The Historical Mary: What We Know

 

Dr Alice C. Linsley

Each year as Christmas approaches films appear with a Biblical theme. This year, Netflix has a movie about Mary, the mother of Jesus. I have not watched the film, but I suspect that Mary will be portrayed as a young unmarried mother of Palestine who did not know what was happening to her. I hope to set the record straight since information about Mary and her priest ancestors is available. 

The Biblical and historical data that helps us to understand Mary's social status is extensive. Even those who held her in low regard had to admit that she was a descendant of kings and governors. Concerning Mary, Sanhedrin 106a says: “She who was the descendant of princes and governors played the harlot with carpenters.”

The marriage of Mary of Bethlehem and Joseph of Nazareth represents an endogamous marriage pattern. The Hebrew married only members of their caste. Their marriage represented the connection between the priestly order of Abijah in Bethlehem and the priestly order of ha·pi·TSETS (Happizzez) in Nazareth. Abijah was the eighth priestly division and Happizzez was the eighteenth division. During the time of Mary and Joseph, the twenty-four priestly divisions served in the Temple at Jerusalem in a rotation system. A list of priestly divisions is found in 1 Chronicles 24:7-18. However, this system was already in place among the early Hebrew priests of the Nile Valley. During the Predynastic period (c.4000-3000 BC) and the Old Kingdom (c. 2575-2130 BC), the Hebrew priests of the Nile Valley were organized into "phyles". Each phyle served a two-week duration before returning home. The later organization of priests in Israel appears to have developed from the phyle system.

Mary was a descendant of the Hebrew ruler-priests who married only within their caste. When Joseph took Mary as his second wife, he was marrying a temple-dedicated virgin of high status. Her high status is depicted in some icons that show her holding a spindle.

The Virgin Mary holds a spindle, the symbol of a Rabitu, a Bronze Age title for a queen mother.

It is likely that Mary was dedicated to the Temple by her parents, as was Samuel dedicated by his parents Hannah and Elkanah. The duties of the Temple virgins included singing and playing musical instruments such as the sistrum and the tambourine. They ministered to women who came for ritual purification. The women performed practical tasks such as drawing water, baking bread, and brewing beer. They were skilled weavers who produced veils and vestments. The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew describes how Mary and the other Temple virgins were spinning purple thread in the Women's compound when the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary. 

Mary is designated almah in the Scriptures. The Hebrew word almah (עַלְמָה) is derived from a verb meaning “to conceal” or “to hide away”. Temple virgins were alamot because they were cloistered until they married. In Antiquitates judaicae, the historian Flavius Josephus (c.37-100 AD) refers to the cloisters in Book XV, Chapter 11. The King James Version refers to the alamot as “damsels”. The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels. (KJV, Psalm 68:25)

Some temple-dedicated virgins chose not to marry. Entering the service of the Temple made that choice possible. Some daughters were denied marriage for political reasons. Some were released from their vows and returned to their fathers' houses. Some who were released, married. Depending on the vow, some who married remained celibate. This was the case mainly with cousin brides who were not expected to produce an heir. As a righteous man, Joseph honored Mary’s vow of celibacy. He already had a proper heir by his first wife.

Mary's conception of Jesus was by divine overshadowing as the Angel Gabriel explained (Lk. 1:35). This is exactly what the early Hebrew anticipated concerning the Son of God, and it is a significant detail of the ancient Messianic mystery. The Magnificat expresses Mary's wonder at being appointed to this unique role, especially because her lineage was deemed unworthy of honor by the Jewish elites after the time of Herod the Great. One of Mary’s ancestors Matthias (Mattat), the 61st High Priest and a descendant of David, was deposed and had limited political influence with the House of Zadok. The ancestral family of Jacob ben Mattat, once a favorite of Herod the Great, appears to have been ostracized from Jewish political life.

That Jesus was the son of Mary is not doubted. He took his flesh from the Virgin Mary, the daughter of Anna and Joachim. As a descendant of the Hebrew ruler-priests who married only within their caste, Mary's bloodline is traceable to the early Hebrew (4000-2000 BC) who expected one of their temple virgins to conceive the Son (HR) by divine overshadowing, exactly as the Angel Gabriel explained to Mary.

Mary's Perpetual Virginity

According to the tradition received from the early Christians and the Church Fathers, Mary was the daughter of a priest named Joachim and his wife Anna. Although Mary’s mother is not mentioned in the Bible, we know of her from other sources. The earliest known record is found in the second century Protoevangelium of James.

 
Mary is believed to have been a virgin before, during, and after the birth of Christ. This belief, known as the doctrine of Mary’s perpetual virginity, was officially declared at the Fifth Ecumenical Council in Constantinople in 553 AD.

Writing in 210 AD, Hippolytus of Rome believed, “But the pious confession of the believer is that . . . the Creator of all things incorporated with Himself a rational soul and a sensible body from the all-holy Mary, ever-virgin, by an undefiled conception, without conversion, and was made man in nature, but separate from wickedness. . .” (Against Beron and Helix: Fragment VIII)

Athanasius wrote in 360 AD against those “who deny that the Son is by nature from the Father and proper to his essence deny also that he took true human flesh from the ever-virgin Mary” (Discourses Against the Arians 2:70).

Writing in 374 AD, Epiphanius of Salamis, affirmed the creedal faith: “We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of all things, both visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God . . . who for us men and for our salvation came down and took flesh, that is, was born perfectly of the holy ever-virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit” (The Man Well-Anchored 120).

Others who believed in Mary’s perpetual virginity include Ambrose of Milan (339-97 AD), John Chrysostom (347-407 AD), Jerome (347-420 AD), and Augustine (354-430 AD). Many Protestant reformers affirmed their belief in the doctrine, including Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Huldrych Zwingli. In England the belief was held by Hugh Latimer (1487-1555 AD), Thomas Cranmer, (1489-1556 AD), John Jewel (1522-1571 AD), and Lancelot Andrewes (1555-1626 AD).

Related reading: Just Genesis: Another Look at Genesis 3:13-15; The Virgin Mary's Ancestry; Cousin Brides Among the Hebrew; Denying Marriage: A Cunning Royal Strategy; BIBLICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: Temple Women

Competition Between the Horites and the Sethites

Egyptian artifact dating to c. 1970-1878 BC. 

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

This Egyptian hippopotamus statuette can be seen in Gallery 111 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Museum workers regard "William the Hippo" as a mascot. The artifact was found in a shaft associated with the funerary chapel of Senbi the Steward. This 8 in (20 cm) figurine in faience, a clay-less material, illustrates the high level of Egyptian faience work during the Middle Kingdom.

According to the Museum, this hippo figure is a "particularly fine example of a type found, in common with various other animal forms, among the funerary furnishings of tombs of the Middle Kingdom."

William seems a benign creature, almost whimsical. However, hippos can be aggressive and are known to attack. In Job 40:15-24, the hippo is called the "behemoth" and is described as one of God's most dangerous creatures. On ancient Nilotic murals and royal vessels, the early kings are often shown spearing fearsome hippos. Such scenes depict the kings as courageous and able to impose order on chaos. The hippo was the animal totem of Seth and sometimes represented the chaos that could arise when Seth, a deified ruler, asserted equality with Horus, the son of the High God.

The competition between Seth and Horus is found in many Egyptian tales. These tales reflect the competitive relationship between the Sethite and the Horite Hebrew who maintained separate settlements (mounds) along the Nile River before the time of Abraham (2000 BC). 

It is clear in the Ancient Pyramid Texts (2400-2000 BC) that the Horites and the Sethites maintained separate settlements. Utterance 308 addresses them as separate entities: "Hail to you, Horus in the Horite Mounds! Hail to you, Horus in the Sethite Mounds!" 

Though separate groups or moieties, the Horite and Sethite Hebrew shared common religious practices and beliefs, and they worshiped the same God and served the same king. However, the Horite temples and shrines were the more prestigious. Utterance 470 contrasts the Horite and Sethite mounds and designates the Horite mounds as "the High Mounds."

Golden Horus falcon found at Nekhen.

The animal totem of Horus was the falcon, symbolizing flight through the heavenly regions. The falcon was also the totem of the Horite Hebrew who were devotees of Horus (HR). HR in ancient Egyptian means the Most High One. 

The hippopotamus, on the other hand, is a creature of the mud, dust, and clay, suggesting that the mounds of the Sethites were the lower mounds. The elevation of the mounds appears to relate to a hierarchy of authority.

Figures relating to both Seth and Horus have been found at Nekhen on the Nile, the oldest known site of Horite Hebrew worship (4000 BC). This figurine of Seth as a red man with the head of a hippo was found at Nekhen. 

Votive offerings at the Nekhen temple were ten times larger than the normal mace heads and bowls found elsewhere, suggesting that this was a very prestigious shrine.

Related reading: Seth, Son of Adam; Horite and Sethite Mounds; Why Nekhen is Anthropologically Significant; Horus, King of the Universe

Try a more interactive platform!

 

I am sure many people believe this is true of Facebook. I have friends and family members who refuse to use social media entirely. Of course, there are groups that seem to wallow in the mundane, and people whose arrogance and dismissive attitudes drive us away. However, social media is a powerful tool that Christians must learn to use wisely. 

I often say that the churches should teach how to use social media to educate, inspire, encourage, and graciously correct. Sadly, some use social media to sermonize and to deliver a substantial portion of negative judgements. The negativity does not reflect well on people of faith.

There is a tendency to shun those with whom we disagree and to create echo chambers in which we can discuss pet ideas, political leanings, or debate finer points of theology. Personally, I do not find echo chambers to be helpful because I want to hear opposing views, especially if they are well-articulated, and empirically sound.

Recently there has been a sizeable uptick in the number of comments at this blog. I appreciate the thoughtful comments of many readers, and I attempt to respond to all of them. 

However, blogs are not the best interactive platforms. Therefore, I encourage you consider joining the international Facebook group The Bible and Anthropology. The conversations there are fascinating!

Many of the members are respected scholars in Biblical Studies, Archaeology, Comparative Linguistics, Ancient Civilizations, Paleoanthropology, DNA Studies, and Kinship Analysis.

The forum members are respectful, thoughtful, and generous when it comes to differences. We learn from one another. It has been that way since the group began almost 8 years ago. Please take a moment to view the content, and comment to your heart's desire!

I hope your days are full of God's love and a growing confidence in God's promises.

Alice C. Linsley

Literary Motifs of Jewish Midrashim

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

According to rabbinic tradition Rahab was a harlot and Ruth converted to Judaism before she married Boaz. However, there is nothing in the canonical texts to substantiate this assertion about Rahab, and Judaism did not exist when Ruth lived. 

Rabbinic Judaism inaccurately claims Abraham as its founder. The Bible states that Abraham was Hebrew (Gen. 14:13), and his religious beliefs were largely set aside by Judaism. Prominent Jews admit this.

Rabbi Stephen F. Wise, former Chief Rabbi of the United States, wrote: "The return from Babylon and the introduction of the Babylonian Talmud mark the end of Hebrewism and the beginning of Judaism. This break came at least 1400 years after Abraham.

Many Jewish accounts of Biblical persons do not align with the Biblical data. They are the product of midrash, the rabbinic method of interpreting events that took place thousands of years before Judaism emerged after 580 BC.

Certain literary devices are used to develop the Jewish narrative. One is the claim of famines that drive the Hebrew people into other lands. Abraham and Jacob go down to Egypt to avoid famine in Caanan. The family of Naomi left Bethlehem and went to Moab to avoid famine in Judah. While famines were a common problem in the Ancient Near East, they do not explain the wide dispersion of the early Hebrew. Hebrew clans lived in the Nile Valley, Mesopotamia, Canaan, and Moab long before the Israelites left Egypt. The Moabite Hebrew were kin to Abraham. They share a common ancestor in Terah, Abraham’s father and the great grandfather of Moab, Lot’s son.

Another device is jealousy among brothers. Though the Genesis story does not explain why Cain killed Abel, midrash supplies the explanation that he was jealous. Likewise, Joseph’s treatment by his brothers is explained as an act motivated by jealousy.

Midrashim often employ the device of slavery to explain why a prominent Hebrew is not living in the land of Israel or has left Canaan. It is used to explain why Joseph was in Egypt, why Daniel was in Babylon, and why Mordecai and Esther were in Persia. In the sixth century BC, many Judean noblemen were taken to Babylon, and Babylon was conquered by the Persians who took captives to Susa. These events have been historically verified. Midrash often embroiders historical events to convey a theological message.

Incest is often a literary device of Jewish midrashim to denigrate the descendants of a Hebrew clan. This is the case also with Lot and his daughters by which the Ammonites and the Moabites were to be excluded from the promises made to their common Hebrew ancestors. The late Michael Heiser noted that to "uncover the nakedness" of a male relative is to have sex with his wife (Lev. 18:7, 14, 20:20-21). Thus, Noah's son Ham is accused of incest with his father's wife. That woman was not necessarily Ham's mother because the early Hebrew rulers had two wives. Reuben, Jacob's firstborn son by Leah, is dismissed as Jacob's proper's heir because he slept with Bilhah, one of Jacob's concubines (Gen. 35:27). Likewise, David's son Absalom is dismissed as David's heir because he too slept with his father's concubines (2 Sam. 16:22).

Midrash tends to point to God or supernatural intervention as an explanation for why things happened. An example is Joseph’s declaration to his brothers: “Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.” (Gen. 45:5-7)

Another example is Mordecai’s declaration to Esther: “Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:12-14)

Countless sermons draw on Jewish interpretations to make theological points about God, covenants, and biblical archetypes. Therefore, those who attend church and synagogue are familiar with the Jewish narratives. When the earlier contexts of the widely dispersed Hebrew clans are presented, many become confused, resistant to new information, or even outraged. Nevertheless, understanding the social structure and historical contexts of the biblical Hebrew clarifies relationships and events that are obfuscated by Jewish explanations coming long after the time of the early Hebrew (4200-2000 BC). For example, as the firstborn son of Rachel, Jacob’s cousin wife, Joseph would have been sent to serve his maternal uncle. This is a feature of the marriage and ascendancy pattern of the Biblical Hebrew. That explains why Joseph was in the household of Potiphar in Egypt. In Genesis 41, Joseph is described as 'ebed. The word is derived from the verb ʿbd, meaning "to work” and it can apply to a slave, a servant, and a nephew who serves his uncle. Jacob, the son of Isaac's cousin wife, also went to serve his maternal uncle.

It is hoped that the readers of this blog will pursue the historical realities that are presented in the canonical texts. Understanding the social structure and historical contexts of the biblical Hebrew clarifies relationships and events that are often muddled by Jewish explanations coming long after the early Hebrew (4200-2000 BC).

Related reading: The Earliest Known Site of Horite Hebrew Worship; The Oldest Known Religion; The Substance of Abraham's Faith; The Hebrew were a Caste; Just Genesis: Contextual Incongruities in Genesis; The Hebrew Hierarchy of Sons

The Earliest Known Site of Horite Hebrew Worship

Dr. Alice C. Linsley


The Hebrew regarded the mountain top as the spatial sacred center between heaven and earth, and high noon as the temporal sacred center, a time without shifting shadows. This belief is expressed in James 1:17 – “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” There were many Hebrew “high places” and the one that became associated with Judaism is Jerusalem.

High places served by Hebrew priests include Uruk (alt: Erech), Jericho, Heliopolis on the Nile, Nekhen and Karnak. Burnt offerings were made at the high places. This is reflected in the association of the term kar with charcoal and soot. The Turkish kara means "black." In Magyar, korom refers to soot, as does the Korean word kurim. In Dravidian, car means "sheltered together" and kari refers to a river. In Manding, kara means "to assemble." Among the Nilotic Luo, kar specifies a place with boundaries. In ancient Sumerian, é-kur refers to a mountain house, a pyramid, or an elevated temple. It is evident that kar refers to a rock sheltered or fortified site with a temple or shrine tended by priests.

High places are described as “mounds” in the Ancient Pyramid Texts (2400-2000 BC). One of those mounds was Nekhen, the oldest known site of Horite Hebrew worship. Archaeological discoveries there have confirmed the presence of Horite and Sethite Hebrew at Nekhen as early as 5100 years ago. The citizens brewed beer, made pottery, and built homes and public buildings using bundled reeds and large logs. They fashioned sacred objects of flint, gold, and malachite. Green malachite held special significance for the early Horite Hebrew. It was associated with Horus. The Egyptian Book of the Dead speaks of how the deceased will become a falcon "whose wings are of green stone" (chapter 77). The Pyramid Texts speak of Horus as the "Lord of the green stone" (Utterance 301). A leather pouch containing chunks of malachite was found among the grave goods at Tomb 39 in Nekhen, a city dedicated to Horus whose totem was the falcon.

Golden Horus as a falcon found at Nekhen.

 

Early hieroglyphic writing appears on some of the artifacts found at Nekhen. Archaeologists also found the earliest funerary complex in the land that would become known as Egypt, and the exquisite burial goods leave no doubt that this tomb belonged to one of the Upper Nile’s earliest kings.

Nekhen was a center for the worship of the High God and his Son HR. Votive offerings found at Nekhen were ten times larger than the mace heads and bowls found elsewhere, indicating the prestige of the Horus Temple. Royal priests at the Temple of Horus honored the High God, the High God’s son HR, and HR’s mother, Hathor.

An ivory Hathor comb with carved cow horns at the top was found in grave 66F at Nekhen. It dates to between 3650 and 3300 BC.

Related reading: Why Nekhen is Anthropologically Significant; Nekhen News Online; Another Look at Genesis 3:13-15; Horite and Sethite Mounds

The Mule and the Donkey

 

An Egyptian and his donkey.

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

The mule is a cross between a mare and a donkey, and is known for its strength, endurance, and ability to handle steep terrain. It is likely that Ruth and Naomi traveled from Moab to Bethlehem either on mules or donkeys. From Moab to Bethlehem was a journey of 7-10 days on foot though the distance is only about 50 miles as the crow flies. However, the terrain is rugged and mountainous. Traveling by donkey or mule would have made the journey easier and shorter.

Female horses (mares) and jack asses were paired by the Horite Hebrew to produce mules. Genesis 36:24 speaks of Anah, the grandson of Seir the Horite, who fed the donkeys and mules who came to a spring in the wilderness. Because mules typically are sterile, there were fewer mules than horses and donkeys, and that increased their value.

Wild donkeys were domesticated by the Kushites between 6500 and 4000 BC. The wild donkey was native to the Red Sea Hills and the arid Ethiopian highlands. Kushites used donkeys as beasts of burden. These hearty creatures enabled the transport of cargo across the Arabian Peninsula, through Canaan and Mesopotamia, traveling as far as China. Roger Blench has noted, "The spread of the donkey across Africa was linked with the proliferation of long distance caravans."

Donkeys pulled carts, mill stones, and olive presses. They were used to plow the fields. The earliest known representation of donkeys is on an Egyptian palette dated c. 3100 BC. Donkeys were buried in elite cemeteries in ancient Egypt and the Ancient Near East. In a royal funerary complex at Abydos, donkey skeletons were found in mudbrick graves. The bones of domesticated donkeys are known from 4500 BC. Donkeys and mules were a symbol of royal or noble status.

Mules were ridden by rulers, chiefs, and ruler-priests (2 Sam. 13:29; 18:9; 1 Kings 1:33,38,44). Mules were among the yearly tribute brought to King Solomon (1Kings 10:25).  

Jesus came into Jerusalem on a donkey fulfilling Zechariah 9:9, which states that the coming king will be "humble, and mounted on a donkey." The donkey was a colt, meaning it was a male. Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on a donkey conveyed humility and meekness. He did not enter as a king, though the crowd hailed him as such by waving palm branches according to an ancient custom.

Contrary to a common misconception, Mary and Joseph were people of substance and high status. The marriage between Joseph of Nazareth and Mary of Bethlehem was not unusual. Both towns were Hebrew priest settlements. Bethlehem was the home of the Division of Abijah, and according to 1 Chronicles 24:15, Nazareth was the home of the eighteenth priestly division, hapiTSETS (Happizzez). Such marriages were common because the Hebrew married only within their ruler-priest caste (endogamy). For the census needed to count the Jews of Judea, Joseph had to take Mary to Bethlehem. (Jewish ethnicity is traced through the mother.) They probably travelled on mules or donkeys. The entry into David's royal Bethlehem where Jesus was soon to be born, and Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on a donkey represent bookends of Jesus’ life. No wonder the lowly donkey has a place in Nativity scenes!

Related reading: Why Palms on Palm Sunday?; Archaeology Now - The Donkey; The Virgin Mary's Ancestry; The Hebrew were a Caste; The Priestly Divisions 

Hebrew Ruler-Priests at the Ancient Sun Cities

 

The pillared Hypostyle Hall at Karnak

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

The sun city of Heliopolis was called Iunu (Iwnw) by its residents. In the Hebrew this is rendered "On" in Genesis 41:45. Iunu refers to pillars. The temples of the sun cities had many pillars. As was the custom at royal temples, many of the pillars were inscribed in honor of rulers, royal officials, and priests. Inscriptions also commemorated righteous ancestors, coronations, treaties, and victories at war. The hieroglyphs for Heliopolis are a pillar (on left), a pot to hold water and offerings, and the sign for roads leading to an enclosure (below the pot).

