EXODUS 
AN EXTRAORDINARY REAL STORY
The exodus of Israel from Egypt was an outstanding undertaking which magnitude escapes also to the descendants of that population, which scholars make appear as an unaware and passive instrument of a superior Will. Certainly, without the leadership of such prodigious genius as Moses it would never had happened, but the Jewish people in that occasion built there extraordinary future in a conscious and all but passive way
EXODUS NEWS
The jews in Egypt
The ten plagues of Egypt
The crossing of the Red Sea
The route of Exodus
EXODUS CHRONOLOGY
In which month the Exodus happened
The precise dates of exodus
THE CONQUEST OF PALESTINE
THE MOST EFFECTIVE INSTRUMENT OF UNIFICATION OF THE JEWISH TRIBES
MOSES TABERNACLE
Constructional plans of the Tabernacle
Furnishings of the Tabernacle
Weights and lenghts used in the Tabernacle
Assembly and transport of the Tabernacle
The Tabernacle’s imprint at Har Karkom
THE JEWS IN EGYPT - The Bible weeps rivers of tears over the conditions of enslaved Jews in Egypt. But the Bible itself gives lie to its own words on several occasions, indicating that, after all, things were not quite so bad and they could not in reality call themselves actual slaves. In fact, in the Sinai desert they frequently looked back with regret on that period of "slavery”--and how many times they were on the point of turning back! ... (read more)
THE TEN PLAGUES -
Most historians view the account of the ten "plagues" with skepticism since they are not reported in the Egyptian chronicles. It would indeed be surprising if such a correlation were to be found. As we have seen in Joseph’s case, when the Bible speaks of the "land of Egypt,” it normally refers to that part of Egypt where the Jews lived. Therefore, the "plagues" were certainly local happenings that involved villages and the countryside around Goshen, and could not
have been referred to the Court for insertion in official chronicles.
The Egyptians certainly were not even aware they were being subjected at that time to so many extraordinary "calamities”; they were so only in the minds of the Jews. The latter were not able, on the other hand, to ascertain the true extent of these "plagues”, for they were, of course, regularly exempt from them: this was all part of the marvel.
...(read more)
THE CROSSING OF THE RED SEA -
On the other shore, upright upon a rock, Moses surveyed the scene. The sun was rising at his back (Ex. 14,27). He watched, grinning, at the horses as they struggled in the waters, and he saw the soldiers drowning, dragged down by their armor. The plan he had worked upon so meticulously for years had at last borne fruit. He had foreseen every detail. His heart swelled with pride, and with good reason! The brilliance and audacity of the concept, the complexity of the operation, the meticulous planning required and the brilliant and decisive execution of it,
all this has no equal in History....
History, not myth!The main reason why modern Scriptural Scholarship rejects an effective historical content of the Exodus narrative is that the Israelite crossing of the Red Sea, in the manner described, is presumed to be impossible.
In fact, at first sight the crossing appears to be so completely outside the bounds of possibility, that all the scholars have rejected it out of hand, preferring to dedicate their research to other alternatives. However, a more detailed examination of the question reveals this dogma to be hurried and unjustified. Surprisingly, in fact, the only method we can adopt to provide a rational explanation of this episode is that we not reject one single piece of evidence given in the Bible. Of course the Bible relates the facts as they were experienced and understood by the people involved; they were unable to provide a rational explanation of what happened and, therefore, could only attribute it to divine intervention. But they must have reported the facts in a true and precise manner.
...(read more)
THE ROUTE OF THE EXODUS -
From the Bible we know a large number of facts regarding the itinerary and it is clear that a faithful reconstruction of it must correspond exactly to all of them. These facts are as follows:
- The date and place of departure (Pi-Ramses, the fifteenth day of the first month)
- the date and place of arrival (Har Karkom, the first day of the third month)
- the date and the exact point of the Red Sea crossing (Suez Bay last day of the first month)
- three intermediate dates (arrival at Succoth the 21st day of the first month; arrival at Mara on the third day of the second month; arrival at Sin desert the fifteenth day of the second month)
- the various legs of the journey listed in Numbers 33,7-15 (Pi-Rameses, Succoth, Etham, Pi-Hahirot, Marah, Elim, Sea of Reeds, Desert of Sin, Dophkah, Alush, Rephidim, Sinai)
- the speed and method of travel (three days' march at a daily average between 13 and 15 kilometers, plus a fourth day of rest)
- the ancient tracks of the Sinai Peninsula (mainly corresponding to today's roads).
With the help of these facts, the Exodus route can be easily retraced day by day, exactly and with certainty.
...(read more)
THE EPOCH OF EXODUS - The scenario of the crossing of the Red Sea, incredible though it may seem, corresponds in every detail to the description in the Bible, and brings together all the Exodus passages in a coherent and rational manner. The existence of the Suez sand banks, the tides, and every other detail of natural phenomena all agree perfectly with the narrative. Even the name of the area found immediately beyond the sand banks, "Ayun Musa" (the Moses' wells), corroborates it. And as we have seen, starting from this point all the rest of the itinerary parallels the Bible text exactly. Nearly everything coalesces to confirm exactly what is described in the Bible. There is, however, one particular detail that at first does not seem to fit with this reconstruction, and that is the time of year in which the crossing is believed to have occurred. ...(read more)
THE PRECISE CHRONOLOGY OF THE EXODUS -
The Bible’s genealogies allow us to established with certainty that the exodus occurred at the end of the XIII century b.C.. We can more precisely fix the date of the Exodus by making full use of the frequent and numerous references in the Bible itself.
In the 13th century B.C. Egypt was ruled by only two Pharaohs: Rameses II, who reigned for no less than sixty-six years, and his son Merenphthah, who held the throne for a further ten years. The last rulers of the 19th Dynasty were quite insignificant, reigning for very short periods over an Egypt which was in total chaos. This makes the task to identify the rulers mentioned in Exodus sure and simple, since the Bible refers only to two. The first used the Jews as an unskilled labor force to help build the cities of Pithom and Pi-Ramses. This same Pharaoh persecuted Moses, forcing him to flee to the Sinai where he found refuge with Jethro the Midianite. There seems no doubt that he was Ramses II; and in any case this conclusion is consistent with a long and well-founded tradition.
We read in Exodus 2,23 that following the death of the Pharaoh who had persecuted him (i.e. Ramses), Moses returned to Egypt and together with Aaron began at once to organize the flight of the Israelites from Egypt.
...(read more)
THE CONQUEST OF PALESTINE -
... Moses convened an assembly of all Israel and pronounced a great speech (quoted
in the book of Deuteronomy), at the end of which he took leave from the people,
moved up to Mount Nebo and ... died. A mourning of thirty days followed (Dt.
34, 8), after which Joshua made the last preparations for the invasion of Palestine and send two men in reconnaissance mission to Jericho. It was the beginning of
the 12th month of the year, in may. A few weeks later Joshua crossed
the Jordan river. It was “the time of harvest” (Js. 3, 15), therefore
end of May, beginning of June. The “ people came up out of Jordan on the
tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of
Jericho” (Js. 4, 19), and “ they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day
of the month, and they eat of the corn of the land on the morrow after the
Passover” (Js 5, 10-11), it was the full moon nearest to the 21st
of June.
Then the
military campaign to conquer Palestine started, which had to be concluded
before the end of summer, with the partition between the Jewish tribes of the
conquered territories. By autumn each tribe had taken possession of its
“inheritance” and finally, after a summer of slaughter and destructions, order
and peace were restored in Palestine.
...(read more)
