by Adam Palmer
‘Nehu… Nehu…’
‘What’s he saying?’ asked one of the doctors.
‘It sounds like Nehu.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘I don’t know. Sounds like something in Hindi maybe.’
‘Nehushtan!’ the curator finally blurted out and then slumped back on to the pillow.
The monitoring equipment let out a high-pitched whine, warning that the patient’s vital signs had failed.
‘Nehushtan?’ one of the doctors echoed.
‘It must be a country,’ said another.
‘Why would he mention a country?’ asked the first.
‘Or a province?’ a nurse suggested.
‘You’ve heard of it?’ asked one of the doctors.
‘No, but it could be a province or a region instead of a country. Maybe it’s where he comes from.’
Meanwhile, down the corridor, a member of the hospital ancillary staff had gone to use a phone.
‘Hallo, is that the news desk? I’ve got a story that might be worth a few quid.’
Chapter 25
‘“I will sing to Jehovah for he has…” and then the next words in the Hebrew are “Ga-ah, Ga-ah” or “Ga-oh, Ga-oh.” It depends on which vowels you insert and also whether you use the Sephardi or Ashkenazi pronunciations.’
Daniel was reading a biblical passage out loud, anglicizing words like Jehovah to make their meaning clear to Gabrielle.
‘In the Bible,’ Daniel explained, ‘when the same word is repeated in immediate succession, it’s for emphasis. It’s like saying “very” in English. In this case, the word itself means to triumph or achieve victory. So the repetition, “He is triumphant, is triumphant,” could be translated as “He is very triumphant,” or “He is highly triumphant.” It could even be a superlative: “He has triumphed above all.” And on the papyrus we see the word Jehovah followed by a similar repetition of a word. That’s one point of comparison.’
‘But what made you think it’s this Song of the Sea?’ asked Gabrielle.
‘It’s all a matter of location. Once you suggested that the papyrus was found in the Suez Canal excavations, it all fell into place. You see, in the Bible, the sea that parted to let the Israelites escape from the pharaoh was called Yam Suph in Hebrew. That’s usually translated as the Red Sea, but it actually means the Reed Sea or Sea of Reeds and most modern scholars believe that it was a shallow body of water in the place that today is occupied by the Suez Canal.’
‘But what exactly is the Song of the Sea?’ she pressed on.
‘Well, according to the Bible, after the Israelites crossed the Sea of Reeds, with the pharaoh’s army in hot pursuit, the waters flooded back and the Egyptian soldiers were drowned. When this happened, the Israelites were so delighted that they sang a song celebrating their escape and the destruction of their enemies. It’s called the Song of the Sea or the Song of Miriam, after Moses’ sister. When the song is described, with Moses singing it, there’s a repetition of the first verse sung by Miriam and the women – hence its alternative title. That incidentally is also the reason why Orthodox Jews insist on separating men and women in synagogues: because the women sang after the men.’
‘But why would the Song of the Sea be written on its own, if it was part of the Bible?’ asked Gabrielle. ‘And why would this copy of it be at precisely the location of the Sea of Reeds? I mean, presumably the Israelites carried on with their travels. They didn’t remain on the eastern banks of the Sea of Reeds. According to the Bible, they moved on, crossing the Sinai Desert. So why would this manuscript be there?’
‘According to modern theories about the Bible, the Song of the Sea was originally a separate work, an old poem that existed before the rest of the narrative. In fact, according to one theory, it’s the oldest text in the Bible. And this might be one of several manuscripts of the song that happened to be left at the scene. It probably described some minor event or battle that was then elevated to a greater importance.’
Mansoor picked up on this.
‘The idea that it was a separate ancient work that got written into the biblical narrative fits in very neatly with the carbon dating of the papyrus. 1600 BC would put it well before the traditional dating of the Israelite exodus. But more importantly, it would also fit in very neatly with the volcanic eruption of Santorini round about that time.’
‘Why would the eruption of Santorini have anything to do with the parting of the waters in Egypt?’ asked Daniel.
‘Because according to oceanographers, the eruption of Santorini would have produced a tsunami that would have reached the shores of Egypt and would have been especially pronounced in a shallow body of water that had an outlet to the sea. And when a tsunami strikes, because of the way waves move, the first thing that happens is that the water flows out, thereby creating a dry area which then becomes flooded when the water rushes back.’
‘Of course!’ said Daniel. ‘And that perfectly fits the biblical account of the parting of the waters, followed by the deluge.’
‘Are there any other points of comparison in the text?’ Mansoor followed up.
‘Well, if we look down to lines five and six in the biblical text, using the common word El or God as our point of comparison, we see, “Zeh Elohi veAnveihu.” This is my God and I will live with him, or it could be translated as “I will beautify him”, depending on how you understand the problematic word anvei. Then the next line is “Elohei avi veAmromemenhu,” which means: “God of my father and I will exalt him.” Now if we turn to lines five and six of the papyrus, again we see the letters for El written as the beginning of a longer word, and in just the right places, relative to the length and word spacing on the lines.’
