exposed frontier of Egypt, the side on which invasion might be expected. Accordingly as a means of crushing the spirit of the Israelites, and of diminishing their numbers, tasks of extreme severity were pressed upon them. Such forced labour is carried out at the cost of many lives. But still Israel multiplied. And even the harsher measure of slaying the male children at the moment of their birth was ineffectual to check the growth of the elect nation. The edict intended for the destruction of the race became indirectly the means of its salvation. The child who is taken from the papyrus flags of the river Nile to become the son of Pharaoh's daughter, by that means gains the ascendency, culture and experience which enable him to deliver and guide his people. The life of Moses falls into three periods of forty years; (1) at Pharaoh's court; (2) in Arabia; (3) in the desert of the wanderings.

while the obstinate resistance of Pharaoh and the compliance twice given and withdrawn would in different ways train the people into readiness for their final departure. We may believe that during the few months-probably from June to April-during which the plagues continued the sense of national union, of a common cause and of trust in Jehovah, tended to unite and nerve the race for their supreme effort. The plagues seem at least in part to have been directed against the religious cult of Egypt. The account is full of local colour and even of native words.

The last plague alone directly touched Menephthah. The death of his firstborn son who shared his throne is recorded on the monuments. This blow at length broke the resistance, and Israel was delivered: "his hands were freed from the basket" (Ps. lxxxi. 6). The memory of this great deliverance never died out from national thought or national literature. It was the beginning of the national life, the type and pledge of all coming deliverances.

Before leaving Egypt the Hebrew women borrowed,' i.e. asked or claimed, of their Egyptian neighbours vessels and other articles. The incident marks more kindly relations between Israel and the Egyptian people than are generally supposed.

It was during the reign of Ramses II. Sesostris of the Greeks-that Moses stirred with indignation at the suffering of his brethren "refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter"; one of the noblest acts of selfsacrifice known to history. This resolution necessitated the flight into the land of Midian. There, whether on the east or west coast of the Gulf of Akabah is uncertain, Moses dwelt with Reuel, priest of Midian, whose daughter Zipporah he married. Reuel is sometimes identified with Jethro, but the identification, which depends on the rendering of the word translated father-in-law, is extremely doubtful, At the end of the uneventful sojourn in the land of Midian an incident occurred which gave rise to a fresh crisis-Moses had led the flocks of Jethro to the 'backside' or western part of the desert, where from the acacia bush which burnt but was not consumed came the revela-pedition under Thothmes or Ramses would be tion of the deliverance from Egypt and the promise of the land flowing with milk and honey.

The precise course of the Exodus is still disputed. Ramses, named as the point of departure (Ex. xii. 37), was the royal city-the residence of Menephthah. Succoth or booths,' where the muster took place, is identified with Pithom, being the civil name, as Pithom was the sacred name, Succoth was the town which sprang up round the precincts of the temple of Tum. The ordinary line of march from hence to Palestine traversed by many an ex

across the Egyptian frontier, and along the Mediterranean coast to the land of the Philistines. But this route was forbidden: "lest peradventure the people repent when they see war and they return to Egypt" (Ex. xiii. 17). The first encampment was at Etham 'on the edge of the wilderness.' At this point in obedience to the divine command the Hebrews turned back and marched southward, a course which seemed to entangle them in the land, and which encouraged the irresolute Menephthah to pursue.

This was the divine legation for Moses. It was ratified by a new name, that is, a new revelation of God, 'I am what I am,' denoting absolute eternal being-both in form and meaning nearly the equivalent of Jehovah (Yahveh), a title the full significance of which, unknown to the patriarchs, is now revealed. When Moses approaches Pharaoh we find his brother Aaron associated with him. He had doubtless shared with Moses a training in the wisdom Pi-hahiroth, Migdol and Baalzephon are not of the Egyptians. The return of Moses to identified for certain; the first however was Egypt probably took place soon after the death probably near the modern Ismailia, and Baalof Ramses II. In that case the Pharaoh who zephon ('the Lord of the North') may have refused to let the children of Israel go was been on the high land to the east across the Menephthah II. The character of this prince sea. The passage was probably at a point, as described on the monuments corresponds now dry land, where on the occurrence of high with the picture drawn of him in the Bible. tides the Red Sea joined the waters of the He had been put to the test already. A for- Bitter Lakes. Certain conditions of wind and midable invasion had taken place from the tide would produce the effects described in the north-west of native Libyan tribes aided pro- Bible narrative. The 'Red Sea' is a misnomer bably by troops from Greece and Sicily. Me--the Hebrew name Yam Suph, 'sea of weeds nephthah. warned in a dream by Phthah,' refuses to go to the front himself, but when victory is achieved he claims the glory of it. The same irresolution and lack of personal courage appear in the story of the Exodus.

