What of the Akkadian Influence?

Before we discuss our Egyptian examples, we need to pause briefly to consider the degree of Akkadian influence throughout the Book of Genesis, because one of the main reasons why modern Biblical scholars cling to the theory that Genesis, in the main, was written around the period of the Babylonian Exile, hundreds of years after Moses' death,⁽¹⁶⁾ is that parts of the book contain clear Assyro-Babylonian elements. Assyriologists have rightly concluded that some parts of the Book of Genesis must have originated in a period when the Israelites were connected more or less closely with Mesopotamia (including here Syrian Mesopotamia). According to the Bible there were two such periods:

 

- the first was in the time of the Patriarchs (approximately from Noah to Jacob), prior to c.1750 BC, and prior, of course, to Moses;

- the second, and far more intense, was during the Babylonian Exile of the C6th BC, when the Jews as a captive people were resident in Babylonia.

As the reader can easily calculate, these two Babylonian-influenced epochs were separated the one from the other by in excess of a millennium.

Yahuda drew the following, highly significant distinction between the respective influences that Babylonian exerted upon the Scriptures during these two eras:

"Whereas those books of Sacred Scripture which were admittedly written during and after the Babylonian Exile reveal in language and style such an unmistakable Babylonian influence that these newly-entered foreign elements leap to the eye, by contrast in the first part of the Book of Gene-sis, which describes the earlier Babylonian period, the Babylonian influence in the language is so minute as to be almost non-existent."(17)

It is an amazing fact, for example, that where there are similar details in the Genesis accounts of Creation and the Flood and in those of the Akkadian myths, almost without exception the Akkadian uses words and expressions different from the Hebrew. Professor Yahuda had noted that whilst some Akkadian words and expressions are in fact used in the Hebrew, they do not occur in the Genesis stories.⁽¹⁸⁾ Therefore, any attempt to argue for a so-called strong literary or linguistic "dependence" of the Genesis stories upon the Akkad-ian myths can have no convincing proof to support it. If such a close dependence did actually exist, Yahuda argued, one would expect such Akkadian words that are frequent in all Akkadian Creation and Flood stories "to be preferentially and in a much higher degree represented in the Genesis stories."⁽¹⁹⁾

When, on the other hand, we come to consider the degree of linguistic dependence of the Genesis narratives upon Egyptian, we are all of a sudden confronted by an abundance of relevant evidence.

Whilst an informed Biblical scholar might indeed have anticipated that there would be a strong Egyptian influence in that part of the Book of Genesis that deals with Joseph and the "Egyptian Epoch" of Israelite history (i.e Genesis chapters 39-50), what one actually finds is that the entire book is saturated with Egyptian elements. The Egyptian influence is to be found even in the pre-Egyptian Epoch (i.e., Genesis chapters 1-38), though it builds up to a crescendo in the Joseph narrative. In the pre-Egyptian part of Genesis, Egyptian loanwords occur, as do idioms and phrases considered by Biblical scholars as being typical of this portion of Genesis, but that can only be explained from Egyptian.

In addition to these, Yahuda has found so many "other highly significant Egyptian influences on the composition, style and mode of narration...," that he could only con-clude "that the whole pre-Egyptian narrative, too, was written from an Egyptian perspect-ive."⁽²⁰⁾

This latter conclusion by Yahuda serves as a perfect cue for us to re-introduce that traditional theme that Moses was the compiler of the Book of Genesis. Here very briefly I shall outline - based upon what we learned in "The Toledoths of Genesis" - how, and in what form, the ancient records of Moses' forefathers most probably came into his hands.

Adam to Jacob

The ancestral records, or family histories (Toledoth) from Adam to Jacob, written (after the Dispersion) mainly in the old Semitic language of the Aramaeans, would have been taken to Egypt by Jacob.

Joseph

These records would no doubt have been cherished by Jacob's son, Joseph, who would then have preserved them in Egypt, perhaps even storing copies in the royal Egyptian archives. Joseph later added his own lengthy story to these Patriarchal accounts.

