Download Egypt and Pharaoh

Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov
Where was he born?
 When did he live?
 What civilizations did he encounter?
 Details of his life

Ur Kasdim
 Haran
 Mitzrayim
 Sodom




The war between the four kings and the five
The destruction of cities of Sodom
Malkitzedek
Avimelech
 Purchase of Ma’aras Hamachpelah from Ephron

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
Avraham was born
approximately 1813 or
1976 BCE
It is generally assumed to
be the city of Ur in
southern Mesopotamia
since it is near what will
be the Babylonian
civilization its people are
known in Hebrew as
‫כשדים‬Kashdim
Ur had been one of the
largest cities in the world.
It was well developed with
several law codes having
already been given by
strong leaders
Map of Middle East
Until it was destroyed by the
Elamites in about the year
2000 BCE
 Somewhere between 24 and
187 years before Avraham was
born
 It was rebuilt but much smaller
than previously
‫ פרשת נח בראשית י"א ל"א‬
‫ַאבָרם ְבנֹו ְו ֶּאת לֹוט ֶּבן‬
ְ ‫ִּקח ֶּתַרח ֶּאת‬
ַ ‫ וַי‬
‫ָהָרן ֶּבן ְבנֹו ְו ֵאת ָשַרי ַכ ָלתֹו ֵא ֶּשת‬
‫ֵצאּו ִּא ָתם ֵמאּור ַכ ְש ִּדים‬
ְ ‫ַאבָרם ְבנֹו ַוי‬
ְ
‫ַען ַוָיבֹאּו ַעד ָחָרן‬
ַ ‫ַאר ָצה ְכנ‬
ְ ‫ָל ֶּל ֶּכת‬
:‫ֵשבּו ָשם‬
ְ ‫ַוי‬
 Terach took Avram his son and
Lot the son of Haran his
grandson and Sari his daughterin-Law the wife of Avram and
the left Ur Kasdim to go to the
land of Canaan and the came
until Haran and they settled
there.

Ur Ruins Including
Reconstructed Ziggurat




Mosque in Turkey Set on the Site
of Avraham Avinu’s Birth
In Urfa, Southern Turkey

The Muslims have a
tradition that Urfa in
southern Turkey is the
birth place of Avraham.
They have put a shrine
on the site.
Urfa is very close to the
agreed upon site of
Harran.
Is that proof that Urfa is
‫ אור כשדים‬or not?
People did write in
cuneiform the same
language as in southern
Mesopotamia



The location of ‫ חרן‬is
well established in
southern Turkey
The larger area in which
it is located is ‫ארם‬
‫ נהריים‬since it is
located between the
Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers
‫ ארם‬is the name of a
people living in this
area of Syria at the
time.
City of Harran
with typical beehive homes

It was an
important
stop in the
caravan
routes from
Mesopotamia
to Anatolia
and south to
Israel and
Egypt
The Gemorah tells us
that ‫ אברהם‬was 75
years old when he
left ‫חרן‬
 He almost
immediately leaves
Israel for Egypt
 When?



1976BCE +75 = 1901BCE
1813BCE +75 = 1738 BCE
In Egypt he claims
‫ שרה אמנו‬was his
sister.
 The Royal family
practiced incest with
half sisters.
 Commoners did not
but they did often
refer to their wives as
“sister.”

King Tutankhamen
His Father and Mother were
siblings and he married his
half-sister

Egyptian History

Early Dynastic period



Old Kingdom

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



Dynasties 13 – 17
1720 BCE – 1550 BCE
New Kingdom



Dynasties 11- 12
2030 BCE – 1720 BCE
Second Intermediate Period


Dynasties 7 – 10
2134 BCE- 2030 BCE
Middle Kingdom


Dynasties 3 – 6
2686 BCE – 2134 BCE
First Intermediate Period


Dynasties 1-2
3100 BCE – 2880 BCE
Dynasties 18- 20
1550 BCE – 1096BCE
Third Intermediate Period


Dynasties 21 – 25
1096BCE – 664BCE
Who was the Pharaoh
when ‫אברהם אבינו‬
was there?
 What was the
political situation in
the country?




