The Hyksos connection to the Israelites in Egypt?

[ByTheSpirit]

Some historians (Manetho - an Egyptian, and Josephus - a Jew) see the two groups as one in the same. These actually make the claim the Hyksos, after being expelled from Egypt, went back to Canaan and founded the city of Jerusalem. More modern historians disagree, but there are a ton of similarities in the stories, and I'd like to dive into them for discussion.

What we know from scripture about the leading up to is:

1. Joseph become regent of Egypt, second only to Pharoah. Could this Pharoah have been a Hyksos Pharoah?
   1. Genesis 41:45
2. Great famine sweeps through the land.
   1. Genesis 41:53-54
3. Large groups of people migrate to Egypt for survival, including the Hebrews.
   1. Genesis 41:57
   2. Genesis 46:27

So what is known about the Hyksos?

1. They were Semitic and Canaanite in origin.
2. They worshipped the god Baal.
3. Around the year 1782, a Semitic people from Canaan came to rule the Northern portion of the land of Egypt. It's pretty widely accepted that these Canaanite people did not invade the country, but rather migrated into Egypt over a period of time, and eventually thanks to their growth and prosperity were able to gain political power for themselves.
   1. "Most likely, they [Hyksos] were traders who were at first welcomed at Avaris, prospered, and sent word to their friends and neighbors to come join them, resulting in a large population which was able to finally exert political and then military power." (Hyksos)
4. They were expelled from Egypt around the year 1570BC, by Egyptian native Pharoah Ahmose I.

So let's pick back up in the biblical narrative. We know the Hyksos came from Canaan. We know there was a famine in which many Canaanites would have flocked to Egypt for survival. We know of course that the Israelites came from the area of Canaan with Jacob (Genesis 46)

Now the Israelites settled in the land of Egypt, in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and became fruitful and increased greatly in number... the Israelites were fruitful and increased rapidly; they multiplied and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them. Genesis 47:27, Exodus 1:7 (BSB)

So kind of on par with what is believed to have happened with the Hyksos. The Hyksos settled in the Northern part of Egypt, the land we know as the land of Goshen and they grew numerically over a period of time.

Then a new king, who did not know Joseph, came to power in Egypt. “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become too numerous and too powerful for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase even more; and if a war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country. Exodus 1:8-10 (BSB)

So there's little support for the idea that the Hyksos themselves were the ancient Hebrews. Not going to lie, I see a lot of similarities between them, but I'm willing to look at this from a more pragmatic point of view, so I'll say they were not the same. After all, the Hyksos apparently worshipped Baal, and they were kicked out of the country, not chased down after leaving. But I think this passage above highlights a very key detail in this narrative.

Up until the arrival of the Hyksos as a political entity in Egypt, the Egyptians knew no real threats to their civilization. This "new king" would have had no basis on which to fear the Hebrews joining forces with a rival and fighting against them, if not for the recent upheaval caused by the Hyksos. Now the other detail here, is that this new king, new Pharoah, is claimed to "not know Joseph".

Now a couple of possibilities emerge here, Joseph would have lived around the year 1800BC. Right around the time it is believed the Hyksos came to power. Either Joseph was regent over Egypt as the Hyksos were migrating into the area of Goshen, or the Pharoah that Joseph served under was a Hyksos Pharoah himself. I'd almost be willing to say the later is more possible. Why? It's more plausible to me that a foreign pharoah (not a native Egyptian) would have accepted help from a fellow Canaanite, Joseph. Even if the Hebrews were different ethnically than the Hyksos.

Now where does this all tie in together?

What I'm espousing here is that the Hyksos rulers of Northern Egypt would have provided the perfect situation for the Hebrews to grow and flourish, without fear of oppression. Then as the Hyksos are expelled from power and the land in the year 1570BC, the Egyptians take control of the land once again and enslave those (including the Hebrews) within it for fear of them "joining forces with their enemies, and leaving the country." Thus setting the stage for a later Pharoah who did not know Joseph, and for the exodus under Moses some 150 years later.

To me, this is just another example of God orchestrating world events to bring about the ultimate plan that He has set in motion.