The Afro-Asiatic Conception of Purity

Sunlight through the windows of the Basilica of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

Alice C. Linsley

How are we to explain the prevalence of blood sacrifice performed by a priest caste and a concern for ritual purity among peoples as geographically separated as the ancient Egyptians, the Sarki of Nepal, and some Native Americans? How do we explain similar conceptions of the sun as a purifying agent, and linguistic points of contact among widely dispersed peoples?

We might point to the common point of origin of all humans in Africa and to the development of languages from the Afro-Asiatic root stock. A comparison of the lexicons of Afro-Arabian and Semitic languages with Sanskrit and Dravidian suggests that a vast Afro-Asiatic Dominion stretched from the Wet Sahara to Asia between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago. One explanation is a common trade language.

An example of how languages are influenced by trade is the early traffic in rice from the NIle Valley to Madagascar and beyond. The language of Madagascar is Sulawe. It is related to ancient Egyptian, Dravidian, and East African words for rice.

The term "Sulawesi" appears to be related to the words write or rice records. Merchants who were moving from island to island recorded their transactions. Sulawe resembles the Egyptian word for writing ssw; and the Mande sewe; and the Dravidian ha-verasu. These terms referr to written records of rice sales or commercial records.

Rice grain formed the basis of weight measurement from East Africa to Sulawesi. On Madagascar, the weight of one grain of rice is called vary, and corresponds to the Swahili wari and to the Dravidian verasu. The Tamil word for rice is arisi, and the Old Persian word is virinzi which closely resembles vrini, the Sanskrit word for rice.

Linguistic connections are evident also in the term for the slash and burn agriculture used in Sulawesi and East Africa.The word trematrema is used in Northeast Betsimisaraa (Madagascar) to refer to a one to three year old slashed-and-burnt field. It is related to the Swahili word tema, ‘to cut’, and the redoubled form tematema, ‘to slash, to chop'.

Another explanation for common conceptions and roots is the blood-related Afro-Asiatic kingdom builders. They established their territories near major water systems which they used to transport cargo and to collect tariffs on cargo moved through their territories. Their influence can be traced using comparative linguistics and kinship analysis.

In this post we will look at the evidence of common conceptions of purity among the dispersed Afro-Asiatics.

Afro-Asiatic languages include Akkadian, Amharic, ancient Egyptian, Arabic, Aramaic, Assyrian, Babylonian, Berber, Chadic, Cushitic, Ethiopic, Hahm, Hausa, Hebrew, Omotic, Phoenician, and Ugaritic. These languages appear to share a large  number of common roots. Because this is so, linguists are able to compare the languages and draw conclusions about the older “proto” Afro-Asiatic language and dialects spoken before 10,000 years ago.

The terms for ritual purity in Akkadian, Biblical Hebrew, Hittite, Sumerian, and Ugaritic are related to the idea of radiance. (See The Semantics of Purity in the Ancient Near East, p. 5.) The ancient Nilotes also associated purity with the radiance of the sun, the emblem of the Re (which means Father) and his son Horus.

The temple purification rituals of the ancient Near East resemble the Pharaoh's daily ceremonial toilet in preparation for morning prayer. The ruler's lustration came from exposure to the Sun, the emblem of the Most High God and his son.

Likewise, the ancient Egyptian priest was to be purified before entering the temple. 

Herodotus observed that "The Egyptians were the first who made it a point of religion not to lie with women in temples, nor to enter into temples after going away from women without first bathing." (II:64)

The priests of ancient Egypt maintained shrines and temples along the Nile and regarded ritual purity as essential to their ministry. Herodotus observed II:37:

"They are religious excessively beyond all other men, and with regard to this they have customs as follows: they drink from cups of bronze and rinse them out every day, and not some only do this but all: they wear garments of linen always newly washed, and this they make a special point of practice: they circumcise themselves for the sake of cleanliness, preferring to be clean rather than comely. The priests shave themselves all over their body every other day, so that no lice or any other foul thing may come to be upon them when they minister to the gods; and the priests wear garments of linen only and sandals of papyrus, and any other garment they may not take nor other sandals; these wash themselves in cold water twice in the day and twice again in the night; and other religious services they perform (one may almost say) of infinite number."

Likewise, Plutarch noted that the “priests of the Sun at Heliopolis never carry wine into their temples, for they regard it as indecent for those who are devoted to the service of any god to indulge in the drinking of wine whilst they are under the immediate inspection of their Lord and King. The priests of the other deities are not so scrupulous in this respect, for they use it, though sparingly.”

Egyptian priests shaved their bodies and heads before their terms of service in the temples. Korah, Moses' half-brother, was a Horite Hebrew priest. Korah means "shaved head" and according to Numbers 16:17-18, he carried the censor to offer incense to the High God.This suggests that kor and tor may be cognates. There is a suggestion of a very early connection between blood, purity, and holiness.

