Who Laid the Foundations of Science?

A reader of Biblical Anthropology has asked:

"Sages affirm that all antediluvian sciences originate with the Egyptian Hermes [Tehuti], in Upper Egypt (namely Khmunu (Hermopolis). The Jews call him Enoch and the Muslims call him Idris. He was the first who spoke of the material of the superior world and of planetary movements...Medicine and poetry were his functions... [as well as] the sciences, including alchemy and magic." [Cf. Asin Palacios, Ibn Masarra, p. 13],

Based on this evidence, is there a possibility that the second line of the inscription is referring to Enoch of the Bible?


Alice C. Linsley

Sufficient historical, anthropological and archaeological evidence exists to justify the hypothesis that astronomy, mathematics, medicine and mummification, binary thought and triangulation (pyramids), metal work, mining technologies, cultivation techniques, animal husbandry, the earliest priestly writings, and the earliest known trade records are found among the Nilo-Saharans.

Plato wrote that Nilotic scribes had been keeping astronomical records for 10,000 years. He should know since he studied with a priest in Memphis for 13 years, and knew about Earth's Great Year. This is the time of between 25,000 and 28,000 years that it takes for Earth to complete the cycle of axial precession. This precession was known to Plato who defined the "perfect year" as the return of the celestial bodies (planets) and the diurnal rotation of the fixed stars to their original positions. The ancients understood much more than we moderns recognize.

By 4245 BC, the priests of the Upper Nile had established a calendar based on the appearance of the star Sirius. Apparently, they had been tracking this star and connecting it to seasonal changes and agriculture for thousands of years. The priest Manetho reported in his history (c. 241 BC) that Nilotic Africans had been “star-gazing” as early as 40,000 years ago.

None of the advancements I listed above can be positively identified with a single individual. Instead they are connected to great rulers and their scribes, priests and metal workers. Enoch is a variant of Anak, and it is a royal title. The Anakim are identified as the "mighty men of old" in Genesis.

Keep in mind that royal names appear with more than one person, so it is difficult to identify which Enoch/Anak is referenced here. There is Enoch, the father-in-law of Kain and Seth; Enoch, the son of Kain (Gen. 4:17-18); and Enoch the father of Methuselah (Gen. 5:21-13). Likewise, there is Lamech the Elder (Gen. 4:18-24) and Lamech the Younger (Gen. 5:26-31); Esau the Elder and Esau the Younger; Joktan/Yaqtan the Elder and Joktan/Yaqtan the Younger, etc. Joktan is linked to the Joktanite clans of Southern Arabia (Mohammed's people).

To further complicate matters, we have seemingly conflicting claims about these great chiefs who built territories in the ancient world. Consider the case of Irad, Kain's grandson (Gen. 4:18). The name has these variants: Jared (Gen. 5::18-20) and Yared of Igbo history. Yared is the best rendering of the ruler's name as it has the distinctive initial Y - a solar cradle - indicating divine appointment by overshadowing. This is how it would have appeared among the Proto-Saharan Nilotic peoples. DNA studies have confirmed that the Igbo's ancestors came from the Upper Nile during the Africa Wet Period when the great water systems interconnected. However, many Igbo say that they have always lived at the confluence of the Niger-Benue rivers and that Yared was the founder of their writing system.

The late Igbo apologist, Dr. Catherine Acholonu, pointed out: "Sumerian texts say that the first city built by the gods on earth was called Eridu. There they placed the members of Adam’s family. Adam’s great grandson was named Yared, meaning ‘He of Eridu’, ‘person from Eridu’. Its Igbo equivalent, with the same meaning, is Oye Eridu. The father of Yared was Enosh/Enu-Esh. His name meant ‘Master of humankind’, for the first people were called Esh, Adam too was called Esh in vernacular Hebrew. In Sumerian this sacred word Esh means ‘Righteous Shepherd’. All Sumerian kings bore the title Esh. Equally in Igbo land Esh/Eshi/Nshi is a sacred word implying divine origins of the first people, who indeed were wielders of supernatural powers." (From here.)

There is a connection between the Sumerians and the Igbo, but that is because the Sumerians and the Igbo both have a common point of origin in the Nile Valley thousands of years before either group emerged as a separate ethnicity.

Note that Dr. Acholonu's etymologies are irregular. The Hebrew generic word for man is ish. Therefore, she cannot make an explicit connection to Adam. Further, Eridu is Ur of the Idu, that is Ur of the red Horites living in Mesopotamia.

There is a site called Eridu in Nigeria also. It is located to the south-west of the Yoruba town of Ijebu-Ode in Ogun state southwest Nigeria (6°47′13″N 3°52′30″E / 6.78700°N 3.87488°E / 6.78700; 3.87488). It has ramparts 72 feet high and the wall runs a distance of 100 miles around the ancient shrine city. The British archaeologist studying the site is Patrick Darling. He has described it in these words: "The vertical sided ditches go around the area for 100 miles and it is more than 1,000 years old. That makes it the earliest proof of an kingdom founded in the African rain forest." (From here.)

The Eridu in Nigeria is not nearly as old as the Eridu mentioned in the ancient Sumerian text above. However, it is the work of people connected to the Horites of the Bible. It is associated with the Ijebu who are called "Jebusites" in Genesis. Melchizedek was the Jebusite ruler-priest who attended to Abraham after Abraham incurred blood guilt in battle.

The modern day Jebusites/Ijebu of Nigeria live near and have close association with the modern day Edomites who are called Edo, who live in Benin. In Canaan, the Jebusites had close connections with the Horite Hebrew of Edom, who the Greeks later referred to as the red people of Idumea.

The Bible identifies Edom as an ancient seat of wisdom in Jeremiah 49:7. Abraham was a Horite Hebrew ruler in Edom. His territory extended on a north-south axis between Hebron (where Sarah resided) and Beersheba (where his cousin wife Keturah resided) and on an east-west axis between Engedi and Gerar. This means that Abraham controlled most, if not all, of the land of Edom. The rulers of Edom who descend from Seir the Horite are listed in Genesis 36.

The Horite Hebrew ancestors represent the oldest known caste of royal priests (ha-biru/Hebrew) and their oldest known shrine was in Nekhen on the Nile. There they offered prayers to Horus, the Creator God's son, as the Sun rose in the east.

The Horites dispersed out of Africa into Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, Cholcis, Iberia, and as far as Southern China. They were in service of the rulers of all the lands shown on the map. This includes modern Turkey, Georgia, and southwestern Russia. It is believed that it was from this region that the Horite ruler-priests of the Kushan moved into the Balkans, and from there to Ireland and the British Isles.


Related reading: Solving the Ainu Mystery; The Urhemiat of the Canaanite Y; Who Was Melchizedek?; Adam Was a Red Man; The Kushite-Kushan Connection; Why Nekhen is Anthropologically Significant

The Seventh Seal and Silence in Heaven

Alice C. Linsley


The number symbolism of Revelation 8 provides a key to understanding this section of the Apocalypse. Two numbers in particular must be considered: 777, represented by the seventh seal, the seven angels, and the seven trumpets, and the number 3, represented by the trio of sevens and by the destruction of one third of the earth. These numbers suggest that Revelation 8 is about God’s perfection and divine visitation.

In the Bible divine visitation indicates blessing and fulfillment of expectation or a promise made by God. Genesis 21:1-2 is an example:

"And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him."

Exodus 4:31 describes God as visiting (Heb: paqad) His people and bringing them out of Egypt as the Lord had promised to Joseph (Gen. 50:24; Heb. 11:22).

In other Biblical references divine visitation has unpleasant results, indicating the Lord's wrath. Psalm 2:12 is an example. "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him." Philippians 1:10 speaks of the day of visitation as the "day of Christ" and 1 Corinthians 1:8 speaks of "the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."


The Seventh Seal Announces Divine Visitation

Before the fall, God visited the Man and Woman in the garden in the cool of the day. Here perfect communion is symbolized by the trio together in the coolness of the garden. In the story of the Divine Three who came to Abraham in the heat of the day we have a different picture of visitation. Here the garden has turned to desert and judgment is signaled by the heat. We go on to read of the destruction of the cities of the plain, and in particular the judgment of Sodom where Lot was living. The juxtaposition of the two visitations conveys information about God’s mercy and judgment.

Revelation 8 speaks about the perfection of God’s mercy and judgment. When the seal is opened there is silence in heaven. This is interpreted as the calm before the storm, the dramatic pause in a sacred drama, or an indication of profound awe. For St. John’s readers, who believed “as in heaven so on earth”, this would also signify the great contrast or dissonance between the heavenly and the earthly reality. We pray that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven, but we do not make the effort to replicate the heavenly existence in our lives. Were we in tune with the events of Heaven, the heavenly silence would be reflected on earth. Instead, humanity continues about its noisy busy-ness as if nothing important were about to happen. The heavenly silence emphasizes the spiritual inattentiveness of the world. The image is heartbreaking and aims “at the nerves, not the head. One is meant to read and tremble and repent…” (Farley, The Apocalypse of St. John: A Revelation of Love and Power, p. 101)

Jesus calls us to watchfulness (nepsis). We are to be awake and in tune with the realities of heaven. This means learning to be silent in order that we might hear.


A Call to Repentance

Revelation 8 recalls the warning to the seven churches to “repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” (Rev. 2:5)

The opening of the seventh seal signals the universal judgment to come and the opportunity to repent before that Day. The seven trumpets bring only partial destruction. Only a third of the trees, rivers, and celestial lights are destroyed. This warning represents an extension of God’s mercy, a time of grace wherein men may still acknowledge their sin and turn in faith to Christ our God.

Isaiah 30:18 reminds us, “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!”

Matthew tells us that “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.” (Matt. 24:22)

St. Peter explains, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (II Pet. 3:9) Unfortunately, this delay is taken by some as evidence that God does not exist and divine judgment is a fiction. This is the great delusion of the secular world.


The coming of the Son of Man

The seven angels with their seven trumpets are accompanied by an angel who offers the prayers of the saints with a great amount of incense (Rev. 8:3). This angel is among the hosts that stand before the throne of God and who appear with the Lord at the Judgment. Consider Deuteronomy 33:2: "The Lord came from Sinai and dawned from Seir upon us; he shone forth from Mount Paran; he came from the ten thousands of holy ones, with flaming fire at his right hand."

Compare this to the oldest section of I Enoch (The Watchers from about 300 BC): "And behold! He cometh with ten thousands of His holy ones To execute judgment upon all, And to destroy all the ungodly: And to convict all flesh of all the works of their ungodliness which they have ungodly committed, And of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." (1 En 60:8).

Matthew 16:27 affirms this belief: “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.”

St. Paul also bears witness that “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”(II Cor. 5:10)

Revelation 8 has much in common with other Biblical passages that speak of divine judgment. The “trumpet judgments” of Revelation 8 recall the plagues of Egypt by which the Lord tested the king of Egypt and hardened his heart. There is a parallel also to the seven “bowl judgments” of Revelation 16. These bowls reflect an ancient understanding of celestial blessings and curses.

Priests and angels are linked in the Biblical descriptions of the coming of the Son of Man. The Orthodox Study Bible (p. 1725) notes that the angelic powers represent the Old Testament priests who sounded their trumpets during the temple liturgy (Jos. 6:12; 1 Ch. 16:6; Ps. 97:6).


The Enoch/Lamech Tradition

The presence of priests and angels is a common feature of apocalyptic genre and found in other canonical and deuterocanonical texts such as the Books of Enoch. The Apocalypse of St. John is typical of apocalyptic literature in that it draws on representative persons such as Enoch as priest (See Adrei A. Orlov, Enoch as the Heavenly Priest). Doubtless, Enoch came to mind when John saw the angelic being before the altar of incense.

Enoch, the seventh from Adam, was taken (translated) to heaven according to Genesis 5:24. His name, which comes from anochi, has a double meaning. It means one who ascends and is heir to the throne. Enoch ascended to the throne of his father Lamech who lived 777 years, and he ascended to heaven where he offers prayers with incense. St. John’s readers were familiar with the tradition of Enoch the archetypal intercessor and they associated him with the number 777 because his father is the only priest in the Bible assigned the number 777.

Lamech is a variant of the Akkadian and Egyptian word la-melech, meaning "priest of the King".  The word la-melech has been found inscribed on hundreds of seals. La-melech seals typically had the image of a scarab (dung beetle) or a sun disc. Both were emblems of the Creator. The sun disc was used as a royal seal by the Kings of Judah who were direct descendants of Cain and Seth.

The one offering incense in Revelation 8 is not a sacrificing priest, as Christ’s sacrifice has been accomplished once for all. This priest stands in the heavenly temple before the table of incense. He offers up the intercessions of the saints who endure tribulations on earth. In this sense he is the people's priest.

Methuselah was the father of Lamech the Younger, and Lamech the Younger was the father of Noah. In 2 Enoch chapter 69, Methuselah is appointed the priest by the Lord who appeared to him in a night vision. The Book of Jubilees likewise depicts Enoch as the archetypal priest who offers incense to God. Lamech, Methuselah, and Enoch were all Hebrew priests.

In Enoch 1, Enoch is described as "the righteous scribe" who records the vision. He is the seventh generation from Adam in Seth’s ruling line (Gen. 5:3-18). 1 Enoch 1:9 is quoted in the New Testament; evidence that the Enoch tradition was known to the New Testament writers. "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these [men], saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." (Jude 1:14-15)

God’s Grace Extended to Sinners

Why the reference to the seventh seal, the seven angels and the seven trumpets? The number 777 would remind St. John’s readers of Lamech, the only man listed in the Hebrew Scriptures who is associated with that number. In the thought of at least one of the Church Fathers, Lamech represents a penitent man. St. John Chrysostom commented: “By confessing his sins to his wives, Lamech brings to light what Cain tried to hide from God and by comparing what he has done to the crimes committed by Cain he limited the punishment coming to Him.” (St. John Chrysostom’s Homilies on Genesis, Vol. 74, p.39. The Catholic University Press of America, 1999.)

Chrysostom’s interpretation is consistent with the overall picture of God’s love and mercy, yet his view is not referenced in any Bibles. (The Orthodox Study Bible misses the mark in stating that "Cain did not believe in the grace of God"; see note on p. 9) Most Bible footnotes ignore that Cain received mercy and incorrectly assert that God wiped out Cain’s line in the flood, a view which is not supported by the information in Genesis. Analysis of the Genesis 4 and 5 King Lists supports Chrysostom's interpretation, as we will see by tracing the number seven from Cain to his descendant Lamech the Younger.

The number 7 represents new life, mercy and renewal. Cain murdered and tried to hide his crime from God. Cain deserved death, yet God showed him mercy by sparing his life. Cain was exiled from his people and God showed him grace by placing a mark on him as a protecting sign. Reflecting on this great mercy shown to his ancestor, Lamech challenges God to show him greater mercy. If grace was shown to Cain (7), then the Elder Lamech, by confessing his sin, claims a double measure of grace (77). The Younger Lamech is assigned a triple measure of grace because he is said to have lived 777 years. Lamech the Younger is the son of Methuselah, the priest and the father of Noah the righteous.

St. John Chrysostom recognized that the story of the two Lamechs is about God’s mercy shown to sinners. He placed the emphasis exactly where it should be. Likewise, Revelation 8 is about God’s mercy being extended to sinners that they might repent and be saved on the Day of Christ's visitation.


Related reading: Number Symbolism in Revelation; The Twelve Signs of Revelation; The Dragon and the Beast of Revelation; Lamech Segment Analysis; Christ's Message to the Seven Churches

Is Enoch a Royal Title?

Alice C. Linsley


The first three words of the Ten Commandments are:  Anochi, Havayah E-lohecha, meaning I am God, your Ruler. The Talmud (Shabbat 105a) questions the word Anochi, (I) which is an unusual form of the pronoun, as opposed to the more commonly used Ani. It is not originally Hebrew. The word comes from a time before Abraham and the cultural context is Nilo-Saharan. Anochi means "I" in the Egyptian language and is refers to the royal first person. It is likely that Anoch, Enoch and Hanock (Reuben's first born son) are variant spellings of the same word, and all refer to rulers.

The word anochi is also found among peoples who migrated from the Nile westward, such as the Igbo and the Ashante. Among the Igbo, anochie means “a replacer” or “to replace” and among the Ashante the word anokyi means "Ano Junior" or the "Ano who follows his father." In both cases, one finds the idea of succession from father to son, suggesting a line of descent. A Nigerian friend reports that anochie also means "direct heir to a throne." The biblical word Enoch is clearly associated with royal ascendancy.

Enoch is doubtless a cognate of anochi and therefore signifies heir to the throne. Analysis of the Genesis King Lists (Gen. 4 and 5) indictaes that Cain's son was Enoch because he would ascend to the throne.  The question is whose throne?  As it was the custom for these rulers to have two wives, there were two firstborn sons,  and these were heirs to different thrones.  The firstborn son of the half-sister wife ascended to the throne of his biological father.  The firstborn son of the cousin/niece wife ascended to the throne of his maternal grandfather, after whom he was named. In other words, it appears that Cain's son by his cousin wife was the designated ruler over Enoch I's territory. 

Another Enoch is named in Genesis 5:18-24.  He ascended to the throne of his father Jared.  This Enoch was the father of Methuselah and the paternal grandfather of Lamech the Younger.  He was a contemporary of Lamech the Elder, whose two wives are named in Genesis 4:23.

As is evident from this segment of the Genesis 4 and 5 king lists, Enoch's son married the daughter of Lamech and she named their firstborn son after her father, as was the custom for the cousin bride.  Lamech the Younger would have ascended to the throne of his maternal grandfather, after whom he was named.

It is likely that the biblical name Enoch is a royal name or title and that its origins are best explained by looking to the Nilotic peoples.  Here again we have evidence that Abraham's ancestors came from Africa, as is attested by Genesis 10.

Another theory about the etymology of Enoch further suggests a connection to the Nilotic peoples. The late Achieng Oneko was a political freedom fighter in Kenya. Oneko is a common name among the Nilotic Luo. Oneko is a variant of Enoch. Nek/Neko in Luo is to die or a reference to death, which Enoch is said to have avoided by being "taken" and no more.


Related reading:  Abraham's Kushite Ancestors; The Marriage and Ascendency Pattern of Abraham's Ancestors