using the widely-agreed chronology of the 12th<\/sup> Dynasty (which for once Manetho, monuments, and most Egyptologists agree on), you find the end of the 12th<\/sup> Dynasty in ‑1582<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Now the Bible places the Exodus in ‑1507, at which point Moses was 80 years old. Which means Moses was born in ‑1587 – five years before the end of the 12th<\/sup> dynasty, which cannot be a coincidence. Indeed, it\u2019s a great story.<\/p>\n

Because when you think about it, the story of Moses is very strange. Why would Pharaoh\u2019s daughter adopt a random Hebrew boy, particularly<\/em> in a time of cruel oppression of the same Hebrews by her government?<\/p>\n

Remember, the whole reason Moses\u2019 mother gave him up was that Hebrew boys were to be killed on sight by drowning in the river<\/em> (<\/span>Exodus 1:22<\/span>)<\/span><\/strong>. Yet Pharaoh\u2019s daughter not only didn\u2019t kill him, she adopted him and intended to make him her heir!<\/p>\n

Can you picture the scene? Pharaoh sends out an order to murder all Hebrew boys on sight specifically by casting them into the river<\/em>. A year or so later, Pharaoh\u2019s daughter comes into his throne room all excited \u201cDaddy, daddy, look what I found! A pretty Hebrew boy! Oh, by the way, he\u2019s going to rule Egypt when you\u2019re dead!\u201d<\/p>\n

And then Pharaoh must have been all like \u201cUh, dear, the point<\/em> of throwing the Hebrews in the river was to kill them. No, you can\u2019t keep him. No! Don\u2019t name him! OK, well, yes he is very cute dear, but the Egyptians will never accept him as king. Ok, ok, don\u2019t cry\u2026 fine, yes you can keep him but if he makes a mess you\u2019re cleaning it up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Can you picture that? Me neither. There is simply no way that the king who wanted to kill the Hebrew babies let his daughter adopt one of them and<\/em> make him the heir. Nor is it possible that she would want<\/em> to adopt him, if she had any other choice.<\/p>\n

This sequence of events has never been properly explained, beyond vague gesturing towards \u201cGod\u2019s blessing\u201d and so on. Because it cannot<\/em> be explained if you don\u2019t know the political situation in Egypt at the time!<\/p>\n

Oh, about that. You may he wondering who was king those last five years of the 12th<\/sup> dynasty, the first five years of Moses\u2019 life?<\/p>\n

Well, technically no one. Because the king of Egypt wasn\u2019t a king at all – she was a woman named Sobekneferu. And she began to reign the year after Moses was born.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Which means when she adopted Moses, she was just \u201cPharaoh\u2019s daughter,\u201d but the next year she became Pharaoh herself. How else could she have protected a hated Hebrew boy and made him heir of the throne of Egypt?<\/em><\/p>\n

THE SUCCESSION OF AMENEMHET IV<\/h3>\n

Everyone agrees that Sobekneferu was the daughter of Amenemhet III, identified in the last chapter as the Pharaoh who began the oppression. But as said before, that oppression most likely did not single out Hebrews per se, it just included them as part of a large forced-labor gang.<\/p>\n

After he died, and before Sobekneferu ruled, he was succeeded by Amenemhet IV. No one knows what relationship, if any, Amenemhet IV had to his predecessor but we know he wasn\u2019t<\/em> a son, because Amenemhet III had only daughters – definitely 2, possibly 5.<\/p>\n

These daughters had been groomed to become king themselves, in a very unusual move that indicates he had no male issue. One daughter, Neferuptah, died before she could become king. No one is sure where Amenemhet IV came from or why he ruled for 9 years, but after he died Amenemhet III\u2019s other daughter, Sobekneferu, began to reign and reigned for almost 4 years.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s weird is that Manetho calls Sobekneferu the sister<\/em> of Amenemhet IV, even though Amenemhet III is known to have had no sons! Which means the brother<\/em> of his daughter must be her husband who Amenemhet III adopted!<\/em> And finally, Josephus\u2019 statement makes sense.<\/p>\n

And having, in length of time, forgotten the benefits they had received from Joseph, particularly the crown being now come into another family,<\/strong> they became very abusive to the Israelites, and contrived many ways of afflicting them. (Josephus)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Josephus says the crown \u201ccame into a different family.\u201d This fits perfectly – since Amenemhet IV<\/em> WASa different family. He was adopted<\/em> into the 12th<\/sup> dynasty, but was not a part of it at all. And it makes perfect sense, if you put yourself in Amenemhet III\u2019s shoes.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re an aging king with no male issue, with no choice but to groom your daughters to rule. We know this happened, beyond a doubt. But your patriarchal society strongly questions the ability of your daughters to keep the country in line, so what do you do?<\/em><\/p>\n

You would marry your eldest daughter off to a trusted general or noble<\/strong>, and – to make sure he continued your dynasty – you would adopt<\/em> him as your stepson, whereupon he would take your throne name and become Amenemhet IV.<\/p>\n

When he in turn died he, too, left no heirs so his wife, Pharaoh\u2019s daughter,<\/em> ruled in his stead.<\/p>\n

