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The Cast
Charles Aling
Egyptologist, University of Northwestern, St. Paul – Aling is a Professor of History at the University of Northwestern, St. Paul Minnesota. After serving as an intelligence officer in the US Army he excavated a royal tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Aling authored the book, Egypt and Bible History (1981), which explores the relationships between the two histories.
Manfred Bietak
Egytologist, University of Vienna – Bietak was the Director of the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Cairo, Egypt for 35 years. Considered one of the greatest archaeologists alive today, he is best known for directing the Austrian excavations at the Nile delta site of Tell el-Daba, which has been ongoing for 40 years. This site was the ancient Hyksos capital known as Avaris, as well as the southern sector of Rameses, a city that the Bible mentions as being built by the Israelites in the book of Exodus.
Clyde Billington
Ancient Historian – University of Northwestern, St. Paul – Billington is a Professor of History at the University of Northwestern, St. Paul, Minnesota. He is the past editor of Artifax magazine and has over 30 published articles, book reviews, and scholarly presentations. His areas of specialty include Ancient History, Medieval History, Church History and Biblical Archaeology.
John Bimson
Tutor in Old Testament, Trinity College, Bristol, PhD Tutor – Bimson’s special interests include the historical and archaeological background of the Old Testament and he has taken part in excavations in Israel. He did doctoral research on the historicity and setting of the Exodus and Conquest. His book, Redating the Exodus (1978), proposed that the end of the Middle Bronze Age provides the best matching evidence for the biblical Conquest and that the dates assigned to this period should be substantially revised.
Mansour Boraik
Egyptologist, Director General of Antiquities – Luxor – Boraik, educated at Zagazig University, is the second highest-ranking Egyptologist in Egypt. He oversees the area of Luxor, considered to be the world’s greatest open-air museum. This location was home to the ancient Egyptian capital of Thebes and is filled with some of Egypt’s most important archaeological sites such as the temple complexes of Karnak, Luxor, and the Ramesseum, as well as the Valley of the Kings.
Israel Finkelstein
Archaeologist, Tel Aviv University – Finkelstein is Co-director of excavations at Megiddo and Professor of Archaeology in the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations at Tel Aviv University. Along with Neil Asher Silberman, he authored the influential book, The Bible Unearthed(2001), which argued that the early history of Israel did not occur as described in the Bible.
Norma Franklin
Archaeologist, University of Haifa – Franklin is a professor at the University of Haifa, Zinman Institute of Archaeology and Co-director of the Jezreel Expedition at Tel Jezreel. Franklin was formerly at Tel Aviv University, where she was the coordinator of the Megiddo Expedition.
Rabbi Manis Freidman
Rabbi, Biblical Scholar, Author – Friedman is a member the Hassidic branch of Judaism known as Chabad Lubavitch. As a teacher, counselor and philosopher, he has lectured around the world and is a professionally ranked member of the National Speakers Association. Founder and Dean of the Bais Chana Institute of Jewish Studies, Friedman’s writings include the book, Doesn’t Anyone Blush Anymore? (1990).
Rabbi David Hartman
Rabbi, Shalom Hartman Institute, Author – Hartman was the Professor of Jewish Thought at Hebrew University of Jerusalem for more than 20 years and was Founder of the Shalom Hartman Institute. As an award winning author and a philosopher of contemporary Judaism, he sought to revitalize Judaism around the world. His books include A Living Covenant: The Innovative Spirit in Traditional Judaism (1998) and The God Who Hates Lies: Confronting and Rethinking Jewish Tradition (2011).
James K Hoffmeier
Egyptologist, Author – Hoffmeier is Professor of Old Testament and Near Eastern Archaeology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Deerfield, IL). Since 1994 he has been Director of the North Sinai Archaeological Project. Hoffmeier has appeared in many TV programs and authored two books on evidence related to the Exodus: Israel in Egypt (1999) and Ancient Israel in Sinai (2011).
Timothy P. Mahoney
Filmmaker – Mahoney wrote, directed and produced “Patterns of Evidence: The Exodus”, his first feature length documentary film, an investigation that lasted twelve years. He has also authored the new book by the same title. After 25 years of experience in media production, Mahoney created Thinking Man Films, a production/distribution company that explores the world we live in and encourages people to question what they have been told about culture, science, history and religion.
Michael Medved
Radio talk-show host, Author – Medved is a nationally syndicated radio talk-show host with over 4.75 million listeners weekly. A veteran film critic, he co-hosted PBS’ Sneak Previews for 12 years. As a Best-Selling author, his books include Hollywood vs. America(1992), and Right Turns (2005).
Benjamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister of Israel – Netanyahu was formerly Israel’s ambassador to the UN. He is an author and a student of history like his father, Benzion Netanyahu who was Professor of History at both Cornell and Hebrew Universities. Benjamin Netanyahu’s books include: Israel and its Place Among the Nations(1992) and Fighting Terrorism: How Democracies Can Defeat Domestic and International Terrorism(1996).
Shimon Peres
President of Israel – Peres has been a Member of the Knesset since 1959 and twice served as the Prime Minister. As Defense Minister, he oversaw the Entebbe rescue operation in 1976. Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994, he founded The Peres Center for Peace in 1996. Peres is the author of ten books including: The Next Step (1965), David’s Sling (1970) Entebbe Diary (1991), and Battling for Peace: a Memoir (1995).
Maarten Raven
Egyptologist, Curator – Leiden Museum – Raven is a professor at Leiden University in the Netherlands and Curator of the Egyptian Department of the National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden since 1979. He has extensive experience digging at Saqqara, Egypt since 1975 and working as Joint director there since 1999. Raven has numerous publications on his fieldwork of Egyptian tomb excavations, as well as on the collections at the Leiden Museum.
David Rohl
Egyptologist, Author – Rohl is a British Egyptologist and historian who was awarded the prestigious W.F. Masom History Research Scholarship by the University of London, is a past President of the Sussex Egyptology Society (SES), and is the Chairman of the Institute for the Study of Interdisciplinary Sciences (ISIS.) He has put forward several controversial theories concerning the chronology of ancient Egypt and Palestine. Rohl’s books include: A Test of Time (1995), The Lords of Avaris (2007)and Exodus – Myth or History?(2014). He produced the three-part television documentary, Pharaohs and Kings: A Biblical Quest.
Kent Weeks
Egyptologist, Theban Mapping Project – Weeks is one of America’s top Egyptologists who devised and launched the Theban Mapping Project, which seeks to document every tomb and temple in the Theban Necropolis (Luxor area). In 1995, Weeks discovered the expansive KV5, the tomb of the sons of Ramesses II in the Valley of the Kings. Since 1988 he has been a Professor of Egyptology at The American University in Cairo.
Rabbi David Wolpe
Rabbi, Author – Wolpe is a noted public speaker and Rabbi of Sinai Temple, the largest congregation in Los Angeles. Named the most influential Rabbi in America by Newsweek Magazinein 2012, he has taught and served as Assistant Chancellor at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York. He frequently is featured in documentaries on biblical topics for popular cable channels and as a commentator on network news programs. Wolpe’s most recent book, Why Faith Matters(2009) answers atheism and recounts his battle with lymphoma.
Bryant Wood
Archaeologist, Associates for Biblical Research – Wood is the Director of the Associates for Biblical Research. He received his Ph.D. in Syro-Palestinian Archaeology from the University of Toronto where he specialized in Canaanite pottery of the Late Bronze Age. Wood is best known for his proposal to date the final destruction layer found at Jericho from the Middle Bronze Age, where it is conventionally located, to the Late Bronze Age.