I.
INTRODUCTION
Egypt
derives its name from the Greek word “Aigyptos”
and the Egyptian word “Ha(t)-ku-Pta(h)”,
which means “Mansion of the ka-spirit
of (the god) Pta(h).”[1] The Egyptians as described
by L. Bull, have no ideas of history in the modern sense.[2] Their history is dated in
accordance to important events which happened in the years of the reigns of
their successive kings.
The
history of ancient Egypt, though not always precisely recorded chronologically,
could be traced and constructed from the inscriptions found on the oldest
monument known as Parlemo Stone, or a list of kings called the Table of Kings
inscribed on the Karnak Temple at Thebes during the reign of Thutmose III, or two
mutual duplicated lists of kings inscribed under Seti I and Rameses II in their
great temples at Abydos, or a list inscribed on the tomb chapel of the official
Tjunuroy at Saqqara, or Turin Canon of Kings made on the reverse of an old tax
register during the reign of Rameses II. These sources of historical data, both
chronographic literature and legendary epic, provide evidences for us when looking
at Manetho, an Egyptian priest, of his compilation work called “Egyptian
History”.[3]
II.
THE
EGYPTIAN HISTORY & ITS DEVELOPMENTS
Ancient
Egyptian history is divided into chronological periods of 31 dynasties, with
“kingdoms” being eras of united political power where the Pharaohs ruled over
both the Upper & Lower Egypt, and “intermediates” which were periods of
disunity in political power where different kings ruled over the Upper and
Lower Egypt in parallel. By 525B.C. Egypt had fallen into the hands of the Persian
kings. Subsequently Egypt was subdued by Alexander the Great, governed under the
Ptolemies, Roman & Byzantine reigns and later it was conquered by the Arabians.
A.
PRE-DYNASTIC PERIOD
(4000-3000B.C.)
This
is the Pre-historical period when Egypt was divided into two lands which were
called Upper Egypt, a long and narrow part, and Lower Egypt, inclusive of the
flat Delta of the Nile. The lands were occupied with forty-two religious
communities characterized by their respective deities and banners.[4] The Egyptians lived along
the fertile strip of Nile River for advantages of agricultural growth and
development.
The
Kings of Upper Egypt were crowned with a tall white helmet whereas the Kings of
Lower Egypt were crowned with a red wickerwork diadem. The Kings who ruled both
the Upper and Lower Egypt would wear a double crown which was symbolic of a
united country. Both the kings of the Upper and Lower Egypt were “worshipers of
Horus”. The Parlemo Stone showed that there were at least six kings who ruled
both regions before the unification of Egypt.
B.
ARCHAIC PERIOD
(3000–2700B.C.)
Archaic
Period consisted of the First and Second Dynasties, with Narmer (Menes) recognized
by Herodotus as the founder of the First Dynasty. Eduard Meyer identified these
periods as Thinite Dynasties. There were eight kings found in the records of
First Dynasty but the records of the Second Dynasty showed a list of kings
ranging from six to nine rulers. The ancient Egyptians started their commercial
dealings with people in Crete and Byblos on the Phoenician coast during the archaic
period.
C.
OLD KINGDOM
(2700-2160B.C.)
It
covered the period from the 3rd Dynasty to the 8th
Dynasty and kings during this period were famous pyramid-builders. King Djoser
(Zoser) was the first king of the 3rd Dynasty and he built a step-mastaba
at Saqqara which served as a proto-type for future pyramid building. The
founder of the 4th Dynasty, Snerfru, built three monumental pyramids
and brought the Egyptians into the age of great pyramids. Cheops was famous for
building the largest pyramid at Giza. The Pyramid Text inscribed on the pyramid
of Unas, the last king of the 5th Dynasty, constituted the best
primary source for the study of ancient Egyptian religious thought.[5]
There
were about twenty-seven kings from the 3rd to the 6th
Dynasty, but the length of the 7th and the 8th Dynasty were
uncertain. The kings of the Old Kingdom were considered as the center and soul
of the nation and they were thought to be divine beings on earth, an
incarnation of their god Horus. It was the custom of the nobles to build their
tombs near the royal pyramids to ensure a continuity of their attending
services to their kings.[6]
D.
1ST
INTERMEDIATE PERIOD (2160-2106B.C.)
There
were four kings in the 9th Dynasty and fourteen kings in the 10th
Dynasty. The period was an age of anarchy and localism without a strong central
government. Territorial disruptions and efforts to unify the lands caused social
conflicts. The problem of localism was so severe that it took later kings more
than one and a half century to subordinate it.[7]
E.
MIDDLE KINGDOM
(2106-1786B.C.)
