tt Budge, The Mummy, 891, 2»« Wiedem»nn, 14S, 219.
JOSEPH
JOSEPH
tlie goddess of the fertile soil of the Delta,* was often identified), is described in inscriptions, cited bj' Ebers, as 'causing the Nile to appear in its season,' 'giving life to the living vdtU her hands,' ' pouring forth fruitfulness upon the land,' etc.t 1'lie cow being sacred to both these deities, kine eiiier^ang from the Nile would be a natural emblem of fruitful seasons. Hcven was also a sacred {and magical) number in Egypt.J Among the priestly classes § in Egypt were the ' writers of sacred writ- ings' (sax-u neter sat: in the Greek text of the Canopus decree, in-fpo^ipai, — depicted on the monu- ments with a feather [iiuill] on their heads, and a book in their hand ||), and the ' know ers of things ' (rex xct"). OT, as we might say, ' wise men ' (in the Greek, itpoypa^)mT(U, or ' sacred scribes '), of whose superior knowledge the Egj'p. king would avail himself in any dilliculty.H lo these corre- spond, no doubt, the hnrtumnum" and ' wise men,' summoned by I'liaraoh to interpret his dreams.
.loseph's shaving himself, and changing his raiment (41"), before appearing in the presence of I'liaraoh, is in agreement with Egyptian cus- toms : all respectable Egyptians shaved them- selves : on the monuments, only forei''ners, and natives of inferior rank, are represented a.s wear- ing beards ; cleanliness of clotlies, as well as of person, was also de ri'jueur.ff With the reference to God in 41"' (cf. v.^ 40«), comp. Ilerod. ii. S.3. Joseph's plan for laying u^i corn in store- houses (41*"-) at least falls in with Egj'ptian institutions : in all important cities granaries were established, partly for the reception of the corn-tax (an important item in the revenue), partly to provide maintenance for soldiers and other public oflicial» : the ' superintendent of the granaries' was one of the highest otlicers of the state ; it w£is his duty to see that they were pro- perly (illed, and to report to the king annually on the harvests.JJ On 41*° ('over my house,' i.e. palace), cf. p. 772 note t, and Ernian, pp. 69, 77 : the terms of 41'" suggest the important oflice of Tate, or governor, ib. 69, 87-89 (' the second after the king in the court of the palace '), 473. The
• Ma.si)iro. Dawn aS Cinilil. 09, 132.
t Kbt-ra, :^'>7 f. (ttie dates and sources of these citationa are Dot given : and their relevancv is i>erha^)s doubttulv
t Ehera, :«'.! (. ; Smith, /j/(2 lV06(in iinwriinions, »et»n dnim are often prescrit>ed, never 6, 8, or U ; and in ciiarniM, ieven ot>Jects are taken). Anions the iitinierous fnnnsof Hal-Iior, tevm are often in particular sjierifiid (Eberv, 359 ; Talt oj Tvco lirotherg, p. 51, Petric; Urncwh, Itrl. u. Ui/lh. d. alt. -f.'j. 318f., and Thfji. Inner. ^i\'j. 8<H>-«4)'2 (temple of the seven great Hathora at Speos Arteniidosl) ; and in ch. MS of the "Book ot the IVad,* mention is made of the $fvfn sacred kine with tlieir hull, who proiide food and drink for the dead, and whose [;ood ser^'icee the deceased invokes Ila (Osiris) to secure on his helialf: see Budge's Ir. (Isys), p. 201 f.; an*l the line viirnette, representing the Kine, with otlerinj.i* laid W-tore them liy the deceuM.-d, in sheet 3.'> of the niaginticent facsimile of the I'apyrus of Ani, pub. by the Brit. .Mus. Trustees (^'ignuroux, p. 112, givesadilTer- ent vignette of the same subject from the Turin Papyrus, pub. by LepitiuH, Twtunbuch, 1842).
( Ebere. 311 IT. II Wilk.-B. 11. 324, No«. 8, 9.
^ In the T'l/** n.r th« Txpo Hrothfrt (p. 5-1, Petrie), a lock of ■oen'.ei hair which has Ix-en ffinnd is iirong)»t to the king, who ■uminons the ' scrilK'S and the knoweni of things' to tell him who its owner is. The sister-in-law of itanitu-s xii. is ill, and tlie Pharaoh is SMked to send a ' wise man ' lo give his advice (Unigs*-h, 3.M ; Kliem. 347. who adds that there are numerotis similar iiiHlances). On the contmt* of the 'sacred writings' (which euibraceii magic, clmrnis, and other subjects, as well as ritual, etc.), see llrvigiuh, .t:,jjii<t<4atie, 85, 141>-I6B, 320.
*' L.X.X ilryy.rAt (in Ex its'i^m, (iH t»nim%»,'), KVm 'sacred scribes.' Of uncertain derivation, but found only in connexion with t^rvpt (41» w, Ex 7"'*" 81 '»^ '» 9"), and (doubtless borrowed from tin) in Hn ]»' 2* 10 »7 47 » 511 (aV • uiagiciojis').
1 1 KVrs. 35(1 n. ; cf. Wilk.-B. II. 330, 331, SS7 ; Emian, '225, 4S9 ; Petrie. TalrK. i. 12.'. ; llemd. ii 3(1.
II Knnan, lus, with iilu.^tration of Cha'emhC't, superintendent of the granaries under Anienclphis III. (18 dyn.), cf. hi. Ml. SB, 94, 95; Kreorilt of Ihr rail. 2nd sor. ill. 7f.. 22. I!epre«nt»- tions of EgN'ptian granaries nmv Im* seen in Kmian, 433, 4.'i4 ; or In Wilk.-B.' I. 31S, 371 : cf. alK> .Maspero. hatm qf Civil. 2S«, ial : cloi»* by there were otlices and weighing-rooms, In which sctitiM registered ever; sack that was brouyht In or Ukso out (Ennan, p. U5X
signet-ring (41**) was in other countries al.^^o s mark of authority (Est 3"» 8-, 'fob l-'^, 1 Mac 6") ; but it was notably so in Egypt, where the ' keeper of the seal ' (mer chetam) was the king's deputy.* The golden collar put round Joseph's neck (tb.) was a peculiarly Egyptian form of decoration : it was called ' receiving gold ' ; t AJimes, the captain- general of the marines, who freed Egypt from the Hyksos, ' received gold,' on seven ditlerent occa- sions, for various acts of valour. J Linen was prized in Egj-pt as a material for dress, especially for men of rank ; § but the plural ' garments of line linen' makes it doubtful whether (as Ebers suppcses) there is a specific reference to the shendi-t, or shend'ot, the royal apron-garment, worn under the Old Enip.ire only by royal per- sonages, but under the Middle and New Empires, by other dignitaries as well.H Horses and chariots are lirst represented on the Egyptian monuments under the I8th dyn.: it is probable, therefore, that tlicv were introduced into Egypt during the IlyKsos period; the words for both chariot {uicrkobt) and waggon (agoU) are palpably of .Semitic (Canaaniteor Hebrew) origin (i?p7, ■ihi;,)-1T The kin" in earlier times was carried by soldiers on a sedan-chair.** Erman (p. 64) describes a scene from a tomb at Tel el-Amama, in which Amennphis IV. (18 dyn.), his queen and daughters, and tlie ministers in attendance, appear riding in chariots of state ; but it throws no light on the expression, ' the second chariot wliich he had.' The monuments supply illustrations, at least in and after the 18th dyn., of foreigners (includinc slaves from Syria) rising to positions of politicEU importance in E^pt, and adopting there a change of name : Mery-K6 (' beloved of U6'), the armour- bearer of Thothmes III., and the priest, User-Min ('Min is strong'), were sons of a foreigner, the judge Pa'Emer'eu (the Amorite) ; and ander Merenptah, a Canaanite, Ben - Mat'ana, son of Jupa'a, from D'arbasana,tt holds the office of 'first speaker of His Majesty' (who acted as an intermediary between the kin" and his attend- ants), and receives the name of Ramsesem-per- Ka, ' Kanises in the temple of Ra.'tJ: In fact, ' change of name was usual with parvenjis whom the king wished to honour' (Ebers). On {ib.) is well known to have been the chief centre of the worship of the sun-god (H6 or HA), po.sse.'ssing a famous temple, and a large body of priesta (cf. Herod, ii. 3).