Israelites Enslaved in Egypt (5 reasons why)
The Story Begins With Joseph (Geneses 46)
One of the most famous stories in the Bible is the Exodus. The story tells how Moses freed the Israelites enslaved in Egypt. However, we wonder why they became enslaved in Egypt.
The story begins with Joseph, one of the twelve sons of Israel. Their father gave Joseph a colorful long-sleeved robe. A designer would normally design this type of garment for a nobleman, not a shepherd. Joseph’s ten older brothers were understandably jealous. In addition, Joseph dreamed that his brothers would bow down to him. That made them angry.
The brothers resolved to get rid of their pesky little brother by selling him to an Ishmaelite band traveling to Egypt. Joseph was sold to an Egyptian captain named Potiphar.
An interesting story is told in Rabbinic texts. Potiphar’s wife, Zelikah, once invited some female friends to a banquet. While they were cutting their food, she summoned Joseph. The women looked up, stunned. Some even cut their hands in amazement. They said: “This is not a mortal; this is a noble angel!” (Qur’an 12:31-32) Zelikah then asked her friends, “What would you do if you saw him every day, like I do?”
Because Zelikah accused Joseph of attempting to rape her, authorities imprisoned him. While in prison, Joseph gained a reputation for accurately interpreting dreams.
When Pharaoh dreamed a dream that Joseph could interpret, Pharaoh elevated Joseph to be a ruler in Egypt. Joseph was to collect and distribute the stored food supply of Egypt.
Later, a severe famine forced Joseph’s ten brothers to travel to Egypt to buy food. They had to get permission from the Viceroy (Joseph) to buy grain. Joseph was still angry with them for selling him into slavery. However, eventually, he forgave his brothers.
Pharaoh allowed Joseph to bring his whole family to Egypt.
So, that is how the Israelites came to live in Egypt.
The Israelites Settled in Goshen
Because of Joseph’s prominence, he could settle his family in one of the finest locations in Egypt. The Israelites were farmers and shepherds. Goshen, in the Nile River Delta, was a marvelous agricultural region.
Egyptian texts report that Goshen was “a beautiful district, without its like… It is full of food every day. It’s ponds with fish, and its lakes with birds. Its meadows are verdant with grass; its banks bear dates; its melons are abundant… Its granaries are full of barley and emmer that come near to the sky.
Goshen was a beautiful place to live.
Hyksos In Egypt
The original settlers of Egypt were dark-skinned descendants of Ham. Then, around 1730 BC, the Hyksos conquered Lower (northern) Egypt. They had developed a new weapon, the chariot, which allowed them to move quickly over the battlefield.
Like the Israelites, the Hyksos were light-skinned descendants of Shem (Semites). For 150 years, Egypt was divided into two nations. The original Egyptians continued to rule Upper (southern) Egypt. While the Hyksos ruled Lower Egypt.
Then, around 1380 BC, Kamose, the Pharaoh of Upper Egypt, drove the Hyksos out of the Nile Delta. Thus, liberating all of Egypt from the despised Hyksos. The new Pharaohs became warrior kings, vowing never again to be humiliated by foreign rulers.
Historians believe the Israelites remained neutral in this war between the original Egyptians and the Hyksos.
For many years, the original Egyptian pharaohs continued to rule from Thebes in Upper Egypt. They ignored the Delta region that the Hyksos had inhabited. This allowed the Israelites, who lived in the Delta, to continue their undisturbed existence among the Egyptians.
Now that you know some of the history, I can explain 5 reasons Pharaoh enslaved the Israelites.
#1 Reason Israelites Enslaved (Gen 26: 24)
God had the Israelites enslaved because He wanted them to move to the land He had promised their fathers (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). The land we know today as Israel.
Joseph had prophesied, “God will surely visit you and bring you out of this land (Egypt) into the land which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”
The Israelites had prospered in Egypt for three hundred years. They lived on wonderful land constantly watered by the Nile River. They enjoyed a peaceful existence.
God knew if the conditions remained advantageous, the Israelites would be reluctant to leave.
However, after one hundred years or more that the israelites enslaved, the Israelites would look forward to the promised liberation.
