Page 16 - Biblical Backgrounds student textbook

The Location of Egypt:

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Vos notes that it is often said that Egypt is the gift of the Nile.
The reason for saying this is that there is almost no rainfall in the
country. Vos asserts that the total rainfall in the region is between
8 to 1.5 inches. Therefore, without the Nile, there would be no
Egypt. As mentioned above, the Nile provides the water for the
irrigation of the crops and water for drinking and for other daily
needs. The Nile has historically made the region enormously
agriculturally productive.

In addition to serving as the provider of the region’s food, the Nile
also serves as the region’s main highway. Due to the wind
patterns and the weak current, it is easy for boats to travel
Northward through the region. The Nile also met other needs. The
clay on its banks, for instance, could be made into houses as well
as into pottery. Papyrus on its banks was also used for making
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writing materials and flax.

Egypt is made up of two regions. Lower Egypt and the Nile Valley.
Lower Egypt is shaped somewhat like a piece of pie. It is about
125 miles from North and South and about 115 miles from East to
West.

Situated as it is on the banks of the Mediterranean Sea, shipping was a source of wealth and trade as
well. To the East the Sinai Peninsula provided a land trade route between Asia and Egypt. This route
traveled through Egypt. So Egypt’s physical location was highly important and is a reason that Egypt rose
to become a world power. One of the routes over the Sinai Peninsula was likely the route Joseph was
brought when sold into captivity by his brothers. It is also one of these routes that Moses led the people
out of Israel on and toward the promised land of Canaan.
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The Government of Egypt:

The Hebrews came to Egypt in 1976 BC, according to Vos. At the time, Egypt was in her Middle
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Kingdom (c. 2000-1775 BC). In this period, a feudal style regime ruled, in contrast to the absolute power
that the pharaohs possessed during the Old Kingdom which was some 200+ years earlier. Vos argues
that the kings tried to win over the people from their allegiance to local leaders (“nomarchs”) by
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claiming they alone could offer true justice. Again, according to Vos, these claims were also backed up
30
by spending on projects that had public benefits such as canals and land reclamation projects. While
the pharaohs still built pyramids during the mid-kingdom period, these pyramids were smaller, less
expensive structures than those of the Old Kingdom. An example of the greater Old Kingdom pyramids is

25 Ibid.
26 Ibid., 46.
27 John Holmes, Biblical Backgrounds course material. Map of Egypt used with permission.
28 Voss, Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Manners and Customs, 48.
29 Ibid., 46.
30 Ibid., 47.

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