Archive for Aswan

Predestined: A Dry Nile River

Posted in Egypt/Nile River, Isaiah, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on March 12, 2019 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 19:5-7 And the waters of the sea will be dried up, and the river will be dry and parched, and its canals will become foul, and the branches of Egypt’s Nile will diminish and dry up, reeds and rushes will rot away. There will be bare places by the Nile, on the brink of the Nile, and all that is sown by the Nile will be parched, will be driven away, and will be no more.

This prophecy was written approximately 2,800 years ago. There is not any record where the Nile River has dried up since this was written. The prophecy is quite a statement. The Nile River is predestined to go dry.

The notion of a dry Nile is also noted in… 

Zechariah 10:11b …And He will strike the waves in the sea, so that all the depths of the Nile will dry up…

Ezekiel 30:12 And I will dry up the Nile and will sell the land into the hand of evildoers; I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it, by the hand of foreigners; I am the LORD; I have spoken.

God states this is His will.

God does not say what causes the Nile River to go dry.

How is this going to happen? There is the obvious answer of drought. Outside of the Nile River, Egypt is not a hospitable place. It is desert and nothing grows there. It would take a drought in central Africa in the highlands of Lake Victoria, the source of the Nile.

Humanity is exerting its will to control the waters of the Nile River. Human intervention does not always result in its desired intention. History is littered with ecological disasters at the hands of humanity. Countries across Africa and the Middle East threaten each other with limited access to water.

A possibility is the Aswan Dam in southern Egypt. The waters behind the dam could be withheld.  Ironically, the primary purpose of the dam is to manage flooding of the Nile River.

There is also the matter of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam construction continues on the Nile River. Construction of the dam is located in northwest Ethiopia. When finished, the GERD will be the largest hydroelectric plant in Africa. As of the Spring of 2019, the project is estimated to be completed in 2022. Once finished, it estimated to take 5-15 years for the reservoir to fill to capacity.

As a trend, the levels of the Nile River are receding in recent times. This is due to countries up river in central Africa who are using more of the water as a resource. As of December 2006, the following statement was issued by NASA based on satellite imagery. “Several African basins, such as the Congo, Zambezi and Nile, show significant drying over the past five years.”  A February 2010 headline from a newspaper in the Sudan read, Nile River Volume Decreases, The Problem To Local Communities.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Ethiopian_Renaissance_Dam

God can use the free will of humans to achieve His purpose. It does not mean He will.

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Isaiah 19:17-18 Hebrew Language in Egypt

Posted in Isaiah with tags , , , , , , , on April 5, 2011 by paulthepoke

The land of Judah will become a terror to Egypt; everyone to whom it is mentioned will be in dread of it, because of the purpose of the LORD of hosts which He is purposing against them.

Who and where is the land of Judah? Judah is a son of Jacob/Israel from Genesis. The lineage of Judah becomes the Tribe of Judah (Genesis 46, 49).  Jesus is from this tribe and is called the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5). This tribe is synonymous with the southern kingdom in the day of Isaiah. It is modern day southern Israel, the area which shares a border with Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

From previous verses, we know the Nile River is dry during this time. The text does not say if the cause is by drought or if water is being withheld by the Aswan Dam. Time will tell. The following is food for thought in the event the waters of Nile are restrained by the dam.

Recently as 2009, Israel’s foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, has stirred controversy with comments about Arab citizens and Egypt. He once suggested Egypt’s Aswan Dam might be bombed. In 2008, he said Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian President at that time, could “go to hell.”

Now if Israel is threatening to bomb the Aswan Dam, this would most certainly cause fear, dread, and terror. The concept of the verse is reeling in terror. This would effectively flood and wipe out Egypt. Granted, God has many options at his disposal in regards to stirring up fear. He has plagues, weather, darkness (Exodus) just to mention a few.  I am not suggesting or claiming to know the mind or purpose of God. It does not say. I do find the scenario worth noting in today’s geo-political world. God can absolutely plant an idea into the mind of a person (see Ezekiel 38, 39 with Gog and note Pharaoh and his hardened heart in Exodus).

In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will be speaking the language of Canaan and swearing allegiance to the LORD of hosts; one will be called the City of Destruction.

There are all kinds of speculation and conjecture as to the symbolism or meaning of the five cities noted in this verse. Some commentators are looking for a hidden meaning. Some are seeking spiritual significance of the number five. Some are allegorizing the number of cities.

I am going to take God at His word and believe that He says what He means. There will be five cities in Egypt where those residents will speak Hebrew. Those people in those five cities will be committed to the God of the Bible.

One of those cities is named. The name of that city is debated with legitimate scholarship, not speculation or allegorical interpretation. The argument lies in which text. Here are the considerations.

The Hebrew text has עִיר הַהֶרֶס (’ir haheres, “City of Destruction”; cf. NASB, NIV).

The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa (Dead Sea Scrolls) and some medieval Hebrew manuscripts read   עִיר הָחֶרֶס (ir hakheres, “City of the Sun,” i.e., Heliopolis). This reading also finds support from Symmachus’ Greek version, the Targum (Aramaic translation of the Bible), and the Vulgate (Latin translation of the Bible).

FYI, Heliopolis is located in northern Egypt on the Nile River where it branches into multiple rivers and streams.

