represented every form and power of Nature, and all the passions which
move the human soul; but the most remarkable of the popular deities was
Osiris, who was regarded as the personification of good. Isis, the
consort of Osiris, who with him presided at the judgment of the dead,
was scarcely less venerated. Set, or Typhon, the brother of Osiris, was
the personification of evil. Between Osiris and Set, therefore, was
perpetual antagonism. This belief, divested of names and titles and
technicalities and fables, seems to have resembled, in this respect, the
religion of the Persians,--the eternal conflict between good and evil.
The esoteric doctrines of the priests initiated into the higher
mysteries probably were the primeval truths, too abstract for the
ignorant and sensual people to comprehend, and which were represented to
them in visible forms that appealed to their senses, and which they
worshipped with degrading rites.
The oldest of all the rites of the ancient pagans was in the form of
sacrifice, to propitiate the deity. Abraham and Jacob offered
sacrifices, but without degrading ceremonies, and both abhorred the
representation of the deity in the form of animals; but there was
scarcely an animal or reptile in Egypt that the people did not hold
sacred, in fear or reverence. Moral evil was represented by the serpent,
showing that something was retained, though in a distorted form, of the
primitive revelation. The most celebrated forms of animal worship were
the bulls at Memphis, sacred to Osiris, or, as some think, to the sun;
the cat to Phtha, and the beetle to Re. The origin of these
superstitions cannot be traced; they are shrouded in impenetrable
mystery. All that we know is that they existed from the remotest period
of which we have cognizance, long before the pyramids were built.
In spite, however, of the despotism of the kings, the privileges of the
priests, and the degrading superstitions of the people, which introduced
the most revolting form of religious worship ever seen on earth, there
was in Egypt a high civilization in comparison with that of other
nations, dating back to a mythical period. More than two thousand years
before the Christian era, and six hundred before letters were introduced
into Greece, one thousand years before the Trojan War, twelve hundred
years before Buddha, and fifteen hundred years before Rome was founded,
great architectural works existed in Egypt, the remains of which still
astonish travellers for their vastness and grandeur. In the time of
Joseph, before the eighteenth dynasty, there was in Egypt an estimated
population of seven millions, with twenty thousand cities. The
civilization of that country four thousand years ago was as high as that
of the Chinese of the present day; and their literary and scientific
accomplishments, their proficiency in the industrial and fine arts,
remain to-day the wonder of history. But one thing is very
remarkable,--that while there seems to have been no great progress for
two thousand years, there was not any marked decline, thus indicating
virtuous habits of life among the great body of the people from
generation to generation. They were preserved from degeneracy by their
simple habits and peaceful pursuits. Though the armies of the King
numbered four hundred thousand men, there were comparatively few wars,
and these mostly of a defensive character.
Such was the Egypt which Joseph governed with signal ability for more
than half a century, nearly four thousand years ago,--the mother of
inventions, the pioneer in literature and science, the home of learned
men, the teacher of nations, communicating a knowledge which was never
lost, making the first great stride in the civilization of the world. No
one knows whether this civilization was indigenous, or derived from
unknown races, or the remains of a primitive revelation, since it cannot
be traced beyond Egypt itself, whose early inhabitants were more Asiatic
than African, and apparently allied with Phoenicians and Assyrians,
But the civilization of Egypt is too extensive a subject to be entered
upon in this connection. I hope to treat it more at length in subsequent
volumes. I can only say now that in some things the Egyptians were never
surpassed. Their architecture, as seen in the pyramids and the ruins of
temples, was marvellous; while their industrial arts would not be
disdained even in the 19th century.
Over this fertile, favored, and civilized nation Joseph reigned,--with
delegated power indeed, but with power that was absolute,--when his
starving brothers came to Egypt to buy corn, for the famine extended
probably over western Asia. He is to be viewed, not as a prophet, or
preacher, or reformer, or even a warrior like Moses, but as a merely
executive ruler. As the son-in-law of the high-priest of Hieropolis, and
delegated governor of the land, in the highest favor with the King, and
himself a priest, it is probable that Joseph was initiated into the
esoteric wisdom of the priesthood. He was undoubtedly stern, resolute,
and inflexible in his relations with men, as great executive chieftains
necessarily must be, whatever their private sympathies and friendships.
