in any degree negligent about the work. And by reason of the
multitude of hands employed on it, it grew very high, sooner
than any one could expect. . . . . It was built of burnt
brick, cemented together, with mortar made of bitumen, that it
might not be liable to admit water. When God saw that they had
acted so madly, he did not resolve to destroy them utterly,
_since they were not grown wiser by the destruction of the
former sinners_, but he caused a tumult among them, by
producing in them divers languages, and causing, that through
the multitude of those languages they should not be able to
understand one another. The place where they built the tower
is now called Babylon."[34:5]
The tower in Babylonia, which seems to have been a foundation for the
legend of the confusion of tongues to be built upon, was evidently
originally built for _astronomical purposes_.[35:1] This is clearly seen
from the fact that it was called the "Stages of the Seven
Spheres,"[35:2] and that each one of these stages was consecrated to the
Sun, Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and Mercury.[35:3]
Nebuchadnezzar says of it in his _cylinders_:
"The building named the 'Stages of the Seven Spheres,' which
was the tower of Borsippa (Babel), had been built by a former
king. He had completed forty-two cubits, but he did not finish
its head. From the lapse of time, it had become ruined; they
had not taken care of the exits of the waters, so the rain and
wet had penetrated into the brick-work; the casing of burnt
brick had bulged out, and the terraces of crude brick lay
scattered in heaps. Merobach, my great Lord, inclined my heart
to repair the building. I did not change its site, nor did I
destroy its foundation, but, in a fortunate month, and upon an
auspicious day, I undertook the rebuilding of the crude brick
terraces and burnt brick casing, &c., &c."[35:4]
There is not a word said here in these cylinders about the confusion of
tongues, nor anything pertaining to it. The ruins of this ancient tower
being there in Babylonia, and a legend of how the gods confused the
speech of mankind also being among them, it was very convenient to point
to these ruins as evidence that the story was true, just as the ancient
Mexicans pointed to the ruins of the tower of Cholula, as evidence of
the truth of the similar story which they had among them, and just as
many nations pointed to the remains of aquatic animals on the tops of
mountains, as evidence of the truth of the deluge story.
The _Armenian_ tradition of the "Confusion of Tongues" was to this
effect:
The world was formerly inhabited by men "with strong bodies and huge
size" (giants). These men being full of pride and envy, "they formed a
godless resolve to build a high tower; but whilst they were engaged on
the undertaking, a fearful wind overthrew it, which the wrath of God had
sent against it. _Unknown words were at the same time blown about among
men_, wherefore arose strife and confusion."[35:5]
The _Hindoo_ legend of the "Confusion of Tongues," is as follows:
There grew in the centre of the earth, the wonderful "_World Tree_," or
the "_Knowledge Tree_." It was so tall that it reached almost to heaven.
"It said in its heart: 'I shall hold my head in heaven, and spread my
branches over all the earth, and gather all men together under my
shadow, and protect them, and prevent them from separating.' But Brahma,
to punish the pride of the tree, cut off its branches and cast them down
on the earth, when they sprang up as _Wata trees, and made differences
of belief, and speech, and customs_, to prevail on the earth, to
disperse men over its surface."[36:1]
Traces of a somewhat similar story have also been met with among the
_Mongolian Tharus_ in the north of India, and, according to Dr.
Livingston, among the Africans of Lake _Nganu_.[36:2] The ancient
_Esthonians_[36:3] had a similar myth which they called "The Cooking of
Languages;" so also had the ancient inhabitants of the continent of
_Australia_.[36:4] The story was found among the ancient Mexicans, and
was related as follows:
Those, with their descendants, who were saved from the deluge which
destroyed all mankind, excepting the few saved in the ark, resolved to
build a tower which would reach to the skies. The object of this was to
see what was going on in Heaven, and also to have a place of refuge in
case of another deluge.[36:5]
The job was superintended by one of the _seven_ who were saved from the
flood.[36:6] He was a _giant_ called Xelhua, surnamed "the
Architect."[36:7]
Xelhua ordered bricks to be made in the province of Tlamanalco, at the
foot of the Sierra of Cocotl, and to be conveyed to _Cholula_, where the
tower was to be built. For this purpose, he placed a file of men
reaching from the Sierra to Cholula, who passed the bricks from hand to
hand.[36:8] The gods beheld with wrath this edifice,--the top of which
was nearing the clouds,--and were much irritated at the daring attempt
of Xelhua. They therefore hurled fire from Heaven upon the pyramid,
which threw it down, and killed many of the workmen. The work was then
discontinued,[36:9] as each family interested in the building of the
tower, _received a language of their own_,[36:10] and the builders could
not understand each other.
Dr. Delitzsch must have been astonished upon coming across this legend;
for he says:
"_Actually_ the Mexicans had a legend of a _tower-building_ as
well as of a _flood_. Xelhua, one of the _seven giants_
rescued from the flood, built the great pyramid of Cholula, in
order to reach heaven, until the gods, angry at his audacity,
threw fire upon the building and broke it down, whereupon
every separate family received a language of its own."[37:1]
The ancient Mexicans pointed to the ruins of a tower at Cholula as
evidence of the truth of their story. This tower was seen by Humboldt
and Lord Kingsborough, and described by them.[37:2]
We may say then, with Dr. Kalisch, that:
"Most of the ancient nations possessed myths concerning
impious giants who attempted to storm heaven, either to share
it with the immortal gods, or to expel them from it. In some
of these fables _the confusion of tongues_ is represented as
the punishment inflicted by the deities for such
wickedness."[37:3]
FOOTNOTES:
[33:1] Genesis xi. 1-9.
[33:2] The Pentateuch Examined, vol. iv. p. 268.
[34:1] Ibid. p. 268. See also Bible for Learners, vol. i. p. 90.
[34:2] Myths and Myth-makers, p. 72. See also Encyclopædia Britannica,
art. "Babel."
[34:3] "There were _giants_ in the earth in those days." (Genesis vi.
4.)
[34:4] Quoted by Rev. S. Baring-Gould: Legends of the Patriarchs, p.
147. See also Smith: Chaldean Account of Genesis, p. 48, and Volney's
Researches in Ancient History, pp. 130, 131.
[34:5] Jewish Antiquities, book 1, ch. iv. p. 30.
[35:1] "Diodorus states that the great tower of the temple of Belus was
used by the Chaldeans as an _observatory_." (Smith's Bible Dictionary,
art. "Babel.")
[35:2] The Hindoos had a sacred _Mount Meru_, the abode of the gods.
This mountain was supposed to consist of _seven stages_, increasing in
sanctity as they ascended. Many of the Hindoo temples, or rather altars,
were "studied transcripts of the sacred Mount Meru;" that is, they were
built, like the tower of Babel, in _seven stages_. Within the upper
dwelt Brahm. (See Squire's Serpent Symbol, p. 107.) Herodotus tells us
that the upper stage of the tower of Babel was the abode of the god
Belus.
[35:3] The Pentateuch Examined, vol. iv. p. 269. See also Bunsen: The
Angel Messiah, p. 106.
[35:4] Rawlinson's Herodotus, vol. ii. p. 484.
[35:5] Legends of the Patriarchs, pp. 148, 149.
[36:1] Ibid. p. 148. The ancient _Scandinavians_ had a legend of a
somewhat similar tree. "The Mundane Tree," called _Yggdrasill_, was in
the centre of the earth; its branches covered over the surface of the
earth, and its top reached to the highest heaven. (See Mallet's Northern
Antiquities.)
[36:2] Encyclopædia Britannica, art. "Babel."
[36:3] _Esthonia_ is one of the three Baltic, or so-called, provinces of
Russia.
[36:4] Encyclopædia Britannica, art. "Babel."
[36:5] Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 27.
[36:6] Brinton: Myths of the New World, p. 204.
[36:7] Humboldt: American Researches, vol. i. p. 96.
[36:8] Ibid.
[36:9] Ibid., and Brinton: Myths of the New World, p. 204.
[36:10] The Pentateuch Examined, vol. iv. p. 272.
[37:1] Quoted by Bishop Colenso: The Pentateuch Examined, vol. iv. p.
272.
[37:2] Humboldt: American Researches, vol. i. p. 97. Lord Kingsborough:
Mexican Antiquities.
[37:3] Com. on Old Test. vol. i. p. 196.
CHAPTER IV.
THE TRIAL OF ABRAHAM'S FAITH.
The story of the trial of Abraham's faith--when he is ordered by the
Lord to sacrifice his only son Isaac--is to be found in Genesis xxii.
1-19, and is as follows:
"And it came to pass . . . that God did tempt Abraham, and
said unto him: 'Abraham,' and he said: 'Behold, here I am.'
And he (God) said: 'Take now thy son, thine only son, Isaac,
whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and
offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains
which I will tell thee of.'
"And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his
ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his
son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up
and went into the place which God had told him. . . . (When
Abraham was near the appointed place) he said unto his young
men: 'Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go
yonder and worship, and come again to thee. And Abraham took
the wood for the burnt offering, and laid it upon (the
shoulders of) Isaac his son, and he took the fire in his hand,
and a knife, and they went both of them together. And Isaac
spake unto Abraham his father, and said: 'Behold the fire and
the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?' And
Abraham said: 'My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a
burnt offering.' So they went both of them together, and they
came to the place which God had told him of. And Abraham built
an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac
his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham
stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and
said: 'Abraham! Abraham! lay not thine hand upon the lad,
neither do thou anything unto him, for now I know that thou
fearest God, seeing that thou hast not withheld thy son, thine
only son from me.'
"And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind
him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns, and Abraham went
and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in
the stead of his son. . . . And the angel of the Lord called unto
Abraham, out of heaven, the second time, and said: 'By myself
have I _sworn_ saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this
thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, . . . I
will bless thee, and . . . I will multiply thy seed as the
stars in the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea
shore, and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies. And
in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blest,
because thou hast obeyed my voice.' So Abraham returned unto
his young men, and they rose up and went together to
Beer-sheba, and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba."
There is a Hindoo story related to the Sânkhâyana-sûtras, which, in
substance, is as follows: King Hariscandra had no son; he then prayed to
Varuna, promising, that if a son were born to him, he would sacrifice
the child to the god. Then a son was born to him, called Rohita. When
Rohita was grown up his father one day told him of the vow he had made
to Varuna, and bade him prepare to be sacrificed. The son objected to
being killed and ran away from his father's house. For six years he
wandered in the forest, and at last met a starving Brahman. Him he
persuaded to sell one of his sons named Sunahsepha, for a hundred cows.
This boy was bought by Rohita and taken to Hariscandra and about to be
sacrificed to Varuna as a substitute for Rohita, when, on praying to the
gods with verses from the Veda, he was released by them.[39:1]
There was an ancient _Phenician_ story, written by Sanchoniathon, who
wrote about 1300 years before our era, which is as follows:
"Saturn, whom the Phoenicians call _Israel_, had by a nymph of
the country a _male_ child whom he named Jeoud, that is, _one
and only_. On the breaking out of a war, which brought the
country into imminent danger, Saturn erected an altar, brought
to it his son, clothed in royal garments, and sacrificed
him."[39:2]
There is also a _Grecian_ fable to the effect that one Agamemnon had a
daughter whom he dearly loved, and she was deserving of his affection.
He was commanded by God, through the Delphic Oracle, _to offer her up as
a sacrifice_. Her father long resisted the demand, but finally
succumbed. Before the fatal blow had been struck, however, the goddess
Artemis or Ashtoreth interfered, and carried the maiden away, whilst in
her place was substituted a stag.[39:3]
Another similar _Grecian_ fable relates that:
"When the Greek army was detained at Aulis, by contrary winds,
the augurs being consulted, declared that one of the kings had
offended Diana, and she demanded the sacrifice of his daughter
Iphigenia. It was like taking the father's life-blood, but he
was persuaded that it was his duty to submit for the good of
his country. The maiden was brought forth for sacrifice, in
spite of her tears and supplications; but just as the priest
was about to strike the fatal blow, Iphigenia suddenly
disappeared, and a goat of uncommon beauty stood in her
place."[39:4]
There is yet still another, which belongs to the same country, and is
related thus:
"In _Sparta_, it being declared upon one occasion that the
gods demanded a human victim, the choice was made by lot, and
fell on a damsel named Helena. But when all was in readiness,
an eagle descended, carried away the priest's knife, and laid
it on the head of a heifer, which was sacrificed in her
stead."[40:1]
The story of Abraham and Isaac was written at a time when the Mosaic
party in Israel was endeavoring to abolish idolatry among their people.
They were offering up _human sacrifices_ to their gods Moloch, Baal, and
Chemosh, and the priestly author of this story was trying to make the
people think that the Lord had abolished such offerings, as far back as
the time of Abraham. The Grecian legends, which he had evidently heard,
may have given him the idea.[40:2]
Human offerings to the gods were at one time almost universal. In the
earliest ages the offerings were simple, and such as shepherds and
rustics could present. They loaded the altars of the gods with the first
fruits of their crops, and the choicest products of the earth.
Afterwards they sacrificed animals. When they had once laid it down as a
principle that the effusion of the blood of these animals appeased the
anger of the gods, and that their justice turned aside upon the victims
those strokes which were destined for men, their great care was for
nothing more than to conciliate their favor by so easy a method. It is
the nature of violent desires and excessive fear to know no bounds, and
therefore, when they would ask for any favor which they ardently wished
for, or would deprecate some public calamity which they feared, the
blood of animals was not deemed a price sufficient, but they began to
shed that of men. It is probable, as we have said, that this barbarous
practice was formerly almost universal, and that it is of very remote
antiquity. In time of war the captives were chosen for this purpose, but
in time of peace they took the slaves. The choice was partly regulated
by the opinion of the bystanders, and partly by lot. But they did not
always sacrifice such mean persons. In great calamities, in a pressing
famine, for example, if the people thought they had some pretext to
impute the cause of it to their _king_, they even sacrificed him without
hesitation, as the _highest price_ with which they could purchase the
Divine favor. In this manner, the first King of Vermaland (a province of
Sweden) was burnt in honor of Odin, the Supreme God, to put an end to a
great dearth; as we read in the history of Norway. The kings, in their
turn, did not spare the blood of their subjects; and many of them even
shed that of their children. Earl Hakon, of Norway, offered his son in
sacrifice, to obtain of Odin the victory over the Jomsburg pirates. Aun,
King of Sweden, devoted to Odin the blood of his nine sons, to prevail
on that god to prolong his life. Some of the kings of Israel offered up
their first-born sons as a sacrifice to the god Baal or Moloch.
