THE (BIBLICAL) SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NUMBER FORTY

I have always wondered what was behind some of these numbers that keep popping up in the Old Testament. Here is a cool little piece I ran across:

In this study I would like to examine the biblical significance of the number forty.



Every time one finds the number forty in Torah, its inner meaning is the ascent from one level to the next higher one. We get a new mission at forty. But the attainment of a higher level can come only after first reaching and fulfilling all aspects of the previous level, and then making an emptiness in the middle to allow for the emergence of something entirely new.



Forty is composed of 4 x 10



The number ten signifies a unity made of parts. We see this in the fact that we have a single number, ten (10), which is composed of a one (1) and a zero (0). The parts, zero and one, are unified in the single number ten (10).



The number four signifies completion or fullness.



To understand forty and it’s significance, lets start by looking at what a renown Rabbi has to say about the meaning of the number forty.



Waters of Eden – By Aryeh Kaplan[1]



One of the laws of mikveh (a gathering of waters for immersion - baptism) is that it must hold at least forty Seah, or approximately 200 gallons of water. In deriving this quantity of forty Seah, we saw that in a sense, this was based upon a measure of man. It is interesting to note that the concept of forty occurs a great many times in the Torah. The flood of Noah lasted forty days, Moses was on Mount Sinai for "forty days and forty nights" when he received the Torah, and the Israelites similarly spent forty years in the desert. There are many other places where we find the concept of forty in the Bible.



Why is the number forty so important? Why do we come across this number as a duration of time so often in the Torah? We find the beginnings of an answer in the laws of childbirth, as they applied in the time of the Holy Temple. The pain and infirmity associated with childbirth are an indication of the imperfection of human reproduction, and therefore, they bring about a state of "impurity" in a woman who has given birth. The Talmud states that one reason a woman had to bring a sacrifice after giving birth to a child was because she had so much pain that she would swear never again to bear a child.



Nidah 31b R. Simeon b. Yohai was asked by his disciples: Why did the Torah ordain that a woman after childbirth should bring a sacrifice? He replied: When she kneels in bearing she swears impetuously that she will have no intercourse with her husband. The Torah, therefore, ordained that she should bring a sacrifice. (R. Joseph demurred: Does she not[2] act presumptuously[3] in which case the absolution of the oath[4] depends on her regretting it?[5] Furthermore, she should have brought a sacrifice prescribed for an oath!)[6] And why did the Torah ordain that in the case of a male [the woman is clean] after seven days and in that of a female after fourteen days? [On the birth of a] male with whom all rejoice she regrets her oath after seven days, [but on the birth of a female] about whom everybody is upset she regrets her oath after fourteen days. And why did the Torah ordain circumcision on the eighth day?[7] In order that the guests[8] shall not enjoy themselves[9] while his father and mother are not in the mood for it.[10] It was taught: R. Meir used to say, Why did the Torah ordain that the uncleanness of menstruation should continue for seven days? Because being in constant contact with his wife[11] [a husband might] develop a loathing towards her. The Torah, therefore, ordained: Let her[12] be unclean for seven days[13] in order that[14] she shall be beloved by her husband as at the time of her first entry into the bridal chamber.



Childbirth, and the pain associated with it, is related to man's imperfection and therefore requires "purification”. In speaking of this purification, the Torah says:



Vayikra (Leviticus) 12:2-4 "When a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be unclean seven days, as the days of niddah... And she shall continue... for thirty-three days...."



Counting the days required for purification after childbirth, we find a total of forty.



Our sages teach us that these forty days represent the time that an embryo takes to attain human form. From a standpoint of Jewish Law, an embryo does not have any status as a human being until forty days after conception This concept is also sound from a scientific viewpoint, since it is well known that the human embryo begins to assume recognizable human form around the fortieth day after conception. This helps explain why the flood described in the Torah lasted for forty days. According to the traditional interpretations, the main sin that brought about the flood was sexual immorality. The Midrash thus says that the flood lasted for forty days because the people of that generation "perverted the embryo that is formed in forty days."



Midrash Rabbah - Bereshit (Genesis) XXXII:5 5. FOR YET SEVEN DAYS, etc. (VII, 4). R. Simeon b. Yohai said: They have transgressed the Torah which was given after forty days,[15] therefore I WILL CAUSE IT TO RAIN... FORTY DAYS AND FORTY NIGHTS. R. Johanan said: They corrupted the features which take shape after forty days,[16] therefore I WILL CAUSE IT TO RAIN... FORTY DAYS AND FORTY NIGHTS. AND EVERY LIVING SUBSTANCE (YEKUM) THAT I HAVE MADE WILL I BLOT OUT. R. Berekiah said: That means, whatever exists (kayomaya) upon it.[17] R. Abin said: The one who arose against him [his brother].[18] R. Levi said in the name of Resh Lakish: He [God] kept him [Cain] in suspense[19] until the Flood came and swept him away: hence it is written, And He blotted out every one that had arisen (Gen. VII, 23).[20]



It is interesting to note that the Zohar gives a similar reason for the fact that the punishment was through water. The division of the waters represent the original concept of sexuality in creation, with the "upper waters" as the male element, and the "lower waters" as the female. The generation of the flood perverted this basic concept of sexuality, and therefore, the "upper waters" and "lower waters" came together to punish them. The Torah thus says:



Bereshit (Genesis) 7:11 "The springs of the great deep were split open, and the windows of heaven were opened.



This same concept also applies to Mikveh, which can be made up of rain waters and spring waters. The same concept also applies to the giving of the Torah. This also involves the idea of birth. The Jewish people were born anew under the covenant of the Torah, and the Torah itself, in being transmitted to man, had to undergo a birth process. As in the case of man, this was to take forty days. The same reasoning also explains why the Israelites spent forty years in the desert. When Moses sent spies to explore the Promised Land, the Torah tells us that:



Bamidbar (Numbers) 13:25 "they returned from spying out the land at the end of forty days."



The spies knew that the Israelites would undergo a spiritual rebirth when they entered the Promised Land. In order to experience this rebirth themselves and report on it, the spies spent forty days in the land. They were not worthy of the land, however, and therefore, they brought back a bad report. As a result of this report, the Israelites rebelled against Moses, not trusting that HaShem would give them the land. It was then decreed that they should spend forty years in the desert, as the Torah says:



Bamidbar (Numbers) 14:34 "Following the number of days in which you spied out the land - forty days - for every day, you shall bear your sins for a year - forty years."



These forty years represent yet another kind of rebirth - the rebirth of an entire generation that would be worthy of eventually entering the Promised Land. We see that the number forty represents the process of birth. As we have said, it is related to the measure of man. This also explains the forty Seah of water that the Mikveh must contain. The Mikveh also represents the womb, and therefore, these forty Seah parallel the forty days during which the embryo is formed.



In order to understand why birth and embryonic development always involve the number forty, we must introduce yet another concept.



Our Sages teach that the world was created through ten Divine utterances. Mystically, each of these ten utterances manifests itself on four different levels, hence a total of forty. On Shabbat, we refrain from 39 categories of forbidden labor. The Talmud refers to these 39 as "forty minus one" because each one parallels one of the forty levels of creation, except for the highest level of creation, creation of something from absolute nothingness, which has no parallel in our physical world.



Creation consists of four stages, alluded to in the verse:



Yeshayah (Isaiah) 43:7 "All that is called by My Name,

(1) for My glory,

(2) I have created it,

(3) I have formed it,

(4) and I have made it."



These four stages are represented by the four letters of the Tetragrammaton, God's Name Yud Hay Vav Hay. The first stage is "God's Glory," where things exist conceptually, but not in actuality. The next stage is creation," which represents creation ex nihilo, "something out of nothing." Then comes "formation" where the primeval substance attains the first semblance of form. Finally comes making," where the process is completed and yields a finished product. Our sages also teach us that the world was created with ten sayings. These are the ten times that the expression "and God said" appears in the account of creation:



Midrash Rabbah - Bereshit (Genesis) XVII:1 1. AND THE LORD GOD SAID: IT IS NOT GOOD THAT THE MAN SHOULD BE ALONE (II, 8). We learnt: By ten commands was the world created,[21] and these are they: In the beginning God created (Gen. I, 1); And the spirit (ruah) of God hovered (ib. 2)[22]; And God said: Let there be light (ib. 3); And God said: Let there be a firmament (ib. 6); And God said: Let the waters be gathered together (ib. 9); And God said: Let the earth put forth grass (ib.11); And God said: Let there be lights (ib.14) And God said: Let the waters swarm (ib. 20); And God said: Let the earth bring forth (ib. 24); And God said: Let us make man (ib. 26). Menahem b. R. Jose excluded, ’And the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters,’ and included, AND THE LORD GOD SAID: IT IS NOT GO0D THAT THE MAN SHOULD BE ALONE. R. Jacob b. R. Kirshai said: A separate command was devoted to the wind.[23]



These "ten sayings" enter into each of the four stages of creation, the total number of elements of creation is forty. The number forty is therefore very intimately related to the concept of creation.



In enumerating the categories of "work" that are forbidden on the Sabbath, the Talmud teaches us that there are "forty less one." As we know, these thirty-nine categories of "work" parallel the types of activity that went into creation, just as our own Sabbath rest parallels the Sabbath of creation. There is one type of "work," however, that we cannot duplicate, and that is creation ex nihilo - creating something out of nothing. This is the one category that is not included among the types of work forbidden on the Sabbath. Otherwise, the categories of "work" represent the elements of creation - "forty less one." The four basic stages that we mentioned earlier are also alluded to in the "four branches" of the river from Eden. As we have discussed, this river is very intimately related to the concept of Mikveh. The forty Seah of the Mikveh represent the basic elements of creation. The primeval stage of creation was basically one of water. Therefore, when a person passes through the forty Seah of water in the Mikveh, he is passing through the initial steps of creation.

End of The Waters of Eden



The Mem – מ ם



The letters of the Hebrew alphabet are assigned numeric equivalents and are then explained in terms of these equivalents. This mode of interpretation is called gematria. Numbers themselves are assigned symbolic significance by our tradition. To cite one example: the number forty has come to symbolize beginnings and new beginnings. Thus, creation is renewed after forty days of flooding. The covenant with the Jewish people, our beginning as a nation, is granted after Moses' sojourn of forty days on Mount Sinai. Following the rebellion of the people as a result of the report of the spies, the Jewish people are condemned to forty years of wandering in the wilderness before a new beginning can be contemplated. The embryo is considered viable forty days after conception. Gestation takes forty weeks.[24]



Every time one finds the number forty in Torah, its inner meaning is the ascent from one level to the next higher one.



The letter Mem is the thirteenth letter of the Hebrew Alphabet. The letter Mem is equivalent to forty (40).



The Mem represents the age or time of completion.[25]



The letter Mem is the first letter of the word Mayim – The Hebrew word for water. Mayim- מים starts with an open mem and concludes with a closed mem. Water, a drash or parable for Torah. The closed "mem" is used in the first saying of Creation. The open "mem" is used in the subsequent nine sayings of Creation.



ם - The closed, Final Mem, represents the era of Mashiach as explained in Kabbalah.



מ - The open "mem" looks like a square with a small opening at its lower left corner. The final "mem" – looks like a complete square.



The word Mashiach (Messiah) itself begins with a mem. In the time of the coming of Mashiach, the earth will be filled with the knowledge of HaShem as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9); then, even the closed mem will be revealed. Only once in the entire Torah, in reference to Mashiach, do we find a closed mem in the middle of a word:



Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 9:6 To increase reign and peace without end.



… לםרבה (לְמַרְבֵּה) הַמִּשְׂרָה



Sotah 2a ....for Rav Judah has said in the name of Rav: Forty days before the creation of a child, a Bat Kol issues forth and proclaims, The daughter of A is for B; the house of C is for D; the field of E is for F!"



Every time one finds the number forty in Torah, its inner meaning is the ascent from one level to the next higher one.



Ascensions



The Talmud states that from conception until "formation" of the fetus (ye'tziras ha'vlad) is forty days. A human being is referred to as a "small world"; thus, forty days represents the formation of an entire world, in microcosm.



