Fertility and Water Shrines

 

Hieroglyph for fresh water among the Nilotes.

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

Water is universally perceived as a substance necessary for life, and in the ancient world, women visited water shrines to offer prayers for fertility. Water shrines could be at rivers, lakes, wells, or oases. They might be a ritual bathhouse such as the mikveh with stationary waters and a percentage of water from a natural source such as a lake, river, sea, or rain.

The Jewish actress Abbe Feder endured a harrowing, six-year journey to motherhood. Months of disappointment and repeated miscarriages left her spiritually and emotionally depleted. A Jewish friend suggested that she might find relief by frequenting a mikvah, a ritual bath. Abbe had never considered going to the mikvah as a treatment for infertility, but she tried it and eventually she conceived twins. She does not think of the mikvah as a magical treatment, but she admits that repeated visits brought her relief.

Sacred pools are mentioned in the New Testament as places of healing. Jesus sent "a man blind from birth" to the pool of Siloam to complete his healing (Jn 9). John 5:2 gives an account of Jesus healing a paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem. These public bathing places were reserved for men, and women had their own more private locations.

The anthropologist Bronislaw Malinoski observed that women of the Trobriand Islands associated conception with sacred pools. Archaeologists found fertility offerings in Tuscany near hot springs reputed for their restorative powers. These fourth century BC offerings had the shape of newborn babies, wombs, penises, and breasts buried in the mud at the bottom of the pools. The offerings suggest that thermal baths were particularly associated with aid in fertility and the health of infants.

In the West African country of Gambia, women hoping to bear children visit the sacred pools of Katchikaly in Bakau and Folonko in Kartong. They go there to pray, drink the water, and wash themselves with the holy water. The women make offerings of salt, sugar, kola nuts, and white candles to the old ladies who guard the pools. Often the visitors take some of the sacred water with them when they leave.


Water Shrines at the Royal Sun Temples

The veneration of the sun as a symbol of the High God was well developed by 3200 BC, as is evidenced by at least 6 sun temples. Among them were the sun temples of Niuserra at Abu Ghurab, the Userkaf Sun Temple, and the Sun Temple at Heliopolis. Heliopolis, which means the “City of the Sun,” was one of the oldest cities on the Nile River. It was occupied since the Predynastic Period (c. 6000 – 3000 BC) and predates the emergence of Egypt as a political entity.

By 3000 BC, the veneration of the sun had received royal patronage. Over the centuries, temples, shrines, and royal complexes were dedicated to it. The wives and daughters of kings ministered to women at the sun city water shrines. Asenath is an example. She lived at Heliopolis, one of the most prestigious sun cities of the ancient world. In Heliopolitan cosmology the watery realms above and below (the "firmaments") were connected by the massive pillars of the temple of Heliopolis. Heliopolis is mentioned in Isaiah 19:18 as one of five Egyptian cities that swore allegiance to the Lord of Hosts.

Royal Sun cities emerged in many parts of the ancient world, especially from the Fifth Dynasty (2465-2323 BC). The temples were oriented so that the rays of the rising sun would shine through the east-facing entrances. The sun also shone on the purification pools. Today we know that solar radiation can purify water.

The sun city water shrines were sacred places. Many were under the control of the Hebrew ruler-priests caste. The Nilotic Hebrew regarded water and the sun as purifying agents. Exodus 7:15 speaks the custom of the Pharaoh in the early morning to come down from his palace to the Nile River to pray and worship the High God whose emblem was the sun.

Hieroglyphic for Neith, patroness of water. Note the wavy symbol for water.

Hebrew women ministered to women coming to the water for purification, healing, and prayers for fertility. An example would be Joseph's cousin wife Asenath, daughter of the priest of On (Heliopolis). She was named for Neith, the Nilotic patroness of water shrines, rivers, pregnant women, and women in childbirth. It is likely that Neith was a holy woman who lived at one of the early water shrines along the Nile before Egypt emerged as a political entity (c. 3200 BC).

Related reading: The Influence of Early Hebrew Women; Hebrew Ruler-Priests at the Ancient Sun Cities; The Ministry of Hebrew Woman at the Sun Cities

 

The Ministry of Hebrew Woman at the Sun Cities

 

Karnak Great Hypostyle Hall, eastern interior wall.

"But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays." Mal. 4:2

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

The veneration of the sun as a symbol of the High God was well developed by 3200 BC, as is evidenced by at least 6 sun temples. Among them were the sun temples of Niuserra at Abu Ghurab, the Userkaf Sun Temple, and the Sun Temple at Heliopolis. The temple of Niuserra had a central sacrificial altar in an open-air courtyard. The altar is composed of a number of alabaster parts. Heliopolis, which means the “City of the Sun,” was one of the oldest cities on the Nile River. It was occupied since the Predynastic Period (c. 6000 – 3000 BC) and predates the emergence of Egypt as a political entity.

By 3000 BC, the veneration of the sun had received royal patronage. Over the centuries, temples, shrines, and royal complexes were dedicated to the sun. The wives and daughters of Hebrew rulers ministered to women at the sun city water shrines. Asenath is an example. She lived at Heliopolis, one of the most prestigious sun cities of the ancient world. In Heliopolitan cosmology the watery realms above and below (the "firmaments") were connected by the massive pillars of the temple of Heliopolis. Heliopolis is mentioned in Isaiah 19:18 as one of five Egyptian cities that swore allegiance to the Lord of Hosts.

The association of the sun’s radiance with holiness and purity was a common theme in the Ancient Near East. According to the Lukan genealogy, Mary’s husband, Joseph, was the son of a man named Heli (Lk. 3:23). Heli refers to the sun and to righteousness. 

The sun also was associated with divine appointment. When Mary asked how she would conceive, seeing as she was a virgin, the Angel Gabriel explained that she would be divinely overshadowed (Lk. 1:35). This fulfills the expectation of the early Hebrew that a virgin of their ruler-priest caste would conceive miraculously and bring forth the Son of God (Gen. 3:15). That expectation was first portrayed by Hathor, the mother of HR (the Most High One). She is shown on ancient images overshadowed by the sun.

