Living in Truth:
Archaeology and the Patriarchs

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by Charles N. Pope
Copyright ©1999-2004, 2016 by Charles Pope
United States Library of Congress
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Chapter 25
"No Better than My Ancestors"
(Smenkhkare, Beloved of Akhenaten)


Name Associations

Torah Names Kings/Chronicles Names Greek Names Egyptian Names
Jacob-Israel Composite Solomon Dakos Amenhotep II
Sheshonq A
Leah
(wife of Jacob)
Ahijah, Ginath   Tia
Mehtenwesket
Rachel
(wife of Jacob)
Atarah   Merit-Amon
 
By Rachel, two sons
 
1) Joseph
(Reuel/Amram)
Abishalom, Uriel, Omri
Nebat I
Laius, Menoikeus Yuya, Irhuleni
Imram, Pawura
Asenath ("Egyptian" wife of Joseph)   Tuya
Manasseh
(Aaron)
Jeroboam the Elder

Amon, "Ruler of the City"
Amariah
(Kith-)Airon Aanen, Mery-Re I
Amon-appa/
Amarnappa
Ephraim
(Ithra/Jethro)
(Eleasar)
Asa/Shaul, Shishak, Ahab
Jerimoth, Nebat II
Asocheus, Creon Aye, Sheshonq I
Lab'ayu, Ayyab
Addaya, Rib-Addi
Jochebed
(Zipporah)
Naamah, Maacah, Abihail
Jezebel, Athaliah, Zeruah
Zerephath
Joacaste, Merope
Eurydice
Tiye, Lady of Gubla, Yzebel
  Solomon, Eth-Baal Polybos/Polybus Amenhotep III
Moses
(Balak)
Rehoboam, Nimshi
(son of Naamah & Abishalom)
Oedipus, Hermaeus
Phaethon
Amenhotep IV
Akhenaten
Eliezer Elijah, Abijah, Abijam Eteocles (A), Elias Smenkhkare
Gershom/Joshua
(Balaam)
Elisha, Attai Eteocles (B) Tutankhamun
2) Benjamin     Aakheprure
 
By Leah, six sons and one daughter (Dinah)
1) Reuben Uzziel, Mushi   Webensenu, Neby
2) Simeon     Siamun
3) Levi     Khaemwast
4) Judah Nemuel/Jemuel   Thutmose IV
Nimlot A/Nimrat
5) Issachar
(Hamor)
Izhar, Shilki/Shilhi
Amminadab II
Osokhor Osorkon A
Shilkanni (Assyria)
Tola Baasha son of Issachar   Ba'sa, Milkilu
  Elah son of Baasha   Unattested
6) Zebulun Tibni   Nedjem
 
Ephraim
(Ithra/Jethro) (Eleasar)
Asa/Shaul, Shishak, Ahab
Nebat II, Jerimoth
(natural son of Judah)
Asocheus, Creon Aye, Sheshonq I
Ayyab, Rib-addi
Lab'ayu, Addayu
Miriam Mahalath dau. of Jerimoth Euryganeia? Nefertiti
Phinehas II Jeroboam son of Nebat (II)
Jeroboam (the Younger)
Polyneices Panehesy, Nesy
Prince Osorkon
Rebel Mesh
  Jehoshaphat
(son of Asa and Azubah)
  Iuput A, Ia
(son of Sheshonq I)
  Ahaziah son of Ahab   Takelot I, Tagi
  Joram/Yachas son of Ahab   Osorkon I
Mut-Baal
Matinu-bal'u
  Joash son of Ahaziah   Harsiese A
  Amaziah   Pedubastet I

All the Days of Abijah

In the Amarna Tablets, Rib-Addi (Aye) constantly complains to Akhenaten about an enemy referred to as the Apiru [sa-gaz-Mesh] or Hapiru [amelut-gaz-Mesh]. "In the translations of the el-Amarna letters we find sa-gaz-Mesh rendered as 'sa-gaz-people.' Putting these words into English, sa-gaz, which ideographically can also be read 'habutu,' is translated 'plunderers' or 'cutthroats' or 'rebellious bandits.' Mesh is understood as the suffix of the plural. It is met with in the letters scores of times, always in connection with the plundering rebels. Sometimes the intruding pillagers are called amelut sa-gaz-Mesh, amelut being the men or the people; sometimes the text speaks of gaz-Mesh as a single person, and the translators again neglect 'Mesh' and translate 'robber.' 'He takes thy cities the amel-gaz-Mesh, the dog,' and the words are rendered 'the gaz man,' Mesh being dropped. But the text speaks in these cases of a single person, and therefore Mesh cannot here be the suffix for the plural."a

