For more positive assessments of the (possible) presence of Hebrews in Egypt, you probably need to turn to the work of more 'conservative' scholars who are prepared to give greater credence to the biblical texts. This is often a result of their own personal faith (although this obviously doesn't mean that their scholarship is necessarily immediately suspect as a result), or because they remain unconvinced by the efforts of some of their academic colleagues to deny that the biblical account of the origins of Israel has any historical validity whatsoever (if you come across references to maximalists and minimalists, the former refers to the more 'conservative' scholars, the latter to those significantly more'sceptical').

In particular, you might find it worthwhile having a look at two books by professional Egyptologist and evangelical Christian, James K. Hoffmeier: Israel in Egypt: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Exodus Tradition (1996) and Ancient Israel in Sinai: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Wilderness Tradition (2005).

Here are some extracts from various books and/or articles that I personally find quite interesting (although, needless to say, others will probably dismiss them out of hand).

In what follows, the religious views of the scholars in question are of little significance compared to whether or not the material presented and comparisons drawn can be substantiated or not. As always, anyone who can draw attention to any misconceptions/wrong data etc. in what follows, please let me know. I'm always interested in learning something new!



First, a bit of scene-setting ...


From "A New Working Hypothesis for the Identification of Migdol" by Benjamin Edidin Scolnic (in The Future of Biblical Archaeology: Reassessing Methodologies and Assumptions, edited by James K. Hoffmeier and Alan Millard. 2004. Grand Rapids, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company):

"I would say, I think without prejudice, that there is such a thing as making an assumption in order to create the opportunity to prove that assumption. If we simply deny the historicity of these events, we will never try to demonstrate their historicity and we will certainly not find the necessary evidence. It is only the assumption of their historicity, at least as a working hypothesis, that sends us forward in our search [...]" (p. 93).



Which might be useful for thinking about the implications of the following ...


From "Out of Egypt: The Archaeological Context of the Exodus" by James K. Hoffmeier (Biblical Archaeology Review, January/February 2007, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 30-41):

"The Bible locates the Hebrews in Egypt's north-eastern Delta, called the Land of Ra'amses (Genesis 47:11) and Goshen (Genesis 45:10, 47:4,6; Exodus 8:22; 9:26). Although the Delta contains hundreds of archaeological sits, comparatively they have not received as much attention as sites on the Nile from Cairo south to Aswan [...].

"The picture has improved somewhat since 1980 but the fact remains that high water tables in the Delta make excavating to early levels difficult and expensive. Moreover, in the moist environment of the Delta, surviving papyri are rare. The excavation at Tell el-Dab'a (ancient Avaris, the Hyksos capital), directed by Manfred Bietak of Vienna University, uses a pump and an elaborate network of pipes in order to remove water from the ground to allow diggers to reach New Kingdom levels. During a visit in 2002, I saw the scribes' quarter of the early-18th-Dynasty palace (c. 1500-1450 BC) that was being exposed from the moist mud of the Delta. A number of inscribed clay seals and seal impressions were found, some of which date to the 12th Dynasty (c. 1900 BC), but no papyrus had survived. Indeed, after more than 35 years, Bietak's team has not discovered any papyri.

"At the nearby sister site of Qantir, after nearly 25 years of work, Edgar Pusch and his colleagues have likewise not discovered any papyri at what is now believed to be Pi-Ramesses, which was the capital of Egypt during the 13th-12th centuries, and might be the site known as Ra'amses built by Israelite slaves (see Exodus 1:11).

"In short, the Nile Delta where the Bible says the ancient Israelites lived has produced no historical or administrative documents that might shed light on any period [...]" (pp. 31-33).

**********

"[...] [Both] texts from Egypt and archaeological evidence from the second millennium BC agree that Semites entered Egypt with flocks and herds, especially in times of drought in Canaan.

"This is precisely the picture portrayed in Genesis regarding Jacob and his family. Drought and famine in Canaan prompted the patriarch to send his sons to Egypt where there was grain, which eventually led them to settle in Egypt with their flocks and herds (Genesis 43:1-15).

"The Bible describes two kinds of labor imposed on the Israelites [in Egypt]: (1) brick-making for building projects and (2) farm work: 'The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labor' (Exodus 1:13-14).

"New Kingdom Egypt is well-known for its military campaigns north into Canaan and Syria, and south into Nubia. Thousands of POWs were brought back to Egypt, some of whom are depicted on the famous tomb painting of Rekhmire, Vizier of Thutmose III (1457-1425 BC). Egyptian taskmasters are shown with sticks, supervising foreign workers making mud bricks, as they haul the bricks in shoulder yokes to a nearby temple building-project. The accompanying text identifies these laborers as having been brought back from military campaigns in Canaan-Syria and Nubia.

