Where is the garden of Eden mentioned in the Bible?
Theories have been propounded but identifying the location of the Paradisiacal land of Eden, the rivers of the Genesis and the biblical territory of Havilah, has confounded scholars predominantly because there is no one place in the vicinity of Canaan that fits into the geography and description of the rivers provided by the Bible. It has been equally difficult to ascertain any one place that fits into the portrayal of Eden in the Bible. Many languages have been used to decipher the etymology of biblical names, but not enough research has been undertaken with the idea of their possible relationship to the Sanskrit language and the Vedic-Puranic culture.
Clues from the Genesis in the Hebrew Bible:
A passage from the Genesis states: "A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there. The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates". All of these river names seem to have an unmistakable Sanskritic nuance noticed by many scholars.
Pishon River:
The first mentioned is the river Pishon. The word 'Pishon' is generally interpreted as 'the great effusion'. The river is also described as a 'reminder of God's abounding grace'. In Sanskrit, a cognate of Pishon is poshin (पोषिन्) or 'nurturing', which is the equivalent of the idea of 'God's abounding grace'. Another cognate is ishan (इषन्) which means 'streaming out' or 'pouring out' and also fits precisely into the meaning of the word.
The Pishon, the Indus and Ganges rivers: While the identity of two of the Biblical rivers, the Euphrates and Tigris is known, there is a debate on the identity of the Pishon and Gihon. In his book, the 'Antiquities of the Jews', Roman-Jewish scholar Flavius Josephus (37 - 100 AD), in his description of the four rivers of the Bible, the Pishon, Gihon, the Tigris and the Euphrates, stated that the unidentified river Pishon was either the Indus river or the Ganges, while the Gihon was the Nile. The Sanskrit gahan, (गहन ) means dense, deep, dark and impenetrable. That indeed could be the description of the Nile, or any major river.
In another place in the same book, Josephus elaborates on the Biblical verses and states, "Now the garden was watered by one river, which ran round about the whole earth, and was parted into four parts. And Phison, which denotes a multitude running into India, makes its exit into the sea, and is by the Greeks called Ganges.... And Geon runs through Egypt, and denotes what arises from the east, which the Greeks call Nile". When he interprets the word Pishon or Phison as 'multitude', he is equating the word with the multitude of rivers that run between the Indus and the Gangetic plains of India. The land has been known as the Sapta Sindhu region in the Rig Veda, literally 'seven rivers region', but figuratively implying 'the region where several rivers flow'.
The Genesis adds a few more details in Verse 2:11, "…The name of the first is Pishon, the one that winds through the whole land of Havilah, where the gold is. And the gold of that land is good. There is bdellium and the onyx stone."
In his book Atlantis the Final Solution: A Scientific History of Humanity, author Zia Abbas states, " ... the most important point about the above verse is that it tells that in Havilah, onyx stone was found, onyx is a marble like stone which is only found in present day Pakistan ... Also, the Indian subcontinent ...has been known for thousands of years, as a place where good quality gold is found. Many invaders and conquerors had only attacked India for the gold...".
On the Indus, close to Haripur stands a town by the name Havelian which some say may be the Havilah that the Genesis refers to. The bdellium mentioned in the verse is the guggul tree which grows commonly in the Indian sub-continent and produces a fragrant resin used in incense and Ayurvedic medicines.
Steven J. Gold, author of the book 'Yoga and Judaism', links the name Pishon with the Ganges. He states in his book, "...There's an opinion that the one (river) called Pishon, was the Ganges. These are not far-out New Age interpretations; this is coming from traditional Jewish commentators. The Pishon/Ganges surrounded the land of Havilah, believed to be a reference to India."
River Gihon:
The Genesis states in verse 2: 11-1," The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush.”
Biblical dictionaries translate the word 'gihon' as 'valley'. The Abarim Biblical Dictionary states, "The verb גיח (giah), or גוח (gwh), means to burst forth. It's applied to rivers and human births. Human collectives such as families and tribes are in the Bible often symbolized as mountains. Hence births signify valleys and are associated with rivers. Verb גיא (gy') isn't used in the Bible and its meaning is subsequently unknown. The derived noun גיא (gai'), however, means valley and is used frequently."
It is conceivable then that the Hebrew verb 'giah' is the same as the Sanskrit jhara which means to spring forth, or burst forth. We have already seen that the etymology of the river is linked to that of the river Jordon.
Some scholars have equated the land of Cush of the Bible with Ethiopia, and the Gihon River with the White Nile. These identifications are questionable mainly because neither the White Nile flows in Ethiopia, nor does the Red Sea encompass Ethiopia. Second, the River Nile has been mentioned by its name in the Genesis and Exodus in the Bible, and there is no reason for the Bible to use another name for Nile.
The Hebrew University website presents a different view. It states that the names Pishon and Gihon are ‘classic’ Hebrew pattern for names of rivers. They say that similar river names exist, such as the name ‘Yarkon', which is mentioned in the Bible and is located in present-day Tel Aviv. Even so, there are no existent rivers by the name Pishon and Gihon anywhere in the geographical vicinity of Canaan or Mesopotamia, and if the rivers were indeed from Canaan or Mesopotamia, in all likelihood, the Hebrew names would still exist, and there would be no confusion about their names.
The Poshin and the Gahana:
With Sanskrit as a tool, we can arrive at the original names of the rivers Pishon and Gihon.
In Sanskrit the suffix 'on' in the names Pishon, Gihon and Yarkon, appears as the suffix 'ana' in river names, such as the Purna and the Yamuna. When added to a noun or a verb, 'ana' denotes the act or process of 'doing'; in the case of rivers, it denotes 'flowing'.
