Memphis: Only in
(Hosea 9:6) Hebrew Moph. In
(Isaiah 19:13; Jeremiah 2:16; 46:14,19)
(Ezekiel 30:13,16) it is mentioned under the name Noph. It was the capital
of Lower, i.e., of Northern Egypt. From certain remains found half
buried in the sand, the site of this ancient city has been discovered
near the modern village of Minyet Rahinch, or Mitraheny, about 16
miles above the ancient head of the Delta, and 9 miles south of Cairo,
on the west bank of the Nile. It is said to have been founded by
Menes, the first king of Egypt, and to have been in circumference
about 19 miles. "There are few remains above ground," says Manning
(The Land of the Pharaohs), "of the splendour of ancient Memphis. The
city has utterly disappeared. If any traces yet exist, they are buried
beneath the vast mounds of crumbling bricks and broken pottery which
meet the eye in every direction. Near the village of Mitraheny is a
colossal statue of Rameses the Great. It is apparently one of the two
described by Herodotus and Diodorus as standing in front of the temple
of Ptah. They were originally 50 feet in height. The one which
remains, though mutilated, measures 48 feet. It is finely carved in
limestone, which takes a high polish, and is evidently a portrait. It
lies in a pit, which, during the inundation, is filled with water. As
we gaze on this fallen and battered statue of the mighty conqueror who
was probably contemporaneous with Moses, it is impossible not to
remember the words of the prophet Isaiah,
(Isaiah 19:13; 44:16-19) and
Jeremiah,
(Jeremiah 46:19)
