Exodus of Jews from Egypt according to professor Hans Goedicke

The article examines Professor Hans Goedicke’s opinion on the possible connection between the exodus of Jews from Egypt and the eruption of the volcano Santorini on Thera island in the Mediterranean Sea. According to Goedicke, the eruption could have caused a tsunami that, reached the Egyptian coast of the Mediterranean, could have destroyed the army of Pharaoh and enabled Jews to cross the «red» sea. Particular attention is paid to the two questions discussed by the professor: the dating of a volcanic eruption and the analyses of Speos Artemidos Inscription of Pharaoh Hatshepsut. Although the eruption of the volcano Santorini was of so large-scale that the tsunami caused by it could easily reach the Egyptian coast, modern dating suggests that it happened too early to be associated with the exodus of Jews from Egypt. Speos Artemidos Inscription, by contrast, is an important source of information about the context of the era of exodus. In the Russian- language literature, the number of studies devoted to the eruption of the volcano Santorini, and Speos Artemidos Inscription of Pharaoh Hatshepsut is small, which makes this article relevant.