Forty is also a number associated with Torah and da'at. It was over the course of forty days that Moshe received the Torah on Har Sinai. He subsequently spent two more sets of forty days on Har Sinai to achieve forgiveness and atonement for the incident of the golden calf.



Sivan 1


Tammuz 17


Tammuz 18


Av 29


Av 30


Tishrei 10

40 days


40 days


40 days



Chazal teach that time as we know it will cover six thousand years, divided into three sets of two thousand years:



Sanhedrin 97a The Tanna debe Eliyyahu teaches: The world is to exist six thousand years. In the first two thousand there was desolation; two thousand years the Torah flourished; and the next two thousand years is the Messianic era, but through our many iniquities all these years have been lost.



Two thousand years is forty jubilees (fifty years each). Thus we see that the world will exist for three sets of forty jubilees. We see, also, that Moses went up on Mt. Sinai, three times, for forty days each.



Moshe himself, who is considered "rooted" in da'at, lived for a hundred and twenty years, or three sets of forty years. He was:

Forty years as a prince in Egypt,
Forty years as a prince of sheep in Midian, and
Forty years as a prince of Israel in the desert.



It rained for forty days and forty nights during the Flood; the Pri Tzadik says this was because Noach's generation could have received Torah in their time, had they been fitting. The Talmud also speaks to this:



Menachoth 99b R. Johanan and R. Eleazar both said, The Torah was given in forty days and the soul is formed in forty days:[26] whosoever keeps the Torah his soul is kept, and whosoever does not keep the Torah his soul is not kept. A Tanna of the School of R. Ishmael taught: It is like the case of a man who entrusted a swallow to the care of his servant and said to him, ‘Do you think that if you suffer it to perish I will take from you an issar for its value? [No,] I will take your soul from you’.



This concept underlies many of the forty day periods found in the Torah:



1. The forty days of rain of the Great Flood. The intention was to destroy all life. Just as [human] life forms in forty days, so too it took that interval to erase it from the earth:



Bereshit (Genesis) 7:1-4 HaShem then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, And also seven of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth. Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made."



2. The forty days that Moshe remained on Mount Sinai. A new world order was beginning, in which Torah would play the central role. Hence, the 40-day duration.



Shemot (Exodus) 34:28 Moses was there with HaShem forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant--the Ten Commandments.



Devarim (Deuteronomy) 9:9-11 When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that HaShem had made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water. HaShem gave me two stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God. On them were all the commandments HaShem proclaimed to you on the mountain out of the fire, on the day of the assembly. At the end of the forty days and forty nights, HaShem gave me the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant.



Devarim (Deuteronomy) 9:15-26 So I turned and went down from the mountain while it was ablaze with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands. When I looked, I saw that you had sinned against HaShem your God; you had made for yourselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that HaShem had commanded you. So I took the two tablets and threw them out of my hands, breaking them to pieces before your eyes. Then once again I fell prostrate before HaShem for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water, because of all the sin you had committed, doing what was evil in HaShem's sight and so provoking him to anger. I feared the anger and wrath of HaShem, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you. But again HaShem listened to me. And HaShem was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I prayed for Aaron too. Also I took that sinful thing of yours, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to powder as fine as dust and threw the dust into a stream that flowed down the mountain. You also made HaShem angry at Taberah, at Massah and at Kibroth Hattaavah. And when HaShem sent you out from Kadesh Barnea, he said, "Go up and take possession of the land I have given you." But you rebelled against the command of HaShem your God. You did not trust him or obey him. You have been rebellious against HaShem ever since I have known you. I lay prostrate before HaShem those forty days and forty nights because HaShem had said he would destroy you. I prayed to HaShem and said, "O Sovereign HaShem, do not destroy your people, your own inheritance that you redeemed by your great power and brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.



Devarim (Deuteronomy) 10:10 Now I had stayed on the mountain forty days and nights, as I did the first time, and HaShem listened to me at this time also. It was not his will to destroy you.



3. The forty days of the spies. The transition to yet another world perspective, that of the Jews as a nation united with their land, was to have begun. Unfortunately, the spies produce a slanderous report on the land and the Jews are relegated to forty years in the desert, one year for each day.



Bamidbar (Numbers) 13:16-25 These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.) When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, "Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land." (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.) So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.



Bamidbar (Numbers) 14:29-35 In this desert your bodies will fall--every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. But you--your bodies will fall in this desert. Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the desert. For forty years--one year for each of the forty days you explored the land--you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.' I, HaShem, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this desert; here they will die."



Bamidbar (Numbers) 32:13 HaShem's anger burned against Israel and he made them wander in the desert forty years, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone.



4. The forty day period after childbirth. Forty days after birth of a boy, or eighty days after birth of a girl, the mother brings offerings to the Temple. After the birth of a male child the mother is required to observe a cycle of separation. She separates herself for 7 days +33 days which equals a total of 40 days. This represents the beginning, the middle and the end of the cycle of separation from physical relationships, etc. (Vayikra.12:4, 6 days of creation + 1 day of rest + 33 days the body mourns the separation of the son.) The child is elevated to a new level as the mother brings the offerings:



Vayikra (Leviticus) 12:2-7 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean. And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled. But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying threescore and six days. And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest: Who shall offer it before HaShem, and make an atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This [is] the law for her that hath born a male or a female.



There is a certain spiritual impurity after childbirth that extends for a double 40 day period after the birth of a girl, at the very same time there is a complementary law in the Torah that for the entire 80 day period for a girl, the blood which the woman sees is pure blood. Thus she is permitted to have relationships with her husband during this entire time. That time lasts for a double period as opposed to after the birth of a boy, when her blood is pure, i.e. she can maintain relations with her husband only for 40 days. After the initial 7 days when she goes to the mikveh she is pure for 40 days after the birth of a boy, and after the birth of a girl for 80 days.



5. In a book of Jewish Mystical philosophy titled Torah Ohr, it is explained that the Flood was not simply the punishment for a totally corrupt world. For, to destroy the world, HaShem could have chosen any number of different methods to this end. The Flood was also an act of purification, which is why the deluge lasted for forty days. The number forty corresponds to the forty seah (a fluid measurement) in a mikveh (ritual bath).



The waters of Noah cleansed the world by immersion in the same way one is purified by immersion in the waters of the mikveh. This separation and removal of all extraneous and undesirable elements has the ultimate purpose of bringing the world (and a person) to a higher level, hence forty:



Bereshit (Genesis) 7:11-13 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month--on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark.



Bereshit (Genesis) 7:17 For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth.



Bereshit (Genesis) 8:6 After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark And sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth.



6. The Children of Israel spent forty years in the wilderness in preparation for their ascent into Eretz Israel. This was forty years after the giving of the Torah. The Sages teach that "After forty years, a student can attain [a full grasp of] his teacher's knowledge." Thus, after the forty years in the desert when the Children of Israel lived with the revelation of Mount Sinai, they were able to internalize it and use it for their ascent into The Promised Land.



7. The forty days between the beginning of the month of Elul and Yom Kippur are the days of Selichot, repentance. The revelation of the thirteen attributes to Moshe took place on the first day of Elul (forty days after the sin of the golden calf on 17 Tammuz), and the sign of the forgiveness of Israel was given on Yom Kippur, when Moshe descended the mountain for the second time with the second tablets of the law. We have forty days between the beginning of the month of Elul and Yom Kippur when every Jew hopes to be "born again" and ascend to the level of the angels as be speaks with a full voice: Baruch shem kvod, malchuto leolam vaed!



Finally we see that forty related to ascension in the ascension of Mashiach on Lag B’Omer.



After a period of “forty” days teaching his Talmidim after his resurrection[27], Mashiach ascends finally to the heavens[28], awaiting his return at the time appointed by HaShem, Most Blessed be He! On Lag B’Omer, Yeshua ascended into heaven[29]. Since Lag B’Omer was a day for the heavens to be opened, we can understand why Yeshua ascended on this day. Further, it is apparent that He will return the same way:



II Luqas (Acts) 1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Yeshua, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. 12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey.



Yochanan (John) also brought together the ascension and the Bread from Heaven (manna) in the following sod level passage:



Yochanan (John) 6:53 Then Yeshua said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. 58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. 59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. 60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? 61 When Yeshua knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? 62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?



It is also apparent that His ascension was also necessary for another gift to be sent to us from heaven:



II Luqas (Acts) 1:4-5 4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.



Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Mashiach. 8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Mashiach: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Mashiach:



We may derive, then, that the eighteenth day of Iyar (Lag B’omer) is an auspicious time for King Mashiach’s revelation. However, this revelation may come in the form of blessing, as we had with the manna, or punishment, as we had with the flood. In preparation of this day it is incumbent upon us in to pray and repent so that HaShem’s revelation manifest itself in the form of blessing and not destruction.



When His Majesty King Yeshua was Lag B’Omer in age (thirty-three years of age) his body (temple) was put to death by the Roman execution of the cross.



I believe that when Yeshua ascended, He was fulfilling His obligation to send us a Comforter to instruct us in all wisdom and therefore triumph over Nebuchadnezzar and Pilate! This suggests that the wisdom of the Zohar being given to Hakham Shimon Bar Yochai, was fittingly given on Lag B’Omer.



Many commentaries note that Hakham Akiva’s student’s stopped dying on Lag B’Omer. Clearly the twelve Apostles did not die on Lag B’Omer, but instead continue to change the world. Their message of love continues to resonate to this very day. They were the antithesis of the disciples of Hakham Akiva. This loving cohesiveness is the key to the Messianic hope.



Finally, note the following words that a Hakham, who wishes to remain anonymous, spoke about the author of the Zohar:



When we call this day the “Hillula” (Ascent) of Hakham Shimon, the ascent spoken of is not necessarily his death (i.e., the ascent of his soul), but rather the Hillula is his ascent in the learning of Torah. Lag B’Omer celebrates the day when the sacred traditions of the Kabbalah were saved from being lost forever. Lag B’Omer, therefore, has always been considered the “Kabbalist’s holiday.” For on this day Hakham Shimon became possibly the most important link in the chain of Kabbalistic succession.



The righteous ascend higher and higher each year, as their deeds have greater and greater impact on the world that they left behind.



Does this not sound like a remez, a hint regarding the ascension of Mashiach?



Lets now take a look at what the Nazarean Codicil has to say about the ascension of Mashiach ben Yosef:



II Luqas (Acts) 1:1-4 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Yeshua began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: And, being assembled together with [them], commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, [saith he], ye have heard of me.



Many struggle with the thought that Mashiach could not have ascended on Lag B’Omer because the above passage clearly says that the ascension happened forty days after the resurrection, not thirty-three days!



The best way to understand this anomaly is to understand that II Luqas (Acts) is written at the remez level of understanding. At this level we do not interpret things literally, we interpret them according to hints. In this level we ask the question: What does forty represent? We find that forty is associated with a “new birth” type experience. It is a time of ascension. It also represents a change in mission. It is the time period which is used when there is a dramatic change in life. For example: A fetus becomes a baby in forty weeks. Moses changed from a prince to a shepherd after forty years. And after another forty years he changed from a shepherd into a king!



Mashiach’s life was transformed on Lag B’Omer. His Majesty made the change from Mashiach ben Yosef to Mashiach ben David. This change was also understood to be the change of the Bnei Israel, because when Mashiach changes, we change. Remember what we have taught previously, in our study Mashiach, that:



Mashiach = Israel.



Thus we understand that we are not taking this forty days as a literal, but as a hint to the change that Mashiach, and therefore the Jewish people, are undergoing.



One Lash Less



A Jew who transgresses a Torah prohibition is punished with lashes. How many lashes? The Torah mentions the number forty but the Sages interpreted this to mean the number preceding forty and therefore rule that the number of lashes is 39. How foolish are most people, exclaimed the Sage Rava, who stand up for a Sefer Torah but not for a Torah scholar. The Torah says forty lashes and the Sages limited it to 39. A similar proof of the power of the Sages could apparently have been brought from the fifty days of counting the Omer which the Sages interpret as 49. But only the example of the lashes is cited because the true greatness of the Sages to be appreciated by the masses is not in their ability to make the Omer count one day less but in their ability to remove one painful lash from a sinner



Makkoth 22b HOW MANY LASHES ARE GIVEN? FORTY SAVE ONE.] What is the reason for this [particular number]? — If it were written, ‘forty in number,’ I should have said it means [actually] forty in number; but as [the order of] the wording is ‘by number forty’[30] [it means] a number coming up to the forty.[31] Raba observed: How dull-witted are those other people[32] who stand up [in deference] to the Scroll of the Torah but do not stand up [in deference] to a great personage, because, while in the Torah Scroll forty lashes are prescribed, the Rabbis come and [by interpretation] reduce them by one.



