Ron & Mary Nell Wyatt

Part I

(Originally published in Newsletter # 2 dated January 1993)

(For color photos, see photo page #2, located in the back of this volume)

The first in-depth study we will present will be the events of the Exodus journey, beginning with the time the multitude leaves Egypt until they cross the Red Sea. A map is attached for reference. We will systematically take each step of their journey. We do not continue their journey once they cross the Red Sea and enter Midian, but we do show on the map the location of Mt. Sinai.

FIRST, LOCATE MIDIAN

As I began to study the Biblical account, in Exodus 3, Moses encounters the burning bush while he is in Midian, tending the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law. There, God tells Moses that he is to bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt: EXO 3:12 And lie said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou host brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

Moses was told in this verse to bring them back to Midian, to the mountain where God spoke to him. In my studies of ancient Egyptian history, it became clear to me that Midian was not in the Sinai peninsula-- that it was in northwestern Saudi Arabia: GAL 4:25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.

All through the Sinai peninsula there is tremendous evidence of the ancient Egyptians having control of this area. The inscriptions tell of their mining operations there. There are temples out there as well as fortresses. Had Moses led the people across the Gulf of Suez, they would have still been in Egyptian-controlled territory.

But in Saudi Arabia, there is no evidence of Egyptian occupation. In fact, when I showed the archaeologist from Riyadh University the petroglyphs of cows and bulls on the golden calf altar, he was very excited- he said this ancient Egyptian style of petroglyph was found nowhere else in Saudi that he knew of. The horns of the cows and bulls were drawn in the Egyptian style which represented the gods, Hathor and Aphis. With this established, that Mt. Sinai lies in NW Saudi Arabia, and the crossing took place across the Gulf of Aqaba, (see map) lets begin their entire route to the sea.

WHERE WAS RAMESES?

Unlike the commonly held thought, Rameses, was not a city- it was the Delta region; the land given to Josephs family to live in by the pharaoh. This was called "the land of Rameses" and "the land of Goshen." This was where the great population of the Israelites lived: GEN 47:11 And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses₁ as Pharaoh had commanded. GEN 47:27 And Israel dwell in the land of Egyp4 in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.

Rameses could not be referring to a city for the simple reason that there just wasn't a city in ancient Egypt large enough to hold the 2-3 million people Moses led from Egypt, much less all of their flocks and herds.

They were "In their homes" prior to leaving

Also, we know that just before the "angel of death" took the lives of all the first born of Egypt, and pharaoh told Moses to take the people and go, God tells Moses to have the Israelites cook a lamb and to place the blood of this lamb upon the doors of their houses, that the "angel of death" would pass over their house: EXO 12:3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israe4 saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.

They leave Egypt the same day

This clearly implies that they were in their homes when this event occurred. Then, He goes on to tell them to eat unleaven bread for 7 days: EXO 12:17 And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.

God tells Moses in this verse that on that very day (selfsame day), while they are still in their homes, He will have brought them put of Egypt. This tells us that they left Egypt before sundown the day after the angel of death visited Egypt.

*Note that a "day" to the Israelites was not as we think of a day-from midnight to midnight. Instead, it was from evening to evening. LEV 23:32 ..., from even unto even, shall ye celebraie your sabbath. EXO 12:37 And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.

In summary, when word came to the people that they were allowed to leave, just after the "angel of death" visited Egypt, they all left their homes in Rameses, or Goshen, and proceeded to leave Egypt "proper." How was this possible-that they were able to be out of Egypt so quickly? On the attached map, you can see that Egypt is extremely long, bul its east/west boundaries are very narrow. They left Rameses and assembled in Succoth, which was very near, but at the same time, outside of the boundary of Egypt "proper:"

WHERE WAS SUCCOTH?

Succoth had to be a place large enough for this tremendous amount of people and flocks to assemble. Long before I ever began my overseas field work, I had studied ancient Egyptian history. I had read numerous accounts of inscriptions which spoke of a place called variably "Tharu", "T'aru" and "Takut," which fit the description of Succoth perfectly. The following are quoted from "Life in Ancient Egypt" by Adolf Erman:

p. 28- "The isthmus of Suez was of the greatest consequence also from a military point of view- it was doubtless fortified in very early times. Probably here stood the great fortress of T'aru, often spoken of as the starting-point for the expeditions into Syria,..."

p.537- "The line of fortifications which was intended to keep back these Beduins of the Delta, is met with as early as the time of the Middle Empire, and is still standing. It consisted of a wall strengthened by small towers,...; this formed an obstruction which the slaves who tried to escape from Egypt, and the Beduins who wanted to pasture their cattle on the fields of the Delta, found difficult to pass. At this time we also meet with a defensive work of another kind, namely a broad canal, which presumably connected the lakes of the isthmus together. At the point where a bridge crossed this canal were strong fortresses on both sides;... The great fortress which defended this bridge was the fortress of T'aru, which is so often mentioned as the starting point of the military expeditions."

To sum up what he has said, in ancient Egypt, there was a line of guarded fortifications along the canal which connected the Gulf of Suez with the Mediterranean Sea. This canal is known to have existed anciently by satellite photos and infrared photos which still show its path. At the point where one would leave Egypt proper and go into the Sinai desert, there was a fortress and a bridge, Inscriptions tell us that this fortress was called Tharu (or one of the various spellings).

This is also located near the Delta, or "Rameses," where the Israelites were living. 'Tharu" was where the Egyptian army assembled in preparation for their military expeditions to the north. Armies consisted of a great deal of men, horses and chariots; and they required a large area to assemble properly.

Moses well knew Tharu, called "Succoth" in the Biblical account- and it was here that he organized the people for their journey. They had left Egypt proper once they crossed this line of fortification, just as the Lord had promised. EXO. 13:18 ;...and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt.

THEY LEFT "HARNESSED"

We know of a surety that "harnessed" doesn't mean "armed with weapons" because they had no weapons until God provided them by washing the bodies of the dead Egyptian army upon the shore after the waters of the Red Sea closed back up. The chariot soldiers had to strap their weapons to their bodies, and when they were washed upon the shore, the multitude simply collected their weaponry.

So what does it mean? The Hebrew word "chamushim," which is the Hebrew word translated "harnessed" in the above verse, is found only 4 times in the Hebrew text-- Exodus 13:18; Joshua 1:14; Joshua 4:12; and Judges 7:11. The word means "in ranks." Apply that definition to the above texts and see for yourself if it does not seem appropriate. Also of note, is the fact that in Numbers, Deuteronomy and Joshua, the Hebrew word "chalats" is used in denoting "armed soldiers."

If we really study the Biblical account, and use good, common sense-- we can learn much from what is implied, but not actually spelled out for us. Moses, as "the son of Pharaohs daughter," was the heir to the throne of Egypt. As such, he was the "crown prince." If you study any Egyptian history, you learn that the person in line for the throne was given very exacting training-- the Pharaoh was considered the "earthly embodiment of the god", so the "pharaoh-in-training" spent a part of his training studying with the priesthood: ACT 7:22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.

The next stage of a "crown prince's" training was military. Moses was thoroughly trained in all aspects of military leadership and would have known well how to assemble large numbers of peoples for travel.

While no specifics are given in the Bible as to Moses life in Egypt, several ancient historians make reference to the fact that he was a general. And we admit that we do not accept all of what these people have to say as being totally accurate, but the fact that Moses was indeed a general in the Egyptian army seems to have been a well-known fact. Josephus writes about this in his "Antiquities of the Jews, Book II, Chapter X. As a military man, once again, Moses knew "Tharu", and it was here that he organized his largest "army" ever for travel. And from here, they traveled to Etham.

