Thus it was that while America was unknown; while nearly all Africa, nearly all Europe, and more than half of Asia, were uninhabited, except by wild beasts; and while most of the people and nations on the globe were rude and uncivilized, the empire of Egypt contained many millions of people who were far advanced in civilization. Thus at the earliest period Egypt took the lead in knowledge and science, and therefore it is called the cradle of learning. Here it was that Homer and other celebrated Greek scholars, almost 3000 years ago, went to school, as young men go to Cambridge and New Haven to acquire learning now-a-days. Here it was that Moses, almost 3400 years ago, was educated, by direction of Pharaoh’s daughter, in a very superior manner, thus qualifying him, with the aid of Divine Providence, for the wonderful task of leading the Jewish nation for forty years through the wilderness of Arabia.
The history of the Jewish nation, as told in the Bible, gives us a good deal of information about Egypt in those early days, for the Jews were held in bondage there, and after they escaped, they settled in Palestine, a distance of only about 250 miles from Egypt. There was much intercourse therefore between the two nations, and the history of one naturally runs into that of the other.
But besides this knowledge of the history of Egypt afforded by the Bible, much other information is given by the ancient Greek and Roman historians; in addition to all this, the remains of ancient cities scattered along the banks of the Nile,—a famous river that runs through Egypt,—assure us that the half has hardly been told us. Notwithstanding the wonderful accounts of the splendor and populousness of ancient Egypt, handed down by antiquity, the existing monuments prove that these accounts fall short of the truth. And these remains are not only interesting as proving this, but also because they illustrate history, and throw much light upon the manners and customs of the ancient Egyptians.
Among the famous ruins of Luxor, which are found on the borders of the Nile, and which excite the wonder of every beholder by their splendor and magnificence, are the ornaments of buildings, which consist of carvings in marble, portraying various scenes, some relating to history and some to domestic life. Many of these sculptures exhibit men fighting, and therefore show how they carried on war 3500 years ago; there are carvings of men hunting, which show how they pursued the chase in those times. There are representations which show what kind of carts and carriages the people had; how they harnessed their horses and cattle; what kind of weapons they used in war; and many other things are shown by these remains of antiquity.
But recent discoveries have developed still more curious and interesting things. Vast chambers or rooms have been discovered, cut in the rock beneath the ground, where it seems the people used to live. On the walls of these chambers are paintings, which still preserve their colors and outlines so perfectly as to be easily understood. Here the traveller is able to study the manners and customs of ancient Egypt: here he finds pictures telling how the people dressed; how they cooked their food; what sort of furniture they had; how they amused themselves; in short, how they lived, in almost every respect. And what is curious to remark is this,—that many articles which have been invented in modern times, appear to have been in use among these Egyptians at least three thousand years ago. This subject is full of interest, for by the monuments and paintings of Egypt we have, as it were, discovered a wonderful book, that tells us a story which has been more than half hidden for about thirty centuries.
The Giraffe brought as tribute to Pharaoh.
But there is no aspect in which these modern discoveries seem so interesting, as in regard to the light they throw upon numerous passages in the Bible. I will mention a few instances; the following is one. Among the animals mentioned as illustrative of the wisdom and power of Providence, is one called in Hebrew the Reem, a word which literally signifies “the tall animal.” It is thus described in scripture: “Will the reem be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the reem with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee? Wilt thou trust him because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labor to him? Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed and gather it into thy barn?” (Job xxxix. 9-12.) Our translators have rendered the word reem, unicorn, which is absurd. Some commentators assert that it is the rhinoceros, or the buffalo, because the cognate Arabic word is sometimes applied to a species of gazelle, and the Arabs frequently speak of oxen and stags as one species. But neither the rhinoceros nor the buffalo can be called a tall animal, and the analogy between them and any species of gazelle with which we are acquainted, would be very difficult to demonstrate. But we find upon the monuments an animal fulfilling all the conditions of the description, and that is the giraffe, which is represented several times among the articles of tribute brought to the Pharaohs from the interior of Africa. The preceding sketch represents one of these carvings.
A most interesting proof of the accuracy and fidelity of the Bible narration is furnished by the following considerations. The artists of Egypt, in the specimens which they have left behind, delineated minutely every circumstance connected with their national habits and observances from the cradle to the grave; representing with equal fidelity the usages of the palace and the cottage,—the king surrounded by the pomp of state, and the peasant employed in the humblest labors of the field. In the very first mention of Egypt, we shall find the scriptural narrative singularly illustrated and confirmed by the monuments.
“And there was a famine in the land (of Canaan,) and Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was grievous in the land. And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon; therefore it shall come to pass when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife; and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister, that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee. And it came to pass, that when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. The princes also of Pharaoh’s house saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh, and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.” (Gen. xii. 10-15.)