No: Or No-A'mon, the home of Amon, the name of Thebes, the ancient capital
of what is called the Middle Empire, in Upper or Southern Egypt. "The
multitude of No"
(Jeremiah 46:25) is more correctly rendered, as in the
Revised Version, "Amon of No", i.e., No, where Jupiter Amon had his
temple. In
(Ezekiel 30:14,16) it is simply called "No;" but in
(Ezekiel 30:15) the name has the Hebrew Hamon prefixed to it, "Hamon
No." This prefix is probably the name simply of the god usually styled
Amon or Ammon. In
(Nahum 3:8) the "populous No" of the Authorized
Version is in the Revised Version correctly rendered "No-Amon." It was
the Diospolis or Thebes of the Greeks, celebrated for its hundred
gates and its vast population. It stood on both sides of the Nile, and
is by some supposed to have included Karnak and Luxor. In grandeur and
extent it can only be compared to Nineveh. It is mentioned only in the
prophecies referred to, which point to its total destruction. It was
first taken by the Assyrians in the time of Sargon
(Isaiah 20:1)ff
It was afterwards "delivered into the hand" of Nebuchadnezzar and
Assurbani-pal
(Jeremiah 46:25,26) Cambyses, king of the Persians (B.C.
525) further laid it waste by fire. Its ruin was completed (B.C. 81) by
Ptolemy Lathyrus. The ruins of this city are still among the most
notable in the valley of the Nile. They have formed a great storehouse
of interesting historic remains for more than two thousand years. "As
I wandered day after day with ever-growing amazement amongst these
relics of ancient magnificence, I felt that if all the ruins in
Europe, classical, Celtic, and medieval, were brought together into
one centre, they would fall far short both in extent and grandeur of
those of this single Egyptian city." Manning, The Land of the
Pharaohs.