He looked over at Mansoor for approval. Mansoor nodded.
‘Okay, now if we go down to the next two lines in the biblical passage, we see that they begin with the name Jehovah. And again the same is true of the papyrus.’
‘So it’s looking like a match,’ said Gabrielle.
‘It’s beginning to,’ Daniel confirmed.
‘So does that mean,’ asked Gabrielle, ‘that by comparing the papyrus text to the version of the Song of the Sea in the Bible you can use it like the Rosetta Stone to decipher the ancient language?’
‘Basically yes,’ said Daniel. But he realized that the downer was that this papyrus could not be the one that Harrison Carmichael had translated – the one about the plague. Assuming that his mentor really had translated a papyrus that made reference to the plague, he still had to find it.
But where?
‘I guess all we need are some more samples of the ancient language to translate.’
It was a long shot, but he noticed a flicker in the face of the SCA chief.
‘I have some more good news for you,’ said Mansoor. ‘While you were away, I did some checking in the archives and it appears that there are a few other samples of the ancient script that haven’t received all that much publicity.’
Daniel’s eyes lit up. Did Mansoor unwittingly have a papyrus that described the plagues?
Chapter 26
Once again, Goliath was afflicted by a feeling of failure. Senator Morris had told him that it was going to be a difficult task, but had been sure that he could pull it off. All he had to do was get the clothes and leave. But instead he had left empty-handed and a nurse dead.
Now, sitting alone in his hotel room, he was turning over the events in his mind, feeling something that he didn’t often feel: guilt.
He didn’t like killing the innocent, even though he knew that God would take them to his bosom in the next life. It was only the wicked that he enjoyed killing.
He remembered how, after he was released from prison, he had killed the lawyer who had represented him at the murder trial over the killing of the rabbi. He would have liked to have killed the lawyer who represented his wife in the divorce, but he was already dead of natural causes, so he decided to kill the lawyer who had defended him instead.
It wasn’t that he blamed the lawyer for his imprisonment. His lawyer had in fact done very well to get him off with manslaughter. But he was Jewish and he was a parasite, making his money off other people’s misery. It was only because of money that the lawyer had represented him in the first place.
The lawyer was no different from a hooker: he went with anyone as long as he was paid. Today it might be Goliath, tomorrow it might be some crooked Jewish banker who had embezzled billions of other people’s money. To the lawyer, it was all the same.
So Goliath had had no qualms about killing him. He wasn’t even troubled by the fact that he had killed him in front of his five-year-old son. The kid would probably grow up just like his father. He had intended to kill the kid too, but the kid had screamed and that alerted other people. He had to flee before any witnesses saw him. Just as he had to flee from the hospital. Witnesses could land him in prison.
His thoughts were interrupted by the phone.
‘Hallo.’
It was the senator.
‘Can you talk?’
‘Yes.’
‘I’ve just heard a news item from England about a curator at the British Museum.’
‘What?’ asked Goliath, confused.
‘Never mind. The point is, it’s given me another idea. It still involves getting a sample of clothes, but from Daniel Klein and the Gusack woman.’
He explained the details. When he had finished, Goliath asked a question.
‘What should I do with the people, once I’ve got the clothes?’
‘Kill them.’
Chapter 27
‘This is the famous Mernepteh stele,’ said Mansoor. ‘Made of granite, it was by far the largest inscribed stone ever found, not just by Flinders Petrie, but by anyone. The stone was actually stolen by Mernepteh from the mortuary temple of another pharaoh who had already used the other side. But it was the proclamation that Mernepteh inscribed on it that makes it one of the most famous monuments of ancient Egypt.’
Daniel stood there staring at the huge stone monument in awe, flanked by Mansoor and Gabrielle. His lips moved, but no words came out of his mouth. It was as if there were no words that could describe the magnificence of what he beheld. Lit by special lighting in an otherwise dark area of the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, it stood more than ten feet high and five feet wide, dwarfing those who stood in its imposing presence.
Daniel craned his neck to look up to the graphic image at the top. It showed the pharaoh and his consort standing with various others in attendance.
‘You feel it, don’t you?’ said Mansoor.
Daniel saw a mocking smile on the Egyptian’s face and he knew exactly what he meant.
‘Yes,’ said Daniel, subconsciously muting his voice in token of the humility that he felt before this imposing monument.
‘Mernepteh used this stone to proclaim his victories over Libya.’
‘Or his father’s victories,’ Gabrielle added.
‘True,’ Mansoor confirmed. ‘Considering that his father, Ramesses the Second, ruled for sixty-six years and lived for ninety, it’s far more likely that the father was the architect of the victories commemorated in this stele than his son, who ruled for no more than ten.’
Mansoor started reading out loud.
‘He drove back the Libyans who walked in Egypt,
Fear of Egypt is great in their hearts…
Their best fighters were left abandoned,
Their legs made no stand except to flee,
Their bowmen abandoned their bows.’
‘I notice it’s written right to left,’ said Daniel.
The normal way to write hieroglyphics was left to right, but they could be written either way.
