JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

By the end of the eighth century B.C.E. the Egyptianized
Nubian rulers of *Cush had displaced the Libyans in control
of Egypt, while the Assyrians under *Tiglath-Pileser III made
their presence felt in Syria and Palestine. During the last revolt
of Israel against Assyria (724–721 B.C.E.) Hosea wrote to So,
the king of Egypt, for support against the Assyrians. This otherwise
unknown king has been plausibly identified recently as
Tefnakht, the ruler of Sais (So), a vassal of the Nubians. However,
Egyptian support was to no avail; Tefnakht was repulsed
and Samaria fell. Nevertheless Egypt still appeared to be powerful,
and in the following decades *Hezekiah, king of Judah,
again relied on Egypt. Although the biblical account names
*Tirhakah (Taharka), king of Cush (Nubia; II Kings 19:35) as
Jerusalem’s ally, there are chronological problems involved,
since the decisive battle of this campaign, that of Elteke, took
place in 701, and Taharka’s rule began only in 689.
*Sennacherib’s successors subjugated Egypt, expelled
the Cushites, and installed puppets who managed to regain
Egyptian independence under the twenty-sixth Dynasty. The
founder of this dynasty, Psammetichus I (c. 664–610 B.C.E.)
strengthened Egypt by the widespread employment of foreigners
– Greek and Jewish mercenary troops and Phoenician
sailors and merchants. During his reign or that of Psammetichus
II (c. 595–89 B.C.E.) the famous colony of Jewish mercenary
soldiers was established at *Elephantine to protect the
southern frontier of Egypt. After the fall of the Assyrian capital
of Nineveh in 612 B.C.E. to the Neo-Babylonians and Medes,
the king of Egypt, Neco II, “went up against the Babylonians,”
but found his way barred by *Josiah, king of Judah, whom he
defeated and killed at Megiddo in 609. Four years later, the
Babylonians decisively defeated him at the battle of Carchemish.
The subsequent Babylonian invasion of Egypt, preceded
by the siege and sack of Ashkelon, was, however, beaten back,
although Palestine remained under Babylonian control.
In 589 *Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem, whose
king, *Zedekiah, had rebelled at the instigation of the pharaoh
Apries (*Hophra). The latter invaded Syria in an attempt
to relieve Jerusalem, but again Egyptian support proved ineffectual,
and in 587 Jerusalem fell. Most of the city’s population
was deported to Babylon; some, however, took refuge in
Egypt, including the prophet *Jeremiah.
[Alan Richard Schulman]
Egyptian Literature in the Bible
Egypt has a long and full literary history and tradition, and as
such, there is ample evidence of both literary and nonliterary
genre of texts. These texts serve many functions and come in
a variety of forms each with its own established conventions
and styles. The technical aspects of Egyptian literary forms
are not generally paralleled in biblical literature, yet it is well
recognized that there is a commonalty in content between
some biblical narrative motifs and those found in various
Ancient Egyptian texts. Direct links in the prose literature
are difficult to establish, but there is a scholarly consensus
that relates the two bodies of literature. Wisdom texts fall in
egypt
their own category; the consensus maintains that the biblical
wisdom tradition is dependent, at least in part, upon the
Egyptian. Questions of borrowing and/or primary derivation
notwithstanding, there is no doubt that the Egyptian material
antedates the biblical.
Egypt plays an important part in the narrative setting of
the Torah. From the time that Joseph is sold into servitude
through the Exodus and the crossing of the Sea of Reeds, the
central location of the story is Egypt. It is in these stories, the
ones set in Egypt, that the majority of narrative parallels are
to be found. The most frequently cited example is the biblical
tale of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife (Gen 39) and the New
Kingdom Tale of Two Brothers. The Egyptian tale is the first
known example in ancient literature of the Temptress motif.
The details and purposes of each of the stories differ greatly,
but there is no serious doubt that the structure of the motif
is essentially the same. In such stories an older woman (or a
woman of higher social status) develops an ill-advised passion
for a younger man (or one of a lesser social status). This
“temptress” makes her desires known to the young man (Gen
39:7) who refuses her advances on moral grounds (verses 8–9);
thus spurned, the “temptress” accuses the young man of violating
her, and the “wronged” husband then seeks retribution.
The standard versions of this tale eventually vindicate
the youth and punish the mendacious wife. In the biblical
account Joseph is punished for his supposed actions by being
imprisoned (verses 19–20). Eventually he is pardoned by
Pharaoh and released from prison because, after interpreting
Pharaoh’s dreams, Joseph is rewarded and made viceroy of
Egypt (41:14–45). The biblical version deviates from the pattern
in two significant ways: First, the narrator never tells us
that Joseph is ever publicly declared innocent. (He is pardoned
not exonerated). Second, the fate of the temptress is not revealed.
Potiphar’s wife disappears from the story right after
she accuses Joseph (Gen 39:18–19), because she is no longer
important to the progress of the narrative.
Although the Tale of Two Brothers is the most frequently
cited example of biblical and Egyptian narrative parallels, it is
by no means the only one. Some literary tales present us with a
picture of Syria-Palestine that is reminiscent of the description
of the area in the Patriarchal Narratives of Genesis and also
show some parallel values. The prime example is the Middle
Kingdom Tale of Sinuhe, which depicts the environment of the
Levant in detail and shows it much the same as described in
the Torah narratives. Both the Hebrew and Egyptian sources
describe pastoral nomadic clans who travel among the settled
urban population centers. Sinuhe was an attendant to Princess
Nefru, daughter of Amenemhet I and wife of Sesostris I. After
Amenemhet I dies, Sinuhe overhears plans for a palace coup.
Fearing that he will be caught up in the civil-war that will inevitably
follow, he flees Egypt and wanders through the Nile
Delta and throughout Canaan. Sinhue becomes very successful
in Canaan, but always longs to return to his native land.
Ultimately, he is reunited with Sesostris I and urged to return
to Egypt. As with most Egyptian tales, this one ends happily
ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 6 225