Explorations in Bible lands during the 19th century - H. V. Hilprecht

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648 EXPLORATIONS IN BIBLE LANDS
Ionian soldiers under the first
rmioM-ii!
Psemtek,who were afterwards
transferred to Memphis. On the other hand, it is hardly
possible that this Greek town can be the Daphnse mentioned
in other places, or even be considered as identical with the
Biblical Tahpanhes, to which, according to Jeremiah and
Tell el-MaskhGta, the Biblical Pithom
Ezekiel, the Jews
went after the fall of
Jerusalem, in order
to found a new
home. Although
the search for the
town
mentioned in
the Bible has been
fruitless, the excavations
of recent times
have thrown much
light on other points
of Bible study,
namely, on the position
of Pithom and
Goshen, the countrv
which Pharaoh gave
to the children of
Israel.
To the east of the
modern town of
Zaqaziq,the Bubastis
above referred to, there extends towards the Suez canal a
narrow vallev watered bv a canal which branches off at
Cairo
and flows towards Suez. This valley is known as the Wadi
Tumilat, and the canal, which is
called Isma'iliya canal, was
constructed in the years 1858-63, in order to supply the
workmen engaged in the building operations at Suez with
drinking water. In ancient times a canal ran here which
connected the Nile with the Red Sea, turning the valley