This article was first published in the Winter 2005 issue of Bible and Spade. |
The main route between Canaan and Egypt was along the northern coast of Sinai. A number of Biblical figures no doubt traveled this road. Known to the Egyptians as “the Way of Horus,” and in the Bible as “the road through the Philistine country” (Ex 13:17), it ended in the eastern delta in the Goshen region. This is the part of Egypt where most Biblical characters lived and Biblical events took place.
ABRAHAM
Abraham came to Egypt during the 21st century BC, at the end of the First Intermediate Period (Gn 12:10; 13:1). The 11th Dynasty based in Thebes was just gaining power in the south and would ultimately control all of Egypt. So the Pharaoh that Abraham met (Gn 12:15–20) may have been a northern leader who took the title, or an early king from the Theban dynasty. Presumably, their encounter took place in the delta area.
While in this region, Abraham probably saw the Giza pyramids on the Nile’s west bank. Giza is the northern-most and most famous of the Old Kingdom royal cemeteries in the delta region, including Meidum, Dahshur, Saqqara and Abusir. They were located near Memphis, the national capital at that time. While the most famous and largest pyramids are at Giza (Fourth Dynasty; 27th-26th century BC), the first was a four-sided stepped stone construction built by Pharaoh Djoser (Third Dynasty; 27th century BC) at Saqqara. Pharaoh Sneferu (Fourth Dynasty; 25th century BC) constructed the earliest smooth-sided pyramid in the form we know today at Dahshur.
Pyramid development. They started from a flattop rectangular mud-brick tomb, called a mastaba (Arabic for “bench”). The first pyramid (left) was a series of six increasingly smaller mastabas, one on top of the other. The famous builder Imhotep constructed the four-sided stone structure for Pharaoh Djoser (Third Dynasty; 27th century BC) at Saqqara. This stepped pyramid is the oldest freestanding stone structure in the world. From Djoser’s stepped pyramid came the first real pyramid with four smoothed flat sides, constructed by Pharaoh Sneferu (Fourth Dynasty; 27th century BC) at Dahshur (center). Unfortunately, his builders were forced to correct the slope half way up, and it is known today as the Bent Pyramid. A later Sneferu pyramid at Dahshur, known today as the Red Pyramid because of the reddish color of the local limestone that was used in its construction, was perfectly constructed and is generally recognized as the first true pyramid (right). Contrary to popular opinion, none of Egypt’s royal pyramids were constructed by Israelite slaves. Instead, known archaeological evidence suggests they were constructed by professional builders who lived in nearby villages and spent their lives working on the project. Photo credits: Left: Charles J. Sharp - own work, from Sharp Photography, February 16, 2007, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. Center: lienyuan lee, April 16, 2004, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. Right: Olaf Tausch - own work, October 8, 2014, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Pyramid of 12th Dynasty Pharaoh Sesostris II at El-Lahun in Lower Egypt. This was possibly the Pharaoh under whom Joseph rose to the position of vizier in Egypt. Although a Middle Kingdom Pharaonic tomb, it was much smaller than the Old Kingdom pyramids at Giza. Sesostris II’s pyramid was constructed of a mud-brick core with a limestone casing. All that remains today is the mud-brick core, as the casing was stripped away long ago by locals for building material. Photo credit: wn work, September 14, 2006, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. - o
JOSEPH
The Midianites would have brought Joseph to Egypt by way of the Horus Road (Gn 37:28; 39:1). Once in Egypt, he was sold to Potiphar, a high Egyptian official, and apparently worked as a slave on Potiphar’s estate in the delta (Gn 39:1, 2). Interestingly, Egyptian history indicates that slavery first appeared at this very time period (Aling 2002: 35–37).
Egypt’s 12th Dynasty (ca. 1991–1786 BC) built a new capital city in Upper Egypt’s northern extremity, close to the delta. From here they could more effectively administrate and access their eastern frontier (Leprohon 1992: 345–46). Called itj-tawy, it was probably located near the capital’s royal necropolis at el-Lahun, at the entrance to the Faiyum, a large fertile area west of the Nile. The actual site is unknown today (Ray 2004: 40). Here was constructed the pyramid of 12th Dynasty Pharaoh Sesostris II (ca. 1897–1877 BC). Biblical dating suggests this was the Pharaoh under whom Joseph rose to the position of vizier in Egypt (Gn 45:8). As the most powerful man in the kingdom, Joseph would have visited and even had authority over construction of this pyramid. In fact, Joseph may have supervised Pharaoh’s burial here.
Joseph most likely served under Sesostris II’s son, Sesostris III (ca. 1878–1843 BC), during the years of famine. Sesostris III’s own pyramid tomb at Dahshur (northern Upper Egypt) also would have been a major responsibility for Joseph. Since documents mention later viziers during Sesostris III’s reign, Joseph probably went into honorable retirement in the delta’s Goshen region shortly after the years of famine.
Uraeus worn by Sesostris II. Discovered in Sesostris II’s pyramid by W.M. Flinders Petrie in 1920, it had been left behind by tomb robbers. The term uraeus is derived from the Greek transcription of Egyptian iaret, the cobra with its hood dilated ready to strike. An emblem of royalty, the reptile was applied to crowns to protect the king from evil with its poison. Sesostris II’s uraeus is made of solid gold, with a head of lapis lazuli, and its body contains lapis lazuli, feldspar, and carnelian. It is on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Photo credit: Tangopaso - self-photographed, August 3, 2023, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons.
Recent excavations in the eastern Nile delta may have actually identified the location of Joseph’s residence in retirement, and even his tomb. At a site known as Tell el-Daba today, the Rameses of the Old Testament, extensive excavations have been carried out under the direction of Manfred Bietak of the Austrian Archaeological Institute, Cairo, since 1966. This site was strategically located at the eastern starting point to the Horus Road to Canaan and along the Nile’s easternmost branch, the Pelusiac. That may explain its name, Rowaty (“the door of the two roads”) in the days of Joseph and Jacob. The site has evidence for Asiatics as early as the mid-12th Dynasty (mid-19th century BC), the general period when Jacob entered Egypt. It was an unfortified rural settlement, although numerous enclosure walls probably kept animals. Living quarters consisted of rectangular huts built of sand bricks (Wood 1997: 55).
Not all residents of Tell el-Daba’s first Asiatic settlement lived in huts. One, evidently an important official, lived in a small villa. While the Bible tells us that Joseph was given the title “Ruler of all Egypt” (Hebrew) or vizier, it does not mention where he lived while serving in the Egyptian bureaucracy. It seems logical that after he discharged his duties associated with the famine, he would have moved to Rowaty to be near his father and brothers. It is possible the villa in Rowaty and the surrounding semi-circle of poorer two-room houses are the homes of Joseph and his brothers (Wood 1997: 56).
The earliest remains of Asiatics at Tell el-Daba included houses and tombs (12th Dynasty, mid-19th century BC). Called Rowaty (“the door of the two roads”) at that time, this Asiatic settlement was probably Rameses (Gn 47:11, 27; a later name for the same site) where Jacob and his family settled in Goshen. One particular house and tomb excavated there may actually be Joseph’s. Directly above that was found a later and larger early Hyksos palace (13th Dynasty). It was probably the first Hyksos Pharaoh, “who did not know about Joseph” (Ex 1:8), that pressed the Israelites into slavery and had them build the store city of Rameses (Ex 1:11; a later name for this Hyksos city). (Based on Fig. 7 in Manfred Bietak, Avaris: The Capital of the Hyksos [London: British Museum, 1996].)
A cemetery with artifacts that connected it to the houses was also excavated in the open space to the southwest. One of the tombs was monumental in construction and totally unique in finds. Inside were found stone fragments of a colossal statue of a man who was clearly Asiatic, based on the yellow painted skin, the red-painted mushroom-shaped hairstyle and a throwstick on his right shoulder (the hieroglyph for foreigner). The statue had been intentionally broken in antiquity.
While the other tombs nearby had intact skeletons, the only finds in the monumental tomb were fragments of an inscribed limestone sarcophagus and a few bone fragments. The body was gone! While it was common to plunder tombs in ancient Egypt, the bodies were usually not taken. Could this be the tomb of Joseph, from which he commanded his bones to be carried back to Canaan (Gn 50:25; Ex 13:19)? Without an inscription, it cannot be proven; but this site suggests the first material evidence of Israelites in Egypt. It is the right culture in the right place at the right time (see Wood 1997: 56–58).
The other store city of Pharaoh built by the Israelites was Pithom (Ex 1:11). Scholars differ on the modern location of this ancient site, but the two leading candidates are Tell el-Maskhuta and Tell el-Retabah, about 9 mi apart in the Wadi Tumilat at the southern edge of Goshen. While the question is not settled yet, the best choice appears to be Retabah; Maskhuta may well have been Succoth (Ex 12:37; 13:20). (W. M. Flinders Petrie, Hyksos and Israelite Cities [London: British School of Archaeology in Egypt, 1906], PL. 35.)