WHERE WAS ETHAM?

EXO 13:20 And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness. Etham was in the "edge of the wilderness." What wilderness was this? The answer is in the Exodus account: EXO 13:18 But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea:...

It was the Wilderness of the Red Sea- the mountainous land of the mid and southern Sinai Peninsula. This was along a route that was commonly taken in those days by both caravans and the army, and it was called "the southern route." This route was taken because it was safer than travelling along the coast, where the Philistines were.

Etham was not a singular location, like a town- it was a designation of the land that lay around the mid-northern edge of the Gulf of Aqaba. We know this because once they cross the sea, they are still in an area called Etham: NUM 33:8 And they departed from before Pihahiroth, and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days' journey in the wilderness of Etham, and pitched in Marah.

It was while they were at Etham on the western side of the sea that God told Moses: EXO. 14:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.

In order for them to be "entangled in the land," they would have to be travelling through an area of wadis (canyons) with high mountains all around, which would seem to hem them in. This takes place prior to crossing the sea, so I looked for an area such as this which would terminate on a beach or shore of the sea which was large enough to hold perhaps 2 or 3 million people, as well as their flocks. I found a beach of tremendous size on the Gulf of Aqaba at Nuweiba, and the only passage to it is through an 18 mile long wadi system. (See color photo of this beach enclosed.)

From "Etham in the edge of the wilderness", they changed their direction of travel from a northerly direction, (which would have soon taken them around the northern tip of the sea,) and went south, through a wadi system that must have appeared like an endless maze to them. Hemmed in to the left and right, they could only travel in one direction-- and the only path through that wadi leads to the tremendous sized beach.

THE SITE OF THE CROSSING

As I mentioned, I found this tremendous beach on the Gulf of Aqaba which could easily have held the multitude, their flocks, and also pharaoh's army-- separating the 2 groups by several miles. But there's another interesting fact about this site...

Josephus gives an additional bit of information in his "Antiquities of the Jews," Book II, Chapter XV. Speaking of pharaoh's army pursuing the multitude, he states: "They also seized upon the passages by which they imagined the Hebrews might fly, shutting them up between the inaccessible precipices and the sea; for there was [on each side] a [ridge of] mountains that terminated at the sea, which was impassable by reason of their roughness, and obstructed their flight: wherefore they there pressed upon the Hebrews with their army, where [the ridges of] the mountains were closed with the sea;..."

When I first visited the site of Nuweiba in 1978, these mountains could be seen on the south end of the beach area which terminated at the sea- no passage would have been possible to the south, (See color photo of this area, where the mountains meet the sea on the south end.) As I found the chariot parts when diving on the southern end of the beach, this implies that the multitude traveled to this section of the beach.

Pharaoh's army entered from the same wadi, which is the only entrance onto the beach. This wadi is located midway of the beach, and once the army entered the area, the multitudes only means of escape would have been to the south. But the mountains to the south extend all the way to the sea-- they had no way of escape, or so it seemed.

PIHAHIROTH, MIGDOL AND BAALZEPHON

EXO 14:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea. When God gave Moses these instructions, it is evident that Moses knew where these places were-- he was familiar with the land,

On the north end of the beach area, there are the remains of an ancient Egyptian fortress, which would have prevented their going north when they entered the area. This fortress was another evidence that Egyptian territory extended all the way through the Sinai peninsula. (See color photo of this fortress on the northern end of the beach area.) We believe this was Pihahiroth.

As they were in between Migdol and the sea, Migdol could either be the mountains to the west, which make a perfect barrier, enclosing them on the beach-- or it may have been a watch-tower which set on top of one of those mountains. We have not climbed all those mountains and searched for one, yet. But the Egyptians did have watch-posts all through the Sinai Peninsula, and most likely would have had one here, to keep an eye on ships coming up the Gulf of Aqaba, It is historically documented that they flashed messages from watch-tower to watch-tower using reflected sunlight by day and fire by night. In fact, that may well be how pharaoh knew exactly where Moses and the people had gone. Moses would have most certainly been aware of these watch-towers.

On the opposite shore, in Saudi Arabia, exactly across from where they entered the sea, is another ancient structure. All alone on the beach, it may have been a Midianite fortress, dedicated to Baal; we believe this was Baalzephon. The phrase "over against" seems to mean "opposite of in respect to being across a body of water-- in the next verse, the same phrase is used when speaking of being across the Jordan River from Jericho: DEU 32:49 Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession:

The fact is that chariot parts have never been found in the Red Sea anywhere except at this site. The question has been asked; "Isnt this site for the crossing too far? Wouldn't it have taken them a long time to get there? Well, in 1967, Moshe Dyan marched his troops from Nuweiba (the crossing site) to Suez City (near ancient Tharu/Succoth) in 6 days. And they camped at night.

The Israelites were told to use only unleaven bread for 7 days- indicating that they would be travelling quite briskly without time to camp for 7 days: EXO 13 6 Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD. 8 And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt.

The Israelites didn't stop and encamp every night, as Moshe Dyans troops did-- they traveled both day and night:

EXO 13:21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:

With the Divine assistance of the Lord, this massive wave of people traveled in an orderly fashion both day and night, with great speed: EXO 19:4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself The eagle is used to denote speed: 2SA 1:23 Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.

ONE LAST EVIDENCE

In 1978, when I first visited the beach area with my two sons, we found a Phoenician-style column lying on the southern end of the beach. Partially in the water, the inscriptions had been eroded away, or possibly they were purposefully chiseled away. We found this during the time that Israel was occupying the Sinai, and we pointed it out to the soldiers who were patrolling the beach. The next time we returned, we found they had moved it across the road and set it up in concrete.

We didn't fully understand the importance of this column until a few years later- we did recognize that it was definitely not of Egyptian style. But in 1984, when we were imprisoned in Saudi Arabia, our captors, in an effort to verify our story that we believed Mt. Sinai was there and that "Musa" (Moses) led the people across the sea to their country, had me take them to the beach where they arrived after passing through the sea. I directed them to the spot in a helicopter. Landing here, I found another column--identical to the one on the opposite shore-- except this one had the inscriptions intact. Noting carefully the Phoenician (Archaic Hebrew) letters, we were later able to have it translated. It contained the words: Mizraim (Egypt); Solomon; Ed.M; death; pharaoh; Moses; and Yahweh. From this, we knew that King Solomon had erected these columns in honor of Yahweh and dedicated them to the miracle of the crossing of the sea. And, that column possibly saved my sons and my lives- it proved what I had been telling my Saudi jailers!

This year, we discovered that the Saudis have removed the column on their beach from its original location-- they have sunk a large marker in concrete where it was located-- and we are trying to locate it in their Antiquities files. But we have documented the solitary marker, sunk into the ground in concrete, on the beach, just down from the remains of the ancient fortress we believe was Baalzephon. We will study the sites on the Mt. Sinai side of the gulf later this year.

THE CONTROVERSY OVER THE "RED SEA"

There has been much controversy through the years over 'Which" Red Sea is being referred to in the Exodus account. You will see here, that "Red Sea" is used to refer to nil section of that sea-- the main body, the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba. If you will get a large map of Egypt, you will note that the Red Sea is quite large-- beginning at Ethiopia on the southwest and Yemen on the southeast. It separates northern Africa from Arabia. At its northern end, it splits into 2 arms- the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba.

