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The Bible Myth: The African Origins of the Jewish People
This is an alternate cover edition of 9780806519708.
Argues that the first Israelites were native Egyptians and that the history of Israel before the Exodus is based almost entirely on Egyptian mythology.
Argues that the first Israelites were native Egyptians and that the history of Israel before the Exodus is based almost entirely on Egyptian mythology.
320 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1996
About the author
Gary Greenberg
12 books22 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the goodreads data base.
Gary Greenberg is the author of several highly-praised books on biblical history, including the popular biblical classic "101 Myths of the Bible: How Ancient Scribes Invented Biblical History." His works have been translated into many languages. His most recent book, "Who Wrote the Gospels? Why New Testament Scholars Challenge Church Traditions", will be released by Pereset Press in June 2011.
He is President of the Biblical Archaeology Society of New York and a Fellow of the Jesus Project, an organization of biblical scholars concerned with issues related to the "historical" Jesus. National Geographic Television's Science of the Bible series retained Greenberg as a consultant to the series and featured him in a documentary on the story of Cain and Abel. He has also been a guest on numerous radio and television shows, including Tony Brown's Journal on PBS, and proved to be a provocative and entertaining speaker and skilled debater.
He is a member of several scholarly organizations, including the Society of Biblical Literature, the Archaeological Institute of America, the Historical Society, and the American Research Center in Egypt. He has published articles in several scholarly journals, including the Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities, KMT, and Discussions in Egyptology and has presented papers at several scholarly conferences, including the annual meetings of the International Society of Biblical Literature and the American Research Center in Egypt. His essay, "Did Pre-Gospel Christians Believe Judas Betrayed Jesus?" has been posted on the "Bible and Interpretation" web site at http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/j....
Gary Greenberg is the author of several highly-praised books on biblical history, including the popular biblical classic "101 Myths of the Bible: How Ancient Scribes Invented Biblical History." His works have been translated into many languages. His most recent book, "Who Wrote the Gospels? Why New Testament Scholars Challenge Church Traditions", will be released by Pereset Press in June 2011.
He is President of the Biblical Archaeology Society of New York and a Fellow of the Jesus Project, an organization of biblical scholars concerned with issues related to the "historical" Jesus. National Geographic Television's Science of the Bible series retained Greenberg as a consultant to the series and featured him in a documentary on the story of Cain and Abel. He has also been a guest on numerous radio and television shows, including Tony Brown's Journal on PBS, and proved to be a provocative and entertaining speaker and skilled debater.
He is a member of several scholarly organizations, including the Society of Biblical Literature, the Archaeological Institute of America, the Historical Society, and the American Research Center in Egypt. He has published articles in several scholarly journals, including the Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities, KMT, and Discussions in Egyptology and has presented papers at several scholarly conferences, including the annual meetings of the International Society of Biblical Literature and the American Research Center in Egypt. His essay, "Did Pre-Gospel Christians Believe Judas Betrayed Jesus?" has been posted on the "Bible and Interpretation" web site at http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/j....
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 22, 2026
WERE THE ISRAELITES ACTUALLY FOLLOWERS OF AKHENATEN?
Gary Greenberg (b. 1943) is the former president of the Biblical Archaeology Society of New York, and is a Fellow of the Jesus Project.
He wrote in the first chapter of this 1996 book, “How do we know, independent of the Bible, that Israel’s presence in Egypt was preceded by an earlier presence in Palestine? Why is there no archaeological record of Israel or the Hebrew people prior to the 13th century B.C.? … In this book I offer a radical new solution to the mystery of Israel’s origins, one that places its earliest roots in 14th century B.C. Egypt during the reign of the monotheistic pharaoh Akhenaten. I call this the Atenist theory, after the unique deity that he worshipped. It holds that the refugees departing Egypt during what later became known as the Exodus were native Egyptians, devoted followers of the pharaoh Akhenaten. This king’s monotheistic religious reforms triggered massive resentment throughout Egypt… Akhenaten’s loyal followers suffered greatly. They… in many instances were banished from the country. These persecuted Egyptians united together, rose in rebellion, and formed the House of Israel.” (Pg. 3-4)
He argues, “the patriarchal history is false. Consider… this problem: The Book of Genesis ends with the death of Joseph, and the story picks up in the book of Exodus with the birth of Moses. This transition encompasses … allegedly, several centuries. In this time Israel grew from a handful of people to over 600,000 males and their families… It is precisely this gap in the history of Israel that is responsible for all the debates about the date of the Exodus… One feels compelled to ask: In the several hundred years during which Israel allegedly grew from a small family to a mighty kingdom and to an enslaved nation, did nothing of interest happen? Were there no tales worth remembering[?]” (Pg. 17)
He outlines, “It is one thing to point out that there is no evidence corroborating the biblical account of Israel’s early years: it is quite another to substitute whatever theory one wants. After all, without evidence to the contrary, it is possible that the broad outlines of biblical history are correct. To argue that Moses and Akhenaten were theological comrades-in-arms and that the first Hebrews were Akhenaten’s persecuted followers simply because it is theoretically possible does not make it so… We need hard evidence… I provide that evidence in the following chapters.” (Pg. 21)
He summarizes, “In this chapter we examined several Genesis birth and death dates and cross-reference them to events in Egyptian monarchical history. The evidence shows an astonishingly high number of correlations, too numerous to be explained by random chance.” (Pg. 88)
He summarizes, “In… the next two chapters we will take a closer look at the patriarchal history. I plan to show that it is pure myth, derived from Egypt stories about the god Osiris and his family, and that ancient Israel had no genealogical history prior to the Exodus.” (Pg. 208)
He observes, “This image [in Gen 28] of a ladder to heaven has puzzled biblical scholars looking for Semitic antecedents for the concept. Some have tried to identify the ladder to heaven with the Babylonian ziggurats… To find its origin we need look no further than the Egyptian Pyramid Texts. Consider this example… ‘Ra setteth upright the ladder for Osiris, and Horus raiseth up the ladder for his father Osiris, when Osiris goes there to [find] his soul… stand up O ladder of Horus, whereon Osiris went forth into heaven.’” (Pg. 232-233)
He contends, “Egyptians [identify] both Re and Geb as the father of Osiris… In Genesis, Isaac is the son of both Abram and Abraham. Abraham… appears to correspond to Re, and despite the weak evidence, there does appear to be traces of a link between Sarah and Nut. This would suggest that Abraham corresponds to Geb. It is not difficult to see how a deity known as the Father of the Gods and the first ruler can become identified with the Hebrew ‘exalted father’ who ruled over the first family of the Hebrew people.” (Pg. 253)
He suggests, “Although the twelve tribes existed only as myth, it is worth spending some time on some Egyptian traditions that may have been responsible for this belief… the frequency of groups of twelve probably derives from the daily battle between Horus the Elder and Set. This solar imagery could have been important factors that led to the idea that there was a House of Israel with twelve sons. But some other Egyptian influences may also have played a role.” (Pg. 268)
He concludes, “Although the idea of thirteen sacred territories would have been popular, the Atenists could not tolerate its connection to Osiris. Since Osiris could no longer be openly worshipped, the images associated with his body were transferred to Jacob and his family. This required that a thirteenth son be introduced, causing Joseph’s inheritance to be divided between two tribes… The question over whether there were twelve or thirteen tribes originated in Egyptian mythology… This accounted for some of the confusion over the total number of tribes. When Israel moved into Canaan and over the years formed various political alliances, the names of the allies became identified with the twelve sons of Jacob. So, Israel was not created out of a confederation of twelve tribes. Joshua did not conquer Canaan. And there were no ten lost tribes.” (Pg. 271-274)
I did not find Greenberg’s ‘evidence’ particularly compelling (it has too much ‘transference’ and speculative ‘correlations’), but those seeking alternatives to the biblical stories may find it interesting.
Gary Greenberg (b. 1943) is the former president of the Biblical Archaeology Society of New York, and is a Fellow of the Jesus Project.