HYKSOS
The town known as Rowaty, where Joseph and his family probably lived, had its name changed to Avaris toward the end of the 18th century BC. This was during Egypt’s 14th Dynasty and the new name meant “the (royal) foundation of the district.” Same site, different era, different name—Avaris would continue to be the site’s name even through the period of the Hyksos (Wood 2004: 45).
The Hyksos, whose hieroglyphic name meant “foreign rulers,” came into the Nile delta from southern Canaan and established a center of power at Avaris. Their leaders took the title of Pharaoh and ruled northern Egypt for 108 years (ca. 1664–1555 BC). They have come to be known as Egypt’s 15th Dynasty. Avaris was their capital and it became an important commercial center. The “Pharaoh that knew not Joseph” (Ex 1:8) was probably the first Hyksos Pharaoh, and it was probably Hyksos Pharaohs who forced the Israelites to build the store cities of Pithom and Rameses (Ex 1:8–12).
When the Egyptians, under the leadership of the 18th Dynasty’s founder Amosis, drove out the Hyksos in the mid-16th century BC, they most likely changed the name of the city of Avaris. The new name was probably Peru-nefer, which meant “happy journey” (Wood 2004: 45). That would have been the name of the city during Moses’s time.
A royal palace complex from Moses’s time (18th Dynasty; 15th century BC) was excavated at Izbet Helmi, a few hundred yards west of where the early Asiatic settlement had been found (mid-19th century BC). It was built in close proximity to the Nile River (the Pelusiac Branch), as the Bible indicates. Possibly called Peru-nefer during that period, it fits the time and place for the palace where Moses grew up and where he also later confronted Pharaoh to let his people go. (Reprinted by permission of the Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, from Manfred Bietak and Irene Forstner-Müeller, "Ausgrabungen im Palastbezirk von Avaris: Vorbericht Tell el-Dab’a/’Ezbet Helmi Frühjahr2003," Egypt and the Levant 13 [2003]: P.39.)
MOSES
The Bible records the events of Moses’s birth in Exodus 2, with the Israelites apparently still living in the delta’s Goshen area. When Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, she found baby Moses (Ex 2:5). This daughter of Pharaoh may well have been Hatshepsut, who later became a Pharaoh herself (Hansen 2003). So, the Bible suggests that the royal family had a residence in Goshen where the Israelites lived (Ex 2:2–10). While the national capital for the 18th Dynasty Pharaohs was in Memphis 13 mi south of Cairo, after the Hyksos experience a royal presence would always have been seen as necessary for national security in the Nile’s eastern delta.
Bietak’s excavation at Tell el-Daba uncovered a ten-acre royal citadel from the time of Moses at the village of Ezbet Helmi, just a few hundred yards west of the earlier Asiatic settlement. It was part of a new royal center established at the former Hyksos capital of Avaris. Located just south of where the Pelusiac branch of the Nile once flowed (the courses of the Nile branches, and the delta itself, have changed dramatically over the millennia), Bietak found two palaces that were in use during the time of Moses (early 18th Dynasty).
The palace closest to the river (Palace F) was the smaller and probably doubled as a watchtower of the river and citadel. Just 100 ft (30m) from the river, it was constructed on a platform with a ramp leading to the entrance. Nearby were a middle class settlement, workshops, storage rooms and possibly a ritual complex (Wood 2004: 47).
The main palace (Palace G), occupying over 3 acres, also had a ramp to the entrance, a bathing room at the entrance, a large open courtyard, a reception hall and private apartments for the royal family.
The site is in the right area and at the right time to be the royal palace where Moses was raised (Ex 2:10; Acts 7:20–21) and where he confronted Pharaoh 11 times during the time of the Ten Plagues (Ex 4–12). If this is correct, then the site of Jacob’s sojourn in Egypt (modern Tell el-Daba), the home and tomb of Joseph (modern Tell el-Daba) and the palace where Moses was raised and confronted Pharaoh before the Exodus (modern Ezbet Helmi) have all been excavated and are located within the same ancient complex.
