Hidden History: The Egyptian Artifacts Controversy

There are several well-known fragments of ancient papyri that seem to relate to the Israelites’ presence in Egypt or even the Ten Plagues. But is that all there is?

It turns out there are people some even with good intentions, who are doing everything they can to prevent this information from becoming public knowledge.

Zahi Hawass, the head of Egypt's Antiquities Authority, said in an interview with Haaretz on December 25, 2008, that only about 30% of Egypt's ancient artifacts have been uncovered. The remaining 70% are still buried beneath the desert sands.

But the real issue isn’t just what lies hidden in the earth. It’s the information being deliberately kept from the public. Hawass has made it his mission to reject anything in the Bible connected to the Jewish people, even though the Bible is a holy book not just to Jews, but also to Muslims in theory.

Many scholars are eager to re-examine the existing papyri using modern tools and knowledge. But the Egyptian authorities refuse access, fearing that discoveries could support “Zionist” claims.

One such expert is Professor Manfred Bietak, who has been excavating the ancient city of Avaris for years. This was the capital of the Hyksos and may have overlapped with the time the Israelites lived in Egypt. Bietak has found seals with the name “Jacob” on them from that period, which aligns with the time our forefather Yaakov (Jacob) would have lived there. Still, he says it’s extremely difficult to get full access to the findings. Egypt strictly controls the excavation process and has even ordered that certain dig sites be re-covered with dirt so crops can be planted on top.

In Avaris, Professor Bietak also uncovered mass graves with signs of hasty burial, many male bodies, laid without order or care. This could reflect the Plague of the Firstborn. The graves suggest something sudden and chaotic happened, but Bietak says he’s been blocked from investigating further. His testimony appears in the documentary Decoding the Exodus.

So much about Egypt’s ancient past remains unknown. For example, we still haven’t found remains from the royal city of Egypt’s Middle Kingdom, even though it’s believed to have been in Memphis. An entire dynasty seems to have vanished without a trace. Does that mean it never existed?

Dr. Joshua Berman explains that we can’t expect too much from ancient Egyptian writings. Ninety-nine percent of the papyri from the time period have been lost. And not even one papyrus has survived from the eastern Nile delta, known in the Torah as Goshen, where the Israelites lived. What we do have are inscriptions on monuments, often boasting of the pharaohs’ achievements to the gods. These are not reliable historical records. Dr. Berman compares them to job resumes, highlighting victories and ignoring losses.

Almost all Egyptian tombs, except that of King Tut, were robbed long ago. Mummies were crushed and ground up to be used in “medicine” or magical rituals. Papyri were recycled into other items. Over thousands of years, natural disasters, conquerors, thieves, and even vendors destroyed or scattered most of what once existed.

In 1865, a photographer named Felix Bonfils captured an image of a man selling mummies in the streets of Egypt. Just 150 years ago, anyone who found a mummy could claim it and sell it for pennies. Imagine how many ancient treasures were lost, how much jewelry was melted for gold, how many papyri were burned or repurposed. What remains today is just a tiny sliver of what once was.

This is why the search for more evidence continues. Scholars and archaeologists are still trying to uncover fragments that shed light on the Israelites’ time in Egypt more than 3,500 years ago. But with so much missing and so many barriers, we shouldn’t expect quick answers.