Arvadites, Hamathites. 2. Southeast: Ammonites. 3. South: Amalekites,
Kenites, Edomites.
LANDS OF THE SOJOURN AND WANDERING.
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."
[Illustration: AN EGYPTIAN TEMPLE.]
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 [Greek: D], 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.
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 animals, and even the lowest forms of life;
contemplative and studious, attaining to considerable knowledge, though
on narrow lines of research; patriotic, but not fond of war, and
therefore rarely conquerors of other nations. Their language was
"agglutinative monosyllabic," with mingled Nigritic and Semitic
characteristics. Their government was most thoroughly organized, and
took cognizance of even the minute matters of life. Their art was
massive and sombre, imposing from its vastness, but not varied, and
therefore giving but little play to genius. The Egyptians were slender
of frame, but strong. Their faces were oval and olive-colored; their
hair long, crisp and jet-black. They are supposed to be represented at
the present time by the Copts.
[Illustration: AREA OF EGYPT.]
[Illustration: THE KINGDOM OF EGYPT AT ITS GREATEST EXTENT UNDER RAMESES
II.]
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 square miles, or less than the aggregate area of New Hampshire,
Vermont and Massachusetts, though larger than any two of those States.
[Illustration: RÂS ES SUFSAFEH (MOUNT SINAI).]
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_.
[Illustration: LANDS OF THE SOJOURN AND WANDERING.
VICINITY OF MOUNT SINAI.]
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 once flowed through this depression into the
Red Sea, may be correct as regards a past geologic period, but not as an
historical fact; for it is evident that no great change has taken place
in this region within the limit of historical time. Opposite the
traditional Mount Hor the bed of the valley is about 500 feet above the
sea-level; and from this point it slopes northward to the Dead Sea,
1,300 feet below the sea-level, and southward to the Gulf of Akaba.
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 their most remarkable feature, as a nation, was that
of dwelling in caves. The mountains of Idumea are of soft sandstone,
easily wrought, and are penetrated with caves and grottoes, which were
used, not like those of other nations, for burial places, but for
residence. The rock-hewn temples, palaces and homes of Petra, so well
known to travelers, are magnificent in appearance. The custom probably
arose from the fear of robbers, and from the ease with which the caves
could be excavated in the sandstone rock.
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.)