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- Egyptian:
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- "To the Israelites, Egypt was somewhat of an enigma, a land of contrast, a country that they hated but respected. When a psalmist looked back to the days of the Exodus, he referred to the Egyptians as 'a people of foreign tongue' (Ps 114:1), a description which even many moderns may assent. Egypt was the iron furnace of affliction during the bondage, but Israelites were so impressed with the might of the Pharaonic kingdom that there were elements in Judah that looked to Egypt for help even after Egypt had become the broken reed of Assyrian contempt (cf. 2 Kings 18:21; Isa 36:6). An unreliable ally, Egypt was also a sanctuary for some of Israel's individual enemies. From Egypt, too, came some of the worst occasions for apostasy in Israel. Egypt appears in the Bible as a type of the transitory, earthbound system called 'the world.' In one instance it is an allegorical synonym for Sodom and for rebellious Jerusalem (Rev 11:8). Nevertheless, it was an abundant Near Eastern breadbasket and was for centuries the ranking world power. It afforded food for many a hungry Palestinian, and heat-smitten wandering tribes were permitted to cross its borders to graze their animals in the delta. Joseph realized that God's providence was in his being sold into Egypt (Gen 45:5-9), and Jacob was instructed by the Lord to go to Egypt (46:3-4)." (The New International Dictionary of the Bible, © 1987 Zondervan, p. 296)
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