The Cardinal Directions in the Bible

 

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

When reading the Bible, pay attention to the cardinal directions because they speak of territorial claims, gender, and sacred spaces.

East and West

The sun-moon binary set and the east-west solar arc are used in the Bible to speak of the authority and sovereignty of Hebrew rulers.

The two wives in the Song of Solomon represent the two horizons or dawn and dusk. One of Solomon’s wives is described as having sun-darkened skin ("dark as the tents of Kedar") and the other is described as having skin as pale as the moon (6:10). For the rulers of the Ancient Near East, the two wives represent a claim to a vast territory that extends from horizon to horizon.

Likewise, the claim of a territory that stretched between the separate settlements of his two wives is found in the story of Lamech the Elder (Gen. 4). Lamech’s wives were named Adah and Tzillah. The Hebrew scholar Theodor Gaster noted that the names Adah and T-Zillah correlate to the Akkadian words for dawn and dusk (The Schocken Bible, Vol. 1, p. 28). This suggests that Lamech claimed to rule over a vast territory. 

Territorial Boundaries

Amos 8:4-12 speaks of the cardinal directions to define the Kingdom of Israel which is under judgement. Amos declares: "The time is surely coming, says the Lord GOD, when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it."

People seeking the LORD cannot find HIM because their sin cuts them off from the LORD's presence. By combining "sea to sea" and "north to east," the phrase specifies a geographical triangle that traces the borders of the Northern Kingdom.

Abraham's territory extends on a north-south axis between the settlements of his two wives Sarah and Keturah. Sarah resided in Hebron and Keturah reside in Beersheba. Both locations are shown on this map of Ancient Edom or Idumea. Edom and Idumea refer to a land of red people.

Sacred Spaces

In 1 Kings 7:23-26 and 2 Chronicles 4:1-4 we read that the altar in Solomon’s temple was to rest on 12 oxen: 3 facing north, 3 facing west, 3 facing south, and 3 facing east. Note that north heads the list, having the position of priority. Then comes west, then south, and finally east. Notice also the repetition of the number three.

3↑ 3←3↓ 3→ 

The number 3 appears to be associated with peace on earth or the fulfillment of His "kingdom come." This is evident in the description of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:12-14. The city has twelve gates. 3 face east, 3 face north, 3 face south, and 3 face west. We may illustrate this as follows:

3→ 3↑ 3↓ 3← 

Notice that the third position, if reading from left to right, faces south. If reading from right to left, south is indicated by the second position.

Compare this to the “bronze sea” in Solomon’s temple that rested on twelve oxen (1 Kgs. 7:23-26).

3→ 3↑ 3↓ 3← 

Notice that the cardinal points of the bronze sea and the New Jerusalem coincide. The bronze sea was a huge basin used by the priests for ritual purification and ablution. For the biblical Hebrew purity was absolutely essential for communion with God. Originally, purity laws were not the basis of Hebrew morality. They were secondary to communion with God Father and God Son.

For the biblical Hebrew the number three was associated with the third day rising of HR, the Son of God. He serves his people in his life and in his death, and he goes before them, clearing the path to the Father. As the Son of God, HR rises with the Immortal Stars… on the third day. “Oh Horus, this hour of the morning, of this third day is come, when thou surely passeth on to heaven, together with the stars, the Imperishable Stars" (The Ancient Pyramid Texts, Utterance 667).

In Genesis, Hebrew clan chiefs are usually listed in groups of 3 sons. Their confederations are composed of 3 clans for mutual defense. Typically, the third son is "hidden", obscure, or dies. Cain, Seth, and Abel were brothers, but Abel was killed. Terah's sons were Haran, Nahor, and Abraham. Haran died in Ur. Abraham's 3 most prominent sons were Joktan (Yaqtan), Ishmael (Yishmael), and Isaac (Yitzak). Of the 3, Joktan (Gen. 25) is the most obscure.

While in Mamre, Abraham looked up and saw 3 “men” coming to him and ordered 3 measures of flour to make cakes and brought to his visitors 3 gifts: curds, milk, and a fatted calf. Abraham interceded for Sodom 3 times (Gen. 18). In the context of this proliferation of 3s the Lord announces that Sarah will bring forth a promised son.