Moses

In turn, these sacred records would have become available to Moses, as prince (perhaps even as one of the pharaohs) of Egypt, and would have served as his only 'Bible'. Apart from Joseph's history - which was thoroughly 'Egyptianized' (see section iv below) - the records as they came into the hands of Moses most likely would not have had any significant Egyptian influence upon their composition.⁽²¹⁾ Moses himself did not actually compose (in the sense of being the original author) any of these Patriarchal histories; but in editing and compiling them, he 're-wrote' or 'translated' them into the sophisticated, 'Egyptianized' Hebrew language that had reached its peak of literary perfection after centuries of sojourn by Israel in Egypt.

The Egyptian Elements

Since Egyptian, like early Hebrew, survives only in consonantal writing, and hence its real pronunciation is unknown to us, it is customary, when reading Egyptian texts, to insert an e-vowel after each consonant - unless the correct vocalisation is known (thanks to any fortuitous availability of cross-referencing from another ancient language). Thus, for example, the Egyptologists tend to read 'medet' for the Egyptian word, 'md.t' (meaning "word"); 'ikhet' for 'ih.t' (meaning "thing", "matter"); 'meriyet' for 'mry.t' (meaning "tear"). The letter w, when final, is pronounced like u and the letter 3 like a; e.g. 'shebu' for 'sbw,' 'wawa' for 'w3w3.'

For the reader's benefit, I shall be adding all of the appropriate vowels to the Egyptian words below. I shall use 'ch' to represent the hard sound that we find in, for instance, the Scottish word 'loch.'

Further, in accordance with the historically revised view that Moses belonged to the Old Kingdom of Egypt, rather than to the New Kingdom, I shall make a point of drawing as exclusively as possible upon Old Kingdom linguistic examples.⁽²²⁾

(i) In the Creation Story

We saw in "The Toledoths of Genesis" just how totally the Hebrew account of Creation differs from the Babylonian account in regard to its religious and conceptual motifs, and that there was nothing whatsoever in the Babylonian version to indicate that the Hebrew account owed anything to it. Now we find further, thanks to Yahuda, that there is not even a linguistic dependence with Mesopotamia. Instead it was Egyptian that exerted the influence.

"In the Beginning" (Genesis 1:1)

The Hebrew word, 'bereshith', with which the Creation story begins, is found on closer examination to be an exact adaptation to the Egyptian expression, 'tepyt' ['tpy.t'], for earliest time, "primeval time." Just as 'bereshith' is formed from the Hebrew word for "head", so too is the Egyptian word formed from the word for "head."⁽²³⁾

"Heavens" (Genesis 1:1)

The Hebrew word for "heaven," 'shamayim,' occurs only in the plural form. This is all the more remarkable as its stem is the basic root from which the conception "heaven" is formed in all Semitic languages, yet it is only in Hebrew that "heaven" is used in the plural form. Now, as noted by Yahuda, such a conception was quite familiar to the Egyptians, for they accordingly spoke of 'pety' ['p.ty'], "two heavens"! ⁽²⁴⁾ Thus we read of the dead king in Pyramid text 406 that: "He has wandered entirely through the two heavens [p.ty]; he has journeyed through the two shore-lands."

(ii) In the Paradise Story

"Tree of Life" (Genesis 2:9)

We recall that in the Garden of Eden there was "every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food" (Genesis 2:9). Likewise, in the "Egyptian Fields," 'sekhwet' ['sh.wt'], and in the "Garden of God," 'kan netcher' ['k3n netr'], there were all kinds of trees with sweet fruits such as sycamores, figs, dates and vines, as well as other "lovely trees," 'khet nedjem' ['ht ndm'].⁽²⁵⁾

Of special interest, however, is the fact that among the trees of the Egyptian Paradise was also the "Tree of Life," 'khet en ankh' ['ht n 'nh'].⁽²⁶⁾ In the mythology of the Mesopotamians one encounters the common theme that the food of the gods was also the food for eternal life. But, as Yahuda has noted, whereas the Akkadian expression, 'akal balati', "Food of Life", is quite different from the Hebrew concept, "Tree of Life," the Egyptian, 'khet en ankh' ['ht n 'nh'], "Tree of Life," "corresponds literally with the Hebrew phrase in Genesis 2:9."⁽²⁷⁾

"Upon Your Belly You Shall Go" (Genesis 3:14)

Another expression common to Egyptian and Hebrew is that found in Genesis 3:14 when God says to the serpent, "upon your belly you shall go". Yahuda pointed out that this is the same expression used for reptiles in Leviticus 11:42 as well, where "it is a distinctive denomination for a special category of animals."⁽²⁸⁾ It corresponds exactly "to the elliptic expression" in Egyptian, 'chery hetef' ['hry h.t-f'], "that (which goes) on its belly" for snakes and reptiles generally. Thus in Pyramid text 662 we read: "Thou art the serpent that (goes) on its belly".