SOBEK ANSWERED<\/h3>\n

But before he died, still childless, Sobekneferu went down to the river to bathe. This is a curious event, but it doesn\u2019t jump off the page to us today because we don\u2019t realize that princesses don\u2019t have to take a bath in the river!<\/em> She had a perfectly nice tub in the palace.<\/p>\n

And she didn\u2019t just happen<\/em> to go for a swim; because to the Egyptians, the gods of the Nile, Hapi and\/or Sobek, were the gods of life and fertility. Bathing in the Nile, then, was one of the rites a woman would perform to get pregnant.<\/p>\n

So imagine yourself praying to God for a baby, then one floats by in a basket. You would certainly take it as a sign that your prayer had, quite literally, been answered. Now consider the following quote:<\/p>\n

She was the first ruler to have a theophoric association with the crocodile god Sobek, whose identity appears in both her given nomen Sobekneferu and her chosen praenomen Sobekkare. (Wiki, Sobekneferu)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So she was the first ruler to ever use \u201cSobek\u201d in a throne name. There has<\/em> to be a reason for that. But when you realize that Sobek is the crocodile god of the Nile associated with childbirth, and that the Nile gave her the baby she prayed for\u2026<\/em> well it make sense, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

The origin of his name, Sbk in Egyptian, is debated among scholars, but many believe that it is derived from a causative of the verb \u201cto impregnate.\u201d (Wiki, Sobek)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These things, and her willingness to adopt a random boy, tell us she was barren and that she believed God had literally given her a child to answer her prayer – which in fact, He did, although it was not the God she thought it was.<\/p>\n

THE SLAUGHTER OF BABIES<\/h3>\n

But this also<\/em> tells us that when Moses was born, her husband was still alive. What\u2019s the point of praying for fertility, if you don\u2019t have a man to do the fertilizing? And given that he ruled for ten years, he must have been the same man who gave the following order\u2026<\/p>\n

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Exodus 1:22<\/span><\/strong> And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Pharaoh wanted to oppress the people, and reduce their population, but this is a very poor way of doing it. If you want the population to die out, you kill females, not males. So why would Pharaoh attack male infants in this way? The Bible doesn\u2019t tell us. But Josephus does\u2026<\/p>\n

One of those sacred [Egyptian] scribes, who are very sagacious in foretelling future events truly, told the king, that about this time there would a child be born to the Israelites, who, if he were reared, would bring the Egyptian dominion low, and would raise the Israelites;<\/strong> that he would excel all men in virtue, and obtain a glory that would be remembered through all ages. Which thing was so feared by the king, that, according to this man\u2019s opinion, he commanded that they should cast every male child, which was born to the Israelites, into the river, and destroy it;<\/strong> that besides this, the Egyptian midwives should watch the labors of the Hebrew women, and observe what is born, for those were the women who were enjoined to do the office of midwives to them; and by reason of their relation to the king, would not transgress his commands. He enjoined also, that if any parents should disobey him, and venture to save their male children alive, they and their families should be destroyed<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Josephus claims that Moses was prophesied by one of Amenemhet IV\u2019s magicians to overthrow Egypt; and that<\/em> was why all male Hebrew children were killed. Not as population control, but specifically to get rid of a potential competitor to the Egyptian throne!<\/p>\n

This also explains why he turned to oppress the Hebrews, particularly; Amenemhet III had used the labor of everyone, Egyptians and Hebrew alike; but after this prophecy, Amenemhet started to fear the Hebrews and so set out to exterminate them, starting with male children.<\/em><\/p>\n

Which, as has already been pointed out, is conclusively confirmed from archeology by an abundance of infant burials below houses in a concentration camp in precisely the area of Egypt we locate Goshen – in El-Lahun, in the Fayoum.<\/p>\n

But why just kill the adults, when you can work them to death? Thus, we finally know why<\/em> the mood shifted in Egypt. In fact, it\u2019s exactly what happened with Herod; the wise men told Herod that Jesus would be the king of the Jews.<\/p>\n

And as it happened, Herod was also king of the Jews – and a very paranoid one at that. So Herod commanded to kill every child that could possibly<\/em> be his replacement, killing every one under 2 years old.<\/p>\n

The fact that the Bible likes patterns, and that in a way Moses and Jesus were representative of each other as lawgivers and saviors, it stands to reason that something similar might have motivated Pharoah. That makes us inclined to believe that Josephus\u2019 story was based in fact.<\/p>\n

In the time of Herod, the infant Jesus escaped – oddly enough, to Egypt – where He hid for 2 years until God told Joseph in a dream that it was safe to return as \u201cthose who sought the young child\u2019s life are dead\u201d (<\/span>Matthew 2:20<\/span>)<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

So just to keep with the pattern, I\u2019m going to say that this edict of Amenemhet IV to kill all the male children went forth 2 years before the birth of Moses, in ‑1589. At this point, Sobekneferu was not yet sole ruler; just a childless mother trying to perpetuate her father\u2019s dynasty.<\/p>\n

THE ADOPTION OF MOSES<\/h3>\n

Moses was born in ‑1587, the year before Sobekneferu became queen. This cannot be a coincidence nor did we have to fiddle with the numbers to make this fit; it\u2019s simply a result of aligning Joseph\u2019s famine with that of Sesostris, and following the firmly established internal chronology as established by Egyptologists for the 12th<\/sup> Dynasty.<\/p>\n

The reason that the exact date is so important is, as mentioned above, it\u2019s impossible to imagine that Sobekneferu came in and said \u201cDaddy, look at the cute Hebrew boy I\u2019m adopting!\u201d But can you POSSIBLY<\/em> imagine this Pharaoh approving of one of the very babies he himself had ordered cast in the river being dragged out of it by his daughter and becoming his own heir??<\/em><\/strong> I mean\u2026 he was killing them SPECIFICALLY so that wouldn\u2019t happen!!<\/p>\n

Josephus claimed that Pharaoh was consenting to the arrangement, but here I must disagree with him; it is unthinkable to me that the same Pharaoh who ordered this to happen tolerated Pharaoh\u2019s daughter choosing one of these babies as his heir.<\/p>\n

And if, as we believe, the Pharaoh at the time was her husband, not her father, as we believe, it would have gone even worse. There is no way<\/em> a Pharaoh young enough to have his own children would have even considered making a random Egyptian<\/em> boy his heir, much less<\/em> a Hebrew whose race he was trying to exterminate.<\/p>\n

Yet the Bible comes to the rescue with a perfectly fitting explanation; now put yourself in Sobekneferu\u2019s shoes; you\u2019re a young woman desperate for an heir to carry on your father\u2019s dynasty, and you pray to Sobek for a baby and you get one. Why don\u2019t you take him home with you on the spot??<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Exodus 2:8-10<\/span><\/strong> Pharaoh\u2019s daughter said to her, \u201cGo.\u201d The maiden went and called the child\u2019s mother. Pharaoh\u2019s daughter said to her, \u201cTake this child away<\/strong>, and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.\u201d The woman took the child, and nursed it. The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh\u2019s daughter, and he became her son<\/strong>. She named him Moses, and said, \u201cBecause I drew him out of the water.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

She didn\u2019t dare<\/em> bring him home with her because she knew her husband had commanded to kill all such babies on sight!<\/em> Why else would she send away a child she obviously loved at first sight?<\/p>\n

\n

Exodus 2:6-7<\/span><\/strong> \u2026and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews\u2019 children<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So while her husband was still alive, Sobekneferu, barren, went to the river to pray for a child from the god Sobek. She saw Moses, loved him, and determined to make him her heir but didn\u2019t tell her husband.<\/em> She didn\u2019t dare – she sent him off to be raised by his own parents.<\/em><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, according to our timeline, her husband died; on her accession she chose a name honoring Sobek, the same god who had given her Moses – the first ruler of Egypt to ever do so.<\/em> With her father and husband dead, she was left as sole ruler of Egypt and in a position to adopt whomever she felt like.<\/p>\n

But not without consequences. But before we tell that story, we have to talk about the 13th<\/sup> dynasty which succeeded the 12th<\/sup> after the end of Sobekneferu\u2019s reign.<\/p>\n

THE THIRTEENTH DYNASTY<\/h3>\n

We are confident that the Exodus happened after<\/em> the 12th<\/sup> dynasty; most likely in the 13th<\/sup> dynasty. Since the Exodus was meant to ruin Egypt, it would certainly have spelt the end of that dynasty – which means that the Pharaoh of the Exodus was almost certainly the final king of the 13th<\/sup> dynasty.<\/p>\n

But if we align the final king of the 13th<\/sup> dynasty with the Exodus and counting backwards, we find the beginning of the 13th<\/sup> dynasty in ‑1634. This overlaps badly with the end of the 12th<\/sup> dynasty, creating a problem we must resolve. Fortunately, the solution is easy.<\/p>\n

Stephen Quirke proposed, based on the numerosity of kingships and brevity of their rule, that a rotating succession of kings from Egypt\u2019s most powerful families took the throne<\/strong>. They retained Itj-tawy as their capital through the Thirteenth<\/sup> Dynasty. Their role, however, was relegated to a reduced status and power rested within the administration. It is generally accepted that Egypt remained unified until late into the dynasty. (Wiki, Sobekneferu)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Given that all of the early 13th<\/sup> dynasty kings had extremely short reigns, historians have guessed that they may perhaps have been elected or chosen from among Egypt\u2019s powerful families\u2026 and they\u2019re almost right: they were chosen,<\/em> by the Pharaohs of the 12th<\/sup> dynasty\u2026 because they were vassals.<\/p>\n

In reading what little we know of these kings, most of whom ruled less than 3 years, it frequently appears that they \u201chad a military background.\u201d This is because for the first 60 or so years of this dynasty, they were not Pharaohs at all, but vassals<\/em> of the kings at Ity-tawy.<\/p>\n

If our construction is right, the first of these \u201ckings\u201d began to \u201creign\u201d in ‑1632, the 25th<\/sup> year of Sesostris III. So it\u2019s very interesting that it was just at that point that the government of Egypt was reorganized to place a powerful semi-king at Thebes!<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Senusret III did install other officials (based at the royal court) as governors of very large sections of the country,<\/strong> and in this way made a sharp break with practices of the past. Two bureaus (waret) were created, one each for the northern and southern areas of Egypt,<\/strong> operated by a hierarchy of officials\u2026 (Oxford history of ancient Egypt)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Note that they governed the upper and lower<\/em> sections of the country – meaning one would be the extremely powerful governor of the southern areas of Egypt in Thebes, and the other would govern the north from Xois, centrally located in the delta. These are known to history as the 13th<\/sup> and 14th<\/sup> dynasties, respectively.<\/p>\n

