The Mysterious Land of Egypt
The land of the pharaohs is a well-established country that has been both protagonist and antagonist over the years.
Egypt is a majestic land with an astonishing history. Much of antiquity can be traced through this ancient homeland of the pharaohs—inviting an extraordinary measure of curiosity, even to this day, as evidenced by the recent opening of the massively impressive Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza.
Egypt is also a land filled with spiritual significance. The country is referenced 660 times in God’s Word, second only to Israel in that regard. Roughly 10% of the Bible’s narrative unfolds there, including crucial portions of the history of God’s Chosen People, Israel; the birth of Moses (Ex. 2:1–10); the first Passover (12:1–28); and the crossing of the Red Sea (14:1–31). Egypt even provided refuge to the Son of God in His earliest days on Earth (Mt. 2:13–15).
Egypt played an important role in the plan of God in the ancient past, and the story of modern Israel cannot truly be told without reference to Egypt.
Wars and Treaties
Over the years, Egypt’s relationship with the State of Israel has fluctuated between protagonist and antagonist. Some of the most notable interactions between the countries include the following:
1956 Suez Canal War. Israel, Britain, and France invaded the Sinai Peninsula to counter Egypt’s takeover of the Suez Canal and its blockade of Israeli ships. Under pressure from the United States and United Nations, the three countries withdrew; and Egypt gained sovereignty over the canal.
1967 Six-Day War. Promising to annihilate Israel, Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser began amassing troops and military equipment across the Suez Canal. Iraq, Jordan, and Syria joined Egypt’s effort, bringing the number of mobilized troops to 250,000. On June 5, Israel preemptively attacked Egypt’s and Syria’s air forces. When the war ended on June 10, Israel had possession of the Temple Mount, Western Wall, eastern Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria (West Bank), the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip, and the Sinai Peninsula. It returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in 1982 under the Camp David Accords.
1973 Yom Kippur War. On October 6, Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism, an Arab coalition led by Egypt and Syria and backed by the Soviet Union launched a massive surprise attack on Israel from the Suez Canal in the south and the Golan Heights in the north. Israel was vastly outnumbered in terms of manpower and weaponry and came near to defeat until the United States stepped in to resupply it with spare parts, tanks, bombs, and helicopters. Some believe U.S. aid prevented Israel from launching nuclear weapons in a last-ditch effort to survive. By the time a ceasefire was reached on October 25, more than 2,500 Israeli soldiers were dead and around 7,000 were wounded. Many believe that the memory of this war factored into Hamas’s planning for its October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel—50 years and a day later.
1978 Camp David Accords. The Accords were structured in meetings held at Camp David in Maryland between U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin from September 5 to 15 in 1978. They produced an Egypt-Israel peace treaty that was signed in March 1979 at the White House. Sadat had played the leading role as president of Egypt during the Yom Kippur War. The treaty promised greater freedom to Arabs living in Gaza and the West Bank, restored diplomatic relations between Egypt and Israel, and ensured Israeli ships could pass through the Suez Canal and Straits of Tiran. It also included billions of dollars in U.S. aid to both countries. The treaty cost Sadat his life in 1981, when members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad assassinated him.
1979 to Present. Egypt has enjoyed relative peace with Israel since the Camp David Accords. It has more than 10 times the population of Israel and a larger military, but it lags behind in technology and does not possess nuclear weapons.
In the wake of the Hamas-Israel war, a mass migration of Gazan refugees into Egypt has caused tension between Egypt and Israel—creating perhaps the most strained relationship the two countries have had since 1979. Egypt refuses the indiscriminate entry of Gazans into its land via the Rafah Border Crossing, blaming Israel for the Gazans’ plight.
Egypt has also warned Israel against launching any attacks that would impact its territory. Egypt was instrumental, however, in negotiating a ceasefire and peace plan between Israel and Hamas in October 2025 and reportedly is determined to help reconstruct Gaza.
Israel and Egypt share in the distress that plagues the Middle East today. Yet, the Bible teaches that this story will not end in futility or moral anarchy. God still has a gracious prophetic plan for Egypt.
Like all Gentile nations, Egypt will face God’s wrath for its unjust treatment of His Chosen People throughout its history. He will deal with the country in judgment during the Tribulation (Isa. 19:16–18; Dan. 11:42–43; Zech. 10:10–11).
But God also will fulfill glorious promises for Egypt during the Millennial Kingdom. He even will “bless” the nation with the title “My people” (Isa. 19:25; cf. vv. 19–24), although He will still mete out special chastisements for disobedience during that time (Zech. 14:18–19).
May we pray for ultimate peace to flood both these nations through the coming of the Messiah of Israel—who will transform the ancient, mysterious land of Egypt.
