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Solomon and David another fictional characters

1 - 1011 - 14
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Messenger: zion mountain Sent: 9/14/2014 7:19:20 AM
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In the Bible, (1) King Solomon is said
to have:
1. Inherited a vast empire conquered
by his father David that extended
from the Nile in Egypt to the
Euphrates River in Mesopotamia (1
Kings 4:21; Gen. 15:18; Deut.
1:7,11:24; Joshua 1:4; 2 Sam. 8:3; 1
Chron. 18:3).
2. Accumulated great wealth and
wisdom (1 Kings 10:23).
3. Administered his kingdom through
a system of 12 districts (1 Kings
4:7).
4. Possessed a large harem, which
included "the daughter of
Pharaoh" (1 Kings 3:1; 1 Kings
11:1,3; 1 Kings 9:16).
5. Honored other gods in his old age (1
Kings 11:1-2,4-5).
6. Devoted his reign to great building
projects (1 Kings 9:15,17-19),
including:
a. the Temple (1 Kings 6).
b. the Royal Palace (1 Kings 7:2-12).
c. the walls of Jerusalem,
d. the Millo (an earthen fill made to
enlarge Jerusalem) (1 Kings 11:27)
e. the royal cities of Megiddo, Hazor,
and Gezer
f. the store cities, the cities for his
horsemen and the cities for his
chariots throughout his empire.
To be consistent with the pattern of
other great Bronze and Iron Age
cultures in the ancient Near East
(Egyptian, Babylonian, Assyrian,
and Hittite), it would be expected
that numerous documents, art, and
inscriptions on buildings or public
monuments would have been left by
such a great king or by his
descendants later in honor of him.
(2) Yet no article of any kind bearing
his name has ever been found. (3)
The cities of Hazor, Megiddo and
Gezer have now been extensively
excavated. A stratum containing
large palaces, temples and strong
fortifications was found in each of
these cities. The name of Solomon
was not found, but the cartouche of
the 18th Dynasty Pharaoh
Amenhotep III instead. (4) In
Jerusalem, it has not been possible
to excavate the temple mount,
however, extensive excavations in
the city, including the areas adjacent
to the temple mount have not
revealed the existence of a Solomaic
palace complex. (5) Moreover,
excavation of the Millo has revealed
(due to pottery found in the Millo)
that its original construction was
also contemporary with the Egyptian
18th Dynasty of Amenhotep III.(6)
Amenhotep III, known in ancient
times as the "King of Kings" and
"Ruler of Ruler's," (7) was a Pharaoh
of Egypt's glorious 18th Dynasty. He,
like Solomon, inherited a vast
empire whose influence extended
quite literally from the Nile to the
Euphrates. (8) In contrast to the
empire of Solomon, the empire of
Amenhotep is indisputable.(9) The
buildings, monuments, documents,
art, and numerous other vestiges of
his reign are ubiquitous and
unparalleled (with the possible
exception being those left by the
19th Dynasty Pharaoh, Ramses II).
The entire reign of Amenhotep III
was devoted to monumental
construction throughout Egypt,
Canaan, and Syria. (10) In addition to
the ancient world's most glorious
temple at Luxor,(11) he built many
other temples of similar design
throughout Egypt and in the rest of
his empire,(12) including the
Canaanite garrison cities of Hazor,
Megiddo , Gezer,(13) Lachish and
Beth-shean. (14)
According to Egyptian records,
Amenhotep's father Thutmose IV
and grandfather Amenhotep II
deported over 80,000 Canaanites.
The Canaanite inhabitants of Gezer
were specifically included in this
deportation. (15) It was during
Amenhotep III's reign that Gezer and
other major Palestine cities were
refortified as royal Egyptian
garrisons, and endowed with fine
temples and palaces.
The Bible states that in Solomon's
day, the Pharaoh of Egypt captured
the Canaanite city of Gezer and
presented it to his daughter as a
dowry upon her marriage to
Solomon (1 Kings 9:16-17). (16)
It was customary and obligatory for
Amenhotep III to marry "the
daughter of Pharaoh" in order to
secure the throne. (17) This is
precisely what was done when he
was married to Sitamun, the
daughter of his father, Pharaoh
Thutmose IV.
The network of Egyptian 18th
Dynasty garrison cities also included
Jerusalem. If construction by
Amenhotep III at Gezer, Hazor,
Megiddo and other garrison cities is
any indication, then a magnificent
temple undoubtedly was also built
by Amenhotep on Jerusalem's
venerated Temple Mount. (18) The
structure adjacent to Jerusalem's
Temple Mount, known traditionally
as " Solomon's stables," is consistent
with the architecture of
Amenhotep's garrison cities. (19)
Archaeology has also confirmed that
chariots were kept in these cities
during his reign in groups of
