Hope of Israel Ministries (Ecclesia of YEHOVAH):

Uncertainties in Egyptian chronology are legend! For every historian and archaeologist there seems to be a different reckoning -- some based on the work of the Egyptian scribe Manetho, others on the movements of heavenly bodies or the evidence of the monuments.

In establishing a framework of Egyptian history, most scholars have relied -- to a large degree -- on existing fragments of a record written in Greek by MANETHO, an Egyptian priest of the 3rd century B.C. These fragments were preserved in the works of later historians such as Josephus, Africanus, Eusebius and Syncellus -- who lived many centuries later than Manetho. Although Manetho's division of Egyptian history into thirty periods, each dominated by a ruling dynasty, is generally accepted in Egyptology, other fragments of his chronology that have been preserved are considered questionable.

W.G. Waddell states that "it is extremely difficult to reach certainty in regards to what is authentic Manetho and what is spurious or corrupt." He continues:

There are many errors in Manetho's work from the very beginning: all are not due to the perversions of scribes and revisors. Many of the lengths of reigns have been found impossible: in some cases the names and the sequence of kings as given by Manetho have proved untenable in the light of monumental evidence. -- Manetho, introduction, pps. 7-25.

The book Studies in Egyptian Chronology, by T. Nicklin, further explains: "The Manethonian Dynasties...are not lists of rulers over all Egypt, but lists partly of more or less independent princes, partly...of princely lines from which later sprang rulers over all Egypt." (Blackburn, Eng. 1928, p. 39). Author Waddell observes that "perhaps several Egyptian kings ruled at one and the same time;...thus it was not a succession of kings occupying the throne one after the other, but several kings reigning at the SAME TIME in different regions. Hence arose the great total number of years. " (Manetho, pps. 1-9).

For those placing their confidence in the monuments of Egypt there are just as many pitfalls -- notice what J.A. Wilson says: "A warning should be issued about the precise historical value of Egyptian inscriptions. That was a world of...divine myths and miracles." After suggesting that the Egyptian scribes were not beyond tampering with the chronology of historical events to add praise and inflate the ego of the pharaoh in power, he cautions: "The historian will accept his data at face value, unless there is a clear reason for distrust; but he must be ready to modify his acceptance as soon as new materials put the previous interpretation in a new light." (The World History of the Jewish People, 1964. Vol.1, pps. 280-281).

So where does that leave us? Who or what can we believe when it comes to constructing an accurate picture of Egyptian chronology? YEHOVAH God's Word -- the Bible, of course! While the Bible itself is not a comprehensive study into the world of historical chronology, it does provide invaluable insights that enable us to accurately correlate Egyptian history with that of ancient Israel! By establishing a number of points in the stream of time, we can confidently fill in the gaps and correct the 500 year misalignment that exists in the chronology of Egypt.

Let's now look at some events COMMON to both Egyptian and Israelite histories, and see if we can bring the chronologies of the two nations into synchronization!

In the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 25, we read:

Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were COMING OUT OF EGYPT, how he met you on the way and attacked your rear flanks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God. Therefore it shall be, WHEN THE LORD YOUR GOD HAS GIVEN YOU REST FROM YOUR ENEMIES ALL AROUND, IN THE LAND WHICH THE LORD YOUR GOD IS GIVING YOU TO POSSESS AS AN INHERITANCE, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget. -- Verses 17-19, NKJV.

YEHOVAH GOD did not forget! This command from the Eternal was fulfilled in the time of Saul, the first king of Israel. Notice!

And Samuel said to Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee king over Israel: and now hear the voice of the Lord. Thus said the Lord of hosts, NOW I WILL TAKE VENGEANCE FOR WHAT AMALEC DID TO ISRAEL, when he met him in the way as he came up out of Egypt. And now go, and thou shalt SMITE AMALEC and Hierim and all that belongs to him, and thou shalt not save anything of him alive, but thou shalt utterly destroy him: and thou shalt devote him and all his to destruction, and thou shalt spare nothing belonging to him; and thou shalt slay both man and woman, and infant and suckling, and calf and sheep, and camel and ass.

