Pictures from the Exodus journey

The Jewish holiday of Sukkot - also referred to as the 'Feast of Tabernacles' or 'Festival of Booths' ended recently which is fitting because during this time I was completing work on our latest picture set which depicts how God provided for the children of Israel during their 40 years in the wilderness. During the Feast of Tabernacles today, Jewish people all around the world build temporary booths/shelters, which they live in for seven days, as a reminder of the temporary dwellings erected by their forefathers during the Exodus wanderings. It's a time of thanksgiving for Gods faithfulness and provision!

Picture 1 shows the children of Israel sojourning through the wilderness. All the rocks/mountains have been drawn from photographic references taken in the Sinai peninsula. I noticed that the rocks have a pinkish tinge when compared to the rock colour which I normally use so I've tried to match all the rock colours to the reference photos. Every mountain in these pictures exists although I can't give you an exact location! ;0)

Picture 2 shows the people complaining to Moses that they have no food. Picture 3 is set in the evening and shows a great bevy of quail landing in the Israelite camp. Picture 4 is set in the morning and shows the people gathering manna in pots. I've tried to show the different ways that manna could be eaten - there's a pot of manna on-the-boil, some of it has been baked into buns and some children are eating it fresh off the ground! There have been a number of attempts to explain away manna as a naturally occurring substance - not something miraculous. However, even though there isn't a particularly detailed description contained in scripture, there's enough to rule out a natural occurrence! Remember that this substance appeared every morning, was enough to feed around 2 million people, and only lasted for a day except when collected the day before the Sabbath!

Picture 5 shows the people complaining to Moses again! When we read this account we are often amazed at how much complaining the Israelites did, even after they had seen God deliver them in so many miraculous ways. but the fact is that we are all stubborn and rebellious against God - it's in our nature. What is truly amazing is Gods goodness and patience with us! By nature we are far away from God. This means that the transformation from rebels into worshipers is always going to be a painful one! Our desire for a closer walk with God will lead us into a wilderness journey simply because we need to be changed! In fact, so radical are the changes that need to be made in us - only God can make them! God wants the very best for us, and He knows that the very best for us is God!
We also need to learn to wait on God daily, just as the Israelites did, for anything that's going to be of true value in this life.

Picture 6 shows Moses striking the rock and water bursting forth as the elders watch in amazement! Picture 7 (above) shows the israelites filling water pots and drinking from the newly flowing stream. Remember that this stream/river was enough to quench the thirst of a great multitude so it's unlikely that the water trickled from the rock as we sometimes see in Bible pictures. The lady stood on the right of the picture above is the English illustrator and Bible artist Cicely Mary Barker (when she was young). This is my little tribute to her!

There are 7 pictures in this set which I will link to as soon as they're uploaded to the Bible picture website.
Look forward to your comments.

Pictures of the Passover

I have finished the pictures for the Passover story at last! There are 18 pictures in this set which has taken months to complete due to all the detailed Egyptian settings and the sheer amount of people (and insects) involved in the story. The pictures retell the story beginning from when Moses and Aaron first came before Pharaoh, and ending when the Egyptian army is destroyed in the Red Sea.

One of the first questions I needed an answer to was "Do we know how old the Exodus-pharaoh was?" Dr Douglas Petrovich from 'Associates for Biblical Research' has written a very interesting article titled 'AMENHOTEP II AND THE HISTORICITY OF THE EXODUS PHARAOH' which you can read here. Amenhotep II does seem to be the most likely candidate for the exodus-pharaoh. Regarding the age of Amenhotep II at the time of the exodus Dr Petrovich told me....
"I am very confident of the age of Amenhotep II at the time of the exodus, given the synchronism between biblical and ancient Egyptian history, both of which provide us quite accurate and detailed information. I follow Wente and Van Siclen in assigning a reign of 37 1/3 years to this pharaoh, and concluding that he lived 55 years.

 They are confident of his age at death, because the ancient source known as the Sphinx Stele declares that he was 18 years of age when he ascended the throne. There is no reason to doubt this. Redford, Der Manuelian and other Egyptologists argue convincingly that his coregency with his father lasted 2 1/3 years, which I have documented in my article.

