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Winged - Scarab - Imagery - in - Judah - Yahweh - As KHEPRI
Winged - Scarab - Imagery - in - Judah - Yahweh - As KHEPRI
Winged - Scarab - Imagery - in - Judah - Yahweh - As KHEPRI
Yahweh as Khepri
Daniel Sarlo
University of Toronto
2014
1
influence in the 8th century BCE. It is particularly intriguing that at this time we find the
adoption of the winged scarab by the royal administration. This is already well known from the
lmlk jar seal impressions. Hezekiah’s stamp seal, the only authentic Judean royal seal found to
date, also depicts the winged scarab. In iconography, the scarab is commonly the animal
representation of the sun god Re-Khepri. While the importance of this symbol for the Pharaoh is
straight forward, understanding his association with Horus and his hope of resurrection and
eternal life in the skies, it is not immediately obvious why a Judean king would have adopted this
imagery.
motives. Few have suggested the possibility that Judeans embraced the image because they
identified it with their god, Yahweh. Certainly, there was some aspect of political propaganda
involved in the decision to use the winged scarab as a royal emblem. The Judean monarchy
indeed promoted the monotheistic, or at least monolatrous, worship of Yahweh at the temple in
Jerusalem. If the winged scarab, a symbol that already held significant religious meaning and
power in Egypt, could somehow be related to Yahweh, this would be an ideal choice for the
This paper begins with an introduction to scarab imagery on stamp seals, and an overview
of the seals in question. Several theories pertaining to the adoption of the scarab by the Judean
monarchy are examined, two political and one religious. Without making any definitive
passages, Yahweh shares at least three characteristics with the Egyptian winged scarab, Re-
Khepri: solar features, wings, and a name that derives from a verb with the meaning ‘to be.’
1 Introduction
The scarab was the most popular variety of stamp seal in ancient Egypt, and was in fact one
of its greatest manufactured items in terms of quantity. Stamp seals are thought to have
developed from small funerary amulets which were shaped like pyramids and contained
engraved designs on the bottom. Others have been found in the shape of various animals,
including the dung beetle or scarab. The earliest of these amulets date to about 2500 BCE. It
appears that the scarab variety enjoyed the widest distribution and was essentially the only type
to survive into the Middle Kingdom (Ward 1994: 186–187). It is in this period that we begin to
far North as Byblos, and in the Mediterranean as far West as Crete. This can be explained either
by commercial activity or the emulation of the Egyptian style by local artisans. Regardless, this
gives an idea of the scope of Egyptian influence in the region at this time (Ben-Tor 2011: 24). 1
1
In Ashkelon, neutron activation analysis determined that many of the scarab seals were produced locally
which, as Ben-Tor notes, suggests “the adaptation of an Egyptian Middle Kingdom administrative practice at
Ashkelon” (Ben-Tor, 2011: 25).
3
consequence of the migration of Canaanite peoples, who had spread as far as the Delta by the
late Middle Kingdom (26). This led to the manufacture and use of scarab seals for
administrative purposes in the Levant at the beginning of the 17th century BCE (27). The earliest
examples of Canaanite scarabs are very Egyptian with respect to artistry and iconography.
However, these imitations are not without their flaws. They contain many features that give
away their local provenance. Later in the Middle Bronze Age, there was an increase in the local
production of Canaanite scarabs (28–29). These exhibit a considerable mixture of Egyptian and
Syrian imagery, demonstrating the close cultural ties between the two regions during the Second
In the Late Bronze Age, there was a shift back to Egyptian-style scarabs with little trace of
Syro-Palestinian influence, a direct result of the expulsion of the Hyksos and the invasion of
Canaan by the Egyptians. In fact, most of the scarabs discovered in the Levant dating to this
period have been found to have originated in Egypt. “The large-scale importation of scarabs is
one of the manifestations of the Egyptian domination of Palestine… there is no evidence for the
continuation of local production of scarabs in Palestine after the Egyptian empire was established
by Thutmose III” (32). In the 19th Dynasty, specifically under Ramesses II, the number of
Egyptian scarabs in the Levant reached its peak. This corresponds to the height of Egyptian
power in the region (36). Scarabs were used by both the royal administration and the general
population 3 in Egypt and the Levant at this time. While stamp seals were primarily scaraboid in
nature, other shapes have also been found. But the inscription and iconography contained on the
2
The Hyksos were Semitic people, presumably from Syria-Palestine. A Canaanite-style temple was found in
the capital city of Avaris, dating to the 18th century BCE. See Richard Hess, Israelite Religions: An Archaeological
and Biblical Survey (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007), 91.
3
Presumably though, those who would have stamp seals produced for them would be wealthy land owners.
4
seal is a better indicator of the political and religious situation of Israel than the general shape of
the seal. This paper will focus on the iconography of the scarab, while at the same time
conscious that the scarab is present on almost all stamp seals from the region.
Scarab iconography was ultimately transmitted from Egypt to the Levant via these stamp
seals. The winged scarab we find on many West Semitic bullae and seal impressions is likely a
combination of the wingless beetle (Fig. 2) and the winged sun disk (Fig. 3), both of which were
originally Egyptian symbols. It is important to note that these are essentially interchangeable as
they represent the same thing. The scarab beetle is connected to the sun disk as it is the animal
form of Re-Khepri, the morning sun. 4 In Egypt, the winged sun disk was derived from the
falcon with outstretched wings, an image that was transmitted to the Levant sometime in the 18th
century BCE (Parayre 1990: 269-270). The iconography of the scarab with outstretched wings
was a particularly late development in Egypt, appearing around the same time we find the image
in the Levant (Fig. 4). 5 Indeed, the winged sun disk and the winged scarab were simultaneously
used as the royal emblem of Judah, as is clearly seen in the reign of Hezekiah (Fig. 5, 6).
4
Scarab beetles laid their eggs in a ball of dung, which they rolled across the ground and eventually buried in
the evening. The ancient Egyptians would witness this transportation and burial, as well as the emergence of scarab
larvae from out of the soil in the morning. They associated this process with the journey of the sun across the earth,
its burial in the evening and resurrection in the morning.
5
This image does not appear on Egyptian scarab seals, which depict the scarab without wings, or more
accurately, with the wings folded in. Only later, in the Iron Age, do we find the winged scarab on amulets which
were affixed to the chest of the mummified dead (Private communication with Mary-Ann Pouls Wegner, University
of Toronto, December 26, 2013).
5
Fig. 2. An Egyptian scarab, wingless Fig. 3. The Egyptian winged sun disk
(Schulz 2007: plate 7, cat.no. 53) (Parayre 1990: plate 1, no. 1)
Fig. 5. Winged sun disk as royal emblem Fig. 6. Winged scarab as royal emblem in
in Hezekiah’s reign, 8th / 7th century BCE Hezekiah’s reign, 8th / 7th century BCE
(Deutsch 2003: 13) (Deutsch 2003: 17)
6
While the scarab appears on some Pharaonic seals –– those belonging to Tuthmoses I, II,
III and IV, and several others from the 18th Dynasty –– it was not a common element of Egyptian
royal seals (Assmann 2001: 60–61). However, Schulz references one case where it appears to
represent the letter n, which is derived from netjer ‘divine one’ (2007: 76). This would imply
that the image of the scarab also served as a representation of the divine. 6 Of course, this would
also function in the metaphorical sense, as the scarab beetle symbolized the sun god Re, of whom
In 1999, Cross published the royal seal of Hezekiah, for the first time fully intact, which
features a scarab with outstretched wings (Fig. 7, 8). The inscription reads: “Belonging to
Hezekiah, (son) of Ahaz, king of Judah.” Why would the Judean king have used an Egyptian
image that was known to represent the sun god and the Pharaoh? Granted, Egyptian imagery
would have crept into the region due to the immense power and influence of the empire. But
while we find many other examples of Egyptian images in the Levant –– sphinxes, griffins,
uraeuses, scorpions, et cetera –– only the winged sun disk and scarab appear to have been used
by the monarchy.
6
However, this argument is based on cryptography, an approach not accepted by all scholars (Private
communication with Othmar Keel, University of Fribourg, December 28, 2013).
