A Forgotten Assassination

The executioner's stroke slashes through the air - but stops abruptly an inch from the victim's skull. At the last moment, the deadly blow is arrested, the weapon touching - but not injuring. Death is a hairsbreadth away. The victim is shocked ... appalled. He, who was to have reigned as king over his people, instead has had his identity entirely obliterated by this symbolic execution. Hereafter he is to have no official existence. Remarkably, this dramatic event will lead him to become "king" of another nation ... a nation which as yet, does not exist.

          The strange episode took place in Egypt, some 3,500 years ago. This forgotten drama is one of the best concealed of history's "assassinations". It caused upheavals throughout the ancient world, traces of which are still to be found today.
          This banished heir to the throne was to become the mythical figure who, as a result of biblical tradition, is now remembered as Moses. But so effectively was his true identity erased that the first forty years of his life seem to have been lost to posterity.

          At that time, an execution was performed by the deadly blow of a club to the head, which was then separated from the body by striking and cutting with a sword. But in Moses' case, the execution was symbolic; an uncompleted slaying performed in accordance with an ancient ritual.
          The highest priesthood and 'cult-brothers' in the Egyptian court had conspired against the man who should have been their future king. They had secretly passed sentence that he was to forfeit his life. The apparent execution was accompanied by an act of magical 'excommunication'. Thereafter, he fled Egypt as an outlaw, with neither power nor name. Nothing was left to him but his life.

          This dramatic incident neither belongs to the tales usually told about Moses nor is it referred to in the Bible. Nevertheless it is still possible to study such lesser known scraps of information about his life because of the existence of otherwise rarely used sources from the ancient world.
          Although these old narratives contain information which is more extensive than that found in the biblical accounts about Moses, the Bible has become the dominant authority over time. As a result, these and similar sources have not been taken seriously and have often been forgotten. (Detailed citations will be found in the main text).


Mystery Concerning the Existence Of Moses

In later times, it became almost impossible to track down either the true identity of Moses or the correct epoch in which his life took place. Furthermore, most descriptions can be found of only three short periods of Moses' life with long "gaps" in between, making research even more difficult.
          The mist, which in particular veils the first 40 years of his life, was also to hide the existence of a gifted pharaoh-prince, a fascinating personality and a many-sided genius. This knowledge was partly preserved by descendants of "his other people," although not always adequately understood or properly interpreted. These sources, as well as those handed down by writers in antiquity, still bear witness to Moses' background and person.

          In addition, when biblical texts are used as the sole source of information, it should not be taken for granted that Moses existed as an actual person in world history: using these texts alone he might be perceived as a legendary, mythical hero or "saga-figure". It is almost as if the curse contained in the magic included by the priests in his ritual execution still weighs heavily on the case even thousands of years later.

          The scientific uncertainty about Moses' precise place in the history of Egypt results mainly from the lack of fixed points concerning the time and place of many crucial occurrences in a remote culture, thousands of years ago. Until now, apparently no direct evidence for or traces of Moses' existence have been found.
          The existing versions of the Bible are secondary transcripts, in particular those edited by Ezra, the priest, around 400 BC. The oldest physically preserved manuscripts exist only as fragments that are no more than 2,100 years old. The occurrences related in the accounts of Moses happened almost 3,500 years ago.

          Some significant incidents in Moses' life, listed in the order as narrated in the Bible, are as follows:
1.       Moses was born in Egypt. The names of his parents are not mentioned, either when they first appear, or during the description of Moses' birth and childhood. Three months after his birth, Moses was placed on the Nile, in a floating woven rush ark. He was found shortly thereafter by the king's daughter, who raised him as her son, after first placing him with a wet-nurse (the biblical text in its present form gives the impression that the wet-nurse was in fact his mother).

2.       At the age of 40, Moses had to flee the country after an episode that can be described as "negligent homicide" (manslaughter). This is the rationale behind his illusionary execution, as referred to in Israelitic/Jewish traditional "Rabbinical Writings" especially in the collected texts of the Midrash and the Talmud.

3.       During his exile Moses resided, among other places, with the priest Jethro "in Midian" - i.e. on the peninsula of Sinai, according to the ancient traditions - where he married one of Jethro's daughters. Here at Midian/Sinai, when witnessing an episode whith a (hawthorn-) bush bursting into flames, Moses had a revelation. This was the prelude to his religious-reform where - for the first time for an entire people - the concept of a single omnipotent god (monotheism) was to replace the worship of several gods (polytheism).

4.       Hereafter, in the very Egypt, Moses made himself leader of the great numbers of Hebrews (soon to be known as the Israelites), who, according to genealogical tables in the Bible, had resided there for four generations. During subsequent negotiations with the king of Egypt - in the Bible often referred to as the pharaoh (from the Egyptian "per-ao") - Moses' demands of free emigration for the Hebrews/Israelites were rejected. To put pressure on this king, known as "the harsh pharaoh", Moses predicted a series of catastrophes. When such plagues actually struck Egypt, the pharaoh relented, allowing the Israelites to emigrate: the Easter-festival still existing today was initiated at the time of their departure. Pharaoh soon regretted his promise, however, Moses and the Israelites obtained but a short head start, nevertheless escaping over the Red Sea to Sinai. Thus began exodus, 'the emigration', which was to become the famous desert wandering, lasting for around 40 years.

5.       During a halt near a mountain on Midian/the Sinai (peninsula), approximately three months after the start of the emigration, Moses proclaimed his religious reform in combination with a legal doctrine which included "The Ten Commandments". Hereafter the desert wandering continued.

6.       Following the "40 years" in the desert and the death of Moses, the Israelites moved into the land of Canaan (the present area of Palestine/Israel), led by Joshua, chosen by Moses to be his successor.

          A wandering people will not necessarily leave behind archaeological traces. Therefore, it can in no way be excluded that a Hebrew/Israelitic invasion of Canaan actually occurred, even though today no concrete evidence exists concerning either this people, or its leader Moses, or even of the century in which such an invasion might have taken place, more than three thousand years ago.

          One of the most frequently used methods in current attempts to date Moses and the desert wandering, has been based on interpretations of Biblical texts dealing with two cities of Lower Egypt, Ra'am'ses (Rameses) and Pi'tom, both associated with the Israelites' stay in Egypt. In a later tradition, it has been assumed that Ra'am'ses, where the Israelites were condemned to forced labour, was named after the pharaoh Rameses II, who lived in the thirteenth century BC.

          Egyptological research, however, supports numerous arguments against Moses living in the time of Rameses II. No matter which ruins were suggested as being the ancient city of Ra'am'ses, improved analytical methods have proven them all to be of a much earlier date. Therefore, originally, the city Ra'am'ses is unlikely to have been named after this pharaoh. Such predating occurs similarly in the case of Pi'tom.
          Furthermore, excavations in Judea show that the collapse of the city wall of Jericho occurred at the same time as the burning of that city, just as related in the Bible, when Jericho was conquered by the Israelites at the end of their desert wandering. This is an event that had taken place up to several centuries before the time of Rameses II.

          Still, there is no agreement on an exact dating of Moses life and time. The common assumption that Moses lived at the same time as Rameses II (in the thirteenth century BC) has, as one of its origins, a more than 150-year-old misunderstanding, arising when one of the first important Egyptologists, Karl Richard Lepsius, published his book, "Reise vom Theben..." (Berlin 1843, English translation: "Letters from Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sinai", London 1853), containing a chronology stating this historical coincidence. However, it appears that Lepsius, and many others with him, due to their use of inadequate material had placed Rameses II approx. 300 years too early in history, i.e. in the sixteenth century BC.
          Unfortunately, thereafter, research on Moses' life took a misleading direction, since at the time of Lepsius the idea that "Moses lived concurrently with Rameses II" was already widely accepted.