 Since the dating of Amenhotep II's reign begins at the inception of his coregency, thus when he was 18 years old, and his reign was numbered without interruption through the coregency and into his sole reign, we know that he would have been approximately 26 years old during his Regnal Year 9, the year of the exodus, with a variance of only 1 year possible. Of this we can be very confident."

Regarding the age of Amenhotep's firstborn son Dr Petrovich says....
"As for the age of his firstborn son at this time, Thutmose, unfortunately I have virtually no confidence. I wish we could know more. The chance always exists that a new discovery WILL answer this for us, but only time will tell.
 
What we can be sure about is how old he was not. Given that his father was 26 (or so) when he died, this son could not have been more than 9 years old or so. Most likely, his father would have wed between 18 and 22 years of age, so Thutmose most likely was 3 to 7 years of age--at the oldest--at the time of his death; perhaps "5" would be our most logical supposition. Obviously, he may have been less than a year old, so this cannot be ruled out. What we can rule out is the chance that he was an adolescent or young adult."

We have a fairly good idea of what Amenhotep II looked like. There are a number of stone sculptures, monuments and tomb paintings which record both his physical features and his accomplishments as a hunter, archer and charioteer. He is often shown wearing a nemes headcloth which features a prominent uraeus, (upright spitting cobra), on the front. The body of the cobra undulates up and over the top of the headcloth. In picture 1 we see Moses and Aaron before pharaoh. Aaron's rod has become a serpent and is swallowing the snakes conjured up by the Egyptian magicians. This spectacle is being watched with interest by Amenhotep's hunting dogs! These dogs, which are thought to have been either greyhounds or Ibizan hounds, appeared with Amenhotep II on wall paintings and were not only regarded as hunting dogs - they were highly regarded pets of the ancient Egyptians and were often mummified and buried with their owners.
On the subject of hunting there is also evidence from tomb paintings that tame cheetah's were used by the huntsmen also.

Picture 2 (above) depicts the first plague as the Nile, which itself was considered a deity by the Egyptians, is turned to blood. The dogs appear again in this picture as does Thutmose who I portray as being 5-6 years old as per Dr Petrovich's comments above. Picture 3 shows the plague of frogs. Egyptian handmaidens are rooted to the spot screaming as frogs leap around their feet. The frogs show no regard for the Egyptian deities as they clamber over the image of the Egyptian god Anubis! picture 4 depicts the plague of gnats. Thutmose is shown standing on his fathers throne using his father's giraffe tail fly swatter to battle the insects. This is the only time he will ascend to his father's throne which is the reason why a number never appears after his name. Thutmose III was the father of Amenhotep II. He was Egypt's most-powerful, imperialistic pharaoh. He would have been pharaoh when Moses left Egypt to go to Midian.

Picture 5 illustrates the plague of flies. On special occasions the egyptian women wore cones made of animal fat on top of their heads. These cones of fat were scented with spices and herbs and as the fat melted the hair became perfumed and greasy! The cones were often worn pierced through with a flower. The flies in this picture are particularly interested in these scented domes to the horror of the wearers! Picture 6 depicts the plague which killed the Egyptians livestock, and picture 7 shows the plague of boils. Picture 8 depicts the plague of hail stones and lightning and I show both the crops of flax and barley being destroyed. Picture 9 shows the plague of locusts and picture 10 shows the approaching plague of darkness. I've tried to show this darkness approaching in full day light to illustrate its all consuming nature. I don't believe that this darkness could be compared to night time - the Bible describes it as a darkness that could be felt! It also sounds like this darkness couldn't be dispelled by interior lamps either. It's interesting that this darkness comes just before the death of the Passover lamb because the next time we see an inky blackness to compare with this is just before the sacrifice of the Lamb of God on the cross. Young Thutmose is holding a toy horse which is based on an actual ancient Egyptian toy from this period.

