Draft sections of the 'Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended' and of a treatise on Daniel: section e
Chap. II.
Of the Kingdome of Egypt.
The first great kingdome in the world on this side the Indies seems to have been that of Egypt. For a[1] Pliny in recconing up the first inventors of things ascribes to the Egyptians the invention of a royal city & to the inhabitants of Attica that of a popular one. Which is as much as to say that Athens was by the Greeks accounted the first city in the world under which other cities united into a popular dominion by a common Council, & the Egyptian Thebes the first city which became the seat of a kingdom. For Thebes was famous in Homer's days when the four Monarchies & their head cities were not yet talked of. For, b[2] saith Strabo, Homer knew nothing of the Empire of the Medes & Assyrians, otherwise c[3] naming the Egyptian Thebes & her riches & those of the Phœnicians, he would not have passed over in silence the riches of Babylon Nineve & Ecbatane
Egypt is a long & narrow tract of land running north & south on both sides the river Nile between mountains & Desarts. The south end of this regi{on} with the spacious country beyond it is Ethiopia. The middlemost tract is Thebais called in scripture the land of Pathros & d[4] the rest below Thebais was westward from the city Berenices, & called Misraim. ✝✝ This tract was distinguished into to parts the lower a broad & flat country upon the mouths of Nile called Delta by the Greeks & Rahab in scripture the higher a long & narrow country called Heptanomis by the Greeks. The metropolis of Thebais was Thebes called in scripture In the south end of Thebais between the Nile & the red sea not far from Thebes was the City Coptus[5] & the {Homies} Coptites. This people gave the name of Coptites to all the Egyptians as they are still called.: & thence the Greeks formed ἆια Copti, Ægyptus. Probably the Coptites founded Thebes & thereby spread their name with their dominion.
Sir Iohn Marsham reccons that Thebais was anciently divided into two kingdoms the one on the east side of the Nile under the head city Thebes the other on the west side under the head city This, & that Misraim or Egypt {below Th}ebais was also anciently divided into two kingdoms the {lower} upon the seven streams of Nile & the uper between that {& T}hebais; both which were called Misraim in the dual number that is the two lands of Misor. No Ammon is the city of A{m}mon or Iupiter, & by the Greeks Diospolis. In The south end of Thebais And out of these four kingdoms & perhaps some others at length arose the Monarchy of Egypt. But how these kingdoms at first arose out of smaller ones is hard to relate because of the great ~ antiquity of the kingdoms. Yet some footsteps there are of their first original.
For in the seven years of plenty Ioseph laid up the corn in the cities of Egypt, the corn of the field which was round about every city laid he up in the same. Gen. 41.48. And therefore the cities of Egypt being in those days the places which the Egyptians inned their harvest they must have been almost as close together as our villages & by consequence as numerous & small as the ancient cities of Syria & δήμοι of the Medes & Greeks. Which is an argument that the first constitution of Egypt was like that of other nations round about. For these cities like the δήμοι of Greece united under common councills & thereby grew into kingdoms.
For the common councils of the Greeks were set up in imitation of those set up before in Egypt, & the remains of such councils continued in several parts of Egypt till the days of Herodotus. The Oracle, saith he,[6] at Dodona is very like that of the Egyptian Thebes & the way of divining in the Greek Temples is taken from Ægypt. For the Egyptians were the first authors of making Conventions & solemnities & Councils & the Greeks learnt these things from them. Of which thing I have this argument that their way was in use from ancient times but that of the Greeks lately instituted. Neither do the Egyptians assemble once every year but frequently, as in other places, so chiefly & most studiously in the city Bubastis to the Honour of Diana, secondly in the city Busiris to the honour of Isis. In which city seated in the middle of the Egyptian Delta is the greatest temple of Isis. Isis is she who in Greek is called Δημήτης that is Ceres. Thirdly in the city of Sais to the honour of Minerva. {illeg} Fourthly in Heliopolis to the honour of the Sun. Fiftly in the city
Chap. II
Of the Kingdome of Egypt.
