DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.6638#0029
phacusa, goshen, ramses.
19
Hence the land might well be called " the
Land of Eamses."
Two important questions next arise :—By
what name were Goshen and its environs known
before the time of Rameses II.; and does this
name appear in the lists of Seti I., which,
instead of the names of nomes, gives only the
names of canals or marsh-lands ? I believe it
is found in the lists of Abydos under the name
ot
the water of Ba; and
that we have proof of it in the Great Harris
Papyrus of the time of Rameses III. Enume-
rating the benefits which the king confers on
various localities, it mentions :—
1. " The cattle which he offered to his mother,
Bast, heads 1533.
2. The servants which he gave to the temple
of Bast, the lady of Bailos J <c==> j ^
?q in the water of Ba, 169.
/VWWA
/WWW AAWW
/WWW
A/WWA
\A/WW /WWW
/WWW
3. Thehouseof RamesesHikOn (RamesesIII.)
in the temple of Sutekh, in the house of Rameses
Mer-Amon (Rameses II.) (servants ?), 106."
Then comes (1. 4) the cattle consecrated to his
father, the god Horus of Athribis (Benha).
Bailos 1 has been identified by Brugsch with
Belbeis, which belonged to the land of Goshen.
We have seen how often the goddess Bast is
represented on the shrine of Nectanebo, which
shows that she was one of the principal divini-
ties of the country. The first line, in which the
king speaks of his mother Bast, refers most
likely to the great temple of Bubastis towards
the north. Line 4 mentions Athribis (Benha),
which bounded the district on the west, so that
our identification of "the water of Ra" with
Goshen, and of Bailos with Belbeis, would
meet the requirements of the text. Curiously
enough, this expression, " the water of Ba,"
might be the origin of the name of Ain Shems
before mentioned, and which later authors
unanimously apply to the city of Heliopolis on
1 See the Appendix,
account of the spring of Matarieh. It may be
that this identification of Ain Shems with
Heliopolis arose from the fact that the original
meaning of the expression was lost. The con-
fusion was, at all events, the more easy because
Heliopolis and Goshen are closely connected.
We have seen that the old list of nomes comes
to an end with the nome of Heliopolis ; but if
we examine the more recent lists, we find that
the marsh-land (Pehu) of Phacusa bears the
same name as the canal belonging to the Helio-
polite nome. The water of Phacusa came from
the canal of Heliopolis ; therefore the district
of Sopt must have been to a certain degree a
dependency of Heliopolis for so long as it was
not separately organized. This I believe to be
the reason why so many ancient writers, from
the Septuagint downwards, connect the site
occupied by the Israelites with Heliopolis.
In the meanwhile, it may be asked, Where
was the city of Ramses ? To that question I
am not as yet prepared to give a definite answer.
Is it Phacusa, where we found the colossal
statue of the king ? I am inclined to think so,
although the position of Phacusa does not
answer to the position of Ramses in the extract
made by Mr. Gamurrini from the before-men-
tioned Pilgrimage. The good woman relates
that on leaving Heroopolis she went to the land
of Goshen, which was sixteen miles distant,
and that she passed through Ramses, which was
only four miles distant from the capital of Arabia.
This city, which had been built by the Israelites
during their captivity, was then entirely de-
stroyed. She there beheld a great mass of
ruins, and amid them a large stone, like the
great stones of Thebes, on which were sculp-
tured two colossal figures. The people of the
place said that these figures represented Moses
and Aaron. There also she saw a small syca-
more-tree, said to have been planted by the
patriarchs, and called " the Tree of Truth."
This she was told by the Bishop of Arabia, who
came to meet her.
d 2
19
Hence the land might well be called " the
Land of Eamses."
Two important questions next arise :—By
what name were Goshen and its environs known
before the time of Rameses II.; and does this
name appear in the lists of Seti I., which,
instead of the names of nomes, gives only the
names of canals or marsh-lands ? I believe it
is found in the lists of Abydos under the name
ot
the water of Ba; and
that we have proof of it in the Great Harris
Papyrus of the time of Rameses III. Enume-
rating the benefits which the king confers on
various localities, it mentions :—
1. " The cattle which he offered to his mother,
Bast, heads 1533.
2. The servants which he gave to the temple
of Bast, the lady of Bailos J <c==> j ^
?q in the water of Ba, 169.
/VWWA
/WWW AAWW
/WWW
A/WWA
\A/WW /WWW
/WWW
3. Thehouseof RamesesHikOn (RamesesIII.)
in the temple of Sutekh, in the house of Rameses
Mer-Amon (Rameses II.) (servants ?), 106."
Then comes (1. 4) the cattle consecrated to his
father, the god Horus of Athribis (Benha).
Bailos 1 has been identified by Brugsch with
Belbeis, which belonged to the land of Goshen.
We have seen how often the goddess Bast is
represented on the shrine of Nectanebo, which
shows that she was one of the principal divini-
ties of the country. The first line, in which the
king speaks of his mother Bast, refers most
likely to the great temple of Bubastis towards
the north. Line 4 mentions Athribis (Benha),
which bounded the district on the west, so that
our identification of "the water of Ra" with
Goshen, and of Bailos with Belbeis, would
meet the requirements of the text. Curiously
enough, this expression, " the water of Ba,"
might be the origin of the name of Ain Shems
before mentioned, and which later authors
unanimously apply to the city of Heliopolis on
1 See the Appendix,
account of the spring of Matarieh. It may be
that this identification of Ain Shems with
Heliopolis arose from the fact that the original
meaning of the expression was lost. The con-
fusion was, at all events, the more easy because
Heliopolis and Goshen are closely connected.
We have seen that the old list of nomes comes
to an end with the nome of Heliopolis ; but if
we examine the more recent lists, we find that
the marsh-land (Pehu) of Phacusa bears the
same name as the canal belonging to the Helio-
polite nome. The water of Phacusa came from
the canal of Heliopolis ; therefore the district
of Sopt must have been to a certain degree a
dependency of Heliopolis for so long as it was
not separately organized. This I believe to be
the reason why so many ancient writers, from
the Septuagint downwards, connect the site
occupied by the Israelites with Heliopolis.
In the meanwhile, it may be asked, Where
was the city of Ramses ? To that question I
am not as yet prepared to give a definite answer.
Is it Phacusa, where we found the colossal
statue of the king ? I am inclined to think so,
although the position of Phacusa does not
answer to the position of Ramses in the extract
made by Mr. Gamurrini from the before-men-
tioned Pilgrimage. The good woman relates
that on leaving Heroopolis she went to the land
of Goshen, which was sixteen miles distant,
and that she passed through Ramses, which was
only four miles distant from the capital of Arabia.
This city, which had been built by the Israelites
during their captivity, was then entirely de-
stroyed. She there beheld a great mass of
ruins, and amid them a large stone, like the
great stones of Thebes, on which were sculp-
tured two colossal figures. The people of the
place said that these figures represented Moses
and Aaron. There also she saw a small syca-
more-tree, said to have been planted by the
patriarchs, and called " the Tree of Truth."
This she was told by the Bishop of Arabia, who
came to meet her.
d 2