Sacred Centers

After Abraham arrived in Canaan, he consulted the Moreh at Mamre who sat under a great oak. The Oak of the Moreh was between Ai and Bethel, on an east-west axis. Deborah sat under a date nut palm (tamar). The Palm of Deborah was between Bethel and Ramah, on a north-south axis. These prophets, like John the Baptist, stayed away from the population centers. People had to make an effort to consult with them. Further, their trees appear marked the sacred centers between two shrine cities. 

Sacred centers can be both spatial and temporal. The sacred center is measured by the Sun's movement to high noon, and by the height of the mountain between Heaven and Earth. The spatial and temporal sacred centers are where encounters take place between God and Man. They are centers of both judgment and redemption.

The Sun rises in the east and appears to journey across the sky to the west. The only time when there are no shadows is high noon, so in terms of the solar day, this is the temporal sacred center. James refers to this, saying: "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:17).

The spatial sacred center is between Heaven and Earth, which would be on the mountain top. Abraham, Moses, Elijah, and other biblical figures encountered God on the tops of mountains. Jesus, who "came down from Heaven", was revealed on the Mount of Transfiguration.

Related reading: Territorial Ambitions of the Early Hebrew; The Sacred Center in Biblical Theology

The Authority of Hebrew Women

 

My second book, drawing on more than 40 years of research, is available on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HKTTVJQK

The astonishing contributions and enduring influence of the Hebrew wives and daughters come alive for the reader of this sequel to The First Lords of the Earth: An Anthropological Study.

The book presents neglected aspects of the cultural milieus of the women of the Bible from the historical Eve to the Virgin Mary. The chapters present evidence of their royal status, ministries to women, entrepreneurial successes, and the balance of authority between them and their Hebrew husbands.

“Alice's analysis of the kinship pattern of the biblical Hebrew opened my eyes to understand not just Genesis and not just the Pentateuch, but the whole diacronic layers in all of the Old Testament." - Shalom Rutgaizer, Israeli archaeologist and Old Testament scholar

 

“In terms of tertiary studies, I learned Old Testament from 'extreme liberals' as well as 'moderate conservatives.' Then for years I felt satisfied that, although by no means a specialist, I had worked out a sensible approach to the Old Testament that was authentically Christian while avoiding the pitfalls of fundamentalism, Marcionism and liberalism . . . especially with regard to the Book of Genesis.

That was until I found Alice Linsley's work. Her biblical, historical, theological, cultural, anthropological and archaeological research takes the reader into fascinating areas which really make sense and have caused me to change quite a number of my previously held views!" - David Chislett SSC, former Anglican Bishop of the Traditional Anglican Church

 

Related reading: BIBLICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: Reading the Bible in a Different Way; Symbols of Authority Among the Early Hebrew

Territorial Ambitions of the Early Hebrew

A royal couple representing the sun and the moon, a binary set.

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

The early Hebrew were observant of the relationship of the sun, moon, and stars. They thought of the sun and the moon as a binary set, that is a naturally paired set of entities. They also noted that one of the entities of the set was superior to the other. This is expressed in Genesis 1:16 which describes the sun as the greater light and the moon as the lesser light. However, though one is greater than the other, both rule their domains. The sun rules the day, and the moon rules the night.

This reasoning is apparent in Joseph’s dream of his parents and siblings (Gen. 37:9-10). Joseph’s father, Jacob, is represented by the sun. Joseph’s mother, Rachel, is represented by the moon. Joseph’s siblings are represented by stars. The dream expresses the hierarchical relationship of his parents (Jacob’s authority being the greater), and it reveals that both parents had authority as the sun and the moon rule over their domains. This accurately describes the social structure of the biblical Hebrew who did not have a fully patriarchal social structure. (This is explained in my book The First Lords of the Earth: An Anthropological Study. 2023.)

