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From the fourth king of the 13th to the accession of the 18th dynasty Egyptian history
is almost ablank. That period was occupied by the rule of the so-called Hyksos, or
Shepherd kings, a foreignand barbarous race of invaders, hated and opposed by the
people, and hostile to their ancientcivilization and religion. Although Josephus
represents Manetho as assigning a very long period to thereign of "the Shepherds," he
gives only six names. These and these only are corroborated byEgyptian monuments,
and we are warranted in inferring that these alone had really ruled over Egypt.The
period occupied by their reign might thus amount to between two and three centuries,
whichagrees with the Scripture chronology. "The Shepherds" were evidently an
eastern race, and probablyof Phoenician origin. Thus the names of the two first kings
in their list are decidedly Semitic (Salatis,"mighty," "ruler," and Beon, or Benon, "the
son of the eye," or, the "beloved one"), and there isevidence that the race brought with
it the worship of Baal and the practice of human sacrifices -bothof Phoenician origin.
It is important to keep this in mind, as we shall see that there had been almostcontinual
warfare between the Phoenicians along the west coast of Palestine and the Hittites,
and thenative Egyptian kings, who, while they ruled, held them in subjection. This
constant animosity alsoexplains why, not without good reason, "every shepherd was
an abomination" unto the real nativeEgyptians. (Genesis 46:34) - It also explains why
the Shepherd kings left the Israelitish shepherdsunmolested in the land of Goshen,
where they found them. Thus a comparison of Scripturechronology with the history of
Egypt, and the evidently peaceful, prosperous state of the country,united under the
rule of one king, as described in the Bible, lead us to the conclusion that Joseph'sstay
there must have taken place at the close of the 12th, or, at latest, at the commencement
of the13th dynasty. He could not have come during the rule of the Hyksos, for then
Egypt was in adistracted, divided, and chaotic state; and it could not have been later,
for after the Shepherd kingshad been expelled and native rulers restored, no "new
king," no new dynasty, "arose up over Egypt."On the other hand, the latter description
exactly applies to a king who, on his restoration, expelledthe Hyksos. And here the
monuments of Egypt again afford remarkable confirmation of the history ofJoseph.
For one thing, the names of three of the Pharaohs of the 13th dynasty bear a
strikingresemblance to that given by the Pharaoh of the Bible to Joseph (Zaphnath-
paaneah). Then weknow that the Pharaohs of the 12th dynasty stood in a very special
relationship to the priest city ofOn, (Genesis 41:45) and that its high-priest was most
probably always a near relative of Pharaoh.Thus the monuments of that period enable
us to understand the history of Joseph's marriage. Butthey also throw light on a
question of far greater importance - how so devout and pious a servant ofthe Lord as
Joseph could have entered into such close relationship with the priesthood of
Egypt.Here our knowledge of the most ancient religion of Egypt enables us to furnish
a complete answer.
Undoubtedly, all mankind had at first some knowledge of the one true God, and a pure
religioninherited from Paradise. This primeval religion seems to have been longest
(^)