This article was first published in the Winter 2005 issue of
Bible and Spade. The main route between Canaan and Egypt was
along the northern coast of Sinai. A number of Biblical figures
no doubt traveled this road. Known to the Egyptians as “the Way
of Horus,” and in the Bible as “the road through the Philistine
country” (Ex 13:17), it ended in the eastern delta in the Goshen
region. This is the part of Egypt where most Biblical characters
lived and Biblical events took place. Abraham came to Egypt
during the 21st century BC, at the end of the First Intermediate
Period (Gn 12:10; 13:1). The 11th Dynasty based in Thebes was
just gaining power in the south and would ultimately control all
of Egypt. So the Pharaoh that Abraham met (Gn 12:15–20) may have
been a northern leader who took the title, or an early king from
the Theban dynasty. Presumably, their encounter took place in
the delta area. While in this region, Abraham probably saw the
Giza pyramids on the Nile’s west bank. Giza is the northern-most
and most