The Hebrew thr = to be pure, corresponds to the Ancient Egyptian tr = pure, and to the Hausa/Hahm toro = clean, and to the Tamil tiru = holy. All appear to be related to the Proto-Dravidian tor = blood. Among these peoples blood was perceived to have power both to pollute and to purify; to condemn and to justify.


Related reading: Purity Seal From Herod's Temple; 2,400 BC Tomb of a Purification Priest; The Origins of Animal Sacrifice; The Red Heifer; The Priesthood is About the Blood; Blood and Water; The Sun and the Moon in Genesis; Avraham Faust, "Purity and Impurity in Iron Age Israel, Biblical Archaeology Review" (2019)

Ritual Sex and Ancient Egyptian Priests

Alice C. Linsley

Perhaps you have heard the expression "the flesh pots of Egypt" and wondered about the phrase. Recently a poorly informed journalist used this to imply that the ancient Egyptians participated in ritual sex. That is not the origin of the expression, however. The phrase refers to the consumption of lamb that the Habiru/Hebrew enjoyed while in Egypt. It has nothing to do with sex.

In fact, the priests of Egypt were fastidious about avoiding ritual sex. Herodotus observed that "The Egyptians were the first who made it a point of religion not to lie with women in temples, nor to enter into temples after going away from women without first bathing." (II:64)

The priests of ancient Egypt maintained shrines and temples along the Nile and regarded ritual purity as essential to their ministry. Herodotus observed II:37:

"They are religious excessively beyond all other men, and with regard to this they have customs as follows: they drink from cups of bronze and rinse them out every day, and not some only do this but all: they wear garments of linen always newly washed, and this they make a special point of practice: they circumcise themselves for the sake of cleanliness, preferring to be clean rather than comely. The priests shave themselves all over their body every other day, so that no lice or any other foul thing may come to be upon them when they minister to the gods; and the priests wear garments of linen only and sandals of papyrus, and any other garment they may not take nor other sandals; these wash themselves in cold water twice in the day and twice again in the night; and other religious services they perform (one may almost say) of infinite number."

Likewise, Plutarch noted that the “priests of the Sun at Heliopolis never carry wine into their temples, for they regard it as indecent for those who are devoted to the service of any god to indulge in the drinking of wine whilst they are under the immediate inspection of their Lord and King. The priests of the other deities are not so scrupulous in this respect, for they use it, though sparingly.”

Heliopolis was a sun city where Horite Hebrew priests served. The Horite Hebrew (Habiru) were a caste of priests known for their wholesome lives. It appears that the Nilotic priest orders were concerned about sexual purity and disdained sexual immorality.

The Horite Hebrew were devotees of Horus and are called "Horites" in the Bible. The Horites were a caste of ruler-priests who maintained high standards of moral behavior. Before their time of service in the temples they shaved their bodies and did not consume wine. Plutarch wrote that the “priests of the Sun at Heliopolis never carry wine into their temples, for they regard it as indecent for those who are devoted to the service of any god to indulge in the drinking of wine whilst they are under the immediate inspection of their Lord and King. The priests of the other deities are not so scrupulous in this respect, for they use it, though sparingly.”

Horite Hebrew priests enjoyed married life but they abstained from sexual relations before serving in the temples. Ritual sex was discussed because it represented a departure from the ways of the Horim. We have no evidence that Horite priests followed the practices condemned by the prophets in Canaan. In the ancient world Horite priests were known for their purity and devotion to the High God.

After the establishment Solomon's temple, women performed sacred duties for the temple such as weaving and drawing water, but not as temple prostitutes. Some of these women were dedicated as young girls to the temple (likely the case with the Virgin Mary). The same was true for boys (Samuel is an example.) Fertility rites involving ritual sex were known in association with the cults of Venus and Aphrodite, but not in association with Yahweh or Yahu.

Fertility was not extremely important among the Horite Hebrew because they regarded "be fruitful and multiply" as a divine injunction or command.

Edward Lipinski writes:

Contrary to the claims of some 20th-century scholarship, the Hebrew Bible never refers directly to cult prostitutes. Many modern Bible translations are simply misleading in this respect. Much of the confusion results from a misunderstanding of a few Biblical texts that mention qedeshot, the plural of qedeshah, which is related to qodesh, “holy place.” Originally qedeshah referred to a “consecrated maiden,” but Biblical authors used it in the sense of “harlot.”

In the ancient Near East, women could in fact be dedicated by their fathers or their masters to a deity. Women could also devote themselves to the service of a god or a goddess in order to secure their living. This was done mainly by young widows without grown children, by repudiated wives, by female slaves sent away (like Hagar, Abraham’s concubine in Genesis 21), by lonely women, etc. These “consecrated” persons performed tasks in the sanctuary, provided domestic help in temple annexes, perhaps provided musical entertainment and possibly sexual services, remitting their fees to the temple. However, qedeshot in the Bible never appear as performing religious sexual rituals, which is the key attribute of a cult prostitute. Women on duty at the entrance to Israelite sanctuaries are mentioned in Exodus 38:8 and 1 Samuel 2:22, but their tasks are not described, and they are not called qedeshot.

