THE LAND OF EGYPT. I. Names. The present name, "Egypt," was given by the Greeks, and was never used by the inhabitants in ancient times. On the monuments it is generally called KEM. In the Old Testament the most frequent name is "Mizraim," in plural form. The poetical books of the Bible contain the name "Rahab," "the proud, or insolent," and "Land of Ham." photo II. Boundaries and Dimensions. On the north, Egypt is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea; on the east, by Palestine, the Arabian Desert, and the Red Sea; on the south, by Nubia; and on the west, by the great African Desert. Its limits have been the same in nearly all ages. In a geographical sense, it embraces 115,000 square miles; but of this more than nine-tenths consists of uninhabitable deserts. The true Egypt, the home of its people, is simply the Valley of the Nile and the space between its mouths, an area of 9,600 square miles, a little larger than the State of New Hampshire. Deducting from this the area covered by the Nile and its branches, the land of Egypt which may be occupied or cultivated includes about 5,600 square miles, or less than the united area of Connecticut and Rhode Island. III. Divisions. There have always been two Egypts, Northern and Southern. Northern or Lower Egypt comprises the Delta of the Nile, triangular in shape, a plain between the eastern or Pelusiac branch of the Nile and its western or Canopic branch. This is a vast garden, with soil the richest in the Old World, and the grain field of the Roman empire. Southeast of the Pelusiac branch lay the Land of Goshen (now Esh Shurkiyeh), the home of the Israelites during the Sojourn. Southern or Upper Egypt is a narrow valley, winding with the course of the Nile, varying in width from two to ten miles; a strip of fertile soil between two barren hills, beyond which the desert lies on either side. The two sections were always regarded as separate, and each was represented in the double crown worn by the kings. There was another division, made in very early times, into nomes, or provinces, each having its own ruler, and its own object of worship. Of these nomes there were from 36 to 50 at different times. IV. The Nile. This has been in every age the most important feature in the topography of the country, and the cause of its surpassing fertility. Its sources, long unknown, are in the great lakes of Central Africa, whence it flows in a northerly direction. The main stream, called the White Nile, receives in Nubia its principal tributary, the Blue Nile, which rises in Abyssinia. During the last 1,500 miles of its course it is not increased by any other stream, and flows through a torrid desert. Yet, as it enters the Mediterranean, its current is still that of a mighty river. Its mouths are at present three in number, though formerly seven; and, from their resemblance on the map to the Greek letter ?, that portion of Egypt is called the Delta. Its annual overflow begins, in Lower Egypt, about the 25th of June, attains its height in three months, and remains stationary twelve days, at a height of about 36 feet above its ordinary level at Thebes, 25 feet at Cairo, and 4 feet at its mouth. This overflow is due to the rains in Central Africa, and as it brings down new soil, keeps the land always fertile. But for the Nile, Egypt would only be a part of the Great Desert. chart V. The People of Egypt were of the Hamitic stock, a race of high capacity, forming the earliest civilization known in history. They were religious, but worshiping VI. The History of Egypt begins at a time undated, but long after the flood. It is divided into three periods, those of the Old, Middle, and New Empires. The Old Empire was founded by Menes, and had its capital at Memphis. During the fourth dynasty of this period the Pyramids were built. The Middle Empire arose at Thebes, and lasted until 1570 B.C. The Twelfth dynasty was most powerful during this epoch, conquering Ethiopia and Arabia. About 2000 B.C. the land was conquered by foreign princes, who ruled 400 years, and were known as the Hyksos, or Shepherd Kings. The New Empire arose in 1570 B.C., after the expulsion of the Hyksos, and lasted for a thousand years. Its greatest monarch was Rameses II., who has been supposed to be the "Pharaoh of the Oppression" (not of the Exodus), and ruled as far east as Chaldea and Assyria. The above dates are all uncertain. Concerning the chronology, see page 13. The land was conquered by the Persians, B.C. 527, and annexed to the Persian empire. VII. The principal Places were, in Lower Egypt, Memphis, the ancient capital; Heliopolis, called in the Bible On, near the eastern branch of the Delta; Rameses, in the Land of Goshen; Pelusium, at the eastern mouth of the Nile; and Alexandria, in later history the metropolis of Egypt, near the Canopic mouth of the Nile. In Upper Egypt, Thebes was the most important place, and long the capital. OUTLINE FOR REVIEW. 