9 O, Ra, come to the King! truly. He calls his body Osiris.

10 O, Ra, come to the King! truly. He sees him who is in the sarcophagus.

11 O, Ra, come to the King! truly. The rays of Aten(635) are upon his person.

12 O, Ra, come to the King! truly. He has taken the good ways.

13 O, Ra, come to the King! truly. He worships thy soul upon the horizon.

14 O, Ra, come to the King! truly. Thou speakest to him as to the god who is upon the ground.

15 O, Ra, come to the King! truly. He is one of thy Nine Gods.

CHAPTER IV

Section I

1 Thou art what he is, Ra, thou givest birth to the royal Osiris, thou makest him exist like thyself, god of the two horizons; the birth of Osiris is the birth of Ra in the Ament, and reciprocally; the birth of Osiris in the heavens is the birth of the soul of Ra in the heavens, and reciprocally; the life of Osiris is the life of Ra, and reciprocally; the development of his body is the development of Ra's body. Ra conceived, Tum gave birth to Osiris; it is the young Chepra; Nut brings Osiris into the world, she nourishes Osiris, like Ra's soul which issued from her.

2 O, Ra who art in the Ament ...(636) who art in the empyrean, deliver Osiris from thy conductors who separate souls from their bodies, the agile beings who move quickly in thy places of torment. May they never seize Osiris, may they never take him, may they never quicken their steps toward him, may they never put him in their places of torture, may they never cast their toils round him, may they never place him upon their altars, may he never tremble in the land of the condemned, may he never be lost in the Ament. He walks as the god of the horizon walks, he takes Ra's steps, he worships the god who is on the earth, he honors the mysterious bodies ...(637) they say to Osiris: Hu and Sa; they call him this, because he is like the spirit of Hu and Sa(638) in his creations; he makes the sacred tree grow he is not ignorant of it. There are cries of joy in the mysterious region, for Ra sets under the form of Osiris, and reciprocally. Rejoice, you the dead, render praises to Ra, and Ra renders praises to you. Ra comes forth from the cow Mehur,(639) he sets in Netur;(640) Osiris comes forth from Nehur like the sun, he sets in Netur like Temt. The name of the King is the name of Ra, Ammehur,(641) the setting of Osiris, it is his setting, Amnetur.(642)

3 The gods of the empyrean bless him, the hidden gods rejoice over him; they say to him: thy person is the god of the country of the dead, thy form is Teb Temt. The hidden gods speak to the royal Osiris, they rejoice on seeing him; (they say to him:) Hail, blessed and perfect one, who comest forth from Tonen, the god who destroys the forms; it is great, thy essence, spirit, shadow that no one destroys, that lives where you live. He knows the essences of the primitive beings, he knows the mysterious flames of the empyrean, for he attains to holy and mysterious things.

4 The two gods speak to the royal Osiris, they rejoice on seeing him, this blessed, perfect spirit; (they say to him:) This is one of us. The gods speak to the royal Osiris, they rejoice when they see him, him, the splendor of Ra, the splendor of the two goddesses that appears in Heset,(643) the supplicant Heset addresses the guardians who watch over the doors, who devour souls and who swallow the shades of the dead; when they approach them, they are led by them to the place of destruction: O guardians who watch over your doors, who swallow souls and devour the shades of the dead; when they approach you, you lead them to the place of destruction; Oh! allow this blessed this most holy spirit, to be in the dwelling of the Akher;(644) it is a spirit like Ra glorious like Osiris. This is what Heset the supplicant says before the royal Osiris.

5 O Heset, make him come, O Heset, guide the royal Osiris, O Heset open to him the empyrean, give him the lot of the god of the empyrean; he puts the veil nems(645) upon his head at the bottom of the dwelling of the Ament. Hail to thee, he has reached thee; Heset, guide him on the good way, he speaks to thee, he glorifies thee by his invocations, and thou rejoicest on seeing his spirit; Heset, the supplicant, open the doors which are in the empyrean, open his spheres to him, for the club is in the hand of Osiris, and he grasps his lance; his club strikes the enemies, and his lance destroys the rebels; his dwelling is that of the god of the two horizons; his throne is Ra's throne; for he is the Horus of the two horizons.(646) He is beautiful, this spirit, he is perfect, he is powerful in both his hands.

6 The two great gods speak to the royal Osiris; they rejoice on his account; they celebrate his victorious strength, they give him their protection, they send him their spirit of life; (they say to him:) He is brilliant like the spirit of the horizon that is the dwelling of Ra in the heavens;(647) they communicate their words to him, they give him the power by their authority. He opens the door of heaven and earth like his father Ra; a spirit shining in the place where they burn the offerings, in the arms of Osiris. The royal Osiris rests in the mysterious dwelling, he shines like the god of the luminary, the dwelling of Ra of the horizon.(648) The royal Osiris is Ra; and reciprocally, he is the spirit of Osiris, he rests (in him).

7 He reaches the gods of the pyramid; these latter praise him on seeing the happy arrival of Osiris; they address him as Ra of the horizon; praise be to Ra! cheers for the spirit of the horizon, praises to the spirit of Ra! Praise his spirit that inhabits the empyrean, invoke him who is in his disk, bear him to him who created you, carry him unto the pyramid, since you are the gods who accompany Ra Osiris. Here is Osiris, carry him into the hidden sanctuary of Osiris, the lord of years(649) who is under the care of the two Rehti. Carry him into the hidden dwelling where Osiris resides, carry him into the funeral monument which is in the Ament, the mysterious sanctuary of the god who is at rest; bear him, open your arms to him, stretch out your hands to him, take off your veils before him, for he is the great essence whom the dead spirits do not know; it is Ra, the god of the two horizons, and Osiris, the King of the Ament, who send him.

8 The royal Osiris is one of you, for his diadem is a vulture; his face is a sparrow-hawk, his head is Ra; his eyes are the Rehti, the two sisters; his nose is Horus of the empyrean; his mouth is the King of the Ament; his lungs are Nun; his two hands are the god Secheni;(650) his fingers are the gods who seize him; his body is Chepra; his heart is Horus, the creator; his chest is the goddess of life; his spleen is the god Fenti;(651) his lungs are the goddess Heti; his stomach is Apu; his intestines, the god with the mysterious names;(652) his back is the corpse-god; his elbows are Makati; the nape of his neck, Horus Thoth; his lips Mehur; his phallus is Tonen;(653) ...(654) the goddess of Cher; ...(655) the two hidden gods; his sitting posture the two goddesses; his legs, he who traverses the hidden places; his shin-bones are uraeus. His members are gods, he is throughout a god, no one of his members is without a god, the gods are of his substance. The royal Osiris is an intelligent essence, his members guide him, his flesh opens the way to him, those who are born of him create him, they rest when they have given birth to him. The royal Osiris is he who gives them birth, it is he who begets them, it is he who makes them exist; his birth is that of Ra in the Ament, Ra gives birth to the royal Osiris, he causes his own birth.

Section II

1 O Ra, open to his spirit, for the royal Osiris knows what there is in the empyrean, he is the great mummy, Osiris, the King of the Ament; he is Osiris, he is perfect like Osiris, he is blessed like Osiris, his club is that of Osiris, his sword is that of Chentament, his sceptre is that of Sahou, he is the great one, the King of the blessed, for he is the original one, he who knows the mysteries, the greatest of the holy ones in the empyrean. He is happy, the spirit Keschi who makes his own law in the Ament, he speaks to what is born of him,(656) Osiris Chentament.

2 Hail to thee, inhabitant of the empyrean, praised be what is in thee; hail to thee, inhabitant of the empyrean, the weeping gods cut their hair in honor of thee, they clap their hands, they revere thee, they weep before thee, thy spirit rejoices in their fear, thy body is blessed.

3 Hail to thee, inhabitant of the empyrean, god seated upon his throne, who boldest the sceptre hik,(657) King of the empyrean, Prince of the Aker, great Prince crowned with the urer,(658) great god who hides his dwelling, Lord of wisdom, Chief of the powers.

4 Hail to the inhabitant of the empyrean, thy son Horus rests in thee, thou communicatest thy orders to him, thou permittest him to shine like An of the empyrean, the great star who creates his names,(659) who knows the empyrean and who traverses the interior of it, he, the son of Ra, proceeding from Tum. The royal Osiris is thy son, thou communicatest thy orders to him, thou permittest him to shine like An of the heavens, the great star who creates his names,(660) who knows the empyrean and who traverses the interior of it, he the son of Ra, proceeding from Tum. He rests in the empyrean, he rejoices in the dusk, he enters in there and comes forth, the arms of Tonen receive him, the blessed lift him, they stretch out their hands toward him, the ...(661) guide him. Praise him ye blessed, exalt the royal Osiris, ye blessed! Rejoice over him, as over Ra, extol him like Osiris, he has placed your offerings before you, he accords you the favor of receiving your portion as his father Ra commanded. He is his darling, he is his descendant upon the earth, and the blessed show him the way. Let him arrive in the empyrean, and let him penetrate into the good Ament. The royal Osiris fixes the crown upon the head of Osiris, he offers his casket to Seb, he presents Sah with the sceptre, he gives the royal diadem to him whose name is Ammon.

5 Look at him, ye blessed, let him receive a perfect intelligence, let him shine like the god of mysteries, deliver him from the gods of the pillory who fasten to their posts. May they never bind Osiris to their posts, may they never put him in the place of destruction, for he is the descendant of Osiris who permits him to receive the diadem in the empyrean.

6 He is sublime, the spirit of Ra in the Ament, his body is blessed there, the spirits rejoice when they develop their forms in the zones of the empyrean, before the soul of Ra, the inhabitant of the empyrean, and Teb Temt who rests in his covering. Hail, yes, hail! Hail spirit of Ra, hail, spirit of the royal Osiris like Temt! Hail, royal Osiris who art Ra, and reciprocally! O Temt who art Ra, and reciprocally, hail!