‘I didn’t know you could read them,’ said Mansoor.
‘I can’t. But I can tell from the way the figures are facing.’
Mansoor nodded approvingly. Hieroglyphic animals and human forms always face the beginning of the line.
‘And do you attribute any significance to that fact?’ asked Mansoor.
‘Only that Semitic languages are written right to left. And I understand that this monument contains the first known reference to Israel.’
‘That is true.’
‘I assume that this has something to do with the reason you’re showing it to me.’
‘Oh yes,’ said Mansoor. ‘When this stone was found, Flinders Petrie called in a German linguist and philologist by the name of Wilhelm Spiegelberg to translate it. As Spiegelberg was nearing the end of his translation, he became confused by something he read. In just two lines close to the end, the inscription switches from Mernepteh’s military victories against Libya, in the west, to his purported triumphs in the east. The text goes something like this:
‘Canaan is captured in misery.
Ashkelon is defeated, Gezer is taken,
Yanoam is destroyed;
Israel is laid waste, nought of seed.’
‘Nought of seed?’ Daniel echoed.
‘It’s a standard formula in the context of ancient war,’ Mansoor explained. ‘You destroy the enemy’s grain supply to weaken them economically.’
‘And it actually says “Israel”?’ asked Daniel.
‘The word that Spiegelberg read out phonetically was actually Isrir.’
‘But there’s a problem with that timeframe, isn’t there?’ said Daniel. ‘I mean, the stone dates from 1208 or 1209 BC. And according to the archaeological record, Israelite settlement in Canaan didn’t begin until shortly after that.’
‘Yes, but nowhere on this stone does it say that Isrir was in Canaan.’
‘No, but hold on a minute. All those other places were: Ashkelon, Gezer, Yanoam. And Isrir is mentioned right after them, implying that it was in the same general location.’
‘Ah, now it’s interesting that you mention that,’ Mansoor replied, obviously in his element. ‘Because the text actually distinguishes between those other places and Isrir. Ashkelon, Gezer and Yanoam are all followed by a throwstick symbol and three mountains. Those symbols represent a city state. In other words, each of those places was a city state. But the name Isrir, on the other hand, is followed by a throwstick followed by the figures of a man and a woman. And those symbols represent a foreign people rather than a city state. So, in effect, the text is telling us that Isrir was a people without a country.’
‘But what about the fact that it says they were destroyed?’ asked Daniel. ‘Evidently the Israelites weren’t destroyed because they were still around later.’
‘No, but you have to understand that mighty though the ancient Egyptians were, they were not averse to a touch of hyberbole. They were politicians after all.’
‘You said that a papyrus was found at the same site as this.’
‘Yes. It’s in the archives.’
Mansoor led them once again to the basement archives and showed Daniel and Gabrielle a papyrus fragment containing ancient script. Daniel sat down and stared at it for a long time, referring to his concordance to check each word.
‘Can you translate it?’ Mansoor asked encouragingly.
Daniel peered at the papyrus again before struggling with the words out loud. ‘He killed the women who drew forth the sons, but spared them the daughters.’
‘That doesn’t make sense,’ said Gabrielle.
‘No, of course not,’ said Mansoor. ‘The women who drew forth the sons – presumably that means the midwives. But they would have had the same midwives for sons and daughters.’
‘Wait a minute, I think I can solve it. They’re using the causative case. It’s not “He killed,” it’s “He caused to kill.” In other words, “He caused the women who drew forth the sons to kill them, but made them spare the daughters.”’
As soon as the words were out of Daniel’s mouth he turned to Gabrielle with a look of amazement on his face.
‘The killing of the sons!’ they blurted out in unison.
‘Are you sure?’ asked Mansoor.
‘Absolutely,’ Daniel followed up. ‘In the Bible, it says that Pharaoh decreed that all male babies of the Israelites be thrown into the river – hence Moses being hidden in the bulrushes to save him. And on the Mernepteh stele it says, “Israel is laid waste, nought of seed.” It couldn’t be clearer.’
Daniel had mixed feelings. He was making monumental progress in deciphering ancient texts that played an import ant part in Jewish history. But he felt like he was treading water when it came to finding the papyrus that Harrison had purportedly translated in his elusive paper.
Chapter 28
Sarit was back in her hotel room in Cairo, waiting for further instructions after sending in her report about what happened at the hospital.
She had prepared the report as a text file and concealed it in a picture, using a technique known as steganography. The idea was based on the fact that a text message consisted of far fewer bytes than a picture. The message was broken down into bits and these bits were distributed over the picture in such a way that their only effect would be to make extremely slight changes to some of the colours of some of the cells. There would be no way that this could be detected by the human eye.
The pictures were purportedly of friends of ‘Siobhan Stewart’ in places like Switzerland and Australia. After embedding the report into the picture, she had logged on to the Internet via the hotel’s broadband, signed in to her social network account and sent it.
Now it was up to Dovi. It was probable that Goliath had failed in his mission, but he was still a threat.
Her phone beeped: New pics uploaded to your wall. She knew what this meant: her controller had some information for her.