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?

Wine Use in Antiquity

Alice C. Linsley

In the ancient world, wine was consumed mainly by the ruling class and it was used in religious rituals. It was offered by kings as a "drink offering" to the High God, and it was consumed at feasts that involved the ratification of treaties. The High God was believed to be the Witness to these treaties. In a Ugaritic text, the God El became drunk at such a feast and had to be carried home by his sons. Here we find a parallel to the story of Noah's drunken state and his sons' attempt to "cover" for him.


Timeline of Archaeological Discoveries

6000-5500 BC:  At the Chinese Neolithic site of Jiahu archaeologists found pottery shards with residue from a fermented beverage made of a mixture of rice, honey and fruit. Researchers found species of the tartrate from grape, hawthorn, or longyan cherry, or a combination of two or more of these. Ji-ahu means "mound or hill of Ahu." Ahu is an ancient name for the deity of water shrines. Ahu is found in Genesis in only one place: Genesis 41:18, and here the term denotes the bank of the Nile. In Mesopotamia, wine was enjoyed by the upper classes. 

4000 BC:  Wine was produced by Neolithic farmers in what is today the Republic of Georgia. In 2007, a team excavating Areni-1, a cave complex in a canyon between the Little Caucasus and the Zagros mountains, found ancient grape seeds and wine making implements with residue of malvidin which means the Areni vintners were making red wine. The cave is near Armenia’s southern border with Iran outside a village still known for its wine-making activities. It is believed that some ancestors of the Nilotic Luo settled in this area. (See the work of Wandera Salmon.)

3150 BC:  In the late 1980s, German archaeologists found remains of wine making equipment in the tomb of the ancient Nubian king Scorpion I. That find consisted of grape seeds, grape skins, dried pulp and imported ceramic jars covered inside with a yellow residue chemically consistent with wine. Ancient Egyptian murals depict details of wine-making.

Egyptians flavored their wines with tree resins, herbs, and figs and used hieroglyphs to label place and producer, and the vintage according to year of the pharaoh’s reign.

Generally, Nilotic peoples preferred beer to wine and their beer contained high levels of tetracycline. Beer was a staple in Egyptian diets, and was listed in the rations for pyramid builders. Despite the availability of more easier cultivated food resources, barley was domesticated as early as 10,000 years ago even though it is a labor-intensive crop.

It is likely that wine was reserved for special rituals and religious festivals. 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.”

Noah was drunk with wine on at least one occasion and the outcome wasn't good. Likewise, the outcome of Lot's drunken stupor was not good. Genesis presents criticism of excessive wine consumption as this was not considered proper for Hebrew priests.

1600 BC:  In 1963, two plaster basins that appear to have been used to press grapes were excavated in what is now Israel's West Bank.

1000 BC: Biblical kings consumed wine flavored with vanilla. The evidence of vanilla-infused wine was discovered in two separate excavations within the City of David. In both cases, excavators uncovered numerous large wine jars inside buildings destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC.

Wine for pleasure and for ritual use

One of the oldest uses of wine was in religious ritual. In Tantric ritual, wine is called shakti or sakti. Sakti is also the name for the Hindu harvest moon festival. Likely, the word is related to the Falasha word sarki, which also refers to the harvest moon festival at which priests - the harwa - played a role. Harwa is an ancient Egyptian word for priest.

Some Sarki live as Haruwa in the Tarai region of Nepal where Tantric practices emerged. In the West, where we are obsessed with sexual desire (lust), there are no true practitioners, for as a Tantrica of West Bengel has explained: "Those most fit for Tantra almost never take it up, and those least fit pursue it with zeal."

In Tantric spirituality, copulation is practiced to achieve higher consciousness by a spiritual joining of male and female principles. This is called the “transmutation of desire” in order to transcend all desires. Think of this as a spiritual wrestling match in which the weight and momentum of the opponent (desire) is used to overturn the opponent.

According to the Rig Veda 10.129, this love (kama) is the generative power that makes all life possible. Kama appears personified in Hindu myth as the enemy of spiritual discipline (asceticism), but he cannot be destroyed. Here we see the tension in Hinduism between desire and pleasure and renunciation of all desire and pleasure.

In the following hymn Kama is praised as the divine source of all creation.

Love (Kama) is the firstborn, loftier than the gods, the Fathers and men. You, O Love (Kama) are the eldest of all, altogether mighty. To you we pay homage!

Greater than the breadth of earth and heaven, or of waters and fire, You O Love, are the eldest of all, altogether mighty. To you we pay homage!  

In many a form of goodness, O Love, you show your face. Grant that these forms may penetrate within our hearts. Send elsewhere all malice! (Atharva Veda 9.2.19-25)

The Horite Hebrew were a caste of ruler-priests who spread their worldview and religion throughout the ancient Afro-Asiatic Dominion. They were widely dispersed in the service of the archaic rulers who are called the "mighty men of old" in Genesis 10. This is before the Vedic Age and long before the Axial Age.