          An opportunity for revision of this mistake was overlooked when Egyptologists obtained knowledge which permitted a proper re-dating of Rameses II to the thirteenth century BC. Unfortunately, as a consequence, the dating of Moses was automatically moved forward accordingly, but without any supporting evidence.
          The misunderstanding then spread, aided by the continued uncritical citing of this "false" date by Egyptologists and scientists in related disciplines. Thereafter, by many it was regarded almost as a truth that Moses, like Rameses II, lived in the thirteenth century BC. Unfortunately, this has entered ineradicably into literature. (Proper dating will be presented in several later chapters and in Appendix 3).

          Thus, research on this subject has remained misdirected, since this un-critical assumption has led to a fruitless search for traces of Moses in "wrong" centuries. Hereafter, in the absence of concrete clues or other qualified evidence, Moses could be regarded as "non-existent" in the strictly scientific sense; an opinion to which many branches of modern theology currently adhere.


Is it Possible to Use Astronomy to Date the Birth of Moses?

About 500 years ago a learned rabbi, Ytzhak ben Yahuda Abrabanel (1437-1508), who lived in Portugal, and later Spain and Italy, had connections to other rabbis in Oriental Jewish society, where many old traditional texts, probably few of which exist today, were still preserved. In 1497, Abrabanel, in one of his Hebrew commentaries, "The Sources of Salvation" ("Ma'ajnej hajjeshu'ah"), was able to recall ancient knowledge concerning a rare astronomical phenomenon, which had been interpreted as an exceptional celestial premonition.

          Here it was elaborately recorded how, previous to Moses' birth, several heavenly bodies had gathered unusually in one particular region in the sky, where they formed a close group within a certain constellation - a phenomenon which astronomers call a conjunction. Rabbi Abrabanel recorded a traditional description (in the paragraph called "source 12, gate 2") that a significant and rarely seen gathering of the planets:

          "... took place as a great conjunction in the stars of the constellation Pisces three years before the birth of Moses ...".

Based on records of, inter alia, the Egyptian kings it appears that since ancient times specially educated priests were used to make astrological predictions. Furthermore, certain rare astronomical phenomena during that period were regarded as sufficiently important to be recorded.
          Although ancient Egyptians of their time did not divide the sky into exactly the same stellar constellations as in later imported astrology of Babylonian origin, their terminology can be translated into modern terms. It presents no problem concerning date calculation. And everywhere in the past certain rare astronomical phenomena were considered as being of great importance and thus - to our advantage - they were often recorded.
          One such record relating to the case of Moses was preserved for posterity. The information contained therein proves to be of value since the astronomical phenomenon referred to can be scientifically verified and certain fundamental data can be used for an extremely precise date calculation, using present-day astronomical methods.

          "Great conjunctions" mostly occur at intervals of several hundred years only. These are the rare events where all, or almost all, of the seven then known moving-celestial-bodies (the planets) are found closely grouped within a very limited area in the sky. It is technically possible to trace if and when, in the reign of Rameses II (or during several previous centuries), the planets of the great conjunctions gathered, as then described, in the celestial region known by Abrabanel - and also currently - as the constellation of "Pisces".

          Such a rare "great conjunction" actually did take place in complete agreement with the record in Rabbi Abrabanel's sources, and is furthermore distinguished by being the greatest planetary-conjunction in the region of Pisces within the entire millennium in question.
          This unique celestial occurrence is known to have occurred at new moon at the end of February-beginning of March 1537 BC as can be verified in an ephemeris as used for historical research; e.g. Stahlmann & Gingerich's "Solar and Planetary Longitudes ..." (Madison 1963, p. 120), which covers the period back to 2500 BC. (Additional astronomical data can also be found in Appendix 3 of the present book). According to Abrabanel's records, Moses was born three years later: (February-March) 1534 BC.

          Knowledge of this kind of special stellar-combination in the sky before the birth of Moses, existed long before Abrabanel. This can be confirmed by information found in related biblical texts (not included in the Bible as such), especially in those handed down by the rabbis of ancient times, e.g. in works like the Talmud, and others. These texts were transcribed in 300-900 AD, following the considerably older oral and written traditions (see chapter 7), will hereafter be referred to collectively as the "Rabbinical Writings".

