"The religion of the Britons appears to
have been
very much the same as…the Patriarchal religion."
-Canon Samuel Lysons, 'Our British Ancestors' (p. 58)
The
Old Testament Roots
of Celtic Mythology
part three of three on the bible roots
of early european mythology
The religion of the early Celts exhibits
customs and rituals which bear an amazing correspondence to the religion of the Hebrew
Old Testament. Can all of this be just a coincidence, or is there a connection? Here
is the interesting evidence.
THE MYTHOLOGY OF DRUIDISM is said to have been brought
to England in ancient times by Hu Gadarn Hysicion, who came from the east with a
party of colonists and built Stonehenge. Who were these Eastern colonists? Historians
tell us that Phoenician-speaking peoples colonized the British Isles in early times.
The Israelites, a seafaring people, spoke a Phoenician dialect, and the early history
of these two peoples is intertwined. The Bible speaks of Israelites sending "ships
to Tarshish," or Spain, and Solomon's navy sailed with the Phoenicians on their
trade and colonizing expeditions. (2 Chron. 9:21; Isa. 60:9) Phoenician-speaking
peoples, including Israelites, colonized Spain and Britain in ancient times, mining
ores such as silver, iron, tin, and lead, as we document in our tract, "ANCIENT
HEBREW SEA MIGRATIONS." The Druidic religion of early Britain should therefore
exhibit signs of both Hebrew and Phoenician origins.
Before me is a copy of the book "THE EARLY DAWN," published in 1865, which describes
much about the basics of Druidism in old England as it was found by the early Christian missionaries.
The chief god of the Druids was called Be'al. It is not difficult to see the similarity between
the words "Be'al" and "Baal," since historians have so fully documented
that Hebrew-Phoenician traders came and settled on the shores of England and Ireland long ago,
as discussed in the book "THE TENDER TWIG" by Francis Henking. Although Druidism
did adopt some of the practices of the ancient Canaanites, such as worship in sacred groves,
veneration of the oak (Ezekiel 6:13), and the Phoenician-Canaanite festival of Beltane, or "Baal-fire," yet
many of their religious customs bear a striking resemblance to the Mosaic law of the Bible.
HEBREW RELIGION
Celtic scholar, John Daniel, in his book, "THE DRUIDIC IDEA OF GOD," lists
the Druidic terms for the Deity and their meaning:
CELI, THE INVISIBLE ONE
IOR, THE ETERNAL
DUW, COMMONLY TRANSLATED 'GOD'; LIT., 'HE WHO WILLS'
RHEEN, ALL-PERVADING SPIRIT
PERYL, AUTHOR OF EXISTENCE
DOFYDD, GOVERNOR
DEON, DISTRIBUTOR
YR HEN DDIHENYDD, ETERNALLY ANCIENT ONE, OR "ANCIENT OF DAYS"
Mr. Daniels remarks, "Nobody can fail to see in these terms a similarity to the
common phraseology of the Christian Church... There is such perfect consonance between
these [Celtic] appellations of the Deity and those of Biblical theology, that it is
strange anyone should so fail to see it..." (p.4, compare Dan.7:9,13,22, etc.)
Daniels also points out that the Celtic name for the Deity was IAO, pronounced, "Yah-o," which
is virtually identical to the Hebrew name for God, "Yah" or "Yahu."
The Druidic priests, like the Levitical priests of the Bible, were exempt from military
service. The Druidic and Levitical priests were both divided into three classes. Even
the Druidic ceremonial robes remind one of the Mosaic priests, with their breastplates
of gold.
The Druidic rituals, like the Old Testament Levitical, included the sacrifice of sheep,
oxen, and goats, but no idol worship. The Canaanites (Phoenicians who dwelt inland in
the land of Palestine), as part of their worship, committed human sacrifice, and on
the continent of Europe similar atrocities were committed as part of Druidic worship.
Yet in England itself, there is no record of martyrdom for any early Christian missionary,
and it has been truly said that England was converted without the shedding of a single
drop of blood. There is also an amazing similarity between the name of one of the Druidic
gods, called "Yesu," and our own "Jesus." It has been said that
Druidism was only accepting a fuller revelation through the adoption of Christianity.
