FACT #6: Joseph Did Not Rule Under a Hyksos King
The first waves of Asiatics and Canaanites started to arrive in Egypt around 2000-1900 BC. Pharaoh Amenemhat I who ruled from 1991-1962 BC moved the capital from Thebes to Itjtawy due to an influx of Asiatics entering in from Canaan.
The Prophecy of Neferti which was written down in c. 2575-2550 BC describes the infiltration of Asiatics coming down to Egypt, and a new king ‘Ameny’ who would arise to subdue the chaos and build a wall to thwart the invasion of the enemies. Pharaoh Amenemhat I used this prophesy as a justification to wage war against the Asiatics. He erected ‘The Wall of the Prince’, a string of fortresses along the eastern border of the Nile Delta to bar eastern travelers from gaining passage into Egypt. However, beyond establishing fortresses, his military exploits are not well documented and seemed to have been rather uneventful.
The Brooklyn Papyrus 35.1446, dated to c. 1809-1743 BC documents the names of 95 house-slaves, at least 45 of these names are Asiatic in origin: Menahema; Ashera; Shiphrah; Aqoba; Ayyabum; Sekera etc. The fact so many Asiatics were in one household, implies that the population of Levantine peoples were increasing rapidly during this period.
The consensus among scholars and amateur researchers is that the great seven year famine occurred approximately around 1800-1700 B.C.
Various researchers, scholars, and bible commentators have suggested that Joseph came into Egypt during the Hyksos rule, citing the use of horses and chariots as a dynastic marker.
It is believed that the Hyksos, a west Asian people, introduced horses and chariots into Egypt, although some Egyptologists believe that horses had been used in Egypt prior to the Hyksos arrival in c. 1800 B.C. but due to low populations, they would not have been risked in war and their usage would have be reserved as a luxury item for the elite.
Joseph riding in the Pharaoh’s second chariot would have been a show of elitism and symbolic of how close he was to the Pharaoh: the second-in-command.
“In fact, evidence of horses in Egypt begins some 200 years earlier, in the form of a carving of a horse dated c. 2000 BC.” - The Presence of the Horse in Egypt, Renata Tatomir, Hyperion University Bucharest
If both Egypt and Canaan were languishing from the famine, it’s possible that the Hyksos came to Egypt for bread. The Hyksos may have contributed to the horse population by selling off their herds to Joseph in exchange for nourishment, though that is only the speculation of this author.
The right resources were required for building the chariots and skilled workman had to know what they were doing. Early chariots consisted of four spokes. It wasn’t until sometime around 1550 that the Egyptians started improving the wheel with six spokes and experimenting with eight. These alterations may have been necessary for their time due to the internal political struggles between the Theban Dynasty and the ruling Hyksos dynasty in the Delta.
The four spoke wheel was known to be heavier and of inferior design. The four spoked wheels were originally intended as a carriage chariot as opposed to the war chariot, which had six spokes and was of a lighter design and more reliable in battle so long as the terrain was flat. A pair of charging horses could easily become uncontrollable, risking the driver to injury or death if the chariot should encounter rocky or uneven terrain.
Eight spoke wheels were also in use, but fell out of favor and are claimed to have been used mostly between 1550-1340 B.C.
Researchers such as Ron Wyatt, Viveka Ponten, and Dr. Lennart Möller have explored the unique coral growths on the sea floor of the Gulf of Aqaba. The images retrieved from their dives provide substantial evidence of the Red Sea Crossing. On the sea floor, they found what appears to be four, six, and at least one, eight spoke chariot wheel.
Many professional researchers and amateur researcher alike place the Exodus around 1446 BC, using the 8 spoke wheel found off the Gulf of Aqaba as evidence for a 15th century Exodus date. However, this amateur researcher suggests the date could have been as early as 1550. The fact only one eight spoke wheel was found, and most of the coral growths covering the chariot wheels registered four to six spokes on the metal detector, suggests to this author that the invention of the eight spoke wheel may have been in its infancy.
