When you think of Egypt, certain words inevitably come to mind: Pharaoh, the Nile, pyramids, mummies. But where did these things come from, and why are they so important that people living four thousand years later still know what they are?
The borders of Egypt have changed very little over the millennia of its history. From the time of the earliest shepherd tribes until today, the borders of Egypt have been defined by the Nile River. This river flows in the northeastern part of Africa and empties into the Mediterranean Sea. In studying ancient Egypt we will have to study not only the history of the peoples who lived in the Delta (the region where the Nile breaks up into many rivers, just before the Mediterranean) but the history of the people who lived all along the banks of this mighty waterway. “Egypt extends wherever the Nile flows.”—AperÁu del’Histoire d’Egypte, p. 3 (1872).
Other than the banks of the Nile River, the remainder of Egypt is primarily composed of desert. This meant that the people who lived in this part of the world settled along the shores of the river and built their civilizations around it. Eventually the river would be regarded as a sacred religious symbol.
While Egypt claimed a large territory, in fact only 13,000 square miles of it was actually able to sustain life. Every year around the month of June the banks of the Nile overflowed to fertilize the land for quite a distance. When the Nile did not rise high enough or far enough to fertilize all the farming land, it distributed by a kind of waterwheel which was human-foot-powered. Moses used this fact to compare Egypt with Canaan. He told the Israelites, who had never seen the Promised Land that it was not like Egypt, where farms were watered “with thy foot,” but rather was a land that “drinketh water of the rain of heaven” (Deuteronomy 11:10, 11).
The flooding of the river distributed sediment which the flowing water had collected on the ground to fertilize the soil and bring a rich harvest. In times of famine in other parts of the world, they would turn to Egypt as a source of food. Abraham also took advantage of the rich harvests of Egypt. “And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land” (Genesis 12:10). It is along this 4,180-mile river that we will look to find the history of earth’s first great superpower.
Very little survives by way of written record from this earliest period of Egyptian history. The Greek historian Herodotus and the Greek geographer Strabo both recorded their travels in Egypt, but this was many years after the first Pharaohs. In the 3rd century b.c. a Greek-speaking Egyptian priest by the name of Manetho compiled a history of his people from native sources, but this work is now lost to us. All that remains of this historical works are scattered excerpts quoted from it in the writings of such ancient men as Flavius Josephus, Eusebius of Caesarea, Sextus Julius Africanus, and some other early Christian writers.
The Bible record shows us that the first Egyptians were descendants of Ham (Genesis 10:6). [The Hebrews called this land Misrayim in their language.] They were small with dark complexions and black hair. Over time, the invasion and assimilation of Semitic peoples, Nubians and Hyksos, produced a mixed race. These people were mostly farmers, but by the abundant artifacts which remain we know that they must have had a flourishing class of artisans and architects.
As people began to build cities and form confederacies for protection and trade, two kingdoms emerged along the river. Lower Egypt (which is actually northern Egypt) was composed of that part of the land which surrounded the rich and fertile delta from about the location of modern day Cairo to the Mediterranean. Upper Egypt (which is actually southern Egypt) extended from the base of the delta south to Ethiopia.
Lower Egypt developed mostly along agricultural lines. Its original capital was at Behdet, with Horus as its chief god. The capital was later moved to Buto (near modern Sidi Salim), which was the seat of the cobra goddess Wadjet.
Upper Egypt also developed a strong agricultural base, but sandwiched between the uncivilized peoples to their south and Lower Egypt. They also developed a strong military class. The original capital was at Ombos (near modern Luxor), with Seth as its chief god. Eventually the capital was moved to Nekheb (modern El Kab), where the people worshiped the vulture goddess Nekhbet.
Each of the kingdoms had a peculiar crown worn by the king (called Pharaoh). In Upper Egypt the king wore a tall white crown, while in Lower Egypt the king wore a small, odd-shaped red crown.
Ancient kingdoms being what they were, the kingdoms fought constant border wars. Eventually these small skirmishes led to full war, which was ended when Menes, an Upper Egyptian from the city of This (100 miles downriver from Thebes), conquered Lower Egypt and became the first king of Upper and Lower Egypt.
This event was not seen as the conquering of the north by the south, but rather as a joining of the two kingdoms. The new crown (famous on pictures of the pharaohs) was a combined one. The tall part was from Upper Egypt and the small red portion was from Lower Egypt. There was a double crown, double granary, double treasury, and even double tomb for the deceased pharaoh (one of them being empty).
Menes set up his capital at Memphis, a junction between the two kingdoms. To the west of this city were built the pyramids, the great royal tombs.
In organizing his history of Egypt, Manetho developed a system of dynasties to group the kings together. The dynasties of Manetho have been further grouped by modern Egyptologists as follows: Predynastic Era (before 3200 b.c.), Protodynastic Period (3200–2780 b.c.), Old Kingdom (2780–2280 b.c.), First Intermediate Period (2280–2050 b.c.), Middle Kingdom (2133–1780 b.c.), Second Intermediate Period (1780–1574 b.c.), New Kingdom (1574–1085 b.c.), and Period of Decline (1085–332 b.c.). These dynasties began with the unification of the kingdom under Menes.
For many years the new nation grew in numbers as well as in wisdom. The arts and the sciences were developed, and education was encouraged. But Egypt was not to remain isolated from the world. Invaders from Asia, mostly Amorites, invaded during the First Intermediate Period. They conquered a great portion of the Delta and brought about a general period of lawlessness in the country.
Domestic order was restored under the middle kingdom, and it is in this time that Abraham went to Egypt. The famine occurred during the 19th century b.c., so the Pharaoh Abraham met was one from the 12th dynasty.
But the period of greatness was not to last. Shortly after Abraham returned to Canaan, the kingdom was overthrown by foreigners whom the Egyptians called Hyku Khoswet, meaning rulers of foreign countries. Today these peoples are called Hyksos, a term used by Manetho, and are sometimes referred to as the shepherd kings, a term used by Josephus. They conquered most of Egypt and eventually made alliances with the Nubian princes in the south to hold the Egyptian powers at bay.
This period of Hyksos rule brings us to the time of Joseph, which we will analyze in the next issue.
Egypt rose not as a desert power, but as a river power. Surrounded by the harsh Sahara Desert, a people emerged around a life-giving river. Water has always been an important part of survival. Almost all the great powers we will study built their empires along a large river. But you and I have access to a river stronger, cleaner and more fulfilling then any on this planet. Christ told the woman at the well that “whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14).
And if we are willing to dedicate our lives to Him, He will give us talents and means to be soldiers in His army. Generals in an army bringing the message of salvation to countless souls perishing in this world of sin. Do you want to help build a great empire? One that will span not only the globe, but the universe? Then drink of this water and dedicate all your will to the One who gave His life for you.
“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17).