Among the Nilotic Hebrew the sun-moon binary set was expressed in the way royal couples presented themselves in public. The king appeared with skin darkened by the sun. This implied that his divine appointment to rule by the overshadowing of the sun, the symbol of the High God. His royal wife appeared white as the moon, implying that the powdered queen was to her husband what the moon is to the sun.

The binary sets of light-dark and east-west expressed territorial claims. The two wives in the Song of Solomon represent the two horizons or dawn and dusk. One of Solomon’s wives is described as having sun-darkened skin ("dark as the tents of Kedar") and the other is described as having skin as pale as the moon (6:10). For the rulers of the Ancient Near East, the two wives represent a claim to a vast territory that extends from horizon to horizon.

Likewise, the claim of a territory that stretched between the separate settlements of his two wives is found in the story of Lamech the Elder (Gen. 4). Lamech’s wives were named Adah and Tzillah. The Hebrew scholar Theodor Gaster noted that the names Adah and T-Zillah correlate to the Akkadian words for dawn and dusk. This suggests that Lamech claimed to rule over a vast territory. The sun-moon binary set and the east-west solar arc are used in the Bible to speak of the authority and sovereignty of divinely appointed Hebrew rulers.

The early Hebrew believed that they were to disperse and rule. This is evident in Genesis 1: 28. God told them to "'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." They took this seriously and long before Abraham's time (c.2000 B.C.) they had already moved into many regions of the Old World.

The Old World throughout which the early Hebrew dispersed.

The Territorial Sovereignty of Father and Son

The early Hebrew conception of territorial sovereignty on earth was patterned on their observation of the celestial pattern. 

As a youth, HR/Horus (the Son of the High God) was associated with the rising sun, dawn, and the eastern horizon. In his maturity he was associated with the setting sun, dusk, and the western horizon. He is often pictured on the solar ship of his father Re making his daily journey from east to west. This artifact of the solar ship shows HR in the form of his animal totem, the falcon.

The Nilotic conception of HR’s journey from youth to maturity involves two vessels. The ship of the morning hours was called Mandjet (Ancient Egyptian: mꜥnḏt) and the ship of the evening hours was called Mesektet (msktt). While Horus was on the Mesektet, he was in his ram-headed form.

Abraham’s Hebrew people conceived of the eternal Son as a lamb at sunrise and a mature ram at sunset. This explains the lamb-to-ram sequence in the story of Abraham on Mount Moriah. Isaac asked his father, “The fire and wood are here, ... but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham replied that God himself will provide the lamb (Gen. 22:8). However, God provided a ram instead, and for Abraham the Hebrew that profound revelation spoke of the Father’s offering of his own son. Jesus said that Abraham saw his day and believed (Jn. 8:56).

Related reading: Orthodoxy Requires Binary Reasoning; The Authority of Queen Mothers; Get Acquainted with the Biblical Hebrew

Get Acquainted with the Biblical Hebrew

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

The early Hebrew (4600-2000 B.C.) were a caste or ruler-priests who dispersed widely in the service of high kings and kingdom building Hebrew chiefs. They served at shrines, temples, and mortuary sites at least 1000 years before the caste system emerged in India. They were organized into two ritual groups (moieties), the Horite Hebrew and the Sethite Hebrew, and they married only within their caste (caste endogamy).

The Hebrew are mentioned in ancient sources and texts dating from as early as 2600 B.C. One of the earliest known sites of Horite Hebrew worship was a Nekhen on the Nile. Both Horites and Sethites lived there before the emergence of Egypt as a political entity. 

Nekhen 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.).

The competition between the Sethites and Horites is described in texts written on the walls of royal tombs and monuments. These 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 B.C.). Some of these 4000-year texts have been collected and translated. They appear in The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts. These texts make it clear that the Horites and the Sethites maintained separate settlements. Utterance 308 addresses them as separate: "Hail to you, Horus in the Horite Mounds! Hail to you, Horus in the Sethite Mounds!"

Though separate 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 designates the Horite mounds as "the High Mounds."

The early Hebrew served as priests at royal temples, water shrines, and at the pillared sun temples such as Heliopolis (biblical On). The Harris Papyrus (c.1152 B.C.) speaks of the 'Apriu of Re at Heliopolis. Re in Ancient Egyptian means “Father”. The Hebrew believed that the Father has a son and they called him HR (Horus in Greek). In Ancient Egyptian HR means “Most High One.” In the ancient world HR was the patron of kings and priests.

Some Hebrew rulers had Horus names which designate them as devotees of HR. Among them are Na-Hor, Abraham’s older brother, Miriam’s husband Hur, and a chief of the clan of Asshur whose name was Harnepher (1 Chron. 7:36).

Earlier in history, a queen named Mer-neith (“Beloved of Neith”) gave birth to a son known by his Horus name as Hor-Den. He was a devotee of God Father and God Son, and the first ruler to wear the double crown as the sovereign over the Upper and Lower Nile regions. This was when the Upper and Lower Nile regions were first united (c.3000 B.C.).

The Word "Hebrew"  

The English word “Hebrew” is derived from the ancient Akkadian word Abru, meaning “priest”. Other references in ancient texts speak of Habiru, Hapiru, Abhira, and ‘Apiru. In Rwanda, the term Abiru refers to a caste of royal ritualists. Some argue that the Hebrew were the descendants of Eber, but the Hebrew caste existed before the time of Eber.

An ‘Apriu/Hebrew priest named Abdiel served as vizier to Amenhotep II (r. 1390-1353 B.C.) and his son Akhenaten. Abdiel’s title was ‘Apir-El which designated him as a priest of the High God El. Abdiel was buried in a rock cut tomb at Saqqara along with his wife Tauret and his son Huy. Their coffins were found in 1987.

Hebrew Families at the Ancient Water Systems

The authority of the Hebrew rulers extended over the major water systems of the ancient world: the Nile, the Tigris, the Euphrates, and the Orontes in Turkey. Hebrew innovators promoted agricultural advances, animal husbandry, commerce, medicine and astronomy. Local rulers relied on the skills of Hebrew boatbuilders, masons, smiths, and scribes to build and expand their territories. The Hebrew ruler Asshur relied on the city-building skills of Nimrod, a Kushite Hebrew (Gen. 10). Asshur ruled in Mesopotamia (Assyria), but Nimrod came there from the Nile Valley. Asshur and Nimrod were both Hebrew.

The most prestigious site where the Hebrew were present was Heliopolis on the Nile. It is mentioned multiple times in the Old Testament. Isaiah 19:18 says that Heliopolis was one of the five cities in Egypt that swore allegiance to the Lord of Hosts. The priests of Heliopolis were known for their purity of life and deep devotion to the High God Re and to Re’s son HR.

Jacob’s son Joseph married Asenath, the daughter of the priest of On. Her name means “One belonging to Neith”. Many temple women had names associated with Neith as she was the 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.3000 B.C.).

Asenath probably ministered to women who came to Heliopolis seeking purification and healing. It was the custom for women who hoped to conceive to visit the water shrines.

The lives of high-status Hebrew ladies revolved around the palaces, temples, and water shrines where they directed women’s ministries such as baking bread, brewing beer, weaving linen, drawing water, and performance of sacred music and dance. In the Bible at least six Hebrew women are named who grew up at the water shrines of their priest fathers. They include Abraham's wife Keturah at the Well of Sheba (Beer-Sheba), Sarah at Hebron with four water sources, Asenath at Heliopolis, and Moses' wife Zipporah who he met at the well of her priest father in Midian. Likewise, Jacob met Rebekah at the well of her father. Judah had sexual relations with Tamar (probably his wife) at Enaim, the site of Two Springs (Gen. 38:14).

Related reading: Horite and Sethite Mounds; Royal Hebrew High Places; Sun Cities of the Ancient World

John the Forerunner, the Greatest Prophet

 

The wings identify John as a divine messenger, the “Evangelos” or Angelic being who proclaimed Messiah's appearance in the flesh.

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

The biblical Hebrew recognized three types of authority: derived, attributed, and achieved. 

Derived authority was based on close connection to the ruler. The closer the individual’s blood relation to the high king, the more prestige the person derived. In the time of Solomon, when genealogical archives were kept in the Temple, some Israelites became obsessed with records of their ancestors. They hoped to gain status and privilege by proving that they were close blood relations with the king.

For the Hebrew ruler-priest caste derived authority came by divine overshadowing and was indicated by a name with a solar symbol or a solar crown.

Attributed authority came with the offices of king, priest, judge, and prophet. Only men served as priests in the various ranks, each with its unique and limited authority. Each priestly rank and position was inherited. The greatest authority rested with the chief priest known as the “High Priest” in the time of the Second Temple (c. 560 B.C. - 70 A.D.). Consecration was done in a ceremony not unlike the sacramental ordination found in some churches today. Most of the junior priests served at smaller, less prestigious temples and shrines until the time of King Josiah who wanted the Temple in Jerusalem to be the only temple. He ordered the destruction of other temples, even some that were dedicated to the High God (Deut. 12:1–5).

Achieved authority came from societal recognition of a person's righteousness, or holy living. John the Forerunner is an example. His strict asceticism and denial of all worldly pleasures was widely recognized by the Judean population. His divine appointment is shown in his Hebrew Y-name, Yohanan. His spiritual authority was such that many traveled into the wilderness to consult him or be baptized by him. John is unique among the prophets because he embodied all three types of authority: derived, attributed, and achieved. No wonder Jesus claimed that he was the greatest of the prophets.

Authority is linked to Divine Appointment

Divine appointment for the early Hebrew was indicated by the initial Y-names of many Hebrew men. This was a sun cradle that meant the person was overshadowed by the High God. The symbol appears in the Hebrew names Yitzak, Yaqtan, Yishbak, Yishmael, Yacob, Yosef, Yishai (Jesse), Yonah and Yohanan.

As with the Hebrew men listed above, Hathor’s authority was indicated by the sun resting in her Y shape crown. The Hebrew veneration of Hathor testifies to their recognition of female authority. Some Hebrew women in the service of Hathor held positions of authority as shrine officials and temple dancers.

Hathor is usually shown with the sun resting over her head in the horns of the celestial bull calf. This was a sign of divine appointment by the High God. 

Hathor overshadowed. 

Hathor is the archetype of the Woman of Genesis 3:15 who would bring forth the Son of God, conceived by divine overshadowing (Luke 1:35).

The Hebrew priest Aaron fabricated an image of the celestial bull calf with the sun resting in its horns, but thousands of years later Judaism posed this image of the High God’s son as an idol to be destroyed.

Related reading: Solar Symbolism of the Ancient Near East; The Hebrew were a Caste

Sacred Stones in the Bible

Biblical scholars agree that the Septuagint’s ligyrion is amber. Photo credit: Steve Voynick.

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

Precious gems and semi-precious stones mentioned in the Bible represent groups of people, the presence of God, and virtues. They have a sacred meaning in Genesis, Exodus, Job, Ezekiel, and Revelation. Depending on the Bible version, the names of the stones vary. Exodus 28:6-14 describes two stones used to secure the High Priest's ephod. In the New Jerusalem Bible, these are identified as carnelian. In the King James Version, they are identified as onyx, and in the Septuagint, they are emeralds. What the Septuagint calls "sardion" is identified as carnelian in other texts. In his Naturalis Historia, Pliny the Elder describes sardion as a “fiery, red gemstone.”

The original Hebrew and Greek words reflect classification based on physical properties such a transparency, color, and durability. There is little correspondence to the modern geo-chemical understanding of the stones. Red stones such as carnelian represent blood and the blood sacrifices performed by the Hebrew ruler-priest caste. Blue stones such as sapphire or lapis lazuli represent the Heavens and the throne of God.

The colors and shine of the stones seem to be the one consistent thread connecting the narratives involving sacred stones. For example, there is a correspondence between the stones on the High Priest's breastplate and the fiery stones mentioned in Ezekiel 28:14-16:

You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.

I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from amidst the stones of fire.

The stones were said to flash with a fiery light. Umberto Cassuto's Masoretic text translates the Hebrew "stones of fire" as "sparkling stones". The symbolism of the sacred stone involved their shine and transparency.

Twelve stones of the High Priest's breastplate are said to represent the twelve tribes/sons of Israel. This is a late narrative because in the time of Abraham and his Hebrew ancestors there were no Israelites and the normal Hebrew organization was a 3-clan confederation. The Book of Exodus is based mainly on oral tradition and was written between 600 and 400 B.C., long after the time of Moses (c.1500 B.C.). It is not surprising that the names of the stones on the High Priest's breastplate vary depending on the version of the Bible. For example, the Hebrew word nofekh (נוֹפֶךְ, Ex. 28:18) is commonly translated as "emerald" or "carbuncle" in older texts. It is the first stone in the second row of the breastplate and modern Bible versions identify it as red garnet.

emerald - Emerald is a crystal with a deep green color. It is one of the stones in the breastplate of the High Priest (Ex. 28:18; Ex. 39:11). Emeralds were mined from the mountains of Ethiopia, Egypt and Cyprus but readily available only to the very wealthy. Revelation 4:3 mentions emeralds in connection with the throne of God: "And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne." Revelation 21:19 describes one of the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem as emerald. "The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald..." However, the foundation stone mentioned in Revelation probably refers to green malachite which was associated with the Son of God (HR) among the early Hebrew (4000-2000 B.C.). The Book of the Dead speaks of how the deceased will become a falcon "whose wings are of green stone" (chapter 77). The falcon was the animal totem of HR (Horus in Greek). The Ancient Pyramid Texts speak of Horus as the Lord of the green stone (Utterance 301). The Hebrew living in the region of the Timna Valley mined malachite. It is likely that green malachite, a symbol of the Son of God, is the foundation stone of the New Jerusalem.

jasper - Jasper is an opaque variety of quartz that comes in shades of red and yellow. In Hebrew it is called yashpeh and in Greek it is called iaspis. Jasper was another stone in the breastplate of the High Priest (Ex. 28:20). The light that shines in the New Jerusalem is "like a jasper stone" (Rev. 21:11), the color yellow.

onyx - Onyx is a type of agate with two or more colors in parallel bands or stripes. The Hebrew word for onyx is shoham. One of the stones in the High Priest's breastplate was onyx. Onyx was found in the land of Ha'vilah (Gen. 2:12). Ha'vilah means the place where the waters part or form a V, and the name refers to the place where the White Nile and the Blue Nile separate. Onyx is mentioned in Job 28:16 and Ezekiel 28:13.

ruby - Ruby or in some Bibles carnelian (odem) is a red stone that symbolizes wisdom and blood. The word odem is related to the word Edom, where some of the Horite Hebrew lived (Gen. 36). The Greeks called that region Idumea, meaning "Land of Red People".

sapphire - Sapphire or in some Bibles lapis lazuli is a blue stone that symbolizes the heavens and the throne of God. Ezekiel 28:13 reports that this stone was abundant in ancient Eden. According to Genesis 2 Eden was a vast well-watered region that extended from the sources of the Nile in the Ethiopian Highlands and Uganda to the Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia. The Mesopotamian and Sumerian rulers imported lapis lazuli from Afghanistan. 

topaz - Topaz is the second stone in row one of the High Priest's breastplate. It has been translated as "chrysolite," "emerald," and "peridot." It has a transparent golden color suggesting association with the Sun, a symbol of the High God among the early Hebrew. The word topaz was applied only in the 18th century when it was confused with the ancient "topazos" which gemologists believe to be peridot.

Related reading: Gemstones in the Bible - Rock & Gem Magazine; Three-Clan Confederations to Twelve Tribes; The Religious Symbolism of Gold; The Religious Symbolism of Green Malachite; The Substance of Abraham's Faith

Genesis and Human Origins

 

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

Attempts to reconcile the biblical creation stories with the findings of science fail because they begin with unexamined assumptions such as the Bible is true and the sciences are not reliable. Another misleading assumption involves the Young Earth Creationists' use of the Genesis "begats" to date Adam and Eve who they believe to be the first people created by God. They believe the first humans appeared about 8000 years ago. However, that is when the first Hebrew communities emerged in the Nile Valley.