The altar of Moloch reeked with blood. Children were sacrificed and
burned in the fire to him, while trumpets and flutes drowned their
screams, and the mothers looked on, and were bound to restrain their
tears.
The Phenicians offered to the gods, in times of war and drought, the
fairest of their children. The books of Sanchoniathon and Byblian Philo
are full of accounts of such sacrifices. In Byblos boys were immolated
to Adonis; and, on the founding of a city or colony, a sacrifice of a
vast number of children was solemnized, in the hopes of thereby averting
misfortune from the new settlement. The Phenicians, according to
Eusebius, yearly sacrificed their dearest, and even their only children,
to Saturn. The bones of the victims were preserved in the temple of
Moloch, in a golden ark, which was carried by the Phenicians with them
to war.[41:1] Like the Fijians of the present day, those people
considered their gods as beings like themselves. They loved and they
hated; they were proud and revengeful; they were, in fact, savages like
themselves.
If the eldest born of the family of Athamas entered the temple of the
Laphystian Jupiter, at Alos, in Achaia, he was sacrificed, crowned with
garlands, like an animal victim.[41:2]
The offering of human sacrifices to the Sun was extensively practiced in
Mexico and Peru, before the establishment of Christianity.[41:3]
FOOTNOTES:
[39:1] See Müller's Hist. Sanscrit Literature; and Williams' Indian
Wisdom, p. 29.
[39:2] Quoted by Count de Volney; New Researches in Anc't Hist., p. 144.
[39:3] See Inman's Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. p. 104.
[39:4] Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 302.
[40:1] Ibid.
[40:2] See chapter xi.
[41:1] Baring-Gould: Orig. Relig. Belief, vol. i. p. 368.
[41:2] Kenrick's Egypt, vol. i. p. 448.
[41:3] See Acosta: Hist. Indies, vol. ii.
CHAPTER V.
JACOB'S VISION OF THE LADDER.
In the 28th chapter of Genesis, we are told that Isaac, after blessing
his son Jacob, sent him to Padan-aram, to take a daughter of Laban's
(his mother's brother) to wife. Jacob, obeying his father, "went out
from Beer-sheba (where he dwelt), and went towards Haran. And he lighted
upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was
set. And he took of the stones of the place, and put them for his
pillow, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold,
a _ladder_ set upon the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. _And
he beheld the angels of God ascending and descending on it._ And,
behold, the Lord stood above it, and said: 'I am the Lord God of Abraham
thy father, and the God of Isaac, the land whereon thou liest, to thee
will I give it, and to thy seed.' . . . And Jacob awoke out of his
sleep, and he said: 'Surely the Lord is in this place, and I know it
not.' And he was afraid, and said: 'How _dreadful_ is this place, _this
is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of Heaven_.'
And Jacob rose up early in the morning, _and took the stone that he had
put for his pillow, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the
top of it_. And he called the name of that place _Beth-el_."
The doctrine of Metempsychosis has evidently something to do with this
legend. It means, in the theological acceptation of the term, the
supposed transition of the soul after death, into another substance or
body than that which it occupied before. The belief in such a transition
was common to the most civilized, and the most uncivilized, nations of
the earth.[42:1]
It was believed in, and taught by, the _Brahminical Hindoos_,[42:2] the
_Buddhists_,[42:3] the natives of _Egypt_,[42:4] several philosophers of
ancient _Greece_,[43:1] the ancient _Druids_,[43:2] the natives of
_Madagascar_,[43:3] several tribes of _Africa_,[43:4] and _North
America_,[43:5] the ancient _Mexicans_,[43:4] and by some _Jewish_ and
_Christian_ sects.[43:5]
"It deserves notice, that in both of these religions (_i. e._,
_Jewish_ and _Christian_), it found adherents as well in
ancient as in modern times. Among the _Jews_, the doctrine of
transmigration--the Gilgul Neshamoth--was taught in the
mystical system of the _Kabbala_."[43:6]
"All the souls," the spiritual code of this system says, "are
subject to the trials of transmigration; and men do not know
which are the ways of the Most High in their regard." "The
principle, in short, of the _Kabbala_, is the same as that of
_Brahmanism_."
"On the ground of this doctrine, which was shared in by Rabbis
of the highest renown, it was held, for instance, that the
soul of _Adam_ migrated into _David_, and will come in the
_Messiah_; that the soul of _Japhet_ is the same as that of
_Simeon_, and the soul of _Terah_, migrated into _Job_."
"Of all these transmigrations, biblical instances are adduced
according to their mode of interpretation--in the writings of
Rabbi Manasse ben Israel, Rabbi Naphtali, Rabbi Meyer ben
Gabbai, Rabbi Ruben, in the Jalkut Khadash, and other works of
a similar character."[43:4]
The doctrine is thus described by Ovid, in the language of Dryden:
"What feels the body when the soul expires,
By time corrupted, or consumed by fires?
Nor dies the spirit, but new life repeats
Into other forms, and only changes seats.
Ev'n I, who these mysterious truths declare,
Was once Euphorbus in the Trojan war;
My name and lineage I remember well,
And how in fight by Spartan's King I fell.
In Argive Juno's fame I late beheld
My buckler hung on high, and own'd my former shield
Then death, so called, is but old matter dressed
In some new figure, and a varied vest.
Thus all things are but alter'd, nothing dies,
And here and there the unbodied spirit flies."
The Jews undoubtedly learned this doctrine after they had been subdued
by, and become acquainted with other nations; and the writer of this
story, whoever he may have been, was evidently endeavoring to strengthen
the belief in this doctrine--he being an advocate of it--by inventing
this story, _and making Jacob a witness to the truth of it_. Jacob would
have been looked upon at the time the story was written (_i. e._, after
the Babylonian captivity), as of great authority. We know that several
writers of portions of the Old Testament have written for similar
purposes. As an illustration, we may mention the book of _Esther_. This
book was written for the purpose of explaining the origin of the
festival of _Purim_, and _to encourage the Israelites to adopt it_. The
writer, _who was an advocate of the feast_, lived long after the
Babylonish captivity, and is quite unknown.[44:1]
The writer of the seventeenth chapter of Matthew has made Jesus a
teacher of the doctrine of Transmigration.
The Lord had promised that he would send Elijah (Elias) the prophet,
"before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord,"[44:2] and
Jesus is made to say that he had already come, or, _that his soul had
transmigrated unto the body of John the Baptist_, and they knew it
not.[44:3]
And in Mark (viii. 27) we are told that Jesus asked his disciples,
saying unto them; "Whom do men say that _I_ am?" whereupon they answer:
"Some say Elias; and others, one of the prophets;" or, in other words,
that the soul of Elias, or one of the prophets, had transmigrated into
the body of Jesus. In John (ix. 1, 2), we are told that Jesus and his
disciples seeing a man "_which was blind from his birth_," the disciples
asked him, saying; "Master, who did sin, _this man_ (in some former
state) or his parents." Being _born_ blind, how else could he sin,
_unless in some former state_? These passages result from the fact,
which we have already noticed, that some of the Jewish and Christian
sects believed in the doctrine of Metempsychosis.
According to some Jewish authors, _Adam_ was re-produced in _Noah_,
_Elijah_, and other Bible celebrities.[44:4]
The Rev. Mr. Faber says:
"Adam, and Enoch, and Noah, might in outward appearance be
_different_ men, but they were really the _self-same_ divine
persons who had been promised as the seed of the woman,
successively animating various human bodies."[44:5]
We have stated as our belief that the vision which the writer of the
twenty-eighth chapter of Genesis has made Jacob to witness, was intended
to strengthen the belief in the doctrine of the Metempsychosis, that he
was simply seeing the souls of men ascending and descending from heaven
_on a ladder_, during their transmigrations.
We will now give our reasons for thinking so.
The learned Thomas Maurice tells us that:
The _Indians_ had, in remote ages, in their system of theology, _the
sidereal ladder of seven gates_, which described, in a symbolical
manner, the _ascending and descending of the souls of men_.[45:1]
We are also informed by Origen that:
This descent (_i. e._, the descent of souls from heaven to
enter into some body), was described in a symbolical manner,
_by a ladder which was represented as reaching from heaven to
earth_, and divided into _seven_ stages, at each of which was
figured a gate; the eighth gate was at the top of the ladder,
which belonged to the sphere of the celestial firmament.[45:2]
That souls dwell in the _Galaxy_ was a thought familiar to the
_Pythagoreans_, who gave it on their master's word, that the souls that
crowd there, _descend and appear to men as dreams_.[45:3]
The fancy of the _Manicheans_ also transferred pure souls to this column
of light, _whence they could come down to earth and again return_.[45:4]
Paintings representing a scene of this kind may be seen in works of art
illustrative of _Indian Mythology_.
Maurice speaks of one, in which he says:
"The souls of men are represented as ascending and descending
(on a ladder), according to the received opinion of the
sidereal Metempsychosis in Asia."[45:5]
Mons. Dupuis tells us that:
"Among the mysterious pictures of the _Initiation_, in the
cave of the Persian God Mithras, there was exposed to the view
_the descent of the souls to the earth, and their return to
heaven_, through the seven planetary spheres."[45:6]
And Count de Volney says:
"In the cave of Mithra _was a ladder with seven steps_,
representing the seven spheres of the planets by means of
which _souls ascended and descended_. This is precisely the
ladder of Jacob's vision. There is in the Royal Library (of
France) a superb volume of pictures of the Indian gods, in
which the ladder is represented with the souls of men
ascending it."[45:7]
In several of the Egyptian sculptures also, the Transmigration of Souls
is represented by the ascending and descending of souls from heaven to
earth, _on a flight of steps_, and, as the souls of wicked men were
supposed to enter pigs and other animals, therefore pigs, monkeys, &c.,
are to be seen on the steps, descending from heaven.[45:8]
"And he dreamed, _and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and
the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God
ascending and descending on it_."
These are the words of the sacred text. Can anything be more
convincing? It continues thus:
"And Jacob awoke out of his sleep . . . and he was afraid, and
said . . . this is none other but the house of God, _and this
is the gate of heaven_."
Here we have "the gate of heaven," mentioned by Origen in describing the
_Metempsychosis_.
According to the ancients, the _top_ of this ladder was supposed to
reach _the throne_ of _the most high God_. This corresponds exactly with
the vision of Jacob. The ladder which he is made to see reached unto
heaven, _and the Lord stood above it._[46:1]
"And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the _stone_
that he had put for his pillow, _and set it up for a pillar,
and poured oil upon the top of it_."[46:2]
This concluding portion to the story has evidently an allusion to
_Phallic_[46:3] worship. There is scarcely a nation of antiquity which
did not set up these stones (as emblems of the reproductive power of
nature) and worship them. Dr. Oort, speaking of this, says:
Few forms of worship were so universal in ancient times as the homage
paid to sacred stones. In the history of the religion of even the most
civilized peoples, such as the Greeks, Romans, Hindoos, Arabs and
Germans, we find traces of this form of worship.[46:4] The ancient
_Druids_ of Britain also worshiped sacred stones, which were _set up on
end_.[46:5]
Pausanias, an eminent Greek historian, says:
"The _Hermiac_ statue, which they venerate in Cyllenê above
other _symbols_, is an erect _Phallus_ on a pedestal."[46:6]
This was nothing more than a smooth, oblong _stone_, set erect on a flat
one.[46:7]
The learned Dr. Ginsburg, in his "Life of Levita," alludes to the
ancient mode of worship offered to the heathen deity Hermes, or Mercury.
A "Hermes" (_i. e._, a _stone_) was frequently set up on the road-side,
and each traveller, as he passed by, paid his homage to the deity by
either throwing a stone on the heap (which was thus collected), or by
_anointing_ it. This "Hermes" was the symbol of Phallus.[46:8]
Now, when we find that _this form of worship was very prevalent among
the Israelites_,[47:1] that these sacred stones which were "set up,"
were called (by the heathen), BÆTY-LI,[47:2] (which is not unlike
BETH-EL), and that _they were anointed with oil_,[47:3] I think we have
reasons for believing that the story of Jacob's _setting up_ a stone,
_pouring oil upon it_, and calling the place _Beth-el_, "has evidently
an allusion to Phallic worship."[47:4]
The male and female powers of nature were denoted respectively by an
upright and an oval emblem, and the conjunction of the two furnished at
once the altar and the _Ashera_, or grove, against which the Hebrew
prophets lifted up their voices in earnest protest. In the kingdoms,
both of Judah and Israel, the rites connected with these emblems assumed
their most corrupting form. Even in the temple itself, stood the
_Ashera_, or the upright emblem, on the circular altar of Baal-Peor, the
Priapos of the Jews, thus reproducing the _Linga_, and _Yoni_ of the
Hindu.[47:5] For this symbol, the women wove hangings, as the Athenian
maidens embroidered the sacred peplos for the ship presented to Athênê,
at the great Dionysiac festival. This _Ashera_, which, in the authorized
English version of the Old Testament is translated "_grove_," was, in
fact, a pole, or stem of a tree. It is reproduced in our modern
"Maypole," around which maidens dance, as maidens did of yore.[47:6]
FOOTNOTES:
[42:1] See Chambers's Encyclo., art. "Transmigration."