The validity of this oral law was established by Hakham Shaul himself:



II Corinthians 11:24 Of the Jews five times received I forty [stripes] save one.



By the lashes, a sinner achieves atonement for his sins and thus rises to a new and greater level, having transformed the sin into a mitzvah.



Every time one finds the number forty in Torah, its inner meaning is the ascent from one level to the next higher one.



Y Y Y



Avoth Chapter 5 MISHNA 21. HE USED TO SAY:[33] FIVE YEARS [IS THE AGE] FOR [THE STUDY OF] SCRIPTURE,[34] TEN-FOR [THE STUDY OF] MISHNA,[35] THIRTEEN-FOR [BECOMING SUBJECT TO] COMMANDMENTS,[36] FIFTEEN-FOR [THE STUDY OF] TALMUD,[37] EIGHTEEN- FOR THE [BRIDAL] CANOPY,[38] TWENTY — FOR PURSUING,[39] THIRTY-FOR [FULL] STRENGTH,[40] FORTY — FOR UNDERSTANDING, FIFTY- FOR [ABILITY TO GIVE] COUNSEL,[41] SIXTY-FOR MATURE AGE, SEVENTY-FOR A HOARY HEAD,[42] EIGHTY [IS A SIGN OF SUPERADDED] STRENGTH,[43] NINETY [IS THE AGE] FOR [A] BENDING [FIGURE],[44] AT A HUNDRED, ONE IS AS ONE THAT IS DEAD, HAVING PASSED AND CEASED FROM THE WORLD.[45]



Forty is the time when a Torah scholar becomes fit to judge and decide halachic questions. Even though the scholar may have previously studied much Torah, not until this power of binah reaches full maturity at age forty can he best analyze, infer, study precedents, and render legal decisions.



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Midrash Rabbah - Bereshit (Genesis) XXXIX:13 Thus it is written, And he brought up Hadassah (Est. II, 7) Rab said: She was forty years old[46]



Midrash Rabbah - Shemot (Exodus) I:30 WHO MADE THEE A RULER AND JUDGE OVER US? (ib. 14)- R. Judah said: Moses was twenty years old then.[47] They said to him: ‘You are not yet fit to be a judge and ruler over us, for only a man of forty possesses full understanding.’[48]



Midrash Rabbah - Shemot (Exodus) V:14 ... He [Pharaoh] answered them: ‘I do not know who this God of yours is ‘; as it is said: WHO IS THE LORD, THAT I SHOULD HEARKEN UNTO HIS VOlCE? God then said to him: ' Wretch! "WHO (mi) IS THE LORD? " thou sayest. Well, thou wilt be punished with this word ’’Mi’’.’[49] The letter mem is forty and yod is ten--indicating the fifty plagues which God brought upon the Egyptians at the sea, as it says: Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh: This is the finger of God (Ex. VIII, 15) ...



Scriptures



Now lets examine other verses where the number forty is used. As you read these verse, note that every time one finds the number forty in Torah, its inner meaning is the ascent from one level to the next higher one:



Bereshit (Genesis) 25:20 And Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.



Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to be his wife. The side note to this is that when Sarah died three distinct thing happened: The continual Shabbat lights ceased, the Glory of HaShem residing at the door of her tent left, and Challah from Sarah's table which was a blessing to all ceased. When Rebekah entered Sarah's tent each of these returned. This was a sign that Rebekah was the selected wife for Isaac. The Sages teach that a man is incomplete until he has a wife. Thus Isaac ascended to a new level of power when he married.



Zohar Toldot 138b It is taught: The ingathering of the exiles will precede the resurrection of the dead by forty years, as it says, "And Yitzchak was forty years old." What will those forty years be like? Rav Kahana said in the name of Rav Broka: From the time of the ingathering of the exiles until the period of the resurrection of the dead, there will be many troubles. Many wars will be waged against Israel, and happy is the one who is free of them . . . Rebi Yehudah said from here there will be a separating, a whitening, and much refining, just as a silvermaker refines his silver and a goldmaker refines his gold . .



I have written much more on the above subject in a paper titled: Redemption.



Bereshit (Genesis) 26:34-35 When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.



Bereshit (Genesis) 49:33 - 50:3 When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people. Joseph threw himself upon his father and wept over him and kissed him. Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him, Taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.



Shemot (Exodus) 16:35 The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.



Shemot (Exodus) 24:18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.



Shemot (Exodus) 26:18-21 Make twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle And make forty silver bases to go under them--two bases for each frame, one under each projection. For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, make twenty frames And forty silver bases--two under each frame.



Shemot (Exodus) 36:20-26 They made upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle. Each frame was ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide, With two projections set parallel to each other. They made all the frames of the tabernacle in this way. They made twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle And made forty silver bases to go under them--two bases for each frame, one under each projection. For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, they made twenty frames And forty silver bases-- two under each frame.



Devarim (Deuteronomy) 2:7 HaShem your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast desert. These forty years HaShem your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.



Devarim (Deuteronomy) 8:1-6 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that HaShem promised on oath to your forefathers. Remember how HaShem your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of HaShem. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so HaShem your God disciplines you. Observe the commands of HaShem your God, walking in his ways and revering him.



Devarim (Deuteronomy) 25:1-4 When men have a dispute, they are to take it to court and the judges will decide the case, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty. If the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall make him lie down and have him flogged in his presence with the number of lashes his crime deserves, But he must not give him more than forty lashes. If he is flogged more than that, your brother will be degraded in your eyes.



Devarim (Deuteronomy) 29:5-6 During the forty years that I led you through the desert, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet. You ate no bread and drank no wine or other fermented drink. I did this so that you might know that I am HaShem your God.



Yahoshua (Joshua) 5:5-7 All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the desert during the journey from Egypt had not. The Israelites had moved about in the desert forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed HaShem. For HaShem had sworn to them that they would not see the land that he had solemnly promised their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way.



Yahoshua (Joshua) 14:6-8 Now the men of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, "You know what HaShem said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of HaShem sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, But my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I, however, followed HaShem my God wholeheartedly.



Shoftim (Judges) 3:7-11 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of HaShem; they forgot HaShem their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. The anger of HaShem burned against Israel so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim, to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years. But when they cried out to HaShem, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, who saved them. The Spirit of HaShem came upon him, so that he became Israel's judge and went to war. HaShem gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him. So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.



Shoftim (Judges) 5:20-31 From the heavens the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera. The river Kishon swept them away, the age-old river, the river Kishon. March on, my soul; be strong! Then thundered the horses' hoofs--galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds. 'Curse Meroz,' said the angel of HaShem. 'Curse its people bitterly, because they did not come to help HaShem, to help HaShem against the mighty.' "Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed of tent-dwelling women. He asked for water, and she gave him milk; in a bowl fit for nobles she brought him curdled milk. Her hand reached for the tent peg, her right hand for the workman's hammer. She struck Sisera, she crushed his head, she shattered and pierced his temple. At her feet he sank, he fell; there he lay. At her feet he sank, he fell; where he sank, there he fell--dead. "Through the window peered Sisera's mother; behind the lattice she cried out, 'Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why is the clatter of his chariots delayed?' The wisest of her ladies answer her; indeed, she keeps saying to herself, 'Are they not finding and dividing the spoils: a girl or two for each man, colorful garments as plunder for Sisera, colorful garments embroidered, highly embroidered garments for my neck--all this as plunder?' "So may all your enemies perish, HaShem! But may they who love you be like the sun when it rises in its strength." Then the land had peace forty years.



Shoftim (Judges) 8:28 Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. During Gideon's lifetime, the land enjoyed peace forty years.



Shoftim (Judges) 13:1 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of HaShem, so HaShem delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.



I Shmuel (Samuel) 4:16-18 He told Eli, "I have just come from the battle line; I fled from it this very day." Eli asked, "What happened, my son?" The man who brought the news replied, "Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured." When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. He had led Israel forty years.



I Shmuel (Samuel) 17:12-19 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul's time he was old and well advanced in years. Jesse's three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second, Abinadab; and the third, Shammah. David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, But David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father's sheep at Bethlehem. For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand. Now Jesse said to his son David, "Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance from them. They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines."



2 Shmuel (Samuel) 2:10 Ish-Bosheth son of Saul was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David.



2 Shmuel (Samuel) 5:4 David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years.



I Melakim (Kings) 2:10-11 Then David rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. He had reigned forty years over Israel--seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem.



I Melakim (Kings) 6:14-17 So Solomon built the temple and completed it. He lined its interior walls with cedar boards, paneling them from the floor of the temple to the ceiling, and covered the floor of the temple with planks of pine. He partitioned off twenty cubits at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form within the temple an inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. The main hall in front of this room was forty cubits long.



Marqos (Mark) 1:9-14 And it came to pass in those days, that Yeshua came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, [saying], Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. Now after that John was put in prison, Yeshua came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,



II Luqas (Acts) 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:



Born Again



In this paper we have spoken at length about the number forty as it pertains to immersion (baptism). It seems fitting, therefore, that I should explain the meaning of a mysterious passage in the Nazarean Codicil:



Yochanan (John) 3:5-8 Yeshua answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.



In this passage we see the Master of Nazareth explaing a bit of sod to Nicodemus. Our Sages have taught that the proper time to speak about sod is at night. Therefore, we are not surprised when Nicodemus comes to Yeshua at night.



In this sod passage, Yeshua speaks about two aspects about being born. The following table illustrates these aspects:



Physical Birth


Return to Eden

v.5 A man must be born of water.


A man must be born of the Spirit.

V6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh.


That which is born of the Spirit is Spirit.



A man born to a woman, passes through water to be born physically. This covers the immersion of the flesh.



After the baby becomes viable, at thirty days of age, the baby lacks the intelligence and maturity to turn to HaShem with all his heart. Therefore, the baby must wait till he is thirteen, till he has attained the maturity to turn voluntarily to HaShem. At this point, he can go to the mikveh and his soul can return to the primal state it had at Eden. When a man immerses in the mikveh, our Sages teach that he has been born again. After all, it is the soul which animates the body. The soul has the body’s connection to HaShem.



We see this progression in the Bne Israel when they left Egypt. The crossing of the Reed Sea was the physical birth. Forty days later they went to the mikveh again and not only immersed themselves, but they immersed even their clothes:



Shemot (Exodus) 19:10-11 And HaShem said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, 11 And be ready against the third day: for the third day HaShem will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.



Thus the Bne Israel were born again in preparation for receiving the Torah. After all, it is only those who have purified themselves with the counting of the Omer, that are truly prepared to face HaShem. To be able to stand before HaShem, we must return to the state we had at Eden. We must be born again. We wrote more on this subject in the study on Eden.



Conclusion



The Maharal of Prague, Rabbi Yehuda Loewe, explains that the number 40 always means cataclysmic change and new creation.



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This study was written by Hillel ben David

(Greg Killian).

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Greg Killian

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[1] Excerpted and edited from "The Waters of Eden", by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan.

[2] When swearing.

[3] Of course she does.

[4] Lit., ‘the thing’.

[5] It does. Now in such a case it is only a Sage who, after satisfying himself of the sincerity of her plea, may absolve her. A sacrifice, however, has no place here at all.

[6] Instead of the sacrifice of a bird prescribed for a woman after a confinement. (17) A lamb or a goat.

[7] After birth, and not on the seventh which is the last day of uncleanness

[8] Lit., ‘all.’

[9] At the festive meal given in honor of the circumcision.

[10] Lit., ‘sad’, on account of the prohibition of intercourse which remains in force until the conclusion of the seventh day.

[11] Lit., ‘with her’.

[12] Even after the least discharge of blood.

[13] When intimate intercourse is forbidden.

[14] By being deprived of her intimacy for certain recurrent periods.

