Royal Hebrew High Places

The winged sun was a symbol of the High God.

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

The early Hebrew lords such as Cain and Nimrod are remembered for their city building efforts. They established settlements at high elevations near permanent water sources. These are what the Bible calls “the high places”. High places were fortified settlements on hills or mountains. The higher elevations made defense of these settlements easier. Built by rulers, the fortifications protected their palaces, royal temples, treasuries, and garrisons.

There were many high places in the ancient world. They were identified by the words "kar" (rock shelter) and "tamana" (great place). The term kar is associated with burnt offerings, charcoal and soot. The Turkish word kara means "black". In Magyar, korom refers to soot, as does the Korean word kurim. In the Sumerian language, Ekur (É.KUR) refers to a mountain house, pyramid, or elevated temple. The place name tamama has been found in over 188 countries and five continents. Votive offerings made at the tamama high places were called tama or tamata. The words are related to the ancient Akkadian word tamitu, meaning oath or pledge.

Some fortified settlements and temples were served by Hebrew royal priests. This is especially evident along the Nile River. Nekhen, the oldest known site of Horite Hebrew worship (4000 B.C.), had a temple with a large oval courtyard surrounded by a mud-plastered reed fence. The courtyard was paved with multiple layers of compressed mud. This temple appears to be the pattern for later temples as depicted on seals from the First Dynasty of Egypt (3100 – 2686 B.C.).

Nekhen was an established settlement at the time that some place Adam and Eve. in history. However, priestly some texts found in the Nile Valley have been dated to 4200 BC. Archaeology and anthropology provide some of the backstory to Adam and Eve, the parents of the Hebrew rulers Cain and Seth. These are historical people, but clearly, they were not the only Hebrew lords and ladies 6000 years ago.

The Hebrew ruler-priests living along the Nile were organized into two ritual groups or moieties: the Horite Hebrew and the Sethite Hebrew. The two groups helped each other but were often in competition. Descriptions of the Horites and Sethites are plentiful in ancient texts such as the Pyramid Texts (2400-2200 BC). These descriptions make it clear 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!" The more prestigious Horite Hebrew settlements were usually at a higher elevation that those of the Sethite Hebrew. Utterance 470 contrasts the Horite mounds with the Sethite mounds, designating the Horite Mounds "the High Mounds".

Multiple high places attracted pilgrims and generated revenue even as pilgrims and tourists are drawn today to shrines in the British Isles, France, Iran, Italy, Spain, and Jerusalem. The greater the fame and prestige of the shrine or temple, the larger the crowds. Naturally, competition arose between the sacred sites. That competition is evident in the Deuteronomist Historian’s antagonism toward all "high places" other than Jerusalem. A late source (800-400 BC), the Deuteronomist sought to centralize worship at the Jerusalem temple, and to shape national observances such as the Passover and Tabernacles.

Competition between the sacred high places of the Jews and Samaritans is mentioned in the New Testament. When Jesus was going to Samaria, the Samaritans who believed that he might be the Messiah hoped that he would establish Mt. Gerizim as the center of his kingdom. However, they no longer welcomed him once they learned that Jesus had "set his face to Jerusalem" (Lk. 9:51).

 

Related reading: Hebrew Priests at the High Places; Rulers of the Ancient World; Sun Cities of the Ancient World; Horite and Sethite Mounds; Competition Between the Horites and the Sethites