Eyewitness Account of the Exodus?
Exodus 10:22
“And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:”
In the early 19th century, a papyrus was found in Egypt – called the Ipuwer papyrus – that appears to be an actual eyewitness account of the events recorded in the book of Exodus. Of course, nearly all secular archaeologists attempted to say the papyrus does not describe these events. After all, their worldview is opposed to the historic reliability of the Bible.
But Rabbi Mordechai Becher, senior lecturer for the Gateways Organization, points out on his webpage that “the papyrus accurately describes violent upheavals in Egypt, starvation, drought, escape of slaves (with the wealth of the Egyptians), and death throughout the land.” He goes on to write, “The papyrus was written by an Egyptian named Ipuwer and appears to be an eyewitness account of the effects of the Exodus plagues from the perspective of an average Egyptian.”
Here are just a few eyewitness observations from the Ipuwer papyrus that match the events in the book of Exodus: plague is throughout the land, the river (Nile) becomes blood and men thirst for water, grain has perished on every side, the hearts of animals weep while cattle moan, the land is without light, the children of princes have died, and precious metals and stones are “fastened on the neck of female slaves.”
In all, Rabbi Becher points out 18 similarities where the Ipuwer papyrus lines up with the Scriptures. For us, the evidence couldn’t be more convincing. The events described in the book of Exodus – like the events recorded in Genesis – are historically accurate.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, though I need no archaeological evidences to “prove” that the Bible is true, I thank You for these evidences because they may help convince skeptics to take a closer look at the Bible. Amen.
Author: Steven J. Schwartz
Ref: Rabbi Mordechai Becher, “The Ten Plagues Live from Egypt”, http://ohr.edu/838. Photo: Patterns of Evidence
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