ma a) (Plate Hi.), whic!.- -= f the Parfch' e i .-".- i TT !> '1- Ou the left of SENNACHERIB'S PALACE 35 looked surprised at the next question : " Do you know what you are doing ? You are trying to wash away the evidence that God's Word has been fulfilled. Those marks of fire are the proof of the fulfilment of prophecy ! " Pointing to the book in my hand, in which were pasted passages of Scripture illustrated by the monuments, I showed him the prophecy of Nahum about Nineveh (Nah. 3. 13, 15) : " The fire shall devour thy bars . . . there shall the fire devour thee." This prophecy, uttered many years before the destruction of Nineveh, was actually fulfilled, Nineveh was destroyed by fire, and the evidence was before our eyes. The overseer, who was also in the gallery, was greatly interested in these passages of Scripture ; and although the workman continued his scrubbing, we did not think he tried quite so hard to wash the charred stone. He had already found that he could not get out the black stains. When God fulfils His Word, and pours out His threatened judgments, it is vain for man to try and obliterate the traces. Neither the soap of science nor the scrubbing-brush of philanthropy will remove the marks of the fire of God's judgment. On the left of the doorway (Plate V.) is a large bas-relief portrait of Esarhaddon, but the sculptures in this gallery belong chiefly to the reigns of Sennacherib and Ashur-bani-pal. On our right (the left of the illustration) are a series representing Sennacherib's building operations. Seated on his throne he is watching the work as one of the large bulls is being hoisted into its place. We notice that the Chaldeans were familiar with the laws of physics, and understood the use of inclined planes, levers, wheels, pulleys, etc. The taskmasters with their whips stand over the gangs of labourers as they pull the colossal figure to its 36 THE NINEVEH GALLERY place, others having first built up the mound on which it is to stand. On the opposite side of the gallery, very much blackened by fire, is a bas-relief representing the assault on the city of [Urus]-alammu. The beginning of the name is lost, but it probably stands for Jerusalem. It is one of a series illustrating Sennacherib's conquests, those he actually made, and in this case what he hoped to achieve. For, if this name is correct, the picture does not represent fact. Though Sennacherib took some of the cities of Judah (p. 73), the forts were never built under the walls of Jerusalem, for God fulfilled His promise, " Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it." 1 All these things are depicted on the wall, but Sennacherib's plans were entirely frustrated. The historical account is shown upstairs (Plate VI., p. 57), and even from his own record it is evident that something remarkable occurred. The various fragments of this picture are more damaged by fire than any others. They are blacker than any of the rest. Is it by accident that this representation of Assyria's enmity to the people of God should be the one which through all these centuries most clearly proves that the God of Israel has fulfilled the word of judgment which He spoke against Nineveh ? The prisoners depicted on Nos. 27-29 have Jewish features. At the end of the gallery (the immediate left of Plate V., p. 35) there is a realistic representation of Ashur-bani- pal's battle in Elazn, where king Te-umman is killed. Short inscriptions show the chief events of the battle where the king is telling his son to shoot with the bow and where the king and his son are being killed. At 1 lea. 87. 33, 36. CREATION AND DELUGE TABLETS 37 the end near the doorway some soldiers are driving away in a chariot, holding the head of Te-umman, which " as (a symbol of) glad tidings they carried quickly to Assyria." We have already seen how this trophy was hung up on a tree in the palace garden of Ashur-bani-pal (p. 29). "Along the middle of the gallery are placed nine table-cases, in which are exhibited some of the most valuable and interesting tablets from the Eoyal Library at Nineveh. This library existed in a humble form in the days of Sargon, king of Assyria from B.C. 722 to B.C. 705, and his son Sennacherib and grandson Esar- haddon added to its contents. During the reign of his great-grandson Ashur-bani-pal, B.C. 668 to B.C. 626, many thousands of tablets were copied and incorporated with older works already in the library." 1 In the same way we know that Hezekiah (the con- temporary of Sargon) caused former writings to be collected, for we read, " These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out." 2 In Table-Case A are fragments of the Assyrian account of the Creation and the Deluge. According to the translations that have been made, there are many passages in them which remind us of the Bible records, but they are mixed up with the pagan mythology, the legends of their gods. The similarities have led some of the German professors and so-called "higher critics" to imagine that the inspired account is derived from the polluted pagan source. "Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? ... so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh." 3 As well might we affirm that the ocean receives her supply of seaweed from the shore by gathering with her 1 Guide A, p. 40. 2 Prov. 26. 1. 3 Jas. 3. 11, 12. 38 THE NINEVEH GALLERY waves the dried dead piles of weed that lie upon the beach. The shrivelled weed originally came from the ocean. It was once living and fresh, but exposure to the air and sun and sand have made it dry and putrid, and it only has a slight resemblance to what it once was. So with these ancient records of the past they too are dead and dry and contaminated with many traces of heathen religion. During the many centuries which had elapsed between the days of Adam and Moses, God had not been silent. We know that He spoke directly to Enoch, Noah, and Abraham. Because the history of these centuries is compressed into so few chapters in the Bible, in imagin- ation we are inclined to place Abraham quite near the beginning of the world's history, whereas, even if our dates are correct, he was about half way between 4000 B.C. and the Lord's birth at Bethlehem. The Lord said: "Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws." 1 It is therefore certain that the laws given to Moses were not the first God had given. The earliest revelations were very soon corrupted till only traces of the pure truth were left, and it was necessary that God should again make Himself known, and show to Moses what was true and what false. (See p. 57.) The " Creation Tablets" are portions of an Assyrian Epic of the Creation. It was an attempt to throw together into poetic form many of the mythological ideas of Babylon and Assyria. " The poem describes the coming forth of the gods from chaos, and tells the story of how the forces of disorder, represented by the primeval water- gods Apsu and Tiamat, were overthrown by Ea and Marduk respectively, and how Marduk, after completing 1 Gen. 26. 5. CREATION TABLETS 39 the triumph of the gods over chaos, proceeded to create the world and man." 1 It "was termed by the Assyrians and Babylonians 1 Enuma-elis ' ' "When in the height ' (or ' when on high ') from the two opening words of the text," 2 in the same way as the Books of Moses received their Hebrew names from the opening words. The first of these fragments begins "When on high the heavens were unnamed, (and) earth beneath a name had not received, then the abyss of waters was in the beginning their generator, the chaos of the deep (Tiamat) was she who bore them all. The waters were embosomed together, and the reed was ungathered, 3 the marsh -plant ungrown," etc.* The fourth tablet is in almost perfect condition, and is especially interesting in its reference to Merodach or Marduk, the "firstborn." 5. "'0 Marduk, thou art chiefest among the great 14. We give thee sovereignty over the whole world 15. Sit thou down in might, be exalted in thy command. 16. Thy weapon shall never lose its power, it shall crush thy foe, 17. lord, spare the life of him that trusteth in thee, 18. But as for the god who began the rebellion pour out his life.' 1 L. W. King, M.A., F.S.A., in Seven Tablets of Creation, Introduction. - 8 Ibid. Or (" no field was formed "), L. W King. 4 Prof. Sayoe in The " Higher Criticitm," etc., p. 63. 40 THE NINEVEH GALLERY 19. Then set they in their midst a garment 20. And unto Marduk their first-born they spake: 21. ' May thy fate, lord, be supreme among the gods, 22. To destroy and to create; speak thou the word, and (thy command) shall be fulfilled.'" Then follows an account of how he made the garment vanish and re-appear. 27. " When the gods, his fathers, beheld (the fulfilment of) his word 28. They rejoiced, and they did homage (unto him saying) 'Marduk is king!' 29. They bestowed upon him the sceptre, and the throne and the ring, 30. They gave him an invincible weapon, which overwhelmed the foe." 1 The fifth tablet speaks of the stars and constella- tions " He (Marduk) prepared the mansion of the great gods ; he fixed the stars that corresponded with them, even the Twin stars He ordained the year, appointing the signs of the Zodiac over it; for each of the twelve months he fixed three stars, from the day when the year issues forth to (its) close. He founded the mansion of the Sun-god who passes along the ecliptic that they might know their bounds, that they might not err, that they might not go astray in any way. He illuminated the Moon-god that he might be the watchman of the night, and ordained for him the ending of the night that the day may be known, 1 L. W. King in Seven Tablets, etc., pp. 60, 61. THE CREATION OF MAN 41 (saying): 'Month by month, without break, keep watch in (thy) disk At the beginning of the month shine brightly on the earth, with glittering horns to determine six days. On the seventh day halve (thy) disk.'" 1 The portion which describes the creation of plants and animals has not been recovered, though there is a fragment which speaks of the creation of "the cattle of the field," which has been thought to belong to an independent poem. 2 The sixth tablet, discovered by Mr. King, has some interesting opening lines telling of the creation of man by Merodach in the place of the fallen angels. "When Merodach heard the word of the gods, His heart prompted him and he devised (a cunning plan). He opened his mouth and unto Ea (he spake) (that which) he had conceived in his heart he imparted (unto him): 'My blood will I take and bone will I (fashion), I will make man, that man may . . . I will create man who shall inhabit (the earth), that the service of the gods may be established, and that (their) shrines (may be built). But I will alter the ways of the (hostile) gods, I will change (their paths); together shall they be punished, and unto evil shall they be (delivered).'" 3 On No. 20 we find a copy of the instructions which Marduk or Merodach gave .to man after he had been created, but it is doubtful whether the tablet to which this fragment belonged was connected with the creation 1 Prof. Sayce in The u Higher Criticism," etc., pp. 69, 70. 1 Ibid. * Ibid. 6 42 THE NINEVEH GALLERY series. The god says, "Thy heart shall be pure before thy God, for that is what is due to Him. Thou shalt pray, and shalt make supplication, and bow low to the earth early in the morning." 1 This fragment also makes mention of a power of evil called " Akil-karsi," i.e. the " Calumniator," reminding us of the name given to Satan the accuser. 2 The fragment numbered 21 gives what was thought to be an account of the building of the tower of Babel. But the Gilgamesh series to which the "Deluge Tablets" belong are the most important in this Case. Their mutilated condition makes us wonder that they could ever have been deciphered, but as duplicate copies of some portions exist, the work has been rendered possible. In many respects the account coincides with the Bible narrative, the building of the ship at the command of the god the smearing it over inside and outside with bitumen the sending forth of raven and dove, etc. The Chaldean Noah, Sisuthros or Sit-Napishtim, relates the story of how the god said to him 14. " ' Frame the house, build a ship : leave what thou canst; seek life! 15. Eesign (thy) goods, and cause (thy) soul to live, 16. and bring all the seed of life into the midst of the ship. 17. As for the ship which thou shalt build, 18. ... cubits (shall be) in measurement its length, 19. and . . . cubits the extent of its breadth and its height. 20. Into the deep (then) launch it ! ' 21. I understood and spake to Ea my lord. 22. ' As for the building of the ship, my lord, which thou hast ordered thus, 23. I will observe (and) accomplish (it) ; 1 Guide A, 1900, p. 37. 2 Rev. 12. 10. THE DELUGE TABLETS 43 24. (but what) shall I answer the city, the people and the old men?' 25. (Ea opened his mouth and) says, he speaks to his servant, even to me: 26. '(If they question thee) thou shalt say unto them: 27. Since (?) Bel is estranged from me and 28. I will not dwell in (your) city, I will not lay my head (in) the land of Bel; 29. but I will descend into the deep ; with (Ea) my lord will I dwell. 30. Bel will rain fertility upon you.'" 1 . . . In a fragment from another account we have the god saying " ' I will judge (him) above and below (But) shut (not thou thy door) (Until) the time that I shall tell thee of (Then) enter the ship and close the door of the vessel. . . . he speaks to Ea (his) lord: '(0 my lord) none has ever made a ship (on this wise) that it should sail (?) over the land.'" 2 . . . This fragment ends here. In the other account he describes how he built the ship according to direction ; poured bitumen over the outside and the inside, and stocked it with food, etc. 70. " the cattle of the field, and the beasts of the field, and the sons of my people, all of them did I bring into it. 71. The Sun-god appointed the time and 72. utters the oracle : In the night will I cause the heavens to rain destruction; 73. enter into the ship and close thy door. 1 Prof. Sayoe in The " Higher Criticism" etc., pp. 108-113. a Ibid. 44 THE NINEVEH GALLERY 74. That time drew near (whereof) he utters the oracle : 75. In this night I will cause the heavens to rain destruction. 76. I watched with dread the dawning of the day: 77. I feared to behold the day. 78. I entered within the ship and closed my door. . . . 87. (The waters of the morning at dawn) 88. arose from the horizon of heaven, a black cloud; 89. The Storm-god Eimmon thundered in its midst, and 90. Nebo and Merodach the king marched in front; 91. the throne -bearers marched over mountain and plain ; 92. the mighty god of Death lets loose the whirlwind; 93. Uras marches causing the storm (?) to descend ; 94. the spirits of the underworld lifted up (their) torches, 95. with the lightning of them they set on fire the world ; 96. the violence of the Storm-god reached to heaven; 97. all that was light was turned to (darkness). . . . 116. Six days and nights 117. rages the wind; the flood and the storm devastate. 118. The seventh day when it arrived the flood ceased, the storm 119. which had fought like an army 120. rested, the sea subsided, and the tempest of the deluge was ended. 121. I beheld the deep and uttered a cry, 122. for the whole of mankind was turned to clay; 123. like the trunks of trees did the bodies float. 124. I opened the window and the light fell upon my face; 125. I stooped, and sat down weeping ; 126. over my face ran my tears. 127. I beheld a shore beyond the sea ; 128. twelve times distant rose a land. THE DELUGE TABLETS 45 129. On the mountains of Nizir the ship grounded; 130. the mountain of the country of Nizir held the ship and allowed it not to float. 131. One day and a second day did the mountain of Nizir hold it. 132. A third and a fourth day did the mountain of Nizir hold it. 133. A fifth and a sixth day did the mountain of Nizir hold it. 134. When the seventh day came I sent forth a dove and let it go. 135. The dove went and returned: a resting-place it found not and it turned back. 136. I sent forth a swallow and let it go ; the swallow went and returned; 137. a resting-place it found not and it turned back. 138. I sent forth a raven and let it go. 139. The raven went and saw the going down of the waters, and 140. it approached, it waded, it croaked and did not turn back. 141. Then I sent forth (everything) to the four points of the compass; I offered sacrifices. 142. I built an altar on the summit of the moun- tain. . . . 145. The gods smelt the savour, the gods smelt the sweet savour." Then follows a discussion amongst the gods, Bel is angry and says: 170. " 'Let no living soul come forth, let no man sur- vive in the judgment!' 171. Uras opened his mouth and says, he speaks to the warrior Bel: 172. 'Who except Ea can devise a speech? 173. for Ea understands all kinds of wisdom.' 174. Ea opened his mouth and says, he says to the warrior Bel: 46 THE NINEVEH GALLERY 175. 'Thou art the seer of the gods, O warrior! 176. Why, why dost thou not take counsel, but didst cause a deluge? 177. (Let) the sinner bear his own sin, (let) the evil- doer bear his own evil-doing. 178. Grant (?) that he be not cut off, be merciful that he be not (destroyed). 179. Instead of causing a deluge let lions come and minish mankind; 180. instead of causing a deluge let hyasnas come and minish mankind ; 181. instead of causing a deluge let there be a famine and let it (devour) the land ; 182. instead of causing a deluge let the plague-god come and minish mankind ! ' . . . 185. Then Bel again took counsel and ascended into the ship. 186. He took my hand and caused me, even me, to ascend. 187. he took my wife (also and) caused her to bow at my side; 188. he turned to us and stood between us; he blessed us (saying) 189. 'Hitherto Sisuthros 1 has been mortal, but 190. henceforth Sisuthros and his wife shall be like unto the gods even unto us, and 191. Sisuthros shall dwell afar at the mouth of the rivers.' 192. Then he took us afar, at the mouth of the rivers he made us dwell." 2 The tablets in Table-Case B are grammatical, but in Case C. there are some interesting historical records. Nos. 1-11. "Fragments of an eight-sided cylinder in- scribed with part of the annals of Sargon "... viz. the 1 Or Sit-Napishtim. 2 Prof. Sayce in The "Higher Criticism," etc., p. 113. THE EPONYM CANON 47 campaign of Sargon against Ashdod, B.C. 711. See Isaiah 20. 1 (p. 31). The people of Ashdod rejecting the king given them by Sargon, revolted, and made a league with other nations Judah amongst them to withstand his power, but were defeated by Sargon, and their city once more became subject to Assyria. In Table-Case D there are "a number of most im- portant documents, . . . historical inscriptions of Tiglath- Pileser III., Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, Ashur- bani-pal." The " Eponym Canon " shown here has been of great service in connection with Assyrian chronology. The eponym was an official of high rank who held office for one year. A careful record of each name was kept, the name of the reigning king was also inscribed in another column, and any great event might be mentioned. In one list we are told that during the year of office of an eponym named "Pur-Sagali in the month Sivan (i.e. May-June) an eclipse of the sun took place; and recent astronomical calculations prove that an eclipse of the sun, visible at Nineveh, took place on June 15, 763 B.C. With this year as a fixed point we can accurately assign correct dates to all the important events." 1 Nos. 18-36. Several of these "fragments of terra-cotta bowls, inscribed with names and titles and genealogies of kings of Assyria," belonged to kings whose names or doings are familiar to us from Bible history, e.g. Nos. 24 and 29, Sargon; No. 32, Shalmaneser II.; Nos. 35, 36, Sennacherib. No. 41. An inscription of Tiglath-Pileser recording the tribute of "Ahaz king of Judah," mentioned in 2 Kings 16. 7-10 ; 2 Chron. 28. 16, 20 (see p. 22). No. 42. An inscription of Esarhaddon. 1 Guide A, p. 57. 48 THE NINEVEH GALLERY No. 43 gives " an account of the accession of Ashur- baui-pal to the throne of Assyria, and of the installation of his brother Shamash-shum-ukin as Viceroy of Babylon" (see p. 27). The remaining fragments relate to the conquests of Ashur-bani-pal, which are illustrated by the great bas- reliefs in the Assyrian Saloon and Basement (pp. 26-29). No. 44 records his conquests of Arabia. Nos. 45-48, his wars in Elam. These four tablets tell of the "bringing back of the image of the goddess Nana, which had been carried thither by Kudur- Nan-hundi king of Elam, sixteen hundred and thirty years before " (see p. 28), and thus, as we have seen, take us back to the time of Abraham. Nos. 49, 50, refer to wars in Egypt. It was during this campaign that he destroyed Thebes, or No-Amon, to which reference is made by the Prophet Nahum. "Art thou better than populous No (margin No-Amon), that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea? Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers. Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity." 1 Amongst the documents in Table-Case E, many of which have to do with private affairs, commercial contracts, astronomical and astrological reports, there are a few royal letters of special interest to us. No. 104. A letter from Sennacherib to his son Esarhaddon. We know from the Bible that "Esar- haddon his son reigned in his stead." 2 This tablet is generally known as the "Will of Sennacherib," as it refers to certain objects given by him to Esarhaddon. 1 Nah. 3. 8-10. s laa, 37. 39. CLAY TABLETS 49 No. 105. Letter from Sennacherib to his father Sargon. No. 106. Letter to Sargon, concerning the move- ments of Merodach-Baladan (see p. 31). No. 107. Letter of Shamash-shum-ukin to his brother Ashur-bani-pal. In No. 169 there is, twice over, a mention of gods whose names are linked together in Scripture. "May Bel and Nabu, unto the mother of the king, my lady, be propitious." "Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth." 1 In Table-Case P there are a number of fragments containing incantations, spells, exorcisms of witches, etc. No. 3 closes with a remarkable expression. "May the Moon-god destroy thy body, and may he cast thee into the Lake of Water and of Fire." How little we know of the first revelations made by God. Here and there we are confronted with sentences which suggest that far more had been revealed than we generally imagine, but it soon became corrupted into paganism and heathen mythology. In Table-Case I, No. 32, there is the impression of a seal bearing the name of Shabako or Sabako, the So mentioned in 2 Kings 17. 4, who helped Ho shea in his revolt against Assyria (see pp. 101, 102). It is evident that he must have had some correspondence with Sargon or Sennacherib, as the seal was found among the tablets of the Royal Library at Nineveh. 1 Isa. 46. l. CHAPTER VIII FIKST TO FOURTH EGYPTIAN BOOMS PASSING through the doorway at the end of the Nineveh Gallery we mount the stairs to the Egyptian Rooms. On the left are the First and Second Egyptian Rooms, which are full of Mummies and their cases. These remind us of several funeral processions which started from Egypt, when similar burdens would be carried. The closing chapter of Genesis tells us of two such. We think of the great "mourning to the Egyptians" when Jacob's body, having been embalmed, was carried with great pomp to its resting-place in Shechem. 