Elizabeth Wiessner

Jewish Slavery in Egypt

The first website that I looked at said that there was no hard evidence that the
Jew were slaves in Egypt. It is hard to believe that 600,000 families crossed the entire
Sinai without leaving a shard of pottery with Hebrew writing on it. It is truly remarkable
that Egyptian records make no mention of the sudden migration of what would have
been nearly a quarter of their population. They say that there is no evidence in Israel
that shows sudden influx of people from another culture at this time.
In another website that I looked at it said that the Sinai Governors claim that the
Mossad released a shark into the Red Sea to kill Egyptians. That piece of evidence was
the only thing I found on that. I do not believe that because it was only said in one
website and only a paragraph was said about it, and it also was not mentioned in the
bible. I do not think that one shark can kill all of the Egyptians. That point to me just
stuck out to me because it was different and it was not mentioned anywhere else.
Enslavement of the Israelites. Thousands of years ago, according to the old
Testament, the Jews were slaves in Egypt. The Jews were enslaved in Egypt a good
three thousand years after the 1750 B.C. completion date of the pyramids. Part of the
slaves were personal servants of individuals. Others belonged to estates of temples
often taken during a military campaign or bestowed by the king. Some Hebrews were
sold into slavery because of debts they had themselves to escape from poverty. Even
though they were considered slaves, they did not have their rights taken away from
them. Male slaves were sometimes cheaper than women slaves, because women were
more skilled by doing things at home and around the house. The Israelites had been in

Egypt for generations. In the midst for Egyptian, anti-Semitic conspiracy, the fact that
one of the biggest events of the Jewish calendar is predicted upon reminding the next
generation every year of how the Egyptians were our cruel slave-masters. The Pharaoh
feared their presence. He feared that one day the Israelites would turn against the
Egyptians. After time he forced them to become his slaves. He made the slaves build
grand treasure cities. But even after all of that the Pharaoh was still worried that his
Israelite slaves would rise up against him. He then ordered a punishment- all of the firstborn males babies of the Israelites were to be killed. He told all of the midwives every
son that is born you, shall cast into the river.
In Genesis 15:13 it says, God told Abram that his descendants would be slaves
in a foreign land for 400 years. However, in Exodus 12:41 it says that the Israelites were
in Egypt for 430 years. I personally believe in the bible and what it says, I also believe
that if there is no hard evidence because the Jews took everything with the Hebrew
language on it with them then why wouldnt we listen to the bible.
Cairo, Egypt- over the 90 years, the population of Jewish Egyptians has fallen
from 80,000 to less than 40. Today, just 11 Egyptian Jews remain in Cairo. Which is
weird and kind of strange to me because in the past Egypt was seen as a safe haven
for Jews, many who were fleeing in Eastern Europe and Russia in the late 19th century.
People thought that since God and the Hebrews were there that it was safe and that it
was somewhere that could be trusted.
Overall, I believe what the bible says because I grew up a Christian and that is
what I believe.

Websites:

By Subscribing, You Agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. "How Long Were the
Children of Israel Enslaved in Egypt, According to the Bible?" Contradiction. N.p., n.d. Web.
10 Oct. 2016. The whole news article I used for this paper. The scripture verses that I used in

this paper.
"Enslavement of the Israelites." Enslavement of the Israelites.
Http://www.bl.uk/copyrightstatement.html, 28 Mar. 2006. Web. 10 Oct. 2016. It is a story
article, I used mainly the first paragraph. This article explains how the enslavement became

about.
Jazeera, Al. "Egypt's Jewish Community Buries Deputy Leader." - Al Jazeera English. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2016 I used the first three paragraphs in the article. In this article it talks

about the Jewish community.

Josh Mintz / Jewish World Blogger Mar 26, 2012 8:11 PM, By Alon Idan18 Hours Ago This Is a
Primium Article 1 Comments 1, By Chemi Shalevyesterday 8 Comments 8, By Nir Hasson11
Hours Ago This Article Contains a Video 2 Comments 2, By David Lissy14 Hours Ago This Is
a Primium Article, By Haaretz Editorialyesterday This Is a Primium Article 3 Comments 3, By
Ofer Aderet17 Hours Ago This Is a Primium Article, and By David B. Green19 Hours Ago 1
Comments 1. "Were Jews Ever Really Slaves in Egypt, or Is Passover a Myth? - The Jewish
Thinker." Haaretz.com. N.p., 26 Mar. 2012. Web. 10 Oct. 2016- I used the first three paragraphs
of this article. It included the information about how many families and people were in slavery
at that time.