between thirty to one hundred and
fifty each. (20)
The ancient mining operations at
Timna in the Negev desert, known
as " Solomon's mines," "are earlier
than Solomon by some three
hundred years [in the conventional
chronology]," (21) dating once again
to the time of Amenhotep III. Copper
from Timna, gold from the Sudan,
(22) other precious metals, jewels
and high quality stone were used in
great abundance in Amenhotep's
temples, just as they were in
Solomon's. (23) A stela from
Amenhotep's mortuary temple
boasts that the temple was
"embellished with gold throughout,
its floor shining with silver ... with
royal statues of granite, of quartzite
and precious stones." (24) The list of
materials used in another temple
built by Amenhotep is also
"staggering: 3.25 tons of electrum
[an alloy of silver and gold], 2.5 tons
of gold, 944 tons of copper..." (25)
The Biblical Solomon's greatest
satisfaction is said to have been the
challenge of completing grand
projects (Ecclesiastes 2:4-11). The
same was said of Amenhotep III. A
royal Egyptian text of the period
reads, "Lo, His Majesty's heart was
satisfied with making very great
monuments, the like of which had
never come into being since the
primeval age of the Two Lands." (26)
Only an enormously wealthy king of
a long established empire could have
built so splendidly and in so many
widely distributed locations in the
ancient world. Amenhotep III was
arguably the ancient world's
wealthiest king. The completion of
such magnificent projects required
management of a considerable and
constant source of labor and revenue
extending over a period of many
decades.
The administration and taxation
system of Amenhotep with its 12
districts(27) is identical to that of
Solomon as described in the Bible (1
Kings 4:2-7,27; 5:13; 9:23).
Amenhotep also dedicated himself to
rediscovering the wisdom, mysteries
and traditions of earlier Egyptian
Dynasties. (28) A strong relationship
has been established between the
"Proverbs of Solomon" in the Bible
and the "Maxims of Amenhotep III"
found in Egypt. (29)
In addition to the projects already
mentioned, Amenhotep also built a
completely new palace complex in
Thebes. The new royal residence
included all of the elements
contained in the palace complex of
Solomon which are described in the
Bible (1 Kings 7:2-12), (30) namely:
1. a house made almost entirely out of
cedars of Lebanon (built for
Amenhotep's Jubilee festival); (31)
2. a colonnade (hall of columns)
fronted by a portico (porch) and
surrounded by a column-lined
courtyard; (32)
3. a throne room built with many
wooden columns and whose floor
was a painted lake scene (identical
to the one crossed in wonder by the
Queen of Sheba when she
approached the throne of Solomon,
as described in the Koran); (33)
4. a separate palace built for Sitamun,
"the daughter of Pharaoh;" (34)
5. a royal palace (consisting of his own
residence, the residence of his Great
Wife, Tiye, and a residence for the
royal harem). (35)
Amenhotep, like Solomon, was
relentless in his pursuit of women
for his harem, especially beautiful
foreign women of both royal and
common backgrounds alike. (36)
Amenhotep's harem included two
princesses from Babylon, (37) two
princesses from Syria, two
princesses from Mitanni, and like
Solomon's harem, it included a
princess from each of the seven
nations listed in 1 Kings 11:1. (38) As
the mightiest king of the Middle
East, Amenhotep did not send any of
his own daughters to other kings in
exchange, nor did any other
Pharaoh of this dynasty (or likely
any other throughout Egypt's
history). (39) He specifically denied a
request by the king of Babylon for
an Egyptian wife. (40) Importantly,
the Bible emphasizes Solomon's
Egyptian bride, but does not
mention that Solomon had any
Hebrew wives.(41) Rehoboam, who
is said to have succeeded Solomon,
was the son of an Ammonite
princess. (42)
The court of Amenhotep III was an
extremely liberal one, and reflected
every possible excess of an affluent
and secure kingdom. (43) Eroticism
in art and court life reached its
height during the reign of
Amenhotep. (44) The famous "nude
dancing girls" mural dates to
Amenhotep's reign.(45) As with
Solomon, Amenhotep denied himself
nothing "his eyes desired" and
"refused his heart no
pleasure" (Ecclesiastes 2:10).
However, the last years of
Amenhotep's thirty-eight year reign
were not pleasant ones. The long
years of indulgence had taken their
toll and he had many ailments. As a
compassionate gesture, his Mitanni
brother-in-law (46) sent him an idol
of the goddess Ishtar (i.e., Asherah )
(1 Kings 11:5).
The "inescapable conclusion" (47)


