Alice C. Linsley
Abraham is a pivotal figure of biblical history. He was a member of the Hebrew ruler-priest caste. He was living in Mesopotamia before he moved to Canaan where he became established in a territory of his own. His Hebrew ancestors came out of the Nile Valley and dispersed widely before Abraham's time (c.2100 BC).
The Hebrew are mentioned in ancient Akkadian texts as the "Abrutu." The term comes from the Akkadian word for priest - abru. Some of the Horite Hebrew chiefs of Edom are listed in Genesis 36. Edom was Abraham's territory. Abraham was Horite Hebrew, and his faith is closer to Christianity than to Judaism because he believed in God Father and God Son.
We also know a good deal about the Horite and Sethite Hebrew from documents outside the Bible. In the Ancient Pyramid Texts, the Horite and Sethite priests represent a moiety, that is one people divided into two ritual groups. They maintained separate shrines (mounds) but the served the same high king and worshiped the same God.
The oldest known site of Horite Hebrew worship is at Nekhen on the Nile. One of the more intriguing discoveries at Nekhen was an almost complete beard in association with the redheaded man in burial no. 79. The facial hair of the man in burial no. 79 had been trimmed with a sharp blade.
Archaeologists working at Nekhen found images of royal officials with dolichocephalic heads. (Nekhen News, Vol. 21, Fall 2009, p. 26.)
Nekhen is called the Falcon City because the falcon was the animal totems of HR (Horus in Greek), the son of Re. (H R in ancient Egyptian means Most High One, and Re means Father.) Votive offerings at the Nekhen temple were ten times larger than the normal mace heads and bowls found elsewhere, suggesting that this was a very prestigious shrine. Horite priests placed invocations to Horus at the summit of the fortress as the sun rose.
Archaeologists working at Nekhen found images of royal officials with dolichocephalic heads. (Nekhen News, Vol. 21, Fall 2009, p. 26.)
Nekhen is called the Falcon City because the falcon was the animal totems of HR (Horus in Greek), the son of Re. (H R in ancient Egyptian means Most High One, and Re means Father.) Votive offerings at the Nekhen temple were ten times larger than the normal mace heads and bowls found elsewhere, suggesting that this was a very prestigious shrine. Horite priests placed invocations to Horus at the summit of the fortress as the sun rose.
Abraham's elder brother Nahor took control of their father's territory in Mesopotamia and Abraham was sent away to establish a territory of his own. His territory extended between Kiriath-Arba (Hebron) and Beersheba and was entirely in the region of ancient Edom (Idumea), the land of red people.
Abraham was kin to the Horite rulers of Edom who are listed in Genesis 36.
Note that both Hebron (where Sarah lived) and Beersheba (where Keturah lived) are in Edom. Abraham's territory extended on a north-south axis between the settlements of his two wives.
Abraham's ancestors were Proto-Saharan and Nilotic rulers, some of whom are listed in the Genesis 4 and 5 king lists. These rulers dispersed widely in the service of the early kingdom builder like Nimrod, the son of Kush (Genesis 10). His ancestors were known by various names: Abru, Abrutu, Ha'biru; Hapiru, 'apiru, Horim, and Horite.
Abraham's line descends from Nimrod, the son of Kush (Gen. 10; diagram below). Nimrod married a Sumerian princess. Her father was Asshur the Elder.
Many of Abraham's ancestors held titles of nobility such as Enoch, Lamech and Tera-neter (priest of God). Abraham’s father has the title Terah/Tera, which means priest. This image shows a Sethite priest of the Nilotic Anu people.
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The staff was a symbol of the ruler-priest's authority. Related reading: |
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5 comments:
Maybe you can clear something up for me...Genesis 10:21 lists Arpachshad as the brother of Asshur, both being listed as sons of Shem, along with Elam,Lud, & Aram. So that gives me the impression that Asshur, Elam, Lud, & Aram represent 5 distinct patralineal groups of Shemites/Semitic people. To my understanding, the Biblical passage does not appear to support Abraham being a descendent of Nimrod. In the ancestry chart you posted, it looks like you had Arpachshad listed as a grandson of Asshur Son of Shem. Can you explain this? I may have misread the chart or missed a detail in your narrative. Thanks
These rulers had two wives. One was a patrilineal cousin who named her first born son after her father. The cousin bride's naming prerogative is the explanation and you may see that in these diagrams:
http://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2010/07/methuselahs-wife.html
http://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2009/04/moses-two-wives.html
Hi Alice,
I'm curious about the name changes that took place in Genesis 17. How significant were these changes and why were they made by God? ('Abram' (High father) to 'Abraham' (burnt father) and 'Sarai' to 'Sarah').
George
Name changes are always significant in Genesis, but the meaning isn't always clear. Until we can better establish linguistic correlations, we may not know what was originally intended. For example, if we look to the languages of the Nilotic Luo the name Ab-ra-ham would mean something like this: Father (God) Ra blesses or curses. In Luo ham, also spelled kham or lam, means either a blessing or a curse. With this in mind, God telling Abraham, "And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed" (Gen. 12:3) takes on new meaning. God promised, "And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." (Gen. 12:3). This makes sense to me.
There is no evidence in the Bible that Abraham "wandered" extensively or even cyclically, as nomads do. He came from Mesopotamia, as a sent-away son, to claim a territory for himself in what became known as Edom. His territory extended between Hebron and Beersheba.
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