Since horses were in Egypt before the Hyksos take-over, this author doesn’t believe that horses at the time of Joseph is enough evidence to put him under Hyksos rule.
Point #2: When Joseph is removed from prison he is made to shave and change his raiment. “Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.” [Gen. 41:14]
The act of shaving, is ‘galach’ meaning to be bald. Joseph wasn’t just shaving a beard, but all of his hair. The Egyptian practice was based on cultural beauty, cleanliness, and religious rituals. Priests and soothsayers, especially, were to be clean-shaven before the gods and Pharaoh.
Egyptians also equated hair with animals and barbarians. As we already established Egyptians considered Hebrews and shepherds an abomination due to their uncivilized lifestyle. This practice of shaving before meeting Pharaoh would seem to rule out the possibility that Joseph was under a Hyksos pharaoh.
Scholars don’t know who the Hyksos were. The Hittites are a popular choice, but the Hurrians (who heavily influenced the Hitties) have been proposed. Between the 21st century BC and the 18th century BC, the Assyrians controlled colonies in Anatolia.
Regardless, what these Asiatic peoples have in common is their gods are portrayed with very thick (and sometimes braided) beards which cover the whole chin and jaw line. These portrayals differ from the thin, finely groomed beards of the Pharaoh which are merely decorative chin apparatuses and not actual beards.
These nomadic, foreign rulers would not have been accustomed to the ritual shaving and may have even viewed the practice with contempt.
For the moment we are going to go with “lice” as the proper translation, though it is a debatable subject.
Lice are annoying, inconvenient and itchy, but they were a common issue throughout Egypt, hence going bald and wearing wigs. To be a plague, this had to be widespread and devastating, which means there had to be enough hair on the heads of the people for these little buggers to make their home.
Herodotus remarks, “their priests were wont to shave or scrape their whole bodies every third day, lest any lice should breed upon them.”
If the Hyksos, being Asiatics, did not conform to the shaving rituals of the Egyptians, it is reasonable to suggest that they became host to the lice plague.
Point #3: It was established earlier that the capital at the time of the Exodus was at Avaris and that Joseph had his home there. However, the Pharaoh whom Joseph ruled under, appears to have been elsewhere than in Goshen or in the Nile Delta and may have resided in Itjtawy, Upper Egypt.
As vizier, Joseph was the overseer of the penal institution and was in charge of the judicial system, sitting in the High Court. The vizier (or an oracle) would make the decision on what punishments to administer. Joseph’s other responsibilities included: overseeing political administration, approving and putting his seal on official documents; managing taxation; monitoring food supply; listening to problems between the nobles and settling whatever disputes they had; running Pharaoh's household; and ensuring the royal family's safety.
Joseph’s home was equivalent to the U.S. White House, being both where he lived and a government office.
The above quote gives clarity to the following verses: Gen. 43:17-18 “And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house. And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses.”
The men were afraid because they were brought into the judgment hall where the vizier would interrogate them in regards to the money in their sacks. He would seek an occasion or a case (especially a legal one) against them. ‘occasion’ here means ‘to roll’--in this circumstance, to roll the blame or shame on them. To fall upon them or seize them, with either menacing words or physical blows of punishment and take them away as slaves, which was the punishment for theft in ancient Egypt.
Joseph’s home was indeed a government house but was separate from Pharaoh’s palace. We see this again after Jacob dies. Joseph speaks to the house of Pharaoh or the ‘White House’ staff, if you will, and tells them “speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh”. Joseph is not the one speaking to Pharaoh, but rather his Egyptian subordinates are being sent to Pharaoh with a message.
If he outranks them as vizier, why couldn’t he make a chariot drive to Pharaoh’s palace, if it were nearby, and request an audience with the king? However, if it was a ways to travel, he may send someone in his stead to deliver the correspondence, not wishing to be taken away from his government duties in the Nile Delta. This may explain Joseph’s reassurance to Pharaoh that after his father is buried ‘he will return’ [to his duties]; and also his humble remark to his servants: ‘if I have found favor in your sight’, beseeching them to speak to Pharaoh for him so that he can, perhaps, also oversee the burial needs for his father.