Egypt (called in scripture Misor Mizraim & the land of Ham) is a long & broad valley or meadow on both sides the Nile between mountains & desarts, running north & south from Syene to the Mediterranean. It consists of two regions called Mizraim that is the two lands of Misor, videlicet the upper lying on both sides the single stream of the Nile & the lower lying upon the mouths of the Nile in the form of a triangle about 3600 furlongs in compass. This lower was called Delta by the Greeks & Rahab in scripture. The upper was again divided into two parts the southern called Thebais & in scripture the land of Pathros & the northern called Heptanomis. The Metropolis of Thebais was Thebes called in Scripture Ammon No (now Minio) that is the city of Ammon or Iupiter or (as the seventy interpret) Diospolis. It stood on both sides the Nile at the distance of about 840 stadia below the less cataract. Below it on the western side of the Nile was the city This anciently the Metropolis of a kingdom which at lenght came under the dominion of Thebes. The Metropolis of Heptanomis was Noph, Moph or Memphys a city on the western bank of the Nile just above the Delta & about 1000 stadia from the Mediterranean. Not far from Memphys were the fields where the Egyptians buried their dead & built Pyramids to their memory.
About half a mile or a mile below Memphys the Nile The direct stream which runs through the middle of the Delta is called the Thermusiac river or Sebennic Ostium. The first stream which parts from it runs on the eastern side of the Delta & is called the Bubastic River or Pelusiac ostium. The next stream which parts from it runs on the western side of the Delta & is called the Canobic ostium. These are the three biggest streams & between them run several others.
began to divide it self into several streams to water the DeltaIn the way from Syria into Egypt at the entrance of Egypt about three miles from the Sea & at some distance from the Pelusiac ostium of the Nile eastward stood Pelusium called also Sin, Abaris, Sethron & Pithom & westward from it upon the bank of the same Pelusiac Ostium stood Ramesses. These were the two cities which the Israelites built for Pharaoth & between them lay the land of Goshen where Israel was in bondage & on the other side of this river was the field & city of Zoan or Tanis, & higher upon the eastern bank of the same stream not far below Memphys was Bubastis called in scripture Phibeseth. On the eastern border of Egypt about 1200 furlongs above Pelusium stood the city On, Aven or Heliopolis whose Priest Potiphera married his daughter Assenath to Ioseph. The way between these two cities was through a desart over which there was an open access from the east into Egypt till Sesostris fenced Egypt on that side with a great ditch of water carried from Pelusium to Heliopolis.
Between Egypt & the Red Sea were nations of Arabians called Troglodytæ & in scripture Sukkijm. And in Thebais between the Nile & the Red Sea not far from Thebes was Coptus a common city of the Egyptians & Arabians & the Metropolis of the Nome Coptites. This people gave the name of Coptites to all the Egyptians & thence the Greeks formed ἆιαCopti, Ægyptus. Probably the Coptites founded Thebes & thereby spread their name with their dominion. Yet Ægypt is often taken by writers for Delta & Heptanomis without Thebais, & sometimes only for Delta.
About ten thousand furlongs above the mouths of the Nile in the northern latitude of about 14 or 15 degrees stood the city Meroe in a great Island or Peninsula of the same name compassed by two arms of the Nile Astaboras & Astapus or Astusapes flowing from certain Lakes & meeting 700 furlongs below the City. Thence the Nile flowd northward 2000 furlongs more & then bending backward ran southwest 3700 furlongs till it came almost over against Meroe. Then it ran again to the north with some inclination eastward 5300 stadia to the great Cataract & from thence northward 700 stadia to the less Cataract & from thence it ran northward in a right line through the middle of Egypt 5000 stadia to the Mediterranean Sea. These bendings of the Nile above the less Cateract together with the rivers which run into it seem to be therivers of Ethiopia Zephan. 3.1 & Isa 18.1.
On the Arabic or eastern side of the Nile from the less cateract up to Meroe & beyond it were the Arabic Ethiopians called Megabars & Blemyes & in Scripture Chus. Iuba makes them not Ethiopians but Arabians And over against them on the other side the Nile were the Nubians & Abissenes called Lud. The Nubians were anciently divided into little kingdomes under kings of their own, & frequently warred with the Arabian Ethiopians for one anothers territories. The Megabar Ethiopians were next Egypt & used bucklers & lances & clubs knotted with iron & thereby differed from the other Ethiopians who used great bows & lances. These Ethiopians were sometimes subject to Egypt & sometimes reigned over it & accordingly the whole was called sometimes Egypt & sometimes Ethiopia.
