The Historicity of Joseph

By looking for Hebrew occupation in the several hundred years before 1450 BC (instead of around 1300 BC), there is much evidence.  There are large peasant-type cities in Goshen, with a Semitic culture obviously different from that of their Egyptian hosts.  There are also some mass graves with numerous bodies, very unusual in Egypt, indicating some kind of plague that struck the land, as indicated in the Book of Exodus.  In the upper Nile River, where the water flows between high cliffs, there are markings by the Pharaohs of the high levels of the river.  There are several years in a row in this early time frame, when the level was marked as extremely high.  This would cause excessive flooding along the Nile, making it impossible to plant crops until it was too late for the growing season, ruining the harvest.  The new breed of Egyptologists thinks that the seven bad years in Egypt in Joseph's time were caused by this type of flooding action, rather than by a lengthy drought.

There is other evidence of Joseph in Egypt during this time period.  An artificial lake was made in ancient times called Lake Moeris.  It was formed by a canal running off the Nile River called to this day the Canal of Joseph.  Beside the lake, which still exists (although smaller in size), there are ruins of a massive building, which contained a labyrinth, and was considered one of the greatest structures of its time by the Greek historian/traveler, Herodotus.  The building had twelve sections (reminiscent of the twelve tribes), and might well have been an administrative headquarters for Joseph's agricultural program.  The Pharaoh of the time was obviously very proud of the lake and the massive building, because he built his own pyramid at the site for his burial.  Nothing like this complex exists anywhere else in the vast ruins of ancient Egypt.  Again, the new Egyptologists suggest that this complex is stunning evidence for a remarkable foreign assistant to Pharaoh, and occurs in the correct time frame for Joseph. 

Mummification process
At the time of death, the person's body was purified in a natron solution (sodium carbonate & bicarbonate) in a place of purification.  After this, the liver, lungs, stomach and intestines were removed and placed in canopic jars, the lids often decorated with the sons of Horus.  The corpse was then packed with natron for forty days in order to dehydrate it.  After this time had passed the embalmers repacked the body with clean natron.  The body was then wrapped in resin and aromatic oil soaked linens.  The entire process took seventy days, during which time the tomb was prepared with everything the deceased would need for the afterlife.  The burials of Israel's patriarchs, Jacob and Joseph, followed Egypt's mummification procedures.

"When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.  Joseph threw himself upon his father and wept over him and kissed him.  Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel.  So the physicians embalmed him, taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming.  And the Egyptians mourned him for seventy days." Gen. 49:33-50:3

"So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten.  And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt."  Gen. 50:26