essay 1302

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Many scholars are convinced that most of the literature of Judaism and Christianity

is an elaborate re-working of Ancient Egyptian religion, since several of the Egyptian texts

have existed over 2,000 years before contacts with the Greeks or even the Hebrews.

Arguably, this evidence begins to force upon one, that the Egyptian religion was

predominant and that some of the Judaeo- Christian intellectual, religious and symbolic

ideas are direct continuities.

The Ancient Egyptians believed in a single creator and originator of divine power.

In the Great Hymn toKhnum, the godKhnum that means molder he is usually shown as a

ram-headed deity working at his potters wheel, fashioning men and all living creatures out

of clay. In the Egyptian creation legendKhnum is depicted as the

divine potter The mud of the Nile, heated to excess by the Sun, fermented and generated,

without seeds, the races of men and animals. 1

Likewise in both Judaism and Christianity in the Passages of the Bible, there is the

same fundamental belief in the concept of the Divine Potter and Creator God of the

heavens and the earth. In Genesis 2:7 the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground,

1 www.egypt-tehuti.org/articles/egypt-bible-similarities.html

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and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Therefore

the material used to make man is the same type of substance used byKhnum. 2

Additionally, in the Hebrews Genesis cosmology, God creates the Universe by

verbal fiat where according to Genesis 1:3 And God said let there be light: and there was

light; and in the Book of John In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with

God, and the Word was God. 3In the Egyptian Book of Coming Forth by Day (Book of

the Dead) it contains a strikingly parallel passage, Iam the Eternal, I am RaI am that

which created the WordI am the Word In both accounts creation takes place by the

means of the word of the creator, thereby showing the direct intellectual continuities of

ancient Egypt.4

Another distinct similarity between Ancient Egyptian Religion and Judaeo-

Christianity can also be detected in the Egyptian Text from the Egyptian Book of Night

where To come out of the Netherworld, to rest in the Morning Barge, to navigate the

Abyss until the hour of Re, She who sees the beauty of her Lord, to make transformations

in Khepri, to rise to the horizon, to enter the mouth, to come out of the vulva, to burst forth

out of the Gate of the Horizon of the Hour, She who lifts up the beauty of Ra in order to

make live men, all cattle, all worms he has created. is parallel to the Bible in Genesis

1:24 in that God says Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle and

creeping thing and the beast of the earth after his kind. 5

However, according to Yosef Ben-Jochannan Moses took the Ten

Commandments, the foundation of Judaism, the Mother of Christianity and the grand-

2Currid, John.Ancient Egypt and the Old Testament(Baker Books House Company, 1997)

3 Holy Bible (Gideons International)4Currid, John.Ancient Egypt and the Old Testament(Baker Books House Company, 1997)5 www.egypt-tehuti.org/articles/egypt-bible-similarities.html

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mother of Islam from the Coffin Texts The Negative Confessions of the Osirian Drama.

6 There are several comparable features in the Book of Coming Forth by Day, where O

Long-Nosed who comes forth from Hermopolis, I have not stolen is equated to Thou Shall

not Steal; O Consumer-of-Shadows who comes forth from the cave, I have not killed people

is akin to Thou shall not kill and O Truly who comes from Andjet, I have not lain with

anothers wife is also similar to Thou shall not commit adultery.7

Based on the interpretations of modern day scholars, Moses had lived in Egypt

during the18th dynasty and Diop argues that circa 1400 B.C the Jews were an illiterate,

idol worshipping Tribe. For e.g. this is depicted in the Book of Exodus, when Moses

retreated to the Mt. Sinai, they mounted a golden calf thereby showing the avatar of the

preceding Taurean age.8

However, during this time the Pharaoh who reigned in Egypt was Amenotep IV

who had abolished the religion of Amen-Ra and created a religious revolution around a

new deity the Aten. The Aten was the one and only god, a universe god. In order to signify

a complete break with the past, he changed his name to Akhenaton meaning the glory of

the Aten.

