Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/37

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EXODUS 29 died at Teignmouth, Jan. 23, 1833. He en- tered the navy at the age of 13, and first dis- tinguished himself in the battle of Lake Cham- plain, Oct. 11, 1776. In 1782 he became a post captain, and from 1786 to 1789 he was stationed off Newfoundland. In 1793, commanding the frigate Nymphe, of 36 guns, he captured the French frigate La Cleopatre, of equal metal, after a desperate battle. This was the first prize taken in the war, and Pellew was knighted. He was then employed in block- ading the French coast. At Plymouth in 1796, by great bravery and presence of mind, he saved the lives of all on board a wrecked transport, leaving the ship himself just before it went to pieces. For this he was made a baronet, and received other honors. Mean- while, in command of the Arethusa, 44 guns, he had fought a number of engagements with French vessels, being always victorious. He also commanded successively the Indefatigable, 49 guns, and the Impetueux, 78 guns. In 1802 he was elected to parliament, but in 1804 was again called to the naval service, promoted to rear admiral, and made command er-in-chief in the East Indies. In 1808 he was made vice admiral, and in 1810 was sent to command in the Mediterranean. In 1814 he was created Baron Exmouth of Canonteign, with a pension of 2,000, and in the same year was made a full admiral. During his command in the Med- iterranean he concluded treaties with Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, for the abolition of Chris- tian slavery. The dey of Algiers having vio- lated his treaty, Exmouth sailed into the har- bor of Algiers, Aug. 26, 1816, with 19 vessels, accompanied by 'a Dutch fleet of 6, and en- gaged the Algerine fleet and batteries at close quarters. After an action of seven hours, every Algerine ship and the arsenal and sev- eral other buildings were on fire. The dey conceded everything that was demanded, and signed a new treaty. In this affair Lord Ex- mouth received two slight wounds and had his clothes torn to shreds by the shot. About 1,200 Christian slaves were liberated, and on his return the admiral was made a viscount. He retired from public service in 1821. EXODUS (Gr. e^odof, departure), a book of the Bible, the second of the Pentateuch. It derives its name from the principal event re- corded in it, the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt, and contains the history of that people from the death of Joseph until the building of the tabernacle. The researches of modern Egyptologists have thrown much light on the Biblical narrative. The land of Goshen, where the Hebrews had been per- mitted to settle, was east of the delta of the Nile, on the borders of Syria, and the places mentioned in connection with the exodus have been identified as follows : Rameses as the town Nashuta, in the E. part of the wady Tumilat ; Succoth, the Thaubasium of the Ro- mans, N. E. of Lake Timsah ; Etham, the forti- fied wall on the Syrian frontier ; Pi-hahiroth, the modern Kalat Agrud, N. W. of Suez; Migdol, the place formerly called Kambysu, where the Persian monument stands ; and Baal- zephon as the Atakah mountains. The hiero- glyphic inscriptions render it probable that the oppressors of the Hebrews were Seti I. and his son Rameses II., and that Merneptah was the Pharaoh of the exodus. (See EGYPT, vol. vi., pp. 461-'2.) They show also that the He- brews had been employed to build temples, fortresses, and granaries; and several monu- ments depict them at work making bricks, with overseers standing by and sometimes beating them with rods. This does not ne- cessarily lead to the conclusion that the Pha- raohs of the period were reckless tyrants. They were severe military rulers, who fore- saw that the Hebrews would make common cause with their kindred in Syria in case of an invasion. They strengthened accordingly the fortified wall on the borders, which the Pharaohs of the 12th dynasty had erected, and built new fortresses in Goshen, partly for protection against invasion and partly for keeping watch over the Hebrews. According to the monuments, the troops stationed here were chiefly Libyans, who were not likely to sympathize with the Hebrews. A treaty made by Rameses II. with the chief of the Khitas in Syria, found on a stele in the temple district of Karnak, provides for the extradition of fugitives escaping over the border. Mer- neptah's policy was to prevent the Hebrews from gathering into bodies too large to be con- trolled, which he effected by compelling them to labor in small detachments on the public works. His refusal to allow them to assemble for the purpose of worshipping their God in the wilderness was prompted by fear of some hostile movement on their part, and nothing but the dread of greater disasters than those which would naturally follow their departure induced him to permit Moses to lead them away. Nor are monumental indications want- ing for establishing the historical character of Moses. His interview with Merneptah is supposed to have taken place at Tanis, the temporary residence of the last three Pharaohs. He and his people marched first to Takusa, a city south of Tanis, and thence to Shekh Musa, in the neighborhood of Pithom. The route touched the most important Hebrew towns and enabled their inhabitants to join the emi- grants. Moses marched them in an easterly direction through the wady Tumilat, which Hebrew labor had supplied with a canal. The Hebrew population was especially dense in this fertile oasis. The Hebrews rendezvoused at Rameses, a central point in Goshen. A journey northeastward of about 150 m. would have taken them to the borders of Canaan, but would have brought them into conflict with the warlike Philistines. Moses led them in almost the contrary direction ; " For God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt." The general