As Joseph died at 110 years of age, he lived 56 years after the death of Jacob, as governor of Egypt, very probably, since the last account of him was that “they embalmed him and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.” He lived to see his great grandchildren, and therefore was prominent in Egypt for a term of 80 years. CHAPTER VII. EGYPTIAN TESTIMONIES. =The recovery of the meaning= of the Egyptian hieroglyphics, and the many discoveries of monuments illustrating the early history and literature of that nation, have added great interest to the study of Scripture and established the accuracy of Biblical accounts of this period. =1. The articles= which the Ishmaelites carried to Egypt at the time Joseph was sold are, in part, recorded in a list upon one of the tablets at Edfu, on the Nile. The first and second of the articles named in Gen. 37:25 are recorded by name, the article rendered “spicery” being the name of a gum found in Syria. =2. The price of a common slave= of Joseph’s age is recorded in the time of Rameses XIII. as about $10. This agrees with the statement, Gen. 37:28, where it is stated that Joseph was sold for twenty pieces of silver, shown to be shekels of about 50 to 56 cents’ value, which was high, but Egyptian records show that young men from Syria were unusually valuable.[59] =3. The existence of slavery= is frequently alluded to upon the monuments and in manuscripts, wherein those who had lost slaves offer rewards to any one who will bring them back. Moreover, Syrian slaves are recorded as of great value, and a treaty record is still preserved, made between Rameses II. and the king of the Hittites, in which it is agreed to return fugitive slaves. =4. The statement has been made= by several Greek historians that the Egyptians never cultivated the grape nor drank wine. Therefore the statement that Pharaoh drank the juice of the grapes, or wine, and had a chief butler, as stated in Gen. 40, was said to be inaccurate. But the discoveries show that not only were vineyards cultivated, but the grapes were pressed in the wine-press, grapes were eaten, and wine made and used before the time of Joseph. =5. Various terms= as descriptive of official position, of names of places and objects of art or commerce, are now shown to be of ancient Egyptian origin, although brought into the Hebrew language. The use of these terms and names proves that the early Israelites were in familiar contact with the Egyptians. =6. The name of Rameses=, used in the history of Joseph, as afterward in the history of the Israelites, has been shown to be that of the chief Pharaoh of Egypt, and his mummy has recently been recovered with his name and titles inscribed upon his body, and certified to by the high-priest.