Five Views On the Exodus

 I'm usually wary of popular-level books such as Zondervan Academic's Counterpoints series. It's not that there's anything wrong with the genre per se, but that the very nature of presenting for a popular-audience a number of competing academic theories in a single co-authored book is sufficiently challenging that not all entries end up being of equal excellence. I am however generally happy with the 2021 volume, Five Views on the Exodus. The Counterpoints series at their best choose the right scholars to present the various viewpoints, and this book follows that pattern: Scott Stripling presents the "Early Date," i.e. the fifteenth century BCE, for the Exodus; Hoffmeier the "Late Date," i.e. the 13th century; Rendsburg, the "Alternative Late Date," i.e. the 12th century; and Ronald Hendel a "cultural memory" approach. And as with most of the Counterpoints series, there are some odd choices. Feinmann presents the case for a "A Hyksos Levite Led Exodus in the Time of Ramesses II," which is a bit strange as this is really just another argument for the thirteenth century (and indeed, Hoffmeier too situates the exodus during the reign of Ramesses II); this isn't to criticize Feinmann's arguments, but rather to ask why we need two variant hypotheses of a historical exodus set during the reign of Ramesses II. And there is a notable lacuna, in the absence of anyone who argues that the exodus is wholly fictional, with no relationship to actual historical events. Still, the thirteenth century is probably the preferred date for those who still believe in a historical exodus; the fifteenth century the preferred date for more traditionalist scholars; the twelfth century a surprising strong if ultimately unconvincing dark horse with regard to the date of a historical exodus (as I have discussed previously); and "cultural memory" was all the rage from the mid-aughts through mid-teens, even if it might be fading somewhat now (as scholarly trends invariably tend to do). As such, this volume represents a good if imperfect cross-section of positions regarding the possible date of the exodus.