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orion-list Re: ane Cherubim (fwd)




Orion listmembers:

Would anyone care to comment on the linguistic validity of the anonymous
scholars speculation on an egyptian hebrew connection in the etymology
of the hebrew word cherubim.  

Excerpted from my post to the ANE list:

In Egyptian parlance, I suggest the cherubim are [similar to] the double lion
 g-ds who guard the way to heaven in Coffin 312 and elsewhere.

In Chinese we have the familiar male and female dragons who guard the
entrances to palaces.  The male dragon holds or stands on the globe
representing universal dominion.  [Queen Victoria also holds the globe or
reichsapel in the statue in a London Park.]

For some linguistic speculation, an anonymous scholar suggests "it is
permitted to wonder whether the Egyptian khrw-pw (faces of fire) with its
hebrew plural ending -im might be the source of the mysterious word
cherubim in the bible.   Cherub is also (the scholar points out) similar
in sound and meaning to the Egyptian root cherep meaning to
have dominion or control:

	Thrice Welcome say the Cherebneset Priests those who guard the
entrance to the throne room (T32, I, 22, O.M.R.O., 31:56)

According to a hebrew source "the watchers were placed there so that
none could enter unless they were first purified [washed and anointed ed.] 
by the hand of the cherubim [Sagen de Juden, I, 118].

Randall Larsen
Communications
University of Hawaii at Manoa
larsenr@hawaii.edu
rlars@aloha.net
webmaster@eye-net.org

On Sat, 17 Apr 1999, George Athas wrote:

> Apart from 'winged creatures', has anything firm been established on what cherubim actually are?
> Sphinxes? Winged Bulls? Griffins? (I was also wondering whether there could be any linguistic link
> between Greek GRUP from which "griffin" is derived, and Hebrew KRWB.)
> 
> Best regards,
> GEORGE ATHAS
> Dept of Semitic Studies,
> University of Sydney
> - Email: gathas@mail.usyd.edu.au
> ---------------------------------------------------
> Visit the Tel Dan Inscription Website at
> http://www-personal.usyd.edu.au/~gathas/teldan.htm
> ---------------------------------------------------
> 
> 



For private reply, e-mail to Randall Larsen <rlars@aloha.net>
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