Bible and
Spade 16.3 (2003).
Copyright © 2003 by Bible
and Spade, cited with permission.
Joseph
in
Sixth of Six Parts
By
Charles Aling
We do not know how many years Joseph
served as
(Prime
Minister). It is very interesting that he evidently held two key titles,
Vizier
and Chief Steward of the King. This is relatively unusual in
Egyptian
history.
Significantly, the best known
examples come from the Middle
Kingdom,
exactly the period of Joseph's career. While none of officials
holding
these two posts can be identified with Joseph, it is probable that he
was
the first to do so and set a precedent.
89
Aling: Joseph in
Two deaths are recorded near the end
of the Book of Genesis,
that
of Jacob and of Joseph himself. Both men were embalmed, or
mummified.
Today, the popular view is that this was a mysterious
process
about which we know little or nothing. Such is not the
case.
With the large number of mummies preserved in museums,
we
would be poor scientists indeed if we could not reconstruct
this
procedure. What then were the basics of mummification? (see
Adams
1984, and on the popular level,
Two things were essential to the
mummification process. First, the
body
was dried. A great deal was accomplished in this regard by the
naturally
dry climate of
Roman
soldier who had died in
sand
without any kind of embalming treatment at all. His hair was well
preserved,
as were his teeth, and there was a good deal of skin
remaining,
too. The Egyptians aided this natural drying process, however.
They
packed the body with a powdery substance called natron
(basically
sodium carbonate and sodium bi-carbonates). This
chemical
is found naturally in several locations in
263ff).
It is important to realize that a
liquid solution was not used, but
rather
that the body was packed in this dry powder for a period of many
days.
The exact length of time in the natron varied
according to which
period
of Egyptian history the mummy belonged and according to
the
amount being spent on the process. Presumably, a rich family
would
spend more on preserving their family members.
A second thing necessary for
mummification was the removal of
the
vital organs of the body. If these are left inside the person, they will
speed
decay. Thus, the Egyptian embalmers removed all of the
abdominal
organs except the heart, and also removed the brain.
This last procedure created a problem,
however. The Egyptians
were
concerned about the body retaining its identity, and they did
not
want to harm the head or face in any way. They resolved this problem
by
unraveling and removing the brain through the nose with a sharp hook
of
some kind. Gruesome as this may sound,
it worked rather well.
After
their removal, some of the organs were wrapped and placed inside
containers
in the tomb with the mummy. It was expected that they would
be
needed for a happy life in the next world!
90
91a
Bible and Spade 16.3
(2003)
There were of course, certain
religious ceremonies that went
along
with the mummification process. Joseph, I am sure, would
not
have wanted any of these done for him, and, if he had any
say
in the matter, they were not done. But, after all this was
accomplished,
the body would be skillfully wrapped in spiced
linen
and placed in a coffin.
Next, the mummy would be entombed.
In Joseph's case,
instructions
had been left to remove him from
family
went out of that land. It is, therefore, useless to look for
the
grave of Joseph in
time
of the Exodus.
A final observation on Joseph's life
and career: According to
Genesis
50:26, Joseph was 110 years old at the time of his death.
This
age is interesting, since in ancient
the
perfect age at which to die (Aling 1981: 51, note
25).
What
happened to the Jewish people after.loseph's death?
At
first
nothing happened. In the early verses of Exodus chapter 1,
however,
we see that a king rose up who knew nothing of Joseph.
This
personage was, I believe, a Hyksos Pharaoh.
The Hyksos
were a foreign people from Syria-Palestine who
ruled
the northern portions of
Intermediate
Period, ca. 1786-1570 BC.
That this king was a Hyksos is shown by a number of things.
The
Hebrew of Exodus 1:8 indicates a negative kind of rulership.
Also,
Exodus 1:9 states that the king had a fear that the Hebrews
would
outnumber his people. It is not realistic to believe that the
Jews
would ever become more numerous that the native
population
of
minority
like the Hyksos.
Finally, in Exodus 1:11 we are told
that the Hebrews, as slaves,
labored
at two cities: Pithom and Ramses.
Pithom is not located
yet
with certainty, and is in any case not important for our
discussion
here.
But Ramses
was the great delta capital under the Hyksos first
and
then later under King Ramses II of the 13th century
BC. In
Dynasty
18, ca. 1570-1325 BC, little or no major work went on
there.*
It seems certain, then that the Hebrews worked at Ramses
during
the Hyksos period.
The bondage of God's people lasted
for many years. Joseph's
accomplishments
were forgotten for the time being, but were
remembered
and recorded in Jewish records, were to be written
of
by Moses, and were also to be rehearsed by uncounted
generations
to come.
Aling: Joseph in
As Joseph was not forgotten by the
Jewish people, he is not
forgotten
by us. It is hoped that these brief articles have helped
to
make him a real person, set against the background of Egyptian
history
and civilization.
Bibliography
Adams,
Barbara
1984 Egyptian Mummies. Princes Risborough, Aylesbury, Bucks,
Aling, Charles F.
1981
Davis,
John J.
1986 The Mummies of
Lucas, A.
1962
Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries.
This
material is cited with gracious permission from:
Bible and Spade and Dr.
Charles Aling
Associates for Biblical Research
PO Box 144
http://www.christiananswers.net/abr/
Please
report any errors to Ted Hildebrandt at: