Temple-Dedicated Daughters of Hebrew Priests

Alice C. Linsley


To understand the Bible we must look for patterns that first appear in Genesis. In this sense, Genesis is foundational to the whole of the Bible. The patterns are sometimes more evident when we focus on the women. This is true when considering blood lines among Abraham's Horite Hebrew people because blood line was traced through the mother. Social status was according to the father's status, which is why all the first-born sons listed in the Genesis genealogies are of noble status, like their fathers.

In this essay, we will look at a pattern involving three wives whose lives present interesting common features. The women are Tamar, Asenath, and Zipporah. The evidence suggests that these women grew up around shrines where their fathers served as priests. They apparently did not live pampered lives, if we consider that Zipporah was drawing water for livestock when she first met Moses, her future husband. On the other hand, they held a high status compared to girls who might have been indentured to the shrine. All of them had two sons, the younger of which was tagged as a pointer to Messiah.

The fulfillment of messianic expectation is found in the story of Photini, the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. She is the only woman who Jesus is said to have met at a well.  He revealed Himself to her and she believed.  She repented and became the first evangelist, bringing many to faith in Jesus Christ. According to tradition, she died a martyr's death, as did most of her children. In a sense, Photini is the embodiment of the Church, the Bride of Christ.

Tamar, Who Builds Up the House of Jacob

Tamar was Judah’s daughter-in-law who bore him twin sons after he had intercourse with her at a Canaanite shrine. Possibly, this was the shrine of her "father's house" to which she was sent by Judah when he refused to provide her another of his sons.

Tamar's name means date nut palm, a symbol of fertility. Judah praised her as "more righteous” than himself in (Gen. 38:26) because she found a way to fulfill the levirate marriage law. The younger of Tamar's two sons was Perez, an ancestor of Jesus Christ.

According Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (Gen. 38:6), Tamar is a daughter of Shem who is also identified as Melchizedek. Since Shem-Melchizedek was a priest, Tamar's punishment as demanded by Judah was that set in Lev. 21:9 for a priest's daughter guilty of prostitution.


Asenath, Daughter of Potiphera, High Priest of Heliopolis

Asenath was Joseph’s Egyptian wife. She was a woman of high rank whose father was a Horite Priest of Heliopolis (City of the Sun). Her son Manasseh probably belongs to her father's house and Ephraim, the younger belonged to the house of Jacob, which explains why Jacob gave Ephraim the blessing of the first-born.

Asenath's father was Putiphar or Potiphera. This is a title composed of the word pu and tifra.  Putifra in ancient Egyptian means "this order." This may indicate the order of Horite ruler priests. The stela of Putiphar speaks of Putiphar as the "son of Horus, may He live forever."

Asenath's name means “holy to Anath” and she had "goddess" status throughout the Ancient Near East. She is sometimes called Mari-Anath. Many shrines were built to her. These had pools of water and were regarded as places where women could come to ask the High God for children. These were also places of healing (compare to the story in John 5).


Zipporah, Daughter of the Priest of Midian

Zipporah was Moses’ wife and a daughter of Jethro, Priest of Midian. Her name is derived from the word ציפור (tsipor, “bird”). Moses met Zipporah at a well, like a Midianite shrine. She bore Moses two sons: Gershom and Eliezer. The younger son was Eliezer. His Canaanite name means "God is my help”.

In all three cases, the younger sons were given priority over their older brothers. Tamar's son Perez is chosen over Zerah. Jesus Christ came from his line.

In Gen. 48, Jacob gives the blessing reserved for the firstborn to Asenath's younger son, Ephraim. Ephraim's descendants inhabited the principal settlements of Canaan, including Baal-shalisha which means the Three God, the God of Three, or the Three-person God.

In 1 Chronicles 23:17 we read this about Zipporah's youngest son: "The descendants of Eliezer: Rehabiah was the first. Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.' Note that the name of Eliezer's first born son is a variant of the name Rehab. Rehab was another ancestor of Jesus Christ.


The Virgin Mary

Mary, the mother of Jesus Messiah, was a dedicated Temple virgin. The term "virginity" in Mary's case refers to her role as a priest's daughter who was dedicated to the temple, much as Hannah dedicated Samuel to the temple. In ancient times dedicated virgins led the people in singing. They played the timbrel and danced. There was a celibacy requirement for royal daughters dedicated to the temples and shrines. Temple virgins are described in the Old Testament as women who "watch [or wait] (צָבָא) at the door of the tabernacle.” In Exodus 38:8, we read that the laver of copper and its stand of copper were made “from the mirrors of the women who performed tasks at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting” (Hebrew Study Bible, p. 197).

Temple virgins performed many necessary tasks such as weaving. The connection between the Virgin Mary and weaving is found in non-canonical books as well as in canonical books. Chapter 9 of the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew describes how Mary and the other virgins were spinning thread in the Temple compound. Carrying a pitcher, Mary went out to a fountain where the angel said to her, "Blessed art thou, Mary; for in thy womb thou hast prepared an habitation for the Lord." The next day the angel appeared to her again while she is spinning. This icon shows Mary, the Mother of God, weaving purple thread.

Joseph would have understood that Mary was consecrated to God, being a Temple-dedicated virgin. He also was aware through angelic intervention that she was to bring forth the long-awaited Messiah.

"This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with Child through the Holy Spirit." (Matt. 1:18)

Joseph became Mary's spouse protector rather than her sexual partner. As a righteous man, he did not presume to take that which rightfully belonged to God. Therefore, Mary remained a virgin both by virtue of her dedicated status and because of Joseph's righteous regard for her.


A Canaanite Shrine

The ancient mound of Tel Nahariyah is located in Israel south of the Lebanon border and north of the ancient maritime city of Akko. (Tel Akko is where an unusual sign of TNT has been found, showing an anchor.) The name Nahariyya means "River of God." Horite shrines were located a major water systems: rivers or an oasis or a well. This is why so many of the heros of Genesis and Exodus meet their brides at wells or river shrines.

The excavated remains of Tel Nahariyah have revealed it as an open-air Canaanite sanctuary. Like many such sites, it was established near a fresh-water spring. The shrine was founded about 2000 BC and was used as late as about 1250 BC.

Excavations have uncovered the remains of three buildings. The first was a small, square temple accompanied by a circular open-air stone altar. The other buildings were probably residences. Here there is a large standing stone. The third and most recent shrine building had auxiliary buildings and a smaller standing stone.

At the Nahariyah, archaeologists found evidence of offerings placed on the altar and oil oblations poured over the offerings. There was also considerable evidence that the sanctuary had been the location of sacrificial feasting (Pettey 1990: 179).

Excavators also found naked female figurines in silver and in bronze on the "high place" of the shrine, and in a pottery jar under the plaster pavement (Keel and Uehlinger 1998: 31; Negbi 1976: 64 and #1525-1534).

A mold was also found of a slim naked figure standing with her arms at her sides and hands framing her pubic area. She is small-breasted, and she has a protruding navel. Her hair flows about her shoulders. Her tall, conical hat has a horn sticking out on each side, suggesting that this may be an image of Hathor (shown below). Hathor was venerated by the Horite and Sethite Hebrew priests and she was the patron of the Hebrew metal workers at Timna. Her appointment as the mother of the son of God is depicted by the Sun resting over her head. This indicates divine overshadowing such as the Angel Gabriel described to the Virgin Mary (Luke 1).

Although two of the cut-out metal figures from Tel Nahariyah wear short skirts, the others are naked. One of the skirted figures was worn as a pendant, as evidenced by a loop on the back of the figure's head. The figurines were probably made in workshops at the shrine suggesting a connection between priests and metal-workers. This sheds light on the metal-working activities surrounding Aaron after the Israelites had left Egypt.


Such shrines are found in Africa

The Canaanite shrine has a contemporary counterpart in parts of West Africa. Osofo Ahadzi, spokemen for Africania Mission (Ghana), explains that women consult deities at the water shrines in order to have children. These children are sometimes pledged to the shrine or to the deity (as Hannah pledged Samuel to God in return for blessing her with a child). Ahadzi says that people who fail to redeem such pledges eventually lose those children.

People come to the shrines for other reasons as well. Ahadzi explains, “If there is a calamity befalling a family and they go back to the divinity or shrine and it is said that such a person should be trained in the shrine to learn the skills and acquire the power of divination to protect the family, that is when that person is devoted to the shrine."

In the ancient trosoki practice, the girls presented to serve at the shrines are usually young virgins. Sometimes their families are too poor to provide a marriage dowry. This is similar to the way that Catholic girls from poor families were sent to the convents during the Middle Ages.

Ofoso Ahadzi says that men may not marry a trokosi (indentured girl) without permission from the shrine. This is because the girls are also regarded as spirit wives of the deity. He said marrying a trokosi without going through the proper procedure will attract very severe punishment.

“There was a situation where the divinity asked one of the keepers not to marry this woman and he decided to go forward and marry. He thought that he was powerful and he went ahead and married. The mother died, he was going and the car had an accident. He died with his wife. In the traditional African religion the commandment is thou must not do this, if you do that you will get your punishment,” he said.

He says, “It is completely out of place for anybody to claim that the keeper of the shrine plays around with the girls. You can’t do that. When you go against any of the regulations, it is not human beings that will punish you. The deity will punish you because all the girls who go in there for training are the daughters and princesses of the divinity. So if you take liberties with them you will be punished,” he said.

Human rights groups oppose abuses of the trokosi system, claiming that some girls are sexually abused by the shrine priests, and that the arrangement is a form of slavery. However, Osofo Ahadzi reports that the girls have a good life at the shrine although they do not receive a formal Western education.

“I have a whole lot of problems about this so called formal school not because it does not promote development. But we are realizing that the formal education is actually foreign cultural mis-education. You see our people, they come out of the universities and they have no work to do. What we are being taught in the classroom is not what we need in our society. Look at our environment. You go to the villages and the villages are cleaner than the cities where the so-called intellectuals live. So the people who don’t go through our so called formal education are better off than those who go through the formal education,” he said.

