Egypt, as Seen in Scripture and on the Monuments
Table of Contents
Introduction.
EGYPT is Unquestionably one of the most wonderful countries in the world. It is also one of the most ancient, and the ore that had to do most prominently with God's chosen people Israel. It was God who took His people them, first by Ills servant Joseph, and then by Jacob Mid all his sons. And after they had been there two centuries and a quarter, and had increased into a great nation, God brought them out in a miraculous manner, after having visited the nation of Egypt with a series of terrible judgments, ending with the destruction of Pharaoh and his army in the depths of the Red Sea.
The many Missive works still in existence declare Egypt to have been a great country. The pyramids, temples, tombs, and colossal figures excite the admiration of modern visitors and leave them lost in wonder as to how such works could have beets accomplished in times so remote.
Egypt Was in early days one of the most advanced nations in civilization and learning. We read in the New Testament that Moses was instructed in "all the wisdom of the Egyptians." (Acts 7:22.) When it was needed to describe the Wisdom of Solomon, it is said that it "excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt." (1 Kings 4:30.) This is not simply What Egypt thought of itself, but what God in His book refers to as wisdom.
Everything that scripture says of Egypt is of interest to the student of God's ways. Egypt is still in existence: altered, of course, by the various masters it has had, and through intercourse with other nations; but in many things it is the same. Some of the prophecies concerning Egypt have been fulfilled; others are being fulfilled; and some are yet to be fulfilled. Egypt must be preserved for those prophecies.
What also enhances the interest is, that Egypt abounds with ancient monuments and documents, extending back to the time when Abraham visited that land because of the famine.
These monuments are so many ancient volumes respecting the nation. They show us its manners and customs, its houses and its people; its religion and its amusements; yea, as one has said, by those documents we can read their very thoughts.
Our aim is to bring before our readers some of these pictures, and examples of the picture-language, to tell them how the learned have been able to read that unknown tongue; and, as we do this, to compare all we look at with scripture. We have God's ancient book, the Bible, and we have the Egyptians' ancient books, their monuments and inscriptions. We shall see how beautifully they agree, as indeed we might have expected, they would. We do not suppose that the Egyptians had any motive for making either their picture& or their writings false; except that, as all men naturally do, they boast of that which they think to be to their glory, and hide that which they think will dishonor them. And thus, when we find monuments made thousands of years since, agreeing with scripture, it declares plainly that the sacred volume was written by the finger of God.
The Bible does not need any confirmation for the believer; but those ancient monuments being, in existence we examine them with it and the more we, examine, the more we are convinced that the oldest Book in the world and (as far as we know) the oldest monuments in the world, agree, and we are confirmed in the thought that the Bible is no other than the word of the living God.
It is important that the student of scripture should be able to look this question fully in the face, because of some who, on such a comparison, do not hesitate to doubt the word of God rather than the monuments, if, indeed, the monuments have, been rightly understood and correctly interpreted. Thus, for instance, some have not hesitated to declare that the chronology of scripture must be at fault, and that thousands of additional years must have elapsed since the flood; but a more careful examination of the monuments has shown that some of the kings were certainly contemporaneous, and that thus much less time had run its course.
We have felt constrained, therefore, not to omit the chronology of Egypt—a, difficult enquiry, but important because of the events recorded in scripture—and we have thought it best to furnish the reader with the chief material from which the chronology is gathered, so that any so disposed can re-investigate the subject for themselves.
Another important subject is as to how far Moses in the Jewish ritual, if at all, copied from Egyptian rites and ceremonies. We are grieved to find Christian writers represent this to have been the case to a large extent; whereas in scripture it is plain that the Jewish ritual was of God, and Moses constructed the tabernacle from what was shown to him in the mount. We hold it to be derogatory to the glory of God to think that anything in God's worship and service had been copied from idolatrous Egypt.
The land of Egypt is so well known as to need but a very few words. The river Nile may be said to be the heart and soul of the country. Where the river flows there is more or less fertility on both sides: so that Egypt is a narrow strip of country pointed out by the river—a valley between two chains of hills—the Libyan and the eastern ranges. The fertility of the land is ensured in other parts by numerous canals.
The Nile now flows into the Mediterranean Sea by two principal mouths: the Rosetta on the west (with Alexandria on its west), and the Damietta on the east. These run about a hundred miles and then unite: the piece of country thus made into an island is called the Delta, from its resemblance to the Greek letter of that name (Δ), only, as it is represented on the maps, it must be reversed thus. But the Nile had formerly other mouths into the Mediterranean Sea—Herodotus says seven, five natural, and two artificial—and thus the Delta embraced more land than is marked out by its present branches.
Near the junction of the waters on the east is the city of Cairo, and opposite this on the west side of the river, stand the large pyramids of Gizeh and the ruins of Memphis. To the north-east of Cairo was the district of Goshen and Ramses. The district of the Delta and the country east and west of it, forms Lower Egypt. Going south we pass through what is now called Middle Egypt, then Upper Egypt, and then Ethiopia. A bird's-eye view is given of the country as far as the second Cataract, on pages 276-7.
Much of the desert of Egypt is not, as many suppose, nothing but sand; but it is stone of various sorts. Mr. Gliddon, a long resident in the country, says that the desert is not a dreary plain of sand, but "a high tableland of limestone, sandstone, granite, and other rocks according to locality; broken and interrupted by alternate elevations and depressions; where, when not on the top of the table-rock itself, you travel in ravines, defiles, and spaces on hard gravel, upon which your tread often leaves no trail; and where frequently you are truly delighted, as the shades of evening warn you to search for a bivouac, if you can find as much sand as will make under your carpet a Bedawee's mattress." The Isthmus of Suez and other places are exceptions.
In such a book as this there is but little room for anything new. The same objects, descriptions of places and things, have to be copied from those who have made the various discoveries. This could not always be pointed out, or there would have been constant reference to well-known books on Egypt; but where direct quotations are made, we have given the writers. To those who have aided with the loan of their woodcuts, and assisted with counsel, we tender many thanks.
As various names are used in scripture referring to places and people in connection with Egypt, we give an alphabetical list of them and their identity as far as it is known.
ADEN, Ezek. 30:17. The same as On, differing in the Hebrew only by the points. Same as Heliopolis.
BETH-SHEMESH, Jer. 43:13, "House of the Sun," An idolatrous place or temple in Heliopolis.
Cars, Ezek. 30:5. Probably in the north of Egypt, but not known Cum', the ordinary name for Ethiopia, and is so rendered in some places in the Authorized Version. Named from one of the Kos of Ham.
ETHIOPIA, a country lying south of Egypt, and north of Abyssinia; Syene, near the First Cataract, was on the boundary (Ezek. 29:10). How far it extended southward is not known. The district is now called Nubia.
GOSHEN, generally taken to be the north-east corner of Egypt, if not indeed lying outside Egypt proper.
HANES, Isa. 30:4. Some have taken it for the same as Tahpanhes; but its identity is not made out.
HELIOPOLIS. This name does not occur in the Authorized Version, but it is in the LXX and the Vulgate, for On. It signifies city of the sun.' It was in Lower Egypt, a little to the north-east of where the branches of the river form the point of the Delta.
IR-HA-HERES, Isa. 19:18. See notes on the passage.
LIBYA. The same country as Mat.
LUBIM, LUD, LUDIM. These cannot be distinguished one from the other. They are placed on the north-west of Lower Egypt.
LYDIANS, Jer. 46:9. Same as Ludim. Not the Lydians of Asia Minor.
MEMPHIS. The capital of Egypt when Upper and Lower were united.
MIGDOL. On the east of Lower Egypt, twelve miles south of Pelusium.
MIZRAIM. The common name for Egypt in the Old Testament. From Mizraim, the son of Ham.
MOPH, Hos. 9:6. Same as Memphis.
No, No-AMON. Thebes, a city in Tipper Egypt, about 50 miles north of the First Cataract.
Nora. This is Moph in Hos. 9:6. Same as Memphis.
ON, the same as Heliopolis.
PATHROS. Generally taken for a part of Upper Egypt, and probably about Thebes, called the Thebais.
PELUSIUM: see Sin.
PHUT, PUT. On the west of Egypt. Named from the son of Ham.
PI-BESETH. A city in the eastern part of Lower Egypt, called by the Greeks, Bubastis.
RAMESES, RAAMSES. Both a city and a district to the east of Lower Egypt. Probably the same as Goshen, or forming a part of it.
SERA. A country identified with the Island of Meroe, the south-west corner of Nubia or Ethiopia, but spoken of in scripture as distinct from Ethiopia.
SIN. Pelusium, a city in Lower Egypt, the spot not identified.
SYENE. Properly Seveneh. It was on the boundary between Upper, Egypt and Ethiopia.
TAHPANHES, TAHAPANES, TEHAPHNEHES. A town in the east of Lower Egypt. Perhaps the same as Daphnæ.
ZOAN. A town of Lower Egypt, identified with Tanis.
Egypt
AS SEEN IN THE SCRIPTURE AND ON THE MONUMENTS,
CHAPTER 1
ISRAEL IN EGYPT.
“Thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them." Gen. 15:13.
THE fact of God's chosen people Israel having dwelt in Egypt long enough for all who went to sojourn there to have died, and for a new generation to have arisen to see God's wonders in their deliverance, stamps a peculiar importance upon that land. They were there long enough to have become mingled with the Egyptians; but God declared them to be "strangers" in that land; and though their cruel bondage was indeed hard to be borne, we doubt not it was used of God to prevent them making it their home, and mixing with the people. Though received kindly at first, a king arose which knew not Joseph, and all was changed. Their very increase was a source of uneasiness. If a war should arise, they might take part with their enemies. The Egyptians became taskmasters, and the Israelites slaves. This prevented their union, and made the Israelites the more willing to leave the land when God's set time was come.
The Selling of Joseph.
The first intimation of Egypt, in its connection with Israel, is when Joseph was sold by his brethren. He came from his father to inquire after their welfare. As they espied him afar off, they said to one another, “Behold, this dreamer cometh;" for Joseph had told his brethren his dreams: as each was binding his sheaf, all the other sheaves did obeisance to that of Joseph; and another dream declared that even the sun, and moon, and eleven stars bowed down before Joseph-a dream which all interpreted to signify that even his father and mother were to join with his brethren to do him homage. Though his father rebuked him for such seeming irreverence, yet he could not but "observe the saying." His sons were now about to take the first step which led to its fulfillment.
They hated the dreamer. They had seen how their father loved him before them all, and how he had made a coat of many colors for the son of his old age. But now they were far away from their father, and in a place where no man could overlook them, and they contemplated the murder of their brother. They would see what would become of his dreams.
Reuben, however, interposed, and deprecated such blood-guiltiness. He proposed hiding him in a pit for the moment, intending afterwards to deliver him to his father.
On Joseph's arrival, they stripped him of his coat, and cast him into a pit, in which there was no water; and they sat down to eat bread. But casting their eyes around they saw a company of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead "with their camels, bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.”
Judah at once proposed that they should sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites, rather than shed their brother's blood. To this the others assented.He was sold for twenty pieces of silver, and the merchants carried him to Egypt.
His brethren, having killed a kid, and dipped the coat of many colors in its blood, sent it to their father, asking if he knew if that was his son's coat or not. Jacob recognized it, and supposing his favorite son had been slain by a wild beast, he "rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.”
Before proceeding with our history, let us examine the foregoing in detail.
The sons of Jacob had taken their flocks to Shechem, the scene of their former treachery and bloodshed. They had so crippled the entire people, that they feared them not, for sufficient time had not elapsed—perhaps two years—for their deeds to have been forgotten, because of the blood-revenge so dear to the tribes of the East.
But as large flocks had to be moved from place to place, they had taken them to Dothan. This has been recognized as Dotân, about ten miles north of Samaria. Near this place lies the regular route from the north-east of Palestine to the south, and hence to Egypt. Egypt, in its luxury, required the products of Arabia and Eastern Asia, and by this route they were brought. Wells were dug for the benefit of the caravans, and even temples were erected for those who were engaged in this traffic.
The sons of Jacob were near enough to the route to see the caravan passing on its way southward, and to its people they sold Joseph.
They espied a company of Ishmaelites, and this is the first time we read of them as a separate people. About a hundred and fifty years had elapsed since Ishmael was sent away from his father's house-ample time for a tribe to have been formed. They may have been the Midianite merchants, or a sort of guard for the merchants through the various districts they had to travel with their wares: but it will be observed that scripture says that Joseph was sold to the Ishmaelites, but it was the Midianites who sold him into Egypt, as if the two names referred to the same.
On this occasion they carried spices. Egypt used spices, not only for its own luxury, but some was also used for incense to their gods, and immense quantities were employed in the embalming of the dead. The mummies were so highly perfumed, that for years they sent forth a fragrance, being often for a time preserved in the houses of their relatives.
Of the three descriptions named, the first is "spicery." This may be some particular aromatic powder, but it has been identified by the name used in the original. The word signifies contusion,' or breaking.
2. BALM, or balsam. This was the gum of the balsam tree of Gilead, and was valued for its medicinal and healing properties, and which are referred to in that lament of the prophets: "Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?" (Jer. 8:22)—a passage often and aptly applied to Christ and the healing virtues of His blood. Why are not the daughters of men cured of the disease of sin with such a remedy for all?
It is not known now with precision from what shrub came the balsam carried to Egypt.
The references to it in scripture prove it to have been produced in Palestine, and that it was used for medicinal purposes. Josephus says that it was introduced into Palestine, by the queen of Sheba making a present of it to king Solomon. The price of the balsam in the time of Alexander was double its weight in silver. Judah and Israel exported it to Tyre. (Ezek. 27:17.)
3. MYRRH. This is not the myrrh generally spoken of in scripture. The word occurs only here and in chapter 43:11, which, however, sufficiently marks it as coming from Palestine or Arabia. It is believed to be what is known as ladanum, a resinous exudation from the oak-rose. It is said to have been discovered by being found sticking to the beards of goats after they had fed off the plants, and was combed out; but it was afterwards gathered from the plant itself, by being beaten out, and then scraped of the thongs of the whips. It is still used as a perfume in Egypt.
The next thing is as to Egypt's dealing in slaves. The testimony of the monuments is abundant on this point. In nearly every scene where labor is being carried on, there stands the taskmaster with a stick—not, of course, the memorable "stick" of the Mahometans, but one evidently intended for punishment.
The testimony of travelers in more modern times to slavery is universal. They all went to see the slave markets, and they saw the slaves being brought up the Nile from the interior, where they had been either bought or captured.
The monuments show that in early times there were both black and white slaves. Those taken in war were mostly used by the monarch in building temples, cutting canals, and other public works, while private persons had their slaves to work for them, serve at table, &c., as we know the Hebrews also had. It is probable, from the monuments, that slaves formed a portion of the tribute paid to Egypt by conquered districts.
, The price Joseph was sold for was doubtless twenty shekels of silver which, at 2S. 3½ d. the shekel, was but £2 5s. 10d. The value of a slave was afterwards settled under the law at thirty shekels. (Ex. 21:32.) Travelers give the prices of slaves as varying from £5 to £150. The more beautiful of the women were purchased by the rich and added to their harems.
Joseph in Egypt.
Joseph, on being carried into Egypt, was sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, and captain of the guard. The marginal readings give "eunuch, chamberlain, or courtier;" and "chief marshal. Heb. chief of the slaughtermen or executioners." From this it may be gathered, that the particular nature of the functions of this officer is not known. Perhaps "officer" is the best word to use; and if he was chief of the executioners, his business would be to see that the sentences given were duly executed.
Joseph was soon found to be a useful servant, and his master made him steward. The secret of it was that "the Lord was with Joseph and he was a prosperous man." It was so considered even by his master, and he made him "overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand." Potiphar had such confidence in Joseph, though only a slave, that he left things entirely to his supervision, so that he did not know even what he possessed.
The monuments show that the Egyptians were careful in taking statistics. In all the groups of cattle, storing of corn, &c., there is always an overseer with tablet in hand taking down the numbers and quantities. And in other representations these accounts are being given to superior officers or overseers. The account given above does not imply that no statistics were taken, but that Potiphar did not trouble himself about them, but left all to Joseph. As in other countries the wealth of the individual often consisted in cattle and the produce of the fields; and as different departments were left to different individuals, a strict account had to be kept of all by someone appointed for the purpose. Some of the state scribes or secretaries were evidently persons of note. As Potiphar was engaged in court business, he entrusted all this to Joseph; and then, as now, the favor of the Lord made him a faithful and prosperous servant.
But Joseph was a goodly person and well-favored; and this attracted the attention of Potiphar's wife, who tried to lead Joseph astray. But he was enabled, by the grace of God, to refuse all her temptations, demanding of her, "How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”
This state of things shows us clearly that in Egypt in those days the system of keeping women in the harem, as is now the custom in many parts of Egypt and the East, did not exist.
This too is fully confirmed by the monuments. Women appear everywhere unveiled, and they sit with men at social parties entirely at variance with the harem system. Women servants also attend upon them at these parties, and instead of being veiled, are sometimes very slightly clothed.
To this day the harem system is not universal in Upper Egypt. In villages the women walk about with little or no veil. Nevertheless, their seclusion is always respected. A curtain hung up at the opening of a room, in lieu of a door, is never entered by a man. And one traveler relates that a man once saw a woman stealing things from his garden, and ran to protect his property, but she hastily drew her shawl over her head as a veil, and he did not dare to touch her. He had to let her walk away with her plunder, with no other punishment than he could give with his tongue.
In the great cities the seclusion of women is now carried to the extreme. Except by their husband and near relatives they are never allowed to be seen by men. In going abroad, a lady is enveloped in a large cloak which covers hands and feet, and with other wraps nothing is to be seen but her eyes. The higher classes never walk when abroad, but ride on mules or donkeys to their destination, always with attendants. Some are never allowed to go to the bazaars, but when things are needed a stock is sent to the house for them to select from.
An English lady, who had adopted this costume, relates that in returning once from a ride she accidentally fell off her donkey. Her attendant at once helped her up; but to recover herself she placed her hands against a wall, forgetting that her hands even must not be seen. Her attendant at once covered up her hands lest the donkey-boys should see them! Many of the female slaves live for years without crossing the threshold of the house. The entrance is guarded by eunuchs.
This seclusion of women must have arisen after the Israelites left Egypt. The intercourse of Eliezer with Rebekah and her family in the city of Nahor, skews no such restriction, as well as the case of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife.
This shameless woman effected the ruin of Joseph. He was accused by her to her husband of the very crime she had committed, and Joseph was cast into prison, "a place where the king's prisoners were bound." It appears strange that Joseph did not eventually receive a more severe punishment. It may be that the Lord moved the heart of his master, and it is thought probable that Potiphar did not entirely credit his wife's statement.
When in the prison we know that the Lord again favored Joseph, and gave him grace in the eyes of the governor; so that he was made a sort of overseer, and the governor was able to leave all things in the hand of this favored one of Jehovah. How consoling is the word of God that the hearts of all men are in the hand of the Lord! He influences them as it pleases Him. "When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him." (Prov. 16:7.)
In course of time the king's chief butler and his chief baker offended his majesty, and in his wrath he cast them into prison—the prison of which Joseph had the oversight, though he himself was a prisoner. These were also placed under Joseph's charge, and he waited on them, and there they continued for a time.
Now it happened in the course of one night that the chief butler and the chief baker had each a dream. On Joseph coming to them the following morning he noticed that they were cast down, and inquired the cause of their sadness. They told him that they had each had a dream, but they could not discover the meaning of them. Joseph's thoughts at once resorted to God: he asked, "Do not interpretations belong to God?" He desired to hear the dreams.
The chief butler's dream was "Behold, a vine was before me; and in the vine were three branches; and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes: and Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand.”
Joseph was able to interpret the dream. The three branches were three days; and the whole foretold that at the end of that time the butler would be restored to favor and again present the cup to Pharaoh.
Joseph had not the least doubt that the interpretation was of God; for he added, "Think on me when it shall be well with thee, and show kindness, I pray thee, unto me; and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house. For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.”
The chief baker, hearing such a favorable interpretation of the dream of the butler, the more readily told his dream also. "Behold," said he, "I had three white baskets on my head: and in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head.”
The interpretation was that the three baskets were three days. In three days should the chief baker be hanged on a tree, and the birds should feed upon his flesh.
The predictions came true! In three days Pharaoh celebrated his birthday, and made a feast unto all his servants. The head butler was restored; and the head baker was hanged on a tree.
But, alas! the head butler entirely forgot Joseph. Such is the ingratitude of man! But God was overruling all, and Joseph must remain yet in prison until God's time was come. Had Joseph been remembered before, he might have been delivered, and returned to Palestine, and, speaking after the manner of men, God's ends frustrated. No; he must remain in prison yet a long time; doubtless learning important lessons in retirement which could be learnt nowhere else; as Moses did in the desert, and Paul a prisoner at Rome.
In looking at the details, the first is the prison in which Joseph was confined. As far as the monuments give testimony, the Egyptians had not prisons separately erected; but there may have been an apartment attached to the house of the captain of the guard. Punishment, where the life was not taken, was for the most part by beating. The person was beaten and let go. Thus, when the Israelites did not make the required number of bricks they were beaten. This prison is said to be for the king's prisoners; and in it two of his servants were confined until Pharaoh decided what he would do with them.
As far as the narrative goes there was no trial either for Joseph or for the head butler and head baker. The will of the king was law. Whom he would he kept alive, and whom he would he put to death. And as for Joseph, he was but a slave, the property of his master. However, for offences generally between man and man, there were judges and a code of laws, according to the monuments.
Modern travelers relate how, a short time ago, those in authority were punished without trial, and it may be so still. In one village a chief man received a visit from one in authority from a distance. He prepared food for him, and they ate and drank together, and talked of matters concerning the country. Then pipes were introduced, and they still sat enjoying themselves; till the visitor said, Now to business: you are accused of so-and-so; and you are sentenced to receive so many strokes of the stick. The host was at once thrown down and the punishment administered. This over, the visitor politely took his leave. The chief man was not perhaps much surprised; for he knew full well that he had dealt in the same way with those below him; and all Mahometans look upon the stick as a blessing from heaven!
Though punishment may not have been simply by imprisonment, yet there were places in which persons could be confined. Joseph put his brethren in ward for three days; and apparently Simeon was in confinement till his brethren returned. (See Gen. 42:19; 43:23.) Joseph, as we know, was confined more than two years: his services being turned to such good account may have prolonged his imprisonment.
THE CHIEF BUTLER.—Part of his services was evidently to wait on the king with wine. "Thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler."
One of the charges brought against the Pentateuch is that it falsely represents the Egyptians having wine.
Without for a moment conceding that scripture needs any confirmation, it is interesting to see how the monuments bear witness to the details of scripture.
There we see persons gathering the grapes; and there we see others pressing the juice out of them, both by a twisted cloth and by persons treading the grapes in a winepress. Our picture also portrays wine being offered to the serpent as a god. At their feats an attendant carried round the 'wine-cup.' Some evidently partook too freely of the wine, for one is being carried home, and another (a lady) is sick!
The dream of the head butler implies that they not merely drank wine, but that they made it, and grew the grapes. The monuments, as we have seen, fully confirm it all.
THE CHIEF BAKER.—He had three baskets on his head. The monuments also represent such things on the head, and basket upon basket. It is thought that this account does not refer to white baskets, but to baskets of white bread. It also mentions that in the uppermost basket there was "all manner of bakemeats," or `work of a baker or cook,' as it reads in the margin: which implies that there was a variety of food prepared by the baker.
All this is fully confirmed by the monuments. There is depicted the dough being kneaded, sometimes by the hands and sometimes by the feet. Workmen are busy forming the fermented dough into cakes of various shapes, some of the cakes being sprinkled with seeds. Others are busy heating the ovens, and one is carrying a quantity of cakes on his head. It is clear from the monuments that great pains were taken to ensure a variety of "bakemeats;" and of course the king would not be behind his subjects.
From the tomb of Rameses III., at Thebes, we give a representation of the bakers at work.
This same king, in recounting the provisions he had made for the gods, names "good bread; besides loaves, buns, biscuits, cakes, pyramidal loaves, 24,800 articles of ornamental pastry. Total of good bread, 2,844,357 articles.”
The birth-days of the kings were kept with great festivities; all work was suspended for the day. Pharaoh took the opportunity of such a day to restore the head butler, and to hang the head baker, as Joseph had foretold.
Pharaoh's Dreams.
At the end of two full years—not simply "two years," for that might mean parts of two years, as the Jews also reckoned the time—Pharaoh had two dreams in one night. The dreams troubled him, and in the morning he sent for the magicians and wise men to interpret his dreams; but none were able to tell their meaning.
This is the first time we read of "magicians" in scripture. They were scribes,' men of the priestly class, who consulted the oracles, understood the sacred language of hieroglyphics and the mysteries of the dead. The monuments clearly point out such a class.
The dreams were these: "Behold there came out of the river seven well-favored kine, and fat-fleshed; and they fed in a meadow. And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill-favored and lean-fleshed, and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river. And the ill-favored and lean-fleshed kine did eat up the seven well-favored and fat kine.”
The second dream was: "Behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank [fat] and good. And, behold, seven thin ears, and blasted with the east wind, sprang up after them. And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears.”
The first dream is eminently Egyptian in its character. The cow was sacred to their goddess ATHOR. The kine came up out of the river. What river is not named; there was no necessity, for there was, and is, but one river—the Nile. The cows and oxen, in the scorching sun, go into the river to cool themselves, and there remain until the sun sinks in the horizon; though the dream may imply more than this, as the river Nile was represented by another of their gods, and was the source of all the fruitfulness of their land.
Egyptian wheat is clearly marked out by the seven ears on one stalk, and which was much cultivated in Egypt, and renowned among the ancients. The first ears were luxuriant and good, and the second were blighted by an east wind from the Red Sea and Arabian desert.
The head butler, on hearing that Pharaoh had had a dream, which no one of the wise men could interpret, recollected his own dream in the prison, and that of the chief baker, and a young man had interpreted them correctly. He at once narrated the circumstance to Pharaoh, confessing that he remembered his faults that day. He said it was "a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard," who had correctly interpreted their dreams.
Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily—"made him run," in the margin—out of the prison. And he shaved himself, and changed his clothes, and came to Pharaoh.
These words, "he shaved himself," though apparently a trivial incident, stamp an Egyptian trait upon the scene. Except as a sign of mourning, the Egyptians were exceedingly particular to shave off their beard. The monuments invariably exhibit them without beard, moustache, or whiskers (except the conventional beard of gods, &c.); the beard at once distinguished a foreigner from an Egyptian. This is mostly seen in the captives, for the domestic slaves had to conform to the rule of shaving. Indeed the Egyptians went further, and almost universally shaved their heads, and wore a close-fitting cap.
As this was very different from the Israelites, who shaved off the beard for mourning (see Isa. 15:2; Jer. 16:6; 41:5; Amos 8:10), we surely have here strong confirmation of the truth of the Pentateuch, for those who need such confirmation. Perhaps to no other monarch on earth would it have been needful for a man to have shaved himself. Here it was necessary, and here it was done. The thing being in itself of little moment, makes it all the more worthy of note.
Pharaoh tells Joseph his dreams, saying, "I have heard say of thee that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it." Joseph at once disowns any inherent wisdom: "It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”
The interpretation seems quite natural now that it is before us. The seven fat kine and seven good ears of corn point out seven years of great plenty, to be succeeded by seven years of famine, pointed out by the lean kine and the bad ears. Pharaoh had added a few more details: the lean cattle were such as he had never seen in all Egypt for badness; and when the seven lean kine had devoured the seven fat kine, they were still as lean as ever. The famine would entirely eat up the seven years of plenty.
Joseph advised that an intelligent and wise man should be sought out, who should store up the spare produce of the seven plentiful years, against the famine that would succeed them. Joseph thus evinced that he had not the slightest doubt of the correctness of his interpretation; indeed, as he had at the first spoken of God as being the interpreter, so now he said, " What God is about to do, he she weth unto Pharaoh The thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.”
God was thus with His servant Joseph, and He gave him favor in the eyes of Pharaoh. The thing was good in the eyes of the king, and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?”
And to Joseph he said, "Forasmuch as God path shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art." And at once Joseph was set over all Egypt—next to Pharaoh himself. Thus Pharaoh owned the God of Joseph. All the representatives of the gods of Egypt had failed to interpret his dreams: but here was one to whom the only and true God had shown the interpretation; such a one must have the Spirit of that God, and he should be ruler over all Egypt.
“And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in ventures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck: and he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had: and they cried before him, Bow the knee.”
The ring given to Joseph was probably a signet, as a mark of his authority. Many of the ancient rings had engravings on them. One is described as having four devices on a revolving plinth. "On one face was the name of King Horns, of the eighteenth dynasty; on the other a lion, with the legend, Lord of strength,' referring to the monarch; on one side a scorpion, and on the other a crocodile." Several of the ancient Egyptian rings can be seen in the British and other museums.
The king's seal would, of course, stamp everything that Joseph did as equal authority with that of the king. It is probable that the seals in those early days were not used with wax, but with some sort of ink, instead of the name being signed. Another way of using the seal was to take impressions in clay, as is alluded to in Job 38:14: "It is turned as clay to the seal." There have been found in the ruins of Nineveh what are judged to be two clay seals, affirming a treaty between the king of Egypt and the king of Assyria.
Joseph was also arrayed in vestures of fine linen. This reads in the margin, "silk," but it is very questionable whether silk is intended. Egypt was famous for its linen, and Herodotus says that the clothing of the Egyptian priests was linen; and as the chief men of Egypt were mostly connected, in some way, with the priesthood, Joseph, as one able to interpret dreams, might be looked upon as one of that class, and be dressed accordingly. The fact of his marrying the daughter of a priest also confirms this. He may, however, have had nothing whatever to do with the worship or service of their gods.
The dress usually worn by the ancient Egyptians was of that simple kind suited to such a hot climate. A cloth, or apron, fastened round their Bodies by a band, or strap, was enough; or, where their occupation required it, a roll of cloth was passed between their legs, and then fastened to the band at their loins. Men may be seen at the present time by the river-side with no other clothing.
The women wore but one garment, which reached down to their ankles. It was sometimes wide at the bottom, and at other times so tight that only a short step could be taken; but the king, queen, and persons in office wore official dresses.
Joseph had also a gold chain put about his neck. There is evidence, from the monuments, that persons of rank wore chains, or necklaces; indeed, the necklaces themselves have been found in the tombs, and are now to be seen in the museums. This chain would, no doubt, be not a mere ornament, but a badge of office. One of the monuments exhibits an officer of high degree having the official chain placed round his neck. Thus was Joseph duly installed into office. His term of servitude in God's school of solitude had ended, and he was now, in God's due time, exalted to great honor. Pharaoh said to him, "I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt." But Joseph said in after years, " God did send me before you to preserve life. He hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt." For Joseph, it was God who exalted him, and not Pharaoh. As to the land itself, Joseph, after his exaltation, on the birth of Ephraim, speaks of Egypt as "the land of my affliction." (Gen. 41:52.) He was still a stranger there, as God had stated he should be.
Joseph Ruler over Egypt.
“And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnathpaaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-pherah, priest of On.”
Joseph being a Hebrew—a foreigner—must, now he is in high office, have an Egyptian name.
It was usual for the kings to adopt throne names on their ascension to the throne, and in like manner
Joseph must have an official name. It is Zaphnathpaaneah in the Hebrew; but in the LXX it is Psonthamphanech. And as the name was originally Egyptian, an attempt has been made to turn it back into that language. As will be seen, it says in the margin of our Bibles, "which in the Coptic signifies a revealer of secrets,' or the man to whom secrets are revealed.'" Jerome translated it "savior of the world." Turning it into Egyptian it is supposed to stand P-SOTE-M-PHENEH, and is thus explained: P the article: SOTE, salvation; M the sign of the genitive; PH the article; ENEH the world, or age: "the savior or preserver of the age;" or, as explained by Rosellini and others, P-SONT-EM-PH-ANH, that is, "sustainer of life." This last is very nearly what Joseph said of himself, as being sent to preserve life.
Joseph's wife's name was Asenath, or Aseneth, as in the LXX. This is taken as a purely heathen name, ASNEIT, "she belongs to Neit;" or ASSHE-NEIT, "a worshipper of Neit:" Nit, or Neit, or Neith is the name of a goddess.
Asenath was the daughter of Poti-pherah, or Potephre as in the LXX. In Egyptian PETE-PERE, "belonging to the sun;" a common name or title which appears often on the monuments.
Poti-pherah was priest of On. The LXX translates it by Heliopolis. This ancient city was situated about ten miles N.N.E. of Cairo. Heliopolis signifies "city of the sun," and On is interpreted to mean "light," or "sun." It is the same as the Aven of Ezek. 30:17; and is supposed to be alluded to in Jer. 43:13: "He shall break also the images of Beth-shemesh, that is in the land of Egypt." It will be seen that in the margin it reads, "or house of the sun." From all this we may gather that RE, the sun, was an object of worship at this city. Herodotus names among the various religious festivals one held at Heliopolis to the sun.
There would have been magnificent temples erected to the honor of such a deity, with a numerous priesthood. This city was the great seat of learning in Egypt. Abdallatif saw in the twelfth century many colossal sphinxes, partly standing and partly prostrate. He also saw the porches of the temples covered with inscriptions. He described two immense obelisks, whose summits were covered with massive brass, around which were others one-half or one-third the size of the others, placed in so thick a mass that they could scarcely be counted. Most of them were thrown down. From this ancient city monuments were taken to adorn Rome, and others to adorn Constantinople, Alexandria, &c.
All now is one mass of ruins, the buildings only to be traced by low mounds, except that one obelisk still stands amid the surrounding desolation. This monument is described as a block of red granite from sixty to seventy feet in height.
This is considered to be one of the oldest of the Egyptian monuments. It bears the name of OSIRTASEN I. (or Orisi Gesen, or Sesonchosis, or Geson Goses) who was the founder of the twelfth dynasty. The inscription, which is the same on the four faces, refers to its erection. The crude brick walls around are supposed to have enclosed a large space in front of the celebrated temple of the sun; and the remains of other massive walls mark the city to have been one of nearly three miles in extent.
In an early inscription we read of an official who held a similar position to that of Joseph: "I was made crown bearer of his majesty.... chief of the coffer of the majesty of PEPI, [or Meri Pepi, the Phiops of Manetho, the fourth king of the sixth dynasty]; his majesty gave me the rank of companion, scribe, priest of the place of his pyramid... I was alone there as a second of his majesty.”
Joseph was thirty years old when he was exalted. He entered at once into his office. He traversed the land, and during the seven years of plenty he laid up corn in abundance, until the quantity became so great that he left off numbering: it was "as the sand of the sea" for quantity.
Before the famine Joseph had two sons. These he named Manasseh, that is "forgetting," and Ephraim, that is "fruitful." These are Hebrew names, and not Egyptian, showing that Joseph did not consider himself an Egyptian. In both cases he referred to God (Gen. 41:51, 52): "God hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house;" and "God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
The seven years of plenty were succeeded by the famine foretold by Joseph. And the famine was not only in Egypt, but in "all lands." Now the storehouses were opened, and Joseph commenced to sell the corn which he had stored. The people at first appealed to Pharaoh, but he at once referred them to Joseph.
The monuments give pictures of the storing of grain. In roofed houses the grain was shot through a hole in the roof; there being a door at the bottom by which it could be taken as wanted. First, the corn was sold for money, until the money was exhausted. Then, the people changed their cattle for corn. Thus the horses, the flocks, the cattle, and the asses became Pharaoh's. Then the land followed, and all the land became Pharaoh's, except the land belonging to the priests: this remained their own, and they were fed by order of Pharaoh out of the gathered store.
When the famine terminated, Joseph gave out seed to the people, covenanting with them that they should bring into the king's treasury one fifth part of the produce, and four-fifths should be their own.
All this exactly agrees with the ancient historians and the monuments, except that Herodotus mentions also that the warriors had each twelve arum of land (each arura being a square of one hundred Egyptian cubits.) But this may have been after the time of Moses, and the land may have belonged to the warriors only during their time of service, and at its termination again reverted to the king. In the earliest monuments soldiers are not found. The Exodus was some two hundred and ten years after this.
During the famine Joseph's brethren came to buy corn. He recognized them, and spoke harshly to them, declaring them to be spies. One of Joseph's dreams was now in course of fulfillment: his brethren bowed down to him, and Joseph remembered his dreams as he saw them do so. They did not recognize Joseph, and declared that they were twelve sons of one man: one was with their father, and one was not—which of course referred to Joseph.
Egypt in the north-east was open to attacks from the Arabs and Canaanite tribes, so that Joseph might think he could with good reason thus charge his brethren with being spies.
He put them in ward for three days, and then bound Simeon before their face, and released the rest to carry corn to their families, with strict injunctions that they were not to see his face again, unless they brought their youngest brother with them.
Joseph took oath twice "by the life of Pharaoh." It may have been the more readily to avoid any suspicion in their minds that he was not an Egyptian. Some take it as a strong asseveration rather than an oath.
Joseph heard them talking to one another, and now, conscience stricken, declaring that they were surely guilty in selling their brother into Egypt: they felt his blood was now being required at their hands. Little did they think that that very brother heard and understood what they were saying, for Joseph spoke to them by means of an interpreter. But his heart melted within him, and he turned himself away and wept.
They start on their return; but one, on opening his sack to feed his ass, discovered that his money had been placed in the sack's mouth. This further filled them with fear; but they referred to God, exclaiming, "What is this that God hath done unto us?" Every man's money was found in the mouth of his sack.
Jacob at first declared that his youngest son Benjamin should not go with them; but the peremptory manner of Joseph made his brethren declare that they would not go without him, and at length Jacob consented. This brought the whole eleven brothers of Joseph to be present, bowing before him as his dream had predicted: "They bowed themselves to him to the earth:" "they bowed themselves and made obeisance.”
Jacob sent a present for "the man," "a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts and almonds." The balm, myrrh, and spices, are the same as are named in chapter 37:25, already considered.
With the above present and double money the sons of Jacob again visit Egypt. As soon as Joseph saw them he said to his steward, "Slay and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon.”
At the meal they set on for Joseph by himself, and for his brethren by themselves, and for the Egyptians by themselves: "because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians.”
The Egyptians would not eat with foreigners lest they should be polluted. Herodotus says that an Egyptian would not kiss a Greek, nor use a knife or spit belonging to a Greek, nor eat any meat that had been cut with a Greek knife.
In dining, the guests are represented as sitting on the floor round a low table on which the dishes are placed, and each one helps himself with his fingers. The very same custom prevails to this day.
A lady residing some time in Egypt thus describes her mode of dining, " First a small carpet is spread on the mat; then a stool cased with mother-of-pearl, &c., is placed upon it, and serves as the support of a round tray of tinned copper, on which is arranged our dinner, with a cake of bread for each person. A maid then brings a copper cover and basin and pours water on the hands of each party, and we arrange ourselves round the tray, our Eastern table-napkins spread on our knees.
These are larger and longer than English hand-towels, that they may cover both knees when sitting in the Turkish manner. During the meal the maid holds a water-bottle, or defends us from flies with a fly-whisk. Having no change of plates, knives or forks, [they ate with their fingers], no time is lost at dinner, and it usually occupies twenty minutes. Thus much valuable time is saved by avoiding works of supererogation. One or two sweet dishes are placed on the tray with those which are savory, and it is singular to see the women of this country take morsels of sweet and savory food almost alternatively. Immediately after dinner the ewer and basin are brought round, the stool and carpet are removed with the tray, and the stool is always placed in another room until again required." A lady to do her guest honor will, during dinner, pick up morsels with her fingers and put into the guest's mouth. Another lady when sick was fed thus by her servant with tit-bits of chicken, &c., and got quite used to it. She said she knew the fingers were scrupulously clean.
Joseph's brethren were again dismissed with sacks of corn; but by Joseph's directions his silver cup was placed in Benjamin's sack. And when they had proceeded but a short distance, Joseph's steward is made to follow after them, and pretend that someone had stolen the cup of Joseph, wherein "he divineth." The cup was found in Benjamin's sack, and all returned to Joseph. He asked them if they thought he was one who could not "certainly divine." Judah confessed—not to the theft, but—that God had found out their iniquity: they would be Joseph's servants. Joseph said No, he would have only Benjamin; and then Judah related how the life of his aged father was bound up in the life of the lad, that it was only by great entreaty he had allowed Benjamin to come, and he was sure it would be the death of the old man if Benjamin were kept in Egypt. He begged that he himself might be kept a prisoner in place of the lad.
The pathetic appeal of Judah was too much for Joseph: he could contain himself no longer. "Cause every man to go out from me," he cried; and Joseph made himself known to his brethren. He wept aloud, and said, "I am Joseph: doth my father yet live?" But his brethren were troubled at his presence and could not answer him. He begged them to come near him, and again said, "I am Joseph, your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt." He told them not to be angry with themselves; for it was God who had sent him before them to preserve life. There were to be yet five years of famine; he bid them hasten back and fetch their father and wives and children, lest they came to poverty.
They were to tell Jacob all they had seen, and that God had made Joseph lord of all Egypt. Thus did Joseph piously refer all to God: it was He, and not they, who had sent him into Egypt; and it was He, and not Pharaoh, who had made him ruler over Egypt.
A few points demand attention before we proceed. The cup supposed to have been stolen was silver. We should perhaps rather call it a "bowl." The monuments represent the servants offering wine in a sort of shallow basin. They also speak of silver, representing it as white gold.'
The steward spoke of Joseph "divining" in his cup. How this was done, or professed to be done, is not known. But the custom was found in the interior of Egypt at a late date. Norden relates, that when travelling in Nubia, where, when delivered from a perilous condition they sent to threaten a malicious and powerful Arab, he answered them, “I know what sort of people you are. I have consulted my cup, and found in it that you are from a people of whom one of our prophets has said, There will come Franks under every kind of pretence to spy out the land," &c.
In the British Museum there is a shallow bowl full of engraving in the interior. Though brought from Assyria it has the Egyptian sphinx with the crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, the winged sun, and the sacred beetle. This was probably used as a `divining cup.'
It will be noticed that though Joseph speaks of divining, he does not say "by the cup." It is hoped he would not condescend to such superstitions.
Pharaoh heard that Joseph's brethren had come, and it pleased him and his servants. And he bid Joseph send for his father and their households, and they should have a good place in Egypt, and eat of the fat of the land.
Jacob could scarcely believe the good news that Joseph his son was yet alive; but when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent, his spirit revived, and he said, "It is enough: Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.”
The wagon as found on the monuments is a very simple sort of cart on two wheels, drawn by an ox. When Jacob and his descendants reached Egypt, his sons were directed to say that they were shepherds, and had been such from their youth, for "every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians." No reason is given here why a shepherd was accounted an abomination. The monuments evince the contempt shown for shepherds and goatherds by the mean appearance given to them. "To this day sheep-feeding is esteemed the office of women and slaves." It is supposed that the dislike to shepherds arose from a race of shepherd-kings having previously held sway over Egypt, or at least a part of the country; a subject we shall have to consider more fully when looking at the chronology of Egypt.
Goshen was the part of the country assigned to Jacob and his descendants. This is almost universally believed to have been the north-east part of Lower Egypt. It is called in Psa. 78:12, 43, "the field of Zoan" or Tanis. In Gen. 47:11, there would appear to be a district called Rameses, in which the Israelites, under their oppression, built the cities of Raamses and Pithom. (Ex. 1:11.)
The LXX renders the district "Gesem of Arabia," and in Gen. 46:28, for Goshen they read "Heroopolis in the land of Ramesses.”
The Israelites in this district would be near to Memphis, Tanis and On, one of which was probably the abode of Joseph, if not the metropolis of Egypt at that early time. Joseph said, “Thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me." (Gen. 45:10.)
On the death of Jacob, "Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father." "And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed; and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days.”
Herodotus tells us that physicians abounded in Egypt; and what made them more numerous was that each one studied but one particular disease, so that there were as many physicians as there were diseases, or perhaps classes of diseases. A book on Materia Medica has been discovered. Its date is assigned to the fourteenth century before our era, but it quotes from earlier documents, dating from the pyramids. It describes various forms of diseases and contains about a hundred and seventy distinct prescriptions. Medical men had certain stated remedies which they were bound to use for three days before they tried others, or they would be held responsible for the death of the patient. It has also been discovered from the mummies that the physicians used in those early days to stop decayed teeth with gold.
Joseph being next in authority to the king would have physicians attached to his establishment. But according to the historians the embalming was done by a special class of persons, and not by physicians. The fact of Jacob not being an Egyptian may have made a difference, and for some reason Joseph ordered the physicians to undertake the work, or perhaps superintend it only.
The time occupied is named by Diodorus as thirty days, and for a king they mourned seventy-two days, which, it will be seen, very nearly agrees with the account in scripture. Herodotus says, "Having done this they embalm in natrum, covering it up for seventy days;" which period may refer to the whole time occupied.
As to why the Egyptians embalmed the bodies, it has been discovered that they believed that so long as the body existed, the soul had certain privileges in its transmigrations, which were lost on the destruction of the body. To this end they not only embalmed the body, but went to enormous expense in erecting monuments as tombs, and sealed up the bodies in the interior in so secure a manner as to prevent them being discovered and disturbed. In the pyramids various expedients were resorted to, to hide the entrance to the interior, and in other tombs the passages were securely closed so as to convey the impression to a visitor that he had come to the end of the passage. It was only by cutting away these obstructions, or cutting a passage at the side of them that the interior could be reached.
When a body was embalmed it was often placed in a light wooden case, sometimes in two or three cases—made of cedar or sycamore, on which was carved or painted (or on a layer of stucco was painted) a representation of the person embalmed—not perhaps with any attempt at a portrait, but with resemblance enough to be identified when there were more than one—and they were placed in the houses where the deceased had lived, the case being stood up on the feet. They were thus represented as still present, though dead; and here they would be kept for months—perhaps years—as a series of family portraits are now kept by some persons.
They were afterwards buried—some in massive stone coffers, covered with engravings and hieroglyphics, and in magnificent tombs; or if poor they were consigned to the mummy-pits, rooms underground, reached by long narrow passages.
The following is the description given by Herodotus as to the different modes of embalming:— The most perfect mode is, " They take first a crooked piece of iron, and with it draw out the brain through the nostrils, thus getting rid of a portion, while the skull is cleared of the rest by rinsing with drugs; next they make a cut along the flank with a sharp Ethiopian stone, and take out the whole contents of the abdomen, which they then cleanse, washing it thoroughly with palm wine, and again frequently with an infusion of pounded aromatics. After this they fill the cavity with the purest bruised myrrh, with cassia, and every other sort of spicing except frankincense, and sew up the opening. Then the body is placed in natrum for seventy days, and covered entirely over. After the expiration of that space of time, which must not be exceeded, the body is washed, and wrapped round, from head to foot, with bandages of fine linen cloth, smeared over with gum, which is used generally by the Egyptians in the place of glue, and in this state it is given back to the relations, who enclose it in a wooden case which they have had made for the purpose, shaped into the figure of a man. Then fastening the case, they place it in a sepulcher-chamber, upright against the wall.
