As you will see, within the family of gods and goddesses, there was always a trinity of father, mother, and child. This is a perversion of the ‘echad’ of YHVH being ONE. It is because of these ‘other gods’ trinity that many Jewish people stumble over the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit trinity that was developed through the catholic church. They know that YHVH is ECHAD. His Word is Him, His spirit that hovered over the waters is Him and cannot be separated from Him.
Trinity: Osiris, Horus, Isis
A study of the Egyptian gods brings a deeper understanding as to why YHVH had to bring His people ‘up out of Egypt’ that was a land of darkness. It is also easy to see how Egypt can represent the sinful life of darkness and death as the culture of Egypt worshipped death. YHVH wanted His people to have life, choose life and walk in the light of life.
With each of these ‘gods and goddesses’, it is interesting and of value to search the internet for depictions of them. I have included a few to give you an idea. As you progress, you will see how many of them are still depicted the same way, used in advertising gimmicks as well as blatantly worshipped by those who remain in the ‘land of Egypt’ today.
Egyptian Trinity
Father – Amon-Ra
He was the god of the sun. He had the head of a falcon and a sun disk.
Mother- Isis
She was the goddess of magic. She is pictured holding a baby.
Child – Osiris
He was the god of the dead. He was dressed in white with a crook and flail.
These gods are the basis of the tenets of the Masonic Lodge which is another interesting study in and of itself. One of the beliefs of the Masons is that they were the builders of Solomon’s Temple.
Geb
Had the color of plants and Nile mud and was a dog. Known as the earth. Laughter caused earthquakes.
Nut
Goddess of the skies. Pictured with blue and golden stars. Married her brother Geb. Symbol is blue with golden stars.
Ra
God of the sun. Combined with the god Amon. He is depicted as a human with a ram’s or hawk’s head, with a solar disk over it. His animal is a Phoenix.
Osiris (aka Ausar or Ra)
God of goddess and ruler of the underworld. Before he was killed by his brother he was considered a god of vegetation and nature. As a ruler of the underworld, he is associated with death, resurrection, and fertility. His mother was Nut and his father was Geb.
Isis (aka Nephthys)
Goddess of fertility and life. Taught the Egyptians about marriage, household management, medicine, weaving, motherhood, and magical spells and charms. When Osiris died, she went into mourning and frantic searching to found him. Her mother was Nut and her father was Geb.
Hathor
Had the horns of a cow and a sun disc. Goddess of joy, love, dance, song and alcohol. She looked after children. She carried the dead into the underworld. Known as the ‘eye of Ra’.
Horus
Depicted as a falcon with the sun and moon as his eyes. Had the crown of Egypt on his head.
Anubis
Guided the souls of the dead from the world of the living to the world of the dead. He was responsible for weighing the actions of the dead in terms of good or evil. Considered the inventor of embalming and mummification. Mummified his father, the god Osiris. Usually depicted as having the head of a jackal.
Thoth
Had the head of an ibis. God of wisdom, the moon, and sacred writings. Claimed the throne of Egypt after Horus. Depicted as a man with the head of an ibis bird.
Ptah
God of crafts, skills and the guardian of all knowledge. Depicted as a bearded man wearing a skullcap. He is shrouded like a mummy with his hands holding the Uas scepter, ankh, and a died.
Bastet
This god had the head of a cat and was the god of cats. Cats, especially black ones, were worshipped in Egypt.
Think About and Discuss In the beginning, with the Nephilim, there were creatures that were half-human and half-animal. How is this ‘halfbreed’ concept seen in the gods and goddesses of Egypt. How do you think it relates to the Nephillim?
Yahweh’s Judgement against the gods and goddesses of Egypt
One of the most important aspects of the plagues that YHWH brought on Egypt had to do with the gods they worshipped.
“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn – both men and animals – and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am YHVH” (Exodus 12:12).
Think and Discuss each of the following plagues and what they represented.
Plague #1 was the water turned into blood.
“YHWH said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the water of Egypt – over the streams and canals, over the ponds and the reservoirs’ – and they will turn to blood. Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in the wooden buckets and stone jars.”
This plague attacked several of the Egyptian gods.
Osiris was the god of the underworld. The Egyptians believed that the Nile River was his bloodstream.
Hapi was the god of the Nile River. He controlled the annual flooding of the river and was lord over the fishes, birds and marshes.
Khnum who was the guardian of the Nile River. He is usually seen as a human with a ram’s head.
Plague #2 was frogs.
This was against the goddess Heqt, the wife of the creator of the world and the goddess of birth. She was always show with the head and body of a frog.
Plague #3 was lice or gnats – sandflies or fleas.
This was against Geb, the great god of the earth. Offerings were given to Geb from the bounty of the soil ,but the fleas originated from the soil.
No lice was permitted on the bodies of Egyptian priests. Thus the daily rituals would have been stopped due to physical impurity.
Plague #4 was swarms of flies or scarab beetle.
Amon-Ra, the creator and king of the gods had the head of a beetle.
Ra, the sole creator was visible to the people of Egypt as the disc of the sun, however, he could appear as a crowned man, a falcon or a man with a falcon’s head.
Plague #5 was disease on livestock.
Egyptians worshipped many animals, and many animal-headed deities. The god Apis was represented as a bull and was the living image of the god Ptah. Hathor was the cow-headed goddess of the desert.
Plague #6 was boils.
This was an attack against Imhotep, the god of medicine and Serapis, the deity in charge of healing.
Plague #7 was hail mixed with fire.
This plague came from the sky and was an insult to Nut, the sky goddess.
Nut was considered by the Egyptians to be the mother of five other gods: Osiris, Hathor, Set, Isis and Nephthys.
Plague #8 was locusts/grasshoppers.
Nepri, the god of grain.
Ermutet, the god of crops.
Thermuthis, the goddess of fertility and harvest.
Seth, the god of crops.
Plague #9 was darkness.
This was an insult to Egypt’s religion and entire culture. The sun god Amon-Ra was the greatest god and blessings in all of Egypt.
Plague #10 was death of the first-born of all Egyptian families.
This plague was directed against ‘all the god of Egypt’ (Exodus 12:12). It showed the inability of the gods of Egypt to protect their subjects.
©2012 jsixrock
All photos were found on an internet search.