BIBLE BABEL--Was Moses Akhenaton?

WAS MOSES AKHENATEN?

WAS AKHENATON MOSES?   (Posted 26 April 2013)

The theory that Moses was the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaton has been kicked around for quite some time.  First we will present the “evidence” usually offered to support that theory, then we will deconstruct the theory.

NAME OF MOSES

One reason why this theory has been presented is the name of “Moses” itself.  Even though there is a Hebrew form of the name (Moshe), it was Egyptian in origin as in mesu, or mose, which simply meant “son,” or “child” as in Ra-mose (the son of the Sun god Ra),Thut-mose, or Thothmose,  (the son of Thoth), etc.   

There are also a couple of clues in the Bible indicating that “Moses” may well have been an Egyptian.  After “Moses” draws water for Jethro’s daughters at the well, they tell their father that “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds” (Exodus 3:18).  And, then, after God tells “Moses” that he has to go back to Egypt and talk to the Hebrews, “Moses” told God that he couldn’t talk very well (Exodus 3:10).  A lot of people have taken that passage to mean that “Moses” couldn’t speak Hebrew very well for the simple fact that he was Egyptian.  (Admittedly, however, both of these passages could be explained away, if one takes the book of exodus at face value, by saying that if “Moses” were a Hebrew raised in Pharaoh's palace he would naturally speak Egyptian and dress like an Egyptian—and “walk like an Egyptian.”).

MONOTHEISM

However, the primary reason that people have identified Akhenaton with “Moses” is religious.  Akhenaton was a monotheist and “Moses” was a monotheist and they both seem to have lived at about the same time in history, therefore they must have been the same person, the reasoning goes, because after all, “Moses” was obviously an Egyptian. 

One of the variations of the “Moses” is Akhenaton theory has “Moses” being one of Akhenaton’s priests, or a follower of some sort.  This theory, which makes a little more sense is based on the historical fact that upon Akhenaton’s death there was a counter-revolution where the priests of Amun and their followers obliterated all remnants of Akhenaton’s monotheistic religion. 

This then provided the motive for a surviving priest, or priests, of Akhenaton’s monotheistic religion to seek out anyone--even a “down-trodden” people who might be willing to accept the monotheistic religion in turn for being released from their bondage to the Egyptians, or so the reasoning went. 

And, of course, that would necessitate escaping from Egypt, fleeing across the desert and then eventually returning to the “down-trodden” people’s original homeland in the land of Canaan—which “Moses,” of course, was never allowed to enter.  (Perhaps because he wasn’t a “true” Israelite?  Making that his punishment for breaking the tablets makes zero sense because all the people whose “sins” caused him to break the tablets were allowed to enter.  So why them, and not “Moses”?)

HYMN TO THE SUN

Underscoring all of these Akhenaton-related theories is Akhenaton’s religious beliefs, as mentioned above:

“O living Aten, creator of life! . . . .      Who makes seed grow in women, who who makes people from sperm;   Who feeds the son in his mother’s womb, who soothes him to still his tears.    . . . .How many are your deeds, Though hidden from sight, O Sole god beside whom there is none!  You made the earth as you wished, you alone.    All peoples, herds, and flocks; All upon earth that walk on legs,    All on high that fly on wings, the lands of Khor and Kush, the land of Egypt.     You set every man in his place, you supply their needs.  Everyone has food.    His lifetime is counted.      Their tongues differ in speech, their characters likewise;    Their skins are distinct, for you distinguished the peoples.”

(Portions taken from the great hymn to the Aten, in the tomb of Ay;  Lichtheim, Miriam, Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol. II:  The New Kingdom, 1976, pp. 96-99)

THE SOLE GOD

The hymn to the Aten was composed by the Pharaoh Akhenaten or another family member acting on his behalf in the 15^th century B.C. (or the 14^th century if you follow the traditional chronology), and the obvious references to a “Sole God” indicate a pure monotheism.  This hymn, and the references in it, is what has made some people think that the early Hebrews must have gotten their monotheism either directly from Akhenaton, or from one of his followers.  After all, the reasoning goes, everybody knows that the “Jews” were “slaves” in Egypt during the time of Akhenaton so how could they not have been influenced by his religion.

