Yesterday’s post covered Dr Ben Carson’s presidential campaign.
One of the most remembered things about it is that he said that the pyramids were grain silos.
The media and leftists made much of this.
On November 5, 2015 several reports emerged.
The Guardian reported that Carson had said the same in 1998 when he gave a commencement address at Andrews University, which is affiliated with Carson’s sect the Seventh Day Adventists. At that time, he thought aliens had something to do with it. In 2015, he said that Joseph built the pyramids to store grain. The Guardian reprised their report the following day with a video of Carson discussing the pyramids.
On November 10, The Guardian had another article on the subject. Mahmoud Afifi, Egypt’s head of ancient antiquities, said that one inaccurate theory about pyramids says that Atlanteans from a lost continent built them. That is probably what Carson was referring to in 1998. Afifi said he did not know what Carson — ‘that man who’s not an archaeologist’ — meant by claiming they were grain silos.
The JTA (Jewish Telegraphic Agency) rightly noted (emphases mine):
It was not clear from his statements whether he thought all or just some of the pyramids were built for this reason and during this period. The story of Joseph storing grain in preparation for an Egyptian famine appears in the Book of Genesis, in the Miketz Torah portion, which will be read in synagogues around the world on Dec. 12. The text makes no mention of the grain being stored in pyramids.
When Carson suspended his campaign the first weekend in March 2016, the Daily Mail reminded us about the grain silos:
Losing ground thanks to some sluggish debate performances, pronouncing Hamas like ‘hummus,’ the chickpea-based spread, when talking foreign policy and suggesting the pyramids in Egypt were built to store grain, Carson’s 2015 holiday season consisted of a big staff shake-up.
However … I do recall hearing this when I was a child from my Protestant friends.
Admittedly, they were more fundamentalist, but they said the Bible clearly stated this and, therefore, one had to believe it or be accused of doubting Scripture which meant doubting God. It was all explained quite clearly to me by my fellow 10-year-old chums.
They were referring to Genesis 41. Joseph, through divine inspiration, prophesied that God planned a seven-year famine. Therefore:
34 Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth of the produce of the land[b] of Egypt during the seven plentiful years. 35 And let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. 36 That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine.”
Pharaoh was impressed by Joseph’s divinely given prophecy and put him in charge of the grain conservation project:
45 And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphenath-paneah. And he gave him in marriage Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On. So Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.
47 During the seven plentiful years the earth produced abundantly, 48 and he gathered up all the food of these seven years, which occurred in the land of Egypt, and put the food in the cities. He put in every city the food from the fields around it. 49 And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea, until he ceased to measure it, for it could not be measured.
56 So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses[h] and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. 57 Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.
Note that, as the JTA article states, Scripture makes no mention of pyramids, located outside of cities. In fact, Genesis tells us that the food was put in the cities. More on that later in the post.
From the Genesis accounts came an ancient theory that Joseph was Imhotep. I’ll go into that at the end of the post, too.
First, CPS.org describes what is carved on the Step Pyramid of Sakkara, naming Pharaoh Djoser and the mighty, highly revered:
… Imhotep, Chancelor of the King of Lower Egypt, Chief under the King, Administrator of the Great Palace, Hereditary Lord, High Priest of Heliopolis, Imhotep the Builder, the Sculptor, the Maker of Stone Vases.
CPS.org says that the Step Pyramid of Sakkara, near Memphis, was constructed differently to other pyramids, such as Giza. Sakkara has a wall around it and only one entrance. It also has a picture of starving people:
This carving also includes depictions of grain, sacks that are carried up steps and food distribution.
Genesis 50 records Joseph’s death:
22 So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father’s house. Joseph lived 110 years.
24 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” 26 So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
CPS.org has a long explanation of what was found when Sakkara was excavated. Imhotep’s grave was empty but otherwise undisturbed.
Another website purports that Joseph was Imhotep and has several articles about aligning the Bible with Egyptian history in this regard. It’s easier to read than CPS.org and has better illustrations. One entry says (in part):
The first pyramid to be built was the Stepped Pyramid of Djoser (Netjerikhet) which is part of a complex in Saqqara Egypt that appears to be a grain storage and distribution center. The Step Pyramid itself was built on top of a shaft that was originally used as a grain silo but then converted into a tomb for the Pharaoh. The Step Pyramid is really a series of Mastabas, made from solid limestone blocks, stacked up on top of one another. The Step Pyramid was used to bury Netjerikhet’s 3 wives and 11 daughters and Netjerikhet’s sarcophagus was placed on a platform in the shaft beneath the Stepped Pyramid.