Messenger: zion mountain Sent: 9/14/2014 7:20:30 AM
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The "inescapable conclusion" (47) is
that the story of Solomon was
patterned specifically after the life
of Amenhotep III. The name Solomon
itself, which literally means "peace"
or "safety" points to Amenhotep III
whose long and pervasive reign in
the 14th Century B.C. did not
include any major military
campaigns, but was characterized
by unprecedented stability
throughout the Near East. (48) After
the Egyptian 18th Dynasty, the
region between the two great rivers
was not controlled by a single power
again until the Assyrian empire of
Ashurbanipal (the grandson of
Sennacherib) who invaded Egypt
and pillaged Thebes in the 7th
Century B.C., (49) and the 6th
Century B.C. empire of Cyrus, who
also conquered Egypt and made it a
Persian province. (50) There is no
evidence of any empire at any time
controlling this region whose capital
was Jerusalem. (51)
Solomon is said to have had "a
thousand and four hundred" chariots
(1 Kings 1:26). This represents a
prodigious army by ancient
standards, and one which could only
have been amassed over a long
period of time by an established
civilization.(52) Yet we are told that
only five years after the great King
Solomon's death, the Egyptian
Pharaoh Shishak and his allies
invaded Judah and captured its
fortified cities with little or no
military resistance (2 Chron. 12).
The Bible adds that Jerusalem itself
was spared only after delivering up
the entirety of King Solomon's
accumulated wealth to Shishak.
The rapidness with which Solomon's
empire was established, as
described by the Bible, and the ease
with which it shortly thereafter
submitted to a foreign power is also
not consistent with the pattern set
by other great ancient civilizations.


