by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

May 23, 2010

Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities/AP

Archeologists have unearthed 57 ancient Egyptian tombs, most of which hold an ornately painted wooden sarcophagus with a mummy inside, Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities said Sunday.

The oldest tombs date back to around 2750 B.C. during the period of Egypt’s first and second dynasties, the council said in a statement. Twelve of the tombs belong the 18th dynasty which ruled Egypt during the second millennium B.C.

The discovery throws new light on Egypt’s ancient religions, the council said.

Associated Press

Egypt’s archaeology chief, Zahi Hawass, said the mummies dating to the 18th dynasty are covered in linen decorated with religious texts from the Book of the Dead and scenes featuring ancient Egyptian deities.

Abdel Rahman El-Aydi, head of the archaeological mission that made the discovery, said some of the tombs are decorated with religious texts that ancient Egyptians believed would help the deceased to cross through the underworld.

El-Aydi said one of the oldest tombs is almost completely intact, with all of its funerary equipment and a wooden sarcophagus containing a mummy wrapped in linen.

In 31 tombs dating to around 2030-1840 B.C, archeologists discovered scenes of different ancient Egyptian deities, such as the falcon-headed Horus, Hathor, Khnum and Amun, decorating some of the tombs.

The council said the findings were unearthed at Lahoun, in Fayoum, some 70 miles (100 kilometers) south of Cairo.

Last year, some 53 stone tombs dating back to various ancient periods were found in the area.

I will try to follow up on this story as more details become available. While the texts found are likely the usual familiar Book of the Dead material, I will report any new and interesting developments — DJL

I would like to share some musings on a source for studying the Sinai story that many might not think of — the Psalms. There will be some overlap here with my previous post on the Exodus story, so if you read that one, please bear with me as I repeat some of those ideas again here.  We usually think of the biblical psalms as a collection of hymns or poetry that is generally concerned primarily with praising God. As we are looking for sources to support our study of the Sinai story as presented in the book of Exodus, we should remember that the Exodus and Sinai pericopes became the foundational stories for explaining how Israel was chosen or elected to be God’s people. These events were among the mightiest works of salvation ever performed by Yahweh for his chosen Israel and became an essential part of their identity as a people. It would be logical, then, to imagine that a collection of hymns praising Yahweh would include references to these miraculous events.

Furthermore, besides simply referring to historical events and praising God for his help in times past, the Psalms perhaps furnish us with evidence that the Sinai story was “relived” each year in Israel through a ritualized performance of its major events.  If we utilize the theory that many of the psalms were used/performed in an annual festival at the celebration of the New Year (the harvest/ingathering festival or Feast of Tabernacles), then an analysis of these psalms can give us a picture of the liturgy, or ritual performance(s), that took place during this festival.  Scholars such as Sigmund Mowinckel, A.R. Johnson, and John Eaton, to name a few, have theorized that certain “ritual dramas” were acted out during the festival that represented the great historical deeds of Yahweh, including the primeval conflict with the forces of Chaos and Darkness, the Creation of the cosmos, the enthronement of Yahweh as King — and his salvific dealings with his people, including a representation of the Exodus from Egypt, the Sinai theophany, and the establishment of the covenant with Israel. All of this, theoretically, was re-enacted, or relived, in the present each year at the great festival — the Israelites experienced it all anew in a dramatic presentation at the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem.

While I don’t want to take away from your reading of the Exodus account itself, I believe that a review of the material in the Psalms can be of great help in understanding how the Israelites remembered these powerful events and applied them in their current situation. It is also most likely that the material in the Psalms pre-dates the Exodus/Sinai story as we have it in the book of Exodus in our Bible, therefore possibly providing a more ancient view of these events.

The principal psalms with relevant material are: Ps. 99; Ps. 95; Ps. 81; Ps. 114

The Song of Moses

Before getting into the Psalms themselves, I would like to look at a “psalm” that is actually recorded in the book of Exodus. It is known as the Song of Moses (or “of Moses and Miriam” or “of the Sea”) and is found in Exodus 15.  The song retells the experience of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt and God’s victory over the Egyptians, and foretells their establishment in the land of Canaan by God and the building of his sanctuary there; the Lord reigns supreme in Israel. The tone of the song is very jubilant and dramatic.  There are many liturgical themes, including the fact that apparently Moses sings one part (perhaps leading the Israelite men), while Miriam and the Israelite women give a liturgical response, which includes dancing and playing instruments.  We can perhaps imagine that the described events were being theatrically re-enacted with the “song” as accompaniment. For more on Exod. 15, please see Gerald Smith’s great post here.

A very similar song/psalm¹ is presented in Deut. 32 and Deut. 33. These chapters describe in a similarly dramatic fashion the events of the Exodus that follow (basically) what was described in Exod. 15. Notice the ritual themes, such as the beginning of Deut. 32: “Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.”

Deut. 33 is presented as a blessing by Moses on the people, but it is clearly a psalm meant to be sung. Its poetic description of the Sinai theophany is quite different from what we read in the Exodus story and is much more of the descriptions that show up in the book of Psalms (please see my last post on Exodus here).