And Saul summoned the people, and he numbered them in Galgala, FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND REGULAR TROOPS, AND JUDA THIRTY THOUSAND REGULAR TROOPS. And Saul came to THE CITIES ["A CITY" -- NKJV] OF AMALEC, AND LAID WAIT IN THE VALLEY [HEBREW, NAKHAL -- "A BED OF A RIVER," ESP. "RIVER OF EGYPT"]. And Saul said to the Kinite, Go, and depart out of the midst of the Amalekites, lest I put thee with them; for thou dealedst mercifully with the children of Israel when they went up out of Egypt. So the Kinite departed from the midst of Amalec. And Saul smote Amalec FROM EVILAT TO SUR FRONTING EGYPT. And HE TOOK AGAG THE KING OF AMALEC ALIVE, and he slew all the people and Hierim ["he destroyed"] with the edge of the sword. And Saul and all the people SAVED AGAG ALIVE, and the best of the flocks, and of the herds, and of the fruits, of the vineyards, and of all the good things; and they would not destroy them: but every worthless and refuse thing they destroyed. -- I Samuel 15:1-9, Septuagint.

There are a number of points to consider in these verses from I Samuel:

1). The SIZE of the army Saul assembled in Galgala -- 430,000 troops -- indicates that this was no small band of soldiers gathered together to punish some Bedouin raiders who were making incursions into Israel! IT WAS A MAJOR ARMY ASSEMBLED TO CARRY OUT A MAJOR OFFENSIVE, otherwise, why so many soldiers?

2). Where was the "CITY OF AMALEC" (more correctly, singular) and the "VALLEY" where this huge army "laid [in] wait"? As we have just seen, the word for "valley" is correctly translated "river bed." Is any evidence found on the Egyptian monuments relating to the SIEGE of a "city of Amalec" by a huge army that "laid wait" in a river bed?

One indication as to the location of this city is its topography: the city was besieged from the bed of a stream or river (nakhal). Obviously, this "city of Amalec" must have been situated near a river. When aerial photography revealed the FILLED IN RIVER BED of the old Pelusiac branch of the Nile, the city of Avaris/Ramesses was not long afterwards excavated by a team of archaeologists from Austria. The city was found to be located on the EASTERN BANK of the Pelusiac and connected to it by a number of canals.

An Egyptian monument records events that occurred in this very same city! Notice:

I followed the king on foot when he rode abroad in his chariot. ONE besieged the CITY OF AVARIS. I showed valor on foot before his majesty....ONE fought ON THE WATER IN THE CANAL [RIVERBED] OF AVARIS.... Then there was again fighting in this place; I again fought ....ONE fought IN THIS EGYPT, south of this city; then I brought away a living captive ....ONE captured AVARIS....ONE BESIEGED Sharuhen [s'-r'-h'-n] for six years [and] his majesty took it....

This inscription was found engraved on the wall of the tomb of an officer of Ahmose, a vassal pharaoh of one of the nomes who became the FIRST PHARAOH OF THE 18th DYNASTY, following the expulsion of the Hyksos. The inscription is one of the best available Egyptian sources on the war of deliverance from the Hyksos; however, it has been somewhat of an enigma to the historians because of the obvious mention of FOREIGN SOLDIERS FROM ABROAD who were the REAL deliverers of Egypt!

According to Immanuel Velikovsky:

The indefinite pronoun [in the inscription] WOULD NOT have been used if the Egyptian king had been at the head of the besieging army. Had the Egyptian prince been the main figure in this war for freedom his would not have been ATTRIBUTED TO THE INDEFINITE "ONE." The writer would have said: HIS MAJESTY besieged..." or "OUR TROOPS fought..." The Egyptian document says in fact that in the war against the Hyksos a FOREIGN ARMY was active. However, Egyptian inscriptions did not memorialize the deeds of foreign kings, and hence the name of the king who destroyed the Hyksos is missing. The war was fought by a FOREIGN "ONE," and the history written on that tomb DID NOT ascribe the sieges and the expulsion of the Hyksos to the dead man's own chief, WHO ONLY AIDED THE FOREIGN LIBERATOR. -- Ages in Chaos. Doubleday & Company, Inc. Garden City, N.Y. 1952, p. 78.

This is corroborated by Josephus, the 1st-century A.D. Jewish historian, who notes that "Thummosis the son of Alisphragmuthosis made an attempt to take them [the Hyksos/Amalekites] by force and BY SIEGE WITH FOUR HUNDRED AND EIGHTY THOUSAND MEN to lie round about them..." (Against Apion, book I, section 14). If King Saul mustered 430,000 men, the Egyptians must have only provided some 50,000 troops.

The identity of the foreign liberator of Egypt is thus revealed by the book of Samuel. The "one" in the inscription from the tomb wall was King Saul of Israel. The Amalekite city was Avaris. In both Hebrew and Egyptian sources the strategic use of the bed of the stream or river in the siege of this city is stressed. The vast spoils taken from the Hyksos capital are mentioned in Hebrew and Egyptian sources; it consisted of "the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good...." (I Sam.15:9). Both sources reveal that during this campaign the "one," or Saul, fought the Amu-Amalekites and destroyed them "to the south of Avaris" or "from Evilat to Sur fronting Egypt."

