by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #124 posted May 19, 2021, edited June 3, 2021.
1 – THE RIVER OF EGYPT
The above map shows the boundaries of the land which God promised to the Israelites in perpetuity as extending from the Euphrates River in the north to the Nile River in the south. The map is in error. The Promised Land extends from the Euphrates River in the north to the River of Egypt[1] (also called the Brook of Egypt) in the south. The latter name refers to the Wadi El Arish, which was the northern boundary of Egypt for millennia. The Promised Land does not include the Sinai Peninsula and the territory between the Red Sea and the Nile River.
2 – SOME COMMENTS ON THE RIVER OF EGYPT
You will see from the comments below that this border between Canaan and Egypt played an important role in the histories of both the Egyptians and the Hebrews..
2A – The Crossing by Abraham
After Terah died in Haran circa 1894 BC, Abraham traveled south and crossed the Euphrates River, thereby leaving Mesopotamia and entering Canaan. Later in that year or the next, Abraham traveled south and crossed the River of Egypt, thereby leaving Canaan and entering Egypt, where he visited the pharaoh Cheops=Khufu=Osirophus=Sufi I (1901-1880 BC), the first king of the 4th Dynasty of Egypt.
2B – The Location of Avaris
After 34 years of rule by the 13th Dynasty pharaohs Ramesse (1498-1469 BC) and Concharis (1469-1464 BC), the Middle Kingdom of Egypt was ended by a catastrophe that cause first the Ten Plagues of Egypt and then the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt. The Hebrews fled across the top of the Bitter Lakes and then down the southwestern coast of the Sinai Peninsula to Pi-Ha-Kiroth, the western landfall of the Strait of Tiran. There, God first parted the waters of the strait, thereby allowing the Hebrews to crossover into Midian (the westernmost point of Saudi Arabia which forms the eastern shore of the Gulf of Aqaba), and then closed the waters of the strait, thereby drowning Pharaoh Concharis and his army.
Meanwhile, the catastrophe unsettled the Hyksos=Amalekites in Arabia, who traveled south into Midian, where they met the Hebrews traveling north. After an inconclusive battle at Rephidim, they separated, with the Hebrews continuing north to the southern foot of Jabal Al Lawz =Mount Sinai, and the Hyksos=Amalekites continuing south into Egypt, which they occupied for the next four centuries (1464-1041 BC). At some point, they built a fortress at the northern border of Egypt, which was called Avaris. Following Velikovsky,[2] I believe that Avaris was located at El Arish, where the River of Egypt empties into the Mediterranean Sea, and from which they exercised control of the Nile Delta and sent raiding parties into Canaan.
The last of the Hyksos=Amalekite kings was Agag=Apepi=Apophis=Ogyges, who ruled for 61 years (1102-1041 BC). In 1058 BC, another catastrophe probably caused the Flood of Ogyges in Egypt, which created unsettled conditions in the land that probably led to two events. (1) In 1052 BC, descendents of Ramesse and Concharis retook the throne in Thebes, ruling it for the next 11 years (1052-1041 BC). The first was Senakhtenre Ta’o I=Queen Tetyshery (1052-1050 BC); the second was Sequenenre Ta’o II=Queen Ahhotep (1050-1048 BC), and the third was Prince Kamose (1048-1041 BC). (2) Probably at the same time, Agag fled from Thebes to Avaris, from which he intended to strengthen his control over lower Canaan and the Nile Delta.
Circa 1041 BC, the Israelites and the Egyptians entered into an alliance to put an end to the Hyksos=Amalekite dominance of the region. The Hebrews were led by Samuel, who judged Israel from 1073 to 1030 BC, and Saul, who was anointed to be king c.1048 BC, but was subordinate to Samuel until the latter’s death in 1030 BC. The Egyptians were led by Prince Ahmose, who was the younger brother of Kamose. They laid siege to Avaris, overwhelmed it, slaughtered its inhabitants, and then razed it to the ground. After the victory, Prince Ahmose succeeded his brother on the Theban throne and founded a new dynasty. In 1030 BC, Samuel died, and Saul reigned for 2 years (1030-1028 BC) as King of Israel without Samuel. Thus, the 18th Dynasty of Egypt (1041-812 BC) and the United Kingdom of Israel (1030-948 BC) rose to power and prominence simultaneously at the end of the 2nd Millennium BC.
2C – The Location of the Mariannu Garrison
Following Velikovsky,[3] I believe that Egypt’s Dynasty 30=20 lasted 19 years (381-362 BC). Its first pharaoh was Nectanbo=Ramses III, who reigned for 18 years (381-363 BC). During his reign, there were three wars:
1-War between Egypt & Libya lasted 3 years (381-379 BC) – When Libyans invaded Egypt, the Egyptians were helped by Athenian mercenaries, who had been hired by Achoris, and by some Persians (the Pereset) who were garrisoned at a fortress on Egypt’s western frontier.
2-War between Egypt & Persia (the Pereset) lasted 3 years (379-376 BC) – As soon as danger on the western front ceased, Nectanbo I=Ramses III revolted against Persia. When a Persian force approached Egypt, the Egyptians were helped by Athenian mercenaries under the command of Admiral Chabrias, who defeated the Persians. When Persia complained to Athens, the Greeks replaced Chabrias with General Iphicrates, who was ordered to assist the Persians.
3-War between Egypt & a Persian-Athenian Alliance lasted 2 years (376-374 BC); a Persian-Greek force under the joint command of Pharnabazus (Persian) and Iphicrates (Greek) assembled at Amor in Syria, but the two generals could not agree on how to proceed. Meanwhile, a Greek naval force assembled at Akko and sailed for the Nile Delta. It attacked Pelusium (a fortress at the northernmost point of the seven mouths of the Nile; probably modern day Port Said), but it was repelled. It next attacked the fortress at Mendesium and invested it. Meanwhile, the Egyptians moved an Israeli garrison (the Mariannu) from Jeb-Elephantine to Zahi, a fortress somewhere on the coast east of Pelusium (possibly about 20 miles away, but more likely 90 miles away, at El Arish, which would have been the logical place to intercept a Persian force moving southward through Canaan). With a hostile force between it and the main army, and with the Nile beginning to overflow, the Greek fleet set sail for home and the war ended – a victory for Nectanbo I=Ramses III.
In 363 BC, Necatnbo=Ramses III was succeeded by Tachos I=Ramses IV, who ruled for 1 year (363-362 BC).
© 2021 John Holbrook Jr.
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[1] See the fourth expression of the 2nd Abrahamic Covenant re the Land (Genesis 15:18-21).
[2] See Velikovsky, Immanuel, Ages in Chaos, Doubleday, New York, 1952. The above dates, however, are mine.
[3] See Velikovsky, Immanuel, Peoples of the Sea, Doubleday, New York, 1977. The above dates, however, are mine.