[42:2] Chambers's Encyclo., art. "Transmigration." Prichard's Mythology,
p. 213, and Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 59.
[42:3] Ibid. Ernest de Bunsen says: "The first traces of the doctrine of
Transmigration of souls is to be found among the Brahmins and
Buddhists." (The Angel Messiah, pp. 63, 64.)
[42:4] Prichard's Mythology, pp. 213, 214.
[43:1] Gross: The Heathen Religion. Also Chambers's Encyclo., art.
"Transmigration."
[43:2] Ibid. Mallet's Northern Antiquities, p. 13; and Myths of the
British Druids, p. 15.
[43:3] Chambers's Encyclo.
[43:4] Ibid.
[43:5] Ibid. See also Bunsen: The Angel-Messiah, pp. 63, 64. Dupuis, p.
357. Josephus: Jewish Antiquities, book xviii. ch. 13. Dunlap: Son of
the Man, p. 94; and Beal: Hist. Buddha.
[43:6] Chambers, art. "Transmigration."
[44:1] See The Religion of Israel, p. 18.
[44:2] Malachi iv. 5.
[44:3] Matthew xvii. 12, 13.
[44:4] See Bonwick: Egyptian Belief, p. 78.
[44:5] Faber: Orig. Pagan Idol, vol. iii. p. 612; in Anacalypsis, vol.
i. p. 210.
[45:1] Indian Antiquities, vol. ii. p. 202.
[45:2] Contra Celsus, lib. vi. c. xxii.
[45:3] Tylor: Primitive Culture, vol. i. p. 324.
[45:4] Ibid.
[45:5] Indian Antiquities, vol. ii. p. 262.
[45:6] Dupuis: Origin of Religious Beliefs, p. 344.
[45:7] Volney's Ruins, p. 147, _note_.
[45:8] See Child's Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. pp. 160, 162.
[46:1] Genesis xxviii. 12, 13.
[46:2] Genesis xxviii. 18, 19.
[46:3] "Phallic," from "Phallus," a representation of the male
generative organs. For further information on this subject, see the
works of R. Payne Knight, and Dr. Thomas Inman.
[46:4] Bible for Learners, vol. i. pp. 175, 276. See, also, Knight:
Ancient Art and Mythology; and Inman: Ancient Faiths, vol. i. and ii.
[46:5] See Myths of the British Druids, p. 300; and Higgins: Celtic
Druids.
[46:6] Quoted by R. Payne Knight: Ancient Art and Mythology, p. 114,
_note_.
[46:7] See Illustrations in Dr. Inman's Pagan and Christian Symbolism.
[46:8] See Inman: Ancient Faiths, vol. i. pp. 543, 544.
[47:1] Bible for Learners, vol. i. pp. 177, 178, 317, 321, 322.
[47:2] Indian Antiquities, vol. ii. p. 356.
[47:3] Ibid.
[47:4] We read in Bell's "Pantheon of the Gods and Demi-Gods of
Antiquity," under the head of BAELYLION, BAELYLIA or BAETYLOS, that they
are "_Anointed Stones_, worshiped among the Greeks, Phrygians, and other
nations of the East;" that "these Baetylia were greatly venerated by the
ancient Heathen, many of their idols being no other;" and that, "in
reality no sort of idol was more common in the East, than that of oblong
stones _erected_, and hence termed by the Greeks _pillars_." The Rev.
Geo. W. Cox, in his Aryan Mythology (vol. ii. p. 113), says: "The
erection of these stone columns or pillars, the forms of which in most
cases tell their own story, are common throughout the East, some of the
most elaborate being found near Ghizni." And Mr. Wake (Phallism in
Ancient Religions, p. 60), says: "Kiyun, or Kivan, the name of the deity
said by Amos (v. 26), to have been worshiped in the wilderness by the
Hebrews, signifies GOD OF THE PILLAR."
[47:5] We find that there was nothing gross or immoral in the worship of
the male and female generative organs among the ancients, when the
subject is properly understood. Being the most intimately connected with
the reproduction of life on earth, the _Linga_ became the symbol under
which the _Sun_, invoked with a thousand names, has been worshiped
throughout the world _as the restorer of the powers of nature_ after the
long sleep or death of winter. But if the _Linga_ is the Sun-god in his
majesty, the _Yoni_ is the earth who yields her fruit under his
fertilizing warmth.
The _Phallic tree_ is introduced into the narrative of the book of
Genesis: but it is here called a tree, not of life, but of the knowledge
of good and evil, that knowledge which dawns in the mind with the first
consciousness of difference between man and woman. In contrast with this
tree of carnal indulgence, tending to death, is the tree of life,
denoting the higher existence for which man was designed, and which
would bring with it the happiness and the freedom of the children of
God. In the brazen serpent of the Pentateuch, the two emblems of the
_cross_ and _serpent_, the quiescent and energising Phallos, are united.
(See Cox: Aryan Mythology, vol. ii. pp. 113, 116, 118.)
[47:6] See Cox: Aryan Mytho., ii. 112, 113.
CHAPTER VI.
THE EXODUS FROM EGYPT, AND PASSAGE THROUGH THE RED SEA.
The children of Israel, who were in bondage in Egypt, making bricks, and
working in the field,[48:1] were looked upon with compassion by the
Lord.[48:2] He heard their groaning, and remembered his covenant with
Abraham,[48:3] with Isaac, and with Jacob. He, therefore, chose Moses
(an Israelite, who had murdered an Egyptian,[48:4] and who, therefore,
was obliged to flee from Egypt, as Pharaoh sought to punish him), as his
servant, to carry out his plans.
Moses was at this time keeping the flock of Jeruth, his father-in-law,
in the land of Midian. The angel of the Lord, or the Lord himself,
appeared to him there, and said unto him:
"I am the God of thy Father, the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob. . . . I have seen the affliction of
_my people_ which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by
reason of their tormentors; for I know their sorrows. And I am
_come down_ to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians,
and to bring them up out of that land into a good land and a
large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey. I will send
thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people, the
children of Israel, out of Egypt."
Then Moses said unto the Lord:
"Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall
say unto them, the God of your fathers hath sent me unto you,
and they shall say unto me: What is his name? What shall I say
unto them?"
Then God said unto Moses:
"I AM THAT I AM."[48:5] "Thus shalt thou say unto the children
of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."[48:6]
And God said, moreover, unto Moses:
"Go and gather the Elders of Israel together, and say unto
them: the Lord God of your fathers . . . appeared unto me,
saying: 'I have surely visited you, and seen that which is
done to you in Egypt. And I have said, I will bring you up out
of the affliction of Egypt . . . unto a land flowing with milk
and honey.' And they shall hearken to thy voice, and thou
shall come, thou and the Elders of Israel, unto the king of
Egypt, and ye shall say unto him: 'the Lord God of the Hebrews
hath met with us, and now let us go, we beseech thee, _three
days journey in the wilderness_, that we may sacrifice to the
Lord our God.'[49:1]
"_I am sure_ that the king of Egypt will _not_ let you go, no,
not by a mighty hand. And I will stretch out my hand, and
smite Egypt with all my wonders, which I will do in the midst
thereof: _and after that he will let you go_. And I will give
this people (the Hebrews) favor in the sight of the Egyptians,
and it shall come to pass, that when ye go, _ye shall not go
empty_. But every woman shall _borrow_ of her neighbor, and of
her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver and jewels
of gold, and raiment. And ye shall put them upon your sons and
upon your daughters, _and ye shall spoil the
Egyptians_."[49:2]
The Lord again appeared unto Moses, in Midian, and said:
"Go, return into Egypt, for all the men are dead which sought
thy life. And Moses took his wife, and his son, and set them
upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses
took the _rod of God_ (which the Lord had given him) in his
hand."[49:3]
Upon arriving in Egypt, Moses tells his brother Aaron, "all the words of
the Lord," and Aaron tells all the children of Israel. Moses, who was
not eloquent, but had a slow speech,[49:4] uses Aaron as his
spokesman.[49:5] They then appear unto Pharaoh, and falsify, "_according
to the commands of the Lord_," saying: "Let us go, we pray thee, _three
days' journey in the desert_, and sacrifice unto the Lord our
God."[49:6]
The Lord hardens Pharaoh's heart, so that he does not let the children
of Israel go to sacrifice unto their God, in the desert.
Moses and Aaron continue interceding with him, however, and, for the
purpose of showing their miraculous powers, they change their rods into
serpents, the river into blood, cause a plague of frogs and lice, and a
swarm of flies, &c., &c., to appear. Most of these feats were imitated
by the magicians of Egypt. Finally, the first-born of Egypt are slain,
when Pharaoh, after having had his heart hardened, by the Lord, over and
over again, consents to let Moses and the children of Israel go to serve
their God, _as they had said_, that is, for _three_ days.
The Lord having given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians,
they borrowed of them jewels of silver, jewels of gold, and raiment,
"_according to the commands of the Lord_." And they journeyed toward
Succoth, there being _six hundred thousand, besides children_.[50:1]
"And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in
Etham, in the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before
them by day, _in a pillar of a cloud_, to lead them the way;
and by night _in a pillar of fire_, to give them light to go
by day and night."[50:2]
"And it was told the king of Egypt, that the people fled. . . .
And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him.
And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots
of Egypt, . . . and he pursued after the children of Israel,
and overtook them encamping beside the sea. . . . And when
Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel . . . were sore
afraid, and . . . (they) cried out unto the Lord. . . . And
the Lord said unto Moses, . . . speak unto the children of
Israel, that they go forward. But lift thou up thy rod, and
stretch out thine hand over the Red Sea, and divide it, and
the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the
midst of the sea. . . . And Moses stretched out his hand over
the sea,[50:3] and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a
strong east wind that night, and made the sea dry land, and
the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into
the midst of the sea upon the dry ground; _and the waters were
a wall unto them upon the right hand, and on their left_. And
the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of
the sea, _even all Pharaoh's horses, and his chariots, and his
horse-men_."
After the children of Israel had landed on the other side of the sea,
the Lord said unto Moses:
"Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come
again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their
horse-men. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea,
and the sea returned to his strength. . . . And the Lord
overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the
waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horse-men,
and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after
them; there remained not so much as one of them. But the
children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the
sea, and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand,
and on their left. . . . And Israel saw the great work which
the Lord did upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the
Lord, and believed the Lord and his servant Moses."[51:1]
The writer of this story, whoever he may have been, was evidently
familiar with the legends related of the Sun-god, _Bacchus_, as he has
given Moses the credit of performing some of the miracles which were
attributed to that god.
It is related in the hymns of Orpheus,[51:2] that Bacchus had a _rod_
with which he performed miracles, and which he could change into a
_serpent_ at pleasure. _He passed the Red Sea, dry shod, at the head of
his army._ He divided the waters of the rivers Orontes and Hydaspus, by
the touch of his rod, and passed through them dry-shod.[51:3] _By the
same mighty wand, he drew water from the rock_,[51:4] and wherever they
marched, the land flowed with wine, milk and honey.[51:5]
Professor Steinthal, speaking of Dionysus (Bacchus), says:
Like Moses, he strikes fountains of wine and water out of the rock.
Almost all the acts of Moses correspond to those of the Sun-gods.[51:6]
Mons. Dupuis says:
"Among the different miracles of Bacchus and his Bacchantes,
there are prodigies very similar to those which are attributed
to Moses; for instance, such as the sources of water which the
_former_ caused to sprout from the innermost of the
rocks."[51:7]
In Bell's Pantheon of the Gods and Heroes of Antiquity,[51:8] an account
of the prodigies attributed to Bacchus is given; among these, are
mentioned his striking water from the rock, with his magic wand, his
turning a twig of ivy into a snake, his passing through the Red Sea and
the rivers Orontes and Hydaspus, and of his enjoying the light of the
Sun (while marching with his army in India), when the day was spent, and
it was dark to others. All these are parallels too striking to be
accidental.
We might also mention the fact, that Bacchus, as well as Moses was
called the "_Law-giver_," and that it was said of Bacchus, as well as of
Moses, that his laws were written on _two tables of stone_.[52:1]
Bacchus was represented _horned_, and so was Moses.[52:2] Bacchus "was
picked up in a box, that floated on the water,"[52:3] and so was
Moses.[52:4] Bacchus had two mothers, one by nature, and one by
adoption,[52:5] and so had Moses.[52:6] And, as we have already seen,
Bacchus and his army enjoyed the light of the Sun, during the night
time, and Moses and his army enjoyed the light of "a pillar of fire, by
night."[52:7]
In regard to the children of Israel going out from the land of Egypt, we
have no doubt that such an occurrence took place, although not in the
manner, and not for such reasons, as is recorded by the _sacred
historian_. We find, from other sources, what is evidently nearer the
truth.
It is related by the historian Choeremon, that, at one time, the land of
Egypt was infested with disease, and through the advice of the sacred
scribe Phritiphantes, the king caused the infected people (who were none
other than the brick-making slaves, known as the children of Israel), to
be collected, _and driven out of the country_.[52:8]
_Lysimachus_ relates that:
"A filthy disease broke out in Egypt, and the Oracle of Ammon,
being consulted on the occasion, commanded the king to purify
the land _by driving out the Jews_ (who were infected with
leprosy, &c.), a race of men who were hateful to the
Gods."[52:9] "_The whole multitude of the people were
accordingly collected and driven out into the
wilderness._"[52:10]
_Diodorus Siculus_, referring to this event, says:
"In ancient times Egypt was afflicted with a great plague,
which was attributed to the anger of God, on account of the
multitude of foreigners in Egypt: by whom the rites of the
native religion were neglected. _The Egyptians accordingly
drove them out._ The most noble of them went under Cadmus and
Danaus to Greece, but the greater number followed _Moses_, a
wise and valiant leader, to Palestine."[52:11]
After giving the different opinions concerning the origin of the Jewish
nation, Tacitus, the Roman historian, says:
"In this clash of opinions, _one point seems to be universally
admitted_. A pestilential disease, disfiguring the race of
man, and making the body an object of loathsome deformity,
spread all over Egypt. Bocchoris, at that time the reigning
monarch, consulted the oracle of Jupiter Hammon, and received
for answer, that the kingdom must be purified, by
exterminating the infected multitude, as a race of men
detested by the gods. After diligent search, the wretched
sufferers were collected together, and in a wild and barren
desert abandoned to their misery. In that distress, while the
vulgar herd was sunk in deep despair, Moses, one of their
number, reminded them, that, by the wisdom of his councils,
they had been already rescued out of impending danger.
