A Closer Look at the Jebusites

 

Jebusite stepped wall in Jerusalem.

Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem; to this day the Jebusites live there with the people of Judah. (Joshua 15:63)



Dr. Alice C. Linsley


Contrary to the view that the Jebusites were a Canaanite tribe, they were a widely dispersed population by the 16th century AD. Today some Jebu live in Nigeria and in ancient times, two Jebusite populations lived in Canaan. One branch lived in the region of Gilead and the other in and around Jerusalem which was a Jebusite stronghold before David’s time.

The two groups of Jebusites who lived in Canaan maintained their solidarity, giving military aid to each other when needed. They were never defeated or driven out of Canaan by the Israelites. In fact, Jebusites served in David’s army and court. 1 Kings 9:20-21 states that Jebusites also served in Solomon’s kingdom.

Jerusalem was named for the Jebusites, as is evident in 1 Chronicles 11:4 – “David and all Israel marched to Jerusalem, that is Jebus, where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land.”

David purchased a threshing floor from the Jebusite chief Araunah and used the site to erect an altar to God. Threshing floors were sacred places among many biblical populations.

The Jebusites had been living in Canaan for many centuries. Jerusalem in Abraham's time was called Salem and the King of Salem was Melchizedek, "the priest of the Most High God." (Gen. 14:18) The Jebusites built their royal complex on the southeastern hill of Jerusalem.

Jesus enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday

The waving of palm branches to greet kings and high priests who entered the city appears to have originated with the Jebusites.

Jebu rulers are installed with branches from the Igiọ̀pẹ (palm tree). As a child, Jude Adebo Adeleye Ogunade was warned not to touch the leaves of the Igi-Ose tree, because as his Mama Eleni explained: "That tree is the tree whose leaves are used to install Chiefs and Kings of Ijebu and as your grandfather was a custodian of the rites of chieftaincy and kingship you must not play with its leaves." The Igi Ose is a Baobab used in arid areas in ceremonies as an alternative to the Igiọ̀pẹ.

The terms Jebu and Yebu are probably related. The Jebusites apparently dispersed along the Nile. Yebu was a principal shrine on Elephantine Island in the Nile. The history of Yebu extends back to 3000 BC. It was the original 'border town' between Egypt and the Nubian lands to the south and in ancient times was an important strategic position both for the defense of the border and as a trading route.

The Jebusites are an ancient people with a tradition of kings and priests. Today their presence in the Middle East is less evident than in Nigeria where they are known as “Ijebu.” As with the Canaanite Jebusites, the Ijebu are divided into two groups: the Nago-Jebu and the Ketu-Jebu. Both divisions take the serpent as their totem. Ketu and Naga are two ancient words for serpent. In ancient Egyptian literature the cosmic serpent is called Rahu Ketu who threatens to devour the Sun (solar eclipse). This suggests that the Jebu moved into Nigeria from the Nile Valley.

Eredo rampart

John Lliffe reports in his 2007 book Africans: The History of a Continent that in 1500 AD Ijebu Ode was "a very large city" (p. 80). To the southwest of Ijebu-Ode is the largest pre-colonial monument in Africa. Local people link the Eredo boundary walls to Bilikisu Sungbo, another name for Sheba, according to the late Patrick Darling, the British archaeologist who drew world attention to the Eredo system of walls. He reported, "We are not linking what we found to a city, but to a vast kingdom boundary rampart." The wall system runs for 100 miles and is 70 feet high.

T. O. Ogunkoya's The Early History of Ijebu also claims the Jebu presence in Nigeria goes back to the 16th century. However, it is possible that the Jebu came there from the east where they had deeper roots historically. The Eredo discovery links Jebu territory and Sheba in ancient Yemen. There is evidence of other populations migrating from the east to Nigeria and Niger (See A Brief History of the Lake Chad Region.)

The genetic studies of some populations (Kanembu, Ouldeme, Daba, Daza, Fali, and Tali) in Northern Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon reveal paternal ancestry of Y-DNA Haplogroup R1b as shown on the map above. This further suggests a connection between some populations of those countries and some populations living in lands to the east and north. This is the same haplogroup as King Tut's.

Today the two IJebu provinces are called Jebu Remu and Jebu Ode, and the title of their high king is "Awujali.” The IJebu are classified as Yoruba, but the term "Yoruba" was applied to related groups after the 18th century A.D.

In 1892, the New York Times reported on the Jebu control of the water systems of the Benue Trough extending to the Port of Lagos. The headline (shown above) reads "The king of Jebu threatens to attack Lagos."


Related reading: The Judean Palm; The Trees of Prophets; A Brief History of the Lake Chad Area

The Jebusites Unveiled

Alice C. Linsley

The Jebusites were likely a Nilo-Saharan people who migrated to the region of the Benue Trough when the Sahara began to dry out. What is known about the Jebusites indicates that they migrated into Nigeria where they controlled the major water systems at the conjunction of the Niger and Benue Rivers and at the Atlantic coast near modern Lagos. They also migrated east into the land of Canaan where one of their leading men - Melchizedek - was the ruler-priest of Salem (Jerusalem) in Abraham's time (Gen. 14:18).

