Did Our Ancestors Build the Egyptian Pyramids?

Though the Passover Haggadah illustrations often show Egyptian taskmasters standing in the shadows of the pyramids with whips in hand, many historians refute this, labeling it a mere legend, and urge us to challenge popular beliefs.

The first mention of this tale comes from Josephus, who described the Israelites building the pyramids, which at the time were famous and considered one of the "Seven Wonders of the World."

Today's consensus is that the most renowned pyramids were constructed well before the Israelites' period of enslavement in Egypt.

But let’s not discount the appeal of this captivating story...

In fact, pyramids were built in Egypt over several centuries using various techniques, evolving with the pharaohs' economic situations, engineers' moods, and other changing factors over time.

Many, perhaps even most, did not survive. Currently, about 120 pyramids are identified in Egypt, but there are remnants of many more, some still buried beneath the sands, discovered occasionally.

The myth buster in this case is none other than Dr. Zahi Hawass, who served for many years as the Secretary General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. He has been involved in various roles related to Egyptian antiquities since 1969, for over fifty years.

Hawass, a Muslim with an adversarial stance towards Israel, often combines his "professional" pursuits with efforts to dismiss or deny anything linked to Israel. Although Islam supposedly believes in the Torah, in practice, Muslims worldwide, including archaeological scholars, deny any connection between the Jewish people and archaeological reality.

During a major renovation project in Beirut in 1994, massive amounts of artifacts—remains of temples, graves, tools, and inscriptions—were uncovered but largely ignored. Giant bulldozers tossed them into the sea after ensuring they were broken into pieces. Why? Archaeologist Albert Naccache simply writes: "They feared finding something Phoenician, rather than Arab." For Arabs, "writing" history isn't limited to pen and paper; it extends to rewriting archaeology.

Much like the consistent destruction of anything potentially connected to the Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount by Muslims.

This is an age-old phenomenon. In the 1970s, when the ancient and intriguing city known as Ebla, dating from the time of Abraham, was found in Syria, the leader of the archaeological team, Italian Giovanni Pettinato, naively published finds such as the name "Abraham," "Sodom and Gomorrah," and more. He underestimated the consequences of affirming something connected to the people of Israel.

The Syrian newspaper Tishreen interviewed Dr. Afif Bahash, who claimed that the biblical links were a Zionist forgery imposed on Pettinato. "Ebla will continue to provide contrary evidence," it stated. In March 1979, biblical archaeology magazine wrote, "It's clear that anti-Zionist political pressures in Syria seek to influence the scientific interpretation of the Ebla tablets."

Hawass's antics are well-known to those following archaeological publications. His key argument against the pyramid myth is compelling: Spacious housing was found near the pyramids, proving that the builders weren't slaves but native Egyptians.

Of course, any building project requires overseers and engineers, but who does the heavy labor if not enslaved drudges? The spacious homes likely belonged to the taskmasters described in the Torah, pampered by Pharaoh so they could torment the unfortunate slaves.