SORRY, NO JEWS IN EGYPT

On of the more important issues we have to investigate is the status of the “Jews”/Hebrews during that period of history, as well as examine the dates of the so-called “Exodus.”  In the first place the term “Jew” is entirely erroneous in this context.  There were no “Jews” at this time in history.  The world “Jew” is an English mangling of the term “Yahud” which was the name of a tribe of Semites that came up out of Arabia and joined the Israelite confederation long after the time of the “Exodus.” 

The tribe of Yahud then adopted much of the mythology and history of the other Israelite tribes they were in confederation with at the time of the Davidic monarchy (c. 1000 B.C.).  When Israeli Prime Minister Menahem Begin famously said to Egyptian President Anwar Sadat that the Jewish people built the pyramids when they were slaves in Egypt the entire academic world erupted in laughter.  The pyramids were built 500 years prior to the arrival of even the Canaanite Hyksos, and over 1500 years before the term Yahud (“Jew”) was applied to a tribe of people.  In other words, the pyramids were built 1500 years before there were any “Jews” anywhere in the world.  The pyramids were also built by free peasants during the agricultural off-season, not slaves. 

It is probably even incorrect to speak of “Israelites” during the time of the sojourn in Egypt since the term was not used to denote a particular people until the 13^th century B.C., again, long after the exodus.  However, the antecedents of some of the tribes that were to become a part of the historical Israelite confederation may well have spent some time in Egypt prior to the time of the so-called “exodus.”  It is true that the Ebla tablets give us the name “Yishra’-El” at 2500 B.C., but it was a personal name, not a tribal name.  The use as a tribal name came much, much later.

THE HYKSOS

Egyptian history tells us that Semites from west Asia (i.e. Canaan) invaded Egypt around 2,000 B.C., eventually took over most of the country even ruling it as Pharaohs, until they were finally kicked out by the native Egyptians around 1600 B.C.  This jells reasonably well with the Biblical accounts which claim that the ancestors of the tribes of Israel so-journed some 430 years in Egypt (Exodus 12:40).  Of course, most of them were not enslaved since they were the ones doing the enslaving—at least until the end of that time period.  Initially these Semitic tribes settled in the deserts just east of the Nile Delta and as Egyptian power weakened they gradually assumed control over the entire Delta region and then expanded their influence northwards. 

By the Egyptians they were called hikau-khoswet which translates out to “Desert Princes” (Clayton, Peter A., Chronicle of the Pharaohs, 1994, p. 93).  Modern history books corrupt the Egyptian term into “Hyksos.”  Initially some of these Semites may well have been taken as slaves because Semitic names do appear in the lists of household servants among wealthy Egyptians beginning in 2200 B.C., or even earlier.  But that trickle became a flood by 2000 B.C. (1800 B.C. in the old chronology) possibly due to famine conditions in central and western Asia. 

The time period of 2200-2000 B.C. corresponds with the collapse of the Sumerian/Akkadian civilization in Mesopotamia and the mass movements of huge tribal entities all across Southern Asia and even into Western Europe.  This was the time when Indo-European speaking peoples moved into Greece, Italy, and Iberia in Southern Europe; and in the Middle East they pushed into Anatolia and Mesopotamia.  As these Indo-European tribes pushed into the fertile crescent from the steppes it forced other tribes to move south touching off a chain reaction.  At the bottom of the chain were the West Semitic speaking tribes of Canaan, many of whom were thus forced to find new grazing lands for their flocks.

CAPITOL OF THE SEMITES

However, as the power and the number of the Semites/Hyksos  grew and Egyptian power waned, the Semites grew ever bolder and they sacked Memphis around 1900 B.C. (1720 B.C. according to the old chronology).  The capital of these Semitic rulers was at a place called hat-waret or “house of those who come down,” in Egyptian (i.e. those who came to Egypt from another country), which later Greek writers mangled to “Avaris,” the name by which it is called in all of our history books today.