7 The royal Osiris is one of you. He gives birth to you, he gives you your names, he makes you perfect; ha! he sends his body into you; ha! he is your creator. Look at him, he shines like him who proceeds from you; he honors his father, perfect, blessed, blessing his mother; look at him, make his essence sublime and make him like him who destroys his forms;(662) show the way to his spirit, set him upon your pedestals, make him rest in his members, show him his dwelling in the midst of the earth, open your doors to him, unfasten the bolt.

8 O Ra, O Teb-Temt, guide the royal Osiris following the direction of the spirits, following the course of the gods. The royal Osiris is in his gateway (in presence of the) navigating gods; the royal Osiris is the only one, the guardian of his doors, he who puts the gods in their places. He is upon his pedestal in the empyrean, he is the possessor in the midst of the possessors, he is at the extremities of the empyrean, he is blessed in the infernal regions. He rests in the Ament among the spirits who are in the members of the Ament. The royal Osiris is Ra's darling, he is the mysterious phoenix, he enters in peace into the empyrean, he leaves Nut in peace; the royal Osiris has his throne in heaven, he traverses the horizons in Ra's train, he is at peace in the heavens, in Ra's fields, his share is upon the horizon in the fields of Aalu; he traverses the earth like Ra, he is wise like Thoth, he walks at will, he hastens in his course, like Sahu with the mysterious names, who becomes two divinities. The royal Osiris becomes two divinities. What Ra produces, the royal Osiris produces; he gives a spiritual existence to what he loves; he does not give it to what he hates. The royal Osiris is the Chief of the gods who make offerings to the spirits, he is powerful in his course, he is the courageous being who strikes his enemies.

9 O ye gods, O ye blessed who precede Ra and who escort his spirit, do to the royal Osiris as to Ra, tow him with you in the same way that you conduct Ra and the two navigating gods in the heavens; the royal Osiris is Ra himself, and reciprocally; he is the Chief of his worshippers who gives life to the forms.

Section III

1 O Ament, O Ament, O good, O good, O strong, O strong, O powerful, O powerful, O protecting, O protecting, O mysterious, O mysterious (Ament), the royal Osiris knows thee, he knows thy form, he knows the name of thy companions. Ament, hide my corpse, good Ament, hide my body. O resting-place, let me rest in thee; O strong one, may the royal Osiris be strong with thy strength; O powerful one, may he be powerful with thy power! O Ament, open thy arms to him; O protectress, cover his body; O mysterious being, stretch out thy hand to him. Hail, holy Ament of Osiris with the mysterious names, the most holy of the gods, thou who art the most hidden of all mysteries. Hail! the royal Osiris worships thee; he addresses the great god who is within thee. Hail! he worships thee; open thy mysterious doors to him. Hail! he worships thee; (open to him) thy hidden spheres, for he has his dwelling in the heavens like Ra, and his throne is upon the earth like Seb; he is seated upon the throne of Seb, upon the seats of Horchuti; his spirit soars into the heavens, it rests there; his body descends to the earth in the midst of the gods. He walks with Ra, he follows Tum, he is like Chepra, he lives as thou livest in truth.

2 When this book is read he who reads it purifies himself at the hour when Ra sets, who rests in the Ament of the Ament, when Ra is in the midst of hidden things, completely.



The Book Of Respirations

Translated by P. J. De Horrack

The manuscript a translation of which here follows belongs to the Museum of the Louvre, in Paris, where it is registered under the No. 3284 (Deveria, Catalogue des MS. egypt., p. 132). It probably dates from the epoch of the Ptolemies. It is in hieratic writing and generally known by the name of "Book of Respirations" or "Book of the Breaths of Life," according to Mr. Le Page Renouf's ingenious interpretation. This book seems to have been deposited exclusively with the mummies of the priests and priestesses of the god Ammon-Ra, if we may judge from the titles inserted into the manuscripts.

Dr. Brugsch, in 1851, first directed the attention of Egyptologists to this curious work, by publishing a transcription in hieroglyphics of a hieratic text in the Berlin Museum, with a Latin translation, under the title of "Shai an Sinsin, sive liber Metempsychosis," etc. He added to this a copy of a hieratic text of the same book found in Denon ("Voyage en Egypte," pl. 136).

A full analysis of this literary composition has also been given by Dr. Samuel Birch, in his Introduction to the "Rhind Papyri," London, 1863.

The Paris manuscript is as yet unpublished, but a copy of it will be produced ere long by the present translator. A few passages corrupted by the ancient scribe have been restored from copies of the same text, which are in the Egyptian Museum of the Louvre.

The "Book of Respirations" has a great analogy with that of the "Lamentations of Isis and Nephthys." It not only makes allusion to the formulae and acts by means of which the resurrection is effected, but also treats of the life after death, thus greatly increasing our knowledge of the religious system of the ancient Egyptians.

THE BOOK OF RESPIRATIONS

1 Commencement of the Book of Respirations made by Isis for her brother Osiris, to give life to his soul, to give life to his body, to rejuvenate all his members anew; that he may reach the horizon with his father, the Sun; that his soul may rise to Heaven in the disk of the Moon; that his body may shine in the stars of Orion on the bosom of Nu-t;(663) in order that this may also happen to the Osiris, divine Father, Prophet of Ammon-Ra, King of the gods, Prophet of Khem, of Ammon-Ra, bull of his mother, in his great abode, Asar-aau, justified, Son of the Prophet of the same order, Nes-paut-ta-ti, justified, Conceal (it), conceal (it)! Let it not be read by anyone. It is profitable to the person who is in the divine Nether-World. He liveth in reality millions of times anew.

2 Words spoken: Hail to the Osiris N!(664) thou art pure; thy heart is pure, thy fore-part is purified, thy hind-part is cleansed, thy middle is in Bat(665) and natron. No member in thee is faulty. The Osiris N is (made) pure by the lotions from the Fields of Peace, at the North of the Fields of Sanehem-u.(666) The goddesses Uati (and) Suben have purified thee at the eighth hour of the night and at the eighth hour of the day. Come Osiris N! Thou dost enter the Hall of the Two Goddesses of Truth. Thou art purified of all sin, of all crime. Stone of Truth is thy name.

3 Hail to the Osiris N! Thou, being very pure, dost enter the Lower Heaven. The Two goddesses of Justice have purified thee in the Great Hall. A purification hath been made to thee in the Hall of Seb. Thy members have been purified in the Hall of Shu.(667) Thou seest Ra in his setting, (as) Atum(668) in the evening. Ammon is near to thee, to give thee breath, Ptah, to form thy members. Thou dost enter the horizon with the Sun. Thy soul is received in the bark Neshem(669) with Osiris. Thy soul is divinized in the Hall of Seb. Thou art justified forever and ever.

4 Hail to the Osiris N! Thine individuality is permanent. Thy body is durable. Thy mummy doth germinate. Thou art not repulsed from heaven, (neither from) earth. Thy face is illuminated near the Sun. Thy soul liveth near to Ammon. Thy body is rejuvenated near to Osiris. Thou dost breathe forever and ever.

5 Thy soul maketh thee offerings, each day, of bread, of drinks, of oxen, of geese, of fresh water, of condiments. Thou comest to justify it. Thy flesh is on thy bones, like unto thy form on earth. Thou dost imbibe into thy body. Thou eatest with thy mouth. Thou receivest bread, with the souls of the gods. Anubis doth guard thee. He is thy protection. Thou art not repulsed from the gates of the Lower Heaven. Thoth, the doubly great, the Lord of Sesennu, cometh to thee. He writeth for thee the Book of Respirations, with his own fingers. Thy soul doth breathe forever and ever. Thou dost renew thy form on earth, among the living. Thou art divinized with the souls of the gods. Thy heart is the heart of Ra Thy members are the members of the great god.(670) Thou livest forever and ever.

6 Hail to the Osiris N! Ammon is with thee each day to render thee life. Apheru openeth to thee the right way. Thou seest with thine eyes; thou hearest with thine ears; thou speakest with thy mouth; thou walkest with thy legs. Thy soul is divinized in Heaven, to make all the transformations it desireth. Thou makest the joy of the sacred Persea in An. Thou awakenest each day. Thou seest the rays of Ra. Ammon cometh to thee with the breath of life. He granteth to thee to breathe in thy coffin. Thou comest on earth each day, the Book of Respirations of Thoth being thy protection. Thou breathest by it each day. Thine eyes behold the rays of the disk. Truth is spoken to thee before Osiris. The formulae of justification are on thy body. Horus, the defender of his father, protecteth thy body. He divinizeth thy soul as well as (those) of all the gods. The soul of Ra giveth life to thy soul. The soul of Shu filleth thy respiratory organs with soft breath.(671)

7 Hail to the Osiris N! Thy soul doth breathe in the place thou lovest. Thou art in the dwelling of Osiris, who resideth in the West. Thy person is most pure. Thou dost arrive in Abydos. He (Osiris) filleth thy dwelling Hotep with provisions.

8 Hail to the Osiris N! The gods of all Egypt come to thee. Thou art guided toward the end of centuries. Thy soul liveth. Thou dost follow Osiris. Thou breathest in Rusta. Secret care is taken of thee by the Lord of Sati(672) and by the great god.(673) Thy body liveth in Tattu (and in) Nifur. Thy soul liveth in Heaven forever.

9 Hail to the Osiris N! Sechet prevaileth against what is injurious to thee. Har-aa-hetu taketh care of thee. Har-shet doth form thy heart. Har-maa doth guard thy body. Thou continuest in life, health (and) strength. Thou art established upon thy throne in Ta-ser. Come, Osiris N! Thou appearest in thy form. Strengthened by thine ornaments(674) thou art prepared for life. Thou remainest in a healthful state; thou walkest, thou breathest everywhere.(675) The Sun doth rise upon thine abode. Like unto Osiris, thou breathest, thou livest by his rays. Ammon-Ra giveth life to thee. He doth enlighten thee by the Book of Respirations. Thou dost follow Osiris and Horus, Lord of the sacred bark. Thou art as the greatest of the gods among the gods. Thy beautiful face liveth (in) thy children. Thy name doth always prosper. Come to the great temple in Tattu. Thou wilt see him who resideth in the West, in the Ka-festival. Delicious is thy perfume as that of the blessed; great thy name among the elect.