Messenger: zion mountain Sent: 9/14/2014 7:27:10 AM
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If King Solomon is to be properly
identified as an adaptation of the
Pharaoh Amenhotep III, then the
source of his predecessor, King
David, should also be found in
Egypt. Consistent with this premise,
Osman has compared the account in
the Bible of David and his wars with
the exploits of Amenhotep III's great
grandfather, the 18th Dynasty
Pharaoh Thutmose III.(1) Not only
are their achievements equivalent,
but so are their very names.
Thutmose is a compound name
comprised of Thut (from Thoth, the
Egyptian god of wisdom) and mose
(an Egyptian title or suffix
indicating son or rightful heir). In
the ancient Egyptian language,
words were written without vowels.
Thut was, therefore, written as Twt.
The ancient Hebrew language,
although very different from
Egyptian, originally derived its
written structure from the Egyptian
language.(2) As with Egyptian, the
consonants were written and the
vowels were vocalized only.
Transliterating the Egyptian word
twt into Hebrew, because of their
similar alphabets, leads to dvd.
Reinserting the vowels for
pronunciation in Hebrew leads
directly to David!(3) Moreover, it
was the Egyptian King David
(Thutmose III) who had defeated an
earlier coalition of Syrian and
Canaanite kings, and as described in
the Bible, had established garrisons
(4) in these regions in order to
permanently secure Egyptian control
there (2 Samuel 8:5,6). (5) At the
beginning of the Egyptian 17th
Dynasty, much of Egypt was still
being dominated by foreign rulers
known as the Hyksos. Through the
initiative of the early Pharaohs of
the 17th Dynasty, the Hyksos were
attacked and eventually driven out
of Egypt during the reign of Ahmose
I. Ahmose and his son Amenhotep I
extended their campaigns into Asia,
"principally to deter any fresh
incursions by roving bands into the
Eastern Delta [of Egypt]". (6)
When Amenhotep I died without a
male heir, he was succeeded by the
commander of the army who
became Pharaoh Thutmose I.
Inspired by previous successes,(7)
Thutmose I, now as Pharaoh, led his
army into Canaan and Syria and
crossed the Euphrates River at the
fords of Carchemish. After routing
Mitanni forces, he set up a
monument (stele) to his
achievement on the north side of the
Euphrates. (8)
The heiress daughter of Thutmose I,
Hatshepsut was married to her step-
brother Thutmose II who became
Pharaoh. Thutmose II and
Hatshepsut had no surviving sons.
After the death of Thutmose II, his
young son Thutmose III (by a minor
wife Isis who was possibly of foreign
birth) (9) was denied the throne by
Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut continued to
rule even after Thutmose III had
clearly come of age.
When the male blood line of the
founding dynasty ended at the death
of Amenhotep I, an even greater
emphasis was thereafter placed on
preservation of the female blood line
(10) which by this time had already
distinguished itself and wielded
considerable power. Ahhotep I had
become an interim ruler upon the
death of her husband Ahmose I and
was immortalized for rallying
Egypt's forces against the Hyksos.
Her daughter Ahmose-Nefertari was
given the title, High Priestess of
Amun, and was the first to be
designated as the "God's Wife." (11)
(The royal offspring of 18th Dynasty
Pharaohs were considered to have
been conceived through Devine
visitation of the state god Amun
with the "God's Wife." (12) This
concept is clearly demonstrated by
large murals in the mortuary
temples of both Hatshepsut and
Amenhotep III.) Ahmose-Nefertari
was, according to the famous turn of
the century archeologist Flinders
Petrie, "the most venerated figure of
Egyptian History." (13)
Upon Hatshepsut's death, the
succession of Thutmose III was
complicated not only by his own
paucity of royal blood, but by the
fact that Hatshepsut's daughter
Neferure (and holder of the titles
"Gods Wife" and virgin High
Priestess of Amun) was also no
longer living. The nubile princess
who could claim the strongest
relation to Ahhotep I and Nefertari
was found to be Merit-re, the
daughter of Huy, the Superior of the
Royal Harem. Thutmose III was
married to Merit-ra, and in an
official ceremony confirmed (cf.,
Psalm 2:7) as Pharaoh and "adopted"
as the son of Amun. (14)
It is recorded that the God/Amun
and Father of Thutmose III's spoke of
him, "I grant thee by decree the
earth in its length and breadth. The
tribes of the East and those of the
West ... that thy conquests may
embrace all lands ... I ordain that all
aggressors arising against thee shall
fail..." (15)
Of David, it was written in Psalm 2,
"I will proclaim the decree ... 'You
are my Son; today I have become
your Father ... I will make the
nations your inheritance, the ends of
the earth your possession. You will
rule them...'"
Queen Hatshepsut had built
impressively in Egypt but had shown
no interest in securing an empire in
Asia(16) where Egyptian influence
largely eroded. The long frustrated
Thutmose III was eager to prove
himself, and upon becoming
Pharaoh his first act was to march
out with the military. In
anticipation, a formidable
confederation of Canaanite and
Syrian kings had already
consolidated their own armies and
were waiting in their camps when
Thutmose III arrived in Canaan with
his own. Using a risky strategic
maneuver, Thutmose III divided the
opposing confederation and
conquered them at the original epic
battle of the Valley of Armageddon
(Har-Megiddon). (17)
While the nearby fortress of
Megiddo was under a seven month
long siege, Thutmose III led a
contingent of men to Kadesh (the
present day site of Jerusalem), and
as the Bible describes, he "took the
stronghold of Zion." (18) Kadesh was
the first of over one hundred cities
listed as having been conquered by
Thutmose III in this campaign as
recorded in the temple of Amun at
Karnak,(19) and immediately
precedes the city of Megiddo on the
list. The more famous city of Kadesh
in Syria , and the center of the
Syrian-Canaanite opposition of that
time, is known to have fallen to
Thutmose III in a later military
campaign.
The name Jerusalem does not show
up on any of the lists of cities
conquered during any Egyptian
18thDynasty military campaign in
Asia, however, it was
unquestionably part of the Egyptian
empire of that time. A diplomatic
letter sent to a later Egyptian
Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty (of
whom we will learn more about
shortly), was addressed from "mat
Urusalim," i.e., "the land of
Jerusalem." Another letter from the
governor of Jerusalem during the
18th Dynasty refers to Jerusalem as a
city "in which the king [i.e., the
Pharaoh] has set his name" (cf. 1
Kings 11:36). (20) According to
Manetho's 3rd Century B.C. History
of Egypt as quoted by Josephus,
Jerusalem was being ruled at this
time by the Hyksos who had been
expelled from Egypt by Ahmose I. It
is not surprising that they readily
resubmitted themselves to
Thutmose III.
The name of Jerusalem (literally
meaning "to establish peace or
submission") (21) certainly
symbolized the role that it played in
establishing and maintaining
Egyptian control over Palestine
during the 18th Dynasty. Both
names are found in Chapter 11 of
Nehemiah where the Hebrew reads
as "Yurushalayim ha Qudesh,"
meaning, "Jerusalem the Holy
City." (22) The capture of Jerusalem/
Kadesh by Thutmose III also resolves
the formerly unknown source of the
name Zion. Zion consists of the
components On (Hebrew for the
holy city of On/Heliopolis in Egypt)
and the Hebrew word zi (meaning
arid place). Literally translated,
Zion appropriately becomes "Holy
City of the Desert." (23)
The sacredness attributed to
Jerusalem by the Egyptians initially
derived from the transport of the
Barque of Amun(24) (a holy shrine
carried on poles in much the same
manner as the Israelite Ark of the
Covenant) to the city by Thutmose
III. The shrine was normally kept
within the Holy of Holies in the
Temple of Amun at Karnak, however
Thutmose III had carried it with him
into battle. (25) It remained with him
when he took up residence in
Jerusalem during the prolonged
siege of Megiddo. (26)
After the fall of the Syrian city of
Kadesh (in the Biblical region of
Zobah and Hamath) during the
sixth military campaign (he
conducted a total of 17 in all), (27)
Thutmose III was able to cross the
Euphrates and erect a second stele
beside that of Thutmose I. (28) In
essence, Thutmose III (David)
"re covered his border at the river
Euphrates," (2 Samuel 8:3) that
border being the one originally
established by his grandfather. (29)
It was at this time that Thutmose III
(David) "established garrisons in
Syria" as the Bible describes (2
Samuel 8:13).
Osman suggests that the tribal
David, as with King Solomon, may
have had been known by another
name initially. Osman quotes the
Encyclopedia Judaica which states,
"Elhanan was David's original name,
which was later changed to
David." (30)


