This is fascinating, but then I find history fascinating. At the time of the pyramids there were no "jews" and the workers that built the pyramids were not slaves but were well paid workers.
Thank you for posting this superb article, which very politely dismantles the book of Exodus. Hence, no Moses and no parting of the sea.
But if Moses was mythical, where does that leave the ten commandments? .......
...... probably a power grab by religious zealots. Hence the first four commandments are used to establish their authority. The next four are basic moral principles against murder, adultery, dishonesty and theft. The final two are again in support of the "haves" against the "have-nots".
There's a lovely poem I enjoy.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife
Nor the ox her husband bought her.
But thank the Lord, thou art not forbidden
to covet thy neighbour's daughter.
The noted historian and intellectual giant in the Trump administration, Dr. Ben Carson, once stated that the pyramids were built by Joseph to store the pharaoh's grain!
No...I don’t believe so from any of the articles or documentaries that I’ve read or seen. Some immigrant workers probably worked on building the Pyramids, including Palestinian Jews amongst that number, but I don’t think there’s any evidence that captive Jewish slaves were specifically used as slave labourers, or that there were ever any of them there at all. Like the rest of the OT, Genesis & Exodus are works of fiction.
Palestinean Jews didn't exist in 3,000 BC.
The article points out that the first mention of Jews in Egypt concerned Persians of a Jewish faith, in 640 BC.
The most basic story in the old testament, is of semi-nomadic people from the Sinai desert moving into the bottom end of the fertile crescent and trying to take, and hold on to, land there. That probably happened continually for hundreds if not thousands of years, sometimes in small ways and sometimes with large acts of organized violence, the rich lands of the farmers would always be a temptation to the nomad from the desert. It is not surprising therefore that there would be a folk memory passed down among the later generations, of life in the desert, and opposed attempts at migrations into the farmlands.
At the same time there was probably an almost continual trickle of fleeing slaves, criminals and peasants out of Egypt, into the desert to the east, who would be forced to join the nomads. It is therefore almost certain that stories of origins in Egypt circulated among the desert nomads, even those who had never been there.
When you put those two things together and remember the tendency of folk memories to simplify, and personalize things, around a few half remembered, or mythical, hero figures. It would not really be surprising that a story like the old testament one, of the flight from Egypt and the conquest of Israel grew up, even though there would be not a trace of truth in it, it would be inevitable, because that is the way folklore remembers history, especially long drawn out history, the sound bite is not a new invention.
From what I have read and seen on the Science and History channels it is another Biblical myth or lie depending on how you choose to look at it. There is some belief there were Jews there as a hired army for some time and when not needed they were sent on their way. It is believed by some scholars this is where the Moses story comes from. In the Bible they wonder around for the obligatory 40 years, where they were on a rape, pillage, and burn mission.
There is a lot of evidence that there never was a colony of Jewish, Hebrew, or Aramaic slaves in Egypt. Some if the evidence relates to the languages used in Egypt vs in Palestine/Judea. Additionally, no artifacts supporting the possibility have been found. The story in Exodus seems to be entirely fictional. What I cannot find is analysis of why the story was told.
From the article: But if neither Jews nor Israelites nor Hebrews were in Egypt until so many centuries after the pyramids were built, how could such a gross historical error become so deeply ingrained in popular knowledge? The story of Jewish slaves building the pyramids originated with Herodotus of Greece in about 450 BCE. He's often called the "Father of History" as he was among the first historians to take the business seriously and thoroughly document his work. Herodotus reported in his Book II of The Histories that the pyramids were built in 30 years by 100,000 Jewish slaves. Unfortunately, in his time, the line between historical fact and historical fiction was a blurry one. The value of the study of history was not so much to preserve history, as it was to furnish material for great tales; and a result, Herodotus was also called the "Father of Lies" and other Greek historians of the period also grouped under the term "liars". Many of Herodotus' writings are considered to be fanciful by modern scholars. Coincidentally, the text of the Book of Exodus was finalized at just about exactly the same time as Herodotus wrote The Histories. Obviously, the same information about what had been going on in Egypt 2,000 years before was available to both authors.
Note: In point of fact, Herodotus only says 100,000 "workers". He does not mention either Jews or slaves. So even this popular belief seems to be in error, and the origin of the idea of Jews building the pyramids remains a mystery. –BD
Christian history, it’s related to the concept of “gospel truth”. In other words lying propaganda.
Working on the pyramids when the Nile was in flood is a great example of a project which keeps people fed and gets Pharaoh's job done. Unless these ''jews'' were unemployed farmers....they probably weren't invited.