The story before the Exodus
When Israel came to Egypt they were welcomed, the next time we read about them they are slaves. What happened to them?
It all began with the Hyksos
The time of the Hyksos (literally “rulers from another land”) began as more and more Asian tribes (mainly from Canaan) mixed with the Egyptians. It became more and more and by 1720 BC had full control over the eastern part of the Nile Delta and even had a capital: Avaris.
From there they expanded southward and in 1674 B.C. conquered the former capital of Memphis. The Hyksos thus formed the 15th and 16th dynasties in Egypt and supported Semites such as Joseph to achieve high positions.
Never again
The Hyksos were finally defeated around 1550 B.C., and Egypt wanted to avoid a second Hyksos. For this reason, the pharaoh wanted to keep this people small and weak.
It is likely that Joseph lived during the time of the Hyksos as
- The land of Goshen (in northwest of Egypt) was near to the palace when Joseph was there.
- Israel was forced to build the cities of Pithon and Ramses, probably under Ramses II, who rebuilt the northeast, where also the Israelites also moved out from.
- Ramses’ father, Sethos I, built a summer palace near Avaris (the former Hyksos capital), which also explains why Moses was found so quickly by the princess, since this was still near Goshen.