Exodus 13:17 And it came to pass when let goPharaoh את־ the people go, that Elohim led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; because Elohim said, Perhaps the people will change their minds when they see war and they will return to Egypt. C-MATS
Question: Why did יהוה take his people into the desert? Since the war-like Philistines were sure to fight the Hebrew “invaders’, יהוה knew that the people would lose heart and return to Egypt. יהוה took them so far from Egypt that it would be difficult for them to consider returning. If the return had been quick and easy, some would have attempted the journey back to Egypt. יהוה wanted them to be in circumstances where they would have to see constant miracles in order to survive. This would teach them to walk in faith. Chumash
Question: Do we have an eyewitness account of the events that took place in Egypt? After his successor’s death, the Old Kingdom of Egypt fell into utter and complete ruin. A papyrus dating from the end of the Old Kingdom was found in the early 19th century in Egypt. It seems to be an eyewitness account of the events preceding the dissolution of the Old Kingdom. Its author, an Egyptian named Ipuwer, writes:
“Plague is throughout the land. Blood is everywhere. The river is blood. That is our water! That is our happiness! What shall we do in respect thereof? All is ruin! Trees are destroyed. No fruit or herbs are found… Forsooth, gates, columns, and walls are consumed by fire. Forsooth, grain has perished on every side. The land is not light [dark].” Source: A.H. Gardiner, Admonitions of an Egyptian Sage from a hieratic papyrus in Leiden (1909)