But one interesting fact is that both were based at the royal court in Ity-tawy!<\/em> Egyptologists can\u2019t explain why kings of the 13th<\/sup> dynasty seemed to rule both at Ity-tawy and Thebes. But we can\u2026 they seemed to rule in both places because they did!<\/em> Their capital was Thebes, but they were based at the royal court in Ity-Tawy!<\/p>\n

Further, this explains why their reigns are so short; simply because they were appointed and replaced at the whim of the kings of the 12th<\/sup> Dynasty. Many have a military background because they were chosen from the higher ranks of the army, a common source for governor appointments.<\/p>\n

In the chart below I\u2019ve summed the first 25 kings (who are too numerous to display on the chart), but none of whose reigns surpassed 5 years (and most were far shorter). But then, all of a sudden the reign lengths change from 1, 2, or 3 years to 11, 10, 22, etc. Why?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Well, notice that the first lengthy reign was that of Neferhotep I in ‑1583<\/strong>. What was happening at that time in Dynasty 12? There is a green arrow above to show the alignment with the beginning of Neferhotep I and the final ruler of the 12th<\/sup> dynasty, Sobekneferu; and it shows that Neferhotep began to rule one year before the end of the dynasty in ‑1582.<\/p>\n

It can\u2019t be a coincidence that the end of the short \u201cappointed\u201d reigns starts with Neferhotep I at the exact same time as the end of the 12th<\/sup> Dynasty!<\/strong> He was the first \u201cPharaoh\u201d in this dynasty to rule longer than 5 years because he was the first person who ruled as Pharaoh at all!<\/em><\/p>\n

The grandson of a non-royal townsman from a Theban family with a military background,<\/strong> Neferhotep I\u2019s relation to his predecessor Sobekhotep III is unclear and he may have usurped the throne. (Wiki, Neferhotep)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

His \u201cmilitary background\u201d explains how his coup was successful, since the best coups come with an army behind them. So for the balance of the 13th<\/sup> Dynasty, until Merhotepre Ini, we see more normal reign lengths, as we would expect from the dominant dynasty at the time.<\/p>\n

After the death of Queen Neferusobek, the decision was made to move the capital to Thebes in the south,<\/strong> which had the effect of reducing northern control. This was the beginning of the end for the Middle Kingdom. (https:\/\/pharaoh.se\/ancient-egypt\/period\/second-intermediate-period\/)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The order of reading Egyptian hieroglyphs is tricky, it can be done forwards or backwards and in some cases even more randomly. But suffice it to say that Neferusobek is the same person as Sobekneferu. Also, there is no evidence that Sobekneferu died at this point, and we have reasons to believe otherwise as I will explain soon.<\/p>\n

Regardless, this shows us that the capital<\/em> was moved to Thebes after Sobekneferu, at the end of the 12th<\/sup> dynasty. Yet we learned above that the capital was moved to Thebes at the end of the 13th<\/sup> Dynasty. Both are true<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The 13th<\/sup> Dynasty governors had always been<\/em> based in Thebes, but when Neferhotep I conquered Ity-tawy and replaced Sobekneferu they moved to Ity-tawy, the center of the empire; when Merhotepre Ini died, they retreated to what had always been their home!<\/p>\n

All of this lets us conclude that in ‑1582, give or take a year or two, the vassal governor of Thebes decided to rebel against his erstwhile masters in Ity-tawy. This is generally agreed upon by Egyptologists, except the identity of the rebel – they assume, with no evidence, that it was the first king of the 13th<\/sup> dynasty when in fact it was Neferhotep I, the first non-puppet of the 13th<\/sup> dynasty<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s interesting is that no Egyptologist can tell you why he rebelled in the first place\u2026 but the Bible can. Because he was rebelling for two very good reasons; the first one is obvious; Sobekneferu was a woman. One of the first to hold sole rule, and the first woman we know of to rule as a king,<\/em> and not a queen<\/em> (there\u2019s a difference to the Egyptians).<\/p>\n

And the second reason – and I think, probably even more offensive to the Theban governors of the 13th<\/sup> dynasty – Sobekneferu intended to make the son of a slave the Pharaoh of Egypt. So really, the birth of Moses is to blame for independence of the 13th<\/sup> dynasty.<\/p>\n

MOSES\u2019 STEPDAD<\/h3>\n

This allows us to finally tell the story; because a lone woman whose unpopular choice in heirs was a target too tempting for the powerful general that ruled Thebes to resist. And yet the fact that Moses was not killed in the coup strongly suggests that Sobekneferu was also not killed.<\/p>\n

\n

Acts 7:20-23<\/span><\/strong> In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father\u2019s house three months: And when he was cast out, Pharaoh\u2019s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son<\/strong>. And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds<\/strong>. And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

At the time of the fall of the 12th<\/sup> Dynasty, Moses would have been 5 years old, and yet went on to be educated in \u201cin all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds\u201d<\/em> (<\/span>Acts 7:20<\/span>)<\/span><\/strong>. Which means some royal protector kept a watch over him – and who else but Sobekneferu?<\/p>\n

