Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 15.djvu/230

 2l6 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

desert of Arabia; and that during a famine season they en- camped on the Goshen pasture lands in the northeastern part of Egypt. "Ye may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shep- herd is an abomination to the Egyptians. And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt in the land of Goshen" (Gen. 46:34; 47:27). In regard to this event, Professor Robertson Smith writes :

Goshen did not belong to the (Egyptian) Delta proper, which can never have been given up to a shepherd tribe, and would not have suited their way of life. In all ages nomadic or half -nomadic tribes, quite distinct from the Egyptians proper, have pastured their flocks on the verge of the rich lands of the Delta. That the Israelites at this time came under any con- siderable influence of Egyptian civilization must appear highly improbable to anyone who knows the life of the nomads of Egypt even in the present day.*

Another tradition locates the Israelites in the midst of the land of Egypt, in contact with city life, where they borrow the jewelry of the Egyptians. Besides this, the accounts are heavily burdened with miracle stories. But when the central interest of the narrative begins to shift away from Egypt into the Arabian desert, and returns to simpler conditions, then the soci- ologist begins to find sober material having affinity with Semi- tic institutions at large. During the sojourn of the Israelites in Goshen there was begun a connection between them and certain other desert clans which was continued for centuries. The evi- dence of this is widespread throughout the Old Testament; and it offers a credible point of attachment for scientific interpreta- tion. The first notice of this connection between Israel and another people is that in which the Israelite Moses leaves Egypt, goes out into the Arabian desert, and marries into the clan of the Kenites (Exod., chap 2). This clan was a division of the Midianites, whose wandering-ground was in the neighborhood of Mount Sinai (Exod., chaps 2 and 3). Later we read that some of the Kenites accompanied the Israelites into Canaan:

• W. R. Smith, Prophets of Israel (London, 1897), p. 379. See also H. P. Smith, op. cit., p. 61, "Our one fixed point is the uniform tradition that Israel was settled in Goshen."