Sheba

150
WESTERN ARABIA AND THE SHEBA-MENELIK CYCLE
Sea ports serving Thebes rather than continuing northwards to the Nile
Delta and the Levant. It was during this joint reign that written Egyptian
was standardized and a code of conduct drawn up for the monarchy, the
Instructions for Merikare. Sesostris III (ca. 1836-1818 B.C.E.), continuing
the work of bringing uniformity and central control, created a standing
army and centralized bureaucracy, and also established fortresses with
garrisons. He, too, was active in extending control in the south and on the
Asian frontier.
If the Hebrew had been brought under Egyptian control in this period
they would most likely have been within striking distance of Thebes, either
in Nubia or Hijaz. The Egyptians never developed a systematic
administrative system outside their homeland, let alone in a colonial
settlement; but place names in western Arabia such as Yathrib, Medina’s
former name, indicate a substantial presence, most likely a military one.
Salibi lists twenty locations in western Arabia named after ancient Egyptian
gods, six named after “two lands” (t’wy) the name of Egypt itself, and
others bearing the Semitic name for Egypt, msrm (Arabic) and msrym (Old
Testament Hebrew). Many of these place names are centered on the
Khamis Mushait area of Asir province in Saudi Arabia. Saudi television
had often displayed Egyptian artifacts discovered in this area but ceased
doing so once Salibi’s book linked them to Israelite history. If captivity and
the Exodus occurred in Arabia, it is likely the Egyptian garrisons withdrew
soon after Moses led the Hebrew to freedom. The Egyptians later appear to
have launched raids or punitive expeditions against western Arabia. Unlike
other ancient empire builders, the Egyptians were disinterested in
establishing permanent control and colonies outside their home area. Salibi
places the main thrust of Sheskonk’s military campaign against western
Arabia, not Palestine.
If the captivity commenced ca. 1600 B.C.E. it would have been
associated with the Delta-based Hyksos dynasty (ca. 1630-1523 B.C.E.)
when a wave of new technology swept into Egypt from Asia, introducing
new techniques and improvements in bronze-making, weaponry, weaving,
and pottery. Horse-drawn chariots made their debut. This was a time for an
influx rather than an exodus. The aftermath of the reign of Akhenaton
(ca.1379 – 1362 B.C.E.) was marked by chaos, as the new dynasty erased
his heretical religious beliefs. His new capital was abandoned and Ramses I
(1292-1290 B.C.E.) re-established the old capital in the Delta. Dynastic and
religious disputes, combined with a change in the political and economic
geography, would have made it easier for the Hebrew to break free if they