Israelites grew strong

The Bible says the Israelites in Egypt grew in power and number and eventually became “very, very strong” and “land was filled with them.”

Exod 1:7-10 (ISV)
7 But the Israelis were fruitful and increased abundantly. They multiplied in numbers and became very, very strong. As a result, the land was filled with them.
8 Eventually a new king who was unacquainted with Joseph came to power in Egypt.
9 He told his people, “Look, the Israeli people are more numerous and more powerful than we are.
10 Come on, let’s be careful how we treat them, so that when they grow numerous, if a war breaks out they won’t join our enemies, fight against us, and leave our land.”

This is exactly what happened with the Hyksos.

“The Hyksos were a Semitic people who gained a foothold in Egypt … resulting in a large population which was able to finally exert political and then military power.”
https://www.worldhistory.org/Hyksos/

From Avaris, they grew in numbers and influence.

“Hence, by about 1720 BC, they had grown strong enough, at the expense of the Middle Kingdom kings, to gain control of Avaris in the northeastern Delta. This site eventually became the capital of the Hyksos kings, but within 50 years, they had also managed to take control of the important Egyptian city of Memphis.”
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/hyksos.htm

They grew in such influence that they became rulers. Actually, the word “Hyksos” means “foreign kings”.

“‘Hyksos’ is a word made up of two Egyptian words, and it was mistranslated often in the past. It used to be said that these people were ‘shepherd kings’. The idea was that they were nomadic wanderers who came into Egypt and somehow took over, but now the correct translation is ‘foreign kings’.”
https://www.thegreatcoursesdaily.com/an … he-hyksos/

They became so powerful that they ruled during the second intermediate period.

“The Hyksos ruled the region of northern Egypt from 1638 BC to 1530 BC.”
https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/ … ews-latest

“It is best known as the period when the Hyksos people of West Asia made their appearance in Egypt and whose reign comprised the 15th Dynasty, which, according to Manetho’s Aegyptiaca, was founded by a king by the name of Salitis.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_In … d_of_Egypt

“This era is marked by a divided Egypt with the people known as the Hyksos holding power in the north, Egyptian rule at Thebes in the center of the country, and Nubians ruling in the south. As with the First Intermediate Period of Egypt, this time is traditionally characterized as chaotic, lacking in cultural advancements, and lawless, but as with the earlier period, this claim has been discredited. The Second Intermediate Period of Egypt was a time of disunity and records of the time are confused or missing, but it was not as dark a time as later Egyptian writers claimed.”
https://www.worldhistory.org/Second_Int … _of_Egypt/

Around the 17th Dynasty, tensions arose between the Egyptians and the Hyksos.

“What is clear is that however the ‘true Egyptians’ at Thebes and the ‘foreign kings’ at Avaris felt about each other, the two cities were on peaceful terms and there was long-term interaction through trade. Further, neither city interrupted the other’s relationship with the Kushites in the south, nor is there any evidence that they interfered with each other’s trade or business in other areas. All of this changed shortly before or around the time the 17th Dynasty came to power at Thebes.”
https://www.worldhistory.org/Second_Int … _of_Egypt/

The enemies that the Egyptians feared the Hyksos would align with were probably the Nubians (Kush).

“‘To what end do I know my (own) strength? One chief is in Avaris, another in Kush, and I sit (here) associated with an Asiatic and a Nubian! Each man has his slice in this Egypt and so the land is partitioned with me! (4) None can pass through it(2) as far as Memphis (although it is) Egyptian water! See he (even) has Hermopolis! No one can be at ease when they are milked by the taxes of the Asiatics. (5) I shall grapple with him that I might crush his belly, (for) my desire is to rescue Egypt which the Asiatics have destroyed.'”
http://www.u.arizona.edu/~afutrell/w%20 … amose.html

During the Second Intermediate Period, the Egyptians were dealing with the Hyksos in the north and the Nubians (Kush) in the south.

Image
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_In … d_of_Egypt

Even though the Hyksos achieved great power, as mentioned before, there was a systematic effort to expunge and rewrite the record of the Hyksos by the Egyptians.

“Though the Hyksos were the first foreigners to rule ancient Egypt, written records of their reign are scant. For hundreds of years, the only known mention of the Hyksos was in the Greek tome “Aegyptiaca,” or “History of Egypt,” written by a Ptolemaic priest named Manetho who lived in the early third century B.C. and who chronicled the rule of the pharaohs. ”
https://www.livescience.com/hyksos-did- … egypt.html

“The later Egyptian writers depict the Hyksos as brutal conquerors who destroyed Egypt, ransacked the temples, and oppressed the country until it was liberated and unified under the reign of Ahmose of Thebes (c. 1570-1544 BCE). Archaeological evidence and records of the time, however, strongly suggest a very different story.”
https://www.worldhistory.org/Second_Int … _of_Egypt/

“The Second Intermediate Period (c. 1782 – c.1570 BCE) is the era following the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (2040-1782 BCE) and preceding the New Kingdom (1570-1069 BCE). As with all historical designations of the eras of Egyptian history, the name was coined by 19th-century CE Egyptologists to demarcate time periods in Egypt’s history; the name was not used by ancient Egyptians.”
https://www.worldhistory.org/Second_Int … _of_Egypt/

The Egyptians attempted to remove all records of the Hyksos so little records remain.

“Many details of their rule, such as the true extent of their kingdom and even the names and order of their kings, remain uncertain.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyksos

Just as the Egyptians were biased against the Hyksos, I would argue modern historians remain biased and are not willing to admit the truthfulness of the Biblical account.

“The identity of the Hyksos remains unknown.”
https://www.worldhistory.org/Second_Int … _of_Egypt/

“Archaeological evidence does link Hyksos culture with an origin in the Near East, but exactly how they rose to power is unclear.”
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 … 142256.htm

 

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