I trust at some point in the future this city name will be clarified and make sense.

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Isaiah 19:5-10 Egyptian Great Depression

Posted in Isaiah with tags , , , , , , , on March 8, 2011 by paulthepoke

The waters from the sea will dry up, and the river will be parched and dry. The canals will emit a stench, the streams of Egypt will thin out and dry up; the reeds and rushes will rot away. The bulrushes by the Nile, by the edge of the Nile and all the sown fields by the Nile will become dry, be driven away, and be no more. And the fishermen will lament, and all those who cast a line into the Nile will mourn, and those who spread nets on the waters will pine away. Moreover, the manufacturers of linen made from combed flax and the weavers of white cloth will be utterly dejected. And the pillars of Egypt will be crushed; all the hired laborers will be grieved in soul.

… and the river will be parched and dry… The Nile River and the Aswan High Dam are Egypt’s lifeline. About 95% of Egypt’s population lives within twelve miles of the river. The Nile River is Egypt’s main source of drinking and fresh water. Water purification plants are located on the Nile. The Aswan High Dam provides about half of Egypt’s electrical power supply. The river is also a major factor in the tourism industry. Nile River cruises will be out of business without a river. The brick industry will cease to function without water.

… and all the sown fields by the Nile will become dry… Egypt’s agriculture depends entirely on irrigation. Egypt’s agricultural sector is one of the most productive in the world. This will change without water from the Nile. With irrigation, two crops per year can be produced. Farmers do not have to pay for water used in irrigation.

The Aswan Dam has allowed Egypt to reclaim about 2.07 million acres from the Delta along the Nile Valley, increasing the country’s irrigated area by a third. About 1.03 million acres, mostly in Upper Egypt, were converted from flood irrigation. Approximately half a million families have been settled on these new lands.

Today, 95 percent of the wheat and rice crops are used to satisfy domestic consumption. Wheat yields in Egypt have tripled between 1952 and 1991 due to increased availability of water from the dam. Despite the increases, Egypt continues to be a large importer of food. Egypt is the world’s largest wheat importer. Egypt is already feeling the pinch of decreased wheat imports from the Russian drought of the 2010 summer and the Australian floods of 2011.

Areas where rice and sugar grow have seen cultivation increase. Two crops of rice can be grown each year, but sugar cane has a growing period of almost one year.

And the fishermen will lament… Lake Nasser formed by the Aswan Dam has arguably the best freshwater fishing in the world for Nile perch and Tiger Fish. Other species include catfish (the giant Vundu being the biggest) and tilapia.  There are over thirty species of fish in the lake. Sardine fishing is also part of the Nile River economy.

…the manufacturers of linen made from combed flax and the weavers of white cloth will be utterly dejected… Cotton has been the country’s largest agricultural export product for many years. Egyptian cotton is known for its superiority among the world cotton varieties. Textile factories and farmers will cease to operate.

…all the hired laborers will be grieved in soul…Without irrigation from the Nile…unemployment and chaos.

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Isaiah 19:5-8 The Nile Goes Dry

Posted in Isaiah with tags , , , , on February 27, 2011 by paulthepoke

The waters from the sea will dry up, and the river will be parched and dry. The canals will emit a stench, the streams of Egypt will thin out and dry up; the reeds and rushes will rot away. The bulrushes by the Nile, by the edge of the Nile and all the sown fields by the Nile will become dry, be driven away, and be no more. And the fishermen will lament, and all those who cast a line into the Nile will mourn, and those who spread nets on the waters will pine away.

This prophecy was written approximately 2,800 years ago. I could not find any record where the Nile River has dried up since this was written. This prophecy is quite a statement. The Nile River will go dry. The notion of a dry Nile is also noted in Zechariah 10:11b …And He will strike the waves in the sea, so that all the depths of the Nile will dry up…

In case one really does not believe that the river could actually dry up, the grammar of verse 12 restates the fact that the river dries up three times for emphasis!

The tribulation period also speaks of a dried Euphrates River in Revelation 16:12. This time period has two of the largest rivers on the planet going dry.

Verse 6: The Hebrew word translated canal is nahar, it means rivers. When it dries out, it is going to stink. I have smelled a pond that has dried out and that is awful. I can’t imagine what the longest river in the world and its tributaries are going to smell like when it dries out. Think of all the vegetation, dead fish, and other animals…nice smell. Simply put, all the rivers, streams, and the Nile are going dry.

How is the going to happen? There is the obvious answer of drought. Outside of the Nile River, Egypt is not a hospitable place. It is desert and nothing grows there. It would take drought in central Africa in the highlands of Lake Victoria, the source of the Nile, to accomplish this.

A second answer is the Aswan Dam in southern Egypt. The waters of the dam could be withheld.  Ironically, the primary purpose of the dam is to manage flooding of the Nile River. As a trend, the levels of the Nile River are receding in recent times. This is due to countries up river in central Africa who are using more of the water as a resource. As of December 2006, the following statement was issued by NASA based on satellite imagery. “Several African basins, such as the Congo, Zambezi and Nile, show significant drying over the past five years.”  February 2010 headline from newspaper in Sudan read, Nile River Volume Decreases, The Problem To Local Communities.

The fact that the Nile is going to go dry is stated over and over and over in these verses. I believe God says the Nile is going to dry up.

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