Deserted as they were by men and gods, he told them, that if
they did not repose their confidence in him, as their chief by
divine commission, they had no resource left. His offer was
accepted. Their march began, they knew not whither. Want of
water was their chief distress. Worn out with fatigue, they
lay stretched on the bare earth, heart broken, ready to
expire, when a troop of wild asses, returning from pasture,
went up the steep ascent of a rock covered with a grove of
trees. The verdure of the herbage round the place suggested
the idea of springs near at hand. Moses traced the steps of
the animals, and discovered a plentiful vein of water. By this
relief the fainting multitude was raised from despair. They
pursued their journey for six days without intermission. On
the seventh day they made halt, and, having expelled the
natives, took possession of the country, where they built
their city, and dedicated their temple."[53:1]
Other accounts, similar to these, might be added, among which may be
mentioned that given by Manetho, an Egyptian priest, which is referred
to by Josephus, the Jewish historian.
Although the accounts quoted above are not exactly alike, _yet the main
points are the same_, which are to the effect that Egypt was infected
with disease owing to the foreigners (among whom were those who were
afterwards styled "the children of Israel") that were in the country,
and who were an unclean people, and that they were accordingly driven
out into the wilderness.
When we compare this statement with that recorded in Genesis, it does
not take long to decide which of the two is nearest the truth.
Everything putrid, or that had a tendency to putridity, was carefully
avoided by the ancient Egyptians, and so strict were the Egyptian
priests on this point, that they wore no garments made of any animal
substance, circumcised themselves, and shaved their whole bodies, even
to their eyebrows, lest they should unknowingly harbor any filth,
excrement or vermin, supposed to be bred from putrefaction.[53:2] We
know from the laws set down in _Leviticus_, that the Hebrews were not a
remarkably clean race.
Jewish priests, _in making a history for their race_, have given us but
a shadow of truth here and there; it is almost wholly mythical. The
author of "The Religion of Israel," speaking on this subject, says:
"The history of the religion of Israel _must start from the
sojourn_ of _the Israelites in Egypt_. Formerly it was usual
to take a much earlier starting-point, and to begin with a
religious discussion of the religious ideas of the
_Patriarchs_. And this was perfectly right, so long as the
accounts of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were considered
_historical_. _But now that a strict investigation has shown
us that all these stories are entirely unhistorical_, of
course we have to begin the history later on."[54:1]
The author of "The Spirit History of Man," says:
"The Hebrews came out of Egypt and settled among the
Canaanites. _They need not be traced beyond the Exodus. That
is their historical beginning._ It was very easy to cover up
this remote event by the recital of mythical traditions, and
to prefix to it an account of their origin in which the gods
(Patriarchs), should figure as their ancestors."[54:2]
Professor Goldzhier says:
"The residence of the Hebrews in Egypt, and their exodus
thence under the guidance and training of an enthusiast for
the freedom of his tribe, form a series of strictly historical
facts, which find confirmation even in the documents of
ancient Egypt (which we have just shown). But the traditional
narratives of these events (were) _elaborated by the Hebrew
people_."[54:3]
Count de Volney also observes that:
"What Exodus says of their (the Israelites) servitude under
the king of Heliopolis, and of the oppression of their hosts,
the Egyptians, is extremely probable. _It is here their
history begins. All that precedes . . . is nothing but
mythology and cosmogony._"[54:4]
In speaking of the sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt, Dr. Knappert
says:
"According to the tradition preserved in Genesis, it was the
promotion of Jacob's son, Joseph, to be viceroy of Egypt, that
brought about the migration of the sons of Israel from Canaan
to Goshen. The story goes that this Joseph was sold as a slave
by his brothers, and after many changes of fortune received
the vice-regal office at Pharaoh's hands through his skill in
interpreting dreams. Famine drives his brothers--and
afterwards his father--to him, and the Egyptian prince gives
them the land of Goshen to live in. _It is by imagining all
this that the legend tries to account for the fact that
Israel passed some time in Egypt._ But we must look for the
real explanation in a migration of certain tribes which could
not establish or maintain themselves in Canaan, and were
forced to move further on.
"We find a passage in Flavius Josephus, from which it appears
that in Egypt, too, a recollection survived of the sojourn of
some foreign tribes in the north-eastern district of the
country. For this writer gives us two fragments out of a lost
work by Manetho, a priest, who lived about 250 B. C. In one of
these we have a statement that pretty nearly agrees with the
Israelitish tradition about a sojourn in Goshen. _But the
Israelites were looked down on by the Egyptians as foreigners,
and they are represented as lepers and unclean._ Moses himself
is mentioned by name, and we are told that he was a priest and
joined himself to these _lepers_ and gave them laws."[55:1]
To return now to the story of the Red Sea being divided to let Moses and
his followers pass through--of which we have already seen one
counterpart in the legend related of Bacchus and his army passing
through the same sea dry-shod--there is another similar story concerning
Alexander the Great.
The histories of Alexander relate that the Pamphylian Sea was divided to
let him and his army pass through. Josephus, after speaking of the Red
Sea being divided for the passage of the Israelites, says:
"For the sake of those who accompanied Alexander, king of
Macedonia, who yet lived comparatively but a little while ago,
the Pamphylian Sea retired and offered them a passage through
itself, when they had no other way to go . . . _and this is
confessed to be true by all who have written about the actions
of Alexander_."[55:2]
He seems to consider both legends of the same authority, quoting the
latter to substantiate the former.
"Callisthenes, who himself accompanied Alexander in the expedition,"
"wrote, how the Pamphylian Sea did not only open a passage for
Alexander, but, rising and elevating its waters, did pay him homage as
its king."[55:3]
It is related in Egyptian mythology that Isis was at one time on a
journey with the eldest child of the king of Byblos, when coming to the
river Phoedrus, which was in a "rough air," and wishing to cross, she
commanded the stream to be _dried up_. This being done she crossed
without trouble.[56:1]
There is a _Hindoo_ fable to the effect that when the infant Crishna was
being sought by the reigning tyrant of Madura (King Kansa)[56:2] his
foster-father took him and departed out of the country. Coming to the
river Yumna, and wishing to cross, it was divided for them by the Lord,
and they passed through.
The story is related by Thomas Maurice, in his "History of Hindostan,"
who has taken it from the _Bhagavat Pooraun_. It is as follows:
"Yasodha took the child Crishna, and carried him off (from
where he was born), but, coming to the river Yumna, directly
opposite to Gokul, Crishna's father perceiving the current to
be very strong, it being in the midst of the rainy season, and
not knowing which way to pass it, Crishna commanded the water
to give way on both sides to his father, _who accordingly
passed dry-footed, across the river_."[56:3]
This incident is illustrated in Plate 58 of Moore's "Hindu Pantheon."
There is another Hindoo legend, recorded in the _Rig Veda_, and quoted
by Viscount Amberly, from whose work we take it,[56:4] to the effect
that an Indian sage called Visvimati, having arrived at a river which he
wished to cross, that holy man said to it: "Listen to the Bard who has
come to you from afar with wagon and chariot. Sink down, become
fordable, and reach not up to our chariot axles." The river answers: "I
will bow down to thee like a woman with full breast (suckling her
child), as a maid to a man, will I throw myself open to thee."
This is accordingly done, and the sage passes through.
We have also an Indian legend which relates that a courtesan named
Bindumati, _turned back the streams of the river Ganges_.[56:5]
We see then, that the idea of seas and rivers being divided for the
purpose of letting some chosen one of God pass through is an old one
peculiar to other peoples beside the Hebrews, and the probability is
that many nations had legends of this kind.
That Pharaoh and his host should have been drowned in the Red Sea, and
the fact not mentioned by any historian, is simply impossible,
especially when they have, as we have seen, noticed the fact of the
Israelites being driven out of Egypt.[56:6] Dr. Inman, speaking of this,
says:
"We seek in vain amongst the Egyptian hieroglyphs for scenes
which recall such cruelties as those we read of in the Hebrew
records; and in the writings which have hitherto been
translated, we find nothing resembling the wholesale
destructions described and applauded by the Jewish historians,
as perpetrated by their own people."[57:1]
That Pharaoh should have pursued a tribe of diseased slaves, _whom he
had driven out of his country_, is altogether improbable. In the words
of Dr. Knappert, we may conclude, by saying that:
"_This story, which was not written until more than five
hundred years after the exodus itself, can lay no claim to be
considered historical_."[57:2]
FOOTNOTES:
[48:1] Exodus i. 14.
[48:2] Exodus ii. 24, 25.
[48:3] See chapter x.
[48:4] Exodus ii. 12.
[48:5] The Egyptian name for God was "_Nuk-Pa-Nuk_," or "I AM THAT I
AM." (Bonwick: Egyptian Belief, p. 395.) This name was found on a temple
in Egypt. (Higgins' Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 17.) "'I AM' was a Divine
name understood by all the initiated among the Egyptians." "The 'I AM'
of the Hebrews, and the 'I AM' of the Egyptians are identical." (Bunsen:
Keys of St. Peter, p. 38.) The name "_Jehovah_," which was adopted by
the Hebrews, was a name esteemed sacred among the Egyptians. They called
it Y-HA-HO, or Y-AH-WEH. (See the Religion of Israel, pp. 42, 43; and
Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 329, and vol. ii. p. 17.) "None dare to enter
the temple of Serapis, who did not bear on his breast or forehead the
name of JAO, or J-HA-HO, a name almost equivalent in sound to that of
the Hebrew _Jehovah_, and probably of identical import; and no name was
uttered in Egypt with more reverence than this IAO." (Trans. from the
Ger. of Schiller, in Monthly Repos., vol. xx.; and Voltaire: _Commentary
on Exodus_; Higgins' Anac., vol. i. p. 329; vol. ii. p. 17.) "That this
divine name was well-known to the _Heathen_ there can be no doubt."
(Parkhurst: Hebrew Lex. in Anac., i. 327.) So also with the name _El
Shaddai_. "The extremely common Egyptian expression _Nutar Nutra_
exactly corresponds in sense to the Hebrew _El Shaddai_, the very title
by which God tells Moses he was known to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob."
(Prof. Renouf: Relig. of Anc't Egypt, p. 99.)
[48:6] Exodus iii. 1, 14.
[49:1] Exodus iii. 15-18.
[49:2] Exodus iii. 19-22. Here is a command from the Lord to _deceive_,
and _lie_, and _steal_, which, according to the narrative, was carried
out to the letter (Ex. xii. 35, 36); and yet we are told that this _same
Lord_ said: "_Thou shalt not steal._" (Ex. xx. 15.) Again he says:
"_That shalt not defraud thy neighbor, neither rob him._" (Leviticus
xix. 18.) Surely this is inconsistency.
[49:3] Exodus iv. 19, 20.
[49:4] Exodus iv. 10.
[49:5] Exodus iv. 16.
[49:6] Exodus v. 3.
[50:1] Exodus vii. 35-37. Bishop Colenso shows, in his Pentateuch
Examined, how ridiculous this statement is.
[50:2] Exodus xiii. 20, 21.
[50:3] "The sea over which Moses stretches out his hand with the staff,
and which he divides, so that the waters stand up on either side like
walls while he passes through, must surely have been originally the Sea
of Clouds. . . . A German story presents a perfectly similar feature.
The conception of the cloud as sea, rock and wall, recurs very
frequently in mythology." (Prof. Steinthal: The Legend of Samson, p.
429.)
[51:1] Exodus xiv. 5-13.
[51:2] Orpheus is said to have been the earliest poet of Greece, where
he first introduced the rites of Bacchus, which he brought from Egypt.
(See Roman Antiquities, p. 134.)
[51:3] The Hebrew fable writers not wishing to be outdone, have made the
waters of the river Jordan to be divided to let Elijah and Elisha pass
through (2 Kings ii. 8), and also the children of Israel. (Joshua iii.
15-17.)
[51:4] Moses, with his rod, drew water from the rock. (Exodus xvii. 6.)
[51:5] See Taylor's Diegesis, p. 191, and Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. ii.
p. 19.
[51:6] The Legend of Samson, p. 429.
[51:7] Dupuis: Origin of Religious Beliefs, p. 135.
[51:8] Vol. i. p. 122.
[52:1] Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. p. 122; and Higgins: Anacalypsis vol.
ii. p. 19.
[52:2] Ibid. and Dupuis: Origin of Religious Belief, p. 174.
[52:3] Taylor's Diegesis, p. 190; Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. under
"Bacchus;" and Higgins: Anacalypsis ii. 19.
[52:4] Exodus ii. 1-11.
[52:5] Taylor's Diegesis, p. 191; Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. under
"Bacchus;" and Higgins: p. 19, vol. ii.
[52:6] Exodus ii. 1-11.
[52:7] Exodus xiii. 20, 21.
[52:8] See Prichard's Historical Records, p. 74; also Dunlap's Spirit
Hist., p. 40; and Cory's Ancient Fragments, pp. 80, 81, for similar
accounts.
