02.21. Land of bondage

Land of bondage

Egypt features in the story of Israel from the time of the nation’s original ancestor, Abraham. Later, his descendants migrated there, and over several hundred years they increased from a large family to a small nation. The Egyptians, fearful of the Israelites, forced them into slavery, till God raised up Moses to lead them to freedom¹ and set them on their way to a new homeland in Canaan. Israelites, by means of the Passover festival, have from Bible times remembered Egypt as a place of bondage out of which God redeemed them.² The life of Egypt has always been dependent on the Nile River, which flows 5,600 kilometres from inland Africa and enters the Mediterranean Sea through a large delta. Apart from the land either side of the river and in the delta, Egypt is largely desert. Delta cities such as Memphis and Rameses served as capitals of Egypt at different times. Memphis was on roughly the same site as modern Cairo. Rameses was built by the Israelites, whose allotted region of Goshen was within the delta. But the most magnificent of Egypt’s capitals was Thebes, about 500 kilometres upstream.³

Ruling from these cities were god-like kings who carried the title ‘Pharaoh’. Believing that when they died they passed from the world of humans to the world of the gods, they prepared for such a future by building themselves elaborate tombs. Among these were the pyramids, some of which already existed in the time of Moses. That was an era when Egypt enjoyed five hundred years of power and magnificence. By the time Israel was settled in Canaan with a strong monarchy, Egypt was no longer the power it once was. During the time of Israel’s divided kingdom, both north and south were at times tempted to rely upon Egypt for help, but they were always disappointed. God’s prophets had one message: trust in God, not in political deals or military power.⁴

1. 1280 BC 2. Exodus 12:1-32; Deuteronomy 16:1-3; Luke 22:1; Luke 22:15 3. Genesis 47:27; Exodus 1:11; Exodus 8:22; Isaiah 19:13; Jeremiah 46:25; Nahum 3:8 4. 2 Kings 17:4-6; 2 Kings 18:21; 2 Kings 18:24; Isaiah 30:1-3; Isaiah 30:15-16; Isaiah 31:1-5

Pyramid of Cheops close-up