Does the seed of Abraham, Issac, and, Jacob actually exist? Some hold it not to be true just because, through the journey of translation and re-canonization, the bible has been misinterpreted through the translators lacking the same mindset of the original writers. Multiply this notion for every other translation built on another translation and you get many books not possessing the same concrete meanings as the original. If the translations must be wrong, then the original must be wrong and fictitious too, right? Not so if they are copies in the original language still available.
What is healthy to do in respects of the bible and the history pertained to within is to locate outside parallel sources of corresponding events.
One source that has been available for some time is the Egyptian Text of the Bronze Book, specifically the Book of Manuscripts. I encourage you to read it and draw your own conclusion, as it is accessible online.
A parallel to the Exodus story is drawn in Chapter 6 – The Dark Days (Excerpts):
MAN: 6:14 The fish of the river died in the polluted waters; worms, insects and reptiles sprang up from the Earth in huge numbers. Great gusts of wind brought swarms of locusts which covered the sky. As the Destroyer flung itself through the Heavens, it blew great gusts of cinders across the face of the land.
MAN: 6:28 Pharaoh had gathered his army and followed the slaves. After he departed, there were riots and disorders behind him, for the cities were plundered…..
MAN: 6:29 Pharaoh pressed on in sorrow, for behind him all was desolation and death. Before him were things he could not understand, and he was afraid, but he carried himself well and stood before his host with courage. He sought to bring back the slaves, for the people said their magic was greater than the magic of Egypt.
MAN: 6:31 A whirlwind arose in the East and swept over the encamped hosts. A gale raged all night, and in the red twilit dawn there was a movement of the Earth, the waters receded from the seashore and were rolled back on themselves. There was a strange silence and then, in the gloom, it was seen that the waters had parted, leaving a passage between……The waters about were as if spun within a bowel, the swampland alone remained undisturbed. From the horn of the Destroyer came a high, shrilling noise which stopped the ears of men.
MAN: 6:38 The great surge of rocks and waters overwhelmed the chariots of the Egyptians who went before the footmen. The chariot of the Pharaoh was hurled into the air as if by a mighty hand and was crushed in the midst of the rolling waters.
It is interesting to see how it lines up with the Exodus story around Exodus Chapters 6 and 7 through 11.
(WEB) Exodus 7:1-5 – 1 YHWH said to Moses, “Behold, I have made you as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet. 2 You shall speak all that I command you; and Aaron your brother shall speak to Pharaoh, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land. 3 I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. 4 But Pharaoh will not listen to you, and I will lay my hand on Egypt, and bring out my armies, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. 5 The Egyptians shall know that I am YHWH, when I stretch out my hand on Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.”
There is also the Ipuwer Papyrus of the Admonitions of Ipuwer that also paralleled the events of Exodus.
Ipuwer Papyrus – II (Excerpts)
Indeed, poor men have become owners of wealth, and he who could not make sandals for himself is now a possessor of riches. Indeed, men’s slaves, their hearts are sad, and magistrates do not fraternize with their people when they shout. Indeed, [hearts] are violent, pestilence is throughout the land, blood is everywhere, death is not lacking, and the mummy-cloth speaks even before one comes near it. Indeed, many dead are buried in the river; the stream is a sepulcher and the place of embalmment has become a stream. Indeed, noblemen are in distress, while the poor man is full of joy. Every town says: “Let us suppress the powerful among us.”Indeed, men are like ibises. Squalor is throughout the land, and there are none indeed whose clothes are white in these times. Indeed, the land turns around as does a potter’s wheel; the robber is a possessor of riches and [the rich man is become] a plunderer…….Indeed, the river is blood, yet men drink of it. Men shrink from human beings and thirst after water. Indeed, gates, columns and walls are burnt up, while the hall of the palace stands firm and endures. Indeed, the ship of [the southerners] has broken up; towns are destroyed and Upper Egypt has become an empty waste…….Indeed, men are few, and he who places his brother in the ground is everywhere. When the wise man speaks, [he flees without delay]. Indeed, the well-born man [. . .] through lack of recognition, and the child of his lady has become the son of his maidservant.
I encourage you to seek out these resources in the Egyptian Texts of the Bronzebook and the Admonitions of Ipuwer to see the parallel for yourself. Just like in archaic times, YHWH will manifest his power and the majority will react in the same way as the ancient Egyptians of that time. What is to come will bring tangible relevance to the passage of Isiaiah 33:6 –
6There will be stability in your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.
The fear of YHWH is your treasure.
One response to “Does Israel Actually Exist?”
Reblogged this on Gitardood’s Weblog and commented:
I intend to check out this Kolbrin book