DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14391#0022
8
STOKE-CITY OF PITHOM AXD
THE ROUTE OF THE EXODUS.
that the monument is dedicated. It is repeated
1. 7 and 15.
The territory of the nome called ^^<2S>
occurs twice on the statue of the recorder of
Pithom, in connexion with the god Turn,1
who is called lord of An. The same is said
of Hathor in two other inscriptions.2 The
boundaries of this region are not well marked.
Brugsch has recognized in it the Aseant men-
tioned by Pliny.3 The learned Roman says that
the Arabs call Aceant the Gulf of the Red Sea, on
which Heroopolis is built, a proof of a fact on
which we shall insist further, that the sea
extended very near Pithom.
The canal was called Kharma ; it is mentioned
twice on the tablet, following the name of
Pithom.4
The name of the marsh-land was g[gp ^«, the
lake of the scorpion. It occurs three times in
the tablet.5 I consider this marsh-land as being
the Bitter Lakes of Pliny, through which
Ptolemy had to dig his canal. Thus all the
names of the administrative divisions of the
nome have been discovered on the monuments
at Maskhutah. Besides, we saw in one of the
lists a mention of a locality near Pithom called
the abode of the serpent jJ^lJ^1- The
same name occurs several times in the great
tablet under the variant' form L^ f @ ,6
Pikerehet or PiJceheret.- it is a residence of
Osiris, or what the Greeks called a Serapeum.
Finally, we have seen that to the name of
Pithom is sometimes added /=~$ \ Q ° / at
the Eastern door. It occurs in two texts of
1 PI. IV., c, d.
2 PI. IX. 2, Pl. VII. a. 2.
•■< Plin. Hist. Nat. VI. 29, § 1G5.
4 Pi. IX. 10.
5 PI. IX. 10, pl. X. 19, 23.
6 Pl. Yin., pl. X. 2G, etc.
7 Duem. Geog. Inschr. I. pl. XCVIH. 12, II. pl.XXIX. 3.
Denderah, which are geographical invocations
to Osiris. The great tablet of Pithom teaches
us that the Eastern door. Bo ab, was dedicated
to Osiris, who is styled ^37 <y> |>, the lord of
Bo ab. Here, I believe, we have the Egyptian
equivalent of what the Greeks called Arabia.
It has been transcribed in Egyptian by two
words which have a certain likeness in sound
to the Semitic word. Herodotus8 mentions Pa-
tumos as a city of Arabia, JJoltov^o? 17 'Apafi'irj.
The Septuagint,9 mentioning the land of Go-
shen, call it Goshen of Arabia, recre/x 'Apa^ias.
Strabo speaks of Arabia as the land extending
between the Arabian Gulf and the JSTile. This
name, which was evidently imported from
abroad, means first a vague region which was
contiguous to Arabia proper, through which
the way lay to it, and which was very possibly
inhabited by a population of the same race.
The Greeks speak also of a nome of Arabia,
just as on the western side there was a nome
of Libya. The Arabian nome derived its name
from its vicinity to Arabia. We know that
its Egyptian name was Sopt; it ranks XXth
in the lists.
Thus we have found on the monuments of
Tell el Maskhutah all the names belonging to
the VIHth nome. We may therefore assert
without any hesitation that we know the site
of Pithom and the region of Succoth. Pithom
must not be looked for near Abu Hammed;
still less in the marshes of Lake Menzaleh. It
lies buried under the brow of Maskhutah, and
the enclosure, which still rises above the sand,
was the defence of the city, which was both a
storehouse and a fortress.
Pithom changed its name at the time of the
Greek dynasty. It became Heroopolis, which
the Romans abridged into Ero. This is most
decisively proved by one of the Latin inscrip-
tions found upon the spot. The stone on
8 II. 158. 9 Gen. xxxvi. 34.
STOKE-CITY OF PITHOM AXD
THE ROUTE OF THE EXODUS.
that the monument is dedicated. It is repeated
1. 7 and 15.
The territory of the nome called ^^<2S>
occurs twice on the statue of the recorder of
Pithom, in connexion with the god Turn,1
who is called lord of An. The same is said
of Hathor in two other inscriptions.2 The
boundaries of this region are not well marked.
Brugsch has recognized in it the Aseant men-
tioned by Pliny.3 The learned Roman says that
the Arabs call Aceant the Gulf of the Red Sea, on
which Heroopolis is built, a proof of a fact on
which we shall insist further, that the sea
extended very near Pithom.
The canal was called Kharma ; it is mentioned
twice on the tablet, following the name of
Pithom.4
The name of the marsh-land was g[gp ^«, the
lake of the scorpion. It occurs three times in
the tablet.5 I consider this marsh-land as being
the Bitter Lakes of Pliny, through which
Ptolemy had to dig his canal. Thus all the
names of the administrative divisions of the
nome have been discovered on the monuments
at Maskhutah. Besides, we saw in one of the
lists a mention of a locality near Pithom called
the abode of the serpent jJ^lJ^1- The
same name occurs several times in the great
tablet under the variant' form L^ f @ ,6
Pikerehet or PiJceheret.- it is a residence of
Osiris, or what the Greeks called a Serapeum.
Finally, we have seen that to the name of
Pithom is sometimes added /=~$ \ Q ° / at
the Eastern door. It occurs in two texts of
1 PI. IV., c, d.
2 PI. IX. 2, Pl. VII. a. 2.
•■< Plin. Hist. Nat. VI. 29, § 1G5.
4 Pi. IX. 10.
5 PI. IX. 10, pl. X. 19, 23.
6 Pl. Yin., pl. X. 2G, etc.
7 Duem. Geog. Inschr. I. pl. XCVIH. 12, II. pl.XXIX. 3.
Denderah, which are geographical invocations
to Osiris. The great tablet of Pithom teaches
us that the Eastern door. Bo ab, was dedicated
to Osiris, who is styled ^37 <y> |>, the lord of
Bo ab. Here, I believe, we have the Egyptian
equivalent of what the Greeks called Arabia.
It has been transcribed in Egyptian by two
words which have a certain likeness in sound
to the Semitic word. Herodotus8 mentions Pa-
tumos as a city of Arabia, JJoltov^o? 17 'Apafi'irj.
The Septuagint,9 mentioning the land of Go-
shen, call it Goshen of Arabia, recre/x 'Apa^ias.
Strabo speaks of Arabia as the land extending
between the Arabian Gulf and the JSTile. This
name, which was evidently imported from
abroad, means first a vague region which was
contiguous to Arabia proper, through which
the way lay to it, and which was very possibly
inhabited by a population of the same race.
The Greeks speak also of a nome of Arabia,
just as on the western side there was a nome
of Libya. The Arabian nome derived its name
from its vicinity to Arabia. We know that
its Egyptian name was Sopt; it ranks XXth
in the lists.
Thus we have found on the monuments of
Tell el Maskhutah all the names belonging to
the VIHth nome. We may therefore assert
without any hesitation that we know the site
of Pithom and the region of Succoth. Pithom
must not be looked for near Abu Hammed;
still less in the marshes of Lake Menzaleh. It
lies buried under the brow of Maskhutah, and
the enclosure, which still rises above the sand,
was the defence of the city, which was both a
storehouse and a fortress.
Pithom changed its name at the time of the
Greek dynasty. It became Heroopolis, which
the Romans abridged into Ero. This is most
decisively proved by one of the Latin inscrip-
tions found upon the spot. The stone on
8 II. 158. 9 Gen. xxxvi. 34.