Oh Yes it Did...

Over the Mosaic, an interesting article about the historical accuracy of Exodus.

When I teach World Civ I we discuss this issue. For me, Thomas Cahill's The Gift of the Jews settled the argument. I think Exodus is a historical event. Think about the ebb and flow of the story. Who would make that up? Who would write such things about themselves? That's the crux of Cahill's argument, and I have always found it convincing.

One of the essays questions on the first test is, 'What evidence do we have that the story of Exodus actually happened?'

The point of the essay is not to convince students that Exodus happened, but to get them to make an argument that it did.

There's plenty in the Old Testament to make the historian's ears perk up. We are told that the Jews wondered the desert for 40 years and then crossed into Canaan and conquered it. This sounds right, in that after 40 years in the desert the Hebrews would have been producing some tough warriors. How about the siege of Jericho? The Hebrews circled the city banging drums and yelling after which the walls collapsed. When I was studying military history I recognized what this was right away. The Book of Joshua says the walls came down because of god. Actually, it seems to me that the Hebrews were making that racket to cover up the mine they were digging under the wall.

As the Sudanese soldier boy in War of the Red Sea says, 'The Imams are right. The Jew is clever.'

Heck, geologic studies have shown that the Mediterranean was in fact filled by a great flood. Sound familiar?

Exodus is central to the Jewish identity, more so than creation or the conquest of Canaan. While Rosh Hoshana and Yom Kipper are important, Passover is the most important holiday.  Without Exodus there is no Judaism.

I really couldn't comment on that second part that got tacked on to the bible later on.

Anyway, as I tell my students, as far as judging the historical accuracy of Exodus, I wont make that judgement for you.