The Step Pyramid was designed by Imhotep who may well be the Joseph of the Bible. Joseph and Imhotep have many similarities but have not been thought to be one in the same person because of discrepancies between the estimated dates of their existence.
The site also discusses the Famine Stele, an inscription of hieroglyphs located on Sehel Island in the Nile near Aswan:
The Famine Stele tells the tale of Imhotep interpreting Netjerikhet’s (Djoser’s) dream about seven years of plenty and seven years of famine and how Imhotep saved Egypt from a seven year famine.
It says that Djoser gave the land to the priests indicating that Djoser had the rights over the land. This would further support the notion that Joseph and Imhotep were the same person.
The Bible tells us that Joseph, second in charge of Egypt, acquired all the land of Egypt for the pharaoh, except that of the priests, by the selling of grain during the famine.
Djoser kept the priests on side by giving them an allowance of grain so that they did not have to sell their land.
There is also an image of slaves carrying grain up steps. The caption reads:
Hieroglyphs of Egyptians retrieving grain using an open stairwell.
This was a great improvement on the tunnels of the first grain silo that were poorly ventilated and resulted in workers suffocating.
It is possible — although archaeologists broadly doubt it — that this is what Sakkara was used for. Perhaps Carson could have clarified his comments a bit more.
Another site, Atlas Obscura, discusses the lost history of the pyramids. Their post says the theory of pyramids — not just Sakkara — as grain silos may date all the way back to the late Dark Ages:
In 867 AD, a European monk named Bernard caught a ride on a slave ship out of the southern Italian city of Taranto. He was heading for the Holy Land, on a pilgrimage with two fellow monks. Somewhere along the line, though, they decided to make a detour through Egypt. This was a pretty normal travel itinerary for the time. In fact, in his book, Wonderful Things: A History of Egyptology from Antiquity to 1881, author Jason Thompson writes that even many of the Crusades for the Holy Land ended up sacking Egypt, instead. And that fact might go a long way toward explaining why Bernard and his friends were promptly dumped into a Cairo prison and had to bribe their way back out.
The article goes on to say that Bernard might well have been interested in seeing Joseph’s granaries, hence the detour.
However, the author rightly points out that the Bible never specifically mentioned pyramids. Yet, recent archaeological research has thrown up ‘anomalies’ about the pyramids: different building materials and varying air currents.
As for the Atlantean theory, Atlas Obscura explains that this came about through mythology from the ancient Greeks. This ages-old theory posits that when Atlantis fell, the Atlanteans inhabited the greatest of the world’s civilisations, Egypt being one of them. Believers in this theory ascribe the construction of the pyramids to the Atlanteans. One hopes Dr Carson no longer believes this, because it is unbiblical.
Personally, I have no belief in pyramids as grain silos unless firmer evidence emerges in coming decades.
However, I did want to help make Carson’s case as to why he believes that.
I am more of the mind, as Atlas Obscura explains, that:
If Bernard (and Ben Carson) had taken a closer look at the region, they’d have seen extraordinary clear evidence that the pyramids are not giant grain silos. Near the Pyramids of Giza, archaeologists have uncovered Gebel Qibli, a city that basically functioned as the company town for the workers who built the pyramids. Those workers were paid in grain, collected as taxes on noble landowners, Watrall says—so Gebel Qibli is home to actual ancient Egyptian grain storage buildings. These are circular, mud-brick structures, sealed against bugs with more mud, but not so sealed that fungus could grow in the stagnant air. “I could stand in the middle of one of them, reach my arms out and that would be the diameter,” [Ethan] Watrall [a Michigan State University professor of anthropology] says. “I couldn’t stand up. It’s less than my height and I’m 6’5”.
For now, it appears that the grain silos were small, round structures, not pyramids.
Whether research reveals conclusively that Sakkara really was a grain silo remains to be seen.
14 comments
March 10, 2016 at 6:54 pm
Flyinthesky
I have no great interest in American politics but the more I read about Carson the better I like him. That said I tend to think that the construction of the pyramids is not of this earth nor are they grain silos. I just can’t compute the logistics.
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March 12, 2016 at 11:13 pm
churchmouse
Thanks! Carson is a nice guy — and darned intelligent.
You and he might have a talking point on the pyramids. As far as I am concerned, people were a lot more intelligent then than they are now. Our majestic structures stopped after the Gothic cathedrals. Much of what has been built since is of relatively little consequence. That said, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, started by Philip Webb and William Morris, promote and help to preserve Britain’s oldest structures. Everything is relative and an ancient barn or farmhouse no less than a Norman church.
