Download Sons of Ham: Part III Mizraim (No. 45C)

Christian Churches of God
No. 45C
Sons of Ham: Part III
Mizraim
(Edition 1.5 20070922-20071008)
Mizraim was a son of Ham that played a very important role in the history of the world. Our
current understanding of his descendants and the time-frame in which they lived is dependent upon
a reconstruction of history ordered by Ptolemy II and completed by the Egyptian historian
Manetho. This work and the subsequent Appendices will produce a more correct understanding of
Egyptian History and its place in the world.
Christian Churches of God
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(Copyright  2007 Wade Cox)
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Sons of Ham Part III: Mizraim
Sons of Ham Part III: Mizraim
Introduction
Mizraim or Egypt was the second son of Ham,
as noted in the list of nations in Genesis 10 and
1Chronicles 1. He was also known as Menes or
Min, the first king of the Egyptians who
reigned for about 60 years, according to the
historians Manetho and Herodotus.
Genesis 10:1,6 These are the generations of the
sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth; sons were
born to them after the flood. … 6 The sons of Ham:
Cush, Egypt [Mizraim: KJV], Put, and Canaan.
(RSV)
Mizraim is derived from a Hebrew term, and is
a plural word with the meaning double straits
(SHD 4714, mitsrayim - dual of matsor
(4693)). This duality may refer to the
distinction between the original kingdoms of
Upper and Lower Egypt. The Egyptians
referred to their land as Kmt in the hieroglyphs.
In Assyrian and Babylonian inscriptions Egypt
was known as Musur and Musri, probably from
the word Misr meaning simply, land. The
Ugaritic inscriptions refer to Egypt as Msrm,
while in the Amarna tablets it is called Misri.
The term Misr is still seen in the modern
Arabic name for the nation, Jumhuriyah Misr
al-'Arabiyah (the Arabic Republic of Egypt).
Our term Egypt comes from the Greek
Aiguptos.
In his book Legend: Genesis of Civilisation,
David Rohl gives a different opinion on the
derivation of the name Mizraim.
Amongst the followers of Meskiagkasher [Cush] was his
younger ‘brother’ -- in his own right a strong and
charismatic leader of men. He is the head of the falcon
tribe -- the descendants of Horus the ‘Far Distant’. The
Bible calls this new Horus-king ‘Mizraim’ but this name
is, in reality, no more than an epithet. It means ‘follower
of Asr’ or ‘Asar’ (Arabic m-asr with the Egyptian
preposition m ‘from’). Mizraim is merely m-Izra with the
majestic plural ending ‘im’. Likewise, that other great
Semitic-speaking people -- the Assyrians -- called the
country of the pharaohs ‘Musri’ (m-Usri). We thus learn
that the Semitic name for Egypt -- Masr (Arabic)/Mizr
(Hebrew)/Musri (Akkadian) -- derives from an epithet for
the leader of the Mesopotamian conquerors of the Nile
valley. (Arrow Books Ltd, London, 1999, pp. 451-452)
In Antiquities of the Jews, the historian
Josephus records:
The memory also of the Mesraites is preserved in their
name; for all we who inhabit this country [of Judea]
called Egypt Mestre, and the Egyptians Mestreans.
Now all the children of Mesraim, being eight in number,
possessed the country from Gaza to Egypt, though it
retained the name of one only, the Philistim; for the
Greeks call part of that country Palestine. As for the rest,
Ludieim, and Enemim, and Labim, who alone inhabited
in Libya, and called the country from himself, Nedim,
and Phethrosim, and Chesloim, and Cephthorim, we
know nothing of them besides their names; for the
Ethiopic war (17) which we shall describe hereafter, was
the cause that those cities were overthrown.
(Bk. I, vi, 2)
The Septuagint uses essentially the same term,
Mesrain. Egypt/Mizraim was often known as
the land of Ham (Ps. 105:23,27), much as
Canaan came to be called the land of the
Philistines (Zeph. 2:5) after its most illustrious
inhabitants.
