Over the years, especially in the early to mid 20th century, some scholars have suggested that seemingly authentic Egyptian elements in the Bible indicate the historical plausibility of the story of the Egyptian sojourn and exodus of the Israelites, including the story of Joseph, great grandson of Abraham.
John Bright states that Egyptian and Biblical records both suggest that Semitic people maintained access to Egypt at all periods of Egypt's history, and he suggested that it is tempting to suppose that Joseph who, according to the Old Testament (Genesis 39:50), was in favour at the Egyptian court and held high administrative positions next to the ruler of the land, was associated to the Hyksos rule in Egypt during the Fifteenth Dynasty.
Such a connection might have been facilitated by their shared Semitic ethnicity.
However, he noted that there is no proof for these events.
Howard Vos has suggested that the "coat of many colors" said to have been worn by Joseph could be similar to the colorful garments seen in the painting of foreigners in the tomb of Khnumhotep II.

But Ronald B. Geobey notes a number of problems with identifying the narrative of Joseph with events either prior to or during the Hyksos' rule, such as the detail that the Egyptians abhorred Joseph's people ("shepherds"; Gen. 46:31) and numerous anachronisms.
Manfred Bietak suggests that the story fits better with the ambience of the later Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt, in particular with the xenophobic policy of pharaoh Setnakhte (1189–1186 BC).
And Donald Redford argues that "to read [the Joseph story] as history is quite wrongheaded," while Megan Bishop Moore and Brad E. Kelle note the lack of any extra-biblical evidence for the events of Genesis, including the Joseph story, or Exodus.

Scholars such as Jan Assmann and Redford have supported the notion that the story of the biblical exodus may have been wholly or partially inspired by the expulsion of the Hyksos.
An identification with the Hyksos would only depart minimally from accepted biblical chronology, and their expulsion is the only known large-scale expulsion of Asiatics from Egypt.
However, Bietak writes:
[T]he population under Hyksos rule was an urban society allied to trade and seafaring and, for a certain period, ruled Egypt (c. 1640–1530 BC).
They experienced the glory of controlling the Delta and a part of the Nile valley for over 100 years.
However, this is in no way in keeping with the tradition of the Israelites and their experience of oppression in Egypt.
That is why an association of the Hyksos and their people with the Proto-Israelites should be dismissed.

Archaeological evidence suggests that the Israelites primarily emerged natively from Canaan.
A number of scholars do not believe that the exodus has any historical basis at all, while only those on the fundamentalist fringes accept the entire biblical account “unless [it] can be absolutely disproved”.
The current consensus among archaeologists is that, if an Israelite exodus from Egypt occurred, it must have happened instead in the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt (13th century BC), given the first appearance of a distinctive Israelite culture in the archaeological record.
The potential connection of the Hyksos to the exodus is no longer a central focus of scholarly study of the Hyksos.
Nevertheless, many recent scholars continue to posit that the Exodus narrative may have developed from collective memories of Hyksos expulsions from Egypt, and possibly elaborated on to encourage resistance to the 7th century domination of Judah by Egypt.
Over the years, especially in the early to mid 20th century, some scholars have suggested that seemingly authentic Egyptian elements in the Bible indicate the historical plausibility of the story of the Egyptian sojourn and exodus of the Israelites, including the story of Joseph, great grandson of Abraham. John Bright states that Egyptian and Biblical records both suggest that Semitic people maintained access to Egypt at all periods of Egypt's history, and he suggested that it is tempting to suppose that Joseph who, according to the Old Testament (Genesis 39:50), was in favour at the Egyptian court and held high administrative positions next to the ruler of the land, was associated to the Hyksos rule in Egypt during the Fifteenth Dynasty. Such a connection might have been facilitated by their shared Semitic ethnicity. However, he noted that there is no proof for these events. Howard Vos has suggested that the "coat of many colors" said to have been worn by Joseph could be similar to the colorful garments seen in the painting of foreigners in the tomb of Khnumhotep II.
But Ronald B. Geobey notes a number of problems with identifying the narrative of Joseph with events either prior to or during the Hyksos' rule, such as the detail that the Egyptians abhorred Joseph's people ("shepherds"; Gen. 46:31) and numerous anachronisms. Manfred Bietak suggests that the story fits better with the ambience of the later Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt, in particular with the xenophobic policy of pharaoh Setnakhte (1189–1186 BC). And Donald Redford argues that "to read [the Joseph story] as history is quite wrongheaded," while Megan Bishop Moore and Brad E. Kelle note the lack of any extra-biblical evidence for the events of Genesis, including the Joseph story, or Exodus.
Scholars such as Jan Assmann and Redford have supported the notion that the story of the biblical exodus may have been wholly or partially inspired by the expulsion of the Hyksos. An identification with the Hyksos would only depart minimally from accepted biblical chronology, and their expulsion is the only known large-scale expulsion of Asiatics from Egypt. However, Bietak writes:
[T]he population under Hyksos rule was an urban society allied to trade and seafaring and, for a certain period, ruled Egypt (c. 1640–1530 BC). They experienced the glory of controlling the Delta and a part of the Nile valley for over 100 years. However, this is in no way in keeping with the tradition of the Israelites and their experience of oppression in Egypt. That is why an association of the Hyksos and their people with the Proto-Israelites should be dismissed.
Archaeological evidence suggests that the Israelites primarily emerged natively from Canaan. A number of scholars do not believe that the exodus has any historical basis at all, while only those on the fundamentalist fringes accept the entire biblical account “unless [it] can be absolutely disproved”. The current consensus among archaeologists is that, if an Israelite exodus from Egypt occurred, it must have happened instead in the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt (13th century BC), given the first appearance of a distinctive Israelite culture in the archaeological record. The potential connection of the Hyksos to the exodus is no longer a central focus of scholarly study of the Hyksos. Nevertheless, many recent scholars continue to posit that the Exodus narrative may have developed from collective memories of Hyksos expulsions from Egypt, and possibly elaborated on to encourage resistance to the 7th century domination of Judah by Egypt.
Hyksos