The
Theban Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II overcame the northern Heracleopolitan kingdom
and brought an end to the civil war during the First Intermediate Period and
established the 11th Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom. Amenemhet I
started the 12th Dynasty and a system of coregency was used to
ensure a smooth and peaceful transition of power in the royal family.
F.
2ND
INTERMEDIATE PERIOD (1786-1550B.C.)
The
weakening condition of the 13th Dynasty led the country into
fragmentation and the whole era was characterized with different kings who ruled
concurrently. The invasion of the Hyksos lasted for about one hundred years and
it signified the first defeat of the Egyptian to foreigners. Kings Kamose and
Ahmose liberated the Egyptians from the reign of the Hyksos and ushered in the 18th
Dynasty of the New Kingdom.
G.
NEW KINGDOM
(1550-1069B.C.)
This
was considered as the golden and cosmopolitan age in the history of ancient
Egypt. The Kingdom had great kings like Amenhotep I, Thutmose III (18th
Dynasty) and Rameses II (19th Dynasty). It extended its territory
north unto the city of Sharuhen in Asia by Ahmose I. By the time of Thutmose I,
the domains in Nubia had been tripled. Egypt built an empire with rulers of
Palestine, Syrian and Mesopotamian kingdoms giving tributes as its vassals.
Egypt hence became the greatest power in the civilized world during the 15th
century BC. The 19th and 20th Dynasties were known as the
Ramesses Period.
H.
3RD
INTERMEDIATE PERIOD (1069-664B.C.)
From
the 21st to 26th Dynasties, there was a widespread of
political decentralization, with Libyan, Kushite and Assyrian invasions and
domination over the land of Egypt. Egypt thus lost its international prestige.
Assyria rose and conquered Thebes and Memphis
in 664B.C.
I.
SAITE-PERSIAN PERIOD
(664-332B.C.)
The
period was led by the pharaohs of Sais as a united kingdom, of which
Psammetichus started the 26th Dynasty. The Saite kings successfully
restored their control over southern Egypt and the pharaohs deliberately
modeled after the culture found in the Old Kingdom. Cambyses of Persia invaded
Egypt in 525B.C but Persian control was constantly challenged by the Egyptian
kings from the Delta.
In
404B.C., the Persian ruler was overthrown by a coalition of Egyptian rulers. In
343B.C., Persia reinstated its power over Egypt but was later defeated by
Alexander the Great in 332B.C. The Greco-Roman periods lasted from 332B.C. to
A.D. 641 and it served to end the dynastic kingdom of ancient Egypt.
III.
ANCIENT
EGYPT & ISRAEL
Egypt
is frequently mentioned in the Old Testament, and it is considered to be one of
the most influential countries over the historical development of the Hebrews
or Israelites. The Israelites, since the time of Exodus, had been exhorted by
the Lord of “not returning to Egypt”. The impact of Egypt upon the Hebrews could
be traced in many aspects of Hebraic living.
A.
MILITARY CONFLICTS AND
ALLIANCES
The
relationship between the Israelites and Egyptians were very unique as they
related both as enemies and allies throughout biblical times. Egypt served as
one of the greatest threats and enemies of the Israelites and it had invaded
the land of Israel several times. During the reign of Jeroboam, King of Israel,
Egypt was the power behind the rebellious northern Israel. The Egyptian King Shishak
invaded the land of Judah and destroyed a few cities (1 Kings 14:25, 2
Chronicles 12).
In
the Bible, the Lord issued numerous warnings through the prophets to ask the
Israelites not to rely on the horses and chariots of the Egyptians, but the Israelites
kept turning themselves towards Egyptian assistance in times of their troubles
and needs. King Solomon entered into an alliance with Pharaoh when he married
the Egyptian princess who was given the city of Gezer in the land of Canaan as
a dowry.[8] He also imported many
horses from Egypt (1 Kings 10). The people of Judah refused to take heed the
words of Jeremiah and sought their refuge in the land of Egypt and suffered great
pains when the Babylonians conquered Egypt (Jeremiah 41-45). Egypt indeed
played the role of a “big brother” in the lives of the Israelites.
B.
ECONOMICAL RELATION
Since
the Patriarchal time, Abraham and Jacob brought their families down to Egypt
whenever they faced famines in the land of Canaan. Abraham received much wealth
from Pharaoh and he became very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold
(Genesis 12, 13). Joseph was sold to Potiphar and rose up to be the prime
minister over Egypt and through him the whole household of Jacob came down to
settle in Egypt during the time of famine (Genesis 37, 42-47). The Israelites
were enslaved by the Egyptians for their national building and they contributed
much to the development of the New Kingdom of Egypt under Rameses II. When the Israelites
came out of Egypt, they plundered the Egyptians and indirectly built their
nation with the wealth of the Egyptians (Exodus 1, 5 & 12).
