Royal Babies

Alice C. Linsley


The royal couple William and Kate are going to have a baby next summer and the world rejoices. Bookies are taking wagers on the child's gender and name and people are discussing the prospect of a future king or queen.

Though the government will not be upon this child's shoulders, there is much ado about the birth of this royal baby. The birth of children to royal houses is not like the birth of children to common folk. It never has been.

Heirs to the throne are listed in Genesis 4 and 5. These are the oldest extant king lists, reflecting the Proto-Saharan kingdom builders who united the Upper and Lower Nile at the dawn of the Bronze Age. It was from their lines that the "Seed" of God was expected to be born (Gen. 3:15). They were awaiting a righteous king who would lead the people to immortality.

Rulers were very powerful in those days. Their greatness is recorded in Genesis and in extra-biblical documents. The description of Nimrod in Genesis 10 suggests that he was Sargon the Great who claimed that his mother miraculously conceived him while in the temple. However, Sargon died and remained in his grave, thus proving himself to be a mere mortal incapable of leading his people to eternal life.

While people speculate about William and Kate's royal offspring, none expect this ruler to be the savior of his or her people. The child is anticipated to be fully mortal, and unlike millions of commoner babies who are aborted daily, this child will be well protected. Measures are taken to protect potential heirs to the throne. History teaches that royal babies are often the targets of political enemies.

The birth of Jesus to the ruler-priest lines of Mary and Joseph was recognized by all the Wise Men of that time, both friends and foes (a biblical merism).

Wise Men who recognized His star in the East brought Him gifts. They were sidereal astronomers who recognized the significance of the conjunction of the king planet (Jupiter) and the king star (Regulus) in the constellation associated to Judah.

Herod's attempt to kill the royal child confirms that his Wise Men knew the prophesy concerning Messiah's birth place in the ancient Horite settlement of Bethlehem (1 Chronicles 4:4). Angels announced to the shepherd descendants of the Horites that the promise God made to their ancestors in Eden was fulfilled in that royal city.

Angels guided and protected the holy family because their lives were in danger. The newborn King of Israel was so great a threat to the government that He was safer in Egypt and more honored in Tyre than He ever was in Jerusalem.

This Christmas consider the evidence for Jesus as the Holy One promised of the Father and spread the Good News of His coming in the flesh.


Christmas meditations: The Horite Ancestry of Jesus Christ; Tracing the Horites in History; Christians are Christmas People; Egypt in the Christmas Narrative; Christmas Message From Genesis; The Virgin Birth and the Manger Too!; Genesis and the True Meaning of Christmas

The Holy One Hidden and Revealed

Alice C. Linsley

Clement of Alexandria (AD 150-215) believed that the writers of scripture practiced a "prophetic and venerable system of concealment." He explained: "For many reasons the scriptures conceal their meaning; primarily, with the aim of making us diligent and unresting in our study of the words of salvation and, secondly, because it is not in the province of all men to examine their meaning, lest they should receive hurt through a mistaken interpretation.” (Clement of Alexandria by R.B. Tollinton. 1914. Volume II, p. 302.)

Clement believed that concealment encourages truth-seekers to dig deeper. There is also a belief among the early Church Fathers that revealing the sacred mysteries to scoffers can bring condemnation upon them. This belief is evident in these words of the Eastern Orthodox liturgy: For I will not speak of Thy Mystery to Thine enemies, neither like Judas will I give Thee a kiss; but like the thief will I confess Thee: “Remember me, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom.”

What is the nature of this "prophetic and venerable system of concealment"? The rabbis believed that sacred mysteries were concealed by mystical symbols. Rabbi Kaduri's pronouncements that the hidden Messiah had been revealed is an example. His name is Yehoshua or Yeshua (Jesus). Yeshua comes from the ancient royal and priestly name Yesu, found among Abraham's early Hebrew ancestors.

(Source: Bill Manley, Egyptian Hieroglyphs, 2012, Thames and Hudson Ltd., London)

The name is derived from the ancient Egyptian name Yesu (shown above) which is associated with royal authority. The feather represents the letter Y and stands for one who judges, measures, or weights. The next symbol represents horns. The idea of God's presence "between the horns" predates Judaism. Then there is the sedge plant which represents a king, and finally the falcon, the totem of HR (Horus), the patron of kings. HR in ancient Egyptian means "Most High One" or "Hidden One".

Mark seems to veil the Christ more than the other Evangelists. He tells us that Jesus' true identify was known in Tyre, not in Jerusalem.

The king of Tyre was allied by kinship with David and sent skilled artisans to help David build a palace in Jerusalem. Hiram is also known as "Huram" and "Horam" and these variant spellings contain the HR root which is a Horus name. The Horus Name is the oldest part of the Nilotic royal titulary, dating to at least 1200 years before Egypt became a political entity. Abraham's older brother Na-Hor had a Horus name as did Moses' brother-in-law Hur, and Moses' brother Harun (Aaron). 