“If persons wish to avoid expense, and choose the second process, the following is the method pursued: Syringes are filled with oil made from the cedar-tree, which is then, without any incision or disemboweling, injected into the abdomen. The passage by which it might be likely to return is stopped, and the body laid in natrum the prescribed number of days. At the end of the time the cedar oil is allowed to escape, and such is its power that it brings with it the whole stomach and intestines in a liquid state. The natrum in the meantime has dissolved the flesh, and so nothing is left but the skin and the bones. It is returned in this condition to the relatives without any further trouble being disposed upon it.”
“The third method of embalming, which is practiced in the case of the poorer classes, is to clear out the intestines with a clyster, and let the body lie in natrum the seventy days, after which it is at once given to those who come to fetch it away.”
Diodorus says, "The most expensive mode cost a talent of silver (about ₤244); the second twenty-two minor (₤81); and the third was very cheap.”
The "inwards" were replaced in the body, or separately embalmed and put into bags outside the body, or placed in vases and left in the tomb with the body.
The examination of the mummies brought to Europe fully confirms the account given by Herodotus as to the first and second methods; the absence of specimens of the third mode is attributed to the fact that those brought out of Egypt have been only the best in appearance on the outside, and which bore evidences of having been embalmed in a careful manner.
In some cases it was found that the brain had been extracted through the nostrils, in other cases it had not. There is also to be traced the cut in the side, through which the viscera had been extracted. In some cases it was found to be covered with a metal plate, on which was engraved a symbolical eye.
It is supposed that the bodies had been subject to considerable heat, as the resinous substances and the spices had in some cases penetrated the bones. As to the substances actually used for the Egyptian embalming we have no certain knowledge.
When the embalming was completed, the body was wrapped round with many folds of linen, old and new. Wilkinson says that the microscope decides that only linen was used. The wrapping up was done by narrow strips, seven or eight inches wide; the coarser materials being placed on the inside, and the finer on the exterior. As much as seven hundred yards of material has been unrolled from a single mummy. Over the strips of linen a net-work of beads and bugles is sometimes found.
Various amulets and personal ornaments are found upon mummies and in their wrappings. The former were thought to be of use to the soul in its wanderings, and were placed with the body from the belief in the relation between the soul and body after death.
Mr. Pettigrew found, in unrolling an Egyptian mummy from Thebes, four wax deities, named Amset, Hapee, Kebsnof, and Smauf. "The Egyptians, it is well known, were the first to assign to particular divinities certain portions of the body over which they were destined to preside. They divided the human body into thirty-six divisions, each of which was under the government of decans, or aerial demons, presiding over the triple division of the twelve signs, and these were often specially invoked for the cure of diseases. Upon this the late celebrated Mons. Champollion constructed a sort of theological anatomy derived from the Great Funereal Ritual. The deities of the Amenti, Mr. Pettigrew had shown, were specially appropriated to the contents of the body: thus Amset was found by him.... within the bandages which contained the stomach and large intestines; Hapee, with the small intestines; Kebsnof, with the liver and gall-bladder; whilst Smof, or Smauf, was found with the head and lungs.”
We give an illustration of a mummy, with part of the case removed. It exhibits the four deities of Amenti, or Hades, and below, a god engaged in embalming. The smaller figure represents a head with all the wrappings removed.
M. Villoteau gives the following description of the mummy of a woman which had been unrolled:— “All the natural parts of the body, though dried, retained their natural form. The hair, eyes, nose, and mouth were so well preserved that one could easily recognize the expression of countenance which they must have produced. The hair was quite black, without any mixture of white hair, though the person appeared to have been old at the time of death. All that we could observe was that it was a little red near the roots. The hair was well fixed, long, and divided into plaits, fastened up on the head rather carelessly; which makes me think that at that time the women let their hair fall down their back in numerous tresses. The eyelids, lashes, and eye-brows were still in their natural state. The eyes only appeared to be slightly injured, because they were dried, and the pupil had shrunk in a little. The nose was pretty nearly in its natural state, very regularly formed, and very beautiful. The tongue was dry, and like a piece of parchment. The lips were thin, and the mouth small. The teeth appeared to be worn out through old age, and to Nave lost their sharpness, but they were all there, and seemed not to have been decayed. The body had been opened on the left side.”
They carried the embalmed body of Jacob into Canaan according to his desire. Thither went all the servants of Pharaoh and elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt: and also Joseph and his brethren and their households, except the children: there went up both chariots and horsemen, a very great company. They came to Atad, and "they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation," so as to attract the attention of the inhabitants of the land, and they named the place Abel-mizraim, "The mourning of the Egyptians." The mourning lasted seven days. Joseph and his brethren carried Jacob into Canaan.
The mourning in Egypt was very demonstrative. When any one died the female portion of the family, who were the chief mourners, left the body in the house, and went forth into the city with their bosoms bare, making loud cries of grief and casting dust upon their heads. The relatives joined them, and increased the lamentations.
At the funerals hired mourners also were employed, who pretended great grief and filled the air with their mournful cries. Those who have witnessed these processions in modern times are perfectly disgusted with the unseemliness of the whole scene.
M. Lepsius thus describes a burial that he witnessed in Ethiopia:—
“An hour before sunset above a hundred women and children had assembled before the house, and many more kept continually coming and cowering down beside them. Two daughters of the deceased were there, who had already strewn their highly ornamented heads, powdered with fat in the Arab manner, with ashes, and rubbed the whole upper part of the body white with them.... a great wooden bowl of ashes was placed there, and continually replenished. Close to the door, on both sides, couched female musicians, who partly clapped their hands in time, with yelling, ear-piercing screams, fastly beat the noisy hand-drum, and partly struck hollow calabashes, swimming in tubs of water, with sticks.... with convulsively strained windings, and turnings of the upper part of the body, they pushed their feet on, quite slowly and measuredly, threw their bosoms up with a sudden motion, and turned the head back over the shoulders, which they racked in every direction, and thus moved themselves forward with almost closed eyes. In this way they went down a little hill for fifteen or sixteen paces, when they threw themselves on the ground, buried themselves in dust and ashes, and then returned to begin the same dance anew.... whoever cannot get up to the ash-tub take ashes from the head of a neighbor to strew it on their own head.
The most prominent and disgusting feature of this scene is, however, that unrestrained passion has nothing to do with it, and that everything is done slowly, pathetically, and with evidently practiced motions; children down to the ages of four or five years are put into the procession, and if they make the difficult and unnatural movements well, the mothers, cowering behind, call out Taib, Taib to them: Bravo, well done.”
Anciently there were long processions for the funerals of great people, as shown on the monuments. Servants, bearing food and wine, with three young geese and a calf for a sacrifice; then various articles belonging to the deceased; a chariot, if he had one; the images of gods with more offerings, and liquids for libations. Mourners beating their breasts, and throwing dust upon their heads, some uttering loud cries, and others telling forth the praises of the deceased.
The body was placed in "the consecrated boat upon a sledge, drawn by four oxen and seven men;" the chief mourner was in the boat, and mourning relatives followed in the rear.
The funeral of Jacob was no doubt conducted by Joseph and his brethren, without any of the idolatrous rites of the Egyptians; and this they could the better avoid by the burial being away from Egypt, and by their leaving the Egyptians at Atad.
On Joseph's death he was also embalmed and placed in a "coffin." He had faith in God that He would surely visit the children of Israel and bring them out of Egypt, and he took an oath of his brethren that when this came to pass they would carry his bones away from Egypt. This may account for his body being put into a coffin of wood—for the word used distinguishes it from a stone or earthenware coffin— all of which have been found. The coffin found in the third Pyramid of Memphis, belonging to king Mycerinus was of cedar wood. Its remains are in the British Museum.
We do not read of Joseph being buried; he was to be kept ready for the Exodus. Now this did not take place until nearly one hundred and fifty years after his death; but the embalming preserved his body, and he could be easily carried away when God's set time was come.
The Israelites under Oppression.
The children of Israel had increased in a marvelous manner, and "the land was filled with them.” Upon a careful comparison of the scriptures bearing upon the chronology of the Old Testament, we believe that the period of the duration of the children of Israel in Egypt was, as in the common chronology, two hundred and fifteen years; and that in this period there was time for the seventy persons, from whom the nation sprang, added to the wives who were not reckoned—to have increased into about two million souls at the Exodus. Seeing that God's description is that they "increased abundantly," we are warranted in expecting an increase above that which takes place under ordinary circumstances.
“Now there arose a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.”
It seems at first sight a strange thing that anyone who had benefited Egypt in a way that Joseph had done, and who had held such a high position, should have been unknown to any king ascending the throne. But it is clear from the historians and the monuments, that those who ruled over Egypt were of many different dynasties, and also that some kings ruled only over a part of the country now called Egypt. It becomes therefore a question as to whether the king who raised Joseph to his place had sway over the whole land. It speaks of "all Egypt," and similar expressions; but it is not known definitely what the boundaries were of that which was called Egypt, as there were other terms employed for parts of Egypt, such as Ethiopia, Pathros, Seba, &c.; yet it is plain that some of the kings did have at least nominal sway over all Egypt, and Joseph's Pharaoh may have been one of these.
The natural inference would be that the king who knew not Joseph was the first of a new dynasty, and perhaps one from another part of Egypt. On the other hand we must remember that in the space of a hundred and fifty years, favors are often forgotten, especially when bestowed by one who was after all but a servant of the state.
It becomes a question whether this new king was one of the shepherd-kings, or a successor to such, a question we hope to look at when considering the chronology of Egypt.
The new king, whoever he was, felt concerned about the Israelites. He saw their increase, and that they were more and mightier than the Egyptians—referring perhaps to those more immediately in contact with the Israelites, and not to all Egypt; and in case of war they might take part with the enemy against the Egyptians, and escape from being the servants of Egypt. This will show the value of the labor of the Israelites. Some of the kings prided themselves that their great works were not the works of Egyptians, but of slaves.
The king attempted at first to wear out the people of Israel with hard labor. The taskmasters appointed over them increased their burdens and made them serve with rigor. Nevertheless God blessed the Israelites, so that the more they were afflicted, the more they increased. The king then tried to prevent the increase by destroying all the male children at their birth; but here he was frustrated also. He then ordered that all the male children were to be thrown into the river; but how far this cruel order was carried out is not known.
The labor is specified as being "in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field." And after Moses had spoken to Pharaoh to ask him to let them go, Pharaoh made them serve with still greater rigor. Hitherto they had had straw given them with which to make the bricks, and a certain number of bricks had to be produced; but now no straw was to be given them. They must gather straw as they best could, or stubble in lieu thereof, and yet they must produce as many bricks as before. On failure, the Israelite overseers were beaten. They appealed to Pharaoh, but could get no relief from their cruel bondage.
In a papyrus called Anastasi iii., there is the record of twelve workmen who had been employed in the field at brick making, having failed to make their appointed quantity, were set at harder tasks upon a building.
The monuments fully bear out the fact that bricks were made in Egypt about the time of the Exodus; some have been found with the names of kings stamped upon them. Thus in the British Museum there are bricks bearing the names of Thothmes I, Thothmes III, Thothmes IV., Amenophis II and III, and Rameses II.
The monuments show the process of making the bricks: one is drawing water from a tank, another is mixing the clay; others are carrying the clay in baskets; some are forming the bricks; and others are carrying the bricks and putting them in piles. The enlarged heads in the engraving show by their beards that the workmen are foreigners.
The bricks were made in moulds and sun-burnt. Some had straw intermixed, but others had little or none, and others had broken pieces of pottery mixed with the clay. The bricks were of various sizes, some being as long as one foot eight inches, and weighing more than forty-eight pounds; but those made later were smaller. At first the marks appear to have been made with the fingers, but from the eighteenth Dynasty stamps were used.
Our illustration shows the bricks being placed in piles to be sun-dried, in contrast to the pottery which is being placed in kilns for burning; but in Jer. 43:9, we read of a "brick-kiln" in Egypt. Now though the bricks were usually sun-dried, it is believed that some were burnt in kilns and used for foundations exposed to water.
The most ancient buildings are of stone; and later they are partly of stone and partly of brick. But Pharaoh made them erect not only isolated buildings, but also build for him treasure-cities, Pithom and Raamses. These were probably cities mainly devoted to the storing of grain, Sm.; as we read that Hezekiah made storehouses for the increase of corn, and wine, and oil. (2 Chron. 32:28.)
A papyrus describes the visit of an official to what appears to be this very city of Raamses. It reads, “I proceeded to Pa-Ramessu Meiamen (house of Ramessu Meiamen"). He found it flourishing in good things without a rival; fish in the pools, fowl on the ponds grass in the fields. "Its threshing-floors are full of barley and wheat." Wine and salt are also named.
Where these cities were situated is not now known. Raamses may have been a city in the district of Rameses, or Goshen, where the Israelites dwelt. If Pithom is the same as Patumus, Herodotus says it was built upon the canal which commenced above Bubastis.
During the carrying out of the cruel enactment of the king to put all the male children to death, Moses was born, and because he was a goodly child his mother hid him three months; but when she could hide him no longer, she took "an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink." His sister stood afar off, to see what would happen to him.
The daughter of Pharaoh comes down to the river to wash or bathe, and there finds the child. Her heart is touched for the weeping babe, and on the approach of his sister, the girl is told to call one of the Hebrew women; and his own mother is called. Pharaoh's daughter bid the mother nurse the child for her. Thus God overruled all for the preservation of His servant Moses. That a princess should come to the river to bathe is not at all according to modern Egyptian custom; only women of the lower order bathe in the river, and only in quite out of the way places; but, as we have seen, the women in Egypt were anciently much less secluded than at present.
The bulrush used was the papyrus, or paper reed, a rush well known in ancient Egypt, but rarely to be met with now. "It had a triangular stalk about the thickness of a finger, which grew to the height of ten feet. From this the lighter Nile boats were made, whilst the peeling of the plant was used for sails, mattresses, mats, sandals, and other articles, but chiefly for the preparation of paper." That the ark was made of papyrus is worthy of note, because this plant grew in Egypt and nowhere else. It was cemented with slime or bitumen, and pitched to keep out the water.
When the child Moses grew up, he was brought to Pharaoh's daughter, and became her son. "And she called his name Moses; and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.”
It naturally becomes an interesting question as to whether Pharaoh's daughter gave Moses an Egyptian or a Hebrew name. In the Hebrew it is MOSHAH, and is the same word that is used for "drew out," except the points; so that it looks at first sight as if the name was Hebrew, and not Egyptian.
It is however contended that it is really an Egyptian name. The Septuagint and Josephus write Μωυςῆς, and the latter says that Thurmuthis—for he gives Pharaoh's daughter this name—"imposed this name Mouses upon him from what had happened when he was put into the river; for the Egyptians call water by the name of Ito, and such as are saved out of it by the name of USES; so by putting these words together, they imposed this name upon him." This explanation is confirmed by the Coptic, which was derived from the old Egyptian, and is the best language by which to explain the hieroglyphics.
From the New Testament we learn that Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, and in Exodus we learn that when he was grown up he went to view his brethren, and looked on their burdens. "And he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren." And after looking about to see that no one was looking—a proof that God had not sent him to do this, or that he had not faith in what he did—he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. On going out the second day he tried to adjudge between two Hebrews who were contending with each other. But the one who was in the wrong repudiated his interference, and asked if he meant to kill him as he did the Egyptian. Moses was now afraid and he fled from the face of Pharaoh, who indeed was seeking his life.
He directed his feet to Midian, and sat down by a well, and when the daughters of Reuel came to water their flocks., he helped them against the shepherds. They called him an Egyptian, which he would be in appearance. Here he married Zipporah, Reuel's daughter.
She bore him a son, and he called his name Gershom. This is a Hebrew name and signifies "banishment." Though called an Egyptian, he was not one; he had refused the honors of the court, and chosen affliction with the people of God. He was an Israelite, and his son must have a Hebrew name.
Here in the desert he must stay for forty years, and learn that if Israel is to be delivered, it must not be by his zeal and an arm of flesh, but by the I AM THAT I AM, who appeared to him in the burning bush, and who could consume from him this confidence in the flesh, and yet spare him alive.
Moses, who before was too forward, was now too backward; and when God revealed to him His intentions of delivering Israel by his hand, he made all sorts of excuses, until the anger of the Lord was kindled against him. Such is man in himself! and yet God in His grace takes up Moses and uses him to carry out His purposes, and afterwards holds him up to us as a witness of faith—one who esteemed "the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt," and as one who "endured as seeing him who is invisible." May such be said of reader and writer!
Chapter 2
THE PLAGUES OF EGYPT AND THE EXODUS.
“The Lord showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon
Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household.”
GOD had sent Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh to ask him to permit the Israelites to go for three days into the wilderness to hold a feast unto Jehovah.
This was a very small request when we consider how the Israelites had been serving the Egyptians in making their bricks, building their cities, &c. But Pharaoh said, "Who is Jehovah that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not Jehovah, neither will I let Israel go." (Ex. 5:2.) We shall see as we proceed that Pharaoh knew many ideal gods and gods of man's making; but Jehovah he did not know. Alas, for Pharaoh I Moses still urged his petition in a respectful manner: "The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the Lord our God.”
But Pharaoh proudly refused. He charged Moses with hindering the Israelites in their work, and commanded that their tasks should be increased henceforth.
This brought down the judgments of God upon Pharaoh and his people. But before they commenced, Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh and showed him and his servants a miracle,' that they might know the power of that God whom Pharaoh was resisting.
Aaron threw down his rod, and it became a living serpent. 'Pharaoh at once sent for his wise men, his sorcerers and his magicians; and they too threw down their rods and these became serpents. But Aaron's serpent swallowed up all the others.
Now our first question is, How were the magicians able to do that which is called a miracle?
It has been supposed by many that they did not do any miracle at all; but as many men have been able in modern things to exercise great power over serpents, so it is thought that these magicians had first caused some serpents to become stiff and appear as sticks, which were then thrown down and thus made to become active.
In a French work we read, "The serpent haje is a sort of reptile which the jugglers of Cairo know best how to turn to account; they tame it, and teach it a great number of tricks more or less extraordinary; they can, as they say, change the haje into a stick, and make it appear as dead.”
But this will not account for what was done. There is ample proof in scripture that Satan can, when permitted, perform that which is really beyond mere nature-as he will do mighty acts and miracles in a day yet to come. (Rev. 13:13, 14.) The words of Scripture declare that what was done by the magicians was done by their enchantments, which could be no other than power put forth by Satan to cause Pharaoh to persevere in his purpose. God proved His power above all that they could do by Aaron's rod-serpent swallowing up all the others; but Pharaoh's heart was only hardened the more. His servants could make serpents out of rods as well as Moses and Aaron: his gods were as powerful as the God of the Hebrews This was followed by a series of mighty signs and wonders.
The First Plague—Water Turned Into Blood.
Moses and Aaron smote the waters that were in the river, and all the water was turned to blood. "And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river: and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments.”
Rationalists have tried to explain this from natural causes. They insinuate the water was not really turned to blood, but that it only had the appearance of blood; and it has to this day this appearance, say they, on certain occasions when the Nile brings down with it certain earthy deposits that give it a red appearance.
But this is only an effort to shut out God, which Rationalism always tries to do. Besides the plain declaration of the scripture that the water was turned into blood, it has also other statements which in no way agree with the above theory. There were no less than three plain and positive proofs that the plague was a miracle. The fish died; the river stank; and the People could not drink of the water thus changed. None of these results follow when the river is simply discolored and turbid. They often filtered the water before they drank it; but here was water (or rather blood now) that could not be drunk even if filtered, water that stank, and in which the fish could not live.
Even the water in their houses should be turned to blood, "both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone." These may even allude to the filters, for the Egyptians used vessels made both of wood and stone in which to filter the waters of the Nile. It is recorded that when it was desirable to purify it quickly, a ball of crushed almonds was thrown in; but when there was time this was not used. The water was simply set in large vessels of wood, earth, and also of unburnt clay, and settled in two or three days. Another writer says: "The water which comes upon the table is passed through vessels of a kind of earth, which forthwith permits the liquid to filter through.”
We can little enter into the punishment involved in this plague, because of the artificial means we have for obtaining water; but with the Egyptians the river Nile was almost their entire source, and was valued by them in proportion, the water of the few wells being unpleasant and unwholesome.
One writer declares that the Turks will at times eat salt in order to be able to drink more of their favorite water; and they are accustomed to say that if Mahommed had drunk of it, he would have asked immortality of God, so that he might always have drunk of it. If the Egyptians undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca, or travel elsewhere, they speak of nothing like the delight which they shall experience when, on their return, they again drink of the Nile water.
The water of the river has for its salubrity and excellency often been the theme of praise, both with natives and foreigners. Its waters, indeed, were supposed to be so nutritious and fattening that the priests would not allow their sacred bull Apis to drink of it, lest it should make him too fat.
Now contrast with this delight of the Egyptians in the water of the Nile, the effect of this plague: the water stank, and the people loathed to drink of it. They did the only thing left to them—namely, dig wells for themselves, and drink of water that is, in their country, often very unpleasant.
It will, however, be seen that apparently the Authorized Version speaks of other waters besides the river Nile, indeed of more rivers than one: thus, "upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water." (Ex. 7:19.) But two or more rivers are not really referred to. It will be seen that "the waters of Egypt" are first named generally, and then they are named in detail. The streams (neharoth) are the arms of the Nile; the rivers (yarim) are the artificial canals; the ponds (agamim) are the pools which the Nile makes, called in Egypt birke, of which there are many; the pools of water (kol-mikve-maim)—in the margin gathering of their waters'—are all the other standing water, or that which is left behind by the Nile—the lakes and reservoirs from which the peasants, who live at a distance from the Nile, water their land. Indeed the inhabitants of some towns are compelled to pay for and drink this water at times, brought to them on camels, instead of the fresh Nile Water which is further off. At the inundation of the Nile all these lakes and reservoirs are replenished, or renewed if dry. There were large cisterns formerly at Alexandria, into which the water was led through a canal constructed for the purpose, and which supplied the town with drinkable water throughout the year.
It is not surprising therefore that the Egyptians held the Nile in high esteem, for it not only rendered all their fields productive when it inundated the land, but supplied them with water for all their necessities during the year. The description in our text exactly agrees with the various ways in which the waters of the Nile were distributed over the land. And all that are mentioned were supplied by this river: there is no mention of wells or fountains. They had to dig new wells when all the water had been turned into blood. But the Egyptians did more than hold the Nile in high esteem; they deified and worshipped it. From the remotest times the Nile had been worshipped, and at Nilopolis a magnificent temple was dedicated to this god. Herodotus speaks of the priests of the Nile, and it was held to be "the rival of heaven," because it watered the country and made it fruitful without rain from heaven.
The Egyptians, indeed, thought any country to be in a pitiable condition that was dependent upon rain from heaven for their tillage, instead of the inundations of a river such as they possessed. Whereas God points it out as one of the blessings of Palestine that it was not like Egypt where they had to water their land with the foot as a garden of herbs—that is, moving aside the soil with the foot so that the water could run first into one bed, and then into another—but it should be watered with rain fresh from heaven. (Deut. 11:10.) Man likes to be independent of God, as he thinks; but God judges otherwise, and surely it is best for man to know and own his dependence upon his Creator.
That it seldom rained in Egypt is borne out by the monuments. A representation of their common houses shows them without roofs. They had to protect themselves from the sun rather than from rain; so on two sides a higher wall was built to afford shade from the burning heat of the sun, but no roof was needed, as it rained so seldom.
Moses was to meet Pharaoh in the morning as he went out to the river both here and in the fourth plague.
He may have gone to bathe there, as his daughter did in chapter 2:5, when she found Moses among the flags of the river, or he may have gone out to pay his morning sacrifice to his god—the Nile. If the latter, how opportune the moment for Moses to call down the judgment of Jehovah, and turn Pharaoh's gad into a loathsome and repulsive object! Would not the king be at once convinced of the power and superiority of One who could thus transform his deity into that which stank, and which spread abroad death to all its inhabitants?
No; he was in no way softened; for alas! his own magicians were able also to turn water into blood. This was not in appearance only; by their enchantments they were able to accomplish this marvel, and we can account for it only on the supposition that Satan was permitted to do this by his agents the magicians, for the purpose God had ultimately in view.
There is still one incident worthy of notice—namely, that the fish in the river died. Were there then fish in the river Nile? Yes, there was abundance of fish. The Israelites, after they had left Egypt, and had become discontented in the wilderness, were not forgetful that they had eaten of fish freely (or literally for nothing) when in Egypt. (Num. 11:5.)
To this the monuments bear abundance of evidence. There are pictures of men fishing both with the line and with large nets capturing shoals, while in some, men are carrying fish large enough for three to be a load for two men. There were regular fishermen, who seemed to form an entire caste, and the fish if not absolutely to be had for nothing, must have been very cheap. The fish were found not only in the river, but in the canals, lakes, and pools; and from all these the supply was enormous. Isaiah, when speaking of the punishment of Egypt does not omit this important branch of their prosperity: "The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish. Moreover, they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks shall be confounded. And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish." (Isa. 19:8-10.) The prophecy agrees thus minutely with the monuments in naming both the angle and the net, as we have seen.
Fish are still in the rivers and canals, and are so important an article of trade that the government annually sell the privilege to certain individuals for large sums of money. "The small village of Agalteh at Thebes," says Wilkinson, "pays annually 1500 piastres (about £21) to government for the fish in its canal." The fish in Lake Menzaleh is declared by the inhabitants to have as many varieties as days in the year. This of course, may be an exaggeration as to the varieties, but as to quantity fish are constantly being caught, and yet they increase abundantly.
All these things bear testimony to the truth of scripture that the Israelites when in Egypt could have eaten fish freely; and this the more magnifies the extent of the punishment in the first plague sent by God when the waters of Egypt were turned into blood, and all the fish died.
The Second Plague—Frogs.
The message to Pharaoh was, "If thou refuse to let [my people] go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs: and the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneading-troughs." (Ex. 8:2, 3.)
The punishment was the abundance of the frogs, and that they left the waterside and came into the dwelling-houses, and even into the bed-chambers, and upon the beds; their ovens and their bread-pans should not be free from them.
As far as we can tell, there had always been frogs in Egypt. As the water in the river became less in quantity, the slimy banks were very favorable for the increase of frogs. Even in our regions one female will lay from 600 to 1100 eggs in the spring; doubtless they are more fruitful under more favorable circumstances. Travelers vouch for the abundance of the frogs in some seasons, even so as to be troublesome and annoy by their croaking. They would more often be a nuisance but for the destruction of them by serpents, crocodiles, storks, and the ibis: indeed one reason why the ibis was revered as a benefactor from the gods, if not indeed as a god itself, was that it kept down the increase of the frogs.
The most common species of frogs in Egypt is the rana punctata, the dotted frog. “It is of ash color, with green spots; the feet are marked with transverse bands, and the toes are separated to half their length." This species is but seldom seen in Europe.
In this plague there was not only an abundance of frogs, but they had come at the word of Moses. It was not an increase from natural causes. Will not Pharaoh now own the power of Jehovah, and let His people go?
To prevent this, the magicians did the same with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land. This might be explained by the magicians enticing the frogs by some means upon the land, but we prefer to see in it the power of Satan enabling his agents to do that which was above mere natural cause and effect. They did it by their enchantments, as with the first plague.
But the presence of the frogs was so insufferable that Pharaoh called for Moses, and begged him to entreat Jehovah for the removal of the frogs, promising that he would let the people go.
Moses asked Pharaoh to name the time when the frogs should depart, using the expression, "Glory over me; when shall I entreat for thee?" It was as much as to say, "I will even be your servant, to gain you; name your own time.”
Pharaoh said, "To-morrow;" and Moses promised that it should be done, that Pharaoh might know that there was no such God as Jehovah their God.
Moses cried unto God that He would do even as he had said to Pharaoh. And God caused the frogs to die out of the houses, and out of the villages, and out of the fields. And they gathered them together in heaps upon heaps, and the land stank. This was but the natural result of such multitudes of dead frogs in a warm country like Egypt.
When 'Pharaoh felt relief from the absence of the frogs, he again hardened his heart, and refused to let Israel depart.
The Third Plague—Lice.
Pharaoh, having given a promise and broken it, had no warning before the third plague was sent.
“Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt." (Ex. 8:17.)
It is pretty generally believed that by the word used in the original, not lice, but gnats are alluded to. The Septuagint, being a translation made in Egypt, is of weight in such a question, and that version gives "mosquito gnats.
Philo, an Egyptian, also describes the gnat as "an insect, although of very small size, yet of a most troublesome nature; for it hurts not only the surface, causing intolerable and protracted itching, but penetrates also into the interior through the ears and nose. It flies even into the eyes of those who do not guard themselves, and produces serious pain.”
This description agrees with the accounts given by travelers. If the same species are alluded to, the plague would be in the wonderful increase of them.
Herodotus says, "Against the gnats, which are very numerous, the Egyptians use the following means: the inhabitants of Upper Egypt protect themselves by turrets, in which they sleep: for the gnats are unable to rise to any considerable elevation. Those who live near the marshes take a net, with which they fish by day, spread it over their beds by night, and sleep beneath it; the gnats, which sting through clothes or linen, do not even try to penetrate through the net.”
A fishing-net may seem but a poor protection against small gnats, but Kalisch declares that it is "a fact that mosquitoes and other flies will not pass through nets, although the meshes might be more than large enough, to enable them to enter. Quite similar precautionary measures against the dangerous stings of the mosquitoes are reported by the most recent travelers.”
Augustine says, "The gnats in Egypt breed in the slime; they are very small flies, but most lively and versatile, not allowing men to rest; if they are scared off, they return with the greater eagerness.”
Sonnini says, "It is asserted that the multitude of gnats, with which the streets and the inside of the houses were then filled, owe their origin to the drying of rice about the end of October. Indeed, there are fewer of them at other times. After the rice harvest they go forth in multitudes from the overflowed fields in which the preceding generation laid their eggs. They come to trouble men; they make wounds, in order to suck their blood, not less burning than those of the maringonins of South America.”
But they are equally troublesome to animals as to man. Theodoret mentions, that when Sapores besieged Nisibis, his horses and elephants were so fearfully tormented by the stings of innumerable gnats, that they broke their yokes in wild fury, and madly ran about in all directions. They are, chiefly in seasons of a cool atmosphere, a perfect plague, rendering both eating and sleeping almost impossible.
Now if these gnats are so tormenting in certain seasons under ordinary circumstances, what must it have been when God sent them upon both man and beast in far greater abundance— such an abundance as the land had never seen at any other time? It must indeed have been a plague not easily to be borne.
It was a plague, too, which the magicians could not imitate. "Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God." God had allowed Satan to imitate the first two plagues, but now he was stopped. His agents could not produce the gnats; and doubtless with a view to screen themselves from the wrath of Pharaoh, they declared that it was the work of God.
But all to no purpose. Pharaoh had said at first, "Who is Jehovah that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not Jehovah, neither will I let Israel go." He had yet to learn, by sad experience, that the Jehovah of Israel was not as the gods of Egypt. He still refused to let them go.
Fourth Plague—Flies.
This plague differed from the others in that it is now said that a difference should be made between the land of Goshen and Egypt. There should be no flies in Goshen, that Pharaoh might know that God was Jehovah in the midst of the earth. But "there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses, and into all the land Egypt; the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies." (Ex. 8:24.)
It will be noticed that the Authorized Version does not definitely say what insect is referred to, the words cc of flies" being added. There were swarms of some insect, but what insect is alluded to is not at all certain. The same word in the original occurs in Psa. 78:45; 105:21, where it is translated "divers sorts of flies." The original word is taken to signify "a mixture, or variety," so that many have supposed that there were really a variety of insects, a swarm of different sorts, not only of insects, but of larger animals, as it reads in the margin of Ex. 8:21: "A mixture of [noisome beasts].”
It is now, however, rather considered to be of one sort; and if the Septuagint is to decide, it is the dog-fly, as they translated it. Others take it for a species of beetle.
In the scripture we find it was to be (1) upon man, (2) in their houses, (3) on the ground. But when it speaks of the plague having come, nothing is said of the -person, but they came into all their houses, and into all the land of Egypt, so that the land was corrupted (or destroyed) by reason of the swarm.
If it was the dog-fly, and this had any reference to the animal the dog, it is strange that nothing is said of the plague affecting the animals, as it would naturally attack other animals besides the dog. Whereas we want an insect that was destructive to the land, and also affected the person and the house.
It may be that where it says that this plague would be upon Pharaoh, and his servants, and his people, it does not mean their persons so much as their property in distinction from the property of the Israelites, which was not to be affected thereby. And if so, the plague would fall upon their houses and their lands, and then some other sort of insect may the better answer the description.
Let us look at a description of the common fly known in Egypt. Sonnini says, " The most numerous and troublesome insects in Egypt are the flies. Man and beasts are most cruelly tormented by them. It is scarcely possible to imagine their rage if they are determined to settle on any part of the body. If they are scared away, they come the next moment again, and their pertinacity exhausts even the greatest patience. They like especially to alight on the corners of the eyes, and on the eyelids, those most sensitive parts, to which a little moisture attracts them.”
Philo also says, “The flies rush on without fear, and if they are driven away they repeat their attacks with tenacious obstinacy till they have satisfied themselves with blood and flesh. Thus, the dog-fly is a bold and insidious insect; for it darts from a distance like a spear, with a buzzing noise, and, approaching with great violence, fixes its sting deeply in the skin.”
But nothing is said of this fly destroying property either in the houses or in the land. It has been suggested that if in great numbers, it might destroy the plants by laying its eggs in the leaves. This may be so, but seeing that the scripture repeats the houses being infected, and the land corrupted or destroyed, we doubt if this fly answers to the description.
Let us now look at another insect, the blatta orientalis, called in German schabe' or ‘kakerlake.' Pratte, in his travels through Abyssinia, narrates, "The kakerlaks appear in a moment in the houses, and break forth, as if by a spell, suddenly from every aperture and fissure. Shortly before my departure from Adua, they filled, in a few minutes, the whole house of the resident missionary there. Only after the most laborious exertions, and after covering the floors of the apartments with hot coals, they succeeded in mastering them. If they make such attacks during the night, the inmates are compelled to give up the houses; and even little children or sick persons, who are unable to rise alone, are then exposed to the greatest danger of life." Other travelers describe their bite as very painful, and say that they gnaw and destroy clothes, household furniture, leather, and articles of every kind; and either consume or render unavailable all eatables.
Now as this insect attacks both man and his dwelling and that which grows, it seems the better to answer the description we have in the scripture. We know not what to call it in English-we may indeed have no such insect, and have no name for it. Kalisch calls it a beetle, and says the Egyptian species is chiefly distinguished from the common one by a broad band upon the anterior margin of its oval corselet. Its great characteristic is that it destroys property, though it also molests the person.
It is certain that this plague was so calamitous that Pharaoh hastened to call Moses, and proposed that they should have their sacrifice, but have it in the land.
Moses objected to this, and said, "It is not meet so to do, for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God; lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord our God as He shall command us.”
It is considered by some that allusion is here made to the manner in which the Israelites would conduct their sacrifices; but we doubt not allusion is made to the animals held sacred by the Egyptians, especially heifers. These the Israelites would sacrifice, and it would be like sacrificing their gods before their eyes.
Manetho relates of a people leprous and impure in Egypt, led by a priest named Osarsiph, who was afterwards called Moses, "He made this law for them: That they should neither worship the Egyptian gods, nor should abstain from any one of those sacred animals which they hold in the highest esteem, but kill and destroy them all.... They were not satisfied till they had been guilty of sacrilege, and destroyed the images of the gods, and used them in roasting those sacred animals that used to be worshipped, and forced the priests and prophets to be the executioners and murderers of those animals." However false this statement is as to Moses, does it not illustrate "sacrificing the abomination of the Egyptians"?
Pharaoh then consented to their leaving; only they were not to go very far away. He begged Moses to entreat for him.
Moses promised to do so, after warning Pharaoh not to play them false as he had done before.
But, alas! no sooner was the plague removed, than Pharaoh hardened his heart, and refused to let Israel go.
Fifth Plague—Murrain Among the Cattle.
Warning was again given to Pharaoh that another calamity was about to fall upon them, and a few hours were given for the king's repentance. But the plague had to be sent. “Behold the hand of the Lord is upon the cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep; there shall be a very grievous murrain.... And the, Lord did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.”
The animals mentioned here (except, perhaps, the camel) are found on the monuments. The horse is the first mentioned; that was employed in the war chariots; it is not seen as a beast of burden.
Asses were plentiful, and were used for burden, for treading out corn and other purposes. Camels are not found on the monuments as far as we are aware. But this does not argue against their being in Egypt, as many other things are not found on the monuments which are known to have existed there. Camels may have been used more for distant journeys; whereas, home and war scenes are those mostly portrayed. Of oxen there are plenty. They are used for agricultural purposes and for food.
Sheep also are frequently portrayed. This plague must have struck Pharaoh, one would have thought, as the finger of God. There may have been many pestilences and instances of cattle disease: at one time among the oxen, and at another among the sheep; but here was a murrain that attacked all alike, and was equally fatal.
Pharaoh sent to see if the cattle of the Israelites had been attacked: but no; God had here again shown that it was His work: not one of the cattle of the Israelites had died. Nevertheless, Pharaoh's heart was hardened and he would not let Israel go.
Sixth Plague—Boils Upon Man and Beast.
Moses was now to take handfuls of the ashes of the furnace, and in the sight of Pharaoh to sprinkle it toward heaven. "And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man and upon beast throughout all the land of Egypt." And it came to pass as Moses had said to Pharaoh.
Little is said of this plague, or of the nature of the disease, further than that it was boils and blains on man and beast.
It must have been severe, for the magicians, instead of standing by, to be consulted by Pharaoh, were not able to stand before him, for they themselves were laid aside by the disease. Still Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not let Israel go.
Seventh Plague—Hail.
Before this plague was brought, Moses went to Pharaoh with a much longer and more solemn warning that destruction awaited him if he did not give heed: "Thou shalt be cut off from the earth." A few hours were allowed the king. But as he repented not, on the morrow "Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.”
It will be seen by the above that it does not imply that hail was not known in Egypt; but there was now to be such hail as they had never before seen. Travelers have often testified to thunder-storms occurring in Egypt, but they are unanimous as to their harmless character in a general way. But "during the visit of Thevenot in Egypt, there was a thunder-storm which killed a man. This was an occurrence so uncommon and unparalleled, that nobody was able to explain it, and it caused universal consternation." Thunder was rarer in Egypt than hail-storms, and thus no doubt caused terror; for Pharaoh when he called for Moses, mentions first the thunder, calling it "mighty thunder," or, as in the margin, "the voice of God.”
As is well known, it is not a very unusual thing in England for a person to be struck with lightning and killed. But the plague in Egypt was altogether different. The storm killed both man and beast that were found in the fields. Some took warning by the words of Moses, and kept their servants and cattle under shelter, but others, who disregarded the warnings, were smitten by the hail.
The fire was not confined to the heavens, but descended to the earth, as it does when it kills a man, or splinters a large tree, or shatters a steeple; but of course much more intense: "The fire ran along upon the ground.... there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous.”
The hail also smote the bushes and the trees that were growing, thus sheaving its severity: indeed it was such a calamity as Egypt had never witnessed since it was a nation.
This plague had great effect on Pharaoh. It had fallen only on Egypt: Goshen had been free from it. The king "called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time; Jehovah is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Entreat Jehovah (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer." But, alas, when the plague was stayed, Pharaoh hardened his heart, and would not let the Israelites go.
In this plague, special mention is made of some cereals that were then growing: "The flax and the barley were smitten; for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was boiled. But the wheat and the rye were not smitten; for they were not grown up.”
The fact of some cereals being so far advanced as to be smitten by the hail, and of others being more backward, and thus escaping, needs further investigation.
As the sowing of the seed followed the inundation of the Nile, we will first look at that phenomenon. As to why the Nile rose so regularly at one particular time of the year, was for long a matter of mystery, but it is now know to be caused by the regular tropical rains in Abyssinia. These rains fall from about the middle of June to the middle of September, and find their way into the Nile through the Black branch of the river.
The White branch has its rise earlier-perhaps as early as the middle of March, but it is not until the two unite in June that the rise becomes general in the river.
The Black river brings the more valuable of the earthy deposits. These have been analyzed, and are thus given in the great French work on Egypt.
11 water.
9 carbon.
6 oxide of iron.
4 silica.
4 carbonate of magnesia.
18 carbonate of lime.
48 alumen.
100
The Nile, say at Cairo, begins to rise about the end of June, and continues to rise to the end of September. About the tenth of August the sluices are opened, and the water is let into the various canals.
As the water overflows its banks it carries with it its valuable deposits. These are left behind as the water recedes, and form a valuable coat of new earth ready for the seed.
The principal seeds are sown in Egypt at about the same time after the inundation in October; but some things take longer to come to perfection, and our passage names that one was in ear, another boiled, and two others were not yet grown up.
Pliny says, in Egypt barley was harvested in the sixth month after sowing, wheat in the seventh month. Sonnini says, barley "comes to maturity about a month earlier than wheat, and its harvest is especially abundant." Flax and barley were generally ripe in March, wheat and rye (spelt) in April. All this exactly agrees with scripture, and points out the time of year when this plague occurred, and also of the Exodus which was soon to follow, that is March or April corresponding to the Hebrew month Abib. (Deut. 16:1)
We have here also another coincidence, namely, the cattle being in the fields. Moses had given Pharaoh timely warning to gather his cattle out of the field before the plague came. And this exactly agrees with fact; for the cattle in Egypt graze only for four months in the year. Niebuhr says, "In the months January, February, March, and April, the cattle graze; during the remaining months they must be supplied with dry fodder.”
Another thing worthy of remark is that rice is not mentioned. Would not any writer, but one well acquainted with the land and led of God, have included rice? But rice is not named, and of the cultivation of rice scarcely a single ancient trace can be found.
Let us look at the four things named. FLAX. This was extensively cultivated in Egypt. The monuments exhibit it growing; being cut, and tied in bundles; made into threads, and then woven. See WEAVING.
BARLEY. This was extensively sown in Egypt. It was used for animals, especially horses; and made into barley bread by the poorer classes. This bread was considered very wholesome but coarse, and not so nutritious as that of wheat. The Arabs in Morocco eat, at present, almost exclusively unleavened barley-bread.
Wilkinson says that barley was also employed to make a sort of beer; but as hops were unknown they had to use other plants to give it a grateful flavor. This beer was quite strong enough to intoxicate. And he quotes a curious saying of Aristotle which has not been confirmed by modern experience, namely, that men intoxicated by wine lie on their faces, but those who drink too much beer lie on their backs. Herodotus speaks of the Egyptians drinking wine made of barley; whether called wine or beer it was the same.
WHEAT. This was cultivated in every part of Egypt. It was the "bearded" sort, the same that is grown there in the present day.
RYE. This is now commonly called spelt,' as it is translated in the margin of Isa. 28:25. But what cereal is alluded to is not definitely known. In Ezek. 4:9 it is called fitches' and is named with other things to be used for making the prophet's bread.
Eighth Plague—Locusts.
Moses and Aaron went in again to Pharaoh, asking how long would he be ere he humbled himself before God, threatening to bring locusts upon the Egyptians on the morrow if he still refused.
Pharaoh's servants now appeal to him, saying, "How long shall this man be a snare unto us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?”
Thereupon Moses and Aaron were again brought before Pharaoh, who said, "Go, serve the Lord your God: but who are they that shall go?" Moses replied that all, with flocks and herds must go.
Pharaoh again refused; but in language difficult to interpret. "Let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones; look to it, for evil is before you. Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord; for that ye did desire." Some suppose that Pharaoh declares that because the men refused to go alone, their evil plans were manifest. Others think that he meant it as a threat, that evil should fall upon them for their persistence. The men might go. But all else was refused.
“And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night: and when it was morning the east wind brought the locusts. And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left; and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt." (Ex. 10:13-15.)
Various objections have been made to this plague—such' as that the wind never blows from the east in Egypt; and if it did, the locusts do not come from the east'; and if they had, they would have perished in the Red Sea, as they cannot fly over water.
It is quite enough to know that God has revealed this, and it must be true; nevertheless, let us briefly examine the objections.
In the first place Hengstenberg observes that the Hebrews had terms only for the four principal winds—north, south, east, and west—so that the wind may have been a south-east wind. Add to this that many travelers assert that they experienced an easterly wind when in Egypt; and others, that locusts are brought by every wind. They are usually brought by a certain wind suited to each locality; but they are not restricted to one quarter only. They also prove that locusts, with a gentle wind, are carried over the Straits of Gibraltar, the Red Sea, and even the Mediterranean.
The word of God is sufficient without any of these facts; but perhaps some will bow to the word of travelers who stumble at God's word! Alas, for them if they do.
Denon gives an interesting account of a flight of locusts, witnessed by himself, that well illustrates this plague, brought, too, by an east wind; only that what he saw was an ordinary thing, and the plague was altogether extraordinary, such as their fathers and their fathers' fathers had never seen the like, as Moses said.
“Two days after this calamity (they had been suddenly overtaken by a heavy chamsin—hot wind) we were informed that the plain was covered with birds, which flew in dense flocks from east to west. We in fact saw from a distance that the fields seemed to move, or at least that a long current flowed through the plain. Supposing that they were strange birds which had flown hither in such great numbers, we hastened our pace in order to observe them. But instead of birds, we found a cloud of locusts which made the land bald; for they stopped upon each stalk of grass in order to devour it, and then flew further for spoil. At a time of the year when the corn is tender, they would have been a real plague; as lean, as efficient, and as lively as an Arab Bedouin, they are also a production of the desert. After the wind had changed its course, so as to blow directly against them, it swept them back into the desert.”
The devastations of the locusts are well known. They literally eat up every green thing; and here they devoured all that had been left by the hail. These two plagues, coming as they did before the harvest, must have swept from the land their growing produce for the year, and left a barren desert, with a dire famine before the Egyptians.
Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron in haste, confessed that he had sinned against Jehovah, and against Moses, and begged that "this death" might be removed.
Moses promptly assented, and besought the Lord for him. And now a strong west wind carried the locusts into the Red Sea until there was not one left in the land of Egypt.
But alas I Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not let the Israelites go.
Ninth Plague—Darkness.
Without any warning, under the direction of God, "Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days; but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings." (Ex. 10:22, 23.)
According to the testimony of travelers, Egypt is not unaccustomed to storms of wind, sand, and comparative darkness. This, at least, would be one of intensity—a darkness which might be felt.
Hartmann has collected what is said by ancient authors. "The inhabitants of the cities and villages shut themselves up in the lowest apartments of their houses and cellars; but the inhabitants of the desert go into their tents, or into the holes which they have dug in the ground. There they await, full of anxiety, the termination of this kind of tempest, which generally lasts three days. The roads during this time are entirely vacant, and deep stillness, as of the night, reigns everywhere.”