Sigmund Freud in the book Moses and Monotheism argues that Moses was not a

Jew but an Egyptian for his name means Child of the Pharaoh and was probably the loyal

official Thutmose under Akhenaton. He also claims that Thutmose converted the Jews in

6 Ben-Jochannan, Y (African Origins of the Major World Religions)7Karenga, Maulana. The Book of Coming Forth by Day (Univ. of Sankore Press Los Angeles, California,

1990)

8Van Sertima, I.Nile Valley Civilizations (Journal of African Civilizations Ltd, 1985)

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Goshen to Atenist-monotheism. Thereby this evidence clearly shows that there was some

comparability between Ancient Egypt and Judaism.

In addition, there are other Egyptian religious texts that have notable parallels in

relation to the Bible. An exceptional illustration is the hymn composed in honour of the

Aten by Akhenaton, and Psalm 104. They are both similar in all particulars, sequence and

images. For e.g. When thou settest in the western horizon of the sky, the earth is in

darkness like death; is similar to the Psalm Thou makest darkness and it is night.9

Secondly, in the thirty chapters of the Teaching of Amenemope (Amenhotep III) it

contains many wisdom texts, which also were later adopted in the Old Testaments Book of

Proverbs. There are numerous verbal parallels that occur between this Egyptian text and

the Bible. For e.g. opening lines of the first chapter: Give your ears, listen to the words

which are spoken, give your mind to interpreting them. It is profitable to put them in your

heartis akin to Proverbs 1:2 - 4. 10

On the other hand, well renowned Egyptologists Sir E. A Willis Budge argues that

the theological Christian principle of the Immaculate Conception preached by St. Mark and

his immediate followers closely resembled that of the worship of Osiris, Isis and Horus

(Ausar/Auset/Heru) of the Osirian Drama.

Many elements of theAuset(Isis) myth and the story of the Virgin Mary are very

similar, for both were able to conceive the divine child without the male impregnation. In

the Osirian DramaHeru (Horus) was conceived and born after the death ofAuset's

husband, namelyAusar(Osiris), and as such, she was revered as the Virgin Mother.11

9Van Sertima, I.Black Women in Antiquity (Journal of African Civilizations Ltd, 1985)

10 www.egypt-tehuti.org/articles/egypt-bible-similarities.html11 www.egypt-tehuti.org/articles/egypt-bible-similarities.html

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In the Gospel Matthew, Jesus is made pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Similarly in the second scene at Luxor, the god Kneph personifies the breath of life by

holding the ankh, the symbol of life to the mouth of the mother, signifying that she is

conceived by the power of the Spirit.

Additionally in the Egyptian Myth, Toth is compared to the Angel Gabriel in the

Gospel, in that they both announce the message to Isis/ Mary proclaiming the impending

birth of a son who will reign as a divine King. Secondly, there is another notable

comparison in texts where, in the final scene at the temple of Amen in Luxor the gods

gather around the infant to praise and adore him; and in Luke 2:13-14, the heavenly hosts

gather above the infant Jesus to praise and adore him.12

So appealing the Isis cult was, which depicts an African goddess suckling the black

infant Horus, her worshippers built temples to honour her and it eventually became

one of the most influential religions throughout the Roman Empire. With, the

adoption of Christianity by Roman Emperor Constantine the figure of the Black Isis

holding the Black Horus were not destroyed but were turned into the figures today of

the Black Madonna and Child which forms the major concepts of the Virgin Mary

and Jesus.13

Another striking similarity of Ancient Egyptian Religion to Christianity is the

spheres of angels and archangels to that of the heirachy ofneteru (gods/goddesses). The

Song of Moses in Deuteronomy (32:43), found in a cave at Qumran near the Dead Sea,

mentions the wordgods in the plural: Rejoice, O heavens, with him; and do

obeisance to him, ye gods. However, the passage in the New Testament

12Van Sertima, I.Nile Valley Civilizations (Journal of African Civilizations Ltd, 1985) p.181

