Nexus - 0902 - New Times Magazine-pages

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REVIEWS TEMPEST & EXODUS Hyksos people, who had earlier been given by Ralph Ellis all the precious materials to build a mobile Edfu Books, UK, & AUP, USA, 2001 temple—the Ark of the Covenant—accord- ISBN 0-9531913-89 (UK) ing to the insistence of the Hyksos Pharaoh ! -98- Jacob and in agreement with Ahmose I. Fee eae OO E10 00 Ease 00: The notion that the Mt Sinai of the US$16.00 + s&h , , Israelites was one and the same as the Great Availability: Aust/NZ/UK/Europe— Pyramid is just one of many surprises in this NEXUS offices; USA—AUP, tel (815) 253 ‘fascinating rewrite of Old Testament history. 6390, www.adventuresunlimitedpress.com NEW ZEALAND'S HIDDEN PAST by Ross Wiseman Discovery Press, New Zealand, 2001 ISBN 0-473-07303-X (134pp tpb) Price: NZ$34.95 + p&h in NZ; overseas orders add NZ$10.00 p&h; US$20.00 Availability: New Zealand—NEXUS Office, tel (09) 405 1963; overseas orders: Discovery Press, 22 Mountain Road, Henderson Valley, Auckland 8, tel +64 9 836 0772, fax +64 9 837 6364, email ross_discovery@hotmail.com, website www.4discoverypress.com uthor and amateur archaeologist Ross Wiseman continues to rile the academic establishment—and members of the Maori community—with the publication of his lat- n this sequel to Jesus, Last of the . est book, New Zealand's Hidden Past. In Pharaohs (see reviews, 6/04), Ralph Ellis fact, several times in 2001 he tried to launch expands on his hypothesis about the origin it officially and stage an exhibition of rock of the Israelites and gives alternative transla- marking castings, but was turned down tions of hieroglyphs, in the process giving every time. Why? Presumably because of quite a different perspective on the roots of Judaism and Christianity as well as the Egyptian religions. Having already estab- lished that the patriarchs of the Israelites were the Hyksos Shepherd Kings, that Abraham and Jacob were Hyksos pharaohs and that Moses was Akhenaton's brother, now Ellis provides evidence that the Hyksos originated : Lower Egypt and ‘Asia nota by the Assyrians, and made their way via the tribe of barbaric invaders trom Asia, Indian Ocean and northern Australia to settle Fundamental to the Hyksos monotheistic in New Zealand in 666 BC. Here he pre- Cligious belief sine was a form or hi sents many more photos and drawings of un/Cosmos worship centred around the apparently Phoenician rock engravings, over Giza pyramids—structures that had to have 100 of them found in the Lake Taupo area in been in place even before the rise of the first the middle of the North Island. These Old Kingdom dynasty, Ellis reckons from engravi . : rr gravings depict all sorts of scenes includ- rear Hetopl mat cath ng nus r . the hunting of the now-extinct moa (a tall, oo kinalons enue ae thatthe Hilese flightless bird), an elephant or Hindu ele- would leave Egypt. Their departure and the samt "as welt as symp rosy and geome- Israelites' exodus were actually one and the ine of life. d ath d oe li . same event, Ellis believes. Re Te, dea aesbe Ta ity. According to the so-called Tempest Stele h ere 1s a ab ue h hue as te 7 of Ahmose I, the Exodus plan was already arb Ak are Prk the AD 186. ind ° on the drawing board when a great "storm" out y eth ich nara in > of the. affected the land—precipitated by the erup- 0" “ld inal ‘di ous! di sailed pre: | 86cde ue tion of Thera in the Aegean Sea c. 1625 world including a detailed pre-186 depiction of New Zealand's North and South islands, BC—but the storm was more of a social/ oo . “oe we : . indicating the existence of nine settlements. religious/political turmoil. Physical damage aa i are This is a compelling alternative history to the Upper Egyptians’ architecture and that should be explored further, even if it icons was allegedly caused by the departing treads ona few es along the way his claim that New Zealand was settled by seafaring Phoenicians many hundreds of years before the first wave of Maori arrived. Wiseman touched on this theory in his 1998 book, Pre-Tasman Explorers (see review, 5/05). He speculates that these mar- itime Phoenicians would have left Sidon around 677 BC, when the city was attacked TEMPEST & EXODUS by Ralph Ellis Edfu Books, UK, & AUP, USA, 2001 ISBN 0-9531913-89 (UK) 0-932813-98-4 (USA) (269pp tpb) Price: A$33.00; £10.00; Euro20.90; US$16.00 + s&h Availability: Aust/NZ/UK/Europe— NEXUS offices; USA—AUP, tel (815) 253 6390, www.adventuresunlimitedpress.com n this sequel to Jesus, Last of the Pharaohs (see reviews, 6/04), Ralph Ellis expands on his hypothesis about the origin of the Israelites and gives alternative transla- tions of hieroglyphs, in the process giving quite a different perspective on the roots of Judaism and Christianity as well as the Egyptian religions. Having already estab- lished that the patriarchs of the Israelites were the Hyksos Shepherd Kings, that Abraham and Jacob were Hyksos pharaohs and that Moses was Akhenaton's brother, now Ellis provides evidence that the Hyksos originated in Lower Egypt and were not a tribe of barbaric invaders from Asia. Fundamental to the Hyksos monotheistic religious belief system was a form of Sun/Cosmos worship centred around the Giza pyramids—structures that had to have been in place even before the rise of the first Old Kingdom dynasty, Ellis reckons from records at Heliopolis. Ultimately a clash of beliefs between Lower and Upper Egypt led to an Exodus being negotiated between the two kingdoms, ensuring that the Hyksos would leave Egypt. Their departure and the Israelites' exodus were actually one and the same event, Ellis believes. According to the so-called Tempest Stele of Ahmose I, the Exodus plan was already on the drawing board when a great "storm" affected the land—precipitated by the erup- tion of Thera in the Aegean Sea c. 1625 BC—but the storm was more of a social/ religious/political turmoil. Physical damage to the Upper Egyptians’ architecture and icons was allegedly caused by the departing NEXUS + 77 FEBRUARY — MARCH 2002 www.nexusmagazine.com