Mr. Beke on the Complexion of the Ancient Egyptians. 349 



bring forth without assistance;" which comes to the same 

 thing. 



But admitting for a moment that Michaelis's construction 

 be the correct one, it is still manifest that among the Hebrew 

 women childbirth is stated to have been so easy, that they 

 could dispense with the aid of the midwives; and that, in fact, 

 they were able to deliver themselves. This assertion may, or 

 may not, have been true: from Exod. i. 17. it would seem 

 rather that it was not so, and that, on the contrary, the Mitz- 

 ritish midwives did actually assist the Hebrew mothers ; but 

 that they " feared God, and did not as the king of Mitzraim 

 commanded them, but saved the men-children alive." The 

 truth, or untruth, of their assertion is however entirely imma- 

 terial to the consideration of the present question, which re- 

 lates to the Mitzritish, and not to the Hebrew women. Now, 

 as the midwives expressly told Pharaoh that the Hebrew wo- 

 men could dispense with their assistance, and that in this re- 

 spect " they were not as the Mitzritish women," it was equi- 

 valent to the assertion, that the latter, on their part, did re- 

 quire such assistance : and as this excuse was allowed to pass 

 current with the tyrant, (which would scarcely have been the 

 case, had it been untrue in this respect also,) it affords the 

 strongest evidence of the physical character of the Mitzritish 

 women in this particular; and hence the distinction is suffi- 

 ciently established between them and the women of Egypt, as 

 described by iElian. 



For various other arguments in confirmation of the distinc- 

 tion existing between the land of Mitzraim of the Hebrew 

 Scriptures, and the Egypt of profane history, it is sufficient 

 for me to refer to the work already alluded to. 



The separation and distinction between the Egyptian and 

 Mitzritish nations continued (there is reason to consider) until 

 about the time of the Israel itish king, Solomon. At that pe- 

 riod, wars between them ensued, in which the Mitzrites were at 

 first the conquerors; but after a time, the Egyptians regained 

 their independence, and in the end acquired the supremacy. 

 Of these occurrences we have manifest traces in the corrupted 

 and distorted fragments of Egyptian history which have come 

 down to our time, although the period when they took place is 

 thrown back to a much earlier date. The country of Mitzraim 

 being thus subjected to the dominion of Egypt, and being 

 further devastated by continual aggressions on the part of the 

 Assyrians and Babylonians, whilst, from its peculiar locality, 

 it was obnoxious to I he desolating action of physical causes also, 

 became gradually deprived of its political existence, and at 

 length was merged and altogether lost in its more prosperous 



