w FROM J ] R. PAl VE»S ! {CHEAP BOOK STOKE, S c No. 180 N. Second St. / > third door abour ilne St. » ( PHILADELPU1.4. J ^. 2 . ' 6.0 7- At t\x« Shwlogia/ * ^ PRINCETON, N. J. Presented by >)^r(AS . ^C/C7\xAo O V^O VA . cJ Division X)T 60 . \-\39 Section 1650 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/monumentsofegypt00hawk_0 » . i * • S' E^S-’ ^?U G. p. Putnam’s new publications. ^as^ingtnn Sraing’s JBcrb. AUTHOR’S REVISED EDITION. RIegantly printed in 15 vols. (including new works) and neatly bound in dark cloliL I. Knickerhocker' s New- York - 1 vol. $1. 25. II. The Sketch Book - - - 1 vol. 1 25. III. IV. V > Columbus and His Companions 3 vols. 4 00. VI. Bracebridge Hall _ - _ 1 vol. 1 25. VII. Tales of a Traveller 1 vol. 1 25. VIII. Astoria, (pp. 510 with map) - 1 vol. 1 50. IX. The Crayon Miscellany - 1 vol. 1 25. X. Capt. Bormeville’s Adventures, map 1 vol. 1 25. XI. Oliver Goldsmith, a Biography - 1 vol. 1 25, XII. 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The desideratum of which we speak, is now to be supplied by Mr. Putnam ; and we are now to have an elegant uniform edition of the works of our foremost writer in the belles-lettres department of litera'ure.’* — Boston Evening Ti jnscript. “ The announcement that a new edition of the works of this admired author was in progress, has led us to revert with pleasure to the delight we enjoyed in our first acquaintance with him through his charming books. He was the first of American writers in the department of elegant literature who obtained a wide name and fame in the old world. Great Britain, France, Northern and Southern Europe, are alike familiar with his delightful and most healthful writings, and doubtless his own good standing abroad has done more than any other single cause to introduce the names and works of others of our countrymen. There is a charm about his writinsrs to which old and young, the educated and the simple, bear cheerful witness. * • • Several liew works have not yet seen the light. Among these is announced a Life of Mohammed, and a Idfe of Washington As to the latter subject for a volume, we can only say, that if another Life of Wash- ington needs be written — which we doubt— we should prefer, of all men, to have Washington Irving undertake it. The other promised biography, the Life of Mohammed, is a grand, an uhex hausted, and a most inviting theme. It has never yet been well treated, nor is it probable that there is a man on this Continent better qualified to treat it with discrimination and power, and with faithfulness to the truth, than Washington Irving. If our country can be covered with a Urge issue of his writings, it will mawe- some amends for the flood of trumpery which the Presa has poured over it .” — Christian Register. “ The most tasteful ajid elegant books whicii have ever issued from the American Press. ” — Trib. 19 G. p. Putnam’s new publications. 3orilfs Itltrts— 3®orb. FENIIOEE COOPER’S EARIY WORKS. THE author’s revised EDITION. The Spy : a Tale of the Neutral Ground. New Edition. Revised, &c., with Introduction and No.es, handsomely printed, uniform with the Sketch-Book, &c. 12mo, cloth, ^1 25. The Pilot : a Tale of the Sea. 12rao, cloth, 25. The Ped Rover. 12mo, cloth, 25. The Water Witch. 12mo, cloth, 25. (In press.) The Two Admirals. '• 12mo, cloth, 25. (In press.) Wing and Wing. 12mo, cloth, 25. (In press.) MR. COOPER’S NEW WORK. The Ways of the Hour. 12mo, uniform with “ The Spy.” “ The public will cordially welcome a new and complete edition of this author’s admirable tales, revisedj corrected, and illustrated with notes by himself. This is No. 1 of the new series, and ia got up in the style of Irving’s works, which we have over and over again commended. As for the tale itself, there is no need to speak of it. It has a place on every shelf, and at once made the fame of its auinor. It is an absolute pleasure to the lover of books to find the ultra-cheap system going out of vogue.”— Y. Albion. “We are happy to see Mr. Putnam bringing out these American classics, the works of Cooper and Irving, to refresh the present generation as they amused the last. We belong, as their two fine authors do, to both, if men of a buoyant temper and an unflagging spirit ever pass from on© generation to another. We remember, as of yesterday, with what eagerness we drank in the tale of ‘ The Spy,’ when it first saw the light ; and how we admired the genius of its author, from the beauty of us production. We can enjoy it still ; and so will every American who has taste enough to appreciate an American narrative, told so well by an American writer .” — Washington Union. “‘The Spy ’ is the most truly national fiction ever produced in America. • • • It is esteemed abroad even more than at home, for it has been translated into almost every European language, and the prejudiced critics of the North British Review have almost consented to giv© it rank with ' The Antiquary ’ and ‘ Old Mortality.’ ” — Richmond Times. 20 TILE OR, EGYPT A WITNESS FOR THE BIBLE. FRANCIS L. HAWKS, D.D., LL.D. •Kt'O. IPitji Sllnstrntinns. SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED. NEW- YORK: GEO. P. PUTNAM, 155 BROADWAY. LONDON; JOHN MURRAY. M.DCCC.L. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1849, by G. P. Putnam, in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New- York. John F. Trow, Printer and Stereotyper, 49 Ann slreet, Neir-York. TO THE RIGHT REV. BISHOP BROWNELL, OF CONNECTICUT, THIS BOOK Ss Hrsprrtfulli} SiistrihpJr, IN GRATEFUL RECOGNITION OF THE UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP OF MANY YEARS. r . V ^ HI*^*^- w r.| 1^ -■■■rti ••“I* T'. -f. I a ( ><> , i N PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. The kind reception given to this work having created a demand for a second edition, the compiler has endeavored to add to the interest of the book by the insertion of a new chap- ter descriptive of localities on the Nile, derived from the latest and most authentic sources. To make room for the insertion of this new matter, the journal appended to the former edition has, in this, been omitted. New- York, March 1, 1850. Ila A'i I ! ! ' -■ .xoir-cta T . oT ^ ' :u.-i !'.■•. tf -/ It 111 fK ^ 0 ^ 4 '^ »if I '' '•^t:“> l)i»l< ' t :^U bnnc^^fnjfl *<< rr^ 4 a s.'h ■ j ••! ^.-...f -.•.ffj I .i(«df1||Pf^ , I i i ;■■ i ilUr;au('>l>jP|r ^ • •' -Mtc^ atlii'idJiUi Jivi '''T n»ft ,Tr«j2»vu4 ^iiil Yi rt'iit «i .f[ «i ■I'-i'i ’tjLiUll T ilttix.f ^-Ifri ui ^?:i>ij i 'il-j ir]«Kn| - 'I •> ^ licvb CONTENTS EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. CHAPTER I. Interest excited by Egypt. — Object of the present work. — Art of writing very ancient in Egypt. — Egyptian author, Manetho. — Greek writers, Herodotus, Diodorus. — Work of Horapollo. — Modern efforts at deciphering the hierogly- phics. — Father Kircher. — Zoega. — Warburton’s hint. — QuatremSre’s discovery. — Work of the French savans. — Discovery of the Rosetta stone, . , 17 CHAPTER II. Rosetta stone. — Specimens of the inscription. — Dr. Young’s discoveries. — De Sacy. — Akerblad. — ChampolLion le Jeune. — Discovery of homophones. — Sir Gardner Wilkinson’s tribute to Champollion. — Exposure of the ignorance of the French savans, by Champollion, 32 CHAPTER III. Examples of Egyptian writing. — Hieroglyphic. — Hieratic. — Demotic, . 50 CHAPTER IV. Climate of the Valley of the Nile. — Extreme dryness. — General appearance of Eg5TJtian ruins. — Temples, tombs. — Arts of design in ancient Egypt. 68 8 CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. Localities of the Nile, 81 CHAPTER VI. Remarks on testimony. — Application of them to the evidence afforded by the monuments. — Facts related in Abraham’s history, tested by Egyptian re- mains 128 CHAPTER VII. Joseph, 167 CHAPTER VIII. The bondage, 216 CHAPTER IX. The deliverance, 233 CHAPTER X. The wanderings, 264 CHAPTER XI. Direct monumental confirmation of Scriptural history 286 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. r «• t '="'■ / , - T '•- ■ ••»'• ita. j ^ . J/ .:■■ 'j ■ 2 ^- *•' ■ -ffi-H-.. W ; ' A * J ■ ■ *«’r tio' '“j ^M>t*it).«^jit(^ttiiniil ' KVtf ( I ^I ^ ^ . . • *l ' I « i-j-i ■ . ., • k *1, ,, ■ . ^ s^'*! ' " •;■••; I'tll 0«iw ■■ '•"•w -'J '"i’ ‘ v:u.;l • A) uiWv>:^>«tU •' I • > 'i> r ' iv^dnigtk - T ^ >»j py> l‘> itu -«nII “f :” .•> rC “i'-' .Qtlloi «uj I h i t.-rt^yti (Hi j V\4 %'■’ - ftf *r^ rt i ■.,■.■ ,. ,\ a* ' ■■ ■ «n Ijc ■ , ; ■! Ml : c ' 't -TrtfS* .f f ■■' 1 MM. R; V t*%- §iti^. .itt > If '*•% ki — , ... ' i < % ^ « ~ L . . 1 #r » 1^1 i EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. CHAPTER I. Interest excited by Egypt. — Object of the present work. — Art of writing very ancient in Egypt. — Egyptian author Manetho. — Greek writers, Herodotus, Diodorus. — Work of Horapollo. — Modern efforts at deciphering the hierogly- phics. — Father Kircher. — Zoega. — Warburton’s hint. — Quatremfire’s discovery. — Work of the French savans. — Discovery of the Rosetta stone. “Egypt. — This country offers subjects of conversation and meditation which no traveller can entirely neglect, who- ever he may be, if he have eyes to see, a memory to remem- ber, and a sprinkling of imagination wherewith to dream. Who can be indifierent to the tableau of unaccountable Nature on the banks of the Nile : at the spectacle of this river-land, that no other land resembles ? Who will not be moved in the presence of this people, which of old accom- plished such mighty deeds, and now are reduced to misery so extreme 1 Who can visit Alexandria, Cairo, the Pyramids, Heliopolis, Thebes, without being moved by reminiscences, 2 18 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. the most imposing and the most diverse 7 The Bible, Homer, Philosophy, the Sciences, Greece, Rome, Christianity, the Monks, Islamism, the Crusades, the French Revolution : almost every thing great in this world’s history seems to con- verge into the pathway of him who traverses this memorable country ! Abraham, Sesostris, Moses, Helen, Agesilaus, Alex- ander, Pompey, Cassar, Cleopatra, Aristarchus, Plotinus, Paco- mus, Origen, Athanasius, Saladin, St. Louis, Napoleon ! what names ! what contrasts i ****** ^ country made to occupy eternally the world, Egypt appears at the very origin of the traditions of Judea and of Greece. Moses issues from her ; Plato, Pythagoras, Lycurgus, Solon, Herodotus, Strabo and Tacitus enter into her bosom to be initiated in her sciences, religion and laws.” Thus breaks forth the enthusiasm of an eloquent French writer, as he kindles in the contemplation of a favorite theme. Without participating in the excitement of his feelings, it must still be confessed, that there is an absorbing interest in the land which he thus glowingly depicts. The attention that it has excited within the last half century has developed so much, which neither the Christian nor the scholar is willing to neglect ; that patient labor still employs itself in research, undeterred by unusual difficulties, and undisgusted by the ex- aggerations of the too credulous archaeologist. Persevering industry will overcome the one, and a sound judgment affords a corrective to the other. Nor must it be supposed that the exaggeration is all on one side. If there be those who have prematurely sounded the note of triumph in their supposed discovery of monumental testimony that disproves the truth of the sacred records ; it must not be forgotten, that, on the other hand, there are some who have found, as they imagine. ANTIQUITY OF WRITING. 19 in certain particulars, evidence for the Bible, of the conclusive- ness of vf ‘rich, even the sober-minded Christian will entertain a doubt. He who is best acquainted with the present state of Egyptian discoveries, cannot but feel, that our Knowledge is yet much too imperfect on some points, to justify over-confident assertion or critical dogmatism. From the tomb of past ages, much that is very valuable has undoubtedly been disinterred : that much yet remains to be unburied, is proved by the con- stant accumulation of facts, daily added to our already exist- mg knowledge of Egyptian antiquities. It is, perhaps, not saying too much to assert, that, with our present materials, any attempt at generalization on all the points brought to our notice by a study of Egyptian archeeology, is premature, and as to some points, must terminate in erroneous conclusions. The object of the present volume, therefore, is neither to afford a connected history of Egypt, nor to furnish the reader with a satisfactory explanation of every inscription or represen- tation on the walls of its venerable ruins. Its less ambitious, and it is hoped not less useful aim, is to bring forward, in an intelligible form, certain facts that appear to be well attested, and thus to afford to the reader the means of judging for him- self how far they furnish illustration of, or give direct confirma- tion to, the truth of events recorded in the Scriptures. A necessary preliminary to the performance of this under- taking, is a recital of the sources of information we possess in matters relating to Egypt ; and particularly an account of the discoveries made in hieroglyphical interpretation within the last half century. With that, therefore, we commence. Of the very great antiquity of writing among the Egyp- tians, and of their consequent early possession of books, little doubt seems now to be entertained among the learned. The 20 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. inkstand and the stylus are found on monuments which carry us back to a period anterior, as is supposed, to the time of which we have any recorded history. But on this subject we are not left to a mere inference from monumental remains. The earliest writings of the Egyptians, are believed to have been contained in their sacred books. For our knowledge of these writings we are indebted chiefly, and indeed almost entirely, to Clemens of Alexandria. He is entitled to belief, as having been a resident in Egypt, if not a native, eminently learned, and of miimpeachable Christian character. His life terminated between the years of our Lord 200 and 220 ; and he states that in his time the Egyptians had forty-two sacred books. These books were divided into several classes ; one, for instance, was on medicine ; another on astronomy ; a third was on the hieroglyphical art, and consequently taught the rudiments of Egjqitian writing ; a fourth class was devoted to religious worship, while another comprised the sacerdotal books, and bore the general name of Hieratic writings. These last, as Clement states, treated of “ the Laws, the Deities, and the entire education of the Priests.” The only portion of these writings of which the moderns are as yet possessed, is in what Champollion called the “ Ritual,” and Lepsius named “ The Book of the Dead.” It was originally found in the tombs of the kings at Thebes, in the form of a hieroglyphical papyrus. Its pictorial ornaments showed that it treated of ceremonies in honor of the dead, and the transmigration of souls. Afterward, Champollion found a much more perfect copy in the museum of Turin : this has been published by Lepsius, with the remark that “ this book fiunishes the only example of a great Eg^q)tian literary work, transmitted from the old Pharaonic times.” It possesses one BOOK OF THE DEAD. 21 peculiarity that is significant of its great antiquity ; it is written in the pure monumental hieroglyphic character, while in all the other extant remains of Egyptian literature, the hieratic character is employed. This clifterence is important in other aspects, to which we advert not here, as the object now is simply to illustrate the fact of the great antiquity of the art of writing in Egypt. The next question that naturally arises, is an inquiry whether any, and if any, what historical works have come down to our day from Egyptian authors? The answer to this must be, that although we have some fragments, of which to speak presently, yet that nothing deserving the name of an authentic and continuous history concerning ancient Egypt, has yet been found in her monuments or elsewhere ; while of some portions of that history, the only records worthy of con- fidence, are contained in the Bible. For the preservation of these, the pride of a tyrannical Pharaoh little dreamed that it would be indebted to the oppressed victims of its persecution. The proud triumphs of Egyptian kings are lost in the past, or but indistinctly read in a mysterious language on the de- caying walls of temples, tombs, and palaces ; while the heart- less cruelties that preceded the exode of a race, outcasts in Egypt and trampled in the dust, are chronicled by the pro- vidence of God, for all time, on imperishable pages : “ The evil that men do lives after them.” Egypt has no certain history of her ancient greatness. That her “ sacred books did not contain any history of the Egyptian nation,” says the Chevalier Bunsen, “ is no less certain than that the Old Testament does contain that of the Jews. The 22 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. idea of a people did not exist — still less that of a people of God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. History was born in that night, when Moses, with the law of God, moral and spiritual, in his heart, led the people of Israel out of Egypt.” It has already been intimated that fragments of Egyptian writers have come down to our days. Of these, the only one worthy of note is Manetho. He lived in the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus, about 180 b. c. His work, originally in three volumes or books, was written, it is said, at the command of Ptolemy, and is now lost. All that we have of it is to be found in quotations from it, in the writings of Josephus, Euse- bius, and Syncellus. The last of these quotes from two abbreviators of Manetho, one of whom was Eratosthenes ; the work of the other is called “ The Old Chronicle.” Manetho (as Plutarch informs us) was a priest of Seben- nytus ; hence he is sometimes called the Sebennyte. He wrote in the Greek language, but professed to draw his materials from Egyptian sources. Manetho’s history, like that of many other ancient nations, refers the origin of his people to gods and demigods, who reigned for hundreds of thousands of years. The first of these was the Sun or Phra, whence came the name Pharaoh, as a generic term applied to all the Egyptian monarchs. He then commences with the reign of men, and extends his list of sovereigns over an incredibly long period, if time were computed then as it is now. But it is no part of the purpose of the present work to enter into the much disputed question of Egyptian chronology. The gen- eral reader will find in it little to interest him, and we are not presumptuous enough to suppose that our pages will furnish any attraction to the historical antiquarian. Beside, without MANETHO. 23 meaning to undervalue chronology, as a very important feature in the study of history, we may yet be permitted to say in the words of a modern writer on Egypt, that “ the disclosures made by inscriptions on public buildings, of kings, wars, and conquests, may, when Verified as to age, and placed in their probable order by the aid of learning and criticism, reveal more as to the dynasties and individual sovereigns; but on such information, even when free from doubt and most accu- rate, little real value can be set ; while the Bible supplies, either by express statement or obvious implication, facts and principles which constitute genuine history^ and go far to give the past all the value which it can possess for the men of these times.” It is proper to add that, while, among the learned gene- rally, there seems to be no doubt that Manetho had a real existence, and wrote what has been preserved in quotations from his works ; yet there have not been wanting some who deem the writings under his name to be entirely fabulous. The learned Hengstenberg is of this class. In his work, enti- tled “ Egypt and the Books of Moses,” he devotes an entire article in his appendix to this subject ; and, with great inge- nuity, throws more than the shadow of a suspicion on the authenticity and credibility of the supposed Egyptian histo- rian. He considers the work to be spurious, and of later times than the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus. In this conclusion we are not prepared entirely to acquiesce, though it is possible that an exaggerated importance may have been given by some, to the writings under the name of Manetho. They derive, however, so much confirmation from the discovery of what is known as the “ tablet of Abydus,” that their entire rejection as authority seems scarcely consistent with sound criticism. 24 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. The tablet of Abydus, which is now in the British Mu- seum, is delineated on the opposite page. It is a series of royal rings inclosing the inaugural titles of the names of many of the ancient kings of Eg\^t, in the order of their succession. It was engraved on the wall of one of the vestibules of a tem- ple, which has been excavated in the mountain to the north of the city of Abydus. It is not, however, to be concealed, that, while in some instances it confirms Manetho’s lists, in others, it is directly at variance with them. Another source of information concerning Egypt is in the writmgs of Herodotus. This oldest of the Greek histo- rians was born about 484 b. c., and having from pohtical causes become an exile from his native city, he travelled through Greece, Egypt, Asia, Scythia, Thrace, and Mace- donia. His work is divided into nine books, which he named after the nine muses. The second of these, Euterpe, is devoted to Egypt, and contains an account not merely of what he saw, but also of such explanations as he received from the Egy'ptian priests, together with observations on the mamiers and customs of the country, and a long dissertation on the succession of its kings. He does not pretend, in this latter subject, to observe strict chronological order ; and his work is chiefly valuable when brought into juxtaposition with other authorities that can be relied on. Diodorus Siculus is another writer, of less value, however, than Herodotus. He professes to treat of the atfahs of Egypt. He visited the country about 58 b. c., though his work was written at a later period. He brought to his task (says Bunsen) “a mere acquaintance with books, without either sound judgment, critical spirit, or comprehensive views. He was more successful consequently in complicating and mysti- 26 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. fying, than in sifting and illustrating the traditions with which he had to deal.” This, however, will probably be deemed by some, and those not altogether unlearned, a harsher judgment than Diodorus deserves. There is a school of “ Egyptologists,” as they somewhat affectedly style themselves, with whom it is fashionable to depreciate Diodorus ; though some among them can and do quote and rely on him when his testimony confirms their views. That Diodorus often betrays a want of sound judgment, and writes silly things, may be true ; so do Herodotus and others, at times ; but Diodorus often relates facts, the truth of which is established by other testi- mony as well as his. The Christian student of Egyptian antiquities, however, is at no loss to find a cause for the studied depreciation of Diodorus. To these might be added other authorities of minor importance ; while of all it may be said that they shed little, if any, light upon the system of hieroglyphic writing, and certainly none upon its proper inter- pretation. It was believed, long ago, that the singular devices and in- scriptions to be found on the temples and tombs of Egypt, were historical documents ; and that, if correctly interpreted, they would probably furnish a more correct account of the early con- dition of this ancient and long-civilized nation, than could be de- rived from any other source, Many obelisks and other works of art may still be seen at Rome, which had been carried thither from Egypt by the emperors : these are covered with hiero- glyphics, the meaning of which had provoked the curiosity, and stimulated the study, of men of letters, almost from the period of the revival of learning in Europe, in the fifteenth century. The classic authors of Greece and Rome, however, who had written on the hieroglyphics, without understanding HORAPOLLO. 27 them, had created the impression that their correct interpreta- tion had been so studiously concealed by the priests, and was, withal, so imperfectly understood even by them, that it had been irrecoverably lost before the days of the latter emperors. Notwithstanding this discouraging view, however, some among the moderns ventured to hope that persevering indus- try, added to critical skill, might solve the mystery, and read this strange “ handwriting on the wall.” There was known to be in existence a work, purporting to have been written by Horapollo, and professing to give a meaning to some, at least, of the sculptured figures common in Egypt. Horapollo was an Egyptian scribe ; but he did not live until the beginning of the fifth century of our era ; and conse- quently all that he could do was to gather the traditionary and fast fading interpretation of such symbols as were then under- stood by his countrymen. But even the original of his work, imperfect as it must necessarily have been, was lost ; and all that remains of it is a Greek translation made by Philip, who is supposed to have lived a century or two later than Horapollo, and at a time when every vestige of certain knowledge, in the work of interpretation, must have been lost. Philip undoubt- edly introduced new matter of his own invention, but with all its imperfections, the book was not without value in the earlier modern efibrts at interpretation ; and is at least curious, as being “ the only ancient volume entirely devoted to the task of unra- velling the mystery in which Egyptian learning has been involved ; and as one, which, in many instances, unquestiona- bly contains the correct interpretation.”* One of the earliest of the moderns, in the field as an interpreter, was the learned * A very beautiful edition of Horapollo, accompanied with an English transla- tion, was published a few years since by Mr. Cory, of Pembroke College, Cam- 28 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. Jesuit, Father Kircher. In 163G he published six bulky folios, in which he professed to explain and read most of the hiero- glyphical inscriptions on the Egyptian monuments then in Europe. His interpretations were all wrapped in an unin- telligible mysticism ; and at least proved that the imagination of the worthy father was as prolific as his learning was un- questionable. If, however, he failed in interpretation, his labors were not useless. Osborn remarks that “ Kircher emi- nently assisted the researches that ultimately proved successful, by bringing together in his book a voluminous collection of passages from the Greek and Latin authors respecting Egypt. And still more, by calling the attention of the learned to the Coptic tongue, in which a vast number of MSS. were collected in the Vatican and other libraries, both public and private, in Italy.” Kircher had many able successors, than whom, per- haps, none deserves more honorable mention than the learned Dane, George Zoega. He published in 1797 his work on the origin and use of the obelisks, and very many of his sugges- tions were imdoubtedly of great use to those who came after him. An incidental hint was thrown out, also, by the acute mind of Warburton, which, though viewed by the learned of that day with incredidity, has subsequently been found to point to the truth. In his “Divine Legation” he was led, from an attentive perusal of what had been said by Clement of Alexandria, and Porphyry, to conclude that “ hieroglyphics were a real written language, applicable to the purposes of his- tory and common life, as well as those of religion and my- thology ;” and further, that among the different sorts of hiero- bridge, to which we are indebted for the facts above stated concerning the author and his work. SPINETO— QUATREMERE. 29 glyphics, the Egyptians possessed those tohich were used 'pho- netically^ that is, alphabetically as letters. Zoega had also conjectured that certain figures of animals, &c., represented sounds, and were possibly letters ; and from the Greek word, ri, (a voice or articulate sound,) he had applied to them the term phonetic. It is obvious, as has been remarked by the Marquis Spineto, that to verify this conjecture, three things wei'e indispensable. If these characters were phonetic, the words they expressed could belong to the ancient spoken language of Egypt only ; it was therefore indispensable first, to ascertain what was that language, and whether we had any remains of it. Secondly, a considerable number of inscriptions or fac-similes of them was necessary for purposes of comparison. Thirdly, it was indispensable to possess an authentic translation of some one of these ancient Egyptian inscriptions into a language known to modern scholars. Perhaps the difficulty, not to say appre- hended impossibility, of finding the happy combination of these three prerequisites, may have led the learned of that day to pay less attention to the conjecture and hint of Zoega and Warburton, than they deserved; and yet it so happened that Providence was gradually bringing together this indispensable combination of circumstances. As to the first, Quatremere produced his work “ sur la langue et litterature de V Egypte,^^ and satisfactorily proved, to the surprise even of scholars, that the Coptic was the language of the old Egyptians. The Copts are, in fact, the only direct descendants in Egypt of the primitive race, and until within about a hundred years they still spoke the Coptic tongue, though imperfectly ; but the lan- guage has been preserved in writing, and has come down to our day. The alphabet in which it is written is the Greek, 30 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. with the addition of seven other characters, taken from what is known as tlie enchorial or demotic writing, which will be explained hereafter. As we now have it, it came into use in Egypt with the introduction of Christianity ; and is still used in the Coptic Christian liturgies. The means ot comparison are not wanting in the study of the language, for to this day, the Christians have their liturgy, the pentateuch, and nearly the whole of the Scriptures in the Coptic, accompanied with Greek and Arabic translations. The first desideratum was thus brought within reach. As to the second, the memorable expedition of Napoleon to Egypt furnished that. He was ac- companied by the ablest savans of France, and the “ Descrip- tion de VEgypte,^’ which the French government published on their return, placed before Europe such a collection as it had never before seen of fac-similes of inscriptions. In some cases the hieroglyphics were not scrupulously exact copies ; but still, a vast amount of valuable material was furnished to the patient decipherer. Egypt was now opened, however, and the various museums of Europe began to be enriched with spoils from the banks of the Nile. There soon ceased to be a want of inscriptions to examine. But the third great element of research, which, in fact, could alone give the stamp of certainty to any supposed discovery in interpretation, must also appear. An authentic translation of some ancient Egyptian inscription into a language known to modern scholars, was indispensable. Nothing else was wanting for successful archaeological research ; and as if to supply the want, the Rosetta stone providentially came forth from its grave to furnish what was needed. The consequences resulting from this important discovery, aftbrd one of the most interesting developments of the progress of the human mind in its patient and laborious search for truth, in ROSETTA STONE. 31 the midst of uncommon difficulties. As a remarkable phe- nomenon in intellectual history, and an application of ingenuity in overcoming obstacles, it deserves to be studied as a curious chapter in psychology, and we therefore invite attention to it. CHAPTER II. Rosetta Stone. — Specimens ot the inscriptions. — Di. Young’s discoveries. — De Sacy. — Akerblad. — Chanipollion le Jeune. — Discovery of homophones. — Sir Gardner Wilkinson’s tribute to Champollion. — Exposure of the ignorance of the French savans, by Champollion. It was in August, 1799, that Bouchard, a French officer of Artillery, in digging at Rosetta for the foundations of a re- doubt, found a large stone of black syenite basalt, marked with various characters. Upon closer inspection, it was seen that the stone bore three inscriptions : the upper one was in hiero- glyphics, the lowest in Greek letters, while that between was in a different character, which it was subsequently found, on reading the Greek text, was therein called enchorial or popu- lar. The stone finally found its way to the British Museum, where it now is. Owing to the fracture of the stone, no one of the inscriptions was entire, but still, much the larger part of each was remaining. On its arrival in Europe, its import- ance as a probable key to interpretation, was at once seen; and the Antiquarian Society caused the inscriptions to be engraved, and generally circulated among the European lite- rati. The French general, Duqua, had also caused a cast of two impressions of the stone to be made at Cairo, and had t^en them to Paris. And here one cannot but be struck by the reflection with which Bunsen accompanies his state- ROSETTA STONE. 33 merit of the discovery of this interesting memorial. “This seemingly insignificant stone,” says he, “ shares with the great and splendid work, ‘La Description de I’Egypte,’ the honor of being the only result of vital importance to universal history, accruing from a vast expedition, a brilliant conquest, and a bloody combat for the possession of Egypt. That grand conception, the early forecast of a young hero — the colonization of Egypt by Europeans, which Liebnitz had proposed to Louis XIV., and Bossuet, as a passage in his universal history proves, urgently recommended — had wholly failed, and seemed destined to disappear ‘ from the ,jage of history, like a stroke upon the waters, without leaving a trace behind it. After a bloody and fruitlessly protracted struggle, upon which millions of treasure and unnumbered hecatombs of human life were sacrificed, the cradle of civilization, the land of monuments, was again unconditionally surrendered to the dominion of barbarians. * * * * * Under these circumstances, we may consider that splendid work on Egypt as a sort of sin-offering for all the blood which has been so vainly shed on her soil.’