Next above the less cataract was Phylæ called in scripture Phul, a city & region common to the Ethiopians & Egyptians & next below this Cataract were Elephantis & Syene cities in the southern border of Egypt & in the mid way between Meroe & the Mediterranean Sea. was Elephantis in an Island of the Nile of the same bigness with it self three miles below the less cataract & Syene was a little lower & lay just under the Tropic of Cancer, that is in the north latitude of 23 1/2 degrees.
Manetho an Egyptian Priest has given us the names of many kings reigning in several parts of Egypt, as at Elephantis, at Diospolis or Thebes, at Memphys, at Bubastis, at Heracleapolis, at Tanis, at Sais, at Xois: & Eratosthenes has also given us a list of the kings of Thebes. Which confirms that there have been many kingdoms in Egypt at once ~ as Palmonghtes & the Chronicum Alexandrinum tell us there were.. But a certain account of their rise magnitude duration & fall is not now to be had. Yet this is certain that before the reign of Sesac they were all swallowed up by the kingdom of Thebes.
In the days of Iacob & Moses there was a kingdom in at Ramesses. For where Pharaoh & his Court resided there Ioseph placed his father & brethren that they might be near him (Gen. 45.10) not in the very city but in the territory adjoyning where their flocks & heards might have pasturage & this was in the land of Ramesses (Gen 47.11) in Goshen which seems to be one of the villages of the city (Gen 46.29) so neare the city that Pharaohs daughter coming down to wash her self in the river & walking along the river with her maids, found Moses hid in the flaggs & sent for a nurse of the Hebrew weomen staying till the nurse came to receive the child Exod. 2.3, 5, 7, 9. In that City Moses did his wonders in the sight of Pharaoh, Exod. 7.15, 20 & 8.3, 20 & 9.29, 33. And when the first born were smitten which was at midnight Pharaoh rose up in the night & called for Moses & Aaron & ordered them & the people of Israel to get them out of the land, & the same night the Egyptians lent the Israelites Iewels & rayment & urged them to be gone & the next morning Moses & Aaron led the children of Israel from Ramesses out of Egypt & they journied that day with their flocks & heards to Succoth a place in the wilderness between Egypt & the Red Sea, Gen. 11.8 & 12.29, 30, 31, 37, 38, 41. Num. 33.3. Ramesses was therefore the royal seat of this kingdom. But of what extent this kingdom was is uncertain. I suspect it comprehended but a part of the Delta.
the lower Egypt of a considerable bigness whose kings residedThe Kings of Ramesses are not mentioned by Manetho except Timaus the last king whom the Shepherds conquered. Nor did Manetho know any thing of the peregrination & servitude of Israel in Egypt but takes the Shepherd's Kingdom for the Israelites, which makes me suspect that the kings in his Dynasties are generally later then the days of Moses. For he being a Priest of Heliopolis which was under the dominion of Ramesses it may be presumed that he would be most diligent & particular in the antiquities of his own country, & therefor would not have omitted the kings of Ramesses & servitude of the Israelites had his records reacht so high.
The first & second Dynasties of Manetho contain 17 Kings of This, the first of which is Menes accounted the oldest king in his Dynasties & the 16th is Sesochris who reigned 48 years & [ἐῖχεν ὕψος ε πλάτος γ: read, ἐῖχεν ὕψος πυχῶν ε πλαιστῶν γ] was 5 cubits & 3 palms high.
The third fourth sixt 7th & 8th Dynasties contein the first 24 kings of Memphys by name & is Sesochris who reigned 48 years & was 5 cubits & three palms high & is therefore the same Sesochris with the former, that is Sesac or Sesostris, . For Sesostris was very tall. Diodorus says that he was of the same height with his statues which were 4 cubits 4 palms high, Eusebius that he was 4 cubits 3 palms & 2 digits high.