The figure shown in the BAR article quoted above is an 8-inch silver-painted bronze statuette found in Syria. It shows the religious syncretism of the Ancient Near East. The woman wears a solar crown, expressing the ancient belief that the sun appoints individuals for divine purposes and inseminates.

Among Abraham's Horite Hebrew ancestors the sun was regarded as the emblem of the Creator. Those who were appointed by God to rule or to perform a unique service were identified by the initial Y in their names: Yaqtan (Joktan); Yachin (Joachin), Yishmael (Ishmael); Yishbak; Yitzak (Isaac); Yacob (Jacob); Yosef (Joseph); Yetro (Jethro); Yeshai (Jesse), Yonah (Jonah), Yoel, and Yeshua (Joshua/Jesus).

The Y is a solar cradle representing the long horns of the Acholi bull. The origin of this symbolism is found among the cattle-herding Proto-Saharans as early as 4000 BC.

The Horite Hebrew expected a woman of their ruler-priest caste to conceive the divine "Seed" (Gen. 3:15) by the overshadowing of the sun. Hathor, the mother of Horus is shown overshadowed as a sign that she is to be the mother of the son of God. She prefigures the Virgin Mary who conceived by divine overshadowing (Luke 1:35).



Related reading: Appointment By Divine Overshadowing; Wine Use in Antiquity; 2,400 B.C. Tomb of Purification Priest; Purity Seal From Herod's Temple; Edward Lipinski, Cult Prostitution in Ancient Israel?

Some Thoughts on Sex

Alice C. Linsley


Seraph, a reader of Just Genesis has written: "I would love hearing more about your thoughts on homosexuality, Alice. I am intellectually moved by your 'binary distinctions' argument. But I also know devout same-sex couples who have fallen in love with people of the same sex from childhood, and have gone through attempts at 'orientation change' for years, but to no avail. This subject cuts me to the quick. What are your thoughts as to folk who love the Lord Jesus, but who...despite all attempts...are just not drawn to people of the opposite sex?"

Here are some of my thoughts.

There is much we do not understand about sexual attraction. There is also much false information about homosexuality, much of it built upon the discredited Kinsey Report.  It seems to me the issue isn't homosexuality or even heterosexuality, by the use of the body, which is to be the temple of the Holy Spirit.  Sex within marriage is the only approved sex in the Bible and in Holy Tradition. Both understand marriage as between a man and a woman.

My heart is cut to watch homosexual people suffering also. Family members struggle with this. My cousin died of AIDS 15 years ago. His life of multiple partners and alcoholism left him physically and spiritually destitute. My mother prayed for him for years and on his deathbed he asked for and received God's forgiveness through Jesus Christ and died in peace.

One of my own daughters left a 10-year lesbian relationship the same month that I left ECUSA and is now married with two children. Her same-sex attraction was formed while she was at an all-girl boarding school in New England.

I was the chaplain at an all-boy boarding school for 4 years and know that same-sex attraction is experienced in same-gender boarding schools, but for most boys and girls this is experimentation, not orientation.  However, it is experimentation that can leave deep scars, just as traumatic as rape, abortion, incest and sexual abuse.

In a nearby town, a 4th grader decided that he wanted to be a girl and threatened to commit suicide if his parents and the school system didn't agree to call him by a girl's name and allow him to dress like a girl.  He has made himself the center of attention. His teacher is a Christian and has been told that she must comply with the boy's wishes, though she explains that "God is not the author of confusion."  The teacher will probably have to leave the school because she is not willing to cause the other children to be confused about gender.

When I write about the binary worldview of the Bible, I do so as an anthropologist. The binary sets of Abraham's people are fixed. There is no confusion here. The Sun rises in the east and sets in the west. There is night and day. There is heaven and earth. People are born male or female. In the ancient Afro-Asiatic world, homosex was regarded as a violation of the divine order in creation. That is why the only evidence of homosex in ancient Egypt is a drawing on the wall of an isolated cave.

Homosex was in the same category as onanism. Both were regarded as grievous violations of the boundaries found in the order of creation. The seed that should fall to the earth is the seed of plants, which spring forth from the earth. The seed of man should fall on his own type (the womb), from which man comes forth.

In our pleasure-consumed society, sex has become a comodity. The more orgiastic and pornographic, the better the comodity.  Sex as comodity misses the mark of God's righteousness by so far that it isn't even proper to discuss the two together.

A life of abstinance requires a pure heart and an almost monastic obedience. We fall, but God's forgiveness is always there for those who repent and stand upright again. Then there is another falling, and another, because a pure heart is a spiritual gift that comes after much seeking and a great desire for God, but it will come in the end. Holiness is God's will for us and God brings us on that path as we are willing to be led. 


Related reading:  Genesis on Homosex: Beyond Sodom; Binary Sets in the Ancient World; Understanding Binary Distinctions; Blood and Binary Distinctions; How to Invite Ridicule; More Thoughts About Sex