Inexplicable Supernatural Events In The Bible

The Exodus of the Hebrew people out of Egypt as depicted in the Holy Bible is controversial. A literal, Biblical reading depicts inexplicable supernatural events suggesting the influence of the God of the Hebrews. There are three main theories about the Exodus Event. The first is that the event occurred exactly as accounted in the Bible, miraculous events included. Secondly, that the Exodus did occur, just not as the Bible describes. The last is that the event never occurred. The explanation of these theories will be presented in this paper.

There are many people who believe that the Bible is the infallible word of God, therefore believing that the Exodus did in fact happen, exactly as described in the Bible. The biblical account states that

This conclusion is based mainly upon the lack of archaeological proof (placing the Hebrews in Egypt, as slaves, or placing them Wandering in the Sinai Desert). Michael D. Coogan’s textbook, “A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: The Hebrew Bible in its Context” states that “no direct correlation exists between any person, or event found in Exodus 1-15 and non-biblical sources” (Coogan 89). If such a large number of individuals had spent such a long period of time in Egypt, and wandered in the desert for so many years, there should be innumerable archaeological evidence of the event and of the Hebrews journey. Without this evidence the event is simply a legend, giving an account of how the Hebrew people came to be, similar to other cultures, such as the Aztecs, Greeks, and Romans. Yet, if the Hebrew story of the Exodus is a myth, why would the Israelite people paint themselves in such an undignified light? Why would a nation relish and rejoice over their origins as slaves? If the Hebrews did depict themselves as a people who were starving from famine and ended up being prisoners in the land they had ventured into in order to seek refuge, there origin myth is unlike any other culture. Other origin tales depict the people as being might, brave, and victorious. While the Exodus story does end triumphantly, at least as far as leaving Egypt, it does begin in a rather unpleasant manner for the Hebrews. The victory is by no act of the Hebrews, but by their God’s. They are also depicted as being perpetually unfaithful for that God to continue to provide, often complaining of their circumstances after