[15] Of Moses’ stay in the mountain.

[16] The features of a human embryo take shape after forty days. The idea of the expression is that sin is an essential degradation of the human dignity.

[17] This translation of yekum corresponds to E.V.

[18] Viz. Cain, who arose against his brother, deriving yekum from kam, to arise. He was not punished at the time, but would now be punished.

[19] E J.i.e.He kept his judgment in suspense.

[20] Sc. Cain, cf. supra, XXII, 12. E.V. ’Every living substance ‘.

[21] Ab. v, l. R H. 32a.

[22] These are interpreted as though they read: In the beginning God said, ‘Let there be heaven and earth’; and God said, ‘Let there be ruah’ (E.V. ' spirit’ but apparently rendered here ' wind ‘).

[23] ‘Ruah,’ E.V.’spirit’. M.K. explains: see the greatness of the wind, that His creation required a separate order! Thus he agrees with the first Tanna

[24] By Rabbi Abner Weiss

[25] R' Michaek L. Munk, The Wisdom in the Hebrew Alphabet , 1990, p.148

[26] I.e., forty days after conception the soul is implanted in the embryo. In MS.M.: ‘the soul is given in forty days’.

[27] 2 Luqas (Acts) 1:3

[28] 2 Luqas 1:6-11

[29] Marqos 16:19, II Luqas 1:3

[30] V. p. 155, n. 4

[31] V. p. 155, n. 5.

[32] I.e., other than cultured people who generally show respect to scholars.

[33] MV, also other texts, attribute this dictum to Samuel the Little. In some versions it is preceded by the dictum which is also found in the latter's name in IV, 19. By some, our Mishnah is credited to Ben He-He, whose name occurs in the next Mishnah.

[34] tren (v. Meh. VIII, 8), lit., that which was (to be) read sc. from a written text (synonymous with ‘The Law in Writing’), as distinguished from vban ‘that which was (to be) recited sc. from hearing and memory’ (synonymous with ‘The Law which was (transmitted) by (word of) mouth’). The five years here are said to be based on the analogy of the newly planted tree, the fruit of which becomes available for general consumption in the fifth year (Lev. XIX, 25).

[35] vban v. previous note. The age of ten in this connection is explained thus: In Num. IV, 3’ etc. the period of a Levite's service is commanded to begin ‘from thirty years old’, but ibid. VIII, 24, ‘from twenty-five years old.’ The discrepancy is explained by allotting five years for the Levite's training before he becomes proficient for his sacred duties (v. Hui. 24a). Five years is, thus, an accepted period for the first phase of education. Commencing Scripture at five, one is ready for Mishnah at ten.

[36] In connection with many precepts, references to the committing of sins and penalties, the term aht — ‘man’ — is used; hence the age at which one becomes subject to Mitzvoth and penalties is thirteen, when the boy is said to have matured into a ‘man’ (v. Elijah Wilna to this Mishnah). This, of course, underlies the Bar-Mizwah institution, which, however, in the present usage of the term, appears to be of much later origin.V. Schechter, Studies in Judaism (First Series), p. 378ff.

[37] sunk, Used here, apparently, in the special sense of study based on the Mishnah or Oral Learning (though not, of course, in the specific sense that we use it), rather than study in general. At the age of fifteen, he will have completed the second five years’ stage of his studies.

[38] Eighteen was the age recommended at which a man should marry so that he may fulfil the precept, When a man taketh a new wife, he shall not go out in the host . . .’ one year, and shall cheer his wife whom he hath taken (Deut. XXIV, 5) and yet be ready to undertake military service at the age of twenty (Num. I, 3 passim).

[39] Some: For military service which began ‘from twenty years old’ (Num. ibid.). Most commentators: for pursuing, seeking, a livelihood. This will have given him a further five-year period (from fifteen to twenty) for devoting himself to Talmud before setting out in earnest on a worldly career. Others explain ‘for pursuing’ to mean for quickness, zest, impetuosity, in the pursuit of one's desires or ideals (so Abrabanel, v. Taylor).

[40] Thirty was the age at which a Levite entered upon his full duties which comprised the work of service and the work of bearing burdens (Num. IV, 47); these duties being so comprehensive and arduous required the possession of full physical faculties i e jf Scripture thus considers thirty the age for strength. V. also ibid. VII, 9.

[41] According to Num. VIII, 25f.: from the age of fifty years they (the Levites) shall return from the service of the work, and shall serve no more; but shall minister with their brethren in the tent of meeting, to keep the charge, but they shall do no manner of service. As their ministrations were not in the nature of actual work, they must then have served in the capacity of responsible counsellors. Hence fifty must be the age when a man becomes fitted for giving counsel.

[42] V. II Sam. V, 4: David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned.forty years. i.e., he lived seventy years; and I Chron. XXIX, 28, And he (David) died in a good old age ( vcha =hoary head). Thus vcha is reached at the age of seventy.

[43] Cf. Ps. XC, 10.

[44] vuak The Bibl. root vua means ‘sink down’ and its cognates vja and vja ‘bend’, ‘bow down’. Others take vua here as a noun which in the Bible occurs in a feminine form vjua’ ‘pit’, ‘grave’.

[45] Elijah Wilna cites Isa. LXV, 20, There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the youth shall die one hundred years old, and points out that the context there shows that this is intended as a blessing. Thus the extreme limit up to which life is a blessing is a hundred years; and one who exceeds that limit is as one who no more belongs to the world. Exceptions to this are very rare; and in the case of Moses, Scripture found it necessary to say: his eye was not dim nor his natural force abated (Deut. XXXIV, 7).

[46] When chosen by Ahasuerus.

[47] V. supra, p. 34.

[48] Cf. Sot. 22b.

[49] hn --two letters whose numerical equivalent is 50.

ORIGINS OF THE MAYA? PRE-COLUMBIAN CHRISTIAN RITUALS...

This stuff is way deep and I have no way to confirm any of it - but it is definitely interesting:

ENJOY!

From Canaan to Copan --

The Incredible Origins of the Maya Indians!

Modern scholars admit they have no satisfactory explanation for the origin of the Maya civilization. Faced with a complex socio-economic system that suddenly bloomed fully formed and fully functional, the experts begrudgingly say it is "one of the most baffling archaeological mysteries ever uncovered" and "is still deeply shrouded in conjecture." Why should this be so? Why are modern ethnologists and archaeologists so confused? Because, in their hell-bent pursuit of the theory of evolution, they have discarded the wisdom of a people. They have discarded the traditions and legends that have been handed down over the centuries -- and thus loose the tools that would enable them to unravel the mystery of the Maya.

The Spanish conquistadors were equally confused. In order to erase all memory of a religious system they considered pagan and Satan-inspired, these invaders of the New World burnt all but a few records of the Mayan people. Fortunately a few texts survived -- enough to trace the footsteps of a migratory people across the continents of the Old World and across the pages of time. This, then, is the story of the Maya civilization.

John D. Keyser

Seen from the air, the tropical rain-forest of the Yucatan peninsula is like a brilliant green blanket stretching to the far horizon. The lush, ever-encroaching forest hides all traces of ancient Maya life -- except for an occasional artificial mountain or an abandoned pyramid that pokes through the tree tops.

When early archaeologists slashed their way through the dense foliage to reach these almost forgotten reminders of a past civilization, they were met by silent figures that stared out from the walls of ancient cities. The languorous, humid air, the constant rainfall, the clinging vegetation and the exotic faces peering out at the explorers had a powerful -- almost hypnotic -- effect on even the most experienced archaeologist. John Lloyd Stephens, who had journeyed up the Nile, ventured to the rock-cut city of Petra and explored the Holy Land had never seen anything like this. Calling the silent figures in one city "grim and mysterious," he fell under the spell of what he found and, as a result of the work he subsequently undertook, Stephens became known as the father of Maya studies. "In the romance of the world's history nothing ever impressed me so forcibly," he later wrote, "than the spectacle of this once great and lovely city, overturned, desolate, and lost...it did not even have a name to distinguish it..."

The Classic Maya

According to the archaeologists, the Classic Maya civilization flourished between 200 B.C. and A.D. 900 -- incorporating more than 100,000 square miles of the Yucatan lowlands. It was a civilization of great lords, a small elite who ruled over as many as fifty independent states and tens of thousands of village farmers. The influence of the Maya extended far from their tropical homeland. They were great TRADERS, maintaining links with states in the Valley of Oaxaca in the highlands and diplomatic relations with the vast city of Teotihuacan in the Basin of Mexico. They perpetuated religious beliefs that took hold over an enormous area of ancient Mesoamerica. Maya leaders were divine kings -- quarrelsome rulers obsessed with power and prestige. They were expert diplomats who were masters of political intrigue. "They built great cities and trading centers around palaces, plazas, and pyramids. Grandiose public buildings were adorned with stone and stucco sculptures of deities and mythical creatures, of lords conducting important ceremonies" (Kingdoms of Gold, Kingdoms of Jade, p. 112).

Maya kings were evidently fanatical about their position in the scheme of things. They erected intricately carved stelae to commemorate their accessions and ancestors. Everything, however commonplace, unfolded within a wider historic context and against the background of a rich fountain of epic and legend. Today, archaeologists and historians marvel at this complex world. Maya civilization was truly one of the most sophisticated, exotic and volatile cultures of ancient Mesoamerica.

Archaeologists have divided the Maya experience into four basic periods: The Preclassic (also called Formative), the Classic, the Terminal Classic and the Postclassic. The Preclassic period is further divided into Early Preclassic, Middle Preclassic and Late Preclassic with dates of 2000-1000 B.C., 1000-300 B.C., and 300 B.C.-250 A.D. Since these dates are based on radiocarbon dating, we should not take them as being cast in concrete. The radiocarbon dating process contains many errors and/or assumptions that can affect the outcome.

Author Charles Gallenkamp, in his book Maya: The Riddle and Rediscovery of a Lost Civilization, writes --

Regardless of everthing scientists have learned about the Maya so far, we constantly encounter unanswered questions. NO ONE HAS SATISFACTORILY EXPLAINED WHERE OR WHEN MAYA CIVILIZATION ORIGINATED, or how it evolved in an environment so hostile to human habitation. We have almost no reliable information on the origin of their calendar, hieroglyphic writing, and mathematical system; nor do we understand countless details pertaining to sociopolitical organization, religion, economic structure, and everyday life. Even the shattering catastrophe leading to the sudden aboundonment of their greatest cities during the ninth century A.D. -- one of the most baffling archaeological mysteries ever uncovered -- is still deeply shrouded in conjecture. -- Viking Penguin Inc., p. 57.

It seems that the scholarly world is in the dark when it comes to tracing the origins of the Maya and their leaders. Why is this so? Because they are so enamored with the theory of evolution and have a great distain for the traditions and legends of a people. Those, however, with an open mind, can determine the true origins of the Maya Indians of the New World.

They Came from the Land of Caves

In The Annals of the Cakchiquels -- Lords of Totonicapan we find a direct reference to the RACIAL ORIGINS of the kings and nobles who led and governed the Maya in the New World.

Notice --

These, then, were the THREE NATIONS OF THE QUICHES [MAYANS -- the Cauecs, the Greathouses and the Lord Quiches], and they came from where the sun rises, DESCENDANTS OF ISRAEL, of the same language and the same customs....When they arrived at the edge of the [Red] sea, BALAM-QITZE [a native title for one in a religious office] touched it with his staff and at once A PATH OPENED, which then closed up again, for thus the great God wished it to be done, BECAUSE THEY WERE SONS OF ABRAHAM AND JACOB. So it was that those THREE NATIONS passed through, and with them THIRTEEN OTHERS CALLED VULKAMAG....We have written that which by tradition our ancestors told us, who came from the other part of the sea, WHO CAME FROM CIVAN-TULAN, BORDERING BABYLONIA. -- Translated by Delia Goetz. University of Oklahoma Press, 1953, p. 170.

On page 169 of the same translation we read: "...came from the other part of the ocean, FROM WHERE THE SUN RISES."

