Chapter 9 return to canaan

The Jews were originally simple shepherds, and city life did them no good.But they were soon Egyptianized, not only lost their original independence and freedom, but also became slaves serving Pharaoh's hard labor. Until more than a hundred years ago, we could not recognize ancient Egyptian writing.Once we were able to read cuneiform, a vast treasure trove of historical materials opened up before us.Now we can no longer rely on the "Old Testament" to narrate that period of history. A thousand and five years before the birth of Christ, an Arabian herding tribe called the Hyksos conquered Egypt.They belonged to the same Semitic race as the Jews.After the Hyksos occupied Egypt, they immediately established a new capital hundreds of miles away from the ancient Egyptian capital Thebes.After three or four hundred years, they lived and worked in peace and contentment and became the undisputed masters of the Nile.

When Joseph came to Egypt, Pharaoh was Abiba, the last ruler of the Hyksos.Under the leadership of their leader Ahsis, the Egyptians drove out the Hyksos and restored their own country.The Jews were in a difficult position, they were friends of foreign rulers, and Joseph held an important position in the court of the Hyksos, and in looking after his own people he had done the harm to the natives.These Egyptians all remember, so they want to hate and despise the Jews.They all forgot that Joseph had saved their ancestors from starvation. Living in the wealthy Nile valley was both good and bad for the children of Abraham.

They were originally shepherds, accustomed to live a simple wild life.Now that they had contact with the city people, and had seen the luxury and comfort of life in Thebes, Memphis, and the court of Seysia, they soon began to look down on the humble tents in which their ancestors lived.So they sold their sheep, left their fields in Goshen, and moved to the city. But Egypt's cities were already overcrowded, and the Egyptians saw the newcomers as job grabbers.Soon the hatred between the Jews and the Egyptians developed into a race riot.The Jews had to make a choice, either to be Egyptians or to leave Egypt.

The Jews tried to take a middle way, and the results were bad, and the two sides became incompatible. Joseph's brothers came to Egypt because of the famine, and their descendants often discussed returning to Canaan, but the journey was long and difficult.Egypt is comfortable and rich, city life is pleasant, while desert life seems monotonous and terrible.Therefore, the Jews cannot make the final decision.They remained in the slums of Egypt, where they were, and hundreds of years passed, and things remained the same. Later, a great leader arose who fused the different Jewish tribes together to form a unified people and led them out of Egypt (where life was comfortable but not conducive to enhancing national identity) and returned to Canaan —the true hometown of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.