Let's go to the first reference to the Red Sea in the Bible-- the plague of the locusts had covered all the land of Egypt. If you go the map, you will see that Egypt extended far south of the Suez arm of the Red Sea. Thebes, the ancient capital of Egypt, lay a good 150 miles south of the beginning of the Gulf of Suez (as the crow flies.) Now, these locusts were in ~il the "coasts" of Egypt, including Thebes and beyond: EXO 10:19 And the LORD turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt.

A west wind, blowing the locusts into the "Red Sea", would blow them into the main body of the sea and the Gulf of Suez.. The second reference is: EXO 13:18 But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt This 'Wilderness" was the land between the 2 arms of the Red Sea.

Now, we will go to a scripture concerning Solomon's navy: 1K! 9:26 And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom. This reference is definitively speaking of the Gulf of Aqaba, because we know where Eloth (Eilat) was. And this is the same Red Sea that Moses led the great multitude across. The Red Sea of Moses' day was the same Red Sea we know today-- the main body of the lower Red Sea, the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba.

Again, we can only marvel at how the Lord has preserved these sites throughout history. If the true location had been known all along, there would be no evidence left. We live in a time when people simply dont believe the Red Sea crossing ever really happened, and God tells us that He knew that time would come: JER 16:14 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

But He does "liveth", and before its all over with, He will vindicate His Word to the world.

THE EXODUS

Part II

(Originally published in newsletter # 3, dated April 1993- see photo page no- 3.)

In our last newsletter, we examined the route taken by Moses and the great multitude as they fled Egypt. We will now examine the evidences which tell us exactly ~ were the Egyptian royalties involved and the approximate date the Exodus occurred. This is a subject that gets quite involved and we will only be able to present a bare frame of reference in this publication. Bear with us, as we will attempt to present a large amount of information in a short space.

THE CHARIOT WHEELS

We will begin with the chariot wheels that Ron and the boys found in the Gulf of Aqaba. In 1978, on their first dive at the site, they found these chariot remains. Uke Noahs Ark, these were not in perfect condition and required careful examination to see exactly what they were. They were covered in coral, which made it difficult to see them clearly, but it appears that the coral was the agent the Lord used to preserve them.

They found numerous wheels- some were still on their axles, and some were off. They found chariot cabs without the wheels, also: EXO 14:24 ...in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians 25 And took off their chariot wheels, that they drove them heavily:...

So far, this coincided with the Biblical account. They found several 6-spoked wheels, as well as an 8-spoked wheel. And finally, in 1988, Ron found the 4-spoked gold chariot wheel, which looks almost perfect. The reason this one was so well preserved is that coral does not grow on gold. The wood inside the gold "veneer" was deteriorated, which made it very fragile and for that reason, he has not attempted to retrieve it from the water.

The significance of these wheels is of extreme importance to the dating of the Exodus and determining which dynasty was involved. Back in the late 70s, Ron actually retrieved a hub of a wheel which had the remains of 8 spokes radiating outward from it. He took this to Cairo, to the office of Nassif Mohammed Hassan, the director of Antiquities whom Ron had been working with. Mr. Hassan examined it and immediately pronounced it to be of the 18th Dynasty of ancient Egypt. When Ron asked him how he knew this so readily, Mr. Hassan explained that the 8-spoked wheel was only used during the 18^th Dynasty. This certainly narrowed the date. We began to thoroughly research the Egyptian chariot and soon discovered that the fact that Ron and the boys found 4, 6 and 8 spoked wheels places the Exodus in the 18th Dynasty according to numerous sources, such as the following: "Egyptian literary references to chariots occur as early as the reigns of Kamose, the 17th Dynasty king who took the first steps in freeing Egypt from the Hyksos, and Ahmose, the founder of the 18th Dynasty. Pictorial representations, however, do not appear until slightly later in the 18^th Dynasty...." (From "Observations on the Evolving Chariot Wheel in the 18^th Dynasty" by James K. Hoffmeier, JARCE #13, 1976)

Here, we learn that it was only at the beginning of the 18th Dynasty that the chariot comes into use in the Egyptian army. The Bible mentions that in the time of Joseph, chariots were in use, but apparently they weren't developed sturdily enough for use in war until much later.

The author goes on to explain how it was only during the 18th Dynasty that the 4, 6 and 8 spoked wheels are used-and that monuments can actually be dated by the number of spokes in the wheel: "Professor Yigael Yadin maintains that during the earlier part of the 18th Dynasty, the Egyptian chariot was 'exactly like the Canaanite chariot:' both were constructed of light flexible wood, with leather straps wrapped around the wood to strengthen it, and both utilized wheels with four spokes. In Yadins eyes, the four-spoked wheel is diagnostic for dating purposes; it is restricted to the early part of the 18th Dynasty. It remained in vogue, he says, until the reign of Thutmoses IV, when 'the Egyptian chariot begins to shake off its Canaanite influence and undergo considerable change.' Yadin believes that the eight-spoked wheel, which is seen on the body of Thutmoses IVs chariot, was an experiment by the Egyptian wheelwrights, who, when it proved unsuccessful, settled thereafter for the six-spoked wheel. So widespread and meticulous is the delineation of the number of wheel spokes on chariots depicted on Egyptian monuments that they can be used as a criterion for determining whether the monument is earlier or later than 1400 BC." (Quoted from the same article as above.)

For more information on the chariots of the Egyptian army, lets go to the Biblical account, when Pharaoh and his army go after the multitude: EXO 14:6 And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him: 7 And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them..

This verse makes it quite clear that the Pharaoh took every chariot in Egypt- his own, his generals (or "Captains") and a group called his "chosen" chariots, which seem to be in addition to his regular army ("all the chariots of Egypt"). Who might these "600 chosen chariots" have been? This group seems too small to have been a division of the army. We do not know the exact number in a "squadron", but we do have information that a pharaoh, one of his names being Rameses II, had an army of 20,000 troops, which was divided into 4 divisions. This would imply that each division consisted of 5,000 troops. But the army took more than just soldiers, many times. To get a little insight, we need to understand a bit about the Egyptian government and economy.

"The priests and military men held the highest position in the country after the family of the king, and from them were chosen his ministers and confidential advisers, 'the wise counsellors of Pharaoh,' and all the principal officers of state." (From "The Ancient Egyptians- Their Life and Customs" by Sir J. Gardner Wilkinson, 1854, vol.1, p.316.)

The priesthood and the military were closely associated- the Egyptian government was a combination "church and state", so to speak. Their system of "gods" was quite elaborate and we can't possibly present an accurate description of their religious system in this limited article. But for our purposes, we need to understand that there were many, many gods in ancient Egypt- but the ultimate "god" was the one represented as the "sun". This god was known throughout the various times as Amon, Aten and Re or Ra, among other names. And it was this "ultimate god" that the pharaoh was considered the "earthly embodiment" of.

The divisions of the army were named after the gods, ie. "the first army, that of Anion, the army of Re, the army of Ptah and the army of Sutech". When the army set out to war, elaborate ceremonies were performed at the various temples, asking the various gods to give them victory over their foes. Then, booty that was gained as a result of victories was dedicated to the priesthoods and temples of the deities. All military victories were directly attributed to the favor of the gods.

Sometimes, the priests would accompany the army to the battlefield in hopes that the "god(s)" would show special favor in their endeavors. And the evidence at hand shows that when Pharaoh and his army set out after Moses and the great multitude, he took with him all the priesthood of all the gods of Egypt. After all, he had seen the power of the true God, the great "I AM". If the Egyptian army ever needed supernatural intervention by the hands of their so-called "gods", it was at this time. We believe that every priest of every god was summoned to accompany the army as they went after Moses and the multitude, as well as all the ministers of state.