In the Mesoamerican dialects the mysterious CIVAN-TULAN in the above passage means "A PLACE OF CAVES OR RAVINES." Could this be the region of PETRA where Moses led the Israelites? Petra is famous for its caves, and deep ravines. Herman Hoeh notes that "CANAANITE HIVITES, mixed with Egyptian stock, dwelt at Petra, or Mt. Seir, at the time of the Exodus (Genesis 36:2, 20, 24). They lived at peace with the Hebrews." (Compendium of World History. Ambassador College, 1963. Vol. II, p. 88).

Under the control of the Canaanite Hittites was a land called KHURRI. Notes the Encyclopedia Britannica, "besides the Hittite, Khattish and Luish, still another language [of the Hittites] has been revealed by the inscriptions at Boghazkeui -- Khurrish (Hittite khurlili), which is thus named after a people, empire and, apparently, also a city Khurri. The country Khurri (WHICH MEANS PROPERLY "HOLLOWS, CAVERNS"), must be looked for in North Mesopotamia and the bordering Armenian mountains" (1943 edition. Vol. 11, p. 603).

The Britannica goes on to say: "Hrozny regards the North Mesopotamian town Urfa, Gr. Orrhoe, Edessa, as the centre of the empire of Khurri....In Assyria Urfa seems to be called Khurra. As the name prabably means "CAVERN[S]," it is possible to suppose that Khurra-Urfa received this name on account of the NUMEROUS CAVERNS in the Nimrud Dagh of the surrounding country" (ibid., p. 604).

Not only that, but the encyclopedia goes on to reveal that --

Occasionally Khurri is synonymous with SYRIA generally. The country Kharu, more exactly Khor of the Egyptian inscriptions, as also the Old Testament people, the Khorites (until now usually considered to be "DWELLERS IN THE CAVERNS") who, according to Gen. xiv. 6, Deut. ii. 12 and 22, inhabited the LAND OF EDOM before the Edomites, is identical with this Khurri. -- Ibid., p. 604.

Interestingly, the Khurri-Khorites also belong, like the Khatti, to the large-nosed, sloping forehead and high cheek-boned race which was neither Semite nor Indo-European -- but bears the features of many of the American Indian tribes in the New World!

Some of the people who later sailed across the Atlantic to Mesoamerica were called CHIVIM, reports Ordonez the early Spanish writer. It is the very Hebrew spelling used for the English word HIVITES, some of whom once LIVED IN MT. SEIR -- the LAND OF CAVES NEAR BABYLONIA!

The area of Petra was, at that time, DOMINATED BY MIDIAN. A high priest who visited the land of Midian and MOAB in Moses' day was called BALAAM -- almost the EXACT-SAME SPELLING as the title BALAM used by the priests of the QUICHE-MAYA in Mesoamerica!

The Kharu of Egypt

The Kharu of the Egyptian inscriptions are clearly Canaanite in origin. History reveals that the Canaanites formed a fixed, settled population in the eastern marshes of Lower Egypt at a very early time. To this very day descendants of these Canaanites live in the very same region where their forefathers settled thousands of years ago -- on the shores of Lake Menzaleh. "Near the old towns and districts of Ramses...a DISTINCTLY PECULIAR RACE OF FISHERMEN AND SAILORS, whose manners and customs, whose historical traditions, faint though they be, and whose ideas on religious matters, characterize them as foreigners in contrast with the Egyptians proper....The[se] same inhabitants of the eastern provinces [of Egypt], who at the present day navigate in their barks the shallow waters of Lake Menzaleh, and carry on the fishing as their chief business, are, as has been said, the descendants of the Phoenician [Canaanite] inhabitants of the Tanitic and Sethroitic nomes....What, however, forms the most characteristic MARK of their ancient and now forgotten origin, is their NON-EGYPTIAN COUNTENANCE...WITH THE BROAD CHEEKBONES AND DEFIANTLY POUTING LIPS, which more than anything else give to the boatmen of Lake Menzaleh the stamp of the foreigner" (A History of Egypt Under the Pharaohs, by Henry Brugsch-Bey. Second edition, Vol. I. John Murray, London 1881, pp. 258-260).

The presence of KHAR-CANAANITES IN EGYPT is made known to us by the inscriptions. Their importance in the affairs of Egypt culminates in the fact, revealed by the monuments, that a Khar or Canaanite, towards the end of the Nineteenth Dynasty, was able to make himself master of the throne and sovereign over all Egypt. The name Khar denoted not only a people, but also the country they inhabited -- namely parts of western Asia, the Syrian coast, and, above all others, the LAND OF CANAAN. "The abodes of the people of the Khar, or the Phoenicians [Canaanites], were described as 'beginning with the Fortress of Zar (Tanis-Ramses), and extending to Aupa or Aup.' The last-mentioned name denotes a place in the north of Palestine..." (ibid., p. 256).

Not only did the Kharu (Khars) settle the eastern part of the Egyptian delta, but they also spread to oases in the Libyan desert west of the delta. One such oasis is that of KHAR-GA. Lying 435 miles south-west of Cairo, this oasis is presently inhabited by people of BERBER STOCK -- descendants of the original Khars.

Another such oasis is that of SIWA, located some 350 miles W.S.W. of Cairo. Once again, this area is inhabited by people of Berber or Canaanite stock, and have a language all of their own.

During the time the Khars/Canaanites (also known as Berbers) dominated Egypt, expeditions were dispatched to other lands. At the end of their dominance in Egypt they, themselves, undertook a MIGRATION to the distant islands of the Pacific!

Notice what John Mitchell and Christine Rhone say in their book Twelve-Tribe Nations --

According to Max Freedom Long, the early expert on Polynesian magic and shamanism, there are in fact only eleven Polynesian tribes. In his book of 1948, The Secret Science behind Miracles, he tells of the legend of the twelfth tribe, and how it became separated from the others.

Long's informant was a retired journalist, William Reginald Stewart, who had spent some time in NORTH AFRICA being instructed by a native wise woman in the magical traditions of a certain BERBER TRIBE. This tribe, he was told, was once one of twelve whose homeland was the Sahara, at a time when it was watered and fertile. With the onset of drought, the twelve tribes MOVED TO THE NILE VALLEY and became MASTERS OF EGYPT....There came a time when their prophets foresaw an age of darkness, when their ancient traditions would be threatened. To preserve their knowledge, they decided to disperse and to find refuge in the loneliest parts of the earth. Eleven of the tribes moved eastward, passing through the Red Sea and along the coasts of India...towards the various groups of Polynesian islands. The twelfth tribe went in the other direction, to the Atlas mountains.

The authors of Twelve-Tribe Nations continue --

On reading Long's first book on the magic of the Polynesian kahunas, the native shamans, he [Stewart] was struck by the SIMILARITY between their religious terms and those of his BERBERS. The word for shaman, kahuna, was COMMON to them both (though spelt quahuna by the Berbers); a female shaman, kahuna wahini, corresponded to the African's quahuna quahini; and akua, a god in Polynesian, was rendered atua. These and other parallels obviously indicated a SINGLE ORIGIN.

Long found this information to be compatible with the migration legends of the Hawaiians, and was thus inclined to accept the testimony of Mr. Stewart. The secret magical lore of the Polynesians, as well as of the Berbers, came from Egypt when they were the masters of the land.

They Came From the East...

In Stephen's Incidents of Travel in Central America, the author quotes what Fuentes (chronicler of the ancient kingdom of Guatemala and of the Toltecan Indians) said of the origin of the leaders of the Quiche Maya. Fuentes said that, according to the grandson of the last king of the Quiches, the TOLTECS WERE ISRAELITES, released by Moses from the tyranny of Pharaoh. After crossing the Red Sea they became idolators. To escape the reproofs of Moses, they strayed away and, under the leadership of a man named Tanub, drifted from continent to continent until they came to a place they called the SEVEN CAVERNS -- a part of the kingdom of Mexico. Here they founded the city of TULA. The story recounts that from Tanub, their leader, sprang the ruling families of the Toltec and the Quiche Maya.

Of these Toltecs, who were in 1519 only a distant memory, Don Fernando writes --

...And the Tultecs...came to these parts, having first passed over great lands and seas, LIVING IN CAVES and passing through great hardships, until getting to this land. -- Primera Relacion.

The record of this voyage is found in The Popul Vuh -- the Quiche Mayan book of creation. Originally written in MAYAN hieroglyphs, it was transcribed in the Spanish alphabet in the sixteenth century. This book is considered the most important text in the native languages of the Americas, and begins with the deeds of MAYAN gods in the darkness of a primeval sea and ends with the radiant splendor of the MAYAN LORDS who founded the QUICHE KINGDOM in the GUATEMALAN HIGHLANDS.

Who were these MAYAN LORDS who founded the Quiche kingdom? Where did they come from?

In The Popul Vuh are recorded the migrations and wanderings of their ancestors. Notes Herman L. Hoeh: "It traces their origin EASTWARD ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN to the OLD WORLD. Other Indians had similar origins of having to cross A GREAT BODY OF WATER FROM THE NORTHEAST to reach their present land" (Compendium of World History, Vol. II, p. 88).

The author of The Popul Vuh records it this way: "They also multiplied there IN THE EAST....All lived together, they existed in GREAT NUMBERS and walked there in the EAST....There they were then, in great numbers, the black man and the white man, many of many classes, men of many tongues....The speech of all was the same. They did not invoke wood nor stone, and they REMEMBERED THE WORD OF THE CREATOR AND THE MAKER..." (English version by Goetz and Morley, pp. 171-172).

The MAYA record continues: "...THEY CAME FROM THE EAST...they left there, from that great distance....THEY CROSSED THE SEA" (pp. 181, 183).

Briefly summarized, the Popul Vuh and other Mesoamerican traditions relate that humans were created in the EAST and lived there in darkness. The ancestors of the Maya left the East "crossing the SEA in A FLEET OF SEVEN VESSELS carrying 'many companies,' and SAILED ALONG THE GULF OF MEXICO COAST to its farthest westward point, at PANUCO, where the people debarked" (Pre-Columbian Transoceanic Contacts, by Stephen C. Jett). They were evidently led to TULA by priests -- "bookmen" who carried their symbols of rank and their gods with them.

In 1615, Juan de Torquemada, who was fluent in the Nahuatl language, published in his Los veinte i un libros rituales i monarguia indiana:

...certain NATIONS OF PEOPLE, who arrived by way of Panuco, came from the north...[after skirting the Gulf of Mexico]

These people moved onward from Panuco with good diligence without either a warlike encounter or a battle...by chance coming as far as Tulla (where they arrived and were received and given lodging by the natives of that province)...

...when these people arrived in Tullan [Tula], they brought with them a very important person as chief, who governed them, and whom they called Quetzalcohuatl (whom afterwards the Cholultecas worshipped as a god). -- Editorial Porrua, Mexico (1969), vol. I, pp. 254-255.

There were FOUR Quetzalcoatls in the Mesoamerican traditions; and the exploits and persona of each of them have become blurred and jumbled over the ages. The Quetzalcoatl that de Torquemada mentions here is the second one -- Tanub, the Israelite leader of the Toltecs that passed through the Red Sea.

Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas, in his Historia Guarania, Asuncion de Paraguay (1944), vol. IV, pp. 108-109, relates the same story --

After the foundation of Mexico, and all the land, NEW PEOPLES came, from toward the north, they landed at Panuco, they wore long clothes, open in front, without cowls, (with) low-cut collars, short sleeves, and wide, which until this time the natives used in their dances, imitating that NATION, which without opposition passed as far as Tulo, where they were well received, for it was a people of much industry in whatever art, and in cultivating the land, and thus they were loved by all; and not being able to sustain themselves in Tulo, for being very populated, they passed to Cholulan, where they established themselves, and from there they settled in Guaxaca (Oaxaca), and in Mixteca Baxa, and (Mixteca) Alta, and Capotecas: they taught good administration (mucha policia) in all the land: and for this (reason), in being some men of prudence, and industry, they called them TOLOTECAS, for in Tulo they commenced to teach; and it is thus, that the Tolotecas are charitable...

In most versions, these culture-bearer ancestors came to TULA. The Aztec and the Maya both seem to have inherited the legend from the TOLTECS; and one version places the arrival of these ancestors during the OLMEC period.