Du Bois Amye says, "When the chamsin blows, the sun is pale yellow, its light is obscured, and the darkness is sometimes so great, that one seems to be in the blackest night, as we experienced in the middle of the day at Cene, a city of Said.”
Denon writes, “On the eighteenth of May, in the evening, I felt as if I should perish from the suffocating heat. All motion of the air seemed to have ceased. As I went to the Nile to bathe, for the relief of my painful sensations, I was astonished by a new sight. Such light and such colors I had never seen. The sun, without being veiled with clouds, had been shorn of its beams. It gave only a white and shadow less light, more feeble than the moon. The water reflected not its rays, and appeared disturbed. Everything assumed another appearance; the air was darker, a yellow horizon caused the trees to appear of a pale blue. Flocks of birds fluttered about before the clouds. The frightened animals ran about in the fields, and the inhabitants, who followed them with their cries, could not collect them. The wind, which had raised immense clouds of dust, and rolled them along before itself, had not yet reached us. We thought that if we went into the water, which at this moment was quiet, we should avoid this mass of dust which was driven towards us from the south-west; but we were scarcely in the river, when it began suddenly to swell as if it would overflow its banks. The waves broke over us, and the ground heaved under our feet. Our garments fled away when seized by the whirlwind which had now reached us. We were compelled to go to land. Wet and beaten by the wind, we were soon surrounded by a ridge of sand. A reddish dusky appearance filled the region; with wounded eyes, and nose so filled that we could hardly breathe, we strayed from one another, lost our way, and found our dwellings with great difficulty, feeling along by the walls. Then we sensibly felt how terrible the condition must be when one is overtaken by such a wind in the desert. On the following morning the same cloud of dust was driven, in like circumstances, along the Libyan desert. It followed the mountain range, and when we believed ourselves free from it, the west wind turned it back. Lightnings shot feebly through these dark clouds, all the elements appeared to be in commotion: the rain mingled with the lightning gleams, with wind and dust; everything seemed to be returning to chaos and old night.”
Other writers speak of the darkness as so appalling, that men not accustomed to it thought the last day had arrived.
These, of course, were from natural causes, and were more severe at one time than another; whereas the plague was by direct visitation of God. It must have been made all the more appalling by the fact that the same God, who was thus punishing the Egyptians, was giving light to His own people close by. A guilty conscience, too, dreads the darkness, not simply because of the darkness, but for the fear of what may happen during its continuance. What had now become of their god RA, the sun? Jehovah had completely hidden him from their sight.
Pharaoh calls for Moses and bids the Israelites to depart with their wives and little ones; but they must leave their flocks and herds behind.
Moses could not concede anything. All must go: as it is said, not a hoof must be left behind.
Pharaoh will not consent; and drives Moses from his presence, saying, "Take heed to thyself, see my face no more: for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die.”
Moses was content. "Thou hast spoken well," said he, "I will see thy face again no more." (Ex. 10:29.) On comparing this with chapter 11:4-8, it would appear that Moses mentioned to Pharaoh, either at this interview or subsequently, the pending death of the firstborn; in verse 8 we read that Moses went out from Pharaoh in a great anger.”
The Tenth Plague—Death of the Firstborn.
This was to be the last plague. Pharaoh should be so influenced by this, that he would be as anxious for the Israelites to be gone, as he had been obstinate before.
But preparation had to be made. A lamb, a male of the first year had to be slain by each family of the Israelites; and its blood was to be sprinkled upon the two side posts and the upper door post of the house. They were to make themselves ready, with their shoes on their feet, and staff in hand, ready to depart at dawn of day. Thus prepared they were to keep indoors, and feed upon the slain lamb with bitter herbs. It was JEHOVAH'S PASSOVER. For in that night He would pass over Israel and slay all the firstborn of the Egyptians. But he added those memorable words which were the stay of the Israelites, and have been the peace-giving portion to thousands since—"When I see the blood, I will pass over you.”
And it was so. "At midnight Jehovah smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne, unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead." (Ex. 12:29, 30.)
Moses and Aaron were now called, and told to depart, with flocks and herds. And the Egyptians were urgent upon them to make haste, exclaiming, "We be all dead men.”
The Israelites "took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading-troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.”
They also "borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment.... And they spoiled the Egyptians.”
Thus ended the sojourn and captivity of the Israelites in Egypt. They were now an army of more than half a million of men, over twenty years of age, able to go to war; making a population with women and children of perhaps two millions. God blessed them and made them to increase abundantly, for He claimed them as His own people.
It was indeed a redemption— a night ever to be remembered by them and their children to all generations because of the great deliverance their God had wrought for them, typical indeed of a yet greater deliverance God has wrought for millions, and is ready to accomplish for all who are yet slaves of Satan, because of the work of Christ Jesus on Calvary's cross.
It has been thought by some that all the ten plagues were directed against one or other of the Egyptian gods, but this, we think, is not borne out. All the plagues evinced how entirely powerless their gods were to shield them from the hand of Jehovah, and some of them, as we have seen, had direct reference to their gods, for we read in reference to these plagues "upon their gods also the Lord executed judgments." (Num. 33:4; see also Ex. 12:12.) Wilkinson enumerates more than thirty animals, fishes, and living creatures held sacred by the Egyptians; upon many of these the plagues, or their effects, fell.
The expression "the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart" has been a difficulty with many. But we must remember that even forbearance in punishing may have this tendency in the rebellious heart of man; as we read, "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men, is fully set in them to do evil." (Eccl. 8:11.) And even in the plagues we find tokens of God's mercy: thus, when the water was turned into blood, the Egyptians were able to get water by digging; and in the plague of hail the people were exhorted to gather their cattle out of the field. But where men harden themselves against God as Pharaoh did, He leaves them to work out their own destruction; as it will yet be in the fearful career of Antichrist, who will effectually lead astray with his lie those who will not receive the truth of God. (1 Thess. 2)
There are still a few things calling for remark. We read in chapter 11:5, "the maidservant that is behind the mill," and in chapter 12:29, "the captive that was in the dungeon." These two expressions describe the labor to which the captives were consigned; and it fell, to the lot of the women to use the mill to grind the corn for daily use. We get an allusion to this in the prophecy against Babylon: "Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground.... take the millstones and grind meal." (Isa. 47:1, 2.)
“The hand-mills of the Egyptians," says Kalisch, were most probably quite similar to those at present in use among their descendants, and among the wandering Arabs. They were found in every house, and formed so indispensable a household utensil, that the Hebrew lawgiver expressly interdicted to take them as a pledge for debts. (Deut. 24:6.) The Bedouins carry them in all their wanderings with them. It seems to have been a universal custom in antiquity that only women worked them: for not only was this the case among the Egyptians and Arabs, but also among the Greeks; and the women were, during this process, usually seated on the bare ground. Now those hand-mills are simply two circular flat stones generally about eighteen inches in diameter, the lower one fixed, the upper turning loosely upon a wooden pivot, or shaft, rising from the center of that beneath it, and moved quickly round by a wooden handle. The grain is poured through the hole of the pivot, and the flour is collected in a cloth spread under the mill. The ancient Egyptians had also larger mills, usually of granite, constructed on a similar principle, and probably turned by oxen or asses.”
The Israelites obtained from the Egyptians jewels of silver and gold. Some translate the word articles' for ' jewels:' but the passage in Ex. 3:22 goes on to say that the things thus obtained should be put upon their sons and daughters, which seems to restrict the meaning to ornaments of some kind. In one passage the men were to ask for these as well as the women.
Wilkinson enumerates the following: Earrings, often single hoops of gold from an inch and a half to over two inches in diameter; others, rings soldered together, some were set with precious stones. At one end of the rings was a small opening in which the other end was caught after passing through the ear.
Finger rings. These were worn plentifully, two or more fingers on the hand having rings, and sometimes two on the same finger. Occasionally there was a ring on the thumb. Some of the rings were plain, but others were made with a scarabæus, or sacred beetle, or had an engraved stone, bearing many devices or hieroglyphics. In some the stone was on a pivot, so as to turn round as a signet.
Necklaces were worn as the chief ornament both by men and women. These were of all shapes and devices. “Scarabæi gold and cornelian bottles, or the emblems of goodness and stability, lotus flowers in enamel, amethysts, pearls, false stones, imitations of fish, frogs, lions, and various quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, flies, and other insects, shells and leaves, with numerous figures and devices, were strung in all the variety which their taste could suggest; and the sole museum of Leyden possesses an infinite assortment of those objects, which were once the pride of the ladies of Thebes.
“A set of small cups or covered saucers, of bronze gilt, hanging from a chain of the same materials, were sometimes worn by women, a necklace of which has been found, belonging to a Theban lady—offering a striking contrast in their simplicity to the gold leaves inlaid with lapis lazuli, red and green stones of another she wore; which served, with many more in her possession to excite the admiration of her friends.”
There were also large gold anklets, armlets, and bracelets, inlaid with stones or enamel, worn by both men and women. One in the British Museum is engraved both inside and out. These ornaments were mostly made of gold, but sometimes of silver. Bronze also was used for signets. Ivory and blue porcelain sufficed for the poor.
It will be noticed that in the three passages that speak of the Israelites spoiling the Egyptians of their ornaments, silver is placed before gold; whereas the ornaments were mostly of gold. This may perhaps be accounted for by the Israelites having greater facilities of asking for these things from the middle classes rather than the rich.
Ex. 3:22 shews that, though in the main the Egyptians and the Israelites did not dwell together-so much so indeed that there could be thunder, lightning, and hail in the one part, but not in the other-yet they were not only to borrow jewels from their neighbors, but of those that sojourned in the same house; sheaving that in some cases there was social intercourse between them, or the Israelites were household servants to the Egyptians. Yet, as the Israelites were treated little better than slaves, we may well suppose that they had more to do with the poor and middle classes than with the rich, except on their being hurried away by all. And thus all were to be spoiled. Besides the ornaments of silver and gold, garments were also to be requested.
Much has been made of the Israelites "borrowing" from the Egyptians when they had no intention of returning the things thus obtained; but it has long since been shown that the meaning may be they "asked" for the jewels, &c., the word being thus translated in many places. The Israelites were justly entitled to "spoil" the Egyptians in the way they did, having been made slaves by them, after having been received as honored visitors (being all relatives of the prime minister), and kept in slavery for so many years.
There went up out of Egypt with the Israelites "a mixed multitude," or, as it reads in the margin "a great mixture." (Chapter 12:38.) We have no means of telling who these were. As the dynasties of Egypt were often changing there may have been some who were associated with a bygone dynasty, and who were now glad of the opportunity to escape from persecution. Or they may have been mostly captives who, in the confusion that would naturally take place when the series of plagues culminated in the death of the firstborn, made their escape from their respective masters.
As we know from Num. 11:4, these became a snare to the Israelites, leading them to lust after what they had left behind in Egypt. A solemn warning this to the people of God not to allow "strangers" to accompany them in their path of faith.
“They baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.”
In the monuments, where they are kneading the flour, there are shown large baskets, which apparently were used for letting the dough ferment. This would take some hours, perhaps all night, which may be alluded to in Hos. 7:6. “They have made ready their heart like an oven, while they lie in wait: their baker sleepeth all the night; in the morning it burneth as a flaming fire.”
But when in haste the leaven and the fermentation were omitted, and unleavened bread, in the shape of fiat cakes, was made and baked at once. “The tribes, who are always moving from place to place, bake their bread on a slightly convex iron plate, called a sadj, moderately heated over a low fire of brushwood or camels' dung. The lumps of dough are rolled, on a wooden platter, into thin cakes, a foot or more in diameter, and laid by means of the roller upon the iron. They are baked in a very short time." Layard describes also a preparation of unleavened bread by the Bedouins whilst riding on horseback, in times of haste or danger.
The food of the poor among the Egyptians is very simple, and bread forms a principal part of it. A traveler thus describes the food of his boatmen as he sailed down the Nile: “A large stock of bread, made of wheat ground with the bran, cut into thin slices as soon as baked and dried on the quarter-deck, was the stock to last from three weeks to a month. It was the business of the boy, morning and evening, to take a sufficient quantity of this dry bread, and crumble it into a huge woo den bowl; upon this boiling water was poured, and a handful of red lentils scattered, and the whole stirred up with a large wooden spoon. Then they all sat round in a ring, holding an onion or a lettuce in the left hand, while with the right they dipped their fingers in the bowl, and so alternately took a mouthful of porridge, and then a bite at the salad, till in less time than I have taken to describe it, the bowl was emptied and the meal at an end. This is believed to be precisely the same food as that for which Esau sold his birthright thirty-six centuries ago; the same which Herodotus described as the provisions of the pyramid makers; and it is the invariable meal of the Egyptian fellaheen, varied only with beans and lupins, to the present day."
It will be remembered that the Israelites when in the wilderness sighed for the "cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic" (Num. 11:5) which they had eaten in Egypt. On the monuments we constantly find vegetables presented to the gods, especially leeks and onions, which were tied up in fanciful shapes.
In the annals of Rameses III., among the gifts of this king to his gods are, "onions, 180 ropes, 50 loads, 50 sacks, with two other measures unknown-one is 77, and the other 2." Enough surely of this savory esculent!
The Exodus.
The children of Israel started from Rameses, and made towards Succoth. From thence, they went to Etham, on the edge of the desert, and thence they turned and encamped before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea over against Baal-zephon. This was the near shore of the Red Sea. (Ex. 12:37; 13:20; 14:2.)
We have already seen Rameses to have been on the east of the Delta; and that there was most probably a district as well as a town of that name. Two millions of people Must have covered a large space, and they may have been told to congregate about the city of Rameses, and from thence started to Succoth; or from whatever part of the district of Rameses they resided, they all made to Succoth as a center.
The places named above have not been ascertained with certainty, but the route generally is clear. The Israelites would travel in a south-easterly direction to the Red Sea. North-east was the usual route; but that would have brought them to the land of the Philistines; and this we are expressly told was avoided, that the people should not see war and be dismayed. (Ex. 13:17.)
“And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him: and he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.... The Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon.”
When Israel saw their pursuers, they were sore afraid, and upbraided Moses for bringing them into the wilderness to perish. But Moses bid them not to fear: God was going to work a marvelous deliverance for them. The angel of God removed to the rear of the Israelites, and formed a cloud of darkness before the Egyptians, so that they could not come upon the Israelites that night.
And God caused a strong east wind to blow all that night, and He divided the Red Sea, so that it stood as a wall on each side, with a dry path in the middle. And the Israelites passed over.
And the Egyptians followed on into the midst of the sea. But there God troubled them; He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove heavily. The Egyptians were now alarmed, and said, "Let us flee from the face of Israel; for Jehovah fighteth for them against the Egyptians.”
But it was too late. Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the watery walls gave way, and returning in their strength, they "covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them." The Israelites saw their dead bodies on the sea-shore.
Thus was Israel saved by the mighty hand of Jehovah, and Pharaoh and his host were destroyed. Out of Egypt God had called His son (Hos. 11:1); typical of a later day when God brought His Son, the Lord Jesus, from the same land. (Matt. 2:15.)
We may here consider the army of Egypt with which Pharaoh pursued Israel.
CHARIOTS. Scripture and the monuments alike bear full testimony to the common use of the chariot in Egypt for warfare. It was used for other purposes; as we find by Joseph going round the country in his chariot, but its chief use was for war.
The chariot was a small ornamental carriage of three sides and a bottom, fixed on to a low pair of wheels, with a single shaft for a pair of horses.
HORSEMEN. Some of these would be charioteers. When the chariots were small, and only held one rider, the reins were fastened round his waist, which left his hands free for the use of his weapons. A motion of his body right or left, was perhaps sufficient to guide his well-disciplined horses. The Egyptians prided themselves in the skilful management of their chariots. A quiver for his arrows was at times fastened to the chariot, so that he could easily reach them.
In chariots where there were two or three riders, one is represented as driving, and the others as using weapons, or holding shields.
The statistical tablet of Thothmes III. (18th dynasty) mentions “chariots ornamented with gold, silver, and colors.”
HORSES. Egypt was renowned for its horses; and Israel was cautioned against resorting to Egypt for its horses, or trusting to their strength. The horses were ornamented with trappings according to the rank of the owner. They were fastened to the chariots in a simple way. To the pole of the chariot were affixed two saddles, which rested on the backs of the horses, but more forward than with us. From these saddles were carried one or more bands round the front of the horse, and another under his belly. A bridle with reins completed his harness. There were no blinkers; a trace inside was fastened to the saddle, but there was no outside trace.
Six hundred chosen chariots, besides others, which Pharaoh was able to get together hastily, is not considered a large number, notwithstanding the plagues having greatly diminished their cattle, when compared with the numbers given of those belonging to some of the kings. Thus Sesostris is described as having six hundred thousand foot soldiers, twenty-four thousand riders, and twenty-seven thousand war-chariots.
It has been thought that the ancient Egyptians had no cavalry. We certainly read not only of "horsemen," but "the horse and his rider;" and also of horses and chariots, as if they were distinct. Still it has been thought that there were no cavalry. It will be seen that in chapter 14:9 the word and is supplied: it is not, therefore "horses and chariots," but "chariot horses;" and, as with us, the word "rider" may be either one who rides on the horse, or is drawn by the horse. It is equally applied in scripture to those who ride on an animal, or in a chariot. But in 2 Chron. 12:2, 3 we read of Shishak coming with twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen. These numbers are altogether out of proportion for the horsemen to be on the chariots; we see no other explanation than that here the horsemen were riders on horses, but this was some five hundred years after the Exodus.
There is no trace on the monuments of cavalry, or indeed of anyone on horseback, except in one or two instances, as on the blade of an axe, but this really decides nothing. The inscriptions, however, if rightly interpreted, set the question at rest. Thus as to the time of the 18th (19th) dynasty, in the third Sallier Papyrus, Rameses II. says "Be firm, be firm in heart, my foot, my horse; behold my victory." "Then the king called to his archers and cavalry." Chariots are also named. The great Harris Papyrus also mentions "infantry and cavalry.”
THE FOOT SOLDIERS. These were equipped with shields and various weapons, according to their corps. They are represented as standing or marching in close order, or otherwise. There were also officers with rods, perhaps the "captains" scripture speaks of, and also standards of various shapes. Trumpets and drums were also used on going to war.
The monuments also show that they had allies, which are invariably distinguished from the Egyptians by their head dress, their clothes, their shields, or their weapons. This agrees with scripture, which mentions the Libyans and the Lydians. (Jer. 46:9.)
THE WEAPONS. 1. Spears. These were of wood, tipped with bronze or metal points. 2. Javelins. These were similar, but shorter, and had a nob at the end of the handle, to prevent them running from the hand. 3. Swords. These were of various shapes. Some were fiat, broad, and curved; others were daggers. 4. Axes. These were of various shapes; having bronze blades attached to wooden handles. 5. Slings, made of leather with a hole in the center to hold the stone. 6. Bows and arrows. These were of the usual description. Catgut was used for the bows, and the arrows were reeds or light wood tipped with metal at one end, and a few feathers at the other. 7. The mace or club.
For Armor and protection the Egyptians had shields made of leather, and breastplates of quilted linen: but much later, the skin of the crocodile was used to protect the body.
In conclusion, we believe important lessons may be learnt from the hindrances and propositions of Pharaoh. He knew not and cared not for Jehovah. To propose a feast of three days to the God of Israel was simply idle talk: the Israelites must have harder tasks to crush out any such notions. Pharaoh, however, was soon to learn that Jehovah was not to be put off, and as plague followed plague, the king allowed them to sacrifice to Jehovah, but it must be in the land. To this Moses could not agree. They must take a three days' journey, which would bring them to the other side of the Red Sea: that is typically through death on to resurrection-ground.
Plague following plague, Pharaoh concedes a little more. The Israelites may go, but the men only. This however would not do: God's redemption will not allow man to remain partially in Egypt: he must be wholly delivered. Plague again succeeds plague, and again Pharaoh concedes a little more; they may all go, but they must leave their flocks and their herds behind.
But no, that would not do; there must be no such ties left in Egypt; not a hoof must be left behind.
It is strange, but true, that in Christendom men have tried to carry out all the suggestions of Pharaoh. Some remain in the world, and yet do homage to Jehovah; others come partially out, leaving more or less of themselves and their ties behind; but this is not compatible with God's salvation. His redemption is thorough and complete, even as He puts into the mouths of Christians to say, He hath delivered us from this present evil world, so forcibly portrayed by Egypt. Would that all His people saw it, owned it, and felt its power! It would surely be to the glory of God and to their own blessing.
Thus, notwithstanding all the power and greatness of Egypt, and its mighty army arrayed against a feeble folk, who were without arms, carrying with them their women and children, and encumbered with much cattle—the Israelites came out victorious, because Jehovah fought for them; and their enemies, of whom they had been afraid, they saw dead upon the sea-shore. This is the way in which God delivers His people; and in the person of the Lord Jesus He has overcome Satan, and is ready to bring any as clear out of the kingdom and power of darkness, as the Israelites were that day delivered from Egypt, and transfer them into the kingdom of His dear Son, to their present blessing and their eternal salvation.
Chapter 3
THE WISDOM OF EGYPT.
“Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians.”
Acts 7:22.
IN what did this wisdom consist? This we may perhaps gather in some measure from the historians and the monuments. It was wisdom in natural things, to be seen when contrasted with the heathen world; but not that wisdom that cometh from above, the beginning of which is the fear of the Lord.
The question as to the wisdom of Egypt is more important than appears at first sight; for there are good men who have not hesitated to trace nearly all the laws and ceremonies of the Jewish ritual to what Moses learnt in Egypt!
Let one specimen suffice: Hengstenberg says, "The Egyptian reference in the Urim and Thummim is especially distinct and incontrovertible." He translates Urim and Thummim to signify 'light and truth,' and says, "the high priest among the Egyptians, as superior judge, wore around his neck an image of sapphire, which was called truth." Wilkinson, after speaking of this badge worn by the Egyptians, says, "A similar emblem was used by the high priests of the Jews; and it is a remarkable fact, that the word Thummim is not only translated truth, but, being a plural or dual word, corresponds to the Egyptian notion of the ' two truths,' or the double capacity of this goddess.”
Thus the most sacred things in the Jewish ritual—even to the Urim and Thummim—are said to be found in the idolatrous rites of the Egyptians; and that which was used to set forth their abominations is thought worthy to be copied in the worship of the true God!
It cannot be denied that the Egyptians had badges of priestly office, and emblematical adornments. Thus in the great Harris Papyrus, the king says to his god, "I made thee a pectoral plate for thy breast of the best gold, of Katmer [and] silver made with a setting of meh and of real lapis lazuli, to be united to thy limbs on the great throne of the horizon." The same king says, "I made for thee vases of the tables of libation of thy great place with censers, jars, stands having lavers, and water bottles [and] great lamps for offerings, with divine food: they were of gold and silver," &c. But to say that these things were copied in any way by Moses would be to shut out God. The statements of scripture are quite clear that the whole Jewish ritual came direct from God, and not even from Moses, except as the mouth-piece and instrument of God.
The Ten Commandments are introduced with the words, "And God spake all these words, saying." Again, "And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there; and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them." (Ex. 12.)
Again, "Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them, according to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof; even so shall ye make it." (Ex. 8, 9.) "Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern sheaved to thee in the mount." (Heb. 8:5.)
Thus-even to the shovel and tongs used in the tabernacle-all was of God and not of what Moses had learnt in Egypt; and all were shadows of heavenly things, and not the things of Egypt. It is marvelous that anyone calling himself a Christian can hold anything so monstrous as Moses copying from Egypt. Their sins may have been copied from Egypt, but surely not their holy things.
Yet Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians; and again the question returns in what did that wisdom consist?
We think it would however be going too far to say that the wisdom of Egypt did not come from God. Let anyone look at the low and degraded state of the inhabitants of Central Africa even to this day, and contrast with it not what Egypt is now, but what it was thousands of years ago when its magnificent temples, tombs, and pyramids were built—and can any say that it was not God who made the difference? If Egypt had learned its arts and sciences from its intercourse with God's favored people Israel, we might have come to another conclusion; but there was a people civilized and enlightened before even the call of Abraham.
We doubt not that God made man a civilized and intelligent being, far removed from what we now understand by a savage. This is fully borne out by scripture. Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden "to dress it and to keep it," and husbandry is one of the signs of civilization in distinction from feeding on what simply grows of itself. Again all the animals and birds were brought to Adam for him to give them names: this marks intelligence. Indeed, when we read that "God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him," there cannot be a shadow of doubt on the subject.
Of the first two sons of Adam, one was "a keeper of sheep," and the other "a tiller of the ground," two indisputable marks of civilization.
Now it may be, and probably was, that Adam and Cain had no other implements than what were made out of flint—and thus commenced "the stone age"—for it is not until Tubal—Cain that we read of "brass and iron" or rather copper, or bronze, and iron. We are aware that many will think that this is much too early for the bronze and iron ages to have commenced. But on comparing the pedigree of Tubal-Cain, through Cain with the descendants of Seth, also a son of Adam, it will be seen that Tubal-Cain was the seventh from Adam, and corresponded with Methuselah, also the seventh from Adam. Now Methuselah was not born till 687 years after Adam, and lived till 1656 years after the creation—the year of the flood. So that this gives 1000 years for the Stone Age, 500 for the Bronze Age, and 156 for the Iron Age before the flood, or the 1656 years may have been divided in any other proportions.
Scripture is quite clear on the point that iron was in use before the flood, and this metal would thus doubtless be known to Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their descendants, the builders of Babel. On the dispersion of man, this knowledge would be carried into the various countries then about to be inhabited, and at first sight it may seem strange that persons used to iron instruments should go back to stone. But where the people became isolated and the few metal instruments they may have taken with them were worn out or broken—unless metals could be found where they were, and a knowledge retained of how they could be turned to good account, there was nothing left for them but to resort to the stones, and their children or their grandchildren would see and know nothing beyond.
One thing is certain that many of the descendants of the builders of Babel did fall from civilization and intelligence to a savage state, as was witnessed to in many countries but a few years since, and may be in some places to this hour. Thus, in Tierra del Fuego, the inhabitants (considered by some to be the lowest in the scale of civilization) had quite recently stone weapons and knives, ate much of their food raw, were cannibals, and exceedingly filthy in their habits. Where such are isolated, they remain savages: civilization, after being lost, in the main comes from without.
There is no difficulty therefore in seeing that the. stone age may have continued hundreds of years after the flood in countries uninhabited before the dispersion, followed by a long bronze age; and then an iron age: while, on the other hand, Egypt may have retained its use of metals all through, or used stone only till metal could be procured—and have been preserved from falling into that moral degradation into which many nations undoubtedly fell.
Another remarkable thing is, that there does not appear to have been in Egypt a slow and gradual progress in the arts, as in other nations; for the most ancient sculptures and masonry are as perfect as those of later date: indeed it may truly be said that they declined rather than that they improved.
Egypt was thus preserved in a high state of civilization, and with a knowledge of the arts and sciences—fitting it to be an apt emblem of the WORLD—but a world, alas! that only turned its back upon its Creator, and fell into idolatry.
We must distinguish therefore between the arts and sciences in themselves, and the use men made of them. This may be illustrated by Cain and his descendants. Cain "went out from the presence of the Lord," and he and his sons attempted to make themselves comfortable and happy without God. Of them two things may be named. Jubal was "the father of all such as handle the harp and organ;" and Tubal—Cain was "an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron.”
Now these very metals were skillfully worked for the temple of God (1 Kings 7:14; 2 Chron. 2:7), and by these very musical instruments God was worshipped of old (Psa. 149:3; 150:4), clearly skewing that there was nothing evil in the things themselves, but in the use that was made of them.
We also see in the construction of the tabernacle that God gave wisdom in natural things, " to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in the cutting of stones to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.... to work all manner of work of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer," &c. (Ex. 35:32-35.) The question was to what use did man turn these gifts?
We can only just name the arts and sciences for which the Egyptians were noted: together with a few marks of civilization in general.
SCULPTURE. The Egyptian figures are often thought to be stiff and devoid of grace, but we must make allowance for conventionalism, and the great size of many of the statues. The figures are made very much alike, except it be in the face, where a likeness was most probably attempted. A number of parallel lines were drawn, which were apportioned out to different parts of the body; the same number being given to the legs, body, head, &c., of each statue. But the series was different at different times. This would naturally produce a marked uniformity, which we, according to our notions, would think better avoided. Diodorus says this was so systematically carried out that when different persons were engaged on the same statue the parts would exactly correspond when brought together.
Another thing to be noticed is that the Egyptian statues mostly agreed with the thought of rest. It is said that in the earliest monuments there are no representations of soldiers or war: it is all peaceful occupation and the gods and kings in perfect repose. If the figure is standing, the arms are close to the sides, the hands either clenched or extended, the right hand sometimes being raised to the breast. If the figure is seated, the hands rest upon the knees. Sometimes groups were formed, as two persons on the same seat, with the arms round the waist, or holding each other's hands, or a king is seated and his wife and children stand by the side. But repose marks the whole. In the paintings, however, of a later date, scenes of conquest and slaying of enemies are often depicted.
It has been said that the Egyptians did not understand anatomy, as evidenced by the statues. Perhaps not, the limbs are generally smooth, yet there is a detached arm of large size in the British Museum which has the external anatomy of the muscles strongly and, as is judged, pretty correctly marked. Its size, and, when we consider the hardness of the material, its beautiful polish, mark it as a wonderful piece of work for those early days.
In general the form in the statues "is slender," says Mr. Birch, "the features calm, and not betraying emotion. The inner markings of the figure are not given, and indications of muscular movement never fully developed. The sculptures were well adapted for architectural effect from their grand, simple, and vertical lines, great regularity, squareness, and repose, occasionally exhibiting great delicacy. Portraiture was early known, and a conventional character of features assigned to different divinities, assimilated to that of the reigning monarch. The features at the earlier period are more Asiatic, but skew at a later period the admixture of Nigritic blood. In portraiture and execution the early statues from the fourth to the sixth dynasty are unrivalled." After the nineteenth dynasty the figures were elongated and finished with less care, and the art became less pure.
It is said by Pausanias, that at one time there was a great resemblance between the Grecian statues and the Egyptian, "but the Greeks at last emancipated themselves from the fetters of a traditional type and an unvarying conventional sameness; and by studying and imitating the human form, they gradually transferred its beauties to the statues of the deities, which, instead of being fashioned upon the rules of ancient art, gradually became the ideal personifications of beauty.”
The Egyptians had three descriptions of sculpture. 1. The complete figure detached, or nearly so, from the rock. 2. Where the figure was drawn on the stone, and the stone cut away all round, which left the figure raised. This is called bas-relief. 3. When the figure was cut in the stone, leaving the surrounding stone raised. The figure was cut deeper at the margins, leaving the center raised nearly, or quite, to the original surface. The Italians call this intaglio rilevato.
There are many specimens to be seen in the British and other museums, which will give truer ideas of the art than can be conveyed in a written description. There are also the figures formed on the many specimens of pottery. PAINTING. The painting of the Egyptians was often combined with the art of the sculptor on the walls of the tombs. The figures after being cut were colored. There were others painted, without being cut. Mummy cases were also painted and varnished. Sometimes the stone coffers also were painted.
In one tomb examined by Belzoni, all the chambers were in bas-relief and painted, except one, which was left unfinished, and thus he was enabled to see how they proceeded in their work. "The first process was to make the wall quite smooth, filling up the interstices, if any, with plaster. The outline of the figures was then drawn by some apprentice or inferior hand, in red lines, and corrected by the principal workman in black. Then the sculptor chiseled out the form, cutting away the stone all round the outline, which would leave the figure standing out above the rest of the stone to the height of half an inch, or less if the figure was a small one. The angles of the bas-relief were afterwards rounded, so as to diminish the prominence of the object. The dress and the limbs were marked by narrow lines, not more than the thickness of a half-crown in depth, but exact enough to produce the desired effect. The next process was to lay on a coat of lime-whitewash, which in these tombs is so beautiful and clear as to surpass the finest white paper. The painter then completed his work. When the figures were finished, a coat of varnish was laid on, or perhaps in some cases it was incorporated with the color.”
The colors used were blue, red, green, yellow, white, and black. They never compounded the colors, unless it was for a brown, nor softened them down, though they may have had darker and lighter blues, &c. So that their paintings must have looked gorgeous rather than chaste. Many of their paintings retain more or less of their colors to this day, as may be seen in the museums; but in our climate some of them are gradually fading away, notwithstanding the greatest care taken of them.
One use they made of colors was to distinguish foreigners from natives, by painting their faces and uncovered parts a different color: this, with different hair and beard, often pointed out the foreigner; though the sculptor also varied the contour of the face considerably; in negroes this is very marked.
What distinguishes the paintings of Egypt more strongly than anything else is the entire absence of perspective. Here is a house of three stories situate in a garden, with trees and a vinery, several pools of water, and two small summer houses. An entrance gate, and a row of trees between the outside of the garden and the canal or river. It will be seen that it is not simply a ground-plan; but is a picture devoid of perspective.
It may be remarked as to the portraits of the kings that if one is represented several times, all are alike: and if he had a long reign, and different events of his life are recorded, the same face is preserved at the last as at the first, no attention being paid to his features altering by age.
The representation of males is often distinguished from that of females by the addition of a square conventional beard. The Egyptians did not let their beards grow, so that if they wore any beards at any time, they must have been artificial; and indeed some of the monuments represent strips passing up each side of the face, by which the beard was kept in its place. But this may have been to show that it was a conventional beard, and not a real one.
ARCHITECTURE. We suppose this must be said to be Egyptian in style, as being like no other. Mr. Birch says the building of the pyramids shows profound knowledge of geometry combined with fine masonry.”
Mr. Gliddon says "the style of architecture was grand and chaste! while the columns now termed Doric, and attributed to the Greeks, were in common use in this reign [Osortasen, sixteenth dynasty], which precedes the Dorians by a thousand years. The arch, both round and pointed, with its perfect key-stone, in brick and in stone, was well known to the Egyptians long before this period.... In architecture, as in everything else, the Greeks and the Romans obtained their knowledge from their original sources in Egypt, where still existing ruins attest priority of invention a thousand years before Greece, and fifteen hundred years before Rome.”
The arch has been found made of brick and of stone.
When bricks began to be used, the want of timber for bressimers, led to the use of the arch. Roofs could be made of huge blocks of stone, but not of bricks. Sir J. G. Wilkinson judges that the brick arch was in common use in the age of Amunoph I. (eighteenth dynasty); but the earliest brick arch known is of the time of Psammitichus (twenty-sixth dynasty).
The columns show a variety of design, but except those which were quite plain, are mostly represented by stalks of the papyrus, bound together with capitals formed of the buds of the same plant. In later times the capitals were formed of the face of Isis on four sides, with representations of temple entrances above the face, as may be seen in an illustration we give from the great temple at Karnak in chapter vii.; but this is not considered to be pure Egyptian art. The grandeur of its architecture is seen in the immensity of the temples. See our frontispiece, where there are other forms of columns.
ASTRONOMY. We have but slight indications as to how far the Egyptians attained proficiency in this science. One of the first things astronomy regulates is the length of the year, and there are proofs that the Egyptians at an early date had their attention called to the true length of the year.
As their agriculture depended upon the inundation of the Nile, the rising of the river would naturally be an important event of the year. Nilometers were erected, it is believed, as early as the twelfth dynasty, by which the rise of the water could be accurately measured. And if its rise did not take place in the same time of the year, its deviation would be sure to be observed.
The "month" was represented by a crescent of the moon, which seems to prove that they first reckoned by lunar months. Afterwards they reckoned by solar months, and had twelve months of thirty days each; but as this made only three hundred and sixty days, it would soon be discovered that this year did not correspond with the seasons, so five days were added to the last month to make the year three hundred and sixty-five days.
The year was divided into three portions. 1, The “season of plants," which embraced the first four months. 2, "Manifestation," as is supposed—the next four months. 3," Tanks of water"—the inundation—the last four.
In each series, the hieroglyphics were the same for each except being marked 1, 2, 3, 4; thus, first month of plants, second month of plants, &c.
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Egyptian
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Coptic
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Anciently commenced.
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1. Thoth
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Toot
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July 20.
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2. Paophi
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Babet
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August 19.
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3. Athyr
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Hatoor
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September 18.
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4. Choiak
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Keeak
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October 18.
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5. Tybi
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Toobet
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November 17.
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6. Mechir
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Imsheer
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December 17.
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7. Phamenoth
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Barampat
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January 16.
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8. Pharmuthi
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Baramoodet
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February 15.
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9. Pathons
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Beshens
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March 17.
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10. Payni
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Bayonet
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April 16.
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11. Epiphi
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Ebib
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May 16.
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12. Mesore
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Mesoree
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June 15.
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In B.C. 25, an Alexandrian year was commenced, placing the first of Thoth on August 29, and each month began forty days later than previously.
But three hundred and sixty-five days would still disarrange the year. In a hundred and twenty years the seasons would be a full month out. They therefore added a day every fourth year—similar to the day added in our leap year. The length of each year was reckoned from "the heliacal rising of the dog-star." It was therefore called "the Sothic year." It was found that one thousand four hundred and sixty of the Sothic years corresponded with one thousand four hundred and sixty-one vague years.
There appears to have been an oath administered to the kings, “that they would not intercalate any month or day, but that the sacred year of three hundred and sixty-five days should remain as instituted in ancient times. "From this it would appear that they kept two reckonings—indeed they seem to have had three different years: one for the reign of the kings, of three hundred and sixty days, the sacred year of three hundred and sixty-five days, and of another by so many days being added, according to the number of" fours" since the rising of the dog-star fell on the first of Thoth. It has been computed that this event took place in B. C. 1322, though it may have been known before. It is thought evident that the five days were added as early as the twelfth dynasty.
An early writer says that the year of three hundred and sixty-five days was retained in order to insure the festivals of the gods passing in the course of time, through the entire year.
NAVIGATION. But little is known as to the progress the Egyptians made in this science. We read of the fleets of Sesostris, Amosis, and the Rameses, and they no doubt navigated the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. It is also recorded that some Phoenician sailors, sent by Pharaoh Necho, sailed round Africa.
Their boats were of various shapes and sizes, according to the purposes for which they were built. Some were war ships, and as long as four hundred and twenty feet, and some were built for merchandise. Many, of course, merely traversed the Nile. Their boats were built of cedar, acacia, and papyrus; they were constructed with ribs and small keels. They carried but one mast, and the sails were made of linen. Others were row boats only. The common boat of the Nile, used for merchandise or cattle, is thus represented on the monuments. Some long pegs and a mallet enabled the boatmen to "bring to" at any part of the banks of the river.
WORKING OF METALS. There is reason to believe that at a very early period, copper, iron, lead, and gold were used in Egypt. In some of the lists there is apparently an electrum alluded to as "gold white" (NUB HUT), in contradistinction from "white gold," which is silver.
IRON instruments are not found, but it would be difficult to see how the many statues in the hardest stone could have been formed with the softer metals. An ancient writer speaks of the working of gold mines in Egypt, and says that the rocks were cleft by heating them with burning wood, to which the workmen applied their iron instruments. This he writes in the first century R.G., but says, "even at the present day we may find copper (χαλαί) chisels or implements in the galleries (the use of iron not having been known at the time), and innumerable skeletons of the wretched beings who lost their lives in the passages of the mine." Herodotus also mentions iron instruments being used at the erection of the pyramids.
The perishable nature of iron may account for its not being found in the ruins of Egypt. Colonel Vyse found a piece of iron between two stones in the Great Pyramid, but this may have been left by the Arabs when they forced an entrance. The monuments represent butchers sharpening their knives on what appear to be steels slung to their waists, which could hardly be the case unless the knives were of iron or steel. Some of the swords, too, are colored blue, which would seem to represent iron. That the Egyptians should have this metal and know its use is not surprising, seeing that Tubal-Cain is spoken of as early as Gen. 4:22, as "the instructor of every artificer in brass and iron.”
GOLD was beaten into thin leaves, and largely used for gilding. Vessels of baser metal were "gilded;" and vases and many other things, even to portions of mummy cases were overlaid with gold. It was also made into threads and worked into textures and in embroidery. They also worked it up into all sorts of ornaments and chains. Pharaoh put a gold chain round the neck of Joseph. Jewelry of all sorts was made: bracelets, diadems, earrings, chased and inlaid with engraved stones.
The symbol for gold is a bowl in which is a cloth, and from which something is dropping like water, pointing out, apparently, the way in which the gold ore was washed. The monuments shew the various processes of washing, melting, &c.
SILVER was also used. It was called, as we have seen; "white gold." Joseph had a "silver" cup. It was not so extensively used as gold for vessels or ornaments, being principally used for money, though it was made into thread and wire.
WIRE-DRAWING was known to the Egyptians. They may at first have beaten the metals into thin cakes, and then cut them into narrow strips and filed them; but it is supposed by the, appearance of some found at Thebes, that they had some means of drawing the wire through holes similar to the modern process. The gold and silver wire was very fine.
BRONZE was extensively used in Egypt. Some of the utensils bear inscriptions as old as the sixth dynasty. Rameses III speaks of importing copper from an unknown place—Ataka. He accumulated hundreds of thousands of bricks of ore, "of the color of gold." The bronze was of excellent quality, and vases made of it ring like a bell even at this distance of time. Some of the blades of knives and daggers are almost as elastic as steel. The exact composition of the best bronze is not known. Some of it has been found to be ten to twenty parts of tin, with eighty to, ninety of copper. Vases, jugs, ewers, and drinking cups were made in a variety of shapes, polished and ornamented, and with ornamental handles. It was also much used for the heads and blades of the war-axe. In a mine, among the chips of stone was found a bronze chisel, leading almost to the thought that the Egyptians had found a means of using bronze tools against hard stone.
GLASS, PORCELAIN, &c. The Egyptians made many useful articles as well as small ornaments of stone porcelain and alabaster.
Specimens have been found of burnt clay with a varnish or glaze on them, and colors in high perfection. Egypt had its glass blowers, and made bottles, vases, and cups. They also cast, ground, and engraved cut glass, and were enabled to color it, and used it in imitation of precious stone. They also discovered a means of introducing gold leaf between two layers of glass.
In glass-blowing a portion of glass was taken up on the end of a long tube, and blown into shape, as is done to this day.
They had a sort of opaque glass of which they made beads and bugles, and strung them. They are of various colors—blue, green, and violet. The violet has been found to be colored with oxide of manganese; the blue and green with copper.
More fragments of pottery are no great sign of civilization, but the form and finish of some of the Egyptian articles are adjudged to be very fine.
The monuments give the various occupations of the potter. They kneaded the clay with their feet. Then placing a proper quantity on the potter's wheel, they brought it to any shape they required. The wheels in our illustration are being turned by the hand. The articles were carried carefully to the ovens and baked. FURNITURE. The principal piece of furniture used by the Egyptians was the chair. They sat, rather than reclined, as the Jews did. At meals they had low tables, more like stools with a pedestal in the center, round which the people sat on the floor. But at their parties, musical as well as social, the company are represented mostly as sitting on chairs. Some of these chairs are of singularly beautiful form, and some resemble thrones rather than chairs. One writer says that “the cabinetmakers of Egypt were not behind the best of our own day, either in tasteful design or manual execution.”
Next to the chairs were the couches, which had tasteful designs worked out in their various parts. On some of these were cushions of red and blue, stuffed with feathers of the waterfowl.
Then there were boxes in every variety of form and design. Some were inlaid with different woods, and some made of ebony, inlaid with ivory.
The rarer woods were also imitated by a coating of stucco being laid on and then colored, grained, and varnished.
VENEERING also was known to the ancient Egyptians. As with us, rare woods were cut into thin slices and glued to commoner wood.
DOVETAILING was also practiced by the Egyptians, and flat boards were glued together and then pinned in a very strong way.
THE TOOLS of the carpenter and cabinet-maker were simple, and such as would not suffice for any European workman of this day. They had the wooden mallet, chisels of various sorts—the adze, handsaw made of bronze, drill, a plane resembling a chisel and another as a. kind of rasp, rule, plummet, and square. They had bronze nails, wooden pegs, and some sort of glue. But labor was cheap, and any amount of time could be devoted to the shaping and polishing the articles. As with the Chinese and others, the wonder has always been how such delicate and highly finished articles could have been produced with such common tools.
WORKING OF LEATHER. Leather was extensively used in Egypt; and skins are often seen among the tribute brought from subordinate districts or countries. The skins were tanned into leather, and then put to various uses. What is now known as "the circular cut" was not unknown to the Egyptians. A skin was cut into a circular form, and then with a semicircular knife, commencing at the outside, the whole hide was cut into one long thong.
Leather was used for shoes, sandals, chair and sofa covers, bow cases, and the ornamental parts of chariots. Some of the leather straps round the mummies are well preserved, and bear the names of kings stamped upon them. The Egyptians also dyed and embossed their leather.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. These were principally the harp, which was made of various shapes, with the strings made of catgut, and varying in number from four to twenty-two; guitars, and pipes of different shapes, some being double; cymbals made of bronze; trumpets also of bronze; sistra of silver and bronze; chains of bronze; and castanets of metal, bone, or wood.
The performers are represented playing in concert or accompanying the singers.
WEAVING. The weaving and dyeing of linen was well known and practiced by the Egyptians. Some of the mummy cloths are as fine as muslin and evenly made. One is described as "wrapped in a garment curiously wrought with gold lace, and apparently of a tough texture." Egyptian linen was an article of export, and was of high repute among the Greeks in the time of Herodotus.
Joseph was arrayed in "fine linen" (Gen. 41:42), and even in Solomon's days "linen yarn" was brought from Egypt by the king's merchants "at a price.”
(2 Chron. 1:16.)
In Ezek. 27:7, it is said to Tyre, "fine linen, with broidered work from Egypt, was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail." The monuments represent the spinning to be the work of the women, and the weaving to be done by men and women. The looms were of the simplest description, which makes the fineness of the work to be all the more remarkable; for some that has been found has been declared, for evenness of the threads, without knot or break, to excel any of modern manufacture.
In Prov. 7:16, the bed was decked with "fine linen of Egypt.”
“Pliny and Athenæus ascribe the invention of weaving to Egyptians. Some products of their loom were so remarkably fine that they felt like silk, or resembled entirely the finest cambric or muslin, and were therefore called `woven air.' The most remarkable feature in its manufacture is, that the number of threads in the warp exceeded that of the woof, often even by threads four times the quantity. The linen employed for enveloping the mummies was of a much coarser texture, especially that which was next to the body. Linen was likewise exclusively used for household purposes, for dresses, as for the coverings of chairs and couches. The textures had often colored borders; in such cases, the color was imparted to the threads previous to the fabrication of the cloth."
The monuments show men soaking the flax, also beating it with clubs, and twisting it into twine, and weaving it into cloth. Many women are also shown to be spinning the flax into thread with spindles. The spindles are mostly made of wood, and were about one foot three inches in length. One of such is in the British Museum. Combs were also used to clean the flax, one of which is in the Berlin Museum.
The borders of some of their cloths are made by leaving long ends of the warp, twisted together and tied, just as the borders of shawls are made to this day.
