While many Jews doubtless left Egypt to return to their homeland (Isa 11:11-16; Ho 11:11; Zec 10:10, 11), others remained in Egypt. Thus, there was a Jewish colony in Elephantine (Egyptian, Yeb), an island in the Nile near Aswan, some 690 km (430 mi) S of Cairo. A valuable find of papyri reveals conditions prevailing there during the fifth century B.C.E., about the time when Ezra and Nehemiah were active in Jerusalem. These documents, in Aramaic, contain the name of Sanballat of Samaria (Ne 4:1, 2) and of Johanan the high priest. (Ne 12:22) Of interest is an official order issued during the reign of Darius II (423-405 B.C.E.) that “the festival of unfermented cakes” (Ex 12:17; 13:3, 6, 7) be celebrated by the colony. Also notable is the frequent use of the name Yahu, a form of the name Jehovah (or Yahweh; compare Isa 19:18), although there is considerable evidence, too, of definite infiltration of pagan worship.

Valuable Papyrus Finds. The unusually dry soil of Egypt has made possible the survival of papyrus manuscripts, which, in more moist conditions, would have been destroyed. Since the latter part of the 19th century, many papyri have been discovered there, including a considerable number of Biblical papyri, such as the Chester Beatty collection. These provide especially important links between the original writings of the Holy Scriptures and the later vellum manuscript copies.