The commonly accepted narrative is that the Jewish people originated from Egypt (Mitsrayim) and eventually settled in Israel. However, my studies suggest that the Jews may have their origins in the Indus Valley. In this article, I examine eight levels of evidence to compare the Egypt and Indus Valley origins of the Jews.
Textual Evidence
The first evidence is textual: Do the texts of Egypt and the Indus Valley show any evidence of the Exodus? As far as I know, Egyptian literature does not mention a large number of Hebrews or slaves living under distress. The closest they have is the Hyksos, who were once rulers and then left Egypt for the east. This is very different from the Exodus story, which describes Hebrews being enslaved for 400 years in Egypt and then escaping despite the Pharaoh’s opposition. So, first of all, there is no textual evidence outside the Bible of the Exodus of Hebrews from Egypt.
Now we come to India. The first evidence is that Josephus, referring to Aristotle, said that the Jews were from India and the Indians knew them as Kalami.
The second textual evidence is from the Indian epic Mahabharata. Mausala Parv tells of Krishna saying to Vasudeva: “Regarding myself, I will retire to some sacred place and bide my time with the intelligent Balarama in my company, observing strict vows all the while.” Then Vasudeva said, “Having said these words to me, Rishikesh of inconceivable prowess left me with the children and has gone away to some spot which I do not know.”
This indicates that Krishna, whom we identify as Moses, did leave the Indus Valley for an unknown destination. We suggest that this unknown spot is Israel.
Ethnography
The second point is ethnographic: do the present Hebrews or Yadavas in India accept that they are descendants of Moses or Krishna?
The Exodus, according to most scholars, took place around 1446 BCE. However, the World History Encyclopedia states that most scholars believe the final major redaction of these texts occurred after 539 BCE. So, for one thousand years, the narratives were carried orally. By 539 BCE, they may have been changed, redacted, and reduced. It is possible that during this period, the original abode of the Hebrews in the Indus Valley was forgotten. They reidentified the name Mitsrayim with Egypt.
Stephen Knapp, who was born a Christian, says the name Israel is derived from the Sanskrit word “Ishwaraya,” which means the abode of Isha or Krishna. The name Jerusalem is also derived from “Yedu Shalayam” or the Sanskrit “Yedu Ishalayam,” which signifies the township of Lord Krishna. Here we have ethnographic evidence that the Yadavas were from India.
The website Yadav History states that “some scholars seek connections between the Yadavas and Jews.” It also suggests that the basis of Kabbalah, the book of Jewish mystical concepts, has links with the Vedas. The website quotes S. Radhakrishnan, the first president of India, who suggested that the Jews were from India.
In a paper, Amrendra Singh mentions that historians like Godfrey Higgins, Khwaja Neamat Ullah, Gene Matlock, and others have pointed out that Jews are none other than the Yadavas of India, the tribe in which Krishna, the godly figure of Indians, was born.
There is a community called Krishnaot Yadavas in eastern Bihar who claim to be direct descendants of Krishna himself. Therefore, some living people in India do believe they are descendants of Krishna.
Genetic Evidence
Genetic studies have demonstrated that approximately half of the genetic lineage of Ashkenazi Jews may be traced to the ancient Middle East, and the other half to Europe. But the Hebrews left India around 1500 BCE. They intermarried for over a thousand years. Therefore, the present genetic makeup of the Jews might not show a strong connection to Indians.
However, there is a particular gene called R-M124, found in one percent of Ashkenazi Jews. The question arises: how did the R-M124 gene get into the Ashkenazi Jews? A study by Sanghamitra Sahoo points out that there is a high concentration of the R-M124 gene among the Karmalis of West Bengal (100 percent), Kshatriyas of Jaunpur (87 percent), and the Yadav community in Bihar (50 percent). This suggests a strong presence in eastern India.
I hypothesize that when the Indus Valley declined around 1500 BCE, the Yadavas, who lived there and had the R-M124 gene, migrated to Israel. Simultaneously, some migrated to eastern India. This explains the presence of the R-M124 gene in both these regions.
Linguistic Evidence
A study by Benjamin Noonan found that there are 0.64 percent Egyptian loanwords in the chapters of the Bible describing the 40 years in the wilderness.
