Egypt
Why was Egypt such a significant country during biblical times? How does that fact affect us today? Read more to find out.
Egypt is located at the meeting point between northeastern Africa and southwestern Asia. Egypt was one of the great centers of civilization in the world from as early as 4500 B.C. Most Egyptian people live in two main areas of the country. The first area is the fertile strip of land along the Nile River that stretches more than 800 miles from the southern to the northern part of Egypt. The second main area is the far northern end of the river where it spreads out across a valley that is more than one hundred miles wide. This area is called the Nile River delta. Heavy rainfall in central Africa, where the Nile begins, causes the Nile to overflow its banks each year. Because of this, farmers in Egypt could count on plenty of water to grow rich crops of grain each year. In ancient times when Palestine and Syria got little or no rain, people would move west toward Egypt, where they could be sure of a food supply.
Many of the huge temples and tombs of Egypt have survived down to the present day. Some of these are known as the pyramids. French scholars in the time of Napoleon (late eighteenth century) discovered an ancient stone tablet called the “Rosetta Stone,” which had the same passage repeated in three different languages, including Egyptian and Greek. The scholars' knowledge of Greek made it possible to decipher the Egyptian text and use what they learned to help them translate other ancient Egyptian documents and monument inscriptions that had been found. These writings showed that the history of Egypt was to be divided into a series of periods called “dynasties.”
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EGYPTIAN DYNASTIES |
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DYNASTIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS |
APPROX. DATES |
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Pre-dynastic and early dynastic periods. Early Egyptian village groups began to band together. |
3400-2950 B.C. |
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First and Second Dynasties. The Nile River valley and delta were brought under one ruler. |
2950-2675 B.C. |
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Old Kingdom--Third to Sixth Dynasties. The great pyramids were built near Memphis. |
2675-2180 B.C. |
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First Intermediate Period--Seventh to Tenth Dynasties. Outsiders controlled the delta--Libyans from the west and Asians from the east. |
2180-1970 B.C. |
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Middle Kingdom--Eleventh to Twelfth Dynasties. Egypt was again unified with the capital at Thebes. This period was the high point of Egyptian art. Abraham was in Egypt during this time (Gen 12). |
1970-1756 B.C. |
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Second Intermediate Period--Thirteenth to Seventeenth Dynasties. Egypt was ruled by the Hyksos, Asian invaders who had high technical and military skills. Based in the delta, the Hyksos traded with Syria and Palestine. Possibly Joseph, and then Jacob and his sons were in Egypt during this time. |
1756-1520 B.C. |
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New Kingdom--Eighteenth to Twentieth Dynasties. Many famous Egyptian rulers lived in this period, such as Amenhotep IV, who worshiped only Aton, god of the sun; Tutankhamen, also known as King Tut who restored the worship of Amon, the traditional god of the Egyptians; Rameses II, who may have been the pharaoh when the Hebrews were led out of Egypt by Moses. |
1539-1075 B.C. |
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Third Intermediate Period--Twenty-First to Twenty-Fifth Dynasties. A pharaoh from one of these dynasties gave his daughter in marriage to Solomon (1 Kgs 9.16). The Egyptians could not prevent the Assyrians from invading Egypt. |
1075-656 B.C. |
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Late Period--Twenty-Sixth to Thirty-First Dynasties. After struggles with the Assyrians, Egypt was conquered by the Persians. Then Alexander the Great of Macedonia took over Egypt in 332 B.C. Alexander built a new capital city on the Mediterranean coast where the Nile emptied into the sea and named it after himself. For 600 years Alexandria was one of the great centers of learning in the world. |
664-343 B.C. |
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Ptolemaic Dynasty--Final Period. When Alexander the Great died, one of his generals, Ptolemy Soter, seized control of Egypt and founded the Ptolemaic Dynasty. The Ptolemies fought with the Seleucid Dynasty of northern Syria for control of Palestine. Egypt became more dependent on the Roman Empire. After the Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra fell from power in 30 B.C., Egypt was directly ruled by Rome. |
332 B.C.-A.D. 324 |
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