were held in the loom of Delilah.' The cloth used by the Israelites for the purposes of the tabernacle, seems, from the following passage, to have been dyed in the wool:"All the women that were wise-hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen." And the monuments prove that the byssus was dyed in the wool before it was given into the hands of the weaver. The materials represented lying around the weaver, as well as experiments on the ancient Egyptian cloth, have placed this matter beyond a doubt. The rich colouring of Egyptian cloth was effected in various ways-the colours were woven in, or impressed with a die or print, or finely embroidered with the needle. The paintings at Thebes, in the time of Remeses III., represent the sails belonging to the pleasure boats of the nobles and more wealthy citizens, gorgeously painted and embroidered with all manner of fanciful devices. The Israelites, doubtless, carried with them the knowledge of this art, and used it in the wilderness. They were, indeed, adepts in its highest branches; for they inwove threads of gold in certain cases, when a rich and splendid robe was desired. For the ephod, it is said, "they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen with cunning work." Incredible, if we look upon them as savage wandering tribes; but not at all wonderful, if we look on them as a people who had been long resident in a highly civilized land, and who for a time had enjoyed great privileges in it—a land whose monuments exhibit the cloth of golden tissue, and around whose mummies it is still found rolled!

Passing from the workshop, but still following the wilderness history, we shall find some illustrations drawn from operations in the fields and homesteads, the gardens and rivers of Egypt. We shall not confine ourselves, however, by any rigid system, but notice whatever seems to fall in with our general design in the passages that come under review. In the 11th chapter of the book of Numbers' we have a somewhat full enumeration of articles of Egyptian produce, as well as incidental hints on some other points. And the mixed multitude that was among them," it is said, "fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic." There is a great appearance of truthfulness in the representation of a vast mixed company taking advantage of the exode of Israel to secure their own escape from bondage, if we reflect that Egypt was a country in which many people were enslaved, and doomed to the most servile employments. The kings of Egypt boasted that no native Egyptians had been engaged on their pyramids. The condition of the common people, among the Egyptians themselves even, was not such as to bind them to their country in spite of any tempting oppor

tunity. The spirit of caste reigned in Egypt, as it does now in Hindostan. The privileged classes usurped all offices, and held the people in a state of serfdom. They durst not change the trade in which they were born, nor aspire to civil distinction, nor even meddle with politics, under penalty of a severe punishment. They tilled the ground, and wrought at their trades for others, and not for themselves, like the Fellahs of modern Egypt. They have been described as bees always toiling-always toiling for others, and not for themselves.' It is not wonderful that multitudes of this oppressed and degraded class attempted to better their condition by uniting themselves with the outgoing Hebrews.

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The first article in the above enumeration is "fish." From the representation of their being the food of the people, and of the bondmen of Egypt, and of these "eating freely" of them, we should conclude that the country abounded in fish. Unless this shall be found to have been so in point of fact, the conditions of the narrative cannot be held as fulfilled. The same remarks apply to that passage where the death of the fish in the river is represented as an awful aggravation of the first plague, and to that denunciation of Isaiah in his "burden of Egypt," where special mention is made of the mourning of the fishers, and the lamentation of the anglers and spreaders of nets, and the ruin of such as made sluices and ponds for fish. But when we come to inquire into the fact, we find, both from history and the monuments, that fish abounded in Egypt to an incredible extent. The Nile, and lakes, and numerous canals, swarmed with them. The sculptures show the fishermen plying their vocation in every variety of mode, with line, and net, and spear. The net was the favourite instrument of the professed fisherman. The cuts will exhibit the line and net. "The great abundance of

fish produced in the Nile was an invaluable provision of nature, in a country which had neither extensive pasture lands nor large herds of cattle, and where corn was the principal production. When the Nile inundated the country, and filled the lakes and canals with its overflowing waters, these precious gifts were extended to the most remote villages in the interior of the valley; and the plentiful supply of fish they then obtained was an additional benefit conferred on them at this season of the year. The quantity is said to have been inmense, as, indeed, it is at the present day." It is the boast of the Arabs, that the lake Menzaleh has as many

3 Minutoli, in Hengstenberg, p. 141; comp. Taylor, p. 76. Exod. xxxix. 3; comp. Judges v. 28, 30; Ps. xlv. 13, 14; Ezek. xxvii. 7. Vers. 4, 5; comp. Exod. xii. 38.

FISHING WITH THE LINE AND NET From Wilkinson.