All of this is leading up to a discussion of the gold-veneered, 4-spoked chariot wheel Ron found in 1988. Since he found it on the Egyptian side of the Gulf of Aqaba, that indicates that whoever was driving that particular chariot was at the rear of the army. It makes sense to us that a priest, who is not trained in battle, would be in this position at the rear of the army. Also, a gold chariot would not be practical for battle- these chariots were more "ceremonial" than those used by the chariotry.

We also know that the priesthood were given gold chariots, which were booty of various foreign defeats. There is an inscription of Thutmoses III (18^th Dynasty) which relates: "He went forth, none like him, slaying the barbarians, smiting Retenu, bringing their princes as living captives, their chariots wrought with gold, bound to their horses."

ln fact, we have many, many inscriptions of the kings of the 18^th Dynasty receiving gold-plated foreign chariots, either as spoils of war or as tribute received from conquered peoples. There are, as well, inscriptions telling that these gilded chariots were many times dedicated to various temples and gods, which meant that the priests would receive these chariots.

We do know from inscriptions that the king did go to war in a "glittering chariot of electrum" as stated in one of Thutmoses IIIs inscriptions- but, we doubt very seriously that he would have remained at the rear of the army. However, Dr. Bill Shea of the Biblical Research Institute, told us a few days ago, that he believed it was possible that the pharaoh may have been at the rear of the army.

With all of this information, we feel we may conclude that the gold wheel most likely belonged to a member of the priestly caste who was accompanying the army, or possibly a high minister of state. If it had belonged to the pharaoh, it would have probably had his "cartouche" or name on it- and the one Ron found did not have this, at least not on the exposed side. Either way, we have evidence from ancient tombs that the Egyptians constructed wheels of this design, and also the Retenu (Syrian) chariot wheels were of this same design and size.

These drawings are from 'The Ancient Egyptians" by Sir J. Gardiner Wilkinson, and are taken from 18^th dynasty tombs and monuments. They show a depiction of a Retenu (Syrian) chariot and also Egyptians constructing chariots- both of these wheel designs are consistent with the 4-spoked, gold veneered wheel Ron found.

THE 18^TH DYNASTY

The data gained from the chariot wheels placed the Exodus at the time of the 18^th Dynasty. Amazingly, this is the most well documented group of kings in all of ancient Egypt. A "dynasty", to give a definition, is basically a continuous family line of rulers. "A more or less arbitrary and artificial but convenient subdivision of these epochs, beginning with the historic age, is furnished by the so-called dynasties of Manetho. This native historian of Egypt, a priest of Sebennytos, who flourished under Ptolemy I (305 - 285 B.C.), wrote a history of his country in the Greek language. The work has perished, and we only know it in an epitome by Julius Africanus and Eusebius, and extracts by Josephus. The value of the work was slight, as it was built up on folk tales and popular traditions of the early kings. Manetho divided the long succession of Pharaohs as known to him, into thirty royal houses or dynasties, and although we know that many of his divisions are arbitrary, and that there was many a dynastic change where he indicates none, yet his dynasties divide the kings into convenient groups, which have so long been employed in modern study of Egyptian history, that it is now impossible to dispense with then:." This quote from "A History of Egypt" by James Henry Breasted (1905) p. 13-14, tells us from the pen of one of the leading authorities on ancient Egypt, that the basis on which the information of ancient Egyptian dynasties rests, is unreliable, yet it continues in use.

The "Hyksos"

This so-called 18^th Dynasty consisted of a family who ruled in Thebes. At the time this family came to the throne, it was apparent that other dynastic families were ruling as pharaohs in other areas of Egypt. In the north, or the delta region, there lived at this time a people whom the Egyptians thought of as "foreign"- these included the descendants of Jacob, or the Israelites. It appears that other Asiatic peoples had moved into the region along with them- people who were ambitious and wanted to rule themselves as the Egyptians did. And they did not conform to the Egyptian religion.

We know that the Israelites, by decree of the pharaoh of Josephs time, were allowed to live as "independents" and that their leaders were considered "royal"- when Jacob died, the description of his funeral was exactly the same as that of the pharaohs: GEN 50:2 And Joseph commanded his serants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel. 3 And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days. 7 And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen and it was a very great company.

So, for many, many years the Israelites live peacefully among themselves, setting up their own rulers. And doesn't it seem reasonable to assume that relatives and friends of the Israelites would want to move down to the Delta region with them when they saw what a "garden of Eden" it was there? Well, whether it was friends and relatives, or not, someone moved in and lived along side of them. And these foreigners soon became a "thorn in the side" of the native Egyptians.

At the end of the 17^th Dynasty, ancient records tell of the Egyptians in Thebes claiming to expel the "Hyksos" from the delta. Inscriptions document the presence of these "Shepherd Kings" in the delta region beginning with the 6th dynasty and terminating with the 17^th.

When the native Egyptian Theban rulers "expelled" the Hyksos, what occurred was that they ran these other peoples who had settled along with the Israelites out of Egypt. And although no mention is made of the Israelites by name, we know that it was at this time, at the beginning of the 18th dynasty, that they were enslaved. With the trouble-making outsiders gone, the peaceful Israelites were at the mercy of the Theban rulers.

There is an interesting inscription by Hatshepsut of the 18^th dynasty which refers to the restoration of Egypt after the "Hyksos" had been expelled from the delta region: "I have restored that which was in ruins, I have raised up that which was unfinished. Since the Asiatics were in the midst of Avaris of the Northland [Della], and the barbarians were in the midst of them [the people of the Northland], overthrowing that which had been made, while they ruled in ignorance of Re."

This wonderful passage tells us that whoever lived in the Delta (the Israelites and the "barbarians" from Asia) did not worship RE, the Egyptian sun god. And we know this was true of the Israelites. So they simply "kicked out" the troublemakers, who had no right to be there in the first place. Then, the Israelites, who had been given the right to live there, had their special "status" canceled. The Egyptians had no reason to expel them- after all, they were peaceful, industrious and hardy people. Instead, they were enslaved.

THE KINGS OF THE 18^TH DYNASTY

The kings of the 18^th Dynasty are stated by historians as being named either Amenhotep and Thutmoses. But, there is a big problem with this fluctuation between names. The pharaoh was considered the earthly embodiment of the main god and his name reflected the supreme god of his royal family. Does it make sense to anyone that one king would consider Thoth (Thutmoses) the supreme god while the next considered Amen (Amenhotep) the supreme god, and continue to alternate gods through a succession of several kings? Of course not. As we read earlier, the list of dynasties and kings that the Egyptologists base their information on is quite inaccurate. The inscriptions found in temples and tombs indicate that the 'Thutmoses" name is indicative of one of the offices of the pharaoh, just as was the "Amenhotep" name-and that each pharaoh was both a "Thutmoses" as well as an "Amenhotep" as he advanced in the royal line from co-regent to emperor. From our research, it appears that the crown prince received his "Thutmoses" title upon being appointed co-regent, and then became "Amenhotep" in addition to his earlier names, when he became emperor. Let me stress that it appears that this is the order he received each name; however, it may possibly have been reversed. But we have no doubts that each ruler possessed both names. And each ruler left inscriptions relating to his reign in both names sometimes he referred to himself as Thutmoses, while at other times Amenhotep. Each individual king left inscriptions in both names, dating his regnal years sometimes from the date of his co-regency and sometimes from the date of his emperorship. We don't fully understand the "rules" governing these practices yet.

