The Bible is a reliable source of historical information. It contains the historical records and the chronicles of Israel. It is not just a record of God’s dealings with mankind. It is God’s word. The Exodus of Israel can be dated to 1446BC as the Bible records that there were 480 years from the Exodus to the buiding of the Temple by Solomon (1Kings 6:1 ) and the date that the foundations of the Temple were laid by Solomon is agreed upon by most Archaeologists to be 966BC. (seeArchaeological Evidence for Moses and the Israelites in the 12th dynasty of Egypt) Moses was 80 yrs old at the time of the Exodus of Israel ( ).

If the Chronology of Egyptian History was as reliable as the Bible then it would be fairly easy to ‘look up’ Egyptian records and see which Pharaohs were ruling at the time. Unfortunately, the dates of Egyptian dynasties and the dates of Pharaohs reigns (the Egyptian chronology) based primarily on Manetho’s records has turned out to be quite erroneous because some of the dynasties ran in parallel (in the north and south of the country) and Pharaohs often co-reigned together at the beginning and end of their reigns. Consequently, the time frame of Egyptian history is substantially shorter than the Traditional Chronology which was based on sequential dynasties, some of which have been counted twice (see David Down).

Due to the inaccuracies of the Traditional Chronology, a number of Egyptian correlates of Moses have been put forwards by various people over the ages. Better understanding of the Egyptian Chronology requires a reassessment of the Archaeological Evidence. Candidates that were identified according to dates alone, that were a poor character profile match for Moses can now be excluded. And candidates that seemed to match the character profile of Moses exactly but were thought unlikely to be Moses based on the dates can now be reconsidered. Amenemhet IV of the 12th dynasty of Egypt is one such candidate that is a very good Character Profile match for Moses but thought to be unlikely because the Traditional Egyptian Chronology dated his reign to be around 1798-1786BC.

This is Amenemhet IV when he was older.

In a revised Egyptian Chronology the dates of Amenemhet IV‘s co-regency are likely to be around 1495-1486BC making it highly likely that Amenemhet IV was Mosesof the Bible. This is supported by strong archaeological evidence that the Israelites were slaves in Egypt during the 12th dynasty and left Egypt in the 13th dynasty before the Hyksos invaded (or took over) Egypt to start the 15th dynasty (the second intermediate period).

18th dynasty candidates for Moses can now be excluded. Israel had little to do with the Hyksos when they were in Egypt and the defeat of the Hyksos at the beginning of the 18th dynasty was NOT the Exodus of Israel. The first 18th dynasty Pharaohs were contemporaries of Saul, David and Solomon. Saul seems to have encountered the Hyksos (the Amelekites) after they were ejected from Egypt; 400yrs after they took power! This was the end of the second intermediate period and the beginning of Egypt’s New Kingdom (the 18th dynasty). The second intermediate period, when the Hyksos were ruling in Egypt (dynasties 15 & 16), coincides with the period of the Judges in Israel.

Djoser Pyramid Complex at Saqqara, Egypt. Note the large man made holes in the ground near the Step Pyramid that were used to store grain. They were most likely made by Joseph, the designer of the Step Pyramid, also known as Imhotep.

If it is true that Joseph and Imhotep were the same person, then the first pyramid (the Step Pyramid in Saqqara) was designed by an Israelite at the beginning of Israel’s Sojourn in Egypt. What’s more, if the last of the great pyramids (those of the 12th dynasty) were constructed with a core made from mudbricks which were made by Israelite slave labour, then the Israelites were in Egypt while all of the great pyramids were being constructed. After the Israelites departed from Egypt at the end of the 13th dynasty, lead by Moses, there were not enough slaves left in Egypt to construct pyramids any more. The pyramid age coincides with Israel’s sojourn in Egypt. The pyramids were, therefore, constructed over a period of around 400 years.

