What is the origin of the myth about Moses?

Answer 1

A:

First it is necessary to establish that the story of Moses and the Exodus really is a myth. Some of the most compelling evidence for this is the discovery by archaeologists that the Israelites did not take over the Canaanite cities by force, as described in the Book of Joshua, but were actually Canaanites who left the region of the rich coastal cities to settle in the hitherto sparsely populated hinterland. Further evidence comes from Egypt, where nothing in the considerable volume of Egyptian records ever mentions or implies that a large number of slaves had left the country. And too much of the biblical story is inconsistent with what we now know about history. Nearly all scholars now believe there never was an Exodus from Egypt as described in The Bible.

Some of what we read in the story of the Exodus could point to an origin for what must now be recognised as a myth. Scholars have established that the early Israelites worshipped the same gods as their neighbours, except that a new God, known to them as YHWH (believed to be pronounced 'Yahweh') arrived around 1000 BCE, probably from the south. They have also found an Egyptian reference to a Midianite storm god, YHW. One hypothesis is that a small band of slaves really did escape from Egypt and was rescued in the desert by the Midianites. The slaves attributed their good fortune to YHW and adopted him as their patron god. Leaving the Midianites, they travelled north, where they met up with the Hebrew people of Judah, bringing news of their beneficent god. Whether or not one of these escapees had a name similar to 'Moses', this could well have been the origin of the myth about Moses and the Exodus.