It is fascinating to realize that HISTORICAL CREDIT for freeing the Near and Middle East from the yoke of the Hyksos belongs to Saul. This great accomplishment, however, has not been esteemed or even recognized. The capture of Avaris and the destruction of the Amalekite (Hyksos) army CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY. Egypt was now able to rise to power and great splendor once again after being freed from almost 500 years of domination and degradation by a descendant of the Hebrews who had suffered under the Egyptians in a similar fashion!

The area that "Saul smote Amalec FROM EVILAT TO SUR FRONTING EGYPT" tells us a lot. As Velikovsky puts it: "A geographical indication may also be tentatively drawn from the reference in the verse that follows: 'until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.' This was the SOUTHERNMOST POINT of the victorious campaign of Saul, as a result of the capture of the CITY OF THE AMALEKITES." (Ages in Chaos, p. 79).

Henry Brugsch-Bey further explains:

...there was, at the entrance of the road leading to Palestine [from Egypt], near the lake Sirbonis, a small fortification [actually, the fortification was quite extensive - see an upcoming article] to which, as early as the time of the Nineteenth Dynasty [12th Dynasty -- see same upcoming article], the Egyptians gave the name of ANBU, that is, 'THE WALL,' or 'FENCE,' a name which the Greeks translated according to their custom, calling it Gerrhon, or in the plural Gerrha. The HEBREWS likewise rendered the meaning of the Egyptian name by a translation, DESIGNATING THE MILITARY POST ON THE EGYPTIAN FRONTIER BY THE NAME OF SHUR, which in their language signifies exactly the same as the word ANBU in Egyptian, namely, 'THE WALL.' This Shur is the very same place which is mentioned in Holy Scripture, not only as a frontier post between Egypt and Palestine, BUT ALSO AS THE PLACE WHOSE NAME WAS GIVEN TO THE NORTHERN PART OF THE DESERT ON THAT SIDE OF EGYPT. -- A History of Egypt Under the Pharaohs. Second edition, vol II. John Murray, London. 1881, p. 375.

It must be pointed out that there was MORE THAN ONE "SHUR" mentioned in the Bible. The Wilderness of Shur, which appears in the book of Exodus, was in Arabia, while there was another "Shur" on the Euphrates and one on the Borysthenes in European Sarmatia.

The city of Avaris was only about 15 miles from Egypt's eastern defenses and was in the area generally known as Shur (Sur).

The mention of Agag, king of Amalec is another vital point in understanding the role of King Saul in the liberation of Egypt from the cruel domination of the Hyksos.

When Balaam the sorcerer was called upon to curse the Israelites marching out of Egypt, he did an amazing thing! Instead of cursing the Israelites he BLESSED them with these words:

He [Israel] shall pour water from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters. HIS KING [SAUL] SHALL BE HIGHER THAN AGAG, and HIS [SAUL'S] KINGDOM shall be exalted. -- Numbers 24:7.

Who was this Agag? Agag (Agog) was the name of the Amalekite king!

After blessing the Israelites, Balaam turned and faced ANOTHER direction: "Then he looked on AMALEK, and he took up his oracle and said: 'AMALEK WAS THE FIRST AMONG THE NATIONS, but shall BE LAST until he perishes.'" (Numbers 24:20).

At this time in the history of Egypt and Israel, the Amalekites were the MOST POWERFUL NATION in the Middle East! According to ARAB historians, the Amalekite empire extended all the way to the Straights of Gilbralta. The power of OTHER NATIONS was expressed by comparing them with the POWER of the Amalekite king Agog. He was the RULER over the vast Amalekite empire! Velikovsky elaborates --

The name of the king Agog is the only Amalekite name that the Scriptures have preserved. BESIDES the king Agog mentioned in the Book of Numbers, THERE WAS ANOTHER AMALEKITE KING AGOG, THEIR LAST KING, who reigned some four hundred years later and was a CONTEMPORARY OF SAUL.

In the history of Egypt the most frequently mentioned name of the HYKSOS KINGS is APOP [APOPI]. One of the FIRST and most prominent of the Hyksos rulers was APOP; THE LAST KING OF THE HYKSOS WAS ALSO APOP.
The early Hebrew written signs as they are preserved on the STELE OF MESHA show a STRIKING RESEMBLANCE between the letters g (gimel) and p (pei). No other two letters are SO MUCH ALIKE in shape as these: each is an oblique line connected to a shorter, more oblique line, and is similar to the written number 7; the SIZE OF THE ANGLE between the two oblique lines constitutes the ONLY difference....