Deuteronomy 33:2–29:

And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.  3 Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words.  4 Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.  5 And he was (or became) king in Jeshurun (Israel), when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together.

(The next several verses give detailed blessings to each of the tribes of Israel)

26 There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky.  27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.  28 Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew.  29 Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.

Again, this material in Ex. 15 and Deut. 32 and 33 likely represents an older version of the Exodus story than that which we receive in the rest of the book of Exodus. These hymns were likely in use for centuries and later inserted into the stories as they were edited/reconstructed in later times.²

The Presentation of the Exodus Story in the Psalms

As I mentioned in my previous post, Mowinckel and other scholars noted that  in the Psalms, the Exodus Story was presented as a repetition of the Creation (i.e. Egypt becomes the chaos monster Rahab and the Red Sea becomes the primeval ocean); through this historical act of “creation”, Yahweh becomes king over Israel and establishes his covenant with his “elect” people, Israel.

From the descriptions given, the relevant psalms appear to depict a grand procession(s) that took place during the New Year festival. These psalms seem to present both the Creation and the Exodus stories as part of a history of God’s salvific deeds in dealing with Israel. There are numerous parallels between God’s actions in the primeval victory/Creation and in the story of Israel’s escape from the Egyptians and election (creation) as God’s people (see my previous post for more on this). Mowinckel notes: “The procession reviews the Exodus story as well as the chaos myth.”³

According to this theory, the procession dramatically represented not only the victory over the Egyptians and the parting of the Red Sea, but also the journey through the wilderness to Sinai and the events at the holy mountain. The Israelite pilgrims participating in the procession started outside the city of Jerusalem, in “the wilderness.” After the miraculous events of the deliverance from Egypt were dramatically portrayed, the triumphant tribes are led through the wilderness by their victorious God and King.

We see hints of this motif in psalms such as Ps. 99, where during the liturgy of praise to Yahweh, the people are reminded of the Exodus:

Psalm 99:6–7   Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name; they called upon the LORD, and he answered them.  7 He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar: they kept his testimonies, and the ordinance that he gave them.

Psalm 114 goes into further detail (again, as part of a ritual performance):

Psalm 114:1–8  1 When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language;  2 Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion.  3 The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back.  4 The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs.  5 What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back?  6 Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye little hills, like lambs?  7 Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob;  8 Which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters.

Psalm 95:

Psalm 95:7–11  7 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,  8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:  9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.  10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:  11 Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

Psalm 81:

Psalm 81:5–16   This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not.  6 I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.  7 Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.  8 Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;  9 There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.  10 I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.  11 But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.  12 So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.  13 Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!  14 I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.  15 The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.  16 He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.

John Eaton also saw Psalm 68 as describing the festal procession as a re-enactment of the Exodus story. He explains:

From 68:8-9 it seems that the procession could be brought into relation with the Exodus journey. A pre-monarchy use of processional worship to relive the ancient journey into Canaan has been traced in Josh. 2-6 and Ps. 114 (Kraus, pp. 152-65). The equation of the Exodus Invasion journey with the festal procession of Yahweh as King in his chief sanctuary is indicated also by the hymn in Exod. 15, where the Exodus leads straight to Yahweh’s mountain sanctuary in the settled land and to declaration of his kingship. The fusion of the relived Exodus and the universalist Zion worship is also discernible in Ps. 66:1–12.⁴

Dialogue with the Gatekeepers

The journey of the participants to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem was supposed to represent the journey to Mount Sinai. When the procession finally reached the holy mountain where Yahweh dwelled, they were stopped at the outer east gates of the temple complex by the gatekeepers (see 2 Kgs. 25:18).⁵  Their purpose in ascending the holy mountain was to “seek the face” of the God of Jacob (Ps. 24:6; Ps. 27:8). However, they could only approach the Lord’s presence if they were worthy.  They would have to prove this worthiness to the gatekeepers if they wanted to be allowed to pass by this barrier to continue ascending the temple mount.

Compare this situation to the strict rules that God places on ascending Mount Sinai in Exod. 19:

Exodus 19:12–13 And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death: 13 There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

In the New Year festival, the leader of the procession (likely the king, representing Moses) engages in a dialogue with the keepers of the gate on behalf of the Israelite pilgrims.  This exchange, illustrated primarily by Pss. 24, 15, and 118, takes the form of a question-and-answer sequence. Johnson notes that in Psalm 24, after making reference to the Creation, there follows:

“a short section, couched in terms of question and answer, in which one is reminded of the moral integrity that Yahweh requires of His worshippers…Finally we have the appeal of the worshippers that the gates of the Temple should be opened to admit Yahweh into His sanctuary…”⁶

Apparently, this “question and answer” exchange lays out the temple entrance requirements which each individual pilgrim must meet before the guardians of the gate will allow them to pass into the temple’s holy precincts to continue participating in the sacred rituals of the festival. We read of the initial exchange in Psalm 24:3–4:

“Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false, and does not swear deceitfully.”