The Black Pyramid of Amenemhet III. The inner core made of mud bricks is exposed. Josephus records that the Israelite slaves were given the task of building the Pyramids. The Pyramids of the 12th dynasty had an inner core that was made of mud bricks.

Egypt’s borders, wealth and power reached it’s peak in the 12th dynasty under Sesostris III and his son Amenemhet III but as they had no successors, the Middle Kingdom started to fall apart when they died. Moses, an Israelite baby, was adopted by the Princess Sobekneferu and groomed to be the next Pharaoh (Amenemhet IV). Amenemhet IV did in fact co-reign with Amenemhet III for a period of 9 yrs. After killing an Egyptian, Amenemhet IV (Moses) had to flee to Midian at the age of 40 years. As a result of his exile to Midian, there was suddenly no successor for Amenemhet III. Sobekneferu (Amenemhet III’s daughter) had to take over the reigns when Amenemhet III died. She only lived for another 4 yrs and when she died, the 12th dynasty ended, Egypt fell into turmoil and became politically unstable. There was a quick succession of Pharaohs in the 13th dynasty until Neferhotep who was the Pharaoh who was ruling when Moses (Amenemhet IV) returned from exile in Midian. After a series of ten plagues that were inflicted on Egypt, Neferhotep let Moses take the Israelities into the desert. When they did not return, he pursued them with his army. The Israelites were able to cross the red sea at the Gulf of Aqaba but Neferhotep and his army drowned when they tried to follow.

Moses and the Israelites Crossed the Red Sea at Nuweiba in the Gulf of Aqaba in 1446BC.

Not only did Egypt lose its slave labour force, it lost it’s monarch, it’s entire army and it’s transportation system. It was a massive defeat and not something that Egyptian historians would want to memorialize.

When the Israelites left Egypt, Pharaoh and his son died and all the Egyptian army drowned in the Red Sea taking all of Egypts chariots with them. Egypt was then thrown into turmoil. Thy Hyksos were able to take power and Egypts second intermediate period followed (until the Hyksos were finally defeated in the 18th dynasty).

The Israelites, therefore, had a profound influence on Egypt having designed the first pyramid (in the third dynasty) and having provided slave labour for various public works which included making mudbricks for the construction of the last of the great pyramids (those of the 12th dynasty). The country was destabilised when Moses (Amenemhet IV) went into exile as there was nobody to continue the 12th dynasty. Egypt suffered massive losses as a result of the Exodus 40 years later (1446BC) and as a result became vulnerable to invasion. The Hyksos took over and ruled Egypt for the next 400 yrs (the second intermediate period).

Discovered by Ronn Wyatt in 1978. A pair of pillars on the Egyptian side (Nuweiba) and the Saudi side of the the Gulf of Aqaba - The Red Sea. The one on the Egyptian side had fallen over and was in the sea. It's inscriptions had worn off. The one on the Saudi side was inscribed with the words: Yahweh, Pharaoh, Mizraim, Moses, Death, Water, Solomon, Edom. The Saudi pillar has been removed by the Saudi's but the one on the Nuweiba side is still standing and can be visited. Wyatt also found 4, 6 and 8 spoked chariot wheels covered with coral strewn across the bottom of the Red Sea at this point.

http://www.wyattmuseum.com/mount-sinai-02.htm

The Amenemhet III pyramid at Hawara. It had an inner core of mudbricks and an outer veneer of limestone. Over the centuries, the outer veneer has fallen away exposing the inner core of mudbricks. Millions of mudbricks went into making this pyramid. The Israelites were slaves in Egypt at this time and it is likely that the Israelites made the mudbricks used to build this pyramid. After the exodus of the Jews in the 13th dynasty, there was not enough slave labor to build pyramids and so the Pyramid Age ended. Interestingly, the very first pyramid built in Egypt was probably designed by an Israelite too: Joseph (Imhotep) designed the Step Pyramid in the 3rd dynasty. The pyramids of the Old Kingdom were made from solid limestone using Egptian labor and they have stood the test of time a lot better than the pyramids of the Middle Kingdom (12th dynasty) which were made from mudbricks with only a limestone veneer. The pyramid age coincides with Israel's sojourn in Egypt.

