Endnote 50 – Redating the Exodus

The reoccupation of Khirbet Nisya, from the Iron Age onwards, though in harmony with the Biblical references given above, may seem discordant with the statement that Joshua “burned Ai and made it forever a heap of ruins, as it is to this day” (Joshua 8:28). However, this is only a problem if one assumes a late origin for this verse. Yehezkiel Kaufman, The Biblical Account of the Conquest of Palestine (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1953), presented a strong case for archaic elements in the Book of Joshua and argued for an original composition early in the period of the Judges. Such a date for the statement in Joshua 8:28 would agree with finds at Khirbet Nisya, that suggest no resettlement before c. 1200 B.C. Out of respect for the ancient text, later editors left the statement unchanged.