The Book of Exodus makes two basic assertions: prior to the biblical Exodus, the Israelites in Egypt were forced to make mudbricks, and they built “supply cities.” In Exodus 5:6–8, we read: “Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the, as well as their supervisors, ‘You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as before let them go and gather straw for themselves. Straw, which is added to the clay mix as opening material, does not appear. The top register depicts (right to left): forming of the bricks using a mold, turning of formed bricks out of a mold, and leaving the bricks to dry in the sun. Included are all stages of brick making (bottom, left to right): fetching of water, kneading of clay, and carrying of moistened clay to brick makers. Painted on the walls of the Theban tomb of Rakhmire (mid-15th century B.C.E.), who was the Egyptian vizier (or prime minister), these realistic scenes depict slaves manufacturing mudbricks. Falk of the Vancouver School of Theology examines the question of Israelites in Egypt and their building activities in his article “ Brick by Brick.” Falk scrutinizes the biblical account and looks for the most plausible match in ancient Egyptian architecture.īRICK MAKING IN EGYPT. So what is it the Bible really claims about the Israelites’ forced labor for the Pharaoh? Writing for the Spring 2020 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, David A. Moreover, there is now plenty of contemporary evidence showing that the pyramids were constructed by indigenous professional builders, not enslaved foreigners. Although fundamental questions remain regarding the presence of Israelites in Egypt and the Exodus-including the dating and scale-it is certain that the most impressive, stone-built pyramids of the Old Kingdom (27th–22nd century B.C.E.) predate the biblical Exodus by hundreds of years. Photo: Xiquinhosilva CC BY-NC-SA.Ĭontrary to popular belief, the Bible does not assert that during their sojourn in Egypt the Israelites were involved in building the pyramids.

This includes the pyramid itself, which consists of multiple mastabas (bench-shaped structures) piled on top of each other hence the nickname, the Step Pyramid.

Rooted in the tradition of monumental architecture built with mudbricks and light materials, Djoser’s pyramid complex exhibits many features developed for those materials, only “translated” into stone. THE PYRAMID OF PHARAOH DJOSER (27th century B.C.E.), in Saqqara, was the first built in stone.

Images of hop scotch put of bricks