To all appearance he was a born Egyptian, as he spoke the language of
Egypt, had adopted its habits, and was clothed with the insignia of
Egyptian power.
So that when the sons of Jacob, who during the years of famine in
Canaan had come down to Egypt to buy corn, were ushered into his
presence, and bowed down to him, as had been predicted, he was harsh to
them, although at once recognizing them. "Whence come ye?" he said
roughly to them. They replied, "From the land of Canaan to buy corn,"
"Nay," continued he, "ye are spies." "Not so, my lord, but to buy food
are thy servants come. We are all one man's sons; we are true men; thy
servants are not spies." "Nay," he said, "to see the nakedness of the
land are ye come,"--for famine also prevailed in Egypt, and its governor
naturally would not wish its weakness to be known, for fear of a hostile
invasion. They replied, "Thy servants are twelve brothers, the sons of
one man in the land of Canaan; the youngest is this day with our father,
and one is not." But Joseph still persisted that they were spies, and
put them in prison for three days; after which he demanded as the
condition of their release that the younger brother should also appear
before him. "If ye be true men," said he, "let one of your brothers be
bound in the house of your prison, while you carry corn for the famine
of your house; but bring your youngest brother unto me, and ye shall not
die." There was apparently no alternative but to perish, or to bring
Benjamin into Egypt; and the sons of Jacob were compelled to accept the
condition.
Then their consciences were moved, and they saw a punishment for their
crime in selling Joseph fifteen years before. Even Reuben accused them,
and in the very presence of Joseph reminded them of their unnatural
cruelty, not supposing that he understood them, since Joseph had spoken
through an interpreter. This was too much for the stern governor; he
turned aside and wept, but speedily returned and took from them Simeon
and bound him before their eyes, and retained him for a surety. Then he
caused their sacks to be filled with corn, putting also their money
therein, and gave them in addition food for their return journey. But as
one of them on that journey opened his sack to give his ass provender,
he espied the money; and they were all filled with fear at this
unlooked-for incident. They made haste to reach their home and report
the strange intelligence to their father, including the demand for the
appearance of Benjamin, which filled him with the most violent grief.
"Joseph is not," cried he, "and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin
away!" Reuben here expostulated with frantic eloquence. Jacob, however,
persisted: "My son shall not go down with you; if mischief befall him,
ye will bring down my gray hairs in sorrow to the grave."
Meanwhile the famine pressed, as Joseph knew full well it would, and
Jacob's family had eaten all their corn, and it became necessary to get
a new supply from Egypt. But Judah refused to go without Benjamin. "The
man," said he, "did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see
my face, except your brother be with you." Then Jacob upbraided Judah
for revealing the number and condition of his family; but Judah excused
himself on account of the searching cross-examination of the austere
governor which no one could resist, and persisted in the absolute
necessity of Benjamin's appearance in Egypt, unless they all should
yield to starvation. Moreover, he promised to be surety for his brother,
that no harm should come to him. Jacob at last saw the necessity of
allowing Benjamin to go, and reluctantly gave his consent; but in order
to appease the terrible man of Egypt he ordered his sons to take with
them a present of spices and balm and almonds, luxuries then in great
demand, and a double amount of money in their sacks to repay what they
had received. Then in pious resignation he said, "If I am bereaved of my
children, I am bereaved," and hurried away his sons.
In due time they all safely arrived in Egypt, and with Benjamin stood
before Joseph, and made obeisance, and then excused themselves to
Joseph's steward, because of the money which had been returned in their
sacks. The steward encouraged them, and brought Simeon to them, and led
them into Joseph's house, where a feast was prepared by his orders.
With great difficulty Joseph restrained his feelings at the sight of
Benjamin, who was his own full brother, but asked kindly about the
father. At last his pent-up affections gave way, and he sought his
chamber and wept there in secret. He then sat down to the banquet with
his attendants at a separate table,--for the Egyptian would not eat with
foreigners,--still unrevealed to his brethren, but showed his partiality
to Benjamin by sending him a mess five times greater than to the rest.