Avraham was in Egypt
1901 BCE during the
Reign of Pharaoh
Amenemhat II
According to Wikipedia
“Not much is known
about his reign. He
ruled Egypt for 35 years
from 1929 BCE to 1895
BCE”
Or possibly during the
reign of his successor
Senusret II there is
little relevant
information about his
reign either
A Great sphinx thought to have
been originally carved for
Amenemhat II, now on display
in the Louvre, Paris

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
Avraham was in Egypt in
1738 BCE
Which was in the
Second intermediate
period
According to Manetho
the Hyksos invaded
Egypt
The Hyksos invasion
shattered the unity of
the country
Smaller Egyptian
provinces or Nomes
fought back




Avraham was in Egypt in
1738 BCE
Which was in the
Second intermediate
period
According to modern
historians the Hyksos
peacefully migrated
into Egypt
Lack of central
government allowed
unchecked immigration
that changed the
culture of Egypt in
places and gave rise to
Hyksos states
A group of Asiatic peoples (perhaps
the future Hyksos) depicted entering
Egypt c.1900 BC from the tomb of a
12th dynasty official Khnumhotep
under pharaoh Senusret II at Beni
Hasan
There is no historical
evidence for the war
 There is also no
historical evidence
for the destruction of
‫ ערי הככר‬or Sodom
and Gomorrah
 However, as we have
said lack of evidence
does not mean that it
did not happen.

Salt Dunes Near the Dead Sea
‫ ירושלים‬has been
continually occupied
since 3000 BCE
 It lies on the road
from the Red Sea to
the north
 It has a permanent
water supply
 It has a temperate
climate and is close
to arable land

The tiny clay fragment – dating
from the 14th century B.C.E. –
found by Hebrew University
archaeologists in excavations
outside Jerusalem’s Old City walls
contains the oldest written
document ever found in
Jerusalem. (Photo: Sasson Tiram)
Lived a private
 The wells mentioned
in the Torah do exist
at the center of
ancient cities
 No other evidence of
his life could be
expected to remain

‫מערת המכפלה‬
Left over from the Avraham
slides
Lived with ‫ לבן‬in
Harran
 Was a shepherd for a
while
 There is no evidence
for Shimon and Levi’s
attack on Shechem
 However, Shechem
was destroyed 22
times and rebuilt
before 200 CE

Mt. Ebal
Event
Date
accordin
g to ‫חז"ל‬
Egyptian
History
Date
Egyptian
according to History
historians
Abraham's
birth
1813 BCE
Middle
Kingdom
1976 BCE
Middle
Avraham going 1738 BCE
to Eretz Yisroel
2nd Inter.
1901 BCE
Middle
Birth of Yitzack 1713 BCE
Middle
1876 BCE
Middle
Birth of Yaakov
1653 BCE
2nd Inter.
1816 BCE
Middle
Birth of Yosef
1559 BCE
2nd Inter.
1722 BCE
2nd Inter.
Yosef in Egypt
1529 BCE
2nd Inter.
1692 BCE
2nd Inter.
Death of
Yaakov
1512 BCE
New
1675 BCE
2nd Inter.
Death of Yosef
1459 BCE
New
1622 BCE
2nd Inter
Exodus from
Egypt
1313 BCE
New
Kingdom
1476 BCE
New
Kingdom
 Death
of Yosef till
Leaving Egypt



146 years
‫ חז"ל‬1459-1313BCE
Historians 16221476 BCE
 Exodus



from Egypt
Bondage
Storehouses
Pharaoh of the
Exodus
 Conquest
of
Yehoshuah

Archeological
evidence
 The
times of the
Judges

The Jewish people
in the Canaanite
world