These ruler-priests controlled water systems at a time when the Sahara, Mesopotamia, Pakistan and India were wetter. They are called "Horites" because they were devotees of Horus, who was called "seed/son of God." They are called 'Apiru or Habiru in ancient texts. Habiru is rendered "Hebrew" in English Bibles.

Hebrew priests did not practice ritual sex. Their Sun temples were places of prayer, worship, judgement, and sacrifice.

The Arabic yakburu means “he is getting big” and with the intensive active prefix: yukabbiru means "he is enlarging." It is a reference to the rising of the Sun in the East. The east-facing temple was termed O-piru, meaning Sun House/Temple.

The Sun temples were also places of judgement. This is evident in the old Hungarian/Magyar word for judge, which is bíró, and likely related to the word biru, which pertains to a place of sacrifice.

The Harappa civilization reflects the Habiru's influence. Har refers to Horus and "appa" is the Dravidian word meaning father. The Harappa civilization dates to about the same time as one of Egypt's oldest and largest city at Nekhen (Hierakonpolis), an archaeologically rich site.

Nekhen is the oldest known center of Horite Hebrew worship, dating to around 3800 BC.Votive offerings at the temple of Horus were up to ten times larger than the normal mace heads and bowls found elsewhere, suggesting that this was a very prestigious shrine. Horite Hebrew priests placed invocations to Horus at the summit of the fortress as the sun rose.

In the ancient world, a temple was considered the mansion—hâît, or the house—pirû—of the deity. The Creator Râ lived in Heliopolis on the east side of the Delta; Hathor, the mother of Horus had her principal temple in Memphis to the south of Heliopolis (the principal water shrine of the Nilotic Annu) and on the west side of the Nile. Horus, who was said to be one with his Father, lived further south in Nekhen and Edfu on the west side of the Upper Nile.

The relationship of Râ, Hathor and Horus is reflected in the relative locations of the temples. Hathor represents the Feminine Principle, and as such is located to the south (the direction associated with birth and renewal). Râ is to the north, and as his symbol is the Sun, his temple is on the east side of the Nile. Horus is to the southwest, the direction associated with the future. He rises as a lamb and sets as a ram.

Against those who claim that the Horite Hebrew were polytheists, note that only Horus and Hathor are shown in human form, and usually together, as in Christian icons of the Theotokos and the Christ Child.

The Horite Hebrew 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.”

Heliopolis is biblical On. Joseph married the daughter of the priest of On. It was the pattern for Horite Hebrew men to marry the daughters of priests. They practiced endogamy, a trait of castes.

The Horite Hebrew, who the Jews call their "Horim," enjoyed married life, but abstained from sexual relations before their terms of serve in the temples. Ritual sex was discussed because it represented a departure from the ways of the Horim, an aberration. We have no evidence that Horite priests followed the practices involving sex and child sacrifice condemned by the prophets. In the ancient world the Horite Hebrew were known for their purity and devotion to the High God.

Drunk Fathers and Sexual Misbehavior

Wine consumption and sex are not presented in a positive light in Genesis. There are two accounts of drunken sexual misbehavior. In Noah’s case, his three sons decide what to do while their father sleeps in a drunken stupor and Noah curses his grandson Canaan. In Lot’s case, his two daughters decide what to do while their father sleeps and both become pregnant by their father. These stories stand in contrast to stories involving wine as a sign of redemption, as in the Passover and in the Eucharist.

The symmetry of these stories is remarkable. The story of Noah involves sons, and the story of Lot involves daughters. Likewise, in tracing the cord of blood in the Bible we find a similar symmetry. In the Egyptian Passover Moses is the central figure, and in the Jericho Passover, it is Rahab who lets down the scarlet cord that saves her whole household. Male and female are instrumental in bringing deliverance.

The wine in the Passover Seder is not ordinary wine once it is blessed. Likewise, the wine used in the Holy Eucharist is not ordinary wine. It is sacramental. Both celebrations recount God's deliverance and speak of the consummation of a love relationship, as is evident in Jesus' explanation to His disciples that he would not drink the cup again until the celestial wedding feast.

“This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. I say to you, I will not drink this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom” (Matt. 26:28-29). On that day, the Son of God shall take to Himself the Church, His royal bride. Her nobility, like her purity, is derived from her royal Groom.
 

