105 
Irenseus ( Frag . de Perdit. Iren. Tract. , p. 347) alike relate the 
fame which Moses gained as general of the Egyptian army in 
a war with Ethiopia, which, though encumbered with a good 
deal of romance, still serves to explain the statement in 
Numbers xii. 1, that Moses married a woman of that 
country. 
27. Perhaps the most positive proof from the monuments of 
the existence of the Israelites in Egypt at this period of 
history, is seen in the well-known picture of the brickmakers 
at the village of Gournou, near Thebes, there still exists the 
remains of a magnificent tomb belonging to an Egyptian noble 
named Ros-she-ra. He appears to have been overseer of all 
the public buildings in Egypt during the reign of Thothmes III. 
The paintings on this tomb, which are given with great effect 
in Lepsius, Denkmaler (Abth. iff., Bl. 40), afford clear proof not 
only of the Israelites being in Egypt at the very time that 
Moses was compelled to flee to Midian, but of their being 
forcibly engaged in the occupation of brickmaking. There 
are several inscriptions on this remarkable monument, portions 
of which read as follow : — 
The centre inscription — 
“ Captives brought by his Majesty Thothmes III. 
To carry on the works at the Temple of Ammon.” 
On the left — 
“ Moulding bricks for making a treasure city in Thebes.” 
On the right — • 
“ The chief task-master says to the builders : ‘Work 
Actively with the hands. Be not idle. Let there be no giving in.’” 
28. Some of these captives employed in making bricks bear 
the unmistakable features of the Hebrew race; and among them 
four Egyptian task-maskers are represented as described in 
the Book of Exodus, so as to leave no reason for doubt but 
that the picture represents a striking commentary on the 
oppression of the children of Israel. Sir Gardner Wilkinson 
remarks (C that more bricks bearing the name of Thothmes III. 
have been discovered than of any other period.” And 
Rosellini adds that “ the bricks which are now found in 
belonging to this reign, always have straw mingled with 
them , although in some of those that are most carefully made 
it is found in very small quantities.” 
29. The world was startled a few years ago by M. Chabas's 
discovery in the Leyden papyrus of a set of captives who are 
