^
n
^C^^rix:.
UX
^^^^^^ty^
^
^^^^^^^C^-d^T^^
o^^ryt^t-^^^tii^
*A
^^^^l
EGYPT THE BOOKS OF MOSES, OB
^
THE BO'JKS OF MOSES ILLUSTRATED BY THE MONUMENTS OF EGYPT :
«
V
-:
WITH AN APPENDIX.
DR..^E. W.
"^HENGSTENBERG,
PROFESSOR OF THEOL. AT BERLIN.
FROM THE GERMAN
f^Y ox
B. D. C.
|§p;SiDENT,
ROBBINS,
THEOL. SEM., ANDOVEE.
NEW-YORK: ROBERT CARTER 1850.
&
BROTHERS.
PREFACE.
The
recent interest in the subject of Egyptian antiquities
began with the publication of the works of CJiampollion the younger, about twenty years ago.
Since his
rfieath,
which
occurred in 1832, these researches have been prosecuted with
much
zeal,
by several of his scholars and other
guished archaeologists. professors
Two of the learned men
distin-
of Holland,
Reuvens and Leemans, have made important con-
tributions to the subject, derived in part from the treasures of
The
the
Leyden Museum.
lini,
professor of oriental languages and antiquities at Pisa,
are of the Wghest value.
accompanied Champollion
results of the labors of Rosel-
In 1829, in
the
he and his brother
scientific
expedition to
Egypt, which was undertaken under the joint auspices of the
governments of France and Tuscany. Champollion, fore his death,
committed
to
him the honorable
just beoffice
of
bringing before the world the result of their associated labors
and
studies.
lini,
which
folio,
The is
first
part of the great
entitled, " I monumenti
segnati
della
Spedizione
dell'
cany,
Through it
is
at
Pisa, in
Egitto e della Nubia di-
scientifico-letteraria
Egitto, distribuiti in ordine di materie, trati."
work of Rosel-
yet incomplete, appeared in 1832,
the liberality of the
toscana
interpretati
ed
in
illus-
Grand Duke of Tus-
brought out in the highest style of typography.
PREFACE.
IV
It consists
of a series of treatises which embrace the most
important results of the investigations into the history and civil institutions
of the ancient Pharaoh-dynasties under the
Pagan, Greek and
work
are
Roman
The
dominion.
as rich as the plan
is
researches relating to the languages,
in
history of
the
published in
grammar,
in
arts
Rome,
contents of the
comprehensive.
It
the valley of the Nile.
and
Rosellini
in 1837, in quarto, a valuable
entitled, "
abounds
civil history,
Egyptian
Elementae Linguae Egyptiacae, vulgo
Copticae."
In this interesting
field
of research, several Englishmen
Among these are Dr. Young,
have acquired high distinction.
Major Felix, Lord Prudhoe and Sir Gardner Wilkinson. Dr.
Young
shares with Champollion the honor of having
indicated the right
To
language.
method of deciphering the hieroglyphical
Mr. Wilkinson
justly belongs the
which he has himself bestowed on
man
encomium
"He
Rosellini.
is
a
of erudition and a gentleman, and one whose enthusi-
astic endeavors, stimulated
by great perseverance, are tem-
pered by judgment, and that modesty which
is
Egypt are contained
in nine
volumes, namely, *'A general
View of Egypt, and Topography of Thebes," edition
was published
in
history," in
two
edition of the
works are
many
full
arts,
two
series
vols, (a
their private
manufactures, religion,
series of three first
in
1843) and " Manners and Cus-
toms of the ancient Egyptians, including government, laws,
the character-
Mr. Wilkinson's principal works on
of real merit."
istic
new
first
volumes
in each.
was published
in
life,
and early
A
1842.
second
These
of most valuable materials, accompanied with
fine illustrations.
They everywhere
exhibit that cau-
PREFACE. tion,
V
sound judgment, modesty and enthusiasm, which greatly
At
delight the reader.
same time, the arrangement
the
improvement, while the
suscepnble of
style
is
somewhat
is
heavy, and wanting in precision and scholar-like finish. is
delightful to observe the reverence with
It
which the author
regards the sacred volume, and the gratification which every
undoubted
illustration
of
its
has now, for the fourth time,
He
authenticity affords him.
we
believe, taken
up
his
abode
in Egypt.
Another distinguished investigator studies
is
He published,
Prussia.
" Palaeographie
am
these
to
fascinating
Naumburg
in
in 1834, a prize dissertation entitled
als Mittel fiir die
Sanscrit nachgewiesen."
and then
in
Dr. Richard Lepsius, a native of
Sprachforschung zunachst
His studies led him
to
Rome, where he was appointed one of
Turin
the two
corresponding secretaries of the Archaeological Institute there.
In 1842, Dr. Lepsius was sent to Egypt by the Prussian government, in connection with a number of other learned men.
He
is
reaping " a rich harvest on this earliest scene of the
history of
pond will
mankind."
If the results of the expedition corres-
to the promises of the
commencement, much new
light
be thrown on the ancient condition of Egypt.
These researches derive
special importance from the light
which they cast upon the Old Testament records, especially
upon the Mosaic
history.
most valuable proof lie in
is
An
incidental, undesigned, but
thus drawn from witnesses that cannot
favor of the trustworthiness of those records. " Paintings,
numerous and fect as
if
truth of
beautiful
beyond conception,
as fresh
and per-
finished only yesterday," exhibit before our eyes the
what the Hebrew lawgiver wrote, almost
five
thou-
PREFACE.
VI
sand years ago.
The
faith thus rests, not
authenticity of the
documents of our
on manuscripts and written records alone,
but the hardest and most enduring substances in nature have
added their unsuspecting testimony. " Egyptian history and the manners of the most ancient nations," Mr. Wilkinson remarks,
''
cannot but be interesting
to every one, and so intimately connected are they with the
scriptural accounts of the Israelites
and the events of suc-
ceeding ages relative to Judea, that the
name of Egypt need
only to be mentioned to recal the early impressions
we have
received from the study of the Bible." It
is
the object of the present volume to collect and apply
by these and numerous other authors
the results obtained
as far as they relate to the
Books of Moses.
been done before the appearance of
Even
the most recent
ficient in this respect.
this
German commentators
They have
scarcely
This had not
work
in
1840.
are sadly de-
made any advance
upon the works of Spencer and Le Clerc, who wrote more than a century ago.
Some
of this volume, Dr. E.
W.
of the other works of the author
Hengstenberg, are too well known
in this country to render a statement of his general qualifica-
tions for the It
work which he has here undertaken necessary.
may, however, be proper
to say that
he has made the Penta-
teuch a subject of special study, and probably no one
Germany
elsewhere has devoted more attention to that
or
interesting, but too
ume.
much
neglected portion of the sacred vol-
His situation as Professor
to the rich
in
collection
Museum, and
Berlin also gave him access
of Egyptian antiquities in the Berlin
the reader
made good use of
at
is left
to
his advantages.
judge whether he has not
PREFACE.
The form translation. inal
of the work has been somewhat changed in the
The
volume were Nearly
page.
vii
all
references to authorities, which in the origin the text, are
a very few cases notes, which to the size than
thrown
to the
bottom of the
of the italic headings have been inserted. it
In
was thought would add more
value of the volume to an English reader,
have been omitted or abridged.
In one instance a long note
from another untranslated work of the author has been inserted in the text.
The
very few notes at the end have
been added by the translator.
It
was
his intention to insert
many more but they have been unavoidably omitted.
The
translator
is
under great obligations to Prof. H. B.
Hackett of Newton Theological Seminary, who consented to listen to a large part of the
ed, and
of the
make such
German language
and assistance has
manuscript before
also
suggested.
Much
Sept. 1843.
was
print-
valuable advice
been received from Professor B. B.
Edwards of Andover Theological Seminary. Mdover,
it
corrections as his accurate knowledge
CONTENTS
NEGATIVE PART. Pago.
Material used for Building in Egypt,
3 7
The Animals
of Egypt and the Pentateuch, Use of Animal Food in Egypt, Winds of Egypt,
8 12
Cultivation of the Vine in Egypt,
18 19
Origin of Civilization in Egypt,
Use of Iron
in
Egypt,
POSITIVE PART. CHAPTER
1.
The History of Joseph. Gen. chaps, xxxvii
Joseph carried to Egypt and sold
—
xl.
...
to Potiphar,
Joseph's Exaltation,
.... ... .... ....
Joseph's Temptation and the Morals of the Egyptians,
.
.
The Dream of the Chief Baker of Pharaoh, Pharaoh's Dream and the Magicians of Egypt, The Hair and Beard how worn in Egypt,
—
Dress and Ornaments of the Egyptians, The Marriage of Joseph, Joseph collects the Produce of the Seven Years of Plenty,
Famine
in
...
Egypt and the adjoining Countries,
Joseph, his Brethren, and the Egyptians,
The Practice of Divining by Cups, The Arrival of Jacob and his Family ment in Goshen,
sit at
23 24 25 27
28 30 31
32 34
35
an Entertainment, 37 38
in Egypt,
and
their Settle-
39
X
CONTENTS.
References of the Pentateuch to the Geographical Features of
Egypt.
The Land
of Goshen,
Location of Pharaoh's Treasure-Cities
The March of the Israehtes from Raamses " Between Migdol and the Sea," History of Joseph
42 47 56
— Pithom and Raamses, Red
to the
Sea,
.
60
— Continued.
Kings and Priests, the Possessors of the Land Embalming, Lamentation for the Dead, etc
CHAPTER
in
Egypt,
.
62 70
IL
— VII.
Exodus, Chapters I
The Fears of Pharaoh and his Severity to the Israelites, Use of the Papyrus and Bitumen in Egypt, The Daughter of Pharaoh finds the Child, Moses, The Israelites directed to borrow of the Egyptians Ornaments, etc.,
79
Moses's Rod,
88
.... ... .
Writing,
much
.....
practised in Egypt,
Preparation of Stone for Inscriptions,
The Bastinado, The Shoterim of
86 87 83
89 91
02 the Israelites, the
same
as the
modern Sheikh 92
el-Beled,
The Duties of the Shoterim, The Arrogance of the Pharaohs,
CHAPTER
93
.94 III.
The Signs and Wonders in Egypt.
The Connection
of the Supernatural with the Natural in the
Plagues of Egypt,
96
Moses's Rod changed to a Serpent,
The The The The The The
First
Plague— the Water
100
of Egypt changed to Blood,
—
.
106
Second Plague the Frogs, Third Plague— the c 35 Gnats,
114
Fourth Plague— the
116
115
,
Fifth
Sixth
Flies,
Plague— the Destruction of the Animals Plague— the Boils,
in
Egypt,
119 119
CONTENTS. The The The The
XI
Seventh Plague— the Tempest, Eighth Plague— the Locusts, Ninth Plague— the Darkness, Tenth Plague— the Death of the Pirst-born of the Egyptians,
CHAPTER Exodus^ Chapters
121
124 125
128
IV.
XIV
The
and XV. 132
Military Force of the Egyptians, Musical Instruments among the Egyptians, .
CHAPTER The Materials and Arts employed in
136
V. the Construction
of the
Tabernacle and Priests' Garments. Cultivation of the Arts
The Art The Art Skill in
among
the Egyptians
and
of Cuttihg-and Setting precious Stones, of Purifying and
Working Metals,
140
Israelites,
141
... .
.
143 145
Carving Wood,
....
Use of Leather, Spinning, Weaving, and Embroidery, Preparation and Use of Unguents,
CHAPTER Egyptian References in
150
VI.
.... ...
Law among the Egyptians and Israelites, The Stuff and Color of the Priests' Garments, Urim and Thummim, The Cherubim and Sphinxes, The Figure and Significance of the Sphinxes, The Cherubim their Form and Import,
—
Leviticus, chap. xvi. Azazel,
Numbers, chap,
xix.,
of the Books
the Religious Institutions
of Moses.
152 153
158 161
.... ...... .
.
.
......
Laws with Reference to Food, The Institution of the holy Women, The Nazarites,
146 147
.........
162 165 168 184
192
196 202
CONTENTS.
Xll
CHAPTER
VII.
Miscellaneous Passages.
The Genealogical Table in Gen. x., Abraham and Sarah in Egypt Gen.
—
xii.,
....
Genesis 13:10,
Exodus
The
212 214
20: 25,
•
Golden
Festival of the 17: 7,
208
Calf, etc.
Exodus
xxxii.
and Lev. 215
•
.
214
Prohibition of Marriage between near Relatives. Lev. xviii.,
218
Defilement with Animals
219
Lev.
18: 23.
Exod.
22: 18, etc..
10— 12,
Leviticus 24:
220
Numbers 11: 4, The Grass (helbeh), n^l-n, '/ The Fish, The Cucumber,
221
224
.
.
Melons,
220
e^h-t::?!;*,
224
225
.
Onions,
225
The Garlic, Numbers 17:
226
226 227
2,
Deuteronomy
6:
The Diseases
of
9 and
11: 20,
Egypt
severe. Deut. 7: 15. 28: 27, 35,60. Exod.
227
15:26, Cultivation of the
Land
Deuteronomy 17: 16, Kind Treatment of the
in
Egypt and
Palestine. Deut. 11: 10, 11,
Israelites
by Individual Egyptians. Deut. 235
23: 8 (7),
Deuteronomy
229 234
236
23: 12, 13,
Threshing with Oxen. Deut.
25: 4
Deuteronomy Deuteronomy
20seq.
237
28: 56, 5: 15. 4: 20. 6:
7: 8, etc.,
...
237 238
APPENDIX. Manctho and I.
II.
Manetho, The Hycsos of Manetho,
Notes,
the Hycsos.
241
260 280
!
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
NEGATIVE PART. It
is
incumbent on
us,
first,
negative part of our
in the
inquiry, to disprove the pretended " mistakes
and inaccu-
racies" of the author of the Pentateuch, in relation to Egypt.
By
these, as has
lately
been asserted, he has betrayed, that
he lived out of Egypt and long
after the
time of Moses.
Material used for Building in Egypt.
The
author, says von
Boh
1
e n,*
comes under strong
cion of having transferred to the valley of the Nile,
from upper Asia with
hewn
;
as,
suspi-
many things
the Egyptians were accustomed to build
stone, and the great buildings of brick, Ex. 1: 14,
instead of being Egyptian, seem rather to have been bor-
rowed from Babylonia.
We things.
can scarcely trust our own eyes, when we read such Is
it
possible that any one,
who undertakes
ment upon the Pentateuch, and even ventures author of ignorance in relation to Egyptian
to
affairs,
can show
himself grossly uninformed in these same things, and assertions first
whose incorrectness
is
conclusively
good compendium ^
Einleitung zur Genesis, S.
LV.
com-
to accuse its
make
shown by the
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
X
In a case like the one before us, any one would
read
" Building
:
common
brick was very
with
first
of
all
There we
have recourse to O. Miiller's Archaeologia.*
in
Egypt.
Private edifices were indeed generally of this material."
we examine
If
mid of
brick,
But we are
further,
which
is
Herodotust
probably
still
mentions a pyra-
standing.|
overwhelmed with proofs of the abunwe turn to those who, dur-
literally
dant use of brick in Egypt, when
ing the present century, have explored the Egyptian
ments.
Champo
1 i
1
of crude brick at Sais, and a temple of brick
R
at
Wady
Haifa.
1|
"Ruins of great brick buildings are found Walls of astonishing height and thickof Egypt.
o s e 11 i n i^ says
in all parts
monu-
o n§, for example, speaks of a tomb built
:
ness are preserved to the present time,
circumvallation of Sais;
as, for
example, the
whole pyramids, as those of
also
Dashoor, and a great number of the ruins of monuments, both great and small." brick,
baked
Egypt, both
gardens and
W
il
in the sun, for public
k inson** says: "
was universal
in
The
and private buildings.
granaries,
sacred
use of crude
upper and lower Enclosures of
encompassing the and towns, dwelling-
circuits
courts of temples, walls of fortifications
houses and tombs, in short, all but the temples themselves, were of crude brick." The same author shows that building with brick was practised even in very early times, since the bricks themselves, both in
Memphis, Egypt
often
§ II
1i
**
Vol.
the neighborhood of
who
ruled
in that early age.
* § 296. X
Thebes and
bear the names of the monarchs
t
See liahr upon the passage.
2. 136.
Mannert Geog.
10. 1.
S. 444, 67.
In den Briefen aus Aeg. S. 14 der. Deutsch. Uebers. S. 83.
monumenti dell' Egitto e della Nubia, II. 2. p. 249. Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians. London,
I
II.
p.
Jt(i.
1S42.
ANIMALS OF THE PENTATEUCH.
The Animals of Egypt and
The
author, remarks
the Pentateuch.
Bohlen
v.
3
further in the passage
referred to, supposes the existence of camels and
The
Egypt. sons,*
is
of his
own
receive
follows; "
as
in
ascribes to
allegation, as fully stated by
The
his rea-
narrator mentions the animals
native land, a part of which
Abraham could
47:17.
Gen. 45:23.
Egypt.
asses in
him with
him no horses which were native
to
not
He
Ex. 9:3.
Egypt, as
the relator indeed is aware, Gen. 41: 43. 47: 17; but, on the other hand, he mentions sheep, which are found in the marsh lands of Egypt as seldom as camels (hence these are denied to the country by the ancient writers)
last
asses,
which were specially odious
to the Egyptians
and
on ac-
count of their color." It is said in
entreated
the passage designated
Abraham
"
:
well for her sake
;
And he [Pharaoh] and he had sheep,
and oxen, and he-asses, and men servants, and maid vants,
We
inquire,
why
first,
presents.
Even
cumstance
is
not
ser-
and she-asses, and camels."
v.
the horse
Bohlen
accounted
for,
know how abundant
is
not also
among
the
dares not assert that this cir-
by supposing that the author did
horses were in Egypt.
In the enu-
meration of the animals of the Egyptians, in Gen. 47: 17, horses stand is
first,
Ex.
also in
9: 3.
The
rearing of horses
considered in the Pentateuch as so peculiar to Egypt, that
Deut. 17: 16,
in
itish
it is
represented as possible, that an Israel-
king, merely from love to the horse, might wish to lead
back the people
to Egypt.
If
now
the reason
why
horses
are not mentioned cannot be found on the part of the giver, it
must be found with the
were not yet
in use
receiver.
among
It
appears that horses
the Israelites, either in peace or
war, at the time of Joshua and the Judgest. * S. 163, t
See
J.
They were
upon Gen. 12: 16. D. Michaelis, Mosaic Laws. Eng. Trans. Vol.
II. p.
434
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
4
commonly used
tirst
in
But
the time of the kings.
the
if
horse was not yet used by the Israelites, at the time of Joshua
and the Judges, much
less
was
it
surely in the age of the
Pentateuch, when the main object, which the keeping of horses subserved in Egypt, did not exist.*
why
the reason
If
now
this
is
the horse does not appear in the enumeration
of the presents,
it is
entirely in favor of the true historical
character and Mosaic origin of the narration.
If
it
owed
its
origin to the poetic tradition of the time of the kings, horses
would certainly have been mentioned, since we cannot suppose that the time of the introduction of them was accurately
known, and
still
less that the tiction
was so carefully managed
sake of maintaining historical consistency.
for the
need not stop with merely the present passage. tateuch
But we The Pen-
other places continually implies that in the ancient
in
times with which
it is
concerned, there were no horses among " Moses," says i-
M
the patriarchs and their descendants. ch a e
1
i
" repeatedly describes to us the riches of the Pa-
s,
triarchs, as consisting of their
herds,
among which, while we
oxen, sheep, goats, camels and asses are enumerated,
The tabernacle was drawn by oxen in the desert. Num. 7: 3. That a great number of horses could not be conveniently kept in Egypt, These facts, according to mois implied in Deut. 17: IG.
never once find horses mentioned."!
dern views respecting the Pentateuch, are entirely inexplica-
They compel
ble.
us at least to the assumption, that the
composition of the narration precedes the time of the com-
mencement of
the
kingdom, while
at
the
same time
the
attempts to refer the substance of the history in the books *
monuments of Egypt. Lonmonuments we learn that horses were
Taylor's Illust. of the Bible from the
don,
Ifi'iS.
p. 5.
"From
the
used exclusively [more accurately, preeminently] in war, especially for
drawing
chariots, in
which the most distinguished Egyptian war-
liors rode to battle." t
Mich. Mos. Laws. Eng. Trans. Vol. IL
20: 14.
5i4:
35. 26: 14. 30: 41. 32: 6, 8, 15, 16,
p. 436.
Compare Gen.
ANIMALS OF EGYPT AND THE PENTATEUCH.
5
of Joshua and Judges to later times, have also a formidable obstacle in the apparently trivial circumstance, that in them the horse
mind
is
Let
not represented as in use.
here, that
vi'e
nowhere
find
be borne in
it
a historical notice of the
time of the introduction of horses, that they were in bability introduced gradually,
probably
know
that
and that the
which a scholar of the
many
laborious comparison of
all
pro-
Israelites did not
by a
last century,
made
scattered passages, has
entirely certain. It
has occurred to no one before
that there
were
asses in
Egypt.
v.
Bohlen
speak of the hatred of the Egyptians to that
it
How,
existed there.*
been sacrificed to Typhon.
also,
this animal,
could they otherwise have
clean in Egypt, yet they were kept.f
rich trappings, individual
is
for
—
riding
who
imply
Swine too were considered un~
He
—we
find
and she-asses ap-
The
pear in great numbers on the monuments.
commonly used
to deny,
All of the authors
former were them represented with
the latter as beasts of burden. I
A
single
represented on the monuments, as having 760
of them, which
makes
it
evident that they were very nu-
merous.§
The assertion that sheej) were not found in Egypt, every modern manual of Geography confutes. Ukert]! says, "Sheep are found in great numbers in Egypt. Their wool is
an important article of trade, and their flesh
common which comes upon
often mention the sheep of Egypt. t
is
the most
Ancient authors
the table."^
According
to
H e r o d o-
u s,** rams were considered sacred by the Thebans, and *
Co-npare the passage in Schmidt, de sacerd. et
sacrif.
t
Herod.
Taylor, pp.
§ II
2. 47, 48.
Wilkinson, Vol.
Schmidt,
p. 269.
t
p. 283. 6, 7.
III. p. 34.
Nordhalfte von Afrika, S. 169.
H Compare, on rearing sheep in Egypt, Girard t.
Aeg.
17. p. 129 seq. ** 2. 41 and 2. 42.
1*
in the Description,
t
:
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
6
sheep wer^ sacrificed by the inhabitants of the Mendesian
nome
Plutarch
in the Delta.
and according to
flesh of sheep,
duced
their
young twice
says, the Lycopolites ate the
D
i
odor u
a year and
in
s*, the
sheep pro-
were twice shorn.
Sheep appear on the monuments often and in great numbers. Large herds of them were kept especially in the neighborhood of Memphis. Sometimes the flocks consisted of more than
two thousand.
That the camel
existed in ancient
Egypt
ble from the analogy of the present time.l
is
indeed probaIt is
acknow-
Jedged that they have not yet been found delineated on the
monuments,^ except those scattered traces which Minutothinks that he discovered on the obelisks of Luxor. But
1 i
II
this
circumstance,
at
most, only proves that camels were not
very abundant in Egypt, and even that not with entire cer-
The Pentateuch
tainty.
itself also
intimates the
same
thing,
since in the passage under consideration, camels are mentioned
last,
and in chap. 45: 23, not
at all.
A
multitude of
objects which can be demonstrated to have existed *
1.
t
See Wilk. Vol.
ing to
m
among
36 and 87.
whom
II. p.
the treading
368.
down
Champollion, Briefe, S. 51, accordof the ground by rams
is
represented
the grottoes of Beni Hassan, 53.
Girard in the Description, t. 17. p. 128, says X Ukert, S. 160. " The camels which are used in SaKd for the transportation of all kinds of freight, unless
sent by water upon the Nile or upon the and strength to those in Lower Egypt. The raising of these animals is one of the chief employments of the Arabs who dwell upon the borders of the valley of Egypt. They furnish the markets of different provinces with them. The camels which are used for the transportation of th« harvest do not always belong to the husbandman. He hires them as he needs them. During the remainder of the year, he makes use of the ass. There is no land-owner who does not possess several asses," etc. According to t. 15, p. 215 of tlie Descr. the camels of the Delta are less valued than those of the provinces which border upon the desert. it is
canals, are inferior in size
§
Wilk.
I.
p.
351.
II
Reise, S. 203.
USE OP ANIMAL FOOD. the ancient Egyptians
the
are wanting in their paintings.
numerous hunting scenes,
not seen, although
which
common
7 In
example, the wild boar
a native of Egypt.
is
it
for
in the deserts of
The
is
wild ass,
Thebaid,
is also not met Egypt had in so great abundance, do not appear, while "geese are repeatedly is
Even
with.*
fowls and pigeons, which
Of
introduced."?
other objects which, although they cer-
tainly existed, are not found
upon the monuments, the same
author speaks, on page 254, Vol. Ill, with which compare too what
is
said
on page 344 of the same Vol. concerning
the great deficiency of the
monuments.
Use of Animal
"The
author," says
Gen. 43: 16,
in
v.
Food
in
Egypt.
Bohlen,|
"represents Joseph,
most manifest opposition to the sacredness
In his commentary]! it is of beasts to prepare flesh for food." " The Egyptians partake, at most, of consecrated flesh-
said
:
offerings,
whom
and the higher castes, especially the
priests with
Joseph was connected by marriage, abstain entirely
from animal food." to foreign shepherds
Further
:§
"The
hatred of this people
founded on the inviolableness of ani-
is
mals, especially of neat cattle, goats and sheep (the author forgets
he has denied the existence of these animals
in
Egypt), which were killed by the shepherds, but accounted sacred by the Egyptians."
Our astonishment
at
the condition of our great critic's
knowledge of Egypt is here again not a little increased, and the credulity, with which so many use such an author's work on India as good authority, becomes, after the successive developments of his ignorance, unaccountable to us. No one before
v.
Boh
1
e n
has ever thought of asserting that the
Egyptians abstain from *
Wilk.
X
S.
II
LV.
S. 399.
III. p. 21.
all
The
animal food. t
Wilk.
§
S. 397,
contrary
p. 35.
upon Gen.
43: 16.
is
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
8 found in
works of acknowledged authority,
all
example, says
for
**
:
Oxen
commonly used
are
AndBeck:t "The
ferings."
for food
and
of-
Egyptians abstain from the
of several animals, some of them sacred, as the cow,
flesh
and some of them otherwise,
Herodotus According
How
as from swine's flesh."
can any one doubt that the Egyptians ate
also
when
flesh,
alone furnishes abundant proof of the fact?
cows
to 2. 18,
were sacred among
only, not oxen,
the Egyptians; in 2. 168, the quantity of the flesh of oxen
received daily, by each Egyptian warrior,
cording to
habitants of Elephantine 2. 37,
day
where
at
from animal food.
is
Egyptian priests receive each
Even P o r p h
large portion of flesh. |
a
Ac^
mentioned.
but the most important passage
;
said that the
it is
merely says, that
is
even crocodile's flesh was eaten by the in-
2. 69,
y
r
y§ himself
certain times the Egyptian priests abstain
In this state of things
we
scarcely need
upon the monuments,
to take the trouble to mention, that
kitchen scenes and the delineation of
feasts,
in
animal food ap-
pears in abundance.il
The Winds of Egypt.
"The
author,"
we read
further in
v.
Bohlen,^] "misphenomena of
takes so materially with regard to the natural
the country, that he transfers there the scorching east
of Palestine," Gen. 41: 6,
Red Sea
as
produced by
this
same wind.
tary** on the passage above referred there
is
a cool and refreshing east
In den Ideen, Aegypten, S. 170.
t
In d.T Weltgeschichtp, 1,1. S. 7G3.
Kal
y.(}tojv
(ivto}V nal x?j%'tojv
In his
to, it
is
commen-
said.
When
wind along the Arabian
"
X
wind
and represents the ebb in the
-rrXi'^xf-ug
ti
txdotiu yiverm ttoXXw
7/ui^tg f-xnoTT/e. §
In Schmidt,
V S. LVI.
J).
62.
II
Wilk. Vol.
** S. 381.
II.
p.
3G8.
^
WINDS OF EGYPT.
9
Gulf in Egypt, it is cut off from the Nile by the eastern mountain range, the Mokattam, and cannot even press in,
much
less
error
lar
On
then scorch the ears of corn.*
the south which
it is
found
is
in
is
the contrary,
A
the hot wind in Egypt.t
simi-
Ex. 1^. 13, where the locusts should
be represented as coming with the south wind out of Nubia.
We ears,
will first examine Gen. 41: 6,1 where the seven thin and " blasted with the east wind," are mentioned.
The
quotation from
be proved, that there
Abdo is
no
1
1
a
east
t i
p
by which
h,
wind
in
That author himself shows§
clusive.
tend to be understood as speaking of
"For
Egyptians chose
this
for
said to
not con-
is
that he does not in-
all
of Egypt, and par-
which we are here concerned,
ticularly not of the part with
the Delta:
it is
Egypt,
reason
without doubt the
ancient
Memphis
the residence of their kings,
and the places which like Memphis are most remote from the eastern mountains."
seldom a wind directly from But there is oftentimes a southeast wind, which is precisely the one to produce the effects which are here ascribed to the east wind and besides, it blows commonly at the time in which these things are understood to have taken place, before the corn harvest, which in It is
conceded, that there
the east or west in Egypt.
is
||
;
Egypt
is
in
March and
Ukert**
April.
thus sums up the accounts of
with regard to the east wind
:
modern
travellers
" In the spring the south wind
oftentimes springs up towards the south-east, increasing to a
whirlwind, etc.
The
heat then seems insupportable, although
the thermometer does not always rise very high.
wind
is
called Merisi, the south-east, Asiab or
The
south
Chamsin.
As
long as the south-east wind continues, doors and windows *
Abdollatiph, p. 16.
I
Compare verses
De
Hasselquist, 254.
23, 27 of the
f
Abdollatiph, p. 19.
same chap.
Sacy.
§
P. 5.
TI
Nordmeier calend. Aeg. oecon.
||
p. 29.
RUppell
in
Ukert, S. 113.
** S, 111,
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
10
are closed, but the fine dust penetrates everywhere
every-
;
warp and crack. The thermometer rises suddenly from 16 20 degrees up to 30, 36, and even 38 degrees of Reaumer. This wind works deThe grass withers so that it enstruction upon everything. tirely perishes, if this wind blows long." V o n e y* says " The south and south-east wind produce thing dries up
;
wooden
vessels
—
:
1
no dew, since they come from the African and Arabian
But the north and west winds bring the evapora-
deserts.
Mediterranean
tions of the east, the
become sometimes
they
to
Egypt.
In
March
due south and the south-west winds
the south-
Then
prevail.
westerly and sometimes northerly
and easterly."
That D'^'lj?,
wind
this south-east
which commonly
here designated by the word,
is
signifies, east
wind,
is
not surprising,
Hebrews had terms only for the four principal winds, and besides, if a more accurate designation had been
since the
possible,
it
would
still
have been entirely unsuitable here
But we can even quote
relating a dream.
a
traveller
in
who
does not scruple to designate the south-east as merely the east. anslebt says: " From Easter to Pentecost is the
W
most stormy part of the year;
So much upon Gen. with Ex.
xvi, since
for the
Red
during this time, from the
wind commonly blows,
Sea, from the east."
We
41: 6.
do not trouble ourselves
the assertion, that the east wind
is
not
the appropriate one, depends upon the arbitrary supposition, that the passage of the
ebb
There
tide.
is
Red Sea
took place
time of the
at the
now remaining
therefore
to
us only
Ex. 10: 13.
V.
Boh
1
en
is
not the
first
who
has thought the mention-
ing of the east wind here a suspicious circumstance. ch a
r tj,
as long ago as his time,
this place signify the south
D"*"!)^
B o-
must
in
wind, since the east wind could
*
Voyage En Syrio
t
In Paulus Rciscn Th. III. p. 18.
et in
supposed that
Egyple,
t. 1.
pp. 54, 55. X
Hicroz.
3.
p. 287.
;
H
WINDS OF EGYPT.
bring locusts hither only out of Arabia, while the south wind would bring them from Ethiopia, which produces them in far Eichhorn* says: "Since the locusts, greater numbers.
from blind
always move from south to north, without
instinct,
ever turning to the east or west, their swarms never
come
out of Arabia to Egypt, but always from Ethiopia." It is certain,
neither used
without argument, that the author has here
Q'^'ij^
with the signification of south wind, nor
named
inadvertently
the east, where the south should be
but that, on the contrary, with clear knowledge of the natural relations
of Egypt, he meant to say, that the locusts
"And
This
Arabian Gulf.
hither from the east, from the
is
came clear
Lord turned a mighty, strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into The west wind, which is expressly reprethe Red Sea." from verse 19:
the
sented as the opposite of
back It
a"'1p^, carries
the locusts directly
whence they came.
to the region
cannot, therefore, be asserted that the author betrays
which belongs
himself, and incautiously transfers a condition
But
to Palestine to Egypt.
possibly
come
it is
Egypt from the
to
yet asked, east,
Can
the locusts
from beyond the Ara-
bian Gulf?
The argument which Eichhorn
urges against
the locusts always travel from south to north,
C r e d n e r,t who stantiates the
in his
east
this, that
not tenable.
commentary on Joel decidedly sub-
correctness of the statement in our passage,
has shown that they
no objection
is
come with
every wind.
to this opinion, that the
must pass the Arabian Gulf.
that the flight of the locusts
is
For
It
also
can be
swarm coming from
Credne
rj:
successfully made, not merely
over smaller channels, as the Straits of Gibraltar, the
Sea,§
etc.,
the
has shown,
Red
but over larger bodies of water, as the Mediterra-
*
De Aeg. anno
§
Niebuhr remarks
mirabili, p. 26. that, the
over the Arabian Gulf in
its
t
S. 286.
+
wind drives the swarms of
broadest part. Beschr. S. 169.
S. 288.
the locusts
b
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
12
nean Sea, this fails
in case they are favored
As soon
by the wind.
as
them, changing to a storm, or when a calm suc-
ceeds, the whole numberless sea, just as
swarm
precipitated into the
is
here occurred after the locusts had accom-
it
work of the Lord upon the Egyptians. come from the east not less than from the south, and that the sea is no hindrance to plished the If
it
is
true, that the locusts
them, and
if
is
it
principal places, tain that they
A
Nubia.
further settled that Arabia
come from
is
it
also cer-
there to Egypt not less than from
single case of this kind, a plague of locusts of
peculiar severity, which is
one of the
is
where the locusts are found,
came from
upon Egypt,
the east
described by a Syrian writer, the continuator of
he
r
aeu
s :*
came from
"In
B
a r-
1774 (1463, A. D.) many locustsThey advanced even to Egypt, de-
the year
the east.
stroyed the crops," etc.
The Cultivation of the Vine
in
Egypt.
Ignorance of the condition of Egypt
is
also said to appear
in the
dream of the chief butler of Pharaoh. t
to this, V.
Bohlenf
remarks:
"An
In reference
important specification
of time for the late origin of the narrative,
is
contained here
dream of the butler, in which the existence of the vine Egypt is implied. For, after Psamaticus, consequently
in the in
just
about the time of Josiah, had
its
cultivation
commenced,
in a small degree,
which
time of the ripening of the grape
at the
find entrance only at for
a
first
is
overflowed,
The Egyptians
points.
been
low country,
used
Herodotus land. Among the
drink a kind of beer, in speaking of which,
explicitly adds that
no vines grow
orthodox Egyptians ^ In t
some few
and could, in
dem neuen
Gen.
it
is
in
the
considered as the
Repert. von Paulus, Th.
40: 10, scq.
I.
S. 67.
}
S. 373.
blood of Ty-
CULTIVATION OF THE VINE.
They
phon.
did not drink
it,
says Plutarch, before the time
of Psamaticus, and they also did not offer
T u c h*
shares with
Boh
v.
13
I
it
in sacrifice."
unbounded regard
e n
every disconnected saying of Plutarch, which,
view the whole character of
He
poor foundation. tioned, has
this writer,
to the
we take
for
into
appears to have very author before men-
also, as well as the
no regard
if
information which the
ments have furnished, since the beginning of
monu-
this century,
upon the question concerning the cultivation of the vine in He does not even seem to have noticed that which Egypt. Heeren has adduced from the Description of the French scholars.! sis,
In vindication of the author of the book of Gene-
he assumes that there
is
no mention made of wine
in the
passage, but of drinking the newly expressed, unfermented,
The
unintoxicating juice of the grape.
procedure described
supposes an evasion, consequently the con-
in the chapter
tinued existence of the prohibition of wine, and an observthis prohibition and it is an escape from a difficulty which besides him, Rosen mueller has also borrowed c h a e i s,| for whom it was exceedingly confrom J. D.
ance of
;
M
1
i
venient, but yet culty.
to
It rests
what passes
it is
nothing more than an escape from
upon the in
fact that
dreaming, and
count that the words,
'^
I
diffi-
one does not pay attention it
does not take into ac-
took the grapes and pressed them
into Pharaoh's cup," if they are separated from their connection with the dream,
the royal sides, the at court,
drink,
show
a procedure in the preparation of
which has nowhere
else
any analogy.
Be-
employment of cup-bearer, as a distinguished office could scarcely exist, where the drink and its pre-
paration are so extraordinarily simple
—
the latter such as is
elsewhere practised only by children.
Still
further, if the
passage in Plutarch be allowed to have any force,
dem Comm.
*
In
X
Mos. Laws, Vol.
zur Genesis, S. 513.
2
III. p. 120.
t
we cannot
Ideen, Aegypt. S. 362.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
14
this explanation free ourselves
even by
For,
from difRculty.
according to Plutarch, wine was considered by the Egyptians as the blood of Typhon, inasmuch as it was the product of the vine, and not in consequence of
its
having previously
undergone a fermentation. the accounts of ancient authors permit us not to
Even
doubt, that from the most ancient times, the vine was cul-
Herodotus
tivated in Egypt.
among
which are placed
the things
lock offered to
Isis,
many ways
in
contributes
to him, dried grapes appear
Thus, according
to this proof.
in the
body of the bul-
The
together with bread, honey, etc.*
grapes can only have reference to the domestic culture of
Also the identification of Osiris with Bacchus in
the vine.
Herodotust
is
an argument
of the cultiva-"
for the origin
Bacchus and wine stood, at least according to the popular idea which is all that is here imD o d o r u s,f in like manportant, in indissoluble union. lion of the vine in Egypt.
i
ner, not only asserts the identity of Osiris and Bacchus, but also expressly attributes to Osiris the discovery of the art of
" But
cultivating the vine.§
it is
said that he
the vine near Nysa, and after having
management of
its
and taught other
fruit,
men
first
made
discovered
first
acquired
use of wine himself,
the planting of the vine-stock, the
gathering of the grapes, the drinking of wine, and
But the authority of
servation." sufficient
to
tion of the vine Plinthinus.||
longer *
much
"Quae
was
II
2.
itself
Further, acthe
cultiva-
discovered in the Egyptian city
But these passages of ancient authors have no we have upon the monu-
pertinent," remarks Creuzer,
this
Comm.
1. p.
115,
"ad
fru-
cultas," etc.
42 and 144.
Compare
II. p.
Athenaeus,
pre-
its
of
is
interest for us, since
menta invenla vitesque t
first
in
Diodorus
Plutarch.
outweigh that of
Hellanicus
cording to
the
in
skill
t
In Book
I.
chap. 11.
and other passages quoted
119 seq. 1.432,72.
in
§
1.
Jablonski,
15.
Opusc
•
CULTIVATION OF THE VINE. ments a testimony
Egypt
more
far
for the origin
sure,
and
of the culture of the vine in
How
sufficient in itself.
Herodotus*
assertion of
15
little
agrees with these was
that re-
first
marked in the Description.! Since then, the proofs from the monuments for the cultivation of the vine have very much
may now,
multiplied, and the fact
Ch a mpoll ion's and
W
i 1
k
n
i
s
since the appearance of
Works
Letters and the
o n, be considered as
of
Rosell in
i
According
fully settled.
Champollion there are found in the grottoes of Beni Hassan, " representations of the culture of the vine, the vin-
to
tage, the bearing
two kinds of
away and the stripping off of the grapes, moved merely by the strength
presses, the one
of the arms, the other by mechanical power, the putting up of the wine in bottles or cellar, the
jars, the transportation
into the
Rose
preparation of boiled wine,"| etc.
1 1
i
n i§
has a separate section on grape gathering and the art of
making wine. "Numerous," says he, ''are the representations in the tombs, which relate to the cultivation of the vine, and these are found, not merely in the tombs of
and some
the time of the 18th
but also in those which belong " The described to the time of the most ancient dynasties." pictures,"!!
later dynasties,
it is
said,
" show more decidedly than any ancient
written testimony, that in Egypt, even in the most ancient times, the vine
was cultivated and wine made."
In the in-
scriptions of the time of the Pharaohs, at least seven different
kinds of wine are represented,
among which
the wine of
is
* 2. 77. t
T.
6.
p. 124. ed.
Fancret.
It is there said
:
"
Among the nume-
Tous details given by Herodotus concerning the diet of the Egyptians, this is
Our
found: As they have not the vine, they drink beer
(2.
77)
paintings prove, conclusively, that the Egyptians cultivated the
vine,
and
also
made wine.
Many
critics
have previously remarked,
that this observation of Herodotus wants accuracy." ±
S. 51.
§
Vol.
n.
1. p.
365 et seq.
||
Page 373.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OP MOSES.
16
Lower Egypt and the wine of Upper Egypt.* Wilkinsonf gives the engraving and description of an Egyptian vineyard, and the different kinds of labor bestowed on
it.
a paintingi from Thebes, boys are seen frightening
the birds from the grape clusters.
In one from Beni Hassan,
the kids appear which are allowed to browse
The
after the vintage.
by
Rose
1 1
i
n
can be found
i
in
and
substance of what
Wilkinson,
T ay
1
In
away
is
upon the vines communicated
with the necessary plates,
o r.§
assertion of Herodotus, that there is in Egypt no must be considered as an entire mistake. The attempt made first by Dupuy|| and L archer,^ finally also by
The
vine,
Bahr, nesses
to rescue his authority, without disparaging the wit-
who
of the cultivation of the vine
attest the existence
Herodotus
Egypt, by saying that
in ancient
speaks only
of a part of Egypt, the cultivated part, has been already set aside as inadmissible
byRosellini.
''Certainly," says
he,**
"Herodotus
there
could the vine be cultivated, and most certainly was
speaks only of
The remainder was The many representations on
cultivated.
offerings,
the to
swamp."tt
monuments of winethe gods, show how
on the assertion of P u
little
reliance
that
before the time of Psamaticus wine
is
Egypt, but only
either desert or
which the kings present to be placed
fertile
1
was neither
*
Page 377.
t
Vol. 11. p. 143 et seq.
{
Page 149.
§
Page 48
II
In the
Mem.
de
H Upon Herod. It
Even Bahr
2.
1'
Acad.
d. Inscr.
p. 333.
says, in
**
t.
a r c h,
offered
et seq.
31. Hist. p. 20.
Page 374.
remarking upon the words,
OTreQO/uivtjV u^TyvTtTov otx^ovot,
t
6l fiev ttsqI Ti}v
beginning of C. 77. B. II: " Est enim Aegyptus ad Nili utramque ripam sita per aliquot dierum in the
itinera fcrtilis frugibusque colendis apta,
quam
rustici incolae habi-
tant; quae sequuntur regiones pastorum potius sunt atque
neque frugum capaces."
See also Heeren, S. 146
ff.
nomadum
CULTIVATION OF THE VINE,
17
This is one of those numerous which the Egyptians attempt to give astonished foreigners an idea of the nobility and piety of their
nor made use of as drink.* fabrications, by
Even
ancestors.
Herodotus
does not think of anything
If wine had been considered as the blood of
at all like this.
Typhon, how could
be explained, that even in his time,
it
the priests received a regular allowance of wine.t
Their
practice would surely have corresponded to their theology,
if
indeed the kings and the people had been led astray by Grecian customs.
When
V.
Bo hi en
the vine could not have
asserts, that
found entrance into Egypt, except
at
some
account of the inundation, we can against
chaud among
who
others,
that
the
Delta
And when
Egypt
Ha
D.
M
i
c h a e
1
i-
in i
s
entirely overflowed, we, in op-
months of the wine-harvest, position to him, refer to
J.
M
August and September, the
in
is
on
points,
says, vines flourish in
the water like water-plants.f alleges,
hw
this refer to
r t
m a n n,§
according to
whom
the grape-gathering takes place in part even in July, and
is
finished in August, while the inundation, as a general thing,
does not begin until the end of August, and never before the
middle of that month.|[ *
According to Wilwho, unable to walk from excess in drinking, are carried home from a feast by servants. For proof, that the prohibition of wine and other intoxicating drinks
Comp. Ros.
kinson,
p.
168,
S. 376.
men
Wilk.
II. p.
164 et seq.
are seen in the sculptures
who were to perform the service of the sanctuary, in Lev. 10, V. 8 seq., was not inappropriate among a people who had come from Egypt, where both wine and other intoxicating drinks to the priests
were much loved, see Wilk. Vol. t
Comp.
+
T.
7,
III. p.
172 seq.
2. 37.
der Correspondenz aus
dem
concerning the cultivation of the vine
Orient, p. 12.
in the Delta,
Compare
ten, S. 187. §
See passage above referred
IT
Page
118.
2*
to.
||
also
Hartmann, Aegyp-
Page 214
— 15.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OP MOSES.
18
We
add here, in conclusion, an explanation from Egyptian
antiquity, of
some
objections, which, although they have not
yet been, easily might be
made
to the credibility of the
Pen-
tateuch.
The Origin of Civilization It
in
Egypt.
has often been confidently affirmed in modern times,
and civilization descended from Ethiopia
that colonization
down
the Nile to Egypt.
From
this
view one can hardly
avoid a certain suspicion of the notices respecting Egypt in
Already, in Abraham's time,
the Pentateuch. seat, not
Lower Egypt, whither
Numbers
in the Delta appears in
13: 23, as
Zoan
or Tanis
one of the oldest
Egypt.
cities in
sibility, as
is
its
inadmisappears,
even when we the account.
for
is
entirely hypothetical,
the present leave the Pentateuch, out of
From
Herodotus, who*
antiquity arises a distinguished witness,
derives the civilization of Ethiopia from
the deserters from the
moderns, J o
and
now more and more acknowledged,
this position
m
army of Psamaticus.
Among
the
dt has most thoroughly confuted this po" Nubia," he remarks, " consists almost entirely of
sition.
barren rocks.
man can
a
r
Such
a land, where the most urgent wants of
only be supplied with the utmost exertion,
the cradle of the fine
French
find the
colonization and civilization could
scarcely, at that time, have been carried.
But
we
of a, but of the flourishing Egyptian kingdom in
travellers
arts.
is
not
Accordingly the majority of
have not embraced the opinion, that the arts
have descended further and further from the mountains of " So soon as I received information of the true Ethiopia." character of the antiquities of Nubia,
when
I in the pictures
* 2. 30.
In the Doscript. of the Scholars who accompanied the French t Expedition into Egypt, t. 9. p. 163 et seq.
THE USE OF IRON.
l^f
and sculptures saw the same objects which are represented on the monuments of Thebes, it was clear to me, that most of the monuments of Nubia are
and by no means served different in the
as
far later
models
for
than those of Thebes,
The
them.
climate
is
two lands, the productions of the vegetable
kingdom are not the same, the most distinguished plants which the Egyptian artists have so often represented, the
—
lotus, the papyrus, the vine, etc., are not
found in this high
The
region, and the reed and the date tree but seldom.
already
arts,
and
cultivated
perfected,
have been
could
brought to these shores, but their inhabitants could not have transplanted the arts, for which their
son*
represents the
country offered no
Lower
natural type, to the shores of the
hypothesis of the
Wilkin-
Nile."
of culture
origin
by modern investigations. which remain in Ethiopia are not
in Ethiopia as entirely exploded
The
specimens of
art
merely inferior in conception to those of Egypt, but bear far stamp of originality. He thinks it probable, though
less the
not demonstrable, that civilization was carried from Thebes to
He
Lower Egypt.
declines, however, the task of defend-
ing this hypothesis with those almost as
upon the
if this
who oppose
him.
It
seems
asserted probability were founded entirely
a misconception, namely,
monuments of Upper Egypt,
upon the circumstance
that
consequence of their
situ-
in
ation, are in a far better state of preservation than those of
Lower Egypt, where even
We
part obliterated. sider that a thing,
the traces of
them are
much too readily which now appears noble are
for the
most
disposed to conin the ruins,
was
originally the most noble and ancient.
The Use of Iron
One
further difficulty
cain was the father of
all
:
in
Egypt.
according to Gen. 4: 22, Tubalforgers of brass and iron.
* Vol.
I. p. 4.
Against
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
20
the working of iron so early, the ancient Egyptians,
might be argued, that among
it
implements
all
common
in
pons, household-furniture, instruments, were
use,
wea-
made of cop-
But, on the other hand, tin. *'The constant employment of bronze arms and implements is not a sufficient argument against their knowledge of iron, since we find the Greeks and Romans made the same things of bronze long after the
per hardened by an alloy of
Wilkinson*
period
when
remarks:
that the art of
use of brass
From
was universally known."
iron
proficiency in metallurgy in Egypt,
it
The
working iron was unknown.
(it
extensive
not to be overlooked that also in our pas-
is
sage brass occupies the
first
place) must be
it is
on account
first
of the greater ease of procuring and working
author! says, that
the great
cannot be supposed,
it.
The same
scarcely supposable, that without tem-
pered iron the hieroglyphics could have been cut deep into
But there
hard granite and basaltic rocks.
argument
for the
do t u s,f who,
is
a yet stronger
use of iron in ancient Egypt from
how
after relating
Hero-
great an expense the sup-
Cheops occasioned, must have been the sum
port of the laborers on the Pyramids of
remarks
:
"
How immense,
therefore,
which was expended on the iron with which they worked," unquestionably implying that the Egyptians, even in this early age,
made
axes, which, if
By
own
use of iron as they did in his
the sculptures in Thebes,
W
i 1
k n i
we may judge from
s
their color,
these remarks, the other passages]
*
Vol. 111. 245.
i
Book
Compare
time.
Upon
o n§ also found battle-
also 246.
|
were of
steel.
of the Pentateuch, t
Vol.
I. p.
60.
2. 124.
Compare, concerning other probable indications § Vol. I. p. 324. of the existence of iron on the sculptures of the early Pharaohs, Vol. and concerning the use of iron generally in 111. p. 247 (241 5,5)
—
;
ancient Egypt, Rosellini, II
Num.
35: 16.
Deut.
II. 2. p. 3: 11.
301 seq.
4: 10.
27: 5.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES. in
21
which iron implements are mentioned, are vindicated same time with those which have been noticed.
at
the
The problem of our we hope, conclusively
negative part
nishes no evidence against the
much
is
is
solved.*
We
have,
proved, that Egyptian antiquity fur-
already gained.
Were
Books of Moses.
By
this,
the Pentateuch really, what
according to the views of modern criticism
it
evidence would necessarily appear against
since the events
narrated, so
The
must
be, such
transpired on Egyptian ground.
negative part, therefore, acquires no inconsiderable po-
sitive
to
many of them,
it,
importance.
inquire
favor of the
It
now
belongs to us, in the positive part,
what evidence Egyptian antiquity furnishes
in
Books of Moses.
* We have reserved the consideration of some objections which might seem appropriate here, for the positive portion of our work, because, in the cases referred to, the positive element predominated
over the negative.
POSITIVE PART CHAPTER
I.
THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH.— Gen. Joseph carried to
According to
chandize, and they
sell
who
in
Egypt with mer-
An argument
Egypt.
for the
commencement of trade by caravans with Egypt
nished by the
fact,
that the king
Amun-m-gori
16th dynasty, erected a station in the
mand
sold by his brothers
is
are going to
him
XXXVH— XL.
sold to Potiphar.
to chap, xxxvii, Joseph
an Arabian caravan
early
Egypt and
Chaps.
Wady
II.,
is fur-
of the
Jasoos, to
com-
the wells which furnish water for those passing through
the desert.*
The same
author shows that slaves were pro-
cured by the Egyptians, not only
war, but also by pur-
in
chase.!
The
master of Joseph, chap. 37: 36,
is
designated as Poti-
phar, the eunuch of Pharaoh, chief of the body-guard rally, the
not be
executioners).
The
meant.
court-officer.
A
term
eunuch in
this
But the transferred
(lite-
in the literal sense can-
place
is
equivalent to
signification
rests
upon
the employments in which real eunuchs engaged,| and thus it
follows from this designation of Potiphar, that there were,
in the opinion of the author,
Bohlen
V.
asserts,
*
Wilkinson, Vol.
t
Herod.
8.
105
TTiariog eivexa rt^g
I.
that pp. 45
eunuchs, even in Egypt.#
it
and
46.
%
Vol.
I.
pp. 403
naQO. xoiai ^aq^aqoioi xifxuoibQoi elot Tcdoyjg, tOyv avoqywjv.
:
Now
cannot be proved, that there
oi
and
4.
evvovxot,
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
24
were eunuchs
Egypt, and that the author
in
justly sus-
is
pected of transferring that, which belonged to the court,
Rose Men
to 1
li
n
i*
But
Hebrew
removed by what says of the existence of eunuchs in Egypt.
Egypt.
suspicion
this
is
are sometimes represented, he remarks, on the Egyptian
monuments with evident marks of chest and stomach, which in this hot climate.
is
fulness, especially of the
unusual among the Egyptians
Their complexion
is
almost a
medium
between the brown and yellow by which men and women These marks are generally distinguished from one another.
The employments of these They are repeatedly
are characteristic of eunuchs.
men
are also in favor of this opinion.
represented as attendants of the
and
finally as servants,
duties of household
who
women, then
as musicians,
are entrusted with the important^
management. It is evident from H e r oEgypt had a guard who in addi-
d ot ust, that the kings of tion to the regular
parate salary. the
income of the
soldier, also received a se-
In the paintings of marches and battles on
monuments, these royal guards are commonly seen
employed
in protecting the person of the king,
tinguished by a peculiar dress and weapons.^ reign of the Ptolemies,
who
in general
to be
and are
dis-
During the
adhered to the usages
of the ancient Egyptians, the office of the
body-guard§ was a very important one.
commander of They possessed
the the
confidence of the king, and were often employed in the most
important business transactions.
||
Finally, the superintend-
ence of executions belonged to the most distinguished of the military cast.1]
Joseph's Exaltation.
AcCT)rding to chap. 39: 4 and 5, Potiphar placed Joseph over his house and over * Vol. 11.3. p. X II
Ros.
II. 3. p.
Comp.
all
his substance,
and the Lord
132 seq.
t
201.
§ aQXiGOJjuttTOfpv^a^.
Roscllini, p. 202.
li
2. 168.
p. 273.
THE OFFICE OF STEWARD
IN EGYPT.
blessed him, for the sake of Joseph, in
the house and in the tion,
man who was
a
which he had
all
Joseph had
field.
in
also, after his exalta-
A
over his house.*
characteristic Egyptian trait!
25
"Among
peculiar and
the objects of
til-
Rosellini, "which are porEgyptian tombs, we often see a steward, who
lage and husbandry," says
trayed in the
makes
takes account and is
a
registry of the harvest before
" In
deposited in the store-house."
Ahmar,
the office of a steward with
a
all its
tomb
Kum
at
apparatus
is
it
el
repre-
two scribes appear with all their preparations for writing, and there are three rows of volumes, the account sented
;
and household books of the steward,"
The same
etc.f
au-
tomb at Beni many others which ex-
thor remarks in reference to a painting in a
Hassan: "In
this scene, as also in
hibit the internal
ments in his
economy of
for writing,
—
man
a house, a
carrying imple-
the pen over his ear, the tablet or paper
hand, and the writing table under his arm,
scription, this
Compare
either fol-
to the in-
the overseer of the slaves or the steward.
is
also
—
According
lows or goes before the servants."^
the
Egyptian steward
representation in
in his
Wilkinson
of
art
employment, " overlooking the tillage
ofthelands."§
Josephs Temptation and the Morals of the Egyptians.
With impudent shamelessness duce Joseph.
How
II
Potiphar's wife seeks to se-
great the corruption of manners with
reference to the marriage relation was
appears from
Herodotu s,^
time before a
woman
among
the Egyptians,
whose account L a r c h e r ha& compared with the one under consideration. The wife of one of the oldest kings was untrue to him. It was a long
* X
II
Gen.
could be found
43: 16, 19. 44: 1.
who was
t
II. 1. p. 329,
II. p. 403, 4.
§
II. p. 136.
Chap, xxxix.
TF
2. 111.
3
faithful to her
\
4»
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
26
And when one
husband.
was,
at last,
found, the king took
From such
her without hesitation for himself
a state of
morals, the Biblical narrative can easily be conceived to be
The
natural.
evidence of the monuments
women.
favorable to the Egyptian
is
also not very
Thus, they are repre-
sented, as addicted to excess in drinking wine, as even be-
coming so much intoxicated
as to be unable to stand or
walk
alone, or " to carry their liquor discreetly."*
Potiphar's wife avails herself of the opportunity
husband and the
men
rest of the
and Joseph had come
in to
when
perform some duty.t
It
has lately
been affirmed, that an error against Egyptian customs
V.
detected.
'*
:
distinguished separately, and
ment,"
here
much
come
as
into the presence
harem ;" and T u c h reThe narrator abandons the representation of a
women,
of the
is
says: " Since eunuchs are supposed
Joseph could not so
to exist,
marks
Bo hi en
her
of the house were gone out,
etc.
less
still
into the
women
Egyptian, in whose house the
common
descends to a
The
however,
error,
guilty of inadvertently
here,
lies
side of the author, but on that of his transferring
live
domestic establishnot on the
critics.
that
They
are
which universally
which the author avoids, and
prevails in the East to Egypt,
thereby exhibits his knowledge of the condition of the Egyp-
According
tians.
lived
under
the
to
far less
monuments, the women
in
Egypt
than in the East, or even in
restraint,
Greece.
The
delineations of Egyptian social intercourse are espe-
cially appropriate here.
T ay
1
o r,§ collecting in few words
the results as they are, without reference to our passage,
says:
"In some entertainments, we
tlemen of
them social
a party in
different
find the ladies
rooms; but
and gen-
in others,
we
find
same apartment, mingling together with all the freedom of modern Europeans. The children were
in
the
*
Compare Wilkinson,
X
See Uie proof in Wilk. Vol.
Vol. II.
p.
167.
II. p.
389.
t
Conip.
§ p. 171.
v. 11.
MANNER OF BEARING BURDENS. allowed the same liberty as the shut up in the harem, as
is
now
women;
27
instead of being
usual in the East, they were
introduced into company, and were permitted to
mother or on the
father's
by the
sit
knee."
The Dream of the Chief Baker of Pharaoh, According
to chap. 40: 16, the chief baker, in his
carries three wicker
commodities on
baskets with
his head.
various
choice
Similar woven baskets,
the circumstance that the three are placed one
dream, baker's
flat
(which
upon another
here implies) and open, for carrying grapes and other are found represented on the
The
monuments.*
ing was carried to a high degree of perfection
Rosellini
Egyptians.
art
fruits,
of bak-
among
the
says, after describing the kitchen
scenes upon the tomb of Remeses IV. at Biban el Moluk: " From all these representations, it is clear that the Egyptians
were accustomed ble, as
we
to prepare
see the very
many
kinds of pastry for the ta-
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,
But the custom o{ carrying on characteristic of Egypt, and
marked, as
and other such
the
it is
head so
is
much
like things. "f
most peculiar and the
more
to be re-
mentioned incidentally, and the author does
it is
not characterize
Herodotusf
it
as
a
custom peculiar
to the Egyptians.
mentions the habit of bearing burdens on the
head by the men, as one by which the Egyptians are distin** Men bear burdens on tinguished from all other people :
their heads, and *
Wilk.
t
Vol. II. 2.
II.
2. 35.
their shoulders."
Examples of
151—2. p.
464.
ent kinds of pastry, X
women on Compare
etc., in
the representation of these differ-
Wilkinson, Vol.
II. p.
385.
t
:
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
28 this
To
custom are frequently found upon the monuments.*
be sure, the monuments also show, what
argument, that
tlie
evident without
is
custom was not universal.
Pharaolis Dream and the Magicians of Egypt. In the account of Pharaoh's dream, chap. 41
we
are
struck with the use of the word
first
Nile-grass,
— an Egyptian word
for
The symbol
exclusively Egyptian.
cow
of the
Upon
In
an Egyptian thing.
the next place, the seven poor and the seven
our attention.
seq.,
1
:
^^^^ {Achoo),
fat
kine attract
very peculiar and
is
the signification of this symbol
we have two important passages, one from P u t a r c h :| **They consider the cow as the image of Isis and the earth," The other is found in CI ethe symbol of them.§ i. e. m e n s :|| " The cow is the symbol of the earth itself and its 1
cultivation,
Now,
and of food."
the symbol of fruitfulness,
it
therefore, since the
cow
is
appears entirely natural, that
the difference of the year in respect to fruitfulness
sented by the different condition of the kine years were denoted by lean kine.
It is
—
was repre-
that unfruitful
scarcely conceivable
that a foreign inventor should have confined himself so closely
The circumstance
Egyptian symbols.
to the peculiar
the kine
come up
has reference to the fact that Egypt owes
* p.
Compare drawings
385,
all
its fertility
and that famine succeeds as soon as
this stream,
where a man
that
out of the Nile, the fat and also the lean,
is
in
Wilkinson, Vol.
II. p.
151
to
it fails.
— 2 and Vol.
III.
carrying bread or cakes to the oven upon a long
board. t
Costaz in the Dcscr.
II. p. X
In
\
liovv
liJlhr
upon
y(i()
Manet vacca
G.
p. 138.
Wilk.
as above.
Rosellini,
llerod. 2. 41. y.al yi^v voftCCovai, upon which Bilhr signum procreatricisque naturae symbolum.
"JaiSoe eixova
Isidis
Strom. B. V. II
t.
453.
p. 671. Potter.
THE MAGICIANS
PRIESTS,
According of Egypt and
Pharaoh
to chap. 41: 8, all
the wise
men
"
calls
all
29
the magicians
may
thereof," that they
inter-
These same magiEx. 7: 11: "Then Pharaoh called
which he
pret his dream, by
IN EGYPT.
cians appear also in
is
troubled.
men and the sorcerers ; and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did in like manner by their enchantments ;" and they
the wise
are also represented in Ex. 8: 3, 14, 15
the
as
wise
men
—
(7, 18, 19.) 9: 11,
nation, the possessors of secret
of the
arts.
Now we whom
to
find
Egyptian antiquity, an order of persons,
in
this is entirely appropriate,
The
to the magicians.
priests
which
here ascribed
is
had a double
office,
the prac-
worship of the gods, and the pursuit of that which in
tical
Egypt was accounted
as
The
wisdom.
first
belonged to the
so-called prophets, the second to the holy scribes, /egoygnfi'
These
(xaxuq.
last
were the learned men of the nation
;
as in
the Pentateuch, they are called wise men, so the classical writers
named them sages*
explanation and aid in
all
common knowledge and
of
These men were
applied to for
things which lay beyond the circle
Thus,
action.
in severe cases
of
sickness, for example, along with the physician a holy scribe
was called, who from a book and astrological signs determined whether recovery was possible.! The interpretation of dreams, and also divination belonged to the order of the holy scribes.j: selves to
In times of pestilence, they applied them-
magic
arts
A
to avert the disease.^
passage in
furnishes a peculiarly interesting parallel to the
Lucianll
accounts of the Pentateuch concerning the practice of magic arts
:
"
There was with us
in the vessel, a
one of the holy scribes, wonderful sorts of
all
*
Compare
von Rosetta, t
Egyptian knowledge.
It
man
of Memphis,
wisdom and
was
Jablonski, Panth. Proll. p. 31 seq. S. 122,
Drumann,
§ S.
in
Drumann,
fF.
S. 129.
130.
3*
skilled in
said of him, that he
t
S- 130.
11
In Jablonski,
p. 95.
Inschrift
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
30
had lived twenty-three years
in
subterranean sanctuaries, and
had been there instructed
that he
—
The Hair and Beard
When
Joseph
Boh
V.
1
lioiv
called before
is
Even
chap. 41: 14.
en, must,
in
magic by
Isis."*
worn in Egypt.
Pharaoh he shaves himself,
the most prejudiced, as for example, in
incidental notice, recognize a
this
Even
purely Egyptian custom.
H erodotu st
mentions
it
among the distinguishing peculiarities of the Egyptians, that they commonly were shaved, but in mourning they allowed
The
the beard to grow.|
"
presentation.
So
sculptures also agree with this re-
particular," says
W
kin
i 1
they on this point, that to have neglected
s
was
it
o n,§ " were a subject of-
reproach and ridicule; and whenever they intended to con-
vey the idea of a
man
of low condition, or a slovenly person,
him with a beard." *' Although forsame author, '* who were brought to
the artists represented
the
eigners," says
Egypt
we
as slaves
||
had beards on
their arrival in the country,
soon as they were employed in the service of
find that as
this civilized people, they
were obliged
to
conform
to the
cleanly habits of their masters; their beards and head were
According
shaved; and they adopted a close cap."
eel
1
i
n
to
Ro-
the priests shaved not the beard only, but also the
ill
head; and others,
accustomed
to
if
they did not shave
with a razor, were
it
wear the hair very short
;
the abundant and
long hair which often covers the head of the tigures on the
monuments was probably *
"Ervybv
rifiiv
false
like our
wigs.
The same
avfinXiojv MeftqiloTjg avyjQ, zojv isqwv yQnfiuaxiojv^
&avfidoiog ti,v oo(fi'av yal Tyv iraiSalav iraaav iiSojg t?}^ u4iyi'nTiov tXtyaro Se T(tia xal tXnooiv fxaytvtLV naiStvufAtvog t
Chap.
§
Vol. HI. p. 357.
IT
Vol.
I.
2.
'Sii.
2. p.
fv roig uSvroig viroyaioig wx7/x^V«t,
I'tt]
tno T^g'IaiSogt
486 seq.
II
See Balir upon III. p. a58.
this passage, S. 5.58.
NECKLACES, ETC.
BYSSUS
31
author remarks, that this was considered, by the neighboring
and especially by the Asiatics, as a peculiar and
nations,
distinguishing characteristic of the Egyptians.*
Dress and Ornaments of the Egyptians,
According
to
chap. 41: 42, Pharaoh put upon Joseph at
the time of his advancement, his signet-ring, and arrayed
him in garments of byssus, and put the gold chain (the artishows that it was done in reference to a custom common
cle
such
in is
a case)
delay upon rily to
it.
As
about his neck.
not peculiar to Egypt, but
the gift of the seal-ring
common
in the East,
we do not
But the garments of byssus belong necessa-
Garments of
the naturalizing of Joseph.
the vegetable kingdom, linen
cloth from
and cotton, were considered
by the Egyptians as pure and holy, and were in high es-
among them
timation
ing to
Herodotus,
;
the priests wore these only, accord-
2. 37,
where the term linen
And
tion to woollen includes also cotton. t
were the most valued garments. woollen garments which
rest of the Egyptians, these
Herodotus
in opposi-
even among the
"They wear
says:
are ever newly washed, "| and the woollen garments
they
commonly wore
for outer
garments were thrown
the putting on of the necklace, the
Hassan,
many
II
monu-
In the tombs of Beni
ments furnish abundant explanation. in his
off as
In reference to the third
soon as they entered the temple.§
mark of distinction,
which
slaves are represented, each of
whom
has in
hand something which belonors to the dress or orna-
ments of
his master.
The
first
carries
one of the necklaces
with which the neck and breast of persons of high rank are generally adv)rned. * Vol. II. 2. p t
§ II
Heiod.
2. 37.
Herod
2. 81,
Rosellini,
U.
Over
395.
and Heeren 2. p. 4C4.
it
stands t
:
Necklace of Gold. Heeren,
in the passage
p. 133.
above referred
to.
At
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
32
Beni Hassan there is also a similar representation in another tomb of a noble Egyptian.* By the form of the necklace,
remarked,! the distinction of individuals
it is
mon
regard to
in
Men
rank and dignity was probably denoted.
of the com-
order seldom wear such ornaments, while the pictures
of the kings and the great are always adorned with them.f
The remark
of
v.
Boh en
upon Gen. 41:42:
1
however scarcely necessary
to
"It
is
mention that these objects of
luxury, especially polished stones, belong to a later time,"
has interest only as
it
shows how
far the investigations
Rationalists, in reference to the Pentateuch,
It is
now
far too late for
of the
short of the
respecting Egyptian
present advanced state of knowledge antiquity.
fall
such remarks.
The Marriage of Joseph According
to chap. 41: 45,
Pharaoh gives
nath, the daughter of Potiphera the priest of
to Joseph,
On,
Ase-
in marriage.
The name Potiphera, Petephra, he who belongs to the sun, is very common on the Egyptian monuments. § This name is
especially appropriate
the priest of
for
Since Pharaoh evidently intended by
power bestowed on Joseph upon this
account
first,
:
that the
very important position, high-priest of
points
are
On was
will
a firm basis,
it
is
implied in
and secondly, that among them the the most distinguished.
The
was:
"The
Both these
following words of
show how conspicuous the
high-priests in general
or Heliopolis.
Egyptian high-priests occupied a
confirmed by history.
Heerenll
On
this act to establish the
station
of the
priesthood belonging to
each temple were again organized among themselves with the *
Ros.
II. 2. p.
412.
t
Ros.
II. 2.
420.
See concerning the necklaces of the Egyptians, which in like manner also pertained to the costume of the gods, Wilkinson, Vol. II. p. 215 and Vol. III. p. 375—6 with the plate, 401) M. +
§
Rosellini,
I.
l.p. 117.
||
S. 128.
33
PRIESTS OF ON.
They had
greatest exactness.
was
hereditary.
also
It
whose
a high-priest,
office
scarcely necessary to mention,
is
that the stations of the high-priests in the principal cities in
Egypt were
first
They were
and highest.
manner he-
a
in
stood by the side of the kings, and en-
who
reditary princes,
joyed almost the same prerogatives.
Their Egyptian
Piromis, was, according to the explanation of
He
odo
r
title, t
u
s,*
equivalent to the noble and good {xaXog vMya^og) ; which however does not refer perhaps to moral character, but to nobility
of descent.
When
The
persons of the State."
tus,
passage of
B a h rt
among
all
the Egyptians,) shows, that
the Egyptian colleges of priests, the one at
took the precedence
;
On
at
kinson
says:
is
On
r
first
o d o-
The
On was
great antiquity of religious
also attested by the
"During
among
or Heliopolis
consequently the high-priest of
most distinguished.
worship
He
on
priests of Heliopolis are described as
(where the
2. 3,
the most learned
the
in the temples.
Their statues were placed
they are intj;oduced into history, they appear as the
Wil(whom he
monuments.
the reign of Osirtasen
makes contemporary with Moses), the temple of Heliopolis was either founded or received additions, and one of the obelisks bearing his
name
which they had
attests the skill to
attained in the difficult art of sculpturing granite."|
V.