(iii) In the Flood Story

The "Ark" (Genesis 6:14)

No more striking evidence in support of Yahuda's thesis that the Babylonian stories are later versions of the Hebrew originals is to be found than in the story of the Flood. To begin with, he has noted that the most characteristic fact is that for the chief feature of the whole story, the Ark, the Akkadian word for that vessel is not used.⁽²⁹⁾ Instead a Hebrew word, 'teba', in which the Egyptian word, 'djebat' ['db3.t'], "box", "coffer," "chest," has been recognised, is used by the writer. Yahuda exclaimed: "It is astonishing that a narrative supposedly set in Babylonia, uses for the Ark an Egyptian loan-word!"⁽³⁰⁾

As, however, the same Hebrew word, 'teba,' is also used for "basket" in the story of the finding of the infant Moses (Exodus 2:3), a comparison of both passages at once suggests itself. Such a comparison is all the more instructive for our whole linguistic thesis as, on the one hand, it clearly reveals the Egyptian character of the Flood narrative, and, on a secondary level, shows how powerfully Egyptian influences prevailed in the Exodus narrative.

Whereas in the Genesis narrative, for the nature of the timber and kind of pitch that were used to construct the Ark, the Akkadian words, 'giparu' and 'kupru', are traceable respectively in the Hebrew, 'gopher' and 'kopher,' in the Exodus account, on the other hand, an Egyptian word, 'kema' ['km3'], "Nile rushes," is used to denominate the material of the ark of Moses.⁽³¹⁾

The "Rainbow" (Genesis 9:13)

For "rainbow," Genesis 9:13ff. uses a common Semitic word, 'kesheth', which is also represented in the Akkadian, 'kashtu'. But the latter is used exclusively for a shooting weapon. Only in Egyptian do we find the word, 'pedjet' ['pd.t'], "bow", both for a shooting weapon and for an arc in the sky. Thus, for example, we read in Pyramid text 393, speaking of the appearance of the dead king in the Beyond: "The heaven storms, the stars fade, the bows stagger when they see him."

(iv) In the Joseph Narrative

The important story of Joseph and his rise to governorship of Egypt occupies almost one quarter of the entire Book of Genesis. Because the setting for the Joseph narrative is almost entirely an Egyptian one, and because therefore it does not conclude with a Toledoth (since the Egyptian scribes, who wrote on papyrus, not on tablets, did not find much use for a colophon type ending), this section of Genesis received only a very brief mention in "The Toledoths of Genesis." But now that we have switched our attention squarely towards Egypt, the Joseph narrative assumes a unique importance; especially from the point of view of our linguistic study. The fact is that the Joseph narrative is absolutely saturated with Egyptian elements. Of course we can only summarise some of the most striking examples here.

Joseph as "Second" to Pharaoh (Genesis 41:43)

The "kernel of the Joseph narrative," Yahuda noted, is his appointment as Grand Vizier to Pharaoh (32). For this office, Genesis 41:43 gives a Hebrew word, 'mishneh,' containing a root meaning "to do twice, to repeat, to double," in the sense that Joseph rep-resented in relation to the king a sort of "double," acting as his deputy, "invested with all the rights and prerogatives of the king." Yahuda explained that exactly in the same way the Egyptian word, 'senenu' ['sn.nw'], "deputy," was formed from 'sen' ['sn'], "two."

