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(Gen. xlvi. 34) was not on account of the fact that the land had been conquered by " shepherd kings," though this may have made the conquest the more galling. To the Egyptian the shepherd was an unshaved, dirty, undressed pariah. His home was in the swamp, and while a necessary appendage to a large farm, he received no honor at the hands of his master. This seems the more strange, since it was with the utmost pride that the number of cattle, sheep, oxen, and goats is recounted and portrayed on the walls of the tombs.

The wagons provided by Joseph (Gen. xlv. 19) appear to have been carte adapted to the transport of household goods and of persons incapable of the prolonged standing required by the ordinary chariot. Both chariots and carts seem to have been intro-

duced along with the horse in the dark

were frequently stamped with the cartouche of the reigning Pharaoh. They were either baked or sun-dried. Naville reports that the bricks found at Pithom were of two sorts, mud mixed with straw and mud alone (Ex. 1. 14, v. 7, 18). Unfortunately none of the bricks from Pithom bear a royal stamp. Linen and broidered work (Ezek. xxvii. 7) are mentioned specially, and beautiful specimens of this fabric are preserved in many museums. Baskets (Gen. xl. 16) for conveying small objects are depicted in funerary scenes of all ages, particularly in carrying grain and sand, and the same practise has persisted to the present time.

The title for the king (Gen. xii. 15) which is used in the Pentateuch, gives no clue to the identity of any particular individual mentioned. " Pharaoh " is derived from the native title, which is made up of the words per-aa, signifying " great house," and is similar to the Turkish " Sublime Ports." The claim of the divine origin of the ruling class is seen in the ordinary appendage to the coronation name,

" son of Ra." Biblical references to 4. Officials. the officers of the government are few.

The position to which Joseph was named has approximate parallels. In the Ancient Kingdom there was a man who boasted the title of " overseer of the whole land," while officials having similar charge in later times recognize the geographical divisions of the land in their titles. In the New Kingdom we find a man who appears as the mouthpiece of Pharaoh, and another whose office was that of " overseer of the granaries," of whom it is said that his province included not only Egypt but also Ethiopia and all the territory to the confines of Naharina (Mesopotamia). Potiphar (Gen. xxxvii. 36, xxxix. 1) is spoken of as captain of the guard (R. V., margin, "chief of the executioners"). The latter title is explained by the supposition that extreme punishment was executed by the chief officer of the body-guard. As this officer lived probably in the time of the Hyksos, and as very little is known about this period, little light can be thrown upon the subject. Later the body-guard was formed of mercenaries, and the position of chief was one of great importance. The mention of a chief baker and a chief butler (Gen. xl.) is exactly in line with

the household service of the upper classes as well as that of the king. Each . sort of service had a special corps which was charged with it, and each corps had its overseer. Similarly in the field each gang of workmen had an overseer or " taskmaster " (Ex, i. 11, iii. 7). Among the insignia of office mentioned as having been turned over to Joseph was the signet ring (Gen. xli. 42). As all legal and commercial documents were stamped with a seal, the significance of this emblem of office is apparent.

8. Chronology: Egypt, like other Oriental countries, used no era in dating the events of its history. All that have been handed down to us are partial lists of kings such as those of Abydos, Karnak, and Sakkarah, containing selections of seventy-six, sixty-one, and forty-seven royal names respectively, and even the sequence of these is doubtful. The only known complete native list, with the years of the reign of each king, was contained in the ever to be regretted Turin papyrus which was irreparably damaged during its journey to Europe. In its present fragmentary condition it is incapable of rendering much aid in fixing of Egyptian chronology. The historical work written in Greek by the native priest Manetho about 250 B.C. has been preserved only in excerpts of somewhat doubtful accuracy given by Josephus and Julius Africanus. Mistakes occur in the figures due both to copyists' mistakes and to apologetic emendation. Manetho's division of the entire period into thirty dynasties, however, furnishes a convenient method of indicating the relative location of events. Dates approximating exactness can not be assigned back of the New Kingdom, and precise chronology begins with the accession of Psammetichus in 663 B.C. It is claimed, however, that the date of Amenhotep I. of the twelfth dynasty, has been fixed astronomically at 2000 B.C., and that the reign of Thothmes III. extended from May 3, 1501, till Mar. 7, 1447. Many a prior, theories and corresponding systems of chronology have been propounded, but the best results are only approximations so far as the earlier periods are concerned. One notable feature of recent investigation is seen in the tendency to reduce the length of the history as a whole. This is evident from the appended chronological table.