Religion

• One of the biggest differences between ancient Israel and Egypt is religion. The Israelites believed in one God, a god who had promised to deliver them from captivity to a land all their own, among other blessings. They trusted this God to take care of them. The Egyptians, however, believed in many gods, each of whom controlled various aspects of their lives. Instead of relying on the gods to take care of them, they believed that the Pharaoh and priests were responsible for the good or bad that happened in their lives.
  
  

Language

• While the Israelites were in captivity in Egypt, a language barrier made it difficult to communicate. The Israelites spoke their native language, Hebrew, while, of course, the Egyptians spoke their own language. In addition to the spoken and written Egyptian words, they also commonly communicated through drawings that represented what they were trying to say. Even their alphabets were very different.
  
  

Leadership

• When the Israelites were freed from Egypt and were able to live as their own country, the leadership of their country was much different from the leadership in Egypt. While both countries had kings, the way the cultures viewed the monarchy varied. In Egypt, the kings were seen as gods and were obeyed as deities; in contrast, the Israelites felt that their kings were appointed by their God and was put in place to lead them in a godly life.
  
  

Architecture

• Each of these ancient lands used different materials in their buildings. While the Israelites were in their nomadic period, they lived out of animal hair-woven fabric tents. After they settled on their own land, they typically built their homes and other buildings from stone, although they sometimes used bricks made from mud and straw. In contrast, Egyptians almost always built their homes from mud and straw bricks; in fact, the job of making these bricks fell to the Israelites during their captivity.
  
  

Independence

• Egypt was always under its own dominion and not ruled by any other group of people. The country was divided into a northern and southern kingdom for a short time; however, the Israelites spent many different periods of their history under the rule of other nations. They were first ruled by Egypt, but it did not end there. They also found themselves under the control of the Romans and the Babylonians, among others. Like the Egyptians, the nation of Israel also split into two separate nations.