Psalm 105:23 Then Israel came to Egypt; Jacob
sojourned in the land of Ham. (RSV)
Emblematically, Egypt was also referred to as
Rahab (blusterer or arrogant: SHD 7294), as
we see in Psalms 87:4 and 89:10.
Sons of Mizraim
In Genesis 10:13-14 and 1Chronicles 1:11-12,
Mizraim’s “sons” are listed as tribal groups
rather than individuals: the Ludim, Anamim,
Lehabim, Naphtuhim, Pathrusim, Casluhim
(forefathers of the Philistines), and Caphtorim.
1Chronicles 1:11-12 Egypt was the father of Ludim,
An'amim, Le'habim, Naph-tu'him, 12 Pathru'sim,
Caslu'him (whence came the Philis'tines), and
Caph'torim. (RSV)
The Book of Jasher (ch. 10) provides extrabiblical details on these sons.
21
And the children of Mitzraim are the Ludim, Anamim,
Lehabim, Naphtuchim, Pathrusim, Casluchim and
Caphturim, seven families. 22 All these dwell by the river
Sihor, that is the brook of Egypt, and they built
themselves cities and called them after their own names.
23
And the children of Pathros and Casloch intermarried
Sons of Ham Part III: Mizraim
together, and from them went forth the Pelishtim, the
Azathim, and the Gerarim, the Githim and the Ekronim,
in all five families; these also built themselves cities, and
they called their cities after the names of their fathers
unto this day.
Ludim
Although there is a Semite of the same name,
we find that Lud, grandson of Ham, was father
of the Ludim. He was also the first-born of
Mizraim. The Hebrew word is ludiyiy (SHD
3866), meaning to the firebrands: travailings
(BDB). (The descendants of Lud, the fourth son
of Shem, were supposedly the Lydians.)
The entry in the International Standard Bible
Encyclopaedia (ISBE) is as follows:
In Ge 10:13 Ludim appears as the firstborn of Mizraim
(Egypt), and in 10:22 Lud is the fourth son of Shem. We
have therefore to do with two different nationalities
bearing the same name, and not always easy to
distinguish. …
In Isa 66:19 Lud is mentioned with Tarshish and Pul
(generally regarded as a mistake for Phut), Tubal, Javan,
and the isles. Accepting this emendation, the passage
agrees with Jer 46:9, where the Ludim are spoken of with
Kush and Phut as the allies of Egypt; and also with Eze
27:10, where Lud is referred to with Persia and Put as
soldiers of Tyre. Lud, again, is mentioned with Ethiopia
(Cush), Put, all the mingled people, Cab, and the children
of the land which is in league (or, margin "the land of the
covenant"), which were all to fall by the sword (Eze
30:5). …
The existence of Lud in the neighborhood of Egypt as
well as in Asia Minor finds parallels in the Syrian Mucri
of the Assyrian inscriptions by the side of the Mucur
which stood for Egypt, and still more in the Cappadocian
Cush (Kusu) of certain Assyrian letters relating to horses,
by the side of the Cush (Kusu likewise) which stands for
Ethiopia.
Everything points, therefore, to the Semitic Lud and
Ludim being Lydia, and the identification may be
regarded as satisfactory. It is altogether otherwise with
the Egyptian Lud and Ludim, however, about which little
can be said at present. The reference to a city which
seems to be Putu-yawan in an inscription mentioning the
37th year of Nebuchadrezzar, and apparently referring to
an expedition against Amasis, though it may stand for
"Grecian Phut," has very little bearing upon the position
of the Egyptian Lud, especially as the text in which it
occurs is very mutilated. One thing is certain, however:
the Hebrews regarded this Lud and Ludim as being
Hamitic, and not Semitic.
The reference in Isaiah 66:19 seems to locate
the land of Lud in the Mediterranean, whilst
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Jeremiah (46:9) and Ezekiel (27:10; 30:5) place
it squarely in Africa. The likelihood is that it is
in North Africa on the Mediterranean shores.
The Lydians in Asia Minor came into contact
with the Assyrians and with Egypt in the early
Seventh century BCE when their king Gyges
sent an embassy to Ashurbanipal in 668 or 660
(Interp. Dict., Vol. 3, p. 179). Their language
was not known and they were not really
understood until the Persians conquered them
in 546 BCE. Mellink (ibid.) considers the
Lydians of Asia Minor to be neither Hamitic
nor Semitic. However, if they were either it
would be Semitic. We dealt with the probable
movement of the Semite Ludim to the Hindu
Kush at the border of India and beyond into the
Punjab in the papers Sons of Shem (No. 212 AG).
Anamim
The second son of Mizraim has a name
meaning affliction of the waters (anamiym,
SHD 6047), and apparently derives from an
Egyptian word. The Septuagint uses the term
Enemetiim.
An Assyrian text from the time of Sargon II
refers to certain people as Anami, although they
were apparently located in Cyrene, Libya as
Albright suggests and which the Interpreter’s
Dictionary article (Vol. 1, p. 124) says is most
likely. Albright (A Colony of Cretan
Mercenaries on the Coast of the Negeb, JPOS,
1 (1921), pp. 191-2) equates them with the
cuneiform A-na-mi found in a geographical text
from the time of Sargon II and parallel to
Kapara, who were the Caphtorim.
Little else is known of this tribe.
Lehabim
The term Lehabim (SHD 3853; sing. 3851)
means flames or blades. It has been suggested
that these people ought to be identified with the
Lubim, arising from the proposal that “the one
word may be a corruption of the other” (ISBE).
The name Lubim is possibly the same as that of
the country, Libya, to the northwest of Egypt.
Lambdin (Interp. Dict., Vol. 3, p. 110) is of the
same opinion.
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It is probably that the term Lybios as a son of
Mizraim refers to the Ludim and the Lehabim
who were conjoined, as were two other sons of
Mizraim in North Africa, thereby forming the
Philistines and also the Thebans (see above).
Naphtuhim
As the fourth of the tribes descended from
Mizraim, the Naphtuhim have a name which
means openings (SHD 5320, naphtuchiym), and
is considered a word of foreign origin. The
Septuagint gives their name as Nephthalim.
The ISBE entry for this group reads:
A son of Mizraim (Ge 10:13; 1Ch 1:11); but, according
to most modern authorities, a district or a dependency of
Egypt. Among the many efforts at identification the
following deserve notice: Naphtuhim equals (1)
Nephthys (Nephthus) in the Northeast of Egypt; (2) Naptah, i.e. the people of Ptah, the dwellers in the
neighborhood of Memphis; (3) Nathu (according to
Herodotus, Natho), which occurs in Assurbanipal’s
Annals as the name of a part of Lower Egypt; (4) Erman
(ZATW, X, 118), by the change of a letter, reads
Petemhim, which signifies "The Northland"; (5)
Spiegelberg sees in the word an old designation of the
Delta, and would therefore render the name, "the people
of the Delta" (compare Johns, HDB; Skinner and
Holzinger on Genesis).
Brown-Driver-Briggs also suggests that the
Naphtuhim were located in Lower Egypt, and a
connection has been made with Na-Ptah, the
Egyptian word for Memphis. Lambdin in his
article (Interp. Dict., Vol. 3, p. 510) places the
Naphtuhim between the Lehabim (which are
identified with the Libyans) and the Pathrusim
as inhabitants of Upper Egypt, and hence they
are inhabitants of the Delta. He holds that W.
Spielberg’s rendering of Napthuhim is the
Egyptian na-patoh-+-im, where the Egyptian is
a plausible but conjectured late form for “those
of the delta.”
Pathrusim
The Pathrusim (SHD 6625, meaning
southerners) were a tribe located at Pathros
near Thebes in Upper Egypt. The name Pathros
means region of the south (6624), possibly
from the Egyptian Pa-To-Ris. The LXX refers
to the people as the Patrosoniim.
In the apocryphal Book of Jasher, both the
Pathrusim and Casluhim were recorded as the
Sons of Ham Part III: Mizraim
progenitors of the Pelishtim, Azathim, Gerarim,
Githim, and Ekronim, who were associated
with several prominent Philistine cities, such as
Gerar, Gath and Ekron.