10 Hail to the Osiris N! Thy soul liveth by the Book of Respirations. Thou unitest thyself to the Book of Respirations. Thou dost enter the Lower Heaven; thine enemies are not (there). Thou art a divine soul in Tattu.(676) Thy heart is thine; it is (no longer) separated from thee. Thine eyes are thine; they open each day. 11a Words spoken by the gods who accompany Osiris, to the Osiris N: Thou dost follow Ra. Thou dost follow Osiris. Thy soul livest forever and ever.

11b Words spoken by the gods who dwell in the Lower Heaven (like) Osiris of the West, to the Osiris N: Let them open to him at the gates of the Lower Heaven. He is received(677) in the divine Nether-World, that his soul may live forever. He buildeth a dwelling in the divine Nether-World. He is rewarded.(678) He hath received the Book of Respirations, that he may breathe.

12 Royal offering to Osiris who resideth in the West, great god, Lord of Abydos, that he may give offerings of bread, of hak, of oxen, of geese, of wine, of the liquor aket, of bread Hotep, of good provisions of all kinds, to the Osiris N. Thy soul liveth. Thy body doth germinate, by order of Ra himself, without pain, without injury, like unto Ra forever and ever.

13 O Strider, coming out of An,(679) the Osiris N hath not committed any sin. O Mighty of the Moment, coming out of Kerau, the Osiris N hath not done any evil. O Nostril, coming out of Sesennu,(680) the Osiris N hath not been exacting. O Devourer of the Eye, coming out of Kerti, the Osiris N hath not obtained anything by theft. O Impure of visage, coming out of Rusta, the Osiris N hath not been angry. O Lion-gods, coming forth from heaven, the Osiris N hath not committed any sin by reason of hardness of heart(?) O Fiery-Eyed, coming out of Sechem, the Osiris N hath not been weak.

14 O ye gods who dwell in the Lower Heaven, hearken unto the voice of Osiris N. He is near unto you. There is no fault in him. No informer riseth up against him. He liveth in the truth. He doth nourish himself with truth. The gods are satisfied with all that he hath done. He hath given food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, clothes to the naked. He hath given the sacred food to the gods, The funeral repasts to the pure Spirits. No complaint hath been made against him before any of the gods. Let him enter (then) into the Lower Heaven without being repulsed. Let him follow Osiris, with the gods of Kerti. He is favored among the faithful,(681) (and) divinized among the perfected. Let him live! Let his soul live! His soul is received wherever it willeth. (He) hath received the Book of Respirations, that he may breathe with his soul, (with) that of the Lower Heaven, and that he may make any transformation at his will, like (the inhabitants) of the West;(682) that his soul may go wherever it desireth, living on the earth forever and ever.

He is towed (like) Osiris into the Great Pool of Khons. When he has retaken possession of his heart(683) the Book of Respirations is concealed in (the coffin). It is (covered) with writing upon Suten, both inside and outside (and) placed underneath his left arm, evenly with his heart;... When the Book has been made for him then he breathes with the souls of the gods forever and ever.(684)

It is finished.



THE EPIC OF PENTA-OUR

Translated by C. W. Goodwin, M.A.

The commencement of the epic of Penta-our is wanting in the papyrus, and the end is also defective, but the date of the composition and the name of the writer have fortunately escaped. It appears to have been written in the ninth year of the King whose valor it celebrates. Champollion saw this papyrus, and had formed some notion of the nature of its contents, but to M. de Rouge belongs the honor of having first given a complete translation of it. This was published in the "Revue Contemporaine," 1856, p. 389. The scene of the exploit lies in the neighborhood of the city of Katesh,(685) the capital of the Hittites, which stood on the banks of a river named Anrata (or Aranta, as it is sometimes written), perhaps the Syrian Orontes. It appears, from the sculptures and inscriptions of Ibsamboul and the Theban Ramesseum, that Rameses II, in the fifth year of his reign, made an expedition into Asia to suppress a revolt of the Asiatic tribes headed by the Prince of Heth. Arrived near Katesh, upon the south side of the city, certain wandering Arabs came to inform him that the forces of the Hittites had retired toward the south, to the land of the Khirbou. These Arabs were, however, in the service of the enemy, and were sent with the intention of entrapping the Egyptians, the fact being that the Hittites and their allies were assembled in force to the north of the town. Rameses fell into the trap, and advanced to the northwest of Katesh while the body of his army proceeded to the south. Shortly after two Hittite spies were caught and brought to the King, and under the pressure of the bastonnade, confessed the true state of the affair. The prince of the Hittites had in the meantime executed a movement to the south of the city, and thus the King was cut off from the body of his troops, and only escaped destruction by the dashing exploit which his admiring subjects seem to have been never weary of commemorating, and which furnished Penta-our, the court poet, with a brilliant theme. A few extracts from the recital shall be given, based upon M. de Rouge's version, from which I venture in a few respects to deviate. The papyrus begins in the middle of a sentence, at the moment when the King had discovered his mistake.

"[The Prince of] Heth advanced with men and horses well armed [or full of provender?]: there were three men to each chariot.(686) There were gathered together all the swiftest men of the land of the vile Hittites, all furnished with arms ... and waited stealthily to the northwest of the fortress of Katesh. Then they fell upon the bowmen of Pharaoh, into the middle of them, as they marched along and did not expect a battle. The bowmen and the horsemen of his Majesty gave way before them. Behold they were near to Katesh, on the west bank of the river Anrata. Then was [fulfilled?] the saying of his Majesty. Then his Majesty, rising up like the god Mentou [Mars], undertook to lead on the attack. He seized his arms—he was like Bar [Baal] in his hour. The great horse which drew his Majesty his name was Nekhtou-em-Djom, of the stud of Rameses-Meiamen ... His Majesty halted when he came up to the enemy, the vile Hittites. He was alone by himself—there was no other with him in this sortie. His Majesty looked behind him and saw that he was intercepted by 2,500 horsemen in the way he had to go, by all the fleetest men of the prince of the base Hittites, and of many lands which were with him—of Artou [Aradus], of Maausou, of Patasa, of Kashkash, of Aroun, of Kadjawatana, of Khirbou, of Aktra, Katesh, and Raka. There were three men to each chariot, they were ... but there were neither captains, nor squires, nor leaders of bowmen, nor skirmishers [with the King], 'My archers and my horsemen forsook me, not one of them remained to fight with me.' Then said his Majesty, 'Where art thou now, my father Amen? Behold, does a father forget his son? But do I confide in my own strength? Walking or standing, is not my face toward thee? Do I not inquire the counsels of thy mouth? Do I not seek for thy mighty counsels, O thou great lord of Egypt, at whose approach the oppressors of the land are scattered? What now is the hope of these Aamou? Amen shall abase those who know not god. Have I not made for thee many and great buildings of stone? have I not filled thy temple with my spoils, building for thee a temple to last myriads of years? ... The whole earth unites to bring thee offerings ... [to enrich] thy domain. I have sacrificed to thee 30,000 oxen, with all kinds of sweet-scented herbs. Have I not put behind me those who do not thy will? ... I have built thee a house of great stones, erecting for thee eternal groves; I have brought for thee obelisks from Abou [Elephantine]; I have caused the everlasting stones to be fetched, launching for thee boats upon the sea, importing for thee the manufactures of the lands. When was it ever before said that such a thing was done? Confounded is every one who resists thy designs; blessed is every one who obeys thee, O Amen. That which thou doest is dear to my heart[?] I cry to thee, my father, Amen. I am in the midst of many unknown people gathered together from all lands. But I am alone by myself; there is none other with me. My bowmen and my horsemen have forsaken me; they were afraid; not one of them listened when I cried to them. Amen is more helpful to me than myriads of bowmen, than millions of horsemen, than tens of thousands of chosen youths, though they be all gathered together in one place. The arts of men prevail not, Amen is more powerful than they; they follow not the commands of thy mouth, O sun! Have I not sought out thy commands? have I not invoked thee from the ends of the earth?' "

This invocation is heard, and the King proceeds to make a vigorous charge against the enemy, who are scattered in all directions. The prince of the Hittites rallies, and succeeds in bringing them again to the combat, but they are repulsed by the King. It will be observed that sometimes the writer himself speaks, but generally the narrative is put into the mouth of the King—a poetical artifice which gives a certain liveliness to the composition—

" 'I ran toward them, like the god Mentou, I fleshed my hand upon them in the space of a moment[?]. I smote them, I slew them, so that one of them cried to another, saying, "It is no man" [superhuman]. Mighty was he who was among them, Soutech, the most glorious. Baal was in my limbs; why was every enemy weak? his hand was in all my limbs. They knew not how to hold the bow and the spear. As soon as they saw him, they fled far away with speed, but his Majesty was upon them like a greyhound. He slew them, so that they escaped not.' "

The King's squire or armor-bearer is seized with terror, and conjures his master to fly. The King comforts him; and after charging the enemy six times, returns victorious from the field. Rameses, on rejoining his troops, addresses a long tirade to his captains upon their cowardice, and enlarges upon his own valor without any modest scruples. In the evening the rest of the troops came dropping in, and were surprised to find the whole country strewed with the bodies of the dead. The whole army joins in singing the praises of the courageous leader—

" 'Hail to the sword, thanks to the bold warrior, strengthener of hearts, who deliverest thy bowmen and thy horsemen, son of Toum, subduing the land of the Hittites with thy victorious sword. Thou art King of victories; there is none like thee, a King fighting for his soldiers in the day of battle. Thou art magnanimous, the first in battle. The whole world joined together cannot resist thee. Thou art the mighty conqueror, in the face of thy army. The whole earth falls down before thee saying homage. Thou rulest Egypt, thou chastisest the foreigners, thou crushest, thou bowest the back of these Hittites forever.' Then said his Majesty to his bowmen and his horsemen, likewise his captains, 'Ye who did not fight, behold none of you have done well, in that ye left me alone among the enemy. The captains of the vanguard, the sergeants of the infantry, came not to help me. I fought against the myriads of the land alone. I had the horses Nechtou-em-Djom and Becht-herouta; they were obedient to the guidance of my hand, when I was alone by myself in the midst of the enemy. Therefore I grant to them to eat their corn in the presence of Ra continually, when I am in the gate of the palace, on account of their having been found in the midst of the enemy: and as for the armor-bearer who remained with me, I bestow upon him my arms, together with the things which were upon me, the habiliments of war.' Behold his Majesty wore them in his great victory, overthrowing myriads assembled together with his conquering sword."