"The Bible reports that the Hebrew slaves could not reach the quotas set by Egyptian officials (Exodus 5:7-8). To make matters worse, the straw required for making bricks was withheld (Exodus 5:18). Egyptian texts from the third and second millennium BC report on how work targets and quotas were imposed on brick makers. Records of brick-making teams, targets and shortfalls, are found on a leather scroll now in the Louvre that dates to the fifth year of Ramesses II (1275 BC). Occasionally a quota was reached, leading one Ramesside period supervisor to boast in a letter that his workers 'are making their quota of daily bricks'. Another officer from the same period complains that he was unable to get on with his brick-making because 'there are no men to make bricks and no straw in the neighborhood'. These statements from Ramesside period texts have a familiar Biblical ring to them.

"Another papyrus (Leiden 348) reports that 'the 'Apiru ... are dragging stone to the great pylon of [///]' for the construction of a palace. While scholars continue to debate whether the term 'Apiru/Habiru refers (and is philologically related) to the early Hebrews, it is clear from this text that right up to the time when many believe the Exodus occurred that foreigners, in this case 'Apiru, were engaged in hard labor in Egypt.

"Because the Exodus narratives report dramatically about the hardships surrounding the brick-making (eg., Exodus 2:11, 23; 5:4-19), the mention of 'every kind of field labor' in Exodus 1:14 is often overlooked by researchers. Studies of paintings and reliefs from tombs of the New Kingdom reveal, however, that foreigners, typically POWs, are depicted herding cattle and doing various types of field work. They are also portrayed working in vineyards and working winepresses. In the 18th-Dynasty tomb of Intef, one such scene reports that 'Apiru were pressing grapes for wine.

"The Bible reports that the Israelites worked as slaves for Pharaoh. Egyptian sources confirm that forced labor was imposed on foreigners, typically POWs, during the general period when the oppression of the Israelites occurred.

"In sum, the entry of the ancient Hebrews into Egypt in search of water during famine and their subsequent enslavement seems authentic. It is certainly unlikely that such a demeaning and ignoble origin would have later been invented by the Biblical authors. If it were fiction, one would expect the product of the creative imagination to offer a more glorious picture of their own origins [...]" (pp. 34-35).



From Israel in Egypt: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Exodus Tradition by James K. Hoffmeier (1996, Oxford University Press):

"[...] There is no doubt that there was a significant Semitic population throughout Egypt during the New Kingdom [...]. Because of the preponderance of epigraphic evidence for a Syro-Palestinian presence in Egypt from the mid to late second millennium BC, even the most skeptical historian cannot dismiss the fact that both the Bible and Egyptian sources agree on this situation. Even as far south as Thebes there was a significant number of Semitic-speaking people during the Empire period. The names of Semites have even turned up among the workers of Deir el-Medineh in western Thebes. While Semites could rise to places of significance in Egyptian society and in the court, the concern here is to examine the evidence for forced labor among this population in Egypt.

"Biblical scholars have long been familiar with the scene of laborers at work making bricks from the tomb of Rekhmire, the vizier of Thutmose III (ca. 1479-1425 BC). The adjoining text indicates that these workers were taken as prisoners of war (skr Chhw) from the king's campaigns in the south lands (ie. Nubia) and north lands (ie. Syria-Canaan). Taking prisoners of war from western Asia during the Empire period is well attested in private and royal monuments [...].

"This brief review amply shows that from the early part of the Eighteenth Dynasty until the accession of Ramesses II (when many date the exodus), Egypt was teeming with Semitic-speaking peoples. The presence of the Israelites in this mix during the New Kingdom, then, is very plausible. It is true that the Hebrew Scriptures are concerned with what happened to one particular group, the Children of Israel. Though not brought to Egypt as trophies of war, it is clear that once the policy of employing prisoners of war in labor projects was introduced, the Israelites and other Semites already living in Egypt were treated likewise. The biblical writer hints that he was aware of other people who shared in the arduous labor regimen. When describing the departure of Egypt, Exodus 12:38 notes: 'A mixed multitude (cereb rab) also went up with them', which is understood to refer to other enslaved workers who joined the Israelites in their flight from Egypt.

"What became of the tens of thousands of Semites when brought to Egypt from western Asia? The majority of them did not become the possession of private citizens; rather, they were subjects of the crown or could be assigned to particular temple estates, while those with military connections were integrated into the Egyptian army. During the Amarna period, men from the Levant appear in reliefs from Akhenaten's Theban temples as a part of the police force.

"The Rekhmire scene reflects the plight of the majority of deportees. The workers in this scene are shown in the various stages of brick making; scooping water, mixing the water and soil to make mud, forming the bricks, and carrying dried bricks to the place where they were to be used. The adjoining scene shows that the bricks were being used for ramps to facilitate the construction of the temple Akh-menu at Karnak (ipt swt). Behind the first pylon (south side) at Karnak one can still see the remnants of such a construction ramp that was never dismantled [...].

"Relevant to the Exodus narratives, this scene demonstrates that prisoners of war beginning in the Eighteenth Dynasty were engaged in brick-making work. Second, Semitic-speaking peoples were employed in connection with building projects for the state. Third, stick-wielding Egyptian 'overseers' are shown ready to strike slothful workers.