Reconstruction of the sun temple at Heliopolis. The base of a model of the temple at Heliopolis from the reign of Seti I (ca. 1291–1279 BC) was found in Egypt and is now in the Brooklyn Museum of Art. From the model, the staff at the Brooklyn Museum of Art was able to reconstruct the Heliopolis sun temple as seen in the photo. All that remains of the temple today is one lone obelisk, dedicated to the 12th Dynasty Pharaoh Sesostris I (ca. 1971–1928 BC); thus it would have been standing in Joseph’s day. Other obelisks from Heliopolis have been sent to various cities as gifts, including New York, London, and Rome. New York’s obelisk was erected behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was originally commissioned by Tuthmosis III (ca. 1504–1450 BC), so was not at Heliopolis during Joseph’s time.
RAMESES
The Bible mentions that Jacob and his family settled in “the land of Rameses” where they became property owners (Gn 47:11, 27). The Bible also mentions that the Israelites were used as slave labor to build the city of Rameses (Ex 1:11) and when they left Egypt after 430 years (Ex 12:40) they departed from Rameses (Ex 12:37). Apparently, most of the Israelites spent the years of the Egyptian Sojourn in and around Rameses.
While the location of ancient Rameses had been in dispute for years, excavations at Tell el-Daba and surrounding villages in the Nile’s eastern delta have demonstrated that the ancient city was located here. It sat on the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, giving access to the Mediterranean, and was the starting point of the Horus Road to the east. While its name changed throughout the centuries, the location along the Pelusiac and the Horus Road kept it a strategic site on Egypt’s eastern border.
The name Ramesses actually comes from a later period than the Israelite Sojourn. It was the name given by 19th Dynasty Pharaoh Rameses II (Rameses the Great, ca 1279–1212 BC) to the city he built a short distance northeast of ancient Rowaty/Avaris/Peru-nefer in the eastern Nile delta. Known as Pi-Rameses (“city of Rameses”) to the Egyptians, it is located at the modern village of Qantir. Much of the ancient capital has been located by means of a magnetometer survey. The 13th century BC city covered more than 4 square mi (10 square km). Excavations have uncovered a palace-like structure with pillared halls and associated stables from the time of Ramesses II. Not excavated yet, but identified on the magnetometer survey, are an additional palace area, significant public buildings, and a vast residential quarter with avenues, channels, streets, villas, courtyards and gardens (Pusch 2001).
Thus, the city called Rameses was not built until after the Exodus. But it was built at the same site where Jacob, Joseph and Moses lived. While the Bible calls it Rameses when Jacob moved there (Gn 47:11) and when the Israelites built a new city at the site (Ex 1:11) under the “Pharaoh that knew not Joseph” (Ex 1:8), that name did not actually apply to the site until the 13th century BC. Later scribes updated the Biblical text with the name Rameses when the earlier names of the site went out of use.
EGYPT DURING THE PERIOD OF THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH
During the period of the Babylonian empire, there are frequent mentions of Lower Egyptian sites by the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Numerous Jews fled to Egypt when Israel and Judah were invaded, first by the Assyrians and later by the Babylonians, and these two prophets addressed them and their cities of refuge. While Memphis was most famous as one of early Egypt’s first national capitals from the 3rd millennium BC, it was only mentioned in the Bible late. Called Noph (Jer 44:1) and Moph (Hebrew; Hos 9:6), both shortened forms of Memphis (hieroglyphic mn-nfr), it was mentioned for judgment by the prophets.
Temple of Amun at Zoan. Built in the 21st Dynasty by Psusennes I (ca. 1055–1004 BC) at the time of Saul, the temple occupies an area of 240 x 80 yd (220 x 72 m). In the foreground is Tomb 5 of Sheshonk III (ca. 819–767 BC). It contained a canopic jar (used to store the organs of the deceased) and a heart scarab of Biblical Shishak (Sheshonk I, ca. 931–910 BC), so he may have been buried here as well.
Heliopolis
Another important Old Kingdom city was Heliopolis (Greek for “sun city”). Called On (Hebrew from the hieroglyphic Iwnw “pillar town”; Gn 41:45, 50; 46:20), it was the home of Potiphera the priest and father of Asenath, Joseph’s wife. The city of Aven (Ez 30:17), a slightly different spelling of the same name, is also said to be under God’s judgment. Jeremiah’s reference to Beth Shemesh (Hebrew “city of the sun;” Jer 43:13) also refers to On as being under judgment. The ancient city is identified with modern Tell Hisn, north of Cairo. Mentioned as early as the Old Kingdom period, it was prominent during Egypt’s Saite period (664–525 BC), the days of Jeremiah and Ezekiel (Redford 1992a: 122–23).
