The palace gate through which Moses and Aaron passed to plead the cause of the Jews before Merenptah, the Pharaoh of the Exodus, is being re-erected here in the University of Pennsylvania Museum. One section of the gate, which is carved from a single block of limestone and weighs more than five tons, already has been hoisted into place. The entire collection weighs 142 tons.
The gateway, formed by six huge stones, was discovered at Memphis, near the Valley of the Kings, in 1922, by Dr. Clarence S. Fisher, archaeologist of the museum’s expedition.
Dr. George Byron Gordon, director of the museum, said that evidence had been brought forward in recent years to prove that Merenptah was the Pharaoh of the Exodus.
“At Beth-Sheam, in Palestine, a monument of Seti II, who was the son of Merenptah, has been discovered,” said Dr. Gordon, “and it is thought that it was taken there by the Jews.
“Merenptah, who ruled about 1225 B.C., virtually was the last of the great Pharaohs. He probably was a strong-minded and energetic man, as may be inferred from the Biblical story of his relations with the Hebrew.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
