The Hebrew and Their Donkeys

Donkeys were first domesticated from wild asses around 7000 years ago in East Africa.

(Photo Credit: Eric Lafforgue/Getty Images)

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

Wild donkeys were domesticated by the East Africans between 7000 and 4000 BC in the Red Sea Hills and the northern fringe of the Ethiopian highlands. (Ehret, Ancient Africa, p.64).

Donkeys enabled the transport of cargo across the Arabian Peninsula, Mesopotamia and Pakistan. As Roger Blench states, "The spread of the donkey across Africa was linked with the proliferation of long-distance caravans." He notes that "Donkeys are used mainly as pack animals, either for carrying loads or for riding. In arid regions they are used together with camels to pull water from deep wells."

Historically, donkeys pulled carts, dragged mill stones, and drove olive presses. With the development of sedentary communal agriculture, they were used to plow the fields. However, the greatest claim to be made on their behalf involves their role in the emergence of trade across vast distances. And the early Hebrew were largely responsible for that development. They controlled many of the ancient trade routes, such as the Hula Valley and commerce along the major water ways. One means of control was to build twin settlements on opposites sides of the river. 

The early Hebrew (4000-2000 BC) dispersed widely in the ancient world, traded valuable commodities, established themselves in new territories, and influenced the religious beliefs of the people among whom they lived. There is little doubt that the donkey heled them to become wealthy. 

The Horite Hebrew of Edom and Seir are mentioned in Genesis 36.

The Horite Hebrew bred donkeys. Job's Horite Hebrew clan was associated with donkeys, the beasts of burden that make trade possible across vast regions. Job 30:3-7 portrays Job's people as "donkeys braying among the bushes". According to Genesis 36:24, Anah, the son of Zibeon and grandson of Seir the Horite, pastured his father's donkeys in the wilderness.

An early representation of donkeys is on an Egyptian palette dated c. 3100 BC. Donkeys were buried in elite cemeteries of the Nilotic peoples. In a royal funerary complex at Abydos, donkey skeletons were found in mudbrick graves. Donkeys indicated a clan's status.

The earliest known site of Horite Hebrew worship is at Nekhen on the Nile. Historical and archaeological data indicates that this was one of the early breeding grounds of the donkey. As Dr. Christopher Ehret notes, "Africans were the domesticators of the donkey, and animal that became a major stimulus for change in the relations of trade, there came the emergence of a new kind of town. Previously towns, where they did exist, as in Egypt and in the Levant and Mesopotamia, were principally temple centers and/or the governing centers of kingdoms. The new kind of town served instead primarily as a production center of goods destined for commerce or else as a trading center located as the crossroads of trade routes from one region to another, or both." (Ehret, Ancient Africa, pp. 67-68.)

Related reading: How donkeys changed the course of human history; Interview with Christopher Ehret; The Wealth of the Mesopotamian Rulers

Get Acquainted with the Author and Her Research

 

Dr. Alice C. Linsley is a pioneering figure in the science of Biblical Anthropology which identifies anthropologically significant data in the canonical texts. 

- Genesis and Biblical Anthropology: Dr. Linsley argues that Genesis chapters 1-11 constitute verifiable history, drawing on archaeological, anthropological, and linguistic evidence, and DNA studies.

- Early Hebrew History: Her research focuses on the social structure of the early Hebrew with their moieties: the Horite and Sethite Hebrew.  

- Ancient Nilotic and Hebrew Connections: Dr. Linsley explores the connections between proto-Egyptian "Nilotic" culture and the early Hebrew (4200-2000 BC), including the worship of God Father and his Son HR (Horus in Greek) among the Hebrew ruler-priests.

- Research Interests: Her research explores the connections between biblical narratives and ancient Nilotic cultures, including the early Hebrew ruler-priests of the Nile Valley. She demonstrates that the Hebrew rulers named in Genesis chapters 4, 5, 10, 11, 25 and 36 were historical figures through the application of kinship analysis, a tool of cultural anthropology. Analysis of the marriage and ascendancy pattern of these Hebrew rulers reveals an authentic kinship pattern, proving their historicity. Kinship analysis is a critical tool of Biblical Anthropology.

- Background: Dr. Linsley has over 35 years of experience in Biblical Anthropology and taught Philosophy, Ethics, and World Religions at Midway University in Kentucky.

- Expertise: Her work considers the cultures of ancient biblical populations, particularly the early Hebrew. She is also an administrator of the international Facebook group "The Bible and Anthropology".

- Publications: Dr. Linsley has written articles for various platforms, including Just Genesis, Biblical Anthropology, Ethics Forum, and Philosophers' Corner. She authored the book "The First Lords of the Earth: An Anthropological Study" which identifies the prestige, influence, and authority of the "Mighty Men of Old" (Gen. 6). A sequel titled "The First Ladies: An Anthropological Study" is scheduled for release in 2026.

- Speaking Engagements: Dr. Linsley often speaks at conferences and retreats, sharing her insights on Biblical Anthropology and its relevance to understanding biblical populations, especially the Hebrew ruler-priest caste and their connection to the Ancient Nile Valley Civilization (ANVC).

Related reading: When is the Evidence Sufficient?; The Hebrew Hierarchy of Sons; INDEX of Topics at Just Genesis; INDEX of Topics at Biblical Anthropology

The Israelite-Hebrew Mountain Covenants

 

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

Do you grasp the distinction between the terms Hebrew and Israelite? And between Israelite and Jew? If not, please read this: Hebrew, Israelite or Jew?

Do you recognize that Judaism is not the faith of Abraham the Hebrew? If not read this: Judaism is Not the Faith of Abraham.

Before Abraham's time (c.2000 BC), the Hebrew ruler-priest caste had dispersed in many directions. They moved into the land of Canaan long before the time of Moses. That is why the Israelites met kinsmen in many places. The Israelites who left Egypt are described as a mixed multitude (Exodus 12:38). Some were descendants of the Hebrew who had been living in the Nile Valley for at least 2000 years before the time of Moses.  Some were the descendants of the Hebrew chief Jacob or Israel. 

Detailed study of the ancestry of Terah, Abraham, Nahor, Isaac and Jacob reveals that these families and the Hebrew living in Canaan, Edom and Midian share common ancestors. Canaan is named for Cain whose descendants, the Kenites, lived in Canaan. Edom or Idumea was the land of red people such as Esau, Isaac's proper heir. Some of the Horite Hebrew chiefs of that region are listed in Genesis 36. The land of Midian is named for one of Abraham's sons by his cousin wife, Keturah (Gen. 25).

After leaving Egypt, Jacob's descendants (the "Israelites") journeyed east-northeast by stages, making contact with Hebrew kinsmen at each stage. The first people to help them were their cousins among the Midianites in the region of Horeb, the Midianite sacred mountain (Deut. 29:1). 

The Israelites also received help from the Hebrew chiefs of Edom. These Hebrew were kin to Seir the Horite Hebrew named in Genesis 36. The Edomite sacred mountain was Paran (Deut. 33:2). 

Crossing through Edomite territory (where Aaron was buried), the Hebrew people moved into Moab. They visited with Lot’s descendants and worshipped on Mount Nebo (Deut. 32:49), where Moses died.

 At each of these sacred sites, the reunion of kin was celebrated by a covenant that included animal sacrifice and a night of feasting. These covenants likely resembled the covenant made between Jacob and Laban at Mizpah (Gen. 31:44-54). The Hebrew ruler-priests had established themselves at sheltered high places throughout the Ancient Near East well before the time of Moses and the Exodus. 

Related reading: The Exodus Narrative from a Different Angle; Horite and Sethite Mounds; The Hebrew were a Caste; Hazor's Destruction: Another Theory; The Edomites and the Color Red; Adam Was a Red Man; The High Places; They Believed in a Messiah 6000 Years Ago

Peace Between the Fattened Calf and the Lion

 

This 500-year-old bowl is decorated with recumbent lions and calves before the symbol of the High God An/Anu (BLMJ 4564). Photo: David Harris.

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:6–9)

Isaiah 11:6 speaks of a universal peace when “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid and the calf and the lion and the fatling together." 

This unique serpentine bowl from southern Mesopotamia (c. 3300–2900 BC) appears to express this hope. The lions and calves are shown lying down peacefully one after the other. They speak of a realm in which all creatures live in harmony or shalom.

The animals on the bowl are crouched before a bundle of stylized reeds like the reeds carved into a door at the base of the Ziggurat of Anu, the High God of the early Sumerians. Dating to the late 4th millennium BC, this temple towered approximately 40 feet above the flat plain of Uruk (Erech) and would have been visible from a great distance. The word ziggurat is related from the ancient Akkadian words zaqâru - to rise high, and ziqqurratu - rising building.

Lions are historically a symbol of royal and/or priestly authority. Solomon's throne was flanked by two lions, as described in II Chronicles 9:18: "There were six steps to the throne and a footstool in gold attached to the throne, and arms on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the arms." Solomon's was one of several seats of wisdom mentioned in the Bible.

I Kings 10:18,19 tells of a great ivory throne with two lions standing on the arm rests. This also described the throne of the Coptic Pope.

The lion is referred to in the names of some biblical rulers that have the ar affix. It signifies both the lion and the ruler. Ari was an honorific for a man of distinction and power. The Hebrew word ari (or aryeh), the Akkadian aria, the Aramaic arya, and the Sanskrit word aryeh mean "noble." In Genesis 49:9, Jacob refers to his son Judah as Gur Aryeh גּוּר אַרְיֵה יְהוּדָה, a "young lion."

The totem of Shobal's clan was the lion, fierce in its youthful strength. Shobal is one of the Horite Hebrew rulers listed in the Genesis 36.

The Igbo of Nigeria call their scribes the Ar or Aro. The late Dr. Catherine Acholonu explained, "In Nigeria the caste under reference is the Ar/Aro caste of Igbo Eri priest-kings, who were highly militarized in their philosophy."

Edward Hicks' "Peaceable Kingdom"(1834). National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

A calf is a natural prey for a hungry lion. The image of lions and calves dwelling together in peace suggests a rule of peace and plenty. Psalm 22:27-28 envisions a world where all peoples and nations turn to the Lord and acknowledge His rule.

The "fattened calf" is a Messianic reference. The golden calf fabricated by Aaron incorporated the sun resting between the horns as a sign of the divine appointment. Below is picture of what it would have looked like.

Among Abraham's cattle-herding ancestors the calf was sacrificed and eaten to solemnize covenants, ratify treaties, to commemorate the resolution of disputes and to express reconciliation. 

Calves are not sacrificed where God has made peace through the Blood of His Son. Paul articulates this in Colossians 1:20, stating that God was pleased to reconcile all things to Himself "through the blood of his cross." God has made peace between Himself and humanity, and between all creation. Soon, dear readers, this reality will be evident to all. 

Related reading: The Lion and Ancient Rulers; Christ's Third Day Resurrection

The Religious Symbolism of Green Malachite

 

Malachite amulet of Horus falcon, 1550-1069 BC (New Kingdom)

The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

Green malachite was associated with the Son of God. He was called HR in Ancient Egyptian (Horus in Greek). HR was regarded as the patron of royal priests and kings. Green malachite pigment was used in the cosmetics that high ranking Egyptians would paint around their eyes to mimic the falcon-headed Horus.

Green malachite was associated with the falcon, the animal totem of Horus. The Book of the Dead speaks of how the deceased will become a falcon "whose wings are of green stone" (chapter 77). The protective Eye of Horus amulet was made of green stone. The Ancient Pyramid Texts speak of Horus as the "Lord of the green stone" (Utterance 301).

Malachite is a copper-based mineral, and copper was associated with the sun, the symbol of the High God and his son HR. The Nilotic Hebrew were known for their work with gold and copper. Copper and gold artifacts appeared in the region between the First and Second Cataracts in graves of the Middle A Group. These are dated 3600–3300 BC (Killick 2014).

Around 3,200 BC copper balances and weights were used at Nile shrines to determine cargo taxes and for trade.

Green malachite was placed in some graves at Nekhen on the Nile, the oldest known site of Horite Hebrew worship (4200 BC). A leather pouch containing chunks of malachite was found among the grave goods at Tomb 39 in Nekhen, a city dedicated to Horus.

Timna is the site of some of the world's oldest copper mines. The oldest mines are at least 6,000 years old and there are newer ones as well, totaling about 10,000 shafts. The miners at Timna venerated Hathor, the mother of Horus. A temple dedicated to Hathor was discovered at the southwestern edge of Mt. Timna by Professor Beno Rothenberg of Hebrew University.

This green malachite stone, a gift from the Egyptian king with whom the Hittites signed a treaty in 1258 BC, was at the center of a shrine in the Hittite capital of Hattusa (in Çorum Province in Turkey). Among the ancient Nilotic Hebrew, green malachite represented new life and the hope of resurrection. The land of the blessed dead was described as the "field of malachite."

Many of the priests of the ancient world, including some Hittite priests, were devotees of God's son Horus. Some shrine centers among the Hittites reflect this: Horoztepe (Horus Hill) and Išuwa (Yeshua/Yesu). According to the early Hebrew (4000-2000 BC), the first act of the Creator at the beginning was šw (Shu), meaning light. This is not the light of day. It is the eternal, uncreated light associated with the High God's son Y-shu (Yeshua), as proclaimed in John's Prologue.

The name Jesus is related to the Hebrew word Yeshua, meaning Salvation. However, the name is older than the Hebrew language. It is found as early as 2600 BC among the Hebrew priests of the Nile Valley as Yesu or Yeshu.

A prince named Yesu is mentioned as the son of Ameny, the son of Shenwy, the son of Nakht on a memorial stela from Abydos. It speaks of Shenwy and his wife, Hedjret. One of Hedjret's grandsons is called išw, which could be an early form of the name Jesus/Yeshu (Bill Manley, Egyptian Hieroglyphics, p. 77.)

The name Yesu is attached to the roles of priest and king in ancient hieroglyphics. Reading from left to right: The feather represents judgment. The horn represents power. The staff represents royal authority, and the chick represents new life. All of these symbols speak of Jesus Christ.

Related reading: The Religious Symbolism of Gold; Malachite and The Ancient Egyptians; BIBLICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: Copper and Iron; Just Genesis: Why the Name Jesus?

The Christian Broadcasting Network's Narrow Scope

 

The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) is an American media production and distribution organization that was founded in 1960 by televangelist Pat Robertson. It produces The 700 Club, co-produces the ongoing Superbook anime, and has operated a number of TV channels and radio stations.

When it comes to biblical archaeology and biblical anthropology, the CBN does not report on data that may raise doubts about Political Zionism and the Jewish narrative concerning the Israelite conquest of the land of Canaan.

CBN's coverage of archaeology in Israel is superficial and ignores the discoveries of famous archaeologists such as Israel Finklestein, Kathleen Kenyon, Beno Rothenberg, Trude Dothan, Jody Magness, Ofer Bar-Yosef, and many others.

The Network focuses on stories that it believes lend support to the modern nation of Israel. It does not report on findings that it regards as undermining the Jewish narrative. The Network does not report on significant discoveries in the Holy Land that date to long before the time of David (c.1000 BC). The viewers of CBN do not understand the differences between the faith of Abraham and Judaism. Most viewers of the Network probably believe that Abraham was a Jew though Judaism did not exist when Abraham lived.

Israel Finklestein and other archaeologists question descriptions of the swift invasion of Canaan and the Israelite conquest and destruction of fortified cities such as Jericho and Hazor. The evidence of excavations at those sites does not support the claim. Even the rabbis admit this.

Hershel Shanks, long-time editor of the Biblical Archaeology Review, wrote that archaeology "sometimes provides evidence that seems to refute the Biblical account. That is the case, for example, with the Israelite conquest of the land as described in the Book of Joshua. The various cities that the Israelites supposedly conquered simply cannot be lined up with the archaeological evidence." (BAR, July-August 2013, p. 6)

The "Deuteronomistic History" (Martin Noth's term) is the main biblical source of the Jewish land narrative, but it comes from the context of c.730-300 BC, long after the time of Moses, and does not align well with the historical, archaeological, linguistic, and anthropological data concerning Moses and his Hebrew ancestors. In fact, the Deuteronomist Historian advocated destruction of images and places that were sacred to the early Hebrew (4000-2000 BC). 

Some of the practices of the early Hebrew are found in Judaism: circumcision, ritual washing, dietary restrictions, etc. However, the faith of Abraham and his Hebrew ancestors predates the emergence of Judaism by several thousand years. Further, the Hebrew clans were widely dispersed before the time of Abraham (c.2000 BC) as shown on the map above.

The thrust of the Deuteronomist's history and theology hangs on the notion that Yahweh promised the Israelites the land of Canaan. The Israelites were but one of many Hebrew clans and some Hebrew were living in Canaan when the Israelites arrived there. 

Political Right Bias

CBN represents American Evangelicalism's tendency to hard-right political views. It prides itself on having been "at the forefront of the culture wars since the network's inception in the early 1960s." It is fair to say that many, if not most of the regular viewers of CBN, view the Bible through the lens of American Evangelicalism and are not critical of the Network's content.

CBN sometimes presents science news from a Young Earth Creationist perspective. It does not balance this with reports of the evidence of human existence on earth for at least 300,000 years.

Related reading: Was Abraham the First Jew?; The Antiquity of Bethlehem; Biblical Anthropology: Another Reason to Believe; Reading Genesis as Verifiable History; Tracing the Influence of Prominent ANE Archaeologists; Judaism is Not the Faith of Abraham

Ethnography in the Book of Judges

 

“Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD…” (Jdg 10:6)

The Book of Judges is about a Hebrew population known as the "Israelites." The writer of Judges records the repeated cycles of disobedience, oppression, repentance and deliverance as God raised up rulers, judges and prophets to free the Israelites. The narratives illustrate the consequences of unfaithfulness to God and the need for righteous rulers if the exiles hope to live in peace in the land claimed by their Israelite forefathers.

The Book probably was written closer to the time of the Babylonian Exile (597- 587 BC) than to the time of Samuel (1100- 1001 BC). As such, the author of Judges relied on early ethnographic material to set the stage.

According to Judges 3:5, "The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites."

The Israelites were but one clan of the Hebrew ruler-priest caste. They are the Hebrew people associated with Jacob/Yacob who was called Israel/Yisrael. Well before the time of the Judges, there were other Hebrew clans dispersed throughout the Nile Valley, Canaan, Arabia, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and the Zagros Mountains. Arishen was a Horite Hebrew who ruled a territory in the central Zagros between 2400-2301 BC.

The term "Canaanite" refers to a mixed population living in Canaan. Some Hebrew people lived among the people living in Canaan. Rahab and her family are an example. 

The Jebusites, such as the priest-king Melchizedek, were also kin to the Hebrew. Melchizedek and Abraham were kinsmen. Before David became King of Israel, the Jebusites controlled Jerusalem and much of the land surrounding the sacred city.

The Hittites claim the Hebrew ruler Heth as an ancestor. That means that the Hittites living in Canaan and Anatolia were kin to the Israelites. Canaan became the father of Sidon his firstborn, and Heth and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. (Gen. 10:15-18 NRSV) The Hittites of Canaan recognized Abraham the Hebrew as a "great prince" among them. 

The Amorites appear to have been a migrating population that dispersed into Mesopotamia and the Orontes River Valley. Amorite was a Northwest Semitic language, like Ugaritic, Hebrew, and Aramaic. It has striking similarities to Moabite and to the language found in the 14th-century BC Amarna Letters.

The Perizzites were also kin to the Israelites. Perez was a son of Judah who never settled in Egypt.

The term "Hivites" refers to the Horite Hebrew who never left Edom and parts of Canaan. The Bible scholar, E.A. Speiser called attention to Hurrian/Horite personal names associated with Shechem and with other areas whose inhabitants the Bible calls "Hivites." Genesis 34:2 specifies Shechem as a Hivite or Horite settlement. He noted the juxtaposition of the Hurrian Jebusites and the Hivites in various biblical references and he concluded that “Hivite” was a biblical term for Horite/Hurrian. Speiser supported his identification of the Hivites with the Horite/Hurrians by reference to Genesis 36:2 and 36:20, where the terms Hivite and Horite are used interchangeably. In Genesis 36:2, Zibeon is called a Hivite, and in Genesis 36:20 Zibeon is identified as a Horite descendent of Seir. 

Other examples of the interchange of the terms Hivite and Horite may be found by comparing the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint. The Septuagint reads "Horites" for the "Hivite" of the Masoretic Text in Genesis 34:2 and Joshua 9:7.

Related reading: The Genesis 10 Ethnography; Who was Melchizedek?; Abraham and the Hittites; BIBLICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: The Peoples of Canaan