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According to the chronology of The Bible, the first passover occurred around 1441 BC. This is computed through reference to:

1And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.

The date of Solomon's Temple has been fixed by Archaeology at 961 BC and simple maths, in adding 480 years to that arrives at the 1441 BC date for the Exodus and of course, the Passover which immediately preceded it. It must be remembered that the Israelites, for all their faults, were careful and accurate historians, and were careful about accurate transmission of data. Further evidences which support the 1441 passover and Exodus are these: 1. Egypt, having gone through a period of great expansion, and military success and building works under Thutmose III went through a period of decline immediately after the Exodus. The Exodus having occurred during the reign of Amenhotep II c. 1450-1425 BC. This would correlate well, both with the plagues, the death of the firstborn and the loss of an army, as well as the loss of a major population of slaves. 2. The El-Amarna letters in which help is sought repeatedly from Egypt against invaders known as the Habiru, would seem to indicate the Israelite invaders. Repeated requests with no indication of a reply or of any assistance, would also tend to support the Biblical narrative.

3. Known Egyptian military campaigns in this period into Canaan, avoided the area known to have been taken by the Israelites.

4. Pottery remains at Kadesh -Barnea, where the Israelites spent a large part to their 40 years in the desert, date from the relevant period.

5. The conquest of Jericho also fits well the Biblical date for an Exodus in 1441 BC.

These five are some of the most significant supportive facts which suggest a likely 1441 BC date for the first Passover. No one can say for sure. It was supposed to have taken place just before the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt. The problem is that no obvious archaeological evidence has yet been found for this. Some say this was during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II who ruled from 1279 BC to 1213 BC. This would put the first Passover somewhere in that time period.

A more controversial claim is that Moses was actually the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III (note the similarity of the name Moses and Thutmose) whose reign was 1479 to 1425 BC. If this theory is the case the Exodus never actually happened and the Passover ritual is a remnant of older Egyptian and Mesopotamian rites. So, the first Passover may have occurred centuries later, when the Passover tradition entered Jewish legend.

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17y ago

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