Agog I appears to be Apop I, and Agog II, Apop II. King Agog reigned at the BEGINNING OF THE PERIOD [of the Hyksos rule]; according to Manetho, Apop was the fourth king of the Hyksos Dynasty and ruled for sixty-one years. AGOG II REIGNED AT THE VERY END OF THE PERIOD, some four hundred years later. -- Ages in Chaos, p. 72.

Obviously, the king Agog mentioned in the Bible was the SECOND ONE of that name -- the last king of the Hyksos before they were expelled from the land of Egypt by Saul and his Egyptian ally, Pharaoh Ahmose.

The Bible reveals the FATE of King Agog: "Then Samuel [the prophet] said, 'Bring Agag king of the Amalekites here to me.' So Agag came to him cautiously. And Agag said, 'Surely the bitterness of death is past.' But Samuel said, 'As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.' And Samuel HACKED AGAG IN PIECES before the Lord in Gilgal." (I Sam. 15:32-33).

Posterity did not learn of the deeds of Saul; even his contemporaries did not reward him with gratitude. Cursed by Samuel for his soft heart when he spared the life of Agog, driven to depression, and having a premonition of his fate, he went to his last battle. His head and the head of his son Jonathan were cut off by the Philistines and carried through the villages; the headless bodies were hung on the walls of Beth-Shan, in the valley of the Jordan. (Ages in Chaos, p. 84).

This was the sad end of the man who was the first king of Israel and the liberator of Egypt!

In the book of II Chronicles we read the account of the visit to Jerusalem by the Queen of Sheba ("Saba" in the Septuagint):

Now when the queen of Sheba heard the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem TO TEST SOLOMON WITH HARD QUESTIONS, having a very great retinue, camels that bore spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about ALL THAT WAS IN HER HEART. So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for Solomon that he could not explain it to her.

And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the HOUSE [TEMPLE] THAT HE HAD BUILT, the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers and their apparel, and HIS ENTRYWAY BY WHICH HE WENT UP TO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD, there was no more spirit in her.

The New King James Version continues by quoting the Queen of Sheba --

Then she said to the king: "it was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. However I did not believe their words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed, the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me. You exceed the fame of which I heard...." Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great abundance, and precious stones; there never were any spices such as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

Also, the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, brought ALGUM WOOD and precious stones. And the king made WALKWAYS OF THE ALGUM WOOD FOR THE HOUSE OF THE LORD and for the KING'S HOUSE, also harps and stringed instruments for singers; and there were none such as these seen before in the land of Judah. Now King Solomon GAVE TO THE QUEEN OF SHEBA ALL SHE DESIRED, whatever she asked, much more than she had brought to the king. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants. -- Chapter 9:1-6, 9-12. NKJV.

A parallel account of these events is found in the Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus -- with some VERY IMPORTANT additions. Notice --

There was then a woman, QUEEN OF EGYPT AND ETHIOPIA; she was inquisitive into PHILOSOPHY, and one that on other accounts also was to be admired. When this queen heard of the virtue and prudence of Solomon, she had a great mind to see him, and the reports that went every day abroad induced her to come to him, and that especially, in order to have a trial of his wisdom, while she proposed questions of very great difficulty, and entreated that he would solve their hidden meaning. Accordingly, she came to Jerusalem with great splendour and rich furniture; for she brought with her camels laden with gold, with several sorts of sweet spices, and with precious stones. Now, upon the king's kind reception of her, he both shewed a great desire to please her; and easily comprehended in his mind the meaning of the curious questions she propounded to him, he resolved them sooner than anybody could have expected.

Josephus continues --

So she was amazed at the wisdom of Solomon...especially she was surprised at the fineness and largeness of his royal palace...but she was BEYOND MEASURE ASTONISHED at the house which was called the FOREST OF LEBANON [TEMPLE] ...nor was she less affected with those DAILY SACRIFICES which were offered to God, and the careful management which the priests and Levites used about them. When she saw this done every day, she was in the GREATEST ADMIRATION IMAGINABLE, INSOMUCH THAT SHE WAS NOT ABLE TO CONTAIN THE SURPRISE SHE WAS IN, BUT OPENLY CONFESSED HOW WONDERFULLY SHE WAS AFFECTED...

