This spectacular display of the advantages of monotheism, surely must have impressed Akhenaten who would have surely heard about it. In fact it may have been the stories he heard of the conquest of Joshua that converted him to a monotheistic view. Although the connections we have suggested are circumstantial, it would be quite unbelievable that Akhenaten was unaware of the 10 plagues, the 40 years in the wilderness and the conquest of palatine by Joshua. M. Archeological proofs: The Merneptah Stele The Merneptah Stele: Merneptah was the son of the pharaoh Ramesses II who lived 1224 - 1210 BC. Here is the section that discusses Israel. Notice the mention of the Hebrew greeting "Shalom". Also notice the portrayal of Israel as a rural farming nation, just as was true during the time of the Judges when this stele was made. The Merneptah Stele was written during the time of Deborah (Judges 4) who reigned from 1325-1285 BC. Merneptah never actually battled Israel during this time, but boasted like he had conquered Israel. For those who reject the Bible's date of 1440 BC for the exodus and believe it happened in 1250 BC instead, Ramesses II is their "Pharaoh of the exodus" to whom Moses said, , "Let my people go". For the sake of argument, lets assume Ramesses II was the pharaoh of the exodus according to the date of 1250 BC: If the Pharaoh of the Exodus is Ramesses II, then the Pharaoh who fled from Moses was