1 On the condition of the Egyptian people, see Ancient Egyp tians, vol. ii. pp. 8, 9. 2 Exod. vii. 21. * Isa. xx. $19

graphically described by Mayr: A great heap of clover was thrown before the beasts, and a smaller pile of clover, like fodder, was placed before the master of the

bipeds ate with equal greediness, and the pile of the latter was all gone before the former had finished theirs

We have next the horticultural produce. The cucumbers abounded in Egypt, and are still used by all classes to an extent which would scarcely seem credible in this country. When mellowed by the rays of an Egyptian sun they lose their injurious properties, and become a wholesome food. The melons. "A traveller in the East," says Dr. Kitto, “who recollects the intense gratitude which the gift of a slice of melon inspired, while journeying over the hot and dry plains; or one who remembers the consciousness of wealth and security which he derived from the possession of a melon, while prepared for a day's journey over the same plains-he will readily comprehend the regret with which the Hebrews in the Arabian desert looked back upon the melons of Egypt." They still abound in the country, and are sold at so low a price as to be within reach of the poor, whom they are said to serve instead of meat, drink, and medicine.

The (Chatzir), rendered by our translators "leeks," has, under the acute criticism of Hengstenberg, afforded one of the most remarkable confirmations of the authenticity of the Pentateuch, and the thorough knowledge of ancient Egypt which the writer of it possessed. The word means "grass," or more strictly, cattle-grass, pasturage, fodder; and so it is rendered in other places. Ahab, in a time of famine, sends Obadiah on a search for grass (chatzir) to save the horses and mules alive.' The translators stumbling at the idea, however, of grass being mentioned as an article of food for men, relieved themselves from their perplexity by selecting the garden vegetable that, in their view, most resembled grass, and translated "leeks." Returning, therefore, to the true etymological meaning of the word, viz.:-grass, fodder, pasturage-let us hear Hengstenberg in illustration of the passage-The first criterion for the correctness of the interpretation is, therefore, that the article of food which is identified with must be appropriately food for beasts, so that man goes, as it were, to the same table with them. Now if such an article of food could by no means be found, we should be warranted in giving up this criterion, which is entirely wanting in the leek.

But among the wonders of the natural history of Egypt, it is mentioned by travellers that the common people there eat, with special relish, a kind of grass similar to clover. The impression which the sight of this makes on those who have travelled much, is very

11 Kings xviii. 5. See also 2 Kings xix. 26, and other places.

this plant is very similar to clover, except that it has more pointed leaves and whitish blossoms. Enormous quantities are eaten by the inhabitants, and it is not unpalatable. I was afterwards, when hungry, in a situation to lay myself down upon the fields where it grows, and graze with pleasure.'

in

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But the most particular and best account is found Sonnini. From him we make a somewhat copious extract, since it clearly shows us how the emigrating Egyptians and the Israelites could, among other things, also look back longingly to the grass of Egypt:—' Although this helbeh of the Egyptians is a nourishing food for the numerous beasts who cover the plains of the Delta; although horses, oxen, and the buffaloes eat it with equal relish, it appears not to be destined especially for the sustenance of animals, since the barsim furnishes an aliment better even and more abundant. But that which will appear very extraordinary is, that in this singularly fertile country, the Egyptians themselves eat the fenu-grec so much that it can properly be called the food of men. In the month of November, they cry, 'Green helbeh for sale,' in the streets of the towns. It is tied up in large bunches, which the inhabitants eagerly purchase at a low price, and which they eat with an incredible greediness, without any species of seasoning. They pretend that this singular diet is an excellent stomachic, a specific against worms and dysentery; in fine, a preservative against a great number of maladies. Finally, the Egyptians regard this plant as endowed with so many good qualities that it is, in their estimation, a true panacea. Prosper Alpinus has entered into long details upon its use in medicine. After so many excellent properties, real or supposed, it is not astonishing that the Egyptians hold the fenu-grec in so great estimation, that, according to one of their proverbs- Fortunate are the feet which tread the earth on which grows the helbeh.'"'

The onions are frequently represented on the sculptures. Their quality was renowned in ancient as well as in modern times. They were large and well flavoured, having none of the stinging qualities that belong to them in this country. They formed a valuable article of food. Herodotus says the people that built the pyramids were fed on onions.

The garlic-supposed to be the same with the kitchengarden "eschalot, or shallot"-though now extinct in Egypt, like the papyrus, was by ancient writers continually associated with the onions. Rosellini says he has discovered it on the paintings at Beni Hassan. On the whole passage, a valuable commentary is found in an historical fact, belonging to comparatively modern times. Vitriacus assures us that when Damietta was besieged

Reise nach Aegypten u. s. w. S. 226.

Voyage dans la haute et basse Egypte, tom. i. p. 379, scq. Ancient Egyptians, vol. ii. p. 374.

in 1218, many of the more delicate Egyptians, although they had corn in abundance, pined away and died for want of the garlic, onions, fish, birds, fruits, and herbs, to which they had been accustomed! Ages roll on, but the soil, climate, productions, and habits of the East remain unchanged.

In the eleventh chapter of Deuteronomy,' we have an interesting notice of certain agricultural peculiarities of Egypt. That country and Palestine are thus contrasted:-"The land whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot as a garden of herbs; but the land whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven; a land which the Lord thy God careth for; the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year." This passage, it will be seen, proceeds upon the supposition, that rain seldom or never fails in Egypt, and that Egypt is a flat country, depending for its fertility on certain processes of irrigation, and thus far it shows a thorough knowledge of the country. But there is more in it. The design of the writer is obviously to institute a comparison between the two lands, in order to show the superiority of Canaan. A glance at the passage will prove this. But the mere fact of the soil in Palestine being moistened with timely showers, and not irrigated by the foot, as in Egypt, would not of itself constitute superiority, unless it could be proved that there was something exceedingly laborious and burdensome in the Egyptian mode. Keeping this principle in mind, we shall review the different interpretations of "watering with the foot." The first, and apparently the most simple, is that which explains it of using the foot in stopping up certain channels and opening others, in the process of carrying the water equally through garden or field. This practice could not of itself require much labour. Another exposition refers to a passage in Philo, according to which the water for irrigation was raised from the river by means of a wheel, which was wrought by the foot, on something of the same principle with the tread-mill. Niebuhr describes a similar machine

objection to this interpretation arises from the fact, that while it presents, undoubtedly, a mode of watering with the foot, and which, at the same time, must have been sufficiently laborious, these hydraulic machines are nowhere represented on the monuments. Wilkinson blames the priesthood for their indifference to the condition of the labouring class, as evinced in their not applying the mechanical skill they must have possessed to the dimin ishing of labour in this department. The interpretation, which explains watering with the foot of laborious watering, meets all the requirements of the passages, accords with history and the monuments, and presents a figure which is not unused in Scripture, where diligent labour is sometimes expressed by working with the hand or foot. Taking this view of the passage, it only remains to prove that Egyptian irrigation was, in point of fact. a most laborious one. In these ancient times, to which our history refers, the mode commonly adopted for raising water from the river or canals, was the Shadoof, or modern pole and bucket. It is frequently represented

SHADOOF, OR POLE AND BUCKET-Thebes.-From Wilkinson, on the monuments. It was a simple application of the lever, having a stone at one end, and a rope and bucket at the other, as in the cut. That the labour was severe, is allowed on all hands. Lane says, that the occupation was "extremely laborious," Dr. Robinson remarks, "The Shaduf has a toilsome occupation. His instrument is exactly the well-sweep of New England in miniature, supported by a cross-piece resting on two upright posts of wood or mud. His bucket is of leather or wicker-work. Two of these instruments are usually fixed side by side, and the men keep time at their work, raising the water five or six feet. Where the banks are higher, two, three, and even four couples are thus employed, one above another." The monuments have representations, too, of the toilsome practice of carrying buckets on a yoke across the shoulders; and when we take into account the labour in digging and maintaining canals and trenches, which would be more need. ful where Israel dwelt, on the edge of the desert, than in the vicinity of the river, we have a most vivid idea of the force of the contrast in our passage, and of the superiority of a land that was watered by the rain of heaven,

1 Psal. cxxviii. 2; Gen. xxx. 30; Heb. and Ainsworth, in loce.

The process of threshing, or "treading out the corn,"

YOKE FOR CARRYING WATER-Tomb at Beni Hassan.

to the preparatory processes only. The land needs little or no previous working the plough being a most

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN PLOUGH.

by the feet of oxen,' is frequently seen on the monuments. The grain was cropped a little below the ear, according to the representation in the book of Job,' which is verified by the sculptures. It was then carried to the threshing floor and "trodden out." "A certain

quantity was first strewed on the centre of the area, and when this had been well triturated by the animals' feet, more was added by means of large wooden forks, from the main heap raised around, and forming the edge of the threshing floor; and so on till all the grain was

a stick." This seems to have been the most ancient mode of threshing. It is the only one to which we find any reference in the Pentateuch. Other modes in which the oxen were yoked to machines more or less rude, which they dragged over the grain, subsequently came

into use. Sometimes, too, the bruising was effected by the feet of horses. Isaiah more than once alludes to those processes.' We present engravings of two modes mentioned by him, namely, threshing with the sledge and with the drag. After the threshing the corn was flung against the wind by means of a shovel, till it was winnowed and separated from impurities. It was then stored in the granaries, of which we have already given some account.

TIMES OF THE KINGS.

Shishak and Rehoboam.-It appears from a comparison of two passages-one in the fourteenth chapter of the first book of Kings, and the other in the twelfth chapter of second Chronicles-that in the fifth year of Rehoboam, son of Solomon, Shishak, king of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem with an immense host, overthrew the fenced cities, plundered the palace and the temple, and carried away the go'den shields, and other

trodden out. This process was called by the Latins tritura, and was generally adopted by ancient as by some modern people. Sometimes the cattle were bound together by a piece of wood, or a rope fastened to their horns, in order to force them to go round the heap and tread it regularly, the driver following behind them with