“Mathura: Biblical Mitsrayim and Quranic Misra?”
We suggest that Vaivaswat Manu, Rama, and Krishna lived in the Indus Valley. These were the same persons whom the Bible and Quran refer to as Noah or Nuh, Abraham or Ibrahim, and Moses or Musa. The Bible and the Quran say that Moses led the Exodus from Mitsrayim or “Misra” to Yisrael. A difficulty in this suggestion is that Mitsrayim or “Misra”—from where Moses led the Exodus—is identified with Egypt. This would mean that Moses led the Exodus from Egypt to Yisrael. In this post, we will examine whether he may have led the Exodus from Mathura in the Indus Valley instead.
Noah, 3000 BCE
The Bible says that a grandson of Noah named Mizraim established the place named Mitsrayim around 3000 BCE. At this time the Egyptians called themselves “Kmt” and not Mitsrayim or “Misra.”
How many years ago was Abraham on earth?
The Bible says Abraham had traveled to the south and sojourned at Mitsrayim around 2100 BCE. The Quran says that Abraham’s great-grandson Joseph was sold at “Misra,” maybe a hundred years later. At this time also the Egyptians called themselves “Kmt.”
Indeed, the Akkadian Empire located on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Ancient Iraq used the name “Misrii” for its border areas beginning around 1950 BCE.[i] However, evidence for the use of the name Misrii by the Egyptians for themselves is not available at this time. Also, the connection of this “Misrii” with Egypt is uncertain because the borders of the Akkadian Empire were restricted to the Tigris-Euphrates Basin located about 1600 kilometers away from Egypt. [i] M. Civil, I. J. Gelb, A. L. Oppenheim, E. Reiner (Eds.), The Assyrian Dictionary Of The Oriental Institute Of The University Of Chicago, 1977, Volume 10, Part 2, p. 113.
Moses 1500 BCE
Moses led the Exodus from Mitsrayim or “Misra” around 1500 BCE. At this time also the Egyptians called themselves “Kmt.”
The Amarna Tablets indicate that the communications between the Akkadians and Egyptians referred to Egypt as Misrii beginning in 1363 BCE. The Egyptians also referred to themselves as Misrii at this time. It appears that the name Misrii was applied to Egypt located on the “borders” of Akkad about 1600 kilometers away at this time.
Mitsrayim or Misra in Egypt?
Now we examine whether Biblical Mitsrayim or Quranic “Misra” could refer to Egypt. The first point is that the Egyptians called themselves by the name “Kmt” at the time of Noah, Abraham, and Moses, and not by the name Misrii. The second point is that the Hebrews were located in Canaan on the Mediterranean Coast after they entered Yisrael. This is located about 800 kilometers from the Akkadian Empire. Therefore, it is less likely that the Akkadians borrowed the name Misrii from the Hebrews. The third point is that the contact between the Hebrew and Akkadian languages took place in the 6th century BCE when the Hebrews were exiled from Yisrael to Babylon. This reinforces the point that Akkadian Misrii is less likely to refer to Biblical Mitsrayim or Quranic “Misra” before this time.
Mitsrayim or Misra in the Indus Valley?
Now we examine whether Biblical Mitsrayim or Quranic “Misra” could be located at Mathura in the Indus Valley. The main point is that the name Mathura is attested in the Epics Ramayana at c. 2100 BCE and Mahabharata at c. 1500 BCE. Thus the name Mitsrayim or “Misra” is owned by the Hindus in its variant Mathura at the time of Abraham and Moses at least.
Does Mizraim mean Egypt?
So how did Mitsrayim get connected to Egypt? The first five chapters of the Bible known as the Torah were lost at an unspecified time and retrieved in the 7th century BCE. Then the Hebrews were exiled from Yisrael to Babylon in the 6th century BCE. It is plausible that the Hebrews forgot the location of Mitsrayim in the Indus Valley during these times of trouble. The Hebrews may have seen that the Nile Valley resembles their ancient homeland of Mathura in the Indus Valley after the first five chapters of the Bible were reclaimed since both were located in the basin of a major river. The Hebrews may have applied the name Mitsrayim to Egypt at this time somewhat like the migrants from England applied the name York to a place in America and named it New York. Later the Arabs may have adopted this tradition because the earliest evidence for the Old Arabic language is available from 1st century CE only.
In conclusion, there are two reasons why Biblical Mitsrayim or Quranic “Misra” could refer to Mathura in the Indus Valley. One, the Egyptians called themselves by the name “Kmt” while the people of the Indus Valley owned a place named Mathura. Two, the contact between the Hebrew and Akkadian languages took place only in the 6th century BCE. Therefore the Biblical Mitsrayim, Quranic “misra” and Akkadian Misrii are less likely to refer to the same place before this time. It follows that Moses, known as Krishna, could have led the Hebrews, known as Yadavas, from Mathura in the Indus Valley, and this place is mentioned as Mitsrayim in the Bible and “Misra” in the Quran.