Bubastis
Bubastis (Hebrew Pibeseth, Ez 30:17; from the hieroglyphic name meaning “house of Bastet”—the cat goddess) was also located in the delta and was mentioned under God’s judgment. The ancient city is identified with modern Tell Basta in Zagazig, with remains dating as far back as the Old Kingdom. Bubastis became politically important as a capital city during the 22nd and 23rd Dynasties (10th–9th centuries BC).
Zoan
Zoan was the Hebrew name for a site better known to us as Tanis (Greek). Called San el Hagar today, it was first mentioned during the reign of Rameses XI (20th Dynasty; 12th century BC). Zoan became the official residence of the 21st Dynasty (ca. 1081–931 BC), replacing Rameses (Peru-nefer/Avaris/Rowaty). This was possibly due to the shifting of the Pelusiac branch of the Nile and loss of Rameses’s harbor. Interestingly, structures, statues and stele from Rameses were shipped down the Nile to Zoan. The residence of Shishak I (ca. 931–910 BC; 1 Kgs 14:25), Zoan was the site of the lost ark in Indiana Jones’s Raiders of the Lost Ark. Zoan was Egypt’s capital during part of the Judean monarchy (Is 19:11, 13: 30:4: Ez 30:14; see Redford 1992b: 1106).
Taphanhes
Tahpanhes (Hebrew; Jer 2:16; 43:7–9; 44:1; 46:14; Ez 30:18) comes from the Egyptian name meaning “Fortress of Penhase.” Penhase (like Hebrew Phinehas) means “Nubian” and was the name of a powerful 11th century BC Theban general who suppressed a rebellion in the delta. This site, identified today with Tell ed-Defenna in the eastern delta, was probably settled during the time of the Judean Monarchy and became important into the Persian period. Tahpanhes became a safe haven for Jews, including Jeremiah, fleeing the Babylonian invasion of Judah. Here the prophet pronounced judgment on Egypt and Jews taking refuge from Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah’s prophesy included mention of Pharaoh Hophra being handed over “to his enemies who seek his life” (43:7–44:30).
Pelusium
Sin (Hebrew, from the hieroglyphic sin “mud;” Ez 30:15–16) was an important fortress on Egypt’s extreme northeastern border. Also called Pelusium (Greek) in antiquity, it is known as Tell el Farama today.
Migdol
Migdol (Hebrew meaning “tower” and a loan word into Egyptian, suggesting a northern location) was mentioned in the Exodus (Ex 14:2), and as a place where Jews resided in Egypt during the Babylonian period (Jer 44:1; 46:14) and a site of God’s judgment on Egypt (“tower” in Ez 29:10; 30:6). While a popular place name throughout the ancient near east, presumably all references relate to the same site in Egypt’s eastern delta. This city is identified with the modern Hebua I fortress, probably the famous Tjaru, a fortress on Egypt’s eastern border.
CONCLUSION
The key to understanding the history of Egypt, especially the delta region, is the Hyksos invasion from southern Canaan. Known in Egyptian history as the Second Intermediate Period, it led to permanent changes in Egyptian political thinking. From that period on, the delta was especially protected from the east. From the delta regular military campaigns were waged into Canaan. A Pharaonic presence in the eastern delta became a constant.
The Hyksos invasion of Egypt was also a seminal event in the history of Israel in Egypt. Arriving en masse with Jacob, most Israelites lived in the delta region. Under Joseph they lived reasonably well (Ex 1:7), but with the coming of the Hyksos and a new Pharaoh “who did not know about Joseph” (Ex 1:8) the fortunes of Israel changed. It was evidently the first Hyksos Pharaoh who began oppressing the Israelites and it was under the Hyksos that the Israelites built the store cities of Pithom and Rameses (Ex 1:11). After the Theban 18th Dynasty expelled the Hyksos and established Egypt’s New Kingdom, they too made the Israelites serve with hard labor. It was during this period that Moses was born and grew up in the royal house in the delta. From this very location, 80 years later, the Exodus would begin.
Late in the Old Testament story, Jeremiah and Ezekiel again mention numerous Egyptian sites, both north and south. It becomes clear from their message to their fellow countrymen living in Egypt that you can run, but you cannot hide from God. He knew where they were and He would bring judgment on them and their Egyptian hideouts.
The story of Israel in Egypt is bound up in the Egyptian history of the Nile delta.