"Father to Pharaoh" (Genesis 45:8)

Joseph was called "Father to Pharaoh," and, according to Yahuda, the Hebrew expression, 'ab,' "father," is a reproduction of the Egyptian title, 'itef' ['itf'], "father," a very common priestly title, and one borne also by viziers (33). For instance Ptah-hotep, the wise and celebrated vizier of the Old Kingdom's Fifth Dynasty, referred to himself as, 'itef netcher mery-netcher' ['itf ntr mryy-ntr'], "father of god, the beloved of god."⁽³⁴⁾

To "Hear a Dream" (Genesis 41:15)

At the beginning of his conversation with Joseph, Pharaoh says: "I have had a dream ... I have heard that you understand a dream to interpret it" (Genesis 41:15). For "understand", the Hebrew has the verb to "hear", 'shama', "you hear a dream" - a usage that has been so difficult for commentators, but one that corresponds entirely to the Egyptian use of 'sedjem' ['sdm'], "to hear" or "to understand."⁽³⁵⁾

Joseph's Polished Speech

Even when Joseph speaks to his brothers, who as shepherds and 'Asiatics' were regarded by the Egyptians as an abomination, his words and expressions are cast in the superior tone of an Egyptian of high breeding. The biblical narrator (probably Joseph himself) very cleverly depicts how skilfully Joseph played the role of a genuine Egyptian before revealing himself to his brothers, thereby displaying an extraordinarily fine instinct for the polished and elaborate court phraseology - especially in passages where he employs metaphorical expressions or introduces Pharaoh and his Vizier in conversation. In fact, as Yahuda noted, the whole discussion between Joseph and Pharaoh:

"... so completely mirrors all we know of court institutions with all their elaborate details and nuances that the whole story could only have been told with such exact knowledge by one who was thoroughly familiar with all these things from first-hand observation."⁽³⁶⁾

"Kissing" the Food

In Genesis 41:40, Pharaoh says to Joseph, literally: "According to your mouth shall my people kiss". Again, not surprisingly, this verse has been a headache for commentators and translators, as the verb to "kiss" seems to be completely out of place here.⁽³⁷⁾ But on comparison with Egyptian, as Yahuda explained, "kiss" proves to be "a correct and thoroughly exact reproduction of what the narrator really meant to convey. Here an expression is rendered in Hebrew from a metaphorical one used in polished speech among the Egyptians". Instead of the ordinary colloquial expression, 'wenem' ['wnm'], for "eating", the Egyptians (e.g. in Pyramid texts 1027 & 1323) spoke of "kissing", 'sen' ['sn'] the food. Our passage is thus to be taken literally, "but in the sense of the Egyptian metaphor". Pharaoh is saying to Joseph, "by your orders shall my people feed"; whereby Pharaoh simply meant that the feeding of the whole country would be regulated solely "by the measures and ordinances of Joseph."

Court Expressions of Deference

(a) Pharaoh

Addressing the Egyptian king in the third person: "Pharaoh was angry with his servants" (Genesis 41:10); "Let Pharaoh do this" (41:33); and many other such passages, corresponds entirely to the court etiquette of Egypt's Old Kingdom and is wholly official. This usage dates back to most ancient times, and so we read in a letter addressed in the name of the Sixth Dynasty pharaoh, Pepi II (a likely contemporary of Moses): "... your letter to the king in the palace so that one [= the king] should know."⁽³⁸⁾ Similarly, in the "Story of Sinuhe" we find: "Let your Majesty command ('wedj geret chem ek') ['wd grt hm-k'] that they ...," etc. (Sinuhe 219).

(b) Face of Pharaoh

A characteristic formula also is the phrase recurring in several passages of Genesis: "in the face of Pharaoh", or "from the face of Pharaoh" (e.g. Genesis 47:2,7 & 41:6), meaning "before Pharaoh". According to Yahuda,⁽³⁹⁾ this corresponds completely to hierarchic court custom, whereby one might not speak to His Majesty, 're chem-ef' ['r hm-f'], "to his face", but only "in the face of his Majesty", 'em cher chem-ef' ['m hr hm-f']. The same respectful expression was used for viziers, and so we have the phrase "before Joseph's face" (Genesis 43:15 and 34).