The 13th<\/sup> dynasty was no friend to the Hebrews, as we see by the fact that the oppression continued throughout the entire dynasty; for if it had stopped, why would the Hebrews have needed<\/em> to be rescued from their bondage?<\/p>\n

How could such people possibly tolerate Moses\u2019 existence, being – as he truly was – a threat to their power. He must have had a powerful patron, and that can only have been Sobekneferu who cannot therefore have been dead.<\/em><\/p>\n

So ask yourself; you\u2019re Neferhotep I, the de-facto king of upper Egypt, but want to be king of all<\/em> Egypt. You can go to war against lower Egypt and maybe win, maybe lose. Or you could form an alliance – one that leaves you as king, yet yields some autonomy to Ity-tawy.<\/p>\n

Then imagine yourself as Sobekneferu, an unpopular widow facing an uprising from the south. Neferhotep might not win, but you would likely die in the process. Better to sue for peace, to extract certain guarantees from the soon-to-be-Pharaoh, and give Moses a chance to grow up and one day take back the throne for your house<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

And the best way to legitimize an alliance like that would be\u2026 a royal wedding.<\/p>\n

Hence, we can conclude that Neferhotep showed up at Ity-tawy with his army behind him and told the widow-queen Sobekneferu she could marry him or there would be civil war. She agreed, but retained enough power from her loyal court to prevent Neferhotep from killing Moses or preventing his education.<\/p>\n

As long as she lived, she protected him and made sure he knew everything he needed to be a Pharaoh; still nursing the hope that one day he would be king. Which, in a manner of speaking, he would be. Just not of the Egyptians.<\/p>\n

\n

Deuteronomy 33:4-5<\/span><\/strong> Moses commanded us a law, An inheritance for the assembly of Jacob. He was king in Jeshurun<\/strong>, When the heads of the people were gathered, All the tribes of Israel together.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

THE LIFE OF MOSES<\/h3>\n

We have very little information about Moses\u2019 life. We know he was educated to be a Pharaoh, and from Egyptian history we know that would have included the ability to read and write in hieroglyphics and hieratic (let\u2019s just say, cursive hieroglyphics) – and probably some other languages as well.<\/p>\n

We know his education would have included a great deal of mathematics and astronomy\/astrology (the division is nonexistent in ancient cultures). He would have been taught the Egyptian calendar systems, and the various mythologies and sacrificial systems of the Egyptians, since Pharaoh was expected to be a sort of high priest for the country as well, a bridge between the human and the divine.<\/p>\n

Stephen tells us he was \u201cmighty in word and deed,\u201d which means he was also taught Pharaoh-like masculine skills like hunting and the various martial arts. Josephus told us that Moses was a general for the Egyptians who fought against an Ethiopian (Nubian to the Egyptians) invasion; this may or may not be true, just quoting it for what it\u2019s worth.<\/p>\n

Egypt was becoming weaker during this dynasty, and more susceptible to invasions from the north and the south; we do know that there were \u201chappenings\u201d in Nubia in this period, which led to their independence around the time of Moses\u2019 departure from Egypt.<\/em><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, enough evidence has survived of the reign of Sobekhotep IV [-1572-1562] to suggest that he had all the hallmarks of a strong king, and continued to hold some control over Nubia<\/strong>, where two of the king\u2019s statues were found south of the third cataract (other statues of this king survived reused at Tanis). It was, however, during the reign of Sobekhotep IV that the first signs of revolt emerged in Nubia, which was eventually to slip out of Egyptian control<\/strong>, to be ruled instead by a line of Nubian kings based at Kerma. (Oxford History of Ancient Egypt)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Moses would have been around 25 at the time of this Pharaoh\u2019s death. Nubia was lost by the time of the end of the 13th<\/sup> Dynasty, so the idea that there was a Nubian invasion as Josephus describes isn\u2019t impossible – it\u2019s not like the Egyptians would have bragged about being invaded, nor would they have wanted to give Moses credit, so it might have been an event better left forgotten.<\/p>\n

What we do know for certain is that much later in life, Aaron and Miriam complained about Moses\u2019 Ethiopian wife. The Bible doesn\u2019t say where she came from, but Josephus said that it was during his counter-invasion as head of the Egyptian armies that he encountered and married a princess of Ethiopia.<\/p>\n

That might not be true, but I do know one thing; Ethiopia is not<\/em> on the way between Egypt and Midian; so if that\u2019s not<\/em> how he met his Ethiopian wife, I don\u2019t know how it would have ever happened given what we know about his life.<\/p>\n

Since she doesn\u2019t appear in the narrative in Midian, where Moses married another wife, it\u2019s likely she remained behind in Egypt when he fled. This was not so uncommon; compare to David leaving behind his wives on several occasions (<\/span>1 Samuel 19:11-13<\/span>,<\/span> 1 Samuel 30<\/span>,<\/span> 2 Samuel 15:16<\/span><\/strong>, etc.).<\/p>\n

Josephus also said that it was Moses\u2019 fame for delivering Egypt from Ethiopia that led the Egyptians to plot to kill him – here contradicting, or at least adding to, the Bible\u2019s statement that it was his fear about the Egyptian he killed which Pharaoh tried to kill him for.<\/p>\n