7
Manasseh’s seal (Fig. 9, 10) was on the antiquities market in the 1970s and has since been
purchased by an unknown collector. It is not exactly a royal seal, though Manasseh did ascend
the throne. The inscription reads: “Belonging to Manasseh, son of the king.” Its authenticity is
questionable because there is another Moabite seal bearing the same inscription, and because
Manasseh ascended the throne when he was just 12 years old, which is particularly young to
Despite the questions surrounding Manasseh’s seal, we still have several versions of
Hezekiah’s seal that have been authenticated (Deutsch 2003: 16–18). There are also the lmlk jar
handle impressions 7 and Hezekiah’s seal containing the winged sun disk (13) –– the sun disk, we
have seen, is equivalent to the winged scarab in religious iconography. So, why was the winged
scarab used to represent the royalty of Judah. Scholars have proposed various political and
religious motivations for this iconography, which will be evaluated in the sections that follow.
We have already seen that the economic and cultural influence of Egypt in the Levant is not
sufficient to explain this. There were a variety of Egyptian motifs used in the region at the time,
only one of which gained the prestige of becoming the royal emblem.
3.1 Political
Meir Lubetski (2001) has speculated that the Judean monarchy appropriated the image of
the Pharaoh in order to give the impression of his grandiose power. According to Lubetski, the
two wings of the scarab were seen to represent Upper and Lower Egypt, and Hezekiah first used
this image in order to symbolize his rule over the North and South, part of a propaganda
campaign to unify Israel and Judah (44–46). This theory, though intriguing, lacks the evidence
First of all, there is no indication that the scarab’s wings represented Upper and Lower
Egypt. As we have seen, they were illustrated in such a manner to imitate the wings of the
7
During Hezekiah’s reign, the lmlk jars were sealed with either the scarab or the sun disk, depending on their
geographical location. These will not be discussed here as there is still scholarly debate regarding their origin,
purpose, and their relationship to the Assyrian kingdom. To adequately treat them here would require a fair amount
of discussion that would detract from the main thrust of the paper. For a comprehensive overview, see Oded
Lipschits et al., Royal Judahite Jar Handles: Reconsidering the Chronology of the lmlk Stamp Impressions. Tel Aviv
37 (2010): 3–32.
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falcon, representing Horus, the sun god. The scarab, likewise, had a strong connection to solar
imagery and was first and foremost a religious symbol. There are several images the Egyptians
used to depict Upper and Lower Egypt –– the hedge and the bee, the vulture and the uraeus, and
the red and white crown –– the scarab is not among these.
Secondly, it is certainly not obvious from the passages Lubetski cites (2 Chr 30:1, 6–11, 18,
25; 31:1, 5–6) that Hezekiah was trying to reunite Israel and Judah. The Chronicler is
specifically interested in the piety of kings according to the established cult in Jerusalem (Duke
1999: 122). That Hezekiah included people from the North in his attempts to reinstate the
Passover, destroy the high places, and promote worship at the Temple, does not mean he was
trying to unify the two countries, nor would the Chronicler be concerned with such political
that reads “Judah: Belonging to Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, King” rather than “Belonging to
Hezekiah, (son) of Ahaz, king of Judah.” He is able to defend this reading because the word יהדה
is out of order, at the top of the seal between the tips of the scarab’s wings (Fig. 7, 8). He admits
that it is not customary for Hebrew seal impressions to end with the word ‘king,’ but notes that
this would not be strange if it were Egyptian. He cites a “common titular address of an Egyptian
ruler,” which reads “Pharoah, life, prosperity, health, Lord!” (2001: 47–48). This comparison is
problematic. One cannot simply compare Egyptian customs to Hebrew customs, titular
addresses to seal inscriptions, and the word ‘Lord’ to the word ‘king.’ Moreover, Lubetski is
inconsistent. He stresses that “it is unthinkable that Hezekiah had Egyptian theology in mind
when he commissioned this seal” (49). Why then is it conceivable for him to have used Egyptian
imagery to promote Judean political ambition, and a Pharaonic address rather than a local
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Hebrew one? No Hebrew seals have been found that end with the word ‘king.’ Thus, Lubetski’s
argument is insufficient.
