Table of Contents

1. Preface
2. Introduction to the Visions of Amram
3. Language and Dating of the Manuscripts
4. Narrative Summary of the Visions
5. The Dual Figures: Light vs. Darkness
6. Classification: Testament or Vision?
7. Chronological Insights on Israel in Egypt
8. Philistines and the Foreign Dynasty
9. The Philistines and the Exodus Route
10. Conclusion

1. Preface

This study begins with the testimony of Amran the father of Moses that the Philistines were the race that conquered a portion of Egypt and enslaved the Hebrews. He reveals that they had a long war with the Theban rulers (about forty years) and ruled for a short period of time (about 114-115 years). Further research showed that they were called Hyksos a term also applied to the Hebrews. They lived in Avaris, which was also called Ramesses. Looking to the Egyptian Dynasties I found a match. Ahmose is credited with expelling the Hyksos that lived in Avaris and chasing them out of Egypt on the road of the Philistines to a place near Gaza and almost reaching the Philistines that inhabited Gaza. There he destroyed them. I reasoned that his being able to do so must mean that he conquered them after the Hebrews had seen the destruction of their army a few years before. This seemed logical in that the father of Ahmose had died in a war fighting these Hyksos and Ahmose I though a boy began a war only a few years later. He would have had to do so before the boys of this Hyksos grew up and could fight again. I then turned to the internet to see if anyone dated the Hebrew Exodus a few years before this date and found that Josephus did so but almost no one believed him. I believed him and then set out to understand his testimony and unravel the confusion of scholars that said he was wrong. This study also sets out to challenge the traditional scholarly assumption that Ramses II was the Pharaoh of the Exodus. This long-held view is based largely on the mention of “Rameses” in Exodus 1:11 and has been perpetuated by popular media. However, this paper argues that the Pharoah of Exodus was a Philistine and not from the Theban dynasties. Also noting, the city of Rameses was a store city, distinct from the later capital Pi-Ramesses, which was constructed by Ramesses II and his father Seti I. Instead, this work aligns the Exodus was prior to the expulsion of the Philistines, also called Hyksos, during the reign of Ahmose I, in about 1550 century BCE.

What sets this approach apart is its reliance on the testimony of Ahmose himself, through Egyptian records, and on a re-examination of Josephus’ discussion of Manetho, which is often misread. While many scholars claim Josephus is saying that Ahmose expelled the Hebrews, a closer reading shows the opposite: Josephus is identifying the Hebrews with the very group that once was enslaved in Egypt and God rescued.

This study aims to restore Josephus’ credibility as a historical witness and situate the Exodus in the proper era: the Second Intermediate Period, not the 19th Dynasty of Ramesses.

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2. Introduction to the Visions of Amram

Visions of Amram, also referred to as 4Q543-549, is a collection of five extremely fragmented copies found in Qumran cave 4. In 1972, Amram gathers his sons, Moses and Aaron, to his deathbed and relates stories of his life, providing wisdom and commanding understanding. This document is named for a vision shared during this time. It aligns with other deathbed testimonies of the Patriarch and the earliest copy of the Book of Enoch found at Qumran. The scroll entitled the assumption of Moses defines the instruction of Moses to place these scrolls on sealed jars and give them to the priest. The Qumran leaders were the true priests of Israel and they preserved these and other scrolls in sealed jars.

3. Language and Dating of the Manuscripts

This document has many distinguishing features that separate it from the other Dead Sea Scrolls found in the Qumran Caves. Primarily, copies of The Vision of Amram are written in Aramaic, unlike the majority of the Qumran texts which were scripted in Hebrew. 

4. Narrative Summary of the Visions

Upon the year of his death (136 years old), Amram gave in marriage his 30-year-old daughter, Miriam, to his brother, Uzziel. The wedding was 7 days long. After the feast, Amram called for his children and began to recollect the story of his time in Biblical Egypt. He describes a 41-year separation from his family due to war, the building of tombs in Canaan, when a war between Egypt, Cannanites and the Philistines took place with the Philistines winning.

5. The Dual Figures: Light vs. Darkness

Amram describes a vision of two figures: one, Belial (Prince of Darkness), and the other, Melchizedek (Prince of Light). Both claim authority over human destiny and offer Amram a choice. He describes the Sons of Light as destined for joy and light, while the Sons of Darkness are destined for death and destruction. The triumph of light over darkness is a central theme of the vision and aligns with the testimony of the 1 QM. War Scroll calling the returning tribes of Isreal the Sons of Light whose destiny is to fight the Sons of Darkness including Isis, the citizens of Tyre and the residents of Gaza. While most scholars consider this an apocalyptic war that never happened. I can see that it paraphrase Psalms 83 war perfectly and also agrees with over 20 prophecies that begin with a timeline that starts with the Gaza war that began on October 7. 2014. (*See Gaza War in Isaiah 14, located under the Bible topic and also in my Podcast called Gaza war in the Bible). Also related to the attack of Isis on Nimrod’s palace in 2015 making them the new Assyria the returning tribes must fight. (See podcast Bible names Isis the new Assyria and for further clarification examine the category called Q&A.

