Followers

Monday, November 18, 2024

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


Sunday, November 10, 2024

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).

Friday, November 8, 2024

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.


Tuesday, October 15, 2024

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!



Saturday, September 14, 2024

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.

Friday, August 30, 2024

Hebrew Lexicon




Some readers have asked about basic Hebrew words. Perhaps this short lexicon of Hebrew words will be helpful. The lexicon is ordered alphabetically by the first letter of the English translation of the Hebrew word.


אָדָם (adam) - man, mankind, human

אֲדָמָה (adamah) - ground, soil, earth

עָתִיק (atiq) - ancient, venerable, old

אָב (av) - father

עין (ayin) - eye

בָּמָה (bamah) - high place, fortress at a high elevation, mountain shrine or temple

בַּת (bath) - daughter

ברא (bara) - to give substance to, to fatten (1 Sam. 2:29)

ברך (barak) - to kneel down, blessing

בן (ben) - son

דעת (da’at) - knowledge

דם (dam) - blood

דֶּרֶךְ (derek) - way, road, journey

אם (em) - mother

ארץ (eretz) - land, earth, territory

עֵץ (ets) - tree

גַּת (gat/gath) - wine press

גִּבּוֺר (gibor) - strong, mighty, powerful (also gebirah - powerful woman, queen mother)

גור (gur/gor) - to abide, gather, dwell. Also refers to lion cubs.

הַר (har) - mountain, hill

חכם (hhakham) - wisdom, skill, understanding, to make distinction/separate

חמה (hheymah) - cheese

כָּרָה (karah) - to trade, get by trade

כהן (kohen) - priest

לֶחֶם (lehem/lékhem) - bread

מים (mayim) - water

מֶלֶךְ (melek) - king, monarch, sovereign, royal rule

מִקדָשׁ (mikdash) - temple, sanctuary, shrine

נָהָר (nahar) - river, stream, current

נפש (nepeš) - life force

אהל ('ohel) - tent

עולם (olam) - world (space) and age (time)

אושר (osher) - happiness

קרא (qara) - to call out

קרה (qarah) - to meet

קדם (qedem) - east (space), ancient (time)

קרבן (qorbān) - offering, gift, sacrifice

רשע (rasha) - to depart

ראשית (reshiyt) - beginning

ראש (rosh) - head, summit, top, as in Rosh Hashanah, “Head of the Year."

שַׁלוָה (shalom) - peace, serenity, tranquility, harmony, safety, calmness

שמים (shamayim) - sky, heavens

שֶׁמֶשׁ (shemesh) - sun

שִׁיל֔וֹ (Shiloh) - capital city in the time of the Judges, a Messianic reference in Genesis 49.

תבון (tavun) - understanding, discernment

תהלה (t’hil’lah) - beginning (Gen. 13:3)

צלם (tselem) - an outline of a shadow, a representation, or image of the original

ידע (yada) - to know intimately

יום (yam) - day

יצר (yatsar) - to form (as shape from clay)

זָבָה (zava) - to flow, as in "a land flowing (זָבַת) with milk and honey."


Hebrew is a relatively new language. Abraham did not speak Hebrew. Many of the Hebrew roots (radicals) can be traced to older languages such as Ancient Egyptian and Ancient Akkadian.


Saturday, August 24, 2024

The Influence of Early Hebrew Women

 


Joseph married the daughter of a Heliopolitan priest.

Dr. Alice C. Linsley


Most of the women in the Bible were members of the Hebrew ruler-priest caste which is the oldest known caste. There is a great deal of information about these women in the Bible and in extra-biblical sources. They were instrumental in preserving their Hebrew identity. They influenced fashion trends and court customs, ministered to women, and some became women of independent means. Though they are the backstory of the Bible, their importance cannot be over-emphasized.

