Josephus speaks of manna as existing at Sinai in his day; Antiq. III. 1. 6. A similar substance is found on different trees in various countries of the East; see Niebuhr's Beschr. von Arab. p. 145. Hardwicke in Asiat. Researches, XIV. p. 182, seq. Winer Bibl. Realw. II. p. 64, seq.

NOTE XV. Page 178.

HOREB AND SINAI. The same view respecting the use of Horeb as the general name, and Sinai as the specific one, is adopted by Hengstenberg, Authentie des Pent. II. p. 396. Berl. 1839.-The mountain is first mentioned only as Horeb, Ex. iii. 1; then Ex. xvii. 6; and the same is necessarily implied Ex. iii. 12. iv. 28. xviii. 5. Sinai is first used Ex. xix. 1, 2, where the Israelites are said to have departed from Rephidim and come to the "desert of Sinai." From this time, with one exception (Ex. xxxiii. 6), during their whole sojourn in the vicinity, Sinai alone is spoken of, Ex. xix. 11, 18, 23. xxiv. 16. xxxi. 18. xxxiv. 29, 32. Lev. vii. 38. xxv. 1. xxvi. 46. xxvii. 34. Num. i. 1. iii. 1, 14. In Num. x. 12, they break up from Sinai; and in the list of stations, Num. xxxiii. 15, Sinai also naturally appears. But elsewhere after their departure, and through the whole Book of Deuteronomy, (except in the Song of Moses, xxxiii. 2,) Horeb alone is named; and the same events are spoken of as occurring on Horeb, which were before described as taking place on Sinai ; Deut. i. 2, 6, 19. iv. 10, 15. v. 2. ix. 8. xviii. 16. xxviii. 69. [xxix.1.] Later sacred writers employ both names; e. g. Horeb, 1 K. viii. 9. xix. 8. 2 Chr. v. 10. Ps. cvi. 19. Mal. iii. 22. [iv. 4.] Sinai, Judg. v. 5. Ps. lxviii. 9, 18. [8, 17.] In the New Testament, Sinai alone is read, and had then apparently become a general name, as at the present day; Acts vii. 30, 38. Gal. iv. 24, 25. The same is the case throughout in the writings of Josephus. About the end of the sixth century, according to the Itinerary of Antoninus Martyr, the name Horeb was specially applied to the present Mountain of the Cross, east of the valley in which the convent stands.

In more modern times, and ever since the crusades, the application of the names Sinai and Horeb to the particular mountains or peaks has varied greatly among travellers. Sir John Maundeville after A. D. 1322, uses Sinai as a general name, including Jebel Músa and St. Catharine; but says the part where the chapel of Elias stands, is called Horeb, corresponding nearly to the present common usage. Rudolf or Peter de Suchem, A. D. 1336—50, gives the specific name Sinai to Jebel Musa only; and applies

that of Horeb apparently to St. Catharine.-Tucher of Nürnberg in A. D. 1479 speaks of Jebel Musa as Horeb, and St. Catharine as Sinai; and this nomenclature is followed by Breydenbach and Fabri in A. D. 1484, and very distinctly by Baumgarten A. D. 1507; lib. I. c. 24.-Afterwards Sinai is employed only as a general name, and Horeb still appropriated to Jebel Musa; so Belon A. D. 1546, Löwenstein and Wormbser A. D. 1562, and Troilo so late as A. D. 1667. But already in A. D. 1565, Helffrich speaks of Jebel Musa as Sinai specifically; and so Monconys A. D. 1647.—In A. D. 1722, the present monkish usage, which applies the name Sinai to Jebel Musa, and Horeb to the northern part of the same ridge, had already become established; as appears from the Journal of the Prefect of the Franciscans in that year, and also from Van Egmond and Heyman about the same time; Reizen, etc. II. p. 174. Since that period there has been no change, so far as I know; until Rüppell strangely again assumes St. Catharine to be Horeb. Reise in Abyss. I. p. 120.

NOTE XVI. Page 186.

PHARAN. FEIRAN. Edrisi about A. D. 1150, and Makrizi about A. D. 1400, both speak of Feirân as a city; and the description of it by the latter is quoted in full by Burckhardt, p. 617. Laborde has given a view of the ruins in his original work, which is not included in the English compilation.

It is barely possible that this is the Pharan or Paran of Ptolemy, westward of Ailah. Most probably it is that of Eusebius and Jerome; which they however place to the eastward of Ailah, either from a mistaken theory or some confusion of names. Jerome says expressly, that the desert of Pharan joins on Horeb. See Cellarius Not. Orb. II. p. 582. Euseb. et Hieron. Onomast.arts. Dagav, Faran; Xognß, Choreb.-The valley of Pharan mentioned. by Josephus (B. J. IV. 9. 4) is obviously a different place, somewhere in the vicinity of the Dead Sea; perhaps connected with the mountain and desert of Paran, so often spoken of in the Old Testament, adjacent to Kadesh. Num. xiii. 26.

This

The Peutinger Tables have a Paran fifty Roman miles from Ailah towards Clysma, apparently on the direct route. would agree better with the Pharan of Ptolemy.

SINAITIC INSCRIPTIONS. These inscriptions are mentioned first

by Cosmas, as cited in the text; and then by several of the early

travellers; as Neitzschitz, p. 149; Monconys I. p. 245; also by Pococke, I. p. 148. fol. and Niebuhr in his Reisebeschr. I. p. 250. Professed copies of some of them are given by Kircher, in his Prodromus Coptus; and also by Pococke and Niebuhr; but they are very imperfect. Those of Seetzen are better; and some of those made by Burckhardt seemed on a comparison with the originals, to be tolerably accurate. A large number of them have been copied and published by Mr. Grey, in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature, Vol. III. Pt. I. Lond. 1832; consisting of one hundred and seventy-seven in the unknown character, nine in Greek, and one in Latin.

The remarks of Gesenius upon the Sinaitic inscriptions are found in a note to the German edition of Burckhardt's Travels; Reisen in Syrien, etc. Weimar 1824, p. 1071.

The inscriptions have been first deciphered only within the present year (1839) by Prof. Beer of the University of Leipzig. This distinguished palaeographist had already occupied himself with them so long ago as A. D. 1833; but without success. See his tract entitled: Inscriptiones et Papyri veteres Semitici quoqtuot, etc. Partic. I. 4to. Lips. 1833. In the winter of 1838-9, his attention was again turned to the inscriptions, in connection perhaps with our reports and the residence of my companion for a time in Leipzig; and after several months of the most persevering and painful application, he succeeded in making out the alphabet, and was enabled to read all the inscriptions which have been copied with any good degree of accuracy. The results at which he has arrived are already prepared for publication, and the various tables engraved; so that his work may not improbably appear before these sheets leave the press.

By the kind permission of Prof. Beer, I am able to give here a summary of these results. I ought perhaps to remark, that all those palaeographists to whom they have been communicated, are satisfied of their correctness; and that especially some of the most distinguished, have expressed to me in conversation their decided approbation of Beer's labours and views.

The characters of the Sinaitic inscriptions, Prof. Beer finds to belong to a distinct and independent alphabet. Some of the letters are wholly peculiar; the others have more or less affinity with the Palmyrene, and particularly with the Estrangelo and Cufic. Indeed, their affinity with the latter is so great, as to lead to the supposition, that the Cufic was afterwards developed from this alphabet. They are written from right to left. In their form, several of the letters much resemble each other, as is the case in

other ancient alphabets. This sometimes creates considerable difficulty in deciphering an inscription; though not more than in the Cufic. But the difficulty is here increased by the negligence of the copyists; who have often not noticed the slight difference that actually exists. This is apparent from the different copies of the same inscription, which exist in several instances.

