Statement
The Bible's picture of Israelites moving back and forth between Canaan and Egypt, as agents of the Egyptian government or as slaves, is plausible in a general sense. But showing something is possible does not prove the Exodus happened, and the silence of sources outside the Bible leads some to conclude it did not.
References
p. 9
supports · main text · ch. 1
Efron, Lehmann and Weitzman. The Jews: A History. 3rd edition. New York and Abingdon: Routledge, 2019.
Verification anchor recorded · checked against the page text
p. 9
supports · main text · ch. 1
Efron, Lehmann and Weitzman. The Jews: A History. 3rd edition. New York and Abingdon: Routledge, 2019.
Verification anchor recorded · checked against the page text
Scholarly debate
Did the Exodus occur as a historical event?
2 positions · no single answer · take a seat →
- A
A historical core
Scholars who connect the account with movement between Egypt and Canaan
Movement by workers, enslaved people and fugitives makes it possible that a memory of departure from Egypt lies behind the tradition.
- B
Not demonstrated
Skeptical scholars
The absence of Egyptian confirmation and the Merneptah Stele's silence about foreign origins prevent verification of the episode.