Going back to our previous conversation on health insurance, American unions are going to fight Trump:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-unions-exclusive-idUSMTZSAPEC3BVV3QJO
Why, I do not know, as Trump supports some of the same trade positions as they. Special union deals are probably part of this. They probably think he will put an end to them. Not sure why, because, as far as I know, he hasn’t said anything about those topics or unions themselves. Gosh, anyone who is in real estate will know he has union builders and members to deal with.
Enjoy your weekend. All being well, the weather is warming up.
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March 13, 2016 at 11:33 am
Flyinthesky
Enjoy yours.
A perspective on Trump by Steve Hilton.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3489656/To-dismiss-Trump-bigoted-buffoon-YUGE-mistake-s-elite-bashing-hit-workers-Political-svengali-helped-sweep-David-Cameron-power-gives-stunning-appraisal-president.html
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March 13, 2016 at 12:05 pm
churchmouse
Thank you.
The Steve Hilton article is a great find. He makes excellent points. Thanks for sending the link!
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March 13, 2016 at 6:59 pm
Flyinthesky
Then you read things like this, where’s it all going? Consequential or intentional, I really don’t know. http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7609/germany-islamic-state
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March 13, 2016 at 10:18 pm
churchmouse
I’m with you — haven’t a clue whether it’s consequential or intentional.
One thing we can both be 100% sure of: it’s happening and is getting worse.
Thanks for the link. I feel so sorry for the Germans who have been turfed out of their homes to house refugees. I read about two women, a nurse and a teacher, both living in separate towns. (There are no doubt more.) They were each given 30 days to vacate their flats. Un … believable.
Angela Merkel really should stand down and hang her head in shame for the rest of her days. She betrayed not only her own citizens, whom she notionally serves, but also every other European country. She has put us all at a high level of risk.
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March 13, 2016 at 10:50 pm
churchmouse
Here’s what’s happening in a town of 44,000 in the northern half of Sweden. Maybe you saw this:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3485473/The-small-Swedish-town-terrorized-string-sex-attacks-eight-assaults-past-three-weeks-leaves-women-terrified-walk-dark.html
A sexual assault has happened there every few days between February 20 and March 6. Even 10-year-old girls have been groped whilst waiting at a bus stop. All assailants were described to police as being of ‘foreign origin’.
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March 14, 2016 at 12:12 am
churchmouse
Mr Fly — Have you seen this in the Mail?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3489936/Angela-Merkel-set-punished-voters-open-door-refugee-policy-Germany-s-Super-Sunday-state-elections.html
First three paragraphs — more follows:
‘German voters turned to the far right in droves yesterday in a damning verdict on Angela Merkel’s open door border policy.
‘In regional elections she was humiliated by the anti-immigrant AfD – Alternative for Germany – party.
‘Formed just three years ago, it has surged in popularity following Mrs Merkel’s decision to roll out the red carpet for more than a million migrants.’
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March 14, 2016 at 10:38 am
Flyinthesky
Yes I did, a shame it wasn’t by a larger margin.
Resisting the urge to go off on a rant, why is applied common sense, pride in one’s own culture and the desire for self preservation always deemed as far right!
The acceptable attack is always racist, xenophobic, little Englander etc.
None of this is going to end well I fear.
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March 14, 2016 at 11:04 am
churchmouse
Opposition to Merkel at the ballot box will gather apace. It’s only a matter of time.
Furthermore, 53% of the French would like a referendum on membership in the EU. Imagine the possibility of Frexit!
http://4liberty.org.uk/2016/03/13/from-trump-to-frexit-change-is-coming/
‘On March 12, Le Monde published results of a recent survey indicating that 53% of the French would like a referendum on membership of the EU.’
Agreed, I do not understand this idea that everyone else’s culture is better than ours. That’s put forward by self-loathing leftists who also have no regard for their own people. Meanwhile, no immigrants diss their own culture, ever. Why must we?
I think we are at a last-chance crossroads here. If Trump is elected as the next leader of the free world — especially if Ben Carson is his VP — then a wind of change will blow in accomplished at the ballot box, not only in the US but in Europe.
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March 14, 2016 at 11:32 am
Flyinthesky
Good piece on OOL. The hall with the house of cards is looking increasingly breezy.
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March 14, 2016 at 11:33 am
churchmouse
Thank you!
For the first time in years, I genuinely feel optimistic (and plan to enjoy that mood while it lasts).
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March 14, 2016 at 11:46 am
Flyinthesky
LoL, I’m not quite optimistic yet but ever hopeful. I have always maintained that the greatest chance of us sorting the eu situation is it collapsing on itself and that possibility gets stronger every day.
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March 14, 2016 at 11:51 am
churchmouse
Brexit would send an intensely strong signal to our neighbours. 🙂
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