This Pharaoh who tried to kill Moses was probably Sobekhotep V, although possibly one king earlier or later (this part of the 13th<\/sup> Dynasty is give-or-take a decade or so, as historians are very unsure of the reign lengths).<\/p>\n

What\u2019s strange is that the kings of Egypt had probably wanted to kill Moses his whole life. Why did this one<\/em> time finally scare him into leaving? The answer is obvious; Sobekneferu must have recently died.<\/p>\n

Consider that she was still child-bearing age when she was praying to Sobek at Moses\u2019 birth – thus, 20-40 years old; if so, then she would be 60-80 or so when Moses fled. A normal lifespan, even a bit long for the age. And consider also what the Bible said Moses did at this time\u2026<\/p>\n

\n

Acts 7:23<\/strong> But when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers<\/strong>, the children of Israel<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Why did it take 40 years before this \u201ccame into his heart?\u201d Easy; what happens when you lose family? You reach out to what family you have left.<\/em> Moses knew that without Sobekneferu he had no \u201cfamily\u201d among the Egyptians. He knew they were jealous of him and hated him. So he was looking for family<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This, ironically, led to him losing everything because after killing the Egyptian, he no longer had mommy to protect him from the Egyptians<\/strong>. So he fled to Midian, presumably without parting the Red Sea this time, and without his Ethiopian wife.<\/p>\n

Which means he either snuck on a boat, or more likely went north across the Sinai desert (not south like the Israelites would later do); Josephus says he avoided the roads and snuck through the deserts, which is certainly what I would have done.<\/p>\n

Arriving in Midian he did a favor for some girls at a well, whereupon their father invited him to live with them and married his daughter to him. He had two children, whose names indicate his state of mind:<\/p>\n

\n

Exodus 18:3-4<\/span><\/strong> \u2026The name of one son was Gershom, for Moses said, \u201cI have lived as a foreigner in a foreign land.\u201d The name of the other was Eliezer, for he said, \u201cMy father\u2019s God was my help and delivered me from Pharaoh\u2019s sword.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

These names show that, while Moses was grateful to be alive, he was homesick. Who wouldn\u2019t be? And the next forty years passed before he knew it! Just kidding. I\u2019m sure they seemed like\u2026 well, forty years.<\/p>\n

FORTY BORING YEARS<\/h3>\n

We know nothing specific about what happened during Moses\u2019 time in Midian, except that he tended sheep for his father-in-law (<\/span>Exodus 3:1<\/span>)<\/span><\/strong>. But we can infer some things. Remember, Moses was a highly intelligent, highly educated, cultured individual used to the palace life. Becoming a shepherd had to be an\u2026 adjustment, to say the least.<\/p>\n

A mind like his couldn\u2019t have been idle; a shepherd has a lot of time to think, and his thoughts would certainly have been with his oppressed brethren back in Egypt. And as we know from every political exile in history, they spend their time in exile plotting and preparing to return and free their kinsmen.<\/p>\n

And so what would a highly educated, motivated, intelligent, and mind-numbingly bored<\/em> man of his time do? With no dancing girls, chariot races, hunting parties, musicians and feasting to keep him busy, what would he do?<\/em><\/p>\n

You\u2019re going to love this one.<\/p>\n

These words you are reading are an alphabetic script in the Latin alphabet. We inherited these letters, naturally enough, from Latin. Latin learned them from Greek – with a few modifications to fit the sounds of Latin.<\/p>\n

The Greeks learned them, again with modifications to suit Greek (including the addition of proper vowels) from the Phoenician traders who brought them from the Canaanite towns on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean.<\/p>\n

The Phoenicians spoke Canaanite which, like Hebrew, is a Semitic language. In fact, in those days it was probably very similar, probably even mutually intelligible. And the Phoenician\/Canaanite script is, as far as historians can tell, the first alphabetic script in the world.<\/p>\n

And where do you suppose the earliest examples of this writing were discovered? Care to guess? Canaan? Nope. You\u2019d think so, right? You\u2019d naturally assume that Canaanite scripts came from Canaan\u2026 but nope.<\/p>\n

Ok, fine; you guess Syria? Nope. Aram? Nope. You could guess all day, and you\u2019ll never guess where the first examples of Semitic script – the writing system of Phoenician and Hebrew – came from.<\/p>\n

The first alphabetic writing was developed by workers in the Sinai Peninsula<\/strong> to write West Semitic languages c.\u20091800 BC, \u201cin the context of cultural exchanges between Semitic-speaking people from the Levant and communities in Egypt.\u201d This earliest attested form is known as the Proto-Sinaitic script\u2026<\/strong> (Wiki, history of writing)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The first examples of alphabetic writing and the Phoenician script are found, not in Canaan, but in EGYPT!<\/em><\/strong> There has to be a great story there. This fact deserves an explanation, and no historian can provide a better one than \u201cminers interested in foreign cultures.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s laughable ideas like this that scientists and historians have to invent to get around obvious facts that make my job so easy sometimes. Because slaves in mines have lots of free time for cultural exchanges, right? Miners are well known for attending the ballet and writing poetry, right?<\/p>\n

Does it make sense to you that miners,<\/em> slaves at that, were interested in \u201ccultural exchanges\u201d to the point that creating an alphabet<\/em> was necessary? And that they had the education required to construct one? What possible use<\/em> could a mine-slave have to write down his language??<\/em><\/p>\n

