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.

Related reading: The Ministry of Hebrew Woman at the Sun Cities; The Dispersion of the Early Hebrew; Temple Women; The Enigma of Joseph; Hebrew, Israelite or Jew?; Cousin Brides Among the Hebrew