What the Bible owes to Egypt

^2nd millennium : the origins of " Israel " as seen by Egypt

Egypt - αἰγύπτος in Greek; םירצמ [miṣrāyim] in Hebrew, perhaps a translation of the Egyptian expression tʒ.wj meaning " the two countries ", i.e. Upper and Lower Egypt -, during the New Kingdom, had taken control of Syria-Palestine. The various Canaanite kinglets, in a system of city-states, were vassals of Egypt. On the bangs of these cities, there were also rural, nomadic populations, often in conflict with the cities : the Shasu and the 'Apiru, who are mentioned in various Egyptian texts (inscriptions of Pharaoh Amenophis III ; letters from El Amarna) ; these terms being not ethnic but sociological.

The oldest mention of the name Israel is in fact Egyptian : the victory stele of Pharaoh Merenptah (- 1205) refers to " Israel " as a group probably located in the mountains of Ephraim.

Egypt and Israel in the first millennium : Egyptian and biblical sources

During the ^1st millennium, contacts between Egypt and the Levant continued on different levels : campaigns of certain Pharaohs, cultural influences, but also the idea of Egypt as a land of exile (already attested in the ^2nd millennium). It should be noted that Egyptian and biblical sources often disagree on the description of particular events (e.g. 1 Kings 9:16, where Solomon is said to have married a Pharaoh's daughter ; an implausible assertion given Egyptian sources and customs).

Egypt as conqueror

Two major campaigns in Israel and Judah are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible : those of Sheshonq (-930; cf. 1 Kgs 14:25-26 and the Egyptian list of cities conquered by Sheshonq, which does not mention Jerusalem) and Nekao II (2 Kgs 23:29; 2 Ch 35:20-24), during which Josiah lost his life.

Egypt as a potential ally

The use of Egypt as an ally appears several times in biblical texts, notably against the Assyrians (2 Kgs 17:4) and then the Babylonians (Jer 20:1-6; 2 Kgs 24:7). This call for help is also repeatedly criticized by the prophets (Hos 7:11; 11); it undoubtedly corresponds to a reality.

Egypt as a place of asylum and refuge

Following the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C., some of the remaining Judeans sought refuge in Egypt (2 Kings 25; Jer 42-44). The writers of Jeremiah and Ezekiel were apparently hostile to the Judeans who had settled in Egypt in the early Persian period (a parallel can be drawn with the Jewish community in Elephantine, in southern Egypt). Egypt was well known for its fertile land and wealth, making it an ideal candidate as a land of refuge (Gen 13; Num 11:5; 20:5; Deut 11:10), particularly in times of famine (Gen 12:10-20; 42) but also in times of political instability (1 Kings 11:17; 40; 2 Kings 25:26; Hos 9:6; Jer 26:20-23). This is also attested by Egyptian documents (e.g. the inscription from the tomb of Horemheb, late ^14th century BC).

Cultural, cultic and literary influences

During the ^1st millennium BC, Egypt's political and economic influence on Israel and Judah was significant, according to biblical texts as well as iconography and glyptics (cf. the seals " Egyptianisants " and representations of seraphim, flying serpents).

Known literary productions of the Judeans

There are two main texts whose influence on Judean and Israelite traditions can be traced: the Roman de Sinouhé and the Tale of the Two Brothers. The former, whose earliest manuscripts date back to 1800 B.C., recounts the flight of a high-ranking official from Egypt for unclear reasons. There are links with the stories of Moses and Joseph, as well as with the story of David's fight against Goliath. As for the Tale of the Two Brothers (^12thcentury B.C.), we are particularly interested in the first part, which recounts an episode extremely similar to that of Gen 39 (Joseph and Potiphar's wife).

Egyptian and biblical wisdom

Biblical wisdom as expressed in the book of Proverbs reveals many parallels with Egyptian wisdom : the main task of the Egyptian sages was to train young men to live in society while maintaining the order (maât) that governs it ; the concept of maât, very close to the Hebrew concepts of šālôm ("peace") and ṣĕdāqâ ("justice"), designates the just state of nature and society, as fixed by the creator god ; the fact that maât passes from the status of a concept to that of a personified figure (sometimes even in the form of a goddess), just like Wisdom(Ḥokmâ) in Pr 8 ; the strong parallels between Pr 22,17-23,11 and the Egyptian text Wisdom of Amen-em-opé (1100-1000 B.C., recopied from the Egyptian text Wisdom of Amen-em-opé (1100-1000 B.C., recopied from the Egyptian text Wisdom of Amen-em-opé , recopied from the Egyptian text Wisdom of Amen-em-opé ). christian era, constantly recopied in the following centuries), which probably indicates that the author of this booklet of Proverbs had a precise knowledge of this text.

