GODS OF OUR FATHERS Recent Titles in Contributions to the Study of Religion Toward a Jewish (M)Orality: Speaking of a Postmodern Jewish Ethics S. Daniel Breslauer The Catholic Church in Mississippi, 1911–1984: A History Michael V. Namorato Holocaust Scholars Write to the Vatican Harry James Cargas, editor Bystanders: Conscience and Complicity During the Holocaust Victoria J. Barnett The Death of God Movement and the Holocaust: Radical Theology Encounters the Shoah Stephen R. Haynes and John K. Roth, editors Noble Daughters: Unheralded Women in Western Christianity, 13th to 18th Centuries Marie A. Conn Confessing Christ in a Post-Holocaust World: A Midrashic Experiment Henry F. Knight Learning from History: A Black Christian’s Perspective on the Holocaust Hubert Locke History, Religion, and Meaning: American Reflections on the Holocaust and Israel Julius Simon, editor Religious Fundamentalism in Developing Countries Santosh C. Saha and Thomas K. Carr Between Man and God: Issues in Judaic Thought Martin Sicker Through the Name of God: A New Road to the Origin of Judaism and Christianity Joel T. Klein 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