The first demand of Moses for the release of his people only increased the severity of the oppression. They were commanded to make bricks without straw. This harsh act would in itself draw Israel more closely together,

or sedge,' is characteristic, the Gulf of Suez being remarkable for the abundance and variety of its marine growth.

Here then the Hebrews with the mixed multitude to the number of 600,000 men, bearing with them the bones of Joseph and guided by the pillar of fire and by the cloud, safely accomplished the passage of two or three miles. The Egyptian host however, their chariots driving heavily in the thick mud thus temporarily exposed, perished miserably when

tide and wind released the waters kept at bay for a while.

We note here that Pharaoh himself is not named as amongst those who perished. It is almost certain that he was not engaged in the actual pursuit. As previously in the Libyan invasion Menephthah left to his generals the task of meeting the enemy at close quarters. 'Warned by Phthah' he remained behind. This supposition falls in with the Egyptian records which imply the continuance of Menephthah's reign.

The monuments pass over the calamity of the Exodus in characteristic silence. But the revolt and civil war which fill up the annals of Menephthah's reign and the cessation from foreign expeditions indicate a condition of weakness such as must have followed the departure of Israel.

rations of the slave, that made the rising discontent doubly dangerous.

In the wilderness of Sin, probably a seaside plain, the Hebrews, yearning after the fleshpots of Egypt, were fed with manna. After passing Dophkah and Alush the host of Israel reached Rephidim, identified with the long and winding valley now called Wady Feirân, where maddened by the desert thirst (see Ps. Ixiii. 1), the people 'chode' with Moses: Why had he brought them up out of Egypt to kill them and their children and their cattle with thirst?' At God's command Moses struck the rock in Horeb and a stream of water flowed forth. But in memory of the temptation and the chiding the place was named Meribah and Massah.

The next phase in the national life of Israel raises many questions. Among these are: the route taken across the wilderness-the position of Mount Sinai-the means of subsistence. The first and second are connected, and though the theory that the Hebrews followed the Haj route nearly due east from the point of crossing, and in the north of the Sinaitic peninsula, and that Sinai is to be sought among the mountains of Edom, has recently found able and learned support, the traditional view which takes the Hebrews southward along the western coast of the Gulf of Suez, and places Sinai in the south of the peninsula, is gene-"Write this for a memorial in a book and rally accepted.

At Rephidim the Hebrews encountered their first foe, the Amalekites, and won their first victory, under Joshua, at that time Hosheaa name of good omen. The Amalekites are first mentioned Gen. xiv. 7. Unless therefore that passage is proleptic, the tribe was not descended from the Edomite Amalek. Arab historians by a probable tradition represent the Amalekites as driven from their original seat on the Persian Gulf by the pressure of the Babylonian power. The incursion of Israel from the west threatened their hold on the Sinaitic peninsula. It was more than a struggle for springs of water or for pasturage. The words of Ex. xvii. 14 are remarkable: rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: that I will utterly put out the memorial of Amalek from under heaven." See also 1 Sam. xv. 2, 3 and 1 Chron. iv. 43.

As to the means of subsistence there is a good deal of evidence to shew that the Sinaitic region supported a far larger population than it does at present. Powerful tribes dwelling The friendship of Jethro, priest of Midianon the shores of the Red Sea had successfully the other ruling tribe in the peninsula-stands resisted invasion from Egypt in former times. in contrast with the hostility of Amalek. And at the period of the Exodus a large mining Jethro, who was either father-in-law or brotherindustry was carried on under Egyptian direc-in-law of Moses, visits the Hebrew camp bringtion. The area of cultivation was then larger than it is now. But even at the present day the Bedouin grow wheat, and have abundance of dates, milk and flesh on which to subsist.

