In this same tale of The Two Brothers the wife of the elder solicits
the love of the younger in almost exactly the same way that the wife
of Potiphar tempts Joseph. The whole story of Joseph agrees minutely
with what we learn of Egypt from her own records. The outward details
of life, the officers of the court, the traffic in slaves, the visits
for corn, are all pictured on temple walls and stone slabs. No feature
in the Bible narrative is out of harmony with what we know of the
country from other sources. “Potiphar” appears to be a good Egyptian
name, and Egyptologists have pointed out that its probable equivalent
in hieroglyphs signifies “Devoted to the Sun-god.” Joseph’s new name,
Zaphnath-paaneah, means “Storehouse of the house of Life,” and was
given to him when he entered Pharaoh’s service, just as a new name
was given to the Hittite princess when she became Pharaoh’s wife. The
king’s absolute authority appears abundantly from Herodotus, Diodorus
and others. He enacted laws, imposed taxes, administered justice,
executed and pardoned offenders at his pleasure. He had a bodyguard,
which is constantly seen on the sculptures, in close attendance on
his person. He was assisted in the management of state affairs by the
advice of a council, consisting of the most able and distinguished
members of the priestly order. His court was magnificent and comprised
various grand functionaries, whose tombs are among the most splendid
of the early remains of Egyptian art. When he left his palace for any
purpose, he invariably rode in a chariot. His subjects, wherever he
appeared, bowed down or prostrated themselves.[5] The civilisation of
the Egyptians, even at a period long before the Israelitish Sojourn,
comprised the practice of writing, the distinction into classes or
castes, the peculiar dignity of the priests, the practice of embalming
and of burying in wooden coffins or mummy cases, the manufacture and
use of linen garments, the wearing of gold chains, and almost all the
other points which may be noted in the Bible description.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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