Some of the cloths were of so fine a texture as almost to be transparent. Thus in some of the monuments the dresses of musicians, dancers, &c., appear so thin as plainly to show the form of the body through the dress. Belzoni, speaking of the inhabitants of a small island, describes their weaving in his day as that of the most primitive kind. " The wool they spin into yarn; wind the threads round small stones, and suspend them to a long stick fixed in a horizontal position between two trees, to form a warp; and by passing another thread alternately between these, fabricate a kind of coarse cloth, with which they cover the lower part of their bodies.”
“Simple enough, indeed, are their arts," says the authoress of" Eastern Life." “Early one morning, when walking ashore, I came upon a loom, which would excite the astonishment of my former townsmen, the Norwich weavers. A little pit was dug in the earth, under a palm-a pit just big enough to hold the treadles and the feet of the weaver, who sits on the end of the pit. The beam was made of a slender palm stern, fixed into two blocks. The treadles were made of spines of the palm fixed into bits of stick. The shuttle was, I think, a forked twig. The cotton yarn was even, and the fabric good, that is evenly woven. It was, though coarse, so thin that one might see the light through; but that was intended, and only appropriate to the climate.”
The same writer says, "I saw a little girl on the shore making cord, for tying round the waists of men; and was extremely surprised to observe that the process is the same as that of bobbin-making with the lyre by English ladies. Instead of an ivory lyre, this child had two crossed sticks; and her cotton thread was very coarse. It was striking to see this little art existing in places so widely apart.”
DYEING. The account given by Pliny is interesting. He says, "In Egypt they stain cloths in a wonderful manner. They take them in their original state, quite white, and imbue them, not with a dye, but with certain drugs which have the power of absorbing and taking color. When this is done, there is still no appearance of change in the cloths; but as soon as they are dipped into a bath of the pigment, which has been prepared for the purpose, they are taken out properly colored. The singular thing is, that though the bath contains only one color, several hues are imparted to the piece, these changes depending on the nature of the drug employed: nor can the color be afterwards washed off; and surely if the bath had many colors in it, they must have presented a confused appearance on the cloth.”
“From this it is evident," says Sir J. G. Wilkinson "that the cloth was prepared before steeping: the momentary effect he mentions could only be produced by the powerful agency of mordants; and they not only used them to make the cloth take the color equally, but also to change the hues.”
TEE LAWS OF EGYPT. The laws of ancient Egypt were professed to have been handed down from the gods in their celebrated code, called "The Eight Books of Hermes;" but we know little of what these books contained.
Cases were tried by a bench of thirty judges, chosen for their known character of honor and uprightness. Ten were chosen from each of the three cities of Heliopolis, Memphis, and Thebes. The thirty elected one of their number as chief judge, and another was sent to make up the thirty. They were well paid by the government so as to be above personal favor and bribery.
When a cause came on for trial the chief judge put on a gold chain to which was attached an image of the goddess of Truth, ornamented with precious stones.
This goddess was represented with her eyes closed, as we represent justice with a bandage over her eyes, that she may give her decision impartially. Of course there were other judges all over the country to judge minor causes.
The manner of conducting a case is worthy of being recorded. The complainant stated his case as fully as he pleased, but in writing, and stated the amount of damages to which he considered himself entitled.
The defendant then answered the accusation, denying it if he could, or palliating its offence; or in some cases admitting the offence, but disclaiming the amount of damages: this he did in writing.
The complainant replied to this; and then again the defendant: still in writing. Then witnesses, if any, were examined. And the judges weighed all, and gave their decision, and the verdict when ratified by the chief judge was made known by touching with the image of truth, the party in whose favor the decision was given.
The Egyptians considered this course a better one than having counsel on either side, who by mere eloquence might influence the minds of the judges.
A case of conspiracy in the time of Rameses III. is recorded. Apparently it was in conjunction with some of the women of the court, and was against the king. The case was referred to twelve persons of high rank—probably some of the chief judges—to search out the truth and punish the guilty, but they were to take care not to condemn the innocent. Several were found guilty of conspiracy, and others were punished for having heard words against the king, and not making them known.
Some suffered death probably by their own hands. Others had their noses and ears split probably the women to spoil their appearance. Judging apparently, by the navies, some of the judges were also punished either for taking part in the conspiracy or for taking bribes from the criminals.
Willful murder, whether of a freeman or of a slave, was punished by death, and was usually by hanging; anyone who witnessed this or any other crime, and did not do his best to prevent it, was held to be worthy of punishment. Where they were unable to prevent a crime, they were immediately to give information of the same, or such would be held to be guilty.
The king, however, had the prerogative to remit the capital punishment, and it is recorded of the king Sabaco, that he put no one to death during his reign of fifty years; but he made the culprits labor, for periods according to the nature of their crime, in raising the ground around the towns to preserve them from suffering from the inundations of the Nile.
Except for murder, and perhaps perjury, punishment by death was not inflicted. Three reasons were given for avoiding it: 1. Death gave no opportunity for repentance in the criminal. 2. It hurried him out of the world when he was least prepared for the future. 3. It deprived the state of the criminal's services.
Besides employment on public works, the stick was the common mode of punishment. Men and boys were beaten as they lay on the ground; women as they knelt. The bastinado, so common now in Egypt, was thus early adopted. A papyrus on the Praise of Learning, of the age of Rameses II., but probably copied from an earlier one, speaks of the forced laborer being "bastinadoed by a stick on his legs.”
In certain cases a person was punished by the loss of his hand, under the plea that the offending member should be the one to bear the punishment.
As to theft they had a remarkable system. As this crime could not be prevented, they hit upon a plan that punished the loser even more than the thief. All professed thieves were registered, with a respectable chief at their head. When a theft was committed it was immediately communicated by the thief to his chief. The one robbed would also make known his loss, and state the value of the lost property. One fourth of this was deducted, and the three fourths returned to the owner, or the owner paid the value of the fourth part, and all his property was returned. He thus lost a fourth for the want of vigilance, and the thieves had but a portion of their booty. This was deemed a better plan than putting the state to a large expense to protect the property of the public, and in hunting after the thieves.
In cases of debt there must be a written contract, and in failure to repay, the goods of the debtor might be seized, but not his person. Every person was considered to belong to the commonwealth, and this must not be damaged by the seizure of anyone.
To enforce the repayment of debts it became common for a person to give in pledge the tomb of his ancestors; and this was considered so sacred, that for a person not to redeem it was infamous; and neither he nor any of his family could be buried in the tomb until the debt was paid.
A few of the written contracts made on the sale of property have come down to us, some bearing the signatures of more than a dozen witnesses. We give the substance of one.
“In the reign of Cleopatra and Ptolemy her son, surnamed Alexander, the gods Philometores Soteres, in the year xii., otherwise ix., in the priesthood of the existing priests in Alexandria, [the priest] of Alexander and of the gods Soteres, [and a number of Egyptian gods] on the 29th of the month Tybi [February 5th], Apollonius being President of the Exchange of the Memnonians, and of the lower government of the Pathyritic nome, there was sold by Pamonthes, aged about forty-five, of middle size, dark complexion, and handsome figure, bald, round faced, and straight nosed; and by Snachomneus, aged about twenty, of middle size, sallow complexion, likewise round faced and straight nosed; and by Semmuthis Persineï, aged about twenty-two, of middle size, sallow complexion, round faced, flat nosed, and of quiet demeanour; and by Tathlyt Persineï, aged about thirty, of middle size, sallow complexion, round face, and straight nose, with their principal Pamonthes, a party in the sale; the four being of the children of Petepsais of the leather cutters of the Memnonia—out of the piece of level ground which belongs to them in the southern part of the Memnonia, eight thousand cubits of open field, one fourth [of the whole?], bounded on the south by the Royal Street; on the north and east by the land of Pamonthes and Boconsiemis, who is his brother, and the common land [or wall] of the city; on the west by the house of Tages the son of Chalome: a canal running through the middle, leading from the river; these are the neighbours on all sides. It was bought by Nechutes the less, the son of Asos, aged about forty, of middle size, sallow complexion, cheerful countenance, long face, and straight nose, with a scar upon the middle of his forehead:—for six hundred and one pieces of brass: the sellers standing as brokers, and as securities for the validity of the sale. It was accepted by Nechutes, the purchaser.
APOLLONIUS, Pr. Exch [?]"
MINOR INVENTIONS, &c. Of these we find but few. One, however, was the BLOWPIPE. This was known to the Egyptians. Our illustration shows a workman seated before a furnace, and using a, blowpipe to direct the flame upon some object upon which he is operating. He holds a pair of tongs with which to move his work.
THE BELLOWS. These were made apparently of skins, and in pairs. A man stood with one foot on each, and by means of strings he raised them alternately, and by pressing his foot expelled the air, which by means of pipes was conveyed to the fire.
Another was the SYPHON. In a tomb of Amunoph II. the priests are represented drawing off a liquid by means of syphons. Some are at work, and one is being brought into action by withdrawing the air, as it is at this day.
Agriculture.
This was conducted very simply. It has been said by some that no plowing was needed, but the monuments show clearly that this was not always the case. All operations waited for the inundation of the Nile. After that river had overflowed its banks, and had again retired, it left a soft bed of mud, which was ready in many instances for the seed; but if it got dry, or if the under soil needed to be broken up, a simple plough drawn by an ox, or sometimes by two men was used for the purpose.
The seed was thrown broadcast over the land, and then a flock of goats was turned into the field, and by means of rods they were kept moving about until they had trodden in the seed.
The heads of the wheat were cut off by long sickles, as was apparently the case in the days and country of Job, who says the wicked are cut off "as the tops of the ears of corn." The heads were then spread in layers and threshed by means of oxen walking over them. Men then by means of small shovels (called "fans" in scripture) threw up the wheat into the air and the wind carried away the chaff. Men collected the corn in baskets or sacks and took it to the storehouses, where a clerk sat with a tablet to register the quantity.
Then, as now, the men were very fond of singing, and in a tomb has been found one of their songs, in hieroglyphics. It was translated by Champollion, thus:
“Thresh for yourselves,
Thresh for yourselves,
O oxen,
Thresh for yourselves,
Thresh for yourselves,
Measures for yourselves,
Measures for your masters.”
The pictures have not omitted to show the gleaners following the reapers; with a basket on their backs, they pick up the scattered ears. Vessels with water are on stands in the field.
Besides wheat, much doura was grown, of which a common description of bread was made. Doura was pulled up by the roots, and then by means of an instrument in the form of a boot jack armed with spikes, the heads were dragged off, as may be seen in our illustration.
FLAX was also cultivated in Egypt, which was much' used in weaving, as well as for making string and rope, and then into nets and sieves.
When the ground needed water after the subsiding of the Nile, and in places not reached by the inundation, and for the gardens, water was raised from the river or canals by means of the shadoof, a simple instrument, made with a bucket attached to the end of a long pole which worked on a pivot, with a weight at the other end. Where the banks of the river were very high, they had several of these one over the other, and each man emptied his bucket into a trough high enough for the one above him to reach. A traveler says that he saw in one place six men placed one above another, thus raising the water to the high [illustration] lands above. Another saw a rude machine made of poles and earthenware jars, being turned by a blindfolded ox. The jars emptied themselves into a trough for watering a garden.
A SHADOOF.
Such is a slight sketch of the things in which the Egyptians excelled. We are now so accustomed to such things that we are hardly able to realize the extent of the civilization of Egypt at so early a date, unless we compare it with the uncivilized condition of any country—say of our own highly favored land in bygone ages. We would not over-estimate mere civilization, the arts and the sciences, and the accompanying advantages; but we cannot help thinking, as we have said, that even the wisdom of the Egyptians in natural things came from God; and that savage life when contrasted with ancient Egypt, shows that man not only fell from rectitude in the garden of Eden, but continued to fall even from civilization to the debasing habits of heathendom; not that Egypt made a good use of its advantages; for it failed to own the only true God, and fell into superstition and idolatry, with much of its attendant barbarism.
Chapter 4
THE RELIGION OF EGYPT.
“Against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment; I am the Lord.”
THE question may naturally be asked, Why, when the Israelites besought Aaron to make them gods, did he make a god in the shape of a calf, rather than in any other form?
Of course we cannot pretend to say what led Aaron to make a god of this form; but we can say that in doing so he was only following the example of the Egyptians in this respect; for although they had "gods many," perhaps none were so well known to the Israelites as the sacred heifer—the god APIS.
Yea, more than this. The Israelites were not only familiar with the gods of Egypt, but they had worshipped them. Joshua in his farewell address thus exhorts them: "Fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord." (Josh. 24:14.)
There would appear to have been an innate idea of God in all mankind. Few are sunk so low but have some idea of a superior unseen Being who has to do with man in one way or another; or perhaps rather Beings, both good and bad. The good have to be pleased and served; and the bad have to be propitiated, that they may do the worshippers no harm. But how low has even this sunk when man thinks he can make his god out of a tree or a lump of stone!
Where the people have been enlightened and the mind has been in a measure developed, the systems of Polytheism and Pantheism have been more elaborated; but the system itself is not improved; it is incapable of being improved, for it is fundamentally false. It may be elaborated and adorned; but it remains nothing more nor less than idolatry. And as to the idols, "they have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; they have ears, but they hear not; noses have they, but they smell not; they have hands, but they handle not; feet have they, but they walk not; neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them: so is everyone that trusteth in them." (Psa. 115:5-8.)
Scripture tells us that it is because man turns his back upon his Creator, that he sets to work to worship the creature; "for the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. Because, that, when they knew God they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened; professing themselves to be wise they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.... Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.... They did not like to retain God in their knowledge." (Rom. 1:20-28.)
It is not easy to arrive at a definite theory as to the religion of Egypt; still somewhat is known of it. It is probable that the theory did not agree with the practice; for the theory would be known only to the few initiated—the priests—whereas the practice was that of the people also. We must not be surprised, too, if the theory was not always consistent with itself, or varied at different times and in different places.
The Gods.
According to the monuments the Egyptians held with the unity of their deity. A stele at Berlin, of the nineteenth dynasty speaks of "The only living in substance;" another, of about the same date, has "the only eternal substance;" "the only generation in heaven and on earth that is not begotten.”
Along with this there was the doctrine of one God in a double personage preserved at Thebes and Memphis. The same stele at Berlin, from Memphis, calls it "God making himself god; existing by himself; the double being; generator from the beginning." Though two—father and son, as some interpret—yet it did not destroy the unity of their god: he is called by them UA EN UA, the one of one.'
The Egyptians, however, do not appear to have made any effort to worship their ideal god in his unity; but they represented each of his attributes as a separate god. They only thought of the unity of a supreme Being as they thought of him as inactive. Directly they attributed to him any action then each of his attributes was like a god: as goodness, mercy, wisdom, power, eternity, creation, generation, &c.
However far the intention, in theory, may have been from treating these as separate and distinct gods, they were certainly so looked upon by the common people. Each god had more or less a district over which he presided, or where he was more particularly worshipped.
As we know from scripture, the Egyptians were a learned people—if such a term can apply to any who know not God—and, as we might expect, their system of religion was elaborate, with gods arranged in various classes, with subtle distinctions which none but the initiated could be expected to fathom. The number of gods was so great that a proud Greek said that in Egypt it was easier to find a god than a man! and there is in existence the copy of a treaty of peace made between Rameses II and the Khita (supposed to be the Hittites) which is declared or substantiated by "the thousand gods-the gods male and the gods female-of Egypt.”
The Egyptians are supposed to differ from other idolatrous nations in teaching the people to love the gods. Love to a particular god is named in several of the inscriptions; and at times the kings are represented embracing their gods.
In enumerating the principal of those worshipped by the Egyptians, it will be at once seen that they are not treated as the attributes of one only god, but as so many distinct gods.
There were eight principal gods: from which the others emanated.
1. AMUN, or Amnon, the king of the gods,' or the concealed god.' He was the great god of Thebes.
2. MAUT, or Mut, the mother' of all. The temple consort of Amun and Khem.
3. NOUM, the ram-headed god of the Thebaid. Called also Nu, Noub, Nef, Kneph, Cnuphis, or Chnubis. The Ethiopians often gave the name of Amun to this god.
4. SETI, the companion of Noum. The god of the cataracts, of Ethiopia, and of the Oases. The ram was his emblem.
5. PTHAH, or Phtah, the creative' power. He was the god of Memphis.
6. NEITH, or Net. She was self-born: I came from myself.' Was the goddess of Sais, in the Delta.
7. KHEM, or Chemnus. The 'generative' principle of nature. He is addressed, Thy title is, Father of thine own father.' He was god of the Thebaid, called also the Pan of Thebes.
8. PASHT. The cat-headed goddess of Bubastis. She answered to Artemis or Diana. (Some place Ra as the eighth of the great gods.)
From these eight there were descended twelve gods of the second order; but it is not easy to select them with certainty.
There was RA, the sun,' the father of many deities. SEB, the earth.' The goose was his emblem: he was the father of Osiris and was termed father of the gods.' NETPE, the vault of heaven:' she was the wife of Seb, and 'mother of the gods.' KHONS represented the moon.' ANOUKE, a goddess, the third person of the triad of the cataracts. ATMOU, or Atum, darkness.' Morn, 'splendor,' a son of Ra. TAFNE, a lion-headed goddess. THOTH, the intellect.' SAVAK, the crocodile-headed god.
Of the above we give the representation of AMUN-RA, the chief god of Upper Egypt. He holds in one hand the emblem of life and in the other the emblem of power or purity His name is given in hieroglyphics.
Also PTHAH, the chief god of Lower Egypt. He is represented as a mummy, but holds the emblem of power combined with the water-plant of Lower Egypt.
Then there was a third order: the children of Seb and Netpe: Osiris, Seth, Aroeris, Isis, and Nepthys. And Horus and Anubis, the children of Osiris and Isis, and others. Isis is often confounded with Athor.
Also four Genii of the dead: Amset, Hapi, Tuautmutf, and Kabhsenuf.
It is remarkable that in placing the gods they often classed them into triads. Thus the great Triad of Thebes was Amun, Maut, and Khons, their son.
The gods OSIRIS, ISIS, and their offspring HORUS and ANUBIS were perhaps the only ones which were worshipped alike in all Egypt: and though they were technically only of the third order of gods they thus assumed a prominence that many of the others did not. Of these OSIRIS is the most remarkable because of his supposed control over the dead as well as the living. He holds the flail or whip and crook, which are said to be emblems of majesty and dominion. His consort Isis holds the emblem of life and the plant of Lower Egypt. She is sometimes called Queen of Heaven.'
HOURS is represented with a hawk's head, with the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. Sometimes he is represented with a sun on his head, and then he is HORUS-RA. He holds the emblems of life and of power (or purity).
ANUBIS has the head of a jackal, he also is crowned with the double crown. His chief office was to preside over the dead and see that the body was laid out and embalmed. He holds the same emblems as HORUS. Of the many gods, perhaps SETH (answering to Typhon) was the only evil god. And it is supposed that the Egyptians did not at first associate 'wickedness' with `evil,' but rather restricted the evil to war, famine, pestilence, and such like. SETH, being brother to OSIRIS, was placed in honorable position with the latter. He is seen instructing a monarch in the use of the bow, but as a cause of evil. He is also seen with HORUS pouring the emblems of life and power over a king, to show that good and evil necessarily affected the world conjointly.
But the Egyptians afterwards associated moral evil with this god, for his name and figure were hammered out of many of the monuments. As to when this was done is not known, but it is supposed to have resulted from foreign influence.
He is represented in a grosser form than the other gods, inasmuch as he has not simply the head of an animal, but is represented entirely as a hippopotamus, but with an elaborate crown.
The gods of Egypt were in such renown that, as a tablet records, the king of Bakhtan sent to Rameses XII. requesting the assistance of the god KHONS in chasing from his daughter an evil spirit with which she was supposed to be possessed. The presence of the god was followed by a cure, and the king retained the god in his country for more than three years, until warned in a dream he returned it to Egypt.
Sacred Animals.
The next step downward was to recognize certain things as symbols of the gods; as the goose was the symbol of SEB; and in a remarkable way the calf Apis represented the god OSIRIS. And thus there became a number of sacred animals.
Wilkinson enumerates the following sacred animals, &c. The cynocephalus ape, green monkey, shrew mouse, dog, wolf, fox, jackal, ichneumon, cat, lion, hippopotamus, goat, sheep, ram, cow, bull, crocodile, asp, the beetle, and five sorts of fish. Most of these have been found embalmed—principally at Thebes.
One animal was sacred in one place, and another in another. Where held sacred no such animal was allowed to be killed, and if one was killed accidentally, some punishment and absolution were enjoined. They were reared, fed, and taken great care of when alive, and embalmed when they died. An animal being sacred in one place, and not in another often led to disputes and conflicts. Some were killing the very gods of their neighbors!
The tradition respecting OSIRIS is the most remarkable of all the gods of Egypt: " His coming upon earth for the benefit of mankind, with the titles of manifester of good and truth;' his being put to death by the malice of the evil one; his burial and resurrection, and his becoming the judge of the dead, are the most interesting features of the Egyptian religion. This was the great mystery; and this myth and his worship were of the earliest times, and universal in Egypt.... OSIRIS was to every Egyptian the great deity of a future state; and though different gods enjoyed particular honors in their respective cities, the importance of OSIRIS was admitted throughout the country."
OSIRIS was, as we have said, represented by the bull Apis, or by a bull-headed man, and was worshipped under either form. The live Apis was said to be the image of, or to represent the soul of OSIRIS. In the representations of it, the sun was often placed between its horns, and in this one the serpent may be seen at its forehead.
Great care was taken in selecting an animal with peculiar marks. Herodotus says, "He is black, with a square spot of white upon his forehead, and on his back the figure of an eagle; the hairs in his tail are double, and there is a beetle upon his tongue;" other writers describe the marks differently.
When the right animal was found great rejoicings were made, and he was conducted to Memphis, in solemn procession, where he was kept with great care, It was regarded as a favor of their god that he was again come to dwell with them.
A house was erected for him at Memphis, with an enclosed promenade; away from which he was not allowed to go, except on his annual festival, when he was taken in procession through the city with great rejoicing. Children who were able to smell his breath were supposed to foretell future events.
Every care was taken of Apis, as to his food, &c., so as to preserve him in health. He was not, however, allowed to drink of the water of the Nile, as we have seen, lest it should make him too fat.
Apis was resorted to as an oracle. Pausanias says that the person desiring to consult this god, burnt incense on the altar, filled the lamps full of oil, and deposited a piece of money on an altar beside the statue of the god. He then whispered his question in the ear of the bull Apis, and withdrew from the sacred enclosure, carefully covering his ears from any sound until he was outside the building; and then the first expression that fell on his ear was considered to be the omen.
The bull's house was divided into two compartments; and another way of obtaining an answer was to watch which door he first entered after the question had been asked.
Apis was not allowed to live more than twenty-five years. He was then put to death, and another was searched for. When dead, he was embalmed, and buried in a tomb set apart for the purpose.
Their burial place has comparatively lately been discovered near Memphis. It is thus described. "It consists of an arched gallery hewn in the rock, about twenty feet in height and breadth, and three thousand feet in length, besides a lateral gallery. On each side are a series of chambers or recesses, which might be called sepulchral stalls; every one containing a large sarcophagus of granite, fifteen feet by eight, in which the body of a sacred bull was deposited." In 1852, thirty of these had been found. Mention was made of the birth, death, and burial of the bulls. They mostly lived from seventeen to twenty years.
“Before this is a paved road, with lions ranged on each side, about eight feet high, which forms the approach; and before this again is a temple."
A visit to the tomb of the Apis bulls by two ladies is thus described: “We halted again at the entrance of the newly excavated tombs of the sacred bull Apis... At first it was all dark, but by-and-by a little star of light seemed to rise from the bottom, and advance towards us. It looked so pretty and mysterious, that I was almost sorry when I was obliged to acknowledge to myself that it was only Hassan with a torch in his hand come to tell us that Mr. H. had lighted the candles in the tombs below, and that we must make haste or the lights would be burned out before we had seen all. We got up and followed the guide down a short steep descent, till we came to a vast underground gallery—I cannot call it anything else. The roof was arched and high, and it seemed to stretch on, and on, and on, to an immense distance. One could fancy oneself beginning a journey to the opposite end of the world, as one looked away from one feeble struggling light, placed in a niche in the wall, to another, a foot or two beyond, till the last light was swallowed up in thick darkness.
“When our eyes had become a little accustomed to the obscurity, we discovered that there were recesses on each side of this great gallery, and that in each recess or vast closet cut in the solid rock, there was a sarcophagus of black stone, holding, as we were told, the remains of one of the sacred bulls. As one after another of these sacred animals died, fresh tombs were excavated for them in the solid rock, till this underground burial place grew to the size which we now see.... Each sarcophagus had on one side of it a small granite oval, called a cartouche, with the name written on it of the king in whose reign the sacred Apis died.
“When we came back to the entrance, our guide skewed us some tablets of stone with inscriptions on them, let into the wall. They record visits paid by kings and other great people from Memphis, to the burial place of the bulls, and the offerings they brought with them. It seems that when a sacred bull died, and had been buried here, it was customary during a certain period after his death, perhaps till his successor was found, for people to come here, to pay respects to him in his coffin, and when they had done so, they had a stone let into the wall that everybody might know they had performed their duty.
“How strange, I fancy you are saying to yourselves, that people—wise people like the Egyptians—should come out here into the desert to worship a dead god. It is strange, but, like most other strange things, when we come to know more about it, the marvel becomes a little less inconceivable. The Egyptians believed that in the form of the bull Apis dwelt the pure soul of their god Pthah Sokar Osiris."
In Egypt, "the bull" became an ideal of one of the attributes of their deity. Thus, among such titles as, "Beloved of Truth, Lord of Diadems, Protector of Egypt," &c., we find "The Strong Bull." From the gods it passed to the kings, and in the "Stele of Coronation," a king is described "like unto a young bull.”
Besides the gods represented as men, with their appropriate heads of some of the sacred animals or birds, and besides the sacred animals and birds themselves, there were singular combinations: such as, birds with human hands and arms'; beetles with human heads; men, with serpents' tails instead of feet; a serpent with five heads; and in one place are found two serpents erect-one with the head of a man, and the other that of a woman, with human arms and hands. Belzoni found a calf with the head of a hippopotamus. Alas, for the wisdom of Egypt which led to such anomalies There were three things prominently exhibited among the Egyptians in connection with their gods. The first is, THE 'SACRED BEETLE, Or Scarabæus, This was sacred to the sun and to PTHAH. Some of the images of the beetle were made of stone and were of immense size, apparently as mementoes of the kings. One of these is in the British Museum. Small ones were very numerous in the tombs, wrapped in the folds of the mummy, or worn on the fingers. A beautiful and remarkable one of king Sebakemsaf, of the thirteenth dynasty, is in the British Museum (No. 7876).
They were very common in jewelry. Rings and other ornaments were often shaped like beetles. Sometimes they are represented with immense wings, sometimes with human heads. One monument skews a large beetle, attended by two priestesses or goddesses. It is often represented with a ball between its legs.
THE WINGED SUN. The sun, called RA, was among the gods of the Egyptians, and one of the most general of the kings' titles was "Son of the Sun." Over the entrances to buildings, and in many other places, is to be seen a resemblance of the sun with large wings, [illustration] often in combination with the serpent. On an Egyptian obelisk at Rome the sun is called the Great God, the Lord of the Heavens; and yet it does not appear that they worshipped the literal sun as a separate god, but rather as a representative of some ideal god; for when the worship of the literal sun was introduced, it was treated as an innovation.
The various phases of the sun led to different titles and attributes, thus:—
The rising sun was HORUS, or HAR, typical of Birth.
Its daily course, PURA, “ Life.
The setting sun, TOUM, or ATMOU, “ Old age and death.
Nocturnal course, NOUM, associated with OSIRIS—existence beyond the grave.
But from a long text which is found at the entrance of several tombs, it would appear that all the gods are embodied in RA. Thus, one sentence reads, "Homage to thee, RA! Supreme power.... He who sends forth the plants in their season; his form is that of Seb." Another similar sentence ends with, "its form is that of HORUS." And so of many other gods. This would seem to favor the thought that the Egyptians were Pantheists rather than Polytheists.
In Heliopolis RA is addressed, "Glory to thee, O RA, Touts, universal lord, creator of those who exist," &c. From this and similar addresses, it is difficult to see how RA could be distinguished, except in theory, from being an individual god.
Another strange thing is that the reigning monarch of the day was regarded as the living image and vicegerent of the sun and was addressed as god.
HYMN, OR ODE TO PHARAOH.
“Give thy attention to me, thou Sun that risest
To enlighten the earth with this (his) goodness.
Thou hast millions of ears:
Bright is thine eye above the stars of heaven,
able to gaze at the solar orb.
If anything be spoken by the mouth in the cavern,
It ascends into thine ears.
'Whatsoever is done in secret, thine eye seeth it,
O! BA-EN-RA MERIAMEN, merciful Lord, creator of breath.”
Here the king is addressed as the sun, and divine attributes assigned to him; and yet he is described as distinct from the literal sun; his eyes are so strong that he can "gaze at the solar orb.”
The worship of the sun itself is supposed to have been introduced by Amenophis IV., towards the close of the eighteenth dynasty. Being treated as an innovation, the representations of it were afterwards obliterated. It was represented as having a hand at the end of every ray, with which it directed all things on earth. It will be seen that it has an emblem of life in one of its hands. It was called ADON-RA. Rawlinson says a representation of it is found as early as the time of Sethi, the father of Rameses II.
THE SERPENT. The species commonly represented is the naje, or haje, sacred to the goddess RANNO, who presided over the garden. It has a thick neck, and is represented erect. The winged sun has often a serpent on each side of it. Being an emblem of regal authority, many of the gods and the kings have the head of a serpent attached to the head-dress, and standing out from the forehead; indeed the serpent is one of the most common objects among the emblems of godhead; and the Rosetta stone mentions asp-formed crowns, which would be a garland of serpents. It was also used as one of their standards, wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.
There are also representations of the serpent being put to death; but this appears to be quite a different species.
Herodotus says, “In the neighborhood of Thebes there are some sacred serpents, which are perfectly harmless. They are of small size, and have two horns growing out of the top of the head. These snakes, when they die, are buried in the temple of Jupiter, the god to whom they are sacred." The cerastes, or horned serpent, is said to be venomous, perhaps those that Herodotus had seen had been rendered harmless by the extraction of their fangs. But this account of Herodotus, which is confirmed by other evidence, shows that the serpent itself was worshipped.
The worship of the serpent is one of the most striking in the annals of idolatry; and it is not only in Egypt that this was the case, but it was worshipped more or less, all over the world. When we remember that it was in the form of a serpent that Satan succeeded in ruining our first parents, and that he is called "that old serpent" in Rev. 12:9, it reveals a startling fact as to the power he attained over mankind, so as to ensure the worship of that which symbolized himself, from one end of the earth to the other. It was not simply man left to his own ingenuity to form and fashion a god for himself; but there was, and is, one arch-enemy of souls who was directing all, and who only too well succeeded in obliterating from the mind of man a knowledge of the only true God, and in supplanting His place with the image of that which symbolizes himself.
Priests.
Next to the king and his family, the priests held the place of influence and power in Egypt. According to Diodorus, the priests in Ethiopia had even despotic power over the kings—a power that cannot be traced in Egypt. There, says the historian, when the priests thought proper, they sent a message to the king, with orders for him to die. The gods, they said, had communicated their pleasure, and no mortal should dispute their commands. This is believed to have existed for generations, until a king, Ergamenes, with some knowledge of Greek philosophy, in the time of the second Ptolemy, refused to obey, and slew the priests.
Except the kings, no one was allowed to enter the innermost chambers of the temples but the priests. This, with the ordering of all religious festivals, and offering sacrifices, added to their having the power to refuse the sacred offices for the dead, shutting anyone out from eternal happiness, and their holding the offices of judges, sacred scribes, &c., gave them great power over the people.
There was an order of holy women who assisted in the temple service. They sang the praises of their deity, and performed on musical instruments. Queens are also represented as presenting offerings to the gods. Some have absurd titles as "god's wife," "god's mother," &c.
There were different orders of priests with a supreme pontiff, called SEM. Some are seen clothed simply in the skin of a leopard, and others with a full ornamented dress, but these were perhaps of the higher order; for Herodotus says that the priests were dressed in linen only, and that freshly washed. They bathed twice every day in cold water, and shaved off all their hair every other day. They were not allowed to eat fish, but had plenty of beef and geese, game and wild-fowl, with wine to drink. All was provided for them out of the public funds. It will be remembered that when a sort of tax was laid upon the land in the time of Joseph the priests were exempt.
The principal of the priests had also a code of mysteries into which the lower class of priests were not initiated.
From all this we learn that in the religion of Egypt, as in every other false religion, the common people were kept in profound ignorance: a class of priests held power over the minds and bodies of the people, by which means they could be the more easily led in the paths of darkness and delusion.
Herodotus says that the priests of Egypt practiced circumcision, and some of the modern writers on Egypt declare that it is proved that it was not confined to the priests, and that it was practiced very early. From this has arisen the question as to where did the Egyptians learn the rite, seeing that scripture taught it to Abraham as a distinctive mark of His covenant with the patriarch and his descendants? (Gen. 17:11; John 7:22, 23.) It is absurd to suppose that God adopted a mere heathen rite in His covenant with Abraham: it is far safer to suppose that the Egyptologers are deceived in placing it before Abraham's time, and that the Egyptians learnt it from some of the descendants or servants of Abraham. Satan would foster any mere imitation of that which was intended as a distinctive mark of the people of God. Scripture classes Egypt along with the other nations as the uncircumcised.' (Jer. 9:25, 26.)
Sacrifices and Festivals.
Sacrifices were offered to the gods by the Egyptians; but there is no proof of their having human sacrifices, though such has been stated by some writers. Oxen were reckoned to belong to Apis, and were tested as follows according to Herodotus: "One of the priests appointed for the purpose searches to see if there is a single black hair on the whole body, since in that case the beast is unclean." Then the animal's tongue was examined. If all were satisfactory, the animal was declared to be clean and fit for sacrifice.
“They lead the victim, marked with their signet, to the altar where they are about to offer it, and setting the wood alight, pour a libation of wine upon the altar in front of the victim, and at the same time invoke the god. Then they slay the animal, and cutting off his head, proceed to flay the body. Next they take the head, and heaping imprecations on it, if there is a market-place, and a body of Greek traders in the city, they carry it there and sell it instantly; if however, there are no Greeks among them, they throw the head into the river. The invocation is to this effect:-They pray that if any evil is impending either over those who sacrifice, or over universal Egypt, it may be made to fall upon that head. These practices, the imprecations upon the heads, and the libations of wine, prevail all over Egypt, and extend to victims of all sorts; and hence the Egyptians will never eat the head of any animal.”
This is supposed to refer to some particular sacrifice, for at times the heads of the animals with other parts are seen in the monuments placed on the altar.
The above extract does not say what was eventually done with the parts laid on the altar, whether they were eaten or burnt.
The same writer describes another sacrifice either to Isis or Athor, to a "goddess whom they regard as the greatest, and honor with the chiefest festival. When they have flayed their steer they pray, and when their prayer is ended, they take the paunch of the animal out entire, leaving the intestines and the fat inside the body; they then cut off the legs, the ends of the loins, the shoulders, and the neck; and having so done, they fill the body of the steer with clean bread, honey, raisins, figs, frankincense, myrrh, and other aromatics. Thus filled, they burn the body, pouring over it great quantities of oil. Before offering the sacrifice, they fast, and while the bodies of the victims are being consumed they beat themselves. Afterwards, when they have concluded this part of the ceremony, they have the other parts of the victim served up to them for a repast.”
In one of Dümichen's volumes is a series of plates representing the whole process of slaying an animal for sacrifice-a duty distributed among several priests.
As the Egyptians had many gods, so they had numerous religious festivals; and all great events in the nation-such as the coronation of a king, the appointment of any man to high office, the return of the army from battle-were interwoven with appropriate sacrifices.
Besides certain fixed festivals in the year, they had a daily sacrifice offered in the temple by the chief priest, accompanied by a prayer for the welfare of the monarch, in the presence of the people.
One can but lament that such ordinances were not directed to the one true and only God, rather than to some imaginative being represented by a figure of stone or a living animal I Among their yearly festivals, one of the most prominent was that connected with the rise of the river Nile. As their harvest, and indeed almost their existence, depended upon the rising of the Nile, it is not surprising that among their many gods,' one of them should represent the Nile.
His name was HAPI, or HAPIMON, god of the Nile. He is crowned with the two water-plants, representing Upper and Lower Egypt, and carries them also in one of his hands. In the other he carries vases of the fruits of the earth as being produced by the waters of the river over which he presides.
The festival was held when the river began to rise, and was looked upon as a propitiatory service; the neglect of which would surely be followed by an inadequate supply of water. The general belief in the efficacy of the sacrifice secured its due performance. "Men and women assembled from all parts of the country in the towns of their respective names, grand festivities were proclaimed, and all the enjoyments of the table were united with the solemnity of a holy festival. Music, the dance, and appropriate hymns, marked the respect they felt for the deity; and a wooden statue of the river god was carried by the priests through the village in solemn procession, that all might appear to be honored by his presence, while invoking the blessings he was about to confer.”
To the reader of scripture will doubtless be recalled by the above, that which is recorded of the worship of the golden calf made by Aaron: "the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play:" they sat down to eat of the sacrifices, and rose up to enjoy the music and the dance. They had learnt it all in Egypt.
We give the first stanza of a hymn to the Nile, in a papyrus, now in the British Museum, as interpreted by Mr. Birch.
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Sha en Hapi
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A hymn to the Nile.
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nether ek Hapi
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Incline thy face, O Nile,
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shem em to an'
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coming safe out of the land
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or sankhu Kam
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vivifying Egypt,
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amen sam kek em hru
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hiding his dark sources from the light.
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hes nu sem
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ordering his sources,
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au shau ammeh
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the streams of his bed
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kam am Ra
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are made by the sun,
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er sankh hu abu neb
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to give life to all animals,
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s'hur set bu tem
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to water the lands which are destitute,
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nau pe haa
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coming all along the heaven,
|
|
mer en tufa kherp nefra
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loving fragrance, offering grain,
|
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shut teba en Phah
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rendering verdant every sacred place of Phtha
|
It is held that in ancient Egypt men were not treated as gods; but in later years their kings were added to their gods, as is proved by the famous Rosetta stone and other inscriptions.
This stone contains a decree of the priests that because of the benefits Epiphanes had conferred upon Egypt—remitting taxes, and reserving to the temples, and their gods, certain emoluments, forgiving revolters, and making many gifts to Apis, to Mnevis, and to the other sacred animals of Egypt—a statue of the god Epiphanes' was to be erected in each temple near the principal god of the temple. That the priests were to perform, three times a day, religious service to these statues, and render them due honor as to the other deities. That a gilded chapel' should be set apart to the worship of this god. That an annual festival be held to his honor ' on the first day of the month Thoth' with due honors, and should last five days.
There were numerous other religious festivals, or `assemblies' among the Egyptians. Processions were formed and proceeded to the various temples, in the large halls of which was ample room for a great concourse of priests. A Sacred Ark with shrines of the gods, was sometimes carried in these processions; at other times the Sacred Boat which contained a sort of ark with sacred emblems of the gods. In the British Museum is a portion of a sacred ark and boat in which it was carried. It was in one of these sacred boats that the god Khons was carried to the land of Bakhtan, to heal the daughter of the king, as already related. Perhaps the same boat was also used for conveying mummies, as seen above.
Rameses III. thus describes the sacred boat he made for one of his gods: "I constructed for thee thy grand barge Userha, of a hundred and thirty cubits, on the river, [made] of great cedar trees and rivets of brass, plated with gold, moving through the water like the boat of the sun, going to the land of Bakh, giving life to all who have sight at its appearance: its great cabin within of good gold, [adorned] with settings and all kinds of precious stones, like the place of the god whose face is terrible,' of good gold from front to back, having a cornice of urœi, bearing the atf crown."
The same king also provided gardens for his gods and gardeners from the captives. Oxen, sheep, and goats were supplied in abundance. "Geese, cranes, ducklings, water fowl, turtle doves, birds and pigeons." Good bread and ornamental pastry. Fruits, vegetables, and flowers of all sorts. Fish of all kinds. Spirits, wine, beer, honey, olive oil, wax, "white fat," incense, and frankincense.
Thus the gods—or rather the priests—of Egypt did not lack the good things of this life. That the Egyptians appealed to their gods as oracles is proved by the "Coronation" inscription concerning Ramerka Aspalut, king of Ethiopia. Eighteen of the chief officers of state repaired to the temple of AMEN-RA, saying, "Let us go to him! let us not tell a word in ignorance of him, for it is not good the word told in ignorance of him.
Let us put the case to the god who is the god of Kush.” which well agrees with what follows. After pouring libations of water, wine, and perfumes the officers enter the temple, saying, " We come to thee, AMEN-RA, lord of the seats of both worlds in Dû-uâb, that thou mayest give us a lord to vivify us, to build temples for the gods of southern and northern lands, to make offerings, and all the munificent exertions of thy hands, which thou givest unto thy son whom thou lovest.”
Then they put the royal brothers before this god, but a selection was not made until a second presentation; as to how the choice of the god was made known we are quite in the dark. When the selection was made, the officers fell upon their faces and "smelt the earth," as they expressed their reverence and submission.
The newly appointed king then addressed the god, “Come to me, AMEN-RA..... give me all the beneficent virtues which are not in my heart, that I may love thee. Give me the crown that I may love thee, together with the scepter.”
The god granted him the crown, the diadem, and the scepter of his royal brother, but the name is erased.
The king then placed the crown upon his head, fell upon the ground, saying, "Come to me, AMEN-RA... grant me life, stability and power all, health and joy all, even like unto RA, forever a good old age....”
The remaining part of the tablet is defective, but among other things that the king grants to AMEN is "one hundred and forty barrels of beer"!
Ritual of the Dead.
It is an interesting inquiry as to how the Egyptians looked upon the question of salvation. How could man be just with God? But we know but little of the theology of the Egyptians.
“The inhabitants of this country," says Diodorus (Book i. 51, Wess, in the language of Booth, p. 26), "little value the short time of this present life; but put a high esteem upon the name and reputation of a virtuous life after death; and they call the houses of the living inns because they stay in them but a little while; but the sepulchers of the dead they call everlasting habitations, because they abide in the graves to infinite generations. Therefore they are not very curious in the buildings of their houses, but in beautifying their sepulchers they leave nothing undone." Most of the tombs were on the west of the Nile-the west being called the abode of the dead,' the land of darkness where the sun ended his course. The west was called EMENT; and the ' lower regions' AMENTI.
On the other hand, it has been thought that the Egyptians taught the doctrine of the resurrection of the body. They represented the soul by a burning censer, and then by a bird with a human head, accompanied by the censer A. It could take its flight, and be gone; and the following illustration has been interpreted as shewing the soul returning with the emblems of life and breath, while the god Anubis, who superintended the embalming of the body, is preparing unwrap the bandages.
They believed in a future state, and in the immortality and transmigration of the soul, and as far as has been ascertained, their theology had more to do with the dead than with the living. Respecting the dead they had an elaborate system of theology, if such it may be called. The soul was tried after death; and if it could answer all the questions put to it by its examiners, and declare that it had not been guilty of any sin in a list of forty-two—which, everyone must know, no one could answer truthfully—it was allowed to pass into Elysium, after being purged in a purgatorial fire, and was in some mysterious way absorbed in the god Osiris.
That persons should be reminded of death, Herodotus (ii. 78) says that at the social meetings among the rich, a servant carried round a coffin in which there was a wooden image of a corpse, carved and painted to resemble nature as nearly as possible. As he showed it to each guest in turn, he said, "Gaze here, and drink and be merry; for when you die, such will you be.”
In agreement with this, we quote from a manuscript of the eighteenth dynasty, but ascribed to King Autuf of the eleventh dynasty, styled
A FESTAL DIRGE.
“After all what is prosperity?
Their fenced walls are dilapidated,
Their houses are as that which has never existed.
No man comes from thence
who tells of their sayings,
who tells of their affairs,
who encourages our hearts.
Ye go to the place whence they return not.
Strengthen thy heart to forget how thou hast enjoyed thyself,
fulfill thy desire whilst thou livest.
Put oils upon thy head,
Clothe thyself with fine linen adorned
with precious metals, with the gifts of God.
Multiply thy good things,
Yield to thy desire,
fulfill thy desire with thy good things
(whilst thou art) upon earth,
according to the dictation of thy heart.
The day will come to thee
when one hears not the voice,
when the one who is at rest hears not
their voices.
Lamentations deliver not him who is in the tomb.
Feast in tranquility seeing that there is no one who carries away his goods with him, yea, behold, none who goes thither comes back again.”
One can but regret that a people who saw so clearly the vanity of all things here, knew not the true God who could give them a good hope beyond the grave. The above dirge reminds one of some parts of the Book of Ecclesiastes—the utmost to which man can reach who looks only "under the sun." The sun was their god—they soared not to its Creator, the true God.
The papyri give illustrations of the judgment of the dead, varying in detail, but the same in substance. In the above, the deceased—probably a woman—is seen to the right with uplifted hands, introduced by two goddesses. Her heart is being weighed against a figure of the goddess of truth in the opposite scale. Two gods—the hawk-headed Horns and the jackal-headed Anubis -superintend the weighing. The ibis-headed Thoth, the god of letters, stands with tablet in hand, recording the result. Next to him is a representation of the god Typhon, as a hippopotamus—the Cerberus of the Greeks —accusing the deceased of evil, and demanding her punishment. The presiding judge is Osiris, with his crook and whip. Four small gods are also represented who assist the judge. Some represent forty-two as sessors, the complete number named by Diodorus, who also assist the judge. If the trial is satisfactory, the soul passes to other scenes; but if the soul cannot satisfy its judges it is sent into one of the lower animals. The monuments portray one thus sent into a pig, and an ape drives away the pig. Herodotus says, the Egyptians held that a soul thus banished from the abodes of bliss passed from one creature to another until it had dwelt in all the creatures which tenant the earth, the water, and the air; after a period of three thousand years it again enters a human frame, and is born anew.
The ritual for the dead became a set literary composition prepared beforehand. "In memory of—" leaving a blank for the name; and it is supposed that these were sometimes stolen, and the name erased, ready for another person; for in the ritual the deceased is made to say, "I have not stolen from a mummy its papyrus roll nor any portion of it." It was buried with the dead, being rolled up and sometimes placed under the arms or other parts of the body before the corpse was enwrapped with mummy cloths. Copies may be seen exhibited in the British and other Museums.
The work was divided into chapters, and each chapter had an illustration, which was done in colors, the leading words of each chapter being in red ink. The fullest copy known is contained in a papyrus at Turin, and consists of a hundred and sixty-five chapters. Others were much shorter for the common people. By comparing existing copies together, they appear to have been hastily written, and contain many mistakes.
Part I. consisted of sixteen chapters, probably the prayers recited by the priests during the funeral. The prayers were to the sun and other gods, to ensure the deceased a favorable reception in the future state. The illustrations of Part i. represent funeral ceremonies.
