Were the Israelites enslaved by the Egyptians for some four hundred years and was there an exodus from Egypt? Well, yes and no. According to Richard Elliott Friedman's easy to read account, it is not true that over 600,000 Israelite males, aged 20-60, left Egypt, totaling over two million when women, children, and the elderly are included in the count, but a much smaller number, and they were not Israelites at that time but Levites. They traveled to Israel and found two kingdoms there, Israel in the north and Judah in the south. They wanted the tribes to grant them a parcel of land. When the tribes refused to give up their possession, a compromise was formed. The Levites joined the Israelites, were allotted cities throughout the two kingdoms, and the Levites became the priests for the citizens of the countries and their teachers.
Although this group were later called Levites, this group most likely had another name before they came to Israel and joined the Israelites. The name Levite means “attached” or “joined.” After being in Israel for some time, a belief arose that they were descendant from Jacob’s son Levy and one of twelve tribes.
The Israelites were never in Egypt. The idea that they were enslaved for some four hundred years, according to Friedman, arose from the fact that the Egyptians ruled over Israel for some four hundred years, which appeared like an enslavement.
Two “radical developments, major developments, in human consciousness” happened, according to Friedman, as a result of the joining of the Levites to the two kingdoms. The Levites taught the Israelites about monotheism and that people should love one another as themselves, the latter meaning caring for other people, even strangers, a concept mentioned in the Torah 52 times.
Friedman states that we do not know from where the Levites acquired the idea of the existence of just a single God, but suggests that the source may have been the country of Midian.
Friedman, as other scholars, contends that the Five books of Moses is a composite from many sources. He adds that one of these sources was composed by the Levites.
Friedman offers ten proofs that his view is correct. Among them are: only Levites have Egyptian names in the Torah (there are eight of them).
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