We see a combination of many Sanskrit words in the name Gahan. In Sanskrit, the root verb ga (गा) carries the meaning of 'moving', 'going', or flowing, so in the name Gahana the prefix is the same ga that one sees in the name Ganga as a suffix. In the name Gahana, the verb 'ahana' (अहन) denotes 'flow', which renders the nominative noun ga into a singular feminine entity- the river Gahana.
In a chapter ahead, it will be revealed how the ancient names of rivers around the world are a combination of the same few Sanskrit words such as jhara, sara, amba, sindhu, avana, and avani, with suffixes such as ga and ahana. Examples of these include river names such as Jordon, Urubamba, Xingu, Volga, Susquehanna etc.
River Tigris:
The Genesis says, "The name of the third river is Hiddekel, the one that flows east of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Perat." The Hiddekel is equated with the Tigris. Matthew G. Easton, (1823–1894) a Scottish Presbyterian preacher states in Easton's Bible dictionary, "Hiddekel was called by the Accadians id Idikla; i.e., 'the river of Idikla', the third of the four rivers of Paradise (Gen. 2:14)." The ancient Sumerians called the river Idigna, and in the Akkadian language spoken in Babylonia and Assyria, its name was Idiqlat.
Let's analyze the name with the help of Sanskrit. The prefix idi in both Idigna and Idiqlat appears to be a truncated form of either the Sanskrit nadi (नदी) meaning 'river' or ida' (इडा) meaning 'stream' in Sanskrit.
In the name Idiqalat if we separate the prefix Idi, the suffix 'qlat', in the form Kalat, is the name of a tributary of the Tigris, hence indicating that Idiqlat may have been a combination word. While the prefix is nadi, the suffix qlat also seems to be a distortion of the Sanskrit kula (कूल), also meaning 'river'. This is especially so because the word 'kula' or its variation appear in the names of waterbodies around the world. We see the word kula as Kol in the Tere Kol lake of Siberia. Kula appears in Turkish as 'golu', the 'k' changes to 'g' here, and the word takes the meaning of 'lake', for example in the name Tuz Golu.
The Persian name for Tigris was Arvand-Rud. The Tigris has been described as a 'swift river' compared to the 'slow moving' Euphrates. 'Arvan' (अर्वन्), in Sanskrit, means 'fast' or 'swift'. In the Vedic context, Arvan (अर्वन्) is a name for Lord Indra, a Rig Vedic god whose name appears in various forms in Central Asia.
River Euphrates
In the description and etymological source of the name Euphrates, A.R. Fausset states in his Bible dictionary, "Εu , Sanskrit su , denotes 'good'; the second syllable denotes 'abundant.' Taking a lead from here one may state that the prefix in Euphrates is derived from the Sanskrit Su (सु), which denotes 'good'. The second syllable which denotes 'abundant' may be explained by the Sanskrit word for abundant which is 'sphara' (स्फार). Hence, Euphrates mat be derived from the Sanskrit 'Su-sphara' (सुस्फर) meaning 'Good-Abundance'. The Babylonians and Assyrians called the Euphrates 'Su-Purattu' which can also be traced to the Sanskrit 'sphara'.
The same meaning is also attested in the Hurrian texts. The first Hurrian kingdom emerged around 3000 BC throughout northern Syria, upper Mesopotamia and southeastern Anatolia. They called the Euphrates Puranti. The word Puranti seems to be derived from the Sanskrit root word purna (पूर्ण ) also meaning 'abundant'.
Early study of the Hurrian language was entirely based on the Mitanni letter, found in 1887 at Amarna in Egypt, written by the Hurrian king Tushratta to the pharaoh Amenhotep III. Many clues in the letter, though, were disregarded. For example, the name Tushratta is an Indo-European name, a variation of the Ramayanic name Dasharatha. According to the Grimm's Law of shift in sound, in most languages, with time the sound 'dh' changes to 'd' which in turn changes to 't', represented by the chain: dʰ → d → t → θ (theta). This explains the change from the name Dasharatha to Tushratta.
Since no changes occur in the Sanskrit language because of its strict rules of pronunciation and its mathematical gramma the Sanskrit form of the name Dasharatha hasn't changed for millennia, though variations are seen in Central Asia and West Asia. That the Hurrian king was named after the Ramayanic king Dasharatha (meaning - 'the owner of ten chariots) makes it obvious of the Hurrian tribe either originated somewhere in India or at the least was heavily influenced by the Indic tradition. This is reiterated by the fact that the largest and the most influential of the Hurrian kingdoms, the Mitanni, worshipped Vedic gods, Indra, Mitra and Varuna.
E. Pococke had a different view, and states in his book 'India in Greece' that the name Euphrates is a distortion of 'Su-Bharata' which changed into 'Su-Purattu', which explain its Babylonian and Assyrian name. The word 'su' (सु) as mentioned above means 'good' in Sanskrit, 'Bharat' (भरत्) is the name of ancient Indian king after which India was named 'Bharata' (भारत)
Euphrates or Buranuna and Varuna:
Another of the earliest references to the Euphrates comes from the cuneiform texts found in the cities of Shuruppak and Nippur in southern Iraq and date to the mid-3rd millennium BCE. In these texts written in Sumerian, the Euphrates is called Buranuna. The name is sometimes interpreted from its cuneiform text with the prefix "d" indicating that the river was a divinity, in which case it may be safely stated that the name Buranuna is a variation of the Vedic name Varuna - the god of sea. Varuna was well known in the Near East and the Middle East in deep antiquity, and later known to the Hurrians, Hittites, and the Mitanni as well. He was also worshipped as Hadad or Rammanu by the Akkadians.
