Nevertheless, as there are many known facts relating to the pyramids, which bear some relation to the short account given in the book of Exodus of the oppression which the Israelites underwent during their bondage in that country, it may not be uninteresting to review what different writers have stated which would seem to bear upon the subject. It was the very prevalent opinion of all the early writers upon Egypt, that these vast buildings were designed originally for sepulchres or mausoleums for the crowned heads of that country; and the common custom of heaping up a huge pile to the memory of the great and the wise in former times, in all countries, but especially in Egypt, strongly favours this ideat. Some have thought from their peculiar position, being placed due north and south, that they were also intended for astronomical purposes. The geometrical proportions which are observed in these buildings are not altogether inexplicable when it is remembered that geometry first took its rise among the Egyptians, who were in a measure compelled to invent it as a remedy for the confusion which generally happened in reclaiming their lands after the inundations of the Nile, which carried away their land-marks and effaced all the limits of their possessions. This difficulty they met by inventing a method of measuring the land, that every person might have what belonged to him; and this practice led to the discovery of many excellent properties of these figures. The fact of the pyramids having been constructed in such strict relation to the four quarters of the world, and which showed the true meridian of that place with so much geometrical precision, may not disturb the idea that they were

"It is the common opinion that the word pyramid is derived from the Greek IIup,-fire; and that these structures were so called from their shape, which ascended from a broad basis and ended in a point, like a flame of fire. Others, whose opinion Vossius seems to approve, say that the name comes from the word Пpog, which in the same language signifies wheat, because they suppose them to have been the granaries of the ancient Egyptian kings. But a late writer, versed in the Coptic tongue, has given us another etymology from that language, wherein pouro signifies a king and misi a race, or generation; and the reason why the pyramids had this name given to them was, as he tells us, because they were erected to preserve the memory of the princes (who were their founders) and their families."-Wilkins's Dissert. de ling. Copt. p. 108. ↑ Herodotus, Strabo, Diodorus Siculus.

Even so late as the time of the Circassian Memlook kings, who lived about the commencement of the sixteenth century of the Christian era, there are found, as in Qaherah, in Lower Egypt, monuments to record the death of these kings, which surpass in magnificence some of the largest public buildings in our own country. They are considered the most pslendid monuments of Saracenic architecture.

It is very remarkable that in those pyramids which have been opened-which are about six-at Djizeh and Saggara, the

originally intended for tombs; in proof of which, in the interior of several of them there have been found sarcophaguses: and in that of the great pyramid a statue resembling a man is said to have been discovered, in which statue the body of a man was found, with a breast-plate of gold and jewels; but lord Munster found in the same sarcophagus the bones of an ox*.

I will, however, proceed to consider what reason there is for attributing these monuments to the skill and labour of the Hebrews when in bondage to the Pharaohs, agreeably to the assertion of Josephus.

First, then, we find them employed in making bricks, which, as they contained straw, were hardened in the sun; for such bricks alone require the assistance of straw in their composition. "They laboured in brick and in mortar, and in all manner of service in the fieldt." According to the accounts of travellers, the pyramids of Saggara are wholly composed of sun-burnt bricks: and the internal construction of the great pyramid, as well as those adjoining, is of the same material, although the exterior tier, or casing, is of different kinds of stone. In the great pyramid, and in the second, it is of nummulite limestone, from the Libyan mountains; and in the granite formed part of the outside structure of the And the fact that limestone or third, of granite. Pyramids, is no proof that the Hebrews were not concerned in erecting them; for,

Secondly, we are told they had heavy burdens to carry ; which no doubt comprised, among other material, stone; for we can hardly suppose that the treasure cities which they built for Pharaohwell as brick. The statement of Josephus, that "they Pithom and Raamses were not built of stone as were employed to cut a great number of channels for the river," when it is known that these canals were for the purpose of transporting masses of stone, which made all over the country by the ancient Egyptians could not otherwise be conveyed to the spots where

entrance has always been found near the centre of the north face; and the passage proceeding down from the opening is always at the same angle-27°. "If then," says Dr. Russell, "nothing more were apparent than the exact position of those buildings in reference to the four cardinal points of the compass, it would of itself be sufficient to stamp the character of the Egyptians, at a very remote age, as connected with the pursuits of practical astronomy. But when to this are added the delineations of the twelve signs of the zodiac-the traces of which are still visible at Esneh and Dendera-the naming of the principal stars, and grouping of the constellations, there can remain no doubt that the science of the priesthood was chiefly employed in marking the times and paths of the celestial hosts. When too we find that all the learning of Thales, by which he was enabled to calculate eclipses and determine the solstitial and equinoctial points, was acquired from the Egyptian sages 600 years before the Christian era; that, at a later period, Eratosthenes was found qualified to measure a degree of the meridian, and from the result to deduce the circumference of the earth with an extraordinary degree of accuracy; and that the day of the summer solstice was then, and probably at a much earlier epoch, so nicely observed by means of a well dug at Svene, from the surface of which the sun's disk was reflected entire we cannot hesitate to receive any hypothesis which assumes an astronomical purpose in accounting for the architectural prodigies of ancient Egypt.