- European scholars, having obtained copies of the in- scriptions, directed their attention, as was natural, first to the Greek, which was found, upon translation, to contain a record. Or recognition of the highest honors of the Pharaohs m the person of Ptolemy Epiphanes, by the Egyptian priest- hood, assembled at Memphis. Its concluding sentence was as follows — “that it may be known that the Egyptians elevate and honor the God Epiphanes Eucharistes in a lawful man- ner, and that this decree should be engraved on a tablet of hard stone in hieroglyphical, [sacred characters, \ enchorial, [common writing of the country^ and Greek characters, and 34 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. should be set up in each of the first, second, and third-rate temples at the statue of the ever living king.” The period of time of which the stone records events, is about 196 b. c., and the inscriptions on it furnish, probably, the most ex- tended and important document of the Graeco- Egyptian period.* The general impression of the learned is, that the Greek was the original document, and the hieroglyphics and enchorial writing are translations from it. Porson in England, and Heyne in Germany, together with members of the Insti- tute in France, were not long in establishing the proper reading of the Greek text to the satisfaction of scholars ; though a full philological analysis of all the inscriptions, in the opinion of Birch and other good Egy’ptian antiquarians, is yet a de- sideratum. It is obvious however, from what has been stated, that the discovery of this stone advanced the facilities and means of research far beyond any and all the advantages pre- viously possessed. And here, that we may make ourselves more intelligible to the general reader, we subjoin a specimen of the three different inscriptions found on the Rosetta stone ; not with the view at present of showing the mode of interpre- tation, but that a clear perception may be had of the nature of those labors of the learned which we are about to detail. * Some years ago it was suggested by Mr. Sharpe, and afterward by Mr. Gliddon, that other copies of this stone might be found. Lepsius of Berlin has a fragment from Philae, containing part of this decree. ROSETTA STONE. 35 Hieroglyphics. Corresponding Enchorial or Demotic. Corresponding Greek. ZTHCAl El KONA TOT BACIAEfiC HTOAEMAIOT TOT AJS2NOBIOT TOT HEAnHMENOT TPO TOT (IJQA EllBUylNOTC ETXAPICTOT. Thus translated literally from the hieroglyphics into English by Bunsen : To SET UP THE Statue op Ptolemy the King, ever LIVING, ETERNAL, BELOVED OP PhTHA, THE APPARENT OoD, THE BEST LoRD — [Epiphanes Eucharistes.] After the Greek had been translated, attention was directed to the two Egyptian texts. De Sacy and Akerblad employed themselves on the enchorial or demotic writing ; imder the erro- neous impression, probably, that as it was the best preserved of all the inscriptions, and was moreover the common writing, it would prove the easiest to decipher; while Dr. Young and Champollion may be deemed the first adventurers into the field of hieroglyphical interpretation, though they were not unmindful of the enchorial also. Several incorrect opinions have been enumerated by Bunsen, as retarding the progress of the first attempts. In the first place, it was assumed that the hieroglyphic character was purely symbolic. Zoega had 36 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. repudiated such an opinion some time before ; but his now verified conjectures seem, at that time, not to have been known by some, and where known, to have been disregarded. Another assumption was, that the enchorial text was purely alphabetical. Hence resulted a third error, viz., that the language in both inscriptions was the same ; but that they were written merely in two difterent ways. It was De Sacy who was the first successful decipherer. He resorted to the plan usually pursued in interpreting any secret writing. The first object in such a work is to ascertain b} close examina- tion the number of ditferent signs or characters ; next to distinguish the groups or combinations that occur most fre- quently ; and lastly, according to the supposed or ascertained sense of the general purport of the writing, to explain the characters by the words of the language they are supposed to embody. Here, the purport was fully known from the Greek inscription ; and it was the natural presumption, in the ab- sence of all proof, that the Coptic was the language embodied in these characters. Quatremere had, however, satisfactorily shown that it was in substance the language of ancient Egypt. De Sacy saw that the only sure basis of interpreta- tion was to take the proper names occurring in the Greek, and to ascertain, if possible, their equivalents in the Egyptian text. This he did ; and in 1802 communicated to Chaptal his discovery of the names of Ptolemy^ Berenice, and Alexander in the enchorial writing. Akerblad went further, and in the same year showed, in a letter to De Sacy, that these groups which he had discovered thus expressing proper names, could be decomposed into letters. By means of these groups and thirteen others, he formed an alphabet for nearly all the letters of the enchorial character ; but he never suspected, what was DR. YOUNG’S DISCOVERIES. 37 nevertheless true, that beside letters, the enchorial used sym- bolic signs ; and beside symbols, the hieroglyphic used phone- tic signs. These two important facts were the discovery of Dr. Young. After Akerblad’s labors, some time elapsed before any further progress was made. It was not until 1814 that Dr. Young offered his “conjectural translation of the Egyptian inscription of the Rosetta stone.” The plan which he pur- sued, as described by himself, was, in substance, as follows He first acquired the Coptic language, and adopted Akerblad's alphabet of the enchorial text, suspecting, however, from the beginning, that this writing contained symbolic signs as well as letters. He then commenced comparing groups of charac- ters in the Egyptian writing with proper names in the Greek. Thus, finding in the fourth and fourteenth lines of the Greek, the words Alexander and Alexandria, he found in the second and tenth lines of the demotic inscription, groups which he conjectured were expressive of the same words. He states that he did not trouble himself, by an analysis of the groups, to ascertain the value of each particular character. Again, he observed the occurrence in almost every line of a small group of characters ; he naturally concluded that it was either a common termination, or else some common particle. It was finally found to be the conjunction equivalent to our English and. He next noticed that a remarkable collection of charac- ters was repeated some thirty times in the inscription ; on looking to the Greek, he found the Greek word for king repeated about the same number of times ; he hence trans- lated the unknown group by that word. So also with the name of Ptolemy and the word Egypt ; he compared as before the number of repetitions of these words in the Greek, with 38 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. the repetitions of certain combinations of characters in the inscription. His next step was to write the Greek text over the enchorial in such a manner, that what he supposed to be coincident words and passages should be brought into juxta- position ; thus the intermediate parts of the respective writings were of course brought near together, and the field of compari- son became constantly less. As the result of the whole, he found nineteen letters of Akerblad’s, and twelve more of his own, beside a star at the end of proper names. He had also, as he believed, found fifty groups of words, the first three of which were those already indicated by De Sacy, and analyzed by Akerblad : to these followed sixteen words which Akerblad had analyzed, and the residue of the fifty were his own. To these he added one hundred and fifty more, for which he thought he had found the corresponding word in the Greek inscription. Some of these afterward proved to be entirely wrong. It would be most unjust to an acute, ingenious, and indefatigable mind, to undervalue the discoveries of Dr. Young. If he did not discover the whole art of deciphering the mysterious characters of Egypt, let it be remembered that the merit of complete discovery belongs to no one individual ; and that where all were contributors to a common end, no one had, up to the time of Young’s discoveries, accomplished as much as he had. He certainly, as Mr. Gliddon has stated, “ cast the first beam of trxie light on the method adopted by the Egyptians in their peculiar art of writing.” He first posi- tively indicated on the Rosetta stone the name of Ptolemy^ and on the doorway of Karnac read that of Berenice, both in the hieroglyphic characters. He it was who first showed that of the two Egyptian inscriptions, the one, the enchorial, was CHAMPOLLION LE JEUNE. 39 “ in good measure a corruption, abridgment, or running form of the other.” He also is entitled to the merit of having found out the Egyptian mode of writing numbers. But he probably never contemplated the possibility of an entire phonetic alpha- bet as existing in the hieroglyphics. The utmost that he did was to suspect the existence of what he indicates by the vague phrase “ a certain kind of syllabic system and that some few of the characters were the representatives of letters ; he certainly knew nothing of the important fact of the use of what are called homophones ; that is, of several different signs, which, by means of the initial letter in the name of that which they represent, are made to express the same somid.* Still it must be admitted that Young prepared the way, in many respects, for Champollion le Jeune ; so called, to dis- tinguish him from his elder brother, Champollion-Figeac. Jean Francois Champollion would have been deemed, in any age, an extraordinary man. He was born in 1790, and from his earliest youth seemed destined to excel in that de- partment of letters to which he devoted his life. The expe- dition of Napoleon, led to results which filled his mind with the contemplation of the strange revelations unfolded by a land of wonders. His imagination kindled as he dwelt upon the mysterious symbols which he knew embodied the long lost history of the early civilization of our globe. He found a fascination in the very effort to understand them ; and, while yet a boy, at the age of seventeen, he laid before his teachers, as a literary exercise, an outline of a treatise on the ancient geography of Egypt, with an introduction and map. These he presented, as a specimen of the first part of a compre- Homophones wilf be fully illustrated on a future page. 40 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. hensive work which he contemplated, on the language, writ- ing, and religion of the ancient Egyptians. The boy who, at the age of seventeen, indulged in such lofty aspirations, and found agreeable mental excitement in the pursuit of such studies as he had adopted, needed but health and opportunity to leave behind him an honored name, and to rear a monu- ment on which the lettered men of future times would look with grateful admiration. With his MSS. in his liand he presented himself, ere yet he was a man, to the principal scientific men of Paris, and, fos- tered by the advice and guidance of De Sacy, at the age of twenty, he commenced printing the introduction to his pro- posed work. It appeared in 1814, when he was twenty-four years old, and contained corrections of, and additions to Aker- blad’s alphabet, and related the result of his own researches into the Coptic. The grammar and dictionary of that lan- guage, which he then projected, maintains to this day its high reputation. But he was travelling over an untried field, where way-marks were few and indistinct at best, and his steps were necessarily slow and toilsome. His enthusiasm, however, sustained him. He was laboring under an error, which he afterward discovered, and magnanimously con- fessed. Champollion le Jeune proved himself to be a great man, for he was not ashamed to say “ I have been wrong.” The error alluded to, consisted in his deeming the hiero- glyphics to be purely symbolic. Out of this error he extri- cated himself; but not until he satisfied himself that the hieroglyphical was the most ancient form of Egyptian writ- ing, and that, would he succeed, his researches must begin with that. He had devoted time, as Young and others had done, to the enchorial or demotic writing, and had also studied the CHAMPOLLION LE JEUNE. 41 hieratic, as it is called, which we will explain presently ; but now, leaving these, his whole attention was directed to the hieroglyphics ; and it was in this work that he reared for himself an enduring renown. It is pleasant to remark, in tracing the progress of the human mind in any discovery, the seemingly fortuitous con- currence of circumstances which not unfrequently sheds un- expected light on the path of the discoverer, and without which, to all human seeming, the discovery would, probably, not then have been made. Champollion, in determining to com- ‘ mence with the hieroglyphics, knew full well what others had done. Dr. Young had steadily expressed his belief, that all Egyptian writing originated in the hieroglyphics, and there- fore must contain symbolic signs ; and not, simply, the alpha- betic characters which Akerblad had found in the enchorial inscriptions ; this principle he had endeavored to apply to the hieroglyphic names of kings, and had read “ Ptolemy ” and Berenice^ Dr. Young, however, never had explained the method by which he had proceeded. Beyond these particu- lars, Champolliou derived no aid from him. Having, however, from Young’s success, become satisfied of the importance of the royal rings containing proper names, he turned to them. It so happened that as early as 1816, Caillaud, the French tra- veller, who discovered Meroe, had met at the island of Philae with a small obelisk, which was first discovered by Belzoni. On the pedestal of this obelisk is a Greek inscription, in which occur the names of Ptolemy and Cleopatra. Caillaud made a fac-simile of this inscription ; and afterward, an Englisli gen- tleman, Mr. William Bankes, transported the monument itself to his residence in Dorsetshire, and circtilated copies of its liiero- glyphic inscriptions among the learned. Both Young and 42 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. Champollion were acquainted with this monument. To the latter only was it of any value in interpretation. He observed on it hieroglyphics in a ring, precisely similar to those on the Rosetta stone, which Young had interpreted to mean Ptolemy ; the Greek inscription led him to suspect that the other ring must contain the name of Cleopatra. The result of his inves- tigation may best be told in his own words, as contained in a letter to M. Dacier : we prefix copies of the two sets of hiero- glyphics to make his letter intelligible. This hieroglyphic Dr. Young had inter- preted, on the Rosetta stone, to be the name of Ptolemy. Champollion, proceeding on the opinion that the characters within the ring might be, in some instances at least, phonetic or alphabetic, thus felt his way to the truth. “ The first sign of the name of Cleopatra, which re- presents a kind of quadrant, and which ought to be the letter K, (C)* should not occur in the name of Ptolemy, and it is not there. The second, a crouching lion, which should re- present the L, is identical with the fourth of Ptolemy, which is also an L. The third sign is a feather or leaf, which should represent the short vowel E. Two similar leaves may be ob- served at the end of the name of Ptolemy, which, by their position, must have the sound of E long. The fourth charac- ter to the left, represents a kind of flower or root with its stalk bent downward, and should answer to the letter O, and is accordingly the third letter in the name of Ptolemy. The fifth, to the right, is a sort of square, which should repi'esent the let- ter P, and it is the first in the name of Ptolemy. The sixth, * The Greek Alphabet has no C in it ; K is its substitute. CHAMPOLLION. 43 to the left, is a hawk, which should be the letter A. That letter does not occur in the Greek name Ptolemy, neither does it occur in the hieroglyphic transcription. The seventh is an open hand, representing the T, but this character is not found in the name of Ptolemy, where the second letter, T, is ex- pressed by the segment of a sphere. The eighth sign, a mouth, seen in front, ought to be the letter R, and as that letter does not occur in Ptolemy, it is also absent fronr his hieroglyphic name. The ninth and last sign, which ought to be the vowel A, is a repetition of the hawk, which has that sound in the sixth. The signs of the feminine on each side of this hawk, terminate the name of Cleopatra ; that of Ptolemy ends with a bent stalk, which we conclude to be the letter S.” If the reader as he proceeded has compared the letter with the hieroglyphics, he will have perceived that the ingenuity of Charnpollion had discovered in the hieroglyphical name of Cleopatra, certain signs, which, if alphabetic, served to ex- press the letters I, o, />, a, t ; and, that if used for the signs of those letters, they also harmonize very well with the literal spelling of the name of Ptolemy. By means of the two rings, therefore, assuming that these characters were phonetic, he had actually discovered what we should call twelve letters. But how did these palpable images of sensible objects ex- press letters 7 That remained to be discovered : he knew their value as letters, but it was yet to be found out on what principle or rule they were made to have that value. He had observed of one letter T, which occurred in both rings, that, in the one it was indicated by the segment of a sphere, and in the other by an opeii hand. If the assumption on which, he was proceeding were correct, it was obvious that here were two signs for the same letter. Instead of hence hastily con- 44 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. eluding, as some would have done, that his whole assumption was erroneous, his sagacious mind instantly saw a mode of explanation that removed the difficulty, by the supposition that the principle or rule by which a phonetic value was given to these pictured representations, was the very simple one of taking either the syllable or initial letter of the word, which in the ancient language of Egypt, expressed the name of the thing represented. Thus, if he saw a mouth delineated, pho netically it was R, because the word for mouth was ro. So of an eagle, it was A, because Akhom was the word for eagle. A hand was Tot ; phonetically, therefore, it became T. Now it was obvious that the names of a great many different objects used in hieroglyphics might begin with the same letter, and hence that letter might be expressed by different signs, as con- venience, or a neat arrangement of the writing, or some other cause, might dictate. Here, then, Avas the mystery of homo- phones laid open. All symbols or characters that phonetically expressed the same letter were homophones ; and subsequent and long continued examination and comparison could alone show him whether this system of homophones was limited to a certain number of different objects, or was as extensive as the objects themselves. He found them limited, as Avill be seen hereafter in the alphabet of hieroglyphics. He had now reached a grand result ; he proceeded to verify it by an ex- amination of all the royal rings to which he had access, (the number was large,) and he triumphantly established the fact that he had discovered the long buried secret, and applied the true key, Avhich Young had picked up but never used, to the intricate lock of hieroglyphical interpretation ; for he read the names in all the rings he examined. Discarding all other methods, acting on A'oung’s hint, he had sought the key to CHAMPOLLION. 45 an entire system of deciphering in the hieroglyphics alone; that course led to the discoveiy of the phonetic signs in the royal rings ; and that again led to the discovery of the homo- phones. The work was done, he was on the right path, and he had but to proceed, for the whole hieroglyphic research was now in his hands ; and he, whom we saw as the enthu- siastic boy of seventeen with his bold but immature specu- lations, now knew that the name of Champollion le Jeune would not be forgotten until Egypt herself should cease to be remembered. It is a curious fact that we so frequently find, in the history both of literary and scientific research, the claims of contemporaneous discoverers to be nearly equally balanced. Champollion’s reading of the name of Cleopatra in the royal ring on the obelisk of Philae has already been related, together with his own statement of the ingenuity by which he accom- plished it ; but the very same thing had been done, as it appears, by Mr. Bankes m 1818. though the fact was unknown to the world until after the publication of Champollion’s letter to M. Dacier. The process pursued by Mr. Bankes is fully stated in a long note to a pamphlet on the phonetic system of hieroglyphics, published by Mr. Salt. Champollion, however, was prior in his publication by two or three years, and to him, as Mr. Gliddon has said, “exclusively belongs the merit of putting forth his system at once, and complete beyond all previous anticipation, applicable to every epoch, and to every legend in Egyptian history.” Pursuing his investigations, and strictly adhering to the path on which he had entered, Cham- pollion compiled an alphabet of hieroglyphics, and in 1824 gave to the world his magnificent work, “ Precis du Systeme Hie- roglyphiqueP A hieroglyphical dictionary, and an Egyptian 46 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. grammar, are also to be enumerated in the list of his labors. At the age of forty-two he died, leaving behind him the mer- ited reputation of having been discoverer, master, and guide in the intricate mysteries of hieroglyphic interpretation. It would be unjust to one who has himself acquired no small reputation in the field of Egyptian research, to withhold the generous tribute which Sir Gardner Wilkinson has ren- dered to the merits of Champollion. “ To have had frequent occasion to introduce the name of Champollion, to whom we are so deeply indebted, without paying a just tribute to his talents, is to me a reproach which I cannot sufl’er to remain unremoved. I do not wish to enter into the question respecting the discovery of the proper mode of reading the hieroglyphics : suffice it to say, that Dr. Young gave the first idea and proof of their alphabetic force, which was even for some time after doubted by Champollion. And that the merit of originality in this point is due to our dis- tinguished countryman, I can bear a satisfactory testimony, having, with my much-regretted friend. Sir William Gell, as early as the summer of 1821, so far profited by Dr. Young’s opinions on the subject, as to be enabled to suggest the sup- posed value of two or three other characters, beside those he had already ascertained ; our taking this view of the question being solely in consequence of his discovery that they were the representatives of letters. But it remained for the genius of a Champollion to kindle the spark thus obtained into a flame, and to display by its light, the path which led to a clear insight into the subject, to perfect the discovery, and to lay down certain rules, applicable in individual as well as in general cases ; and in justice to him be it confessed, that, if oiu: knowledge of hieroglyphics were confined to the limited CHAMPOLLION. 47 extent to which it was carried by Dr. Young, we should have no regular system to guide us in the interpretation of them, and should know little more than the alphabetic value of a few letters, without the means of affixing a positive construc- tion to a single sentence on any Egyptian monument. “ Had Champollion been disposed to give more credit to the value and originality of Dr. Young’s researches, and to admit that the real discovery of the key to the hieroglyphics, which in his dexterous hand proved so useful in unlocking those hidden treasures, was the result of his labors, he would imquestionably have increased his own reputation, without making any sacrifice. In this, as in the case of Mr. Burton’s trilingual' (or rather trigrammatic) stone, and in a few other points, he may have shown a want of ingenuousness : all have their faults and vanities ; but this is not a reason that the memory of one so respectable as Champollion should be aspersed, or due praise refused him ; and we cannot forgive the ungenerous conduct of those who, from private pique, summon up and misapply talents to pervert truth ; denying the merit of labors, which every one, acquainted with the subject, knows to have been crowned with unexampled and wonderful success. This is not an era when we could believe men capable of lending themselves to the unworthy office of maligning one no longer living to defend himself, and one who, present or absent, merits and possesses the respect and admiration of every unprejudiced person. Yet have some been found, in more than one country, prompted to this mali- cious act by personal enmity, envy of his superior talents and success, or by that aftectation of skepticism, which, while it endeavors to conceal ignorance, often hopes to acquire credit for discernment and superior knowledge. 48 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. “ "When the subject of hieroglyphics becomes better under- stood, and the world is capable of judging how much we owe to him, the wonderful ingenuity of Champollion will be appre- ciated ; and the greatest praise we can bestow on him is confi- dently to pronouzice, that time will do justice to his merits, and experience prove the truth of what inexperience now calls in question.” If we do not dwell upon the works of Rosellini, Salvolini, Lepsius, Bunsen, AVilkinson, Birch, and others, worthy co- laborers or successors in the field which Champollion had opened, it is not from non-appreciation of their merits, but from want of the necessary space in which to do them justice. Suffice it, however, to say, that no point is, at this day, better established, from the labors of the learned, than that the inscriptions found on the decaying monuments and frail papyri of ancient Egypt, are, m many instances, perfectly intelligible ; and it is perhaps not too much to hope, that the day will come when men may read, in their own tongues, the translation of a/l. The statement of an amusing and interesting result that followed upon Champollion’s discovery of the reading of the hieroglyphics, will not inappropriately close our narrative of his important and extraordinary labors. Among the monu- ments which had, in an especial manner, attracted the notice of the French savans who had accompanied Napoleon to Egypt, none had excited more learned controversy than two zodiacs, the one sculptured upon the ceiling of the temple of Dendera, and the other upon that of the temple at Esneh, in upper Egypt. For these monuments there was claimed an extraordinary antiquity, and it was confidently asserted that they completely exploded all Scriptural chronology. M. CHAMPOLLION. 49 Jomard made them at least 3000 years old when the Christian era commenced ; while M. Dupuis would not abate a second of 4000 years ; and M. Gori was very sure they could not be younger than 17,000 years ! “ Like birds of the night,” (says Osborn,) “hovering over, or perching upon, the uncouth remains of ancient superstition, they filled the air with their dismal fore- bodings of the downfall of Christianity, or with shrieks of laughter still more revolting, when they thought that their object was accomplished. All these, however, were soon to be put to flight by that of which they professed themselves to be all the while most devoted worshippers — the light of truth.” When Champollion, in the course of his researches into royal rings, came to read that upon the zodiac of Dendera, he found the title of Augtistiis Consar ; while on that at Esneh, he read the name of ihitoiiinns. That temple, therefore, which M. Dupuis had declared to be 4000 years older than the Chris- tian era, proved to have been built about the time of its com- mencement ; and the edifice at Esneh, which had been pro- foundly demonstrated to be 17,000 years old when the Saviour came, was shown to belong to a period 140 years after his ad- vent. And thus were exposed the pretence of learning and the insolence of arrogance, on the part of a class of men who sought, by bold perversion and confident dogmatism, to distort all that Egypt might reveal, into testimony against the Bible. 4 CHAPTER III. Examples of Egyptian writing. — Hieroglyphic. — Hieratic. — Demotic. Having, in the previous pages, endeavored to give to the gene- ral reader a brief outline, presenting an intelligible view of the chief features in the history of hieroglyphic interpretation ; it only remains to complete this division of our task by an effort to illustrate, by exa7nples, the subject of Egyptian writing. That some of the ancients were not entirely ignorant of the phonetic character of Egyptian writing is certain. We have no evidence, however, that any of them knew how to interpret it. Thus Pliny says, “for those sculptures and likenesses which we see, are Egyptian letters.'^* Porphyry, also, in the “ Life of Pythagoras,” states tliat the Egyptians had three different kinds of letters, epistolographical, hieroghjphical, and symbolical. But the most particular account is to be found in Clement of Alexandria. The passage is not without obscurity in some par- ticulars, in others it is direct and plain. We give what seems to be the substance of his meaning, according to the interpreta- tion of Bunsen, who has examined it with great critical care. The English version, as well as the original Greek, may be found in his first volume of “Egypt’s place in the World’s History.” According to Clement, the Egyptians taught, first Etenim sculpturae illae effigiesque, quas videmus, Egyptiae sunt literas. HIEROGLYPHIC WRITING. 51 of all, the method of writing called the epistolographic ; secondly, the hieratic^ which the sacred scribes employ ; and last of all the hieroglyphic. The epistolographic, according to the judgment of the learned, is the same that is sometimes called the enchorial, and sometimes, as by Herodotus and Dio- dorus, the demotic. It is necessary to speak of these sepa- rately. I. HIEROGLYPHIC WRITING. This was the original mode of Egyptian writing. It has been conjectured by some who have speculated on the origin of the art of writing, (and with how near an approximation to truth the reader can judge for himself,) that the earliest attempt at conveying ideas to the mind, by marks addressed to the eye, is to be found in what is usually termed “ picture writing.” That such a mode has been resorted to by savage nations, as well as by those more or less advanced in civiliza- tion, is undoubtedly true. We know, for instance, that among the Indians, as tliey are termed in our own country, their rude representations of men, and brutes, and other physical objects, delineated on bark or skins, have been used, and are still, to convey information that is intelligible to their own people. So, too, in Mexico, intelligence of the landing of Cortez was communicated to the capital, by this mode of writing. In- deed, among the Mexicans, it had been carried to an extent much greater than is usually supposed, and is worthy of a more attentive study than it has yet received. It may not be uninteresting to present the reader with a specimen. It is the record of a marriage. 62 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. Such events as are here commemorated, were usually brought about by an old woman, who was a species of mar- riage broker. Here she may be seen (T) carrying the bride (W) on her back to the house of the bridegroom, accompanied by four women (X Z) bearing torches. At the liQuse the bride (L) and the bridegroom (M) are seated on a mat ; they are tied together by the corners of their garments, and are distinguishable from each other by the fact of the man’s sitting on a stool. Two old women (N V) are sitting at one end of the mat, and two old men (I R) at the other. These are the witnesses. After offering to their gods a perfume of co- pal, came the marriage feast; there are two kinds of meat (P Q.) and some pulse (S), and the cup out of which they were both to drink (A), is also delineated. The witnesses dined after the new married couple. Signs are seen coming from the mouths of the four witnesses ; these are tongues, signifying speech. HIEROGLYPHIC WRITING. 