Messenger: zion mountain Sent: 9/14/2014 7:36:10 AM
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Joseph in Egypt
The Patriarchs
Were the accounts of David and
Solomon in the Bible an attempt to
purloin the glorious history of the
Egyptian 18th Dynasty? Not
according to the research of Ahmed
Osman, which indicates that at least
one faction of the Israelites
considered themselves to be
descendants of the royal Egyptian
House of David, and that the
achievements of the Egyptian 18th
Dynasty beginning with Thutmose III
were actually their own. (See
Appendix B .)
Ahmed Osman has discovered that
the legacy of the Egyptian 18th
Dynasty included not only David and
Solomon, but Joseph, Moses, and
Joshua whose stories are patterned
respectively after the historical lives
of Yuya (prime minister and father-
in-law of Amenhotep III),
Amenhotep IV (son of Amenhotep
III, who later changed his own name
to Akhenaten), and Tutankhamun
(also a descendant of Amenhotep III
and the last of the Thutmosid's to sit
on the 18th Dynasty throne).
A Hebrew Wife for Solomon
Even though the Bible does not
mention a Hebrew wife of Solomon
(Amenhotep III), he, by definition,
would have required at least one.
We now know that Amenhotep III
did have a wife of significant
Hebrew descent.(1) She is another
key to understanding why the
authors/editors of the Bible
considered the history of 18th
Dynasty Egypt to rightfully be
theirs. In Egypt, the word for
Hebrew did not apply to a specific
tribe, or place (Hebron), but to an
entire social class of foreign workers
(Semitic, Asiatic, or otherwise). (2)
Upon the death of Pharaoh
Thutmose IV, a situation identical to
the one encountered by Thutmose III
appears to have occurred. Although
Thutmose IV is known to have had
daughters, they apparently were not
through his Chief Wife, Mutemiya,
and did not qualify to inherit the
title "God's Wife." In addition to
being married to a daughter of
Thutmose IV, Amenhotep III was
married to Tiye (a pet form of the
name Nefertari) (3) who was the
daughter of Tuya (a pet form of the
name Ahhotep) (4) and the Superior
of the Harem of Amun as was Huy in
Thutmose III's time. (5) (See Chart,
"Pharaohs of the Egyptian 18th
Dynasty.") Tiye, and not the
daughter of Thutmose IV, became
Amenhotep III's Chief Wife.
Amenhotep's accession and
marriage to Tiye was widely
proclaimed by the distribution of
commemorative "scarabs" (examples
of which have been found at the far
extremities of the empire). (6) The
names of Tiye and her parents are
plainly stated, "the Great King's
Wife Tiye: the name of her father is
Yuya, and the name of her mother is
Tuya." (7)
Tuya had traditional Egyptian
features, however her husband
Yuya, as his exceptionally well
preserved mummy shows, was
clearly of mostly Asiatic/Semitic
heritage. Asiatics were renowned
for their handling of horses, and
were highly valued in the Egyptian
military during the 18th Dynasty at
which time the Egyptians first
utilized the chariot in warfare. Yey,
a forefather of Yuya, had also held
the title of "Commander of the
Chariotry." (8)
Yuya, also written as simply Yu, (9)
has been associated with the Biblical
Patriarch Joseph by Osman. (10) The
name Joseph (written as Yuseph in
Arabic) (11) is a compound name
consisting of Jo or Yu, (12) and Seph.
(13) Jo/Yu is the Hebrew root word
Yah, the contraction of the full name
of Jehovah. Yah is used to form many
other common Biblical names, such
as Joel (meaning Jehovah is God).
Seph is derived from the first part of
the Egyptian name (Zaph nath-pa-a-
neah) (14) given to Joseph, and can
be translated as "sustenance" as the
Bible indicates.(15) The 1st Century
A.D. historian Josephus quotes from
the 3rd Century B.C. history of the
Egyptian priest Manetho that in the
time of Amenhotep III, Osarseph
(literally "Vizier Seph") prohibited
the worship of the Egyptian gods.
The description of the Egyptian
Vizier Seph, i.e., Joseph in the Book
of Genesis is consistent with that of
a vizier of 18th Dynasty Egypt, and
the titles given to Joseph in the Bible
are identical to those of Yuya
(Genesis 41:40-45; 45:8; Isaiah 41:8,
James 2:23). (16) Yuya's titles (as
found in his tomb) included "Master
of the Horse," "Overseer of the Cattle
of Amun and Min (Lord of
Akhmin)," "Deputy of His Majesty in
the Chariotry," "Bearer of the Ring
of the King of Lower Egypt," "Mouth
of the King of Upper Egypt," "The
Wise One," "Favorite of the Good
God," "Great Prince," "Great of
Love," "Unique Friend," "Beloved of
the Lord of the Two Lands," "One
Made Great by the Lord," "He
Whom the King Has Made His
Double," and "The Holy Father of the
Lord of the Two Lands." (17)
The Bible credits Joseph for a
tremendous influx of wealth into
Egypt due to his plan to prepare for
an extended drought. The
seemingly inexhaustible wealth of
Egypt at this time was devoted to
the extravagant building programs
of Amenhotep III. That Yuya was
held in very lofty esteem (for
whatever reason) is evidenced not
only by his titles, but by his
marriage to the high ranking Tuya
(the Asenath, Genesis 41:45, of the
Genesis story and associated with
the priesthood of On), (18) and also
by his exceedingly privileged burial
in a tomb beside those of the 18th
Dynasty Pharaohs themselves in the
Valley of the Kings. The tomb of
Yuya and Tuya was the most
undisturbed tomb found in the
Valley of the Kings prior to the
discovery of the tomb of
Tutankhamun.
Corresponding to the Bible account,
Yuya literally became "father to
Pharaoh," that is to the young
Pharaoh Amenhotep III, who was not
yet a teenager upon the death of his
natural father Thutmose IV. (19)
Childhood articles belonging to both
Amenhotep III and Sitamun were
placed in the tomb of Yuya and Tuya
indicating that they helped raise
them along with their own daughter
Tiye. (20)
After Amenhotep III became
Pharaoh, he built a palace for
Sitamun in Thebes as mentioned
above. Amenhotep also built a
palace for Tiye at Thebes and a
second residence for her at the Nile
delta fortress city of Zarw in the
Biblical Land of Goshen.(21) At
Zarw, the son of Amenhotep and
Tiye, Amenhotep IV, was born and
spent his childhood sheltered from
all political enemies of the royal
family (who may have at least been
suspected in the death of
Amenhotep III's eldest son Thutmose
V in Memphis).


