by E. Roymond Capt M.A. A.I.A., F.S.A. SCOT.
(published in 1985)
MISSING LINKS OF ISRAEL
DISCOVERED IN ASSYRIAN TABLETS #4
CHAPTER 4
PRE-CAPTIVITY (before 745 B.C.) MIGRATIONS OF ISRAEL
Long before Moses led the Children of Israel out of Egypt
(Exodus-1453 B.C.) there had been continuous migrations of
Semitic Hebrews to Greece and other parts of Asia Minor and
Europe. There are numerous references by the classical writers to
the "Egyptian" origin of the Greeks. Hecataeus of Abdere (sixth
century B.C.) quoted by Diodorus Siculus (50 B.C.) tells us that
the Egyptians "Expelled all the aliens gathered together in
Egypt. The most distinguished of the expelled foreigners followed
Danaus and Cadmus into Greece: but the greater number were led by
Moses into Judea." (British History Traced from Egypt and
Palestine, Rev. G.A. Roberts, p.122)
Diodorus gives us another version of the same story: "Now
the Egyptians say that also after these events a great number of
colonies were spread from Egypt all over the inhabited world ...
They say also that those who set forth with Danaus, likewise from
Egypt, settled what is practically the oldest city of Greece,
Argos, and that the nation of the Colchi in Pontus and that of
the Jews, (remnant of Judah) which lies between Arabia and Syria,
were founded as colonies by certain emigrants from their country;
and this is the reason why it is a long-established institution
among these people to circumcise their male children, the custom
having been brought over from Egypt. Even the Atheanians, they
say, are colonists from Sais in Egypt" (Diodorus of Sicily, G.H.
Oldfather, 1933, vol.1, bks. I-II, 1-34 pg.91).
According to Euripides and Strabo: "Danaus having arrived in
Argos made a law that those who had borne the name of Pelasgiotae
throughout Greece should be called Danai." (Strabo v.ii.4)
Compare this with the act of the people of Dan. (Judges 18:29)
We further learn from Strabo and others that this Argos soon
spread its name to the Peloponnesus and afterwards to all Greece,
for he says, "Homer calls the whole of Greece Argos, for he calls
all Argives, as he calls them Danai and Achaei. " (viii.6,5)
Argos is said by the Greeks to have been the birthplace of
Hercules, but Herodotus, who went to some trouble to find out who
Hercules really was, made a special voyage to Tyre (Strabo ii,
44) and found an older Temple to Hercules. The daring adventures
and exploits of the Grecian Hercules (Heracles) is more probably
those of semi-traders and buccaneers of Tyre and Dan. In Hebrew,
"rakal" means to "trade" and "Heracleem" means "traders." Those
who went forth from Argos and subdued other parts of Greece are
spoken of as "Heraclidae" or "descendants of Heracles."
In the confusion caused by the Trojan War, apparently the
"Heraclidae" were driven northward out of Peloponesus. Some years
later when they made a re-conquest of the area, they were called
"the return of the descendants of Hercules." (History of the
Dorians by Muller). From these descendants of Hercules came the
Lacedaemonians, whose capital was Sparta. Thus Agamemnon, who was
chosen Commander-in Chief of all the Greeks proceeding to the
siege of Troy, was King of Argos and Mycene, and his brother,
Menelaus, was King of Sparta, capital of Lacedaemon.
It is noteworthy that the Lacedaemonians claim descent from
Hebrews. It is recorded in I Maccabees XH, and Josephus's
Antiquities xii, iv. 10, that about 180 years B.C., the King of
the Lacedaemonians sent the following letter to the Jews in
Jerusalem: "Areus, King of the Lacedaemonians, to Onias, the High
Priest, sendeth greetings. It is found in writing that the
Lacedaemonians and Jews are brethren, and that they are of the
stock of Abraham. Now, therefore since this has come to our
knowledge, ye shall do well to write unto us of your prosperity."
The Jews in Jerusalem are reported to have replied as
follows: "We joyfully received the epistle, and were well pleased
with Demoteles and Araeus, although we did not need such a demon
stration, because we were well satisfied about it from the sacred
writings." (Josephus xiii. v.8) Josephus called attention to the
'seal' upon the letter from Areus, "This letter is four-square,
and the seal is an eagle with a dragon in its claws." Such an
emblem can be traced to the tribe of Dan. The letter of reply
mentioned "sacred writings." This could refer to Ezekiel 27:19
where Dan is represented, in company with Greece, trading to
Tyre.
