A Significant role in the history of the Hebrew people was played by Egypt, which was often viewed as providing security and protection, peace and prosperity, eagerly sought advice, and military aid. At other times it was considered symbolic of oppression, slavery, danger, and doom.
Whether the Israelites were fleeing before the Egyptians or seeking to make or to retain military alliances with them, Egyptian influences inevitably affected the people of Palestine, a land constantly overrun by marauding armies. Many of the Hebrews considered Egypt as an unfailing source of bounty; others, especially during their sojourn there, had viewed it with equal justification as a dispenser of hardship and bondage.
Abram made his first visit to Egypt shortly following his entry into the land of Canaan. This verse indicates the reason which led many others to follow his example (Gen. 12:10): "There was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there." The broad waters of the Nile and the rich alluvial soil left as a result of their annual flooding made famine a rare occurrence in the land of Egypt. It will be recalled that the patriarch's grandson Jacob sought and obtained there the food required to sustain his growing household in time of dearth and that he then settled there with all his family.
