1 the Downfall of Egypt and the Amalekites of the Bible
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THE DOWNFALL OF EGYPT AND THE AMALEKITES OF THE BIBLE! The Egyptian king-lists at Abydos in Upper Egypt completely ignore a period of almost 500 years, and jump from King Amenemhet IV of the 12th Dynasty to King Aahmes of the 18th -- why? What occurred during this period of "darkness" that the Egyptians refused to record? Read about the inscriptions on the el-Arish stone and the traditions recorded by the Islamic historians, and how a devastated Egypt was INVADED WITHOUT A FIGHT by armies from the "east." John D. Keyser During the Exodus, when Moses and the Israelites crossed the Gulf of Aqaba and entered the land of Midian, they were met, at a place called Rephidim, by an army of Amalekites. The Bible recounts the events that took place: Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said to Joshua, "Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand." So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands be came heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. -- Exodus 17:8-13, NKJV. Just who were these Amalekites, and where did they come from? And what was to be their ultimate place in history? Origins of Amalek The Bible dictionary, Insight on the Scriptures, states that Amalek was a "son of Esau's first born Eliphaz, by his concubine Timna. (Ge. 36:12, 16) Amalek, a grandson of Esau, was one of the sheiks of Edom. (Ge. 36:15, 16) Amalek's name also designated his tribal descendants. -- De. 25:17; Jg. 7:12; 1 Sa. 15:2" (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York, Inc. 1988. p.86.) While it is true Amalek's name designated his tribal descendants, there is a belief that Amalek dates back BEYOND the time of Esau; and this is backed up by the account of Chedorlaomer and the kings in Genesis 14: In the fourteenth year Chadorlaomer and the kings that were with him came and attacked the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, and the Horites in their mountain of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is by the wilderness. 1 Then they turned back and carne to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and ATTACKED ALL THE COUNTRIES OF THE AMALEKITES, and also the Amorites who dwelt in Hazezon Tamar. -- Verses 5-7. When Balaam "took up his oracle" and "looked on AMALEK" (Numbers 24:1- 2, 20) he said: "AMALEK WAS THE FIRST AMONG NATIONS, but shall be last until be perishes." When the children of Israel met the Amalekites at Rephidim, the Amalekites were already "first among the nations" of Arabia, and were destined to go on to even GREATER prominence. The Islamic historians consider Amalek to be one of the MOST ANCIENT of the Arab tribes. Abulfeda, an Arab scholar of the thirteenth century, wrote: Shem [son of Noah] has several sons, among them Laud, to whom was born Pharis, Djordjan, Tasm, and AMALEK.... According to Immanuel Velikovsky: The Amalekites RULED IN MECCA and from their CENTRAL POSITION on the great peninsula [of Arabia] DOMINATED other Arabian tribes. All parts of Arabia Felix, Arabia Petraea, and Arabia Deserta alike were within reach of their bows. -- Ages in Chaos, Doubleday & Company, Inc. Garden City, N.Y. 1952. P.61. Sir Richard F. Burton, famous British explorer and author of the nineteenth century, noted the following in his book Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al- Madinah and Meccah: A tribe called Aulad Sam bin Nuh (the children of Shem), or Amalikah and Amalik, from their ancestor Amlak bin Arfakhshad bin Sam bin Nuh, was inspired with a knowledge of the Arabic tongue: it SETTLED AT AL-MADINAH [Medina], and was the first to cultivate the ground and to PLANT PALM-TREES. In course of time these people extended over the whole tract BETWEEN THE SEAS OF AL- HIJAZ (THE GULF OF AQABAH) AND AL-OMAN, (NORTH-WESTERN PART OF THE INDIAN OCEAN), and they became the PROGENITORS of the Jababirah (tyrants or "giants") of Syria, as well as the FARAINAH (PHARAOHS) OF EGYPT....The last king of the Amalik, "Arkam bin al-Arkam," was, according to most authors, slain by an army of the children of Israel sent by Moses after the Exodus, with orders thoroughly to purge Meccah and al-Madinah of their Infidel inhabitants. -- Vol.I, p.343. The Flight of the Amalekites When the land of Egypt was convulsed by