BIBLICAL CHRONOLOGY
Generation 04: Hebrew years 360 to 480 (3400-3280 BCE)
Introduction
While the first civilized humans settled in the Eastern part of the Fertile Crescent, in the valley between the two big rivers of Euphrates and Tigris, some of them moved back to the Land of Israel and continued to the Nile valley, where they settled down.
The Nile Valley
In Hebrew year 395, which is 3365 BCE, Kenan had a son he called Mehalal-EL (Genesis 5:12) which means "The one who praises God". On Cain’s side, Irad’s son was named Mehuya-EL (Genesis 4:18) which means "The one who gives life to God". We see from these similar names that the two descendances continued to live in the same area of Sumer, and even probably competed one against the other, both claiming that they ruled with the help of their man-made god. The son of Mehuya-EL was called Metusha-EL (Genesis 4:18) which means "The one who crushes God", so presumably he aimed to conquer cities ruled by other "god-rulers".
The purpose of having added -EL (God) to their names was that they wanted to be perceived as god-rulers and fill their followers’ minds with fear of gods, and their enemies as well. Other civilisations would later adopt the same principle, which was that their rulers were gods themselves, or chosen by the gods. Also, we may assume that the names given in the Bible may not having been their names at birth but names they later adopted during their lives.
The usage of -EL suffix mentioned in the Bible is confirmed by archaeology of the ancient societies (such as in the Ebla tablets) which shows that, up to a certain point in time, such suffix (or its form as -IL) was commonly used, and later evolved into the suffix IA (also written YA).
Then, in Hebrew year 460, which is 3300 BCE, Mehalal-EL had a son he named Yered (Genesis 5:15) which is not without reminding of Irad, Cain’s grandson. But this name is different by its root, as it means "Descent". Because Yered moved away from Sumer and established himself as far away as possible from the known world of his time, which was the Fertile Crescent. He and his followers "descended" to the Nile valley where they were physically stopped in their march by the vast desert. But at least they found a fertile land, as they had left one in Sumer, thanks to the Nile River. They settled in what was to become the other big civilization of these times: Ancient Egypt. But, in these times, Egypt was not named as such.
Until recently, scientists estimated that the earliest civilization in the Nile Valley dated back from 4000 BCE. But recent study has proved that it started later, around 3600 BCE, based on current estimates, and that the first kingdom started no later than 3100 BCE. This revised chronology puts the timeline of Early Egypt right back into Biblical timeline. For further reading about it, click here for the September 2013 article from BBC.
In Egypt, some of the knowledge learned from Sumer was brought down to the Nile valley. First, the use of writing was also based on pictograms which would later become hieroglyphs. The earliest inscriptions found in Egypt are considered to date from about 3200 BCE, which is contemporary from the time of Biblical Yered. An article from the New York Times of December 1998 even suggests that Egyptians could have been the first civilization to write: click here for more information.
The other important knowhow that was brought from Sumer was the technique of producing sun-dried bricks. It was key to build cities in Sumer which was the first region to endeavour such large construction projects. Sun-dried bricks can also be seen in many ancient cities in the Land of Israel.
Egyptians used the technique of sun-dried bricks for over a thousand years, including for the pyramids. It is mostly from the 18th dynasty that Ancient Egypt started to use cut stones.
The pyramids seem to have been inspired by the Sumerian ziggurat. The first pyramid of Ancient Egypt was Djoser's step pyramid, dating about 2600 BCE, which was a set of platforms, one piled on top of another, to form a step structure. In Sumer, the first equivalent structure was designed of mounted platforms built around 3500 BCE which were the precursors of the more known ziggurats which began to be raised after 2900 BCE.
And, of course, the Egyptian rulers, future Pharaohs, would also present themselves as "living gods".
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Albert Benhamou
Private Tour Guide in Israel
Adar 5785 - March 2025