"On this third point, it will be recalled that 'taskmasters' (sare massim/ nogesim- Exod. 1:11; Exod. 3:7, 5:6, 10, 13) were appointed to enforce the work. Kenneth Kitchen has shown that these two terms reflect the 'two-tier' labor system known in Egypt, the nogesim being a more junior officer. His study also demonstrated that as early as the Old and Middle Kingdoms, targets and quotas for brick making were established by the higher officials, but these were rarely reached. The Louvre Leather Roll actually records the amounts of the shortfall. This scenario is not unlike the situation with the Hebrews in Exodus 5:7 and 8: 'You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as heretofore; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But the number of bricks which they made heretofore you shall lay upon them, you shall by no means lessen it'. Occasionally in Egypt, however, an official could boast to his superiors concerning his workers, 'they are making their quota of bricks daily' [...]. A factor that could reduce or halt brick production was the absence of straw, to strengthen the bricks. In Papyrus Anastasi 4 an official filed a complaint with his superiors: 'I am staying at Kenkenento, unequipped, and there are neither men to make bricks nor straw in the neighborhood'. In Exodus 5, Israel's oppression reached its climax when Pharaoh doubled the daily quotas while expecting the Israelites to find their own straw. Additionally, from the Louvre Roll it is evident that special religious holidays were granted to the workers, and work rosters from the workmen's village of Deir el-Medineh reports men being off work 'to offer to their god'. This latter point seems to indicate that Moses' request for the Israelites to have time off to worship Yahweh was not unprecedented and may have been standard procedure (Exod. 5:1).

"The majority of textual evidence considered in Kitchen's studies, especially the Anastasi Papyri, the Deir el-Medineh materials, and the Louvre Roll, date to the Ramesside era. Together they attest to the very scenario portrayed in the Exodus narratives: a two-tiered administrative structure, the assignment of sometimes unattainable quotas, the problems of making bricks without straw, and the issue of allowing time off from work to worship one's deity.

"In addition to 'hard service in mortar and brick', Exodus 1:14 also reports that the Hebrews were also forced to do 'all kinds of work in the field'. It has long been known from New Kingdom tomb paintings that foreigners are shown at work in various agricultural enterprises. In a recent study of these scenes from Theban and other Upper Egyptian tombs, Ellen Morris has demonstrated that Semites were active in agricultural work during the mid-Eighteenth Dynasty. She observes that beginning with the reign of Thutmose III when deportations of prisoners of war from the Levant began is the time when Semitic farm workers appear in the scenes and notes that 'the prisoners of war, as well as many peoples receieved as part of the yearly Syrian tribute, were looked upon as crown property'. Hence, these captives could be assigned to whatever tasks Pharaoh and his officials desired. Farming, fowling and vine tending, and pressing grapes are among the most common agricultural labor done by these prisoners. The text accompanying the wine pressing scene in the tomb of Intef at Thebes, Morris observes, specificially identifies the workers as Apiru (ie. habiru). Her investigation of Upper Egyptian tombs of the mid-Eighteenth dynasty shows that indeed prisoners of war from Canaan and Syria were engaged in agricultural work for the state. The same scenario was undoubtedly true in the Delta, if not on a wider scale given the greater amount of land that was farmed in the north. Once again, Exodus portrays the Israelites doing the same sort of work, agricultural in this case, that other Semitic speaking prisoners of war were forced to do for the state" (pp. 112-116).



From Kenneth A. Kitchen's On the Reliability of the Old Testament by Kenneth A. Kitchen (2003. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company):

"[...] When Moses requested time off from work for his people to celebrate a feast, the pharaoh was not amused (Exod. 5:1-4). From what we know of Egypt at that time, scarce wonder. Detailed work-registers record the days spent at work and the days off of the royal workforce that constructed the tombs in the Valleys of the Kings and Queens in Western Thebes, either by the whole crew (major religious festivals, as Moses asked for) or by individuals. The reasons given for the latter can vary considerably, but often include a man 'making offering to his god'. Sometimes either an individual or the whole crew were absent for several days at a time; so, one is tempted to sympathize just a little with Moses' pharaoh - 'not another holiday, you lazy lot!' So, not least from the thirteenth and twelfth centuries, the Egyptian documentation portrays practical usages and an atmosphere very comparable to what we find in Exod. 1 and 5 [...]" (p. 249).


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My dear sir, in this world it is not so easy to settle these plain things. I have ever found your plain things the knottiest of all.

- Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

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'I am beginning to believe that nothing is quite so uncertain as facts.

- Edward S. Curtis

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'We are coming now rather into the region of guesswork', said Dr Mortimer.
'Say, rather, into the region where we balance probabilities and choose the most likely. It is the scientific use of the imagination, but we have always some material basis on which to start our speculation', [replied Holmes].

- The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle

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'It never does to be too sure, you know, in these matters. Coincidence killed the professor.'

- "Novel of the Black Seal" by Arthur Machen