Thebes
Thebes.
City appearing in the OT as No, or No-Amon. “No” means city and is equivalent to the Egyptian Waset or Greek Thebes. No-Amon means “city of Amon.”
Thebes appears only in the prophetic Scriptures of the OT and only in a context of judgment (Jer 46:25; Ez 30:14–16; Na 3:8). Thebes would suffer judgment and loss of population, but would not be utterly destroyed. These prophecies were fulfilled in ancient times when Cambyses of Persia marched through in 525 B.C. and when the Roman Cornelius Gallus punished the city for a revolt in 30 B.C.
Thebes was the capital of Egypt during most of the Empire period (c. 1570–1100 B.C.) when the Hebrews were in bondage in the land and when the exodus took place. By that time Amon had become the chief god, and the Pharaohs lavished their wealth on the great temples of Amon at Thebes, hoping for the god’s help in overcoming their enemies.
The city of the living in ancient Thebes was located on the east bank of the Nile, the side of the rising sun; and the city of the dead (the necropolis) was located on the west bank, the side of the setting sun. The city of the living had an estimated population of nearly one million at its height. When Strabo visited the city in 24 B.C., he said that the extent of its ruins was about nine miles.
The modern city of Luxor occupies the site of ancient Thebes. There are two massive complexes on the east bank of the Nile: the area around the great Karnak temple in the north, and the area around the Luxor temple in the south. Even the ruins of the great temples are magnificent.
The temple of Luxor is a compound 858 feet long, built primarily by Amenhotep III, with a magnificent addition by Ramses II and a small chapel commissioned by Alexander the Great. To give some idea of its impressive nature, before the entrance pylon of Ramses II were four seated figures (two of which remain) of the king, each 76 feet high. The colonnade of Amenhotep III consists of seven pairs of papyrus columns 53 feet high. Leading from the temple of Luxor to the temple of Karnak was an avenue of ram-headed sphinxes two miles long.
The temple of Karnak was even more grand than that of Luxor; both were dedicated to the god Amon. The temple of Karnak was actually a complex of temples involving some of the best efforts of rulers from the Middle Kingdom to the last centuries B.C. Dominating the temple is the great hypostyle hall of Seti I and his son Ramses II. This forest of 134 sandstone columns covers an area of about 66,000 square feet. The central avenue has 12 columns with open papyrus capitals which soar to a height of 70 feet, making them the tallest columns in the world. The shorter columns in the hall are 53 feet high.
A wall painting from Thebes that portrays five musicians.
On the west bank of the Nile stand the great mortuary temples of Ramses III at Medinet Habu, the Rameseum of Ramses II, Hatshepsut’s great temple at Deir el Bahri, and the Colossi of Memnon (Amenhotep III) before what was Amenhotep’s temple. The Valley of the Kings (with Tutankhamon’s tomb), the Valley of the Queens, and the Valley of the Nobles are also located there. All these temples and tombs have important paintings and inscriptions on their walls.
Elwell, Walter A., and Barry J. Beitzel. Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible 1988 : 2048–2049. Print.
Elwell, Walter A., and Barry J. Beitzel. Baker encyclopedia of the Bible 1988 : 2049. Print.
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