|
Biblical patriarch ID'd in hieroglyphs, depiction of cow linked to
pharoah's dream Posted: September 26, 2009
11:30 pm Eastern
MEMRI Egyptian coins carrying the name of Joseph, the biblical patriarch whose
arrival in Egypt as a slave eventually provided salvation for his family
during decades of drought across the Middle East, have been discovered
in a cache of antique items shelved in boxes in a museum, according to a
new report.
The report from the Middle East Media Research Institute said the coins
with Joseph's name and image were found in a pile of unsorted artifacts
that had been stored at the Museum of Egypt. MEMRI, which monitors and translates reports from Middle East
publications and broadcasters, said the original report was in Egypt's
Al Ahram newspaper in Cairo. The newspaper said the discovery countered claims by some historians
that coins were not used for trade in Egypt at the time the Bible
records Joseph and the Jews migrated there. Those historians have argued that trade was done by barter. But researchers told the newspaper the minting dates of the coins in the
cache have been matched to the period in which Joseph was recorded to be
in Egypt. "A thorough examination revealed that the coins bore the year in which
they were minted and their value, or effigies of the pharaohs [who
ruled] at the time of their minting. Some of the coins are from the time
when Joseph lived in Egypt, and bear his name and portrait," said the
newspaper report. The report carried an explanation of the discovery by a team involving
researcher Sa'id Muhammad Thabet: "Studies by Dr. Thabet's team have revealed that what most archeologists
took for a kind of charm, and others took for an ornament or adornment,
is actually a coin. Several [facts led them to this conclusion]: first,
[the fact that] many such coins have been found at various
[archeological sites], and also [the fact that] they are round or oval
in shape, and have two faces: one with an inscription, called the
inscribed face, and one with an image, called the engraved face – just
like the coins we use today," said the report. The newspaper called the find "unprecedented" and said, "The researchers
discovered the coins when they sifted through thousands of small
archeological artifacts stored in [the vaults of] the Museum of Egypt." The Egyptian newspaper noted that the Quran indicates clearly "that
coins were used in Egypt in the time of Joseph." The report continued, "Research team head Dr. Sa'id Muhammad Thabet said
that during his archeological research on the Prophet Joseph, he had
discovered in the vaults of the [Egyptian] Antiquities Authority and of
the National Museum many charms from various eras before and after the
period of Joseph, including one that bore his effigy as the minister of
the treasury in the Egyptian pharaoh's court…" The report continued, "According to Dr. Thabet, his studies are based on
publications about the Third Dynasty, one of which states that the
Egyptian coin of the time was called a deben and was worth one-fourth of
a gram of gold. This coin is mentioned in a letter by a man named
Thot-Nehet, a royal inspector of the Nile bridges. In letters to his
son, he mentioned leasing lands in return for deben-coins and
agricultural produce." The report explained that other texts from the Third, Sixth and Twelfth
Dynasties also talk about coins. "The archeological finding is also based on the fact that the inscribed
face bore the name of Egypt, a date, and a value, while the engraved
face bore the name and image of one of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs or
gods, or else a symbol connected with these. Another telling fact is
that the coins come in different sizes and are made of different
materials, including ivory, precious stones, copper, silver, gold, etc."
the newspaper reported. The museum research uncovered 500 of the coins "carelessly" stored in boxes. One even had the image of a cow "symbolizing Pharaoh's dream about the
seven fat cows and seven lean cows, and the seven green stalks of grain
and seven dry talks of grain," the report said. "Joseph's name appears twice on this coin, written in hieroglyphs: once
the original name, Joseph, and once his Egyptian name, Saba Sabani,
which was given to him by Pharaoh when he became treasurer. There is
also an image of Joseph, who was part of the Egyptian administration at
the time," the report said.
Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites  |
