The people of Israel had lived in Egypt for 430 years. In fact, it was on the last day of the 430 th year that all the LORD S forces left the land.

Transcription

1 In Exodus 12:40-41 we are told that the Israelites lived in Egypt exactly 430 years: The people of Israel had lived in Egypt for 430 years. In fact, it was on the last day of the 430 th year that all the LORD S forces left the land. 1 / 16

2 After Joseph and all his brothers died - thus ending that generation - the Israelites continued to multiply, so we are told, and they soon outnumbered the Egyptians. The new Pharaoh who apparently did not know much about Joseph was alarmed and gave orders to oppress the Israelites in hope that vigorous labour would control their birth rate. But the more they oppressed the Israelites the more they multiplied. When Pharaoh realised this he commanded that all newborn Israelite boys be thrown into the Nile River. Please note the excerpt from Exodus 1: After Joseph, his brothers, and everyone else in that generation had died, the people of Israel became so numerous that the whole region of Goshen was full of them. Many years later a new king came to power. He didn t know what Joseph had done for Egypt, and he told the Egyptians: There are too many of those Israelites in our country, and they are becoming more powerful than we are. If we don t outsmart them, their families will keep growing larger. And if our country goes to war, they could easily fight on the side of our enemies and escape from Egypt. The Egyptians put slave bosses in charge of the people of Israel and tried to wear them down with hard work. Those bosses forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses, where the king could store his supplies. But even though the Israelites were mistreated, their families grew larger, and they took over more land. Because of this, the Egyptians hated them more than before and made them work so hard that their lives were miserable. The Egyptians were cruel to the people of Israel and forced them to make bricks and to mix mortar and to work in the fields The Hebrews kept increasing until finally, the king gave a command to everyone in the nation, As soon as a Hebrew boy is born, throw him into the Nile River. Since according to Exodus 1:1-5 and Genesis 46:8-27 Jacob s family was comprised of 70 persons in all, this would mean that a significant number of years would have passed from the time Joseph died until the new Pharaoh subjected the Israelites to slavery. The text clearly states that the Israelites filled the land of Goshen and were more powerful than Egyptians before they were made subject to slavery. You cannot turn 70 persons into millions overnight. I 2 / 16

3 n Exodus 12:37 the number of Israelite warriors is rounded to 600,000 at the time they left Egypt: The Israelites set out from Rameses for Sukkoth. There were about 600,000 men, not counting women and children. This figure is confirmed in Numbers 11:21: And Moses said, the people, among whom I am, are 600,000 men on foot. But the census taken in the desert, in the 2 nd year of their exodus, shows that there were actually 603,550 adult warriors who were capable of fighting in combat: So all who were of the children of Israel, by their fathers houses, from twenty years and above, ALL WHO WERE ABLE TO GO TO WAR IN ISRAEL - all who were numbered were SIX HUNDRED AND THREE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AND FIFTY. But the Levites were not numbered. There is no copyist s error in this text. This is evident from Exodus 38:25-26: 3 / 16

4 And the silver from those who were numbered of the congregation was one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred and seventy five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary: a bekah for each man [that is, half a shekel, according to the shekel of the sanctuary], for everyone included in the numbering from twenty years old and above, for SIX HUNDRED AND THREE THOUSAND, FIVE HUNDRED AND FIFTY MEN. There were 3000 shekels to a talent. Therefore 100 talents and 1,775 shekels comes to exactly 603,550 half shekels: 3,000 x 100 = 600,000 half shekels 1,775 shekels = 3,550 half shekels 600, ,550 = 603,550 It is therefore evident that this biblical source adamantly insists that there were over 600,000 adult warriors who were able to engage in combat. This figure did not include disabled men and those who were too old for conscription. This figure also does not include 22,000 Levites nor the women or children under twenty. The total population of Israel therefore at that time must have been about three million. This is quite a conservative figure and is readily confirmed by most Bible commentators as well as the Jewish Encyclopedia. Thus in the light of all this evidence and according to this biblical source, several centuries must have passed from the death of Joseph until the Israelites became a great multitude and were subjected to slavery. You cannot turn some 70 persons into a multitude which outnumbered the Egyptians overnight. These texts 4 / 16