II. contains the part requisite to be known in order to let the blessed out of Hades, to enter the service of Osiris, and to enable him to make the requisite transformation or transmigration. This part contains a number of singular mystic interpretations, which the deceased had to answer when asked—a kind of theological examination of his knowledge and faith.”
III. This contained the eleven litanies of Thoth, or Mercury, "calling upon the god to make good the words of the deceased against accusers before the gods of as many regions. This was called, the crown of truth.'”
IV., V. Chapters enabling the deceased to protect his head and mouth from demons or accusers, and to stop the serpent, tortoise, or crocodiles, which came to devour him.
VI., VII. The deceased has the appearance of certain gods given him to protect him from being wounded in the infernal strife, and preserve him from various disasters.
Chapters referring to the deceased arriving at the Sun.
The transformations made by the deceased into various forms, some earthly, commencing with a goose, and some connected with the gods.
X.-XIII. On the union of soul and body, ascending the boat of the Egyptian Charon, knowing the names of -the various mystical spirits, &c.
The arrival at the Hall of the Two Truths, and the final judgment before Osiris; the denial of forty-two sins: and the weighing of the heart.
The parts of the Hall call on the deceased to tell them their mystic names, or they will not let him pass.
The basin of purgatorial fire, guarded by four apes.
XVII.-XXI. Chapters on adoring the gods, knowing the names of the keepers of certain gateways, and other matters.
In one part the soul is represented addressing OSIRIS and the forty-two judges assisting him in the tribunal of Hades, "the Lords of Truth.”
“Oh, ye Lords of Truth! Oh, thou great god, Lord of Truth! I have come to thee, my Lord. I have brought myself to see thy blessings. I have known thee. I have known thy name. I have known the names of the forty-two of the gods who" are with thee in the Hall of Two Truths, living by catching the wicked, fed off their blood. The day of reckoning words, before the Good Being, the justified. Placer of Spirits, Lord of Truth is thy name.
“Oh, ye Lords of Truth! Let me know ye. I have brought ye truth. Rub ye away my faults." And then follows a long list of deeds the soul has not done. We select a few: "I have not done privily evil against mankind. I have not done any wicked thing. I have not made the laboring man do more than his task daily. I have not done what is hateful to the gods. I have not changed the measures of my country. I have not injured the images of the gods. I have not taken scraps of the bandages of the dead. I have not spat against the priest of the god of my country. I have not netted sacred birds. I have not caught the fish which typify them. I have not robbed the gods of their offered haunches. I have not turned away the cattle of the gods. I have not stopped a god from his manifestation. I am pure, I am pure!
“I have not stolen the things of the gods. I have not been inattentive to the words of truth. I have not clipped the skins of the sacred beasts. I have not reviled the face of the king, or of my father. I have not defiled the river. I have not blasphemed a god. I have not taken the clothes of the dead. I have not despised a god in my heart, or to his face, or in things.”
Among the many things which we have omitted, there are some very curious—their allusion is not known—such as, "I have not burned my mouth. I have not hastened my heart. I have not multiplied words in speaking. I have not listened," &c.
Another extract represents the soul saying, "I have won for myself god by my love: I have given bread to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothes to the naked; I have ordered refuge to the forsaken.”
Such is a slight sketch of the religion of the ancient Egyptians. Some parts of it do not agree with others; -it may never have been consistent with itself, and during long ages have had many variations. It was a religion based, in theory, on the oneness of the deity, but as we have seen from scripture, where men did not like to retain God in their knowledge, He gave them over to a reprobate mind. And "When they knew God they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened: professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things." This we have found to be exactly what took place in Egypt, accompanied with all its attendant debasing evils.
It is so found also among the heathen of our own day. Moffat tells of one tribe among the Caffres where the word for God, or a Supreme Being, had wholly dropped out of their language, and they were sunk more deeply into a gross and savage state. Other savage people there are, whose language is rich in words to express cruel actions, intense hatred and depravity of the basest kind, who have no word whatever to designate "God," or "love.”
According to Egyptian theology, salvation was one of works. Living, they knew they were sinners; but in death they are represented as declaring they were almost perfect, and a purgatorial fire did the rest. And then they were fit to be united to and be absorbed in Osiris.
Scripture, as we have seen, explains all. Man turns his back upon God his Creator, and then he is ready to receive Satan's lie; and it is as much of Satan when worked up into an elaborate theory of "gods many" for the living, and an interminable ritual concerning the dead, as it is in the most unenlightened heathendom. It may be expressed in one short sentence: It shuts out the one only true God, the Lord God Almighty, and then it matters little what man worships; it will culminate, as we have seen, in the worship of that one who is emblematical of Satan himself—the old serpent, who is yet one day to have such frightful control over the men of the earth. (2 Thess. 2:3-12.)
Chapter 5
THE LANGUAGE OF EGYPT.
“He went out through the land of Egypt; where I heard a language that I understood not.”
WE are now so accustomed to a written language corresponding to that which is spoken, that we can hardly realize what it would be to be deprived of this mode of communicating our wants and wishes. And yet, when we consider it, it is wonderful to be able to express by arbitrary marks, the sounds we utter, and the thoughts that pass through our minds.
A missionary was once erecting a building, and on finding that he needed a tool that he had left at his house, he caught up a piece of wood, and wrote upon it what he wanted. Handing it to a chief of the natives, he asked him to carry the piece of wood to his wife. The chief asked what he was to say. He was told to say nothing: if he took the piece of wood to the missionary's wife, she would send what was wanted. The chief, after some hesitation, carried the piece of wood to the missionary's wife; who, after reading what was written thereon and throwing the wood away, at once handed to the chief the tool her husband needed.
The chief was astonished, and could gather up no idea how the wife knew what her husband wanted. He picked up the piece of wood, and on returning to the missionary, and finding that the right tool had been sent, he concluded that the wood must have spoken, and told what was wanted. He hung the piece of wood round his neck, and was seen telling the wonders thereof to his equally astonished people.
Such was the effect on an uncultivated but intelligent man who knew nothing of a written language; while we employ it without a thought, and cannot conceive how the events of daily life could proceed without it.
We say we employ a written language without a thought; for how few stop to inquire how language is transferred from the spoken to the written. Let us try and illustrate it. Suppose in the above case, the missionary had written, "Send my axe." There is first, the tool is called "axe;" of course, any other name would have done as well, providing it had been understood by his wife. A Frenchman would have written hackie, and the same instrument would have been sent. A German might have written beil. So the same tool may have a dozen different names in a dozen different languages. So of the word "my," and the word "send.”
But the missionary could have written, "Send my," and have drawn an axe; but if he had several tools similar in appearance, and if he were not a good draughtsman, the wrong tool might have been sent. Without a question, there is nothing so simple and so definite as a written language composed of an alphabet, by means of which any word can be spelt.
But we are now in the fifty-ninth century of human existence, and written language doubtless passed through many phases before it arrived at the perfection and precision it now has in most civilized countries—we say most civilized countries, because of the language of the Chinese. That empire, shut out from intercourse with other countries, and perhaps from choice as well, has preserved a peculiar and cumbersome mode of writing, as is well known. In some respects it is said to resemble the ancient Egyptian.
For centuries the visitors to Egypt, while they wondered at the ruins of immense works, also looked in astonishment on the strange writing made up of figures of men, animals, &c., without a thought that those strange figures would ever be deciphered. There seemed to be no key to unlock their mysteries. If the strange figures had been like the letters of any known language, there might have been some hope; but no stretch of the imagination could transform an eagle, an owl, or a chicken to be the letters of any known language. To look and wonder what they signified was all that the most learned did. And thus the very name of hieroglyphics became a by-word for anything that passed all comprehension.
But a large piece of black basalt, known as the Rosetta stone, now many years in the British Museum, proved to be the key to those ancient mysteries, or perhaps we must say the key to the outward chambers, and the means of many other keys being discovered.
The Rosetta stone was found by a French officer in A.D. 1799, during the repair of Fort St. Julien, a little to the north of the town of Rosetta, on the Rosetta branch of the Nile. The English nation being successful in overcoming the French, this, with other trophies fell by treaty into the hands of the British, and found its way to the British Museum.
It is a record written in three different characters: 1, The Hieroglyphic, called the sacred language. 2, The Enchorial, which means the characters of the country. 3, Greek. A considerable part of the first is missing, the beginning of the second, and the end of the third; still enough is left to be of great use in deciphering the language of Egypt.
The decree related how " PTOLEMY, ever living, the well beloved of Pthah, god EPIPHANES, most gracious prince" had benefited the country and shown his generosity and zeal concerning the gods; his statue, therefore, was to be erected in all the temples of the land, together with the principal god of each temple; and that certain honors should be paid to these statues, and a yearly festival held in their honor.
Dr. Young was the first to see the use that was to be made of this triple record. The way the meaning of the unknown characters was discovered was somewhat as follows:—
Of course, the Greek could be read by scholars. In that language were found the words "Alexander" and "Alexandria,'" and two groups of characters were looked for that might stand for these two words. Two such groups were soon discovered.
Then a small group of characters was observed to occur very frequently; but as there were no spaces between the words, they might be a short word, or they might be the common ending of different words, like our syllable "ing," or "ous." So these had to be noted, and left for the time, but they afterwards proved to be the word corresponding to "and.”
Again, in the enchorial writing, a group of characters occurred nearly thirty times, and no word in the Greek could be found repeated as often, except the word "king," which, with its compounds, occurs thirty-seven times.
Another group of characters was found in the enchorial inscription fourteen times, and this agreed with the word "Ptolemy" in the Greek both as to its frequency and to its position.
Further examination brought out the word "Egypt," which was found frequently in the enchorial, but less frequently in the Greek; for, as it proved afterwards, the words "the country" were substituted sometimes in the Greek inscription for Egypt, and sometimes it was omitted.
Now these common points of identification having been discovered, the next step was to copy down the enchorial inscription, and above each word the Greek word that seemed to agree with it, and then to see what parts had still to be dealt with, supposing the other portions had been interpreted correctly.
In this process it was necessary to notice that the enchorial inscription had been written from right to left, the reverse of the way that the Greek was written. Herodotus had told us long since that the Egyptians wrote in this way, though the hieroglyphics were written both ways. But this does not cause such confusion as might be supposed, because the letters are formed differently. Thus, sometimes all the men, animals, and other figures face the right, and then it is read from right to left; but at other times they all face the left, and then the inscription is read from left to right. Thus it was found that, as a rule, the inscriptions might be read in the direction that would meet the faces of the figures.
Groups were sometimes arranged in pairs, facing one another, and would be read as if the word" Europe," or "England," were written in either of these styles:—
O O GNE ENG
PRUE EURP L L
E E A A
N N
D D
On Cleopatra's Needle, on two of the sides the characters all face the right, and on the other two they face the left.
Well, after laborious study, and many guesses, some of which proved to be right and some wrong, the translation of certain words was mastered, both of the enchorial and of the hieroglyphical characters. The three inscriptions were declared to be the same in substance, judging as far as could be by what remained of each, but not the same word for word. Thus the enchorial gave in one place suten, "king," and the hieroglyphic and the Greek gave the name of the king.
Champollion followed Young, and having obtained two rings or cartouches, one supposed to Be the name Ptolemy and the other Cleopatra, he conducted his studies thus: working upon the further supposition that in these names the characters were letters having sounds. Let us look at how they agree, going through Cleopatra letter by letter, remembering that we must read so as to meet the faces of the animals, and thus these both read from left to right.
The first sign in Cleopatra, which is called a knee, ought to be the K of Kleopatra (there being no C), and which would not occur in Ptolemy, which was the fact.
The second is a lion couchant, the fourth in Ptolemy; L would be right for both.
The third, a reed, which is sixth and seventh in Ptolemy—an A or E in Cleopatra, and being doubled, was AI or AIO in Ptolemy.
The fourth, a kind of noose, which must be O in Cleopatra, and being third in Ptolemy also answered for O.
The fifth, a mat, which represented P in Cleopatra, and being first in Ptolemy, would also be right for P.
The sixth, an eagle, an A for Cleopatra. It was not found in Ptolemy, which was correct.
The seventh, a hand, the T in Cleopatra; but not the same T as is found the second in Ptolemy.
The eighth, a mouth, and answered to R.
The ninth, an eagle, the same as the sixth—an A.
The last, a semicircle, was the same as the second in Ptolemy, and apparently the T, or feminine Coptic article. This with the egg (the tenth), was supposed to mark the fact that Cleopatra was a woman, and these last two figures did not form a part of the name.
Supposing the second in Ptolemy to be a T, there reclaimed only two letters in his name to consider—the fifth, an M; and the last, an S—spelling PTOLMAIS.
These were found by comparing the whole with other Lames, and a somewhat complete alphabet was at length arrived at.
The next step was to try and master the letters or words that accompanied the names; and on the Rosetta stone it stated in the Greek, that Ptolemy was "beloved," and in the hieroglyphics was found a word that answered in Coptic to the same word, "beloved.”
Thus light gradually broke in to the student's mind, and the decipherment was in great measure worked out by Champollion in an indefatigable study of eight years. He was sent to Egypt by the French government to rescue, as far as he could, any remaining monuments. It is said, that by practice he could read with fluency almost any of the inscriptions. He hesitated not to say that on the wall of Karnak he found the name Judah Malek (the kingdom of Judah) among the prisoners of Shishank. This has been confirmed by others.
Still, of course, the system of decipherment in its minuter details was capable of improvement, and many others have improved or expanded the science, if such it may be called.
To give the reader an idea of the varied extent of the hieroglyphics, we copy Champollion's list of subjects used:—
Celestial bodies 10
Human figures 120
Limbs 60
Wild quadrupeds 24
Domestic quadrupeds 10
Limbs of quadrupeds 22
Birds and parts of birds 50
Fishes 10
Reptiles and parts of reptiles 30
Insects 14
Vegetable kingdom 60
Buildings 24
Furniture 100
Attire 80
Tools and instruments 150
Vases and cups 30
Geometric forms 20
Fantastic forms 50
864
But the list has been further increased to about a thousand characters.
We will endeavor to give the reader some idea of this interesting language by a short sketch of it.
In the first place, in all languages, there are sounds. And these sounds can be represented either by letters or by syllables.
The following is a list of the letters and their nearest representatives in English. We give mostly the more ancient letters. There are others called "the later alphabet," by Bunsen; and in the decree of Canopus, in the time of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, the characters seem to have been increased to what the uninitiated would call an appalling extent. In Mr. Sharpe's interpretation of the Decree, there are no less than ten characters representing M, and twelve representing N, though some are only slightly varied in form. Some of the later alphabet occur in our list of syllables.
As we have seen, the whole of the letters may be reversed, and face the contrary way, without in any way altering their significance. A? is placed to some, it being doubtful what character is represented by the hieroglyphic: but this does not throw any doubt upon its corresponding letter being known.
The Alphabet.
A reed (short sound)
A eagle (slight aspirate)
A arm (strong nasal)
B human leg
F horned snake
H twisted cord
H meander
H club, or finger
I two reeds
I two oblique signs
K side of seat
K bowl with handle
L same as R.
M owl
M hole (?)
N waved line
N crown of lower Egypt
P mat
Q knee (called by some, K)
R mouth (or L)
R lion(or L)
S back of chair
S bolt
S (SH) pool (?)
T open hand
T segment of sphere
O (TH) cord
T snake (called by some, Gi)
U duckling
U coil
X (CH) sieve
1 repeated up to nine
5
10 repeated up to ninety
100 repeated up to nine hundred
1000 this sign turns a numeral into an ordinal
In some, if not all of the foregoing, there may be an inherent vowel: as Bu instead of B; Fi instead of F, &c. Indeed, some think that there was no alphabet pure and simple, but that all were syllables; but by others, the foregoing are treated as the alphabet, in distinction from the short syllables, such as the following:
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Ba heron
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Ma pen
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Ga, or eaglet
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Mu feather
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Ga, or Ta vase and stand,
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Ma weight
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Ha leg of stool (?)
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Mu vulture
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Ha papyrus plant
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Nu vase
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Ha fore part of lion
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Pa goose flying
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Hu hills and valley
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Sa top of quiver
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Hu tusk
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Sa goose
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χa KHa (if leaf of water lily
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Sa woof
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KHa mormorus fish
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Su reed
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Ka woof
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SHa garden
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KHi
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SHa part of dress
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KHa mace
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Ta spindle
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KHu garment Besides the foregoing, there
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Besides the foregoing, there are a series of short syllables,
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AB skin of animal
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MA sickle
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AM tree
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HL, HR face
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KA uplifted arms
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HM well, or bucket
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MN chess board (?)
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AB vase
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MR plough, or hoe
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AM cross
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UA cord
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USR sceptre (?)
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UAH kind of flower
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χA diadem
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MR pool
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UN hare
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STP kind of drill
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SA door
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SN (unknown)
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and many others. One peculiar thing with many of these is, that each has a "complement," that may accompany it or may not. Thus, the first may stand alone for AB, or may have its complement J, human leg, with it, and still be only AB. The second may have its complement S.' the owl, or not. With it, it is AM, and without it, it is AM.
Then there are a number of characters that are neither letters nor syllables, but are called DETERMINATIVES, because they determine what is the meaning of a word which might otherwise be misunderstood.
Thus, if after the letters SP we find the picture of a boat, we know that a ship is meant; but if the picture of an animal is placed after the same letters, we know it represents a sheep ; but if we find the figure of a man, then it is a man's name, as Æsop. There is also a class of determinatives, each of which gives a general idea of what is alluded to, rather than one definite thing. These are called ideographs. Determinatives are numerous, we can give but a few.
Determinatives.
A few specimens of the mode of spelling words are subjoined. They must be read so as to meet the faces of the characters; which will be seen to be from left to right.
In each of these a determinative is added which gives either a picture of the thing itself, or an idea of it thus, in the first, a skin is added to show that some animal is pointed out by the letters TSM. In the second a picture of the ox determines what animal is alluded to. In the word HAB, a pair of legs are given to convey the idea of motion, and hence sending. In MEST, the raven is added because that bird is symbolical of evil; and thus to hate' is classed among the evils.
In the above it will be seen that some of the short vowels are unrepresented: thus Tsm is all we get for tesem; PT for pet; indeed, where two consonants come together, it is common to add a short E between them. In sba, a star, we get only ss.
Another peculiar thing which affected the spelling of words is that though, as a rule, the letters are placed in the order in which they are to be read, this rule is sometimes departed from, in order, as is supposed, to make the letters range themselves in a more compact form.
The language has been technically explained by Mr. Birch as follows:
“It is necessary to bear in mind the following terms.
“A Symbolics: Hieroglyphic symbols used to express ideas, and never pronounced or read except as the idea was.
“B Determinatives: Symbols, never pronounced at all, placed after groups of characters which were pronounced, and used to determine or fix their meaning. They are the same as the Chinese keys, or radicals.
“C Phonetics: Symbols used to express sounds, and not ideas, forming groups which express the sounds or spoken words of the ideas intended to be conveyed.
Alphabetic: Expressing one articulation.
“D. Syllabic: Expressing a syllable.
“D Limited: This last may be employed to express one or few ideas.
“D. Extended: Used extensively in the texts.
“E Inherent: The character whose pronunciation exists in another, although not actually written.
“F Complement: The character written after a syllabic symbol to complete the syllable; when omitted it is inherent in the syllabic symbol.
“G Homophone: A symbol having similar sound to another, and used in other examples of the same word.”
Clement of Alexandria gave an account of the Egyptian language thus: “Those who are educated among the Egyptians learn first that mode of writing which is called Epistolographic [or enchorial, common.]
“Secondly, the Hieratic, which the sacred scribes use.
"Lastly, the Hieroglyphic.
“Of this one method is kyriologic, by means of the first letters, and the other is symbolic.
“Of the symbolic, one is express, or written imitatively.
"Another is written figuratively.
"The third is allegorical, like some enigmas.”
The Hieratic style here named is a mode of writing the hieroglyphics. In general form they are like the characters cut into stone, but more free, as would naturally be the case when written on the papyrus.
The Epistolographic is the common writing of the country, in distinction from the other style called sacred.
ENCHORIAL, OR DEMOTIC.
Mr. Birch gives the following dates for the different styles of writing: the use of hieroglyphics dates from the earliest times. In the sixth dynasty the hieratic was introduced and superseded the hieroglyphic for books, letters, &c., but not for monumental and other important purposes. At the commencement of the twenty-sixth dynasty, a more cursive form of hand writing called demotic, or popular, was introduced, and in a great measure superseded the hieratic.
The learned have tried to dissect the Egyptian language, and to discover how it grew into such an elaborate system as that in which they now find it.
The simplest form of a picture language would be for each character to be a picture of what is pointed out: thus, a man, for a man; a woman, for a woman; an ox, for an ox; and so on. Thus we find stone, wall, flower, house, ram, fish, obelisk, throne and city. This, however would not tell us much; but we could further distinguish the actions of a man; either sitting, of walking, or striking, &c. Thus we find a man in a priestly garb, holding up his hands as if in prayer, or pouring something out of a vessel, would portray a priest. A house with a god signified a temple.
Liquids could sometimes be distinguished by the vessels in which they are usually carried; and then a vessel and a bee would perhaps do to point out honey. Water was represented in the hieroglyphics by three lines perhaps suggested by the ripple on the river Nile; thirst, by the lines and a kid going to the water; and so forth.
Verbs were expressed by such signs as To give, to act forcibly, actions of sight, and to avoid, escape. But this—and more that might be worked out by symbols—would not give us nearly all we want for a written language. But it appears clear that the Egyptian language was not confined to symbols; but that they had also signs representing sounds, as we have seen in the names Ptolemy and Cleopatra.
By referring back to the alphabet it will be seen that a human leg stands for the letter יייB: or, as some say for the sound Bu: but why was this selected to represent the sound Bu? It is supposed that it was chosen because the name or word by which the Egyptians represented a leg began by this sound; in the same way that we should use a leg, or lion, &c., for the letter L.
Some scholars say that if this were so, it was not a principle that guided the Egyptians only, for the same thing is also to be found in the Hebrew, Arabic, Samaritan, Phoenician, and other Semitic tongues; as in the Hebrew, the second letter בּ is called Beth', and this is the sound of their word for house,' though the word is spelt בּיח Beth.
One writer illustrates the principle of forming these sounds into words by a child's primer, in which A is represented by an Archer; B by a Butcher; and C by a Captain. Then if we were to draw a Captain, an Archer, and a Butcher, we should represent the word CAB; and we add that if we placed after this the picture of a vehicle on wheels as a determinative, it would represent the plan adopted by the Egyptians. There might be another word composed of the same letters or sounds, with a different meaning; but this is the vehicle, a CAB.
It is remarkable how sounds become associated with objects. If a child is taught the alphabet by a picture book, the picture and the sound of the letter intimately connect themselves in the child's mind. Thus if we suppose O is represented by an orange, though he is taught that O stands for orange, he will sometimes, when asked in some other book what letter the O is, he will say it is ' orange' rather than O.
But questions arise as to why in a picture-word should particular objects be chosen when there are others which would denote the same; for instance, in the above illustration, would not the word CAB be as well represented by a Cat, an Ape, and a Bell? And so the picture-word might be varied almost indefinitely. This was not however done by the Egyptians. Though there were variations in the spelling of the same word, there were certainly restrictions, and, as a rule, the same word was spelled by the same characters. Marquis Spineto seeks to illustrate what may have guided them.
“Suppose we were to imagine an alphabet of our own: to write the name of LONDON, for instance, we might choose for the several letters the following images or hieroglyphics. For the letter L we might take the figure of a lion, or of a lamb, or of a lancet, or of a leaf, or any other such objects, whose names begin with an L. Again, to express N, we might select a net, a negro, the north star, and the nave of a temple. To denote the letter D, we might choose the figure of a dromedary, or a dagger, the deck of a ship, or even the whole of a ship, to signify the deck; and for the O we might pick out the figure of an oak-tree, an ostrich, an ox, or an owl. Now if from all these images or hieroglyphics we should be obliged to write the word LONDON, we ought not to select the lamb, but the lion, as the expression of the letter L, because the lion is the acknowledged emblem of England. For the O we should prefer the representation of an oak-tree, or of the acorn its fruit, as connected with the building of a ship. For the N, you certainly would not pick out a negro slave, for this choice would be quite unnatural, and contrary to the decided antipathy which the English have to slavery; nor would you select the representation of the nave of a church, because this emblem would better suit an ecclesiastical government, and by no possible means could it apply to your nation; but you would choose in preference the fishing-net or the north star, as the only images which would convey to the mind of the beholder two of the characteristics of a seafaring nation, as the English are. And, last of all, for the letter D you would, I am certain, decidedly prefer the representation of the whole, or a part of a ship, as the only image connected with the very existence of the nation. Thus the whole word LONDON, written hieroglyphically, would then be represented by a lion, an oak-tree, a net, a [deck of a] ship, and the north-star; for, you remember, we have no need to repeat the second O.”
There are some characters that are used in sacred and royal subjects alone. And though there are several characters representing one letter, these are not used indiscriminately. The words 'beloved,' deceased,' place, ‘water,’ ‘born,' all commence with the letter M, but with letters of different form; and these letters are seldom changed in the same word.
The mingling of the symbols and letters is curious, and to the uninitiated very puzzling. Thus Mr. Birch gives a remarkable instance of what would appear to be overloading a word. It stands thus A First are the two letters K N to signify kan, then a leg to show that it is the same word as kan, a knee; then the semicircle to show that the word knee is feminine; then an angle to give the pronunciation kan; then a 'man to show that it does not signify a knee but a man: and altogether it is a minister or servant.
It was supposed that a study of the many monuments in existence would have shown a progress in the development of the language; and that the earliest inscriptions would have been composed of what are called now symbolicals and ideographs only. But this has not been found to be the case. The oldest monuments of the third dynasty are filled with phonetic characters as well as ideographs. So that it is not now known how the language became developed into the state in which it is found on the monuments.
Those who have made a study of the subject have constructed Egyptian grammars and dictionaries much more voluminous than was at first supposed to be possible.
We cannot attempt to give even a sketch of the grammar. It has its verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. Its prepositions alone are over thirty in number.
Verbs may be said to have strictly no tenses, moods, voices, or conjugations, and yet present, past, and future times are expressed by means of suffixes, affixes, and auxiliary verbs, and the sense made pretty definite.
A man's name, spelt with six letters, may in a long inscription have only four letters in the middle, and at last be represented only by one.
The living Horus the Conductor, the king Khufu (Suphis), the Living; he designed the temple of Isis the ruler of the Pyramid near the house of the Sphinx, above the north-west of the house of Osiris, lord of Rusta; he built his pyramid near the temple of that goddess.
Names of the Kings.
As the names of Ptolemy and Cleopatra were the key to unlock the mysteries of the hieroglyphics, so the key was found of great use in deciphering the names of the kings in general. These names were generally distinguished from the mass of inscriptions by being enclosed in cartouches or ovals. At first one oval was enough for a king's name, thus:—
CHEMREN (Chephren). CHEMI (Chemnus).
From the sixth dynasty each king had two ovals, one containing his family name, and the other a prenomen or throne name. Some of these throne names were very general, so that if a king erased the family name in an inscription to substitute his own name, he did not trouble always to alter the throne name: it did as well for him as for his predecessor. Thus Thothmes IV. is found with the prenomen of Amunoph II., &c. But this was an exception, and the throne names are very useful in distinguishing one king from another when the family name was the same as that of other kings.
Thus there were eleven kings of the name of Rameses; and as the kings did not add, as we do, second, third, &c., they can be distinguished only by these additions to their names. However, though keeping generally to the same prenomen for the same king, they were varied in detail; so that one writer believes that he has discovered no less than thirty different modes of writing the name of Thothmes III. As the adopted names, or rather titles, were so general, it is not surprising if two kings at different times adopted the same title. We give a few as specimens.
RA KHEPER KA. The Sun, the existence of the world.
RA KHEPER EN The Sun, belonging to the world.
RA MEN KHEPER The Sun, Establisher of the world.
RA As KHEPER-U The Sun, Great One of the worlds.
RA MEN KHEPER-U The Sun, Establisher of the worlds.
RA TSER KHEPER-U The Sun, Dispenser to the world.
RA NEB PEH-TI The Sun, Lord of glory.
RA TSER KA The Sun, Dispenser of existence.
RA NEB MA The Sun, Lord of truth.
RA MEN PEH The Sun, Establisher of glory.
RA MEN MA The Sun, Establisher of truth.
RA USER MA The Sun, Guardian of truth.
SAT? EN RA Approved of by the Sun.
The translation of these names is doubtful, for some of the words have different meanings, and there is nothing to decide which was intended. The words too are sometimes transposed, and RA is placed at the end instead of the beginning, and read as passive instead of active. The writers on Egypt generally leave these names untranslated: as long as what king is alluded to is known, the end is answered.
Over the ovals are found a variety of symbols, one or more of which were adopted by all the kings.
As to the general name of Pharaoh, Josephus says that it signifies "king;" but gives no key as to how this is made out. It is now generally believed to be simply PH-RA: PH, the article, and RA, "sun." If this be correct, the simple sign of the sun O would express the same as Pharaoh. It is found in nearly all the kings' names or titles.
Interpretation Tested.
It may reasonably be asked, are we sure, even now, that the hieroglyphics are correctly interpreted? Suppose the guesses have been so neatly and systematically done, that they fit in one with another, and make the whole to give some result, how do we know that that result is the true one? Could not some other clever man interpret the whole altogether in another manner, which might also be consistent in itself?
Not to mention others, it is well known that the Rev. C. Foster had a very different system—taking the Arabic as a kindred language instead of the Coptic, which is taken by the system we have been considering. The way his system seemed to hang together, and give a sense to everything he examined, appeared very plausible, and for a time, at least, perplexed many as to which of the rival systems was correct; but we suppose all have before this time come to the conclusion that Mr. F. was wrong. But it is certainly a legitimate question, Is the other right?
Well, there are some external proofs that seem to stamp upon the now acknowledged system a confirmation not to be gainsaid. For instance, from various materials and data, it had been settled that the Great Pyramid had been built by a certain king. In an expedition conducted by General Vyse, some chambers were discovered, which had never been opened since the building was erected. These new apartments were a series of entresols, one above another, over the king's chamber, intended, as is supposed, to lighten the weight of the heavy masonry. In them were found scrawls on the stones by some of the workmen. These marks, therefore, were of the same date as the building of the pyramid. In these scrawls occur the names of two kings —KHUFU and NOU-KHUFU—one of whom had been previously concluded to be the builder of the pyramid, and the other, the next king of his dynasty. In the Third Pyramid also was found on a mummy-case, the name of MENKARA, which also agreed with the name previously known.
The names of kings occurring in the same parts of edifices have been easily recognized as belonging to one and the same period. Thus the Cæsars are found together, and the Ptolemies together. The styles are also distinct. "The accurate delicate style 'of the Psammetichi is not accompanied by any but names of that line; the heavy style of the Ptolemies is not found with Egyptian or Roman names; the still heavier style of the early emperors does not contain the names of the later ones, under whom Egyptian art reached its lowest point.”
“The date of the Rosetta stone is B.C. 196. The oldest Coptic papyri are not much earlier than the close of the sixth century after the Christian era." Yet Coptic is considered to be a debased form of ancient Egyptian, essentially differing but little from it. This is proved by many words referring to actions which cannot be misunderstood; or to animals which are drawn with their names over, and these names are essentially the same in Egyptian and in Coptic.
It may be said that the student knows what he wants to find, and finds it somehow; but this is not true. All have wanted to find some account of Joseph and the Israelites; and though some have imagined that they have discovered certain traces, further investigation has not confirmed the supposition; we may say, that nothing has been with certainty discovered.
“The alphabet may be obtained without the guess that led Dr. Young to its discovery. There is in the Leyden Museum a well-known enchorial papyrus, in which certain words are transcribed in Greek characters. From these transcriptions an enchorial alphabet may be formed, by which the words in the enchorial inscription of the Rosetta stone, enclosed in signs like those we use for parentheses, will be found to furnish the same names as the corresponding words enclosed in rings in the hieroglyphic inscription according to Dr. Young's reading."
There is also another stone—known as "The Decree of Canopus"—written in hieroglyphics with a Greek translation. This was discovered in 1866 by some German gentlemen at Tanis. The priests met at the city of Canopus, where they drew up the decree. It contains thirty-seven lines of Egyptian, and seventy-five of Greek. Each inscription is written without spaces between the words. In this inscription, proper names occur, which would have given a key to many characters of the hieroglyphics, had they not been already discovered, but which were confirmed by this. Here, again, the Coptic was the best means of deciding the words in most cases, and gave the same sense to the hieroglyphics as was read from the Greek.
Another stone was discovered during the progress of the works of the Suez Canal. It contained an inscription in hieroglyphics and in Greek, referring to Ptolemans III and his wife Berenice. Here, again, the correct translation of the hieroglyphics was proved by the Greek.
There are also vases found that bear inscriptions in hieroglyphics and cuneiform characters; and while some scholars have read the cuneiform, others have interpreted the hieroglyphic, each by their separate and independent systems: and the names of Persian sovereigns have been declared to be the same by both systems. The natural conclusion is, that they are both right.
There is, however, yet more conclusive evidence in favor of the present system of interpretation. Certain fragments have been discovered of the lost work of Chæremon in hieroglyphics. This man was an Egyptian by birth, and sacred scribe and keeper of the library of Alexandria towards the close of the first century of the Christian era. The fragments contain the explanation of nineteen hieroglyphic signs, whereof three have more meanings than one, making in all, twenty-six significations. Of these, fifteen agree with the present system, and are thus thought to be certain. Three are probably, and another three possibly, to be placed in the same class, from their similarity; while five are positively unknown; and there is no contradiction.
Considering the short time the interpretation has been attempted, and the difficulties attending an unknown language without a single book of instruction of any sort, the above result is so far satisfactory, and beyond what might have been expected.
Writing Materials.
In hieroglyphics, a roll of papyrus tied at the center, denoted rolls, books, writing, &c. Another sign gave the materials. On the left is the pen; in the center, the bottle of ink; and on the right, the pallet with two indentations for holding the colors. This sign does equally well to point out the painter as the scribe.
The scribe used a small portable writing-tablet, about sixteen inches long and two inches wide. It was made of alabaster, porcelain, wood, or ivory, about a quarter of an inch in thickness. In the upper part were small depressions for holding the ink, and at the lower part a groove for the writing-reeds. The reeds, called KASH, were split, but not cut to a point, with which the scribe rather painted than wrote the characters. The common colors were black and red; but other colors were used, as in painting. The writing for common purposes was almost on anything; thin slices of stone, tiles, linen, leather, wood, on which was placed a layer of cloth and plastered over; and for documents of more importance, the papyrus was used. This was a sort of paper made by fastening thin slices of the pith of the papyrus plant together, strengthened by a layer of the same placed the reverse way, and all well pressed together. These were seldom wider than fifteen inches, but were several feet in length, especially for the ritual of the dead. The Great Harris Papyrus was a hundred and thirty-three feet in length, and sixteen and three-quarter inches wide. These were rolled up and placed in leather cases for protection—or in wooden images of Osiris. In the British Museum are some of these god-shaped cases, in which are portions of the papyrus. But this material was too expensive for common every-day life, and the fragments of broken vases, &c., were used to write accounts, or even a soldier's furlough.
There is a prophecy that has been thought to declare that the papyrus should cease to grow in Egypt. (Isa. 19:7.) "The paper reeds by the brooks.... shall wither, be driven away, and be no more;" but translators are not at all agreed that this refers to "paper reeds." Nevertheless it is a fact that the papyrus has ceased to grow in Egypt.
It is remarkable that though paper made of rags, &c. has long since superseded all other materials, paper is much used in narrow strips as was the papyrus. A traveler who had begged a letter of introduction from the Patriarch of the Coptic Church at Cairo, writes, "Then we sought out the scribe, which was no easy matter. At last he came to us with his reed in his hand, and his silver inkhorn at his girdle, and immediately began to concoct the rough draft of the note required; this took place as we stood in the court below, in front of the new Coptic Church. An oriental scribe requires no office for his work; he carries all his materials in his girdle, and the palm of his hand is his usual desk. This accounts for the long strips of paper on which notes are generally written in the East.”
The paper made of papyrus was succeeded by parchment, which was more durable. It is supposed that this was first made about B.C. 250, and was extensively used for copies of the Holy Scriptures. This has preserved these inestimable treasures, the papyrus being of a nature far too perishable. A very small portion of the scriptures has come down to us on papyrus. The miscellaneous documents seen in our museums owe their preservation to being buried in tombs and in the folds of mummies, as also in the buried city of Herculaneum. But God's word must be preserved, and the Author of it brought parchment to light when copies and translations of the Old Testament were needed by His people.
Chapter 6
THE PROPHECIES CONCERNING EGYPT,
AND A SKETCH OF ITS HISTORY.
“The Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day." (Isa. 19:21.)
IN considering the fulfilled prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Egypt, it will be our duty to see how far the historians and the monuments agree therewith. In order to do this the more satisfactorily, we shall attempt a slight sketch of the history of Egypt before the prophecies, and gather up the prophecies as we proceed; and also endeavor to fill up any gaps there may be between one prophecy and another.
The Egyptians considered themselves to be the most ancient people. King Psammetichus (twenty-sixth dynasty) hit upon a singular plan to test the truth of it after trying various other means of solving the question. The story is old, but will bear repeating. "He took two children of the common sort," says Herodotus, "and gave them over to a herdsman to bring up at his folds, strictly charging him to let no one utter a word in their presence, but to keep them in a sequestered cottage, and from time to time introduce goats to their apartment, see that they got their fill of milk, and in all other respects look after them. His ‘object herein was to know, after the indistinct babblings of infancy were over, what word they would first articulate. It happened as he had anticipated. The herdsman obeyed his orders for two years, and at the end of that time, on his one day opening the door of their room and going in, the children both ran up to him with outstretched arms, and distinctly said Becos.' When this first happened, the herdsman took no notice; but afterwards, when he observed, on coming often to see after them, that the word was constantly in their mouths, he informed his lord, and by his command brought the children into his presence. Psammetichus then, himself heard them say the word, upon which he proceeded to make inquiry what people there was who called anything becos,' and hereupon he learnt that becos' was the Phrygian name for bread. In consideration of this circumstance, the Egyptians yielded their claims, and admitted the greater antiquity of the Phrygians." If the story is true (and Herodotus vouches for its truth as far as was told him at Memphis) it is most probable that the children imitated the bleating of the goats.
The common name for Egypt in the Bible is "Mizraim," or the "land of Mizraim." And in Gen. 10:6, we find that Mizraim was one of the sons of Ham. Therefore we need not be surprised to find Egypt called "the land of Ham," as it is in Psa. 78:51; 105:23, 27; 106:22.
In Psa. 87:4; 89:10; Isa. 51:9, Egypt is also called "Rahab." In other places, the word is not translated as a proper name: as in Job 26:12, “He smiteth through the proud." The word Rahab cannot be traced as a proper name as applying to Egypt; so that it would appear that the word is used as an epithet rather than as a proper name. The character of Egypt for pride and arrogance was so well known, that when "the proud" was spoken of, it would be known that it referred to Egypt. The same word occurs in Isa. 30:7, and is translated "strength." Of the Egyptians it is said, "Their strength is to sit still;" but others translate it, "Boasters they are in sitting still," "Bragging people," &c.
Mizraim in the Hebrew is a dual, and it has been thought that it thus alluded to Upper and Lower Egypt, into which the country was always divided, or to east and west. To this day the Arabs call Egypt Musr, and this name has been discovered on an Egyptian monument.
The Egyptian name for Egypt in hieroglyphics is KEM, or KHEM, and signifies, both in the ancient Egyptian and in the. Coptic, "black." The meaning of Ham is given as, "hot, heat, dark." So it will be seen that the two names approach to one another in meaning. The Nile is called Sihor (Isa. 23:3; Jer. 2:18), which is also supposed to signify "black.”
In Gen. 10:6, another son of Ham is named Cush. And this points out Ethiopia, a country lying south of Egypt. The histories of the two are at times mingled together as one. Scripture also associates along with these Seba, named after a son of Cush. Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba were all given for Israel. (Isa. 43:3.)
One of the sons of Cush was Nimrod, the famous hunter, whose country was towards the Euphrates and the Tigris, thus linking Babylonia with Ethiopia.
It was thought by some that Ethiopia stood first, and that Egypt learnt from it; but it is now generally believed that it was the reverse, and that Ethiopia learnt from Egypt.
An interesting question arises as to what race of mankind the ancient Egyptians belonged. The name of Mizraim undoubtedly links Egypt with the above son of Ham; but then the Negroes of Central Africa are also almost universally traced to Ham, and if not to his son Mizraim, it would be to his brother Cush; and could the two brothers of the same father and mother form two such distinct races?
Now if we turn to the monuments, we find all over the land, the Egyptians, as a type of man, far removed from the Negro; and when the negro is introduced, it is as a foreigner or a slave bearing tribute to the Egyptians. The problem then is, how can both the African Negro and the Egyptian be descendants of Ham?
Great attention has been given to this question, especially as it has been maintained that such tribes as the African Negro did never spring from a common origin with the Asiatic and European races. To aid in the solution of the difficulty, Mr. Gliddon, American consul in Egypt, collected from various parts of Egypt and Nubia one hundred and thirty-seven skulls, without any choice, except to find the oldest he could. These were submitted to Dr. Morton of Philadelphia, in their original wrappings. Professor Blumenbach had long before suggested “a very careful, technical examination of the skulls of mummies hitherto met with, together with an accurate comparison of these skulls with the monuments." Dr. Morton had now the opportunity to make this comparison.
After due deliberation, he declared the mass of heads to be of the Caucasian race, which he subdivided into three types. Besides these he found some which he called Negroid," for while the osteological development is more or less that of the negro, the hair is long, but sometimes harsh, thus indicating that combination of features which is familiar in the mulatto grades of the present day." Another writer—Dr. Prichard—in marking out the difference between the descendants of Ham and the Syrians, also shews how the Egyptians approach the Africans: “Though inhabiting from immemorial times regions in juxtaposition, and almost contiguous to each other, no two races of men can be more strongly contrasted than were the ancient Egyptian and the Syro-Arabian races; one nation full of energy, of restless activity, changing many times their manner of existence—sometimes nomadic, feeding their flocks in desert places, now settled and cultivating the earth, and filling their land with populous villages, and towns, and fenced cities, then spreading themselves, impelled by the love of glory and zest of proselytisms over distant countries—the other reposing ever in luxurious ease and wealth on the rich soil watered by their slimy river, never quitting it for a foreign clime, or displaying, unless forced, the least change in their position or habits of life. The intellectual character, the metaphysical belief, and the religious sentiments and practices of the two nations were equally diverse: one adoring an invisible and eternal Spirit, at whose almighty word the universe started into existence, and 'the morning stars sang together, and the sons of God shouted for joy:'—the other adorning splendid temples with costly magnificence, in which, with mysterious and grotesque rites, they paid a strange and portentous worship to some foul and groveling object—a snake, a tortoise, a crocodile, or an ape!
“The physical characters of these nations are likewise different. Instead of the sharp features, the keen, animated, and restless visages, and the lean and active figures of the Arabian, there were to be seen in the land of the Pharaohs [quoting Denon], full, but delicate and voluptuous forms; countenances sedate and placid; round and soft features; with eyes long, almond-shaped, half-shut and languishing, and turned up at the outer angles, as if habitually fatigued by the light and heat of the sun; cheeks round; thick lips, full and prominent: mouths large, but cheerful and smiling; complexions dark, ruddy, and coppery; and the whole aspect displaying, as one of the most graphic delineators among modern travelers has observed, the genuine African character, of which the negro is the exaggerated and extreme representation.'"
If the monuments which still retain their color are a faithful representation of the people, the color of the ancient Egyptian must be described as red copper or light chocolate; doubtless those who lived farther south were still darker in color, though far removed from black.
Cush being the name in scripture for Ethiopia, there can be no doubt that this descendant of Ham was the founder of this adjacent kingdom. While a part of the family settled in Ethiopia, another part may have penetrated into Africa, and led a sort of half-wild life, which led to the full negro type being produced from what has been described above as Negroid.'
There is one passage of scripture that may at first sight seem to imply that the Ethiopians were black: "Can the Ethiopian [Cushite] change his skin?" (Jer. 13:23.) But it is not necessarily so. Let us suppose for a moment that the Ethiopians were the people dwelling the farthest south of any named in scripture, and that they were the darkest in complexion, would not these be the very people that would be referred to as unable to change their skin?
From the whole, therefore, there can be no doubt that the inhabitants of Africa are the descendants of Ham; and the ancient Egyptians were so also; a relic of whom is to be found in the Copts of Egypt. It has been thought by some that the descendants of Japheth show, almost as great contrasts as we have seen in the descendants of Ham.
Egypt and Ethiopia, then, were founded by the sons of Ham; and if we take the common date of the flood at B.C. 2348, the founding of the kingdom of Egypt dates from thence. In the following rapid historical sketch we shall avoid questions of chronology as much as possible, as they demand a separate consideration.
The lists given by Manetho and those of the Turin papyrus speak of a series of gods and demi-gods who reigned in Egypt before the race of human kings began -a mythology that may be passed over in silence.
The first king is named MENES, who is supposed to be a real person. His name is found on the monuments, thus MNAI. He is said to have changed course the Nile, and founded Memphis and the famous temple of Pthah. He is also charged with interfering with and changing the former simple manner of life of the Egyptians, so that a curse was afterwards recorded against him in one of the temples. He was killed by a hippopotamus.
Egypt was divided into districts, and two or more kings reigned at the same time; thus, the third dynasty ran on at the same time as a part of the first: but very little is known of these early kings. During the second king of the second dynasty—named Kaiechos—the bull Apis at Memphis, the bull Mnevis at Heliopolis, and the goat Mendes at Mendes, were appointed to be gods; and about this time women were first allowed to succeed as queens.
THE FIRST AND SECOND DYNASTIES were Thinite, from the city of This, near Abydos, in Upper Egypt. The THIRD and FOURTH dynasties were Memphite.
The FOURTH DYNASTY is the first that gives us from the monuments any elaborate account of the people. SORTS (Shure) was the leader of this dynasty, and his name has been found on the blocks of the northern pyramid of Abooseer.
This has been called the Memphite or the Pyramid period. The position of the great pyramids, standing due north, south, east and west (though they stand in all directions elsewhere), and the very excellent way in which they were put together and the joints finished, shew that Egypt had at this early age advanced in the arts and sciences. In the tombs too of this period are found depicted on the walls nearly all the various arts—glass blowers, cabinet makers, and others—which are found at a later period: the dresses are the same, and painted sculptures are in both relief and intaglio.
In this period the Egyptians had carried their conquests into the southern part of Syria. Mount Sinai was also held by them, and the silver mines were worked to their profit.
SUPHIS (Cheops) and SUPHIS II. were also of this period. They were the builders of the great pyramid; their names being found as KHUFU and NOU-KHUFU.
