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BIBLE LANDS NOTES: Egypt
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Egypt
Egypt is a country occupying the northeastern part of Africa. The history of
Egypt brings it into direct contact with that of the Bible history, most
prominently in the period beginning with Joseph and concluding with
Moses.
The Biblical name for Egypt is “Mizarim,” given in Genesis 10:6 as a son of
Ham.
• “Egypt” appears over 600 times in the Bible.
• “Egyptian” appears an additional 124 times.
• The Hebrew word for “Nile” appears some 52 times.
The history of a united Egypt began with Menes, the first pharaoh of the
first dynasty when he united Upper and Lower Egypt and began a series of
thirty dynasties.
• The thirty dynasties covered Egyptian history from 3,000 B.C. to
Roman times.
• The 4th dynasty, which began in 2613 B.C., was known as the
pyramid age.
• The patriarchs of the Bible are thought to have lived during the time
of the 11th and 12th dynasties
• It is though that Joseph entered Egypt sometime during the 15th or
16th dynasty.
• The exodus is believed to have taken place during the 18th dynasty,
though no general agreement exists about the date. Both 1290 and
1447 B.C. have been suggested.
• If the earlier 1447 B.C. date is correct, the:
- Thutmoses 111 1404-1450 B.C.) was the pharaoh of the
oppression of the Israelites.
- Amenhotep 11(1450-1425) was the pharaoh of the exodus.
• If the later 1290 B.C. date is correct:
- Seti 1(1318-1302) was the pharaoh of the oppression.
- Ramses 11)1302-1237 B.C.) was the Pharaoh of the exodus.
• Tutankhamon (1361-1352 B.C. ), known as King Tut, ruled during
BIBLE LANDS NOTES: Egypt
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the 18th dynasty.
Because the exact dater of the Exodus is unsure, it is not known
whether Moses lived before or after King Tut.
The pyramids were over one thousand years old when Tut and
Moses lived in Egypt.,
The modem city of Cairo was founded in A.D. 638 by Arab conquerors who
exploited the ruins ofMemphis for building materials.
Ancient Memphis was located on the Nile some ten miles south of the
modern Cairo.
Egypt was a place of refuge for Abraham in the time of famine (Genesis
12:10), as it was for the Israelites in the days of Joseph after he was sold
as a slave and later became God’s instrument for
preserving Israel as a nation. Genesis 45:5
The story of Joseph leads naturally into that of the oppression of Israel,
their bondage and slavery for 400 to 430 years, then their deliverance
under the leadership of Moses (Exodus 1-12). From this point on Israel
had little contact with Egypt until the time of Solomon when he married a
daughter of Pharaoh. 1 Kings 9:16
The Israelites left Egypt, numbering 603,550 men. The total number of
people may have been over 2,000,000.
The rebel king Jeroboam fled to Egypt before leading ten of Israel’s twelve
tribes into political rebellion and idolatry. 1 Kings 12:2
Egypt became involved in the political alliances of Judah, Israel, Syria, etc.,
against the growing power of Assyria. Josiah’s attempt at Megiddo to keep
Egypt from joining Assyria against Babylon, led to his death. 2 Kings 23
Jesus and His parents, Mary and Joseph, took refuge in Egypt when Herod
ordered all male babies under two years of age to be killed. Matthew 2:1323
The Pyramids
There are somewhere between 90 and 100 pyramids in various groups
along an 80 mile stretch of the Nile River just south of Cairo.
Pyramids have been called “Houses for Eternity.”
Most of the pyramids were built in the period from 2700 to 2400 B.C.
The Step Pyramid at Sakkara
The oldest known pyramid is the step pyramid located in Sakkara, less than
ten miles south of Cairo, dating to about 2700 B.C.
The base of the step pyramid measures some 389 by 462 feet.
Its height stood at 204 feet.
BIBLE LANDS NOTES: Egypt
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The Three Pyramids of Giza
The pyramids of Giza were in place when Abraham, Jospeh, Moses, and
Christ entered Egypt.