Csaba Balogh (2011: 198–199) proposed the idea that the scarab was first used in Judah by
Hezekiah as part of his political alliance with Egypt. It was adopted because it was a popular
Egyptian symbol, not because of its religious symbolism. The choice of the scarab was purely
political, and demonstrated to the Assyrians both that Judah would not submit to them and that
the Egyptians were on their side. There was, in fact, a strong connection between Egypt and
Judah at this time; The Hebrew Bible records that Hezekiah sought the aid of the Cushite dynasty
There are several potential problems with Balogh’s argument that revolve around the
dating of scarab imagery in the Levant. Let us begin with a discussion of stamp seals.
Technically speaking, there are no royal seals prior to Hezekiah’s that contain solar imagery, but
it is also true that we have uncovered very few royal seals from Judah. There is a seal belonging
to the servant of king Ahaz that clearly depicts the sun disk, along with several other Egyptian
elements (Avigad 1997: 51 no. 5). Another, belonging to the servant of king Uzziah, who
reigned even earlier, displays a winged sun disk (Avigad 1997: 50 no. 3). These are both
connected to members of the royal administration of Judah. Keel and Uehlinger discuss the
fascination with Egyptian royal symbols among the elite of Judah as early as the 9th century
BCE, and reject the traditional view that Egyptian iconography was adopted by way of the
Balogh’s argument also rests on the assumption that all the lmlk jars containing depictions
of the winged scarab date to Hezekiah’s reign. This causes him to detect a rather sudden
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elevation of the scarab from a foreign religious symbol to the most important symbol in Judah
(2011: 198). There is still debate over the origin of these jars, and the range is fairly significant.
The jars date to the end of the 9th century BCE (Vaughn 1999), or else to the end of the 8th
century BCE under Ahaz or Hezekiah (Lipschits et al. 2010). Scholarship does appear to favour
a later date, which would place Judah under the scope of Assyrian administration. Thus, Balogh
could be correct in that Hezekiah changed the status of the symbol from one of many accepted
Egyptian symbols to the royal emblem. However, there is likely a reason that this iconography
was adopted by the royalty, a reason that predates Hezekiah’s pro-Egyptian political stance.
It is unlikely that Judeans would have embraced such a symbol simply because they were
afraid of the Assyrians and sought to impress the Egyptians. The religious symbolism was well
known and would have been difficult to ignore. Some have noted that the imagery of the winged
scarab may have been adopted because of similarities between Yahweh and Khepri (Lubetski
2001: 48), which suggests that solar Yahwism was prevalent in Judah in the 8th century BCE
(Taylor 1993; Smith 1990). Though the political implications of scarab imagery in Judah should
not be overlooked, the religious implications are perhaps more compelling. Before dismissing
the notion that Judeans could have equated Yahweh and Khepri, there are a few interesting
The solar characteristics of Yahweh are fairly widespread throughout the Hebrew Bible,
spanning from the oldest writings to the post-exilic material. Of course, one of the most archaic
passages is Deuteronomy 33:2, where Yahweh is said to have risen ( )זרחfrom Seir and shone
12
forth ( )הופיעfrom Mount Paran. The use of the verb זרחis particularly intriguing. Apart from
several references to Yahweh, it is used elsewhere in the Bible, with one possible exception, only
to describe the action of the sun (Taylor 1993: 89). Furthermore, the epithet El Elyon, literally
‘the highest god’ –– which with respect to elevation makes sense for the sun –– is used several
times to refer to Yahweh. 8 El Elyon was a solar deity who used his rays as weapons to conquer
P7F P
the forces of evil (Mowinckel 2004: 133). It is also clear in one passage that Yahweh is so
brilliant that no human being can look directly at him without consequence (Exod 33:18–20).
Furthermore, elsewhere it is said that Yahweh is a sun and shield (Ps 84:11), and a consuming
fire (Deut 4:24; Lev 9:24), though one could argue that these descriptions are strictly allegorical.
