Bible Cites Egypt’s Dependence on Nile River for Good Reason

North Africa and the Middle East Are Earth’s Driest Area

The driest region on earth is an area that begins in Egypt and stretches both west and east across North Africa and the Middle East. Ten nations in this sparse territory, which encompasses the Sahara Desert and the Arabian Peninsula, are the ten driest nations on earth according to the World Atlas. That is an astounding statistic since there are 193 nations in the world that are members of the United Nations, and all the other 183 of them have more precipitation than this real estate.

Egypt Is By Far the Driest Nation on Earth

Egypt is the driest nation in the world, with 18 millimeters of annual precipitation. That is less than one inch, it being 0.70866 inch. The next two driest nations on earth are two of Egypt’s next-door neighbors. Libya, to the west, has about 2.2 inches of annual rainfall, and Saudi Arabia, to the east, has about 2.32 inches of annual rainfall.

It is well known that Egypt—the most populated nation in this region of the world, with 118 million people—is so, so dependent upon the Nile River for its water. If it was not for the Nile River, there surely would be no nation in the land of Egypt. And yet Egypt has quite an illustrious history, some of which is recorded in the Bible. In fact, the Bible makes predictions about Egypt and its dependence upon rain. I will cite one.

Nations Not Worshipping God Will Have No Rain

Zechariah the prophet predicts concerning the glorious messianic era of the future, “If any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD [Yahweh=God] of hosts, there will be no rain upon them. And if the family of Egypt do not go up and present themselves, then on them shall come the plague that the LORD inflicts on the nations that do not go up to keep the festival of booths. Such shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to keep the festival of booths” (Zechariah 14.17-19 NRSV).

It would seem that no rain falling upon Egypt would include the rain that fills the lower Nile River as well. If that were to happen, the thirsty Egyptians surely would not be able to survive such a lack of water. And since Egypt is by far the driest nation on earth, it is so appropriate that Zechariah makes this prophecy about Egypt and its rainfall.