Chronological problem placing Joseph in Egypt’s 12th dynasty
by
Damien F. Mackey
“One
of the problems of placing Joseph in the 12th dynasty means that the flood of
Noah would most likely have occurred during one of the earlier dynasties (2450
BC) and this is not only out of keeping with the Bible but there is no
archaeological evidence of a worldwide flood during any Egyptian dynasty”.
Dr Nigel Hawkins
A
couple of comments required here immediately.
I
personally do not accept the notion of “a worldwide flood”. See e.g. my:
The Bible Illuminates History & Philosophy. Part One: From Creation to
the Flood
And
I would not extend Egyptian dynastic history as far back as the Genesis (Noachic)
Flood era, estimated at 2450 BC by Dr. Nigel Hawkins.
I
would have Egyptian dynastic history beginning at about the time of the
patriarch Abram, and possibly even short of 2000 BC.
See
e.g. my:
Narmer a Contemporary of Patriarch Abraham. Part Two: Narmer as Naram Sin
When
it comes to locating Joseph in the history of Egypt, there are two schools of
thought.
The
Bible says that the Israelites sojourned in Egypt for 430 years. Exodus 12:40
says “the length of time that the Israelites live in Egypt was 430 years.”
The
New Testament also refers to this 430 years. Galatians 3:17 says: “The law,
introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously
established by God and thus do away with the promise”.
Because
of this many scholars believe that the 430 years commenced with the promise
being given to Abraham 215 years before Jacob and his family moved to Egypt.
The
result of this is that some scholars believe that Joseph came only 215 years
before Moses lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
Other
scholars believe that the Joseph was 430 years before the Exodus.
Joseph
went to Egypt some 9-10 years before Jacob did.
When
Jacob and his family went to Egypt, the Israelites numbered about 70. When they
left Egypt they numbered around 2 million. They needed to multiply to this
number. Not withstanding this, it is obviously very important to know whether
the Israelites were in Egypt for 430 years or 215 years so that we know in
which dynasty to look for Joseph.
It
is also important to know how the Egyptian dynasties are ordered.
People
who believe in a 215 year sojourn in Egypt look for Joseph earlier in the 12th
dynasty and have nominated [the Vizier] Mentuhotep as a possibility.
People
who believe in a 430 year sojourn in Egypt look for Joseph in an earlier
dynasty and given the similarities between Joseph and Imhotep, have tended to
place Joseph in the 3rd dynasty.
Placing
Joseph in the 3rd dynasty would require an even greater revision of Egyptian
history and a complete revision of the Chronology to allow for parallel
dynasties running concurrently in the North and the South and also for the
common practice of coregency.
This
would bring Egyptian history into complete agreement with the Bible.
One
of the problems of placing Joseph in the 12th dynasty means that the flood of
Noah would most likely have occurred during one of the earlier dynasties (2450
BC) and this is not only out of keeping with the Bible but there is no
archaeological evidence of a worldwide flood during any Egyptian dynasty. ….
My
preference, again, is for Joseph as Imhotep of Egypt’s 3rd dynasty.
See e.g. my:
The Bible Illuminates History & Philosophy. Part Five (i): Joseph Man
of Dreams and Saviour of Egypt
and
for Moses, instead, as the great Mentuhotep of the 12th dynasty. See
e.g. my:
Moses - May be Staring Revisionists Right in the Face
Dr.
Hawkins, who had asked the question: “Could Joseph and
Imhotep have been the same person?”, has arrived at the right
conclusions, I believe, about the dynastic placements (at least) of Joseph and
Moses:
Placing Joseph in the 3rd dynasty and Moses in the 12th dynasties not only fits very well with the archaeological evidence, it fits very well with the Biblical account and shows how Majestic God is.
….
The Bible records that Noah had a grandson named Mizraim who seems to be one of the Patriarchs of Egypt. The flood would, therefore, have preceded even the predynastic periods of Egyptian History.
….
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