The conclusions must be that if they did
conjoin it was by branches. The main branch
went south to Thebes while the cadet branch
joined the Cashluhim and formed the five
Philistine cities and hence also the five names
in Jasher.
The Hebrew Pathros and the gentilic
Pathrusim are derived from the Egyptian p’’-t’’rsy, which is a term used to designate the whole
of Egypt above Memphis.
In the Assyrian material Esarhaddon refers to
himself as the king of Musur, Paturisi, and
Kusi, meaning, from Isaiah 11:11, that Musur
and the Hebrew Misrayim was restricted to
Middle and Lower Egypt, thus leaving Pathros
for the Thebaid.
Jeremiah 44:1,15, Ezekiel 29:14 and 30:14
refer to Pathros as the original home of the
Egyptians. The gentilic Pathrusim occurs only
in Genesis 10:14 and 1Chronicles 1:12.
Casluhim
This “son” of Mizraim was the forefather of
one of the more notable of the tribes, namely
the Philistines (see below). The name Casluhim
(SHD 3695, kasluchiym) means fortified and is
of foreign derivation. The brief entry for these
people in the ISBE reads:
Casluhim—an unknown people—or, according to
Septuagint, of the Casmanim, which would mean
"shavers of the head"—a custom of the Phoenicians
(forbidden to Hebrews as a rule), as known from a
picture of the time of Thothmes III in the 16th century
BC.
These people were associated with the
Capthorim (below) and lived with them on
Crete and possibly in Asia Minor. However,
they are asserted to have come from Caphtor,
which was understood as Crete. They settled on
the seacoast of what became known as
Palestine, from the term Philistine.
Caphtorim
Sons of Ham Part III: Mizraim
The term Caphtorim means crowns (SHD
3732, kaphtoriy) from Caphtor (3731), as “the
original home of the Philistines, perhaps on the
southwest coast of Asia Minor, maybe in Egypt
or close by, or more probably on the island of
Crete” (BDB). They are called Gapthoriim in
the Septuagint.
Capthor first appears in the Akkadian texts as
Kaptara, where it was described as beyond the
Upper Sea and within the sphere of influence of
Sargon of Akkad. References to Kaptara are
found in 18th-century BCE Mari economic
archives and in texts in both Akkadian and
Ugaritic in Ugarit where it is kptr (Greenfield,
art. 'Capthor', Interp. Dict., Vol. 1, p. 534).
The Egyptians refer to a place as Keftiu (kftyw
or kftiw) from what Egyptologists date as 2200
down to 1200 BCE. Egyptologists generally
accept that keftiu is the Egyptian form of
Kaftara/Caphtor and it is clear from all contexts
that it is Crete that is being mentioned. Egypt
had commercial relations with them from 2200
BCE, on their chronology, which we will deal
with in the Appendix (No. 45F) regarding the
dynasties and the time-frames.
It has been suggested that this tribe was in fact
a son of the Casluhim (and thus a grandson of
Mizraim) as with the Philistines. The ISBE
provides several theories on the identity of this
group, the first one considered the most likely.
1. First Theory: Crete:
The country and people whence came the Philistines (Ge
10:14 =1Ch 1:12 (here the clause "whence went forth the
Philistines" should, probably come after Caphtorim); De
2:23; Jer 47:4; Am 9:7). Jer (loc. cit.) calls it an "island";
there is evidence of ancient connection between Crete
and Philistia; and the Philistines are called Cherethites,
which may mean Cretans …. These considerations have
led many to identify Caphtor with the important island of
Crete. It should be noted, however, that the word ‘i, used
by Jeremiah, denotes not only "isle," but also
"coastland."
2. Second Theory: Phoenicia:
Ebers (Aegypten und die Bucher Moses, 130 ff) thought
that Caphtor represented the Egyptian Kaft-ur, holding
that Kaft was the Egyptian name for the colonies of
Phoenicians in the Delta, extended to cover the
Phoenicians in the north and their colonies. Kaft-ur,
therefore, would mean "Greater Phoenicia." But the
discovery of Kaptar among the names of countries
conquered by Ptolemy Auletes in an inscription on the
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Temple of Kom Ombo is fatal to this theory.
