Wadi el Arish

This view shows the large area of possible tributary channels feeding into the Wadi el Arish water shed during rainy season. When King Saul besieged Auaris the river bed was dry allowing him to use it for his strategic advantage. The scriptures call this river the `River of Egypt' since it is the only one between Israel's southern limits and the Nile delta. We think modern researchers are wrong in identifying Nile delta locations as Auaris/Avaris, the Hyksos citadel. More recently Manfred Bietak of the University of Vienna claimed to have excavated el Arish in the Nile Delta region. Even though Hyksos had probably fortified installations in the Nile Delta region, such a military post was also located at El Arish as ancient sources imply. The fact that King Saul used at least initially a large army to besiege the Hyksos/Amalekite citadel for a long period of time (3-6 years) tells us that it was of considerable size, well manned and fortified. To our knowledge the delta locations so far found seem too small in size. For another map click Here.

David and Abishag Crawl out of this tomb Submenu