There is much false information about women of the Bible. We have been told that Rahab was a prostitute, yet the biblical data does not support that depiction. Rahab is described in the Bible as a zn. The ZN root could refer to zonah (one who sells her body) or to the word zon, an innkeeper or tavern owner. The archaeologist and Bible scholar D. J. Wiseman noted that tzond can be translated as “barmaid.”

Rahab married a righteous Hebrew named Salma who was one of the elders of Bethlehem. Since the Hebrew rulers married only members of their ruler-priest caste (endogamy), we may assume that Rahab was a Hebrew woman living in Jericho. Before the Israelites arrived in Canaan, there were many Hebrew people living throughout Canaan. 

The names of some of the early Hebrew rulers appear in Genesis chapters 4, 5, 10, 11, 25 and 36. Women named in these chapters include Eve, Naamah, Keturah, Anah, and Oholibamah. Others are not named, but their presence is evident. Such is the case with the wives of Cain and Seth and the wives of Noah’s sons, all of whom appear to be cousin brides and second wives. The marriages to second wives (usually cousins) took place long after the Hebrew rulers’ marriages to their first wives. Recognizing this two-wife pattern is essential to understanding the social structure of the early Hebrew.

Jewish commentators claim that Ruth converted to Judaism, yet the religion of Judaism did not exist when Ruth lived (c.980-950 BC). Informed Jews recognize this. They know that Abraham was not a Jew. He was Hebrew, and he was not the first Hebrew.

In a September 2007 NOVA interview conducted by Gary Glassman with Dr. Shaye J. D. Cohen (Harvard Divinity), Cohen was asked “Was Abraham the first Jew?” He replied, “The biblical narrative gets going with Abraham in Genesis chapter 12. Abraham in turn Isaac, in turn Jacob, in turn Joseph and the twelve tribes, this brings us directly to the people of Israel and the covenant at Sinai. So Abraham is thought of as the first Jew, the archetype. Historically speaking, of course, this doesn't make much sense. It's hard to talk about Jews living around the year 1800 B.C.E. or anytime near that. We don't have any of the institutions, beliefs, social structures in place that will later characterize Jews and Jewishness. So in a mythic kind of way we can say that Abraham recognizes God and that Abraham launches the process—biological and social and cultural—that will culminate in the people of Israel, who in turn will become Jews and the purveyors of Judaism.”

The faith of Abraham the Hebrew was not Judaism. It is much older, and it involved belief in God Father and the veneration of God’s son, HR. Judaism emerged later in the Axial Age (1000-200 BC), a time when many new religions came into existence. Because it rejects belief in the Son of God Judaism departs from the faith of the early Hebrew. Rabbi Stephen F. Wise, former Chief Rabbi of the United States, explains: "The return from Babylon and the introduction of the Babylonian Talmud mark the end of Hebrewism and the beginning of Judaism.”

Indeed, the Talmud, a collection of rabbinic disputations, defines Jewish beliefs. Rabbi Morris Kertzer (American Jewish Committee) further explains, “The Talmud is the very foundation of Jewish life. It is taught to Jewish children as soon as they are old enough to read.”

Most of the women of the Old Testament were Hebrew, not Jewish. They married only Hebrew men and observed Hebrew practices. The higher the Hebrew woman’s status, the more responsibilities she had related to the local shrines and temples. The early Hebrew (5000-2000 BC) served at many temples built at high elevations with permanent water sources. Some Hebrew women oversaw ministries to women who came to the temples and water shrines for ritual cleansing and healing.

Hebrew men and women lived and served at some of the most prestigious temples of the ancient world, including Nekhen and Heliopolis (biblical On), both on the Nile. Thought widely dispersed before Abraham's time (c.2000 BC), the Hebrew ruler-priests and their families lived along the major water systems. Hebrew wives ministered to women who came to the water shrines for purification and healing.

Hebrew 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. Psalm 68:25 refers to the women singers: “The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels.” The Hebrew word that appears here is alamot, referring to cloistered women. 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.


Hieroglyphic writing for Neith. Note the wavy sign that signifies water.


Joseph's wife, Asenath 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).