[52:9] "All persons afflicted with leprosy were considered displeasing
in the sight of the Sun-god, by the Egyptians." (Dunlap: Spirit. Hist.
p. 40.)
[52:10] Prichard's Historical Records, p. 75.
[52:11] Ibid. p. 78.
[53:1] Tacitus: Hist. book v. ch. iii.
[53:2] Knight: Anc't Art and Mythology, p. 89, and Kenrick's Egypt, vol.
i. p. 447. "The cleanliness of the Egyptian priests was extreme. They
shaved their heads, and every three days shaved their whole bodies. They
bathed two or three times a day, often in the night also. They wore
garments of white linen, deeming it more cleanly than cloth made from
the hair of animals. If they had occasion to wear a woolen cloth or
mantle, they put it off before entering a temple; so scrupulous were
they that nothing impure should come into the presence of the gods."
(Prog. Relig. Ideas, i. 168.)
"Thinking it better to be clean than handsome, the (Egyptian) priests
shave their whole body every third day, that neither lice nor any other
impurity may be found upon them when engaged in the service of the
gods." (Herodotus: book ii. ch. 37.)
[54:1] The Religion of Israel, p. 27.
[54:2] Dunlap: Spirit Hist. of Man, p. 266.
[54:3] Hebrew Mythology, p. 23.
[54:4] Researches in Ancient History, p. 146.
[55:1] The Religion of Israel, pp. 31, 32.
[55:2] Jewish Antiq. bk. ii. ch. xvi.
[55:3] Ibid. _note_.
"It was said that the waters of the Pamphylian Sea miraculously opened a
passage for the army of Alexander the Great. Admiral Beaufort, however,
tells us that, 'though there are no tides in this part of the
Mediterranean, considerable depression of the sea is caused by
long-continued north winds; and Alexander, taking advantage of such a
moment, may have dashed on without impediment;' and we accept the
explanation as a matter of course. But the waters of the Red Sea are
said to have miraculously opened a passage for the children of Israel;
and we insist on the literal truth of _this_ story, and reject natural
explanations as monstrous." (Matthew Arnold.)
[56:1] See Prichard's Egyptian Mytho. p. 60.
[56:2] See ch. xviii.
[56:3] Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 312.
[56:4] Analysis Relig. Belief, p. 552.
[56:5] See Hardy: Buddhist Legends, p. 140.
[56:6] In a cave discovered at Deir-el-Bahari (Aug., 1881), near Thebes,
in Egypt, was found _thirty-nine_ mummies of royal and priestly
personages. Among these was King Ramses II., the third king of the
Nineteenth Dynasty, and the veritable Pharaoh of the Jewish captivity.
It is very strange that he should be _here_, among a number of other
kings, if he had been lost in the Red Sea. The mummy is wrapped in
rose-colored and yellow linen of a texture finer than the finest Indian
muslin, upon which lotus flowers are strewn. It is in a perfect state of
preservation. (See a Cairo [Aug. 8th] letter to the _London Times_.)
[57:1] Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. p. 58.
[57:2] The Religion of Israel, p. 41.
CHAPTER VII.
RECEIVING THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.
The receiving of the _Ten Commandments_ by Moses, from the Lord, is
recorded in the following manner:
"In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone
forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into
the wilderness of Sinai, . . . and there Israel camped before
the Mount. . . .
"And it came to pass on the third day that there were thunders
and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the Mount, and the
voice of the tempest exceedingly loud, so that all the people
that was in the camp trembled. . . .
"And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord
descended upon it in fire, and the smoke thereof ascended as
the smoke of a furnace, and the whole Mount quaked greatly.
And when the voice of the tempest sounded long, and waxed
louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a
voice.
"_And the Lord came down upon the Mount_, and called Moses up
to the top of the Mount, and Moses went up."[58:1]
The Lord there communed with him, and "he gave unto Moses . . . . two
tables of testimony, tables of stone, _written with the finger of
God_."[58:2]
When Moses came down from off the Mount, he found the children of Israel
dancing around a golden calf, which his brother Aaron had made, and, as
his "anger waxed hot," he cast the tables of stone on the ground, and
broke them.[58:3] Moses again saw the Lord on the Mount, however, and
received two more tables of stone.[58:4] When he came down this time
from off Mount Sinai, "the skin of his face did shine."[58:5]
These two tables of stone contained the _Ten Commandments_,[59:1] so it
is said, which the Jews and Christians of the present day are supposed
to take for their standard.
They are, in substance, as follows:
1--To have no other God but Jehovah.
2--To make no image for purpose of worship.
3--Not to take Jehovah's name in vain.
4--Not to work on the Sabbath-day.
5--To honor their parents.
6--Not to kill.
7--Not to commit adultery.
8--Not to steal.
9--Not to bear false witness against a neighbor.
10--Not to covet.[59:2]
We have already seen, in the last chapter, that Bacchus was called the
"_Law-giver_," and that his laws were written on _two tables of
stone_.[59:3] This feature in the Hebrew legend was evidently copied
from that related of Bacchus, but, the idea of his (Moses) receiving the
commandments from the Lord on a _mountain_ was obviously taken from the
_Persian_ legend related of Zoroaster.
Prof. Max Müller says:
"What applies to the religion of Moses applies to that of
Zoroaster. It is placed before us as a complete system from
the first, _revealed by Ahuramazda_ (Ormuzd), _proclaimed by
Zoroaster_."[59:4]
The disciples of Zoroaster, in their profusion of legends of the master,
relate that one day, as he prayed _on a high mountain_, in the midst of
thunders and lightnings ("fire from heaven"), the Lord himself appeared
before him, and delivered unto him the "Book of the Law." While the King
of Persia and the people were assembled together, Zoroaster came down
from the mountain unharmed, bringing with him the "Book of the Law,"
which had been revealed to him by Ormuzd. They call this book the
_Zend-Avesta_, which signifies the _Living Word_.[59:5]
According to the religion of the Cretans, Minos, their law-giver,
ascended a _mountain_ (Mount Dicta) and there received from the Supreme
Lord (Zeus) the sacred laws which he brought down with him.[60:1]
Almost all nations of antiquity have legends of their holy men ascending
a _mountain_ to ask counsel of the gods, such places being invested with
peculiar sanctity, and deemed nearer to the deities than other portions
of the earth.[60:2]
According to Egyptian belief, it is Thoth, the Deity itself, that speaks
and reveals to his elect among men the will of God and the arcana of
divine things. Portions of them are expressly stated to have been
written by the very finger of Thoth himself; to have been the work and
composition of the great god.[60:3]
Diodorus, the Grecian historian, says:
The idea promulgated by the ancient Egyptians that their _laws_ were
received direct from the Most High God, _has been adopted with success
by many other law-givers, who have thus insured respect for their
institutions_.[60:4]
The Supreme God of the ancient Mexicans was _Tezcatlipoca_. He occupied
a position corresponding to the Jehovah of the Jews, the Brahma of
India, the Zeus of the Greeks, and the Odin of the Scandinavians. His
name is compounded of Tezcatepec, the name of a _mountain_ (_upon which
he is said to have manifested himself to man_) _tlil_, dark, and _poca_,
smoke. The explanation of this designation is given in the _Codex
Vaticanus_, as follows:
Tezcatlipoca was one of their most potent deities; they say he once
appeared on the top of a mountain. They paid him great reverence and
adoration, and addressed him, in their prayers, as "Lord, whose servant
we are." No man ever saw his face, for he appeared only "as a shade."
Indeed, the Mexican idea of the godhead was similar to that of the Jews.
Like Jehovah, Tezcatlipoca dwelt in the "midst of thick darkness." _When
he descended upon the mount of Tezcatepec, darkness overshadowed the
earth, while fire and water, in mingled streams, flowed from beneath his
feet, from its summit._[61:1]
Thus, we see that other nations, beside the Hebrews, believed that their
laws were actually received from God, that they had legends to that
effect, and that a _mountain_ figures conspicuously in the stories.
Professor Oort, speaking on this subject, says:
"No one who has any knowledge of antiquity will be surprised
at this, for similar beliefs were very common. All peoples who
had issued from a life of barbarism and acquired regular
political institutions, more or less elaborate laws, and
established worship, and maxims of morality, attributed all
this--their birth as a nation, so to speak--to one or more
great men, all of whom, without exception, _were supposed to
have received their knowledge from some deity_.
"Whence did Zoroaster, the prophet of the Persians, derive his
religion? According to the beliefs of his followers, and the
doctrines of their sacred writings, it was from Ahuramazda,
the God of light. Why did the Egyptians represent the god
Thoth with a writing tablet and a pencil in his hand, and
honor him especially as the god of the priests? Because he was
'the Lord of the divine Word,' the foundation of all wisdom,
from whose inspiration the priests, who were the scholars, the
lawyers, and the religious teachers of the people, derived all
their wisdom. Was not Minos, the law-giver of the Cretans, the
friend of Zeus, the highest of the gods? Nay, was he not even
his son, and did he not ascend to the sacred cave on Mount
Dicte to bring down the laws which his god had placed there
for him? From whom did the Spartan law-giver, Lycurgus,
himself say that he had obtained his laws? From no other than
the god Apollo. The Roman legend, too, in honoring Numa
Pompilius as the people's instructor, at the same time
ascribed all his wisdom to his intercourse with the nymph
Egeria. It was the same elsewhere; and to make one more
example,--this from later times--Mohammed not only believed
himself to have been called immediately by God to be the
prophet of the Arabs, but declared that he had received every
page of the Koran from the hand of the angel Gabriel."[61:2]
FOOTNOTES:
[58:1] Exodus xix.
[58:2] Exodus xxxi. 18.
[58:3] Exodus xxii. 19.
[58:4] Exodus xxxiv.
[58:5] Ibid.
It was a common belief among ancient Pagan nations that the gods
appeared and conversed with men. As an illustration we may cite the
following, related by _Herodotus_, the Grecian historian, who, in
speaking of Egypt and the Egyptians, says: "There is a large city called
Chemmis, situated in the Thebaic district, near Neapolis, in which is a
quadrangular temple dedicated to (the god) Perseus, son of (the Virgin)
Danae; palm-trees grow round it, and the portico is of stone, very
spacious, and over it are placed two large stone statues. In this
inclosure is a temple, and in it is placed a statue of Perseus. The
Chemmitæ (or inhabitants of Chemmis), _affirm that Perseus has
frequently appeared to them on earth, and frequently within the
temple_." (Herodotus, bk. ii. ch. 91.)
[59:1] _Buddha_, the founder of Buddhism, had TEN commandments. 1. Not
to kill. 2. Not to steal. 3. To be chaste. 4 Not to bear false witness.
5. Not to lie. 6. Not to swear. 7. To avoid impure words. 8. To be
disinterested. 9. Not to avenge one's-self. 10. Not to be superstitious.
(See Huc's Travels, p. 328, vol. i.)
[59:2] Exodus xx. Dr. Oort says: "The original ten commandments probably
ran as follows: I Yahwah am your God. Worship no other gods beside me.
Make no image of a god. Commit no perjury. Remember to keep holy the
Sabbath day. Honor your father and your mother. Commit no murder. Break
not the marriage vow. Steal not. Bear no false witness. Covet not."
(Bible for Learners, vol. i. p. 18.)
[59:3] Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. p. 122. Higgins, vol. ii. p. 19. Cox:
Aryan Mytho. vol. ii. p. 295.
[59:4] Müller: Origin of Religion, p. 130.
[59:5] See Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. pp. 257, 258. This book, the
_Zend-Avesta_, is similar, in many respects, to the _Vedas_ of the
_Hindoos_. This has led many to believe that Zoroaster was a Brahman;
among these are Rawlinson (See Inman's Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. p. 831)
and Thomas Maurice. (See Indian Antiquities, vol. ii. p. 219.)
The Persians themselves had a tradition that he came from some country
to the East of them. That he was a foreigner is indicated by a passage
in the _Zend-Avesta_ which represents Ormuzd as saying to him: "Thou, O
Zoroaster, by the promulgation of my law, shalt restore to me my former
glory, which was pure light. Up! haste thee to the land of _Iran_, which
thirsteth after the law, and say, thus said Ormuzd, &c." (See Prog.
Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 263.)
[60:1] The Bible for Learners, vol. i. p. 301.
[60:2] "The deities of the Hindoo Pantheon dwell on the sacred Mount
Meru; the gods of Persia ruled from Albordj; the Greek Jove thundered
from Olympus, and the Scandinavian gods made Asgard awful with their
presence. . . . Profane history is full of examples attesting the
attachment to high places for purpose of sacrifice." (Squire: Serpent
Symbols, p. 78.)
"The offerings of the Chinese to the deities were generally on the
summits of high mountains, as they seemed to them to be nearer heaven,
to the majesty of which they were to be offered." (Christmas's Mytho. p.
250, in Ibid.) "In the infancy of civilization, high places were chosen
by the people to offer sacrifices to the gods. The first altars, the
first temples, were erected on mountains." (Humboldt: American
Researches.) The Himalayas are the "_Heavenly mountains_." In Sanscrit
_Himala_, corresponding to the M. Gothic, _Himins_; Alem., _Himil_;
Ger., Swed., and Dan., _Himmel_; Old Norse, _Himin_; Dutch, _Hemel_;
Ang.-Sax., _Heofon_; Eng., _Heaven_. (See Mallet's Northern Antiquities,
p. 42.)
[60:3] Bunsen's Egypt, quoted in Isis Unveiled, vol. ii. p. 367. Mrs.
Child says: "The _laws_ of Egypt were handed down from the earliest
times, and regarded with the utmost veneration as a portion of religion.
Their first legislator represented them as dictated by the gods
themselves and framed expressly for the benefit of mankind by their
secretary _Thoth_." (Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 173.)
[60:4] Quoted in Ibid.
[61:1] See Squire's Serpent Symbol, p. 175.