The fift Dynasty conteins eight kings of Elephantis whereof the third & fourth kings are Nerchepheres & Sisichis, or (as they are named by Syncellus) Nephercheres & Sisiris & these seem to be the same kings with Nephercheres & Sesochris the 15th & 16th Kings of This & with Zebercheres & Sesochris the 16 & 18 kings of Memphys. The 9th & 10 Dynasties mention kings of Heracleopolis but without naming them.
<7r>Sesochris with the former, that is Sesac or Sesostris. For Sesostris was very tall. Diodorus says that he was of the same height with his statues which were 4 cubits 4 palms high Eusebius that he was 4 cubits 3 palms & two digits high. The 7th & 8th Dynasties contein other kings of Memphys but without naming them.
2 The 11th & 12th Dynasties contein the first 24 kings of Diospolis or Thebes the 20th of which is Sesostris who reigned 48 years & in nine years subdued Asia & part of Europe & set up his statues where ever he went. By the length of his reign he is the same king with Sesochris in the former Dynasties. The 13th Dynasty is of other kings of Diospolis but without naming them.
3 Now according to the above mentioned Dynasties of Manetho, the 15 kings of This who preceded Sesochris reigned 487 years. The 17 of Memphys who preceded him reigned 498 years. And The 19 of Diospolis who preceded Sesostris reigned 143 years And therefore if Sesochris & Sesostris be Sesac all these Dynasties began later then the servitude of the Israelites in Egypt. And so did the kingdom of the Shepherds whose kings are mentioned in the 15th 16th & 17th Dynasties as I shall shew hereafter
4 The 18th & 19th Dynasties contein another series of 22 kings of Diospolis the 17th of which is Sethos. Iosephus reciting out of Manetho the kings of these two Dynasties with their actions saith that Sethos (or, as he calls him, Sethosis) was the brother of Armais or Danaus & having forces by land &sea invaded Cyprus & Phœnicia & the cities of the east. He was therefore the same king with Sesostris or Sesac The 16 kings which in these Dynasties preceded him reigned only 287 years. The 20th Dynasty conteins other kings of Diospolis without naming them.
5 The rest of Manetho's Dynasties contein kings much later then Moses.
1 The 5t Dynasty conteins 8 kings of Elephantis whereof the third & fourth kings are Nerchepheres & Sisichis or (as they are named by Syncellus) Nephercheres & Sisicris & these seem to be the same kings with Nephercheres & Sesochris the 15th & 16th kings of This, & with Zebercheres & Sesochris the 16th & 18th kings of Memphys. The 9th & 10th Dynasties mention kings of Heracleopolis but without naming them.
< insertion from f 7v >The 14th Dynasty is of the Kings of Xois without naming them. The 21th & 23th is of 11 Kings of Tanis the second of which is represented contemporary to David. I suspect these kings were Viceroys under the Kings of Thebes. The 22th Dynasty conteins nine kings of Bubastis the first of which is Sesonchis or Sesochis. And the rest of the Dynasties of Manetho contein kings of a later date.
Eratosthenes has given us a series or canon of 38 kings of Thebes beginning with Menes & differing from the canons of Manetho. The first nineteen kings of this canon reigned 574 years & the 20th 21th & 22th
< text from f 8r resumes >Erathosthenes has given us another list or canon of the kings of Thebes beginning with Menes, & conteining 38 kings. The first nineteen reigned 574 years & the 20th 21th & 22th called Apappus Echeseos & Nitocris seem to be the same with Phiops, Methesuphis & Nitocris the three last kings of Memphys in the sixt Dynasty of Manetho. For Apappus & Phiops reigned each one hundred years & therefore are but two names of one king: Echeseos& Methesuphis reigned each one year & Nitocris was a Queen of the same name in both canons Now before these three kings of Memphys reigned 20 other kings of Memphys whose reign took up 586 years according to the 3d 4th & 6t Dynasties of Manetho & therefore Menes the first king of Thebes in the Canon of Eratosthenes was later by 12 years then the first king of Memphys in the Dynasties of Manetho, & by consequence he reigned at the same time with Menes the first king of This, & may therefore be taken for the same king, especially since they both reigned above 60 years.