Tarhunz was the weather god of the Luwians, who lived in Anatolia, present-day Turkey, and later became a part of the pantheon of the Hittites. The Hittites themselves called their weather god Tarhunna. Scholars, for the most part, have accepted that the name of these gods are Indo-European, but sometimes in their endeavor to dodge acceptance that Tarhunz or Tarhunna is none other than the Vedic weather God Varuna, many interesting etymologies have been put forth.
For example, it is said that the name of this Proto-Anatolian weather god Tarhunz can be reconstructed as *Tṛḫu-ent- (meaning conquering), a participle form of the Proto-Indo-European root *terh, meaning 'to cross over'. But that is just word play, for one may point out that the root *terh itself is a variation of Sanskrit tar (तर) meaning 'to cross over'.
Sippar and Nippur: The Sumerian cities of Sippar and Nippur are located on the banks of the ancient Euphrates. The suffixes 'par 'and 'pur' in the two names are probable corruptions of the Sanskrit 'pura', meaning 'town' or 'city'. The first syllable in both names are short and may have meanings in many languages, however as a combination Nippur would mean the 'low lying city', nIpa (नीप) in Sanskrit meaning that which is situated on the 'lower side', and 'nipa' (निप) 'that which absorbs' or 'soaks'. 'Sipa' could be a distortion of any number of words, e.g. 'ksipa' (क्षिप्), which means 'to pour'. That would make 'Sippar', the 'city that poured' the waters of Euphrates. 'Nippur' at the lower end of the flow, becomes 'the city that receives' (the waters of the Euphrates). Some historians trace the roots of the name Nippur to the word 'Nabha'. In that interpretation, Nippur, comes the truncated form of 'Nabhapur' - the city of the Nabha-s.
The etymology and location of Eden:
The Abarim Publications site, which has published thousands of articles on Bible studied from multiple angles, most importantly from a scientific point of view, states, "Many enthusiasts have wondered where the Garden of Eden might have been located, and since the Bible mentions that two of its rivers were the mighty Tigris of Assyria and Euphrates of Babylon (Genesis 2:14), it was at some point concluded that Paradise must have been in Mesopotamia".
But this assumption is obviously based on an error, because Genesis 2:13 mentions that of the other two, namely the Gihon, flows around the whole land of Cush, which is Nubia or Ethiopia In Africa. The Pishon, flows around Havilah. Where Havilah might have been is unclear. But if the Pishon is the Indus or the Ganges, then it might be argued that the land of Havilah is India.
The etymology of the name 'Eden' is unknown. Generally, the meaning of the name Eden is equated with 'delightful place', but that is only because in the Genesis, Eden is described as a 'delightful place located somewhere in the east'. Traditionally, the favored derivation of the name 'Eden' was from the Akkadian edinnu. Edinnu is itself derived from a Sumerian word meaning 'plain' or 'steppe'.
However, the Sanskrit origins of the word Eden is in plain sight. In Sanskrit, idana (ईडन) means 'act of praising'. The Sanskrit 'edhini' (एधिनि) as well as 'idika' (इडिका) both mean 'earth'. In the name Heddekel we see a compound of two Sanskrit words, ida (इडा) heaven and kula (कूल ) river, which makes Hiddikel the river of heaven.
The Location of Havilah:
It is often assumed that the term “Garden of Eden” refers to a single location. However, many rabbis interpret the verse, “A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; from there it divided and became four major rivers,” as suggesting hat the garden and Eden were two distinct places.
In evaluating the locations of Havilah and Eden, one might argue that if they were indeed situated near Canaan and Mesopotamia, their locations and the etymology of their names would be well-documented. However, this lack of clarity suggests that we must consider alternative locations.
One view presented in the book 'Origins of Modern Witchcraft: The Evolution of a World Religion' by author Ann Moura Aoumiel links the name Havilah with Harappa and the rivers with the Indus and its tributaries, states, "In Genesis, the land of Havilah “where there is gold,” through which the main river of Eden flows, is a reference that definitely fits the irrigated farmlands and the legendary wealth of the Indus Valley. One of the great Indus cities has a name evocative of the strange name used in the Bible — Harappa. India’s rivers provide 90 percent of the total gold production in India today, so that just as when Genesis was written, there are rivers of gold. When we consider the theory of consonantal shift, called Grimm’s Law (1819), with the softening of the consonants over time and the systematic changes in words moving from one language to another, the development of Havilah from Harrapa is easy to see.'
The ancient name of Harappa is not known. One may speculate that since Harappa was located on the River Ravi, known as Airavati in antiquity, Harappa's ancient name was perhaps akin to Airavata or Iravata or some such variation of the river's name, which later distorted to Harappa via Haravata or some such name.
Havilah and the Himalaya:
The name Himalaya can very easily distort into Havilah if only one consonant, 'm', changes to 'v'. An article "On the Origin of Chinese nation", published in Vol 8 of the Asiatic Journal states, "The country called Eden must mean some part of India celebrated as the garden of the world, situated amongst the finest rivers and abounding with everything rich and luxuriant."
Of the three major river systems of the Himalaya identified as the Indus, Bramhaputra and the Ganges, the Ganges and the Bramhaputra fall into the Bay of Bengal forming the largest delta in the word. The Indus, falls with its magnificent tributaries into the Arabian Sea.
