Continued from post#4.

From ‘The World Book Dictionary,’ (Hyksos) “A succession of six foreign rulers of Egypt—from about 1730 B.C. to about 1570 B.C; Shepherd Kings.” --- And from the Encyclopedia Britannica, ‘Hyksos’, invaders who were also called the Shepherd Kings, who in the time of “King Tutimaios” entered Egypt and took possession of it ‘WITHOUT STRIKING A BLOW’ and it is said here that Josephus the historian, identifies them with the Israelites and that they left Egypt in 1567 B.C.

Genesis 41: After Joseph had revealed to the king that his dreams were a prophecy telling of a seven-year period of plenty, which would be followed by a seven years period of severe drought, Joseph is made Governor of all Egypt, and all Egyptians were commanded by the King to obey him. The King removed his royal ring with its engraved seal and put it on the finger of Joseph. He was given the second royal chariot and a guard of honour who went ahead of him crying out, “Make way, make way.” And the King said: I am King, but no one in all of Egypt shall so much as lift a hand or a foot without Joseph’s permission. He gave Joseph an Egyptian wife, Asenath, the daughter of the High priest of Heliopolis, who prophesied that if ever the bones of Joseph left Egypt, the LIGHT of Egypt would go with him. For that reason, a permanent guard was set up to keep watch over the tomb of Joseph, in order that no one could remove the mummified body of Joseph.

During the seven years of plenty, Joseph gathered a percentage of the Egyptian grain crop as a tax, which was stored in silos throughout Egypt. In the early stages of the great seven-year drought, the Egyptians had to buy their grain from Joseph, when their money had all gone, they traded their possessions and livestock, after which, they were forced to sign their land over for grain in order to survive.

Genesis 47: 20-21. Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for the king. Every Egyptian was forced to sell their land, because the famine was so severe; Joseph made slaves of all the people from one end of Egypt to the other, ‘without striking a blow.’

Joshua 17: 1; Machir, who was a military Hero during the reign of the Shepherd Kings, was long dead by the time of the Exodus.

The military forces of the ruling Hyksos under the command of Machir, were described as bowmen and cavalrymen wearing the cloaks of many colours, much like the cloak of many colours that was worn by Joseph the son of Israel and the Governor of all Egypt while under the Hyksos king, of who it is said in Genesis 50: 23; that he (Joseph) lived to receive the children of Machir the son of Manasseh into the family. And in Judges 5: 14, it is written that the commanders of the army came down from Machir, of who it is said in Joshua 17: 1; that Machir was the firstborn son of Manasseh, the first born of Joseph, and that he was a military hero, and the father of young Gilead.

Gilead the first born of Machir would have been welcomed into the family by Joseph, and presumably, the funeral procession of Young Gilead who is thought to have died childless beside his father ‘Machir’ in a war against the people of the country that would later carry his name, ‘The land of Gilead’ which land was allocated to the descendants of Machir after the exodus.

The funeral procession of Gilead would have been led by his great grandfather Joseph, and possibly buried in his own tomb, which was to be later placed under a permanent guard against tomb robbers, because the high priest of Heliopolis had prophesied that if ever the bones of Joseph left Egypt, the LIGHT of Egypt would go with him.

After the Exodus of the Israelites, and the removal of the mummified remains of Joseph, which were to be taken to Shechem and buried there in the land of Israel as per Joseph’s last wish, the Egyptian Guards would have been removed, and any grave robbers who were later confronted with the opened sarcophagus’ of Joseph and his wife in the empty tomb, would have assumed that others had beaten them to the treasures that the tomb of Joseph would have contained, and would have left empty handed, not realizing, that there could have been a sealed chamber at the back of Joseph’s tomb, in which Gilead may have been buried.

Even though Joseph was Governor of all Egypt, he remained subject to the Hyksos King, and when Jacob, his father died, He still had to ask for the king’s permission to leave the country.

Genesis 50: 4-9; When the time of mourning was over, Joseph said to the king's officials, “Please take this message to the king: ‘When my father was about to die, he made me promise him that I would bury him in the tomb which he had prepared in the land of Canaan. So please let me go and bury my father, and then I will come back.’ ” The king answered, “Go and bury your father, as you promised you would.”

So Joseph went to bury his father. All the king's officials, the senior men of his court, and all the leading men of Egypt went with Joseph. His family, his brothers, and the rest of his father's family all went with him. Only their small children and their sheep, goats, and cattle stayed in the region of Goshen. Men in chariots and men on horseback also went with him; it was a huge group.

Genesis 50: 12- So Jacob's sons did as he had commanded them; they carried his body to Canaan and buried it in the cave at Machpelah, east of Mamre, in the field which Abraham had bought from Ephron the Hittite for a burial ground. After Joseph had buried his father, he returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone with him for the funeral.

I will leave it to the reader, to work out for themselves how long the Israelites were in Egypt after the death of Jacob, until 1665, when the new king who knew nothing about Joseph, came to power and subjected them to slavery.

Thanks Miss H, may our God preserve you. BTW, By referring to me as T.A, I hope that you are not suggesting that I am a trades assistant to the Master Builder.