Verses 31-34
Egyptians loathed shepherds because agriculture was the basis of Egyptian society and the Nile River sustained it (Genesis 46:34). The Egyptians organized their fields carefully and controlled them relatively easily. The comparative difficulty of controlling sheep, goats, and cows led the Egyptians to think of those who cared for these animals as crude and barbaric. [Note: See Keil and Delitzsch, 1:374-75, and my note on 43:32.] Probably too the more civilized Egyptians distrusted any nomadic peoples. [Note: Wenham, Genesis 16-50, p. 445. ] This resulted in the Israelites living separate from the Egyptians where they increased and developed a distinct national identity and vocation as God had promised.
"Rameses III is said to have employed 3,264 men, mostly foreigners, to take care of his herds." [Note: Ibid., p. 446.]
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