Jericho

Situated well below sea level north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. The Sultanian site at Jericho is the type site for the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPN A) and B periods which include the famous wall and a mysterious tower. Artesian springs in and around Jericho have made it an attractive site for human habitation for at least eleven thousand years. Curvilinear mud brick dwellings stack pueblo -style created a rookery of human habitation.

The archaeology of Jericho tells the story of an ancient city of Asiatic origin destroyed around 1550 B.C. during a time of harvest. The mud brick wall had fallen in many areas and was hastily repaired. The harvested grains had been burnt whole and the destruction left for later inhabitants to witness. It has been theorized that the story of Joshua’s victory over Jericho was created at a later date incorporating the burnt harvest and breached wall into their story of origin.

Jericho is derived from the Aramaic ariha which means aroma. The root of ariha is ruach which is used to describe the sweet savor (aroma) of burnt offerings. The Canaanite words for moon and month also comes from ruach.  Ruach is also cognate to words that describe following a prescribed path such as migration of birds. The phases of the moon arc in an array and are compared linguistically to the wings of a bird. The smallest feather was the new moon and each succeeding feather incrementally increased to the largest flight feather.The comparison of birds in flight to aroma may well have its origin in the Anatolian form of burial known as excarnation. Exposure of the dead to scavenging vultures was the Neolithic cult of the dead in the Near East. Vultures were seen as psychopomps, soul-carriers, a role also played by the rook (ruach?) in Europe. The sky god was able to smell the aromatic goodness of the soul and send his angelic messengers for retrieval. It seems plausible, with the discovery of 11,000 year old Gobekli Tepe, that the Jericho tower was used for sky burials. Other evidence exists for this conjecture such as the retaining of the skull and discarding the rest of the bones which is similar to other cultures that practiced excarnation.

There have been suggestions that the population increase in Jericho during the middle bronze age was attributed to the rise of the Maryannu chariot warrior caste. It is theorized that mercenary chariot teams offered protection to the agricultural city-states throughout the Levant. The charioteers, in turn, would receive land in perpetuity from the king. This economic arrangement was the catalyst for the rise of the Mitanni high civilization. Later, Hurrian culture absorbed the Mitanni and may have been the Jebusites of Biblical fame.

A majority of linguists have determined the etymology of Maryannu/Marijanni to be from Indo-Aryan young man. For this to be the source, the timeline of this word would need to be disseminated, forgotten and then reintroduced. Maryannu is attested in cuneiform tablets found at Amarna, Egypt so perhaps this word is an Egyptian interpretation of Hurrian chariot technology. In the Logical Dictionary of Egyptian, Volume 1 by Gabor Takacs, hieroglyphic symbols MRJ (marya) are used to represent the Nile crocodile. The crocodile is an excellent totem for charioteers by virtue of their lamellar armor. Lamellar technology must have changed the nature of warfare by allowing small, mobile teams of men where larger armies could not be maintained. This type of armor was produced by plates of hardened leather connected by cords. The individual plates allow movement of the arms for the archers. The fierce attributes of the Maryannu combined with the lamellar armor could be the inspiration for borrowing the word for crocodile.

The Rechabites were a guild of charioteers that became incorporated into Israelite culture through the priestly Levites. They were instrumental is eliminating the Ba’al cult from northern Israel and bringing to an end the House of Ahab. Their obedience to their patriarch, Jonadab brought praise from the Temple hierarchy. They were incorporated into Temple service as scribes and their daughters were allowed to marry Levites. One of the commandments of Jonadab to all of his guild members (Sons of Jonadab) was to remain living in tents. Their Tekoa or tent city was at Haccarem and they entered Jerusalem through the Dung Gate.

The Biblical story of Rachab of Jericho may be the etiological explanation for the Rechabite ancestry of King David. Rachab was a resident of Jericho that assisted Joshua’s spies by hiding them when they were about to be discovered. She professed faith in the God of the Israelites and so her life and the lives of her family were spared while the rest of the inhabitants were massacred. She later married Salmon of Judah and became the mother of Boaz and an ancestor of David. That would also make her an an ancestor of Jesus and John. It is interesting that the family of Mary and Elizabeth lived in the village of Haccarem during the time of the temple service of their male relatives. Also, as I recall, the Holy family had a connection to Hammath.

Rachab is also the Aramaic word for dragon. Descriptions of this dragon could very well be attributes of crocodiles. It lives between the water and the shore but moves silently into the deep. It is proud, bold, stealthy and ferocious. The twisting and turning of Rachab could describe the predatory technique used by the crocodile to tear off chunks of meat or to drown its prey. Egypt is also called Rechab by Israelites. Crocodiles were holy to Egyptians so their totem is very appropriate.