Did the Jews and their Religion really Exist
We shall begin this chapter by seeing what the ancients said about the biblical Jews origins and by a process of comparison and elimination decide where the Jews and their religion really came from.
According to Josephus the biblical Jews were in reality the Hyksos, which as translated by modern Egyptologists means “foreign kings”. Josephus bases his conjecture on the writings of Manetho which are presented below devoid of Josephus commentary.
|
Manetho (reconstructed from Against Apion by Josephus) |
|
There was a king of ours whose name was Timaus. Under him it came to pass, I know not how, that God was averse to us, and there came, after a surprising manner, men of ignoble birth out of the eastern parts, and had boldness enough to make an expedition into our country, and with ease subdued it by force, yet without our hazarding a battle with them. So when they had gotten those that governed us under their power, they afterwards burnt down our cities, and demolished the temples of the gods, and used all the inhabitants after a most barbarous manner; nay, some they slew, and led their children and their wives into slavery.
At length they made one of themselves king, whose name was Salatis; he also lived at Memphis, and made both the upper and lower regions pay tribute, and left garrisons in places that were the most proper for them. He chiefly aimed to secure the eastern parts, as fore-seeing that the Assyrians, who had then the greatest power, would be desirous of that kingdom, and invade them; and as he found in the Saite Nomos, [Sethroite,] a city very proper for this purpose, and which lay upon the Bubastic channel, but with regard to a certain theologic notion was called Avaris, this he rebuilt, and made very strong by the walls he built about it, and by a most numerous garrison of two hundred and forty thousand armed men whom he put into it to keep it.
Thither Salatis came in summer time, partly to gather his corn, and pay his soldiers their wages, and partly to exercise his armed men, and thereby to terrify foreigners. When this man had reigned thirteen years, after him reigned another, whose name was Beon, for forty-four years; after him reigned another, called Apachnas, thirty-six years and seven months; after him Apophis reigned sixty-one years, and then Janins fifty years and one month; after all these reigned Assis forty-nine years and two months. And these six were the first rulers among them, who were all along making war with the Egyptians, and were very desirous gradually to destroy them to the very roots.
This whole nation was styled HYCSOS, that is, Shepherd-kings: for the first syllable HYC, according to the sacred dialect, denotes a king, as is SOS a shepherd; but this according to the ordinary dialect; and of these is compounded HYCSOS: but some say that these people were Arabians.
These people, whom we have before named kings, and called shepherds also, and their descendants kept possession of Egypt five hundred and eleven years. After these, the kings of Thebais and the other parts of Egypt made an insurrection against the shepherds, and there a terrible and long war was made between them.
Under a king, whose name was Alisphragmuthosis, the shepherds were subdued, and were indeed driven out of other parts of Egypt, but were shut up in a place that contained ten thousand acres; this place was named Avaris. The shepherds built a wall round all this place, which was a large and a strong wall, and this in order to keep all their possessions and their prey within a place of strength, but Thummosis the son of Alisphragmuthosis made an attempt to take them by force and by siege, with four hundred and eighty thousand men to lie rotund about them, but upon his despair of taking the place by siege, they came to a composition with them, that they should leave Egypt, and go, without any harm to be done to them, whithersoever they would.
After this composition was made, they went away with their whole families and effects, not fewer in number than two hundred and forty thousand, and took their journey from Egypt, through the wilderness, for Syria; but as they were in fear of the Assyrians, who had then the dominion over Asia, they built a city in that country which is now called Judea, and large enough to contain this great number of men, and called it Jerusalem.
…This nation, thus called Shepherds, were also called Captives, in their sacred books. |
According to Josephus citing Manetho, the Hyksos were overthrown after 511 years in power.
In "Against Apion" the Hyksos rulers and their lengths of reign are given by Josephus/Manetho as; (Timaus), Salatis (13), Beon (44), Apachnas (36,7), Apophis (61), Janins (50,1), Assis (49,2). These reigns add up to 253 "years" & 10 months.
From modern Egyptian King lists the known 15th Dynasty Hyksos rulers are listed from 1674 BC as; Sheshi, Yakubher, Khyan, Apepi I, Apepi II & Khamudy. Modern Egyptology says the Hyksos were overthrown in the time of Ahmose who reigned from 1570-1546. If the Dynasty began in 1674 BC the longest they could have actually ruled is 128 years.
Therefore we have 3 different figures for the length of the Hyksos reign, 511, 253, 128 “years”.
Anyone familiar with computers will instantly recognise the significance of the above figures. They more or less follow the pattern 512, 256, 128. Each number is double the one that follows it.
If we assume that the Egyptians were using a Seasonal Calendar to denote the first figure then 511 is in reality 127 3/4 civil years with an error margin of +/-1/8 of a year.
If we assume an Equinoctial Calendar is being used for the second figure; 253 "years" 10 months should be rounded to 255 "years", since 10 months is about 2 Equinoctial “years” and in reality is 127 1/2 civil years with an error margin of ~+/-1/4 of a year.
.
All of these figures when rounded up come to 128 civil years which is precisely the value of the third figure which has an error margin of +/-1/2 of a year.
Everything makes perfect sense if in the original version of Manetho (who Josephus copied), the lengths of reign were given as fractions, as are the dates that are given in the Bible. Thus 511 would have originally read 511 quarters, and the lengths of reign quoted by Josephus for the individual Hyksos kings would have been given in halves. (The 7 months anomaly is probably a break in the narrative where the figure for the remainder of the reign of the king is given in lunar months, and is probably in a year which included an extra inter-calendary month.)
Using a weighted average the most likely period for the total length reign of the Hyksos is 127 11/16 years +/-1/16 or 127 years and 8 months.
The names of the Hyksos kings given by Manetho can be shown to correspond to the 15th Dynasty kings names given in Egyptian inscriptions.
Salatis can be written as Shalatish, which is Shalik also known in Egyptian king lists as Sheshi who may or may not be the same person.
Beon is a corruption of Khyan.
Apachnas is Seneferankhre Apepi I.
Apophis is Awoserre Apepi II which can be shortened to Serre Apepis or Sarapis.
Janins could be referring to Aqenien-re Apepi III.
Assis or Ashshish is Khamudy also known in Egyptian king lists as Aasehre.
Eusebius also gives the same list in Book 1 of this Chronicon but misses out Janins and replaces Assis with Amois. Their combined reigns add up to 128 years.
|
Eusebius, Chronicon, Book 1 |
|
Shepherds. Phoenician brothers and foreign kings, who captured Memphis:
Firstly, Saites, for 19
years Secondly, Bnon, for 40 years Archles, for 30 years Apophis, for 14 years
14 kings of Diospolis:
Amosis, 25 years |
Assuming the order given by Josephus is correct the king list should read.