The wilderness was a mountainous district intersected with wide-spreading valleys down which sudden torrents run in winter, and in many there are perennial springs, pools and streams of running water.

The wilderness of Shur (Ex. xv. 22) is probably the same as the wilderness of Etham (Numb. xxxiii. 8), both implying the fortress wall constructed along the eastern frontier of Egypt. The term 'wandering in the desert' is misleading. The Hebrews would remain encamped like the modern Bedouin, sometimes for months, sometimes for a year, until their crops had grown. They had become a nomad tribe.

The various restingplaces on the march are for the most part identified with tolerable certainty by modern travellers-Marah, now 'Ayûn Musa, with many springs of somewhat brackish or 'bitter' water-Elim, where the Israelites encamped for a month, re-discovered in the Wâdy Gharandel with its streams and rich vegetation. The turn to the Red Sea from Elim (Numb. xxxiii. 10) would be taken to avoid the Egyptian garrisons stationed at the copper mines of Sarbut-el-Khadim, the position and workings of which are still known. It was the proximity of these mines, and the possibility of return to slavery and the regular

ing with him Zipporah the wife of Moses and
his two sons Gershom and Eliezer. On his
advice Moses organizes a plan for the orderly
government of the people, appointing able
men to be 'rulers of thousands, of hundreds,
of fifties, and of tens' (Ex. xviii. 25).
was undoubtedly a measure of great import-
ance in the training of Israel for national life.

This

In exactly three months after the Exodus the camp of Israel was pitched before Sinai. The site is disputed, but the height of Râs Sufsâfeh on the north-west cliffs of Jebel Mûsa seems to answer the required conditions better than any other mountain in the peninsula. The lowest rocks rise abruptly from the plain of Er Râhâh, a wide expanse suitable for the encampment of the thousands of Israel. Through wild ravines between mighty walls of rock Moses scaled the heights of Sinai to receive the divine message: "Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all peoples: for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation" (Ex. xix. 4-6).

On the third day amid thunder and lightnings and smoke like a furnace (again an Egyptian word is used) Moses conversed with God. He is charged once more to enjoin on the people to observe the bounds placed round the sacred mountain.

Again Moses ascended the mount, this time with Aaron, and the Lord spake 'face to face with the people out of the midst of the fire' (Deut. v. 4). Of the Commandments-the ten words-there given which were destined to mould the religious life of Israel and of the whole world, it is enough to note here: (1) how that in their deepest interpretation they cover the teaching of the New Covenant as well as of the Old: (2) how completely they impressed themselves on Hebrew thought and life through all the ages of their history. Even Pagan writers hundreds of years afterwards caught fragments of them from the lips of Jews. When Martial speaks of the Jew forswering himself: "jura, verpe, per Anchialum" (Ep. xi. 94. 8), he is unconsciously quoting the first 'Word': while Juvenal characterizes the Jew as "metuentem sabbata" (Sat. XIV. 96). The same poet describes the law of Moses as written " 'arcano volumine" (Sat, XIV. 102). The law given from Sinai-'the book of the Covenant' is contained in Exodus xx. to xxiii. 19. Besides the ten commandments there are rules for justice, equity and purity far transcending any known ancient legislation, and regulations in regard to the Sabbatical year and the observance of the three great feasts of the Passover, of the Firstfruits, and of the Ingathering, and in regard to sacrifice and offerings.

In the Angel who is promised as the guide and protector of Israel we may discern the presence of Jehovah Himself.

The Covenant is ratified by sacrifice, and sprinkling of blood-an act of deep significance (Ex. xxiv. 7, 8. Cp. St Matthew xxvi. 28). At the sacrificial feast which followed the God of Israel manifested His presence to Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy elders of Israel: 'they heard the voice of words, but saw no form' (Deut. iv. 12). After that Moses and his minister Joshua went up into the mount of God, and were in the mount forty days and forty nights (Ex. xxiv. 13-18).

During the forty days on Sinai the pattern of the Tabernacle is presented to Moses (Ex. XXV. 1-xxxi. 11). As in other instances of divine illumination the elements of human culture and association are to be taken into account. Many of the details are influenced by Egyptian art. The materials are such as the special circumstances of time and place would suggest. Artificers of known skill, Bezalel, grandson of Hur, and according to Josephus husband of Miriam, of the tribe of Judah, and Oholiab, of the tribe of Dan, were appointed to the work. Each of them was inspired with divine wisdom "to work in all manner of workmanship.' The special task of Bezalel was the carved work in metal, wood or stone, that of Oholiab the coverings and curtains of the tent.