Boh
1
e n has attempted to
this account,
which accords
the state of affairs in Egypt. priests," says he, " with
make
in so
"
out a contradiction in
remarkable a manner with
An
alliance of intolerant
a foreign shepherd
posed to the character of the Egyptians."§
is
entirely op-
But the connec-
* 2. 143. t Videntur fuisse tria omnino potiora Aeg. sacerdotum collegia Memphiticum, Thebaicum et Heliopolitanum, in quibus Heliopolitae primum locum obtinuerunt, si quidem vera retulit Strabo, 1. 17. p. 1158 D., solis templum una cum aedibus sacerdotum accurate describens
et pluribus de illorum doctrina et disciplina disserens. t
Vol.
I. p.
44.
§
p. 388.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
34
command
tion took place in obedience to the
On
and the high-priest of
since according to the result of
Pharaohs themselves
modern
investigations, the
times were invested with the high-
dignity,* and
est sacerdotal
external
at all
of the king,
the less dared to disobey the king,
consequently possessed not an
authority merely, over the priesthood.
saction assumes an entirely different aspect sider that Joseph did not
The
tran-
when we con-
by any means marry the daughter
of the high-priest while a foreign shepherd, but after he had
been
own
an Egyptian name,
Chap. 43: 32 shows,
etc.
had formally withdrawn from the community of
that Joseph his
by the king, had assumed the Egyptian
fully naturalized
dress, taken
people, and connected himself with the Egyptians.
In the circumstance that
this is
represented as necessary, as
Pharaoh believed it important to give the position of Joseph by a union with the
well as in the fact that
a firm basis to
daughter of the high-priest of On, we plainly recognize the traces of that Egyptian intolerance, to perceive here,
to have very
and which
much
in
increased.
which
later
To
v.
Bohlen
fails
times certainly appears
this
we
shall
have occa-
sion hereafter to advert.
Joseph
The
collects the
Produce of the Seven Years of Plenty.
labors of Joseph described in
chap. 41: 48, 49, in
building store-houses, are placed vividly before us in the
monuments, which show how common In a tomb at Elethya a man is represented whose business it evidently was to take account of the number of bushels which another man acting under him measures. The inscription is as follows: The
paintings upon the
the store-house was in ancient Egypt.
Then
writer or registrar of bushels, Thutnofrc.
transportation of the grain. it
in
sacks and carry *
it
Leemans,
From
to the store-houses. lettre to
follows the
the measurer others take
Mr. Salvolini,
In the tomb of
p. 14.
FERTILITY OF EGYPT AND PALESTINE.
Amenemhe
Beni Hassan, there
at
store-house, before
whose door
ready winnowed.
The measurer
pour
large heap of grain, a bushel
fills
into the uniform sacks of those
it
corn-magazine.
to the
the painting of a great
is
lies a
store-house and lay
The
carriers
down the sacks This
ready to receive the corn.
35
who
go
carry the grain
to the door of the
before an officer is
al-
order to
in
who stands
the overseer of the store-
Near by stands the bushel with which it is measured At the side of the windows there are characters which indicate the quantity of Compare with the mass which is deposited in the magazine. house.
and the registrar who takes the account.
the clause,* "Until he
this
By
these paintings, light
Ex.
is
left
also
numbering,"
11: **And they [the Israelites] built
1:
in verse 49.
thrown upon the remark
in
Pharaoh
for
treasure-cities, "f
Famine
The
in
Egypt and
the adjoining Countries.
declaration that famine seized at the
Egypt and the adjoining country, appears
same time upon
at first
cious, and indeed with reference to this also,
v.
view suspi-
Boh
1
e n| has
very confidently charged the author with ignorance of the natural condition of Egypt.
The
climate and tillage of Egypt do
not stand in even the most remote connection with Palestine.
In Egypt
fertility
depends, not as in Palestine, on the rains, but
on the overflowing of the Nile. But on a closer examination the suspicion changes into its direct opposite.
entirely
The
account of the author
* Rosellini, t
IL
According
to
p.
is
shown
to
be entirely
in ac-
324 seq,
Champollion, Briefe, S. 228, the wide halls of the
great palace at Thebes, which are surrounded by large colonnades,
all
have the name Manosk^ according to the Egyptian inscription, i.e. the place of the harvest, and hence is derived, the place where corn is
measured.
X
S. 421.
Is this
Manosk probably
the
same
as the
Hebrew,
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
36
cordance with natural phenomena, and the reproach of
''ig-
norance respecting the country of Egypt" comes back upon
him who made the accusation. Had the autlior known Egypt only by hearsay, he would probably have written in the manner that v. B o h e n demands of him. The fruitful1
ness of Egypt depends,
true, upon the inundations of the But these are occasioned, as even Herodotus knew, by the tropical rains which fall upon the Abyssinian mountains.* These rains have the same origin with those it is
Nile.
in Palestine.
'*
the Nile owes
its
It
is
now decided,"
L e P e r e,t
says
" that
increase to the violent rains which proceed
from the clouds that are formed upon the Mediterranean Sea, and carried so far by the winds, which annually at
same time blow from the
nearly the
north.
There
are
no^
wanting also other examples of years of dearth which were
common cr z
i|
i
to
Egypt with the adjoining countries.
Thus
M a-
describes a famine which took place in Egypt, on ac-
count of a deficiency in the increase of the Nile of the Hejra 444, which
at
the
in the
year
same time extended over
Syria and even to Bagdad.
But
Boh
v.
author's
**
I
e n goes so far as even to impute
it
he represents a famine as coming upon this country
The
overflowing of the Nile never
even without
it,
And
etc.
yet there
at all.
to take place alto-
fails
gether, or for several years in succession, and the Delta ful
to the
ignorance of the natural condition of Egypt," that
is
is fruit-
scarcely a land on
the earth in which famine has raged, so often and so terribly as
same Egypt, or
in this
a land that so very
measures which Joseph adopted
fur
much needs
the
the preservation of the
Macrizi could write a whole volume on the faThe swelling of the Nile a few feet above Egypt Partior below what is necessary proves alike destructive.^ people.
mines
in
* Rilter t
§
!
Erdk.
1.
In Quatromrrp,
Le
S. 835.
Mem,
s.
I'
Fere, Dcscr. 18. p. 573.
Eg.
t
Dcscr.
t.
2. p.
t.
313.
7. p.
576.
INSTANCES OF FAMINE IN EGYPT.
37
cular instances of famine which history has handed
down
to
and the accounts of them are worthy of
us, are truly horrible,
notice also, inasmuch as they present the services of Joseph in
behalf of Egypt in their true thus: "In
Abdo
light.
569 (1199)
the year
1
1
a
t
p h* relates
i
the height of the flood was
The consequence was
a ter-
rible
famine accompanied by indescribable enormities.
Pa-
rents
consumed
small almost without example.
common paring
their children,
article of food
was
flesh
in fact a very
they contrived various ways of preit
and heard
spoken of as an
it
Man-catching became a regular business.
indifferent affair.
The
;
They spoke of
it.
human
greater part of the population were swept
In the following year
also, the
away by death.
inundation did not reach the
proper height, and only the low lands were overflowed.
much
Also
of that which was inundated could not be sown for
want of laborers and seed, much was destroyed by worms
which devoured the seed corn
;
seed which
also of the
escaped this destruction, a great part produced only meagre
Compare with
shoots which perished."
M ac
r
i
was not
z at
i
f has given an account of the less severe
all
in chap. 41: 6.
famine
than that of 596.
account the
this
"thin ears and blasted with the east wind,"
in
The
457, which
calif himself
nearly perished with hunger.
Josephj his Brethren
and
the
Egyptians sit
at
an
Entertainment.
According
to chap. 43: 32, at the entertainment to
Joseph invited tians, while
his
brethren, they sat apart from the
The author " Because the Egyp-
Joseph was again separated from both.
shows the reason of this tians
which Egyp-
in the
remark
:
might not eat bread with the Hebrews,
De
*
Page 332
t
In Quatremere,
seq.
t.
Sacy. 2. p.
4
401 seq.
for that is
aa
38
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
Herodotus*
abomination to the Egyptians."
marks, that the Egyptians abstained from
all
also re-
familiar inter-
course with foreigners, since these were unclean to them,
which were
especially because they slew and ate the animals
among the Egyptians. " Therefore (since the Egyphonor much the cow) no Egyptian man or woman will
sacred tians
kiss a
Greek upon the mouth, they
also use
no knife or fork
or kettle of a Greek, and will not even eat any flesh of a clean
beastf
The
has been cut up with a Grecian knife."
if it
circumstance that Joseph eats separately from the other
Egyptians
is
strictly in
of rank, and the
spirit
accordance with the great difference of caste which prevailed
among
the
Egyptians. It
appears from chap. 43: 33, that the brothers of Joseph
sat before
him
at the
table, while
according to patriarchal
practice they were accustomed to recline.|
appears from
It
the sculptures, that the Egyptians also were in the habit of sitting
used
at
table,
one of the guests their
although they had couches.§ In a painting in
sleeping.
for
sits
upon
a stool,
Rosel
which
in
i
1
Sofas were i,|| " each
n
accordance with
custom took the place of the couch."
The Practice of Divining by Cups.
The
steward of Joseph, chap. 44: 5, in order to magnify
the value of the cup which his brothers were said to have stolen, designates
blichus,
in his
it
as that out of
practice of divining by cups.^ *
J a m-
That
this
superstition, as
2.41.
this passage it may be inferred with how much propriety Bohlen has asserted, that the Egyptians abstained from all animal
t
V.
which he divineth.
book on Egyptian mysteries, mentions the
From
food. X
11
See chap. Ros.
18: 4, " rest yourselves."
II. 2. p.
439, T. 79.
§
Wilk.
H 3 Part,
2. p. 201. § 14. p. 68.
A SCENE FROM BENI HASSAN.
39
many others, has continued even to modern times, is shown by a remarkable passage in Nor den's Travels.* When the author with his companions had arrived at Derri, well as
the most remote extremity of Egypt, or rather in Nubia,
where they were able
from a perilous
to deliver themselves
condition only through great presence of mind, they sent one
of their company to a malicious and powerful Arab, to threat-
He
en him.
you
are.
I
are from
There
answered them
**
:
I
know what
sort of people
my cup and found in it that you whom one of our prophets has said
have consulted
a people of
:
come Franks under every kind of pretence to spy land. They will bring hither with them a great mul-
will
out the
titude of their country-men, to conquer the country and to
destroy
all
of the people."
The Arrival of Jacob and
Family
his
in
Egypt, and
their
Settlement in Goshen.
A
remarkable parallel to the description of the
Jacob's family in Egypt, chap, a
tomb
They is
at
Beni Hassan
:
'*
carry their goods with
written over
them
an Egyptian scribe, to a person in
in
who
strangers"
who
them upon
asses.
hieroglyphics.
arrive in Egypt.t
The number 37 The first figure is
presents an account of their arrival
a sitting posture, the
one of the principal
arrival of
furnished by a scene in
xlvi, is
officers
owner of the tomb and
The
of the reigning Pharaoh. |
next, likewise an Egyptian, ushers
them
into
his
presence,
and two of the strangers advance, bringing presents, the wild goat and the gazelle, probably as productions of their country.
Four men with bows and clubs *
Vol. 111. p. 68. Edit. Langles, quoted from Burder in
Alt. u. t
•:
follow leading an
Neu. Morgenl. Th.
Wilkinson, Vol.
Comp.
II. p.
I.
ass,
Rosenm.
S. 212.
296 and
7,
and
on
plate.
the phrase, "Princes of Pharaoh," in chap. 12: 15.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
40
which there are two children boy and four women.
whom
one of
carries
in panniers,
accompanied by a
men,
Last, another ass laden and two a
bow and
club, and the other a lyre,
which he plays with the plectrum. " All the men have beards, contrary to the custom of the Egyptians, although very general in
the East at that period, and represented in their sculp-
Some
tures as a peculiarity of foreign uncivilized nations."
believe that this painting has a direct reference to the arrival
of Jacob with his family in Egypt.
kinson*
pears in the inscription, makes the
On
the contrary,
Wi
1-
remarks, the expression, "captives," which ap-
number of
it
probable that they are of
prisoners so frequently occurring,
who were
taken captive by the Egyptians during their wars in Asia.
But in his more recent work, he considers this circumstance^ " The contemptuous expressions," he as no longer decisive. says, "
common among
the Egyptians in speaking of for-
eigners, might account for the use of this word." it
In
fact,
speaks very decidedly against the idea of their being pri-
soners, that they are armed. t *
Egypt and Thebes,
Whether
this painting has a
p. 26.
who
speaks at length on this representation, in a separate section, Vol. III. 1. p. 48 seq., " Concerning a picture of the t
Rosellini,
tombs
Beni Hassan, representing some foreign slaves which are
of
sent by king Osirtasen siders
it
II. as
a present to a military chieftain," con-
certain, that these individuals are captives, since they are so
But even the inscription, when it is and certain significance, gives no suppoit to this opinion, since the epithet, captives, as Wilkinson supposes, may be adequately accounted for by the pompous style of the Egyptians, and their disdainful arrogance, which would not allow them to speak of foreigners except in connection with victory and captivity. At any rate, the picture is more to be relied on than the inscription, and designated in the inscription.
allowed to hnve
its
just
in this, in addition to the fact that
they are armed, which has already
been mentioned, tlie circumstance, that the persons delineated bring gifts and play on musical instriiments, things which captives are not and cannot be found represented as doing on the Egyptian monuments,
is
decisive.
HATRED OF SHEPHERDS
IN EGYPT.
41
direct reference to the Israelites will of course ever remain
problematical, but
it is
at
any rate very noticeable, as
nishes proof that emigration with
women and
fur-
it
children, into
the Egyptian State, and formal admission, took place even
more
in very ancient times, or
correctly yet, in these times.
Joseph charges his brothers, chap. 46: 34, that they
shall
say to Pharaoh, that they are shepherds, in order that they
may
obtain a residence apart from the Egyptians in the land " For," adds the author, "every shepherd is an
of Goshen.
The monuments
abomination to the Egyptians."
even
now
furnish abundant evidence of this hatred of the Egyptians to
The
shepherds.
each other
artists
of Upper and Lower Egypt vie with
in caricaturing
them.*
In proportion as the cul-
was the more unconditionally the foundation of the Egyptian State, the idea of coarseness and barbarism was united with the idea of a shepherd among the
tivation of the land
Egyptians.!
The
region in which the Israelites received their residence,
the land of Goshen,
is designated. Gen. 47: 6, II, as the hesi This statement has occasioned interpreters some perplexity, but it is justified by what Wilkinson,
of the land.
without reference to this passage, says of the nature of this eastern district: "It
no
soil
is
may
better suited
not be irrelevant to observe, that
many kinds of produce than
to
irrigated edge of the desert,
(it is
mingled with sand,) even before
generally it is
the
composed of lime
covered by the
fertiliz-
ing deposit of the inundation. "|
Since the reference of the Pentateuch to the geographical relations of
Egypt are most numerous
under consideration,
it
will
in
them the subject of a connected examination * t
Wilk.
Wilk.
in this place.
II. p. ]6.
Concerning the causes of
cially Rosellini, X
now we make
the chapters
appear proper that
I. p.
I. 1. p.
178
222.
4*
this hatred of the
seq., also
Heeren,
Egyptians, see espe-
S. 149.
42
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
The
bearing and importance of these separate notices can be
correctly understood only
when thus seen
in connection.
REFERENCES OF THE PENTATEUCH TO THE GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES OF EGYPT. The Land of Goshen.
The
references of the Pentateuch to the geographical fea-
tures of Egypt, as
we should
naturally expect in a book of
sacred history, are neither numerous nor particular; yet •enough of these references exist to show that
its
author pos-
sessed an accurate knowledge of the topography of the country to
which he
alludes.
And
the
and undesigned these notices
more
scattered, incidental
more certain is the author's knowledge was of
are, the
proof which they afford, that the
no secondary character, was not laboriously produced
for the
occasion, but on the contrary, natural, acquired from his
own
personal observation, and was such as to preserve him from
every mistake, without the necessity of his being constantly
on
his guard.
Let us direct our attention, o^ the land of Goshen.
first,
to
He nowhere
what the author says gives a direct and mi-
But it is evisome other cause than his ignorance, since he communicates in reference to it, a great number of separate circumstances which, although some of them appear at first view to be entirely at variance with each other, are yet found to be entirely consistent when nute account of the situation of this land.
dent that
this
must be referred
to
applied to a particular district.
Tlie land of Goshen appears, on the one hand, as the eastern
border-land of Egypt.
Thus
it
is
said.
Gen. 46: 28
:
"And
he [Jacob] sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen."
That Jacob should send Judah before
-
THE LAND OF GOSHEN.
43
him, to receive from Joseph the necessary orders ception of those entering the country, a
borders a wandering tribe
is
This account
accord-
well-organized kingdom, whose
ance with the regulations of moniously.
for the re-
entirely in
is
not permitted to pass uncere-
also agrees accurately with the in-
formation furnished on this point by the Egyptian monuments.* That Jacob did not obtain the orders of Joseph until he was We come at Goshen, shows that this was the border-land. " And Joseph came to the same result also from chap. 47; 1 :
and
Pharaoh, and
told
come out of
My
said,
It is
This
the matter
Thy for
;
Egyptians;"
was
laid before the
by Gen. 46: 34
also confirmed
is
:
"
And
servant's trade hath been about cattle
our youth even until
Goshen
brethren are
most natural that they should remain
in the border-province until
shall say,
my
the land of Canaan, and behold they are in the
land of Goshen."
king.
father and
now
—
that ye
every shepherd
dwell in the land of
abomination unto the
passage can only be explained on the
this
for
supposition that
may
an
is
ye
— from
Goshen
is
a
frontier province,
which could
be assigned to the Israelites without placing them in close contact with the Egyptians,
who
hated their manner of
life.
Finally, the circumstance, that the Israelites under Moses,
had assembled
after they
at
the principal
town of the land,
had reached in two days the confines of the Arabian desert, points to
On
Goshen
as the eastern boundary.
Goshen appears again
the other handy
neighborhood of the chief 45: 10:
"And
this chief city
Thus
in
Gen.
for the
same reason.
*
See remarks upon Gen.
t
So
xlvi. p.
also in chap. 46: 28, 29.
the prinexpressly
of Egypt, just as the suris mentioned by Yet the necessary data for
of no one of the reigning Pharaohs
Moses, and
as lying in the
me" (to Joseph who dwelt in The Pentateuch nowhere
Egypt ).t
mentions which was
name
Egypt.
thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and
thou shalt be near to cipal city of
city of
39 seq.
44
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
designating this city are found.
been situated
Lower Egypt,
in
must
It
at
any rate have
appears in the Penta-
for this
teuch generally as the seat of the Egyptian king.
Num.
remarkable passage, seven years before
Zoan of Egypt,"
or Tanis, and at the
son
why
the
same time
parison, implies,
first,
is
Egyptian
points us directly to
plainly
Zoan
shows that the
rea-
was one of the oldest
it
held the
it
and stood
cities,
with the Israelites.
named by way of com-
here directly
that
Secondly, that
^gyp^-*
But the was built
anything rather than in his ignorance con-
in
That Zoan
it.
"And Hebron
author did not mention the chief city by name,
can be sought cerning
13: 23":
first
cities in
rank among the
in the
most important connection
Hebron, the
city of the patriarchs, could
be made more conspicuous only by a comparison with the chief city of Egypt, arrogant and proud of
its antiquity, and was no motive for such a comparison, except with a which by its arrogance had excited the jealousy of the
there city
Israelites.
The
Zoan
designation,
more than that the was the chief city.
What
is
here only intimated
affirmed in Ps. 78: 12, 43; where his
wonders
**
in
of Egypt, which means
Egypt, also indicates that this
city lay in
said,
it is
Zoan."
the field of
is
expressly
Moses performed
In accordance with
the foregoing intimations, which bring us into the neighbor-
hood of the chief
city,
Nile, Ex. 2: 3, and
at
was accustomed lived in
Moses
exposed on the bank of the
is
the place where the king's daughter
to bathe,
v.
5,
and the mother of the child
the immediate vicinity,
abundance,
Num.
den of herbs, Deut. 11:
They had
v. 8.
11: 5; they watered
their
in
10.
Further, the land of Goshen, on the one hand, as a pasture-ground.
fish
land as a gar-
So
is
described
the passage above referred to. Gen. 46: 34, and also in chap. 47: 4 " They said moreover in
:
*
That Tanis already existed
appears from th« Vol.
I. p. 6.
in
monuments yet
Rosellini,
I. 2. p.
68.
the time of
existing
Remesos the Great,
among
its
ruins.
Wilk.
THE LAND OF GOSHEN.
To
unto Pharaoh,
sojourn in the land are
no pasture for the land of Canaan
servants have
sore in
45
;
novi^
we come
for thy
;
flocks; for the famine
their
therefore
we pray
thee
is
let
thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen."
On
the other hand, the land of
Goshen appears
the most fruitful regions of Egypt, chap. 47: 6 best of the land
Also
make
"In
the
thy father and brethren to dwell."
of the same chap.
in verse 11
one of
as :
:
"And
he gave them a
possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in
the land of Rameses."
The
Israelites
employed themselves
in agriculture, Deut. 11: 10, and obtained in rich abundance,
Num.
the products which Egypt,
11: 5,
Nile, afforded
its
fertilized
by the
inhabitants.
All these circumstances harmonize, and the different points,
they
discrepant as
we
may seem,
find their application,
when
upon the land of Goshen as the region east of the Tanitic arm of the Nile as far as the Isthmus of Suez or the Goshen then border of the Arabian desert, Ex. 18: 20. fix
comprised a tract of country very various
A
in its nature.
was a barren land, suitable only for the pasYet it also had very fruitful districts, so turage of cattle. that it combined in itself the peculiarities of Arabia and
great part of
Egypt.
To
it
it
belonged a part of the land on the eastern
shore of the Tanitic branch of the Nile ;* also the whole of the Pelusiac branch with both
its
banks, which as late as in the
time of Alexander the Great was navigable fleet
pressed into Egypt,
—but
is
now
—through
almost entirely
it
his
filled
up with the sand of the desert, while the Tanitic arm, being further removed from the desert, has sustained itself better.t
Between two branches of the Pelusiac canal lies the island Mycephoris, which in ancient times was inhabited by the Calasiries, *
or
On which
a part of the military caste.
Of
this
island
see Ritter also, Afrika, S. 827.
See Malus, Memoire sur 1' etat ancien et moderne des provinces Orientales de la basse Egypte, Descr. 18. 2. p. 18, t
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
46
Ritter* plain
full
says:
"At
time
this present
a well cultivated
it is
" Gene-
of great palm-groves and opulent villages."
rally," continues the same author, " the country here
no means barren everywhere.
;
the water of the canal diffuses
Thus
modern
little
rounded by rich palm-groves, which to recent
is
by
blessings
there lies upon the canal about fifteen
miles below Bustah, the
known
its
Geographers, but
riance of vegetation which
European garden. "t
So
is
makes
in
Heyeh,
sur-
almost entirely un-
its
vicinity
is
a luxu-
the country appear like a
even
it
village
is
now
with this region,
notwithstanding the great bogs and sand heaps which have
been here formed
in the
course of a hundred years.|
in the interior of the ancient land of
Goshen, there
large tract of land good for tillage, and fruitful. for
is
Even still
There
a
is,
example, a valley which stretches through the whole
breadth of this province from west to east, and in which, as
we
shall hereafter see, the ancient chief city
This
lay.
tract of land,
of this province
from the ancient Babastis on the
Pelusiac arm of the Nile even to the entrance of the *
S. 824.
+
Ritter, S. 834.
t
Comp. Deut.
Prokesch,
und Kleinasien, Th. 2
(In.
11: 10,
"as a garden of herbs."
den Erinnerungen aus Aegypton
S. 130,) says
:
" There
not better dispense with the arts of civihzed
them
Wady
is
no country that canthan Egypt. By
life,
can be made a paradise, and without them a desert.
During modern Greek, Arabian, Mameluke and Turkish dominion, when, with the exception of some short intervals, nothing was done for the country, the inhabitants lived upon the inheritance which descended from the flourishing century under the Pharaohs, Ptolemies and Romans, It is no merit to them that desert and morass have not swallowed up all of their arable land. The canals and dykes existed and still exist on such a foundation and in so great numbers, that a thousand years would not be sufficient to make of Egypt wljat the country between the cataracts is at this day. The tillable land of Egypt has by degrees decreased in quantity, as the public works of the ancients have gradually crumbled, until half its it
the century of
extent has gone, but the remainder
nance
is
for a people proportionally less
yet sufficient to furnish suste-
than formerly."
THE TREASURE-CITIES, PITHOM AND RAAMSES. Tumilat,
according to
is,
and
cultivation,
is
Le Pe re,*
now under
annually overflowed by the Nile.
Wady Tumilat
great part of
even
is
susceptible of cultivation,!
accurately delineated upon the chart of
R
i 1
1
e
r's
full
Also a
and likewise the eastern part of the valley which Atlas of
47
Geography, the tract
is
very
Lower Egypt in the from Ras el Wady to
Serapeum, furnishes not merely pasture grounds, but
also
land suitable for cultivation.! It is certain, that
the Pentateuch in
dently undesigned, which
the intimations, evi-
gives of the position and nature
it
of the land of Goshen in the most disconnected passages,
always consistent with series of passages,
it
itself, as, for
is
example, in one whole
alludes to the fact, that the Israelites
dwelt upon the Nile, and in another, that they dwelt in a bor-
This
der-land in the direction of Arabia.
cumstance
that
all its
the land are substantiated by actual
most distant reference ble, if the
fact, as also the cir-
allusions to the position and nature of
geography without the
imaginary land, are not explica-
to an
author was dependent on uncertain reports for his
information.
On
the contrary, the whole serves to impress
us with the conviction, that he, as would be the case with
Moses, wrote from personal observation, with the freedom
and confidence of one to
whom
cated comes naturally and of
who
has not obtained
it
for a
its
communi-
the information
own
accord, and from one
proposed object.
The Location of Pharaoh's Treasure-Cities, Pithom and Raamses.
We for
go
further.
Pharaoh
In Ex.
treasure-cities,
1:
11
it
is
said; "
And
they built
Pithom and Raamses."
can be no doubt that in the view of the author, these * t
Memoire sur le canal des deux mers, in the Descr. I Le Pere, p. 121. Le Fere, p. 117.
t.
There cities,
11. p. 116.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
48 upon whose labor, ral to
fortifications
were situated
the Israelites were compelled to
in the land of
Goshen.
most natu-
It is
suppose that the Israelites built where according to the
foregoing account they dwelt; moreover
all
cluded, since one of these cities, Raamses,
is
doubt
is
pre-
afterwards re-
presented as the place of rendezvous from which the Israelites
tion
commenced their departure from the now is, whether these cities really
The
land. lay in
ques-
the land of
Goshen, or did the author probably, out of the number of the names of Egyptian cities known to him, take two at random ? Before
we answer
these questions,
we remark,
that even
the circumstance that the author represents the king of Egypt as building treasure-cities in the land of
Goshen,
in favor
is
of his knowledge of Egypt, or rather of his credibility as a
Nowhere
historian.
are the treasure-cities
than precisely there.
Seventy understood, directly,
walled
2 Chron.
8:
the
3
—
That they were
for they translate the
The same
cities.
6,
**
in
place,
even the
Hebrew word here
thing
is
evident from
according to which they were placed in
particularly insecure
designated as
more
fortijicd,
fenced
border land
cities,
(Hamath),
and are
with walls and gates and bars."
store-cities are spoken of in conBut that such walled cities provided with stores of provisions were nowhere more needed than on the eastern boundary of Egypt, is indeed evident from the
Compare
II: 12,
where the
nection with castles.
circumstance, writers, just
military
that
upon
according to the this border, the
accounts of profane
most exposed of
power of the Egyptians was concentrated.
clear from
Herodotus,"
the whole military force of
says
Heeren,*
all,
the
''It is
"that almost
Egypt was stationed
in
Lower
Egypt; four and a half districts within the Delta were possessed by the Hermotybies, and twelve others by the Calasiries.
On
the contrary, only one district was possessed by *
S. 37.
THE TREASURE-CITIES, PITHOM AND RAAMSES each of these
in all
Middle and Upper Egypt, namely the
Chemmis and Thebes."
of
trict
side of the Tanitic
Of
R
arm of the Nile,
dis-
the land on the east " This i 1 1 e r* says :
believed to be the land of the ancient Calasiries
is
49
who were
here to guard the ancient ports of Egypt against irruptions
from Asia."t
We cities
will
now endeavor to determine the position of the two With regard to the first, this can be determin-
named.
ed without
difficulty.
be denied by no one, that
It will
within the land of Goshen.
Pithom
is
it
lay
incontestibly, and by
Patumos of H e r o d oSpeaking of the canal which connected the Nile with
universal admission, identical with the t
u
s-l
Red
the into
it
Sea, this author says
from the Nile.
It
began
"
:
The
a little
near the Arabian city Patumos, but
tis,
Red
into the
The
t
Sea."!!
According
to this,
it
city
Bubas-
discharged
Patumos was
itself
situ-
declarations of ancient writers with regard to the chief sta-
tions of the military caste in Egypt, are of
when
no small importance respec-
They show how
ting another passage of the Pentateuch. it is,
water was admitted
above the
appropriate
the author in Ex. xiv, represents the Egyptian host as ready
forthwith to pursue after the Israelites, and as able to overtake them " In Mosaic times," says Heeren, S. 37, " the miliin a short time. tary caste
first
make
their appearance in
ness with which the Pharaoh
my
who
Lower Egypt.
The sudden-
then ruled could assemble the
ar-
with which he pursued the Israelites in their Exodus, shows dis-
tinctly
enough, that the Egyptian military caste must have had their
head-quarters in just the same region in which Herodotus places
them."
Book 2. c. 158. W^Hxzai ds ano xov NeiXov ro vSwq
t
ig
avrr^v rinrat §e xaTi'usQd's
okiyov Bov^dariog noXtog^ naQo, Jldrovfiov xriv AQa^iriv ttoXcv X£i §£ is TTJv eQvd'Qrjv d'dXaaaav.
a point after
example.
'jtoXiog,
and
Larcher wishes
reject the §e after ioexst-
Bahr, on the contrary, says
:
ial-
arbitrarily to place
Lange follows
his
Quidni enim Herodoto dicere
ductum esse canalem paulo supra Bubastin urbem, juxta Patumon, Arabiae urbem (quam sc. urbem praeterfluat), ab ea autem haud procul in mare exire. But Bahr has not been able to entirely licuit:
5
50
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
ated on the east side of the Pelusiac
arm of the Nile, not
far
from the entrance of the canal which unites the Nile with the
Red
The
Sea,* in the Arabian part of Egypt. t
Antonini
rarium
furnishes a further
Thum
which
is
Pithora.
The
n
scarcely be doubted that the identical with
Egyptian
Patumos and
article.i:
Now
Abu
ItineIt
can
mentioned
is
merely the
is
Thum was twelve Roman miles whose ruins are found in the region
this
distant from Heroopolis,||
of the present
limitation.
Keisheid.
appropriate, if with the scholars
All these designations are
who accompanied
French AbbaTumilat, where there was
Expedition we place Pithom on the
Wady
seh, at the entrance of the
site
the
of the present
times a strong military post.
at all
Let us now seek to determine the location of Raamses.
That
the author supposed
it
lay in
Goshen we have,
in addi-
tion to the general reasons already referred to, a particular
one.
It is said in
Gen. 47: 11
'*
:
And
Joseph gave them a
possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the
land of Rameses."
The same
land which
is
everywhere
in
the preceding and succeeding context called the land of Gofree himself
comes
From
from the error of Larcher.
his inclination towards
baud procul. HeroPatumos is situated near the place where the canal discharges itself into the Red Sea. According to him, Patumos lay rather, near the commencement of the canal it began above Bubastis and near Patumos, and ended in the it
tlie
entirely
arbitrary addition of, ab ea
dotus gives no such information as this
:
:
lied Sea. * If
the passage from Herodotus
is
correctly understood, Patumos,
situated near the beginning of the canal, cannot be identical with
Heroopolis, as
Compare
is
erroneously asserted by some.
upon the passage Arabiaedicitur urbs, quod omnes Aegypti urbes a Nilo Arabiam versus sitae hoc nomine vulgo aft
ficiuntur.
Btlhr
The Seventy
:
translate
')^pi,
in
Gen.
45: 10,
by
Qa^ta^j just as Herodotus calls Patumos an Arabian city. \ II
Champollion I'Egypte sous Itin.
Ant.
Ics
Pharaons
t.
2. p. 58.
FsatfA,
'^-
THE TREASURE-CITIES, PITHOM AND RAAMSES. shen,
is
here designated as the land of Rameses, or the land
whose chief city *
51
According
this passage
is
is
to the
Rameses common
;*
and
this is entirely in accord-
Rameses in But
opinion, the so called land
not the same as the city Raamses in Ex. 1,11.
is relied upon in favor of this difference, (see for example Michaelis Supplem. p. 2256,) the dissimilarity of punctuation, (which is however very trifling,) is of little force. The Raamses in Ex. 1: 11 is evidently only the fuller sounding pause-form. But that also in Gen. 47: 11, the cittj Raamses is spoken of, is favored by the following argument. In three passages of the Pentateuch besides Ex. i., in Ex. 12: 37 and Num. 33: 3 and 5, Raamses is undeniably the name of a city. (It is true that some have wished to make it even in these last two passages the name of a province so has even v. Raumer, in The Exodus of the Israelites, S. 11. But it is perfectly clear Let us look at the passages a little more minutethat this cannot be. " And the children of Israel removed from Rameses and pitched ly in Succoth, and they departed from Succoth and pitched in Etham." If Succoth and Etham are names of a single district, not of an entire On the contrary, Rameses is province, so must Rameses also be.) found in no other passage as the name of a province. Accordingly then the presumption is, that Rameses in Gen. 47: 11 is the name of a city. If the author did not intend to be so understood, he ought to have explained himself more minutely. But Rameses cannot properly be the name of the province in Gen. 47, since this before and after is called Goshen. Rosellini is also of the opinion, I. 1. p. 300, that the Rameses in Gen. 47 is identical with the one in Exodus I. The author of the book of Genesis, he supposes, intends to say that Joseph placed his father and his family in the region in which the city Raamses was afterwards built. It is improbable, even w^hen we leave
the reason which
;
:
—
Ex.
1:
11 out of the account, (that this passage
is
not in favor of the
previous non-existence of R.aamses, Michaelis has already remarked,
Suppl.
p.
2256) that this city was already in existence in the time of
Joseph.
The name
means: consecrated
mon among riod.
The
furnishes an argument against to the
sun (see
I. 1. p.
117) and
it
it.
Raamses
is
very com-
the Egyptian kings, especially those of the Mosaic pe-
city evidently derived its
name from one
of these kings.
But according to ancient authors and the monuments, the name Remeses was given to no one before the eleventh Pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty, whose reign was considerably subsequent to the time of Joseph,
V
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
52
ance with Ex. 12; 37 and Num. 33:
where Rameses,
3, 5,
since the departure of the Israelites
commences
Now
where the author of the Pentateuch places
the proof which alone
is
sure,
is
simply Goshen, the translator has
he sent before him
him ToJ
at
xa5^
to Joseph, that he
'^Jlgojwv tioXlv elg yr^v 'Pafisaarj,)
father, at
his chariot,
Heroopolis" {xad^
" at Heroopolis in the land
They
of the Seventy. instead of
28
at
gone out of
use,
is
II,
meet ai-
29 " And meet Israel, his
in v.
and went up to
Rameses"
to
(avvavTflfrai :
certain that
It is
no arbitrary conceit
took the designation " land
Rameses"
where the author him-
Goshen, the land of Rameses.
In the
name Rameses, which had Heroopolis, the current name in their lime, The city Raamses was to them the same
Heroopolis,"
substituted.
and
names
" But Judah
:
might come
?;^wcov tioXlv).
Goshen from Gen. 47:
self substitutes, for
phrase "
was
original text
verse
in
Heroopolis in the land of Rameses"
Joseph prepared
it,
furnished by the Alexandrian
While the
translation of Gen. 46: 28,29.
is
Raamses was
with reference to the inquiry whether
really situated
there,
Goshen.
clearly designated as a central point in the land of
as Heroopolis, the land of
for the
Rameses
therefore
was situated
in
the vicinity of Heroopolis.
This, which
is
as
good
as a direct declaration of the
Seventy
Raamses is identical with Heroopolis, seems of no small importance when we consider that the Greek name, Heroopolis, cannot be older than the time of the Greek dominion over that
Egypt, while the Alexandrian translation of the Pentateuch
was made
as early as the first period of this
that the earlier
name
to the translator. city
dominion
of the city could scarcely be
According
to
Mannert,*
;
so
unknown
indeed, the
not supposed to have existed before the time of the
is
Greek dominion, and accordingly had no
earlier
was," he says very confidently, " a new Grecian *
S.
name.
" It
city,
built
576 der alien Geographie von Aegyptcn.
«/
THE TREASURE-CITIES, PITHOM AND RAAMSES. merely on account of the canal, and
Herodotus
Neither
entirely
it,
hence
its
Greek name."
as will directly appear, carries us
itself,
back to remote antiquity
was
sake of trade.
nor any writer before the age of the
Ptolemies was acquainted with
But even the name
for the
53
;
and what
most important,
is
new, how could the Seventy have
if it
identified
it
with Heroopolis.
The agreement
of the two names indicates also that the
Seventy have justly identified the Heroopolis of their time with the ancient Raamses, just as in chapter 41: 45 they have placed for the
That
name.
On
of the original text, Heliopolis, the Greek
the city
Raamses borrowed
its
one of the honored rulers of that name doubted by any one s
k
which
i,
between the
is
appellation from
not surely
now
the etymology proposed by J a b 1 o n-
;
entirely leaves out of the account the connection city
and the rulers of the same name,
unworthy of notice.
When we now see
is
wholly
from the monuments
the Egyptians employed the name Remeses, and what associations they connected with it, the Greek name Heroopolis, city of Heroes, seems a very suitable translation
how much
of the ancient Egyptian name.
Now
it is
admitted by
all
of Goshen.
the authorities respecting the lo-
was situated in the ancient land For our immediate object therefore we need not
cation of Heroopolis, that
it
enter upon a
more accurate determination of
Yet
much importance
is
it
of so
gation concerning the shall next direct
for the
Exodus of the
position.
its
geographical investi-
Israelites to
which we
our attention, that as a preparation
for that,
we must endeavor to settle more accurately its position. The ancient geographers until the time of the French
ex-
pedition, following the [inaccurate] statements of several an-
cient writers, looked for Heroopolis directly on the Arabian
Gulf* *
Against the admission of this opinion, the following
Mannert,
at the
S. 514,
adhering to this view,
still
looks for Heroopolis
end of the canal which united the Nile with the Ked Sea, be-
5*
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
54
reasons are especially important.
have already seen,
But
could not
this
lie
identical
First,
Heroopolis, as
we
with the ancient Raanises.
on the Arabian Gulf, since the Israel-
not arrive in the neighborhood of the Arabian Gulf
ites did
until the
ced
is
end of the second day's march which they commenSecondly, The passage Gen. 46: 28, 29,
Raamses.
at
according to the Alexandrian version,
is
entirely inexplicable
on the supposition that Heroopolis was on the Red Sea. How could the Seventy then represent Joseph as going out
meet
to
which
his father, Jacob, in the
Egypt
into
neighborhood of
lay so far out of his course in
This reason
?
is
known
His authority exceeds
that of the most accurate of the ly,
to
The
Al-
the posi-
importance
in
Greek Geographers.
Third-
A-ntonini, according between Thum Patumos
statement in the Ttinerarium
= Heroopolis lay
which Hero
and Serapium, about twelve is
The
of great importance.
exandrian translator must necessarily have tion of Heroopolis.
this city,
coming from Canaan
=
Roman
miles distant from each,
also entirely at variance with the older hypothesis.
The
correct position of Heroopolis
tween the
Bitter
was
first
determined by
Lakes and the northern point of the Arabian Gulf,
since, he remarks, " all ancient writers
who speak of this city, place Arabian Gulf, not far from the city ArBut Mannert is obliged to remark, first, S. 514, in reference sinoe." " 1 cannot give an explanato the considerable ruin of Saba Biyar it
in the interior angle of the
:
Secondly, S. 515, he concedes that the ruins of his Heroopolis cannot be found. Thirdly, he remarks S. 516, in reference tion of
it."'
Seventy which we shall examine farther in the is the most improbable explanation of all, which makes the city to have been situated, not far to the south, but on the direct road which passes through Abu Keisheid. But the whole statement is a mere error of the translator the Hebrew text to the passage of the
text
:
"
Now
it
certainly
;
knows nothing of Heroopolis Joseph came to Goshen to meet his fa-' As if anything were accomplished by this ther." Whether the ;
!
Seventy translated correctly or not, is just the same. that they mention the city Heroopolis in a connection on the Arabian Gulf cannot properly be placed.
It is sufficient
in
which a
city
THE TREASURE-CITIES, PITHOM AND RAAMSES.
55
French Expedition, and the view in which them have united, has obtained ahuost uni" The researches of the members of the E-
the scholars of the
the majority of versal assent.
gyptian Commission," says
Champo
1
1 i
o n,* " have furnish-
ed the certain and acknowledged result that Heroopolis
lies
between the Pelusiac arm of the Nile and the Bitter Lakes to the northwest of these lakes, at a place
Abu
led
Arab
Keisheid, from the
tribe
which
now
is
cal-
which roves about on
the Isthmus.
The most Heroopolis
accurate and vivid description of the situation of
given by
is
D u-B o
its
s-
A
y
m e, in his treatise
Sea."t
The
from Belbeis.
The
runs from east to west.
It
is
Sweet
always found here by digging from twelve to
The
decimetres deep.
seldom overflowed,
by the
flood.
It is
it
But since the land
has less depth of
fertile soil
The
mingled with sand.
which conveys the water of the Nile
is
deposited
Un-
not more than two decimetres deep.
a light clay,
lies
fifteen
of the same nature and appear-
soil is
ance with that directly on the Nile.
der this
Up-
Nile in
greatest rise sometimes reaches even to this place.
water
"
valley Seba-Bi-
Arabs Wady, begins about two myriame-
yar, called by the tres
i
Red
on the ancient bounds of the
canal
thither runs to a distance
of about one and a half myriametres to the declivity which incloses the valley on the north.
of the water necessary tants.
for
This makes the conveyance
culture very easy for the inhabi-
But sometimes the Nile does not reach
a height for
several years sufficient to supply water for the canal
then they
make
of the valley
use of wells for irrigation.
lies
the village Abbaseh,| near
*
L'Egypte sous
t
Descr.
+
The same, on whose
cient
t.
Pithom
les
Pharaons,
t.
;
and
At the entrance which
is
a lake
2. p. 89.
11. p. 376.
or
Patumos
site as
lay.
nection with one another in Ex.
same valley and
has been previously shown, the an-
The two 1:
tlie fortifications
fortified cities
named
in con-
11 were situated therefore in the
which Pharaoh commanded
to be
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
56 called by the
Kadem.
Arabs Birket el-Fergeh, or Birket eJ-Haj ellast name, which signifies the ancient Pil-
This
grim's pool, leads to the conjecture that in the earliest term of pilgrimage to Mecca, the great caravan which
now
by Adsherad, went through the valley Seba Biyar, to turn to the
head of the
Abbaseh the canal Tumilat.
who occupy
is
this region.
two myriametres
— At
interrupted.
takes this
It
gulf.
name from
The
valley
further to the east
of this part of the valley there
is
;
this place
which
hill
is
Abu
the Arab tribe Tumilat, Seba Biyar stretches yet and in about the middle
an extensive heap of ruins
Upon
Keisheid.
order
two myriametres from There ends the Wady
which indicate the position of an ancient
name
passes
in
formed by these ruins, there
city; the
Arabs
the point of a lies
little
a great granite
hewn out three Egyptian Compare also upon the site of Heroopolis at where are now the ruins of Abu Keisheid, upon the
block, upon which in relievo are deities," etc.*
the place
canal which connects the Nile with the Arabian Gulf, in the
middle of the Wady,
Le Pere
in his treatise
on the canal
of the two Seas.t
The March of the
Through
Israelites from
Raamses
to the
Red
Sea.
the just determination of the position of Heroop-
and consequently of Raamses, the narrative of the depar-
olis
ture of the Israelites has received an unexpected light, and
the credibility of the Pentateuch a wonderful confirmation.
On built
the second day after their departure, the Israelites
around both had probably the
common
came
object of obstructing the
enemy from Pharaoh had so much the more occasion for the construction of these fortifications, since he believed that he had reason to fear, that the Israelites would readily make common cause with the enemies pressing in from this quarter. See Ex. 1: 10. entrance into Egypt, which this valley furnished to the Asia.
*
In the Description,
t.
11. p. 376.
t
Descr.
t.
11. p.
291 seq.
THE DESERT OF ETHAM.
57
into the region about the northern point of the
Their
first
position
is
Arabian Gulf. was Succoth, the second Etharn, whose designated in Ex. 13: 20, and in Num. 33: 6 by station
" which lies at the end of the desert." That by " the desert" here, no other than the Arabian desert, begin-
the words
ning
:
at the
northern point of the
Red
" the desert"
is
Sea,* can be meant,
1.
where Pharaoh
says,
are entangled in the land, the desert hath shut
them
ference, as for instance in chap. 14: 3, *'
They
in," and in verses 11 and 12 of the
the Egyptian part of the desertf *
is
Although the phrase sometimes used with a more unrestricted re-
evident from the following reasons:
Very correctly
J.
H. Michaelis says
same chapter;
so that
also included, yet this
is
:
nempe qua Aegyptum
is
at-
tingit. t
What
Riippell says (Raise S. 209)
shows that the Eastern part of
The west may be said
Eo-ypt deserves this name, as well as Arabia Petraea.
coast
of the Gulf of Suez and
to be
its
continuation to Cosseir
without inhabitant, and the almost entire want of drinkable water along the coast of the sea is a cause sufficient to prevent settlements But it is specially important to compare the treatise " de la there. la mer rouge," by The contrast with the adjoining when the traveller enters upon the
geographie comparee et de I'ancien etat cotes de Roziere, in
region
t.
6 of the Descr.
first arrests
Isthmus of Suez.
267
p.
the attention
As long
as he
:
is
in
Egypt, notwithstanding the
heat of a scorcliing sun, he beholds a fresh plain, permeated by flow-
ing water, shaded by palm-trees, clothed with grass, flowers, or the a smiling and animated region, where everything reminds him of only abundance and fruitfulness. When he comes upon the Isthmus under the same sky, how great the change There is no trace of cultivation or of inhabitant, no shade, no verdure, no flowing water, in a word, nothing which can sustain life. So as he
golden harvest
;
!
proceeds farther, he seeks with anxiety some more fertile spot of ground in the distance, but the eye glances over the whole unending expanse of the horizon in vain even to both seas, on every side is a dry, leafless land, barren rocks, glimmering sand, a plain bare everywhere. We find just the same contrast between Egypt and the desert in Ex. 14: 1^': " Because there were no graves in Egypt hast thou taken us away to die in the desert ? Wherefore hast thou dealt ;
58
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OP MOSES.
to be considered only as an exception to the general rule.
" The desert" is generally the Arabian desert. 2. The phrase, " which lies at the edge of the desert" was evidently designed
show
to
had already arrived
that the Israelites
when they reached Etham. The They encamped in Etham at the edge of the
at
the border of Egypt,
ex-
'*
de-
pression,
sert"
is
followed in both places by the declaration that the
Israelites turned back,
i.
e.
instead of crossing the boundary,
Num.
they went again further into Egypt, as in
Etham and turned back
they removed from
But the words do not correspond
etc.
sign, unless by the desert, the
stood.
3.
in order
The
passage
Num.
Arabian 33: 8
to perceive its full force
connection with what goes before
is
it :
33: 7
:
"
And
to Pi-hahiroth,"
to their evident de-
is
specifically under-
entirely decisive.
Yet
must be considered
verse 5, "
And
in
the chil-
dren of Israel removed from Rameses and pitched in Succoth." Verse 6, " And they departed from Succoth, and pitched in Etham, which is in the edge of the desert." Verse 7, " And they removed from Etham and returned to Pi-hahiroth,
which
dol."
lies
Verse
8,
before Baal-zephon, and pitched before Mig*'
And
they departed from before Pi-hahiroth,
and passed through the midst of the Sea to the desert, and went three days' journey in the desert of Etham, and pitched in
Marah."
According
to verse 8, the part of the
Arabian
desert which lies on the eastern shore of the Arabian Gulf
bore the
name of
How
the desert of Etham.
can
this well
be otherwise explained than by supposing that the place from
which the desert takes its name lies at the north end of the Arabian Gulf, and consequently on the borders of the desert named from it ? The sense is evidently this At the end of the second day they had already arrived at the borders of the :
thus with us, to carry us forth out of tell
for
it is
Egypt
?
Is
not this what
we
did
Egypt, Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians hetU-r for us to serve the Egyptians, than to die in the wil-
th(!e
derness."
in
;
RAAMSES, THE PRESENT ABU KEISHEID. Arabian
desert, at
Etham, from which the
59
tract of country ly-
ing next to Egypt receives the name, desert of Etham. instead of advancing directly
into the desert,
down again
to the
farther into
Egypt
But
they turned
Arabian Gulf.
After-
wards, instead of going round the sea, they proceeded through it
unto the desert of Etham.
Supposing
it
now
the second day's
certain, that the Israelites at the
Arabian Gulf, we are then, according thesis, tliat the
march
Raamses from which
to the
common
The
distance
from the Nile to the
Sicard
pose with
is
then far too great.
It
with
N
eb u h
i
caravan route
by Suez to Sinai.
r
amounts
Red Sea
to twenty-six hours, if
and von
Raumer*
we
sup-
that they passed
through the Valley of Wandering, and to as much,
mon
hypo-
the Israelites began their
lay in the region of Heliopolis, brought into no small
difficulty.
if,
end of
march had reached the northern point of the
at least,
they are allowed to have taken the com-
day which leads from Cairo says: " We spent twenty-
at the present
Niebuhrt
eight hours and forty minutes, deducting the time of resting,
on our way from Birket Evidently train as
But
much
was
we
if
from
this
ficient,
Haj (four hours from Cairo)."
that of the Israelites.
place
Keisheid, this
leagues. f
el
too great a distance for so heavily laden a
Raamses on
the site of the present
difficulty entirely vanishes.
place to the
Red Sea
is
The
about thirteen French
This distance appears not too great, but
if it
is
Abu
distance
just suf-
considered that the Israelites departed " in
haste."
We lars
remark
who
further, that the opinion of the
look for
Etham on
*
See von Raumer, S.
t
Beschreibung von Arabien, S. 408.
t
See Le Pere in the Description,
11,
and
seq. gives a description of the
French scho-
the site of the present Bir Su-
Ritter, S. 859.
1. 1. p. 84, who also on pages 74 way from Abu Keisheid to Hei'oopolis.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
60 vveis
much
has
Peret
in
manner:
is
in sight,
traveller
somewhere
The
which
is
Ayme
at the
these wells are
;
Etham must have been
region, on
in this
Le
comes
and a gentle declivity leads
Bir Suweis or the wells of Suez
to
only an hour from Suez."
*'
described by
is
The
'*
out of the valley and reaches the plain of Suez.
finally
city as well as the sea
down
This place
probability.*
the following
situated
account of the designation,
Du Bois
What
edge of the desert."
says applies especially to Bir Suweis
" Sweet wa-
:
scarce in this whole region, and the wells must
ter is very
determine the stations of the caravans."
" Between Migdol and the Sea^ Finally
also,-
Ex. 14: 2 deserves a discussion in our geo-
graphical section turn back and
:
*'
Speak
encamp
to the children of Israel that they
before Pi-hahiroth between Migdol
and the sea over against Baal-zephon, before
shall
it
ye en-
Compare with Num. 33: 7 " And they removed from Etham and returned back to Pi-hahiroth which
camp by
the sea."
:
is
before Baal-zephon, and they pitched before Migdol."
**
between Migdol and the sea," and
An
insuperable difficulty appears to
Migdol
Migdol."
ed, identical with
is,
Roman
But
theltinerarium
they pitched before
this place lies,
A nton
where
in the
is
;
n
according
only twelve
i,
general cor-
confirmed by Ex. 29: 10. 30:
words from " Migdol
are opposed to each other
i
The
miles southward from Pelusium.
rectness of this declaration 6,
here in the phrases
'*
doubtless, as even the Seventy perceiv-
Magdolum.
to the declaration of
lie
Syene
to
Syene," these places
as being the
most southern
border of Egypt, and Migdol the most northern, also by the
passage
Herodotus
in
where Magdolum
as the
ledged border town of Egypt towards Palestine *
the
See
for
example
Hebrews
in
Du
liois-Ayni^ in
Egypt, Descr.
t.
b. p.
a Ircntive 1
13.
:
On
is
acknow-
interchan-
the residence of 1
p. Gl.
;:
''
BETWEEN MIGDOL AND THE
ged with Megiddo.*
If Migdol
was so
SEA.
'
far distant
—
61 from the
encamped nearly the whole breadth of the Isthmus of Suez lies between how can it be said, that the Israelites " encamped between Migdol and place where the Israelites were
—
the sea," and " pitched before Migdol ?"
The difficulty here is removed by the remark, that '' between Migdol and the sea," and " before Migdol," do not serve for the geographical designation of the place where the
were encamped, but rather call attention to the pewhich they exposed themselves by their foolish march.
Israelites
to
ril
That Migdol was it
signifies
a fortress, the
tower or
against Syria,
which
fortress.
name
itself
shows, since
Probably the border garrison
in later times
was removed
to the neigh-
boring Daphne, was stationed here. Herodotus says " Under king Psamaticus guards were stationed at Elephantine against the Ethiopians, as in the Pelusiac
the Arabs and Syrians, and in
And
Lybia.
even to
this
Marea
in like
Daphne manner
against
against
hour Persian guards are stationed
same places where they were under Psamaticus Persians are on guard at Elephantine, and also in Daph-
at the very
for
ne, "f
Upon
the phrase " between Migdol and the sea"
ed the saying of Pharaoh, "
They ought
The
desert has shut
is
found-
them
in."
to have sought to free themselves as soon as pos-
—
from this unfortunate dilemma to go around the north end of the Arabian Gulf before the garrison marching out from Migdol could block up their way and they had already sible
—
nearly escaped.
Then
they thrust themselves, through an
inexplicable misunderstanding, again into the midst of danger.
Thus posed
also here, that
to the author's
when more * 2. 159 t
B.
2.
which appears
at first
knowledge of Egypt,
view to be opis
a proof of
it,
particularly examined.
Kal
^I'lQoiat netfl
chap. 30.
6
6 Nsxojg ovfi^akojv Iv MayBokoi iviHrjos,
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
0»
HISTORY OF JOSEPH, CONTINUED. Kings and
We
Land
Priests, the Posscssoi's of the
proceed now,
after finishing
in Egi/pt.
our inquiry concerning
the references of the Pentateuch to the geographical features of Egypt, in the explanation of the Egyptian allusions in this
We
portion of sacred history, in the order of the chapters. first
turn our attention to Gen. 47: 13
—26.
Joseph, according to this account, purchased
Pharaoh
for
of his subjects the right of possession to their land, so that " Only the whole country henceforth belonged to Pharaoh, the land of the Priests bought he not
;
for the priests
had a
them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion wherefore they sold not their which Pharaoh gave them lands," verse 22. The land was divided out to its former posportion assigned
;
sessors by lease
they were compelled to pay a
;
"
yearly produce.
And Joseph made
it
fifth
of
its
a law over the land
of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have the
fifth part,
except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's," verse 26.
Among this
the accounts of profane writers which extend over
Herodotus
same ground, those of
are of particular importance.
"
The same
among
The
first
D
and
i
odo
r
u
of these authors says
s :
king (Sesostris) had also divided the whole land
the Egyptians, they said, and had given to each one a
square portion of equal extent, and in this way he obtained his income, for rent.
he collected from each individual a yearly
And when
the flood took
portion of one, he must
come
sentation of the calamity.
servants to examine
it
away something from
to the king and
The
make
the
a repre-
king then sent some of his
and measure how
much
less the
land
had become, that the tenant might pay from what remained in proportion to the whole amount of the imposed rent."* *
B.
2. c. 101).
THE PEASANTS, NOT LAND-OWNERS. According
Diodorus,*
to
all
63
the land in Egypt belonged
either to the priests or the kings, or the military caste.
An
important point of agreement between the Biblical ac-
count and profane writers comes here directly into view.
There
is
an entire accordance with regard to the prominent
thing, namely, that the cultivators were not the possessors of
the
St
soil.
a b of also says that those
r
in agriculture
the sculptures, as
Wilkinson^
to
In
rent.
shows, only kings, priests
and the military order are represented
Con-
as land-owners.
discovered, according to which towns
tracts of sale lately
seem
who were employed
and trade held their land subject to
have had their separate
territories, ||
late condition of things, (a certain,
belong to a very
although a limited right
of possession will always arise in process of time from the at most warrant only the assertion was not without exceptions.§ '' We can affirm
condition of tenants,) and that the rule
Heeren,^
with certainty," says
''
that if not
all,
yet surely
the greatest and best part of the land belonged to the king, the temples, the priests and the military order.
It is further cer-
were cultivated by tenants, whose precise condition, whether they were fee-farmers or temporary occupants of the land, we do not know. Their condition tain that these lands
may have been no means have
similar to that of the present Fellahs,
* 1. 73. II
§
But
ownership of land.**
full
t
Bockh Erklarung Anything further
17, p. 787.
it
t
who by
cannot be I.
p. 263.
einer Aeg. Urkunde, S. 27. is
not desired by Bockh.
That Herodotus
does not recognize any special cast of cultivators, he explains by the fact that the peasants
were not land owners, and consequently could
not constitute a special caste.
and
He
supposes that the kings, priests
soldiers all possessed real estate in the country,
in the towns, but that the inhabitants of
towns
and a part of that
in their very limited
provinces also had possessions in land, IT
S. 142.
**
We will here quote what Girard says
in the Description,
t.
17, p.
:
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
64
doubted that the culture of the
was
was not
soil, if it
entirely, yet
These
certainly for the most part performed by tenants.
therefore constituted the Egyptian peasantry," etc.
The
narration in Genesis, and the consequent accurate ac-
quaintance of the author with the condition of Egypt con-
tended
by us, receive further confirmation from profane
for
writers, since they attribute to the priests possessions in land
own, and consequently rent
as their
tain," est
Hee
remarks
r
free.
" So
much
is
cer-
e n,* " that a greater, perhaps the great-
and best part of the land was
in the possession of the
priests."
But on the other hand, there are important apparent conbetween our narrative and the accounts of profane
tradictions
writers
Herodotus,
1.
might be
it
of the land to king Sesostris
king
in
;
said, ascribes the partition
but he cannot possibly be the
whose time the administration of Joseph
although
Heerent
rodotus,
it
must be considered
investigation, that Sesostris
whom
personage,! to
But,
falls.
seeks to sustain this staternent of
is
as a fixed result of
not a historical but a mythic
was the custom
it
He-
modern
to trace
back
all
the
important measures and the great successes of the ancient 189, "
upon the
planation of the
right of possession in Egypt," since
meaning of our passage
:
Such
is
it
aids in the ex-
also the condition
of that which they here call private possessions. They remain in the same family less by right of inheritance than as a testimony of the favor of the ruler, in whose hand it always remains to dispose of them according to his will. These possessions are, as it seems, only a kind of revertiblc and therefore entirely unalienable fief. We cannot here
then with the expression,
'
Sale of real estate,' connect the idea of an
invariable and absolute abdication, but merely that of a temporary
mortgaging belong
for a
sum
of money which
is
borrowed.
The
real estate
lender until the repayment of the money. Then the owner receives the avails of the land which he had abandoned. will
* S. t
to the
VM.
Bahr upon Her. IV.
t
S. 5G3.
S. 142.
THE LAND OF THE MILITARY CASTE.
And
Pharaohs.
Hee
this
more recent-
e n himself has also
r
65
acknowledged.*
ly
If,
farther,
Herodotus
appears to
know nothing of an
ori-
ginal possession of the land by the Egyptian cultivators, but
rather considers the king as the original possessor, the ad-
vantage
and places
ity
Herodotus
Egypt, which extends back
The
far
2.
credibil-
beyond the time approached by
fact confirmed
tivators implies a historical fact through
That the king should be
of history,
its
knowledge of
Herodotus,
was possessor of the land occupied by the
that the king
whole land
confirms
in a clearer light, the author's
by profane writers.
about.
book of Genesis,
so decidedly on the side of the
is
that the contradiction of
in a
it
cul-
was brought
the original possessor of the
not conceivable, and
is
which
is
contrary to the analogy
country like Egypt, not obtained by conquest.
According
to the representation in Genesis, there
were
only two classes of land-owners, the kings and the priests.
Diodorus
on the contrary, whose declaration
confirmed
is
by the monuments, mentions three classes, kings, priests and
But
the military caste.
Herodotus
furnishes us with the
According
data for reconciling this apparent contradiction. to
him the
real estate of the military order differed
of the peasants, since
it
was
free of rent
;
from that
but otherwise be-
longed to the kings, and was given by them in fee to the
According
diery.
tary order
to
was given
book
2.
sol-
chap. 141, the land of the mili-
them by the kings, and taken away That this land was in" They alone, of all the Echap. 168
to
by one of the same, named Sethon. stead of pay
is
said in
:
gyptians except the priests, had the following special privilege,
namely
:
each one had twelve acres of good land, free
of rent." 3.
It
appears from the account in Genesis, verse 22, that
the priests received their support from the king. contrary, *
Herodotust
says, as, at least,
Gott. Anz. 1834. S. 39.
t
6*
it is
On
the
affirmed by
2. c. 37.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
bo
Heeren,* whom most
modern
in
Drumann,t Rosenmueller| support of the priests
is
times,
and
as
for
B a h r||
example
follow
:
The
obtained from the revenues of the
land belonging to the temples, from the temple-treasures.
This contradiction would disappear of with
V.
Boh
1
e
n§ translate verse 22
have done above
'* :
purchase, for that
is
itself,
differently
Only the land of the
if
we could
from what we
priests he did not
a legacy to the priests
on the part of
Pharaoh, and they enjoyed their privilege which Pharaoh gave to them, therefore they sold not their land." ing to this interpretation there
is
Accord-
indeed no account in this
passage of the daily portion which the priests received from
The
the king.
grounds of the crown-lands.
advantage.
reason that Pharaoh did not purchase the
were already themselves But we could not well avail ourselves of this priests, is this: they
In the place of the contradiction removed, a
one would immediately rations,
arise.
new
In opposition to other decla-
and to the whole situation of the Egyptian
priests,
possessions in land, properly so called, would be denied
all
them in this passage. Moreover this explanation * S. 132.
wholly inadmissible.^
t Ueber die Inschrift zu Rosette, S. 158. Neu. Morgan. 1. S. 222. Zu Herod. B. 2. c.
t
Alt. u.
§
S. 60.
Tl
The Hebrew word
||
p"n
is
also used to designate
food in Prov. 30: 8, and 31: 15. ;by V.
is
Bohlen.
The word
Ac-
37.
an allowance of
that is arbitrarily inserted
The phrase, " the land of the priests," when compared mean only the land which belongs to the priests as
with verse 20, can their
own
property, and also the expression " except the land of the
became not Pharaoh's," in verse 26, shows that the land of the priests was in the fullest sense their own. After comparing the words Cp^h— rs ^V:=s with verse 18 seq., according to which the priests alone,
Egyptians sold their land in order to procure food, no one will interthem by " they enjoyed their privilege." Finally, it cannot, from the nature of the case, be supposed, that the same author who pret
makes all
the Egyptian peasants land-owners, will deny to the priests
such possessions.
;
SUPPORT OF THE PRIESTS.
67
cording to sound interpretation, the passage can as follows
had
to
land, did not affect them, since they received an al-
lowance from Pharaoh, so also
only
which compelled the remaining Egyptians
for the cause, sell their
mean
only the land of the priests he did not purchase
:
he had bread, they
that, so long as
it.
But the contradiction may be removed in another way, and become perfect agreement. In the passage of Herodotus* especially relied on, the meaning is not what it has been affirmed to be. er usages, I is
also
there said
It is
:
"
And
yet
many thousand
might say, must they observe.
much
shown them.
favor
But
For neither
means of
their
support nor their other expenses are derived from their
But they have
wealth.
their holy bread baked,
oth-
for this there
own
and each one
receives a great quantity of goose and neat's flesh every day
wine
is
tween the
''
priests, but
receive in
common between
common
from the king.
The
them."
also given
distinction
is
treasures" and " private wealth" of the their
own
property and that which they
with others out of the public treasures,
It is precisely the distinction
between the
wealth of the priests existing in lands, and their salary
up of natural productions, which appears this passage of
Herodotus,
in
Genesis
;
made
so that
very far from contradicting our
representation, serves rather as a strong confirmation of
The
phrase^ "
;
not here be-
For neither
their
expenses are derived from their
means
own
wealth, "f then leads de-
For, since in what precedes the
cidedly to this conclusion.
passage quoted, individual priests are not spoken priests in general, so
it is
it.
of support nor other
of,
but
entirely arbitrary to understand by
" their own wealth" the private property of individuals.
The
wealth of the priesthood, in distinction from the allowance
which was given them
as a
reward
for their service
* 2. 37. t
OvT£
Ti
yaQ xoiv
otnifioj
xqi^ovGi outs SaTTavtojvrai-
can alone
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
OS
This declaration
then be designated here.
shown them,"
favor
(lit.
further to this argument.
:
" There
much good),*
they suffer
much
is
contributes
For, since the party receiving, the
must
suffering subjects are the priests in general, the activity
come from some other source than from themselves. this: ** There is to them," " there is given them."
Just so
But did
there any doubt remain with regard to the correctness of the
foregoing explanation, planation of says,f
The
would be cleared away by the ex-
He
himself in another place.
soldiers alone besides the priests receive a salary
from the king.
own
it
Herodotus Now,
since the land of the priests was their
property, their salary could consist only of the portion
which was given them.
But other accounts
also
support from the king.
m ann,"|
show *'
that the priests received their
The
maintained by the priests also,
all
of
king,|| and,
whom As
Dru-
without doubt, the sons of the
over twenty years of age were given
to the king as servants, or
sight of his affairs.§
thirty judges," says
Thebes and Memphis were
priests of Heliopolis,
more
correctly to take the over-
a general rule, every
mediate service of the court
is
one
in the
im-
maintained by the king;
for
example, the two thousand soldiers
who
alternating yearly,
The
formed the body guard of the king."^
ministers of
court were in Egypt the priests, just as the State was a theocracy, and the king was considered as the representative and
incarnation of the Godhead.
Diodorus
says indeed that the whole maintenance of
the priests, as also the expenses for the offerings, etc., were
derived from the revenues of the lands.
any
rate, only
*
ndayovoi Se xal ayad'd orx
\
S. 15!).
II
Diodorus
1.
But
this is true, at
of later times, when the priesthood had
7.").
^vvTa^ng
oXiya.
2.
t
dt tojv dvaynatojv
naQu
ro7g /utv (fixaaraig Lxavai ir^og 3iaT(jorf7)v txoQyjyoivro
aaattj nollan)Macoi,.
§
Diod.
1.
70.
IF
lost
chap. 168.
roil ^aailtvjq
tw
§6 aQXtSi-
Herod.
2. 168.
MOSAIC AND EGYPTIAN INSTITUTIONS.
much
69
of their income and of the respect previously shown
them.*
We
have hitherto shown that the author exhibits
narrative
in the
which we are considering the most accurate know-
ledge of the condition of Egypt
may more
But we cannot
— such
a
knowledge
as
Moses
supposed to possess than any other one.
easily be
stop here.
We
tian usages here referred to
must
also
show
that the
Egyp-
were the groundwork of those
of the Israelites under discussion in the Pentateuch, and that a copying of
for when the legisMoses truly proceeded from him, since he and no law-giver of more modern times
them can only be accounted
lation attributed to it
was natural
that
should have regard to the Egyptian institutions in forming
We
his laws.
here quote what has been already said in
will
another placet upon this point. finds a reference in the
tian law.
'
In Egypt,' he says,
the king, and the
**
two tenths '
in
M ich a el Gen.
the lands
husbandmen were not
i
xlvii. to all
s|:
indeed
an Egyp-
belonged to
the proprietors of
the fields which they cultivated, but farmers or tenants
who
were obliged to give to the king one fifth of their produce. Gen. 47: 20 25. Just so Moses represents God, who hon-
—
ored the Israelites by calling himself their king, the sole possessor of the soil of the promised land, in to place
them by
his special
were mere tenants In
er.]!
f^ctj
,
providence
who could
which he was about ;
but the Israelites
not alienate their land forev-
they were obliged to give God, as also the
gyptians Pharaoh two tenths,' etc.
Indeed the copiousness
of the account must awaken the supposition of some design,
and
if
we compare
Lev. xxv.
it
can scarcely be doubted that
the representation of the relation in which Egypt stands to *
Drumann,
t
Th,
t
Mos. Laws,
Ij
S. 159
III. der
ff.
Beitrage zur Einl. ins Alt. T. S. 411, 412. vol. I. § 73.
Lev. 25: 23. Compare verses 42 and 55.
:
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
70 its visible
king
applied to the relation of Israel to
is
who
king
sible king, the
is
God."
also
its invi-
As Pharaoh, we
add, furnished support for the priests out of the
fifth
also
which
he received, so also did Jehovah.
Embalming, Lamentation for In Gen. 50
:
3
2,
it
is
said
his servants the physicians to
embalmed
sicians hinm
;
Israel.
'' :
for so are fulfilled the
and the Egyptians mourned
Dead,
etc.
And Joseph commanded
embalm
And
the
forty
his father,
and the phy-
days were
who
fulfilled for
embalmed, him seventy days."
days of those for
This passage gives occasion
are
the following remarks
for
phrase, " Joseph
The
commanded his servants, the phy-' sicians," is not to be understood to mean that all the physicians of Joseph took part in this operation. The command was rather obeyed by those among the physicians of Joseph to whom this business belonged. It is remarkable that we find among the domestics of Joseph a large number of physicians. Even a r bu r ton has compared with this account what Herodotus* says of the healing art among the Egyptians " the medical practice is divided among them as 1.
W
:
follows
:
each physician
more, and
all
is for
one kind of sickness, and no
places are crowded with physicians
for there
;
are physicians for the eyes, physicians for the head, physicians for the teeth, physicians for the
ease."
Therefore, remarks
stomach and
for internal dis-
Warburton,
it
ought not
to
appear strange that Joseph had a considerable number of " Every great family, as well as every family physicians. city
must needs,
the faculty.
A
as
Herodotus
expresses
it,
pear an extravagant piece of state even in a
But then we see
it
temper had
proper physician. "t
* 2. 84.
its
swarm with now ap-
multitude of these domestics would
f
first
minister.
could not be otherwise, where each dis-
The
medical
men
Warburton's Divine Legation, Book IV.
of
3. 8o.
EMBALMING
IN EGYPT.
71
Egypt were renowned in ancient times. Cyrus had a physician sent him from Egypt,* and Darius always had Egyptian physicians with him.t 2.
gypt,
That the custom of embalming was very ancient in Eis shown from the practice of cutting the bodies with
Some mummies
an Ethiopian stone.| the oldest kings. 3.
||
The embalming
is
here performed by the servants of
According
Joseph, the physicians. sical authors
to the accounts of clas-
on the contrary, the erabalmers were
and organized class of men
tary
also bear the date of
in
Egypt,
in
duties were assigned to different persons.
which
a heredidifferent
According
odorus
the Taricheuta were the most distinguished
them.§
If a proper distinction of time
no contradiction in the
most ancient times
those to the
whom
is
The embalming which the
included. able
The
continued, according to the declara-
says, "
They
forty
this.
whole mourning seventy
days of the embalming are evidently
account of
manner with
to the rules of
of operators gradually arose.
tion of the author, forty days, the
days, in
is
suppose that
But afterwards, when
it.
embalming was executed more according
art, a distinct class
4.
i-
was performed by
this operation
each one committed
D
among
observed, there
It is entirely natural to
here.
to
D
odo
i
r
u
s
agrees in a remark-
With reference
prepare the body
first
to
embalming he
with cedar
oil
and
vari-
ous other substances, more than thirty (according to another then, after they have added myrrh and cinnamon and other drugs which have not only the power of preserving the body for a long time, but of imparting to it a
reading, forty) days
*
Herod.
3. ].
I
Herod.
2. 86.
;
t
Diod.
Ibid. 3. 129.
1. 91.
jj
Rosellini, 11. 3. p. 306.
Rosenm. Alterthumsk. II. 3. S, 352 fF. Upon this difFerence Zoega remarks, De Obeliscis, p. 263 At that time the college of Taricheuta seems not to have been formed, but embalming was performed by slaves. §
:
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
72
pleasant odor, they
Of
ed."*
commit
it
the mourning the
king died,
all
same author says
"
:
no
a
sacrifices,
Herodo-
celebrated no festivals, for seventy-two days."f
u
When
the Egyptians raised a general lamentation,
tore their garments, closed the temples, offered
t
deceas-
to the relatives of the
opposition to both these accounts, seems to limit the
s,| in
time of retaining the body in natron alone to seventy days.
But
if
the passage referred to
is
more
shows that he limited the whole time under the embalmers to seventy days.
examined
closely
it
which the body was
in
Since
this
time began
with the death and ended with the burial, while the mourning began and ended at the fect
agreement between
ours, *
which
same
time, there
passage of
this
is
the most per-
He rodotus
and
limits the time of lamentation to seventy days.||
1.91.
t
72.
1.
t
2.86.
ravra Ss nonjaavTsgj zaQiy^tiovoi, ikqisi, xqvyjavTSS ?]jutQag e^Sour/HOVra- nXavvag Ss xovrtow ovu i^sazi ragiThat these seventy days of Herodotus have reference not XSV61V. merely to the time of retaining the body in natron, but to tlie whole time of the embalming and mourning, has been asserted by some who are by no means guided by a respect for the Mosaic account, as for example, by Zoega, De Obeliscis, p. 253, and by Heyne, Spicilegium 11
Herodotus
antiquitatis
saj^s
:
mumiarum,
in
Commentt. Getting.
The time
III. p. 85.
not only too long for retaining the body in natron, but it is also improbable that Herodotus would give the time of salting ,which was so is
far it
from being the prominent thing that Diodorus does not mention and not that of embalming and of the whole operation. Be-
at all,
sides, seventy, as a
round and sacred number, is much more suitable single, proportionally unimportant part, which in its restricted sense, of which alone the Pen-
whole than a under the embalming
for the
tateuch makes mention, (the tain means according to the Arabic, bonis odoribus condivit mortuum, and consequently designates the operation of zer, to
which Diodorus speaks,)
whom
tion whicli
is
most
in
p.
But Creu-
accordance with the facts in the case,
sistent with the words. "
Herodotus,
lield so inferior a place.
Biihr accedes, has attempted to prove that the explana-
Ego
si
quacris,"
lie
says in
quidem
h.
1.
incon-
queunt
cum
diserte dicit vaqixtvovat liXQoi,
quod
45, " vereor ut hae explicationes conciliari
verbis Herodoti, qui
is
Comment, upon
THE MOURNING FOR JACOB.
The Egyptians mourned
5.
when
In verse 4
mourning
the days of his
10 and 11
Jacob according
for
above passage, seventy days.
73
it
is
w^ere past," etc.
''And they came to the threshing
:
said
to :
the
"And
In verses
floor of
Atad,
beyond Jordan and mourned there with a great and very sore lamentation and he made a mourning for his
which
is
;
and the inhabitants of the land, the Ca-
father seven days,
" This
name
The for
is
of
in the floor of Atad and said, mourning to the Egyptians wherefore the was called Abel Mizraim (mourning of Egypt)."
saw the mourning
naanites,
a grievous it
;
classical writers also
that the Egyptians appointed
vocabulum cogitando videtur
posterius
yQvipavrsg, turn ad raQiatvetv.,
:
"When
ita
1.
cum
ad sequens
proprie salitionem
this is done,
70 days, but they are not allowed to pretation
repeti debere
ut raQiycsvsiv h.
According to Creuzer therefore we must transthey lay it in natron and leave it therein
videatur significare.'' late
show
themselves a very solemn mourning for the dead, espe-
not
is
admissible,
salt
much
it
longer."
then
less
But
yQvipavTsg, Iitqm cannot be implied, for the dead body into the natron, but that
was applied
to
this inter-
With
necessary.
was not put
TaQinsvStv without Iitqoj
it.
can the more appropriately be taken in a general sense, since it is always so used in what precedes and follows. Compare c. 85 ovTOj ig xriv xaQiykvoiv nof^ilovat., c. 86 ojSs rd GTrovdaiorara xaqi:
:
XevovGi, Tt/GOJGij
c.
89
:
rag da ywatnag tojv iTii(favio)v avSgajv, intdv tsIsv-
ov TtaQavTina dtdovGt xaQixsvtiVj
— ovro) nagaStSovGL toTg za-
Compare upon the meaning of xaqt%svuv, primarily and then to embalm in general, Creuzer p. 10 seq. Heyne We must translate: " When this is done, they embalm it
^i%EvovGi. salt
81.
;
natron, having concealed
embalm
it
(in all)
70 days
;
but
it is
to p.
in
not permitted to
The expression "having concealed
it 70 days" whole time in which the dead body was removed from the view of the relatives, and was under the operation of the emit
longer."
refers to the
balmers.
The phrase "They
are not allowed to
embalm
it
longer"
is
explained by the remark, that to the taqiYfivGig the treatment with
natron also belonged, which began after the embalming in limited sense
was
at
its
an end, and continued until the burial, or
end of the mourning.
7
more to the
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
74
Herodotus* says " LamWhen a man died in
of high rank.
cially for those
:
entations and funerals were celebrated. a house, that
is,
of rank,
ojie
the females of his family
all
covering their faces with mud, and leaving the body in the
house ran through the
girded up, and striking their
streets,
bare breasts and uttering loud lamentations.
The men
joined them.
relations
manner and
also girded
up
mud
cover their heads with
D
their dress."
any one dies among them,
If
All their female
beat their breasts in like i
odo
r
u st says
:
and friends
his relatives
all
and go about the streets with
loud lamentations, until the body
is
In the meantime
buried.
they neither use baths nor even take wine, or any other
common food The same
than
they also do not put on beautiful gar-
;
author gives an account of the lamen-
ments."
tation of the Egyptians
on the death of
women to the number of 200
or
sung twice every day the funeral eulogies,
dirge,
Men
a king.
300 went around
in
and
companies,
honored him with
and repeated the virtues of the dead.
In the mean-
time they neither tasted meat or wheaten bread, and abstained
from wine and every species of sumptuousness.
No
one
used the bath or ointments or a soft bed, but every one was of the deepest sorrow, as
if a
Meanwhile everything
spent the prescribed time in sorrow.
which pertained last
to the
burial
day they placed the
was made ready, and on the
coffin
which contained the body
before the entrance of the tomb," etcf also
show how
violent
The monuments^
and solemn the lamentation was among
Many
the Egyptians.
of the ceremonies of mourning have
been transmitted even to the modern Egyptians. In chap. 50: 4,
full
beloved child had died, and
we read: "And when
||
the days of his
*B. §
2. c.8.5. fB. I.e. 91. See the Representation of a mourning scene, from Thebes,
kinson Vol. II
Heyne
I. p.
286.
p. 81,
and
modernes de I'Egypt.
X
De
Chabrol, Essai
Descr.
t.
s.
18. p. 180.
Diod. B. les
in
Wil-
1. c. 72.
moeurs des habitans
FUNERAL PROCESSIONS.
75
mourning (the mourning
for Israel) 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," etc.
It is
worthy of remark here, that Joseph makes not his
request directly to the king, but has recourse to the house of
Pharaoh, while
and even
other times he goes directly to Pharaoh
at
;
brothers and his father were brought before
his
Pharaoh, so that the fact cannot be explained on the ground
The
of the hatred of the Egyptians to strangers. explanation
as follows
is
It
:
correct
belongs to the Egyptian sense of
propriety to go with shorn head and beard,
allowed to appear before the king.
and only so
Compare
chap. 41
is it
14,
:
where Joseph shaved himself and changed his garments before he went to Pharaoh, and the remarks upon that passage But while mourning they were not permitted
above.* shave.
Herodotust
custom
in
mourning
says
:
"Among other
for the relatives to
nations
it is
to
the
shear the head, but
when an individual dies, leave the hair which off, to grow both upon the head and chin."
the Egyptians,
was before cut Such peculiar customs are
especially suited to fix the opinion
with regard to the relation of the Pentateuch to Egypt.
In chap. 50: 7 and 8 bring his father
it
is
said:
"And Joseph went up
and with him went up
;
Pharaoh, the elders of the house, and land of Egypt. ren," etc.
We see
all
"The custom
"was peculiar tombs
And
to
all
teenth
all
to
the servants of
the elders of the
the house of Joseph and his breth-
of funeral trains," says
periods, and to
all
Rose
1 1 i
n
i,|:
the provinces of Egypt.
the representations of funeral processions in the oldest
at Eilethyas,
and similar ones are delineated
of Saqqarah and Gizeh in the
all
;
we
Theban tombs, which belong and twentieth dynasties,"
representations *p. 30.
in those
also find others of a like nature to the eighteenth, nine-
When we
behold
the
of the processions for the dead upon the fB.
2. c. 36.
UI.
3. p. 395.
EGYPT
76
Ax\D
monuments, we seem
The
THE BOOKS OF MOSES. see the funeral train of Jacob.*
to
between the elders of the house of Phacourt-officers, and the elders of the land of Egypt,
distinction
raoh, his
the state-officers,
also
is
According
worthy of notice.
other accounts the court of the Egyptian king
to
was made up
of the sons of the most distinguished priests; those called
Nomarchs and Toparchs by
the Greeks belonged to the state-
officers.t
In chap. 50: 26
it is
"And Joseph
said,
embalmed him, and he was put
Herodotus|
pare with this what tives take
shape of a
away the body and make
man and
says a
:
died,
— and they Com-
Egypt." "
Now
the rela-
wooden image in the AVhen it is thus it.
place the body in
inclosed, they placed it
in a coffin in
it
in the
apartment for the dead, setting
A doubt with regard to the Egyp-
upright against the wall."
knowledge of the author might be awakened by the fact wooden sarcopha-
tian
that he permits Joseph to be placed in a
gus,§ while one of stone would be expected.
examination shows that the
credibility
But a closer
this expression is directly in favor of
of the pentateuch
;
coffins
made of wood
Egypt, as indeed the passage already quoted from
in
otus
shows, were the
rare exception *
See
common
and in the case of Joseph,
;||
in Taylor, p. 182.
Herod-
ones, and those of basalt a
t
his order that
Heeren, Ideen S. 337
ff.
tB.2.86.
The Fiebrew word I'i-ist designates such a one. Plutarch employs synonymous word laQva^ the same thing to designate. See Zoega de Obeliscis p. 330. §
the entirely
II
fere
"Sarcophagi," says Heyne ;
common
86,"ebasalte rarissimietditissimorum
upon the Sycamore wood
material of coffins for the dead, Creuzer
ad formam corporis
as the
Comm., Herod, p
61,)
ex uno caudice dianidiato, ut altera pars pro pro tegumine sit; alii e pluribus asseribus coas-
facti,
capuli fundo, altera sati."
p.
plerique e sycamoro, (compare
Compare upon
the quality of coffins for the dead, Rosellini 11.
But the most copious collections upon wood as the very common material of the Egpytian sarcophagi are found in Zoega, p.
3.
p.
344.
CHANGE
IN
THE EGYPTIAN PEOPLE.
77
the children of Israel should at a future time carry his bones
with them to Canaan, furnishes a separate reason for giving wood rather than stone. Besides the custom
the preference to
of putting the dead in sarcophagi was by no means a general one, only rich and distinguished persons received this honor.
Compare
Heyne*
and notice that the Egyptian knowledge
of the author appears here, since he permits Joseph to be a sharer in this honor that belongs to those
who
are highly
esteemed.
At
we would
the close of this chapter,
to the wonderful
which appears
change
also call attention
in the spirit of the
Egyptian people,
Abraham
in the narrative of the Pentateuch.
found an easy entrance into Egypt and a friendly reception, and no distinction between him and the Egyptians is maniIn the time of Joseph the
fested.
spirit
of the Egyptian
people had acquired a more decided character 317
;
;
already are
autem patere videmus consuetudinem mortuos
latissime
inclu-
dere in areas oblongas cadaveris staturae accommodatas, et sic sub
terramcondere, aut in sepulcro reponere super solo exstructo, aut vero basi suiFultas collocare sub divo. Ligni ad hoc usus frequentissimus ;
eoque Aegyptii ut plurimum contenti fuisse videntur,
morus
ejus
arbor,
regionis
dum
et syco-
materiem praeberet diuturnae
incola,
durationis, et loca ubi condere solebant cadavera ab aere atque ita
essent praeclusa, ut quodvis lignum in
videatur. otus.
Ideoque non
The same author
honore apud Aegyptios
alias
quam
ligneas areas
says, p. 333 fuisse areas
iis
:
humore
perdurare potuisse
commemorat Herodmagno
Intelligimus et hinc in
ligneas
cum
arte faetas et pulcre
dum ipsum
Osiridem hujusmodi conditorio delusum et captum inque eo sepultum traderent quare et regum cadavera ligneo exornatas
;
The coffin of king Mycerinus discovered in the year 1837 in the third pyramid of Memphis is of sycamore wood. Compare Lenormant, Eclaireissemens s. le Cercuil du Roi Mycerinus, p. 4, Paris 1839. loculo intra lapideum inclusa fuisse conjicio.
*
De
sareophago olim
conditae essent
major impensa I.
S. 257.
;
ita tradi
solebat acsi
omne mumiae sareophago
atqui paucissimae ei inelusae sunt nee nisi in quas
facta.
Compare Maillet
in
Rosenm, A.
u.
N. M. Th.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
78
« the shepherds an
abomination, and Joseph must be freed
from the ignominy of his origin by an alliance with the
But
daughter of a priest of the highest rank. an alliance
is
still
Egyptians against strangers had not yet reached
The manner
height.
that
such
possible shows that the repulsive severity of the
in
its
greatest
which Pharaoh answers the request
of Joseph for the admission of his family into Egypt proves the
we
same
But
thing.
just
at
the beginning of the
foreigners,
and
their strong national egotism,
spicuous in the circumstance that the term sively
for
ment
their
people, designating
is
perfectly
in
which
man is
them
Every one must confess that
rank.*
this
is
used exclu-
gradual develop-
accordance with nature, and that the it
the proof of
authenticity and credibility. "
Salvolini
all
so con-
as of the highest
representation of the Pentateuch carries with its
Exodus
see the hatred and contempt of the Egyptians against
Campagne de Rhamses,
Paris 1835, p. 261.
THE ARABS
IN EGYPT.
CHAPTER EXODUS,
Chapters
The Fears of Pharaoh and In chap. let
1
:
11.
I— VII.
his Severity to the Israelites.
Pharaoh says
10,
79
to his people
"
:
Come
on,
us deal wisely with them, (the people of the children of
Israel,) lest they multiply, falleth
and
it
come
to pass that
when
there
out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight
against us, and so get
them up out of the land."
words are spoken perfectly things in Egypt.
Fruitful
in
accordance with the
and cultivated Egypt has
These state of for its
natural enemies the inhabitants of the neighboring deserts,
and
it is
never in greater peril than when these enemies find
inhabitants. The history of the Arabian Egypt shows how very confident the Egyptian king might be that he had ground for his fears, and that he must make regulations in accordance with them. Of these " They made common cause Bedouins P r o k e s c h* says allies
among its own
Bedouins
in
:
with the Arabs against the communities land, and latter
who were
became themselves land-tillers.
Saracen dynasty
in
who
possessed the
the enemies of the Arabs as soon as the
They fought against
the
Egypt, against the Turkomans as soon
had acquired the ascendancy, against the Memlook
as they
Sultans
who were
have been since they
at
the successors of the Turkomans, and they war with the Osmanlies without intermission,
first set
foot
upon Egypt more than three hundred
years ago."
The measures which Pharaoh
adopted
for the
oppression
of the Israelites are entirely in accordance with the spirit of Erinnerungen aus Aeg. und Kleinas. Th.
2. S. 231.
80
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
the Pharaohs,
whose proud
r
upon
Sesostris placed
u s,*
against hated and de-
severity
knew no bounds.
spised foreigners
According
captives an inscription showing, that
been engaged in
P n y,t Upon the
D
i
od
o-
by
no native citizens had
employment.
servile
this
to
his buildings erected
all
According
to
Sesostris harnessed captive kings to his chariot.|
I i
Medeenet Haboo, repreRemeses III, after his con-
sculptures, in the temple at
senting the triumphal return of
quests in the Eastern war, three captives appear tied under the axle of his chariot, while others
bound by ropes walk by
the side of his horses as an offering to the deity of the place.§
According
to chap.
see from chap. 5:
7,||
of these bricks.
I.
14,
1:
the Israelites with hard
Pharaoh embittered the in mortar and brick. was used
that straw
We
some
of
We
in the preparation
have already shown that the use of
brick was very general in Egypt, as
made in Egypt under
Bricks were
life
bondage
is
here implied.^
2.
the direction of the king or
privileged person as appears from the impressions found
upon many of them.**
A
great multitude of strangers were
Thebes and other But the most remarkable agreement with in the fact, that a small portion of chopped
constantly employed in the brick fields of parts of Egypt.
the Pentateuch
straw
is
2. is
found in the composition of the Egyptian bricks.
*1.56. I
133. 15.
Sesostri
Aegypti rege
tarn superbo, ut prodatur annis
sorte reges singulos e subjectis
triumphare. §
jungere ad currum
Diodorus also relates the same thing,
Wilkinson
solitus,
quibusque atque
ita
1. 58.
106 and plate.
1. p.
Luther has incorrectly translated in chap. 5: 7 That they might burn brick, from which the false opinion might easily arise that the :
II
straw served as fuel.
It
should be
straw to make brick with, If
See
p.
1— Also
:
Ye
no more give the people
concerning the use of brick
de Quincy, etat de I'Architect, Egypt, **
shall
etc.
Wilkinson n. 97.
in
p. 64. seq.
Egypt, Quatremcre
;
HEBREWS MAKING This
Ro
evident from
is
e
s
1
i
1
IV., the
n
fifth
81
an examination of those brought by
from Thebes on which
i
BRICK.
is
the stamp of Thothmes
"
king of the eighteenth dynasty.*
The
remarks Rosellini,t "which are now found
bricks,"
Egypt,
in
belonging to the same period, always have straw mingled with
them, although in some of those that are most carefully made, found in very small quantities."
is
it 1
i
n
firm, especially those of coarse clay
Prok
formed. at
e
s
c h| says, "
Dashoor) are of
Rosel-
We
clay from the Nile mingled with
fine
The
ishing durability." little
inquirer will not leave unnoticed
and entirely undesigned circumstances as
much
are carried
which
Rose
nation
:
1
1 i
n
in a
i§ first furnished a
tomb
at
Thebes, of
drawing and an expla-
" Explanation of a picture representing the Hebrews
were engaged
in
making
an abstract of the account of says he, vessels,
these.
by the comparison of our
farther
history with a picture discovered
as they
and more roughly
The bricks (of the first pyramid
This intermixture gives the bricks an aston-
chopped straw. such
to
most part burned, but dried in the sun,) might be
for the
more
According
straw was used in order that the bricks, (they were not
i,
brick."
Rose
1 1 i
n
i.
We
will first give
''Of the laborers,"
''some are employed in transporting the clay in
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
backs and ropes
their
on each side carry away the bricks already burned or
dried.
Their dissimilarity to the Egyptians appears
view
at the first
the complexion, physiognomy and beard permit us not to be
mistaken
in
and there
They wear
supposing them to be Hebrews.
the hips the apron which is also
is
common among
represented as in use
among them
short trowsers after the fashion of the t]'^p;p7q
t
II. 2. p.
In der Erinn.
252.
Th.
t
2. S. 31.
II. 2. p.
§ II. 2. p.
a kind of
Among
.
Hebrews, four Egyptians, very distinguishable by *Ros.
at
the Egyptians,
the
their mien,
259.
254 seq.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
82
figure and color, are seen
two of them, one
;
other Egyptians,
who
fall
are here represented like the
one of them carrying on
and the
sitting
other standing, carry a stick in their hand ready to
upon two Hebrews, and the
his shoulder a vessel of clay,
other returning from the transportation of brick, carrying his
empty
vessel to get a
new
The tomb
load.
belonged to a
high court-officer of the king, Rochscere, and was made the time of
Thothmes IV,
The
dynasty.
question,
of Rochscere ?"
Rose
the
fifth
"How came
1 1
i
n
i
in
king of the eighteenth this picture in the
answers
as follows
tomb
He was
"
:
the overseer of the public buildings and had, consequently, the
charge of are found
nature; laborers
two
There
the works undertaken by the king.
represented therein collossal
who hewed
still
a sphinx and
to be
— works which he
performed
"How came
the question,
other objects of a like
statues of kings,
the stone,
had caused
his office
To
all
labors of the Israelites at
Thebes
the'
by virtue of
in his life-time.
the representation of the ?"
it
is
answered:
need not suppose that the labors were performed
"We
in the very
place where they are represented, for Rochscere was overseer
of the royal buildings throughout the land, and what was
done
in the circuit
of his operations, could, wherever per-
also not impossible that the
his tomb at Thebes. It is Hebrews went even to Thebes.
In Exodus 5: 12,
that they scattered themselves
formed,
be represented
it is
in
said,
through the whole land of Egypt
So
far
R OS ell in
with our account in first
1.
view.
We,
It is said in
to severe labor
in order to
The agreement many very striking i.
procure straw.
of this
painting
points, appears at
consequently, select from them only two. the narrative, the Israelites were subjected in
mortar and brick.
Just so this servile
labor appears throughout the painting as
twofold,
some
are
employed upon the clay from which the bricks were made, and
some upon
the finished brick.
2.
We
have
an explanation with regard to the Egyptians
in this painting
who accompa-
EGYPTIANS OF LOW CASTE.
83
Of these Egyptians we Exod. 12: 38, "And also a great rabble (i'n l"^.i?) went up with them." In Num. 11: 4, " The mixed Egyptian populace (iqDQDi^n) led astray the Israelites in the desert to nied the Israelites in their Exodus.
read,
first,
in
discontentment."
how
In Deut. 29, 10(11)
with each other
—the Egyptian
let
be observed
it
aliens appear as very poor, as
the lowest servants, as hewers of
The
—
accurately these remote and disconnected passages agree
wood and drawers of
designations rabble and populace in the
first
water.
passages,
also show, that these attendants of the Israelites belonged to
the lowest grades of society.
we should
Just such people
naturally expect to find in Egypt.
Their existence
is
the
necessary consequence of strongly marked castes in society.
The monuments
indeed place vividly before us most manifest
A
distinctions in station.
part of the people appear to be in
the deep degradation which
According native tribe,
to
now
Herodotust
presses upon the Fellahs.*
of swine-herds, a
the caste
was unclean and despised
in
Egypt.
All inter-
course with the rest of the inhabitants, even entrance into a temple, was forbidden, the Parias in India. "|
and they were as
The contempt
in
much
despised as
which they were
held was not certainly the consequence of their occupation,
but their occupation of the disdain which was
Already unclean, they had no reason of unclean animals.
But
notices of the Pentateuch
upon
it
full
light
felt for
them.
for avoiding the care
first
falls
upon these
through our painting.
We
see
Egyptians who are placed entirely on an equality with
the hated and despised
foreigners.
What
is
more natural
than that a considerable part of these Egyptians, bound close their
to
companions
in
sorrow by their
common now
should leave with them their native land, such
misery, to
them
only in name.]]. ± Heeren, S. 150. *Wilk. Vol. I.p.285. tB.2. c. 47. Compare upon the bondmen of Egypt, who like the Helots in Sparta, were in ignominious servitude, Bockh, Erklarung Einer Aeg. II
Urkunde
S. 27, 28.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
84
He who
has carefully examined the engraving in
R osel-
lini, the great importance of which has been acknowledged
Heeren,*
by such historians as
accordance with the Pentateuch, then this picture
really genuine,
is
perceiving
will ask first
whether
of
it is
of the painting
made
a
Wilkinson,! while
written.
Wilkinson, who
spot, decided
the
This decision
favor of the picture.
since
by the judicious
itself, is,
was
answered by the condition
sufficiently
new examination on
striking
whether
not probably a
supposititious work, prepared after the Pentateuch
This question, almost
its all,
is
the
more
entirely in
to be relied ori,
he questions whether the painting
has direct reference to the labors of the Israelites, does not
deny the significance of
it
for the
Pentateuch.
arguments with which he contends against Israelites,
are of so
little
avoid thinking that he
is
importance, that
its
But the
referring to"
we can
scarcely
influenced by something foreign from
the thing itself; and they are decidedly outweighed by the
evident Jewish bearing and cast of physiognomy, which can
be traced even in the Taylor.|
in *
He
common wood
Wilkinson,
says, Gott.
Anz. 1835, S. 1328
cuts such as are found
makes the place where
first,
:
the
If this painting represents the
servitude of the children of Israel in these labors,
it is
equally impor-
tant for exegesis and chronology.
For exegesis, because it would be a strong proof of the great antiquity of the Mosaic writings, and especially of the book of Exodus which in chapters one and five gives a description that applies most accurately to this painting, even
unimportant particulars.
in
For chronology, since
it
belongs
to the
eighteenth dynasty, under the dominion of Thothmes-Moeris, about
1740 before Christ, and therefore would give a fixed point both
for
profane and sacred History. t
Vol. II. p. 98 seq
"
:
It is
curious," he remarks, " to discover other
foreign captives occupied in the '
same manner, overlooked by similar same labors as the Israelites
task-masters,' and performing the very
described in the Bible
;
and no one can look
at the paintings of
Thebes,
representing brick-makers, without a feeling of the highest interest." I
p. 7D.
JEWISH PHYSIOGNOMY. painting
That it cannot another part of Egypt, the hiero-
found, a matter of importance.
is
work done
represent
in
According
glyphic inscription shows.
made
Ro
s
this;
for a building
e
1 1
n
i
85
Thebes.
in
to this, the bricks are
But
least
at
given by
as
the inscription does not so definitely
i,*
and even
if
did,
it
what
objection
valid
is
affirm
there to the
assumption that the Israelites were carried even as
far as
Thebes
in all
the
for
work
sake of their
That Egypt
?
times, even the most ancient, formed one kingdom,
is
now,
since the witness of the Holy Scriptures in this respect has
received
strong
so
was
It
whole land.
in troops
Even now,
the interest of the
for
much
oppressor to scatter the Israelites as his
from the monuments,
confirmation
a
generally acknovvledged.t
as possible
from the most remote provinces
any great work
is
wanting, which
is
so
marked
Egyptian monuments and
But
Sheshonk.
represented, and
in
one
it
Egypt, when
the beard
is
certainly
in the case of the others,
accommodate themselves
who
costume of ''11. p.
naturally
their
262.
to
Egyptian customs. |
There
own
Compare
is
a
made
appear upon the monuments in the
nation.
Thirdly, the argument from
Comraendamento, che rechino— mattoni i
construzioni della divina casa [del tempio] del t
it is
by supposing that they were compelled to
plain difference between the Israelites and those just captives,
is
people of Syria on the
case of the prisoners of
individual
wanting
if it is
easy to account for
in the
in the
in
Secondly, the beard
be executed.
to
through
the Fellahs are often collected
?
verso
le
— Dio.
Plath, Quaestiones Aegypt. Gott. 1829, Rosellini, Wil-
kinson and others.
"Although foreigners X Even Wilkinson, Vol. III. p. 358, says who were brought to Egypt as slaves, had beards on their arrival in the country, we find that as soon as they were employed in the :
service of this civilized people, they were obliged to conform to the
cleanly habits of their masters etc.
8
;
their beards
and heads were shaved,'
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
86
Jewish physiognomy
not decisive
is
same
generally did not give the as
costume, weapons,
to
employed
part,
same
characteristics
for
all
who
Egyptians,
style
the
most
for the
but rather,
general
particular region,*
inhabitants of a
the
etc.,
certain
a
for the
;
attention to the countenance
of
for
features,
have adopted the
inhabitants of Syria,
as
Assuming the correctness of appears from the sculptures. this position, which seems to us very doubtful, would the Egyptians, since the Jewish cast of physiognomy throughout can by no means be denied, have borrowed the type for the Syrians generally, from the Jews 1 This at least is certain, that a people from the region in which the Israelites dwelt were
found
Egypt in the circumstances represented in the paintcomparison of the picture with the account of
in
ing, and by a
Moses,
we
should be perfectly justified in the assumption that
these persons were real Israelites. It is also characteristic
teenth verse,
it is
embittered "through
There
is
of Egypt,
said that the
life
when
manner of
all
in this
same
four-
of the Israelites was also service in
the
field."
scarcely a country in which the cultivation of the
land requires so
much
Irrigation especially,
peculiarly servile labor as in Egypt.
is
here very laborious.!
Use of the Papyrus and Bitumen in Egypt.
According
to chap.
2:
chest o^
papyrus smears
child in
it
and puts
it
it
3,
the mother of
Moses taking a
with bitumen and pitch, lays the
down among
the reeds on the shore of
That the author names the papyrus as the material In Egypt, and of the chest, is a strong argument in his favor. there only, was the papyrus employed in the manufacture of
the Nile.
many * t
articles of use.
Wilkinson
I. p.
Mats, baskets, sandals and various
386.
See the more recent Commentators on Deut.
11: 10.
PAPYRUS AND BITUMEN.
87
made of it.* Even boats were constructed use of the papyrus belongs to the earliest times.
Other things were
of
The
it.t
Even
most ancient sculptures it is found with writing Bitumen was one of the principal ingredients in
in the
upon
it.j:
embalming in Egypt.§ In a passage in the Travels of Min Qtol i,|| giving a description of the " analysis of the resinous composition of a black shining finger from the body
of a
mummy"
by John,
it is
said
The resinous mass is com-
'' :
posed of the pitch-wood mentioned of a kind
in a preceding note, and bitumen which the Egyptians might have
of
Dead
obtained from the
Susa or even from
Sea, Babylon,
Phoenicia, or at least of an entirely analogous substance."
John
also found
bituminous substances in the embalming
child-mummy.^
materials in connexion with a
Rosellini,**
Menephthahtt many small
or a
mummy, found
According to tomb of Usirei,
wood
statues of
in the
at this
in objects
time in Egypt,
which belong
we cannot
doubt, since
it
to the oldest times.
The Daughter of Pharaoh Jinds According
form of
That pitch
covered with a stratum of bitumen.ift
was known is
there have been found in the
the Child, Moses.
the daughter of Pharaoh finds
to chap. 2: 5,
the child, Moses, as, accompanied by her maidens, she goes to bathe in the Nile.
That the women
in
Egypt were
far less
restrained than in the rest of the East, as this fact implies,
we have
already shown. 1|||
to the Nile to bathe
is
*
Wilkinson, Vol.
t
Herod.
2. 96.
is
That
the king's daughter
went
explained by the Egyptian notion of the
III. pp. 62, 146.
Plut. de Is. etOsir. p. 395
borne upon a boat of papyrus.
;
Wilk. Vol.
according to which Ros.
III. p. 61.
p. 124. X TI
Wilk.
III. 150.
ttRos.
II. 3.
§
Diod. 19. chap. 99.
^* Vol.
S. 344.
p.350seq.
L
H Wilk.
1. p.
||
S. 373.
249.
Vol. III. p. 186.
|1||
p. 26.
Isis
II. 3.
I
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
88
Of this we shall
sacredness of the Nile.
scene
—
speak in a subsequent
A representation of an
part of this volume.
and perform various
The
found
offices, is
Israelites directed to
Egyptian bathing
who
a lady with four female servants
attend
upon her
Wil kin son.*
in
harrow of the Egyptians
OrnamentSy
etc.
In chap. 3: 22, and the parallel passage where the Israelitish
bors
women gold
are directed to borrow of their Egyptian neigh-
and
ornaments,
silver
ornaments were even then the
such
among
general use
the
Tliis has been fully confirmed by late discoveries.
Egyptians.
On
implied that
is
it
in very
monuments, remarks
Rose
1
i
1
n
vases of costly
i,t
metals are found, not merely in the representations of
reli-
gious ceremonies and the offerings of kings to the gods, but
among
also
Therefore
Very many such mere private individuals.
the objects of household use.
things are found in the tombs of it
is
clear,
that not the great only, but
among
possessed any wealth had such articles
who
all
their house-
hold furniture.
Moses' Rod.
According
to chap. 4: 2,
find to be afterwards
his
Moses
follows an Egyptian custom in this, 7: 12,
we That he
carries a rod, and this
inseparable companion. is
evident from chap.
where each of the magicians carries
his rod.
Accord-
ing to the monuments, the Egyptian nobles generally carried a stick from three to six feet long
One
of them, preserved to our time,
they generally preferred, as
* Vol. III. p. :«!). t
Wilkinson, Vol.
it
is
they went out. ;
but
appears, the acacia wood.§
t
III. p. 223.
when
of cherry-wood
§
II. 2. p.
Wilk.
345.
III.
386-8.
WRITING UPON GARMENTS. Egyptian priests and other persons of rank are represented as vvalkinor with sticks.*
Writing much practised
The name
rived from the verb ~it:d teristic
Egypt.
of the Israelitish officers, which the task-mas-
Pharaoh placed over them,
ters of
in
,
the writers, is de-
D""!!:'!;,
to write.f
This
was
old world for writing
facility in
is
highly charac-
In no land of the
of the state of things in Egypt.
writing so great, and the materials
by any means so perfect,
workers were accustomed," says
1
" Stone-
Egypt.
as in
Rose
1 i
n
i,|
"to engrave
upon each square block an inscription in hieroglyphics; an impression was made upon the bricks, (which besides very frequently bore inscriptions, )§
—
—even oxen were represented, They
the steward of the house kept a written register.
pro-
bably wrote more in ancient Egypt, and on more ordinary " The Egyptians," says the occasions, than among us."
same
author,
"differ specially from
||
all
other people, in that
they constantly cover the interior and exterior of their houses,
and the walls of
all
the innumerable apartments, of their
wonderful subterranean burial places with images and writ-
"Upon
ing."
Egyptians, the
the implements, and even garments of the
name
men
is
written
of the owner
"The
part inscribed."
proper
is
frequently wholly or in
name
of the profession of the
upon them on the monuments, the name of
animals upon their representatives, and that of implements of every sort upon the figures which represent them."
must shut our eyes against the clearest deny that the ied * t
S.
Wilk.
"We
we would
of reading and writing was generally studin
ancient Egypt, to as great a degree at
III. 386.
See the arguments
449 X
art
and practised
light, if
for
this
in
Th.
II.
der BeitrHge zur Einl.
fF.
II. 3.
p. 241.
§ p.
8*
252. 3.
||
p.
239.
!
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
90
now
is
among
also furnished by
Rose
least as
it
Proof from the monuments
us." 1
1
n
i
i,*
is
that in judicial transactions,
The scribes, who everything was transacted in writing. meet our eyes wherever we look, act an important part.t The judges of the under-world all carry upon their heads the The
symbolic pen of truth and justice.^
now
passion for writing
the business of Egypt, that even
was so incorporated with
the last remains of the Egyptians, the Copts, are in ex-
clusive possession of
all
merous community, with show,
ferences
and as
secretaries' posts,
a
that these
it
were, form
compose a nuThese rekind of hierarchy.
These Coptic
a nation of scribes. §
scribes
and the remaining passages of
the Pentateuch which imply a great extension of the art of.
among the Israelites in the time of Moses, make known what cannot have been otherwise, and writing
only
1|
thus
These passages,
are a strong confirmation of the narrative.
so far from witnessing against the Mosaic period, have
become
just so
dation there
is
many
The
proofs for the same.
time
at the present
for the
little
now
foun-
argument against
the authenticity of the Pentateuch, from the non-existence, or at least the limited diffusion of the art of
shown by such
facts
S
this, that
as
al v ol
i
writing,
is
n i^ allows that
Sallier, containing a description of the Remeses the Great against the Scheta and their
the manuscript of
expedition of allies,
was written about
Whether
1565 before Christ
year
the
in this particular case
he
is
error or not,
in
our argument, a matter of indifference. that
an inquirer so generally esteemed
can suppose such
a date possible,
*
Vol. II. 3. p. 272 seq.
X
Ros.
§ II
li
For,
See
—
t
for
it
is
e. g.
Girard
in the
Descr.
are found collected in
Campagne de Rliamses,
t.
Th.
discrimination,
Ros.
p.
272
seq.
17. p. 192. 2.
for
that he did not even con-
II. 500.
They
is,
sufficient
der Beitrage S. 457
Paris 1835, p. 123.
ff.
1
EGYPTIAN PAPER. sider
91
necessary to question whether writing existed
it
at that
time in Egypt.
We
will
here
make some
additions to our Essay concern-
The Egyptians
ing writing materials in the Mosaic period.*
The common
wrote with reddish ink.t they wrote was paper
made of
the papyrus plant,
common
found in great quantities in the
abundance of coarse and
material on which
which
The
tombs.
paper which, from the dates,
fine
belonged to the different dynasties of the Pharaohs, as far in
back as the 18th, make
Egypt
at the
at least
certain that the use of paper
it
time of Alexander was very old, and therefore
refutes the declarations of
P
i
1
n
The Egyptians
y.
also wrote
We have in our possession,
with ink and red chalk upon cloth.
wrappers of
is
great
mummies of byssos, written over They also wrote catalogues,
for the dead-l
with the ritual accounts, and
other such like things with ink upon wood, vessels of Terra Cotta, pieces of lime-stone, etc.§
Finally, they also wrote
on parchment. 1
Preparation of Stone for Inscriptions.
The
passage, Deut. chap, xxvii, according to which the
stones to be written
upon were
to be first covered with lime,
has already been explained and verified from the antiquities
ofEgypt.^ We here add also, a reference to Wilkinson, Vol. III. p. 300, where the sand-stone of the Egyptians is said to have had a kind of stucco spread over it before the paintings were made, and even granite was covered with a similar composition. *
Th.
2.
Ros.
t
is
implied in
Num.
2. S.
Ros. p. 227.
II
**
oke
Wilk. Vol.
s
c
h** says
:
"I saw one,(among
ff.
207, with which, in order to call to
passage, Beitiiig, Th. X
r
der BeitrJige, S. 481
II. 2. p.
use of ink
P
5: 23,
Ros.
p. 228.
^ Beitrage, Th.
Erinnerungen aus Aeg. und Kleinas, Th.
2.
2.
S. 464.
S, 31.
that the
said
489. §
111. p. 152.
mind
compare what was
on
this
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
98
the tombs in the pyramids of Dashoor,) where a red mortar first
laid
upon the stone, and then
figure of the apis are impressed
upon
is
hieroglyphics and a
tlie
this coating.
The Bastinado.
The
scene in chap. 5: 14, where the officers of the
dren of Israel,
whom
chil-
the Egyptian overseers of Pharaoh
placed over them, were beaten because those under their
charge had not performed their task
brick-making,
in
is
placed vividly before our eyes in the representation of an
Egyptian bastinado
in
W
i 1
k
n
i
s
o n.*
With
this
compare
another representation,! where "the laborers are stimulated
work by the persuasive powers of the
to
painting stripes
down
stick."
shows conclusively, that the mode of
The
described in Deut. 25: 2, (the guilty person
flat
first
inflicting is
laid
upon the ground before the judge and beaten,) was
precisely the Egyptian mode.
the following words:
"Men
Wilkinson and boys were
describes
it
in
laid prostrate
on
the ground, and frequently held by the hands and feet, while the chastisement
was administered."!
The Shoterim of the
IsraiJitcs, the
same as the Modern
Sheikh el'Beled. Analogy,
for the
taking of officers from the oppressed peo-
who are made responsible for the performance of prescribed labor, may be found in modern Egypt. This same thing is done among the Arab fellahs, whose condition, ple themselves,
under the government of the Turks, as the description of * Vol. II. p. 41. +
Compare
a magistrate at p. 27b.
t
Rosellini, tlie
II.
''\.
p.
Wilk.
II. p. 42.
274, and concerning the presence of
execution of the punishment, the same author,
;
THE OFFICE OF THE SCRIBE.
Michaud,*
example, shows, agrees
for
93
many
in
respects
In each village, one
remarkably with that of the
Israelites.
of the Arabs, under the
of Sheikh el-Beled, occupies the
title
place of mediator between the government and the people.
He must
see that the
collect from
men perform
the prescribed labor, and
them the taxes which the government imposes
The Sheikh
upon them.
el-Beled
often seen under the
is
Kaim-makam, the Kashif or place of some individual of the common stick of the
in turn afterwards takes
Mamoor,
the
in the
whom he
people, of
vengeance.t
The Duties of the Shoterim. Since we are
now occupied
we
with the Shoterim,
will
also add, that the position, hitherto not properly understood,
which
they, according to the precepts
must have held with reference
to
Deut. 20:
in
warlike
1 seq.,
(they had
affairs,
the care of levying soldiers, and excusing those unable to
perform military service, and they delivered the troops over to the military chiefs, the " captains of the armies," in verse
9th,)
by the post which the scribes
explained
is
in the
same sphere
in
modern Egypt, and
the whole institution of the Shoterim, as patriarchal customs,
is
it
in
all
occupy
probability
entirely alien to
is
The
of Egyptian origin.
scribes in
the representation of Egyptian warlike scenes act an important part.
In levying soldiers,
for instance,
they write
down
names of those who are brought before them by their commanders.f They count, in the presence of the king,
the
the hands of the slain
which have been cut
times also their tongues and other they
make
off,
members of
and somethe body
and the
a statement of the weapons, the horses
rest of the booty,
and present
it
to the king,§
and they per-
form whatever such like things there are to be done. *
Correspondance,
X
Ros.
II. 3. p.
218.
t.
5. p. 254.
t
Ros.
§
Wilk.
II. 2. p. I. p.
257.
393.
;
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
94
The Arrogance of the Pharaohs.
The
which Pharaoh received ihe mes-
insolent pride with
sage communicated by Moses, as should hear his voice, to
vah and
upon him, one
struction
Jehovah, that I
is
go ?" "I know not Jeho-
go," in chap. 5: 2; the obstinacy
will not let Israel
which he afterwards fall
let Israel
Who
"
:
when
exhibits,
another,
after
the divine punishments
go
in deciding to
to de-
with his land and people, rather than yield, are
proved on the monuments in various ways, to be in accord-
ance with the genuine
The Pharaoh,
connection.
est in
this
whose
feet they lay
down
is
it
in
of special interthere said, at
is
these trophies of victory, (the sev-
ered right hand and other in his chariot,
comparison of
Remeses Meiamun,
Champollio n,*
Thebes, explained by
A
of a Pharaoh.
spirit
the representation of the victory of
members of the body,)
sits
quietly
while his horses are held by his officers, and
directs a haughty speech to his warriors: ''Give yourselves to mirth
;
ground by their I
let it rise to
my
hearts are
full
Strangers are dashed to the
heaven.
Terror of
power. of
it
my name
have pursued them as a hawk;
wicked
souls.
has gone forth
appear before them as a lion
I
;
I
have annihilated their
have passed over their rivers
I
am
I
;
have
set
on
Egypt what the god Mandoo has been; I have vanquished the barbarians; Amun Re, my father, subdued the whole world under my feet, and I am
fire their castles;
I
to
king on the throne forever."
whole character of literal
pride, in this "*
said that
It is 1 1
truth of this translation
speech breathes
The
Champo
i
;
on
's
we
work,
if
mistake the
we
may always be recognized from it. named themselves
ancient Egyptian kings
Kings of the whole world,f and what arrogance claim divine honors
In den Briefen aus Aeg.
p.
!:>>7.
assert the
but the spirit which the
is
in
for themselves. t
their
yet more, they
This
Chanipollion, p. 231.
ARROGANCE OF THE PHARAOHS.
95
can be proved by a multitude of arguments, of which we
The Menephtheum
here give only a few.
at
double character,* that of a temple and palace.
a god. It
the
name Pharaoh
cannot be doubted that
it
Rose
this
the sun, takes the title
which
1 1 i
among
the fact that
all
is
monument of this
a
place.
name
This
of the priest at
On
in the
common on
Champollion,
t
p. 43.
first
also occurs,
or Heliopolis,
the Egyptian monuments.|
See also Wilkinson, Egypt and Thebes, I.
The
consecrated to Phre.
is,
*
p. 257.
accordingly, the
Phre
sun, Potiphera, that also very
is,
Egypt bore.
the kings of
and Customs, Vol.
named Phre.
the royal emblems, a disk, representing
first
city of the
is
idea.
n i f furnishes, relying specially upon
Gen. 41: 45,
This name
re-
designates the king, as the incar-
nation of the sun, which the Egyptians
proof of
it
decorations, of the consecrated residence of
its
Even
a
It is in all
plan destined for the dwelling of a man, and yet
its
minds one by
will
Thebes has
t
1. 1. p.
115.
p. 5, note,
and Manners
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
96
CHAPTER
III.
THE SIGNS AND WONDERS
IN EGYPT.
The Connection of the Supernatural icith Plagues of Egypt.
The
part of
Exodus which we now proceed
of great importance for our object, that the
first
supernatural events described,
in the natural
the
all
Natural
in the
examine,
is
and principally
in
to
find a foundation
phenomena of Egypt, and stand
in close con-^
nection with ordinary occurrences, and also on account of
many separate references in the narrative, which show how very accurate the author's knowledge of Egypt was. As respects the first point, many have wished to make the
the
connection of the wonders with the natural phenomena of
Egypt, an argument against the Pentateuch. So indeed the English deists have done, as, for
those more recent,
example
Boh lent
v.
is
Mo
r
g
a n.*
— Among
Moses, he
conspicuous.
remarks, in order to avoid the suspicion of self deception, was atleast obliged to express himself in the mildest sible
among
with Egypt, natural
manner
pos-
who were so well acquainted make the commonly observed
his contemporaries, if
he wished to
phenomena
clear, that these
avail
as
miracles.
But
it
is
perfectly
occurrences as they are related, notwith-
standing their foundation in nature, always maintained their character as miracles, and consequently are sufficient to prove
what they are intended to prove, and they did accomplish. the natural, such
in
to accomplish
what
Attempts to merge the supernatural as
have been
made by
Du Bois
*
Conip. Lilienthal, die gate Sache der goltl. Offenb. Th.
t
S. 56. der Eiiil.
0.
8.33.
|
THE SUPERNATURAL
Ay me,*
THE PLAGUES.
Eichhorn,t
and then by
97
not accomplish
will
Indeed, the unusual force in which the com-
their design.
mon
IN
exhibitions of nature
manifest themselves, and
here
succession,, While at other times only a
especially their 'rapid
single one exhibits itself with unusual intensity, as well as
Eichhorn,
the fact that
notwithstanding
the unnatural
all
misrepresentations in which he allowed himself, yet found ma-
on the wonderful year of Egypt,
terial for a treatise
the
at
same time consider these events
in
—
if
we
connection with
the changing cause of them, and also take into account the
/exemption of the Land of Goshen, the miraculous
—bring us
for the transition to the
;
by the extraordinary
to the limits of
miraculous
is
reached
in its highest gradation.
But we are brought
into the sphere of the miraculous
itself,
by the circumstance that these things are introduced and per-
formed by Moses, that they cease
at
his request,
and a part
Hence
of them at a time fixed upon by Pharaoh himse1f.§
phenomena can be made
the connection with natural
to avail
against the Pentateuch, only when, going beyond the present narrative,
we
what
limit
in
can be explained by the natural
it
occurrences of Egypt, and establish the presumption, that
But
the remainder belongs to fiction.
Not
foundation.
all
Pentateuch
until
disproved,
is
* Notice sur le sejour des 1
t
necessary, in conformity with
Hebreux en Egypte, Description,
Egypte
les
tat sur le
this.
He
says,
description des
exaggerations poetiques permises k celui, qui de-
phenomenes qui ont servi a la d61ivrance de on verra tout prestige s' evanouir mais le concours evenemens extraordinaires quoique naturals, et leur resulcour, endurci du Pharaon, pourrout neanmoins etre con-
avec transport tant d'
t. viii.
mirabili.
:
son peuple, et
les
1'
;
siderescomme une preuve frappante de §
assumption wants
Even Du Bois Ayme in a manner acknowledges " Que V on ecarte done de la t. 8. p. 110
plaies d'
tie
it
De Aegypti Anno
In his Treatise,
Descr.
crit
is
this
the historical character of the
See Ex.
8:
5 seq.
9
la protection divine."
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
98
the natural philosophy of Egypt, to separate truth and fiction
from one another, although
whole narrative ral in
it
is
it
then better to transfer the
mythology, since the natu-
to the province of
acquires
its
significance merely through
tion with the supernatural.
And
so soon as
it
connec-
its
shall
be se-
we can no longer comprehend how Moses could make use of this to prove anything, and how it produced the
parated,
consequences ascribed to But, that the natural
son
in itself a
presumption against the
veracity of the Pentateuch, cannot
historical
we
it.
and thus furnishes an argument against the
supernatural,
If
is
exert ourselves to
for this,
we
shall
affirmed.
soon see that we have allowed an en-
On
assumption.
tirely arbitrary
be
bring forward any one tenable rea-
the contrary, that the con-
nection with the natural serves for confirmation to the supernatural,
is
clear from the following reasons.
Since we have shown that the natural ground-work of these wonderful events cannot be made an argument against the Pentateuch,
it
belongs to us also to point out
favor of the same. this character
Here comes
into view,
how
first,
far
it
is
in
the fitness of
of the miracle to the end designed.
The
su-
pernatural presents generally in the Scriptures, no violent opposition to the natural, but rather unites in a friendly liance with in
which natural events
isolate the
al-
This follows from the most intimate relation
it.
also stand to
The
God.
miraculous can aid only impiety.
endeavor to
But there was
here a particular reason also for uniting the supernatural as closely as possible with the natural.
The
object to which
all
of these occurrences were directed, according to chap. 8: 20,
was
to
show
that
Jehovah
Well-grounded proof of
is
this
Lord
in the
midst of the land.
could not have been produced
by bringing suddenly upon Egypt a succe.ssion of strange
From
it would only have followed that Jehomomentary and external power over Egypt. the contrary, if the events which annually return were
terrors.
vah had received
On
these a
THE SUPERNATURAL AND THE NATURAL. placed under the immediate control of Jehovah, appropriately land, and the in his stead
99 it
would be
shown that He was God in the midst of the doom of the false gods which had been placed
would go
and they would be entirely driven
forth,
out of the jurisdiction which was considered as belonging to
them.* Further, later fiction would aim specially at the dissolution
of
all
connection between the supernatural and the natural,
on the supposition that the dignity of the former would be marred, and that the omnipotence of the Lord and his love for
would be obscured, through
Israel
would make
it
strangest terrors.
this connection.
It
an object to concentrate upon Egypt the
The
consideration of the significance of
the connection of the supernatural with the natural, which
has just been pointed out, would not be sufficient to counter-
balance this advantage, even
if it
could be supposed that this
manner of considering the subject, so far removed from common observation, would have been understood.
delicate
And
even aside from
this
view, a fictitious account could
never succeed in sustaining so accurately the Egyptian character in connection with the supernatural, in preventing the
obtrusion of an element which was not Egyptian.
Were
it
even probable that individual Israelites of later times had an accurate acquaintance with Egypt, *
Even
it
would be of
little
ad-
the earlier commentators have occasionally hinted at this
reason for a connection of the supernatural with the natural, yet with-
out givirtg to the thought
its
full
importance.
Thus, Calvin,
for ex-
ample, in his remarks upon the account of the plague of frogs, says
Aegyptios ante quasi precario vitam duxisse ostendit deus, quia
:
sin-
Scimus Aegyptum gulari beneficio protexerat ab incursu ranarum. ob multas paludes et lentum ac prope stagnantem Nilum multis ranis et venenatis bestiis fuisse refertam.
Nunc quum
subito
erumpunt
ingentes turmae, agrorum superficiem obtegunt, penetrant etiam in
domos
et cubicula, denique in
regium palatium conscendunt facile manu atque ita deum Hebraeorum :
apparet fuisse ante cohibitas sola dei fuisse regni illins praesidern
et
custodem.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
100
vantage, since the thing would necessarily not take
from them merely, but rance of Egypt.
far
its
Thus, therefore, the connection of the su-
pernatural with the natural, throughout the whole,
gument
for the credibility
the time
at
of the narrative,
Rod changed
After these general remarks,
8
7:
—
is
an ar-
composition
origin.
Moses'
A sign
tions.
for its
purports to have been made, and consequently
it
Mosaic
for its
shape
more from the prevailing igno-
which
is
we
to
a Serpent.
turn to particular explana-
of a harmless nature, precedes, in Ex.
which are comprehended
13, the signs
in the
number
ten as a perfect number, and which are also plagues. is first
vin*
made, whether Pharaoh,
so strikingly says, "
reference to
in
There
is
presented us in the per-
son of one abandoned, an example of rebellion," will
Moses' rod
is
accomplish, ses'
not
Trial
whom Cal-
human arrogance and
become wise without severe measures.
changed into
at least in
a serpent, the
Egyptian magicians
appearance, the same thing; but
rod swallows up their rods.
Mo-
This counter-wonder of the
Egyptian magicians
is
founded on the peculiar condition of
Egypt; much more
is
the
Mosaic
sign,
—the same by which
indeed Moses had already, by the divine command, proved his
Mo-
commission from God, among the elders of his people. ses
was furnished with power
to
perform that which the
Egyptian magicians most especially gloried they most of
The
all
in,
incantation of serpents has been native to Egypt from
the most ancient even to the present time.t * Nobis in unius reprobi persona superbiae et imago subjicitur. t
Compare Aelian,
17. 5,
and the summary of
ancients, concerning the Psylli, in Quatremere, te,
1. 1,
and by which
supported their authority.
p.
202
seq.
The French
rebellionis
tlie
humanae
accounts of the
Memoires sur
1'
Egyp-
THE PSYLLI
IN EGYPT.
scliolars, in their Description,
accounts of
it.
101
have given the most accordant
Even those who entered upon an examinamost absolute unbelief, have been is something in it, that
tion of the subject with
—
forced to the conviction that there
the Psylli are found in possession of a secret charm, which places them in a condition to bring about the most wonder-
"
consequences.
ful
removed from
We
confess,"
we cannot
nesses of some things so v/onderful, that the
art
we, " far
said, that
is
it
easy credulity, have ourselves been wit-
all
consider
W
of the serpent-tamers as entirely chimerical.
removed the teeth of serpents and of scorpions, but we have had opportunity to con-
believed at
the stings
first
that they
"
vince ourselves of the contrary."*
€luatremere,t men found among
I
am persuaded,"
says
"that there were a certain number of
who by
the Psylli of antiquity,
cret preparations put themselves in
a
certain se-
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
name
truly deserve the
who
of Psylli, and
uninjured
handle the cerastes and other serpents, whose poison pro-
That they do not probably break
duces immediate death."! out the poisonous teeth,
Hasselquist
According
personal observation.
to the
also testifies,
scription, § the art passes from father to son.
The Psylli form
an association claiming to be the only individuals to
charm
from
account in the De-
serpents, and to free houses from them.
any other than the son of a Psylli attain to
who
are able
Never does
this ability.
Ser-
pents in Egypt often conceal themselves in the houses, and
then become very dangerous. is
When
anything of this kind
suspected, they have recourse to the Psylli. * In a Treatise,
pens, in t
§
t,
As above T. 24,
De
1'
art des
18. of the Descr. p.
p.
quoted, p. 204.
82 seq. 9*
The French
ophiogines ou enchanteurs des
333 seq. I
Quatremere,
p.
210
ser-
"
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
102
commander-ill-chief wished to the
affair
manded them
He
bottom.
time to examine the
at a certain
called
the Psylli, and com-
for
produce from the palace a serpent, which,
to
The
from traces discovered, was supposed to be there.
moist
There the Psylli called, by places were especially examined. imitating the hissing, sometimes of the male and sometimes After two hours and a fourth a serpent
of the female serpent.
In the religious
truly presented itself.
the Psylli
festivals,
appear entirely naked, with the neck, arms and other parts of
which they permit
the body coiled around by serpents,
to
sting and tear their breast and stomach, and effectually defend
themselves against them with a sort of frenzy, pretending to
wish
to eat
They Haie
them
alive.
Their sleight of hand
is
very various.
are able, according to their assertions, to
—
i.
use of for their tricks
—
into a rod, and
When
themselves dead.
compel them
mouth, and lay
up
its
down upon the ground. Then, as if last command, they lay their hand upon
its
head, and immediately the serpent, into a kind of torpor. it
it
to shut
it
order to give a
hands."
make
to feign
they wish to perform this operation,
they spit in the throat of the animal, compel
seizing
change the
the species of serpent which they especially
e.
by the
tail
stiff
They wake and rolling
Du Bois Ay me*
falls
up when they wish,
it it
and motionless,
in
roughly between the
gives his testimony to the
same
thing.
That which
is
related to us of the condition of
modern
serpent charmers in the practice of their sleight of hand,
is
entirely sufficient to give an insight into the condition of the
The state of these
Egyptian magicians who withstood Moses. last,
no
less
than the
first,
was certainly
that of the highest
enthusiasm, and cannot be attributed to a merely deliberate attempt to deceive; although deception, as
case with the modern Egyptian Psylli,
is
is
ded by enthusiasm, but rather often goes hand *
Page
108.
shown
to be the
by no means excluin
hand with
it.
INCANTATION OF SERPENTS.
That
the condition of the Psylli
is
one of ecstacy
*'
the people consider
festivals, e. g.
them
to
At
as holy.
indeed
is
According
clear from the passages already quoted.
utoli,*
103
M
i
n-
certain
on the day before the departure of the great
caravan to the Holy Caaba, they go forth in procession with live
snakes around their necks and arms, having their faces
in contortions
When
teeth.
insane person, until foam
like an
They sometimes
the mouth.
in order if
author describes one of the Psylli,
this
it is
foaming mouths with their hands."
who had been
a house from serpents, in the following
ance of
man was
manner
possible,
The same
sent for to free
:
that of a true magician.
"The
appear-
In the begin-
ning of his operation he stripped himself naked even to a apron about his hips coral
;
his
from
they are in this condition, the people press
around them, especially the women, to touch their
falls
also tear the serpents with their
;
upon
his breast
hung
little
a chain of black
head was shorn to a bunch of hair which stood up
upon the top of his head his body was dark brown and muscular. Rolling his eyes, and with the rod of divination in his hand, he now walked forth with a grave like bristles
demeanor, and
;
in
the meantime, whilst casting forth louder
and louder imprecations, and thrusting against the ceiling and walls
with his divining rod,
he searched thoroughly the
chambers and corners, now of the upper and now of the His fumigations of meal, sulphur and onion lower story. parings were at last so stupifying that a hard cough often interrupted the formula of incantation, and he
was
several
times obliged to invigorate himself by smoking a pipe of
tobacco." It is entirely
contrary to the spirit of antiquity in general,
and of Egyptian antiquity in particular, to explain the phrase, " This is the finger of God," chap. VIII, as meaning, " This is accomplished by God," so that the magicians say, ^ S.
266,
fF.
der Reise.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
104
now they have contended with Moses and Aaron upon earthly ground, with human means, and there they have
that until
overcome,
now God
but
By explained They victory. :
appears.*
It
should
be
rather
power of God have they obtained the certainly also ascribe to Elohim (not Je-
the
hovah) their former success
was
the whole contest
;
a contest
of God, Gen. 30: 8, and therefore their present inability must
be to them of just so It
Egypt
the Psylli in
from
much
greater significance.
deserves to be noticed also, that the present condition of
which
is
it
originally sprung.
now modern
one of decay.
It is torn loose
It exists in a
land in which even
illumination has variously exerted
and hindered
its
freedom.
natural than that very to the
entirely
natural connexion, the soil of natural religion from
its
much
that
is artificial
sufficient to
in.
more
charlatanry
But what now remains of ecstacy
convince us of the intensity of
is
should be added
much
exstatic condition, and that very
should creep
influence
its
Accordingly nothing
it,
as
it
is
entirely
existed in
the time of the glory of the Egyptian religion and priesthood.
The
opinion expressed upon the proceedings of the modern
which we find among observers who are most free from prejudice, and also among those who on the other hand
Psylli,
under the dominion of prejudice, guide us
are decidedly
explaining the
fact, that
in
the author of the Pentateuch does
not speak definitely upon the nature and origin of the results
produced by the Egyptian magicians. simple as
common
it
is
generally considered
Were to
be,
the thing so
were
it
either
jugglery or something really miraculous, performed
by the permission of
God through
satanic influence, then the
author of the Pentateuch would not, to express
an opinion upon
which these things
rest
—
it.
a very
it
may be presumed,
fail
But, since the ground on
dark and
difficult
one
—
is
"Calvin says: Digitum dei opponunt suae solerliae et peritiae. Pudcbat cnim fatcri qucnquam mortaliujn scientia praocellere.
THE 3IAGICIANS VANQUISHED.
105
not yet indeed but imperfectly explained by the most thoroucrh investigations, it was preferable to remain standing at the outer edge without going deeper into the nature of these As respects the thing itself, a further insight into
results.*
the nature of these consequences
ever opinion they had of the
first
three
made
Israel
signs, the
that
to
even
in
God of any one who did the
seek a support for his unbelief and rebel-
They change,
lion.
known
What-
nothing.
superior power of
itself sufficiently
not studiously
avails
this is certahi,
it,
it
matters not whether really or in ap-
pearance, their rods into serpents, but the rod of Moses
swallows up their rods; they also change,
at least
on a small
water into blood, but they are not able to restore the
scale,
blood to
its
former state; in like manner, imitating on a
small scale the miracle of Moses, they brought up frogs upon the land, but they were not able to free
it from the plague " For the punishment of the Egyptians," says Theodoret, " God gave also to magicians power, but not for
of
fi-ogs.
removing punishment; since the king had not enough of his plagues, but even commanded the magicians to increase the chastisement, so
God
art not yet satisfied
also punished
him through these
with the punishment inflicted by
Thou my ser:
vants, so punish T thee also by thine own." And the relative power of the Egyptian magicians in the beginning, must serve to show in so much clearer light their entire impotence as it was first exhibited in the little gnats and then continued invariable. The contest was first intentionally carried on in a sphere in which the Egyptian magicians, as we certainly
know
with reference to the
their principal power. *
The word
first
sign,
had hitherto shown
After they had there been vanquished,
Cn'^t2^a in chap.
7: '22
and
8: 3,
14, in
which
affirmed that a verdict of the author upon this matter tains
there
no such thing is
;
and the whole contest
is
is
it is
often
found, con-
a vain one, since
nothing existing which can give us any information concern-
ing his opinion.
t
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
106
the scene was changed to a sphere in which they could not at all
and the doom which
further contend,
upon them,
The
now
turn
plague.
—
Water of Egypt changed
the
to the second sign
It consists in
which
moon
according to which, the
blood, that there
is
On
here meant.
to
also the first
is
no reason
to
appears from Joel
It
be changed into
shall
suppose that
literal
Kings
3: 22.
is
blood
is
the contrary the change into blood can
properly only have reference to the blood red color the blood here
Blood.
changing the waters of the Nile, and
the other waters of Egypt into blood. 3: 4,
way came
in this
through them upon their gods.*
Plague
Jirst
We
fell
the
The
same
;
so that
as the water red as blood
designation
is
in
2^
here evidently chosen for
which
the sake of the symbolic character
plague bears,
this
as also the water red as blood in the passage referred
the book of Kings has a symbolic significance, destruction to the enemies of Israel.
To
the reddened water be blood, reminding
to in
announcing
the Egyptians shall
them of the innocent
blood which they have shed, and pointing to the flowing guilty blood to be shed.
In
plague
this characteristic this
is
coupled
with the darkness which afterwards covered the whole land, as both also appear connected in Joel 3: 4
be
turned
into darkness
'* :
The
sun shall
and the moon into blood."
In
the symbolic colors arranged by the Egyptians, black was the color of death and mourning, its
author, the red color
—
for that
which
was chosen, probably
is
base and
as the
color
of blood.
That there is found something analogous to this plague in phenomena of Egypt has already long ago been
the natural said.
The
water of the Nile, a short time before the inun-
dation, takes a green, and at the beginning of the inundation
^Ex. 12: 12. t Drumniann, Uebcr
die Inschriflin Rosette, S. 108, 109.
WATER CHANGED TO BLOOD.
The
a red color.
been
cause of this change of color has not yet According to A n t e sf the
investigated.*
sufficiently
name
inhabitants
107
the water
when
the flood has reached
A/^ (ma ahmar),
highest point of increase, /.-f^l
its
red water.
In the year 1673 the Nile reddened as early as the beginning
of July and continued of a red color to the end of December,
when
it
assumed again
its
usual hue.f
common years, the water when it is green and red is drinkable. Sonnini§ says: "During the continuance of my journey, I with my companions had no other drink than In
We
the unmingled water of the Nile.
drank
one of us experiencing inconvenience, year, even
when
the inundation so
fills it
at all
it
without any
seasons of the
with slime that
it is
thick and reddish, and appears truly loathsome."
But sometimes,
in years of great heat, this peculiarity of
water becomes a great calamity. Thus A b dol 1 atiph|| " In the year 596 (1199) the increase of the Nile relates :
About two months
was smaller than had ever been known. before the the river
and *
it
first
indications of the inundation, the waters of
assumed
became
Le Pere Aine
18 p. 571 says
:
This increased by degrees,
a green color.
and offensive to the
putrid,
in the
Memoir
taste.
Sick people
sur la Vallee du Nil, in the Descr.
" The water at Cairo
is
found by analysis
times purer than that of the Seine at Paris.
degree of purity only at the time
when
It,
t.
to be five
however, has
this
the inundation begins to
The noxious
qualities which are attributed to it, at the low and stagnant, and when it begins to increase, appear to proceed from an innumerable multitude of insects which the heat generates in it. The causes which destroy the
diminish.
time
when
the water
is
purity of the water at different seasons of the year, are not yet ciently investigated.
The
earthy particles which the flood brings along with
De Sacy upon
t
In
X
Hartmann, Aegypten,
II
De
Sacy,
p.
332,
suffi-
red color originates, probably, from the it
from Sennaar."
Abdollatiph, p. 346. S. 1*28.
§
Th.
2.
S. 13.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
108
avoided drinking from smell and taste
its
By boiling,
and drank well-water.*
it
became worse.
There
also appeared in
it
worms and other animals which live in stagnant water." That in our account the common plague existed in an
uncommon degree
entirely
means of
The
Egyptians could not drink
and the is
fish also
died in
it,
since the ordinary
evident,
is
did not at
purification
take effect, verse 19.
all
from the
at all
Of this
verse 18.
no other example on record.
river, verse 21,
there
last effect
But what passes beyond the
boundaries of the barely extraordinary and carries the occur-
rence into the region of the miraculous,
changing
that the
is,
of the waters took place not merely suddenly while
monly
gradual,! but
is
it
also
was
com-
it
accordance with the^
in
moment when he
prediction of Moses, and just at the
lifted
his rod.
The
circumstances which are also sometimes referred to
as proof of the diflference
and the one which
entirely unusual time,
common,
denly than
plague, there
and that
that
that the ly
the account, and
in
The
fear,'
could
last
has
force.
little
is
adduces,
to
fail
For the
make
:
'They must
follow
they shall produce wonder and
a deep
facts
were of a kind, that
impression,
if
*
See Ex. 7:24.
t
Compare
the interesting cases of the
color in other countries. Isr.
Gesch.
Rosenm. A. S. i;t3.
u.
change of water
N. Morgenl. Tk.
were
they
separated from one another by even longer intervals
^Krit. dor
it
offered nothing
which took place some time between the end
at short intervals if
not
it
De Wette|
reason which
of February and the beginning of April
each other
an
plagues, in reference to time, must border near-
first
on the
at
more sud-
shown on closer examination to be For with reference to the time of this
therefore most probable that in this respect
extraordinary.
occurred
it
also ceased far
it
nothing said
is
change of the water
this
are
without foundation. first
between
common, namely,
is
1.
;
and
to a red
S. 281
ff.
— Water changed to blood. besides,
had
it
through, as following
it
a
peculiar significance,
now
with his miracles, the customary, revolving
Let
land.
be remarked, as the
it
account says nothing of the time of the
ites
was
Jehovah went
if
were, an entire course with the Egyytians
circle of nature in their
sumption of
109
B
V.
in the
oh e n 1
" Since the
:
A bib,
month
first
plagues, the as-
Exodus of the
Israel-
just at the time of the Passover,
the most of these plagues, which
first
midsummer
appear in
can be devised only by one who has a merely casual acquaintance with the land," tions of time found,
is
But were such
baseless.
would be pertinent
it
specifica-
to call attention to
the fact, that the author nowhere asserts that those extraordi-
common The second asserted difference is founded on " And seven days were fulfilled after that the Lord verse 25 had smitten the river." But we have no right to infer* from
nary events are confined to the time in which the events belong. ;
this, that that
The words
condition of the Nile lasted only seven days.
are rather to be closely connected with what fol-
lows, and the
meaning
ginning of the nothing
is
first
related, the
Although
it
only, that seven days after the be-
announcement of the second briefly,
which has been found
Egyptian magicians, the waters to a red
it is
How could
the
Moses has changed
all
in this narrative.
said, after
color,
do the same. is
easily
that, the pressing of the
in
the
Hebrew
historical
word
concerning which the heart,
full
ment, was allowed to have no
little
*
With Jonathan who
supplies
10
:
all
all,
upon which
opposition to the
writings in general, and es-
pecially in narrating the great deeds of the
fluvium.
Setting aside
and simply annulled
this contradiction entirely rests, stands in
usage
we
upon the ridiculous contradic-
forced solutions, this objection
by the remark
follows.
belongs not to our immediate purpose, yet
wish to remark here, tion
is
plague, concerning the end of which
Lord
in
Egypt,
of gratitude and astonishinfluence.
That no
rule
Et postea sanavit verbum domini
:
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
110 is
without exceptions appears to the writer so self-evident,
that he supposes there
no necessity
is
pression, on account of exceptions, ly in the
shall
we
If
the trees.
the trees of the field were
all
According
hail.
ex-
entire-
So he proceeds throughout. Accord-
back-ground.
ing to chap. 9: 25, for example,
broken by the
to avoid the full
which with him are
to 10: 5, the
locusts eat all
here press the significance of the
have a contradiction
the most boundless carelessness
is
all,
we
of which even
for the explanation
not sufficient.
Besides this most prominent Egyptian reference, already
We
noticed, several others are found.
one most 19.
