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Egypt and the Bible

© Copyright 2002, Jim Loy

The Bible mentions Egypt several times. In particular, three stories take place in Egypt, to a large extent:

  1. Joseph is sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers. He is falsely accused by Potiphar's wife, and is imprisoned. He interprets Pharaoh's dreams, saving Egypt (and his own family) during a famine.
  2. Moses as a baby is adopted and raised by Pharaoh's daughter. God talks to him through a burning bush. He tries to negotiate with Pharaoh, to let the Israelites worship in the desert. God causes Pharaoh to refuse, and Egypt is devastated by ten plagues. The Israelites flee (the Exodus); Moses parts the Red Sea so they can walk on dry land; and Pharaoh's troops are wiped out by the waters. The Israelites wander for 40 years.
  3. The young Jesus and his family flee into Egypt from Herod the Great, who ordered the massacre of Jewish children.

No Egyptian document of any of these stories has ever been found. Of course, relatively few Egyptian documents of any kind have been found, only two or three from the reigns of most kings. So, this lack of evidence does not really imply that these events did not happen. In fact, many of the facts of the first two stories sound somewhat authentic. It is uncertain which king was the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Normally Ramses II (about 1292-1225 B. C. E.) is thought to be this Pharaoh, as the dates are about right. The Hyksos (also called Sheppard Kings) ruled Egypt from about 1710 to 1550 B. C. E. They came from somewhere near Canaan. It is assumed that these were not Jewish.

The Bible calls the king of Egypt "Pharaoh." This is apparently Hebrew for the Egyptian "Per-aa," or "Great House." It was one of the titles of the king, in late Egyptian history. And the Bible is the main reason we call the king "Pharaoh" to this day. The Bible also mentions the city On, (Iunu in Egyptian, and Heliopolis in Greek). And it mentions the land of Cush (Kash in Egyptian), which is Nubia or Sudan.

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