5 therefore necessitate a considerable amount of time between the death of Joseph and the exodus from Egypt. But another biblical source presents altogether a different picture. According to this alternative biblical evidence there were only 64 years between the death of Joseph and the birth of Moses. Most English Bibles in Exodus 12:40-41 actually follow the reading of the Hebrew Masoretic Bible. That is why they say that the Israelites were slaves in Egypt for 430 years. Paul however knew nothing of the Masoretic text and in Galatians he follows a reading which agrees with the Greek Septuagint and the Samaritan Pentateuch. Paul in Galatians 3:17 argues that 430 years stretched from the time Abram received a promise concerning the land of Canaan until the giving of the Law on Sinai: What I am saying is that the Law can t change or cancel God s promise that was made 430 years before the Law was given. Paul s argument and belief is in agreement with the Greek Septuagint and the Samaritan texts and not with the Hebrew Masoretic text on which almost all English Bibles are based. The Greek Septuagint Bible reads: 5 / 16

6 And the sojourning of the children of Israel, while they sojourned in the land of Egypt AND THE LAND OF CANAAN, was four hundred and thirty years. The Samaritan text reads: Now the sojourning of the children of Israel AND OF THEIR FATHERS which they had dwelt in the land of CANAAN AND IN EGYPT was four hundred and thirty years. Abram was 75 years old when he began his sojourn in the land of Canaan [Genesis 12:4]. When he was 100 years old Isaac was born [Genesis 21:5]. Abraham died at the age of 175 [Genesis 25:7]. Isaac was 60 years old when Jacob was born [Genesis 25:20,26]. Isaac died at the age of 180 [Genesis 35:28-29]. Since Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 years old and he died at the age of 180, and since Abraham lived 25 years in Canaan before Isaac was born, it follows then that 205 years had passed from Abram s arrival to Canaan when his sojourn there began until the death of Isaac. Jacob was 130 years old when he appeared before Pharaoh and he died at the age of 147 [Genesis 47:9,28]. Joseph was 17 years old when he was sold by his brothers [Genesis 37:2]. When Joseph was 30 he interpreted Pharaoh s dream and was consequently appointed ruler of Egypt [Genesis 41:46]. Seven years of plenty followed [Genesis 41:47-49]. In the 2 nd year of famine the brothers of Joseph went to Egypt to buy some 6 / 16

7 food [Genesis 45:6]. Therefore it follows that Joseph was 39 years old when his brothers went to Egypt and when Jacob with his whole family relocated to Egypt. Since Paul in Galatians states that from the time God made the covenant with Abram until the Law was promulgated on Mount Sinai only 430 years had elapsed - which of course agrees with the Greek Septuagint Bible and the Samaritan Pentateuch - it follows then that there were only 64 years between the death of Joseph and the birth of Moses and further 80 years to the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. There are many passages which I can quote from the Bible in order to justify this thesis and there are many ways in which I can demonstrate this fact. In Genesis 15:16 God told Abram that the Israelites would come out of Egypt in the fourth generation. We know that the Israelites departed from Egypt under the leadership of Moses and therefore in his generation. Therefore Moses must be the 4 th generation and the generation of which God spoke in Genesis 15:16. But who was Moses? The Bible clearly shows that Moses was the great grandson of Levi, the brother of Joseph. Numbe rs 26:58-60 explicitly says: the name of Amram s wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and she bore to Amram, Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam. Moses and his brother Aaron and their sister Miriam were the children of Jochebed. Jochebed was the daughter of Levi and she was actually born to Levi in Egypt - after Jacob relocated to Egypt with his whole posterity. Jochebed was the wive of Amram who was in fact the grandson of Levi. Jochebed was also the sister of Kohath, the son of Levi. According to the Masoretic text, Amram married his father s sister and therefore his aunt. Exodus 6:20 states: 7 / 16

8 Amram married his father s sister Jochebed, WHO BORE HIM Aaron and Moses. 1 Chronicles 6:3 also shows that Moses, Aaron, and Miriam were in fact the children of Amram and the genealogy of Levi is thus given: LEVIKOHATHAMRAMMOSES Levi migrated to Egypt with Jacob and his whole family and is therefore the 1 st generation after the Israelites began their sojourn in Egypt. Kohath was the 2 nd generation and Amram was the third, while Moses the fourth and the generation which was to participate in the exodus from Egypt. There are no gaps between these generations as some would want you to believe. There was no gap between Levi and Kohath since Kohath actually accompanied his father Levi as he migrated to Egypt [Genesis 46:11]. Also it is specifically stated that Jochebed was not only the wife of Amram the son of Kohath but she was also the daughter of Levi and was in fact born to Levi after the migration to Egypt [Numbers 26:58-60]. Kohath, Levi s son had four sons but we are only interested in his two sons AMRAM and UZZIEL. Aaron and Moses were the sons of Amram. Aaron had four sons but here I only need to draw your attention to NADAB and ABIHU. Uzziel the son of Kohath was actually Aaron s uncle since he was the brother of his father Amram. Uzziel had two sons MISHAEL and ELZAPHAN. When Nadab and Abihu were killed, they in fact carried the dead bodies of their cousins. In Leviticus 10:4 we read: 8 / 16