The generic word for Aamu (\u2018male Asiatic\u2019), became synonymous with \u2018slave\u2019 to indicate those condemned to live on the fringes of Egyptian society, in awful conditions, occupied in heavy labor in the mines and in the quarries of the eastern desert<\/strong>. The term Xsy (\u2018miserable,\u2019 \u2018wretched\u2019 or \u2018vile\u2019) is often associated with it. Lorton noted that in the context of the Instruction for King Merikare this emphasizes the misery of their daily life<\/strong> and their hopeless situation. (The Ghetto of el-Lahun, Mazzone)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mines have never been a joyful place to work where cultural sharing and intellectual curiosity was nurtured. These mines, in particular, were where Egypt sent people as a punishment. Do people in \u201cthe misery of their daily life\u201d invent alphabets to improve their \u201chopeless situation?\u201d Really?<\/em><\/p>\n

The site\u2019s name is derived from these as well, with \u2018Serabit el-Khadim\u2019 translating to \u201cColumns of the Slave,\u201d in reference to the tall inscribed columns that make up and surround the temple. The copper and turquoise mines at the site were in use throughout the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom periods. The mines were worked by prisoners of war from southwest Asia who presumably spoke a Northwest Semitic language, such as the Canaanite that was ancestral to Phoenician and Hebrew.<\/em><\/strong> (Wiki, Serabit el-Khadim)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Again, it is merely an assumption<\/em> that these were prisoners of war and not the Hebrew contemporaries of Moses which at least the majority of them in fact were. So we reject outright the idea that this was enlightened Semites who wanted to be able to record for posterity the joy of working in the mines, and look for a completely different motive for these inscriptions.<\/p>\n

This earliest attested form is known as the Proto-Sinaitic script, and it adapted concepts and at least some of its written letterforms from Egyptian hieroglyphic writing<\/em>;<\/strong> it adopted wholly West Semitic sound values for its letters, as opposed to adapting existing Egyptian ones. (Wiki, history of writing)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And we find our reason in the fact that the Hebrew writing system was adapted from the EGYPTIAN WRITING SYSTEM!<\/strong> I can\u2019t stress this enough. The writing system of Semitic peoples was made based on Egyptian writing.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Which means that somewhere, someone who spokeboth Egyptian and<\/em> Hebrew or Canaanite, and who knew how to write Egyptian,<\/em> sat down one day with a stick and decided to create a way of expressing words in Hebrew in their own native script.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Starting to guess what Moses might have done for 40 years now?<\/p>\n

And this happened, according to historians, \u201ccirca 1800 BC.\u201d They arrived at this number based on the names of the Pharaohs who exploited these mines. This of course, means that their dates are off by several hundred years, just as their dating of those Pharaohs are off.<\/p>\n

But guess who was, according to historians, on the throne of Egypt in 1800 BC? (You\u2019re gonna love this!) The king of Egypt in 1800 BC according to Egyptologists was\u2026<\/p>\n

Drumroll please\u2026<\/p>\n

Sobekneferu, Moses\u2019 stepmom! Whom we date to ‑1587. Which means the earliest examples of semitic writing systems date to roughly the time of MOSES!<\/strong><\/p>\n

MEANS, MOSES, OPPORTUNITY<\/h3>\n

So alphabetic writing was invented in the time of Moses, but was it invented by<\/em> Moses? Well, we know for a fact that Moses wrote things down in a book (<\/span>Deuteronomy 31:24<\/span>)<\/span><\/strong>, and he certainly didn\u2019t do it in Egyptian. Therefore, it happened before then.<\/p>\n

Even traditional historians agree that alphabetic writing was invented somewhere around his era (once the Pharaohs are put in their proper timeline). So if he didn\u2019t invent it, then he certainly knew the guy who did.<\/p>\n

We know, from Stephen, that he was \u201cmighty in words,\u201d skilled in \u201call the wisdom of the Egyptians,\u201d which means he had the necessary ability. We know he had the time. And he lived at the right time in history.<\/p>\n

We also know that he was a \u201cHebrew nationalist,\u201d who longed to free his people from Egypt, and give them a national identity, telling the Egyptians that Yahweh had said \u201clet my people go!\u201d One thing that commonly happens with newborn nations is that they make a script designed for their language, and abandon the script of their colonizers.<\/p>\n

A relatively recent example of this is Turkey under Mustafa Kamal Ataturk; having just freed themselves from the Ottomans and the British, Ataturk instituted a western alphabet to replace the Arabic one – adapting letters as necessary to express sounds that only exist in Turkish. As Ataturk\u2019s successor described it\u2026<\/p>\n

The alphabet reform cannot be attributed to ease of reading and writing. That was the motive of Enver Pasha. For us, the big impact and the benefit of an alphabet reform was that it eased the way to cultural reform. We inevitably lost our connection with Arabic culture<\/strong>. (Wiki, Turkish alphabet)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The historian Bernard Lewis has described the introduction of the new alphabet as \u201cnot so much practical as pedagogical, as social and cultural<\/strong> – and Mustafa Kemal, in forcing his people to accept it, was slamming a door on the past as well as opening a door to the future\u201d<\/strong> \u2026 Atat\u00fcrk told his friend Falih R\u0131fk\u0131 Atay, who was on the government\u2019s Language Commission, that by carrying out the reform, \u201cwe were going to cleanse the Turkish mind from its Arabic roots.\u201d<\/strong> (Wiki, Turkish alphabet)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Just as we know the Israelites needed to \u201close their connection to Egyptian culture.\u201d Substitute \u201cIsraelite\u201d for \u201cTurkish\u201d and \u201cEgyptian\u201d for \u201cArabic,\u201d and you would have the exact mindset Moses (and God) would have had about the Exodus.<\/p>\n