(c) Pharaoh Never Named

It has always been a puzzling feature⁽⁴⁰) of the Joseph narrative that the king of Egypt is never mentioned by name, but merely as Pharaoh. As Chabas already observed in 1865,⁽⁴¹⁾ the Hebrew word for "Pharaoh" is a direct reproduction of the Egyptian, 'Per-a'['Pr-'3'], "the great House." As is thought, the term originally designated the royal palace. It was then transferred to the government and later to the king as his permanent title. This custom of referring to the royal place by 'Per-a' ['Pr-'3'] dates already from the Fifth Dynasty. E.g. Pharaoh Sahure.

(d) "Lords"

Yahuda also noted that a very peculiar form of expression that has often been noted, but has remained unexplained, is the Hebrew word for "lord" in the plural, with reference to either Pharaoh or Joseph.⁽⁴²⁾ Thus, for instance, a literal translation of Genesis 40:1 would read: "the butler of the king of 'the two lands' (i.e. Egypt) and his baker offended their lords ..." instead of their "lord" in the singular. The same ceremonious turn of speech occurs also in Genesis 42:30 and 33 with reference to Joseph. Now we find that already again in most ancient times, in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, the Pharaoh, besides being referred to as, 'neb' ['nb'], "lord", in the singular, is also spoken of as 'nebwy' ['nb. wy'] in the plural. The use of 'nb' in the dual for the king as 'double' god Horus occurs already in the Old Kingdom.

Jacob Before Pharaoh

We could multiply passage upon passage in regard to the Egyptian influence in the language of the Book of Genesis, but we shall content ourselves with just one more striking example. I refer to that difficult passage in Genesis chapter 47 describing Jacob's first meet-ing with Pharaoh. One line in particular has defied interpretation by commentators, who did not consider to look for the solution in the Egyptian records. To Pharaoh's question to Jacob: "How many are the days of the years of your life?" Jacob replies in the following enigmatic fashion: "The days of the years of my sojournings are 130 years; few and evil have been the days and the years of my life" (Genesis 47:9). What are we to make of this strange statement? What do the exegetes make of it? Let us first see what a modern Biblical expert of the "Documentary Hypothesis" persuasion has to say about this exchange. We turn again to the opinion of Eugene Maly, the expert on Genesis in "The Jerome Biblical Commentary" - whom we met briefly in "The Toledoths of Genesis". As in the previous example, Maly also ascribes this portion of Genesis to the so-called Priestly tradition, or P.⁽⁴³⁾ And again we find that he completely misses the point as to the significance of the biblical passage. In his comment that: "The presentation of Jacob to Pharaoh is narrated by P with a sobriety that gives it a touch of grandeur," Maly does not in any way come to grips with the import of Jacob's statement. His sweeping and vague remark leaves the reader just as much in the dark as he or she would have been before having consulted the JBC.

Although it might first appear strange that Jacob described his 130 years as "few," they would have been regarded as such by any Egyptian ruler, who believed himself to be an eternal living god, endowed by the gods with millions and myriads of years. No doubt Jacob had been primed by his son Joseph to introduce himself to Pharaoh in this distinctive and formal a manner. In the light of Egyptian court etiquette, so rich in the niceties of speech, Jacob's words were well chosen. As Yahuda put it, "such a remark [as Jacob's], must have appeared as very tactful and thoughtful on the lips of a foreigner."⁽⁴⁴⁾

It must be noted, however, that Jacob's first action in the presence of Pharaoh was to bless the ruler of Egypt (Genesis 47:7). Hence, although Jacob politely went on to assure the quizzical king - perhaps surprised by this blessing - that his years were "few" in comparison with one who thought himself eternal, his first action was that of a superior over an inferior (cf. Genesis 14:19 & Hebrews 7:6-7).

The wise Ptah-hotep, Vizier of the Fifth Dynasty king, Issi, wrote in similar 'polite' fashion to Jacob, at the end of his book of wisdom:

"It is not little that I have done upon earth: I have lived a hundred and ten years which the king granted me with rewards exceeding those of my fathers because I did what was right for him up to the place of honour [i.e. up to my greatest age]."⁽⁴⁵⁾

Jacob, having tactfully observed all the correct etiquette that was expected in the Egyptian court, finally blessed Pharaoh again just before leaving his presence (Genesis 47:10).

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10