9 Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel, Aaron s uncle, and aid to them, Come here and carry your cousins bodies away from the sacred Tent and put them outside the camp. There you have it in the plain language. Amram and Uzziel the sons of Kohath were brothers. Uzziel was Aaron s uncle and their sons therefore were cousins. It is thus clear that the genealogy of Levi given in the Bible is true and correct and that Moses was in fact the 4 th in line from Levi and therefore he constituted the 4 th generation. On Moses father s side there were four generations - Levi, Kohath, Amram and Moses. But on Moses mother s side there were only three - Levi, Jochebed and Moses. This is due to the fact that Amram married his aunt, the sister of Kohath. It is therefore evident that between the death of Joseph and the birth of Moses there was only one single generation - the generation and lifetime of Jochebed. It follows then that there could not have been some three million Israelites in such a short space of time. The genealogies of some other biblical men also prove that the genealogy of Levi given in the Bible is actually correct. Joseph was 39 when Jacob relocated to Egypt. He died at the age of 110. Joseph lived to see Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, the son of Joseph: Joseph lived a hundred and ten years. And Joseph saw Ephraim s children of the third generation; the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up on Joseph s knees [Genesis 50:22-23]. 9 / 16

10 One of Machir s sons was called Gilead. Zelophehad who was a contemporary of Moses and who died in the desert was in fact the grandson of Gilead: Zelophehad was the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, son of Joseph [Numbers 27:1]. In Numbers 36:1-2 we find another confirmation that Gilead was the son of Machir. Now Hezron the son of Perez was actually the grandson of Judah, the brother of Joseph and Levi. At the age of sixty, Hezron married the daughter of Machir [1 Chronicles 22-24]. She was the sister of Gilead. It follows then that from the death of Joseph [when Gilead was born] until Zelophehad and Moses there was only one generation. It is almost certain however that Hepher himself was still alive when exodus took place. He was the 4 th in line from Joseph and therefore the 4 th generation since he followed Gilead who was the 3 rd generation from Joseph. It is obvious that in one generation you cannot increase into millions from a handful of people. The Jewish scribes had falsified the Pentateuch - just as the Almighty has said in Jeremiah 8:8. Aaron the brother of Moses married Elisheba, the daughter of Aminadab, who was the 4 th in line from Judah, the brother of Joseph. Hezron who was the grandson of Judah married the daughter of Machir and therefore the sister of Gilead - the contemporary of Aminadab s daughter. 10 / 16

11 All this clearly illustrates that there were only three generations between Levi and Aaron through Jochebed and that there could not have been three million Israelites at the time of exodus. Achan who was killed after the death of Moses was also 4 th in line from Judah and therefore Genesis 15:16 is correct when it says that exodus was to take place in the 4 th generation [Joshua 7:1 and 1 Chronicles 2:7]. The Bible also shows that Hur was the contemporary of Moses and Aaron. He was the son of Caleb who was the son of Hezron. All this clearly proves that the genealogy of Levi given in the Bible is true and correct and that there were only three generations up to Moses and Aaron through their mother Jochebed and four through their father Amram. The three generations of Jochabed s side include Levi and Moses and therefore constitute basically the lifetime of Jochabed. The texts therefore which say that there were millions of Israelites at the time of exodus are forgeries and lies inserted by the lying pen of the scribes. Now the text of Numbers 3:27-28 says that Kohath, the son of Levi and the brother of Jochebed - Moses s mother - actually had 8600 descendants. Kohath had only four sons one of which was Amram, the father of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. The census was taken in the 2 nd year in the desert. How could Kohath have had 8600 descendants in only one generation? If that was really the case then all three sons of Kohath had to have 2150 sons and therefore Moses would have had just as many brothers and not only Aaron. Clearly the lying pen of the scribes had falsified the original Pentateuch. Let s recapitulate the 11 / 16