Joseph married Asenath, a daughter of a Hebrew priest of Heliopolis. The pillars at Karnak (shown above) give a sense of the grandeur that Joseph would have known. "Kar" refers to a high place or a rock fortress and "nak" refers to rituals.

It is not a coincidence that Joseph married Asenath. It is likely that she was his cousin. Cousin marriage among the high-status Hebrew rulers was a common arrangement. The marriage of Joseph and Asenath is an example of the caste endogamy practiced by the Hebrew ruler-priests. Analysis of their marriage and ascendancy pattern clarifies the “houses” to which Asenath’s sons belonged. Asenath's firstborn son, Manasseh, belonged to her father’s household and the Heliopolis temple Potiphar served, whereas Asenath's younger son Ephraim belonged to Jacob's household. This explains why Jacob gave Ephraim the blessing that pertained to the firstborn (Genesis 48:14).

Heliopolis was the most prestigious and the largest religious complex of the ancient world. It would have been a hive of activity similar to Vatican City. 

Royal sun cities such a Heliopolis emerged in many parts of the ancient world, especially from the Fifth Dynasty (2465-2323 BC). Heliopolis is mentioned in Isaiah 19:18 as one of five Egyptian cities that swore allegiance to the Lord of Hosts. The temples were oriented so that the rays of the rising sun would shine through the east-facing entrances. 

For more than 2,500 years, Heliopolis was dedicated to the worship of the High God Ra (later Atum) who was believed to reside within the temple’s most sacred enclosure. Ra is a variant of the Egyptian word Re, meaning “father.” The High God's symbol was the sun. 

Ra’s son HR/Horus was honored at Heliopolis, as was his mother, Hathor. Hathor's divine appointment is depicted in ancient images of her being overshadowed (cf. Luke 1:35).

Amulet of Hathor found at Hazor in the land of Canaan.

Heliopolis was believed to be the birthplace of the nine spirits (Ennead) who protected On and would return there to resolve disputes. This may be the origin of the later conception of the “Watchers” in Enoch, and the Divine Council, an assembly of spiritual beings over which the High God presides.

The Solar Symbolism of the Early Hebrew

The solar symbolism of the early Hebrew (4400-2000 BC) relates to territorial claims. In the ancient Egyptian Coffin Texts, the "Lord of All" declares, "I will sail aright in my barque; I am the Lord of the waters, crossing heaven" (Utterance 1,130). Ancient images of the High God in his solar boat sometimes show a falcon perched on the mast. The falcon was the totem of HR, the son of God.

The ram was another sign pointing to the son of God. This was the sign given to Abaham on Mount Moriah concerning the future incarnation of the Son of God. For the early Hebrew the ram was the sign of HR (Most High One) who rose in the east as a lamb and set in the west as a ram. Abraham believed the sign given to him about the future arrival of God’s son and by faith in that promise he was justified. About Abraham’s faith Paul says: “No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised” (Romans 4:20–21). Jesus spoke of the Mount Moriah event when he declared, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56).

The two wives of a high-status Hebrew ruler resided in separate settlements on a north-south axis. This reflects deference to the High God whose presence was perceived to be like that of the Sun which makes it daily journey from east to west. The east-west arc of the sun represented the High God’s sovereignty over his territory. This explains why none of the early Hebrew rulers placed their wives’ separate settlements on an east-west axis, except for the Lamech the Elder who is remembered as a braggart (Genesis 4). The Bible scholar Theodore Gaster noted that the names of Lamech's two wives, Adah and Tzilla (Zillah), suggest dawn and dusk (The Schocken Bible, Vol. 1, p. 28). Since Lamech’s two wives would have lived in separate settlements, their names represent a vast territorial claim.

The two brides in the Song of Solomon also represent a territorial claim. One bride is described as fair as the moon (6:10) and the other is described as “dark as the tents of Kedar" (1:5). These two wives represent the horizons of dawn and dusk and as such express a territorial claim that corresponds to the solar arc.

An open-air sanctuary dating to c.1300 BC was found in Canaan. It is similar in form to those found at the earlier sun temples of the Nile. The sanctuary was oriented toward the rising sun, and included a large, round stone altar with an attached basin, both covered with plaster. The discovery is more evidence of the dispersion of the Hebrew into many parts of the ancient world.

Related reading: The Ministry of Hebrew Woman at the Sun Cities; The Dispersion of the Early Hebrew; Temple Women; The Enigma of Joseph; Hebrew, Israelite or Jew?; Cousin Brides Among the Hebrew