Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times

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Covering the time span from the Palaeolithic period to the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC, Egyptologist Donald Redford explores 3000 years of uninterrupted contact between Egypt and Western Asia across the Sinai land-bridge. He presents a sweeping narrative of the love-hate relationship between the peoples of ancient Israel/Palestine and Egypt. Who were the Egyptians, Canaanites and Hebrews? Why did Egypt act like a magnet on the peoples of Palestine? And what did Egypt see in the area later called the Holy Land? Why did she create an empire there? In answering these questions, Redford argues that Egypt's attitude arose from a fundamental position adopted toward Asia in general. This stance was taken up by Pharaonic civilization centuries before the Israelites appeared and prevailed long after the end of the Biblical period.