Engelbrite's Egyptian Chronology Synchronized to the Bible

Engelbrite's Egyptian Chronology Synchronized to the Bible

The following information is derived, with permission, from Eve Engelbrite and her book, "Pharaohs of the Bible 4004 - 960 B.C.: A Unifying High Chronology of Egypt Based on a High View of Scripture". This "high view of Scripture" includes the presupposition that the dozen "books" of Genesis were written by contemporaries who signed "these are the generations of ___" which is known as Tablet Theory. Given that the Bible is historically true and accurate, a timeline needed to be built on the historical information contained within the Bible, untainted by bias or preconceptions.

Modifications to Ussher's Bible Timeline

In 1650 AD, Archbishop James Ussher used all the “begats” from Adam to the exodus, and through the regnal dates of judges and kings to the release of king Jehoiachin in the winter of 562 BC at Nebuchandnezzar's death (dated by Ptolemy), and published a timeline in his book, "The Annals of the World". Because Ussher assumed Israel's kings counted their regnal years in the Spring instead of the Fall, his period for the kings only lasts 388 years instead of 390 years; otherwise his dating is sound. [1]

I disagree with Ussher and Dr. Floyd Jones in their use of Nisan to determine Israel's regnal dates based upon rabbinic rules written in the Mishnah in 200 AD. The rabbis incorrectly deduced that since the exodus and entrance into Canaan both occurred in Nisan, that Solomon also counted his regnal years from Nisan (I Kings 6:1, Talmud book 2, p. 2). The “memorial of trumpets” when Joseph was released from prison and inaugurated as second to pharaoh was celebrated at the festival of the new moon on the 1st of Tishri and is a biblical precedent (Gen. 41:39-46; Ps. 81:3-5; and Lev. 23:24) for dating Israelite kings.

I disagree with the traditional assumption that Sheshonk I of the 22nd dynasty was the Shishak of the following verse. I will delineate how Sheshonk IIa fits the data better. from p. ix

And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem: And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. 1Kings 14:25-26 (KJV)

Identification of Shishak

The first pharaoh named in the Bible is Shishak 1Kings 11:40 (KJV). Napoleon's discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799 led to Jean-Francois Champollion's linguistic breakthrough in the 1820's. Eight years later when Champollion saw the Canaanite conquest wall in Karnak of Hedjkheperre Sheshonk I, Champollion declared him to be the biblical Shishak. In the late 1800's and early 1900's when archaeologisits derived an Egyptian chronology, they placed the beginning of Sheshonk I's reign between 1090 and 1069 B.C. Solomon reigned 1015 - 975 B.C. according to the Bible; so they should have looked at Sheshonk II as the biblical Shishak. Egypt's current conventional chronology does not even come close, placing the reign of Sheshonk I between 945 and 924 B.C.

Others have identified Shishak as Thutmose III, Seti I,[2] Rameses II, and Rameses III.[3] All of these pharaohs reigned prior to Sheshonk I. There were at least a dozen Sheshonks during the 22nd dynasty who could have been Shishak. Since Shishak looted the Temple at Jerusalem, a lot of wealth would be associated with this pharaoh. Sadly, archaeologists have been unable to locate the tomb of Sheshonk I, though his wooden canopic chest is in a museum (Dodson, pp.83-84). A tomb of one of his officials was found with some jewelry.[4] The silver coffin of Heqakheperre Sheshonk IIa was discovered in the tomb of Psusennes I, who also had a silver coffin. Like Psusennes I, Sheshonk IIa was buried with a gold face mask, but Sheshonk IIa also had four miniature silver coffins containing his viscera (Dunn). This is the type of wealth associated with Shishak. For more of the author's evidence that Shishak was Heqakheperre Sheshonk IIa, and not Sheshonk I, visit her blog.

Rewriting Ancient History

Since ancient history, to a large part, is based upon the conventional Egyptian chronology; to rewrite one necessitates rewriting them all. Even though archaeologists vary considerably in their dating of ages, the relative age of pottery is useful in establishing a general Mediterranean chronology.

A period of Greek Bronze Age history is labeled Mycenaean for the city of Mycenae which was excavated. In archaeological terms, the mainland of ancient Greece is “Helladic” to complement its Aegean island group, the Cyclades which was given the term Cycladic. Though LH refers to “Late Helladic,” LC usually refers to “Late Cyprus,” not “Late Cycladic” unless so identified. Thankfully, those items produced on the island of Crete were referenced by their Minoan culture; so LM refers to “Late Minoan.” p.74

In the Levant the early, middle, and late bronze and iron ages were used. The chart below (Engelbrite, p. 76) includes the years Before Christ, the Egyptian dynasty numbers, and the archaeological periods of the Levant as well as those of Crete, Cyprus, and Greece. These are rough approximations based upon much conflicting data.

