from:
Israel Finkelstein / Neil A. Silberman:
The Bible unearthed. Archeology's New Vision of
Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts;
The Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster,
Inc., 2001; German edition has got the title "No
trombones before Jericho" (orig. German: "Keine
Posaunen vor Jericho"): edition C.H.Beck oHG, Munich
2002;
Here in this analysis is used the
German version "Keine Posaunen vor Jericho" of DTV,
Munich 2004, second edition of 2005. All page
indications refer to the German version. I hope the
page numbers are not very different.
Son Joseph (one of the sons of
Jacob) is said having been sold to Egypt because of a
dream
OT
claims:
-- the son Joseph (one of the sons of Jacob) is said
having dreamt that he would rule over a family later, and
he is said having told this dream to other brothers and
having been hated for that, and by this the brothers are
said having sold Joseph to a group of Ismaelite merchants
to Egypt bringing Joseph with their camel caravan to
Egypt, and there are said having been resin, balm and
myrrh within the goods of the caravan (p.44)
-- the 11 other brothers are said having claimed to their
father Jacob that a wild animal had eaten Joseph (p.44)
-- Joseph is said having followed a career and is said
having been brilliant with prophecies for the Pharaoh and
is said having been minister for economic affairs of the
Pharaoh predicting 7 bad years (p.44).
-- when after a long dry period the other 11 sons of Jacob
came to Egypt with hunger and wanted to purchase food,
brother Joseph is said having presented to them as
minister for economic affairs, and the Israelites are said
having changed their domicile all to Gosen where patriarch
Jacob is said having blessed all his sons and Joseph's
sons, the grandsons Manasseh and Ephraim, and where son
Judah is said having received the royal birthright (p.45)
-- and it is said that Jacob - after his death - was
buried in the cave of Machpelah near Hebron by his sons,
but the Israelites are said having stayed in Egypt (p.45).
The contradictions in the
legend with Joseph who was sent to Egypt
Transportation
of Joseph to Egypt: the criterion of the
camels
The
documents say: In Assyrian sources of 7th
century B.C. are mentioned the first camel caravans (p.50)
Archeology says: Archeology
proves clearly that camels were not domesticated before
the end of second millennium B.C., and only much time
after 1,000 B.C. they were used as pack animals. In the
book of Genesis (1st book of Moses) camel caravans are
repeatedly mentioned, and the text describing Joseph sold
to Egypt also describes camels as pack animals (Gen.
37,25). But according to the documents and the
archaeological findings this is not possible because the
culture of camel caravans did not exist yet in times of
Jacob and son Joseph (p.49).
The location of Tell Gemme
for example is an important crossing for caravan trails
(p.49-50) and indicates a massive growth of camel bones in
the 7th century B.C. These are almost only bones of adult
camels, so they probably are from caravans, and not from
cultivating farms (p.50).
Transportation of Joseph to
Egypt: commerce with "resin, balm, and myrrh" did not
exist yet
The goods like "resin, balm, and myrrh" carried in the
camel caravan of Joseph to Egypt are main products of Arab
commerce under supervision of Assyrian Reich in 8th to 7th
century B.C. So, the book of Genesis surely was not
written before the 8th century B.C. (p.49).
Evidence
that the whole legend is a fake: The family
trees after Jacob are very different and do not conform
(p.47).
Evidence
that teh whole legend is a fake: The names of the
persons in Egipt in the Joseph legend are the favorite
names of 7th and 6th century B.C.
The namings in Egypt according to the legend are like
this:
-- Joseph as grand vizier of the Pharaoh is named Zaphnat
Paneah
-- the supreme of the royal life guards is named Potiphar
-- the priest is named Potiphera
-- and the daughter of Potipheras is named Asnath (p.80).
All these names are favorite names in Egypt during 7th and
6th century B.C., but during the times of Joseph legend
these names are rare [and never would have been for
state's representatives and never would have been used in
a religious main book] (p.80-81).
[Conclusion
All the cited facts and evidence are
indications that the legend about a Joseph sold and
brought to Egypt is an faked invention between 8th and 6th
century B.C.].