the plagues of God, similar judgments fell upon neighboring civilizations -including that of Arabia. Masudi, an Arab historian who died about 956 A.D., relates the tradition of a tremendous CATASTROPHE that struck the Amalekites, and tells of "swift clouds, ants and other signs of the LORD'S RAGE," when MANY PERISHED IN MECCA. Evidently, a 2 turbulent torrent of water overwhelmed the land of Djohainah; and the WHOLE POPULATION drowned in a single night. The scene of this catastrophe is known by the name of "Idam" (FURY); and Omeyah, son of Abu-Salt of the tribe of Takif, alluded to this event in the following verse: "In the days of yore, the Djorhomites settled in Tehama, and a VIOLENT FLOOD carried all of them away." The Amalekites were PUT TO FLIGHT by these plagues that fell upon them IN ARABIA; and in their escape they followed swift clouds. Meanwhile, MECCA WAS DESTROYED IN A SINGLE NIGHT amidst a terrible noise; and THE LAND BECAME A DESERT. Historian Masudi relates this disaster: From el-Hadjoum up to Safa ALL BECAME DESERT; in MECCA the nights are silent, no voice of pleasant talk. WE DWELT THERE, but in a most tumultuous night in the most terrible of devastations WE WERE DESTROYED. Velikovsky picks up the story flow: In tumult and disorder, fleeing the ominous signs and plagues and driving their herds of animals infuriated by EARTHQUAKES and evil portents, THE FUGITIVE BANDS OF AMALEKITES REACHED THE SHORES OF THE RED SEA.... This succession of phenomena helps us to recognize that they occurred AT THE TIME OF THE ISRAELITES' ESCAPE FROM EGYPT, also visited by plagues. They [the Israelites] also witnessed the destructive flood at the sea of passage, at Pi-ha-khiroth, SHORTLY BEFORE THEY MET THE AMALEKITES. -- Ages in Chaos, P.62. The Israelites met the fleeing Amalekites FOR THE FIRST TIME a few days after they had crossed the Gulf of Aqaba into the land of Midian. The Invasion of Egypt Notice, now, what happened to the Amalekites AFTER being defeated by the Israelites at Rephidim: They left Arabia after a SERIES OF PLAGUES, and immediately after a VIOLENT EARTHQUAKE. Many of them perished during the migration in a SUDDEN FLOOD that swept the land of Arabia. They sighted the ISRAELITES coming out of Egypt, which was laid in ruins by a GREAT CATASTROPHE. In this catastrophe the water in the river turned red as blood, THE EARTH SHOOK, THE SEA ROSE in a sudden tidal wave. THE INVADERS FROM ARABIA OCCUPIED THE SOUTH OF PALESTINE....(lbid., p 91) The Arab historian Masudi picks up the story: 3 When this conqueror [El-Welid, son of Douma] CAME TO SYRIA [and southern Palestine] HE HEARD RUMORS ABOUT EGYPT. He sent there one of his servants named Ouna, with a great host of warriors. El-Welid oppressed the inhabitants, seized their possessions and drew forth all the treasures he could find. Elsewhere in his work, Masudi states: "An Amalekite king, el-Welid, son of Douma, ARRIVED FROM SYRIA, INVADED EGYPT, CONQUERED IT, SEIZED THE THRONE AND OCCUPIED IT without opposition, his life long." In another work of his Masudi gives a more detailed account of the conquest of el-Welid: El-Welid, son of Douma, advanced at the head of a numerous army, with the intention to overrun diverse countries and to overthrow their sovereigns. The end of this particular passage recalls the sentence in the Haggada: "Amalek...in his wantonness undertook to destroy the whole world." These invaders from Arabia occupied Syria and the south of Palestine, and simultaneously moved toward Egypt. They conquered Egypt WITHOUT MEETING RESISTANCE. Velikovsky adds: The Amalekite conquerors came from Arabia, but apparently they had Hamitic blood in their veins. They were a nation of herdsmen and roamed with their large herds from field to field....Their domination over many countries of the Near and Middle East endured, according to various reckonings, FOR ALMOST FIVE HUNDRED YEARS....(lbid., p.93). The record of an EYEWITNESS to the invasion of Egypt has come down to us in the form of the Papyrus of Ipuwer. It is uncertain how this papyrus containing the words of Ipuwer was discovered. Evidently, its first owner (Anastasi) claimed it was found in "Memphis" or, more probably, in the neighborhood of the pyramids of Saqqara. The Museum of Leiden in the Netherlands purchased the papyrus in 1828, and it is now listed in their catalog as Leiden 344.