The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1875-01-13

i
Heinrich Karl Brugsch, the distinguished
Egyptologist, Professor at Gottingen for
merly, became in 1870 director of the
Psychological school at Cairo, and is now at
Brugsch-Bey He has published many works
on Egyptology, one of which-the Hiora-
glyphic- Dunolic Lexicon--is a principal au-
thority and source of information in this de-
partment. He has lately given lecture in
Egypt, which has been published in French
at Alexandra, on the Exodus. In this as
noticed in the Academy, of November IA,
he appears to have arrived at views regard
ing the route which are, to say the least,
quite novel.
Brugsch Bey is not modern nationalist
with regard to the early books of the Old
Testament; at least, he does not contradict
the Bible narrative. On the other hand he
follows it infinitely and his Topography is in
perfect harmony with it. But he denies the
passage of the Red Sea, as it is ordinarily
understood. One of the elements of the
problem in determining the route of the
Israeltes has been the position of Rameses,
the first station. 1t is now known through
the papyri. In one of these documents a
scribe says that he has obeyed the commands
of his Lord, and given corn to the soldiers
as well as to the Hebrews, who are bringing
stone to the fortress of the city of Rameses
In another papyrus Rameses is said to be
between Egypt and Taba, the south of Pal
estine. 1t is also described as a seaport, or
at least as communicating with the sea. In
third papyrus Rameses is said to be in the
land of Tai, which is known from the his
torcal inscriptions to be on the high road
between Egypt and Palestine. And quite
recently the actual site of Rsmeses has been
identified beyond doubt. 1t was identical
with Tanis, the modern San of Zoan, "mar-
velous things" says the PSalmist, "did He
in the sight of their fathers, in the land of
Egypt, in the field of Zoan." 1t is very
bcurious fact that one Of the inscriptions
(which enabled DR.. Bfugsch to identify Tanis
with Rameses used the expression sechet
Tanet exactly corresponding with the He
brew sedch TsOan The starting point thus
identified is on the Tanitic branch of the
Nile, on the high road to Palestine, and is
an important feet determined
DIR. Brugsch next identifies in similar
manner Pithom and Succoth, and then Gosh
en-, which he places where the Facus of mod
ern maps stands. In these districts he finds
an overwhelming amount of evidence of
once large Semitic population. Ga the
ancient map of Egypt, he says, the greater
part of the names of the towns, villages, for
tresses, canals, and lakes on the territory of
the three districts of Pithom, Rameses, and
Goshen are not taken from the Egyptian lam
quage, bit are to be explained solely By the
aid of Semitic idsoms.
Another papyrus tells where Migdol was
thus. The papyrus is letter It's writer
had pursued two fugitives from Rameses.
He reached Succoth the next day after leav-
ing Rsmeses. On arriving at the fort (che-
tenn he was told that the fugitiveS had passed
by the "Wall' north of the Migdol of King
Seti Menephthah. Both the WALL and
the Migdol are we'll known from other docu
meuts. They were on the high road to Pal
estine, and there is no reason for doubling
that Migdol is the Migdol of Exodus. The
children of Israel we're told to "turn and
encamp before Plhahiroth, between Migdol
and the sea, over against Baal-zepbon." Il
DR.. Brugsch is right as far as Migdol, then
g the sea" cannot be the Red Sea as CON-
monty understood, but the Mediterranean.
He maintains therefore that the disaster to
Pharaoh's host occurred in
"That Serboniau bog
Betwixt Damiata and Mount Casius old,
Where armies whole have sunk
He thinks he has discovered the name
of which Plhahiroth is the Hebrew trans
cription, and that it peans the same thing
as the enguffDse {srSe Serbonis,
and that the wilderness of Shur into which
the Israelites passed was the desert between
the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Suez,
and the bitter waters which they arrived at
on the we'll known "Btter Lakes.
If this singular conclusion is eventually
confirmed, it will be remarkable instance
Of light thrown upon the Bible by the sci
ences of archaeology and philology : The
Mirror.