The battle is renewed the next day, and the Hittites are thoroughly routed. An envoy from the chief is now announced, suing for mercy. Rameses acts the part of a magnanimous conqueror, and grants pardon to the repentant rebels. He then returns peaceably to Egypt, leaving the terror of his arms in all the countries of the East.

At the end of the last page of the manuscript are the date and dedication, unfortunately somewhat mutilated. The writer Penta-our dedicates it, not to the King, but to a chief librarian, probably Amen-em-an, with whom he carried on a correspondence. This poem was so highly appreciated by the King that he caused it to be engraved in hieroglyphics upon the walls of one of his palaces, where some remains of it may be still seen. If the date be correctly read, it would appear to have been written four years after the event it celebrates, and, notwithstanding the exaggerated style of adulation which pervades it, there can be little doubt that some such occurrence as that which it represents really took place.



FOOTNOTES

1 I.e., the mountain of sunset.

2 I.e., Maat.

3 The following petition, "Oh, grant thou unto me a path," etc., is written once only, and at the end of the Litany, but I think it is clear that it was intended to be repeated after each of the nine addresses. This is proved by the Saite Recension (see Lepsius, op. cit, Bl. 5) where the words, "Grant thou the sweet breath of the north wind to the Osiris Auf-ankh," are written in two places and are intended to be said after each of the ten addresses above them.

4 I.e., "the place where nothing groweth," the name of a district in the underworld.

5 The name of the sanctuary of the goddess Nekhebet in Upper Egypt, the Eileithyiapolis of the Greeks.

6 I.e., the two lands Atebui, which were situated one on each side of the celestial Nile.

7 I.e., the land on each side of the Red Sea and on the coast of Africa.

8 I.e., "Lady of life," a name of Isis.

9 I.e., the mountain of the sunset.

10 I.e., the mountain of the sunset.

11 I.e., An-rut-f, the place where nothing groweth.

12 I.e., the mountain of sunrise, but the scribe appears to have written "Baakha" instead of "Manu."

13 I.e., the Sun and the Moon.

14 I.e., the Sun and Moon.

15 I.e., the dead.

16 The name of the deceased is wanting.

17 I.e., "Osiris, Governor of Amentet."

18 Pe and Tepu were two famous sanctuaries of northern Egypt.

19 I.e., An-rut-f.

20 "Ab" is undoubtedly the "heart," and "hat" is the region wherein is the heart; the word may be fairly well rendered by "breast," though the pericardium is probably intended.

21 "Erpat," i.e., "tribal chief."

22 The Papyrus of Mes-em-neter (Naville, "Todtenbuch," Bd. II. p. 92) adds: "His heart goeth forth to take up its abode in his body, his heart is renewed before the gods, and he hath gained the mastery over it."

23 The words within brackets are from the Papyrus of Mes-em-neter.

24 I.e., the god of the "Large Face."

25 I.e., the deceased.

26 The words within brackets are translated from the Papyrus of Nebseni (sheet 4).

27 I.e., Mycerinus, a king of the fourth dynasty.

28 I.e., "He of two teeth" (or two horns); the Saite Recension (Lepsius, op. cit., Bl. 16) reads "Bent," i.e., "ape."

29 I.e., "Thy face is of right and truth."

30 We should probably add the word "tep" and read "Tep tu-f," "He that is upon his hill," i.e., Anubis.

31 The Theban texts mention four crocodiles only.

32 So far back as 1867 the late Dr. Birch identified the animal "maftet" with the lynx.

33 Read, "the lord of the city of Shennu" i.e., of Kom Ombos.

34 Or, "I report [my] message to Nebes" (or Nebses).

35 The two opponent goddesses, or Isis and Nephthys(?).

36 These words are from the Papyrus of Ra.

37 The words within brackets are supplied from the Papyrus of Mes-em-neter.

38 I.e., The "land of cold and refreshing water."

39 Literally, "eat."

40 A king of the first dynasty. See also the rubric to the longer version of the 64th from the Papyrus of Nu, infra, p. 47.

41 These words are added from the Papyrus of Nebseni.

42 From the Papyrus of Nu, sheet 13.

43 From Papyrus of Nu, sheet 21.

44 He was the son of Cheops, the builder of the Great Pyramid at Gizeh.

45 Here follows the text of Chapter of "Preserving the Heart," page 25.

46 I.e., the souls of Horus and Ra.

47 This Rubric is taken from the Papyrus of Thenna (see Naville, op. cit., Bd. II. p. 153).

48 From the Papyrus of Ani (Brit. Mus. No. 10,470, sheet 6).

49 The words in brackets are supplied from Naville, op. cit., Bd. II. p. 158.

50 Literally, "Thou hast given unto me."

51 The variants are Aahet At, Aahet Ateh, and one papyrus gives the words, "I am the great god"; see Naville, op. cit., Bd. II. p. 167.

52 Literally, "I flew."

53 I believe that "Turtle" is the correct translation.

54 Literally, "dilated with years."

55 Added from the Papyrus of Nebseni.

56 Added from the Papyrus of Nebseni.

57 The Papyrus of Nebseni has, "make thou me to see my soul and my shade."

58 This rubric is taken from the Papyrus of Ani, sheet 17.

59 The Papyrus of Ani contains what are, apparently, two versions of this chapter.

60 I.e., the "Governor of Amenti," or Osiris.

61 This title is taken from the Saite Recension.

62 I.e., the four pillars at the south, north, west, and east of heaven upon which the heavens were believed to rest.

63 In the Saite Recension this chapter is about twice as long as it is in the Theban Recension.

64 The words in brackets are from the Papyrus of Nebseni.

65 Or, "I am at peace with the god of the city."

66 I.e., "Existence in Peace," the name of the first large section of the Elysian Fields.

67 The name of a pool in the second section of the Elysian Fields.

68 The name of a pool in the first section of the Elysian Fields.

69 The name of a pool in the second section of the Elysian Fields.

70 The name of a district in the third section of the Elysian Fields.

71 The name of a pool in the first section of the Elysian Fields.

72 The name of a pool in the third section of the Elysian Fields.

73 The name of a pool in the third section of the Elysian Fields.

74 A name of the city of Mendes, the metropolis of the sixteenth nome of Lower Egypt.

75 I.e., he lost his temper and raged.

76 I.e., Cusae, the metropolis of the fourteenth nome of Upper Egypt.

77 The words in brackets are from the Papyrus of Neb-qet (sheet 3).

78 A fuller title of this chapter is, "The Chapter of knowing the name of Osiris, and of going into and of coming forth from Re-stau."

79 For the text see Naville, op. cit., Bd. I. Bl. 130.

80 The words in brackets are from the Papyrus of Amen-em-heb. See Naville, op. cit., Bd. II. p. 267.

81 The Papyrus of Mes-em-neter adds, "bringing right unto thee the divine being who loveth her."

82 I.e., Heliopolis, Mendes or Busiris, Heracleopolis, Abydos, Panopolis, and Sennu (a city near Panopolis).

83 The words in brackets are from the Saite Recension (see Lepsius, op. cit., Bl. 46).

84 I.e., the "Land of the inundation," a name of Egypt.

85 In other papyri this chapter is called: (1) "The Chapter of going into the Hall of double Maati;" (2) "The Chapter of [the Hall of] double Maati and of knowing what is therein;" and (3) "The Book of entering into the Hall of double Maati." See Naville, op. cit., Bd. II. p. 275.

86 Variant, "I have not caused misery, I have not caused affliction."

87 The words in brackets are added from the Papyrus of Amen-neb (Brit. Mus. No. 9,964). See Naville, op. cit., Bd. II. p. 282.

88 Variant, "I have not defrauded the gods of their chosen meat offerings."

89 I.e., the month called by the Copts Mekhir, the sixth month of the Egyptian year.

90 These words are added from the Papyrus of Nebseni.

91 These words are added from the Papyrus of Ani.

92 A city near Memphis.

93 The "Qerti," or caverns out of which flowed the Nile, were thought to be situated between Aswan and Philae.

94 Variant, Neha-hra.

95 Variant, "like fire."

96 I.e., the ninth nome of Lower Egypt, the capital of which was Per-Ausar or Busiris.

97 The "City of the Sycamore," a name of a city of Upper Egypt.

98 The thirteenth nome of Lower Egypt.

99 The metropolis of the nineteenth nome of Upper Egypt.

100 I.e., "lost my temper and become angry."

101 These words are added from Brit. Mus. No. 9,905. Other papyri introduce the address with the words: (1) "To be said when [the deceased] cometh forth victorious from the Hall of double Maati;" (2) "To be said when he cometh forth to the gods of the underworld;" (3) "The words which [are to be said] after the Hall of double Maaati."

102 The ordinary reading is, "For I have heard the word which was spoken by the Ass with the Cat."

103 A people who dwelt, probably, on the northeast frontier of Egypt, and who have been by some identified with the Phoenicians.

