Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library https://archive.org/details/ancienthistoryfrOOpalm MAP OF THE PENINSULA OF SINAI ANCIENT HISTORY FROM THE MONUMENTS. SINAI. FROM THE FOURTH EGYPTIAN DYNASTY TO THE PRESENT DAY. BY HENRY SPENCER'7 PALMER, MAJOR, ROYAL ENGINEERS, F.R.A.S. PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE OF GENERAL LITERATURE AND EDUCATION, APPOINTED BY THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. LONDON: SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. SOLD AT THE DEPOSITORIES, 77, GREAT QUEEN STREET, LINCOLN’s-INN FIELDS J 4, ROYAL EXCHANGE; 48, PICCADILLY; AND BY ALL BOOKSELLERS. New York; Pott, Young, & Co. LONDON I WYMAN AND SONS, PRINTERS, GREAT QUEEN STREET, Lincoln’s-inn fields, w.c. TABLE OF CONTENTS, Preface page v. Chapter I.—Description of the Country. The Red Sea—Boundaries and dimensions of the peninsula— Jebel et Tor—Jebel et Tfh—Wadies—Geological structure— Dykes—Mines—Inscriptions—Aspect and scenery—Nomen¬ clature .page i Chapter II.—Climate and Vegetation. Rainfall and floods—Health—Temperature—Atmospheric pecu¬ liarities—Winds—Springs and streams—Oases—Herbage— Cultivation—Botany ...page 23 Chapter III.—Zoology. Mammals—Birds—Reptiles—Insects .page 43 Chapter IV.—The People. The Towarah.—Numbers, origin, and tribes—The ’Agyd and Sheikh—Character and habits—Dress and mode of life— Food—Health—Saints’ festivals, and sacrifices—Religion— Marriage—Birth—Death—Preservation of ancient habits— Folk-lore and traditions. BedawIn of the Tih... page 58 B 2 IV SINAI. Chapter V.—Ancient Monuments and Remains; and Early History. Egyptian Remains—Magharah—Sarabit el Khadim. Pri¬ mitive Remains.—Stone dwellings—Stone circles, &c.— Archaic Sculpturings. Sinaitic Rock Inscriptions. Monastic Remains.page 84 Chapter VI.—On the Topography and other Circumstances of the Exodus. From Goshen to the Passage of the Red Sea.— Goshen—Pithom—Rameses^-Succoth—Etham — Passage of the Red Sea—Recapitulation—Rival theories. Mount Sinai, Midian, and Horeb.—Probable position of Mount Sinai—Local conditions—Rival mountains—Jebel Serbal— Jebel Musa-Sufsafeh—Midian—Horeb. Route from the Red Sea to Mount Sinai.—Marah—Elim—Encampment by the Red Sea—Further route—Wilderness of Sin—Doph- kah and Alush—Rephidim—Wilderness of Sinai. Route from Mount Sinai towards Kadesh.—Kibroth-Hat- taavah—Hazeroth—Further route. On the Support of the Israelites in the Desert ... .page 140 PREFACE, In this book an attempt is made to give a precis, as complete as a somewhat small space allows, of the present state of our knowledge of that section of Sacred Geography which includes the country tra¬ versed by the Israelites in their journey from Goshen to the Mount of the Law, and a little beyond it; to describe the physical character and present inhabitants of the Peninsula of Sinai; and to relate, as far as possible, its past history. The writer’s connection with this task is due to his having taken part in the Ordnance Survey of the Peninsula, which was carried, out in 1868-9, under the auspices of the late Lieutenant-General Sir H. James, R.E. It is on the results of that Survey that the present volume is mainly founded; and therefore the circumstances under which it was made, though doubtless familiar to many, may be briefly sketched here, for the infor¬ mation of those readers who have not followed the subject from the outset. The idea of making a systematic exploration of the Peninsula, for the purpose of clearing up authoritatively the doubts and controversies re¬ specting the topography and other particulars which had long existed, originated solely with the late Rev. Pierce Butler, of Ulcombe Rectory, in Kent, who, in connection with Sir H. James and the present writer (at first designated as the leader of the Expe¬ dition), brought the subject to public notice in the latter part of 1867, and secured the support of Govern¬ ment, as well as of some of the learned societies, and VI SINAI. of many persons eminent in various branches oi knowledge. The collection of funds was going on actively, when Mr. Butlers untimely and lamented death, which took place in February, 1868, at the early age of forty-two, seriously threatened the suc¬ cess of the scheme. Happily his place in it was soon worthily filled by the late Canon Williams, Vicar of Ringwood, through whose efforts, aided by those of Mr. Butler's former associates, as well as of the Rev. F. W. Holland, an experienced Sinaitic traveller, of Captain (now Major) C. W. Wilson, R.E., and others, suf¬ ficient funds were forthcoming by the following autumn to equip an expedition on even a larger scale than Mr. Butler had hoped for. Captain Wilson had in the meanwhile offered his services—a proposition in which the writer readily acquiesced; and the Expedition, under the joint command of both officers, left Eng¬ land on the 24th October, 1868. An eminent Orien¬ talist, Mr. (now