102 
rus brought by M. Prisse d' Avenues from Egypt about thirty 
years ago, fand now in the Bibliothegue Rationale, at Paris. 
An extract from it reads as follows : — 
“ Verily, a son, who obeys his father and does what is right, is pleasing 
unto God. So shalt thou have health and long life, and the royal approba- 
tion in ah things. Thou shalt attain the age of 110 years in the King’s court 
among the nobles of the land.” 
As this papyrus appears to have been written during the 
reign of Pharaoh Assa (18th cent, b.c.), the last of the Shep- 
herd Dynasty, which was ruling at the time of Joseph's death, 
and is the earliest instance, as far as is known, of any refer- 
ence to “ the age of 110 years " as being proverbial amongst 
the Egyptians, we are warranted in regarding it as a clear 
testimony to the truth of the Scripture statement respecting 
the age of Joseph at the time of his death.* 
21. The Book of Exodus opens with the statement that after 
the death of Joseph and his brethren, “ there arose up a new 
king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph," and who commenced 
the affliction of the Israelites, by compelling them to build the 
treasure cities Pithorn and Raamses. I believe it to be as cer- 
tain an historical fact that the “ king which knew not Joseph" 
was Amosis, the head of the 18th Dynasty, and conqueror of 
the shepherds, as that our William I. was the hero of the 
Norman conquest. Chronology and history alike point to this 
conclusion with an amount of evidence that is simply over- 
whelming. Hence we may expect to find on the monuments 
the names of “Pithorn" and “ Raamses" at that period of 
Egyptian history. Nor are we disappointed. The name 
“ Pithorn " has been identified by Dr. Brugsch with the 
Pd-chtoum en zdlou , i.e., “ the treasure city or fortress of 
Thom, built by foreign captives." The name occurs m the 
6th Tableau of the grand Hall in the Temple of Ammon at 
Karnac, in the time of Pharaoh Seti (Brugsch, Hist, d Egyp., 
p 129) ; and also two centuries earlier, in the annals ot 
Thothmes III., grandson of the Amosis referred to before 
(Brugsch, Geograph. Inscript., iii. 21) ; and there can be little 
doubt but that it is the identical treasure city Pithorn built by 
the children of Israel. 
* From a further consideration of what Mariette and Chabas have written 
on this subject, I am led to think the evidence conclusive that the Pharaoh 
referred to in the Papyrus Prisse belongs to the fourth Dynasty, and not to 
the last of the Shepherd kings. But this does not affect the argument re- 
specting the age of Joseph ; for the son who is of the age of 110 appears to 
have a father living at the time.— March, 1872. 