After these was king MENCHERES who built the third pyramid. General Vyse found a part of his mummy-case bearing his name-MEN-KA-RA in hieroglyphics. It is now in the British Museum. "Indications," says Dr. Birch, "are found of the works of these monarchs at the mines of the Wady Magharah, in the legends of the temples of Denderah, and in the older books or papyri.”
THE FIFTH DYNASTY was Elephantine, from the city of that name. It existed nearly six hundred years, and thirty-one kings have been named, but little is known of them.
THE SIXTH DYNASTY was Memphite, though some of the names of the kings are found in other parts of Egypt. PAPI is one of the most famous; his name has been found on Mount Sinai and elsewhere, though it is thought that there may have been two kings of this name. In this dynasty it is supposed Ethiopia was conquered. A king Papi was the first to add a prenomen to his name.
Queen NITOCRIS (called in the Turin papyrus NEETAKARTEE) was the last of this dynasty, and ended the reign of these Memphite rulers. At this period Lower Egypt was invaded by those known afterwards as Shepherds and led eventually to the famous Shepherd-kings.
In other parts of Egypt four dynasties ran their course—in the order of ninth, seventh, eighth, and tenth. Some and only some of the kings' names are known, and little or nothing is recorded of them, or their acts.
THE ELEVENTH DYNASTY was the first of the Diospolite or Theban kings. It was contemporaneous with the ninth. Monuments of this dynasty have been found at Thebes, Abydos, and in Upper Egypt.
THE TWELFTH DYNASTY followed. In this dynasty there were some famous kings. OSIRTASEN I., II. and III., and AMUN-M-HE were of this dynasty.
Osirtasen I. would appear, by his name being found in widely separated places, to have reigned over the whole of Egypt. His obelisk is still at Heliopolis, and his name is found on the oldest portion of the great temple of Karnak at Thebes, as well as in the necropolis of Abydos.
He is supposed to have been the first king known as Sesostris, and it may be he of whom Manetho says, "he was considered by the Egyptians as the first (or greatest) after [the god] Osiris.”
To this dynasty too belongs the maker of the Labyrinth, and the Lake Maoris. Lepsius found on the Labyrinth the name of AMUN-M-HE III or Ameres. He was able to hold Middle Egypt against the growing power of the Shepherds.
THE THIRTEENTH DYNASTY was still Theban; and the FOURTEENTH Xoïte. It is supposed that during the thirteenth dynasty the Shepherds extended their power; the native kings' ovals of this dynasty are found in Ethiopia, as if they had fled thither; and monuments of the twelfth dynasty were thrown down at Thebes. Of the fourteenth dynasty no kings are known, unless they are named in the Turin papyrus.
Here there is a break in Egyptian history. Until now, the kings have been Egyptian. During this period —say, perhaps five hundred years—there are no references in scripture to Egypt, except the sojourn of Abraham during the famine. This would have been about B.C.
1920. But the account in scripture is so short, and the succession of kings and the length of reign so uncertain in history, that it is little better than guesswork as to which king reigned when the patriarch came into Egypt.
In the chapter on chronology, we give, a table of these early dynasties, showing how two or more are supposed to have run on together, with approximate dates for the long and short chronology. It will be seen that one or more of the Egyptian kings reigned all through the period of the shepherd kings.
Abraham was well received, and notwithstanding his deceiving the king and bringing chastisement upon Pharaoh and his house, was dismissed with his gold, his silver, and all that he had, intact.
THE FIFTEENTH, SIXTEENTH, and SEVENTEENTH DYNASTIES are given to the reign of the shepherd kings. They had been increasing in power, it is supposed that they were not at first actuated by a spirit of conquest, but that they laid some claim to the throne, perhaps through marriage with Egyptian princesses. As far as it is known, they did not reign over the whole of Egypt, and were on terms of friendship with the rulers of other parts of Egypt at least for a time.
Still their religion was different, and they ruled eventually with rigor, which made the Egyptians smart under what they considered foreign usurpation. Associated with this is the saying in scripture that "shepherds were an abomination unto the Egyptians," and in connection therewith has to be considered, if any, and what light the reign of these shepherd kings throws upon the history of Joseph—questions we hope to consider in the chronology of Egypt.
Little or nothing is known of the reign of the shepherd kings. Their monuments have been found only at San (Tanis) and Heliopolis; but their successors would naturally destroy the records of the usurpers.
An inscription (called the First Sallier Papyrus) is held to refer to the time of the shepherd kings. It reads, "It came to pass that the land of Egypt was held by the impure.... King Sekeneu-Ra was ruler in the southern region, and the impure in-the district of Amu, their chief king being APAPI in the city Avaris. The whole land did homage to him with their handiwork, paying tribute alike from all the good produce of Tameri. King Apapi took to himself Sutech for Lord, refusing to serve any other god in the whole land." The papyrus also, contains an account of a complaint being sent to the southern ruler—evidently all was not going on smoothly.
THE EIGHTEENTH DYNASTY was the result of Amos's, or Ames taking Avaris, and driving out the shepherd kings, and forms another epoch of Egyptian history. An inscription of an officer under NEB-PEHTI-RA. (Amosis), reads, "We took Avaris, and I carried off as captives from thence, one man and three women—in all, four heads; and his majesty gave them to me as slaves.”
Now again we obtain monumental history; and for the first time find the horse on the monuments. From the name sûs, often given to the horse, it is supposed that they were brought from Asia into Egypt by the shepherd kings. Egypt became famous afterwards for its horses, and Israel was warned against sending to Egypt for them, lest they should trust in them instead of in Jehovah.
From this time forward, the kings mostly reigned over all Egypt. There were three crowns used by the kings; one for Lower Egypt, one for Upper Egypt, and one, a combination of the two, for those who reigned over both ' districts.
Amosis is represented with a black queen AMES-NOFRI-ARE, and a white one named AAHÔTP; but the former was held in higher honor, and is represented as a holy woman in the service of the gods. In the British Museum may be seen a representation of the king with his two wives.
AMUNOPH I. of this dynasty was powerful enough to resume invading surrounding countries, which his successors continued. At this time there is evidence that the Egyptians divided the day and night into twelve hours each, and they had made up the year to three hundred and sixty-five days. But though recorded now, these may indeed date earlier.
THOTHMES I. extended his rule to the Libyans; a people named in scripture in connection with Egypt. (Jer. 46:9; Dan. 11:43.) An inscription (by Aahmes son of Abana, an officer of this king) reads, “After this he went to the Rutennu (Syria) for the purpose of taking satisfaction upon the countries. His majesty arrived at Naharaina (Mesopotamia)." At Thebes he added to the great temple at Karnak, where one of his obelisks is still standing. His name, as well as Thothmes II. is recorded on other monuments at Thebes.
With THOTHMES II and III there was a queen associated, named AMUN-NOU-HET who appears to have had greater honors than these kings. Monuments were erected bearing her name, and she is represented offering to the gods. She was perhaps a widow or daughter of a former king.
THOTHMES III. after her death appears to have sought to obliterate her name from the monuments, and to substitute his own: but at times this was not fully done, so that an inscription reads, "King Thothmes, she has made this work for her father Amun." Her name is omitted from later lists of kings.
Thothmes III. carried his arms into Asia. An inscription reads, "His majesty sailed to take the towns and plough the country of the enemy and the vile Naharaina [Mesopotamia]."None could stand before him." His majesty then came to the city of Ninü [Nineveh] on his return. Then his majesty set up his tablet in Naharaina to enlarge the frontiers of Kami [Egypt].”
The monuments represent many descriptions of tribute being brought to him: elephants, horses, bears, rare woods, rich gold and silver vases; ebony, ivory, precious metals; camelopards, apes, ostrich feathers, &c. These came from various places. Some from the district of the Euphrates, and some from Ethiopia. We give a representation of a group of persons bringing tribute to Egypt. It will be seen that the dresses differ as well as the features, and in the monuments the different people are colored to represent nature: the Negro and Nubian are dark-colored; the Copt is light red with long hair; the Ethiopian is dark; the Arab is of fair skin.
This king added largely to the monuments: the two obelisks afterwards carried to Alexandria and others were made during his reign. The "chamber of the kings" at Karnak, where he is portrayed making offerings to sixty former kings, was also his work.
It is worthy of note too that more bricks have been Found bearing his name than of any other king; and in a tomb is portrayed in detail the making of them, exactly agreeing with the account given of the forced labor of the Israelites.
AMUNOPH II. succeeded, and then THOTHMES IV., two short and unimportant reigns. The great Sphinx at the larger pyramids bears the name of Thothmes IV., but it is supposed to have been in existence long before.
AMUNOPH III. succeeded. He calls himself the son of Thothmes IV., the son of Amunoph, but it is supposed that his mother—Maut-in-shoi—was a foreigner. His features differ from the other kings, and the respect paid to him by the stranger-kings,' who succeeded him leads to the thought that he was not a pure Egyptian.
Amunoph was victorious as a warrior. He added to the great temple of Karnak and built the principal part of the large and beautiful one at Luxor. He also erected one on the opposite shore, and the two large sitting figures, one of which was called the Vocal Memnon.' He also erected the temple of Soleb in Ethiopia on which he recorded the names of his many victories in Asia and Africa.
At the death of Amunoph III some stranger-kings reigned, and continued from thirty to forty years.
THE NINETEENTH DYNASTY followed, and is supposed to have commenced with RAMESES I., but the lists of kings are here all in confusion. His reign was short, and he was followed by his son SETHI I. (or Sethos).
This monarch overran Syria, punishing those who had not sent their tribute, and carried his conquests far into Asia. He erected some of the finest of the monuments, the style of which was not surpassed at any other time. The granite obelisks were now of the finest description, some of the hieroglyphics being cut to the depth of three inches.
RAMESES II. reigned with his father Sethos, and then succeeded him. He was also victorious in his expeditions, and made many captives. These he used in restoring and enlarging fortresses, cities and temples. The temple of this king to the west of Thebes is one of the finest in Egypt. Here he erected a statue of enormous size, reaching above the roof of the temple, but it is now thrown down.
He added the extra lines of inscriptions on Cleopatra's Needle. His name may be picked out, written thus.
MAI RAMESES. SATP EN RA.
It occurs twice on each outer column. Another name was Beloved of Amun.
It is believed that some of the victories attributed to Sethos (or Sesostris) were really those of his son Rameses II. He left memorials of his campaigns in Palestine and Syria at the pass of the Nahr el Kelb, or Lyons, near Beyrout.
The following illustration represents Rameses II., with the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, slaying his enemies in honor of the god Amun-Ra. In the group of victims couched in the center, it will be seen that some are dark-colored with thick lips, others have beards.
It is supposed that this monarch also commenced a canal to connect the Red Sea with the Nile: it was afterwards carried on by, Necho; Herodotus says Necos commenced it, but from its getting filled up with sand, it probably was commenced' several times. It is doubted by some if it was ever finished so as to be used, though Herodotus speaks of it as existing in his day, and says it was completed by Darius the Persian.
To Rameses II. is also attributed the wall built on both sides of the river, where the mountains left the country exposed, to protect the cultivated lands from the roving Arabs.
His thirteenth son, PTHAHMEN, succeeded; but his reign was not remarkable.
THE TWENTIETH DYNASTY was opened by SETHI II., and followed by SETHI III.; but except a few additions to the temples and their approaches there is nothing to record.
RAMESES III was the noted king of this dynasty. In the great Harris Papyrus, he is said to succeed a state of confusion. “The land of Kami had fallen into confusion: everyone was doing what he wished The land of Egypt was under chiefs of nomes, each person killing the others for ambition and jealousy." One A-AR-SU, a Kharu (a Syrian) became chief. He stopped the offerings and abused and overthrew the gods. But the gods assembled and crowned RAMESES III., RA-USER-MA as lord of the two countries. He says," The land was well satisfied with my reign. I did well to gods and men also." He was victorious abroad, and erected the interesting temple at Medeenet Haboo, wherein his victories are recorded. But connoisseurs are able to see symptoms of declining art in the sculptures of his reign. He was succeeded by several others bearing the name of Rameses; but, except the eighth, their power began to decline. A papyrus details the additions made to the temples of Ptah in Memphis, Tum in Heliopolis, and Amen at Thebes during this dynasty.
THE TWENTY-FIRST DYNASTY was Tanite, and the nation became governed by military priests. It is at the close of this dynasty that the history of Israel comes in. We learn from 2 Sam. 8:14 that David made Edom tributary; and in 1 Kings 11:15, 17 that David had slain every male in Edom except Hadad of the king's seed.
Hadad fled to Egypt and was there favorably received. Pharaoh gave him the sister of Tahpenes the queen for his wife: and there he remained until the days of Solomon. This name has not been traced except as the name of a town near Pelusium, the Daphnæ of Herodotus.
Solomon had made an alliance with Egypt, and had married Pharaoh's daughter. Her father had taken from the Canaanites, Gezer (perhaps at or near Yasûr between Jaffa and Ramleh), and had given its ruins as a dowry with his daughter. (1 Kings 9:16.) Who this Pharaoh was is not known, but it was probably a king of the twenty-first dynasty.
Solomon had sought to put Jeroboam to death, because it had "been foretold that he was to have ten tribes for his kingdom, but he fled into Egypt, unto Shishak, king of Egypt, and was there till the death of Solomon." (1 Kings 11:40.) And on the division of the kingdom Jeroboam left Egypt and ruled over the ten tribes as foretold by the prophet.
THE TWENTY-SECOND DYNASTY was Bubastic. SHISHANK I. was its first king, whom all identify as the Shishak of scripture. (1 Kings 14:25; 2 Chron. 12:2-9.) His name has been found thus: AMUN-MAI SHISHANK.
It was this same Shishak that attacked Judah in the fifth year of Rehoboam. Judah had forsaken the law of the Lord, and an enemy was allowed to attack them.
Shishak came with "twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen; and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubims, the Sukkiims, and the Ethiopians.”
The Lubims are traced to the west of Egypt: they had been previously conquered by the Pharaohs. The Sukkiims have not been traced, but are supposed to be the Arabs on the East of Egypt. The Ethiopians were from the South.
Shishak took the walled cities of Judah, but on the humiliation of Rehoboam, Jerusalem was spared destruction. Nevertheless the temple and the king's house were pillaged: " he took all: he carried away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made." (2 Chron. 12:1-9.)
It is painfully interesting to find that in the records of Shishak's victories on the temple at Karnak one of them has been identified as referring to this victory over Judah—painful that the world should have been able to raise a monument of its success against God's people; but it was because of the failure of that people and not of any decrease of God's interest in them. God had to use Egypt as His rod to punish His guilty people. That Jerusalem was spared at all was because God withheld the Egyptians: "I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak." Nevertheless Judah remained the "servants" of Egypt.
This is a copy of the figure and the inscription: the words are JUDAH MELCHI, ' kingdom of Judah.' By referring to the alphabets the letters will be seen to be IUTH MALK: the last character denotes country.'
It will be seen that the face is very different from the Egyptian features, besides the pointed beard and peculiar cap. It is no doubt" copied in general from one of the captives.
It is profoundly interesting to find that the first Egyptian king mentioned by name in scripture is also on the monuments, and that the capture of Jerusalem should also be found recorded in stone at the time. Some of the monuments of Shishak are in the British Museum.
The next event in scripture bearing on Egypt is the signal victory of Judah over Zerah the Ethiopian. He came a thousand thousand strong and three hundred chariots. But Asa piously cried to the Lard, It is nothing with thee to help whether with many or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God: for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.”
Jehovah answered such faith, and this million of people were overcome and the people of Judah took "very much spoil." (2 Chron. 14:9-13.)
Notice that though the king is called an Ethiopian, and the people Ethiopians, the Lubims were among them (see chap. xvi. 8), the same who aided Shishak: so that Zerah is believed to have been king of Egypt, though an Ethiopian. His name cannot be identified with any on record, unless it be, as some suppose, Osorkon I.: his defeat, of course, would not have been recorded.
THE TWENTY-THIRD DYNASTY was Tanite. It is called Tanite from the city of Tanis which now rose into importance. It is called Zoan in scripture. It was about forty miles to the north of Bubastis, on the east of the river, and gave its name to the Tanitic branch of the Nile. There was also a district which scripture calls the plains of Zoan. The building of the city is mentioned in Num. 13:22. It is thought by some to be the same as Avaris of the shepherd-kings. Manetho gives eleven kings of Tanis.
THE TWENTY-FOURTH DYNASTY was Saite. BOICHORIS THE WISE was its only king. He was the first to transfer the capital to Sais, whence the name of the dynasty. It was on the right bank of the Canopis branch of the Nile.
THE TWENTY-FIFTH DYNASTY was Ethiopian. The first king was SABACO. The following is the name of Sabaco on the monuments. The letters are SHIM. His throne name is RA-NEFER-KA.
It was about this time that Hoshea, king of Israel, threw off his allegiance to Assyria, and attempted an alliance with So, king of Egypt. (2 Kings 17:4.) See also Hos. 12:1, where Israel is represented as making a covenant with Assyria, and also making presents of oil to Egypt.
As there were two kings of Egypt named Sabaco, it is not known which was the So of scripture. Help was not given, and the revolt of Hoshea led to the taking of Samaria and the captivity of the ten tribes. The Assyrian king, Sargon, thus records his victory: "Samaria I looked at, I captured: 27,280 men [or families] who dwelt in it I carried away.”
TEHRAN succeeded, and there can be no doubt that he was the Tirhakah of scripture. When Sennacherib was attacking Libnah, he heard that Tirhakah was coming to attack him: and he sent a second threatening message to Jerusalem. But God miraculously destroyed his army in the night. (2 Kings 19:8, 9, 35; Isa. 37:9.) There are monuments of Tehrak in Thebes as well as at Napata (now called Gebel Berkel) in Ethiopia, where he constructed a temple, and part of another. His name is in the following ovals.
TEHRAK. THE TWENTY-SIXTH DYNASTY was Saite, as the twenty-fourth had been. PSAMMETICHUS I. was the first king of note. Of him Herodotus relates a curious story. Egypt was divided into twelve Domes or districts, and each was ruled by a governor, who sought to strengthen their position by intermarriages, &c. But an oracle had declared that whoever of them should pour out a libation to the god from a brazen cup would be king of Egypt. Now on the closing day of a great festival, when the high priest had brought out the golden goblets for the princes, there were found to be only eleven. Psammetichus being last was left without a goblet and so he poured out his libation from his brass helmet, and thus fulfilled the oracle. The others, jealous of him, drove him from his home; but the same oracle being consulted he was told that vengeance would come by brazen men from the sea. Soon afterwards Psammetichus was told that "brazen men had come from the sea," who really were Carian and Ionian pirates, driven by stress of weather. He engaged them in and succeeded in overcoming the eleven others.
Whether the above be true or not, it seems certain that Psammetichus I. did employ Greek mercenaries. But his native troops took offence at the favors shown to these Greeks, and revolted in a body. They marched back to Egypt and were there joined by the rest of the army, and then marched southward to Elephantine, and thence withdrew to Ethiopia. The king followed them as far as Elephantine, and sent after them further, and endeavored to persuade them not to abandon their country, their wives and families; but it was all to no purpose: they refused to return. The king of Ethiopia received them in a friendly spirit, and gave them possessions beyond Meroë, where they were long known as ' strangers.' The Greek troops in this pursuit are said to have cut an inscription on one of the colossal statues at the temple of Abou Simbel at the second cataract: it is supposed to be one of the earliest Greek writings extant.
Psammetichus did not send away the Greeks, but appointed them a settlement, and had his children taught the Greek language. He employed the rest of his reign in repairing and beautifying the temples, so that this period has been called the 'renaissance' of Egyptian art, because it somewhat recovered from the decline into which it had fallen.
The next king, was NECHO or Neco II., who is without doubt the Pharaoh-Necho (or Nechoh) of scripture.
He sent an army into Asia for the purpose of attacking the Babylonians, and directed his steps to Charchemish on the Euphrates. Josiah proceeded to oppose Necho. He was warned by Pharaoh that he had not come to attack him; but Josiah would not forbear and hearkened not "unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God;" and thought to escape by disguising himself. But his army was routed at Megiddo and he was wounded. He returned to Jerusalem and died there. (2 Chron. 35:20-24.)
Necho was successful at Charchemish and then returned to Jerusalem. He deposed Jehoahaz and carried him to Egypt, where he died (the lion's "whelp" of Ezek. 19:3, 4; 2 Kings 23:34) and set up his brother Eliakim in his stead, calling him Jehoiakim. The tribute was to be a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold (about £40,000). Uriah prophesied against Jerusalem, and when the king sought to kill him he fled to Egypt; but Jehoiakim fetched him from thence and put him to death. (Jer. 26:21-23.)
As Megiddo was so far north of Jerusalem Necho may have sent his army by sea. It is known that he fitted out ships, and it is recorded that he explored the coast of Africa, so that he would have had no difficulty in sending ships to some seaport on the Mediterranean.
But the power of Babylon was increasing, and after three years Nebuchadnezzar defeated the army of Egypt by the river Euphrates, at Charchemish, and took from Egypt every place from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates: and "the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land." (2 Kings 24:7.)
Jer. 46:1-12 Comes in here. Verse 2 mentions Pharaoh-Necho by name; verses 3, 4, speak of his great preparations; and verse 9 mentions the allies of Egypt "the Ethiopians [Cush], and the Libyans [Put], that handle the shield, and the Lydians that handle and bend the bow." The Libyans and Lydians inhabited the north of Africa to the west and east of Egypt.
Though the daughters of Egypt should seek at Gilead for balm, and use many medicines, they should not be cured, when God arose to punish them.
Necho was succeeded by PSAMMETICHUS II. or Pammis; and HOPHRA, Apris (or Psammetichus III.) followed.
HOPHRA, PSAMMETICHUS.
This latter is the Hophra of scripture. Zedekiah had been made governor of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar; but he revolted and formed an alliance with Hophra, though forewarned by the prophet. (Ezek. 17:15-17.) When the Chaldeans besieged Jerusalem, Pharaoh's army came to the rescue, and for the time the Chaldeans retreated. (Jer. 37:5-11.) But Jeremiah foretold that the Chaldeans would return "and fight against the city, and take it, and burn it with fire.”
The successes of Hophra filled him with pride, so that he is recorded to have said that not even a god could overthrow him. Such arrogance could not go unpunished.
Ezekiel was at Babylon: in his prophecy (chap. 29:1-16) he foretells the humbling of Egypt. "Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which path said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. But I will put hooks in thy jaws.... I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field, and to the fowls of the heaven. "Egypt had been but" a staff of reed" to Israel, and had broken when it was leaned upon. God would bring a sword upon Egypt and cut off man and beast. Egypt should be "utterly waste and desolate from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia." It should be desolate forty years; and after the forty years God would bring the inhabitants back again. But it should be a base kingdom—"the basest of the kingdoms." It should no more rule over the nations, or have the confidence of Israel.
The prophecy was given in the tenth year and tenth month of the captivity (B.C. 589), which would be while Jerusalem was besieged but before it was taken. Israel had relied upon Egypt, but it had failed to deliver them from Nebuchadnezzar: it was but a reed that injured the one who leaned upon it. The great dragon to which Egypt is compared may refer to the crocodile which lived in the Nile, for the word is translated whale, serpent and dragon. The crocodile well illustrates a savage man. Livingstone tells us that he found a man "fencing up a well to prevent his slaves being taken away by crocodiles, as three had been eaten already.”
“From the tower of Syene" reads in the margin "From Migdol to Syene." Migdol was in the northeast, about two miles from Suez; Syene was the most southern town of Egypt; so that the whole of Egypt is included. It was to be deserted forty years. There are no dates from which to compute these forty years during which Egypt was thus deserted. It may refer to the after desolation by Nebuchadnezzar, when some were put to death, and some led away captive. There is indeed a tradition among Arab writers agreeing with this prophecy. Abdallatif says, "Memphis was a flourishing city in the time of Abraham, Joseph, and Moses, and a long time before and after this period, till the reign of Nabuchodonosor. This prince ravaged Egypt, and it remained in a state of desolation for forty years after. The reason of this invasion was that the king of Egypt granted an asylum to the Jews who fled from the conqueror. Nebuchadnezzar, to avenge himself, marched against Egypt and ruined all the country.”
At its termination God brought again the people, but that it remained the basest of kingdoms in comparison to what it had been is testified of by all travelers. On all sides are the ruins of former grandeur along with the most abject poverty as a nation. Napoleon I. made great efforts to conquer and raise Egypt. With a large army he went forth and was everywhere victorious, till, as a writer says, “the progress of the French army, hitherto invincible, was suddenly and wonderfully checked by a small and weak fortress, protected by the sword of Britain. The triumph of the resistless army of France was ended. The ferocious legions in vain dashed themselves, as the waves of the ocean, on the small but immovable rock. The broken remnant of the dispirited and discomfited army was abandoned by their leader; and the land of Egypt is still the basest of kingdoms.' The scripture is fulfilled."
Three months after the above prophecy, Ezekiel again prophesied against Egypt. (Chapter 30:20-26.) Jehovah would strengthen the arm of Babylon, and would break the arm of Egypt. He would "scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries." They should know that Jehovah was the Lord.
In two months' time another prophecy falls from the mouth of Ezekiel: as Assyria had been as a cedar of Lebanon, with fair branches, &c., and yet had fallen under the judgments of God; so Egypt, "like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden," should also fall under similar judgment. (Ezek. 31:1-18.)
Egypt gave no effectual help to Judah, and in B.C. 588 Jerusalem was taken by Nebuchadnezzar. Fresh prophecies were now given against Egypt.
Ezekiel, at Babylon, again declares the general desolation of Egypt in chapter 32:1-16, and 17 to end. Jeremiah, with the Jews, declared the same, mentioning Pharaoh-Hophra by name: "I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life." (Jer. 44:30.) Reverses soon followed. According to Herodotus, Hophra had sent his troops against Cyrene, but his troops were defeated, and attributing their defeat in some way to the king, they revolted against him. He sent Amasis to appease them, but he was induced to side with them; and on Hophra attacking them with thirty thousand Ionian and Carian troops, he was defeated and carried prisoner to Sais. The Egyptians compelled Amasis to put him to death. It was by those who sought his life,' and not by a foreign enemy.
After the destruction of Jerusalem, some Jews were still left in the land, under Gedaliah the governor; but Gedaliah being slain, the people feared the Chaldeans, and sought to escape into Egypt. Jeremiah warned them not to go into Egypt, for there the famine, the sword, and the pestilence should certainly consume them, but that God would protect them if they remained in the land. (Jer. 42:13-22.) But they would not obey Jeremiah, but gathering all the chief men together they went towards Egypt, taking Jeremiah with them. Thus they came to Tahpanhes. Here Jeremiah foretold the capture of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. "When he cometh he shall smite the land of Egypt, and deliver such as are for death to death; and such as are for captivity to captivity; and such as are for the sword to the sword." The gods should also be taken away, and the houses of the gods burned. "He shall break also the images of Beth-shemesh." (Jer. 43:8-13.) This name refers to the 'House of the sun,' which is its meaning; the Vulgate has domes soils; the LXX, Heliopolis (which also means city of the sun').
The historians do not relate the taking of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar; and some have supposed that the account told to Herodotus respecting the revolt of Amasis, was to hide their shame in having to confess the invasion of their country by Nebuchadnezzar, who perhaps put Amasis on the throne. Josephus says Nebuchadnezzar "slew the king that then reigned, and set up another.”
But the Jews must have reiterated warnings now that they are in Egypt. Jeremiah 46:13-29 again takes up the deliverance of Egypt into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. The prophecy was to be proclaimed in Migdol, Noph (Memphis), and in Tahpanhes. The sword should devour around them. Noph was to be laid waste without an inhabitant. Nebuchadnezzar may have done this, but it was not the ultimate destruction of Memphis, for the Persians afterwards repaired the city, and it was in existence long afterwards.
“Egypt is like a very fair heifer, but destruction cometh." (Ver. 20.) This may well be applied to the god Apis, which was a heifer chosen with great care; but Egypt's god could not protect the land: destruction should come upon it from the north.
The destruction from the Lord was to come "upon the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods and their kings." It will be seen that in the margin it reads "upon Amon, or nourisher of No," &c. And in the margin of Nah. 3:8 it is "No-Amon, or nourishing." The chief god of Thebes was called AMUN; this, with the description of the city in Nahum, as "situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it," points to Thebes. It was the only city in Egypt that was built on both sides of the river.
This punishment of Egypt was only for a time: it was judgment tempered with mercy: for it adds "afterward it shall be inhabited, as in days of old, saith the Lord.”
But it was not simply Egypt that' was before the prophet, but the people of the Jews who had fled for refuge into Egypt, whose moral condition deeply affected him. He speaks, to those at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in the country of Pathros. (Jer. 44)
Scripture speaks of Egypt under various names, and it is supposed that by Zoan, Lower Egypt is meant; by Noph (in the LXX Memphis) Middle Egypt; and by Pathros, Upper Egypt. Migdol and Tahpanhes would be in Egypt; so that the above names show us that the Jews had scattered themselves over Egypt, perhaps as far as Thebes.
Jeremiah prophesied to them that they had come to Egypt for safety, but they should not escape from the hand of God. The answer of the men is remarkable. By verse 15 it would appear that Jeremiah had taken occasion to address the Jews on a religious festival, when a great multitude were gathered together.
The men knew that their wives had burned incense to other gods, and they said they would not hearken to the prophet: " We will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings 'unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine." (Vers. 17, 18.)
Thus did these children of Israel dare to attribute their blessings to the queen of heaven, and to declare that they would continue to worship her. What goddess is here referred to is not definitely known. It will be seen that in the margin it reads frame of heaven,' and so may embrace the heavenly bodies generally-the host of heaven' (2 Kings 17:16); or it may refer to the moon as the queen of heaven. The Egyptians had a goddess Neith, who was also called the queen of heaven, but does not appear to have been associated with the moon, though they had gods of the moon, as other heathen nations had, under different names.
Jeremiah had to convey a dreadful message to such rebels: "Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the Lord, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, The Lord God liveth." They should perish by, the sword and the famine, until all were consumed, except—for mercy still triumphs over judgment—that a small remnant shall be allowed to escape.
Hosea also mentions Israel's turning to Egypt for help: "Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria" (chap. 7:11); to any source but God. It should "be their derision in the land of Egypt." (Ver. 16.) Did they lean on Egypt, they should go there: Jehovah would "re member their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt" (chap. 8:13; 9:3); “Egypt shall gather them up; Memphis shall bury them." (Ver. 6.)
This may refer to a portion going there from choice as we have seen they did in direct opposition to the prophet Jeremiah; but in a general way the captivity should be to Assyria and not to Egypt: Ephraim "shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king." (Chapter 11:5.)
Another prophecy is remarkable. (Ezek. 29:17-21; 30:1-19.) Nebuchadnezzar had done a great service against Tyre, and had had no wages, and Egypt was to be given to him for his unrequited labor. Historians tell us that when the people of Tyre could hold out no longer, they gathered up all their riches, embarked in their ships, and sailed away. So that the army of Nebuchadnezzar found nothing to repay them for their toil, which the prophet describes as so excessive as to make their heads bald, and their shoulders peeled. Egypt should be their reward.
The capture was to be complete: "Ethiopia, and Libya [or Phut], and Lydia [Lud], and all the mingled people, and Chub," and the men in league with Egypt, should fall by the sword.
Ethiopia, Phut, and Lud, we have already considered. Chub occurs in no other part of scripture, and it has not been identified as any known place in or near to Egypt.
Verse 6 reads in the margin from "Migdol to Syene"—from north to south. God would also cause the "images to cease out of Noph.... and I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire in Zoan and will execute judgments in No. And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strength of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No.... the young men of wen and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword; and these cities shall go into captivity. At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened.”
In this prophecy we get a comprehensive list of the great cities of Egypt, Noph, Memphis; Zoan, Tanis; No, Thebes; Sin, Pelusium; wen (same as On), Heliopolis; Pi-beseth, Pubastium or Bubastis. Pathros was a district.
All were to fall under the judgment of God by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon. (Ver. 10.)
This series of prophecies gives an approximate date. Nebuchadnezzar was to lay Egypt waste, and he was to do it as wages after he had taken Tyre. Tyre was taken B.C. 572, and Nebuchadnezzar died in B.C. 562, which leaves an interval of at most eleven years. This agrees with the thought that Amasis may have been placed on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar. He reigned, according to the historians, forty-four years, and had a prosperous reign, and erected some remarkable monuments. This leads to the thought that in this prophecy, as in many others, only a partial fulfillment ensued at the time; to be followed hereafter by a full and minute accomplishment.
Amasis was called Neit-se, the son of Neith,' the Minerva of Sais. He married the daughter of Psammetichus III., and his reign was, as we have seen, long and prosperous. The remains of his monuments are found from the Cataracts to the Delta. The court to the temple of Neith at Sais excelled in size and beauty. It had large sphinxes in the way to its entrance. A stone chamber in one stone brought by this king seven hundred miles is thus described by Herodotus: "It took three years to convey this block from the quarry to Sais; and in the conveyance were employed no fewer than two thousand laborers, who were all from the class of boatmen. The length of this chamber on the outside is twenty-one cubits, its breadth fourteen cubits, and its height eight cubits." The stone was never put in its place. One account is that the architect, when it was near its destination heaved a heavy sigh, overpowered with the labor: this the king took to be an omen; and he would not have it moved further. Another account is that one of the laborers was crushed to death, and this prevented its removal.
Amasis entered into a treaty with Crœsus against Cyrus, and sent to his aid a large force armed with large shields which protected them from the attacks of the Persians; and they were victorious.
Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, made preparations for attacking Egypt; but before he reached that Country Amasis had died, and Psammenitus his son reigned. The Persians were victorious, and Egypt was made a mere province of Persia, with Psammenitus as viceroy.
This brings us to the TWENTY-SEVENTH. DYNASTY which was Persian. (B.C. 525.) Cambyses was its first king, the first of the "three kings of Persia" in Dan. 11:2. Here closes the history of Ancient Egypt; and as it is beyond the dates of the Old Testament history we need not follow it further except to remind the reader that in this same chapter of Daniel, on the division of the Persian empire, several kings of Egypt are referred to as "the king of the south,"—the Ptolemies. Of one it is said, "Out of a branch of her [his sister Berenice] roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them and shall prevail: and shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold." This came to pass minutely. Jerome says that Ptolemy took with him, on his return, forty thousand talents of silver, a vast number of precious vessels of gold, and images to the number of two thousand four hundred, among which were many of the Egyptian idols, which Cambyses, on his conquering Egypt, had carried into Persia. Ptolemy restored these to the temple to which they belonged, and by this he much endeared himself to his people. It was on account of the service which he thus rendered to his country that he was called EUERGETES, that is, the Benefactor.
As to the fulfillment in general of the prophecies against Egypt, there is abundance of evidence. "There shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt" (Ezek. 30:13); "the scepter of Egypt shall depart away." (Zech. 10:11.) "Deprived twenty-three centuries ago of her natural proprietors, she has seen her fertile fields successively a prey to the Persians, the Macedonians, the Romans, the Greeks, the Arabs, the Georgians, and at length the race of Tartars distinguished by the name of Ottoman Turks. The Mamelukes, purchased as slaves and introduced as soldiers, soon usurped the power and elected a leader.... The system of oppression is methodical. Everything the traveler sees or hears reminds him he is in the country of slavery and tyranny."
Every traveler of intelligence bears witness also to the destruction of her cities, and the desolation of her temples. "Egypt shall be a desolation." (Joel 3:19.) Truly "has No [Thebes, whose strength was 'infinite,' Nah. 3:8, 9] been rent asunder. The towers of the second, or eastern propylon are mere heaps of stones poured down' into the court on one side, and the great hall on the other; giant columns have been swept away like reeds before the mighty avalanche.... Returning to the great obelisk, and seating myself on the broken shaft of its prostrate companion, I spent some delightful moments over the scene of ruins scattered around me, so visibly smitten by the hand of God in fulfillment of the prophecies that describe No-Ammon as the scene of desolation I then beheld her. The hand of the true God of truth has indeed executed judgments on all the gods of Egypt.... the multitude of No' has been cut off; Pathros is desolate'—the land of Ham is still the basest of kingdoms. So sure is the word of prophecy, so visible its accomplishment.
“We have spent the whole day in visiting the site of Memphis and the pyramids of Dashour and Sacara. Mounds and embankments, a few broken stones, and two colossal statues, disinterred a few years ago by our friend Caviglia, are the solitary remains of the ancient capital of Lower Egypt. We rode for miles through groves of palm and acacia, cultivated fields, and wastes of sand, over what we knew must be the site of Memphis, but every other vestige of her ancient grandeur has disappeared. Noph is indeed "waste and desolate." The desolation is not in one or two places only—it is universal.
“Heliopolis has now a single erect obelisk to tell that the mounds around it were once the city of the Sun.'" “At Bubastis, now Tel Basta, the Pi-beseth of scripture, are lofty mounds, and some remains of the ancient city of Pasht. Many other mounds, in various parts of the Delta, mark the sites of ancient towns."
Of Zoan, "or Zaan, as pronounced by the Arabs on the spot [once, the seat of government, Psa. 78:12; Isa. 19:11; 30:4] a small fishing village, built of mud and brick, some of the dwellings consisting of the former and some of the latter, is the only representative of this seat of Pharaoh's glory. In its immediate vicinity, but raised considerably above the plain, are the ruins of the ancient city."
Let this suffice for the desolation of the cities of Egypt-the sites of some cannot even be found: we shall also see that its temples are equally in ruin. Thus in the land of Egypt stand hundreds of witnesses to the infallible word of God that shall abide forever and ever.
There is still a series of three prophecies that demand our attention: Isa. 18, 19, 20 There is a date to chapter 20. as to when that prophecy was given, and it may have an allusion to events about the time of 2 Kings 18:17, where Tartan is also named. Ashdod was a sort of key to Egypt, and when it had fallen, Sargon may have attacked Egypt. In the great hall at Khorsabad, if the inscriptions have been rightly interpreted, Sargon boasts of a successful battle which he fought with Pharaoh SEBECH at Raphia, and in consequence of which the latter became tributary to him.
Still in a more general way, the three chapters in Isaiah may form a series. Chapter 18 is Ethiopia; 19 is Egypt; and 20 is Egypt and Ethiopia. There are passages too which we believe have never yet been fulfilled, such as "the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt.... the Lord shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord and perform it.... in that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land; whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.”
We know of no time or circumstance in which these things have taken place, though other parts of the prophecy may have had a partial application to Egypt in bygone times. Believing as we do in the restoration of Israel to their own land in a future day, we doubt not that this prophecy looks forward to the time when all nations shall bring honor to Israel, and especially those near to the Holy Land. "Then will I turn to the people a pure language that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering." (Zeph. 3:9, 10.) And in order that there may be no obstacle to the return of God's ancient people to their own land, "the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian Sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod." (Isa. 11:15; see also 27:12, 13.)
It is not easy to see why Israel should be the third;' as in other places it is clearly the first, and other nations second, but it may be in connection with Israel being brought into blessing—even "a blessing in the midst of the land," as it says here (chap. 19:24); for in other prophecies all are made to contribute to Israel's exaltation; as in Isa. 45:14, "the labor of Egypt and merchandise of Ethiopia" shall come over unto Israel. Any family that refuses to come to Jerusalem to worship the King the Lord of hosts shall be punished by the withholding of rain. When Egypt is mentioned by name,'' rain' is not named, though they shall have the same punishment drought accompanied with the plague. (Zech. 14:17, 18.)
We may look at a few details of the prophecy. "Woe [or rather He!] to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia," or Cush. (Chapter 18:1.) Various are the meanings given to the expression shadowing with wings.' Lowth has 'winged cymbal,' applying it to a musical instrument; Delitzsch has whirring of wings;' Gesenius whizzing of wings;' the LXX wings of the land of ships;' the Vulgate, cymbalo alarum: But may not the shadowing of wings refer to the very common symbol of deity that appears so extensively in Egypt? In Isa. 30:2, 3 the folly of Israel is spoken of in trusting in the shadow of Egypt. Though called "the winged sun," it will be seen that from the sun issue two sacred serpents, and sometimes, as here, one wears the crown of Upper Egypt, and the other that of Lower Egypt. Altogether it is a composite symbol of Egyptian deity, and was commonly placed over the doors and gateways of tombs and temples, and is found on ceilings and many other places.
The part of Egypt alluded to in the prophecy is that which lies beyond the rivers or streams of Cush. “That sendeth ambassadors by the sea even in vessels of bulrushes." These are vessels of 'papyrus,' referring plainly to Egypt, where the boats were made of the bark of the papyrus.
It is a land "the rivers have spoiled!" in the margin, a land the rivers despise.' This has created a difficulty. Lowth has "a land the rivers have nourished." But it should be noticed that there are two people spoken of. One is the people of the land that sends the messengers by the sea; and the other the persons to whom the message is sent. "Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto." We doubt not that this is Israel: the message is to be carried by the inhabitants of the land shadowing with wings to the scattered people of Israel, who are to be gathered "to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the Mount Zion." (Ver. 7.) In what sense the rivers have spoiled their land is not clear, but may we not translate the word floods' instead of rivers, as it is in Psa. 93:3? The floods of God's, judgments have been upon the land; but when God's set time is come it shall blossom as the rose.
Chapter 19 is called the burden of Egypt: though referring to Egypt in particular it may also be typical of this world in its state of nature. Jehovah should come into Egypt; and the idols should be moved at His presence. He would cause civil war in the land—city against city, kingdom against kingdom. The counselors thereof should be destroyed, and the charmers, those with familiar spirits, and the wizards. Egypt should be given over to a cruel lord, and a fierce king.
Then follow a list of passages that refer minutely to the various watercourses and canals which characterize Egypt: the waters should be smitten and cause distress among the fishermen and those who worked in fine flax.
“The princes of Zoan [Tanis] are become fools, the princes of Noph [Memphis] are deceived.... the Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof;" and all was failure.
The land of Judah should be a terror unto Egypt, because Jehovah had turned his counsel against it. “In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the Lord of hosts: one shall be called, The city of destruction;" the "city of the sun" in the margin. What cities are referred to is not known. Some of those of old have been swept away, and others have arisen. It may seem strange that it should read "city of destruction" in the text, and be so different in the margin; but one letter makes the difference, ה for ח. Some translate it still differently, "the city of Hares," treating the word as a proper name. The LXX has "the city of Asedek." The Vulgate, ciuitas solis. Some have thought that it is God declaring that the city which the Egyptians called "the city of the sun" in honor of their god, should be in reality the city of destruction' because of the destruction that He would bring upon their gods. But it is perhaps better to leave it until God shall make it plain in a future day.
Again, "in that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt." (Ver. 19.) It has been supposed that this part of the prophecy was fulfilled in the days of Ptolemy Philometer (B.C. 181-146) by the erection of a Jewish temple at Heliopolis, the city of the sun, in the building of which reference was made to this very prophecy.
Josephus relates that Onias the high priest, to get honor to himself, when Palestine was overrun by the Macedonians, asked permission of the king to build this temple. He first reminds Ptolemy how he had served him in former days in several places, and how he had seen great differences of worship, and proceeds, “And it is the same thing with the Egyptians too, by reason of the multitude and variety of temples, and the diversity of religions. Now for so much as I have found out a certain place near the castle of Bubastes upon the plain where there are great stores of materials for building near at hand, and plenty of beasts appointed for sacrifice, it is my humble request that you will give me leave to purge and demolish a ruinous temple there, that was never consecrated to any deity; and in place of it erect another, after the model of that of Jerusalem, with a dedication of it [to the most high God] upon condition that prayers be there offered up for the safety and prosperity of your royal persons and family. To the end that all the Jews in your dominions may by this means be more united among themselves, and better enabled to do your majesty's service. This is no more than what the prophet Isaiah had foretold, that God would have a holy place in Egypt, and several other things upon that subject.”
The reply of Ptolemy is remarkable: "King Ptolemy and Queen Cleopatra to Onias: Joy and health. We have read and considered your letters and request, wherein you desire to cleanse and purify an old ruinous temple at Leontopolis near Bubastes upon the plain, within the jurisdiction of Heliopolis, and can hardly conceive how a temple in a place so unclean and haunted with such varieties of detestable animals, should be in any measure acceptable to God. But yet for so much as you refer yourself for your justification to the predictions of the prophet Isaiah, we do hereby grant unto you full license and permission so far as in us lies so to do, provided it be done without giving offence to God in the breach of the laws.”
The temple was built and stood for many years; but we cannot take this for the fulfillment of the prophecy we are considering; for this was for the Jews, whereas the prophecy says that "the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation." Neither can it be what Josephus relates of Ptolemy Euergetes that "when he had gotten possession of all Syria by force, he did not offer his thank-offerings to the Egyptian gods for his victory, but came to Jerusalem, and according to our own laws offered many sacrifices to God, and dedicated to Him such sacrifices as were suitable to such a victory;" for an altar to Jehovah is to be erected in Egypt.
We take the fulfillment of this prophecy to apply to the time when God will have brought back Israel into their land, and all nations be blessed. "Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.”
If any feel a difficulty as to Egypt—a type of the world—being brought into blessing, it must be remembered that in the millennium the earth is to be brought into blessing, and in this no nation will be blessed except as they own Jehovah, and His king over all the earth. But then "Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God." (Psa. 68:31.) "I will make mention of Rahab [Egypt].... with Ethiopia, this man was born there." (Psa. 87:4.)
Egypt too, it must be remembered, was the cradle of God's favored people Israel; it was a king of Egypt who caused to be translated the Old Testament into Greek, the book quoted by our Lord Himself when on earth; it was Egypt also that afforded shelter to our Lord when His parents fled with Him from the wrath of Herod. Such services shall not go unrewarded. It is true that they oppressed God's ancient people in Egypt; and, long after, when Israel leaned upon them they helped them not—for these and other sins God has punished and will yet punish them;—and, according to Dan. 11:42,43, He will allow the king of the north to attack them, and to rob them of the gold and silver and precious stones; "and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps"—yet God will also heal and bring into blessing even Egypt, and in grace He says, "Blessed be Egypt my people." If any one of God's promises respecting Egypt can fail, all may fail and nothing will be sure. But it is not possible. God's word is settled in heaven, and all shall come to pass.
Chapter 7
THE GREAT WORKS OF EGYPT.
“Their inward thought is that their houses shall continue for ever."—Psa. 49:11.
As Egypt is unquestionably one of the most ancient of kingdoms, so its early works are indisputably of the greatest magnitude. Those who see no beauty in the workmanship of these ancient monuments, are overpowered by their greatness. Towering columns, with carvings to their summits; huge monoliths of immense weight; stones piled upon stones to great heights, strike the spectator with amazement— amazement only to be increased as they ponder on the distance some of the stones had to be brought, and the height to which they were raised—amazement too that can find no answer as to how the work was really accomplished.
We will commence the subject of the great works of Egypt by giving a bird's-eye view of the principal monuments from the Mediterranean Sea to the Second Cataract, as seen in our illustration.
