THE HISTORICAL TRUTH OF EXO 1–18:
a fundamental methodological criterion

Let us name the two following types of literary genres as “historical genres”:

Let us note:

It is worth recalling what Pope Benedict XV wrote in 1920, in the Encyclical Spiritus Paraclitus  [1]: “history (…) must square with the facts, since history is the written account of events as they actually occurred (No. 22).

Then the Pope notes that the Bible does not contain “pseudo-historical narratives” or “such kinds of literature [which] cannot be reconciled with the entire and perfect truth of God’s word” (No. 26)


[1]  Pope Benedict XV, Encyclical Spiritus Paraclitus, Rome, 15 September, 1920. The online editions are for example: