Chapter VII: Egyptian Testimonies

=The recovery of the meaning= of the Egyptian hieroglyphics, and the many discoveries of monuments illustrating the early history and literature of that nation, have added great interest to the study of Scripture and established the accuracy of Biblical accounts of this period.

=1. The articles= which the Ishmaelites carried to Egypt at the time Joseph was sold are, in part, recorded in a list upon one of the tablets at Edfu, on the Nile. The first and second of the articles named in Gen. 37:25 are recorded by name, the article rendered “spicery” being the name of a gum found in Syria.

=2. The price of a common slave= of Joseph’s age is recorded in the time of Rameses XIII. as about $10. This agrees with the statement, Gen. 37:28, where it is stated that Joseph was sold for twenty pieces of silver, shown to be shekels of about 50 to 56 cents’ value, which was high, but Egyptian records show that young men from Syria were unusually valuable.[59]

=3. The existence of slavery= is frequently alluded to upon the monuments and in manuscripts, wherein those who had lost slaves offer rewards to any one who will bring them back. Moreover, Syrian slaves are recorded as of great value, and a treaty record is still preserved, made between Rameses II. and the king of the Hittites, in which it is agreed to return fugitive slaves.

=4. The statement has been made= by several Greek historians that the Egyptians never cultivated the grape nor drank wine. Therefore the statement that Pharaoh drank the juice of the grapes, or wine, and had a chief butler, as stated in Gen. 40, was said to be inaccurate. But the discoveries show that not only were vineyards cultivated, but the grapes were pressed in the wine-press, grapes were eaten, and wine made and used before the time of Joseph.

=5. Various terms= as descriptive of official position, of names of places and objects of art or commerce, are now shown to be of ancient Egyptian origin, although brought into the Hebrew language. The use of these terms and names proves that the early Israelites were in familiar contact with the Egyptians.

=6. The name of Rameses=, used in the history of Joseph, as afterward in the history of the Israelites, has been shown to be that of the chief Pharaoh of Egypt, and his mummy has recently been recovered with his name and titles inscribed upon his body, and certified to by the high-priest.

=7. The singular remark= made by the writer of Genesis concerning the shepherds, 46:34, has been thoroughly attested by the history of the incursion of the Shepherd Kings, who oppressed the land, seized upon the government in the Delta, and drove the native kings up the Nile to Thebes, occupying and ruling the land for about 500 years. It was at the close of their rule that Joseph is supposed to have entered Egypt.

=8. The keeping of the birthday= of Pharaoh as stated in Gen. 40:20 is fully attested in the history of the early Egyptian periods. An inscription of the era of the Exodus tells us that the birthday of Rameses II. “caused joy in heaven.”[60] Great gatherings and feasts were had, and the king dispensed his favors as he saw fit.[61]

=9. The name for the Nile= used in the Hebrew is the Egyptian name for that river found in the papyri, and translated in our English version as “the river.” It is not the word the Hebrews used for a river, and its use proves that the writer was familiar with Egyptian usage.

=10. The statement as to the offices= of chief butler and chief baker, as appointed to the Pharaoh, is remarkably attested by the Egyptian records, which show that these two were very high and important offices, “for both had the responsible duty of protecting the king’s life from poison.”[62]

=11. A most remarkable illustration= of the accuracy of Joseph’s history, as narrated in Genesis, is seen in the statement that he was required to change his clothes and be shaven before going into the presence of the king. Among the kindred of Joseph shaving was never practised, except as a disgrace. But with the Egyptian the law of cleanliness required shaving, not only of the chin, but of the hair also. Not only every priest, but the king himself, was shaven, and the appearance of great heads of hair, and even of beard, in some pictures is due to the wigs and artificial beards worn by priests and laymen alike to cover the bald head. All foreigners were known by being unshorn.

The accuracy of Scripture in its references to the land of Egypt in ancient times has been proved only since the discovery of the meaning of the hieroglyphics, as Greek historians knew little of Egypt in its ancient history, and their accounts were erroneous, as is frequently apparent in Herodotus.[63]

PERIOD III.

THE THEOCRACY TO THE JUDGES.