The 14^th, 15^th, and 16^th dynasties of Egypt all ruled from the Semitic capital of “Avaris” and carried Semitic names, or hyphenated Semitic-Egytpian names such as “Sheshi,” “Ya’qub-Hor,” “Anat-hor,” “Ya’qub ‘Aam,” and “Habibi” (spelled Apepi in history books).  The tide turned sharpely against the Semites around 1750 B.C. (1570 according to the old chronology) when    Ahmose I, a native Egyptian prince came to the throne in Thebes beginning a new dynasty and a new period of greatness for Egypt. 

Under Ahmose the Egyptians were able to regain most of the country pushing the Semites back into their strongholds in the eastern Delta.  During these times, obviously a lot of Semites/Hebrews would have been taken captive and sold as slaves.  So, there is some truth after all to the Biblical contention that their ancestors were slaves in Egypt, but to imply that they were “afflicted” and “oppressed” for the full 430 years is erroneous.

EARLY HEBREW RELIGION?

But what was the religion of these Semities (some of whom may have been “Hebrews”) that ruled from the Delta?  “They chose as their pre-eminent deity a god of the desert wastes, Seth.  They also introduced other foreign gods and goddesses from their Phoenician homelands, such as the mother-goddess, Astarte, and the storm and war god, Reshep” (Clayton, p. 94).  I have to pause here to correct Clayton.  While some of these immigrants may have been from the “Phoenician” homeland, the greater majority would have been from the areas later called Israel and Palestine, as well as parts of Syria and Phoenicia.  The proper term for this greater geographic area is Canaan, not Phoenicia.  They would have all been speakers of a northwest Semitic forerunner of what we know as Old Biblical Hebrew, perhaps something akin to Ugaritic.  But what is interesting here is that they adopted Seth as their primary god. 

SETH VS. OSIRIS

According to Egyptian mythology, Seth was the brother of their patron deity Ausar, or “Osiris,” both of whom came originally from Arabia, however it is Seth that came to personify the desert wastes more so than Osiris/Ausar who came to personify Egypt.  The two brothers fought a vicious battle until Osiris/Ausar was killed by Seth, then resurrected by his sister/lover Isis, Egypt’s original fertility goddess.  This myth may well represent an early, pre-historic wave of immigrant conquerors coming out of Arabia to mix with the native Egyptians resulting in a new culture that was to become the Egypt of the Pyramid age.  There is linguistic, as well as mythological evidence for this.  However, it certainly seems to be re-enacted with the Hebrew/Hyksos invasion/conquest of 2000-1600 B.C.

The worship of Seth and the gods of Canaan also prove that these proto “Hebrews” had not yet evolved their monotheism.  (For more on this refer to the essay on “Where Yahweh came from.”)  This would seem to lend some support to the thesis that they got their monotheism from either Akhenaton, or one of his followers.  But there still is a problem with the chronology and the dating with regards to that thesis.

WAS THERE AN EXODUS?

It all boils down to the question of was there an “Exodus” and if so, when?  Some scholars claim that there was no Exodus, that the entire story was a “myth of liberation” written many centuries later.  In other words, it was used as a metaphor for their “salvation” from a lower form of existence (Devers, William G. Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From? 2003, p.232-233).  According to this thesis, the collection of tribes who were to become the Israelite confederation never left the land of Canaan.  They never sojourned in Egypt. 

They stayed put right where they were until they eventually evolved into the nation of Israel.  Dr. Devers is an archaeologist, and of course, there is archaeological evidence to support his view.  However, in order to accept that view in its entirety without qualifications one has to ignore the well-documented 400-year history of the Hyksos occupation of Egypt which is supported by contemporary and near contemporary written Egyptian accounts as well as archaeology on the ground in Egypt.