A detailed and objective reading of Genesis reveals that the historical Adam and Eve were among the founders of the Hebrew ruler-priest caste, the most important biblical population. They had a distinction marriage and ascendency pattern that reflects a long history of royal activity. Long before Abraham lived (c.2000 B.C.) the early Hebrew had already dispersed across the ancient world. However, their point of origin appears to have been the Nile Valley because the oldest known site of Hebrew worship is at Nekhen on the Nile.

When the historical Adam and Eve lived, the Hebrew ruler-priests maintained sacred sites the length of the Nile River. Information about them is available for interested parties. They were a caste organized into two ritual groups (moieties). They offered prayers for the people who came to their shrines and temples. The scribed prayers on the walls of royal tombs. Many of those prayers reveal belief in bodily resurrection. The prayers have been translated to English and published in The Ancient Pyramid Texts.

The hard facts about the people known to the historical Adam and Eve should not be ignored. The creation narratives of Genesis have a historical and cultural context that can be studied. The context is the Ancient Nile Valley Civilization. And yes, humans first appeared in Africa. That is where to oldest known human remains have been found and they date to millions of years ago. The Hebrew people did not yet exist, but there is evidence that the Creator was working among our archaic ancestors. They recognized patterns in Nature. They realized that life is in the blood, and they hoped for life after death. 

Our human ancestors lived so far back in the past that they cannot be identified. John Hawks, a world renown paleoanthropologist explains:

"It has been proposed that modern humans descended from a single woman, the 'mitochondrial Eve' who lived in Africa 100,000 to 200,000 years ago. The human immune system DRB1 genes are extremely polymorphic, with gene lineages that coalesce into an ancestor who lived around 60 million years ago, a time before the divergence of the apes from the Old World monkeys. The theory of gene coalescence suggests that, throughout the last 60 million years, human ancestral populations had an effective size of 100,000 individuals or greater. Molecular evolution data favor the African origin of modern humans, but the weight of the evidence is against a population bottleneck before their emergence. The mitochondrial Eve hypothesis emanates from a confusion between gene genealogies and individual genealogies." (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8533083/)

Hawks added, "First, modern humans did not originate in a bottleneck after 200,000 years ago. Our origin was much deeper in time than this." (Many Groups of Archaic Humans)

Paleoanthropologists such as John Hawks are searching for the truth. John Hawks notes that there is a wider range of anatomical features among Neanderthals than is generally recognized. Hawks also believes that there are limits to what can be determined by genetic tests of archaic fossils. He relies on morphological studies.

The story of human origins cannot be understood from DNA alone. That takes us back only to about 500,000 years ago. To gain understanding of human activity before that we must consider the artifactual evidence. Humans were using butchering flints between 2.5 and 3 million years ago. Some human fossils found in East Africa date to 3 million+ years ago.

However, the morphological research is the most significant. When Jeremy DeSilva compared the ankle joint, the tibia and the talus fossils of human ancestors ("hominins") between 4.12 million to 1.53 million years old, he discovered that all of the ankle joints resembled those of modern humans rather than those of apes. Chimpanzees flex their ankles 45 degrees from normal resting position. This makes it possible for apes to climb trees with great ease. While walking, humans flex their ankles a maximum of 20 degrees. The human ankle bones are quite distinct from those of apes.

The discovery of a complete fourth metatarsal of A. afarensis at Hadar that shows the deep, flat base and tarsal facets that "imply that its midfoot had no ape-like midtarsal break. These features show that the A. afarensis foot was functionally like that of modern humans." (Carol Ward, William H. Kimbel, Donald C. Johanson, Feb. 2011)

Related reading: Artifacts of Great Antiquity; Funerary Rites and the Hope of Resurrection; Early Resurrection Texts; Three Portraits of Adam; What Paleoanthropologists Want to Discover; The Shrine City of Nekhen;