From all which it seems to me that in the Dynasties of Manetho & Eratosthenes there is nothing so ancient as the coming of Israel out of Egypt. And yet the Egyptian Priests by summing up the years of all the Dynasties together have made their kingdom much older then the creation of the world. which shews that they knew not when their kings reigned.
Africanus dates the reign of Menes (the first king of Thebes & This ) from the tenth year of the reign of the Shepherds & their reign began after the days of Moses.
Venaphes The fourth king of This built the Pyramids in Chocome & Suphis the ninth king of Memphys built the great Pyramid & the third Pyramid is ascribed to Nitocris & certainly, the Pyramids were built long after the days of Moses. Herodotus from the report of the Egyptian Priests represents that they were built after the days of Sesostris, & Some have attributed the third Pyramid to Rhodope the fellow servant of Æsop who lived in the age of Solon & Cræsus.
In these Dynasties of Manetho & Erastosthenes the kings seem to be often set out of order & the names of the kings much corrupted & some of them were perhaps only Viceroys which makes it difficult to conclude any thing of certainty from them.
Sometime after the departure of the Israelites out of Egypt the Shepherds from the east invaded & conquered Timaus king of the lower Egypt & burnt the cities & subverted the Temples of the Egyptians & reduced the people into servitude & reigning there a long time had various wars with the kings of the higher parts of Egypt. This invasion I place after the departure of Israel out of Egypt because during their stay in Egypt there is no mention of Shepherds or Arabians or Canaanites there but Pharaoh & all his people are spoken of as Egyptians. The Israelites had been in Egypt 215 years & yet remained a distinct people so as not to be called Egyptians & the Shepherds remained also a distinct people because the Egyptians at length drave them out of Gen.Egypt, The Egyptians abominated Shepherds & would not so much as eat with them & & by way of distinction a[10] called their kings Hicsos that is Shepherd kings & they differed also in religion the Shepherds sacrificing men after the manner of the Canaanites & Arabians whence came the story of Busiris, but the Egyptians abolishing such sacrifices. But in the story of Moses, the king of Egypt under whom Israel was in bondage was called Pharaoh like the old kings of Egypt & he & his captains & army & all his people except the Israelites are considered as one nation & called Egyptians without any distinction. Pharaoh sought the life of Moses for killing an Egyptian (Exod 2.15) The Iews were in bondage under the Egyptians (Exod. 3.8, 9) The ten plagues fell on the Egyptians & the Egyptians were drowned in the red sea. Not one word in all the story of any other people then Egyptians & Israelites. And it is further to be observed that the worship of the calf which Israel brought out of Egypt was not that of the Canaanites or Arabians but that which the genuine Egyptians paid to their God Osiris. And Pharaoh feared least upon any incursion of forreigners Israel should help them & go with them out of the land. And as shepherds were an abomination to the Egyptians in the days of Iacob so the sacrifices of ~ Shepherds were an abomination to the Egyptians in the days of Moses (Exod 10.9). It was after this time therefore that Egypt came under the dominion of the Shepherds.
These Shepherds, saith Manetho, first seated themselves in Egypt by power without warr, & then gaining the Princes of the region were they were they invaded the cities of Egypt with great violence & reducing them into servitude at length made Salates their king. He took Memphys & & built & fortified Avavis or Pelusium strongly with a wall & numerous garison. After him reigned successively Beon, Apacnas, Apophis, Ianias or Itaan, Assis or Arcles & many others . In those days Ægypt was called Aeria There was a Dynasty of the Gods of Egypt called Auritæ. & probably the name came from the city Avaris or Abaris where the Shepherds reigned afterwards. This city the Egyptians accounted the city of Typhon calling it Sethon from Seth a name of Typon The country about Avaris was long after the fall of this kingdom called Bucolica because the Shepherds there fed their Heards & flocks. They reigned over Heliopolis & there sacrificed men till one of the kings of Egypt whom Manetho calls Amosis having recoverd that city from them abolished those sacrifices there by substituting waxen images of men They sacrificed men of the colour of Typhon at the Tumb of Osiris which they called Busiris & because few Ægyptians were of that collour they usually sacrificed strangers These sacrifices seem to have been used in several cities & perhaps in the Nome of Busiris in the middle of the Delta. For There the worshippers also beat themselves & some cut their foreheads after the manner of the Phœnicians. 1 King. 18.28. At Heliopolis they sacrificed three men daily.