My view is that the peoples who were to become the nation of Israel were composed partly of Canaanite tribes who did not make the trek to Egypt as well as some Canaanite tribes who did.  Added to this mix later was at least one Philistine tribe (the tribe of Dan) and one tribe that came out of Arabia at some point after the Israelite confederation had been established (the tribe of Yahudah/Judah).  In other words, there is a grain of truth to the Exodus story, and though it may not have been the history of ALL the Israelite tribes, it may have been the history of SOME of them—at least to a certain extent.               

WHEN?

So, when was the exodus?

Most people have assumed that the Exodus occurred during the time of the Pharaoh Ramesses II (the great) who ruled for nearly 70 years in the 13^th century.  This is because Genesis 47: 6-11 claims that “Joseph” placed his father Ya’qub (Jacob) and his brethren “in the land of Rameses, as Pharoah had commanded.”  However, this passage reveals an Historical inaccuracy within the Genesis account proving that Genesis could not have been written until many centuries after the “Exodus.”  There were no Pharaohs named Ramesses until the late 14^th century/early 13^th century B.C.  But Ramesses II was known to have done some heavy-duty construction in the east Delta area, the area called “Goshen” in the Bible. 

NOT RAMESES

However, nowhere in the Biblical account does it give the name of the pharaoh of the Exodus.  It’s just that Ramesses II happened to be the best known of Egyptian pharaohs to Hollywood due to his long reign and the military victories he achieved, and so movies about the “Exodus” used Ramesses II as the Pharaoh of the Exodus thus influencing modern popular thought on the issue.  His reign also represents Egypt’s last glow as a major power.  Beginning with the death of Ramesses II Egypt spiraled down until it could no longer maintain its own independence by the time of Cyrus the Persian on.  

The problems that scholars have with Ramesses II as the pharaoh of the Exodus are many.  First off, the Bible never claims that Rameses II was the pharaoh of the Exodus, and even if it did, the term “Rameses” could be applied to any pharaoh except for Akhenaton.  The word “Rameses,” or “Ra-Mose,” means “son of Ra,” Ra being one of the terms given to the sun god.  All pharaohs were considered to be “sons of Ra,” therefore it would not be technically wrong to call “Rameses” the pharaoh of the Exodus, but not Rameses II which would be impossible for the following reasons:

First of all, we have his well preserved mummy.  It sits in the Egyptian museum.  So, obviously it means that he was not swept away by the sea with all of his chariots and men.  Secondly, there is no evidence at all of any of the other “plagues” or “calamities” allegedly thrown at the Egyptians by the God of the Israelites during that time span.   The more serious issue, however, has to do with chronology. 

The earliest non-Biblical reference to “Israel” appears in the so-called Merneptah inscription (Miller, J. Maxwell, and John H. Hayes A History of Ancient Israel and Judah, 2006, p. 4).  The pharaoh Merneptah (1212-1202 B.C.) ruled shortly after the time of Ramesis II (1279-1213 B.C.), and the inscription on the stele recounts a number of peoples that Egypt has been at war with, among these is “Israel” where the inscription says “Israel is laid waste, its seed is no more.”

MERENEPTAH STELE

In order for Israel to have become an established state in Canaan capable of fighting a war against the Egyptians, they would have needed much more time than the span between the rule of Ramesses II and the rule of his successor Merneptah—even without the alleged 40-years of wandering in the desert.  Furthermore, there is some evidence that the so-called Merneptah Stele recounts not the wars of Merneptah, but those of his father and Grandfather, taking us back into the beginning of the 13^th century or even the end of the 14^th century (Rohl, David M., Pharaohs and Kings: a Biblical Quest, 1995, p.169).

Rohl, citing Frank Yurco, also makes a strong case for the “Ashkelon” wall at Karnak depicting some of the same battles described in the Merneptah inscription, indicating that this “nation” of “Israel” had chariot forces at the time of the battle depicted (Rohl, 1995, pp. 164-171).  Since none of the Biblical accounts mention the possession of chariots by Israelites during the time of the Exodus, or even the time of the judges, the beginnings of the “Israelite” state must be pushed back a couple of hundred years earlier than is conventionally believed. 