Messenger: zion mountain Sent: 9/14/2014 7:40:07 AM
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Moses
Religious Controversy and the
Egyptian 18th Dynasty
Zarw (1) was also the site of an
Egyptian temple to the Aten. (2)
Aten, a form of the solar god Ra(3)
was known from earlier Egyptian
dynasties(4) and had become a
favorite of Amenhotep III. The Aten
was also the source of Amenhotep's
most popular nickname ("the
Dazzling-Sun-Disc"). (5)
Because the mayor of Zarw, Heby,
also held the title of "Steward of the
Harem of the Royal Wife" of
Thutmose IV, it is likely that
Amenhotep III had himself spent at
least part of his own youth at Zarw
and had received religious training
under the influence of the Aten
temple. (6)
The cult of the amorphous god
Amun (meaning "hidden" or
"unseen" (7) and source of the
ending to Christian, Jewish and
Muslim prayers - Amen) (8) was
champion of the 17th Dynasty
Pharaohs who drove out the Hyksos
and reunited Egypt. Amun was
established as the supreme state
god and was gradually endowed
with the natures of other important
Egyptian deities. (9) By the
beginning of the 18th Dynasty, traits
of the solar god Ra (alternatively
spelled Re) had also become
assimilated. (10) Amun-re had
become the unequaled "King of the
Gods," and possessor of a temple
complex with a staff of thousands.
Despite efforts by the priesthood to
exalt Amen-re above all other gods,
each successive Pharaoh of the
Egyptian 18th Dynasty became
increasingly involved with the
separate and distinct cults of Ra,
Aten, Ptah and other deities
worshiped from even more ancient
times in the realm of the Sphinx and
the Pyramids in Lower Egypt.
Thutmose I built a new royal
residence in Memphis, and from this
time on the crown prince held the
titles of Governor of Memphis and
High Priest of its god Ptah.
While still a young prince in
Memphis, Thutmose IV (known as
the "Dreamer King" and the Pharaoh
who most likely appointed Yuya/
Joseph, Gen. 41:1-37) (11) was out
riding in his chariot and stopped to
rest beside the Sphinx. Thutmose
fell asleep under the shadow of the
Sphinx and had a vision of its patron
god Re-Herakhty. He was instructed
to clear the sand from the base of
the Sphinx, and was promised that
he would be rewarded by becoming
the next Pharaoh (although he was
not the eldest son of his father
Amenhotep II).
When Thutmose IV did become
Pharaoh he cleared the sand from
the Sphinx and placed a stele
between its paws (still standing
today) which described the vision.
Thutmose IV angered the priests of
Amun by setting up and dedicating
an obelisk to Re-Herakhty beside the
Amun temple complex in Thebes.
(The priests would be pleased to
know that this obelisk now stands
beside the St. Lateran Cathedral in
Rome!) He also snubbed the
priesthood by establishing a low
ranking priest as High Priest of
Amun. (12) Thutmose IV's son and
successor Amenhotep III built a
temple to Aten at Thebes and
reveled in the favor of all the ancient
gods, both of Egyptian and foreign
origin.
Moses
In the latter half of the third decade
of his reign, Amenhotep III
proclaimed his decision to make his
son Amenhotep IV his successor and
gave him the status of coregent. (13)
Amenhotep IV was married to the
presumed heiress Nefertiti, (14) and
with his father's blessing and
protection he built three more
temples to the Aten in Thebes
adjacent to the Karnak temple of the
state god Amun. (15) Probably in an
attempt to win over the priests of
Amun, Nefertiti (whose name is a
close variant of Nefertari)(16) took a
prominent role in both the art and
ritual of the temples of Aten at
Karnak.(17) However, the building
of additional temples to the Aten in
Karnak was perceived by the priests
of Amun as only one more
intolerable affront. (In the 19th
Dynasty these temples were
dismantled and used as fill for other
building projects). (18)
If Nefertiti was a daughter/grand-
daughter of Yuya and Tuya, (19) and
not entirely of Egyptian blood, this
would have only further incensed
the priests of Amun. Regardless of
her parentage, the enmity between
Amenhotep IV and the religious
establishment had become extreme
and possibly by now was
irreconcilable. Five years into the
coregency, Amenhotep IV changed
his name to Akhenaten and left
Thebes to establish a new Egyptian
capital city, which he called
Akhetaten (meaning the resting
place or horizon of the Aten). The
change in name indicated that he no
longer considered himself to be the
son of the god Amun, but of Aten.
On the monuments marking the
four corners of the new city,
Akhenaten referred to the hateful
words spoken about him and his
forefathers by the priests of Amun.
(20) Obviously, he had hoped that
the city of Akhetaten would be his
resting place as well.
At the city of Akhetaten, the ancient
religion of the Aten received a
make-over. Aten temple design,
ritual, and symbolism (by a falcon-
headed man and a sun disc referred
to as Re-Herakhty) derived originally
from the traditional solar god Ra
whose center of worship had been
from very ancient times at Memphis
and On (Heliopolis). By the end of
the coregency, the falcon-man had
been removed from the Aten's
symbol. The Aten had in essence
become a god without human or
animal image. (21) The disc of the
sun was now considered to be the
single physical representation of the
invisible and eternal god, Ra, (22)
and a deity in its own right. (The
sun disc was used later as a royal
"lamelech" seal by the Kings of
Judah). (23) The cartouche of
Akhenaten's god and heavenly
father, the Aten, bore the name
Imram. In the Bible, Moses is
referred to as the son of Amram, the
Hebrew equivalent. (24)
The name of the Egyptian deity Aten
transliterates into the Hebrew word
Adon.(25) Adon, which is translated
by English Bibles as "the Lord" (and
Adonai, translated as "my Lord") is
used along with Jehovah (Yhwh) in
the Bible as the exclusive personal
names of God. Moreover, in ancient
times, the name Jehovah (Yhwh) was
written, but never spoken.
Whenever the written name Jehovah
(Yhwh) was to be read out loud,
Adon (Aten) was voiced instead.(26)
The written form of Adon is
infrequent, however, its limited
usage is significant, especially in the
first six books of the Bible (See
under "LORD" in Strong's Exhaustive
Concordance), where it is reserved
for the following applications alone:
Moses addresses God using the title
Adon/Aten (Exodus 4:10,13; 5:22;
34:9; Numbers 14:17; Deuteronomy
3:23; 7:26; 10:17); Moses, himself, is
addressed both by Aaron (Ex.32:22;
Num.12:11) and by Joshua (Numbers
11:28) using the title Adon/Aten;
and Joshua also addresses God using
the title Adon/Aten (Joshua 5:14 b;
7:7). As mentioned above, there is
an established relationship between
the literature of the Egyptian 18th
Dynasty and the Bible. Psalm 104 is
an embellishment of the Hymn to
the Aten which was found by
archaeologists at the city of
Akhetaten. (27)
The religious reforms of Akhenaten
included the rejection of traditional
Egyptian magic and astrology
associated with the cult of Amun,
(28) and the rejection of the cult of
Osiris with its version of belief in
eternal judgement and the afterlife
as well. (29) The site chosen for the
new capital of Egypt further
demonstrated Akhenaten's desire
for a new balance as it was located
at the exact geodetic center of the
country. (30) The inhospitably hot
and arid plateau overlooking the
Nile on which the city of Akhetaten
was built was not occupied at that
time, nor would it be again after the
end of the 18th Dynasty. (31) The
austerity of the location was no
deterrent to Akhenaten, and he
rapidly constructed a magnificent
city there. The finished stonework of
the ancient city was taken away to
be used in other building projects
shortly after the end of the 18th
Dynasty, (32) however the site was
never again reoccupied and
remained largely undisturbed up
until the time of its excavation about
100 years ago. Archives containing
Akhenaten's political
correspondence, known as the
Amarna tablets were not taken
away, and they have provided a
great deal of insight into the reigns
of both Akhenaten and his father
Amenhotep III.
The Amarna tablets have generally
been used to depict Akhenaten as
apathetic toward the Egyptian
empire, and preoccupied exclusively
with religious reforms at home.
Closer scrutiny of the Amarna
letters, e.g., EA 256 from Mutbaal
discussed in the introduction,
indicates that he knew the
proponents of the Habiru
personally, and was either
condoning their actions, or simply
unwilling to suppress them. Another
researcher has concluded that
Akhenaten was in fact orchestrating
the movement. (33) A letter from
the Canaanite governor of
Jerusalem, also among the Amarna
tablets, expressed outrage after an
Egyptian official had been murdered
at Sile by Hebrews, and Akhenaten
had done nothing about it (Exodus
2:11-14). (34) Early in Akhenaten's
reign, a letter to Egypt's Syrian
vassal Aziru reads, "... the king does
not fail when he rages against all
Canaan." Later in Akhenaten's reign,
and presumably after the Habiru
capture of Jerusalem, a letter to
Azir


