Solar Symbolism of the Ancient Near East

 

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

Have you wondered why historically church altars are on the east wall of the church? This reflects a very ancient, received tradition involving the sun as the emblem or symbol of the High God and his son. The early Hebrew regarded the solar arc as a sign that light returns after darkness and there is life after death. The sun rose in the east as a lamb and set in the west as a ram in full strength. (Consider that when you read the account of Abraham on Mount Moriah.)

Perhaps you have noticed the prevalence of solar symbolism wherever the early Hebrew dispersed. Early Christians in Ireland, Wales, and England seamlessly merged the solar imagery of the early Hebrew with the daily routines of their Christian faith. Anglo-Celtic daily routines emphasize God’s presence in activities such as drawing water, sowing seed in the fields, harvesting, and baking bread. An example is Irish soda bread scored with a cross. As with the early Hebrew, the people of the remote isles were mindful of the Trinitarian reality of God’s presence.

 

A threshing floor. Note the resemblance to the sun.

Threshing floors were built at high windy elevations so the wind could carry away the chaff. Threshing floors were also places of worship because they were symbols of the High God whose emblem was the sun. A ruler named Araunah sold David a threshing floor upon which David constructed an altar.

Maslin bread. Note the solar symbolism.

There is a connection between the threshing of grain and bread making. The most common bread of Anglo-Celtic folk contained a blend of wheat flour and rye flour. Traditional Irish maslin bread is an example. The bread crust is scored with a solar symbol, which connects the sowing of grain and the hope of bodily resurrection.

Some maslin loaves are decorated with oak leaves because Jesus was said to have been crucified on an oak tree.

 

 

Belief in Christ’s third-day resurrection was enacted by the sowing of grain in the fields. In antiquity, this annual ritual was overseen by Hebrew priests who led the people in procession to the fields much as Anglican priests once officiated at Rogation Day blessing of the fields and sowing ceremonies in May.

The village vicar leads the people to the field for blessing.

 

Grave marker in Banias, Northern Israel. Note the 6-prong solar symbol.

The 6-prong solar symbol expressed hope in bodily resurrection and as such the symbol appears on grave markers and the ossuary boxes of high-ranking Jewish priests and members of their families.

Ossuary of the High Priest Joseph Caiaphas.

 

Ossuary of Miriam, granddaughter of Joseph Caiaphas. 

The inscription identifies this bone box as that of “Miriam Daughter of Yeshua, Son of Caiaphas, Priests of Ma’aziah from Beth Imri.”

Another solar image that speaks of the High God is the winged sun. In Scripture we find this wonderful assurance: “But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings…” (Malachi 4:2) This too reflects a very ancient belief concerning the High God.

King Shalmaneser making an offering to the High God whose symbol was the winged sun. Bowing before him is King Jehu of Israel who became a vassal of the Assyrian king.

Related reading: Solar Imagery of the Proto-Gospel; Threshing Floors and Solar Symbols; What Abraham Discovered on Mt. Moriah

DNA Studies of Jews are Shallow

 

While genetic studies do provide valuable information about human populations, they do not tell the whole story. In part, this is because most are very shallow. That is to say, they usually do not trace genetic inheritance beyond 2000 years ago. 

Around 40% of the Ashkenazi of Europe have mtDNA from 4 founding mothers who lived about 1000 years ago. Those women are believed to have had Middle Eastern ancestry. Given that the Hebrew ruler-priests were widely dispersed 4000 years ago, this study is very shallow. It also suggests that the Ashkenazi did not consistently practice endogamous marriage.

The Sephardi (Spanish/Portuguese) and Mizrahi (Middle Eastern/North African) trace maternal ancestry overwhelmingly back to a West Eurasian and Middle Eastern pool, with some overlap with long existent populations of the Fertile Crescent, such as the Druze.

James Henry Breasted's map of the Fertile Crescent.

 
Modern Jews can attribute about 3 to 5 percent of their ancestry to sub-Saharan Africans. However, in the Mizrahi communities, sub-Saharan mtDNA is negligible, suggesting that the Mizrahi populations remained endogamous. 

The primary Jewish populations that trace DNA to the Nile Valley are North African and Ethiopian Jews.

Genetic, historical, and genealogical studies reveal evidence of endogamy among Sephardi Jews. Despite centuries of geographical dispersal following the 1492 expulsion from Iberia, Sephardic communities retained distinct ancestral markers and tightly knit community structures.

Why are the DNA studies of Jews so shallow?

DNA studies of Jewish populations are "shallow" because the research has focused primarily on the last 500 to 2,000 years. This timeframe addresses the era of the Jewish diaspora, and the DNA of Ashkenazi Jews. Tracing genetic ancestry of Jews deeper into ancient times would raise doubts about the prevalent Jewish narrative that bolsters the Zionism of many who left Europe for Isarel. Jewish researchers admit that their genetic studies are limited by the destruction of historical records, limited DNA samples, and their own Jewish history. A significant number of pioneering geneticists who study Jewish populations are Jews affiliated with Israeli and US research hospitals.

On the Y-DNA side, researchers have concentrated on the Cohanim marker said to be evidence of descent from the "tribe" of Levi. While Cohanim from diverse backgrounds carry a total of 21 Y chromosome haplogroups, 5 haplogroups account for 79.5% of Cohanim Y chromosomes. They are haplogroup J-P58 (formerly referred to as J1e), the most recent and frequent lineage, accounting for 46.1% of Cohanim chromosomes. It is strongly prevalent in the Near East and contains the extended Cohen Modal Haplotype (CMH).

Haplogroup J-M410 (formerly J2a) accounts for 14.4% of Cohanim Y chromosomes and contains an extended modal haplotype also unique to Cohanim. 

Haplogroup E-M78 (or E1b1b)

Haplogroup G-P15 (or G-M285 / G-M377)

Haplogroup R-M269 (or R1b). This map shows its distribution in red. 

Haplogroup R1b

The major dispersal of Haplogroup R1b populations occurred in two waves between 10,500 and 4,000 years ago. However, ancient R1b lineages date to the Late Paleolithic. In the Iron Age, sub-lineages expanded widely due to cattle domestication and Bronze Age metallurgical advancements. 

Digging Deeper

The genetic sequences of Haplogroup X diverged from Haplogroup N which originated in the region of the Lower Nile. Haplogroup X diverged about 30,000 years ago with two sub-groups X1 and X2 now identified. Overall Haplogroup X accounts for about 2% of the population of Europe, the Near East, and North Africa.

The heaviest concentration of mtDNA haplogroup X is in Eastern Canada. The next highest concentration, about 40%, is found in the Druze of the Middle East.

Sub-group X1 is strongly present in the Near East, the Caucasus, and Mediterranean Europe. Sub-group X2 appears to have undergone population expansion and dispersal after the last glacial maximum, between 21,000 and 18,000 years ago. There are concentrations of sub-group X2 in Georgia (8%), the Orkney Islands (7%) and among the Israeli Druze (27%), most of whom live in Galilee.

Still Deeper

The genetic root of modern humans is mtDNA Haplogroup L which has its roots in Africa. 

Related reading: The population genetics of the Jewish people - PMC; Sub-Saharan DNA of Modern Jews; A Kindling of Ancient Memory; The Hebrew Selection of Marriage Partners; DNA Suggests Early Jewish Links with Africa - Biblical Archaeology Society; Extended Y chromosome haplotypes resolve multiple and unique lineages of the Jewish priesthood - PMC

Joseph Arimathea and the Priesthood in England

 

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

This post explores the start of the priesthood in England. It considers the historical, archaeological and anthropological data that suggests an early presence of Jewish priests in Roman Britain who were followers of Jesus Christ. These ruler-priests were members of the Sanhedrin and had authority to ordain priests for the Church. One of them was Joseph Arimathea, a mining expert whose excavated family sepulcher was where Jesus’ body was laid.

Hebrew ruler-priests were widely dispersed before the time of Abraham. As early as 4000 years ago they were in the Nile Valley, Arabia, Canaan, Sumer, northern Mesopotamia, and Anatolia in what is today southern Turkey. Horite Hebrew miners were excavating mines in Timna before ancient Egypt became an empire. Timna, the site of some of the world's oldest copper mines, is near Beersheba in modern day Israel. The Horite Hebrew were devotees of HR (Horus) and his mother Hathor. A temple dedicated to Hathor was discovered at the southwestern edge of Mt. Timna by Professor Beno Rothenberg of Hebrew University.

Dispersal of Y-DNA Haplogroup R1B

Genetic studies indicate that a significant minority of Jewish males carry Y-DNA Haplogroup R1b, the same Haplogroup to which approximately 70% of native British men belong. The point of origin of this haplogroup is the Fertile Crescent.

The early Hebrew priests served as prophets, scribes, smiths, stone masons, miners, and physicians. They performed circumcisions, a practice that persisted among the royal Anglo-Celtic families. They offered sacrifices at temples and prayers at sacred shrines where people came for healing. They performed ceremonies at circles of standing stones, and they ordained their high priests in a succession extending back well before the time of Abraham.

Depending on who is telling the story, accounts differ as to when the priesthood came to the British Isles. This article focuses on the earliest known activity of priests in England who were followers of Jesus Christ.

Tin deposits in Spain, France and southwestern England

 

Hebrew followers of Jesus were in England as mining experts, metal workers, and merchants during Jesus’ earthly life. They traveled the ancient tin route between the metal-rich shores of Britain, France, Portugal, the Mediterranean and North Africa. Tin was essential for bronze production. Paul's desire to go to Spain suggests that he knew Jewish believers there who would be helpful in efforts to spread the Gospel. Spain was part of the tin trade route between the Mediterranean world and Britain.

A 2025 study has revealed that tin mined 3,300 years ago in south-west Britain was a key resource for the Bronze Age civilizations in the Eastern Mediterranean. The study suggests that communities in Cornwall and Devon were part of a vast international trade system that supported ancient palaces and royal city-states of the Eastern Mediterranean.

These tin ingots were found off the coast of Israel. The tin came from Cornwall. Tin ingots from Cornwall dating to 2000 B.C. have been found in Israel and ingots from Cornwall dating to 1300 BC have been found at archaeological sites in Turkey and Greece. The tin trade brought together people from the Levant, the Nile Valley, Mesopotamia, and parts of Europe.

Joseph of Arimathea was a mining expert involved with the tin mined from the rich, alluvial deposits of Cornwall and Devon in the south of England. Mining in Cornwall and Devon began as early as 2150 B.C.

The Ding Dong mine is one of the oldest mines in Cornwall. An old miner told A. K. Hamilton Jenkin in the early 1940's: "Why, they do say there's only one mine in Cornwall older than Dolcoath, and that's Ding Dong, which was worked before the time of Jesus Christ." (Hamilton Jenkin, A. K. Cornwall and its People. London: J. M. Dent; p. 347) According to local legend, the Ding Dong mine was one of the places visited by Joseph Arimathea.

Note that I use the correct title for Joseph Arimathea, rather than “Joseph of Arimathea”. Arimathea is not a place. It indicates Joseph’s Hebrew lineage. The Ar prefix appears in the names of rulers and high-ranking priests. Examples include the Sumerian king Arwium of Kish, Artama, Archelaos, Artaxerxes, Ar-Shem, Artix, Areli, Araxes, Arviragus, a Jebusite named Araunah who sold a threshing floor to King David, and Arishen, a Horite Hebrew who ruled a territory in the central Zagros between 2400-2301 B.C. Ariaramnes was the great uncle of Cyrus the Great. The Ar prefix in Britain’s history is highlighted by King Arthur and Joseph Arimathea. Ar is likely a shortened Horus name, as Horus was regarded as the patron of ruler-priests and kings in the ancient world.

Ar-Mathea indicates that Joseph was a ruler-priest of the Hebrew clan of Mathea or Matthew. He was a relative of Jesus and the Virgin Mary and of the Evangelist Matthew.

The churches of the East acknowledge that Joseph Arimathea "traveled around the world, proclaiming the Gospel of Christ" and they belief that "he died peacefully in England."

Legends about Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin and a follower of Jesus, became elaborate in the Middle Ages. That was a time when the Roman Catholic Church funded parishes through the exhibition of relics and pilgrimages. Beyond the embroidered accounts, however, there is a kernel of verifiable historical truth. Joseph of Arimathea was in Cornwall, and probably in Devon also.

Anglicans maintain that the priesthood of the Church was well established in the British Isles before the Augustinian Mission arrived from Rome in 595 A.D

According to the Roman Catholic narrative, the only priesthood that has validity was planted in Britain by Augustine in AD 595. That narrative ignores the reality of Hebrew followers of Jesus who had authority to ordain priests in Britain in Jesus’ lifetime. The priesthood of the Church was well established in the British Isles before the Augustinian Mission arrived from Rome in 595 A.D.

The Roman Catholic Church claims to have brought the only legitimate priesthood to Britain. However, the priest disciples of Jesus Christ who came to Roman Britain were not Roman Catholics. They were Jewish believers whose rules for ordination align with the Anglican Church's rules for ordination, as will be demonstrated in this series.

Today resources are available that can help to construct a more accurate picture of how the Messianic Faith that we call "Christianity" came to thrive in Roman Britain before Augustine's arrival from Rome.

Related reading: The Ar Rulers; The Priesthood in England - Part 1; Hebrew Names and Titles; Horite and Sethite Mounds; The Hebrew Were a Caste; DNA Studies of Jews are Shallow

Thank you, Readers!

 

I'm dropping a line here to thank the readers of this blog. I appreciate you! 

Feel free to post comments. I enjoy reading them and I try to respond to all of them.

Many of the people who follow this blog also follow Just Genesis, another of my blogs. If you have never visited that blog, I invite you to do so.

Again, thank you for reading, and keep the comments coming.

Alice C. Linsley

INDEX of Topics at Just Genesis

Hebrew Women Who Did Not Marry

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

Most Hebrew women married, but some chose to remain unmarried. Among them were women whose service in the temple required celibacy, and women who became independently wealthy and started businesses. High-status women were sometimes denied marriage by their fathers or patrons. Hebrew concubines did not have the same status as Hebrew wives.

Fathers who denied marriage opportunities to their noble daughters were wary of fortune seeking men who sought to advance their careers, raise their social status, increase their wealth, or expand their territories through marriage to royal daughters. Such ambitious suitors posed a threat to the kingdom. As with rulers throughout the ages, royal marriages required consideration of the lines of descent, the ancestral marriage and ascendancy pattern, rights of inheritance, political alliances, and avoidance of war and potential bloodshed. 

A Roman narrative tells of how the daughter of Numitor Silvius was forced to become a Vestal Virgin after Numitor's younger brother Amulius seized the throne and killed Numitor's son. Amulius then forced Rhea Silvia to become a Vestal Virgin who was sworn to celibacy, thus ensuring that the line of Numitor had no heirs. In Greek accounts, the Delphic oracle warned Aleus of Tegea that if his daughter Auge had a son, the grandson would kill Aleus' sons. To prevent this, Aleus made Auge a priestess of Athena, requiring her to live a celibate life as a temple-dedicated virgin.

The accounts of marriage being denied to royal daughters reveals a great deal about the political, social, and religious concerns of biblical rulers. Some Bible scholars believe that Jephthah dedicated his daughter to the service of God to avoid having to give her in marriage to the son of one of his brothers. Jephthah’s vow to dedicate the first living thing that he saw to God helped him avoid giving his daughter's hand in marriage. As the clan ruler, Jephthah probably had social and political reasons to deny her marriage. It may also be that his daughter was privy to the plan and played her part perfectly to avoid marriage.

The story of Jephthah’s daughter is usually cited as an example of child sacrifice, yet the biblical text states only that she was dedicated to God’s service. Jephthah was a ruler who led his men in a successful battle against the Ammonites. He vowed to offer to God “whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me” (Jg. 11:30). Had he seen a sheep, goat, or a cow, he would have sacrificed that to God. However, no livestock were in sight upon his return. Instead, as if one cue, his daughter came running to meet him. It may be that by dedicating her to God Jephthah saved face and avoided open refusal of his daughter's hand to the son of one of his brothers.

Likely his daughter was privy to the scheme because it is she who insisted that he fulfill his vow to God (Jg. 11:36). Jephthah’s daughter may have wished to follow the career of her paternal grandmother who served at a shrine and is wrongly described as a “prostitute” in Judges 11:1. Perhaps Jephthah’s daughter hoped that by giving up worldly aspirations, she might be chosen to bring forth the promised Messiah. It was long believed that the mother of the Messiah would be a temple woman who would conceive by divine overshadowing. This is why Sargon claimed that his mother conceived him while in the temple at Azu-pir-Anu. It should be noted that the Virgin Mary was the temple-dedicated daughter of the priest Joachim, and she conceived Jesus by the “overshadowing of the Holy Spirit” (Lk 1:35).

When marriage was to be avoided, some royal women were sent to the temples or to monasteries. Some lived saintly sequestered lives and others lived much as they had in their father’s palaces. Some attained high rank as abbesses in charge of monastic communities. Abbess Hildegard of Bingen became known as the “Sibyl of the Rhine” because of her accomplishments in literature, natural science, and music. In ancient Egypt, royal daughters were appointed to the two highest ranks a woman could hold: the temple positions of the God’s Wife (Hemet Netjer) and the Divine Adoratrice (Duat Netjer). 

According to the British historian, Barbara Yorke, “All the Anglo-Saxon nunneries in southern England for which we have the relevant evidence were founded by members of a royal house, usually by either the reigning monarch or one of his close female relatives; it is not always clear which should be described as the founder. Not only were the nunneries founded by one of the ruling houses, but they continued to be regarded as possessions of the royal house throughout their existence.”

The custom of placing royal daughters in monasteries has an ancient precedent. In a shrewd political move to secure power in the south of his kingdom, Sargon (reigned 2334–2284 B.C.) 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 is credited with a large body of cuneiform poetry.

The possibility of marriage remained open for some women dedicated to the temples and monasteries. Occasionally, political necessity or matters of inheritance required a sequestered noble woman to marry. Among the endogamous Hebrew rulers, a virgin might be released from her temple vow when a favorable match could be found between Hebrew relatives. That appears to be the case with the Virgin Mary who married Joseph of Nazareth. Nazareth was the home of the eighteenth division of Hebrew ruler-priests. The ancestors of those ruler-priests lived in the Nile Valley where they served at temples. The Nilotic Hebrew were organized into two moieties, the Horite Hebrew and the Sethite Hebrew.

Related reading: Temple Women; Concubinage Among the Hebrew; Competition Between the Horites and the Sethites; Fertility and Water Shrines

The "Sons of God"

 

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

Some of the earliest rulers named in the Bible are deified by the biblical writers. That is apparent in Genesis 6:4 which ascribes to the mighty men of old the status of elohim (deities) and gibborim (powerful ones). They are also called “sons of God” which is a common honorific among rulers of the ancient world. These rulers and kingdom builders married daughters of noble families who brought forth the proper heirs to royal territories.

The technological advances of the earliest known civilizations were under the powerful leadership and authority of what Genesis 6 calls "the mighty men of old." They established law codes as early as 3000 B.C., built fortified cities, waged war, formed treaties, and established expansive trade along the major water systems of the ancient world.

Some conspiracy theorists attribute the advanced technologies of early civilizations to aliens or to angelic beings. They write curious tomes about the Nephilim and the Annunaki. There is a great deal of interest in the Nephilim, and much of what is written is not supported by the canonical Scriptures, history, archaeology and anthropology. The term refers to powerful men who were considered "sons of God" in the ancient world because of their authority and grandeur. In Genesis 6 the phrase "sons of God" parallels the phrase "daughters of men." Such parallelism is typical of Semitic literature.

The term Nephilim comes from the Aramaic word npyl (nephil) which can mean giant or simply great. The context of Genesis 6-10 suggests that a better rendering is "mighty" or "great." The Aramaic npyl is equivalent to the Arabic nfy, meaning “hunter”. That is why some Bibles describe Nimrod, the Kushite city builder, as a "mighty hunter." The text could also read "a mighty man before the Lord."

As with all in power, there was corruption and vanity. This is the backdrop for the account of Noah, a righteous mighty man. His father Lamech the Younger (Gen. 5) was a righteous man also.

The Anakim and the Nephilim are described as heroes, "sons" of God (that is, deified ones), and the "powerful ones" (gibborim). The term gibborim comes from the term gibor, meaning powerful. Some Hebrew queens held the title gibrah, meaning powerful woman.

The Akkadian term Annunaki refers to the people of Annu. The Anakim and Anunnaki are not different groups! These are early deified rulers who called the High God Annu or Anu. Annu was a name for the High God among some Mesopotamians and among some who lived in Canaan. According to their belief, Anu/Annu has a son who is Lord/Master over the Earth. In Akkadian, the divine son was called "Enki". En means master or lord in Akkadian.

The Anakim were related to Anak of Hebron, where Sarah resided. The Anakim were organized as a three-clan confederation. The three clans were named for these three sons of Anak: Sheshai (Shasu?), Ahiman, and Talmai (Josh.15:14). There is a connection between the Nephilim (Num. 13:33), the Raphaim (Deut. 2:10), the Calebites (Josh.15:13), and the Anakim.

Related reading: Why So Many Names For God?; A Book about the Nephilim

Christ has Risen as Foretold

 

Matthew chapter 28 recounts how two women named Mary came to the tomb very early in the morning. They came toward dawn. John 20:1 indicates that it was still dark. Sunrise Easter services are a way of acknowledging Jesus' resurrection which happened before dawn.

Among the early Hebrew (4000-2000 BC) the Son of God was associated with the sun. He was said to rise in the morning as a lamb and to grow to the mature strength of a ram at sunset. He rode with the Father on the solar boat. The boat of the morning hours was called Mandjet and the boat of the evening hours was called Mesektet. While the Son was on the Mesektet, he was in his ram-headed form. You will recall that God provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice on Mount Moriah. Abraham would have recognized this as a symbol of the Son of God who his Horite Hebrew people expected.

Related reading: What Abraham Discovered on Mt. Moriah; Righteous Rulers and the Resurrection; Early Resurrection Texts; The Resurrection Symbolism of Decorated Eggs