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EGYPT EXPLORATION FUND. 51

M

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^

,

for instance

and ^ are equi-

valent to each other in a considerable Egj'ptian words.^

Moreover,

it is

number

of

an anachronism

to admit the existence of a land of

Edom

at the

time when the papyrus of Saneha was written,

under the twelfth dynasty.

It

would have been

the desert,

no food

finding

642.

Ana.stasi," VI., p.

Clialias, "

4.

Enigsch, "Diet. Gcog.,"

Keclierches pour servir a rinstoire du

of

the agent of the royal estate to be allowed to feed

their

watered

cattle

the

in

the canal of Pithom.

l)y

Another reason which induces

Etham Book

a region, and not a

is

of

Etham,

Numbers* we read

in

which were

pastures

which the

it

derived

its

nnn,r.rugscli,Dict,

f]-\r\

K,^^

IlicT. vol.vii.,p.

npn

that in the

march three days

having crossed the sea.

from which

to think that

eitg, is

Israelites

would have extended very

me

of the wilderness of

This desert, then,

far south

of the

city

name; and one does not

how Etham, an Egyptian city, would have given its name to a desert inhabited by a Semitic see

population, and the greatest part of which w^as on

the opposite side of the sea. I beheve, therefore,

Atuma

;

Etham

to be

the region of

the desert which began at

Lake Timsah

As

Arabian Gulf.

this desert

it,

near the

was occupied by

Shasu and Satiu, Asiatic nomads of Semitic they

may

race,

somewhere on the shore

have had,

opposite to Egypt, a sanctuary dedicated to their

god Baal Zephon large place.

It

and

this

was not necessarily a

may have

been a small monu-

;

ment, a place of worship or of pilgrimage,

like

those numberless shekhs' tombs which are found

on the

The

hills

and mountains of Egypt.

Israelites leaving Succoth, a region

we now know

well, the

Maskhutah, push

forward

towards

Etham

are

;

and thus

but there, because

tliey

have to change

their

course,

steps,

so as to put the sea between

told

el

the desert,

skirting the northern shore of the gulf,

they

which

neighbourhood of Tell

to

desert.

c^^J'T^ ,n

ask

retrace

their

la

xix. dynastie," p. 107. '

or

the papyrus

for their flocks,

of the pursuit of Pharaoh, p.

The Shasu,

in

Saneha, who are wandering about at the edge of

reach the wilderness of '"Pap.

natural

region near lake

Kemuer.

called

the Sati as they are

quite

is

it

and extended west and south of

the wilderness.

Piouge,

the

suppose that

after

was inhabited by

On

laco.

*

XXXllL,

9.

them and the

—

"

AND THE ROUTE OF THE EXODUS.

STORE-CITY OF PITHOM

The next

Holy Writ can only

of

indications

Surveys and exca-

be determined conjecturally. vations

needed

are

However,

mation.

give us definite

to

although

impossible

is

it

infor-

yet to bring forward positive evidence in favour or that theory, I will attempt to trace

of this

of Succoth.

Is

25

possible to admit that fi"om the

it

shore of the Arabian Gulf, the Israelites turned to the north, and

marched

forty miles through the

desert in order to reach the Mediterranean

journey would have lasted several

would have been obliged

fortresses of the north; they

probable

the

"

And

the children of

before

;

We that

mind

in

short

and the

Speak unto

' :

encamp before

over against Baal-

sea,

encamp by the

shall ye

it

must bear

a very

at

they turn and

Israel, that

Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol

zephon

sapng

the Lord .spake unto Moses,

Judging

from the appearance of the ground, such as given in the maps,

clear that the gulf

is

it

been very narrow

have

Lake Timsah and the left

the

Israelites

in

it

is

must

space between

the

We

Bitter Lakes.

the

in

and

Succoth,

covered the valley of Saba Biar.

it

land

have

Atuma, on

of

the northern shore of the Arabian Gulf, at the

edge of the wilderness.

There they receive the

command

the sea,

camp near

to

were told not to take

They

to cross.

back

to pass

;

between Pithom and the end of the

towards the south to the place which

close by, of

which they

miles distant.

up

give

means the

it

ai"e

and not that other

coast,

it

is

sea which

is

skirting the northern sea,

which

definitively the idea

camping ground.

As

are

we

to is

passage of the Red Sea, but of the Red Sea as

was

at that time, extending a great deal

march

is

ticularly the Itinerary,

this

It is

and par-

mention a Migdol, or Mag-

which was twelve

Roman

miles

..distant

not possible to admit that

the same Migdol which

is

The word Migdol,

for

then

it

is

in

common name;

Egyptian '

means a

^^3^5 |

would not be the Red Sea,

have before them, and we should thus have to

MM.

fall

Schleiden and Brugsch's theory, that

they followed the narrow track which

lies

the Mediterranean and the Serbonian Bog.

very likely that in a fortified region there have

been several places so

is

based, I believe

altogether, because

W 7

r> (; J

2

tonrr.

called, distinguished

It

between

How-

it

them, or by some local circumstance

Torre.

Migdol

I should therefore, with at the present station

M.

site of

the station

;

just

number

of

Ebers,^ place

of the Serapeum.