It is
begin with the
will
among them, which
is
contained in verse
there said, Blood shall be in
all
of Egypt, " both in
strikinor
wood and stone," (Luther These words have
:
stone).
markable, and they lose
both in
at
wood and^
view something very re-
first
when they
only
it
vessels of
are explained by
the Egyptian customs, to which they refer, as has already
In
been remarked.*
common
stone, generally in the latter. it
is
times they are accustomed to
water of the Nile
purify the turbid
When
quickly, a ball of crushed almonds
time
for the purification,
purification with
almonds
it
is
in vessels it is
is
thrown
"Helfrich
He
1
fr
also of
The
is
II
den Beob.
Le Br
The Prossim-
H a r m a n n :t t
clay,
even without the ad-
two or three days.
in
And then
X
II. p. 103.
is
According
M a y r§ says
passed through
which forthwith permits the liquid uy
n||
says that
it is
considered as
Orient, Deutsch von Faber, Th.
a. d.
312.
Tom.
there
Of the
vary.
water which comes upon the table
to filter through."
t 1.
a
c h, as quoted by
done even quicker."
vessels of a kind of earth
* In
when
particularly described by
unburned
dition of almonds, settles
*'
;
remarks, that the water in large vessels of
wood, earth and to others this
i
in
done without them.
is
per Alpinus, Pococke,t and S ple process speaks
of wood or
desirable to purify
p. 130.
Thevenot,
§ t.
1. p.
2. S.
315.
Reise, Th. 2. S. 19.
245, 60.
THE WATERS OF EGYPT.
Ill
very fortunate, to be in possession of such a vessel of white It is also said that
earth. it
the water becomes so putrid that
But
admits no purification.
than that the author knows the
among
water in
He
is
of far more importance,
He
it.
manner
does not obtrude this know-
supposes that a mere hint
mediate readers,
enough
is
and
it
im-
for his
who were themselves acquainted
peculiarities of Egypt,
sary to add
of purifying
the Egyptians, to consider the precise
which he speaks of
ledge.
it
common method
with the
does not occur to him as neces-
anything of explanation.
Certainly these two words ivood and stone are of no small importance with respect to the authorship of the Pentateuch.
The same
verse furnishes us also another proof of the au-
The Lord commanded
acquaintance with Egypt.
thor's
Moses
and stretch out
to take his rod
waters of Egypt, upon pools and upon
all its
its
is
upon the
canals,
The
upon
The
are the arms of the Nile
the artificial canals ;t the pools,
;
nhn3
streams,
the ditches,
CTDa^i
,
says
,
t]''"}^']
are
all
many
are the stagnant
the collections of water,
;
the other standing water, or that
are
,
ponds, which the Nile makes, called in Egypt, Birke, these there are
its
classification
here given, appears to be en-
accurate and complete.
F a b e r,*
its
collections of water."
of the waters of Egypt which tirely
*'
his hand,
streams, upon
D';?^
which
—
of
J-iip^-bs is
left
,
be-
hind by the Nile, the lakes and puddles, from which the peasants
land
pay
to
who
live
at
a distance from the Nile, water their
and indeed, even the inhabitants of Cairo are compelled
;
for
and drink
this water, since the carriers bring
them on camels, instead of the Nile water which *
Zu
1
Compare upon
Thes. X
s.
Harmar,
S. 146,
it
to
farther off.f
S. 326-7. D^-iS"i
,
with the signification of canals^ Ges.
'
V.
Thevenot,
mann,
is
t.
1. p.
173.
In reference to the Egyptian lakes, HartHe remarks: "Also upon them,
may be compared.
the inundation of the Nile has a considerable influence, supplying
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
112
The on the
Moses and the described inconveniences upon the Egyptians, is founded importance wliich the Nile water has for the Egyp-
tians,
and upon the enthusiastic love of the inhabitants of
which
Egypt
threat of
fulfilment brought
its
for
The
it.
Nile water
is
almost the only drinkable
For the water of the few wells is distasteful and unwholesome. The Turks, according to Mascrier,
water in Egypt.
find the water so pleasant that they eat salt in order to be
more of
able to drink
Mohammed
it.
They
are accustomed to say if
had drank thereof, he would have asked im-
mortality of God, so that he might always drink of this water. If the Egyptians undertake a pilgrimage to
Mecca, or
travel
elsewhere, they speak of nothing but the delight which they shall experience
when on
Nile water, etc.*
It
their return they again drink of the
very justly said, after these circumto, " He who has never under-
is
stances have been referred
stood anything of the pleasantness of the Nile water, and
does not
know how much of it the Egyptians are accustomed now find in the words of Moses, 'The Egyp-
to drink, will
tians shall loathe,' etc.,
perceived.
The
sense
a is,
meaning which he has not before they loathe the water which they
at other times prefer before
that
all
the water in the world, even
which they have previously longed
drink well-water, which in their country In verse 15,
it
is
said: **Go to
for. is
They
prefer to
so unpleasant."!
Pharaoh
in the
morning,
behold he goeth out to the water, and meet him on the banks In like manner in chap. 8: 16 (20):
of the Nile."
up early
morning, and stand before Pharaoh
in the
;
"Rise behold
them with water where tliey are dry, and increasing it where any See also Le P^.re, Mem, s. les Lacs de la basse Egypte,
yet remains." in the Descr.
t.
*
See Maillet,
t
III
16. p. t.
den Beob.
199 seq.
2. p. 103. a.
d.
I
S. 27Gfr.
Compare also Oedmanns Rosenm. A. u. N. Morgenl. Th,
0|pent, S. 311.
verm. Sammlungen, Th.'lTs. 130.
THE NILE DEIFIED.
il3
Both passages are founded on
he goeth forth to the water."
the divine honors which the Egyptians paid to the Nile.
Moses
commanded
is
when he more
moment
passage, this
first
omnipotence of Jehovah
The
just
appears to be the
exhibited directly upon the false
is
Egyptians, even in the most ancient times, paid
divine honors to the Nile.
Especially was he
Ch ampo Herodotusf
honored, according to
he had a temple.
"What
the Nile. 1
resists,
chosen, since the threatened demonstration of the
fitly
god.
wickedly
preparing to bring his daily offering to his false
is
In the
gods.
meet Pharaoh, with a commission
to
whom Pharaoh
from the true God,
0,1 " the
Nile
is
i
1
i
zealously
o n,* at Nilopolis, where
mentions the priests of
body," says Horapol" He is," continues the to the Egyptians." the head
same author, " according
to the
is
to representations
whose antiquity
cannot be determined, identical with Osiris§ and the highest God. II" Lucian^ says: " Its water is a common divinity to of the Egyptians."
all
same
According
Nile.
toChampollio n,**
Ghebel Selseleh
reign of
wine
bear witness to the
authors, they indeed very particu-
even the kings paid divine honors to the
larly represent, that
at
The monuments
effect as the ancient
Remeses
II,
there
a painting of the
(Silsilis),
which exhibits
this king,
According
to the inscription, this chapel is specially
*
Eg. sur
t
In B.
X
Bei Drumann, Inschrift von Rosetta, S. 100.
2.
les c.
Pharaons,
t.
1. p.
321.
90: Oi iQiiQ avToi
Plut. de Is. et Osir. p. 363
Heliodorus, Aetli.
9.
01
Tov NslXov.
See Bahr on
this
D. Athen.
p. 435.
M In the Jupiter Tragoed. opp. ""*
"offering
god of the Nile, who in the hieroglyphic inscripcalled, Hapi Moou, the life giving father of all exist-
ences."
II
in a chapel
time of the
to the
tion, is
§
is
t.
2. p.
5.
203:
jiiyvTCTib
699. Edid. Reitz.
In den Briefer aus Egypten, S. 121, D. Uebers.
10*
''
Uv
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
114
Remeses
dedicated to this god.
Hapi Moou,
called
is
iii it,
"The
the father of the gods."
''
beloved of
passage which
contains the praise of the god of the Nile, represents him at .the
same time
as the heavenly Nile, the primitive water, the
whom Cicero*
great Nilus,
highest deities, even of
declares to be the father of the
Ammon
;
and of
this I
am
myself also
convincedf from other inscriptions on the monuments." far more convincing than the knowledge of Egyptian which the author exhibits, is here also the unpremeditated manner in which he exhibits this knowledge, and the want of every explanatory remark, resting upon the sup-
Yet
affairs
position, that such a thing
is
not necessary for his immediate
readers.
The Second Plague
The
abundant
account
even
the Frogs.
account of the second plague, the frogs, furnishes us
far less -the
—
in
spoil than that of the
in
itself,
implied in
It is
first.
chap. 8: 5, that the waters of Egypt,
many
ordinary circumstances, contain
frogs
;
and
from the nature of these waters, we could scarcely imagine it
The
to be otherwise.
this are,
frogs
statements of travellers in regard to
among
the
Mosaic plagues which even now
natives and foreigners.
According
nant waters about Rosetta are
which make very much *
De
i
"
noise.
filled
to
Sonn in
i,§
mentions visit
both
the stag-
with thousands of frogs,
||
nat. Door.
Anaglyphum
Comm.
Hasselquist|
however, very scanty.
Herod,
in vico
p. 212,)
Karnak repertuin," remarks Creuzer,
who
also,
pp. 186
— 188,
(in
treats expressly of
the divine honors paid to the Nile, " terna Pharaonis initia exhibit.
Etenim
prinio loco sacerdotcs
Nili," etc. t.
Compare
also
eum
aspergunt lustrantque sacra unda
upon the
deity of the Nile, Jabl. Panth.
2. p. 171. t p.
II
254.
An
§
Th.
Ill
account of the different kinds of frogs
the Descr.
t.
24. p. 134 seq.
in
S. 365.
Egypt
is
found
in
— DESTRUCTION BY ANIMALS.
115
—
That a sudden appearance of animals, which though always present in a land, ordinarily are scarcely noticed at all, in untold numbers so as to become a plague, has not been unknown in Egypt at other times, is shown by what a-
M
c
r
i
worms
z i* says of the destructions by
''
:
In 791-2, the
worms which destroyed books and woollen cloth, multiplied in a wonderful manner. A credible man assured us, that camel this
loads.
I
had destroyed
wood and
the region of the sea, a great quantity of
in
cloth.
I
saw
at
Matariah, garden-walls which
were entirely pierced through by these the year 821, this plague
made
its
of Hosainiah, just out of Cairo.
consumed ble
—
more than fifteen was persuaded from what I myself saw, that declaration was not exaggerated, and that the worms
these animals ate 1.500 pieces of cloth
loss
provisions, cloth, etc.,
gnawed
upon the walls of the
the rafters until they were pierced en-
The owners
tirely through.
About
in the quarter
The worms, after they had which caused an incalcula-
the inhabitants, seized
to
houses, and
animals.
little
appearance
quickly tore
down
the buildings
which the worms had spared, so that the quarter near was entirely laid waste. These animals carried their devastations even to the houses which stand hard by the Gate of Conquest
and Victory."
The Third Plague
As
—
respects the third plague,
the S31D, Gnats. it
is
now
that by GSD, kinnim, gnats are meant.
generally agreed,
These
ordinary years very troublesome in Egypt.
are even in
Herodotus,t which the
as early as his time, speaks of the great trouble
gnats cause, and of the precautions which are taken to guard against them. in
Oedman * In
The passages n,j:
in
— according
Quatremcre,
t.
1. p.
121.
modern
travellers are collected
to the testimony of
f
B.
2. c. 195.
Ma
; I.
i 1
S. 74
1
e
ff.
t
— EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
116 and in
Pococke,
darken the
they often
H a r m a n n,* t
and
comprises the results
last
words
in the following
Cairo,
in
air
Hartmann
inEichhorn.t '*
All travellers
:
speak of these gnats as an ordinary plague of the country. In cool weather they are especially bold.
men, prevent them from eating, disturb
They pursue
their sleep,
What S o n n
swellings which are sensibly painful.
i
n
is
says
i|
of these gnats, in his account of his abode in Rosetta, peculiar interest: ''It
the
and cause
is
of
asserted that the multitude of gnats,
with which the streets and the inside of the houses were then
owe
filled,
their origin to this
from the overflowed
generation laid their eggs.
make wounds,
(the drying of rice
After the rice harvest, they go forth in mul-
at other times.
titudes
employment
Indeed, there are fewer of them
about the end of October).
fields
in
which the preceding to trouble men, they
They come
less
burning
than those of the Maringonins of South America."
These
in order to
suck their blood, not
passages show that the time of the extraordinary public calamities corresponded merely to that of the extraordinary
The
plague.
first
plague, the changing of water to blood,
transfers us to the period of the increase of the Nile, the
gnats begin to multiply at the end of the inundation.
The Fourth Plague
The
—
the Flies.
animals which constitute the fourth plague are desig-
nated by nn:?
,
This word originally can scarcely have
aroh.
any other signification than the mingling^ but arily applied to a distinct species
especially flies
is
which
compose the vermin or
argued: translates
From nny by 1.
,
*S. 250.
was second-
insects.
That they were
the authority of the Septuagint, dog-fly, Kvvo(xv'Ca.
appropriate connection of gnats and that flies belong to the
it
of animals, which in Egypt
common
IS. 17,18.
flies.
3.
2. From the From the fact
inconveniences of Egypt.
JTh.
1.
S. 246.
THE DOG-FLY
How
troublesome
cumstances, n ini:* "
is
The
Egypt are the
flies
are in
IN EGYPT.
117
Egypt even
in ordinary cir-
most clearly shown by the description of S o nmost numerous and troublesome insects in
flies
Men
(musca domesticaL.)
are grievously tormented by them.
and animals
impossible to form an
It is
adequate conception of their fury when they wish to
fix themupon any part of the body. If they are driven away, they light again the same instant, and their pertinacity wearies the most patient. They especially love to light in the
selves
corners of the eyes, or on the edge of the eyelids, sensitive parts to
which they are attracted by
description of the dog-fly by
accordance with
tirely in
Ph
this
i 1
of
is,
for substance, en-
By
account.
a little exaggeration, dog-fly,
insects from
which
is
it is
:
flies
and
gether,
P hil
impossible to disbelieve in
another very widely diffused species of
fleas
o.
probably chosen to distinguish these
is
smaller and less troublesome.^
Jomard,|l
in-
Aside from
A bdo
1
" In consequence of the great dampness of the
says
name
this
sects incredibly monstrous are often designated.
The name,
The
a slight moisture."
a
1
flies,
t i
air,
p h§
bugs,
In
continue here a great part of the year."
just as here, flies
Egypt
as plagues of
:
and gnats are associated
"The remark
to-
also that these
cold seasons free the land from the plague of innumerable flies
and gnats, whose
As
bites are so
the threatened plague
made
troublesome and painful." its
appearance, Pharaoh
caused Moses and Aaron to be called and said to them " Sacrifice to your God in the land." But Moses answered " It is not meet to do so ; for we shall sacrifice the abom:
:
ination of the Egyptians to the
Lord our God.
If
we
sacrifice
the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, will they
not stone us ?" Ex. chap. 8: 22(26).
That there
is
here a
reference to Egyptian customs has always been acknowledged. *
Th.
t
Sonnini, S. 227.
3. S. 226.
In the Descr. II
t
t.
See in proof of this Michaelis Suppl. § p. 5.
18. p.
2 512.
De
Sacy.
p.
1960,
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
118
According to the common theory, the very apprehended by the
to be
because the
I.
The
bitter exasperation
from the Egyptians, was
animals which the former consid-
latter sacrificed
But there are two arguments against
ered sacred. tion:
Israelites
designation, abomination,
is
this supposi-
not appropriate to the
This indicates that the animals which
consecrated animals.
the Israelites slaughtered were not too good, but too bad for offerings.
The
2.
animals which were commonly taken
the Israelites for offerings were also
The
sacred.
as sacred, the
the Israelites except in the casein itself,
among
the Egyptians not
only one of the larger domestic animals which
was generally considered by
among
The
not offered.
cow,* was also among
Num.
animals most
which
xix,
commonly
is
entirely
sacrificed,^
oxen, were also both sacrificed and eaten by the Egyptians.
The
offence
is
rather that the Israelites omit the inquiry
concerning the cleanness of animals, which greatest caution
the
animals were sacrificed by says, in 2. 45,
the
practised with
is
That only clean
by the Egyptians.
Herodotus
Egyptians,
where he acquits the Egyptians from the im-
human
putation of offering
sacrifices
" For since they are
:
not allowed to sacrifice any animals except the swine and the bullock,
and calves, namely, those that are clean among
how can
them, and the goose, laid
is
an
abomination to
He
r
odot u
offer
an
it
a multitude of
unclean.
were accurately examined, prescribed examination
on the horns.
unclean animal,
To
They
marks besides in
offer
etc.
is
offered,
also placed
this; the
Each
stress
considered as
is
it
What
?"
men
truly
Only a red ox could be
s.t
black hair rendered
upon
they offer
upon cleanness, and how
seen from
and a single
dependence
tongue and
tail
victim must, after a
confirmation of
its fitness,
be sealed
an unsealed ox was prohibited on
penalty of death.| **
Compare Herod.
t
B.
t
The
2. c. 38.
B. 2. c. 41. Heeren, S. 363. See also Bahr on the passage.
intolerant fanaticism of the Egyptians,
which the answer of
THE BOILS OF EGYPT.
—
Fifth Plague
the Destruction
In reference to the there little
is
not
much
fifth
of
the
Animals
19
Egypt.
plague, the destruction of the cattle,
upon the diseases of animals
attention
in
to be said, since travellers have
single scattered passages
in
bestowed
Only
Egypt.
are found in the Description, and
these indeed very general, so that
it
cannot be determined
whether diseases make their appearance
in
Egypt, by which
kinds of the larger domestic animals are seized in like
all
manner.
It is
said* that murrain breaks out from time to
time in Egypt with so to
1
much
severity that they are compelled
send to Syria or the islands of the Archipelago, for a
supply of oxen. a disease very
began the
make
to
much
in the
since about the year
diminished the number of oxen, they
is
continued in
later times.
enumeration of the animals on which the plague
shall seize, chap, ix, horses are assigned the first place,
that too without further remark,
which
in
new
1786
use of the buffalo in their place for watering
and the practice
fields,
That
It is also said,f
is
again one of the
such an inquiry as the one before
importance, so soon as the scattered
little
and
things,
us, is of so great
items
are collected,
and thereby rescued from the contingency to which each
is
subject.
The
sixth
Plague
—
the Boils.
That the sixth plague, the boils, was miraculous only in is shown by a comparison of Deut. 28: 27, where the
extent,
Moses
is also proved from other sources. Herodotus says, in " If any person kills one of these animals intentionally, he expiates his crime by death if unintentionally, he must pay the fine which the priest imposes. But whoever kills an ibis or a hawk, whether intentionally or not, must die."
B.
implies,
2. c.
65
:
;
* Descr.
t.
17. p. 126.
f
Descr.
p.
62
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
120
same disease under the name o^ boils of Egypt is represented as But a more exact defining of of common occurrence there. the nature of this sickness
considers t
i
it
u st aud P
1
i
boil§ does not
Rosenmueller*
is difficult.
the elephantiasis which,
Lucre-
according to
n y,j: was peculiar to Egypt. But the appellation
seem
to
be proper
for this disease,
still
the expression, "breaking out in blains" in Ex. 9: 9.
E
the elephantiasis does not attack cattle. to a
remark
sores
Grange
in
come upon
tient in
i
ch ho
(Tourtechot):
r|l
less
Besides, r
n appeals
autumn
*'In
the thighs and knees, which remove the pa-
These notices seem however
two or three days."
have reference to the plague, but
it is
malady existed so anciently, and indeed reference
for the
the circumstances,
to
uncertain whether this it
does not answer
evidently to a very
is
Only
painful, but not absolutely, dangerous sickness.
a dis-
ease attended by feverish cutaneous eruptions can be meant,
one which amid the variety of diseases does not definition.
makes
in
easily
admit of
But the destruction which small-pox and plague Egypt, shows how very much the climate there
We
disposes to such diseases.
are almost disposed to think h e v e n o t describes " There is beof a disease which sides," he says, " a sickness, or rather inconvenience, for it
T
is
:
more inconvenient than dangerous, which makes
pearance when the waters of the Nile begin to
its
ap-
Then
rise.
hot pustules which are very troublesome, and sting terribly,
appear upon the whole body, and when the patient thinks to
comfort and refresh himself with drink, he
and afterwards, stings as painful as
two hundred needles *
Upon Deut.
+
He
§ II
calls
vn^
it
t
book 26,
-ji-ro
,
c.
5
:
feels
B.
6.
p. 21.
H Voyage du Levant, L.
II. c.
this disease
which
112-13.
Aegypti peculiare malum.
in the dialects, incaluit,
Voyage de I'Egypte,
while drinking,
he were pierced with
But
once."^
28: 27.
in
from
all at
if
80, p. 831.
inflammatus
est.
f
THUNDER
Thevenot, and
;
121
some exaggeration,*
perhaps, described with
be meant, since pustules are not referred
cannot sore
IN EGYPT,
this disease is not the object
but a
to,
of the curse as our sick-
ness appears to be in Deut. chap, xxviii.
guage
Besides the lanDeut. 28: 35, " With sore botch which cannot be
in
healed,"
is
not appropriate to the disease, as well as what
is
that the magicians are not
related in the passage before us,
men were attacked common to men and
able to stand, and the cattle no less th:in
with
See upon diseases which are
it.
M ay ner's
animals,
Anthropology.
The seventh Plague—the Tempest.
The
seventh plague was a severe tempest attended with hail
and rain. In the narrative
itself,
Ch. 9: 18, 24,
phenomenon was unexampled only that
it
not
is
uncommon
counts agree with ours
Egypt
in in
in degree,
in a
it is
said that the
and
it is
showing that tempests
implied
Other ac-
milder form. in
Egypt are
not unfrequent, and that they in general differ from the one un-
These
der consideration, only in severity.
notices are expla-
natory of our account in so
much
as they represent that tem-
most abundant just
at the
time in which, according to
pests are
The
verse 31, the tempest here described occurred.
accounts
of ancient travellers concerning tempests in Egypt, in January
and March, are found carefully collected
in
Nordmey erj
and especially
inHartmann:§ "Mansleben
cony s
it
heard
thunder during their stay
at
and
M a n-
Alexandria, the
former on the 1st of January and the latter on the 17th and 18th of the same month; on the same days
Perry]] also remarks that January and February at Cairo.
there. in *
See other authors upon
t
Th. 2. S. 279. Calendarium Aeg. Oecon.
X IJ
p.
this
it
An
same blotch
p. 11, 12,
255.
11
hails,
in
it
also
hailed
though seldom,
account in the NoHartmann, S. 59
20, 27.
§ S.
41
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
122
tices* bears witness
Fium
at
saw
hail
to the
Pococke
February.
February
in
Bru
fall.
occurrence of the same thing
even saw
mingled with rain
hail
compare Exodus
;
K
9: 34.
o
r
in
fall
e also
t
c et heard in Cossir during the roaring of
the winds through the whole of February, also afterwards on
the Arabian Gulf, the crash of thunder. are not
dence
The
uncommon
in
Egypt
a
at
tempest discharged
itself,
observations of this kind.
resi-
man.|
in
a clap of thunder but once, and that
persons
with him did not notice
same
was so
at all in
The same winds summer and
have very seldom seen
Egypt
is
a wonder.
A
nated below, a harder
it
faint that several
CoutelleU
it.
says:
with a
in this land
return regularly at
time, and continue equally long.
does not rain
affirms that
Egypt, he did not hear
" Natural phenomena succeed each other constant uniformity.
make complete
Du Bois Ayme§
during the two years which he spent
We
killing a
residence of the scholars of the French expedition in
Egypt, was not continued long enough to
the
March tempests
In
Thevenot's
During
Cairo."
In the Delta
scarcely at
rain in Cairo.
it
in winter.
all
Rain
in
Upper
higher temperature than that desigfrost,
and more copious rains are
extraordinary occurrences." J o m a r d^ upon the climate of Cairo says " Rain falls by no means so seldom in Egypt :
as
is
commonly
evidently
First of
asserted.
be excepted, as
it
Lower Egypt must
all.
much more extended
covers a
surface than the rest of the country, and lies where or less proximity to the sea produces a
than that of Said.
All
more
phenomena with
its
greater
variable climate
the exception of hail
and snow follow there as in other countries, which are washed by the Mediterranean Sea. I have several times seen even hail at
Alexandria.
M.260. § I.e. p. II
1[
At Cairo the +
state of the
1.267(?),H. 117.
atmosphere begins J I:
344.
Ki.").
In Obss. Meteoiologiquos in the Descr.
In Descr.
18. 2. p.
510
seq.
t.
19. p. 457.
J §
KINDS OF GRAIN IN EGYPT. settled,
and
account of
this
more
to be
Upper Egypt,
in
1SJ3
almost invaria-
it is
ble."
The
plague comprises also other separate
One
but very striking references to Egypt. in
chap
where Moses says
9: 19,
fore
now and
field
;
for
the field
shall
die."
were not found
in the
tempest
commenced;
agrees
accurately
much
Pharaoh
is
found,
*' :
first,
Send there-
gather thy cattle and all that thou hast in the upon every man and beast which shall be found in and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come
down, and they cattle
to
According
to this verse, the
but in the
stall
field,
verse 31 confirms this fact.
our other accounts,
— an
when the With this
agreement so
more sigificant, since the time that the cattle were turned out was so short. N ie b u h r* says: " In the months the
January,
March and
February,
April
the
cattle
graze,
whereas during the remaining months they must be supplied with dry fodder."
The
shows the same thing.
author of the Egyptian calendar!
Also according to the Description,
the cattle get green food only four months of the
year, the
rest of the time, dried fodder.
Not
less
important
author in chap. 9: 31 smitten
,
But the wheat and the
:
the flax and the barley were
in the ear
spelt
remark of the
parenthetical
"And
was
for the barley
;
the
is
32
and the
flax
were not smitten,
was
boiled.
for these
come
In surveying what was destroyed and
to maturity
later."
what was
be destroyed in case of persevering obstinacy,
there
to
here
is
named
:
First, the products
and woe of ancient Egypt depended. spelt as
on which the weal
Compare respecting
one of the most important products of ancient Egypt,
the corn from which they prepared their bread,
with the remarks of B a h
17
^
Reisebeschr.
t
In the Notices et Extraits, ;
i
Hartmann,
Tom.
I.
Herodotus,
There are representations of the
r.
S. 142.
S. 232
17. p. 126.
;
t.
1. p.
Le Bruyn, §
I.
252.
See also Nordmeyer,
570.
B.
2. c. 36,
and
also c. 77,
p.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
124
Rosel
flax harvest in
rah, from
1
i
people for the most part cultivation
found, and
The
n
which the bread of rice there it
cannot
The
i.* is
is
at least
common Of the
recent in Egypt.!
live, is
Dur-
cultivation of the
made, upon which the
trace
scarcely a single certain
have been general.}:
Secondly,
author shows the most accurate knowledge of the time
Flax and barley are nearly
harvest in Egypt.
of the
ripe,
when wheat and spelt are yet green. Theophrastus§ In Egypt barley was harvested in the sixth and P n y say month after sowing, wheat in the seventh month. Sonnini,^ after remarking that with the cultivation of wheat, ^' It comes to matuthat of barley is very important, says rity about a month earlier than wheat, and its harvest is Wheat and spelt come to maturity at especially abundant." Flax and barley were generally ripe about the same time.** Such circumstances are in March, wheat and spelt in April. 1
i
:
II
:
not in keeping with the character of a mythic historian.
The eighth Plague
The narrative
itself indicates,
—
the Locusts.
Ch. 10:
6, 14, that the animals,
which constituted the eighth plague the times somewhat
common
in
dance of them was unprecedented. firm this fact.
were
locusts,
at
other
Egypt, and that only the abun-
Other accounts
also con-
H a r m a n ntt has collected the notices of ant
cient travellers,
among whom Norden|J has
described what he saw in the following words
particularly
" In
:
common
with Syria and other regions of Asia, Egypt suffers from the locusts, yet
no account can be found of
terrible desolation here as in Syria,
*
Vol.
t
De Sacy upon Abd.
II. p.
producing such
But of espe-
etc.
333 seq.
§8.3. **
their
Arabia,"
See Hartinann,
II
p. 120.
Id
7.
S. 207.
t
Sonnini,
irTh. tt
2.
I.
S. 251
ff.
p.261.
S. 24!).
tt S.
119.
;
LOCUSTS AND THE CHAMSIN.
D e n o n' s*
cial interest is
served by him
account of a
Two days
"
:
125
flight
of locusts ob-
after this calamity, (they
had been
suddenly overtaken by a heavy chamsin) we were informed that
was covered with
the plain
from
We
east to west.
seemed
the fields
birds which had flown hither,
at least that
in
for it
that
a long current
such great numbers, we
hastened our pace in order to observe them.
we found
dense flocks
Supposing that they were strange
flowed through the plain.
birds,
in
saw from a distance,
fact
move, or
to
which flew
birds,
in
But instead of
which made the land bald
a cloud of locusts
they stopped upon each stalk of grass in order to devour
and then flew further
when
the corn
as lean, as efficient
and
are also a production
changed
for
At
spoil.
a time of the year
tender, they would have been a real plague
is
as lively as the
of the desert.
course, so as to blow directly against them,
its
;
Arab Bedawin, they After the wind had it
swept them back into the desert."
This account presents three particulars sin
appear
in
1.
:
a striking
agreement with ours,
In both passages, the locusts and
immediate connection with each other.
both the flight
from east to west, which
is
is
more worthy of remark, since some,
the
Boh
1
e n,f have
represents the
imputed
it
locusts as
even so as
in
chamIn
2.
much
recently
v.
to the author, as a fault, that he
coming with the
east wind.
3.
In both, the locusts, by a change of the wind, are driven
back whence they came.
The ninth Plague
—
the
Darkness^
In the ninth plague, the darkness,
it is
scarcely possible
mistake the similarity to natural phenomena, since
to
many
other characteristic
*Vol. f
I. p.
287,
London
Compare page 8
traits
Edition.
seq. of this
11*
it
has
besides the one rendered
volume.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
126
The
most conspicuous here.
the darkness in this plague significance,
is
partial
prominence given
to
explained from the symbolic
which the occurrence has
The
in this particular.
darkness which overshadowed Egypt, and the light which
shone upon the
Israelites,
were symbols of God's anger and
cannot be doubted that the foundation in nature
It
favor.
plague
for this ninth
is
sought in the chamsin, whose
to be
lower degree,
efifects
in a higher or
visited
Egypt, have experienced.
Hartmann* "
thors.
The
has collected
all
what
is
travellers
said by
who have ancient au-
inhabitants of the cities and villages,"
it
is
there said, "shut themselves up in the lowest apartments
of their houses and cellars
;f
but the inhabitants of the desert
their tents or into the holes
go into
the ground.|
There they
await,
full
which they have dug
of this kind of tempest, which generally
The
in
of anxiety, the termination three days.
lasts
roads during this time are entirely vacant, and deep
stillness, as
of the night, reigns everywhere."
writers we first refer to D u Bo is who compares the Mosaic darkness to the chamsin. The phenomena of the latter he describes in the following
Among modern
A y m e,v, manner its
light
that one in
the
'' :
is
When
the chamsin blows the sun
obscured, and the darkness
seems
is
the day at Cene, a
pale yellow,
we experienced
to be in the blackest night, as
middle of
is
sometimes so great, of Said."
city
A
second description we quote from S on n i n :|| *' The atmosphere," he says, " was heated and at the same time obi
scured by clouds of dust
;
the thermometer of
Reaumur
stood
27 degrees. Men and animals breathed only vapor, and that was heated and mingled with a fine and hot sand. This wind Plants drooped, and all living nature languished. at
also continued the tw^enty-seventh
* S.
46
ff.
§p. 110.
t
II
;
it
appeared to
Volney.
Th.
3. p.
|
35
ff.
me
Pococke
to
have
;
THE CHAMSIN.
The
even increased in force.
127
was dark on account of a But of special im-
air
thick mist of fine dust as red as flame."
portance
our object
for
the eighteentli of
is
May
the description of
in the evening, I
perish
from the suffocating heat.
seemed
to
the relief of
my
Such
sight.
As
have ceased.
I
went
painful sensations, I
and such colors
light
De n o n :*
felt
"
All motion of the air to the Nile to bathe, for
was astonished by I
a
new
The
had never seen.
sun, without being veiled with clouds, had been shorn of
beams.
gave only a white and shadowless
It
feeble than the
moon.
appeared disturbed.
ance
;
The
water reflected not
— Everything
light, its
its
more
rays,
and
assumed another appear-
the air was darker, a yellow horizon caused the trees to
appear of a pale blue.
The
the clouds.
Flocks of birds fluttered about before
frightened animals ran about in the fields,
and the inhabitants who followed them with not collect them.
The
their cries could
wind, which had raised immense
clouds of dust and rolled them along before yet reached us.
which
On
as if I should
this
at
We thought
moment was
itself,
had not
we went into the water, we should avoid this mass
that if
quiet,
of dust which was driven towards us from the south-west but
we were
swell as if
scarcely in the river,
it
would overflow
its
when
it
banks.
began suddenly to
The waves broke
over us, and the ground heaved under our
feet.
Our
gar-
ments flew away when seized by the whirlwind, which had now reached us. We were compelled to go to land. Wet and beaten by the wind, we were soon surrounded by a ridge A reddish, dusky appearance filled the region
of sand.
;
with wounded eyes, and nose so breathe,
we strayed from one
our dwellings with great
Then, we
when one
that
hardly
another, lost our way, and found
difficulty, feeling
how
we could
along by the walls.
terrible the condition
must
be,
overtaken by such a wind in the desert.
On
the
sensibly is
filled
felt
Vol.
I.
285.
;
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
128
following morning the
same cloud of dust was
circumstances, along the Lybian
desert.
driven, in like
followed
It
mountain range, and when we believed ourselves the west wind turned these dark clouds
motion
rain
the
;
wind and dust
;
back.
it
the
from
it,
Lightnings shot feebly through
the elements appeared to be in
all
;
free
com-
mingled with the lightning gleams, with
everything seemed to be returning to chaos
and old night."*
The
severity of the
chamsin
Dschemaleddin by Rosenmueller
years. t
quoted
which seen merely
we
with which
took place
in
general,
is
very different in different the Chronicle
describes in in
his
Commentary, cases
are considerably like those
are concerned. In reference to the one which"
in the eleventh century,
said
it is
"
:
There occur-
red a great and violent storm, accompanied
were destroyed and houses demolished
edifices
by darkness
moreover
;
at
same time Egypt was covered with so thick a darkness that all believed that the resurrection had come." In the account of another wind of this kind in the twelfth century, he says " There occurred such a darkness in Egypt that the whole air was obscured with dimness, at the same time the
:
men
there arose so heavy a wind, that the
expected the
all
resurrection."
The
time in which the three days' darkness
falls is just
that
which the chamsin generally blows.|
in
The
It
tenth
may
Plague
—
Death of the First-horn of the Egyptians.
the
be proper to remark here, before
the tenth plague, that the phrase
*
t
See other descriptions 7. S.
all
The whole
not be pressed too far.§
Th.
*'
in
we proceed with
of the first-born" must
tenor of the narrative
Mayr, Reise,
S. 245,
and
in
§
See
Michaud,
11.
Hartmann,
S. 'A.
\
Hartmann,
S. 47.
is
p.
109
EPIDEMICS IN EGYPT. a proceeding,
opposed to such tion
129
and particularly the declarathere was not one dead,"
"There was no house where
:
30
in chap. 12:
born.
It
mained
since in every house there was not
;
must not be inferred that none of the
alive
in the land, or that
a
first-
first-born re-
none besides the
first-born
died.* If
we
take into view the time in which the
last
plague,
the destruction of the first-born occurs, and farther also that it
M
that
we
in a pestilence described
by
follows immediately the chamsin,
something analogous to
find i
n u tol
the plague raged
it
be allowed that
so early a period, or that another similar-
at
ly destructive disease existed
says,
we cannot deny
not material, whether
It is
i.t
it
commonly makes
its
in its
place.
appearance
The
plague, he
Cairo about the end
at
The miasma
of March, or at the beginning of April.
is
com-
municated merely by contact. Local causes, however, increase its malignancy, and even the prevailing winds have an im-
With an uninterrupted chamsin the plague who are at-
portant influence.
increases frightfully, and speedily takes off those
tacked by
Legh
it.
also gives a similar account
(on the pestilence then raging)
Nokia, or the of June.
ceding
rise
The
this
was
:
"A salutary
also expected
influence
from the
of the Nile which begun on the eighteenth
unhealthiness of the season of the year pre-
month
is
ascribed to the chamsin, or the wind
from the desert, which commonly begins to blow about Easter-Monday and continues fifty days, and to the stagnant con-
This notion is so settled among the Nile. Arabs that they are accustomed when it ceases to congratu-
dition of the
*
The account of an
especially destructive plague in Egypt, in the
" Howls and shrieks met one at every step. Several dead bodies were oftentimes put together on the same bier, and I saw men who bore them, give over their burden to others and lie down upon the ground with all the symptoms of the plague." Description,
were heard
t
S. 224.
in
t.
15.
p.
180,
every house
;
may
be compared
:
funeral processions
— EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
130 late
each other on account of having survived
The two
summer
or three months before the
teemed so unhealthy, that
it
is
riod the sraall-pox
is
are es-
the plague always
said, that
rages during this time, even in Cairo.
this period.
solstice
During the same pe-
Compare
also very dangerous."*
the Description,! where in accounting for this sickness
imputed mainly
chamsin, and
to the
it is
also is
it
remarked that great
inundations which leave numerous morasses, always precede destructive epidemics.
That
the Egyptians are swept off by an epidemic
probable, and
What
indeed
is
than probable, from chap. 9: 15.
Lord there says he had long been able
the
he now
much more
to do, that,
really does; since the reasons here given in verse 16,-
which, until now, have prevented him from proceeding to
now
this last resource,
have
by a series of acts
sufficiently unfolded his
ceased; since, in short, he has
omnipotence and
grace.
For the sparing of the
may be
analogous
nature
Israelites, certain things in
referred to, but they by
no means serve
to
obscure the divine favor in the preservation, since this divine
Here may
favor insured nothing less than absolute safety.
be quoted,
first,
plague: "It bility to
it,
is
says in reference to the
remarkable that fear increases the suscepti-
but fearlessness protects against
Prokesch|
what
Minutoli
what
Further,
it."
says of the Egyptian Bedawy,
is
ap-
ascribe the disease of the eyes in Egypt, which rages
Some among
dew and
dust of
propriate
here:
"His
health
is
unalterably good.
the Fellahs, and even in the cities, to the the desert.
But the Bedawy sleeps
ranges from desert to desert, and
among says
'^
?
:
§
these tribes."
"
With
The Bedawin
Reise in Aeg. D.
Weim.
Erinnerungen, Th.
this
are
in
the open
agrees what general
air,
and
never spread
this pest has
1818. S. 142.
2. p. 244.
in
M
i
ch au d
very temperate.
15, p. 179.
t
1.
§
Th.
7. p. 29.
'
ANALOGY OF NATURE.
They have no
physicians and
of the eyes, which
is
little
131
The
sickness.
so prevalent an evil in Egypt,
is
disease
almost
unknown in the desert. The plague seldom extends its ravages among them." Those who are disposed to take offence at the analogies in nature, which we have adduced for the plagues, are referred, first, to what we have said in the beginning of this chapter, concerning the miraculous character of these occurrences, notwithstanding the analogy of nature.
minded, that
it
They
are also re-
cannot be denied that similar analogies are
generally allowed to exist in relation to the wonders of the desert, the
manna and
the quails.
But we wish the advo-
cates of the mythic interpretation of the Pentateuch to that precisely that part of
it
which appears
strongest bulwark for their view, to
it.
is
to
know, them the
most decidedly opposed
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
132
CHAPTER EXODUS,
IV.
XIV
Chapters
and XV.
The Military Force of the Egyptians. In our section on the references of the Pentateuch to the
we have spoken of some
geographical features of Egypt,
come
things which
within the range of our inquiry in con-
We
nection with these chapters of Exodus.
out the agreement of the
ready
at
the
command
fact, that a
of Pharaoh to pursue the fugitive Is-
with the declarations of
raelites,
have pointed
considerable army stood
Herodotus,
which show
stations of the military caste
were
in
the
vicinity of the scene of these transactions, in the Delta.*
It
that the principal
remains
for us to
make
here the following remarks.
"Wherever," says Rosel ni,t " the armies are represented on the great monuments of Egypt, they are composed of troops of infantry, armed with the bow or lance, and of ranks of chariots drawn by two horses." Chariots I.
1
appear also in
Homerf Upon
Egyptian army.
same author,^ neither quence
is
*
Page 48, 57
all
seq.
II. 3. p.
Iliad, 9. 383,
II.
3
Compare
where
S* dv Ixnort^v p.
a
litter.
The
few figures upon
W
i 1
k
i
n
s
on
||
in reference to this last fact also Rosel-
232.
t
§
in
belong to foreigners.
200.
I
ffirjHoaioi
monuments, says the
a king nor any other person of conse-
represented in any other way, than on foot, upon
almost
lini, II. 3. p.
the principal strength of the
the Egyptian
a chariot or throne, or
horses
as
i
240.
it is ^
said of
Thebes
jfiS^ ixarofinvkoi hai,
:
Avlqh^ l^oiyvivoi oiv II
Vol.
I
'InTioiaiv xai oxaatpiv.
p.
288, 335.
EGYPTIAN CHARIOTS OF WAR. agrees with
R oseU
i
n
i
in the principal point,
composed the main
chariots
133
and the cavalry took only
namely, that
military force of the Egyptians,
subordinate place.
a
Egyptians had no horsemen
at
all
That
he does not admit,
the
—
al-
though he concedes that no representations of them are found
on the monuments, tus,
important
passage, chap.
Diodorus,
of
— relying upon the authority of H 108, he omits,)
argument, however,
last
aside,
the declaration
command
of the ca-
represented as a very honorable post, generally occu-
pied by the most distinguished
This
o d o-
24,000 horsemen, and
also
the fact that in the hieroglyphics the " is
r
according to which Sesostris had, besides
27,000 who fought upon chariots, valry"
e
where Amasis appears on horseback, (the more
2. 162,
among
Rose
1
the sons of the king.* 1
i
by remarking that the designation
n
attempts to set
it
properly overseer
is
of horses, and probably has reference to the care of the breed
Champollion|
of horses.
"This was
says of the
war chariots:
the cavalry of the age, cavalry properly speaking
did not exist then in Egypt." It is
accordingly certain, that the cavalry, in the more an-
cient period of the Pharaohs, is is
doubtful :
What
result
1
it
was but
little
generally existed.
relied on,
The
is
it
now
the
common
view, according to which riding
superadded with equal prominence to the cha-
of war, in our passage, the right one, there would arise
strong suspicion against the credibility of the narrative. a
and
question
relation the declarations in our passage have to this
Were
on horses riot
whether
more accurate examination shows,
But
that the author does not
at all, that according to him the composed only of chariots of war, and that he therefore agrees in a wonderful manner with the native Egyptian monuments. And this agreement is the more mi-
mention Egyptian cavalry Egyptian army
is
^
Wilk. Vol.
t
Page 442 of the German Translation of his Letters. Brussels Ed.
1. p.
2D2.
t
12
II. 3. S.
259.
:
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
134
Hute, since the second division of the army represented upon
them, the infantry, could not,
in
the circumstances of our
narrative, take part in the pursuit.
The
and principal passage concerning the constituent
first
parts of the Egyptian
army which pursued the
that in chap. 14: G, 7
"
:
And
took his people with him
;
he
made ready
Israelites, is
his chariot,
and
and took 600 chosen chariots,
them."
Egypt and chariot warriors upon all of Here Pharaoh's preparation for war is fully de-
scribed.
It consists, first,
the chariots of
all
of chariots, and secondly of cha-
Cavalry are no more mentioned than infantry.
riot warriors.
This passage, which is so plain, explains the second one, verse 9, where the arrival of this same army in sight of the Israelites is plainly and graphically described, in order to place distinctly before the reader the impression which the view made upon the Israelites: *'And the Egyptians followed them and overtook them, where they were encamped by the sea,
chariot-horses of Pharaoh and his riders
the
all
If riders here be understood in the
and his host."
common
sense, (chariot-warriors rather than riders upon horses might
so
much
the sooner be mentioned, since the Egyptian war-
chariot was very small and light,) where then riot
warriors?
it is
to his
The
purpose to be minute, and since he evidently
tended to accumulate circumstances as
Also
upon
in all
are the cha-
author would not leave them out, since
verse 17 his
:
host,
"I
will get
upon
his
much
as
in-
possible.
me honor upon Pharaoh, and
chariots and upon his riders,"
the riders again correspond with the chariot-warriors in verse 7.
If there
were then chariot-warriors and
riders,
how
In verse 23 strange that they are never spoken of together. " And the Egyptians pursued them and went in after them, all
the horses of Pharaoh, his chariots
and
his
riders," the
three constituent parts of the Egyptian warlike preparation are fully designated.
common
way,
it
If riders were here understood in the
would be surprising that horses and chariots
.
CHARIOTS OF EGYPT. '.vere
named, and
135
who
that chariot-warriors,
are most impor-
meaning of the passage, chap. " Horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea," 15: 1 is clear from verse 4 of the same chapter, where only the overwhelming of the chariots and chariot-warriors is spoken of. tant,
were
left out.
Finally, the
:
2.
The number
of chosen chariots of Egypt
chap. 14: 6 (7) to GOO.
If
we compare with
is
limited in
this other de-
clarations with regard to the strength of the Egyptian hosts of
war,
we
shall
be the better prepared to
moderate statements, so inappropriate Jo
tion.
s
e p h u s adds,
chariots which
from
his
Pharaoh brought
in a
own
appreciate
these
mythic representa-
resources, to the
into the field,
600
50,000 horse-
men and 200,000 footmen. The Jewish tragic poet, E z ekiel, says that the Egyptian hosts of war amounted to a million. According to D o d o r u s,* Sesostris had 600,009 i
footmen, and 24,000 horsemen, and 27,000 chariots of war.
He gives an equally
extravagant
number
in chap. 45:
47.t
It
600 chariots are not the whole force with which Pharaoh pursued the Israelites. Besides, the 600 chosen chariots were also the chariots of Egypt. But the number of the last must also be fixed according to the analogy of
is
certain that the
the
first.
3.
The
author in verse 7 makes a difference between the
chosen chariots and the chariots of Egypt. dently compose the guard of the king.
proved the existence of
dotus
a royal
and the monuments.|
The
We
guard
in
From
Herodo
first evi-
have already
Egypt from t
u
Hero-
s :§
" But
ihey (the warriors) enjoyed these privileges in turn, never at
once
—
a
all
thousand of the Calasaries and as many of the Her-
motybies were the yearly guard of the king, and to these was given, in addition to their land, each day," etc., that at least in early times, these guards * 1. X
54.
Pages 24,
t
67.
Compare
§ 2. 168.
it is
certain
changed each year.
Rosellini, Vol. II. 3. p. 231
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
136 however
It is
must not be understood as imsucceeded to this employment,
true, that this
plying that the soldiers
all
without selection, in successive divisions; but the rotation
among chosen troops. may perhaps appear remarkable, that
took place rather, only 4.
It
notwithstanding their very great numbers,
the Israelites,
appearance
at the
of the not very numerous Egyptian hosts of war, considered themselves as absolutely
lost,
and that the thought of with-
A
standing them did not even occur to them.
Wilkinson*
assists
in
explaining this fact
remark
"
:
The
ized state of Egyptian society required the absence of
arms except when they were on service." were
in
civilall
If the Israelites
unarmed when they departed, they could not
entirely
think of making resistance.
Musical Instruments among
According
to
through the sea,
chap. 15: 20, 21,
the
Egyptians,
after
they had
Miriam, the prophetess, the
took the timbrel in her hand, and
all
the
sister
women
passed
of Aaron,
followed
af-
her with timbrels and dances, and Miriam answered them (Moses and the children of Israel) " Sing to the Lord, for
ter
:
he hath triumphed gloriously the horse and the rider hath he thrown into the sea." Analogies for this scene, in more than one respect, are found upon the Egyptian monuments. ;
First,
we
find
and women.
upon them,
Champo
of Beni Hassan, "
1 1
as here, separate choirs of i
a picture
which represented a concert of
vocal and instrumental music; a singer
player upon
which
^ Vol.
is
accompanied by
a
by two choirs, one of lat-
time with their hands." I.
p.
347.
stance, p. 402. t
assisted
composed of men and the other of women; the
is
ter beat
the harp, and
men
o nt discovered in the grottoes
S. 53. dor Brief e.
Compare
a
minute discussion of
this
circum-
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.
137
Further; the timbrel or the tambourine was, according to
monuments, commonly the instrumen.* A description and drawing of the tambourine is given by Wilkinson.t the representations of the
ment of the women,
We
also find
as the flute of the
upon the Egyptian monuments,
as here, the
playing of the tambourine even unaccompanied by other in" Wostruments, in connection with the dance and singing.
W
men," says i 1 k i n s o n,| in describing a scene in Thebes, " beat the tambourine and darabooka drum, without the addition of any other instrument, dancing or singing to the
sound." that
Finally;
among
the
among them
We
in will
descriptions show,
Moreover, the tambourine was used
religious destination. §
formed
monuments and
the Egyptians generally, music had a decidedly
in sacred music.
Egypt
Religious dances were per-
||
worship of Osiris.^
in the
here add those things which the examination of
Egyptian antiquity furnishes
in explanation of the
passages of the Pentateuch, where music
According
to
were ordered
to
Num.10: 2 seq., two silver trumpets, n'^Stiiin, be made for calling together the congregation,
to give the signal for breaking
(see
Num.
remaining
mentioned.
is
up the camp,
for
use in war,
31: 6, where in the war against Midian the trum-
pets are taken,) and
for
festal
By
occasions.
another kind of trumpets, called nsi'i:
,
From Joshua,
25: 8 seq., the year of jubilee was announced.
chap. 6, verse 4, where the same instrument ably called trumpet and horn,
we
the blast of
according to Lev.
is
interchange-
see that this last instrument
had the form of a horn, and accordingly the chatsotserah must be the sti'aight trumpet.
Among
the Egyptians, remarks
Wilkinson,**
*
Wilk. Vol.
t
Vol. II. p. 254.
+
Vol. U. p. 240, where a representation of this scene
II. p.
253, 314.
§ Rosellini, II. 3. p. 78.
^ Ros.
Ros.
JI. 3. p.
||
12*
37 seq.
Wilkinson,
** Vol.
II. 3. p. 96.
I.
trum-
is
found.
II. p. 316"
p. 297.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
138
pets were already in use in the earliest times of the Pharaohs.
The
sculptures at
Thebes show
Trumpeters are there
this.
often represented in the battle scenes, sometimes standing
and summoning the troops to form, and
them to
Rose
a rapid charge.
1
1
i
n
at other
says
i
"
:
still
times leading
The Egypand
tians were acquainted with the real straight trumpet,
made
use of
it
for
warlike purposes, as far as the
show, as the Tyrrhenians make use of the description of this trumpet in
remarks that trumpet
it
only in war."
it
Wilkin
was especially used
monuments
son,* who
The
war.
in
crooked
not found on the Egyptian monuments, but
is
See also
E u-
makes mention of an instrument in the fashion of a crooked trumpet, whose invention he ascribes to Osiris, and whose Egyptian name he gives, remarking that it was s
a
t
h
t
used
i
u
for
s
assembling the people to sacrifice.!
ble that, as in the
among
Mosaic times, only the
among
use, and especially
straight trumpet
both, this only
remarka-
It is
among
the Egyptians, so also
the Israelites
was
in
general
was made use of
in
war." In Gen. 4: 2j Jubal
who
represented
is
as
the father of
all
play the lute and the pipe, accordingly the invention of
these instruments
is
referred to a primitive age.
indeed as a commendation of
music
as
beginning with
its
this passage, that
It serves
represents
it
natural beginning, the invention
But the great antiquity of stringed
of stringed instruments. |
instruments in general, and especially of those named, receives special confirmation from
the Egyptians,
we
find
even
in
Among
the monuments.
the most ancient times very
curiously constructed stringed instruments, especially a three
stringed guitar, which implies a long succession of imperfect •*
t
II. 260, 262.
Upon
the Iliad,
2.
219, vA. Lips,
{adXnty^) ttuq Aiyvnxloti,
XQMyrai I
ijv
S* avrtj ir^og d'voiav,
Burney
in
Wilk.
II. p.
t
iv. p.
"Oai(jig eh^e
;
65
:
SsvrtQa
xa?.ovvTeg rovg ox^ovg
226.
77
GTQoyyiXr,
Halovfiivi], (paal, x^'oi'Vi ^i.ariiinjs.
-^^^
§
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.
Such instruments indeed
attempts.
"
pyramids.*
The
139
are represented in the
same author,t tomb near the pyramids of
oldest perhaps," says the
" found in the sculptures, are in a
Gizeh, between three and four thousand years old." cording to Tmai,
at
Rose
1
1
i
n
i,|
there
is
Ac-
represented in the tomb of
Gizeh, an eight stringed harp, which must belong
to the times preceding the last fifteen dynasties.
very ancient tomb a similar
harp.
at
In another
Gizeh, there are represented players on
Indeed, upon the oldest
monuments
instru-
ments are found with the most diverse number of strings, and any advancement in the
art
of constructing them cannot be
traced. *
Wilk.
II. p.
t II. 3. p.
13.
230.
t
Wilk.
p. 271.
§ p. 12, 13.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF
140
CHAPTER
xMOSES.
V.
THE MATERIALS AND ARTS EMPLOYED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TABERNACLE AND PRIESTS' GARMENTS Cultivation of the Arts It
among
the
Egyptians and
Israelites.
has been adduced as an argument against the historical
character
of the Pentateuch, that the construction
of the
tabernacle and the priest's garments, implies a cultivation of the arts and an abundance of costly materials, such as
we
among
left
could not expect to find
the Israelites
when they
These materials consisted not merely of
Egypt.
and brass, but also of costly
stuffs,
furs
gold, silver
and spices, things
which a nomade people are not accustomed to carry with them in their wanderings. It is accordingly argued that the whole description of the tabernacle belongs not to history
The
but to fiction.* fidence that
assertion
was made with so much con-
has by degrees become established and tra-
it
ditional.
The
foundation for
its
we have indeed
confiuation,
previ-
ously laidjt by showing that the prevalent view concerning the
condition of the Israelites in Egypt, according to which they
merely continued their nomade there
themselves of
availed
culture
and
civilization,
To
considerable prosperity.
*
in
S.
CXII.
Beitrage Th.
2. S.
430
ft'.
a false one, since they
advantages of
Egyptian
some respects attained
to
complete the structure, there
See Vater, Abhand. S. 648, De Wette,
Von Bohlen, t
and
life, is
the
Beitr.
I.
S. 259. II. S. 260.
PRECIOUS STONES.
now nothing
is
materials which
further
were
priestly robes,
at that
most especially that the
than
requisite,
were used
141
making
in
to
show
that
the
the tabernacle and
time already
in use in Egypt, but and contrivances which come
arts
into consideration, were there already in existence and known. For the material and intellectual resources of the Egyptians
we
justly consider as
But
common
to the Israelites with them.
to furnish this information
We
this chapter.
also
While we show
this.
aim
at a
least that
tious
that
it is
positive object
Moses
is
arts are
beyond
connected
characteristic peculiarities,
prove that the situation of things
we suppose
not our only design in
that the Tsraelitish
many
with the Egyptian by
is
more
is
just such as
it
we
must be,
if
the author of the Pentateuch, or at
historically accurate, while later fiction or ficti-
narrative could not have originated or sustained this
Egyptian relationship.
We
begin with a general declaration of one of the most " It is a
distinguished investigators of Egyptian antiquity.
wonderful
the
fact, that
first
information which
we have
with
regard to the history and manners of the Egyptians, shows us a nation which
advanced
is far
in
civilized
customs and inventions which prevailed of this people, at the
commencement
life.
in the
The same
Augustan era
of the eighteenth dy-
nasty, are also found even in the far distant age of Osirtasen,
the contemporary of Joseph."
The art of Cutting and Setting precious
The
Stones.
materials which were used in the construction of the
tabernacle and priest's garments were a part of them hard,
and a part first
place.
guished
soft.
B
among
Among
e z a
1
ee
1,
the former, precious stones take the is
spoken of
other things for his
of stones for setting."
in
skill
Ex.-S^'S^, as distin" in the preparation
Precious stones, on which the names
of the Israelites were engraven in the character engraven on
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
142
the signet rinw, were placed, according to Ex. 28: seq., in
golden encasements upon
the ephod and
9
— 11,
17,
breastplate
of the high priest.
The
of cutting precious stones, generally very early dis-
art
covered, was practised in Egypt even in very ancient times.* " There are several necklaces of gold and cornelian in the
new gallery of Egyptian antiquities opened at the British Museum, whose exquisite workmanship could scarcely be surpassed by modern artists, though as we see from the engraapparatus of the jeweller was as simple as could
the
ving,
This
well be imagined.
is still
the case in Hindoostan, where
the native jeweller, travelling from house to house with his '
little
produces ornaments of consid-
furnace and blow pipe,
How
erable beauty. "t
were valued
very
nmch genuine
imitations of
them were made
The Theban
artists
employment of for
precious stones
indeed evident from the circumstance that
is
in
considerable numbers.
were particularly distinguished As, then we find
counterfeiting.
it
in
this
common
the Egyptians to imitate the ornaments of the rich in
cheaper materials
for the
use of the lower classes,
it is
very
evident
that
the spirit of luxury, which belongs to an ad-
vanced
state
of civilization was already at an early period
widely diffused in Egypt.| native to Egypt,
son
That
the art of the engraver
was
Wilkinsignets. Of
manifest from the data which
has furnished with regard to the Egyptian
many is
is
of them he has also engravings.^
There,
for
example,
described the signet yet preserved, of one of the earliest
of the Pharaohs. the king
motto *
:
is
"
The
^
side of the plate the
lord of strength,"
which
is
lion
name
Taylor,
II. S.
applied to the king
p.
373-^4
I
Taylor,
;
in Bella-
103.
p. 8b.
Vol, III,
of
with the
See quotations from Winkclmanii, Mnll(>r and others
Symbol. Th. 1
Upon one
engraved; upon the opposite, a
p. 88.
PURE GOLD. on one side
is a
143
scorpion, and on the opposite a crocodile.*
Moreover, various other inscriptions are found engraved on Egyptian rings."t
The art of Purifying and 'Working Metals.
Among the hard materials, Of
Bezaleel
it is
the metals hold the second place.
said in Ex. 35: 32, he
had power to devise
curious works, to work in gold and silver and brass." " From all this compare what o s e 1 1 i n i| says
R
as they are represented in the
articles,
manifest,
how
such
Egyptian tombs,
it is
anciently the art of casting and working metals
was practised
Egypt"
in
Egyptian metallic a smaller
With
:
—And
:
"
The
greater
part
of
of bronze, not a few of gold,
articles are
number of silver, very few of
lead and those
made
of iron are seldom found. "§ The gold which was ordered to be used about the sanctuary
is
tomb
commonly designated as pure gold.|l A painting in at Thebes which bears the date of Thothmes IV.,
pears to represent the fusion and purifying of gold.^
ornaments are found
made of
dence that gold was
The monuments
furnish clear evi-
and thus of course distinguished
purified,
from that which was unwrought and not purified. therefore
made of impure
gold,
According
assertion of Pliny, 33: 6
etiam nunc, be
denied to the Egyptians the
literis
:
"
contenta solis,"
all
the boards of the
Non is
signat Oriens aut Aegyptus by these discoveries shown to
false. f
§ II
IT
Compare Wilk. Ros.
II. 2. p.
See Ex.
III. p. 376.
I
11. 2. p.
297.
298.
25: 11, 17, 24,
RoseDini
II. 2. p.
278.
art of
to Ex. 25: 11, the ark of
and according to 26: 29,
testimony,
The
Incorrectly,
have some, referring to some one old ornament,
preparing pure gold.**
*
ap-
Many
Egyptian collections which are
in the
the purest gold.
the
29 and other passages. ** Ibid. p. 280.
|
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
144
W
i
k inson,"t that
1
in
were overlaid with gold
We find,"
"
tabernacle were to be overlaid with gold.
says
Egypt substances of various kinds
leaf, at
the earliest periods of which
monuments remain even in the time of the Even the mummies were gilded.
the
first
Osirtasen."
According to Ex. 39: 3, the high priest's ephod was interwoven with threads of gold. We find even gold wire attached date of Osirtasen the
to rings bearing the
first
;
wire existed in the days of the third Thothmes.§ the colored Egyptian dresses are probably
and
silver
Some
of
represented in the paintings
woven with gold
threads.
||
In the two upper golden rings of the breastplate, wreathed
golden chains
were inserted,
Egyptians, and are often,
the
fastening
for
the breastplate^
Golden chains were very common among
to the ephod. ^
for
example, represented as
necklaces.**
The
golden candlestick was ornamented with flowers of Representations of
Ex. 25: 31 seq.
gold,
also probably cle. ft
The
both natural
made on
flowers
Egyptians had an extraordinary love
and
were
the variegated cloths of the taberna-
artificial.
flowers are found everywhere
The Lotus and worn
for flowers,
other favorite
According
as ornaments.
Plinyjf they made artificial flowers which received the name of '^Egyptiae."|||| In Exodus, chap. 35: 22, among the free will offerings which both the men and women of Israel brought for the
to
sanctuary,
*'
nose rings and ear rings, and signet rings and
t
Vol. III. 224.
t
See Pettigrew, History of Ejryptian Mummies, London, 1834,
p. 63. §
Wilk.
If
Ex.
**
III. p. 129.
28:
Wilkinson, Vol.
ItBahr Th. nil
I.
II
III. p. 376,
S.314.
Wilk. Vol. U.
Wilk.
111. p. 131.
B'dhr Symbol. Vol. II. S. 105.
22 seq.
p.
183.
with the engraving, 409, M.
U
21: 2.
METAL MIRRORS COMMON pendants," at this
what
all
jewels of gold,
mentioned.
first
abundance of ornaments
R o s e 11
i
n
i* says
ornaments abounded,
upon
145
Astonishment
an end, when we read point " Costly and elegant
is at
this
:
in proportion as clothing in general
among
simple and scarce
IN EGYPT.
the Egyptians.
was
Girdles, necklaces,
armlets, rings, earrings and amulets of various kinds suspended from the neck, are found represented in the paintings and in fact, still exist on the mummies. Figures of noble
youth, are found entirely devoid of clothing, but richly orna-
mented with necklaces,"
The
etc.
brazen laver according to chap. 38
was made
8,
:
of the brazen mirrors which the holy women offered.t " One of the principal objects of the toilet," says Wilkin-
son,! ''was the mirror.
was of mixed metal,
It
copper, most carefully wrought and highly polished
admirably did the
skill
;
chiefly
and so
of the Egyptians succeed in the com-
modern lookingwhich has even been partially revived at the present day, in some of those discovered at Thebes, though buried in the earth for many centuries."
position of metals, that this substitute for our glass
The
was susceptible of
a lustre
mirror was nearly round, inserted into a handle of wood,
See
stone or metal of various forms.§
upon looking-glasses discovered vi^hole
subject,
same author
also the
whom,
the
signifies, the
view
Rosellini,^] according
Egyptian name of mirror like the Hebrew,
1|
and upon the
Thebes,
at
to
of the face.
Wood.
Skill in Carving
The the
third
hard material
* Vol. II. 2. p. t
§ II
is
The circumstance
wood.
same kind of wood which 419—20.
viras
t
Th.
3.
der Beitrage, S. 133.
Vol. III. p. 384,
Engravings of them are found Vol. III. p. 253.
in
Wilk. 11
13
that
employed about the sanc-
III.
385
—
6.
Vol. 11. 2. 528 seq.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
146 the
tuary,
acacia,
used in Egypt only
is
wood which on
p.
known and
38
little
also
commonly
importance, since this
is
the
The Egyptians were and cabinetwork.! Rosellini
the desert furnishes.
greatly skilled in joiner says,
was
(tamarisk, sant,)*
of but
according to the monuments, the saic was
:
use 2000 years before our era.
in
Use of Leather.
Leather holds the
The
first
place
among
the soft materials.
covering of the tabernacle, which lay directly over that
of goat's hair, according to Ex. 26: 14, was to consist of
ram's skins colored red.
Above
handsome
leather,
other kind of
The
defined.
that, was a covering of anwhich cannot be accurately
preparation of leather, says
was an important branch of Egyptian ness of the leather of the straps of a
Wil kin son,f
industry.
mummy
The
fine-
discovered
at
Thebes, and the beauty of the figures which are stamped up-
on
show conclusively
it,
Some of these
Rose
the oldest times. art
1
of making leather.
filled
1 i
n
i§ also gives
is
They made
found represented.
quivers and pouches of different colors, and orna-
ments, shoes and sandals, shields,
wood of
an account of the
In the tombs at Thebes, a shop
with leather-workers
bottles,
who prepared it. name of the kings of
the skill of the artist
pieces of leather bear the
the Egyptian
In the
colored leather.
Egyptian harp
museum
of leather.
of the Louvre,
preserved, whose
is
etc.,
"The
harps was sometimes covered with
wood
is
at Paris,
an
covered with a
kind of green morocco, cut in the form of a lotus blossom. "|| *
Compare Herod. B.
Vett.,
8. V.
2. c. 122.
Jablonsky, Voce. Aeg. ap. Script.
Sant and Sittim, Rosellini,
II. 2. S. 33.
Wilk. Vol.
p. 168. t
Compare Ros.
t
Vol. III. p. 155.
II
Ros. II.
II. 2. p. 32,
3. p. 16.
and Taylor, §
Ros.
p.
106 seq.
II. 2. p.
355.
III.
THE WEAVERS OF EGYPT.
147
Spinning, Weaving and Embroidery.
We now turn our attention and
to their cloths of the tabernacle
Many
garments.
priests'
passages mention the twisted
In the tombs of Beni Hassan, the process of pre-
byssus.*
paring the thread and twining ing,
is
exhibited. f
with clubs so as to ing
it,
they also boiled the thread in water to increase
;
ness,
and
at
thus
make
it
the
same time give
it
this
in
n
i
4 The
men and
ways, which
The
partly by
Rose
1 1
i
n
i
byssus in
inscription on a
RoselThen follows
interpreted by
is
preparation of the yarn of bjssus.
which
is
performed,
women, and indeed
in different
the representation of the twisting partly by
The
way.
part of an Egyptian wall-picture
its soft-
greater consistence, and
better for twisting and weaving.
was treated
particular
I i
preparation for weav-
in
They were accustomed to beat the yarn make it softer and more suitable for twin-
itself,
describes.^
The skill of the Egyptians in weaving, and the great renown of their cloths in all antiquity, is recognized and confirmed by the fact, that the ancient writers attribute to the
Egyptians the invention of this
Herodotus^ Egyptians
women
differ
art.||
mentions as one of the points
in
which the
from other nations, that among them the
perform the out-of-door's work, and the
men weave,**
Other ancient writers bear testimony to the same thing. "In ancient times the weavers of Panopolis, in Upper Egypt, were especially distinguished,
in later times, those in Arsinoe,
Pelusium and Alexandria."tt
Also very many men are seen
*
Ex.
26: 1, 31,
and other passages.
t
+ p. 16. II
Aegyptii textilia (invenerunt). Plin. B.
^ Chap.
Ros.
§ p.
2.
35
Compare
c.
7. c.
II. 2. p. 13, 14.
16 and 17. 56.
105: Ot Se avdQsg aax
oi'ytovg
v(f,aivovot.
**
Heeren,
ft
Strabo, 17, 813.
S. 388.
Drumann
Inschrift
von Rosette,
S. 170.
iovrsg
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
148
on the monuments employed
women
unfrequently also see
weaving,* and when
in
weaving, t this can,
in
we
not
view of the
testimony of ancient writers, yet be considered only as the exception which destroys not the rule.
—Now,
most perfect
in
agreement with these notices of ancient writers, the preparaand the sacerdotal robes
tion of the cloth for the sanctuary
is
represented throughout as under the care of men.t
The women, on and
the contrary, performed the spinning,^
work generally belonged
this
kinson
gives engravings of
Yet
the spindle.
this
raelitish
Wil-
their
work.^
of the purple which they had spun,
which were employed about the taber-
The same
were dyed before weaving.
done among the Egyptians.
it
||
are employed with
was not exclusively
women brought
that the colored fabrics
"
Egypt.
in
evident from Ex. 35: 25, according to which the Is-
It is
nacle,
them
to
women who
M
In
From many experiments upon
i
n u
t
o
1
thing was also i**
it is
said
:
the ancient Egyptian cloth
appears that the byssus was colored in the wool before
weaving, which also cess which all at
P
1
is
shown by Ex. 25:
once upon the web
after
it is
pro-
finished by the use of va-
rious preparations, appears therefore to be
ment
in
cloth
was colored
The
The
4. 26: 1.
n yft describes for impressing different colors
i
Egyptian
a
Wilkinsontf
art."
in the thread
among
advance-
later
also
shows that
the ancient Egyptians.
colored figures in the cloth of the Israelites were
weaver
partly the product of the ""
See,
e, g.
t
Ros.
II. 2. p. 30,
Minutoli,
t.
in
colors,
nipn
,
whose
art
25.
and Wilk. Vol.
III. p. 134,
and the engravings,
Vol. II. p. 60. i ''
See the phrase, "work of the weaver,"'
work of the
artificer," in 28: 6, 15. 26: 31,
§
Ex.
IT
Wilk. Vol.
35: 25.
II
III. p. 133.
ing of Egyptian spindles, ^^ S. 402.
.
tt
p.
Herod.
in
Ex.
28: 32. 39: 22, 27;
but especially ch. 35: 36.
2. 35,
The same author
and Wilk.
also gives
2. 60.
an engrav-
136.
Hist. nat. p. 35, 42.
U
Vol. III. p. 125.
LINEN ARMOR.
149
appears the superior, and partly that of the embroiderer in
Both methods are reproduced on the monu-
colors, QjPh.*
ments, so that the objection which has been brought forward
word rohem by embroiderers,
against rendering the art
of embroidering was generally
unknown
and particularly among the Hebrews, "
entirely groundless.
Wilkinson,!
Many
is
that the
in earlier ages,
to be regarded as
of the Egyptian stuffs," says
" presented various patterns worked in colors
by the loom, independent of those produced by the dyeing or printing process, and so richly composed, that they vied
The Egyptian
with cloths embroidered with the needle." sails,
same author, | were some of them embroidered
says the
with fanciful devices, representing the phoenix, flowers and other emblems.
This, however, was confined to the plea-
sure boats of the nobles and king.
which show
sails
of Remeses
III.
one
is
this
was done even
ornamented with various colors of the time
The
devices are various, the most
common
the phoenix.§
In Ex. 28: 32, priest:
That
evident from the paintings at Thebes,
in the early ages, is
''And
its
it
is
said of the outer
opening
for the
head
garment of the high
shall
be in the middle
of it, a border shall there be to the opening round about, of
woven work, that
it
like the
be not rent."
opening of a habergeon
No
shall
it
be, so
other than a linen harbergeon can
for no other would need a binding. The linen armor of the Egyptians was renowned in all antiquity. He-
be meant
;
rodotusll mentions a linen habergeon (or corselet), ornamented with many animals, and worked with cotton thread and with gold, which Amasis sent to the Lacedemonians as *
fies
Compare
the passage in the Lxx, and the proof that
tj?") signi-
embroiderers, in opposition to Hartmann, Gresen. and others, in
Bahr Symb.
I.
S. 267.
t
Vol. III. p. 128.
