JaredM

According to this essay on religioustolerance.org, the Ten Commandments may have actually been adapted from the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead. I know that there is no archaeological evidence of the Jewish Exodus from Egypt, or that the Jews were ever enslaved there, so is there any truth to this?

I direct this question mainly at the ancient history buffs here in BC&H. :notworthy

--Jared

Splarnst

I don't see the connection. The Decalogue is mostly just a list of basic laws that any society needs to operate. Of course you're going to find similarities between cultures, especially those right next to each other.

Chris Weimer

If you looked at the "parallels" themselves, at least I found them unconvincing. Moreover, much of Exodus parallels Hammurabi almost verbatim. There's much better correspondance there than Book of the Dead. I seriously advise everyone taking religioustolerance.org's essays with a grain of salt.

No Robots

If you are interested in the connection between Mosaism and Egypt, check out Freud's Moses and Monotheism.