In coming from the sea on the west of the river, we first approach MEMPHIS. Here is the district of the pyramids of Gizeh, and the great Sphinx. The pyramids and tombs are scattered over a district of sixty miles.
Of the ancient Memphis, which was described as one of the grandest cities of Egypt, only scattered ruins remain. Abdallatif described it thus in the twelfth century: "Its ruins offer to the spectator a union of things which confound him, and which the most eloquent man in vain would attempt to describe. As to the figures of idols found among these ruins, whether we consider their number or their prodigious size, the thing is beyond all description." But so much has been carried away for building purposes that the only object of interest now remaining is represented as a beautiful colossal statue lying on its face in a hollow.
The next place southward is HERMOPOLIS MAGNA. This was a city described as ranking in opulence second only to Thebes. Oshoonayn is built on a portion of the ancient site. The tombs of the ancient city lie to the west. Ibis and ape mummies have been found here.
To the west is CROCODILOPOLIS. This is in the district of the Lake Mœris, and the Labyrinth, to be hereafter described. This city was of great extent, but huge mounds and fragments of columns, &c., are all that can be found of it. The sacred animal of the house was the crocodile: Strabo says one was kept alive here, and fed by the priests on bread, meat, and even wine brought by visitors. It was embalmed and buried here. But hatred to these animals by the inhabitants of the surrounding districts led to the destruction of their burying place.
Near the river we come to DENDERA. Here stands what is described as a magnificent temple; but it is not ancient. It was begun about the time of Ptolemy XI., and not finished till the time of Nero. We give a view of its portico elsewhere.
Following the course of the Nile southward, we come to the important district of THEBES on both sides of the river. Thebes was spoken of by Homer as the city of a hundred gates. It cannot now be ascertained that it bad any walls, but the expression may have been figurative of its grandeur. Scripture however speaks of its rampart and wall. (Nah. 3:8.) On the east are the great temple of Karnak, dating from Osirtasen I. of the twelfth dynasty: and the temple of Luxor, dating from Amunoph III and Rameses II. An avenue connected this temple with that of Karnak.
On the west is the MENEPHTEUM, a name given by Champollion to the ruins of what appears to have been a palace and a temple, because he found the name of Setei-Menephtah on its walls. It had an approach of one hundred and twenty-eight feet in length.
The REMESEUM, called also the Memnonium, is composed of the ruins of a stately temple. In the outer court lie the remains of an enormous statue of Rameses II., said to have been the largest in Egypt and calculated to weigh eight hundred and eighty-seven tons.
The MEMNON are two colossal figures, the most northern of which is the vocal Memnon, hereafter described. These are supposed to have stood in front of a temple now destroyed.
MEDEENET HABOO contains a small temple, dating from the time of the queen Amun-nou-het (eighteenth dynasty), added to and adorned by others.
On proceeding south we come on the east to OMBOS (or Kom Ombo). Here are some ruins of two temples; they are of the date of the Ptolemies, but as the names of Thothmes III. and Amun-nou-het have been found, a much more ancient temple must have stood there.
Then CONTRA-LATON, and EILEITHYIAS. The modern name of the latter is El Kab. In this neighborhood are ambient temples and tombs, dating from Amunoph II. and Rameses the Great.
On the west of the river is HERMONTHIS, now called Erment, with a few ruins of a building by Cleopatra.
To the south-west is APOLLINOPOLIS MAGNA, now called Edfoo. The temple here is described as magnificent, but it is not ancient; it was founded by Ptolemy Philopator, and finished by his successors.
Returning to the river we come to the Island of ELEPHANTINE. There were temples here by Amunoph III., but they were destroyed by the governor of Assooan for stone for his palace. A great part of a Nilometer which stood here has also been carried away.
On the west shore is SYENE, now called Assooan. The quarries here are the most interesting objects. To the right is the Island of PHILAE, a very attractive spot. The ruins, though comparatively modern (Nectanebo II. of the thirtieth dynasty, being the earliest name found), are considered very beautiful. A temple to Isis, commenced by Ptolemy Philadelphus, was the principal building. Mr. Fergusson says," It contains all the play of light and shade; all the variety of Gothic art, with the massiveness and grandeur of the Egyptian style; and as it is still tolerably entire, and retains much of its color, there is no building out of Thebes that gives so favorable an impression of Egyptian art as this.”
To the west is GERTASSE. Only a few columns remain of a temple which once stood here. Then TAFA or Tafah. The ruins are not ancient. Near the river is EL-KALABSHEH. Here are ruins of the largest temple in Nubia, but it is of the Roman period. The stones employed had belonged to an older building.
At BAYT-EL-WELEE are the ruins of a small but ancient temple of the time of the Pharaohs excavated in the rocks. Outside the temple are portrayed the victories of Rameses.
At KOORTEE there are a few ruins.
At DENDOOR the temple and its sculptures are of the age of Augustus.
At TUTZIS the temple is of the age of Rameses the Great, mostly excavated in the rock; but its sculptures are declared "not of a style worthy of that age.”
On the extreme west is DAKKEH. The temple here dates from the Ptolemies. It was built by the king Ergamenes who defied the priests of the Ethiopians.
Returning to the river we come to ESSEBONA, now called Wady Saboóah, or "The valley of Lions," so named perhaps because of the avenue of sphinxes that lead up to the temple, though the sphinxes have men's heads. There are two statues with their faces to the river: then the avenue of sixteen sphinxes, eight on each side, this leads to two pyramidal towers, with the remains of four large statues in front of them; next is an open court with pilasters on each side, and then the covered portico of the temple. The whole forms the most complete approach found in Nubia. The temple is probably more ancient than the approach, and dates from Rameses the Great.
Some of the tablets are in better preservation here on account of the early Christians having plastered them over; and in one place the Latin monks painted a St. Peter over a god, but did not stop to alter the rest of the tablet, so that Rameses II was left presenting his offering to the apostle Peter.
And then AMADA. Here is an elegant though small ancient temple. The names found are Osirtasen III., Thothmes III., Amunoph II., and Thothmes IV. Some of the sculptures and paintings are in fine preservation, probably owing to their being plastered over by the Christians to hide them from view.
Finally come the two temples of ABOO-SIMBEL, hewn out of the sandstone rock. These are of the times of Rameses the Great, and rank next to the temples at Thebes. The exterior of the great temple is faced by four gigantic sitting statues of Rameses, and the smaller one by six standing figures. The temples are full of highly finished sculptures in the best style of Egyptian art.
South of Aboo-Simbel are a few monuments worthy of note. At SEMNEH are the ruins of two temples, one on each side of the river. The one on the east side contains the names of Thothmes II., Amunoph II., and Osirtasen III.; the one on the west has Thothmes and Osirtasen III., the latter being represented as a god. A tablet at Semneh states that it was the frontier of Egypt in the time of Osirtasen III.
At NOURRI there are some pyramids, but they are comparatively small and badly built.
At DANKELAH, the site of the ancient Mora, there are numerous pyramids.
At GEBEL BARKEL, there are the ruins of two temples with an avenue of sphinxes, of the time of Tirhakah.
It was here that M. Mariette discovered some stelæ, bearing on the twenty-third to the twenty-fifth dynasties. There is also at Gebel Barkel a group of pyramids.
One hour's ride from this stands the modern town of MERGE, a small town of no importance.
We will now look at some of the more important works a little in detail.
We turn our attention at once to
The Pyramids.
These are the most ancient and the most massive, if not the most handsome of all the ancient monuments.
Questions crowd upon one, where are the pyramids? when were they built? by whom were they built? how were they built? for what purpose were they built?
The first question is soon answered. The pyramids are principally found in three places. 1, Memphis; 2, Gebel Barkel, below the second cataract; and 3, Meroe.
At Memphis are three of the largest. They stand in the same direction; their sides facing north, south, east and west. These are in the village now called El-Ghizeh. Farther south there are three more, at Abou-Seir, but these are much smaller. Then we meet with some larger ones; indeed there are in this district many pyramids, forming a sort of pyramid district, extending from 29° N. Lat. to 30° N. Lat., a length of about seventy miles. Here you may ride about and see pyramids, and pyramids, interspersed with other shaped tombs; but many of them are small and sink into insignificance when compared with the larger ones. These too are deceiving at a distance, and appear less than they really are; but when you are close, and walk round them, and look up, and see how little you are in comparison, you may perhaps begin to realize their magnitude, but many fail to do it then. A calculation has been made that the largest pyramid contains 90,000,000 cubic feet of masonry, weighing about 6,316,000 tons. Or it may be taken as one-third higher than St. Paul's Cathedral in London, and standing on a base somewhat larger than thirteen acres. Each side of its base was originally 756 feet, and its height 480 feet, 9 inches.
By whom and when they were built is not so easy to answer. We may well suppose that to build one was a man's life-work.
Herodotus tells us that the first pyramid was built by Cheops, and took twenty years to build. It was by forced labor that it was erected; a hundred thousand men were constantly employed, who were relieved every three months. He also tells us that an inscription upon it was interpreted to him, recording the quantities of radishes, onions, and garlic consumed by the workmen; and also the sum spent in its erection-namely, 1,600 talents of silver-about £400,000.
As we have seen, Colonel Vyse discovered in this pyramid, the name Shufu, or Khufu, scrawled, in large hieroglyphics, on some of the stones; and this is said to prove that Herodotus was right, and that the pyramid was built by Cheops.
Now perhaps my readers will have a difficulty in seeing how the proof is made out. Some would doubtless rather conclude that it proved the very reverse, because of the dissimilarity in the names. But we must remember that the Greeks had no letter corresponding to SH, and therefore they turned Shufu into Khufu, and also added an S at the end to soften it; P also had to do duty for F; and thus Shufu is represented in Greek by Cheops. In hieroglyphics Shufu was thus written.
The pyramids are thought to extend from the fourth dynasty to the twelfth. None are thought to be after that: from the thirteenth dynasty the kings were satisfied with smaller tombs, and of very different construction.
How were they built? This is now a mystery. Herodotus tells us that it took ten years to form a causeway, or pavement, along which to bring the massive stones. Part of a causeway has been discovered. The stones would be cut at the quarries, and then dragged to the place of building. One of the monuments exhibited a large stone on a sledge, drawn by six oxen. Another exhibits a statue, placed on a sledge. It was bound to the sledge by ropes, and these ropes were doubled and twisted, a staff being used to preserve the twist as is in use to this day. On the sides of the image where the ropes came there were layers of cloth, or some material, to prevent the rope injuring the carving.
The sledge is being dragged by four rows of men, forty-three in a row, making one hundred and seventy-two men in all.
On the sledge stands a man, who is pouring something from a vase on to the causeway—probably grease—to cause the sledge to move easily. Three men are carrying six similar vases, by a yoke over their shoulder, for use as they may be required. A man stands on the image, clapping his hands, perhaps keeping time for their step, or perhaps for their song. Apparently he has a drum slung on his back.
Thus, with numerous superintendents, and preceded by seven small detachments of soldiers, carrying a branch or flowers in one hand, and a sword in the other, the colossal image is being dragged to its destination.
In a similar way the stones may have been dragged from the quarries to the pyramids. The ancient Egyptians were familiar with the lever, but apparently not with the screw and the wheel, as mechanical powers.
The conveyance of the stone must have occupied many hundreds of hands. Herodotus says that some of the workmen were required "to drag blocks of stone down to the Nile from the quarries in the Arabian range of hills: others received the blocks after they had been conveyed in boats across the river, and drew them to the range of hills called the Libyan.”
But though the stones were brought, how could they have been raised? There appear but two ways possible: one by an inclined plane. As each layer of stones was added, more earth would be added, up which the stones could be dragged; but enormous embankments would have had to be made to reach 460 feet—higher than St. Peter's at Rome—and if a causeway on the level ground had to be made, in order to be able to move the masses of stone, how could they be dragged up a hill of made earth without a pavement? If this were the mode, of course this immense embankment had all to be cleared away when the pyramid was finished.
Or the stones may have been raised by means of poles, joined at the top, called Shears. As each layer of stones left only part of a stone exposed, on one of these an additional stone might have been placed, to form a platform, on which each stone as it was raised could be placed. The shears could then be moved to a higher tier, or other shears used, and thus the stones be raised to the top. We think this plan is more probable than the building up of an inclined plane.
But Herodotus tells us the stones were raised thus: "After laying the Stones for the base, they raised the remaining stones to their places by means of machines, formed of short wooden planks. The first machine raised them from the ground to the top of the first step. On this there was another machine, which received the stone upon its arrival, and conveyed it to the second step, whence a third machine advanced it still higher. Either they had as many machines as there were steps in the pyramid, or possibly they had but a single machine, which, being easily moved, was transferred from tier to tier as the stone rose. Both accounts are given, and therefore I mention both.”
Now we must remember that the word "machine" was formerly used for any sort of contrivance; so that all Herodotus tells us is, that by means of some contrivance, formed of short wooden planks, the stones were raised, but he leaves us quite in the dark as to how it was done; and we are equally at a loss to imagine how it could be done by means of short wooden planks.
We must remember that Herodotus lived some fifteen hundred years after the great pyramid was built, and he could, of course, only record what he was told; the monuments throw no light on the subject.
The great historian is not correct on all points, and may be wrong here. For instance, he says that the great pyramid was built so that the waters of the Nile could flow around it. But there is no trace of any such canal in the rock on which the pyramid stands, and indeed it is 100 feet above the level of the highest inundation.
Herodotus does not vouch for the truth of all he relates, but cautions the reader that he merely records what was told him; and on some occasions he knew what was told him was false. Thus, on looking at some statues, they were noticed to have no hands, and he was told that they represented the waiting-maids of the daughter of a certain king-Mycerinus. His wife had been incensed with them, and had had their hands cut off, and therefore they were thus represented in the statues. But Herodotus himself found some of the hands lying on the ground about the feet of the statues! They were merely without hands from injury and the lapse of time.
For what purpose were they built? The reply to this was at first that they were tombs for the kings. But this has been questioned by some. It was thought to be too great an undertaking to build such enormous edifices simply to answer the purpose of a tomb.
Now it is remarkable that the principal pyramids, though not all of them, stand so as to face exactly the four points of the compass, that is, one face looks to the north, one to the south, one to the east, and one to the west. And further, in the great pyramid are openings towards the sky to the north and to the south. This has led some persons to suppose the pyramids were built for astronomical purposes: as we might say to be Observatories, from which the motions of the heavenly bodies could be accurately observed.
Thus Mr. John Taylor writes, " On the night of March 21, 1817, Captains Irbey and Mangles saw through the long inclined passage of the great pyramid the polar star, at the, period of its culmination. M. Caviglia about the same time made a similar observation. From this fact, that the polar star had been seen from the bottom of the inclined passage, it was somewhat hastily inferred that the polar star occupied the same position in the heavens at the time the pyramid was built.
In 1839, Colonel Vyse asked Sir John Herschel if the same would have been the result when the pyramids were Sir John H. gave a decided No; but added this remarkable coincidence that the star a Draconis might have been taken as the polar star, in B.C. 2123, the supposed date, and this star could have been seen through the passage. Colonel Vyse concludes, "It would appear that the direction of the passage was determined by the star which was polar at the time when the pyramid was constructed, and that the exact aspect of the building was regulated by it.”
It would have been strange indeed, if the pyramid had been intended for an observatory, that the observation had to be made through the entrance passage as above, and not through the smaller openings that had been made towards the Besides, by the whole being carefully closed up it was evidently not intended for any such purpose.
It has been contended by another careful observer that the great pyramid was erected to preserve intact a standard of measures, both of length and capacity, and from which also weights were determined.
In the inner chamber was found a stone coffer, which he found was of a particular size that gave all that was needed to settle the weights and measures of not only Egypt, but of the Jews, of Greece, Rome, and even England and the whole world.
The reader will be curious to know how this was made out. Now there had been found at Karnak a rule or measure, apparently left by one of the workmen inadvertently, and, being enclosed, had remained untouched. This is now in the British Museum. This measure had also to be considered in the scheme. It is supposed to be of the eighteenth dynasty. It is called in the table the cubit of Karnak, and is twice the length of a royal cubit. The table was made out thus: English Inches.
864 = 1 digit
3.456 = 4 = 1 palm
10.368 = 12 = 3 = 1 royal span, or foot of Pliny.
20'736 = 24 = 6 = 2 = 1 royal cubit.
41.172 = 48 = 12 = 4 = 2 = 1 cubit of Karnak.
The coffer has been carefully measured, and the result, for the inside, was:
By Greaves. Vyse and Perring. Smyth.
Length, 77.856 inches 78.0 77.93
Width, 26.616 „ 26.5 26.73
Depth, 34.320 „ 34.5 43.31
Neither of these exactly agrees with the table, but they are supposed to be,
Length, 90 digits = 77.16 inches.
Width 30 = 25.92 “
Depth 40 = 34.56 “
It will be seen that the width differs more than half an inch; the others are nearly alike. We think, without going farther, the scheme may be said to fail; but as we give dimensions of other parts of the building, our readers can try them, if so disposed, by the above scale, and they will find, that while some nearly agree, others will not. But this would naturally be the result, no matter what measure had been adopted, for dimensions of yards and feet, when the unit of measure is less than an English inch.
It will be seen that the scheme does not agree with English measures; so I suppose the English would be said to be wrong. But we must show how the measures of capacity are made out.
The cubit of Karnak is taken, and the cube of that is 71,328.8 cubic English inches. Now if we calculate the contents of the coffer by the above digits, we find it to be 69,657 cubic inches, the difference being not less than 1,671 cubic inches; yet in that scheme they are supposed to be the same. But we must let that pass, and glance at what is drawn from the above.
An Egyptian cube was 71,328.8 cubic inches.
4 Chomers or 120 seahs of the Jewish measures 71,328.8 “
128 Greek Hecters 71,214.4 “
1 English Chaldron 71,214.4 “
which are supposed to be near enough to show that they all originated in the Egyptian measure.
From the measures the weights were obtained thus: a gallon (277.274 cubic inches) was equal to 101bs. Troy of wheat; or 101bs. wine; or 8lbs. wheat, Avoirdupois.
But we think our readers will have had enough of weights and measures. The same writer believes that the size of the Laver and Molten Sea of scripture were regulated by the Egyptian coffer; and then asserts his belief that the great pyramid is referred to in the books of Job, the Psalms, Zechariah, and even in the New Testament, but we should be ashamed even to quote the passages in such a connection. As we have seen, it would be strange indeed if the pyramid had been constructed for this or any other useful purpose, that it should have been so closely sealed up as in no way to be available for the very purpose for which it was intended. Besides, why should this pyramid be for purposes entirely different from all the others?
We may here add the weights and measures of Egypt as given by Sir G. Wilkinson and others.
According to The Nilometer Of Memphis
Sir H. James Meter of according to
Elephantine. Jomard.
1 digit or dactylus = English inches 0.713 0.7366 0.73115
4 “ 1 palm = 2.961 2.9464 2.92470
28 “ 7 “ 1 royal cubit 2.0728 20.6250 20.47291
Sir 11. James also gives a common digit = 0.760 inches
(4 digits) “ palm = 3.040 “
(3 palms) small span = 9.120 “
(6 palms) common cubit = 18.240 “
1 Ten, pound 10 kats = 1.400 grains Troy
1 Kat, drachm or ounce 140 “ “
Tna, a basket Hetp, bushel Khersh, truss,
Equivalents not known.
Another sanguine writer insists that the great pyramid gives the dates for the 365 days of the year, with a fraction over for the added day every fourth year! It also furnishes the length of the earth's axis, and the true distance of the earth from the sun: this latter is stated as 91,840,000 miles, and it must be correct, for it is the vertical height of the pyramid, multiplied by the ninth power of ten!
It is true the pyramid is said to have been built on a plan scientifically perfect: "the sum of the measured four sides of base bears, within the nearest possible practical approach, the same relation to the measure of its vertical height that the circumference of a circle bears to its radius," the peculiar ratio of π x 2. As to the Sarcophagus it is found "that the mass of its sides and bottom is cubically identical with its internal space capacity, namely, 71,250 cubic inches; also, that the length of two of its adjacent sides is to its height as the circumference of a circle to its diameter; again, that the exterior volume is double the interior capacity, and that the sides and ends are twice that of the bottom; moreover, that when taken wholly, it stands in relation to the lower course of the king's chamber as the one fiftieth part in capacity.”
But the great pyramid is said to be full of types. Thus the descending passage is the descent of man after the flood into idolatry, leading to the underground chamber, the bottomless pit. The narrow upward passage is when Moses raised man; and the larger upward passage is when Christ did the work much more fully. But this is not all, for the measurement of these passages is said to give the exact length of these various periods by reckoning a digit for a year. Thus the descent to the upward passage (86 feet, Vyse and Perring), gives 985 years; the first upward passage (124 feet), 1,542 years; and the enlarged passage (156 feet), 1,882 years, a period still running its course. The death and resurrection of Christ are pointed out by other measurements. Of course the architect who could erect a building typical of all this was "an inspired agent;" and Melchisedek has been declared to be this architect! The figures even will not bear testing.
Other strange theories have been started as to the objects the builders had in view. But the question is now considered settled both by the numbers of the pyramids and by the coffers, or sarcophagi found in them, as well as a part of a mummy case, in the third pyramid, bearing the name of king Menkara, now in the British Museum. Herodotus and Diodorus ascribe the building of this pyramid to Mykerinus, whom Manetho calls Mencheres. The traveler had great difficulty to make his way in; because the custom was, after the body had been placed in its coffin, to seal up the entrances to prevent the remains being disturbed. The traveler found his way stopped up so effectually that he could only proceed by cutting a passage round the stone that stopped up the aperture.
After all this trouble he expected to find the interior just as it had been left thousands of years before. But he was disappointed; for though he found, as we have said, the coffin, the body was gone; but he found instead an Arabic writing saying that the pyramid had been opened by one of the Mahomedan caliphs, who had effectually closed up the entrance again.
There can be no doubt therefore that they were simply grand monumental tombs. If intended for any other purpose, they would not have been so carefully sealed up. The size depended upon the length of the life of the king. It is believed that they were begun small. In the solid rock a place was made level a little below the surface, and in the center of this cleared spot was a still deeper cutting to form the chamber, and then a small pyramid erected, leaving the chamber in the center, and a passage into it. But if the life of the king was prolonged he would add to his tomb by another stone added to each layer, carrying them up to the top. Thus suppose a pyramid was begun with four stones at the bottom, thus—
This layer would contain sixteen stones. On this would be placed a layer of three stones each way, placed in the center of the first plane. Then a layer of two stones, and then a single stone would crown the whole.
To enlarge this the bottom layer would be increased to five, the second to four, and so on until one again crowned the top.
The chamber was left below the bottom layer, with a passage first straight and then pointing upwards. But it will be seen that if many additions were made, the entrance to this passage might be carried higher and higher until it would be too high to be reached by ordinary means. And yet by this the embalmed body would have to be carried in. So where the size of the pyramid was much increased, in some cases they had to abandon the first chamber and make another, which would have its entrance nearer the ground, or cut another passage into the original passage.
This is seen to have occurred in the third pyramid. As the building increased in size, the first passage was abandoned and another made more to the right. It will be seen that whenever the king died his pyramid would represent a number of stairs on each side, thus now in the British Museum. They are of this shape, [illustration] which, fitted in their 'place, would make a smooth surface on each side. Herodotus says that the pyramids were built from top to bottom. He doubtless meant they were finished thus; for the placing of these casing stones would naturally be from top to bottom.
In some cases the entrance to the chamber fell outside the base altogether, some feet from the pyramid, and then anyone of course might search diligently all over the sides of the pyramid and never find the opening. This was done either the more effectually to prevent the entrance being found, or, supposing the builder lived long enough, and kept adding to his tomb, the distant entrance would by these additions have been reached.
In the great Pyramid the entrance is at the side, some distance above the foundation if the rubbish was cleared away. This passage descends in a straight line to a chamber in the solid rock below. But it will be seen that on his death these angles were filled up, how was not known till comparatively lately, when some of the stones of the casing to the great pyramid were found, and are there is a passage upward not far from the entrance, and then a horizontal passage leading to a chamber at the end. At the commencement of the level passage there is an irregular cutting or well leading downwards to the lower passage. This is supposed to have been left, that the workmen after having effectually closed up the passage might make their escape. From the same point proceeds a lofty passage made in this shape the stones overlapping each other. This led to the upper chamber. Over this is a series of vacant places. Near the upper chamber are two small openings that proceed to the open air.
It will thus be seen that there are three chambers in the great pyramid. The upper one is called the king's chamber and the middle one the queen's chamber, though it is not known that the queen's body was ever laid there, or that it was even intended for her.
The king's chamber measures thirty-four feet three inches by seventeen feet one inch, and nineteen feet one inch high. The queen's chamber is eighteen feet nine inches, by seventeen feet, and twenty feet three inches high. In the king's chamber stands the empty coffer in red granite, but of so fine a substance that when struck it rings like a bell. Its size on the outside is seven feet six and a half inches long, three feet three inches wide, and three feet five inches high, as given by Messrs. Vyse and Perring.
Whether a body was ever laid there is not known; there are now no signs of any; and how the coffin' could have been brought there is a mystery, unless it was placed there when the pyramid was built; for the first passage is only three feet five and a half inches broad, by three feet eleven inches high, unless it has been contracted since. There are no coffers' in either of the other chambers, so that some suppose the pyramid was intended for one person only, and that the other chambers had been abandoned as the work proceeded.
The two narrow openings (about 9 inches square) that proceed from the king's chamber to the open air upward are now supposed to be intended for ventilation. It is also said that two similar openings have been discovered in the queen's chamber, but with their mouths covered up by portions of the stone being left. They do not proceed into the open air, but into the above-named small openings out of the king's chamber.
The pyramid is beautifully finished in the interior, the joints being well made, and the surfaces in the chambers well polished.
The use for which the pyramids were built is further set at rest by the many that have been found, even so far as Meroe. They are of all sizes, and stand in all aspects as regards the compass. Some have porticoes on one side to form the entrance. They were built unquestionably as tombs for kings and the great men of Egypt.
There had of old been traditions that the pyramids contained immense wealth; but no one for a long time was able to discover the entrances. However in A.D. 820 Caliph Al Mamoon, son of Haroon al Rasheed determined to make an attempt. He pitched upon the center of the base as the best place to commence operations, but the builder more effectually to prevent the entrance from being found, had placed it 23 feet from the center.
The workmen are said to have set to work with iron, fire, and vinegar to force an entrance through the solid masonry; and by slow and fatiguing labor succeeded in penetrating to the depth of 100 feet. "After that, however," says Professor Smyth, " they were beginning to despair of the hard and hitherto fruitless labor, and to remember tales of an old king who had found on a calculation that all the wealth of Egypt in his time would not enable him to destroy one of the pyramids.
They were almost becoming rebellious, when one day in the midst of their murmurings they heard a great stone fall in a hollow passage within, no more than a few feet of them. Energetically they pushed on after that; hammers, and fire, and vinegar being employed again, until they reached the hollow way, exceeding dark, dreadful to look at, and difficult to pass,' they said at first, where, the sound had occurred. A large angular-fitting stone that had made for ages a smooth and polished portion of the ceiling of the lonely and narrow passage, indistinguishable from any other parts of its course, had now dropped on the floor before their eyes, and revealed that there was at that point a passage beyond and above, ascending out of this descending one. But that ascending passage was closed by a granite portcullis, not built in or built up, as if never intended to be entered, but merely left portcullis down; a portcullis of finished workmanship, and intended to be raised in its regular grooves when the proper time and right men should have arrived. Meanwhile it was of most portentous weight, and the crew who had gathered about it were decidedly not the right men. Accordingly, unable to lift the true gate, they broke in sidewise and round about through the smaller masonry, and so up again into the ascending passage, at a point past the observation.
“On they rushed, that lawless crowd, thirsting for the promised wealth. Up no less than 100 feet, of the steep incline, crouched hands and knees and chin together, through a passage of royally-polished marble, but only 14 inches in height or breadth, they had painfully to crawl, with their torches burning too. Then suddenly they emerge into a tall gallery in front of them. On the level another low passage, leading to an inconsiderable room; on the right, a black, ominous-looking well's mouth; and onwards and above them a continuation of the glorious gallery or hall leading on to all the treasures of the earth! Narrow certainly was the way, only six feet broad anywhere, and contracted to three feet at the floor, but rising to a height of twenty-eight feet almost above the power of their smoky lights to illuminate, and of polished glistering marble-like Cyclopean stone throughout. That must surely be the high road to fortune and wealth. Up and up its receding floor-line, ascending at an angle of 26° they had to push their toilsome way for 150 feet more; then an obstructing ledge to climb over; then a low doorway in solid granite to bow below; then a hanging portcullis to pass under; then another doorway; and after that they leapt, without further let or hindrance at once into the grand chamber, which was the conclusion of everything; the chamber to which, and for which and towards which, according to every subsequent writer, in whatever other theoretical point they may differ, the whole of the Great Pyramid was built.”
But their hopes were ruthlessly dashed to pieces: they found indeed a goodly chamber, beautifully made; but containing only an empty coffer without a lid! The pyramid had evidently been entered previously, and rifled of all that was valuable. "The caliph was about to abandon his vain search, when the people began to evince their discontent, and to censure his ill-placed avidity. To check their murmurs, he had recourse to artifice. He secretly ordered a large sum of money to be conveyed to, and buried in the innermost part of the excavated passage; and the subsequent discovery of the supposed treasury, which was found to be about equal to what had been expected, satisfied the people, and the caliph gratified his own curiosity at the expense of their labor, and their unsuspecting credulity.”
We suppose everyone who visits the Nile goes to see the pyramids; and naturally the largest is the most attractive, simply because it is the Great Pyramid. As we have said, the outer casing that once made the steps into a slope, is gone, so that now it is simply going up a flight of stairs, uncomfortably high steps and many broken, it is true, but that is all.
But the Arabs who accompany you are well up to their work. One on each side of you almost lift you up every step. A good spring is all you need give, and you are up the first step, four feet and a half high. Then another, and then another, and thus in quicker time than most people like, you are sprung up the huge stairs. Fortunately the steps decrease in height as you ascend, and you find yourself at the top, as you count two hundred and three quite out of breath.
The top is a platform of about 30 feet at each side; and there you can rest, and the view repays you. You can see pyramids and pyramids; some large and some small, interspersed with tombs, and ill-shaped hillocks. On one side Cairo and several villages, and 'the mighty Nile as it winds its way amid the verdure caused by its waters.
The heat however is sometimes frightful, relieved somewhat if there happens to be a gentle breeze, but still much too hot to be pleasant; too much wind is fatal to all enjoyment, because of the sand it brings. But you stand on the burial place of one of the Pharaohs, and know that it stood there in the days of Abraham, and Joseph, and Moses; and remember that for ages it has been counted one of the seven wonders of the world; and it is the greatest achievement of a people whose king asked, "Who is Jehovah that I should obey him?" but who had to learn that He was one who would be obeyed, and who could protect a body of simple shepherds, their wives and their children, against all the resources and power of Egypt. Such thoughts may run through the mind, and many kindred ones; when you are reminded that it is time to descend. The same strong arms of the Arabs jump you down in a way more uncomfortable to some persons than going up. But down, down you come, as if you were obliged to do it in so many minutes-or rather so few. Again you are at the bottom, out of breath.
A lady who once made the ascent, did it in twenty-two minutes, though she rested a few seconds two or three times. Three Arabs were told off to assist her, one on each side, and one behind, in case he was needed. She was provided in England with a camp stool to break the higher steps, but found it best to resign herself into the hands of the Arabs. She was about to fasten up her dress, when one of them acted as lady's maid, and fastened it up with a tight knot that saved all further trouble. She thinks the Arabs do well in having you up in quick time. You are apt to get giddy if you stop and look down.
But all the pyramids are not to be jumped-up in this fashion. The one called the second pyramid has some of its casing still standing, which makes its ascent much more exciting, not to say dangerous. Mr. Wilde, who made the ascent, gives the following account: “I engaged two Arabs to conduct me to the summit of the pyramid, one an old man, the other about forty, both of a mould which for combination of strength and agility I never saw surpassed. We soon turned to the north, and finally reached the outer casing on the west side. All this was very laborious, to be sure, though not very dangerous; but here was an obstacle that I knew not how themselves could surmount, much less how I could possibly master; for above our heads jutted out like an eave or coping, the lower stones of the coating, which still remain and retain a smooth polished surface. As considerable precaution was necessary, the men made me take off my hat, coat, and shoes at this place: the younger then placed his raised and extended hands against the projecting edge of the lower stone, which reached to above his chin; and the elder, taking me up in his arms, as I would a child, placed my feet on the other's shoulders, and my body fiat on the smooth surface of the stone. In this position we formed an angle with each other, and here I remained for upwards of two minutes, till the older man went round, and by some other means contrived to get over the projection, when, creeping along the line of junction of the casing, he took my hands, drew me up to where he was above me, and then, letting down his girdle, assisted to mount up the younger, but less active and less daring climber of the two. We then proceeded much as follows: One of them got on the shoulders of the other, and so gained the joining of the stone above, which was often 5 feet asunder; the upper man then helped me in a similar action, while the lower pushed me up by the feet. Having gained this row, we had often to creep for some way along the joining to where another opportunity for ascending was afforded. In this way we proceeded to the summit, and some idea may be formed of my feelings when it is recollected that all these stones of such a space are highly polished, are set at an angle less [more?] than 450, and that the places we had to grip with our hands and feet were often not two inches wide, and their height above the ground upwards of 400 feet. A single slip of the foot, and we must all three have been dashed to atoms long before we reached the ground. On gaining the top my guides gave vent to sundry demonstrations of satisfaction, clapping me on the back, patting my head, and kissing my hands. From all this I began to suspect that something wonderful had been achieved; and some idea of my perilous situation broke upon me when I saw some of my friends beneath, waving their hats, and looking up with astonishment as we sat perched upon the top, which is not more than six feet square. The apex stone is off, and it now consists of four outer slabs and one in the center, which is raised up on its end, and leans to the eastward. I do not think that human hands could have raised it thus from its bed, on account of its size and the confined space they would have to work in. I am inclined to think the top was struck with lightning, and the position thus altered by it. The three of us had just room to sit upon the place. The heat was most intense, and the stones so hot that it was unpleasant to sit on them very long, and it would be rather too dangerous an experiment to attempt standing. The descent was, as might be expected, much more dangerous, though not so difficult. The guides tied a long sash under my arms, and so let me slide down from course to course of these covering stones, which are of a yellowish limestone, somewhat different from the material of which the steps are composed, and totally distinct from the rock of the base, or the coating of the passages.”
Abdallatif relates the following effort to pull down a pyramid: “The Sultan Melic-Alaziz Othman, wishing to destroy the red pyramid (the third) sent a number of sappers, miners, and quarrymen, with orders to pull it down. They pitched the camp near the pyramid, got together a great number of workmen, and during eight whole months labored hard at the job. Every day, after great exertion, they succeeded in removing one or two stones. Some at the top pushed the stones with levers and wedges, while others from below pulled with ropes. At last the stone would fall with a prodigious noise, and bury itself in the sand. Then was a fresh labor to get it out of the sand, to make holes in it for wedges and to split it into smaller pieces. Finally each piece was put on a car, and dragged to the foot of the neighboring mountain, where they threw it down. At last, being quite wearied out, they gave up the undertaking, having only done enough to spoil the pyramid, and show their own impotence. This took place in the year 593.”
Tombs.
If the pyramids were built for tombs, they were not the only ones, for there were many tombs of a variety of shapes, some connected with the temples, and some not.
They were not placed near cultivated spots, but in the deserts, often hewn out of the solid rock. Some descended far below the surface, and had many passages. The most curious thing connected with the tombs is that the walls were fully ornamented with scenes of daily life: representations of out-door occupation, feeding cattle, marking some with a hot iron, and attending to the sick; tilling the ground—plowing, sowing, reaping, and storing the grain. In-door occupations of every description; and scenes of social gatherings, with music and dancing. All sorts of amusements too are portrayed on the walls of the tombs, which entirely negative the idea that the Egyptians were a gloomy people.
There were also sepulchral tablets, dedicated to the gods, and scenes which represented homage “or ancestral worship, made by the children or other relatives of the dead to himself and his wife, the tables before them being loaded with offerings." Some of the texts speak of the deceased being" justified." “His merits are often told in a verbose style, to which are sometimes added the public works in which he was engaged." Other scenes portray the deceased attended by his relatives, in the attitude of adoration to one of their gods.
INTERIOR OF TOMB.
The kings and great people had tombs for themselves; others a chamber for themselves, duly sealed up with a wall, to exclude intruders. The sacred animals too had their tombs, after being embalmed.
The ancient kings of Thebes had a sort of sacred valley where their tombs were placed. An Italian traveler says, “The tombs are all cut out of the solid rock, which is of hard calcareous stone, as white as it is possible to be. The tombs in general consist of a long square passage which leads to a staircase, sometimes with a gallery on each side of it, and other chambers. Advancing further, we come to wider apartments, and other passages and stairs, and at last into a large hall where the great sarcophagus lay, which contained the remains of the kings.”
Belzoni describes another as having been carefully closed up; but at the end of a passage he came to a beautiful chamber, twenty-seven feet six inches by twenty-five feet ten inches, in which were four pillars, each three feet square. This room he considered the entrance hall.
It was decorated with paintings. There were several other rooms connected with staircases and corridors. In the last great chamber he found the carcass of an embalmed bull.
Each tomb contained (1) an entrance hall, in which the relatives might gather at any time, indeed open to all. (2) A passage or well that descended to (3) a chamber in which the mummy reposed. The two latter were carefully closed up.
For the poor, rooms or pits were excavated, and apparently when one was filled, a passage was made, often descending lower, and another room was dug out, and then another. Into these pits the mummies were closely packed.
Belzoni gives a vivid description of a huge tomb or mummy-pit filled with mummies. “The entry or passage where the bodies are is roughly cut in the rocks, and the falling of the sand from the upper part or ceiling of the passage, causes it to be nearly filled up. In some places there is not more than one vacancy of a foot left, which you must contrive to pass through in a creeping posture, like a snail, on pointed and keen stones that cut like glass. After getting through these passages, some of them two or three hundred yards long, you generally find a more commodious place, perhaps high enough to sit. But what a place to rest, surrounded by bodies, by heaps of mummies in all directions, which, previous to my being accustomed to the sight, impressed me with horror. The blackness of the wall, the faint light given by the candles or torches for want of air, the different objects that surround me seeming to converse with each other, and the Arabs, with the candles or torches in their hands, naked and covered with dust, themselves resembling living mummies, absolutely formed a scene that cannot be described. In such a situation I found myself several times, and often returned exhausted and fainting, till at last I became inured to it, and indifferent to what I suffered, except from the dust which never failed to choke my throat and nose; and though, fortunately, I am destitute of the sense of smelling, I could taste that the mummies were rather unpleasant to swallow.
“After the exertion of entering into such a place through a passage of.... perhaps six hundred yards, nearly overcome, I sought a resting-place, found one, and contrived to sit; but when my weight bore on the body of an Egyptian, it crushed it like a band-box. I naturally had recourse to my hands to sustain my weight, but they found no better support; so that I sank altogether among the broken mummies, with a crash of bones, rags, and wooden cases, which raised such a dust as kept me motionless for a quarter of an hour, waiting till it subsided again. I could not remove from the place however without increasing it, and every step I took I crushed a mummy in some part or other.
“Once I was conducted from such a place to another resembling it, through a passage of about twenty feet in length, and no wider than that a body could be forced through. It was choked with mummies, and I could not pass without putting my face in contact with that of some decayed Egyptian; but as the passage declined downwards, my own weight helped me on; however, I could not avoid being covered with bones, legs, arms, and heads, rolling from above. The purpose of my researches was to rob the Egyptians of their papyri, of which I found a few hidden in their breasts, under their arms, in the space above the knees, or on the legs, and covered by the numerous folds of cloth that envelop the mummy.”
Thus nearly all the tombs have been ransacked, and if a visitor, in breaking his way through a wall, is under the impression that he is the first to enter it since its being sealed, he is nearly sure to find that someone has been there before him.
M. Marlette was on one occasion more fortunate. He says, “A chamber of the tomb of Apis, walled up in the thirteenth year of Rameses II., had escaped the spoilers, and I had the happiness of finding it intact.
Three thousand seven hundred years had not changed its original aspect. The fingers of the Egyptian who filled in the last stone of the wall built across the entrance were still marked upon the cement. Naked feet had left their imprint upon the bed of sand deposited in a corner of the mortuary chamber. Nothing was wanting in this last sanctuary of death, where has rested for nearly forty centuries an embalmed bull!”
The Temples.
The temples of the Egyptians were the works upon which they spent much of their skill and labor. When those buildings stood intact, they must have been most imposing; even now travelers are overpowered with the effect of the gigantic ruins.
. They were not used, as in other lands, as places in which the faithful could congregate and worship. No one was allowed in them but the priests. They were built by the kings as acts of piety, and in order to merit the favor of the gods.
Each temple was dedicated to three gods—a principal male god; a goddess; and an offspring, forming a sort of trinity. At times they were blended into one.
The temples had elaborate approaches. At a distance from the temple proper stood a huge portico, called a "propylæum," with a gate in the center. The sides were covered with figures, or hieroglyphics. There were also obelisks, and sometimes colossal figures of kings. From these distant porticoes avenues were often formed between two rows of sphinxes. The details were varied, and additions were often made by subsequent monarchs. In our illustrations on "pages 276-7 the approaches to several of the temples can be traced.
We give an illustration of the approach to the temple of Amunoph III at Luxor. Rameses II added a new courtyard and the obelisks. Behind the obelisks are two colossal statues, nearly of equal size. They are now buried up to the chest in sand, but the part still visible measures between twenty-one and twenty-two feet to the top of their crowns. Behind these figures is the portico, or propylæum, with a gate or door in the center.
The temples themselves had massive porches, with gigantic figures carved on them, and the walls were elaborately decorated with sculptures, paintings, and hieroglyphics. In some were sphinxes, in others columns, and in others were huge statues. The pictures were everywhere similar. The king presents an offering—a table laden with gifts of food, flowers, &c.—and solicits favors from the god. The god, in return, grants to the king his requests.
In some places plans of temples can be traced, to which no additions have been made, from which we ascertain the original designs. In the following plan an avenue is formed of two rows of sphinxes in both the first and second courts. Then there is a portico of ten columns. Behind this are smaller courts, with more columns, having chambers on each side for the use of the priests, as is supposed. The god was placed in the innermost chamber.
But the plans of different temples varied very much, and some became irregular by the various additions made after the temple was built.
The remains at Karnak are perhaps the most wonderful. An irregular avenue of sphinxes, more than a mile in length, connected the northern entrance of a temple at Luxor with it; but this was only one of several approaches.
The building itself is irregular, and has evidently been added to by various kings. Some of the chambers RUINS AT KARNAK.
are very lofty, and one of the halls, called the Hall of Columns, had a flat roof of stones, which rested upon 144 huge pillars, some 26 feet, and others as much as 34 feet, in circumference. A view of the illustration in our frontispiece will convey a better idea than mere words. The diminutive size of the people throws into contrast the height of the pillars. Belzoni was so struck with the appearance of some of the buildings that he said, "It appeared to me like entering a city of giants, who, after a long conflict, were all destroyed, leaving the ruins of their various temples as the only proof of their former existence.”
It was not simply the height of the buildings that called forth the wonder of visitors, but also the extent of some of the halls. For instance, the hall at Karnak would hold four of the largest churches in London, and have room to spare. And this hall is not more than one-seventh of the whole; so that the temple would hold thirty large churches I Along with the foregoing we give an illustration of some massive columns at Tentyra or Dendera, that they may be compared with those at Karnak. It will be seen that the style is different. They date from the reign of the eleventh Ptolemy (B.C. 80-51), but the temple was completed by Tiberius, and some of the decorations are as late as Nero.
Rameses III., who erected a temple at Medeenet Haboo, says to one of his gods (in the great Harris Papyrus), "I built for thee thy divine abode in the midst of its area, fabricating and making the construction of square stone; its doors and its lintels were of gold, nailed together with brass. I inlaid it with precious stones, like the bolts of heaven.”
The temples hewn out of the rock—as at Aboo-Simbel—had not the same approaches. By again looking at the illustration on page 277, it will be seen that in the lower temple four lofty sitting figures form the porch. It is the temple of Osiris. The four figures represent Rameses II. They are of enormous size. From the shoulder to the elbow measures fifteen feet six inches; the face is seven feet; the ears, three feet six inches; the beard, five feet six inches; their height, about sixty-four feet.
The visitors who have climbed up to their knees look mere pigmies. The features are declared to be exquisitely molded.
Passing through the doorway, which is twenty feet high, you enter the reception chamber, fifty-seven feet by fifty-two, and about thirty feet high. On each side are lofty statues of the same Rameses, holding in his arms the crosier and the whip. Behind these figures are huge pillars, and then a gallery on either side, the walls of which are elaborately decorated with paintings and hieroglyphics, setting forth the victories of this king. From this chamber you enter a smaller one, with four enormous pillars; and from this a still smaller one. In this latter chamber a simple altar is placed before the four gods of Ra, Khem, Kneph, and Osiris. On the sides of these smaller chambers there are six others, apparently for the use of the priests. All are highly ornamented, except those where the work was left unfinished. When we remember that all these chambers and standing and sitting figures are cut out of the solid rock, we can but be struck with the value the Egyptians set upon their gods and their worship, not forgetting, however, that the monarchs who executed such immense works did not fail to find a means of combining their own glory with that of their gods! It is only the religion of Jesus Christ that can make people content to give, or at least to aim at giving, all the glory to their God.
The Sphinxes.
These, as we have said, were extensively employed in lining the avenues that led up to the temples. They were of various shapes and sizes. The common sphinx had a lion's body, with a man's head; sometimes it had, as was supposed, a woman's head, but this is now denied. In other cases it was a complete lion, head and all. Some had a ram's head, and others the head of a hawk, and a few with a human head and human arms, instead of the fore-legs.
It is not known what idea was connected with the sphinx, whether it was a god, or what? It seems evident that it was in some way connected with their deities, because all the various heads named above were those of some of their gods or goddesses.
The limbs of the lion would naturally suggest strength, and the human head, intelligence. The ram's head was that of their god KNEPH, and the hawk's head, that of the god HORUS. By being placed, as they were, before their temples, the thought may have been that they protected the temples, or were emblematical of some unseen power that did so. Clemens and Plutarch say they were placed before the temples as "types of the mysterious nature of the deity.”
The Great Sphinx.
In some cases the sphinx has a small figure before the front feet, and in the large sphinx at Memphis sculptures were discovered in the breast between the front paws, representing two sphinxes on pedestals, with priests making offerings, with a long inscription, and other portions of stone, as if a small temple had once been placed there.
The head of this sphinx was for centuries the only part that was visible, and, from its battered condition, had a weird appearance that was rather feared by the Arabs. It was considered the head of a female, but as to how it came there, or to what the head was attached, was not known.