104 These words are added from the Papyrus of Nebseni.

105 The Papyrus of Nu continues: " 'I will not open unto thee and I will not let thee pass by me,' saith the Guardian of this door, 'unless thou tellest [me] my name'; 'Ox of Seb' is thy name." See above, l. 30.

106 Here the Papyrus repeats a passage given above.

107 The words "sema-kua" are superfluous.

108 After "Osiris" a Paris papyrus adds, "He shall come forth in whatsoever form he is pleased to appear as a living soul forever and ever."

109 This chapter has no title either in the Theban or in the Saite Recension.

110 The words in brackets are added from Brit. Mus. No. 9,913.

111 I.e., districts or divisions of the underworld.

112 A name of the city of Abydos.

113 "The Book of making the soul to live forever. [To be recited] on the day of embarking in the boat of Ra to pass over to the chiefs of flame." See Naville, op. cit., Bd. II. p. 338.

114 Read "Shu" instead of "maat."

115 Or, "images."

116 Or, "The chapter of making the way into heaven nigh unto Ra."

117 In the Saite Recension (see Lepsius, op. cit., Bl. 54) the house is said to be "in the underworld."

118 Another papyrus adds the words, "I have advanced, and behold, I have not been found light, and the Balance is empty of my affair."

119 The Papyrus of Nebseni has, "The Osiris Nebseni is the lord of transformations in the presence of the hawk of gold."

120 The Papyrus of Ani has "seven cubits."

121 The words "or thy father" are from the Papyrus of Ani.

122 These words are from the Brocklehurst Papyrus (see Naville, op. cit., Bd. II. p. 334). There are three copies of this rubric extant, and no one of them is complete!

123 In the Papyrus of Nebseni the title of this chapter reads: "The Chapter of embarking in the boat of Ra and of being with those who are in his following."

124 Read "god Osiris"?

125 Added from the Papyrus of Nebseni.

126 In the Papyrus of Nebseni the deceased is here addressed.

127 This name, frequently found in the letters, is the Egyptian "Neb-mat-ra," or Amenophis III.

128 As the Amorite "z" or "s" seems sometimes to represent the Hebrew "sh," this name might be compared with the Philistine "Achish."

129 "Katna" is the present Katanah, on the south of Hermon, west of Damascus.

130 Others read "Nuhasse." It was a Hittite country, and appears to be that of Mer'ash, under the Taurus, where a number of important Hittite remains are found (see especially B. 31, 32).

131 Throughout the letters the enemy is always called a "slave," a "slave dog," or "son of a dog," as also in Egyptian texts.

132 Where breaks occur they are due to fractures of the tablet.

133 This appears, as throughout the letters, to apply to the King of Egypt. All the Egyptian kings were regarded as descendants of gods, and are so addressed in Egyptian records.

134 "Aidugama" does not appear to be a Semitic name, but, as we should expect in Hittite, it is Mongol, and compares with "Akkadian," as meaning "the victorious lord." He is called "Edagama" by the King of Tyre (B. M. 30), who mentions his fighting with Neboyapiza, and Aziru's also.

135 Probably "Lapana" is Lybo, now Lebweh, north of Baalbek.

136 Probably R'aith (or R'ais), on the east side of the Buka'ah plain, east of Zahleh, on the way from the Hittite country.

137 Perhaps should read "Zinaar" for "Senaar," the Shinar of the Bible. Merash and Ni have been noted above.

138 This word "bitati" always applies (and it is used very often) to Egyptian soldiers. It seems to be an Egyptian word. Compare "pet" ("foot") and "petet" ("to invade or march") in Egyptian.

139 Huba is identified by Dr. Bezold with the land of Hobah (Gen. xiv. 15), which was at the "entering in" north of Damascus. The "entering in" here and at Hamath means a pass between hills leading to the city. It has been objected that Hobah would be "Ubatu" in Assyrian; but this fails in view of the detailed topography, which shows that Dr. Bezold was right. The Hebrew heh is often replaced by Aleph or vau in Aramaic.

140 The land Am or Amma, several times mentioned, appears to be the Old Testament land of Ham, in northern Bashan, near Damascus (Gen. xiv. 5). The Hebrew is spelled with the soft aspirate, not the hard guttural. It may perhaps be connected with the name of the "Amu" of Egyptian records.

141 Damascus according to Dr. Bezold.

142 This name can be read "Namyapiza" or "Zimyapiza," but probably means "Nebo is holy," Nebo being a well-known deity.

143 Gidisi or Cidisi is apparently Kadesh of the Hittites—now Kades on the Orontes—north of the city of Neboyapiza. It is called "Cidsi" by the King of Tyre (B. M. 30), and "Ciidsa" in the proclamation (92 B.).

144 "Paka" is one of the words used to designate Egyptian residents or generals. It seems to be Egyptian, and simply means "Pa-ka" ("chief man").

145 Ammusi might be the ancient name of Emesa, now Homs, immediately north of Kadesh.

146 "Elohim" is in the plural, as several scholars have remarked. It often applies to the King of Egypt.

147 "Khazi" is evidently Ghazzeh, near the south end of the Baalbek plain, south of the Damascus road.

148 This is doubtful, as the text is broken, and only gives "Belgi ..." Baal Gad was, as I have attempted recently to show, probably near 'Ain Ju-deideh, on the north of Hermon, and close to the great pass.

149 "Maguzi," or Mukhzi, is probably Mekseh, on the Damascus road, west of Stora.

150 May be read "Yanuamma." It seems to be M'araba, north of Damascus, which agrees with the context. The great pass mentioned here in connection with Damascus was apparently that by which the main road from the west came down the Barada at Abila. This is the "entering in" to Damascus, which (Gen. xiv. 15) was in the land of Hobah. This agrees with the position of Neboyapiza's town Kamid, west of Baal Gad, and to the west of the pass. The scribe here wrote "east of me," and corrected to "behind me."

151 Probably not Ashtoreth Carnaim, which is mentioned in another letter, but rather Stora, in the Baalbek plain, northwest of Baal Gad. Arzaya's town seems to have been Mekseh, west of Stora (125 B. M.).

152 "Buzruna" is probably Batruna, on the mountain west of the west end of the pass, and immediately east of Baal Gad (perhaps mentioned again in the fragment 205 B.).

153 "Khalavunni," or Halabunni, is the Helbon of the Bible (Ezek. xxvii. 18), now Helbon, north of Damascus, and five miles north of the middle of the pass. It must have been an important city because of the term "King." It was noted for wine, not only in Ezekiel's time, but, as Strabo mentions, the kings of Persia brought wine from Chalybon.

154 "Gizza" is perhaps the important town Jezzin, in the Lebanon, southwest of Kamid, unless it be Jizeh, in Bashan, between Edrei and Bozrah.

155 "Saddu" is perhaps Nebi Shit, south of Baalbek, or possibly, though less probably, Sh'ait, south of Kamid, on the southwest slope of Hermon.

156 "Cumidi," or Kamid, was important as a central station between Damascus and the coast cities of Sidon and Beirut.

157 Or, perhaps, "hard-pressed."

158 "Mikhiza," perhaps the same as Maguzi, written by another scribe—the modern Mekseh, as given above. "Maguzi" might be otherwise transliterated as "Mukhzi."

159 "Tubakhi" is the Tabukhai of the "Travels of an Egyptian" in the reign of Rameses II (Chabas, p. 313), mentioned with Kadesh on Orontes, and is the Tibhath of the Bible (1 Chron. xviii. 8), otherwise Berothai. It may perhaps be the present Kefr Dubbeh, west of Baalbek, and south of Kadesh, while Berothai is thought to be the present Brithen (see 2 Sam. viii. 8), a few miles south of Baalbek. The letter shows Aziru in league with the Hittites. David conquered these cities from the King of Damascus.

160 Dr. Sayce calls this "the fields of Bashan"; probably, when taken with the next letters, we may place the site at Zora, in Bashan, now Ezra. De Rouge and Mariette showed that Thothmes III conquered Bashan.

161 "Gubbu" is perhaps Jubbata, on the south side of Hermon, near the places mentioned in the next letter.

162 Yankhamu, an Egyptian commander, appears in these letters in all parts of the country, from the extreme south to the north, and in Phoenicia as well as in Bashan. His name does not seem to be Semitic.

163 This letter does not say who the enemies were or in which direction they advanced. Perhaps "Bikhisi" may be regarded as the present "'Abbaseh" (by inversion of the guttural), which is fifteen miles southwest of Damascus, near the main road to the town of Jabesh, whence the letter comes.

164 The word "rabizi," which is here made equivalent to "zukini," gives great difficulty. In Hebrew the root means "to rest," and the word is still applied in Palestine to resting of flocks. "Zukini" appears, as Dr. Bezold points out, to be the same as the Phoenician word "Soken" (which has exactly the required letters); but the meaning of this also is doubtful. Renan translates it either "inhabitant" or "senator." The word occurs in the Bible (1 Kings i. 2, 4; Ezek. xxviii. 14), with the meaning also doubtful, but the root means "to cherish." Perhaps "friends" suits best the various recurrences.

165 This word seems to mean "glory of the sun," the Egyptian "Khu-en-Aten." The explanation throws light on a difficult passage in a letter from Elishah (B. M. 5). If "Khu-en-Aten" (Amenophis IV) is intended, he may have been commander while still only a prince, since the events seem to belong to the reign of Amenophis III.

166 "Astarti" seems here to be Ashtoreth Carnaim, the present "Tell Ashterah."

167 "Udumu," now Dameh, the Dametha of Maccabean times.

168 "Aduri"—Edrei in Bashan, now Edhr'a.

169 "Araru"—'Ar'ar, nine miles southeast of Ashtoreth.

170 "Meispa"—Ramath-Mizpah of Basnan, now Remtheh.

171 "Macdalim," probably Mejdel Shems, east of Banias.

172 "Khini"—Hineh, south of Hermon, near the last.

