Today, let's dive into one such fragment, courtesy of Flavius Josephus, the first-century Romano-Jewish scholar. He's quoting an Egyptian historian named Manetho in his work Against Apion.
Josephus is trying to demonstrate the antiquity of the Jewish nation, and he does so by bringing Manetho into the conversation. Manetho, writing centuries earlier, offers a version of events surrounding the Exodus, the pivotal moment when the Israelites left Egypt.
According to Manetho, the Exodus involved "this people or shepherds" leaving Egypt and heading to Jerusalem. The Egyptian king who expelled them, Tethtoosis, reigned for a bit, followed by a succession of rulers. Manetho meticulously lists them: Chebron, Amenophis, Amesses, Mephres, Mephramuthosis, and so on. Each king gets their reign length noted, down to the month! It's like a royal ledger.
Now, things get really interesting. The narrative focuses on Sethosis and his brother Armais. Sethosis, a powerful king with both a land army and a navy, appoints Armais as his deputy in Egypt. He gives him authority, but with some clear boundaries: no diadem (crown), respect the queen (mother of Sethosis' children), and leave the king’s concubines alone. Sethosis then embarks on a campaign, conquering Cyprus, Phoenicia, Assyria, and Media.
But, as these stories often go, power corrupts. Armais, left in charge, disregards his brother's instructions. He violates the queen, indulges in the king's concubines, and, urged by his friends, even puts on the diadem, effectively rebelling against his brother. Sound familiar? It echos other sibling rivalries in ancient texts, doesn't it?
The priests of Egypt, loyal to Sethosis, write to him about Armais's betrayal. Sethosis rushes back to Pelusium and reclaims his kingdom. And here's the kicker: Manetho claims that Sethosis was also known as Egyptus, giving the country its name, while Armais was called Danaus.
It's important to remember, this is just one version of the story, filtered through the lens of Egyptian history and recounted by Josephus. We have to consider the potential biases and agendas at play. Was Manetho trying to diminish the Israelite narrative? Was Josephus trying to bolster it?
What we do know is that the narratives surrounding the Exodus are complex and multifaceted. They appear in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), in Egyptian accounts, and in the writings of historians like Josephus. Each offers a unique perspective on this defining moment in Jewish history. And each invites us to dig a little deeper, to ask a few more questions, and to appreciate the richness of the story.
15. But now I shall produce the Egyptians as witnesses to the antiquity of our nation. I shall therefore here bring in Manetho again, and what he writes as to the order of the times in this case; and thus he speaks:
"When this people or shepherds were gone out of Egypt to Jerusalem,
Tethtoosis the king of Egypt, who drove them out, reigned afterward twenty-five years and four months, and then died; after him his son
Chebron took the kingdom for thirteen years; after whom came Amenophis, for twenty years and seven months; then came his sister Amesses, for twenty-one years and nine months; after her came Mephres, for twelve years and nine months; after him was Mephramuthosis, for twenty-five years and ten months; after him was Thmosis, for nine years and eight months; after him came Amenophis, for thirty years and ten months; after him came Orus, for thirty-six years and five months; then came his daughter Acenchres, for twelve years and one month; then was her brother
Rathotis, for nine years; then was Acencheres, for twelve years and five months; then came another Acencheres, for twelve years and three months; after him Armais, for four years and one month; after him was Ramesses, for one year and four months; after him came Armesses Miammoun, for sixty-six years and two months; after him Amenophis, for nineteen years and six months; after him came Sethosis, and Ramesses, who had an army of horse, and a naval force. This king appointed his brother, Armais, to be his deputy over Egypt." [In another copy it stood thus: "After him came Sethosis, and Ramesses, two brethren, the former of whom had a naval force, and in a hostile manner destroyed those that met him upon the sea; but as he slew Ramesses in no long time afterward, so he appointed another of his brethren to be his deputy over Egypt.] He also gave him all the other authority of a king, but with these only injunctions, that he should not wear the diadem, nor be injurious to the queen, the mother of his children, and that he should not meddle with the other concubines of the king; while he made an expedition against
Cyprus, and Phoenicia, and besides against the Assyrians and the Medes.
He then subdued them all, some by his arms, some without fighting, and some by the terror of his great army; and being puffed up by the great successes he had had, he went on still the more boldly, and overthrew the cities and countries that lay in the eastern parts. But after some considerable time, Armais, who was left in Egypt, did all those very things, by way of opposition, which his brother had forbid him to do, without fear; for he used violence to the queen, and continued to make use of the rest of the concubines, without sparing any of them; nay, at the persuasion of his friends he put on the diadem, and set up to oppose his brother. But then he who was set over the priests of Egypt wrote letters to Sethosis, and informed him of all that had happened, and how his brother had set up to oppose him: he therefore returned back to
Pelusium immediately, and recovered his kingdom again. The country also was called from his name Egypt; for Manetho says, that Sethosis was himself called Egyptus, as was his brother Armais called Danaus."
