The Pharaohs buried in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt, are more than history. The New Testament uses these kings to illustrate truths to strengthen our walk with Jesus Christ.
When we picture Egypt, we picture pyramids —those iconic burial places of the pharaohs. But pyramids posed a problem. Pyramids left no doubt where the treasures of the pharaohs were buried. It was x-marks-the-spot for grave robbers!
So the pharaohs of the New Kingdom, beginning in the mid-16th-century BC, moved their burial places from the area of Giza to Luxor, or ancient Thebes. At the bottom of a mountain that had the natural shape of a pyramid, the pharaohs, the queens, and other officials carved their tombs from the walls of the valley—easily hidden.
The Valley of the Kings contains at least 63 tombs, with more no doubt to be discovered. The most famous discovery occurred in November 1922, when British archaeologist Howard Carter and his team discovered the amazingly intact tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, or King Tut, who reigned about the time of the book of Judges.
But a pharaoh most people have never heard of is the one the Bible uses to teach us most.
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