Remains of Tula

Shortly after the group arrived in the valley of Mexico the leaders, according to the traditions, either left for home or to continue on their quest. Those voyagers who remained in the region settled near the highest mountains they could find and commenced building the city of Tula in an easily defensible location. Eventually they married into the local population -- to whom they taught the arts of civilization. "When their leaders returned, the settlers would not accompany them homeward" (The Popul Vuh). Generations later, the sons of these priest-kings returned to the east on a mission that we will discuss later in this article.

Montezuma, the Aztec leader when the Spaniard Cortez invaded Mexico, reminded his ministers and high dignitaries:

You know, as I do, that our ancestors did not hail from this country we live in, but came here from a far distant land, led by a GREAT PRINCE. This prince then left the country again with only a few of his followers, but returned a long time afterwards. He saw that our ancestors, his subjects, had built towns, had chosen wives from the daughters of the country, and had had children by them; that they had settled in their new land and would not go back with him, their prince. Since they no longer wanted him as their ruler, he went away alone, announcing that he would one day in the remote future either return himself with an immense army or send someone in his name to take back what was his due. -- A speech given by Montezuma soon after the arrival of the Spaniards. Recorded in "In Search of the Roots of Ancient American Civilization," New Dawn, April/May 1994. Number 24.

Upon meeting Cortez face-to-face, Montezuma told the interloper: "For a long time and by means of our writings, we have possessed a knowledge, transmitted from our ancestors, that neither I nor any of us who inhabit this land are of native origin. We are FOREIGNERS and came here from very remote parts. We possess information that our lineage was led to this land by a PRINCE to whom we all owed allegiance (vasalage). (Ibid.)

The Talented Toltecs

It has only been in the last forty years or so that the Toltecs themselves have finally emerged from obscurity -- and their great capital, the legendary Tollan (Tula), was brought to light.

Writes Charles Gallenkamp --

Myths concerning Tollan were common in Mexican folklore. Among the first European chronicles to mention this site was a Franciscan friar, Bernadino de Sahagun, who referred to it in his monumental work entitled A General History of the Things of New Spain, also known as the Florentine Codex...almost everything they [the Aztecs] accomplished -- had been strongly influenced by peoples who inhabited central Mexico LONG BEFORE the Aztecs rose to power in the fourteenth century. Unfailingly, these precursors were identified as the TOLTECS, whose capital, TOLLAN, was reportedly one of the most magnificent cities in Mexico. So highly skilled were the Toltecs, wrote Sahagun, that "nothing they did was difficult for them....They cut green stone [jade], and they cast gold, and made other works of the craftsman and the feather-worker....And these Toltecs enjoyed great wealth; they were rich; never were they poor. Nothing did they lack in their homes...." (Maya: The Riddle and Rediscovery of a Lost Civilization. Viking, 1985, pp. 162-163.)

A sixteenth-century Aztec noble, Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl, who was an interpreter for the Spanish viceroy in Mexico City, complied a lengthy version of his people's history which also declared that the stimulus underlying the rise and greatness of Aztec culture was largely derived from the Toltecs.

"Ixtlilxochitl portrayed them as masters of art, architecture, calendrics, medicine, and engineering, with a fierce dedication to religion and a love of rich pagentry. Toltec laws were said to have been strict but justly enforced, and their most important priest-king was the famous Quetzalcoatl, the 'living divinity' who dwelled among the builders of Tollan." (Ibid., p. 163.)

Diego Duran declares that "...the disciples whom the Papa [Quetzalcoatl] brought, whom they called Toltecas and sons of the sun...had their principal seat [of government] in Cholula although they roamed all the land..."

Ixtlilxochitl, though not mentioning Quetzalcoatl in the context, described the apparel worn by the Toltecas --

The Tulteca men, particularly in time of warmth, dressed in their cloaks and trunks of cotton; and in times of coldness they donned some long jackets without sleeves, which reached to their knees, with their cloaks and trunks; they wore shoes in their style, cotaras or catles [cactli] of henequen -- the women their huipiles and petticoats and likewise their cotaras of their own; and when they went outside they donned some white cloaks embroided with many colors, sharp-pointed at the shoulders, as in the manner of a hood of a friar although they reached to the knee pits; they called this cloak toxquemitl.

The priests wore some [white] tunics and others black ones that reached to the ground, with their hoods with which they covered the[ir] head[s], their hair long, plaited, which reached to the shoulders, their eyes always lowered and humble, their feet bare at the time of their fasts; and when they were in the temple they seldom wore shoes unless they went outside on a long journey...

When the Tultecas fought, they donned some [clothes] in the manner of long TUNICS OF A THOUSAND COLORS to their heels, embroided and very thick and heavy...[and some had] long lances and others [spear] throwers and clubs studded with iron [iron swords?]. They wore helmets [morriones y celadas] of copper and gold, and some used bucklers, principally those who carried clubs. Likewise the Tultecas wore the rest of the clothes that I have mentioned above, tunics like those of the priests, white although different, neither more nor less than the tunics that our religious priests wear underneath; for besides being like these, they have [had] sleeves like those of the oidores and certain hoods, as I have already declared above...

Their clothing was some long tunics in the manner of the long robes which the Japanese use and as footwear they wore sandals and used some[thing] in the manner of hats made of straw or palm. -- Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl, Obras Historicas, Editora Nacional, Mexico (1965), vol. I, pp. 40-41, 56, 71, vol. II, p. 33.

The "tunics of a thousand colors" is one of the identifying signs of the Israelite tribes descended from Joseph -- and is the origin of the tartans worn by the clans of Scotland.

The Man called Odin

During the 2nd millennium B.C. the region of Scandinavia (and particularly the peninsula of Denmark) became a chief area of trade and commerce. It was strategically located to dominate both the North and Baltic sea trade. So, together with the original German tribes of the CYMRY and DAUCIONES were migrants from Britain -- the HEBREW CYMRY transplanted by Hu the Mighty or Joshua of Jericho fame. "In 1040 [B.C.]" relates Herman L. Hoeh, "the HEBREW CYMRY called for a DESCENDANT OF JUDAH, A ROYAL SCION OF THE HOUSE OF TROY, to rule over them." "ODIN," continues Hoeh, "answered the call and led a migration OUT OF THRACE into DENMARK and neighboring regions" (Compendium of World History. Vol. II. Ambassador College, 1963, p. 50).

Also known as WODEN, WOTAN and DAN, Odin is the foremost hero of Norse mythology and, as such, was worshipped by the pagan forebears of the Anglo-Saxons, the Scandinavians, the Germans and THE CANAANITES in their midst! As the chief god of the northern pantheon, he is said to have been the father of several legendary kings. "His exploits and adventures," notes the Encyclopedia Britannica, "are a common theme in the poetic and prose Eddas. Here his character is distinguished rather by wisdom than martial prowess, and reference is frequently made to his skill in poetry and magic" (Vol. 16, 1943 edition, p. 704).

Human sacrifices were frequently offered to ODIN, especially prisoners taken in battle; and the worship of ODIN seems to have prevailed chiefly, if not solely, in military circles. He was known to the Anglo-Saxons as WODEN, and to the Germans as WODAN (WUOTAN).

Writes Herman L. Hoeh: "In Danish history he is also called DAN I. He was the FIRST ODIN or VOTAN -- from the Hebrew ADONAI meaning 'lord.' Denmark originally received its name from the TRIBE OF DANAAN. It passed to the king who took the name of the subjects whom he ruled" (Compendium of World History, Vol. II, p. 43).

The magazine Wake Up!, in its August 1980 issue, explains that "whilst such deification of ancestors can only be deplored, there is firm reason to assert that ODIN WAS A MIGHTY LEADER OF THE ISRAEL PEOPLE during their westward trek from ancient Scythia [which included Thrace] -- the region to the north of the BLACK AND CASPIAN SEAS -- towards the fringe countries of the North Sea" (Covenant Publishing Co., Ltd. London, p. 18).

King DAN I, or ODIN, commenced his reign in Scandinavia in the year 1040 B.C. and his line, the sagas reveal, stretched all the way back to TROY! "The repeated assertions and implications," notes The Link magazine, "that the families descended from ODIN (or WODEN) derive from the ANCIENT TROJAN KINGS (often thought to belong to the fanciful category) may indeed prove to have FIRM FOUNDATION IN TRUTH."

"Several factors," continues this publication, "provide evidence which is harmonious with such a claim. Ancient classical and extra-Biblical sources indicate that the TROJAN KINGS were of the ROYAL LINE OF JUDAH and that they were closely related to other ROYAL FAMILIES IN IONA, GREECE AND CRETE. The early British king-line is traditionally DESCENDED THROUGH THE TROJAN KINGS, and the kings of Ireland are stated to have sprung from the MILESIAN ROYAL FAMILY in IONA into which 'Pharaoh's daughter' married."

"Accepting these sources," notes the magazine, "the royal families of the NORTHERN NATIONS OF EUROPE -- Irish-Scottish, Early British, Frankish, Norwegian -- are all of the SCEPTRE TRIBE OF JUDAH and the many intermarriages of these royal lines would thus all be within the one great royal family of which so much is prophesied in Scripture. Queen Elizabeth II has stated that she is WODEN-BORN" (Dec. 1981. Christian Israel Foundation, Walsall, England, p. 117).

The genealogy of Odin is traced by Gladys Taylor when she states that "the royal families of England [and] Wales...sprang from BRUTUS THE TROJAN, while those of the SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES came from ODIN, whose genealogy," she confirms, "as given in the Prologue to the Prose Edda, is traced TO PRIAM KING OF TROY..." (The Magnet of the Isles. The Covenant Book Co., Ltd. London, 1971, p. 37).

From Priam Herman L. Hoeh traces Odin's lineage all the way back to Jacob! (See Compendium of World History, Vol. II, p. 48).

The Land of Thrace

At this juncture we should digress a little and locate the area known as "THRACE." This will help us to understand the migrations of the Canaanites who fled from Joshua and the Israelites and, at a later time, were led from Thrace to Scandinavia under the leadership of Dan I of the House of Judah.

"Thrace," notes the Encyclopedia Britannica, "[is] a name applied at various periods to areas of different extent....The boundaries of the ROMAN PROVINCE OF THRACE were -- north, the Haemus; east, THE EUXINE SEA [BLACK SEA]; south, the Propontis, the HELLESPONT and the AEGEAN; and west, the Nestus. The distinguishing features of the country were the mountain chain of Rhodope (Despotodagh) and THE RIVER HEBRUS (Maritza)." "The HEBRUS," continues the Britannica, "with its tributaries, drains almost the whole of THRACE" (1943 edition. Vol. 22, p. 159).

The 1946 edition of the Britannica describes the people who anciently inhabited this region. In the article on Thrace, we read --

The name Thrace, because it has been used as a geographical term as well as an ethnic description, has added to the confusion. Thrace was inhabited by indigenous tribes, as well as by Celtic [Israelite] Tribes such as the Getas. The aboriginal inhabitants were the RED-SKINNED THRACIANS mentioned by the Greek writers and they differed from the Celtic tribes not only in complexion but also in customs and religion. (Herodotos, V. 14.)

The native Thracians were called RED-SKINS by the Greeks; and the word "Phoenician" means reddish dye in the Greek language.

The Britannica continues --

The most outstanding archaeological monuments of this prehistoric period are the MOUND-LIKE TOMBS, that were generally located in the outskirts of the ancient cities....There is no well-defined difference between the aboriginal Thracians and the native Illyrians. All of the Thracian tribes and the Illyrian tribes practiced TATTOOING, which distinguished them from the Celtic tribes that had from time to time dominated them.

Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia defines the boundaries of Thrace in much the same manner, adding that "the THRACIANS were a barbaric, warlike people who established their own kingdom in the 5th century B.C." (Vol. 23, p. 140). Also, the Thracian tribes tattooed themselves, thus being distinguished from the Celtic tribes.

Dr. Jackson, Professor of Celtic Languages at the University of Edinburgh, states in The Problem of the Picts that the Picts arrived in Scotland and England from Trace and Illyria. The Thracians and Illyrians observed and practiced the very same customs that were observed by the Picts of the British Isles (Wainwright, op. cit., p. 132).

