98 
the narrative which is at first sight almost amusing. Joseph 
inquires, “ Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake ? 
Is he yet alive ? " And they answered : “ Thy servant, our 
father, is in good health ; he is yet alive.” 
The inverted order, “ Is it peace to him ? Is he alive ? '' 
is very unusual ; but it seems also to be purely Egyptian. 
Chabas* gives us some most interesting extracts from letters 
written in the time of Meneptah (probably the time of Moses), 
by a lady in an Egyptian outpost in Syria, to friends at home 
in the Delta. In these familiar communications, the very 
phrase in question occurs more than once. She writes : “ I 
am very well off ; I am alive ; 33 and again, about a friend : 
“ His majesty's aide-de-camp Setemua is in good plight ; he 
lives ; don't trouble yourself about him; he is quartered with 
us at Tamakhirpe '' — the garrison in question. 
It is true that the Egyptians thought so much, and with so 
little fear, of death and things beyond, that to them the ques- 
tion, “ Is it peace to such an one ?'' might not seem to render 
superfluous the further inquiry, e< Is he alive?'' Anyhow, 
this coincidence is to me very pleasing. 
The cup of Joseph's divination is worthy of note. The 
Hebrew word 3T5? is used only in Genesis in this passage, in 
Exodus xxv., xxxvii., of the “ bowls '' of the golden u candle- 
stick ; '' and in Jeremiah xxxv. of “ pots of wine " in the 
priests' chambers. May it not be identical with the Egyptian 
word jip hebh, applied to the vessels used for libations. 
The beautifully-formed vessels of silver, as well as of gold, 
brought from Phoenicia during the reigns of the XVIIIth 
dynasty, may well illustrate the probable character of Joseph's 
cup of silver. 
For some interesting remarks on divination by cups we may 
refer to a paper by Mr. Rodwell in “T.S.B.A." II. 115. 
The Long Famine. 
Egyptian records have been keenly interrogated for any 
allusion to the long famine of Joseph's days. Credit is claimed 
for several governors, from early dates downwards, for provi- 
dent supply and the saving of life. 
At length Brugsch-Bey J brings before us a sepulchral in- 
scription at el-Kab (Eileithyia), which, he is persuaded, bears 
witness to the measures taken by a local ruler, attached to 
* Melanges , Illme serie, tome II.. 152 ; also Etudes , 216. 
t Pierret, Vocab., 617. 
f Hist, I. 262. Histoire , 176, where the original of the chief passage is 
given. 
