Egypt Did It All And We Are Still Here
The traditional Hebrew text of the Bible states that 70 members of Prophet Jacob’s family went down to Egypt (Genesis 46:27, Exodus 1:5). The ancient Greek translation (the Septuagint) and Stephen’s speech in the New Testament Book of Acts 7:14 record the number as 75 persons by including additional grandsons and great-grandsons. Even if there were 50-100 more servants it is too small to be written on the Merneptah Stele.
Many scholars think that the 70 or 75 adult Hebrews who went to Egypt were only a small part of Prophet Jacob’s extended family of dozens of hundreds of them. The Merneptah Stele, erected in Egypt in 1208 BCE, is an Egyptian victory stele erected by Pharaoh Merneptah that tells how he (and his army) defeated the Libyans, and put down uprisings in Canaanite cities, followed by a claim about the destruction of a people called “Israel”.
The Egyptian inscription describes the Israelites as a stateless group of semi-nomadic men and women inhabiting Canaan at a time when Canaan was under Egyptian rule. Pharaoh Merneptah groups them together with several Egyptian-ruled city states in Canaan that were crushed.
The Hebrew’s Exodus from Egypt occurred just a generation or two prior to this 1208 BCE victory stele. Pharaoh Merneptah’s totally false claim that Israel had been destroyed is evidence that the Pharaohs were still angry that the Pharaoh of the Exodus had been defeated by the one, imageless, God of the Hebrews.
The Sumerian civilization is the oldest on record, but some people say Hinduism is the oldest religion A plausible case could be made that Hinduism is the world’s oldest living religion. While it took quite some time to develop, Hinduism is based on Vedic texts written possibly as early as the last quarter of the second millennium BCE. Then, there was a much later synthesis with other beliefs giving us something like the Hinduism we know today much later, but if we choose to date things back to those early texts, Judaism and Hinduism are much older than Buddhism, and more recent faiths like Christianity and Islam.
Hinduism begins about the same time as Judaism. It is important that both Hinduism and Judaism are still practiced. The Sumerian religion was certainly older. So were the religions practiced by all the much earlier peoples of the Neolithic and Paleolithic. But those religions are all gone now. Hinduism and Judaism alone are the oldest ongoing religions. Hinduism is the oldest ongoing religion with many images. Judaism is the oldest ongoing anti images monotheistic religion. Both religions are closely connected to there geological homeland.
The Merneptah Stele, erected in Egypt in 1208 BCE, is an Egyptian victory stele erected by Pharaoh Merneptah that tells how he (and his army) defeated the Libyans, and then put down uprisings in the Canaanite cities, followed by a claim about the destruction of a people called “Israel”. The Hebrew’s Exodus from Egypt occurred just a generation or two prior to this Egyptian victory stele. The totally false claim that Israel had been destroyed is evidence that the Pharaohs were still angry that the Pharaoh of the Exodus had been defeated by the imageless God of the Hebrew-Israelites.
There is a Quran verse 5:32 that in english translation Sahih International states: “Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land – it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one – it is as if he had saved mankind entirely.” which is very similar to a Talmud verse written by rabbis who do not claim to be prophets. “Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.” (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5; Yerushalmi Talmud 4:9, Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 37a.)
“And We certainty settled the Children of Israel in an agreeable settlement [Land of Israel] and provided them with good things. And they did not differ until [after] knowledge had come to them. Indeed, your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that over which they [Jews and Christians] used to differ. So if you [O Muhammad] are in doubt, about that which We have revealed to you, then ask those [Jews and Christians}who have been reading the Scripture before you. The truth has certainly come to you from your Lord, so never be among the doubters. (Qur’an 10:93-4)
“And remember Our servants, [Prophets] Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – those of strength and [religious] vision. Indeed, We chose them for an exclusive quality: remembrance of the home [the “safe haven” Land of Israel]. And indeed they are to Us among the chosen and outstanding.” (Qur’an 38:45-7)
