This Pyramid was built in steps, or degrees, and was entered from a sort of well, or shaft, made in the sand on the northern side. The passage, which was long and winding, and apparently in many places forced, led to a lofty chamber, in the roof of which wood had been employed. Various forced passages wound around this chamber, and conducted to openings, or windows, which looked down into it from a considerable height.* These passages were much encumbered with rubbish, pieces of alabaster, and decayed wood; and in one place there was an accumulation of large blocks of polished granite, raised up by small fragments of stone sufficiently high to admit of a man's crawling beneath them. For what purpose they were so placed we did not find out." * These are passages by which the grain was thrown down into the building from the outside before the casing-stones were fixed.-J. V. G. CHAPTER V. THE HEBREWS IN EGYPT. IN the Talmud it is recorded that after Joseph's marriage with Asenath, daughter of Potipherah the priest of On, "he built for himself a palace, elegant and complete in its details and surroundings, so elaborate that three years' time was required for its completion." A man so wise and so powerful as to be looked upon by the Egyptians as their king was certainly able to make a suitable provision for the anticipated advent of his beloved father, as well as for all his brothers, who came with their entire households, and possessions in flocks and herds, &c., for the famine was over the whole earth. The large palace called the Labyrinth by Herodotus, would correspond with such a provision for their accommodation and comfort. Herodotus saw this palace himself in the year 448 B.C., and he describes it thus: "The Egyptians having become free, after the reign of the priest of Vulcan, for they were at no time able to live without a king, established twelve kings, having divided all Egypt into twelve parts. These having contracted intermarriages, reigned, adopting the following regulations: that they would not attempt the subversion of one another, nor one seek to acquire more than another, and that they should maintain the strictest friendship. They made these regulations and strictly upheld them, for the following reason: it had been foretold them by an oracle, when they first assumed the government, 'that whoever among them should offer a libation in the temple of Vulcan from a brazen bowl should be king of all Egypt,' for they used to assemble in all the temples. Now, they determined to leave in common a memorial of themselves; and having so determined, they built a Labyrinth, a little above the lake of Mæris, situated near that called the city of crocodiles. This I have myself seen, and found it greater than can be described. For if anyone should reckon up the buildings and public works of the Grecians, they would be found to have cost less labour and expense than this Labyrinth; though the temple in Ephesus is deserving of mention, and also that in Samos. The Pyramids likewise were beyond description, and each of them comparable to many of the great Grecian structures. Yet the Labyrinth surpasses even the Pyramids. For it has twelve courts enclosed with walls, with doors opposite each other, six facing the north, and six the south, contiguous to one another; and the same exterior wall encloses them. It contains two kinds of rooms, some under ground and some above ground over them, to the number of three thousand, fifteen hundred of each. The rooms above ground I myself went through and saw, and relate from personal inspection. But the underground rooms I only know from report, for the Egyptians who have charge of the building would on no account show me them, saying that there were the sepulchres of the kings who originally built this Labyrinth, and of the sacred crocodiles. I can therefore only relate what I have learned by hearsay concerning the lower rooms; but the upper ones, which surpass all human works, I myself saw; for the passages through the corridors, and the windings through the courts, from their great variety, presented a thousand occasions of wonder as I passed from a court to the rooms, and from the rooms to halls, and to other corridors from the halls, and to other courts from the rooms. The roofs of all these are of stone, as also are the walls; but the walls are full of sculptured figures. Each court is surrounded with a colonnade of white stone, closely fitted. And adjoining the extremity of the Labyrinth is a Pyramid forty orgyæ in height,* on which large figures are carved, and a way to it has been made under ground."+ This curious record of these twelve kings can be easily explained by referring to the book of Genesis, chapter xlvii. This chapter corroborates it, for the Israelites, the twelve sons of Jacob, had absolute power given them by Pharaoh, and had the whole land of Egypt under their control; for "Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, 'Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee. The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren dwell: in the land of Goshen let them dwell; and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.'" * One hundred and sixty cubits high.-J. V. G. Owing to the severity of the famine every Egyptian had to part with his cattle, and "Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year. But as the famine still continued, the poor Egyptians, when they had exchanged all they possessed for bread, sold even their own persons. When the whole country was in this desperate condition, the Hebrews governed the nation for Pharaoh, who placed implicit faith in their wisdom and probity. These were the men styled by Egyptologists "Shepherd Kings," and this period or epoch is mentioned by Manetho, the Egyptian historian, in the record written in the Greek language, of which he was a master; it is as follows: "There was a king of ours, whose name was Timaus.* Under him it came to pass, I know not how, that God was averse to us, and there came, after a surprising manner, men of ignoble birth out of the eastern parts, and had boldness enough to make an expedition into our country, and with ease subdued it by force, yet without our hazarding a battle with them.† So when they had gotten those that governed us under their power, they afterwards burnt down our cities and demolished the temples of the gods, and used all the inhabitants after a most barbarous manner; nay, some they slew, and led *The Pharaoh of Joseph.-J. V. G. A malicious, culpable suppression of the truth. These people were the Hebrews who came from Canaan to Joseph during the famine.-J. V. G. |