I missed it the first time, but the Discovery Channel re-aired the 2006, James Cameron-produced special called “Exodus Decoded” the other night. It was impressively presented, though it contains a lot of dubious conjecture, unfounded leaps, and unwarranted dot connecting. The film goes to great lengths to try to explain the plagues, wonders and miracles of the Exodus story as natural phenomena associated with the eruption of the super-volcano Santorini off the coast of Greece.

What struck me as enormously significant was something that the presentation only mentions in passing. It seems the Egyptian government may, for political and ideological reasons, be deliberately supressing archaeological evidence that supports the biblical accounts of Genesis (Joseph) and the Exodus. A couple of key sites in Egypt were closed to the producers of the program.

It’s not hard to understand why. Evidence that testifies of a Jewish presence in Egypt, the Sinai, and Canaan going back 3500 years would be darned inconvenient for Islamists who contend the State of Israel is illegitimate.