173 "Zaar"—Zora of Bashan, now Ezra.

174 "Yabisi"—Yabis, a few miles northwest of the last.

175 The Egyptians would cross the Jordan near Megiddo, and come from the southwest to oppose an enemy on the north and east, and reach 'Abbaseh, on the north, later than Yabis.

176 Saskhi is probably S'as'a, east of Banias, and northwest of Yabis.

177 Lupackhallu, a non-Semitic Hittite name. As a Mongol word, "the very swift."

178 Zitatna was King of Accho—a somewhat similar name; but probably the King of Arvad is meant, as appears later.

179 This letter belongs to a late period in the war, since Ullaza has been taken. It is given here as referring to the land of Ham. It may very well have been written after Ribadda, the King of Gebal, left the city (see 71 B.).

180 "Ammia," mentioned again, appears to be Amyun south of Simyra.

181 "Ardata" is Ardi, near the last.

182 Kefr Khullis, north of Gebal, agrees with the required position for Ullaza, which is mentioned often.

183 Nariba is Nereb, on the Euphrates, in the Hittite country.

184 An Egyptian name; perhaps to be compared with "han" ("kind") in Egyptian. An envoy of this name was sent to Dusratta, King of Armenia, by Amenophis III, as an "interpreter" (21 B.).

185 Perhaps the Hittite King of Kadesh, or some other city.

186 Or perhaps "oil."

187 Dodo in the Bible (1 Chron. xi. 12), from the same root as "David." He was not really Aziru's father, but apparently a friend in Egypt.

188 "Beiti beitac" is still a polite phrase of welcome in Palestine.

189 The text is clear, but the epigram is not. He appears to mean the King of Egypt when speaking of his gods, as also a few lines lower.

190 Meaning the King of Egypt.

191 "Khai" is also an Egyptian name, meaning "distinguished" in that language. He is perhaps the "Khaia" of another letter by Ribadda (57 B.). It would seem that his embassy to Aziru had occurred between the first and second visits of the envoy Khanni.

192 Mer'ash was in the west of the Hittite country, seventy-five miles northwest of Tunep. The distance fits well, since thirty-seven and one-half miles may be considered a forced march.

193 We cannot rely on Aziru's protestations. If Khatib was a Hittite King, it is certain that both were intriguing against Egypt.

194 Probably the pass in the valley of the 'Afrin River, near Kyrrhus, twenty miles north of Tunip, is meant, being on the direct road to Mer'ash.

195 "Abuca" ("your father") might be understood in the sense in which it is used every day in the East, where abuc means, "God curse your father!"

196 Ni was to the east of Aziru's country near Tunip.

197 "Khat-ib" may mean "Hittite hero." The name of the Hittites means probably "the confederates"; and the sign used on Hittite monuments for the nation seems to be that which represents two allies facing each other.

198 Abdasherah, as Dr. Sayce points out, means the servant of the goddess Asherah ("the grove" of the Bible), and this is rendered certain by the sign for Deity prefixed in one instance. It has no connection with the name of Ashtoreth.

199 An Egyptian name, "Pa-Khemt" or "Pa-Khent," meaning "very strong" (see B. M. 24, Pakhamnata). It appears from Ribadda's letter that the station of this Paka was Simyra, and apparently the Amorites killed him later on.

200 The word "Gur" is used in these letters as in the Bible, and, like the Arab "Jar," to mean a man of one tribe or race protected by a powerful tribe or person of another country.

201 In each case "gate" might be rendered "port," as both of the cities had famous ports.

202 The word "Khazanu," commonly used in these letters for a ruling class, apparently native, and in communication with the "Paka," or "head man," who was Egyptian, appears to come from a root which means "to treasure." The word "Khazanutu" appears to mean "a government."

203 "Canaan" in these letters, as on the Phoenician coins and in the Bible, is used in its strict sense as a geographical term for the "lowlands" of Phoenicia and Philistia.

204 "Pisyari" appears to be a Hittite name, like the "Pisiris" of an Assyrian inscription (Schrader), being the Mongol "bisir" ("rich"), with the indefinite nominative in s, which marks the Hittite as a non-Semitic tongue. The other names are also apparently non-Semitic, and may refer to Hittites.

205 "Pabahaa" is perhaps the "Papaa," conquered by Thothmes III (Karnak List, No. 296), which was somewhere in North Syria, not far from Tunip. The wickedness of this chief is said to have caused the war.

206 Gutium, mentioned in Assyrian texts, was a country on the northeast, near the Caucasus. It has been compared with the word "Goim," for "Gentiles," in Hebrew. Perhaps "Jebel Judi" ("Ararat") is intended, being Dusratta's country allied to Egypt.

207 Probably 'Arkah, a well-known Phoenician city north of Tripoli, but south of Simyra (Gen. x. 17). Aziru killed its king (91 B.).

208 "Yapaaddu" ("Adonis is beautiful") is often mentioned again. He (see 61 B.) fell into the hands of Aziru, and seems to have been a king of one of the cities near Simyra, apparently Sigata. This letter was probably written about the time of the siege of Tyre, at a late period in the war.

209 Ugariti is mentioned in a letter from Tyre (B. M. 30) in a connection which shows that it was the present Akrith, between Tyre and Accho.

210 "Sigata" appears to be Shakkah, north of the great pass of Shakkah (Theouprosopon), where the King of Gebal was defeated by Aziru.

211 "Ambi" is now 'Aba, immediately east of Shakkah.

212 Simyra was on the low hills above the sea-plains, by the river Eleutherus.

213 The last words explain how the letter got to Egypt.

214 These ships of the men of Misi are mentioned by Ribadda as failing in an attempt to assist him. We may, perhaps, understand Egyptian ships, and compare the Egyptian name "Mesti" applied to part of the Delta.

215 From Dusratta's great Hittite letter (27 B.) it appears that the King of the Minyans, whose country was called Mitani, west of Lake Van, in Armenia, claimed to be King of all the Hittites; and this is what appears to be here intended. In other letters he is mentioned among the invaders.

216 Arada, a city mentioned again as assisting Aziru with ships, appears to be Aradus, the Arvad of the Bible, now Er Ruad, the island town north of Simyra.

217 "Gula" is perhaps the town of Juneh, north of Beirut, on the way to Gebal.

218 "Ammiya" is Amyun, north of Gebal; and "Ardata" is Ardi near the preceding.

219 Arpad is the city close to Tennib, which is mentioned in the Bible in several passages (2 Kings xvii. 34; xix. 13; Isa. x. 9; Jer. xlix. 23, etc.), now Tell Erfud. It is remarkable that Aleppo is not mentioned in this correspondence, for it is referred to in Egyptian texts.

220 "Ribadda" (as the name is spelled in some of the letters in syllables) may mean "child of Adonis." Compare the Chaldee "Ribah" for "girl," in the feminine. That "Adda" was Adonis seems to be derivable from the name "Adoram" (2 Sam. xx. 20), otherwise Adoniram (1 Kings iv. 6).

221 "Gebal," now "Jubeil," was apparently the chief city of Phoenicia. Its goddess Baalath is mentioned in the famous inscription of Yehumelec (about 800 B.C.), found in the ruins of Gebal. She is also mentioned in the "Travels of an Egyptian" (Chabas, p. 312).

222 Hamath was half-way from Aziru's country to that of Ribadda.

223 A name very like Jeremiah.

224 "Mitana," the later Matiene, Dusratta, its king, claimed to rule the Hittites. The Amorites joined this league.

225 The region called "Casi" in the inscription of Usurtasen I (Brugsch, "Hist.," i., p. 139) was in Upper Egypt, and the Cush of the Bible is apparently intended—a very vague term for the southern deserts from the Euphrates to Nubia. There were, however, Cushites also in Babylonia. In the present case the Cassites who lived on the Euphrates, east of the Hittites, and who were Mongols, are probably intended.

226 Literally "boys." It seems often in these letters to be used as the word "weled" ("a boy") is still used in Syria to mean "a fellow," applied often to very old men.

227 This letter shows that the war lasted several years, over which the Gebal letters (written by three or four different scribes) extend; that the attack on Sidon preceded the taking of Gebal; and that Ribadda was not deceived by Amorite promises, knowing their co-operation with their Mongol allies of Armenia and the Hittite country.

228 The letter in question may have been the proclamation against Aziru given above.

229 "Milukha," or Meroe, in Assyrian inscriptions means, according to Dr. Brugsch, Nubia.

230 This perhaps refers to Khanni's proclamation already given, and to the Khai who had been sent at an earlier period to Aziru. The rebels are named in the proclamation of the later embassy, which we thus see to have had no effect. An envoy without a military force behind him usually fails.

231 Durubli is probably the city which the Greeks called Tripoli, the largest town between Simyra and Gebal. There is a village called Turbul, on the northeast of Tripoli (Trablus).

232 "Kau Pa-ur," Egyptian words in the plural. "Kau" signifies "men," and "Pa-ur" (as in the letter from Jerusalem, B. 103) means "very important."

233 Probably the "Pakhanata" (97 B.) who was the "Paka," or chief, of whom Abdasherah speaks in the letter about the town of Ullaza, near Gebal. He seems to have been the resident in Simyra (B. 80).

234 "Abur" is perhaps Beit-Abura, in the valley north of the great pass Theouprosopon, between Gebal and Tripoli. The enemy had not as yet forced the pass.

235 The second sign is doubtful, and the place does not suggest identification (see 60 B.).

236 This agrees with the Jerusalem letters, as showing that the troops had been withdrawn to Egypt. Amenophis sent commissioners and summoned native levies, but does not appear to have been able to send Egyptian forces.

237 The name "Saarti" perhaps survives in that of the Sha'arah district of Lebanon, immediately south of Simyra, and near Yapaaddu's town of Sigata (Shakkah).