They marvelled greatly that they were seated at the table according to
their seniority, and questioned among themselves how the austere
governor could know the ages of strangers.
Not yet did Joseph declare himself. His brothers were not yet
sufficiently humbled; a severe trial was still in store for them. As
before, he ordered his steward to fill the sacks as full as they could
carry, with every man's money in them, for he would not take his
father's money; and further ordered that his silver drinking-cup should
be put in Benjamin's sack. The brothers had scarcely left the city when
they were overtaken by the steward on a charge of theft, and upbraided
for stealing the silver cup. Of course they felt their innocence and
protested it; but it was of no avail, although they declared that if the
cup should be found in any one of their sacks, he in whose sack it
might be should die for the offence. The steward took them at their
word, proceeded to search the sacks, and lo! what was their surprise and
grief to see that the cup was found in Benjamin's sack! They rent their
clothes in utter despair, and returned to the city. Joseph received them
austerely, and declared that Benjamin should be retained in Egypt as his
servant, or slave. Then Judah, forgetting in whose presence he was, cast
aside all fear, and made the most eloquent and plaintive speech recorded
in the Bible, offering to remain in Benjamin's place as a slave, for how
could he face his father, who would surely die of grief at the loss of
his favorite child.
Joseph could refrain his feelings no longer. He made every attendant
leave his presence, and then declared himself to his brothers, whom God
had sent to Egypt to be the means of saving their lives. The brothers,
conscience stricken and ashamed, completely humbled and afraid, could
not answer his questions. Then Joseph tenderly, in their own language,
begged them to come near, and explained to them that it was not they who
sent him to Egypt, but God, to work out a great deliverance to their
posterity, and to be a father to Pharaoh himself, inasmuch as the famine
was to continue five years longer. "Haste ye, and go up to my father,
and say unto him that God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down
unto me, and thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen near unto me, thou
and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks and thy
herds, and all that thou hast, and there will I nourish thee. And ye
shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have
seen; and ye shall haste, and bring down my father hither." And he fell
on Benjamin's neck and wept, and kissed all his brothers. They then
talked with him without further reserve.
The news that Joseph's brethren had come to Egypt pleased Pharaoh, so
grateful was the King for the preservation of his kingdom. He could not
do enough for such a benefactor. "Say to thy brethren, lade your beasts
and go, and take your father and your households, and come unto me; and
I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat
of the land." And the King commanded them to take his wagons to
transport their families and goods. Joseph also gave to each one of them
changes of raiment, and to Benjamin three hundred pieces of silver and
five changes of raiment, and ten asses laden with the good things of
Egypt for their father, and ten she-asses laden with corn. As they
departed, he archly said unto them, "See that ye fall not out by
the way!"
And when they arrived at Canaan, and told their father all that had
happened and all that they had seen, he fainted. The news was too good
to be true; he would not believe them. But when he saw the wagons his
spirit revived, and he said, "It is enough. Joseph my son is yet alive.
I will go and see him before I die." The old man is again young in
spirit. He is for going immediately; he could leap,--yea, fly.
To Egypt, then, Israel with his sons and his cattle and all his wealth
hastened. His sons are astonished at the providence of God, so clearly
and impressively demonstrated on their behalf. The reconciliation of the
family is complete. All envy is buried in the unbounded prosperity of
Joseph. He is now too great for envy. He is to be venerated as the
instrument of God in saving his father's house and the land of Egypt.
They all now bow down to him, father and sons alike, and the only strife
now is who shall render him the most honor. He is the pride and glory of
his family, as he is of the land of Egypt, and of the household
of Pharaoh.
In the hospitality of the King, and his absence of jealousy of the
nomadic people whom he settled in the most fertile of his provinces, we
see additional confirmation of the fact that he was one of the Shepherd
Kings. The Pharaoh of Joseph's time seems to have affiliated with the
Israelites as natural friends,--to assist him in case of war. All the
souls that came into Egypt with Jacob were seventy in number, although
some historians think there was a much larger number. Rawlinson
estimates it at two thousand, and Dean Payne Smith at three thousand.
