Hebrew Priests at the High Places

 

Assyrian relief of an attack on the high place of Kalhu (Nimrud).

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

The Hebrew ruler-priest caste served at the high places of the ancient world. Many of these were under the authority of regional kings who had fortresses at high elevation for defensive purposes. The high place complex usually included a palace, treasury, temple or shrine, housing for servants, officials and priests, and a garrison. That is why some scholars note that even though bamah is translated as “high place” or “hill shrine,” many were located in populated areas.

The word bamah can also refer to a horned altar made of stone. The priests who served the ruler of the high places offered sacrificed on those altars. Because these high places were places of burnt offerings, they are often described as places of kar. The term kar is associated with charcoal and soot. The Turkish kara means "black." In Magyar, korom refers to soot, as does the Korean word kurim.

Many high places were rock shelters, signified by the term kar or car. Some have been identified in the Carpathian range. The range is called Karpaty in Czech, Polish, and Slovak, and Карпати in Ukrainian and Bulgarian, Carpați in Romanian, Karpaten in German, Kárpátok in Hungarian, Karpati in Serbian, and in Albanian, karpë means "rock."

The wife of Esau the Younger was called Oholibamah which means high tent or high place tabernacle. She was Horite Hebrew (Gen. 36).

The Hebrew ruler-priests served at such prestigious high places as Heliopolis (biblical On), and Uruk (biblical Erech).

Related reading: Helen White, "High Places, Altars and the Bamah"; Karampetsos, Karambet, Karoutes; Who was Oholibamah?

They Believed in a Messiah 6000 Years Ago

 

Hathor Overshadowed

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

The Horites and the Sethites were the two principal ritual groups (moieties) of the Hebrew ruler-priest caste. They maintained separate temples and shrine along the Nile River before the time of Abraham (c.2000 BC). They often were in competition though both groups served the same God and the same king. 

The oldest known site of Horite Hebrew worship is at Hierakonpolis (Nekhen) on the Nile (c.4000 BC). Other Horite shrines (mounds) are mentioned in the Pyramid Texts.

Long before Judaism emerged, the Hebrew ruler-priests were devotees of Horus, the son of God. The word "Horite" identifies them as such. The term is related to the Ancient Egyptian HR (Horus in Greek), which referred to the Highest One. Related Egyptian words include her, meaning over or above; horiwo - head, and hir - praise. Jews often refer to their parents or forebearers as their horim.

HR also refers to the Hidden One. The presence of a hidden son is a theme found in the canonical Scriptures. Hidden sons invite us to come closer. The Markan mystery is about the hidden Son. Jesus command his followers to keep silence about his identity as Messiah. 

This theme is expressed in the Seder. The three matzahs are enveloped, and the middle one is broken and hidden from the others. It is found after a search and returned to its natural group. The three matzahs are called the Unity, but we might as appropriately refer to the unity as Three in One, or a Trinity.

Hidden sons point to Jesus Christ, the Son hidden in the Father's bosom from before the ages. He inherits the Kingdom that is not of this world. Genesis is the story of His ruler-priest ancestors and their dispersal through the ancient world.

The Hebrew priest caste was devoted to the service of the High God and his son Horus (HR). Horus is the pattern whereby the people would recognize Messiah. He was conceived by the divine overshadowing of his mother Hathor (cf. Luke 1:35). He died, rose on the third day, and ascended to the Father. He was said to be equal to the Father.

The Egyptian Coffin Texts and Pyramid Texts provide a great deal of information about Horus, the divine son. In the funerary rite the priest addresses the deceased king, saying: "Horus is a soul and he recognizes his Father in you..." (Pyramid Texts, Utterance 423)

A Horite song found at the royal complex at Ugarit, speaks of Horus descending to the place of the dead "to announce good tidings." The text reads: Hr ešeni timerri duri - "below in the dark netherworld" and has the Hittite phrase Šanizzin ḫalukan ḫalzi - "to announce good tidings". (See Note 2 on page 2012.)

Horus is described as rising on the third day (The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts, Utterance 667).

The Edenic Promise of Genesis 3:15 speaks of how the Woman would bring forth a son who would crush the serpent's head and restore paradise. This early Hebrew expectation was expressed about 1000 years before Psalm 91 in the Pyramid Texts. "Horus has shattered (crushed) the mouth of the serpent with the sole of his foot" (Utterance 388).

