as connected with the Hieroglyphics of Egypt. 1 7 1 



the antiquities of Egypt, to ascertain, if possible, the origin 

 of polytheism and the worship of animals, I found in Bruce 

 the description and the figure of a terrible insect, very much 

 resembling the bee in its appearance, but totally different 

 from it, inhabiting within the limits of the black fat earth 

 which is found on the marshy grounds of the Nile, and so 

 mischievous as to drive both the inhabitants and their cattle 

 from their habitations, and, indeed, from a whole district. 

 This insect is a native of Abyssinia, and has no specific name. 

 Mr. Bruce asserts that the Arabs call it Zimb, which, he says, 

 means Fly in general. But I apprehend there must be a 

 mistake in the spelling. There is no such word, nor any- 

 thing like Zimb, in the whole Arabic language. The term 

 by which the Arabs distinguish the Jly is Thubab; and it 

 seems that a corruption of it has supplied the Chaldee version 

 with the name of Zebub, which Mr. Bruce quotes as having 

 the same general signification of a Jly. 



In deference to Mr. Bruce, the name of Zimb has been 

 adopted in the Bible published by D'Oyly and Mant, and 

 even by Mr. Kirby in his interesting work upon Entomology, 

 for indeed they had no better name to supply, — an example 

 which I shall follow. 



Amongst the Greeks it received the appellation of xuvopvot, 

 or xuvo/x.yi«, which signifies the dog-Jty, and the Church of 

 Alexandria, in correcting the Greek copy to make it con- 

 formable to the Septuagint, imitating the Greeks, has called 

 it TsaltsalyaKelb, which means the same thing. But the fact 

 is, the Greek word itself is but a translation of the old name 

 by which the ancient Egyptians distinguished this insect. 



They called it <LCJ It 0*ff£,Op (ctf an ouhor); which is a 

 combination of <£.CJ (af) a fly, It {an), the article or mark of 

 the genitive case, and 0"ff£,Op (ouhor) a dog. Professor 

 Rosenmuller, without knowing this, asserts that in Exodus 

 viii. 21. as well as in two of the Psalms, this fly is called 

 Arob [quaere Oreb~\, and says that this word Arob cannot sig- 

 nify the dog Jlij, but the blind Jly, but this is a mistake, for 

 the name of Arob, or rather Oreb, literally means a devouring 

 Jly. Professor Rosenmuller says that he has adopted that 

 opinion in consequence of the description which Philo gives 

 of this insect. But this is a second error; for from the de- 

 scription he gives of the devastation produced by the Arab, it 

 can never be the blind fly, the 'fly' of Moses, the Zimb, which 

 is infinitely more mischievous nnd terrible. The Professor 

 says, that " it flies with great noise, and is extremely trouble- 



Z 2 



