Handbook:Egypt
From Door43
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| Article Sources: | ISBE (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia) |
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Egypt is named after a man by the same name (also called Mizraim), who was a son of Ham, who was one of the three sons of Noah (Genesis 10:13).
At one time while Abram was living in the land of Canaan, there was a great famine there, and Abram moved his family to Egypt for a time (Genesis 12:10).
Many years later, after Abraham's great-grandson Joseph had been sold into slavery in Egypt and had then become ruler of the land, there was again a famine. This time the famine was more wide-spread, including both Canaan and Egypt. But the Lord had warned the Pharaoh of this famine, and he had Joseph prepare for it, so there was plenty of food in Egypt. At that time, Jacob and his family moved there so Joseph could provide for them.
The Israelites stayed there for 400 years. They became slaves of the Egyptians. They were released from their slavery by the Lord's sending great plagues on the Egyptians until they begged the Israelites to leave. They were led out of Egypt by Moses. (Exodus1-15)
After the Israelites took over the land of Canaan and established their own country there, there was ongoing contact with Egypt and political relations between the two countries. Examples of these relations include the following: 1) King Solomon had a wife who was the daughter of a Pharaoh (I Kings 3:1). 2) The Egyptians attacked Israel during the reign of Rehoboam (I Kings 14:25-26). 3) Years later when the Babylonians were besieging Jerusalem, the Egyptian army came to help the Israelites (Jeremiah 37:5-8). 4) Later at the time of the exile to Babylon, some of the Israelite people fled to Egypt (Jeremiah 41:16-18).
The country of Egypt still exists today as a modern country.
