Unravelling the ancient names of God: Part 2
L M Leteane | Friday May 8, 2015 16:41
The clear and conclusive connection between these ancient names, we also demonstrated, cannot be fully made and understood without Setswana.
In the earliest written sections of the Old Testament (OT), dubbed ‘Eloist’ by scholars, the Hebrew name of God was “El” or “Eloi”. “El” appears to have a different etymology (root or history) than “Eloi” although, quite conveniently, they sound the same. Eloi, we saw last week, is based on the Sumerian term Illu, which is the common root of both “illuminate” and mo-illu (now mollo – “fire” in Setswana: an illuminator). The term referred to “gods”, the “Bright Ones”, who the ancients called ma-Illui (ma-loi) – now “wizards” in Setswana. In Hebrew syntax “ma” comes at the end, thus Eloi-ma (Elohi-m). “El”, in contrast, is ele (“That One” in Setswana). Since “ele”, like “the”, is a definite article that points to something, we can easily see why it became il in Italian, el in Spanish. And even where “el” is transposed into “le”, as in French, “le” is still “the” in Setswana!
How did the name “Yahweh” later come into the OT? The Eloist section of Exodus, the second book of the OT, clarifies that it emerged during the “burning bush” incident of Exodus 3 when Moses at last meets the elusive god of the Hebrews who was by then known only as “El” or “El Shaddai” (The Powerful One) – a description, not a real name. Moses, too, tried but did not succeed in getting a proper name out of him. Obviously caught by surprise, the god’s only response (verse 14) was to snap “Ke ye-ho, o-wo-ha!” at Moses, which in Setswana is understandable as “I am he who happens to be here!” before continuing: “Tell them Ye-ho (this one, here) sent you”. Moses, of course, had no choice but to contend with this. Ye-ho, o-wo-ha was spelt YHWH in Hebrew writing, which generally avoids vowels. Traditionally, Jews dared not pronounce it, but Europeans later translated the “name” as “Yahweh” or “Jehovah” (note: fa and ha are interchangeable in Setswana).
The alternative name “Jehu” is evidently premised on Ye-ho (“this one [here]”). As with Setswana, it is conveniently flexible: it could be the god pointing to himself, or it could be someone speaking about the god. As such, “Tell them “I AM” sent you” (Exodus 3:14, New American Standard Bible) can fit, even if obliquely, but it is not the best translation when juxtaposed with Setswana’s own.
Everyone with biblical knowledge knows that Jehovah/Ye-o-fa is also called “Adonai”. Last week, we effectively proved that this is the same entity as the Greek god “Adonis”, the Sumerian god SU.EN (Sin), and the Egyptian “monotheistic” god Aten. Although philologists know that SU.EN means “Fertile (Multiplying) God” because SU (tsho in Setswana, meaning “black” or “dark”) alludes to dark, fertile soil, they seem “unable” to link him with AT.EN. But ata in Setswana means “multiply” and ene means “The One”, or “He himself”: i.e. a god. Again, scholars fail to link the prolific Ugaritic god El, who had as many as 80 sons, with this same “Multiplying god”!
AD.ON means exactly the same as AT.EN: AD (“add”) is “multiply” and ON (One) is also “The One” in Setswana! And just as the “i” in Illui makes it refer to a person (illu, we saw, simply means “light-giving” or “shining”), “ai” in Hebrew is likewise”: SU.EN (Sin) is “Sinai” and AD.ON is “Adonai”! In Greek, names typically end in “is” or “es” (“us” in Latin), thus Harma is Hermes and AD.ON is “Adonis”.
Who was the Greek god Adonis? Although muddled Greek mythology (or, perhaps, muddled interpreters of Greek mythology) see Zeus and Adonis as separate entities, we will prove otherwise. The common link is Apollo the son of Zeus who, John’s Revelation exposes, is also the son of Adonis. Evidently, John knew the inside track. In Revelation 9:11, the Greek god “Apollyon” (Apollo) is “Abaddon” in Hebrew. AB.ADDON means “his abba (“father”: ref Mark 14:36) is Adon”! What further confirms this? Apollo had a girl-twin named Artemis. These easily relate to the Sumerian boy-girl twins Utu and Inanna whose father was…SU.EN (Sin)! To drive the point home, the Sumerian name for Virgo, the “Virgin” star-sign, was “AB.SIN”. It no doubt referred to Inanna (see below) as the name means “her father is Sin”!
Apollo, it seems, was the son of Sinai/Adonai/ Zeus. Still, let us tie Adonai directly with Zeus. What does “Zeus” mean? Although etymologists link it with dieus (Deus, “God”), that was not the literal, primary meaning. Zi, I now show, means “here”. ZI.A (sia in Setswana: “run”!) literally means “[from] here, [go] there”. As such, “sun” was evidently shortened from SU.AN.ZI.A (“darkness of the sky, run”!): a triumphant welcoming of the sun as it “chases away” the dark. This became z’anzi in Bantu languages and it hardened to tsatsi in Sotho-Tswana. PAN.ZI, now “fatshe” in Setswana, comprises pan (“covering everywhere”, thus also “ground”) and zi (“here”), thus meaning “here on the ground” in Nguni. Similarly, U.ZI (O-o-zi: “He-who-is-here”) was evidently ZI.U in Greek syntax…exactly as Ye-o-fa means! And Jehovah, we know without doubt, is Adonai.
Is Apollo the same being as John’s “Apollyon”? To properly understand, we rewind to pre-Flood times (pre-10983 BC). Here, the Age of the Virgin (Virgo: the age dedicated to Inanna/Artemis) was giving way to Leo, which began in 10800 BC. In the Sumerian Kings List we peeped into lately, the last pre-Flood god-king is Ubar-Tutu (also called Abol-Utu)…the same boy-girl twins Utu and Inanna! Apo (Abol/Apollo) is apola in Setswana (undress, cast away) and lyon is Leo. Utu, indeed, had to forfeit (cast off) Leo because the Flood – a cataclysm – intervened. And so, as John the Revelator well knew, unawares we still worship these very same ancient gods who controlled, and still control, religion!
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