Genesis 46:34. Every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.
Frequent illustrations of the contempt in which the Egyptians held shepherds are seen on the ancient monuments: the shepherds being invariably represented as lank, withered, distorted, emaciated specimens of humanity. Concerning the cause of this feeling there are different opinions. It is certain that cattle were not by any means considered unclean by the Egyptians: The cow was sacred to Isis, and oxen were used for food and for labor; it is not likely, therefore, that taking care of them could have been considered polluting. The objection was not to the tending of cattle—which in itself is as necessary as the cultivation of the soil—but rather to the vagrant mode of life to which the shepherds were addicted, and which was opposed to the designs and policy of the ruling caste. When the foundations of the state rested on agriculture the Egyptians associated rudeness and barbarism with the name of shepherd.
Besides this, Egypt had at one time been invaded by a horde of wandering shepherds, descended from Cush. They established themselves in the country and had a succession of kings. They fought the Egyptians, burned some of their principal cities, committed great cruelties, and were not driven out until they and their descendants had occupied the country for hundreds of years. Some suppose that their expulsion took place only a short time before Joseph’s day.
Joseph skillfully availed himself of this well-known Egyptian hatred of shepherds for the purpose of having his brethren settled in a rich pastoral region, and isolated from the native Egyptians, thus keeping them a peculiar people