Four hundred years later another Semitic invasion swept over the land from Ur. It is quite probable that these conquerors were Sumerians. They established the sixteenth dynasty and brought with them also their treasure in the form of livestock. Thus, when Abraham entered Egypt, he found that it was ruled by his relatives! Thus we have an explanation of the cordial welcome that a Sumerian from Ur received from a pharaoh in Egypt. This contact is well established through the arts of that day, by pottery, by frescoes, and by means of the records of ancient customs. We know these things to be facts.
So when we read of the record of Abraham, we have at our disposal a vast and overwhelming source of evidence as to the credibility of this section of the record. The statements that are made in Genesis could have been written only by one who was intimately familiar with the Egypt of that day and time.
The second contact of Egypt and the Genesis record is found in the experience of Joseph. Although harsh and unkind, the action of the brothers in selling the youngest into slavery was perfectly legal under the code of that day. The younger brethren were all subject to the elders, and the law of primogeniture gave to the elder almost unlimited power over the life of the younger. The brutality and envy of this act are far from unparalleled in the secular records of that day. Nor was Joseph’s phenomenal rise to power unusual in the strange culture of that day and time. We must remember that Joseph was a Semite at a Semitic court. There is an unconscious introduction of a collateral fact in the simple statement of Genesis, chapter thirty-nine, verse one. After being told that Joseph was sold to a man named Potiphar, the statement is made that Potiphar was an Egyptian.
At first thought it would seem to be expected that a trusted officer in the court of a pharaoh would naturally be an Egyptian. The contrary is the case here, however. The pharaoh himself being an invader, he had surrounded himself with trusted men of his own race and family. As far as may now be ascertained, Potiphar was the only Egyptian who had preserved his life and kept his place at the court. He seems to have been the chief officer of the bodyguard of Pharaoh, and as such was entrusted with the dubious honor of executing the Pharaoh’s personal enemies. This, then, is a simple and passing statement that gives us an unexpected means of checking the scrupulous accuracy of the Genesis record.
Joseph was comely, attractive, and faithful. With an optimistic acceptance of his unfortunate circumstances, which seem much harder to us in our enlightened generation than would actually be the case to one accustomed to such vicissitudes of fortune, he set himself to serve with fidelity and industry. But above all this, the blessing of God rested upon him and upon all that he did. Since he was in the line of the promised Seed, and was under the direct blessing of that promise, it was inevitable that he should prosper.
There is a flood of illumination that shines upon this period from the frescoed tombs, the ancient papyri, and the records crudely inscribed upon walls and pillars. Particularly is this true of the entire section of Genesis that begins with the fortieth chapter and continues to the end of that Book.
Plate 5
{open burial}
