Where in Egypt Did the Israelites Live/1/en
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
This topic has not yet undergone editorial review
Where in Egypt Did the Israelites Live?
Introduction
Upon arrival in Egypt, Yosef settles his family in the land of Goshen.
Isolation or Integration?
On one hand, several verses suggest that the nation was secluded in Goshen. By the plagues of ערוב and ברד the text mentions a geographic distinction between Goshen and Egypt proper, suggesting that Israelites lived in one and Egytians in the other. On the other hand the commandment to borrow vessels from one's neighbors and tenants presumes that Egyptians lived close to, and even in the same buildings as Israelites! Similarly, the smearing of blood and skipping over homes during the Plague of First Borns intimates that the houses of the two peoples bordered on each other.
