Greaves, John: Pyramidographia: or, a Description of the pyramids in Egypt ([London], [1752])

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618 0/* ^ Time in which the
Greaves. And tho' this argument from the series However it were, Cbeeremon hath almost
and successions of time is so demonstratiye the same history, as s Jofephus confesses.
and conclusive, that nothing can be op- Charemon, professing to write the history
posed against it, and therefore might be of Egypt, says, That under Amenophis,
Sufficient to evince our purpose : yet if we and his fin Ramesses, Two hundred and
considerately examine another relation of sisty thousand leprous and polluted men were
Manethos, (which is ssighted and deprelTed cast out of Egypt. Their leaders were Mo-
by Jofephus, because it made not for his ses the firibe, and Josephus, who was alfo
purpose) it mustnecessarily be, that by those a [acred fcribe. The Egyptian name os
shepherds he meant not the Ifraelites, but Moses was Tisithen, of Joieph Peteseph.
rather by the Ifraelites the leprous people, Thefe coming to Pelusium, and sinding there
which in his computation are three hundred three hundred and eighty thoufand men left by
thirty years and six months after the Dy- Amenophis, which he would not admit into
nasly of the shepherds. And therefore we Egypt, making a league with them, they
may oppose the authority of n Manethos undertook an expedition againft Egypt. Upon
against himself, or rather against Jofephus. this Amenophis ssies into Ethiopia, and his
The sum of whose discourse is this, That son Mefjenes drives out the Jews into Syria,
Amenophis, who was a great worshipper of in number about two hundred thousand,
the gods, as Orus one of the former kings and receives his father Amenophis out of
had been, being desirous to see the gods, Ethiopia. I know h Lyfimachus assigns
one of the priefts, of the fame name with him, another king, and another time, in which
told him he might, if he cleansed the country Mofes led the Israelites out of Egypt -9 and.
of leprous and polluted people. This leprous that was, se^Tz Bocchoris reigned in Egypt,
people chose for their captain one of the the nation of the Jews, being infecled with le-
priests of Heliopolis, named Ofarfiphus, who, profiles, and ficabs, and other disiafes, betook
changing his name, was called Mofes. He, themfelves to the temple to beg their living -,
causing Amenophis for fear to ssy into many being tainted with the diseafie, there
Ethiopia, was afterwards by him, and by happened a death in Egypt. Whereupon
his Son Sethon, who was also called Ra- Bocchoris, consulting with the oracle of Am-
mefsis, by the name of his father, overthrown mon, received answer, That the leprous
in battle, and the leprous people were people were to be drowned in the fea injheets
pursued by them unto the confines of Syria, of lead; the [cabbed were to be carried into
Thus far out of Manethos, Here, which the wilderness ; who, choosing Mofes for
is very remarkable, we have expresly the their leader, conquered that country, which,
name of Mofes ; whereas in the former re- is now called Judcea. Out of which res-
lation of Manethos there is no mention of tion of Lyfimachus, and some others of
him, but of six other kings, with their like credit, * Tacitus may have borrowed
peculiar names ; whereas it is not pro- his in the fifth book of his histories. Mofi
bable he would have omitted the name of authors agree, that there arising a contagion
Mofes, is he had lived in that age, being a in Egypt, which defiled their bodies, king
name so famous,and so well known to them; Bocchoris, confulting the oracle of Hammon
and by ^Jofephus acknowledged, that the for remedy, was bid to purge his kingdom,
Egyptians accounted him to be an admirable and to carry that fort of men, as hated os
and divine man. The pursuing of them unto the gods, into other countries. Thence the
the confines of Syria, doth very well inti- vulgar fort being inquired after, and collet!ed
mate the following of the Israelites by Pha- together, after they had been lest in the deferts,
raoh and his host. For his terming them the reft being heavy with tears, Moses, one
a leprous and polluted people, we must o[ the banished men, admonished them, not ta
eonsider him to have been an Egyptian, expeel the help either of gods or men, being
and therefore not unlikely to throw as defined by both, but that they Jhould trusb
many aspersions as he could upon the Isi- to him as their captain fent from heaven, to
raelites,whom they deadly hated ; it may be, whofe asftftance by their giving credit at the
out of memory of their former plagues, firft, they had overcome their prefint cala-
e Manethos apud Joseph. lib. i. contra Apionem. f Tlktqv £1 rh av^a. Sciv[j.ctrbv y.h Aiyuwos,
Kai &£cv voyA^xtri. Joseph. lib. i. contra Apionem.
g Lib. i. contra Apionem. 'Xaipiy.cov'] k&i yd? xros K\yv7f\tctmv <pdo~K&v \soej-0-v o~vsy$d(peiv, x.eu •7r$oo~&£i
ravro ovoy.a,H sia<rt\ieo$, bVep oManQas 'AyAvatpiv, to k&i top vioi> avrlt 'VayAcnxw, 8cc.
h Lysimachus apud Joseph. lib. i. contra Apionem. 'Tim BoK-yh^u? 7H A]yv7rricvV ^Aaikiui rev Kctov tZv
lov^a'iuv AgTpou? ovjcts Kcti >\ufovs> >y alhha. votrn^a 7tvd l^ovjcts, «$• ret hpd Kctjci$ivyou]a( y.ijctt]eiis
T&iphv, &c.
j* Tacit. 1. j". Hist. Tlurimi auBores confentiunt, orta per JEgyptum ta.be qu& corpora fiedaret, regem Boccborirn?
adito Hammonis oraculo, remedium petentem, pur gar e regnum, & id genus homlnum ut invifum deis alias in terras
ayehere jujsum. Sic conquisitumcolleBumque vulgus, poftquamvaftis locis reliclum sit, ceteris per lacbrymas torpen-
tibus, Mosen unum exulum monuijse, ne quam deorum bominumve spem expeiiartnt ab utrisque deferti, fed sibirnet
ut duel ccelessi crederent, prime cujus auxilio credentes pr&sentes miserias pepulissent. Msfensire, atque omnium ignari
sortuitum iter incipiunt.
$ mities.