HR was regarded as the fixer of cosmic boundaries, the stars, the cardinal points, and Lord over the winds and the waters. Horus shrines were located on major water systems and Horus ruled the waters. This is why the Horus name appears in the Semitic word for river: na-hr (Hebrew and Arabic), and ne-har (Aramaic).

Many words that pertain to boundaries and measurements are derived from Horus: hour, horoscope, horologion, horotely, and horizon. The association of Horus with the horizon is evident in the Ancient Egyptian Har-ma-khet, meaning "Horus of the Horizon." 

The symbol or emblem of the father and the son was the sun. Divine appointment was expressed by overshadowing. When the Virgin Mary asked how she was to become the mother of the Messiah, the angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35)

Solar symbolism pervades the early Hebrew texts. The Hebrew had many names for the High God depending on where they lived. The Hebrew living among the Elamites called the High God "Na-Pir" which refers to the God of the piru. The term piru refers to a temple, shrine, palace or house. The Elamite deity Napir is often depicted as having bull horns with the sun resting in the horns.

The Scriptures present the whole of what we need to know about the Messianic Faith that we call "Christianity" and that Faith has deep roots in antiquity. 

Related reading: Competition Between the Horites and the Sethites; Why So Many Names For God?; The Substance of Abraham's Faith; Righteous Rulers and the Resurrection; BIBLICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: Horite and Sethite Mounds; Why Nekhen is Anthropologically Significant; BIBLICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: The Hebrew were a Caste

Some Hebrew Were Troglodytes

 

A 19th century sketch of a cave dweller community in Tunisia. 

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

For many thousands of years humans lived in caves or underground. The oldest known cave dwelling community was at the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa. The earliest human habitation at that cave dates to around 2 million years ago. Researchers found simple stone tools, ash from cooking fires near the cave entrance, and rock engravings.

Archaeological evidence suggests that early humans may have inhabited the Denisova Cave in Siberia as early as 300,000 years ago.

A cave dwelling community called Homo naledi lived in South Africa around 250,000 years ago. They buried their dead in underground chambers, cook with fire, and used stone tools. The bones found in the Dinaledi Chamber show the full range of human physical features and represent the largest collection of homo bones found to date in Africa.

South Africa's Pinnacle Point and Diepkloof Rock Shelter show evidence of human occupation dating to 170,000 years ago.

The earliest inhabitants of the land of Canaan lived in the many caves which riddled the hills. They buried their dead in the caves. Fifteen individuals were buried in the Qafzeh Cave south of Nazareth. Two of the deceased were buried in red ocher powder, a symbolic blood covering. The remains date to approximately 100,000 years ago.

Over 100,000 years ago two groups of humans interacted in the area of Tinshemet Cave in what is today central Israel. It appears that they may have engaged in cultural exchanges.

Evidence of human habitation in the area of Bethlehem between 100,000-10,000 BC is well-attested along the north side of Wadi Khareitun where there are three caves: Iraq al-Ahmar, Umm Qal’a, and Umm Qatafa. These caves were homes in a wooded landscape overlooking a river. At Umm Qatafa archaeologists have found the earliest evidence of the domestic use of fire in Canaan.

The Greeks applied the term "troglodyte" to cave-dwelling peoples in northern Africa and along the Red Sea. Herodotus speaks of a cave-dwelling population in the Upper Nile who were hunted by the Garamantes. The term troglodyte comes from the Greek word troglos, meaning a cave or a hole in the earth, and the Greek verb duein, meaning "to enter".

Many biblical populations lived in caves and some, such as the Nabataeans, built entire cities inside rock shelters. Petra is an example.

Derinkuyu is the largest of 37 underground settlements in the Cappadocia region of Turkey

Some of the early Hebrew (4000-2000 BC) were cave dwellers. This is why the Horites are sometimes described as "troglodytes". Some have linked the word "Horite" to the Hebrew root for "hole," חוּר (chur), which is transliterated as "khoor". However, Horite is a reference to a moiety of the Hebrew ruler-priest caste. The Horite Hebrew were devotees of Horus. Horite or Ḥōrim (חורים) is a Horus name.

Genesis 36 speaks of the Horite Hebrew who lived in Edom, a region known for caves and mountain settlements. This mountainous region stretched between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. In some texts, it is identified as the land of Seir, the Horite.

The term "troglodye" describes some populations who lived in caves on both sides of the Nile River. Specifically, the term pertains to Hebrew funerary priests who served the royal families of the Nile Valley. These priests lived in chambers attached to the engineered rock tombs of the deceased. They were employed by the families to pray for the souls of their dead loved ones.