* See Wilkinson's "Egypt," p. 825.

+"Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore," &c. (Exod v. 7 and seq.)

1 Exod. i. 14. In rendering the passage in Ps. lxxxi." I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots"-the septuagint, vulgate, Symmacus, and others, agree in substituting the word "mortar-basket" for pots."

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they are now found, to the astonishment of every traveller, will give room for more than a conjecture that the Jews were employed in stone as well as brick work; and that probably the outer tier of the pyramids makes as strong an appeal to our commiseration for the hardships which they endured, as the other portions of the building. The Egyptians had the art and contrivance to dig and carry their canals into the very quarry from which they conveyed those huge masses of stone, in the same manner that we now carry our railroads for covenience into similar places. And therefore it was that, at the time of the Nile's inundation, when the first harvest was ended+, and all agricultural pursuits were suspended, they could now fill their canals with the superabundant water; and, by means of rafts, they thence conveyed, with comparatively little trouble, the numerous and huge masses, cut in the form of blocks or statues, or columns, as they required them, in order to convey them into Lower Egypt. And, as the country was intersected every where with these canals, there were few places to which those mighty masses of stone might not be carried with ease, although their weight would have broken every other kind of conveyances. Moreover, Pliny tells us that three hundred and sixty thousand men were employed for twenty years in constructing the great pyramid; but Herodotus reduces it to one hundred thousand; and he also observes, they were employed in cutting and transporting the stone from the Arabian mountains. The causeways by which the stone blocks were carried from the canals

It is not generally known in what way the outer casing, as it has been called, of the pyramids was put on. The idea of an outer covering being put on after the building was erected, is wrong, and had its origin in an expression in Herodotus, which has been translated-"to cover with a casing." By referring

to the annexed diagram, it will be seen that the first tier of

AZ

B

(Section of a pyramid.)

the pyramid (A) was entirely surrounded by stone; while the centre part (B) was filled up with bricks. When the second tier (D) was commenced, the outer stone-work would advance only to about half the thickness of the stone on the outer edge of the first tier; by which plan the square of the second tier would be less than that of the first, and the third than the second, and so on to the top. When the whole was finished, they commenced planing down the upper angle of the projecting steps, down to the level of the line C. The outer stonework would, after this, give the appearance to the eye of its having been placed on the surface of the material beneath, in the same manner as the modern casing of a house with stone is done. But it will be seen the Egyptian method is far better calculated to withstand the effects of time, from the fact of some portion of that casing having lasted to the present period.

"The Nile regularly overflows this country in the beginning of the summer solstice, continuing the whole time of the sun's passage through the sign Leo; it decreases when the sun enters Virgo; and when he is in Libra the Nile sinks. The ancient Egyptians had two crops of corn yearly from the same ground; at present they get but one. After barley harvest, they sowed rice, melons, and cucumbers. Egypt is said to have furnished Rome annually twenty millions of bushels of corn.”—Calmet. In this way some of the statues which are cut out of one solid block of stone, were first carved in the quarry, and afterwards removed.

Rollin's Ancient Hist.

Piny probably copied his account from Diodorus Siculus. Herodotus says 10,000 at a time relieved each other every three months. This difference in the numbers is thought to be accounted for by supposing Diodorus to mean the whole of the population employed in all departments, when he states 360,000; while Herodotus only meant the number employed in one specific department.

to the pyramids-a distance, it is supposed, of three thousand feet-were also built of stone; and, as ten years were occupied in building one of them, it is probable the quantity of stone used on these occasions was very great*.

Thirdly. It is rather remarkable, when the Israelites were in the wilderness, they regretted "the fish which they did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic." Now Herodotus mentions three rootsthe fige t, onion, and garlic-all of which are to this day in common use among the lower orders of the Egyptians, which he says he saw named in an inscription on the outside of the great pyramid ; and by his account it appears to have been in the Enchorial or Hieratic character, and which recorded the expence of the articles of food consumed by the labourers during the building of that structure. The total expence amounted to sixteen hundred talents of silver, which were equal to about 200,000l. sterlinga sum sufficiently large to imply a vast number of people having been employed for a long period of time, so abundant as these vegetables are in that country.