1 We may be sure the funeral cortege travelled, not by the wilderness, but by that shorter road "the way of the Philistines." The inhabitants of the land, as they looked on, little knew that that grave was the guarantee of their own overthrow. The Book of Genesis ends with the death of Joseph. " So Joseph died, being a hundred and ten years old ; and they embalmed him, and he was put into a coffin in Egypt." 2 We know that " by faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones." 3 He knew that God would fulfil His promise of giving the land to the seed of Abraham, and so gave this command " in sure 1 Gen. 50. 2, 3, 11. a Gen. 50. 26. 8 Heb. 11. 22. SO MUMMIES 5 1 and certain hope" of its accomplishment. This one act of simple faith, out of all his life of trust, is cited by the Holy Spirit. His mummy, in some such sarcophagus as one of these, was carried all through the wilderness journey, for "Moses took the bones of Joseph with him." 1 The Book of Joshua closes with a record of his burial in Shechem. 2 From the address of Stephen we have reason to believe that the mummy of Joseph was not the only one carried by the children of Israel through their wilderness journey. "So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers, and were carried over into Sychem." 3 The mummy of the head of the family would be looked upon in Egypt as a very sacred treasure, and it is not likely that the body of Joseph only would be brought away when they left the land. The bones of each of the sons of Jacob would probably be carried by their several tribes (unless they had been conveyed thither previously), for Stephen seems to imply that all the "fathers" were buried in Shechem. There are many objects of interest in these rooms. Especially we notice, on the left as we enter, an example of very ancient mode of burial. The body is that of a fair-haired man of some early race. In the opposite Case on the right are the few crumbling bones of the builder of one of the pyramids. In the Third Egyptian Eoom there are many represen- tations of the gods of the Egyptians and the mummified animals sacred to those gods. The plagues which were sent upon Pharaoh because he would not let the children of Israel go, were directed against the gods. The Lord said to Moses, "Against all the gods of Egypt I will 1 Ex. 13. 19. Josh. 24. 32. Acts 7. 15, 16. 52 FIRST TO FOURTH EGYPTIAN ROOMS execute judgment." 1 He redeemed His people "from Egypt, from the nations and their gods." 2 The 1st and 2nd plagues, when the water was turned into blood and the frogs invaded the land, fell amongst others upon the Nile-god and the god of water. The 3rd, when the dust of the earth became lice upon the Earth-god Seb. The 4th and 8th, when swarms of flies and locusts filled the air were directed against Shu, the personifica- tion of the atmosphere. The 5th, the murrain of beasts, would touch the sacred bulls. Apis was the sacred bull of Memphis, Mnevis of Heliopolis, and Hathor was the cow goddess, who represented the place of sunrise. In the 6th plague the ashes of the furnace were flung to the winds, as were the ashes of the victims in the worship of Sutech or Typhon. The 7th plague of the hail and the mighty storm which accompanied it, and the 9th plague of darkness, were judgments on the larger number of the gods of Egypt, the hawk-headed Horus who represented the Face of Heaven, Heru the sky -god, Ra, Osiris, and all the other forms of the Sun-god, such as Ptah the rising sun, Temu the setting sun, Sekhet the fierce, scorching, and destroying heat of the sun's rays, all these and many more were proved to be absolutely powerless before the God of Israel, the Maker of heaven and earth. The last plague touched Pharaoh himself, and the kings of Egypt were themselves elevated to a position amongst their gods. In these rooms, especially Boom IV., there are many things illustrative of early "Church History" in Egypt and the foes with which it had to contend. In the 3rd Egyptian Eoom Table-Case B, Nos. 1 Ex. 12. 12. z 2 Sam. 7. 23. COPTIC REMAINS 53 39-51, there are specimens of linen embroidered with figures of saints, religious symbols, birds, etc. ; they were originally sewn on mummy shirts of the Coptic period. In the Guide, attention is drawn to the signs of crosses within wreaths in the corners of four specimens, "one (No. 48) has the sign of the cross without a wreath, and the other (No. 49) has the old Egyptian sign for life (the cross with a loop at the top) within a wreath. These facts show that the Coptic Christians confused the old heathen symbol with the Christian Cross." 1 May we not also add that they prove the probable origin of the use of the symbol ? Many things which are considered Christian are really derived from the pagan religions of Egypt and Babylon. In Table-Case M (Room rv.), on the sloping side of the case, there are many Coptic inscriptions. The Egyptian Christians from about the third century A.D. were called Copts, and, probably in imitation of the heathen recluses of the temple of Serapis (see p. 119), many of them became hermits and recluses of various kinds. In time, the whole land was bordered by communities of monks and anchorites Dean Milman tells us that there were in the desert of Nitria alone, 5,000 : that the total number of males was estimated at 76,000, and the females at 27.700. 2 How different would have been the history of the Church had these 100,000 men and women been truly converted to God, and become missionaries to the heathen around ! In these Cases we see fragments of Coptic writing No. 6, a promise by three persons who wish to be made deacons, that they will obey the canons to learn the Gospel of St. John by heart, etc.; portions of Scripture, as in No. 17, which is an extract from Psalm 98, " Sing 1 Guide B, p. 26. s The History of Chrittianity, voL iii. p. 209. 54 FIRST TO FOURTH EGYPTIAN ROOMS unto the Lord a new song"; hymns and psalms and exercises, Nos. 20, 22, 33. In division 4 there are many Coptic crosses. No. 153 is "a bronze ornament from a staff used in religious processions, with model of the seven-branched candlestick which stood in the Jewish Tabernacle." In Table-Case N there is a collection of Gnostic amulets and gems. Gnosticism had its home in Egypt. A few things taken from Christianity were blended with Platonic philosophy, Jewish theology, and old Oriental theosophy. The word Gnostic comes from the Greek word gnosis, knowledge. They claimed a superior know- ledge, but it was a science or knowledge "falsely so called." No. 201 is "a chalcedony plaque inscribed with the names of Michael, Gabriel, Raphael," etc. No. 231 is " a jaspar oval for inlaying in a ring, inscribed with the scene of the Crucifixion." It is interesting to notice also (Wall-Cases 176- 1SO), No. 5, a lamp, mentioning the name of Mark the Evangelist. It is supposed that about A.D. 37 he commenced a mission in Egypt, and founded the Church of Alexandria about A.D. 40, being martyred during the reign of Nero, about A.D. 61-62. To return to ancient Egyptian history, in Wall-Case 175 we see a number of unbaked bricks. Our thoughts at once go to the time of the oppression in Egypt, when the children of Israel were forced to make bricks without straw. No. 6020 is stamped with the cartouche of Rameses II., and the straw can be plainly seen in it, also in No. 6007. " The mud of Egypt was not very suitable for the making of bricks of a large size, hence Egyptian bricks are relatively small, and it was found necessary to mix chopped straw and reeds, hair, etc., with EGYPTIAN JEWELS 55 the mud in order to bind it together." 1 "And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves. ... So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt, to gather stubble instead of straw." 2 In Case J are a number of Egyptian jewels, reminding us of the jewels of gold which the Israelitish women asked from the Egyptians on the night of their escape. In our Authorised Version the word rendered "borrowed" is misleading. There was no thought of the jewels being lent, the word is rendered in the RV. "asked." Jewels such as these must have been thrust upon the Israelitish women, and the settings of such ornaments provided the gold which they afterwards offered for the construction of the Tabernacle. The command God gave in Egypt : " Let every man ask of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver and jewels of gold," 3 was in anticipation of His later command: "Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take My offering. And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, and blue, and purple, and scarlet," etc. 4 In the Wall-Cases adjoining, Nos. 182-187, there are a number of bronze Egyptian mirrors. From mirrors such as these the laver was made, for we read that the mirrors of the women were thus used. 5 It was appropriate that that which typified "the washing of water by the Word" itself compared to a mirror 6 should be thus constructed. On the walls of this room there are painted plaster casts 1 Guide B, p. 266. Ex. 6. 6, 7, 12. Ex. 11. 2. 4 Ex. 25. 2-4. 'Ex. 88. 8. Eph. 6. 26 ; Jae. 1. 23-26. 56 FIRST TO FOURTH EGYPTIAN ROOMS representing the wars of Rameses II., one of which includes the conquest of a Canaanitish tribe. The names and cartouches of many of the kings of Egypt are to be found in the various cases on all sorts of objects, bub the kings themselves are better represented in the Egyptian Gallery on the ground floor, with the exception of Shishak, Shabako or So, Tirhakah, and Necho, of whom we have no large statues. In the large collection of scarabs 1 in Table-Case D the name of Shishak or Shishanq appears on No. 1269ff ; Shabako or So, No. 1324ff; Tirhakah, No. 1333; and Necho, No. 1341, 42. In Wall-Case No. 85 is "an alabaster jar with the prenomen and titles of Shabaka," and No. 86, " alabastron inscribed with that of Necho II." 1 Engraved stones in the shape of a beetle " found in the swathings of mummies, and in rings on their fingers, and in chambers of tombs, and in ruins of temples, etc." Guide , p. 187. CHAJpER IX I . . CHAPTER IX BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN ROOM (PLATE VI.) THIS room is a veritable storehouse of objects which are full of interest to the Bible student. It contains all sorts of inscribed antiquities and historical records, not only of the kings already mentioned, but of those who lived at the dawn of history and also of those who reigned as late as a century B.C. The large inscribed monument on the right of the doorway is a cast of the celebrated Code of Laws of Khammurabi l or Hammurabi. He is supposed to be identical with the Amraphel 2 king of Shinar, mentioned in Gen. 14. The twenty-eight columns of text contain a very remarkable series of laws, and the fact that such a wise code should have existed in the time of Abraham has been urged as a proof that the Mosaic law was not a revelation from God, but a copy from Babylon. As we have already noticed (see p. 38), there is clear evidence from God's words concerning Abraham, that He had already given a "charge," "commandments," "statutes," and "laws." 3 How God gave these laws we do not 1 This name is often spelt Hammurabi, but the spelling on the labels and in the Guides has been followed. a " In Babylonian ilu is ' god,' the Hebrew d, and Ammu-rapi ilu would be ' Khammu-rabi the god.' Now Ammu-rapi ilu is letter for letter the Amraphel of Genesis." Prof. Sayce in Mon. Facto and Higher Critical Fancies, p. 60. 3 Gen. 26. 5. 8 58 BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN ROOM know. On the upper part of the stone the king is represented "in the traditional attitude of worship, in the act of receiving them from the Sun-god, who is seated on a mountain"; and it may be that there is here a much corrupted record of a real fact. Khammurabi's code 1 seems to explain several of the customs of the patriarchs, such as Sarah giving Hagar to Abraham, Eachel giving Bilhah to Jacob, because they were childless. A provision covering this is in the code. There are also laws concerning the adoption of a slave, thus making him a freeman and the heir of his adopted father, reminding us of Abraham's reference to Eliezer. 2 There are many laws against theft of any kind, a death penalty being attached to robbery from the palace. This reminds us of the supposed theft of Joseph's cup, and explains the fear of his brethren. 3 The customs represented in Gen. 24. where Abraham seeks a wife for his son, the giving of gifts, etc., are all in keeping with the code. Another law illustrates the adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh by their grandfather Jacob. 4 Before this code of Khammurabi was found, the critics had been saying that the Book of Deuteronomy was written in the days of Josiah, and the other books of Moses subsequently. "This discovery undermined the very foundations of ' the critical hypothesis.' But instead of repenting of their error and folly, the critics turned round, and, with amazing effrontery, declared that the Mosaic code was borrowed from Babylon. This is a most reasonable conclusion on the part of those who regard the Mosaic law as a purely human code. But 1 For a translation of the Code see T. G. Pinches, LL.D., in The Old Testament in the Light of the Historical Records of Assyria and Babylonia, Appendix. 2 Gen. 16. 2, 3. 3 Gen. 44. 9. 4 Gen. 48. 5. UR, ERECH, AND LARS A 59 here the critic is 'hoist with his own petard.' For if the Mosaic law were based on the Hammurabi code, it could not have been framed in the days of Josiah long ages after Hammurabi had been forgotten. This Hammurabi discovery is one of many that led Professor Sayce to declare that 'the answer of archaeology to the theories of modern "criticism" is complete; the Law preceded the Prophets, and did not follow them.' But even this is not all. It is a canon of 'criticism' with these men that no Biblical statement is ever to be accepted unless confirmed by some pagan authority; Gen. 14. was therefore dismissed as fable on account of its naming Amraphel as a king of Babylon. But Amraphel is only another form of the name of Hammurabi, who now stands out as one of the great historical characters of the past." 1 In the Wall-Cases on the left is a remarkable series of bricks from the ruins of royal palaces in Babylon and Assyria. The date of many of these inscribed relics is extremely remote. At the left of the doorway we find those which speak of days when history and legend are inextricably mixed. Beginning at No. 12 we notice that many are stamped with the names of kings of Ur, Erech, and Larsa, and some of them mention also the building of temples to the Moon-god Nannar. The cities of Ur and Erech were sacked by the Elamite dynasty already referred to, and we have seen how Ashur-bani-pal restored the image of the goddess Nana which had been carried to Elam sixteen hundred years before (see p. 28, and Nineveh Gallery, Case D., 45-48). These bricks give evidence that Abraham's early home in Ur of the Chaldees was in one of the greatest cities of the day. The bricks numbered from 59 to 69 refer to the next 1 Sir Robert Anderson in In Defence, p. 171-2. 6o BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN ROOM event in history with which we are familiar from the Bible record. The invading hosts were not content with their conquest of Babylonia. After Abraham had left Ur and Haran, and had pitched his tent in the land that was afterwards to be his for an inheritance, they also made their way into Palestine. One of the four confederate kings who fought against the five kings of Canaan is called in Genesis Arioch king of Ellasar. These bricks record the name of Rim-Sin, or Eri-aku, king of Larsa. The chief of the confederacy is called Chedorlaomer king of Elam, while these inscriptions, 63-66, tell of one named Kudur- Mabuk, governor of Elam, the father of Eriaku. The prefix in both cases is almost identical, Chedor or Kudur, and this king evidently belonged to the same dynasty as the king conquered by Abraham. Nos. 69-73 are the inscriptions of Khammurabi. We hear no more of the Elamite rulers, for this great king, who was at first confederate with them, after their defeat in Palestine, seems to have completed their final over- throw and assumed the power. We read concerning Abraham and his family, " Truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned." 1 This was an opportunity, but Abraham did not take it. The figure on the slab, No. 72, represents Khammurabi himself, and "bears the title (incomplete) 'King of Amoria' (the Amorites)." 2 No. 73 describes his greatness and glory. The first Babylonian empire dates from the days of Khammurabi. Then Babylon for the first time became the real capital of the land. As shown by these bricks and other records, the separate cities of Babylonia, like 1 Heb. 11. 16. 2 Dr. Pinches in The Old Testament, etc., Frontispiece. S ARGON OF AGADE 61 those in Palestine in the time of Joshua, had their own kings. In the adjoining Cases, A, B, and C (Plate VI., p. 57), there are many very ancient inscriptions. Some of these, in Case C especially, are said to date back as far as about B.C. 4000. We can only emphasise the " about," chronology being somewhat uncertain just at that time. It is very clear from the writing and other facts that they are exceedingly ancient. One of the most interest- ing is the " stone mace-head (Case C, No. 6) with inscription in archaic Babylonian characters, dedicated to the Sun-god at Sippar, by Sargon king of Agade, who, according to the statement of Nabonidus, reigned about B.C. 3800. The king is referred to on a cylinder of Nabonidus (see Case G, No. 65), which states that in the course of certain work which he was undertaking in connection with the rebuilding of the temple of the Sun-god, at Sippar, he found an inscription of Naram-Sin the son of Sargon, the original founder of the temple, 'which had not been seen for three thousand two hundred years.' Now Nabonidus reigned from B.C. 555 to B.C. 538, and, on the assumption that the year of the restoration of the temple was B.C. 550, by adding 550 to 3200, a date of B.C. 3750 has been obtained for the reign of Naram-Sin. And Naram-Sin was the son of Sargon, to whom, therefore, the date of B.C. 3800 has been assigned." " But recent excavation and research have shown that the scribes of Nabonidus exaggerated this interval," 1 and we cannot rely on the chronology : but we have proof that in the remote days of this king of Agade, the Accad mentioned in Gen. 10. was a city of chief importance. "The beginning of his kingdom was Babel (Babylon), and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar." 2 1 Guide A, pp. 142, 143, 3. 2 Gen. 10. 10. 62 BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN ROOM The days when the city of Calneh stood foremost were earlier still. Erech flourished in the time of Abraham, and Khammurabi set up his kingdom in Babylon, showing that these four cities are mentioned in the reverse order in which they were chronologically of chief import- ance. Babel was built first, but these other cities seem to have soon become more prominent until Erech and Ur were sacked. Later still, Khammurabi consolidated the empire and made Babylon his capital. In Case A, which contains a number of tablets re- ferring to legal and commercial transactions, the names of the same kings that are mentioned on the bricks occur again and again. Many of the deeds are dated "Eeign of Khammurabi king of Babylon." From the earliest times we see therefore that the Babylonians were most careful in the preservation of all legal documents. A duplicate of the transaction was made on the clay envelope as well as on the tablet itself. The broken envelopes are shown in Case A, side by side with the tablet. The mark of the seal can be noticed on the left-hand side or the back of each, also the list of witnesses' names. These records illustrate the incident in the book of Jeremiah when he was instructed by God to buy the field in Anathoth. He says : " And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle's son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver. And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances. So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open." 1 These evidences of the purchased possession were to be " put in an earthen vessel that they may continue many days." The incident was given as a 1 Jer. 32. 9-11, 14. ASSYRIAN BRICKS 63 sign that after the captivity the land would once more return to its rightful possessors. God Himself has a purchased possession. The evidence is "sealed unto the day of redemption." We who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are " sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession," l and He too has put this evidence of His purchase "in earthen vessels." 2 Returning to the Wall-Cases, we see in Cases 9-12 a number of boundary stones. There is also a large boundary stone near the door, opposite Khammurabi's code. They remind us of the command, " Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set." (Prov. 22. 28; 23. 10; Deut. 27. 17.) Such stones are amongst the oldest existing monuments. The bricks in these and adjoining cases are inscribed with the names of the kings of Assyria, whose monuments we have already seen in the galleries downstairs. Nos. 120-124 record the name and titles of Shal- maneser II., the Shalmaneser of "the Black Obelisk"; Nos. 125-131, Sargon; Nos. 132-140, Sennacherib; Nos. 141-143, door-sockets and pivots inscribed with the same name ; Nos. 144-146, Esarhaddon ; Nos. 147 and 148 represent Ashur-bani-pal himself, and No. 153 his brother Shamash-shum-ukin. The slabs numbered 150-152 record the restoration of a temple of Nineveh, in commemoration of the victories of Ashur-bani-pal over the Elamites (see pp. 26-29, 36). Wall-Cases 16-19 are chiefly filled with bricks, inscriptions, etc., belonging to Nebuchadnezzar II., who is so well known to us from Bible history as the conqueror of Jerusalem. The king who, carried captive the kings arid 1 Eph. 1. 13, 14 ; 4. 30. a 2 Cor. 4. 7. 64 BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN ROOM princes and people of Judah the proud king who himself represented " the head of gold " in the vision of the great image which God revealed to him, he it was who set up the golden image in imitation of what he had seen, and who cast into the fiery furnace the faithful Jews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He it was who saw walking with them in the fire the form of a fourth who was like the Son of God. The miracle made a great impression, but did not suffice to touch his heart. Daniel tells us how, after he exalted himself still further, and refused to bow before the King of heaven, his pride was humbled; but at last he learnt his lesson, and, when his reason was restored, he proclaimed to all his people how he " blessed the Most High, and praised and honoured Him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His king- dom is from generation to generation : and all the inhabi- tants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth : and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?" and he ended his remarkable testimony thus : " Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and His ways judgment : and those that walk in pride He is able to abase." l The inscriptions before us, especially No. 181, Case 18, a cast of the India House Inscription, together with many other records (see p. 75), show that Nebuchadnezzar made no idle boast when, walking upon the roof of his palace and looking over his royal city, he said, " Is not this great Babylon, that I have built." 2 His building operations were evidently very extensive; and travellers tell us that the village of Hillah, not far from the ruins of Babylon, is almost entirely built with. bricks and stones from the 1 Dan. 4. 34-37. 