Earlier, in chapter 46:31, we see that Joseph has to go ‘up’ to Pharaoh; the Hebrew word here is alah meaning literally, to go up; ascend; or climb. Joseph was located in Lower Egypt and to reach Pharaoh, he would have to go ‘up’, literally, into Upper Egypt.
When he goes to see Pharaoh, Joseph says that his brothers are, “Indeed, in the land of Goshen.” If Pharaoh had been close by, why wouldn’t Joseph say, “they are here,” or “they are nearby”. In Gen. 50:25, Joseph instructed his descendants to “carry up my bones from here [Goshen Area].” Yet he specifically tells Pharaoh his relatives are in the Land of Goshen.
If Pharaoh was in Itjtawy, he could not be a Hyksos king since the Hyksos ruled exclusively from Avaris.
Point #4: The location of the Great Prisons in Egypt.
A Great Prison was documented in the Brooklyn Papyrus and was located in Thebes. Another prison was located in Itjtawy, modern day El-Lahun. Since Itjtawy was the state capital during the Middle Kingdom, and the chief baker and butler who served Pharaoh were in the same prison as Joseph, it’s probable that Joseph was more likely relegated to this prison in El-Lahun.
Itjtawy is located far south near Faiyum, where the canal, Bahr Yussef (literally, the waterway of Joseph) is located, supposedly named after the biblical Joseph.
Point #5: RA WORSHIP
Pharaoh was considered the head of the priesthood and thus the highest religious figure in all of Egypt. On or Heliopolis was the cult center for Ra. It was in this Egyptian city that the Mnevis Bull, which was considered the embodiment of Ra, was worshipped and sacrificed. A burial ground for the slaughtered animals was just north of the city. Remember when Pharaoh told Joseph if he knew any competent men to put them over his own cattle?
The Priest of On or the Priest of Ra, translated from ancient Egyptian (wr-mw) meant: ‘The Greatest of Seers’. This is an interesting title for Joseph’s father-in-law, seeing that Joseph himself was gifted in precognition.
Excavations from the sun temples in Abusir, occupied roughly a millennium before Joseph, suggest that “the sun temples had been centers for the processing and distributing of provisions gathered from across the regions of the lower Nile.” And that, “Anciently named ‘the house of the knife’. . .the two known sun temples alone could have supplied more than 200 carcasses a day to the various offices of state--raising important questions of supply.” - A History of Ancient Egypt: From the Great Pyramid to the Fall of the Middle Kingdom Vol. 2, John Romer 1st Edition, pgs. 128-131
The captain-of-the-guard, could be translated as the chief executioner or it could also be translated as the chief butcher. The Priests of On would have been in charge of the animal sacrifices.
The Egyptian priesthood served the temple one month out of four. The priests had varying jobs, some as kitchen staff to the temple, janitors, porters, scribes. Priests also presided over mortuary rituals, removing organs of the deceased, embalming and mummifying the dead, uttering spells to aid the recently departed into the afterlife. These mortuary priests acted the same as physicians. "And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel." - Gen. 50:2
As a side note, this author would like to point out the interesting, but irrelevant, fact that at least some of Joseph’s servants were mortuary priests.
Continuing: when the priests were ‘off duty’, they returned to civilian life where they inspected local farms and fields owned by the temple, oversaw craftsmen and hunters. Priests were permitted to marry, own estates and keep slaves. High priests, particularly, were paid in land grants and food rations.
Heqanakht, a ka-priest (a priest who daily brings offerings to the deceased, such as bread and beer, so that the ka life-force can be sustained) was described as a farmer-priest. Eight papyrus have been found written or dictated by Heqanakht. These papyri mention him managing his personal household; and the papyri are valued for their documentation regarding wages, transactions and taxes. The taxes were generally paid to Pharaoh in grain.
Nobles also owned farmland which the peasantry worked; they made laws and maintained order. Which also fits Potiphar’s profile.
Whether Potiphar was a noble or the same as Poti-Phera Priest of On is a debatable subject, of which no conclusive answer can be given. In fact, the name was a fairly popular one. The Egyptianized version being something along the lines of ‘P’hotep’ra’. Names such as ‘Harhotep’; ‘Ptahhotep’; ‘Rahotep’ are all variations of the name Potiphar, and are names of famous Egyptian viziers, a 4th dynasty Pharaoh and 17th dynasty prince.
Remember, like, a few years ago, every other boy was named Jason, and the girls were all named Brittany? - Hercules (1997)
It’s significant, however, that the priest of On is mentioned in scripture. Pharaoh acknowledging this particular cult of Ra worship (with Poti-Phera meaning ‘he whom Ra has given’) tells the reader that Heliopolis was a major religious center at the time, and Pharaoh, being the head religious figure in the nation, was exercising authority over the religious institution by giving the daughter of a priest to Joseph. This act solidified his political career as well as established his divine appointment by the gods in Egyptian perspective.
The Ra cult had expanded during the old and middle kingdom with Senusret I (c. 1971-1926) erecting the obelisk at the Temple of Ra; the only remnant of the city which still stands today.
This Ra worship is a stark contrast to the Hyksos who, according to Donald Mackenzie (who was quoting Mantheo) in his book Egyptian Myth and Legend wrote, “They ruled ‘not knowing Ra’ and were therefore delivered to oblivion”.
If Joseph’s pharaoh acknowledged the Ra Cult, he could not have been a Hyksos king and would had to have been a pharaoh from the 13th dynasty.
The first waves of Asiatics and Canaanites started to arrive in Egypt around 2000-1900 BC. Pharaoh Amenemhat I who ruled from 1991-1962 BC moved the capital from Thebes to Itjtawy due to an influx of Asiatics entering in from Canaan.
The Prophecy of Neferti which was written down in c. 2575-2550 BC describes the infiltration of Asiatics coming down to Egypt, and a new king ‘Ameny’ who would arise to subdue the chaos and build a wall to thwart the invasion of the enemies. Pharaoh Amenemhat I used this prophesy as a justification to wage war against the Asiatics. He erected ‘The Wall of the Prince’, a string of fortresses along the eastern border of the Nile Delta to bar eastern travelers from gaining passage into Egypt. However, beyond establishing fortresses, his military exploits are not well documented and seemed to have been rather uneventful.
The Brooklyn Papyrus 35.1446, dated to c. 1809-1743 BC documents the names of 95 house-slaves, at least 45 of these names are Asiatic in origin: Menahema; Ashera; Shiphrah; Aqoba; Ayyabum; Sekera etc. The fact so many Asiatics were in one household, implies that the population of Levantine peoples were increasing rapidly during this period.
The consensus among scholars and amateur researchers is that the great seven year famine occurred approximately around 1800-1700 B.C.
Various researchers, scholars, and bible commentators have suggested that Joseph came into Egypt during the Hyksos rule, citing the use of horses and chariots as a dynastic marker.
- Gen. 41:41 “And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had.
- Gen. 47:13,17 “Now there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. So they [the Egyptians] brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys.
- Gen. 50:9 “And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very great gathering.”
It is believed that the Hyksos, a west Asian people, introduced horses and chariots into Egypt, although some Egyptologists believe that horses had been used in Egypt prior to the Hyksos arrival in c. 1800 B.C. but due to low populations, they would not have been risked in war and their usage would have be reserved as a luxury item for the elite.
Joseph riding in the Pharaoh’s second chariot would have been a show of elitism and symbolic of how close he was to the Pharaoh: the second-in-command.
“In fact, evidence of horses in Egypt begins some 200 years earlier, in the form of a carving of a horse dated c. 2000 BC.” - The Presence of the Horse in Egypt, Renata Tatomir, Hyperion University Bucharest
If both Egypt and Canaan were languishing from the famine, it’s possible that the Hyksos came to Egypt for bread. The Hyksos may have contributed to the horse population by selling off their herds to Joseph in exchange for nourishment, though that is only the speculation of this author.
- Gen. 47:15-17 And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth. [16] And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail. [17] And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.
The right resources were required for building the chariots and skilled workman had to know what they were doing. Early chariots consisted of four spokes. It wasn’t until sometime around 1550 that the Egyptians started improving the wheel with six spokes and experimenting with eight. These alterations may have been necessary for their time due to the internal political struggles between the Theban Dynasty and the ruling Hyksos dynasty in the Delta.
The four spoke wheel was known to be heavier and of inferior design. The four spoked wheels were originally intended as a carriage chariot as opposed to the war chariot, which had six spokes and was of a lighter design and more reliable in battle so long as the terrain was flat. A pair of charging horses could easily become uncontrollable, risking the driver to injury or death if the chariot should encounter rocky or uneven terrain.
Eight spoke wheels were also in use, but fell out of favor and are claimed to have been used mostly between 1550-1340 B.C.
Researchers such as Ron Wyatt, Viveka Ponten, and Dr. Lennart Möller have explored the unique coral growths on the sea floor of the Gulf of Aqaba. The images retrieved from their dives provide substantial evidence of the Red Sea Crossing. On the sea floor, they found what appears to be four, six, and at least one, eight spoke chariot wheel.
Many professional researchers and amateur researcher alike place the Exodus around 1446 BC, using the 8 spoke wheel found off the Gulf of Aqaba as evidence for a 15th century Exodus date. However, this amateur researcher suggests the date could have been as early as 1550. The fact only one eight spoke wheel was found, and most of the coral growths covering the chariot wheels registered four to six spokes on the metal detector, suggests to this author that the invention of the eight spoke wheel may have been in its infancy.
Since horses were in Egypt before the Hyksos take-over, this author doesn’t believe that horses at the time of Joseph is enough evidence to put him under Hyksos rule.
Point #2: When Joseph is removed from prison he is made to shave and change his raiment. “Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.” [Gen. 41:14]
The act of shaving, is ‘galach’ meaning to be bald. Joseph wasn’t just shaving a beard, but all of his hair. The Egyptian practice was based on cultural beauty, cleanliness, and religious rituals. Priests and soothsayers, especially, were to be clean-shaven before the gods and Pharaoh.
Egyptians also equated hair with animals and barbarians. As we already established Egyptians considered Hebrews and shepherds an abomination due to their uncivilized lifestyle. This practice of shaving before meeting Pharaoh would seem to rule out the possibility that Joseph was under a Hyksos pharaoh.
Scholars don’t know who the Hyksos were. The Hittites are a popular choice, but the Hurrians (who heavily influenced the Hitties) have been proposed. Between the 21st century BC and the 18th century BC, the Assyrians controlled colonies in Anatolia.
Regardless, what these Asiatic peoples have in common is their gods are portrayed with very thick (and sometimes braided) beards which cover the whole chin and jaw line. These portrayals differ from the thin, finely groomed beards of the Pharaoh which are merely decorative chin apparatuses and not actual beards.
These nomadic, foreign rulers would not have been accustomed to the ritual shaving and may have even viewed the practice with contempt.
- Ex. 8:17 ". . . Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt."
For the moment we are going to go with “lice” as the proper translation, though it is a debatable subject.
Lice are annoying, inconvenient and itchy, but they were a common issue throughout Egypt, hence going bald and wearing wigs. To be a plague, this had to be widespread and devastating, which means there had to be enough hair on the heads of the people for these little buggers to make their home.
Herodotus remarks, “their priests were wont to shave or scrape their whole bodies every third day, lest any lice should breed upon them.”
If the Hyksos, being Asiatics, did not conform to the shaving rituals of the Egyptians, it is reasonable to suggest that they became host to the lice plague.
Point #3: It was established earlier that the capital at the time of the Exodus was at Avaris and that Joseph had his home there. However, the Pharaoh whom Joseph ruled under, appears to have been elsewhere than in Goshen or in the Nile Delta and may have resided in Itjtawy, Upper Egypt.
