Article
Announcement: «The
Book of Bereshit as a Great Compilation of Texts and Meanings from the Second
Intermediate Period of Egypt: A Pilot Culturological, Medical, Archaeological,
and Textological Examination of the Legends versus Traditional Attribution»
Abstract
The Book of Bereshit (Genesis) was composed in Egypt during the 17th century BCE and reached its definitive protographic form following the Minoan eruption of Thera. This study argues that the work was a collaborative effort between an Egyptian physician-encyclopedist and an outstanding scribe of Asiatic origin, operating within a sophisticated administrative and scientific framework. By analyzing anatomical descriptions, Bronze Age economic data, and climatic markers, this paper demonstrates that the text originated as a high-level socio-political commission within the Egyptian House of Life.
Keywords
Genesis
Protograph, Bereshit Protograph, Hyksos-era Scriptorium, Ligamentum Teres, Ligamentum
Capitis Femoris, Minoan Eruption Impact, Bronze Age, Middle Egyptian Origin, Cross-cultural
Codification
Introduction
The origins of the Book of Genesis (Bereshit)
have long been a subject of intense debate between traditional biblical studies
and the Documentary Hypothesis. However, a multidisciplinary analysis of
Egyptian papyri, Mesopotamian cuneiform records, and Bronze Age archaeological
data suggests a radical departure from the prevailing consensus of the 1st
millennium BCE authorship.
This study proposes that the Book of
Bereshit was composed in Egypt during the 17th century BCE and reached its
definitive protographic form following the Minoan eruption of Thera. Contrary
to the view of it being a gradual folk accumulation, we argue that the work was
a deliberate intellectual project carried out by a collaborative team: an
Egyptian physician-encyclopedist and an outstanding scribe of Asiatic origin.
The 17th century BCE in
Egypt—specifically the late 13th Dynasty and the transition into the Hyksos
period—represented a unique socio-political "melting pot." During
this era, high-ranking Asiatic officials were deeply integrated into the
Egyptian state apparatus, creating a demand for a cultural synthesis that could
legitimize their presence and heritage through the lens of Egyptian scribal
excellence.
The core thesis of this paper is
that the Book of Bereshit is not a late Iron Age Judean epic, but a high-level
administrative and scientific compilation created in the 17th century BCE. The
text originated as a socio-political commission by the Asiatic elite and was
professionally codified within the House of Life (Per-Ankh)
scriptorium, most likely in the intellectual centers of Heliopolis or Avaris.
By examining specific time markers within the text—such as the Bronze Age
pricing of slaves, accurate clinical descriptions of femoral trauma, and echoes
of the Santorini cataclysm—this article demonstrates that the protograph was a
product of Middle Egyptian scribal culture, later preserved and modernized by
subsequent generations.
A summary of the comprehensive
analysis of the Book of Bereshit:
1. The Authorial Duo: Science and
Administration
The structure of the text reveals
the collaborative work of two distinct professionals:
· The Egyptian Encyclopedic Physician: An author
belonging to the intellectual circle, the composer of the Edwin Smith Papyrus.
He provided the text with clinical accuracy. For example, the description of
Jacob’s injury (Gen. 32:24-32) — arguably the first anatomical record of a
subluxation of the femoral head and ligament trauma, documented by a professional
physician rather than a priest.
· The Asiatic Administrative Scribe: A figure akin
to the historical to the Old Testament Joseph. His task was the legitimation of
Asiatics in Egypt by codifying Mesopotamian traditions (Eden, the Flood,
Babel). Notably, the Mesopotamian layer is secondary to the Egyptian. For
example, the geography of Mesopotamia is imprecise, while key terms (e.g.,
"Ark" — Heb. teva, from Eg. db't) possess clear Egyptian etymologies.
2. The Climatic Trigger: The Minoan
Eruption
The dating is corroborated by the
description of a global cataclysm. The seven-year famine and regional anomalies
reflect the aftermath of the Thera (Santorini) eruption (c. 1600s BCE).
The two-phase nature of the eruption aligns with the biblical detail of the
famine intensifying after two years. This event served as the backdrop for the
Joseph narrative as the "Savior of Egypt" during a volcanic winter
and agricultural collapse.
3.
Economic and Material Evidence
· The Price of a Slave: The sale of Joseph
for 20 shekels of silver is an indisputable marker of the Hammurabi
and Middle Kingdom eras (18th–17th centuries BCE). In later centuries (1st
millennium BCE), prices rose significantly, proving the antiquity of the text's
economic core.
