14 
agreed that they were made between these two dates. There were twelve 
bi-lingnal inscriptions. The one of which a drawing was exhibited in the 
room was the most clear. The figure of a man in that was supposed by Mr. 
Foster to be Moses with his hands up in the attitude of prayer. The 
Sinaitic inscription he read as an account of the battle of Rephidim. In 
the mule at the bottom he saw a type of obstinate Israel. The Greek he 
declared to have nothing whatever to do with the Sinaitic. He would, how- 
ever, call attention to the fact that it was bracketed with it. Besides this, 
it was one of the few inscriptions made with a metal chisel, and the width 
of all the letters corresponded with the width of the chisel. The inscriptions 
were found as a rule on the natural face of the rock. In one or two cases 
advantage had been taken of tablets prepared for Egyptian inscriptions, but 
in no instance had the rock been prepared for the Sinaitic ‘inscriptions. 
The Arabs of the present day made somewhat similar drawings on the 
rocks in. charcoal. The old inscriptions were exceedingly interesting, as 
representing the character of the people who wrote them. For instance, in 
the picture in the room there was a man out hunting with a dog ; and just 
above that a man in the act of killing a wild goat with something like a 
hatchet. Then there was a representation of laden camels. There was 
also a man on horseback throwing a javelin at a target, and a picture of 
an ostrich. There were several cases where a man had begun to write his 
name in Greek, but not being able to manage it had given it up and taken 
to Sinaitic. He did not think there was anything in the Bible to imply that 
the battle of Rephidim took place in a plain. J ust to the north of the pass, 
where he supposed the battle to have commenced, was a remarkable hill which 
commanded a clear view of the whole, and this appeared to him to be the hill 
on which Moses took his stand. Just at the bend of the pass was a rock called 
by the Arabs, “ The Seat of the Prophet.” He asked the Arabs whether 
they meant “ The seat of Mahomet ” by this. They answered, “ No, the seat 
of our lord Moses.” They poured milk over it as an offering, and stuck 
little sprigs of grass into the crannies of the rock. He did not attach much 
importance to the traditions found there, as there was everything against 
a line of unbroken tradition. He had not formed any opinion as to the 
point at which the Israelites crossed the Red Sea. The country required 
very careful examination in order to ascertain whether at the time of the 
Exodus the Gulf of Suez extended to the Bitter Lakes, or was only 
connected by a canal. There were to be found traces of human habitation 
round the Bitter Lakes. He might add that he had found a most interesting 
road from Ismailia to Jebel Mugrah, along which were fortified walls, dwell- 
ings, and buildings of Roman date. There were also great numbers of 
flint implements. This must have been the high road leading from Edom 
direct to Egypt, and, he thought, the one followed by Abraham and Lot 
when they went down into Egypt. He thought the flint implements on the 
table were made in the time of Moses, but the Arabs of the present day 
occasionally made them. He should not like to say where Rameses was. 
