I was intrigued to see the new c14 dating of the Pharaohs.
One site (D News) stated,
Led by Professor Christopher Ramsey of Britain's Oxford University, an international team tested seeds, baskets, textiles, plant stems and fruit obtained from museums in the United States and Europe for the landmark study.landmark
"For the first time, radiocarbon dating has become precise enough to constrain the history of ancient Egypt to very specific dates," said Ramsey. "I think scholars and scientists will be glad to hear that our small team of researchers has independently corroborated a century of scholarship in just three years."
Dates for Egypt's Old, Middle and New Kingdoms had been based on historical documents or archaeological findings, but estimates were notoriously uncertain as each dynasty would reset the clock.
The new data showed the reign of Djoser, the best known pharaoh in the Old Kingdom, was between 2691 and 2625 B.C., some 50 to 100 years earlier than the established wisdom.
The study, published in Friday's issue of the journal Science, also concluded that the New Kingdom started slightly earlier than thought, between 1570 and 1544 B.C.
I looked at the dates for the New Kingdom Pharaohs and they were pretty consistently 7 years older that the low chronology, and a few years less than the high. It also agrees quite well with the heliacal rising of Sothis date of Amenhotep I, if it was made in Thebes. This totally destroys Rohl's position.
One intriguing idea is that the absolute dates using c14 differ from the archaeological dates, but sometimes by 7 years and sometimes by 30 or more. If the archaeological date of 1446 for the exodus, using Solomon's reign was off from the absolute date, an absolute date would not have to be 1446 BC. A 1415 date puts the invasion of Canaan close to the time of the Amarna letters. The King of Jerusalem could be detailing the same event.
This date would make the dream stele of Thutmose IV fit the death of the firstborn.
Notice that the use of "Hebrew" in the Bible is mostly when people are conversing with Pharaoh. If Pharaoh lumps them together with other 'Apiru,' this would make sense. The rest of the uses of Hebrew in the pentateuch deal with slaves. Could these be non-Israeli 'Apiru'?
This type of Chronology fits, while Rohl's keeps getting worse.
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