The Exodus Evidence

The following are some of the artifacts discovered relating to the historicity of the Israelite Exodus from Egypt to Israel.

1. The Dream Stele is a monument erected between the front paws of the Great Sphinx of Giza by the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose IV in the first year of his reign, 1401 B.C. He was the second son of Amenhotep II,  who some archaeologists believe was Pharoaoh during the Exodus around 1453 B.C.  Amenhotep's first-born son died young (possibly due to the tenth plague) and his mummy was discovered in his father's sarcophagus.¹
2. Evidence of the existence of Israelites in Egypt during the time of the Exodus include:
   1. a style of architecture from northern Canaan (4 room house),
   2. Hebrew names such as Shiprah, Asher, Jesse, and Aqob found in lists in the Brooklyn Papyrus and on an Ostracon found in tomb 353 at Deir Bahri,
   3. a large Asiatic statue, tombs containing Asiatic weapons, pottery, ceremonial artifacts, wall paintings (from Beni Hasan, Middle Egypt) and
   4. Egyptian textual evidence such as Hatshepsut’s “Speos Artemidos” Inscription. This inscription states that Asiatics were living in the Delta in Avaris (Goshen?) along with “vagrants” (sheep herders) and were NOT worshipping the Egyptian sun-god Ra.
   5. Other evidence of Semitic Slaves as builders and brickmakers in Egypt include middle Bronze age texts such as the Tomb of Rekmire, Louvre Leather Roll, and Papyrus Anastasi III.²
3.  The Ipuwer Papyrus is an Egyptian document describing plagues and events similar to the Exodus account.³
4.  Evidence of the existence of Israelite settlements in Canaan in the late Bronze Age is attested to in:
   1. the Amarna Letters which refer to raids and conquest of several Canaanite cities by a group of “Habiru”.
   2. Evidence of the conquest of Jericho was found supporting the Biblical description by fiery destruction, walls falling outward and forming a ramp so the soldiers could enter the city easily, and stores of grain found, proving the city was not plundered.
   3. Evidence of the destruction of Ai and Hazor by fire was also discovered in excavations of the areas in addition to the discovery of mutilated Canaanite and Egyptian statues.
   4. Discovery of the Merenptah Stele is further evidence of Israelites in Canaan during this time. It records an attack on areas in Canaan by pharaoh Merenptah, ca. 1209 B.C. and mentions Israel as part of the settled population of Canaan, thus implying that Israel was the dominant nation in Canaan.⁴
   5. Also, the “TA SHASU YAHWEH” inscription meaning “Land of the nomads of Yahweh” was discovered in a topographical list in an Egyptian temple around 1400 B.C. The inscriptions place these nomads in Moab, Edom and southern Jordan.⁵

References:

1. The Dream Stele
2. Did the Israelites Really Live in Egypt?
3. The Ipuwer Papyrus
4. The Merenptah Stele
5. Egyptian Inscription Mentioning Yahwah