And, then, it would have taken some time for that state to have developed enough viability and the infrastructure to field chariot forces.  Chariots were extremely expensive to build and maintain in battle-ready condition, requiring not only the horses to pull them, but an army of trained mechanics to provide the constant repairs they needed.  Therefore, only strong, well-established states could afford enough of them to be able to fight pitched battles with them against a large, well-established state like Egypt.

THUTMOSE III

At one time or another, just about every pharoah from the 19^th century to the 12^th century has been put forward by somebody as the pharaoh of the exodus.  The one I favor is the one put forward by Charles Pellegrino in two of his books:  Unearthing Atlantis and Return to Sodom and Gomorrah.  Dr. Pellegrino is a controversial figure known to work simultaneously in entomology, forensic physics, paleogenetics, preliminary design of advanced rocket systems, astrobiology, and archaeology both underwater and on land.  He is the scientist whose dinosaur-cloning recipe inspired Michael Crichton to write Jurassic Park (from www.wikipedia.org).  

Using archaeological evidence on the ground in Egypt, Pellegrino demonstrates that not only did the plagues of Egypt happen, they happened during the reign of Thutmose III between the years of 1627-1620 B.C.).  Then,  Then, using “hard science” evidence from tree rings and ice-core measurements from around the world he proved that Thutmose III ruled nearly 200 years earlier than the “conventional” or “old” chronology says he did (i.e mid-to late 17^th century B.C., instead of the 15^th century B.C. as the old chronology would have it).

This, of course upset the professional historians and archaeologist to no end because it would mean that they would have to completely revise their dating system which is based on the very soft “science” of the so-called Pottery clock (i.e. pottery styles change after X number of decades just like clockwork, according to the theory).   In Egyptian history that would mean having to eliminate many of the so-called “co-regencies” and stretching out the reigns of rulers so as to be chronologic rather than contemporary.

PELLEGRINO’S PLAGUES

Based on Pellegrino’s findings the “plagues” that allegedly afflicted Egypt resulted from the explosion of the Thera volcano (1627-1620 B.C.) that destroyed the island of Akrotiri in the Aegean and brought down the entire Minoan Linear A civilization—although these “plagues” did not occur in the exact order as given in the Bible.  The first result of the explosion was a tidal wave that wiped out an Egyptian military contingent that was positioned near the Mediterranean coast on the road between the delta and the Sinai and became the source for the Biblical legend about “Moses” parting the waters of the sea, then letting the waters of the sea sweep the Egyptian army away once he released the waters, which is exactly what happens during a huge Tsunami.  (This incident, of the Egyptian army being swept away by the sea, became a legend in many non-Hebrew sources according to the Greek Geographer Strabo). 

Then came a poisonous cloud that rained red hot pellets of molten rock afflicting man and beast alike.  The volcanic ash made the skies dark and altered weather patterns around the world (as evidenced not only by archaeological samples from Egyptian soil, but by tree-ring dating and ice-core samples from around the world, and written accounts from as far away as China).

Professional Historians and Archaeologists may not like it, but Pellegrino’s contributions can not be ignored.  His date of 1627-1620 B.C. for the Thera eruption and the reign of Thutmose III is backed by too much hard science to discount.  Pellegrino’s thesis receives some unintended support from Rohl (pp. 386-387). 

JERICHO EVIDENCE

Coincidentally, a date of 1620 B.C. for the (beginning of the) Exodus would fit in nicely with the 400-year reign of the Hyksos of Egyptian history (given that the Semites from Canaan began moving into the delta in the 2200-2000 B.C. time-frame), and would also fit in nicely with the early establishment of an “Israelite” state in Canaan and its evolution to the point where it would be capable of fielding chariot forces against Egyptian troops in the 13^th century as implied by the “Ashkelon wall” in Karnak and the so-called Merneptah Stele according to Rohl’s analogy above.  

There is also the matter of Jericho which does not show any evidence of destruction during the traditional date given for the exodus and Joshua’s “conquest” of Jericho and other areas in Canaan (early iron age), but does show evidence of a Biblical-like destruction during the late bronze age (c. 1550-1450 B.C.), or some 50-100 years after the Thera destruction (Pellegrino, Charles, Return to Sodom and Gomorrah:  Bible Stories from Archaeologigists, 1994, pp.256-265).  This date would give the Semitic tribes ample time to roam about the deserts (of Arabia?) for 40 years or so before entering Canaan.

AMARNA LETTERS

Pellegrino’s theory about the date of the “Exodus” and the destruction of Jericho IV in the late Bronze Age also dove-tails nicely with the evidence from the Amarna letters about the tribal groups called “’Apiru” with Biblical sounding names , including Yishuya (Joshua) and Tadua (David/beloved of Yahweh) taking over Canaanite towns and cities and inducing others to join their confederation during the reign of Akhenaton (EA 256, text BM 29847, trans. Albright as in Moran, William L. The Amarna Letters, 1992, p. 309, and etc.).

There is no other explanation for the dating of the Exodus that allows all the pieces to fit together as does Pellegrino’s date of 1627-1620 B.C. with Thutmose III as the pharaoh.

This in turn would entirely eliminate Ahkenaton as being “Moses,” and it would also eliminate the possibility of one of his followers or priests from being “Moses” since “Moses” and the “Israelites” would have been long gone by the time Akhenaton came around with his version of monotheism.   

AHKENATON’S PHYSICAL STAMINA

Another problem with the “Akhenaton is Moses” theory is the physical stamina of Akhenaton.  In art work which he himself commissioned at his capital city of Akhetaton (Tell el-Amarna) he is depicted as a sickly, mis-shapened person.  Hardly a person that could inspire thousands of rough Semites to follow him into the desert.   And, even if he could gather a following to trek out into the desert, he looks like he could not have survived the rigors of a long trip over rugged terrain given his physical condition.

RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCES

In addition, there are some religious differences that would seem to negate Akhenaton as having been the inspiration for the Israelite/Hebrew monotheism.  Most obvious is the identification of the disk of the Sun as being the deity, whereas the Hebrew/Israelite monotheism was based upon a deity that could not be seen.  Also, in the above quoted hymn to the Aten we see evidence that Akhenaton conceived of his God as being a God who dispenses his blessings upon all peoples on the face of the earth regardless of the language they spoke, or the color of their skins, or where they lived.  In contrasts the Israelites conceived of their deity as being for them alone and that they were singled out as being his special people.

INDIRECT INFLUENCES

All of that being said, it is still possible that the Akhenaton religion may have had some influence upon Israelite religious thought one way or another.  This is because there may have been more than one Exodus.  While many Canaanite Semites did leave Egypt in the aftermath of the disruptions caused by the Thera eruption, which may have been the major Exodus, there is evidence that many of them stayed behind in Egypt with some eventually becoming slaves (Kitchen, K.A., On the Reliability of the Old Testament, 2003, pp. 255-257).  Most likely the Canaanite Semites trickled out of Egypt in several different waves over a period of hundreds of years, just like they had previously trickled into Egypt over a period of hundreds of years. 

 It is not impossible then that some of these Semites may have come under the influence of the Akhenaton religion, and then subsequently left Egypt to join their distant kinsfolk in Canaan.  Thus it is possible that Akhenaton’s concepts could have been melded with the religious concepts that the Israelite tribes had already began to evolve. 

Whether or not there was an actual “Moses,” or several “Moseses.” remains open to question, but Akhenaton can be ruled out even if his religious ideas may have later indirectly influenced some elements of the evolving Hebrew religion.  Most Egyptologists, moreover, believe that Akhenaton died and was buried in Egyptian and that his mummy has been found.  That would make it impossible for him to have journeyed to the borders of Canaan to die there as “Moses” supposedly did.