Hyksos Kings |
|||
|
Reign |
Name |
Years |
Comment |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Timaus |
|
c.1674 Dudimose, last king of 13th Dynasty |
|
1674-1667.5 |
Salatis (Sheshi/Shalik) |
(13) |
Hyksos or 15th Dynasty begins |
|
1667.5-1645.5 |
Beon (Khyan) |
(44) |
|
|
1645.5-1626.5 |
Apachnas (Apepi I) |
(36.7) |
|
|
1626.5-1596 |
Apophis (Apepi II) |
(61) |
1628 Thera Eruption in the Aegean |
|
1596-1571 |
Janins (Aqenienre or Yakhuber) |
(50.1) |
|
|
1571-1546 |
Assis (Khamudy Aasehre / Ahmose) |
(49.2) |
1570-1546 Ahmose reigns in Egypt, 1571-1544 Arphaxad reigns in Canaan |
This means that Apophis (Apepi II), become king of Egypt in virtually the year of the Thera Erruption in the Aegean, which is dendrochronlogically dated to 1628 BC. According to the Bible this occurred in 1627 BC +/- 4 years.
From this dating and the nomenclature the Hyksos are far from being the ancestors of the biblical Jews. They are way too early, having ruled over 200 years before Abram or Abraham whose identity was created from a mythology based on the Mittani kings Artatama and Artashumara c. 1390 BC.
Archaeology has revealed that the Hyksos invaded Egypt from Palestine and were composed of various foreign peoples who were not related to the Egyptians, Babylonians or Assyrians.
Greek mythology offers the best explanation for the identity of the Hyksos in that they were Greeks and possibly Illyrians and peoples who dwelled on the Black Sea coast who migrated to Egypt at the time of the abduction of Io by Zeus, which according to Castors chronology occurred in about 1675 BC. The Greeks of Asia-Minor were known to their Hittite neighbours as Akki-Ekwash or Akki-Yahua and to Homer as Akhaiwoi. In Mycenaean Greek Ekwash is written “Eqatai” and appears in Linear-B inscriptions denoting Cavalry Men. It shares the same root as the European word Equas, meaning Horse. The Egyptian rendering of the Hittite term Ekwash was “Hyksos”. Other Egyptian renderings of Equas include Apiru meaning Cavalry, which is close to the Cypriot Aparos and the Greek Hippos. The Apiru who are mentioned in Egyptian inscriptions were characterised as bandits who rode on horses or drove chariots.
The historical evidence for a Greek empire which covered the Mediterranean lies in the account of the empire of Atlantis that was given to Solon by the Egyptian priests of Neith (Athene) shortly before his death (559BC), and the account of the abduction of Io (or Ioun) the daughter of Inachus (1679 BC) and her marriage to the king of Egypt.
This story of Atlantis later referred to by Plato quoting Socrates is as follows; 9000 “years”, (again this is a fractional date and should read 9000/8 years) before Solon, the Atlantians, so called after their first king Atlas, ruled all of Europe as far as the Pillars of Hercules including Eturia and all of Asia-Minor, Palestine and Africa except for Egypt from their island in the Aegean sea known then as the Atlantic.
The Atlantians were expelled from all of Europe by the Athenians and forced to flee to Egypt. The Athenians victory did not last long since shortly afterwards the greatest volcanic eruption in the last 15,000 years destroyed their home, the island of Thera in the Cyclades and almost wiped out proto-Greek civilisation in 1628 BC. Egypt then recovered its kingdom.
When Io was abducted by Zeus in 1667 BC she was taken to Illyria then across the Bosphoros and around the Black Sea. Then she was taken to Syria where she gave birth to Epaphus and then to Egypt where she married the Egyptian king Telegonus. The story was most probably based on a Minoan period Greek military campaign which eventually ended up attacking Egypt.
Putting the dates together we have a date of between 1695 to 1675 for the expulsion of the Atlantians from Europe, which corresponds to the start of the reign of the Hyksos. The term Atlantians comes from Atlas their first king, but it is obvious that Atlas is a phonetic corruption of the Hittite term Ekwash which the Egyptians corrupted to Hyksos. When Solon wrote the account down he re-Hellenised the name Hyksos to Atlas as Plato explains in his text. The Atlantian rule over Egypt came to an end in about 1550 BC (give or take 60 years to allow for rounding errors), which corresponds to the reign of Ahmose who ruled jointly over Egypt with Amenhotep I from 1551 BC onwards.
The above account is also backed up by the Greek king lists of the Argolid which place Phoroneus the first man at this time and make him the father or Car and Lydus during whose time there was an 18 year long famine referred to by Herodotus in the first book of his Histories. This famine would have been caused by the so-called “Nuclear” Winter resulting form the Thera eruption. Prior to this event all Greek records were assumed to be destroyed.
The Hyksos invasion indicates that the inhabitants of Palestine during this period were Europeans as does the story of Noah whose flood occurred at the same time as the Thera eruption. According to the biblical account Iapetus the son of Noah was the ancestor of the Greeks and Thracians. Noah’s son Ham was the ancestors of the Hittites and Noah’s son Shem was the ancestors of the Lydians all of whome are European peoples.
This European origin has been demonstrated by modern analysis of Y-Chromosome DNA which shows that the M172 DNA linage which originated in Anatolia was also the dominant linage of Minoan Greece, Phoenicia, and after that the M35 linage which orientated in Egypt. The DNA linage of the modern Jews is predominantly M89 the same as that of the Arabs, with the Levites or Cohen clan being of M35 linage and therefore of Egyptian origin.
Since the Hyksos were not Jews but were early Minoan period Greeks, what about Jerusalem. According to the Bible Jerusalem was most certainly not founded by the Jews but was already extant before the time of Abraham and was inhabited by the Jebusites. This tribal name is a phonetic corruption of Avaris the city of the Hyksos.
Phonetically Jebus (the ending “ites” is a standard decimation denoting ethnicity so can be depended with) is “ieB/VuS”.
Avaris is phonetically “aB/VRS”. Consonantally these are BS, and BRS.
The “R” is lost in the corruption which turns Avaris into Jebus but is kept in the name of the Jebisites city “Jerus-alem” which looses the “B”. In Greek “Ierus-Alem” would translate as “The other (alem) Avaris (Ierus)” from the Greek “Avaris-Allin” or “Avaris of the Syrians” from the Aramaic “Avaris-Aram”.
Therefore the “Jews” cannot have been the Hyksos.
So lets now consider another candidate for who the Jews were.
From Josephus, “Against Apion” another origin story for the Jews origin is given.
|
Manetho (reconstructed from Against Apion by Josephus) |
|
Amenophis desired to become a spectator of the gods, as had Orus, one of his predecessors in that kingdom, before him. He communicated his desire to his namesake Amenophis, who was the son of Papis, and one that seemed to partake of a divine nature, both as to wisdom and the knowledge of futurities.