The "sem" priests conducted funeral services and presided over mortuary rituals. These were the embalmers who recited prayers to God Father (Ra/Re) and God Son (HR/Horus) while wrapping the mummies. Many of the prayers of the sem priests are found in ancient writings such as the Pyramid Tests (2400-2000 BC) and the Coffin Texts (2000 BC). These texts speak of the hope of bodily resurrection.

Related reading: Caves of the Nile Valley; The Hebrew Were a Caste; Ancient Words for Priests; Turkey’s Elaborate Underground Cities; Competition Between the Horites and the Sethites; Horite and Sethite Mounds

The Curious Number 72

The lions face east and west on the opposite banks of the Nile River. 

The sun shines over the river as a sign of divine blessing.

St. Augustine of Hippo wrote, "Numbers are the universal language offered by the Deity to humans as confirmation of the truth."

Numbers were a fascination for people of the ancient world. Some significant numbers pertained to observed phenomenon such as the east-west solar arc, the four principal points of the compass; and the circulation of the stars. The Egyptians marked time by 36 ten-day increments (half of 72), and each increment was ruled by a different righteous ruler or rising star. This calculation is based on the number of "decan" stars which were seen to rise during summer nights in the Nile Valley. A "decan" star was a star that rose just before sunrise at the beginning of a 10-day "decade." The Egyptian year was marked by 36 decan stars or 36 ten-day periods. During summer nights, 12 decan stars rose; one for each hour.

The phrase "seventy and two" (72) is used 5 times in the King James Bible. It appears in the books of Nehemiah (3 times) and in Ezra (2 times). Nehemiah 7:8-9 reports that "seventy and two" people returned to Jerusalem after the exile. Ezra 2:4 states that the number of people belonging to the "children of Shephatiah" who returned from exile were three hundred seventy and two.

The Kabbalah speaks of seventy-two names of God, derived from three consecutive verses in Exodus 14:19-21, each containing 72 letters. When read in a back-and-forth manner, these verses produce 72 three-letter names. Each verse of Exodus 14:19-21 numbers seventy-two letters.

In some folklore it is said that there were originally 72 peoples inhabiting the earth, all descendants of Noah. The Igbo claim that these 72 peoples of the Earth are the 72 priest-kings of Edda in Igboland. Edda consists of 72 sub-villages, presumed to have descended from 72 priestly families of the distant past. 

The Qur'an speak of 72 Houris. The Houris are beings of distinction or deified ruler-priests, not large breasted virgins. 

Confucius had many students but only 72 were considered "worthies" or exemplary disciples.

According to Luke 10:1-23, in addition to the 12 apostles, Jesus appointed and sent out 72 disciples to go before him to every place he would visit. These 72 disciples were instructed to go two by two to prepare the way for Jesus' arrival.

Some believe that the Great Pyramid of Khufu in Egypt was constructed according to the golden ratio (approximately 1.618) in its proportions, particularly when comparing the slant height to half the base length. The number 72 can be related to this ratio through various calculations and interpretations.

Angkor Wat in Cambodia has 72 major temples. It has been noted also that Angkor Wat is located 72 degrees of longitude east of the Pyramids of Giza.

The number 72 represents the number of years it takes for the constellations to move one degree due to precession. The precession of equinoxes traces out a pair of cones joined at their apices in a cycle of approximately 26,000 years, that is approximately 1 degree every 72 years. A full precession cycle, where the Earth's axis completes a circular "wobble," takes about 26,000 years, which is roughly 360 degrees divided by 1 degree per 72 years.

Psalm 72 speaks of the universal ruler, the Messiah, who is the son of the High God. In Ancient Egyptian, the son of God is called HR, meaning "Most High One."

Related reading: Climate Cycles Indicate a Dynamic Earth; Methuselah's Real Age; BIBLICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: Number Symbolism in Revelation; The Seventh Seal and Silence in Heaven

The Spirit of God and the Word of God

 

The Holy Spirit, like a dove, hovers over turbulent waters.

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

How the early Hebrew (4400-2000 BC) understood the Spirit of God is not clear. Genesis chapter 1 described the life-generating Spirit as a divine wind or breath (Hebrew: Ruach) that moved over or hovered above the chaotic deep. The text suggests that the Spirit generated organic life by natural processes initiated by God. There was a separation of dry land from the sea. The wind disperses seeds and pollen. A plant that is pushed by the wind releases an auxin hormone that stimulates the growth of supporting cells. Wind blowing against seedlings helps the plants to create stronger stems. 

