Calvin Synod Herald, 1987 (87. évfolyam, 1-5. szám)
1987 / 4. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD-8-REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA Biblical Find Claimed Cairo Mummy - Joseph? LONDON (AP) The author of a new book claims a mummy in a Cairo museum is the biblical figure Joseph who led the ancient Hebrews into Egypt. “1 believe I have proved the mummy Yuya in the Cairo Museum is really Joseph, the partiarch," said Ahmed Osman, author of "Stranger in the Valley of the Kings.” The book was published by Souvenier Press. "1 feel exited that my work is at last in print. I hope others will be encouraged to investigate it,” said Osman, 53, a teacher and translator who researched his theory for 22 years. Osman said in an interview that for centuries scholars have tried to establish a link between any of the important figures in the Old Testament and the history of Egypt. “1 am sure that Yuya, who was chief administrator and therefore virtual ruler of Egypt under the pharaohs Tuthmosis IV and his son, Amenhotep 111, between 1413 and 1367 B.C., was the Joseph of the Book of Genesis,” the author said. Joseph’s story is detailed in Chapters 37 to 50 of Genesis, the first book of the Bible. The Bible says Joseph’s father, Jacob, loved him more than his other children and "made him a coat of many colors." Joseph's jealous half brothers took his coat and sold him into slavery in Egypt. There he ultimately rose to power, greatly increased the grain harvest to guard against famine, and eventually sent for all his family to join him. Genesis ends with Joseph’s death, embalming and burial in Egypt. Osman’s interest was first aroused by the passage where Joseph calls himself "a father to pharaoh.” That always seems to have been overlooked,” Osman said. Among Yuya’s 41 titles was “a father of pharaoh,” the only person in Egyptian history known to bear it. The title was found inscribed in his tomb and more than 20 times on his funerary papers,” Osman said. Osman says Yuya's daughter, Tiye, married Amenhotep III and became his queen. The four kings who followed - Akhnaten, Semenkhare, the famous Tutankhamen and Aye - were therefore of mixed Hebrew and Egyptian blood, the author says. Yuya’s mummified wife, Tuya, found beside him, looks Egyptian; but archeologists have often remarked on her husband’s strong, aquiline features, which suggest he was of foreign, possibly Semitic, origin. Osman, who saw Yuya’s mummy in Cairo in 1984, said; "The hands are placed, palms down, under the chin. It is the only mummy we know of whose hands were not across his chest in the conventional position of the god Osiris, suggesting he did not subscribe to the gods of Egypt.” The Biblical account says that, at the time of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, Moses took Joseph’s bones and buried them in Canaan. Nevertheless, Osman believes the remains never left Egypt. "They are in the Cairo Museum,” he said. An American-financed excavation in 1905 discovered Yuya’s tomb between the tombs of two pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings. Bi-Lingual New Testament A new bi-lingual English-Hungarian New Testament was recently published in Hungary. The English text is The Good News For Modern Man version and the Hungarian text is the recent Hungarian New Testament translation. This bi-lingual translation is very important for the members of our churches of Hungarian Reformed origin. At the close of the past and the begining of the present century, the American Bible (Tract) Society published the Gospels in bi-lingual form. This new enterprise of the Reformed Church in Hungary is widely welcomed. This New Testament may be used by the English, Hungarian, or bi-lingual members. It is useful in the Sunday School, Confirmation classes, Youth Fellowship and Bible study groups. Those who speak either language may follow the text in the other language. It is a useful vehicle in understanding the meaning of the Bible. It is useful for daily Bible reading and personal devotions, especially in the more difficult to understand sections. This new book is useful for family devotions where older and younger generations live together; it can be a bridge, a link, between the bi-lingual members of our churches. This New Testament is also useful for Hungarian post-graduate students who plan to study in English speaking countries. As we cordially greet this new "guest”, we ask our English, Hungarian and bi-lingual members to receive this New Testament not just as a guest, but as an everyday companion. Rev. Francis Vitéz Historical Moments 125 Years Ago Mission House Seminary (and its undergraduate department, from which Lakeland College would emerge) was founded in Wisconsin by the German Reformed Church. 40 Years Ago The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered by a shepherd in a cave at Khirbet Qumran.
