Burn,
The Merneptah stele contains the first mention of Israel in any surviving text. The Israelites emerged only gradually as a distinct group in Canaan, beginning at the end of the 13th Century BCE. There is no archaeological evidence of Israelite presence in Egypt immediately before this time.
Now, we know that the border between Canaan and Egypt was closely controlled at the time and so if a great mass of fleeing Israelites had passed through the border areas (which it would have had to) a record , i.e. outside of the Bible, should exist. However, there is not a single reference to the Israelites - nor even an archaeological artefact. There is not even a single word of Israel being in Egypt: not in any monumental inscriptions on temple walls, nor in any tombs, nor in any papyri.
Egypt was controlled by Ramses II at the time and was at the peak of its power. A large group of slaves escaping from Egypt through heavily guarded fortifications would have been noted - but there is nothing!
Also, the Bible says the children of Israel wandered in the desert and mountains of the Sinai peninsula, camping and moving around there for 40 years. There should be at least some archaeological traces of their wandering - but there is only silence. Not a scrap of evidence has been unearthed. Not one single piece of evidence from the time of Ramses II or his immediate predecessors or successors.
Ian