[61:2] Bible for Learners, vol. i. p. 301.
CHAPTER VIII.
SAMSON AND HIS EXPLOITS.
This Israelite hero is said to have been born at a time when the
children of Israel were in the hands of the Philistines. His mother, who
had been barren for a number of years, is entertained by an angel, who
informs her that she shall conceive, and bear a son,[62:1] and that the
child shall be a _Nazarite_ unto God, from the womb, and he shall begin
to deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines.
According to the prediction of the angel, "the woman bore a son, and
called his name _Samson_; and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him."
"And Samson (after he had grown to man's estate), went down to
Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the
Philistines. And he came up and told his father and his
mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the
daughters of the Philistines; now therefore get her for me to
wife."
Samson's father and mother preferred that he should take a woman among
the daughters of their own tribe, but Samson wished for the maid of the
Philistines, "for," said he, "she pleaseth me well."
The parents, after coming to the conclusion that it was the will of the
Lord, that he should marry the maid of the Philistines, consented.
"Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to
Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath, and, behold, a
young lion roared against him (Samson). And the spirit of the
Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him (the lion) as he
would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand."
This was Samson's _first_ exploit, which he told not to any one, not
even his father, or his mother.
He then continued on his way, and went down and talked with the woman,
and she pleased him well.
And, after a time, he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see
the carcass of the lion, and behold, "there was a swarm of bees, and
honey, in the carcass of the lion."
Samson made a feast at his wedding, which lasted for _seven_ days. At
this feast, there were brought thirty companions to be with him, unto
whom he said: "I will now put forth a riddle unto you, if ye can
certainly declare it me, within the _seven_ days of the feast, and find
it out, then I will give you thirty sheets, and thirty changes of
garments. But, if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty
sheets, and thirty changes of garments." And they said unto him, "Put
forth thy riddle, that we may hear it." And he answered them: "Out of
the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness."
This riddle the thirty companions could not solve.
"And it came to pass, on the _seventh_ day, that they said unto Samson's
wife: 'Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle.'"
She accordingly went to Samson, and told him that he could not love her;
if it were so, he would tell her the answer to the riddle. After she had
wept and entreated of him, he finally told her, and she gave the answer
to the children of her people. "And the men of the city said unto him,
on the _seventh_ day, before the sun went down, 'What is sweeter than
honey, and what is stronger than a lion?'"
Samson, upon hearing this, suspected how they managed to find out the
answer, whereupon he said unto them: "If ye had not ploughed with my
heifer, ye had not found out my riddle."
Samson was then at a loss to know where to get the thirty sheets, and
the thirty changes of garments; but, "the spirit of the Lord came upon
him, and he went down to Ashkelon, _and slew thirty men of them_, and
took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded
the riddle."
This was the hero's _second_ exploit.
His anger being kindled, he went up to his father's house, instead of
returning to his wife.[64:1] But it came to pass, that, after a while,
Samson repented of his actions, and returned to his wife's house, and
wished to go in to his wife in the chamber; but her father would not
suffer him to go. And her father said: "I verily thought that thou hadst
utterly hated her, therefore, I gave her to thy companion. Is not her
younger sister fairer than she? Take her, I pray thee, instead of her."
This did not seem to please Samson, even though the younger was fairer
than the older, for he "went and caught three hundred foxes, and took
firebrands, and turned (the foxes) tail to tail, and put a firebrand in
the midst between two tails. And when he had set the brands on fire, he
let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burned up
both the shocks and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and
olives."
This was Samson's _third_ exploit.
When the Philistines found their corn, their vineyards, and their olives
burned, they said: "Who hath done this?"
"And they answered, 'Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite,
because he had taken his wife, and given her to his
companion.' And the Philistines came up, and burned her and
her father with fire. And Samson said unto them: 'Though ye
have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I
will cease.' _And he smote them hip and thigh with a great
slaughter_, and he went and dwelt in the top of the rock
Etam."
This "great slaughter" was Samson's _fourth_ exploit.
"Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and
spread themselves in Lehi. And the men of Judah said: 'Why are
ye come up against us?' And they answered: 'To bind Samson are
we come up, and to do to him as he hath done to us.' Then
three thousand men of Judah went up to the top of the rock
Etam, and said to Samson: 'Knowest thou not that the
Philistines are rulers over us? What is this that thou hast
done unto us?' And he said unto them: 'As they did unto me, so
have I done unto them.' And they said unto him: 'We are come
down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hands of
the Philistines.' And Samson said unto them: 'Swear unto me
that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.' And they spake unto
him, saying, 'No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee
into their hands: but surely we will not kill thee.' And they
bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the
rock. And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted
against him; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon
him, _and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax
that was burned with fire, and his bands loosed from off his
hands_. And he found a new jaw-bone of an ass, and put forth
his hand and took it, _and slew a thousand men with it_."
This was Samson's _fifth_ exploit.
After slaying a thousand men he was "sore athirst," and called unto the
Lord. And "God clave a hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came
water thereout, and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he
revived."[65:1]
"Then went Samson to Gaza and saw there a harlot, and went in
unto her. And it was told the Gazites, saying, 'Samson is come
hither.' And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all
night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night,
saying: 'In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.'
And Samson lay (with the harlot) till midnight, and arose at
midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the
two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them
upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of a hill
that is in Hebron."
This was Samson's _sixth_ exploit.
"And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the
valley of Soreck, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the
Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her: 'Entice him,
and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we
may prevail against him.'"
Delilah then began to entice Samson to tell her wherein his strength
lay.
"She pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that
his soul was vexed unto death. Then he told her all his heart,
and said unto her: 'There hath not come a razor upon mine
head, for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's
womb. If I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I
shall become weak, and be like any other man.' And when
Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she went and
called for the lords of the Philistines, saying: 'Come up this
once, for he hath showed me all his heart.' Then the lords of
the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their
hands (for her).
"And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she
called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the _seven_
locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his
strength went from him."
The Philistines then took him, put out his eyes, and put him in prison.
And being gathered together at a great sacrifice in honor of their God,
Dagon, they said: "Call for Samson, that he may make us sport." And they
called for Samson, and he made them sport.
"And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand.
Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house
standeth, that I may lean upon them.
"Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords
of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof
about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson
made sport.
"And Samson called unto the Lord, and said: 'O Lord God,
remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only
this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the
Philistines for my two eyes.'
"And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the
house stood and on which it was borne up, of the one with his
right hand, and of the other with his left. And Samson said:
'Let me die with the Philistines.' And he bowed himself with
all his might; and (having regained his strength) the house
fell upon the lords, and upon the people that were therein. So
the dead which he slew at his death, were more than they which
he slew in his life."[66:1]
Thus ended the career of the "strong man" of the Hebrews.
That this story is a copy of the legends related of Hercules, or that
they have both been copied from similar legends existing among some
other nations,[66:2] is too evident to be disputed. Many churchmen have
noticed the similarity between the history of Samson and that of
Hercules. In Chambers's Encyclopædia, under "Samson," we read as
follows:
"It has been matter of most contradictory speculations, how
far his existence is to be taken as a reality, or, in other
words, what substratum of historical truth there may be in
this supposed circle of popular legends, artistically rounded
off, in the four chapters of Judges which treat of him. . . .
"The miraculous deeds he performed have taxed the ingenuity of
many commentators, and the text has been _twisted and turned
in all directions_, to explain, _rationally_, his slaying
those prodigious numbers single-handed; his carrying the gates
of Gaza, in one night, a distance of about fifty miles, &c.,
&c."
That this is simply a _Solar_ myth, no one will doubt, we believe, who
will take the trouble to investigate it.
Prof. Goldziher, who has made "Comparative Mythology" a special study,
says of this story:
"The most complete and rounded-off _Solar myth_ extant in
Hebrew, is that of Shimshôn (Samson), a cycle of mythical
conceptions fully comparable with the Greek myth of
Hercules."[66:3]
We shall now endeavor to ascertain if such is the case, by comparing the
exploits of Samson with those of Hercules.
The first wonderful act performed by Samson was, as we have seen, _that
of slaying a lion_. This is said to have happened when he was but a
youth. So likewise was it with Hercules. At the age of eighteen, he slew
an enormous lion.[66:4]
The valley of Nemea was infested by a terrible lion; Eurystheus ordered
Hercules to bring him the skin of this monster. After using in vain his
club and arrows against the lion, Hercules strangled the animal with his
hands. He returned, carrying the dead lion on his shoulders; but
Eurystheus was so frightened at the sight of it, and at this proof of
the prodigious strength of the hero, that he ordered him to deliver the
accounts of his exploits in the future outside the town.[67:1]
To show the courage of Hercules, it is said that he entered the cave
where the lion's lair was, closed the entrance behind him, and at once
grappled with the monster.[67:2]
Samson is said to have torn asunder the _jaws_ of the lion, and we find
him generally represented slaying the beast in that manner. So likewise,
was this the manner in which Hercules disposed of the Nemean lion.[67:3]
The skin of the lion, Hercules tore off with his fingers, and knowing it
to be impenetrable, resolved to wear it henceforth.[67:4] The statues
and paintings of Hercules either represent him carrying the lion's skin
over his arm, or wearing it hanging down his back, the skin of its head
fitting to his crown like a cap, and the fore-legs knotted under his
chin.[67:5]
Samson's second exploit was when he went down to Ashkelon and slew
thirty men.
Hercules, when returning to Thebes from the lion-hunt, and wearing its
skin hanging from his shoulders, as a sign of his success, met the
heralds of the King of the Minyæ, coming from Orchomenos to claim the
annual tribute of a hundred cattle, levied on Thebes. Hercules cut off
the ears and noses of the heralds, bound their hands, and sent them
home.[67:6]
Samson's third exploit was when he caught three hundred foxes, and took
fire-brands, and turned them tail to tail, and put a fire-brand in the
midst between two tails, and let them go into the standing corn of the
Philistines.
There is no such feature as this in the legends of Hercules, the nearest
to it in resemblance is when he encounters and kills the Learnean
Hydra.[67:7] During this encounter a _fire-brand_ figures conspicuously,
and _the neighboring wood is set on fire_.[67:8]
We have, however, an explanation of this portion of the legend, in the
following from Prof. Steinthal:
At the festival of Ceres, held at Rome, in the month of April, a
fox-hunt through the circus was indulged in, _in which burning torches
were bound to the foxes' tails_.
This was intended to be a symbolical reminder of the damage done to the
fields by mildew, called the "_red fox_," which was exorcised in various
ways at this momentous season (the last third of April). It is the time
of the _Dog-Star_, at which the mildew was most to be feared; if at that
time great solar heat follows too close upon the hoar-frost or dew of
the cold nights, this mischief rages like a burning fox through the
corn-fields.[68:1]
He also says that:
"This is the sense of the story of the foxes, which Samson
caught and sent into the Philistines' fields, with fire-brands
fastened to their tails, to burn the crops. Like the lion, the
fox is an animal that indicated the solar heat, being well
suited for this both by its color and by its long-haired
tail."[68:2]
Bouchart, in his "Hierozoicon," observes that:
"At this period (_i. e._, the last third of April) they cut
the corn in Palestine and Lower Egypt, and a few days after
the setting of the Hyads arose the _Fox_, in whose train or
tail comes the fires or torches of the dog-days, represented
among the Egyptians by red marks painted on the backs of their
animals."[68:3]
Count de Volney also tells us that:
"The inhabitants of Carseoles, an ancient city of Latium,
every year, in a religious festival, burned a number of foxes
_with torches tied to their tails_. They gave, as the reason
for this whimsical ceremony, that their corn had been formerly
burnt by a fox to whose tail a young man had fastened a bundle
of lighted straw."[68:4]
He concludes his account of this peculiar "religious festival," by
saying:
"This is exactly the story of Samson with the Philistines, but
it is a Phenician tale. _Car-Seol_ is a compound word in that
tongue, signifying _town of foxes_. The Philistines,
originally from Egypt, do not appear to have had any colonies.
The Phenicians had a great many; and it can scarcely be
admitted that they borrowed this story from the Hebrews, as
obscure as the Druses are in our own times, or that a simple
adventure gave rise to a religious ceremony; _it evidently can
only be a mythological and allegorical narration_."[68:4]
So much, then, for the foxes and fire-brands.
Samson's fourth exploit was when he smote the Philistines "hip and
thigh," "with great slaughter."
It is related of Hercules that he had a combat with an _army_ of
Centaurs, who were armed with pine sticks, rocks, axes, &c. They flocked
in wild confusion, and surrounded the _cave_ of Pholos, where Hercules
was, when a violent fight ensued. Hercules was obliged to contend
against this large armed force single-handed, but he came off
victorious, and slew a great number of them.[69:1] Hercules also
encountered and fought against _an army of giants_, at the Phlegraean
fields, near Cumae.[69:2]
Samson's next wonderful exploit was when "three thousand men of Judah"
bound him with _cords_ and brought him up into Lehi, when the
Philistines were about to take his life. The cords with which he was
bound immediately became as flax, and loosened from off his hands. He
then, with the jaw-bone of an ass, slew one thousand Philistines.[69:3]
A very similar feature to this is found in the history of Hercules. He
is made prisoner by the Egyptians, who wish to take his life, but while
they are preparing to slay him, he breaks loose his bonds--having been
tied with _cords_--and kills Buseris, the leader of the band, _and the
whole retinue_.[69:4]
On another occasion, being refused shelter from a storm at Kos, he was
enraged at the inhabitants, and accordingly _destroyed the whole
town_.[69:5]
Samson, after he had slain a thousand Philistines, was "sore athirst,"
and called upon _Jehovah_, his father in heaven, to succor him,
whereupon, water immediately gushed forth from "a hollow place that was
in the jaw-bone."
Hercules, departing from the Indies (or rather Ethiopia), and conducting
his army through the desert of Lybia, feels a burning thirst, and
conjures _Ihou_, his father, to succor him in his danger.
Instantly the (celestial) Ram appears. Hercules follows him and arrives
at a place where the Ram scrapes with his foot, _and there instantly
comes forth a spring of water_.[70:1]
Samson's sixth exploit happened when he went to Gaza to visit a harlot.
The Gazites, who wished to take his life, laid wait for him all night,
but Samson left the town at midnight, and took with him the gates of the
city, and the _two posts_, on his shoulders. He carried them to the top
of a hill, some fifty miles away, and left them there.
This story very much resembles that of the "Pillars of Hercules," called
the "_Gates of Cadiz_."[70:2]
Count de Volney tells us that:
"Hercules was represented naked, carrying on his shoulders
_two columns_ called the Gates of Cadiz."[70:3]
"The _Pillars_ of Hercules" was the name given by the ancients to the
two rocks forming the entrance or _gate_ to the Mediterranean at the
Strait of Gibraltar.[70:4] Their erection was ascribed by the Greeks to
Hercules, on the occasion of his journey to the kingdom of Geryon.
According to one version of the story, they had been united, but
Hercules tore them asunder.[70:5]
[Illustration: Fig. No. 3.]
Fig. No. 3 is a representation of Hercules with the two posts or pillars
on his shoulders, as alluded to by Count de Volney. We have taken it
from Montfaucon's "L'Antiquité Expliquée."[70:6]
J. P. Lundy says of this:
"Hercules carrying his two columns to erect at the Straits of
Gibraltar, may have some reference to the Hebrew story."[71:1]
We think there is no doubt of it. By changing the name Hercules into
Samson, the legend is complete.
Sir William Drummond tells us, in his "OEdipus Judaicus," that:
"_Gaza_ signifies a Goat, and was the type of the Sun in
Capricorn. The _Gates of the Sun_ were feigned by the ancient
Astronomers to be in Capricorn and Cancer (that is, in
_Gaza_), from which signs the tropics are named. Samson
carried away the gates from Gaza to Hebron, the city of
conjunction. Now, Count Gebelin tells us that at Cadiz, where
Hercules was anciently worshiped, there was a representation
of him, _with a gate on his shoulders_."[71:2]
The stories of the amours of Samson with Delilah and other females, are
simply counterparts of those of Hercules with Omphale and Iole.
Montfaucon, speaking of this, says:
"Nothing is better known in the fables (related of Hercules)
than his amours with Omphale and Iole."[71:3]
Prof. Steinthal says:
"The circumstance that Samson is so addicted to sexual
pleasure, has its origin in the remembrance that the _Solar
god_ is the god of fruitfulness and procreation. We have as
examples, the amours of Hercules and Omphale; Ninyas, in
Assyria, with Semiramis; Samson, in Philistia, with Delila,
whilst among the Phenicians, Melkart pursues Dido-Anna."[71:4]
Samson is said to have had long hair. "There hath not come a razor upon
my head," says he, "for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's
womb."
Now, strange as it may appear, Hercules is said to have had long hair
also, and he was often represented that way. In Montfaucon's
"L'Antiquité Expliquée"[71:5] may be seen a representation of Hercules
_with hair reaching almost to his waist_. Almost all _Sun_-gods are
represented thus.[71:6]
Prof. Goldzhier says:
"Long locks of hair and a long beard are mythological
attributes of the Sun. The Sun's rays are compared with locks
of hair on the face or head of the Sun.
"When the sun sets and leaves his place to the darkness, or
when the powerful Summer Sun is succeeded by the weak rays of
the Winter Sun, then Samson's long locks, in which alone his
strength lies, are cut off through the treachery of his
deceitful concubine, Delilah, the 'languishing, languid,'
according to the meaning of the name (Delilah). The Beaming
Apollo, moreover, is called the _Unshaven_; and Minos cannot
conquer the solar hero Nisos, _till the latter loses his
golden hair_."[72:1]
Through the influence of Delilah, Samson is at last made a prisoner. He
tells her the secret of his strength, the _seven_ locks of hair are
shaven off, and his strength leaves him. The shearing of the locks of
the Sun must be followed by darkness and ruin.
From the shoulders of Phoibos Lykêgênes flow the sacred locks, over
which no razor might pass, and on the head of Nisos they become a
palladium, invested with a mysterious power.[72:2] The long locks of
hair which flow over his shoulders are taken from his head by Skylla,
while he is asleep, and, like another Delilah, she thus delivers him and
his people into the power of Minos.[72:3]
Prof. Steinthal says of Samson:
"His hair is a figure of increase and luxuriant fullness. In
Winter, when nature appears to have lost all strength, the god
of growing young life has lost his hair. In the Spring the
hair grows again, and nature returns to life again. Of this
original conception the Bible story still preserves a trace.
Samson's hair, after being cut off, grows again, and his
strength comes back with it."[72:4]
Towards the end of his career, Samson's eyes are put out. Even here, the
Hebrew writes with a singular fidelity to the old mythical speech. The
tender light of evening is blotted out by the dark vapors; the light of
the _Sun_ is quenched in gloom. _Samson's eyes are put out._
OEdipus, whose history resembles that of Samson and Hercules in many
respects, tears out his eyes, towards the end of his career. In other
words, the _Sun_ has blinded himself. Clouds and darkness have closed in
about him, and the clear light is blotted out of the heaven.[72:5]
The final act, Samson's death, reminds us clearly and decisively of the
Phenician Hercules, as Sun-god, who died at the Winter Solstice in the
furthest West, where his _two pillars_ are set up to mark the end of his
wanderings.
Samson also died at the _two pillars_, but in his case they are not the
Pillars of the World, but are only set up in the middle of a great
banqueting-hall. A feast was being held in honor of Dagon, the
Fish-god; the Sun was in the sign of the Waterman, _Samson, the Sun-god,
died_.[73:1]
The ethnology of the _name_ of Samson, as well as his adventures, are
very closely connected with the _Solar_ Hercules. _"Samson" was the name
of the Sun._[73:2] In Arabic, "_Shams-on_" means the _Sun_.[73:3] Samson
had _seven_ locks of hair, the number of the planetary bodies.[73:4]
The author of "The Religion of Israel," speaking of Samson, says:
"The story of Samson and his deeds originated in a _Solar
myth_, which was afterwards transformed by the narrator into a
_saga_ about a mighty hero and deliverer of Israel. The very
_name_ 'Samson,' is derived from the Hebrew word, and means
'Sun.' The hero's flowing locks were originally the _rays of
the sun_, and other traces of the old myth have been
preserved."[73:5]
Prof. Oort says:
"The story of Samson is simply a solar myth. In some of the
features of the story the original meaning may be traced quite
clearly, but in others the myth can no longer be recognized.
The exploits of some Danite hero, such as Shamgar, who 'slew
six hundred Philistines with an ox-goad' (Judges iii. 31),
have been woven into it; the whole has been remodeled after
the ideas of the prophets of later ages, and finally, it has
been fitted into the framework of the period of the Judges, as
conceived by the writer of the book called after them."[73:6]
Again he says:
"The myth that lies at the foundation of this story is a
description of the sun's course during the six winter months.
The god is gradually encompassed by his enemies, mist and
darkness. At first he easily maintains his freedom, and gives
glorious proofs of his strength; but the fetters grow stronger
and stronger, until at last he is robbed of his crown of rays,
and loses all his power and glory. _Such is the Sun in
Winter._ But he has not lost his splendor forever. Gradually
his strength returns, at last he reappears; and though he
still seems to allow himself to be mocked, yet the power of
avenging himself has returned, and in the end he triumphs over
his enemies once more."[73:7]
Other nations beside the Hebrews and Greeks had their "mighty men" and
lion-killers. The Hindoos had their Samson. His name was Bala-Rama, the
"_Strong Rama_." He was considered by some an incarnation of
Vishnu.[73:8]
Captain Wilford says, in "Asiatic Researches:"
"The _Indian_ Hercules, according to Cicero, was called
_Belus_. He is the same as _Bala_, the brother of Crishna, and
both are conjointly worshiped at Mutra; indeed, they are
considered as one Avatar or Incarnation of Vishnou. _Bala_ is
represented as a stout man, _with a club in his hand_. He is
also called _Bala-rama._"[74:1]
There is a Hindoo legend which relates that Sevah had an encounter with
a tiger, "whose mouth expanded like a cave, and whose voice resembled
thunder." He slew the monster, and, like Hercules, covered himself with
the skin.[74:2]
The Assyrians and Lydians, both Semitic nations, worshiped a Sun-god
named Sandan or Sandon. He also was believed to be a _lion-killer_, and
frequently figured struggling with the lion, or standing upon the slain
lion.[74:3]
Ninevah, too, had her mighty hero and king, who slew a lion and other
monsters. Layard, in his excavations, discovered a _bas-relief_
representation of this hero triumphing over the lion and wild
bull.[74:4]
The Ancient Babylonians had a hero lion-slayer, Izdubar by name. The
destruction of the lion, and other monsters, by Izdubar, is often
depicted on the cylinders and engraved gems belonging to the early
Babylonian monarchy.[74:5]
Izdubar is represented as a great or mighty man, who, in the early days
after the flood, destroyed wild animals, and conquered a number of petty
kings.[74:6]
Izdubar resembles the Grecian hero, Hercules, in other respects than as
a destroyer of wild animals, &c. We are told that he "wandered to the
regions where gigantic composite monsters held and controlled the rising
and setting sun, from these learned the road to _the region of the
blessed_, and passing across _a great waste of land_, he arrived at a
region where _splendid trees were laden with jewels_."[74:7]
He also resembles Hercules, Samson, and other solar-gods, in the
particular of _long flowing locks of hair_. In the Babylonian and
Assyrian sculptures he is always represented with a marked physiognomy,
and always indicated as a man with _masses of curls over his head_ and a
large curly beard.[74:8]
Here, evidently, is the Babylonian legend of Hercules. He too was a
_wanderer_, going from the furthest East to the furthest West. He
crossed "a great waste of land" (the desert of Lybia), visited "the
region of the blessed," where there were "splendid trees laden with
jewels" (golden apples).
The ancient Egyptians had their Hercules. According to Herodotus, he was
known several thousand years before the Grecian hero of that name. This
the Egyptians affirmed, and that he was _born_ in their country.[75:1]
The story of Hercules was known in the Island of Thasos, by the
Phenician colony settled there, five centuries before he was known in
Greece.[75:2] Fig. No. 4 is from an ancient representation of Hercules
in conflict with the lion, taken from Gorio.
[Illustration: Fig. No. 4]
Another mighty hero was the Grecian Bellerophon. The minstrels sang of
the beauty and the great deeds of Bellerophon throughout all the land of
Argos. His arm was strong in battle; his feet were swift in the chase.
None that were poor and weak and wretched feared the might of
Bellerophon. To them the sight of his beautiful form brought only joy
and gladness; but the proud and boastful, the slanderer and the robber,
dreaded the glance of his keen eye. For a long time he fought the Solymi
and the Amazons, until all his enemies shrank from the stroke of his
mighty arm, and sought for mercy.[75:3]
The second of the principal gods of the Ancient _Scandinavians_ was
named Thor, and was no less known than Odin among the Teutonic nations.
The Edda calls him expressly the most valiant of the sons of Odin. He
was considered the "_defender_" and "_avenger_." He always carried a
mallet, which, as often as he discharged it, returned to his hand of
itself; he grasped it with gauntlets of iron, and was further possessed
of a girdle which had the virtue of renewing his strength as often as
was needful. It was with these formidable arms that he overthrew to the
ground the monsters and giants, when he was sent by the gods to oppose
their enemies. He was represented of gigantic size, and as the stoutest
and strongest of the gods.[76:1] Thor was simply the Hercules of the
Northern nations. He was the Sun personified.[76:2]
Without enumerating them, we can safely say, that there was not a nation
of antiquity, from the remotest East to the furthest West, that did not
have its mighty hero, and counterpart of Hercules and Samson.[76:3]
FOOTNOTES:
[62:1] The idea of a woman conceiving, and bearing a son in her old age,
seems to have been a Hebrew peculiarity, as a number of their remarkable
personages were born, so it is said, of parents well advanced in years,
or of a woman who was supposed to have been _barren_. As illustrations,
we may mention this case of _Samson_, and that of _Joseph_ being born of
Rachel. The beautiful Rachel, who was so much beloved by Jacob, her
husband, was barren, and she bore him no sons. This caused grief and
discontent on her part, and anger on the part of her husband. In her old
age, however, she bore the wonderful child Joseph. (See Genesis, xxx.
1-29.)
_Isaac_ was born of a woman (Sarah) who had been barren many years. _An
angel appeared to her_ when her lord (Abraham) "was ninety years old and
nine," and informed her that she would conceive and bear a son. (See
Gen. xvi.)
_Samuel_, the "holy man," was also born of a woman (Hannah) who had been
barren many years. In grief, she prayed to the Lord for a child, and was
finally comforted by receiving her wish. (See 1 Samuel, i. 1-20.)
_John the Baptist_ was also a miraculously conceived infant. His mother,
Elizabeth, bore him _in her old age_. _An angel also informed her_ and
her husband Zachariah, that this event would take place. (See Luke, i.
1-25.)
_Mary_, the mother of _Jesus_, was born of a woman (Anna) who was "old
and stricken in years," and who had been barren all her life. _An angel
appeared to Anna and her husband_ (Joachim), and told them what was
about to take place. (See "The Gospel of Mary," Apoc.)
Thus we see, that the idea of a wonderful child being born of a woman
who had passed the age which nature had destined for her to bear
children, and who had been barren all her life, was a favorite one among
the Hebrews. The idea that the ancestors of a race lived to a fabulous
old age, is also a familiar one among the ancients.