238 In Assyria we find the "measure of Istar."

239 The Berbers are mentioned in Egyptian texts as inhabitants of Upper Egypt.

240 "Khaia," now in Egypt, had no doubt already become known to Ribadda as an envoy.

241 A god Sausbe is mentioned in Dusratta's Hittite letter.

242 Sigata (Shakkah) was just outside the great pass between Batrun and Tripoli.

243 Ambi ('Aba) was close to the last.

244 Only—rari is left, which Dr. Bezold thinks refers to Amenophis IV; but it is doubtful if this letter can be placed so late.

245 "Kappa" is Keffa. The plain of Keffa is close to Amyun, north of the great pass of Theouprosopon (Shakkah). Amyun follows at once.

246 "Batruna" is the well-known town Batrun, the "Botrys" of classical writers, which lies south of the wild pass of Ras Shakkah, where apparently one of the battles of the war occurred (22 B. M.). When the pass was taken, Batrun seems still to have held out with Gebal, being no doubt provisioned by sea.

247 "Kalbi" is Kelbata, in the heart of the great pass. I visited all these places in 1881.

248 In this case the modern name "Akka" is nearer to the spelling of these letters than is the Hebrew. This is the case with Shiloh and other important towns, showing the Canaanite extraction of the modern peasantry in Palestine. The Hebrews hardly ever renamed towns, and the nomenclature preserves the ancient Canaanite forms found in the lists of Thothmes III a century earlier than these letters. Many towns were named from Canaanite and Philistine gods (Shamash, Dagon, etc.), and the forms of the names in the Karnak lists are Aramaic, and not Hebrew.

249 "Patzil" I understand to be equivalent to the Arabic "Fadl," meaning to do pleasure or honor to a person.

250 The Amorite chief had more than one son, as is clear in some cases. Benmabenat (or Bumabuat) was Aziru's brother.

251 Perhaps the name survives in that of the river Kadisha, near Tripoli.

252 Ardata (Ardi), Ambi ('Aba), and Sigata (Shakkah) were north of the pass; Yahlia, representing I'al, rather farther north than the others.

253 Ullaza (Kefr Khullis) was close to Batrun, on the south.

254 "Caphar Yazu," or Alu-yazu, seems to be Kefr Yashit, near the others.

255 Perhaps "Takheda" of another letter (58 B.).

256 See letter 71 B. The sign has the meaning "oracle," "prophet." No doubt Ribadda had his diviners, like the kings of Assyria in later times.

257 No. 53 B. is another short letter, much injured, which mentions Batrun; and in this a town called "Sina" is apparently noticed, which, if the broken tablet can be so read, would be "Kefr Zina." In 54 B. a city "Zina" occurs, but seems to be a clerical error for "Sidon." The land of Mitana is also mentioned in 53 B.

258 Neboyapiza had his own difficulties, as appears from his letters (96 B., 142 B., 43 B. M.).

259 Zimridi of Sidon is mentioned as a fugitive, while Gebal still held out. Aziru marched from (ina) Gebal, no doubt, to attack the south. In later ages the shore cities often held out while invaders from the North marched on Egypt.

260 Amanabba was not really his father; it is a title of courtesy. His father was Rabzabi (81 B., 82 B.), and Amanappa is an Egyptian name. A certain captain Amenemhib has left an account of his services in North Syria, at Aleppo, Carchemish, Kadesh, and at Ni, where he hunted elephants; but this is supposed to have been a century earlier. The site of Ni is settled by these letters and by the Karnak lists as being in Mesopotamia, and there is a picture of an elephant among the Asiatic spoils of Thothmes III. It is very curious to find elephants so far west in Asia at this period.

261 Probably "outside" means north of the pass, and Ribadda made the serious military mistake of defending his pass from outside instead of inside.

262 This would seem to have been about the time of the proclamation against Aziru, or rather earlier.

263 "Sapi" is probably the famous fortress Safita, northwest of Simyra.

264 The reinforcements were expected by sea, no doubt in the ships of the Misi, or Delta men, the soldiers being Nubians from near Tell Amarna, which was 180 miles south of Memphis.

265 Or Zabanba. Perhaps this is the Subandi, who writes letters from an unknown town.

266 King of Beirut (B. M. 26, 27).

267 This translation is confirmed by the independent letter of Ribadda's friend Ammunira (B. M. 36).

268 Egada is no doubt the land of Ikatai mentioned in the "Travels of an Egyptian" (Chabas, p. 312); it there occurs with Aleppo and the country of the Hittites. In the letter of the Hittite Prince of Rezeph (north of Palmyra) we hear of his country as Egait (B. 10). Rezeph was not far south of Tiphsah, on the Euphrates, and southeast of Aleppo. Bikhuru is, however, mentioned (18 B. M.) in connection with the town of Cumidi.

269 I misread this name at first. The Amorite chief seems to have had five sons including Aziru and (p. 224) Ben-mabenat (or Bumabula).

270 The paragraphs are marked off in many of the letters by the word "sacunu" ("pause").

271 "Taratzi" may perhaps be Tarsus. Baal Tarzi is the legend on Phoenician coins of that city. Its king naturally would have a common border with Abdasherah on the north, if his fortresses (or land) were outside the northern Lebanon, which was the Amorite country, and he was therefore regarded as a possible ally.

272 Comparing the letters from Beirut and Sidon (27 B. M., 90 B.) it will be seen that the city whose freemen were on the side of Aziru was Sidon.

273 If Ukri be the right reading, the town of 'Akkar in Lebanon, east of Tripoli, would be probable. It gives its name to the district of Jebel 'Akkar, and is at the source of the river 'Akkar, which agrees with the mention of the "waters."

274 "Maar"(ah) is probably the Mearah of the Bible (Josh. xiii. 4), now "el Mogheiriyeh," six miles northeast of Sidon. This conquest may have just preceded the fall of Sidon.

275 Gebal and Batrun are ten miles apart. Ribadda's kingdom had extended at least twenty miles along the coast; and if Beirut and Tripoli were not independent, his land would have reached much farther—to Simyra and Sidon.

276 This letter shows very clearly that the taking of Sidon preceded the fall of Byblos (Gebal).

277 From 75 B. it seems that Amanabba had been sent to Gebal (probably in consequence of the former letters from Ribadda), but it seems he fled again.

278 In later times the small mina of Palestine was L8 6s. 8d., and the large was L16 13s. 4d. (see Conder's "Handbook to the Bible," p. 81). This represents, therefore, at least L500 or perhaps L1,000; but in this early age the value of money was probably higher.

279 Ribadda has said (63 B.) that his sons fell into the power of the enemy when in ships. He also sends a list of property to Egypt (85 B.). Probably when these ships were sent his father went to Egypt, whence he wrote (82 B.), and a copy was sent to the King. There is one other letter in the collection, which was written from Egypt, by Amenophis III to the King of Babylon (B. M. 1), which seems to be a copy, unless in both cases the letters were not sent. (See Appendix.)

280 Gebal was celebrated for its papyrus. It grew in the river Adonis, close to the city. The enemy were now closing in.

281 The salutations in the last letters are very curt as compared with the earlier ones.

282 The King of Babylon refused to help the Canaanites in the reign of Amenophis III.

283 The younger brother was not the one left in charge.

284 "Buruzizi" probably Beit Ziza, east of Batrun, in the range which runs out to the great pass of Ras Shakkah. Batrun was perhaps still holding out, and the town was a refuge high up in the wild mountains. "Buru" means "well"; and "Beit" "house" of Ziza.

285 As regards the final outcome of these wars in the north we obtain light from the letters of Dusratta, King of Mitani. He was a younger man than Amenophis III, and his sister married the said King of Egypt. His daughter Tadukhipa married Amenophis IV, and there were friendly relations with Egypt in the latter as well as in the former reign. In his Hittite letter (27 B.) Dusratta speaks of the boundaries of a region which seems to have been conceded to him as his daughter's wedding-gift. He calls himself "Great Chief of the Hittites," and the border was to run to Harran, Chalcis (south of Aleppo), and the "Phoenician West." Thus Dusratta, who says in another letter (apparently his first) that he has conquered the Hittites, would seem to have swallowed up the Hittite King of Mer'ash and part, if not the whole, of Aziru's country; and the Mongol populations were thus to be ruled from Armenia, which was much nearer than Egypt. What became of the King of Kadesh these letters do not say; but he was independent in later times, when Seti I went up "to conquer the city of Kadesh in the land of the Amorites" (Brugsch, Hist., ii. p. 15), and Kadesh was taken by Rameses II, the successor of Seti I, after which a commercial treaty was made with Kheta Sar, the King of Kadesh, whose daughter Rameses II married. There was thus, perhaps, Hittite blood in the veins of the Pharaohs of the nineteenth dynasty. In the treaty papyrus (see Chabas' "Voyage," p. 336), it is mentioned that the same terms—of equality—had existed in the time of the writer's father and grandfather that were claimed of Rameses II, and that war had occurred later. This seems to show that Kadesh was independent shortly after the time of the rebellion detailed in the Tell Amarna letters. The relations with the Hittites were still friendly in the reign of Rameses III, when the Aryan hordes from Asia Minor overran the Hittite country, and came down even to Egypt. In David's time, the border between his kingdom and those of the Hittites and Phoenicians was drawn from Hermon to Danjaan, south of Tyre (2 Sam. xxiv. 6), and Solomon married Hittite princesses. The Hittite independence was only finally destroyed about 700 B.C. by the Assyrians.

286 The mulberry is still found in large gardens at Beirut and throughout the Lebanon. Since Justinian's time it has been the food of silkworms.

287 This repetition may perhaps be regarded as only a phonetic explanation of the preceding ideograms; but perhaps the words were added to show with certainty that by the terms God and Sun he meant the King of Egypt.

288 The name "Abimelech" at Tyre is interesting. It occurs as the name of a Phoenician king in the time of Assurbanipal (885-860 B.C.). The chief deity of Tyre was Moloch, or Melkarth; and the name means "my father is Moloch," claiming a divine descent. The son of Gideon and certain Philistine kings are so named in the Bible.