· Daily Life and Terminology: The use of Middle
Egyptian concepts and realities predating the New Kingdom suggests that the
protograph was originally composed in Middle Egyptian.
4. The Nature of Anachronisms
Mentions of camels, Philistines, or
Midianites are identified as terminological modernizations. Later
translators and editors (c. 7th century BCE) adapted the protograph's archaic
terms (donkeys, Bedouins, Hittites) to the realities of their time.
Simultaneously, clinical observations (the prohibition of the
"sinew") were transformed into religious rituals, obscuring their
original medical significance.
The Book of Bereshit (Genesis) is a
unique monument of cultural synthesis — a «time capsule» preserving the
intellectual achievements of Bronze Age Egypt.
|
Excerpt from the Book of Bereshit
|
Type of similarity and justification |
Egyptian or Asian
parallel
(analogies,
borrowings, information)
|
|
1:1-2
|
Conclusion: Cosmogonic
parallel. |
Pyramid Texts № 222 (207b), 2350-2175
BCE (1952MercerSAB:104). Coffin Texts № 76, 2134-2040
BCE (1973FaulknerRO:78). Coffin Texts № 223, 2134-2040
BCE (1973FaulknerRO:177).
Heliopolitan cosmogonic myth Hermopolitan cosmogonic myth The Instruction of the
Heracleopolitan King to His Son Merikare, 11th Dynasty
|
|
1:1-2
|
Semantic parallel. Both
texts employ the identical image of the “abyss”.
|
Mesopotamia, The Myth of Enki and Ninmah, 2000-1600 BCE (1965КрамерС). |
|
1:2 |
Substantial identity. The
similarity lies in postulating watery chaos as the primordial substance.
|
Pyramid Texts № 222 (207b), 2350-2175
BCE (1952MercerSAB:104).
|
|
1:3 |
Logocentric correspondence.
The similarity lies in the shared concept of the “creation of light” through
the word.
|
Heliopolitan cosmogonic myth
|
|
1:3,6,9,11,14,20,24,26 |
Logocentric correspondence.
The similarity lies in the shared concept of “Creation by the Word”.
|
Memphite cosmogonic myth Abydos stela of Neferhotep
I, 13th Dynasty Shabaka Stone, 25th Dynasty |
|
1:6-8 |
Logocentric correspondence.
The similarity lies in the shared concept of the “heavenly ocean” created by
the word.
|
Pyramid of Pepi II (6th
Dynasty, ca. 2246–2152 BCE) № 512 (2007AllenJP:290).
|
|
1:6-8 |
Logocentric correspondence.
The similarity lies in the shared concept of the “creation of air” through
the word.
|
The Book of Overthrowing Apophis (2021МюллерМ:74). Pyramid Texts № 527
(1248a-d), 2350-2175 BCE (1952MercerSAB:325 |
|
1:9-10 |
Logocentric correspondence.
The similarity lies in the shared concept of the “creation of dry land and
water” through the word.
|
The Book of Overthrowing Apophis (2021МюллерМ:74). Heliopolitan cosmogonic myth Rhind Papyrus (BM 10188), ca. 311 BCE (1940МатьеМВ:69,108). Pyramid Texts, 2350-2175 BCE
(2007AllenJP:431,438). Pyramid of Pepi I (6th Dynasty, ca. 2289–2255 BCE) № 519 (2007AllenJP:183).
|
|
1:11-12,20-21
|
Logocentric correspondence.
The similarity lies in the shared concept of the “creation of flora and
fauna” through the word.
|
The Book of Overthrowing Apophis (2021МюллерМ:74,278).
|
|
1:15-20 |
Cosmographic analogy. The similarity lies in the identical conception of the luminaries being located on a physical surface.
|
Pyramid of Teti (6th
Dynasty, ca. 2323–2291 BCE) № 227 (2007AllenJP:86).
|
|
1:27-28 |
Anthropogonic correspondence. In both cases, man is created with an
orientation toward a higher form of being.
|
Mesopotamia, The Myth of Enki and Ninmah, 2000-1600 BCE (1965КрамерС).
|
|
1:31 |
Final verification. The
similarity lies in the identical anthropomorphic completion of the work. |
Shabaka Stone, 25th Dynasty
|
Conclusion
In the Book of Bereshit we have
identified numerous literary parallels, cosmogonic similarities, ethical
correspondences, lexical and cultural borrowings, various inversions, as well
as plot convergences with ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian texts. Based on the
conducted analysis and taking into account archaeological and historical data,
we believe that the Book of Bereshit is a high-level compilation.