13Van Sertima, I.Black Women in Antiquity (Journal of African Civilizations Ltd, 1985) p.66-71

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(Hebrews, 1:6), the wordgods is substituted with angels of God. Therefore, neteru who

were calledgods by some, were endorsed and incorporated under a new name, angels.14

On the other hand, the fundamental Christian concept of the Trinity is also another

direct continuity of Ancient Egyptian religious achievements, where the Christian belief in

one God is personified into 3 beings God the Father, God the Son i.e. (Jesus) and God the

Holy Spirit is similar to Trinitarian concepts expressed as Amun, Re and Ptah. Sometimes

Amun, Re and Ptah stood for the unity of their 3 cities of Thebes, Heliopolis and Memphis

and at different times the sun-god made different appearances. For e.g. I am Khepri in the

morning, Re at noon and Atum in the evening.

15

An extraordinary feature of the elaborate re-working of Ancient Egyptian religious

concepts into Christianity is the belief in Resurrection of the body. In one of the many

versions of the Osirian Drama, Osiris being murdered and dismembered into 14 pieces by

his brother Set, is puts them together again by his devoted wife Isis searches for the parts.

As a result of his triumph after death Osiris becomes the equal of his father, Ra

sitting side by side with him in heaven. He also thereby becomes the Lord of the

Underworld and Judge of the risen dead. For e.g. according to Budge, Osiris was the first

man who raised himself from the dead and thus became the type and symbol of every dead

man.16


15Johnson, P. The Civilization of Ancient Egypt(Book Club Associates London, 1978) p. 125

16Budge, E.A Wallis. The dwellers on the Nile: the life, history, religion and literature of the ancient

Egyptians (Dover Publications, Inc. New York 1977) p.228

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Likewise in the Christian dogma, Jesus was crucified, died and was buried. He

descended to the dead and on the third day he rose. He ascended into heaven and is seated

at the right hand of the father and will come again to Judge the Living and the dead. For

e.g. in the book of John 6:54 whosoever eat of my flesh and drink of my blood, shall have

eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day.

However, there are several notable parallel of the symbols featured throughout

Ancient Egyptian religious texts to that of those found prominently in Christianity. One of

the main symbols is that of the cross, where in the form of the Ankh represents

eternal life17

A distinctive feature is the Egyptian symbol of the eye, which plays

many complex and subtle roles. The eye is the part of the body able to

perceive the light, and is therefore a symbol for the spiritual ability. The

description in theEgyptian Book of the Caverns: They are like this, those who do not

see the Great God, who do not perceive the rays of his disk, whose souls do not leave

the earth, who do not hear the words of this Great God when he passes near to their

cavern;is similar to the Gospel references to those with Let those who have eyes to see

..and those who have ears to hear.18

17Van Sertima, I.Nile Valley Civilizations (Journal of African Civilizations Ltd, 1985) p.190


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Another symbolic similarity between Christianity and Ancient Egyptian religions is

that of the shepherds crook. In Egypt, this means the sceptre of stability, serenity and the

staff of rule, whereas in Christianity the Jesus is illustrated as the good shepherded and it is

carried by the Pope signifies divine kinship or rule.

Secondly, in the religions of Judaism and Christianity, whenever the faithful pray,

they always end their prayer by saying Amen. According to Budge, there is no linguistic

translation for Amen, because it is a name and not a word. The origin ofAmen is Egyptian,

forAmen was the name of God, which means the Hidden One.19Therefore this shows a

distinct adoption of Egyptian ideas by Judaism and Christianity.

A recurrent theme on the walls of many Egyptian tombs is the relief of a woman

shown sniffing at the lotus. This symbolism can also be identified

in Egypt where the lotus played a complex and significant role. Likewise, the perfume of


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the lotus is its spiritualized essence, similar to the odour of sanctity in the Christian

traditions.20


essay 1302

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