Latham, in his "Ethnology of Europe, p.157, says, "that the
eponymus of the Argive Danai was no other than that of the
Israelite Tribe of Dan, only we are so used to confine ourselves
to the soil of Palestine in our consideration of the Israelites,
that we treat them as if they were 'adscripti glebae', and ignore
the share they may have taken in the ordinary history of the
world ... What a light would be thrown on the origin of the name
Peloponnesus and the history of the Pelop-id family if a bona
fide nation of Pelopes, with unequivocal affinites and
contemporary annals, had existed on the coast of Asia! Who would
have hesitated to connect the two? Yet with the Danai and the
Tribe of Dan this is the case, and no one connects them!"
In Herodotus' time, the story of the Egyptian origin of the
Greeks was so well recorded that he did not go into details, in
his history. However, he did write: "If we ascend from Danae, the
daughter of Acrisius, we shall find that the ancestors of the
Dorian princes were of Egyptian origin. Such is the Grecian
account of their descent." (Herodotus, Book VI, Iv.) The
migrations out of Egypt led by Danaus and Cadmus are not the only
ones on record. Another important Grecian colony was founded by
Cecrops (an Egyptian and Israelite) who became the first
"legendary" king of Attica.
G. F. Rodwell in his "Nature," Vol. Vi, article, "The Birth
of Chemistry" says: "Although much of the Greek learning came
direct from Egypt, we cannot trace it to its direct source, or
point to one Egyptian writer on Philosophy. The Greeks too,
received much from the Phoenicians; but here also we find no
record . . . The basis of the edifice (of the science of
Chemistry) is sunk deep in Eastern soil; the time when the
foundation stone was laid is too remote to be even suggested."
The enigma expressed in the above extract is solved when we
know that the people from whom the learning came were Israelites
though the geographical source was Egypt.
A migration by sea (cir. 1296 B.C.) is indicated when the
King of Canaan afflicted Israel while Dan abode in ships and
Asher in his seaports. (Judges 5:17) Apparently, most of the
tribe of Dan must have left Palestine prior to the time of
Jeroboam II (I Chron. 5:17-26) which would account for them not
appearing in this genealogy. Many ancient Greek writers agree
that the Danaans came to Argos from Egypt (See Hesiod, fr. 24,
Rzach). Most dates given fall around the first half of the
sixteenth century B.C. One early history of Ireland links the
Danaan or Tuatha de Danaan (People of God) invaders of Ulster
with the Greek Danois and Spartans, who as roving bands of sea
warriors controlled the Aegean Cretan civilization in the first
millennium B.C. Later Irish historians trace part of the tribe of
Dan to Ireland as early as the twelfth century B.C. This would
have been after the Exodus when the Israelites were established
in Palestine.
The Danaan were not the first Hebrews into Ireland. Calcol
(I Chron. 2:6 - Chalcol of I Kings 4:31) founder of the ancient
Irish line of kings, planted (cir., 1700 B.C.) a royal Dynasty in
Ulster (as well as other royal dynasties in Europe). He and his
brother, Darda (Dardanus) the founder of Troy had both migrated
from Egypt before the Exodus. They are sons of Zarah, one of the
twin sons of Judah. The Hebrew name "Zarah" signifies "to
scatter," and the subsequent history of Zarah and his descendants
fully justifies the claim that he was named with prophetic
intention, even as was Jacob, the supplanter.
From Irish folklore we are told that the first settlers in
Ireland were certain "Formorians" under Partholan and "the sons
of Nemed." They came in two successive invasions at long
intervals and made war one with the other. The sons of Nemed are
the heroes and the Formorians the villains of these tales. Both
are described as coming from "Greece" or Scythia. They are said
to have skirted the North African shore. Partholan (the Divider)
is said to have divided Ireland into four parts while the sons of
Nemed are credited with being the builders of stone cromlechs.
In due time the "Firbolgs" arrived, "the men of the leather
bags" - perhaps an allusion to their bagpipes, a prized
possession of the Gaels. They too were said to have come from
Greece having stayed in Spain en route. They are said to have
left Greece owing to "Greek" tyranny, having been made to carry
bags of earth from the fertile valleys to rocky uplands, to make
tillable land. And so, preferring exile to slavery (memories of
Egypt?) they left. All these early arrivals in Ireland appeared
to be able to converse with each other in the same tongues. The
probable date for these events is between 1400 and 1000 B.C.,
during the Phoenician Golden Age.
