The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-09-09
Center Of Worship and Sacrifice
Of the Semitic World Before the
Jews Set Out from Egypt Dis
coveries Regarding the Exodus
Results Of DR.. Petrie's Elk
ploration Among Remnants Of
the Earth S First People.
London Chronicle.

BY a series of bold and brilliant dis
coveries the reward Of arduous and sus-
tanned labor, DR.. Flinders Petrie has re-
nodded the history Of the eastern
Mediterranean during the last ten
years. Spelling out the records Of
he has given a new meaning to the
word Sancient. -
Greeks and Romans are now seen to
have been mere .moderns, almost tread
ing on our own heels, while far back
we look down a long vista Of culture
and civilization, lasting thru many
thousand years and stretching around
and his friends-for I take him simply
as the most prominent man Of group
have given US a new conception Of
history, new reading of the modern
world, new idea of human growth.
They have literally dug out from the
bowels of the earth, in the heat and
solitude Of exile, new history of man.
Now they are extending their work
further. Hitherto DR.; Petrie.'s work
Egypt. But, like Moses, he has not
always been on best terms with
Pharaoh, and this year a small differ
ence. as to state rights has led to an
exodus. Shaking the dust of Egypt
from off his feet-happily without in.
sisting on any plaques Mr.. Petrie has
gone Sc eral days. camel journey with
the tents and his workmen off into the
wilderness, to dig there. Following
in exile, Mr.. Petrie has gone to Sinai
and the results of season s work there
are shown in small, crowded room
within the building Of the London uni
versity in Cover street.
= ~ What the Stones Tell.
Briefly, these stones seem to explain
why Moses and his people wanted to e
into the Wilderness, for here, close t
Sinai, Professor Petrie and his worker:
have found what is little less than
sort of Semitic Delphi-a great center
OF worship, prayer and sacrifice for the
| whole Semitic world. It was MEDIUM
who first discovered that there was
temple near Sinai But it might have
been, just an ordinary Egyptian temple
to Osiris, Isis or any Of that motley
crowd who dog the days and haunt thu
nights of the modern Egyptian tourist
1t has now been thoroly dug up ant
has been discovered to be Semitic tenn
ple, temple for the Jews and thei,
kindred races. tt contains vas
mum Der Of cubicles for pilgrims wht
went to dream dreams after The manne:
Of Jacob and Joseph, and hundreds o:
llCJle BeJnel' stones which they
erected, even as Jacob did, to celebrat,
a really fortunate dream. Of course
DR.. Petrio is much too cautious a stu
dent to suggest any connection between
this temple and the Jewish exodus. Bu1
may not the suggestion at any rate b.
thrown out that it was to this spot thai
Moses first wished to lead the Jewish
exiles9 Pharaoh, acting after his kline
refused to compromise, but are we quite
sure that if he had the Jews might not
have gone to Sinai, sacrificed there, anG
returned to Egypt.
T. We cannot tell. When all is sale
and done, the excavators in Egypt have
come across very few traces Of the Jew
ish captivity. That episode. of Egypt
ian history figured very small in the i'm
mense perspective Of dynasties. Thu
Egyptians probably regarded the Jews
as very "little people, and looked
oyer. their heads with true imperiahs
disdafn. "This,'' they said, lis tn,
day Of big empress They had man,
such troubles with small nations-wan
dering desert tribes, Philippians, Evil,
sons Of Cush,' and what not. al"
| : The Psychologists have done thei
best for the British public, jealous O.
the Old Testament. -