Like the people of Phœnicia & Arabia they sacrificed men & in Busiris a city in the middle of the Delta the Egyptians long after the expulsion of the Shepherds [11] continued to beat themselves in their worship & some cut their foreheads after the manner of the Priests of Baal the God of the Phœnicians. 1 King 18.28 At the tomb of Osiris They sacrificed red men & because few Egyptians were of that colour they usually sacrificed strangers: whence came the story of Busiris. In Heliopolis the sacrificed three men daily till one of the kings of Egypt whom Manetho calls Amosis having taken that city from them abolished those sacrifices by substituting waxen images of men. At length Misphragmuthosis king of Thebes – At length Misphragmuthosis king of Thebes drave them out of almost all Egypt & made them retire into the city Abaris where they walled in then thousand acres of land & shut themselves up & his son & successor Tuthmosis or Thummosis beseiged them there & covenanted with them that they should leave Egypt & go whether they pleased & thereupon, saith Manetho, they went out of Egypt through the Desart into Syria. This
Hence Manetho concludes that they were the Israelites. Others take them for Arabians. Africanus speaking of the first six kings saith they were Phenicians, Ησαν δὲ Φοίνικες ξένοι βασιλεῖς στ. Bochartus makes them a colony of Phœnicians & interprets the names of the first six kings in the Phœnician language. Herodotus tells us that in Memphys was a region which they called And Ierome saith of the language of Canaan, Inter Ægyptian & Hebræan media est & Hebrææ magna in parte confinis: Its much like the Hebrew but partakes more of the Egyptian then the Hebrew doth. The Canaanites were shepherds & lay next Egypt & the main body of the Arabians lay at a greater distance from Egypt with Edom between. For Edom lay before Egypt b[12] extending from Canaan to the red sea & the Edomites kept their seats.
It seems to me therefore that as when David invaded Edom & Nebuchadnezzar invaded Iudea the invaded people retired into Egypt so when Ioshua invaded Canaan & drave out the inhabitants they retired in great numbers into Egypt & seated themselves about Avaris where they found pasturage for their cattel For Manetho says they came in peacably without war & thence its probable that they were fugitives. But when they found themselves numerous & strong enough they made warr upon Timaus king of the Egyptians (whom perhaps Ezekiel calls Tammur) & overthrew the kingdom of Ramesses & staying long in Egypt used themselves to navigation upon the river Nile, & when they were shut up in Avaris applied themselves more to the sea then before for want of room & still more when they were obliged to leave Egypt, using both the Red Sea & the Mediterranean, & sending colonies into many places on both seas. For the Phœnicians were seated upon both seas & traded first upon the Red Sea & retired from thence to the Mediterranean as they themselves & the Persians related to Herodotus. So that when the Phenicians went from Egypt through the wilderness into Syria they seem to have gone
Astereth Astarte Aster Asteroth, Atter-dag the Goddess of the Zidonians was a shepherdess, the name being taken from Asteroth which signifies heards & flocks of cattel & sheep. Sanchoniatho tells us that she ware upon her head the head of an Ox (that is a diadem so formed) as the emblem of her dominion. Herodotus tells us that in Memphys was a region about the Temple of Proteus ofwhich they called castra Tyrionem. Hence come the names of Aster, Atter-dag, Tsor, Tyre & Syria.