The question arises that if 0.64 percent of Egyptian loanwords entered Hebrew in 40 years of the wilderness; why did more Egyptian loanwords not enter Hebrew in the 400 years of their stay in Egypt? We would expect a much higher percentage of Egyptian loanwords. Since we do not see this higher percentage, it suggests that the Hebrews were not in Egypt for such an extended period.
A peculiar problem arises from the fact that the Indus Valley script has not been deciphered, making it impossible to determine whether Hebrew borrowed from the Indus Valley or not. However, a chart provided by S.R. Rao, a noted marine archaeologist from India, shows signs in the Indus Valley script from 1900 to 1500 BCE (late Harappans) and from 1500 to 1000 BCE (Northwest Semitic script). According to Rao, 17 out of 23 signs of the Indus Valley script and northwest Semitic are identical. It is, therefore, undeniable that there was an association of the Indus Valley script with northwest Semitic of which Hebrew is a part.
Furthermore, scholars find no connection between Hebrew and Sanskrit. However, Sanskrit evolved after 1500 BCE. The lack of correspondence between Hebrew and Sanskrit may simply mean that the original language of the Indus Valley underwent twofold modification. On the one hand, it became Hebrew. On the other hand, it became Sanskrit.
Archaeological Evidence
In biblical literature, the major archaeological problem arises from the discrepancy between the scriptural account stating that the Exodus took place in 1446 BCE, and the lack of archaeological evidence from Egypt at this time. Mark Jansen, in his famous book “The Five Views of Exodus,” dedicates a chapter to the 15th-century Exodus, acknowledging the absence of archaeological evidence.
This dilemma finds resolution in the Indus Valley. The collapse of the Indus Valley civilization around 1500 BCE makes it plausible that people left the region around 1446 BCE, as mentioned in the Bible. Thus, the archaeological evidence aligns with the Indus Valley on this major point.
Moreover, examining further archaeological evidence sheds light on the conflict between the pharaoh and the Hebrews over the collection of straw for making bricks. In Egypt, mud bricks were used that required only one percent straw for binding, making it illogical for the pharaoh to punish the Hebrews for the collection of straw. However, in the Indus Valley, where baked bricks constituted the major construction material, required around 50 percent straw as fuel and this was crucial. This supports the biblical narrative of the conflict between the pharaoh and the Hebrews having taken place in India.
Additionally, the biblical account of the river turning red finds no archaeological support in Egypt. Scholars have attempted to explain this as an annual event caused by sediment brought by the Nile. This does not align with the Bible which tells of the river becoming blood as a unique event. In the Indus Valley, a significant geological event occurred when the Yamuna River shifted its course from west to east due to a tectonic uplift between 1900 to 1500 BCE. This led to the Yamuna—known as Ghaghara or Hakra downstream—becoming pools that stopped flowing. The word for “blood” in the Bible is derived from Daman which means “stop.”
Parallel Narratives
The sixth point concerns the parallel narratives between the Biblical accounts and those found in Hindu texts. While there are no direct parallels found in Egyptian narratives, there are some indirect references to a person fleeing to Asia and similar themes.
I’d like to present three examples where the biblical narrative finds a verbatim parallel in Hindu texts. The first example involves Moses and Tharbis, the daughter of the king of Ethiopians, falling in love with Moses and sending a messenger to Moses who, then, invaded Ethiopia and married Tharbis. Similarly, in the Hindu texts, Princess Rukmini expresses her love for Krishna, and a faithful messenger is sent to him to arrange their marriage. Both stories mirror each other closely.
The second example is the biblical plague of the river turning into blood, which could symbolize the river’s flow stopping. The Hindu text Bhagwat Purana describes a similar event where the river Yamuna turns into a pool, trapping water and turning it green emerald due to algae. This reflects the same phenomenon of the river’s flow being disrupted.
The third example is the story of Moses returning from Mount Sinai to find his people worshiping a golden calf, which he grinds into powder and makes them drink. After this, the Hebrews killed each other. In the Hindu narrative, the Yadavas ground a cursed pestle into powder and threw it into the sea. The reeds that grew from this power were used by the Yadavas to kill each other. Both stories involve the grinding of a metal object into powder, followed by killings. There are no similar concordances found in Egyptian texts.
