Identifier: wanderingsinbibl00mill (find matches)
Title: Wanderings in Bible lands: notes of travel in Italy, Greece, Asia-Minor, Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia, Cush, and Palestine
Year: 1894 (1890s)
Authors: Miller, D(aniel) L(ong), 1841- (from old catalog)
Subjects:
Publisher: Mount Morris, Ill., The Brethren's publishing company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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Text Appearing Before Image:
At Thebes there is a beautiful statue in bas-
relief of Menephtha. The engraving which we give is
from a photograph of the head of the statue which appears
in outline on page 258. It is said to be a masterpiece of
ancient Egyptian art and is especially interesting because
it presents to us the face of the Pharaoh of the exodus.
Of his reign Rawlinson says: "Inheriting from his fa-
ther an empire which was everywhere at peace with its
neighbors, he might have expected to have had a tranquil
and prosperous reign, and to have carried on the burst of
architectural energy which had manifested itself under his
father and grandfather. The power however which directs
human affairs, wholly disappointed these expectations.
The unclouded prospects of his early years gave place, aft-
—————
*Brugsch, History of Egypt.

256 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS.

er a brief interval, to storm and tempest of the most fear-
ful kind; a terrible invasion carried fire and sword into the
heart of his dominions; and he scarcely escaped this dan-
ger when internal troubles broke out,—a subject race, high-
Text Appearing After Image:
Menephthah, the Pharaoh of the Exodus.

WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 257

ly valued for the services which it was forced to render, in-
sisted on quitting the land; a great loss was incurred in an
attempt to compel it to remain; rebellion broke out in the
south; and the reign, which had commenced under such
fair auspices, terminated in calamity and confusion. Me-
nephthah was quite incompetent to deal with the difficult
circumstances in which he found himself placed; he hesi-
tated, temporized, made concessions, retracted them—and
finally conducted Egypt to a catastrophe from which she
did not recover for a generation."*
The search among the monuments of ancient Egypt re-
veals many interesting facts concerning Menephthah II and
his troublous reign. The question as to whether the antiq-
uities of Egypt do fully illustrate the life of the man who
defied the power of God even until his firstborn son was
slain may be answered in the affirmative. Many of the
best Egyptian scholars, among whom are Rawlinson, Rob-
inson, Paine, Brugsch, and others, set forth the history of
Menephthah in the light of recent discoveries in Egypt.
To these authors we are indebted for what we here give of his life.

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