However, Captain Caviglia determined to do his best to discover, and, after tremendous difficulty, he was enabled to clear away the sand before the front part of the figure, and it was found to be a sphinx with a man's head, and the before-named shrine between its paws. Part of its beard has been found, and is now in the British Museum. The difficulty was to remove the sand far enough away; for they often found that during the night as much sand had blown back into the hole as had been cleared out the previous day.
One naturally inquires why such an enormous figure was placed where it could be engulfed in sand, but one can hardly come to any other conclusion than that, either in the days when the sphinx was placed there, or rather cut there—for it is cut out of the solid rock, except the paws—the sand was farther away; or-and this is generally believed—the sphinx was protected from the sand by walls that have long since been thrown down.
This sphinx is supposed to have relation to one or more of the large pyramids, especially as there are between the sphinx and the second pyramid the ruins of a temple. Though now so defaced through age, the sphinx is declared to show signs of a placid countenance.
The circuit of the head is 102 feet, the whole length of the figure 143 feet, and the height, from the legs to the top of the head, 62 feet.
Who made the great sphinx is not known. There is a stone in one of the museums that speaks of Cheops giving orders to repair a certain sphinx, which has been supposed to refer to this, and if so, it would show its early existence.
The Obelisks.
There is nothing very remarkable about these, except that each is formed out of a single piece of stone, and so is called a monolith, with hieroglyphics more or less covering the four surfaces, and is valuable on this account. The largest are all made of the red granite of Syene, and were, as we have stated, placed in pairs before the entrances of the temples. Sometimes small ones were put inside the temples. They are found from the Mediterranean to Philæ.
What the obelisks are intended to represent is not Known. Pliny says that they were dedicated to the sun, and he adds that their form, resembling a ray of the sun, proves it; and also that the obelisk has a name in the Egyptian language which indicates this. But they seem rather to be raised in honor of the kings.
The subject of the hieroglyphics on the obelisks is very similar on all, except, of course, the names of the kings, whose fame they are raised to celebrate. But the language at times sounds profane, as it makes the king to be an offspring of the gods. Thus, on an obelisk at Rome is recorded, "The Horns, the powerful, the beloved of the sun; the Ra, the offspring of the gods, the subjugator of the world; the king, the Pharaoh, guardian of justice, approved of the sun, son of the sun; Ammon-mai-Rameses, who gives joy to the region of Heliopolis, when it beholds the radiance of the solar mountain. He who does this is the lord of the world; the Pharaoh, guardian of justice, approved of the sun, Ammon-mai-Rameses, giving life like the sun.”
It has been an interesting question as to how a piece of stone 80 feet long could be cut out of the quarries without a fracture. How the Egyptian obelisks were actually detached is not known, but it is known how similar pieces have been detached in modern times. Thus, " in the granite quarries near Seringapatam the most enormous blocks are separated from the solid rock by the following neat and simple process:—The workmen, having found a portion of the rock sufficiently extensive, and situated near the edge of the part already quarried, lays bare the upper surface, and marks on it a line in the direction of the intended separation, along which a groove is cut with a chisel about a couple of inches in depth. Above this groove a narrow line of fire is then kindled, and maintained till the rock below is thoroughly heated, immediately on which a line of men and women, each provided with a pot-full of cold water, suddenly sweep of the ashes, and pour the water into the heated groove, when the rock splits with a clear fracture. Square blocks of 6 feet in the side, and upwards of 80 feet in length, are sometimes detached by this method."
Colonel Wilks describes another way in which a long piece of granite was detached, and a way which he says produces a cleaner cut than the method above described. When the portion of stone to be cut off is marked out, a groove, about 2 inches deep, is cut along the whole line; or, if the stratum be but thin, holes of the same dimensions, at a foot and a half, or two feet distance, are cut along the line. "In each case, all being now ready, a workman, with a small chisel, is placed at each hole or interval, and with small iron mallets the line of men keep beating on the chisels, but not with violence, from left to right, or from right to left. This operation, as they say, is sometimes continued for two or three days before the separation is effected. Those who have observed the mode of cutting (as it is called) plate-glass will not be surprised at their beating from one end, and the fissure also taking place from one end to the other. This is the mode by which the stone in question was separated.”
Then, in Egypt, the obelisks had to be taken to the river, and on rafts, or boats of some sort, conveyed to their destination. In the sixth dynasty an official, named Una, says, “His majesty sent me to Hanub, to bring a great slab of alabaster of Hanub. I also extracted that slab in seventeen days I made for it a boat of burden in a little dock, 60 cubits long, and 30 in its breadth, put together in seventeen days in the month of Epiphi."
Then came the difficult task of raising them on to their pedestals, which were always separate stones. How they were raised is not known; the one at Seringapatam was a work of great difficulty, because of the brittle nature of the stone. It was raised on to a bank of earth, and as one end was raised, the bank of earth was raised to support it, until it was nearly erect, then high scaffolds were raised, and by means of ropes the obelisk was safely placed on its pedestal.
The simple tools used by the Egyptians and other nations in the East have always been a matter of surprise, when the quality of the work is considered. In the above case, Colonel Wilks produced a spirit level, to ascertain if the pedestal was perfectly horizontal. The engineer admired the contrivance, but preferred his own plan, which was to drop some water on the stone, and see if it would run in any way. If it did, the surface was again operated upon, until water would stand on any spot without moving.
The subject of obelisks has become a matter of additional interest in England by the arrival from Alexandria of the one commonly called Cleopatra's Needle, and now placed on the Thames Embankment. This obelisk and its companion were removed from Heliopolis to Alexandria, as others were moved to Rome, Florence, France, and Constantinople.
In removing Cleopatra's Needle a metal clamp was discovered, with an inscription in Greek and Latin, showing that it was erected at Alexandria in the eighth year of the reign of Augustus (B.C. 22), when P. Rufrius Barbarus was prefect of Egypt.
A novel ship was built for its conveyance to England; but, though safely embarked, it had to be abandoned at sea through rough weather. It was, however, captured with difficulty, and taken into a foreign port, a large sum being claimed for its salvage. An English court awarded £2,000 to those who had saved it.
Cleopatra's Needle is nearly seventy feet in length; its breadth at the widest part seven feet five inches on two sides, and seven feet ten inches and a half on the other sides; so that it is not a square. It contracts to four or five feet, and then has a cap of seven feet six inches in height. Its weight is estimated at about 186 tons.
This obelisk was erected by Thothmes III., who wrote the center inscription. Rameses II added the two outer columns. It bears the throne names and family names of both kings. We have already given the name of Rameses in hieroglyphics we add the names of the earlier king.
O THOTHMES. RA-MEN-KHEPER.
We give Mr. Birch's translation of the inscriptions. Beyond their antiquity they are not of intrinsic value.
On the apex “the god Tum is represented seated on a throne, holding an emblem of life in his right hand, and a scepter was in his left hand, receiving the offerings of water of Thothmes III., represented as a sphinx ... He faces Turn, and holds in each hand a globe or jar of water. There are seven vertical lines of hieroglyphics here, and the three referring to Turn call him Turn, lord of An,' or Heliopolis, ' above all gods, the great god, lord of the great house,' either the palace, or rather the temple, of Heliopolis. The four lines about Thothmes say, 'The gift of fresh water by the good god lord of the two countries, Ra men χepr,' or Men χeper-ra, giver of eternal life.'”
On the shaft are three lines of inscription, running from top to bottom, but it is only the center one that was engraved by king Thothmes, leaving a good margin on either side. The center line reads—
“The Horus, lord of the Upper and Lower country. The powerful bull crowned in Uas has made his monument to his father, Haremakhu: he has set up to him two great obelisks, capped with gold at the first time, of the festivals of thirty years. According to his wish he did it, the son of the sun, THOTHMES, beloved of Haremakhu ever living.
He reigned fifty-four years: it was probably erected when thirty years had elapsed.
“Haremakhu is the Harmachis of the Greek writers, the sun in the horizon, and he represented one of the phases of the great luminary." Uas represents Western Thebes.
On the second side the apex is the same as on the first, except that the sphinx offers to the god wine instead of water. The center line reads—
“The Horus, the mighty bull crowned by Truth, the king of the south and north country, RA MEN-χEPER, lord of the gods, has multiplied to him festivals on the great persea tree in the midst of the phoenix, he is recognized as his son, he is the divine person, his limbs emanate everywhere as he wishes, the son of the sun, THOTHMES, ruler of An, beloved of Harmachis.”
On the third side the apex has, instead of Turn, the hawk-headed type of RA, or the sun, and the gift is of frankincense. The central line reads—“The Horus, the powerful bull, beloved of the sun, the king of the south and north, RA MEN KHEPER (or Men-kheper-ra); his father, Tum, has set his name up to him in the precinct in the palace attached to An, giving him the seal of Seb, the dignity of Khepera, the son of the sun, THOTHMES, true ruler, beloved of the Bennu of An ever living.”
“Seb is the name of the Egyptian Cronos, or Saturn; and Khepra, or the scarabeus god, is a form of Ra, or Osiris, this insect being sacred to both gods.”
The inscription on the apex of the fourth side, and on the shaft, is nearly all obliterated. Rameses II added a line on each side of the original center one, some two hundred years later. We give the two lines on the first side. On the right, “The Horus, the powerful bull, beloved of the sun, lord of festivals, like his father, Ptah-Tanen, son of the sun, RAMESES, beloved of Amen, a strong bull, like the son of Nu, whom none can withstand, the lord of the two countries, Ra-user ma Satep en Ra, son of the sun, Rameses, beloved of Amen [giver of life like the sun]." On the left, “The Horus, the powerful bull, son of Tum, king of the south and north, guardian of Kami [or Egypt], chastiser of foreign lands, son of the sun, RAMESES, beloved of Amen, dragging the south to the great sea, the north to the poles of heaven, lord of the two countries, Ra user ma [or User ma ra], Satep en Ra, son of the sun, Rameses, giver of life like the sun.”
Mr. Birch explains the latter to point out the extent of Egypt: "the north bounded by the great sea, the south by the four poles, or cardinal points of the heavens.”
The other lines of Rameses II are similar. In one he says, "making his frontiers at the place he wishes, who is at peace through his power." In another, "the eyes of created beings see what he has done." "The guide of the two countries has given birth to him." In one is the expression, "he has not looked in the house of his father," which may refer to his not violating the sanctity of the temple of the god Turn.
POMPEY'S PILLAR is supposed to have been erected to record the capture of Alexandria by Diocletian, in A.D. 296, and is comparatively a modern production.
The Labyrinth and Lake Mœris.
These were situated in the vicinity of Crocodilopolis. The Labyrinth is thus described by Herodotus: "I visited the place, and found it to surpass description; for if all the walls and other great works of the Greeks were put together in one, they would not equal, either for labor or expense, this Labyrinth." He declared that it exceeded the Pyramids. Its ruins have been discovered, but they do not bear out the historian's descriptions. It appears to have consisted of a large number of small chambers, and it has been conjectured that they may have been used as the rooms of a council-house, where the officers of the various nomes met to transact business. Herodotus says there were fifteen hundred chambers above ground, and fifteen hundred below, and that the lower ones were used as tombs for the kings who built the Labyrinth, and also for the sacred crocodiles.
The upper chambers Herodotus saw and passed through. He says, "I found them to excel all other human productions; for the passages through the houses, and the varied windings of the paths across the courts, excited in me infinite admiration, as I passed from the courts into chambers, and from the chambers into colonnades, and from the colonnades into fresh houses, and again from these into courts unseen before. The roof was throughout of stone like the walls, and the walls were carved all over with figures; every court was surrounded with a colonnade, which was built of white stones, exquisitely fitted together.”
The LAKE MŒRIS was close to the Labyrinth. Highly as Herodotus speaks of the Labyrinth, he says the Lake was even more astonishing. He describes it as an artificial excavation of immense size, and in the center of the lake stood two, what he calls, pyramids, on the summit of which were two colossal figures, sitting on thrones.
The lake is believed now to have been natural, and not artificial, though there were extensive works in connection with it, to regulate the overflow of the Nile. It is now dry.
Colossal Statues.
Statues of men are found in Egypt much beyond the natural size. These are supposed to be statues of the kings; they were placed before temples or tombs, as at Aboo-Simbel.
The two most remarkable are those in a part called the Memnonium. They stand midway between Medeenet Haboo and the tomb of Osymandyas. They are two enormous figures, seated, with their hands on their knees. They are forty-seven feet high without their pedestals, and fifty-three feet in all. Other smaller figures stand by their knees. One of them is called the Vocal Memnon, because, as was said, it uttered a certain sound on the rising of the sun, a sound like the twang of a harp-string.
As to who Memnon was, was not known, as his name does not appear among the Egyptian kings; but the question has been set at rest by finding that Memnon is the Greek name for Phamenoph, or Phamenoth. This name is said to mean "devoted to Amon," or "belonging to Amon." On the back of the statue has been found the name of Amenothph, which, though it appears so different, is declared to be the same name; the PH (the article the) being simply placed at the end of the name in one case, and at the commencement in the other. His throne name has also been discovered, and is interpreted to be "The Sun, Lord of Truth." It is the third Amenothph.
In the British Museum there is a smaller Memnon (but more than nine feet high), which was discovered buried at the back of the great statue. It is in fine preservation, and bears the same names as given above.
One of the large figures (in situ) has been broken, and repaired with several layers of sandstone: the other appears to be formed of a single block of stone.
The back of the Vocal Memnon bears the names of several persons, who vouch for having heard the sound; and various conjectures have been made as to whether it could have arisen from natural causes.
It is said that the upper part of the figure was destroyed by an earthquake in B.C. 27; and from thence arose its vocal powers and its popularity. "Doubtless this sound," says one, "was merely the result of the cracking of the stone, wet with the morning dew, under the influence of the rays of the sun." Septimus Severna (A.D. 202), as is supposed, restored the image, and it was no longer vocal.
Sir G. Wilkinson found in the lap of the figure a stone, which, on being struck with a hammer, gave a metallic sound, so that the peasants, who had been placed to listen below, said, "You are striking brass;" a fact the more to be remarked, because Strabo, who had heard the sound, said it was like the effect of a slight blow. Whether the sound was the result of some trick of the priests-as has often been the case in more modern times-now remains a mystery. The image is not hollow, so that if anyone was there to strike it, he must have been on the outside—there being, however, ample room in the lap for a person to be concealed. What, therefore, made the image of Memnon a speaking, or Vocal, Memnon is to this day a mystery.
There were other colossal images besides the above-named two. There is a large head, with cap and crown, in the British Museum, measuring ten feet from the neck to the top of the crown. The detached arm of this image is also in the Museum, marked No. 8 in the Egyptian room; it measures ten feet. There is also a huge fist, and a large foot, in the Museum.
Here we must leave the gigantic works of Egypt. As scripture says, men thought to leave mementoes of their greatness that would last forever. That they have lasted so many thousand years is indeed wonderful, but their glory and beauty have departed, while many of them have been broken into fragments, and scattered to the four winds. Over one of their temples the Fellahs of the country have erected their huts, and made the chambers of the temple a receptacle for all kinds of refuse and dirt! Thus is all the glory of man brought to nought; but that which the Lord builds shall endure forever.
Chapter 8
THE CHRONOLOGY OF EGYPT.
“I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times."—PSALM 77:5.
NOTWITHSTANDING that chronology is a difficult and, to many, a "dry" subject, we feel constrained to give it our careful consideration, especially as the chronology of Egypt has been used as an occasion of attack upon scripture, the first king of Egypt—Menes—being placed, by some, many centuries earlier than the chronology of scripture allows.
Happily, the writers on Egypt are not agreed in these conclusions, differing, not by mere trifles, but by centuries; while some of them, and even those acknowledged to have been the most successful in deciphering the inscriptions, do not hesitate to say that there is nothing whatever they can produce that in any way touches the veracity of the word of God.
Thus Champollion wrote of his labors, against those who attacked the scriptures:—They will find in this work an absolute reply to their calumnies, since I have demonstrated that no Egyptian monument is really older than the year 2200 before our era. This certainly is a very high antiquity, but it presents nothing contradictory to the sacred histories, and I venture to affirm that it establishes them on all points; for it is, in fact, by adopting the chronology and the succession of kings given by the Egyptian monuments, that the Egyptian history wonderfully accords with the sacred writings.”
This is no mean authority on such a question. The flood—from whence our present world took its rise—is dated, in the common chronology B.C. 2348; so that this allows about one hundred and fifty years for Egypt to have become a kingdom. And thus all the rest can well fall in subsequent times.
A great landmark in the history of Egypt is thought to be found in the sentence, "Every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians." (Gen. 46:34.) Why were shepherds an abomination to the Egyptians? The answer generally given to this question is, that some shepherd-kings once ruled over Egypt, and, being usurpers, they were hated by the Egyptians.
The account of this is given by Manetho, as quoted by Josephus. “We had a king, whose name was Timmus; and in his reign we fell, beyond all imagination, under God's heavy displeasure. There came flowing in upon us a rugged, robust people out of the east, that made an inroad into the provinces, and, there encamping, took it by force, and carried all before them without so much as a stroke, putting our princes in chains, cruelly laying our cities in ashes, demolishing our temples, and miserably oppressing our inhabitants; some were cut to pieces, and others, with their wives and children, sent into bondage. After this, they set up a king from among themselves, whose name was Salatis.
“This new king advanced to Memphis, and, having subjected both the upper and lower provinces, and put garrisons into all tenable places, he fortified to the eastward in a more especial manner, for fear of an invasion from the Assyrians, whom he looked upon as the stronger of the two. He found in the country of Saites a city, formerly called Avaris (Gr. Αβαρις), which was situated very conveniently for his purpose, to the east of the river (or channel) Bubastis. This city he improved and repaired, and fortified it with strong works and walls, and a body of two hundred and forty thousand men to cover it. He made the choice of harvest-time for the execution of his design, with a regard both to the plenty of the season for provisions, and to the means also of paying his soldiers, and to the securing of himself likewise against all assaults or invasions, by his excellent discipline and conduct.”
Then follows a list of these usurpers:—
Salatis reigned ... ... ... 19 years.
Beon ... ... ... 44 “
Apachnas ... ... ... 36 “
Apophis ... ... ... 61 “
Janias ... ... ... 50”
Assis ... ... ... 49 “
“These six were the first kings, and were perpetually at war, to exterminate the Egyptians root and branch. The people were called HYCSOS; that is to say, king-shepherds; for Hyc, in the holy tongue, denotes king; and SOS, according to the vulgar tongue, is a shepherd. So that Hycsos is taken as a compound. Some will have it that these people were Arabians. According to other copies, Hycsos does not signify king-shepherd, but shepherd-captive; for Hyc and Hac, with an aspiration, sounds in Egyptian like captive; and it seems to me the more reasonable interpretation of the two, as it suits better with the ancient history.
“These—call them what you will—kings or shepherds, and their train, had kept the government of Egypt in their own hands for the space of five hundred and eleven years. The king of Thebes, and the remainder of Egypt that was not as yet subjected, made a violent and an obstinate war upon the shepherds, and routed them, under the command of king Alisphragmuthosis. And when the greater part of them were driven out of Egypt, the rest withdrew into a place called Avaris, of ten thousand acres in extent; and this the shepherds enclosed with a strong, substantial wall, that secured them all they needed within its boundary.
“Thummosis, the son of Alisphragmuthosis, laid siege to it with four hundred and eighty thousand men; but when he found that the place was not to be carried by assault, they came to agreement: the strangers were to depart from Egypt, and be safe to go whither they would.
Upon these terms they marched out with their goods and families, to the number of two hundred and forty thousand souls, by the way of the wilderness, into Syria; and, for fear of the Syrians, who were the masters of Asia, they retired into a country that is now known by the name of Judaea, where they erected a city large enough to receive this vast multitude, and called it Jerusalem.”
This is the account given by Manetho as to the Hycsos, or shepherds, who conquered a great part of Egypt, and which might well cause "shepherds" to be an abomination, or a thing hated, by the Egyptians. Josephus takes this story of the shepherd-kings to be the Egyptian account of the sojourn of Israel in Egypt, and their Exodus. But this does not agree with scripture. If there were no shepherds who had held sway over the Egyptians before Joseph brought his brethren there, how is it to be accounted for that the Egyptians hated shepherds? The Israelites did not attempt to rule over the Egyptians.
But Josephus again quotes Manetho. He says that the historian represented that the king Amenophis "had a mind to see the gods, whereon a priest of the same name told him that his desire should be granted, if he would clear the kingdom of all lepers and other unclean persons. This Amenophis," says Manetho, "was a person of such a reputation as a holy man and a prophet, that the king was overjoyed at the promise, and presently gathered together a multitude of loathsome and diseased people, to the number of fourscore thousand, and sent them away into quarries to the eastward of the Nile. There were leprous priests also and learned men intermingled with the rest.
“This priest was afterwards in a horror of conscience for what he had done, and in fear of judicial vengeance from heaven upon himself, for giving that violent counsel, and upon the king for taking it, having been warned by revelation that Divine Justice, on account of their tyrannical oppression, had in providence appointed to the lepers the government of Egypt for thirteen years. The priest feared to speak one word of this to the king, but committed the inspiration to writing, and then slew himself. This frightened the king.”
The king allowed the outcasts to resort to waris, where they, with an Egyptian priest, broke out into rebellion, and invited the shepherds from Jerusalem to come and join them. They came, with two hundred thousand men. Amenophis thought it best to retire with his army to Ethiopia. Those from Jerusalem ravaged the country, slew the sacred animals, and destroyed the gods. The leader of the polity was one Osarsiph, a priest of Heliopolis, who afterwards called himself Moses. Amenophis, with his son, Rhampses, raised a large army, and drove out the shepherds and lepers, and continued his dynasty.
Josephus treats this as a calumny against the Jews, and it is reasonable that the Egyptians should give some account of the departure of such a multitude as the Israelites were at the time of the Exodus. Our question is, when would the Exodus take place in relation to these shepherd-kings; was it while they were there, or after they had been expelled?
Again, we read in scripture that "there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph." How is it to be accounted for that a king came to the throne of Egypt who did not know Joseph, a man who— for many years at least—had been next to the king, and had saved Egypt from inevitable ruin?
In answer to this, the first thought would naturally be, that this new king must have been the first of another dynasty, who would thus be either unacquainted with the history of Egypt, or indifferent to those who had benefited the country, or one who associated the shepherd-Israelites with the shepherd-kings.
Now the grand problem has been to find a period in Egyptian history, the details of which answer to all the circumstances of Israel's sojourn. What Pharaoh was it who promoted Joseph? What Pharaoh commenced to oppress the Israelites? And what Pharaoh suffered under the plagues, and perished in the Red Sea?
But these are not the only questions at issue. Some of the kings of Egypt and Ethiopia are mentioned in scripture by name, as So, Shishak, Necho, Hophra, Tirhakah and Zerah; how does the mention of these kings agree with the lists of the kings of Egypt? And do all the events and the names of the kings fall into their places with the proper dates?
It will thus be seen that the question involves the chronology of several centuries, and indeed the chronology of Egypt generally has to be considered.
The materials from which the chronology of Egypt has to be gathered, are mainly the various data as given by Manetho; the list of kings as given in tablets; and the mention of them on the monuments.
It is admitted on all hands that the tablets and monuments alone would not furnish anything like a chronology: the utmost that can be gathered from them is the order of the succession of the kings, together with an occasional year of reign.
On the other hand, it is pretty equally agreed that the copies handed down from. Manetho form the basis of any chronology capable of being compiled; and Mr. Wilkinson tells us that a tablet has been discovered (the tablet of Sakkarah), on which are the names of fifty-eight kings, exactly corresponding to those in the list of Manetho.
Manetho was an Egyptian priest, who lived in the reign of Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, and perhaps in that of his successor, Ptolemy Philadelphus. He wrote a history of Egypt, and gave a list of the kings, and the length of their reigns, "obtained from sacred records." The original work is lost, and is only known to us in extracts preserved by Syncellus (born A.D. 800), giving two versions: one copied from the "Chronographia" of Julius Africanus (A.D. 220), and the other from the "Chronicon" of Eusebius (A.D. 325), of which latter we have also an Armenian version. Josephus also quotes a portion of Manetho. Syncellus also quotes an Old Chronicle, and has handed down a list of kings from the philosopher Eratosthenes (B.C. 267).
Now these lists differ materially from one another, probably from having passed through the hands of chronologists, each with his own theory, and who must have altered Manetho's lists to suit their own schemes. In charity we may hope that they honestly supposed he was wrong, and that they thought to do a good service by setting him right; but this mistaken zeal has imposed almost a hopeless task upon present chronologists; for, though many have based their chronologies upon Manetho, scarcely two have arrived at the same conclusions.
What makes the matter more difficult is, that the events recorded in scripture have to be taken in connection with these disarranged lists. Some chronologists give scripture the first place, and alter Manetho to it; others accommodate both, or rather think that with the differences of the long scripture chronology by Hales, and the short chronology by Usher, a certain latitude is allowable, provided they keep within what they deem proper limits. Others give scripture the last place. They arrange the Egyptian chronology, and then alter the scripture to agree with their particular systems. This will be evident when we say that Lepsius gives the duration of the Israelites in Egypt as ninety years; Dr. Brugsch as four hundred and thirty; and Baron Bunsen, fourteen hundred and thirty-four years!
The history of Egypt generally has also to be studied. In the life of a particular king, the chronologist has, perhaps, to come to the conclusion that the Exodus could not have been in his reign; another could not have been the king who knew not Joseph, and who oppressed the Israelites; and thus moral questions had to be considered also.
Before considering these questions we may take a glance at the list of early kings. If the years of reign of these kings are simply added up, they certainly make an enormous total; but chronologists are now pretty well agreed on these three points:—
1. That dynasties i. to xvii. were more or less contemporaneous. 2. That dynasties xv., xvi., xvii. were the Hycsos, or shepherd-kings. 3. From xviii. onwards the dynasties run consecutively.
Before dynasty i., the old chronologists record thousands of years of gods and demi-gods, which need not trouble us. Menes is taken as the first king of dynasty i.
The dynasties i. to xviii. have been arranged thus:—[illustration]
The dates, of course, are only approximate, both for the long and the short chronology. The lists for this period are all in much confusion. Some chronologists claim more than three thousand years for it, while others are content with less than half that duration. It will be seen that, if the foregoing is correct, often two kings, and sometimes three, were reigning at the same time in different parts of the country; and it is believed by some that the monuments themselves show that some of the kings were contemporaneous.
All this part may indeed be said to be treated as elastic by the chronologists. Some of the names in these dynasties may be sons or daughters, or brothers or sisters, who reigned with the reigning monarch, as is supposed to be illustrated in the eighteenth dynasty. If the short chronology of scripture be taken, it requires more compressing than if the long chronology be chosen.
In some respects the long chronology may be thought preferable here to make room for so many kings, but in other places it creates difficulties avoided by the short chronology. There is a passage in Josephus (Ant. viii. 6, 2), which says, the first king, Menes, was before Solomon more than thirteen hundred years. Now Solomon began to reign B.C. 1015, and this brings Menes to B.C. 2315, which comes very near to the date of the short chronology. We suppose Josephus had some data for his calculation.
At the end of the seventeenth dynasty there is a break; the eighteenth begins by the driving out of the shepherd-kings, and a more settled state of affairs ensues. From this period, too, we have more evidence as to the length of the dynasties; but, alas! not to lessen our perplexity. In the sums total, from dynasty xviii. to xxvi., we have the three following documents:—[Illustration]
It will be seen that, though the totals are not very far different for a thousand years, the details vary considerably.
We must endeavor to unravel the tangled thread. The only way, apparently, is to look for some point in Egyptian history to which a date can be fixed, and from which others can be reckoned, not forgetting that our object is to see how far the chronology of Egypt agrees with scripture. The most convenient date, as a starting-point, is the commencement of the twenty-seventh dynasty, when Egypt passed into the hands of the Persians, under Cambyses. He is set down as succeeding to the Persian throne in B.C. 529, and to have conquered Egypt in his fifth year. This would make the twenty-sixth dynasty to end at B.C. 525.
By reckoning from this date backward, the first concurrent events are when Pharaoh-Hophra came to the relief of Jerusalem, in the days of Hezekiah. (Jer. 37:5-11; 44:30.) This would be about B.C. 590.
Along with this we may consider Josiah ending his life under Pharaoh-Necho. (2 Kings 23:29.) The Bible date for this is B.C. 610. There are two kings named Necho in the twenty-sixth dynasty, but it must be Necho II., and as this king reigned but six (or sixteen) years only a small margin is left.
It will be seen in the tables that there are serious differences in the length of the reigns of some of the kings. But there are some stelæ that come to our assistance here. Those discovered by M. Mariette give the death, and sometimes the birth and age, of certain Apis gods, or sacred bulls.
Thus an Apis was "born in the fifty-third year of Psammetichus I., and died in the sixteenth of Necho, aged sixteen years." This fixes the reign of Psammetichus as fifty-four years, with Africanus, and not forty-four, as Eusebius gives.
Again, an Apis was "born in the sixteenth year of Necho, and died in the twelfth of Ouaphris, aged seventeen years." This gives the reign of Psammouthis as five years (the six nominal years of Africanus), against the seventeen years of Eusebius.
The Florence Tablet records that a certain person was “born in the third year of Necho, and died in the thirty-fifth of Amosis, aged seventy-one years.”
The Leyden Tablet records that another person was "born in the first year of Necho, and was buried the twenty-seventh of Amosis, aged sixty-five years.”
The effect of the readings on these tablets is that there were forty years from the first year of Necho II., to the first of Amosis; consequently the reign of Necho II. must have been sixteen years, instead of six: the twenty-sixth dynasty would stand thus, with approximate dates:—
B.C. YEARS
696 Ammeris, reigned ... ... 12
684 Stephinates ... ... 7
677 Nechepsos ... ... 6
671 Necho ... ... 8
663 Psammetichus ... ... 54
609 Necho II. ... ... 16
593 Psammouthis ... ... 5
588 Ouaphris ... ... 19
569 Amosis ... ... 41
525 Psammecherites (6 months)
[Cambyses succeeds.] 171
We are aware that there is another Apis named on a stele as being born in the twenty-sixth year of Tarakos (last king of the twenty-fifth dynasty), and died on the twentieth of Psammetichus I; but its age is not given. There is something respecting twenty-one years, which has been thought to mean the age of the Apis. If this were so, it would sweep away the above first four kings, and make Psammetichus begin the dynasty by succeeding Tarakos.
But this is very unlikely. Lepsius interprets the twenty-one years to refer to the execution of the tablet in the twenty-first year of Psammetichus, and not to the age of the Apis; and M. Mariette, who at first applied the twenty-one years to the age of the Apis, afterwards gave it as his judgment that the grammatical construction of the passage required its application to the stele being executed in the twenty-first year of the king.
It is better to suppose this than to cut out four kings with a stroke of the pen. If we reckon the duration of the dynasty as a hundred and seventy-one years, we are still below the Old Chronicle, which gives it as a hundred and seventy-seven years.
It will be seen by the above that the date of the death of Josiah (610) falls within one year of the accession of Necho II., and the relief of Jerusalem by Hophra (the Ouaphris of the lists), is within two years; and this is as near as we can hope to arrive with such discordant elements.
The next concurrent events are Tirhakab, king of the Ethiopians, being mentioned in 2 Kings 19:9, in connection with the fourteenth year of Hezekiah. This, by our Bible chronology, would be about B.C. 713.
Now, by the above recital of the Apis stelæ, it will be seen that there is the twenty-sixth year of Tarakos named, and another mentions the twenty-fourth year, so that we must give him twenty-six years, and still, as Eusebius and the Old Chronicle give the duration of the twenty-fifth dynasty as forty-four years, we are not far from that period.
B.C. YEARS.
740 Sabakon, reigned 8
732 Sebichos 12
721 Tarakos 26
46 years.
The date of Tarakos will fall right for the fourteenth of Hezekiah.
The next concurrent events are that Hoshea revolted from the Assyrians, relying on So, king of Egypt. (2 Kings 17:4.) This was about the sixth year of Hoshea's reign, and, as he reigned from B.C. 730 to 721, this would fall about 725. In the twenty-fifth dynasty there are two kings so nearly alike—both being SHABAK on the monuments-that either will do for the So of scripture; but if the above dates are correct, the year 725 would fall in the reign of the second. Shabak is not much like So; but in the Hebrew there are three letters, and it might be Sewa, or Seva; the LXX has Segor.
A writer in the "American Messenger" believes that the So of scripture formed an alliance at some time with the king of Assyria, because among the small clay tablets found in the ruins is one of the well-known cartouches of Sabaco, king of Egypt, which he takes to have been the seal to the treaty.
The next concurrent events are, that in the fifth year of Rehoboam, Shishak, king of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem. (2 Chron. 12:1-9.) The fifth year of Rehoboam would be B.C. 971.
Shishak is thought to be found in Sesonchis, or Sesogchosis, the first king of the twenty-second dynasty.
With this we may take another scripture reference, given in 2 Chron. 14, where Zerah, the Ethiopian, came up against Israel with a million of foot, and three hundred chariots, but who were smitten by Jehovah. It was in the reign of Asa, and the date about B.C. 941. He ascended the throne B.C. 955, and "in his days the land was quiet ten years." (2 Chron. 14:1.)
We have arrived at the commencement of the twenty-fifth dynasty, and marked it as B.C. 740. The twenty-fourth stands thus:—
Africanus.' Eusebius. Old Chronicle.
Bocchoris, a Saite, 6. Bocchoris, Saite, 44 3 Saites, 44.
Africanus has a note that this twenty-fourth dynasty makes a total of nine hundred and ninety years (probably from the commencement of the new kingdom at dynasty xviii.); but this total cannot be made up with Bocchoris at six years; it needs to be forty-four, as the others; so that here Africanus is not consistent with himself. We therefore adopt the forty-four years, and mark Bocchoris's ascension as B.C. 784.
Dynasty xxiii. stands thus:—
Africanus, 89 years; Eusebius, 44; Old Chronicle, 19.
Here an Apis stele speaks of Sheshonk IV. with his thirty-seventh year, and Petoubates has forty years; so that we must take the longest period, and make the dynasty to commence B.C. 873 (784-89).
The twenty-second dynasty is also conflicting. It stands—
Africanus, 116 years; Eusebius, 49; Old Chronicle, 48.
Here the Apis stelæ and the monuments give kings that make us adopt the longest term. The periods named by the monuments would seem to require longer than a hundred and sixteen years; but they are detached readings from different places, and the possibility of mistaking the reading of a name, or placing it to the wrong dynasty, makes all uncertain. The hundred and sixteen years added to eight hundred and seventy-three, brings us to B.C. 989 for the commencement of the twenty-second dynasty, and the first kings would stand thus:-
B.C. YEARS.
989 Sesonchis, reigned 21
968 Osorthon 15
Her-sha-seb (not stated).
Osorkon II. (23 years, or more).
Now this arrangement brings us to the dates we want. Sesonchis reigned twenty-one years, from B.C. 989 to 968, which includes the date named for the fifth year of Rehoboam, B.C. 971.
Of the king Zerah, in B.C. 941, we find no name exactly answering to this. It has been put to Osorthon (or Osorkon), and though this appears so different from Zerah, it is declared to be as near as some other identifications.
Osorkon I. will not fall within our dates, but an Apis stele gives Osorkon II., who may suit exactly as far as the time is concerned, as will be seen above; or Zerah may be Her-sha-seb, if one is his family name, and the other his throne-name.
The twenty-second dynasty is called in the tables, Bubastic, which refers to a nome of that name in the Delta, so that Zerah, being called an Ethiopian in scripture, creates a difficulty. Of course, if Ethiopia was at that time united to Egypt, an Ethiopian might be on the throne, though the seat of government was in the Delta.
Some consider that this Zerah is none of those named by Manetho, but that he was an Ethiopian king, who had travelled through Egypt into Palestine. This is possible, but seeing that the king had the Lubims (2 Chron. 16:8), who dwelt in the north, for his allies, and was able to collect a million of troops, it is much more probable that it was the united force of Egypt and Ethiopia. In a united Egypt, it is nothing extraordinary that one of the kings should be an Ethiopian by birth, and it will be noticed that Osorkon II. is said to be son-in-law of the previous king, and not his son.
By others it is supposed that this Zerah was an Asiatic Cushite; but, by the allies being Lubims, and Asa having attacked, in the defeat, Gerah, a city of the Philistines, this is not probable.
Thus far, then, all the dates agree between the common scripture chronology and one or more of the lists of Manetho, together with other authorities. The dynasties from thus far would commence on these dates approximately:—
B.C.
989 XXII., continuing 116 years.
873 XXIII. “ 89 “
784 XXIV. “44 “
740 XXV. “ 44 “
696 XXVI. “ 171 “
525 XXVII.
The events we have looked at are, we believe, all that are definitely referred to in scripture, where the name of the king of Egypt is also given. We will now continue our backward reckoning, to see where the events of Israel in Egypt and the Exodus will fall-still keeping to the lists of Manetho, &c., and the common scripture chronology. The first date we want is that of the exodus, B.C. 1491.
For dynasty xxi. let us take a hundred and thirty years, because both Africanus and Eusebius give this total. 'For the twentieth, one hundred and thirty-five years (all differ); for the nineteenth, one hundred and ninety-four (Eusebius and the Old Chronicle here agree); and for the eighteenth, two hundred and eighty-seven (all again differ). This brings the commencement of these dynasties as follows:—
The Exodus (B.C. 1491) would fall in the two hundred and forty-fourth year of dynasty xviii., and forty-three years before the dynasty terminated. By referring to the tables, this would fall, by two authorities, in the reign of Rameses, but not by the other two: all is in confusion. It will be seen also that Africanus says under the first king, Amos, or Amosis, "under whom Moses left Egypt;" but in the same place, both Josephus and Theophilus add, "after the expulsion of the shepherds.”
Again, if the lists of dynasty xviii. are compared with the second tablet of Abydos (also given in the Appendix), it will be seen that, while the lists give about seventeen kings for this dynasty, the tablet gives only nine kings (supposing the names have been identified). This has led to the conclusion that the lists of Manetho must here include brothers, sisters, daughters, &c., who reigned with the monarchs.
Now, to cut down dynasty xviii to nine kings, would, of course, materially reduce its duration, and would bring the date of the Exodus much earlier in the dynasty, if not place it before the eighteenth began, as Mr. Poole and others do by also reducing dynasties xix., xx., and xxi.; but there is nothing but conjecture as to the extent of the reduction.
It will be observed that, if the Exodus was late in dynasty xviii., the sojourn of the Israelites (supposing its duration was two hundred and fifteen years) began also in the same dynasty, after the shepherd-kings had been driven out; whereas, if the Exodus falls in the early part of dynasty xviii., the sojourn would have been in dynasty xvii., before the shepherds were driven out.
We are thus quite at a loss where definitely to place the commencement of the sojourn, and also the Exodus, or to determine as to what king it was that perished in the Red Sea.
We are aware that some contend that scripture does not definitely state that Pharaoh perished in the Red Sea; but we think quite enough is recorded to prove it. When God foretold the pursuit, He said, “I will be honored upon Pharaoh and his host." (Ex. 14:4.) Pharaoh clearly pursued the Israelites in person, and "drew nigh" to them. (Ver. 10.) Moses repeats to the people what God had said: "I will get me honor upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host." (Ver. 17.) "All Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen" went into the sea; "and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them: there remained not so much as one of them." (Vers. 23, 28.) It is true it does not actually say that Pharaoh went into the sea here, but God declared that He would be honored upon Pharaoh, as well as on his host; and this could only be by his death: his escape would have been the very reverse. Psa. 136:15 declares that Jehovah "overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea." So that there cannot be a doubt on the question. "Pharaoh," being a generic term, leaves it quite open as to what king it was.
Many have searched the monuments to find some clue to such a disaster as must have occurred in the destruction of Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, as well as the death of Pharaoh's son in the plagues. Of course, there would not be any direct record on the monuments, as there never is, of any defeat; and the accounts of Manetho, as given by Josephus, as to the lepers, may have been the Egyptian version of the Exodus. Yet search has been made for any indirect notice or coincidence that might in any way throw light upon the subject.
It has been thought that such has been found respecting a king called Thothmes IV. (the only one mentioned by Africanus). We give these supposed references for what they are worth. "That Thothmes. IV was the Pharaoh who perished in the Red Sea, was thought to be confirmed by a very remarkable change in the national religion of Egypt during the reign of his successor, Amenophis III. This might be expected from the failure of the Egyptian gods and their priests to ward off the heavy judgments brought by the God of the Israelites, and which have been known by all Egypt.”
Sir G. Wilkinson considers that, " though Amenophis III calls himself the son of Thothmes IV., there is reason to believe that he was not of pure Egyptian race. His features differ very much from those of other Pharaohs; and the respect paid to him by some of the stranger kings' seems to confirm this, and to argue that he was partly of the same race as those kings who afterwards usurped the throne, and made their name and rule so odious to the Egyptians." If Thothmes IV was the Pharaoh of the Exodus, his eldest son would have perished in the last plague.
“That Thothmes IV was the Pharaoh of the Exode seems to be confirmed by the fact that, after all the careful research of the moderns, no trace has been found of this king's tomb in the royal burial-place near Thebes, where the sovereigns of the eighteenth dynasty are deposited, though the tomb of his successor has been discovered in a valley adjoining the cemetery of the other kings.
This king reigned about the middle of dynasty xviii and if the Exodus fell in his reign, the coming of Joseph into Egypt, and the bringing his father and brethren there, would fall in the reigns of the shepherd-kings.
It may be noticed that Joseph does not say that the shepherds were an abomination to Pharaoh, but to the Egyptians, so that Pharaoh may not have been a native of Egypt. That Joseph should have been raised to the second place in the kingdom, is held by some as strong evidence that the Pharaoh who raised him was not an Egyptian, because of the power and jealousy of the native priests, and the great dislike the Egyptians had to foreigners.
There is also a passage in Isa. 52:4, which has been supposed to declare that the Assyrian oppressed the people of Israel in Egypt; and because we do not know who the shepherds were, nor where they came from, this passage may refer to them. But this is doubtful: a different translation alters the sense, and makes the Assyrian oppression distinct from the land of Egypt. Lowth translates the passage thus: "For thus saith the Lord Jehovah, My people went down to Egypt at the first, to sojourn there; and the Assyrian at the last hath oppressed them.”
Pharaoh said, "The children of Israel are more and mightier than we," which seems to imply that he had not full command over Ethiopia as well as Egypt, and so may have been a shepherd-king. By referring to the papyrus already quoted (p. 234), it will be seen that one called a "king" is reigning in the south, while the "impure" (attributed to the shepherds) reigned in the north.
But another difficulty is, how could the shepherd kings have been driven out without the Israelites being associated with them in some way? Well, the first were lording it over the Egyptians, and the others Here peaceable inhabitants and afterwards useful slaves.
Another point is, that Moses was eighty years old when he stood before Pharaoh (Acts 7:23, 30), and the persecution began before Moses was born; so that, if the Exodus took place in the middle of the eighteenth dynasty, not only the Pharaoh who exalted Joseph must have lived during the shepherd-kings, but the Pharaoh also who knew not Joseph, and began the persecution. According to Africanus, in dynasty xvii., there were forty-three shepherd-kings, and forty-three Thebans. "The shepherds and Thebans reigned altogether one hundred and fifty-one years." This leaves ample time for a king who "knew not Joseph," if the king who exalted him was a shepherd.
In reading the early chapters of the book of Exodus, it will be seen that the Pharaoh who began the persecution was not the same Pharaoh who passed through the plagues. "It came to pass in process of time that the king of Egypt died." (Ex. 2:23.) This indeed we might have expected, for few kings reigned so long as eighty years.
Then, if the events occurred as above, the native Egyptians of the seventeenth or eighteenth dynasty found the Israelites under oppression—a large number of useful slaves—and were only too ready to continue the oppression, and even to increase it, when challenged in the name of Jehovah to release them.
There is still one more difficulty, namely, that the king who knew not Joseph caused them to build the city of Rameses, and this naturally connects itself with the kings named Rameses. Ex. 1 may easily be thought to mean that when Pharaoh began to oppress Israel, he caused them to build a treasure-city, and called it after his own name—Rameses.
But this is more than doubtful; for when Israel went into Egypt—some hundred and thirty years before that —Joseph placed his father "in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded." (Gen. 47:11.) Now there can be little doubt but that the city of Rameses and the land of Rameses were connected; and if one was named after Rameses I., the other was also. In which case the Israelites must have gone into Egypt after Rameses I. of the eighteenth dynasty, and this, we suppose, is held by no one.
Therefore the district of Rameses, and the city of Rameses, may have no connection with the kings of that name in the eighteenth dynasty. If named after a king he may have been much earlier, though, as far as we know, no one of that name appears earlier; or it may have been named after one of the king's sons destined for the throne, but who, through death or a change of dynasties, never came to the throne. The name Rameses signifies, "begotten of the sun." The passage in Ex. 1:11 may mean that they were set to repair the city, Rameses, which had been built long before. Or it may be that when Jacob came into Egypt, the place was not named Rameses, nor the' city, until after the time of Rameses I.; and, as the history was written later, this later name was given by the historian.
It has been thought by some to be a settled point that the Hebrews were still under oppression in the time of Rameses II., because of what appeared to be their name in an inscription. It reads, "Now I have heard the message which my lord made, saying, Give corn to the men and soldiers, and Hebrews, who are drawing the stone for the great fortress of the palace of Rameses Loving Amen, living, loving truth; delivered to the general of the militia (or police), Ameneman. I have given them their corn every month, according to the good instructions which my lord has told me.”
The word translated Hebrews" is APUIRUIU, or, as others put it, APERI-U. Now, it may be at once granted that there is some likeness in the two names, but those learned in the Egyptian language are not agreed as to its being the same; and indeed the question seems set at rest by the same people being still found in Egypt under Rameses IV, of the twentieth dynasty. Now, at the Exodus, none of the Hebrews were left behind, and as Rameses IV is certainly too late for their departure, we must conclude that some other people are alluded to; and the whole question is left just where it was.
This is as far as we can carry this subject. As we have seen, the lists given by Manetho—that is, as they are handed down to us—do not agree, and it is impossible to make out any chronology with certainty; and the lists on the monuments are in no way complete. De Rouge, who has well considered the subject, says truly, "Les textes de Manéthon sont profondément altéres, et la série des dates monumentales est très incomplete.”
Conclusion.
Our task is done. We have sought for monuments that bore in any way on the matters named in scripture, without avoiding any reported difficulty. We are bold to say that scripture is in no instance proved to be at fault, but, on the contrary, it has been confirmed in every particular. It only proves that the Bible, being the inspired word of God-on which we hang our souls' salvation-will bear the closest comparison with everything that bears the name of fact, whether it be in nature, or in the records of by-gone kingdoms or peoples. May that blessed Book be exalted in our eyes as the finger of God, whose promises are as sure and certain respecting revealed future events, as is its teaching with regard to those by-gone nations whose destruction it foretold, and whose crumbled ruins are to be seen, with wonder and with awe, by every passer-by. "For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.”