The prevalence of solar imagery in the ancient world is evident in the study of ancient artifacts and sacred texts. The six-prong solar symbol is found on ossuary boxes, tombs, and grave markers from Africa to Europe and the Indus River Valley. It is found on the foreheads of rulers as a sign of divine appointment. This bust, found near Jamaa, Nigeria, shows the solar symbol on the forehead of a chief.

 

Photo credit: Andre Held

Many ancient images show the sun over water. The sun resting directly over the Nile River is a sign of divine blessing upon the waters. This image (called “Aker”) shows the sun resting in the horns and flanked on the east and west by lions, a symbol of royal authority.

 

Fertility and Water Shrines

Because water is universally perceived as a substance necessary for life, women seeking to conceive and deliver healthy children visited water shrines where they prayed and made offerings. Water shrines could be at rivers, lakes, wells, or oases. They might even be a ritual bathhouse such as the mikveh. Even the mikveh is associated with natural water systems. By law, it must be composed of stationary waters and must contain a percentage of water from a natural source such as a lake, river, sea, or rain.

The Jewish actress Abbe Feder endured a harrowing, six-year journey to motherhood. Months of disappointment and repeated miscarriages left her spiritually and emotionally depleted. A Jewish friend suggested that she might find relief by frequenting a mikvah, a ritual bath. Abbe had never considered going to the mikvah as a treatment for infertility, but she tried it and eventually she conceived twins. She does not think of the mikvah as a magical treatment, but she admits that repeated visits brought her relief.

Sacred pools are mentioned in the New Testament as places of healing. Jesus sent "a man blind from birth" to the pool of Siloam to complete his healing (John 9). John 5:2 gives an account of Jesus healing a paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem. These public bathing places were reserved for men, and women had their own more private locations.

The anthropologist Bronislaw Malinoski observed that women of the Trobriand Islands associated conception with sacred pools. Archaeologists found fertility offerings in Tuscany near hot springs reputed for their restorative powers. These fourth century BC offerings had the shape of newborn babies, wombs, penises, and breasts buried in the mud at the bottom of the pools. The offerings suggest that thermal baths were particularly associated with aid in fertility and the health of infants.

In Gambia (West Africa) women with infertility visit the sacred pools of Katchikaly in Bakau and Folonko in Kartong. They go there to pray, drink the water, or wash themselves with the holy water. The women make offerings of salt, sugar, kola nuts, and white candles to the old ladies who guard the pools. Often the visitors take some of the sacred water with them when they leave.


Water Shrines at the Royal Sun Temples 

Temple women had many responsibilities and privileges. Their duties included weaving, sewing, drawing water, brewing beer, singing, and playing musical instruments such as the sistrum and the tambourine. In the King James Version, the "alamot" are called “damsels” – “The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels.” (Ps. 68:25) They also ministered to women who came to the water shrines for purification and healing.

The sun city water shrines were for purification and healing and the work of the Hebrew women was connected to rites of water purification, healing, and prayers for fertility of land, beasts, and women. Asenath probably ministered to women who came to the water shrine at Heliopolis (biblical On).

Royal Sun cities emerged in many parts of the ancient world, especially from the Fifth Dynasty (2465-2323 BC). The temples were oriented so that the rays of the rising sun would shine through the east-facing entrances. The sun also shone on the purification pools. Today we know that solar radiation can purify water.

The symbol of purity along the Nile River.

Related reading: BIBLICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: Temple Women; Just Genesis: Solar Imagery of the Proto-Gospel; Philosophers' Corner: The Sun and the Sacred; Temple-Dedicated Daughters of Hebrew Priests; The Prestige of Biblical On; Joseph and Asenath; Sun Cities of the Ancient World

The Cult of Asherah

Alice C. Linsley

The term "Asherah" appears forty times in the Hebrew Bible and yet the exact nature of this term is unclear. Sometimes the Asherah is a pole, a carved post, a pillar, a sacred grove, a goddess, or a cult object. Some biblical rulers tolerated and even encouraged the Asherah cult. Others opposed it. But what exactly were they opposing? 

Perhaps the ambiguity is purposeful and intended. The Asherah cult was not contained in Jerusalem and was not easily controlled by the Jerusalem elite who discouraged local and regional shrines. They sought to boost the prestige of the Jerusalem Temple as a symbol of Jewish identity, especially after the Babylonian captivity. 

However, earlier in Israel's history, an Asherah statue stood in Solomon's temple. When Rehoboam came to the throne, Maacah, his wife and the queen mother, became the royal patron of the cult. Asherah's statue stood within the Jerusalem Temple throughout Rehoboam's reign and throughout the short reign of his son, Abijah. 

There is a long-standing custom of royal women holding office as the protectors of sacred shrines. Sargon (reigned c. 2334–2284 BC) appointed his daughter Heduanna as the "En" of the shrine at Ur. The Akkadian term En means lord, master, royal official, priest or priestess. En-Heduanna served the Creator God Anu, at the house/shrine (pr) of Anu. As with Roman Catholic nuns, she would have been considered “married” to the deity she served. En-Heduanna is credited with a large body of cuneiform poetry.

In ancient Egypt, some royal daughters were appointed to the positions of the God’s Wife (Hemet Netjer) and the Divine Adoratrice (Duat Netjer). These offices were held by women of high social rank, like the queen’s mother, or the wife of the high priest of the most favored royal temple. 

Ahmose I (r. 1550-1525 BC) appointed his principal wife to the office of the God’s Wife of Amun, and he endowed the office with financial resources, servants, real estate, and provided a royal retinue fitting the wife of Amun.

The powerful influence of the royal mother is evident in the story of Bathsheba appearing before her son, King Solomon. When Bathsheba went to speak to Solomon on behalf of Adonijah, the king stood to greet her, bowed down to her and sat down on his throne. He had a throne brought for the king's mother, and she sat down at Solomon's right hand. (1 Kings 2:19)

Different titles appear in ancient texts for women of such high status. Gebirah is a title ascribed to several queen mothers of Israel and Judah. Maacha is called gebirah (“great lady”) and she is associated with the goddess Asherah. Asherah is likely a reference to Hathor who was venerated by the Horite and Sethite Hebrew, but this practice was problematic for Jews who rejected the belief in God Son.

Ash holding the royal scepter with the Horus totem.

Some women attained high rank as royal officials (sometimes termed "priestesses") in charge of Hathor shrines. The shrines were located at sources of water such as rivers, oases, or wells in sacred groves. This suggests that the term Asherah is related to the Egyptian deity Ash, the protector of those who traveled the trade routes between the Nile and Mesopotamia. He was the guardian of oases. 

The archetypal queen mother is Hathor, called Ashratu in Mesopotmia. Ashratu and Asherah are related to Ash, the Sethite Hebrew deity of water shrines.

Another title for royal ladies who served at water shrines is rabitu. Ra-bitu is from the Akkadian words for water (raatu) and house/shrine (biitu). The emblem of the rabitu was the spindle. In the Ugaritic mythology of Elimelek the queen mother holds the title "ra-bitu" and her emblem is the spindle.

According to Tradition, the Annunciaton took place when Mary went to the Temple well. Mary is shown in some icons holding a spindle. The King's Mother is a type of the Virgin Mary, who is crowned by the Sun (Revelation 12:1-5), as a symbol of her being divinely overshadowed (Luke 1:35).

She fulfills the Horite Hebrew expectation that a woman of their ruler-priest caste would conceive the son of God by divine overshadowing as shown in ancient images of Hathor.

I propose that the Asherah cult was associated with water shrines where women sought divine help to conceive. The solar symbolism and the cow-calf imagery suggest a connection to Hathor and the religion of the Horite Hebrew. (See Hathor Veneration at Timna.)

Related reading: Steve A. Wiggins, Athirat, Asherah, Ashratu; Hebrew Rulers With Two Wives; Denying Marriage: A Cunning Royal Strategy; Wells and Brides; A Woman at a Well; Asherah and the Asherah Cult 

Twin Cities of the Ancient World

Tomb painting at Nekhen on the Nile.

Alice C. Linsley

Ancient royal settlements were built on major waterways on opposite sides of the river. This binary feature has been noted by scholars who refer to the paired settlements as "twin cities" (See, for example, Petr Charvat, "A Tale of Twin Cities: Archaeology and the Sumerian King Lists"). Charvat notes that the compiler(s) of the Sumerian King Lists appear to have regarded Uruk, Ur and Kish to be the three seats of legitimate royal authority in Sumer, and all three began as twin cities.

Twin cities were established along major rivers such the Nile, the Orontes, and the Tigris. The twin Nilotic cities of Nekhen and Nekheb, and the twin cities of Pe and Dep are examples. Pe and Dep merged into the city that the Greeks later called Buto.

The twin cities had shrines, temples, palaces, and treasuries. These edifices of stone were characterized by many columns or pillars. The glyph for pillar looks like the letter i capitalized. Meroe on the Orontes was known as IO and its twin on the opposite side of the river, was called AntIO (Antioch).

The cities were served by royal priests who maintained the shrines and temples and assessed taxes on cargo that moved along the waterways. To ensure that no ships passed the royal cities without paying the required tribute, the rulers built twin cities on opposite sides of the river.

Nekhen and Nekheb (Elkab) were built on opposite sides of the Nile River: Nekhen on the west side, and Nekheb on the east side. The tomb of Horemkhawef in Nekhen and the tomb of Sobeknakht in Nekheb were painted by the same artist. Hormose, the chief priest of Nekhen, requested material goods from the temple at Nekheb for use at the temple at Nekhen. The Greeks called the shrine of Nekhen "Hierakonpolis," which means "city of priests." The Greeks called Nekheb "Eleithyiaspolis," which means "city of the one who aids in childbirth."

Nekhen is called the Falcon City, as the falcon was the animal totem of Horus, the son of God Father, Re. (Re in ancient Egyptian means "father.") 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. Horite Hebrew priests placed invocations to Horus at the summit of the fortress as the sun rose.

Nekhen was a major city on the Nile, with an estimated population of between 15,000 and 10,000. It was a bustling city with markets, breweries and fishing. The city stretched nearly 3 miles along the edge of the Nile floodplain. At Nekhen we find evidence of an advanced civilization in the Nile Valley before the emergence of Egypt. These features include city building, written communication, hierarchical social structure, ritual burial, ship building, river trade, and complex religious expressions.

Renée Friedman, who has direct knowledge of the excavations at Nekhen, has written that the "evidence of industrial production, temples, masks, mummies, and funerary architecture as early as 3500 B.C. is placing Hierakonpolis at the forefront of traditions and practices that would come to typify Egyptian culture centuries later. These discoveries may have knocked Narmer and his palette off their historical pedestal, but they confirm the central role the city played in the long development of Egyptian civilization. It is little wonder that for millennia the deified early kings of Hierakonpolis, called the Souls of Nekhen, were honored guests at the coronations and funerals of all pharaohs."

Nekhen and Nekheb are the oldest known Horite Hebrew shrine cities, dating to about 3600 BC. The Nekhen News (p. 7) reports, "The vast majority of hair samples discovered at Nekhen were cynotrichous (Caucasian) in type as opposed to heliotrichous (Negroid)."

One of the more intriguing discoveries at Nekhen was the recovery of an almost complete beard in association with the redheaded man in Burial no. 79. The facial hair of the man in Burial no. 79 had been trimmed with a sharp blade. The presence of long wavy natural red hair and a full beard suggests that this individual may be of the same ethnicity as the red haired Ur-David mummy (1900 BC) buried in a pyramid in the Tarum Valley of China. There may also be a relationship to the red-haired Amurru (Amorites?) who lived at the northern border of Egypt's ancient empire.

Another set of twin cities in Turkey

The map above shows the location of Antioch/Hatay on the Orontes. Ancient Antioch (in Syria) was situated at the edge of a large, fertile plain between Mount Silpius and the left bank of the Orontes where it cut through to the Mediterranean. Today Mount Silpius is visible from almost any point in modern Antioch.

Antioch's location was designated Anti-Meroe. Meroe (IO) and Anti-Meroe (ant-IO) were twin cities. Meroe was an ancient Egyptian settlement on Mount Silpius. On ancient maps the location of Antioch is designated Anti-Meroe, meaning opposite Meroe.

