Exactly! I'm no historian - goodness - Egyptology isn't even a
hobby for me. (So many fascinating subjects - so little time!)
But even I remember the day I was briefly reading up on this and worked out Kadesh was a real problem for 'early Israel' theories.
Kadesh would mean Egypt waltzed all over Israel to get to the Hittites! What - did Israel just wave the Egyptians through to fight the Hittites? Just ignored the fact that their former slave masters were wanting to cross their territory - armed to the back teeth? Why didn't the Egyptians, shamed by the Israelite escape a generation back, seek revenge on them then? Why wouldn't they deal with a former enemy before then going on to fight the Hittites? Well - in fact it seems exactly that happened - only they
conquered Canaan - not Israel.
Kadesh is known as the "First world war of the ancient world." It was huge. I forget how many centuries it would be before a war of similar size broke out again.
Now, Professional Egyptologist and Christian James Hoffmeier says there is only ONE
written reference to Israel outside of the bible.
Hoffmeier says the
Merneptah Stele is particularly important because “it tells us that by the year 1208BC, there was a people group living in the land of Canaan called ‘Israel'”.
Before 1208BC, Hoffmeier says there is some evidence that “Semites” – lived in Egypt as “foreigners”, somewhere between Egypt’s Middle Kingdom (approx 2030 – 1650 BC) and the New Kingdom (approx. 1570 – 1069 BC).
“Prisoners of war were brought back from military campaigns and the like,” says Hoffmeier. “So you have these foreign Canaanites, Syrians and Semites … and they stand out in reliefs or paintings in Egypt on tombs etc because they have blonde hair. Foreigners are not depicted in the same way as Egyptians, and Semites typically have scruffy beards and so on. So the Egyptians not only recognised their presence, but depicted them.”
The archaeological hints that the Exodus really happened
www.eternitynews.com.au
But why read about it when you can listen to the awesome John Dickson podcast about it - complete with Charlton Heston sound bytes and other interactive bits. Here's another plug for probably my favourite Christian podcast.
The Exodus - Undeceptions
(For full disclosure, my second favourite podcast is William Lane Craig's "Reasonable Faith". Then for a fun theological chat with cultural review and movie reviews try "With All Due Respect" - with a Sydney, Australia vibe. Don't get me started on my Greenie podcasts!

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