y. The first was
a symbol of the union of wisdom and strength. The Sphinx was the solemn
sentinel, placed to watch the temple and the tomb, as the Cherubim watched
the gates of Paradise after the expulsion of Adam. In the Cherubim were
joined portions of the figure of a man with those of the lion, the ox, and
the eagle. In the Temple the Cherubim spread their wings above the ark;
and Wilkinson gives a picture from the Egyptian tombs of two kneeling
figures with wings spread above the scarabaeus. The Persians and the
Greeks had similar symbolic figures, meant to represent the various powers
of these separate creatures combined in one being; but the Hebrew figure
was probably imported from Egypt.

The Egyptians had in their temples a special interior sanctuary, more holy
than the rest. So the Jews had their Holy of Holies, into which only the
high-priest went, separated by a veil from the other parts of the Temple.
The Jews were commanded on the Day of Atonement to provide a scapegoat, to
carry away the sins of the people, and the high-priest was to lay his
hands on the head of the goat and confess the national sins, "putting them
upon the head of the goat" (Lev. xvi. 21, 22), and it was said that "the
goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited."
So, among the Egyptians, whenever a victim was offered, a prayer was
repeated over its head, "that if any calamity were about to befall either
the sacrifices or the land of Egypt, it might be averted on this
head."[196]

Such facts as these make it highly probable that Moses allowed in his
ritual many ceremonies borrowed from the Egyptian worship.

That Egyptian Christianity had a great influence on the development of the
system of Christian doctrine is not improbable.[197] The religion of
ancient Egypt was very tenacious and not easily effaced. Successive waves
of Syrian, Persian, Greek, and Roman conquest rolled over the land,
scarcely producing any change in her religion or worship. Christianity
conquered Egypt, but was itself deeply tinged with the faith of the
conquered. Many customs found in Christendom may be traced back to Egypt.
The Egyptian at his marriage put a gold ring on his wife's finger, as a
token that he intrusted her with all his property, just as in the Church
of England service the bridegroom does the same, saying, "With all my
worldly goods I thee endow." Clemens tells us that this custom was derived
by the Christians from the