Meroe on the Orontes was about 2800 miles from the shrine city of Meroe on the Nile. Both were under the control of the ancient sea-faring Egyptians who built sea-worthy ships. When the fortress at Meroe was build, around 4000 years ago, the north pole star was seen near Alpha Draconis in the constellation of Draco. The Orontes came to be called the Draco by some whose livelihoods depended on that river.

The Orontes was the chief river of the Levant and had sufficient depth for sail boats to come up the river from the Mediterranean.

Meroe was the farthest outpost of the Egyptian Empire and at its peak the city would have had Amurru. Amurru is the name of the northernmost district of Egypt's empire, and it included the coastal region from Ugarit to Byblos. The Orontes marked the northern boundary of Amur-ru. Meroe on the Orontes was one of the northern-most Egyptian outposts.

It is interesting that the Amurru are described as having the same physical traits as the mummified ruler buried of Nekhen (burial 79). According to the Assyriologist Archibald Sayce: "The Amorites… were a tall, handsome people, with white skins, blue eyes and reddish hair..." (The Hittites, 1889). Tomb No. 34 at Thebes, belonging to the Eighteenth Dynasty (c. 1550-c. 1292), illustrates a bearded Amorite chief with fair skin and red-brown hair.

The shrine city of Meroe was called IO. Many shrine cities were identified with the I (i) which presents a pillar. The pillar symbol is found in the names of other ancient shrine cities such as Ianna and Iunu. 

The royal city of Heliopolis on the Nile was called “Iunu” (iunu) which means "place of pillars." In the book of Genesis this city is called On. Joseph married the daughter of the priest of On. Here is the hieroglyph for the shrine city of On/iunu on the Nile:

Meroe on the Orontes was a high place about 1600 years before Antioch (Antakya, Hatay) became a Greek city in 307 BC. Antioch is probably older than 307 BC since the Greeks tended to build on earlier sites. Antioch became the more important city, with 500,000 inhabitants by the 2nd century AD. It was in Antioch that the followers of Jesus Messiah were first called "Christians."

Related reading: The Shrine City of Nekhen; Why Nekhen is Anthropologically Significant; The Ancient Egyptians Were Seafaring; Sun Cities of the Ancient World; Phillip John Turner, SETH –  A Misrepresented God in the Ancient Egyptian Pantheon?; The Sethites and the Red Hippo

Ethics and Religious Practices of the Afro-Asiatics

Alice C. Linsley


"Afro-Asiatic" is a general yet useful term in speaking about some of the oldest human populations whose related languages are classified under this term. It identifies a diversity of peoples, castes, societies, and territories that have linguistic affinity. Beyond this, there appear to be shared values, common moral laws, and a similar epistemology.

The peoples under consideration lived between 4500 and 1500 B.C, although Vedic sources state that the "Saka" ruled several thousands of years longer. The Matsya Purana claims that the world belonged to Kushite Saka for 7000 years. If this is true, we must extend the range of their influence to about 8000 B.C.

In the Mahabharata, Saka-dvipa is identified as the land of the Sakas whose religious practices and cosmology were centered on the solar arc. O-piru refers to attendants or priests at sun temples. The O is a solar symbol rather than a letter. Not surprisingly, the oldest Afro-Asiatic monuments reveal alignments that express veneration of the sun and the symbol of the High God.

While the Saka are identified as "Kushites" that term is perhaps less useful than the term Afro-Asiatics. "Kushite" encompasses many Nilo-Saharan peoples and castes, including biblical figures such as Kush (Cush) who is named among the Hebrew rulers in Genesis 10. One of Kush' grandsons was Nimrod who settled in Mesopotamia where he built cities.

Archaeology, linguistics, molecular genetics, and anthropology have begun to construct a cohesive picture of the Afro-Asiatics. It is generally agreed that their point of origin is the Upper Nile Valley and that they were masterful navigators of the great water systems of the Late Holocene. Using these water systems, sent-away royal sons dispersed and established new territories from the Horn of Africa to India. The earliest "kingdoms" of southern Arabia were ruled by dispersed Nilotes, some of whom were Hebrew ruler-priests.

See BIBLICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: Territorial Ambitions of the Early Hebrew

The Hebrew built cities on high places with natural water sources and maintained water shrines along great rivers. The shrines were under the direction of a caste of ruler-priests who have been variously called Opiru, Hapiru, and Habiru (Hebrew) in ancient texts. The term "Hebrew" is derived from the Ancient Akkadian word Abru, meaning priest. Akkadian is the oldest known Semitic language and the language of Abraham. Hebrew did not exist in Abraham's time (c.2000 B.C.).

Some of the Horite Hebrew ruler-priests are named in Genesis 36. They ruled in Edom or Idumea, the land of red people. Some (Esau) are described as having a red skin tone probably much like the red Nubians.

Red and black Nubians
Detail from a Champollion drawing

Solar symbolism of Horite Hebrew

The diffusion of common religious practices and ethical views is most logically explained by the dispersion of the early Hebrew ruler-priests out of Africa. This dispersion, described in Genesis 10, has been scientifically verified.


Bloodshed: The first moral law

Among the ancient Afro-Asiatics there was anxiety about the shedding of blood. They regarded the shedding of blood to be a moral issue of the first magnitude. Blood was conceived as the substance of life, with the power to bring blessings or curses upon those who were responsible for the shedding of blood. Such blood anxiety required the ministrations of mediators such as priests and shamans.

Before the hunting party departed, the priest or shaman offered sacrifice to the spirits of the hunted animals. When someone killed another human by accident, the killer was to provide an animal to be sacrificed in his place and was to pay satisfaction to the victim’s family. If he killed on purpose, he would forfeit his life. All of these decisions were governed by laws that were passed from generation to generation and upheld by the rulers and their advisors.

There was anxiety about the blood shed by women in their monthly cycle and in childbirth. For this reason it was common for women to remain in structures outside the village during menstruation and childbirth. Female family members brought them food and other necessary provisions. After ritual purification, the women returned to their regular routines in the village. Women of the noble classes remained in their chambers where female servants provided all their needs.

