Ask the Pastor 56

How can we resolve historical problems?

Many “scholars” date the Exodus at 1290 B.C. based upon the verse found in Exodus 1:11 that the Israelite slaves built the city of Ramses and this city was named after Ramses the Great. One of the major rules that we have for Bible interpretation is the Bible will interrupt itself. First, we have I Kings 6:1 that says it was 480 years from the Exodus to the commencement of Solomon’s temple in 966 B.C. which makes the date 1446 B.C. We also read that Jephthah stated that Israel occupied the land for 300 years in 1100 B.C. which would put the Exodus around 1400 B.C. in Judges 11:26. We then add the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness and we are back to 1440 B.C. Then we have the book of Acts 13:19-20 where we read that there were 450 years from the Exodus to the time of Samuel the prophet who died in 1000 B.C. which again gives us 1450 years. The inspired authors of the Bible agree that the Exodus was in the years of 1450 to 1440 B.C. But what about the city of Ramses (not to mention the movie). Ramses the Great was actually Ramses II, which means there was a Ramses I also known as Ramose Thutmose III (1482 – 1447) whose name would have been on the city that the slaves of Israel built. The conclusion is still the same, there is no historical or archeological data that disproves anything found in the Bible. The Bible can be relied upon, not only for history but for the future, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Have questions about the Bible? Send them to Dr. Greg Koehn at gak4850@gmail.com and read the answer here in this article.