One explanation could be that Havila was the entire stretch of land between the Mesopotamian River system on the western-end and the Indo-Gangetic and the Brahmaputra River systems of India on the eastern. The Indic rivers are fed by the glaciers of the Himalaya of which the Ganges is regarded as the river of heaven. We have already seen that the Tigris or Hiddekel is also inked to 'heaven' through its name Iddikal. Together these rivers make a garland of sorts around the land of West Asia and the Himalayan region.
About the location of Havilah, Tse Tsan-tai (1872-1938) one of the earliest Chinese revolutionaries of the late Qing Dynasty wrote in his book named 'The Creation, the Garden of Eden and the Origin of the Chinese', published in 1914 that based on the geographical description in the Bible it is evident that the Garden of Eden was located in China and that Havilah was India. Tsan-Tai was perhaps referring to the entire Himalayan region. The Garden of Eden described as paradisiacal in its charm, is then the land of Kashmir, nestled in the Himalayas and known for its breathtaking beauty which has compelled poets to call it 'heaven on earth'.
The etymology of the name Havilah:
As mentioned above, some scholars propose that the term “Havilah” might be a distorted form of “Himalaya,” suggesting a phonetic shift where ‘m’ changes to ‘v’. However, though a possibility, this transformation is not commonly supported by Grimm’s Law.
An etymological analysis of “Havilah” through Sanskrit suggests a connection to the word “havana” (हवन), meaning “invocation.” In the Indian context, this would translate to “land of invocation, chants, sacrifice, and obeisance.” This term is not unfamiliar in Judaism, where “Havineinu” or “Habinenu” are associated with blessings from the Amidah, a central prayer in Jewish liturgy recited thrice daily. The term “Havineinu” means “cause us to understand” and appears in both the Tanakh and the Talmud. A deeper exploration of these recitations might uncover further insights into the meaning of “Havilah.”
Sanskrit Origins of Biblical Rivers in Canaan: Arnon, Abana, Pharpar, Kebar, and Kerith:
There are several significant rivers in Canaan mentioned in the Bible that appear to have names with Sanskrit etymology apart from the four mentioned abive. Among these, the Arnon, Kebar, and Kerith are particularly noteworthy.
The Arnon flows through Moab, located in the southern part of Jordan, to the midpoint of the Dead Sea. In Sanskrit, ‘arna’ (अर्ण) and ‘arnā’ (अर्णा) both mean ‘river’. The Arnon marked the border between Moab and the land of the Amorites, who first appeared in Sumerian records around 2500 BC.
The two important rivers of Damascus are the Abana and the Pharpar. The Abana flowed through the city of Damascus, while the Pharpar flowed just to the south of it. Although Abana is translated as ‘made of stone’ from Hebrew, its name is more likely a distortion of the Sanskrit ‘avana’ or ‘avani’ (अवनि), both meaning ‘stream’. The ‘v’ often changes to ‘b’ as languages evolve. The river is also sometimes known as ‘Amana’, which in Sanskrit (‘āmana’ - आमन) means ‘friendliness’.
According to Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionary, Pharpar means ‘that which produces fruit’. This etymology is similar to that of the Euphrates, which translates to ‘good abundance’ in both Akkadian and Sanskrit via ‘Supurna’. In other parts of the world, such as Indonesia, places like Papua derive their name from the Sanskrit ‘papuri’ (पपुरि), also meaning ‘bountiful’, which may share an etymology with the biblical Pharpar.
Mentioned in the book of Ezekiel, is the Kebar, a canal of the Euphrates in Babylon where exiles gathered to pray. The word ‘Kebar’, also spelled ‘Khabur’, may be associated with the Sanskrit ‘khavari’ (खवारि), meaning ‘vapor’, ‘dew’, or ‘rainwater’, or it may be an extended form of ‘vari’, also meaning river. This Sanskritic etymology is likely, especially since the Kebar has a tributary named Jharrah, a variation of the Sanskrit ‘jhara’ (झर). The region of the Kebar is linked to the rise of the Mittani Empire, which flourished between 1500-1300 BC, whose kings bore Sanskritic names. The deities of the Mittani included the Vedic Indra, Mitra, and Varuna.
Finally, there is the River Kerith. The exact location of this biblical river is uncertain, but it flowed from the east into the Jordan River and is one of its tributaries. The river is also called Chorath and is believed to stem from the Hebrew root כרת (khrt), meaning ‘to cut off’ or ‘cut down’, which is similar to the Sanskrit root word ‘chur’ (छुर्), meaning ‘cut’, and ‘churati’ (छुरति), meaning ‘cut off’. However, considering it is a river, it is more likely that the name Chorath is a variation of the word ‘jhara’ (झर), meaning waterfall, rather than the Hebrew word for ‘cut off’. Chorath has another Sanskrit cognate, ‘ksharit’ (क्षरित), which means ‘flowing’ and ‘sprinkling’.
Part II
The cities and towns of the Bible:
The names of the cities that appear in the Bible are largely of unknown etymology. Naturally the general assumption is that the origin of these names must lie in the languages of the civilizations in the region of Canaan, such as Sumerian and Akkadian. Yet it has been observed that these languages are not completely capable of either decoding the meaning of their names or provide any cultural context whereby further light could be cast on their meanings.
Additionally, scholars have also arrived at a hypothesis that these names may stem from names of gods and idols belonging to a time more ancient than, and to civilizations geographically far removed, from the location and setting of the Bible. Names such as Sheba, Ramaah, Haran, Canneh, Eden, Chilmad etc. have an unmistakably Sanskritic nuance. Hence, clues to the origin of these names may be looked for in the Sanskrit scriptures and texts belonging to a time that preceded the biblical times.