Amenophis the prophet told him that he might see the gods, if he would clear the whole country of the lepers and of the other impure people. The king was pleased with this injunction, and got together all that had any defect in their bodies out of Egypt. He sent eighty thousand to those quarries which are on the east side of the Nile, that they might work in them, and might be separated from the rest of the Egyptians.
There were some of the learned priests that were polluted with the leprosy, but Amenophis, the wise man and the prophet, was afraid that the gods would be angry at him and at the king, if there should appear to have been violence offered them. Out of his sagacity about futurities he foretold that certain people would come to the assistance of these polluted wretches, and would conquer Egypt, and keep it in their possession thirteen years. However, he dared not tell the king of these things, but left a writing behind him about all those matters, and then slew himself, which made the king disconsolate.
After those that were sent to work in the quarries had continued in that miserable state for a long while, the king was desired that he would set apart the city Avaris, which was then left desolate of the Hyksos or foreign kings, for their habitation and protection; which they had requested he grant them. Now this city, according to the ancient theology, was Typho's city. But when these men were gotten into it, in crowds, and found the place fit for a revolt, they appointed themselves a ruler out of the priests of Hellopolis, whose name was Osarsiph, and they took their oaths that they would be obedient to him in all things.
He then, in the first place, made this law for them; that they should neither worship the Egyptian gods, nor should abstain from any one of those sacred animals which they have in the highest esteem, but kill and destroy them all and that they should join themselves to nobody but to those that were of this confederacy.
When he had made such laws as these, and many more such as were mainly opposite to the customs of the Egyptians, he gave order that they should use the multitude of the hands they had in building walls about their City, and make themselves ready for a war with king Amenophis, while he did himself take into his friendship the other priests, and those that were polluted with them, and sent ambassadors to those foreign kings (Hyksos) who had been driven out of the land by Tefilmosis to the city called Jerusalem; whereby he informed them of his own affairs, and of the state of those others that had been treated after such an ignominious manner, and desired that they would come with one consent to his assistance in this war against Egypt. He also promised that he would, in the first place, bring them back to their ancient city and country Avaris, and provide a plentiful maintenance for their multitude, and that he would protect them and fight for them as occasion should require, and would easily reduce the country under their dominion.
These foreign kings (Hyksos) were all very glad of this message, and came away with alacrity all together, being in number two hundred thousand men; and in a little time they came to Avaris.
Now Amenophis the king of Egypt, upon his being informed of their invasion, was in great confusion, as calling to mind what Amenophis, the son of Papis, had foretold him; and, in the first place, he assembled the multitude of the Egyptians, and took counsel with their leaders, and sent for their holy images to him, especially for those that were principally worshipped in their temples, and gave a particular charge to the priests distinctly, that they should hide the images of their gods with the utmost care.
He also sent his son Sethos, who was also named Ramesses, from his father Rhampses, being but five years old, to a friend of his. He then passed on with the rest of the Egyptians, being three hundred thousand of the most warlike of them, against the enemy, who met them at Pelusium. Yet did he not join battle with them; but thinking that would be to fight against the gods, he returned back and came to Memphis, where he took Apis and the other holy images which he had sent for to him, and presently marched into Ethiopia, together with his whole army and multitude of Egyptians; for the king of Ethiopia was under an obligation to him, on which account he received him, and took care of all the multitude that was with him, while the country supplied all that was necessary for the food of the men. He also allotted cities and villages for this exile, that was to be from its beginning during those fatally determined thirteen years. Moreover, he pitched a camp for his Ethiopian army, as a guard to king Amenophis, upon the borders of Egypt. And this was the state of things in Ethiopia.
But for the people of Jerusalem, they got the granaries of Egypt into their possession, and perpetrated many of the most horrid actions there. When they came down together with the polluted Egyptians, they treated the men in such a barbarous manner, that those who saw how they subdued the aforementioned country, and the horrid wickedness they were guilty of, thought it a most dreadful thing; for they did not only set the cities and villages on fire, but were not satisfied till they had been guilty of sacrilege, and destroyed the images of the gods, and used them in roasting those sacred animals that used to be worshipped, and forced the priests and prophets to be the executioners and murderers of those animals, and then ejected them naked out of the country.
The Egyptians themselves were the most guilty, because it was their priests that contrived these things, and made the multitude take their oaths for doing so.
It was reported that the priest, who ordained their polity and their laws, was by birth of Hellopolls, and his name Osarsiph, from Osyris, who was the god of Hellopolls; but that when he was gone over to these people, his name was changed, and he was called Moses.
After this on the thirteenth year, Amenophis returned back from Ethiopia with a great army, as did his son Ahampses with another army also, and both of them joined battle with the foreign kings (Hyksos) and the polluted people, and beat them, and slew a great many of them, and pursued them to the bounds of Syria. |
Compare this with the Great Harris Papyrus
|
The Great Harris Papyrus |
|
The land of Egypt was overthrown from without, and every man was thrown out of his right; they had no "chief mouth" for many years formerly until other times. The land of Egypt was in the hands of chiefs and of rulers of towns; one slew his neighbour, great and small. Other times having come after it, with empty years, Irsu ('a self-made man'), a certain Syrian (Kharu) was with them as chief (wr). He set plundering their (ie: the people's) possessions. They made gods like men, and no offerings were presented in the temples.
But when the gods inclined themselves to peace, to set the land in its rights according to its accustomed manner, they established their son, who came forth from their limbs, to be ruler, LPH, of every land, upon their great throne, Userkhaure-setepenre-meryamun, LPH, the son of Re, Setnakht-merire-meryamun, LPH. He was Khepri-Set, when he is enraged; he set in order the entire land which had been rebellious; he slew the rebels who were in the land of Egypt; he cleansed the great throne of Egypt; he was ruler of the Two Lands, on the throne of Atum. He gave ready faces to those who had been turned away. Every man knew his brother who had been walled in. He established the temples in possession of divine offerings, to offer to the gods acccording to their customary stipulations. |
As we have already said, the city of Jerusalem or Heirosolyma was nothing to do with the Jews but belonged to the Jebusites. The story given above is set in the reign of Merneptah (the king of Ethiopia) conventionally given as 1212-1202 BC and that of Amenemses (Amenophis) conventionally given as 1202-1199. Sethos the son of Amenophis was also named Ramessee after Amenophis father. Sethos therefore is clearly Seti II 1199-1193 BC the grandson of Ramses the Great.
According to Manethos own figures Amenophis (Amenemses) reigned 19 years and 6 months and since Seti was 5 years old when Amenophis fled Memphis and would have been 18 years old when the foreign kings were expelled this implies that Amenophis reign should begin in 1212 BC and end in 1193 BC which is the date the bible gives for the Exodus and is also the date of the Trojen War. (Seti II would not have been considered a legitimate heir unless he was born while his father was king).
