Even More Egyptian Influences on the Tribe of Yehudah (pt. 4)

This is part 4 of a series of posts I made shortly after starting the blog (nos. 1, 2, 3). Back then, I noticed that there were many ties between the Tribe of Yehudah in particular and Egypt. This was most particularly apparent in their personal names, though there were a couple of other connections.

I am now in the midst of conducting research for my latest seminar paper, in which I will attempt to propose a link between the Samaria Ostraca and the LMLK handles (more on that in a later post). As researching one fascinating topic goes, my search led me to many other fascinating topics, one being the subject of Egyptian icons in Judahite (i.e., of the Kingdom of Yehudah) material culture. For example, all LMLK handles feature variants of two main Egyptian symbols: A winged disk (many identify it with the Egyptian winged sun disk) or a winged scarab, a sacred Egyptian symbol. Another example are Judahite seals, many of which feature blatant Egyptian symbols, including idolatrous symbols. Several bullae made by King Chizkiyahu's own seal were found over the years, and they, too, feature such symbols, including a fancy winged disk in an expressly Egyptian art style. A third example are the Shekel-type weights used in the Judahite (and perhaps also the Israelite) market. Many of these feature Egyptian hieratic numerals, evidently because ancient Hebrew doesn't have distinct icons for numerals (much like modern Hebrew, though prior to the modern era some Jews used Hebrew letters for numerals).

I have yet to find convincing justification for Judahite usage of Egyptian symbolism. Certainly there were times when idolatry was rampant in the Land of Israel, but these symbols were most notably found with relation to the time of Chizkiyahu of all people! In fact, there's a seal that may have belonged to Menashe when he was still prince, and that also features an Egyptian-style scarab.

But the long and short of this is that the ties between Yehudah and Egypt extended also to material culture, which makes this topic both cooler and even more enigmatic.

Now on to some more Egyptian-related names:

• Eifah - some scholars suggest that the word eifah (עיפה) refers to the aforementioned winged sun disk. Eifah was the name of Kalev's pilegesh and the name of one of Yahadai's sons (Chronicles 1:2:46-47).
• Efer - the Egyptian word for scarab was Khprr. It's possible that names such as Khefer in Tanach were named after the scarab or dung beetle. The name makes sense, as the dung beetle digs out dirt and forms it into a ball, and the Hebrew root KhFR (חפר) refers to digging. Now, in Hebrew the letters Ayin and Chet are often interchangeable, so it's possible that the name Efer has the same meaning as Khefer, and thus is also named for the dung beetle/scarab.* Me'onotai of Yehudah had a son named Ofrah (עפרה) (Chronicles 1:4:14) and Ezra (עזרה) of Yehudah had a son named Efer (ibid. 17).
• Chur (redux) - in pt. 1 I suggested that Chur meant "white" and referred to royalty. Other scholars, such as Meir Lubetski, 'Falcon of Gold', in: Meir Lubetski (ed.), New Seals and Inscriptions, Hebrew, Idumean, and Cuneiform, pp. 28, 32-33, suggest that Chur comes from the Egyptian word for falcon, much like Horus.
• Menashe (son of Chizkiyahu) - Menashe in itself isn't Egyptian, but considering all of the Egyptian symbology in the time of Chizkiyahu, I can't help but wonder whether he purposely named his son after Yosef's eldest, who was also born in Egypt. Menashe II wasn't born in Egypt, but he was born, apparently, in a land rampant with Egyptian subcultures. Perhaps he was named thus out of hope that he wouldn't be negatively influenced.

*By the way, if Eifah and Efer do mean winged sun disk & scarab, then there's an interesting form of symbolism in the names of two of Midian's sons, who are named Eifah and Efer, i.e., named by the two LMLK symbols. Whether their names provide insight into the usage of these two particular symbols in the Kingdom of Yehudah and/or whether they reflect a connection between Midian and Egypt remains to be seen.