ISRAELITES FLEE TO EGYPT AGAIN

2 KINGS 25; JEREMIAH 41–46

The Promised Land had seen its fill of Babylonian soldiers and violence. Its fortified cities were battered and beaten. The best and brightest of its citizens had been uprooted from their land and deported to Babylon. Only a small, destitute group was left in Judah. When the army of Babylon withdrew from the Promised Land, they appointed a Jewish governor, Gedaliah, and charged him with ruling what was left of Judah. But within weeks of the day Gedaliah took office, other leaders from Judah assassinated him, his entourage, and some of the remaining Babylonians (2 Kings 25:22–25; Jer. 41:1–3). This act was sure to provoke Babylonian anger, and the remaining inhabitants of Judah were filled with the fear of another reprisal that would set the land ablaze. So for this reason some of the Israelites fled to Egypt.

It was not long before the remnant in Judah was frantically packing everything they could carry. It was time to get out while the getting was still good (Jer. 41:16–18). Even Jeremiah was seized and carried to the city of Tahpanhes in northeastern Egypt (Jer. 43:6–7).8 Other Israelites settled all along the Nile River from Upper to Lower Egypt in places like Migdol, Memphis, and even Yeb (Elephantine).9

What was it that drew these Israelites to Egypt even in the face of the Lord’s clear prohibition against such a trip (Jer. 42:19)? The abundant natural resources of Egypt made the trip south appear attractive. When displaced from home and country, their first impulse from a human perspective was to go to the closest place that had a rich supply of food and water. This is what had drawn the families of Abram and Jacob to Egypt in an earlier age when famine coursed through the Promised Land (Gen. 12:1–20; 46:1–7). What is more, while Israelites had been suffering the pain of foreign invasion from Babylon, Egypt had been prospering under the leadership of Pharaoh Hophra.10

Excavations at Elephantine, where Israelites built a temple during the time of Jeremiah (view looking west).

In addition to strong natural resources, these Jewish families were attracted to what they thought was a greater sense of personal security. While Egypt had been an on-again, off-again ally throughout Israel’s history, public perception was now guided by this motto: “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Since Egypt had regularly opposed Babylon and could still field a strong army, the refugees began to trust in Egypt for some type of security. Following the assassination of Gedaliah by Ishmael (Jer. 41:2), a group of Israelites came to Jeremiah. They were inclined to leave for Egypt but asked him to consult the Lord on their behalf. Should they go to Egypt or remain in the Promised Land? The Lord’s answer was crystal clear. He promised these trembling people of Judah that if they stayed in their homeland, they would live much better lives and actually receive those things they wished to gain in Egypt (Jer. 42:10). Of course in doing so, the Lord asked his people to step out with faith that looked beyond the current circumstances. These same people who had asked for God’s input rejected his direction and assurances. They seized Jeremiah and headed into Egypt, where they further immersed themselves in the idolatry they had been warned against (Jer. 44:7–19).

View from Elephantine, with the Nile River in the background (view looking southwest).

Fearing another Babylonian attack, some of the Israelites fled to Egypt. The Lord had called these terrified Israelites to remain in Judah—the land God had promised Abraham and his descendants. But rejecting his promises, they fled to Egypt seeking prosperity and security among the idols of foreign rulers. So it was that the Israelites went down to Egypt again—rejecting the giver of true security for a temporary reprieve.

Judeans flee to Egypt before Babylonian army, ca. 560 BC

This alabaster sphinx from Egypt’s Eighteenth Dynasty had been here at Memphis approximately one thousand years by the time Israelites settled in the area during the time of Jeremiah.