Herodotus tells us that a region round about the temple of Protius in the City Memphys was inhabited by Tyrian Phœnicians all which place was called the camp of the Tyrians. Probably these were the reliques of the Shepherds. He tells us also of a city in the Delta called Atarbechis in which was a Temple of Venus. And by the name of the city this Venus seemes to be the Venus of the Phenicians called called Astarte Aster Asteroth Athara, Atergatis Derceto The name denotes a Queen of Shepherds heardmen & Mariners, the word Asteroth signifying flocks of sheep & heards of cattel . As a queen of Sheepherds & heardsmen she ware upon her head the head of an Ox that is a diadem so formed, & was called Aster Asteroth Astarte Athara, & as a queen of Mariners she was sometimes formed like a fish below & the (from the word dag a fish) called Atergatis Aterbechis Derceto &c. the names being corruptly formed of Aster-dag. When any Bulls died in Egypt it was a custome of the Egyptians to bury them neare their cities with one or two horns above ground for a Signe & after a certain time when their bodies were rotted away the inhabitants of the city Atarbechis came to the cities of Egypt in ships, dug up the bones carried them away to a common burying place & there buried them together. This service imposed by the Egyptians upon the inhabitants of this city intimates that they were the remains of ancient heardsmen who had left a brood of cattel scattered throughout the land of Egypt, & the Goddess which they worshipped discovers that they were Phœnicians. So also the head of Osiris carried yearly out of Egypt to Biblos in Syria & the Syrians lamenting Adonis after the manner that the Egyptians did Osiris are arguments that the Phœnicians brought part of their religion out of Egypt.
<10v>Lucian[13] tells us that there was a large Temple at Sidon dedicated to Astarte & that the Phœniceans had another Temple which was not Syrian but Egyptian & came from Heliopolis into Syria & was large & very ancient. And that at Biblos they had another large Temple dedicated to Venus where they worshipped Adonis & every year beat themselves & lamented his death throughout the whole region & then performed to him a sacrifice of the dead & the next day afirmed he was alive & shaved their heads after the manner of the Egyptians when their Apis was dead. And some of Biblos affirmed that the Egyptian the Egyptian Osiris was buried at Biblos & that all this mourning was performed to Osiris & confirm their opinion by this ceremony that the head of Osiris was every year brought out of Egypt to Biblos in a ship, & saith Lucian I saw this head formed of the Egyptian papyr.
& that he was buried at Biblos & confirmed their opinion by this ceremony that – papyr. This custome it seems they took to be in remembrance of the bringing of the true head of Osiris out of Egypt to be buried at Biblus & upon that opinion grounded their worship So then Adonis Venus & the Boar are but other names of Osiris Isis & Typhon & the worship of Adonis & his Venus is Egyptian. All which are further arguments that the Phenicians came from Egypt. And its probable also that they brought their Hercules thence.
In this language Iacob gave the blessings to his sons from whence were formed the standards or Ensignes of the 12 tribes of {illeg} and Num 2 also the figure of a Cherubim to represent all the tribes in one hieroglyphic. And in the same language Thoth (the inventor of the language) gave characters to the fathers of the tribes or Nomes of Egypt representing them by several birds beasts & fishes which the Egyptians afterwards placed in their temples.. For the beasts which the Egyptians honoured were nothing else then the symbols or hieroglyphies of their first fathers. And this honouring them was older then the days of Moses because described & prohibited in the second Commandment. Thou shalt not make to thy self any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above or in the earth beneath or in the waters under the earth, thou shalt not bow down thy self to them nor serve them, Exod 20, that is thou shalt not make or worship the likeness or image of any beast bird insect or fish as thou hast seen them made & worshipped in Egypt (Deut 4.16, 17, 18)
It seems to me therefore that as the posterity of Ismael dwelling from Havilah to Shur before Egypt were divided (according to the nū into twelve nations or tribes under twelve princes reigning in so many castles or head cities of the sons of Ismael Gen 25.16. And as the posterity of according to the number of of Iacob his 12 sons continued in twelve distinct bodies or tribes in Egypt which afterwards were seated in twelve distinct regions in Canaan each with his own army & under his own standard & Prince & Prince & judges (Num 1.4 & 2.2 & Deut 1. , 15, 16, 17) So the Egyptians according to the number of their first fathers were distinguished from the beginning into several tribes or nations seated in several parts of Egypt each with its own captain & army & that as Moses made laws for Israel so Thoth made laws for Egypt & untied every Nome under one common Council & Temple & mode of worship & banner, & thereby prevented its breaking into such little kingdoms as were to be met with in Canaan & other places. But how these Nomes warred upon one another or were invaded by forreigners, what kingdoms they united into & what changes they underwent untill they all united into one Monarchy is not to be found in history, excepting what we meet with concerning the kingdom in the lower Egypt under which Israel was in bondage, the invasion of that kingdom by the Shepherds & the conquest of the Shepherds by the kingdom of Thebes.
