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Let My People Go! – The History and Historicity of the Biblical Account of the Exodus

Khalid Elhassan May 31, 2025 17 min

8. A Memory Transformed?

Exodus - The Bible's Exodus narrative states that the Israelites left Egypt, guided by a pillar of smoke during the day — The Bible’s Exodus narrative states that the Israelites left Egypt, guided by a pillar of smoke during the day. Pinterest

Despite the objections above, many scholars believe the Hyksos expulsion may have contributed to the mythic memory that became the Exodus. The idea is that stories of Semitic foreigners being driven out of Egypt persisted in both Egyptian and Levantine traditions. Later Hebrew writers reflected on their identity and experiences of oppression such as the Babylonian exile, and reinterpreted memories of the Hyksos expulsion through a theological lens.

The result was a narrative that emphasized divine deliverance, lawgiving, and covenant, and transformed a political expulsion into sacred history. That fits with how ancient peoples often remembered and reshaped their past – not necessarily with historical accuracy, but with profound cultural and religious meaning.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.