In the 1911 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica we find the following --

Herodotus and other Greek historians portrayed the Illyrians as a semi-savage people; they viewed them as the most savage tribes of Thrace. Both peoples they described as practitioners of the art of tattooing. They painted their bodies and sacrificed human victims to their gods. The women of Illyria occupied as exalted position in tribal society and even exercised political authority. The queens are referred to as despots or royal personages. -- Vol. XIV, p. 326. Article "Illyria."

These are very important points to remember. The people of Illyria practiced the very same customs we find among the Picts and the Indian tribes of America! These peoples were completely different from those of other European peoples including the Celts.

If we go to the Encyclopedia Britannica again, we find revealed that the inhabitants of Thrace were men of RED SKIN! Herodotus adds that the Thracians resembled the people of Illyria ("Thracia," ibid., Vol. XXVI, p. 886).

Going now to The Universal Encyclopedia Illustrated ("Thracia," La Encyclopedia Universal Illustrada, Europeo-Americana, Vol. LXIII, p. 329), we read:

A custom unique to the Thracians was tattooing. The nobles painted the hair of their head blue.

The weight of all the evidence we have just uncovered plainly indicates that the Picts, on beginning their march to the British Isles, departed from the region that included the ancient territories of Thrace and Illyria. "From this area came the American Indians who the Europeans found inhabiting this continent when they arrived!" (The Roots of the American Indian, p. 49).

Elucidates Herman L. Hoeh:

It was FROM THRACE that ODIN led THE AGATHYRSI and OTHER TRIBES to northwestern Europe when he founded the Danish kingdom.

Many of the warriors employed by the early princes of western Europe were FIERCE, OF SWARTHY SKIN, NAKED AND OFTEN TATTOOED AND PAINTED. Strabo, the Roman geographer, wrote that AREAS OF IRELAND AND BRITAIN were inhabited "by MEN ENTIRELY WILD." Jerome, writing in one of his letters in the fifth century, characterizes some of them as CANNIBALS. -- Compendium of World History, Vol. II, p. 86.

With ODIN when he migrated from Thrace to the area of Scandinavia was a MIXED THRONG of people -- including the Pactyae or Picts who were descendants of the CANAANITES Joshua drove out of the Promised Land. Julius Firmicus, an early writer, recorded that "in Ethiopia all are born black; in Germany, white; and IN THRACE, RED." At the time of Odin's great migration Thrace was populated by various of the Canaanite tribes who had fled from Canaan as the Children of Israel invaded the land, as well as the children of Tiras, son of Japheth.

The Feathered Headdresses

While in Asia Minor some of the Canaanite tribes became known as the LYKIANS and the Solymoi. Herodotus (I. 173) states that the Lykians were called SOLYMOI and that they lived as transhumant shepherds. Herodotus also records that an earlier name for Lykia (where the Lykians lived) was Milyas (very similar to the name Mayas), and that the Lykians were called the Milyai. He said that the Milyai of his day were descendants of the Solymoi. The Lykians, he says, were uniquely MATRILINEAL -- a custom that was to identify these Canaanites wherever they migrated to.

In the Iliad the Lykians are pictured as being BOWMEN, and historian Cyclone Covey shows that the "Luqqa [Lykians] had existed as a hardy, rebellious people on the frontier of the Hittite Empire and sometimes within it, by that name, much earlier than Greek memory of Lykians as transmitted by Homer, Herodotos, or Kephalion" (Homeric Troy and the Sea Peoples. Copple House Books, Inc. Lakemont, GA. 1987, p. 115).

Notes Covey --

LYKIA, IONIA and KARIA are places where we can locate a custom of FULL-CIRCLE FEATHERED HEADDRESSES for warriors...they are found depicted on Cyprus, in Syria-Palestine, in Egypt, and at Tiryns....A relief of Sennacherib's at Nineveh c. 700 B.C. so depicts the headgear of processing Ionians and Karians. Herodotos notes (VII. 92) that Lykian sailors in Xerxe's expedition against Greece (still) wore "a hat ENCIRCLED WITH PLUMES" (ibid., p. 142).

Covey goes on to say "the probability persists that the mountaineers of Lykia clung to the FEATHERD WAR-BONNET for five centuries after it had gone out of style elsewhere in western Asia Minor. [Maybe the other wearers moved out of the area?] If not a more general practice, it might have been a local one peculiar to the TROAD, introduced into Lykia..." (ibid., p. 143).

Eventually these tribes migrated to the Aegean and left their marks on the various islands of the area. T. R. Bryce in The Lukka Problem -- and a Possible Solution (JNES XXXIII/4, October 1974, p. 404) says "there must have been two main groups of Luqqa people, one in the vicinity of Lykaonia, the other in KARIA...[hypothesizing] an original Luqqa homeland in the former and a MIGRATION of a large part of the SEMI-NOMADIC TRIBESMEN via the MAIander Valley to the Aegean." Covey adds that "such a migration would have occurred by the time of Tudkhaliyash II [a Hittite king] when, as the Madduwattash indictment attests, ten towns associatable with Luqqa were already in place." These towns, which recur in later Hittite documents from the time of Khattushilish III through Tudkhaliyash IV, include Attarimma, Iyalanda, DALAWA, and WALLARIMMA. Interestingly, we find two North American Indian tribes with the names of DELAWARE and WALLA WALLA -- in all likelihood derived from these towns of the Lykians. F.J Tritsch stresses that "the unsettled mobility of Luqqa tribes meant that they, like Illyrians or Epirots, might turn up in locales great distances apart" (Der Alte Orient XVIII, pps. 494-502).

Traditions of folk-movements were preserved not only by the Greek-speaking peoples but also by the survivors of other races -- races which had been in contact with the Aegean area in the Bronze Age. "Thus," writes N. G. L. Hammond, "Thucydides could state with confidence that...in the time of 'Minos' CARIANS AND PHOENICIANS occupied most of the Aegean islands....These traditions are certainly compatible with the broad deductions based on the archaeological evidence" (A History of Greece to 322 B.C. Second Edition. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1967, p. 58).

"The Carians," continues Hammond, "claimed they were native to south-west Asia Minor and and expanded thence into the islands....The Phoenicians claimed to have migrated from the Erythraean Sea (that is, southern Arabia) to the Syrian coast, where they expanded into the Aegean islands; their occupation of Thera is stated to have extended over eight generations, of which five were anterior to the Trojan War" (ibid., p. 58). The arrival of Phoenicians at Thera and Cadmus at Thebes c. 1350 B.C. is supported by the cylinder-seals of King Burraburrias II (1367-1346) -- found in the palace at Thebes.

Apparently, the Karians (Carians) and their kin the Phoenicians, arrived in the islands of the Aegean at about the same time -- one group by land, the other by sea. Notes J.B. Bury: "For several centuries after the Trojan War the trade of the Aegean with the east was partly carried on by strangers. The men who took advantage of this opening were the traders of the city-states of SIDON and TYRE on the Syrian coast....The Greeks knew these bronzed...traders by the same name, Phoenikes or "RED MEN," which they had before applied to the Cretans. This led to some confusion in their traditions" (A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great. Random House, N.Y. 1913, p. 69).

This author goes on to show --

The evidence of the Homeric poems shows clearly that between the commercial enterprise of the heroic age and the commercial enterprise of the later Greeks there was an interval of perhaps two hundred years or thereabouts, during which no Greek state possessed a sea-power strong enough to exclude foreign merchants from Greek seas, and trade was consequently shared by Greek and Tyrian merchants...and the CARIANS developed a considerable sea-power. -- Ibid., pp. 69-70.

These "strangers" planted permanent settlements at Camirus in Rhodes and on the island of Cythera. They had stations at the purple fisheries of Cos and and Nisyros and Erythrae and elsewhere, and were the first to tap the goldmines of Siphnos and Thasos and even the silver-mines of Attica. The Karians and/or Lykians left their mark on the Aegean islands of Ios, Tenos, Andros, Patmos, Leros, Piraeus, Naxos, Aguis, Sikinos, Anafe and Karpathos before moving on to the area that later became known as Thrace.

Similar Characteristics

We can easily see that the inhabitants of the Aegean islands and the surrounding areas were the descendants of Canaan; and we can easily see from their characteristics that they were the ancestors of the American Indians! The Universal Encyclopedia Illustrated, Europe-America ("ilirio," 1925, Vol. XXVIII, p. 998) tells us that "Herodotus described them as savages, tattooing their skin and offering human sacrifices; their women enjoyed a very HIGH SOCIAL POSITION which even included the exercise of political power; and we have a great number of names of their rulers."

In the plains of the TROAD on the other side of the Aegean Sea can be seen a great number of mounds that date to the time of the first inhabitants of that region, the Lykians. The Universal Encyclopedia Illustrated, in an article entitled "Troy" (Vol. LXIII, p. 329), says --

Near the city exists several tombs discovered by Schlieman who supposed that they were the tombs of the heroes of the Trojan War, and whose contents did not raise any speculation on his part since it seemed obvious what their contents were; this was especially true concerning the date of their construction.

Explaining these similarities Dr. Benjamin M. Rea, in his thesis The Roots of the American Indian, points out that "these facts, without doubt, identify the first inhabitants of the American continent as men with RED SKIN. In addition, they practiced the art of TATTOOING and CONSTRUCTED MOUNDS similar to those we find in the Mississippi Valley and Mexico" (Ehud International Language Foundation, Walnut Creek, CA, p. 36).

Rea goes on to make some striking discoveries --

Another proof that provides us with additional evidence that cannot be discarded is the similarity of the names of the indigenous tribes that inhabited the borders of the Aegean Sea with names of the islands that are located in the Aegean Sea. Many of these islands still carry the names of the Indian tribes....These names reveal something truly amazing when we consider them in the light of our search. It is well known that when the Europeans arrived at the Americas, the Indians did not know how to write according to the phonetic system of the Europeans; and, naturally, the Europeans pronounced the Indian names according to their own sound system and consequently wrote them in compliance with their own phonetic code. For example, the French, on hearing the sound SIOUX, wrote it according to the French sound system; and the Spanish, upon hearing the SAME SOUND in Central America, called one of the tribes of the Mayas XIUS. This word has almost the same sound in the two languages, but the written representation appears different at first glance.

Continues Rea --

Now let us look for names in the area of the Aegean Sea that are SIMILAR to names of the American Indians of pre-Columbiam times.

We find islands bearing the following names:

Ios, Tenos Andros, Naxos, Aquis, Sikinos, Patmos, Leros, Piraeus, Anafe, and Karpathos.

Based on the similarity of names...the name Sioux and Xius...derived from the Island of Xios (Ios). The Aztecs that finally settled in Mexico began their long migration from the Island of Tenos and called their island city in the lake of Texcoco, Tenochtitlan. (The name Tenochtitlan means the island in the water).

The tribe named Androa started its march toward the west from Andros and still bears the name in the State of Oregon, U.S.A., where they lived among the trees. (The word Androa or Andros means the people that lived in the forest.)

The Patoes (Columbia, S.A.) originally came from the Island of Patmos; the Lecos (Brazil, S.A.) from Leros; the Piros or Peiraieis (Chihuahua) from Piraeus; the Nahoas from Naxos; the Haquios (Guatemala, S.A.) from Aquis; the Siquias (Honduras, S.A.) from Sikinos; the Anafes (Brazil, S.A.) from Anafe; and the Arapahoes or Karpazos (Colorado, U.S.A.) from the Island of Karpathos.

Only in the Aegaen Sea and in America do we find such a striking similarity of names. -- Ibid., pp. 37-38.

In addition to the names just mentioned by Rea, we find the Penutian language tribe of COOS (COS) in Oregon -- obviously derived from the Aegean island of Cos. Also, in the same area of the U.S. we find the Tenino tribe, plainly derived from the Karian island of Tenedos, off the coast of the Troad. Amongst the Algonquin-speaking people of North America is the tribe of Delua or Delaas -- the name deriving from the Aegean island of Delos. The family of Canaan subdivided into various other tribes -- among which are the Mayas, Amazons, Caribes and the Tine or Thyni, according to the Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Classics. The Tinne Indians, called by the Greeks Thyni, live to this very day in Canada. The Amazon Indians of South America gave their mane to the Amazon River. "The MAYAS live in Mexico and Guatemala and took their name from the Greek goddess MAIA, daughter of Atlas and one of the seven Pleiades" (ibid., pp. 38-39). In the Caribbean live the Caribes, the same tribe that once lived on the shores of the Aegean Sea.

