I. Joseph was sold into slavery and taken to Egypt. (Gen 37 - 40)
1. This is probably the area where there is currently the biggest difference between these two stories. But, nevertheless, it is almost impossible to disprove the suggestion that Akhenaten had been a foreign-born slave because any mention of his childhood seems to be totally lacking:
1. Redford says, "In contrast to the frequent appearance of his brothers and sisters, Amenophis… is conspicuous by his absence from the monuments of his father." (57)
2. Akhenaten does not seem to have claimed that he was the biological offspring of Amenhotep III and Tiye. Indeed, if he had wanted to declare himself as their offspring, the vocabulary was available for him to use, as it seems that it was common for others to do so in this period:
1. Aldred says that Tutankhuaten was referred to as "The King’s Son, of his loins,…" (287)
2. Redford says that the daughters of Akhenaten were called the "king’s bodily daughters… born of the great king’s wife Nefertity". (79-82)
3. Aldred also mentions, although it refers to a time earlier in the dynasty, that a prince is referred to as being "The eldest son of the divine flesh…". (136)
3. It is true that Akhenaten called Amenhotep III and Tiye "Father" and "Mother". But, so did many others who were not their offspring. These terms could just as easily have been used to show the "greater king" and "lesser king" roles in their co-regency:
1. Redford describes the filial terms used in international diplomacy and explains why all of the vassal kings would have called their suzerains, "Father". (40)
2. Aldred includes "My Father" in the list of the greetings that were used in the Amarna Letters. (184)
3. Redford also mentions that military commanders had come to be known as "king’s-sons" in this period. (14)
4. This period in Egyptian history seems to have been a suitable time for the story of Joseph to have occurred. Asiatics, both slave and free, were numerous and important to the society during this period, and were often elevated to positions of high status:
1. The Cambridge Ancient History says that donkey caravans "continued to ply their ancient trade in the Amarna period". (114)
2. Aldred says that "The story of Joseph reflects the manner" of an Asian immigration pattern that lasted "well into the Eighteenth Dynasty"; (117) that Asiatics were numerous and had a considerable impact on the culture; (118) and, that the development of the army, especially its chariot arm, had a significant role in bringing Asiatic influences to the culture. (131)
3. Redford says that large numbers of true slaves appear in this period as a result of foreign conquest, and that Canaanites and Syrians began to voluntarily migrate, as well. Canaanite loan-words entered the language and sections of large cities were set aside for Asiatics. There were so many foreign slaves at Amenophis’ mortuary temple that he claimed "their number is beyond knowing". Many Canaanites and Syrians attained high offices in the priesthood, palace, and army. (27-28)
4. Redford tells the story of how the royal barber gave his sister’s daughter in marriage to his slave. (23)
5. Aldred says that Yuya, Tiye’s father, and Commander of the Chariotry, was probably of Asiatic descent. (96)
5. Akhenaten’s original name, Amenhotep, could suggest a foreign background. Foreigners often compounded their names with that of the ruling pharaoh. This is why there seems to have been so many Amenhoteps around:
1. Redford says that foreigners attaining to high office "were sometimes given Egyptian names, usually compounded with the name of the reigning king." (28)
6. Akhenaten’s having a foreign background could explain his unusual appearance. Akhenaten’s physical appearance was originally thought to be Asiatic. This could explain one of the influences on the art of this period:
1. Aldred says that Petrie argued that Akhenaten’s facial features showed an Asiatic heritage. (111)
2. Redford’s list of Akhenaten’s peculiar facial features includes: "high cheekbones, full lips, arched brows, slender neck, and a rather supercilious expression." (63)
7. Akhenaten’s having a foreign background could explain his unusual behavior. Akhenaten’s willingness to be shown embracing, kissing, eating, and mourning could be explained by being raised in a foreign culture:
1. Aldred says that royalty embracing and kissing is rare "not only in Egyptian sculpture but also in the whole field of antique art" and that "Such a pose is found only in the Amarna Period" amongst Akhenaten’s and Nefertiti’s family. (Plate 36)
2. Desroches-Noblecourt points out that in the Tomb of Huya Akhenaten’s family is shown to be eating while Tiye could not be shown so freely because "Theban decorum prevailed". (154)
8. Akhenaten’s having a foreign background could explain his unusual tastes in art. Akhenaten’s having a "foreign aesthetic" could have provided another influence on the art of the period:
1. Aldred says that the pictures in the Amarna tombs show "a style that differed markedly from what was generally accepted as the ancient Egyptian mode." (18)
2. Aldred says that the colossi at Karnak "were of a startling character, carved in a bold, assured style, unlike any statues that had been found in Egypt…" (84)
3. Aldred says, "The decoration of public buildings at Amarna made great use of inlays of polychrome faience, the first appearance of the characteristic Near Eastern contribution to architectural ceramics." (Plate 9,10)
9. Akhenaten’s having a foreign background could explain why he was assigned the foreign legions, and why there would be a backlash against foreigners after his reign:
1. Aldred says the talatat from Karnak show a "predominance of the soldiery of Asia and Africa, a veritable foreign legion in attendance upon the king…" (265)
2. Aldred says that talatat showing Asiatic and Nubian troops had been the target of later iconoclasts, who had struck out their eyes. (Plate 61)
3. The Pharaohs of the Sun, discussing the end of the Atenist regime, refers to "the anti-foreigner backlash that doubtless followed". (91)
10.Akhenaten’s having an Asiatic background could explain the special prominence given Akhenaten’s use of the chariot. The chariot is given special prominence in the story of Joseph by being mentioned several times [See Below]:
1. Aldred says that many of the chariot drivers were of Asiatic descent. (130)
2. Redford says that large chariot scenes are common themes. (147)
3. Aldred says, "The chariot was the preferred conveyance for Akhenaten at Amarna, as distinct from the state palanquins…". (131)
4. Aldred says that the royal road at Akhetaten was deliberately planned as a processional way for the state chariots, (131) which must have been "a novelty in Egypt" and a significant innovation. (68)
11.Akhenaten’s having a foreign background could explain the unusual importance attached to Nefertiti’s role. Her importance could be better understood if she were the only native born Egyptian in this couple:
1. Redford says that Nefertiti had an "unexpectedly prominent role" at Karnak. She had her own temple and appeared on the talatat twice as often as Akhenaten does. She is shown doing things normally done by the pharaoh. (78)
2. Redford says that Nefertiti’s face was hacked out by iconoclasts at Karnak much more often than Akhenaten’s was. (228)
3. Could Egyptian inheritance patterns, combined with Akhenaten’s non-royal background, be used to explain why Nefertiti’s daughters were often shown, while Akhenaten’s sons, if he had any, were not?
12.Akhenaten’s having a foreign background could explain his unusual religion. Akhenaten’s monotheism, although "foreign" to the Egyptians, is said to be quite similar to Hebraic monotheism:
1. Although Aldred sees Akhenaten’s monotheism as having had roots earlier in the dynasty (239-240) [suggesting Abraham’s influence, as in Gen 12:10-12:20?], Aldred says that Akhenaten’s replacing the pantheism of the Egyptian gods with an "austere monotheism" was something that "apparently springs into life from the moment of the king’s advent". (244)
2. Aldred says, "The mysterious god which the king proclaimed was self-created, unique, eternal, universal and omnipresent in the daylight." (244)
3. Aldred says that Akhenaten condemned all of the rituals involved with crafting and serving the images of the Egyptian gods, and replaced them with his God, "who fashions himself with his two hands, whom no craftsman has devised." (245)
4. Redford sees an attempt by Akhenaten to eliminate all anthropomorphic representations from the religion, the art, and even the hieroglyphic writing. (175)
5. Aldred says that Akhenaten’s God was symbolized by "an elaborate form of the hieroglyph for sunlight – the many-armed disk of the sun". (245) [Could this be a source of the religious traditions of the "Word" and the "Light"?]
6. Aldred, summarizing Petrie, says that what was unique to Akhenaten’s form of sun-worship was the emphasis that was placed on the rays of the sun. (111) Desroches-Noblecourt says that Akhenaten defined his "new aspect of the divinity" as "Re Harakhti-who-rejoices-on-the-horizon-in-his-name-of Solar-light (Shu) which-appears-in-the-Solar-Globe (Aten)." (125) Aldred says that the four character Aten element in the God’s name "was frequently used alone as though it were an abbreviated version…". (20)
7. Redford seems to suggest that the Atenist religion was so abstract that, in the House of the Aten at Akhetaten, rather than having had the bnbn stone as the central object of worship, instead there was just a stele that showed the royal family in the act of worship. (146-147)
8. Redford says that Akhenaten called his God his true father. (179) [Could this be a source of the current religious tradition?]
9. Aldred says that Sigmund Freud saw Akhenaten as the instigator of Jewish monotheism. (113)
10. Freud raises the question of whether the Egyptian god Aton is not indeed the same as the Hebrew god Adonai. (27-28)
11. Redford says that the long-established parallels between the Hymn to the Aten and Psalm 104 should be taken seriously. (232-233)
13.Akhenaten’s being foreign born would explain the oral legends that tell of foreign rule:
1. Redford says that the oral traditions of the Egyptians speak of this period as a time when there was "a renewed attempt by ‘foreign rulers’ to get control of Egypt." (231)
