Book Review:

You are here

Christian Review

Exodus - Myth or History?

David Rohl knows his Bible...... and his most recent book Exodus- Myth or History is proof. The author Test of Time/Pharaohs and Kings, Lords of Avaris et al has in this massive volume produced his magnum opus. Here is where he marshals the data from previous books with current archaeology and presents the Bible as an accurate and detailed document of history.

What may sound odd, he is an avowed agnostic, yet Christians would be hard pressed to keep up with him. If one is not familiar with his works, his mastery of biblical chronology, intricacies of major events and Biblical/Egyptian archeology goes back to when he was a child. His fluid writing style is such that it makes the often technical details easier to digest and the chapters are chronological, with little back-glance, keeping it flowing. But the reader is advised; Bible in one hand, this book in the other.

As one of, if not the foremost proponent of the "New Chronology" (NC) Rohl posits a ~1450BCE Exodus, and the historical events of the Bible are in the main true, with little emendation, that patriarchs Joseph, Moses, Joshua were real, their exploits ground shaking and are clearly seen in the current archaeological dig sites. He proposes not a change to Biblical chronology, but to major changes in Egyptian Chronology, especially the Third Intermediate Period (TIP) between the Egyptian Old and New Kingdoms. Rohl’s book unequivocally states; the Exodus occurred, just as the Bible states…and the facts are there, if only scholars were looking in the right place and time.

Current Old Chronology (OC) maintains an Exodus either at c 1450BCE (Woods, Ailing) or c 1260BCE (KItchen,Hoffmeier, Finkelstein) without major change to Egypt's chronology. Most 13th century BCE adherents form the secular academic field and what is known as the Rammeside theory (Rammeses was the Pharaoh of the Exodus in their chronology (OC))

Rohl often makes his OC proponents' methodologies look irrational, especially those in the dig sites, and may be typified as the "Streetlight Effect" , a type of observational bias, whereby current scholars are looking where it is easiest (the light is better) but are looking in the wrong strata vs dating.

His extensively details the Achilles' Heel of OC,,,,the Shishak/Shoshenq ( I Kings 14, II Chronicles 12
The accepted theory (OC) is the Biblical Shishak, the very first named Egyptian pharaoh, is identical to Shoshenq as mentioned in Egyptian archaeological sites... Rohl (and a growing number of scholars) believe that Shishak and Shoshenq are different pharaohs, from different times and attacked far different parts of Judah and Israel, long after the Exodus… If he is right, and indeed the evidence is compelling, the OC is in trouble.
As evidence of this debate is the long awaited and recently published Solomon and Shishak: Proceedings of the Third Bicane Colloquium.

Other key issues in the book
- Joseph, son of Jacob is Zaphenath-Paneah (Zatenaf-paneah translated Djedu-en-ef pa-Ankhu) and is clearly referred to in Egyptian Chronology
- The Pharaoh of the Exodus was Tutimaeus –(Greek spelling for Pharaoh Dudimose)
- The area of Goshen (Ex 1 ) and the toponym of the city Ramesses is anachronistic, so named later where at the time of the Exodus it was Avaris at the current dig site Tel El Daba (Proto-Israelite Stratum G)
- Kenyon-archaeology of Jericho is accurate, but misdated as it follows 1260 BCE Exodus.'
- The course of the Exodus by Israel is North thru the Delta

There is definitely an edge to the book, where Rohl often in humorous asides characterizes his detractors (who have often not played nice in print) with descriptive titles. Kenneth Kitchen, whom he does respect, is enthroned as The Zadok of Egyptology...

And that is a recurring theme to this book... whereas Rohl is an accomplished historian and writer, his frustration comes thru, tho subtly, in the "accepted theories"... one is left, at least this reader was, that the scholarly community has indeed let their bias slip. Either they are ignorant, close- minded or do not want Joseph and his progeny to exist.

It was Rohl's earlier book Pharaoh's and Kings (Test of Time UK) that enabled filmmaker Tim Mahoney to produce the very-popular movie "Patterns of Evidence- The Exodus". Mahoney's balanced film, gives Rohl's NC a fair but not dominant airing, as the movie wants a rational mind to weigh the evidence... but the NC "pattern" emerges .

This is a fast paced, well-documented and detailed book. But is not a quick read.... it will make you think and hopefully give solid evidence to belief.

Me thinks Mr Rohl has possibly come inadvertently to the aid of many believing Christians....as he states, he is an agnostic, claiming in a recent interview "Let me define agnostic, I just don't have all the answers..." If so, maybe we all are.