Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 46:34

"that ye shall say, Thy servants have been keepers of cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians." — Genesis 46:34 (ASV)

For every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.—This is probably a remark of the narrator, and it is confirmed by the monuments, which generally represent shepherds as unshaven and ill-dressed. Necessarily, the Egyptians had sheep and cattle (Genesis 47:16–17), and even Pharaoh had herds (Genesis 47:6); but the care of them was probably left by the peasantry to the women and children, while the men occupied themselves with the cultivation of their fields. We need not go far to seek for the cause of this dislike.

The word “abomination,” first of all, suggests a religious ground of difference. Not only did shepherds probably kill animals worshipped in different Egyptian districts, but their religion generally was also different from that of the settled population. Furthermore, men who lead a settled life always dislike wandering clans, whose cattle are too likely to damage their enclosed land (see Note on Genesis 4:8), and who, moving from place to place, are usually not very scrupulous about the rights of property.

Such nomads, too, are generally lower in civilization and more rude and rough than men who have fixed homes.

The subjugation of Egypt by the Hyksos was possibly after the time of Joseph. We now know from Egyptian sources that there was perpetual war between Egypt and the Hittites. Raids were also probably often made upon the rich fields on the banks of the Nile by other Semitic tribes living on its eastern frontier.

Since all these groups were regarded as shepherds, there was sufficient reason for the dislike of all nomads as a class, even though the Egyptians themselves did not disdain having cattle. However, as the land in the Nile Valley was arable, the cattle they kept would only be those useful for agriculture, whereas livestock formed the main wealth of the Israelites.