Let my people go!

[not_HarryS]

So some archaeologists in Egypt are now claiming that the great pyramids were possibly built by paid laborers, not slaves.

The article can be found here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34794254?GT1=43001

Interesting stuff. I'm personally kind of torn as to whether or not this is a subtle brand of antisemitism that's contaminated authentic scientific pursuit, or whether it's actually got some merit to it.

The only reason I'm thinking about this is because, with the current state of Israel and the Middle East, I think both sides can at times be rather liberal with their conception of what does or does not constitute antisemitism.

If the findings in this article were in fact true, then what kind of effect will this have on the image of (or perhaps Palestinian approach to) the worldwide Jewish community that, historically speaking, has been portrayed as an itinerant, persecuted minority? Exodus was, after all, the first step in this unfortunate phenomenon.

Any thoughts?

[Medievalist]

It's interesting, but remember that the OT does not say what the Jews in Egypt worked on, nor does it even mention the pyramids--which were quite visible then.

This finding just suggests that the people in the tombs who worked on the pyramids were not slaves.

It does not mean that Exodus was "wrong," or whatever, or that the Jews were not enslaved.

Zawi Hawass is a stringent scholar, and keep a tight rein on what is and isn't released to the media. So that's interesting as well.

[not_HarryS]

It's interesting, but remember that the OT does not say what the Jews in Egypt worked on, nor does it even mention the pyramids--which were quite visible then.

This finding just suggests that the people in the tombs who worked on the pyramids were not slaves.

It does not mean that Exodus was "wrong," or whatever, or that the Jews were not enslaved.

Zawi Hawass is a stringent scholar, and keep a tight rein on what is and isn't released to the media. So that's interesting as well.

(Bolding mine)

I do realize that. Because I've recently gotten full-force into the marketing gig, though, I think I'm a little obsessed with branding at this point. And although I don't want to mitigate or in any way disrespect the historical plight of the Jews, the way the public at large reacts to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has a lot to do with how the Jewish community brands itself as a whole.

In the public eye, Heston-Moses brandishing his stick as he parts the Red Sea to save God's chosen people from the tyranny of the pharaoh in 10 Commandments is, unfortunately, a defining scene in many people's eyes regarding the origins of the Jewish people. The movie's not at all accurate to the Old Testament, but movies do have the power to sway the masses.

I know it sounds kind of sick but, with that in mind, if that particular bit of persecution was taken from the Jewish community, what sort of implications might this have on their branding, if I may call it such? Because how people view the Jews will by and large have an effect on how they do or do not support them.

[whistlelock]

You know, when i think of who built the Pyramids, I really don't think about the Jews in slavery.

I don't think I've even heard it suggested that the Jews were the labor force for the construction.

So, to me, that's comparing apples to pears.

[billythrilly7th]

Jews? Paid laborers? News to me that they were even considered.

Aliens built the pyramids. Everyone knows that. Duh.

[Medievalist]

You know, when i think of who built the Pyramids, I really don't think about the Jews in slavery.

I don't think I've even heard it suggested that the Jews were the labor force for the construction.

It's one of those things presented as "facts" in fairly standard high school western civ texts, and sort of "assumed" by many documentaries.

Zawi Hawass has been working on locating the workers for years and has been presenting lectures and seminars at UCLA about current research in locating more information about the builders and the building since about 1996.

Every single time he did a public lecture there would be someone confusedly saying "But . . .but I thought the Jews built the pryamids? And Moses freed them?"

There's a good interview here (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/explore/builders.html) that talks about how they found some of the administrative stuff first--the chain of command, inscriptions about the administration, and the bakery used to feed the workers.

[Albedo]

Um. I'm not all that well versed in Egyptian or Jewish history, but aren't the great pyramids older than the Jewish people? They were built at least 500 years before the claimed birth of Abraham. What reputable history textbook would make an error like that?

[maxmordon]

Um, I was taught they were built by paid Jewish laborers and not Jewish slaves, go figure.

[Priene]

There's plenty of debate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharaoh_of_the_Exodus) about who the pharaoh of the Exodus was, but most guesses have him in the New Kingdom (c1570 - 1070 BCE). The Pyramids were built during the Old Kingdom (c2686 – 2134 BCE), which means the Jews would have to have been in Egypt for many centuries. I'd be interested to see some historical evidence of that.

[Sarpedon]

This is old news. The pyramids were built by Egyptian farmers during the flood season. We know who they were because they wrote their names on the inside, in the vaults above the burial chambers. Some people suggest that big things like the the pyramids were so big because they needed something for people to do during the off season.

Egypt had little or no contact with the outside world during the Old Kingdom. They undertook no military expeditions in the middle east. The idea that they imported slaves for pyramid building is ludicrous and without any evidence.

There is no evidence at all that large numbers of Hebrews ever lived in Egypt. There is no evidence that any of the events described in Exodus actually happened. The fact that none of the Pharaohs involved is identified by name is particularly telling. The most telling fact are the supposed events of Passover. Given the fact that Egyptians are well known for their care in burying their dead, don't you think that if so many egyptian men died on the same day, there would be some evidence of it? For example, we had two brothers, each with a son. If the firstborn were all killed, then this family would lose three of the four people just mentioned. Quite probably the undertakers would be overburdened during all of this and the resulting mummies would show signs of hasty preparation. Likely, they would all be put in the same tomb. And it would be strange indeed for the remaining man not to write something to this effect on the wall of the tomb. Imagine, losing your brother, your son, and your nephew all on the same day. I'd write that down. This scenerio would have been repeated thousands of times, yet people have been digging in Egypt for two hundred years, and not one shred of evidence has been found. It is made up history, like the Aeneid. You cannot take a culture's mythology at face value.

There is evidence that the Babylonian Captivity occurred: the Neo-Babylonians, Neo-Assyrians, and Persians routinely used forced relocation to control conquered populations. The Hebrews were not the only ones to suffer this, and there are multiple corroborating sources for this (unlike the Exodus, which has no corroborating evidence) Many scholars believe that Exodus stories were based on those events, and placed in a more distant history to give the Hebrew people a more ancient (and therefore distinguished) history. Just as Emperor Augustus commissioned Virgil to write the Aeneid, to glorify Rome, so too did the powerful Hebrew kings rewrite their own nation's history, to glorify them over their neighbors.

[dclary]

Just as the scientists invested in evangelizing global warming doctored their data to try and change our perception of reality, it takes no stretch of the imagination to presume this is just Egypt's national archaeology unit trying to erase slavery from Egypt's history.