There the sea was not wide, and the water probably very shallow; there also the phenomenon

which took place on such a large scale when the

as

As

it

is

at

went through must have been well known,

often seen

now

in other parts of Egypt.

this point the sea

was

liable to be driven

back under the influence of the east wind, and to leave a dry way, the Pharaohs were obliged to

have there a

fort,

a Migdol, so as to guard that

part of the sea, and to prevent the Asiatics of the

must now be dismissed

we know the

from

each other, either by the name of the king who

ever ingenious are the arguments on which this

system

:!'*',

is

it

fort, a

"^^

a

spoken of in

but the Mediterranean, which the Israelites would

in with

farther

is

Israelites

Exodus,

it

occupies a very different position.

now.

and Fi Hahiroth?

to look for Migdol

from Pelusium.

to

northward, and not the Red Sea of to-day, wliich

indicated

The question

for Migdol, the ancient authors,

dolon,

me

of the passage by

as there are in Italy a considerable

Where

forty

is

these reasons induce

All

the north, and to return to the old theory of a

built

as their

the text speaks of the sea,

are obliged therefore to turn

somewhere near Magfar, then

gulf,

when

natural to think that

separated by the gulf from the desert which they

had

and, lastly, the Egyptians,

;

have easily intercepted them.

to be

as

so

fallen in

issuing from Tanis and the northern cities, would

Besides,

from

would have

of the land of the Philistines, which they

sea.'

that the sea was only

distance

way

days; they

pass in front of the

to

the route followed, relying on what seems most :

The

?

'

"Durch Gosen zum

Sinai," p. 422.

;

AND THE ROUTE OF THE EXODUS.

STORE-CITY OP PITIIOM

26

from using this temporary gate to enter

desert

Egypt, to steal cattle and to plunder the

fertile

That there was

land which was round Pithom.

If

it.^

we look at the passage

route of the Israelites

is

described, Ave find there that

who made

the Septuagint,

Exodus where the

in

their translation during

them the Coptic

one spot particularly favourable for crossing, be-

the reign of Philadelphos, and after

cause of this well-known

version, instead of mentioning Pi-Hahiroth,

of the wind,

effect

is

indicated by the detailed description of the place

where the

Israelites are

camp.

to

striking difference between

It is not only said that

but

sea,

they are to

Zephon,

Baal

miss

not

and

and

after.

camp near

the

landmarks are given, Pi-Hahiroth,

tlie

Migdol,

find before

a

is

this description

we

the vague data which

There

the

which

spot,

they

that

so

could

was

perhaps

very

restricted.

At

Pi-Ildliirotli.

was struck by the likeness

sight I

exact translation of the Egyptian

while the

Hebrew

sound of the Hebrew word

we know from

we have found

At present

the tablet of Philadelphos.

may

found the word Pikerehet on a II.,

However, ;

monument

is

it

of the

possible that this

may have been

sanctuary of Osiris

not innovate

and

so

But we have not yet

be compared to the Hebrew.

time of Rameses

in

do not

I

any other Egyptian name which

delphos.

built

by Phila-

in general the Ptolemies did

they restored the old worships and

enlarged the temples

We

hke

most probable that

therefore

It is

Pikerehet.

We

have considered Pikerehet as

being the second sanctuary of Heroopolis,

have now the landmarks of the camping

ground of the

on the north-west Pi-

Israelites:

short distance from Pi

them the

Asiatic side, on

Zephon.

is

some

sea;

Tum,

makes me think that

it

tablet of Philadelphos

there

with

brought there,

sanctuary

for

its

and opposite, on the

hill like 57/67.7?

is

Pi-Hahiroth. is

Pikerehet,

and of

This seems to

me

at present the

route of the Exodus.

I

think

word ah

(]

nature of the land.

Besides,

cattle

given

if

we

drive

which we owe to the Roman milestone

However,

it is

is

invaluable.

most desirable that further excava-

remove the obscurities of the topogi-aphy us

;

hope that some day we shall

ascertain the site of Migdol of the Pied Sea.

PTOLEMY PHILADELPHOS. not

It is

my

to dwell

'

*

cattle

stock

intention to write the history of

the second of the Greek kings of Egypt, but only

on a few

facts connected with the

monu-

to the

The Egyptian

live

the distances are

tlie

the

to

to

which belong

an estate with

;

not very great, and on that account the information

the

to

Now,

means a farm where ;

does not suppose

it

very long marches, which would have been quite im-

or

Brugsch, "Diet. Hier.," I

am

upon

vol. v. p. 122.

Ijouiul to say, tliat following

of argument, I have

horses are bred

agrees best with

what we know of the geographical names, and of the

of horses which

/arm of Pharaoh.

X tr^

it

most probable

mention

ft-equcnt

annual income.

their cattle in the pastures estate or to the

In

papyrus Auastasi

the

Ennedch, Baal

the sea, and the Israelites went through.-

but nearer the sea

and Shasu of Atuma, we see that they ask to

;

peum and Lake Timsali, the sea was narrow, the water had not much depth, the east wind opened

a

at

the following cii'cumstance which

connection

on

There, in the space between the Sera-

especially let

and there

;

the south-east Migdol, near the present Serapeum

tions

revert

of the

but they adhered to the local

;

from a very high antiquity Osiris had a temple at

are

name

Pikerehet.

possible with a large multitude traditions.

in

Thus

the papyrus Anastasi was close by

in the laud of Succoth,

in the

Pi-Hahiroth with

the Pikeherct, or Pikcrchct, which

of

ca.

«

gives the proper

farm, the

sanctuary, the Greek speaks of the farm, which

in front of

know

e7rai;X.e«s, before the

Trjw'^:m^l?i^}^

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