PHARAOH "RAMESES"

Yes, most people think of the pharaoh of the Exodus as "Rameses". And why not? The name "Rameses" is mentioned in the Bible as early as the story of Joseph. Was there a "Rameses" in the 18^th dynasty? Yes... but that was more a title than a name- much like the title "pharaoh".

Not only was "Thutmoses" also to become "Amenhotep"- he, as main emperor of all Egypt, was also titled "Remises". if you will recall, in the story of Joseph, the land of Goshen was also referred to as the land of "Remises": GEN 47:11 And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Remises, as Pharaoh had commanded.

Egyptian evidence shows that every native Egyptian king from the time of the so-called 5th dynasty was titled "Son of the Sun" or "Remises" in addition to his other names. This has caused massive confusion among the Egyptian scholars, who have zeroed in on one particular pharaoh, "Remises II", and proclaimed him the "greatest pharaoh of all Egypt". All one needs to do is go to the museum in Cairo and view the 4 statues of "Remeses II" in the main entrance hall- each one is clearly a different person. The inscriptions referring to "Remises" refer to many different pharaohs.

Also, let's go back to the inscription of Hatshepsut in the section on the Hyksos- remember that she said these people lived "in ignorance of RE? This inscription makes its quite clear that whoever lived in the delta (Goshen/Remises) region, did not worship the native Egyptian god, Re. "Re" is the "Ra" of "Remises"- and this verifies the supremacy of "Re/Ra" during the time of the 18th dynasty,- and that "Remises" would indeed be one of the titles of the pharaoh.

"Thutmoses" = "Amenhotep"

We are going to do a great deal of talking about the 18th dynasty kings. To make it easier for you to follow, we will state now that we believe Thutmoses 1 became Amenhotep 1 when he went from co-regent to emperor. Therefore, these 2 names are the same person.

This list will tell you who we believe were the names of each royal person we will be discussing. You can reference this list if you get confused.

Pharaoh at Moses' birth THUTMOSES 1 / AMENHOTEP 1

"Pharaoh's daughter" NEFURE / HATSHEPSUT

Moses SENMUT

(Moses Con't) HATSHEPSUT XNEM AMEN

THUTMOSES 2

Pharaoh when he fled THUTMOSES 3 / AMENHOTEP 2

Pharaoh of the Exodus THUTMOSES 4 / AMENHOTEP 3

1^st-born son of Pharaoh TUTANKHAMEN

THE DATE OF THE EXODUS

1KI 6:1 And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.

If you go to your encyclopaedia or most any reference book, you will be able to discover that the date of Solomons rule is fairly well established and the date of the 4th year of his reign would be 967/966 BC. In our opinion, the most accurate and authoritative book on the subject of dating the Hebrew Kings is "The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings" by Edwin R. Thiele. You can order this book from any book store if they do not have it in stock.

With this date established (967/966 BC) we need to go back 480 years, as the above scripture indicates. This would place the date of the Exodus at 1447/1446 BC. I will state at this point that we do not consider any outside source above the scriptural reference, so we will look no further for more information as to the date.

We will, however, look for historical references and inscriptions which may verify this date. The following information is just such a verification, and is from the "Encyclopaedia Britannica" 1985 ed. vol. 4 pp. 575,6:

"The next date is given by a medical papyrus, to which a calendar is added, possibly to insure a correct conversion of dates used in the receipts to the actual timetable. Here it is said that the 9^th day of the 11th month of year 9 of King Amenhotep I was the day of the helical rising of Sothis- i.e., 1538 BC. This date, however, is only accurate provided the astronomical observations were taken at the old residence of Memphis; if observed at Thebes in Upper Egypt, the residence of the 18th dynasty, the date must be lowered

by 20 years- i.e., 1518 BC."

When we came across this information, we had already constructed our chronology of the 18^th dynasty, which took about 3 years. We show year 9 of Amenhotep 1 to be 1519 BC- and this reference places his year 9 at 1518 BC, if the observance was noted at Thebes, which is where their royal headquarters were. This was a very exciting confirmation which is based on solid astronomical evidence. It, at the very least, placed the 18^th dynasty at exactly the right place in the time scale. For it to have fit so extremely well was far more than we could have asked for!

For more information on Biblical chronology, see our chronology later in this volume with references, etc.

WHO WAS PHARAOHS DAUGHTER?

The next question that must be addressed is whether there existed in the 18^th dynasty, a pharaoh without a royal son to pass the throne to, and whether that pharaoh had a royal daughter of note. The answer is a most resounding "yes"! Not only did "Thutmoses 1 / Amenhotep I" not have a royal son who lived, he had a daughter who is the most well-known and well-documented female personage of all ancient Egyptian history, next to Cleopatra. Her names were Nefure and Hatshepsut. She was referred to as "Nefure" when we first learn of her in the inscriptions. At that time, she is a royal princess- her father was co-regent for the emperor, "pharaoh Ahmosis". She is referred to in the ancient records by this name, Nefure, until a point in time when she becomes known as the "royal queen"- we'll explain a little later.

Also, we want to explain that when Moses was born, the emperor of all Egypt was Ahmosis who lived in Thebes. In Memphis, Thutmoses 1 was co-regent, and also called "pharaoh". The word "pharaoh" comes from the Egyptian word "pero" which simply means "big house". This "pharaoh", whose daughter rescued baby Moses, didn't become emperor of all of Egypt until Moses was about 12 years old.

WHO WAS MOSES?

Let me interject here that Egyptian scholars have constructed a scenario whereas "Nefure" and "Hatshepsut" are 2 different people. However, again, we can with great confidence state that these 2 names belong to the same lady. It was young Nefure who rescued baby Moses from the Nile while she was living at the palace in Memphis- the royal residence of the co-regent. In the museums across the world are various statues, unlike any other ancient Egyptian statues, which are of a young girl holding a baby or small child- this child wears on his head the "royal side-lock" of a future prince. The names on these statues are "Nefure" and "Senmut"- Senmut being the baby's name. However, the scholars have designated the woman in these statues as being a man named "Senmut", who is the official nurse of princess "Nefure".

Moses = SENMUT

"Senmut" is the Egyptian name given to Moses when he first came to live at the palace. This name is of extreme importance for it means literally "mothers brother". To understand the significance, we must explain briefly a subject which normally would take several volumes- Egyptian religion and the pharaoh...

The ancient Egyptians believed that the first king of Egypt was Osiris. Osiris was married to Isis, his sister. Osiris' brother, Set, killed Osiris out of jealousy for the throne. To sum it up briefly, Isis brought Osiris back to life for one night by a magic spell- and during this one night she was impregnated by Osiris, who then returned to his death state. The child she bore was called Horus, and he was the reincarnation of Osirus. At the end of the story, the throne is returned to Horus, the rightful king.

Therefore, Isis' child was her son, her husband and her brother- all in one. All kings of Egypt were then said to be "Horus"- the reincarnation of Osiris. Confusing?- yes. But that's what they believed.

Do you see the significance of the name given to Moses? He was being "set up" in the Egyptian economy to possibly be the future king- the royal heir of his "grandfather-pharaoh". His "grandfather" (adopted, of course) had no royal male heirs- they had died. But he had one royal daughter, Nefure. The future king could only inherit the throne through the royal daughter. She (Nefure) convinced her father, the pharaoh, to make her little adopted boy his future heir. Nefure, as the symbolic Isis, had her little "Osiris / Horus", who was named "Senmut"- his "mother's brother". If all of this seems a bit complicated and silly, just compare it with the rules and regulations of the royal family of England today. The right to the throne doesn't pass that easily to someone inside the family, much less outside of the family. But, in times when there is no heir, preparations and steps must be taken to procure the right for whoever is determined.

