Gods of Our Fathers: The Memory of Egypt in Judaism and Christianity (Contributions to the Study of Religion)

265 Pages·2001·1.04 MB·English

by  Richard A. Gabriel

GODS OF
OUR FATHERS
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GODS OF
OUR FATHERS
THE MEMORY OF EGYPT
IN JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY
Richard A. Gabriel
Foreword by Mordechai Gichon
Contributions to the Study of Religion, Number 67
GREENWOOD PRESS
Westport, Connecticut • London
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gabriel, Richard A.
Gods of our fathers : the memory of Egypt in Judaism and Christianity / Richard A. Gabriel.
p. cm.—(Contributions to the study of religion, ISSN 0196–7053 ; no. 67)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–313–31286–9 (alk. paper)
1. Egypt—Religion—Influence. 2 Judaism—Origin. 3. Christianity—Origin.
I. Title. II. Series.
BL2443.G23 2002
299′.31—dc21 2001023854
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Copyright © 2002 by Richard A. Gabriel
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the pulisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2001023854
ISBN: 0–313–31286–9
ISSN: 0196–7053
First published in 2002
Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
www.greenwood.com
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Profesor Zygmund Friedemann
who showed me the path to knowledge
and first placed my foot upon it
and for
Suzi
“An honest god is the noblest work of man”
Robert G. Ingersoll
CONTENTS
Foreword by Mordechai Gichon xi
Acknowledgments xix
1 The Dawn of Conscience 1
2 Egyptian Monotheism and Akhenaten 29
3 Moses and Judaism 61
4 Osiris and the Egyptian Resurrection 103
5 Jesus and the Christian Osiris 129
6 Ritual and Magic 167
7 Final Thoughts 189
Notes 199
Bibliography 219
Index 227