Larsguy47

Why do we have plenty of evidence of the Jews after Shishak's invasion, which basically confirms the "state of Israel" as represented in the Bible, but virtually zilch from the time of the Exodus until then? and in particular apparently not a single shred of evidence of any wilderness trek? I mean, the Jews were in one place almost 38 years apparently. Why no evidence?

Someone mentioned that modern technique even shows disturbances in the soil, so there should be something.

But then I thought about the city of Ai, which was right next to Bethel. It was a "dependent town", likely using the fortifications of Bethel for security. But apparently that city hasn't survived at all! (Note: the current city assigned to "Ai" by most archaeologists is not the city mentioned in the Bible). Some of the cities mentioned in Shishak's list have also not been found.

So I'm wondering if they were litterally "blown away"? That is the sand and soil for several layers where there were no stone buildings was blown away by the wind. But of course, replaced by other soil blown in from surrounding areas. Sort of a complete soil exchange. In that case, there would be absolutely nothing left. It would be the same if 20 million people walked past a point on the beach. No matter what foot prints they left in the sand, they would be washed away at high tied. I think for certain cities in windy areas, a complete replacement takes place. The current sand and dirt gets dried out and blown away but other sand and dirt gets blown in to take it's place. Thus there's a displacement, a complete displacement. Thus absolutely no trace of the original city is left.

Any comments?

LG47

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If I thought that any explanations or evidence wouldn't be waved away with proclamations of divinity and pictures of random clouds in the sky, I'd consider answering you.

Larsguy47

Go ahead, or give me a LINK. How can you leave a foot print in the sand forever? I'm curious!

LG47

Vampyroteuthis

Because god can do anything.

Why do you continue to ask questions? You might as well just have a thread of your own where you post questions and then answer them yourself. You can post pics of clouds and charts and all manner of things to your hearts content. :devil1:

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The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts (or via: amazon.co.uk)

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You don't. However, extremely large groups of people do a number of things that all leave traces that are easily buried and preserved under the desert sands: Campfires. Latrines. Tools. Diggings. Burials. None of which are in evidence between Canaan and Egypt.

RED DAVE

You know nothing about archaeology, especially the archaeoogy of desert people.

Read this and post again next year.

http://skeptically.org/enlightenment/id17.html

RED DAVE

Gamera

The theory is testable. Is the topography of the Sinai blow sand or is it more durable soil that would retain evidence of the impact of thousands of people living there for a significant length of time.

Further, I'm sure there are studies on the endurance of human impact on different biomes over time. It's something archeologists would want to know. Even if no studies exist, at the very least, the empirical observations of archeologists would inform this inquiry.

Find the studies or the data, and see if they any apply to the particular topology of the Sinai.

Hex

Lars -

It's simple. There's no evidence because ... it didn't happen!

A million people do not 'wander' for nearly half a century without leaving a trace. Someone would have dropped something. Left behind a pile of ... leavings. And, with a million or so folks, that would add up, even if they -did- travel about rather than staying in one place.

As to a city being 'blown away'? Think about this, around 2100BC, the entirity of mesopotamia is populated by about a million people. Ur, Sumer, Byblos, Babylon and tons of other cities, towns, villages. That's a much larger area than we're talking for your Exodus.

And as to the blowing sand, recognize that it buries things and also discloses them. Dunes shift. Big storms move the sands all over.

Someone, somewhere would have found remnants.

Sorry.

Gamera

Well, but what if it were not 1M and not 40 years. What if these terms mean a lot of people over a significant period of time, so that we are talking about 100,000 people over 20 years?

Like I say, it seems to me the thesis is testable depending on the geology and ecology of the Sinai, which I personally know nothing about (and with no disrespect intended I suspect you don't either).