Difference between revisions of "Bricks"

<p> As early as &nbsp;Genesis 11:3 we read of bricks being made and burnt; and in Egypt the bricks were made with an admixture of straw. When the [[Israelites]] had to find their own straw or stubble and yet make as many bricks per day, it is probable that but little straw was used. Some ancient bricks have been found which had apparently no straw in them. Many of the bricks were stamped with the name of the reigning monarch. </p> <p> On the monuments in a tomb the process of brick-making in Egypt is fully delineated: a task-master stands over the men with a stick in his hand, as doubtless was the case in the time of Moses. &nbsp;Exodus 5:7-19 . [[Bricks]] brought from Egypt vary in size, from 20 inches to 14-1/4 in. long, 8-3/4 in. to 6-1/2 in. wide, and 7 in. to 4-1/2 in. thick. There is a brick from [[Babylon]] in the British Museum, which bears the inscription in cuneiform characters "I am Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, the restorer of the temples Sag-ili and Zida, the eldest son of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon." It measures 13 in. by 13, and 4 in. thick. Other bricks from [[Chaldea]] are more ancient still. </p>

<p> Bricks compacted with straw and dried in the sun, are those which are chiefly mentioned in the Scriptures. Of such bricks the tower of Babel was doubtless composed [BABEL, [[Tower]] OF, BABYLON], and the making of such formed the chief labor of the Israelites when bondsmen in Egypt (&nbsp;Exodus 1:13-14). </p> <p> The use of crude brick, baked in the sun, was universal in Upper and Lower Egypt, both for public and private buildings; and the brickfield gave abundant occupation to numerous laborers throughout the country. We find that, independent of native laborers, a great many foreigners were constantly engaged in the brick-fields at [[Thebes]] and other parts of Egypt. The Jews, of course, were not excluded from this drudgery; and, like the captives detained in the Thebaid, they were condemned to the same labor in Lower Egypt. They erected granaries, treasure-cities, and other public buildings for the [[Egyptian]] monarch. It has been supposed by some that the captive foreigners represented on the monuments as engaged in brick-making were Jews, and that the scenes represented were those of their actual operations in Egypt. Whether this supposition is correct or not, it is curious to discover other foreign captives occupied in the same manner, and overlooked by similar 'taskmasters,' and performing the very same labors as the Israelites described in the Bible; and it is worthy of remark, as noticed by Wilkinson, that more bricks bearing the name of Thothmes III (who is supposed to have been the king at the time of the Exode) have been discovered than at any other period. </p>