1. Names. Egypt, Kem, Mizraim, Rahab, Land of Ham. 2. Boundaries and Dimensions. North (Mediterranean Sea); East (Palestine, Arabia, Red Sea); South (Nubia); West (African Desert). Area, 115,000 square miles. Inhabitable, 9,600 square miles. Land, 5,600 square miles. 3. Divisions. Lower (Delta); Upper (Valley). 4. Nile. White Nile, Blue Nile; Sources; Delta; Overflow. 5. People. Hamitic Origin; Civilization; Language; Art; Physical Traits. 6. History. Old Empire (Memphis, Pyramids); Middle Empire (Thebes, Dynasty XII., Hyksos); New Empire (Rameses II., Persians). THE WILDERNESS OF THE WANDERING.I. Situation. This region lies between Egypt and Edom, a great triangle, having for its three points the border of Lake Menzaleh, the southern extremity of the Dead Sea, and Ras Mohammed, the southern end of the peninsula. Its northern boundary is the Mediterranean Sea, the land of the Philistines, and the Negeb, or South Country. Its southeastern line is the depression of the Arabah, and the Gulf of Akaba, or Ælanitic Gulf. Its southwestern line is the Isthmus of Suez and the Gulf of Suez. From Egypt, in a line due east, to the Dead Sea, is about 200 miles; from the Mediterranean, at the Wady el Arish ("the River of Egypt"), to Ras Mohammed, a line a little east of south, is about 225 miles, thus making the entire area of the triangle about 22,500 II. Natural Features. This region has two general divisions, and three others closely connected with them. 1. The Table-Land. 2. The Sinaitic Mountains. 3. The narrow plain by the western arm of the Red Sea. 4. The Arabah, or valley between the Ælanitic Gulf and the Dead Sea. 5. The Negeb, or South Country. 1. The northern and central portion of the triangle is a sterile table-land of limestone, from 2,000 to 2,500 feet high, and consisting of rolling plains with a gravelly surface; with few springs, and these mostly of impure water; and watered only by the streams of the Wady el Arish ("the River of Egypt"), a torrent which is dry during most of the year. This was the Wilderness of Paran, "the great and terrible wilderness" (Deut. 1:19) in which the Israelites wandered for 38 years. It is now called et Tih, "the wandering," and is traversed from east to west by two caravan routes, marked by the bleached bones of camels that have perished by the way. On the north it slopes away to a plain of white sand reaching to the Mediterranean, which was generally called the Wilderness of Shur. On the other three sides it is bounded by a chain of mountains, 4,000 feet high, called Jebel et Tih. It was in this wilderness country that the children of Israel were doomed to wander until all the generation that came out of Egypt died, except Caleb and Joshua. Even Moses was not permitted to more than see the Promised Land from the top of Pisgah. 2. Beyond the desert, and separated from it by the chain of mountains above named, and also by a narrow strip of sand south of the mountains, is the group of the Sinaitic Mountains. This group is triangular in form, and consists of ranges radiating from a centre. The names Horeb and Sinai seem to have been used interchangeably, though some consider the former the name of the group, and Sinai a single peak. There has been much discussion as to which is the "Mountain of the Law," from which the Ten Commandments were given. Three peaks have been most prominently presented by different explorers. Jebel Musa, "the Mountain of Moses," which is supported by local tradition, and by the authority of Ritter, Kurtz, Keil and Kalisch; Jebel Serbal, claimed by Lepsius; and RÂs es Sufsafeh, supported by Robinson, Dean Stanley, and the most of recent travelers. This is a granite cliff standing above the plain so boldly that one may walk up and lay a hand upon its wall, which rises 1,500 feet above the plain, and 6,500 feet above the sea. The plain in front of it is called er Rahah, and is 2,300 yards long and 900 yards wide, sufficiently large for the presence of all the Israelites before the mount, without including another plain on the northeast, branching from er Rahah, and called Wady esh Sheikh. It is situated in a vast and dreary desert, occupied for the most part by hordes of Arabs, who subsist by plunder, and render the journey to Sinai impossible except to large and well defended caravans. 