And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD…
– Exodus 24:4 (ESV)
The new series Patterns of Evidence: Moses, is looking more closely at the life of Moses and the journey of the Exodus out of Egypt. The first episode starts by asking, “Could Moses have written the first books of the Bible?” Because if he didn’t, it calls into question the details found in the Exodus account of the route of the Israelites, including campsites.
But if Moses was writing an eyewitness account as the Bible itself claims, then his record would be a roadmap for the investigation, both geographically and archaeologically.
The Bible also records many miraculous events on the Exodus journey. The new series will explore these events, challenging the audience to take a second look. Did these miracles really happen, or are they exaggerations invented a thousand years after the time of the Exodus?
Moses wrote down their starting places, stage by stage, by command of the LORD…
– Numbers 33:2 (ESV)
At the beginning of this new project, I traveled to some leading universities to find out why mainstream scholars don’t consider Moses to be the author of the Exodus and the other early books of the Bible.
Some of the questions I asked included:
Was Moses who he said he was? “I don’t see Moses as founder of the Israelite religion and most scholars don’t today,” said William Dever, Professor of Near Eastern Archaeology, Lycoming College. Dr. Dever, who specializes in the history of Israel in Biblical times, believes as many in his profession do, that Biblical characters such as Solomon, David and Moses, if they really existed, were at best exaggerated.
Did Moses write the Torah? “Frankly, I don’t think so,” said Doug Knight, retired university professor at Vanderbilt’s Divinity School, who co-wrote The Meaning of the Bible, a book that is used in many colleges and seminaries. “I think it was the product of many other people much later than his time.”
Is the Exodus account historically reliable? “I think (Chapters) 1-15 of Exodus come off very negatively,” says Donald Redford, Egyptologist at Pennsylvania State University, and author of the celebrated work Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times. He explains, “It does not reflect almost anything to do with the original incident.”
For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
– John 5: 45-47 (ESV)
But there is a sharp contrast to these opinions and those of other biblical scholars who see a real historical connection between the first five books of the Bible (known as the Torah or Pentateuch) and archaeology.
“I think the Exodus story is fundamental, because when you come to understand the Bible, it’s the history of Israel, and Israel has no history apart from the Exodus,” said Dr. Randall Price, Distinguished Research Professor, Liberty University. He wrote the book, The Stones Cry Out.
“The Exodus defines the Jewish people,” said Price. “It’s their self-identity. The whole understanding of the Passover, which throughout the Old Testament you see that the Exodus is repeated over and over again. It’s, ‘The God who brought you out of Egypt – Remember – Go back to.’ These events happened.”
Brian Rickett is Professor of Biblical Studies at Baptist Missionary Association Theological Seminary. I asked him how emphatic the Bible’s claims for Moses’ authorship are. “I believe unequivocally that Moses wrote the Torah because it describes him as the lawgiver. You have numerous references in the Torah of God giving something to Moses to write. It says, ‘And Moses wrote these words.’”
The new Moses series also includes Dr. Doug Petrovich an epigrapher who has written the book Hebrew, the World’s Oldest Alphabet. He commented, “Moses definitely could have written the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch, in the 15th Century BC… There was a well known Hebrew language that Moses was able to write the Torah in.”
The big question is that while some scholars claim that Moses didn’t write the Torah, other scholars such as Doug Petrovich and Egyptologist David Rohl say that there was a new writing system (or script) that appeared, which was well suited for writing the Torah at the time of the Exodus. They unfold the case for a significant connection between this ancient script and the early Israelites in Egypt. They also claim to be able to read inscriptions that are connected to people and events mentioned in the Bible.
However, this view is controversial and not accepted by mainstream scholars like Professor Christopher Rollston from George Washington University who said, “The script is definitely not the Hebrew script. So that’s a problem!”
When I questioned, David Rohl, author of Exodus – Myth or History? about this, he replied, “To determine which group was behind these inscriptions, you need to look at the historical aspects.” Rohl believes this script appears at the time of Joseph, so would have been available for Moses to write the Torah.
That is part of the debate we are examining in the first episode of the Patterns of Evidence: Moses series, and you will be amazed at what was found.
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book…”
– Exodus 17:14 (ESV)
We spent much of 2017 filming. Now, we’ve finished the rough cut of Episode 1, which is under scholarly review. After receiving feedback, we’ll make some changes and do some test screenings with the public. We are working hard to get it right. We believe we’ve built one of the best cases ever seen in film for a pattern of evidence supporting the plausibility of Moses’ authorship of the Torah. I think it will be a groundbreaker.
The “old school” says the Bible isn’t reliable. But there are some fresh, new ways of looking at this age-old question, and you’ll want to have a front-row seat.
Keep thinking!