God wanted the Israelites to leave Egypt.
#2 Reason Israelites Enslaved in Egypt (Exodus 1: 8)
Around 1300 BC, Ramses II relocated his capital to the Nile Delta, close to Goshen, where the Hebrews lived. He named his new capital city Pi-Ramses. Ramses II is the pharaoh “who knew not Joseph.”(Exodus 1:18-19)
To build the lavish structures Ramses II had in mind, he needed an abundant supply of labor and a constant supply of bricks. Forcefully enslaving the Israelites became the solution to both problems.
Rameses needed a massive supply of bricks because he used bricks for all his new public buildings. The walls around Pi-Ramses were sixty feet high and built completely of bricks. This was a fortified garrison meant to protect Egypt’s northern borders from the Hyksos.
Studies of the Pyramid of Sasotris estimate it took 24.5 million bricks to build. And that was only one structure. Many consider Egyptian engineering during the Ramses dynasty to be a wonder of the ancient world.
Ramses II wanted to glorify himself and protect Egypt.
#3 Reason Israelites Enslaved (Exodus 1: 13-14)
The Hyksos’ 150-year reign was a humiliation to the original Egyptians. The light-skinned Israelites were a constant reminder of that humiliation.
The Israelites were mostly farmers and shepherds. Egyptians despised both occupations as an abomination. (Genesis 46:34) Egyptians considered themselves sophisticated artisans and engineers. The intricately engineered tombs of this period contain many fabulous examples of Egyptian artwork.
Brick-making is arduous work, as the picture above shows. One slave draws large jarfuls of water. Another mixes water and clay with a hoe. Usually, they added straw to make brick-making easier. A man measures off the molded bricks with a hoe. Another stacks the bricks. A slave driver armed with a thin baton oversees the work.
Exodus 1: 13-14 tells us, “And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor. And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage in mortar and in brick.”
The Egyptians hated the Israelites.
# 4 Reason Pharaoh Enslaved Israelites
Goshen is one of the richest agricultural regions in Egypt. The Israelites had cultivated the land with royal permission for three hundred years. The new Pharaoh considered the Hebrews foreigners who had taken advantage of Egyptian hospitality. He felt justified in making the Israelites pay for using Egyptian land for so many years.
Even today, Goshen is one of the most fertile areas in Egypt. The fields are lush, and well watered from the Nile River. The principal crops grown in this area are wheat and barley, which are used to make bread and brew beer and are both staples in the Egyptian diet. Goshen also has many fruit and date trees.
The Pharaoh was angry that foreigners had controlled this region and prospered for so many years.
Pharaoh wanted to make the Israelites pay for using Egyptian land.
# 5 Reason Israelites Enslaved by Ramses(Exodus 1:10)
Exodus 1:10 gives us Pharaoh’s words, “Come on, let us deal wisely with them lest they multiply, and it comes to pass that when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them out of the land.”
The Israelites were distant relatives of the Hyksos. Rameses saw the threat of the Israelites joining the Hyksos in the event of a war.
When Joseph’s family first came to Egypt, there were only seventy people. Now, three hundred years later, the Israelites numbered 600,000.
The first thing the pharaoh did was force the men from their farms into hard labor. According to Egyptian records, slaves cleaned irrigation ditches, made bricks, constructed buildings, and built monuments. Pharaoh hoped the hard labor and poor conditions would diminish the male population. When Pharaoh realized this was not enough, he resorted to a new, more drastic plan.
The Pharaoh said, “When you do the office of midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the stool, if it be a son, then you shall kill him; but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.” (Exodus 1: 16)
Pharaoh designed his wicked scheme to reduce the number of men available to enlist in a Hyksos army.
Pharaoh considered the Israelites a threat to Egypt’s national security.
The Exodus Begins
Moses came out of the desert and announced he had come with a message from God. His mission was to end the Israelite enslavement and bring them to the land promised to their ancestors.
The Israelites had prayed mightily for deliverance.
Before that happened, ten plagues would prove God’s power.
See Plagues of Egypt Scientifically Proven.
for more answers, see: Why did God send Israelites to Egypt
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