embarks in the royal galley at the marble pier of the palace of the Isle of Tyre. He bears letters to Amense, the queen of Egypt, commending him to her courtesy.

Between Egypt and Phœnicia existed bonds, not only of friendly alliance, but of relationship. But few centuries had passed since a king of Phœnicia, at the head of a vast army of Syrians, invaded Egypt, and taking Memphis, set up a foreign throne in the valley of the Nile.

Under this dynasty of conquerors, Joseph ruled in Egypt, and Jacob dwelt; for, being Syrians, these new Pharaohs regarded with partiality the descendants of Abraham, who was also "a Syrian."

But after the death of Joseph, not many years elapsed ere the {7} Theban kings of Upper Egypt invaded the Memphitic realm of the Nile, and, overturning the power of this foreign dynasty, friendly to the sons of Israel, re-established the native Egyptian monarchy, "which knew not Joseph," nor recognized the descendants of Abraham dwelling in the land. On the contrary, looking upon them as of similar lineage with the expelled Syrian or Assyrian invaders, as they were equally called, the new monarch and conqueror, Amosis, at once placed them in subjection, and oppressed them with a bitter bondage.

{7}

Amosis

This new Egyptian monarchy, under Pharaoh-Amosis, came into power again, some years after the death of Joseph, during which period the children of Israel had increased to a great people. For the space of seventy years their oppression was continued by successive kings, until, under Amenophis I. (the father of Amense, "Pharaoh's daughter"), the alarming increase of the numbers of the Hebrews, led this monarch to take harsher measures with them, "for the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew."[1] Fearing for the stability of his kingdom, if they should rise upon their taskmasters, and remembering the Syrian shepherd-kings, who had so lately ruled Egypt, he issued the command for the destruction of all their male children, as soon as born!

[1]

At the time of the promulgation of this sanguinary edict, Amense was a young princess, to whose feet the little ark, containing the infant Moses, God-directed, came.

The theory of Egyptian chronology which we have decided to follow, represents this princess as the Queen of Egypt, at the time when we present the Prince Sesostris of Tyre to the reader Under her wise rule, 

 Prev. P 4/385 next