Sometimes we miss the obvious

The pyramids of the 12th dynasty had an inner core that was made of mudbricks.  They had an outer veneer of  limestone.  Over the years, the outer veneer has fallen away or been stolen exposing the inner core made of mudbricks resulting in considerable erosion.

A painting by Edward Poynter in 1867 entitled "Israel in Egypt". (Click to enlarge)

http://www.specialtyinterests.net/exodus.html
http://nuweiba.wordpress.com/nuweiba-and-the-exodus/
http://wyattmuseum.com/red-sea-crossing.htm
http://redseaexodus.wordpress.com/category/archeological-evidence/
http://catchthefire.com.au/2008/02/chariot-wheels-found-in-the-red-sea/

There is much archaeological evidence to support this revelation, however, it means that the traditional dates of the 12th and 13th dynasties need to be revised.

http://www.diggingsonline.com/pages/rese/dyns/yusef.htm

When it comes to locating Joseph in the history of Egypt, there are two schools of thought.

The Bible says that the Israelites sojourned in Egypt for 430 years.  Exodus 12:40 says “the length of time that the Israelites live in Egypt was 430 years.”

The New Testament also refers to this 430 years.  Galations 3:17 says “ The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. “

Because of this many scholars believe that the 430yrs commenced with the promise being given to Abraham 215yrs before Jacob and his family moved to Egypt.

The result of this is that some scholars believe that Joseph came only 215 years before Moses lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

http://www.ancientexodus.com/topics/index/new-york-times-book-review/

http://www.specialtyinterests.net/exodus.html

Other scholars believe that the Joseph was 430 years before the Exodus.

Joseph went to Egypt some 9-10 yrs before Jacob did.

When Jacob and his family went to Egypt, the Israelites numbered about 70.   When they left Egypt they numbered around 2 million.  They needed time time multipy to this number.  Not withstanding this, it is obviously very important to know whether the Isralites were in Egypt for 430 years or 215 years so that we know in which dynasty to look for Joseph.

It is also important to know how the Egyptian dynasties are ordered.

People who believe in a 215 yr sojourn in Egypt look for Joseph earlier in the 12th dynasty and have nominated Mentuhotep as a possibility.

People who believe in a 430yr sojourn in Egypt look for Joseph in an earlier dynasty and given the similarities between Joseph and Imhotep, have tended to place Joseph in the 3rd dynasty.

Placing Joseph in the 3rd dynasty would require an even greater revision of Egyptian history and a complete revision of the Chronology to allow for parallel dynasties running concurrently in the North and the South and also for the common practice of coregency.

This would bring Egyptian history into complete agreement with the Bible.

One of the problems of placing Joseph in the 12th dynasty means that the flood of Noah would most likely have occurred during during one of the earlier dynasties (2450bc) and this is not only out of keeping with the Bible but there is no archaeological evidence of a worldwide flood during any Egyptian dynasty.

The Bible records that Noah had a grandson named Mizraim who seems to be one of the Patriarchs of Egypt.   The flood would, therefore, have preceded even the predynastic periods of Egyptian History.

Even Manetho, whom most archaeologist regard as the most authoritative source of information on the chronology of Egyptian history, believed that Mizraim and Menes (the first Pharaoh) were the same person.

Placing Joseph in the 3rd dynasty and Moses in the 12th dynasties not only fits very well with the archaeological evidence, it fits very well with the Biblical account.  What we know about these people from the Historical records can then be used to fill in the gaps in the Biblical record revealing how miraculous, amazing and glorious the Hand of God has been in dealing with mankind.

http://www.examiner.com/creationism-in-national/birth-and-identity-of-moses