Exodus - an Authentic Record of Events

The Bible is the inspired word of God. This page is a continuation in a series of articles about the Bible as God’s word.

Part 29  Exodus - an Authentic Record of Events

We begin our investigation of the Ipuwer Papyrus to see what sort of connection may be found between the comments in that inscription, and the narrative in the book of Exodus. Under the heading of the first category, all in upper case lettering, are the comments which have been gathered as possible candidates for connection with Exodus. The section, in upper case with Roman numerals, is the translator’s division of the papyrus. The dotted lines indicate portions of unreadable text in the papyrus. Next is the heading of the relevant Exodus passages, in lower case lettering. Following the Exodus passages are observations on possible connections between the comments in the Ipuwer papyrus with the book of Exodus.

1. Waters of the Nile Turned to Blood

Section 2 “Indeed, the river is blood, yet men drink of it. Men shrink from human beings and thirst after water...Indeed, crocodiles ... with the fish they have taken...”

First Plague - River Turned to Blood

Exodus 7:20 “And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded. So he lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. 21 The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.”

This is the single reference in this category that can be found on what remains of the papyrus, but still requires assessment. “The river is blood” directly matches Exodus. The statement that men “thirst after water” indicates that Ipuwer means not so much that men were “drinking” from the river, but people kept coming to “taste” its water. The dead fish would be consumed by crocodiles - “Crocodiles are also known to be aggressive scavengers who feed upon carrion and steal from other predators” - Wikipedia.

Only three of the six sections which have been selected for the second category are included here to keep this investigation as brief as possible.

2. The Land Ruined

Section 4 “Indeed, that has perished which yesterday was seen, and the land is left over to its weakness [empty land where there was a crop?] like the cutting of flax [all mowed down, nothing left growing in the ground?] ...Indeed, trees are felled and branches are stripped off.”

Section 5 “Indeed, all animals, their hearts weep; cattle moan because of the state of the land.”... Indeed, that has perished which yesterday was seen, and the land is left over to its weakness like the cutting of flax, commoners coming and going in dissolution...

Section 8 “Behold, priests transgress with geese, which are given [to] the gods instead of oxen...”

Note - Comments in brackets show a reason for selecting the preceding comment or suggest missing word(s)

To be continued, God willing, next time.