Mowinckel notes that Psalm 15 is a parallel to Psalm 24; however, there are in Psalm 15 ten requirements for admittance. He believed that at some point these entry requirements became merged with the ten commandments of Mount Sinai, so that in the festival, entry to the temple involved compliance with these commandments as well. Thus, “the instruction as to the conditions of admittance became merged in the idea of the festival as being a renewal of the covenant and a commemoration of the great works of God and of his commandments”. He further notes:

Here we have a special form or application of Yahweh’s demands, which has been called ‘laws (toroth) of entry’, i.e. authoritative divine ‘instruction’ (tora) through the priest as to what is demanded from those who are admitted to the sanctuary and cult and the blessing thereof. They may have the form of answers to questions on the part of the congregation, or as in this case, the procession.⁷

In fact, according to Mowinckel, the idea that there were ten commandments (a decalogue) at Sinai is probably derived from this ancient tradition of the temple entry requirements; pilgrims were instructed in a way that they could remember–one rule for each finger. Mowinckel believed that these ten commandments of the covenant would have been heard at the entry to the gate and then later at the climax of the festal cult — the renewal of the covenant.⁸

According to Mowinckel’s theory, the dialogue at the gate played out in the following manner:

The third element in this logical structure of questions and answers would obviously be a declaration on the part of those who want to attend the cult (the congregation) as to whether they are equal to the demands: I have kept these commandments, I am guiltless of these crimes (taboos). The pattern for this part of the liturgy would then be:

1. Who shall be admitted to the hill of Yahweh?

2. The answer of the priest: he that hath kept such and such rules; he that is of such and such a character.

3. The answer of the procession: we have kept and fulfilled all this.

Such an answer may be detailed: I have not committed this and this and this. In Ps. 24 it is summed up shortly in v. 6: ‘Such are the men who are in quest of Yahweh, who seek the face of the God of Jacob’, i.e. we are confident of fulfilling the demands.⁹

Those found worthy to pass the gates were allowed to ascend further up the mount (this was likely represented by entering into the “Great Court” (2 Chr. 4:9) from outside the temple complex. Psalm 118:19–27 may represent another dialogue with the gatekeepers of the “Inner Court” where the great altar of the temple was located.

We can compare this to the narrative in Exodus 19-20. The Lord will not let all of the Israelite people “break through” to come up the mount and approach his presence. It would be dangerous, even fatal, for them to do so in their unworthy state. At this point in the narrative, when Israel is at the outer barriers of the holy mountain, Yahweh gives the Decalogue of “entry requirements.” Covenanting to keep these commandments (Ex. 24:3) and then actually keeping them is a requirement for progressing up the mountain. We can perhaps imagine here Yahweh playing the role of the gatekeeper revealing the laws and covenants for entry into his presence. Moses is the leader of the “procession” that mediates between the people who desire entry and the Lord (see Ex. 20:19–20).

We see from the narrative that only certain individuals are found worthy to continue the ascent. They are allowed to pass by the initial barriers. In Exodus 24, the Lord allows Aaron, his sons, and 70 of the elders of Israel to accompany Moses up into the next level of sanctity of the holy mountain. These are the “worthy” that are allowed to pass through the gates. This chapter informs us that they were there permitted to “see the God of Israel” (Ex. 24:10).

Mowinckel believed that one of the key features of the festival was the “epiphany”, or appearance, of Yahweh. He notes that this is a major theme in a number of the psalms (e.g., Ps. 96:13; Ps. 98:9; Ps. 98:2; Ps. 48:4; Ps. 76:2f.) He notes that: “This is not a mere idea, it is reality, visibly expressed through the symbols and rites of the feast and the emotional reactions of the congregation to its experiences. The festival, in short, is the festal epiphany of Yahweh.”¹⁰

As part of his appearance, as depicted in the festival, the psalms describe Yahweh as:

• coming with thunder and lightning (Pss. 97:2ff.; 29:3, 7ff.)
• with storm (29:5; 48:8)
• earthquake (29:6, 8; 46:7; 97:4)
• clothed with wonderful shining armor, including the girdle of strength (93:1)
• manifested in flaming majesty (48:6)

The arrival of Yahweh was both a glorious and wonderful occasion (for the righteous) and also a terribly frightening experience (for the unworthy). We see this latter perspective on the part of the Israelite people, as described in Exodus 20:18:

And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

This was all that the general body of the Israelites saw — the lightning, the dark cloud, and the fire (see also Ex. 24:17). However, those who were worthy to ascend further saw the God of Israel himself.  The Psalms contain expressions similar to their experience:

Psalm 17:15 (RSV) I shall behold thy face in righteousness … I shall be satisfied with beholding thy form.

In the Sinai story, we are told that only Moses, accompanied by Joshua (his “minister”; Ex. 24:13), are allowed to progress further up into the dark cloud (think “veil”) where Yahweh is waiting to give them his revelation. Only Moses himself actually enters into the presence of the Lord.  Some later Jewish traditions indicate that Moses likely saw Yahweh sitting on his throne, similar to the vision of Isaiah in Isa. 6. Yahweh’s throne would have been imagined to be located at the very top of Mount Sinai, the holy mountain.