2 Vets. 29, 30. DARIUS THE GREAT 65 ancient city, many of them still inscribed with the name of Nebuchadnezzar. This fact is a proof that the actual city of Babylon is to be rebuilt, for the prophecies con- cerning the destruction of Babylon have not yet been fulfilled, viz. it is to be destroyed by fire from heaven, as Sodom and Gomorrah ; no Arab is to pitch his tent there after its destruction; and "They shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations." l No sudden calamity brought the Babylonian empire to an end. After repeated conquests it gradually faded away, and none of these prophecies have yet been fulfilled. The bricks numbered 183, 187, are stamped with the name of Nabonidus, the father of Belshazzar (see p. 76). Nos. 196-203, Case 19, record " the names and titles of a number of the Elamite kings who reigned at Susa (about B.C. 700), the 'Shushan, the palace' of Esther 1. 2." 2 In those of Kutir-Nakhkhunte, No. 198, 199 (or Kudur- Nan-hundi), we notice the prefix of the Elamite kings of the time of Abraham Chedorlaomer, Kudur-Mabuk (p. 60). In Wall-Cases 20-22 (Plate VI., p. 57, at the end of the gallery) there are some casts from the large inscriptions of Darius the Great (Darius Hystaspes) on the Behistun Bock in Persia, and on the floor of Case 21 are the actual paper impressions made by Sir Henry Bawlinson in 1837. The great inscription in three languages, Persian, Scythic, and Babylonian, had been cut on the face of the cliff by order of Darius Hystaspes and furnished the key by which the cuneiform writing was deciphered, just as the Eosetta Stone gave the key to the Egyptian hieroglyphs (p. 103). At much personal risk Sir Henry Eawlinson managed to obtain copies of 1 IB*. 18. 19, 20 ; Jer. 60. 40 ; 61. 25, 26 ; Rev. la 18, 19. * Guide A, p. 102. 9 66 BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN ROOM all the different sections, but it was no easy task. Scaling ladders proved useless, and in order to reach some of the highest lines of inscription more than one hundred feet from the ground he had to be let down from the top of the rock. On studying these copies, it was first noticed that a certain character was to be met with at regular intervals, and scholars concluded that it must be some sign to divide the words. They thought that the name of the king to whom the inscription belonged would probably appear in the first line, and they tried several, such as Xerxes, Artaxerxes, and Cyrus, but they did not agree with the number of characters. Then they tried Darius, and found that this suited it, Daryvush, and thus his name was the first deciphered word in the Babylonian and Assyrian ; and with this key the rest of the secret was un- locked. "As some scholars doubted the interpretation of Assyrian, however, an inscription of king Tiglath- Pileser was procured, and given to three different scholars to decipher. They were not to communicate with one another, and the translations were to be sent to the Royal Asiatic Society in sealed packets, which were to be opened before a select committee of the Society. These rules were strictly observed, and when they came to be compared they were found, with the exception of one or two details, to be exactly alike, thus proving the correctness of the translations." In "Wall-Case 27, on the right of the gallery, there are some lion-shaped weights, the standard Assyrian Manah. We are familiar with the name of the other weight, the shekel. It has been suggested that the names of these weights were mentioned in the hand- writing on the wall at Belshazzar's feast. Daniel's interpretation showed that each solemn message had to THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL 67 do with weighing and measuring. "And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians." 1 " Par'su, or bar'su, in Assyrian, means 'a part of a shekel.' Mene is the equivalent alike of the weight and the verb manu, ' to reckon.' In the Babylonian language, therefore, the mysterious words which appeared upon the wall would have been Mani mana sikla u-bar'si. ' Reckon a maneh, a shekel and (its) parts.' Pere's or par'su ' a part of a shekel' comes from a root which signifies to divide, while the name of Persia is written in precisely the same manner both in Babylonian and in Aramaic. Here, therefore, we have an obvious play upon the name of the Persians."* On the floor of Wall-Cases 27, 29, there are some stone weights of 2 manahs, 30 manahs, etc. Some of the jars, vases, and bowls in these Cases bear familiar names, such as Xerxes, Nos. 699-704; Sargon, Nos. 705, 726; Ashur-bani-pal, No. 709. The larger skull in the earthenware vase, Wall-Case 28, No. 1583, has been supposed to have belonged to the soldier who was on guard in the palace of the Assyrian king when Nineveh was captured, and the fractures in it testify to a violent death. The destruction of Nineveh and the fall of Assyria took place about the year B.C. 609. Nabopolassar, the father of Nebuchadnezzar, revolted in Babylon, and in alliance with Necho king of Egypt, and Cyaxeres, 1 Dan. 6. 25-28. - Prof. Sayoe in The " Higher Critidtm," etc., pp. 530, 531. 68 BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN ROOM accomplished the overthrow of Assyria. Josiah, a vassal of the king of Assyria, was slain at Megiddo. "In his days Pharaoh-nechoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and he slew him at Megiddo." 1 Some of the bowls in Wall-Cases 31-40 are inscribed with Hebrew characters. The inscription on No. 934 (behind Khamnmrabi's code), was supposed to confer blessing and health from heaven upon him who drank from it. There is in it a reference to the "sixty mighty men of Israel " who stood round about the couch of Solomon, and an extract from the priest's blessing in Num. 6. 24-26. "The Lord bless thee, and keep (thee): the Lord make His face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee: the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. Amen. Amen. Selah." These bowls are of different periods; the oldest belongs to the third or second century B.C., and the latest to the third or fourth century A.D. 2 Table-Case P (Plate VI., p. 57) contains some of the celebrated Tell el-Axnarna tablets which were discovered in 1887. Colonel Conder says : "These letters are the most important historical records ever found in connection with the Bible . . . and most fully confirm the historical statements of the Book of Joshua, and prove the antiquity of civilisation in Syria and in Palestine." 3 The name of Kirjath-sepher, mentioned in Josh. 15. 15, 16, means "the city of the book," but though it was suspected that a library might have existed there, these tablets prove, as no other find has ever done, that the cuneiform writing was in common use in Palestine and Egypt, 1 2 Kings 23. 29. Guide A, pp. 113, 114. 3 The Tell Amarna Tablets. Translated C. R. Conder, R.E., D.C.L., LL.D., M.R.A.S., . 6. TELL EL-AMARNA TABLETS 69 as well as in Assyria. Only a few of the three hundred and twenty letters are shown in this Case. They were from the cities of Palestine and Western Asia, to Amenophis III. and his son Amenophis IV., kings of Egypt, and were found in Egypt. Many of them refer to the marriage negotiations of the king of Egypt, and a large number are appeals from the tributary cities of Palestine for military help to enable them to withstand the attacks of their enemies. The tablets give us a picture of the land in the time of Joshua or before. It has been claimed that there are references in some to the Israelites themselves and the kings they conquered. "The most interesting letters are from the south, and these refer with great clearness to the conquest of the country between Mount Seir on the east, Ajalon, Lachish, Ascalon, and Gezer on the west, and Shiloh and Eimmon on the north. The name of one of the kings killed by Joshua (Japhia, Josh. 10. 3) is found in the south, and in all probability that of Adonizedek of Jerusalem also; and in the north the name of the King of Hazor is probably to be read as Jabin, which was the name of the King of Hazor whom Joshua attacked (Josh. 11. 1). The Hebrews ('Abiri) are said to have come from the desert, and from Mount Seir." 1 Colonel Conder translates No. 51 thus: "With the usual salutation from Yapa'a (whom he identifies with Japhia) the letter continues : ' Whatever the King my Lord says to me I listen to him exceedingly. It is gracious. But as I fear what shall befall, help thou my region from the power of the people of the desert lands.'" 2 If the tablets refer to the time of Joshua, as Colonel Conder affirms, the Pharaoh of the oppression was not 1 Colonel Conder in The Tdl Amarna Tablets, p. 4. 3 Ibid. p. 138. 70 BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN ROOM Rameses II. as generally believed, for he lived a century later (see p. 99). If not Eameses, Thothmes III., as many think, might have been the Pharaoh of the oppression. In the lower portion of Table-Case D (Plate VI., p. 57) there is an interesting series of Cylinder seals, some of which are very ancient. These were rolled over the moist clay when tablets were sealed, as shown in Case A. No. 29 is " engraved with a scene representing a male and female figure seated at the side of a tree bearing fruit: behind the woman is a serpent (standing erect). This scene has been identified by some as the Babylonian equivalent of the temptation of Eve recorded in the Book of Genesis." 1 Nos. 30, 31, are supposed to represent the Deluge. " Sit-napishtim, the Babylonian equivalent of Noah, is being steered in an ark, or vessel, over the water of the Flood." 2 The upper part of Case D (Plate VI., p. 57) contains historical cylinders. The Tiglath-Pileser, whose records are on the large eight-sided cylinder in the front of the Case, lived much earlier than the king of that name who is referred to in the Bible. On No. 3 he mentions, amongst other wars, the defeat of 4000 of the Hittites. No. 12, at the far end, is a chronicle of the expeditions of Sargon, and above it, No. 13, of the campaigns and building operations of Sennacherib. Some of the tablets in Case B (on the left-hand side of the illustration, Plate VI., p. 57) are inscribed with the name of Khammurabi and early kings of Babylon, others are much later. No. 120 is of special interest, for it mentions, among other facts of Babylonian history, the murder of Sen- 1 Guide A, p. 159. 2 Ibid. DARIUS THE MEDE 71 nacherib by his son. This happened some years after his army had been destroyed by the angel of Jehovah. There is a long gap in history between the two verses in the Bible record : " So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia: and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead." 1 No. 122 is a "portion of a clay tablet inscribed with the annals of Nabonidus king of Babylon, recording the defeat of Astyages by Cyrus, and the capture and spoiling of Ecbatana, his capital city, and the taking of Babylon, and the downfall and death of Nabonidus king of Babylon, B.C. 556 to B.C. 538." 2 (see p. 80). This Median city Ecbatana is mentioned in Ezra 6. 2 (marg.). Sir Robert Anderson has pointed out the importance of this passage, which tells us that the decree of Cyrus, that could not be found in Babylon, was discovered at Ecbatana, the city of the Medes, having evidently been carried thither when Darius the Mede, the vassal king of Babylon, retired to his own city (see p. 81). There are also in this case some lists of Babylonian kings, from B.C. 2300 to B.C. 625, Nos. 125, 126 ; and lists of " events by which the early Babylonians reckoned their years," Nos. 121, 123, 124. In Table-Case H (Plate VI, p. 57, on the right-hand side) there is a most important collection of cylinders relating to Assyrian history. In the upper part we notice the records of Sennacherib (Nos. 1-6), which are full of interest from their mention of Hezekiah. 1 laa. 37. 37, 38 ; 2 Kings 10. 36, 37. -Guide A, p. 171. 72 BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN ROOM Nos. 1-4 tell of the invasion of Palestine, the siege of Jerusalem, and Hezekiah's tribute. No. 6 is the most famous of his inscriptions, sometimes known as "the Taylor Cylinder." The king describes his campaign against other nations, and then says : " I then besieged Hezekiah of Judah who had not submitted to my yoke, and I captured forty-six of his strong cities and fortresses and innumerable small cities which were round about them, with the battering of rams and the assault of engines, and the attack of foot soldiers, and by mines and breaches (made in the walls). I brought out therefrom two hundred thousand and one hundred and fifty people, both small and great, male and female; and horses, and mules, and asses, and camels, and oxen, and innumerable sheep I counted as spoil. (Hezekiah) himself, like a caged bird, I shut up within Jerusalem his royal city. I threw up mounds against him, and I took vengeance upon any man who came forth from his city. His cities which I had captured I took from him and gave to Mitinti king of Ashdod, and Padi king of Ekron, and Silli-Bel king of Gaza, and I reduced his land. I added to their former yearly tribute, and increased the gifts which they paid unto me. The fear of the majesty of my sovereignty overwhelmed Hezekiah, and the Urbi and his trusty warriors, whom he had brought into his royal city of Jerusalem to protect it, deserted. And he despatched after me his messenger to my royal city Nineveh to pay tribute and to make submission with thirty talents of gold, eight hundred talents of silver, precious stones, eye-paint, ... a heavy treasure, together with his daughters, and the women of his palace, and male and female musicians." 1 We read of this invasion in 2 Kings 18, 19; in Isa. 36, 37; and in 2 Chron. 32. "After these things 1 Guide A, pp. 219, 220. SENNACHERIB AND HEZEKIAH 73 . . . Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself." 1 We learn from the books of Isaiah and Kings that he took them, but he could not keep them after his own overthrow. " And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem, he took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city : and they did help him." He also made other preparations but did not rely upon these, he encouraged his people in God and said: "Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him : for there be more with us than with him: with him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles." 2 This does not look as though Hezekiah was over- whelmed with fear. We know how God met his faith. Sennacherib claims that he " threw up mounds against him," which he probably represents on the wall-picture in the Nineveh Gallery (Plate V., p. 35), but we may be quite sure that God kept His promise. "Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it. ... Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand : and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses." 3 Contract tablets found at Nineveh throw a flood of light on the request, "Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Aramaen language." " They have made it clear that 1 2 Chron. 32. 1. 2 Chron. 32- 2-8. * Isa. 37. 33-37. 10 74 BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN ROOM Aramaen was at the time the commercial language of the civilised East." 1 Sennacherib said that he shut up Hezekiah like a bird in a cage. This reminds us of the words of David, " Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers : the snare is broken, and we are escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth." 2 The words occur in one of the fifteen Songs of Degrees, and it has been suggested that they formed Hezekiah's hymn- book, 3 and that they commemorated the going back of the shadow ten "degrees," and the fifteen years which were at the same time added to his life, the psalms being chosen which were appropriate to his own experience. If this be so, it gives an added interest to the psalm, as we connect it with Sennacherib's cylinder. The king says nothing about the destruction of his host, but even on his own showing something remarkable occurred. If he were victorious as he boasts, it is scarcely likely that the defeated king would send the tribute after him to Nineveh. It is far more likely that the tribute here mentioned is the very same as that previously sent to Lachish (p. 25). The amount is nearly the same, the only difference being that the Bible account mentions 300 talents of silver 4 and Sennacherib says 800 talents. This may be merely the difference between the Jewish and Assyrian values, or it may be an exaggeration on the part of Sennacherib. The cylinders numbered 7-11 are the annals of Esarhaddon. One of them, No. 9, was discovered in an Arab tent, where it served as a candlestick. The marks are clearly visible. 1 Prof. Sayce in The " Higher Criticism," etc., p. 441 ; Isa. 36. 11. - PB. 124. 7, 8. See Dr. J. W. Tbirtle in Old Testament Problems. 4 2 Kings 18. 14. NEBUCHADNEZZAR 75 Nos. 12-22, are records of Askur-bani-pal ; (No. 12, the last large one in the front, the rest at the side and back), the first especially relating to the events depicted on the wall-pictures in the Assyrian Basement and Nineveh Gallery. No. 23 (at the side) is an inscription of Shamash- shum-ukin. The upper portion of Table-Case G (Plate VI., p. 57) is full of important records relating to Babylonian history. Nos. 1-4 belong to the reign of Nabopolassar, the father of Nebuchadnezzar, who acted as his father's general the first time he besieged Jerusalem. Nabopolassar revolted against the Assyrian rule, and assisted in the downfall of that great empire. (See p. 67.) The last Babylonian empire began with this revolt, and the kings who have specially to do with Bible history are Nabopolassar. B.C. 625-604. Nebuchadnezzar II. B.C. 604-561. Evil-Merodach. B.C. 561-559. Nabonidus. B.C. 555-538. Belshazzar. (?)-538. In Nos. 6-51 we have a series of barrel-shaped cylinders, which record the building operations of Nebuchadnezzar II. in Babylon and the other great cities of his empire. He "devoted great attention to the repair and completion of the very ancient shrine of the god Nebo at Borsippa, the modern Birs Nimrud, which has been identified with the Tower of Babel." 1 "I finished its summit, the temple of the Seven Planets which is the tower of Borsippa which former kings had built, and raised it to the height of forty-two cubits, but had not finished; its upper part from extreme age had rotted away." 2 The four cylinders numbered 53-56 are of great 1 Ouide A, p. 194. 2 Records of the Pott, New Series, vol. vii. p. 76. 76 BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN ROOM importance to Bible students. "They are inscribed with an account of the rebuilding by Nabouidus of the temple of the Moon-god in Ur. The text concludes with a prayer to the Moon-god on behalf of Nabonidus, and of his eldest son Bel-shar-utsur (Belshazzar) . . . "And as for me, Nabonidus, the king of Babylon, protect thou me from sinning against thine exalted god- head, and grant thou me graciously a long life: and in the heart of Belshazzar, my first-born son, the off-spring of my loins, set the fear of thine exalted godhead, so that he may commit no sin and that he may be satisfied with the fulness of life!" 1 "When the sceptics first framed their indictment of Daniel, Belshazzar appeared to be a myth. For history testifies that the last king of Babylon was Nabonidus; that he was absent from the capital when Cyrus entered it. ... The contradiction between history and Scripture was complete. But the since-deciphered inscriptions have disclosed that Belshazzar was eldest son and heir to Nabonidus, that he was regent in Babylon during his father's absence, and that he was killed the night the Persian army entered the inner city." 2 It is this inscription which gave an answer to the attacks of the so-called "higher critics." It confirms the accuracy of the Book of Daniel, and explains also the reason why Belshazzar, as a reward to Daniel, promised to make him " third ruler in the kingdom." 3 Belshazzar was himself only second. There are several other cylinders of Nabonidus in this Case Nos. 57-65. They chiefly refer to his building operations. In Nos. 61-64, he tells how he found an 1 Guide A, p. 195. 2 Sir Robert Anderson in The Bible and Modern Criticism, pp. 136, 137. 8 Daniel 6. 7, 16, 29. HARRAN 77 inscription of Sargon I. and his eon Naram Sin in the foundations of the temple at Agade. They had, he said, been sought for in vain by Esarhaddon, Nebuchadnezzar n., and others. In the cylinder No. 65 he records the finding of the foundation record of Naram Sin which led to the discovery of the stone object inscribed with the name of his father Sargon L, exhibited in Case C. (See p. 61.) This cylinder also mentions that "'the god Sin (the Moon-god) in times past was wroth with his people, and that he brought the Scythians into the city of Harran where they destroyed the temple' . . . Cyrus, king of Anzan, attacked the hordes of the Scythians and captured their king Astyages, and carried him captive to his own land. As a thank-offering for his deliverance from the Scythians, Nabonidus rebuilt the temple of Sin the Moon-god." 1 This proves that the Moon-god was worshipped at Harran. We have already seen from the inscriptions in the Wall-Cases, etc., that Ur was sacred to this worship, and thus we have a proof that if Terah, the father of Abraham, driven out of Ur by the Elamite invasion, had wanted to go to a city where the worship was similar, he would have chosen Harran. (See pp. 28, 29.) The name of Darius, the son of Hystaspes, is inscribed in Persian, Median, and Babylonian, on the weight No. 66. "Two-thirds of a manah and one shekel" No. 67 is an interesting cylinder of Cyrus, giving an account of his conquest of Babylonia, and the chief events of his reign. He describes how the god Marduk, or Merodach, " sought out a righteous prince, a man after his own heart, whom he might take by the hand; and he called his name Cyrus, king of Anshan, and he 1 Guide A, p. 196. 78 BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN ROOM proclaimed his name for sovereignty over the whole world. The hordes of the land of Kutu he forced into submission at his feet, and the men whom (the god) had delivered into his hands he justly and righteously cared for. And Marduk, the great lord, the protector of his people, beheld his good deeds and his righteous heart with joy. He commanded him to go to Babylon, and he caused him to set out on the road to that city, and like a friend and ally he marched by his side; and his troops, with their weapons girt about them, marched with him in countless numbers like the waters of a flood. Without battle and without fighting Marduk made him enter into his city of Babylon; he spared Babylon tribulation, and Nabonidus, the king who feared him not, he delivered into his hand." 1 The fact that Cyrus is called king of Anshan or Elam is an explanation of Isa. 21. 2, where Elam and Media are called upon to bring about the destruction of Babylon. "Go up, Elam; besiege, Media." Elam, which had been conquered by Ashur-bani-pal, regained its independence on the fall of the Assyrian Empire. In Jer. 25. 25 there is a mention of the kings of Elam. " After the occupation of the city by the Persians, Cyrus conciliated the Babylonians by restoring the images to their original shrines." 2 It was his policy to propitiate the gods of the nations he conquered, by rebuilding their temples or giving them presents, and his dealings with the Jews in permitting them to rebuild their temple was quite in harmony with his general policy. Some of the expressions in the cylinder of Cyrus remind us of the prophecy of Isaiah, written according to Isa. 1.1, no later than the days of Hezekiah, about 698 B.C., and therefore one hundred and fifty years before the time of Cyrus. 