Where in Egypt Did the Israelites Live/1/en
Where in Egypt Did the Israelites Live?
Introduction
In Goshen or Beyond?
Upon their arrival in Egypt, Yosef settled his family in the land of Goshen. The text shares that they struck roots and prospered there:
(מז:כז) וַיֵּשֶׁב יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם בְּאֶרֶץ גֹּשֶׁן וַיֵּאָחֲזוּ בָהּ וַיִּפְרוּ וַיִּרְבּוּ מְאֹד.
It is not clear, however, if the nation stayed in Goshen exclusively, or if at some point they expanded beyond its borders. Shemot 1:7 describes the nation's proliferation:
וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל פָּרוּ וַיִּשְׁרְצוּ וַיִּרְבּוּ וַיַּעַצְמוּ בִּמְאֹד מְאֹד וַתִּמָּלֵא הָאָרֶץ אֹתָם.
The phrase "וַתִּמָּלֵא הָאָרֶץ אֹתָם" is ambiguous; does it suggest that as they multiplied, the Israelites left their original settlement and filled the Land of Egypt as a whole, or does it mean more simply that they filled only the region of Goshen?
Isolation or Integration?
On one hand, several verses suggest that the nation was secluded in Goshen. Thus, 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 Egyptians 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 the Israelites! Similarly, the smearing of blood and skipping over homes during the Plague of First Borns implies that the houses of the two peoples bordered on each other.
