One objection to the Exodus
Could not have happenedDescribes Moses as having written Exodus accounts (Exodus 34:27; et al)Describes the Law written by God’s own finger (Exodus 31:18)Archaeologists and historians denied existence of written Hebrew language that earlyWritten communication
Three main types of written communications:Syllabary – language dependent, symbols expressing soundsPictograms – symbols independent of language, depict things, ideasAlphabets – language dependent, make sounds of the languageDr. Miles R. Jones, former professor of education at Texas A&M University) – The Writing of GodPurports that written ancient Hebrew is the first alphabet in historySyllabary
Sound from combinations of consonant and vowelCa, Ce, Ci, Co, CuDa, De, Di, Do, Du, etc.Cuneiform was a type of syllabarySyllabary requires about 200 symbolsCommunication is language dependentNeither writing nor pictures, but symbolsMade with stylusMakes wedged imprints on clayNot carved in stoneCumbersome in writing and preservingPictograms
Symbols express things, ideas, or states of beingNot language dependentRequires huge number of symbolsDynamic lexiconHieroglyphics
Type of pictogramSymbols of things and ideasBorrowed by HebrewsHebrews borrowed symbols to depict sounds in Hebrew languageTook symbols for items beginning with a soundUsed that symbol to express that soundWhen did they do this?Some time in the 2nd millennium B.C.When did Joseph’s family come to Egypt?Early in the 2nd millennium B.C. – approximately 1850 B.C.“A” is for cow
In Hebrew, Aleph means Cattle or OxenHieroglyph is a cow’s headSymbol of cow’s head used for the “A” soundSymbol evolved into a sideways “A”The Hebrews took 22 symbols from Egyptian hieroglyphsOne for each of the sounds in the Hebrew languageThe symbols were for the sounds, not the things or ideasEstablished a 22-letter alphabetBy the Exodus, the symbol for cow had morphed into a sideways “A”Hebrew experience with writing
Abraham – cuneiformJoseph – cuneiform, hieroglyphicsMoses – cuneiform, hieroglyphics, alphabetThe term “alphabet”
Taken from the first two lettersGreek?Hebrew?You decideArchaeological evidence
El Arish inscriptionDates from 325 B.C.Problem?Ipuwer papyrusMernepta StelePresence of IsraelitesWhen?Four-room housesTypical of Hebrew housesFound in both Egypt (pre-1440 B.C.)And in Canaan (post-1500 B.C.)Effect of archaeology
Can’t probe the ExodusMuch of it puzzle piecesWide range of interpretationsWill always be a matter of faithWhere was Mount Horeb?
Also called Mount SinaiTraditional – Sinai PeninsulaBible – Midian – Exodus 3:1, 12
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