1 Guide A, pp. 196, 197. - Guide A, p. 197. CYRUS 79 " Thus saith the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him ; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two-leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight . . . that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob My servant's sake, and Israel Mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known Me." 1 "For Israel's sake," that he might be the means of setting them free from the captivity. " I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways : he shall build My city, and he shall let go My captives, not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts." 2 Ezra and Nehemiah tell us how exactly this was fulfilled under Cyrus and his successors. "Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled (concerning the seventy years' captivity (Jer. 29. 10)), the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, the Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth ; and He hath charged me to build Him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all His people ? his God be with him and let him go up to Jerusalem." 3 It was quite possible that Cyrus had heard of the words of Isaiah. It was in fulfilment of the prophecy of Jeremiah that Cyrus took Babylon so easily. "And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will 'Isa. 46. 1-4. 3 Iaa. 46. 13. 3 Ezra 1. 1-3 ; 2 Chron. 86. 22, 23. 8o BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN ROOM punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans." 1 In this cylinder Cyrus claims to have taken the city "without battle and without fighting." Nabonidus had greatly oSended the priests by attempting to gather into Babylon the images of the gods from the local temples. It may be, therefore, that the priests favoured Cyrus and opened the gates to him, and that the army of Cyrus had already gained admittance whilst Daniel was explaining to Belshazzar the handwriting on the wall. " One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every quarter, and the passages are surprised, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted." 2 In quick succession the messengers carrying the bad tidings must have arrived at the palace probably before Belshazzar and the " thousand of his lords " had left the banqueting chamber. "In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain," 3 and thus the prophecy was already being fulfilled at the gates whilst the words of the interpretation were being spoken in the palace. The records tell us that on the 16th of the month Tammuz, Gobryas, the governor of Gutium (Kurdistan), and the army of Cyrus came to Babylon. Cyrus appointed Gobryas to be governor in Babylon, together with others, and we know that chief of those others was Daniel. "It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom : and over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first." 4 "There appears to be no longer any doubt that this 1 Jer. 26. 12. 2 Jer. 61. 31, 32, R.V. 3 Dan. 6. 30. 4 Dan. 6. 1, 2. GOBRYAS THE MEDE 81 Darius was Gobryas, Governor of Kurdistan, the general who commanded the army of Cyrus that captured Babylon. Gobryas was the son of Cyaxeres (Ahasuerus in the Hebrew), and the brother and heir-apparent of Astyages, the last king of the Medes. (Xenophon calls him his son in error, for Herodotus states that Astyages had no son.) In his youth he would have known Cyrus, who attended the Median Court; and this, combined with the fact of his kingly rank, may well have led Cyrus to trust and honour him. 'Darius' was doubtless a 'throne name' (like ' Artaxerxes.' Josephus mentions that he had another name among the Greeks). A most striking confirmation of this is supplied by a statement in Ezra 6. 1, 2. The decree issued by Cyrus for the building of the temple, which could not be found either in the Chaldean or the Persian capital, was at last discovered in the capital of Kurdistan. How, then, could it have got to Ecbatana? The obvious solution of this enigma is that, for some reason or other, Gobyras was sent back to his own province, and that he carried with him the archives of his rule in Babylon. The language of Dan. 9. 1 clearly indicates that he was a vassal king (he 'was made king over the realm')." 1 The legal and commercial tablets in the lower part of the case are arranged in chronological order, and the period covered by them extends from the reign of Esarhaddon, B.C. 675 to B.C. 100. Nos. 83-156 were written in the reign of Nebu- chadnezzar II. Nos. 157-162 during the reign of Evil-Merodach, B.C. 561 to B.C. 559, the king who was kind to the captive Jehoiachin. " And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah . . . that Evil-Merodach king of Babylon in the year that he began 1 Sir Robert Anderson in In Defence, p. 1 92. 11 82 BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN ROOM to reign, did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison; and he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were in Babylon ; and changed his prison garments : and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life. And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life." 1 The first of these tablets is dated in the accession year of Evil- Merodach, the very year mentioned in Kings, "the year that he began to reign." The first year of the king's reign would begin on the New Year's Day after he came to the throne, until that day it was the accession year. The tablets Nos. 163-171 are inscribed with the name of Neriglissar (Nergal-shar-usur), king of Babylon from B.C. 559 to B.C. 556. We find this name in Jeremiah. "Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave charge con- cerning Jeremiah to Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard, saying, Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm ; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee. So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushasban, Eab-saris, and Nergal-sharezer, Bab-mag, and all the king of Babylon's princes ; even they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison." 2 Nos. 174-235 were inscribed in the reign of Naboni- dus, B.C. 555 to B.C. 538 ; Nos. 236-278 in that of Cyrus, RC. 538 to B.C. 529. No. 238 is dated in his first year, the year when he made the decree concerning the temple in Jerusalem. 3 No. 254 mentions a loan by Cambyses, the crown prince. The tablets numbered 279-305 record transac- tions for every year of his reign, B.C. 529 to B.C. 521. 1 2 Kings 25. 27-30. 2 Jer. 39. 11-14. 3 Ezra 1. 1 ; 2 Chron. 36. 22. See p. 79. THE CAPTIVITY 83 Nos. 306-308 are dated in the reign of Smerdis (or Barzia), who usurped the throne for a few months, B.C. 521. Darius the Great records on the Behistun rock the names of five pretenders, of which Smerdis is one. Casts of these inscriptions are shown in Wall-Case 20, Nos. 208-12 (see p. 65). Nos. 309-331 are dated in the reign of Darius the Great (Darius Hystaspes) from B.C. 521 to B.C. 485. It was in the first year of Darius that Daniel received the wonderful Messianic prophecy of his ninth chapter. In the second year of his reign the seventy years' desola- tions prophesied in Jer. 25. 11 terminated (see Dan. 9. 2). There were two periods of seventy years which had to be fulfilled by the captivity of Judah. (1) The seventy years' servitude (Jer. 29. 10), which dated, not from their deportation to Babylon as captives, but from their subjection to the suzerainty of Babylon. The servitude began (in the reign of Nabopolassar) the third year of Jehoiakim, B.C. 606-605. 1 It ended in B.C. 536, when Cyrus issued his decree. (2) The seventy years' desolations (Jer. 25. 11) began in the ninth year of Zedekiah 2 (in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar), and lasted till the second year of Darius the exact date being given in Hag. 2. 18, 19. 8 These tablets are a collection of commercial, legal, and other documents, dated in various years of the reign of Darius Hystaspes. It was in his second year that the second decree was made for the building of the temple at Jerusalem, after search had been made for the former decree of Cyrus. 4 The temple was finished in the sixth year of Darius. Our attention is called to the fact that 1 2 Kings 24. 1. 2 2 Kings 25. 1-6. 8 See Sir Robert Anderson in Daniel t'n the Critic*' Den and The Coming Prince, 9th Ed. Ezra 6. 84 BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN ROOM on some of these tablets (Nos. 312, 324, 325) there are notes in the Aramean language, reminding us of Ezra 4. 7, " the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue." (See p. 73.) No. 332 is dated in the reign of Xerxes (B.C. 485 to B.C. 465), the Ahasuerus of Esther. The book begins in his second year, and the whole of it forms a parenthesis between Ezra 6. and 7. Nos. 333-335 belong to the reign of Artaxerxes (B.C. 465 to B.C. 424), the last being dated in his thirtieth year. One of the most important dates to students of prophecy occurred in his reign, for in his twentieth year the decree was given to Nehemiah permitting the Jews to rebuild their city. 1 This most significant date, there- fore, is the starting-point of Daniel's "seventy weeks," for they were to commence "from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem." 2 They did not therefore date from the decree of Cyrus concerning the rebuilding of the temple. It suited the policy of Cyrus to conciliate conquered nations by rebuilding the temples of their gods, and it suited the policy of Artaxerxes king of Persia to have a strong fortress paying allegiance to him near to the borders of Egypt. 1 Neh. 2. 1. Dan. 9. 24-27. CHAPTER X EAKLY CHRISTIAN ANTIQUITIES PASSING through the doorway at the end of the Assyrian and Babylonian Room and turning to the right, we return along the galleries parallel to those through which we have come. In Room V. we find a number of early Christian antiquities from various places. In Table-Case A there are many rings. The Guide 1 tells us that the use of rings as signets or ornaments was as widely spread among the early Christians as among their pagan contemporaries, and it reminds us of how the Apostle James speaks of a man entering the assembly wearing a gold ring and goodly apparel. 2 Many of these rings have scriptural designs, such as No. 25, which has a quaint representation of Jonah and of the Good Shepherd ; and No. 43, of the Crucifixion. In the centre of the Case is a bowl of the early fourth century, with a figure of our Lord, and two small busts of Constantino the Great and his wife Fausta, and an inscription relating to them. The so-called conversion of Constantino marked a great epoch in Church History, for from that date Christianity became more and more paganised. On the opposite side of the Case there are a number of specimens of gilded glasses from the Catacombs, 1 Guide D, p. 55 2 JM. 2. 2. 86 EARLY CHRISTIAN ANTIQUITIES dating from the third to the fifth century. The Btory of the Catacombs is full of interest to the student of Church History, as we picture the scenes that took place in those dimly lighted passages and vaults, the secret assemblies and the countless funeral services. 1 These glasses, the bases of which alone remain, are supposed to have been given frequently as presents, and in many instances to have been impressed in the mortar of the freshly closed niches or loculi. " Some may have been the possessions of the deceased during life ; but many would appear to have been left behind by friends and relatives who had been present at the inter- ment." 2 Many of the glasses are ornamented with scriptural designs, some with portraits, and a few with pagan subjects. In the Wall-Cases 12, 13, to the right of the door, there is a collection of lamps and flasks. The lamps come from Carthage, Sicily, Italy; from Egypt, Syria, Palestine, and Asia Minor. Many of them show clearly that they belonged to Christian owners, by the sacred monogram, the cross, the fish, the Bible scenes and other designs that are on them. Such lamps were in common use, and were often left burning at the graves of the martyrs. The flasks in the upper part of these Wall-Cases are chiefly connected with this same custom, and were pro- bably used by the pilgrims when visiting the shrines of saints and martyrs. The worship of relics and of sacred places became more and more prevalent as the days went on. Though it began at first with a pure desire to honour those who had witnessed a good confession, from merely celebrating their memory the " Church " in a short time almost deified the martyrs. Pagan customs very 1 See W. H. Withrow, M.A., in The Catacombs of Rome. 2 Guide D, p. 61. MARTYRS AND MYTHOLOGY 87 soon became incorporated, and the heathen practice of placing lighted lamps before the gods was transferred to the martyrs. Churches were built to their honour, feasts were held on the anniversaries of their martyrdom, and " many pagan myths were mixed up with Christian legends, martyrs converted into mythical personages." 1 The lamps, flasks, rings, and other antiquities in this room illustrate this phase of church declension. Repre- sentations of " St. Menas, or Mennas, an Egyptian martyr decapitated during the persecutions of Diocletian's time." are very common on the flasks, such as on No. 860. " The legend relates that the saint's body was placed upon a camel which was let loose to follow what course it chose ; and that in the place where the camel stopped, some miles from Alexandria, a grave was made and a shrine subsequently built. In allusion to this legend, St. Menas is constantly represented as standing between two camels," 2 as in this representation. The large silver casket, Wall-Cases 7, 8, dating from the fourth to the fifth century, is a typical illustration of the laxity prevailing at this time, for it shows the strange admixture of pagan superstition and Christian truth that pervaded the Church in the days of the " Fathers." From the design, it was evidently a bridal gift given to Projecta, a Roman lady of rank, wife of Secundus, a member of the great family of Asterii. The inscription which contains this name is preceded by the sacred monogram, and shows that they were " Christians " ; but the design is entirely mythological, Many Coptic antiquities are shown on the other side of the room, and in Wall-Cases 24-26 a number of ostraka (from the Greek word meaning literally "shell," 1 Neander'i Church Hittory, vol. iii. pp. 448-463. 2 Guide D, p. 80. 88 EARLY CHRISTIAN ANTIQUITIES afterwards " sherd ") fragments of limestone or pottery, on which Coptic and Greek inscriptions are written in ink. Probably these were written by the monks to whom reference has been already made (p. 53). It may be that they were the copybooks in which they learned to write passages of Scripture. In the Manuscript Saloon we have Coptic Biblical MSS. written by the monks of Egypt. The Church of Abyssinia is also represented in this room, and the Greek Church which finally separated from the Latin in A.D. 1054. (Other Byzantine objects are shown in the Mediaeval Eoom.) The history, therefore, of all the objects in this one little room would be the history of the professing Church during the first centuries of its existence, and they bear witness to its rapid declension. 1 An interesting account of the Coptic, Abyssinian, and Greek Churches is given in the Guide to these antiquities. 1 For further notes on Church History, see Chapter XIV. CHAPTER XI PASSING through several rooms along this gallery towards the staircase up which we ascended, we notice two famous inscriptions which were discovered in the land of Moab and in Jerusalem. The Moabite Stone, of which this is a cast, was found in 1868 at Dibon. It is the actual inscrip- tion of Mesha king of Moab, who revolted against Ahab. "And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool. But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel." 1 The inscription is too long to give the whole of the translation, but the introduction is the most interesting part. " I, Mesha, son of Chemosh-melech king of Moab, the Dibonite. My father reigned over Moab thirty years, and I reigned after my father. I made this monument to Chemosh at Korkah, a monument of salvation, for he saved me from all invaders, and let me see my desire 1 2 Kings 3. 4, 5, etc. The remainder of the chapter describes the defeat of Moab, and God's miraculous intervention on the behalf of His people Israel. 12 89 90 THE PHOENICIAN REMAINS upon all my enemies. Omri (was) king of Israel, and he oppressed Moab many days, for Chemosh was angry with his land. His son followed him, and he also said: I will oppress Moab. In my days Che(mosh) said : I will see my desire on him and his house. And Israel surely perished for ever. Omri took the land of Medeba and (Israel) dwelt in it during his days and half the days of his son, altogether forty years. But there dwelt in it Chemosh in my days." 1 Mesha then goes on to describe his capture of various cities, from one of which he says, "I took from it the arels of Yahveh, and tore them before Chemosh," This shows that the name of Jehovah, so sacred to Israel, was known to the nations around. The worship of " the abomination of Moab," " Chemosh the god of the Moabites," 2 was intro- duced by Solomon, and because of this God's wrath fell upon the land of Israel. Prophecies concerning Moab are contained in Isa. 15, 16, and Jer. 48, where the names of cities . mentioned in the Moabite stone constantly recur. "Send ye the lambs for the ruler of the land" (Isa. 16. 1) may have reference to the king of Moab's tribute of lambs. It may be that in some passages in these prophecies there are references to this very stone which so boastfully proclaims the victory of Moab over Israel. "We have heard of the pride of Moab; that he is very proud : even of his arrogancy and his pride, and his wrath: his boastings are nought," 3 or "have wrought nothing." 4 "Was not Israel a derision unto thee? ... for since 1 This translation, given by Prof. Sayce in The ' ' Higher Criticism " and the Monuments (p. 366), is from the text published in 1886 by two German professors, after weeks of study of the squeezes preserved in the Louvre, and translated by Dr. Neubauer. a 1 Kings 11. 7, 33. :{ Isa. 16. 6, B.V. Jer. 48. 30, E.V. THE MOABITE STONE 91 thou spakest of him, thou skippedst for joy " (or RV. " as often as thou speakest of him, thou waggest the head ") . . . " BO shall Moab be a derision and a dismaying to all them about him . . . And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against the Lord." 1 Dr. Klein, who found the stone, did not at first realise the importance of his discovery, and only copied a few words, which he sent to the Berlin Museum. But when, a year later, a large sum was offered for it and men were sent to take squeezes, the cupidity of the Arabs, both the people and their governors, was aroused, and they began to fear that they should lose it. The governor demanded it himself, but the Arabs put a fire under it, and, pouring cold water on it, broke it in pieces, which were distributed through the tribe. Most of these frag- ments were recovered, and put together by the help of the imperfect squeezes taken before the monument was broken. 2 The language in which the stone is written is of particular interest. It shows what were the forms of the Phoenician letters used on the eastern side of the Jordan in the time of Ahab. The forms employed in Israel and Judah on the western side could not have differed much; and we may therefore see in these venerable characters the precise mode of writing employed by the earlier prophets of the Old Testament. 3 In the Siloam Stone, a cast of which is shown in the adjoining case, we have an early Hebrew inscription. It was discovered in 1880. Some native lads were playing in the so-called Pool of Siloam, when one of them, while wading up a channel cut in the rock which 1 Jer. 48. 27, 39, 42. a Prof. Sayce in Fresh Light from Ancient Monuments, pp. 90, 91. 1 Jtnd. p. 96. 92 THE PHCENICIAN REMAINS leads into the pool, slipped and fell into the water. On rising to the surface he noticed what looked like letters on the rock which formed the southern wall of the channel. The lad was a pupil of Dr. Schick, a German architect in Jerusalem, whom he at once informed. Dr. Schick, on visiting the spot, found the ancient in- scription partly concealed by the water." It was difficult to obtain an exact copy owing to this and the darkness of the tunnel, but in 1881 this was accomplished : the inscription having been cleaned by means of acid, squeezes were taken. The inscription (which is in the purest Biblical Hebrew) is as follows : " (Behold) the excavation ! Now this is the history of the excavation. While the excavators were lifting up the pick, each towards his neighbour, and while there were yet three cubits to (excavate, there was heard) the voice of one man calling to his neighbour, for there was an excess in the rock on the right hand (and on the left). And after that on the day of excavating the excavators had struck pick against pick, one against the other, the waters flowed from the Spring to the Pool for a distance of 1200 cubits. And a hundred cubits was the height of the rock over the head of the excavators." 2 It is supposed to refer to the time of Hezekiah, for we read "how he made a pool, and a conduit, and brought water into the city." "This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David." 8 The inscription, however, may refer to an earlier engineering feat, for in the time of Ahaz, the father of 1 Ibid. p. 98, 99. The " Higher Criticism," etc., p. 379. 3 2 Kings 20, 20 ; 2 Chron. 32. 30. THE SILOAM INSCRIFHON 93 Hezekiah, the Prophet Isaiah speaks of "the waters of Shiloah that go softly," 1 and it may therefore be as old as the time of Solomon. The language is supposed to be quite as ancient as that of the Moabite Stone, and some words seem to suggest an even earlier date. 1 Isa. 8. 6. CHAPTER XII EGYPTIAN GALLERY (PLATE VII.) EETUBNING down the same flight of stairs we walk through the great Egyptian Galleries full of remains from the land of the Pharaohs. We see at once that they are very different from the sculptures of Babylon and Assyria. They are arranged as far as possible in chronological order, beginning at the end of the gallery which we now enter. The eyes of Jacob and his sons may have rested many times on some of these earlier statues, and Moses and Aaron probably looked on still more of them. There were many Pharaohs connected with Bible history, but it is not possible to identify all of them by their Egyptian names. (1) There was first the Pharaoh of Gen. 12., whose court Abraham and Sarah visited. (2) Then there was the Pharaoh before whom Joseph stood. Both of these are supposed to have been " Shepherd Kings " or " Hyksos," foreigners belonging to nomad tribes who had settled in Egypt and gained the ascendency. Probably the wave of conquest which swept over Chaldea ' and Syria in the days of Abraham spread to Egypt also. (3) "There arose up a new king . . . which knew not Joseph." It is thought that he belonged to, and 94 was the Pharaoh who oppressed "!. ationed in Ex, 2. 23, "in process of tin.- g His successor upon whom fell the plagues "; I s ^* it her in 10 the c THE PHARAOHS 95 possibly founded, the new dynasty that conquered the Shepherd Kings. (4) We read of Pharaoh's daughter who adopted Moses. (5) There was the Pharaoh who oppressed Israel, and who is mentioned in Ex. 2. 