Messenger: zion mountain Sent: 9/14/2014 7:50:17 AM
Reply

Aziru reads, "you know that the
king does not wish to be hard with
the land of Canaan."
The tomb of a formerly unknown
vizier of Akhenaten was discovered
in 1989. (35) The name of this vizier,
Aper-el is decidedly Semitic/
Hebrew. It is not surprising then,
that the repeated and pitiful pleas
from Akhenaten's Canaanite and
Philistine vassals at Jerusalem and
other cities in Palestine for help
against the surging tide of Habiru
elicited no assistance from Aper-el,
or from Akhenaten's other minister,
Aye, the son of Yuya.
Although the city of Akhetaten was
never rebuilt, there is a village on
the opposite side of the Nile which
has retained the name Mal-lawi (or
Mallevi, meaning "city of the
Levites") to this present day!(36) The
Levites are identified by Osman as
that select group of nobles and close
relatives of Akhenaten and Yuya
who made up the newly formed
priesthood of the Aten and served in
the temples of Aten at Thebes and at
the new capital city of Akhetaten.
(37) (In the Sinai, the Levites were
Moses' primary supporters when
trouble broke out.) While
Akhenaten was still in power, the
majority of Hebrews/Israelites would
have remained either at Zarw (38) in
the Nile delta, or at Akhmin, and
would have continued to worship
their own god(s) in their own native
tongue. This later caused Akhenaten
(Moses) some consternation (Exodus
4:10). (39)
In the twelfth year of the coregency
Amenhotep III died, and Akhenaten
was in a lavish ceremony at the city
of Akhetaten coronated as sole ruler
of Egypt. (40)
Upon the death of Amenhotep III,
Akhenaten had complete power to
deal with the priesthood of Amun,
and this power was exercised to the
fullest extent. The temples of Amun
were closed and the very name of
Amun was expunged throughout
Egypt. (41)
The names of other gods were also
attacked, however to a somewhat
lesser extent. (42) This act of
suppression was precipitated by a
number of factors, including
Akhenaten's self-imposed isolation,
the influence of his Asian/Semitic
relatives, a national crisis brought
on by a growing epidemic, and the
venom of the priestly establishment
of Amun. It is clear that what began
as a reaction to the excesses of the
reign of Amenhotep III and an
attempt to reform and simplify the
religion of Egypt had now, itself,
become a movement characterized
by extremism. This edict of
Akhenaten echoes the Bible verse,
"against all the gods of Egypt I will
execute my judgement (Exodus
12:12)." (43)
Akhenaten's reforms may have
succeeded had they not coincided
with a terrible plague that was
spreading throughout the entire
Middle East. (44) The rapid growth
of trade and exchange among
nations of the Middle East made
possible by the political stability of
the times also facilitated the spread
of disease. Amenhotep III had made
700 idols of Sekhmet, the goddess of
pestilence, in order to ward off the
plague, which must have started to
take hold on Egypt by the end of his
reign. Two statues were made for
every day of the year providing a
"double spell" against the spreading
disease.(45)
The late author and authority on the
life of Akhenaten, Cyril Aldred,
suggested that the zealousness with
which Akhenaten eradicated the
name of Amun was a similar,
however, more desperate attempt to
stop the devastation of this very
same plague which during his reign
had become a terrible epidemic in
Egypt. (46) When the plague did not
relent, the thousands of unemployed
priests and servants of Amun's
temples had all the more reason to
blame Akhenaten's reforms and his
rejection of the god who had
brought Egypt so much prosperity in
the past. In ancient times, such
plagues were invariably attributed
to the anger of the gods. (47) A
personal idol of Amun found at the
city of Akhetaten is an indication of
the reluctance that must have
existed to abandoning the security
of the old forms of religion.
Contrary to the picture painted by
the Bible, Egyptians of this period
adhered to a well-defined system of
morality and justice. (48) Regular
bathing, good hygiene and a varied
diet was also the norm.(49) A mural
found in the city of Akhetaten
depicts the world's first toilet, and
reflects an understanding of the
need to properly dispose of human
waste. (50) Plague induced hysteria
undoubtedly raised the
consciousness of diet and sanitation
to even greater levels as reflected by
the Laws of Moses in the Bible.
According to the Bible, Moses told
the Israelites that if they would
observe all his commandments they
would be free of the diseases that
had inflicted them in Egypt
(Deuteronomy 7:15; 28:60).
Moreover, the practice of medicine
was not primitive in Egypt as was
once believed, especially for ancient
times. Drawing upon centuries of
investigation, the Egyptian physician
could skillfully diagnose many types
of injuries, illnesses and diseases,
and was entirely pragmatic
regarding the likelihood with which
a patient could be cured. Both
physical and psychological
treatments were prescribed to
promote healing. The practice of
circumcision is entirely of Egyptian
and African origin, (51) and was only
adopted later by the Semitic
followers of Moses. An overview of
the ancient Egyptian's knowledge of
medicine and science is found in the
references. (52)
In his third year of sole rule
Akhenaten named a younger
brother (or half-brother)
Semenkhare as his coregent. (53)
This only occurred after what
appears to have been a desperate
attempt to bear a royal son of his
own had failed. Akhenaten is known
to have had six daughters by his
wife Nefertiti. As the coming of age
of Semenkhare approached,
Akhenaten married and had
children through his three eldest
daughters. These unions produced
three additional daughters, and
ended the life of his second eldest
daughter in child birth. (54) In this
respect also Akhenaten seemed to be
cursed.
After his appointment as coregent,
Semenkhare was dispatched to
Thebes to reopen the temple of
Amun, (55) but this concession to
Amun and his priests proved to be
fruitless. Finally, there is evidence
that Akhenaten himself had become
seriously ill. (56) Two years after
Semenkhare's appointment,
Akhenaten's reign came to an end. It
is commonly presumed that
Akhenaten died at this time, but this
cannot be proven. On the contrary,
there are strong indications that
Akhenaten did not die, but chose
instead to escape death from plague
or assassination by abdicating and
seeking exile in the Sinai.
Akhenaten's mummy is the only one
of the 18th Dynasty Thutmosids
(Thutmose I through Tutankhamun)
which has not been found. There is
no conclusive evidence (57) that
anyone was buried in the tomb
chamber that was being prepared
for him in the hills behind the city of
Akhetaten. (58) Funerary items
originally made for Akhenaten's
burial there were modified and used
in the Valley of the Kings burials of
the following two Pharaohs instead.
(59) There is also evidence that
some officials continued to date
articles and events to the beginning
of his reign even after he was clearly
no longer in power. (60) Moreover,
documents and tomb inscriptions
dating from the 19th Dynasty
describe Akhenaten as "the rebel,"
"the heretic," and "the fallen one of
Amarna (Akhetaten)," providing
further proof that his government
ended with his fall from power, and
not more conventionally upon his
death.(61)
The description of the rod of Moses
found in the Bible is another
indication that Akhenaten was living
in exile in the Sinai desert. Pharaohs
possessed many types of scepters
representing various aspects of their
sovereignty. The staff topped by a
brazen serpent was the scepter
symbolizing pharoanic authority.
(62) We are told that this scepter
was later destroyed by Hezekiah
because it had become a cult fetish
(2 Kings 18:4). (63)
The Talmud relates that Moses had
indeed been a king (of Ethiopia) for
a time, but had abdicated in favor of
a son sired by an elderly Queen
Mother Adonith (Egyptian Aten-it)
through her husband the previous
king. (64) Pharaohs of the 18th
Dynasty were also considered to be
the rulers of Ethiopia (Kush). One,
and possibly the only, military action
of Akhenaten took place in Ethiopia
(Kush) where he confirmed his
kingship over the region.
Surviving excerpts from two
Egyptian histories provide even
more clues regarding the true
identity of Moses. The History of
Egypt (Aegyptiaca) written in the
3rd Century B.C. in Greek by the
Egyptian High Priest of Heliopolis
known as Manetho recorded details
about Moses and the Exodus.(65)
Also, the five volume History of
Egypt written by Apion in the first
half of the 1st Century A.D.
contained a passage about Moses
that was quoted by the Jewish
historian Josephus. (66) Josephus
(circa 70 A.D.) transmitted from
Apion's work that Moses had
constructed temples in Egypt which
were oriented eastward, had roofs
open to the sun, and made use of a
modified obelisk. These were all
distinctive characteristics of
Akhenaten's many temples.
Excerpts from Manetho's history
quoted by Josephus and t