The three pyramids of Giza are:
The Pyramid of King Khufu (called Cheops by the Greeks).
The Pyramid of King Khafre (Chephren). Khafre was the son of Khufu.
• The Pyramid of King Menkaure (Mycerinus). Mycerinus was the
grandson of Khufu.
• The pyramids at Giza take on different colors during the day.
• Silver in the moonlight
• Gold at noon
• Gray at dawn
• Rose in the sunset
The largest pyramid of all is the Great Pyramid at Giza, built for King Khufu.
Originally 481.8 feet high, but now about 450 feet high.
• 6,000,000 tons of hand-cut stone.
• Base of pyramid is 756 feet along each side, covering more than 13
acres (seven city blocks)
• Contains more than 2 million stone blocks weighing 2j tons each.
• Five major European catherals, including St. Peter’s in Rome and
St. Paul’s in London, could be housed within it.
• An old saying: “Time fears no one. But time fears the pyramids.”
• An Arab proverb: “Man fears time and time fears the pyramids.”
The Great Sphinx
Situated near the pyramid of Khafre on the plateau of Giza, the Great
Sphinx has the head of a man and the body, feet, and tail of a lion. Has
existed for about 4,500 years. Some say twice that.
Sphinxes became a symbol of divine protection.
Historians believe the sphinx’s face is a portrait of Khafre, who probably
had the monument built.
240 feet long, about 66 feet high, and 13.8 feet wide. The width of its face
measures 13 feet and 8 inches.
The Valley of the Kings
The pyramid age drew to a close around 2150 B.C.. Nearly all the
Pharaohs from Tuthmosis (1504 B.C.) to Ramses XI (1070 B.C.) chose to
be buried in the Valley of the Kings. Far away from the flood plain, the
valley lay deep in the cliffs to the west of the Nile.
• The valley was an active burial place for over 420 years.
• Some 28 Pharaohs were buried in the Valley of the Kings.
The usual pattern for the tombs included:
• A deep corridor known as The Way of the Sun God.
BIBLE LANDS NOTES: Egypt
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• The Hall of Gold where the king was buried
King Tut’s Tomb
Of the tombs found thus far, Tutankhamum’s (King Tut) tomb is the only
one that has not been plundered.
• Tutankhamun was a boy-king who ruled for nine years.
• (King Tut) are the only one not plundered before 1000 B.C. “Buried with
a king’s ransom.”
• A four room tomb hallowed out of limestone some 13 feet below the
ground surface.
• Sixteen steps led down to the entrance where a 27 foot tunnel
appeared.
• 5,000 objects found, of which some 1,703 were in the burial chamber
itself.
• The king had 143 pieces of jewelry on his body.
• The lid of the sarcophagus weighed 3,000 pounds.
• The body shaped-coffin inside the sarcophagus was made of pure gold
and weighed 2,450 pounds.
• It took ten years to remove the treasures form King Tut’s tomb.
Discovered by Howard Carter on the morning of November 4, 1922. Carter
had been searching for the boy king’s tomb for eighteen years.
Between 1902 and 1914, the lawyer-excavator Theodore Davis is said to
have found no less than thirty royal tombs, all of which had been
plundered. In 1912 he declared, “I fear that the valley of the tombs is now
exhausted.”
The Temple of Amon At Karnak
(Thebes – Luxor)
Temples in Egypt have been called “Mansions of the Gods.”
The temple of Amon at Karnak is Located on the east bank of the Nile
River.
Built in honor of Amon-Re.
Egypt’s largest temple.
Covered an area measuring some 400 by 500 yards.
The great Hypostyle (Greek meaning “resting on pillars”) hall had some 134
columns, 80 feet tall, and 33 feet in circumference.
The Great Harris Papyrus in the British Museum in London, records that
during the reign of Ramesses II, around 1150 B.C., 81,322 men worked in
the temple at Karnak, tending over 400,000 livestock.