6. Classification: Testament or Vision?

Scholars debate whether the document is best described as a ‘testament’ or a ‘vision’. Jean Starcky and Józef Milik both leaned toward the testament classification, aligning it with the Testament of Levi. However, scholars like John J. Collins and Henryk Drawnel argue it is more properly classified as visionary or didactic literature. It is in fact the deathbed testimony of Amram, including his vision.

7. Philistines and the Foreign Dynasty

The document explains that the Philistines conquered Egypt during Amram’s life. This aligns with the theory that the Hyksos (foreign rulers) were Philistines. Josephus and Manetho describe their removal by Ahmose, connecting the dynasty that “knew not Joseph” to the Hyksos oppression of Israel. This makes good sense as the Theban dynasties knew Joseph well. After the destruction of Egypt’s army by the Israelites also called Hyksos by Josephus. This term now known to include everyone in the Levant or area between Syria and Egypt. (A scroll was found also calling the leader of the Canaanites- Hyksos.) Ahmose pursued this Hyksos and expelled them to a place near Gaza.  They were chased via the Philistines and headed to the Gaza which was the home of the Philistines indicating that they were in fact the Philistines. It should be noted that the father of Ahmose died fighting the Hyksos/Philistines. It is likely that the Philistines would have continued fighting toward the Egyptian dynasty in lower Egypt if they had not then encountered the plagues of Egypt through Moses and their destruction at the Red Sea at that time. Although Ahmose assumed kingship as a boy, he did not wait long to attack the Philistines to do so would have allowed their boys to grow up and fight. He attacked about two years later.

• Chronological Insights on Israel in Egypt

According to this scroll, Amram died in the 152nd year of Israel’s exile in Egypt. Miriam, his daughter, was 30 at the time. The Bible does not give Miriam’s exact age when Moses was placed in the basket (Exodus 2:1–10), but we can make a reasonable estimate based on clues in the text:

Biblical Clues: Miriam was old enough to speak to Pharaoh’s daughter and offer to find a Hebrew nurse for the baby (Exodus 2:7), showing she was not a toddler. She was clearly not an adult, as she is referred to as “his sister” without indication of adulthood, and she was not living independently. Historical and Rabbinic Estimates: Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews, 2.9.6) describes Miriam as a young girl, indicating pre-adolescence. Many rabbinic sources and modern scholars estimate she was between 6 and 12 years old. If we take the latter figure then Marium was 12 years older than Moses. So when Moses was 80 she would have been 92. This would be 62 years after Amran’s death. Adding 62 to the 152^nd year would make it 214 years in Egypt. And we don’t know how many months could be added, for Amran died in 152^nd year but how many many months? Also, Marium could have been 12 plus months. This then could be an exact match to the testimony of Josephus of 215 years. This matches Jewish traditions that interpret the 430 and then 400-year prophecy as beginning with Abraham, not just the Egyptian sojourn.

Most scholars agree that this Hyskos had a long war to conquer a part of Egypt and a short  on a range of 108–150 years of Hyksos dominance before their expulsion by Ahmose, this matches the Testimony of Amran.

Qumran “Visions of Amram” or extrapolated chronologies) say that:

• Amram entered Canaan at age 40
• He spent 41 years in Canaan as he could not return during this long war
• He returned to Egypt at age 81
• He died at age 137 Lived another 56 years in Egypt → 81 + 56 = 137
• (This is stated in Exodus 6:20) Now they had ruled 56-57 years.
•  Exodus occurred about 62-63 years later which made about 114-115 years and Ahmose attacked two years later making these 116-117 years.

Avaris was the place that Ahmose conquered the Hyksos during the Hyksos rule (c. siad to be about 1650–1550 BC Some scholars associate this with the city of the Israelites’ enslavement, possibly linked to the term “Raamses” in Exodus 1:11

8. The Philistines and the Exodus Route

Exodus 13:17 reveals that God led the Israelites away from the land of the Philistines, knowing they might fear war and return to Egypt. 

• And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt.”
  — Exodus 13:17, KJV

This verse is significant because it mentions “the way of the land of the Philistines”, indicating that Philistines were already present or known to the biblical audience at the time of the Exodus. 

• Josephus added, As also he led them this way on account of the Philistines, who had quarreled with them, and hated them of old, that by all means they might not know of their departure, for their country is near to that of Egypt; and thence it was that Moses led them not along the road that tended to the land of the Philistines, but he was desirous that they should go through the desert, that so after a long journey, and after many afflictions, they might enter upon the land of Canaan. 