53 Here they import the advice which it was usual for the aged witnesses to give to the new married couple. Here it will be remarked that every thing delineated is but the sign of some sensible object. The imagination, added to a knowledge of Mexican marriage customs, makes the rude pic- ture intelligible ; but it conveys no sound of letter or word ; it merely tells to the eye a story, which, though perfectly intelli- gible to every ancient Mexican, would not probably be read olf or translated by any two into precisely the same language. It is not at all improbable, in the view of the Chevalier Bunsen, that the first writing of the Egyptians was of this pictorial char- acter; though he thinks that the fact is not to be proved /rowi the monuments. He deduces it from the essential nature and requisites of a figurative character, and a comparison of them with the individual elements of the system of hieroglyphical writing, as they are now known to exist. According to Clement there were three modes of expressing ideas by hieroglyphic characters, all being the representations of physical objects, more or less exact. I. The idea might be conveyed by direct imitation ; that is, by a picture of the object intended to be expressed. Thus, the picture of a man denotes a man, and that of a horse, a horse. II. By a symbolic or enigmatic use of the pictures of objects : that is, by the representation of one object conveying an idea of another. Thus, the relation of a son is desig- nated by an egg, 6^ a goose. an eye, or a seed germinating, We do not now stop to ask why these signs indicate this relation, or how the fact that they do so was discovered ; our object is, at present, simply to illustrate 64 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. one of the modes of using the hieroglyphic symbols. It verifies Clement’s remark, as quoted by Buusen, that “they apply pictorial signs to objects of dilferent import, and bring them, as it were, under another category, (i. e., transfer them or express them metaphorically, as we should describe it,) for they sometimes interchange them, at others modify them m various ways.’ Under this species of hieroglyphic writing, there were, as is stated very perspicuously by Mr. Gliddon, different modes of expression, viz. : 1st. A part was sometimes put for the whole ; as, for in- stance, the head of a ram or goose was delineated instead of the whole animal. This was doubtless an abridgment of convenience merely. 2d. Sometimes the cause was put for the effect ; for ex- ample, a month was expressed by a crescent, (the sign of the moon,) with its horns pointing downward, to indicate that it had passed through one of its regular periods — a lunation was ended. Sometimes again, the effect was put for the cause ; a column of smoke ascending from a stove, meant fire. Sometimes, too, the labor done was symbolized by the instru- ments which had been used in its performance : thus, writing was expressed by the implements necessary to the scribe, viz., the reed, ink vessel, and tablet grouped into one symbol. 3d. Sometimes the idea was expressed by metaphor purely. Thus, a vulture represented a mother, because this bird was supposed by the Egyptians to nourish its young with its own blood. A hee mpant a king, because of the real or supposed monarchical government under which that insect lived. It is perhaps worthy of investigation whether this use of hiero- glyphics is not comparatively modern, and whether it be not HIEROGLYPHIC WRITING. 65 the “secret character” to which Clement alludes, and of which the work of Horapollo, before mentioned, furnishes numerous specimens. Certain it is, that many of the inter- pretations of Horapollo are not sustained by the ancient mon- uments or by the Book of the Dead, and Bunsen remarks of them that most of his explanations are little better than arbi- trary subtleties or false cabalistic mysticism ; and that most of his hieroglyphics are borrowed from the “ seci 5 t characters,” and consequently do not apply to the monuments or books. 4tbly. Sometimes the hieroglyphic symbol conveyed its meaning by an enigma. Thus the Ibis stood for the god Thoth, because of some fancied mystical connection between the bird and the god ; so also with other eml)lems of Egyp- tian divinities. The lotus flower indicated Upper Egypt, a roll of papyrus Lower Egypt. III. Clement states distinctly that the hieroglyphic charac- ters, in addition to the two modes of conveying ideas already described, were used also to express letters (though he does not tell us hou) they did it) ; and this brings us to the consideration of their most interesting use as phonetics, or the signs of sound. If the modern reader were merely informed that the ancient Egyptians possessed an alphabet, which had been recently dis- covered, he would doubtless conclude, from his acquaintance with what are known to him as alphabets, that a certain set of seemingly arbitrary linear characters, to which were attached certain sounds of vowels and consonants, was what had been brought to light. He certainly never would divine, from the an- nouncement, that a very numerous set of pictures of common objects had been most ingeniously made to convey, each, the simple sound of a letter, often without the slightest reference to the character or purposes of the object delineated. He 66 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. would be much perplexed, for instance, to know why the picture of an owl should be m, or that of a hand should indicate a t. When the principle of Egyptian phonetics is explained, the wonder vanishes ; and though the modern reader may justly think the plan complicated, he will also see that it is quite certain and intelligible in its application. The governing principle in the phonetic system is the simple one hinted at in the last chapter ; viz., that a sound is represented by the pictorial image of some physical object ; and that the mode of knowing what sound is meant, is to take the name of the object represented, in the colloquial idiom of the -ucient Egyptians, and the initial letter or articulation of that name, is the sound or letter indicated. But an example is the best illustration of this principle, and none better can be made than that which is furnished to our hand by Mr. Gliddon in his first published lectures. ^ The tuft of a reed, called Alee, stood for A. An eagle, A field. “ Akhom, “ A. “ Koi, “ K. “ Klapht, “ K. “ Mooladj, “ M. “ Ro, “ R. “ There, “ TH. “ Soohe, “ S. “ Tot, “ T. “ Labo, “ L. Hi f ^ A cap. An owl, A mouth, A beetle (scarabeus). 0 An egg, A hand. A lion. A water tank. Sheet, SH. HIEROGLYPHIC WRITING. 57 Now to apply our alphabet ; let us suppose an ancient Egyptian desirous of writing phonetically what we call ‘ crocodile.’ He would give us the following characters : The first is an owl, the second is the back of a chair, and the third is a twisted cord. The owl is called in the ancient language tnulag, or as some write it, mooladj ; this furnishes us with the initial M ; so the initial of the next sign gives us S, while that of the last furnishes H. Placing the three together, we have m s h ; supply the vowel, as is necessary in oriental languages generally, (for in the Semitic tongues it is frequently omitted,) and you get the word msiih, which is one of the Egyptian names for the crocodile. Now it will be at once perceived that, as very many words must commence with the same letter, if a7iy word may be taken to express, phonetically, its initial, there is danger of confusion ; and hence it became important to ascertain how far this system of phonetic objects extends. Upon examina- tion, the number of objects used in the Egyptian writing, was found to be limited. All objects that express the same initial letter are, as we have said, called hojtiophones ; from the Greek words implying the same sound. After the discovery of those objects which were ordinarily used phonetically, the way was open for the construction of a phonetic alphabet. For the puipose of illustration merely, we subjoin such an alphabet. It should, however, be remarked, that upon the establishment of Christianity in Egypt, the ancient system of writing, from its supposed connection with idolatry, was laid aside, and the translations of the Bible and other religious books into the language of the country, were written in Greek characters. There were, however, six sounds in Egyptian, 58 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS which did not occur in Greek, and for these, characters were borrowed from the ancient enchorial writing. They were the following : Ancient Enchorial. As adopted. Pronunciation. lU sh. y / F. 3 ch. guttural. c H. A J. a" SH. These, with the ordinary Greek letters, make up what is called the Coptic alphabet ; and it has been the custom to use these in translations from the hieroglyphics. Chevalier Bunsen, however, in his late work', discards them, with the remark that “ the Latin alphabet, Avith the addition of two Greek forms, is amply sufficient for the purpose of a correct transcript. The plan hitherto adopted of transcribing, or rather rendering ancient Egyptian words into Coptic, is quite unphilological and unscientific. There is no harmony be- tween the Coptic alphabet with its great variety of letters, and the fifteen simple sounds of the Egyptian.” We shall, as being more intelligible to the general reader, use t e Roman letters. It should be remarked also that the Egyptian resembles the Hebrew, Arabic, and other oriental languages, in the great uncertainty of its vowels. The same word is frequently written with a different voAvel. Thus the Coptic word signi- 59 A. E. E. 0. 6. tjjJ . -W ’ P - • ^e:=a W ■ • 1 B. i • • <5 • ^ ^ -f • K. ^ ■ IlJ * IAIL' ^ SK. T. TH. D. ' (3 • ^ • /S • ^ ' ^ • A* & • I = L. R. M. 5=-3 -J- k~0-/f\ • 3-'3>-P-^=^ N. P. PS. s. ^ •%= •t'/' • G. 0*^. SK PH. F. U. • f' Q.- a • §-/^ ■ H. KH. SH. 1 (§) • SH. ]M^ • . [S.ranai 1 - ■ ^ ■ lA • fcsi- • W • ^ ■ H. |- rTi-«— -.4 -j? -f •®.|-‘|f-'2?- 2 • i:^ • 1 ■ ** %.•><. ALPHABET OF HIEROGLTPHICS. 6Q EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. fying “to wrap up” or “to fold,” is written kal, kel, kol, kol, without any change in the sense. Sometimes no vowel is used, as in ib, “ a brick :” it is read tobi. The question may perhaps be asked, whether there be any rule for the selection of homophones? There seems to be none which is always discoverable ; sometimes the selection seems to have been made for the sake of mere symmetry of arrangement ; though in some instances it appears to have been made on the principle of employing a figure which, while it expressed the desired letter^ conveyed also to the mind the idea of some quality belonging to the object of which it was the picture, and applied it to the person or thing whose name was phonetically delineated. An example will illustrate this ; and a good one is furnished in the Lectures of the Marquis Spoleto. Suppose the word to be expressed in phonetics to be London : L. — We might here take the figure of a lion, lamb, leaf, lancet, or any other object that would supply us with the initial L. O. — We might take the picture of an oak, ox, owl, &c. N. — A net, negro, north-star, nave of a temple, would all furnish us with the desired initial. D. — Here we might select from the figure of a dromedary, dagger, deck of a ship, or even the whole ship to sig- nify the deck. What shall guide us in the choice ? London is the capital of a powerful, maritime people, and a lion is the emblem on the national standard. Our selection shall be made then with reference to these facts. L. — We take the lion ; it denotes strength, and is the national emblem also. HIEROGLYPHIC WRITING. 61 O. — We take the oak ; its value in ship building is well known, and we are writing of a maritime people. N. — We take a fishing net or the north-star, because these also are appropriate to a seafaring people. D. — A ship or the deck of a ship, is obviously the proper selection. Hence the word London would be hieroglyphically delineated by a Z-ion, o-ak, w-et, cZ-eck, (o not repeated, on the principle of omitted vowels,) w-orth-star. Another ingenious illustration of this mode of selecting homophones is furnished by Mr. Gliddon in his Lectures. He takes the word America, and thus proceeds ; A. — We might select one out of many more or less appro- priate symbols ; as an a.?p, apjde, altar, amaranth, anchor, archer, arrow, antelope, axe. I choose the asp. L symbolic of sovereignty. M. — We have a mace, mast, mastiff, moon, mouse, mum- my, musket, maize. I select the mace, indicative of “ military dominion.” ■ E. — An ear, egg, eagle, elk, eye. The eagle is undoubtedly the most appropriate, being tional arms of the Union, and it means “courage.” R. — A rabbit, ram, racoon, ring, rock, rope. I take the the na- ram. by synechdoche placing a part for the whole, emblematic of frontal power — intellect — and sacred to Amun. fl I. — An bisect, Indian, infant, ivy. An infant will typify the juvenile age and still undeveloped strength of this great country. 62 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. C. — A cakcj caldron, cat, clam, carman, constellation, &c. cal of a civilized region. A. — An anchor, or any of the words beginning with A, would answer, but there is no such hieroglyphic as To designate that a country is meant, I add the sign in Coptic “ Kah,” meaning a country. We thus obtain pho- netically. The characters expressed are “sovereignty, military dominion, courage, intelligence, youth, civilization, and perpetuity.” This may serve as an illustration of the principle ; but as the vowels are generally omitted in hieroglyphic writing, the word would be written with the three consonants, “ M. R. C.,” and the sign for “country.” Another marked characteristic of this species of writing consisted in the use of what are called determinatives. They are used on the monument^ very extensively and ingeniously. The use of a determinative consists simply in appending to the word, after it is written in phonetic hieroglyphics, a picture of the genus to which the object expressed by the word belongs. This is one of Champollion’s discoveries. Thus, for instance, I choose the cake, the consecrated bread — typi- an anchor. I take the sacred Tau, the symbol which in the alphabet is A. Country. HIEROGLYPHIC WRITING. 63 after the word cattle^ written in phonetic hieroglyphics mn-mn, it was followed by the picture of a cow. After the name of the divinity Amon, \\ A, M, aa/ww\ N, followed A, the representation of a sculptured idol. It has been made a question among the learned whether this suffix of a “ determinative,” was invented before or after the use of phone- tics. Bunsen expresses the opinion, that “ those generic signs, before the invention of phonetics, were in A^ry many cases quite indispensable. Hence they came to be adopted in writing, and the practice was still retained, even after tl:ke phonetic character had rendered pictorial representations unne- cessary, and in cases, such as those alluded to, absolutely superfluous.” There is frequently much ingenuity, and no small value (to the decipherer at least), in this use of determinatives of genus or class. Groups of characters and phonetic values are some- times, with this aid, ascertained with absolute certainty ; and they are applied to verbs as well as nouns. For example, the verb “ to sculpture ” or “ to build,” is written uuui , the fourth character, a mason’s trowel, is a determinative ; * ^ to weep, rima, is written ^ , the last character is a determina- tive, an eye shedding tears ; “ to distribute ” or “ to equalize,” is written ^ , and nothing can be more significant than the determinative here, which is the plumb-line used in masonry. Sometimes the determinative of the verb is the instrument or means of the action expressed : thus, shar, to strike down or wound severely, is hieroglyphically expressed as follows : , the determinative is a man down, having an axe c> buried in his skull. Sometimes the verb was determined by pictures of visible objects, supposed to have some peculiar 64 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. quality similar to that which the verb was meant to denote. Thus “ to be angry,” has for a determinative an ape, because he is a very irascible animal : “ to blush ” or “ to be red,” is deter- mined by a flamingo, a scarlet bird. The principle was car- ried further still ; it was applied sometimes to the pronouns. “ The pronoun of the first person, whether used either as the subject or object of the verb, or in the possessive form with the substantive, is frequently determined ” (says Osborn), “ by a picture of the j^rson speaking, which on obelisks and other monuments elaborately finished, is a portrait.” This may have led to the erroneous opinion of some that all the faces of great’ personages on the monuments are portraits. But as our object is simply to furnish the reader with some general idea of the singular graphics of the ancient dwellers in Egypt, and not to elucidate the grammatical structure of their language, we will not longer dwell on the subject of determinatives. It remains to speak of one other species of symbol used in hieroglyphical writing, which was discovered by the acute mind of Champollion. It arises from a peculiarity in the an- cient Egyptian language, said to resemble one in the Chinese, viz., the employment of the same sound to express many dif- ferent ideas. Thus, a hatchet, ^ named Ter, is one of the commonest symbols of “ God or Divine Being,” because that idea was denoted by the same sound. Ter. The weaver’s shut- tle >==c; xrrx is the symbol of the goddess Neith, because in the ancient language, neth was the word that meant shuttle. The idea of a physician is often represented by a duck ; the name of the duck was cein, the Egyptian word for physician was ceini. As to the mode of writing the hieroglj'phics, it was sometimes vertical and sometimes horizontal ; it might be from EGYPTIAN NUMERALS. 66 left to right, or from right to left ; the latter was, perhaps, the more usual. The reading always commences from that end of the line to which the animals that may be delineated are represented as looking. It should also he remarked, that the hieroglyphics themselves may be pure or linear : thus Pure. Linear. iiJeerf— phonetically A. Jackal — symbolically a priest. Goose — phonetically S, symboli- cally offspring. The pure class was always used in sculpture and painting ; the linear was more common in ordinary life and in the lite- rature of the earlier periods. The system of numeration, which was discovered by Dr. Young, yet remains to be explained. The hieroglyphical numerals are as follows : i n <5 1 1 1 10 100 1000 10.000 1.000.000 1.000.000.000.000.000.000 The units are expressed by a stroke, but in groups, thus : II 4 as 2 + 2. 'I'l' 5 as 3 -f 2. III 6 as 3 + 3. 5 III Mil nil nil III III 7 as 3 + 4. 8 as 4 + 4. 9 as 3 + 3 + 3. 66 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. To this we have only to add that the names of kings are always written in hieroglyphics, in a ring, or as the French call it, in a cartouche ; and now, with the hope that what has been said will sidhce to give the reader a correct gen- eral idea of the hieroglyphic writing, we proceed to consider. This is a running form of hieroglyphics, and differs from that system chiefly in the more frequent substitution of what may be considered alphabetic characters for pictured objects. In many instances, however, the transition from the picture to the letter is plain. As an illustration of this, we subjoin part of the sixth line of the hieroglyphical inscription on the Rosetta Slone, with the same text below, in hieratic characters, as drawn up by Lepsius. Clement of Alexandria informs us that this character was peculiar to the priests, hence it was called hieratic. It is found in the papyri which have been discovered in the tombs of Egypt. Some of these papyri contain but repetitions, more or less abbreviated, of the great funeral “ ritual ” or Book of the Dead, to which we have already alluded. Of this book, Lep- sius has published a copy, which plainly shows that its charac- ters were frequently but linear copies of the sculptured hiero- glyphics of the monuments. Some of the papyri that have II. HIERATIC WRITING. HIERATIC AND ENCHORIAL WRITING. 67 been found contain genealogies of kings, revenues of temples, I . Joseph was made overseer of Pharaoh's house. “ And Joseph found grace in his sight and he served him : and he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had, he put into his hand.” Gen. xxxix. 4 This is a peculiar and characteristic feature of Egyptian life. The monuments furnish numerous evidences of it. The JOSEPH. 171 steward or overseer is often delineated. Rosellini has the copy of a painting from a tomb at Beni Hassan, and remarks of it, — “in this scene, as also in many others which exhibit the internal econ- omy of a house, a man carrying imple- ments for writing,— the pen over his ear, the tablet or paper in his hand, and the writing-table under his arm, — either follows or goes before the ser- vants.” And all doubt is removed as to the office and character of this per- sonage, by an inscription over him stating that he is the overseer of the slaves, or the steward. Wilkinson has also the drawing of an Egyptian steward “ overlooking the tillage of the lands.” “Among the objects of tillage and husbandry” (says Rosellini), “we often see a steward, who takes account and makes a re- gistry of the harvest, before it is deposited in the storehouse.” A repre- sentation of such a scene is annexed, where the steward is placed on the top of a heap of grain, while one of the men below is informing him of the amount of work done, and accom- panying his statement of numbers with manual signs. “ In a tomb at Kum el Ahmar,” (according to Rosellini,) “the office of a steward with all its apparatus is represented ; 172 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. two scribes appear with all their preparations for writing, and there are three rows of volumes, the account and household books of the steward.” 6. Potiphar's wife seeks to seduce Joseph. We have here first to remark the low state of morals among the Egyptians, with reference to the marriage relation. Have we any ground for believing there was a laxity of prin- ciple in this particular ? Herodotus and Diodorus both state that there was. We have already seen, from the monuments, the great liberty allowed to the women of Egypt, and the sensuality which prompted them to excess in drinking. It is not difficult, in such a state of society as these representations indicate, to believe the accounts of Herodotus. It will be remembered that, according to the Scripture narrative, Potiphar’s wife availed herself of an opportunity to seduce Joseph, when he came into the house “ to do his business ; and there was none of the men of the house then within.” (Gen. xxxix. 11.) To this it has been objected by some of the Geinian school, that the statement betrays an ignorance of Egyptian customs : that it would not have been permitted to Joseph to come into the presence of the women, much less into the harem. Another objector remarks that the author of the Pentateuch here leaves the representation of the custom in the house of a distinguished Egyptian, to describe that which existed in a common domestic establishment. The ignorance is on the side of the critics ; neither in the house of a distinguished, nor of a common Egyptian, was there any restriction placed on the ordinary intercourse of the sexes. We have already seen that from the monuments. Those who made the objection, inferred that there must have been such a restriction in Egypt from the fact of its existence throughout JOSEPH. 173 the East generally ; and had the author of the Pentateuch been writing a story made up of probable inferences, he would have fallen into the error that we have seen in these objectors. That he did not do so, but discriminated between Egypt and the rest of the East in this particular, goes far to strengthen the impression that he drew from the life. 7. Joseph in prison^ interprets the dreams of the chief baker ami butler. Here, several particulars present themselves that call for a passing remark. The existence of such officers as the chief butler and baker, afford renewed testimony of the fact of an advanced and complex state of social life ; of which we pre- sume that our readers are by this time convinced. But if additional evidence were wanting, it is abundantly afforded by the monuments. Rosellini has depicted the kitchen scenes upon the tomb of Remeses IV. at Biban el Moluk ; — “ from all these representations” (says he), “it is clear that the Egyptians were accustomed to prepare many kinds of pastry for the table, as we see the very same kinds spread out upon the altars and tables which are represented in the tombs. They made even bread in many and various forms. These articles are found in the tombs kneaded from barley or wheat, in the form of a star, a triangle, a disk, and other such like things.” Wilkinson also furnishes delineations of similar articles which he found. According to the baker’s dream, he was carrying three wicker-baskets on his head, filled with the productions of his skill. The monuments show us the form of these flat wicker- baskets, of which, from the shape, one might be placed above another. But the peculiarity here is in the mode of carrying 174 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. them, — on his head. This is to this day characteristic of the Egyptians, and we believe, peculiar to them among Eastern nations. Herodotus speaks of the custom as being singular m his eyes. “ Men bear burdens on their heads, and women on their shoulders.” We present an example taken from the monuments, in which the servant is kneeling to facilitate the removal of his load. Egyptian mode of bearing on the head. The head butler, it will be remembered, in his dream saw a vine. This has been made a ground of objection to the truth of the narrative. Herodotus has stated, that the vine did not grow in Egypt. This furnishes one, among other instances which might be cited, wherein Herodotus was JOSEPH. 175 mistaken. The vine did grow in Egypt ; and Sir Gardner Wilkinson has furnished the most abundant proof of the fact in various drawings from the monuments, showing not merely the vine growing, but also the whole process of converting the grape into wine. 8. Joseph is sent for, to interpret PharaoKs dream. The first particular here to be noticed, is the preparation Joseph makes to appear before Pharaoh ; “ and he shaved himself,” &c., “ and came in unto Pharaoh.” To us, with our habits, there may appear to be nothing but what, under similar circumstances, we ourselves should do ; but if care- fully considered, this is one of the many passages to be found, in Avhich the truth of the Scripture story is attested by a casual and slight allusion to remarkable customs, which a mere inventor would not be likely to introduce at all ; or at any rate, to introduce without explanation. Most oriental nations have always cherished the beard, and do so to this day. The loss of it is regarded as a disgrace. Such was undoubtedly the feeling of the Hebrews. Now in this com- mon trait of orientalism, the Egyptians did not share. The monuments and paintings generally represent to us the male Egyptians as beardless. Some of the sculptures indeed some- times show a species of rectangular beard-case, attached to the chin by straps or bands, which, passing by the side of the face, were fastened to the cap. It is evidently an artificial appendage, and it has been conjectured that it was used on the monuments to indicate the male character. Certain it is, however, that the great mass of Egyptian men in the sculp- tures, are represented without beards. On the subject of shaving their beards, Wilkinson remarks: 176 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. “ SO particular were they on this point, that to have neglected it was a subject of reproach and ridicule ; and whenever they intended to convey the idea of a man of low condition, or a slovenly person, the artists represented him with a beard.” The priests shaved the head as well as the beard ; and others Avho did not the first, wore their hair cropped as close as pos- sible. When the monuments show us heads with abundant and long hair, the individual delineated is wearing a wig, of which Wilkinson furnishes us with drawings. From Rosel- lini, we learn that this custom of the Egyptians with respect to the hair and beard, was considered by the neighboring nations, and especially by the Asiatics, as peculiar and characteristic. Hence Joseph (who was not an Egyptian, and who had been several years in prison, where he permitted his beard to grow) would not dare to enter the presence of Pharaoh without shaving ; and the particularity with which the writer mentions the circumstance, shows that, among orientals generally, to shave was not a matter of course ; and next, that he knew the customs of Egypt rendered the act, on the part of Joseph, indispensable. The next point calling for remark, is the dream of Pharaoh ; for it is in perfect accordance with Egyptian opinions, and can scarce be the invention of an author who is relating mere fables. It will be remembered that the chief feature of the one dream, is the appearance of seven fat and seven lean kine ; and the destruction of the former by the latter. We learn from Clement of Alexandria, that in the symbolical writings of the Egyptians, the ox signified agriculture and subsistence ; and as the Nile (out of which the cattle came) was the source of Egypt’s fertility, there is a peculiar Egyp- JOSEPH. 177 tian appropriateness in the mode adopted to prefigure an abundance and subsequent dearth of the fruits of the earth. There was also an apt and striking significancy in the second dream, in the seven ears of corn [wheat] that came up on one stalk. Some have sought for an explanation of this, in the number of separate stalks germinating from a single seed. Thus Jowett, in his Christian Researches, states that he “ counted the number of stalks which sprouted from single grains of seed, carefully pulling to pieces each root, in order to see that it was one plant. The first had seven stalks ; the next three ; then eighteen ; then fourteen. Each stalk would bear an ear.” But an easier solution is found in the species of wheat, the Triticum compositum, or Egyptian wheat as it is sometimes called ; which was then, and still is extensively cultivated in Egypt, and indeed, as we are inclined to think, originated there. It is the peculiarity of this species that it bears several ears on one stalk ; and it is not unknown, at this day, on our own continent, for it grows in California, and there usually produces seven ears to the stalk. We have not been able to ascertain that this species of wheat was culti- vated in Palestine by the Hebrews, or that it will grow there ; for though all the varieties of wheat cannot be found in a natural state, and therefore all probably are but modifications from a common original ; yet will not all grow in every climate or soil. The best and heaviest wheat of Palestine was and is the variety now known as Heshbon wheat ; because discovered at Heshbon, by Captain Mangles. Laborde describes the same, but this wheat does not yield several ears to a single stalk. The writer of the Pentateuch, therefore, here incidentally describes a production of the earth, which 12 178 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. he probably never could have seen in Palestine ; and which was, as far as we can learn, peculiar at that day, to Egypt. Pharaoh, as we read, “ sent and called for all the magi- cians of Egypt, aird all the wise men thereof,” to interpret his dreams. We meet with these men here, and again, as we shall see hereafter. Who were these magi or wise men ? Do we learn, from the antiquities of Egypt, that any such class was known ? We do find in ancient Egypt an order of men, to whom that which is here ascribed to the magicians, is perfectly appropriate. “ The priests ” (says Hengstenberg) “ had a double office ; the practical worship of the gods, and the pursuit of that which, in Egypt, was accounted as wisdom. The first be- longed to the so called prophets, the second to the holy scribes [UQoygai^fittTslg). These last were the learned men of the nation ; as in the Pentateuch they are called wise men, so the classical writers named them sages. These men were applied to for explanation and aid in all things which lay beyond the circle of common knowledge and action. Thus, in severe cases of sickness, for example, along with the physi- cian a scribe was called, who, from a book and astrological signs, determined whether recovery was possible. The inter- pretation of dreams, and also divination, belonged to the order of the holy scribes. In times of pestilence, they applied themselves to magic arts to avert the disease. A passage in Lucian furnishes a peculiarly interesting parallel to the accounts of the Pentateuch concerning the practice of magic arts ; — “ There was with us in the vessel, a man of Memphis, one of the holy scribes, wonderful in wisdom, and skilled in all sorts of Egyptian knowledge. It was said of him, that he JOSEPH. 179 had lived twenty-three years in snbteiTanean sanctuaries, and that he had there been instructed in magic by Isis.” 9. Joseph's elevation to office and honor hy Pharaoh. Under this head, several particulars invite our notice. I. Pharaoh says: “Thou shalt be over my house;" and, “ see, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.” II. Pharaoh “took off his ring from his hand, and put it on Joseph’s hand.” III. He “arrayed him in vestures of fine linen." IV. He “put a gold chain about his neck.” V. He changed Joseph’s name to an Egyptian one. VI. He married him to Asenath. VII. Her father was Potipherah, priest of On. “ Over my house.” — We have had occasion already, in speaking of the confidence reposed in Joseph by Potiphar, to advert to the office of a steward among the Egyptians, so often delineated on the monuments. This honorable station in the East, is one of far more authority and power than any thing, in our own state of society, would suggest. The phrase “ over my house,” would have imported magisterial power in Egypt, if used by a subject of high rank merely : but here, when it is used by the king himself, it at once places Joseph before every man in the kingdom but the sovereign ; for Pharaoh immediately adds, “according unto thy word, shall all my people be ruled : only in the throne will I be greater than thou.” Despotism is the characteristic of all oriental governments ; and to this day, the grant of almost unlimited powers to the sovereign’s representative is to be found. The vizier, the pachas, and even the beys of the Sultan, have even now absolute power of life and death ; and 180 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. all may, and do, with impunity, practise the most revolting cruelties. There is, therefore, nothing inconsistent with orientalism in this large grant of power to Joseph. Pharaoh gives to Joseph his ring. This was an act of investiture, such as is not entirely foreign to the usages of Europe, in the middle ages. But here, the ring was a signet or seal ring, delivered, precisely as it is at this day, to the king’s chief officer, for the pirrpose, by its impress, of attesting his official acts as the acts of royalty. The more usual mode in the East of authenticating a document, is not by a written signature, but by the seal. The orientals have seals in which their names and titles are engraved ; with this they make an impression with thick ink on occasions where we should affix our signatures with the pen. To give a man your seal, there- fore, is to give him the use of that authority and power which your own signature possesses. Hence the extraordinary in- terest manifested about seals in the laws and usages of the East. In Eygpt, the punishment for counterfeiting a seal was the loss of both hands. The seal-cutter in Persia is, at this day, obliged to keep a register of every seal he makes, and to affix the date at which it was cut. To make another like it, is punished with death. If the seal be lost or stolen, the only resource of its owner is to have another cut, xcith a new date, and to inform his correspondent that all documents attested by his former seal are null from the time of its loss. That the ring given to Joseph was Pharaoh’s signet-ring, appears from other passages which show that it was used for sealing. But one of the German school of critics, remarking on this transaction, writes : — “ It is scarcely, however, necessary to mention that these objects of luxury, especially polished stones, belonged to a later time.” This is a striking instance JOSEPH. 