With this understanding, there is a Scripture which sheds a great deal more light on the situation of Moses as Nefure (Hatshepsut)'s son: HEB 11:24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;

Nefure = Hatshepsut

Our studies show that Moses came to live at the palace at about age 12, about the same time his "grandfather" became main emperor over all Egypt. At this time, they moved from the palace at Memphis where the co-regent ruled, to Thebes where the main palace was. At about age 18, Moses was designated the future "heir apparent", with his mother, Nefure as his regent. She was now given the additional royal name of "Hatshepsut" and referred to as "queen" instead of princess. It gets very confusing from this point on because the Egyptologists have come up with a very elaborate scenario whereby they say that Hatshepsut proclaimed herself king. Now, a few words about this theory may help give a little understanding.

For one thing, the Egyptian line of royalty descent was based on very sacred beliefs- beliefs which would not in any way allow for a woman to become the "earthly embodiment" of the god. She could become the "royal wife", the "great queen", and in some cases possess the royal power to appoint a new pharaoh in instances whereby the throne may be empty at one point in time. But this fantastic scenario whereby the scholars say Hatshepsut proclaimed herself "king" is simply not possible. In her temple at Deir El Bahri, there is a wall which depicts the birth of the future heir to the throne, which historians say is the birth of Hatshepsut. But there are a couple of problems with the scenario that these scholars have chosen to ignore. One, is that the baby is definitely a boy baby! And secondly, one scene shows the baby in the arms of Hatshepsut! One book we have explains this as "obviously a mistake on the part of the scribes who wrote the hieroglyphics- they must have gotten confused".

Moses = "Hatshepsut Xnem Amen"

The evidence on which they build the case for Hatshepsut declaring herself king are the inscriptions of "king Hatshepsut Xnem Amen / MaatKaRe". They assume that this is Hatshepsut with a few additions to her royal name. But let's examine this "kings" name: "Hatshepsut Xnem Amen" means "Hatshepsut united with Amen". "Amen" is the supreme god of the 18th dynasty, another name for "Re/Ra", the sun. This name means that the "king" of this name is the product of Hatshepsut being united with Amen, or the offspring, so to speak, of Hatshepsut by the god, Amen.

This "king", who was not really king, but was being designated as the future heir to the throne, was Moses, with Hatshepsut as his regent. One someone was designated as the future heir to the throne, his inscriptions refer to him as "king".

That Moses was always closely associated with his adopted mother is very apparent- after all, she was his only connection to the royal family. To justify his elevation to such royal position had to be carefully documented in a manner that would be acceptable to the system.

The evidence shows that he was elevated to this position, as "heir apparent" when he was about 24 years old.

Moses = Thutmoses II

Finally, when Moses was about 33 years old, he was designated as the crown prince and became 'Thutmoses II". Let us state at this point that the numbers after the Egyptian kings' names are not actually a part of their name- they are simply designations given them by the Egyptologists to identify each succeeding person of the same name.

Josephus tells that Moses, as Thutmoses, was the general of the army and that he was very popular with the Egyptians. He attributes Moses as the general who pacified Nubia, which in turn served to increase the wealth of Egypt greatly by the gold paid as tribute by the Nubians.

Finally, when Moses was 40, we know what happened at that time- and that he fled Egypt.

ROYAL TOMBS CONSTRUCTED FOR MOSES

Tomb No. 71

Near ancient Thebes, there is a magnificent building called "Deir el Bahri", which is a temple Moses built (as architect) for his adopted mother, Nefure. Above it is a tomb for Moses which has an unfinished statue carved above the entrance, in the virgin rock of the mountain, of a woman holding a small child. We, of course, recognize this as Moses and his adoptive mother.

The records of the building of this tomb show that it was begun when Moses was about 18- the year he was designated as the royal son of pharaoh's daughter and placed in line as the possible future heir-apparent. The name "Senmut" and "Nefure" are the names mentioned in this tomb.

Just below this tomb, excavators found a small rock-cut chamber that held the mummies of Hatnofer and Ramose, the Egyptian names for Moses parents. His mother was embalmed and given a royal funeral, which indicates that she was buried here at the time of her death. The body of her husband, Ramose, however, was clearly a secondary burial- his body had been removed from its original burial and transferred to this grave- and it was clearly a non-royal burial.

This tomb was never finished and no one was ever buried in it. One reason being that another more elaborate, royal tomb was begun for Moses when he was about age 33/34- the year he was designated as Thutmoses II.

Tomb No. 353

This tomb is equally as fascinating as the first, for there was never a burial in it either. This was the second tomb built for Moses and this one would have been his royal tomb. It is very exciting to go down into that tomb and see how, at the time Moses fled and gave up his claim to the future throne, all work stopped on this tomb and it remains exactly as it was left to this day. it is finished down to the lower section of hieroglyphs and pictures- then, where the workmen stopped work, the pictures are drawn onto the wall in black ink. Equally amazing is the fact that, unlike other Egyptian tombs where the deceased is pictured with a wife and family, Moses is shown with only his mother and father, Hatnofer and Ramose. After all, Moses was never married while he was in Egypt.

SIR MARSTON & JOSEPHUS KNEW HATSHEPSUT

At this point, I would like to state that those of you who decide to research this subject- and we definitely recommend that you do just that- will find that the facts we have presented will be totally different from those as presented by historians and scholars. But view the evidences in the light that we have presented them and see for yourself how the evidence fits. It is amazing to us that the majority of scholars have missed this altogether. There have been a few, however, who have made the connection. One of these is Sir Charles Marston, who, in his book "New Bible Evidence", 1934,

I recognizes that the Exodus had to occur during the 18th dynasty and that Hatshepsut was indeed the "pharaoh's daughter". If he had had the information that the Thutmoses and the Amenhoteps of this dynasty were in fact the same people- (they were Thutmoses when they were co-regents in Memphis, and Amenhoteps when they arose to main emperor),- he would have figured it all out.

Marston brings out the fact that Josephus gives some vital information as to this pharaoh's daughter's identity on p. 162 of his above mentioned book: "He does, however, mention the name of the princess who found Moses in the ark of bulrushes. He says it was 'Thermuthis,' in which we see an echo of the name Thotmes, or Tahutnies, which was borne by each of the three Pharaohs in whose reigns Hatshepsut played such a leading part."

THE MAN "WHO TOOK MOSES' PLACE"

When Moses fled Egypt at age 40, the emperor, Amenhotep 1 was very elderly- he had been preparing Moses for the throne for the past 22 years. Now, there was a big problem. Who would now be the future king?

In Memphis, a young man was being groomed to be appointed co-regent for Moses when he became emperor. This young man was immediately elevated to the rank of co-regent and given the same name of Thutmoses. The records show that he assumed the throne on his year 22. Now, this is a strange statement and tells much more than one might at first notice. A co-regent, or royal heir-apparent, begins counting his years when he is designated as the "heir-apparent". That becomes his year one. Here, we have a man assuming office in year 22 and he assumes it under that same name a as Moses had.

Keep in mind, that as the royal heir assumes each stage of office, "heir-apparent", crown prince and co-regent, he also in some places counts his years from that particular appointment. This is why the years of "Thutmoses Ill are given as 54 years, while the years of Amenhotep II are given as 26 to 32 years (depending on what author you are reading). The problem with Thutmoses III, who took Moses' place, is that there are no records of his rise through the ranks. He just suddenly appears in year 22 as taking the throne.

