Reading Notes from:
 |
| Isis |
by Donald Alexander, 1913
 |
| Ra |
Stories in Section:
Creation
The Secret Name of Ra
Ra and Hathor
The Sun’s Journey
Osiris
The Death of Osiris
The Journey of Isis
Kind of the Dead
The Wax Crocodile
The Green Jewel
Names to Remember:
Nu: a waste of water, he was “the deep”
Khepera: Dawn
Ra: high noon; greater than Nu
Tum: eventide
Shu: the wind god; one of “The Twins” created by Ra
Tefnut: head of a lioness who sent rain, nicknamed “The Spitter”; one of “The Twins”, created by Ra
Seb: earth god; father of Osiris and Set
Nut: goddess of the firmament; mother of Osiris and Set
Osiris: son of Nut and Seb, husband of Isis
Isis: goddess whom dwelt in the world as a woman
Set: son of Nut and Seb, husband of Nepthys; evil spirit
Family Trees
Both of the following family trees were self created on familyeco.com
The stories start with Isis. Isis had a deep desire to have as much power as Ra. As he is dying from a snake bite (which is parallel with the sin and hate in snakes in the Bible), she has him tell her his secret name that he has not told anyone before. He says:
"I have created the heavens and the earth. Lo! I have even framed the earth, and the mountains are the work of my hands; I made the sea, and I cause the Nile to flood the land of Egypt. I am the Great Father of the gods and the goddesses. I gave life unto them. I created every living thing that moves upon the dry land and in the sea depths. When I open my eyes there is light; when I close them there is thick darkness. My secret name is known not unto the gods. I am Khepera at dawn, Ra at high noon, and Tum at eventide."
Isis took this to heart, and helps him heal and “overcome” what was ailing his body.
In the first story Creation, there is a parallel to the bible. Pretty much tells the creation story like in Genesis, only using terms such as “the god of brightness first appeared as a shining egg which floated upon the water’s breast”, instead of classifying all creation together under one entity.
Later stories, such as Ra and Hathor, Osiris, and The Death of Osiris, also contain biblical allusions/parallels. Ra and Hathor is much like the story of Noah’s Ark in the Bible, Genesis 6-9. Ra is not pleased with his people and the way they had been treating him, and went on to demand he wants to create a great food that will destroy the world. In Osiris and The Death of Osiris, Osiris brought peace and good will to the earth, an allusion to Jesus, which continues when he is killed by evil, or in this case the followers of Set whom shut Osiris in a coffin and nailed him inside so he would die of suffocation. This is parallel to the story of Jesus’s death in the Bible, with Ere “raising his body” and the body of the peaceful soul being “shut” inside of a coffin, much like the tomb in which Jesus was put.
No comments:
Post a Comment