Names
The seventh evidence pertains to names found in both the Hebrew Bible and Hindu texts. The book “Egyptian Proper Names and Loan Words in Northwest Semitic” by Yoshiyuki Muchiki has compiled a list of proper names found in both Egyptian and northwest Semitic languages, but notably, the most important names from the Biblical narratives such as Abraham and Moses are missing from this list. Muchiki mentions that the Egyptian or northwest Semitic word for “Moses” does not originate from Egypt, and there is only a small likelihood that the name “Joseph” may be from Egyptian.
Now, let’s consider the Hindu side. I’ve compiled a list of 22 names that have parallels in both the Hebrew Bible and Hindu texts. They appear in the same sequence in both the narratives:
Elohim, whose creative power is denoted by “B-R-” in the Bible, has a parallel in Brahman in Hindu texts, also denoted by “B-R.”
Adam, the first man in the biblical narrative, is parallel to Swayambhu Manu, who is said to have been self-created.
Eve, meaning “life” in Hebrew, is parallel to Shatrupa, the wife of Swayambhu Manu, whose other name, Tanu, also means “life.”
Cain, meaning “spear,” has a parallel in Indira, also meaning “spear.”
Abel’s connection with “vapor” finds a parallel in Vritra’s connection with water.
Noah, also known as Manowach, is parallel to Manu. It’s worth noting that there are two Manus in Hindu texts, with Swayambhu Manu parallel to Adam and Vaivasvat Manu parallel to Noah.
Arphaxad finds its parallel in Ikshwaku.
Shelach, meaning “to sprout,” corresponds to Pithu, who “milked the earth.”
Eber, meaning “the region beyond,” has a parallel in Sagar, meaning “expansion of the sea.”
Peleg, meaning “the channel,” corresponds to Bhagirath, who made a channel for the river.
Reu in the Bible finds its parallel in Raghu in Hindu texts.
Serug is parallel to Shighrag.
Nahor corresponds to Nahush.
Terah finds its parallel in Dasaratha.
Abraham, originally Abram, stands for “father Ram.”
His wife Sarah corresponds to Sita, and his brother Haran to Bharat.
Moses’ father Amram, means “exalted people,” while Krishna’s father Vasudev means “excellent people.”
Moses’ mother Jochebed means “Jehovah is glory,” and Krishna’s mother Devaki means “divine and celestial.”
Moses’ brother Aaron parallels with Krishna’s brother Balarama.
These 22 proper names appearing in the same sequence in Hindu texts offer compelling evidence, compared to only two such names found in both the Bible and Egyptian sources.
Geography
The eighth and final point concerns geography. The Bible mentions three water bodies that the Hebrews either crossed or went near during the Exodus, as described in Exodus 14:21-22, Numbers 33:10, and Numbers 21:4.
In the Indus narrative, the first water body crossed by the Hebrews was the Indus River. The biblical narrative of water being parted and the Hebrews crossing on dry land aligns with the Indus River. This area has several mud volcanoes. If a mud volcano erupted upstream from the point where the Hebrews wanted to cross the Indus River, the flow of the water in the river would have been stopped temporarily. This could have been the time when the Hebrews crossed on dry land. However, mud is easily eroded by flowing water, causing the water to return and drown the pursuing pharaoh.
The second geographical event is related to a volcano. The Bible mentions that when Moses was worshiping God at Mount Sinai, there was noise and smoke, indicating a volcanic eruption. Precisely on the route from the Indus Valley, there is a volcano called Taftan, which is still emitting sulfurous fumes today. There is no volcano in Sinai, but there is a live volcano in Taftan, which could have been where Moses encountered God.
Overall Conclusion
We have considered 8 points of comparison, among which 2 are equal–these are genetic evidence and the Hebrew language. On the other 6 points, we have clear evidence in favor of the Indus Valley. So, if we look at the overall picture, six out of 8 evidence support the Indus Valley, and 2 out of 8 are equally placed. Therefore, I think the time has come to look at the possibility of the Exodus from the Indus Valley seriously.
I want to assure the reader that I am not a Bible-baiter. I am not a Hindu nationalist. I believe that understanding the Bible in the Indus Valley will establish the historicity of the Bible. All the questions that the Bible is a myth will go in one shot. We will show that the Bible is the true scriptural history of the people of the world. So, instead of fighting with each other whether the Exodus took place from Egypt or not, let us look at the larger picture and consider whether the Exodus took place from the Indus Valley and whether these were the Yadava people of India.
See full video: https://youtu.be/k-GMObBu0u0