Among ancient peoples religious laws governed every aspect of the community’s life. The laws found in Leviticus and in the ancient Vedic Brahmanas are examples. Here we read instructions for how lepers are to be put outside the community and restored to the community after they are healed. Many of the laws govern family relations, forbidding incest and adultery. Others establish rules for the proper treatment of slaves, foreigners, widows and orphans.

The clay tablet of the code of Ur-Nammu from the reign of King Shulgi is dated to 2095-2047 BC It originally held 57 laws which covered family and inheritance law, rights of slaves and laborers, and agricultural and commercial tariffs. This code prescribes compensation for wrongs, as in this example: "If a man knocks out the eye of another man, he shall weigh out one-half a mina of silver." (Biblical Archaeology Review, Vol. 28, Sep/Oct 2002, p. 30.)


Ethics of the Afro-Asiatics

The Code of Hammurabi dates to about 1750 B.C. Hammurabi was an Amorite (Semite) who became King of Babylon about the time that Abraham left his father’s house in Harran and settled in the land of Canaan. The ancient capital of Babylon was about 55 miles south of modern Baghdad and it was large city of the Fertile Crescent. Although the city states of the Fertile Crescent shared common ideas and practices, these cities were not unified under a single ruler. Instead they were governed by independent rulers who were often related by marriage. Marriage was a way to form political alliances, and contribute to the preservation of the people’s cultural heritage.

Rulers of the Afro-Asiatic Dominion governed territories extending from modern Nigeria to the Indus River Valley. They spoke languages in the Afro-Asiatic language family and controlled commerce on the waterways. The Afro-Asiatic world was a river civilization that disappeared when earth’s climate changed. Today central Africa, Palestine, Mesopotamia and India are dry, but 10,000 to 12,000 years ago these areas were wet and fed by rivers many miles wide. The basins of these now extinct or much diminished rivers have been identified by satellite photos. Many of the laws of the Afro-Asiatic Dominion pertain to commerce and water rights.

Rulers controlled the major water systems of the ancient world at a time when Africa and Asia were much wetter. These rulers were owed tribute for maintaining order on the rivers. Royal priests maintained shrines on the rivers where the tribute was collected, a portion being offered to the shrine deity. As the climate changed the landscape of the ancient world, some of the laws changed also. For example, strangers who came to wells or watering holes in now arid lands were no to be harmed or taxed. Wells and public watering holes became, by law, places of immunity. This was all the more necessary since they were frequented by women and children, whose job it was to draw water.


A Binary versus a Dualistic Worldview

The ancient Afro-Asiatics had a binary worldview based on their acute observation of the patterns in nature. The binary worldview hinges on binary sets that are observed by all people at all times and in all places (universal structure/pattern). True binary sets are natural and observable in the order of creation. They are not subjective. Not every set of opposites is a binary set. (See this: Binary Reasoning and Gender Balance.)

The French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss believed that the primitive mind and the modern mind are shaped by the same structures. Lévi-Strauss is the central figure in Structuralism. He described structuralism as “the search for unsuspected harmonies” across cultures. He showed that qualities experienced binary opposites, like raw and cooked, reveal a network of abstract relations which form a coherent system of thought or a worldview.

Another example of a binary set is male/female. All humans are born either male or female. The number of incidents of genitally-confused births is very rare and those born with such conditions know their gender. Often their condition can be corrected through surgery and hormone therapy.

Binary sets require that we make distinctions between two seemingly opposite entities. This does not mean that every set of opposites is a binary set, however. Only sets which are universal and objective are binary sets. Tall-short and talent-untalented are subjective and therefore do not represent binary sets.

Among the ancient Afro-Asiatics the key binary sets were: male-female; sun/day-moon/night, heaven-earth, God-Man; and the directional poles east-west and north-south. The ruler was associated with the sun and his skin was sun darkened. His queen was associated with the moon and appeared in public with her skin covered in white power.

In a binary worldview one of the entities in the set is regarded as superior in some way to the other. The entities of the binary have a relationship of dominance and subservience. The sun is greater than the moon because the sun gives light whereas the moon merely reflects the sun’s light. Males are larger and stronger than females. Heaven is more glorious than earth, and God is far greater than Man. This view is different from the dualism that characterizes most Asian religions. Dualism is the belief that reality is comprised of two different yet equal principles: material and non-material, light and dark, good and evil, female and male, etc. The ying-yang symbol does not represent the oldest worldview.

Sometimes the language of a binary set is used to speak of a greater whole. Male and female can refer to all humanity. In Genesis 1:1 we read that God created "the heavens and the earth." This is called a “merism” and it means that God created the whole universe. In Psalm 139, the psalmist declares that God knows "my sitting down and my rising up.” This is to say that God knows all the psalmist's actions. The phrase “good and evil” – as in “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” - is a merism whereby a metaphysical binary set refers to all that can be known. Eve is tempted to eat of this tree so that she might become like God, knowing all things.

In a binary system meaning also is derived from reversals such as switching directional poles or gender associations. Reversal is when the subordinate entity is granted a place of dominance. In ancient mysticism, the reversal of north and south, that is, moving south to the north position, meant that the feminine principle is set in motion. This spoke of fertility, conception, birth and new life.

In Genesis 12:6 we read that Abraham sought guidance from the “moreh” or prophet when he pitched his tent at the Moreh’s Oak. Male prophets sat under firm upright trees such as oaks. These represent the masculine principle. Female prophets sat under soft trees with more fluid motion such as date nut palms. These trees are called "tamars" and they represent the feminine principle. Judges 4:4-6 says, “Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophet who was judging Israel at that time. She would sit under the Palm of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would go to her for judgment."

Genesis 12 places the Moreh’s Oak at the sacred center between Bethel and Ai, on an east-west axis. Deborah's Palm was between Ramah and Bethel, on a north-south axis. Note the reversal of cardinal points and gender associations. This is typical of the binary system of the ancient Afro-Asiatics.

The Tree of Life was said to be in the middle of the garden. If the sacred center is the place where the east-west axis and the north-south axis intersect, we have the image of the Cross.

Purity and Radiance

The terms for ritual purity in Akkadian, Biblical Hebrew, Hittite, Sumerian, and Ugaritic are related to the idea of radiance. (See The Semantics of Purity in the Ancient Near East, p. 5.) The ancient Nilotes also associated purity with the radiance of the sun, the emblem of the Re (which means Father) and his son Horus.

