📜🔍 Look Beyond to Solve the Riddle 🏺🔺
Sometimes the answer to a riddle lies just beyond the boundaries of our specialized knowledge. For centuries, scholars have grappled with puzzling words and traditions in the Old Hebrew Bible, often arriving at incomplete or unconvincing explanations. Take, for example, the term “Semitic.” Scholars have traditionally linked it to the story of Noah in Genesis, a connection that is absurdly narrow and fails to capture the term’s broader geographical and cultural implications. This limited viewpoint underscores the need to look beyond the Bible to understand the widespread use of “Semitic” across diverse nations and peoples.
🌍🤝 A Cultural Sandwich
The land of Canaan, home to the ancient Palestinians who are now known as Jews, was sandwiched between two great civilizations: Egypt to the west and the Assyrian-Akkadian-Babylonian-Sumerian conglomerate to the east. A closer look at these neighboring cultures could offer more straightforward explanations for some of the Bible’s most enigmatic terms.
🇪🇬🔗 The Egyptian Connection Revisited
It’s becoming increasingly clear that the term “Semitic” likely originated with the Egyptians. In ancient Middle Egyptian, “semit” (smjj.t) means “desert,” and by extension, refers to the inhabitants of the desert. This term is associated with the word for people (r(m)t) and is linked to the left side of the Nile when looking from the Lower Nile to the Upper Nile (jbt.t) the left is in fact the east. Intriguingly, “jbt.t” is a clear anagram of two crucial words in the Old Testament: Yahweh (YHWH, יהוה) and Jacob (Y’QV, יעקב). Adding another layer to this complex tapestry is the term “Hyksos,” transliterated from ancient Egyptian as “Hq-khsut,” which means “rulers of foreign lands.”, coming likewise from the East. This term provides a fascinating link between the Egyptian and Hebrew cultures, further emphasizing the interconnectedness of these ancient civilizations.
🐊👑 Likewise, the Word Messiah
Another term that has puzzled scholars is “Messiah,” or “Massia” in Hebrew, which is “Mashiach” (MShYCh, משיח) without vowels. A more straightforward explanation may lie in the Egyptian word “-msḥ-” followed by the determinative logogram of a crocodile. This combination essentially means “crocodile,” a symbol often used to represent the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh was traditionally anointed with crocodile oil during his coronation, providing a compelling link to the term “Messiah.” This concept of the “anointed one” was later translated into Greek as “Christos” (Χριστός), which also means “anointed,” further emphasizing the term’s cross-cultural significance.
🛤️🔍 The Road Less Traveled
The key to solving many of life’s riddles — whether they’re found in ancient texts, scientific research, or technological challenges — often lies in stepping outside our specialized silos. A narrow focus can limit our understanding and problem-solving abilities.