3. Third Theory: Cilicia:
A third theory would identify Caphtor with the Kafto of
the Egyptian inscriptions. As early as the time of
Thotmes III the inhabitants of this land, the Kafti, are
mentioned in the records. In the trilingual inscription of
Canopus the name is rendered in Greek by Phoinike,
"Phoenicia." This seems to be an error, as the Kafti
portrayed on the monuments have no features in common
with the Semites. They certainly represent a western type.
However, as we see above, the reference texts
make clear it is Crete that is being mentioned;
but we have to accept that the Ancient Sea
Kings had an expansive trade system and they
may well have had colonies in various places.
The separation of the Casluhim and the
Capthorim may well have been a deliberate
decision of colonisation due to space for the
two tribes.
Philistines
These are among the most frequently
mentioned people in the Bible. Their control
and influence in the Mediterranean was such
that it was once referred to as the “sea of the
Philistines” (Ex. 23:31). The Hebrew term for
them is Pelishtiy (SHD 6430, meaning
immigrants), a patrial from Pelesheth or
Philistia, the land of sojourners.
In his ISBE entry, C.R. Conder seems
convinced that the Philistines were a Semitic
rather than a Hamitic people. In fact, they may
have contained elements of both groups.
The Philistines were an uncircumcised people inhabiting
the shore plain between Gezer and Gaza in Southwestern
Palestine … They are also connected with the Caphtorim
or people of Caphtor, whence indeed they are said to
have come (Jer 47:4; Am 9:7). Caphtor was a
"shoreland," but its position is doubtful (see De :23); the
Caphtorim found an earlier race of Avim living in
"enclosures" near Gaza, and destroyed them. …
Besides these personal names, and those of the cities of
Philistia which are all Semitic, we have the title given to
Philistine lords, ceren, which Septuagint renders "satrap"
and "ruler," and which probably comes from a Semitic
root meaning "to command." It constantly applies to the
rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron, the 5
chief cities of Philistia.
The fact that the Philistines were uncircumcised does not
prove that they were not a Semitic people. Herodotus
(ii.104) says that the Phoenicians acknowledged that they
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took this custom from the Egyptians, and the Arabs
according to this passage were still uncircumcised, nor is
it known that this was a custom of the Babylonians and
Assyrians.
The Septuagint translators of the Pentateuch always
render the name Phulistieim, and this also is found in 8
passages of Joshua and Judges, but in the later books the
name is translated as meaning "strangers" throughout,
because they were not the first inhabitants of Philistia. …
In the Tell el-Amarna Letters we have also (about 1480
BC) letters from chiefs subject to Amenophis III at
Joppa, Ashkelon, Gezer, Lachish and Keilah which show
us a Semitic population, not only by the language of
these letters, but also by the names of the writers. In the
case of Ashkelon especially the Semitic rulers are found
to have worshipped Dagon; and, though the name
"Philistine" does not occur, the race was clearly the same
found by the Assyrians in 800 BC in the land of Palastan
beside the Great Sea. (ISBE)
It must be remembered that in 1480 BCE the
Exodus had not yet occurred but the Hyksos
had recently been expelled. The Canaanites and
Amorites were still in occupation and their
language was identical with Hebrew and
derived from the Akkadian, Sumerian and
Amorite north – yet clearly they were not
Semites. It is thus of no surprise that the
Hamitic Philistines used the Canaanite forms in
communication with them (see also Sons of
Ham Part V: Canaan (No. 45E)).
The Philistines were accomplished and feared
warriors. In one particular battle in the Bible,
they were able to put 30,000 chariots, 6000
horsemen and innumerable troops into the field
(1Sam. 13:5). And, along with the Ammonites,
the Philistines were used directly by God to
punish Israel (Jdg. 10:7). Other nations were
also given the same task at various times,
namely the Egyptians, Amorites, Zidonians,
Maonites (from Moab and Ammon) and
Amalekites (vv. 11-12). However, the
arrogance or pride of the Philistines, perhaps in
their pre-eminent military power, was
condemned in Zechariah 9:6.
