''The Exodus Decoded'' is a 2006 documentary film by "investigative archaeologist" and filmmaker

Simcha Jacobovici Simcha Jacobovici (; ; born April 4, 1953) is a Canadian–Israeli journalist and documentary filmmaker. While several scholars consider him to be a pseudo-archeologist and pseudo-historian, the ''New York Times'' dubbed him a modern-day “I ...

and producer/director

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...

. It aired on April 16 on

The History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the General Entertainment Content division of The Wa ...

. The documentary proposes naturalistic origins for the

plagues of Egypt In the Book of Exodus, the Plagues of Egypt () are ten disasters that the Hebrew God inflicts on the Biblical Egypt, Egyptians to convince Pharaohs in the Bible#In the Book of Exodus, the Pharaoh to emancipate the enslaved Israelites, each of th ...

as described in the

Book of Exodus The Book of Exodus (from ; ''Šəmōṯ'', 'Names'; ) is the second book of the Bible. It is the first part of the narrative of the Exodus, the origin myth of the Israelites, in which they leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through the strength of ...

Premise

The documentary deals with

The Exodus The Exodus (Hebrew language, Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, ''Yəṣīʾat Mīṣrayīm'': ) is the Origin myth#Founding myth, founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four of the five books of the Torah, Pentateuch (specif ...

, the founding story of the

Israelites Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...

. While few mainstream historians would consider the

as a reliable narrative, Cameron and Jacobovici present a speculative question as to whether the events as described, particularly relating to the

, could be explained naturalistically. Central to its thesis is the volcanic eruption of Thera/Santorini. A suggested date of 1500 BC is made for the Exodus, during the reign of pharaoh

Ahmose I Ahmose I (''Amosis'', ''Aahmes''; meaning "Iah (the Moon) is born") was a pharaoh and founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt in the New Kingdom of Egypt, the era in which ancient Egypt achieved the peak of its power. His reign is usually d ...

. The "palpable darkness" described as the 9th plague, is hypothetically attributed to the cloud of volcanic ash caused by the

Minoan eruption The Minoan eruption was a catastrophic volcanic eruption that devastated the Aegean island of Thera (also called Santorini) circa 1600 BCE. It destroyed the Minoan settlement at Akrotiri, as well as communities and agricultural areas on near ...

, which is identified as the events described in the

Tempest Stele The Tempest Stele (alt. Storm Stele) was erected by pharaoh Ahmose I early in the 18th Dynasty of Egypt, . The stele describes a great storm striking Egypt during this time, destroying tombs, temples and pyramids in the Theban region and the work ...

. A conjectural

limnic eruption A limnic eruption, also known as a lake overturn, is a very rare type of natural hazard in which dissolved carbon dioxide () suddenly erupts from deep lake waters, forming a gas cloud capable of asphyxiating wildlife, livestock, and humans. Scien ...

in the Nile Delta, similar to that of the

Lake Nyos disaster On 21 August 1986, a limnic eruption at Lake Nyos in northwestern Cameroon killed 1,746 people and 3,500 livestock. The eruption triggered the sudden release of about 100,000–300,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). The gas cloud initially r ...

in 1986, is explored as a further source of mass death. The documentary first aired on

Discovery Channel Canada Discovery Channel is a Canadian exempt discretionary service owned by Rogers Sports & Media. Based of the U.S. cable network of the same name, the channel focuses primarily on programming related to nature, science, and technology. History D ...

on April 16, 2006.

Reception

As a popular history documentary, ''The Exodus Decoded'' attracted few critiques from mainstream scholars. ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' described the use of CGI as "stunning", a view shared by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', which placed the documentary's content firmly in the realms of conspiracy theory. A review in ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...

'' noted that none of the arguments made in the film were accepted by mainstream archaeology and that film-maker Jacobovici freely admitted his lack of academic credentials.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Exodus Decoded 2006 films 2006 television films 2006 computer-animated films 2006 documentary films Canadian documentary television films Documentary films about the Bible Films with live action and animation History (American TV channel) original programming Films about the ten plagues of Egypt Historical theories and materials on the Exodus Pseudoscience documentary films Films based on the Book of Exodus Films directed by Simcha Jacobovici 2000s Canadian films

Premise

Reception

See also

References

External links