This imagery is very clear in the Psalms. Take, for example, Psalm 97:

Psalm 97:1–2 The LORD reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! 2 Clouds and thick darkness are round about him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

Psalm 11:4 The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’s throne is in heaven; his eyes behold, his eyelids test, the children of men.

Enthronement

The representation of God’s heavenly throne was located in the Holy of Holies of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem.  While later tradition attributes this function to the Aaronic High Priest, during the New Year festival in the days of the Davidic monarchy, the king would have been the one to enter the presence of the Lord in the Holy of Holies. There he would have likely been enthroned on the throne of Yahweh himself, to serve as God’s vice-regent, his representative to the world.  As we read in 1 Chron. 29:23:

Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father; and he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.

In the festival, the Davidic king was washed, anointed, clothed, and permitted to sit on the throne of the Lord. This is a common theme in early Jewish mystical texts. When the visionary ascends to heaven, he commonly sees God sitting on his throne. However, some texts have the visionary either see themselves sitting on the throne or see God inviting them to sit on a throne (even His throne) (for more on this, see my earlier post here). In the early Jewish drama written by Ezekiel the Tragedian, entitled Exagoge, Moses is depicted as being enthroned on the throne of God.  It reads:

68 I [Moses] had a vision on the top of Sinai of a high throne

69 that reached the fold of heaven.

70 On it was sitting a certain noble man,

71 with a crown and with a large scepter in his

72 left hand, while with the right

73 he beckoned me, and I stood before the throne.

74 He handed me the scepter and told me

75 to sit on the great throne, and gave me the royal

76 crown, and he departed from the throne.

77 I beheld the whole earth around

78 and the things underneath the earth and those above the heaven.

79 Then a multitude of stars fell on their knees before me,

80 and I counted them all,

81 and they paraded by me as in a march of mortals.

(for more on this text and topic, see my posts here and here)

The drama portrays the vision of Sinai as the enthronement of Moses as a godlike figure — the vice-regent of God. In the New Year festival, the king would have emerged from the Temple after his enthronement to declare the revelation given to him by Yahweh (see, e.g., Psalm 2:7). The people would have seen the king as if he were Yahweh himself because he was the representative of Yahweh.  Margaret Barker notes that in the Second Temple period, the high priest was still recognized as performing this function. She comments on the description of Simon the high priest emerging from the Temple:

When he emerged from the holy of holies he was like the morning star, like the sun shining on the temple; his very presence made the court of the temple glorious. When he had poured the libation, the trumpest sounded and “all the people together…fell to the ground upon their faces to worship (proskunein) their LORD…” (ben Sira 50:17). The most natural way to read this is that they were worshipping the high priest, or rather, Yahweh whom he represented.¹¹

Although it is not spelled out so clearly in the Book of Exodus, this is how the people see Moses after he descends from the mountain after speaking with the Lord. In Exodus 34, we read:

29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tables of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. 30 And when Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.

33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; 34 but whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, 35 the people of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone; and Moses would put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Moses appears to the Israelite people as if he were God himself.  He is the “angel” of Yahweh. His face radiates light, similar to Yahweh’s face (see Ps. 31:16; Ps. 67:1; Ps. 80:3, 7, 19).  This is how the king would have appeared (likely with a gold crown bearing the name of YHWH and golden vestments) — as an anthropomorphic vision of God to his worthy people who were gathered in the inner court of the Temple. The king would then proclaim the Law to the people and renew with them the Sinai covenant.

There is so much more that could be done with this topic — it could certainly cover many posts of considerable length to address all of the relevant issues here. This post doesn’t do justice to the complexity and richness of these issues. The ideas I have presented are just the bare structure of a very intricate theological system. The main idea that I want to express is that the events of the Exodus and the theophany at Sinai were foundational to Israel’s religion and self-identity, and that they maintained the power and effectiveness of this tradition by “reliving” it each year at their most important religious festival.  It was a ritualistic lesson regarding God’s salvific works in Israel’s past and how they could return to his presence.  They were able to experience, through the ritual drama, the past, present, and future all at once. This was the heart of Israel’s temple worship in the era of the First Temple.

1. That these sections were indeed presented as a song is expressed in Deut. 32:44.
2. See Mowinckel, The Psalms in Israel’s Worship, vol. 1, 126
3. Mowinckel, 173-174
4. John Eaton, Festal Drama in Deutero-Isaiah, 14
5. Compare these as well to the cherubim placed at the eastward entrance to Eden in Gen. 3:24.
6. Johnson, Sacral Kingship, 72-74
7. Mowinckel, 179
8. Mowinckel, 180
9. Mowinckel, 178-179
10. Mowinckel, 142
11. Margaret Barker, Temple Themes in Christian Worship, 77

Ascent of Yahoel and Abraham -- my thanks to Jeffrey Bradshaw for this image

1. However, Margaret Barker provides abundant evidence that this indeed was the ancient understanding, see her The Great Angel: A Study of Israel’s Second God (Louisville: W/JKP, 1992).
2. James R. Harris, “The Facsimiles of the Book of Abraham” in Milton R. Hunter, Pearl of Great Price Commentary, accessed online at http://www.gospelink.com/library/document/17396?highlight=1, on Feb. 11, 2010.
3. Andrei Orlov, “The Pteromorphic Angelology of the Apocalypse of Abraham,” CBQ 71 (2009) 830–42.