Professor) E. H. Palmer, of St. John’s College, Cambridge, accompanied the party, for the purpose of investigating the local names, traditions, and inscriptions, and of dealing with the native tribes. Mr. Holland gave his valuable help as a guide, and undertook to pay special attention to the geology; and Mr. C. W. Wyatt officiated as zoologist. Four chosen non-commissioned officers of Royal Engineers, from the Ordnance Survey, completed the scientific staff. These, besides being expert surveyors, were also highly proficient in other branches : Colour- seijeant (now Quartermaster) Macdonald, as photo¬ grapher to the Expedition, Corporal Goodwin, as artist and modeller, and Serjeant Brigley and Corporal Malings, as hill-sketchers. Five and a half months were spent by the Expedi¬ tion in the Desert. In this period they made elabo¬ rate plans and models, on a scale of six inches to a mile, of the two mountains, 7^bel Musa and Jebel PREFACE. Vll Serbal (with the ground in their neighbourhoods), which were regarded as the chief rivals for the title of the Mount of the Law; as well as sketch-surveys on a smaller scale, founded on triangulation and astronomical measurements, of all of that part of the Peninsula which can have been connected with the movements of the Israelites. More than 300 photo¬ graphs, and some 3,000 copies and impressions of Sinaitic and Egyptian inscriptions, as well as various plans and drawings of ruins, chapels, monasteries, &c., zoological, botanical, and geological collections, and other contributions to knowledge, were also brought with them to England. That such work, in a rugged and highly mountainous desert, was not effected with¬ out a good deal of exertion, difficulty, and hardship, will be readily understood. Fortunately, the party- kept their health, and met with no serious accidents, and were able to achieve the arduous task allotted to them with a completeness which would have more than satisfied the wishes of its earnest projector. In 1872 the results of the whole enterprise were published, by authority of the Treasury, in five massive folio volumes, of which one contained the letterpress accounts, while three were filled with pho¬ tographs, and the fifth with maps and plans. Of the shares contributed to these volumes by the pre¬ sent author and the other members of the party, according to their several qualifications, sufficient indication has been already given. The descriptive matter was, however, enriched by other contributions, including a Preface by Sir H. James, an Introduc¬ tion by Canon Williams, and papers on the Egyptian remains by Dr. Birch, and on Diatomacecz by Dr. E. T. Wilson; while the plants were named by Sir J. Hooker, and the Coleoptera by the late Mr. G. R. Crotch. A work so large and costly was necessarily beyond Vlll SINAI. the reach of most readers. Hence the present volume, which is designed (with the late Sir Henry James’s permission) to set forth the results of the survey, and generally the state of our knowledge on the subject, in a convenient form, and in which the writer duly owns his obligations to the various other contributors to the official work for a good deal of his matter. But, although the official volume has formed the groundwork of this one, the information derived from it is here largely supplemented by the results of later study and thought, and the conclusions drawn in the original reports are departed from in a few minor points; while the sections “ From Goshen to the Passage of the Red Sea,” and “ On the Support of the Israelites in the Desert,” treat of subjects with which the Expedition did not deal at all fully. Much help has been derived from consultation of the first two parts of the “ Speaker’s Commentary,” Professor Palmer’s “ Desert of the Exodus,” Dr. Ebers’s “ Durch Gosen zum Sinai,” “ Notes on the Earlier Hebrew Scriptures,” by Sir G. B. Airy, Astronomer-Royal, Dean Stanley’s “ Sinai and Palestine,” the late Dean Mil- man’s “ History of the Jews,” the articles in Smith’s “ Dictionary of the Bible ” which relate to the Ex¬ odus, Dr. Beke’s “ Mount Sinai a Volcano,” the late Mr. J. K. Lord’s “ Peninsula of Sinai,” and other pub¬ lications ; and Professor Palmer has kindly aided in the final revision of the proofs. The geographical names are those adopted in the Ordnance Survey publications; and the maps and illustrations, with two exceptions, are taken from the same source. H. S. P. March 1st, 1878. SINAI, CHAPTER I. DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY. The Red Sea is divided at its northern end into two arms of unequal length. The eastern and shorter of these is the Gulf of ;Akabah; the western and longer one the Gulf of Suez ; and the triangular pro¬ montory which lies between them—its apex turned southward, and its eastern and western sides mea¬ suring about 133 and 186 miles respectively—is that known as the Peninsula of Sinai.