V.  Events During the Reign of Senusret/Sesostris/Sewosret III (1897-1878) &

A.    The Descent of Israel & the Seven Years of Famine

1.    Removal of Land Owners (Genesis 47:13-26)

a.    "Sewosret III made important reforms in internal administration, which seem to have completed the removal of power from the nomarchs.  The country was organized into four 'regions,' each of which corresponded to roughly half the Nile valley or the delta. Titularies of officials  and documents of the late 12th  and 13th dynasties, notably from el_Lahun, give the impression of a pervasive bureaucracy that came to run the country under its own momentum." John Baines and Jaromir Malek, Cultural Atlas of Ancient Egypt p. 40.

b.    “The basic problem was that the families of local rulers had once more become almost as powerful as the king himself, judging from the wealth of the tombs at Beni Hasan and the quarrying activity at Hatnub conducted by the family of Djehhutyhotpe.  Sesostris curtailed the authority of these local rulers, who had been gradually transforming themselves into local dynasties with traditions that were sometimes more ancient than the than the origins of the Twelfth Dynasty rulers themselves.  He reduced the importance of all the nomarchs except for Wahka II of Antaeopolis who was to remain in place until the reign of Ammenemes III.” Grimal, p.167.

c.    “Senusret III reduced their authority drastically by removing many of their established privileges.  The means by which this was achieved is unclear, but henceforth it was the king’s viziers who oversaw all branches of administration.” Shaw, p. 259b.

2.    Favorable Treatment of Priests

a.    Father in Law: Priest of On
b.    Power of the Cult
c.    Esoteric or Exoteric Monotheism

3.    Enemies of Pharaoh

a.    Execration Texts

(1) The Magical Ritual

(a)    A clay figurine was made representing a bound enemy.
(b)    Inscribed with the names of enemy
(c)    It was ritually mistreated (smashed, pierced, and burned)

(2)    Value: By examining the names on the figurines one can determine the enemies (often city names) of the pharaoh.
(3)    Cities Listed:

(a)    Sekmem
(b)    Ashkelon
(c)    Byblos
(d)    Jerusalem

b.    Syria Campaign (Clayton, p. 86)

E.    Death of Jacob

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