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Wellsprings

Egypt

Egypt, the Nile valley and delta in northeast Africa, was home to one of the world's oldest states, ruled by pharaohs from about 3000 BCE. In the Torah's narrative Abraham sojourned there, Joseph rose to power there and the Israelites were enslaved before the Exodus; historians find no direct evidence for these events, though many think the story may preserve older memories. Greek traders and travellers knew Egypt from the 7th century BCE; Alexander's conquest (332 BCE) brought Ptolemaic and then Roman rule (from 30 BCE), with Alexandria a capital of Greek learning and home to a large Jewish community. After the Arab conquest (639-642) Fustat and then Cairo became its centres; Maimonides lived and wrote in Fustat in the 12th century.

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Egypt through the eras

Biblical Era

In the biblical narrative Egypt is where Abraham went during a famine, where Joseph became the pharaoh's chief minister, and where Jacob's descendants were enslaved until Moses led the Exodus (traditional Jewish chronology: 1313 BCE). Historians find no direct Egyptian or archaeological record of these events; many see the story as taking shape over centuries, possibly around older memories of Semitic groups living in Egypt.

Teachers who lived here

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