Mark Janzen
Dr. Mark Janzen is Associate Professor of Archaeology and Ancient History at Lipscomb University. He received his PhD from the University of Memphis (ancient history). His primary research interests are Egyptian epigraphy and archaeology, New Kingdom military history, and the Israelite exodus. He is the editor of Five Views on the Exodus: Historicity, Chronology, and Theological Implications and has written articles and essays on a wide range of topics relating to the intersection of ancient history, archaeology, and biblical studies. Dr. Janzen has been working in Egypt for over 15 years. In addition to his teaching duties, he is the deputy director of the Karnak Great Hypostyle Hall project, an epigraphic mission at Karnak Temple in Luxor, Egypt and a co-host for a podcast entitled OnScript - The Biblical World. Mark enjoys various sports, especially football, hiking with his family of 5, and reading.
Presenter at
Bible & Archaeology Fest XXVII, November 22 – 24, 2024
From the Court of Pharaoh to the Slopes of Sinai: What Egyptology Can Tell Us about the Exodus
The Joseph and Exodus narratives have captured the imagination of readers of the Bible for millennia, creating no shortage of artist reconstructions, movies, documentaries, and the like. Naturally, scholars have also weighed in on the plausibility of the story. Most scholars and all but a few Egyptologists are skeptical of the historicity of the Pentateuch’s accounts. Rather than the typical approach of looking for evidence of Israel in Egypt, this talk will primarily look at the “Egypt-isms” in the Pentateuch as well as recent archaeological research in the Delta and Sinai. There are in fact many details in the narrative that are at home in New Kingdom Egypt, sometimes uniquely so, suggesting an overall plausibility of the narrative, and recent excavations in the eastern Delta help establish the context of the accounts, particularly the ancient routes out of Egypt.