The Sabeans of the city of Haran:Haran first appears in the Genesis as the temporary home of Abraham, the patriarch of all the three Abrahamic religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Located near the Turkish-Syrian border in the middle of an arid plain, Haran is one of the oldest Mesopotamian settlements. The biblical Haran is identified with present day Harran, located in the district of Sanliurfa in Turkey.
Prior to Abraham, the city of Haran was the home of the Sabeans, who continued to follow their religion even after Judaism was established. Haran, in general was associated with the worship of the Mesopotamian moon-god Nanna, also known as Sin. German scholar Volkert Hass states in his research that Haran was believed to be the abode of the moon god Sin. When Harun al-Rashid’s son Al-Ma’mun arrived with his army in 9th century AD, Haran was still known for its large pagan population. Al-Ma’mun, intending to destroy the city, questioned the inhabitants about their religious affiliations. Unable to identify as Muslims, Christians, or Jews, the people of Haran claimed to be 'Sabians,' which they claimed was protected under Islamic law, owing to their origins in Arabia. Despite their claims, many Islamic writers remained skeptical, viewing the Haranians as pagans rather than true Sabians. In 933 AD, a decree was issued for the Haranian pagans to convert to Islam. However, pagan religious leaders remained active, and by the late 10th century, tolerance for the pagans in Harran had been renewed. The Sabeans were crucial for continued trade, and perhaps for that reason their individuality was tolerated.
One may put forth the view that the Sabeans where none other than the followers of Shiva, who had relocated first to Yemen from India, and then branched out to other regions and cities on the trade routes, extending into Israel and Turkey. The term Sabean may stem from the name Shiva, the Indic moon god. It is quite likely that via a common distortion of v to b, the name Shiva changed to Shiba. In mainstream literature, it is believed that the term 'Sabean' comes from the ancient Semitic word 'Saba,' which refers to the kingdom of Saba (or Sheba) in present-day Yemen. This Indian origins of the Saba if Yemen will be discussed in a chapter on the Indic connections to the Arabian kingdoms of the past.
Etymologically, the name Yemen is traced to the word Ymn in Sabaic, the language of the Sabeans, where it is the word for 'south', the name given to it for its location at the southern end of the Arab land. However, the Sabean Ymn is a variation of the Sanskrit yamya (याम्य) with the same meaning, 'southern' or 'southernly'. This example is not unique, many examples exist. For example, the longest mountain range in Yemen is known as the Sarawat, its etymology is unknown to the locals. Yet it can be easily explained through Sanskrit where saravat (सारवत्) means 'solid', 'firm' or 'steadfast'-an apt description for a mountain range.
In his book 'History and Chronology of a Myth-making world', author J. F. Hewitt presents the view that the Sabeans, who he thought were the people of Sheba, had originated from India and settled in Arabia before they migrated, first to the Euphrates valley and then to Turkey. He writes, "These Sabeans were not in ancient times as they are now, merely artisans and traders of the Euphrates valley. They were formerly the rulers of southern Arabia called Seba......they are the people called in Genesis 10.7 the sons of Raamah or Raghma, the Indian god....".
Other alternative historians and scholars have proposed theories which also link the Queen of Sheba to India. These theories often suggest that the Queen of Sheba, traditionally associated with the kingdom of Saba, or Sheba in southwestern Arabia, might have had connections to ancient Indian civilizations. In Targum Sheni, Esther 1:3, it is stated that, “The Queen of Sheba ruled a land blessed with immense wealth, as evidenced by her costly gifts to King Solomon. Midrashic sources describe the extent of the land’s prosperity, as well as the peaceful nature of its citizens: ‘Its earth is more precious than gold, and silver litters the streets like manure … It has many inhabitants … They do not know how to wage war or shoot arrows.’”
The above description corresponds with the resources and characteristics of ancient India, emphasizing its abundant gold and mineral wealth, substantial population, and its development into a significant civilization. Notably, despite its considerable strength, India is historically recognized for not engaging in wars of aggression, reflecting a tradition of peace and stability. As against that, Yemen has traditionally been only known for incense and myrrh as its main trade item, it has no perinneal rivers, nor any gold or silver. It is evident that the Sabeans procured their trade merchandise from India and made their cities in many lands, especially in Yemen as well as in Turkey.
The Sabeans or the Haranites established their city as the city of Shiva, or as he came to be known here, the moon god Sin, and the city remained a religious site even though it thrived as a trade center.
Etymology of the name Haran:
It is likely that this Indic tribe named the city Haran after the word hara. The Sanskrit root word har (हृ), which means to 'take away,' is associated with hari (हरि), or 'god' in the sense of 'the one who charms or steals the senses'. Shiva and Vishnu are both addressed by the name Hari and Haran. Hara means the 'destroyer of the world' in the cosmic cycle and is synonymous with the name of Shiva for that reason. Vishnu 'takes away the sins', hence is also as Hari.
In mainstream literature, two etymologies are generally presented to trace the root of the name of this biblical city. Haran is mentioned in early cuneiform records of the Sumerians and Hittites as Urusa Kaskal-kur, sometimes transliterated as Harranu, which literally means 'journey', 'caravan' or 'crossroad'. This word may be linked to the Sanskrit hAri (हारि) which has the meaning of 'caravan' or a 'body of travelers'.
