Ages in Chaos: From the Exodus To King Akhnaton

This is a book of pseudo Archaeology, drawn largely from literary references, and an example of arguing from inadequate research. While it was seen as an amusing sidelight to the pursuit of real history, it did stir interest in th period, and certainly made some money for the writer. Dr. Velikovsky, a psychiatrist became quite a well known figure due to series of highly imaginative reconstructions of the sober work done by Petrie, Murray, and later men such as Cunliffe, whose efforts seem to be far more founded in Fact. However this book and its followers did start several lively conversations in my life. Nowadays one could see his corpus becoming useful to the anti-scientific writers in the field of biblical examination.

Although I don't agree with everything Velikovsky writes about, amazingly he has gotten more right than many of the scientists who study such fields (physics, astronomy, history, etc.). This book was a real eye-opener for me, so I bought as many of his other books as I could get my hands on. I am reading them as the mood strikes me and my time allows.

Imagine if you will, the history you learned of Egypt, the Israelites, the Hyksos, the Minoans, the Assyrians, and the Mycenaeans was out of sync by six hundred years. In essence, six hundred years are missing from the Israelites’ history or six hundred extra years have been added to Egyptian history with events that never occurred, kings who never reigned, and battles with no historical evidence. To add to the confusion, was a geological upheaval that adversely affected the six societies above as the Israelites were leaving Egypt. Velikovsky’s writings were roundly criticized by historians of the day so he decided for this book, he would locate autochthonous writings for each society and compare them for specific periods in time. show more He appears to have a valid case with these points; 1. Hyksos=Amalekites. 2. Sextus Julius Africanus said the Amalekites were from Arabia 3. The earthquakes and plagues were experienced by both the Hyksos-Amalekites in Arabia and the Hebrews in Egypt. 4. The span of years between the Middle and the New Kingdom isn’t 200 years (according to popular history) but 600 years which is the span of Hyksos-Amalekite rule in Egypt. 5. The Exodus took place during a time geological upheaval and after the Hebrews left Egypt, the Hyksos-Amalekites invaded Egypt 6. Proofs of his theory are taken from Hebrew, Egyptian, and Arabian writings. 7. The Hyksos-Amalekite capital of Auaris will be found by digging at Rhinocular (He was pot on with this; check Archaelogy.org for more info) 8. The Hyksos-Amalekites were defeated by Saul of the Israelites and Kamose who became Pharaoh 9. Hatshepsut = Queen of Sheba, Punt = Palestine 10. Hatshepsut lived at the same time as Solomon 11. Thutmosis III lived at the same time as Rehoboam (son of Solomon) and Jeroboam. Thutmosis III took away the treasures in the Temple of Solomon but left behind the Ten Commandments and the Ark of the Covenant 12. Crete was destroyed by the same geologic upheaval that occurred at Exodus 13. Kadesh = Jerusalem 14. 18th dynasty in Egypt ~ David Solomon ~ Late Minoan ~ Late Mycenaean ~ 1000 B.C (~ means same time period) 15. Retenu = Palestine 16. Amenhotep II = Zerah in Bible = Terra to the Hittites 17. The El Amarna letters were not written 1410-1370 B.C. but in 870-840 B.C. 18. Amenhotep III Akhenaton ~ King Jehosaphat in Jerusalem 19. El Amarna letter ~ Elijah and Elisha in Jerusalem ~ Shalmaneser of Assyria This book is not an easy read but for lovers of Egyptian, Israelite, and Assyrian history, it is a necessity." show less

I OFTEN DIP INTO THESE REALLY DEEP BOOKS THAT HE WROTE SOME OF HIS MATERIAL IS ON THE INTERNET THIS IS NOT HOLIDAY READING UNLESS THIS KIND OF THING REALLY BITES YOU