Picture 11 shows the family preparing the Passover lamb which can be seen lying on the table in the background. The father of the house is applying the blood to the door lintel and posts as the mother prepares to roast the lamb. The daughter is standing outside holding a bunch of hyssop for her dad. modern Bible scholars still express uncertainty about the actual identity of the hyssop plant mentioned here, but as it was used on this occasion almost like a paintbrush, and in the levitical purification rituals for sprinkling, it does suggest that the plant was able to hold moisture. For this reason some have suggested that the plant Origanum syriacum, (Syrian hyssop) seems the most likely candidate. This is the one I decided to use in the picture.
The little girl is not happy as the lamb whom she had cared for during the last four days has been slain. (Ex 12:3-7) The mother too is holding back the tears and is being comforted by her little son. This is a reminder of the awful consequences of sin and the necessity of a blood sacrifice. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. Hebrews 9:22

Picture 12 shows the death of the firstborn. It's not long past midnight and the lifeless body of Thutmose lies in the lap of his mother. Moses and Aaron have been told to take the Israelites and leave Egypt. Various bottles of lotions and potions are scattered around the floor that were used in a vain attempt to revive the young boy. Picture 13 shows the children of Israel nearing the end of their 25 mile journey from Rameses to Succoth. This journey began in the night and would have taken around 5 hours. The sun is just starting to rise over the sea of Israelites who by conservative estimates were around 2 million in number! Moses is leading them and he is surrounded by excited children. One boy to the right of Moses is carrying a kneading trough which holds a lump of unleavened dough partly covered by a damp cloth. The girl to the left of Moses is the same girl from picture 11. She's not sad anymore though. she's wearing a beautiful golden Egyptian necklace which is part of the bounty of Gold, silver and clothing given to the children of Israel by the Egyptians. She is walking along pretending to be an Egyptian princess with a bulrush head in her hand. The death and shed blood of her little lamb which she mourned so deeply for has both secured her freedom from captivity and provided her with a new garment to wear also! These are all significant illustrations of the Gospel.

Picture 14 (above left) shows the Egyptian chariots pouring forth from Egypt in hot pursuit of the Israelites! Incidentally, the wheels of Egyptian chariots had six spokes, not four as is sometimes suggested. Picture 15 depicts the parting of the Red Sea which we've talked about in more detail here. Picture 16 shows the nation of Israel passing through the sea on dry land. The scene is flooded with light from the pillar of fire and cloud. As the people pass through the deepest part of the sea some of them have lit torches. In the far distance you can just make out the crowds coming up onto the opposite shore bathed in moonlight. Picture 17 shows the Egyptian chariots charging into the divided waters. Pharaoh's chariot however is perched on a rock overlooking the scene as Amenhotep II later returned to Egypt, without his army, to reign for a few more years. The chariots are being driven into a dense black cloud and chariot wheels are starting to break off. The pillar of dark cloud which is holding back the Egyptians is struggling to conceal the brilliance of the Shekinah fire on the opposite side which is providing light to the Israelites. Towards the top of the pillar shafts of blinding light are piercing through the cloud like volcanic lightning! Just behind the pillar of cloud you can see that the opposite shore is lit by the Shekinah fire.

The final picture shows the water crashing down onto the Egyptian chariots! As soon as this set is uploaded to the Bible picture website
I will add a link so that you can view all the pictures.
© G D Kennedy 2010

Moses in the Bulrushes

Recently finished the picture set retelling the story of 'Moses in the Bulrushes'. Picture one shows the Israelites hard at work under their Egyptian task masters. I wanted to include in this picture some of the ancient Egyptian building methods such as the splitting of rocks using wooden wedges and water, and the methods used to transport the huge stone blocks. Picture two shows the midwifes before Pharaoh. Picture 3 (right) shows Jochebed placing baby Moses into the bulrushes. I talk more about egyptian bulrushes here. Jochebed is holding back the tears as she places Moses into the providential care of God. Miriam places a comforting hand on her mothers shoulder. Aaron was 3 years old at this time, (Exodus 7:7), and other sources place miriam at around seven years old. There seems to be some confusion amongst Bible illustrators concerning the age difference between Moses and Aaron, particularly later on in the story when they stand before Pharaoh (which I'm illustrating at the moment). Some children's Bibles show Aaron to be much younger than Moses, and in one I own he's about 40 years older! So, just to clarify this, around the time of the ten plagues Moses was 80, and Aaron was 83 years old. I show Aaron with a slightly more receding hairline!