289 Huzu is probably the modern el Ghaziyeh, near Sidon. It is at the foot of the hills, and there is a stream (Nahr ez Zahrany, "flowery river") four miles to the south, which accounts for the notice of the waters. It seems clearly to have been in the direction of Sidon.

290 "Belu amil neru," literally "a lord, a chief man of the yoke (or government)."

291 See the letters from Hazor after those from Tyre. This petty monarch was an enemy to the southern possessions of the King of Tyre.

292 The site of Zarbitu is probably the Sarepta, or Zarephah, of the Bible (1 Kings xvii. 9, etc.), which is now Sarafand, half way between Tyre and Sidon. The decision was therefore just; but though apparently satisfied Abimelec did not get what he asked in the preceding letter—if that demand was really the earlier one. There is a fine fountain ('Ain el Kantarah, "spring of the arch") to the north of Sarepta, and the region generally is well watered. The town was famous in the Byzantine age for wine.

293 "Danuna" is probably the Danjaan of the Bible, now the ruin Danian, four miles north of Achzib, and on the border between Tyre and Accho (see 2 Sam. xxiv. 6).

294 "Hugarit" is probably 'Akrith, eight miles east of Danjaan. It has been mentioned as taken by Aziru, in Yapaaddu's letter (128 B.). Perhaps the attack was from the east; and the King of Hazor seems to have joined the Hittites (see 99 B.).

295 Edagama has been mentioned as "Aidugama" in Akizzi's letter from Katna, which was east of Neboyapiza's city Cumidi (Kamid). See B. M. 37.

296 In the former letters (B. M. 31, B. 99) Abimelec has spoken of the Paka as distinct from himself. Perhaps the Egyptian residents withdrew when the troops were withdrawn.

297 Irib is probably 'Arab Salim, fourteen miles southeast of Sidon, on the highest part of the mountains. It stands on a precipice 400 feet above the gorge of the Zahrany River (Robinson, "Later Bib. Res.," p. 47), and was a stronghold.

298 Aziru's allies from Arvad no doubt attacked Tyre by sea.

299 Dr. Bezold has remarked that want of water was always the weakness of Tyre. In the reign of Rameses II the Egyptian traveller (Chabas, p. 313) speaks of water sent to the island of Tyre in boats. Tyre is called by him the city of "two ports," one being on the north, called the Sidonian, and one on the south, called the Egyptian.

300 This letter agrees with others preceding. Neboyapiza's town Kamid, in Lebanon, was about sixty miles to the northeast of Accho, and Ziza was perhaps his sister or daughter, married to the king of an adjoining kingdom. The soldiers to be sent to Megiddo would obtain news, perhaps, of his fate, from a force on its way to Yabis, in Bashan, which his enemies reached after taking Damascus. Makdani is probably the Megiddo of the Bible, on the way to Bashan, at the great ruin of Mujedd'a, near Beisan. The situation agrees with that of the city of Makta, or Megiddo, mentioned by the Egyptian traveller near the Jordan fords (Chabas, p. 207). The Magid— of the previous passage is probably another spelling of the same name. The lady seems to have intended to go there with a guard, and perhaps to obtain a detachment to go to Kamid. In the lists of Thothmes III, Megiddo (Makdi) stands second, after Kadesh of the Hittites; and it was at Megiddo that the chief victory of Thothmes was won. It was then already a fortress which stood a siege, and was the key to the road from Accho to Damascus. The form "Makdani" is explained by the Megiddo of Zechariah (xii. II); and this final "n" is represented by the guttural "'Ain" of the modern Arabic "Mujedd'a." There is no reason at all for placing the site at Legio, west of the plain of Esdraelon, a site which does not agree with any monumental notice, or with the Biblical accounts (see "Memoirs of the Survey of Western Palestine," vol. ii.).

301 There were several Hazors in the north of Palestine. Perhaps the most likely site is the Hazor of the Egyptian traveller. It is mentioned as on a mountain (Chabas, p. 313), between Aksap (Achzib, north of Accho) and the Sea of Galilee. This might be the Hazor which Joshua took (Josh. xi. 1) from Jabin, which was above the Huleh. The name only remains, west of the probable site, in the Arabic "Jebel Hadireh," a high mountain of Upper Galilee. The King of Hazor's name is unfortunately not quite clear in the text, but seems to be either Abdebaenu, or more probably Iebaenu (Jabin). There was another Jabin of Hazor later on in history (Judges iv. 2). It was no doubt a family name.

302 The nearest places to Hebron seem to have been Nezeb in the valley of Elah, easily reached by a broad, flat road, and on the south Kanana (Kana'an), a fortress taken by Seti I, which is only two miles southwest of Hebron. This was (if the identification be accepted) the limit of conquest (see Brugsch, "Hist.," vol. ii., p. 13), when Seti (about 1366 B.C.) conquered the Beersheba plains, advancing by Rehoboth and Bethlebaoth. The land of Zahi was south of Hebron, and famous for its wine and trees (Brugsch, vol. i., p. 330), Hebron still possessing fine vineyards. But the Amorites of Hebron were never apparently disturbed by the chariots, and appear in these letters as marauders of Egyptian stations. There is no mention of any advance of the Egyptians into Moab, though Seir and Edom are noticed very early, when the Sinaitic copper-mines were being worked, and before chariots came into use. In the time of the twelfth and thirteenth dynasties, however, the political conditions in Syria were different. The Akkadian King Kudea—a Mongol—was ruling in 2500 B.C. in North Syria, and sent for granite to Sinai. At this time also, according to the Bible, there were Hittites in Hebron, who had been driven to the north by Ahmes about 1700 B.C. So that the population in 1500 B.C. seems to have been entirely Semitic.

303 Gulata is an interesting name to find in the south, as it may have some connection with that of Goliah.

304 The sign of deity is attached to this name, showing that Dagon, the Philistine god, is intended; and it appears to mean "Thou, Dagon, art a shield." Compare Yamirdagan (B. 136).

305 The word "Khazanu" is here used of an Egyptian official, but with the qualification "chief Ka" introducing the Egyptian word. This agrees with the view that "Pa-ka" means "principal man."

306 The sign meant originally "cup." It is remarkable that wine is not mentioned in the letters, unless the drink here noticed was wine. There was plenty of wine in Syria and in Hebron as early as 1600 B.C.

307 The text is damaged. It seems perhaps to read "Citam Mizpi." If this is right, Mizpah near Jerusalem might be intended, or it may mean "below the heights."

308 Gazri is the Gezer of the Bible, now Tell Jezar, at the foot of the Jerusalem hills.

309 Tabu is probably Taiyibeh, seven miles northwest of Hebron, on a hill at the head of the valley of Elah. This fits in with the rest of the topographical notices.

310 Probably the same Khaia who appears in the north as an envoy to the Amorites—an Egyptian official.

311 Takanu (see B. 199, 70 B. M.) lived near Givti, and perhaps was the chief of that town, which may be Gibeah of Judah, near the valley of Elah, south-east of Makkedah. It is mentioned with Hareth, which was close by Gibeah.

312 Referring to the King's order on papyrus. In Dusratta's Hittite letter a royal decree on papyrus is also mentioned.

313 Biruyapiza was probably the second son of Labaya.

314 Macdalim may be Mejdel, in the Philistine plain, which is still a place of importance, with a market.

315 Cuuzbe is probably the Chezib of the Bible (Gen. xxxviii. 5), in the low hills east of Gath, now 'Ain Kezbeh. The marauders seem to issue from the mountains, destroying the commerce of the plains (compare 59 B. M.). Chezib is again mentioned (104 B.).

316 This letter is perhaps explained by another (104 B.), in which the King of Jerusalem sends his wives to Egypt with the Egyptian envoy, on account of the war with the Hebrews.

317 Chief of Keilah, whose letters follow.

318 If Takanu's town was Givti, and Givti was Gibeah of Judah, he is referring to the southern route by the Valley of Elah.

319 "Tarka" instead of "Paka." In Egyptian the word "tar" means "to drive" or "compel," preceding the sign of a man with a stick. "Tarka" is thus apparently an "overseer" of the people.

320 "Yapa'a" is the same name as "Japhia," mentioned as the King of Lachish (Josh. x. 3), who was the enemy of Joshua. He appears here as King of Gezer, and the King of Gezer is called in the Bible Horam (x. 33). The words Gezer and Lachish would not look unlike in the writing of the earlier Hebrew (about the Christian era), but it is not impossible that the two towns may have had the same king. Indeed, the letter seems to show this, as Mer'ash is near Lachish.

321 "Mu(ra)'azi" seems clearly to be "Mer'ash," the Hebrew "Moresheth Gath" (Micah i. 14). The modern name is nearer to the Amorite than to the Hebrew, having a guttural at the end; and, as in other cases, the Amorite "z" stands for a Hebrew "s." The site is south of Gath, and not far from Lachish, close to Beit Jibrin.

322 The name of the King of Jerusalem is rendered "Abdhiba" by Dr. Winckler, and "Abd Tobba" by Dr. Sayce. The second reading is possible in all cases but one (B. 102), when the sign used was not the syllabic value "Tob," but only "Khi" or "Hi." This would mean "servant of the Good One." Adonizedek was the name of the King of Jerusalem killed by Joshua (x. 3). It is to be remembered that many of the names in these letters are written, not in syllables, but by ideograms. Ribadda's name is hardly ever spelled syllabically, though it is rendered certain by the cases in which it is so spelled. I am inclined, therefore, to suppose that we have to deal, not with an unusual name, like Abdhiba or Abdtobba, which is unknown in history, but with the name of Joshua's contemporary, spelled "US" (= "Adoni" "Lord"), and "KHI" x "BA," "good do" = "zedec" ("justice"). There must, however, always be some doubt as to personal names, unless checked by variant readings.