- Gen 45:2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
- Gen. 45:16-18 “And the fame (or report / proclamation) thereof was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, Joseph’s brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan; And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.
- Gen. 46:31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go UP and tell Pharaoh, and say to him, “My brothers and those of my father’s household, who were in the land of Canaan have come to me.”
- Gen. 47:1 Then Joseph went and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess have come from the land of Canaan; and indeed they are in the land of Goshen.
- Gen. 50:4-6 And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, “My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.” And Pharaoh said, “Go up”, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.
As vizier, Joseph was the overseer of the penal institution and was in charge of the judicial system, sitting in the High Court. The vizier (or an oracle) would make the decision on what punishments to administer. Joseph’s other responsibilities included: overseeing political administration, approving and putting his seal on official documents; managing taxation; monitoring food supply; listening to problems between the nobles and settling whatever disputes they had; running Pharaoh's household; and ensuring the royal family's safety.
Joseph’s home was equivalent to the U.S. White House, being both where he lived and a government office.
The above quote gives clarity to the following verses: Gen. 43:17-18 “And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house. And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses.”
The men were afraid because they were brought into the judgment hall where the vizier would interrogate them in regards to the money in their sacks. He would seek an occasion or a case (especially a legal one) against them. ‘occasion’ here means ‘to roll’--in this circumstance, to roll the blame or shame on them. To fall upon them or seize them, with either menacing words or physical blows of punishment and take them away as slaves, which was the punishment for theft in ancient Egypt.
Joseph’s home was indeed a government house but was separate from Pharaoh’s palace. We see this again after Jacob dies. Joseph speaks to the house of Pharaoh or the ‘White House’ staff, if you will, and tells them “speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh”. Joseph is not the one speaking to Pharaoh, but rather his Egyptian subordinates are being sent to Pharaoh with a message.
If he outranks them as vizier, why couldn’t he make a chariot drive to Pharaoh’s palace, if it were nearby, and request an audience with the king? However, if it was a ways to travel, he may send someone in his stead to deliver the correspondence, not wishing to be taken away from his government duties in the Nile Delta. This may explain Joseph’s reassurance to Pharaoh that after his father is buried ‘he will return’ [to his duties]; and also his humble remark to his servants: ‘if I have found favor in your sight’, beseeching them to speak to Pharaoh for him so that he can, perhaps, also oversee the burial needs for his father.
Earlier, in chapter 46:31, we see that Joseph has to go ‘up’ to Pharaoh; the Hebrew word here is alah meaning literally, to go up; ascend; or climb. Joseph was located in Lower Egypt and to reach Pharaoh, he would have to go ‘up’, literally, into Upper Egypt.
When he goes to see Pharaoh, Joseph says that his brothers are, “Indeed, in the land of Goshen.” If Pharaoh had been close by, why wouldn’t Joseph say, “they are here,” or “they are nearby”. In Gen. 50:25, Joseph instructed his descendants to “carry up my bones from here [Goshen Area].” Yet he specifically tells Pharaoh his relatives are in the Land of Goshen.
If Pharaoh was in Itjtawy, he could not be a Hyksos king since the Hyksos ruled exclusively from Avaris.
Point #4: The location of the Great Prisons in Egypt.
A Great Prison was documented in the Brooklyn Papyrus and was located in Thebes. Another prison was located in Itjtawy, modern day El-Lahun. Since Itjtawy was the state capital during the Middle Kingdom, and the chief baker and butler who served Pharaoh were in the same prison as Joseph, it’s probable that Joseph was more likely relegated to this prison in El-Lahun.
Itjtawy is located far south near Faiyum, where the canal, Bahr Yussef (literally, the waterway of Joseph) is located, supposedly named after the biblical Joseph.
Point #5: RA WORSHIP
- Gen. 41:45 “And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.”
