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.
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.
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).
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.
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.).
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).
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
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comments are welcome. Please stay on topic and provide examples to support your point.