The Bible Unearthed - Exodus

I know this is slightly off-topic, but what do you make of Bill Dever?I'm sorry, but, what should I know about "Bill Dever"?Can you point me to somewhere?[This message has been edited by Orion, 04-25-2003]

I've not read Dever, but Google provided me with a couple of hits..."Scholars have known these things for a long time, but we've broken the news very gently," said William Dever, a professor of Near Eastern archeology and anthropology at the University of Arizona and one of America's preeminent archeologists.Dever's view is emblematic of a fundamental shift in archeology. Three decades ago as a Christian seminary student, he wrote a paper defending the Exodus and got an A, but "no one would do that today," he says. The old emphasis on trying to prove the Bible--often in excavations by amateur archeologists funded by religious groups--has given way to more objective professionals aiming to piece together the reality of ancient lifestyles.In a new book this year, "The Bible Unearthed," Israeli archeologist Israel Finklestein of Tel Aviv University and archeological journalist Neil Asher Silberman raised similar doubts and offered a new theory about the roots of the Exodus story. The authors argue that the story was written during the time of King Josia of Judah in the 7th century BC--600 years after the Exodus supposedly occurred in 1250 BC--as a political manifesto to unite Israelites against the rival Egyptian empire as both states sought to expand their territory.Dever argued that the Exodus story was produced for theological reasons: to give an origin and history to a people and distinguish them from others by claiming a divine destiny.http://www.truthbeknown.com/exodus.htm

I have in front of me a copy of Etz Hayim, Torah and Commentary, published by The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism of the Jewish Publication Society (JPS). This book pretty much discounts the historicity of the biblical Exodus account. And this, from a conservative Jewish commentary..."The contribution of archeology to the biblical narratives of the last four books of the Torah is limited. There is no reference in Egyptian sources to Israel's sojourn in that country, and the evidence that does exist is negligible and indirect."[This message has been edited by Orion, 04-27-2003]

If you took an X-Ray of this story, you will find God is the very skeleton of it. Take Him out and the whole thing collapses in a heap. The maintenance of the population in the desert is a miracle, therefore I would not offer a naturalistic explanation. I’m comfortable with it having a supernatural cause.I think that, before we get into a consideration of miracles, we should take a step back and ask a rather fundamental question: does the book of Exodus reflect historical reality? To date, the evidence (or lack of) suggests either that the story is fictional or that it took place on a much more modest scale.

Fair enough. What type of evidence would you expect to see?I'd refer you to my intro to this thread (go to the very top) as well as the excellent contributions by Brian and others. If the Exodus story were a reflection of reality, one would expect to find extra-biblical evidence such as Egyptian accounts as well as archeological discoveries in support of the story. This has not happened, and it is not for lack of trying.If this kind of thing interests you, I recommend you obtain a copy of The Bible Unearthed, Finkelstein and Silberman. Amazon has it.

God and his word are inseparable. There can be no discussion on one without respect for and inclusion of the other.Except that, God has not revealed his word to us. What we have, instead, is a collection of ancient writings, from various sources, by various people who attempted to define the divine and its relationship to us. That's it. That's all there is. Some of these writings are beautiful, while other of these writings are mythical, and still other of these writings reflect the ignorance and tribalism of the authors.