Jacob was one hundred and thirty years of age when he came to dwell in
the land of Goshen, and he lived seventeen years in Egypt. When he died,
Joseph was about fifty years old, and was still in power.
It was the dying wish of the old patriarch to be buried with his
fathers, and he made Joseph promise to carry his bones to the land of
Canaan and bury them in the sepulchre which Abraham had bought,--even
the cave of Machpelah.
Before Jacob died, Joseph brought his two sons to him to receive his
blessing,--Manasseh and Ephraim, born in Egypt, whose grandfather was
the high-priest of On, the city of the sun. As Manasseh was the oldest,
he placed him at the right hand of Jacob, but the old man wittingly and
designedly laid his right hand on Ephraim, which displeased Joseph. But
Jacob, without giving his reason, persisted. While he prophesied that
Manasseh should be great, Ephraim he said should be greater,--verified
in the fact that the tribe of Ephraim was the largest of all the tribes,
and the most powerful until the captivity. It was nearly as large as all
the rest together, although in the time of Moses the tribe of Manasseh
had become more numerous. We cannot penetrate the reason why Ephraim
the younger son was preferred to the older, any more than why Jacob was
preferred to Esau. After Jacob had blessed the sons of Joseph, he called
his other sons around his dying bed to predict the future of their
descendants. Reuben the oldest was told that he would not excel, because
he had loved his father's concubine and committed a grievous sin. Simeon
and Levi were the most active in seeking to compass the death of Joseph,
and a curse was sent upon them. Judah was exalted above them all, for he
had sought to save Joseph, and was eloquent in pleading for
Benjamin,--the most magnanimous of the sons. So from him it was
predicted that the sceptre should not depart from his house until Shiloh
should come,--the Messiah, to whose appearance all the patriarchs
looked. And all that Jacob predicted about his sons to their remote
descendants came to pass; but the highest blessing was accorded to
Joseph, as was realized in the future ascendency of Ephraim.
When Jacob had made an end of his blessings and predictions he gathered
up his feet into his bed and gave up the ghost, and Joseph caused him to
be embalmed, as was the custom in Egypt. When the days of public
mourning were over (seventy days), Joseph obtained leave from Pharaoh to
absent himself from the kingdom and his government, to bury his father
according to his wish. And he departed in great pomp, with chariots and
horses, together with his brothers and a great number, and deposited the
remains of Jacob in the cave of the field of Machpelah, where Abraham
himself was buried, and then returned to his duties in Egypt.
It is not mentioned in the Scriptures how long Joseph retained his power
as prime minister of Pharaoh, but probably until a new dynasty succeeded
the throne,--the eighteenth as it is supposed, for we are told that a
new king arose who knew not Joseph. He lived to be one hundred and ten
years of age, and when he died his body was embalmed and placed in a
sarcophagus, and ultimately was carried to Canaan and buried with his
fathers, according to the oath or promise he exacted of his brothers.
His last recorded words were a prediction that God would bring the
children of Israel out of Egypt to the land which he sware unto Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. On his deathbed he becomes, like his father, a
prophet. He had foretold his own future elevation when only a youth of
seventeen, though only in the form of a dream, the full purport of which
he did not comprehend; as an old man, about to die, he predicts the
greatest blessing which could happen to his kindred,--their restoration
to the land promised unto Abraham.
Joseph is one of the most interesting characters of the Bible, one of
the most fortunate, and one of the most faultless. He resisted the most
powerful temptations, and there is no recorded act which sullies his
memory. Although most of his life was spent among idolaters, and he
married a pagan woman, he retained his allegiance to the God of his
fathers. He ever felt that he was a stranger in a strange land, although
its supreme governor, and looked to Canaan as the future and beloved
home of his family and race. He regarded his residence in Egypt only as
a means of preserving the lives of his kindred, and himself as an
instrument to benefit both his family and the country which he ruled.