Cheremon again cited by Josephus gives an account similar to the one by Manetho above, but now includes Joseph as well as Moses.
|
Cheremon (reconstructed from Against Apion by Josephus) |
|
The goddess Isis appeared to Amenophis in his sleep, and blamed him that her temple had been demolished in the war. But Phritiphantes, the sacred scribe, said to him, that if he would purge Egypt of the men that had pollutions upon them, he should be no longer troubled with such frightful apparitions. Amenophis accordingly chose out two hundred and fifty thousand of those that were thus diseased, and cast them out of the country.
Two scribes Tisithen and Peteseph, Peteseph being a sacred scribe, came to Pelusium, and lighted upon three hundred and eighty thousand that had been left there by Amenophis, he not being willing to carry them into Egypt. These scribes made a league of friendship with them, and made with them an expedition against Egypt. The scribes names were Egyptian originally but were changed, Tisithen to Moses and Peteseph to Joseph.
Amenophis could not sustain their attacks, and fled into Ethiopia, but left his wife with child behind him, who lay concealed in certain caverns. There she brought forth a son, whose name was Messene, and when he was grown up to man's estate he pursued the Jews into Syria, being about two hundred thousand, and then received his father Amenophis out of Ethiopia. |
This account indicates that a conscious attempt is being made by the author to insert the Jews into Egyptian history rather than to find them in history. Similar attempts were made by Manetho to insert the Greek mythological kings Danaus and Aegyptus into Egyptian history and more successfully by Herodotus and Euripides to insert Menelaus into accounts given by the Egyptians Priests of the reign of Proteus.
Again the people in this account cannot possibly be the ancestors of the Jews for the reasons given above. So lets proceed to a later account given by Lysimachus which is cited by Josephus.
|
Lysimachus (reconstructed from Against Apion by Josephus) |
|
The people of the Jews being leprous and scabby, and subject to certain other kinds of distempers, in the days of Bocchoris, king of Egypt, fled to the temples, and got their food there by begging. As the numbers were very great that were fallen under these diseases, there arose a scarcity in Egypt.
Hereupon Bocehoris, the king of Egypt, sent some to consult the oracle of [Jupiter] Hammon about his scarcity. The god's answer was this, that he must purge his temples of impure and impious men, by expelling them out of those temples into desert places; but as to the scabby and leprous people, he must drown them, and purge his temples, the sun having an indignation at these men being suffered to live; and by this means the land will bring forth its fruits.
Upon Bocchoris's having received these oracles, he called for their priests, and the attendants upon their altars, and ordered them to make a collection of the impure people, and to deliver them to the soldiers, to carry them away into the desert; but to take the leprous people, and wrap them in sheets of lead, and let them down into the sea. Hereupon the scabby and leprous people were drowned, and the rest were gotten together, and sent into desert places, in order to be exposed to destruction.
In this case they assembled themselves together, and took counsel what they should do, and determined that, as the night was coming on, they should kindle fires and lamps, and keep watch and that they also should fast the next night, and propitiate the gods, in order to obtain deliverance from them.
On the next day there was one Moses, who advised them that they should venture upon a journey, and go along one road till they should come to places fit for habitation. He charged them to have no kind regards for any man, nor give good counsel to any, but always to advise them for the worst; and to overturn all those temples and altars of the gods they should meet with. The rest commended what he had said with one consent, and did what they had resolved on, and so travelled over the desert.
The difficulties of the journey being over, they came to a country inhabited, and that there they abused the men, and plundered and burnt their temples; and then came into that land which is called Judea, and there they built a city, and dwelt therein, and that their city was named Hierosyla, from this their robbing of the temples. Still, upon the success they had afterwards, they in time changed its denomination, that it might not be a reproach to them, and called the city Hierosolyma, and themselves Hierosolymites. |
This account is clearly a Hybrid based on the accounts of Manetho and Cheremon, and that of the bible.
A compromise candidate for the Pharaoh has been found in Bocchoris who is possibly the Moeris of Herodotus histories in whose reign a 9 year long famine is supposed to have occurred. By Herodotus reference to him having lived almost 900 years prior to the time of writing (440 BC) he can be identified as Horemheb (1321-1293 BC). This was the Pharaoh of Josephs famine also, as I stated in an earlier chapter, and would account for why Chermemon decided to include Joseph in his story.
The biblical element of the crossing of the red sea, has been explained as sacrificial drowning ordered by the God. Collective Jewish character traits of the Roman era, in that they isolated themselves from other people and distained all other Gods, have been explained as resulting from the Laws of Moses.
The insulting nature of this account shows that it has no serous credibility as an origin story.
So lets proceed to another account, this time by Tacitus from his Annals.
|
Tacitus (Annals Book 5) |
|
Some say that the Jews were fugitives from the island of Crete, who settled on the nearest coast of Africa about the time when Saturn was driven from his throne by the power of Jupiter. Evidence of this is sought in the name. There is a famous mountain in Crete called Ida; the neighbouring tribe, the Idaei, came to be called Judaei by a barbarous lengthening of the national name. Others assert that in the reign of Isis the overflowing population of Egypt, led by Hierosolymus and Judas, discharged itself into the neighbouring countries. Many, again, say that they were a race of Ethiopian origin, who in the time of king Cepheus were driven by fear and hatred of their neighbours to seek a new dwelling-place. Others describe them as an Assyrian horde who, not having sufficient territory, took possession of part of Egypt, and founded cities of their own in what is called the Hebrew country, lying on the borders of Syria. Others, again, assign a very distinguished origin to the Jews, alleging that they were the Solymi, a nation celebrated in the poems of Homer, who called the city which they founded Hierosolyma after their own name. Most writers, however, agree in stating that once a disease, which horribly disfigured the body, broke out over Egypt; that king Bocchoris, seeking a remedy, consulted the oracle of Hammon, and was bidden to cleanse his realm, and to convey into some foreign land this race detested by the gods. The people, who had been collected after diligent search, finding themselves left in a desert, sat for the most part in a stupor of grief, till one of the exiles, Moyses by name, warned them not to look for any relief from God or man, forsaken as they were of both, but to trust to themselves, taking for their heaven-sent leader that man who should first help them to be quit of their present misery. They agreed, and in utter ignorance began to advance at random. Nothing, however, distressed them so much as the scarcity of water, and they had sunk ready to perish in all directions over the plain, when a herd of wild asses was seen to retire from their pasture to a rock shaded by trees. Moyses followed them, and, guided by the appearance of a grassy spot, discovered an abundant spring of water. This furnished relief. After a continuous journey for six days, on the seventh they possessed themselves of a country, from which they expelled the inhabitants, and in which they founded a city and a temple. Moyses, wishing to secure for the future his authority over the nation, gave them a novel form of worship, opposed to all that is practised by other men. Things sacred with us, with them have no sanctity, while they allow what with us is forbidden. In their holy place they have consecrated an image of the animal by whose guidance they found deliverance from their long and thirsty wanderings. They slay the ram, seemingly in derision of Hammon, and they sacrifice the ox, because the Egyptians worship it as Apis. They abstain from swine's flesh, in consideration of what they suffered when they were infected by the leprosy to which this animal is liable. By their frequent fasts they still bear witness to the long hunger of former days, and the Jewish bread, made without leaven, is retained as a memorial of their hurried seizure of corn. We are told that the rest of the seventh day was adopted, because this day brought with it a termination of their toils; after a while the charm of indolence beguiled them into giving up the seventh year also to inaction. But others say that it is an observance in honour of Saturn, either from the primitive elements of their faith having been transmitted from the Idaei, who are said to have shared the flight of that God, and to have founded the race, or from the circumstance that of the seven stars which rule the destinies of men Saturn moves in the highest orbit and with the mightiest power, and that many of the heavenly bodies complete their revolutions and courses in multiples of seven. |
The greater part of this account is the story of Lysimachus which by Tacitus time seems to have gained a high degree of popularity.