When could the Philistines have hated them of old if they had not been in Egypt? The Hebrews entered Egypt with only 70 souls.

• Genesis 46:27 (KJV):
  “All the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten (70).”
• Exodus 1:5 (KJV):
  “And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.”

Therefore, the Hebrews had to have been hated and afflicted by them in Egypt

This has chronological implications, as many scholars argue that the Philistines arrived in Canaan after the time of Ramesses III (~1175 BC), which would not align with an Exodus in the 13th century BC under Ramesses II. This supports the idea that the Philistines were known oppressors from Israel’s time in Egypt. Their conquest during the Second Intermediate Period and memory of cruelty explain God’s avoidance of Philistine territory during the Exodus. This reinforces the idea that the Hyksos (Philistines) were the foreign dynasty ruling during Israel’s oppression.

9. Visions of Amram and the Exodus Tradition: Dualism, Diaspora, and Ancient Memory.

The Visions of Amram (4Q543–549) is a rare and complex Aramaic text discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls in Qumran Cave 4. Preserved in five highly fragmented copies, it was first published in part by Józef T. Milik in 1972. Since then, it has sparked intense scholarly interest due to its theological content, unusual language, and connection to deep-rooted Jewish traditions. More than a personal farewell, it represents an intersection of apocalyptic vision, ancient genealogy, and national identity, reflecting ideas about divine dualism and Israel’s ancient past—including echoes of Egypt and the Exodus.

10. Historical Anchoring: Josephus and the Exodus Timeline

While the Visions of Amram provides a theological and eschatological vision, Jewish historian Flavius Josephus offers critical chronological context for understanding Israel’s origin story in Egypt. In The Antiquities of the Jews (Book 8.3.1), Josephus dates the Exodus 592 years prior to the construction of Solomon’s Temple, which is traditionally dated to around 960 BCE. This would place the Exodus around 1552 BCE. He also states this occurred 1,020 years after Abraham entered Canaan. However, in Against Apion (Book 2.19), 

Josephus did not use Hiram and Carthage to date the Exodus directly. Rather, he used them to establish a firm and verifiable date for the construction of Solomon’s Temple—around 968 BC—based on non-Jewish historical records. Once that date was confirmed through external sources (Tyrian king lists and the founding of Carthage), Josephus could confidently apply his own internal Jewish chronology. By counting backward 592 or 612 years from the Temple date, he arrives at an Exodus date in the mid-1500s BC, significantly earlier than the 1446 BC date implied by the 480-year figure in 1 Kings 6:1. This longer interval results from including the years of foreign oppression, which the biblical author likely omitted. Josephus’s argument therefore rests on combining external historical anchors with an expanded internal timeline to justify a much earlier Exodus.

Period or Judge	Years	Included in 1 Kings 6:1 (480 years)	Included by Josephus (592/612 years)
Othniel	40	Yes	Yes
Moabite Oppression	18	No	Yes
Ehud	80	Yes	Yes
Philistine Oppression	8	No	Yes
Deborah & Barak	40	Yes	Yes
Midianite Oppression	7	No	Yes
Gideon	40	Yes	Yes
Abimelech	3	No	Yes
Tola	23	Yes	Yes
Jair	22	Yes	Yes
Ammonite Oppression	18	No	Yes
Jephthah	6	Yes	Yes
Ibzan	7	Yes	Yes
Elon	10	Yes	Yes
Abdon	8	Yes	Yes
Philistine Oppression (Samson)	40	No	Yes
Eli	40	Yes	Yes
Samuel	20	Yes	Yes
Saul	40	Yes	Yes
David	40	Yes	Yes

attempts to use intercultural synchronization to defend biblical history.

Josephus also identifies the Israelite entrance into Egypt as occurring 215 years before the Exodus, placing it around 1767 BCE—near the start of Egypt’s Second Intermediate Period, when the Hyksos ruled Lower Egypt. Their capital, Avaris, would later become Pi-Rameses, a site tied to Israelite memory. This dating aligns closely with the historical expulsion of the Hyksos by Pharaoh Ahmose—an event Josephus quotes Manetho who associates this with the Exodus itself. This occurred in 1550 B.C.E.

Josephus quotes Egyptian historian Manetho, who admits that the people who later became the Israelites entered Egypt from elsewhere, conquered it, and were eventually expelled. Manetho, according to Josephus, equates the Israelites with the Hyksos, a Semitic group who ruled Egypt as foreign kings and were later driven out. “Manetho has granted us one fact,” Josephus writes, “He has admitted that our race was not of Egyptian origin, but came into Egypt from elsewhere, conquered it, and afterwards left it.” 