In The kingdom where Israel was in servitude are mentioned these Cities Pithom, Ramesses, On & Zoan. Gen 41.45. Exod 1.11. Psal. Pithom was a city at the Entrance of Egypt in the way from Syria about three miles from the sea . It was otherwise called Sethron, Abaris, Sin & Pelusium, On or Aven was Heliopolis a City in the eastern border of Egypt about 1500 furlongs above Pelusium. . The way between them was over a desert through which there was an open access from the east into Egypt untill Sesach fenced Egypt on that side with a great ditch of water, carried from Pelusium to Heliopolis. Almost Parallel to this ditch ran the eastern stream of the Nile called the Bubastic river or Pelusiotic ostium, & on the western side of this stream lay the country or of Tanis or Zoan an ancient City which was built seven years after Hebron (Num 13.22) & at length became the royal seat of the lower Egypt.. These three cities were the Metropolise of three Nomes the Sethroite, the Heliopolitan & the Tanite. Vpon the eastern bank of the Bubastic river was Pharaohs court & the city Ramesses & between Pithom & Ramesses lay the land of Goshen For Pithom & Ramesses were cities of treasure (that is fortified cities) which the Children of Israel built for Pharaoh (Exod. 1.11) & therefore were seated in or neare the land when Israel dwelt And that land was in the territory or country of Ramessis (Gen 47.11) bordering upon the River (Exod 1.22 & 2.3 , 8) & in the way from Syria to Pharaoh's court (Gen 46.28, 29) And Pharaohs court was seated upon the same bank of the River in the border of the land of Goshen (Exod 2.5. & 7.15, 20. & 8.20) or so neare to that land that Ioseph (the second man in Egypt) upon notice given by his brother Iudah went thence to meet his father in Goshen (Gen 46.28, 29) & that when the first born of the Egyptians were slain at midnight, Pharaoh sent for Moses & Aaron & by their hand sent away the children of Israel the sane night & they prepared for their journey & borrowed Iewels & rayment of the Egyptians the same night & in the morning under the conduct of Moses & Aaron began their journey from Ramesses the city which they had been building & journied that day to Succoth a place in the desart where they baked cakes of unleavened bread. (Exod 12.29, 31, 37 & Num 33.2.) From all which it may seem that Pharaoh then resided in the City Ramesses, tho Zoan became afterwards the royal city of the lower Egypt Psal. 78.12, 43 Isa 19.11, 13 & 30.4.
This kingdom was called Misraim that is the two lands of Misor. kingdoms united into one & was afterward continued to that kingdom hower enlarged or diminished. For it is sometimes taken for all Egypt including Pathos ( sometimes for all Egypt below Pathros (Isa 11.11) & most commonly for the kingdom which lay upon the mouths of the Nile.
Its probable the name came from twoAfter the departure of Israel out of Egypt – – – under the dominion of the shepherds.
These shepherds first seated themselves in Egypt without warr – – desart into Syria.
Hence Manetho –
& laid a foundation for monarchial government. Vnder Thoth all Egypt was united, what kingdoms it became afterwards divided into is uncertain & can only be conjectured by the old divisions of the land Egypt into several lands & by the, Dynasties of Manetho.
– laid a foundation for monarchical government. Vnder Thoth all Egypt was united what kingdoms it became afterwards divided into is uncertain & can only be conjectured by the Dynasties of Manetho. F This is certain that in the days of Abraham Iacob & Moses there was a kingdom in the lower Egypt, but the extent of this kingdom was unknown. It comprehended at least the cities Pithom, Ramesses, On or Aven & Zoan or Tanis. Pithom was a city at the entrance of Egypt
[1] a lib. 7. c. 56
[2] b lib. 15. p. 735
[3] c Homer. ιλ. 9
[4] d Isa. 11.11 Ier. 44.1.
[5] Strabo l 17 p. 815. a, b, c.
[6] Herod. l. 2
[7] a lib. 7. c. 56
[8] b lib. 15. p. 735.
[9] c Homer. ιλ. 9.
[10] a Manetho aoud Ioseph cont. App.
[11] Herod. l. 2.
[12] b 1 King. 9.26.
[13] De Dea Syr. p 1058.