Egyptian origins of the idea of the judgment of the dead

The idea of a judgement of the dead is not a major concept concerning death in the Hebrew Bible, but was established around the ^3rd and ^2nd centuries BC (cf. Book of Daniel) and had a strong influence on nascent Judaism (cf. Book of Enoch) and later on Christianity (cf. Mt 25). The idea of a court of the dead in Egypt has undergone transformations throughout history : first, the idea of an afterlife was reserved for the king, the only one with a tomb and who was mummified, then this idea was democratized, in the sense that wealthy people could afford the same practices ; the idea of judgment also evolved - having its roots in the story of Set and Osiris in the form of a court - to become a court " ethics " where any dead person is judged for the way in which they have led their life (if they pass the exam, the candidate can have access to a life " after the first death "). This idea gave nascent Judaism the opportunity to solve a major theological problem, namely the premature death of " just ".

Egypt in the Pentateuch

The place of Egypt is ambivalent in the Pentateuch : in Gen 10, Egypt is a descendant of Ham, son of Noah ; in Gen 37-50, the novel of Joseph, we can glimpse a positive vision of the Egyptian diaspora ; the Exodus narrative presents a negative vision, where Egypt enslaves the Hebrew people ; texts from the book of Numbers, like certain prophetic texts, criticize any desire to return to Egypt.

In Joseph's novel

Gn 37-50 can be described as " new diaspora " and presents a positive vision of the Egyptian diaspora. The relationship between Egypt and the descendants of the patriarch Jacob is presented in an almost irenic way. This novel presupposes a good knowledge of Egypt in the second half of the first millennium BC, given the various cultural references in the text, which must be dated to the Achaemenid period. Joseph's novel presents a quasi-liberal theology and is a genuine plea for cohabitation between Jews and Egyptians (e.g. Joseph and Pharaoh have no theological conflicts). Joseph embodies the exemplary success of a Jew in Egypt, since he manages to integrate perfectly into the Egyptian milieu despite initially unfavorable circumstances, and thus serves as a model for every member of the Diaspora.

In the Exodus narrative

In the Hebrew Bible, Israel's exit from Egypt functions as the founding myth par excellence (cf. the opening of the Decalogue; the " historical credo " of Deut 26:5-9) and appears as the beginning of the story between Yhwh and Israel, who wrests the Israelites from Pharaoh's power in order to place them at his service. The question of the primitive contours of this tradition and its historicity is a thorny one : no Egyptian document mentions an event comparable to the exit from Egypt, as it appears in the biblical account ; moreover, the account in the book of Exodus gives no precise chronological indication. We must therefore follow Jan Assmann's proposal, according to which the exit from Egypt does not have a historical core, but is the result of the assembly of different traces of memory (expulsion from Egypt of the pharaohs " Hyksos " ; the 'Apiru, the memory of Egyptian domination of the Levant).

Excursus : the figure of Moses

As with the Exodus, establishing the historicity of the figure of Moses poses major problems. There are a number of hypotheses that do not allow us to verify the historicity of the figure, but rather to find the background that led to its construction. Although the name " Moses " is of Egyptian origin (m-s-j means " beget, bring forth "), this does not necessarily mean that Moses was an Egyptian. However, this name is a sign of a relatively ancient tradition, as it is hard to imagine that someone with an Egyptian name would have been invented for the hero of the Exodus. Several avenues have been explored on the basis of Egyptian sources : Egyptian texts from the end of the ^2nd millennium mention several high-ranking officials, originally from the Levant, and bearing, alongside their Semitic names, Egyptian names with the root m-s-j. Two figures have been highlighted as " candidates " for discovering the historical Moses : a certain Beya (under Sety II) and a " Irsou " (perhaps Beya, or perhaps a proper name). Another risky speculation links the historical Moses to the monotheist Pharaoh Akhenaton (cf. Freud).

Prophets and Egypt : from condemnation to reconciliation

During the ^eighth and ^seventh centuries BC, Israelite and Judean rulers were constantly hesitating as to whether to submit to the Assyrians. Numerous prophetic books (Os, Es, Jr, Ez) castigate the idea of finding support from Pharaoh, and contain oracles that are often violent towards Egypt. However, some late prophetic oracles, probably from the Hellenistic period, go even further, announcing the integration of Egypt into Yhwh's plan of salvation (Isa 19:19-25). So Egypt is not only a point of " departure " (Exodus), but also a point of return and a symbol of reconciliation (this oracle perhaps reflects the importance of the Jewish diaspora in Alexandria).