Manetho then confuses the Exodus of Isreal with the Exodus of the Philistines by Ahmose afterwards. This race did go to war with Egypt and therefore was not the Israelites. Yet they were also given the name Hyskos. Recent have shown that everyone in the LEVANT or the area between Syria and Egypt were called Hyskos. This includes the fact that a scroll was found calling the King of Canaan a Hyskos. Under a king named Misphragmouthosis (Ahmose), the shepherds, he says, were defeated, driven out of all the rest of Egypt, and confined in a place called Auaris (later called Ramesses) containing ten thousand arourae. The shepherds, according to Manetho, enclosed the whole area with a great strong wall, in order to secure all their possessions and spoils Thoummosis, the son of Misphragmouthosis (he continues), invested the walls with an army of 480,000 men, and endeavored to reduce them to submission by siege. Despairing of achieving his object, he concluded a treaty, under which they were all to evacuate Egypt and go whither they would unmolested. Upon these terms no fewer than two hundred and forty thousand, entire households with their possessions, left Egypt, and traversed the desert to Syria. Then, terrified by the might of the Assyrians, who at that time were the masters of Asia, they built a city in the country now called Judaea, capable of accommodating their vast company, and gave it the name of Jerusalem. 

Josephus said that Manetho (in the above statement) was wrong. Flavius Josephus Against Apion BOOK 1:16. This is Manetho’s account. And evident it is from the number of years by him set down belonging to interval, if they be summed up together, that these shepherds, as they are here called, who were no other than our forefathers, were delivered out of Egypt, and came thence, and inhabited this country… I will disprove them hereafter particularly and shall demonstrate that they are no better than incredible fables.

              It was the Philistines that were chased out of Avaris which had become the city of  

              Ramesses.                                                     

11. Traditional View: Ramesses II as Pharaoh of the Exodus

Ramesses II, also known as Ramesses the Great, reigned from approximately 1279–1213 BC and is remembered as one of Egypt’s most powerful and long-lived pharaohs. The name “Raamses” appears in the biblical text:

“Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.” — Exodus 1:11

This has led many to associate the biblical Exodus with the reign of Ramesses II, especially since he and his father Seti I founded the city of Pi-Ramesses, which became the royal capital during the 19th Dynasty. Pi-Ramesses was located in the Nile Delta and served as a significant administrative and military center. However, scholars point out that “Raamses” (or Rameses) in Exodus likely refers not to Pi-Ramesses the capital, but to a store city—a fortified supply depot— built 2 km. from the region that later became the site of Pi-Ramesses. The biblical text specifies that Raamses was a “store city”, not the capital itself. Yes — during this time: Avaris had four occupations 

• Avaris (Tell el-Dab‘a) functioned not only as the capital of the Hyksos, but also as a major economic and storage center.
• Massive grain silos, warehouses, and administrative buildings have been excavated from this layer.
• It was a strategic storage and distribution hub, particularly for the Hyksos’ trade and control in the eastern Nile Delta.
• Manfred Bietak’s excavations have confirmed these storage facilities — many mudbrick granaries capable of storing vast quantities of grain.

This matches very well with the biblical language in Exodus 1:11:

“They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses…” For Avaris had become Raamses.

And here’s the key insight: Avaris during the Hyksos period (not during Ramesses II’s time) was built as a store city.

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12. Historical and Chronological Issues

While the traditional view relies on name similarity, biblical chronology suggests a much earlier date for the Exodus:1 Kings 6:1 says the Exodus occurred 480 years before Solomon began building the Temple, dated around 960 BC, placing the Exodus at approximately 1440–1450 BC. Josephus, in Antiquities 8.3.1, states that the Exodus occurred 592 years before the construction of Solomon’s Temple, placing the event even earlier, around 1552 BC.

This earlier dating corresponds not to the time of Ramesses II, but rather to the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt, when the Hyksos, a Semitic people, ruled northern Egypt and were later expelled by Pharaoh Ahmose I (~1550 BC). Some scholars equate this Hyksos expulsion with the biblical Exodus.

13. Conclusion

Through the testimony of Egyptian Pharaoh Ahmose, and a careful re-reading of Josephus’ account, this study has demonstrated that the Exodus cannot be situated during the reign of Ramesses II. The biblical city of “Raamses” was built as a store city, and later became a capitol as well. The later capital Pi-Ramesses was built as a capitol city. Furthermore, biblical chronology from 1 Kings 6:1, along with Josephus’ records, places the Exodus centuries earlier, around the time of the Hyksos expulsion. Most importantly, Josephus does not claim that Ahmose expelled the Hebrews—but rather another race (also called Hyksos) which through the Testament of Amran we now know was the Philistines. The Philistines were the Semitic group who had once ruled Egypt and were later defeated and driven out. This inversion of roles—where Israel was not the enslaved but the former rulers who Ahmose drove out is wrong.