In early alphabets, letters represented ideas. In Hebrew, aleph, the first letter, stood for an ox; bet symbolized a house, gimel was a camel, dalet a door, and so on. Similarly, in Celtic the letter "I" stood for 'the future.' "A" represented 'the present', and "O" stood for 'the past'. (ibid., pp.16-17) Thus, the Druidic name for God, "IAO," literally meant "the Everliving," a being in existence past, present, and future. This is the exact definition given by scholars for the name of the Hebrew God, "Yahu" or "Yahweh." In fact, the Ferrar Fenton Bible consistently translates the name of God as "the Everliving." The identity of the Celtic and Hebrew Deities is obvious, for "there can hardly be a question that the three letters were originally no other name than IAO, the Latinized form… of the Hebrew [Yah or Yahu]; and that such was the rendering of that name, we have the authority of several ancient writers. Diodorus Siculus says it was related amongst the Jews, that Moses attributed the framing of the laws to the God called IAO; and Theodoret states that God was by the Jews called IAO." (ibid., p.12)
In addition, the Druidic "IAO" was called the "UNUTTERABLE NAME," again identical to the Hebrew, "Yah." Daniels states, "So to the Druids there was a secret name for the Deity, which was unutterable ("Aflafar") to all but the most privileged of their order, and was symbolized by the three Bardic characters representing the vowels IAO." (ibid., p. 11) With such close resemblance's between the Celtic and the Hebrew Deity, it is not surprising that England was converted without the shedding of a single drop of blood. There is no record of martyrdom for any early Christian missionary, and it has been truly said that Druidism was only accepting a fuller, better revelation through the adoption of Christianity!
The Druidic priests, like the Levitical priests
of the Bible, were exempt from military service. The Druidic and Levitical priests
were both divided into three classes. The Druidic rituals, like the Old Testament
Levitical, included the sacrifice of sheep, oxen, and goats, but no idol worship.
Even the Druidic ceremonial robes remind one of the Mosaic priests, with their breastplates
of gold and jewels. In Crania Britannica, we are told of the unearthing
of a barrow at Stonehenge, in which were the remains of a Druid perfectly clad in
his sacred garments, with such a breast-plate.
In the Bible, the prophet Jeremiah in chapter 3l verse 21 instructed scattered Israel
to "set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps," and thus we find a trail
of unhewn stone monuments, called dolmens and cromlechs, leading from Palestine (Gen.
35:14, etc.) across Europe, and into the British Isles, where they were used in worship
by the Druidic priests. In England, according to Isabel Hill Elder's book, "CELT,
DRUID, AND CULDEE," each stone monument was called a "Si'on" in the ancient
Celtic language. The similarity between this and the Hebrew word "Zion", meaning
a stone fortress, is striking. Truly, these are additional witnesses to the identity
of the House of Israel in the world today.
BAAL WORSHIP
But the religious customs of the Covenant people became corrupted with the religion
of the Phoenician Canaanites. The Prophet Elijah's challenge of the Hebrew priests of
Baal is one of the most moving Bible accounts. (I Ki.18:18-40) The Bible indicates that
at one time the majority of Hebrew priests and people followed the rituals of Baal worship.
Noted 19th century antiquarian, Sir William Betham, made an exhaustive study of the
ancient Celtic peoples, and states in his book, THE GAEL AND CIMBRI, "Baal... has
the precise meaning in Gaelic as in Phoenician -- the lord of heaven." (p. 226)
Many customs hearken back to Palestine, as well; "even the cakes which the idolatrous
Jews, in imitation of the Phoenicians, made in honour of the queen of heaven are still
the most popular cake in Ireland under the old name of the barn-brack, or speckled cake." (p.
236) Ancient customs and rituals are persistent among mankind, and therefore provide
tangible evidence of a people's origins, even where no written proof survives. Betham
comments, "Thus we see at this day, fires lighted up in Ireland, on the eve of
the summer solstice and the equinoxes, to the Phoenician god, Baal, and even called
Baal's fire, baaltinnes, though the object of veneration be forgotten..." (p. 222-223)
In addition, archaeological proof points to a Hebrew-Phoenician origin of the Britons
and Irish. Betham relates, "On an altar-stone, dug up near Kirby Thore, in Westmorland,
is this inscription:"
"DEO BEL ATUCADRO LIB[ERUM] VOTUM. FECIT IOLUS."
The text translates as follows: "To the god Baal, the friend of man, Iolus made his free vow."
Numerous other stone altars to Phoenician gods, which have been discovered in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, are discussed and translated in Betham's work. Some of the principal finds include altar-stones found in Northumbria and other parts of Britain. He states that these ancient monuments to "Baal, by the ancient British... are unanswerable evidences of the identity of the people of the two islands {i.e., Britain and Ireland] and Gaul, which the most unwilling and incredulous caviler at etymologies, can scarcely refuse to receive as conclusive. It proves more, for it shows an identity of the deities of the Celtae and the [Hebrew]-Phoenicians..." (p. 228-229)
Numerous other parallels exist between Celtic and Hebrew-Canaanite worship, including mystic well-worship, worship of sacred stones, and the veneration of the autumnal equinoxes. In fact, both the Canaanites and Celts practiced autumnal sacrifices to Baal, which the Celts called, "Baal-tinnes," as previously mentioned.
AVEN
Aven was another of the deities of the Phoenician Canaanites, and temples to this god
were called, 'Beth-Aven," or 'house of Aven.' The idolatrous Israelites also had
adopted worship of this false god, as we see in Hoseh 4:15-17: "…come not ye unto
Gilgal, neither go ye up to BETHAVEN, nor swear, the Lord liveth. For Israel slideth
back as a backsliding heifer…Ephraim is joined to idols…" Israelite worship of
this god was so pervasive, that the prophet Isaiah used the word, "Aven," to
signify an idol in general: "…he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an IDOL." (Hebrew, "AVEN")
All idols are vanity, and aven itself came to have a secondary meaning of vanity. Since
this so-called god was no god at all, the idolaters were literally worshipping nothing!
The Apostle Paul picks up on this theme in First Corinthians 4:8, "We know that
an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other god but One."
There are five rivers Avon in Britain, of which three pass through Gloustershire, where Celtic worship of this god was centered. In the same English district is an old town named Avening. The 'ing' suffix means the place of, so Avening is the place of Aven. Historian Samuel Lysons, in "OUR BRITISH ANCESTORS" says, "The worship at Beth-Aven, in Canaan, and that of Avening in Gloucestershire, and that of Aven, Heliopolis, or Baal bec, were all identical. The stone altars, the high place, the calves' bones discovered there, mark the similarity." (p.123)
MOLOCH AND CHIUN
The Canaanite god and goddess, Moloch and Chiun, are mentioned in connection with Israel's
worship by the prophet Amos (5:25), "But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch
and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. Therefore
will I cause you to go into captivity…"
At Windmill Hill, near Avebury, Wiltshire, England, there are evidences of Druidical
worship, but no windmill. 'Win' is the Celtic word for 'eye,' and 'Win-Melk' is the
'eye of Moloch.' Dr. Maurice, in "Indian Antiquities," says, "the Druids
worshipped the sun under the title of Moloch, so we are certain that worship was derived
to them from their Eastern ancestors." The British towns Melch-bourne in Bedfordshire,
and Melc-combe in Dorset, both retain evidence of the worship of Moloch in early times.
Similarly, the goddess Chiun was worshipped by the idolatrous Canaanites and the Israelites who followed their custom. Chiun was the moon goddess, and was considered so important that she was called the queen of heaven. In fact, it is from this word, Chiun, that we derive our English word, queen. The Prophet Jeremiah mentions worship of this goddess several times. He laments Israel's worship of her, saying, "The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the QUEEN OF HEAVEN, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger." (7:18; compare 44:17-25) The goddess Chiun had her adherents in Britain also, as seen in the name of the famous king, Cuno-bel-inus, whose name combines the worship of both Chiun and Bel. Similarly, Chiun is seen in the early British names Cunedag, Cingetorix, Conan, and Maglo-cunus.
SUN WORSHIP: AL
The Hebrew word, Al, signifies the sun, and is equivalent to the Phoenician Hal, Greek
Halios, Babylonian Il, and Celto-British Heaul. Mallet's "NORTHERN ANTIQUITIES," (vol.2,
p.68) states, "All Celtic nations have been accustomed to the worship of the sun…It
was a custom that everywhere prevailed in ancient times to celebrate a feast at the
winter solstice, by which men testified their joy at seeing this great luminary return
again to this part of the heavens. This was the greatest solemnity of the year. They
called it, in many places, Yole or Yuul, from the word Hiaul, which even at this day
signifies the sun in the languages of the Bas-Bretagne and Cornwall." Christmas
is still called Yule. A Christmas holiday beer, Ale, may be from the same root. Holly
and Holy come from the word, heaul, meaning 'to hallow, to deem sacred,' with roots
to the Hebrew, 'El,' God. The German words, 'heilig' and 'ale' mean 'to swear, to call
on the name of God.' The words 'all,' ''whole,' and 'heal,' may be related to this.