§
See engravings
X
in
Wilk.
III. 210.
13*
\\
Ibid, 210. 3. 47.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
150 a present,
and
Minerva
to
which the same king dedicated
also another
at
He
Lindus.
designates this last as a ''linen
corselet worthy of admiration.'*
It
is
was not peculiar
the linen corselet
yet an importance such as
is
to
acknowledged, that
But
Egypt alone.t
here implied, the linen corselet
had nowhere except in Egypt.
Preparation and Use of Unguents.
We
also remark, that
what
is
cerning the holy ointment and
said in Ex. 30:
22
seq.,
con-
preparation, has received
its
abundant explanation and confirmation from investigations
Unguents were very much used among the Egypis evident in part from representations in the
in Egypt.
This
tians.
paintings, and in part from the vases for containing
Some
yet exist.
of them
can be determined from these
oil,
but
it is
was used while the other ingredients depended on the
animal as well as vegetable
As
far as
unguents appear some-
last,
made of nut
times to have been
them which
retain their odor.
still
oil
probable, that
for this purpose,
taste of the
mak-
er or purchaser.}: It is
worthy of notice, that in the description of the holy
ointment, the bin
is first
used as a measure, which afterwards
often appears in the Pentateuch.
It
brew etymology, and furthermore the
name
is
not of
Hebrew
has no discoverable He-
it
appears probable that
origin, since
it is
found, out of the
Pentateuch, only in Ezekiel, in the description of the temple, where, like so
many
other words,
it
is
not taken from the
current language of the day, but from the Pentateuch. * 2. t
See also Wilk.
182.
Ajax
is
X
127 seq.
designated in the Iliad,
the passages collected
Galba,
III.
II. p.
2.
and referred
c. 19.
Wilk.
Ac-
214, and III. 378.
529, as, hvodxo^rji,. to in
Compare
Perizonius upon Sueton.
THE HIN AS A MEASURE.
Leem
cording to
tian language. ral
name
a n,* the
The
for a vessel
liin,
word
he
is
151
borrowed from the Egypwas originally the gene-
asserts,
which then was transferred by the He-
brews and Egyptians to a certain measure of variable com-
Hitherto rials
we have occupied
ourselves only with the mate-
of the tabernacle and priest's garments, and the arts
which are known
to
have been employed upon them.
Now,
we
will also
the
Books of Moses, Egyptian references cannot be denied, who in modern times,
show, that even in the religious institutions of
notwithstanding the opposition of those
combating the practice so
hostile to
ing such references wherever there a reason for *
Lettre a
it,
M.
sound criticism, of is
find-
the least semblance of
have wholly denied their existence.
Salvolini sur les
Monumens
Egyptians, Leyden 1838.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
152
CHAPTER
VI.
EGYPTIAN REFERENCES IN THE RELIGIOUS TUTIONS OF THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
Law among The
the
Egyptians and
INSTI-
Israelites.
complicated character of the legislation of the Penta-
So complex
teuch directs us, in a general way, to Egypt.*
a code of laws could not have been given to a people
who
had not indeed from former circumstances been accustomed If we fancy the Israelites to a law regulating the whole life. as
still
occupying the position of the patriarchs, they are a
complete enigma to doubt," says
Hee
r
Egypt was preeminently
us.
law, and especially of
written
e n,t
''
after all that
tian antiquity, that legislation in
carried, as far
But
especially
at least as
was the
in
its
every third day
—
;
we know
be no
of Egyp-
main branches was there
any other land of the East."|
religious polity of the Egyptians car-
ried out into the most minute details.
of the Egyptian priests
a land of
" There can
law.
'' :
The
Herodotus§
priests shave the
says
whole body
the priests also wear a linen garment and
shoes of papyrus, and they are not permitted to put on any other clothing, and no other shoes.
They bathe
themselves
day, and twice every night.
And
in cold water twice
a
many thousand other
usages, I might say, they must observe."||
*
In den BeitrHgen, Th.
3. S.
623-4.
t
yet
S. 167.
Concerning the Books of Legislation among the Egyptians, see Diod. 1. 94, and Zoega, De Obeliscis, p. 520. X
§ B. 2. c. 37.
W^'jiXkag re d'Qtjaxiai i7tiv6?Jovat fivQiag,
o'jg
slnuv
koyca.
priests' garments.
we
If
153
among whom
take into view the people from
the Is-
were removed, the complicated character of the Mosaic polity, very far from being an argument against its gen-
raelites
uineness, must rather appear to us a necessary condition of
For
it.
polity
a people
which had been
was by no means
in
such a school, a simple
suitable.
In the following institutions of the Books of Moses, special
Egyptian references can be shown, or
We
at least
made probable.*
begin with those things which are closely connected
with the preceding chapter, without properly belonging to
it.
THE STUFF AND COLOR OF THE PRIESTS GARMENTS.
The itish
similarity
which
and Egyptian
material,
is
is
priests'
found to exist between the Israel-
garments
in respect to color
of no small importance.
It is clear
and
from many
passages, that the IsraeJitish priests were clothed in white linen and byssus ;t and that the Egyptians is
evident from
Herodotus :|
were
also so clothed,
" But the priests wear merely
linen clothing, and are not allowed to put on any other." this
In
passage linen includes also byssus.§
Two arguments have been made use of to show that this agreement between Egyptian and accidental.
First,
it is
Israelitish antiquity is
asserted, that these priests'
merely
garments
We satisfy ourselves with the statement of the really tenable Egyptian references, for those which have been claimed as untenable by those who have preceded us, we refer to the " Symbolik des Mosaischen Cultus," by Bahr, where their inadmissibility has been shown *"
oftentimes in a striking manner. t
As Ex.
28:
39—42.
39: 27, 28.
de Vestitu Sacerdotis magni,
I.
p.
Lev. 93
:
6:
10.
Compare Braun
Vestes totius coetus lineae
erant praeter balteum, qui ex lana et lino mixtus. I
2. 37.
Compare Heeren Ideen, 1. 1. S. 107. II. 2. S. 133. Drumann, Ueber die Inschrift von Rosette, S. 169. Pliny, Hist. nat. 19. 1, vestis ex gossypie sacerdotibus Aeg. gratissimae. §
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
154
did not probably belong to the Israelites and Egyptians alone,
but they are rather the same which were diffused throughout the old world
a sure proof, that one people cannot be sup-
;
posed to have adopted them from another, that they were rather,
from the nature of
B a h r*
says
:
the
case,
everywhere
used.
" Everywhere from India to Gaul, the priests'
wear garments of vegetable material, consequently, of linen or cotton, and of white, if possible, of brilliant white color.
It is
the less necessary to refer to individual documents concerning these well
known
facts, as they
have been already collected
by several authors."
But among those quoted,
Spencer
passage cited,t speak only of the directly
shows that linen clothing
Israelites, peculiar only to the
and
Br
luhite color.
is,
a u n, in the
The
"
former
with the exception of the
Egyptian
priests.
S
a
u be
r t,|
only undertakes to prove that the priests everywhere have been
accustomed to clothe themselves with white linen garments.
But the passages which the inaccurate
collector quotes,
all
have reference either to Egyptian or Israelitish antiquity.
The
color taken by
portance.
It is
itself,
is
indeed not without some im-
allowed that white priestly apparel
is
common
But in this exclusiveness Rosenit is peculiar only to the Egyptians and Israelites. m u e e r§ remarks ''Among the Greeks and Romans the color of the pontifical robes was different according to the different gods to whom they sacrificed, and white garments
among
other nations of antiquity.
:
1 1
were put on only when they offered
But
if
we look
at
to Ceres." || (?)
the material of the priests' robes in con-
nexion with the color, an accidental agreement of Israelitish with Egyptian antiquity, can no longer be thought of *
In der Symbolik, Th.
t
1.
§ II
170.
In dem. A.
II. p. 87. I
&
De
Sacrificiis, 1. c. 9. p. 188.
N. Morgenl. Th.
Ovid's Festb. 6.619.
2. S. 190.
That
PREFERENCE OF LINEN GARMENTS. their priests
were clothed
in
155
was considered
linen,
in
all
antiquity as a remarkable and exclusive peculiarity of the
The documents have already been so fully quoted Spencer,* that we only need to refer to him. A priest-
Egyptians.
by
hood clothed only elsewhere in
all
cannot be shown to have existed
in linen,
heathen antiquity
and
;
if
the
new Pythago-
reans, appealing to the alleged example of Pythagoras himself,
gave the preference to linen clothing, instead of woolen,t
can certainly be accounted
this
only by supposing an imitation
for
of Egyptian customs.
B a h r| adduces a second argument
against the dependence
of the priestly robes of the Israelites upon those of the Egyptian. " In Egypt," he says, " the byssus was chosen in preference,
and mainly on account of * p.
683
seq.
de veste linea et peculiaris.
He
says
origin,
its
Addere
:
'
out of the indestruct-
liceat auctores illos antiques,
sic loqui solent, quasi sacrificulis
Nam
linigeri
tanquam proprius
qui
Aegypti propria esset et peculiaris character
sacerdotum Aegyptiacorum apud antiques, poeta& inprimis, frequenter usurpatur. Ideo enim Juvenal grex liniger, Ovidio linigera turba, i
Martiali linigeri calvi^
qui et
Senecae
linteati
senes appellantur.
Herodotus aliique sacrum lineae vestis usuni inter natives et antiques Aegypti mores referunt. Compare the copious collections upon linen as the peculiar dress of the
Suetonius, Otho,
Egyptian
priests,
in Perizonius
upon
c. 12.
t According to Fhilistratus, p. 1. ed. Olearii, Pythagorus would wear no clothing which was prepared from animal stuffs. Sic infra, remarks Olearius upon this passage, Pythagoricae disciplinae initiatus ApolEt lonius livov iod'T^ra aixTtioysxaij TtctQairrjadfisvog TtjV aito tomv. 1.
1. 32,
a Pythagora se habere
lana ex terra nata vestiatur.
ait yr^ivoi &qioj
In B.
6. c.
tovtcu iara'Xd'aij quod
11 of the Pythagorean phi-
Sectaterem suam nee laena esse fovendum, nee lana quae animatis depecti selet. Olearius refers also to other passages. The passages which Braun refers to in one of losophy, Apollonius says
:
cited (I. p. 103,) in proof of the incorrect " Ejusdem quoque materiae plerumque fuerunt ethnicorum
various places before position
:
ve&timenta sacra," can relate only t
Symbol.
2. S.
90,91.
to the
Pythagoreans,
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
156 ible
animal clothing, since
earth,' while they despised
obtained from a creature subject to death, or since
it
is
implies
it
the death of the animals which they suppose unallowed.
The
byssus garments of the Egyptian priests are therefore
most intimately connected with the fundamental principles of the Egyptian natural religion, of which there
not the
is
least trace to
be found in the Mosaic law.
fore that the
Egyptian priests only, besides those instituted
by Moses, had worn the byssus garment, entirely different significance
it
in
Supposing thereconsequence of the
had among them,
it
could yet
furnish no proof of a borrowing or copying."
But allow that it ment of byssus was and the
shown
is
the import of the gar-
that
entirely different
Israelites, yet the
borrowed the custom.
among
the Egyptians
might very properly have
latter
What good
objection
is
there to the
supposition that they applied to a form borrowed from the
Egyptians a
new
significance
But the assertion
?
that the reasons for the preference of this
kind of garment both among the Israelites and Egyptians are entirely different,
among
is
in the highest
the Israelites cleanliness
is
degree uncertain.
ments of linen only, and the prohibition of woolen
The same
from Ex. ch. 44: 17, 18,
To
himself
the
That
the ground of the use of gar-
thing
is
is
evident,
shown by B
same cause Herodotus, the
a h r
oldest wit-
ness, traces
back the use of linen garments among the Egyp-
tian priests.
Both that which goes before the clause already
quoted that
:
"
which
The
priests
wear only linen garments." and also
follows, has reference to the cleanliness,
the estimation of the Egyptian priests
importance. sively
It
religious
is
said before
above
all
:
other
practise the following usages
:
was
The
and consequently
drink from brazen cups
which they wash out thoroughly every day. linen garments always newly washed, with
they take peculiar care.
They
in
much
Egyptians are exces-
people,
They
which
a matter of so
They wear
regard to which
also practise
circumcision
GARMENTS OF THE PRIESTS.
157
R)r the sake of cleanliness, and prefer neatness to decorum. Moreover, the priests shave the whole body each third day, lest either a louse or any other vermin, may be found on them, while they are engaged in the service of the gods." After
"They
follows:
bathe twice a day in cold water and twice
every night."
Plutarch* who lived
so much later, upon whom B a h r support in his claim for the most intimate connexion of the linen garments of the Egyptian priests with their
relies for
peculiar theology, reasons evidently on his
own way, without P h o snew Pythagoreans,
reference to the priests, and as the comparison with t r
a
t
u
shows, more in the sense of the
s
than of the Egyptian priests. linen as a pure garment
i 1
Besides, he also represents the
which
least of
all
generates vermin, t
But the reason assigned by B a h r is not even reconcilable with the Egyptian law. The contempt for animal material in itself, accords not with
was shown eral
the divine honor which in
That
to animals.
Egypt
the killing of animals in gen-
Egypt was considered as unallowed, is entirely Animals were sacrificed and eaten in Egypt
in
incorrect.
without scruple.
How
one can suppose
Bible, that
it is
in his zeal for the vindication of the
necessary to contend against the dependence
of the Israelitish upon the Egyptian priests' garments, can
The more
scarcely be conceived.
original, independent
peculiar the Israelitish religion was in
had
it
to
spirit,
and
the less necessity
avoid with timid care, every external contact with
the religions of other nations, the
more
freely could
it
appro-
more unitself of the advantages which of Egypt offered.
priate to itself the suitable existing forms, and the
trammelled might
it
avail
familiarity with the religion
But we consider
it
certain
that the
Israelitish priests'
garments in respect to material and color, were made in im-
~ * t
De Iside et Osir. p. 352. Ka&aQav ia&TJra yxioza 14
(f&eiQonoiov.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
158
itation of those of the
of each other
is
Egyptian
Their independence
priests.
excluded, since in reference to these particular
circumstances, these two nations stand alone in
The
thought of an inverted order of things
to the general
all
is,
antiquity.
in addition
reasons already given, impossible, since the
priesthood in Egypt, according to expressions in the Penta-
teuch ites
itself,
had already long existed when that of the Israel-
instituted, the material of the clothing is peculiarly
was
Egyptian, and the garment of byssus even in the time of Joseph, appears as the most common Egyptian clothing.* Thus, we have an important result in favor of the Pentateuch. Such a reference to Egyptian customs can only be supposed, if
the priesthood
was
Pentateuch
in the
Israelitish priesthood
in the time to
instituted in the circumstances given
and modern views of the origin of the
;
which
must appear
as entirely untenable, since
this is referred, so close a
connexion did
not exist between the Israelites and Egyptians as to render possible for the former to
borrow from the
it
latter.
URIM AND THUMMIM.
The Egyptian
reference in the
Urim and Thummim,
especially distinct and incontrovertible.
"And you
shall put in the breast-plate
Of them
it is
is
said
:
of judgment the Urim
and the Thummim (the light and the truth) and they shall be on Aaron's heart when he goeth in before the Lord; and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon ;
his heart before the
to
Ae
1
i
Lord continually," Ex. 28:
a n,t he high priest
30.
among the Egyptians,
According as superior
judge, wore around his neck an image of Sapphire, which was
*
Gen.
t
Var. Hist. L. 14.
41: 42.
i%fM>va(udiifi>ar tjv
$i TOVTOJV
c.
34
:
a.QX(fiv
(paai nag 'Equov r« v6/jLifji,tt naQ AiyvnTioi? oi nQtii jjoav
jiiyvmiol
ontaoral Se to (Iqx^^ov
6 TTQsa^vraTog xal edixatsv aTravrag.
"Ehi
Sa
URIM AND THUMMIM.
D
called truth.
i
odo
r
159
u s* also confirms this
ding to him the chief judge (also according
fact.
Accor-
toDiodorus the
oiSce of judge belonged to the priests,t) wore around his neck
an image of costly was named truth. laid
open
stones, suspended
high priest must touch one of them
their case the
The same
with the image of truth.
an Egyptian wall-picture shows us the chief judge, truth with closed
upon a gold chain which
After both of two contending parties have
authorf in describing
in the midst
judge must see only the
These declarations of the
truth.
ancients have received confirmation from the in Egypt. 1
In proof of the statement
ini§ says:
of the judges,
"who wears suspended from his neck the eyes." By this it is shown that the chief
"Among
the
new
discoveries
ofDiodorus, Rosel-
monuments of the tombs, reprewho filled the office of chief
sentations of persons are found
who wore the common little image of the goddess Thmei suspended from the neck. k n s o n|l gives from the Theban monuments an engraving of the goddess who was
judge, and
W
i 1
i
honored under the double character of truth and
was represented with closed That a connection here Israelitish antiquity,
exists
between Egyptian and
Urim and Thummim,
since in Ex. 28: 30, they translated
for this
^/jAwo-i^
koI
This relation
dXydsia.
upon the ancient theologians.
B r aun,^
example, supposes that the Egyptians probably borrowed
symbol from the
But recently
Israelites.
Bah r**
avTov aivat dcxaiorarov ayaX/Lia nsQi rov
has denied that there
civ&^ojTtojv
is
any connec-
aal acpetdeotarov sixs Ss xal
av^iva ax aan(pUQOv
Xid'ov xal
ixaKaito rb ayaXfia
d?,7Jd'sia.
*B.
31. c. 75.
tB. I.e. IT
and
even the Seventy probably perceived,
by revelation and truth, also forced itself even
justice,
eyes.
De
48.
Vestitu, p. 598.
t
See Wesseling on
§11.
3. p.
this passage.
500. ^*
II
Symb.
II. p. 27.
II. S.
164.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
160
between the two. The agreement, he asserts, depends on no other crroimd than the acknowledged false translation But this of Thummirn by the Seventy, as meaning truth. "acknowledged false translation" since the word means perfectness or blamelessness in the moral sense, is proved on
tion
closer examination to be as completely correct, as the explanation given by
Bahr
Besides, remarks
is
on the other hand
Bah
r,
there
is
false.*
nothing more incongru-
ous than the significance of the Urim and
compared with
that
Thummirn when
badge of the judge, which evidently points
to impartiality as his first duty.
But the moral significance
which later Greek writers, according to their custom, give the symbol is not certainly the first and most important one. That symbol has first and principally a promissory significance. It refers to the special aid of the goddess of truth and justice,
which the high-priest and chief judge enjoyed.
On
the other
hand the promissory significance does not exclude the moral one in the Israelitish symbol. Upon the promise follows of admonition.
itself rather the
nected
shown hy Deut.
is
Thummim that *
God
How
given to the tribe of Levi
will
intimately both are con-
33: 8, 9, in is
which the Urim and
considered as a pledge
guide him in the decisions given in his name,
According to Jiiin, (See S. 165,) the word cin must mean comand c*^£P in connection with t"-i;is is a subordinate, acces-
pleteness,
sory idea, both together
meaning
perfect illumination.
The suppo-
such a hendyadis, besides that it is in itself very harsh, and confirmed by no entirely analogous example, is excluded by Deut. 33: 8, where t:•>^^ stands first " Thy Thummim and thy Urim belong
sition of
:
to
The Urim
thy holy one."
Beitrage Th.
Thummim
2. S.
(the plur.
is
the plur. majest., compare
258,) therefore, refers to divine illumination, the
to the perfect rectitude of the decision
given by him, and
and truth are the designations of the same thing considered from a different point of view. The circumstance that c*-]ss is used unaccompanied by Thummim is very easily explained also by the moral element compreliended in the latter. Light has right and truth integrity
as
its
necessary concomitants, so that the
Thummim in
itself.
Urim comprehends
the
URIM AND THUMMIM. and then mother,
I
said
it is
saw thee
:
"
not,
who and
161
says unto his father and to his his brother
he recognizes not, and
know," words which in a striking manner, remind one of the Egyptian image of the goddess of his children he does not
justice with closed eyes,
Thebes mentioned president
at
in
and of the statues of the judges
Plutarch*
having his eyes directed to the
head,
their
at
without hands with their
ground.
How ity
any one could ever suppose that a denial of the
of these Egyptian and Israelitish symbols
is
affin-
of any impor-
tance in the vindication of the truth, can hardly be conceived.
Through the outward similarity the internal difference is more clearly exhibited. As among the Egyptians the author of truth
appears to be a mere personified abstraction, an
their own fancy which can never have a true and power over its own producer, on the contrary, among the Israelites he is the only, the living, the one God manifest
image of perfect
among It is
his
own
people.
an important difference, that
among
the Egyptians the
symbol appears to have referred merely to judging in rower sense, while the Urim and
Thummim
its
nar-
was a symbol of
the judicial office in a broader sense, promising generally to the high-priest divine assistance in difficult and important decisions, especially such as have reference to the weal and
woe
of the whole people.
THE CHERUBIM AND THE SPHINXES.
The is
affinity
of the cherubim with the Egyptian Sphinxes
more doubtful,
yet
the thing merely by
so only just so long as
it is
itself,
we
consider
and leave out of the account the
numerous other points of contact between the Pentateuch ^
De
Isid. et
Os.
14*
See Wilk.
II: 28.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
162 and Egypt. sufficient to
If these are taken into view, the similarity
is
warrant here also such an alliance.
The Figure and Significance of the Sphinxes.
We
begin with some remarks upon the figure and
As
cance of the Egyptian sphinxes.
was the current
Bahr*
posed of the lion and a young female, and recently, has argued, on this supposition, against the
more confirmed by while indeed sertj:
that
also
of the
been yet
French expedition, who,
the scholars of the
speaks of the man-sphinx,
human heads which
the sphinxes with
all
affinity
This opinion has
Herodotust
it
sphinx was com-
belief, in all antiquity, that the
cherub with the sphinxes.
signifi-
respects the figure,
as-
they
saw, except one near the pyramids, had the head of a female.
This the
is
also in
accordance with
latest investigations
Ae
1
i
an.
On
the contrary,
of Egyptian antiquity have
come
to
the result, that the Egyptian sphinxes are never female, like
those of the Greeks, but always have the head of a
the body of a lion. dently
;
as also
W
i 1
R o s e 11
i
kin n
i,l|
s
man and
o n§ asserts this very confi-
who remarks
:
tion of a very few cases the sphinxes have
with the excepa beard.
It is
consequently not true, as some affirm, led into error by the
Greek and Roman sphinxes copied from those
in
these symbolic animals have the face of a female.
Egypt, that
They
are
rather of male sex, which accords with their symbolic import.
The
few exceptions are accounted
symbolize a queen
who
reigned
for
by supposing, that they
at the time.
Each of
these
symbolic figures bears on the breast or some other part of the body, the
name and
title
of the king
whom
they designate,
and whose features the human head exhibits. The sphinxes without inscriptions are the work of Grecian or Roman artists. * X II
Th. 1. S. 3.'j8. See Dcscr. t. 2. II. 2. p.
177-8.
+
p.
575.
§
B. 2. c 175. Vol. III. p. 23.
IMPORT OP THE SPHINXES.
Even
before both these authors,
"The
M
i
n u
t
o
163
i*
1
had remarked
human
sphinxes have either bodies of lions with
:
faces,
without however a trace of the female figure, or the heads
of rams."
We
will
now speak of
the import of the sphinxes.
It is
acknowledged that the Egyptian animal combinations, in general depending upon a symbolic significance, designate the union of different characteristic properties which, by each part, the animal
"
They have
made up
So
will represent.
m
says J o
ar d
:t
excelled not less in the combination of differ-
ent figures of animals, in order to
compose chimerical beings,
expressing without doubt the reunion of the properties
Creu
buted to each of these figures."
z e r| also
attri-
remarks
:
"Upon this Egyptian coin of the time of the emperor Adrian, we see the beardless sphinx with the lotus on its head. The front part of
Out of
its
its
body
is
breast there
crocodile, under
covered with a
is
its feet
veil
down
to the feet.
leaping forth the inverted head of a
crawls a serpent, and upon
a griffon appears with the wheel
!
There
its
back
are, therefore, here
the different attributes of the godhead; that of strength and
wisdom, that of secret control, the idea of eternity and of
a
beneficent guardian angel, etc., united in this remarkable
way;
and
representation
this
may be
by the
designated
technical term Pantheum.^^
Now,
therefore, the sphinx can designate nothing else than
the union of strength and wisdom, and this import has also
been attributed
to
it
from ancient times
until
the present,
with no inconsiderable agreement.^ * S. §
val
257.
t
In the Descr.
t.
1. p.
Thus Clemens, Alex. Strom. L. ^o'jfiTjq
5.
311. c. 8.
X
p.
Vol.
671, says
I.
:
p 499. " aAw/s
Gin^SoXov avToig 6 Xi(j}V.— u4lx7fS zs av [xhxa ovviaaojg
t]
Uovto?j to iiqooomov Ss (xv&qojttov I'yovoa. on It is however granted, that it has not always this significance the contrary, in c. 5. of the same Vol. p. 664, its import is different. Synesius, De Regno, p. 7, designates the sphinx as the sacred symbol acpiy^f TO fitv oujfia iidv
;
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
164
to this whole view then, the sphinx symbolizes union of the two designated qualities; whilst the merely the possessor of these is not indicated by the symbol itself, but
According
can be known only by the position If they are found, as they
found.
in
which the sphinx
commonly
is
are, at the en-
trance of a temple, where they form entire rows* on each side, they designate the union of these properties in the deity to
whom
the temple
dedicated.
is
If they are found around
the throne of the king, then the king
is
the possessor of these
attributes.
On
the contrary,
Rose
1
1
i
n
i
Wilkinson
and
assert,
that the sphinx designates not merely qualities, but also the
king as the possessor of them.
But the defenders of
modern view have not attempted
to substantiate its claims
this
and we do not see how they can succeed in controverting the reasons which declare for How can the sphinx, in its usual position before the latter. How can the the entrance of a temple, designate the king ?
in opposition to the old theory,
human
face be understood to be personal, whilst the lion's
body, and as the
it,
all
those things which in
hawk and
symbolical
?
How
can
tion, that besides the
many
cases are added to
vulture hovering over the sphinx, it
be reconciled with
common sphinx
this
be
supposi-
or the Andro-sphinx, the
Crio-sphinx and the Hieraco-sphinx, the lion's body with the ram's or hawk's head, are found ?t
That which
is
ad-
ofthe union of the virtues, the strength of the animal and the insight of man.
Zoega,
De
Obeliscis, p. 598, says
:
Mens cum
robore con-
Champolhon, Briefe, S. 229, gives a similar explanation The monarch (Remeses Meiamun), adorned with all the insignia of royalty, sits upon a beautiful throne, which the golden images of justice and truth cover with their outstretched wings the sphinx, a symbol both of wisdom and strength, and the lion, the emblem of courage, stand near the throne, and seem to be its guardians.
juncta primus et obvius Aeg. sphingis significatus. :
:
*
See Descr.
t.
t
Wilk. Vol.
111. p. 27.
2. p.
505
seq.
Creuzer,
I.
S. 498.
THE CHERUBIM.
165
duced
as positive proof for this theory,
sive.
It rests
name and
the
upon the supposition
the sphinx
is
name and
the
Allow that
of a king.
title
is
that
anything but deciall
sphinxes bear
this
is
so,
when
intended to represent royal qualities, cannot the serve directly to designate the possessor of
title
these symbolized qualities, not designated by the symbol self?*
But where the sphinx has
may
the inscription
king who
built
appropriately immortalize the
Were
the temple.
it-
a religious import, there
it
name of the human
true, that the
faces of the sphinxes represent the countenances of the kings
whose name they bear,
might be accounted
it
for,
by suppos-
ing that they considered the face of the king as the most noble representative of the
The Cherubim
We
human
—
their
face.
Form and
Import.
That this symbol, as such, which includes a real, original, Israelitish element, did not spring up on Jewish ground, appears probable from the merely scattered notices of it which turn to the cherubim.
aside from
its
are found.
significance,
We
cannot, however, appropriate to ourselves
the argument which
Bauer
has adduced in favor of
its
was not first introduced by Moses, since the law speaks of it in a manner that it could not do, except on the supposition that it was already
foreign origin, namely, that
definitely
known among
'
the cherubim
the people;' for indeed, at the time
which the law was written down, cherubs with companying things, for which Bauert argues in
in
all
the ac-
like
man-
—
had already existed a long time, a circumstance which could not fail to modify the record, and cause the thing to
ner,
*
The crown
Wilk. Vol.
es, are for the t
also
and other symbols of royalty, which according to be often represented on the sphinx-
111. p. 362, are said to
same purpose.
Rel. des Alt. Test. Th.
I.
S. 300.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
166
appear, in various ways, as
were well known
if it
at the
time
of its introduction.
We
are specially guided to the Egyptian origin of the che-
rubim, since of
all
the people with
whom
ancient times were closely connected, only tians are
compound animals found
recollect
B a h r,*
But the information
Moloch."
a bullock's
head
darschan, A. D.
1310! t
no importance what
is
!
found
is
that the
found in R. S
And in the
like
in
the
Egyp-
"Among
in history.
Phoenician animal combinations," says
Moloch had
the Israelites in
among
i
"
we
the
only
image of
m on H a d-
manner,
it is
of
same author| concerning
compound animals among the Carthaginians. But the real similarity of form between the Hebrew cherubim and the Egyptian sphinxes is of greater importance. Even in the cherub of Ezekiel, this agreement is still in a considerable degree perceivable. Two of the same elements, lion
and man, are found here and
in the sphinx.
But
it
is
generally agreed that the form of the cherubim in Ezekiel
is
not the original one, but that the prophet, as from his whole character cannot be supposed improbable, expanded variously
In what the additions and changes consisted
the symbol.§
we
possess only so very imper-
is difficult to
determine, since
fect notices
of the figure of the Mosaic cherubim.
we can show,
||
But
with great probability, from Ezekiel himself,
that the changes have reference to just those things in
which
the cherubim of Ezekiel are unlike the Egyptian sphinxes. 1:
10 appear to be made
Compare MUnter
Relig. der Carthag. S. 9.
Thus, while the cherubim * I. S. 358. t
S. 68.
§
See,
among
e. g.
t
among
those of
in
Ezek.
the ancient writers, Witsius Egyptiaca, p. 158,
modern
times, Bahr, S. 311
Witsius remarks correctly,
ff.
Moses speaks of the form as only twofold, primum quod passas habuerint alas sursum versus quodII
que suis versus
alis
sibi
p.
155
:
obtexerint propitiatorium, dein quod facies habuerint ob
mutuo itemque conversas ad
propitiatorium.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CHERUBIM.
up of four elements, and have four ox, a lion
and an eagle;
that of a
man and
may
in
faces, that of a
Ez. 41: 18
—20,
man, an
only two faces,
of a lion, are ascribed to them.
L
167
Now we
M
i c h a e 1 i s,* assume g h t f o o t and that the two other faces are to be considered as existing, but
certainly, with
i
not in sight,t an assumption which receives confirmation
from Ez.
1;
which the ox and the eagle But yet this at least remains in
10, according to
were on the reverse
side.
cherubim of Ezekiel, the man and the lion and therefore when placed against the wall
force, that in the
were
in front,
they only
came
This leads us
in sight.
to the result, that
the change before spoken of by Ezekiel, consisted in his addition of the element of the
ox and the eagle, just as also in
the sphinxes, to the original and principal elements, the lion
and man,
in
many
cases others are also added. |
form of the cherubim
The
is
Thus, the
reduced almost to that of the sphinx.
only remaining difference of importance, namely, that
the simple cherub yet
has two faces, while the sphinx,
al-
though composed of two elements, has only one, is probably That the Mosaic also to be set to the account of Ezekiel. cherub had only one face has been rightly shown§ from Ex. 25:
20
:
"And
their faces shall
wards the mercy-seat
As
be towards one another
shall the faces of the
;
to-
cherubim be."
respects the significance of the cherubim, their real
agreement
in this particular
with the Egyptian sphinxes can-
not be doubted, and the difference and opposition respects not so
much the import of the
qualities signified
* Bibl.
Heb. on
symbol, as rather the possessor of the
by them.
"
The
cherub," remarks
B a h r,
this passage.
Alias quatuor, quia hie duae tantum in piano apparebant. Duae itaque aliae facias coneipi debent quasi parieti obversae et ab eo obt
scuratae. X
§
Latuit facies vitulina a sinistris et facies aquilina a tergo.
See the passage cited from Creuzer, S. 159. See,
e. g.
Ges. Thesaurus, same word.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
168
who
of all writers has comprehended most correctly and thoroughly the nature of this symbol, " is such a being as standing on the highest grade of created existence, and containing in itself the
most perfect created
of God and the divine in its highest grade,
communicated
life, is
the best manifestation
It is a representative
life.
The
an ideal creature.
to the
most elevated existences
of creation
in the visible
are collected and individualized in it."
creation
ingly the difference
powers
vital
would perhaps consist only
Accordthis, that
in
cherubim, the divine properties were only indirectly
in the
symbolized, so
far
came
as they
creation, whilst in the sphinx,
works of which
into view in the
directly,
a difference
cannot be considered important.
AZAZEL.
LEVITICUS, CHAP. XVI.
An
Egyptian reference,
it
appears to us, must necessarily
be acknowledged in the ceremony of the great atonement day.
we must
But
in order to exhibit this reference,
tiate
our view of the meaning of the word bTNT?., Azazel,
which seen
is,
at
that
general survey of the whole tion
rite,
then follows in
v.
— 10
we
this
substan-
can only be
in the first
place, in a
point out definitely the posi-
which the word Azazel takes
First, in verses 1
It is
And
designates Satan.
it
a right point of view, if
first
in
it.
the general outlines are given, and
11 seq. the explanation of separate points.
of no small importance for the interpretation, that this
arrangement, a knowledge of which has escaped most preters, be understood.
sin-offering for himself
pan
full
Aaron and
of coals from the
goes within the
*'
offers
He
his house. altar,
inter-
a bullock as a
then takes a
fire-
with fragrant incense, and
There he puts
vail.
before the Lord, and
first
the incense on the
the cloud of the incense (the
prayer) covers the mercy-seat which
is
fire
embodied
upon the testimony,
THE AZAZEL OF
169
Aaron then takes of the blood of the bullock
that he die not."
and sprinkles
LEV. XVI.
seven times before the mercy-seat.
it
After he
has thus completed the expiation for himself, he proceeds to
He
the expiation for the people.
n^t^nb
offering,
he places before the Lord
The he
9,
rtlh"*b
and one
,
goat upon which the
These
of Israel, verse 5.
door of the tabernacle of the
casts lots
upon them, one
Azazel, bT^(T5>b
lot for
the Lord, Snrfb,
lot for
,
lot for
verse 8.
verse
fell,
offers as a sin-offering, brings his blood within the vail
and does with is
at the
He
congregation, verse 7. the Lord,
takes two he-goats for a sin-
for the children
,
it
as with the blood of the bullock.
In this
way
the sanctuary purified from the defilements of the children of
Israel, their transgressions
and
all
their sins, so that the Lord,
the holy one and pure, can continue to dwell there with them.
After the expiation
which the
He
verse 10.
Vlry
ns^b.*
is
completed, the second goat, the one on
Azazel, b.T^iTy?,
lot for
is first
brought forward,
fell, is
placed before the Lord to absolve him,
Then Aaron
lays
both his hands upon his
head, and confesses over him the (forgiven) iniquities, transgressions and sins of the children of Israel, puts them his head,
man
and gives him to a
upon
to take away, in order that
he may bear the sins of the people into a solitary land,t verse 22, into the desert, for Azazel, verse 10. fers a burnt-offering for himself,
Now,
and one
in respect to language, there
interpreting Azazel as
low shows
Then Aaron
can be no objection to
meaning Satan.
The
exposition be-
this conclusively.!
*
Verse 10, with 16 and 18.
t
nnp
7'^.^'.""^'!^
The Seventy
:
»
literally, in terrain abscissani, sc. a terra habitata.
sig yijv
a^arov.
Vulgate
:
in terrain solitariam. /
t
of-
for the people.
That the Hebrew root hiv corresponds
to
the Arabic
/
/
JjC
,
was asserted by Bochart as early as his time, and afterwards by Schroder in Scheid and Groenewood, Lex. Hebr. II. 397, is now generally acknowledged. Vti^ty (for hfhiy) belongs to the form which as
"
15
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES,
170
But
this explanation, as
cerned,
like
in
is
jections.
The
so far as
it
no well grounded ob-
doctrinal significance of the symbolic action,
has reference to Azazel,
they, with sins forgiven of
God, but
to
is this,
that Satan, the
harm those
the people of God, cannot
enemy of
in the case are con-
facts
as
far
manner exposed
forgiven by
God, can go before him
with a light heart, deride him and triumph over him.
The
which favor
positive reasons,
oppose every other, are the following
The manner
1.
is
We
there
referred
to
is
Azazel,
for
personal existence and
a
2.
no reason
if
If by Azazel, Satan
for the
that
lots
were
can then see no reason why the decision was
God, why the high
one goat
in his smaller
Grammar,
other for sending away
In reference to this form " The form indeed
333, remarks
§
simply as-
priest did not
for a sin offering, the
repeats the second and third radicals.
Ewald
and
Jehovah, necessarily requires
for
Satan can be intended. meant,
not
cast.
sign
,
Azazel should designate
so, only is
which the phrase bTNti^b,
in
contrasted with ^ih"^b
that
explanation
this
:
:
also expresses general intension, but the idea of continual, regular repetition, without interruption,
is
In reference
to
the /
of the
word we
fies in that
language, semovit, dimovit, removit, descivit
;
and the
part,
•5 / c 5 In like manner, Jt-'C) ,
jungens.
ijr 5
/
^
means,
;
signi-
in the pass
a ceteris se se-
> c V
tj^r^^
signify, semotus, re-
Accordingly two explanations of VtSiTS relating
motus, abdicatus. to
fuit
/
The word ^jfC-
are referred to the Arabic.
remotus, depositus
by the meaning
also especially expressed
whole word.'"
repetition of nearly the
Satan are furnished, either the apostate (from God) or the one en-
tirely separate.
descivit,
abode
is
It is in
favor of the latter,
only a derived one, and 2. that
in the desert.
The goat
is
divided land (terram abscissam).
1. it
that the signification, is
appropriate to the
sent to Azazel, in the desert, in the
How
could he then be designated
by a more appropriate name than the separate one
?
:
THE AZAZEL OF
The
into the desert. that
Jehovah
made
is
with respect to which
circumstance that
all
equality of this being with Jeho-
Azazel, as a word of comparatively infrequent form-
3.
best fitted for the designation of
is
In every other explanation, the question remains,
Satan.
then (as
formed here
lots are cast, implies
designed to exalt the unlimited power
it is
ation and only used here,
why
171
the antagonist of a personal existence,
of Jehovah, and exclude vah.
LEV. XVI.
it
has every appearance of being)
and why
for this occasion,
is
is
the
word
never found except
it
?
By
4.
this explanation the third
into a relation
chap.
iv.
Here
of the same prophecy stands to Exod. chap. 25: 31.
as there, the Lord,
Satan
wishes
relations
chaper of Zechariah comes
with our passage, entirely like that in which
Satan and the high-priest appear.
by his accusations to destroy the favorable
between the Lord and
his people.
The
high-priest
presents himself before the Lord not with a claim of purity,
according to law, but laden with his
Here Satan thinks
people. attack,
he
but he mistakes.
own
sins
Forgiveness
baffles his designs
compelled to retire in confusion.*
is
the doctrinal import of both passages
and the one
in
and the sins of the
to find the safest occasion for his
is
It
is
;
evident that
substantially the same,
Zechariah may be considered as the oldest
commentary extant on the words of Moses. In substance v/e have the same scene also in the Apocalypse, 12: 10, 11 "
The
accuser of our brethren
them before our God day and by the blood of the 5.
The
Satan
is
is
cast
down, who accuses overcome him
night, and they
Lamb."
relation in which, according to our explanation,
here placed to the desert, finds analogy in other
passages of the Bible, where the deserted and waste places
appear as peculiarly the abode of the 12: 43,
where the unclean ^
spirit cast
Christol.
evil spirit.
out from the
Th. S. 33
seq.
See Matt.
man
is
repre-
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
172
Luke
sented as going through "dry places,"
8: 27,
and Apoc-
alypse 18: 2, according to which the fallen Babylon
the dwelling of
all
unclean
given the Egyptian reference which the this explanation,
may be added
—
for the
to be
already
has according to
rite
which
a reference
markable that no room can remain
is
To the reasons
6.
spirits.
is
thought that
so reit
has
arisen through false explanation.
Among
the objections to this explanation the one which
is
most important, and has exerted the most influence is this, that it gives a sense which stands in direct opposition to the spirit
of the religion of Jehovah.
made
so
many
pret the passage as
The
It
we have done.* many
objections which so
Bahr
was
this objection
which
of the ancient theologians disinclined to inter-
modern
in
times, even as
have cherished against
this interpretation, pro-
ceed almost entirely from this point.
Most of its opposers same opinion with his Biblical Theologyt
late as
expressly declare themselves as of the
Bau mgarten-Crusius, who says
:
spirit,
in the
" In
fact,
in the
Now, were
as well as the significance of this
it
really
ceremony
was
*Deyling,
offered
e. g.
necessary to connect with the expla-
meaning Satan, the assumption that to him, we should feel obliged to abandon
as
notwithstanding
it,
to the evil
oppose?"
nation of Azazel sacrifice
made
which the common precepts of religion
desert,
Mosaic law
entirely
in
could an offering properly be
who
all
the reasons in
after
its favor.
Especially in
he has been candid enough to remark, in
Lamed Jehovae
et Azazeli prefixum casum eundem, nempe dativum notat, nee possunt ei significationes diversae in eodem commate attribui,yet, p. 51, shrinks back from the explanation of Azazel as meaning Satan, with these words Quid fingi potest ineptius absurdiusque, quam doum ex duobus hircis altcrum sibi,
the Obss. Sac. 1
p. .50:
:
alterum diabolo dcstinasse et ficare
explanation, S. t
oft'eri
jussisse.
daemonibus expressis verbis vetat
S, 21t4.
103*^.
?
Nonne Lev. 17: 7, sacriLund also gives a similar
:
THE AZAZEL OF the it
manner
in
which
Gesen
LEV. XVI.
173
u s* understands the passage,
i
presents an opposition to the the vital being of the religion
of Jehovah, so atrociously unjust, that whoever adopts this
cannot think of assenting to
But nothing
is
that.
show
easier than to
understanding the explanation following reasons prove that
manner
that this
entirely
is
made
an offering
to
of
The
arbitrary.
Azazel
cannot be supposed 1.
Both the goats were designated
Israel
verse
in
5
as a sin-
''And from the congregation of the children of
offering.
he
two goats
shall take
That
sin-offering."
a
for
these goats were taken together as forming unitedly one sin-
one of them was
offering wholly excludes the thought, that
brought as an offering to Jehovah and the other as an offering
Azazel
to
and further an offering which
;
is
given to a bad
The
being can indeed never be a sin-offering.
idea of a sin-
offering implies holiness, hatred of sin in the one to
the offering *
is
whom
made.t
In Robinson's Gesenius,
p. 751, it is said:
Irender
it (V^lii'jS)
with-
By
out hesitation, the averter, the expiator, averruncus aXe^iHaxog. this
name
1
suppose
is
to be
appeased with sacrifices
;
understood originally some idol that was
but afterwards, as the names of idols were
often transferred to demons,
it
seems
to
denote an evil
and to be placated with victims, very ancient and also gentile rite. in the desert,
t
It is
acknowledged that
this reason
would
demon dwelling
accordance with
in
lose its force, if
allowable, with Bahr, S. 679, to generalize the
meaning of
it
this
were
nt^tah
.
most limited sense, as a sinoifering, but it may be translated in a general way, as the Seventy have done, by nsQc a/ua^ziag ; Aaron shall take the two goats on account of sin. But this generalizing, of which even the Seventy had no conception, we must consider as entirely arbitrary. The word rstijn has everywhere only the two significations, sin and sin-offerit
need not, he remarks, be taken in
ing,
(compare Ges. Thes.
s. v.,)
its
and since the
first
can be understood. That this sense
only the
last
can the
less be doubted, since the
text itself with this meaning.
15*
word
is
is
here
is
not suitable,
the correct one here,
so often used in the con-
It is especially
required by the antith-
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
174 2.
Both the goats were
first
placed
at the
gate of the taber-
To him when afterwards one of them
nacle of the congregation, before the Lord.
therefore
they both belong, and
is
Azazel,
this is
done
in
original relation, since the
also without destroying the
and
Azazel does not cease to belong to the Lord. The casting of lots also shows that both these goats are to
one sent 3.
sent to
accordance with the wish of Jehovah
to
be considered as belonging to the Lord. The lot is never used in the Old Testament except as a means of obtaining
which goat
to
is
then, here also, Jehovah decides
So
the decision of Jehovah.
be offered as a sin-offering and which shall
be sent to Azazel.* 4.
The
absolved shall
esis
goat assigned to Azazel, before he
"And
:
whom
upon
the goat
the lot
is
sent
away
is
Azazel,
falls for
be placed alive before the Lord in order to absolve him,t between
l-it^tah
and nVV', inverses.
Who
can doubt that in
the connexion with burnt-offering so frequently
must designate and n^iyV we ,
sin-offering? also
occurring nstari
Just the same connection of nsttahV
have in verse
3.
two reasons are stated even by Rabbi Bechai upon this Uterpassage, quoted in Mauritius, De Sortione Hebraeorum, p. 35 que hircus isle erat oblatio domini, ad indicandum non debere nos *
The
last
:
aliter cogitare
de utroque,
quam
soli
deo benedicto esse oblatum, atque
ideo sacerdos statim ab initio hujus operis duas res istas fecit nimirum obtulit utrumque hircorum in oblationem dei et projiciebat sortes su:
per illos resenim ilia, quae opera sortitionis dividitur, est portio, quae a domino venit, uti scriptum exstat in sinu projicitur sors et a deo omnis ejus causa. Quodsi enim sacerdos ipse ore tenus sanctificasset :
:
eos dicens fecisset,
:
hie est dei et hie est Asaselis, tunc utramque
quomodo autem non
hoc factum
sit,
en deus
facere licet.
ipse Asaseli
Jam
vero,
rem similem
cum medio sortis
hircum dedicat, atque
ita
ab ipso
veniebat hircus ad eum, sicque deus ipse electionem faciebat, non nos. t The endeavor to give a different sense to these words is vain. The proposition V? accompanying -iE3 designates always and without
exception the object of
sin,
same chapter -£5 with V^
(compare BJlhr, S. 683,) and even in this is so used. Even Cocceius says that he
cannot find that iDD with V^
is
used otherwise,
nisi vel
de personis.
— THE AZAZEL OF I'^'by^^SSb,
The
to
which the second goat
act by
with the
and then send him
LEV. XVt.
to transfer
first,
176
Azazel is,
as
ing' in verse
—
the desert."
were, identified
which the
to the living the nature
For
a sin-offer-
Spencer
indeed per-
dead possessed, shows to what the phrase ceived,
in
it
5 has reference, and what
the two goats, says he, are as
*
were, one goat,
it
that the duality of the goats rests only on the physical impossibility
of making one example represent the different points
Had
to be exhibited.
been possible, in the circumstan-
it
ces, to restore life to the goat that
The two
have been done.
was
a relation entirely similar to that of the rification of the leprous
one
let
go was dipped
as the second goat
is
sacrificed, this
would
goats in this connexion, stand in
two birds
person in Lev.
1:
in the blood of the
4, of
one
slain.
in the
pu-
which the
As soon
considered as an offering to Azazel, the
connection between
conceived why 5.
According
Azazel
in the desert.
there
sins, 6.
to verse 21,
The
the already forgiven sins of
These he bears
on the head of the goat.
Israel are laid
of
it and the first ceases, and it cannot be was absolved before it was sent away.
it
is
goat
But where there
no more
is
is
to
already forgiveness
offering.
sent alive into the desert.
ance with the view of the thing animal offering
is
made without
in the
But
in accord-
Old Testament, no
the shedding of blood.
Thus, therefore, this first and principal objection to the interpretation of Azazel by Satan is to be considered as fully What Bah r remarks: " Now if we understand confuted.* pro quibus expiatio facta, vel de instimmentis cultus sacri altari et similibus.
what Schroder, De Azazele Marb. which the two goats sustain to each other Notari et hoc inprirais meretur, ambos hircos in ipsa consecratione ita fuisse sibi mutuo implexos, ut neutrius ritus * It
is
1725. S.
worth while .31,
adduces
to consider also
for the intimate relation :
seorsim absolvendi, sed utriusque cerimoniae pariter inchoandae, alternjs vicibus administrandae et junctim quasi consummandae unius
:
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
176 Azazel
superhuman being, opposed
as a personal
to Jehovah,
the text, verse 8, does not permit us to understand the phrase, for
vah
Azazel, in an entirely different sense from ;
on the other hand,
it is
that, for
Jeho-
necessary to recognize an offer-
ing in the second goat, as well as in the
first,
both before in
verse 5 are particularly represented as appointed for a sinoffering,"*
Ba
h
—
will
not easily lead any one into error.
approved by us,
far
more strongly opposes
other explanation, than that by Satan. at least, ir
which
is
the
According
,
as in the
The demand
Azazel.
to the
verse 9, offered to
Azazel
is,
one animal,
at
Jehovah, and the other to
one and is
him
to the other is entirely
expressly said.
share of the Lord,
is
first
The
goat
indeed, according to
as a sin-offering, the one
according to verse 10,
alive to him.
can, I think,
that both shall belong in precisely the
as offerings to the
inadmissible, since the contrary fell
own, and every
same grammatical con-
to our interpretation,
least in a certain sense, belongs to
same sense
his
We
point insisted on, understand the
first
and in ^tiXTrb
in rfTn'^b
struction.
which
What
here adduces as an argument against the interpretation
r
which
fell
to
absolved and then sent
The hypothesis of Bah r is not wholly withThe symbol is intended to exhibit diversity
out foundation.
piacuh sacra referre videantur.
Aharonem
tunc unus mactatur,
ej
usque sanguis spargitur
prece manibus dimittitur
cum
pelle extra castra
sicque
Uterque accipitur quasi unus, ad
adducitur, coram domino sistitur, utriusque sors ducitur
:
dum
illius
;
alter impositis
exta exemta super
altari,
cum caro
cremantur, hie in desertum loeuni abducitur
ambo una expediuntur. Praecedebat alias in sacrificiis piacuuna tantum victima constantibus manuum impo-
laribus simplicibus,
mactationem quod inconveniens plane esset jugulato animali eo imponere sed quod hoc sacrificium et mori et superstes esse deberet, unius hirci morte ac sanguine sparso reatus ante auferendus erat, quam alteri vivo imponeretur poena. Ita sane uterque sitio
}
ritu peccata
hircus deo,
omnia
fidelis
* S. 68G.
:
ille
maclatione, sparsionc, incensione, combustione, hie
populi peccata portans, vindicatus est.
THE AZAZEL OF
LEV. XVI.
on the ground of a certain equality design
is
177
in the beginning.
The
oppose the heathenish and peculiarly Egyptian
to
view, which represents the evil principle as equally powerful,
with equal right to be propitiated in like manner with the
With
good being. were
first
reference to this notion, two like things
simply placed together, in order that the difference
between both, and the dissimilarity of that which
done
to them,
Bahr* Mosaic
adduces a
ritual are
a general way,
is
to be
much the clearer light, second objection: "Nowhere in the
may be presented
in so
Jehovah and the Devil placed together
much
less
in
then in such a manner, that lots
are cast between the two, in order to determine their claims.
This would have had, in the eyes of the people, an appearance of equality between the two beings." But the whole rite,
according to our explanation, rather has the tendency to
destroy the inclination existing
The
such an equality. posed to
this
tendency,
This follows
vor.
among
a people to believe in
casting of lots, instead of being oprather firmly established in
is
directly, if
it is
ing to the view of the Old Testament, the
That
direction of Jehovah.
third agency decides to shall
lot
under the
is
the casting of lots here
a mediation between the two, so that
which the other
fa-
its
only settled, that accord-
it
as
is
not as
an independent
which of the two the one and
fall, is
to
clear from the fact, that both goats
are represented as belonging to the Lord, before the lots are cast,
by the phrase,
for a sin-offering, in verse 5,
and by the
them before the Lord. The passage therefore by no means exhibits an equality, or even direction in verse 7 to place
the appearance of
Ewaldt
it.
refers
to
Azazel, which those
a third objection:
later
"A
than the exile have
bad demon, first
made
from the passage, cannot be found in the Pentateuch." an explanation which *
S. 687.
is
demanded with absolute t
Gr. Gram. S. 243.
out
But
necessity
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
178
by the laws of interpretation, cannot be disproved by such They in any case have force only when the thing
objections.
cannot be decided with certainty on exegetical grounds.
And why
is it
said, that
an account of Satan cannot be found
Because
it was first notorious after the But even E wald allows that the book of Job was composed long before this time, and should it be asserted that the Satan of this book is still not possessed of the real attributes of Satan, every one will easily perceive, that that which seems to favor this belongs only to the poetic drapery.
in the Pentateuch
?
exile?
vanish as soon as that only
It will
clear
same degree,
The
understood, which
as
a poetical character, that the speeches do.
the Israelites until
after
the exile, has been
evidently called forth by a motive external to the thing
by the feeling that
But
it is
scarcely possible to conceive
how
believed, that one, even with this object in view, to Persian times.
Is
it
not unaccountable, that
the
much Egyptian Typhon as
this
view
ceived, that just as
is
is
to
it
can be
confined
is
it is
not per-
accomplished by a reference to the Persian
Ahriman
?
That
so firmly adhered to, appears to be explicable,
only on the ground that at the time arose, the
itself,
knowledge is of heathen origin, and cast a shadow upon the truth of the ac-
this
consequently able to count.
Zendavesta was
lost popularity, the
come
is
in the
hypothesis, that the knowledge of Satan does not ap-
among
pear
is
open day, namely, that the prologue bears,
as
historical
just
when
in fashion,
this interest first
and
that
as this
hypothesis already strengthened had be-
tradition,
which was received without
ar-
gument.
From belief
is
a theological point of view, which according to our
the true and only scientific one,
it
will,
from the
nature of the case, be found almost impossible, that a dogma,
which
in the later period of the revelation holds so important
a place, should not also at least be referred to in the statement
of the
first
principles of that revelation.
So
far, therefore.
from expelling
it
THE AZAZEL OF
LEV. XVI.
by force, wliere
it
does
179
exist,
inclined to search carefully for the traces of
Besides, our passage
we
are rather
its
existence.
not the only one in the Pentateuch
is
That
which contains intimations of the doctrine of a Satan. such a doctrine
shown
mue
is
also
among
in recent times,
1 1
e r,t
prominent in Gen. chap,
H a h n,J
and
others, by
iii,
has been
S c h o 1 1,* Rosen-
in the Christo]ogy.§
After exhibiting the positive reasons for the explanation of
Azazel by Satan, and obviating the objections to
now
also subject to examination those
among
planations that have been given, which are whilst in reference to the rest
Ew aid,
According to
we
refer to
it,
we must
the various ex-
now
current,
B a h r.
Azazel designates ''the unclean, But
1 1
the unholy (literally, the separate, the abhorred) sin," this explanation
must, on philological grounds, be considered
as questionable.^
It
however appears much more untenable,
when we examine the context. According to this, what can be the meaning when it is said in verse 10, ''to send it to Azazel, bt?«ti>b in the desert 1" or in verse 26, "he who ,
brings the goat to Azazel,
bTNTS^M"
be said that the goat was sent to sin
Moreover,
this explanation
one except
its
abandoned
it.
originator,
There
Tholuck** among which
is
defended by
^
Theol. Dogmat.
t
Dogmat.
II
p.
In what sense can
has indeed been adopted by no
who has perhaps
is
it
?
himself long ago
another, to which the authority of
others has given
Bahr
:
more currency, and
ft " for complete removal."
128.
t
S. 345.
As
S. 109.
27
§ I. 1. S.
fF.
Gr. Gram. S. 243.
H The
signification
which Ewald gives
to the
No authority
word
is
quite
unhke
for the
change.
If it were allowed to proceed It stands entirely by itself. way, VrSTy could signify something very different still.
in this
that of the root in the Arabic.
** ft
The A. T. 8,668..
in the
N. T. (Beit,
zum
is
found
Br. an die Hebr.), S. 80.
:
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
180
assent to tirely
any rate no objection to
at
is
The
this.
explanation
pose of val :"
Even "
it.
A
lot for
The
not congruous.
this is
sitions in iiin'^b
and bTJ^T^.b
1
uck
God
the
at
We one
lot for
But the interpretation, thus modified, translate
moval,' but,
complete removal
^
for
*
:
words of the same verse
:
plete removal, in the desert.'
the animal devoted.
for the
'
Azazel.'
for
fell
and just
;'
to send
And
lot
animal destined
it,
for re-
so, also, in the
VJ.^i^'.b
for
,
com-
the ^ in these last two
if
cases can only be interpreted by /br (denoting purpose),
not proper to translate
in
it
verse 8,
demands hy for (denoting possession). explanation of Azazel
he who
let
translate
whom, first
are
not congruous, again,
is
10: 'the goat on which the
There we cannot last
we
the other lot for the animal destined for removal.'
;
in verse
Azazel,
for
see, therefore, that
modify the explanation with
'
:
use of the prepo-
Jehovah and
for
,
outset, to
who translates
,
on
not to be carried
lot is
for similarity in the
then be grossly violated.
compelled,
this in the context lies
8 we do not know how to disJehovah and a lot for complete remo-
in verse
away. Also the demand
to
But we cannot
rather philologically en-
is
one can succeed with
little
the surface.
Tho
very confidently,
,
it."
untenable.*
How
will
Bahr
concerned," says
far as philology is
''there
:
to
go '
(or sent
for
is
away) the goat, it
or whither, the goat
(the individual to
whom
it is
sent)
even the
—Also
not suitable.
complete removal,'
whom,
as
it
is
rrrtT^b
in verse 26, this
It
bTJ^Ti'b
there said
is
If
•
will neither
we here
be said
for
That
the
is
sent away.
is
designated by
btJ^Ti^'b
so entirely evident, that any one will scarcely be able to
is
deny
it
without doing violence to his conscience as an inter-
preter.t * The forms like VtST y Gram. § 333,) not absiracta, come from words originally t
The h
in
VtSTyV
in
are only adjccti.ra, (compare least of all noviina ar.tionis,
Ewald
Kl.
which cannot
adjcctiva.
verse 8 and 10 can the less be explained by for
THE AZAZEL OF If
it
is
now
LEV. XVI.
established that Satan
is
181
to
be understood by
the term Azazel, then an allusion to Egypt, in the whole
rite,
cannot be mistaken.
Among
which necessarily
the great errors
man having
attained to reflection
to the depth of
human sinfulness, human life, is
plain the riddle of
which
arise as soon as
abandoned by insight inwhich insight alone will ex-
is
dualism, an error propor-
Egypt also took very deep root. " Every bad influence or power of nature, and generally the bad itself, in a physical or ethical respect," was there personified under the name of Typhon.* tionally harmless,
in
The doctrine of a Typhon among the Egyptians,
is
as old as
firmly established.
Representations of him are found on
numerous monuments
as old as the time of the Pharaohs.t
it is
Herodotus But
speaks of
Plutarch
counts with indeed
The
Typhon
in 2.
144,56. and 3.5.
gives the most accurate and particular ac-
many
incorrect additions.|
barren regions around Egypt generally belonged to
Typhon.§ residence,
The desert was especially assigned whence he made his wasting inroads
secrated land.
"
He is," says C r e u
ze
r,|l
to
him
as his
into the con-
"the lover of the
degenerate Nephthys, the hostile Lybian desert, and of the sea-shore, trary,
—
there
Egypt the
is
the
kingdom of Typhon
;
on the con-
blessed, the Nile-valley glittering with fresh
(denoting purpose), and some other than a personal being be understood by Azazel, since V is used in other places to designate the person to whom a lot belongs. Compare Josh. 19: 1 "And the sec-
—
came forth -^iya \aV to Simeon." Verse 10 lot came out for the children of Zebulon, ih^':2l in other verses in the same chapter.
ond
lot
^
Creuzer, Myth.
t
Compare
§ T(juv
I.
S. 317.
t
:
"And
Compare Creuzer,
the third
^^^ so
"'-^^j
S.
322
also
ff.
Jablonski, III. p. 59, 60.
ioxdrajv dnr6fji,ivo?, Plutarch in Jabl. p. 83.
16
||
S. 269.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
182 crops,
is
Herodotus*
the land of Isis."
ascribes a similar
dwelling to Typhon.t
In a strange but very natural alternation, the Egyptians
sought sometimes to propitiate the god
whom
they hated, but
and indeed by those which consisted of
feared, by offerings,
Sometimes, again, when they supposed that
sacred animals.
was prevalent and sustained them
the power of the good gods against him, they
allowed themselves in every species of " The obscured and broken power of mockery and abuse. Typhon," says P 1 u t a r c h | " even now, in the convulsions ,
of death, they seek sometimes to propitiate by offerings, and
endeavor to persuade him to favor them
on certain
Then
festival occasions,
they cast
mud
and throw down an
at
those
ass
;
but at other times,
they scoff at and insult him.
who
are of a red complexion,
from a precipice, as the Coptites do,
because they suppose that Typhon was of the color of the fox
The most
and the ass."
Typhon
found on
is
some heat
prevails,
important passage on the worship of
" But when a great and trouble380 which in excess either brings along with it p.
:
destructive sickness or other strange or extraordinary misfor-
some of the sacred animals, in profound There they threaten them first and them, and when the calamity continues they offer these
tunes, the priests take
silence, to a dark place. terrify
animals in sacrifice there. "§ Now the supposition of a reference to these Typhonia sacra,
W
t
i
s
i
u
s
considers as a profanation.
that the reference contended for by * B. 3. t
this passage, Biihr
p. ^85. §
II
is
seen
it is
at
once
materially different
C.5.
Compare upon
and Creuzer X
Compare Comm. upon
et Sacrif.
But
|1
him
Aeg.
Aeg. L.
II.
p.
312
De
in
Comm.
Herod.
Iside et Os. p. 362.
the passage in Schmidt,
De
Sacerdotibus
seq.
c. 9. p.
110
:
Num
permisit suis deus,
nedum
ut jus-
genium aliquem averruncum agnoscere, quem sacratis placarent animantibus, aut quicquam facere abominationibus Aegyptiorum
serit
simile.
THE AZAZEL OF from that adopted by
The
us.
LEV. XVI.
latter is a
183 polemic one.
In
opposition to the Egyptian view which implied the necessity
of yielding respect even to bad beings generally,
ensure themselves against them,
if
to bring Israel to the deepest consciousness, that is
the punishment of a just and holy God,
their sins, have offended, that they
only with him
when
men would
was intended by
it
whom
all
this rite
trouble
they, through
must reconcile themselves
done and the forgiveness of sins is obtained, the bad being can harm them no farther. How very natural and how entirely in accordance with circumstances such a reference was, is evident from the ;
that
that
is
facts contained in other passages of the Pentateuch which show how severe a contest the religious principles of the Israelites had to undergo with the religious notions imbibed in Egypt. This is especially exhibited in the regulations in
Leviticus xvii, following directly upon the law concerning the atonement day, which prove that the Egyptian idol worship yet continued to be practised
same thing
is
with the worship of the golden
The
among the
Israelites.
The
from the occurrences connected
also evident
calf.
assumption of a reference so specially polemic might
indeed be supposed unnecessary, since in a religion, which teaches generally the existence of a powerful bad being, the error here combated, the belief that this being possesses other
than derived power, will naturally arise in those not found the right solution of the riddle of
deeper knowledge of
human
But yet the whole
rite
human
who have life in
the
sinfulness.
has
too
direct a reference
to
a prescribed practice of propitiating the bad being, and im-
were made to him
plies that formal offerings
as has
never
been
the
—such
product of Israelitish
a thing
soil,
and
could scarcely spring up there, since such an embodying of error contradicts fundamental principles
among
the Israelites
respecting the being of Jehovah, which indeed allows the existence of no other power with exists here a peculiar
trait,
which
itself.
in
And
finally,
there
our opinion makes
it
'
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
184
certain that there
is
an Egyptian reference, namely, the
cir-
cumstance that the goat was sent to Azazel into the desert. The special residence of Typhon was in the desert, according to the Egyptian doctrine, which is most intimately connected There, accord-
with the natural condition of the country. ingly,
is
was
this
Azazel placed
in our passage, not in the belief that
but merely symbolically.
literally true,
NUMBERS, CHAP. XIX. In the law concerning the manner of purifying those who have defiled themselves with the dead in Num. xix, it is said, verse 2
" Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring thee
:
a red heifer without spot, wherein
is
no blemish and upon which
never came yoke." inquiry whether an Egyptian reference is prominent must depend upon the significance of the red color
The here,
demanded by the law. For, that this is not without significance we consider as evident without argument. "As respects the red color,"
demanded
else
for
Bah
that
this is
nowhere
an animal offering or in general even any
determinate color, so its
*'
r* correctly says,
determination
much
the less then can
in this
case
is
it
be doubted
That
intentional."
has at
generally acknowledged, although
has been declared
cult and in
import;
for
exclusion of
We
all
Symb.
\
Compare
potest cur,
Rabbins
said,
its
that not
the heifer must be of red to the
other colors.!
maintain that the
*
ine
example, the old
knew why
even Solomon
diffi-
respects impossible to fully determine
some
as,
it
all
the
times been
color here must have a significance,
red
color
of
the heifer
serves
2. S. 498.
Aeg. 115 At quae tandem causa dici omnibus sine colorum discrimofFerrentur, solam banc lustralem vaccam
also Witsius,
cum
in caeteris sacrificiis
munda animantia
rubram esse necesse
rite
fuerit
:
:
THE RED COLOR DESIGNATES to characterize
arguments
Isaiah
1.
1:
We adduce the following
as a sin-offering.
it
in proof
185
SIN.
of this assumption
18 shows undeniably that the red color
your sins be as
be as white as snow, though
scarlet, they shall
The
they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."
Your hands
''
verse 15,
text,
" and
now murderers," shows
cance
rests,
namely, on the
in the
"Though
symbolic language of the Scriptures denotes sin:
are
full
con-
of blood," verse 21,
once, on what this signifi-
at
fact that in the
shedding of inno-
cent blood their sin was consummated. 2.
According
this
to
interpretation both the designated
peculiarities of the beast for sacrifice
the
same
root
female and
;
as a sin-offering,
The answer
red.
must here be offered, while
it
grow up from one and at the same time a
is
to the question
in Lev. 4:
why
14 the rule
is
a heifer
laid
down
that each sin-offering for the whole congregation shall be a
Nin Diirsh it is a sin9 and verse 17. Since sin in Hebrew is of the feminine gender, so must the animal also be which bears its image, which representing it shall atone for it. 3. According to this explanation, the red color of the heifer corresponds accurately with the scarlet, with which and cedar wood and hyssop her ashes are to be mingled. That also bullock, lies manifestly in the phrase offering, literally,
it is
,
sin, in verse
this designates sin is evident
from
Isa. 1: 18, already
quoted,
which must be considered as an approved interpretation.* B a h rt exerts himself in vain to show that in Hebrew the He has not adduced in favor of scarlet is the symbol of life. Let it not be said that the scarlet it, the semblance of a proof. cannot, on account of its union with cedar and hyssop be a symbol of sin. This connexion which occurs once besides, in the directions for purifying the leprous person, in Lev. 14:
may be
4,
*
the t
explained as follows
The nyVin first
clause,
Symbol.
1.
''SttJ
in
Num.
:
The key
xix. is in Isaiah separated
and yV^n in the second.
S. 334
if.
16*
for the interpreta-
:
ca/r
is
in
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
186
which are not
tion of cedar and hyssop
one another,
B a h r*
as
to be separated
furnished by
1
upon Lebanon even
to
connection, as they never appear singly,
Kings
5: 13, (4:
33)
From
:
the cedar
is
The
the hyssop that springeth out of the wall. loftiest
among
are the cedars of God, Ps.
his lowliness
;
in
his ele-
11, (10),
the hyssop on the contrary, as the least,
and condescension which David celebrates
in
In the cedar and the hyssop, both the divine qual-
Ps. viii.t ities
cedar as the
— hence the cedars Scripture 80: —symbolizes
created things
vation and majesty
from
has done, but must be considered in
are represented which are exercised in the atonement
and forgiveness of sin;
and power, and ensures the
his
majesty which gives the right
and compassionate love which
his lowliness
The
will.
scarlet represents the object with re-
ference to which both these divine qualities are exercised, the occasion for 4.
The
with the
which they are displayed.^
reference of the red color to sin
of the whole
spirit
Everything
in
it
accordance
in
in
Num.
xix.
points to the fact that the consciousness of
image and recompense of
sin unfolds itself in death, the
* II. p. 503. X
is
described
rite
t
Compare
Grotius was substantially in the right
when he remarked upon Lev.
xiv
:
way
sin.§
Ps. 18: 36.
of explaining this
Superbiam cedrus
rite,
significat, ver-
miculus, sive coccinum peccatum, et hyssopus oppositam virtutem,
He erred only in making the sinner instead of God, the possessor of the attributes represented by cedar and hyssop. Bahr says, Th. 2. S. 503 " Purifying power is ascribed to the hyssop But why it is asked, and this question cannot be anin Ps. 51: 9. swered from the passage itself, but from the 'locus classicus' to which David the same as expressly refers. If it is correctly understood, It is the this verse of the Psalm li. also appears in its true light. condescending love and pity of God in which David takes refuge, when he desires to be purged with hyssop.
ra7iatvo(pQoavvTjv
.
:
.''
§
This appears so
much
the
more
account the immediate occasion of
as such,
this law.
bente," remarks Deyling, Obss. Sac.
p. 73,
when we
take into
"Occasionem
prae-
pollutorum multitudine
THE RED COLOR DESIGNATES
The whole Heb.
has the remembrance of
10: 3, for
sents sin, and
is
its
all
here repre-
itself,
it
cannot be slain in the holy
other offerings, but this must rather be done out of
While
the camp.
sin-oflfering
designed to awaken the consciousness of the
odiousness of sin for place like
sins, avdf^vrjcrig afiagiLMv,
Since the
object.
187
SIN.
in other cases of sin-offering for the people,
the blood was sprinkled seven times before the vail,*
it
was
here from without the camp, sprinkled only in the direction of the
The whole
vail.t
part of
it
was
laid
animal was burned, and not even a
on the
altar as in
ofTerings for the congregation.
ing
its
self,
the case of other sin-
The ceremony
notwithstand-
importance was not performed by the high priest him-
who must
not defile
himself,
but by the oldest of
and even he performed only that which must necessarily be done by a priest ; all the rest was executed
his sons
;
by persons who were not
poyed were
defiled,
the clean person.
All the
priests.
persons em-
even the water of purification polluted
The
clean
man who performed
the puri-
was in consequence of doing this, impure until evening, and must then wash his garments and bathe himself; fication,
according to verse 21, every person
who touched
the water
of purification was unclean.
These
are the reasons which declare in favor of our inter-
pretation.
But the following objection
how
is
raised against
it.
which sin is to be removed can itself be characterized as sin. " Indeed all sinofferings are themselves considered as something most holy after death, so that they can be eaten only by holy persons,
It
can scarcely be conceived
by priests."
Every thought of
sin
that by
is
here especially excluded
in castris Israclitarum qui ex cadaveribus seditiosorum
cum Korah
tumultum contra Mosem
Yet, in this
excitaret, contaminati erant."
case, the general import of death
is
only
shown
in a particularly con-
That according to the Israelitish view death genconsidered as the image and recompense of sin, is shown by 17 and 3: 19.
spicuous manner. erally
Gen.
is
2:
*Lev.
4: 17.
t
Bahr, S. 501.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
188
is
no blemish, and on
which yoke never came." The most simple and natural answer
to this objection is
by the phrase
this
perfect one, in
''a
which
If the heifer could be called
:
only this, not sin-offering,)
literally
its
interpreted
is
and the way
word nNtan means
color could as well at
When
symbolize the same thing.
least,
same
sin, (the
the symbol thus
explained as inappropriate, the name
is
closed against
antithesis
which
is
considered as inadmissable in the
qualifications of the heifer,
and which
is
it
attempted to ex-
are seen everywhere throughout the whole
clude,
that nothing
is
gained,
is also,
Farther, the
its justification.
if it is forcibly
rite,
so
As
excluded here.
the purifying power which exists in the ashes of the offering
corresponds with the declaration, "a perfect one, and in which is
no blemish," and
that
all
who come
are defiled,
is
is
founded on
this
quality
;
so the fact
with the animal and his ashes
in contact
accordance with the character of sin express-
in
ed by the gender and color. If
we go back
basis of
all
to the idea of substitution,
whole
ried through the
rite
is
once requires two things
at
which lies at the which is car-
sin-offerings, the twofold character
:
explained. original
The
substitution
purity and imputed
The
impurity, or natural sinlessness and assumed sinfulness.
union of both appears most conspicuous
in the antitype of
him whom when he knew no
sin-offerings, in
sin
all
God made
to be sin for us."* *
Compare Deyling, Obss. Sac. p. 78 " Haec enim vacca, quae ab omni macula esse debebat immunis, ob suscepta tamen in-
n^iwri
:
,
quinamenta populi immundissima facta est, quid aliud significavit, quam Christum. Hunc enim /urj yvovra a^aqxiav deus vuIq I'jfAOJv dfjLaQriav eTtoiyasp, 'iva TjueTg ytvojfisd'a Sixaiooi'vTj d'sov iv arrw," 2 Cor. 5: 21. The twofold nature which belongs to sin-offerings generally, and specially to this one, is explained with substantial correctness " E legis usa factum est, ut animalia omnia ad pecp. 503 immunditiem tollendam scposita, puritatem quidem offerenmaximam autem immunditiem sibi ipsis conciliarent prout
by Spencer,
catum tibus,
:
et
:
;
THE RED COLOR DESIGNATES It
might be further objected, that
it is
189
SIN.
inadmissible to un-
derstand here, that in the gender and color of the animal sin is signified,
while in other sin-offerings, the quality
them with
to
objection
is
this
not symbolized in this way.
is
common But
this
entirely without force, since the feminine gender
and red color are peculiar
Buf
to this case.
only in accord-
ance with our view can an appropriate explanation of the peculiarity of this case be given.
Since sin was here made
so specially prominent a thing, and was even symbolized by
gender and color, as
is
done
in
no other
uncleanness was the greatest of
this
aimed
awakening
at
ingly of sin
a just
case,
all,
it is
clear that
that the lawgiver
abhorrence of death, and accord-
whose type and penalty
it is. In it is also shown, most striking manner, that we are dead through trespasses and sins, vtxQol jotg nagumM^aai xal ralg afjiaqxiaig*
in the
If
it
now
be
we have
established, that the red heifer
was
a type of sin,
a remarkable parallel from Egyptian antiquity.
the symbolic colors,
Drumann,
as
"In
arranged by the Egyptians," says
the passage before quoted, "black was the
in
color of death and mourning, for slaughter and
red color was chosen."
Herodotusf
designated for sacrifice were
among
its
author the
says, the animals
the Egyptians accurately
aqua ad manus a sordibus purgandas usurpata lavanti quidem munditiem
afFert,
dum
interim puritatis propriae jacturam patitur.
cui hircum piacularem dimittendi provincia
demandata
Ille,
est et sacerdos
juvencum pro expiatione combussit, immundi facti sunt, nee iis ad sanctuarium aditus concessus, donee vestes et corpora abluissent 80 quod populi immunditiae in animalia ilia, prout corporis sordes in qui
aquam purgatricem expresses himself
transire atque adhaerere crederentur."
still
more
mundos, quia imputative
erat
PfeifFer
Dubia Vex. p. 290 " PoUuebat piaculum sive catharma, praefigurans
definitely,
Christum, pro nobis factum naraQav. Gal.
:
3: 13.
2 Cor.
5: 21.
Mun-
dabat vero ^avrio/uog aquae, ejus cinere et quasi pulverisato sanguine mistae pollutos, designans ^avrta/uov sanguinis Christi nos ab omnibus peeeatis mundantis et expiantis. ""
Eph.
2: 1, 5.
Col.
2: 13.
+
B, 2.
c. 38.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
190
examined beforehand, and if only one black hair was found on the bullock, it was proved unsuitable for offering. What PI u tar ch* says in his book on Isis and Osiris, performs
commentary on this passage. We see from must be throughout entirely
the office of a
animals offered
that the
it,
"The
red:
Typhon
Egyptians, since they suppose that
is
of a red complexion, devote to him red bullocks, and they an inspection of them, that they consider
institute so close
the animal unfit for sacrifice is
found on him."
single black or white hair
if a
Besides, says
Plutarch,
the Egyptians
celebrated certain feast days, on which they, in order to re-
D
i
men who had
and disgrace Typhon, abused
vile
od oru
offered
red hair.
of Sicily, says, in ancient times the Egyptians
s,t
men, who
like
Typhon had
red hair, at the tomb of
Osiris.
Now base
is
the choice of red color to designate the evil and the
not certainly arbitrary.
depends in
It
all
probability
among the Hebrews, upon the fact Thence it might be supposed that red is the color of blood.| that both of these nations came independently of one another With reference to to one and the same symbolic designation. among
this,
it
the Egyptians, as
is
proper to remark further, that these two are the
only nations
among whom
red
is
found as a fixed and na-
and that the connec-
tionally recognized designation of evil,
tion of the color with the thing designated is a looser one, * P. 363. X
A.
According
t
to
Bahr, Symbol. Th.
color, " as the personified
2.
1.
88.
S. 234,
Typhon
has the red
burning heat, which dries up the
fertilizing
and scorches everything." But no proof for this derivation of the red color is adduced. We could quote in our favor Goulianof, who, in the Archeologie Eg., Leipz. 1839. t. 3. p. 89 seq., has a separate section entitled Etude des allegories de la couleur rouge, in which Nile,
:
it is
attempted
impiety.
to
show, that red as the color of blood
Compare
the section, p. 422 seq.
a la couleur pourpre ou cccarlate.
good authority.
:
Etude des
is
the color of
alleg. attaches
But we do not consider him
as
THE EGYPTIAN REFERENCE A PARTIAL ONE.
19'1
than, for example, in the case of white as the color of inno-
cence, and black as the color of mourning, then also,
among both
be added, that obtains
among
it
may
these nations this symbolic view
influence directly upon the offering of sacrifices, the Israelites only in particular cases, but
Egyptians generally.
we
If
dependence of one of these nations upon the other very probable, and then
among
the
take this into c%isideration, a
we can decide
will
for ourselves
the origin of the symbolic designation was not
appear
whether
among
the
Egyptians. Finally,
evident from the foregoing remarks, that the
is
it
Egyptian reference
in
Num.
the whole
is
a very partial one
but
rite,
chap, xix, by no
also be
added, that the color has an influence
in the choice of the victim.* for finding, with
Aquinas
and
limited to the
red color, to which
identity of the symbolic import of the
may perhaps
means respects
it is
;
Spen
c e r,t
Du Vo
i
s
i
n,
There
who
is
no direct authority,
has followed
instead of the bullock, which on other occasions
* Witsius,
Aeg.
p. 115,
Thomas
choice of the heifer
in the
was taken,
seeks to destroy the connection between the
red bullock which was sacrificed by the Egyptians and the red heifer,
Aegyptii rufos boves immolabant non by the following remarks quod pretiosiores eos aut diis suis gratiores esse existimarent, sed ex odio et contemptu. Dictabant enim d'vGt/Liov ov (pilov tlvat d'sdlq. (Compare Schmidt, De Sacerdotibus et Sacrif. Aeg. Bahr, Symbol. Th. 2. S. 235.) But if the significance of the red color of the heifer is correctly determined, this remark serves rather to bring both nearer each other. :
t
is
This author,
p. 486, after
proved that the cow
says
:
Cum
is
he has referred
to
considered sacred
passages by which
among
it
the Egyptians,
itaque eo dementiae et impietatis prolapsi essent Aeg., ut
vaccam tanto cultu studioque honorarent cerimonia mactari voluit et lixivium ex munditias expurgandas confici
banc disciplinam,
;
:
iilius
deus vaccam multa
cum
ceneribus ad populi im-
ut Aeg. vanitatem sugillaret et per
cum Aegypti more sensuque pugnantem,
Israelite
ad cultus ilhus vaccini contemptum atque odium sensim perducerentur.
J
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
192
an Egyptian cus-
a reference, and indeed a hostile one, to
an — he supposes the designation of the of the Egyptian noing of of the sacredness of the cow, — since the choice of the heifer for
tom,
purification
is
offer-
a practical derision
tion
heifer is sufficiently explained by the reasons already given,
without such afeference. Yet sition
it
may be remarked, that
the po-
taken by us, by no means excludes the reference claimed
by S p e n c e reconciled.
r,
may
but on the other hand, both
If the heifer
commonly offered,
very easily be
was chosen instead of the bullock
in order to designate
it
as
impersonated
sin,
there would even in this be found the strongest opposition to the Egyptian notion of the sacredness of the cow.
LAWS WITH REFERENCE TO FOOD,
The
Egyptians and the Israelites stand alone among the
nations of antiquity, in reference to the great care which they
bestowed upon the selection of food. tions of this kind
Among
had extensive influence.
both, regula-
Through
these
some of the most important means of subsistence were either withdrawn, or at least made odious, as, for example, fish, which could not be eaten by the priests,* and the leguminous fruits.t How much the regulations which had reference to food influenced them in life, is best shown by the passages collected by S p e n c e r. laws,
This
fact
indeed leads us to conjecture, that the Israelitish
laws respecting food, were not without an allusion to Egyptian customs.
If no such thing
is
supposed, the coincidence
perceived between the two nations appears very remarkable. *
See Herod.
t
Larcher zu Herod.
t
Page
130.
atinentia, B. 4.
2. 37.
Plut.
De
2. S.
252
Isid. et
Os.
p.
363.
ff.
See also the wonderful passage of Porphyry, De Abc. 7.
CLEAN AND UNCLEAN ANIMALS. That the admission of such
]J^
a reference detracts from the
dignity of the Israelitish law, no one should affirm.
depends wholly upon the manner
That
understood.
ent nature of animals, in very
mind of
argument, since the
many
respects, speaks
signs, clear without reasoning
Thus, we
antiquity.
the
flood,*
This which the reference is
a distinction of food originated very an-
ciently, is indeed certain without
guage of
in
allegorizing
even in the time of the
find,
made between
distinction
to the
differ-
a lan-
the clean
and un-
But that a beginning merely was made so anciently, these same passages show, since there is not a trace of a distinction between the clean and unclean clean beasts and birds.
wild beasts found in them.
Now
in
Egypt from these
elements a complete system was formed.
first
The Mosaic code
of laws found a people which was accustomed to a distinction
of food of extensive application.
was
natural,
— which,
In these circumstances
it
case the Israelites yet occupied the
in
position of the patriarchs,
would have been entirely unna-
tural,— that the laws of diet had reference, not merely to
in-
dividual things, but that they extended into the whole province
concerned, even to
furthest limits,
its
and arranged
all its
parts
with respect to the fundamental idea of the Israelitish religion.
The
fear
of too great minuteness could not here have had any
place, since the laws
law, and to
its
were made
remain unenjoyed.
imoccupied,
for
a people
accustomed
to
advantages and blessings would not be allowed
it
Besides,
if
the ground had been
left
would have been immediately seized upon, or
rather retained in possession by the opposer,
whom
it
was
important to expel from the borders of the Israelitish jurisdiction in
which he had already so strongly intrenched him-
self.
Not
mon
is
com-
Israelites, but they also both
agree
the existence alone of certain dietetic rules
to the
Egyptians and ^
Gen.
17
7: 2, 3.
8: 20.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
194
in this, that these regulations have in
them
a religious-ethical
In respect to those of the Israelites, this could
significance.
be denied, and a mere dietetic object asserted only
in a time,
which through its peculiar impiety has lost the key to those phenomena which take root on religious ground. From the reception of dietetic reasons merely, the designation of ani-
mals not to be eaten as unclean, an abomination, not accounted
neither
for,
its
God ;" nor
This permission
not touch."
a consecrated people to the
is
command
this
a terror, is
the foundingof the prohibition,
Israel "
on the declaration that
Lord
is
:
"
:
"
its
dead body you
To the stranger may
thy gates mayest thou give
it,
that he
mayest
is
also explainable only
sell it to
a stranger,"
eat
shall
which
is in
or thou
it,
on
the^
supposition that the uncleanness was founded on symbolic reasons, which applied only to the Israelites.
Deut. 23
:
18 (19),
as
We
reason of the prohibition of certain kinds of food shalt not bring the hire of a i.
e.
(as appears from ver.
17 [18,]
)
tives of moral uncleanness,
were unclean.
a dietetic object,
his station, if
he here
Thou
see that the dog
Indeed, in accordit
Moses would
for the
and
as the representa-
it,
ance with the general character of the law,
low
"
:
of licentious men, into the
other animals placed on an equality with
posed to have
in
harlot and the price of a dog,
From which we
house of the Lord."
have
good as an express declaration of the
cannot be supfall
entirely be-
time acted as a mere guar-
dian of health by appealing to the fears of the people.*
That
also
among
the Egyptians the prohibitions of food rest
on religious-moral grounds cannot be doubted. They abstain from that food which stands in any supposed relation to Typhon, the
evil principle
certain animals
lies,
;
and the reason of the hatred against
among them, above
all in this,
that they
are considered the representatives and the physical manifesta*
Besides, even Spencer argued against the dietetic view
:
" dcuiii
animalia nonnulla inter impura imposuisse, quae veterum gula non tan-
tum
salubria sed
mensarum suarum
delitias habuit," e. g. the hare
ANIMALS OF TYPHON. tioii
195
Thus
of Typhon, as Typhoically infected.
P
they abstain,
because they come out of the sea, which belongs to the dominion of Typhon. The according
to
1
u
a
t
r
c h,* from
fish,
swine was hated by them, on account of incarnation of the unclean
spirit.
tarch, "they
all
well as
consider
its filthy
"In
habits, as the
general," says Plu-
hurtful plants
and animals as
To
unfortunate events, as the acts of Typhon."t
all
the religious significance, a
The
moral was joined.
repre-
Typhon, in the animal kingdom, were considsame time as symbols of the men devoted to him. "The guilty person," remarks Champollion,| " appears under the figure of huge swine, upon which is written, in great letters, gormandizing and gluttony,' without sentatives of
ered
the
at
'
doubt the capital crime of the
culprit,
perhaps of a glutton of
that time."
But together with
this
agreement between the Egyptian and
the Israelitish regulations in respect to food, there
portant difference, which
which might
is
adapted to meet
all
a very im-
is
apprehensions
from a supposed too near contact of the
arise
two, and which fully excludes the supposition of a crude
Among
transferring of a heathenish institution. tians, the separation
tion
between the rational and
Egyp-
the
irrational crea-
was removed, and accordingly the uncleanness of
mals was to them something indwelling and physical
and a
man
a
ani-
swine
given to excess, were entirely in a like manner the
creatures of Typhon.
The
eating of the flesh of animals be-
longing to Typhon, introduced with into the
;
one eating.
the divine law.
it
a
Typhonic element
Entirely otherwise was
it,
according to
At the very commencement of the Penta-
teuch, the limit between the rational and brute creation strongly -
De
drawn.
only
has the
I
is
image of God, and
Isid. p. 363.
Compare upon the relation in which unclean animals Typhon, Jablonski Panth. Aeg. 3. p. 67, 8.
i
to
Man
Briefe, S. 153.
are placed
—
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
196
therefore he alone can properly be the subject of cleanness
and
uncleanness
and
;
in the
these qualities
when mention
is
made of
there
animal kingdom, this can be only as
a symbol and representative of that which belongs to the rea-
On
soning creation.
Jewish ground only, such laws respect-
ing food could find place, and notwithstanding their formal abrogation, they will for substance always exist.
THE INSTITUTION OF THE HOLY WOMEN.
An
Egyptian reference
stitution
upon and
it is
its
in
Ex. 38
8
:
undeniable
is
of the holy women.
—"
in the Israelitish in-
The first and principal passage And he made the laver of brass,
of the mirrors of the female servants
foot of brass,
who
served at the gate of the tabernacle of the congregation."
That
the institution did not probably end with the Mosaic pe-
riod,
but rather continued through the whole period of the
kings,
we
see from
I
Sam.
crimes of the sons of Eli,
women Vi^hich An inquiry
it
2: 22,
is
where,
among
the great
mentioned that they defiled the
served at the gate of the tabernacle.
concerning the nature of Contributions, and
instituted in the
we
this
institution
was
what was
will insert
there said here.
The
service before the door of the tabernacle of the con-
gregation,
Niy
is
designated as the employment of these women.
signifies military service.
Figuratively
8
23, 35, 43. the
God of
:
25.
it
stands, there-
Num.
4:
Their leader and standard-bearer
is
fore, for the militia .s«craof the priests
and Levites,
In addition to the sacred host composed
Israel.
of men, there appears in our passage a corresponding one consisting of of,
shows
ganized to,
it
was
institution.
the
manner
in
which
a general, important
The
—only by an
it
is
spoken
and formally or-
expression in the passages referred
does not imply, that they had external service
nacle the
women; and
that
inapposite reference to the
word service (Dienen), has
this idea
at
the taber-
German
been found
use of in
it
INSTITUTION OF THE HOLY WOMEN.
and
197
must be altogether doubtful whether they were so emNeither the law nor history give any information of
it
ployed.
women
the service of the
at the tabernacle in this sense.
That the ancient Jews did not understand occupations were implied
our passage, that
in
that any
such on the conwhich have
it
trary has reference to spiritual service, to offices
God which
direct reference to the worship of
occupied with
the sanctuary,
at
who
phrase of the Alexandrian translators, vice,'
'
fasting,'
ix
women were
the
shown by
is
x&v xatonjQMv xav
the
para-
substitute for
*
ser-
vrjcrtsvcaawv, at ivri-
as well as by that^of Onkelos, who, in remarkable agreement with these, translates the same word by to pray.'
ffisvaav,
'
Aben-Ezra understands
same way
in the
it
"
:
They came
and to hear the words of the But of special importance for understanding what this
daily to the tabernacle to pray
law."
service was,
holy
of Christ.
Anna
"
:
It
who
upon the
the third passage
is
women, which shows
that
it
found in Luke 2
is
37, where
:
it
said of
passage to Ex. 38
:
7, is the
more
The
distinct if
God
relation of
we compare If we
with the translation of the Seventy and of Onkelos.
take these into the account, the Jewish institution in
widow in
it is
departed not from the temple, but served
with fastings Sind praters night and day." this
institution of the
continued even to the time
1
we
shall also find a reference to
Tim. 5
:
5
— " Now she
that
is
a
indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth
supplications and prayers night and day,"
which implies
that the service of the
a reference
women was not performed
with the hands but with the heart.
This
institution
had a
—
strictly ascetic character.
This
is
connexion with Ex. 25: 1, where Moses is required to take from the Israelites free-will offerings " from every one whose for the construction of the sanctuary evident from the fact
in
:
heart
moves him *
shall
ye take
my
offering,"*
—
that the article
Comp. Ex. 38: 24seq. and Num. chap. 17*
vii.
'
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
198
which the holy women gave was their looking-glasses, their means of pleasing the world. This giving up of the use of the mirror is of the same nature as the leaving of the hair to grow in the case of the Nazarites, by which they gave a practical demonstration that they, for the time in which this was done, renounced the world, in which the cutting of the hair belongs to the proprieties of social
The new
might serve God only.
life,
so that they
use to which Moses de-
voted the mirrors, also indicated that the offering of them had
This
this significance.
Not
positive reason.
gives, in addition to the negative, the
we
but for God, ought
for the world,
to
adorn ourselves, and seek to please him alone.*
That women of rank devoted themselves
to the
Lord
is
once opened,
it
the
is
also
made of the
mir-
it
which
especially evident from the mention ror.
a
in
will
higher than of the
evi-
is
— where such way be trodden by more proportion of lower order of people — and
dent indeed from the nature of the case,
is
Metal mirrors were, as even the fact that they were
offered shows, an article of luxury,
and they are represented
as such also in the third chapter of Isaiah.
That
the institution has an Egyptian reference,
is
very
probable without argument, from the circumstance that was, in
all
probability, not introduced by
Moses by
but was found by him as an already-existing institution. evidently arose of
and since
this
itself,
it
a law,
from the Israelitish manner of
It life;
stood under manifest Egyptian influences,
we
should expect to find an analogous Egyptian institution, after
which the spirit
one was,
Israelitish
in form, copied, whilst the
of both institutions must necessarily be as different as
the service of the Holy
One of Israel
from the natural religion
of the Egyptians.
This expectation classical writers
is
accordingly entirely realized.
Herodotus "
1 Pet.
first
mentions the holy
3: 3, 4.
Among women
INSTITUTION OF THE HOLY WOMEN.
among
He*
the Egyptians.
199
"concerning the two oracles,
says,
namely, among the Greeks and in Lybia, the Egyptians gave
me
the following account
said that
The
:
two holy women
priests of Jupiter at
(literally priestesses)
Thebes
were carried
away from Thebes by the Phoenicians, and they had learned one of them was sold in Lybia and the other in Greece.
that
And
women were
these
among
the
first
Further,
these people."
founders of the oracles " If the Phoenisaid
it is
:
women," and "As was Thebes in the temple of
cians really carried away the holy
who
natural, she
ministered at
Jupiter was mindful of
Herodotus
Besides holy
women
Belus
at
Egypt
in
him
:
in other places.
" In the temple (of
Babylon) there stands a great couch beautifully
spread and near
it is
times one native-born
God
there, except
is
no
some-
woman, whoever, as the Chaldeans say, These same all who are his priests.
chooses from
Chaldeans relate
comes sometimes
also,
but
I
do not believe them, that the God and sleeps upon the bed,
into the temple
just as the Egyptians relate of
sleeps in the
women
But there
placed a table of gold.
image there and no mortal passes the night the
which she came."t
in the place to
also| alludes to the institution of the
Thebes,
for there also a
temple of the Theban Jupiter.
they say, never have intercourse with man.
at
Patarain Lycia, there
he
is
there, for there
when he
is
is
there, she
a chief priestess of the
is
woman
Both these
So
also
God when
not always an oracle at this place, but is
shut up at night with him in the
Temple."
D
i
odo
r
piter," that
u s§ of Sicily speaks of " is,
of Anion.
whom they most honor, a woman is devoted, whom
St
r
a b
very
they
o|l
The
concubines of Ju-
says
beautiful
" But to Jupiter
:
and noble young
the Grecian
call
but this one has intercourse with whatever
*B.
2.
C.54.
IB. I.e. 181, II
B. 17: 1171.
t
2.
men
B. 2. c. 56.
§B.
1.
47.
Pallas;
she wishes
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
'200
until she arrives
the
After that she is
a lamentation
What S tr abo here says of the impurity of young woman devoted to Amon rests without doubt upon misunderstanding of the expression, " The concubines
made the
womanhood.
the age of
at
But before her marriage there
married.
IS
for her.
Amon." Herodotus gives us a contrary account: "These women are said never to have intercourse with a man," and in another place, he says that among the Egyptians
of
impurity
is
excluded from the circuit of the holy places, in
which these women had
their abode.*
The monuments confirm the accounts of classical The data which they furnish are found collected in
writers.
W
s
o n,t where there
Rose
given, and in
women
bore the
i 1
according to
whom
of "bride of God."
See
1 1
title
i
n
i,§
these also
k ni
womea
also an engraving| of the holy
is
young
M
i
n u-
Travels where it is said in the innermost part of the " Near the king and the priests maidens temple at Carnac
tol
i' s||
:
are also seen represented."
The
characteristic peculiarities in
which the
agrees with the Egyptian institution of the holy following
:
1.
Among
women
the holy
with
are not priestesses
all
among
office
still
both the priesthood belongs only
mentions
in B. 2. c.
distinguishing peculiarity of the Egyptians
performs the
are the
the Egyptians,
the respect which they enjoy,
among
What Herodotus
men.
to the
;
the Israelites as
Israelitish
women
of a priest
for a
35
as a
"A woman never
:
god or goddess,"^ applies
also accurately mutatis mutandis, to the Israelites. 2.
*
That the holy women among
The
women p.
the Israelites had no ex-
declaration of Strabo concerning the impurity of the holy is
confuted also by Rosellini
1. 1.
p. 216,
and Wilkinson, Vol.
I.
250. t
Vol.
1.
§1.1.
p.
p.
258 seq.
|
216 II
H'/^ctTtti yvvi] fxh ovdefiia ovie egafvog
dgtg de
naviwv
tf xixl
naaiwv.
p.
260.
S. 181.
&sou ovie
&)]Xs7]i:,
«V-
INSTITUTION OF THE HOLY WOMEN.
201
ternal service in the tabernacle of testimony, that their service
was rather
among
Ba
we have already seen. Just so is it That their holy women were not as
a spiritual one,
the Egyptians.
h r* supposes, servants of the priests, (hierodulen)
says, indeed, that they served the temple of Jupiter at
But
that their service, just as in Ex. xxxviii,
stood as spiritual service,
women
Egyptian
is suffi-
Herodotus.t
ciently proved by the quotations from
is
the account shows,
He
Thebes.J under-
to be
since these
are supposed to have founded the oracles in
Greece and Lybia.
If they served Jupiter in these countries
by foretelling future events, they were also employed in a
manner in their father-land. That also among the Israelites, noble women especially were devoted to the service of the temple was previously shown. Just so was it among the Egyptians. According to St r ab o,§ the most beautiful and the most noble maidens similar 3.
were devoted to Jupiter or Amon.
Wilkinson
whilst speaking of the tombs of the holy
women
D
i
odo
r
u
s,
which are now seen
at
Thebes
behind the ruins of Medeenet Haboo
feet
show
that they
:
says,
described by
in a valley
"
The
3000
sculptures
were women of the highest rank, since
all
the
occupants of these tombs were either the wives or daughters of kings." Rosellin i||says " We shall find in the sequel, :
examples of royal young maidens devoted to Amon, from which it may be inferred that it was a custom in the earliest period of the Pharaohs to place by this rite some ot also other
the king's daughters in a nearer relation to religion." 4.
That the holy women among the
unmarried, either young Contributions.^
in the *
Zu
Herod. B.
women
II
P. 217.
were always
shown
with the holy
women
Just so also
is it
2. c. 54.
t
\"SlantQ Tjv oinog, aficpmoXsvovaav sv anUito, iv&avxa fivtjfirjv avtov l^ftr. § EvsideaTotTTj
Israelites
or widows, has been
B. 2.
Ori^rjtri
c.
54-56.
Igov /tiog,
yal yivovg XttfingoTocTov nagd^ivog.
M Th.
III. S. 142-3.
IV^«
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
202
among
Egyptians.
the
According
brides of Amon were excluded from
According
Herodotus*
to
the
intercourse with men.t
all
Strabo the most beautiful and noble young
to
women were
devoted to Jupiter, and when they wished to
marry, there was previously a great lamentation made for
them
as for
one dead.f
THE NAZARITES.
From
the institution of the holy
ence more or
women we
We must naturally expect
the Nazarites.
less distinct here
turn to that of
an Egyptian refer-
For the
also.
of
institution
the Nazarites originated, not by the appointment of the lawgiver, but stitution,
But
if
it
and
implied, in
is
Num.
chap,
vi,
as an existing in-
there only sanctioned.
is
we examine
the matter more closely,
indications of Egyptian influence, yet
it
here, than in the institution of the holy stitution in general,
Egypt furnishes no
is less
women. parallel.
we
perceive
conspicuous
For the inAn Egyp-
tian reference can be pointed out for only a single feature of
the system, the leaving of the hair to grow, and that
which has no connection with of the people.
could with 'B.
yvvrj
'
one
full
is still
certainty assert
not so characteristic that its
we
existence.
1. c. 182.
Kal
f
is
customs
Finally, the single allusion to Egypt, although
worthy of notice,
truly
religion, but with the
yccQ
dr]
iv tw toC Jt,6g tov Os/Sauog aliai XiyovxuL ulvSqwv ovdafiwv eg o^u)driv
i^l&i, xoifioiiai
u^cpoTiQtti ds
(fOirSv. t
TIqIv Se §o&7Jvaij Trtv&og avrfjg aytrat utra xov rijg naXXay.iiag
naiQov.
This lamentation on leaving
this
community agrees remark-
ably with the mourning of the daughter of Jephtha it.
In both cases
the relation,
it
when
she entered
depends uj)on the view of the exclusiveness
of
THE NAZARITES. necessary for our purpose, that
It is
we
first
determine the
unshorn by the Nazarite.
significance of leaving the hair
We
203
begin with an examination of the view of
B a h r.*
obligation of the Nazarite, he asserts, to let the hair
Among
The grow
freely,
has
entals,
and especially among the Hebrews, the hair of the
head the
is
its
the
basis in the idea of holiness.
same
ance with
this is the
year, but allow it
Especially in accord-
trees.
naming of the vine
is
leaves and branches to
its
evident, that the
of jubi-
in the year
(nazyr), in Lev, 25: 5, since they prune
lee, *i'^n
this
the products of the earth, the grass of
as
and the growth of the
field,
the ori-
grow
growth of the
not this
it
From
freely.
hair,
according to
But
men.
oriental view, signifies grass, shoots, blossoms of
Hebrew looked upon men as distinctively the human blossoms and shoots represent ho-
in so far as the
moral beings, liness.
This view
by no means new
is
;
but
it is
discarded by
following reasons are especially decisive against 1.
The
all
The
judicious investigators, as mere mystical refinement. it.f
proofs which are brought for the position, that ac-
cording to oriental and especially Israelitish views, the growth of the hair
is
one which
a
symbol
The one
very weak. is
which groweth of
its
own accord
grapes of thy undressed vines a year of rest
been said before
Symbol. Th.
is
it
in verse 4,
and thy vineyard thou *
is
the only
worth the trouble of a closer examination.
there said of the sabbatical year in verse
gather,
of man, are
for the thriving condition
derived from Lev. chap. xxv.
5
"
:
It is
grain
thou shalt not reap, and the (nazarites) thou
for the land," after
"Thy
shalt not
The
field
prune."
shalt not
that
it
had
thou shalt not sow,
Then
in
verse 11,
2. S. 432.
Compare, e. g. Carpzov. Appar. ad Antiq. p. 153 Ut eos taceam, qui mysticam commenti rationcm, nutritionem capillamenti symbolum instituunt nutritionis interioris, quo Abarbanel in h. 1. et Gregot
rius, L. II.
:
Moral,
c.
26, tendit.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
204
concerning the year of jubilee reap that which groweth of rites."*
It
is
:
"
You
shall not
sow, neither
neither gather
itself,
not entirely certain, that there
is
its
naza-
a special
reference in these passages to the leaving of the hair to
grow
in the case of the Nazarites.
The
general idea of separation, which
the basis of
lies at
the whole institution of the Nazarites, might here also apply.
As
the Nazarites were separated from the world, so
vine from the use of
But
of jubilee.
if
which the
hair of the Nazarites,
pruning' in verses 4 and 5
comparison
unpruned vine
is
the opinion of
Bah r.
done
is
to
not gathering' and
'
its
not better, but worse, It shoots
true growth. t
not
That
the-^
decidedly against
is
out in wood, and an injury
This
is
decisive against the
opinion that the growth of the hair
among
symbol of prosperity, namely, that
it
among
'
any rate the point of
favor, yet at
only with respect to the separation.
is
was the
man in the sabbatical year and the year we suppose a reference to the unshorn
the Israelites
is
a
belongs to propriety
the Israelites to go with shorn hair, whereas accord-
ing to this view, long hair must have been considered an
ornament 2.
among most
as
The fundamental
nations of antiquity.^
idea in the institution of the Nazarite
that of separation from the world, with
oppose holiness, and tive point
its
is
enjoyments, which
its
corrupting influences.
This nega-
of separation, involves the positive one of sanctifi-
* Besides the
establishment of the law in chap, vi, these passages which before the giving of the law concerning the Nazarites allusion is made to them, show that the lawgiver found it as an existalso, in
ing institution, t
John
I
Carpzov.
15: 2. p.
153:
Communis
inter prlscos
ut tonsis incederent capillis, secus ac Gracci
aut Germani, qui comati erant. sideration in
which long
collections by
Lampe
hair
Judaeos mos
ita
tulit
veteres Romani, Galli
Compare, in reference to the conwas held among these nations, the
in the Miscell.
Groning.
t.
4. p.
209
seq.
—
THE NAZARITE. cation, the separate person
Lord
—since
every renunciation of
it is
Lord, and the separation
That
of the Lord.
same time holy
the
at
is
world stands
the
205
opposition
in
to the
Lord,
to the
same time a union with the here made directly for the sake
at the is
the idea of separation lies at the founda-
name, by which the significance of the institution must be expressed, indicates.* -i^n (nazyr) means the se-
tion, the
parate "
Equally in favor of
one.
The vow
of a Nazarite
idea
this
Num. 6:2:
is
separating to the Lord."
for a
is
This fundamental idea of the institution m.ust be traceable That especially the command all of its separate points.
upon
leave the hair unshorn rests
press explanation of the lawgiver.
vow of
the days of the
upon
head
his
until
:
it,
we have even
It is said in verse
his separation,
no razor
to
the ex-
5
:
shall
"All
come
the days be fulfilled in the which he
separateth himself unto the Lord he shall be holy let
in
The
the hair of his head grow."
separation
Even
as a reason for allowing the hair to grow.
;
he shall
here given
is
the hair of
9 and 18 named T^T2 separation, but with the accompanying idea of designation. Now ac-
the Nazarite
is
in
verses
B a h r,
cording to the view of
The
tirely lost.
,
the idea of separation
must form the foundation upon which the positive falls entirely
is
en-
negative idea which, as has been alleged,
away.
Thereby then
tution of the Nazarite will
this
is
supported,
element of the
insti-
be entirely separated from both
the others in which the negative idea, as can be demonstrated
and
*
allowed, prevails.
is
At ner,
the
same time with the view of B a h
(after
Carpzov.
the authority of
p.
151
:
Haud
dubia
L amp e,) ->.-T3
est a -iT2
r,
that
which
has proposed,
,
W
i-
falls
separavit, abstraxit,
continuit se a re aliqua et propterea segregatum, separatum notat. Satis
omnino
primaria,
praesidio huic interpretationi est ex sede hujus instituti
Num.
6: 2,
ubi
dovnino.
18
votam Nasaraei
dicitur ad
separandum
se
|
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
206
to the ground :*
**
The head
of the Nazarite with
ornament was regarded as
ral
touching of that
it
with a razor
which belongs
ing to this view,
to
and the
consequently a profanation of
The
Jehovah."
also
is
is
natu-
its
specially devoted,
robbed of
negative idea, accord-
Long
just right.
its
hair
cannot, according to the notions of the Israelites, be consid-
ered as
The is
**
a natural ornament."
proof
of the
for the interpretation
rite
given in the confutation of other views.
long hair
we have
us,
believe that
a symbol of separation from the world.
is
longs, as
claimed by
We
It be-
already seen, to the Israelitish ideas of
propriety to go with shorn head.t and he
who
left his
hair
to grow, furnished by this act a practical confession that he
renounced the world, and abandoned
That
men.
all
intercourse with
on other occasions, those who -considered
also,
men
themselves as separated from
suffered their hair to grow,
shown by Deut. 21: 12, where, concerning the captive which an Israelite determined to marry, it is said **And is
:
thou shalt bring her into thine house, and she
By
head and pare her nails."
her nails she enters again into
shall shear her
shearing her head and paring
human
society.
If the significance of leaving the hair unshorn
mined, the Egyptian reference
Indeed
it
in this rite lies
must appear remarkable
is
deter-
on the surface.
that the Israelites agree
with the Egyptians almost against the whole of the rest of the * f
In
dem
Geier,
Rrallexicon,
De Hebr.
II. 1. S. 165.
Luctu,
comam
alere
fuisse
hi ipsi
ab
iiair to
It
was the
israelitish
be long, but to cut
it.
custom
The
6 and
7.
mourning.
in
mourning, not
cutting of
eat from shaving, calvitium facere. priate condition in
quod
aliis
po-
ex coma.
This passage shows very distinctly with what justice Bahr
S.437:
§
Israelitarum
vel inde colligi potest,
proprium esset Nazaraeornm, adeo ut
pularibiis facile internoscerentur i
correctly sa.ys:
p. 203,
populum comatum haudqiuiqnam
it
to
asserts,
allow the
must indeed be differwas the appro-
Onl}' the latter
Comp. Geier, De Hebr. Luctu.
c.8.
^
THE NAZARITE.
207
world in considering short hair as belonging to social propriIndeed, this agreement is explained most easily by
ety.*
the long-continued residence of the Israelites in Egypt. it
is
a point of
not less than
more importance,
among
that
among
But
the Egyptians
the Israelites, the temporary withdraw-
ing from the world, the going out of society, was symbolized
by leaving the hair
to
We
grow.
according to which the captives shorn, and also from
see this from Gen. 41: 14,
in
Egypt
Herodotus
2.
the gods wear, in other lands, long hair
cut
it
among
off;
left their
36: " ;
The
hair un-
priests
o
but in Egypt they
it is the custom to shear the But when any of their friends die,
other nations
beard when a relative
dies.
the Egyptians leave the hair which was before cut, to grow?
both on the head and chin."
Whilst the proof that the leaving of the hair to grow, among theNazarites, was a sign of separation, shows on the one
hand
that the rite stood
customs,
pothesis of the whole
serves,
it
Spencer,
rite.
in
an external relation to Egyptian
on the other hand,
T he
for
confuting the hy-
concerning the heathenish origin of
cases in which the heathen devoted the
hair of the head and the beard to their divinities, appears from this point of
Our
view as entirely
different.
inquiries concerning the Egyptian references in the
religious institutions of the books of Moses, are finished.
It
only remains now, in a last chapter, to collect together those things for which, until now, no suitable place has been found. *
Compare remarks upon Gen.
41: 14,
where we have shown that
cutting the hair was considered as a distinguisixing peculiarity of the
Egyptians.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
208
CHAPTER
VII.
MISCELLANEOUS PASSAGES. The Genealogical Table
in
Gen.
x.
has often been asserted that the genealogical table in
It
Gen.
cannot be from Moses; since so extended a know-
X.
beyond the geographical horizon of
ledge of nations
lies
the Mosaic age.
This hypothesis must now be considered
far
The new
exploded.
discoveries and investigations in
as
Egypt
have shown that they maintained even from the most ancient times, a vigorous
commerce with
times with very distant nations.
Creuzer,* Heeren,t
W
i
1
k
i
n
s
on
.
This
§
in
other nations,
marks, that the strongest
domestic
life,
found
in ^^
among other things, reproof for the commerce of the
last author,
Egyptians with distant nations of Asia, materials out of which
and some-
The proofs are found my Contributions,! ^"^
many of the
in the
is
furnished by the
articles in use in civil
and
tombs of Thebes which belong
to
made in Egypt; for example, the vessels of wood, which are commonly made of foreign wood, and not seldom of the mahogany of India. the 18th or 19th dynasty, are
But not merely
in EgypMoses was the author of the account in this tenth chapter of Genesis. On the Egyptian monuments, those especially which represent the conin general
do the investigations
tian antiquities favor the belief that
quests of the ancient Pharaohs over foreign nations,
(con-
quests which certainly were oftener achieved in imagination
than in
reality,
*
Symb. Th
X
Th.
2, S.
I.
451
as S. ff.
indeed the almost regular recurrence of 310
ff.
t
S. 275, 321
§
Vol.
I.
ff.,
p. 1G4.
376
ft'.
571
ft".
THE GENEALOGICAL TABLE, GEN. these representations under nearly
all
209
X.
the ancient Pharaohs
so that nothing can be
more erroneous than the present popular way of relying upon them, without inquiry, as sources of historical truth,) not a few names have been found which correspond with those contained in the chapter before shows,
We
us. is
here speak only of those where the agreement
will
perfectly certain.
could be effected
must be allowed
It
if
more
that far
still
our knowledge of hieroglyphics were not
so very imperfect.*
Among ras are
W
i
nations
1
k in
s
who
Remeses.
on
They
t
.
engaged
also appear, according
are shown, indeed,
Their identity with Tiras
These
Asiatic nation
Wilkinson|
last
who resemble
among
the
Wilkinson
other,
is
named along with
designates as "another
tures and the shape of their beards."
Toersha on the
the less doubtful,
is
is
the former in their general fea-
tween Meshech and Tiras on the one
indeed
as
are said to have been conquered by the third
since another nation, the Mashoash,
them.
the Asiatic
monuments
war with the Egyptians, the Toersha
to
Among
in close connection.
nations which are represented on the in
Meshech and Ti-
the sons of Japheth, in verse 2,
mentioned
The agreement
side,
be-
and Mashoash and
the less exposed to suspicion since
did not think to place both in connection, as
present attempt at comparing the
in general, the
names
of the people represented on the monuments with those found
Gen.
in
x., is
Among the
the
tirst.
sons of Japheth, in the same verse, Javan, the
lonians or Greeks,
is
mentioned. According
to
Rose
1 1
i
n
i,<5
the Uoinim, the lonians are found
among
bolic painting, representing king
Menephthah T. the 12th Amon-re he slays
king of the 18th Dynasty as
I
II
Wilkinson, Vol.
I.
Wilk., Vol
379.
I. p.
377.
Vol. III. 1. p. 426.
18*
sym-
in the sight of
one individual of each of the conquered -
others, in a
t
§
nations.
Wilkinson, Vol. Vol. III.
1. p.
I.
425
Thesejj 378.
EGVPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
210
same people were also mentioned on the monuments which belong to Thothmes V.* Among the sons of Gomer, the son of Japhet, consequently Riphat
as a Japhetic nation,
on the monuments as engaged early as the time of
mentioned
is
in verse 3, prob-
Pouont or Fount who are represented
ably identical with the
in
Amun-m-gori
war with the Egyptians, as II, which the more recent
chronologers place at about the year 1680 B. C.t
Among
the sons of
The Cush
ed.
Ham
Cush
in verse 5,
according to
W
1
i
k
i
n
s
o
n,i:
mention-
is first
are represented
the African people who are conquered by the mon" These," archs of the eighteenth or nineteenth dynasty. " were long at war whh the Egyp-. (the Cush,) he remarks,
among
tians
and
;
a part of their
country which was reduced
at a
very remote period by the arms of the Pharaohs, was obliged to
pay an annual tribute
Ro is
s
e
1
1
i
n
monument
represented on a
same author,^ they appear
among
According to Horus over the same people According to the Selsilis.
conquerors."^
to the
the victory of king
ijl
at
in the painting already referred to,
by Menephthah
the nations conquered
with verse
7,
according to which Cush
is
not the
Eleven
I.
agreement
separate Cushite tribes are there mentioned in
name of a sep-
arate tribe but of several tribes belonging to one general family.
As
the second son of
of a family, Mizraim
is
Ham,
the second Hamitish head
This name was, as name of the land. The
mentioned.
the dual form signifies, originally the
division of the land into the upper
which
it
ancient
C
h a " I
§ II
appears on the
refers,
In
times.
m p o 11
i
o n'
proof of this see
s Letters,tt
most
Wil ki nson**
and
\
277
seq.
** Vol. II. p. 73.
fe S.
to
in the
where an inscription
P. 210.
Vol.1 p 387. See also Chanipollion Bik III. 1. p.
and lower regions
monuments even
See Wilk.
105.
M
p. 420.
ttS. 140.
1.
is
quoted
374.
:
GENEALOGICAL TABLE, GENESIS *'
I give
211
X.
thee the upper and the lower Egypt in order that
you may rule over them as king."
According
Mizraim was the progenitor among Lehabim and Naphtuhim. It serves
to verse 13,
other nations, of the
for a confirmation of the
statement that the Lybians (the
Lehabini) are an offshoot from the Egyptians, that they even to the time of the Ptolemies
phaiat
were considered a part of the
Champollion*
Egyptians.
(=Naphtuchim) on
affirms
that
he found Ni-
monuments
the
as a
name of
Lybian nations.
The
Canaanites and Amorites (called Asmaori) are rep-
monuments with Lemanon (the The land Canana is specifically named among the inscriptions upon a representation of the triumph of Menephtha I., together with the region of Nahareina or Mesopotamia and Singara or Sinear.| In
resented on the Egyptian
people of Lebanon)
and Ascalon.t
reference to a representation of a campaign ofOsirei, the father
of Remeses the Great, of Lemanon
is
W
shown by
i 1
k
i
n
s
o n§ says
:
"
The
country
the artist to have been mountainous,
inaccessible to chariots, and abounding in lofty trees, which the affrighted mountaineers are
engaged
in felling in order to im-
pede the advance of the invading army.
The Egyptian mon-
arch, having taken by assault the fortified towns on the frontier,
advances with the light infantry
had escaped and taken refuge ald to offer terms
induced to
of the fugitives
who
woods, and sending a her-
on condition of their surrender, the chiefs are
trust to his
as are those of
in pursuit
in the
clemency and return
to their allegiance,
Canana, whose strong-holds yield
ner to the arms of the conqueror."
in like
It is readily
man-
seen from
these representations with what justice an argument against the Pentateuch has been derived from the knowledge of Ca-
nana which
its
author exhibits.
* S. 124. +
§
See Ros, Vol.
I.
111. 1. p. 437, also
p. 387.
t Wilk. Vol. I. 385. upon Canana, p. 341.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
212 '*
The
sons
ofShem,"
it
Lud
and Aram."
highest degree probable that Asshur appears on
It is in the
the
"are Elam
said in verse 22,
is
and Asslmr and Arphaxad and
monuments under
the
name
That the Shari, who Remeses the
Shari.
especially under the reign of Osirei and his son
Great, are represented as engaged in war with the Egyptians, are the Assyrians,
name
indicated not only by the
is
the similarity of dress between them
but by
and the captives of
Tirhaka.*
The Ludim
on the Egyptian mon-
act a conspicuous part
In a representation of a triumph of Menephthah
uments.
five foreign
I.
Romenen, the Scios, the land of Omar, the Tohen and the Sceto.
nations are found, the
people Ots from the
All of these with the exception of Ots are represented in the inscriptions as belonging to the land of
whole expedition
it is
And
Ludim.
repeatedly said, that
Ludim, which
against the people of the land of
of the
was directed
it
accord-
in
is
ance with the book of Genesis, in which likewise, Lud
is
represented as a single tribe but as an entire nation.
Since
same
in these
inscriptions the land of
Canana
also
is
and the region of Nahareina and Singara, just as
Lud
is
closely connected with
that the land
Ludim
lay in the
R ose
Aram,
1 1
i
in
n
not
named
Genesis
if
argues
neighborhood of Canaan and
Mesopotamia, and he asserts that
it
must be sought
in the
western part of Asia.
Abraham and Sarah In Gen. 12: 14, 15
when Abraham came
it
is
said
in :
Egypt Gen. ^
**And
it
came
xii.
to pass, that
into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the
woman that she was very fair. The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her before Pharaoh, and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house." "
Wilk.
I. p.
375-G.
nil. l.p. 437-8.
Compare
also
Champollion,
S. 105.
GENESIS
213
XII.
Sarah must therefore have been unveiled.
show
that according to
The monuments
Egyptian customs she could only so
" We find from the monuments," says appear in public. o r,* " that the Egyptian women in the reign of the Pha-
T ay
1
raohs, exposed their
much
and were permitted to enjoy as
faces
liberty as the ladies of
tom was changed
after
modern Europe.
But
this cus-
the conquest of the country by the
Persians."
The
recognition which Sarah's beauty finds
explained,
if
we
take into the account that
women, although were yet of
a
is
more
easily
the Egyptian
not so dark as the Nubians and Ethiopians,
browner tinge than the Asiatics.
uments the women of high rank,
commonly represented with
compliment
in
fairer
On to
the
mon-
them were
complexions than their
at-
tendants.t
That Pharaoh is immediately thereupon ready to take his harem appears not to be consistent with He-
Sarah into
rodotus B. 2,
c.
92, according to which each Egyptian had
But
only one wife.|
common
practice
that
Herodotus
among them and
that
speaks only of the
polygamy was there
shown by what D i o d o r u s§ says "Among woman, but the rest of the men, each one as many as he chooses." That polygamy was infrequent among the Egyptians is evident from numerBut ous representations of domestic life on the monuments. allowed by law,
is
;
the Egyptians the priests marry only one
|j
with their wives the noble Egyptians had also other inmates
harem which were sometimes merely servants and ''most of them appear to have been foreigners, either taken in war or brought to Egypt to be sold as slaves"^ Of this class are the women at Medee-
of the
sometimes also concubines
;
net Haboo, attending upon Remeses, and not the wives of the
*P.4. tThis tirely
tibid. p. 4. is
wrong
§1.80.
clearly in
the
making II
meaning of the passage, and Bahr it
mean the
Wilk. Vol.
is
opposite.
II. p. 62.
IT
Ibid. 64.
en-
—
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
214 monarch.
were
in
The concubines were members
of the family and
rank next to the wives and children of their
Without doubt Sarah was intended the gifts which
Abraham
for
such a
station.
received from Pharaoh, male and " Domestic
female slaves are mentioned, in chap. 12: 16. slavery," says in
T ay
Egypt from the
uments
I
or,*
lord.
Among
"seems
earliest ages,
that the mistress of a
have been established
to
and we
find
from the mon-
mansion was very
rigid in en-
We
forcing her authority over the female domestics.
see
these unfortunate beings trembling and cringing before their superiors,
beaten with rods by the overseers, and sometimes
threatened with a formidable whip wielded by the lady of the
Hagar was one of the female slaves obAbraham at this time." See upon slavery among the Egyptians, Wilkinson:!" The Ethiopians were obliged mansion herself
tained by
to supply the Egyptians with slaves, which the Egyptians
sometimes exacted even from the conquered countries of Asia."
Genesis 13: 10.
In Gen. 13: 10, the author says the plain of the Jordan was everywhere well watered, " as the garden of the Lord (Paradise), like the land of
Egypt."
Less wonderful
is it
here that
the author understands the natural condition of Egypt than
same land presents means of comparison. that just this
Exodus 20 In Ex. 20: 25
it
is
said
:
:
of stone, thou shalt not build
thou
lift
ration of *p. 7.
tool
upon
hewn stone
is
it
directly as a
thou wilt
make me an
25.
"And
altar
up thy
him
itself to
if it
of hewn stone;
for if
The
prepa-
thou hast polluted
it."
represented in a tomb at 1
Thebes
Vol. I.p 388.
THE GOLDEN CALF.
'215
some workmen stand there smoothing the surfaces of a stone with chisels of different forms; others are examining to see
whether
it is
The
perfectly square.
tians, in the preparation
of
hewn
pal causes of the durability of the
T
Festival of the Golden Calf,
lie
great skill of the Egyp-
stone,
is
one of the princi-
Egyptian monuments.*
Exod.
etc.
and Lev.
xxxii.
17: 7.
A
succession of allusions to Egypt are found
That
chapter of Exodus.
the
in
32d
the representation of Jehovah un-
der the image of the golden calf
is
only explainable on the
supposition of Egyptian influence, and that
it
stands in con-
nection with the worship of Apis, has been fully discussed in
In the same work,
the Contributions.! that striking analogy
among
of the gods
is
found
was
it
the Egyptians, for the
shown
also
of the feasts
in the descriptions
manner
in
which
the festival of the golden calf was celebrated by the Israelites, as exhibited in the following passages
people sat
down
Verse 17: " in the
camp."
song
hear."
I
—
'*
And
the
and to drink and rose up to play
And when Joshua
as they shouted,
the dancing."
to eat
verse 6
:
J'"'
heard the noise of the people
he said unto Moses, There
is
Verse 18, where Moses says
:
a noise of
"
The
war
noise of
And in verse 19 " And he saw the calf and The most ancient popular rites of the Egyptians :
were, according to
Creuzer,j: of the nature of
orgies,
and
was Bacchanalian. Sensual songs were sung, with the accompaniment of noisy
the fundamental character of their religion
Of the yearly journey to Bubastis, H e r o d o tus§ says: "Throughout the whole journey, some of the women strike the cymbal, whilst men play the flute, and the rest of the women and men sing and clap with their hands; instruments.
^
X
Rosellini II. 2. p. 159.
Symbol.
I.
S. 448, 9.
t
§
Th. B.
2. S.
155
2. c. 60.
ff.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
216
and when they,
in their journey,
come near
town, they
a
bring the boat near the shore and conduct as follows
others
commit other unseemly
concerning the
feast
Especially
acts.
is
some
:
women do as I have already described, some jeer women of the town, with loud voices, and some dance,"
of the
at
the
while
it
said
of Apis,* " But
Memphis, Apis (whom the
when Cambyses came to Greeks call Epaphos) was shown
and as he appeared, the Egyptians forthwith
to the Egyptians,
put on their most costly garments and exulted. "t Just as here, in a manner throughout inimitable by one of later times, the circumstances, tendencies
and feelings of the
who had grown up under Egyptian
influences, are ex-
people
hibited with incontrovertible truth.
passage Lev. 17:7, already explained
So
are they, also, in the
at large in a
former work.t " They
there said, in reference to the rebellious Israelites
It is
shall
no longer
offer their sacrifices to he-goats
:
((-'^,''rt:;)
,
af-
which they have lusted." The opposition which exists between a he-goat and a god, was removed in the Egyptian
ter
religion and in in the t
it
"
only.
The
he-goat, and also Pan, were,
language of Egypt, named Mendes," says
u s,§ and almost
all
of names between the god and the he-goat
is
Herodo-
This identity
the Greeks follow him.
explained by the
pantheistic element in the Egyptian conception of the world.
The
he-goat was not barely a symbol of Mendes, for
the Greeks, looking
away from the other great
whom
differences, be-
cause of the form of the he-goat and his wantonness, substituted
Pan, but the physical presentation, the incarnation of this god, and was therefore considered holy and as worthy of divine honor.
The
service of the he-gont, as a deity,
was very
anciently performed in Egypt, and he was the participant of * t
!>.
B.
3. c. 27.
See also upon
tlie
s;icied
dance among the Egyptians, Wilk.
340. ;
In den Beitiligen,
Th
2. S.
lie
ff.
§
B.
2.
c. 4G.
II.
THE GOLDEN CALF.
among them,*
very high honor
so that
217
we must
necessarily
expect the idolatrous inclination of the Israelites awakened after a
short slumber, to be also directed specially to this
deity.
We
turn back to
Exodus
Aaron
xxxii.
demands, ac-
cording to verse 2, of the children of Israel, the golden rings
which are
wives, their sons, and their
in the ears of their
daughters, in order to fashion from them the
golden ornaments found
'*
calf.
consist of rings, bracelets, armlets, necklaces, ear-rings
numerous
trinkets belonging to the toilet
of the times of Osirtasen ries of
I.
and Thothmes
The same
Joseph and Moses."
commonly worn
ear-rings were
were so common
in
;
in
many III.,
and
of these are
contempora-
author| shows that
Egypt.
Egypt, according to
The
Wilkinson,!
Egypt," says
in
Rings of gold
Rose
1 1
i
n
i,§ that
they took, to a certain extent, the place of coin, and
many
times were used in trade.
According and burned
it
to verse 20,
and beat
it
Moses took the
calf that they
made
(namely, the elements of the
externally gold and internally wood,
calf,
which had escaped the
was fine as powder. In Deut. 9:21, Moses same transaction " And burned it with fire, and beat it, grinding it thoroughly, until it was as fine as dust," Wilkinsonjl says, certain persons were employed in the towns of Egypt, to pound various substances, in large stone mortars, with heavy metal pestles. When the substance was well pounded, it was taken out and passed through a sieve, and the larger particles were again returned to the mortar, until the whole was sufficiently fine. In verse 32, Moses asks of God " And now if thou wilt, fire) until it
says of the
:
:
forgive their sin
;
and
if not, blot
*
Compare Creuzer, Th.
t
Wilk., Vol. 111.
§
Vol. II.
p.
p.
III. S. 325.
225.
280.
t
II
19
me, I pray thee, out of thy
Vol. III. p.
371—1.
Vol. III. p. 181 and Drawing.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
218
book which thou hast written." tomary employment of
and
lists
These words imply the cuswhich have existed in
rolls,
The
scarcely any other land so generally as they did in Egypt.
monuments
resented in a tomb
at
The men, conducted in
Thus
often exhibit this frequency.
Gurnah
a levying of
there
Egyptian
rep-
is
soldiers.
by their commander, go before a scribe
order to be enrolled.*
Prohibition of Marriage between near Relatives, Lev.
The
law concerning unlawful intercourse,
in
Lev.
xviii.
xviii, in
which marriages 'between near relatives occupies the first place, is in verse 3 accompanied by the words: " After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not
Truly,
do."
among no people of
among
ed, as
antiquity
marriage among
feeling, with reference to
the Egyptians.
The
was the moral
relatives, so blunt-
marriage with the
as
unconditionally allowable.
contrary to the to
marry a
common
Philadelphus,
"It
says:
among
its
who married
was
Pausanias| says of by birth He in this
consequences."
did that which was by no
is,
the Egyptians
since such a union, in the case of Isis,
sister,
so fortunate in
Diodorusf
custom, lawful
sister,
among them
so strongly forbidden by Moses, was considered
'*
his sister
:
means lawful among
MacedoEgypof the Egypthe
nians, but entirely in accordance with the law of the tians, over
whom
he ruled."
Philo^
tian lawgiver, that he gave permission to ters,
those
who
relates all
to
marry
their sis-
are sisters by birth, not less than step-sisters,
"
those of like age and older, not less than the younger.
Upper and Lower Egypt," remarks
kinson,i| "it
fully authenticated,
W
the sculptures in is
that this law
was
force in the earliest times." *
Rosellini, II. 3 p. 218.
B. §
I. c.
De
Compare
27.
Special Legg. p. 7dU.
also
Herod. B.
2. c. 177.
tAtt. 1.7. ||
Vol.
II. p. 63.
By i
I-
in
:
219
LEViTicxis 18: 23, etc.
Defilement with Animals. Lev. 18: 23. Ex. 22: 18,
The
prohibition of defilement with animals
is
etc.
in the
Pen-
tateuch so often repeated and so rigorously enforced, (see
Lev. 18: 23
:
Neither shalt thou
thyself therewith, neither shall
beast lo
down
lie
thereto;
is
it
with any beast to defile
lie
any
woman
stand before a
we
confusion, b^I?)),* that
are involuntarily driven to the supposition, that the author
has a very special reason for enjoining the prohibition of this so unnatural
and infrequent a crime, and that he takes into
account an immorality which ruled among those by
whom
the
had been previously surrounded, which was introduced among them through a pseudo-religious motive, and had acquired an influence which it could never have exerted Israelites
without that sanction.
such a
practice
vile
We
should the more expect to find
among
the Egyptians, the further er-
roneous views of the position of animals in the whole creation
and the changing of the proper relation of animals to human beings,
was
carried.
That
enormity really existed among shows " In this same pro-
this
Herodotust
the Egyptians,
:
vince (the Mendesian) the following prodigy happened in
time
:
eysvsro
S" iv
tw
vo(j,(a
tovto) in
jovto
vaixl TQoiyog ifilaytro avaq^uvdov. a7rtx£To."| *
eg
That the occurrence which
See also Ex.
18.
Qri:
Bahr says upon
Lev. 20: 15.
my
e^sv rovto to iSQug' yvinlds^iv avd^Q007i(av
H e rod o tu s
Deut. 27: 21.
t
here
2. 46.
Mendetis in urbe hircos mulieribus se miscere Pindarus quoque cecinerat (v. Strabo, 17. p. 1154), ex quo alii repetierunt laudati a Sclmeidero ad Pindari fragm. p. 122. ed. I
Heyn.
t. 3.
this
passage
et Bocharto, Hieroz. 2, 53.
retulerunt, v. Clem. Al. p. 27. religione
:
Ac
Idem
facinus de Thuiitis
turpissimi hujus amoris
repetendam esse, qua ductae mulieres Pani
symbolo, se permiserint, in dubium vocari nequit.
s.
hirco, ejus
The passage
Pindar quoted reads
MivdfjTa
NhIov
itaQo. nQtjfivov d^aXdaaag^ I'oxarov
xi^ag, aiyt^drai
od'i ZQctyoi
alii
causam a
yvvai^l /liayoptai.
of
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
220
mentions was not a single one,
evident from the declara-
is
tions of other writers.*
The
reference of the Mosaic law on this subject to the
regularities connected with the
the Egyptians, appears the
of the goat
among
in Lev. 17: 7,
ir-
among
worship of the goat
certain, since this worship
more
according to the passage
the Israelites,
was during the passage
already discussed,
through the desert yet very prevalent. We are still more confirmed in our belief of an Egyptian reference in this prohibition of defilement with animals, from its
being comprised in the number of those which in Lev. *' After the doings of the
18: 3 are introduced by the words:
land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do."
Leviticus 24: 10
—
12.
The account of " the son of the Israel itish woman whose 12, transfers us, father was an Egyptian," in Lev. 24: 10
—
and
manner peculiar and inimitable by
in a
a later writer,
must have existed at the time of the departure of the people from Egypt. If any narinto the very heart of things as they
rative carries the proof of
the
name
father in
its
authenticity along with
The name of the mother and
does.
is
of the tribe of the latter
to the
is
Israelites,
common
entirely
relation of the Egyptians
mother,
is
hardly supposable.
entirely natural that in the son of an
heathenish blood should show
itself,
fa-
It is
Egyptian father, the
so that he curses the
of Israel.
Numbers In
is
while the opposite case, an Israelitish
ther and an Egyptian
God
That the
also stated.
an Egyptian and the mother an Israelite,
accordance with the
this
it,
her father are given, and
Num.
11: 4
it
is
said: "
11: 4.
The mixed
See the preceding note.
multitude that was
.
THE HELBEH. with them
fell
again, and said,
"
We
221
a lusting, and the children of Israel
who
remember the
shall give us flesh to
which we did eat
fish,
eat?" in
wept
Verse 5:
Egypt
freely
j
the cucumbers, and the melons, and the grass (helbeh), and
the onions, and the garlic."
This passage
is
especially important, in respect to the con-
nection of the Pentateuch with Egypt. in
certainly existed in
it
Egypt
All the things
in great
named
abundance, and most
of them were distinguished for their excellence
;
and among
those means of subsistence, which ancient Egypt produced in great abundance, which were generally in favor with the
whole people, and specially with them, there
Among
ted.
which
is
those named, one
fail
to
is
no one omit-
found, the grass (helbeh),
so entirely peculiar to Egypt, that interpreters
to the latest times have erred in
Egypt.
is
reference to
it,
down
since they
derive the explanation from accurate knowledge of
These
peculiarities
can appear natural to
connection, only on the supposition that Moses
is
us, in this
the author
of the Pentateuch, but on that hypothesis they are entirely in
accordance with the circumstances of the case.
We
begin with that product, the naming of which
is
espe-
cially
worthy of notice, and suited to convince us of the au-
thor's
knowledge of Egypt.
The Grass (helbeh),
The s e
n
current opinion, as
mue
saurus,
1 1
r,
upon
same word,
account of
But
e
this
its
it
is
found, for example, in
this passage,
is
this
:
-T^2£h
and in
Gesen
i
T'iin means here, leek,
R o-
Thewhich on u
s'
grasslike appearance takes this name.
opinion
is
entirely without foundation.
Appeal
cannot be made to the authority of the ancient translators.*
For who can give us *
security, that they, supposing that
Septuagint, nqdoa, Vulgate, porri.
19*
all
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
222
herbage used
fodder
excluded, and looking around
is
men
for food, for
merely guessed
one they have taken
at the
But the correct view argument.
The
food for cattle
—
is
has etymologically the meaning of
^"*:»:h
it is
?
arrived at through a different counter-
originally not grass, but pasturage, fod-
common
der,* and so also according to
The
use.t
terion for the correctness of the interpretation that the article of food
which
is
same
Now
table with them.
first cri-
therefore,
is,
must be
identified with ^''^zh
man
appropriately food for beasts, so that
the
one that
furnishes an external similarity to grass, have not
least
at
for
the productions which serve
among
goes, as
such an
if
it
were, to
article of food
could by no means be found,
we should be warranted
giving up this criterion, which
is
wanting
entirely
in
in
the
leek.
But among the wonders of the natural is
mentioned by travellers that the
history of Egypt,
common
The
with special relish a kind of grass similar to clover. pression which the sight of this travelled
"
A
much,
is
it
people there eat
im-
makes on those who have
Mayr:J
very graphically described by
was thrown before the beasts, and a smaller pile of clover-like fodder was placed before the The quadrupeds master of the house and his companions. great heap of clover
and the bipeds ate with equal greediness, and the pile of the latter
plant
was
•leaves
all
gone before the former had finished
very similar to clover, except that
is
•wards,
Enormous
and whitish blossoms.
by the inhabitants, and
when hungry,
the fields where *
See Gesenius,
t
E.
g.
1
Kings
it
theirs
—
this
has more pointed
quantities are eaten
not unpalatable.
it is
I
in a situation to lay myself
was
after-
down upon
grows, and gi-aze with pleasure."
loc. cit.
18: 5.
Job 40
:
15,
and
Gesenius. I
it
Reise nach Aegypien
u.
s.
w. S. 226.
otlier passages.
Compare
THE HELBEH.
223
^
RaffeneauDelile gives a more scientific description :* "The fenu-grec (trigonella foenum Graecum, Linn.) is an annual plant,
much
very
young
the
known
in
Egypt under the name of Helbeh
The
resembles clover.
;
it
people of the country find
fresh shoots, before blossoming, a very delicious
food."
But the most particular and the best account is found in S o nFrom him we make a somewhat copious extract,
nini.t since
clearly
it
shows us how the emigrating Egyptians and
the Israelites could
among other things "Although
to the ^rass of Egypt:
a nourishing food for the
is
plains of the Delta eat
it
;
also look
back longingly
helbeh of the Egyptians
numerous beasts who cover the
although horses, oxen and the buffaloes
with equal relish,
for the
this
it
appears not to be destined especially
sustenance of animals, since the harsim furnishes an
aliment better even and more abundant.
appear very extraordinary
is,
But that which
will
that in this singularly fertile
country, the Egyptians themselves eat the fenu-grec so
much
can properly be called the food of men. In the month of November, they cry, " Green helbeh for sale," in the that
it
streets
of the towns.
It is tied
up
in large bunches,
which
the inhabitants eagerly purchase at a low price, and which
they eat with an incredible greediness, without any species of seasoning.
They pretend
that this singular diet
is
an excel-
worms and dysentery in Fifine, a preservative against a great number of maladies. nally, the Egyptians regard this plant as endowed with so many good qualities that it is, in their estimation, a true panalent stomachic, a specific against
cea.
upon
Prosper Alpinus its
ties, real
use in medicine. or supposed,
it is
;
has entered into long details
After so
many
excellent proper-
not astonishing that the Egyptians
" Hist, des Plantes cultiv. en Egypte, Du Trefle d'Egypte et § 2 du Fenu-grec, cultives comme fourages, in the Description, t. 19, :
p.
59seq. t
Voyage dans
la
haute et basse Egypte, Tom.
I. p.
379 seq.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
224
hold the fern-grec in so great estimation that according to
one of
their proverbs
Fortunate are the
:
feet
which tread the
earth on which grows the helbeh."
Besides those named, von Schubert* may be compared. " The kinds of clover whose young shoots and leaves
He says we saw beh
:
eaten in
(trig,
many ways by
the Egyptians, were the hel-
foenum, Gr.) and the gilhan (Lathyrus sativus)."
The Fish.
The
fact that fish
also the phrase
cate
only refer to
W
i 1
numerous.
they were very
that
k
i
n
in the narrative,
first
" which we ate in Egypt freely^''
:
known that almost we need not quote and
were placed
incredible all
numbers
it
is
so well
Egypt, that
the separate proofs of the fact.
Oedmann,t Mayr,| s
And exist in
o n.**
But
mentioned that according
it
to
Bahr,||
and indi-
We
Taylor,^
should, perhaps, be particularly
Herodotus
a part of the in-
habitants of the marshes of the Delta, shepherds,
who proba-
were not of Egyptian origin, and were hatedtt by the
bly
cultivators of the soil, lived entirely on fish.ft
The Cucumber.
Upon -
the cucumber, also,
we need
not delay long.
It
is
Reise, Th. II. S. 107.
Verm. Samml. 1, S.136. Radzivil says there " We saw, to-day, about a hundred fishermen lying in the turbid waters of the Nile, and catching fish with their hands. Some of them came up with three one in each hand and one in the mouth. The fish were an ell fish long, and of different kinds." t Mayr, S. 188. t
:
—
II
Zu
Herodotus,
I.
S.658.
** Vol. III. p. 63.
ft
U P. 62seq.
SeeBahr,l.c.S.687; Heeren,
S. 150.
Minutoli stands entirely alone in his assertion, S. 406 " In fish the Nile is poor, as well in respect to numbers as in variety of species, of whicli there are not many." Were this correct, we should despair tt
of ever finding truth in history.
about that in anticipation.
:
But we
will not trouble ourselves
MELONS
ONIONS.
225
known that tliey exist in Egypt, and of peculiar excellence. They .are large, of fine flavor, and very much eaten.* The Melons,
The melons
D'^n'^tSlN
.
The
are of very great importance to Egypt.
Son nin
i,t
best
pulp and
its
refreshing water, best
show how they could become objects of general longing in the desert, where " The souls of the people were dry," verse 6. But the spefollowing passages from
cies of fruit which, by
its
serves to moderate the internal heat which the climate generates,
The
the pasteJc or water-melon (cucurbita citrullus).J
is
markets are
with them, and they
filled
sell at
so very
small a price, that the poor as well as the rich can refresh
They
themselves with their watery and sweet juice. healthful nourishment,
and useful
are a
where the
in the climate
heat makes the blood boil, and gives sharpness to the hu-
mors."§ Onions.
The
onions of Egypt are also
They
praised.
cording to
far
renowned and much Ac-
are often represented in the sculptures.
Ar V
i
e u x,^
better than those of
that there are in the
diet of the people,
Hasselquist**
Smyrna.
whole world none
shows that they were,
in antiquity,
and a
|1
they are sweet and large, and taste
common
protests
Herodotus
better.
frequently an article of
food of those
who
labored
* Compare the passage from Prosper Alpinus which has already been quoted by Rosenmueller ; Forskal, Flora, p. 169 ; Description, De Sacy upon Abdollatiph, p. 125 ; and Abdollatiph 1. 19. p. 109 ; Hartmann, Aeg. S. 180. himself, p. 34 ;
t
§
and II
Th.
3. S.
101.
See also Sonnini,
Aegyptiis battich Forsk,
I
p.