Apart from these accounts no one with any credibility makes mention of any people such as the Jews. Herodotus when listing all the circumcised people of the known world, makes a point of mentioning that the Colchians were circumcised and speculates that they might be of Egyptian origin but fails to mention any Jews, Hebrews, or Israelites at all. Instead he says Palestine was occupied only by Syrians and Phoenicians who were circumcised. On top of this Herodotus fails to mention the Jews, Hebrews, or Israelites among the troops that the Persians used to attack the Greeks, even though every race that was under Persian rule was part of the army and was named. Neither does Arrion mention the Jews among Alexanders troops, enemies or allies, even though the Arabs are mentioned.
What can clearly be drawn from the above accounts is that nobody knew who the Jews were nor could they decide where they come from. Nobody gave any serious consideration to the account given in the bible which indicates that the biblical account could not have ever been corroborated by any extant Egyptian, Babylonian, Assyrian, or Phoenician histories, as Josephus tried to do, without resorting to unsubstantiated conjectures or hybrid fictionalisations.
The fact that we have already shown that all of patriarchs named in Genesis have been systematically plagiarized and dissembled from the annals of other known peoples who occupied Syria-Palestine at the time would indicate that far from being the basis of a religion, which archeologically shows no sign of being practiced, the bible is a political work that was designed to create a false ancestry for the people who ended up conquering Jerusalem in Hellenistic times, the Maccabees.
Manetho can be corroborated from known Egyptian inscriptions and chronology. These talk of two invasions of Egypt by the so-called Sea Peoples directly after the death of Ramses the Great and in the reign of Ramses III, who were driven out of Egypt.
|
Encyclopaedia Britannica (online version) |
|
Sea People
Any of the groups of aggressive seafarers who invaded eastern Anatolia, Syria, Palestine, Cyprus, and Egypt toward the end of the Bronze Age, especially in the 13th century BC. They are held responsible for the destruction of old powers such as the Hittite Empire. Because of the abrupt break in ancient Near Eastern records as a result of the invasions, the precise extent and origin of the upheavals remain uncertain. Principal but one-sided evidence for the Sea Peoples is based on Egyptian texts and illustrations; other important information comes from Hittite sources and from archaeological data.
The Egyptians waged two wars against the Sea Peoples: the first, in the fifth year of King Merneptah; the second, in the reign of Ramses III
Tentative identifications of the Sea Peoples listed in Egyptian documents are as follows: Ekwesh, a group of Bronze Age Greeks (Achaeans; Ahhiyawa in Hittite texts); Teresh, Tyrrhenians (Tyrsenoi), known to later Greeks as sailors and pirates from Anatolia, ancestors of the Etruscans; Luka, a coastal people of western Anatolia, also known from Hittite sources (their name survives in classical Lycia on the southwest coast of Anatolia); Sherden, probably Sardinians (the Sherden acted as mercenaries of the Egyptians in the Battle of Kadesh, 1299 BC); Shekelesh, probably identical with the Sicilian tribe called Siculi; Peleset, generally believed to refer to the Philistines, who perhaps came from Crete and were the only major tribe of the Sea Peoples to settle permanently in Palestine.
Further identifications of other Sea Peoples mentioned in the documents are much more uncertain. |
The people named above cannot possibly be the ancestors of the Jews. But because the Biblical Exodus occurred in 1193 BC the account of Manetho or a related event in Egyptian history, such as the treachery of Syrian chancellor Bey in the reign of Seti II, described earlier, may be what the Biblical story was based on.
The inscription of Merneptah allows everything to fall into place.
|
Inscription of Merneptah (in the 5th year of his reign) |
|
…. Recital of his victories in all lands, to let all lands together know, to let the glory of his deeds be seen: the King of Upper and Lower Egypt: Banere-meramun; the Son of Re: Merneptah, Content with Maat; the Bull, lord of strength who slays his foes, splendid on the field of valour when his attack is made:
Shu who dispelled the cloud that was over Egypt, letting Egypt see the rays of the sun disk. Who removed the mountain of copper from the people's neck, that he might give breath to the imprisoned folk. Who let Hut-ka-Ptah exult over its foes, letting Tjenen triumph over his opponents. Opener of Memphis' gates that were barred, who allowed the temples to receive their foods. The King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Banere-meramun, the Son of Re, Merneptah, Content with Maat. The Sole One who steadied the hearts of hundred thousands, breath entered their nostrils at the sight of him. Who destroyed the land of the Tjemeh in his lifetime, cast abiding terror in the heart of the Meshwesh. He turned back the Libyans who trod Egypt, great is dread of Egypt in their hearts.
~
The princes are prostrate saying: "Shalom!" Not one of the Nine Bows lifts his head: Tjehenu is vanquished, Khatti at peace, Canaan is captive with all woe. Ashkelon is conquered, Gezer seized, Yanoam made nonexistent; Israel is wasted, bare of seed, Khor is become a widow for Egypt. All who roamed have been subdued [ie. the Apiru]. By the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Banere-meramun, Son of Re, Merneptah, Content with Maat, Given life like Re every day.
|
The title of "The Sole One" used by Merneptah above has exactly the same meaning as the Greek word “On” which is used in the bible to refer to the god of Moses. The same title is used by Setnakhte and it is likely that one of these kings, probably Setnakhte was the basis of the modern Jewish religion by being syncretised at a much later date with the Phoenician god king Jehovah.
Of the peoples described the Meshwesh are most likely the Mycians who were neighbours of the Trojens. Tjemeh was probably Chemmis in Upper Egypt. According to Herodotus Chemmis contained a Greek colony from the time of Perseus which survived until his day.
