It is now time for Passover, one of the two most significant holy days of the Jewish calendar. During the first two nights of Passover, a special meal, known as a Seder, is held that celebrates the Jews’ release from bondage in Egypt. The long-standing question is, did the Exodus really happen?
One of the difficulties in accepting the Exodus as historical fact is that Egyptians, normally meticulous record keepers, never recorded such an event. As well, many scholars in recent decades have cast doubt on the Exodus, at least in terms of how the Bible tells the story.
Today a terrific Op-Ed piece in The Wall Street Journal by Joshua Berman points out how similar the biblical account is to Egyptian accounts of the epic chariot battle at Kadesh. For those of you interested in the fascinating topic of the intersection between Ancient Egypt and Judaism (and Christianity, by extension), I think you will enjoy this article immensely.