The early Hebrew were acute observers of patterns in nature. They viewed God’s breath-wind-spirit as life generating and life strengthening. 

Among the Nilotic Hebrew, the Spirit also was associated with the divine Word. The life-generating Word is a common theme in African creation stories. The Bambara bards of Uganda recite this praise of the power of the divine Word:

The Word is total:
it cuts, excoriates
forms, modulates
perturbs, maddens
cures or directly kills
amplifies or reduces
According to intention
It excites or calms souls.

Consider also this song of the BaMbuti Pygmies:

In the beginning was God
Today is God,
Tomorrow will be God.
Who can make an image of God?
He has no body.
He is as a word which comes out from your mouth,
That word! It is no more,
It is past and still it lives!
So is God.

The Nilotic Luo have a saying: Wach en gi teko which means "a word has power."

In the Hebrew Bible, the Divine Word and Divine Spirit are intertwined, representing aspects of God's eternal presence and authority over all things. The Word of God is always effective, not like human utterings that are sometimes futile, empty, and often destructive. Basil the Great explains, "It must be well understood that when we speak of the voice, of the word, of the command of God, this divine language does not mean to us a sound which escapes from the organs of speech, a collision of air struck by the tongue; it is a simple sign of the will of God." (The Hexaemeron, Homily II)

Genesis 1:3 states that God spoke. This tells us that God expresses His will. His will is His Word. Further, that Word was given flesh and dwelt among us. As John attests, all things were brought into being through the Word of God, "and without Him nothing was made that was made" (Jn. 1:3).

Related reading: The Themes of Genesis 1-3; The Roots of the Gospel are in Africa; The Spirit of God in the Old Testament - The Whole Counsel Blog; The Oldest Known Religion

Facts About Evolution

This human footprint found in Kenya dates to 1.5 million years ago.

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

Bible-believing people often argue against "evolution" without specifying which aspect of evolution concerns them. Which of these basic points of evolution is a direct contradiction to what the Bible says about humans as a special creation? 

1. mutation
2. adaptation
3. natural selection
4. common ancestry of apes and humans

Touching on the first two points there is no doubt. Mutation and adaptation are the Creator's gifts to insure the survival of humans and other organisms.

Natural selection takes place, but it cannot be stated as a law since there exist some poorly adapted species which nevertheless thrive in their environments. If we are honest, we must admit that there are factors in survival that we don't understand, and which may pertain to supernatural oversight, something beyond the realm of science.

Common ancestry of apes and humans is what the late biologist Jonathan Wells famously called an “icon of evolution.” However, this theory lacks material evidence. It is a hypothesis and contrary to what Genesis asserts about humans as a special creation. Christians who take Scripture as our first authority cannot assume that human exceptionalism represents ignorance on the part of the ancient biblical writers.

Evolution refers to changes over time. The changes are within species. Further, rates of change vary greatly from group to group, and even among closely related lineages. The genetic codes of living organisms appear to have set boundaries beyond which the organism cannot change. The Bible refers to these as "types."

Some changes improve the organism's ability to survive. Some changes result in the organism being less well adapted to changing environments. This can lead to extinction.

Christians should try to understand what the data indicates about humans. To simply criticize anything that may be considered "evolution" exposes us to criticism by even fair-minded scientists. Consider this statement by Sabine Hossenfelder: "...scientists who claim, as Stephen Hawking did, that 'there is no possibility of a creator,' or as Victor Stenger has, that God is a 'falsified hypothesis,' demonstrate that they don’t understand the limits of their knowledge. When prominent scientists make such overconfident proclamations, they make me cringe." (An excerpt from Hossenfelder's Existential Physics, page 218.)

Further, ignorant statements about evolution reinforce the notion that the sciences and the Bible are in conflict. The sciences have a story to tell. The Messianic Faith expressed in Scripture also has a story to tell. Some are listening to the harmony and others are deaf.

Consider the data:

No material evidence has been found to prove that humans and apes have a common ancestry. Early or archaic human dentition is easily distinguished from that of apes. In humans, the back teeth are larger than the front teeth, and the canines are not pointed. Humans also lack the characteristic diastema or tooth gap found in apes.

When Jeremy DeSilva, a British anthropologist, compared the ankle joint, the tibia and the talus fossils of human ancestors ("hominins") between 4.12 million to 1.53 million years old, he discovered that all of the ankle joints resembled those of modern humans rather than those of apes. Chimpanzees flex their ankles 45 degrees from normal resting position. This makes it possible for apes to climb trees with great ease. While walking, humans flex their ankles a maximum of 20 degrees. The human ankle bones are quite distinct from those of apes.