In picture 4 baby Moses is found by the egyptian princess. I've mentioned before that baby Moses was crying at this point which few artists show. Are there any other points that artists should be aware of concerning baby Moses? Yes, he was a fine looking baby! (Exodus 2:2) If you look closely at picture 4 you can also see Miriam hiding in the bulrushes! In picture 5 Miriam is speaking to the princess, and in picture 6 Jochebed and Miriam come to take baby Moses into their care. Jochebed is walking away, with her back to the princess trying to hide her delight, and Miriam is looking up at her mum, daring not to speak, but with a "we got away with it!" look on her face. In picture 7, Jochebed presents a young toddler Moses to the princess. Moses has brought a little gift for the princess - not a flower, but a bulrush head as a reminder of when she first found him. (that's not in the Bible by the way, it's artist's license!) Picture 8 shows Moses, now a young man, enjoying the privileges of living in the grand Egyptian palace.

There are 8 pictures in this set which brings our total picture count to 840. Look forward to your comments as always.

Related posts
Baby in a Basket

Baby in a Basket

The earliest sources of pictorial information regarding clothing in Bible times comes from the ancient hieroglyphics found in the pyramids and tombs of Egypt. These pictures carved in stone not only provide us with detailed information on Egyptian clothing, they also record the clothing worn by other civilizations such as the Philistines.
Stone carvings found in the temple of Ramesses III for instance shows the armor worn by the Philistine captives. This gives us an indication of what the armor worn by Goliath may have looked like.

I've just finished the picture (above) depicting baby Moses being discovered in the bulrushes by Pharoah's daughter and her handmaidens. Because there is such an abundance of historical reference available for Egyptian clothing, Bible artists have no excuse for getting it wrong. There is one problem though. When producing pictures for children's Bibles we must choose modesty over accuracy! Egyptian handmaidens, (especially when working in water), wore little or no clothing, and much of the cloth used at this time, (due to the hot climate), was a very fine linen which was cool but see-through!
When Harold Copping illustrated the finding of Moses, he chose accuracy over modesty. His depiction of this scene must have caused many a raised eyebrow when it first appeared in the Copping Bible in 1910! It's possible that Copping was influenced by two well known paintings from that period, both with the same title 'The finding of Moses'. The first painted by Frederick Goodall in 1885, the second by Edwin Long in 1886. It would appear that nudity in Victorian paintings was legitimised when depicting either a biblical or historical subject. This fact possibly influenced the Bible artists of that period. It's true to say that Copping's picture would not find its way into a children's Bible today! Although the children's Bible that I have, which does contain this picture, was published as late as 1958.

I've mentioned in the past that there is sometimes the temptation to start illustrating a Bible story before reading it!
We think that we know a particular Bible story so well that there's no need to re-read it. The story of 'Moses in the basket' is one of those stories. When I was reading the story again, I noticed something that every artist who has illustrated it, (at least in all the children's Bibles that I own), has missed. Verse 6 of Exodus 2 clearly says "...the babe wept". In all the pictures that I've seen depicting this scene, Moses is shown to be lying quietly in the basket.

After doing some research I found that the brown torpedo-shaped pods that are often depicted amongst bulrushes by Bible artists are in fact Reedmace. True Egyptian Bulrushes are topped with green pom-pom type heads. (See picture above). This illustrates another point, that Bible artists are heavily influenced by the Bible art that has gone before.
The ark of bulrushes was a vessel made of woven papyrus stalks which was made watertight with a mixture of bitumen and mud, probably from the river Nile. (Mud from the Nile was also used to plaster buildings). I did illustrate this mud covering on the basket but it didn't look as nice as when you could see the basket weave, so I decided to leave it off. This might be the reason why other artists have chosen not to show a mud covered basket also!
Palm trees along the Nile are slightly different too. Rather than the branches forming a complete globe shape, the leaves grow upwards forming a half circle.

I hope this has been helpful. As always, I look forward to your comments.