Now when the queen had thus demonstrated in words how deeply the king [and everything she saw] has affected her, her disposition was known by certain presents, for she gave him twenty talents of gold, and an immense quantity of spices and precious stones ....Solomon also repaid her with many good things, and principally by bestowing upon her what she chose of her own inclination....So when this QUEEN OF ETHIOPIA had obtained what we have already given an account of...she returned to her own kingdom. -- Book VIII, chapter VI, sections 5 & 6.

When we consider both of these accounts, it is very clear that the Queen of Sheba (Saba) was ALSO Queen of EGYPT AND ETHIOPIA! In Matthew 12:42 and Luke 11:31 Yeshua called the Queen of Sheba "the queen of the South." If you carefully read the eleventh chapter of the book of Daniel, you will find that the king of the SOUTH is the ruler of both EGYPT AND ETHIOPIA! Yeshua's comments about the Queen of Sheba being the "queen of the South" therefore means that she was the ruler of Egypt AND Ethiopia.

The district of Saba or Sheba has been identified by most scholars as being in SOUTHERN ARABIA; and the Yemenites of this land have a STRONG TRADITION that the Queen of Sheba was THEIR queen. This view is supported by the Islamic Koran (holy book) in Sura XXVII. But Ethiopia ALSO claims this queen to be their own! The kings of Ethiopia have long insisted that they were descended from Menelik, a son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. They possess medieval manuscripts, with texts compiled in the early Christian centuries, which carry this tradition. Was there also an EGYPTIAN queen who could fulfill the role of Queen of Sheba as described by the Bible and Josephus? Who was right?

Most scholars have rejected the idea that a queen of Egypt and Ethiopia could also be queen of Saba in southern Arabia. These scholars are IGNORANT of their geography! Notice the following:

Many modern historians have assumed that both Jesus and Josephus were incorrect. They LIMIT the land of Sheba exclusively to southern Arabia. It is at this point that they seem to FORGET their history. Ethiopia anciently extended to southern Arabia. The land of Sheba -- the leading ETHIOPIAN tribe -- included both southern Arabia AND Ethiopia. Under Dynasty XVIII of Thebes Ethiopia and Egypt were UNITED. The queen of the south was therefore ALSO queen of Egypt.... (Compendium of World History, by Herman L. Hoeh.)

Who, then, was this Queen of Sheba who was ALSO Queen of Egypt? The answer to this should not be too difficult to find -- there were only THREE woman pharaohs or queens of Egypt recorded during its long and illustrious existence! The first was Nitocris of the 6th Dynasty; the second was Scemiophris (Sebeknofru) of the 12th; and the third was Hashepsowe (Hatshepsut) of the 18th. Whom of these three, then, was the Queen of Sheba of the Bible and of Josephus?

Immanuel Velikovsky discovered a clue:

There is a detail in the Ethiopian legend [about the Queen of Sheba] which only by a RARE CHANCE could have been invented. The Ethiopians call the Queen of the South MAKEDA. The royal name of QUEEN HATSHEPSUT, mentioned throughout the Punt reliefs, is MAKERA. "Ra" is the divine name of a god. (Likewise "DA" could be the divine name ADAD or ADA, which is a part of several scriptural names). The main part of the name of the Egyptian queen is IDENTICAL with the first two syllables in the name of the Queen of the South. It was preserved in the Ethiopian tradition; it did not come from the Scriptures. -- Ages in Chaos, p. 137.

Furthermore, Josephus preserves the NAME of the Queen of Sheba in his Antiquities of the Jews:

I suppose also that Herodotus of Halicarnassus, when he said there were three hundred and thirty kings of Egypt after Menes, who built Memphis, did therefore not tell us their names, because they were in common called Pharaohs; for when after their death THERE WAS A QUEEN REIGNED, HE CALLS HER BY HER NAME NICAULE, as thereby declaring, that while the kings were of the male line, and so admitted of the same name, while a WOMAN did not admit the same, he did therefore SET DOWN THAT HER NAME, which she could not naturally have. As for myself, I have discovered from my own books, that after Pharaoh, the father-in-law of Solomon, no other king of Egypt did any longer use that name; and that it was after that time when the FORE-NAMED QUEEN OF EGYPT AND ETHIOPIA came to Solomon. ....(Book VIII, chapter vi, part 2).

Anybody with an understanding of philology (historical and comparative linguistics) would immediately recognize in the name NICAULE (NIKAULE in Greek) a form of the Egyptian MAEKAURE -- the PRENOMEN OF HATSHEPSUT!

While this in itself is quite conclusive, there is other POWERFUL evidence that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Queen Hatshepsut of the 18th Dynasty was the Queen of Sheba who visited King Solomon in Jerusalem.

Queen Hatshepsut built a magnificent temple called "The Most Splendid of Splendors" at Deir el Bahari near Thebes in Upper Egypt. The ruins of this structure are still to be seen today, and even in its decayed state is regarded as one of the most beautiful buildings in Egypt. Its simplicity of lines coupled with a lack of heavy ornamentation make it stand out in contrast to the temples of the Ramessides.

Many Egyptologists have been struck by the strange appearance of Hatshepsut's temple, and thought that it reflected a FOREIGN INFLUENCE. Some supposed it was constructed after buildings seen by her officers -- or BY THE QUEEN HERSELF -- in some foreign land. A study of "The Most Splendid of Splendors" however, reveals some REMARKABLE SIMILARITIES to Solomon's temple in Jerusalem!

The Temple of Jerusalem was built upon TERRACES PLANTED WITH TREES. These terraces were cut by an ASCENDING PATH. The processions of the LEVITES [PRIESTS] started on the lowest terrace, and as they sang they mounted the path. This explains the fact that some of their Psalms are called Shir ha-maaloth, "song of the ascent." (See Psalms 120-134).

The Temple in Jerusalem contained a HALL WHICH WAS THREE TIMES AS LONG AS IT WAS WIDE; in front of the hall was a VESTIBULE; behind the hall was a SANCTUARY; the large "sea" was probably placed in the inner court.

The temple at Deir el Bahari was built against a mighty cliff; the Temple of Jerusalem stood upon an elevation with a distant chain of hills running northeast, east, and south of it....

Velikovsky goes on to describe the temple layout --

The temple of the Most Splendid of Splendors was a famous SANCTUARY. Several scholars have tried to reconstruct its plan. This temple was built upon TERRACES PLANTED WITH... TREES...; the terraces were placed at progressively higher levels, and a PATH leading to the temple mounted from one level to another. Rows of pillars standing on a lower terrace supported the wall of the terrace above. The court of the temple was surrounded by a colonnade; the temple was divided into a VESTIBULE, a HALL, and a SANCTUARY. The ratio of the width to the length of the hall was almost ONE TO THREE.

The pillars supporting the terraces and surrounding the inner court were rectangular in form; with their shadows, which changed with the movement of the sun, they imparted a harmonious and majestic appearance, which only rectangular stone rhythmically arranged can give....

Not only the temple architecture but also the TEMPLE SERVICE in Egypt were given many NEW features. It was not until the temple of the Most Splendid of Splendors at Deir el Bahari was constructed that TWELVE PRIESTS, WITH A HIGH PRIEST HEADING THEM, officiated before the altar. A relief on a fragment, now in the Louvre Museum [in Paris], shows TWELVE PRIESTS divided into four orders, three in each order, and a damaged inscription over their heads reads: "...in the temple of Amon, in Most Splendid of Splendors, by the HIGH PRIEST of Amon in Most Splendid of Splendors..."

The office of the high priest was established in the Egyptian service ONLY at the time of Queen Hatshepsut. -- Ages in Chaos, pps. 130-132.

On the walls of the Most Splendid of Splendors are engraved bas-reliefs (a sculpture in relief with the design raised very slightly from the background) describing the life and the milestones in the reign of Queen Hatshepsut. "One series tells the story of her divine birth, her father being the god Ra. Another series, called the PUNT RELIEFS, which are opposite to and symmetrical with the first series, tells the story of a JOURNEY TO THE LAND OF PUNT or the HOLY LAND (DIVINE, GOD'S LAND)." (Ages in Chaos, p. 108).

This journey to the land of PUNT occurred in the ninth year of Hatshepsut's reign, and an English translation of this event may be found in the Ancient Records of Egypt, by Breasted. Here are some extracts from Breasted's translation: "Sailing in the sea, beginning the goodly way toward GOD'S-LAND, journeying in peace to the LAND OF PUNT.... (Section 253).

GOD'S LAND is described in detail in Section 288: "I have led them on water and on land, to explore the waters of inaccessible channels, and I have reached the MYRRH-TERRACES."

In God's Land Queen Hatshepsut explored spring-fed pools -which is a better translation than the awkward "waters of inaccessible channels." King Solomon built many spring-fed pools to supply the beautiful artificial wooded terraces that he constructed. "I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made myself WATERPOOLS from which to water the growing trees of the grove." (Ecclesiastes 2:5-6).

Along the road to Jerusalem the slopes of the hills were cut in the form of terraces, which can be seen even today. MYRRH was grown on these terraces, along with fruits, herbs and various spices that were used in the Temple at Jerusalem. Almonds -produced for export -- were also grown there. Queen Hatshepsut desired these MYRRH trees, and Solomon gave them to her in great quantities: "Fresh myrrh in great quantities, marvels of the countries of PUNT. Never did the like happen under any gods who were before since the beginning." (Punt Relief).