Date B.C.	Egypt Dynasty #	Crete	Cyprus	Greece	Levant
2320-2200	1	EMI	ECI	EHI	EBI
2200-2100	2	EMII	ECII	EHI	EBII
2100-2050	2	EMIII	ECIII	EHII	EBIII
2050-2000	3,7	MMIA	MCI	EHII	EBIV
2000-1950	4,5,7,9,12 (eFIP)	MMIB	MCII	EHII-III	MBI
1950-1900	4,5,8,9,12,13	MMIIA	MCII	EHIII	MBIIA
1900-1850	4,5,8,9,10,12,13,14	MMIIB	MCII	MHI	MBIIB
1850-1800	6,9,10,11,12,13,14,pre-15,15,16 (eSIP)	MMIIIA	MCIII	MHII	MBIII
1800-1725	6,9,11-13,15,16,17	MMIIIB	LCIA1	MHIII	LBIA
1725-1650	17,18	LMIA	LCIA2	LHI	LBIB
1650-1575	18	LMIB	LCIB	LHI-II	LBIIA
1575-1500	18	LMII	LCIIA-B	LHIIA	LBIIB
1500-1450	19	LMIIIA1	LCIIC	LHIIB	LBIIB
1450-1400	19	LMIIIA2	LCIIIA	LHIIIA	Iron IA
1400-1350	19	LMIIIB	LCIIIB	LHIIIB	Iron IA
1350-1300	Setnakht, Rameses III	LMIIIC	LCIIIB	LHIIIB	Iron IA

Appendix A of "Pharaohs of the Bible 4004 - 960 B.C." contains stratigraphy charts (using relative ages) of 50 cities which Shishak attacked as well as another 25 key cities.

Dynastic Naming Conventions

The first historian of Egyptian history, Herodotus, lived about 484–425 BC. But most Egyptologists use the list of pharaohs created by the Egyptian priest Manetho, who wrote a 2,000 year linear history of Egypt around 240 BC. This was 2000 years after the birth of Menes/Mizraim, the first pharaoh after Noah's flood. Manetho's dynasties were based on geographic location, or new genealogical shift. No copies remained by 75 AD when Josephus tried to piece it back together from other writings (some particularly anti-Jewish) which quoted Manetho. No copies of Josephus' epitome of Manetho remain, but only translations made 200 years later. Even if Josephus had managed to recreate Manetho's original work, only third-hand altered copies remain upon which the foundation of conventional Egyptian history rests. p. 38

Much like naming the "ages" stone, bronze, and iron; different groupings of dynasties were named by Egyptologists for their convenience. Egyptian dynasties are numbered from zero to thirty-three when Rome conquered Egypt. The author places dynasty zero ruling an area before the flood; whereas most consider dynasty zero to be Egyptian gods.

Conventional Chronology	Dynasties	Dynasties in Engelbrite Chronology
Old Kingdom	1-6	1-3, and 7
First Intermediate Period	7-10	4, 5, 8, 9, 10, first half of 12, first half of 13, and a couple pre-15
Middle Kingdom	11-13	none; eFIP followed immediately by eSIP
Second Intermediate Period	14-17	6, 9, 10, 11, second half of 12, second half of 13, 14, pre-15, 15, pre-16, 16, and 17
New Kingdom	18-20	18-20; followed by 21A in Thebes and 21 in Tanis
Third Intermediate Period	21-26	22 and 23, followed by 24-26 combined
Late Period	27-33	27-33

To differentiate the FIP and SIP of the conventional chronology with the new ones in the Engelbrite chronology, a lowercase 'e' was added: eFIP and eSIP. The pre-15th and pre-16th dynasty pharaohs are recorded in the Turin King List. It is in the Turin King List (TKL) that pharaohs are recorded from dynasties pre-15th, pre-16th, and at Thinis and Abydos. The tomb of Woseribre Senebkay of the Abydos dynasty was recently discovered.[5]

Egyptian King Lists

Though the pharaonic king lists have been known for over 150 years, most Egyptologists have refused to adjust their chronologies accordingly for ephemeral (short-reigned, roughly 1-3 years) pharaohs. But since the TKL adds roughly 100 ephemeral pharaohs, that's a lot of time to gloss over.

Turin King List

The following is from the [free .pdf download from the book's website].

The TKL included years, months, and days of reigns for most pharaohs from the 1st through 17th dynasties, but only round years for kings of the 3rd - 6th, and the 11th dynasties; which intimates the list was a compilation of copies, and a clue as to changes of the location of the royal residence.

Dynasties	Reign in TKL	Royal Residence
1-2	Years, months, days; king's age	Thinis
3-4	Years only	Memphis
7-10	Years, months, days	7-8 Thinis; 9-10 delta and elsewhere
11	Years only	Thebes
12-16	Years, months, days	12 Itjtawy; 13-16 various

In addition to the Turin King List written on papyrus, there are three king lists engraved by Egyptians at Karnak, Abydos, and Saqqara.

Karnak King List

The Karnak King List is located in the jubilee festival hall of Thutmose III and lists 61 kings in two sets of two horizontal rows split down the middle facing opposite directions which screams a divided Egypt occurred after the more united 1st - 3rd dynasties had ended. p. 40

The Karnak King List in the jubilee hall of Thutmose III is the oldest engraved listing of pharaohs, and yet most Egyptologists dismiss it either because they don't understand it or because they don't like its ramifications upon their chronologies. The Engelbrite chronology is based upon it and the Turin King List as supported by other archaeological evidence.

Abydos King List

The Abydos King List is located in the temple of Seti I and consists of three rows with 38 cartouches on each row, but the third row merely repeats Seti I's name. . . . The Abydos list only records Montuhotep II and III of the 11th dynasty, and omits the 13th - 17th dynasties; and omits Hatshepsut, Akhenaten, Smenkhkare, Tutankhamen, and Ay of the 18th. p. 42

Saqqara King List

The Saqqara King List is located in the tomb of Tjuneroy who was a priest and official of Rameses II. It contains 58 kings in two horizontal rows written from left to right, and begins with Anedjib, the sixth pharaoh of the 1st dynasty. Other dynasties begin with the first pharaoh and end with the last pharaoh except for the 12th dynasty pharaohs which are listed in reverse order as well as 11th dynasty pharaohs Montuhotep II and III which follow AFTER the 12th dynasty as in my chronology. p. 42

Biblical Famines

One unique synchronism used in the book is that of famines. Both Abram and Joseph were dwelling in Egypt during a famine. Famines leave evidence in the trees and the soil; and pharaoh Unas/Wenis even had starving people engraved in his causeway.

First Biblical Famine (1921-1920 BC) of Abram - Drought

And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land. Genesis 12:10 (KJV)

Abram and Sarai returned to Canaan in 1919 BC, so the first famine probably lasted about two years. This famine has a clear beginning year when Abram was 75 years old. The famine itself may have only last one year, and they remained in Egypt a second year. p. 61

Second Biblical Famine (1856-1853 BC) of Isaac - Deluge

And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines to Gerar. And the LORD appeared to him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell you of . . . Genesis 26:1-2 (KJV)

Isaac was told specifically NOT to go to Egypt during this second famine, but to go to the Philistines. My guess is that this second famine lasted about three years. The Egyptians were not well prepared for it, as is evidenced by the emaciated Egyptians depicted in several tombs. This famine has neither a clear beginning nor ending year, but there are clues. p.62

Third Biblical Famine (1707-1700 BC) of Jacob/Israel and Joseph - Drought

They said moreover to Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for your servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray you, let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen. . . . And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Genesis 47:4-7 (KJV)

This famine has a clear beginning and ending year ascertained from the Holy Bible.

Volcanic Eruptions

Egyptologists have been trying to pin down the eruption of Thera/Santorini.[6] This author placed it in 1651 B.C., ending Hatshepsut's reign, based upon its pumice at Tel Kabri and other Minoan trading sites.

Another eruption pointed to another synchronism. Both the Ipuwer Papyrus during Egypt's period of anarchy (1378-1323 B.C.) and Deborah noted the roads were barren.

The mountains melted from before the LORD, even that Sinai from before the LORD God of Israel. In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways. The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel. Judges 5:5-7 (KJV)

Many place the Admonitions of Ipuwer at the time of the exodus because of the pestilence and starvation. But it goes into greater length describing attacks from foreigners, class warfare, and the overthrow of the king/pharaoh and rule of law which did not occur at the exodus. These may have been caused by volcanic eruptions which sent the Sea People looking for new homes in the 5th and 8th years of Rameses III (1313 and 1310 BC respectively) while Deborah was judge.

Joseph and Moses

A major breakthrough was recognizing Joseph and Moses lived during the reigns of several pharaohs, not just one. During the 18th dynasty in which Joseph and Moses lived, the average reign was about 15 years; and Joseph lived 110 years and Moses lived 120 years. The last third of Moses' life was during the 19th dynasty. Though Rameses II had a reign of 66 years, the average reign of the other pharaohs was only seven years.

The author made a [video], under a pseudonym, on the evidence for Joseph and Moses in Egypt. In the video, Joseph was made vizier by Ahmose I after he conquered the Hyksos of the 15th dynasty. Moses was pulled out of the Nile by Sitamun, the daughter of Amenhotep III. Moses fled Egypt during the Amarna heresy of monotheism (which he likely influenced). The exodus occurred during the reign of Rameses I. Joshua conquered Canaan after Rameses II had already acquiesced the northern lands to the Hittites.

Bibliography

Aidan Dodson, The Canopic Equipment of the Kings of Egypt, Kegan Paul Intl, 1994. Jimmy Dunn, Sheshonq II and the Treasure Trove of his Burial, http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/sheshonqii.htm#ixzz35mFGL4Xy accessed June 26, 2014.
Eve Engelbrite, Pharaohs of the Bible 4004 - 960 B.C., Inspired Idea, 2013. http://www.pharaohsofthebible.com (an interactive timeline of ancient history)