In India, mountain peaks are considered sacred as the abode of the gods. Hari appears in the names of Puranic mountains such as the Hari mountains of Kushadvipa, as well as in present-day mountain names such as the 'Harmukh'.
The Canaanites of Israel, who chronologically preceded the Jews, also regarded all high places and mountain peaks as sacred just as did the Vedic Hindus. For example, Har Karmel that is Mt. Carmel has been considered sacred since the times of the Canaanites.
In Hebrew, though the word 'hara' does not mean 'god', it carries the meaning of an 'elevated place' and the Hebrew 'har' is equated with 'mountain'. In the pagan scriptures as well as in the Bible, like the Indic scriptures, mountains are associated with places of worship. For example, the Deuteronomy 12:9, Isaiah 65:7; YHWH: Exodus 17:9, 1 Kings 18:42 states, " It's been proposed that people prefer to pray on mountains because it gives to them a feeling of solitude, peace and closeness to the divine realm."
Verses from the Old Testament attest to the sacredness of the mountains. For example, Kings 20:28 states, "The man of God came up and told the king of Israel, 'This is what the Lord says: Because the Arameans think the Lord is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys', I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the Lord."
Since the Sanskrit 'hari' (हरि) also means 'belonging to a mountain', in the theological sense there was only a slight shift in the meaning of the word 'har' from Sanskrit to Hebrew. It is therefore logical to infer that the word 'hara' was transported by the emigrating tribes of India and acquired a varying, yet similar, meanings by the time the word appeared in Aramaic textsvin Mesopotamia and Hebrew texts in Israel.
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Ancient Haran, located north of Euphrates River.
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Moon God Sin and Vedic Shiva:
The settlement of Haran in Turkey is mentioned in a treaty that was enacted in the Temple of Sin in the reign of Hammurabi that lasted from 1728 to 1686 BC. Several Assyrian kings describe rebuilding a temple dedicated to the moon god Sin here. The last king of Babylon, Nabonidus (556-539 BC) also rebuilt the Temple of Sin in Haran at a pre-existing temple site. Excavations have revealed a large mudbrick building that dates to the end of the 3rd millennium BC. The excavations reveal a reservoir with a circular pit, where perhaps the base of a shivalinga once stood. The insignia found here includes a crescent which in the Indic tradition is a symbol of Shiva.
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Haran, the site of Temple of the
Moon God named 'Sin', in Turkey |
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On the left is Stele of Babylonian King Nabonidus who rebuilt the Temple of Sin during 556-539 BC, at Haran, Turkey
Centre: Star and Crescent of Haran coin,
Right: Sign of Moon God 'Sin' |
The Moon God of Ugarit in Syria: Ugarit, now known as Ras Shamra, was an ancient port city in northern Syria where the Ugarits seem to have appeared in about 1450 BC. In the Ugaritic texts, the Moon God was known by various names such as Kusuh, and Umbu. It has been proposed that the name Kusuh derives from the toponym Kuzina, possibly the Hurrian name of Haran, the abode of the moon god Sin.
In the Indic context, all of the above names, or their close variables, are found to be related to the Indic Shiva. Kesha (केश) refers to the matted hair of Shiva in which he holds the river Ganga. His abode is at Kashi, a name from where the name Kuzina may be derived. A cognate of Umbu in Sanskrit is amba, and is related to 'water', 'cloud' and 'sky'; Shiva is also known as 'Ambarnath', 'lord of the sky'. The name Ugarit appears to be a distortion of uraga, (उरग) Sanskrit for serpents. Serpents are closely associated with Shiva.
We find a similarity between the insignia of Lord Shiva and artifacts of moon-god found in many other temples of the region. In Persia, as well as in Egypt, the Moon-God is depicted on wall murals and on the heads of statues. In Tell-el-Obeid in Iraq, excavated items include an idol in a seated posture, perhaps in a crossed-legged posture, and a recumbent cow- which may represent Shiva's padmasana posture and his bull Nandi. Other artifacts excavated there include a copper calf with the crescent moon on its forehead, as well as an idol with the body of a bull wearing a crescent moon in the headgear.
In a clay Stela of Ur-Nammu, from the city of Ur located in Southern Mesopotamia, a crescent moon symbol is found placed prominently at the top of the register of gods indicating the elevated position of the Moon-god amongst all gods. In a previous chapter we have already discussed the Stonehenge of the Moon God Sin in Israel.
The etymology of the name Sin:
Sin is one of the most important gods in Mesopotamian mythology. Also known as ‘Nanna’, he is symbolised as a crescent moon and is often depicted riding on a winged bull." The source of the name 'Sin' is unknown but seems to be a truncated cognate of the Sanskrit 'srini' (सृणि) meaning 'moon'. In the Vedic tradition the first day of the new moon when it rises with a scarcely visible crescent, is known as sinivali (सिनीवाली). In Sumerian the Moon god is also represented by a logogram -SAKAR (𒀭𒌓𒊬), derived from a term referring to the crescent. In Sanskrit 'sakara' (सकर) implies full of 'rays'.
The worship of the Sacred Bull of the Moon God:
Among the Canaanites, the bull was widely worshipped as the Lunar Bull and was regarded as the creature of El. El translates as 'god' and is a word that appears in Ugaritic, Phoenician and Hebrew texts. Like the Nandi of god Shiva, Mardok was the sacred bull associated with the god El. The Canaanites gave up the worship of the bull after Moses proclaimed the Ten Commandments, and those who continued the worship of the bull, were slain.
