Egypt When the Bible mentions to “all Egypt” it is referring to Upper and Lower Egypt. Upper Egypt consists of the Nile Valley, from the First Cataract to the vicinity of Memphis, or Cairo in modern times. Lower Egypt consists of the Nile Delta, and the southernmost part of the Nile Valley, below Cairo and Memphis. Memphis became the capital of ancient Egypt, being located between Upper and Lower Egypt.
The Egyptians were conservative in that they considered Egypt to be a dual kingdom. For instance, the burial mask of King Tut has a vulture representing Upper Egypt, and a cobra representing Lower Egypt. The lotus was used as a symbol for Upper Egypt, and the papyrus plant for Lower Egypt. The King also had two official residences, as well as two official burial places (although one was obviously a cenotaph).
Present-day Egypt is approximately square, and extends south to where the second cataract was, now inundated behind the Aswan high dam. Only about 2% of the land is fertile, and all of it dependent on the Nile.
The traditional Egyptian Calendar consisted of 12 months, each with 30 days, and 5 additional days that belonged to no month. The months were grouped into three seasons of four months each, based on the agricultural year, which was determined by the flooding and recession of the Nile. The Egyptian calendar was based on the tropical (i.e., “solar”) year, and the “months” had no relation to the moon. When Julius Caesar decided to reform the Roman calendar, he sent for recommendations from Alexandria, Egypt. The scholars there recommended the “Julian” calendar, of 365 days, with an extra day every fourth year.
| Season | meaning | approximate time |
|---|---|---|
| 'Akhet | Inundation | June-September |
| Peret | Coming Forth = recession of flood waters (planting season) | October-January |
| Shomu | Dry Season (harvest) | February-May |
The history of Egypt was first written by the priest Manetho, writing about BC 280 in the time of the Ptolemies. Manetho numbered the dynasties of Egypt, I-XXX, a numbering system still in use today, although many historians add a Dynasty XXI. The dynasties have been grouped into Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, and New Kingdom, the last being also called the Egyptian Empire, with intermediate periods. The time of Joseph is either the Second Intermediate Period (just before the New Kingdom), or the New Kingdom. In the Second Intermediate Period, Egypt was conquered by Semitic invaders known as the Hyksos. The Hyksos introduced chariots to Egypt. When Joseph became “number two,” he was given a chariot. (Genesis 41.43: “And he [Pharaoh] made him [Joseph] ride in his second chariot. And they called out before him, ‘Bow the knee!’ [Abrek, probably an Egyptian word, similar in sound to the Hebrew word meaning to kneel.] Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt.”) It seems reasonable that Semitic rulers might be amenable to taking a fellow Semite, Joseph, as prime minister of the country. This would place the time of Joseph around BC 1500, long before the beginnings of Greek or Roman history, but in Egyptian history, about a thousand years after the building of the pyramids!
Egypt was conquered by Alexander the Great, who founded the greatest of the cities named Alexandria, on the Mediterranean coast, which became the new capital of the country, and soon, the greatest city in the world. Alexander was welcomed as a liberator by the Egyptians, and sponsored many projects to rebuild temples damaged during the period of Persian rule, his rule, and that of his successors (in Egypt), the Ptolemies, was heavy enough to be similar to the burden of the Persian rulers. The Egyptians rebelled, and there was rivalry in the ruling house, which brought on the intervention of Rome. From BC 30 to AD 640 Egypt was a Roman province. The Romans generally continued the Greek policies, but they took the surplus of wheat production (which was enormous) to Rome, and later to Constantinople. Between the 1st and 4th centuries AD the majority of the population converted to Christianity, and Alexandria became one of the three great centers of Christianity, rivaled only by Rome and Antioch (of Syria). In the 7th century AD the new Persian Empire conquered Egypt, but the Romans were able to take it back. The struggle so exhausted both sides, that they were defeated by the Arabs, with their new religion of Islam. Henceforth Egypt was part of the Islamic world. Eventually the Christians became a minority, and today they are about 10% of the population and known as Copts.
The Nile is the longest river in the world, but by no means the largest. Its principal tributaries are the White Nile and the Blue Nile. The Blue Nile rises in Ethiopia, and is subject to large seasonal variations, becoming very heavy in the summer months, and receding the rest of the year, leaving behind a layer of fertile mud. The White Nile is steadier in flow. The Egyptians learned how to use the Nile through ditches and channels around BC 3000 or earlier, and thus established the oldest (known) civilization on earth. This pattern of flood, planting, and harvest continued until the middle of the 19th century, when a dam was built at Aswan to control the water. In the 1960s a high dam was built at Aswan, to impound even more water.
From ancient times people were curious about the source of the Nile. The ancient geographer Claudius Ptolemy showed a map with the White Nile rising in the “Mountains of the Moon,” and collecting in two large lakes before flowing north. Attempts to explore up the White Nile ended in the huge swamp called the Sudd. It wasn’t until the 19th century that explorers discovered the source of the Nile in the streams feeding into Lake Victoria, whose only outlet is the Victoria Nile, which then flows into Lake Albert. Lake Albert’s only outlet is the Albert Nile, later becoming the White Nile, and flowing through the Sudd. At Khartoum, Sudan, the White and Blue Niles join, and the Nile flows north for 1000 miles without tributary. About 12 miles south of Cairo/Memphis, the Nile branches into two principal distributaries, the Rosetta (to the West) and the Damietta (to the East). Herodotus, the Roman historian, wrote that there were seven branches, but ancient Egyptian sources report only three.
The traditional crown of Egypt consisted of a dual crown, the red crown of Lower Egypt, and the white crown of Upper Egypt.
See the Outline of Egyptian History and the Outline of Exploration of the Nile
Offsite: Mysteries of Ancient Egypt, Ancient Egypt Royal Regalia, Symbols of Ancient Egypt, and Egyptian Glossary
Last updated 02/23/19 . Please email me: tf_mcq <at> yahoo.com with any corrections or suggestions.