In a number of scriptures we see King David
accompanied by a bodyguard of Cherethites
and Pelethites, which most commentators agree
were clans of the Philistines (e.g. Bullinger’s
note on 1Sam. 30:14 in Companion Bible). In
modern terms, this would be the equivalent of
Hamas or Fatah fighters from Palestine (same
Sons of Ham Part III: Mizraim
root as Philistine) serving as a bodyguard to the
current Israeli Prime Minister.
The ISBE article gives a view contrary to the
accepted one regarding these people as
mercenary bodyguards to a king of Israel.
The real explanation of these various words for soldiers
seems simple; and David—being a very popular king—is
not likely to have needed foreign mercenaries; while the
Philistines, whom he had so repeatedly smitten, were
very unlikely to have formed trusty guards. The word
"Cherethi" (kerethi) means a "smiter" or a "destroyer,"
and "Pelethi" (pelethi) means "a swift one" or
"pursuer."… Evidently we have here two classes of
troops—as among the Romans—the heavier regiment of
"destroyers," or "stabbers," being armed with swords,
daggers or spears; while the "swift ones" or "runners"
pursued the defeated foe. … The Pelethi or "pursuers"
may have been "runners" on foot, but perhaps more
probably mounted on camels, or on horses like the later
Assyrians; for in the time of Solomon (1Ki 4:28) horses
and riding camels were in use—the former for chariots.
It seems unlikely that these are merely different
classes of troops, as the nation (or people: Heb.
goyim)
of
Cherethites
is
mentioned
prophetically in Zephaniah 2:5; and the taking
of bodyguards from among other nations,
including former enemies, is not as unusual as
it might appear. As one example, Pharaoh
Amenophis IV (Akhenaton) is said to have
employed Syrians, Libyans and Nubians in his
bodyguard. In fact, kings were often in more
danger from their own countrymen and close
associates than from (former) foreign enemies.
King Elah of Israel, for instance, was killed by
his own chariot commander.
In 2Samuel 15:18, the Cherethites and
Pelethites were included with 600 Gittites from
the Philistine city of Gath (the home of Goliath)
in putting Solomon on King David’s mule and
accompanying him as a declaration of his
kingship. We thus have the remarkable
situation of Cherethites and Pelethites
remaining faithful to the ordained kings of
Israel – both David and Solomon – in contrast
to such men as the normally loyal priest
Abiathar, who uncharacteristically sided with
Adonijah against David’s approved successor,
Solomon. This example may be typical of
Gentiles brought into Israel displaying greater
loyalty and valuing their ‘citizenship’ more
highly than many native-born Israelites.
Sons of Ham Part III: Mizraim
Ironically, the land of the Philistines was also
seen as a place of refuge on several occasions.
Isaac went to Abimelech (meaning Father-king:
apparently an official title, as with Pharaoh of
Egypt) in Philistia when famine was
threatening the land of Canaan (Gen. 26:1).
Similarly, the Shunemite woman was sent to
Philistia by Elisha to escape the seven-year
famine in Israel (2Kgs. 8:1-3). And even David,
former scourge of the Philistines, sought refuge
in the city of Gath when pursued by Saul
(1Sam. 27:1-2).
In 1Samuel 6, we see that while they held the
Ark of the Covenant, the Philistines were given
the chance for salvation – but they did not take
it. In consequence, they effectively invited the
plagues of Egypt upon themselves (see the
paper FAQ Bible Study Old Testament (No.
57)).
In the time of the Judges, Israel experienced 40
years of peace under Gideon (Jdg. 8:28),
followed by 40 years of grief under the
Philistine yoke as purposed by God, until
Samson was raised up to deliver Israel (Jdg.
13:1).
Other papers dealing at length with the
Philistines are Samson and the Judges (No. 73),
David and Goliath (No. 126) and Measuring
the Temple (No. 137).
The prophecies concerning the Latter Days
indicate that this union and trust will again
occur and the remnant of the Philistines and
those of Lebanon and Syria will join the
Greater Nation of Israel and form part of its
administration under the Messiah.