Moses and the Golden Calf:
The background to the story is that Moses had climbed up Mount Sinai which was the home of the Moon God Sin. He returned after forty days with the commandments, however during the interim the Canaanites fearing that Moses had been triumphed over by the moon god, returned to the worship of the bull, represented by a calf that they had honed out of gold with the help of Aron, the brother of Moses. However, Moses appeared after forty days, and angered by their deed, destroyed the calf and established Yahweh as the new god of the Canaanites. This incident represents the end of the worship of idols among the Canaanites.
The Mesha Stele:
The territory of Moab lies on the north and the south of river Arnon, on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea in present-day Jordon. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by numerous archaeological findings, most notably the Mesha Stele. Its capital was known to the Moabites as Daybon. This name has a Sanskritic nuance, and its etymology will be touched upon ahead, and we shall find that this name is not an isolated example.
An inscription known as the Mesha stele dated to 840 BC was discovered by Frederick Augustus Klein, an Anglican missionary, at the site of ancient Daybon in 1868 which states that the name of the Moabite king was Mesha. In Kings 2-3:4 is stated, "Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep-master, and he rendered unto the king of Israel the wool of a hundred thousand lambs, and of a hundred thousand rams." The word Mesha (मेष) is Sanskrit for 'sheep'. Mesha appears to be only apart of a mire complete name.
In the stele, Mesha states that he was the son of Kemosh, who had been the god-king of Moab. Mesha's name hence, appears to be a shortened form of his father's name, Kemosh, also spelled Chemosh. Scholars agree that the name Chemosh or Kemosh is related to the Eblaite deity Kamis, the Ugaritic Kamatu, and in the form Kammus it is an epithet of the Mesopotamian god Nerigal, which means 'bull'.
The names Kemosh and Kamis appear to be variants of the Vedic name Kameshvara, a compound of two words kama and isvara (ईश्वर), which is an epithet of Kubera - the Hindu god of wealth, the patron of the Panis. Kameshvara is also the name of a sacred site devoted to Shiva. Nand or Nandin is his bull and appears to be the same as Nerigal of the Ugarits.
Etymology of the name Moab:
The Bible says that the name Moab stems from a word meaning 'son of my father', derived from the name of the son of Lot, who was born of an incestuous relationship, between Lot and his daughter. Realistically, this story seems to pertain to the wrath of the God of the Israelites against Lot for following a religion akin to that of the Pagans, and his association with the people of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, who worshipped the god Baal, as did the Phoenicians. Moab had a sister Ammon who was also born of an incestuous relationship. Moab and Ammon gave rise to the Moabite and the Ammonite kingdoms. The capital city of the Moabs was Madhaba and that of Ammon was Rabbath. Madhaba and Ammon, bear a remarkable resemblance to the Indic names Madhava and Yamuna, the name of Sri Krishna and the river on which he grew and later killed the serpent Kalinga, which was discussed in an earlier chapter.
The etymology of Madhba:
The capital of the Moab territory in ancient Jordon, known as Daybon, appears to be the truncated form of another name by which the capital city was known. The name was Madhaba. This name also appears at the Snake Monument of the Nabha in Petra. It is the name of the mountain on which the two obelisks stand adjacent to the Snake Monument. Though the name Madhba is sometimes traced to the Arabic word for 'stone', that meaning seems to have emerged as a part of a semantic shift where the word was given a fresh meaning after its original meaning was forgotten. It is sometimes claimed that the two obelisks are not idols of gods, but what are known as 'nefesh' which are representations of soul in the Arabic culture. However, it is also true that stone structures such as these two obelisks were known as 'akara', now called 'Al Akra' in Arabia.
In the Indic context, Madhava (माधव) is one of the primary epithets of Vishnu and Krishna. The word Madhava in Sanskrit is an extension, of the word madhu (मधु), which means honey. It is a title of Krishna, referring to his lineage as 'he who appeared the Madhu dynasty'. The lore of Sri Krishna was not unknown in these lands in antiquity as we shall discover in the following chapter. In the passages ahead more links of the Moabs to Indic names shall be revealed
Kir Hareseth
In the times of the Bible the city of Al-Karak, a city and fortress of Moab, was known as Qer-Harreseth. In its even earlier form in the Hebrew Bible, it was known as Kir-Hareseth, Kir-Haresh or Kir-Hares. All of these names can be traced to the Giri-Meru of the Vedas. According to the Rig Veda, Giri-Meru or Merugiri, was a cosmic golden mountain at the centre of the earth. The Hebrew word 'Kir' is a variation of Sanskrit giri (गिरि) meaning 'mountain'. The word Hares is a variation of Meru as we shall see ahead.
The Vedic Meru appears as Hara, with the meaning of 'cosmic golden mountain', in the Indo-Iranian and Zoroastrian religious texts as it does in the Vedas. In time, the meaning of Hara changes from 'cosmic golden mountain' to just 'mountain. The word Hara goes from Zoroastrian Avestan language to Hebrew, and keeps only the meaning of 'mountain', while its original meaning of the 'cosmic golden mountain' are forgotten.
Though the Biblical 'kir' is taken to mean 'fortress' or 'wall', equated with the Hebrew 'kir', it appears to be a distortion of the Sanskrit 'giri', meaning 'mountain'., for the same word appears in the name It is located on a high plateau east of the Dead Sea and south of the Arnon River.
Kir-Hares appears as Qer-hareseth in the Bible and later in a truncated form Karakk, and finally as the present-day Al-Karakk, the city on a hill of Amman. The hill of Amman is the representation of the Mt. Meru of the Vedas via the Zoroastrian Mt. Hara. The goddess of Karakk, or Ninkarakk has been equated to the Iranian Goddess Anahita.