Most ancient nations relate in their fables that their ancestors lived
to be very old men. For instance; the _Persian_ patriarch Kaiomaras
reigned 560 years; Jemshid reigned 300 years; Jahmurash reigned 700
years; Dahâk reigned 1000 years; Feridun reigned 120 years; Manugeher
reigned 500 years; Kaikans reigned 150 years; and Bahaman reigned 112
years. (See Dunlap: Son of the Man, p. 155, _note_.)
[64:1] Judges, xiv.
[65:1] Judges, xv.
[66:1] Judges, xvi.
[66:2] Perhaps that of Izdubar. See chapter xi.
[66:3] Hebrew Mythology, p. 248.
[66:4] Manual of Mythology, p. 248. The Age of Fable, p. 200.
[67:1] Bulfinch: The Age of Fable, p. 200.
[67:2] Murray: Manual of Mythology, p. 249.
[67:3] Roman Antiquities, p. 124; and Montfaucon, vol. i. plate cxxvi.
[67:4] Murray: Manual of Mythology, p. 249.
[67:5] See Ibid. Greek and Italian Mythology, p. 129, and Montfaucon,
vol. i. plate cxxv. and cxxvi.
[67:6] Manual of Mythology, p. 247.
[67:7] "It has many heads, one being immortal, as the storm must
constantly supply new clouds while the vapors are driven off by the
_Sun_ into space. Hence the story went that although Herakles could burn
away its mortal heads, as the _Sun_ burns up the clouds, still he can
but hide away the mist or vapor itself, which at its appointed time must
again darken the sky." (Cox: Aryan Mytho., vol. ii. p. 48.)
[67:8] See Manual of Mytho., p. 250.
[68:1] Steinthal: The Legend of Samson, p. 398. See, also, Higgins:
Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 240, and Volney: Researches in Anc't History, p.
42.
[68:2] Ibid.
[68:3] Quoted by Count de Volney: Researches in Ancient History, p. 42,
_note_.
[68:4] Volney: Researches in Ancient History, p. 42.
[69:1] See Murray: Manual of Mythology, p. 251.
"The slaughter of the Centaurs by Hercules is the conquest and
dispersion of the vapors by the _Sun_ as he rises in the heaven." (Cox:
Aryan Mythology, vol. ii. p. 47.)
[69:2] Murray: Manual of Mythology, p. 257.
[69:3] Shamgar also slew six hundred Philistines with an ox goad. (See
Judges, iii. 31.)
"It is scarcely necessary to say that these weapons are the heritage of
all the _Solar_ heroes, that they are found in the hands of Phebus and
Herakles, of OEdipus, Achilleus, Philoktetes, of Siguard, Rustem, Indra,
Isfendujar, of Telephos, Meleagros, Theseus, Kadmos, Bellerophon, and
all other slayers of noxious and fearful things." (Rev. Geo. Cox: Tales
of Ancient Greece, p. xxvii.)
[69:4] See Volney: Researches in Ancient History, p. 41. Higgins:
Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 239; Montfaucon: L'Antiquité Expliquée, vol. i.
p. 213, and Murray: Manual of Mythology, pp. 259-262.
It is evident that _Herodotus_, the Grecian historian, was somewhat of a
skeptic, for he says: "The Grecians say that 'When Hercules arrived in
Egypt, the Egyptians, having crowned him with a garland, led him in
procession, as designing to sacrifice him to Jupiter, and that for some
time he remained quiet, but when they began the preparatory ceremonies
upon him at the altar, he set about defending himself and slew every one
of them.' Now, since Hercules was but one, and, besides, a mere man, as
they confess, how is it possible that he should slay many thousands?"
(Herodotus, book ii. ch. 45).
[69:5] Murray: Manual of Mythology, p. 263.
[70:1] Volney: Researches in Anc't History, pp. 41, 42.
In Bell's "Pantheon of the Gods and Demi-Gods of Antiquity," we read,
under the head of _Ammon_ or _Hammon_ (the name of the Egyptian Jupiter,
worshiped under the figure of a _Ram_), that: "_Bacchus_ having subdued
Asia, and passing with his army through the deserts of Africa, was in
great want of water; but Jupiter, his father, assuming the shape of a
_Ram_, led him to a fountain, where he refreshed himself and his army;
in requital of which favor, Bacchus built there a temple to Jupiter,
under the title of _Ammon_."
[70:2] Cadiz (ancient Gades), being situated near the _mouth_ of the
Mediterranean. The first author who mentions the Pillars of Hercules is
Pindar, and he places them there. (Chambers's Encyclo. "Hercules.")
[70:3] Volney's Researches, p. 41. See also Tylor: Primitive Culture,
vol. i. p. 357.
[70:4] See Chambers's Encyclopædia, Art. "Hercules." Cory's Ancient
Fragments, p. 36, _note_; and Bulfinch: The Age of Fable, p. 201.
[70:5] Chambers's Encyclo., art. "Hercules."
[70:6] Vol. i. plate cxxvii.
[71:1] Monumental Christianity, p. 399.
[71:2] OEd. Jud. p. 360, in Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 239.
[71:3] "Rien de plus connu dans la fable que ses amours avec Omphale et
Iole."--L'Antiquité Expliquée, vol. i. p. 224.
[71:4] The Legend of Samson, p. 404.
[71:5] Vol. i. plate cxxvii.
[71:6] "Samson was remarkable for his long hair. The meaning of this
trait in the original myth is easy to guess, and appears also from
representations of the Sun-god amongst other peoples. _These long hairs
are the rays of the Sun._" (Bible for Learners, i. 416.)
"The beauty of the sun's rays is signified by the golden locks of
Phoibos, _over which no razor has ever passed_; by the flowing hair
which streams from the head of Kephalos, and falls over the shoulders of
Perseus and Bellerophon." (Cox: Aryan Mytho., vol. i. p. 107.)
[72:1] Hebrew Mytho., pp. 137, 138.
[72:2] Cox: Aryan Myths, vol. i. p. 84.
[72:3] Tales of Ancient Greece, p. xxix.
[72:4] The Legend of Samson, p. 408.
[72:5] Cox: Aryan Mytho., vol. ii. p. 72.
[73:1] The Legend of Samson, p. 406.
[73:2] See Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 237. Goldzhier: Hebrew
Mythology, p. 22. The Religion of Israel, p. 61. The Bible for Learners,
vol. i. p. 418. Volney's Ruins, p. 41, and Stanley: History of the
Jewish Church, where he says: "His _name_, which Josephus interprets in
the sense of 'strong,' was still more characteristic. He was 'the
Sunny'--the bright and beaming, though wayward, likeness of the great
luminary."
[73:3] Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 237, and Volney's Researches, p.
43, _note_.
[73:4] See chapter ii.
[73:5] The Religion of Israel, p. 61. "The yellow hair of Apollo was a
symbol of the solar rays." (Inman: Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. p. 679.)
[73:6] Bible for Learners, vol. i. p. 414.
[73:7] Ibid. p. 422.
[73:8] Williams' Hinduism, pp. 108 and 167.
[74:1] Vol. v. p. 270.
[74:2] Maurice: Indian Antiquities, vol. ii. p. 155.
[74:3] Steinthal: The Legend of Samson, p. 386.
[74:4] Buckley: Cities of the World, 41, 42.
[74:5] Smith: Assyrian Discoveries, p. 167, and Chaldean Account of
Genesis, p. 174.
[74:6] Assyrian Discoveries, p. 205, and Chaldean Account of Genesis, p.
174.
[74:7] Chaldean Account of Genesis, p. 310.
[74:8] Ibid. pp. 193, 194, 174.
[75:1] See Tacitus: Annals, book ii. ch. lix.
[75:2] Knight: Anct. Art and Mytho., p. 92.
[75:3] See Tales of Ancient Greece, p. 153.
[76:1] See Mallet's Northern Antiquities, pp. 94, 417, and 514.
[76:2] See Cox: Aryan Mythology.
[76:3] See vol. i. of Aryan Mythology, by Rev. G. W. Cox.
"Besides the fabulous Hercules, the son of Jupiter and Alcmena, there
was, in ancient times, no warlike nation who did not boast of its own
particular Hercules." (Arthur Murphy, Translator of Tacitus.)
CHAPTER IX.
JONAH SWALLOWED BY A BIG FISH.
In the book of Jonah, containing four chapters, we are told the word of
the Lord came unto Jonah, saying: "Arise, go to Ninevah, that great
city, and cry against it, for their wickedness is come up against me."
Instead of obeying this command Jonah sought to flee "from the presence
of the Lord," by going to Tarshish. For this purpose he went to _Joppa_,
and there took ship for Tarshish. But the Lord sent a great wind, and
there was a mighty tempest, so that the ship was likely to be broken.
The mariners being afraid, they cried every one unto _his_ God; and
casting lots--that they might know which of them was the cause of the
storm--the lot fell upon Jonah, showing him to be the guilty man.
The mariners then said unto him; "What shall we do unto thee?" Jonah in
reply said, "Take me up and cast me forth into the sea, for I know that
for my sake this great tempest is upon you." So they took up Jonah, and
cast him into the sea, and the sea ceased raging.
And the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, _and Jonah was
in the belly of the fish three days and three nights_. Then Jonah prayed
unto the Lord out of the fish's belly. And the Lord spake unto the fish,
and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
The Lord again spake unto Jonah and said:
"Go unto Ninevah and preach unto it." So Jonah arose and went unto
Ninevah, according to the command of the Lord, and preached unto it.
There is a _Hindoo_ fable, very much resembling this, to be found in the
_Somadeva Bhatta_, of a person by the name of _Saktideva_ who was
swallowed by a huge fish, and finally came out unhurt. The story is as
follows:
"There was once a king's daughter who would marry no one but the man
who had seen the Golden City--of legendary fame--and Saktideva was in
love with her; so he went travelling about the world seeking some one
who could tell him where this Golden City was. In the course of his
journeys _he embarked on board a ship_ bound for the Island of Utsthala,
where lived the King of the Fishermen, who, Saktideva hoped, would set
him on his way. On the voyage _there arose a great storm_ and the ship
went to pieces, _and a great fish swallowed Saktideva whole_. Then,
driven by the force of fate, the fish went to the Island of Utsthala,
and there the servants of the King of the Fishermen caught it, and the
king, wondering at its size, had it cut open, _and Saktideva came out
unhurt_."[78:1]
In Grecian fable, Hercules is said to have been swallowed by a whale, at
a place called Joppa, _and to have lain three days in his entrails_.
Bernard de Montfaucon, speaking of Jonah being swallowed by a whale, and
describing a piece of Grecian sculpture representing Hercules standing
by a huge sea monster, says:
"Some ancients relate to the effect that Hercules was also
swallowed by the whale that was watching Hesione, _that he
remained three days in his belly_, and that he came out
bald-pated after his sojourn there."[78:2]
Bouchet, in his "Hist. d'Animal," tells us that:
"The great fish which swallowed up _Jonah_, although it be
called a whale (Matt. xii. 40), yet it was not a whale,
properly so called, but a _Dog-fish_, called _Carcharias_.
Therefore in the Grecian fable _Hercules_ is said to have been
swallowed up of a _Dag_, and to have lain three days in his
entrails."[78:3]
Godfrey Higgins says, on this subject:
"The story of _Jonas_ swallowed up by a whale, is nothing but
part of the fiction of _Hercules_, described in the Heracleid
or Labors of Hercules, of whom the same story was told, and
who was swallowed up at the very same place, _Joppa_, and for
the same period of time, _three days_. Lycophron says that
Hercules was three nights in the belly of a fish."[78:4]
We have still another similar story in that of "_Arion the Musician_,"
who, being thrown overboard, was caught on the back of a _Dolphin_ and
landed safe on shore. The story is related in "Tales of Ancient Greece,"
as follows:
Arion was a Corinthian harper who had travelled in Sicily and
Italy, and had accumulated great wealth. Being desirous of again seeing
his native city, he set sail from Taras for Corinth. The sailors in the
ship, having seen the large boxes full of money which Arion had brought
with him into the ship, made up their minds to kill him and take his
gold and silver. So one day when he was sitting on the bow of the ship,
and looking down on the dark blue sea, three or four of the sailors came
to him and said they were going to kill him. Now Arion knew they said
this because they wanted his money; so he promised to give them all he
had if they would spare his life. But they would not. Then he asked them
to let him jump into the sea. When they had given him leave to do this,
Arion took one last look at the bright and sunny sky, and then leaped
into the sea, and the sailors saw him no more. But Arion was not drowned
in the sea, for a great fish called a dolphin was swimming by the ship
when Arion leaped over; and it caught him on its back and swam away with
him towards Corinth. So presently the fish came close to the shore and
left Arion on the beach, and swam away again into the deep sea.[79:1]
There is also a Persian legend to the effect that Jemshid was devoured
by a great monster waiting for him at the bottom of the sea, but
afterwards rises again out of the sea, like Jonah in the Hebrew, and
Hercules in the Phenician myth.[79:2] This legend was also found in the
myths of the _New World_.[79:3]
It was urged, many years ago, by Rosenmüller--an eminent German divine
and professor of theology--and other critics, that the miracle recorded
in the book of Jonah is not to be regarded as an historical fact, "_but
only as an allegory, founded on the Phenician myth of Hercules rescuing
Hesione from the sea monster by leaping himself into its jaws, and for
three days and three nights continuing to tear its entrails_."[79:4]
That the story is an allegory, and that it, as well as that of
Saktideva, Hercules and the rest, are simply different versions of the
same myth, the significance of which is the alternate swallowing up and
casting forth of _Day_, or the _Sun_, by _Night_, is now all but
universally admitted by scholars. The _Day_, or the _Sun_, is swallowed
up by _Night_, to be set free again at dawn, and from time to time
suffers a like but shorter durance in the maw of the eclipse and the
storm-cloud.[79:5]
Professor Goldzhier says: