Followers

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Seats of Wisdom


Alice C. Linsley


Jeremiah refers to Edom and Teman of Edom as seats of wisdom. The prophet writes: Concerning Edom: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed? (Jeremiah 49:7)

The wisdom to which Jeremiah refers is that of the Horite ruler-priests who were renown in the ancient world for their wisdom. Edom was Horite territory. Seir the Horite is listed in Genesis as one of the Edomite kings. He is a contemporary of Esau the Elder.


Reference: Genesis 36

Note that there are 2 named Esau
Esau the Younger is the grandson of Esau the Elder.


The wisdom of the Horites extended to medicine, astronomy, writing, commerce, navigation, natural sciences, and architecture. The 400-acre Edomite complex at Petra reflects Horite beliefs.

The Horites were the inventors of the earliest known writing systems. They were the early scribes and wise men or prophets. Naba-tean refers to Naba or Nabu, the guardian of scribes and prophets. The cult of Nabu was introduced into Mesopotamia and Babylon by the Kushites. Kushite kings sometimes bore the name Nabu, as with Nabu-shum-libur, an early Kushite king in Babylon and Nabu-aplu-iddina. This is the origin of the Hebrew word nabi, meaning prophet. 

The worldview of the Horites is essentially Kushite. As the Kushites spread across the ancient world, they took their wisdom with them. This wisdom is expressed in proverbs, poetry, descriptions of battles, travels, astronomical observations, commercial accounts and medical texts. It is represented in the huge collection of ancient Arabic texts found at the oases of Teman and Dedan. Teman and Dedan were caravan stops along the trade route from Sheba to Babylon. Genesis 10:7 designates Sheba and Dedan as Kushites.

Approximately 11,000 Thamudic inscriptions have been found scattered from the regions of Dedan and Teman to Syria. These represent the proto-scripts of the Biblical Afro-Asiatics. Similar inscriptions have been identified along the Nile in Sudan. These are accompanied by petroglyphs showing humans, oxen, cattle, circles and spirals. Abraham's Proto-Saharan ancestors venerated cattle.

The wisdom of the Horites was so extensive that it was unrivaled in the ancient world before the rise of Greece and much of the wisdom ascribed to the ancient Greeks was borrowed from the Horites. Iamblichus wrote that Thales of Miletus insisted that Pythagoras go to Memphis to study because the priests there were esteemed for their knowledge and wisdom. Plato studied for 13 years in Egypt under the priest Sechnuphis and his conception of the eternal Forms was based on Horite metaphysics.

The Greek word for boundaries in creation is oros or horos, a reference to the celestial archetype of Horus who was said to be the marker of boundaries. Horus was born of Ra by the Virgin Queen Hathor-Meri who became pregnant when overshadowed by the Sun, the emblem of the Creator. Hathor's totem was a cow and temple images show her holding her son in a manger. This is an early expression of Messianic expectation and it is based upon the Edenic promise that a Woman of the Horite lines would bring forth the "Seed" who would crush the serpent's head and restore Paradise (Gen. 3:15). Jesus identified Himself as that Seed in John 12:24 when he told his disciples, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."

In the works of Plato and Aristotle horos or horismos refers to landmarks, boundaries and categorical limits. From Horus come the words hour, horoscope, horologion, horotely and horizon. The association of Horus with the horizon is evident in Har-ma-khet, meaning "Horus of the Horizon". Horus was said to control the winds and to establish the cardinal points. The stars, planets and constellations were fixed in place by Horus, and as Ben Sira reminds us, not one of the heavenly bodies "has ever got in the way of another, and they will never disobey his word." (Ecclesiaticus 16:24)

Horus shrines and temples were located at major water systems and Horus ruled the waters. This is why the Horus name appears in the word for river in Hebrew and Arabic (nahar/nahr) and in Aramaic (nehar). Abraham’s older brother controlled commerce on the Tigris River between Ur and Haran. His Horus name is Na-Hor (Gen. 22:20).


Ancient Tyre

Another seat of wisdom was ancient Tyre. This island city was a Horite shrine as ancient as Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The artisans who served the temple at Tyre lent their architectural and metal-working expertise to the construction of David's palace and Solomon's temple.

The wisdom of Tyre is associated with the Edenic Promise, as is the wisdom of Edom. "Son of Man, raise a lament over the king of Tyre and say to him: Thus says the Lord God: You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and flawless beauty. You were in Eden, in the Garden of God; every precious stone was your adornment... and gold beautifully wrought for you, mined for you, prepared the day you were created." (Ezekiel 28:11-18)

Tyre was the home of Hiram I, the father of the Tyrian king who helped to build Solomon’s temple. Hiram I was kin to David and sent skilled artisans to help David build a palace in Jerusalem, “the city of the Great King” (Matt. 5:35). Hiram is also known as "Huram" and "Horam", which are versions of the names Hur, Hor and Harun (Aaron), as in Jabal Harun, the Mountain of Aaron.

According to Midrash, Hur was Moses’ brother-in-law, Miriam’s husband. Hur’s grandson was one of the builders of the Tabernacle. I Chronicles 4:4 lists Hur as the "father of Bethlehem". Bethlehem was in the heartland of Horite Hebrew territory. David was born about B.C. 1040, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a Horite shepherd-priest. The settlement was originally known for the sacrifice of sheep and rams. The meat was distributed to the poor, which is why the settlement was originally called "House of Meat." This meaning is retained in the Arabic name for the town: "bêt lahm".

When Jesus went to Tyre His true identity was recognized, according to Mark's Gospel (cf. Matt. 15:21). Hiram I, David and Jesus share a common Horite ancestry. Their Horite lineage extends back to Eden. The Horites believed that the promised Seed of the Woman would be born of their ruler-priest lines and they expected Him to visit them. In Mark 7:24, this expectation was fulfilled when the Son of God visited Tyre. Mark explains that there Jesus “could not pass unrecognized.”

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