3. Between the mountains and the western arm of the Red Sea lies a narrow plain, following the line of the coast. On the northwestern section it was called the Wilderness of Etham; opposite the Sinaitic group of mountains, the Wilderness of Sin. This lower portion is now called el Kaa. 4. From the head of the Gulf of Akaba (Ælanitic Gulf) a gorge extends nearly northward to the Dead Sea, an extension of the Jordan Valley, the Arabah, called in the history the Wilderness of Zin. It lies between the mountain chain on the east of the Wilderness of Paran (et Tih) and Mount Seir, the home of the Edomites. The opinion held by many early writers, that the Jordan 5. The Negeb, or South Country, has already been described. (See p. 32.) The southern section of this region belongs to the Wilderness of the Wandering, from Mount Halak northward. III. Inhabitants. The only inhabitants of this region at the time of the Israelite Wandering were the Amalekites, who roamed throughout the desert of Paran. Their origin is uncertain; and they may have belonged to the same stock with the earliest inhabitants of Canaan, as they were a distinct tribe in the times of Abraham. (Gen. 14.) They were the bitter enemies of Israel during all the period of the Wandering, attacking their rear, and destroying detached companies of them on their march. (Deut. 25:18.) The only pitched battle with them took place at Rephidim, near Mount Sinai, when they were defeated by Israel; but they attacked the Israelites again at Hormah, and inflicted serious injury. Long afterward their power was broken by Saul (1 Sam. 15), and their destruction was completed by David. (1 Sam. 27 and 30.) OUTLINE FOR REVIEW. I. Situation. Triangle (Menzaleh, Dead Sea, Ras Mohammed). Boundaries. North (Mediterranean Sea, Philistines, Negeb); Southeast (Arabah, Akaba); Southwest (Isthmus and Gulf of Suez). 200 miles east and west; 225 north and south. II. Natural Features. Table-Land (Paran, Shur); Sinaitic Mountains (Horeb and Sinai); Plain (Etham, Sin); Arabah (Zin); Negeb (Mount Halak). III. Inhabitants. Amalekites (Rephidim, Hormah). THE LAND OF EDOM.I. Boundaries. The country of Edom, or of the Edomites, lay south of that of the Moabites, the boundary between them being the brook Zered (Wady el Ahsy), which flows into the southern lagoon of the Dead Sea. On the east it extended to the great Arabian desert, in that section supposed to be the "land of the Temanites." On the south its border was the country of the Midianites, and the head of the Gulf of Akaba. The western boundary was the Arabah, or sunken ravine running northward between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea. There is, however, an opinion gaining ground, that "the field of Edom" extended somewhat to the west of the Arabah, and south of Palestine. II. Names. The earliest name of this country, and one often used throughout Bible history, was Mount Seir, "the rugged," from its rough, mountainous nature. This was the name of its earliest inhabitants, "the sons of Seir the Horite." (Gen. 36:20.) Afterward it was possessed by the descendants of Esau, and called Edom, "red," from the "red pottage" for which Esau sold his birthright. Probably the red color of its sandstone mountains also aided to fix the name. In the New Testament time the word received a Greek form, and became Idumea. Josephus called it Geballene, "mountainous." At present it is divided into two sections, each having a different name; north of Petra being called Jebal, and south, esh Sherah. III. Natural Features. Edom is emphatically a land of mountains. On the west, along the side of the Arabah, is a line of low limestone hills. Back of these rise higher, igneous rocks, surmounted by variegated sandstone, of peculiar color, 2,000 feet high. The eastern side of the mountains slopes gently away into the Arabian desert. But, though rough, the land is rich, and the terraced hill-sides have in all ages been bright with vegetation, and its people have been prosperous. So the blessing of Esau (Gen. 27:39, 40) has been fulfilled in a land of "the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven." Its capital during the Old Testament period was Bozrah (now Busireh), near its northern border. Afterward, Sela, the Petra of remarkable rock-hewn buildings, arose to prominence. Ezion-geber, at the head of the Gulf of Akaba, was its seaport. IV. History. Mount Seir was first settled by the Horites, or Horim, like the inhabitants of Palestine a people of unknown origin. During the later patriarchal age it was conquered and possessed by Esau, the brother of Jacob, and ever after occupied by his descendants, the Edomites. The refusal of this people to allow the Israelites to journey through their territory compelled them to make a long detour around Edom on the south and east, and enter Palestine by the land of the Moabites. During the period of the Judges the Edomites are not mentioned; but they were beaten by Saul, and thoroughly conquered by David, after a severe struggle. At the division of the kingdom, B.C. 935, Edom was held by Judah. Its people rebelled in the time of Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, and, although defeated by Judah, were able to maintain their independence. They joined the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar in the destruction of Jerusalem, for which the later prophecies and psalms gave them bitter denunciations. About the time of the captivity, B.C. 587-536, the Edomites gained possession of most of the country south of Judah, extending even to the confines of Egypt. But they lost their own land, Mount Seir, which became the possession of the Nabatheans. These were a race, perhaps allied to the Arabians, who laid aside their nomad habits, and founded a kingdom, whose people grew rich by the caravan trade. The Edomites, or Idumeans, south of Palestine, were conquered by the Maccabean princes and incorporated with the Jews, B.C. 130, and the Nabathean kingdom was annexed to the Roman empire, A.D. 105. V. Peculiarities. The Edomites, though descended from the stock of Abraham, adopted the idolatry of the Canaanites, with whom they had intermarried. But OUTLINE FOR REVIEW. 1. Boundaries. Moab; Desert: Midianites; Arabah. 2. Names. Seir, Edom, Idumea, Geballene, Jebal and esh Sherah. 3. Natural Features. Mountains; Soil; Capitals (Bozrah, Petra). 4. History. Horites; Esau; Edomites; Israelite Supremacy; Chaldeans; Nabatheans; Maccabeans; Romans. 5. Peculiarities. Religion; Rock Houses. THE WANDERING IN THE WILDERNESS.There are great difficulties in fixing the location of the places and the order of events in the history of the forty years which intervened between the exodus, or "going out," from Egypt, and the entrance into the Promised Land (B.C. 1250-1210). These difficulties arise from various causes: the antiquity of the events, the fragmentary character of the history, the extent of the country, our scanty knowledge of the region, and especially the changes which have taken place in the sea-coast during the 3,000 years past. While the general course of the journey can be easily defined, the particular localities are, in many instances, exceedingly uncertain. For the convenience of the student, we divide the entire journey from Egypt to Canaan into sections. I. From Rameses to the Red Sea. (Exod. 12-14; Num. 33:5-8.) The sojourn of the Israelites was passed in the Land of Goshen, between the Nile and the Isthmus of Suez. The court of the reigning Pharaoh during the time while Moses was negotiating for the departure of the Israelites, was at Zoan, or Tanis (Psa. 78:12), the royal city of the Delta. Rameses, the place of meeting for the Israelites, was probably a district rather than a city (Gen. 47:8), but may have been at Abu Kesheib. Pithom (Exod. 1:11) has been discovered at Tell Maskutor, ten miles west of Lake Timsah. Succoth, "booths" or "tents," was probably not a city but a camp, and its location is unknown. Etham, "wall" (Exod. 13:20), may indicate a place near the great wall which extended across the isthmus. Pi-hahiroth may be at Agrud, near Suez. Baal-zephon may be the mountain Jebel Alaka. The Israelites crossed the sea at the narrow Strait of Suez, where the distance from shore to shore is about two-thirds of a mile. At that time the gulf probably extended several miles north of its present position. The northeast wind drove out the waters, leaving a path across the gulf, with pools on either side, as a "wall" or defense to the crossing Israelites. II. From the Red Sea to Mount Sinai. (Exod. 15-19; Num. 33:8-15.) The general direction can be traced with certainty, but the precise places of encampment are only conjectural. It is probable that so vast a body of people, about two millions, must have occupied a large extent of territory, and the "stations" were the various headquarters of the camp. This section of the journey was mostly spent in the two narrow plains along the coast, the Wilderness (or desert) of Etham, and that of Sin. At Marah (Ain HawÂrah) the bitter waters were healed; at Elim (Wady Ghurundel) they were refreshed by the "twelve wells and three-score and ten palm trees." At the next station, No. 9, "the encampment at the Red Sea," they saw for the last time the waters of the western gulf, and the land of Egypt beyond them. Here they turned eastward, and, passing the mountain barrier, entered the Wilderness of Sin. (This is to be distinguished from the Wilderness of Zin, or the Arabah, on the eastern side of the peninsula.) In this wild and barren country, food failed them, and the manna began to be supplied (Exod. 