His life was one of extraordinary usefulness. He had great executive
talents, which he exercised for the good of others. Though stern and
even hard in his official duties, he had unquenchable natural
affections. His heart went out to his old father, his brother Benjamin,
and to all his kindred with inexpressible tenderness. He was as free
from guile as he was from false pride. In giving instructions to his
brothers how they should appear before the King, and what they should
say when questioned as to their occupations, he advised the utmost
frankness,--to say that they were shepherds, although the occupation of
a shepherd was an abomination to an Egyptian. He had exceeding tact in
confronting the prejudices of the King and the priesthood. He took no
pains to conceal his birth and lineage in the most aristocratic country
of the world. Considering that he was only second in power and dignity
to an absolute monarch, his life was unostentatious and his
habits simple.
If we seek a parallel to him among modern statesmen, he most resembles
Colbert as the minister of Louis XIV.; or Prince Metternich, who in
great simplicity ruled Continental Europe for a quarter of a century.
Nothing is said of his palaces, or pleasures, or wealth. He had not the
austere and unbending pride of Mordecai, whose career as an instrument
of Providence for the welfare of his countrymen was as remarkable as
Joseph's. He was more like Daniel in his private life than any of those
Jews who have arisen to great power in foreign lands, though he had not
Daniel's exalted piety or prophetic gifts. He was faithful to the
interests of his sovereign, and greatly increased the royal authority.
He got possession of the whole property of the nation for the benefit of
his master, but exacted only a fifth part of the produce of the land for
the support of the government. He was a priest of a grossly polytheistic
religion, but acknowledged only the One Supreme God, whose instrument he
felt himself to be. His services to the state were transcendent, but his
supremest mission was to preserve the Hebrew nation.
The condition of the Israelites in Egypt after the death of Joseph, and
during the period of their sojourn, it is difficult to determine. There
is a doubt among the critics as to the length of this sojourn,--the
Bible in several places asserting that it lasted four hundred and thirty
years, which, if true, would bring the Exodus to the end of the
nineteenth dynasty. Some suppose that the residence in Egypt was only
two hundred and fifteen years. The territory assigned to the Israelites
was a small one, and hence must have been densely populated, if, as it
is reckoned, two millions of people left the country under the
leadership of Moses and Aaron. It is supposed that the reigning
sovereign at that time was Menephtah, successor of Rameses II. It is,
then, the great Rameses, who was the king from whom Moses fled,--the
most distinguished of all the Egyptian monarchs as warrior and builder
of monuments. He was the second king of the eighteenth dynasty, and
reigned in conjunction with his father Seti for sixty years. Among his
principal works was the completion of the city of Rameses (Raamses, or
Tanis, or Zoan), one of the principal cities of Egypt, begun by his
father and made a royal residence. He also, it appears from the
monuments, built Pithon and other important towns, by the forced labor
of the Israelites. Rameses and Pithon were called treasure-cities, the
site of the latter having been lately discovered, to the east of Tanis.
They were located in the midst of a fertile country, now dreary and
desolate, which was the object of great panegyric. An Egyptian poet,
quoted by Dr. Charles S. Robinson, paints the vicinity of Zoan, where
Pharaoh resided at the time of the Exodus, as full of loveliness and
fertility. "Her fields are verdant with excellent herbage; her bowers
bloom with garlands; her pools are prolific in fish; and in the ponds
are ducks. Each garden is perfumed with the smell of honey; the
granaries are full of wheat and barley; vegetables and reeds and herbs
are growing in the parks; flowers and nosegays are in the houses;
lemons, citrons, and figs are in the orchards." Such was the field of
Zoan in ancient times, near Rameses, which the Israelites had built
without straw to make their bricks, and from which place they set out
for the general rendezvous at Succoth, under Moses. It will be noted
that if Rameses, or Tanis, was the residence of the court when Moses
made his demands on Menephtah, it was in the midst of the settlements of
the Israelites, in the land of Goshen, which the last of the Shepherd
Kings had assigned to them.