\n

Leviticus 18:3<\/span><\/strong> You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived: and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you; neither shall you walk in their statutes.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Thus we know that Moses would have wanted to, would have needed to, would have been able to, and had forty years of boredom in which to work out<\/em> a new alphabet which would \u201ccleanse the Hebrew mind from its Egyptian roots.\u201d<\/p>\n

PURIFYING THE GODS OF EGYPT<\/h3>\n

But we also have a better reason; God was about to write down words with His own finger<\/em> which the people of Israel were supposed to be able to read. It makes sense that God would have wanted the letters to accurately convey precisely<\/em> what He meant, the precise sound<\/em> He spoke to them.<\/p>\n

Now I don\u2019t presume to claim that God speaks Hebrew at home – nor do I rule it out – but I do know that the Hebrew language carries a depth of meaning in some places that cannot be accidental, and which would be – is – lost in translation.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also a fact that if you force people to write their language in a foreign script, the language itself inevitably changes to follow the sounds of the letters they\u2019re given. The letters also change meaning somewhat, until the letters and sounds reach an equilibrium that accurately express neither the original language nor<\/em> the meaning of the original script.<\/p>\n

God would not have wanted this to happen to His law or to the Hebrew language in which it was written. Therefore, God would have needed, for His inspired words, a language that correctly represents His commands and a script that captures just the right truth of that language.<\/em><\/p>\n

The third century BC writer Artapanus of Alexandria wrote of the exploits of the Patriarchs in Egypt; and while these are Jewish legends which may or may not be true, it\u2019s interesting that one of the stories is just as I\u2019ve said it above\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026On account of these things Moses was<\/strong> loved by the masses, and was deemed worthy of godlike honor by the priests and called Hermes, on account of the interpretation of sacred letters<\/strong>.\u201d Hermes was a Greek messenger god who was in Egyptian traditions associated with Thoth (Djehuty), the god of wisdom and time who invented writing<\/strong>. (Wiki, Artapanus of Alexandria)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Having laid all this groundwork, the actual story is easy to tell. Moses spent his time in Midian thinking, planning, being inspired by God to write an alphabet – after all, it wouldn\u2019t do to write \u201cthou shalt not serve idols\u201d with letters which are literally images of the gods of Egypt!<\/em><\/p>\n

And after all\u2026 wasn\u2019t the main point<\/em> of the plagues, as stated by God Himself, to execute judgments against \u201call the gods of Egypt?\u201d How then, could He leave the hieroglyphs untouched? Hieroglyphs, which literally means \u201csacred carvings\u201d in Greek?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Exodus 12:12<\/span><\/strong> Against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am Yahweh.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He is Yahweh, the Existing One; but He also calls Himself the Alpha and the Omega –<\/em> the Greek equivalent of \u201cthe A and the Z.\u201d Letters which literally evolved from the letters Moses created!<\/em> And when you think about it\u2026 how can you make the WORD of God without\u2026 letters?<\/p>\n

And how can that Word be holy if the alphabet used to create it are not holy as well?<\/p>\n

With that in mind, consider this (admittedly much later and out of context) verse, talking about Nebuchadnezzar destroying Egypt at God\u2019s behest. Listen closely to what it says; for many Egyptian letters were literally pictures of gods, and what are words<\/em> but \u201chouses\u201d for letters?<\/p>\n

\n

Jeremiah 43:12<\/span><\/strong> I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captive:<\/strong> and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd puts on his garment; and he shall go forth from there in peace.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And so as the final judgment against Egypt, the final way in which the Hebrews spoiled the Egyptians, they carried their letters away captive, the very finger of God Himself burned them with fire on Mt. Sinai to purify them\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Numbers 31:23<\/span><\/strong> whatsoever thing can go into fire, ye shall pass through fire and it shall be clean, only with the water of separation, shall ye cleanse it (from sin). But whatsoever cannot go into fire, ye shall pass through water.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Thus, the letters we use – some of which have demonstrably Egyptian origins, such as the A which traces back to the bull\u2019s head of Apis\/Ptah – have been purified and given new meaning by the fire that is the very finger of God.<\/em><\/p>\n

And THAT is how you got your alphabet.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Egyptians, duly impressed by Joseph and his God, were slow to turn on their Hebrew friends. The Bible specifically says it took the lifetime of Joseph, and the death of all those who knew him,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5118,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[23,30],"class_list":["post-5116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coolest","tag-history","tag-people"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesimpleanswers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesimpleanswers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesimpleanswers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesimpleanswers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesimpleanswers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5116"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesimpleanswers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5148,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesimpleanswers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5116\/revisions\/5148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesimpleanswers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesimpleanswers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesimpleanswers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesimpleanswers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}