Page 21 - Advanced Biblical Backgrounds Revised

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
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out of Israel on and toward the promised land of Canaan.

The Government of Egypt:

The Hebrews came to Egypt in 1976 BC. At the
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time, Egypt was in her Middle 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 claiming
they alone could offer true justice. These claims
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were also backed up 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
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pyramids were smaller, less expensive structures than those of the Old Kingdom. An example of the
greater Old Kingdom pyramids is found at Giza in the Valley of the Kings. Even the artwork
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commissioned by the kings of this period emphasized the heavy burden of kingship or portrayed the
king as a shepherd looking after the nation.
36

Either Sesostris III and Sesostris II were the rulers during Joseph’s time in Egypt or simply Sesostris III.
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Joseph appears to have occupied the position of the vizier, a position that involved significant authority.
His family came during his service to escape the famine in Canaan. Over time their numbers grew.
Joseph died, and a new Pharaoh enslaved the Jews as they were becoming so numerous, that they were
thought to have posed a threat to the government of Egypt. This same threat led to the slaughter of the
sons from which God saved Moses.

The Religion of Ancient Egypt:

As we have already seen with Canaan, the Egyptians personalized the forces of nature and saw
themselves as living in relation to themselves. The scale of their worship, however, seems to have been
much more elaborate. Specifically, the Egyptians thought of the Nile, the sun, the moon, and earth, and

31 John Holmes, Biblical Backgrounds course material. Map of Egypt used with permission.
32 Voss, Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Manners and Customs, 48.
33 Ibid., 46.
34 Ibid., 47.

35 John Holmes, Biblical Backgrounds course material. Giza Pyramids picture used with permission.
36 Voss, Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Manners and Customs, 49.
37 Ibid., 49.

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