A Biblical Perry Mason?

I am not a big fan of “seeking to expose the secrets of the ancient world” documentaries and rarely watch any. It’s not that I don’t have an interest in ancient societies but the seventies were full of such like things like Chariot of the Gods and unlocking the scared ancient powers of the pyramid and I have had more than my fair share of such schlock.

I still have vivid memories of my grandparents sitting in their lazy boy chairs watching television with my grandfather’s homemade pyramids strategically placed over various parts of their bodies that were giving them trouble in hopes of a healing. It was really quite a sight, and retrospect, is it any wonder that I became extremely circumspect in who I invited home? But this Globe and Mail article on “Exodus Decoded” by a Toronto filmmaker has piqued my interest.

A provocative $4-million documentary by Toronto filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici claims to have found archeological evidence verifying the story of the biblical Exodus from Egypt, 3,500 years ago.

Religious Jews consider the biblical account incontrovertible — the foundation story of the creation of the nation of Israel. Indeed, they celebrated the Exodus Wednesday night and last night with the annual Passover recitation of the Haggadah.
But among scholars, the question of if and when Moses led an estimated two million Israelite slaves out of pharaonic Egypt, miraculously crossed the Red Sea ahead of the pursuing Egyptian army and received the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai, has long been a source of contention.

Absent definitive proof, archeologists have argued variously that the biblical account is simply a nice fable or that it may have happened, but not on the scale suggested by the Book of Exodus. Nor is there any consensus about when it might have occurred. Now, in Exodus Decoded, Mr. Jacobovici says he has found almost a dozen overlooked relics that confirm the biblical story.
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Two scholars who have seen it are more positive. Barry Wilson, a professor of religion at York University, calls it "a fabulous detective story ... Perry Mason goes biblical. It's a remarkably well-executed study." Kenneth Green, a professor of Judaic studies at the University of Toronto, says the film is "provocative and challenging."It's all 'maybes,' but it's plausible and coherent. I think he's going to be attacked viciously, but he's made a case that has to be answered."

Mr. Jacobovici, who recently sold the film to the History Channel in the United States, concedes that many scholars will "scoff at my evidence. It's a closed club, after all. But they can't just dismiss it. There's a cluster of evidence here. If it walks like an Exodus and quacks like an Exodus, it is an Exodus. That's not Egyptology. That's logic."

Of all the stories contained in the bible it has been the Exodus that has hit the strongest personal chord with my psyche. I don’t know about the quacks, but I’ll bite and watch. It will be airing on the Discovery Channel Sunday at 8pm (EST).