Now, what happened here is that when Moses fled, in order to continue the reign of the earthly embodiment of "Thoth" in the "Thutmoses" co-regent, this man simply assumed the years that Moses had held that position. In other cases, when a royal personage would die, the god is said to "fly to the heavens" and then redescend into the body of whoever becomes the next earthly embodiment of the god. In this case, there was no death- there had to be an immediate transfer, which is exactly what took place. Everything that had belonged to Moses was simply figuratively transferred to this "new" "Thutmoses" and things went along without missing a step. This man is now referred to by scholars as Thutmoses Ill. All of the statuary attributed to him are actually the statues that were made of Moses.

And it was to this Thutmoses that scholars attribute 54 years of rule. However, 22 of those years belonged to the man he replaced, Moses. And the historic evidence proves this, too. If we subtract the 22 years from the 54 year total, we are left with 32 years. Now, instead of going through all the evidence, let's just read what one historian has to say about this Thutmoses Ill: "He passed away after a rule of thirty-two (some say fifty-four) years, having made Egyptian leadership in the Mediterranean world complete." This is from "The Story of Civilization" Vol. 1 by Will Durant, (1954) p. 155. And it truly was 32 years later when the man who became emperor after taking Moses place, died. Amenhotep Il was perhaps the greatest ruler Egypt ever had. By the time of his death, Egypt was truly the world power and the wealthiest nation. Hatshepsut remained alive for many years after Moses fled, and is named as queen on monuments very late into this king's rule.

THE PHARAOH OF THE EXODUS

Upon Amenhotep II's death, his co-regent for 29 years, the 4^th Thutmoses, became Amenhotep Ill. Upon his becoming emperor, he appointed his young son, Tutankhamen, as "crown-prince" and for the next 8/9 years, this pharaoh ruled Egypt. He inherited the throne at a time when Egypt was well established as the world ruler. All he basically had to do was sit back and collect the foreign tribute as it arrived. Egypt had military troops stationed in all the vassal territories and maintained their empire peaceably. In his inscriptions, this emperor makes claims to be a triumphant warrior, but these references are to the time of his co-regency, when he accompanied Amenhotep II in his triumphant exploits.

But most interesting about this man is the fact that historical data shows that he actually had no claim to the throne. He was not the first-born of the pharaoh, which was the standard mode of becoming emperor. The well-known "sphinx stele", still present between the paws of the sphinx at Giza, tells the strange story of how Thutmoses IV fell asleep one day in the shadow of the sphinx. He dreamed that the sun god came to him and told him that if he would clear away the sand from around the sphinx, he would make him king. This elaborate story would not have been needed if he had been entitled to the throne as rightful heir. But, it appears that Amenhotep II was also without a royal son. The inscriptions always call the new king the "son" of the previous king, but this is figurative- as referring to Osiris and Horus. But keep in mind that this new pharaoh was not the first born of the last pharaoh. This is important because this new king, Amenhotep Ill, was the pharaoh of the Exodus. Think about this- all the firstborn were killed by the Angel of Death; if the pharaoh had been a first born, he would have died that night! So it is very important that we establish that this pharaoh was not a firstborn.

After reigning as emperor for 8/9 years, we reach the 40th year after Moses had fled Egypt. Remember, the pharaoh who took Moses place reigned 32 years. Then, this last pharaoh reigned 8/9 years. This equalled the 40 years Moses was in the wilderness of Midian.

At this time at the end of the 40 years, Moses returns to the court of pharaoh Amenhotep III as commanded by God. And soon, the plagues began to fall upon Egypt. When the plague of the death of the first born fell by the hand of the Angel of Death, the pharaoh was not stricken- but his son was: EXO 11:5 And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.

This son was the young crown prince known to us all as "King Tut. However, the name is misleading, for we know he was never pharaoh, just crown prince. And while the historians all argue over who his father was, in an inscription on a statue of a lion dedicated by Tutankhamen to the temple of Soleb, he calls Amenhotep Ill his father. (Remember, Amenhotep III was also named Thutmoses IV).

THE ROYAL MUMMIES

Another confusing factor in the identification of the kings and queens is the overabundance of royal mummies. In other words, although Thutmoses Ill and Amenhotep II are the same man, there have been found mummies for each name. Does this shoot down our theory? No, not in the least. First of all, it is necessary to have an understanding of the ancient Egyptian beliefs concerning death.

At death, they believed that a body was necessary for the ba, the ka and the akh to survive. These were, loosely translated, the various "spirit forms" which made up the psychic person and survived after death. However, in cases where the person was unavailable for burial, etc., any body would suffice as long as it was labeled with the name of the deceased. They believed that as long as a persons name was being spoken, or was on the walls of his tomb, his immortality was assured. The name was the most important factor. The following is from "Mummies, Myth and Magic in Ancient Egypt" by Christine El Mahdy (1989) p. 13: "The tomb, the mummy, the equipment, the paintings and reliefs were all designed to help preserve the name of the individual, the greatest horror was to have your name destroyed, cut out from a wall." (Emphasis ours)

If the mummy of the actual individual was so vital, why would they fear the desecration of their name? Because it was the key, in their belief, to their immortality. The mummy was important, as were the statues of the deceased. But the mummy could be supplied in a pinch- no problem.

Since it was considered a sacred duty of each king to protect the burials of his ancestor-kings, if a king couldn't find a mummy for a particular king, he would provide one as is written in numerous inscriptions.

Mummies have been found which the excavators claim to be the mummies of each of the Amenhoteps and each of the Thutmoses. However, a careful examination of all evidence leads one to conclude that the only mummies which are of the actual 18th Dynasty pharaohs in question are the mummy of Amenhotep I and Amenhotep II.

Amenhotep I (Thutmoses I) was found in his own tomb, as was Amenhotep II (Thutmoses Ill). Amenhotep ls mummy was never unwrapped but was x-rayed- and it revealed several genetic peculiarities which were shared by the mummies of several of his ancestors. The most obvious of these was the fact that he had the same type of malocclusion -a very prominent protrusion of the top front teeth- almost an overbite. This genetic feature was seen in all his female relatives- sister, mother, grandmother and daughter.

We believe the only authentic mummies of the 18th dynasty kings to be those of Amenhotep I and Amenhotep II. Of course, there wouldn't be a mummy for Amenhotep Ill as he drowned in the Red Sea. Nor would there be a mummy of Thutmoses II since he was Moses. The others, which are said to be Thutmoses I, Ill, IV and Amenhotep Ill we believe to be mummies supplied by later kings, as they were all found in other tombs, in other sarcophaguses, and as they were simply not royal burials.

Here are a couple of examples of the evidence which shows these mummies to be extremely doubtful. These concern the mummy said to be that of Thutmoses 1, who is known to have ruled a minimum of 21 years by existing inscriptions: "However, several eminent physical anthropologists who have seen these x-rays have been absolutely convinced that this mummy is that of a young man, perhaps 18 years of age, certainly not over twenty." "X-Raying the Pharaohs" by James E. Harris and Kent R. Weeks, (1973) p.131-2. The fact that this mummy is far too young to be this king is evidence enough. But now, let's go back to when the mummy was actually identified as Thutmoses I: "Among the mummies discovered at Deir-el-Bahari was one, which on account of its having been found in a coffin bearing the name of Pinozen I of the XXIst Dynasty, was formerly supposed to be the mummy of that king. Maspero, however, formed the opinion that it was the mummy of Thutmoses I and account of the facial resemblance which it bore to the Pharaohs Thutmoses II and III" "Egyptian Mummies" by G. Elliot Smith and Warren R. Dawson (1924) p. 91.