C.
RELIGIOUS BELIEFS &
PRACTICES
According
to John D. Currid, the religions between the Egyptians and Hebrews have some
similarities. Firstly, the Egyptians believed in “a single creator and originator
of divine power”, whereas the Hebrews believed in the One and only God Yahweh
who is the Creator of all things. Secondly the Egyptians believe that the
creation work was comprehensive while the Hebrews believed that God the Creator
created the entire world in six days and rested his hand on the seventh day. Thirdly,
both Egyptians and Hebrews described the universe as the heavens and earth and
believed that the creation of vegetation was before the creation of human
beings.[9]
James
B. Pritchard states that the creator god Ptah in Egyptian myth conceived the
elements of the universe in his mind and then brought forth the universe
through his speech[10], which is very similar to
the Creation model found in Genesis 1 where God brought forth the universe
through His Word or Speech.
It
is widely recognized that the design of the ark and even the entire tabernacle
is distinctly Egyptian.[11] When the Israelites came
out of Egypt, they had been living under Egyptian religious and cultural
influences for more than 430 years and the effect was revealed through their
daily living in the wilderness. The formation of a gold calf referred to as the
god who led the Israelites out of Egypt was one clear evidence of how the Egyptian
worship had exerted a great impact upon the Israelites (Exodus 32).
For
the ten plagues performed by Moses with the empowerment of Yahweh, each plague
signified God’s authority and power over the gods worshipped by the Egyptians. There
is a possibility that some of the Egyptians came to believe in Yahweh and
followed the Israelites during the Exodus event.[12]
D.
LITERATURE WRITINGS
Egyptian
literature has certain similarities with the Old Testament writings, especially
in historical narration, prophetic literature, poems, hymns, songs and wisdom
literature. A parallelism in the flow of structure and thought of the writings
has been witnessed by many. E.g., the hymn of Pharaoh Amen-hotep IV is often
compared with Psalm 104.[13]
IV.
CONCLUSION
The
lives of the ancient Egyptians and the Hebrews were closely knitted as both were
located in today’s West Asia or Middle East region and had gone through similar
civilization and identical historical changes. A study of Israelite history
will definitely relate to the study of an Egyptian history. Though in the Egyptian
record, the history about the Israelites had been either concealed or
distorted, we can always refer to the Bible as the ultimate reference of the
interrelation between Egypt and Israel. The impact of Egypt over Israel is a
long lasting effect as we can observe even from their late and recent
historical events.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bruce,
F.F. Israel And The Nations. Michigan:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing
Company, 1981.
Currid, John D. Ancient
Egypt and the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Books,
1997.
Currid,
John D. Exodus: Volume 1, Chapter 1-18.
Darlington: Evangelical Press,
2000.
Currid, John D. Exodus:
Volume 2, Chapter 19-40. Darlington: Evangelical Press,
2001.
Freedman,
David Noel, ed. The Anchor Bible
Dictionary. New York: Doubleday,
1992.
Pritchard,
James B. The Ancient Near East. Princeton:
Princeton University Press,
1958.
Schewantes,
Siegfried J. A Short History of The
Ancient Near East. Grand Rapids:
Baker
Book House Company, 1981.
Seters, John Van, ed. In Search of History. Indiana: Yale University Press edition,
1997.
Tenny, Merrill C, ed. Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan
Publishing
House, 1976.
[1] Merrill C.
Tenny, (ed)., Pictorial Encyclopedia of
the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1976), 229.
[2] John Van
Seters, ed., In Search of History
(Indiana: Yale University Press edition, 1997), 127.
[3] David Noel
Freedman, ed., The Anchor Bible
Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 322-323.
[4] Siegfried J.
Schewantes, A Short History of The
Ancient Near East (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House Company, 1981), 51-52.
[5] Schewantes, A Short History of The Ancient Near East,
58-63.
[6] Ibid, 58-63.
[7] Freedman, (ed).,
The Anchor Bible Dictionary, 344-345.
[8] F.F. Bruce, Israel And The Nations (Grand Rapids:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1981), 37.
[9] John D. Currid,
Ancient Egypt and the Old Testament (Grand
Rapids: Baker Books, 1997), 55-69.
[10] James B.
Pritchard, The Ancient Near East
(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1958), 1.
[11] John D. Currid,
Exodus: Volume 2, Chapters19-40
(Darlington: Evangelical Press, 2001), 152.
[12] John D. Currid,
Exodus: Volume 1, Chapters 1-18
(Darlington: Evangelical Press, 2000), 156.
[13] Pritchard, The Ancient Near East, 227 & 237.
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