Lybia was the daughter of Epaphus the son of Io (or Ioun) the daughter of Inachus and must have also been a Greek colony.
The Tjehenu were the Teukrians or Trojens. The Khatti were the Hittites. The people of Canaan were the Southern Phoenicians described by Herodotus who formerly dwelled on the Red Sea. Ashkelon was a Mycenaean colony in Palestine and probably founded by Agenor the son of Lybia. Yanoam was probably Joppa another Mycenaean city and the city of Io [or Ioun].
The mention of Israel is the first direct confirmation of any of the peoples that worshiped YHWH, but the reference to it as a land is “wasted, bare of seed“ is out of place since there was no kingdom of Israel until the reign of Saul in 1056 BC, therefore Israel must have been used to describe the Palestinian provinces of Assyria.
Khor is either Kadesh or a reference to the Hurrians and the Apiru were the bandits, lepers and other impure people that Manetho describes dwelled in Avaris or Jerusalem.
Avaris = Abaris = Iebu[r]s = Apirus
According to the bible, when David captured the city of Jerusalem he expelled all the lepers from it and all the people who were deformed or diseased. This tallies with the account of Manetho who says that Avaris was set up by the Egyptians as a leper colony just prior to the exodus. Even at the time of Christ the bible says Jerusalem was full of lepers and the sick.
The whole story about the people being sick and leprous most probably originated as allegory from a description of the people of Avaris being unclean and unlawful meaning that they were criminals. In the middle ages the people most likely to become lepers were prisoners kept in dungeons. Since the Apiru are described as bandits in Egyptian records this explains the origin of the bible story about the Egyptians giving their gold to the so-called "Hebrews" on the day of the Exodus. In reality the Apiru stole it.
Manethos account clearly distinguishes the current occupants of Avaris, ie. the lepers from the pervious occupants, the Hyksos, as separate peoples. The Mernempta Stele also distinguishes the people of Israel and the Apiru as different peoples whereas the bible says that the Hebrews and Israelites were the same people.
By the placement towards the bottom of the list third from last Israel must have played a relatively minor role in the so-called exodus. The Apiru at the bottom played even less of a role and were clearly a different entity to the people Israel not their ancestors.
The identity of the Sea-Peoples the Egyptians expelled from Egypt in the reign of Ramses III was the Greeks. This can be seen if we read the Inscription of Ramses III which can be shown to corroborate the events which ancient Greek historians say occurred after the Trojan War.
|
Inscription of Ramses III |
|
In the eighth year of his reign Ramesses III wrote
"The foreign countries made a conspiracy in their islands. All at once the lands were removed and scattered in the fray. No land could stand before their arms, from Hatti, Kode, Carchemish, Arzawa, and Alishiya on, being cut off. A camp was set up in one place Amurru. They desolated its people, and its land was like that which had never come into being. They were coming forward toward Egypt, while the flame was prepared before them. Their confederation was the Peleset, Tjeker, Skekelesh, Denyen, and Weshesh, lands united. They laid their hands upon the land as far as the circuit of the earth, their hearts confident and trusting: "Our plans will succeed"... |
The 8th year of Ramses was 1175 BC and was also the year when Menelaus returned to Sparta. While he was away Menelaus amassed riches from Libya, Phoenicia , Cyprus and Egypt before being expelled by Pharoah Thoclymonos the son of Proteus. Apollodorus states that Menelaus left Egypt and returned to Greece 8 years after the Trojan War (Epitome 14/6.30) which ended in 1183/2 BC according to Diodorus and Tatian.
Alishiya was the Hittite name for Cyprus also known as Alasia.
The Peleset were also known as the Philistines who archaeologists have shown were Mycenaean Greeks. These people were therefore Pelasgian Greeks
The Pelasgain tribes of Greece included the Arkadians and the Athenians. According to Greek historians after the Trojan War the Arkadian king Agapenor and the Athenian king Demophon both migrated to Cyprus as did Teucer the son of Telamon.
The Tjeker were the Teucrians or the people of Troy.
After the Trojen War Teucer was expelled from the island of Salmais which is off the coast of Athens by his father Telamon and migrated to Cyprus where he founded the city of Salamis.
Teucers mother was Hessione the daughter of Lamedon king of Troy and his father was the son Aeacus therefore he was half Teucrian and half Pelasgian.
The Skekelesh were the Greek islands of the Kyklades or Cyclades which were off the coast of Attica the home of Teucer.
The Denyen were Danaoi which was the name given to the Argives after Danaus became their king in 1472 BC according to Greek historian Castor.
The Weshesh were the Ahhiwesha or the Akhaiwoi of Homers Illiad and were therefore the Achaeans who were led by Meneleus himself.
Amurru could be the Egyptian form of Avaris or a reference to the land of the Amorites.
Therefore the Inscription of Ramses III fully corroborates the histories of the Greeks better than the Merneptah Stele corroborates the exodus story leading to the conclusion that the Greek histories were composed at a much earlier date than those of the bible.
Herodotus identifies Ramses III with Rhampsinitus the son of Proteus. Euripides in his play Helen calls Theoclymenos the son of Proteus therefore Proteus was the father of Ramses III and therefore Setnakkte. Diodorus Siculus states that Proteus was called Ketes by the Egyptians; "A man of obscure origin was chosen king, whom the Egyptians call 'Ketes', but who among the Greeks is thought to be that Proteus who lived at the time of the war about Ilium." Marianne Luban concludes that Ketes derives from Egyptian Khenti, and means the same as Proteus or Proteios, meaning "first one". She cites The Elephantine Stela which confirms Diodorus and identifies Proteus with Setnakkte; "He (Setnakkte) was chosen, His Majesty, l.p.h., as the "Khenty-Heh", the "First One of Millions", regardless of countless others being more significant than he." Given that Merneptah also had the title "The Sole One" he may also have been identified with Proteus. Since the title the Sole One can also be translated into Greek as “O On” i.e. “The One” then it is obvious that the Greek text of Exodus 3:14, “…ego eimai o on…” where the God gives his name to Moses must be referring to Proteus.
Since the play Helen by Euripides dates to 405 BC and the version of the story given by Herodotus dates to 460 BC and this is the most recent attempt to Mythologize Greco-Egyptian history, and the Bible is less consistent with the truth than the Helen story, the Old Tenement must have been written and mythologized at a much later date than Helen, most probably during the Hellenistic period. The bible makes out that the Hebrews and Israelites are the same people when in fact they are different peoples and fails to mention the fact that the Teukrians and Hittites invaded Egypt in the first place and were the dominant force. The Greek histories mention all the peoples who invaded Egypt with Menelaus after the Trojan War correctly, all of whom were Greeks thus the Greeks are clearly relating their own history, whereas the Jews are relating the histories of other peoples who bear no relation to them and falsely making them out to be their own ancestors.
So here is what really happened year by year.