Messenger: zion mountain Sent: 9/14/2014 7:52:02 AM
Reply

Excerpts from Manetho's history
quoted by Josephus and the
Christian historian Eusebius
(chronicler to Constantine) place the
Exodus specifically under Moses
during the reign of Amenhotep IV
(Akhenaten) following a 13 year
period marked by pestilence,
rebellion and the violation of
Egyptian temples and their gods.
(67) This is an accurate description
of the traumatic 13 year period
during which Akhenaten ruled
Egypt from the new city of
Akhetaten. (68) Josephus, who was
also a Jew, took great offence to the
accounts of both Manetho and
Apion. Lacking any hard evidence to
contradict these sources, Josephus
resorted to simply denouncing the
accounts as "ridiculous" and "silly."
Fortunately, he quoted enough
verbatim from Manetho and Apion
to now prove otherwise! (69)


Messenger: GARVEYS AFRICA Sent: 9/14/2014 4:07:22 PM
Reply

I wouldn't say David is fictional
Neither is his father as everyone have a father
and we don't forget Black Jesse


Whether the whole temple - 1000 wives - all the riches in the world is true?? I don't know. Likkle if no evidence found thus far.


But King David a King David


FYI - don't too too trust the white supremacist call MANETHO. Yeah his works are a source of much of Egypt history but he was a part of the INVADERS of NEW EGYPT. So I don't rate them man and dem sources deh too much still!

He worked for people who ruled Egypt looking like this:




LAVA


Messenger: GARVEYS AFRICA Sent: 9/14/2014 4:20:48 PM
Reply

The 'Tel Dan Stele' has archeological evidence of King David name and throne if anyone ask


Messenger: GARVEYS AFRICA Sent: 9/14/2014 4:23:36 PM
Reply

and we done know Makeda a real Queen


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