I am dedicating this new blog to telling the story of the Bible in light of its Egyptian context. Over the last 150 years, ancient Near Eastern studies have shown that nothing from the Old Testament was cut from whole cloth. The Pentateuch emerged from a culture stretching back thousands of years. Yet, few authors engage the wealth of Egyptian material culture in relation to the Bible.
The Bible having an Egyptian context might sound strange, but it should not be. If we are to believe the biblical text, the Israelites left Egypt after living there for hundreds of years. While living in the Nile delta, they would have adopted customs and ways of thinking distinct to Egypt.
Yet, few serious researchers explore this material. In the early 20th century, Egyptology as a discipline separated itself from biblical research. And the two fields more or less grew independently. Today, with the rigor required to be an Egyptologist, few scholars are trained to engage both Egyptology and the Bible.
Thus, the time is now right to publish the research that I have gathered. As I write books and articles, my research from peer reviewed journals is now finding its way into popular press. So as I engage Egypt and the Bible, I will be making new discoveries and publishing new works. And as I publish, I hope this blog will expose this fascinating world to a wider audience.