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Joseph in Egypt
“Joseph telling his dreams," an etching by Rembrandt van Rijn, 1638.
Joseph is seated in the center, and his father Jacob is on the left.
Jerusalem, Israel Museum.
Continued from page 18.
Roman times, it was known that
the whole el-Fayoum depression
was in fact a huge artificial lake; it
was the best source of fish in
Egypt, and the string of villages
along its shores served as Egypt’s
breadbasket.
The “Sea of Joseph”
But this deepened the mystery
even more. If the whole el-Fayoum
depression was an artificial lake,
who was its great engineer and
builder, and how was it filled with
water?
The first clue was given to
Whitehouse by Herodotus, who
wrote: “The water of the lake does
not come out of the ground, which
is here extremely dry, but is intro
duced by a canal from the Nile.”
In 1883 Whitehouse went before
the Society of Biblical Archaeol
ogy in London to announce his
further discoveries. The canal that
had fed the ancient lake Moeris
still partly exists, he declared. It is
an artificial waterway which con
nects the Fayoum depression with
the Nile and which the Arabs still
call Bahr Yousof—“The Sea of
Joseph!”
The announcement at the Soci
ety gathering was followed by a
series of lectures and pamphlets in
which Whitehouse showed a relent
less dedication to the promotion of
his discovery: It was Joseph, the
Hebrew patriarch, who had con
ceived, planned and carried out the
collosal irrigation enterprise.
Delving into all available
sources, Whitehead found (and made
his findings public) that Arab his
torians not only attributed the pro
ject to Joseph, but also reported its
circumstances. It was, these histo
rians related, when Joseph was
more than 100 years old, but he
still held a high position in the
Egyptian court. The other viziers
and court officials, envying Jo
seph, persuaded the Pharaoh that
to stay, venerated Joseph cannot
rest on his laurels; he must prove
once more his abilities. When the
Pharaoh agreed, the viziers sug
gested an impossible project: To
convert the desert into a fertile
area.
“Inspired by God,” Joseph beat
his detractors by achieving what
they deemed impossible. He dug
feeder canals and created the vast
artificial lake in 1,000 days — Alph
Yum in Arabic; hence, these histo
rians say, the name el-Fayoum.
Joseph—a great scientist
As Whitehouse went about
propagating his discoveries, he
took an increasing interest in the
Old Testament, seeking in it addi
tional clues to his findings. He was
especially fascinated by the Pro
phecy of Jacob, seeing in its verses
direct confirmation of his conclu
sions. As the years went by, Joseph
loomed in his eyes ever larger, and
his belief grew firmer that the
Hebrews possessed greater scien
tific knowledge than their Egyp
tian hosts.
Indeed, may scholars believe
that the title bestowed by the grate
ful Pharaoh upon Joseph—Zaphen-
ath-Paneah — meaning “Solver of
Mysteries” in Hebrew, was an accu
rate phonetic rendering of a known
Egyptian title which meant “Head
of the Magicians,” thereby acknow
ledging Joseph’s superior scientific
knowledge.
Whitehouse died a controversial
personality in 1911; and thus was
forgotten the discovery of an Amer
ican engineer from Rochester that
not only credited the Hebrew pa
triarch with greater earthworks
than the TV A project, but also
brought to light the evidence for
Joseph's existence: The artificial
lake named after him, and the
legends surrounding his feat.
Zecharia Sitchin, a linguist and
biblical scholar, is the author of
“The 12th Planet," “The Stairway
To Heaven," and “The Wars of
Gods and Men."
HAPPY PASSOVER
from
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Diamond Traders
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MR 2
PAGE 19P THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE April 18, 1986