          Although the exact year of Moses' birth is no longer known in the rabbinical tradition, it is still maintained that the actual date for Moses' birth falls in the Hebrew lunar-month adar (February/March) - identical to the result obtained by modern astronomical dating.
          Furthermore, when dealing with the life of Moses, many ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Jewish authors and historians have also referred to this same astronomical occurrence. It is also known in the folklore and traditions of the Samaritans (contemporary Semitic residents of part of what today is called the Westbank of Jordan).

          Historians and archaeologists have now mostly rehabilitated antiquity's Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, formerly regarded as a somewhat doubtful source. It is generally acknowledged that Titus Caesar (Vespasian), the conqueror of Jerusalem, gave Josephus scrolls that were taken from The Temple on its destruction in 70 AD. Ten years later, based on these and other invaluable sources, Josephus mentioned in his work "Antiquitates Judaicae (2:2)" ('The History of the Jews'), a certain occurrence apparently based on original astronomical observations that

          "... The holy scholars of Egypt (the astrologer-priests), who, with considerable skill, could predict the future precisely, had warned the king ..."

- relating that a person would be born, who, together with the Israelites, would threaten the supremacy of Egypt and would elevate the Israelites to surpass all other people in skill, winning everlasting fame.
          One of the Rabbinical Writings, e.g. Midrash Rabba's additions and comments on the first and second chapters of the Book of Exodus, correspondingly relates that

          "... the pharaoh was warned by his astrologers ...".

They warned him of a certain child, who later would intervene in Egyptian affairs - namely the child that posterity would come to know by the name of Moses.

          Within the portrait gallery of characters in the Old Testament, this occurrence can be uniquely related to Moses since he alone is known to be directly associated with a concrete astronomical event. - A similar situation is next related in the New Testament 1,520 years later: here, too, some astrologers appeared, the "Magi", who, prior to the birth of Jesus, informed the king (Herod) of a certain stellar observation. Contrary to the case of Moses, unfortunately, this later observation is further unspecified - thus it would be most difficult to use it for astronomical dating.

          Concerning knowledge of the existence of the great conjunction of ancient times, it was simply impossible for the late rabbis, or anyone else, to make precise astronomical calculations in retrospect over such a long period - over 1,500 years since the time of Moses. Thus, the information source about this phenomenon could not be a late "fabrication" of the date.  
          Now, this observation from the time of Moses, originating in the remote past and its refined practice of astronomy, can be  finally transformed into absolute time-data using modern astronomical computer technique.
          It should be emphasized that astronomy provides the most accurate dating method in general. And in the case presented, Abrabanel's "second-hand-source" places in our hands the key to an exact determination of date, the verification of which can be tested.

          The result proves to be crucial in the previously inadequate placing of Moses in history. Historians and theologians, however, have not hitherto applied this astronomical approach in the past. Perhaps, even in those cases where their research could have elucidated this information, it would have been considered an exotic feature; hence, professional limitations and attitudes may have prevented recognition of the fundamental existence of concrete astronomical information. Hopefully, such misjudgment of this astronomical information will be rectified as according to the presentation of data in the following chapters.
          Among the specialists there is still great disagreement in the results of archaeological research regarding the dating of those pharaohs who were contemporary to Moses. It is a fact that until now, no irrefutable evidence of an absolute dating has been found.

          When dealing with the period 1600-1200 BC, "relative dating-methods" have been used, resulting in about 50 years of uncertainty within the frequently changing interpretations, which are distinguished as high-, middle- and low-dating (see Appendix 3). The current trend with many Egyptologists is low-dating, a not insensible, yet provisional arrangement comprising the start of the reign of Tuthmosis III occurring in 1479 BC. Thus, it is not to be considered as being a true fact, but a useful opinion, a model, i.e. in essence still fictitious and hypothetical.

