In response to point #4:
I think the answer to why no archaeological evidence has been found supporting the Exodus is that it's being searched for in the wrong place....or time rather.
According to biblical chronology, the Exodus occurred around 1446 BC. Following traditional Egyption chronology this would put the Exodus smack in the middle of the 18th dynasty (1550 to 1320 BC). If we use these assumptions as our basis of search, we find no evidence of the plagues, the destruction of the Egyptian army or even the invasion of Palestine under Joshua.
I believe the solution would be a revising of the standard Egyptian chronology, reducing the standard timeline by centuries and placing the events of the Exodus within the 12th dynasty. When this is done there is ample supporting evidence for each of the mentioned events.
Before anyone responds with what is assuredly running through many people's minds...I'm not entirely looney. There are, in fact, a number of scholars who claim that a gross error in chronology has been made in calculating the dates of Egyptian history and that they should be reduced by centuries. (James, P. et al., Centuries of Darkness: A Challenge to the Conventional Chronology of the Old World Archaeology, Rutgers University Press, p. 318, 1991; Rohl, D., A Test of Time, Century Ltd, London, p. 143, 1995.)
During the 12th dynasty, semetic slaves did indeed toil under the Egyptians and were even involved in the building of the 12th dynasty pyramids. Sir Flinders Petrie excavated the city of Kahun in the Faiyyum and Dr Rosalie David wrote a book about his excavations in which she said,
”It is apparent that the Asiatics were present in the town in some numbers, and this may have reflected the situation elsewhere in Egypt . . Their exact homeland in Syria or Palestine cannot be determined . . The reason for their presence in Egypt remains unclear.’
Because the area they were excavating was dated to the 12th dynasty, and they held to the traditional belief that the Exodus happened during the 15th dynasty, they were unable to properly indentify these peoples as the Israelites.
There was another interesting discovery Petrie made. ”Larger wooden boxes, probably used originally to store clothing and other possessions, were discovered underneath the floors of many houses at Kahun. They contained babies, sometimes buried two or three to a box, and aged only a few months at death.’ In case it isn't obvious, the biblical explanation for this otherwise baffling discovery can be found in Exodus1:16:
When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birth stools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him’ (Exodus1:16).
Another striking feature of Petrie’s discoveries was the fact that these slaves suddenly disappeared off the scene. Rosalie David wrote:
”It is apparent that the completion of the king’s pyramid was not the reason why Kahun’s inhabitants eventually deserted the town, abandoning their tools and other possessions in the shops and houses.’
”There are different opinions of how this first period of occupation at Kahun drew to a close ... . The quantity, range and type of articles of everyday use which were left behind in the houses may indeed suggest that the departure was sudden and unpremeditated.'
When looking in the correct time period, the evidence for these events certainly exists.
I know this is an extremely long post already, I'll quickly address the plaques. I agree with the inference that these events would have been so catastrophic (physically, economically and socially) that there would almost certainly be some evidence.
In the Leiden Museum in Holland is a papyrus written in a later period, but most scholars recognize it as being a copy of a papyrus from an earlier dynasty. It could have been from the 13th dynasty describing the conditions that prevailed after the plagues had struck. It reads,
”Nay, but the heart is violent. Plague stalks through the land and blood is everywhere . . Nay, but the river is blood. Does a man drink from it? As a human he rejects it. He thirsts for water . . Nay, but gates, columns and walls are consumed with fire . . Nay but men are few. He that lays his brother in the ground is everywhere . . Nay but the son of the high-born man is no longer to be recognized . . The stranger people from outside are come into Egypt . . Nay, but corn has perished everywhere. People are stripped of clothing, perfume and oil. Everyone says "there is no more". The storehouse is bare . . It has come to this. The king has been taken away by poor men.’ (Erman, A., Ipuwer Papyrus, Leiden Museum, quoted from The Ancient Egyptians, a source book of their writings, Harper and Row, New York, pp. 94”101, 1966.)
In addition, a period of instability followed the demise of the 12th dynasty. Fourteen kings followed each other in rapid succession, the earlier ones probably ruling in the Delta before the 12th dynasty ended. Kings of the 13th dynasty had already started to rule in the north-east delta and, when the 12th dynasty came to an end, they filled the vacuum and took over as the 13th dynasty.
So when the timelines of Egypt and the Old Testament are brought into agreement, we do see the evidence right "when" it should be. It shouldn't be surprising either that these timelines are incongruent. There obviously couldn't have been an Egyption dynasty or pyramid around at the time of the flood, although the standard Egyptian chronolgy would say that there was.
Later
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