Egyptian origins
The name Egypt comes from the name Hi-kuPtah, which means the House of the Spirit of
the god Ptah. It is of late derivation. Originally
the land was in a strict sense the two banks of
the Nile from the First Cataract northwards to
the region of Cairo – constituting Upper and
Middle Egypt – and then to the Delta, which is
Lower Egypt. As we have seen, Pathros was
Upper Egypt.
Page 7
Shortly after 2000 BCE by current chronology,
Egypt pushed her empire south of the Second
Cataract and shortly after 1500 BCE to the
Fourth Cataract.
For a long time she had laid claims to the oases
west of the Nile, which had been claimed and
settled by the sons of Mizraim.
After 1500 BCE, Egypt carved out an Asiatic
Empire that extended north to the Euphrates but
effectively only retained holdings in Palestine
and Phoenicia. The name Egypt occurred only
late and it was originally called simply the Two
Lands (i.e. Upper and Lower kingdoms) or The
Black Land in contrast to the red desert
surrounding it; or simply “the Land”.
The common delineation of Egypt was termed
“from Migdol to Syene.” The extent was from
the North-east frontier fortress to Aswan
(Syene) at the First Cataract.
Pelusium (Ezek. 30:15) was a frontier fortress.
The major biblical cities were Zoan (Tanis)
and/or Rameses in the commercial East Delta;
On (or Heliopolis) which was in Goshen where
Joseph and the Hebrews and Hyksos made their
home; Memphis at the apex of the Delta near
modern Cairo; Thebes capital city of Upper
Egypt; and Syene (Aswan) at the First Cataract.
Siut was the capital of the agriculturally rich
Middle Egypt or some such other capital over
time – but one was always there.
The inundations of the Nile were seen to
indicate that the gods favoured Egypt over the
surrounding lands. It formed the economic
basis of wealth in Egypt.
There are six cataracts over the course of the
Nile, which flows through sandstone and
limestone, and the harder stone ridges cutting
across the Nile have formed these cataracts.
The White Nile runs four thousand miles from
the Great Lakes of Africa north to the
Mediterranean. At Khartum in the Sudan it
joins the Blue Nile, which originates in
Abyssinia.
There is some effective annual rainfall in the
vicinity of the Fourth Cataract and this allowed
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the Southern sons of Cush to carve out the
territory called Ethiopia. It was subjugated by
Moses but subsequently was powerful from the
eight century BCE onwards. Between the Third
and First Cataracts this land is referred to as
Nubia. Egypt proper lies north of the First
Cataract.
The Nile is at its widest (125 miles) at the
Delta, with two mouths in modern times – but
anciently it had five. The coast of the Delta was
comprised of salt marshes, and the ancient
cities lay twenty-five miles inland from the
Mediterranean and were reached by boat up the
estuaries. There was no city on the coast until
Alexander the Great founded Alexandria.
The Nile is navigated with the assistance of the
cool North wind off the Mediterranean, except
for spring when the South wind blows dust
storms into Egypt and this no doubt assisted the
thick darkness of the spring Passover in the
Exodus (Ex. 10:22-23).
The Southern Cushites were not seen below the
Third Cataract and it was not until Egypt
reached the Fourth Cataract ca. 1500 BCE that
they came into constant contact with the
Southern Cushite Negroes.
Egyptians applied no racial terms to anyone.
They referred to themselves simply as “the
people” and applied geographic terms to those
outside, such as Nubians, Libyans or Asiatics.
As might be expected, Egyptian is related to the
Hamitic languages. Dialects have only been
identifiable in Medieval and Modern Egypt
where there had been a major cleavage in
dialect between Upper and Lower Egypt.
Anciently it was much more standardised by
the function of the priests. However, from a
literary reference we know that it was difficult
for a person from the First Cataract to
understand the speech of the Delta Marshes (cf.
Interp. Dict., art. ‘Egypt’, Vol. 2, p. 42).
We will not concern ourselves here with the
history of Egypt but will leave that until we
deal with the dynasties in Sons of Ham: Part VI
Egyptian Dynasties (No. 45F).
