EGYPT IN THE BIBLE - In the Gospel of Matthew, part of the New Testament, it is said in Matthew 2:13-23 that Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus of Nazareth, is visited by an angel in a dream, who tells him to take Mary and Jesus and go to Egypt, to avoid Jesus being slain by King Herod I, called the Flight into Egypt.
The Gospel of Matthew describes how Joseph, Mary, and Jesus went to Egypt to escape from Herod the Great's slaughter of the baby boys in Bethlehem.
Egypt – the Cradle of Civilization
We know from the Bible that Egypt had wealth, a strong army and powerful kings. Abraham and many of his descendants sojourned to Egypt in difficult times, for food and shelter. This only confirms that it was the most powerful and prosperous nation in the region.
SITES TO VISIT
- MOUNT SINAI
- ST CATHERINE MONASTERY
- BURNING BUSH
- MOSES SPRING
- MARAH'S WELL
- passing Suez Canal tunnel
- Visit Pyramids
- Visit Sphinx
- Visit the Church of Virgin Mary, the “Hanging Church “built in the 4th BC,
- Visit to St. Sergius Church, the cave where Holy Family stayed
- Dinner Cruise at Nile River
- EGYPT Museum
- ST Simon the Tanner Church
- Shopping in Oil Perfume, Papyrus and others
MOUNT SINAI
- In the Bible, Mount Sinai (Hebrew: הַר סִינַי, Har Sinai) is the mountain at which the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by God.
- The biblical account of the giving of the instructions and teachings of the Ten Commandments was given in the Book of Exodus, primarily between chapters 19–24, during which Sinai is mentioned by name twice, in Exodus 19:2; 24:16.
- In the story Sinai was enveloped in a cloud, it quaked and was filled with smoke, while lightning-flashes shot forth, and the roar of thunder mingled with the blasts of a trumpet the account later adds that fire was seen burning at the summit of the mountain.
- In the biblical account, the fire and clouds are a direct consequence of the arrival of God upon the mountain.
- According to the biblical story, Moses departed to the mountain and stayed there for 40 days and nights in order to receive the Ten Commandments and he did so twice because he broke the first set of the tablets of stone after returning from the mountain for the first time.
- Also known as Mount Horeb.
- Located in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, this mountain is popularly known as Mount Moses and climbs up to an altitude of about 7,500 feet.
ST. CATHERINE MONASTERY
- One of the most important and imposing works of art in the monastery is the sixth-century mosaic depicting the Transfiguration that decorates the sanctuary apse in the main church (Katholikon). In the Byzantine world, Saint Catherine's Monastery was considered one of the most important Christian pilgrimage sites.
- Transfiguration of Jesus, apse mosaic from the Church of the Virgin at the monastery of Saint Catherine (Mount Sinai, Egypt), c. 565 Page 21 In this depiction of Christ's Transfiguration, virtually all traces of landscape have been eliminated. A bearded, frontal Christ is suspended in flat plane gold.
Source: Wikipedia, New world Encyclopedia.
BURNING BUSH in the Bible
Acts 7:30-34
- After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush. When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, there came the voice of the Lord: ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses shook with fear and would not venture to look. But the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. I have certainly seen the oppression of My people in Egypt and have heard their groans, and I have come down to rescue them; come now, and I will send you to Egypt’.
Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Burning-Bush
Exodus 3:1-5
- Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
- The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.
- So Moses said, “I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.
- When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground”.
Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Burning-Bush
Deuteronomy 33:13-16
Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Burning-Bush
Mark 12:26
Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Burning-Bush
Luke 20:37
Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Burning-Bush
Acts 7:35
Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Burning-Bush
MOSES SPRING
- Oyun Musa ("Moses Springs", عيون موسى), found 20 km south of the Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel in South Sinai, are a collection of fresh water springs said to be those in the area referred to as Elim in Exodus 15:27.
MARAH'S WELL
- Marah (Hebrew: מָרָה meaning 'bitter') is one of the locations which the Exodus identifies as having been travelled through by the Israelites, during the Exodus.
- The liberated Israelites set out on their journey in the desert, somewhere in the Sinai Peninsula. It becomes clear that they are not spiritually free. Reaching Marah, the place of a well of bitter water, bitterness and murmuring, Israel receives a first set of divine ordinances and the foundation of the Shabbat. The shortage of water there is followed by a shortness of food. Moses throws a log into the bitter water, making it sweet. Later God sends manna and quail. The desert is the ground where God acquires his people. The 'murmuring motifi' is a recurring perspective of the wandering Jewish people.
Source Wilkepedia ( Bible)
Passing Suez Canal tunnel
- The bridge links the continents of Africa and Asia. Passing under the Red Sea.
Visit Pyramids
- The pyramids of Giza were royal tombs built for three different pharaohs. The northernmost and oldest pyramid of the group was built for Khufu (Greek: Cheops), the second king of the 4th dynasty. Called the Great Pyramid, it is the largest of the three.
- The Great Pyramid at Giza is the largest in the world, filling 13 acres at its base. At 481 feet tall, it was the tallest structure in the world until the advent of modern skyscrapers.
Visit Sphinx
- The Great Sphinx at Giza, near Cairo, is probably the most famous sculpture in the world. With a lion's body and a human head, it represents Ra-Horakhty, a form of the powerful sun god, and is the incarnation of royal power and the protector of the temple doors.
Visit the Church of Virgin Mary
- Saint Virgin Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church, also known as the Hanging Church is one of the oldest churches in Egypt and the history of a church on this site dates to the third century. Historians believe it was built around 690 AD It belongs to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.
- The church got its name due to its location above an ancient Roman fortress gate house.
- When the Hanging Church of Cairo was first built, the two pillars of the Roman gate house would have been clearly visible below the church, but over the centuries, the ground has risen quite dramatically, and today the pillars are completely buried.
St. Sergius Church
- Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church, also known as Abu Serga, in Coptic Cairo is one of the oldest Coptic churches in Egypt, dating back to the 4th century.
- Cave where Jesus, Mary, and Joseph rested for a time at the end of their flight as refugees in Egypt from King Herod’s persecution back in Palestine.
- The church’s name is a dedication to two saints revered in older Christian denominations. Sergius and Bacchus were allegedly high-ranking officers in the Roman army who were outed as secret Christians before being tortured and killed.
Dinner Cruise at Nile River
- Cruise the Nile River in the evening to get sunset views of the scenery and take in a folklore show.
- Enjoy the food and belly dancing show.
Egyptian Museum
- “Museum of Egyptian Antiquities”, houses the world’s biggest collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts.
Comments