The temple purification rituals of the ancient Near East resemble the Pharaoh's daily ceremonial toilet in preparation for morning prayer. The ruler's lustration came from exposure to the Sun, the emblem of the Most High God and his son.

Likewise, the ancient Egyptian priest was to be purified before entering the temple. Herodotus observed that "The Egyptians were the first who made it a point of religion not to lie with women in temples, nor to enter into temples after going away from women without first bathing." (II:64)

The priests of ancient Egypt maintained shrines and temples along the Nile and regarded ritual purity as essential to their ministry. Herodotus observed II:37:

"They are religious excessively beyond all other men, and with regard to this they have customs as follows: they drink from cups of bronze and rinse them out every day, and not some only do this but all: they wear garments of linen always newly washed, and this they make a special point of practice: they circumcise themselves for the sake of cleanliness, preferring to be clean rather than comely. The priests shave themselves all over their body every other day, so that no lice or any other foul thing may come to be upon them when they minister to the gods; and the priests wear garments of linen only and sandals of papyrus, and any other garment they may not take nor other sandals; these wash themselves in cold water twice in the day and twice again in the night; and other religious services they perform (one may almost say) of infinite number."Likewise, Plutarch noted that the “priests of the Sun at Heliopolis never carry wine into their temples, for they regard it as indecent for those who are devoted to the service of any god to indulge in the drinking of wine whilst they are under the immediate inspection of their Lord and King. The priests of the other deities are not so scrupulous in this respect, for they use it, though sparingly.”

Egyptian priests shaved their bodies and heads before their terms of service in the temples. Korah, Moses' half-brother, was a Horite Hebrew priest. Korah means "shaved head" and according to Numbers 16:17-18, he carried the censor to offer incense to the High God.This suggests that kor and tor may be cognates. There is a suggestion of a very early connection between blood, purity, and holiness.

The Hebrew thr = to be pure, corresponds to the Ancient Egyptian tr = pure, and to the Hausa/Hahm toro = clean, and to the Tamil tiru = holy. All appear to be related to the Proto-Dravidian tor = blood. Among these peoples blood was perceived to have power both to pollute and to purify; to condemn and to justify.


The Role of Morehs or Prophets

The evidence of archaeology and anthropology suggests that the water shrine was the place were wisdom and council was sought by Afro-Asiatics and Indo-Europeans. The seers or prophets included female. Themistoclea and Deborah are an examples. They served similar functions in their communities, but their practices and worldviews were different. Themistoclea represents the shamanistic approach and Deborah represents an approach in which consultation of spirits and trace states was forbidden.

The Biblical prophet was forbidden from consulting spirits. Indeed Saul's rejection as king over Israel was due in part to his consulting a medium. The Biblical prophets knew what shamans worldwide know - that the spirits sometimes lie. Therefore they were to consult only the Spirit of God (Ruach) who moved over the waters at the beginning and know all things, and cannot lie.

The Wisdom Tradition of the Bible represents a very ancient approach to epistemology. This is evident is such books as Job, Proverbs, Sirach and Baruch. Wisdom as a feminine principle is sometimes called the “Sophia” tradition. Sophia is the Greek word for wisdom and it is based on objective observation of the order of creation.

Likewise, Themistoclea represents an epistemology that wedded experience, reason and the observation of order in Nature. As the prophetess of Apollo at Delphi she would have been a source of much ancient wisdom, including knowledge of the natural world, astronomy, medicine, music, mathematics, animal husbandry and philosophy. She would have offered advice pertaining to the time for sowing and harvests, whether to go to war, and who and when to marry.

Shrine prophets were often deified, either posthumously or during their lifetimes. The Hebrew (habiru) righteous ones were regarded as deified (elohiym). The plural form for deity appears in Genesis 1: In the beginning elohiym created the heavens and the earth. The word also appears in Genesis 6:2, which speaks of the "sons of the elohiym" who took wives from the daughters of men. The plural form relates to the ancient Horites from whom we receive the material in Genesis. They are the origin of Israel's priesthood and why Jews call their ancestors horim.

The Horite ruler-priests were regarded as deified "sons" of God. They served as the wise ones and advised the great kingdom builders of old. As such, they are considered gods, as in Exodus 22:28: "Thou shalt not revile the gods (elohiym), nor curse the ruler of thy people."


Related reading: The Afro-Asiatic Conception of Purity Moral Obligation; Binary Reasoning and Gender Balance; Women Prophets and Shamans; Righteous Rulers and the Resurrection; Levi-Strauss and Derrida on Binary Oppositions

Women Prophets and Shamans

Alice C. Linsley


The Wisdom Tradition of the ancient world involves women seers and prophets. Themistoclea is an example of the first and Deborah is an example of a female Biblical prophet. They served similar functions in their communities, but their practices and worldviews were different. Themistoclea represents the shamanistic approach and Deborah represents an approach in which consultation of spirits and trace states was forbidden.


The Biblical Prophet

The Biblical prophet was forbidden from consulting spirits. Indeed Saul's rejection as king over Israel was due in part to his consulting a medium. The Biblical prophets knew what shamans worldwide know - that the spirits sometimes lie. Therefore they were to consult only the Spirit of God (Ruach) who moved over the waters at the beginning and know all things, and cannot lie.

The Wisdom Tradition of the Bible represents a very ancient approach to epistemology. This is evident is such books as Job, Proverbs, Sirach and Baruch. Wisdom as a feminine principle is sometimes called the “Sophia” Tradition. Sophia is the Greek word for wisdom.

Here is an example of the personification of wisdom as a female:

Proverbs 9:1-5

Wisdom has built her house;
she has set up its seven pillars.
² She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine;
she has also set her table.
³ She has sent out her servants, and she calls
from the highest point of the city,
⁴ “Let all who are simple come to my house!”
To those who have no sense she says,
⁵ “Come, eat my food
and drink the wine I have mixed.


There are many examples in the Bible of wise women. The wise woman of Abel-beth-Maacah saved her town from destruction when she surrendered the head of Sheba to David’s general (II Sam. 20:17-22).

