Part 5: Joseph—The Cost of Belonging
By Genesis 41, Joseph looks nothing like the Hebrew shepherd's son he started as. He has an Egyptian name, an Egyptian wife, an Egyptian title—and he's running the most powerful empire in the ancient world. This further reading sits with what that cost him, and what it didn't.
Part 4: Households, Hierarchy, and the God Who Sees
Meet Shiphrah and Puah, the midwives who quietly defied Pharaoh. Explore Hagar's story as an Egyptian slave whom God saw and honored. Discover how God works through people on the margins—not the powerful, but the overlooked.
Part 3: Gods of Order and Judgment
Explore death practices in ancient Egypt, compare Egypt's religion to Mesopotamia and Canaan, get the full breakdown of all ten plagues showing which gods each targeted, and meet the extended Egyptian pantheon. Each section includes Scripture focus, historical deep-dive, and reflection questions.
Part 2: The Machine of Egypt
Part of the Egypt and the Bible Series, this second further reading plan explores The Machine of Egypt. Egypt's stability came at a cost: total control. The Nile's predictability created abundance, but that abundance required an extractive, hyper-organized system of taxation, forced labor, and centralized power. This week's passages show us how that machine was built, how far Egypt's influence reached, and what happened when the Hebrews got caught inside it. Understanding how the system worked helps us see why people kept going there, and why it was so hard to leave.
Part 1: Egypt of the Imagination
Part of the Egypt and the Bible Series, this first reading plan explores the Egypt of the Imagination. Throughout Scripture, Egypt represents the place we run to when we're afraid—the place that works, that feels stable and reliable, but costs us something in return. This week's spotlight passages trace a pattern: from Abram's fearful flight to Egypt, to God stopping Isaac before he could repeat it, to the prophets warning Israel against political dependence on Egyptian power.
Take Heart
A reflection on courage, burnout, and the posture behind my writing.