16), to last for forty years. Their general course was now eastward, through the wadies, or dry beds of winter torrents. At Rephidim (station 13) two events are recorded as occurring. The want of water led to a miraculous supply from the smitten rock (Exod. 17:2-7); and the Israelites fought the first battle in their history, with the wandering Amalekites, who attacked the rear of the scattered host. Under Joshua, who here appears for the first time, they were defeated, and devoted to complete destruction. (Exod. 17:8-16; Deut. 25:18.) The next station was Mount Sinai, in front of which they encamped, probably on the plain er Rahah. Their journey thus far had occupied two months and a half, and here they remained for a year. The principal events at Mount Sinai were: 1. The giving of the law. (Exod. 19-31.) 2. The worship of the golden calf, and its punishment. (Exod. 32.) 3. The building and consecration of the Tabernacle. (Exod. 35-40.) 4. The numbering and organization of the people. (Num. 1-2.) III. From Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea. After a year spent at and around Mount Sinai, the camp was taken up, and the host, led by the Ark of the Covenant, entered once more upon its march. The direction of the journey was northeast, and the route was probably through the Wady Saal. At Taberah (station 15), the "fire of the Lord" consumed some on the verge of the camp who murmured against God's commands. (Num. 11:1-3.) At Kibroth-hattaavah (station 16), (perhaps the same place with the preceding), a dislike of the manna and a lust for flesh-meat seized the crowd of people, and for a month they fed upon quails, but were punished by a plague, which destroyed multitudes, and gave a name to the place, "the graves of lust." (Num. 11:4-35.) At Hazeroth (probably Ain Hudherah), Miriam instigated Aaron to a rebellion against Moses, but was smitten with leprosy, though healed at the prayer of Moses. (Num. 12:1-16.) The Israelites followed the mountain chain by the Red Sea, keeping upon the western side of the hills, and, passing through the edge of the Wilderness of IV., V., VI. From Kadesh-barnea to Mount Hor, Ezion-geber, and Return. The period of the next thirty-eight years remains in shadow. Scarcely an event is named which certainly belongs to this division, the longest by far in the journey. In the history at Num. 14:45, there is a break in the record, and other topics are referred to until we find the people at Kadesh once more, at the end of the 38 years, in chapter 20; and the list of stations in Num. 33:18-36, is only a barren catalogue of 18 places, in which not one is clearly recognized, and only two or three can be even guessed at. Some have thought that the entire period was spent in the Arabah, wandering up and down, as two of the stations plainly belong there. But it is more probable that the people wandered over the borders between the Negeb (South Country) and the Wilderness of Paran. For convenience we may subdivide this period of wandering into its three journeys. From Kadesh, through 12 unknown stations, to Moseroth, which is afterward named in the account of Aaron's death (Deut. 10:6), showing that it was near Mount Hor. This is indicated on the Map as Journey IV. Journey V. was from Mount Hor down the Arabah southward to Ezion-geber, at the head of the Ælanitic Gulf. Journey VI. was once more through the Arabah, northward to Kadesh-barnea, completing the period of the punishment for the rebellion of 38 years before. Here three events took place. 1. The rock was smitten by Moses, when God had bidden him speak to it, in order to bring forth water; and, as a penalty, he was not permitted to enter Canaan. (Num. 20:1-13.) 2. The Israelites asked of the Edomites (on whose western border they were encamped at Kadesh), the privilege of crossing their territory on their journey to Canaan, but their request was denied. 3. Soon after this, the king of the Canaanite city of Arad, in the Negeb, or South Country, 20 miles south of Hebron, hearing of Israel's approach by the same route as that of the spies, 38 years before, went out to meet the invading host. He was repulsed near the same place where Israel had suffered a defeat before, and which was thenceforth called Hormah, "destruction." (Num. 21:1-3.) diagram VII., VIII. From Kadesh-barnea to Elath and Jordan. The Israelites were now ready to enter their Land of Promise. But, as the entrance by the south was found impracticable, and the Edomites would not permit them to cross their mountains, a long detour became necessary; so for a third time they took their STATIONS OF THE ISRAELITES DURING THEIR JOURNEY FROM EGYPT TO CANAAN.
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