Akhenaten, Moses & the Origins of Monotheism - Guest Lecturer: Dr. James K. Hoffmeier
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Published 2019-11-11
Dr. Hoffmeier, who was born in Egypt and lived there until age sixteen, returns often for research, excavation, and teaching ministry. From 1975 to 1977 he worked with the Akhenaten Temple Project in Luxor. He served as Professor of Archaeology and Old Testament at Wheaton College and was chair of Wheaton’s Department of Biblical, Theological, Religious and Archaeological Studies. From 1996 to 1999 he was also director of the Wheaton Archaeology Program. He directed excavations at Tell el-Borg, Sinai, from 1998-2008, and has appeared in and served as a consultant for television programs on the Discovery, History, Learning, and National Geographic Channels. Dr. Hoffmeier teaches and lectures regularly across the USA and internationally.
All Comments (21)
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Fascinating. I wish I could have been there. I’ve loved Akhenaten’s story since I was a teenager. I especially love hearing the pronunciations of names I’ve been reading about for decades.
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Fascinating stuff. Thanks very much for the lecture, Dr. Hoffmeier and to the Moore Theological College for uploading it. Thank you.
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Thank you. Interesting and informative
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This lecture taught me everything I wanted to know on the topic without going beyond the evidence. That's great.
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🌟♦️ Egyptian historical documentation is excellent. Helps the historians to reconstruct sequence of events in a decent way.
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The criticisms of Freud's theory appear unconvincing and excessively focused on being politically correct. Building an entire critique solely on the Bible's account of Moses' travel duration to meet the pharaoh raises doubts. Considering that the Bible was written centuries after the events, it becomes unreliable for determining precise details like the duration of Moses' journey, whether it was 6 or 12 hours. It should be acknowledged that the Bible is mere collective memory shaped over centuries through oral tradition. Moreover, this critique misrepresents Freud's theory. Freud posited that Moses served as a priest of Aten and likely fled Egypt following the fall of Akhenaten. However, it is important to note that this event need not have occurred immediately after Akhenaten's reign. One can envision a scenario where the cult's followers remained in Egypt for decades after Akhenaten's rule, and Moses, a zealous priest, eventually fled the country due to persecution this scenario solves the chronology problem. Furthermore, this critique fails to address the arguments put forth by Freud, such as the Egyptian origin of the name Moses and the biblical narrative of Moses being raised in an Egyptian family and circumcision, among other factors. These elements contribute to the complexity of Freud's theory and should not be dismissed outright
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Amazing. Truly amazing. 'Pyramids were never used as burial sites.
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Tx, much appreciated To me, it is especially interesting that he deemed the worshiping point, The Sun, something that is available to everyone, (virtually) all the time, (save nighttime), and that he eliminated “organized religion”, thereby empowering each individual’s’ autonomous connection to “God.” Likewise, he exemplifies the (free) worship of said omni-accessible “God.” That does seem like something “God” would inspire someone to do.
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This is an excellent lecture! I've been fascinated with ancient Egypt since I was 12 and go to see the tour of the Treasures of King Tut in Chcago, IL. As I got older Akhenaten was the one who I wanted to learn more about. This lecture contained a lot of info in a short time. The idea that Akhetaten had a religious epiphany is intriguing. It also makes a lot of sense. It explains a lot of the peculiaralities of his porrayals in art and the building of his new city. From what I've read it seems as though HE worshipped the Aten and everyone else was expected to worship him. Because such an epiphany would be an intensely personal event and also one that would be alien to almost everybody else. Chrisianity is not really a religion about the worship of Jesus. It is a religion founded by Paul after his epiphany on the road to Damascus. I am looking forward to reading your book!
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Thank you for this enlightening lecture. I am especially pleased because language was brought to such a high level with the nomenclature of persons and places. Language is sort of my thing. Bravo!
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Excellent lecture, with good supporting evidence. This is the most scientific discussion I have encountered in considering the possible connection between Akhenaten and Moses.
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Excellent Episode 👍 Extremely Interesting Analysis!🤔
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Monotheism is one of the most human adaptations for living next to a main sequence star.
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Akhenaten was the founder of Monotheism.
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I would love to hear what are your theories about Smenkare.
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That was hell of a closing!
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É tão pouquinho que até dói James Hoffmeier.
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If Joepsh was married to the daughter of the priest of Heliopolis, maybe the Aktenaten reforms were a result of an attempted renaissance of the Hyksos powers?
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Excellent
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Omg finally people are just starting to see a little light through the cracks of wisdom
