Archeologists have discovered ancient Egyptian coins bearing the name and image of the biblical Joseph, Cairo's Al Ahram newspaper recently reported. Excerpts provided by MEMRI show that the coins were discovered among a multitude of unsorted artifacts stored at the Museum of Egypt.
"The researcher identified coins from many different periods, including coins that bore special markings identifying them as being from the era of Joseph. Among these, there was one coin that had an inscription on it, and an image of a cow symbolizing Pharaoh's dream about the seven fat cows and seven lean cows, and the seven green stalks of grain and seven dry stalks of grain. It was found that the inscriptions of this early period were usually simple, since writing was still in its early stages, and consequently there was difficulty in deciphering the writing on these coins. But the research team [managed to] translate [the writing on the coin] by comparing it to the earliest known hieroglyphic texts…
"Joseph's name appears twice on this coin, written in hieroglyphs: once the original name, Joseph, and once his Egyptian name, Saba Sabani, which was given to him by Pharaoh when he became treasurer. There is also an image of Joseph, who was part of the Egyptian administration at the time.
Comment:
WOW!
Indeed amazing, if true. It will be interesting to see how it shapes up.
kt,
josh
Posted by: Joshua Waxman | September 25, 2009 at 08:18 AM
When is the "era of Joseph?" Where is he called "Saba Sabai?" And who are MEMRI?
Posted by: Yona | September 30, 2009 at 06:56 PM
Pssst... anyone here need a bridge in Brooklyn?
Posted by: Joseph | October 01, 2009 at 01:46 PM