The activities of the Apiru have all the qualities of a popular uprising, and appear to be the work of an Israelite militia. It is clear from the Amarna Tablets that their leader, Mesh, is a prince of the immediate royal family who has gone bad. In Amarna Tablet EA 67, Rib-Addi calls Mesh a "runaway dog." The most prominent troublemaker for Rehoboam (Akhenaten) during his co-regency with Abijah (Smenkhkare) was Jeroboam (Panehesy) king of Israel. By association, Mesh logically corresponds to Jeroboam (Panehesy), who we are told remained at war with Rehoboam "all the days of Abijah."b One connotation of the word Mesh is "Serpent."c In the Torah, Jeroboam (Panehesy) is called Phinehas,d "Mouth of the Serpent." In other dialects Mesh instead connotes "Lion." The father of Panehesy was Aye, known in his younger days as the "Lion-Man" Labayu. Queen Tiye, the mother of Panehesy, writes to Akhenaten under the Amarna letter pseudonym of NIN-UR.MAH.MES,e translated as "Lady of the Lions."f More freely, this name becomes, "Queen of the Lions of Judah."

When Solomon died, Rehoboam went to Shechem to be confirmed as king of Israel, but was rejected there. 1 Kings 12:20-25 (RSV) states: "And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel . Then Jeroboam built Shechem . and dwelt there." Prior to this event, Aye/Sheshonq/Labayu had been king in Shechem. Although Aye agreed to honor the succession of Akhenaten, he was also sympathetic toward his son Panehesy. His bid for the greater throne of Egypt had been denied, but Panehesy evidently was allowed to become king in Shechem as a consolation.

This decision was also supported by the younger sons of Aye and even by his archrival Milkilu. However, it was later criticized by his eldest son, who wrote to Akhenaten, "Are we to act like Labayu when he was giving the land of Sakmu [Shechem] to the Hapiru [amelut-gaz-Mesh]?"g Although Puti-Heba (Iuput) refers to his father Labayu in the past tense,h the involvement of Labayu with the transfer of control of Shechem to Mesh and the Apiru is a strong indication that Labayu did not literally die in Year 5 of Akhenaten (Year 32 of Amenhotep III), but was still living in and after Year 12 of Akhenaten. The use of the defunct name Labayu in EA 287 and EA 289 was perhaps a slip or an insult on the part of Abdi-Heba (Iuput), who also called Aye by the more up-to-date epithet, Addaya, in the same letters. Iuput was trying very hard to assure Akhenaten that he was not honoring his natural father Aye above him.

About three years after the "death" of Amenhotep III, Akhenaten named Smenkhkare, his eldest son by Queen Tiye, to be his successor. Smenkhkare ruled for as much as two full years as co-regent, and part of a third year after the fall of Akhenaten. His own reign came abruptly to an end only about three months after that of Akhenaten. In the Bible, the battle with Jeroboam (Panehesy) is the first and only event associated with the reign of Abijah (Smenkhkare). After his unqualified profession of allegiance to "the Lord" and the convincing victory over Jeroboam granted to him by "the Lord," one might expect great things from the new king. However, nothing more is recorded other than that the "Lord struck him down."i

When Smenkhkare was appointed co-regent in Year 15 of Akhenaten, Aye evidently honored this election as well. Three towns belonging to Panehesy were taken from him and given to Smenkhkare. However, this only strengthened the resolve of Panehesy and his Israelite fighting force. By this time, the stilted prince Panehesy (Jeroboam) had not only rejected the authority of Akhenaten (Rehoboam) and Smenkhkare (Abijah), but also that of his father and former protector, Aye (Shishak). Aye had formerly exploited the Apiru for his own purposes. In his days as the Libyan ruler Labayu, Aye captured the city of Megiddo with their help,j but when Panehesy turned against Aye and became the "Rebel Mesh," the Apiru turned against Aye with him.

Aye had rejected Panehesy, his eldest son by Queen Tiye, in favor of Akhenaten. Aye therefore expected, even demanded, that Akhenaten support him in his struggle with the rebellion of Panehesy!k The fact that Aye was so adamant about this indicates that he felt that Akhenaten owed it to him for his allegiance. However, Akhenaten had little or no sympathy for the plight of Aye. Rather, he would have rejoiced in it. Akhenaten used the strategy of his role model Hammurabi by remaining neutral as the many powerful princes of his own time fought with and weakened one another.

