What Ancient Egypt Actually Said About the Exodus

Have you ever heard someone say, “But there’s no Egyptian record of the Exodus!”? It’s a claim that might make some people wonder whether the story really happened.

But it turns out, that’s not quite true. Most Egyptian writings didn’t survive through the ages. But some did and surprisingly, they do mention the Exodus.

Let’s begin with an important figure named Manetho. He was an Egyptian priest during the Hellenistic period (a time of Greek influence in Egypt) who wrote the history of Egypt based on everything he had access to, inscriptions, scrolls, temple records, and especially the Great Library of Alexandria, which at its peak held close to a million texts. Manetho couldn’t just make things up. His writings shaped how Egypt’s own history was understood at the time.

And Manetho knew about the Exodus. He didn’t deny it happened. He simply retold it from his own Egyptian point of view, adapting the details to fit what he believed or wanted to emphasize.

Manetho wasn’t the only one. Two other important figures, Cheremon and Artapanus, also wrote about the Exodus. Cheremon was the head librarian at the Library of Alexandria, a place that was like the “Google” of the ancient world. Artapanus was a Jewish writer who lived in Alexandria and drew on Egyptian sources for his writings.

Here’s something important to note: all three of these writers lived before the Torah had even been translated into Greek (the Septuagint). That means they couldn’t have read the Torah or copied its stories. Instead, they were sharing what they knew from Egyptian sources, which makes their testimonies even more meaningful.

Manetho’s version of the story says that the Israelites were expelled from Egypt because of leprosy. While the reason he gives is different, the key point is this: he acknowledges a large group of people suddenly leaving Egypt because of a plague, not due to war or migration, but a dramatic, sudden event. He even gives a number: 240,000 people.

He also describes their leader. According to Manetho, this leader taught the Israelites not to worship the Egyptian gods or honor their sacred animals. In fact, he instructed them to sacrifice those animals and eat them instead. Sound familiar? This echoes the korban Pesach, the Passover sacrifice, which was exactly that: a lamb, considered sacred in Egypt, slaughtered in honor of Hashem. Manetho even names the leader: “Moses.” He adds that Moses was raised in Egyptian society, which aligns with our tradition that Moshe Rabbeinu grew up in Pharaoh’s palace. To Manetho, Moses was a revolutionary figure who gave his people new laws, forming a covenantal nation. That’s pretty close to what the Torah says, just told from a different angle.

Other historians picked up on Manetho’s version. Writers like Mnasias of Patras, Posidonius, and Apollonius Molon repeated the story, sometimes with criticism, but always with a clear recognition of Moses as the lawgiver and leader of the Jews.

Cheremon also names Moses and even Joseph. He gives their Egyptian nicknames and says the Israelites left Egypt in two groups, totaling 630,000 people. Again, he attributes the departure to a disease but once more, the key idea remains: a large group of Israelites left Egypt suddenly and dramatically.

Hecataeus of Abdera was another Egyptian historian, living in the time of Alexander the Great. He wrote a massive work called Aegyptiaca (about Egypt), which included details about the Jews. According to another historian, Diodorus Siculus, Hecataeus said a plague struck Egypt, and the Jews were expelled. He adds that Moses taught the people not to serve other gods. Josephus, a Jewish historian from the time of the Second Temple, mentions that Hecataeus also wrote a book specifically about the Jews and about Avraham Avinu. Josephus says this book still existed in libraries in his time and could be read by anyone.

Then there’s Artapanus, who wrote On the Jews, using Egyptian sources to tell our story. He describes an Egyptian prince named Moses, clearly drawing on the real historical figure. His writings were later quoted by Eusebius, a Christian historian, which helped preserve them. Artapanus wasn’t alone. Aristobulus, a Jewish scholar mentioned in the book of Maccabees, and Demetrius, who lived in the 3rd century BCE, also wrote about Jewish history using Egyptian and Hellenistic sources.

All of this paints a fascinating picture. To an Egyptian living 2,500 years ago, the Exodus wasn’t a secret or a myth. It was a known historical event, one passed down in Egypt’s own records, even if told with a different twist.

So the next time someone wonders why the Egyptians “never” mentioned the Exodus, you’ll know the truth. They did mention it. And even though their version might sound different, they remembered the same key figure, Moshe and the same unforgettable moment when the Israelites walked away from Egypt, forever changed.