According to the "Annals of Ireland," by the Four Masters,
"The colony called Tuatha de Dannan conquered the Firbolgs, and
became masters of Ireland. It appears that the Dannans were
a highly civilized people, far more skilled in arts and sciences
than any of the other colonies that settled in Ireland. They
ruled Ireland about two centuries, or 197 years according to the
Psalter of Casbel, and were highly skilled in architecture and
other arts from their long residence in Greece and intercourse
with the Phoenicians" (p.121). "The Dannans ruled about two
centuries, until the arrival of the Milesians, which took place
1,000 years before the Christian era" (9:123). Thus, the date of
the arrival of the first colony of the Dannans would be 1200 B.C.
or 85 years after Deborah and Barak's victory, when we are told
Dan had ships.
According to "The Harmsworth Encyclopaedia," Cecrops
("Calcol" of I Chron. 2:6 and "Chalcol" of I Kings 4:31 - and
brother of Darda) was the 'mythical' founder of Athens and its
first king. He was thought to have been the leader of a band of
Hebrew colonists from Egypt. Historical records tell of the
westward migration of the descendants of Calcol along the shores
of the Mediterranean Sea, establishing "Iberian" (Hebrew) trading
settlements. One settlement now called "Saragossa," in the Ebro
Valley in Spain, was originally known as "Zarah-gassa," meaning,
"The stronghold of Zarah." From Spain they continued westward as
far as Ireland. The Iberians gave their name to Ireland, calling
the island "Iberne" which was later abbreviated to "Erne," and
subsequently Latinized to "Hibernia," a name that still adheres
to Ireland.
The descendants of Darda (Dardannes or Danaans) ruled
ancient Troy for several hundred years, until the city was
destroyed in the famous "Siege of Troy." Aeneas, the last of the
royal blood, (Zarah-Judah) collected the remnants of his nation
and traveled with them to Italy. There he married the daughter of
Latinus, king of the Latins, and subsequently founded the great
Roman Empire.
Aeneas' grandson, Brutus with a large party of the Trojans
migrated to "the Great White Island" (an early name for Britain
due to its chalk cliffs). Tradition says that on the way to the
"White Island" Brutus came across four other Trojan colonies upon
the coast of Spain and persuaded them to join him.
At Totnes on the River Dart, twelve miles inland from Torbay
(the oldest seaport in South Devon) is an historical stone that
commemorates the coming of Brutus to Britain. (Cir, 1103 B.C.)
The stone is known as the "Brutus Stone," the tradition being
that the Trojan prince set foot upon it when he first landed. The
Welsh records state that three tribes of his countrymen received
Brutus and his company as brethren and proclaimed Brutus king at
a national convention of the whole island. His three sons, born
after his arrival in Britain were named after the three tribes -
Locrinus, Camber, and Alban. Brutus' name heads the roll in all
the genealogies of the British kings, preserved as faithfully as
were those of the kings of Israel and Judah.
Brutus founded the city of "Caer Troia," or "New Troy." The
Romans later called it "Londinum," now known as London. The
actual date of the founding of the city is suggested in the Welsh
bardic literature: "And when Brutus had finished the building of
the city, and had strengthened it with walls and castles, he
consecrated them and made inflexible laws for the governance of
such as should dwell there peacefully, and he put protection on
the city and granted privilege to it. At this time, Beli the
Priest ruled in Judea, and the Ark of the Covenant was in
captivity to the Philistines" (The Welsh Bruts).
The reference, in the quotation above, to Beli the Priest,
is obviously of Eli of the First Book of Samuel. Such remote
prehistorical antiquity of the site of London is confirmed by the
numerous archaeological remains found there, not only of the New
Stone Age and Early Bronze Ages, but even of the Old Stone Age.
This indicates that it was already a settlement at the time when
Brutus selected it for the site of his new capital of "New Troy."
There is ample reason to believe that the Trojans, Spartans,
Dorians, Lacedaemonians, Achaeans, Minoans, Danaans and the
Palestinian tribe of Dan are all branches of the same central
stem, branches united from the beginning by a common ancestor,
Shem.
.......................
To be continued
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