Egypt and the Exodus

As part of my graduation, I'm required to take a Hebrew Comprehensive Exam that involves preparing to read any selected passage in Hebrew from a book of my choice. I chose Exodus. One section of the test focused on the culture aspects of New Kingdom Egypt that Moses and the Israelites would have been exposed to during their enslavement. I came across some compelling cultural motifs; some are alluded to in the Biblical text and others we can infer based on literature and material culture discovered in Egypt from the New Kingdom Era. In no particular order:

Semites in Egypt

Israel was not the first nomadic people group to live in Egypt. The Prophecy of Neferti (20th BC) laments Semites infiltrating the Nile Delta and goes so far as to say the sun turned black because of them. Papyrus Anastasi 6 (13th BC) reports that an Edomite Bedouin tribe was allowed to pass through the Succot region to water their flock. Burial caves discovered in the Delta and Wadi Tumilat furnished with Canaanite artifacts also point to a Semitic presence in Egypt. The patriarchs of Genesis could very well have been one of many groups of nomadic shepherds who migrated and settled in the lush region of the Delta.  

Enslavement

We have records of people groups originating in the region of Israel who were carried off as POW's and brought to Egypt for work. Thutmoses III conducted military campaigns in Canaan and dragged back POW's for a labor force. During the New Kingdom Era, a two-tier control over laborers by supervisors and gang leaders became common. The Tomb of Rekhmire (15th BC) depicts a mixed race group of laborers (Canaanites, Nubians, and Egyptians) making bricks under the eye of an Egyptian over seer armed with a baton. Papyrus Leiden 348 shows Apiru (a Semitic name given to people living as nomadic invaders) dragging stones to build a temple for Ramses II at Memphis. The Tomb of Intef (18th Dynasty) at Thebes illustrates Apiru tending a wine press. Quotas were also instituted. A leather scroll from Ramses II reign (13th BCE) lists 40 junior task masters that were given a target quota of 2000 bricks for their gang. Israelites were not the only people group enslaved and may have worked alongside other people groups during their tenure in Egypt.

Moses

His name is legendary but not of Semitic origin. In fact, his name bears a theophoric (a name with a deity's appellation attached to it, i.e. Elijah, Jeremiah, Jesus, Joshua) Egyptian root. Moses looks and sounds like the names of other theophoric Pharaohs: Thutmoses, Ramses, Ahmose ,and Kamose. Mose in Egyptian means "son of" or "born of." Moshe is a Hebrew designation of Moses.

Canaanite and Nubian youths also served as court attendants, fan-bearers, cup bearers and butlers from the 15th-12th BCE. Moses may have undertook similar duties during his time in Pharaoh's court. He also may have been groomed to become a prince in a foreign land. Thutmoses III brought princes of subjugated kings from Western Asia to groom them to replace their fathers. The Amarna Letters (14th BC) admits that Aziru of Amurru sent his son to Egypt to be educated and Abd-Kheba (ruler of Jerusalem at the time) said Pharaoh put him on the throne. Under Seti II (13-12th BC), foreign children were brought into his court to be educated. Perhaps the Pharaoh of Moses time had motives to train him as an Egyptian ruler and export him to a nearby province to govern under Egyptian authority.

Moses' placement in the Nile River amongst the reeds and nursed by his mother shares similarities with the story of Isis and Horus. The "Tale of Sinhue" may also have influenced the story of Moses's flight to Midian-both share similar features.

The author of Exodus also appears to deify Moses (Exodus 7:1), with subtle hints of this in the text. One striking example is outlined in Exodus 34:29-30. After Moses descended from Sinai, English versions usually read something like, "...and the skin of his face shined." The Hebrew, however literally reads, "horned skin of his face." This phrase evokes images of Amenhoptep III and Ramses II wall reliefs at the Luxor Temple. Both have ram horns that cross their cheeks to symbolize sonship with the Egyptian god Amun-Re.  

Tabernacle and Its Contents
Scholars have noted similarities between the Tabernacle described in the book of Exodus and ancient Egyptian tents. The bedroom suite of Queen Hetepheres (2500 BCE) was composed of gilded wooden frames socketed together and covered with curtains, much like the description of the Tabernacle. Comparable structures also appear in tomb paintings as sacred embalming booths (1800 BCE). Exodus also describes how the tribes of Israel are to encamp around the Tabernacle, likely in battle array. Ramses II's war tent occupied the center of his army much like the Tabernacle occupied the center of the Israelite camp. The Ark of the Covenant has parallels with Egyptian sacred barks. In fact, King tut's tomb contained a box similar to the ark in Exodus. The measurements of the Tabernacle were built according to the cubit. The Hebrew word for cubit, "amah," is an Egyptian loanword. Solomon also built his Temple according to the "amah."

Why do I mention these motifs? What significance does this have for the Biblical narrative? The Bible isn't a book composed of ethereal realities. Social and cultural crossover of contemporary societies liter the pages of the Bible. God works within the limitations of culture. Any revelation, images, or symbolism God chooses to communicate must be attached to a context people will understand. Anything less, and it falls on ears incapable of comprehending the message. God's message to nascent Israel recorded in the book of Exodus defines how God took the culture they were familiar with and adapted the cultural norms to fit Israel's experience. Egypt's dominance of the geopolitical and cultural landscape during the Exodus story is one example of this.