Delaware gazette and state journal., 1896-02-06
A PEEP into ANCIENT EGYPT.
by tho Rev. W. W. Taylor.

I
|
Tho first of these events is recorded
IN the 18th chapter of Genesis, when
Abraham, with Lot, was driven thither
by famine in Canaan. Egypt is already
known as the land of plenty, about 1920
years b. G.
Looking carefully at the details Of
thls narrative, no one will think the
patriarch has lighted ON one of the
grand old pyramid builders, though the
prince is called by the title of Pharaoh.
lie looks much like the chieftan Of Il
Tree, uncultivated people, rural, if not
nomadic; whose subordinate princes
are fellow chiefs, but little his in
feriors, who have unceremonious entree
to his presence. They make no show
ing, like grave statesmen, or dignified
mobiles, or ceremonious courtiers. They
pass no palace gates, nor encounter
guards to reach the Pharaoh. They
| talk freely with him not on state
| affairs; it ia only to report the arrival
OF large household Of strangers, that
looks like something unusual. They
seem TO have been loafing round to see
| tho servants pitch the tents and fold
the flocks and herds, and now they
| drop in like excited idlers to tell about
the Sheik Abraham and his handsome
sister, of whom they have, somehow,
caught glimpse.
The king is not half 30 bad man as
Abraham thought. He speaks only of
making Sarah his wife and gives her
brother generous dover of oxen, sheep,
asses and camels. with men and women
servants; gifts of an agricultural and
not commercial people. When God
lays heavy hand on the king he is
quick to obey and sharply rebukes the
| saint; Why didst thou not tell me
she was thy wife?" And whom he
sends him away he does not reclaim
his gifts.
Now in what part of Egypt does
Abraham fall in with this people?
Some writer's speak as If he drove his
tiocks and herds quite across the coun-
try for SO miles to the river Nile, and
up the Nile as far as Memphis, an
hundred miles south. or even to Thebes,
300 miles beyond But, of what was
Abraham in search? Pasture for the
flocks and bread for his household.
Well, he is in Goshen as soon as he
passes the boundary. Goshen, the
meadow lana, the choice district for
beauty and fertility, with all agricul-
tural advantages.
Was this prince real Egyptian or a
llittite chieftain2 For the latter kind
OF ruler historical help is at hand,
affirming that long before the great
successful shepherd invasion parties
of these Semetic, Asiatic nomads were
pressing towards tho eastern frontiers
OF Egypt and establishing petty govern
ments called kingdoms; Prof. Rawlin-
son saying that before the time of
hrabun,' t,tott I, I.I 4
lower Egypt was filled with these
Semetic Hittites. Another writer
notices on this point that Abraham
and his people, being shepherds, were
not an af,omination to those they met,
as they would have been to native
Egyptians; so that we may conclude il
was one of these chieftains in the east
ern district of the land that Abraham
encounters.
Nearly 200 years later Joseph is
brought into Egypt, and what diff
ferent kind of Pharoah is presented
Prof Sayce writes: ''When we come to
Joseph all the coloring is Egyptian,
looked upon by Hebrew eyes and the
narrative written in the Hebrew Ian
guage 1t is almost, if not absolutely,
certain the shepherd kings were now
on the Egyptian throne. = "This sup
position meets all the requirements of
the history of Joseph and the settle
ment in Goshen; nothing on the monu-
ments throwing any doubt upon the
narrative, but the contrary. !" Rawlin
son also allows that Joseph lived under
the shepherd kings. We have seen
how immigrants were filling Egypt be-
fore the time of Abraham. 1t would
seem that after time one of these
liittite leaders, Saites or Salatis be-
came eminent enough to unite all the
Other chieftains under him and by some
bold and perseveringlco de main sue
ceeded in subduing the land. This
great revolution must have taken place
between the eras of Abraham and
Joseph, and it proved complete and
lasting triumph. Al first the con
querers used much violence, but WIS
dom prevailed and they adopted policy
OF conciliatinn. All things were peace
fully settled, and the old Theban line
OF kings were allowed to reign in that
city as tributary yassals. AS the
Romans gained refinement from CON
quered Greece, so did tine shepherds
borrow arts and language from the
higher civilization of the Egyptiana.
They adopted their religion, manners
and customs, excelling them in some
points and giving back lessons in
nhance and military science and intro
duclng horsemen and war chariots into
the armies. Lift the curtain and look
upon, the Pharaoh before whom Joseph
stands, as the story is told in Genesis
xxxix.xli.
He has guards TO attend him and
fotIphar, the captain, is man Of
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