Luxor Temple
http://www.360cities.net/image/luxortemplenight

Karnak Temple Hypostyle hall
http://www.360cities.net/image/karnakhypostyle

Reconstruction of Israelite Tabernacle (at Timna)
http://www.360cities.net/image/tabernacleholyplace

Early Jewish and Christian Mysticism – Sunday 4pm

April De Conick

Star Gates: What Were the Gnostics Doing?

The Peratics (perasai, Greek for “Transcendentalists”) say:

We alone have known that genesis is necessary and (we alone have known) have know the roads by which humans have entered into the cosmos. We have been instructed precisely so we alone can pass through and treverse over the perishable. Hip. Ref. 5:16.1

We generally think that Gnostics didn’t know astrology, that it wasn’t a scientific knowledge – W. Forester (in his collection of Gnostic texts) failed to translate the chapter on astrological statements – he evidently considered them not relevant to Gnosticism.

We must become acquainted with ancient cosmology (cosmic architecture) to understand what the Gnostics were doing.

Earth is the navel of the cosmos – in the middle of the earth is a pole (axis mundi) — the earth is stationary and the various  celestial spheres revolve around it.

The sublunar realm includes

• The Earth
• Tartarus
• The Skies
• The Firmament

The Heavens include:

• the seven planetary spheres
• one zodiacal sphere
• these were considered to be deities

The zodiac band crosses the horizon and is divided into twelve units–zodiacal signs. The stars wander below zodiacal band. Each zodiac sign was a “place” or “house”. Each of the planets rules over a particular sign.

Egyptian Decans (groups of stars) – had 36 divisions instead of 12 – each was a deity – 72 spirits for every 5 degrees of the zodiac for a total of 365 gods.

The Egyptian system was merged into the Greco-Roman system. There were seven main rulers whose houses have a number of assistants. These assistants became demons and the fallen angels. They needed to be regularly appeased with acts of magic.

The skies were populated by demonic archons for the Gnostics. In their view, the Jewish creator god (demiurge) was a powerful, but angry god.

A common Gnostic belief existed that there are paths that allow for a journey out of cosmos into heavens beyond – these stem from a mix of Egyptian, Greek, Jewish, Christian religions. The Gnostics claimed to know certain  greetings, prayers, and secret words that were necessary to pass through the “stargates” into the heavens. For example, they were required to know and give the correct names of all gods that they would have to pass by.

They knew of three journeys that one would have to undertake:

–1^st journey is through the sublunar realm and Hades, beginning at the soul’s release from the body

–2^nd jouney is through the several planetary spheres and the zodiac, beginning at the star or planet gate

–3^rd journey is through the transcosmic realm beginning at the star or planet gate

In the first journey, the individual would have to pass through waters of Tartarus before reaching the heavens.

One must pass the “twelve controlled pyramid” – the guardians of the zodiac. He/she goes through a  gate in the zodiac pyramid which Chronos and assistants guard.

Ou, Aoai, Ouo, Ouoab –  are the first four names of assistant guardians (the fifth name isn’t given).

–Soclam (= Egyptian Osiris) guards hours of the night

–Uno (Isis) guards hours of the day

Why did the Peratics write down the names of gods/demons? These were the deities that soul would initially meet after death. They have the charge of judging the dead on their journey to Hades – they control the fate of the soul after death and before re-embodiment.

The “hymn” of the guardian controls a chasm filled with water in the deepest depths of Tartarus

–Book of Suburbs ? –- the soul is escorted to a chasm – there are two chasms on the left and two on the right. The left go to prison, the right go to heaven. If you are allowed to take the chasm on the right, you journey four days until you reach a pillar of light, then go up the pillar to heaven. Those going down the chasm on the left end up drinking from the forgetful river.

Chronos is understood as a likeness of the Red Sea that one must cross before reaching heaven. The Gnostics had passwords, names, and seals necessary to cross the waters and enter the gate that opens up to Zodiac.

Book 4 of Pistis Sophia – the gates of hell open and release prisoners when certain signs of the zodiac align – souls enter the zodiac before being embodied again. These gates are located at intersection of milky way and the zodiac or at different zodiacal signs.

Sometimes the focus is on planetary gates – the sun and moon, etc. Sometimes the journey is described as an ascent through the sun and descent through the moon or vice versa. The descent through the several planets to the earth involves a series of changes from the  spiritual body to the physical.

On the way one has to get past Chronos and his five assistants and the five chasms. This involves offering prayers to persuade them to let you past.

The planetary spheres are likened to the “desert” of Israel. On the way, one meets fiery serpents who attack the individual. These are also symbolized as stars who want to return them to the world and to their body – the stars are like serpents. In order to pass by these unharmed, one must gaze to the top of the planetary spheres to the constellation “Draco the Serpent”, who is Christ. Draco is located at the roof of the cosmic dome – he started this pattern of ascent and descent. He gets power from the Father and passes it to humans.

The Father is above Draco and is the source of his powers. In some traditions, the Demiurge is the evil god who transfers heavenly powers to earth. Draco is also the river that flows out of Eden and flows to heaven.

Knowing the secrets of Draco causes rebirth and ability to travel to realm of the Father – one must go through Draco/Christ  –you are drawn up like a magnet through him.

Chronos must be crossed and the individual must pass through his gate into the Zodiac. The stars and planets must be overcome and then the individual must travel up the tail of Draco to his mouth and then be spit out into the heavens. Then he/she can travel to the realm of the Father, which is far above the heavens in his own realm.

After the presentation, in the discussion period, this question was asked by BYU professor John Hall:

John Hall – As I listened to your presentation, there is a correspondence on every point with the ancient Egyptian cult. Has ancient Egyptian religion been kept alive in Gnostic tradition?

April DeConick – Yes, I do believe so. The names of the deities are preserved.  Egyptian and Greek myths are both preserved in Gnosticism – its a synthesis of all these national religions.

(I take responsibility for the contents of these notes. They are but my own paraphrasing of what she said in her presentation, and are missing a good amount of the detail she put into it. Hopefully these notes help provide, in a small way, some of the great insights that she meant to pass on.)

The Anointing of the Gods: Sanctification and Authority from Egyptian Pharaohs to Hebrew Priest Kings and Beyond

presentation by Dr. John F. Hall

The title of this paper, which references the “anointing of the gods”, refers to both the fact that the ceremony of anointing belongs to the gods as well as the fact that it provides the means whereby worthy individuals are to be included among the gods — in the company of God and the sons of God.  Thus, the ancient tradition of anointing is related to, or a part of, the doctrine of theosis.

The doctrine of theosis can be found not only in the religion of ancient Israel and among early Christians, but also in several modern Christian religious traditions including my own. It is linked to the temple where instruction is conducted and rites performed which asssist the individual in his quest to come into the presence of the Lord.

The work of Margaret Barker has helped make these connections more clear and shown how the resurrection is a necessary part of the at-one-ment with God, in which the individual obtains exaltation through a heavenly ascent to the throne of God, where he/she is permitted to see God face-to-face.  These elements are all connected to the anointing in the temple setting.

The anointing, then, has to do with:

• a representation of the process of sanctification
• authorization to be sealed unto eternal life
• enabling the ascent to heaven to see the face of God (resurrection)

Perhaps not surprisingly, similarity of purpose and procedure can be noted among temple rituals designed to secure return to the very presence of the Divine along with admission to the hosts of heaven as sons of God, whether in Hebrew, early Christian, or even ancient Egyptian rites and ceremonies.

Those attending this conference will be familiar with Dr. Barker’s research on Solomon’s temple — that it was a place where the pilgrim could have received the anointing with holy oil, the sacrament of Wisdom, which Pope Leo the great informed us was the sacrament of Theosis. The purpose of this rite was a preparation to see the face of God.  We have learned in this conference how common this practice of “chrismation” was, and is, among Christians, and we now know that this is a tradition preserved from the ancient temple of Jerusalem.

The anointing was a sacred rite in other ancient traditions with which the Israelites were very familiar with: those of ancient Egypt.  A number of the key patriarchs of Israel were intimately connected with the land and ways of Egypt. Abraham, Joseph, and Moses spent much time and held influential positions in Egypt.  The Egyptians themselves may have even remembered connections to Noah and Enoch (who were very influential for the temple rituals).  In short, there is evidence for Egyptian influence on Israel (and vice versa). There were many shared understandings regarding divine ascent and related doctrines.

Extra-biblical texts tell the story of Joseph’s marriage to Aseneth in more detail — she was from a royal line in Egypt, the daughter of the high priest of On.  After Joseph was given his own crown, he ruled in the sacred city of Heliopolis, center of the cult of Amon-Re, and sacred city of the God Atum, the first Father from whom the pharaohs would claim descent.  This city was the center of Egyptian temple rites, and was the place where the Ished Tree of Life stood, and the ben-ben stone of creation was located.  Joseph’s place in this holy city most certainly gave the Israelites a strong familiarity with Egyptian temple rituals.

Moses, due to his princely position in Egypt, would have known these traditions as well (see Acts 7:22). When Moses was commanded to prepare the holy anointing oil of olive oil and spices (myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, cassia — Ex. 30:23–25) — this was similar to the anointing oil of the Egyptians, with which Moses was surely familiar.

Ritual anointing with sacred oil is documented as fulfilling an important role in the religious ceremonial of Egypt. From Pyramid texts of the early third millenium B.C.E., to Gnostic documents of the Christian era found at Nag Hammadi, anointing can be shown to provide sanctification and give authorization for ascent to the gods and inclusion in their company.

From the several temple-related Egyptian texts that have been uncovered, we can reconstruct quite well the anointing rituals.

• It took place on the New Year, first day of the month Thoth, the day of greates light of the year (summer solstice)
• Like other Near Eastern New Year rites, it represented the death, resurrection, and ascension of king to the gods
• It was performed in a temple, most likely at Heliopolis or nearby
• It presented ascent/resurrection as preceding death, prefiguring the mission of the Son of Man

The ascent is enabled through the anointing ritual.  With the anointing, the goddesses invest the king with “fiery divine power.” The king is anointed by the Queen of Heaven, the Mother Goddess (earlier on known as Hathor, later as Isis).

Pharaoh was anointed after the pattern of Horus’ anointing by his mother Isis with the protecting nine fiery oils (or oils of fire or light). In the earlier pyramid texts there are seven oils associated with the fiery Eye of Horus, entrance to the ways of light and fiery celestial regions. We remember that like Isis, in the traditions of the first temple period, Wisdom anoints with oil which represents light. For oil or the light which oil symbolizes was the sacrament of Wisdom and to the anointed ones Wisdom was mother, as she was mother to the anointed Messiah (Barker, Temple Themes, 236).

Isis was mother of the messianic god Horus, who was the opener of the ways and responsible for the at-one-ment of those likewise ascending through the seven houses of the gods in the company of Horus on the celestial bark.  In Egypt, messianic function were divided between Horus and Osiris — Horus governs the atonement process and Osiris provided the possibility of atonement through his own death and resurrection.  Because of the death and resurrection of Osiris, and through his anointing at the hands of his mother Isis, which anointing provides a protection, Horus is permitted to ascend through the fiery regions of the heavens.  The pharaoh, then, is anointed after the manner of Horus. He gains the protection that Horus had to accomplish the heavenly ascent. As he is anointed with each of the several oils, a chant is sung declaring the protection given.  The conclusion of the ascent is recognized by the enthronement and crowning of the king and he is given the status of godhood. The accompanying hymn announces:

He lives the life Re lives/ He sees with the vision with which Re sees/ He hears with the vision with which Re hears/ He rules with the power with which Re rules/ He fulfills his eternal round like Re.

The pharaoh’s name can then be written on a leaf of the Tree of Life, confirming his sonship under Amun-Re.

Similar themes are found in other Egyptian temple rituals, including the ordinance known as the “opening of the mouth.” Although some scholars see this as a rite performed only on the dead, there is evidence that it was part of an initiation into the temple mysteries for the living.  (For a similar ritual among the Greeks, see my posts on the Orphic Gold Tablets) There is also evidence that this ritual was not only for royalty, but could be performed on deserving commoners, as well (e.g., Imhotep and Amenhotep, important architects — human beings who were believed to have been deified through this process).

During the opening of the mouth ritual, the initiate was:

• purified through washing
• anointed in specific order of mouth, eyes, ears, head, and different parts of body, including vitals and limbs
• reborn into a higher existence
• resurrected, given authorization to ascend through the seven houses of the gods to the eighth house, where the beings of light reside and where Osiris sits enthroned
• enabled to recall his life before mortal existence, through the oil of memory
• able to reverse the several “blows of death” inflicted from the beginning of the world

The express purpose of this ritual was to enable the individual to achieve exaltation and deification.

After the opening of the mouth the recipient of the ordinance becomes a Horus, with the name of Horus on his forehead, healed of mortality, resurrected and so ascending thorugh the heavens to the place where the great god Amun, the hidden one, sits upon the cosmic throne with its base of diamond and emerald (Nibley, JSP, 170).

There are many connections between these rituals and themes in Jewish and Christian literature, especially pseudepigraphal and apocalyptic texts.  The similarities to the revelation given to John are apparent.  In 2 Enoch (30:8-9), the “seven blows of death” relate to sight, hearing, smell, speech, taste, breathing, and procreation, and Ben Sira refers to the reversal of death in terms of tongue, eyes, ears, and heart — both texts preserve the order of anointing in the opening of the mouth ceremony.

An early Christian hymn preserved in the Apostolic Constitutions (7:38), perhaps related to chrismation, emphasizes the blessing of having, in this specific order: “a tongue for harmony and taste, power to see, and to hear sound, breathing of the air, hands to work and feet to go on.” Cyril of Jerusalem details Christian anointing as “with ointment your forehead and sense organs are sacramentally anointed” (Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, 484B).  A text used by Christians called Joseph and Aseneth refers to the renewal/resurrection of Aseneth through washing, anointing, and clothing by an angel, after which her name is entered into the Book of Life (Joseph and Aseneth, 8:9-10, 14:3-15, 15:4).

It is through the power of the resurrection of Osiris that others are given power to be resurrected.  Osiris has the right of judgment and power to bestow eternal life. Just as Christians believe that Christ was the first to receive the holy anointing and to ascend to God, similarly Osiris was believed to be the first to pass through anointing to ascent and enthronement, thus establishing a pattern to be imitated by his followers. The individual becomes “an Osiris” by learning his mysteries.

The name “Osiris” is, therefore, assumed at the outset by all deemed worthy to undergo initiation into the mysteries of the Egyptian temple.

Professor Nibley has provided a reconstruction of the ritual:

• The initiate is taken by the godly guide, Thoth (represented by priest), through the sacred precincts (Thoth is often connected to Enoch, which thus connects the Egyptian temple rituals to those of Enoch’s temple on the original Mt. Zion)
• The priest (Thoth), finding the initiate worthy, present him before the gods upon entry
• In the outer courtyard, ritual washings are performed and the initiate is pronounced clean and prepared to enter a new life
• After passing through the temple garden and its tree of life, where the Queen of Heaven presides, the initiate was robed in a leopard or lion skin and taught that entry to and exit from life in this world was through the the garden.
• After entry into the temple itself, there is (arguably) a second clothing, this time in robes of the priesthood — brilliant white linen, representing the heavenly garments of radiant light.

Our opinion is that anointing ceremonies, following the practice and order of the opening of the mouth ceremony, occurred within the more sacred realm. The ritual anointing, as seen in the ceremony of the opening of the mouth, possessed power to bring about resurrection.

To enter the temple, the initiate had to pass through two pillars, similar to the two pillars of Solomon’s temple called Boaz and Joachin that stood at the entrance.  The Egyptian entry pylons marked the horizon, where heaven and earth met, and where the sun could be seen beginning its trajectory — representing the beginning of the soul’s ascent into heaven. The initiate will be as the glory of the sun rising.

The culmination of rites at the later temple of Hathor at Dendera consisted of climbing stairs to exit through the pylons at the time of the sun’s rising. That representation of the sun ascending between columns, the aht hieroglyph, came to symbolize ascent to eternal life (Nibley, JSP, 109-111)…

The ritual continues:

• After entry, anointing, and clothing in heavenly robes (thus being protected and endowed with power), the initiate begins his journey through the seven chambers or houses of the gods, representing the heavens through which the journey passes
• The initiate is taught by Thoth the secrets to passing by the divine guardians of the gates of each house/heaven, in similar manner to the pattern found in Enoch’s Book of Luminaries.
• At the end of this ascent journey, the initiate enters the eighth and final chamber, the abode of the gods (compare to Holy of Holies)
• In this abode of the gods, the journey has ended and the initiate receives the promised reward of beholding the face of Osiris, who is seated on his throne.  The individual is there seated upon the throne of the god and crowned as one of the holy ones of light (compare to Enoch’s transformation and enthronement and Rev. 3: 20–21)

In  the Book of the Dead are recorded the final words of the initiation to this point made possible through the ceremony of anointing. And so with Thoth by his side, the initiate, exalted by the mystery he has completed, and after the manner of Osiris by whom he has been received and approved, declares “I have risen up and walked about in Heaven, I have been raised up in a pillar of light. I have sailed with Ra in the boat of the sun. Bless him in his spinning circuit of sky. I have come to the place of Horus’ eye. I am the unbroken seal on the book of myself. My words are heartfelt, my prayers are like incense to the nostrils of the gods. My spirit flares with the fire of god. I am a shining Osiris. My face is aglow with the radiance of white light. Open the way to me…and the gate opens. (N. Ellis, Awakening Osiris).  And Osiris reveals himself face to face declaring his identity. “I am Eldest, Son of the Great One who dwells in eternal burnings, son of the Burning One. I am exalted, I am renewed, I am rejuvenated, I am Osiris. And so now thou too” (Book of the Dead, 43). The ascent is complete and enthronement occurs as the final aspect of resurrection. The initiate has no further need to fear death, for it has been conquered.

From a stele of the 18th dynasty, a similar themed enthronement scene is described. The initiate is presented by Horus to the God of Gods, Amun, to whom the initiate declares: “I am thy son, O great one, I have seen the hidden  things which are thine, I am crowned upon thy throne as a king and a god — I shall not die.” And Amun replies, “thou art my son, the heir who came forth from my flesh. As long as I shall be, thou shalt be” (A. Gardiner, JEA, 39 (1953), 13-31).

In summary, the Egyptian temple rituals show us that anointing was meant to enable the heavenly ascent, resurrection, and atonement with the gods.  How are these rituals connected to the ceremonies of the First Temple in Jerusalem, the early Christian anointings, and the Gnostic rites? Many of these and our own religious traditions relate in some way to those of ancient Egypt.  It is public knowledge that my own Christian tradition, in our modern temples, includes the practice of washing, anointing, clothing, etc.  These rites are similar to those of Solomon’s temple and early Christianity, but also very much similar to the traditions of ancient Egypt, which were virtually unknown in the time of Joseph Smith, when he instituted the LDS temple ceremonies.  How did the Egyptians receive these traditions, which are shared with our Judeo-Christian tradition, that man can ascend to heaven to behold the face of God, so thus conquer death and obtain eternal life?  This knowledge was to be obtained in the temple, both ancient and modern.

Frederick M. Huchel, in his recent review of Dr. Barker’s Temple Themes in Christian Worship, notes how Joseph Smith restored this ancient tradition that in the temple one could behold the face of God.  This was key to Joseph’s religion. (See FARMS Review of Books)

With your permission I should like to conclude with a scripture with which some here may resonate, undoubtedly the wise men of ancient Egypt would. It is found in the 132nd Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, one of the standard works of the LDS Church, and comes from one of the final teachings of Joseph Smith.

“…When they are out of the world…they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.

Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power…

But if ye receive me in the world, then shall ye know me, and shall receive your exaltation; that where I am ye shall be also.

This is eternal lives—to know the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. I am he.