The Genesis Fraud

[Undeceived]

This is a huge leap. Firstly, how does proving a group called the Hyksos, suggest a "real, historical" pre-history of the Israelites in Egypt? To establish this, you would first have to establish that the Hyksos were the Israelites, but proving that they were Asiatic does not in itself prove they were Israelites. There is no credible evidence that the Hyksos were the Israelites. Leap!

Then you agree we can't determine either way. That's the way history thousands of years ago works--don't make definitive statements unless you have definitive support. In his argument, Herzog uses lack of evidence as his proof that the Israelites weren't in Egypt. Hershel takes the supposed gap and fills it with evidence Herzog either ignored or did not know. All this does is creates a plausibility. Hershel himself admits this when he says,

Herzog's point is perhaps that the story could have been invented years later. Of course that it is possible. But the reverse is equally possible. He has surely not proved that Israel was not there.

Hershel is not out to prove the Israelites were in Egypt, only that there is a space for them in history and no conclusive evidence against their being there. I might add that there are indications the Hyksos were Israelites. They mingled with the Egyptians in the 11th dynasty, and ruled by the 15th. At the end of the 17th, they were "expelled" (wikipedia). The name "Hyksos" means "ruler(s) of foreign countries," and Manetho, a 3rd century BC Egyptian, called them "Asiatic." This fits with the story of Joseph, who marked the change from original to Hebrew rulership. Generations later, the Egyptians saw how quickly the Hebrews were multiplying and made them slaves to keep the land pure. The 15th dynasty lasted from ~1650-1550 BC, which is about the time Joseph lived, according to Biblical analysis. This evidence is by no means conclusive, but it fits. Saying the Israelites were never in Egypt puts a whole new burden on the 6th century writers to research and basically hijack a couple Egyptian dynasties to make the Bible convincing.