Very Zealous for the Lord

In the Amarna letters, it is the "rebel Mesh" who continually dogs Ahab (Aye/Rib-Addi). However, in the Kings narrative the Lord (Akhenaten) sends the prophet Elijah to put Ahab in his place. As is the case with Aye and Queen Tiye, Smenkhkare also has two very distinct regional memories in the Biblical Kings narrative. In Judah, Aye and Tiye were known as Asa and Athaliah. In Israel, they were Ahab and Jezebel. In Judah, Smenkhkare was remembered as King Abijah, but in Israel he was the prophet Elijah. Abijah represents the memory of Smenkhkare as a king in the Egyptian capital. Elijah is the memory of Smenkhkare as the spokesman (prophet) and agent (co-regent) of his father Akhenaten in the territories. Like Abijah of Judah, Elijah of Israel held office for less than three full years.

In 1 Kings 17:1, Elijah appears suddenly in the narrative. The parentage of Elijah is not given. He is instead introduced simply as "Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead." The Hebrew Thisba is a Biblical form of Thebes. The hometown of Elijah is further designated as the Thisba in Gilead, or "Tishbite of the settlers." The name Gilead means, "foremost place of memorials."l The Gilead being referred to is that of the Thebes in Upper Egypt. Nowhere in the ancient world was there a location with more monuments. Although he was considered a prophet of Israel, the birthplace of Elijah was known to have been Thebes in the Gilead of Judah in Egypt.

Abijah of Judah is also sometimes called Abijam ("Seaman"). Like the sister city in Greece, Thebes of Egypt was also a "city of many ships." However, the Greek name Thebes (and therefore the Hebrew Thisba) is generally thought to derive from the Semitic teba, meaning "ark."m Alternatively, it might derive from an Egyptian word originally used to designate the Karnak Temple of Waset/Thebes, (Ta-)Ipet-Isut), variously translated as "(The) Most Esteemed Place" or "(The) Most Select of Places." Michael Astour writes, ". This name [Thebes], according to V. Berard, 'which has nothing Greek, belongs to the onomastics of the Scripture: Tisba, LXX Thisba.' More precisely, this locality appears only in Elijah's gentilic hat-Tisbi ."n A variant of this place name Tisba is also found in the Book of Judges, that being the Thebez of Abimelech (Thutmose I).o

Unlike Tutankhamun, Smenkhkare was not provided with a tomb at Akhet-aten. The rare depiction of the child Smenkhkare at Akhet-aten shows him being lovingly fondled by Akhenaten. This mural has mystified Egyptologists and other researchers in that he is generally not considered to be the son of Akhenaten. His return to Akhetaten as a teenager was not purely a family visit, but for dynastic purposes. Smenkhkare and Meritaten, the eldest daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, are pictured together beginning in Year 14 of Akhenaten. By Year 15 of Akhenaten, Smenkhkare was declared co-regent of his father, indicating that he and Meritaten had produced a son. The three-year reign of Smenkhkare (Abijah) that followed corresponds to Years 15-17 of Akhenaten (Rehoboam).

"Now by This I Know"p

After boldly proclaiming to Ahab that there would be "neither dew nor rain in the next few years except by my word,"q Elijah is immediately directed by "the Lord" to go and "hide." Elijah first takes refuge in a ravine where he is fed by "ravens." Next he becomes the border of a widow named Zarephath ("refinement") of Sidon. Zarephath represents one of only a few positive or neutral recollections of Queen Tiye. Zarephath is a transposition (metathesis) of Zipporah, the name of Tiye used in the Book of Exodus. The widow Zarephath has a young son, who corresponds to Tutankhamun, the younger brother of Smenkhkare. Provisions are miraculously supplied while Elijah is in the house of this lady. However, when the little boy becomes ill and stops breathing, she sharply accuses Elijah of divining her sin.r (Smenkhkare and Tutankhamun were both the product of incest between mother, Tiye, and son, Akhenaten.) Elijah calmly takes the child (his brother) to an upper room and administers mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. After performing this wonder, Elijah is then effusively praised by Zarephath as a "man of God."

The next episode involving Elijah is said to have occurred "after many days" and "in the third year"s of intensifying drought. Elijah is directed by "the Lord" (Akhenaten) to come out of hiding and confront Ahab once again. Elijah orders Ahab: "send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves [Asherah] four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table."t Once gathered, Elijah proves that the firepower of "the Lord" (Akhenaten) is superior. This becomes justification for summarily executing all the prophets of Baal and Asherah. Sun weaponry was the rage of the day. The Bible records its use for intimidation and in demonstrating divine authority.u Elijah uses it in this situation in an attempt to convince the people that they should follow his father and regent "the Lord" (Akhenaten), and "let him be God"v rather than the Baal-king Ahab.

