The Issue of Historicity of the Jewish Exodus from Egypt

Abstract

The article analyzes and interprets the events of the biblical book of Exodus on the resettlement of Jewish tribes from Egypt, and compares it with data from extra-biblical sources, such as the Merneptah Stele and the works of Aristobul, given the achievements of domestic and foreign historiography of this issue. The article deals with the hypothesis of the two exoduses of the Jewish tribes from Egypt, the early references to them in the sources, and the interpretation of the inscription of the Merneptah Stele as well as the historical context of its creation. The article analyzes the term “Habiru” its identification with the Jewish people and related Semitic ethnoses living in north-eastern Egypt. Its various interpretations and connotations, which shed light on the social status of the Habiru, are examined. The first references to the Israeli people in the extra-biblical sources with biblical events of the book of Exodus are also identified. The chronology of the Book of Exodus is considered separately. Various translations and descriptions of the terms used to describe the social status of the Jews in Egypt according to the Septuagint are also given, and the changes in the position of the tribes of Israel in Egypt and possible causes that led to the migration of Semitic tribes to Palestine are monitored.