12 names once again. Joseph was alive when Gilead was born. In fact, Gilead was raised on his knees [Genesis 50:22-23]. Hezron the grandson of Judah married Gilead s sister when he was 60 years old [1 Chonicles 2:21]. Jochebed was the daughter of Levi who was born to him in Egypt. She was the mother of Moses, Aaron and Miriam [Numbers 26:58-60]. Jochebed was Kohath s sister and the wife of Amram who fathered Moses, Aaron and Miriam [Exodus 6:16,18,20]. Aaron married Elisheba the daughter of Aminadab who was the grandson of Hezron and also a contemporary of Moses and Aaron [Exodus 6:23]. Elisheba was the sister of Nashon. Hur was a contemporary of Moses and together with Aaron was in charge of the people when Moses was on Mount Sinai [Exodus 24:14]. Uzziel was the son of Kohath and therefore uncle of Aaron. Mishael and Elzaphan were Uzziels sons and the 1 st cousins of Aaron s sons. They carried the dead bodies of their cousins, the sons of Aaron - Nadab and Abihu [Leviticus 10:1,4]. It is therefore evident that there could not have been some three million Israelites at the time of Exodus as the lying pen of the scribes insinuates. But there is another way I can positively prove that there were not and could not have been some three million Israelites in the desert even if 5000 years had passed between the death of Joseph and the exodus from Egypt. Numbers 3:43 shows that there were 22,273 firstborn sons in the desert. They were the firstborn of both fathers and MOTHERS since they were those who opened the womb [Exodus 13:1]. This means that there could not have been more than 22,273 mothers in the desert. There could have been less - since some could have died before the census - but there could not have been more. How could they have given birth to some three million people? To do so each mother would have had to have 134 children at the time when average birth ratio was four children per family [3,000,000 : 22,273 = 134]. Even this figure of the firstborn and mothers in Israel at the time is in fact incorrect and largely exaggerated. 12 / 16

13 Genesis 46:8-27 furnishes a list of names of all those who allegedly accompanied Jacob on his trip to Egypt. Of the seventy there were 68 males: Jacob and his twelve sons; their 51 sons and four grandsons - thus great grandsons of Jacob. Two were female - Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Serah the daughter of Asher. In the total figure of seventy Joseph and his two sons are also included. Er and Onan were already dead in Canaan [Genesis 38:3,7,10]. These 51 living sons of the twelve who allegedly accompanied Jacob on his trip to Egypt could not have increased to outnumber the Egyptians between the death of Joseph and the birth of Moses. The list of Genesis 46 actually demonstrates that the twelve and their sons had only averaged 4.25 male persons. If we take this as a guide and allow 5 male children and of course as many female who would furnish the wives and mothers for the next generations we arrive at the following scenario: First generation [the twelve sons of Jacob] = 55 Second generation = 275 Third generation = 1375 Fourth generation [the time of Moses and exodus] = Thus the total number of males based on this quota of births would have been But all of the 1 st and 2 nd generations would have died by the time of exodus and many of the 3 rd generation. Even some of the 4 th generation could 13 / 16

14 have died by the time of exodus and therefore the figure 6875 is not realistic and must be significantly lowered. Even if we would increase the birth ratio to 10 male children per family - which is more than double the ratio of the first generation in Genesis 46, we still could not come anywhere near the number 603,550 adult warriors who were allegedly living at the time of exodus: First generation [the twelve sons of Jacob] = 55 Second generation = 550 Third generation = 5500 Fourth generation [the time of Moses and exodus] = 55,000. But again you must remember that many of these men had died before the exodus took place and therefore it is difficult to see how these 55 original males of Jacob s family could have increased to more than 500,000 males in such a short space of time. It is even more difficult to see how could they have outnumbered the Egyptians even before Moses was born. The difficulty becomes more apparent when we realise that there were not even 67 males [Joseph included] at the time of Jacob s migration. Er and Onan according to earlier Genesis record were killed by Yahweh in the land of Canaan and therefore they could not have accompanied Jacob on his trip. Dinah and Serah are not relevant on the subject since the descendants of the females are not counted in the Bible. That leaves us with 63. Deducting the twelve original sons of Jacob we arrive at 51. But you must remember that Benjamin on his trip to Egypt was in fact a little child as I have already demonstrated earlier. Thus his sons and two grandsons must be deleted from the original number of 70 bringing us thus to mere 41 male persons in the 1 st generation. Allocating 5 14 / 16

15 male children to each and as many daughters we arrive at the following scenario: 1 st generation [offspring of the twelve] = 41 2 nd generation = rd generation = th generation [the time of Moses and exodus] = Allowing for the mortality rate it cannot be comprehended how could they have numbered into millions at the time of exodus. It is even more difficult to comprehend how could have the Israelites outnumbered the Egyptians before the birth of Moses and therefore in the mere 64 years which elapsed between the death of Joseph and the birth of Moses when the slavery reached its climax. Realising all this it is no wander that Moses said to the Israelites in the 40 th year in the desert that at the time of exodus they were in fact the fewest of all the nations on earth [Deuteronomy 7:7]. This immediately proves that the pen of Genesis which depicted the Israelites as more numerous and powerful than Egyptians was that of the lying scribe. 15 / 16

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