Next, Elijah calls down a heavy rain. He then demonstrates his physical prowess by running on foot all the way to his mother Jezebel in Jezreel. Ahab travels by chariot and is slowed by the mud. Although Elijah arrives ahead of Ahab, it is Ahab who receives an audience with the queen. Rather than being pleased with Elijah, Jezebel threatens, "Let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time."w That is, she intends to kill Elijah even as he had killed the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah who ate at her table. The woman who not long ago had hailed him as a true prophet now railed against him once more.x We know that it was Tiye who ensured the succession of Akhenaten. It is somewhat of a surprise to find out that it was also Tiye, possibly even more so than Akhenaten, who mandated the extreme suppression of Amun. Furthermore, Tiye in Israel is depicted in the Bible as the patron of the prophets of Baal and Asherah, and not as a proponent of the Aten.

This narrative begs the question: Why would Smenkhkare race to tell his mother Tiye that he had slaughtered all of her prophets, a significant source of her power? Did he feel the need to explain his action? Had Akhenaten or a minister of Akhenaten deceitfully told Smenkhkare that Tiye (Jezebel) wanted the prophets of Baal and Asherah to be executed? Did he think that her persecution of Amun was in the past, and that she was ready to purge the cults of Baal and Asherah instead? Had Smenkhkare been told that his parents had patched up their marriage and were getting back together again? If Smenkhkare had been given the opportunity to speak with Tiye, what would he have told her? We will never know, and perhaps by then it did not matter. A plan to depose Akhenaten had already been set in motion. After the attempt on her own life made by Jehu, Tiye agreed that Akhenaten must go. The active role played by Smenkhkare in killing her priests made her decide to depose him as well.

Where There is Smoke, There is Fire

The return of the rainfall was certainly a cause of rejoicing. It must also have been perceived as a sign that the time of tribulation and pruning was over. As Akhenaten wrote to Aziru (Hazael), he had not failed in his raging against the lands. Smenkhkare had played a leading role. The enemies of his father had been defeated. Smenkhkare had completed his mission in honor rather than disgrace. Renewed peace and prosperity were to follow. There was only one problem. Queen Tiye had been threatened and transferred her loyalty from Akhenaten back to Aye. The torrential rainstorm called down by Elijah gave Ahab with additional fuel for his own fire. It was confirmation for Aye that the time had come for the "Exodus" of Akhenaten.

The newfound confidence of Elijah vanishes when he learns of Jezebel's anger. He flees in terror into the wilderness near Beersheba, and wishes to die. Elijah had just slaughtered hundreds of men only to find out that he had been set up for a fall. Jezebel was not pleased with him or with his father. Elijah had been lied to and exploited. The young prince was badly in need of a sense of security. Beersheba had been the place where rival princes of the early 18th Dynasty worked things out. In the vicinity of Beersheba, Smenkhkare is overtaken by an "angel," i.e., a prince or minister of a king. This angel compels Elijah, likely with the promise of covenant, to go on an exhausting 40-day journey to "Horeb, the mountain of God."

When Smenkhkare left Beersheba, Akhenaten was possibly already deposed. We are told that two months (60 days) went by between the flight of Akhenaten and his arrival at Mt. Sinai.y He was joined by his family a short time before reaching Sinai. The arrival of Elijah at Horeb is a synchronism with the arrival of Zipporah (Zarephath/Jezebel) and her sons Gershom (Elisha) and Eliezer (Elijah/Elias) at Mt. Sinai under the escort of Jethro.z We are told that Moses had formerly "sent them away" and that they had taken up residence with Jethro. There is no record of Tiye at Akhet-aten after Year 14 of Akhenaten. This indicates that Tiye and Smenkhkare left Akhet-aten by Year 15. But now she and her sons have returned. Moses kisses his father-in-law, but cannot bring himself to greet his own wife and children! This may have been a joyous reunion for Hammurabi during the Middle Kingdom Exodus, but was an extremely painful one for Akhenaten.

In the Kings narrative, Elijah stands on Mt Horeb. As he waits for the Lord to speak to him, there is a powerful wind, an earthquake and fire. Finally, the Lord (Akhenaten) asks "What doest thou here Elijah?" Elijah was supposed to have been in hiding. The understandably paranoid Elijah responds, "The children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant . and they seek my life, to take it away."aa Elijah is told to return as he had come and to find refuge in the desert of Damascus. He may have been advised to run for his life, but either did not or could not. Smenkhkare would not leave Mt. Sinai alive.

This same meeting between the Lord (Akhenaten-Moses) and Elijah (Smenkhkare-Eliezer) is also described in the Book of Exodus, however the roles are reversed. Elijah is the Lordbb of the corresponding Exodus narrative. In the Exodus account, Moses (Akhenaten) flees to Mt. Sinai (Horeb).cc He had once again become a "transfigured being," that is, a living Osiris. Once there he takes orders from a very nervous "Lord," who insists on maximum security.dd No one is to approach the mountain. After three days, "there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount ... the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly."ee

Mount of Transfiguration

After thoroughly intimidating the people, the Lord invites Moses to go up into the darkly glowing cloud of smoke that covered the mountaintop.ff Moses takes Joshua along with him and they remain with the Lord for forty days and nights. In the Gospels, Jesus (Greek for Joshua) also has a mystical mountaintop encounter with Moses and Elijah, which is called "The Mount of Transfiguration."gg In the New Testament rendition, it is Jesus rather than Moses or Elijah who is "transfigured." A voice declares that Jesus is the son who is loved and chosen. Jesus then tells his disciples that Elijah had already come and was rejected. This passage mirrors the earlier history in which Tiye rejected her sons Akhenaten (Moses) and Smenkhkare (Elijah) and voiced the selection of her youngest son Tutankhamun (Joshua/Jesus) as the next king.

Upon the mountain, Smenkhkare had good cause to fear. Even though only a teenager he knew that even earlier family history dictated his demise. The real wonder is that Elijah was willing to come down from the mountain at all! Abijah is depicted as a fighting king. However, Elijah appears more as a frightened young thing. What could have caused such a dramatic transformation? And why should this God-fearing Theban be "struck down by the Lord?" Abijah (Smenkhkare) boldly held his ground before Jeroboam (Panehesy). However, he was unable to defend himself from a death threat issued by his own mother. The woman who had brought him into the world was committed to taking him out!

The Exodus party arrived at Mt. Sinai two months after fleeing Egypt, and remained there many months longer. However, Smenkhkare only survived for about three months after the abdication of Akhenaten. Moses and Joshua/Jesus survived the transfiguring Exodus experience. Elijah did not. When the three came down from the mountain there was singing and dancing in the camp. Aaron had made a golden calf for the people, a symbol of Baal worship and of Queen Tiye (Jezebel). The Lord (Elijah) is naturally disturbed to find that the people have so quickly reverted (from Atenism) to idolatry. He wants to destroy the people, but is dissuaded by Moses. But then, out of character, Moses suddenly destroys the tablets containing the law against idolatry in an angry fit.

The Baal worshipping Queen Tiye would not have been disturbed over the making of a golden calf. In fact, she may very well have commanded it. She was angry about something else. Although Akhenaten was deposed, those loyal to Smenkhkare, including Akhenaten himself, were prepared to confirm his succession. Tiye would not have it. She had sworn to put him to death and chose this time to make good on her word. The Elijah narrative indicates that Smenkhkare considered himself to be in complete obedience to the will of Akhenaten. However, his mother Queen Tiye obviously felt that he had not shown proper respect for her.hh The sin of Smenkhkare was not in his willingness to rebel, but that he played his part much too well. Smenkhkare was a son who became a double agent in an ugly battle between his parents. Neither parent nor child would emerge a winner. Tiye as the goddess Hathor turned bloodthirsty. She demanded that the rebellious people be put to death, and that Akhenaten fulfill the role of the jealous god Re by executing his own son. Against his will Akhenaten took up the sword to heed the call of a different kind of Lord, Queen Tiye.

