400 ROD NOT EMPLOYED—REASONS 
of Hosts (Isaiah xix. 18) as the oath in these papyri is by 
Yahu.”’ ! 
After the destruction of Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes, 
the petition by Onias to Ptolemy Philometor for permission to 
erect a central temple for the benefit of the many thousands 
of his compatriots resident in Egypt concludes the historica] 
evidence that I call as to the continuance of the Egyptian- 
Israelitish connection. Its survival for centuries after the 
birth of our Lord is a matter of common knowledge. 
The existence of this connection rests not merely on historical 
evidence. Recent excavations in Southern Palestine tell the 
same tale, or even carry it still farther back, to pre-Israelite 
Canaan. Thus, after referring to the tale of Sinuhé (c. 1970 
B.c.), Professor G. Barton writes, “ There was apparently 
considerable trade with Egypt at this time. Men from 
Palestine often went there for this purpose. Such traders are 
pictured in an Egyptian tomb of this period. Trade with 
Egypt is also shown to have existed by the discovery of 
Egyptian scarabs of the time of the Middle Kingdom in the 
excavations at Gaza, Jericho, and Megiddo. As Egypt was 
nearer, and commerce with it easier, its art affects the arts 
of Palestine more than the art of Babylon.” 2 
R. A. Macalister 3 writes: ‘‘ Meanwhile the oldest foreign 
civilisation of whose influence definite relics have come to 
light within the land of Palestine is that of Egypt under the 
XIIth Dynasty.” The assertion that “ almost every spadeful 
of earth which is turned over in Southern Palestine brings to 
light more evidence of Egyptian influence ’’ seems hardly an 
exaggeration.4 
But, it may be asked, what has all this got to do with 
fishing ? Of itself and in itself apparently nothing. 
1 See p. 94, Flinders Petrie, Isyael and Egypt, of which in this section I 
frequently avail myself. Inscriptions of v. XXVIth Dynasty, or c. 600 B.c. 
disclose that there was an actual priesthood dedicated to the god YHW, 
which word is clearly spelt out. 
2 Archeology and the Bible, p. 109 (London, 1916). 
3 The Civilisation of Palestine, p. 33. 
‘ The Biblical World, Feb., 1910, p. 105. Inscriptions of Sinai 
(published in 1913 by the Egypt Exploration Fund) furnish much evidence 
as regards the intercourse between Egypt and Israel. For the trade between 
‘Solomon and Egypt, see 1 Kings x. 28, etc. 