          Until now, dating techniques such as carbon 14, pollen, and dendrochronology have not seemed to be appropriate methods for use in relation to Moses in Egypt. Suddenly, however, Abrabanel's exact astronomical information contributes to the needed breakthrough permitting a concrete line of approach to substantiate the dating.
          This use of astronomical dating establishes the first practical starting-point, since it leads to the postulation of several verifiable historical relationships. Its result also agrees with new, revised archaeological dating; see John J. Bimson, Bryant G. Wood, and James K. Hoffmeier (Bibliography, groups 4: I and 12: III).
          The astronomical approach gives a result that is also close to a high-dating fixation often used by one of Egyptology's foremost schools, the French. The discussions in the present book, however, will not be based solely on this one (however precise) dating-method.


Pharaoh's Daughter as the First Great Female Figure in History

Based on the above arguments, a re-evaluation of Moses' status and era can now be made, also supported by the accuracy of the astronomical date calculations, which can now be directly related to archaeological findings and the preserved ancient writings concerning Moses. Some of these concrete intimate interconnections are outlined below,

a.       As mentioned in the Bible Moses grew up "as a son" of "pharaoh's daughter". This is a significant point, to which until now little importance has been attached. It refers to the possible historical connection between an Egyptian king's daughter and Moses. It is a known fact in Egyptology that the designation "Pharaoh's Daughter" (Egyptian: sat nisut) was a title which was given only to crown princesses, who also kept it when they became queen. This was noted in the early work of the language-scholar A.S. Yahuda: "Die Sprache des Pentateuch in ihren Beziehungen zum Aegyptischen" (Berlin 1929, p. 37, n. 4).

b.       According to the Rabbinical Writings, Moses, with his status as "Son of Pharaoh's Daughter," was given some of the highest positions in the country. The Pharaoh's Daughter mentioned in the Bible was thus no ordinary king's daughter, but should be sought amongst "the women of power". Queen Hatshepsut, the Egyptian king's daughter who might be identified as responsible for the upbringing and education of Moses, was a young woman around 1534 BC, the year of the birth of Moses. Her status and dating, which have been discussed elsewhere, will be substantiated below.

c.       Hatshepsut appears as the first great female figure in history, based on present knowledge that her historical role in Egypt was more considerable than that of any other female ruler. After several years as widow of her husband and half-brother Tuthmosis II, who died in ca. 1509 BC, she became a wilful ruler, a legitimately crowned female pharaoh, as permitted by a rule remaining standing since the 2nd dynasty. Her own use of the title pharaoh is considered as not just self aggrandizement and today most of Egyptologists accept her status as real.

d.       Tuthmosis III, Hatshepsut's nephew, however, gradually usurped her power (see cf. dynasty survey: chapters 9 and 11). This transition took place during the years after 1493 BC. That this was a critical junction in time will be made clear: e.g. inscriptions of and by Tuthmosis III permit a determination of the time of his ascension to power. And this culminated in the same period when Moses fell into disfavour with the court and had to flee Egypt.


Revising the Time Frame

According to the Rabbinical Writings and "The Acts of the Apostles" (7:23) of the New Testament, Moses' escape took place when he was approx. 40 years old, which seems also to be in accordance with the astronomical dating. At some time after Moses was forced to flee Egypt he took refuge in the wilderness of Sinai with the above-mentioned priest Jethro.

          Following the Rabbinical Writings, this former adviser to the pharaohs resided at that time in Midian on Sinai, to which place he himself had fled after having previously fallen into disfavour. Jethro's place of residence must be sought where archaeologists have discovered Sinai's only then existing temple - a small, Egyptian mountain-temple - now to be found as ruins in the region of Serabit el-Khadim.

          This temple was also used by local nomad tribes, the Midianites, who were related to the Qainite people (the Kenites of the Bible), among others. Here in Sinai, the latter became the travelling companions of the Israelites during their exodus. Many of these Qainites worked as smiths, metalworkers, stonecutters and miners in the local copper mines near the temple; in Arabic, "qain" still means 'smith' or 'metal-worker'.

          The mine shafts in this district are cut into the cliffs, and it was Hatshepsut who - according to inscriptions she had caused to be engraved here in Serabit - revived the extraction of malachite, copper ore, and turquoise after the mines had lain abandoned for almost 400 years. These proved however to be almost worked out and therefore mining was again discontinued after a few years.
          These historical facts also support the idea that Moses' refuge in Sinai occurred in Hatshepsut's time, since the temple in the Midian-Sinai again was left deserted in the reign of her successors.

          If the above analysis is correct, one might now ask a number of questions. Why did Moses take the risk of staying with Jethro by this little Egyptian temple, only approximately 180 km South of (what is now known as) Suez? Why did he not flee to greater security further from Egypt? What did he know about Jethro? The answers will show that the circumstances discussed above were all interlinked and far from coincidental, as outlined below and explained in following chapters.

          Seen from a historical point of view, a hitherto or present understanding of Moses permits only these two main points of view: Either he lived at the time of Rameses II, or he never existed at all.
          However, considerable supporting evidence will be presented in this book showing:  1)  that Moses really existed in history;  2)  that his period occurred 200-300 years before Rameses II;  and furthermore,  3)  that Moses came from an Egyptian royal family and was envisioned to be a candidate for the royal throne.

          In order to support the supposition of the existence of Moses, the method is that first of all it is necessary to establish the "right time and place". As mentioned, this was inhibited by the misleading search for Moses in "wrong" centuries. However, a few (e.g. French) scientists also currently argue for a dating of Moses in the fifteenth century BC.
          That these suppositions are realistic can be verified and shown to fit with numerous related circumstances, for instance also by using the newly rediscovered astronomical information. Removal of the uncertainty of Moses' "possible" historical existence can now finally be accomplished once a concrete starting-point has been established.

          Based on this revised and more factually correct time frame, the Bible, the Rabbinical Writings, the writers of Antiquity, and Egyptology will all provide further historical and archaeological support and supplementary astronomical check-points concerning Moses' existence.
          This time frame revision contributes to the plausibility of many non-biblical traditional texts concerning Moses - and can be expected to lead to new discoveries. It is frequently overlooked that much of the information found in the old Egyptian, Hebrew, or Greek texts are of similar age or historical value as the main core of the oldest parts of the Bible.

          Changes introduced in later revision of the Bible (see present chapters 5-8) create certain problems concerning its use as a historical source. However, parts of the biblical Moses-story will now be proved more historically correct than previously assumed, when re-examined in the light of this new background.

          Egyptological and theological studies, mainly based on linguistic analysis, were frequently used as the sole authority for the historical description of the sequence of those events described above. However, history and archaeology are disciplines with their own accepted viewpoints and methodologies that are, as all scientific methods, continually under development and improvement.

          The method proposed in this book is used to elucidate the relationship between information from many different, independent, self-consistent, and internally agreeing written and oral sources. This information is also placed in relation to non-literary and non-philological data from archaeology, anthropology and astronomy, all of which supply the basis for the ongoing analysis (an analysis which will, in itself, demonstrate that the alligations of the oldest parts of the Bible being 'fabrications' of later times, are insubstantial). Furthermore, a number of older research results, which have previously been ignored, can now be seen to strengthen the new discoveries.

SUMMARY

   -  Evidence is presented identifying the year of the birth of Moses as 1534 BC. (In that case "exodus" occurred in 1455 BC, approximately 40 years after the beginning of his exile).

   -  The Bible refers to "Pharaoh's Daughter", now found to be a special title for crown princesses and queens. Her behaviour, title and dating suggest that this is a reference to Hatshepsut.

   -  Jethro, with whom Moses resided during his exile, was a priest in Sinai, most probably at Sinai's only known temple of that period. This temple was in use at Hatshepsut's time and partially during the time of her successor Tuthmosis III.

   -  The reassessment of the time in which Moses lived gives access to new information, which permits a verification of the reality of the historical existence of Moses.

*

Now, access has been given to a long hidden chapter in the history of Egypt - containing a fateful drama about the young Moses at the court of the pharaoh ...