When Hatshepsut returned to her land she built a new TEMPLE WITH TERRACES; and in these terraces she planted the trees she received in Punt.

"The success of the expedition to the Divine Land was a personal triumph for the queen, and she emphasized it. She decided to thank her "heavenly father," the god Amon-Ra, for the success of the expedition by erecting a new temple and by CONSTRUCTING TERRACES and planting in these gardens the costly TREES which she had brought from Punt.

"The temple of the Most Splendid of Splendors, the ruins of which bear these bas-reliefs [describing Hatshepsut's trip to Punt], was built, TERRACES WERE LAID OUT, and TREES were planted.

'I have harkened to my father...commanding me to ESTABLISH FOR HIM A PUNT IN HIS HOUSE, to plant trees of God's land beside his temple, in his garden.'" (Punt Relief, sec.295). (Ages in Chaos, p. 128).

These myrrh terraces so impressed the Queen that she included them in her temple. "And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built...and his ASCENT by which he went up unto the house of the Lord; there was no more spirit in her." (I Kings 10:4-5). The terraces of the ASCENT to the Temple in Jerusalem were built of Almug wood and planted with trees.

Queen Hatshepsut wrote on the wall of her temple that "the highways of the MYRRH-TERRACES" of the Divine Land were "penetrated," and "I have reached the myrrh-terraces."

Similar terraces were built and planted facing the temple of the Most Splendid of Splendors. They were planted with the trees she brought back from Punt -- the trees that so impressed her.

On the wall of Hatshepsut's temple these trees are shown planted, and the inscription reads: "Trees were taken up in God's Land and set in the ground [in Egypt]." (Section 294). The ruins of this temple show where and how the terraces were situated, forming garden plateaus at rising levels.

NOT ONLY WAS THE PLAN OF THE TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM, AND THE TEMPLE SERVICE, IMITATED; THE VERY GARDENS AND TERRACES SOLOMON PLACED THERE WERE FOLLOWED AS MODELS TOO!

The PUNT relief continues: "It is a glorious region of God's Land; it is indeed my place of delight.... They took myrrh as they wished, they loaded the vessels to their hearts' content, with fresh myrrh trees, every good gift of this country, PUNTITES whom the people know not, SOUTHERNS of God's-Land."

Where was the land of Punt?

Over the decades many theories have been advanced concerning the location of Punt. In the Egyptian language the name of Punt or Divine (God's) Land is not accompanied by the sign designating a foreign country. This indicates that the Egyptians looked upon Punt as a land closely connected with Egypt.

In an utterance by Amon, dating from the time of Amenhotep III, of the later part of the Eighteenth Dynasty, there are the following words. "When I TURN MY FACE TO THE SUNRISE...I cause to come to thee the countries of Punt." (Breasted, Records, Vol. II, Sec. 892).

An official of the 6th Dynasty left a laconic record stating that he visited BYBLOS AND PUNT eleven times.

This last record places Byblos and Punt together, indicating that they were geographically close to each other. Byblos was the ancient capital of PHOENICIA; its ruins are located eighteen miles north of Beirut. Therefore, Punt must have been close to Lebanon.

The name Punt or PONT is not of Latin origin but comes from "PONTUS," who was the father of Poseidon and Sidon. Sanchoniaton, the Phoenician writer of the ancient world, makes this clear. This "Pontus" was a legendary ancestor of the Phoenicians who, in the scriptures, are called "the men of Sidon and Tyre" or "the men of Hiram." It is interesting that the Romans fought in the so-called "PUNIC Wars" against the city of Carthage, which was built by immigrants from Phoenicia.

The word "PONTIFEX," which means HIGH PRIEST, can also be traced back to "Pontus." When the Egyptian inscriptions at Deir el Bahari say that Queen Hatshepsut built a "PUNT" for worshipping the god Amon after her return from Punt, it means she erected a sacred place of worship. "By building a 'punt' in Egypt, Queen Hatshepsut ALSO introduced the institution of the HIGH PRIEST [Pontifex], copying the service of the Temple in Jerusalem, built on a Phoenician model." (Ages in Chaos, p. 133).