181 of bold and unfounded assertion. There is at this moment, in the very valuable cabinet of Dr. Abbot at Cairo, a large collection of bracelets, rings, seals, &c., some of which are Egyptian signet-tings, and bracelets. 182 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. undoubtedly remains of the time of Cheops in the fourth dynasty, a period long anterior to the days of Abraham. In- deed, there is in the collection, a golden bracelet bearing the hieroglyphic of Menes ; but of the genuineness of this, we think doubts may well be entertained. These are cut. some in stone, and some in gold. The evidence from the monu- ments also most abundantly refutes the assertion of the German neologist. We subjoin a specimen of signet-rings, with a bracelet or two, copied from the monuments, which may not be without interest for the reader. Of one of these rings, it will be observed that the stone is a cube, made to turn on pivots ; on the different sides of which were different inscriptions. Some of these ornaments appear to have been designed for ear-rings. Pharaoh also arrayed Joseph “ in vestures of fine linen.'' Few subjects have provoked more discussion among the learned than the question, whether the Egyptians had in ancient times any knowledge of cotton ; some having sup- posed that the word rendered Une7i in our version, really means cotton. At length it was supposed that the microscope had settled the question. The coverings or swathings of the mummies were examined by Mr. Bauer, and he found that they were linen. The ultimate fibre of cotton, under the microscope, appears to be a transparent, flattened tube without joints, and twisted like a corkscrew : while the fibres of linen, and of the mummy cloths, are transparent cylinders, jointed like a cane, and neither flattened, nor spirally twisted. And as Herodotus states that the Egyptians wrapped their dead in cloth of the byssus, it was concluded that byssus meant flax. But Rosellini afterward “ found the seeds of the cotton plant in a vessel in the tombs of Egypt and Dr. Bowring, it is JOSEPH. 183 said, has ascertained that “the mummy cloth of a child was formed of cotton and not of linen, as is the case with adult mummies.” Whether the ancient Egyptians, however, had any know- ledge of cotton or not, it is very certain that the cultivation of flax and the use of linen among them was very general. Herodotus informs us that they were so regardful of neatness that they wore only linen, and that always newly washed : the priesthood, also, he tells us, was confined to one particular mode of dress ; they had one vest of fine linen. Without undertaking to settle the disputed point to which we have referred above, we pass to the more important parti- cular that this arraying of Joseph in vestures of bi/ssus, was an additional act of investiture in his high office. At this day in the East, a dress of honor accompanies promotion in the royal service. In a tomb at Thebes, as we learn from Wilkin- son, “ an instance occurs of the investiture of a chief to the post of fan-bearer; in which the two attendants or inferior priests are engaged in clothing him with the robes of his new office. One puts on the necklace, the other arranges his dress, — a fillet being already bound round his head,” f such beasts as by their law are pure, if it has been cut with a Grecian knife.” In setting on for Joseph “ by himself,” they but paid the respect due to his rank ; for they doubtless considered him as one of their own people, which by naturalization he was : but not so with his brethren. The monuments show the customs in eating, and from these 196 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. it will be seen how matters, on this occasion, were probably arranged. A small table was appropriated, either to each guest singly, or to each couple of them. The customs of Persia, at this day, illustrate this. The dishes are not brought in successively during the course of an JOSEPH. 197 entertainment, but are placed at once upon the table, or rather floor. A tray containing a variety of dishes is placed between every two, or at most three guests, from which they help themselves, without attending in airy degree, to the party at the next tray. Another peculiarity here meets us. Joseph’s brethren “ sat before him.” The usual custom of the ancients was to eat in a reclining position : but not so among the Egyptiai.s. They had couches for sleeping ; but sat at their meals. Some- times they sat upon a stool or chair. We subjoin a cut from Wilkinson ; and Rosellini furnishes a painting of similar character, in which the guests summoned to a feast are repre- sented as occupying each a chair. Indeed, among all the relics of domestic life yet found m Egypt, none are more striking or beautiful than their chairs. In variety of form and gracefulness of outline, they are not sui-passed by any similar article of modern construction. Benjamin’s mess, we read, was “five times so much as any of theirs.” The quantity of food placed before any guest, was the usual mode of expressing the approbation in which he was held by the host. Five or six difierent dishes or bowls for a guest, afibrd evidence of a liberal hospitality ; but in Persia, now, when the guest is a person of consideration, other dishes are introduced, until at last there may be fifteen or more upon the same tray. Herodotus tells us that in the public banquets in Egypt, twice as much was placed before the king as before any one else. If a double quantity was a king’s measure, Benjamin was here very greatly honored. 13. Joseph sent for his father. Here “ wagons ” are introduced to our notice as vehicles GUESTS AT AN EGYPTIAN ENTERTAINMENT. JOSEPH. 199 for conveying his father and household. The original word, in the Hebrew, may fairly be some small exception, it may be said, that wheel-carriages are not now employed in Western Asia, or Africa ; but the ancient Elgyptians used them, and they were also used in what is now Turkey in Asia. The war- chariot was very common in Egypt. But the monuments show also, a species of light- covered cart or wagon, which it is supposed were not of Egyptian origin, but taken from some nomade people who tied before them in war. With these, probably, Joseph was fur- nished. They seem not to have been used by the inhabitants of Palestine, and yet to have been known to them as a con- venience resorted to in Egypt ; for when Jacob saw those which Joseph sent, he knew, at once, that they must have come from Egypt ; and they furnished to him confirmation of the story of his sons. rendered “ wagons.” With 14. The arrival of the father and hrethreti of Joseph in Egypt, and their settlement in Goshen. In one of the tombs at Beni Hassan, there is a representa- 200 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. tion of an interesting nature, which by some has been, too hastily we think, considered as a sculptured story of the arrival of Jacob and his household, and their presentation to Pharaoh. We subjoin a copy of it in part, and remark that JOSEPH. 201 though it may not afford any testimony to the particular event we are considering, yet it is evidence illustrative of our subject in general. Here it will be seen that two persons, seemingly in office, and indicating, both by physiognomy and costume, that they are Egyptians, appear to be conducting those who follow them into the presence of Pharaoh, or one of his principal officers (who is not seen in the drawing). The hieroglyphical inscriptions show who they are. The first holding out the tablet, reads “ the royal scribe, Nofropth the second is “ the president of the treasury, Roti.” The tablet held forth by the scribe is dated in the sixth year of the reign of the king to whom it is presented ; and sets forth that certain indi- viduals, either as such, or as the representatives of nations, had been taken captive. The number thirty-seven is written over them in hieroglyphics. It is necessary to observe parti- cularly the appearance of these captives. The profile differs from that of the Egyptians ; the nose and chin both project, and the former is aquiline. In the original the complexion was yellow, the hair and beard black ; and the latter much more abundant than on an Egyptian face. The first figure in the line of captives, is a man clad in a rich tunic ; he holds a gazelle, and is followed by an attendant leading another. He holds also in his hand, the horn of some animal, and is making a low obeisance to the king. His name and title are written in hieroglyphics before him : the upper group, accord- ing to Osborn, reads hik — king, chief [of] “the land.” The the Hebrew word which is rendered in the English Bible, Jehusites. The meaning seems, therefore, to be “ chief of the group below transcription of 202 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. land of the Jebusites” which bordered on the deserts, and in which the gazelle abounded. Immediately following the first two, are four men ; the first carrying a bow, the last a spear, and the two between each with a club : their dress shows them to be of some rank, and they have sandals on their feet. Next comes an ass, bearing a package or pannier, tied with cords ; within are two children, and on the top a shield. These children are probably hostages ; as are also the boy and four women, who follow next. All of these are richly dressed, and wear boots reaching above the ankles to protect them from the burning sands of the desert. Another ass, loaded with spears and shields, is next ; then a man, playing with the plectrum upon an instrument closely resembling the Grecian lyre. The case is slung at his back. The last figure carries a bow, quiver and war club, and is probably the bow-bearer of the first or some of the other personages. Such a figure is often repre- sented in the reliefs on the temples. The beards are remarkable, because though common in the East, the Egyptians did not wear them ; and in the sculp- tures generally, they are used as one of the characteristic peculiarities of foreign and uncivilized nations. In the inscription the word “ captives ” is used, and this has led to some difficulty in the interpretation of tire scene. Wilkinson at first supposed, from the use of this word, that it was a Yepresentation of ordinary prisoners taken by the Egyptians in war ; he afterward modified this opinion, and remarked that “ the contemptuous expressions common to the Egyptians in speaking of foreigners, might account for the use of this word.” They probably are not “captives” in the common sense of that term. Most of the captives that are JOSEPH. 203 seen on the monuments, are represented as bound, with their limbs in the most painful positions. Beside, these have arms and are playing on musical instruments ; two things, which, according to all the representations in Egypt, are incompatible with the fact of their being captives. Rosellini, on the ground of the inscriptioyi alone, supposed them to be cap- tives. He, however, gives a copy from a representation of “ some foreign slaves, sent by king Osirtasen II. as a present to a military chieftain.” Such may be the story told here ; for the individual to whom these persons are presented, is not, according to Wil- kinson, the king himself, but one of his officers. If we may venture to give our own interpretation, we should say that they are either the representatives of some distant and subju- gated people, bringing their customary tribute as vassals ; or they are “ strangers,” coming to ask an abode in Egpyt, and seeking to enforce their petition by gifts. Of this latter custom, we find evidence in the monuments. Although, therefore, we do not believe that the coming of Jacob and his sons is here storied, yet the sculpture is valuable for two purposes ; first, as confirming the Scripture history as to the existence and condition of the Jebusites ; and secondly, as proof that emigration with women and children, and formal admission of them into Egypt as inhabitants, took place in the earliest times of which we have any certain knowledge : and with this, the story of Jacob’s coming agrees. It will be remembered that Joseph informed his father and brethren, on their arrival, that, with a view to their settlement in Goshen, he would tell Pharaoh that they wero “ shepherds,” and had brought with them “ their flocks and their herds and he instructed them to say the same thing to Pharaoh, 204 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. adding, — “ that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen ; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.” After this Joseph presented five of them to the king, of whom his father was one : “ And Pharaoh said unto his brethren. What is your occupation ? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers. They said, moreover, unto Pharaoh : For to sojourn in the land are we come ; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks ; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan : now, therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.” Pharaoh granted their request. Here we must fix our attention upon two facts distinctly stated. First, that “every shepherd was an abomination to the Egyptians :” and secondly, that these shepherds were settled in Goshen. As to the first, our readers will remember that in speaking of Abraham, we showed that though his was a pastoral calling, yet in his day, no objection was made to him on that account ; and we endeavored to show that the cause of this was to be found in the fact that a race of invading shepherds, governed by “ shepherd kings,” then had sway in Lower Egypt, where Abraham was. But now, in the same locality, we find the state of feeling entirely changed ; and we will add, in passing, that the truth of the statement we are now considering, is confirmed by hundreds of representations, to be gathered from the monuments. As if to show their utter contempt of them, the artists, both of Upper and Lower Egypt, delighted, on all occasions, in repre- senting shepherds as dirty and unshaven ; and caricatured them as a deformed and unseemly race. Sometimes, they were delineated, as were the captives taken in war, on the soles of their sandals ; that they might express the fulness of JOSEPH. 205 habitual contempt by treading them under their feet. So much for the fact of the “ abomination.” In the absence of all other testimony but the simple fact of the different feeling toward shepherds, in the days of Abra- ham and in those of Joseph, we should, if required to account for it, naturally conclude that events had transpired, in the interval of time between these two personages, which in some way were connected with shepherds, and by some means had created an aversion toward them in the ruling powers. And here, actual history comes in and confirms this conclu- sion. It is not our purpose to weary the reader with the uninteresting details of our chronological research : we must, therefore, for the present, content ourselves with the statement, that the result of it has been the satisfactory establishment, to our own minds at least, of the fact, that the “ shepherd kings,” of whom we spoke in the chapter on Abraham, and who ruled in his day, were expelled from their last stronghold in Egypt, and the native sovereigns had again obtained sway, just before Joseph was brought doivn and sold as a slave in Egypt. That these shepherd kings and their followers (Manetho's fable to the contrary notwithstanding) never were invited back by the pretended leprous followers of Moses, and never did come back ; that the Egyptians, on the re-establishment of a native dynasty, under a sense of national humiliation to which they had been subjected by a foreign yoke, not only cordially hated all shepherds, but looked on all pastoral people with distrust and suspicion ; that Joseph himself, had he come down avowedly as a shepherd, would have fared accordingly ; but he was brought as a slave, sold as a slave, with little of interest, and less of inquiry, as to his origin ; that rising by degrees, by a providential combination of circumstances, in 206 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. the fulfilment of God’s purposes, he had become a naturalized Egyptian, of strong family alliance and of great power ; and that he did not sufier from this aversion to shepherds ; be- cause no man in Egypt ever could have known him as a shepherd boy ; and none probably knew of his alliance with a shepherd race, until the strange news was rumored in the palace, “Joseph’s brethren have come.” The aversion to shepherds, therefore, mentioned in the sacred writings, is to our minds one of the strong proofs of the truth of the story ; for history, we think, furnishes a full and satisfactory expla- nation of that aversion, in the existence of adequate causes for it ; which causes perfectly synchronize with the true date of events, recorded in our Scriptural narrative. Of this national aversion to shepherds, Joseph took a wise advantage, in the settlement of his father and brethren : — “ Say (thus he directed them), thy servants’ trade hath been about cattle from our youth, even until now, both we, and also our fathers ; that ye mdy dwell in the land of Goshen.” Now where, and in what condition was this land of Goshen 7 The Pentateuch is not a formal treatise on geog- raphy ; it is, therefore, not surprising that it does not give us a minute and direct account of the situation of this land. But it is very gratifying to remark that it incidentally fur- nishes so many particulars concerning it as fully enable us to identify its locality ; and that facts so fully substantiate what, at first view, would seem to be discrepancies in these particu- lars, that the very references to Goshen conclusively show that the author of the Pentateuch (no matter now who he may have been) possessed a most accurate knowledge of the topography of the country about which he was writing. He was not dependent on uncertain reports for his information. He JOSEPH. 207 had seen, and knew for himself; and on no other principle can we explain the fact that all his allusions to the position and nature of the land are sustained by its actual geography, without the slightest reference to any imaginary region. A study of the whole subject, will (as Hengstenberg has remarked) impress conviction on the impartial mind that the writer of the Pentateuch “ wrote from personal observation, with the freedom and confidence of one to wiiom the informa- tion communicated comes naturally and of its own accord ; and from one who has not obtained it for a proposed object.” Let us first look at the supposed discrepancies. It would appear, on the one hand, that it was the eastern border-land of EgpytP “And he [Jacob] sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen.” Gen. xlvi. 28. Now, Jacob came from the East. Jacob did not receive any instructions or orders from Joseph, until he had reached Goshen : this shows it to have been the border of the country on the eastern side. Joseph tells Pharaoh, that his father and brethren were in Goshen. There they were obliged, in conformity with Egyp- tian custom, to abide until they had permission to enter Egypt. This shows it to have been on the eastern border. Tell Pharaoh, says Joseph to his relations, that your business through your lives has been about cattle ; and he gives them this reason for it: — “that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.” Un- less Goshen were a frontier province, what force would there have been in this reason? If it were, then the Israelites would not be brought into close contact with the great mass of Egypt’s inhabitants, to whom they were an “ abomination.” When Moses led the children of Israel out, they went east- 208 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. ward. They departed from the chief towzi of this very land. In two dai/s, they had reached the confines of the Arabian desert. This siiows that Goshen must have been the eastern boundary. But again, on the other hand, there are incidental passages about Goshen, which represent it as lying immediately around the chief city of Egypt ; for Joseph, who must then have lived in the princijral city, says : “ And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near to me.” Gen. xlv. 10. What was the chief city of Egypt in that day? The Pentateuch nowhere expressly tells us. But perhaps it fur- nishes data, by which to determine it. The whole Pentateuch shows in a general manner, that the abode of royalty then, was somewhere in Lower Egypt. Tanis, the Zoan of Scrip- ture, we have already seen was one of the oldest cities of Egypt ; for it was there in Abraham’s day, and was then of some note and considered as a sort of standard with Avhich to compare other cities : “ And Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.” Numb. xiii. 22. The monuments there, show that Tanis existed in the times of Rameses the Great. When Moses performed his miracles before the Pha- raoh, who refused to let the Israelites go, where was the residence of that Pharaoh ? At his chief city. Where were the miracles wrought ? Let the Bible answer ; “ Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.” Psalm Ixxviii. 12. “How he had wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan. And had turned their rivers into blood,” &c. Psalm Ixxviii. 43, et seq. On the supposition that Tanis or Zoan was the chief city ; we ask. Was it in or near Goshen? The question will be JOSEPH. 209 answered by a reply to the inquiry whether Moses and his parents were Israelites ; for if they were, they lived in Goshen. Now, where was Moses found? Oii the banks of the Nile, where the king’s daughter was accustomed to walk and to bathe. And his parents lived near, for his sister watched to see what would become of him, and ran, not far, to bring his mother as a nurse. It only remains to ask, where must have been the home of Pharaoh’s daughter? And the obvious answer is, in the palace of her father, in the chief city of his kingdom. And thus, by a proper arrangement of facts gathered from Scripture, it is plain that Goshen might have included or was not far from Tanis ; and that Joseph’s father and brethren might have lived in Goshen, and yet not been very distant from him in Tanis. There is not here, then, necessarily, any discrepancy. But if it should be thought that Tanis or Zoan was not the chief city, and On or Heliopolis should be considered the residence of Joseph, still would his relations, living in Goshen, have been near to him ; for this land lay along the Pelusiac or most eastern branch of the Nile ; as it is evident that the Isra- elites, on being led out by Moses, noiohere crossed the Nile ; and thus Goshen would have included a part of the nome of Heliopolis, of which On was the capital. But again : the land of Goshen is described in Scripture as a pasture ground. It was for the sake of its good pasture that Jacob and his sons asked to be placed there. It is also, on ihe other hand, spoken of as a region of arable land. “ And he [Joseph] gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Raineses.” Gen. xlvii. 2. And we know that the Israelites 14 210 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. while in Egypt did cultivate the land, and obtained an abun- dance of its agricultural products. Is there here a real discrepancy ? Goshen, according to Hales, in which he is sustained by the best authorities, “ stretched along the Bubastic or Pelusiac branch of the Nile, and formed the eastern barrier of Egypt, toward Palestine and Arabia, the quarters from which they most dreaded invasion.” It therefore comprised a tract of country very various in its nature ; part of it arable, and part pasture lands. There is even at this day, in the interior of ancient Goshen, a large tract of land good for tillage, and fruitful. A valley stretches through the whole breadth of it ; and, according to Le Pere, this whole tract, from the ancient Bubastis on the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, to the entrance of the Wady Tnmilat, is now under full cultivation, and annually overflowed by the river. It had also good pasture lands, so that it combined the peculiarities of both Arabia and Egypt. Michaelis intimates that it was not probable the king of Egypt would give to these shepherds “ the best of the land.” But, adverting to the circumstances of the case, there would seem to be nothing very surprising in his so doing. This very Goshen was the last stronghold of the shepherd kings who, but a few years before Joseph came, had been driven out ; and during the greater part of their abode in Egypt, it was their chief settlement. It was not long, since they had been driven out. The Egyptians needed it but little for pastoral purposes, and it was consequently but sparsely peopled. In permitting the Hebrews to occupy it, therefore, not only was no on'e dispossessed, but the new comers were fixed in the only unoccupied part of Egypt adapted to their calling; were kept in a very great degree apart from the Egyptians ; and above JOSEPH. 211 all, formed, on the defenceless side of Egypt, the barrier of a brave and numerous people, occupying as it were the gateway to the kingdom, through which the invading hordes of the desert, and of the East generally, always passed on their war- like and predatory incursions. Whatever it might have been to the Hebrews, in their peculiar avocation, to Pharaoh it was not “ the best of the land and even had H been, its surrender was fully compensated by the additional security which the rest of the kingdom obtained from its occupancy by the Hebrews. The story of the Bible is altogether probable, and certainly in harmony with known facts in Egypt. 15. Jacob dies, and is embalmed by Joseph’s physicia?is at his command. The language implies that Joseph had among his servants, many who were physicians. This is in entire conformity with what we know of Egyptian customs. From Herodotus we learn that the faculty in Egypt was very numerous ; and that no doctor was allowed to practise in more than one branch of the profession. Some were oculists ; others at- tended to diseases of the head only ; others, solely to intes- tinal maladies, &c. Nor was the profession deficient in skill, or in a reputation which reached beyond Egypt. As to skill, they took the best mode to obtain it ; for Pliny tells us that they made post mortem examinations ; and this, by the way, we think, is the first historical evidence we have of such a practice. They studied also the nature and properties of drugs ; for Homer, in his Odyssey, describes Egypt as a country producing many drugs, some salutary, others perni- cious ; and tells us that every physician there possessed knowledge above other men. 212 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. As to their reputation abroad, we learn from the third book of Herodotus (Tiialia) that Cyrus had a physician sent to him from Egypt, and that Darius also had Egyptian physicians about him. Indeed, to those curious in such investigations, Egypt aflbrds a chapter of no small interest in the history of the progress of medical science. The physicians, or a portion of them, were the embalmers ; these embalmers were a hereditary class in Egypt, according to the later classical writers. Both statements are true. The first relates to the most ancient, and the latter to modern times. The monuments show that embalming was a very ancient usage of Egypt. Mummies, also, have been found bearing the date of the oldest kings. It is probable the custom originated in Egypt, and was founded on their religious belief that the con- tinuance of the soul in the region of happiness was dependent on the preservation of the body. Some have thought that a physical notion may have also had its influence. Egypt is annually, for three months, under water, and is at the same time exposed to a burning sun. It is therefore important that all decomposition of animal matter should, as much as possi- ble, be prevented. Hence inferior animals were embalmed. The practice, it is said, was put an end to by the preaching of St. Anthony and other Eremitic fathers who, in their zeal, de- nounced it as idolatrous. With this, some significantly con- nect the fact, that, since the conversion of Egypt to Christianity, the plague, which was utterly unknown in ancient times, now commonly makes its annual appearance on the subsidence of the Nile : and that its first introduction may be historically traced to a period somewhere about the time of the successful effort of St. Anthony and his confreres against embalming. In such a discussion. JOSEPH. 213 “ Non nobis, tantas componere lites.”* “ 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.” Gen. 1. 3. The author here mentions two numbers, forty and seventy ; the latter, doubtless, including the former as a part of it The meaning, in the judg- ment of the best writers, is that the whole period of the mourning embraced seventy days, of which the process of embalming occupied forty ; and with this, the statements both of Herodotus and Diodo- rus may be reconciled. Mourning for the dead, among the Egyptians, and especially when the deceased was of high rank, was a very solemn ceremony. Herodo- tus says, “ with respect to their funerals and ceremonies of mourning ; whenever a man of any importance dies, the females of his family, dis- figuring their heads and faces with dirt, leave the corpse in the house, run publicly about, accompanied by their female • On this subject of embalming, Wilkinson, Vol. V. chap. xvi. 214 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. relations, with their garments in disorder ; their breasts exposed, and beating themselves severely : the men, on their parts, do the same.” Diodorus says : “ If any one dies among them, all his relatives and friends cover their heads with mud, and go about the streets with loud lamentations, until the body is buried. In the meantime, they neither use baths, nor even take wine, or any other than common food ; they also do not put on beautiful garments.” On the previous page, may be seen the representation of a solemn act of mourning, copied from the monuments. We must not here omit a seemingly slight circumstancG, but really important, as indicating a very familiar acquaint- ance on the part of the author of the Pentateuch with Egyptian usages. He has written, “ And when the days of his [Israel’s] mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying. If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,” &c. Gen. 1. 4. It will hardly be suspected that in writing these words, the author supposed he was fiirnishing incidental testimony to his own truth, when it should be called in question at a future day ; and yet it is such testimony. Why did not Joseph go in person to Pharaoh to speak for himself, as we have seen he did on the occasion of his father’s and brothers’ arrival in Egypt ? Herodotus, speaking of the customs of Egypt, tells us that “ it is elsewhere customary, in case of death, for those who are most nearly affected to cut off their hair in testimony of sor- row ; but the Egyptians, who, at other times, have their heads closely shorn, suffer the hair on this occasion to grow on both head and chin.” Joseph was now mourning, consequently his hair and beard were both apparent, and in that condition, he knew that Egyptian etiquette and propriety did not allow of JOSEPH. 215 his appearance before the sovereign. He could not now shave, as he did when summoned from the prison. 