her situation and the military prowess of her inhabitants from foreign invasion [to a great extent]; the history of Egypt is marked by longer periods of internal tranquillity and prosperity than that of any other primitive kingdom; and the happy consequence of it was, that early and rapid advance in all the useful and ornamental arts of social life, which made her the cradle of the civilization of the ancient world. "The Israelites dwelt in the midst of this most cultivated and industrious people for [nearly two hundred and fifty] years; first as sojourners, afterwards as captives: it was there, apparently, that they acquired that knowledge of, and skill in the various arts of settled and civilized life, which prepared and fitted them afterwards for developing, to their full extent, the resources of the land of promise; arts which must necessarily have been unknown to wandering tribes of shepherds. This, doubtless, was one purpose of the divine mercy which the captivity in Egypt was made to subserve."* Interesting, however, as the earliest annals of this renowned land would be, they are still involved, and probably will remain veiled, in the obscurity of the most vague tradition; tradition, which at its best, extends not beyond the preservation of a few names, and still fewer incidents, spread, with many gaps of total oblivion, over a wide period of time. The kings who reigned before the conquest of Egypt by Cambyses, which happened about five centuries before the birth of our Lord, are arranged by Manetho * Antiq. of Egypt, Rel. Tr. Soc. in twenty-six dynasties; but it is not until we arrive at the sixteenth or seventeenth of these, that any available light is thrown upon the history by the monuments which have come down to the present time, and which must be, in conjunction with what we find in the word of God, the only source of information on which we can rest with confidence. Some tablets, however, exist, which profess to be genealogical lists of the predecessors of the king in whose honour they were executed. The most valuable of these is that known as the Tablet of Abydos, from having formed part of the wall of a temple situated near that city. This important document is now in the Egyptian Saloon of the British Museum. It is in a mutilated condition, having probably suffered by the act of removal. It consists of three rows of royal ovals, containing the inaugural titles of the ancient Kings of Egypt, arranged in the order of their succession. The lowest row is occupied only by the name and title of Rameses Meiamun, in whose honour, doubtless, the tablet was engraved. His two ovals were repeated at least twelve times, but several of these are now wanting. The middle series contains seventeen or eighteen ovals of as many monarchs who preceded him, and the upper line, which is very defective, comprises names of an earlier epoch. Those names which can be identified, confirm, in a very satisfactory manner, the accuracy of Manetho. Other tablets of less extent, have added a few names to this list; and some papyri have contributed important information on the same subject. A hieratic papyrus, in the Museum of Turin, con tains a more copious list of kings, whose names are arranged in historical order. From all these sources, though they do not exactly agree, we may yet with some degree of confidence gather, that from Menes, the first king of Egypt, probably a son of Mizraim, there reigned about forty monarchs, through a period of about 700 years, until the commencement of the sixteenth dynasty. The most important events that have been preserved of this long succession, are the erection of the three great pyramids of Memphis, which are ascribed by Manetho respectively to Suphis I. Suphis II. and Mencheres, the first three sovereigns of the fourth dynasty. The information thus obtained is confirmed by monumental inscriptions found either within or in close proximity to, the respective pyramids the hieroglyphic names reading yorqw Sufo, qрн Shfre, (agreeing better with the name Cephren, given as the builder of the second pyramid by Herodotus) and шнк&рH Menkare. The debasing species of idolatry common in Egypt, the worship of brute animals, seems to have been introduced by a monarch of the second dynasty. The adoration of the sun and moon appears to have been the primal form of creature-worship, and perhaps (as has been intimated) was introduced even before the dispersion of mankind; but under Cæechos or Chous "the bulls Apis and Mnevis, and the Mendesian goat were appointed to be gods." So early were those who "did not like to retain God in their knowledge," given up to a reprobate mind! The powerful princes of the sixteenth and following dynasties have left their records in imperishable monuments, and our knowledge of Egyptian history from this period becomes at the same time more copious and more authentic. And it is remarkable, that it is at this very period that Egypt is first introduced to our notice by the Sacred Narrative, as mingling its fortunes with those of the people of God. The visit of Abraham to the hospitable Pharaoh who filled the throne in his day, seems to have occurred during the dominion of the sixteenth dynasty; and the warlike and powerful princes of the renowned eighteenth and nineteenth dynasties, are, without much doubt, those with whom we have been familiar as wielding the sceptre of Egypt from Joseph to Moses. The following table is an attempt to interweave the historical records of this period as contained in the word of God, with those which we gather from the Egyptian monuments. For convenience sake we adopt the chronology commonly printed with our marginal bibles, but it will be easy to adapt it to that of Dr. Hales, or any other that may be preferred, as the relative positions of the facts would not be affected thereby, the period between the promise to Abraham and the Exodus being indubitably fixed at four hundred and thirty years. For the lengths of the Egyptian reigns we are chiefly indebted to the lists of Sir J. G. Wilkinson. Absolute certainty of course cannot be pretended in such investigations; the scheme now presented is, however, the fruit of some study. G 1928 OSIRTASEN I. The grottoes of Beni Hassan excavated. The great temple at Karnak, either founded Glass-making and other arts practised. 1921 Abram called from Haran. 1920 Abram and Lot go down into Egypt. 1913 Sodom revolts from Chedorlaomer. 1900 The Egyptians conclude a war with the Pūnt (пONT). 1898 Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed. Abraham removes from Mamre to Gerar. 1896 Isaac born. In the latter part of the reign of this Pharaoh, the Shepherds (aywc) invade Lower Egypt, the native monarch retiring to Thebes, where he establishes the seventeenth dynasty. SEVENTEENTH DYNASTY. 1893 OSIRTASEN II. king of Upper Egypt. Abraham continues to dwell at Beersheba in Gerar. * It is now ascertained that Amun-m-ha I. preceded Osirtasen I. |