This mummy was identified as Thutmoses 1 because he seemed to favor the other mummies. Not a strong basis for identification. Plus that fact that the mummy said to be Thutmoses Ill was also determined to be far too young- plus the fact that he was just barely five feet tall. Then, there is the mummy of Thutmoses IV, who was extremely emaciated and identified as just barely 30 years old. It doesn't even take careful study to realize that these mummies are "impostors".

THE "EGYPTIAN WATERGATE"

The year is about 1446 BC. The Egyptian pharaoh, his army and all the members of all the priesthoods have left in great haste. They are enraged that their entire slave population has fled, even though less than a week earlier the pharaoh and his ministers had virtually begged them to leave. The Egyptians lavished the great multitude of slaves with objects of gold, silver and precious stones as supposed "payment" for all the work they had done as slaves. EXO 12:35 And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and/jewels of gold, and raiment: 36 And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.

The Hebrew words in this text that are translated "borrow" and "lent" are the same word, "shaal". And this word simply means "ask", "demand" "request", "give", etc. Only 6 times in the entire Bible is it translated "borrow" and 2 times as 'lend" or "lent". But 87 times it is translated "ask" and in excess of 60 times is it translated to read other words which mean simply "ask". The verses are telling us that they "asked" for these things, as God had told them to do so they would not be a destitute nation. And the Egyptians were quite happy to comply with whatever they asked. The fear of God was in the Egyptians after the terrible plagues which had befallen them by the Hand of the Israelites' God.

Back home in Egypt, the entire country is trying to recover from the catastrophic destruction the country has suffered as a results of the plagues brought by the God of the slaves, "I AM". Every family is in mourning for the loss of their first born. Nothing of this magnitude has ever been experienced by these people.

The crown-prince, the young boy, Tutankhamen, is being mourned by the entire nation and preparations are being made for his burial. But mostly, all is at a standstill until the pharaoh, the ministers of state, the army and the priesthoods all return with the slaves. Throughout the land, the continuous sound of mourning can be heard from sun up to sun down, and even throughout the night.

The pharaoh, as soon he ascended the throne 8/9 years earlier as emperor, had taken as his "great wife and queen" a lady of foreign blood by the name of Tiy. When he had been co-regent in Memphis, he had been married to a royal daughter, as was tradition. lt was this royal lady who had given birth to his firstborn, Tutankhamen. But it was the "common" foreign wife whom he elevated to "great king's wife and queen" as soon as he was "boss"- and this lady was to play a big part in later events of Egyptian history after the Exodus. But now, back to the story at hand.

Soon, word arrives at the palace in Memphis that is too fantastic to be believed- the entire Egyptian army, all of the priesthood and the pharaoh himself have all perished! All drowned in the Red Sea while in pursuit of the slaves! The confusion, grief, fear and agony of the entire country is impossible to imagine. But very quickly, it becomes utmost in the minds of those remaining that knowledge of what has happened must be kept secret.

The previous emperor had secured the position of Egypt as the world power. All nations feared as well as respected Egypt. They all, for the most part, brought their tribute regularly to the palaces, and Egypt had want of absolutely nothing. She had no need to ever go to war for the nations feared her great army. If word of what happened here became known, Egypt could lose her control over her vassal territories and that would mean financial disaster. There is a miraculously-preserved record of the last official correspondences of the pharaoh who drowned in the Red Sea, as well as correspondences with the later pharaoh, and even Tiy. These are contained in the group of tablets found in ancient Amarna, called the Tel-Amarna Letters. In these were found correspondences to this pharaoh of the Exodus, Amenhotep 3, from the Babylonian king, Kadashman-Enlil and the Mittanni king, Tushratta, which serve to verify other world events of this time.

The greatest contender for world power, after Egypt, at the time of the Exodus was the rapidly emerging Hittite Empire. And the greatest Hittite king, Suppiluliumas, had just taken the throne a few years earlier. The Egyptians were sitting ducks if word leaked out...

Time passed; the Egyptians tried to pick up the pieces and go on with their lives, but it was difficult. The only thing they had in their favor was the fact that they were so isolated from the rest of the world. No one could enter the country without being detected far before they arrived. Careful precautions were taken to see that the true situation was not discerned by others.

There was but one person in Egypt who had the royal right to seat a new pharaoh- this was the original great royal wife of Amenhotep 3- the mother of Tutankhamen. But, her situation was not an easy one. Remember, when her husband took the throne as emperor, he took a non-royal wife and she became his favorite.

"My Husband has died and I have no son"

The true, royal wife of the royal bloodline took the only step she knew to take to secure strong leadership for the country and provide protection and security for Egypt. She wrote a letter to the Hittite king. We can learn about this in an inscription left behind by the Hittite king, Suppiluliumas' son: "... When the people of Misra [Egypt] learned of the destruction of Amqa, they were afraid, for to make matters worse their master, Bibhuria had just died and the widowed queen of Egypt sent an ambassador to my father and wrote to him in these terms: `My husband is dead and I have no son. People say that you have many sons. If you send me on of your sons he will become my husband for it is repugnant to me to take one of my servants to husband.' When my father learned this, he called together the council of the great: 'Since the most ancient times such a thing has never happened before.' He decided to send Hattu-Zittish, the chamberlain, `Go, bring me information worthy of belief; they may try to deceive me; and as to the possibility that they may have a prince, bring me back information worthy of my belief.' While Hattu-Zittish was absent on the soil of Egypt, my father vanquished the city of Karchemish... The ambassador of Egypt, the lord Hanis, came to him. Because my father had instructed Hattu-Zittish when he went to the country of Egypt as follows: 'Perhaps they have a prince, they may be trying to deceive me and do not really want one of my sons to reign over them.'; the Egyptian queen answered my father in a letter in these words; `Why do you say `they are trying to deceive me? `If I had a son, should I write to a foreign country in a manner humiliating to me and to my country? You do not believe me and you even say so to me! He who was my husband is dead and I have no son. Should I then perhaps take one of my servants and make of him my husband? I have written no other country, I have written to you."

There is more, but for the sake of space, we will just tell you what happened. Suppiluliumas finally believed her and sent a son. However, that son never made it to Egypt. No one knows what happened to him exactly, but we do know what happened next.

However, before we leave this most important letter, we must point out that the most convincing evidence of all is the fact that the queen who wrote the Hittite king makes it quite clear that all who remain in Egypt are her "servants"! Is this not a perfect description of the situation that would have resulted after all the royal ministers, priests and army had drowned in the Red Sea? The scholars assign the name of the dead pharaoh "Bibhuria" as being that of "Tutankhamen", for one of his names was "Neb-kheper-ru-re"; however, we believe it should be transliterated "Neb-maat-Re", which was one of the names of Amenhotep 3. Either way, the evidence is equally strong. Either the royal wife or the royal daughter (who was symbolically "married" to Tutankhamen) of the dead pharaoh would have retained the royal right to do this. So it really doesn't matter which wife wrote the letter as far as the evidence goes.

Rivalry for Power

Meanwhile, time passes in the devastated Egypt. Petty quarrels arise between the true royal wife and the favored foreign wife of the dead pharaoh. It becomes a power struggle- but one that must remain confidential in order that the outside world not realize the vulnerability of Egypt.

There is not clear evidence as to the exact events which next occurred, but there is enough evidence to generally know. Th