The Date of the Exodus
The dating of the Exodus is not strictly a geographical question, however, here is a summary of my observations.
According to biblical data, the start of the Exodus occurred in the mid-15th century B.C., with most calculations favoring a date of 1447-6 B.C. The key text is 1 Kings 6:1, which explains that
“…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. (KJV)”
It is well established that the rule of Solomon began in 971-970 B.C. (Kitchen 2001), making his fourth year 967-966 B.C. Adding the 480 years gives the date of 1447-6 B.C. Interestingly, the Greek Septuagint Bible gives 440 years, the difference likely being whether the counting starts from the beginning or end of the 40-year event. One variable that could affect the 1447-6 calculation is whether the 480 years were based on the 360-day Jewish ceremonial and lunar calendar or on a 365.25 day solar calendar If a lunar calendar was the basis, about seven years should be subtracted, leaving a date of 1440-39 B.C.
Critics have disparaged the 15th-century date because it does not seem to match events in the Egyptian chronologies. Also, the currently popular archaeology dating for Palestine does not match the Israelite “conquest” of Jericho and Canaan ca 1400 B.C. However, the Palestine chronology is heavily predicated on the Egyptian dates, which, in turn, are still more a matter of interpretation and scholarly tradition than of hard science. (The earliest certain date in Egyptian chronology is 664 B.C.)
More recently, the supposed “absolute” Egyptian dates have been challenged as being around 300 years too old (e.g., Rohl 1996; Stewart 1999) due to the inclusion of too many years for certain kings. Moving these dates forward in time could place the Exodus at the end of the 12th Dynasty, which marked the beginning of a catastrophic hiatus in Egyptian history. In addition, a strong case has been made for a Palestine chronology that complements the biblical dating for the conquest (e.g., Wood 2005a; 2005b).
In the final analysis, the archaeological dating is still in a state of flux. In the meantime, however, the framework for the biblical date has not changed in three millennia.
References
Kitchen, Kenneth A. 2001. How We Know When Solomon Ruled. Biblical Archaeology Review 27(05) Sept/Oct, Biblical Archaeology Society Archive CD.
Rohl, David. 1996. A Test of Time. London: Arrow Books Limited.
Stewart, Ted T. 1999. Solving the Exodus Mystery, Vol. I. Lubbock, TX: Biblemart.
Wood, Bryant G. 2005a. The Rise and Fall of the 13th Century Exodus-Conquest Theory. The Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 48(3): 475-489.
Wood, Bryant G. 2005b. Extra-biblical Evidence for the Conquest. Bible and Spade 18(4): 98-99.