23, "in process of time the king of Egypt died." (6) His successor upon whom fell the plagues of Egypt. (7) The "firstborn," who probably shared the throne with his father. Then for many years there is silence in Scripture about Egypt. (8) In the time of Solomon we read of another king who became his father-in-law, for " Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the city of David." 1 (9) "We find mention of Shishak king of Egypt, who befriended Jeroboam. "And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon." 2 He besieged Rehoboam, "And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. And he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord." 3 (10) Although not a king of Egypt we have mention in 2 Chron. 14. 9 of Zerah, the Ethiopian, who fought against Asa. (11) Hoshea made an alliance with So king of Egypt, which led to his ruin. "The king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt."* I 1 Kings 3. 1. - 1 Kings 11. 40. I 1 Kings 14. 25, 26 ; 2 Chron. 12. 1-12. 2 Kings 17. 4. 96 EGYPTIAN GALLERY (12) Hezekiah formed an alliance with Tirhakah king of Ethiopia and Egypt. Sennacherib "heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to make war with thee." 1 There was much truth in one part of Sennacherib's message to Hezekiah. "Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him." 2 So it was all through Israel's history. (13) Necho is the next king of Egypt who had to do with Bible history. Allied with Nabopolassar, the father of Nebuchadnezzar, he was marching against Assyria when Josiah withstood him and was slain. "In his days Pharaoh-nechoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him: and he slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him." 3 After Jehoahaz the son of Josiah had been placed on the throne, " Pharaoh-nechoh put him in bands at Eiblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem ; and put the land to a tribute of an hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold. And Pharaoh- nechoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the room of Josiah his father, and turned his name to Jehoiakim, and took Jehoahaz away : and he came to Egypt, and died there." 4 Necho's allies accomplished the overthrow of Assyria B.C. 609, but four years later he himself was defeated at Carchemish by Nebuchadnezzar. This great battle gave the mastery of Western Asia to Nebuchadnezzar. "Thou art this head of gold." 5 1 Isa. 37. 9. 2 Isa. 36. 6. 3 2 Kings 23. 29 ; 2 Chron. 35. 20-24. 4 2 Kings 23. 33, 34 ; 2 Chron. 36. 3, 4. 8 Dan. 2. 38. HOPHRA 97 The prophecies of the defeat of Necho are found in Jer. 46. (14) Hophra, the successor of Necho, induced Zedekiah to break his allegiance with Babylon. He invaded Phoe- nicia and captured Gaza. " Before that Pharaoh smote Gaza." 1 The approach of the Egyptians caused the Assyrians to raise the siege of Jerusalem for a time. " Then Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt : and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them they departed from Jerusalem." 2 But Pharaoh was no help to Zedekiah. "As I live, saith the Lord God, surely in the place where the king (Nebuchadnezzar) dwelleth that made him (Zedekiah) king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war." 3 " Behold, Pharaoh's army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land." 4 Thus from the beginning of Israel's history, and throughout the centuries which followed, they were con- stantly being mixed up with Egyptian history, and it is interesting to read of these links as we stand under the shadow of the colossal heads of the Pharaohs in the Egyptian Gallery. In spite of all they had suffered from their oppression, the children of Israel constantly turned to Egypt, although they were repeatedly warned of God. "Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help." 6 In Assyria a predecessor's monuments and inscriptions were treated with superstitious reverence. Many in- 1 Jer. 47. 1. 9 Jer. 37. 5. Ezek. 17. 16, 17. 4 Jer. 37. 7 ; see also 2 Chron. 36. 13. 8 laa. 31. 1-3 ; 30. 1-8. 13 98 EGYPTIAN GALLERY scriptions ended with a curse on those who should in any way damage them, and invoked blessing on those who should preserve them. Thus Sennacherib writes : " In future days, if one of the kings, my sons whom Ashur shall call to the sovereignty over this land and people : when the palace shall grow old and decay, shall repair its injuries, shall see the written record of my name, shall pour a libation on the altar, and sacrifice a victim, and shall then replace it in its place : Ashur will hear and accept his prayers." l But it was not so in Egypt. The Pharaohs thought nothing of erasing the names of their predecessors, and of carving instead their own names. At the end of the gallery by which we entered, are the remains of kings of the earliest dynasties. The chronology of Egypt is still very uncertain. "Not only is the order of succession of the kings of these dynasties unknown, but authorities differ greatly in their estimate of the length of the period of their rule. Some say that the interval between the 12th and the 18th dynasties consisted of more than five hundred years, and others that it was less than two hundred years." 2 The Shepherd Kings, who are probably the first directly connected with Bible history, belonged to the 15th, 16th, and 17th dynasties. There are a good many scarabs belonging to this period in the Cases upstairs, but the chief objects are (1) The famous Mathematical Papyrus (No. 10,058), which was written in the reign of Apepa I. ; 3 (2) A red granite slab from the Temple of Bubastis, with his name (Bay 23, No. 339), other fragments of the series bearing the names of the builders of the pyramids, etc.; 1 Inscription of Sennacherib. Records of Past, vol. i. 1st Series, 2nd Ed. p. 32. 8 Cfuide C, p. 222. This new Guide to the Egyptian Collections is a very valuable history of Egypt, its manners, customs, religion, etc. 3 Not shown in the gallery. THOTHMES AND RAMESES 99 (3) The granite lion (Bay 5, No. 340), with the name of Khian, another Hyksos king. The first king of the 18th dynasty was Aahmes, or Azuasis I., who fought against the Hyksos and conquered them. He was possibly No. 3 on our list, the " new king " which knew not Joseph. The slab of a granite altar is inscribed with his name (Bay 16, No. 343). There is division of opinion as to who were the Pharaohs of the Oppression and the Exodus, but there is no doubt that the period when Israel was in Egypt was the period of Egypt's greatness. God gave them great prosperity while His chosen people were sheltered there, and turned His hand upon them in judgment when they became their persecutors. The two greatest kings were Thothmes III., who some think to have been the Pharaoh of the Oppression, and Rameses II., who is believed by almost all Egyptologists to have been the one under whom it took place. The great head of Thothmes is shown in our illustra- tion at the end of the gallery (Plate VII., p. 95). It was Thothmes m. who erected Cleopatra's Needle, now standing on the Thames Embankment, but Eameses n. added a central row of hieroglyphics between those of Thothmes on each of the four sides. Besides the head of Thothmes in red granite (No. 360, l Northern Gallery) there is a massive granite monument, with figures of the god Menthu-Ra and Thothmes ill. in relief (Bay 2, No. 363); a cast of a granite sphinx bearing his name on its breast (Northern Gallery, No. 366); and the cast of the famous granite stele inscribed with an address to the king by Amen-Ra, in which the god describes the exploits of Thothmes m. (Central Saloon, 1 The black figures refer to the larger monuments in the centre of the gallery, the smaller figures to the leas important ones on the walls. ioo EGYPTIAN GALLERY No. 367). In Bay 9 (No. 374) is a statue of Anebni, the master of the armoury, set up to his memory by Thothmes m. and his sister, Queen Hatshepset. Amenhetep III. and Amenhetep IV. (called by some Amenophis) were the Pharaohs to whom the majority of the Tell el-Amarna tablets were addressed. The colossal statues Nos. 412, 413, 415, 416, 417, represent Amenhetep in. The grey granite column from a temple built by him at Memphis (?) was repaired by Menephthah I. or Mer-en-Ptah under the 19th dynasty, and about one hundred years later Set-nekht inscribed his cartouches upon it (Bay 7, No. 419). The red granite lion, No. 430, is also from a temple built by Amenhetep in. In Bay 13, No. 435 is the base of a statue inscribed with the name of Amenhetep iv. The first two kings of the 19th dynasty were Rameses I. and Seti I. They were followed by the most famous of all Pharaohs, Rameses II. He reigned sixty-seven years, and died aged about one hundred years. If he were the Pharaoh of the Oppression, the expression in Ex. 2. 23 would be significant, "In process of time the king of Egypt died." Two large heads of Eameses II., Nos. 588, 576, are in the centre of the gallery on the left. There are several statues of Rameses besides these great heads, such as No. 582, and the kneeling figure, Bay 17, No. 584. He was a great builder, and built, among other places, the store-city of Pithom (Ex. 1. 21). This was discovered and identified a few years ago by M. Naville, of the Egypt Exploration Society. The statue of the "Recorder of Pithom," though be- longing to a later period (Bay 21, No. 776), found at Tell el-Maskhutah (the modern name), identified the place with Pithom. The granite hawk (Central Saloon, No. MENEPHTHAH 101 596) was also found at Pithom. M. Naville suspected that the place was dedicated to the god Turn, and having been shown a statue to that god, he dug in the mound from which it had been taken and discovered the treasure city. Central Saloon, No. 577. On the breast of this statue of Barneses II. are cut the prenomen and name of Seti Meren-Ptah or Menephthah. The two granite columns of Eameses II. (Nos. 598, 599) bear also the names of Osorkon II. and Menephthah I., who often inscribed his name on monuments which he had not made, such as Nos. 419, 577. He is supposed by many to have been the Pharaoh of the Exodus. He " was associated with his father in the rule of the kingdom for about twelve years before he became sole king." 1 No. 1169 (near the Hittite remains) is the door-jamb from his temple. It has been suggested that Seti II. Meren- Ptah II. was the "firstborn" who was slain on the night of the passover, and that he was really sitting on the throne with his father. No. 616, Bay 21, is a statue of him. Shishak, or Shashanq I., was the descendant of a Libyan chief. He founded the 22nd dynasty. " He re- paired the temple of Mut, at Thebes, and set up in it a number of granite seated statues of the goddess Sekhet, 1 Guide C, p. 247. In the monolith of Menephthah (not in the Museum), found by Petrie, in 1896, is a mention of the Israelites : " Kheta (the land of the Hittites) is in peace, captive is Canaan and full of misery, Askelon is carried away, Gezer is taken, Yennuamma is non-existant, Israel is lost, his seed is not, Syria is like the widows of Egypt. The totality of all the lands is at peace, for whoever rebelled was chastised by King Menepthah." The phrase mentioning the Israelites has also been translated " Jenoam has been brought to naught ; Israel the horde, destroyed hia crops." Dr. Pinches in The Old Testament in the Light of Historical Records, etc., p. 306. 102 EGYPTIAN GALLERY two fine examples of which, inscribed with the king's names and titles, are exhibited in the Southern Egyptian Gallery (Nos. 763, 764)." l This was the Pharaoh who robbed the temple at Jerusalem in the time of Eehoboam. So is supposed to be identical with Shabaka, or Sabaco, the first king of the 25th dynasty. A basalt slab bears his name (Bay 25, No. 797) "inscribed with a copy of a mythological text copied by the king's order from an old half - obliterated document." 2 Several scarabs and an alabaster vase in the Fourth Egyptian Eoom (Table-Case D and Wall-Case 139) bear his name; also there is the impression of a seal in the Nineveh Gallery, Table-Case I, No. 32 (see p. 49). Tirhakah or Tarharq, and Necho or Nakau, are represented in the Egyptian Eooms upstairs (see p. 56). Psammetichus II., the head of whose colossal statue is in Bay 23, No. 803, was a son of Necho. The name and figure of Pharaoh Hophra appear on a limestone stele, Bay 22, No. 804; his name is also on a statue in the Central Saloon, No. 805. The prophecies concerning him came to pass, he was dethroned and after- wards slain by his own soldiers, who made their general Aahmes (Amasis II.) king in his stead. It was during the reign of Psammetichus in., son of Aahmes, that Egypt was invaded by the Persians under Cambyses, and became a Persian province or satrap. Alexander the Great defeated the Persians B.C. 332, and was welcomed in Egypt as the saviour of the country. His name is inscribed on a clepsydra (Bay 29, No. 948), "a time-piece used by the Greeks and Eomans, which measured time by the dis- charge of a certain quantity of water." There is a bust of Alexander in the Ephesus Eoom (see p. 11). Egypt was ruled by the Ptolemies from B.C. 304 to 1 Guide C, p. 253. 2 Ibid. p. 256. THE ROSETTA STONE 103 B.C. 30, when on the death of Antony and Cleopatra it became a Eoman Province. Ptolemy I., Soter I, B.C. 304, founded the Library and Museum at Alexandria, and settled a number of Jews in that city. It was during the reign of Ptolemy II., Philadelphus, B.C. 287 or 286, that the Septuagint version of the Old Testament was compiled (p. 107). Ptolemy V., Epiphanes, B.C. 205, is the Ptolemy re- ferred to on the Rosetta Stone (Plate VII., p. 95). This stone was discovered at Kosetta by one of the savants who accompanied Napoleon on his Egyptian Expedition in 1798. At the taking of Alexandria it passed into the hands of the British. It well deserves the prominent place given to it in the British Museum, for it supplied the key to the decipherment of the hieroglyphic writing. The decree is engraved upon the stone in two languages and three forms of writing the hieroglyphic or ancient Egyptian, the demotic or modern Egyptian, and the Greek. The first had up to the time of this discovery baffled the students, but, after several others had attempted it, Thomas Young and Champollion solved the problem. The names of Ptolemy and Cleopatra gave the key, for noticing the lines round certain characters, they believed that these cartouches contained the royal names, and knowing from the Greek and demotic below that these two names occurred several times in the inscription, they succeeded in deciphering them ; and by means of the letters of the alphabet thus discovered they obtained the key to the whole hieroglyphic alphabet. A similar inscription, in these same three forms of ancient script, is shown in Bay 28 (No. 957), a decree of Ptolemy ni., Euergetes I., about B.C. 238. Many of the Roman emperors whose statues we saw at the commencement of our visit (pp. 1-7) adopted Egyptian names and titles, and are represented by Egyptian inscriptions. 104 EGYPTIAN GALLERY The stele in Bay 27 (No. 1052) records building opera- tions of Tiberius Caesar about A.D. 20, also the tablet in Bay 29 (No. 1053). The stele in Bay 32 (No. 1057) belongs to the reign of Nero at the period when, according to tradition, St. Mark was preaching Christianity in Alexandria. A stone in Bay 26, No. 1059, bears the names of Diocletian and Con- stantiue. It was Diocletian who issued the edict against the Christians in Egypt which was followed by such terrible persecutions. The stone is from one of his buildings in the island of Philse. Several sepulchral tablets of Egyptian Christians, or Copts, are shown in Bay 32, Nos. 1106, 1145, 1117; and in Bay 30, Nos. 1136, 1160, and 1103 amongst others. The last was set up in memory of the " father " of one of the numerous monastic settlements (see p. 53). There are many Coptic remains in this part of the gallery, some of them showing, as we have already seen (p. 53), that the sign of the cross was adapted from the ancient Egyptian sign for life. Thus in the splendid series of galleries shown in Plate VII. we have passed down amongst the remains of the great world powers who have in turn conquered Egypt. The antiquities speak to us, not only of the Egyptians them- selves, but of Shepherd Kings, Persians, Greeks, and Eomans; and finally, in the Eosetta Stone, we have repre- sented French and English conquerors of modern date. The large papyrus in the centre of the gallery is a copy of the Book of the Dead. Facsimiles of other papyri are shown in the rooms upstairs. The weighing of the soul after death is here represented. CHAPTER XIII HOW WE GOT OUK BIBLE (PLATE VIII.) THE Bible student visiting the British Museum will not only be interested in the monuments and inscriptions which so wonderfully illustrate Bible history, but should not leave without seeing the Manuscripts and printed books which explain how our Bible came to us in the present form. They demonstrate in a most complete manner the history of the Book itself. Probably in no other collection in the world can the subject be so clearly unfolded before our eyes. Eeturning to the Entrance Hall we pass under the clock through the Grenville Library into the Manuscript Saloon, where, in Cases O and H, some of the typical MSS. of the Bible have been arranged "to illustrate the textual history of the sacred Scriptures, from the earliest known copies of them in the original Hebrew and Greek down to the appearance of the first complete Bible in English." 1 In Case 0- (Plate VIII.) we see one of the three great Biblical treasures of the world. It is the Codex Alexandrinus, a Greek manuscript of the Bible, which was written in the fifth century. 8 It belonged to the 1 Guide E, from which many of the descriptions of MSS. in this room are taken (p. 109). 3 It also contains the so-called Epistles of St. Clement of Rome. See p. 131. 14 l< * 1 06 HOW WE GOT OUR BIBLE Patriarchal Chamber at Alexandria, and was presented to Charles I. by the Patriarch of Constantinople, formerly of Alexandria. Only two Biblical MSS. of older date are known to exist. These are the Codex Vaticanus, which is treasured in the Vatican Library, and the Codex Sinaiticus, which was discovered by Tischendorf in 1844 in the convent of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai. Some of the leaves, which he rescued from a basket of papers for lighting the convent fires, are at Leipzig, while the rest of the MS., obtained in 1859 with great difficulty, is at St. Petersburg. Photographs of the Codex Vaticanus and the Codex Sinaiticus are shown in the same Case, above the Alex- andrian Codex. It will be noticed that the columns in the Sinaiticus are very narrow. It is probable that it was copied from a papyrus roll, such as those on which the earliest Manuscripts of the New Testament would be written in the first three centuries after Christ. Papyrus MSS. are shown in Case A in front of the Biblical MSS. 1 (the nearest Case in the illustration) (Plate VIII., p. 105.) In the corner of the Case, No. 11 is a frag- ment of a Psalter (Ps. 12. 7, 15. 4) on papyrus, found in Egypt in 1892. It was written in the late third or early fourth century, and thus " is one of the earliest MSS. of any portion of the Bible at present known to be in existence." 2 * Side by side with the ancient Greek MS. is the oldest MS. in Hebrew of any considerable part of the Scriptures a copy of the Pentateuch written in the ninth century. (Plate VIII., p. 105.) No older copy has been preserved to MB, owing to the custom among the Jews of doing 1 In the corner of Case B, near to the Biblical MSS., is a wax tablet such as was commonly used for writing purposes. See Luke 1. 63. 2 Guide E, pp. 74, 75. THE SEPTUAGINT 107 away with any of the sacred MSS. that should become damaged or defective. The marginal notes at the side of the text are called the Lesser Massorah, those at the top and the bottom are the Greater Massorah. In the triangular portion of the same Case, on the other side of the Codex Alexandrinus, is the Gospel of St. Luke in Greek (Codex Nitriensis) a palimpsest manuscript (one, that is, in which the original writing has been partially washed out and another work written above it). The original writing consists of portions of St. Luke's Gospel; and a Syriac treatise by Severus of Antioch has been written above it at right angles to the Greek. The Syriac is dated at the beginning of the ninth century, the Greek in the sixth century. No. 9, on the right side of the same Case (at the end), is another example of a palimpsest MS. Arithmetical tables and problems have been written over the Gospel of St. John, which is in parallel columns of Greek and Coptic (see p. 53), probably of the sixth century. These two MSS. are very suggestive of the way in which God's Word has constantly been handled. It is but too often obscured by a human treatise, or nearly obliterated by men's problems and calculations. After the original Greek and Hebrew MSS. we come to translations or versions of the Scriptures. The first of these is a copy of the Septuagint, No. 4 (Plate VIII., p. 105), the Greek translation of the Old Testament, commenced by Jews in Alexandria about the middle of the third century B.C. Many legends surround the story of its origin. It is stated that, at the instance of Ptolemy Philadelphus (B.C. 285-247), the Jewish high priest sent a copy of the Law to Alexandria, accompanied by six chosen interpreters from every tribe, making seventy-two in all One familiar legend, which has been proved a 1 08 HOW WE GOT OUR BIBLE forgery, says that seventy elders translated it, and that their work, done independently, agreed in all respects. We know, however, that it was translated at Alexandria, and that the translators numbered seventy or more. This fact has given it the name Septuagint, and it is often represented by the Eoman figures LXX. It is the version of the Old Testament which must have been best known in New Testament times. This copy was written in the thirteenth century. There is a copy of Judges and Kuth in the Septuagint in Case B, No. 44, written in the tenth century. Nos. 6 and 7, Case G, are in Syriac. The one contains the four Gospels in the earlier version, and is dated in the fifth century ; the other is a copy of the Pentateuch in the later version known as the Peshitto (or 'simple'). It became the authorised version of the Syriac Church. This MS. was written in A.D. 464. It " is one of the earliest extant copies of the Peshitto, and the earliest MS. of the Bible in any language of which the exact date is known." Nos. 8, 9, and 10 are in the Coptic of Upper, Middle, and Lower Egyptian dialects. They contain, severally, the Apocalypse, the Gospel of St. John (to which reference has been made above), and the Epistles and the Acts. The last has an Arabic translation in the margins. No. 8. is dated in the fifth, and No. 9 in the sixth century. No. 10 was copied much later, in the fourteenth century, from a MS. of a century earlier. All these important MSS. are well shown in the illustration in the Case of Bible Manuscripts. In Case H, the corresponding Case on the other side, we have Biblical MSS. in Latin and English. The two most important versions being the Latin or Vulgate of Jerome, and the first English Bible of Wycliffe. There are several complete copies of the Vulgate, large and small No. 16 with illuminated initials, No. 13 a very THE VULGATE 109 large volume, and No. 14. Others contain only portions, such as Nos. 11, 12, which contain the Gospels; No. 15 the Acts, Epistles, and Apocalypse. They are arranged according to their dates. No. 11 was