He wrote in the first chapter of this 1996 book, “How do we know, independent of the Bible, that Israel’s presence in Egypt was preceded by an earlier presence in Palestine? Why is there no archaeological record of Israel or the Hebrew people prior to the 13th century B.C.? … In this book I offer a radical new solution to the mystery of Israel’s origins, one that places its earliest roots in 14th century B.C. Egypt during the reign of the monotheistic pharaoh Akhenaten. I call this the Atenist theory, after the unique deity that he worshipped. It holds that the refugees departing Egypt during what later became known as the Exodus were native Egyptians, devoted followers of the pharaoh Akhenaten. This king’s monotheistic religious reforms triggered massive resentment throughout Egypt… Akhenaten’s loyal followers suffered greatly. They… in many instances were banished from the country. These persecuted Egyptians united together, rose in rebellion, and formed the House of Israel.” (Pg. 3-4)
He argues, “the patriarchal history is false. Consider… this problem: The Book of Genesis ends with the death of Joseph, and the story picks up in the book of Exodus with the birth of Moses. This transition encompasses … allegedly, several centuries. In this time Israel grew from a handful of people to over 600,000 males and their families… It is precisely this gap in the history of Israel that is responsible for all the debates about the date of the Exodus… One feels compelled to ask: In the several hundred years during which Israel allegedly grew from a small family to a mighty kingdom and to an enslaved nation, did nothing of interest happen? Were there no tales worth remembering[?]” (Pg. 17)
He outlines, “It is one thing to point out that there is no evidence corroborating the biblical account of Israel’s early years: it is quite another to substitute whatever theory one wants. After all, without evidence to the contrary, it is possible that the broad outlines of biblical history are correct. To argue that Moses and Akhenaten were theological comrades-in-arms and that the first Hebrews were Akhenaten’s persecuted followers simply because it is theoretically possible does not make it so… We need hard evidence… I provide that evidence in the following chapters.” (Pg. 21)
He summarizes, “In this chapter we examined several Genesis birth and death dates and cross-reference them to events in Egyptian monarchical history. The evidence shows an astonishingly high number of correlations, too numerous to be explained by random chance.” (Pg. 88)
He summarizes, “In… the next two chapters we will take a closer look at the patriarchal history. I plan to show that it is pure myth, derived from Egypt stories about the god Osiris and his family, and that ancient Israel had no genealogical history prior to the Exodus.” (Pg. 208)
He observes, “This image [in Gen 28] of a ladder to heaven has puzzled biblical scholars looking for Semitic antecedents for the concept. Some have tried to identify the ladder to heaven with the Babylonian ziggurats… To find its origin we need look no further than the Egyptian Pyramid Texts. Consider this example… ‘Ra setteth upright the ladder for Osiris, and Horus raiseth up the ladder for his father Osiris, when Osiris goes there to [find] his soul… stand up O ladder of Horus, whereon Osiris went forth into heaven.’” (Pg. 232-233)
He contends, “Egyptians [identify] both Re and Geb as the father of Osiris… In Genesis, Isaac is the son of both Abram and Abraham. Abraham… appears to correspond to Re, and despite the weak evidence, there does appear to be traces of a link between Sarah and Nut. This would suggest that Abraham corresponds to Geb. It is not difficult to see how a deity known as the Father of the Gods and the first ruler can become identified with the Hebrew ‘exalted father’ who ruled over the first family of the Hebrew people.” (Pg. 253)
He suggests, “Although the twelve tribes existed only as myth, it is worth spending some time on some Egyptian traditions that may have been responsible for this belief… the frequency of groups of twelve probably derives from the daily battle between Horus the Elder and Set. This solar imagery could have been important factors that led to the idea that there was a House of Israel with twelve sons. But some other Egyptian influences may also have played a role.” (Pg. 268)
He concludes, “Although the idea of thirteen sacred territories would have been popular, the Atenists could not tolerate its connection to Osiris. Since Osiris could no longer be openly worshipped, the images associated with his body were transferred to Jacob and his family. This required that a thirteenth son be introduced, causing Joseph’s inheritance to be divided between two tribes… The question over whether there were twelve or thirteen tribes originated in Egyptian mythology… This accounted for some of the confusion over the total number of tribes. When Israel moved into Canaan and over the years formed various political alliances, the names of the allies became identified with the twelve sons of Jacob. So, Israel was not created out of a confederation of twelve tribes. Joshua did not conquer Canaan. And there were no ten lost tribes.” (Pg. 271-274)
I did not find Greenberg’s ‘evidence’ particularly compelling (it has too much ‘transference’ and speculative ‘correlations’), but those seeking alternatives to the biblical stories may find it interesting.
July 6, 2015
This is a great book for anyone researching biblical history or wanting to understand why Judaism and Christianity have become the way they are. A lot of myths and mistakes are pointed out in this book. Not for the faint of heart or the easily offended.
January 15, 2012
I am re-reading this.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews