Competition Between the Horites and the Sethites

Egyptian artifact dating to c. 1970-1878 BC. 

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

This Egyptian hippopotamus statuette can be seen in Gallery 111 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Museum workers regard "William the Hippo" as a mascot. The artifact was found in a shaft associated with the funerary chapel of Senbi the Steward. This 8 in (20 cm) figurine in faience, a clay-less material, illustrates the high level of Egyptian faience work during the Middle Kingdom.

According to the Museum, this hippo figure is a "particularly fine example of a type found, in common with various other animal forms, among the funerary furnishings of tombs of the Middle Kingdom."

William seems a benign creature, almost whimsical. However, hippos can be aggressive and are known to attack. In Job 40:15-24, the hippo is called the "behemoth" and is described as one of God's most dangerous creatures. On ancient Nilotic murals and royal vessels, the early kings are often shown spearing fearsome hippos. Such scenes depict the kings as courageous and able to impose order on chaos. The hippo was the animal totem of Seth and sometimes represented the chaos that could arise when Seth, a deified ruler, asserted equality with Horus, the son of the High God.

The competition between Seth and Horus is found in many Egyptian tales. These tales 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 BC). 

It is clear in the Ancient Pyramid Texts (2400-2000 BC) that the Horites and the Sethites maintained separate settlements. Utterance 308 addresses them as separate entities: "Hail to you, Horus in the Horite Mounds! Hail to you, Horus in the Sethite Mounds!" 

Though separate groups or 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 contrasts the Horite and Sethite mounds and designates the Horite mounds as "the High Mounds."

Golden Horus falcon found at Nekhen.

The animal totem of Horus was the falcon, symbolizing flight through the heavenly regions. The falcon was also the totem of the Horite Hebrew who were devotees of Horus (HR). HR in ancient Egyptian means the Most High One. 

The hippopotamus, on the other hand, is a creature of the mud, dust, and clay, suggesting that the mounds of the Sethites were the lower mounds. The elevation of the mounds appears to relate to a hierarchy of authority.

Figures relating to both Seth and Horus have been found at Nekhen on the Nile, the oldest known site of Horite Hebrew worship (4000 BC). This figurine of Seth as a red man with the head of a hippo was found at Nekhen. 

Votive offerings at the Nekhen temple were ten times larger than the normal mace heads and bowls found elsewhere, suggesting that this was a very prestigious shrine.

Related reading: Seth, Son of Adam; Horite and Sethite Mounds; Why Nekhen is Anthropologically Significant; Horus, King of the Universe

Seth, Son of Adam

 

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

The historical Adam was the father of three sons: Cain, Abel, and Seth. The Bible does not name any descendants of Abel. Some of Cain's descendants are listed in Genesis 4 and some of Seth's descendants are listed in Genesis 5. The lines of Cain and Seth intermarried (endogamy). That is shown in the diagram.

Lamech the Elder (Gen. 4) had a daughter named Naamah. She married her cousin Methuselah and named their firstborn son Lamech, after her father. This is an example of the cousin bride's naming prerogative, a distinctive feature of the marriage and ascendancy pattern of the early Hebrew (5000-2000 BC).

The rulers listed in Genesis chapters 4, 5, 10, 11, 25 and 36 were members of the Hebrew ruler-priest caste. As is common with castes, they practiced endogamy. By marrying only members of their caste, certain genetic traits were passed to their descendants. Apparently, a red to red-brown skin tone was one of those traits. 

The Sethite Hebrew were a well-established moiety of the Hebrew caste by 2400 BC because their sacred sites are mentioned in texts that date to 2400 BC. This means that the historical Adam probably lived between c.5000-4800 BC. 

The Sethites served at the sacred high places (mounds) along the Nile and are mentioned many times in the Ancient Pyramid Texts (2400-2200 BC). One place where figurines of Seth were found is Nekhen on the Nile. The city was dedicated to the son of the High God, HR (Horus in Greek). HR in ancient Egyptian means "Most High One."

The vast majority of hair samples discovered at the predynastic cemetery site HK43 at Nekhen were cynotrichous (Caucasian) as opposed to heliotrichous (Negroid), according to The Nekhen News (p. 7). Samples ranged from a single hair to a complete headful, with the largest number originating from the disturbed Burial no. 16 of a female of around 35+ years of age.

Another fascinating find at Nekhen was the recovery of an almost complete beard in association with the redheaded man in Burial no. 79. The man had long wavy natural red hair and a full beard. 

The shrine city of Nekhen is the oldest known site of Horite Hebrew worship and there were Sethite Hebrew living there. This figurine of Seth as a red man with the head of a hippo. was found at Nekhen. Perhaps the hippo was the totem of the Sethite Hebrew, and the falcon was the totem of the Horite Hebrew. Note the red-brown tone of the figurine.

Seth is often portrayed in ancient images as a red hippo. Seth’s homeland is the land of Seti, at the northern edge of the Upper Nile. This region is sometimes referred to as the land of red earth. 

According to Genesis 5:3, Seth was a son in the image of his father Adam. This likely means that he had a red skin tone. The word “Adam” refers to blood (dam in Hebrew, dammu in Ancient Akkadian) and the color red. Adam is derived from the root אדם (A.D.M), meaning "to be red or ruddy" (Strong’s #119). Jeff A. Benner explains, Dam is the "red" blood, adamah is the "red" ground, edom is the color "red" and adam is the "red" man.

The connection between the terms adam (red man) and adamah (red soil) is evident in Genesis 2:7 which states that "the adam" was formed out of the "adamah." The region of the Nile under consideration has a cambic B horizon. Chromic cambisols have a strong red brown color. 

Related reading: Horite and Sethite Mounds; Adam and Estrangement from God; Funerary Rites and the Hope of Resurrection; African = Black is a Modern Equation

Ezekiel's New Temple

Alice C. Linsley

The prophet Ezekiel received a vision concerning the New Temple (“The Third Temple”). In this vision the temple is not very similar to Solomon's temple and the question arises as to whether this new temple is completely new or based on an earlier pattern or celestial archetype.  If the latter is the case, Ezekiel may be speaking about the restoration of a pattern known to his distant ancestors.  In this essay we will explore how that is so.

Ezekiel’s Ancestors

Ezekiel is believed to have lived between 625 and at least 572 B.C.  He lived in the southern kingdom of Judah until he was taken to Babylon around the year 599 B.C. He was thirty years old when he received his call, the age when men were first to enter priestly service. In the fashion of the other biblical prophets, he began his prophetic ministry with a theophany (celestial chariot vision) in the year 593. He was a contemporary of the prophets Jeremiah and Daniel. Jeremiah went into exile in Egypt, but Ezekiel, like Daniel before him, was taken to Babylon.

Ezekiel was the son of Buz. His name is Buzi in Akkadian, the Afro-Asiatic language instituted by the Kushite kingdom builder Nimrod (Sargon the Great?). Nimrod controlled the Tigris-Euphrates River Valley where, according to Genesis 10:8-12, he built many of the cities that are mentioned in Ezekiel, including Babylon and Erech.

Buz was one of Abraham’s nephews. The others were Lot, Huz, Buz, Kamuel, Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel (Gen. 22:20-22).  Abraham lived between B.C. 2039-1964. So it is evident that Ezekiel’s father was a later Buz than Abraham’s nephew, but clearly a descendant of the Horite priestly lines that intermarried exclusively. One of Job's inquisitors, Elihu, was a descendant of Abraham’s older brother Nahor through his son Buz. 

Buz and Huz formed a three-clan confederation with Uz. Uz was also the name of Job’s homeland. Uz is associated with Dedan. Isaiah 21:13 alludes to the caravans of Dedanites, and Ezekiel 27:20 speaks of Dedan as supplying Tyre with precious things. The rulers of these people controlled the routes of commerce, both caravan routes and river routes.

Uz the Elder’s grandson (by his daughter) was Uz the son of Dishan (I Chron. 1:42). Dishan the Horite was the brother-in-law of Esau the Younger (Jacob’s brother). Uz the Younger was Seir's grandson. Here is a diagram of the Horite Hebrew clan in question (based on Gen. 36):

The Horite Hebrew were the earliest caste of priests from whom the Aaronic, Levitical and Zadokite priesthoods emerged later in Israel’s history. Tzadok צדוק, meaning "righteous" was a descendant of Aaron.  He was the first High Priest to serve in the New Temple built by Solomon. Ezekiel extols the sons of Zadok as staunch opponents of paganism and indicates their right to unique duties and privileges in the future Third Temple (Ezekiel 42:13, 43:19). This is one of numerous references to the number three in the book.  Ezekiel is called “son of man” (literally ben’adam, meaning son of Adam/mortal) 93 times in Ezekiel. Ezekiel 4:5 speaks of how the prophet is to endure punishment for 390 days.

There are also numerous references to the number 25 and multiples of 25. Chapter 40 begins with “In the twenty-fifth year of our exile...”, then almost all of the dimensions listed in these chapters are multiples of 25. In Ezekiel 48:8, we read that the sanctuary of the New Temple will be within Judah and measure 25,000 reeds. To the Levites are granted a space of 25,000 reeds in length (Ez. 48:13).

One wonders if Ezekiel believed the reestablishment of Israel would be a 50th year of jubilee – thus Israel was at the time of captivity in Babylon halfway to the day when the temple would be established according to the pattern described in an earlier chapter.  

The occurrences of the number 25 include:

Ezekiel was age 25 when he went into exile (30 when he received his prophet call).

In Ezekiel 40, the angelic measurements of the New Temple are made using a reed, as was done in ancient Egypt.  It appears to replicate the measurements of the older temples along the Nile.  That suggests another meaning for the number 25.

Heliopolis (called “On” in Genesis) was called “Iunu” which means place of pillars because the temple was constructed with many pillars. The average number of pillars in Hindu temples is 25 and those temples were based on the pattern of Abraham’s ancestors were Kushites.

Another ancient temple of the Sun (an O-piru) is in Lebanon. It was called "Heliopolis" and the Egyptian cry to the Creator whose emblem was the Sun began “Helie!” Here we see the polysemic quality of the ancient Afro-Asiatic biradicals. HL has many different yet related meanings and is the root for honorific titles such as Heli, the father of Joseph, the Virgin Mary's husband (Luke 3:23).

The Heliopolis platform in Egypt was raised 25 ft. above the ground.  This temple was a center of activity in the Bronze Age and many great monuments were aligned to the obelisk there. It was in use during the New Stone Age because Neolithic artifacts have been found there which date to about 9000 B.C. (See the site Baalbek in Lebanon). 

Ezekiel clearly knew about the ancient temple of Heliopolis because he mentions it in Chapter 30:17: “The young men of On and of Pi-beseth will fall by the sword, and the women will go into captivity.” Pi-be’seth was originally a Horite temple, but was known by Herodotus as Bubastis because it was later dedicated to the cat goddess Bast or Bastet.

There were no vowels in the Proto-Semitic languages so the word would be P-b-St, which means the Palace/temple of Seth.  It is a form of Piru-bu-Set, meaning Sun House (temple/palace) of Seth.  Seth was Cain’s bother.  His royal line is listed in Genesis 5.

Ezekiel was a descendant of the first rulers named in the Bible, Cain and Seth (whose lines intermarried exclusively). It appears that his vision of a New Temple is based on a pattern that was known to his ancestors. If this is prophecy concerning a future temple, it is clear that the temple will not be like the one built by Herod. It will be a structure that represents a recapitulation to the older Messianic faith rather than that of the Jews of Jerusalem. 

Related reading: The Ruler Seth; The Ha-piru were Devotees of Horus: The High Places, The Sun Cities of the Ancient World