written in the sixth or seventh century; No. 17 in the thirteenth. No. 13 is a revised edition of the Vulgate, the revision being undertaken by Alcuin of York, then Abbot of Tours, by Charlemagne's orders. It was in A.D. 383 that Jerome, in his retreat at Bethlehem, began to revise parts of the old Latin version the Itala that had been made for the Church of Carthage, and had been translated from the Greek. It was very incomplete and imperfect. In A.D. 390 Jerome started on a much greater work, viz. that of translating the Old Testament from the original Hebrew. He was fourteen years completing his task, but it was very long before the Vulgate was generally accepted. In the Cases round us there are many MSS. from the Vulgate. Three very large volumes, written in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, stand in the lower part of Case C on the floor. It was from the Vulgate that "Wycliffe in the fourteenth century translated the Bible into English, and for the first time the people of England were able to read it in their native tongue. Some attempts had been made to translate portions, as, for instance, Bede's translation of the Gospel of St. John, which he completed on his deathbed. No. 18 in Case H is the Pentateuch, and Book of Joshua paraphrased in English by JElfric the Grammarian, produced early in the eleventh century. It can scarcely be termed a version, but it was " the earliest form in which the Old Testament narrative was made accessible to any English readers in their own tongue." No. 19 is a copy of the four Gospels in English, of the Anglo-Saxon or no HOW WE GOT OUR BIBLE Wessex version, produced early in the eleventh century, the earliest English version of the G-ospels. This copy belonged at one time to Archbishop Cranmer. In the magnificent Lindisfarne Gospels (see p. 119), written about A.D. 700, an Anglo-Saxon paraphrase was added under the Latin words about two hundred and fifty years later. It was the work of Wyclifie and his followers to put the complete Word of God within reach of the common people, and the story of its rapid circulation is the story of the dawn of the Eeformation. There are several copies in this Case of Wycliffe versions. No. 23 is an interesting specimen of a small pocket portion. The Epistles and Revelation are contained in this little volume. To possess such a book may have meant danger to the house in which it was found, and even death at the stake to its owner. All these copies of the Scriptures are in manuscript, and when we think that for these many centuries the accuracy of the copies depended on the care of the writers, the wonder is, not that a few clerical errors have crept into our Bibles, but that so few have been discovered there. The Biblical " criticism " which compares the text of the various MSS., in order to determine which of the divergent readings are correct, is of the greatest value. It is said that in the Codex Sinaiticus there are traces of seven different corrections between the fourth and twelfth centuries. As we look at these manuscripts of the Bible, and realise that all our versions were derived from such copies, it will easily be understood that the mistakes due to a copyist's blunders do not interfere with the grand fact of the inspiration of God's Word. Passing through the doorway in the illustration (Plate VIII., p. 105) we come to the King's Library. THE FIRST PRINTED BIBLE in Just inside, on the right, in Case A, there are some interesting Biblical MSS. No. 5, the Book of Genesis in the Peshitto version, or usual Syriac, written in the sixth or seventh century. No. 6, a fragment of the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. John, in the same, with an Arabic translation of the early tenth century. No. 8, the four Gospels in Armenian, dated A.D. 1181. In Case D, on the other side of the room, there are two specimens of the Gospels in Coptic, one on paper, probably written in the twelfth or thirteenth century, the other, No. 14, having an Arabic version as well as the Coptic (see note at end of chapter). But the contents of the greater number of Cases in this room are printed books, arranged to illustrate the history of printing in the various countries. This inven- tion was used of God to increase the circulation of the Scriptures in a wonderful way, and it was also facilitated by the advance in the manufacture of paper. A large sum of money was needed to pay for the labour of copying the Bible by hand, and the vellum itself was expensive, but these inventions soon enabled men to produce them more cheaply. In Case II., the large one on the right (Plate VIIL, p. 105), we see the first products of the printing press. The first book printed in Europe was a Latin Bible, No. 3. It is supposed to have come from the Guten- berg press in 1456. It used to be known as the Mazarin Bible, because the first copy that became famous was in Cardinal Mazarin's library. A second copy of the same date is shown in this case. In Case VIII., No. 3, is a French New Testament printed at Lyons about 1478, or about forty-four years before Luther's German Bible appeared. But it is in the English Bible that we are most 112 HOW WE GOT OUR BIBLE interested, and the earliest copies of this may be seen in Case XIII. These books were not printed cheaply, for it was at the risk of men's lives that they were brought out and circulated, when the so-called " Church " did not permit the reading of the Bible. No. 9 is a fragment of the first edition of Tyndale's New Testament, and the only fragment known to exist. He translated from the original Greek. In 1525 three thousand of the first ten sheets had been printed at Cologne, when the editors had to flee to Worms. "It was probably not until the beginning of 1526 that the first copies reached this country. Money for the work had been found by a number of English merchants, and by their means the copies were secretly conveyed into England, where they were eagerly bought and read on all sides. The leaders of the Church, however, declared against the translation. . . . Sir Thomas More wrote against it with much bitterness. . . . The Book was solemnly burnt at Paul's Cross, and the bishops subscribed money to buy up all copies obtainable from the printers; a proceeding which Tyndale accepted with equanimity, since the money thus obtained enabled him to proceed with the work of printing transla- tions of other parts of the Bible. "The account of this transaction given by the old chronicler Hall is very quaint. After describing how a merchant named Packington, friendly to Tyndale, intro- duced himself to Tunstall, Bishop of London, and offered to buy up copies of the New Testament for him, he proceeds thus : ' The Bishop, thinking he had God by the toe, when indeed he had the devil by the fist, said, " Gentle Mr. Packington, do your diligence and get them ; and with all my heart I will pay for them whatsoever they cost you, for the books are erroneous and nought, and I intend surely to destroy them all, and to burn them at TYNDALE'S TESTAMENTS 113 Paul's Cross ! " Packington came to William Tyndale and said, "William, I know thou art a poor man, and hast a heap of New Testaments and books by thee, for the which thou hast both endangered thy friends and beggared thyself, and I have now gotten thee a merchant which, with ready money, shall despatch thee of all that thou hast, if you think it so profitable for yourself." "Who is the merchant?" said Tyndale. "The Bishop of London," said Packington. " Oh, that is because he will burn them ! " said Tyndale. " Yea, marry," quoth Packington. " I am the gladder," said Tyndale, "for these two benefits shall come thereof; I shall get money to bring myself out of debt, and the whole world will cry out against the burning of God's Word ; and the overplus of the money that shall remain to me shall make me more studious to correct the said New Testament, and so newly to imprint the same once again, and I trust the second will much better like you than ever did the first!" And so forward went the bargain, the Bishop had the books, Packington had the thanks, and Tyndale had the money.'" 1 The first printed English Bible, 1535, is shown just below, No. 10. Edited, and as regards the parts not already rendered by Tyndale, translated by Miles Coverdale, probably printed at Zurich. After Tyndale's death other versions appeared. His friend John Rodgers in 1537 issued a Bible under the name of " Thomas Matthew," embodying Tyndale's transla- tions, and adding to them from Coverdale's. " Matthew's Bible " became the first Authorised Version, for it secured the sanction of the archbishop and of Henry vm. On the other side of Case XIII., No. 4, is a copy of the first edition of Cranmer's Bible, 1540, revised from " Matthew's Bible " at the instigation of Thomas Cromwell, 1 Dr. Kenyon in Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts, pp. 212, 213. 15 H4 HOW WE GOT OUR BIBLE Earl of Essex. There is a prologue by Archbishop Cranmer, and this copy bears an inscription showing that it was presented to Henry vm. In Case XIV. there are some other interesting copies and translations of the Bible. No. 3, the first printed in Scotland, 1576-79 ; No. 5, the first edition of the New Testament in Irish, 1602; No. 6, the first portion in Welsh, 1567 ; and No. 7, the first Bible printed in America John Eliot's translation into the language of the Indians of Massachusetts. And finally, in Case XV., No. 5 is a copy of the first edition of the so-called " King James' Bible," or Authorised Version of 1611. Thus we are brought down to the very times in which we live, for this, in its later editions, is the Bible we are still using. It takes us but a few minutes to look at all these MSS. and versions, but they tell us the history of our English Bible through many centuries. The book that cost so much to our forefathers is now free to all, because of what they suffered to win this freedom for us. It was the Church of Rome that burnt the Bibles and their readers in the days of Wycliffe and Tyndale, and the Church of Borne would do exactly the same now if it had the power. The history of the Bible and the way it has been treated is really the history of the " Church " itself. Its condition at any period can be gauged by the place which is given to God's Word. So it was in ancient days in Israel's history. If the law of the Lord was prized, studied, and obeyed, the land prospered, but if it was neglected the people suffered. History repeats itself, and the way in which God's Word in those days was forgotten and ill-used is illustrative of the treatment of the Scrip- tures since New Testament times. FIRE AND PENKNIFE 115 At one time we read of the law of the Lord being re-discovered after having been hidden in the temple for a long period. 1 On another occasion the "Word of the Lord by one of His prophets was cut with a penknife and cast into the fire on the hearth till it was consumed in the fire. 2 These three methods of rendering God's Word of none effect mark not only incidents but eras in Church history. For centuries it was hidden away and buried under rubbish. Then in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, after it had been re-discovered by the Reformers, it was burnt in the fire now it is suffering by the use of the "penknife" of so-called Higher Critics. But in spite of all attempts to destroy it, the Old Book still stands "The Word of the Lord endureth for ever." 8 1 2 Kings 22. 8. 2 Jer. 36. 20-23. 8 In Case A (see p. Ill), it is interesting to notice an illuminated copy of the MishnS Torah by Maimonides, dated A.D. 1472. Maimonides was a learned Jewish rabbi and a great Talmudist of the twelfth century. This, his chief work, is the " systematic codification of the whole of the Jewish law as it is found in the Bible, the Mishnah, etc. ... It is to this day a place of tournament for all Talmudists " (Ency. Brit.). A study of such a commentary of the Mishnah, or traditional oral law, with all its burden- some requirements, would illustrate and explain the Lord's scathing denunciation of the Jews in Mark 7. 6-13 : " making the Word of God of none effect through your tradition." Side by side with this Rabbinical MS. is another interesting fragment : " Portions of the original Hebrew text of Ecclesiaaticus found in the Genizah of the ancient disused synagogue in Old Cairo. Probably written in the earlier part of the twelfth century." CHAPTER XIV CHURCH HISTORY IN our walk through the Galleries we have already noticed many things illustrative of Church history. Before leaving the Museum it is interesting to gather together the threads, and trace them still further in the Manuscript Saloon and King's Library, where there is abundant material for the study. Those who have the time to do so will be amply repaid if they devote one visit entirely to this subject. At the beginning of our " Gallery round " we noticed in the Eoman Gallery the dawn of Church history. We saw the Portrait Sculptures of the Csesars, the persecutors of the early Church, and tried to picture the condition of the Christians who lived in their times (see p. 7); we read in the Ephesus Eoom and Elgin Boom of Paul's visits to Ephesus and Athens, and the foundation of the Churches there. Then in the Third and Fourth Egyptian Rooms we saw evidence of the rapid leavening that took place as shown by the Coptic and Gnostic remains. In the early Christian Eoom we found many interesting relics of the first few centuries which illustrate the declension of the Church. But it is amongst the MSS. and books that we find such a rich collection of illustrations. The Libraries are full of new interest if we come to them well grounded in Church history, and look at no JEROME 117 MSS., autographs, books, etc., in the light of such knowledge. Keturning to the Cases where the Biblical MSS. are kept, we think of the days when they were written. The earliest go back to the fourth century, when the " Church " had become paganised instead of the world having become Christianised. The so-called conversion of Constantine, whose portrait we saw amongst the early Christian antiquities (see p. 85), had changed things greatly, and the picture of the times in which the "Fathers of the Church" lived is a very dark one. 1 The names we see attached to many of the Latin and Greek MSS. bring before us some of the best known of these so-called " Fathers." In Case C there is a treatise of St. Cyprian (No. 72), the Bishop of Carthage, who was martyred by the decree of Valerian, A.D. 258. Nos. 61 and 93 are two of the works of Origen, who was born about A.D. 185. His father, Leonidas, was murdered under Septimius Severus, but Origen himself was sent for by Mammaea, the mother of Alexander Severus, who learnt from him some of the doctrines of the gospel (see p. 7). Origen, by trying to harmonise Christianity with philo- sophy and the other systems around him, introduced much error into his writings. The name of Jerome occurs again and again in this and in Case D as the translator of the Vulgate, and as the author of treatises. The histories of the time do not give us a very attractive picture of his character, and much of his teaching was at variance with the Bible, over which he laboured so nobly. These were the days when the great Arian controversy rent " the 1 See The EM* or the Church t Sir Robert Anderson ; The Influence of Greek Ideas upon the Church Dr. Hatch's Hibbcrt Lectures ; Dean Milman's History of Christianity, etc. ; The Lives of the Fathers and Gathering Clouds, Dean Farrar. I 1 8 CHURCH HISTORY Church" and filled Southern and Eastern Europe with dissension and bloodshed. The triumph of the Arian party in Constantinople led to the exile and death of St. Chrysostom, the "golden mouthed" patriarch of that city. In Case B, No. 38, are some " Hymns used in the Greek Church," reminding us of the great rivalry and subsequent division between the churches of the East and West. When Constantino transferred the seat of empire to Byzantium and built Constantinople, the rivalry between the East and the West began; and while the Greek or Eastern Church became Arian, the Western or Latin adhered to the Mcene creed (see p. 88). No. 101 contains homilies of St. Ambrose, St. Gregory, etc. The story of Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, is well known. Thessalonica had offended the Emperor Theodosius, and, in spite of the intercession of Ambrose, the city, in A.D. 390, was put to the sword. Artists have often tried to depict the memorable scene when Ambrose refused to admit the proud emperor to the church, and obliged him to do long penance for his crime and humble himself in the dust before he was allowed to enter once more. No. 108 (also in Case C) is a copy of St. Augustine's Commentary on the Psalms. The MSS. before us are copies of the writings of these "Fathers" of the second, third, and fourth centuries. If we could study them, we should find that they contain a strange mixture of truth and error, for it is a great mistake to think that the teaching of the first few centuries of the " Church's " history was pure and trust- worthy. The writings of the "Fathers" do not compare well with the Scriptures on which they professed to be writing commentaries. But to know the history of these men is to gain an LINDISFARNE GOSPELS 119 insight into the character of the first few centuries of the "Church's" history. These MSS. as well as the Biblical MSS. in Case Q were almost without exception copied in monasteries. Eeference has already been made to the vast number of anchorites, monks, etc., that immolated themselves, at first, in Egypt especially. 1 We read that in the desert of Nitria alone there were five thousand, 2 and two of these MSS., No. 3, the palimpsest Gospel of St. Luke, and No. 6, the Syriac Gospels, were written in the monastery there. It is impossible to compute the numbers of those who through the Middle Ages thus tried to withdraw them- selves from the darkness instead of giving light. God doubtless had His witnesses among them, and He has overruled their mistakes to His own glory in this respect at least, that they became the preservers of the Manu- scripts of the Bible. But if instead they had all been missionaries, the Word of God would have spread through- out the world, and would have done much to dispel the darkness. The copies of Scripture were regarded with superstitious reverence, instead of being studied by the help of the Holy Spirit. In the Ecclesiastical History of Simeon of Durham, shown in the central octagonal Case P, No. 5, the exhibited page gives a description of the perilous voyage of the monks of Lindisfarne, who, with the body of St. Cuthbert and a copy of the Gospels written in his honour, fled from an invasion by the Danes. During a " storm, while the ship was lying on her side, a copy of the Gospels, adorned with gold and precious stones, fell overboard and sank into the depths of the sea." The 1 Amongst the Greek MSS., Case A (Plate VIII., p. 105), there is a papyrus (No. 16) containing a petition from a recluse in the temple of Serapis, at Memphis, B.C. 161. It was from the devotees of this heathen deity that the monastic idea first arose (see p. 53). 3 Dean Milman's History of Christianity, vol. iii. p. 209. 120 CHURCH HISTORY history describes how they prostrated themselves at full length before the feet of the " Saint's " body, and, having reached the shore at length, " the accustomed help of their pious patron came to their aid," the tide went out further than usual, and they found the book on the strand unspoilt. The identical MS. is now in the British Museum, and may be seen in the adjourning room leading to the students' rooms. It is very beautifully illuminated, and it seems scarcely possible to believe that it ever fell into the sea. In all parts of these rooms there is evidence of the immense power that was centred in these religious houses. The "Church" had assumed an entirely wrong position in the world. The temporal power for which it had long been struggling, passed more and more into the hands of those who professed to be followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, but by their lives too often denied Him. We have already compared this state of things with the days when the early Christians were persecuted by the Caesars (see pp. 7, 8). Well may we ask what has happened as we walk from the Eoman Gallery into the Manuscript Saloon. The Cases full of charters give evi- dence to the constant acquisition of lands by the abbots and priors who ruled the religious houses. The great seals in Case M show that those of the archbishops and bishops of England and Wales, of abbots and abbeys, were equal to those of the kings themselves; and the student of history knows that the kings of Europe, England included, were often made to tremble before the power of the prelates. In Case P (Plate VIII., p. 105) there are several other interesting Chronicles. No. 1 was written in the twelfth century, and the passage exhibited describes the preaching of Christianity in Ireland by St. Patrick, beginning in A.D. 485. He must have been a true mission BEDE'S CHRONICLE 121 preacher, who knew the simple gospel. He was born in Scotland of Christian parents, his mother being sister to Martin of Tours, but he was carried off by Irish pirates when quite a lad. During his captivity the truths he had before learned were blessed to him, and he became truly converted. He gained his freedom, but soon after- wards decided to go and preach the gospel to the barbarians of Ireland. As a result of his preaching, Ireland was flooded with gospel light, and missionaries went forth to other lands. No. 2 is a copy of the celebrated Ecclesiastical History of the "Venerable Bede" (Plate VIIL, p. 105). He was born in 673, and lived all his life as a monk at Jarrow in Northumberland. The story of the deathbed scene is very familiar, for he passed away just as he had completed his translation of the Gospel of St. John. (There is an older copy in Case 0, No. 64.) The passage exhibited gives the account of Gregory's visit to the slave market at Eome, where he saw the captives from Britain, and made his three puns. "He asked therefore, again, what was the name of the people, and it was answered that they were called Angles. ' Good/ said he, 'for they have an angelic face, and such should be co-heirs of the angels in heaven.' He was told they were of the province of Deira. 'Good,' said he, 'De-ira, they are snatched from wrath' (de-ira in Latin.) . . . He was then told that their king was called ^Ella, whereupon, playing upon the name, he said, ' Alleluia, the praise of God the Creator must be sung in those parts.' Then going to the bishop of the Roman and Apostolic See (for he was not yet bishop himself) he asked him to send some ministers of the Word into Britain, to the people of the Angles, by whom they might be converted to Christ." And so Augustine was sent to introduce 16 122 CHURCH HISTORY papacy into England. A Life of St. Augustine of Canter- bury is shown in Case D, No. 113. 