It may have come as quite a surprise to some to learn that Egypt was being ruled by Semites at the time of Joseph.
The truth is official Egyptian records are silent concerning what transpired during this time for about a 150 year period.
It was almost as if Egyptian history suddenly ceased.
The reason is because Kings and Pharaohs didn’t like to record their defeats and times of subjugation.
Understanding that Egypt was under Semitic rulership at this time explains the following three points:
-How Joseph became so powerful.
-How Israel was able to grow and prosper in a foreign land.
-How the local Egyptian population grew to hate the Israelites in their midst resulting in the Israelites becoming slaves when the Semitic Pharaoh was replaced by an Egyptian Pharaoh.
So if the Egyptian government didn’t leave any records, how do we know about Egypt’s subjugation by foreign Semitic rulers?
We know because of existing records written down and preserved by private Egyptian citizens.
Here is an account from the Egyptian historian Manetho who compiled several of these records:
“We had a king called Tutimaeus.
In his reign, it happened.
I do not know why God was displeased with us.
Unexpectedly from the regions of the East,
came men of unknown race.
Confident of victory they marched against our land.
By force they took it, easily, without a single battle.
Having overpowered our rulers
they burned our cities without compassion,
and destroyed the temples of the gods.
All the natives were treated with great cruelty
for they slew some
and carried off the wives and children of others into slavery.
Finally they appointed one of themselves as king.
His name was Salitis and he lived in Memphis
and made Upper and Lower Egypt pay tribute to him…
and when he found a city in the province of Sais
which suited his purpose
(it lay east of the Bubasite branch of the Nile
and was called Avaris)
he rebuilt it and made it very strong by erecting walls
and installing a force of 240,000 men to hold it.
Salitis went there every summer partly to collect his corn
and pay men their wages,
and partly to train his armed troops
and terrify foreigners.”
In this account, we are even given the Arabic name of the conquering king: Salitas.
Also, note the name of the city “Avaris“.
This is the name of the large city that became the home of the Israelites in the land of Goshen, Egypt, which we will encounter once we get into the Book of Exodus.
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