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EGYPT
pp. 41 - 60
At the time of writing these lines the word SUEZ is on everyone's lips, and the peace
of the world seems to be balanced upon the attitude of Egypt, the Arab world of the
Middle East, and the nations whose welfare is very intimately linked with the free use of
the Suez Canal.
Egypt is mentioned some 480 times in the Scriptures, the references being distributed
thus:
The Law = about 70 times;
the Prophets = 270 times;
the Psalms = 16 times;
the Gospels 4; the Acts 14; the Epistles 4; and the Revelation one reference.
In an analysis devoted to prophecy, it is obvious that the many references made to
Egypt by Moses must be omitted. The common name for Egypt in the Scriptures is
"Mitzraim" or "the land of Mitzraim". The dual form of this name indicates the natural
division of the country with an upper and a lower region. At times the singular Matsor is
used, and this appears to refer to lower Egypt only. In the genealogy of the nations, given
in Gen. 10:, we read:
"And the sons of Ham, Cush and Mizraim, and Phut and Canaan" (Gen. 10: 6).
Gen. 13: 10 gives some idea of the fertility of Egypt, saying that Lot beheld all the
plain of Jordan "that it was well watered everywhere, before the Lord destroyed Sodom
and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest to
Zoar".
Two great rivers form the boundaries of the land of promise, the Euphrates and the
Nile (Gen. xv.18). The attitude of Pharaoh, and the plagues that fell on Egypt, together
with the song of Moses after the crossing of the Red Sea, and the two witnesses Moses
and Aaron, have a prophetic interest, foreshadowing much that is recorded in the book of
the Revelation. One outstanding title of Egypt is "the house of bondage" which occurs
seven times in the law, once in Joshua and once in Judges.
Leaving these aspects of the subject, let us note what is said prophetically of Egypt
and first let us consider Psa. 68: 31:
"Princes shall come out of Egypt."
Rotherham translates this "ambassadors" and the Hebrew word chashmannim occurs
nowhere else. The LXX renders this word presbeis, and in the absence of anything more
definite, "ambassadors" seems to be the intention here. While we may not subscribe to
some of the opinions of Moffatt, we must recognize his mastery of the languages of the
Bible, and submit to the reader his translation of Psa. 68: 29-31: