îàú: àáðø øîå
àì: avnerramu @ aol.com
On gods and snakes
Avner Ramu
The history of the religion of ancient Egypt indicates that there was a gradual process of unification of the gods’ worship and even an identity fusion among their many gods, in particular among those that had similar or complementary functions. Most common were the divine triads such as those of Osiris, Isis and Hours of Abydos, of Ptah, Sekhemet and Nefertem of Memphis, or of Amun, Mut, and Khonsu of Waset (Thebes).
Many of the Egyptian gods were represented by specific species of animals, among them lions and snakes.
It appears that of all the major biblical personalities, it was the Prophet Isaiah who had the most extensive knowledge about Egypt, which he apparently acquired during the three years that he roamed through that country (Is 20:3). It is not unlikely that during this period Isaiah also acquired certain knowledge about the religious practices of the Egyptians and the animals that represented their gods.
In his prophecy against Philistia Isaiah said:
àì-úùîçé ôìùú ëìê, ëé ðùáø ùáè îëê: ëé-îùøù ðçù éöà öôò, åôøéå ùøó îòåôó.
“Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of thee, because the rod that smote you is broken: for out of the snake's root shall come forth a basilisk, and his fruit shall be a flying serpent” (Is 14:29).
The Greek translator of this verse does not translate here öôò (tsepha’) to “basilisk.” When öôò (tsepha’) appears in Is 11:8 and 59:5 the Greek translator wrote “asp” (but not so in Jer 8:17 or Pro 23:32). On the other hand the term: àôòä (ephe’h) - “viper” in Is 59::5 was translated by the Greeks as: “basilisk.” This inconsistency suggests that öôò (tsepha’) may be a letter-substitution error of àôòä (ephe’h) or vice versa.
In the Book of Isaiah we also read:
îùà áäîåú ðâá: áàøõ öøä åöå÷ä ìáéà åìéù îäí àôòä åùøó îòåôó,
“The burden of the beasts of the South. Through the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the lioness and the lion, the viper and flying serpent” (Is 30:6).
The Greek translator wrote here: “thence also” but the more accurate translation of îäí (mehem) is: “of them” (Is 44:15; 57:8; 66:19, 21). However, here îäí (mehem), even as “of them” does not make sense. It is possible that the îäí (mehem) here is a scribal “grammatical correction” of îäï (mehen) - “of them (for female).” It is possible that this scribe, as well as the translators, did not realize that îäï (mehen) is an Egyptian name of a mythological snake-god: Mehen.
Such an understanding suggests the àôòä (ephe’h) and ùøó îòåôó (saraph meo’pheph) are also Egyptian snake-gods. àôòä (ephe’h) may be a variant transliteration of the evil Egyptian snake-god Aapep (in hieroglyphs: In Greek: Άποφις = Apophis).
A major Egyptian snake-goddess was Wadjet (in hieroglyphs: ). Wadjet is often described as a flying snake-goddess
A gold amulet of Wadjet (from Tutankhamun’s tomb, ca 1320 BC)
In one “Book of the Dead” we read: “I live according to my will, for I am Wadjet, Lady of the devouring flame, and few approach me” (Carol Andrew, Raymound O. Faulkner. The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead. University of Texas Press. 1990. P. 49).
These features of Wadjet explain her description as a ùøó îòåôó (saraph meo’pheph) -“a flying fiery serpent.”
This new insight suggests that in verse Is 30:6 (as in verse 14:29) the Prophet relates to a triad of Egyptian god-snakes: Mehen, Aapep, and Wadjet.