After falling "upon his own son, and upon his brother,"ii a grieving Moses asks to see God's "glory."jj The Hebrew word translated as glory refers figuratively to the genitals. Akhenaten-Moses and Queen Tiye were the parents of four children. One was now dead. In this passage Moses (Akhenaten) is proposing that they have another son to replace Elijah (Smenkhkare). However, "the Lord" refuses. Akhenaten was perhaps held innocent of having conjugal relations with Tiye. She could not condemn him without condemning herself. However, Tiye did hold Akhenaten accountable for turning Smenkhkare against her, and for the attempt on her own life. There was no hope for marital reconciliation after this. Tiye reveals only her back side to Akhenaten, and only as a sign of disapproval and even murderous wrath.1

Tiye also does not show any remorse for her son Smenkhkare. "The Lord" (Tiye) states: "Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book."kk For denouncing his mother, Smenkhkare was denied a proper burial for a king of this period. After serving all save her, he was honored by none, other than his wife Ankhesenamun. It was the willful Ankhesenamun (Greek Antigone) who struggled to provide Smenkhkare a meager royal burial in the Valley of the Kings in defiance of her grandmother Tiye.ll Moreover, she placed his body in the tomb of Queen Tiye (KV 55), possibly by necessity, but probably out of spite.


  1. Immanuel Velikovsky, Ages in Chaos, pp 270-1. (Citing EA 68 & EA 91)
  2. 1 Kings 15:6
  3. See Chapter 4, Note 8.
  4. See Chapters 23 & 24.
  5. Compare this pen name with one of Tiye's Biblical epithets, Naamah, "Pleasantness."
  6. Translation of the name NIN-UR.MAH.MES in W. Moran, The Amarna Letters. This lady has been identified as Queen Mother. See Moran, p 318, note 1 (EA 273 & 274).
  7. EA 289, translation from W. Moran, The Amarna Letters.
  8. As well as in EA 289 where Milkilu and the "sons of Labayu" are implicated.
  9. As discussed in the previous chapter, Jeroboam remained at war with Rehoboam throughout the reign of Abijah. Jeroboam eventually recovered. Rehoboam and Abijah did not.
  10. See EA 243 & 246. Compare also EA 287.
  11. See EA 90 & 91.
  12. Gilead (1568/1569) "head of testimony"
  13. Martin Bernal, Black Athena, Vol II, p 475. See also Chapter 4, End Note 2.
  14. Michael Astour, Hellenosemitica, p 215 (j).
  15. Judges 9:53. For a discussion see Chapter 12 of this work.
  16. 1 Kings 17:24 (KJV)
  17. 1 Kings 17:1 (NIV)
  18. 1 Kings 17:18
  19. 1 Kings 18:1 (KJV)
  20. 1 Kings 18:19 (KJV)
  21. Exodus 19:16-24; 20:18-21, 1 Kings 18:22-38, and 2 Kings 1:9-14
  22. 1 Kings 18:24 (KJV)
  23. 1 Kings 19:2 (KJV)
  24. 1 Kings 17:24
  25. Exodus 19:1, also compare Exodus 16:1
  26. Exodus 18:2-6
  27. 1 Kings 19:13-14 (KJV)
  28. Elias, the Greek name of Elijah, was an epithet of Zeus, the god of thunder, lightning and the cloud covered mountain.
  29. Akhenaten was emulating the god Ra, who had also fled when accused of murder.
  30. Exodus 19:12; 24:1-2,13-14
  31. Exodus 19:16-18
  32. Exodus 20:18-21; 24:12-18
  33. Math. 17:1-13; Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-35
  34. In the Laws of Moses, a son is to be killed for apostasy or disobedience to parents.
    Deut 21:18-21; 13:6-11
  35. Exodus 32:29 (KJV). Smenkhkare was both the son and brother of Akhenaten. He was also his "brother, companion and neighbor" in the cult of the Aten.
  36. Exodus 33:18
  37. Exodus 32:33
  38. In the book Oedipus and Akhenaten, Velikovsky proposed that it had been Meeitaten. However, Meretaten either died or deserted before the end of Smenkhkare's reign and her younger sister Ankhesenamun became consort in her place.

Note 1:

In Greek mythology, "the wrath of the goddess [Artemis] was provoked by Actaeon having seen her bathing; in later times a rock was shown between Plateae and Megara from which Actaeon peeped on the goddess, and Actaeon's spring in which she bathed (Pausanias IX: 2: 3). A similar offense was said to have been the cause of Teiresias' blindness. The goddess seen while bathing was, in the case of Teiresias, Athena. Blindness as a result of having seen a divine body in all its shining splendor fits well in the context of that story. The motif of a bathing goddess seems to be borrowed in the myth of Actaeon from the myth of Teiresias" (Michael Astour, Hellenosemitca, p 164.)

Compare the names Actaeon and Akhenaten.

Compare also the legend of Aphrodite and Erymonthus, Robert Graves, The Greek Myths, (126 a,1), pp 475, 477. See also the discussion in Chapter 3 of Archaeology & the Patriarchs.

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