=The Colony at Elephantine.= The fourth centre of colonization was at Syene in the land of Pathros, the biblical equivalent of upper Egypt. Syene is apparently represented by the modern Egyptian city of Assuan, just below the first cataract of the Nile. In Ezekiel 29:10 Migdol and Syene mark respectively the northern and southern boundaries of Egypt. Recent excavations on the northern end of the island of Elephantine,^{(111)} which lies in the Nile opposite Assuan, have revealed the presence of a large Jewish colony at this point, which flourished during the earlier part of the Persian period and was probably established soon after the fall of Jerusalem. The island is one of the garden spots of the Nile valley. The ruins of the ancient city cover a low-lying hill on the southern end, which is here fully three-quarters of a mile across from east to west. On the east across the river are the heights of Assuan. The view to the south is toward the rocky cataract of the Nile. On the west, across the river, extends the brown, rocky desert. =Results of the Excavations.= The importance of the ancient town lay in its position at the head of uninterrupted navigation. From here the caravans set out for Nubia and the upper Nile and for the oases in the east. The town was built of Nile mud bricks, with little houses and narrow streets, and was evidently once the home of a large and dense population. On the western side have been discovered contracts written on papyri in Aramaic, which indicate that here was a large Jewish colony living on a practical equality with the Egyptians, Phœnicians, Babylonians, and Persians, who constituted the population of this ancient metropolis. Familiar Jewish names appear in these contracts, which record the sale of land and houses. An Aramaic letter bearing the date 408 B.C. has also been discovered directed to Bagohi, the Persian governor of Palestine. From these contracts and this letter it appears that during the earlier part of the Persian period there was within the city of Elephantine a Jewish temple of Jahu (Jehovah), surrounded by strong walls and protecting gates. At this Jewish sanctuary regular offerings were presented to Jehovah and the religious customs of the homeland were thus preserved in the very heart of the old heathen city. =Transformation of the Jews into Traders.= It is significant that the Jewish colonists in Egypt were settled in four commercial centres. Trade was the chief occupation open to them. Hence the shepherds and farmers of Judah were soon transformed into traders and merchants. Widely scattered as they were, at each important city there were colonies of Jews. In time these were organized into great mercantile companies which, through their agents and branch houses, controlled more and more of the trade of the ancient East. The Jew of to-day is the product of those centuries of commercial training which began with the Babylonian period.