4,4, 



THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. XI. 



ceremonies oxen frequently drew the bier, or the 

 sacred shrine, by a rope fastened to the upper part 

 of the horns, without either yoke or pole. * 



From a passage in Deuteronomy t, " Thou shalt 

 not plow with an ox and an ass together," it might 

 be inferred that the custom of yoking two different 

 animals t to the plough was common in Egypt ; 

 but since no representation of it occurs in the 

 sculptures, we may conclude, if it ever was done 

 there, that it was of very rare occurrence ; and it is 

 probable that the Hebrew lawgiver had in view a 

 practice adopted by some of the people of Syria, 

 whose country the Israelites were about to occupy, 

 rather than the land of Egypt they had recently 

 quitted. 



No. 424. 



Wooden hoes. 

 Fig. 1. From the sculptures. Fig. 2. Found in a tomb. 



The name of the plough was 8>h^i § ; ploughed 

 land appears to have been af>T, a word still traced 



* nrfc ?■«/;•«, the Funeral Ceremonies. f Deut. xxii. 10. 



% I have often .seen it clone in ltal\-. The cruelty of the custom is 

 evident, the horn of the ox wounding its companion. 



^ This being the name of the capital of the Great Oasi-s, the plough 

 was adopted as the hieroglyphic for that city. 



