tree but seldom. The arts, already cultivated and perf ected, could have been brought to these shores, but their inhabitants could not have transplanted the arts, for which their country offered no natural type, to the shores of the lower Nile." Wilkinson1 represents the hypothesis of the origin of culture in Ethiopia as entirely exploded by modern investigations. The specimens of art which remain in Ethiopia are not merely inferior in conception to those of Egypt, but bear far less the stamp of originality. He thinks it probable, though not demonstrable, that civilization was carried from Thebes to Lower Egypt. He declines, however, the task of defending this hypothesis with those who oppose him. It seems almost as if this asserted probability were founded entirely upon a misconception, namely, upon the circumstance that the monuments of Upper Egypt, in consequence of their situation, are in a far better state of preservation than those of Lower Egypt, where even the traces of them are for the most part obliterated. We are much too readily disposed to consider that a thing, which now appears noble in the ruins, was originally the most noble and ancient.2

THE USE OF IRON IN EGYPT.

One further difficulty; according to Gen. iv. 22, Tubulcain was the father of all forgers of brass and iron. Against the working of iron so early, it might be argued, that among the ancient Egyptians, all implements in common use, weapons, household furniture, instruments, were made of copper hardened by an alloy of tin. But, on the other hand, Wilkinsons remarks: "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 period when iron was universally known." From the great proficiency in metallurgy in Egypt, it cannot be supposed, that

1 Vol. I. p. 4.

2 The best account of the Ethiopian monuments is given by Hawkins: from the representations he has given of the principal remains, it cannot be doubted that the civilization of the Thebaid reached a higher degree of perfection than that of Nubia, and that the best of the Nubian edifices were of later construction than the best of the Egyptian.

• Vol. III. 245. Compare also 246.

T.

the art of working iron was unknown. The extensive use of brass (it is not to be overlooked that also, in our passage, brass occupies the first place) must be first, on account of the greater ease of procuring and working it. The same author1 says, that it is scarcely supposable, that without tempered iron the hieroglyphics could have been cut deep into hard granite and basaltic rocks. But there is a yet stronger argument for the use of iron in ancient Egypt from Herodotus, who, after relating how great an expense the support of the labourers on the Pyramids of Cheops occasioned, remarks: "How immense, therefore, must have been the sum which was expended on the iron with which they worked," unquestionably implying that the Egyptians, even in this early age, made use of iron as they did in his own time. Upon the sculptures in Thebes, Wilkinson3 also found battle-axes, which, if we may judge from their colour, were of steel. By these remarks, the other passages of the Pentateuch, in which iron implements are mentioned, are vindicated at the same time with those which have been noticed.

The problem of our negative part is solved. We have, we `hope, conclusively proved, that Egyptian antiquity furnishes no evidence against the Books of Moses. By this, much is already gained. Were the Pentateuch really what, according to the views of modern criticism it must be, such evidence would necessarily appear against it, since the events narrated, so many of them, transpired on Egyptian ground. The negative part, therefore, acquires no inconsiderable positive importance. It now belongs to us, in the positive part, to inquire what evidence Egyptian antiquity furnishes in favour of the Books of Moses.

1 Vol. I. p. 60.

2 Book 2. 124.

3 Vol. I. p. 324. Compare, concerning other probable indications of the existence of iron on the sculptures of the early Pharaohs, Vol. III. p. 247, (241—55); and concerning the use of iron generally in ancient Egypt, Rosellini, II. 2. p. 301 seq.

Num. xxxv. 16. Deut. iii. 10. xxvii. 5.

"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. Chaps. XXXVII-XL.

JOSEPH CARRIED TO EGYPT AND SOLD TO POTIPHAR.

ACCORDING to chap. xxxvii., Joseph is sold by his brothers to an Arabian caravan who are going to Egypt with merchandize, and they sell him in Egypt. An argument for the early commencement of trade by caravans with Egypt is furnished by the fact, that the king Amun-m-gori II., of the 16th dynasty,1 erected a station in the Wady Jasoos, to command the wells which furnish water

The first king of Egypt was Menes, who, according to Wilkinson, ascended the throne about 2320 B. C. The kings from him to the invasion of Cambyses are divided by Manetho into twenty-six dynasties. But very little is known of any of those who precede Osirtasen I., who belongs to the sixteenth dynasty. The names of most of the succeeding monarchs of the sixteenth, and those of the seventeenth and eighteenth dynasties, often occur on the monuments, and are so often mentioned in this volume, that it was thought it might be well to insert here, with some slight changes, the table found in Wilkinson. Thus, 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 dynasty is of special interest in several respects. It was the period of conquest. In 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 this dynasty exist, in addition to the list of Manetho: "The Tablet of Abydos, the Procession of the Ramesseion, the Procession of Medeenet Haboo, and the Tomb of Gurnah." The chronology of Wilkinson has been followed here, as generally in this volume. Those who are desirous

for those passing through the desert.' The same author shows that slaves were procured by the Egyptians, not only in war, but also by purchase.❜

of comparing that of Rosellini, will find it for substance in Mr Gliddon's "Ancient Egypt."

• Herod. 8. 105 : παρὰ τοῖσι βαρβάροισι τιμιώτεροί εἰσι οἱ εὐνοῦχοι, πίστιος

εἵνεκα τῆς πάσης, τῶν ενορχίων.

The master of Joseph, chap. xxxvii. 36, is designated as Potiphar, the eunuch of Pharaoh, chief of the body-guard (literally, the executioners). A eunuch in the literal sense cannot be meant. -The term in this place is equivalent to court-officer. But the transferred 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, eunuchs, even in Egypt. Now v. Bohlen asserts, that it cannot be proved that there were eunuchs in Egypt, and that the author is justly suspected of transferring that, which belonged to the Hebrew court, to Egypt. But this suspicion is removed by what Rosellini says of the existence of eunuchs in Egypt. Men are sometimes represented, he remarks, on the Egyptian monuments with evident marks of fulness, especially of the chest and stomach, which is unusual among the Egyptians in this hot climate. Their complexion is almost a medium between the brown and yellow, by which men and women are generally distinguished from one another. These marks are characteristic of eunuchs. The employments of these men are also in favour of this opinion. They are repeatedly represented as attendants of the women, then as musicians, and finally as servants, who are entrusted with the important duties of household management. It is evident from Herodotus,3 that the kings of Egypt had a guard who, in addition to the regular income of the soldier, also received a separate salary. In the paintings of marches and battles on the monuments, these royal guards are commonly seen to be employed in protecting the person of the king, and are distinguished by a peculiar dress and weapons. During the reign of the Ptolemies, who in general adhered to the usages of the ancient Egyptians, the office of the commander of the bodyguard was a very important one. They possessed the confidence of the king, and were often employed in the most important business transactions. Finally, the superintendence of executions belonged to the most distinguished of the military cast.7

5

2 Vol. II. 3. p. 132 seq.

6

4

22.168.

Vol. I. pp. 403 and 4. 4 Ros. II. 3. p. 201. 5 ἀρχισωματοφύλαξ. Comp. Rosellini, p. 202. 7 P. 273. Before quitting this subject, it is necessary to say a word respecting Hengstenberg's strange acquiescence in Bohlen's assertion that Potiphar is described as a Eunuch. The word □□ Seris, correctly rendered "officer" in our version, like the Greek word "eunuch," originally signified a "chamberlain," or "attendant of state;" the root (b) is still