1212 BC Amenophis/Amenemses becomes pharaoh of Egypt after Ramses II
1211 BC Seti is born to Amenemses
1206 BC Egypt is invaded by an alliance of Sea Peoples led by the Teukrians. Menelaus marries Helen and the Greeks pledge him allegiance. Amenemses and Seti aged 5 flee from Memphis to Ethiopia. Memphis is devastated by the Sea Peoples.
1203/2 BC Helen is abducted by Paris the prince of Troy. Paris arrives in Egypt with Helen and is entertained by Proteus/Setnakhte.
1201/0 BC Agamemnon leads the Greeks to Asia Minor but they cannot find the Trojans.
1198 BC Merneptah becomes king at Memphis.
1194 BC The death of the Egyptian first born occurs. Merneptah in his 5th year begins a year long campaign against the Sea Peoples, who consisted of the Teukrians and their allies. His allies include the Akawasha (Achaeans), Luka (Lycians), Tursha (Tyrsenoi or Tyrennians), Sheklesh (Cycladians/Sikeloi or Sicilians) and the Sherden (Sardinians).
1193 BC Paris is expelled from Egypt and returns to Troy. The Red Sea
Canaanites pursued by Merneptah migrate north and the myth of the biblical
exodus created. Amenemses and his son Seti take part in the expulsion of the
Sea Peoples in the 13th year of Amenemses reign. Amenemses dies. All
the Israelites over the age of 20 except Joshua are put to death by the LORD. Israel
is laid waste by Merneptah and is made bare of seed. Amenemses dies and Seti II
rules.
1192 BC Orestes the son of Agamemnon is born. Iphigenia the daughter of Agamemnon is taken to be sacrificed. Agamemnon lays siege to Troy.
1188 BC Seti II dies at the age of 25 according to the X-ray dating of his mummy. Merneptah-Siptah the son of Seti II or Amenemses rules after Seti II is deposed by Merneptah-Siptah’s Syrian butler Bey who is made chancellor. Bey imposes extreme taxes on the people and deprives the temples of their tribute.
1183 Merneptah-Siptah dies at the age of 16-20 according to the X-ray dating of his mummy. Twosret the widow of Seti II becomes queen.
1183 BC Setnakhte becomes Pharaoh at Memphis.
1182 BC 12 Thargellion/May 11/12 Troy falls to Agamemnon after Odysseus devises a wooden horse siege engine. Menelaus failing to find Helen at Troy heads for Egypt to bring her back. Menelaus embarks on campaigns in Syria, Cyprus, Libya and Egypt. Proteus dies. Setnakhte is buried in the tomb built for Twosret. Ramses III/Theoclymenos becomes Pharaoh of Egypt. Teucer is exiled from Salamis and founds another Salamis in Cyprus. Agapenor is blown off course and arrives in Cyprus.
1181 BC 13 Gamelion/February 2/3 Agamemnon returns to Mycenae is murdered by Clytemnestra and Aegisthus.
1175 BC Ramses III/Theoclymenos expels the second wave Sea Peoples that attacked Egypt led by Menelaus. Orestes murders Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. Menelaus flees and returns to Greece with Helen.
1171 BC Jericho falls to Joshua.
1151 BC Ramses III dies.
1150 BC Demophon dies in Cyprus.
Lower Egypt at Memphis |
Upper Egypt at Thebes |
Opposed by |
|
1212-1206 Amenemses |
1212-1206 Merneptah |
|
|
1206 The Sea Peoples |
1206-1199 Merneptah |
1206-1199 Amenemses in exile |
|
1199-1193 Merneptah |
1199-1193 Merneptah |
1199-1193 Amenemses in exile |
|
1193-1192 Seti II |
1193-1192 Seti II |
|
|
1192-1190 Seti II |
1192-1190 Merneptah Siptah? |
|
|
1190-1187 Seti II |
1190-1187 Seti II |
1190-1186 Merneptah Siptah |
|
1187-1182 Setnakhte |
1187-1182 Setnakhte |
1186-1185 Twosret |
|
|
|
|
|
1182-1151 Ramses III |
|
|
So now we know the basis of the Exodus story it is clear that the bible was created by joining together past historical events in a semi-mythical narrative and this semi-mythical narrative eventually formed the basis of the Jewish religion.
The Jews of Syria-Palestine
In the Assyrian inscription on the Prism of Senacherib, the 3rd campaign of this king is called the campaign against the Hittite land. But the kings named include those of the Phoenician city Sidon and Ezikia the king of Jerusalem. No kings are specifically described as Hittite, even though this is a campaign against them, so Hittite must be a blanket term refer to all the kings listed. It is odd that the Assyrians would still mention the Hittites when the Hittite empire in Palestine ceased in about 1000 BC. Clearly the Assyrians regarded all the inhabitants of Palestine as Hittites even the Phoenicians and the Ioudai, in the same way that Herodotus regards these same people as nothing more than Phoenicians.
|
Senacherib (Prism) |
|
In my third campaign, I went against the Hittite-land. Lulê, king of Sidon, the terrifying splendor of my sovereignty overcame him, and far off into the midst of the sea he fled. There he died. Great Sidon, Little Sidon, Bît-Zitti, Zaribtu, Mahalliba, Ushu, Akzib, Akko, his strong, walled cities, where there were fodder and drink, for his garrisons, the terrors of the weapon of Assur, my lord, overpowered them and they bowed in submission at my feet. I seated Tuba'lu on the royal throne over them, and tribute, gifts for my majesty, I imposed upon him for all time, without ceasing.
~
As for Hezekiah the Judahite, who did not submit to my yoke: forty-six of his strong, walled cities, as well as the small towns in their area, which were without number, by levelling with battering-rams and by bringing up seige-engines, and by attacking and storming on foot, by mines, tunnels, and breeches, I besieged and took them. 200,150 people, great and small, male and female, horses, mules, asses, camels, cattle and sheep without number, I brought away from them and counted as spoil. (Hezekiah) himself, like a caged bird I shut up in Jerusalem, his royal city. I threw up earthworks against him— the one coming out of the city-gate, I turned back to his misery. His cities, which I had despoiled, I cut off from his land, and to Mitinti, king of Ashdod, Padi, king of Ekron, and Silli-bêl, king of Gaza, I gave (them). And thus I diminished his land. I added to the former tribute, and I lad upon him the surrender of their land and imposts—gifts for my majesty. As for Hezekiah, the terrifying splendour of my majesty overcame him, and the Arabs and his mercenary troops which he had brought in to strengthen Jerusalem, his royal city, deserted him. In addition to the thirty talents of gold and eight hundred talents of silver, gems, antimony, jewels, large carnelians, ivory-inlaid couches, ivory-inlaid chairs, elephant hides, elephant tusks, ebony, boxwood, all kinds of valuable treasures, as well as his daughters, his harem, his male and female musicians, which he had brought after me to Nineveh, my royal city. To pay tribute and to accept servitude, he dispatched his messengers. |
Linguistically, “Ioudai-os” can be seen to derive from the word “Hittite”, which in Greek is “Hettai-os”, via “Heddai”, based on Grimms Law of Consonantal Shift. Tacitus states that the Jews may have been a tribe originating from Crete called the “Idaei”, which “came to be called Judaei by a barbarous lengthening of the national name”. Clearly this is the intermediate linguistic form between the words Hettai and Ioudai. According to Herodotus a colony of Carians from Asia-Minor is said to have been established in Crete from the time of Minos who served him as mercenaries. The Carians are were linguistically related to the Hittites. Even the bible itself describes Solomon of being of Hittite decent.
