Evidence for the historical figure Yuya as the biblical Joseph.

So I found about this weird historical figure named Yuya and wanted to discuss the evidence to him being the biblical Joseph.

Yuya was a powerful courtier during the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt Amenhotep III. So let's look at the evidence.

First is his name, ancient Egyptians struggled to to spell it so they recorded it in over a dozen different ways including Iouiya, Yuaa, Yaa, Ya, Yiya, Yayi, Yu, Yuyu, Yaya, Yiay, Yia, and Yuy. That proves that his name was not Egyptian in origin. And his name in hebrew is Yosef not Joseph. So very similar sounding names.

Second is his appearance, Yuya has a long, aquiline, or "hooked" nose, high cheekbones, and a sharp, defined jawline, which have led to speculation among historians that he may have been of foreign (possibly Mitannian or Levantine) origin. And his funerary mask look very different to other masks of that era. And his tomb was one of the largest tombs ever made for a foreigner.

Third is that he was a courtier just like the biblical Joseph (Genesis 41:37-40) where the king said "You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours".

Fourth is that one of his titles was the "Father of the God" which refers to his role as the father-in-law of Pharaoh Amenhotep III, Similarly the bible states a similar thing "Genesis 45:8" which says " “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt."

Fifth is the stuff he was found with in his tomb which includes a chariot and, a chain and ring. which is similar to the stuff the pharaoh gave to Joseph in the bible (Genesis 41:41-44). "Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck." And one of Yuya's titles was "bearer of the royal seal or ring".

Sixth is his wife Thuya whom held many official roles in the interwoven religion and government of ancient Egypt and was a native Egyptian. Like Joseph's wife whom pharaoh gave to him in the bible who was the daughter of a priest (Genesis 41:45).

Seventh is the fact that Yuya's grandson Akhenaten was the first pharaoh to worship only one god and preached monothiesm. Possibly from the influence of Yuya.

Yuya's Mummy 1

Yuya's Mummy 2

Yuya's Mummy 3

Yuya's Funerary Mask

Thuya's Mummy

Sources

The Bible

Stranger in the Valley of the Kings: Solving the Mystery of an Ancient Egyptian Mummy - Ahmed Osman

Yuya's Wikipedia Page

Tomb of Yuya and Thuya Wikipedia Page

Thuya's Wikipedia Page

Merneptah as the Pharaoh of Moses.

 

So I wanted to do a biblical chronology based on the Merneptah's Stele and Merneptah himself as the Pharaoh of the exodus and here it is. The evidence for Merneptah being the Pharaoh of the exodus are numerous.

First is his stele itself, He claims that he destroyed "Israel's seed" which sounds so similar to the bible/quran (Exodus 1:15-22) and (Quran 40:25) stories of the pharaoh killing young Israelite male children because he was scared and wanted to prevent the prophecy.

Second thing is that Dr Maurice Bucaille who examined the bodies of Pharaoh Rameses II and Merneptah claimed to have found traces of salt on the skin and within the mummified tissues. He argued that these were not from the natron used in mummification, but were residue from seawater.

He also claims that he performed X-rays and noted multiple fractures and "internal trauma," which he interpreted as the result of a sudden, high-pressure impact—like being hit by a massive wall of water (the returning Red Sea).

He also argued that while the Bible says Pharaoh was "overthrown" in the sea, the Quran (Surah Yunus 10:92) specifically says: "So today We will save you in body that you may be to those who succeed you a sign."

Third is the Bible (Exodus 1:11) states that the Israelites built the store-cities of Pithom and Raamses If the Israelites were building a city named after Ramesses so the Exodus must have happened either during the end of Ramesses II's long 66-year reign or during the reign of his immediate successor—Merneptah.

So 1203 BC the day where Merneptah died and is the year of the exodus and the Israelites leaving Egypt. An explanation for why no records of such incident is recorded is because the Ancient Egyptians were a proud people who will never record something like that or admit defeat. With that out of the way then we could also get the year the Israelites are done with their 40 year wander and started conquering Canaan which was in 1163 BC, That period was also the period of the Bronze Age Collapse in which major civilizations were destroyed like the great Hittite empire and those who survived were weakened greatly.

The bible itself give hints of that collapse (Exodus 33:2) which says "I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites." That also explains why there is very little archaeological evidence as most of the region was abandoned.

Merneptah's Mummy

Merneptah's Stele

Merneptah's Bust

Timeline


1203 BC - Merneptah's Death and the year of the Exodus.

1200 - 1150 BC - Sea People and The Bronze Age Collapse which had major civilizations disappear.

1163 BC - The Israelites stopped wandering and started conquering Canaan.

Sources:-

The Old Testament.

The Quran.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merneptah_Stele.

The Bible, The Qur'an and Science: The Holy Scriptures Examined in the Light of Modern Knowledge - Dr Maurice Bucaille.

The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, c.1800–1550 BC, Carsten Niebuhr Institute Publications, vol. 20. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 1997.