Abstract
This chapter surveys in a brief and introductory manner the scholarly views regarding the dating of the Exodus described in the Hebrew Bible, including especially the “traditional” 18th dynasty date (ca. 1450 BCE) and the current “consensus” 19th dynasty date (ca. 1250 BCE), but touching also on other Exodus dates advocated from ca. 2100 BCE through ca. 650 BCE. These are summarized in table form with the relevant bibliography. Theories of the date are usually accompanied by identifications of the pharaohs involved, and these are briefly surveyed as well.
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Notes
- 1.
My thanks to Thomas Schneider for calling my attention to this data on the X-raying of what is believed to be Thutmose III’s mummy and for these references, though he adheres of course to the generally accepted dating of Thutmose III’s life and reign and identification of his mummy.
- 2.
My thanks again to Thomas Schneider for a Betsy Bryan reference questioning Thutmose IV’s own statement of his non-legitimacy as heir to the throne, i.e., alluding to the speculative possibility that maybe he was indeed a firstborn but was denying it in the Dream Stela for an obscure reason of gaining divine legitimation instead of relying on birthright. However, Bryan does not directly say this and merely suggests that it is possible that the Dream Stela is not partially historical but may be wholly fictitious, but she is not definite about that possibility either (Bryan 1998: 41). Aidan Dodson finds other evidence of an elder brother of Thutmose IV who was heir and firstborn to Amenhotep II, designated Amenhotep C, particularly another stela found near the Great Sphinx, not to be confused with the Dream Stela (Dodson and Hilton 2004: 132, 135, 137–8). Dodson notes the unusual “mutilation of the monuments” of Amenhotep C and seems to suggest that Thutmose IV’s Dream Stela was intended to “justify Thutmose’s seizure of power” from him (ibid.: 137). Rather than a political coup, perhaps the premature death of firstborn Amenhotep C gave an opportunity to Thutmose IV to seize the throne.
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Geraty, L.T. (2015). Exodus Dates and Theories. In: Levy, T., Schneider, T., Propp, W. (eds) Israel's Exodus in Transdisciplinary Perspective. Quantitative Methods in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04768-3_4
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