Osofo Ahadzi said the girls are not taken advantage of even though they are used as free labor on the farms. He said the chores they perform can be likened to what students are made to do in boarding schools. Are the trokosi girls, some of whom are as young as two years, allowed freedom of movement like students receiving formal education? (Read more on trokosi shrines here.)


Virgins of the Shrine, Temple, and Convent

The sheltering of girls at shrines and temples was common in Africa, Canaan, India, ancient Egypt, and Mesopotamia. Some of the temple-dedicated virgins were the daughters of rulers and high priests. En-Heduanna, a daughter of Sargon (r. 2334-2284 BC), is an example. Sargon appointed Heduanna as the En (master, mistress, head official) of the shrine at Ur. This was a shrewd political move to secure power in the south of his kingdom. En-Heduanna served the Creator God Anu, at the House (pr) of Anu (Iannu). As with Roman Catholic nuns, she would have been considered “married” to the deity she served. En-Heduanna is credited with a large body of cuneiform poetry.

In Amarna letter EA 4, Amenhotep III is quoted by the Babylonian king Kadashman-Enlil I as firmly rejecting his request to marry one of Amenhotep's daughters: "From time immemorial, no daughter of the king of Egypt is given to anyone.” Amenhotep III's refusal was motivated by political concern and the concern to preserve his ruler-priest bloodline.

In ancient Egypt, some royal daughters were appointed to the two highest ranks a woman could hold: the positions of the God’s Wife (Hemet Netjer) and the Divine Adoratrice (Duat Netjer). These offices were held by women of high status, like the queen’s mother, or the wife of the high priest of the most favored royal temple. Pharaoh Ahmose I married his (half?) sister, Ahmose-Nefertiri, who became the God's Wife of Amun.

Ahmose I (reigned from c. 1550-1525 BC) controlled access to the throne by prohibiting princesses from marrying anyone except their royal brothers. This custom did not begin with him, however. Royal priests of the Nile had been marrying their half-sisters for at least 1000 years before the time of Ahmose I.

Ahmose’s principal wife was appointed to the office of the God’s Wife of Amun, and Ahmose endowed the office with more than adequate means, providing financial income, servants, real estate, and her own royal retinue. Many royal women attained high rank as priestesses in charge of Hathor shrines.

A religious option for unmarried girls and women

Royal virgins posed both potential opportunity for rulers. Their fathers could pledge them in marriage to form political alliances. In some cases, the virgins themselves appear to have sought the ruler’s protection from marriages they found displeasing. One of their few options was to be dedicated to a temple or to enter a convent.

In the Middle Ages, many royal daughters assumed the monastic life. The marriage of royal daughters was permitted only in circumstances of political advantage. Not surprisingly, female convents were founded in the regions were monarchs had residences. Some royal women lived saintly lives in the monasteries, and others enjoyed the same luxuries they knew in their palace homes.

In the Hindu context, the abuse of temple girls is regarded as a serious offense. Dr. Shabhash C. Sharma writes, "Regarding the treatment of people (including the young girls and widows) in shelters, temples and orphanages, Hinduism is quite emphatic in its opposition to any abuse and exploitation at the hands of those in positions of power and authority: 'He, who betrays one who has sought refuge, will meet destruction. The very earth will not let the seed, that he sows, sprout.' The Mahabarata (1, p. 181).

Dr Sharma explains: "Sometimes even if the parents of a young girl or boy are alive, they might not be in a good socio-economic condition to take care of their kid and thus could decide to send her/him to live in a temple thinking that the temple would do a better job in raising their child. Thus the temple might be considered by some people an ideal place to raise their child where free room, board and education (in spirituality, arts, music, dancing etc.) are available, perhaps in return for a small or light physical (manual) service (work) to the temple. "

Widows also may attach themselves to the shrine or temple once their husbands have died. This is likely what happened in the case of the Prophetess Anna (Luke 2:36-38) and happens in both west central Africa and in India. Dr. Sharma explains: "The same type of consideration, as indicated above for young girls, is generally applicable to adult women, especially the widows, when they decide to live in temples and religious places like Vrindavan. Note that even though the widows living in such places (temples etc.) might number in several thousand they still represent an extremely small minority relative to millions of Indian widows..."

Some believe that the Prophetess Anna is related to the priest Matthan who was the father of three daughters: Sobe (Salome's mother), Elizabeth (John the Baptist's mother) and Anne, the mother of Mary, the Theotokos. There is evidence that the Mary, the daughter of the Hebrew priest Joachim, was a temple-dedicated virgin who later married her patrilineal cousin Joseph. However, as Joseph was a righteous man who already had an heir by his first wife, he did not have sexual relations with Mary due to her vow. 

Mary probably was well-known to Simeon and Anna who greeted Mary when she came to the Temple to offer the prescribed sacrifice and fulfill the Mosaic purification requirement after childbirth.


Related reading: Denying Marriage: A cunning royal practice; Was the Virgin Mary a Dedicated Royal Woman?; Wells and Brides; A Woman at a Well; Who Were the Horite Hebrew?; Mary's Priestly Lineage