The contents of the inscriptions, so far as Prof. Beer has yet proceeded, consist only of proper names; preceded by a word which is usually peace; but sometimes memoriatus sit; and in a very few cases blessed. Between the names, the word

or son often occurs; and they are sometimes followed by one or two words at the end; thus the word priest occurs twice as a title. In one or two instances the name is followed by a phrase or sentence, which has not yet been deciphered. The names are those common in Arabic; but have this peculiarity, that most of those which are single, end in a Vav (1), whether they are in the nominative or genitive case; while the compound names end in Yodh ("). Thus we have 123, 171, 1713, 1018, 12ba, The Arabic

.עבד אלבעלי,אוש אלהי עבד אלהי and also ; אלמבקרו

article is frequent in the names; but has not always the Alef (*) when in composition. It is a remarkable fact, that not one Jewish or Christian name has yet been found. The words which are not proper names, seem rather to belong to an Aramaean dialect. A language of this kind, Prof. Beer supposes to have been spoken by the inhabitants of Arabia Petraea, in other words by the Nabathaeans, before the present Arabic language spread itself over those parts; and of that language and writing, these inscriptions he regards as the only monuments now known to exist.

The question as to the writers of the inscriptions receives very little light from their contents. A word at the end of some of them, may be so read as to affirm that they were pilgrims; and this opinion Beer also adopts. But this reading is not certain; and the opinion is to be supported chiefly from the fact, that the inscriptions are found only on the great routes leading from Suez to Mount Sinai. The multitude of them in Wady Mukatteb and around Serbâl may be accounted for, by supposing that mountain or some spot in its vicinity to have been regarded as a holy place; though probably not as Sinai.-That the writers were Christians, seems apparent from the crosses connected with many of the inscriptions. The same inscription is in several instances found in more than one place, once with the cross and again without it. The crosses are of such a shape, that they could not be accidental nor unmeaning, e. g. Y, t, f.

The age also of the inscriptions receives no light from their contents; as no date has yet been read. On palaeographic grounds, Prof. Beer supposes the greater part of them could not have been written earlier than the fourth century. Had they been written later, some tradition respecting them would probably have existed in the time of Cosmas. The character of the writing also

forbids this supposition.

Thus far Prof. Beer; and thus far all is sufficiently clear. But there still remain some historical points of difficult solution. These Christian pilgrims, who were they? and whence did they come? The fact that all the inscriptions are found only on the great routes from Egypt, would seem to imply that they came from that country, or at least from the western side of the Gulf of Suez. But if so, how comes it that not a trace of this alphabet and language is found in Egypt or its vicinity? Egypt too, we know, was full of Jews and Christians in the early centuries; how comes it then that no Jewish nor Christian names are found among the inscriptions? It is true that the heathen proper names continued to be used long after the introduction of Christianity; as we see from the names of the early fathers and bishops; but this will not account for the entire absence of Christian and Jewish names among such hosts of pilgrims coming from Egypt.

On the other hand, were these pilgrims Nabathaeans, Ishmaelites, Saracens, the native inhabitants of the peninsula and of Arabia Petraca in general? The heathen names and the language and writing would lead to this conclusion. But then, how comes it that all the inscriptions are on the western side of the peninsula, and not one upon the eastern? Besides, there is no historical evidence, that any native Christian population existed in or around. the peninsula in the early centuries; but rather the contrary, as we have seen in the text; p. 180, seq. The Christian exiles from Egypt, and the hermits of these mountains, lived in constant exposure to slavery or death from the heathen around them.

Again; how comes it that in the time of Cosmas, about A. D. 530, all knowledge of this alphabet and language had already perished among the Christians of the peninsula, and no tradition. remained respecting the inscriptions?

In the Travels of Irby and Mangles, a fact is mentioned which deserves further examination from travellers. In the vicinity of Wady Musa, on the left hand side of the track leading to the vil lage of Dibdiba on the North, this party found upon a tomb, with a large front and four attached columns, an oblong tablet