Acts 13:17-20

"The God of this people Israel chose our fathers. He made the people great during the time when they were living as aliens in Egypt, and with a stretched-out arm, He led them out of that land. For some forty years, He took care of them in the desert, and after He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He gave their land to His people as an inheritance. All this took about 450 years. After that, He gave them judges, down to the prophet Samuel."

(Complete Jewish Bible)

 

Nearly all translations—including the NIV, ASV, AMP, DARBY, and WYCLIFFE—indicate that the 450 years refer to the period stretching from the Promised Land back to Isaac, not as a timeframe for the Judges.

 

Galatians 3:16-17

"Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, 'And to seeds,' as of many; but as of one, 'And to thy seed,' which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect."

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The 430 years mentioned in Exodus 12:40 is clarified when we examine the Greek translation of the Old Testament. It states:

"The children of Israel and their fathers dwelt in the land of Canaan and Egypt for four hundred and thirty years."

• They spent 215 years in Canaan.

• Due to a famine, the Israelites moved to Egypt and lived there for 215 years.

• They then journeyed to Sinai (Horeb) and spent 40 years in the wilderness.

 

The Hyksos and the Exodus

Around 1500 BC, a Canaanite group known as the Hyksos—referred to by the ancient Egyptians as "Amo"—departed from Egypt in what scholars call the "Hyksos Expulsion." At the same time, the Hebrew Bible (in its original text) tells us that the "Amo Israel" (i.e., the Israelites) followed Moses to the Promised Land.

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The Full Bible Timeline Chart aligns with this, pinpointing the life and times of Moses and the Exodus, which took place in 1522 BC—further confirming the biblical account.

 

The Hyksos are believed to have originated in northern Palestine. They:

• Destroyed the Amorite-ruled Byblos in the 18th century BC.

• Entered Egypt, bringing the Middle Kingdom to an end in the 17th century BC.

 

Interestingly, the Full Bible Timeline also places Joseph’s death just before this invasion, in 2309 AM (1691 BC).

 

The Hyksos: Conquerors or Migrants?

The nature of the Hyksos' arrival in Egypt is debated:

• Some archaeologists describe them as an invading horde of Asiatic warriors who met little resistance and conquered Egypt by force.

• Others suggest a gradual infiltration, where nomadic groups settled over time, eventually taking control through a peaceful or political coup.

 

Manetho’s historical account, as preserved by Josephus, describes the Hyksos as foreign invaders who:

• Burned cities.

• Destroyed temples.

• Enslaved women and children.

 

Joseph and Avaris

The Torah states that the Israelites moved to Egypt due to a famine. If so, it appears that a Canaanite population—the Hyksos—was already there.

 

In Genesis 41:44, Jacob’s son Joseph becomes second-in-command to Pharaoh. If the Talmudic estimate of the Israelite presence in Egypt is accurate, Joseph's rise to power would have occurred around 1770 BC.

 

If Joseph was indeed a high-ranking ruler over both Israelites and Hyksos, we might expect some archaeological evidence of his rule.

 

And, in fact, there is.

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The Discovery of Avaris

Professor Manfred Bietak has excavated Tell el-Dab’a in Egypt for over 40 years. He has identified it as Avaris, the Hyksos capital, located in the very region the Bible calls Goshen, where the Israelites lived before the Exodus.

Curiously, the name "Avaris" has no meaning in Egyptian. However, in the Torah, Joseph is frequently called a "Hebrew"—or "Ivri" in Hebrew. He is also referred to as "Ha Ish", meaning "The Man."

 

Thus, the name "Avaris" may be linked to Joseph:

• "Ish Ivri" (The Hebrew Man) → Avar-Ish → Avaris.

 

The Statue of Joseph

Between 1986 and 1988, Professor Bietak discovered the remains of a monumental statue belonging to a non-Egyptian ruler of Avaris. Though only fragments remain, archaeologists estimate that:

• The original statue was 2 meters high and 1.5 meters in depth—about one and a half times life-size.

• The statue’s right shoulder still bears a throw stick, a symbol of authority.

• The statue’s back shows evidence that this ruler wore a striped garment of at least three colors: black, red, and white.

 

This aligns with the biblical description of Joseph’s multi-colored robe.

Notably, the statue was found in a tomb—but the tomb was empty. While this could be due to looting, it directly aligns with the biblical account, which states that when the Israelites left Egypt, they took Joseph’s bones with them (Exodus 13:19).

 

The "Asiatic" Ruler

Archaeologists refer to the statue as belonging to an Asiatic—a foreigner from Canaan/Israel. Given that the biblical Joseph ruled Egypt and later experienced a fall from power, it is intriguing that:

• The statue’s face was deliberately destroyed, possibly as an act of political erasure.

• The statue’s hairdo remains intact—a distinctive "mushroom" hairstyle linked to Canaanites.

• The Talmud (Genesis Rabbah 87:3) describes Joseph as a fashion-conscious figure, and the Midrash Tanhuma (Vayyesheb 8) even mentions Joseph curling his hair.

 

The Biblical Timeline and Joseph

The statue was found in a layer corresponding to 1700 BC. If we place:

• The Exodus at 1500 BC, and

• The Israelite sojourn in Egypt at 200 years,

 

Then this statue perfectly aligns with Joseph’s rule, which took place around 215 years before the Exodus.

 

By carefully following the genealogies in Scripture, we can determine:

• Joseph was born in 2199 AM (1801 BC)—2199 years after Adam’s expulsion from Eden.

• Joseph rose to power in Egypt at age 30, in 2229 AM (1771 BC).

• Joseph reigned for 79 years and died in 2309 AM (1691 BC).

 

Conclusion

Joseph's life is meticulously detailed in the Bible, allowing for precise correlation with archaeological evidence. The biblical account and historical records align remarkably well.

For further details, refer to the research by Rev. Charles Zimmerman.

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Thanks 

M. Joseph Hutzler, Eschatologist
www.FullBibleTimeline.com