Year: 1976
Type: article
Abstract: In early Hebrew tradition, one of the most evocative and familiar topoi for us modems-heard in childhood and studied later-is that of the hapless Hebrew slaves toiling in the brickfields of the Egyptian East Delta under the lash of Pharaoh's taskmasters (Ex.1: 11-14; 5: Sff. ).Much is made of the date, the route, the historical and theological significance of the oppression and exodus (and rightly so), but little more than a glance is usually spared for details of those toils preceding the exodus that were so painfully etched in the Hebrews' memories.The subject is hardly a burning issue, but is perhaps not unworthy of some modest attention based on first-hand material either quite new or long available but much neglected.First, I outline textual references to brick-production in pharaonic Egypt; the vast archaeological material lies beyond the needfully limited purview of this paper.• From the Old Kingdom ('Pyramid Age', third millennium BC) comes the earliest body of original papyrus documents.These are fragments of the meticulously-compiled accounts from the pyramid-temple of king Neferirkare at Abusir, a little north-west of ancient Memphis. 2 Besides the neatlyruled tables of daily and monthly duties of priests and temple 1 Egyptian building modes in general, cf. S. Clarke and R. Engelbach, Ancient Egyptian Masonry: the Building Oaft, London (1930).The basic physical evidence on nature, types and uses of brick in ancient Egypt has been dealt with by A. J. Spencer in his doctoral thesis at LiverpooL 2 The Abusir papyri, divided among several museums.Introduction, photos and hieroglyphic transcriptions are published in Mme.P. Posener-Kr~ger and J.-L. de Cenival, Hieratic Papyri in the British Museum, 5th Series, British Museum, London (1968); translation and commentary, forthcoming_ These accounts date from the reigns of Isesi to
Source: Tyndale Bulletin
DOI: 10.53751/001c.30629
Author: K. A. Kitchen
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology (arts and humanities)
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4205583853