egyptian

The Origin of the Letter “E”

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Letter E

Letter E

The Encyclopedia Britannica reports what is speculated to be the origin of the letter “E” in our modern alphabet:

The letter E may have started as a picture sign of a man with arms upraised, as in Egyptian hieroglyphic writing (1) and in a very early Semitic writing used in about 1500 BC on the Sinai Peninsula (2). The sign meant “joy” or “rejoice” to the Egyptians. In about 1000 BC, in Byblos and in other Phoenician and Canaanite centers, the sign was given a linear form (3), the source of all later forms. . . . (( “E, e.” Student’s Encyclopædia. 2008. Britannica Student Encyclopædia. 17 Feb. 2008. <http://student.britannica.com/comptons/article-9274097>.))

Wikipedia corroborates the same source:

E is derived from the Greek letter epsilon which is much the same in appearance (Ε, ε) and function. In etymology, the Semitic hê probably first represented a praying or calling human figure (hillul jubilation), and was probably based on a similar Egyptian hieroglyph that was pronounced and used quite differently. In Semitic, the letter represented /h/ (and /e/ in foreign words), in Greek hê became Εψιλον (Epsilon) with the value /e/. Etruscans and Romans followed this usage. ((“E”. Wikipedia. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E>.))

The more I learn the more I’m convinced of Nibley’s striking statement, “All the arts and sciences began at the temple. Dance, music, architecture, sculpture, drama, and so forth—they all go back to the temple” ((Nibley, Hugh, and Gary P. Gillum. Of all Things!: Classic Quotations from Hugh Nibley. 2nd, rev. and expand ed. Salt Lake City, Utah; Provo, Utah: Deseret Book Co.; Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1993, 45)).

What Good are the Scattered Fragments?

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Hugh Nibley

Hugh Nibley

Since the first day I picked up a book by Hugh Nibley I have been fascinated by the parallels which he taught exist between our practices and those of the ancients.  Many critics of the Church claim that Joseph Smith made this all up, that he was a charlatan, a deceiver, and a con-man.  However, making that broad claim that Joseph invented it all from his fantastic mind (for even our critics offer him that), or that he plundered the practices from others, still fails to explain why parts and pieces of the gospel structure are to be found scattered around all the world in almost every time, place, and culture.

But what good does it do us in studying the ancient practices?  Why is it so interesting and pertinent to our modern-day Church?  Why does looking back help us look forward?  Nibley gave a good explanation:

Latter-day Saints believe that their temple ordinances are as old as the human race and represent a primordial revealed religion that has passed through alternate phases of apostasy and restoration which have left the world littered with the scattered fragments of the original structure, some more and some less recognizable, but all badly damaged and out of proper context. . . .

Among the customs and religions of mankind there are countless parallels, many of them very instructive, to what the Mormons do. . . . But what about the Egyptian rites? What are they to us? They are a parody, an imitation, but, as such, not to be despised. For all the great age and consistency of their rites and teachings, which certainly command respect, the Egyptians did not have the real thing, and they knew it. . . . in the words of Abraham, “Pharaoh, being a righteous man,” was ever “seeking earnestly to imitate that order established by the fathers in the first generations, in the days of the first patriarchal reign” (Abraham 1:26), for he “would fain claim [the priesthood]” (Abraham 1:27). If the Egyptian endowment was but an imitation, it was still a good one, and we may be able to learn much from it, just as we may learn much about the early church from the vagaries of the gnostics. But it is not for a moment to be equated with the true and celestial order of things. . . . What these few bits of added information do is to supply a new dimension to . . . [our temple] experience, along with the assurance that a wealth of newly found records confirms the fundamental thesis of its antiquity and genuineness. (Hugh Nibley, The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri, xxvii-xxix)

The Origin of the Common Handshake

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The Creation of Adam (detail) - Sistine Chapel

The Creation of Adam (detail) - Sistine Chapel

The handshake has become a common form of communication all around the world. It is used to say “hello”, “goodbye”, “we agree”, as a greeting upon first acquaintance, and as a mutual sign of goodwill and peace. A handshake can establish a first impression with someone, whether it be good and firm, or limp and clammy. It has made its way to the highest levels of government and society where agreements between nations are sealed. This ritual has “become perhaps our most important non-verbal communicative contrivance” ((http://assyriatimes.com/engine/modules/news/article.php?storyid=63)).

But where did it come from? [Read more…]

The Genesis of the Round Dance – Part 2

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Aztec round dance for Quetzalcóatl and Xolotl

Aztec round dance for Quetzalcóatl and Xolotl

(Continuation from Part 1)

The Genesis of the Round Dance

Bryce Haymond

“Then shalt thou dance in a ring together with the angels, around Him
who is without beginning or end, the only true God . . .”
—Clement of Alexandria ((Backman, E. Louis. Religious Dances in the Christian Church and in Popular Medicine. London: Allen & Unwin, 1952, 19))

Introduction

Round dances, through all ages of time and all locations of the world, display striking similarities in structure and theme. This is strong evidence that they share a common origin. These dances are usually quite religious in nature and I propose that round dances, like other widespread yet similar ritual motifs found scattered across the world, had their beginnings in one of the first sacred rites of this world given to and practiced by our first parents, namely the ancient prayer circle.

So as not to confuse the term [Read more…]

1 Nephi 1:1 – Temple Symbolism

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This first scripture is, no doubt, the most read scripture in all the Church, and possibly the most read from the LDS canon outside of the Church. Members of the Church have all read this scripture over and over as they begin reading the Book of Mormon and recommit to daily scripture study and finishing the Book of Mormon. We are familiar with the honor Nephi bestows upon his parents, his telling of the afflictions he suffered throughout his life, the way the Lord favored Nephi and blessed him greatly, and thus Nephi begins his record. This first verse of the Book of Mormon could probably be recited from memory by most members of the Church because of its frequent repetition. But did you know that this first verse, indeed the entire small plates of Nephi, might have overarching temple themes?
[Read more…]