ABSTRACT

The geography of the exodus story has played an important role in the discussion of the historicity and historical reconstruction of the Egyptian sojourn and liberation event as recounted in Exodus 1-15 for over a century. The reason for this is because only in the names of places in Egypt does the story give us any hope of establishing a fi rm connection with Egyptian historical texts and monuments. This has also involved a continuing interaction between Egyptologists and biblical scholars, often without the competence or training to fully appreciate the discussion in the other’s discipline. The history of the debate has created a great confusion of issues that has thoroughly muddled the debate and left a curious residue of errors in biblical studies, still evident in biblical atlases and histories.