Genesis 12:14, 15 - "And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house."

Map of the Kingdom of Egypt (2,000 BC)

Abraham and Ancient Egypt. The Bible records that during a famine Abraham and his wife traveled down into Egypt. It also mentions the Pharaoh of Egypt and his dealings with Abraham and his wife (Gen. 12). It is very difficult to determine the exact time that Abraham had come into Egypt, and there have been numerous speculations regarding the Pharaoh that spoke with Abraham, none of which are certain. Below is a chronology that is accepted by historians.

Ancient Egyptian Chronology. (From the 1st Dynasty to the Persian Conquest). The history of Egypt from the 1st Dynasty which was around 3100 BC*, all the way to the invasion of Egypt by Cambyses of Persia in 525 BC can be divided into these periods:

1. The Early Dynastic Period (3100 BC - 2686 BC) 1st Dynasty**
2. The Old Kingdom (2686 BC - 2181 BC) 3rd Dynasty
3. The First Intermediate Period (2181 BC - 2040 BC)
4. The Middle Kingdom (2040 BC - 1795 BC) 11th Dynasty
5. The Second Intermediate Period (1795 BC - 1650 BC)
6. The Hyksos Rulers (1650 BC - 1550 BC)
7. The New Kingdom (1550 BC - 1069 BC) 17th Dynasty
8. The Third Intermediate Period (1069 BC - 702 BC)
9. The Persian Conquest of Egypt (525 BC) 27th Dynasty

*These dates are generally accepted among scholars. It is interesting to note that before 1600 BC the chronology of ancient Egypt is very uncertain.
**A dynasty is a series of rulers all descending from the same family. One Egyptian priest named Manetho from the third century BC wrote a history of Egypt and arranged it by 31 dynasties.

Genesis 12:9-10 - "And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south. And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land."

Also see: Map of the Journeys of Abraham and Map of Egypt in Biblical Times - Free Bible

Old Testament Maps

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