1 The struggle for the supremacy raged for several centuries, for Home desired nothing less than full power, not merely ecclesiastical, but political. Everything was to be under its control. It was this that led to the murder of Thomas a Becket in the reign of Henry IL, A.D. 1171, which again brought about the complete sub- jection of the king. But when, in 1207, John revolted, he was excommunicated, and the whole country was placed under the ban of Eome, the throne was declared vacant, and was offered to the King of France. Such was the power of Eome in those days that John submitted abjectly, and the bull of Pope Innocent III., which ratifies the submission, is here exhibited, Case V., No. 38. The country was handed over to Kome in the presence of the Papal Legate, Eandulph, and received back by John on his "promising for himself and his successors fealty and a yearly payment of 1000 marks." The terms of John's oath, taken on 15th May 1213, are as follows : "I, John, by the grace of God, King of England and Lord of Ireland, in order to expiate my sins, from my own free will and the advice of my barons, give to the Church of Eome, to Pope Innocent and his successors, the kingdom of England, and all other prerogatives of my crown. I will hereafter hold them as the Pope's vassal. I will be faithful to God, to the Church of Eome, to the Pope my master, and to his successors legitimately x "The Church founded by Augustine of Canterbury was not the Church of England, but a branch of the Church of Rome in England. Pope Gregory's mission corrupted and eventually stamped out, so far as the southern kingdom was concerned, the purer Christianity of the ancient Church of Britain a Church founded in apostolic times by apostolic emissaries." Sir Robert Anderson in The Bible or the Church ? p. 99. MAGNA CHARTA 123 elected. I promise to pay him a tribute of 1000 marks; to wit, 700 for the kingdom of England, and 300 for the kingdom of Ireland." l The triumph of the Pope was shortlived, for two years later the king was forced by his barons, who felt greatly humiliated by the degradation of this submission, to affix his seal to the famous Magna Charta, the great charter of the liberties of England. A copy of this is to be seen here, No. 40. The remains of the original, much damaged by fire, may be seen in the inner room, also a second copy of the oath of John. Part of the Great Seal remains, for it was " signed " by means of a seal, not a signature. The document in Case VI., No. 53, is a relic of the Crusades. It is a "covenant by Pain de Chaworth and Robert Tybetot to serve Edward, son of Henry m., in the Holy Land with twelve knights for one year for 1200 marks and their passage, i.e. hire of ship, water, and horses. Dated at Westminster, 20th July, 54 Hen. m." 2 We have already noted (p. 86) how, even in the early days of the "Church," pilgrimages were made to places consecrated to the memory of the martyrs. Very soon streams of pilgrims visited the Holy Land and the sacred places there, and in the eleventh century the Eoman Church began to call on the faithful from all parts of Europe to enter upon these " Holy Wars," viz. to wrest these sacred spots from the power of the Turk. The story of the Crusades is well known to all ; it is interesting that this phase of so-called "Church" history is also represented in the Manuscript Saloon. They marked another aspect of Home's power during the three centuries which followed. The preaching of the "cross" no longer meant what it had done in the days of the apostles. It was a call to arms, and men 1 Eney. Brit., 8th Ed., vol. viii. p. 677. * Guide E, p. 44. 124 CHURCH HISTORY were taught that such things would give them favour in the sight of heaven and help towards the salvation of their souls. Whilst a false superstitious value was put on the wood of the cross, and the spot on which it was supposed to have stood, the work accomplished on that cross was forgotten, misunderstood, or ignored. If the so-called head of the " Church " had preached instead a crusade against sin, and armies of soul winners had gone forth from their homes for Christ's sake, how different would have been the history of Europe and of the "Church." The indulgences were a source of immense revenue to Eome. Two indulgences relating to a later Crusade may be seen in the King's Library (see p. 132). Keturning to the octagonal case in the centre of the room, there is one more Chronicle which is worth look- ing at, as illustrating an important epoch in " Church " history, viz. No. 14, the Chronicle of St. Albans, 1328-1388. The page exhibited is from the description of the trial of Wycliffe at St. Paul's in 1377. The tone of the chronicle is bitterly opposed to Wycliffe and his protector John of Gaunt, and was suppressed when Henry IV., son of John of Gaunt, came to the throne. At the trial, when Wycliffe was to appear before the bishops, he was accompanied by John of Gaunt and Lord Henry Percy, the Marshall of all England. A quarrel arose between the two parties, and thus Wycliffe was delivered. No. 148, in Case B, contains some tracts attributed to Wycliffe. But we have here gathered together not only books written by those whose names are familiar to students of "Church" history, but the actual handwriting of many famous characters. If a history of the Reformation could be brought out illustrated by original autographs of the chief personages MARTIN LUTHER 125 to which reference was made, the value of that volume would be almost priceless, yet in this room alone we have the handwriting of many of the most celebrated of these. It is with peculiar interest that we turn to one spot in this MSS. Saloon. In Case VIII., on the right of the entrance to the Students' Room, is a little group of autograph letters, which recall many memories of these stirring times. Martin Luther ! how much that name means to us. Here is a letter (No. 2) from his hand. The brave champion of the faith writes to Thomas Cromwell, Henry vm.'s Secretary of State, rejoicing in Cromwell's zeal for the cause of Christ and his power to advance it. This was written in 1536, ten years before his death, and fifteen years after Henry VIII. had gained the title " Defender of the Faith " by writing against Luther. In 1522 Luther wrote to George Spalatin: "I must reply to the growling lion who calls himself King of England. The ignorance the book displays is not to be wondered at in a royal author, but the bitterness and lies are gigantic. How Satan rages! But I shall embitter him more." 1 The original Bull of Leo X. conferring the title upon Henry is on the wall near the entrance to the King's Library. 8 A copy of the book which he wrote against Luther is in the King's Library (p. 133). But since then Henry had cast off the papal yoke, as we shall see farther on. No. 3 is a letter from Luther's friend, Philip Melancthon, to Henry vin. No. 1 is from Erasmus, the learned Dutch scholar, 1 Letters of Martin Luther, translated by M. Carrie. 2 Next to the Bull of Leo X. hangs a grant of Mahomet II., Sultan of the Ottoman Turks. Dated the week following the Capture of Constantinople by the Turks, 29th May 1453. Those were dark days for the Christians in the east of Europe. 126 CHURCH HISTORY who studied at Paris and at Cambridge, and often visited England. It was he who did so much to revive the study of Greek by bringing out an edition of the Greek Testament. Though he never took the stand for the truth which Luther, Melancthon, and others took, he had his share in the work of the Eeformation. "Reuchlin and Erasmus gave the Bible to the learned, Luther gave it to the people." 1 No. 4 gives us two familiar and much honoured names, for it is a letter from Calvin to "William Parel, pastor of the church of Neufchatel. Farel had first come to a knowledge of the truth through the preaching of Lefevre, at the university of Paris, before Luther had become famous. The light of the Keformation sprang up almost simul- taneously in several of the countries of Europe, as God's Spirit called forth one and another to do His work. Both Farel and Calvin were brought into the light in Paris, though they laboured afterwards in Switzerland. To be familiar with the lives of these five men would be to know a good deal of the history of the Eeformation in Germany, France, Switzerland, Holland, and England. But at the other end of the same case we see the hand- writing of some very different men Voltaire (No. 16), Jean Jacques Rousseau (No. 17), Immanuel Kant (No. 20). Voltaire thought that the Bible was an exploded book, but it still lives. Neither his bitter hatred, nor the rationalism of the great philosopher Kant, nor the scepticism of Rousseau, have been able to undo the magnificent work of these champions of the truth. But, in spite of Voltaire's opposition to Christianity, and the dangerous views of Rousseau, which so influenced the generation then living and helped to bring about the French Revolution, both 1 Merle-d'Aubign^'s History of the Reformation, vol. i. p. 124. ENEMIES OF THE REFORMATION 127 these men used their pens on behalf of the Protestants. The cruel persecutions of " the Church in the Desert " roused their feelings of humanity, and their efforts were largely instrumental in causing the martyrdoms to cease, and some of the galley-slaves to be released. In the letter shown here, Eousseau refers to his labours on behalf of Protestants. In Case I. there are three autograph letters of foreign sovereigns who played a very important part in the history of the " Church." No. 32 is a letter from Charles V. to his daughter-in-law Mary, Queen of England, expressing his wish to see his son Philip, to whom he was on the point of resigning the crown of Spain. How many scenes these three names bring before us Charles V., Philip II. of Spain, and Bloody Mary! Charles v., before whom Luther stood on his trial at Worms; 1 Philip II., who afterwards despatched the Invincible Armada to conquer England; and Mary, who sent so many martyrs to the stake at Smithfield. No. 33 is a letter of Henry IV., King of Navarre and France. It was his marriage with Margaret, the daughter of Catherine de Medici, which had brought so many of the Huguenot nobles to Paris just before the massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve, for Henry was a Protestant in those days. When all Catherine's sons had died, Henry iv. gave up his Protestantism that he might ascend the French throne. In order to secure some privileges to his Protestant subjects, he passed the Edict of Nantes. No. 34 is an autograph letter of Louis XIV. It was he who revoked the Edict of Nantes, and deluged the land with the blood of the Huguenots. The record of his long reign was stained by many sins, and he was persuaded 1 See Merle-d'Aubign^'a History of the Reformation ; Motley's Rite of the Dutch Republic, etc. 128 CHURCH HISTORY by Madame de Maintenon and his priestly advisers that this attempt to exterminate the heretics would expiate these sins. All the three other letters in this Case are from great kings and generals Peter the Great, Frederic the Great, and Napoleon. The last refers to his expedition in Egypt, to which, as we have seen, we are indebted for the Eosetta Stone (see p. 103). Amongst the Historical Autographs are several which are connected with the Eeformation period. We have already referred to the great struggle with the Papal power for the supremacy. The power of Kome was effectually broken in the tune of Henry VIII., for he threw off the yoke, not because of his love to the gospel, but because the Pope interfered with his arrangements, and refused to sanction his divorce. No. 46, The King's Book, or Necessary Doctrine for a Christian Man, published in 1543, was a revision by Henry of an earlier book. The autograph corrections are in Henry's hand, and in the passage exhibited, refer to the claims of the Papacy. The MS. said: "Herby it may appere that the busshop of Kome contrary to Goddes lawes doth chalenge superioritie and pre-eminence " ; and Henry added, " Over all, and to make an apparance that itt shuld be so hath and dothe wrest Scripture for that porpose contrary bothe to the trw menyng off the same, and the auncyent doctors interpretations of the chyrche, so that by that chalenge he wolde nott do wrong wonly to this chyrche off England, but also to all other chyrches in claymeyng superioryte w* ought any auctoryte by God so to hym gyffen." 1 No. 40 is a letter written by Cardinal Wolsey, after his disgrace, to Stephen Gardiner, afterwards Bishop of 1 Guide E, p. 14. LATIMER AND CRANMER 129 Winchester, one of the chief persecutors during Mary's reign. No. 45 is a letter of Hugh Latimer, containing arguments against the doctrine of purgatory. It also has annotations by Henry vm. This was written in the days when the Reformers were in favour. In after years, in the reign of Mary, Latimer and Ridley, Cranmer, and multitudes of others were led to the stake. At Oxford we may see the place where he and Ridley suffered. The noble words of Latimer are well known : " Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace in England, as I trust shall never be put out" 1 No. 43 is a letter from Archbishop Cranmer to Thomas, Lord Cromwell, thanking him "that your Lordship at my requeste hath not only exhibited the Bible" (in English known as Matthew's Bible (see p. 113)), "which I sent unto you to the Kinges maiestie, but also hath obteigned of his grace that the same shalbe alowed by his auctoritie to be bowghte and redde within this realme . . . assuryng your Lordeship for the contentacion of my mynde you have shewid me more pleasour herin than yf you hadd given me a thowsande pownde." 2 The hand that signed this letter, signed his recantation, in a moment of weakness. We know what grief this sin occasioned him, and when he so bravely recalled his act, he said, "And forasmuch as my hand hath offended, writing contrary to my heart, therefore my hand shall first be punished: for when I come to the fire, it shall be first burned. . . . And when the wood was kindled and the fire began to burn near him, stretching out his arm, he put his right hand into the flame, which he held so 1 Foxe'a Book of Martyrs 64, 865. a Guide E, p. 1C. 17 130 CHURCH HISTORY steadfast and immovable . . . that all men might see his hand burned before his body was touched." 1 No. 47 is a letter of Edward VI., and No. 48 a diary of his reign written with his own hand, the exhibited page speaking of his difficulties with his sister Mary about the celebration of the mass which he had forbidden. He also mentions threats from the emperor (Charles v.) if he, Edward, refused to allow Mary, who was the daughter of Charles' aunt, Catherine of Aragon, to follow her popish practices. We know how soon she, on the death of Edward vi., found herself at liberty to have the mass celebrated throughout the realm, and her subjects who refused to bow the knee were burnt at Smithfield. But she too died, and, during her sister Elizabeth's reign, the attempt of Philip n. to bring the Inquisition into England was frustrated by the defeat of the Spanish Armada. No. 57 in this case recalls that memorable event. It is the resolution of the Council of English Commanders after the defeat "to folowe and pursue the Spanishe Fleete untill we have cleared oure owne coaste and broughte the Frithe weste of us, and then to returne backe againe, as well to revictuall oure ships (which stand in extreme scarsitie), as alsoe to guard and defend oure owne coaste at home." 2 It is signed by the heroes of that day Lord Howard of Effingham, Lord Thomas Howard, Sir Francis Drake, Sir John Hawkins, and others. Many other names might be noticed in Case III., such as those of Queen Elizabeth, No. 61 ; Thomas Wentworth, No. 64 ; Archbishop Laud, No. 65 ; Oliver Cromwell, Nos. 75, 77, 78; and Graham of Claverhouse, No. 83, the scourge of the Covenanters 1 Foxe's Book of Martyrs, pp. 924, 925. 2 Guide E, p. 17. EARLY MANUSCRIPTS 131 of Scotland. This letter gives an account of the skirmish with the Covenanters at Drumclog. Amongst the English autographs are several which remind us of various periods of Church history in England, such as one on the wall on the left of Case H, No. 3, an agreement signed by John Milton for the sale of Paradise Lost. This name reminds us of the period when Nonconformists became a power in England. In Case VII. , No. 17, is a letter of John Wesley, who, with his brother Charles and with Whitefield, were the instruments in God's hands of the great revival at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century. In the King's Library (Plate VIII., p. 105) we must first glance at the Cases of Oriental MSS. No. 4, Case A, takes us back to early Church history. The label tells us that it contains " Eecognitions of Clement of Rome ; the discourses of Titus, Bishop of Bostra, against the Manichaeans; the treatise of Busebius of Csesarea on the Theophania, written at Edessa, A.D. 411. The oldest dated volume extant, Estrangela, in the earliest known form of Syriac writing." Here are several famous names. Irenaeus, who lived in the latter part of the second century, tells us that Clement of Rome was the third bishop of Rome, and that Clement "had seen the blessed apostles and conversed with them." Eusebius, Bishop of Csesarea, the friend of Constantine, was born about A.D. 260, and attended the great council of Nicasa in A.D. 325, and there joined in condemning Arius, but afterwards, with Eusebius of Nicomedia, he tried to reinstate Arius in opposition to Athanasius. 1 No. 7. is the earliest Coptic MS. a Gnostic work of the seventh century. 1 See Smith and Wace'a Dictionary of Chrittian Biography, vol. ii. p. 808 ff. 132 CHURCH HISTORY No. 10 is one of the earliest paper MSS. extant, it is in Arabic, A.D. 960. No. 9 is a fragment of the Koran, probably of the eighth century, and No. 11 is a complete copy, about A.D. 1200. Mohammed professed to have received his oracles direct from heaven by the angel Gabriel, and they are preserved in the Koran, which is the Bible of the Mohammedans. It was in the beginning of the seventh century that Mohammed "the impostor of Arabia" estab- lished his religion, and henceforward the religion of Islam made rapid progress, till it became one of the greatest enemies of Christianity. In Case D, on the other side, there are several Coptic MSS., and also two modern Ethiopia illuminated books (seventeenth or eighteenth century). Before the invention of printing from movable type, the letterpress and illustrations were cut out in wood, and the page printed from the solid block. In Case I. , block- books are shown. Nos. 2 and 3 were called " the Bible of the Poor," and consisted of rhyming verses and texts illustrated. No. 4 is the Apocalypse in Latin. No. 9 is a Guide-book to Rome for the use of German pilgrims, about 1475. Did Luther see a copy of this on his memorable journey to Eome, when, as he climbed "Pilate's Staircase," he thought he heard the words "The just shall live by faith." words which changed the whole current of his life and became the keynote of the Eeformation ? In Case II. (Nos. 1 and 2), side by side with the first printed Bibles, are two indulgences granted by Pope Nicholas v., conferring privileges on all Christians con- tributing to the cost of the war against the Turks. These were printed in 1455, about sixty years before Luther nailed his theses on the church at Wurtemberg con- DEFENDER OF THE FAITH 133 demning the sale of indulgences. In Case XII. b, No. 10, is the first edition of Henry VIII. 's book against Luther, for which the Pope gave him the title of "Defender of the Faith" (see p. 125). The Bibles we have already seen illustrate most fully the history of the Keformation in England. In Case XIII. , close to Cranmer's Bible, there is a copy of " Foxe's Book of Martyrs," 1563 (No. 7). "The Actes and Monuments of these latter and perillous days." This book gives us an account of Tyndale's life and work, how he was persecuted in England, and went to Germany to finish his splendid achievement of translation; and it tells us something of what the printing of the Bibles cost the Reformers. In 1527 the writings of Tyndale were prohibited and denounced, and at last Tyndale himself was seized when living at Antwerp, and was put to death in 1536. His martyrdom took place at the town of Filford, eighteen miles from Antwerp, where he was strangled at the stake and afterwards burnt. As he stood firmly amidst the wood, with the executioner at his side ready to strangle him, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said in a loud and fervent manner, " Lord, open the eyes of the King of England." As we have already seen, Henry vm. did become later the instrument by which the Bibles were circulated and read in England, and the copy of Cranmer's Bible (No. 4), in the same Case, which was presented to the king, shows that he sanctioned its use. In Case XV., No. 4, there is a first edition of the Prayer Book of Edward VI. In Case XVI., No. 8, there is an early copy 1678 of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. This reminds us of another period when many of God's children suffered for the faith. The wonderful allegory was written in Bedford 134 CHURCH HISTORY Gaol, where John Bunyan had been imprisoned for preaching the gospel. This was in the reign of Charles n. In Cases XXIX., XXX. are many beautifully bound Bibles and other books, some of which belonged to kings and queens of England. To those who are familiar with the story of the Reformation in England, the splendid copy of the Bible (No. 1) bearing the initials of Henry VIII. and Anne Boleyn " probably bound for presentation to the Queen" 1 recalls much that is full of interest. No. 9. A New Testament belonging to Queen Elizabeth illustrates another chapter in the history of the great struggle. The dark days of Mary's reign had come between, but at last the truth has conquered and liberty to read the Word of God has been won. 1 Guide F, p. 110. CHAPTER XV CONCLUSION THERE are many important lessons to be learnt from the things we have seen in the British Museum. (I.) We have been confronted with innumerable proofs of the accuracy of Scripture, and the more we compare the records and learn their deeper meaning, the more shall we be convinced that the Bible is indeed the inspired revelation which it claims to be. (II.) We are also taught in a very striking manner the uselessness of fighting against God. As we look on the sculptured features of some of these mighty monarchs, or read inscriptions signed with their names, we are reminded how several of them were taught in a miraculous manner their own littleness and God's greatness. We are specially reminded of this in connection with Pharaoh, Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, and Belshazzar. God spake to these men by His mighty acts. He does not now send swift judgment on those who set themselves up against Him, for He is on a throne of grace, but the God who now " commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us," is the same God who smote these kings, and if His love be rejected He will again prove a God of judgment. Like the people in Egypt, in the time of the Pharaoh of the Exodus, we must either be sheltered under the blood 186 136 CONCLUSION of the Paschal Lamb or exposed to the stroke of the destroyer Which is it? If we have never settled the question, may we not take warning from these mighty monarchs, and humbly bow before the God of Israel, who is also the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ ? (III.) We feel the importance of possessing some key to the world's history as a whole. In passing through all these galleries in this wonderful collection of antiquities, we have been conscious of the vastness of our subject, and have been almost over- whelmed in trying to grasp something of its meaning, as page by page has been unfolded before us. We have been reminded of century after century of events, but it has been impossible to study the monuments chronologically. We have had to pass from one period to another in rapid succession, and then backwards and forwards again and again. We have seen nation after nation rise and fall. We have looked upon the remains of what were once the greatest empires of the world, and have seen how they passed away. Are all these events of history mere accidents ? It has perhaps seemed as though a perfect chaos of dry facts has been presented. Is there, however, no connection between all that we have seen ? Can we find no key to the whole ? We have been like children playing with a wonderful puzzle; we have fingered piece after piece; have looked on a little bit of the picture on each separate fragment. How are we to put the puzzle together so as to find out the complete picture, or is there no picture at all, but merely confusion? Is there Someone behind the whole Who has been working His own purposes through the centuries ? The key to the puzzle is to be found in God's Word. When the fragments are put together we shall discern ISRAEL THE KEY 137 on the completed picture, and connected with each portion, one central figure that of Israel. God's purposes toward Israel, and through Israel to the world, form the key to the Bible itself and to history as a whole. Many may think this is a bold assertion, and fanciful also, but we have Scripture warrant for making it. "When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel." 1 This clearly states that the geographical dis- tribution of the nations is in relationship to Israel, and the historical events therefore which have brought about that partitioning of the earth's surface must also be included in this statement. As Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar, "The Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whom- soever He will." "He removeth kings, and setteth up kings." 2 Throughout the rise and fall of these empires His purposes with regard to Israel have been worked out. This is the key to the politics of the Bible and to the politics of the world. Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon have been dealt with in view of this, and still the thought of Israel governs God's dealings with modern nations. Other purposes were being worked out in the several nations, but this one ran through them all. For instance, Egypt was raised up to shelter His people in the infancy of the nation. Prosperity was given to Egypt while they were there, for it was the time of their greatness. The dynasties that ruled during Israel's sojourn were the mightiest of all. But when Egypt oppressed Israel, it was visited with heavy judgment, as God had foretold to Abraham. "Also that nation whom they shall serve 1 Dent. 32. 8. * Dan. 4. 25 ; 2. 21. 18 138 CONCLUSION will I judge," l for they " dealt proudly against them " and became "their persecutors," 2 and therefore met with disaster. Assyria was used as the " rod " of God's anger. He was but the " axe " and " saw " in His hand, but afterwards the Lord punished " the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria and the glory of his high looks. For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it." 3 Sargon and Sennacherib his son were used to punish Israel, but their pride led to their own punishment. And so with Babylon. God gave the world-power "unto whom it seemed meet unto Him." He calls Nebuchadnezzar His "servant," 4 for he was raised up to execute God's purpose on Israel; but when He was " wroth " with His people, Babylon did " shew them no mercy," 5 and so Babylon is judged, and in the very year that Israel's servitude ends Babylon falls into the hands of Cyrus. 6 Cyrus in his turn is raised up to help Israel and to execute judgment on Babylon. 7 This is the principle upon which God has acted all through the world's history from the time when He first took up Israel. Though He visits Israel by means of other nations, their cruelties to His people are never unpunished. "I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease, for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction." 8 (IV.) Another lesson that we may learn from the monu- ments as a whole, is that God is faithful to His Word. The things He spake before came to pass. We have noticed this in connection with the defeat of Sennacherib, the destruction of Nineveh, the rise of Cyrus, and the fall of 1 Gen. 16. 14. 3 Neh. 9. 10, 11. 8 In. 10. 5-7, 12-16. 4 Jer. 27. 6. 5 Isa. 47. 6. Jer. 26. 12 ; Ezra 1. 1. 7 Isa. 44. 28 ; 45. 13. 8 Ze 46.1. . 49 3. 13, 15 . . 33, 35 47.6 . . . . 138 ,, 8-10 . . . . 48 Phttippians 4, 22 A Jeremiah 25. 11 . . . 12 . . 25 . . . 27. 6 ... 29. 10 . . . 32. 9-11, 14 . 36. 20-23 . . 37. 5, 7 . . . 39. 11-14 . . . 83 80, 138 . 78 . 138 79, 83 . 62 . 115 . 97 . 82 ffaggai 2. 18, 19 . . Zechariah 1.15. . . . St. Matthew 5. 35 . 8 138 j 5 2 Timothy 1. 16, 17 . 4. 16, 17 ... ,,21 .... Hebrews 11 15 3 3 4 60 46. ... 47. 1 ... 48. ... 27, 39, 42 . 30(K.v.) . 60. 40 . . . 97 . 97 . 90 . 91 . 90 . 65 16.18 . . . 22. 7 ... 17-21 . . St. Luke . 11 . 5 2 22 .... James 1. 23-25 . . 2. 2 50 55 85 51. 25, 26 . . , 31, 32 (R.v.l . 65 . 80 1. 63 . . . . 2. 1 . . . . 106 n 1 3. 11, 12 ... 37 3. 1 . . . . 1 Ezekid 16.3. . . . 17.16,17 . . 23. 12, 14, 15 . . 17 . 97 . 26 21. 24 ... St. John 19. 12, 15 . . . 139 . 2 Revelation 2. 8-11 . 12. 10 .... 18. 18-19 . . . 22 .... 6 42 65 14 INDEX Aahmes or Amasis I., 99. Aahmes or Amasis n., 102. 'Abiri, the, 69. Abraham and the Hittites, 17. God's revelation to, 38, 57, 140. migration of, 28, 60, 77. seeking a wife for Isaac, ^8. in Egypt, 94. Abyssinian Church, 88. Accad or Agade, 61. Accession year, the, 82. Acropolis, the, 13-15. Adonizedek, 69. Adoption, 58. Adrammelech and Sharezer, 71. ^Llfric the Grammarian, 109. Ahab and Shalmaneser, 19. and Mesha, 89-90. Ahasuerus, 84. Ahaz and Tiglath-Pileser, 22, 47. time of, 92. Ahimelech the Hittite, 17. Alcuin of York, 109. Alexander, buat of, 11. Daniel's vision concerning, 12. inscription of, 102. fulfilment of prophecy, 139. Alexander Severus, 6-7, 117. Alexandria, massacre at, 7. Church of, founded by St. Mark, 54, 104. Ptolemy's Library at, 103. taken by British, 103. Amasis. See "Aahmes." Amenophis or Amenhetep in., 69, 100. Amenophis or Amenhetep rv., 69, 100. American Indians, Eliot's Bible, 114. Amorites, the king of the, 60. Amraphel, 28, 57, 59. Sec " Kham- murabi." 19 Anderson, Sir Robert, K.C.B., LL.D., 71. The BiUe or the Church, 8, 117, 122. In Defence, 58-59, 80-81. The Bible and Modern Criticism, . 76. Daniel in the Critics' Den and The coming Prince, 83. Angels, fallen, 41. Anne Boleyn, 134. Antoninus Pius, 6, 7. Antony and Cleopatra, 103. Apepa I. , 98. Apis, the sacred bull, 52. Aquila and Priscilla, 2. Arabia, Ashur-bani-pal's conquests in, 48. Arabic MS. Ill, 132. Aramean language, 73-74, 84. Arian controversy, 117-118. Arioch, 28, 60. Aristarchus and Ananias, 4. Aristobulus, 4. Armenian Version, 111. Art, Greek, 14. of printing, 111. Artaxerxes, 66, 84. Asa, 95. Ashdod, 31, 47. " Asherah " or " groves," 23. Ashur, 24. Ashur-bani-pal, date of, 19. lion hunting, 26. conquests of, 26-29, 35, 36-37, 78. burning of palace of, 33. library of, 37. tablets of, 47, 48. 49, recovery of N ana's image by, 28, 48, 59. portrait of, 63. 146 146 INDEX Ashur-bani-pal, brother of. See " Shamash-shum-ukin." bowls and cylinders of, 67, 75. Ashur-nasir-pal, 20, 23, Plate vn. Asnapper. See " Ashur-bani-pal. " Assyria, fall of, 67. God's rod, 138. Assyrian bricks, 59, 63. Astyages, 71. Athene, the birth of, 14. Athens, Paul at, 13-15. Anshan, king of, 77, 78. Augustine of Canterbury, 121-122. Augustus Caesar, 1. Aurelian, 7. Authorised Version, 114. Babel, supposed account of, 42. " the beginning of his kingdom," 61-62. rebuilt by Nebuchadnezzar, 75. Balawat Gates, 22, 32. Babylon, taken by Ashur-bani-pal, 26. Khammurabi's capital, 60, 62. built by Nebuchadnezzar, 64. to be rebuilt, 65. taken by Cyrus, 71, 78, 80. Bede, translation of St. John by, 109. Chronicle of, 121. Bel, 43, 45, 46. Bel and Nebo, 49. Belshazzar, 65, 75, 135. feast of, 66-67, 80. the king's son, 76. death of, 80. Benhadad, 19-20. Behistun Inscription, 65-66, 83. Bethlehem, the birth of Christ at, 1. Bible of the Poor, the, 132. Biblical "criticism," 110. Boundary stones, 63. Borsippa, 75. Book of the Dead, the, 104. Bricks, Assyrian, 59, 63. Egyptian, 54-55. Britain, 1, 121. British princess, 4. Bubastis, temple of, 98. Bull of Pope Innocent in., 122. Bull of Leo x., 125. Bulls, human-headed, 23. Bunyan, John, 133, 134. Burial, ancient mode of, 51. Burning of Bibles, 112, 113, 114. Christians, 3, 129. Rome, 8. Nineveh, 33, 34-35, 36. Caesars, 1-8, 116, 120. Caesar's household, 4. Caligula, 2. Calneh, 61-62. Calvin, 126. Cambyses, 82. Candlestick, the, 54. Captivity, the, 83. of the two and a half tribes, 22. Caracalla, 7. Carchemish, battle of, 96. Carthage, 6. Cartouches, 56, 103. Catacombs, 85-86. Champollion, 103. Chaldean princes, 26. Charlemagne, 109. Charles n., 134. Charles v., 127, 130. Chedorlaomer, 28, 60, 65, Chemosh, 89, 90. "Church in the Desert," the, 127. Claudia, 4. Claudius Caesar, 2. Claverhouse, Graham of, 130. Clement of Rome, 131, 105 n. Cleopatra, 103. Cleopatra's needle, 99. Codex, Alexandrinus, 105, 106. Nitriensis, 107. Sinaiticus, 106, 110. Vaticanus, 106. Commodus, 6. Conder, Colonel. Tett Amarna Tablets, 68-69. Constantino the Great, 7, 85, 104, 117. Constantinople, 118, 125 n. Coptic crosses, 53, 54, 104. Coptic MSS., 108, 111, 131, 132. Coptic remains, 87-88, 104, 116. Cornelius, 2. Covenanters, the, 130-131. Coverdale, Miles, 113. Cranmer, Archbishop, 110, 114, 129. martyrdom of, 129. Bible of, 113, 133. Creation tablets, 37-41. Cromwell, Thomas, 113, 125, 129. Oliver, 130. Cross, the sign of the. Sec " Coptic." Crucifixion, the, 54, 85. Crusades, the, 123. Cuneiform writing, 20, 65-66. Cyaxerxes, 67. Cyrus defeats Astyages, 71. takes Babylon, 71, 77-81, 138. king of Anshan, 78. decree of, 81, 82, 83, 84. INDEX 147 Dagon, 23. Daniel's vision of Alexander's con- , quests, 12. interpretation of the handwrit- ing, 66. Messianic prophecy, 83. " weeks," 84. interpretation of Nebuchad- nezzar's vision, 137, 139. vision of the Ancient of days, 140. Daniel made third in the kingdom, 76. Darius Hystaspes or Darius the Great, 77, 83. inscription of, on the Behistun rock, 65. decree of, 83. the Mede, 71, 80-81. David, seed of, 5. Decius, 7. Decree of Cyrus. See " Cyrus." of Darius. See " Darius." "Defender of the Faith," 125, 133. Deluge tablets, 37, 42-46. seals, the, 70. Desolations, the seventy years, 83. Demetrius, 10, 11, 14. Diana, temple of, 9-11, 12. Diocletian, 7, 87, 104. Dionysius, 5. Domitia, 5. Domitian, 5, 7. Drake, Sir Francis, 130. Ea, 38, 42, 43, 45. Ecbatana, 71, 81. Ecclesiasticus, H5n. Eclipse of the sun, 47. Edict of Nantes, the, 127. Edward vi., 130, 133. Effingham, Lord Howard of, 130. Egypt, conquest of, by ABhui-bani- pal, 48. Egyptian history, 94-104. bricks, 54, 55. jewels, etc., 55. mummies and gods, 50, 51, 52. seal, 49. Elam, Cyrus king of, 78. Elamite invasion of Ur, 28, 59, 94. dynasty, 59. wars of Ashur-bani-pal, 26, 27- 29, 36. Eliezer, Abraham's servant, 58. Elijah and Elisha, 20. Eliot's Version, John, 114. Elizabeth, Queen, 130, 134. Encyd. Brit., 115, 123. Envelopes and tablets, 62. English Bible, the, 108, 111 ff. Ephesus, Temple of Diana at, 9 ff. Ephraim and Manasseh, 58. Ephron the Hittite, 17. " Eponym Canon," the, 47. Esau's wives, 17. Esarhaddon, date of, 19. sons of, 27. tablets of, 37, 47, 81. portrait of, 35. bricks of, 63. cylinders of, 74. succeeds his father, 48, 71. Esther, the book of, 84. feast of, 29. Erasmus, 125-126. Erastus, 4. Erech, 28, 59, 61. Eri-aku, 60. Erictheon, the, 15. Ethiopia books, 132. Eusebius of Caesarea, 131. Eve, 70. Evil-Merodach, 75, 81, 82. Ezekiel's description of Chaldeans, 25-26. Faithfulness of God's Word, 138. Farel, William, 126. "Fathers," the, 87,117, 118. Fausta, 85. Fighting against God, 135. Fire, the Lake of, 49. Fire on the hearth, the, 115. Firstborn in Egypt, 95, 101. Flasks, early Christian, 86. Foxe's Book of Martyrs, 133. quoted, 129, 130. French New Testament, 111. Frieze of the Parthenon, 14. Fulfilled prophecy, 33, 35, 36, 79, 80, 83, 138, 189, 142. Gabriel, 54. Gardiner, Stephen, 128. Gaza, 97. " Gentiles, the times of the," 139. Gnostic remains and MSS., 54, 116, 131. Greek art, 14. Church, 88, 118. Gregory, 121. See "St. Gregory." Gobryas, 80-81. Groves, 23. Guide to Rome, 132. 148 INDEX Guide (A) to the Babylonian and Assyrian Antiquities, 21, 34, 37, 42, 47, 61, 65, 68, 70, 71, 72, 75, 76, 77, 78. (B) to the Third and Fourth Egyptian Rooms, 53, 55, 56. (C) to the Egyptian Collections, 98, 101, 102. (D) to the Early Christian, etc., 85, 86, 87. (E) to the Manuscripts, etc., 105, 106, 123, 128, 129, 130. (F) to the Printed Books, etc., 134. Gutenberg Press, 111. Hadrian, 5, 7. Hatch's Influence of Greek Ideas, 117. Hamath conquered, 30. the king of, 17. Hammurabi. See " Khammurabi." Haran or Harran, 29, 77. Hathor, 52. Hawkins, Sir John, 130. Hazael, 20, 21. Head of gold, the, 96, 139. Hebrew inscriptions, 68. MS., 106-107. Hebron a Hittite city, 17. Henry iv. of England, 124. France, 127. Henry vin. and the Bible, 113, 133, 134. and Luther, 125, 133. books of, 128, 133. See "Defender of the Faith." Herod Agrippa, 2. Heru, 52. Hezekiah and Sennacherib, 25, 71- 74. and Jareb, 31. library of, 37. and Isaiah's date, 78, and the Siloam inscription, 92. and Tirhakah, 96. Hidden Book, the, 115. Hieroglyphs, Hittite, 16. Egyptian deciphered, 103. "Higher Criticism," 16, 27, 37, 58, 59, 76, 115. Hillah, 64. Hislop's Two Babylons, 9 n. History, the key to, 136. Hittites, the, 16-18. Hophra, Pharaoh, 97, 102. Horus, 52. Hoshea and Shalmaneser, 29-30, 31. and Shabako or So, 49, 95. Howard, Lord Thomas, 130. Hyksos. See "Shepherd Kings." Ignatius, 5. India House Inscription, 64. Indulgences, 124, 132. Irenaeus, 131. Irish New Testament, 114. Israel, the children of, 55, 101 n. the wilderness journey of, 51. the conquest of Palestine by, 69. the key to history, 136, 137. Jabin, 69. Jacob's funeral, 50. James' Bible, King, 114. Japhia, 69. Jareb, 31. Jehoiachim, 83. Jehoiachin, 81. Jehoshaphat, 20. Jehu, 20, 21. Jeremiah's field, 62. Jeroboam, 95. Jerome, 7, 108-109, 117. Jerusalem, its Hittite origin, 17. the supposed siege by Senna- cherib, 36. Hezekiah shut up in, 72-74. the siege of, 75, 97. decree of Darius to rebuild, 84. rebuilding of temple at, 79, 83. Jews, the future blessing of, 141, 142. the treatment of, 141. in Alexandria and the LXX., 103, 107. John, the Apostle, 5. John, King, 122, 123. John of Gaunt and Wycliffe, 124. Jonah, 23, 32. a representation of, 85. Joseph in Egypt, 99. cup of, 58. mummy of, 50, 51. Joshua, times of, 69. Josiah, 68, 96. Judah invaded by Sargon, 30. Ahaz king of, 47. Julius Caesar, 1. Justin Martyr, 6. Kant, Immanuel, 126. Kenyon, Dr., Our Bible and the Ancient Mon., 112-113. Kirjath-8epher, 68. Kheta, the, 17. INDEX 149 Khammurabi, Code of, 57-59. See " Amraphel." empire of, 62. conquests of, 60 tablets bearing name of, 70. Key to history, 136, 137. King, L. W , Seven Tablets of Crea- tion, 93, 40, 41. Klein, Dr., and the Moabite Stone, 91. Koran, the, 132. Kudur-Mabuk, 60, 65. Kudur-Nanhundi, 43. Kutir-Nakhkhunte, 65. Lachish, Sennacherib before, 25, 74. Lamps, early Christian, 86. Larsa, 59, 60. Latimer, Hugh, 3, 129. Laud, Archbishop, 130. Laver made from mirrors, the, 55. Layard, Sir Henry, 34. Leonidas, 6, 117. Letters of Martin Luther quoted, 125. Library at Nineveh, 37, 49. at Alexandria, 103. Lindiefarne Gospels, 110, 119. Linus, 4. Lion hunts, 26. Louis xiv., 127. Luther, 125, 126, 132. theses of, 132. German Bible of, 111. at Rome, 132. Lycaonia, speech of, 18. Machpelah, the cave of, 17. Magna Charta, 123. Mahomet. See " Mohammed." Mahomet ir., Sultan, 125 n. Maimonides, 1 1 5 n. Mammaea, Julia, 7, 117. Manah, 66-67, 77. Manasseh, 27. Marcus Aurelius, 6, 7. Marduk. See "Merodach." Mark the Evangelist, 54, 104. Marks of fire, 33, 34, 36. Martin Luther. Sec "Luther" and "Lettert of." Mars' Hill, 13-15. Martyrs at Rome, 3-8. veneration of, 86-87. Martyrdom of Paul and Peter, 4. of Latimer, Ridley, Cranmer, 8, 129-130. of Tyndale, 183. Mary, Queen, 127, 130. Massorah, Greater and Lesser, 107. Matthew's Bible, 113, 129. Maximin, 7. Mazarin Bible, 111. Medes and Persians, 81, 139. Media, 78. Megiddo, battle of, 68, 96. Melancthon, Philip, 125. Menahem, 22. Menephthah or Meren-Ptah, 100, 101. Merle-d'Aubigne's History of the Re- formation, 126, 127. Merodach or Marduk, 38, 39, 40, 41, 77. Merodach Baladan, 31, 49. Mesha king of Moab, 89-90. Messianic prophecies, 9, 83. Metopes, 14. Michael, 54. Milman's History of Christianity, 53 117, 119. Milton, John, 131. Mirrors, Egyptian, 55. Mishne Tordh, 115 n. Mnevis of Heliopolis, 52. Moabite Stone, the, 89-91. Mohammed, 132. Monastic system, 53, 88, 104, 119. Monogram, the sacred, 86, 87. Monuments, reverence for, 97. Moon-god, 29, 59, 76, 77. Moon-goddess. See " Nana." More, Sir Thomas, 112. Mummies, 50-51. Mythology, 9, 38, 49, 87. Nabonidns the father of Belshazzar. 65, 75, 76. annals and inscriptions of, 71, 82. finding of Naram Sin's inscrip- tion by, 76-77. Nabopolassar, date of, 75. revolt of, 67, 96. Nahum, prophecy of, 33, 35. refers to Ashur-bani-pal's con- quest, 48. Nana, the goddess, 28, 48, 59. Napoleon and Rosetta Stone, 103, 128 Naram-Sin, 61, 77. Narcissus, 4. Naville'sdiscovery of Pithom, 100, 101. Neander's Church History quoted, 87. Nebuchadnezzar n., 63-65, 67, 81, 137. date of, 75. buildings of, 64, 75. lessons learnt by, 64, 135. See also "Jerusalem" ; "Head of gold." INDEX Necho, Pharaoh, 56, 67-68, 96, 102. Nehemiah, decree to, 84. Neriglissar, 82. Nero, 2-4, 7, 54, 104. Nerva, 5. Nineveh, Jonah's visit to, 32. fall of, 34, 67, 138. the great city. See "Nahum." library at, 37, 49. Nile-god, the, 52. Nimrud, Birs, 75. Nitria, desert of, 53, 119. Nitriensis, Codex. See" Codex." Noah, the Chaldean, 42-46, 70. No-Amon or Thebes, 48. Obelisk, the Black, 20-21, 63. Omri, Jehu the son of, 20. the house of, 21. and the Moabite Stone, 90. Onesiphorus, 3. Oppression in Egypt, the, 54, 95. Oracles of God, 140, 141. Origen, 6, 117. Osiris, 52. Osorkon ii., 101. Palimpsest MSS., 107, 119. Paper manufacture of, 111. MS., first, 132. Papyrus, Book of the Dead, 104. MSS., 106. Paradise Lost, 131. Parthenon, 13-15. Patmos, 5. Paul at Corinth, 2. before Nero, 3, 4. at Ephesus, 9-11. on Mars' Hill, 13-15. Pediments, 14. Pekah, 22. Penknife of the "critics," 115. Penny, the image on the, 1-2. Pentaur's poem, 17. Percy, Lord Henry, 124. Persecutions under Caesars, 3-7. See "Martyrs." Perpetua and Felicitas, 6. Peshitto MSS., 108, 111. Peter's martyrdom, 4. Pharaoh of the Oppression, the, 69- 70, 99, 100. of the Exodus, the, 100, 101, 135. the daughter of, 95. Pharaohs, the, 94-102. worshipped, 52. Pheidias, 14. Philip n. of Spain, 127. Philip the Elder, 7. Pilgrimages, 86, 123. Pilgrim's Progress, Bunyan's, 133. Pinches, Dr., The Old Test., etc., 58, 60, 101. Pithom, 100, 101. Plagues of Egypt, 51-52, 95. Pocket Bibles, 110. " Politarchs," 12. Polycarp, 6. Pontius Pilate, 1. Power, struggle for temporal, 8, 120, 122. Prayer Book, 133. Printing, art of, 111. Prophecy fulfilled. See "Fulfilled prophecy," "Nabum." Projecta's casket, 87. Psammetichus 11., 102. Ptah, 52. Ptolemy I., 103. Philadelphus, 103, 107. Epiphanes, 103. Euergetes, 103. Pudens, 4. Pul, 19, 23. See "Tiglath-Pileser." Pyramids, builders of, 51, 98. Ra, 52. Rab-saris and Rabmag, 82. Rachel and Bilhah, 58. Rameses I., 100. n., 17, 70, 99. 100. bricks of, 54. wars of, 55-56. See " Pharaoh of the Oppression." Raphael, 54. Rawlinson, Sir Henry, 20, 65. Records of the Past. First Series, 28, 98. New Series, 23, 75. Reformation, 115, 126, 133, 134. See "Luther." Rehoboam, 95, 102. Relics, 86. Ridley, 3, 129, Rings, early Christian, 85. Rim-sin. See "Eri-aku." Rodgers, John, 113. Rome, burning of, 3. Church of, 114. Pagan or Papal, 8. Rosetta Stone, 65, 103, 128. Rousseau, Jean Jacques. 126. St. Alban's Chronicle, 124. Ambrose, 118. INDEX St. Augustine, 7, 118. Chrysostom, 118. Cuthbert, 119. Cyprian, 117. Gregory, 118. Menas, 87. Patrick, 120-121. Samaria built, 21. besieged by Syrians, 18. Shalmaneser, 29. taken by Sargon, 29. Sargon of Agade, 61, 76-77. Sargon, the date of, 19. taking of Samaria by, 29. invasion of Judah by, 30. library of, 37. before Ashdod, 31, 46-47. cylinders of, 46, 70. bricks and bowls, 63, 67. See also " Jareb" and Plate vii. Sayce, Prof., Higher Crit. and the Mon., 23, 27, 31, 39, 40-41, 43-46, 67, 73-74, 90, 92. Fresh Light from Ancient Mon., 91, 92. Mon. Facts and Higher Crit. Fanciet, 57 n. Sarah and Hagar, 58. Scapula, 7. Scarabs, 56. Scotch Bible, 114. Scripture, accuracy of, 16, 27, 135. Sealing of tablets, 62. Seal, Egyptian, 49. Seals, cylinder, 70. ecclesiastical, 120. Seb, 52. Seed of David, 5. the serpent, 9. the woman, 9. Sekhet, 52. Selene the Moon-god, 14. Sennacherib, date of, 19. before Lachish, 25. palace of, 34. tablets of. 37, 47. "will "of, 48. bricks of, 63. cylinders of, 70, 71. and Hezekiah, 36, 71-74, 96. charge of respecting inscriptions, 98. practical lessons from, 135, 138. Septimius Severus, 6, 7, 117. Septuagint, the, 103, 107. Serapis, recluses of , 53, 11 9 n. Serpent, the, 9, 70. Servitude, the, 83. Seti i., 100. Seti-Meren-Ptah. See "Menephtah." Seti n., Meren-Ptah n., 101. Seventy years, 83. " weeks " of Daniel, 84. Severa, 7. Severus, Alexander, 6-7, 117. Septimus, 6, 117. Shabako or So, 32, 49, 56, 95, 102. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,64. Shalmaneser n. , date of, 19. monolith of, 19-20. Black Obelisk of, 20-21. Balawat gates of, 32. inscriptions of, 47, 63. Shalmaneser iv., date of, 19. siege of Samaria by, 29. Shamash-shum-ukln's revolt, 27. accession, 48. letter to Ashur-bani-pal, 49. portrait, 63. inscription, 75. Shechem, burials in, 51. Shekel, 66, 67. Shepherd, the Good, 85. Shepherd Kings, 94, 98-99. Schick, Dr., 92. Shishak, scarabs of, 56. Jeroboam and Rehoboam, 95. monuments of, 101-102. Shiloah, the waters of, 93. Shu, 52. Shushan, the palace, 65. Siloam Stone, the, 91-93. Siege of Jerusalem. See " Jerusalem." Simeon, Bishop, 5. Simeon of Durham, 119. Sit-Napishtim or Sisusthros, 42-46, 70. Skull of sentinel, 67. Slave market at Rome, 121. Smerdis, 83. Smyrna, 6. So. See "Shabako." Solomon and Hittite women, 18. men of, 68. and Chemosh, 90, and date of Siloam Stone, 93. and Pharaoh's daughter, 95. Songs of Degrees, the, 74. Spanish Armada, the, 130. Susa and Susanchites, 26, 27, 65. Sutech, 52. Stephen's address, 51. SyriacMSS., 108, 111. Syria and the Hittites, 18. and Shalmaneser, 19, 20, 21. Tabernacle, the, 54, 55. 152 INDEX Tartan, the, 31. Taylor, Cylinder, the, 25, 72-74. Tell el-Amarna Tablets, 68-69. Temple of God, the, 11. Temple of Diana, 9-11, 12. Temple at Jerusalem rebuilt, 83, 84. robbed, 95. Temu, 52. Terah, 28-29, 77. Tertullian, 6. Te-umman, 36, 37. Textual Index, 143. Theft, Khammurabi's laws against, 58. Theodosius, 118, Thessalonica, massacre at, 118. inscription, 12. Third ruler, the, 76. Thirtle, J. W., Old Test. Prob., 74. Thothmes in., 70, 99. Tiberius Caesar, 1, 104. Tiglath-Pileser, I., 70, Tiglath-Pileser or Pul, date of, 19. Ahaz and Menahem, 22. and two and a half tribes, 22. names of, 23. wall-pictures and inscrip- tions of, 22, 25, 47. Tirhakah, 56, 96, 102. Titus, 4, 5. Trajan, 5, 7, Trophimus, 4. Turks capture Constantinople, 125 n. Tunstall, Bishop of London, 112-113. Tyndale, 112-114, 133. Typhon, 52. Tyre and Sidon, 32. TJr, 28, 59, 76. Uriah the Hittite, 17. (Urus)-alammu, 36. Valerian, 7. Vespasian, 4. Virgin and Child, the, 10. Voltaire, 126. Vulgate, the, 108-109, 117. Wax writing tablet, 106 n. Weights, Babylonian, 66-67. Welsh portion, 114. Wentworth, Thomas, 130. Wesley, John, 131. Wolsey, Cardinal, 128. Word of God a mirror, 55. Wycliffe, 108, 110, 114. trial of, 124. Xerxes, 66, 67, 84. Yahveh, 90. Young, Thomas, 103. Zerah, 95. Printed ty MORRISON & QIBB LIMITED, Edinburgh. THE LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW. Series 94H2 IX SOUTHERN REG ". A 000 994 702 9 1 Uni