16. Joseph died, and they embalmed him, and he was put hi a coffin in Egypt. The particular mention of a coffin seems here to imply a distinction. Coffins have never been much used in the East, though royal personages have sometimes been put in stone sarcophagi. Coffins, however, were moje common in Egypt than elsewhere ; but still the common people were, for the most part, obliged to dispense with them, and were merely swathed in wrappers with bandages. The original word used here {aron) denotes that the coffin was of wood ; and we know that sometimes persons of wealth and distinction had two, three, or even four : one within the other. Herodotus particularly describes the Egyptian coffin ; and those found, we believe, have generally been of sycamore. It has been objected, that the writer of the sacred history proves himself to have been ignorant of Egyptian usages, because he makes the body of Joseph to be deposited in a coffin ; and it is said that one of his rank would have occu- pied a sarcophagus of stone. The very fact of his being put in a coffin of wood confirms the story ; for such were in general use, while those of stone were appropriated to royal personages. Beside, it must not be forgotten that the body of Joseph was to be transported from Egypt, and this circum stance alone would have indicated the propriety of placing his remains in a coffin of wood. CHAPTER VIII. THE BONDAGE. After the death of Joseph, sixty-five years elapsed before the birth of Moses, according to the chronology of Dr. Hales. The author of the Pentateuch distinctly informs us that during this interval all the sons of Jacob, and the men of their generation, had died ; and toward the latter part of the interval above named, the fact meets us that “ there arose up a new king over Egypt, ivhich knew not Josephs This is a particular of Egyptian history, in the explanation of which confusion has arisen, from the fabrication of the pretended Manetho about the leprous Israelites under Moses, and their recall of the shepherd kings, to which we have already adverted. Some have thought that the monarch of this new dynasty was the first sovereign furnished on the re-intrusion of the pastoral invaders. In opposition to this opinion, we are met by the fact that these shepherds are represented by Manetho (the only authority for the return of the shepherds at all,) as coming back on the invitation of the Israelites ; the shepherds, therefore, Avere not likely to become their oppressors. But further, according to Manetho, the Israelites were not oppressed during this supposed second period of pastoral sway, but, in conjunction with the shepherds, were themselves the oppressors. The document of Manetho on this subject, therefore, can only be made intelligible by inter- THE BONDAGE. 217 preting it to mean exactly the contrary of what it says ; and of course is not entitled to the least respect as historical authority. We therefore reject as spurious the whole para- graph from Manetho giving the story of the return of the shepherds on the invitation of “ the lepers.” As far as our investigations have enabled us to discover, the eighteenth dynasty of Egypt began to reign about sixty years after Joseph’s death, and the first king was Thothmes, Tethmosis or Amosis^ or Ames or Amos, for in all these various modes has it been written. The chronological coinci- dence would, therefore, suggest that he was the king who “ knew not Joseph.” By this expression we understand, not that he was ignorant of the past history of Joseph, but that he was not so deeply impressed as the last dynasty had been with a sense of the services Joseph had rendered to the state ; and therefore not equally disposed to acknowledge the claims of the Israelites upon the Egyptian government. But why was tliis ? Because he was from the distant province of Thebes, knew nothing personally of the Hebrews, and, with the usual haughty arrogance of Egyptian monarchs, probably viewed them with the contempt and suspicion that attached to foreigners, and, as we have seen, especially to shepherds. Sir Gardner Wilkinson has made a suggestion on this subject, well worthy of consideration. He thinks that the Jews, who had come in under the pressure of a famine, had asked and obtained a grant from the Egyptian authorities, on condition of the performance of certain services by them and their descendants. This is rather corroborated by the fact that some of them were agriculturists, while others were shep- herds ; for we read that, beside their labor “ in mortar and brick,” they were also employed “ in all manner of service in 218 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. the field,” Ex. i. 14 : — and in Deuteronomy, the phrase occurs, “ Egypt where thou sowedst thy seed and wateredst it.” Wliile the Memphitic dynasty lasted, Wilkinson thinks this grant was respected, and nothing more was required of the Hebrews than a compliance with the terms on which it was made. But when the Theban family came to the throne, the grant was rescinded, and the services notwithstanding required ; and thus commenced the bondage, when despotism and prejudice soon found a pretext for imposing additional burdens. It was pretended that the Hebrews, who certainly had rapidly increased in numbers, had thereby become dan- gerous to Egypt ; particularly as they lived on the side next to the Nomade tribes, with whom they might make alliances ; and, more especially, as they wei'e not very far distant from the descendants of the old invaders, the shepherds, who had withdrawn to Palestine only, and there constituted the valiant and powerful race of the Philistines. Whether this pretext were well or ill founded, it furnished the Egyptian monarch with sufficient grounds for treating the Israelites like captives taken in war, and compelling them gratuitously to erect “ treasure cities ” for him, which they did. All we can say of this conjecture, in the absence of positive proof, is that it does not violate probability, and is perfectly consistent with the details of the Bible story. The next point that we have to consider, consists of the details of Jewish oppression, at the hands of Egypt : — “ They did set over them taskmasters, to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.” — “ And the Eg\q>tians made the children of Israel to serve, with rigor : and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage in mortar and in brick, and in all manner THE BONDAGE. 219 of service in the field ; all their service, wherein they made them serve was with rigor.” I. They set over them taskmasters. This is perfectly Egyptian ; and exists at this day, witli the single difierencc that the Egyptians occupy the place of the oppressed, instead of the oppressors. The bitter cup is returned to their own lips. A modern writer states that, “ when the labor of the people is required for any public work, the officers of Mehemet Ali collect the whole neighborhood — men, women, and chil- dren ; and dividing them into so many companies or droves, appoint taskmasters over them. These are armed with whips which they use pretty freely, as they are responsible for the completion of the work.” The monnments show that this was precisely the custom of ancient Egypt. Below are representations in illustration. In the first, the culprit is sub- jected to the bastinado ; a punishment by no means uncommon now in Egypt, which is governed very much by the cudgel or stick. The following affords another example, where the task- masters all appear with sticks ; and while one ofiender has 220 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. hands already laid upon him, another is in the posture of deprecatory supplication. They were employed in building cities. Josephus tells us, that his nation was also engaged in building pyramids, and making canals and embankments. It seems questionable, however, whether the Israelites took any part in the work of building the pyramids of Memphis, or the Arsinoite nome. The better opinion is, that they did not. But captives were, in general, the builders of public Avorks. Thus Diodorus tells us, that Sesostris placed on all his buildings erected by captives, an inscription, stating that no native citizen had been engaged in the servile work. II. Pithom and Raamses were the cities they built. They were fortified towns, in which provisions were stored up. The first named, is the Patumos of Herodotus ; which, as we learn from him, was on the Pelusiac arm of the Nile, not far from the entrance of the canal which, in his day, connected the Nile with the Red Sea. The initial P, is but the Egyp- tian article ; and in the rest of the name, we recognize the Thum, which the Itinerary of Antoninus places at twelve THE BONDAGE. 221 Roman miles from Heroopolis. Guided by these indications, the French savans place Pithom on the site of the present village of Ahbaseh. This is in ancient Goshen. The same scholars have also satisfactorily shown, that Raamses was the same place which the Greeks called Heroopolis ; and was between the Pelusiac arm of the Nile and the Bitter Lakes, at a place now called Abu Keisheid. This also is within ancient Goshen. With the opinions of the French scholars, we may add that Hengstenberg, who has bestowed great labor and learning on this subject, entirely concurs. III. They loere subjected to hard bondage in mortar and brick. Bricks in Egypt are of great antiquity, and, as we learn from the Scripture story, were usually made with straw, intermixed with clay. Thus writes Wilkinson: — “The use of crude brick baked in the sun, was universal in Upper and Lower Egypt, both for public and private buildings ; and the brick field gave abundant occupation to numerous laborers throughout the country. These simple materials were found to be peculiarly suited to the climate ; and the ease, rapidity, and cheapness with which they were made offered additional recommendations So great was the demand that the Egyptian government, observing the profit which would accrue to the revenue from a monopoly of them, undertook to supply the public at a moderate price, thus preventing all unauthor- ized persons from engaging in their manufacture. And in order more eflectually to obtain their end, the seal of the king, or of some privileged person, was stamped upon the bricks at the time they were made.” Bricks have been found t4ius marked, both in public and private buildings. The monopoly must have been profitable to the kings, inasmuch as they availed themselves of the cheap, because unpaid, labor of the 222 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. captives. It would seem, however, from the monuments, that some native laborers were employed, though the majority there represented are foreigners. As to the use of straw, it is proved, by an examination of the bricks brought by Rosellini from Thebes, bearing the stamp of Thothmes IV., the fifth king of the eighteenth dy- nasty. “The bricks” (says Rosellini) “which are now found in Egypt belonging to the same period, always have straw mingled with them, although in some of those that are most carefully made, it is found in very small quantities.” Another writer, quoted by Hengstenberg, Prokesch, says, “ The bricks (of the first pyramid at Dashoor) are of fine clay from the Nile, mingled with chopped straw. This intermixture gives the bricks an astonishing durability.” In connection with this subject of brick-making in Egypt, a most interesting painting was found by Rosellini, at Thebes, in the tomb of Roschere. He did not hesitate to call his com- ments on it, “ explanation of a picture representing the He- brews as they were engaged in making brick.” We present a copy of it, from Wilkinson’s drawing, and cannot but consider it one of the most interesting of the pictorial representations yet found in Egypt, even should it be supposed not to repre- sent the Hebrews. Wilkinson’s copy is too small to bring out all the details as Rosellini’s representation does : we will first give Rosellini’s description. “ Of the laborers,” (says he,) “some are employed in trans- porting the clay in vessels ; some in intermingling it with the straw ; others are taking the bricks out of the form and placing them in rows ; still others, with a piece of wood upon their backs and ropes on each side, carry away the bricks already burned or dried. Their dissimilarity to the Egyptians appears Brick-making in Egypt. r I I H I >•'> The reader will be pleased to suppose the right end of the lower cut to be joined to the left end of the upper, and be will then have a view of the picture as it is in the original. 224 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. at the first view ; the complexion, physiognomy, and beard, permit us not to be mistaken in supposing them to be He- brews. They wear at their hips the apron which is common among the Egyptians ; and there is also represented, as in use among them, a kind of short trousers or drawers Among the Hebrews, four Egyptians, very distinguishable by their mien, figure, and color, (which is of the usual reddish brown, while the others are of what we call ‘ flesh color,’) are seen. Two of them, one sitting, the other standing, carry sticks in their hands, ready to fall upon two other Egyptians, who are here represented like the Hebrews, one of them carrying upon his shoulders a vessel of clay, and the other returning from the transportation of brick, carrying his empty vessel to get a new load.” The diminished size of our representation is necessarily such, that we must request the reader to turn to our cut, while we attempt to supply, by explanation, its deficiencies on a comparison with the much larger picture of Rosellini. The three figures on the right of the upper part of the cut are all represented by Rosellini with such tvigs as are usually painted on Egyptians. One of these bears a stick ; and the other two are Egyptian taskmasters, who, by their failure to exact the required amount of work from the Israelites, are compelled to perform servile work themselves, as a punish- ment. One of them bears a load, and the other (the right- hand figure, with the yoke) proves that they had not come forth for labor of this kind ; for it will be observed that he has not yet girt his loins, like all the other laborers seen in the picture, and according to invariable Eastern usage, but wears his dress loose, like the overseer with his stick raised, and the taskmaster who is sitting (No. 6). THE BONDAGE. 225 The hieroglyphical inscription at the top of the cut reads, “ Captives brought by his majesty, to build the temple of the great god.” On the left of the lower cut, is the tank or cistern from which water was obtained, and in which one laborer is seen standing, while another is dipping his vessel into the cistern. Most of the laboring figures are represented by Rosellini with hair and beards ; their complexion also, in the original, is painted of a different color from that of the Egyp- tians : there is no doubt they are meant for foreigners of some kind ; and, to our eyes, the physiognomy is unmistaka- bly Jewish. They are marked also with splashes of clay, and their whole appearance indicates the most servile degradation. Three of the laboring figures, however, seem to be Egyptians, and of equal degradation with their companions. It is not surprising that this remarkable picture should have attracted much attention among the students of Egyp- tian antiquity. Heeren remarks of it, “ If this painting repre- sents the servitude of the children of Israel in these labors, it is equally important for exegesis and chronology. For exegesis, because it would be a strong proof of the antiquity of the Mosaic writings, and especially of the book of Exodus, which, in the first and fifth chapters, gives a description which applies most ac- curately to this painting, even in unimportant particulars. For chronology, since it belongs to the eighteenth dynasty, under the dominion of Thothmes Moeris, about 1740 b. c., and therefore would give a fixed point both for profane and sacred history.” Indeed, the striking character of this painting seems to have caused an intimation, if not a positive expression, of doubt as to its genuineness. The question has been asked, “ Is it not probably a supposititious work, prepared after the Pentateuch was written V Rosellini first gave it to the world ; afterward, 15 226 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. Sir Gardner 'Wilkinson made a new examination of it on the spot, and his acknowledged sound judgment deliberately de- cided in its favor, as being a genuine production of the eight- eenth dynasty. His judgment, it will be seen, is entitled to the more weight when we add, that he is not prepared to say the picture refers to the work of the Israelites in their bondage ; but rather questions it ; remarking, however, “ it is curious to discover other foreign captives, occupied in the same manner, overlooked by similar ‘ taskmasters,’ and performing the very same labors as the Israelites described in the Bible ; and no one can look at the paintings of Thebes representing brick- makers, without a feeling of the highest interest.” We will now state the grounds on which the application of the picture, to the story of the Hebrews, has been questioned. First. How came this picture at Thebes, in the tomb of Hoschere 7 Rosellini answers thus : Roschere was a high court officer of the king ; that the tomb was his, is plainly proved, indeed it is not questioned, and it was built in the time of Thothmes IV., the fifth king of the eighteenth dynasty. Roschere was the overseer of the public buildings ; and had, consequently, charge of all the works undertaken by the king. In the tomb are foimd other objects of a like nature, two colos- sal statues, a sphinx, and the laborers who hewed the stone- works, which he, by virtue of his office, had caused to be made in his lifetime. All this, it is believed, is conceded as being true. Secondly. How came the Israelites to be represented as laboring at Thebes? This, as it seems to us, is Sir Gardner Wilkmson’s greatest objection. The scene of the labor represented is in his view undeniably at Thebes, for the lower hieroglyphics state that the bricks are made for a “ build- THE BONDAGE. 227 ing at Thebes.” It is with great diffidence we venture to entertain an opinion on tiiis subject, difierent from Wilkinson’s. Yet here, we must confess that the objection does not seem conclusive. It is true that the Israelites, during their bondage, occupied their ancient home (so far as the men were allowed to enjoy a home) in Goshen, which was far distant from Thebes ; but we know of nothing either in Scripture or else- where, which confined their labors to Goshen. On the con- trary, when they were ordered in this very business of brick- making, to find straw for themselves, we are constrained to believe that they were at work for the royal monopolist and brick merchant, in almost all parts of Egypt ; for in Exodus V. 12, we read, “ so the people were scattered abroad through- out all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.” This certainly does not convey the idea that they were making bricks in Goshen only. Beside, according to Rosellini, the inscription does not so plainly declare that these bricks in the picture were made for a “ building at Thebes ;” and if they were, as Egypt formed then but one kingdom, and as there is reason from other testimony to believe that the usage in working the Israelites was to send them out in gangs, or classes, under overseers for a considerable time, making these classes suc- cessively relieve each other, we cannot see any objection to the opinion that they may have been sent as far as Thebes for the sake of their work : certain it is that no considerations of humanity, or of the convenience of these poor bondmen, would have prevented it. Beside, it is not unlikely that they were sent out of Goshen for agricultural purposes, inasmuch as we read they were employed “in all manner of service in the field ;” and their numbers had so much increased at this 22S EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. time, that the tillage of Goshen alone could not possibly have required the labor of all : why then might they not have been sent out of Goshen to make bricks also ? The other inscription, too, it must not be forgotten, expressly describes them as “captives brought by his majesty to build,” &c. It certainly was for the interest of their Egyptian oppressors, who alleged their number as a reasonable ground of appre- hension to scatter them in small bodies over all Egypt, as much as possible. At this day, that degraded caste, the Fellahs, are gathered in troops from the remotest provinces of Egypt to execute any great public work. Thirdly. It is objected, that all these laborers have not beards. Certainly, however, beard is to be found on some, and we think its absence on others is easily explained, on the groimd that they were probably a degraded class of Egyp- tians. How they came to be mingled with Israelites in servile work we think we can show beyond question, when we come to speak of that “ great rabble,” who accompanied the Hebrews at the exode. Another objet tion remains to be considered. There are those who, while they readily admit that the picture repre- sents Jews servilely employed in making brick, yet doubt whether the painting was designed to delineate the par- ticular act of servitude specified in the Scriptural history of the bondage. The ground of their doubt is this ; that from the general absence on the monuments of every thing that could reflect on the Egyptian national character, there is reason to believe that mortified pride, after the triumphant exode of the Israelites, caused the Egyptians studiously to obliterate every sculpture which could recall the fact that such a race as Israel ever was oppressed in Egypt, and sig- THE BONDAGE. 229 nally redeemed from that oppression by their God. Con- sequently it is thought this history of a part of that oppression would not have been permitted to remain. To this objection there are, as it seems to us, two satisfac- tory answers. Conceding that monuments which could recall the mortifying history of the virtual triumph of Israel in the exode were destroyed, the destruction was of public monu- ments. No sculptured story or painting of the acts of any Egyptian king would be left to perpetuate the record of shame. The mutilations that have been found thus far are on public national memorials. The cartouch of a monarch, for instance, is obliterated, when the remembrance of him would reflect no credit on Egypt : but private tombs were not mutilated in this mode. Roschere’s tomb was no public memorial ; its representation of Jews making brick was doubt- less founded on fact, but was introduced incidentally merely to testify to his own importance as overseer of public works. Strictly private, it was not disturbed. But another and conclusive answer to our minds is this. It is conceded that these are Jews working, that they are greatly degraded, and are making brick. Now the represen- tation must have been founded on facts. We ask, then, at what period except during the oppressive tyranny of the bondage, does our historical knowledge of the connection between the Jews and Egyptians aflbrd the slightest intima- tion or probability that they were likely to be thus degraded and employed ? Certainly not before the king “ who knew not Joseph for the Jews then were in favor with the ruling powers : — certainly not afterward, until the lapse of a period long posterior to this, when Shishak conquered Reho- boam. There was then, if these be representations of Jews at 230 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. all, no period but that of the bondage to which the picture could apply. On the whole, the result of the best examina- tion we have been able to bestow on the subject, tends to pro- duce a belief that Rosellini is con’ect in his application of the picture to the Jews in bondage ; and if we eiT, we are happy in being able to say that we do it in company with such men as Rosellini, Hengstenberg, Osborn, and Kitto. Moses was committed to an “ ark of bulrushes^ daubed with slime and jiitch." Nothing is easier than to object, on the part of those who conclude that the habits and customs of all times, and of all people, must of necessity have been precisely similar to those with which only they are familiar. They have never seen a boat of bulrushes, and therefore there never was one. Just such a boat as is here described is to this day built and used in Abyssinia ; and the locality is worthy of note, because Isaiah (xviii. 2) refers to Ethiopia as sending “ vessels of bul- rushes upon the waters.” Such objectors would probably deny the forme ‘ existence of the wicker coracles of the ancient Britons. The original word, translated bulrushes, is gome. It is found in three other places in Scripture. From Job viii. 11, and Isaiah xxxv. 7, compared with Isaiah xviii. 2, we gather that it was a plant growing in moist situations, and used for the construction of boats. From Theophrastus, we learn that the plant used for this purpose on the Nile was the Cyperns Papyrus, though Wilkinson thinks it was the Cyperns Dives ; the learned have, therefore, long concun'ed in the opinion that the cyperus, in some form, was the plant gome. It is not, strictly speaking, a rush, as our translation would THE BONDAGE. 231 imply, but one of the family of sedges. The root is about the thickness of a full-sized man’s wrist, and more than fifteen feet long, and so hard that all kinds of utensils were made of it. The stem is about six feet long, surmounted by a cluster, of little spikes, which are weak, and hang down like a plume, and are applied to no useful purpose. The stem, however, v/as eaten raw, roasted or boiled, and furnished materials for boats, sails, mats, clothes, beds, and books. Paper was made of it before the time of Alexander the Great, as some of the papyri found at Thebes and elsewhere show. Herodotus and Pliny, both inform us that boats were made of it. In Egypt, and in Egypt only, was this plant applied to the many useful purposes we have enumerated ; and as far as we can learn, it was not used for vessels out of Egypt, except, and that possibly at a later day, in Ethiopia. With Ethiopia, the history of the Israelites had no connection. It is, therefore, evidence of the author’s acquaintance with Egypt at a very early period, that he constructs this boat for Moses, of the papyrus. The sU?ne here mentioned, may have been asphaltum or mineral pitch ; for from various sources, we know the ancient Egyptians had bitumen ; but as this slime was mingled with pitch (vegetable rosins), we suppose it may have been simply the mud or slime of the Nile which, to this day, possesses peculiarly adhesive properties. A modern writer tells us, that this slime is wonderfully tenacious ; and when dry, adheres like pitch : hence, with a little straw or stubble, it needed but to be sun-dried to make bricks, which even yet remain. The natives now, when they are to descend the stream with a heavy cargo, build a wall of this mud on the gunwales or sides of their boats ; and permitting it to dry, are not afraid 232 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. to load the vessel until the water rises above the wood-work of the boat. The slime will bear the washing of the stream, when the boat is floating in mid-channel down the river. If, however, contrary winds, cause rough water, accidents some- times happen from the washing away of the slime, and the boat founders. This slime, mixed with pitch and suffered to become hard, would therefore have made a perfectly water- tight lining fox the bulrush-boat of Moses. CHAPTER IX. THE DELIVERANCE. And now in the good providence of God, the time had come for the deliverance of this down-trodden and abused race of Hebrews. Moses appears as the agent of Heaven to commence the work. In obedience to God’s command, he demands of Pharaoh ; “ Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.” “Let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the Lord bur God.” To this Pharaoh refuses his assent, and imposes on them additional burdens ; taking from them the straw with which they had heretofore been furnished in the manufacture of brick, and compelling them to gather stubble for the purpose. The agricultural scenes from the monuments show, that the usage among the Egyptians was to cut the grain some distance above the ground ; and to this day, old sun-dried bricks, compacted with stubble instead of straw, are found not only in Egypt, but in Babylonia. Upon the second application of Moses and Aaron, Pharaoh demands of them some miracle in proof of their commission. Such proof was not wanting : and here, before entering upon the consideration of it, a few preliminary remarks may be of service. It has been observed of all the unusual incidents 234 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. preceding the exodus, that they find a foundation in the natural phenomena of Egypt, and stand in close connection with ordinary occurrences ; and this has been urged as an argument against the truth of the story. To give force to this objection, it is necessary to establish the fact, that the performance of no act, which, under any circumstances might have occurred of itself, in the natural course of events, can possibly be miraculous. But this proposition is very far from being true. Take, for instance, hail and locusts ; it will not follow that, because both these exist iu nature, they therefore never can appear under circumstances which will prove them to be miraculous. Grant them to be common manifestations in nature, still, Avhen they, with many other events that might happen in nature occur in rapid succession* and with great intensity, out of their usual order of occurrence ; when they do so in a particularly specified region of country, and at a particular time, on the bidding of some individual ; when at the same bidding they cease, and in some instances cease at a precise time previously designated by the person who is affected by them, and earnestly requests their withdrawal ; it is idle under such circumstances to view them as mere natural phenomena, presenting themselves in their ordinary occurrence. There is something preternatural here ; and the distinction must be taken between the occurrence itself, and the very unnatural and extraordinary comhination of cir- cumstances under which it occurs. Hail may be very natural, and yet the attendant circumstances of its appearance may prove its presence at a particular time and place, its duration and cessation, all to be supernatural. There is, therefore, no difficulty in understanding how a natural phenomenon may be converted into miraculous proof. THE DELIVERANCE. 235 Further, in reference particularly to the plagues sent on Egypt, which merit our consideration, we should remark the fitness of the character of the miracles performed to the end proposed. A succession of strange and unprecedented terrors, brought suddenly and in rapid succession on Egypt, would not have served as well as the plagues did to accomplish the great end in view ; which was, as we are told, to show that Jehovah was “the Lord in the midst of the earth” or land. These terrors Avould have only proved that, for the moment, Jehovah possessed a terrific power : but idolatry was much more likely to find a lasting reproof and condemnation, when many events with which the Egyptians rvere familiar (for some of them were of annual recurrence) were seen succeed- ing each other. Out of place ; showing that the Jehovah of Israel was indeed “ God in the midst of the landf ordering and altering, as he pleased, events with which they were well enough acquainted in their ordinary mode of occurrence. There was, therefore, here a special reason for a class of miracles, uniting the supernatural with the natural. And to this it may be added, that in the Scriptures generally, while there are miracles entirely separated from all union with natu- ral events, (such are most, if not all, of those by the Saviour,) yet there is a large class in which the supernatural is blended with the natural. Such blending does not destroy the mira- cle, or impugn its testimony to truth. We now proceed to the Scripture story. It will be remembered that certain signs, not hurtful in their effects, precede the plagues, properly so called. The first of these is, The change of Moses'' rod to a serpent. Before entering on a consideration of the fact here men- 236 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. tioned, it may be remarked, that we find the rod to be the inseparable companion of Moses. This was not accidental, tor it was an Egyptian custom. On the monuments, the Egyptian nobles are almost always seen with the rod when they are without the house. It is a staff from three to six feet long. Some of them have been found among the ruins, and are preserved in modern museums. One of them, thus pre- served, is of cherry wood. Generally, it would seem, the acacia was preferred. The priests also, and other persons of rank, are often represented as walking with sticks. One of the most curious subjects of inquiry connected with natural science, is the power possessed by man over the ser- pent race, both in ancient and modern times, and especially in Egypt. Indeed, the accounts are such as to startle credulity ; and yet, so strong is the testimony on which they rest, that incredulity becomes unreasonable, and betrays the vulgarity of a mind that fancies independence in the rejection of every thing that is very strange, (no matter what the testimony,) unless its existence has been verified by personal experience or observation. Some of the testimony we have on this subject does not come from a class of men, likely to betray any undue anxiety to sustain the truth of the Pentateuch. The men of science who went from France, and furnished the “ Description de VEgypte'^ all agree in their accounts. Some, who candidly acknowledge that they entered on their examination of the subject with utter unbelief, were forced to acknowledge that there was in it something more than their philosophy could fathom. “We confess,” (thus write some,) “that we, far removed from all easy credulity, have ourselves been wit- nesses of some things so wonderful, that we cannot consider THE DELIVERANCE. 237 the art of the serpent tamers as entirely chimerical. We believed, at first, that they removed the teeth of serpents and the stings of scorpions ; but we have had opportunity to con- vince ourselves of the contrary.” “ I am convinced,” (says Q,uatremere,) “ that there was a certain number of men, found among the Psylli of antiquity, who, by certain secret prepara- tions, put themselves in a condition not to fear the bite of serpents, and to handle the most poisonous of them, uninjured.” “In Egypt and the neighboring countries,” (says the same author,) “there are men and women who truly deserve the name of Psylli, and who, uninjured, handle the cerastes and other serpents, whose poison produces immediate death.” Hasselquist says that they do not extract their teeth. The Psylli are formed into an association, and the art is transmitted from father to son. In Egypt, serpents not unfre- quently conceal themselves in houses, and thus become very dangerous. A part of the business of the Psylli is to dislodge the unwelcome intruder. The French commander-in-chief, on one occasion, resolved to test the powers of the Psylli. Traces led to the suspicion that a serpent had found its way into the palace he occupied. The Psylli were summoned. They examined closely all moist places, and there imitated the hissing, first of the male, then of the female serpent. After a little more than two hours, they lured him out. In their religious festivals they present probably the most frightful exhibition : they then appear entirely naked, with the neck, arms, and other parts of the body, actually coiled around by serpents, which they permit to bite and tear their chests and stomachs, while they themselves, in a sort of wild frenzy, having their features contorted to an expression of insanity, with foam falling from the mouth, bite the serpents 238 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENT^. in return. In fact, some modern travellers state that they have seen them actually eat their heads. Not the least singular part of their strange calling is their sleight of hand. Tliey will change the Haje, the species of serpent which they use for this trick, into a seeming rod, and compel it to feign the rigidity of death. To perform this, they spit in its throat, compel it to shut its mouth, and lay it down upon the ground. Then, they lay their hand on its head, and immediately the serpent, stifl’ and motionless, falls into a kind of torpor. When they wish, they rouse it by seizing it by the tail and roughly rubbing it between their hands. To this Du Bois Ayme, one of the French school, bears witness. Of this same species, which is often to be seen sculptured on the monuments, and wliich is the undoubted cneph or aga- thodoemon of the ancient Egyptians, Colonel Smith informs us that it inflates the skin of the neck into an intumefaction of that part ; and the Psylli or serpent charmers, by a particu- lar pressure on the neck, can render the inflation of the animal so intense that the serpent becomes rigid, and can be held out horizontally as if it were a staff. We may, therefore, he thinks, “ infer that the magicians of Pharaoh used a real ser- pent for a rod — namely this species, now called Naja Haje, for their imposture ; since they, no doubt, did what the present serpent charmers perform with the same species bv means of a temporary asphyxiation or suspension of vitality ; and pro- ducing restoration to active life, by liberating or throwing down.” This statement affords us, at least, evidence of re- markable facts connected with the serpent tamers of both ancient and modern Egypt, sufficient to show that the story we have in the Pentateuch is in harmony with an existing state of things in the time of Moses. Jaimes and Jambres, who, as THE DELIVERANCE. 239 we elsewhere learn from Jewish traditions, are supposed to be those Avho, on this occasion, withstood Moses, may have been but expert jugglers : but it is of very little importance to inquire by Avhich of their many tricks they accomplished their seeming miracle. The real miracle consists in this, that Moses’ rod was truly changed into a serpent, and then devoured theirs. The object was to show the power of the true God, and Avhatever seeming imitations the magicians might furnish, it is remarkable that in the three first signs Moses gave of his mission, that power was proved. Thus here Moses’ rod swal- lows up theirs ; they also seemingly changed, on a limited scale, water into blood, but they cannot do, as Moses does, convert it again into water ; so, too, they brought up frogs on the land, but they could not, like Moses, free the land from them. It is also to be noted that the author of the Pentateuch does not pretend to speak with certainty on the origin or nature of the acts performed by the magicians. He commits himself to no opinion by calling them either jugglery, or mira- cles performed by God’s permission under Satanic influences ; but contents himself with a simple statement of the facts, without entering into an explanation of them. The only issue, therefore, that is here made, is as to the fact itself. Those who deny it are bound to produce some proof, not that it was unusual merely, but that it was actually impossible. We have shown that in Egypt, something, very similar to it at least, might have seemingly been done by these magicians ; and that, in the absence of all proof to the contrary, is quite sufficient to show that Egypt, in this particular, has revealed nothing to contradict the Bible. For ourselves, we are free to admit that, while we look on all the plagues of Egypt as mira- culous displays of Divine power, we hope to show that so far 240 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. as natural phenomena are involved in them, nothing that we know of that ancient land, will be found, but what harmonizes with the Scripture narration. The first Plague — the change of Water into Blood. The change here indicated, it is supposed, and that not without sufficient reason, (gathered from other and analogous passages,) does not imply any thing more than a change to a blood-red color. It is a very common form of Hebrew speech to express similarity by identity. Those who are anxious to find an explanation of the plagues of Egypt, in mere natural and ordinary events of that country, are peculiarly unfortunate with this one. 1. It is said, and truly, that the waters of the Nile during one period of their increase become of a brownish red color, owing probably to the earth washed down from Abyssinia, and that the discoloration here spoken of arises from that cause. The first and most obvious answer to this is ; that, on this supposition, it is not easy to understand why the Egyp- tians should have been either surprised or intimidated by so familiar an occurrence. But further : a part of the phenomenon, according to the Bible, is thus recorded : “ The river shall stink, and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink of the water of the river.” It could not then have been the ordinary discoloration of a common overflow ; for, in such case, the water does not cease to be drinkable. “ During the continuance of my journey,” (says Soimini,) “ I, with my companions, had no other drink than the unmingled water of the Nile. We drank it without any one of us experiencing inconvenience, at all seasons of the year, even when the inundation so fills it with slime that THE DELIVERANCE. 241 it is thick and reddish, and appears truly loathsome.” The fact would appear, from the accounts of travellers, to be, that, so far from its red color making it unwholesome, it is rather a sign that it is fit for use : for it is preceded by a greenish dis- coloration, during which it is so corrupt, tasteless, and un- wholesome, that the natives confine themselves to the water which they have preserved in cisterns. But, thirdly, this could not have been the discoloration of the usual overflow, from a consideration of the time of the occurrence. It is true, as Dr. Hales has remarked, that the season of the year is not distinctly specified ; and yet there are abundant data from which it may be ascertained with certainty. We read that at the time of these plagues, and particularly of that of hail, which followed the one we are considering, “ the flax and the barley was smitten, for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was boiled : but the wheat and the rice were not smitten ; for they were not grown up.” Now these statements enable us to fix the season of the year. Flax in Egypt ripens in March, when the plants are gathered ; it must therefore have been “boiled,” or risen in stalk in February. Barley is gathered in Egypt, according to all the accounts, one month before the wheat. The wheat harvest in Upper Egypt is in April, ^ and in Lower Egypt in May : barley, therefore, would have been in ear in February. The season, therefore, must have been about February, when the plague of hail happened ; certainly not later than that month. The change from water to blood was before the hail— probably in January ; but the discoloration of the river, from the natural overflow, does not take place until months after February, and the commencement of the rise is punctual almost to a day. The only ground, therefore, on which this 242 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. can be considered the annual, natural discoloration of the river is, that the river must have risen months before its time ; and we do not see that this anticipatory rise at the command of Moses, which is the solution of Michaelis, would have been any less miraculous than the discoloration of the water. But there is another fact stated that is conclusive. The fish died. Of such an eftect as this, produced by the annual rise of the river, there is not an instance on record. Another feature, which stamps the event as no mere natural result of well-known ordinary causes, is this, that the waters are changed suddenly., not gradually, as in a rise ; and, further, that the change was according to the prediction of Moses, and at the precise moment when he lifted his rod. There are also some matters of seemingly minor importance connected with this plague, which are yet testimony much too strong to be overlooked. Every man, familiar with the business of ex- amining evidence, knows full well that sometimes the great work of eviscerating truth is accomplished by closely marking the incidental statements of a witness, having seemingly little or no connection with the principal subject. Such remarks often betray a prepared story, of which all the little minor details that ought to belong to it, if true, have not been duly studied beforehand : and so also they often show an un- studied consistency in every minute particular, because the witness is simply telling the truth, with no further or other preparation than that M drawing on his memory for facts. Now, here are some particulars in the writer of our history of precisely this description. They are brought forward with no parade, accompanied with no labored explanation to show their consistency with the chief features of the story, but mentioned casually, as if by a man who took it for granted , THE DELIVERANCE. 243 that all who heard him knew as well as he did the manners and customs of the country of which he was speaking. Thus he tells us that God commanded Moses to stretch out his rod “ that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone?' Now in these latter words there is evident particularity : they are not necessary to impress us with either the extent or reality of the miracle ; and except from a man perfectly familiar with the customs of Egypt, we should probably not have had them without explanation. The waters of the Nile are fre- quently purified for drinking in vessels both of wood and stone. As on the Mississippi river, at this day, they are placed in vessels, and crushed almonds are dropped in, to cause a speedy precipitation of the sediment. They are also filtered through porous stone. The point here to which we would attach importance is not, however, so much the coinci- dence of Egyptian usages with the language used, as it is the perfectly natural and unpremeditated manner in which the allusion is made. The author supposes that a mere hint is enough, without pausing to reflect whether all his readers are as familiar as he is with the peculiarities of Egypt. And by the way, we must not omit to remark, that the change in the domestic vessels of the Egyptians containing purified water was certainly not produced by the red earth of the river, and consequently here, at least, is a miracle. All the German school are careful to overlook this part of the story. Again : Moses is commanded to stretch out his hand “upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, and upon their rivers, [as we translate it, but as we should read it, and as the Septuagint does, canals,^ and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools, [or, as in the margin, gatherings of their 244 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. waters.] Why this elaborate classification of the waters of Egypt ? Because of its conformity to the truth, which feared not to classify, because it feared no detection of falsehood. The streams (says Faber) are the arms of the Nile, the canals the artificial ditches for irrigation, the ponds are the stagnant bodies of water which the Nile makes, and which are called in Egypt hirkeh, and the pools or gatherings of their waters are the waters left behind by the Nile on its subsidence, the lakes and puddles, from which the peasants at a distance from the river get their water. Further : the instructions given to Moses were, “ Gel thee unto Pharaoh in the morning ; lo, he goeth out unto the water ; and thou shalt stand by the river’s brink against he come,” (fee. And again : “ Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh ; lo, he cometh forth to the water,” (fee. Why this positive certainty that early in the morning the king would be by the river brink? Because the Nile was deified. The monuments furnish ample proof of this fact, and Pharaoh’s early resort to it was but an habitual act of devotion. On the whole, then, it would seem to be plain from the story of this plague, not only that the author had a perfectly accurate knowledge of the usages of Egypt, but that he also relates them with such unpremeditated simplicity as creates a strong proof of their truthfulness. The second Plague — the Frogs. Here, as before, the object of superstition became the in- strument of punishment. The frog was one of the deities of Egypt, and, as might be expected, abundant enough in such a country. In connection, however, with our general subject, there is nothing calling for special remark, beyond the fact that this THE DELIVERANCE. 245 must have been a terrible annoyance to a people so scrupu- lously clean as were the Egyptians. It is also to be observed that Pharaoh, alarmed by this plague, entreated its removal, and, by direction of Moses, named the time at which it should disappear. At that time it did disappear, thus proving the miraculous nature of the transaction. The third Plague — Lice or Gnats. There has been much learned discussion as to the insect that constituted this plague. The Hebrew word is kinnim. The Septuagint translates it by the Greek word axn'gieff, which means properly the gnat, which we call the mosquito, an in- sect most abundant and troublesome in Egypt. The learned seem generally to concur in the opinion that this is the insect meant by the word kinnim, because the translators of the Septuagint who lived in Egypt, and therefore knew what insect was meant, have thus translated it ; as have also Origen and Jerome, both of whom had better opportunities of knowing what was meant than we have. It is, however, not to be denied that there are some who adhere to the version in our translation. It is, however, of but little moment which of the two named insects was meant ; both are painfully abundant in Egypt, and on this occasion were brought in swarms most ex- traordinary, even in that country ; perhaps, too, they were pro- duced thus abundantly, at a time of the year when they do not usually abound. There is, however, in this plague, little, if there be any things connected with the subject we are con- sidering. The fourth Plague — the Flies. Here again, there seems to be some doubt as to the precise nature of the insect meant. The Hebrew {arob) is rendered 246 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. in the Vulgate, omne genus muscarutn, all sorts of flies, and hence oin- version reads it, “ swarms of flies but the word for flies is not in the original. The word aroh can scarcely have any other meaning than the mingling., or mixture. Some have hence supposed that the plague consisted of an immense number of beasts of prey of various kinds ; others suppose it to have been a mixture of divers species of annoy- ing insects ; while others again think that it was a fly, princi- pally because the Septuagint translates arob by a Greek word meaning dog-fly. To this latter readmg it has been objected that it is said “ the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm,” and that this could hardly be applied to any fly properly so called ; beside, in Psalm Ixxxviii. 45, the arob is described as devouring the Egyptians, an act that seems inapplicable to a fly. A modern opinion that seems to have gained many sup- porters is, that the Egyptian beetle is here meant by arob. If this be so, then here again, as in the case of the frogs, the Egyptians were chastised through one of their own idols. It was one of the sacred animals of Egypt. But the circumstance most worthy of note in the history of this plague is this : when it appeared, “ Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. And Moses 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.” Here is an undoubted reference to Egyptian opinions and customs, with which the story agrees. The meaning almost universally given to it is, that the Israelites could not ofier THE DELIVERANCE. 247 their sacrifices in Egypt, because their own lives would be taken, if they killed, even in sacrifice, animals deemed sacred in Egypt. The sacred animals of Egypt were of different grades. Some were absolutely worshipped as gods ; others were looked on as living symbols of the gods. Some were \vorshipped generally throughout Egypt ; others in particular districts only. Nor did the several districts always make the same animal the idol ; as we have said before, the god of one was the object of execration in another. Those that were principally esteemed and honored with a more intense devo- tion, either generally or particularly, were the solitary bull Apis, (not bulls generally,) the cow, the sheep, goat, cat, dog, ichneumon and crocodile : among birds, the hawk and the ibis. But whatever might be the animal god of the highest order, it was guarded and protected with the deepest reverence. Lands were assigned for its special support. To kill it was unpardonable sacrilege, and even if it were done by accident, it was punished with death. If a fire happened, them was the greatest anxiety lest any of the godly race of cats should perish in the flames. They embalmed the dead bodies of their beastly idols ; made great lamentation over them, and buried them with pomp. Diodorus relates an anecdote, which may serve to explain the apprehension of Moses. He states it as having occurred while he was in Egypt. Some Romans were in that country, for the purpose of making a treaty with the king. The Roman power was then much feared ; and the people, anxious for the treaty, bestowed on the strangers uncommon attention and civility. One of them unintentionally killed a cat. Instantly, notwithstand- ing the strong grounds for forbearance, the people rose in an ungovernable mob, hastened to the lodging of the unfor- 248 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. tunate man ; and not even the personal interference of the king himself, nor the dread of the Roman power, could save his life. The animals which the Israelites would offer in sacrifice, were the oxen, the cow, the sheep, and the goat. All were sacred in Egypt ; and though the oxen might sometimes be sacrificed, yet it was not every ox that might be made the victim. It was necessary that the beast, before he was slain, should be closely examined by a priest, to see that he was free from certain marks ; the presence of which would have made him sacred, and unfit for a victim. Herodotus tells us, that only a red qx could be offered ; one single black hair would cause it to be set aside. Cows were all consecrated to Athor, and could not on any account be sacrificed. The sheep was sacred in the locality of the transaction we are considering, and so was the goat. What Moses meant, there- fore, probably was, that the Egyptians would have risen in a body, and in their religious frenzy would have massacred the Israelites, had they attempted to offer their sacrifices in Egypt. Hengstenberg very ingeniously reasons to prove, that the offence of the Israelites in sacrificing would have consisted in their entire disregard of what, among the Egyptians, was a point of great religious importance, viz., the cleanness of the animal offered. Herodotus says : “ They are not allowed to sacrifice any animals, except those that are clean among them and hence Moses says : “ Lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?” From this he infers, that the animals alluded to by Moses in the word “ abomination,” could not be conse- crated among the Egyptians ; for the word would then have THE DELIVERANCE. 249 been inapplicable: but that what is meant by “abomination,” is uncleayi animals, inasmuch as the Israelites would not look to see if a black hair could be found on a red ox, before they would sacrifice it. On either view, the danger to Moses and the Israelites would be the same. Fifth Plague — the Destruction of the Animals. The destruction, it was declared should be on the horses, the asses, the camels, the oxen, and the sheep. It is perhaps here worthy of note that horses, and that without any accom- panying remark, are assigned the first place. It furnishes an item to be added to the general and incidental evidences of probability. The destruction of the horse, from its value and extensive use in Egypt, would be likely to be deemed the crowning calamity in' any injury to the domestic animals. We know not enough of the diseases of animals in Egypt, to say whether at any time they are visited by a general desola- tion. The French “ Description ” informs us, that a murrain sometimes is very general and fatal among the horned cattle ; compelling the inhabitants to supply their losses from Syria, and the islands of the Archipelago. We must not omit here to notice the positive testimony of our author, to the existence of the camel in Egypt. We have touched on this point in our remarks upon the gifts made by Pharaoh to Abraham. It was supposed by the French literati, that the figure of the camel was nowhere to be found on the monuments. Even had this been true, it would not have established the falsehood of our history ; for we have no right to assume, that the sculptures and paintings embrace or were meant to embrace, the whole circle of Egyptian zoology. But, as we have already mentioned, it is not true. The head 250 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. and long necks of tliese animals are repeated several times, two by two, upon the obelisks at Luxor, when they were dis- covered by Minutoli. Regnier suggests, that even if they were wanting, it might reasonably be explained on the ground that, however “useful the animal, it was associated so closely with the idea of the detested nomade shepherds, that it would not be permitted to appear in Egypt’s sacred places. The animal certainly was in common use among the nomade tribes on the borders of Egypt, and was indispensable in the neigh- boring deserts, from the earliest period of which we have any evidence ; and as a communication for trade, or other pur- poses, was kept up between Egypt and her wandering neigh- bors, from our earliest knowledge of her history ; it is scarce possible that the camel should not, in a greater or less degree, have been found in the valley of the Nile. The sixth Plague — the Boils. This visited both man and beast “ throughout all the land of Egypt.” It touched even the scrupulously clean magicians or priests, and they seem to have retired from further rivalry. Differences of opinion exist among the learned as to what is meant by boils. It is of the less importance that we should state them, because there is nothing connected with the his- tory of this visitation, that falls within our purpose of illus- trating Scripture truth by Egyptian testimony. The seventh Plague — the Thunder, and Hail, and Fire. By fire is here meant lightning ; and such a tempest as is here described would have been terrific any where, even in the tropics ; but in Egypt, such a visitation, as her meteoro- logy shows, would have been more edarming than in any other THE DELIVERANCE. 251 country ; more particularly, when the adjacent province of Goshen was seen to be untouched. It is not wonderful, there- fore, that this calamity made the deepest impression upon the stubborn nature of Pharaoh. In the account of this plague, there are some noteworthy references to facts such as are found in Egypt. Thus, Moses warns Pharaoh : “ Send therefore, now, and gather thy cattle and all that thou hast in the field ; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die.” The cattle, then, were m the field at that time, not in the stall. With this other accounts agree. According to the “ Description,” the cattle get green food (in the fields) four months in the year ; the rest of the time they are stall-fed. Niebuhr tells us what months these four are : “ In the months January, February, March, and April, the cattle graze, whereas during the remaining months they must be supplied with dry fodder.” The transaction we are considering occurred in March. We have (in fixing the time for the plagues) already adverted to another fact recorded in the history of this visita- tion. “ The flax and the barley was 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.” This exactly agrees with the state of the crops in Egypt at this day, at the time of the year here indicated. Dr. Richardson, in his “Travels,” speaking of March, (the early part of it,) says ; “The barley and flax are now far advanced ; the former is in the ear and the latter is boiled, and it seems to be about this season of the year that God brought the plague of thun- der and hail upon the Egyptians, to punish the guilty Pha- 252 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. raoh, who had hardened his presumptuous heart against the miracles of Omnipotence.” We learn, too, from Sonnini, that barley comes to maturity in Egypt about a month before wheat. Wheat and rye mature there about the same time. Flax and barley are generally ripe in March, wheat and rye in April. It was the same in former times : Theophrastus and Pliny both tell us that there was a month’s difference in the harvesting of barley and wheat. The eighth Plague — the Locusts. The succession of calamities with which Egypt had been visited seem at length to have roused the people to expostu- lation. “ Knowest thou not yet that Egypt is ruined ?” was the emphatic question with which they accompanied their advice that Israel might be permitted to depart. It is not to be doubted, that the great contest so obviously going on between the power of Jehovah, and the proud obstinacy of Pharaoh, had by this time effectually roused the close at- tention of all, both of Egypt and Israel. All stood waiting with interest the result. The labors of the oppressed descend- ants of Abraham had probably ceased ; and congregated in Goshen, (for there only could they be exempt from God’s fear- ful manifestations of his might,) they began to believe that God was working deliverance for them by the agency of his prophet ; and looking at the gathering dismay of the Egyp- tians, they gladly hoped that the time of their deliverance had indeed come. Pharaoh, moved doubtless by the unequivocal manifesta- tions of feeling on the part of his own people, summons Moses and Aaron to his presence, to yield a reluctant assent to the exode of the men only of Israel. The spirited answer of THE DELIVERANCE. 253 Moses, that none should be left behind, rouses the royal indig- nation, and he commands the leaders of Israel to be thrust from his presence. Then came the locusts. This insect is common in Arabia, but comparatively rare in Egypt ; as the Red Sea forms a species of barrier against them, they not being able to sustain a long flight across large bodies of water. The time of their appearance, too, was much earlier than is usual in Egypt ; and so far as the agency of natural causes was concerned, “ a strong east wind” assists their transit across the sea. This alone was remarkable, as the prevalent winds which blow in Egypt are six months from the north, and six months from the south. We have not been without opportunities, even in some parts of our own country, of seeing the large number of these insects, and of observing the extent of their ravages in the re- moval of verdure from the trees ; but in Egypt their path was literally marked by ruin. “ The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt. Very grievous were they : before them were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall there be such. For they cov- ered the face of the whole earthy so that the land was dark- ened ; and they ate up every green herb upon the earth, and every tree, the fruit of which the hail had left ; not any green thing remained on the trees, or on the herbs of the field, through all the land of EgyptP That, at the proper season, the swarms of locusts in Egypt may be very destructive, though not to the extent here de- scribed, is proved by Denon. After describing what is called a chamsin in Egypt, a wind attended with a species of un- natural darkness from dust and other causes, he thus proceeds : 264 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. “ Two days after this calamity, 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 on each stalk of grass 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 the 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.” It is impossible to read this account, and not be struck with its singular agreement with ours in certain particulars. In both stories, the locusts come from the east to the west ; in both their coming is connected with a peculiar wind, and in both, they are driven away by a counter wind. As to this last point, our Bible tells us, the Lord sent “ a mighty strong wes^ wind,” by which they were driven back. In the original, it is “ a sea-wind , meaning a wind blowing from the Mediter- ranean, which in Syria would of course be westerly, hence it is translated west wind: in Egypt, such a wind would be northwesterly, and yet be properly expressed by the original term, a sea-wind. Von Bohlen objects to the author of the Pentateuch, as a fault of ignorance, and therefore an argu- ment against his credibility, that he makes the locusts come from the east, with the wind. The reader has before him, the means of judging what force there is in the objection. It THE DELIVERANCE. 255 may well be doubted whether, in Egypt, they are ever seen coming in swarms from any other quarter. Should it be sup- posed that the locusts of Egypt, mentioned in our narrative, were but a natural phenomenon ; we readily admit that an appearance of locusts may be natural, and yet, as we have endeavored to explain in our opening remarks on the plagues, it may be connected with such attendant circumstances, not natural and ordinary., as clearly prove miraculous power. The ninth Plague — Darhiess. In Egypt, a cloud seldom obscures the sun ; the sky is beautifully clear and transparent. A darkness of three days, therefore, which was so thick that, in the emphatic and poetical language of Scripture, it “ might be felt^’’ must have been to the Egyptians an appalling event, “ No one rose from his place for three days.” Even Pharaoh was moved, and offered to let the people go ; but wished to retain their flocks and herds as security for their return. Then it was that Moses gave his determined answer : “ There shall not a hoof be left behind.'^ How far this darkness may have been connected with natural causes, it is impossible to say. There is no intimation given in the narrative which authorizes the affirmation of any specific natural agency. Some have supposed that a dense fog was spread over the land. Admit it, a fog of three days would be a miracle in Egypt ; for nature never spontaneously produces one there of even one day’s continuance. Others have attributed the darkness to the chamsin, of which we just now spoke. We are not aware that there is any record of the chamsin’s continuing to produce the thickest darkness for three days ; and the very interesting accounts of 256 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. It, which we are about to present to the reader, scarcely seem, in our Anew, to be descriptive of such a state of the atmos- phere as is implied in the Bible account of the Egyptian plague of darkness. There is an obscurity in which our history leaves this miracle, that is characteristic of the miracle. It seems to us to be purposely (we know not why, and pre- sume not to conjecture) more involved in obscurity than any of the other plagues. Our belief, however, is not at all affected by the determination of the question, whether it is or is not, associated with natural causes ; for we must beg leave to repeat, that even natural causes, acting for a time non- 7iaturally, in extent or otherwise, show the hand of God, and provp a miracle. Du Bois Ayme (one of the French school) compares the Mosaic darkness to the chamsin. He says, “ When the cham- sin 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 Gene, a city of Said.” Sonnini thus Avrites : “ The atmosphere Avas heated, and at the same time obscured by clouds of dust ; the thermometer of Reaumur stood at 27 degrees. Men and animals breathed only vapor, and that Avas heated and min- gled Avith a fine and hot sand. Plants drooped, and all living nature languished. This AAund also continued to the 27th ; it appeared to me, to have increased in force. The air Avas dark on account of a thick mist of fine dust as red as flame.” Much the most particular and interesting accoimt, however, is Denon’s. “ On the 18th 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 Avent to the Nile to bathe for the relief of my painful sensations, I was astonished by a neAV THE DELIVERANCE. 257 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 shadowless light, more feeble than the moon. The water reflected not its rays, and appeared dis- turbed. Every thing 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 inha- bitants 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 toward us from the southwest ; but we were scarcely in the river, when it began suddenly to swell, as if it would over-- flow its banks. The waves broke over us, and the ground heaved under our feet. Our garments flew away when seized by the whirlwind, which had now reached us. We Avere com- pelled to go to land. Wet, and beaten by the wind, Ave Avere soon surrounded by a ridge of sand. A reddish, dusky appear- ance filled the region ; with Avounded 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, Ave sensibly felt how terri- ble the condition must be, when one is overtaken by such a wind in the desert.” The tenth Plague — Death of the First-horn. Some have supposed that this Avas a pestilence similar to the plague of Egypt at this day. There is not the smallest evidence to sustain such an opinion, and the plague never 17 258 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. made Its appearance in Egypt, so far as we have been able to discover its history, until long after the days of Moses. Heng- stenberg ascribes the disease, here spoken of, to the prevalence, just before, of the chamsin, mentioned under the last head ; and so far as natural causes may have been employed to an unusually fearful extent, there m^iy be plausibility in his con- jecture. It may be true, as he states, that epidemic disease at this day generally succeeds the prevalence of a chamsin ; but we look on this occurrence as resulting from causes, far with- out the circle of ordinary natural causes. It afibrds, however, but little in illustration of our subject. This plague produced the effect which God had said it should. A voice of lamentation was heard through the length and breadth of the land, save in Goshen. The destroying angel had performed his work ; and with a haste engendered by fear. Pharaoh bade Israel go. It was night, but they waited for no dawn of day or second bidding. All was ready, they commenced their exode, and turning their backs on Egypt, they left it as a people for ever. God had broken their chains and they were free. But they went not out alone ; “ a mixed multitude,” as the Bible expresses it, went out with them, A part of this mixed multitude we have seen delineated on the picture of the brick- makers. They were Egyptians reduced to wretchedness by oppression and poverty ; a species of Fellah of ancient Egypt. Some also, of the multitude were probably foreign slaves, be- longing to the chief persons among the Hebrews. Some, pro- bably, were slaves belonging to the Egyptians, who availed themselves of the opportunity to escape from their masters. It is not recorded any where that the Israelites were at all bene- fited by their company ; it may, therefore, be safely inferred THE DELIVERANCE. 259 that they were the outcasts of society, for the most part thieves, vagabonds, adventurers and bankrupts, who could no longer stay with safety in Egypt. A few days were sufficient to revive all the animosity of Egypt toward the Hebrews ; and Pharaoh resolving on pur- suit, “ 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 : — and he pur- sued after the children of Israel.” This statement is in correspondence with the sculptures, which show numerous instances of the Egyptian war chariots, and attest the great use made of them. By “ his people,” is meant his army, i. e. infantry, as distinguished from his “ chariots and horsemen.” We have, on a former page, called attention to the fact that Manetho (the favorite authority of a certain class of writers on Egypt) has distinctly admitted that there was such a person as Moses, though he calls him a leper ; and we have endeavored to show that, for our purpose, it matters little whether this admission come from the real or spurious Mane- tho : we are happy in being able to add, that the admirers of this Egyptian writer cannot, without a contradiction of their favorite witness, deny the facts of the exode of the Israelites and the pursuit of them by Pharaoh, as here recorded. Euse- bius gives us the following passage from the lost history of Manetho : “ The Heliopolitans relate that the king, with a great army, accompanied by the sacred animals, pursued after the Jews, who had carried off with them the substance of the Egyptians.” So that here the ancient records of Egypt itself (from which it is claimed Manetho drew his information) are bearing testimony to the truth of what is written in the ancient records of the Hebrews. 260 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. But some, by way of objection, have asked how could Pharaoh so speedily assemble a great army for pursuit 1 The objection is singularly unfortunate for those who would deny the truth of the Bible story. The very rapidity with which he assembled these troops is remarkably in agreement with facts which we will now relate. The greater part of the standing army of Eg}^)t was habitually concentrated in this very region from which the Israelites took their departure, be- cause it was the most exposed frontier of the land. They constituted the garrison of certain walled or fortified towns in that region. Herodotus has expressly named the nomes or provinces in which the military force was quartered. No less than sixteen and a half nomes were within the Delta. “ In the Mosaic times,” (says Heeren,) “ the warrior caste first ap- pears in Lower Egypt. The rapidity with which the Pharaoh there mentioned could assemble the army with which he pur- sued the fugitive Israelites, evinces clearly enough that the Egyptian warriors of that epoch must have been quartered in just the same district in which Herodotus places them.” It comports not with the leading puipose of our work to enter into the much controverted point of the passage of the Red Sea by the Israelites. Those who have discussed it may be divided into the two classes of those who have been willing to find the place of transit any where, provided the locality, by means of shoals or other causes, would deprive the occur- rence of its miraculous character ; and those who, believing it to be a miracle, endeavor, from the Bible and other sources, to fix its locality, without troubling themselves to inquire into the existence of shoals or winds that may account for the extraordinary passage. M'e trust, however, we may be par- doned for availing ourselves of this opportunity of bringing THE DELIVERANCE. 261 before the reader a very sensible and spirited letter from one, who has at last received tardy justice at the hands of the public, for a long-continued and undeserved distrust of his truth. We allude to Bruce. Michaelis (who raised much of the discussion on this sub- ject) sent to Niebuhr, who was then in Egypt, certain queries; one of which proposed to him, to inquire “ whether there were not some ridges of rock, where the water was shallow, so that an army at particular times might pass over ? And secondly, whether the Etesian winds, which blow strongly all the summer from the northwest, could not blow so violently against the sea as to keep it back in a heap, so that the Israelites might have passed without a miracle ?” Niebuhr answered, distinctly, that there was no such shoal ; though he manifested in the rest of his reply a strong disposition to get rid of the miracle. A copy of the questions was left for Bruce. His answer does him honor. “ I must confess, however learned the gentlemen were who proposed these doubts, I did not think they merited any attention to solve them. This passage is told us by Scripture to be a miraculous one; and if so, we have nothing to do with natural causes. If we do not believe Moses, we need not believe the transaction at all, seeing that it is from his authority alone we derive it. If we believe in God that he made the sea, we must believe he could divide it when he sees proper reason ; and of that he must be the only judge. It is no greater miracle to divide the Red Sea, than to divide the river Jordan. “ If the Etesian winds, blowing from the northwest in summer, could keep up the sea as a wall on the right, or to the south, of fifty feet high ; still the difficulty would remain of 262 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. building the wall on the left hand, or to the north. Besides, water standing in that position for a day, must have lost the nature of fluid. Whence came that cohesion of particles which hindered that wall to escape at the sides ? This is as great a miracle as that of Moses. If the Etesian winds had done this once, they must have repeated it many a time before and since from the same causes. Yet Diodorus Sicidus, hb. iii. p. 122, says : The Troglodytes, the indigenous in- habitants of that very spot, had a tradition from father to son, from their very earliest ages, that once this division of the sea did happen there; and that after leaving its bottom some time dry, the sea again came back and covered it with great fury. The words of this author are of the most remarkable kind. We cannot think this heathen is writing in favor of revelation : he knew not Moses, nor says a word about Pharaoh and his host ; but records the miracle of the division of the sea in words nearly as strong as those of Moses, from the mouths of unbiassed, undesigning pagans. “Were all these difficulties surmounted, what could we do with the pillar of fire 7 The answer is, we should not believe it. Why then believe the passage at all ? We have no authority for the one but what is for the other. It is alto- gether contrary to the ordinary nature of things, and if not a miracle, it must be a fahleP To this testimony of the Troglodyte tradition, we will only add, that evidence of the pillar of fire also is to be gathered from other testimony than that of the Bible ; for the Egyptian chronologer writes, “It is said that fire flashed against them [the Egyptians] in front.” THE DELIVERANCE. 263 Miriam and her companions celebrated the triumph with m^isic and dancing. This is perfectly conformable to what they had learned of the manners and customs of the Egyptians. The sculptures show us triumphal dances of Egyptian females, with timbrels or tambourines in their hands. The mstrument was usually played by women, who danced at the same time to its sound, without any other accompaniment. We meet with it fre- quently in the future history of the Hebrews, and it is observ- able, that every description of its use in the Bible finds an exact illustration in the Egyptian paintings and sculpture. CHAPTER X. THE WANDERINGS. The first particular inviting our notice m the Bible history of the wanderings of the Israelites in the wilderness, is that of food. Before, hoAvever, we proceed to a consideration of any of the topics suggested by this part of our subject, it may be well to submit the general remark that, taking into view the precise condition of the Hebrews at this time, as a people born in Egypt, familiar only with Egyptian usages and opinions, accustomed to Egyptian conveniences, and differmg probably from the natives of Egypt in the single particular of knowing, if npt truly worshipping Jehovah, who had just manifested his power in their behalf; we are not to be sur- prised at discovering, as a natural consequence of these things, not merely that their thoughts often reverted with fond regret to the comforts of their native land; but that as time rolled on, and the purposes of God were gradually developed, and they fully knew that they should see Egypt no more, they should, in all the arrangements of their new position, with reference to laws, devotional habits, domestic usages, &c., assimilate their institutions to those they had left behind them, as far as was consistent with the great governing dis- tinction of recognizing and worshipping the only true God. THE WANDERINGS. 265 We must expect, therefore, in this part of our subject, to see much which Egypt illustrates. In fact, it were easy to write on this topic, not merely a chapter, but a book. We will endeavor to select that only most likely to interest the reader, and at the same time alford the testimony we are seeking from Egypt. Food . — Their first cry was for bread. We know that when the Israelites went out they “ took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading-troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.” We are also informed that after entering on their journey, “they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt.” When the small quantity of food, which, as we learn from the Bible, they had, was exhausted, they were pressed by hunger, and cried for bread, as they had before done at Marah for water. The Egyptians perfectly understood the art of baking, and we have already had occasion to remark that the monuments abundantly prove it. The Israelites, of course, had learned it, and had carried with them some, if not all, of the necessary implements for the work. We must not, however, be misled by names. The kneading-troughs here mentioned were not the utensils known to us by that name. They were small wooden bowls, such as the Arabs now use for kneading their bread, and were therefore no heavy burden. Manna and quails were the food with which they were supplied. Of the first named, much has been written ; and those reluctant to find a miracle in any thing have labored to prove that it is a gum that exudes, at this day, from the punctures made by insects in the twigs of the tamarisk plant. This gum, however, which is but in small quantities, by no means answers the description given of the manna ; and even 266 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. if it did, it would not relieve the advocate of exclusive natural causes from his difficulty. For there would still be a great deal that is miraculous left : thus, the gum is yielded but six weeks in the year, but the manna was afforded constantly for forty years : a double supply came every Friday regularly, to compensate for its absence on the next day, the Sabbath. That collected on Friday would remain uncorrupted two days, while that gathered on any other day in the week, if kept to the next day, invariably became offensive, and unfit for use. To this there was made but one exception, and that a remarkable one, in the quantity that was preserved and laid up as a memorial, after the necessity for its use as food had ceased. Again, the gum is found under and about the tree from which it falls, the manna was showered down through the whole encampment of the Hebrews. If, therefore, the product of the tamarisk and the manna of the Israelites were the same article, we are obliged to admit a number of miracu- lous circumstances quite as strange as any recorded in the story of the Pentateuch. We must acknowledge a miracle, even if natural causes be invoked, or reject the account alto- gether. There is no other alternative. This manna, unlike the gum of the tamarisk, could be pounded to powder^ and baked as bread. That the Israelites knew how to bake will not be doubted. Indeed, that it was no natural production, and that the Israelites actually knew nothing about it, when they first saw it, is proved by their inquiring what it was, and by the very name bestowed on it. Josephus tells us that man is a particle of interrogation, and the Septuagint so understands it. When the Israelites, therefore, said to one another, “What is it?” THE WANDERINGS. 267 [man-hu 7) they unconsciously bestowed on it a name which proved their entire ignorance of its nature. Quails ; Heb. Sclav . — The same bird is still to be seen in the Levant. It is a bird of passage, remarkable for its migra- tory habits, and flies in such flocks to and from Africa, across the Mediterranean, that more than one hundred thousand have been killed at Naples at one time. The monuments show that the Egyptians were skilful fowlers, and from them the Israelites learned the art of snaring birds. Poultry and feathered game were favorite articles of food in Egypt ; and the quail, which was often preserved by salting for future use, was particularly esteemed. An extraordinary wind sending immense flocks of these birds at this time over the camp of the Israelites, furnished them with a species of flesh which they particularly esteemed. The time and the quan- tity made the supply out of the usual order of natural events. The Golden Calf of the Israelites . — This finds its illustra- tion in Egyptian usages only. The points here to be ex- amined are : 1. Had the Israelites skill to make such an image ? 2. Why make a calf 7 3. Why dance and sing around it in their idolatrous worship ? 4. How could Moses make the Israelites drink the dust of it ? As to the skill of the Israelites as workmen in metals, there can be no doubt. The Egyptians, among whom they lived, knew perfectly how to work in metals ; and some of their beautiful productions may be handled even at the present day. The monuments, were there no other evidence, fil flx'*' WORKING IN METALS. — FROM THE MONUMENTS. THE WANDERINGS. 269 would afford abundant proof of this. We give a cut from Wilkinson, showing that such is the case. Here may be seen the various processes, from the weighing ■>f the metal, through the melting, to the working of it up into articles. There were, and are no better metallurgists than the ancient Egyptians. They understood the nature of dif- ferent alloys as well as we do ; and much of the chemistry of the art was probably as familiar to them as it is to us. As to the golden calf itself, it was (as a critically correct interpretation of the original shows) cast in a mould ; and the precedent for this mode of manufacture was furnislied by Egypt. But not only in the mode of making did the Israel- ites imitate the Egyptians ; they did it also in the selection of the animal of which they made an idol. The Hebrews in Egypt had served the gods of that country ; for in Joshua xxiv. 14, we read : “ Now, therefore, fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and 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.” The idol to which they here turned aside was an Egyptian god; and this is an answer to the second question, “ Why make a calf 7” This god was Apis, the sacred bull of Memphis, under whose form Osiris was worshipped. As this was one of the most conspicuous of the deities in that idolatrous system which they had been accustomed to see, it explains why the first apostacy of the Israelites took this direction. The living Apis was kept at Memphis, but all over Egypt representative images of him were made, and the Israelites but followed an example with which they had long been unhappily too familiar. 270 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. Why dance and sing around it ? Because these two exercises were also Egyptian, and were particularly exhibited at the feast of Apis, as we learn from Herodotus. In the whole transaction connected with this idolatrous display on the part of Israel, it is impossible not to perceive the tendencies and feelings of a people who had growTi up under Egyptian influences ; and these are inci- dentally brought out in the casual allusion to so many little particulars, as to convince the unprejudiced, of the familiar acquaintance of the writer Avith all of Egypt’s idolatrous sys- tem, and to impress a conviction of the author’s truth. How could Moses make the Israelites drink the dust of it ? The manner in which this was done is a further proof of the extraordinary skill in the metallurgic arts possessed by the Egyptians ; and, through their instruction, by the Hebrews. Modern chemistry employs tartaric acid, and reduces gold to powder. Stahl, one of the ablest chemists, informs us that natron, which is very common in the East, will produce the same eflect ; and if the metal be previously heated, the eflect is sooner produced. Hence Moses in the first instance cast the image into the fire, and then made it potable. Now one of two consequences must follow ; either he performed a miracle, or he possessed very extensive scientific attainments. There is no account of any miraculous intervention of Provi- dence in the story ; it then was the result of natural means, but such as none but a very well informed chemist could have known or used. No alternative then is left us but a positive denial of the facts, or an admission of the knowledge of Moses. We read in Acts vii. 22, that he “was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians we therefore believe that he here possessed the requisite knowledge, a point of some THE WANDERINGS. 271 importance when we come to ask who wrote the Pentateuch ; for it is plain, even from what the reader has already seen, that it must have been written by some one who knew Egypt thoroughly, from actual observation. There is another small item of evidence here, to establish the fact of Moses’ knowledge. He strewed the gold dust on water, and made the children of Israel drink it. He was perfectly acquainted with the scientific effect of what he had done. He meant to aggravate the punishment, and impress upon their recollections the never to be forgotten memory of their disobedience, and to this latter end, he made their own sense of tasie to minister ; for of all detestable drinks, none is more so than that of gold thus rendered potable. The making of the Tabernacle . — One of the objections urged as an argument against the truth of the Pentateuch is, that the skill of the Israelites was not competent to the production of the tabernacle and the priests’ garments. That these imply a cultivation of the arts and an abundance of costly materials, such as the Hebrews could not have had wher. they left Egypt. Among the articles used were gold, silver, and brass, costly stuffs, furs, &c. ; and these, it is said, the Israelites had not. Of the skill required, we have already furnished some little proof gathered from the monuments, and showing, as far as a pictiu'e or sculpture can, the Egyptians actually employed in ihe work that would be necessary to make the tabernacle. Whatever intellectual and material resources the Egyptians possessed, it is plain the Hebrews must have also had the same; inasmuch as at the exode, every descendant of Abraham, as his fathers before him for many years had been, was by birth an Egyptian, and for generations all the instruction they 272 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. could have had was purely Egyptian. But there is another valuable object to be ‘ here attained. If it be shown that Israelitish art is connected with Egyptian by many pecu- liarities, it will prove that the condition of things is precisely such as it would be, on the supposition that the Pentateuch is historically accurate ; and that if we discard that supposition, we cannot explain or account for numerous facts that meet us, inasmuch as no fictitious narrative could, with such per- fect consistency, originate and sustain the close Egyptian relationship which we encounter at every step of onr progress. Precious Stones . — These were among the articles used by the Israelites. Bezaleel, who was the chief in the construc- tion of the tabernacle, we are expressly told, * had skill in the cutting of stones to set them.” Precious stones with engravings on them were also, as we read, set upon the ephod and breastplate of the high priest. We presume our readers will not have forgotten the drawings we have already pro- duced of signet-rings and bracelets, containing precious stones, and those sculptured. Indeed, too many specimens are yet in existence in various museums to permit a doubt on this sub- ject ; and among them, are some older than the days of Abraham. Israel learned the art of polishing and catting them in Egypt ; for the Hebrews certainly at a period posterior to this possessed it, and had then held_ no intercourse with any people from whom they could have derived it so early as the time of their possessing it, but the Egyptians. Purifying and working Metals — We have already seen on the monuments, Egyptians working in metals. “ From all such articles” (says Rosellini) “it is manifest how anciently the art of casting and working metals was practised in Egypt.” He adds : “ The greater part of Egyptian metallic articles are THE WANDERINGS. 273 of bronze, not a few of gold, a smaller number of silver, very few of lead, and those made of iron are seldom found.” The gold of the sanctuary was ordered to be pure gold. The monuments show the process of purifying gold ; and many of the ornaments still existing, are of the purest gold. The boards of the tabernacle were to be overlaid with gold. “We find ” (says Wilkinson) “that in Egypt substances of various kinds were overlaid with gold leaf.” There are existing specimens as old as the time of the first Osirtasen. The brazen laver was made of the brazen mirrors oifered by the women. Had they such mirrors? Wilkinson says, the miiTor was one of the principal articles of the toilet “ It was of mixed metal, chiefly copper, most carefully wrought and highly polished.” Some have been discovered at Thebes in our own times ; and though they had been buried in the earth for centuries, yet such was the skill employed in their composition, that their lustre has been partially revived by the workmen of our own day. The golden candlestick was ornamented with golden flowers. Could they make them ? The monuments re- peatedly show them. Indeed such was Egyptian skill in this particular, that Pliny tells us there were artificial flowers which were known by the name of Egyptiae. The tabernacle had a covering of leather. Could they make leather ? The whole trade is depicted for us on the monuments. Indeed, it was an important branch of Egyptian industry. But, strange as it may seem, we have actual specimens of their leather. The straps of a mummy found at Thebes are of the flnest leather, and have beautiful figures stamped on them. At Paris there is an Egyptian harp, the wood of which is 274 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. covered with a green morocco, cut in the form of a lotus blossom. Cloths of the Tabernacle and Priests' Garments. — The ephod of the high-priest was interwoven with threads of gold. Could they make gold thread? We find it as far back as Osirtasen the First. Many passages in the Scripture speak of the twisted thread of the b]/ssus, by which we may understand either flax or cotton ; it matters not here which. Did they know how to spin it? The tombs of Beni Hassan show the whole process of its preparation from the beginning to its finishing as thread fit for weaving. Could they weave it ? The cloths on the oldest mummies answer the question. In all antiquity their cloths were renowned. The ancients attribute to them the invention of the art. We have handled cloth, yet strong, that was woven in Egypt, as we believe, nearly 3500 years ago. Weaving was performed by men generally, while spinning was performed by the women. Herodotus mentions it as one of the national peculiarities which struck him, that the women were engaged in the outdoor work, while the men were within, weaving. On the monuments vve frequently see men thus employed ; it is true we sometimes see also women, yet they rather form exceptions to the common practice. In conformity with this, the preparation of the cloth for the sanc- tuary, and of the robes for the priesthood, is represented in our history as being confided to men. Again : the cloths used by the Israelites required skill, both in dyeing and embroidering. Had they such skill ? Minutoli tells us, that “from many experiments upon the ancient Egyptian cloth, it appears that the byssus was colored THE WANDERINGS. 275 in the wool before weaving.” Wilkinson states the same thing. Such too was the plan pursued by the Hebrews, as we learn from our history. As to embroidering, the evidence of its skilful execution by the Egyptians is unquestionable. The paintings at Thebes, according to Wilkinson, furnish the proof. A very common embroidered device was the phoenix, another was the lotus flower. Some are of the date of Rameses III. Again : the shape of some of the garments of the high- priest aflbrds us incidental proof. They were copied from garments in use in Egypt. The dresses, as well as the cere- monies of the Egyptian priesthood, are profusely delineated in the sculptured and pictured monuments ; and it is impossible attentively to study those of the Hebrews, and not find the origin of some of them on the banks of the Nile. True, their use was associated with a worship very far removed from the gross idolatry of Egypt, but their mere fashion was often the same, and was probably selected because it was familiar to the eyes of the Hebrews while dwellers in the land of bon- dage. In fact, the whole Hebrew ritual appears to have been framed on the principle of embodying Egyptian ceremonies, carefully guarded, modified and expurgated, and applying them to the worship of the true God. We are aware that, in the opinion of some excellent men, this seems to detract from the Jewish ritual, as being but a modification of idolatry. We are unable to see this. It was a modification of idolatrous ceremonies, but it involved no recognition of idolatrous wor- ship. It acknowledged no false god ; on the contrary, it was so changed as to make the ceremonies retained, appropriate only in the worship of the true God. As well might it be said that retaining, as we do at this day, the heathen names 276 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. of the days of the week, proves that he who says “ Thursday” is an idolatrous worshipper of the northern Thor. Beside, some of the very ceremonies of Avorship used now in the Christian Church are undoubted modifications of usages that were once known in heathen worship. Does that make idolaters of the Christians who m their use apply them to the expression of honor and reverence for the one only and true God ? Again : are there no modifications now in the Christian Church of Jewish usages ? Does that prove Christians to be Jews 7 The fact, is that as ceremonies in the expression of religious feeling are necessarily arbitrary, the ceremony means nothing but Avhat in the vieAV of the worshipper it was meant to symbolize ; and it is really of no importance Avhence the ceremony was originally derived. The only point worth a thought is, what does it here mean ? The resemblances between the ritual of the Hebrews and the ceremonies of the Egyptians, are much too numerous to be deemed accidental. This meets us as a fact. We cannot evade ,or deny it. We wish not to do so ; for in these very resemblances we find important testimony to the truth ; nor can Ave possibly perceive hoAV their existence in the slightest degree affects the question of the reverence due to the ritual of Israel, as being appointed of God for the outAvard expres- sion of devotional feeling, properly directed to Jehovah. Our limits permit us to do no more than to point out generally some of these resemblances. The Hebrew priests ministered at the altar and in the holy place, Avith covered heads and naked feet. So did the priests of Egypt. They were required to be scrupulously clean, bathing daily before they commenced their ministrations. Such Avas the rule also in Egypt. THE WANDERINGS. 277 They, in ordinary life, dressed like the rest of their country- men of good condition : when they ministered, they wore a peculiar and appropriate dress. This was also the case in Egypt. And here it should be remarked that the attentive student will find, that while the custom of Egypt was fol- lowed, it actually was made subservient to an exclusion and condemnation of the idolatry of Egypt ; for in the priestly robes of the Jews, every thing was purposely excluded that was idolatrously symbolical ; and in compelling him to wear that dress, and that only, he and all the congregation were alike reminded of the difference between it and the Egyptian cor- responding garment, in the absence of every idolatrous symbol. Until God gave the Hebrews a ritual and established their worship, they knew no other forms than those of Egypt. These were imposing and splendid, calculated to operate powerfully on the imaginations of the Hebrews. Left to themselves, in the establishment of their ritual, they would undoubtedly have followed the Egyptian model to which they long showed a tendency, hard to be overcome. This tendency was met and limited and guided, by the adaptation of their ritual, as far as was useful or practicable, or con- sistent with God’s purposes, to the notions which they had imbibed. It was the act of a kind parent, dealing with the weakness of his children. All of the world, with which they were acquainted, presented pompous ceremonials in religion. Had they been confined to an austere, simple system of worship, under such circumstances, it is plain that they would much more easily have been drawn into the very idolatry from which God would kindly guard them, by overruling the operation of perfectly natural causes. The ceremonies were a necessity, adapted to their weakness. And, to a limited 278 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. extent, ceremonies are a necessity now ; for man cannot worship God decently and reverently without some outward ceremony. It may, and should be, made expressive and significant ; but to carry it to the excess of gorgeous display or multiplied forms, would seem to be going back to a period when men in their weakness required such things. Under the light of the Gospel, it is not difficult in this matter to attain to a medium that is reasonable, appropriate and signifi- cant. But to proceed with our resemblances. All the priestly garments were to be of linen. This was exactly the Egyptian practice. The priests wore the ephod. From the best accounts we can get of this dress, it was similar in shape to one worn by Egyptian priests of the highest rank when they discharged their most solemn functions. There was a rich embroidered girdle worn by the priests, with the ephod. The same was the case in Egypt. The breastplate was another part of the priest’s official dress. It bore twelve jewels, on each of which was engraved the name of one of the tribes. This, while it adopted an Egyptian custom, corrected Egyptian idolatry ; for on the breastplate of the Egyptian priests, was worn an idolatrous symbol ; most commonly the winged scarabaeus, the emblem of the sun. The Urim and the Thummim. In the Septuagint hrp ieofftff xat aXriQtia. Here is evidence of Egyptian connection. The words mean light and truth., or justice ; and they were used to indicate the breastplate which Aaron wore at certain times, on occasions connected with giving judgments. Wil- kinson thus writes : “ When a case was brought for trial, it was customary for the arch judge to put a golden chain THE WANDERINGS. 279 around his neck, to which was suspended a small figure of Truth, ornamented with precious stones. This was in fact a representation of the goddess who was worshipped under the double character of truth and justice, and whose name Thmei (the Egyptian or Coptic name of justice or truth ; hence the &s(ug of the Greeks) appears to have been the origin of the Hebrew Thummim, a word implying truth.” iElian informs us, that the high priest among the Egyp- tians wore around his neck an image of sapphire, which was called Truth. Diodorus says the same thing. Wilkinsou gives an engraving of the goddess, with closed eyes, as symbolical of impartiality. We proceed still further briefly to trace resemblances in some of the usages of the Hebrews and those of Egypt, To indicate a few of these only is all that our space permits, and all that is required for our purpose of establishing that intimate relationship which must have existed between the Hebrews and the Egyptians, to afford any satisfactory explanation of the correspondence between them, certainly remarkable, in modes of feeling and habits of life. The history of this intimate re- lationship is written nowhere but in the Bible. All, therefore, 280 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. tending to establish it as a fact, tends to establish the truth of the Bible, at least in that particular. We remark, then, that the Egyptians were accustomed to put inscriptions on their houses, both inside and out. From this circumstance the Jews were prepared for the command which bade them write the words of their law upon their door-posts and their gates. When they made the ark, the size of it was particularly given. It is precisely the size of an ark carried after the statue of the god Chem, in a painting of the time of Rameses III. The mode in which the Egyptians carried an ark or shrine in their processions is delineated often on the monuments. It is precisely the mode adopted by the Hebrews. But, further, the very customs which were forbidden to the Hebrews seem to confirm their intimate relation with Egypt, for they are all ancient customs on the Nile. God’s purpose, we are told, was to preserve, by means of the Jews, the great truth, that there was one God the creator of the world. Moses, therefore, did not hesitate to proclaim that the gods of Egypt were false, and to forbid all worship of them. Thus the Egyptians worshipped the sun, moon and stars : among the Jews, whoever worshipped any one of the heavenly host was to be stoned to death. The Egyptians worshipped statues of men, beasts, birds, and fishes : the Jews were forbidden to bow before any carved image. The people of Lower Egypt marked their bodies with wounds in honor of their gods : the Jews were forbidden thus to cut then flesh or make any mark upon it. THE WANDERINGS. 281 The Egyptians buried food in the tombs with their friends : the Jews were forbidden to set apart any fruit for the dead. The Egyptians planted groves of trees within the court- yards of their temples : Moses forbade the Jews to plant any trees near the altar of the Lord. Who can doubt that the very nature of these prohibitions indicates that they were specifically directed against Egyptian usages ? If they were, the prohibition furnishes evidence of the intimate relation recorded in the Bible between the Hebrews and Israel. We have now finished what we have here to say of Egypt’s evidences to the Pentateuch. We have, we are well aware, done but little more than furnish a few items, and those of a general nature, of the mass of testimony which might easily be adduced. We are not without the hope, however, that enough has been presented to show that the boast is premature which proclaims that Egyptian discoveries have proved the Bible to be false. The geology and chronology which are esta- blished (as it is said) by the soil and monuments of Egypt, are the strong grounds on which those rely who would condemn the Scriptures : but, to our minds, we are free to confess, were both these grounds much stronger than they are, the conclusion would be most unphilosophic that the sacred history is untrue. For what are the facts? We have shown a great many parti- culars in which undeniably, the testimony afforded by Egypt to our narrative, is too marked to be accidental. Hundreds of circumstances, some of them singly of small importance, and all casually introduced, without being intended as evidence when they were penned, are found on being brought together, to harmonize in a wonderful manner with the story which (as far as that story has been interpreted or understood) Egypt is 282 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. telling of herself. Under such circumstances, what says the enlightened and truly philosophic mind ? Certainly this ; that even granting, in the present imperfect condition of science, there may be much in the geology of Egypt which indicates an extreme age, and presents a seeming difficulty in reconciling that age with received opinions as to the date of events ; grant- ing that the chronology, supposed to be gathered from car- touches interpreted by the guidance of a supposed Egyptian historian, whose very existence even is to some of the learned doubtful ; granting that such chronology may not appear to synchronize with any received system of Scripture chronology ; yet there is so much plain and palpable in Egypt that, in the shape of undoubted facts, does rise up to support the Bible story ; so much of the Book is thus proved to be true ; that real science will pause ere it too hastily concludes to reject, as entirely false, a witness clearly sustained in part, and that an important part ; and will modestly conclude, that when more is fully known that science may possibly hereafter reveal, it will be found, that as the Bible and science are alike from God, they will prove, when investigation is finished., to be in entire harmony. The Bible, so far as the testimony of Egypt is concerned, has established a claim that is undoubtedly to be, in part at least, believed. Let her then have credit for that part, and let it create the reasonable presumption that all she says, if properly understood, will be found true ; let her have the benefit of this at least, until the science of man, now confess- edly imperfect, shall have produced from Egypt what the Bible has, viz., equally undoubted evidence: it certainly has not yet done it, in contradiction of the Bible. And now, in concluding this part of our subject, we think THE WANDERINGS. 283 we may say thus much at least has been proved, — the Penta- teuch, or that part of it relating to the Israelites in Egypt, must have been written by some one made most accurately familiar, by personal observation and loiowledge, with the topography, the natural phenomena, the trades, the domestic usages, the habits of the court, the religion, and the laws of Egypt. We think that the knowledge of the writer on these points could not have been collected at second-hand : it is much too minute and accurate to justify such an opinion. He must have lived in Egypt, and lived there long enough to have been on some subjects, not generally studied there, thoroughly instructed. No advantages necessary for a com- plete understanding of the mythology, worship, and laws of Egypt, could have been wanting. He must have been one “ learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians.” Who was he ? It is obvious that we of the present day can give no answer to that question from any modern evi- dence. All we can do is to look back for evidence contempo- raneous with the writer, if we can find such ; to seek out, at all events, the earliest received opinions as to the authorship of the Pentateuch, to ascertain, if possible, the recorded exist- ence in history of some man whose learning “ in the wisdom of the Egyptians” was such as would have enabled him to write what we have been considering. And, first, what say the books themselves? They bear direct testimony that Moses was their author. Next: what says the universal and most ancient tra- dition? With one voice the testimony, both Jewish and Christian, has with unanimous consent declared the Penta- teuch to be the work of Moses. Third : when was the first doubt expressed as to their 284 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. authenticity, and the authorship of Moses 1 Not until the beginning of the eleventh century of the Christian era : when certainly no new testimony could be found, and when no pre- tence was made that any existed. The Gnostics, and other heretics, did izideed make some feeble question of- their genuineness : but it was merely to get rid of the divine authority of the laws they contained. Their doubts died with their heresy. Fourth : from the death of Moses to the termination of the Old Testament history, a whole nation deeply interested in the Pentateuch, considering themselves under a sacred obliga- tion to respect and obey it, living through many centuries; produced, from time to time, many other historical books, in which they constantly refeiTed to these books as the produc- tion of Moses ; quoted them as such, and every allusion has its corresponding passage in the books, even as we at this day have them : and not a solitary discrepancy occurs in this long series of incidental and unbroken testimony, commencing, as it does, with Joshua, immediatel}'’ after the death of Moses, and extending through a period of more than a thousand years. The prophetical books of this same nation will show the same undeviating testimony both as to the existence and iden- tity of the five books of Moses. Finally : the absolute impossibility of imposition or mis- take in this matter of authenticity and authorship will be obvious, when we come to consider that the whole fabric of the institutions, civil and religious, of a whole nation, and that no unimportant one, rests, and has always rested, solely on these books, ever since the death of their author. Was Moses capable of writing them? Now it is a re- THE WANDERINGS. 285 markable fact, that none of those who would fain overturn them if they couldj and who have ventured, with a malice tempered more or less by a prudent regard for reputation, to hint their doubts, have ever ventured to bring forward by name any other author, with their proof in support of his claims. They never could find any other of whom authentic history recorded the indispensable fact, that he was “ learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians.” We therefore conclude that Moses wrote them, and that the intimate knowledge of Egypt which they evince, is another to be added to the list of our incidental proofs. CHAPTER XL DIRECT MONUMENTAL CONFIRMATION OF SCRIPTURAL HISTORY. Our task would be left incomplete, should we fail to bring before the reader evidence to be found on the monuments con- firmatory of historical facts, not written in the Pentateuch, but in other parts of the Old Testament. We must now come up to a period long posterior to the exode of the Israelites, even to the time when dissensions among the Hebrews had caused a division of the tribes into ^ two parts, which v/ere respectively governed by Jeroboam and Rehoboam. In the twelfth chapter of the second book of Chronicles, we have the history of the invasion of Shishak the king of Egypt. We find him marching against Jerusalem with chariots and horsemen, and people without number die Lubims, the Sukiims, and the Ethiopians. The humiliation and penitence of Rehoboam under the warnings of Shemaiah the Prophet, averted from him the calamity of an entire loss of his kingdom ; but while the Lord declared that he should not be utterly destroyed, he nevertheless added, that the people should be the servants of Shishak, (that is, should be made his prisoners.) Shishak came and took away the trea Bures of the house of the Lord, and the king’s treasures-^ he -r V ' ' 1-? MONUMENTAL CONFIRMATIONS. 289 took all and, in short, reduced the kingdom to the condition of a conquered province. This Shishak is the Pharaoh Sesonchis of Manetho, and was the head of the twenty-second dynasty of kings, which originated at Bubastis, a very ancient city of Lower Egypt. It so happened (and it is a striking instance of the remarkable faculty possessed by Champollion le Jeune in prompt de- ciphering) that before the mixed commission of French and Italians that visited Egypt in 1828, Champollion, without then having ever seen Egypt, detected the cartouche of this Pharaoh in some of the engraved representations of Europe, and read it, “ Beloved of Amon, Shesiionk.” It was four years afterward before Champollion saw Egypt, “during which interval” (says Mr. Gliddon) “the name of Sheshonk and his captive nations had been examined times without number by other hieroglyphists, and the names of all the prisoners had been copied by them and published, without any one of them having noticed the extraordinary biblical corroboration thence to be deduced.” On his passage up the Nile, Cham- pollion landed for an hour or two, about sunset, to snatch a hasty view of the ruins of Karnac ; and on entering one of the halls, he found a picture representing a triumph, in which he instantly pointed out in the third line of a row of sixty- three prisoners, (each indicating a city, nation, or tribe,) presented by Sheshonk to Amun-ra, the figure on the opposite page, and translated it, Judah melek kah, “ king of the country of Judah.” The picture had been executed by order of Shishak, or Sheshonk, so that here was found the sculptured record of the invasion and conquest recorded in the “ Chronicles.” On the same picture were shields, containing in hieroglyphics the 290 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. names Beth-horon, Megiddo, Mahanaim, and some others, all towns through which Shishak passed on his invasion of Judea. Champollion supposed that the figure of the captive was Rehoboam himself. We know not that this is so ; some have doubted it, nor is it of any moment historically, because the cartouche equally represents the conquest of Judea by Shishak, whether the picture be that of the king, or one of his captive princes or subjects. In other parts of the picture, the conquest of other places is represented without the introduction of the portrait of the subjugated monarch. It is worthy of notice, while on this subject, that in the museum of Dr. Abbot in Cairo, there is a rusty helmet and chain that were found at Thebes, and on some of the links of the latter may just be distinguished the same cartouche of Shishak that is represented in the painting. But of the numerous captives that were once represented on that picture, why is it that now, but three remain ? for such, we beiieve, is the fact. Those who defaced or removed some of them are known. They are Europeans, and profess to be scholars seeking for the truth. Is the suspicion well-founded that the mutilation is the work of those who deem it more honorable to be deemed scientific neologists, than it is to sus- tain Scriptural truth 1 We would fain hope that the destruc- tion may have been accidental. Fortunately for truth, many copies of the picture had been made before its mutilation. It is the more to be lamented that this picture has been defaced, because the sculptured memorials of the Jews in Egypt, as we have already intimated, were not likely to be very common. The Egyptians could not but be humbled by that portion of their history which connected them with the MONUMENTAL CONFIRMATIONS. 291 Hebrews; they never, as ‘we have stated, perpetuated their own shame in sculpture. Accident preserved a part of that history in the tomb of Roschere, as we have seen : it is, there- fore, the more to be regretted that this picture has been defaced. The remaining direct testimony is but scanty. Pharaoh Necho and Pharaoh Hophra, both mentioned in Scripture, are proved to be real personages, as their cartouches are found on the monuments. The same may be said of Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, mentioned in 2 Kings, xix. 9. Indeed, ^so far as mere names are evidence, there is no want of them, both of places and persons. Osborn, in his Onomas- ticon, furnishes a long list. Thus no less than eighty-four Canaanitish names, mentioned in Scripture, occur at Aboo-sim- bal, Thebes, &c., written in the hieroglyphics. The mere re- petition of these would, of course, aflbrd to the general reader, little of interest or satisfaction. And now, in conclusion, we would repeat a thought that was suggested in the commencement of our work. It is this : that the truth of the Bible is not dependent, in any degree, on our being able to produce evidence for its support from the monuments of Egypt. If that country had not a monument within it, it would not affect the genuineness and authenticity of the Old Testament. That it has such monuments, and that in modern times God in his providence has permitted us to see, that in many particulars they do illustrate and confirm Hir sacred writings, is cause for thankfidness ; but such confir- mation, it must be remembered, when found is purely inci- dental, and cannot, therefore, be expected to present to us a con- tinued story of events, which would constitute in fact but ano- ther complete history of what is already written in the Bible. It has been too much the fashion of a certain class of men, 292 EGYPT AND ITS MONUMENTS. infidel in principle, but claiming (and in some instances justly) to be scientific, dexterously to insinuate, rather than positively to assert, that Egypt was making to them Avondrous revelations at the expense of the truth of Scripture. The characters and claims of these men have, perhaps, with a class, given weight to their insinuations, when there was neither the ability nor the means to test their boasted science, or sift their artful insinua- tions. It was for this class principally that the present writer assumed the pen. Purposely avoiding all perplexing ques- tions of mere science, it occurred to him that it might be use- ful to plain Christians of honest hearts and common sense, if from the labors of men as good and as learned as the self- styled scientific, there should be gathered into one body and plainly presented, evidence from Egypt, intelligible to ordinary faculties, tending to show that the Bible found there some sup- port at least ; and that unhesitatingly to reject it, on the groimd of any supposed discoveries yet made there, indicated a disease of the heart quite as much as a fault of the head. If in this, his unambitious efibrt, he shall prove so far suc- cessful, as to quiet the apprehensions or confirm the faith of any fellow-Christian. however humble, he will be more than repaid for his labor. FINIS. INDEX Abdollatiph, an Arabian writer, quoted, 192. Abomination of the Egyptians, what was the, 151, 160, 204. Aboo-simbul, the temple of, 246. Abraham, particulars concerning him, 132, 164, 204. Abydus, the tablet of, 23. Akerblad’s solution of the Rosetta Stone inscription, 36. Alexandria, the city of, 287. Alphabet, the ancient Egyptian, its enig- matical character, 55, 58. Amenophis, 157. America, the name in Egyptian pho- netics, 61. Amosis, his expulsion of the shepherd kings, 157. Amosis was the “king that knew not Joseph,” 217. Animals, the sacred ones of Egypt, 152, 247. Antoninus, his name upon the zodiac of Esneh, 49. Aphophis and Assis, two shepherd kings of Egypt, 156. Apis, the sacred bull of Egypt, 247,268. Arabia, her intercourse with Egypt, 167. Arable land, good in Goshen, 209. Archaeology, Egyptian study of, 19. Aridity of the Egyptian atmosphere, 70, 138. Ark of bulrushes, 230. Army of Egypt, 260. Arts, the, applied only to the useful, 78, 79. Arts of design plentifully found on Egyp- tian tombs, 77. Asenath, Joseph’s wife, 186. Asphaltum or mineral pitch, used upon the ark of bulrushes, 231. Asses, shown by monumental inscrip- tions, to have been in Egypt, 163. Astronomy, early taught in Egypt, 20. Atmosphere in Egypt, state of, 70, 138. Augustus Caesar, his title found upon the zodiac of Dendera, 49. Authenticity of the books of Moses, es- tablished, 284. Baker, the office of, at Pharaoh’s court, 173. Baking, well understood by the Egyp- tians, 265. Bankes, Mr., deciphers the Plulae obelisk inscription, 45. Barley in Egypt, when gathered, 232, 251. Bas-reliefs always accompanied by hie- roglyphic inscriptions, 75. Beard, the, not regarded by the Egyp- tians, 175, 202, 214. Beni-Hassan, fine grottoes and curious paintings to be found there, 103. Bethshemesh, the city of, 187, 203. Bible, evidence for, 19 ; its authority on early history, 23 ; why corroborative testimony to its truth so much sought for, 129 ; its own testimony valuable, 130 ; testimony to its truth afforded by the ancient records of Egypt, 1 59 ; and by recent discoveries, 281, 286; its truth not dependent on evidence found by scientific researches, 291. Blood, water changed into, the plague of, 243. 294 INDEX. Boils, the plague of, 250. Bondage of the Israelites in Eg5Tit, 216. “ Book of the Dead,” an old literary work of the Pharaonic times, 20. Books early possessed by the Egyptians, 19, 20 ; deposited in the tombs to accompany the dead, 77. Bowring, Dr., quoted, 183. Bracelets worn, 272. Breastplate, the, described, 278. Bricks, manner in which they were made, 222 ; made of stubble, still to be found in Egypt, 233. Bruce, letter of, on the passage of the Red Sea, 261. Bulrushes, description of the plant so called, 230 ; boats of, used at the pre- sent day in Abyssinia, 230. Butler, the office of, at Pharaoh’s court, 173. Caillaud,a French traveller in Egypt, 41. Cairo, city of, 85, 86. Calf, golden, worshipped by the Israelites, 169. Cambyses mentioned, 188. Camel shown to have existed in Egypt, 163. Canaan, the land of, at an early period in close relationship with Egypt, 134 ; subject to greater dearth than Egypt, 145. Candlestick, the golden, 273. Cats considered sacred, 247 ; anecdote concerning them related by Diodorus, 247. Ceremonies of the Hebrew Ritual, 275. Champollion, his discoveries in Egypt, 20, 39, 40, 63, 64, 289. Chamsin, the, a peculiar and often fatal wind, 253, 255, 258. Chronology of the Bible in connection with the monuments of Egypt, 48, 49, 130, 281. Chronology of Egypt, little to interest, and much to be doubtful of, 22. Cleanliness, the Egyptians scrupulously addicted to, 245. Clement of Alexandria, quoted, 20, 50, 66, 176. Climate of Egypt, the, 68, 70, 138. Cloth manufactured by tbe Egyptians in the early ages, 274. Coffins never much used in Egypt, 215. Commercial intercourse with Canaan and Arabia, 134, 167. Copts, the, and Coptic language proved the original of Egypt, 29 ; Coptic al- phabet, the, used in translations from the hieroglyphics, 58. Crocodile, the word phonetically writ- ten, 57. CrocodUe, the, worshipped in Egypt, 247. Dancing, customary in Egypt, 263,270. Darkness, the plague of, 255. Dead, great respect shown to the, 75. Deliverance, the, of the Israelites, 233. Delta, the, of the Nile, 139, 141. Demotic writing explained, 35, 67. Deudera, the temple of, 48, 106. Denon, quoted, 253, 255. De Sacy, his attempt to decipher the Rosetta Stone inscription, 36. “ Description de I’Egypt,” the, a work of great importance, 30, 33. Despotism, the characteristic of Oriental governments, 179. Determinatives used extensively on the monuments, 62 ; explained, 63. Devices and inscriptions in Egypt, 26. Diodorus Siculus, quoted, 24, 26, 214, 24l Discoveries, Egpytian, tend to confirm, and not destroy the Bible truth, 281, 286. Dough, unleavened, 265. Drawing, the Egyptians not proficients in the art of, 104. Dreams, the butler’s and baker’s ex- plained by Joseph, 173 ; Pharaoh’s interpreted by Joseph, 173 ; remarks concerning them, 176. Dress, Oriental, observations on, 183, 275. Eating with strangers, not customary in Egypt, 195 ; the Oriental manner of, 197. Edfou, temple of, 80. Egypt, interest excited by, 17; ancient division of, 133 ; her condition at the time of Abraham, 136 ; her testimony as regards the sacred history, 18, 19, 281, 262, 286. Egyptologists, the school of, 26 ; their opinions on the Egyptian chronology, 136. INDEX. 295 Embalming the dead, great attention paid to, 75, 212, 215. Embroidery familiar to the Egyptians, 274. Enchorial writing explained, 17, 67. Ephod, the, described, 278. Eratosthenes, an abbreviator of Manetho, 22 . Esneh, the temple of, 48, llS. Eudoxus, allusion to, 188. Eunuchs in Egypt. 169. Eusebius, quoted, 22. Every-day life in ancient Egypt, our knowledge of, increased, 78. Exode of the Children of Israel, 258. Famine in Egypt and Canaan, 192. Fellahs, the, a degraded caste in Egypt, 228 ; accompany the Israelites in their exode, 258. Fertility of the land of Egypt, 145. First-born, death of the, 257. Flax, the period when it ripens, 241, 251. Flies, the plague of, 245. Fogs, extremely rare in Egypt, 255. Food, want of, experienced by the Israel- ites, 265. Frogs, the plague of, 244. Garments, Oriental and Egyptian, 183, 275. Geology and the Bible, 131, 281. Ghizeh, pyramids of, described, 90. Girgeh, temples at, 106. Gnats, or lice, the plague of, 245. Golden chain, a mark of honor, 183. Golden calf, the, set up by the Israelites, 267. joshen, the land of, given to Jacob and his family, 203 ; where situated, 206, 210 . Granary, monumental representation of, 189. Greek characters introduced into the Egyptian writing, 57. Hagar probably given to Abraham by Pharaoh, 164. Hail, the plague of, 250. Harem, the, of Pharaoh, 148. Hebrews, see Israelites. Hebron, its antiquity, 142. Pleeren, quoted, 152, 187. Heliopolis, the city of, 89, 187. Hengstenberg,his objections to Manetho, 23, 155 ; his answer to Von Bolden’s objections on Scripture, 162 ; quoted, 178, 183,207. Herodotus, his account of Egypt, 24 ; quoted, 213, 214. Hieratic writings, illustrated and ex- plained, 20, 66. Hieroglyphics, study of considered neces- sary, 20 ; the characters numerous on the monuments of Egypt, 26, 27, 30, 35 ; the writing illustrated and ex- plained, 51-66. History of early Egypt, information con- cerning the, 21, 22, 24. Homophones, mode of selecting them illustrated, 61. Horapollo, his work on the hieroglyphics, 27 ; not sustained by ancient monu- ments, 55. Horses, abundant in Egypt, but not com- mon to the Jews in their early history, 162. Hyksos, or shepherd kings, 153. Infidelity silenced by the research of science, 236. Inkstand found inscribed on monuments at a very early date, 20. Inscriptions on the tombs and temples, 26. Intolerance of the Egyptian priests, 188. Inundation of the Nile, 69, 70, 139, 193. Ishmaelites, see Midianites. Israelites, opprobrium attempted to be cast upon them, 158 ; bondage of, in Egypt, 216 ; their labors not confined to Goshen, 227 ; their deliverance from bondage, 233 ; their departure from Egypt, 159, 207, 258 ; their wanderings in the wilderness, 264. Jacob, his arrival in Egypt, 199 ; hia death, 211. I Jannes and Jambres, 238. ] Jebusites, Scripture account of them I confirmed, 203. Joseph, sold into Egypt, 166; imprison- I ed,175; interprets Pharaoh’s dreams, I 175 ; made overseer of Pharaoh’s I house and elevated to office and honor, ! 170, 179; his maniage, 186; enter- ! tains his brethren, 195 ; his death, 215. ! Josephus, quoted, 22. I Jowett, quoted, 177. 296 INDEX. Kamac, 117. Kircher, Father, his learned work on Egyptian hieroglyphics, 28. Language, ancient Egyptian, inquiries concerning the, 29 ; peculiarity there- in similar to the Chinese, 64 ; and to the Hebrew in the uncertainty of its vowels, 58. Leather, an important branch of Egyp- tian industry, 273. Lepsius, quoted, 20. Lice, or gnats, the plague of, 245. Linen, or cotton, knowledge the Egyp- tians had concerning, 182. Locusts, the plague of, 252. London, the name in Egyptian pho- netics, 61. Luxor, the obelisk and ruins of, 71, 73, 116. Magicians and magical arts in Egypt, 178. Makrizi on famines in Egypt, 192. Manetho, his fragment of Egyptian his- tory, 22, 153, 156, 216, 259. Manna given to the Israelites, 265. Manners and customs, ceremonial, of the Jews and Egyptians, strong re- semblance between, 279. Medicine, its knowledge early possessed in Egypt, 20 ; the science of, much interest to be gleaned therein from Egypt, 212. Memphis, the temple of, 101. Menes, the 6rst Egyptian monarch, 141. Metallurgy, the Egyptians well skilled in, 269, 272. Mexican marriage, hieroglyphic repre- sentation of, 51, 52. Michaelis, on the land of Goshen, 210 ; on the passage of the Red Sea, 261. Midianite merchantmen, 166. Military force of Egypt, powerful, 260. Miriam, her triumphal dancing, 263. Mirrors, brazen, an article of the Egyp- tian toilet, 273. Mizraim, 1.34. Money,none coined in early history, 167. Monumental confirmation of sacred his- tory, 286. Morals, laxity of, among the ancient Egyptians, 172. Moses, in the ark of bulrushes, 230 ; his miracles in Egypt, 234 ; as an histo- rian, 132 ; his veracity, 206 ; familiar acquaintance with Egyptian usages confinned, 214, 243 ; well skilled in scientific knowledge, 270 ; undoubt- edly the author of the Pentateuch, 283. Mosquitoes, both troublesome and abun- dant in Egypt, 245. Mourning for the dead, 213. Mummies, very numerous in Egypt, 76. Murrain of cattle, the plague of, 249. Names of persons frequently changed in the East, 186., Napoleon, his expedition into Egypt, 30. Necklace of gold, see Golden chain. Niebuhr, on the passage of the Red Sea, 261. Nile, river and valley of the, 68 ; a voy- age up the, 80. Nilometer at Elephantine, stUl in exist- ence, 139. Numerals, hieroglyphics, 65. Obelisks of Luxor, 71, 73, 116; Philae, 41, 45 ; Osirtasen, 187. On, the city of, 187, 209. Oppression of the Israelites productive of ultimate ruin to the early fame of Egypt, 21. Osiris, his burial place, 122. Osirtasen, obelisk of, 187. Overseer or steward, described, 171. Oxen in Egypt, 163. Paintings found upon the walls of tombs, 76 ; the Egyptians not far advanced in the art of, 78 ; a celebrated one found representing the Hebrews mak- ing brick, 227. Palace temples, numerous in Egypt, 73. Pastoral life, why an abomination in Joseph’s time, and not when Abraham visited Egypt, 151, 160. Pasture ground, good, in Goshen, 209. Pentateuch, its history verified by later facts, 206 ; its author shown to be Moses, 283. Pharaoh, the general import of the title, 142. Pharaoh Necho and Pharaoh Hophra real personages, 291. Philae, the obelisk of, 41, 42, 45. Phonetics, Egyptian, explained, 56, 57. ^ INDEX. 297 Physicians, numerous and skilful in the days of Joseph, 211. Pictorial character of ancient writing, 53. Pillar of Fire, evidence of the, gathered from profane testimony, 262. Plagues of Egypt, the, 235, 240, 257. Plato, allusion to, 188. Plenty, the seven years of, in Egypt, illustrated from monumental inscrip- tions, 189. Polygamy allowed by the Egyptian law, 148. Potiphar, his office at Pharaoh’s court, 170. Potipherah, priest of On, 187. Precious stones, 272. Priests, the, of Egypt, 178, 187 ; Hebrew, their ministry, dress and habits simi- lar to the Egyptian priests, 276. Psylli, the, celebrated for their power over serpents. 237. Ptolemy Philadelphus, 158. Pyramids of Ghizeh, 90. Quails given to the Israelites for food, 267. Rain and rain clouds in Abyssinia, 193 ; in Lower Egypt very rare, 68. Rameses the Great, 208. Red Sea, passage of the, 260. Rehoboam, his submission to Shishak, 286. Ring, see Signet ring. Ritual, the, an old literary work of the Pharaonic times, 20. Ritual, the Hebrew, in what manner framed, 275. Rod of Moses, the, turned into a serpent, 235, 239. Rosetta Stone, the, important discovery of, 30, 32, 35. Roscherfi, the tomb of, 222, 229. Rosellini, quoted, 171, 203, 222. Sarah, the wife of Abraham, 145, 148. Sarcophagi, sculptured over with figures and inscriptions, 76. Scripture, testimony of Egypt regarding the, 19, 281,286; see Bible. Sculpture, the art of very defective, 78. Serpents, power possessed by man over them, 236 ; serpent charmers, 236, 238. Servants, meaning of the word as used in Scripture, 144. Servitude, domestic, in Egypt, 143. ] Sethos and his conquests, 156. Shaving the beard, remarks concerning, 175. Sheep, numerous flocks of, kept near Memphis, 163. Shepherd kings, whether known by the title of Pharaoh, 161 ; when expelled, 205. Shepherds, why an abomination to the Egyptians, 151, 160,204. Shishak invades Judea, 286. Signet ring, possession of, denoting au- thority, 180, 272. Singing, much practised at the feasts, 270. Sky of Egypt, clear and transparent, 235. Slavery, existing from the very earliest time known, 143, 168 ; the manner of treating slaves, 168, 169. Social life, habits of, in ancient Egypt, 146. Soil of Egypt,how originally formed, 139. Steward, the office of, 171, 179. Strabo, quoted, 188. Straw employed in the making of bricks, 222 . Stubble given to the Israelites to increase their labor, 233. Suflee, a Persian king, 186. Syene, the southern limit of Egypt, 127. Symbolical writing, 53. Syncellus, 22. Tabernacle, making of the, 271. Tambourines used by the Egyptian dan- cers, 263. Tanis, the same as Zoan, 142. Taskmasters set over the Israelites, 219. Temples in Egypt, their excellent state of preservation, 71 ; several mention- ed, 48, 71, 73. Testimony in general, remarks on, 128. Thebes, its great interest. 111 ; the hall of the temple of, 73. Thunder and lightning, the plague of, 250. , Timbrels used in dancing, 263. Tombs, the, of Egypt, evidence of her former grandeur, 75-77 ; ofRoscher6, 222, 229. Topographical description of Egypt, 68. 298 INDEX. Triumphs, in the sculptures of, the distin- guishing features well preserved, 74. Urim and Thummim, signification of the words, 278. Von Bohlen against certain parts of Scripture, 152, 163, 254. Veiling of women, not customary in Egypt’s early history, 146. Wagons employed in Egypt, 197. Wanderings of the Israelites, 264. Warburton on the hieroglyphics, 28. Water of the Nile, purified for drinking, 243 ; changed into blood, the plague of, 240. Weaving, a part of Egyptian know- ledge, 274. Wheat, what species of, cultivated in Palestine and Egypt, 177 ; the harvest time of, 241, 251. I Wilkinson, Sir G., quoted, 46, 171, 203 Wise men, the, of Egypt, 178. Women of ancient Egypt, possessed more luxuries and privileges than in other nations, 146. Worship, Hebrew, respecting the, 275. Writing, its antiquity in Egypt, 19 ; ex- amples of, 50. Young, Dr., liis translation of the Ro- setta Stone inscription, 37. Zaphnath Paaneah, the Egyptian name of Joseph, 186. Zoan, proverbially ancient, 142 ; an in- quiry as to its locality, 208. Zodiacs, the, of Dendera and Esneh, 48. 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