PHARAOHS WHO RULED WHEN BIBLICAL PERSONAGES WERE IN EGYPT
Abraham*
- First Intermediate Period (ca. 2190–2061 BC) ca. 2090 BC
- Abraham entered Egypt to escape famine in Canaan and encounters a Pharaoh. This was during the First Intermediate Period, a time when rulers and their dates are not well known.
Joseph and Jacob
- 12th Dynasty
- AMENEMHET II, ca. 1929–1895 BC
- ca. 1898 BC Joseph enters Egypt at age 17 and is sold to Potipher
- SESOSTRIS II. ca. 1897–1877 BC
- ca. 1885 BC Pharaoh makes Joseph Administrator of the Royal Estates
- ca. 1876 BC Jacob and his family enter Egypt and Jacob appears before Pharaoh
- SESOSTRIS III. ca. 1878–1843 BC
- ca. 1859 BC Jacob dies and Joseph obtains permission from Pharaoh to take Jacob’s body to Canaan for burial in the family sepulcher at Hebron
- AMENEMHET III. ca. 1843–1797 BC
- ca. 1805 BC Joseph dies and is “placed in a coffin in Egypt”
Moses
- 18th Dynasty
- AMENHOTEP I. ca. 1551–1524 BC
- ca. 1530 BC edict made by Pharaoh to kill all male Hebrew babies
- ca. 1526 BC Moses born
- TUTHMOSIS I. ca. 1524–1518 BC; Tuthmosis II. 1518–1504 BC;
- HATSHEPSUT, ca. 1503–1483 BC: Tuthmosis III, ca. 1504–1450 BC
- ca. 1526–1486 BC Moses educated and lived in the royal court as the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter
- ca. 1486–1446 BC Moses flees to Midian to escape Pharaoh’s punishment for killing an Egyptian taskmaster
- ca. 1483 BC Hatshepsut, or ca. 1450 BC Tuthmosis III, the Pharaoh who died while Moses was in Midian
- AMENHOTEP IIA. ca. 1450–1446 BC**
- ca. 1446 BC Pharaoh of the Exodus who died in the Yam Suph
Jeroboam
- 22nd Dynasty
- SHESHONQ I. ca. 931–910 BC, Biblical Shishak
- ca. 931 BC Jeroboam flees to Egypt to escape Solomon
Jeremiah
- 26th Dynasty
- HOPHRA (Greek Apries), ca. 589–570 BC
- ca. 586 BC Jeremiah flees to Egypt in the aftermath of the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians
Jesus
- Roman Era
- AUGUSTUS, 30 BC–AD 41
- ca. 6–4 BC Joseph and Mary flee to Egypt with the infant Jesus to escape Herod’s Bethlehem death decree
* Dates for Abraham through Moses are based on an Exodus date of 1446 BC.
** For the possibility of both an Amenhotep IIA and an Amenhotep IIB, see William H. Shea, "Amenhotep II as the Pharaoh of the Exodus," Bible and Spade 16, no. 2 (Spring 2003): 41–51.
Bibliography
Aling, Charles. 2002. "Joseph in Egypt, Second of Six Parts." Bible and Spade 15, no. 2 (Spring): 35–38.
Hansen, David G. 2003. "Moses and Hatshepsut." Bible and Spade 16, no. 1 (Winter): 14–20.
Leprohon, Ronald J. 1992. "Egypt, History of: Middle Kingdom-2D Intermediate Period (DYN 11–17)." Pp. 345–48 in The Anchor Bible Dictionary 2, ed. David N. Freedman. New York: Doubleday.
Pusch, Edgar B. 2001. "Piramesse." Pp. 48–50 in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt 3, ed. Donald B. Redford. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
Ray, Paul J., Jr. 2004. "The Duration of the Israelite Sojourn in Egypt." Bible and Spade 17, no. 2 (Spring): 33–44.
Redford, Donald B. 1992a. "Heliopolis." Pp. 122–23 in The Anchor Bible Dictionary 3, ed. David N. Freedman. New York: Doubleday.
———. 1992b. "Zoan." Pp. 1106–1107 in The Anchor Bible Dictionary 6, ed. David N. Freedman. New York: Doubleday.
Wood, Bryant G. 1997. "The Sons of Jacob: New Evidence for the Presence of the Israelites in Egypt." Bible and Spade 10, no. 2/3 (Spring/Summer): 53–65.
———. 2004. "The Royal Precinct at Rameses." Bible and Spade 17, no. 2 (Spring): 45–51.