Sons of Ham Part III: Mizraim
The consolidation of Egypt occurred from the
upper area of Abydos, and a family there
conquered the land and formed the first
dynasty. This is generally attributed to Menes
but it appears to have taken some generations to
unify the state. The building of Step Pyramids
began in the Third dynasty, while the Great
Pyramids were built in the Fourth. We will
discuss these aspects in the Appendix.
The Kings were the centre of divine obligation
and thus became the embodiment of the god. It
was not until the Fifth dynasty that two other
“gods” emerged. These were the Sun god Re of
Heliopolis, who became powerful under the
claim that he was the father of the ruling king;
and Osiris became popular as the god of the
Dead.
Prior to the Fifth dynasty there were no
carvings or abstracts of gods. All carving took
the form of animals and the most popular was
the lion, much as it is today in sculpture.
The earliest gods associated with creation were
abstract. Khnumu was father of fathers and
mother of mothers and shaped everything
(Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics (ERE),
Vol. 4, p. 145a). He was father from the
beginning. He made heaven and earth. He made
the gods, and all things.
He was always figured with the ram’s head to
signify his creative powers, and his centre of
worship was at the First Cataract of the Nile.
His assistant, whom he created along with the
other gods we would call elohim in the Bible,
was Ptah, “the Great Artificer.” He shapes the
sun and moon eggs on his potter’s wheel. He is
the god of law and order who created all things
by Maat, which is truth or exactness. This is
the approximation of the Logos using the Holy
Spirit and giving law and order to mankind.
This was the system up until the Fifth dynasty
when Re and Osiris enter the scene and pollute
the theology of Egypt (cf. ERE, ibid.).
Egyptian theology differs from the Semitic in
that the Sky is female and the Earth male,
whereas it is the other way around with those
cultures. It does not, however, diminish the
Sons of Ham Part III: Mizraim
monotheism of the early dynasties and the use
of the Demiurge or Logos, Ptah, as the
instrument of law and order through truth.
We will deal with the gradual pollution of
Egyptian theology with the dynasties as the
patter develops with them.
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people seem to have put away their numerous
gods and worshipped one supreme Deity. (For a
list of their gods, see the paper Moses and the
Gods of Egypt (No. 105).)
We will discuss this process in the Appendix.
Summary
Much idolatry comes from the worship of
ancestors.
Dr. Diop (1923-1986) was an Egyptologist who
claimed that the early Egyptians were black, but
he didn't identify the distinction between the
Hg A, B and C Cushites from the Hg E
Egyptians and Canaanites as he had died before
the science was developed enough to do that
(cf. African Origin Of Civilization and
Civilization Or Barbarism, by Cheikh Anta
Diop). There is no doubt, however, that the
early Egyptians were Hamitic. There was also
interbreeding between the various elements
further up the Nile.
The claims that the early Egyptians were black
are borne out to some extent by the statues and
busts of several Egyptian rulers: they are
unmistakeably ‘African’ in appearance. One
notable example is Queen Tiye, wife of
Pharaoh Amenhotep/Amenophis III and mother
of Akhenaton.
Egypt’s Monotheism
From a genuine, simple past Egypt developed
its cosmology into some 70 gods imitating the
government of God. The demons used them for
their own purposes.
For a very brief period in Egypt’s history, the
The impact that Mizraim or Egypt had on the
world was significant and even today it
captures the imagination of the world.
His sons occupied almost all of North Africa.
The modern Egyptians have a great deal of
Arab influence as well as other Middle-Eastern
and European admixtures.
Once we interlink the dynasties we will
understand the history.
It is important that we continue to develop the
dynasties and to correctly reorganise the timeframes of the nation, and to correct the errors of
Manetho and the evolutionists that follow his
errors and who seek to further extend the timeframes to establish their models.
As one academic said: In the late dynasties
until the Seventh century BCE, we have a deal
of agreement, but the further we go back from
there the less agreement we get until, in the
early periods, we have almost no agreement at
all.
We aim to correct that problem and harmonise
it with the Bible.
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