Hur’s grandson was one of the builders of the Tabernacle. I Chronicles 4:4 lists Hur as the "father of Bethlehem" in the heartland of Horite Hebrew territory. Matthew 2 explains that the title "Nazarene" is derived from the prophecy "He will be called a Nazorean", but this has no Old Testament source. The source is likely from the much older Akkadian language. Na-Zor means "one belonging to the Zorites". In 1 Chronicles 2:54, Salma of Judah is called the father of the צרעי (Zorites). Salma is also called the "father of Bethlehem" in 1 Chronicles 2:51. So, the prophecy speaks of one born in Bethlehem, which was home to the Zorites.

The king of Tyre and David had common ancestors in the early Hebrew who believed that the Son of God would be born of a young woman of their ruler-priest caste. They expected Him to appear among them. This was fulfilled when Jesus visited Tyre (Matt. 15:21-28; Mark 7: 24). Here the Markan mystery is revealed, for we are told that in Tyre Jesus "could not pass unrecognized."

The early Hebrew (both Horites and Sethites)believed that the Son of God would be born of a woman of their ruler-priest caste, that he would be conceived by divine overshadowing, that he would die and rise on the third day, and that He would be God incarnate. They referred to the son as HR, which in ancient Egyptian means "Hidden One."


Related reading: The Theme of Hidden Sons; The Hebrew Were a Caste; Hebrew Names and Titles; Why Jesus Visited Tyre; Sons and The Son

Why Jesus Visited Tyre

Alice C. Linsley

Tyre is mentioned often in the Old and New Testaments, often in connection with Sidon. One of the more intriguing passages that mentions Tyre is Ezekiel 28:11-19:

"Son of Man, raise a lament over the king of Tyre and say to him: Thus says the Lord God: You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and flawless beauty. You were in Eden, in the Garden of God; every precious stone was your adornment... and gold beautifully wrought for you, mined for you, prepared the day you were created."

The ruins of Tyre

This is one of the rare references to Eden outside Genesis and it deserves closer inspection. Here the 'Son of Man' is the prophet Ezekiel through whom God declares judgement on the King of Tyre who is pictured as adorned with jewels and exalted. Ezekiel uses the exile from paradise to describe the king's fall from glory. But is there more here?  Yes, there is a Messianic message.

Ezekiel is told to prophecy against the King of Tyre because he was no longer “perfect.”  The ruler who was once full of wisdom in the Garden has fallen into sin and is being judged. Here we have a glimpse of God's economy by which guidance is always delivered in the proper order. The Father first sends the Son to those whose ancestors were in Eden and the people of Tyre recognized Him. Likewise, the angels first appear to the shepherd kings of Bethlehem, David’s people, to declare the coming of the Son, and the shepherds went straight away to worship Him.

Another example involves Jesus at Capernaum on the northwestern edge of the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee was between the territory of the Aramaeans (descendants of Nimrod) and that of the Afro-Arabian descendants of Joktan, Peleg’s brother. In Peleg’s time, the Aramaean and the Afro-Arabian descendants of Kush became separate kingdoms. Joktan’s holding extended from Jok-neam in the hill country southwest of the Sea of Galilee to Jok-deam, in the hill country just south of Hebron. Peleg’s holding extended north from the Sea of Galilee to Damascus. By the time we meet Abraham in Genesis 12, the Aramaeans controlled the water systems of Mesopotamia. Terah’s holding extended the length of the Euphrates, from Haran in the north to Ur in the south.

The Sea of Galilee sat between the two kingdoms and was controlled by the rulers on both sides. The two ruling houses intermarried. At Capernaum Jesus comes as Immanuel to both the Aramaeans and the Afro-Arabians. Both are his people since His ancestry is traced by both lines. So Jesus is first known at Capernaum. Mark and Matthew agree on this point, though they present their material differently.

In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus' true identity is recognized in the ancient island city of Tyre, not on a mountain as in Matthew's Gospel. For Mark, the Messiah’s appearing means the beginning of the restoration of Paradise. Perhaps the evangelist was thinking of this passage from Ezekiel 28. That would explain why Mark makes so much of Jesus’ visit to Tyre.

Tyre was the home of Hiram I, the father of the Tyrian king who helped to build Solomon’s temple. Hiram I was kin to David and sent skilled artisans to help David build a palace in Jerusalem, “the city of the Great King” (Matt. 5:35). Hiram is also known as "Huram" and "Horam", which are versions of the names Hur, Hor and Harun (Aaron), as in Jabal Harun, the Mountain of Aaron.

According to Midrash, Hur was Miriam’s husband, and a brother-in-law to Moses. Hur’s grandson was one of the builders of the Tabernacle. I Chronicles 4:4 lists Hur as the "father of Bethlehem," a settlement in the heartland of Horite Hebrew territory.

In other words, King Hiram I and David were descendants of Horite Hebrew ancestors, a caste of ruler-priests who anticipated the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15. Their Horite Hebrew lineage went back to Eden. The Horites believed that the promised Seed of the Woman would be born of their blood and they expected Him to visit them. In Mark 7:24, this expectation was fulfilled when the Son of God visited Tyre, where we are told Jesus “could not pass unrecognized.”


Related reading:  Horite Territory; Who Were the Horites?; The Holy One Hidden and Revealed; The Nazareth-Egypt Connection; Sidon Archaeological Site Alters Global Views