The bas-relief in Deir el Bahari narrows down the location of the land of Punt even more. In the lower corner of this relief is depicted a landing place. From the right a "KING'S MESSENGER" approaches at the head of his soldiers; and from the left a CHIEF approaches. That this landing place is on the coast is clearly indicated by a line of water complete with fish swimming about. On the relief the chief is called "A CHIEF OF PUNT P'-R'-HW." This last word means Perehu or PARUAH. On a tent is written: "Pitching the tent of the king's messenger and his army on the MYRRH-TERRACES OF PUNT ON THE SIDE OF THE SEA." In the days of Solomon the land of Israel stretched to the Gulf of Aqaba where, at Ezion-Geber, Solomon's fleet was stationed. The "king's messenger" and the soldiers were obviously sent to escort Queen Hatshepsut to her destination.

The chief -- Paruah -- must have been Solomon's representative at Ezion-Geber. On the relief Paruah is portrayed as an elderly man with no insignia or badge of power. "He was accompanied on this mission [to greet Queen Hatshepsut] by his wife, disfigured by elephantiasis, and a few other members of his family, which indicates that he and his family were residents and probably natives of the place; he appears to have been the CHIEF of Ezion-Geber." (Ages in Chaos, p. 115).

In I Kings 4 we find that "Solomon had twelve GOVERNORS over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month of the year. These are their names: ....Baanah the son of Hushai, in ASHER AND ALOTH; Jehoshaphat the SON OF PARUAH, in Issachar; Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin; Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only governor who was in the land." (Verses 7-8, 16-19, NKJV).

We notice in these verses that Jehoshaphat the son of PARUAH was governor in ISSACHAR; however, there is a problem with these verses. For "Baanah the son of Hushai to be governor in both Asher AND Aloth (Eloth) would have required some fancy footwork! Aloth was close to Ezion-Geber on the Gulf of Aqaba; whereas Asher encompassed the area from Mt. Carmel northward -- the plain of Esdraelon! There was quite some distance separating the two.

This anomaly has been noticed by several scholars. According to Velikovsky "it appears that the last word in I Kings 4:16 belongs to THE NEXT VERSE, and the last word of 4:17 to the FOLLOWING VERSE. The reading then would be:'... and in ALOTH [ELOTH] Jehoshaphat the son of PARUAH.' In this case the son remained governor where his father had served in the same capacity, Aloth and Eloth being the same." (Footnote p. 115, Ages in Chaos).

Albright, in the Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society (1925, V, 35) came to the same conclusion and stated that the place Aloth should be transferred to the next verse, into the DOMAIN OF JEHOSHAPHAT, SON OF PARUAH. This makes much better geographical sense! To be governor of such widely separated regions is not consistent in light of the context of these verses.

Finally, author J.W. Jack, in his work Samaria in Ahab's Time (Edinburgh, 1929, p. 95), is of the same opinion.

With this clarification we can see that Paruah -- the chief of Punt -- of the Egyptian inscriptions at Deir el Bahari is the SAME Paruah whose son Jehoshaphat was governor of Eloth in I Kings 4! Since Paruah was a GOVERNOR OF ISRAEL and also a chief or GOVERNOR OF PUNT, then Israel and Punt embraced the SAME GEOGRAPHICAL AREA!

We have now established and proven a number of CONTEMPORARY EVENTS in the histories of Egypt and Israel.

Since Paruah, who had served Solomon as governor, greeted Queen Hatshepsut at Ezion-Geber, Queen Hatshepsut was therefore CONTEMPORARY with King Solomon of Israel. This being the case, the 18th Dynasty of Egypt was CONTEMPORARY with the kingdom of Israel -- Pharaoh Ahmose, as we have seen, was contemporary with King Saul, and Hatshepsut (the Queen of Sheba) was contemporary with King Solomon.

What could be plainer?

If the second Agog or Apopi was contemporary with King Saul and Pharaoh Ahmose of the 18th Dynasty, then the FIRST Agag was ruling Egypt SHORTLY AFTER the demise of the 12th Dynasty and the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt. Since it is unanimously accepted that King Saul lived in the 11th century B.C., this places Pharaoh Ahmose and the beginning of the 18th Dynasty in the SAME time frame. Modern historians, however, place Pharaoh Ahmose in the 16th century B.C. and the end of the 12th Dynasty in the 18th!

The BIBLE itself establishes a CLEAR chronological relationship between the time of King Solomon and the Exodus. Notice: "And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv...that he began to build the house of the Lord." (I Kings 6:1).

In future articles we will examine a number of other events common to the histories of both Egypt and Israel, and irrefutably show that the chronology accepted by most historians today is some 500 years out of synchronization with the TRUE HISTORY of Egypt.

Hope of Israel Ministries -- Taking the Lead in the Search for Truth!

Hope of Israel Ministries P.O. Box 853 Azusa, CA 91702, U.S.A. www.hope-of-israel.org

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