Fourthly. We learn from Herodotus that the builders of the pyramids were not continually engaged at the work, but that they were relieved every three months, and that they were not composed of the native Egyptians. Diodorus states of Sesostris, that he employed in these works none of his own subjects, but only labours of captives. He was even careful to engrave these words on the temples, No Egyptian had a hand in this structure.' They say further, that the captives brought from Babylon, unable to endure these labours, found means to escape, and made war with the Egyptians." Moreover, Josephus tells us that the Hebrews were obliged to learn

all sorts of mechanical art: this must theretore have taken them off occasionally from their works at the pyramids. Now we learn from scripture that the Israelites were employed, in addition to their "hard bondage, in mortar and in brick," "in all manner of service in the field." The fact of the Israelites being employed in different ways seems also strengthened by the circumstance of the mer of Moses not being able to conceal him when an infant, for more than three months. This fact, together with many others-as the journey to Mount Horeb, which Aaron took to meet Moses, the institution of the passover, and the stipulation of Moses that not a hoof of their cattle should be left behind-would seem to prove very clearly that the children of Israel were only engaged alternately or at certain seasons in erecting the pyramids. The circumstance of the king who knew not Joseph, putting the Hebrews to hard labour upon works not absolutely essential, and only useful in a political or national sense, seems probable; especially when it is known that it was the custom with other nations to employ bondmen in building and other laborious work, while the natives were educated

The

This great causeway, mentioned by Herodotus, must not be confounded with that which was constructed upon innumerable arches, and which extended between the pyramids and the Nile. This latter was built by Asadi, one of the emirs of SalahEddin-Yousouf, the son of Job, commonly called Saladin the Great. The remains of this causeway may still be seen. material which composes it, together with that of the citadel, the mosques, and the battlements of the capital, was taken chiefly from the outer casing of the grand and several of the smaller pyramids. (See Richardson's "Travels along the Mediterranean," and Russell's "Egypt.")

+ This is the radish (raphanus edulis or sativus), and not the horse radish, as was supposed. It is very difficult to ascertain what plant was really intended in Numbers xi. 5, by the Hebrew word chatzir, which in this place is translated leek, but in numerous other places the same word is variously rendered grass, herb, hay; and in Isaiah xxxiv. 13, it is translated court -"and a court for owls." If any vegetable at all is intended in this last passage, we must substitute the marginal reading "ostriches," for "owls" do not live on vegetables.

Lib.i. ch. 2.

as men of war. We read this was the course afterwards pursued by Solomon towards the Amorites, Hivites, and other nations. He levied upon all those captives that he did not destroy a tribute of bond service. The same custom even now prevails in the east; and that the Israelites were really bondmen, no one, I presume, will doubt, for they are said distinctly to have been brought out of the house of bondage (Exod. xx. 2).

Fifthly. The period of time allotted to the erection of these immense buildings corresponds with what is usually allowed to be the time of Israel's bondage. They were supposed to have been in Egypt 215 yearst, of which Joseph ruled 70 years; 140 years therefore remain, which is sufficient time for a new king to arise who knew not Joseph, before the exodus. Now, according to Wilkinson's tables of the kings of Egypt, about 60 years elapsed before this new king arose (Amosis Chebron), which leaves nearly 80 years B.C., namely, from 1575 to 1491, the year of the exodus. It was probably during this and the following reigns that the Israelites underwent the hardships which are stated in the book of Exodus.

These are the chief conclusions which appear to justify us in believing that many of the pyramids of Egypt were built when the Hebrews were in bondage in that land, and were partly constructed by that people-I say partly, because other nations were in bondage to the Egyptians; and these, for the reasons above stated, were also engaged. Thus, says Rollin, "all this bustle, all this expence, and all the labours of so many thousand men for so many years, ended in procuring for a prince in this vast and almost boundless pile of building, a little vault six feet in length. Besides, the kings who built these pyramids had it not in their power to be buried in them, and so did not enjoy the sepulchre they had built. The public hatred which they incurred, by reason of their unheard-of cruelties to their subjects, in laying such heavy tasks upon them, occasioned their being interred in some obscure place to prevent their bodies from being exposed to the fury and vengeance of the populace." Whatever they were constructed forwhether, according to the Brahmins, they were places of worship; or, according to the Puranas and to Pliny, they were built for motives of ostentation, or what is still more likely, according to Aristotle, whether they were monuments of tyranny-seems of little moment: while we behold them, in these last days, scarcely acted upon by the long period of time that has swept over them, we cannot resist the flow of thought which naturally arises in the mind, viz., that these wicked and idolatrous people have been made, by the exercise of a genius which was in them to aim in all things at the grand and magnificent, to record their folly and oppressive cruelty towards the people of God by building these everlasting monuments of the truth and integrity of the sacred history.

1 Kings ix. 21.

+ Josephus states that the children of Israel were four hundred years under these afflictions; and in Exod. xii. 40, it is stated that "the sojourning of the children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt was 430 years." Bishop Patrick says (Commentaries on the Old Testament), "This includes their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and their sojourning in the land of Canaan as well us in Egypt. From the time of Abraham's coming from Churrau into the land of Canaan, when this sojourning began, till the going of his descendants out of Egypt, was just 430 years. From his arrival in Canaan to the birth of Isaac was 25 years; Isaac was 60 years old when he begat Jacob, and Jacob was 130 years old when he went down into Egypt-making together 215 years; and from his family coming into Egypt till their departure, was just 215 more."

By some unaccountable error Herodotus has strangely misplaced theops and Cephren, making them posterior to Sesostris and Meris. The former reigned about 2123, upwards of 400 years before the arrival of Joseph in Egypt, while the latter, called also Remeses the Great, did not reign till nearly 90 years after the exodus, 1355. This last Sesostris was however confounded with one of the same name, that Manetho places as early as the twelfth dynasty, a period not very far removed rom the deluge of Nouh, which is 2348 B.C.

THE DAG OF JONAH.

AMONG the writings of the prophets, there is no circumstance which has attracted more general attention, excited so much curiosity, or caused so much opportunity for the exercise of learning as well as scepticism, as the account which has been handed down to us in of the prophet Jonah. Whatever opportunities the the pages of holy writ of the miraculous preservation exercise of God's supernatural power may give to the sceptic for using those arguments which, if carried out, would lead to the destruction of all belief in the written word of God, this account appears in a preeminent degree to have furnished much matter for speculation and even ridicule. A history confessedly so difficult would necessarily cause much learning as well as reasoning to be embarked in it. No doubt the period at which the prophet wrote, he having been supposed to be the most ancient of all the prophets usually so called, was not calculated to throw records, as might be expected in the study of subjects so much light upon the miraculous event which he more parallel with history, and which might be drawn out by the aid of testimony. The story of Jonah is considered on this account by many to be fair ground for the exercise of conjecture, and the creation of difficulties which few can either gainsay or disprove. To give the subject the attention it deserves, and to clear it of many absurd reasonings with which it has been surrounded, will be at least interesting, if it is not capable of much practical application. Many points connected with the subject prove that the event was cast at a period not very far removed from the reign of Jehu, who was king over Israel about 880 years before the Christian era, and 280 previous to the Babylonish captivity. It was supposed by archbishop Usher, "that the king of Nineveh who repented at Jonah's preaching, was Pul;" but this is very uncertain, and, as Lloyd; has shewn, not very probable, for no mention of Pul occurs for more than 70 years after the reign of Jehu.

The spirit in which this account seems to have been handled by some is little higher than that which is manifested by the neologian school of the present day. Not caring to believe any part of the history that is not open to reasonable explanation, they at the same time find the difficulty increase in proportion to the number and extent of their doubts. This fact is not however peculiar to the case before us; on the contrary, it may be said of every one where explanation goes so far as to enter into the manner in which a miracle is wrought, that, instead of placing the subject in a light more easy to be understood, it only makes greater disagreement in the general connexion. All due estimate being made for the circumstances related in a miracle, I am inclined to think, with a learned writer, that "by whatever agent a miracle be produced, it is still a miracle, whether that agent be the element fire, or the element water; whether it be a meteor in the air, or a phenomenon in the earth, it is not the agent employed that constitutes a miracle, but the exertions of a superior power directing that agent in a way different, often contradictory, from what of its own nature, and as one might say, of its own accord, it would have proceeded in. It is a matter of perfect indifference, for instance, when our Lord walked on the water, whether he diminished the specific gravity of his own body, or whether he condensed the water beneath his feet into a kind of solidity approaching towards ice; we say this is indifferent with respect to the miracle, because The abrupt manner in which the book of Jonah both begins and ends, has led to the opinion that it was but an uppendix to some of his other writings. We know by Josephus that he did write other prophecies; for he foretold that Jeroboam would make war against the Syrians. (See 2 Kings xiv. 25).

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+ Usher's Annals, p. 58; A.M. 3238. See his Chronological Tables.