The site is significant because it is here that Mesha, after the death of the Israelite king Ahab, revolted against the Israelite and fought successfully to win independence. However, soon after the Israelite king Jehoram entered into an alliance with the kings of Judah and Edom and drove Mesha away who had to seek refuge in Kir Hareseth. Later Mesha took his son and offered him as a burnt offering on the wall of the Kir Haresaeth fortress. There was great indignation against the Israelites and Mesha succeeded in driving them out once again.
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Notice names such as 'Nagar' (नगर) meaning 'town; and 'Haran' probably from Sanskrit (हरणि) meaning 'water channel' in the vicinity of the Euphrates. 'Haran' may also have got its name from the Vedic 'Haran', which is another name of Lord Shiva.
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| The Gihon was also known as the Karun, 'karun' (करुण) means 'compassionate' in Sanskrit. |
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The cities of Mesopotamia
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1. 5,000-year-old Moon-shaped Stone Structure Identified in Northern Israel - Archaeology - Haaretz.com
2.Palestine : its historical geography : with topographical index and maps : Henderson, Archibald, 1837-1927 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
3.Flavius Josephus: Josephus: The Complete Works - Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org)
4.What is the meaning of Pishon in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org
5.Origins of Modern Witchcraft: The Evolution of a World Religion - Aoumiel - Google Books
6.Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British India and Its Dependencies - Google Books vol 8 from July to Dec 1819 Havilah
Moab Comes to Life - The BAS Library (biblicalarchaeology.org)
Also called Har Nebo look for Herwan Buddhist monastery was Moses there
I
After seeing the Promised Land from this high vantage point, Moses died on Mount Nebo and was buried in the vicinity: “Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the LORD showed him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan, all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. Then the LORD said to him, ‘This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, “I will give it to your descendants.” I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.’ And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in
Another ancient name of the Karun is 'Pasi-tigris'. 'Pas' (पष्) in Sanskrit means to 'touch', and 'pash' (पाश) means to be 'bound to'. This could refer to the fact that the Pasi-Tigris or Karun flows close to the Tigris.
Use it when discussing Iran
Poshin, Pasi-Tigris and Karun are the names of the same river. At one point in history it was also known as 'Kuhrang'. Whether this has anything to do with the Sanskrit 'kurangi' (कुरङ्गी) which means 'deer or antelope like' is not known. The present day name 'Karun' is derived from 'Kuhrang'.
Just before the Karun merges with the Euphrates, it splits into two rivers to form a delta called Arvand. From the delta one vein called the Bhamshir flows directly into the sea. The name Bhamhasir may be derived from the Sanskrit 'Bhama' (भामा) which means 'passion' or 'lustre'. 'Sir' (सिरा) means 'nerve' or 'vein'.
The other vein, the Haffar, probably Saffar, from Sanskrit 'sabar' (सबर्) meaning 'nectre' or 'milk', merges directly with the Euphrates.
Hara
In the Bible the city of Al-Karak, a city and fortress of Moab, was known as Qer-Harreseth. In its even earlier form in the Hebrew Bible, it was known as Kir-Hareseth, Kir-Haresh or Kir-Hares. All of these names can be traced to the Giri-Meru of the Vedas. According to the Rig Veda, Giri-Meru or Merugiri, was a cosmic golden mountain at the centre of the earth. The Hebrew word 'Kir' is a variation of Sanskrit giri (गिरि) meaning 'mountain'. The word Hares is a variation of Meru as we shall see ahead.
The Vedic Meru appears as Hara, with the meaning of 'cosmic golden mountain', in the Indo-Iranian and Zoroastrian religious texts as it does in the Vedas. In time, the meaning of Hara changes from 'cosmic golden mountain' to just 'mountain. The word Hara goes from Zoroastrian Avestan language to Hebrew, and keeps only the meaning of 'mountain', while its original meaning of the 'cosmic golden mountain' are forgotten.
Though the Biblical 'kir' is taken to mean 'fortress' it is a distortion of the Sanskrit 'giri', meaning 'mountain'. It is located on a high plateau east of the Dead Sea and south of the Arnon River.
Kir-Hares appears as Qer-hareseth in the Bible and later in a truncated form Karakk, and finally as the present-day Al-Karakk, the city on a hill of Amman. The hill of Amman is the representation of the Mt. Meru of the Vedas via the Zoroastrian Mt. Hara. The goddess of Karakk, or Ninkarakk has been equated to the Iranian Goddess Anahita.
YyMesha stele has names Omri etc.
In Vayupurana, Vitasta has been referred as Biloda and Wular Lake as Bilodia situated south of Dumra Lohita ( Nanga Parbat)- The king of mountains.
Moab
Dhiban, (Arabic: ذيبان Ḏiʾbān) known to the Moabites as Dibon (Moabite: 𐤃𐤉𐤁𐤍 *Ḏaybōn; Hebrew: דִּיבוֹן Dīḇōn), is a Jordanian town located in Madaba Governorate,
Oool
OoooNeboFrom the noun נביא (nabi'), spokesman or prophet.From the verb נבה (nabah), to be high or prominent. Without the tools that Sanskrit can provide, scholars variously believe that the Pishon could be the Nile, the Indus, or the Ganges. Therefore, a conclusion has been drawn that the world’s topography prior to the worldwide Flood was totally different from what it is today. But that argument falls apart when one looks at the placement, geography and names of the Rig Vedic rivers which are easily identifiable.
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