At Chemmis in Egypt Herodotus (2.91.1) identifies a people that observed the same religious customs as the Greeks including the practise of holding funeral games which no one else practised in Egypt who claimed that they were of the same family as Perseus who dates to a century before Minos. Herodotus also says that Ionian and Carian mercenaries were the first foreigners to ever be allowed to settle in Egypt in around 664 BC and their children became Egypt’s translators. The Elephantine texts dating from Persian times call these people the Yahunim, which is the Aramaic corruption of the Persian and Egyptian term “bar-Yunni” meaning sons of Ion, and a name given to the Ionian Greeks which continued to be used by the Ottoman Turks to descried the “Yunni” or Greeks of Asia-Minor and the “Jannisares” Greek children who were kidnapped form their parents and forced to serve in the Ottoman army. The Jews therefore i.e. the biblical people going by the name of Ioudai were most probably descended from the Sea-Peoples who came to Palestine in the Reigns of Horemheb and Ramses III and were a mixture of Hittites and Achaeans or Akki-Yahua. Clearly the Sea-Peoples were Europeans, as is shown by their tribal names, not Afro-Asiatics, therefore they can be no relation to today’s “Jews” who are related to the Arabs and Syrians.
In Hellenistic times the population of Syria-Palestine consisted primarily of indigenous Syrians, Phoenicians, Arabs and Egyptians.
There is no mention in any ancient texts prior to the Roman period of any people called Jews, Israelites or Hebrews inhabiting the land other than isolated tribes that were all supposed to have been wiped out long before the time of Herodotus. The continuous existence of the Jews from the time of Adam to the present is merely a conjecture based on the claims attributed to the bible which no Hellenistic, Roman or Egyptian writer took seriously.
Modern DNA research shows that today’s “Jews” are indistinguishable from Syrians, Arabs and Palestinians because they map directly onto these groups. But they have no similarity to northern African populations such as the Ethiopians or Egyptians. It would not be possible to distinguish most Jews from Syrians or Palestinians by looking at their DNA, but they can easily be differentiated from Egyptians.
A serious problem arises in that the archaeological, anthropological and historic evidence of the 1st century AD shows that the so-called “Jews” of this time have the characteristics of northern African populations, ie they have robust rather than gracile skulls and depictions claimed to be from Synagogues show them with a dark complexion and short curly hair. These people cannot have possibly been the biological ancestors of the Jews of toady.
Further more the historic and genetic evidence form the time of Genesis shows that up until 1200 BC the population of Syria-Palestine was of European origin, being predominately Hittite. The so-called Canaanites/Phoenicians are also thought to be of European ancestry and carry the DNA marker of one of the so-called “7 daughters of Eve” called “Jasmine”. So yet again these people which the bible implies were the ancestors of the biblical “Jews” cannot possibly be the biological ancestors of the Jews of today.
The archaeological evidence in Palestine and Babylon from 1200 BC until 300 BC shows that the dominant religion was the Tammuz and Osiris cult. There is not a trace of what we would consider "Judaism" until 65 BC. Most obviously no 7 branched candle sticks have ever been discovered. No boxes carrying Hebrew prayers from the Torah have been found in doorways or on leather arm straps as is the “Jewish custom”. No Synagogues, Priests robes patterned with blue fringes or temples have ever shown up in digs. True the names of the kings of Israil and Ioudia appear in Assyrian inscriptions, but that does not constitute the existence of the “Jewish” religion as it is known today.
So who did the Jews really worship?
As we have seen earlier from the writings of Eusebius the original religion practised in Syria-Palestine was the ancestor worship of the king as a God, so for example Baal was both a king of the Tyrians and also a god.
Likewise the other inhabitants of Syria-Palestine including those of Israil and Ioudia worshiped their kings as gods along with the deities of the state pantheons. According to Porphyry (as quoted by Eusebius in “Preparation for the Gospel” 1.9) the Jews worshiped the same pantheon of Gods as the Phoenicians and even in his day these Gods were recognised to have once been mortal men and women.
Each city-state had its own patron Gods and Goddesses and the patron God of the cities of Jerusalem and Samaria was Yam, Yah or Ieuo, and the patron Goddess was Astoreth who was a combination of Ashura and Astarte who were daughters of El. Each city may have had more than one patron God and this is indicated in the case of Jerusalem by the fact that Melchizedek was the priest of the Most High God or Elyon in the time of Abraham, who was the God of the original indigenous inhabitants the Jebusites. The name Zadoc which forms the last part of the name Melchizedek was used as a hereditary name by the priests in Jerusalem from the time of David and Solomon therefore the worship of Elyon continued well into the time of the kingdoms of Israil and Ioudia.
Just like the Assyrians incorporated the names of their ancestors Adad, or Vul, or Enlil into the names of their kings all of which were interchangeable, the “Jews” did the same with their patron Gods .
Ahab, the king of Israel is referred to on the Black obelisk of Shalmaneser as “Yahua the son of Khumri (Omiri)” and on the Moabite Stone as “Yahweh” and said to be the son of Omri. In other inscriptions Achaz is also called Yahaz and Hezikiah is also called Heziyahu. This indicates that these kings are honouring the Phoenician God Jehovah. Other biblical names honour the God El by using his name in their own names such as Samuel, Daniel, Ezekiel and so on, therefore there is obvious polytheistic worship occurring.
The name Jehovah is found in the names of two Egyptians Pharaohs of the 15th and 16th Dynasties, Yakubher and Yahobaam who are probably the basis of the Phoenician Sea God Yam who is treated as a deified king in the Ras Sharma Tablets which date to 1400 BC. His presence in the Phoenician pantheon as a Sea God and the fact that in Hebrew the word Yam means sea and his other title Nahar means River indicates a Greek origin for the name in the word Gialo and is therefore related to the names of the Greek Sea Peoples the Akhaiwoi and Aegialeans. The title Yam-Nahar seems to indicate that his domain included the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea and the Rivier Jorden, which links them.
Section Headings |
|
|
Last update 4.10 17/06/2008