Exodus Decoded
Encyclopedia : E : EX : EXO : Exodus Decoded
Exodus Decoded is a 2006 documentary created by Jewish Canadian filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici, in which new evidence in favour of the historicity of the Biblical Exodus is explored. It is partially narrated by film director James Cameron. Jacobovici suggests that the Exodus took place around 1500 BCE during the reign of pharaoh Ahmose I, and coincided with the eruption of Santorini that most scholars believe ended the Minoan civilisation. In the documentary, the plagues that ravished Egypt in the Bible are explained as having resulted from that volcanic eruption, and a related limnic eruption in the Nile river delta. While much of Jacobovici's archaeological evidence for the Exodus comes from Egypt, a surprising quantity comes from Mycenae, on mainland Greece.
The documentary made extensive use of computer animation. It ran for two hours and was first aired in Canada on April 16, (Easter Day) 2006.
Egyptian Archaological Evidence
- The Hyksos Expulsion, contemporaneous Egyptian records of the departure of the mysterious Semitic Hyksos people. Jacobovich suggests that the Hyksos and the Hebrews were one and the same, a thesis he supports with Egyptian-style signet rings uncovered in the Hyksos capital of Avaris that read "Yakob," the Hebrew name of the Biblical patriach Jacob
- The 2A Ahmose stele, a stone tablet unearthed in Karnak by Henri Chevalier in 1947, the only Egyptian tablet ever found which mentions "GOD" in the singular. In it, "God" incurs some of the same plagues described in the Biblical account(i.e. darkness, a great storm). The Exodus Decoded official website quotes the stele, "How much greater is this the impressive manifestation of the great god, than the plans of the gods!"
- Ahmose. Jacobovitch suggests that the name of the Pharaoh at the time of the Exodus may have been a paronomasia. In Hebrew, the Egyptian name Ahmose would mean "Brother of Moses." The documentary also examines the mummy of Ahmose's son Sapair, who appears to have died at the age of twelve. In the Bible, the pharaoh loses a son to the [[Plagues of Egypt#Death of Firstborn .2811:1 - 12:36.29 .D7.9E.D7.9B.D7.AA .D7.91.D7.9B.D7.95.D7.A8.D7.95.D7.AA|Plague of the Firsborn]].
- 6A Serabit el Khadim turquoise mine, a slave labour camp in the Sinai with a Semitic aphabetic inscription that reads "O El, save me from these mines." The use of "El" suggests that it was written before the revelation at Sinai, supporting the thesis that Hebrews were enslaved in Egypt when the Bible says they were.
Previous Research
- Ralph Ellis, much of this thesis has already been researched and published by Ralph Ellis. His groundbreaking work in this field is called Tempest & Exodus, which was first published in 2000. Ralph also links the Hyksos with the Israelite Exodus, and demonstrated that the Ahmose stele not only contains an account of the Exodus, but also has biblical 'quotes' engraved upon it.
Mycenaean Archaological Evidence
- Gravestones. Three of the stones marking the wealthy tombs of Grave Circle A in Mycenae appear to depict the parting of the Sea of Reeds. A man on a chariot (Ahmose?) is shown in pursuit of a man on foot (Moses?) who is holding what archaeologists have commonly referred to as a spear but which Jacobovitch suggests is Moses' miraculous staff. Above and below the scene are rows of swirls which, in the Exodus interpretation, represent water.
- A Gold ornament excavated from one of the tombs in the Grave Circle seemingly shows the Ark of the Covenant against a background of the tabernacle alter. Jacobovich suggests that members of the Tribe of Dan may have emigrated to Mycenae after the Exodus. This, the documentary suggests, is why Homer refers to the buried at Mycenae as "Dani."
Scientific Conjecture
Jacobovitch suggests that the Biblical Exodus took place during the eruption of Santorini, even though, conventionally, volcanologists date the eruption to 1700 BCE, two hundred years too early. Jacobovitch disputes the date with archaeological evidence and then goes to explain how each of the Mosaic plagues, and even the parting of the Sea of Reeds, could be explained by earthquakes, faulting and a limnic disaster all caused by Santorini.
Theology
The documentary claims that historians who do not believe in God refuse to see the clear evidence that the Exodus happened and dismiss it as a fairy tale, and that some believers also reject scientific explanations. Jacobovich postulates that God can control nature, and that there should be a scientific explaination for all miracles in the Bible. The ending voice-over is "Was the Exodus just a natural event or was it the hand of God? We'll leave that for the viewer to decide."
External links
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.