spondence was maintained in cuneiform characters with princes in Syria and Mesopotamia. The discovery of three hundred cuneiform tablets at Tel-el-Amarna in 1887 has thrown much light on the relations existing between Egypt and western Asia.

Ramses II. (1345 B.C.). There is one king of the nineteenth dynasty who deserves particular notice. It is Ramses II., whose warlike prowess has earned for him the title of "the Great." He is well known to us through the account contained in the first chapter of Exodus. He was "the Pharaoh of the oppression," who regarded it as a measure of wise public policy to prevent the multiplication of an alien race in the midst of Egypt. "Now there arose

up a new king over Egypt," says the sacred record," which knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.”1

During his long reign of sixty-seven years, Ramses II. busied himself with building cities and creating works of art. Through the enforced labors of the Israelites, he built the treasure-cities of Pithom and Ramses, in which he stored grain to provide for his people in case of famine or invasion. The city of Pithom was excavated in 1883, and the treasure-chambers themselves, with brick partitions from eight to ten feet thick, were discovered. Ramses II. constructed temples, palaces, and tombs, and erected tall granite obelisks, one of which now adorns the Place de la Concorde in Paris. The war poem of Pentaur, a production of vigorous thought and expression, describes his

1 Ex. 1:8-10.

heroism at the battle of Kadesh. A bust of this king, preserved in the British Museum, shows a countenance of calm dignity, and resourceful intelligence.

Subsequent Relations with Israel. The cruel oppression of the Hebrews, who had grown to be a numerous people, was not to go on indefinitely. Under Meneptah II., who lacked the martial genius of his father, Ramses II., there were uprisings on all sides against the despotism of Egypt. These revolts, which taxed the energies and military power of the king to the utmost, afforded a favorable opportunity for the Israelites to escape from their bondage. The troubles of the Egyptian monarch were aggravated by a series of national calamities described in Exodus as the ten plagues. At length, under the able leadership of Moses, the enslaved Hebrews rose in a body, and began a long and toilsome march toward the home of their ancestors in Canaan. The Egyptian army that went in pursuit of the fugitives was overwhelmed in the waters of the Red Sea.

"the

During the later dynasties, Egypt frequently came into touch with the Hebrews after their settlement in Promised Land." As we learn in the third chapter of I Kings, "Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh, King of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David," where he built for her a magnificent palace. The Egyptian king bestowed upon his daughter as dowry the city of Gezer, which he had captured from the Canaanites.

The division of the Hebrew kingdom in 930 B.C. made the people of Israel an easy prey. Accordingly, as we read in 2 Chronicles, Shishak invaded Canaan 925 B.C. with "twelve hundred chariots and threescore thousand horsemen." He attacked Jerusalem, and "took away the

treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house." 1

Culture and Art.-As indicated in the preceding sketch, the Egyptians excelled in culture and art. The ancient

Greeks looked upon Egypt as a school of wisdom. Long before the Greeks were known to history, the dwellers on the Nile had developed a high civilization. Grecian philosophers and lawgivers - Pythagoras, Plato, Solon, Lycurgus-visited Egypt to increase their store of learning. It is said in praise of Moses that he "was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians.'

"2

The temples and tombs of Egypt were ornamented with paintings and sculpture, which were in large measure conventional and symbolic. Though Egyptian artists, as a rule, did not follow nature, we have what seem to be excellent likenesses of many sovereigns belonging to the Middle empire. The Egyptians excelled in the mechanic arts. Great perfection was attained in spinning and weaving; glass was manufactured, and some of the secrets of coloring it have baffled modern ingenuity; iron and the common mechanical and agricultural implements made from it were in general use. Mighty pyramids and majestic temples witness not only to lofty artistic conception, but to a high order of mechanical skill. The temple of Karnak has been pronounced the proudest architectural achievement of man.

Literature. The literature of Egypt, as it has been preserved, represents almost every species of writing. The inscriptions contain invaluable historical records. The Prisse Papyrus, which was written in the fifth dynasty (about 3400 B.C.), is said to be the oldest book in the world. In subject-matter it resembles the book of Prov2 Acts 7:22.

1 2 Chron. 12:9.