188. "ANOTHER KING"
(Acts 7:17, 18).
(Being supplemental to Ap.
37.)
The
Appendixes were written by Dr. E.W. Bullinger.
Discoveries
of late years have thrown much light on ancient Egyptian
life and history, as touched upon in the Bible. But so many
unsolved
problems and "debated questions" remain as to the dynasties and
individual
kings, that it is not yet possible to give any reliable "table" such as
that referred to in Ap. 37.
Nevertheless, we are now able to accept definite conclusions as to the
Pharaoh of the Exodus of whom Stephen spoke :
"The
People grew and multiplied
in Egypt, till another king arose, which knew not Joseph."
How
this could be has long been a difficulty with many, but discoveries
in Egypt have removed it.
If we read this passage accurately in the original we notice that the
word for another is heteros, which means
another
of
a different kind; and not allos which means
another
of
the same kind. (*1) (See Ap. 124.
1 and 2.)
The
word points, therefore, to the fact that it was not
another
king
of the same
dynasty, but one of a different
dynasty altogether,
and this agrees with Exod. 1:8. The Sept. there uses heteros
for the Hebrew word hadash
("new"); and
aneste for the Heb.
word kum ("arose"), which means to
stand up and, in some connexions,
occupy the place of (or instead of) another. (See the kindred
Chaldee
word in Dan. 2:31, 39, 44; 3:24. For meaning of hadash
see
Deut. 32:17, and cp. Judg. 5:8.)
Josephus
says, "the crown being come into another family" (Ant.
ii. 9. 1).
The discoveries now made in Egypt prove that this was the
case.
The mummy of this very Pharaoh is to be seen to-day in the Museum at
Bulak,
and it is clear that this Rameses was the Pharaoh of the
Oppression.
(*2)
He was an Assyrian, and every feature of his face is seen to be quite
different from the features of the Pharaoh who preceded him.
Now
we can comprehend Isa. 52:4 which has so puzzled the commentators,
who were unable to understand why the two oppressions, in Egypt and by
Assyria (centuries apart), should be mentioned together in
the same
sentence, as though they were
almost contemporary. There was
no oppression (on the lines of Egypt) in Assyria.
The discoveries in Egypt thus independently and entirely confirm the
perfect accuracy of the Divine words in showing that this was so, for
in
Isa. 52:4 we read :
"Thus
saith Adonai Jehovah,
My People went down aforetime
into Egypt to sojourn there;
And the Assyrian oppressed
them without cause."
Cp. Jer. 50:17.
(*1) The force of these may be
seen in Matt. 2:12 : "another
way" (allos). Matt. 4:21
: "other two brethren" (allos).
Gal 1:6, 7 : "a different (heteros) gospel, which is not
another"
(allos). Matt. 6:24
R.V. : "hate the one and love the
other" (heteros). Matt. 11:3
: "do we look for another"
(heteros). Heb. 7:11
: "another priest" (heteros).
(*2) While Meneptah, his son, was the Pharaoh
of the Exodus.
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