Related reading: Two Passovers and Two Drunken Fathers; Genesis and the Eucharist; Oldest Wine-Making Equipment; Divine Vintage: Following the Wine Trail from Genesis to the Modern Age by R. Haskett and J. Butler; “Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer, and Other Alcoholic Beverages by Patrick McGovern

Two Passovers and Two Drunken Fathers

Alice C. Linsley


Blood and wine are associated in Christianity as sacramental signs that point to salvation through Jesus Christ. We also find these associated in 2 sets of Old Testament stories, suggesting that the sacramental association pre-dates Christianity. For some Protestant readers the meaning of sacrament may be unclear, so before we turn to the stories, we must define “sacrament.”

A sacrament is an action that God performs for humans that we can’t do for ourselves. In the sacrament of Baptism, God unites us to Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection and makes us heirs of the Kingdom. The sign of the sacrament is water. In the sacrament of Holy Communion, God nourishes us with spiritual food and communes with us as if we were present in Paradise. The sign of Holy Communion is wine and water mixed with bread.

Remembering that a sacrament is something only God can do for humanity, we turn to the Old Testament story sets of 2 Passovers and 2 Drunken Fathers.

The first story set involves the Passover in Egypt and the Passover in Jericho. In Egypt, the door posts were marked with blood from the sacrificed Lamb and seeing the blood, the angel of death passed over, and the people of Israel were led out to a new life. This is the Passover of the tribes who were in Egypt.

Another Passover takes place in Jericho. The scarlet cord was hung from the window of Rahab’s house and when the Israelites swept through that city, Rahab and her whole household were spared and led out to a new life, God redeeming their lives from destruction. Rahab became an ancestress of King David and Messiah. This is the Passover of David's ancestors who never were in Egypt.

A study of the scarlet cord in Scripture reveals that it symbolizes blood, so the sacramental sign in both stories is blood and Christians understand this to be the Blood of Jesus.

In the second set of stories, we find 2 fathers who became drunk with wine. The first is Noah and the second is Lot. In Noah’s case, his 3 sons decide what to do while their father sleeps in a drunken stupor. In Lot’s case, his 2 daughters decide what to do while their father sleeps. In both stories, the results are not good. One of Noah’s sons comes under a curse, and Abraham’s descendents find their lives troubled by Lot’s Ammonite and Moabite descendents. Wine in these stories is not sacramental. These stories are about what mankind does and stand in contrast to the first set of stories. Yet we find a note of redemption even in these stories.

The descendents of Ham will help the Israelites make their escape from Egypt. Jethro, the Priest of Midian (a descendent of Ham through Keturah’s line) will act as an advisor to Moses, his son-in-law. A daughter of Moab will trust God to care for her and her mother-in-law in Bethlehem. There she will marry Boaz and become the great grandmother of King David and ancestress of Messiah. (Notice the symmetry of a father-in-law and a mother-in-law.) Even when we sinners take matters into our own hands, God shows us mercy that we might move to newness of life.

The symmetry of these story sets is remarkable. In the Egyptian Passover, Moses is the central figure, but in the Jericho Passover, it is the woman Rahab. Clearly God uses both males and females to bring about salvation and deliverance. 

In the story of Noah’s drunkenness, 3 sons take action, but in the story of Lot’s drunkenness, 2 daughters take action to procreate and from them comes (as with 2 wives), two separate, but related peoples: the Moabites and the Ammonites.  

The reference to Noah's drunken behavior seems out of character with the earlier description of Noah as the only man righteous enough to be saved from the flood. It is possible that this narrative derives from a linguistic connection. In ancient Egyptian, Noah is Nnu which is related to the ancient Egyptian word nuh (nwh) which means to be drunk or to intoxicate.

Let us return to the sacramental signs of blood and wine. The association of blood and wine is made in the prophecies concerning Judah, who will be elevated above his brothers and from whom “the scepter shall not depart… nor a lawgiver until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the expectations of the nations…who will “wash his garments in wine, And his clothes in the blood of grapes” (Gen. 49:10-11).

We notice concerning Judah that 4 promises are given.
Judah shall be elevated above the other tribes.
Judah shall rule and give the law until Christ appears.
Christ shall be the hope and expectation of the nations.
He shall wash his clothes in blood.

This parallels the Passover Seder which involves 4 promises given to Israel, symbolized by the 4 cups of wine. These speak of God’s 4 promises to Israel in Exodus 6:6-7: “I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians (1st cup), and I will deliver you from their slavery (2nd cup), and I will redeem you with a outstretched arm, and with great judgments (3rd cup); And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God (4th cup).”

The promises concerning Judah and the promises concerning Israel can be fulfilled only by God. In that sense the wine used in the Seder is sacramental. It points to the mighty acts of God to deliver and redeem His people and to consummate a love relationship. Jesus told his disciples that he would not drink the fourth cup again until the last promise is fulfilled: “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. I say to you, I will not drink this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” (Matt. 26:28-29)

Related reading: More about Noah; Noah's Homeland in Historical Perspective; On Blood and the Impulse to Immortality; Wine Use in Antiquity