Chapter 6.—Who Were Kings of
Argos, and of Assyria, When Jacob Died in Egypt.
Apis, then, who died in Egypt, was
not the king of Egypt, but of Argos. He was succeeded by his son
Argus, from whose name the land was called Argos and the people
Argives, for under the earlier kings neither the place nor the
nation as yet had this name. While he then reigned over Argos,
and Eratus over Sicyon, and Balæus still remained king of Assyria,
Jacob died in Egypt a hundred and forty-seven years old, after he
had, when dying, blessed his sons and his grandsons by Joseph, and
prophesied most plainly of Christ, saying in the blessing of Judah,
“A prince shall not fail out of Judah, nor a leader from his
thighs, until those things come which are laid up for him; and He
is the expectation of the nations.”
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In the reign of Argus, Greece
began to use fruits, and to have crops of corn in cultivated
fields, the seed having been brought from other countries. Argus
also began to be accounted a god after his death, and was honored
with a temple and sacrifices. This honor was conferred in his
reign, before being given to him, on a private individual for being
the first to yoke oxen in the plough. This was one Homogyrus, who
was struck by lightning.
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Gen. xlix. 10
.