The modern day Jebusites are the Ijebu and they live near and have close association with the modern day Edomites who are called "Edo."  Both tribes live in Nigeria and Benin. In Canaan the Jebusites had close connections with the Horites of Edom.

The ruler-priests who controlled the ancient water systems that connected West Africa to Mesopotamia were Horites.  That is they were devotees of Horus, whose worship along with his father Re and his virign mother Hat-hor, spread along the water systems from ancient Kush to Mesopotamia and beyond.  This was about 10,000 years ago when there was a great Kushite migration and the Sahara was much wetter.

Dr. Christopher Ehret explains how the climate caused the movement of three groups of people. He writes, "The initial warming of climate in the Bølling-Allerød interstadial, 12,700-10,900 BCE, brought increased rainfall and warmer conditions in many African regions. Three sets of peoples, speaking languages of the three language families that predominate across the continent today, probably began their early expansions in this period. Nilo-Saharan peoples spread out in the areas around and east of the middle Nile River in what is today the country of Sudan. Peoples of a second family, Niger-Kordofanian, spread across an emerging east-west belt of savanna vegetation from the eastern Sudan to the western Atlantic coast of Africa. In the same era, communities speaking languages of the Erythraic branch of the Afrasian (Afroasiatic) family expanded beyond their origin areas in the Horn of Africa, northward to modern-day Egypt. (History in Africa, p.3-4)

The Jebusites are classified in the second group, as are the Ashante of Ghana. (Asha-nte means "People of Asha." Asha was a name for God; as is Azu in Accadian, Asa in Chadic, and Ashai in Hebrew; a Jerusalem priest was named Am-ashai in Neh. 11:13.)

The Jebu are generally classified as Yoruba, but the term 'Yoruba' applied only after the 18th century. The Jebu identify themselves as distinct from other Yoruba sub-groups by calling themselves Nago-Jebu. The Jebu are also called Ijebu, and in the Bible they are called "Jebusites."

According to African legend, the Yoruba migrated to the Atlantic coast of Nigeria from the east. Some stopped in the region of Lake Chad where they had kin in Bor'no (land of Noah). Their kin were likely the Kanuri tribe (descendants of Kain), which may explain why some Yoruba have tribal marks similar to those of the Kanuri.


New York Times Report Confirms Jebusite Control of Waterways.

In 1892, the New York Times reported on the Jebu tribe, which controlled the water systems of the Port of Lagos. The king of the Jebu levied taxes on all products carried through his territory. This is consistent with the biblical information concerning Abraham’s ruler-priest ancestors who controlled water systems in Nigeria (where Jebu still reside), Canaan and Mesopotamia. This also explains the relationship between Abraham and Melchizedek, a Jebusite ruler priest of Jerusalem, to whom Abraham offered tribute.


The Jebusite 3-Clan Confederations

The Jebusites 3-clan confederation is identical to the 3-clan confederations found among Abraham's horite caste. While there are 2 Jebu provinces, there are 3 brothers: Yoruba, Egba and Ketu. In Genesis we find this 2 kingdoms-3 brothers pattern throughout the book. One brother is often veiled/hidden or more peripheral to the events described. For example, we are told that Noah had 3 sons and Genesis makes it clear that the lines of Ham and Shem intermarried, but the Bible tells us very little about the descendants of Japheth since they appear to have migrated into Europe.  Likewise, Abraham had 3 first-born sons: Joktan, Ishmael and Isaac, but we really have to dig into the text for information on Joktan, the firstborn of Keturah,  Abraham's second wife.

We also discover from study of the Jebu living today that a kingdom is established when the ruler-apparent marries a second wife. This explains Abraham's urgency to fetch a cousin bride for Isaac before his death. Following the marriage pattern of the rulers of his people, Isaac would have already had a half-sister wife in Beersheba.

The principal ruler of the two Jebu provinces - Jebu Remu and Jebu Ode - is called "awujali." Jebu rulers are installed with palm branches. Jude Adebo Adeleye Ogunade writes in his memoir about growing up Ijebu. He was warned not to touch the leaves of the Igi-Ose tree, because as his Mama Eleni explained: "That tree is the tree whose leaves are used to install Chiefs and Kings of Ijebu and as your grandfather was a custodian of the rites of chieftaincy and kingship you must not play with its leaves." (Interestingly, the University of Oxford, Institute Paper, n° 7, (1937) on Medicinal Plants lists this plant as a blood purifier - see reference HA 1k, here).

Fresh palm tree fronds are used ceremonially at the installation of rulers and are used to decorate places of worship. The association of palm trees (tamars) with rulers and prophets is a common among Abraham's people.  Deborah sat under a tamar as a judge and a prophet in Israel.

When the people used palm fronds to greet Jesus as he entered Jerusalem, they greeted him as one to be enthroned. The connection between rulers and trees at sacred centers is found among the tribal peoples of West Africa. Among the Yoruba, fresh palm tree leaves are employed on occasions of installation of a sovereign, and to the office of high priest. (Read more about the palm tree in connection with rulers, prophets and shrines here.)

Related reading:  Trees in Genesis; 3-Clan Confederations to 12 Tribes; Abraham's Kushite Ancestors;  Who Were the Horites?; Abraham's Firstborn Son; Nimrod was a Kushite Ruler; The Nigerian Jebu