What is perhaps more intriguing is that in his solar form Yahweh assumes another aspect of
the sun god, that is, his role as judge. Šamaš was not only the sun, but was responsible for the
execution of judgment. 9 Psalm 94 begins: “O Yahweh, god of vengeance, shine forth. Arise,
P8F P
judge of the earth…” (v. 1–2). This description combines both the physical appearance of the
sun with the role of the sun god in the context of the ancient Near East (Gerstenberger 2001:
177). We can also see Yahweh assuming this role in the story of Sodom’s destruction (Gen 18–
19:28). According to Keel (Private communication, December 28, 2013), the two messengers
sent to Sodom to warn Abraham of the coming judgment parallel two members of Šamaš’ inner
circle who undertake a similar role. Note also that Yahweh and the two messengers appear in the
heat of the day (18:1). The narrator also makes a point to mention that the sun rose up over the
earth (19:23) and that fire rained down on the city “from Yahweh, from the sky” (19:24). This is
8
This is, of course, a foreign (Canaanite) epithet that was ascribed to Yahweh after the fact.
9
The reason for this connection is explained most recently and methodically by Piotr Steinkeller in his book
Of Stars and Men: The Conceptual and Mythological Setup of Babylonian Extispicy (Rome: Pontifical Biblical
Institute, 2005).
13
Here we have looked at some of the most significant and compelling evidence that Yahweh
was interpreted as a solar deity, and perhaps raised several points that have not been discussed
elsewhere. For many more examples of Yahweh’s solar features, one should refer to chapter 3 of
There are more than a few Biblical passages that describe Yahweh as having wings, several
of which also involve the sun, bringing to mind both the falcon and winged scarab. Again, while
these could be understood metaphorically, it stands to reason that Judeans pictured Yahweh
according to the manner in which he was described, which would have rendered them more
One verse often quoted is Malachi 4:2: “For you who fear my name, the sun of
righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.” The context here is the the day of judgment,
when Yahweh will burn those who are wicked and shelter his faithful followers from harm. The
imagery of the Egyptian winged sun disk likely lies behind this passage, as does the notion of the
sun god as judge. The majority of verses in which Yahweh is described with wings are found in
the Psalms (17:8; 36:7; 57:1; 61:4; 63:7; 91:4). This is intriguing because of the royal milieu of
the Psalms, as well as the fact that many of the Psalms are related to Egypt and the period of
captivity. Perhaps the best example of cultural continuity between Egypt and Israel is Psalm
104, which was certainly an adopted and reworked version of Akhenaten’s hymn to the sun disk
The etymological origin of the Egyptian word for scarab is the verb kheper ‘to come into
being’, or more simply, ‘to be’ (Assmann 2001: 60). It is interesting then that the word Yahweh
is also thought to come from a verb meaning ‘to be.’ To my knowledge, the philological
connection between these two gods has not been addressed by scholars. Yahweh’s name may
well be a Hebrew translation of an Egyptian idea, that is, it is possible that the name originates
with the figure of Khepri and reflects the importance of the sun in ancient Israel. It is perhaps
more plausible that a false etymology was given in order to equate the two gods after the fact. In
Exodus 3:14, the name אהיה אשׁר אהיה, “I am he who comes into being,” is given. This brings to
mind the cartouches of 18th Dynasty Pharaohs, which contain similar titles referring to the sun in
P P
its rejuvenating quality (Assmann 2001: 60–61). That the image of the scarab is used in these
titles to represent the verb ‘to be’ is especially intriguing. Though this in itself does not prove
that Yahweh was seen as Khepri, it is certainly suggestive, and such a link between these two
4 Conclusion
In addition to the lmlk jar handle impressions, the royal seal of Hezekiah depicts the
winged scarab, an Egyptian symbol likely derived from the winged sun disk. There are also
several seals belonging to servants of 8th century kings containing this imagery, suggesting that
P P
Hezekiah was not the first of Judah’s elite to adopt it. The use of the winged scarab by the
royalty of Judah cannot be explained by cultural influence or artistic appeal alone. While it is
possible that it was adopted as a symbol of power or an allusion to the Pharaoh, the political
argument does not acknowledge the strong association of the scarab beetle with the sun god. If
15
there was no way to make the scarab compatible with their religious beliefs, the Judeans
In view of the Hebrew Bible’s description of Yahweh in several passages as a god with
solar features, wings, and one whose name derives from a verb ( )היהmeaning ‘to be,’ we can
begin to comprehend the reasons the Judean royalty might have appropriated such a symbol.
The winged scarab effectively served the purpose of promoting the worship of Yahweh alone,
principally in his role as the sun god, over against the Assyrian deities to the North and other
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