109; Abdollatiph,
p.
35;
De
8.
Wilk.
II. p. 373.
** P. 562.
IT
Hartmann,
S. 180.
p. 75.
Sacy,
p.
127
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
226
In what estimation they are now held, upon the pyramids.* we see from S o n n n i :t " This species of vegetable is yet i
extraordinarily
common
in this country
it is
:
the aliment of
more ordinary of the people, and almost the only food of
the
Onions, cooked or raw, are sold in the
the lowest class. streets
and markets
for
These onions have
almost nothing.
not the tartness of those of Europe; they are sweet; they sting not the
weeping
mouth unpleasantly
in those
who
and they do not produce
;
cut them."
The Garlic. Finally, the garlic, just as here, t
u
is
spoken of by
P
food, especially of the poorest classes.
of the two in connection.
among
garlic
Herodo
-^
connection with the onion, as a principal article of
in
s,
I i
n yj also speaks
Dioscorides
the plants of Egypt
;
and
Rose
describes the 1 1 i
n i§ thinks
It is upon a painting in Beni Hassan. not now produced in Egypt ;|1 just as also other plants very abundant in Egypt in former times, especially the papyrus-
he has discovered
plant, are
now
it
either entirely or almost entirely extinct.^
Numbers According
to
Num.
17: 2,
17: 2.
Moses takes from each one of
the twelve princes of the tribes of Israel a rod and writes their
name
thereon.
The name
of each person,
Wilkin-
*
B.
+
Hist Nat. 19.6: allium cepasque inter deos in Jurejurando ha-
2.
c.
125.
t
Tom.
II. S. 66, 67.
bent Aegyptii. §
Vol.11.
1.
S. 383. II
Sonnini,
p. 68.
What Michaud says, torn. 8. p. .56, concerning the manner of living among the Fellahs in the Delta may be compared with this whole pas1i
sage
:
" Rien ncgale
quelques
licrbes^
dourah ou
la sobrietc de ce peuple il soutient sa vie avec des concombres, des oignons, un mauvais pain de
lentilles.
:
DISEASES OF EGYPT SEVERE. s
227
o n,* remarks was frequently written on his stick, instances of
wliich I have seen in those found at
Deuteronomy
The them
6: 9,
and
9 commands) upon
passages, Deut. chap. 6:
(the divine
Thebes."
11: 20.
''And thou
:
the
shall write
posts of thy house,
and on thy gates," and 11: 20, imply that the custom of giving was quite common among the people
to houses inscriptions,
with
whom
ments, the
According
the Israelites dwelt.t
name
of the owner of a house
to the
among
was not unfrequently written upon the " Besides the owner's name," says
tians
W
the
lintels
kin
monuEgypof the
o n,§ " they sometimes wrote a lucky sentence over the entrance
doors. f
of the house for a favorable omen, and the
i
1
s
and imposts
lintels
of the doors in the royal mansions, were often covered with hieroglyphics, containing the ovals and titles of the monarch."
The Diseases of Egypt severe. Deut. and 60. Ex. 15: 26. In Deut. thee
all
15
it is
said
sickness, and
will
7:
"And
:
the
28:
7: 15,
Lord
will
put none of the
27, 35
remove from diseases of
evil
Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee." A similar expression is also found in Ex. 15 26, " If thou wilt diligently :
hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and
which
is
will
right in his sight, and will give ear to his
do that
command-
all his statutes, I will put none of these disupon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians, In Deut 28 60 for I the Lord am He who healeth thee." ''And the Lord will bring again upon thee all the it is said
ments, and keep
eases
:
:
* Vol. III. p. 388.
tSee engraving §
Vol.
II. p.
in
t
Wilk. Vol.
II.
See Beitr. Th.
2. S. 459.
102.
123-4, and concerning the inscriptions on the gates of
the gardens, p. 144.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
228 diseases of
Egypt of which thou wast afraid, and they shall In verses 27 and 35 of the same chapter,
cleave to thee." erring Israel peculiarly
threatened with the infliction of a sickness
is
Egyptian concerning which we have already in
another connection
made
investigation.
All of these scattered passages diseases,
in reference to
ited
by them
particular attention,
Wagn er*
agree in
his
in
The
the diseases of
show
this, that
o
r
1
Egypt is
all
Egypt an object of
that the author
is
right in this.
Natural History of man, calls Egypt
in his " enquiry
vis-
accounts of
"a
De Cha-
great focus of the diseases in universal history."
b
and
a very peculiar land,
a very special degree.
in
who have made
those
is
concerning the customs of the modern-
inhabitants of Egypt," of the most important diseases, says
:
With an almost equable temperature and with an always serene sky, Egypt can have only a small number of diseases, '*
but they are for the most part terrible."t
The same
author then speaks of single maladies, the plague,
almost never wanting in Cairo, and particularly in " This disease Alexandria, the dysentery of which he says
which
is
:
causes great destruction the children, which
it
among them and
especially attacks
carries off in a frightful
manner
;"
the
diseases of the eyes with which one at least out of five indi-
viduals
is
and rages
afflicted,
far
the small-pox which in
worse than
in
Europe,
Egypt
is
frightful
etc.
In the " observations upon several diseases which attacked
French army," four seasons of the year are madet with reference to healthfulness. The first comprises the time of the inundation, '* I name," says the author, "this first season of the year which continues about three months, the damp season it may be considered as the winter of the the soldiers of the
;
country.
*
\
Th.
The
II. S.
west wind which then blows, increases the
270.
In the Descr.
t.
t
13, p.
216
Description seq.
t.
7. p.
43 seq.
§.
8
—
DISEASES OF EG\PT SEVERE.
229
dampness of the atmosphere which at evening and especially in the morning is full of mist. The consequence is a coolness which is uncomfortable and detrimental to animal secreIn this season of the year diseases of the eyes, the and catarrhal pains prevail."* " The
tions.
hospital fever, diarrhoea
third season of the year says the same author further, "which I will give the
name
of the sick season, since
to the health of the inhabitants
begins about the
first
of
about the end of May.
it is
March and continues
The
destructive
and especially of strangers, generally until
south wind takes the place of
the east wind which had prevailed during the earlier part of
These south winds are
the year.
gradually
—
first
light but they increase
they afterwards decrease in the
same way
— and
indeed to such a degree that during a period of about 50 days, from which they have taken the
name chamsin,
are very violent and hot, and hence would able,
if
At
they blew without cessation.
they
become insupportthis
season of the
year wounds heal with difficulty, and are easily seized with
Sicknesses of
mortification.
all
kinds take an unusual char-
acter and require the greatest carefulness on the part of the
physician, and in general
living beings
all
more
are
or less
affected.f"
Land in Egypt and Deut 11: 10, 11.
Cultivation of the
In Deut. 11: 10 and 11
thou goest
in to possess
whence ye came *
Of
this
out,
it
it,
is
is
said:
Palestine,
"For the land whither
not as the land of Egypt, from
where thou sowedst thy seed, and water-
same time says Abdollatiph,
p. 4.
De Sacy
season of the year unhealthful evaporations prevail putrid diseases, caused by bilious and
;
:
During
the air
is
this
bad
phlegmy humors, rage among
the inhabitants. I
Compare
also
Medicina Aeg. peculiaribus
upon the diseases of Egypt Prosper Alpinus, De
ed. Friedreich,
eorumque
20
causis
;
De morbis Aegyptiis t. 1. p. 95 seq. and Hartmann, Aegj'pt. S. 54 ff, where :
:
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
230 edst
it
with thy foot as a garden of herbs
ye go to possess
a land of
is
it,
but the land whither
:
and valleys, and drinketh
These
water of the rain of heaven."
verses furnish occasion
remarks
for the following
The
hills
supposition that Egypt
lies at
the
foundation of this passage.
Against the correctness of
this
implication, the accounts of
modern
1.
duced
in
Egypt
it
certainly sometimes rains; for these rains
which reference
have so
and, what
are yet
the principal
thing,
immediate connection, they
in this
accustomed
speak of Egypt as
to
Herodotus*
there.
rains not in
made
is
is
influence in fertilizing the earth, that the clas-
little
sical writers are
rained
cannot be ad-
travellers
argument, according to whom, especially in Lower
proportionally so seldom to
without rain
is
their
F
be
a
if
it
never
plainly,
"it
Collections concerning rain in
land."t
Egypt are given by
says perfectly
Nordme
r,|
i
and
e r§
Hart-
man n.|| 2.
The
author in designating Canaan
in
opposition to
Egypt, as a land of mountains and valleys, places in the
flat-
ness of country of Egypt the cause of absence of rain, and that he in this
way proves himself acquainted with the Egypt no man can deny.^
nat-
ural condition of
is designated as tJie most to be feared of any of them. Volney found among 100 persons who met him, oftentimes twenty entirely blind, ten blind with one eye and twenty others whose eyes were either red or festered or diseased in some other way.
blindness
* B. 2. c. 14. 1
Compare Diod.
1.
deberct.
Plinius Panegyr.
41.
augcndieque seminibus
ita
30
c.
Mela names Aeg. expers imbrium.
Nat. Quaest IV. 2
:
Nemo
:
Aegyptus alendis
gloriata est, ut nihil imbribus coeloque
Lucilius in Seneca,
aratorum aspicit coelum, and Tibullus
:
nee pluvio supplicat herba Jovi. 1
§
Zu
den Beob.
a. d.
Orient, B.
In the Calend. Aeg.
p.
Vossius upon Mela L.
1. S.
4
ff.
11 and 20.
2.
S 347
ft'.
||
S. 197.
Tzschuck. III. says: Quaerit vero causum Aristobulus apud Strabonem IT
1. c. 9.
§ 1. ed.
1. p.
1.
247.
15. (p.
RAIN IN EGYPT AND PALESTINE. appears at
It
3.
resents
view remarkable that the author rep-
first
as a superiority of
it
subject to
rain,
and
is
Canaan over Egypt, by
not watered
Herodotus*
compare what
231
that
a river.
is
it
we
If
says of the inhabitants of the
region below Memphis, the thing will assume quite another
"For now
phasis.
their land with
indeed these people obtain the
far less trouble
even than the other Egyptians.
of
fruits
and labor than other people, They need not trouble them-
up furrows with the plough, nor to dig with the which men bestow upon the earth, but the river comes of its own accord upon selves to turn
hoe, nor with any other kind of labor,
and waters
their land
and having done
it,
this,
of cultivation in Egypt
cility
But
we examine the
if
author
also asserted
by it
falls
rather on the side
great
R ose
1 1 i
it
fa-
n
i.t
appears that the it is
altogether
ofHerodotusJ
and those
take him as authority.
First,
476
is
more minutely,
perfectly right, and that the error, if
is
an error,
who
affair
leaves
it
The
again, and then each one sows his ground."
s.
it is
to
Herodotus
be remarked, that
particularly
quare, cum in Syene imbres cadant, intermedia tantum omnino careant. Quaestio haec ibi proponitur, sed non Ratio tamen est manifesta, quia nempe ilia Aegypti pars,
692.)
loca pluvia solvitur.
ubi nullae cadunt pluviae, plana, hurailis, sicca, arenosa ac calida est
admodum,
Vapores itaque, qui a terra aut noclu deciab aestu consumuntur, priusquam in
utpote torridae zonae vicina.
arida egrediuntur,
cum
rari
admodum
et tenues sjnt,
dunt in rorem mutati, aut toti pluviam abeant. At vero tractus Syeniticus, quia excelsus et monUbi enim montes, ibi nivium et tosus est, nessessario pluviis abundat.
aquarum lapsus perpetui. *B.
til.
2. c. 14.
1. p.
288.
Bahr upon Herodotus says: Herodoteis similia proferunt Diod. 1. Sed recentioris aetatis scrip36., Columella II. 25., Athenaeus V. 8. +
tores
si
audias, vix ulla invenitur terra, quae quo fructus ferat magis
hominum erroris
opera indigeat
quam Aegyptus.
patrem historiae incusare
Aegyptum erunt referenda, eximia agrorum
fertilitate
sed ad
Quae cum
velis, ejus
unam modo alteramve
insignem.
ita
verba non ad
sint, nisi
omnem
ejus partem,
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
232
designates only those labors as unnecessary for the Egyptians,
which
But
other lands precede seed-sowing.
in
Egypt,
in
the burdensome labor, the watering, begins not until
the seed
is
sown, and
circumstance
this
That
cularly prominent in our passage.
a very laborious employment, *'
F o r s k a 1," The
made
irrigation
is
" has
shown
Egypt requires more
that the culti-
must be cleared out
and sustained by hedges,
yearly,
planted on their banks.
for that
These canals
by canals.
intersected
is
really
than one would
toil
watering must be often repeated, and
purpose the land
after
very parti-
confirmed by many witnesses.
O e d m a n n,*
says
vation of the land in
imagine.
is
is
And
S
in
h a w,t
it
etc.
can also be
seen with what indescribable pains the water must be con-
ducted through the numerous tenance
for the
various machines which are
The
cisterns are dry." i
drawn by
buffaloes,
and are used
carrying up the water to the gardens, after the canals and
for
G
channels, to furnish sus-
little
productions of the land, to say nothing of the
r
a
r
d| also asserts.
requires, according to him, a
Prokesch§
ing.
of cultivation in Egypt Feddan Doorah' sometimes
difficulty
A single
'
hundred days' works of water-
"The
says:
watering
is
indispensably
necessary, and must be performed at stated intervals.
It is
the custom to water the fields in winter once in fourteen if the dew falls sufficiently, once in twelve summer once in eight days." The same
days, in the spring, days, but in the
author describesll the various machines for irrigation. nally,
Michaud^
says:
"The
labor of tillage
is
Fi-
not that
which most occupies the agricultural population here; the land
is
easy to cultivate.
The
great difficulty
is
for
to water
the fields; even the most robust of the Fellahs are employed to raise the water
••
Verm.
t
In the Descr.
II
S. 137.
and perform the irrigation."
Beitr. 1. S. 126. t.
17. p. 56.
t
§
Page
172.
In den Erinnerung. Th.
2. S. 135.
r Correspondence from the East, Vol. VIII.
p.
54
IRRIGATION IN EGYPT. Further,
must not be overlooked,
it
233
Herodotus
that
speaks only of a single region of Egypt, of that which enjoys the blessings of the Nile in the fullest measure. He expliof the region below
citly contrasts the inhabitants
Memphis
But our passage has particularly in view that part of Egypt which was inhabited by This lay upon the borders of the desert, and the Israelites. with the rest of the Egyptians.
the blessings of the Nile could be appropriated to
them only
by means of the greatest exertions. Finally,
to
is
it
the author speaks
never what in its
it
be considered that the Canaan of which in a manner an ideal land. It was
is
might have been, since the bond of allegiance,
consequence of which God had promised rain in
to give the
land
season, was always far from being perfectly
its
complied with. 4.
That our passage
all
is
spoken
in opposition to the boast-
who looked down
ing of the Egyptians,
with proud pity upon
other lands, since these had no Nile,
comparison of
Herodotus,
lation to our passage:
2. 13,
probable from a re-
they heard that in
all
"For when
the country of the Greeks the land
is
which has a striking
watered by rain, and
is
not by rivers, as in Egypt, they said,
*
the Greeks, disap-
pointed in their brightest hopes, will sometimes suffer severe
famine
;'
which means,
if
God
at
some time
shall not
send
rain, but drought, then famine will press upon them, for they
can obtain water only from God."
This phrase, 'only from
God,' which seems so terrible to the Egyptians, sented as a its
friend,
mark of
favor to the people,
is
here repre-
which has God
and to which the eyes of the Lord
its
God
for
are di-
rected from the beginning until the end of the year, verse 12. 5.
The words
teredst
it
that the author in
:
"
Where
thou sowedst thy seed and wa-
with thy foot as a garden of herbs," shows at least
Egypt, and
was acquainted with the manner of
is
most
easily explained
he was acquainted with the manner of
20*
irrigation
on the supposition that life
among
the Egyp^
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
234
At
tians by personal observation.
the
view, these words
first
appear without doubt to have reference to an Egyptian watering machine described by
Ph
the water from the Nile and
its
machine, a wheel
water turned by the
now
D
i
for raising
use in Egypt.
in
odo
r
u
for the
s,
i 1
o,* with
which they carried
canals into the
This
fields.
foot, is
even
Nevertheless, since the authority of
newness of the invention of this machine, itself, (he mentions! that it was in-
scarcely sufficient of
vented by Archimedes,) that this
machine
found
is
confirmed by the circumstance
not represented in the sculptures,| whilst
now most common
the machine, is
is
even on
very
for irrigation, the shaduf,
monuments,^
ancient
most
is
it
natural to refer the words rather to the carrying of the water
which the
in
foot has the
This process we find
most to do.
represented on the Egyptian monuments.
1 1
also
Two men are there
employed in watering a piece of cultivated land. They bear upon their shoulders a yoke with straps at each end, to which earthen vessels are fastened.
They
fill
these with water from
a neighboring shaduf or from a pool, and carry
it
to the field.
Another stands there with a bundle of herbs which he appears to have just collected, by which the phrase, herb-garden,' G.
is
The whole
'
like
an
very naturally suggested.
passage transfers us, in a manner inimitable
by a modern writer, to the time stationed
in which the Israelites were midway between Egypt and Canaan, yet full of the
advantages which they had enjoyed in the former land, and
want of
in
they had
a counterpoise to the longing desire for that
Deuteronomy
Among the precepts *
De Confusione
t
Wilk.
II
See
which
lost.
II. p. 5.
tlie
Ling.
17: 16.
for the king,
p.
255.
§
Wilk.I.
Deut. chap, t
p. 53.
engraving from Beni Hassan
descrip. in Ros. II. 1. p. 382-3.
I.
II.p.4. in
Wilk.
34.
xvii,
it is
said,
5. 37.
Ros.II.l. p.385. II. p.
137, and the
HORSES IN PALESTINE. verse 16
235
" Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor
:
cause the people to return to Egypt, so that he
Lord hath said to you back again that way." It was shown horses
that
;
the
for the
apprehension
may
multiply
shall not return
in the Contributions,*
spoken
here
Ye
:
of,
that
the
love of
horses in the king could finally cause the whole people to return to Egypt, was entirely natural in Moses' time,
uniting of the band just
when
now
when
a
severed appears not impossible,
the people from the most trivial
cause uttered their
longing for Egypt, or even their determination to return,! but not natural in the period of Solomon and the later kings. Indeed, such a thing could not even have been in Joshua's time,
when
the people had
come
to a full
consciousness of their
national independence, and every thought on the possibility of a reunion with the Egyptians
place
it
was
also
was
In the same
obliterated.
remarked, that Egypt also appears
in this
passage as the only country in which horses were raised, while indeed in the age of Solomon, Palestine was to a certain extent distinguished for the
sessor of
many
same
that a king
no longer be supposed
thing, so that
who wished
to
it
could
be the pos-
horses must go to Egypt.
Kind Treatment of the
Israelites
by Individual Egyptians.
Deut. 23: 8 (7). In the arrangement concerning those
who
are to be re-
ceived into the congregation, and those who are to be ex" Thou shalt not abhor cluded, in Deut. 23: 8 (7), it is said :
an Egyptian, because thou wast a stranger in his land."
This passage implies that the Israelites received in some respects better treatment from individuals of the Egyptians separately, tlian from the State, so that the Israelites for grateful
regard to them in turn
^
Th.
t
See Ex. 14
3. S.
;
247-8. :
11.
Num.
had cause
since the phrase, " For
11: 5 seq. 21: 5, 7.
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
236
thou wast a stranger in his land," is not a sufficient reason tor the command, " Thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian," unless
it
means
that the Egyptians performed the offices of hos-
pitality to the Israelites,
Exodus
that
and earned
for
themselves the claim
In accurate agreement with this,
of reciprocity.
God gave
we
read in
the Israelites, as they were departing,
favor with the Egyptians, turned their hearts to
them
in love
and compassion, so that they gave them rich presents for their The agreement in so nice a circumstance between journey. passages so entirely disconnected, the contents of each passage by
is
worthy of notice, as also It is natural in a rep-
itself.
drawn from acquaintance with the actual condiof things, that the contradictions which real life always
resentation tion
furnishes, should
come
in for a share
;
a mythic representa-
on the contrary, would certainly avoid this apparent contradiction, and would here leave to the Egyptians only
tion,
hatred and hostility and a correspondent relation of the Israelites to
them.
Deuteronomy 23:
The
12, 13.
precepts upon the not defiling of the camp, etc.,
in
Deut. 23: 12, 13, reminds us of what Herodotus* says of " They tvixugsT] xQ^ojviat in houses, and eat the Egyptians :
without, in the streets
;
for they think that things
unseemly, but necessary, must be done in secret is
not unseemly, before
all
the world. "f
;
which are but what
If a custom of this
kind had been established among the Egyptians, from among
whom
the Israelites came,
it
could not be violated by the Is-
raelites without offending against
with
in
*
t
B. 2.
its
mandates
c. 35.
Compare Bahr concerning
S. 557.
decorum, and the law comes
to obviate this difficulty.
the varying custom
among
the Greeks,
:
;
DEUTERONOMY
25: 4. 28: 56.
Threshing with Oxen, Deut. 25 In Deut. 25
4
:
is
it
237 4.
:
forbidden to muzzle the ox
when he
Both ancient writers* and the monuments show that oxen were used in Egypt for threshing. treadeth out the corn.
Champolliont apartment
says,
in
describing the
Elkab (Elethya), which belongs
at
Remeses Meiamun
:
"Among other
subterranean to the reign of
things I have myself seen
there the treading out or the threshing of the sheafs of grain
by oxen, and over the engraving may be read, in almost enphonetic characters, the song which the overseer sings
tirely
while threshing " Tread ye out
for j'^ourselves,
Tread ye out
for yourselves,
Tread ye out Tread ye out
for yourselves,
O oxen
1
for yourselves,
the straw
For men, who are your masters, the grain."
Of
this
same representation
says: ''They
make
a great
threshing-floor, and cause
which are kept
R
o
s
Elethya,
to
Rosellinit midst of the
in the
be trodden out by six oxen,
motion by a
man who
goes behind
In regard to the signification of the hiero-
with a whip." glyphics,
them
in constant
at
heap of ears
e
1
1
i
n
i
Champollion.
agrees with
Deuteronomy 28
:
56.
In Deut. 28: 56, the " tender and delicate woman" is mentioned, " who would not adventure to set the sole of her foot
upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness." Here The also we are reminded of the state of things in Egypt. luxury of the Egyptian
women exceeded
that of
all
nations.^ *
See Bahr upon Herodotus
±
il. 1. p. 308.
I. p.
508.
t
§
Taylor,
Briefe, S. p.
173,4.
other
EGYPT AND THE BOOKS OF MOSES.
238
Deuteronomy
5: 15. 4: 20. 6:
20seq.
7: 8, etc.
In numerous passages of Deuteronomy, the Israelites are
admonished
to
keep the law by reminding them of their sad
condition in Egypt, and the favor
—
shown
bringing them out
in
which implies that the consciousness of this conIn dition and this favor was yet entirely fresh and lively. Deut. 5: 15, after it had been said that the rest of the Saba motive
bath shall be granted to the servant,
member
is
it
added
*' :
And
re-
and
that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt,
Lord thy God brought thee out thence." In the same verse is the duty of keeping the Sabbath holy, founded
that the
on the deliverance from Egypt.
In chap. 24: 18, after the or-
der not to pervert the right judgment of the stranger or the fatherless, or take the
widow's garment
in pledge,
it is
said
:
remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee thence there'*
But thou
shalt
:
fore I
command
thee to do this thing."*
are found indeed in the earlier books. t cially
numerous
in
Deuteronomy,
is
Similar references
That they
are espe-
explained from the pre-
ponderance of the admonitory element in the book from the fact that it, more than the remaining books, (which present ;
the law in
its
bare objectivity,) appeals to the heart of the
Israelites, in order to bring the
law nearer to
it,
which was one
principal design of the book.
We in his
have reached the limit of our inquiry.
V.
Bohlen,
Introduction to Genesis, J supposes that the knowledge
of Egypt which
is
found in the Pentateuch, can be wholly
explained from the intercourse between the Israelites and the
Egyptians
in the
age of Solomon.
But those Egyptian
ences with which he was acquainted, '
t
Compare chap.
4: 20. 6:
See Ex.22: 20. Lev.
20
filled
refer-
scarcely half a
seq. 7: 8. 15: 15. 16: 12. 24: 22.
19: 34.
t
S.41.
CONCLUSION. page,* and indeed
in
239
order to explain these from later circum-
was obliged to labor by availing himself of a number of" mistakes and inaccuracies" with reference to Egypt, stances, he
to bring
and
counter-arguments
for his position
pretended
*'
for the later
out of Egypt.
We
age of the narrator,
have proved that these
mistakes and inaccuracies" are just so
proofs of the ignorance of
him who alleged them.
many
We
have
shown that the Egyptian references of the Pentateuch are beyond comparison more numerous and direct than was hithalso
erto supposed.
The
unprejudiced critic henceforth
will
be
obliged to recognize in the connection of the Pentateuch
with Egypt, one of the most powerful arguments for bility
and
for its
composition by Moses. * S. 54.
its
credi-
APPENDIX. MANETHO AND THE HYCSOS Manetho.
I.
The
prevailing opinion
the priests in Heliopolis
is,
Manetho was the chief of
that
who were
the most distinguished for
learning of any in Egypt, and wrote under the patronage of
king Ptolemy Philadelphus, by the aid of the writings found in the sanctuaries
But there are
of the temples.*
several
strong
objections to this opinion
In the specification of the gods and demi-gods
1.
Egypt, according to
Manetho,
ignorance of Egyptian divinity gling of
and
:
ruled
before men, a remarkable
is
exhibited, a strange min-
Greek and Egyptian names of
Ammon
who
deities,
— Mars, Apollo
are found as demi-gods, and Jupiter
divided into two divine persons, etc.
From
Ammon
is
these facts, upon
which Jablonskit as long ago as his time, and after him and copying from him e i n e r s| commented, R o s e 1 that this list was drawn up by one i n i§ has justly argued
M
1
*
See
t
Fanth. Aeg. Proll.
Heeren, Ideen Aeg. S. 426.
e. g.
author says
:
In reference to these things this p. 67 seq. Totus animi pendeo, ancepsque haereo quodnam de
scriptoris hujus, aut diligentia, aut peritia, aut accuratione, aut
denique
fide
bona
judicium ferre debeam, and therefore was in the best v^^ay,
with their help to perceive the indications of the truth. I
Religionsgesch. der altesten Volker, besonders
S. 122. §
Vol.
I. 1. p.
12.
21
-^
der Aegypter,
,
242
APPENDIX. Egyptian
entirely unacquainted with
proceeds further
:
The
Manet h o,
the books of
Manetho
this therefore
R o se
on the supposition that
1
1
well
is
founded only
n i's prejudice in favor of
i
Until further proofs are adduced,
is just.
perfectly satisfied that that
part
But when he
affairs.
cannot therefore be taken from
list
which
is
we
are
an argument against the
also against the whole, since every trace of a later in-
is
terpolation of this part, while the whole existed without
it, is
wanting.
Manetho
In the notices of
2.
in J
o
e p h u s*
s
said of the
it is
since he found in the Saitic
upon the Hycsos preserved king of the Hycsos
first
nome
a
"But
:
very convenient city, which
This geo-
lay on the east side of the Bubastic channel," etc.
graphical designation involves an evident contradiction. city could not
be situated
at the
same time
For the
and east of the Bubastic arm of the Nile.
nome
Saitic
lay in the western part of the Delta, the Bubastic chan-
on the other hand,
nel
A
nome
in the Saitic
of
eastern difficulty
is
the
same with the Pelusiac, the most
Lakemacherf
all.
wishes
for
*
:
in
in the Saitic
order
to
avoid
nome,' to read
:
'
this
in the
So E d. B e r n h a r d. This is very well shown that Manetho was a native Egyp-
Sethroitic nome.' if
it is
tian
only
who
first
Ptolemy Philadelphus.
lived in the time of
meantime, however, we intend to make use of
show
to
In the
argument
the opposite.
Others suppose that by Sais in the
this
west but another
Tanis, from which
is
nome known commonly called
not meant the
much more
Herodotus
easterly,
borrowed
his designation
of Saitic arm of the Nile, while his other accounts have reference to the western Sais.J * Contr. Ap. QoruTTjv,
I.
xfiiiiivjjv
14
:
^h
f
obs. Phil.
G. :vr..
Mannert.
alt.
Geog.
H e r o d-
Evgoiv 8s iv vo/am tw SnCTrj noXiv iniytainqoq aronoXi]v tov Bov^aailtov noTa^iov
X. T. A.
X
But the passage of
10.
1. p.
562.
MANETHO. o t u s* spoken granted
called in
is
of,
tiiat it is
admitted,
which some
M an e
can be of no service to
h
t
in the
words
:
S t r a b of seems to have " the Tanitic arm of the Nile,
call the Saitic,"
most improbable.
is
this
renaming of the
arm of nome on the East. But the Saitic, the
on
this side
over
as
bounds the Saitic Tanis had been called Sais, a
the Nile which if
The Egyptian
nome.
mis-
more probable, he designates
Bubastic channel could not
city over the
Saitic
is
called
is
Herodotus made a
Either
take in writing, or what
He-
by 'some' probably means
But the attempt to explain
Tanitic arm of the Nile by supposing that Tanis Sais,
It is
o.
arm of the Nile
very probable that the Tanitic
the Saitic as even
it
who
rodotus.
243
in the
lie
Tanitio-
nonies were small, and one being
of the Bubastic Nile-arm, could the less extend
since the land on the two sides of this channel was
it,
was not considered as bethe names of the nomes in the region without the Pelusiac arm of the Nile.§ Let any one judge whether so great ignorance of the geogcarefully divided, and that
beyond
longing to Egypt proper. I
it
Besides
we knoAv
raphy of his native land can be accounted
noble
for in a
Egyptian of the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus. 3.
In the account concerning the Hycsos
whole nation were called Hycsos,
Hyc
signifies in the
where ^
:j:
is
else
B. 2
the
Champollion 11
common
said:
"But their
t
Cellarius. 2. p.
For
and from
dialect, ||
There
Not.
s. 1.
Phar.
is
no
a sacred
any trace found of the co-existence of
c. 17.
Compare
it is
shepherd-kings.
word Hycsos compounded."
Compare CliampoUion, L'Eg.
§
e.
sacred tongue, a king, but Sos means
shepherd, and shepherds in the these two
i.
B. 17. p. 802.
2. p.
269.
Orbis Ant. ed. Schwarz
II.
p.
709.
277 seq.
^Ey.cdHio ds to irvfinav uvtmv sd^vog vy.(T(xk, romo ds iaxi. noijxBveg. To yaq vh na^ hquv ylMaaav ^acrilm atj^ui-
^aailus ysi,
TO ^5 acag 7ioiui]v iaxi, xal
7T0i,f.iivsg
xul oiTco avpTiS^sfxspov ylvsTai macag.
naia
t)]v y.oivijv
diaXmiov
J
t
APPENDIX.
244
common
and
in his great
dinlect in Egypt, as
is
ignorance of Egyptian
common
difference between sacred and
La
Mane
justify
t r
t
o n n e in
writing, the difference
a
mpo
1 1
i
The
o n'
s
unfortunate
"Precis"* to
h o for this distinction between the sacred and
common language shows in favor of
Ch
author
puts in the place of a
between the sacred and common language. attempt of
The
here implied. affairs
Manetho
only to what violence the prejudice
leads.
If
we look
critically at this one
circumstance, the gross ignorance of the author which
is
re-
vealed in this expression in regard to the Egyptian language,
we
shall
have sufficient ground
Moreover
prejudice.
for freeing ourselves
author's knowledge of Egyptian language
Hyc which
the fact that
mean
arises
—
is
to
also,
the
from
according to one declaration must
king, and according to another captive
ference
from this
some suspicion with regard
— no
slight dif-
found elsewhere neither in the one or the other
signification. 4.
Manetho refers
to certain
columns
cred dialect,
his notices as to their original source,
in the Seriadic land,
and with sacred
letters
engraved
in the sa-
by Thoth, the
first
Hermes, whose contents were translated before the deluge from the sacred dialect into the Greek language, and written upon papyrus, were deposited by Agathodamon the son of the second Hermes, the father of That, in the sanctuaries of the temples of
Egypt.
* p. 407. t
" In linguae Copticae monumentis omnibus," says Jablonski Von.
Aeg., Opusc
1. p. 357, concerning Hyc in the sense of king, "quae ad manus nostras pervenere, vocis istius vestigia nulla occurrunt." The same autlior remarks that the meaning captive is just as little capable
of proof,
Kx
p.
362.
xbiv (V
tfi 2Sr]oia8i-Afi yj] xsifjsvMV CTrjXwv IfQa Xixro) y.al UQoyQdcpiy.nlg yQu^if.ia(TL )tf/({^»xT7]Qi(Tjiiivbn'
\
cpi](iL
dia~
vno 0a>&
70V TTQMTOv 'JCo/.iov, xtu iQfj.r)vfvf^eiab)v jLifTu Tov y.niaxXvafiov ea Tf/5 hqug di(dsxrov di; r7jv 'Mh]vlda (fojrlp' ygn^fntatv isfJoyXvq)ixoiSf xul unoii^ivKtiv iv ^ijSkoig vno TOv^Ayn&odalfiOPog, vlov
MANETHO.
The prominent
245
doubt which arises here
how an Egyp-
is,
rank of the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus could believe that even in the most remote antiquity, there could
tian of high
own
be any necessity of Greek translations in his
were deposited
that these translations
Zoega
temples.
endeavors to avoid
much endangers
sees very
a change of the text.
have written instead of: "
common
which he
M an e
t
h
Manetho
to him,
o,
by
must
in the
Zoega
had he written as
for
and
Greek language," '* in the But the change is of little advantage to
dialect."*
Manetho,
this doubt,
the reputation of
According
land,
the archives of the
in
supposes he did,
he would here again merit the reproach of making a distinction between the sacred
which he indeed change proposed lowed only
why should
mon one fied
how
is
common
and
an unwarranted one
?
It
AW
which
such attempts also that of
without argument preface
the
all
knowledge of Greek.
Manetho
of
things merely, but
had been taken
at
if,
S
belongs, yn ce
as spurious,)
1 1
of
who u
s
This
M a n e-
sets
down
copies from
would have been
had been directed not to particular
on the other hand,
all
which
is
related
once into view.
toil dsvTSQOv "EQfiov, nuTog ds zov Tax Iv roig advTOig Alyvmov. Syncelli Chronographia, p. 40. ed. Gear.
ed.
com-
Greek form divine
its
for the vindication
H e y n et
of that which
spared, if the attention
is al-
Finally,
should evidently have been speci-
the author obtained his
o, (to
such a one
;
the translation from the sacred dialect into the
be mentioned
authority.
h
Further, the
of established reputation.
in a writer
writer even claims for the writing in
t
an error
dialect,
another place.
into in
fell
tSiv t.
hqav
1. p.
72.
Bonn.
He
*
says,
De
Obeliscis, p. .S6
:
Scripsisse
Manethonem ng
Ti]v yoiv}]v cpMvr]v v, tig TVfV xoiv')]v
diuAsHTOv quovis certarem pig-
nore
r;
T
:
at Graecis compilatoribus
In der Gott.
Comm. 21*
Vol. V. Hist.
xoivrj cpcavi} erat p.
103.
7]
ekXijvig.
246
A
APPENDIX. second suspicion arises from the mentioning of columns
A
in the Seriadic land.
cannot be mistaken
is
Jewish fable of a similarity which
furnished by J o
s e
p h u s.* Traditions
of certain Egyptian columns are found even period, but in the form in
This
of Jewish origin.
is
information
is
which is
it is
found in
clear, since in
it
in
all
M anetho,
Egyptian tradition knows nothing
On
make
it
it
uncon-
is
wretch-
heathenish notices in
use of these
confirmation or deprecation of the Mosaic history.
made use of some one account of the deluge
they are
writers should be
flood,
generally
at all, as
heathen antiquity no single reference to
to
account
But of the
nected with Jewish influence appears, so that edly uncritical
it
as in Josephus,
given in reference to the flood.
of the impending flood they were erected. original
at a very early
Before
in
heathen
referred to of an earlier date than
that of
this composition.
Now
granted that a possibility remains, even
it is
low that
this tradition is of
writer as early as the time of Ptol. Philadelphus
himself of
this,
but
it is
if
we
al-
Jewish origin, that an Egyptian could avail
not probable; for the whole Jewish
system of tradition of this kind appears to belong specially to a later time.
That
the Seriadic land
attempts to discover
all
do not wish
to lay
it
is
Utopian
shown by
is
have been vain
any great
stress.
;
f but
It serves,
the fact that
upon
however,
this
we
for the
counteraction of the current prepossession in favor of the true historical character of
not
make
it
as the reign
* Arch.
via
xat, ii]v
d
it
does
the Hycsos-city Avaris
is
2. §3: Oi ccno Zijd^ov aocpiav ii]v nsQi t« ovquTOvtMv dumoa^riaiv ijTtvorjffocv vtisq ds lov fj,}] di()iq)V'
la
Compare Zoega,
tvQijfAEva, TXQoeiQTjxoiog afpaviiJ^ov^ d8a(.iov
aT)]Xag
iii{t(tv ex
fiivsi d' ii/Qi t
work, but
1. c.
XbiV oLiav taKxO^ai 7i}v
So
of Philadelphus.
ynv xovq (xvO Qiimovq &0V,
Manetho's
entirely impossible that the author lived as early
dm
noLi]aufxsvoi, ii]v juiv in nllf-
Xli>o)P, «/
Tov
ddgo naza
p. 30.
fpt/Qaipav la svgr}fiiva
^/jv liiv
^iQiuda.
MANETHO. just as vainly sought as the Seriadic
following the example of L a
Heroopolis
ris is
of what
M ane
t
Champollion*
Land. r,
seeks to show that Ava-
but he does this merely by a comparison
;
h o says of the position of Avaris, with the
No
situation of Heroopolis. tian city Avaris
c h e
r
247
other writer mentions an Egyp-
and that the author had need to fear the
;
control of geographers he himself betrays, since he takes re-
fuge in a region not very accessible to them, and hints that the
name Avaris
belongs not to
common
language, but bears
a higher character, has a mystical significance. "t 5.
The
relates
striking coincidence
of that which
Ma net ho
concerning the Jews, with the declarations of such
C harem on, Lysimachus, Apion, and Apollonius Molo, who all of them lived under the Rowriters as
man
dominion, render
it
improbable that he wrote as early as
the age of Philadelphus.
pared with each other,
it
If the parallel narratives are will
be found improbable
if
com-
not di-
some centuries should elapse between and the more so as the traces of Egypto-Greek persecution against Jews upon which these rectly impossible that
the times of their composition
;
accounts are founded, cannot be referred to in the period of the Ptolemies, and especially of the
more ancient Ptolemies.
This persecution, on the contrary, meets us of the Romans.
For the
third
first in
the time
book of the Maccabees
dently belongs to this latter period, and transfers
its
Moreover
stances to the time of the Ptolemies.J
evi-
circumthis per-
*
Eg.s.l. Phar.
t
In one passage, naXovfitvtjv and rivog a^xaiag &6oloyiag ^vaqtv.
2. p.
In a second, ton di
?}
87seq.
noXh nard
xtjv d'£oXoyiav avojd'£Vj Tvcpojviog.
Dahne, (Darstellung der Jiidisch-Alex. Religionsphil. I. S. 25,) it is allowed, supposes that the most important facts of the narrative must be considered as worthy of confidence but the opposite was long ago proved and besides, it is perfectly clear to every one who reads the book, and has sufficient knowledge of tiie world not to start with the presumption that everything which claims to be history, must X
;
;
t
least
have a
historical basis.
248
APPENDIX.
secution against the Jews, in the time of the earlier Ptole-
mies,
is
not only not demonstrable from history, but
scarcely have existence in
P
it.
numerous passages, persecution, was Alexandria show,
h
o and
i 1
that
;
could
both
head-quarters of this
that the
in
it
Josephus
grew out of the jealousy
it
which the Egyptian inhabitants of that place cherished against and that the Egyptians drew the those of Jewish origin ;
Greeks and Romans
Now
into a partnership of their aversion.*
the circumstances which called forth the persecution in
Alexandria, did not exist there
The
at all
under the
Upon
Ptolemies.
and Ptolemy Lagus be-
both Alexander
the latter,
stowed great favors, and administered justice
Not
with the Greeks.f
jected to great degradation
;
and were, as, for
;
to
them equally
come
did the Egyptians
until later,
among them by degrees
in
first
inhabitants consisted originally only of Greeks and Jews.
as intruders,
sub-
example, they were pun-
ished for crime in a far more severe manner than the Greeks
and the Jews who were on the same footing with the Greeks.f
The
position of these Egyptian inhabitants of Alexandria
that many entirely abjured their Egyptian origin. Thus Josephus§ relates of Apion, that he was born in an
were so low,
oasis of
Egypt
ashamed of
but,
;
Egyptian origin, he
his
The most
pretended to be an Alexandrian.
important pas-
sage concerning this whole matter, and that which best serves * In proof of this, see Pliilo in
tione ad
may t
§
Cajnm,
p.
Flaccum,
p. 969, 71, 76,
De Lega-
1615, 16, and Josephus contr. Apion, B.
2. c. 3,
be compared.
Josephus contr. Ap.
Compare
Pliilo
2. 4.
in
dia(pOQ«l diuavAoi^iivai naza
fxdlovTwv a^icoixuxa aftfi^e^rjKE,
Arch. B. 12
Flaccum, ti]v
1.
976 Tojv juaatlyojv elal noliv HQog tu iwv Tvmsa&aL p.
:
zoig fih yaQ Al/vnilovg kiSQaig alxl^ea^at xal n()og eti^oiv, tovg de'AXE^uvdgsocg anu&aig xal vno '
a d-rjcpoQ 0)1' 'Ah^updQtMv. Among those called Alexandrians, the Jevv.s belonir, according to hitn. They were beaten with the ihv&£()i(t}ii^(xig and noXnixMTSoaig fiuan^iv. (T 71
§
Contr. Ap.
2. 3.
MANETHO. of our hypothesis, namely, that
for the confirmation
later times the causes
were
Mane
t
first
which called
in operation
such representations as those of and
249
h
o, is
found
in
forth
J o-
in
s
e p h u
t
ho, as a native Egyptian of high rank, wrote under Ptolemy
s,
is
extant only in Latin.*
These objections Philadelplius, and
lie
Mane-
against the hypothesis that
show
who
that he or the individual
appro-
priated his name, (which was perhaps an honored one,) be-
longed
In favor of the correctness of
to a far later period.
we have
the commonly-received opinion,
own
this purpose,
same
is
inconceivable,
individual
emy
only the author's
But how such authority can be allowed
testimony.
who claims
to
when
it is
have lived
for
considered, that the in the
time of Ptol-
Philadelphus, and professes to be an Egyptian high-
priest, at the
same time assures us
that his original sources
of information are those fabulous columns, and his secondary
source the contents of a Greek translation
made even
the flood and laid up in the archives of the temple.
any confidence be placed
in the
word of
a
before
How can
man who
is
con-
victed of such palpable falsehoods in so important a matter
?
The *
suspicion of deception increases
Contr. Ap. 2. 6.
"
Any
one
who
when we
searches," he says,
recollect '•'
will find
Apion were the authors of sedition in Alexandria." Donee enim Graeci fuere et Macedones hanc civitalem tenentes, nullam seditionem adversus nos gessere, sed antiquis cessere Cum vero multitudo Aegyptiorum crevisset inter eos, solennitatibus. propter confusiones temporum, etiam hoc opus semper est additum. Nostrum vero genus permansit purum. Ipsi igitur raolestiae hujus fuere principium, nequaquam populo Macedonicam habente constantiam, neque prudentiam Graecam, sed cunctis scilicet utentibus malis moribus Aegyptiorum et antiquis inimicitias adversum nos exercentithat such citizens as
—
bus.
munt.
E
diverso
namque factum
Nam cum
est,
quod nobis improperare praesu-
plurimi eorurn non opportune jus ejus civitatis ob-
tineant, peregrinos vocant eos, qui hoc privilegium ad trasse noscuntur.
Nam
civitatis fuisse largitus
omnes impe-
Aegyptiis neque regum quisquam videtur jus
neque nunc quilibet imperatorum.
APPENDIX.
250 that
we
strictly
have not to do with a writer of history, but
with one of that class least of literary deception has
among whom With commonly over-
to be trusted,
all
always been the order of the day.
an almost natural confusion
it
now
is
very
Manetho's work
looked, although perfectly clear, that
has
was not his main obhim as a foundation serves rather but this history, ject to give According to his own declaration for his peculiar structure. in his letter to Ptolemy Philadelphus, his writings comprise not properly a historical design
that
;
it
the answer to the question put to him by Ptolemy, (I will leave
for others to
it
inquire whether this question
ac-
in
is
cordance with the manner of thinking of a king,) upon the
come
things which shall
Tw
pillars
mentioned by J o
tho
jmv
to pass in the world, nsgl
xocTfAO)
are a copy,
(asX-
on those
yl/veff&ai, as also the inscriptions
kovTdDv
M
a n es e p h u s, of which those of were not of a historical but theological
character; they were said to preserve the hidden wisdom of the fathers for their posterity.
Mane
t
Whence, we simply remark,
h o took that which was of subordinate importance
to him, his history,
we have
not so
much
he has not himself even referred back
and admirers
as his friends erately,
— since
assert,
Josephus,
as his declaration
to the
though they do
setting
;
temple archives inconsid-
it
them the example of
transferring that which belongs to prediction to history, fur-
nishes then no confirmation in this error.
done
this,
it
would not contribute
his credibility,
how
at
all
If
M
to the
a n e
t
h o had
advantage of
but would rather be a detriment to
it.
For
could the assertion that he drew from the archives, ac-
cording to the miserable and current manner, so
honor of our
critical age,
be isolated
little
how could
;
it
rated from the absurdities with which this assertion closely united
thinks
it
?
How
inappropriate this
necessary to defend
Mane
t
is,
to the
be sepais
so
Zoegafelt; he
h o against the opinion,
that he aflirms that he received his historical facts from the
same source from which
his
prophecies are derived.
He
could,
MANETHO.
251
Z o e g a supposes, have very probably received his history from This we willingly grant
other fountains.*
but must yet re-
;
mark, that we could not expect that great care and conscientiousness would be exercised in the choice and use of his historical sources
by one who,
in the specification of those
from which his prophecies are taken, so plainly shows himself
and one who, since
a vain boaster,
to retail prophecies,
is
is
his object,
'
ex professo,'
a boaster by profession.
Further, the suspicion of deception
is
also
intimated in
same Ptolemy Philadelphus at whose suggestion the book is said to be composed precisely the one among all princes to whom it would first occur to an impostor to that
it
is
this
;
dedicate his work.
The
passages of ancient authors which
show, that the exertions of Ptolemy Philadelphus with regard to learning,
and especially
in reference to the increase of the
much praised, are found The many unautheuti-
Alexandrian Library, were very collected in
Hod yt
and Stahr.|
cated stories which are fastened upon the fact that Ptolemy
Philadelphus took a strong interest in learning, go so
he
at last
was even made out
has by degrees become expressly
to be a
an author. §
far that
Ptolemy
mythic personage.
Let not the striking analogy, which, as soon as we recognize in the claims of
Manetho
mere pretension, we have
in the writings of the Pseudo-Aristeas,
be overlooked.
As
Manetho professes to be a high-priest of the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus, so
absurd than to in criticism, to
Aristeas
claims to be a noble officer at
There is certainly nothing more attempt, in the manner of a base Juste milieu obtain from the work of Aristeas also a
the court of the
same
king.
" Etiam ad hoc atteiK^endum," he says, " quod ipse ex Hermeti-
*
cis stelis rias,
futurorum coguitiouem se hausisse
scribit,
non regum
quas ex ahis monumentis congerere potuit.
t
De Biblicorum Textibus
t
Aristotelia,
Th.
2. S.
61
originalibus. ff.
§
Stahr, S. 63.
histo-
:
252
APPENDIX.
share of historical truth
poses that
A
r
e a
s t
i
two learned men
is
only proper course
as,
;
for
example,
P
a
r
t
h e y* sup-
statement in regard to the seventy-
s'
be reduced to a half or a fourth
to
on the other hand, to seek
is,
the last thread of the tissue of
The
!
to destroy
and acknowledge that the
lies,
circumstance, that the translation of the Books of Moses
was made
command
obedience to the
in
of Ptolemy Philadel-
phus, cannot be considered as even furnishing a historical basis
for
the
The whole
fiction.
Alexandrian translation
is
reference in which the
placed
the Egyptian
to
king,
belongs to the vanity of the Jews, which has called forth so
many
The
similar fictions.
choice of Philadelphus in pre-
name
ference to others was caused by the fact that the
king had become classical
for
and the Alexandrian translation the wants of the *'
As Ptolemy
Jews
at
of this
the time in this department, the simple product of
is
What P
Alexandria.
a r
t
h e yt says
Philadelphus, influenced by his curiosity in re-
ference to historical subjects in general,
two interpreters
for
summoned
seventy-
the translation of the Jewish religious
books, so he caused the ancient Egyptian chronicles to be translated by the learned high-priest and temple-scribe,
M a-
netho, from
true,
the hieroglyphic writing into Greek,"
is
but in an entirely different sense from that of the author,
namely, in that he did the one as
M ane
t
h o and
Aristeas
fratrum,' for similar reasons
had recourse
If any doubt yet remains in
so confirmed in
gives of himself,
may
name of
tica,
it
as
falsehood as
also another
and that the author of
this
work
Das Alexandrinische Museum,
t
He
;
but
par nobile
testi-
Manetho
we have under
work, the Apotelesma-
also,
tion of his sources of information agreesj *
'
to him.
yet be considered, that
Manetho
the other
regard to rejecting the
mony which one the
little
in every respect a
who
in the declara-
so accurately with
Berlin 1838, S. 58.
t
Page 165.
asserts in B. 5. v. 1, y, that he has derivpcl his information i^
ufivTOjv I'eQoJv ^i'(i?MV^
y.at
y.QrffunDV ottjIojv^
rig
7]v(jaT0 TrdvaocfO? EQfMijq.
THE HYCSOS OF MANETHO.
253
his book to Ptolemy Philadelphus, and makes mention of his wife Arsinoe, but this statement of
our author, dedicates
sources
.his
now
is
ahnost unanimously declared to be
and indeed on much more
we have in the
The
trivial
false,
grounds than those on which
relied in the rejection of his testimony for himself,
work under
discussion. "*
testimony of other writers which substantiates
h o's account of himself
not in existence.
M a n e-
There
is no mention made of him by any writer who preceded the time of the Roman dominion. It is of little consequence, that one t
is
so credulous and uncritical, and so entirely governed by interest as
osep hu
J
and who even transfers! writers
s,
evi-
dently Jewish to the gentiles, gives credit to his testimony of himself, and does not even express a suspicion of forgery. It is
only necessary that the object of the quotations which
Josephus Greek
gives
M ane
from
t
h o be
taken into view.
writers have called in question the antiquity of the
Josephus
Jewish nation.
wishes to confute their
testi-
mony from the Egyptians and Phoenicians, nations who are much more worthy of confidence in historical matters than It is plain that it was for the interest of Josethe Greeks. ph u s to magnify the trustworthiness of M a n e t h o. But
special importance
is
attached to the contents of the
work, which are said to perfectly substantiate the claim which the author praise of
makes
its
honorable origin of the work.
In
excellence, those especially are exhausted
who
for the
have employed themselves
in
modern times
in the restoration
of the Egyptian chronology and history from her native mon-
uments. *
But
it
appears to us, that these commendations arise
So according
to Zoega, p. 255, the author of the Apotelesmatica is Aegyptius, Manethonis nomen sat impudenter mentituf," and forsooth because he " omnia ea, quae ad funerum curam
a "
man minime
pertinent Aegyptiis patrio ritu sanctissime
Compare t
See,
also Meiners, e. g.
1.
Contr, Ap.
c. S. 1. 23.
22
122
ff.
obeunda, adspernatur."
APPENDIX,
254 from the thing
far less
itself,
than from the certainly very
natural and pardonable desire, in so doubtful an undertaking, to have at least
w^ork on
some one
firm hold, a
which individual
test for the
facts, as
more certain frame-
they appear, can rest, a
correctness of things which are of doubtful ac-
ceptance. Nevertheless, this favor, shown to
Mane
general
leave
ticulars,
in
assertions,
order to
t
h
o, rests
if
we here
and direct our attention
to par-
But
only on the king's names which are found.
see
how
these
far
encomiums have
received confirmation from the latest discoveries,
will
it
be
perceived that they are not so important as might properly
have been expected
after
such eulogies, even
if
we
receive
the data without question, from those who, with regard to
them, are somewhat exposed to suspicion, since they
start
with the necessity of admitting an agreement between
M a-
n e t h o and the monuments.
Manetho gods.
It is
begins with the rule of the gods and demi-
evident of
no confirmation.
itself,
But
that the
monuments here
such a beginning
after
it
is
furnish
improba-
the stage, will
he brings change forthwith
romance
historian.
ble from the nature of the case, that he, as soon as
the
first
human kings upon
from a writer of
fiction or
our very well grounded suspicion
is
to
a
nation to be confirmed in a remarkable manner.
zealous friends of this
whole
first
Manetho
fifteen
them
in confutation
done as
names
to the
little
monuments
did,
who from
furnish
for al-
can be adduced from
of the assumption, that
Syncellus*
The most
must acknowledge, that
dynasties, the
most entirely nothing, and that
Thus
found on closer exami-
his
Manetho
own
has
invention gave
kings of the twentieth dynasty, which were
M an et ho.
W
il k i n sont says: whether any dependence can be placed on the names and number of the
omitted by
kings of those dynasties *
FageOl.
is
a matter of great doubt.
i
Vol.
I.
p. 18.
The
:
THE HYCSOS OF MANETHO. monuments indeed
furnish
no assistance
255 this portion of
in
early history, except perhaps in so far as the later dynasties of
Manet ho
names
in
the
are similar to those on the
monuments. Ro sell in i* says: "Shall the whole epoch which precedes the so called sixteenth dynasty be considered venture neither to affirm or deny
fabulous?
I
author then
summons
some confirmation of
What
period.
Mane
he adduces
t
h o from the
is
as
follows:
This
it."
everything in order to furnish
at least
monuments of this The name of the
man who, according to Manet ho, heads the succession of human rulers is found on the walls of the Ramesseion, in the representation of a religious train in which the statues of the
predecessor of the king are carried in procession by the
Rose
priests.
Mane
of
t
1 i
1
n
i
thinks he has discovered the Suphis
h o, the Cheops of
Herodotus,
Suten Oveb Sciuso, which he translates: propheta Sciuso.t
n
1 i
i
in
tomb
a
in
His inscription, according to this author, reads
the pyramids.
Likewise
in the
affirms that he has found the
said to be the second Suphis of
or Sensaophis of
sellini must
il
paro sacerdote o
tombs of Geezeh,
M
Rose
1-
name Sensciuf This is an etho, the Sensuphis
Eratosthenes, which
according to
signify the brother of Suphis.
R o-
Besides also
there are three other king's names, but those which corres-
pond are not found
in
the
lists
of
Manet ho.| The
connected names of three kings then
ments
all
that the
dis-
monu-
in this period furnish for the confirmation of the lists
Mane
of
is
t
h
o, or
rather
all
they seem to furnish.
It is true,
* Vol. I. 1. p. 111.
Compare II. 1. p. 36. III. 1. p. 2 seq. The t Ros. p. 126 seq. same name written Koufou has more recently been discovered upon Compare Lepsius in the stones of the great pyramid at Memphis. the " Eclaircissemens sur le cercuil du roi Mycerinus traduits de r Anglais et accompagnes de notes par Lenormant, Paris 1839, p.
44 seq. ;
Ros. Vol.
1. 1.
p. 132.
APPENDIX.
256
RoseUini
affirms that
number of other names of
he has discovered a considerable kings, which he from
conjecture places in the fifteenth dynasty
M anetho,
have no relationship to those of
uncertain
but their
;
names
and these sup-
posed facts can therefore furnish no verification of his list.* o s e 1 n it seeks to avert from his favorite the hazardous
R
1
i
consequences which result from ments,
silence of the
this
monu-
— the "great void beyond the sixteenth dynasty, where
only a few and disconnected fragments of earlier cultivation
and civilization appear
as little oases in the desert,"
hypothesis that the Hycsos have destroyed
ments
all
—by the
earlier
monu-
Consequently the Hycsos alone must have accom-
!
plished what a whole succession of conquerors for thousands
of years together have not been able to do, to say nothing of the absurdity of the attempt to support another fable by
These Hycsos must always be such
that of the Hycsos.
as
answer the purposes of Rosellini, a diligent scholar,
to
and
his
in
who
has,
own province historical
in
highly worthy of respect, but one too
criticism,
little
discrimination.
In their pretended second irruption having become civilized, they must have
left
untouched
all
the
monuments which were
erected by the monarchs of the eighteenth dynasty after their first
expulsion
!
The Tablet
Mane
of
t
h o in the
dynasties of
dynasties.
first fifteen
M anetho
The
first
eleven
comprised 192 kings, the thirteenth
In the Tablet of Abydos, on the contrary, the
alone sixty. *
f
of Abydos also appears against the credibility
Since the appearance of Rosellini 's work, the
name Menkare
supposed to have been deciphered upon a coffin discovered third p3'iamid of
cheres,
who
Memphis, and
it
said to be the
is
according to Manetho was
tlie
same
as the
is
in the
Mcn-
fourth king of the fourth
Memphitic dynasty, and the Mycerinus of Herodotus, who accordmg to him built this same pyramid. Compare the work of Lenormant, above referred t
I. 1.
to, p. 11 spq.
p. 119.
II. 1. p. 75.
t
Ros.
M.S.
320.
THE HYCSOS OF MANETHO.
257
succession of kings which forms the eighteenth dynasty begins with
number
Rosellini
forty-one.
He
ready means of escape.
merely to the Theban kings.
from
But
M anetho.
his regard to
has here also a
supposes that the Tablet refers this
The
is
assumed merely
succession of his pre-
decessors in authority over Egypt appears on this at the request
Finally, if
monument
of Remeses the Third.
we consider
Mane
in the first fifteen dynasties,
t
h o as worthy of confidence
we assume
for the
Egyptian king-
dom, a duration which is opposed to the probability, the analogy and the chronology of the Pentateuch, which, judge aof it as we will, is yet even more worthy of faith than a a n e t h o, it is 4750 years from n e t h o. According to
M
M
Menes
until
the Persian invasion, without
fourteenth dynasty.*
The
contemporaneous, by which
example of
E usebius,
reckoning the
hypothesis, that the dynasties are it
was formerly sought
to reconcile
Mane
t
after the
h o with the
Mosaic chronology, may now, since the researches of P
Rose
and especially of obsolete,
although
1 1 i
it is still
n
i,t
1
a
t
h,
be considered as entirely
asserted with a tone of so
confidence in historical writings, which are very
much
much read.
The
sacred writings recognize everywhere only one king
over
all
r
u s and
Egypt.
Just so, not only
M ane
t
Herodotus, Diodo-
h o himself, but also, what
is
of more
importance, the monuments, which indeed by their magnitude and splendor are witnesses against an origin from the petty kings of small title
:
territories.
They
bear upon them the
Kings of the world, Lords of Upper and Lower Egypt.
The names Egypt,
of the Pharaohs appear dispersed over
all
of
etc.
verdict is more names here have But if we dereceived confirmation from the monuments. It is true, that in the later dynasties, the
favorable to
*
Wilk. Vol.
M anetho. L
p. ]8.
Several of his
t
22*
J. 1. p.
98 seq.
APPENDIX.
•258
scend to particular cases,
much
very
it
appears that here also there
is
wanting to a complete harmony between him and
monuments, even according to the statements of his friends, whom we must follow in that which respects the monuments. How great the differences are, is shown by the the
M ane
comparison of the statements of
t
h o and the data
obtained from the monuments, in reference to the eighteenth
Manet ho
dynasty, in
Rosellini.*
made out of
the one Usirei or
to
•cheres;
I,
the two
Aken-
Armais, Armes or Armesses, corresponding
to
the inscriptions, he allows only four years,
Remeses of
the
has, for example,
Menephtha
whilst the fourteenth year of his reign
M
represented on the
is
Remeses a n e t according to him Rammeses, a reign of one year and four months, while on the monuments his sixty-second year monuments.t
h o ascribes to
the Great
(III),
If Sesostris
appears.
is really,
as
Champollion, Rosel-
lini and others suppose, identical with
Manetho, who
the error of
the twelfth dynasty,
is
this
Remeses
III,
places Sesostris as early as
The monuments
palpable.
furnish
no additional evidence for the whole account of Armais= Danaus of Manetho, and it is characteristic of Rosellini'swantof skill in criticism, that he receives this account without argument, as true and original, and only examines it is
it
to designate the time of
its
occurrence,! although
perfectly clear, that this tradition
is
as far
from being
an original Egyptian one, as that concerning Polybius and Proteus, with regard to which, however, even
patience that
all
in the
him, and
forsakes
the accounts concerning
words of
With how
Home
t
I. 1.
Comp.
lists
p. 286.
r. 2.
S.
1
them have had
their oriorin
r.
confidence one can rely even in those later
little
times upon king's
* Vol.
Rosellini's
he cannot avoid declaring,^
of
Manetho, t
scq.
§
Vol.
such declarations as
I. 1.
p.
1.2. p. 27.
255.
THE HYCSOS OP MANETHO. these
show
Sethus was also called Egyptus, and from him
:
Egypt received
name, an assertion which has a worthy
this
counterpart in that of cessors of Proteus
D
odo
i
r
u
s
One of the immediate suc-
:
was Nilus, from
before called Egyptus, took the
whom
name
the kings of the twentieth dynasty
M an e
t
h
a
o,
plained, as
259
the river which was
The names
Nilus.
are entirely omitted
of
by
circumstance which can by no means be ex-
Rose
1
1
n
i
i*
has attempted to do, by supposing
that these kings had accomplished nothing worthy of consideration, but by the
fact
that,
even
for
time, his
this later
sources of information were defective.
But the
that
which has been furnished from investigations upon
monuments which
is
really in favor of
not indeed compel us to place time, or to ascribe to
him
Mane
t
h
o,
does
in a proportionally early
him circumstances by which he was Even
specially favored in the use of sources of information. if
he wrote
in the
beginning of the period of the
Roman
dominion, he could out of the designations of Egyptian kings which were in circulation, easily obtain a certain number of the actual names of kings to which his whole real stock is finally
The
reduced.
question whether
Manetho
was an Egyptian or
a
Greek can scarcely be answered. The Egyptian and Antijewish interest which he exhibited is not sufficient to prove his Egyptian origin. For many Greek writers appropriated to themselves
example,
Egyptian sympathies and antipathies;
Apollonius Molo
was
a Greek. t
as,
ignorance of Egyptian religion, language and geography *I. t
for
Manetho' s is
2. p. 34.
Josephus,
c.
Apion
,
ijQ^avTO filv Aiyvitxiov
says expressly '
itaQarqinsiv iiisybiqrioav
^ovX6/.i6vot T7]v
tojv §t tig ij/uag ^XaaqvifiKLV
:
6^ fusi'voig
aktjd'iiav
.
riveg
yaQiiSO'd'aij
Similar descriptions are
found in other places, Menander e, g. was a Greek from Ephesup, and yet he wrote Phoenician history with the spirit and interest of a Phoenician.
;
260
APPENDIX.
just as little decisive
was
who had
entirely
There
against his Egyptian descent.
in later times a multitude of subjects
abandoned
among
this people
their nationality, with the excep-
tion only of their national arrogance and their antipathies as for example,
Apion was an individual of such character, since
he despised the Jews on account of circumcision and because they ate no swine's flesh, without thinking that this reproach
could properly be
made
who thus together Now, from one of
with the Jews contemned his
only by a Greek, not by an Egyptian
own
these classes of subjects must
nation.*
Manet ho
Yet he hardly lived in Egypt. Several of him are of such a kind that they could scarcely have been made even by a Greek who lived in that
also have been.
the errors attributed to
country.
2.
The Hycsos
of Manetho.
In scarcely any enquiry has criticism taken so decided a retrogressive
movement
Manetho.
of
niu
s
though
The
as long ago it is
as in that
subject
concerning the Hycsos
was considered by P
e
r
i
z o-
as his time, at a right point of view, al-
acknowledged that he was wrong
in a not
portant particular, which will soon be pointed out.
author denied that the history of the Hycsos had
its
unim-
This
founda-
Egypt, and he explained it as a transformawhich the books of Moses relate of Joseph and
tion originally in
tion of that
the exodus of Israelites, undertaken with a design to favor the
Egyptians and injure the Jews.t * Jos. c. t
The
Ap.
In the footsteps of
Per i-
2. c 13.
result of his impartial
336 seq, of the Orig. Aegypt
:
and thorough enquiry, he gives on page Satis ni fallor liquere videtur, quando
cum hisce comparamus literas, Aegyptios, quia gloriosissimam non modo Josephi, sed ct Mosis et Israelitarum ex Aegypto exeuntium historiam profile ri nolebant, finxisse Axlsam et vilem et doformem Judasacras
THE HYCSOS OF MANETHO.
zonius
Thorlacius
trod
261
in the little treatise:
"
De
Hycsosorum Abari,"* which has been but little known, and which throughout bears the marks of a youthful attempt, but yet
is
written with a spirit of investigation
He brings the
for historical criticism.
and with talent
account of
M
an e t h o connection with the translation of the books of Moses into Greek, f and the consequent diffusion of the knowledge of the ancient crime and disgrace of the
concerning the Hycsos
in
Egyptians, and he considers this account as an attempt to
throw the infamy of these things and devolve it upon the Israelites.!
This view stood
Verum autem
from the Egyptians
so manifest opposition to the position
in
which has been taken icae gentis originem, suis
off
in
ex
modern times concerning
terris,
sed
M a n e-
cum scabie et lepra repetendam.
Israelitarum in Aegypto agentium et inde exeuntium
historiam variis multisqae falsis circumstantiis
contaminasse et
ita
adulterasse, ut agaosci vix posset, et sic ad alios earn
Further
homines tuto
Since Herodotus and Diodorus are entirely silent concerning the Hycsos, videtur sane Manetho historiam eorum retulisse.
suum ad
339
:
arbitrium primus concinasse,
adulteratam, ut id
p.
ita
Aegj'pto gestas
Judaeorum
falsis et fabulosis
antiquitatera et res ab
circumstantiis
eorum majoribus
— penitus obscuraret et extingueret.
*
Copenhagen 1794.
t
Hunc antiquum
t
gentis
p.
16 and 17.
pudorem Graecis saltem, Aegypti tunc
dominis celare volentes auctores Aegyptiaci, narrandi rationes instituerunt, ut famosi istius et
cum
tanta
tantis cladibus conjuncti Israelitarum exitus narrationi
genis
parum
honorificae, haberent
sic
Aegyptiorum ignominia,
quod opponerent.
Mosaicae
indi-
Ideoque falsa
miscendo id unice egerunt, ut funesti eventus culpa omnis et opprobrium ab Aegyptis ad Israelitas transferretur. Hoc consilium Manethoni, Chaeremoni et Lysimacho fuisse res ipsa loquitur, ut ad veris
communem metam quisque viam
sit
pergentes, quod fere mendaces
ingressus.
account of Manetho
is,
anilis
solent,
suam
In the opinion of this author, the
Mosaicae de Israelitarum in Aeg. rebus
narrationis larva et imago, qua affictis subdole commentis, inauditam
Aegyptiorum
in Israelitas crudelitatem, quae in scriptis Mosaicis vivis
quodamodo tegere vel excusare Manetho volebat: hinc saevus Hycsosorum dominatus regesqxie sex in subsidium cusi.
coloribus depingitur,
262
APPENDIX.
tho that it was necessary to abandon it. If for example, we suppose with Rosellini,* that if Manet ho were handed down to us unmutilated, Egyptian affairs even those most uncertain from distance of time, would be as well
known
Greece and Rome;
as those of
if
we
in our blind-
ness go so far with him. relying upon the pretended witness
Manet ho
of
a? to believe that this author
himself,
for
has derived his facts from the authentic documents of historical
science;
that
which even
we place
if
which
t
h o
those
Truly
Rose
t
all
of
h o opposes
soon as the account
applied to the Israelites, as proof that he-
is
could not have reference to them, as with
M ane
naturally consider everything
in opposition to true history, so
is
Mane
of
of the kings of
we must
this opinion ;t then
account of the compiler
to the
in the lists
n
1 1 i
to
i|
who maintain the this view may be
we must go even
reproach the
critical
so far
obtuseness of
Jews and the Hycsos is commonly
identity of the
!
considered as one which
promulgated and believed, and we should not hope the renewal of a favorable hearing,
if
we
Ma net ho,
by the foregoing inquiry concerning
to obtain
did not believe, that
we have
given a powerful blow to the prejudice which has contributed to the rejection of the
view held by
We
us.
make
only
one additional remark, namely, that the current favorable
Mane
opinion in regard to
check through
his
t
h o even then also receives a
account of the Hycsos,
if
any other people
than the Israelites are understood by them.
we can
nation which
call to
everywhere such palpable
and improbabilities,
byJosephus and
Tho
r
1
a c
i
as
it
ftilsehoods, internal contradictions
has already been shown in part
and yet more thoroughly by u
s
—
to
whom we
desire to enter on the discussion
*
Vol.
I.
I
Vol.
1. 1. p.
Applied to any
mind, the account comprises
1. p. 5.
175.
t
must
anew
Perizonius
refer since
—
that
Compare Ros.
it is
I. 1. p.
we have no impossible
2 and
b.
THE HYCSOS OF MANETHO. to consider
of
Mane
t
it
as
coming from
a
good
historian.
263
The
admirers
h o since they are ignorant of these circumstances
which are yet so perfectly evident, can scarcely be acquitted from a species of literary dishonesty occasioned by their blind predilection for him.
We will now collect the reasons sos can be
no other than the
which prove, that the Hyc-
Israelites, that
sources are the foundation of the account this
account, on the contrary,
is
no older native
ofManetho, that
merely a transformation of
the historical facts which have reference to the Jews, so as to favor the national vanity of the Egyptians. 1.
The more
ancient defenders of the reference to the Is-
have themselves, in regard to one important point,
raelites
surpassed their antagonists.
Mane The
t
Namely, they have allowed
that
h o himself distinguished the shepherds from the Jews.
Manet ho,
shepherds, relates
long before the time
of the Jews were expelled from Egypt.
But the
latter
people
having originated in Egypt were, long after the shepherds, banished in consequence of a leprosy which polluted their bodies.*
But the matter was not allowed to end here. It that a report which originally had refer-
must be supposed
ence to the Jews, was in to
another people.
later times erroneously transferred
But by
their strongest supports
this
acknowledgement, one of
was torn away.
Is the contrary true,
M
shown that it did not occur to a n e t h o himself that the Hycsos and the Israelites were a different people, then the they canfriends of Manetho find themselves in a dilemma not defend without at the same time casting reproach upon If the Hycsos are the Israelites, he can lay no further him. can
it
;
claim to the reputation of a good historian, since he relates things of them which are not at ites.
Are they any other
nation,
all
applicable to the Israel-
then he commits a gross
mistake, in that he identified them with the Israelites. * Perizonius, p. 329.
That
264
APPENDIX.
Mane
h o did actually intend to designate the Israelites by
t
the term Hycsos,
He was
it
did not occur to
Jose
p h us to doubt.
too thoroughly convinced that the whole point of the
narrative lay in
its
application to the Jews, to consider
it
nec-
essary to state expressly this reference.
The whole
contest concerning the Hycsos owes
merely to the supposition of J o
s
would be perfectly understood from the thing he have foreseen ter for
him
this contest,
have prevented
to
M an et ho
that
If
be the Jews,
M ane
it is
t
it,
by adducing the direct proof
different
h o's view
is
of a twofold element
from them, were also the Jews.
evidently this
—
:
the
Jews are composed
a barbarian (in reference to the origin,
in doubt,)
They
The
and an Egyptian.
the Hycsos, go, after their build Jerusalem.
application to.
impossible that he should suppose that the
M ane
is
its
h o understood the leprous persons to
who were
of which he
Could
not be said, in opposition to this, that
it
Hycsos, t
itself
would have been an easy mat-
the contents of the narrative itself disprove
the Jews.
origin
must have had reference to them and to no
— Let
other nation.
it
its
e p h u s that this reference
first
foreigners,
expulsion, to Palestine, and
return there, after their second ex-
They were
pulsion, with the native Egyptians, the lepers.
pursued, by Amenophis, even to the borders of Syria.
We
leave
it
position of the
undecided whether the tradition of such a com-
Jews
is
founded on the passages of the Penta-
teuch which designate under the names nij?
Tl^DODN
,
populace, an Egyptian multitude
rabble, and
,
who accompanied
the Israelites in their Exodus,* or whether the national vanity
of the Egyptians availed
itself originally
of two methods
of calumniating the original stock of the Israelites, and then
Manet ho
later, or
perhaps even the tradition
together these things which in a
at first
manner exclusive of each other. more probable supposition.
The
latter
us as the
*
itself
joined
existed independently, and
Compare Ex. 12: 38 and Num.
11: 4.
appears to
THE HYCSOS OF MANETHO.
How
little
we can
infer
persons are the Jews of quently are not Jews,
who
is
265
from the fact that the unclean
Ma ne
t
h
o, that the
Hycsos conse-
evident from the analogy of other
Jews are made up of such a is the more valuable since we have already shown that the hypothesis that a n e t h o lived some hundred years earlier than they, is without foundation. While Lysimachus has only writers
also allow that the
A
twofold element.
comparison of these writers
M
half of the falsehood, that concerning the lepers, but not that
Charemon
with regard to the Hycsos,
This author represents the Jews the
'
has the whole.t
composed of two elements,
as
impure people,' and the strangers, who are found on the
borders of Egypt and are called in to their aid by the former.
The
nation formed by the combination of these two races, he
Even he does not know how The com-
designates expressly as Jews. to characterize
with
parison it
more
definitely this foreign stock.
Manet ho
interesting,
also
is
inasmuch as
shows how uncertain and changing the Egyptian traditions
were, as from their origin
main
common
to both
different.
Even
;
but
all
The
could not be otherwise.
it
disgrace upon the Jews,
is
except some of the main features,
is
point, the attempt to bring
Josephus
shows
this,
and also how un-
worthy of confidence the Egyptian tradition
is,
from the con-
Chareraon and M a n e h o. Diodorus Siculus has recourse to Egyptian
tradictions between
t
tion concerning the origin of the Jews, in
tradi-
two passages.
In
Eel. 34. l.t he represents the friends of Antiochus Pius or Sidetes, as saying of the
Jews
:
They
are,
even as to origin,
contemptible; since they, on account of the leprosy, as hated of the gods, were expelled from versally
sented as native Egyptians. *
all
of Egypt.
where the lepers are spoken
In Josephus,
c.
Ap.
23
1.
34, 32.
On
of,
the
Here, as uni-
Jews
are repre-
the other hand, in the second
t
T.
2. 5. 24.
ed. Wesseling.
:
APPENDIX,
266
passage in Eel. 40. 1.* he relates
There was
:
in
Egypt, in
new
ancient times, inconsequence of the anger of the gods, a disease
upon the strangers, whose
visited
different
worship
The The most
had diminished the honors of the native gods.
latter,
therefore, decreed to banish the strangers.
distin-
guished and powerful of them banded together and betook themselves to Greece and some of the other neighboring re-
whom Danaus and Cadmus But the great multitude of them
gions, under honored leaders, of
were the most conspicuous.
proceeded to the country now called Judea, which was then an
unbroken waste. This colony was conducted by Moses, etc. That which appears in a n e t h o and Charemon,in
—
M
connection, is
is
merely the one;
Now
dition.
In the one passage there
seen here divided.
probable that
is it
element of the
in the other, the other
D
i
odo
r
u
s
tra-
separated that
which was originally united, when perhaps he even intended one expression completed by means of the other
to have the
or that
M ane
originally
t
h o and
separate
artificialness
1
Charemon
The
united that which was
looseness of connection and the
of the separation, seem to us to favor the latter
opinion. 2.
From our view
Herodotus
of the subject, the circumstance that
gives just as
as of the lepers,
is
little
information of the Hycsos
easily explained, since certainly before
the time of the Ptolemies and (if our inquiry upon is
well founded) also before the time of the
M ane
t
h o
Roman dominion, The condition of
no traces of these notices can be found. was the acquaintance with the declarations of
their existence
the Pentateuch concerning the ancient relations of the to the Egyptians, til
the period after
which
Jews
any rate could not have been unAlexander. On the other hand, from the at
contrary view, the fact cannot be explained.
from the silence of the monuments, important the events concerned. *
T.
2.
is
The argument
of more weight, the more
Can
p.542seq.
it
be supposed that
THE HYCSOS OF MANETHO.
He
r
odo
t
u
in all his intercourse
s,
267
with the Egyptian priests,
did not hear anything of the dominion of the Hycsos, which
extended through
a succession
of centuries, and especially
not one word of their glorious expulsion,
known
already
n et h o received 3.
Not the
if
these events were
must have been
at that time, as they
if
Ma
from native Egyptian sources
his facts
-
?
found in the whole Pentateuch of a
least trace is
foreign dominion over Egypt. The credibility of the Pentateuch cannot be asserted without denying the reality of a government of the Hycsos. The proper name of the national ruler of Egypt, Pharaoh, meets us everywhere,
The
of Abraham, Joseph, and Moses.
—
in the time
national hatred of
the Egyptians to shepherds, presents itself before us in the
period described in Genesis and at the time of the Exodus.
That which in
adduced
is
in support
of this position, or indeed
proof that the Pentateuch bears witness to the existence of
the Hycsos, according to the current opinion
Rose
1
1
i
n
By
of Egypt.
is
of
little
this,
the fact
is
explained that the king bears
the appellation of Pharaoh, and gives to Joseph a
We
Egyptian etymology.
will
Hycsos
so long as their existence stands on so does,
it
will
of
title
not deny that such an adop-
tion of the Egyptian language by the
now
force.
supposes that the Hycsos adopted the language
i*
frail a
is
possible
but
;
foundation as
it
always remain certain, that the universal
prevalence of the national
of the king furnishes an argu-
title
ment against them.
Rose Hycsos
1 1 i
in
n
i
finds a positive proof for the existence of the
Gen. 46: 31
his brothers to
make
it
Joseph there gives direction to
seq.
understood by the king of Egypt that
they are shepherds.
With
could not have been
for their
a native king this
decidedly to their disadvantage. this
circumstance
advantage, but on the contrary It
must then be inferred from
passage that the emigration of the family of Jacob took
place under the dominion of the Hycsos ^ Vol.
I. 1.
p.
who in R o s
183 seq.
e
1 1
i
n
i'
s
APPENDIX.
268
opinion were a tribe of Scythian nomades. they are shepherds
But, the fact that
not indeed intended to serve as a recom-
is
mendation of the children of
Pharaoh, but
Israel to
it
is
designed to cause him, understanding that they cannot dwell the midst
in
of
appoint them a dwelling-
people, to
his
place in the province of Goshen, which was especially adapted
They
to the rearing of cattle.
are directed to say that they
are shepherds, and have been from the beginning, so that they
cannot think of a change
in their
theory
must mean
it
:
occupation
According
dwell in the land of Goshen.
in the land of
to
1
What
Egypt.
may
that they
:
R ose
n
i
1
i'
s
the sons
tell Pharaoh was, according to this manner of understanding it, not sufficient to cause
of Jacob are directed to author's
their residence specifically in the land of
Goshen, and yet
this
only was brought into the account, not in general their abode in
But the passage not merely does not prove what
Egypt.
R o sel
according to
the very opposite.
1
n
i
That
it
i
is
intended to prove,
it
proves
the Israelites were shepherds,
is
no
reason, to a Hycsos-king, for a separate abode.
Rose chap.
1
1
i
n
i*
verse 8,
fable of the Hycsos.
proved that
in the
Amenoph
the
makes
verse
fight
the neio king, in
defenders of the
In his view, as he believes that he has
time of Joseph the Hycsos-kings ruled Egypt,
First,
is
naturally
the
new
10 subserve his purpose.
"could the enemies be with and
Exodus
derives a second positive proof from
The appeal to the mentioning of is common to him with most of the
i.
whom
He
king.
*'
Who," he
even says,t
the Israelites might unite
against the Egyptians, except the shepherds,
expelled but not destroyed, were always threatening to
who make
an irruption upon the smiling valleys of the Delta." the mentioning of a
change from reverse.
»
Vol.
The 1. 1. p.
new king
a foreign
reason 2!>2 scq.
has no reference at
dominion
why
to a
the king
is
all
But to a
national one, or the called
t
new
is
given in
Page 294-
THE HYCSOS OF MANETHO.
"who knew
the phrase following:
of the service of Joseph
spoken
of— forms
—only
269
not Joseph."
Disregard
a forgetfulness of affection
the point of distinction between the
is
new
king and the old. So long as Joseph's services were remembered, the Israelites were treated kindly. While the king yet lived who elevated Joseph to the first dignity in his kingdom, the house of Jacob received friendly treatment in this kingdom. That only in this sense a new king is spoken of the
is
evident from the circumstance that the old as well as the name of Pharaoh. The same thing is
new king bore
confirmed by the view of the relation of the children of Israel which extends through the whole narrative.
to the Egyptians,
Were
the dynasty under which Joseph's labors were perform-
ed, and the children of Israel received, under favorable auspi-
ces into the land, really different from that under which the Israelites
endured hard bondage, the
have been
than as
far less
guilt of the latter
would
appears in the narrative
it
—the
and the forgetting of former
reproach of unthankfulness,
—
comes not upon them their treatment of the have far more reason for it and the judgments of God in the same degree less called for. Verse 10 obligations
Israelites appears to
also is not in favor but sos.
When
to pass, that,
it is
when
our enemies and land,"
it is
far
:
there falleth out any war, they join also to
and so get them up out of the was at that time only the gen-
fight against us,
evident, that there
eral possibility
was so
opposed to the existence of the Hyc" lest they multiply and it come
there said
passage than
The
of a war.
wanting that it
W
contains,
i 1
thought of a particular
k n i
s
when he
o n* finds infers
far
from
it
more
enemy in this
that at that
very time the Egyptians were engaged in a war with powerful
enemies.
But the general
referred to if
domain of
we
fable.
possibility of a
war can
easily be
appoint the Hycsos their proper place in the
Egypt had
at that
* Vol. 1.20, 21.
23*
its immewhose miserable exis-
very time in
diate vicinity, natural enemies, people
APPENDIX.
270
lence in the deserts and mountains must have awakened in
them
a desire for the spoil of the fruitful and cultivated valley
Such were
of the Nile.
the Amalekites, the Edoniites and
the Midianites 4.
From
the
monuments
also, the
Hycsos-fable has not re-
Rosellini*
ceived the least confirmation.
is
obliged to
acknowledge that no trace of the pretended names of the HycHe indeed thinks he has discovered sos-kings appears there.
upon the monuments which belong to the eighteenth dynastyf Hycsos themselves, as did Champollion before him, But that which is as appears from his letter to Blacas.J
the
found on the monuments
is
nothing but the representation of
campaign of the Egyptian against barbarian nations, such as are constantly repeated under other dynasties. Of the Hycsos in particular, there are no indications. On the contrary, where localities which can be identified are given, a victorious
they always belong to foreign countries.
where found of an extensive against the
civil
No
war and
trace
is
any-
victory, as that
Hycsos must have been, and yet it can scarcely be all vestiges of such a one were obliterated if it
supposed that
ever occurred,
;
it
can scarcely be imagined that the monu-
ments of the Hycsos themselves should be annihilated even According to Manet ho their un-
to their last remains.
limited dominion continued over
all
Egypt 511
followed a severe and protracted war.
years.
Then
Finally under Alis-
phragmutosis even Avaris was besieged.
This city was taken Thummosis. It would seem that the Hycsos had time enough to leave behind them some traces of their exisby
his son
tence, and the well
known absence
only then be accounted
succeeding dynasties, their existence 5.
The
* Vol.
I.
.
p.
of such indications could
from the assiduity of the next
the destruction of their works, if
in
were certain from other sources.
narration of
J
for,
183.
Manetho t
Ros.
I.
concerning the Hycsos
1. p.
175.
\
S. 57.
— THE HYCSOS OP MANETHO.
many
presents so
271
points of agreement with the account in
the Pentateuch concerning the Israelites, and on the other
hand, where there are deviations, the causes can be so easily pointed out by a reference to the interest in favor of Egypt,
we cannot doubt
that
First of
all,
which they both go, Israelites,
their
come
to
is
The
the same.
to
Hycsos, as well as the
Egypt from the regions of the East, ngog
and found there a
city
which they
call
Jerusalem,
make our
a circumstance which alone should be sufficient to
opponents see that their course the
Hycsos.
the
After their expulsion, they go through the desert
avaxoh']v.
to Syria,
with
identity,
which they both come, and
the region from
manner of
life is
the
Hycsos, as well as the
same
is
wrong one.
a
Israelites,
it
Further,
In reference to the
to both.
especially prominent,
is
that they are shepherds.
The
first
called
is
be mistaken Semitish name against
Rose
Gen. 42:
n
1 1 i
where
6,
corn, J
said,
is
it
founded
x'Vvaris,
—
i's
it is
Of
over the land."
—26,
whom
king of the Hycsos,
themselves to this honor,
they raised from
alone
is
to
argument
sufficient
It is evidently taken from " Joseph was the ruler, t:"'VvLij
Scythians. said
:
,
this first king, referring to
he made
all
Egypt
a characteristic trait in
The
Gen. 47: 20
Then he
tributary.!
and was specially employed
cannot be mistaken.
among
This not
Salathis.*
measuring
in
which an allusion
to
Joseph
narrative of the oppression and
cruel treatment of the Egyptians by Salathis and his successor has
its
point of digression in Gen. 47:
seph purchased the whole land of Egypt
Egyptians sold each one his * Res. ovojia f
1.
14: nsgag ds huI
field,
for
20
:
"
Pharaoh
And ;
Jo-
for the
since the famine prevailed
^acrdm sva
aviwv
i^
inolrjaav,
o»
?]v 2J(xXaTig.
Kal
ovTog ev
rj]
MifAcpidi xaT^ylvsio, ti]v
is
livco
xal nonca
XOJQttv dadfioXo/MV.
X^Ev&ude
nam
O^dgsiav ^]q/£jo,
fiia&ocpQQvav naQS/ofisvog
x. x. X.
t«
fisv
aiTOfisTgav
xal
272
APPENDIX.
The
over them, and the whole land became Pharaoh's."
perversions of these facts are easily explained by the effort transfer
to
to the
Egyptians, the historical circumstances
which are given with reference
to the
and conse-
Israelites,
quently to remove the disgrace from the latter and devolve
it
upon the former. The reproach of unjust oppression and cruel abuse, which according to history belonged to the Egyptians, must be attached to the Israelites.
The
6.
The
view given by us also has analogy
for
support.
its
much
Egyptians from national vanity loved very
to ap-
propriate to themselves the accounts of other nations, with
any relation to Egypt; and
reference to facts which had
having transformed them so as to favor themselves,
were accustomed
to pass off the
borrowed treasure
sumed mould,
as originally Egyptian. If
we seek
cases of such
employment of Hebrew
material,
himself certainly furnishes them.
they
in its as-
other
first for
Mane the
The tradition which
is
found
and also elsewhere widely diffused,* concerning the
in him,
leprosy of the Jews, was evidently founded on the minute
Mosaic precepts in reference to this disease, in Lev. chapters and xiv., precepts which have at all times given abun-
—
xiii.
dant occasion for derision to evil-minded persons.f
Mane
t
the gods, appears to be transferred from
copied from the well
When
What
h o relates further of the desire of Amunophis to see
Mane
t
ho
known
calls
Moses
to him,
and
narrative in the Pentateuch.
Moses, who according
to
him must
have belonged to the Egyptian element of the Jews, a He*
Compare
t
How
stood,
Perizonius, p. 333
ff.
the tradition might arise from
when
that
is
them will be easily undercompared which Sonnini, " Voyage dans la haute
Egypte," 3. p. 126, says in reference to the leprosy of houses and garments: Ces maladies des choses inanim6es, qui servaient uniquemenl k former les Juifs aux details de la proprete, ont diset basse
paru de aginees.
1'
Orient avcc
le
pcuple
sale,
pour Icquel
ils
avaient etc im-
THE HYCSOS OP MANETHO. (a proceeding
liopolite,
national vanity
ponents,
guished
it
characteristic of his whole course;
not satisfied with the humiliation of
is
will
273
besides claim for itself whatever
among them,) Thorlacius*
is
seeks the
its
op-
distin-
rea-
first
son of this declaration from Gen. 41: 45, where Joseph
is
said to have married the daughter of the priest of Heliopolis.
The confounding
of Moses with Joseph implied here,
remarkable since
less
C
ha
r
e
mon
is
is
the
road to the
in a direct
same thing when he makes them contemporaries, and asserts that the uuclean persons were removed from Egypt under the guidance of both.t
Lysimachus
relates of the
unclean persons, that
after
they had been thrust out into the desert by the king, and night
came
on, they kindled fires and lights for the purpose
of protection. J
Any one
sees at once, that this
no other
is
than the explanation of the Mosaic account of the
cloud and
fire,
which
the natural world in
;
is
most
in
pillar
of
accordance with the laws of
the original Egyptian narrative
the fitting garb of one of Mosaic origin.
It
is
clothed
would be a
strange mistaking of the facts in the case, to seek for any-
thing better in a writer
who
the unclean persons was
relates that the city
first
founded by
called Hierosyla, the city of
temple-robbers and defilers of sanctuaries, but afterwards this
name was changed
to
Hierosolyma,
—words which
betray to
us the whole tendency of these writers, and show that we have to do not with historians but with polemists, and indeed those of the lowest sort. to use
such passages.^
Josephus knows He
right well
how
never comes to a thorough pro-
*1. c.p. 116.
Al/vmLa ds avjoXg ovo^axa uvai. xal TovTov hQO/Qa}i(.iaTia. Tw /u£v Mcovafi Tiai&sv, tw 8s 'ibmrjnb) IIsTmrffp. X In Josephus c. Ap. I. 34: Nvxrog Xv/vovg xaiaavTag q)vX(XTt£LV savTOvg. §
He
says, e. g.
^'
intysvofiivrjg
nvg xa
concerning the one under discussion,
§
35
.
274
APPENDIX.
cedure since
a fundamental
for
it is
exposure of literary imposture,
that the exposure should not fully
for his interest
Pure love of truth
ensue.
authority
Apion
what he says of Moses upon the oldest
relies for
But
facts only
latter
it
is
only necessary to ex-
convinced that even he received his
his narrative to be
pleasure.
allows as
use, be he ever so worthless.
Egyptians as his vouchers.*
amine
He
from him.
lies far
whomever he can
from Jewish accounts, which he perverted
Whence
else than
more probably
in all the writers of this class,)
his
from the
Pentateuch does he derive his information, when he for
at
immediately or mediately, (the
relates,
example, that Moses ascended the mountain between
Egypt and Arabia, which
is
called Sinai, and
remained con-
cealed there forty days, and afterwards he descended thence
and gave the law to the Jews.f
But not alone by the Egyptians was the
original possession
of the Israelites basely stolen and after an easy transformation
proudly exhibited to view by
from their ancestors
the] Jews, help for their for
its
new
possessors, as if inherited
others also sought, in the abundance of
;
own
poverty.
The Chaldean
Berosus,
example, pretended that he obtained from the most ancient
records of his nation, the history which he gave of the deluge,
of the ark in which
Noah was
highest point of the
Armenian mountains,
nothing of the kind
is
found
in
saved, of
its
resting on the
etc.|
But since
heathen records of the times
before Alexander, at which time the
Jews were
still
shut out
o ds ysvvtxlog V710 noXXiig tov XotdoQsIp axQnalag ol avrrixsv, oti ItQoavXslv ov xara rrjv avii}v
* 'Jig i]xovaa f
Movai]v
elg
(p(uv7}v
^lovdvuoL rdlg 'EXXr^aiv ovo-
nagu twv nQsa^VTBQcov twv Alyvnimv.) to /ufT«|u
jijg
AlyvJiiov yal
jrig
c.
Ap.
2. 2.
^A^a^iag oqog^
o HOtXuiui SlvaLOv ocva/SurTa tJHSQaig TsaaaQaxovTa xQvq>&rjvat,
xaxel&sv x«Ta/5avT« dovvai loig^Iovdaioig jovg vo^ovg. t
Josephus, contr. Ap.
1.
19.
THE HYCSOS OF MANETHO. from intercourse with the world
;
275
since, further, these notices
coincide too nearly with the declarations of the sacred Scriptures to allow the possibility that they could have been de-
rived from independent tradition, the assertion of
Berosus
in reference to his sources for the primitive age, (as respects later times
he communicates also independent notices,) are to
be taken as a bare pretence. In this same category belongs also the account of D u s which he pretends to have derived from ancient Phoenician i
,
sources, concerning the contest with problems between Hi-
ram and Solomon,* where
the fact at the foundation
is
evi-
dently of Jewish origin, augmented with paltry additions
which owe
their existence to the national vanity of the Tyri-
Solomon,
ans.
it is
related, sent
problems to Hiram and
re-
who could him, should pay money to
ceived others from him upon the condition that he not solve the problems proposed to
him who solved them. was obliged as penalty a
man
was obliged
The found
to
failing to solve his problems,
pay a large sum.
Abdemon,
of Tyre,
posed others.
Hiram, to
Finally, however,
solved these problems and pro-
Since Solomon could not solve the
he
Jews, on their part, did not allow themselves to be
idle,
and there was, between them and the Gentiles an
emulation in historical forgery, which must first
latter,
pay back a large amount of money to Hiram.
cies of literature, the
mostly by
remnant of which
Josephus,
and by Eusebius
in his
possible to be cautious
*
is
fill
one who has
whole spehanded down to us,
found the right position, with disgust
at this
especially in his books against Apion,
Preparatio Evangelica.'
enough
here.
Suspicion
It is is
scarcely
the legiti-
mate rule of the critic, and all accommodation is uncritical. Nothing was more frequent than for the Jews to assume the garb of Gentiles in order in this disguise to effectually weaken the calumniations of the Gentiles, to magnify the antiquity
and greatness of their nation, from the apparent testimony of *
Jos.
c.
Ap.
1.
17.
APPENDIX.
276 their enemies,
and to confirm the credibility of their sacred
books by pretended independent heathen tradition.*
How
heathen fraud directly called forth the same thing
among Jews, we
will
show by
Artapanust
example.
a single particularly striking
relates that, according to the ac-
count of the Memphites, Moses, when he passed the waited
for
low water
;
but
it is
They recognize
to the Heliopolites.
Red
Sea,
entirely otherwise, according
the miraculous in the af-
Evidently the envy of the Egyptians had called forth the
fair.
of that which, on the authority of the sacred books of the Jews, was current concerning the passage of the Red sea, making it merely the result of the common laws of
explanation
Of this
nature.
event and the circumstances connected with,
the Egyptians (a people
it,
who have
tory as the Indians) possessed
no
This explanation, which accounts
phenomena, they gave not
as
genius for his-
little
original, native information. for the
from natural
facts
but put
as such,
it
into the form
of a parallel tradition of the Memphites which was inde-
The masked Jew now
pendent of the Jewish narrative.
opposes to the pretended authority of the Memphites, the equally assumed testimony of the Heliopolites.
We make
return
use of
and even
after this digression.
Hebrew
this,
to the Greeks.
did not
Heyne
expressly shows
appealing, for an example, to the story of Proteus and
Helen. t
We will examine,
The
notices in Valckanaer,
*
The Egyptians
With equal impudence,
they appropriated to themselves also that
earlier,
which belonged
material alone.
a little
De
more
closely, the
Aristobulo Judaeo,
p.
Egyptian
17
seq.
may
be compared.
fin Eusebius, IX.c.27. L.
pp. 108, 127: Inoleveret Aegyptiis
adeo
ilia
intcrpretatio
antiquitatis suae ex Graecis literis, ut sub Ptolemaeis et
Romanis vix
i
c.
aliam ullam nossent.
Helena,
in
quibus et
Pro exemplis sint narrationes de Proteo
hominum
et de
illorum vanitas, popularibus suis glo-
THE HYCSOS OF MANETHO.
Herodotus,*
narrative of Helen, in
the account of
Manet ho
We
further
in
it
furnishes for
it,
a
very remarkable
W el k erf recognizes
premise that than
it
since
concerninir the Hycsos, accord-
ing to our manner of understanding parallel.
277
a transformation of material
nothing
originally
purely Greek, so as to gratify the national vanity of the Egyptians
—
a view
which Bahr vainly opposes with the intention of
Her od otu s,
bringing about a base accommodation.
good-natured admirer of Egyptian wisdom, asks exactly
how
the
his priests
the matter stood with reference to Helen, imply-
ing that they must surely have the most certain knowledge upon the subject, and consequently provoking the deception as indeed generally the credulity of the Greeks,
itself;
and their child-
much contributamong this people.
ish admiration of Egyptian falsehood, has very
ed to awaken the mere
The
now
priests
spirit
of deception
him
relate to
a long history, with the
characteristic circumstances, and
Mane
the Hycsos-fable of
t
h o
much
.
In the whole, the praise
of the pretended Egyptian king Proteus, of his wisdom and justice, the
Greek
here
it is
tradition,
vain.
the
'
Egypt occupied but
magnifying
the
punctum
saliens.'
In
a subordinate place,
The Egyptian king deprived the The Greeks go to Troy and take the city
made prominent.
robber of his in
is
most
better devised than
spoil.
Menelaus
hands of Proteus. with self-praise;
first
receives back his spouse from the
Even here the Egyptians are not satisfied another's shadow must yield them light.
Menelaus repays all favor and love with ingratitude. He steals away two Egyptian boys and offers them in sacrifice. The whole, H erod otus allows to be imposed upon him, and supposes that
Homer
has deviated from the truth ob-
riam ex rebus Graeciae comparantium et fabulas Graecas
in
earn fidem
interpretantium, turn Herodoti his de rebus opinio apprimis intelligi potest. * B. 2.
113—20.
t
24
Jahns Jahr.
f.
Phil. 0. 3. S.
276
ff.
!
278 tained
APPENDIX.
among
the Egyptians, since
it
was not suited
to his
poetical design
We
have before intimated that such stolen Greek goods in a n etho for example, the story of
are also found
M
;
Armais=Danaus and Thuoris=Polybius.
NOTES
NOTES.
P.
Von Bohlen
1.
parents, and into the
was
left
Gymnasium
(Peter),
at
bom
at
W&ppels
iu 1796 of poor
In 1817 he was received
Hamburg, where he turned
He was
oriental studies.
was
an orphan in 1811.
his attention to
the pupil of Gesenius, Roediger and Hofi'-
in the University at Halle, in 1821 and in 1822 he went to Bonn and attended upon the instructions of Freytag and Schlegel. In 1825 he was elected professor extraordinary of Oriental Languages at Konigsberg and regular professor at the same place in 1830. He has since removed to Berlin. His work so often referred to in this volume is entitled, " Die Genesis historischcritisch erlautert," Konigsberg,
mann
;
1835.
It
was answered by Drechsler,
logical sentiments of the author
tions
and references made
volume
in this
in
at Leipsic, in 1837.
may be
easily inferred
byHengstenberg.
P. 2.
works which are somewhat known
Pyramids of Brick.
Four
neo-
Allusion is also made
one or two cases, to his book on India
Indien mit besonderer Riicksicht auf Aegypten." several other
The
from the quota-
in
He
:
"
Das
alte
has pubhshed
Germany.
built of brick are
still
in existence
Lower Egypt, two at Dashoor and two at the entrance of Fyoom. Several of smaller size are also found in Thebes. See in
k
W
i
n
s
o n. Vol.
P. 2.
f
.
the i
1-
131, and HI. 317.
That early age.
As H e ngste nbe rg has not given thepre-
be proper to add that arches were constructed of brick at least as early as 1540, B. C. in the reign of Amunoph I., and i 1probably in the time of the first Osirtasen, who is supposed by kins on to have been contemporary with Joseph. " It is worthy of cise dates here,
it
may
W
remark," says the same author, " That more bricks bearing the name of Thothmes III, (whom I suppose to have been king of Egypt at the time of the Exodus) have been discovered than of any other period."
NOTES.
282
Sheep. Wi Iki n son in his "Mannersand Customs of the p. 5. Ancient Egyptians," second series, Vol. 1. p. 130, 131, etc., gives the representation of a scene from a tomb hewn in the rock near the
pyramids of Geezeh, which
is
of special interest as illustrating several
The tomb
points in Egyptian antiquity.
Suphis or Cheops which shows
it,
before the 18th dynasty, and in
all
bears the
name
of the king
work of an age was made about 2090
at least, to be the
probability
it
B.C., more than a century before the arrival of Abraham in Egypt. The head sliepherd presents himself to give an account of the " First come flocks committed to his chai'ge which follow after him. the oxen, over which is the number 834, cows 220, goats 3234, asses Behind follows a man carrying the young lambs 760, and sheep 974. in baskets slung upon a pole. The steward, leaning on his staff" and accompanied by his dog, stands on the left of the picture and in another part of the tomb, the scribes are represented making out the statements presented to them by the different persons employed on the estate." The bearing of this painting upon several subsequent parts of this volume should not be unnoticed compare especially or 2050
;
;
pp. 25, 87.
JVome, -province^ from the Greek vojuos,
P. 6.
is
the
name given
to
each of the 36 parts into which Sesostris divided Egypt. P. 6. MiNUTOLi, Henry, Baron Menu Von, born at Geneva, of a Savoyard family, in 1772, is best known by his antiquarian researches in Egypt. He went to that country in 1820, and returned in 1822. A part of his collection of antiquities
was
lost
remainder purchased by the King of Prussia, deposited in
work
is
tJie
new museum
"Journey
the
to the
of Lybia," Berlin 1824.
at Berlin.
by a shipwreck
for
His most distinguished
Temple of Jupiter Amnion
He
The
about $15,000, were in the desert
published "Additions to his Journey,"
etc. in 1827.
P. 10. That this south-east icind^ etc. Numerous books of travels might be referred to in which easterly winds in Egypt are mentioned. But it is unnecessary. Russell in his Ancient and Modern Egypt, says "About the autumnal equinox they (the winds) veer round to the east, where they remain nearly six weeks, \Yith only slight deviations." :
Although
this declaration
may
not be strictly correct, yet
it is
additional testimony to the fact that they have easterly winds in
which
is all
that
is
needed here
;
for
it is
an
Egypt universally acknowledged
NOTES.
283
by Hebrew scholars, that any wind from the eastern quarter of the heavens would be designated by a Hebrew as east wind. The following extract from Prof. Robinson's Biblical Researches is introduced not only from its appropriateness in this connection, but as furnishing a similar style of reasoning to that employed by H e n g -
stenbergin volume a strong
treating of the plagues in Egypt, in chapter
"
The Lord, it east ivind. The
:
not a direct suspension
is
said,
iii.
of this
caused the sea to go (or flow out) by
miracle therefore,
is
represented as mediate
;
interference with the laws of nature,
of, or
but a miraculous adaptation of those laws to produce a required result. It
was wrought by natural means supernaturally
reason
we
applied.
For
this
are here entitled to look only for the natural effects arising
from the operation of such a cause.
In the somewhat indefinite
phraseology of the Hebrew, an east wind means any wind from the eastern quarter
;
and would include the north-east wind, which often
prevails in this region."
— Vol.
In the year 1774.
P. 12.
the Seleucidae,
I. p.
82, 3.
This refers
to the
Grecian
era, or era of
which dates from the reign of Seleucus Nicator 311
B.C. Descrijjtion of the French Scholars.
P. 13.
Work which tion is:
is
so often quoted
The
full title
byHengstenbergas
of this
the Descrip-
"Description de I'Egypte, ou Recueil des Observations et
des Recherches pendant I'Expedition
It de I'Armte Fran^aise." volumes with more than 900 engravings and 3000 It is composed of the sketches. The last number appeared in 1826. documents prepared by the eminent savans and artists who accompanied Bonaparte in his expedition to Egypt. It was printed at the expense of the French Government, and "corresponds in the grandeur
consists of 25
of
proportions," says a writer in the
its
which
it
P. 23.
JImun-m-gori
II,
of the sixteenth dynasty.
Egypt was Menes, who according throne about 2320 B. C.
Cambyses very
Am. Enc,
"
to the edifices
describes."
are divided by
little is
known
to
The kings from him
Mane
t
The
Wilkinson
first
king of
ascended the
to the
invasion of
h o into twenty-six dynasties.
But
who precede Osirtasen I., who beThe names of most of the succeeding
of any of those
longs to the sixteenth dynasty.
monarchs of the sixteenth, and those of the seventeenth and eighteenth dynasties, often occur on the monuments, and are so often mentioned
NOTES.
284
volume, that it was thought it might be well to insert here, with some slight changes, the table found in Wilkinson. Thus,
in this
when
the
name
of a king, as Amun-m-gori or Osirtasen occurs, by
turning to this table, the date of his reign may be seen, and in some cases an important event which occurred during it. The eighteenth of special interest in several respects. It was the peIn it most of the events recorded in the Books of Moses occurred. And a large part of the monuments were constructed about this time. Four hieroglyphical lists of the kings of
dynasty
is
riod of conquest.
this
dynasty exist, in addition to the
list
of
M a n e th o
"
:
The Tab-
of Abydos, the Procession of the Ramesseion, the Procession of Medeenet Haboo and the Tomb of Gurnah." The chronology of
let
Wilkinson Those who it
for
has been followed here, as generally in this volume.
are desirous of
M G
substance in
Name
r.
Name
Trom
comparing that of Rosellini d d o n 's " Ancient Egypt."
will find
1 i
Ascendfrom the
Events.
ed the
Monuments.
ancient Authors.
Throne.
16th Dijnastij^ of Tanites ? B. C.
Osirtasen
Misartesen
I.
.
Amun-m-gori I.
?
.
Amun-m-gori .^
II.
? .
Arrival of Joseph, 1706.
|. |.
1740
.
.
.
1696
.
.
.
1686
Ylth Dynasty^ of Memjjhites ?
Osirtasen II. Nofri-Ftep, or Osirtasen HI.
(Uncertain.)
165]
.
Amun-m-gori III.
i
Joseph died 1635.
1636
?
1621
.^ .
(Unknown.)
1580
.
18th Dynasty^ of Tkchan or Diospolitaji Kings. '
(Chebron)
Amosis (Chebron)
Ames
There arose a new (dynasty, or) king, who knew not Joseph." Exodus H. Moses born J^ VJ
1575
I
MM
Amunoph
Amenoph Amesses, or
A men-
ses, liis sister
) S
I.
Amcnse, sister
1550
.
his
C
Included in the reign
Thothmes
I.
.
NOTES. Name
Name
from
285 Ascend-
from the
ancient authors.
Monuments.
IVIephres, Mesphris, or Mesphra-Tuthinosis
Thothmes
Events.
ed the
Throne.
His 14th year found on the monuments.
.
The
Misphra-Tummosis >
or Tothmosis
Thothmes
II.
.0.
1532
I?
Amun-
reign of
neit-gori included
in
1505
Exod. of the Israelites 1491, 430 yers after the
1495
this.
Thummosis,
or
Tothmosis
C
Amenophis Horus
III.
arrival of
Amunoph
.
.
Aehenchres, queen)
Thothmes
i
.
(a
Moses died 1451
II.
Thothmes IV. Maut-m-Shoi
Armais
^
( (
Included
in the
of tlie vocal statue.
Remesso, or Remeses I.
1395 1385
? I.
^The supposed Remeses, Remeses II., or Great
j
j^the
C
Amenophis
<
P. 33.
Piromis.
.
tep
?
n
s
is
mistaken in
re-
man, and is comSeeWil'romi,' man. the
series. Vol. I. p. 170.
The people in Egypt were divided and each of these were again subdivided. The
P. 38. Caste. ses,
undoubtedly It signifies
article prefixed to
Man. and Cus, second
o n,
1355
al-
1289
Herodotus
posed of the Egyptian i
uments. Manetho lows him 66.
his son
gard to the meaning of this word. k
Sesostris
of the Greeks. The date of his 44th and 62d year found on the mon-
FthahmenThmeiof-
(
1430
1408
?
fAmun-mai J
reign of
her son,
A mum-men
Osirei
Remeses Maimi
1456 1446
Amunoph III The supposed Memnon
(Regency)
Amunoph II J.
Rathotis
Achencheres, or Chebres Achencheres, or Acherres
Abraham.
into four great clasfirst
was the
sacer-
dotal caste, consisting of priests of various grades, scribes, embalmers, etc.
The second was
the agricultural class, including the military
and persons of similar occupations. The were the townsmen, composed of artificers, tradesmen,
order, farmers, gardeners,
third class etc.
The
fourth class, the
common
people, included factors, laborers
and various others. The military order seems to have been nmch more honored tlian the rest of the second class, if indeed they did not
'
NOTES.
286
compose a separate caste. The king could be chosen only from among them or the sacerdotal order. If chosen from the military caste, he was immediately admitted to the order of priests and instructed in all
The
their secret learning.
Wilkinson, the reader
Vol.
I.
p.
subject of caste
236
discussed at large in
is
and Vol.
seq.,
II.
p. 1 seq., to
whom
referred.
is
When we fix upon the land of Goshen as the region east of arm of the Kile, etc. The view of our author with regard position of the land of Goshen agrees, substantially, with that of
P. 45.
the Tanitic
to the
and other scholars of the present day. " This tract,' Researches, Vol. I. p. 76, " is comprehended in the modern province esh-Shurkiyeh, which extends from the neighborhood of Abu Za'bel to the sea, and from the desert to the former Dr.
Robinson
it is
said, in the Biblical
Tanaitic branch of the Nile
;
thus including also the valley of the an-
cient canal."
P. 59.
In the best of the land. "The land of Goshen," says Dr. " was the best of the land ; and such, too, the province
Robinson,
esh-Shurkiyeh has ever been, down
In the
to the present time.
re-
markable Arabic document translated by D e S ac y, containing a valuation of all the provinces and villages of Egypt in the year 1376, the province of the Shiirkiyeh comprises 383 towns and villages, and is valued at 1,411,875 Dinars a larger sum than is put upon any other
—
During
province, with one exception.
many
inquiries respecting this district
was, that
it
;
my to
stay in Cairo, I
was considered the best province
fertility) arises
from the fact that
surface of the land in other parts of
is
Egypt
it is
less elevated ;
so that
it is
made
which the uniform reply in
Egypt.
—
This
(its
intersected by canals, while the
above the level of the Nile, than
more
easily irrigated.
There are
here more flocks and herds than anywhere else in Egypt ; and also
more fishermen." P. 59. fied
Compare, with
Tlie distance is then
from our
have passed
own
to the
far
this last expression, p.
too great.
"We
224 supra.
were quite
satis-
observation, that they (the Israelites) could not
Red Sea from any
point near Heliopolis or Cairo
which the language of the narrative allows. Both the distance and the want of water on all the routes, are fatal to sucli an hypothesis. We read, that there were six hundred thousand men of tlie Israelites above twenty years of age, who left Egypt on foot. There must of course have been as many in three days, the longest interval
NOTES.
women
above twenty
years old
;
and
287 an equal number both of
at least
males and females under the same age
mixed multiand very much cattle. The whole number, therefore, probably amounted to two and a half millions, and certainly to not less than two millions. Now the usual day's march of the best appointed armies, both in ancient and modern times, is not estimated higher than fourteen English or twelve geographical miles and it cannot be supposed that the Israelites, encumbered with women and children and flocks, would be able to accomplish more. But the distance on all these routes being not less than sixty geographical miles, they could not well have travelled it in any case in less than five tude
'
spoken
besides the
;
'
of,
;
days."— JBi6.
which might
Res. Vol.
P. 59.
Remeses
I. p.
74, 75.
"
This distance appears not too great.
P. 59. five miles,
—Bib.
Res., Vol.
From
have been passed over
thirty to thirtyin three days."
p. 80.
I.
Raamses. is
easily
It
may be
proper to say here, that in this volume
When
spelt in three ways.
it is
the
name of a
king,
it is,
on the authority of Wilkinson, Remeses. In the other two cases, the method of the verse in the Bible, to which allusion is made, is retained.
P. 70.
Embalming.,
Additional information upon the topics
etc.
discussed in this section
may
be found in
Wilkinson,
Sec. Ser. p. 451 seq. and 402 seq., with which compare
Mod. Eg. P. 94.
pp.
Vol. II.
Lane's
285—311.
"The Pharaohs
Mandoo.
'Mandoo towards
the Gentiles;' from
which
the avenger or protector against enemies, the
thology, with the additional
title
God o?lVd.t."— Wilkinson,
of
styled
frequently
Ultor.,
'
it
themselves
appears that he was
Mars of Egyptian my-
avenger,' like the
Roman
Vol. 11. Sec. Ser. p. 34.
worthy of
notice, that this species of serpent,
the asp of the ancient Egyptians,
was considered sacred throughout
P. 102.
Haje.
It is
"It was worshipped," says Plutarch, De Isid., " on account of a certain resemblance between it and the operaIt was the emblem of the God Neph and tions of the divine power.
the whole country,
the Goddess Ranno.
The asp was
easily tamed,
and came from
place of concealment by the snapping of the fingers."
its
Aelian
NOTES.
288
power of the Egyptians to charm serfrom their lurking places, etc. " Mummies of ihem have been discovered in the Necropolis of Thebes." ComIk. Vol. I. Sec. Ser. p. 237—242, also upon the Cerastes or pare
(Lib. vi. c. 33) speaks of the
pents,
and
W
call
them
forth
i
horned snake mentioned on P. 103. in his
The^J
"Modern
p. 101, see
245 seq.
Egyptians," Vol.11,
207, says: "Serpents and
p.
scorpions were not unfrequently eaten by Siadees during visit
The former were deprived
to this country.
teeth, or rendered harmless
by having
Lane
icith their teeth.
sometimes also tear serpe7its
their
my
former
of their poisonous
upper and lower
lips
bored, and tied together on each side with a silk string, to prevent and sometimes, those which were merely carried in protheir biting ;
Whencession had two silver rings put in place of the silk strings. ever a Saadee ate the flesh of a live serpent, he was, or afiected to be, '
He
excited to do so by a kind of frenzy. the end of his thumb,
upon the
reptile's
point about two inches from the head the head and the part between
pressed
;
of which he
made
it
;
pressed very hard, with
back, as he grasped
and
all
that he ate of
and the point where
three or four mouthfuls
:
his
it,
at a
was thumb
it
the rest he threw
away." P. 159.
That a connection here exists between Egyptian arid Israd-
The general similarity of the sacerdotal instituamong the ancient Egyptians and the Israelites is very noticeThe ceremony of investiture to office of the priests, among the able. Israelites, is described in Exodus 27 5 7, " Thou shalttake the gar-
itish antiquity., etc.
tions
:
—
ments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breast-plate, and gird
him with the curious
girdle
and thou shalt put the mitre upon his head and put the holy crown upon the mitre. Then shalt thou take the anointing oil and pour it upon his head." The priest is anointed with oil after he has
of the ephod
:
put on his entire dress. " The Egyptians" also, "represent the anointing of their priests and kings after they were attired in their
with the cap and crown upon their head.
Some
full robes,
of the sculptures in-
oil over the monarch, in the presence of Thoth, Hor-Mat, Ombte, or Nilus which may be considered a representation of the ceremony, before the statues of those gods. The functionary
troduce a priest pouring
;
was tlie high-priest of the king. He was clad in a was the same who attended on all occasions which required him to assist, or assume the duties of, the monarch in the
who
ofliciated
leopard-skin, and
—
NOTES. temple.
289
This leopard-skin dress was worn by the high-priests on
the most important solemnities, and the king himself adopted
it
all
when
same duties." Wilkinson, Mem. and Cus., 2d Ser., Both the Egyptians and Israelites were purified with water before they assumed the sacerdotal robes. (Ex. 40: 12 15.) They were divided into different orders, among both nations, and the oiFering of incense was limited to priests of the highest rank. Priests were the judges, also, among the Israelites and Egyptians. Wilkinson says, Vol.1, p. 282 "Besides their religious duties, the priests fulfilled the important ofiices of judges and legislators, as well as counsellors of the monarch and the laws, as among many other engaged
in the
Vol. II. p. 280.
—
:
;
nations of the East, forming part of the sacred books, could only be
administered by them."
So
— "If
Deut. 17: 8
in
there
arise
a
matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, be-
and between stroke and stroke, being matters of then shalt thou arise, and get thee up and thou shalt into the place which the Lord thy God shall choose come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and inquire; and they shall show thee the sentence of Of the similarity of Urim and Thummim to the Egypjudgment." tian symbol, Wilkinson, (Vol. II. 2d Ser. p. 28,) after speaking of " A similar emthe badge of the judge among the Egyptians, says blem was used by the high-priest of the Jews and it is a remarkable
tween plea and
plea,
controversy within thy gates
;
;
—
:
;
word
fact, that the
Thummim
is
not only translated
'
truth,' but, be-
ing a plural or dual word, corresponds to the Egyptian notion of the '
two Truths,'
'
light
and
figures of
truth,'
Thummim
— which
Re and Thmei,
And though
last
signify
'
lights
am
the resemblance of the
disposed to think the
lated to the sun,
which
is
'
and
to
j)erfections,' or
present a striking analogy to the two
worn by
in the breast-plate
Urim and
lights,'
Aorim
the Egyptians.
the Urasus (or basilisk),
the symbol of majesty, suggested by lord Prudhoe, I
According
or the double capacity of this goddess.
some, the Urim and
or
is
very remarkable,
Urim, more nearly
re-
seated in the breast-plate with the figure of
Truth." P. 164. qualities.
The sphinx symbolizes merely the union of the tioo designated Wilkinson in his last work confirms the opinion
Mr.
expressed in the former one, with regard if his positions
be
r
g
to the
to the
sphinx, and
are correct, answers the objections of
view that the sphinx designates not
the king as the possessor of these qualities.
25
1
in effect,
Hen gs ten-
qualities alone, but
give a rather long ex-
NOTES.
290 tract,
tut try?*
from
will not
it
its
bearing on the whole section be
deemed out of place. It will be recollected that the author of this volume had not seen this last series of Mr. Wilkinson: " The most distinguished post amongst fabulous animals must be conceded the .^/i^//o-s;;/tr/i.f, with the It was of three kinds, to tiie sphinx.
—
head of a man and the bcdy of a lion, denoting the union of intellectual and physical power ; the Crio-sphinx, with the head of a ram and and the Hieraco-sphinx, with the same body and the body of a lion They were all types or representatives of the the head of a hawk. king. The two last were probably so figured in token of respect to the two deities whose heads they bore, Neph and Re the other great deities, Amun, Khem, Ptliah and Osiris, having human heads, and ;
;
The all connected with the form of the Andro-sphinx. king was not only represented under the mysterious figure of a sphinx, but also of a ram, and of a hawk and this last had, moreover, the peculiar signification of 'Phrah,' or Pharaoh, Hhe Sun,' pertherefore
;
is
sculptures, a deity
sign of
The
by the monarch.
sonified
the sphinx female,
life,
inconsistency, therefore, of
sufficiently obvious. is
by the gods to a same capacity, as
or other divine gifts usually vouchsafed
an emblem of a Pharaoh."— Vol.
when
II. p.
in the
200.
Compare " Theologische Studien und Kritiken,"
^zazel.
ErstesHeft 1843, S. 191 and p.
in the
often seen presenting the sphinx with the
king; as well as to the ram or hawk,
P. 184.
making
— When represented
2,
and " Bib. Repository"
for July, 1842,
116 seq. P. 195.
Among the.
Egyptians, the separation bettceen the rational and
irrational creation zoas removed.
regard to animals, were, ridiculous.
Many
many
bad.
notions of the Egyptians with
of them were looked upon as deities, and worship-
ped, throughout the country. gods.
The
of them, strange and exceedingly
Some were honored The same animal was
Others were mere emblems of the
as good,
and others were execrated as
venerated in one province and served up,
as a delicacy of the table, in another.
Keepers, of both sexes, were
appointed to take charge of the sacred animals, and a revenue was provided for the maintenance both of the keepers and the animals. This employment was considered particularly honorable, and was ex-
ecuted by persons of the treated with
all
first caste.
While
living, animals
the respect which belongs to the most honored
were
human
beings; and although they could neither understand nor enjoy them.
NOTES.
291
were provided with all the luxuries and surrounded by all the comwhich wealth can bestow and when they died, they were lamented and embalmed as if they were most dear friends. Different authors have attempted to account for these facts in difforts
;
ferent ways.
After enumerating several theories, (Manners and Customs, Second Series, Vol. II.,
*'
It is, therefore, evident, that
Wilkinson, says:
108)
p.
neither the benefits derived by
man
from the habits of certain animals, nor the reputed reasons for their peculiar choice as emblems of the gods, were sufficient to account for the reverence paid to
doubt,
many
of those they held sacred.
Some, no
may have been
indebted to the first-mentioned cause; and, connection appears to subsist between those animals
however little and the gods of
whom
they were the types,
hawk.
ox, cow, sheep, dog, cat, vulture,
chosen from their
utility to
We
man.
we may
believe that the
Ibis,
and some others, were
may
also see sufficient rea-
sons for making some others sacred, in order to prevent their being
because
killed for food,
with certain
tiieir flesh
fish of the Nile,
But
the vegetables of the country.
choice they
made
in
many
was unwholsome,
as
was the case to some of
— a precaution which extended instances
;
this will not
for
why
account
for the
should not the camel
and horse have been selected for the first, and many other common There was, as animals and reptiles for the last- mentioned reason Porphyry observes, some other hidden motive, independent of these and whether it was, as Plutarch supposes, founded on rational grounds, (with a view to promote the welfare of the community,) on accidental or imaginary analogy, or on mere caprice, it is equally difficult .?
;
to discover
it,
or satisfactorily to account for the selection of certain
animals, as the exclusive types of particular deities."
'
Tke monuments confirm the accounts of classical s on, in his Manners and Customs, Sec. Series,
P. 200.
Mr.
W ilk in
women among
says of the sacred
women,
of the
service of the
first
God
families of
of Thebes,
sion already to remark
;
tlie
is
the Egyptians;
"That
icriters. I.
p.
203,
certain
country, were devoted to the
perfectly true, as I have had occa-
and they were the same
whom
Herodotus
women, The statement of Diodorus, that were distant from the tomb of Osymandyas ten stadia,
mentions under the name of yvvatnag
iQtfiag,
or 'sacred
consecrated to the Theban Jove.' their sepulchres
more than 6000 feet, agrees perfectly with the position of Queens and princesses were buried, in the Necropolis of Thebes and is highly satisfactory, from its confirming the opinion or
little
those where the ;
NOTES.
292
formed from the sculptures, respecting the
though we are unable
office
to ascertain the exact duties
For
they held.
they performed,
it
evident that they assisted in the most important ceremonies of the temple, in company with the monarch himself, holding the sacred is
and the importance of their office by the fact that the wives and daughters of the noblest families of the country, of the high-priests, and of the kings themselves, were proud to enjoy the honor it conferred."
emblems which were the badge of the post
;
sufficiently evinced
is
W
Ik n so n Vol. 1. p.62 says ''-The common Lcmanon. P. 211. custom of substituting m for h in Coptic, and the representation of a mountainous and woody country in which the chariots could not pass, convince me that this is intended for mount Lebanon." i
i
:
A passage from worthy of insertion here, not only from the light v.'hich it throws upon this section and the one contained on pp. 25-7, but also from its general interest in relation to the state of society among the ancient Egyptians: "There was no Sarah must therefore have been unveiled.
P. 213.
G
1
i
Salic
d d o n
law
's
in
Ancient Egypt,
Egypt; and
in a
p. 48, is
country where females were admitted
to a full participation in all legitimate privileges with
women were birth
;
queens in their
own
right
— royal
man — where
priestesses from their
and otherwise treated as females are, in all civilized and chriswere none of those social restrictions that else-
tian countries, there
where enslaved the minds, or constrained the persons of the gentler We have the most positive and incontrovertible evidence, in a sex. series of
monuments coeval with Egyptian events
for
2500 years,
to
prove that the female sex in Egypt was honored, civihzed, educated, and as free as among ourselves; and this is the most unanswerable proof of the high civilization of that ancient people.
This
is
the
strongest point of distinction between the Egyptian social system of
ancient times, and that of any other eastern nation.
Even among
was never placed in relation to man, her more happy and privileged sister en-
the Hebrews, the Jewish female in the
same high
position as
joyed in Egypt."
Wilkinson viith the loorship of^pis. with the worship of the Mnevis of Heliopolis. After speak-
Stands in connection
P. 215.
connects
it
The HeJews from falling was guilty. The
ing of the worship of the sacred animals in general he says
brew
legislator felt tlie necessity of preventing the
into this, the
most gross practice of which
idolatry
:
293
NOTES.
calf, a representation of the Mnevis of Heliopolis, was a proof how their minds had become imbued with the superstitions they had beheld in Egypt, which the mixed multitude had practised Sec. Ser. Vol. II. p. 96-7. But it is of little consequence there.' "
^vorship of the golden
'
which
is
referred
P. 217.
to.
And burned
Vol. III. p. 220-1,
Egyptians
made
The
in
it is
it
allusion
is
icith fire
said
:
"
A
sufficiently plain in either case-
and
beat
W
In
it.
i
strong evidence of the
1
k
i
n
skill
s
o n,
of the
working metals, and of the early advancement they is derived from their success in the management
in this art,
of different alloys; which, as M. Goguet observes, is further aro-ued from the casting of the golden calf, and still more from Moses being able to burn the metal and reduce it to powder a secret which ;
he could only have learnt in Egypt. It is said in Exodus, that Moses took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strowed it upon the water, and made the '
children of Israel drink of
it;'
an operation which, according
to the
French savant^ 'is known by all who work in metals to be very diffi* have been much perplexed ' Commentators' heads,' he adds, cult.' powder. Many to explain how Moses burnt and reduced the gold to an experienced but conjectures, improbable and vain offered have chemist lias removed every difficulty upon the subject, and has sugwe gested this simple process. In the place of tartaric acid, which employ, the Hebrew legislator used natron, which
What
East.
follows, respecting his
making the
is
common
in the
Israelites drink this
effect powder, proves that he was perfectly acquainted with the whole of their of the operation. He wished to increase the punishment for gold disobedience, and nothing could have been more suitable mentioned, reduced and made into a draught, in the manner I have ;
has a most disagreeable
taste.'
"
We
The fact that fish icere placed first in the narrative. several following extract from its interest in connection with under one the as well as Isaiah, and Pentateuch passages in the
P. 224.
make the other
de'^ Fishing is one of the employments most frequently is combined with fowling by amateur It monuments. the on picted the hippoposportsmen, and even with the chase of the crocodile and It is caste. tamus but is also pursued as a regular trade by an entire of Egypt, that Plague First the of aggravation fearful recorded as a
discussion
:
;
'
the fish that
was
in the river died,'
complaints of the Israelites
25*
when
(Exod.
they
vii.
murmured
21).
The
against
first
Moses
great in
the
NOTES.
294
was Wc remember the fish that we did eat in Egypt freely,' (Numbers, xi. 5.) And this abundance of fish was still further increased by the ponds, sluices, and artificial lakes which were condesert,
'
Hence
structed for the propagation of the finny tribe.
Jsaiah, in de-
nouncing divine vengeance against the Egyptians, dwells particularly on the ruin which would fall upon those who derived their sub'And the waters sistence from the animals and plants of the Nile shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up. And they shall turn the rivers far away and the brooks of defence the reeds and flags shall wither. shall be emptied and dried up The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and everything sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more. The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waMoreover, they that work in fine flax, and they ters shall languish. :
;
:
that
weave net works,
ken
in
fish,
shall be
the purposes thereof,
(Isaiah, xix. 5
all
make
that
— 10.) — Although
lakes were constantly swept with nets,
the
we
is
is
and ponds for and the artificial
any
open sea; and
in-
in the
The supply has
with abhorrence.
modern times; the
not
right of fishery on the canals and lakes
annually farmed out by the government to certain individuals,
who pay
very large sums for the privilege.
W ilk
of Agalteh at Thebes,' says Mr. piastres (about 2n.,) to
M
Nile,
reason to believe that the fishes of the sea were, from
religious motives, regarded failed in
they shall be bro-
sluices
are unable to discover
proof of the Egyptians having ever fished
deed there
And
confounded.
i
government
for
i
n son, the fish
c h a u d in his delightful letters gives
<
<
The
small
village
pays annually 1500 of
its
canal.'
an account of the
M.
fisheries
on the lake Menzaleh, too interesting to be omitted. ''The waters in fish the Arabs say that the varieties offish in the lake exceed the number of days in the year. Although this
of Menzaleh abound
;
may
be deemed an exaggeration, it is certain that whatever be the number of their species, the fishes of this lake multiply infinitely." " On the monuments the fishermen appear as a class inferior to the agricultural population, and we know historically tliat they
—
formed one of the lowest castes. This was also the case in Palestine, and hence when Christ chose two of this class to become apostles, he announces to thom that they were for the future to be engaged in a more honorable occupation. Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And Jesus said unto them. Come ye af'
:
NOTES. ter
me, and
way they
1 will
make you
forsook their
295
become fishers of men. And straightnets and followed hhn:"— Taylor, p. 02 seq. to
The garlic an article of food for the poorest classes the lower orders, vegetables constituted a very great part of their ordinary food, and they gladly availed themselves of the vaF. 22G.
.
"Among
riety and abundance of esculent roots growing spontaneously, in the lands irrigated by the rising Nile, as soon as its vi^aters had subsided some of which were eaten in a crude state, and others roasted in the ashes, boiled or stewed their chief aliment, and that of their chil;
:
dren, consisting of milk and cheese, roots, leguminous, cucurbitaceous, and other plants, and ordinary fruits of the country. Hero-
dotus
describes the food of the workmen, who built the Pyramids, have been the raphanus or figl, onions, and garlic;' yet if these were among the number they used, and, perhaps the sole provisions supplied at the government expense, we are not to suppose they were limited to them and it is probable that lentils, of which it is inferred from Strabo they had an abundance on this occasion, may be reckoned to
'
:
even the chief article, of their food."
as part, or
The
Fetldan Doorah.
P. 232.
Fcddaii, the
— W ilk.
most
II.
370.
common measure
of land in Egypt, was a few years ago equal to about an English acre. It is
now
less
than an acre.
P. 234. Carrying of the loatcr in which the foot has most to do. This does not reach the point, since the passage in question does not
seem t'
water-wheel
Robinson,!. 542,
may have been
men
pressing upon
still
often
N
mode of distributing, but of supplying
to refer to the
Possibly," says Dr.
i
e b
uh
it
foot,
rijl,
view of which he tians, Vol. II. p. 24,
operation :
"
the
in Palestine, as
we
afterwards saw.
is
it
was
called
"a watering machine that turns by the foot," a
also subjoins."
severity of the labor of irrigation
remarks
in
describes one such machine in Cairo, where
Sdkieh tcdiir bir
"The
by oxen, but by same way that water is
smaller, and turned not
with the
drawn from wells r
the water, " in more ancient times the
is
The testimony
in regard to the
Lane, Modern
uniform.
Egyp-
speaking of the raising of water by the Shaduf says
extremely laborious."
The Shaduf ha.s
exactly the well-sweep of cross-piece resting on
Dr.
Robinson,
New
England
in
541 also is
His bucket
is
two upright pouts of wood
of leather or wicker-work.
p.
His instrument miniature, supported by
a toilsome occupation.
Two of these
or
mud.
a
instruments are usually fixed
NOTES.
296
men keep time at tlieir work, raising the water "Where the banks are higher, two, three, and even four couples are thus employed, one above another." side
by
side,
and the
five or six feet.
P. i^37. his
Oxen
iDcre
2d Ser., Vol.
W
used in Egypt for threshing.
1., p.
i
1
k n i
s
o n, in
85seq., gives engravings and a description of
at Elethya. His interpretation of the hieroglyphics however, a little from the one in the text, which is taken from Gliddon " Thresh for yourselves, (twice repeated,) O oxen, thresh for yourselves, (twice,) measures for yourselves, measures for your
this
same scene
differs,
:
The same author also remarks, that similar songs may be found on the sculptured tombs of Upper Egypt. In this sam.e connection, it is said, that wheat and barley were abundantly cultivated masters,"
—
and that the former was harvested in about and the latter in about four months after sowing. Compare Ex. 9: 31, 32, from which it appears that the plague did not smite the wheat, because it was later ; and also p. 123 of this volume. In Gen. 41: 22, we read, "seven ears came up in one stalk." Among the kinds of wheat in Egypt, according to Wilkinson, " the seven-eared qual"It was cropped a little below the ear," ity" may be mentioned. hence the Israelites could obtain straw or stubble for their brick, from in every part of Egypt, five
the fields,
P. 238. the
when
was not furnished by
it
In Ex. 25: 12
seq.,
construction of the ark,
among it
other directions with regard to
said
is
their task-masters,
:
"
And
thou shalt cast four
and put them in the four corners thereof: and two rings sliall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other And thou shalt make staves of shittim-wood, and overlay side of it. them with gold. And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the rings of gold for
it,
And
may be borne with them."
sides of the ark, that the ark
it is
"the Levites bare the ark on their shoulders." The similarity between this construction of the ark and the manner of moving it, and the procession of shrines among the Egyptians, is too striking to be passed unnoticed. " One of the most seen from
1
Chron.
15: 2, 15, that
important ceremonies," says
of shrines,' which
is
W
mentioned
i
1
k
in the
i
n
s
o n,
"was
'
the procession
Rosctta Stone, and
is
frequent-
on the walls of the temples. The shrines were of two kinds the one a sort of canopy the other an ark or sacred boat, which may be termed the great shrine. This was carried with grand pomp by the priests, a certain number being selected for that duty, ly represented :
who, supporting
;
it
on their shoulders by means of long staves, passing
NOTES. through metal rings brought
297
the side of the sledge on which
at
into the temple,
where
it
stood,
was placed upon a stand or table, in order that the prescribed ceremonies might be performed before it. The stand was also carried in the procession by another set of priests, following the shrine, by means of similar staves a method usually adopted for transporting large statues and sacred emblems, too heavy it
it
;
or too important to be borne by one person."
P. 241. Manetho and the Hycsos. The reasonings of our author upon the trustworthiness of Manetho, and the existence of the Hycsos, seem to us to partake somewhat of the nature of special plead-
Ke may be right, but we are not yet prepared to discard the testimony of those who are best qualified to judge in this matter. It is
ing.
true,
must be very pleasant
it
for those
engaged
in
deciphering
glyphics, to find their results verified by an ancient author it
be supposed
such
tliat
men
Sir J. G.
as
Wilkinson INIanetho, as
Their
feeling.''
(Vol.
I. p.
from other passages
archaeologists, are
belief, as far as
38) says
"
:
From
in his
Iiiero-
but can
Wilkinson, C h a m
pollion, Rosellini, and other Egyptian deceived by this
;
known,
is
-
all
uniform.
the preceding extracts of
work,
it
appears reasonable to
conclude that Egypt was at one time invaded and occupied by a powerful Asiatic people,
who
held the country in subjection
being appointed to govern
Shepherd Kings.
it,
these obtained the
of Pastor or
have already shown there is authority for behave taken place in the early periods of Egyptian
I
lieving this event to
history, previous to the era of Osirtasen the
"
and viceroys
;
title
First."
He
also says
am, therefore, of opinion that the irruption of the Pastors was anterior to the erection of any building now extant in Egypt, and long before the accession of the seventeenth dynasty." Although (p. 23)
:
1
Hengstenberg has given us the view of Rosellini, we cannot forG lid don, who is supposed to We do it the more readily as the agree in opinion with that author. passage shows the imperfect state in which Manetho is handed down
bear to quote a few lines from Mr.
—
and thus answers some of the objections of our author. " This work (of Manetho) has been lost; and the re-discovery of one copy of Manetho would be the most desirable and satisfactory event to us,
great
that could be conceived in Egyptian, and
history and chronology.
glory of his nation,
it
As
the
we may
add, in universal
work of an Egyptian,
testifying the
was probably conscientiously prepared
;
although
allowed national pride to give a too partial coloring to anhis narration, and possibly an exaggerated view of his country's
he
may have
NOTES.
298. tiquity
.
But we can no longer be harsh
new
in
our criticisms
;
seeing, that
dynasty he
is
confirmed by the sculptures^ wliile every
step of discovery that
is
made
to his sixteenth
in hieroglyphics, gives
confirmatory light in support of Manetho's
earlier
some new
arrangement.
Again, because we have only mutilated extracts of his original
one,
;
a fragment preserved by Josephus, which seems to have been copied,
verbatim, from Manetho's work; another
is
an abstract
in the chro-
nology of Syncellus, who did not even see the original book himself, but embodied in his compilation the extracts he found in Julius Afri-
canus and Eusebius.
Armenian
we
Within the
These
formerly possessed. Africanus, differ so
lius
last
few years, the discovery of an
some better readings
to those
writers, Josephus, Eusebius,
and Ju-
version of Eusebius, has added
much from each
other in the several portions
of Manetho's history of which they present the extracts, that, in their time, either great errors had crept into the then-existing copies of
Ma-
them were corrupted by design in the instance of Eusebius, who evidently suppressed some
and
netho, or one or more of
mutilated others, to
own peculiar and
;
make Manetho, by
parts,
a pious fraud, conform to his
contracted system of cosmogony .''
indications of the
especially
The absence of
Hycsos on the monuments
accounted for, from the antiquity of their irruption. If, (as Rosellini supposes,) they ruled Lower Egypt, while the seventeenth dynasty of Theban kings reigned in Upper Egypt, it is all
as
is
seen, by
Wilkinson,
not certain that
monuments of them may not yet be is made of the Hycsos
not strange that no mention
the lineage of the Pharaohs, under
consequence
first
ans,
to
to the
whom they
found.
It is also
in the Bible
;
for
would be of little
lived,
Jews.
Gods and dcmi-gods who ruled Egypt
P. 241.
cording
is
before
Ac-
men.
ancient writers, the Egyptians claimed to have been ruled
by the gods or Auritae and then by the demi-gods or Mestraewho were succeeded by Menes, the first hum.an king. But
Wilkinson
says,
that no Egyptian deity
there are positive grounds for the conviction
was supposed
have lived on the earth even was purely allegorical and intimately connected with the most profound and curious mystery of their religion. It is probable that the earliest government of the country was a hierarchy, and the succession of the different gods to the sovereignty of the country would then be explained by that of the reto
;
the story of Osiris's rule in this world
spective colleges of priests.
Greeks
for
"
The Egyptians
justly ridiculed the
pretending to derive their origin from
deities.
They
•^'r
—
NOTES.
299
showed Hccatseus and Herodotus a series of three hundred and fortyfive high-priests, each of whom, they observed, was ' a man, son of a man,' but in no instance the descendant of a god thus censuring :'
Such
is
who
claimed a deity as his sixteenth ancestor. the meaning of the expression in Herodotus, ' a piromis, son
the folly of Hecataeus,
of a piromis:' and
it is singular that the historian should not have understood the signification of the word romi, (man, or piromi, the
man,) as the sense alone Vol,
suffices to
point
it
out."
Wil/cinson,
p. 17.
1.
Ptolemy PhiJadelphus.
This letter is given entire Chronographiaof Syncellus p. 73. Ptolemaeum Philadelphum Manethonis Sebennytae epistola
P. 250.
Letter to
as found in the Latin version of the
"Ad
:
Ptolemaeo Philadelplio regi magno iYugusto Manetho sacerdos et sacroruin per Aegyptum penetralium notarius, gencre Sebennyta, urbe Heliopoli, domino
meo Ptolemaeo
De rebus omnibus nobis andum
est.
quaeque ex
Hac de causa libris
salutem.
tuo iussu, rex magne,propositis attente cogitinterroganti
de iis quae mundo accident, magno Mercurio conscriptis
tibi
ab primogenitore tuo ter
mihi sunt nota, prout imperasti, cuncta manifestabuntur.
Vale mihi,
domine mi rex. Tf Sesostris
P. 258.
is
Wilkinson
really identical with this
Remeses
III., the
obviates this difficulty (Vol.
I. p.
63, 64)
" Osirei was succeeded by his son, Remeses the Great,
who
bore the
error, etc.
name
:
of Amun-mai-Pveineses, or Remeses-mi-amun, and was reputed famous Sesostris of antiquity. The origin of the confusion
to be the
regarding Sesostris
Manetho
in the
may
perhaps be explained.
He
is
mentioned by
twelfth dynasty, and Herodotus learned that he pre-
ceded the builders of the pyramids f therefore suppose that Sesostris was an ancient king famed for his exploits, and the hero of early Egyptian history ; but that after Remeses had surpassed them, and :
become the favorite of his country, the renown and name of the former monarch were transferred to the more conspicuous hero of a later age and it is remarkable that when Germanicus went to Egypt, the Thebans did not mention Sesostris, but Rhamsos, as the king who had ;
performed the glorious actions ascribed in olden times to their great conqueror. Nothing, however, can justify the supposition that SeScripsostris, or, as Diodorus calls him, Sesoosis, is the Shishak of ture."
;
NOTES.
300 P. 26S.
.Q tribe
Shepherd Kings, appear
to
"The ;
sup-
first to follow the example and though the period and history of
their conquest are involved in obscurity,
Egypt from the
too
Pastor race, called Hycsos or
have been the
of the early Asiatic invaders
tered
WMkinson
of Scythian nomades.
poses they were Scythians.
side of Syria,
it
is
evident that they en-
and that they obtained
for
some
years a firm footing in the country, possessing themselves of Lower Egypt, with a portion of the Thebaid, and perhaps advancing to
Thebes
itself.
supposed them to ha-ve come from Assyria
I at first
but on more mature consideration have been disposed, as already stated, to consider them a Scythian tribe, whos^ nomade habits accord satisfactorily with the character of a pastor race, and whose frequent inroads at early periods into other countries show the power they possessed, as well as their love of invasion, which were con-
more
tinued
till
a late time,
and afterwards imitated by
the Tartar hordes of Central
Asia."— Sec.
Ser. Vol.
their successors^ 1. p.
2.
ERRATA. Page "
4, for
Egypt read
Palestine.
10,
"
"
10,
*'
XVI
"
79,
"
Bedouins read Bcdaicin.
"
Haie read Haje.
" 102,
" 211,
Reaurner read Reaumur. read XIV.
(last line,) for
Cunana read Canaan.
00040 2240
fi/Unj.. -^v^^U^
L
7^