The Real Yitzias Mitzraim
This is mostly an abstract of an article in Hakirah Journal Volume 14 written by Professor Judah Landa.
Why is there no ancient Egyptian recording or even a scrap of evidence recorded by the ancient Egyptians regarding Yitzias Mitzraim?
Why does the Torah tell us in Devorim "
לֹא תְתַעֵב מִצְרִי כִּי גֵר הָיִיתָ בְאַרְצוֹ
The Egyptians enslaved us and treated us horribly, it was one of the worst periods in our History?
There was a period in old Egypt (according to the Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East), starting in about 2000 bc which was before Bnei Yisrael came down to Egypt according to all historians, that Egypt starting encouraging foreign immigration. These foreigners were possibly attracted to Egypt as Egypt was a considerably wealthy country and offered foreigners the ability to make a living. The Egyptians encouraged these migrants to immigrate to use them as slaves possibly and for menial jobs that Egyptians themselves considered beneath them. Over time these immigrants became so numerous that they started banding together and actually conquering areas of Egypt. Initially these areas were small but over time, they started conquering larger and larger swaths of land. These foreigners, over time, started adopting Egyptian customs and even started serving Egyptian Gods. They even called their ruler "Pharaoh". This group of foreigners, known as the Hyskos, eventually conquered the whole country and ruled over the whole of Egypt for approximately 110 years according to early Egyptian historians.
There is a record of this occurrence in ancient Egyptian history. According to the Egyptian natives, these Hyskos were eventually conquered and chased out of Egypt by the natives never to be heard from again.
The theory is that these Hyskos with their Pharoah were the "Egyptians" that enslaved Bnei Yisrael.
This theory explains many interesting phenomena mentioned in the Torah that seem to defy logic.
First of all it says in the Pasuk
וַיָּקָם מֶלֶךְ חָדָשׁ עַל מִצְרָיִם אֲשֶׁר לֹא יָדַע אֶת יוֹסֵף
What does that pasuk mean? Although we are all familiar with the Machlokes Rav and Shmuel to learn pshat it would seem strange that the king didnt know or at least have heard of Yosef who saved the whole country from devastation. However if the king were from a conquering nation it makes a lot of sense that he actually didn't know or at least didn't appreciate or even moreso didn't appreciate that he saved his enemy's country.
וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל עַמּוֹ הִנֵּה עַם בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל רַב וְעָצוּם מִמֶּנּוּ:
Lets look at the next few Pesukim:
הָבָה נִתְחַכְּמָה לוֹ פֶּן יִרְבֶּה וְהָיָה כִּי תִקְרֶאנָה מִלְחָמָה וְנוֹסַף גַּם הוּא עַל שׂנְאֵינוּ וְנִלְחַם בָּנוּ וְעָלָה מִן הָאָרֶץ
What does this mean? Why would the natives be worried that an immigrant population would rise up against them and throw the natives out of the country. That has never happened in history. Conquering nations would subjugate or might enslave the native population but forced migration out of their native land?? What enemies did the Egyptians have that they were worried that the Bnei Yisrael would join in fighting them?
Its almost too obvious from these Pesukim that the Torah is telling us about a foreign group that had usurped power from the natives were worried that the current residents, the Bnei Yisrael, might join the native Egyptians, who were now subjugated, in a coup attempt in order to overthrow the new government, the Hyskos, and together with the native Egyptians literally chase the new Hyskos Pharaoh's from the land of Egypt. Furthermore, the Hyskos who were a group of slaves initially, now as rulers needed their own slave labor. What better idea than to incorporate the Bnei Yisrael into their old jobs as slave laborers and gain two things; a. putting the Bnei Yisrael in a position where it would be hard for them to rise up and join the Egyptians in retaking the land, and b; being able to replace the slave labor needed to work the land and build edifices for their new country.
The Hyskos ruled the whole land for approximately 110 years, this is almost exactly what chazal approximate the amount of time the Bnei Yirael were enslaved. The slavery started a some time after all of Yosef's brothers died. Yosef lived 110 years, Levi lived 137 years and was a few years older than Yosef. The Bnei Yisrael where in Mitzraim for 210 year. Leve came to Mitzraim when he was a few years older than Yosef who was 39 years old at that time. So the slavery was 210 minus approximately 100 years. According to Egyptologists the native Egyptians ultimately expelled the Hyksos from the land of Egypt into the desert never to be heard from again.
The pasuk in Devarim 11.2 says:
וַאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לְחֵיל מִצְרַיִם לְסוּסָיו וּלְרִכְבּוֹ אֲשֶׁר הֵצִיף אֶת מֵי יַם סוּף עַל פְּנֵיהֶם בְּרָדְפָם
אַחֲרֵיכֶם וַיְאַבְּדֵם יְהֹוָה עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה
What does "Until this day" mean? Egypt was not destroyed completely! Many Egyptians must have gone home after Krias Yam Suf and started life anew. It seems obvious that there was a total destruction of the nation of Egyptians at the Yam Suf as is recorded in ancient Egyptian history however it is the Egyptian Hyksos kingdom that was utterly destroyed "never to be heard from again" as it states in the Pasuk and corroborated by Egyptian history.
There is ample Egyptian historical record of this period. However, there is no record of the slavery of the Bnei Yisrael because that was not part of Egyptian history but rather part of Hyskos history. The Hyskos were wiped out, there is nothing left of them or of any of their recorded history. The native Egyptians recorded their ultimate victory over the Hyskos and how they were chased out, taking credit for chasing them out of Egypt and not giving credit to the Bnei Yisrael.
There were many foreigners in Egypt that were not necessarily part of the Hyskos kingdom. When the native Egyptians took back their country they were looking for revenge. Any foreigner at that point was in danger. the Egyptians learnt their lesson. No more open borders and full fledged immigration. What was an immigrant supposed to do in Egypt at that time that Egypt had won its country back from the immigrants. There was a simple and practical solution. Leave Egypt. How? Where to? With whom? Their solution was to join the Bnei Yisrael in their exodus. The pasuk informs us many times about the "Erev Rav" that left Egypt with the Bnai Yisrael. Who were these Erev Rav? Erav Rav means "Mixed Multitudes" why would a mixed multitude join Bnai Yisrael? where did they come from? These were the foreigners that needed to leave Egypt lest they incur the revenge of the native Egyptians.
The Pasuk that states:
לֹא תְתַעֵב מִצְרִי כִּי גֵר הָיִיתָ בְאַרְצוֹ
Can now be understood simply. The native Egyptians were very welcoming to Bnei Yisrael when they came down to Egypt and never turned on them. They were in fact the victims of the vicious Hyskos kings who also enslaved Bnei Yisrael. We are commanded to always treat the welcoming Egyptians with kindness.
Why is there no ancient Egyptian recording or even a scrap of evidence recorded by the ancient Egyptians regarding Yitzias Mitzraim?
Why does the Torah tell us in Devorim "
לֹא תְתַעֵב מִצְרִי כִּי גֵר הָיִיתָ בְאַרְצוֹ
The Egyptians enslaved us and treated us horribly, it was one of the worst periods in our History?
There was a period in old Egypt (according to the Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East), starting in about 2000 bc which was before Bnei Yisrael came down to Egypt according to all historians, that Egypt starting encouraging foreign immigration. These foreigners were possibly attracted to Egypt as Egypt was a considerably wealthy country and offered foreigners the ability to make a living. The Egyptians encouraged these migrants to immigrate to use them as slaves possibly and for menial jobs that Egyptians themselves considered beneath them. Over time these immigrants became so numerous that they started banding together and actually conquering areas of Egypt. Initially these areas were small but over time, they started conquering larger and larger swaths of land. These foreigners, over time, started adopting Egyptian customs and even started serving Egyptian Gods. They even called their ruler "Pharaoh". This group of foreigners, known as the Hyskos, eventually conquered the whole country and ruled over the whole of Egypt for approximately 110 years according to early Egyptian historians.
There is a record of this occurrence in ancient Egyptian history. According to the Egyptian natives, these Hyskos were eventually conquered and chased out of Egypt by the natives never to be heard from again.
The theory is that these Hyskos with their Pharoah were the "Egyptians" that enslaved Bnei Yisrael.
This theory explains many interesting phenomena mentioned in the Torah that seem to defy logic.
First of all it says in the Pasuk
וַיָּקָם מֶלֶךְ חָדָשׁ עַל מִצְרָיִם אֲשֶׁר לֹא יָדַע אֶת יוֹסֵף
What does that pasuk mean? Although we are all familiar with the Machlokes Rav and Shmuel to learn pshat it would seem strange that the king didnt know or at least have heard of Yosef who saved the whole country from devastation. However if the king were from a conquering nation it makes a lot of sense that he actually didn't know or at least didn't appreciate or even moreso didn't appreciate that he saved his enemy's country.
וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל עַמּוֹ הִנֵּה עַם בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל רַב וְעָצוּם מִמֶּנּוּ:
Lets look at the next few Pesukim:
הָבָה נִתְחַכְּמָה לוֹ פֶּן יִרְבֶּה וְהָיָה כִּי תִקְרֶאנָה מִלְחָמָה וְנוֹסַף גַּם הוּא עַל שׂנְאֵינוּ וְנִלְחַם בָּנוּ וְעָלָה מִן הָאָרֶץ
What does this mean? Why would the natives be worried that an immigrant population would rise up against them and throw the natives out of the country. That has never happened in history. Conquering nations would subjugate or might enslave the native population but forced migration out of their native land?? What enemies did the Egyptians have that they were worried that the Bnei Yisrael would join in fighting them?
Its almost too obvious from these Pesukim that the Torah is telling us about a foreign group that had usurped power from the natives were worried that the current residents, the Bnei Yisrael, might join the native Egyptians, who were now subjugated, in a coup attempt in order to overthrow the new government, the Hyskos, and together with the native Egyptians literally chase the new Hyskos Pharaoh's from the land of Egypt. Furthermore, the Hyskos who were a group of slaves initially, now as rulers needed their own slave labor. What better idea than to incorporate the Bnei Yisrael into their old jobs as slave laborers and gain two things; a. putting the Bnei Yisrael in a position where it would be hard for them to rise up and join the Egyptians in retaking the land, and b; being able to replace the slave labor needed to work the land and build edifices for their new country.
The Hyskos ruled the whole land for approximately 110 years, this is almost exactly what chazal approximate the amount of time the Bnei Yirael were enslaved. The slavery started a some time after all of Yosef's brothers died. Yosef lived 110 years, Levi lived 137 years and was a few years older than Yosef. The Bnei Yisrael where in Mitzraim for 210 year. Leve came to Mitzraim when he was a few years older than Yosef who was 39 years old at that time. So the slavery was 210 minus approximately 100 years. According to Egyptologists the native Egyptians ultimately expelled the Hyksos from the land of Egypt into the desert never to be heard from again.
The pasuk in Devarim 11.2 says:
וַאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לְחֵיל מִצְרַיִם לְסוּסָיו וּלְרִכְבּוֹ אֲשֶׁר הֵצִיף אֶת מֵי יַם סוּף עַל פְּנֵיהֶם בְּרָדְפָם
אַחֲרֵיכֶם וַיְאַבְּדֵם יְהֹוָה עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה
What does "Until this day" mean? Egypt was not destroyed completely! Many Egyptians must have gone home after Krias Yam Suf and started life anew. It seems obvious that there was a total destruction of the nation of Egyptians at the Yam Suf as is recorded in ancient Egyptian history however it is the Egyptian Hyksos kingdom that was utterly destroyed "never to be heard from again" as it states in the Pasuk and corroborated by Egyptian history.
There is ample Egyptian historical record of this period. However, there is no record of the slavery of the Bnei Yisrael because that was not part of Egyptian history but rather part of Hyskos history. The Hyskos were wiped out, there is nothing left of them or of any of their recorded history. The native Egyptians recorded their ultimate victory over the Hyskos and how they were chased out, taking credit for chasing them out of Egypt and not giving credit to the Bnei Yisrael.
There were many foreigners in Egypt that were not necessarily part of the Hyskos kingdom. When the native Egyptians took back their country they were looking for revenge. Any foreigner at that point was in danger. the Egyptians learnt their lesson. No more open borders and full fledged immigration. What was an immigrant supposed to do in Egypt at that time that Egypt had won its country back from the immigrants. There was a simple and practical solution. Leave Egypt. How? Where to? With whom? Their solution was to join the Bnei Yisrael in their exodus. The pasuk informs us many times about the "Erev Rav" that left Egypt with the Bnai Yisrael. Who were these Erev Rav? Erav Rav means "Mixed Multitudes" why would a mixed multitude join Bnai Yisrael? where did they come from? These were the foreigners that needed to leave Egypt lest they incur the revenge of the native Egyptians.
The Pasuk that states:
לֹא תְתַעֵב מִצְרִי כִּי גֵר הָיִיתָ בְאַרְצוֹ
Can now be understood simply. The native Egyptians were very welcoming to Bnei Yisrael when they came down to Egypt and never turned on them. They were in fact the victims of the vicious Hyskos kings who also enslaved Bnei Yisrael. We are commanded to always treat the welcoming Egyptians with kindness.
posted by funnyfundamentalist at 7:55 AM
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