The discovery of a complete fourth metatarsal of A. afarensis at Hadar that shows the deep, flat base and tarsal facets that "imply that its midfoot had no ape-like midtarsal break. These features show that the A. afarensis foot was functionally like that of modern humans." (Carol Ward, William H. Kimbel, Donald C. Johanson, Feb. 2011)

 

Humans have been on the earth for at least 3.4 million years. The range of physical features found among archaic humans is the same as the features found in modern human populations. Therefore, it is more accurate to speak simply of "archaic humans" (before about 300,000 years ago) and "modern humans" (more recent than 300,000 years ago).

"Homo" refers to humans. There were many groups of archaic humans and the oldest human fossils have been found in East Africa.

Neanderthals were fully human. The physical features associated with them have been found very widely, well beyond the Neander Valley of Germany where the first fossils were found.

Human innovation and technologies are evident in the record of human artifacts. This includes evidence of butchering as early as 3.4 million years ago.

The Rising Star Expedition retrieved and cataloged over 1000 early human fossils dating 236,000 to 335,000 years ago. These were buried ritually, expressing a religious nature among the Homo naledi community. The recovered fossils show the full range of anatomical features found in modern humans. The cave chambers had small hearths where well-preserved charcoal, ash, and discolored clay were found. The excavations also turned up many fragments of animal bone.

Related reading: Conscious of Our Uniqueness as Humans; Ethics Forum: The Reality of Human Exceptionalism; What Paleoanthropologists Want to Discover; Artifacts of Great Antiquity; Richard Leakey: Many Groups of Archaic Humans; How Homo naledi got into the Dinaledi Chamber; Darwin for Everyman | TLS

Even Baboons Praise the Creator

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

The baboon appears on many monuments along the Nile and on the walls and columns of Nilotic temples. Baboons were not native to the Nile Valley. They were brought there and kept in enclosures with high walls which may explain the apparent lack of sunlight that contributed to skeletal abnormalities.

The skeletal remains of mummified baboons in Gabbanat el-Qurud indicate that they suffered from lack of sunlight and unsuitable food for most of their lives. The site is referred to as the "Valley of the Apes." animals were born and raised in captivity. The proportions of males and females, and the presence of infants, suggest that this was a local breeding population to meet demand. The baboon was sacred symbol for the ancient Egyptians.

Gabbanat el-Qurud in the Valley of the Apes. Credit: Henri Georg, 1909

In their natural habitats, baboon communities have adequate food and exposure to sun. They are known to chatter at the crack of dawn. For the Nilotic people, who regarded the sun as a symbol of the High God, this behavior held religious significance.

In the Nubian relief above, baboons announce the rising of the sun, the symbol of the High God and his son HR (Horus in Greek). 

Over the heads of the baboons is the Shen hieroglyph, the symbol for eternity. The baboons flank an "Imperishable Star," a symbol of immortality granted to the faithful. In the Pyramid Texts we find this reference to the imperishable stars: "Oh HR [Horus], this hour of the morning, of this third day is come, when thou surely passeth on to heaven, together with the stars, the imperishable stars." (Utterance 667) Jesus said, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day..." (Lk 24:46) 

Between the baboons is a dung beetle. This creature navigates nocturnally by the light of the Milky Way. The Nilotes regarded the Milky Way as the path to the eternal Father Re. (Re in Ancient Egyptian means "Father.") That is why many were buried with scarabs over their hearts.

Above is the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak. Though originally with a ceiling, the hall was aligned to the Milky Way. Karnak was one of many prestigious Sun Temple complexes. Among them was Heliopolis, called "On" in Genesis 41:45. Heliopolis is mentioned in Isaiah 19:18 as one of five Egyptian cities that swore allegiance to the Lord of Hosts.

The image below is of a baboon responding to the rising sun. The image appears on a wall at one of temples at Karnak.

Most of the images of baboons show a species known as Papio hamadryas. These were large monkeys with a dog-like muzzle.

Some baboons were mummified as early as 3500 BC. Researchers discovered the mummified remains of baboons buried in the sand which preserved the bodies due to the dry conditions.

Related reading: The Dung Beetle and Heavenly Lights; BIBLICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: Hebrew Ruler-Priests at the Ancient Sun Cities; The Prestige of Biblical On