Monuments to the Truth of the Scriptures. 17 in confirmation of the correctness of biblical history. It shows conclusively that- the silence of profane historians regarding facts stated by the biblical writers is of small account, in face of direct statements made by the biblical historians. All the doubts entertained in former times concerning the accuracy of the numerous biblical statements concerning the Hittites is now seen to be due to our ignorance. I t was pure ignorance, not superior knowledge, which led so many to discredit these rep resentations. When shall we learn the inconclusiveness of neg ative testimony ? THE TEL EL-AMARNA TABLETS. In 1887 some Arabs discovered a wonderful collection of tablets at Tel el-Amarna, an obscure settlement on the east bank of the Nile, about two hundred miles above Cairo and about as far below Thebes. These tablets were of clay, which had been written over with cuneiform inscriptions, such as are found in Babylonia, and then burnt, so as to be indestructi ble. When at length the inscriptions were deciphered, it ap peared that they were a collection of official letters, which had been sent shortly before 1300 B. C. to the last kings of the eighteenth dynasty. There were in all about three hundred letters, most of which were from officers of the Egyptian army scattered over Pales tine to maintain the Egyptian rule which had been established by the preceding kings, most prominent of whom was Tahu- times III., who flourished about one hundred years earlier. But many of the letters were from the kings and princes of Babylonia. What surprised the world most, however, was that this correspondence was carried on, not in the hieroglyphic script of Egypt, but in the cuneiform script of Babylonia. All this was partly explained when more became known about the character of the Egyptian king to whom the letters were addressed. His original title was Amenhotep IV., in dicating that he was a priest of the sun god who is worshiped
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