only in
Hos. 9:6,
Hebrew Moph. In
Isa. 19:13;
Jer. 2:16; 46:14, 19;
Ezek. 30:13, 16, it is mentioned under the name
Noph. It was the capital of Lower, i.e., of Northern
Egypt. From certain remains found half buried in the sand, the site of this ancient
city has been discovered near the modern village of Minyet Rahinch, or Mitraheny, about 16 miles above the ancient head of the Delta, and 9 miles
south of Cairo,
on the west bank of the
Nile. It is said to have been founded by Menes, the first
king of Egypt, and to have been in circumference about 19 miles. "There are few remains above ground," says Manning (The Land of the Pharaohs), "of the splendour of ancient
Memphis. The city has utterly disappeared. If any traces yet exist, they are buried beneath the vast mounds of crumbling
bricks and broken
pottery which meet the
eye in every direction. Near the village of Mitraheny is a colossal statue of
Rameses the Great. It is apparently one of the two described by Herodotus and Diodorus as standing in front of the
temple of Ptah. They were originally 50 feet in height. The one which remains, though mutilated, measures 48 feet. It is finely carved in limestone, which takes a high polish, and is evidently a portrait. It lies in a
pit, which, during the inundation, is filled with water. As we gaze on this fallen and battered statue of the mighty conqueror who was probably contemporaneous with
Moses, it is impossible not to remember the words of the
prophet Isaiah, 19:13; 44:16-19, and
Jeremiah, 46:19."