The prophetess Anna lived in the Temple precinct and recognized Jesus as the Promised Messiah. Luke's brief description of her highlights the high regard in which she was held.

Deborah was a prophetess who judged from her sacred palm between Ramah and Bethel to the north (Judges 4:5). Deborah's duties would have included settling disputes, providing wise counsel in both spiritual and worldly concerns and advising on matters of war. Judges 4 and 5 tells us the land enjoyed peace for forty years under Deborah’s rule.

The prophetess Huldah was sought by kings because of her reputation as a wise adviser. King Asaiah sent his priests to consult Huldah (II Kings 22:14). Her name indicates that she belonged to the tribe of Hul, a son of Aram (Gen. 10:23). Huldah, who lived approximately 655 years after Deborah, resided in Jerusalem, in the "new” section or the temple precinct which was regarded as the sacred center of the Jerusalem shrine. Jerusalem (Urusalim in Akkadian) was an important shrine city, exhibiting typical characteristics of ancient shrines. It had flowing water from a perennial spring and was built on a precipice.


Greek Shrine Wisdom

Women in the ancient world played a greater role in the philosophical project than is generally recognized. Pythagoras and Socrates were taught by women philosophers, and Plato received philosophical instruction from Perictione, his mother.

Pythagoras’ wife, Theano, took over the direction of his academy after his death. She perpetuated his idea of the transmigration of souls into new bodies, not necessarily human. Iamblichos or Suda mentions Pythagorean women who were mathematicians and philosophers.

Themistoclea (Theistokelia) was a 6th century B.C. philosopher and the Pythia or Prophetess at the ancient shrine of Delphi. She is reputed to have been the teacher of Pythagoras, the great mathematician of Samos who believed that the workings of the material world could be expressed in terms of numbers.

In Diogenes Laeterius’ work, The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, in the section concerning the "Life Of Pythagoras," Diogenes states that "Aristoxenus asserts that Pythagoras derived the greater part of his ethical doctrines from Themistoclea, the priestess at Delphi."

Themistoclea represents an ancient epistemological approach which wedded experience, reason and the supernatural. As the Prophetess of Apollo at Delphi she would have been a source of much ancient wisdom, including knowledge of the natural world, astronomy, medicine, music, mathematics, animal husbandry and philosophy. She would have offered advice pertaining to sowing and harvests, whether to go to war, and who and when to marry.

It is likely that such wisdom was received from her predecessors. This very ancient tradition of wisdom was associated with trees, serpents and women. The wide dispersion of such myths and archetypes indicates a very ancient point of origin. The oldest known site of serpent veneration dates to about 70,000 years ago. Stories of trees and serpents often have a female as the principal character. It was a woman to whom the serpent spoke, inviting her to eat of the Tree of Knowledge (Gen. 3).

Women such as Themistoclea were often deified, either posthumously or during their lifetimes. Similarly, the Hebrew (habiru) holy ones were regarded as deities (elohiym). The plural form for God in Arabic and Hausa is Allohi, the equivalent of the Hebrew Elohiym. El and Al are very ancient names for God. The plural form appears in Genesis 1: In the beginning elohiym created the heavens and the earth. The word also appears in Genesis 6:2, which speaks of the "sons of the elohiym" who took wives from the daughters of men. The plural form relates to the ancient Horites from whom we receive this material. They are the origin of Israel's priesthood and why Jews call their ancestors "horim."

The Horite Hebrew ruler-priests were regarded as deified "sons" of God. They served as the wise ones or the ruler's holy counselors. As such, they are called "gods", as in Exodus 22:28: "Thou shalt not revile the gods (elohiym), nor curse the ruler of thy people."

Deborah the prophetess likely had as her totem a serpent (nahash). The serpent image was sacred for the ancient Israelites, as is evident from the story of Moses lifting the bronze serpent over the people in the wilderness. (Numbers 21:8)


The Pythia

The Pythia sat on a bronze tripod in the inner chamber of Apollo's temple. Here the spirit of Apollo overcame the Pythia while in a trance state. The trance was induced by hallucinogenic vapors from below the temple or presumably from chewing laurel leaves. Black figure ceramic pieces from ancient Greece show the seated Pythia holding laurel leaves and a divining bowl.

The Pythia could not be approached by the petitioner directly. Those seeking her help first offered sacrifice. The sacrifice was made by the priests of Delphi. Only men were priests. The priest would then present the seeker’s question to the Pythia and the priest would interpret the Pythia's response for the questioner.

Dating back to 1400 B.C., Delphi was the most important shrine in Greece. As with all sacred shrines in the ancient world, Delphi was built at a water source; in this case a natural spring. Delphi was considered the omphalos, the earth’s belly button, or the sacred center of the world.

The Pythia’s services were in high demand by the wealthy and by rulers. She offered advice and wisdom and gave prophesies (oracles), usually in a trance state. People came from all over to present questions to the Pythia. The shrine amassed a great fortune in gold received from rulers and from all the Greek city states. Delphi was also a place where scholars congregated to discuss and debate, and where political rivals met to negotiate, often with the help of the priests and the Pythia.

The Pythia was the seer of Apollo, the “God at Delphi” (tou pythiou). The word "Pythia" is related to the word for serpent – python – and alludes to the dragon slain by Apollo. The origins of serpent oracles is very ancient. The wide dispersion of serpent images on artifacts and in mythologies indicates that serpent veneration is very ancient. Serpents on artifacts range from coiled snakes to fire-breathing winged dragons. Serpent cults entail trances like that described in the account of Appius Claudius Pulcher’s visit to Delphi in Lucan's Civil War (5.64-236).

Connections to African Practices

Flinders Petrie wrote in his book “The Making of Egypt” that the deity Galla had the serpent as his totem. The origin appears to be in the Upper Nile in East Africa, perhaps among the Oromo who are also called Galla. The Delphic shrine dates from 1400 B.C. at which time it was dedicated to Gaia. It is likely that Gaia and Galla are the same deity.

The serpent cult was also found in the Lower Nile. The whole of Lower Egypt venerated Renenutet whose totem was the serpent. She often appeared in the form of a hooded cobra. She was also venerated at Terenuthis (modern Tarrana) north of Cairo in the western delta. It was probably from Terenuthis and Crete that the cult moved into Greece. In the Laws, Plato attributes the serpent cult of Athena to the culture of Crete.

Virgins and Priests

The water shrines of the ancient world were attended by virgins and priests. The virgins were often the unmarried daughters of high ranking persons. Some noble daughters were denied marriage for political reasons. In the Middle Ages noble families sometimes sent unmarried daughters to the monasteries.

Such water shrines are still found in Asia and in Africa. Osofo Ahadzi, spokesman for Africania Mission (Ghana), explains that women consult deities at the water shrines in order to have children. These children are often pledged to the shrine or to the deity (as Hannah pledged Samuel to God in return for blessing her with a child). Ahadzi says that people who fail to redeem such pledges eventually lose those children.

People come to the shrines for other reasons as well. Ahadzi explains, “If there is a calamity befalling a family and they go back to the divinity or shrine and it is said that such a person should be trained in the shrine to learn the skills and acquire the power of divination to protect the family, that is when that person is devoted to the shrine."

The girls who are presented to serve at the shrines are usually young virgins. Sometimes their families are too poor to provide a marriage dowry. These girls are called "trokosi" and they serve much as indentured servants.

Ofoso Ahadzi says that men may not marry a trokosi without permission from the shrine. This is because the girls are also regarded as spirit wives of the deity. He said marrying a trokosi without going through the proper procedure will bring severe punishment. He recounts the following story to illustrate:

“There was a situation where the divinity asked one of the keepers not to marry this woman and he decided to go forward and marry. He thought that he was powerful and he went ahead and married. The mother died, he was going and the car had an accident. He died with his wife. In the traditional African religion the commandment is thou must not do this, if you do that you will get your punishment.”

He says, “It is completely out of place for anybody to claim that the keeper of the shrine plays around with the girls. You can’t do that. When you go against any of the regulations, it is not human beings that will punish you. The deity will punish you because all the girls who go in there for training are the daughters and princesses of the divinity. So if you take liberties with them you will be punished.”

Ahadzi said the girls have a good life at the shrine. They are not taken advantage of even though they are expected to provide free labor. He said the chores they perform can be likened to what students are made to do in boarding schools. (Read more about trokosi shrines here.)

In the ancient world, shrine virgins became the daughters of the shrine deity. From among these one emerged as the wife of the deity. This virgin would remain in the position of Pythia or Sibyl until she died or retired around the age of 50. Similarly, nuns in Christian monasticism are regarded as married to Christ.

Related reading:  Priests, Shamans and Prophets; Passing Conversation with Priestess Kaeton; Why Women Were Never Priests; Greek Art: From Prehistoric to Classical; The Serpent of Eden; Women Rulers in Ancient Israel; Sacred Mountains and Pillars; Seats of Wisdom

Etymology of the Vav

Alice C. Linsley


Last summer I had a fascinating conversation with a very smart lady - Susan Burns - who lives on Hood Canal in Washington. She started me thinking about the VaV or tent peg/hook. Here are some thoughts that came out of that conversation. The ruler's tent was the head tent (oholibamah) and was represented by the ancient Hebrew and Arabic letter Vaw.

Tent peg /sun cradle/marks the ruler's residence

These rulers lived by and exercised terriotorial control over water system, wells, etc. People who needed water went from Y to Y, which is to say, "from water settlement to water settlement." The waw/vav speaks of an ancient world in which settlements near water were ruled by elders and a chief. Travelers moved from settlement to settlement and the ancient water laws were generally generous to those who wa-ndered. Wells were neutral ground for waring parties or enemies, but were fought over, as in the story of Moses driving away the intruder shepherds at the well of the Midianite ruler-priest Reu-el. (Exodus 2:16-19).  It was common for the river, lake, oasis or well to have a shrine over which their was a priest.  So it is not surprising to read that Moses' future father-in-law was a "priest of Midian."  As such, he was a direct descendant of Abraham by Abraham's cousin bride, Keturah.

the tent peg

The vav (waw) is designated by the letter Y in Hebrew. The symbol is much older than Hebrew.  It originated with the ancient Egyptians, Nubians and Nilo-Saharans who moved into Canaan. The Nile Valley is the urheitmat of the Canaanite Y, a lexeme of considerable complexity.  The Phoencians also employed the Y. Among these peoples the Vav was a symbol of a scepter carried by deified rulers and the Y was a solar cradle that represented the divine appointment of the ruler by the overshadowing of the Sun, the Creator's emblem. Many Horite rulers (Horim) have names that begin with the Cananite Y:  Yaqtan (Abraham's first born son), Yishmael, Yitzak, Yacob, Yosef, and Yeshua.

The Greeks introduced the waw/vav to the Latin alphabet:  Ύψιλον (Úpsilon).  In Spanish, the letter Y is called the i griega,  in Romanian i grec, in Polish igrek - all meaning "Greek i". It is derived from the Phoenician waw which the Phoenicians borrowed from the Egyptians.

The waw/vav orignally symbolized the crook/hook of the ruler or the tent peg of the ruler's tent.  As a lexeme this represented a cluster of related ideas including:

• the ruler himself
• the ruler's authority
• the ruler's territory
• the ruler's clan or tribe
• the ruler's resources such as his flocks and water sources

Consider the importance of wells in the lives of biblical figures.  Ishmael's life was saved when an angel revealed a well or spring to his mother. Abraham's servant found Isaac a wife at a well.  Moses met Zipporah at a well. Jesus met the Samaritan woman (Photini) at Jacob's Well.

Many words in various languages still reflect this ancient world.  Consider these examples: wa-ter, wa-gon, va-gabond, va-grant, va-gar meaning "to wander" (Spanish), wa-kdar meaning "ruler" (Pashto), and ya-raki meaning "power" (Persian).

Related reading:  The Urheimat of the Canaanite Y; Mother and Son Pierced; Egyptian Shrines on the Horus Way; Water Systems Connected the Nile and Central Africa; The Jordan River; Wells and Brides; The Migration of Abraham's Kushite Ancestors; A Woman at a Well; Susan Burns on Hadhramaut of Arabia