The scale of the work and the use of
diverse source material imply the participation of two authors. The first was a
scribe-administrator, apparently of Asian descent, while the second was an
erudite, materialistically minded Egyptian physician familiar with magic. The
scribe recorded genealogies, family traditions, and national myths, creating a
powerful Mesopotamian layer. The physician imbued the plots with
natural-scientific credibility, drawing on clinical cases from practice and
medical knowledge. We do not exclude the possibility that both co-authors were
ethnically Egyptian, creating this work at the behest of an influential
official of Asiatic origin who served the Pharaohs of the 13th Dynasty.
The analysis we conducted shows that
the writers operate with realities specific to the period of the 17th–16th
centuries BCE. The text contains rare anomalous insertions dating from the
Ramesside period and later. At the same time, the work predominantly consists
of adapted retellings of religious concepts and ideas that emerged during the
Old and Middle Kingdoms. A comprehensive evaluation allows us to suggest that
the protograph of the Book of Bereshit was composed in Middle Egyptian language
at the end of the Second Intermediate Period – beginning of the New Kingdom,
after the Minoan eruption.
We believe the text was created in
northern Egypt, in the Nile Delta, most likely in the scriptorium of the “House
of Life,” which possessed a rich collection of manuscripts. The most probable
place of composition appears to us to be Heliopolis. Another strong candidate
is the geographical and cultural crossroads of the aforementioned period – Avaris.
The study we have carried out
provides yet another argument in favor of the first mention of the human ligament
of the head of femur occurring in the Bronze Age. Such ancient knowledge of
this anatomical element demonstrates the outstanding contribution to science
made by the physicians of Egypt. The insightful observations of our ancient
colleagues have reached us thanks to the careful preservation of the Book of
Bereshit by adherents of the Abrahamic religions. In this we see white magic,
which once gave birth to medicine.
The Book of Bereshit is not a
product of Iron Age folklore, but a high-level intellectual project of the 17th
Century BCE. It represents a sophisticated synthesis of Egyptian medical
science and administrative records, drafted in the Nile Delta as a response to
the socio-political and climatic crises of the Second Intermediate Period. By
stripping away later linguistic modernizations, we reveal a 'time capsule' that
accurately reflects the realities of the Bronze Age.
References
Allen JP. The ancient Egyptian pyramid texts.
Transl. with an Introd. and Notes by James P. Allen. Atlanta: Society of
Biblical Lit., 2007.
Faulkner RO. The Ancient Egyptian Coffin Texts. Vol. 1 Spells 1-354. Warminster: Aris &
Phillips, 1973.
Mercer
SAB. The Pyramid Texts Translation by Samuel A. B. Mercer. New York [etc]:
Longmans, Green & Co, 1952.
Коростовцев МА. Повесть Петеисе III. Древнеегипетская
проза. Перевод: М.А. Коростовцева, тексты подготовлены К.Н. Жуковской. Москва:
Художественная литература, 1978.
Крамер С. История начинается в
Шумере. Москва: Наука, 1965.
Матье МВ. Мифы древнего Египта. Ленинград: Государственный
эрмитаж, 1940.
Мюллер М. Мифы Древнего Египта. Пер. с англ. Г.В. Бажановой. Москва: ЗАО Центрполиграф, 2021.
Authors of the article
Arkhipov S.V. – Independent Researcher, MD, PhD, Orthopedic Surgeon, Medical Writer, Joensuu, Finland.
Correspondence: Sergey Arkhipov, email: archipovsv @ gmail.com
Article history
February, 17, 2026 - online version of the article published.
Suggested citation
Arkhipov
S.V. Article Announcement: «The Book of
Bereshit as a Great Compilation of Texts and Meanings from the Second
Intermediate Period of Egypt: A Pilot Culturological, Medical, Archaeological,
and Textological Examination of the Legends versus Traditional Attribution. February 16, 2026 [in Rus.]». About round ligament of femur. February 17, 2026. https://roundligament.blogspot.com/2026/02/article-announcement-book-of-bereshit.html
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.14966.66882 researchgate.net , academia.edu , drive.google.com
Original article
Архипов СВ. Книга Берешит как великая компиляция текстов и смыслов Второго переходного периода Египта: пилотная культурологическая, медицинская, археологическая и текстологическая экспертиза преданий против традиционной атрибуции. О круглой связке бедра. 16.02.2026. https://kruglayasvyazka.blogspot.com/2026/02/blog-post.html
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