Bible Studies
Of all the misconceptions about the Bible, the idea that the Children of Israel built the pyramids is probably one of the most common. It shows up in children’s videos, and every now and then, a well-known preacher will use the pyramids as an example of Jewish diligence and hard-work. Even I believed it was true until one day God decided to use a debate between an atheistic college professor and a well-meaning Christian brother to challenge my faith.
Like many Christians who attended a state supported university, I experienced the prevailing animosity that is directed toward those who profess a faith in Jesus Christ. One example was my History of Art professor who from day one made clear his distain for the Christian religion. In his lesson on the Egyptian pyramids, the professor took the opportunity to declare, “Contrary to popular belief, the Israelites were not involved in the construction of the pyramids. In fact, there is not one shred of historical evidence to show the Jews were ever in Egypt in the first place.”
Immediately a Christian brother, who was bolder than I, questioned this statement. The professor, not wanting his lecture derailed by this dissenting voice, asked the student to talk to him after class. After class several students, including myself, stayed around to watch the ensuing debate – The Body of Historical Evidence vs. Faith in the Inerrancy of the Bible. As usual, both parties did more talking than listening, but one thing was clear. My bold brother unwaveringly believed in the Jewish captivity in Egypt and the pyramids were definitely the results of their slave labor.
When I got back to my apartment that day, I immediately grabbed my Bible and went straight to Exodus. I was hoping to find the scripture, which my Christian brother so faithfully defended. Instead, I was stunned to discover that according to the Bible, the Jews did not build the pyramids. Although the story of the Israelites in Egypt was definitely contained in the Bible, this witness for Jesus used totally wrong evidence to support it. This deeply affected me and began a lifelong pursuit of uncovering the “true” historical facts, with which to defend the Bible.
So as I equipped myself with "correct" historical information to defend the Bible and its reliability, one scripture became my theme. "… holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine to exhort and convict those who contradict." (Titus 1:9 NKJV)
As for the issue at hand, the scripture which answers the question – What did the Israelites really build – can be found in Exodus 1:11. "Therefore they (the Egyptians) set taskmasters over them (the Israelites) to afflict with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses." (NKJV) Also if you read further to verse 14, you will see that the Egyptians made the Israelites’ lives “bitter with hard bondage – in mortar, in brick and all manner of service in the field.” These cities were not built with huge stones like the pyramids were, but with brick.
To further illustrate this point, let’s take a quick historical perspective of when the pyramids were built. King Zoser started building the first pyramid around 2620 BC. This is the stepped pyramid at Saqqara. The most famous pyramids are the Giza Pyramids, of which the Great Pyramid of Cheops is the centerpiece. The last pyramid was built at Giza by Menkaure and was completed sometime around 2490 BC. As famous as they are, pyramid-building as an Egyptian activity only lasted for about 130 years. This is short considering that the history of Egypt covered a span of thousands of years.
So when did the Children of Israel arrive in Egypt? The earliest that anyone has the Jewish people traveling south is around 1850 BC. By then the pyramids were already over 600 years old. (Personally I think their arrival was closer to 1650 BC, but that will be another discussion.)
Due to the huge difference in time, it is pretty easy to show how it was impossible for the Israelites to be involved in the construction of the pyramids, but narrowing down the historical context of the Exodus account is a little trickier. For example, historians have listed every king who ever ruled over Egypt and the years of their reign, but this information is useless to us because nowhere in the Bible are the Pharaohs of Moses’ time ever named. The Bible does provide other historical clues, but these are open to interpretation. As a result, we have dates for the Exodus ranging from 1450 BC to 1220 BC.
I believe it is only when you add documents from this time period, supplemented with the fruits of extensive archaeological excavation that a clearer picture emerges. For example, the two cities mentioned in Exodus 1:11 – Pithom and Rameses – have actually been uncovered and positively identified in the fertile delta region of the Nile River. Although The Bible refers to them as treasure cities, archaeologists have been able to add a few more details to the story.
Pi-Thom was actually known as Per-Atum, which means City of Atum. Atum was one of the gods of creation in Egyptian mythology and is sometimes represented as a … serpent. (Well, he always wanted to be a god, but I digress.) Per-Atum sat on the border between Egypt and Asia and functioned more as a fortified customs station. Its chief magistrate forced travelers and visitors to pay admission before entering the country. The gold, jewels and even grain, which were collected, were than stored in underground chambers.
On the other hand Rameses or Per-Rameses was the personal resort city of the pharaohs. Amidst its beautiful gardens, orchards and pools, the rulers of Egypt would entertain visiting heads of state. There were also several administrative buildings allowing the Pharaoh to conduct many of his royal duties from this location. The most important piece of information is the name of the city itself. Rameses is also the name of eleven different pharaohs with Rameses I ascending to the throne in 1320 BC.
But we can narrow this even further, because both cities underwent major renovations during the 1200’s BC. In fact, all the historical documents agree that Rameses II who reigned from 1290 to 1223 BC authorized these improvements. So based on this information, he was one of the pharaohs who afflicted the Children of the Israel. In fact, I believe he was the pharaoh from whom Moses fled and who later died just before the Exodus.
When God replaced my misconception about the Children of Israel with the truth, I was excited. Because I felt the truth held an even stronger message. The Children of Israel did not expend all of their efforts on a single structure, but instead they built two entire cities, which included several buildings such as temples and administrative buildings. So I will leave you with this thought: don’t be afraid to have your ideas about the Bible challenged. God might just lead you to a deeper truth.
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