The Hebrew name for the sun appears in many places in Britain with names beginning with 'Al,' 'Ail,' 'Ayl,' 'Hal,' 'Hayl,' and the like. There are many examples, including Albury, Albourne, Alcester, Alby, Althorp, Alton, Allington, Allerton, Alford, Allenby, Alsop, and dozens more.
AUN OR ON
In Genesis 41:45, we read, "And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnathpaaneah; and
he gave him to WIFE ASENATH the DAUGHTER OF POTIPHERAH PRIEST OF ON. And Joseph went
out over all the land of Egypt." Again in Genesis 46:20, we are told, "And
unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which ASENATH THE DAUGHTER
OF POTIPHERAH PRIEST OF ON bare unto him." (compare 41:50) The word, On, signifies
the sun, and is derived from the Hebrew Aun, Assyrian Anu, Babylonian Aunu, Celto-British
On, and the Greek On. The ancient Celtic poet, Taliesin, is quoted in "DAVIES'
BRITISH DRUIDS," as saying, "Even the sovereign On, the ancient, the generous
feeder." (p.527) Historian George Rawlinson states, "Aunu signified 'the god,'
and was no doubt in use among the primitive Babylonians from the very earliest times." (Herodotus,
Essay x, vol. 1, p. 591) Who was this "Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah the
priest of On," whom the Biblical patriarch Joseph married? It is popular teaching
today to say because Asenath dwelled in Egypt, that therefore Joseph married a Negro.
But the fact that her family were sun-worshippers worshipping On, the Semitic sun-god,
is proof positive of a Semitic identity.
It is from this word, On, that we derive the Latin, annus, meaning a year, from the
annual solar revolution, and the English, annual. Samuel Lysons states, "That
Aven and On were the same, is shown by the Greek translation of Beth-aven as 'the house
of On.' Heliopolis, Egypt was at different periods called Ain, Aven, and On… Possibly
our word Evening, Dutch Avond, and German Abend, may represent Aven, as the declining
sun." (ibid., p. 238-239)
British place-names showing early sun-worship include Ansley, Anston, Anslow, Ancoats, Ancaster (Caer An), Ancroft, Anford, Anwick, Avon, Avening, Arran, and many others. Concerning this last location, a circle of Druidic stones with a cromlech in the center at Arran indicates sun worship.
FURTHER EVIDENCES
British antiquarian, Aylett Sammes, writing in 1676, noted that "the customs, religion,
idols, offices, and dignities of the ancient Britons are all clearly Phoenician." John
Pinkarton, in his "ENQUIRY INTO THE HISTORY OF SCOTLAND," (1789), also stated
that Druidism was directly descended from the Phoenicians, while British antiquarian
William Stukely, in the book, "STONEHENGE," believed that it had the marks
of Israelite worship and culture.
Stukely pointed out Old Testament references to oaks, which gave these trees symbolic
or mystical attributes. Abraham's altar of sacrifice was prepared by the oak of Moreh. "And
Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain (lit: "oak")
of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the LORD appeared unto Abram,
and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the
LORD, who appeared unto him." (Gen. 12:6-7) We are further told in Hoseh 4:13, "They
sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks..." The
importance of worship under oaks in Druidism is well known. Modern Celtic scholar, John
King, in his book, "THE CELTIC DRUIDS' YEAR," adds, "The Hebrew word
for oak also means oath, and there is evidence that the oak signified a burial place.
The golden calf or bull worshipped as an idol by the Israelites has its counterpart
in the Druidical image of the god Hu Gadarn, or Hu the Mighty, who, like Noah, survived
the deluge and first brought the skill of ploughing to mankind. Dibbuks, demons and
lesser deities, some of which might seem to correlate to Celtic spiritual figures, have
been pushed into the background by contemporary Judaism." (p. 26) Thus the Hebrew
connection is little-known but factual.
Perhaps we can do no better in summing up our study than to quote the venerable Sir William Betham: "The connection of this [Hebrew-Canaanite] worship with the historical traditions of the Pagan Irish is so evident, and so extensive, that it …strongly illustrates the [Biblical] account of the progress of population from the plains of Sennaar [i.e., in the Middle-East] to the western extremities of Europe..." (p. 242) This is obvious, for no one but God's people exhibited the peculiar mix of true and false religion seen in the early Celts. (See parts 1 and 2 of this series on the Old Testament Roots of European Mythology.)
Note: Further confirmation from Hebrew scholars that the Biblical sacred name was originally "Yahu", corresponding in pronunciation to the Celtic name for God, "IAO," can be read on the Biblical Sacred Name website of Bara Ministries.