The people were called upon to make freewill offerings of dyed wool, fine linen, skins of rams and of seals or porpoises (not badgers' skins), wood, oil, incense and precious stones. The number, variety and costliness of the offerings are explained partly by the spoils taken from Amalek, partly by the gifts of Egypt. And it may also be supposed that during the earlier and less oppressive years of the Egyptian bondage the Hebrews were allowed to trade on their own account, while their large flocks would enable them to barter with the desert caravans.

The most sacred deposit in the sanctuary, or innermost chamber of the tabernacle, was the ark of the Covenant-a box or coffer (Heb. aron) of acacia wood covered with gold. It was the motive for the sacred dwelling and its central object. Above it was the mercy-seat and over that the Cherubim with wings that met. And there in an awful sense was the actual presence of Jehovah dwelling with His people."

It was the Ark of the Covenant containing the 'book of the law,' the visible sign of the compact between Jehovah and His people, and therefore closely associated with the election and sanctification of Israel.

While this scene went on among the cliffs of Sinai, the people in the plain below, weary and distrustful in the long absence of Moses, demanded of Aaron that he should make them a god (Ex. xxxii. 1, R.V. marg.) to go before them. Aaron yielded. With his own hands he fashioned a molten calf from the golden rings which the people offered, built an altar to the idol and proclaimed a feast. He spoke indeed of a feast to the Lord.' But it was in fact the Egyptian worship of Mnevis or Apis thinly veiled."

Moses intercedes for his brethren, averting the just wrath of Jehovah. He chooses rather to be their mediator than on the ruin of Israel to be the founder of a new nation. But as he descends the flanks of Sinai, not the front of the mountain facing the plain, he hears the sounds of revelry. Drawing near to the camp in his anger he brake the tables of stone, "the work of God," written on both sides, resembling probably the inscribed tablets from Babylonia and Egypt. The golden calf is ground to powder and strewed upon the water. The tribe of Levi execute a more terrible vengeance, slaying three thousand of their brethren. Again at the passionate prayer of Moses atonement is made and the sin forgiven (Ex. xxxii. 32).

But for the moment it appeared as if the Covenant had been broken. The Lord will not Himself go up with the host: He will send an angel before them. Moses removes his tent (according to LXX., q. v.) apart from the camp. But the people shewing signs of penitence the mediator once more pleads for his people, and finds grace.

"And

Again Moses ascends the mount, this time alone. A fresh revelation is made of Jehovah as: "Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin" (Ex. xxxiv. 7). The Covenant is solemnly renewed with a special warning against idolatry. he wrote upon the tables the words of the Covenant, the ten words" (Ex. xxxiv. 28). Descending to the plain, Moses addressed the people, his face shining with reflected glory as he spoke, after which he put a vail upon his face (Ex. xxxiv. 33. Comp. 2 Cor. iii. 12-15). (The curious mistranslation of the Vulgate in Ex. xxxiv. 29, "ignorabat quod cornuta esset facies," gave rise to the representation of Moses with horns on his forehead.)

After this the Tabernacle is constructed in accordance with the pattern given on Sinai.

One point in the significance of Sinai as the scene of the giving of the Law may be noted here. It was an ancient sanctuary dedicated to the Babylonian moon-god Sin, from whom the name is derived. The new and purer religion proceeds from a stronghold of an

The Israelites now strike their tents and enter the wilderness of Paran. Hobab the son of Reuel, probably brother of Jethro, whose intimate knowledge of the desert made his guidance valuable, at the request of Moses became to Israel "instead of eyes." It must not be supposed that even at Sinai the whole tribe of Israel remained encamped in one spot, certainly this would not be the case during the thirty-eight years and three months during which they wandered' in the wilderness. As with the modern Bedouin, detachments would go in search of pasturage in distant wâdys, returning at times to the central encampment. This custom helps to explain the difficulty sometimes raised as to the supply of food for the vast host of Israel and the mixed multi-hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, betude who accompanied them from Egypt.