Pharaoh was considered the head of the priesthood and thus the highest religious figure in all of Egypt. On or Heliopolis was the cult center for Ra. It was in this Egyptian city that the Mnevis Bull, which was considered the embodiment of Ra, was worshipped and sacrificed. A burial ground for the slaughtered animals was just north of the city. Remember when Pharaoh told Joseph if he knew any competent men to put them over his own cattle?
The Priest of On or the Priest of Ra, translated from ancient Egyptian (wr-mw) meant: ‘The Greatest of Seers’. This is an interesting title for Joseph’s father-in-law, seeing that Joseph himself was gifted in precognition.
Excavations from the sun temples in Abusir, occupied roughly a millennium before Joseph, suggest that “the sun temples had been centers for the processing and distributing of provisions gathered from across the regions of the lower Nile.” And that, “Anciently named ‘the house of the knife’. . .the two known sun temples alone could have supplied more than 200 carcasses a day to the various offices of state--raising important questions of supply.” - A History of Ancient Egypt: From the Great Pyramid to the Fall of the Middle Kingdom Vol. 2, John Romer 1st Edition, pgs. 128-131
The captain-of-the-guard, could be translated as the chief executioner or it could also be translated as the chief butcher. The Priests of On would have been in charge of the animal sacrifices.
The Egyptian priesthood served the temple one month out of four. The priests had varying jobs, some as kitchen staff to the temple, janitors, porters, scribes. Priests also presided over mortuary rituals, removing organs of the deceased, embalming and mummifying the dead, uttering spells to aid the recently departed into the afterlife. These mortuary priests acted the same as physicians. "And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel." - Gen. 50:2
As a side note, this author would like to point out the interesting, but irrelevant, fact that at least some of Joseph’s servants were mortuary priests.
Continuing: when the priests were ‘off duty’, they returned to civilian life where they inspected local farms and fields owned by the temple, oversaw craftsmen and hunters. Priests were permitted to marry, own estates and keep slaves. High priests, particularly, were paid in land grants and food rations.
Heqanakht, a ka-priest (a priest who daily brings offerings to the deceased, such as bread and beer, so that the ka life-force can be sustained) was described as a farmer-priest. Eight papyrus have been found written or dictated by Heqanakht. These papyri mention him managing his personal household; and the papyri are valued for their documentation regarding wages, transactions and taxes. The taxes were generally paid to Pharaoh in grain.
- Gen. 39:5 And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.
Nobles also owned farmland which the peasantry worked; they made laws and maintained order. Which also fits Potiphar’s profile.
Whether Potiphar was a noble or the same as Poti-Phera Priest of On is a debatable subject, of which no conclusive answer can be given. In fact, the name was a fairly popular one. The Egyptianized version being something along the lines of ‘P’hotep’ra’. Names such as ‘Harhotep’; ‘Ptahhotep’; ‘Rahotep’ are all variations of the name Potiphar, and are names of famous Egyptian viziers, a 4th dynasty Pharaoh and 17th dynasty prince.
Remember, like, a few years ago, every other boy was named Jason, and the girls were all named Brittany? - Hercules (1997)
It’s significant, however, that the priest of On is mentioned in scripture. Pharaoh acknowledging this particular cult of Ra worship (with Poti-Phera meaning ‘he whom Ra has given’) tells the reader that Heliopolis was a major religious center at the time, and Pharaoh, being the head religious figure in the nation, was exercising authority over the religious institution by giving the daughter of a priest to Joseph. This act solidified his political career as well as established his divine appointment by the gods in Egyptian perspective.
The Ra cult had expanded during the old and middle kingdom with Senusret I (c. 1971-1926) erecting the obelisk at the Temple of Ra; the only remnant of the city which still stands today.
This Ra worship is a stark contrast to the Hyksos who, according to Donald Mackenzie (who was quoting Mantheo) in his book Egyptian Myth and Legend wrote, “They ruled ‘not knowing Ra’ and were therefore delivered to oblivion”.
If Joseph’s pharaoh acknowledged the Ra Cult, he could not have been a Hyksos king and would had to have been a pharaoh from the 13th dynasty.