Eventually these tribes in the area of the Aegean Sea were incorporated into what later became known as the land of Thrace.

Journey to the New World

Shortly after arriving in Scandinavia from Thrace, ODIN embarked on a venture that was to take him, along with his followers, thousands of miles across the ocean to a mystical land shrouded in legend. This was a result of the descendants of the original migrants seeking to establish their kingdom and authority over the people: "And then they remembered what had been said about THE EAST. This is when they remembered the instructions of their fathers. The ancient things received from their fathers were not lost. The tribes gave them their wives, becoming their fathers-in-law as they took wives. And there were THREE OF THEM who said, as they were about to go away: 'We are GOING TO THE EAST, WHERE OUR FATHERS CAME FROM,' they said, then they followed their road...There were only THREE [who went across the sea], but they had skill and knowledge....They advised all their brothers, elder and younger, who were left behind. They were glad to go: 'We're not dying. We're coming back,' they said when they went, yet it was these same three who WENT CLEAR ACROSS THE SEA. And then they ARRIVED IN THE EAST; THEY WENT THERE TO RECEIVE LORDSHIP" (Popol Vuh: The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life, translated by Dennis Tedlock. A Touchstone Book, published by Simon & Schuster. N.Y. 1986, p. 203).

SONS [descendants] OF THE PRIEST-KINGS RETURNED TO THE EAST, where they received from the KING OF THE EAST the insignia and symbols of ROYALTY, including the canopy and throne. They then RETURNED TO RULE THE TRIBES (ibid.,).

Where did these Quiche Maya journey to? From what line of great kings in the EAST did they receive their royal authority? From a descendant of the GREAT TOLTEC RULER who conducted their ancestors to TULA IN MEXICO shortly after the Exodus! And WHO was this descendant of the "great ruler"?

In The Two Babylons, compiled by Alexander Hislop, the author tells us that "from the researches of Humboldt we find that THE MEXICANS CELEBRATED WODAN AS THE FOUNDER OF THEIR RACE, just as our own ancestors did. The WODAN or ODIN OF SCANDINAVIA can be proved to be the [same as]...the WODAN OF MEXICO..." Continues Hislop: "...the fact that that name had been borne by some illustrious hero among the supposed ANCESTORS OF THE MEXICAN RACE, is put BEYOND ALL DOUBT by the singular circumstance that THE MEXICANS HAD ONE OF THEIR DAYS CALLED WODANSDAY, exactly as we ourselves have" (Loizeaux Brothers, N.J. 1959, pp. 133-134).

Is it mere coincidence that the MAYAS claim that their kingdom was founded by a great EASTERN RULER NAMED ODEN OR VOTAN OR DAN by some of their tribes? According to legend he was a WHITE MAN who CAME BY SEA FROM THE EAST, bringing an infusion of new people to their land. When did this occur? TEN CENTURIES BEFORE THE TIME OF THE MESSIAH, notes the historian Ordonez!

Comments Herman L. Hoeh --

This VOTAN -- who was also worshipped as a god -- was famous for having himself journeyed to a land where a great TEMPLE was being built.

Do we have a king in Europe, living at the time SOLOMON'S TEMPLE was being built (around 1000 B.C.), who had dominion OVER THE SEAS, who was worshipped as a God, and whose name sounded like Votan? Indeed -- WODEN or ODIN, KING OF DENMARK from 1040-999 [B.C.]. He was worshipped later as a great god. Scandinavian literature is replete with accounts of his DISTANT JOURNEYS which took him away from his homeland for many months, sometimes years. -- Compendium of World History, Vol. II, p. 91.


In the Native Races of the Pacific States, by Hubert H. Bancroft, we find that ODIN gave his name to the "FOREST OF DAN" in the land of the QUICHE INDIANS -- just as KING ODIN or DANUS gave his name to DENMARK (DANMARK) (pp. 163 & 549 -- Vol. V). Also, "DAN...founded a monarchy on the GUATEMALAN PLATEAU" (Vol. I, p. 789). Odin's capital in Mesoamerica -- built for the Canaanites he brought from the east -- was called AMAG-DAN.

The book Fingerprints of the Gods mentions that "there were other gods, among the Maya..., whose identities seemed to merge closely with those of Quetzalcoatl. One was VOTAN, a great civilizer, who was described as pale-skinned, bearded and wearing a long robe. Scholars could offer no translation for his name but his principal symbol, like that of Quetzalcoatl, was a serpent." (By Graham Hancock. Crown Trade Paperbacks, N.Y. 1995, p. 103.)

This Votan was also known as Itzamana; and the Mayan religious texts known as the Books of Chilam Balaam, reported that "the first inhabitants of Yucatan were the 'People of the Serpent.' They came from the EAST in boats across the water with their leader Itzamana, 'Serpent of the East,' a healer who could cure by laying on hands, and who revived the dead."

It is more than interesting to note that the foremost symbol of the Israelite tribe of DAN was the SERPENT; and McClintock and Strong, in their encyclopedia of religious knowledge, tell us that the standard of three Israelite tribes -- DAN, NAPHTALI and ASHER -- was a serpent or basilisk, with the motto: "Return, O Jehovah, unto the many thousands of Israel." Yair Davidy, in his work The Tribes, states that "the Tribe of Dan was represented by a SNAKE...[and] the symbol of a snake was once worshipped in Ireland" (p. 211).

In the late 16th century, several Spaniards noted the Yucatec Maya legend of Quetzalcoatl -- also named Kukulcan. On May 29, 1577, the King of Spain dispatched a questionnaire (called the real cedula) to the Spanish officials of the area, commanding them to fill it out. The Spanish officials in Yucatan complied. These reports, originally filed in the Archivo General de Indias in Sevelle, are collectively known as the Relaciones de Yucatan and are in Volumes 11 and 13 of the Coleccion de documentos ineditos relativos al descubrimiento, conquista y organizacion de las antiguas posesiones espanolas de ultramar, second series, published in 1898 and 1900 by the Real Academia de la Historia in Madrid. Most of these relaciones bear dates in the early months of 1581.

Two of the report writers were Francisco de Bracamonte and Martin de Palomar. Bracamonte was encomendero [a person who had the right to collect tributes from the Indians within a designated territory, with the concomitant duty to propagate the Catholic faith] and Palomar was rigidor [minor official] of the settlements of Motul and Tecax that were within Bracamonte's encomienda. Palomar wrote the relacion on behalf of Bracamonte, and his Yucatec Maya informants were Juan Peche, governor of Motul, Juan Qui, Domingo Xul, and Francisco Evan [Euan], principals [chiefs] of Motul, and Juan Cumci de Landa, citizen of Motul, who might have been a protege of Diego de Landa (A Search for Quetzalcoatl, by John Spencer Carroll. Stonehenge Viewpoint, Santa Barbara, CA. 1994, p. 20).

Referring to the people of Motul, Palomar wrote --

...they had knowledge of only one God who created heaven and earth and everything, and [they knew] that his seat [of government] was in heaven. They were [at] one time with knowledge of this only God, to whom they had erected [a] TEMPLE with priests, to which [priests] they brought presents and alms so that they had this manner of worship until A GREAT LORD, called Rurulcan [Kukulcan], came from OUTSIDE THIS LAND with people, for he and his people worshipped idols; and from here those of the land commenced to worship idols...

Pedro de Sautillana, encomendero of Moxopipe, filled out his relacion with the help of Gaspar Antomio Xiu (also known as Gaspar Antonio Chi de Herrera). A member of the Xiu family, Gaspar Antonio Xiu (1531-1610) was an interpreter for the Spanish government of Yucatan. In the Relacion de Quinacama o Moxpipe, Sautillana and Xiu narrated:

The ancient ones of this province say that anciently...they did not worship idols in this land. After the Mexicans entered it and possessed it, a captain who was called Quetzalquat [Quetzalcoatl] in the Mexican language (that is to say in our [language], plumage of a snake, and among themselves they give this name to the serpent because they say that it has plumage) INTRODUCED IDOLATRY and the use of idols as gods in this land, which [idols] he made them make from wood, clay, and stone. He made [them] worship them, and they offered them many things of the hunt and merchandise and above all BLOOD from their noses and ears and THE HEARTS OF SOME WHOM THEY SACRIFICED in their service. They perfumed them with smokes of copal, which is the incense of this land; and this custom remained until the conquistadores conquered them.

Four other encomenderos reported almost the same scenario.

Mayan and Aztec texts state that this man, claiming descent from the sun, arrived from the Gulf of Mexico with a complement of astronomers, architects and priests. The Aztecs called the man/god Quetzalcoatl, and the Mayans called him Kukulcan. These men wore sandals and robes and taught the natives to write, build, weave and worship the sun. The texts also reveal that they built schools primarily for teaching history.

This "Kukulcan" or "Quetzalcoatl" was, of course, Odin or Votan of Scandinavia who introduced idolatry and human sacrifice into Mesoamerica. He was the third Quetzalcoatl.

So here we have the records of a DANISH KING sailing across the ocean to Mesoamerica and planting COLONIES OF RED MEN FROM EUROPE and Thrace in the YUCATAN and GUATEMALAN HIGHLANDS -- as early as 1000 years before Christ! After vesting the visiting descendants of the priest-kings who founded Tula with the symbols of royalty and rulership, Odin traveled back to Mesoamerica with them, planting new colonies of Canaanites in the Yucatan and Guatemalan highlands. The newly vested priest-kings were placed in rulership over them. It is a FACT that Mesoamerican traditions universally assign WHITE LEADERS to every major recorded historic migration of the AMERICAN INDIAN from northwestern Europe.

A Latter Migration!

With the fall of the Persian Empire in 331 B.C., the last remaining CANAANITES in Asia Minor disappeared from the area. Many other nations who had been held in virtual slavery gained their freedom at this time -- including the House of Israel. In the year 331-330 the Israelites, along with the remnant of Canaanites and some other races, journeyed out of this area to the northwest, eventually arriving in Scotland.

Archaeological proof of the Canaanites' later movements can be found in the skeletons unearthed in Asia minor:

Measuring techniques have become so ACCURATE that RACIAL CHARACTERISTICS are now distinguishable with a FAIR DEGREE OF CERTAINTY. The HITTITES, too, can be studied from this aspect. In 1958 the Deutche Orientgesellschaft devoted its 71st scientific publication to some HITTITE GRAVES discovered six years earlier in the immediate vicinity of the capital, HATTUSA, below a spur of rock named Osmankayasi after the owner of the neighbouring field. Excavation of this burial-ground yielded 50 cremation burials and 22 skeletons.

Continues the author --

Taken in conjunction with other finds made in ANATOLIA, these human remains enabled experts to distinguish THE HITTITES FROM OTHER RACES. To quote the publication mentioned above: 'If we temporarily disregard the human types portrayed in Hittite art and focus our attention on SHAPE OF SKULL ALONE, THE HITTITES can be typologically classified....During Anatolia's PRE-HITTITE PERIOD [prior to approximately 1447 B.C.], or in the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Ages, NARROW-SKULLED TYPES are found. In the MIDDLE BRONZE AGE [after about 1447 B.C.]... BRACHYCEPHALIC TYPES occur in the CENTRAL ANATOLIAN REGION. After...the COLLAPSE OF THE CENTRAL HITTITE EMPIRE [331 B.C.]these gave way to DOLICHOCEPHALICS who were later (in Greek and, more particularly, Roman times) succeeded by the BRACHYCEPHALICS who still predominate in our own day. The likely inference is that HITTITE SETTLERS [from Canaan] INTRODUCED THESE BRACHYCEPHALIC SKULLS INTO CENTRAL ANATOLIA [in the Middle Bronze Age].' -- The Hittites: People of a Thousand Gods, pp. 83-84.

Wherever the Canaanites went as they traveled across Europe, they left BRACHYCEPHALIC skulls of their dead as markers of the route they took.

"The native monuments, together with the Egyptian reliefs representing Hittites, showed the physical characteristics of the Hittite race; in particular, the GREAT CURVED NOSE and BACKWARD SLOPING FOREHEAD, which proved beyond any dispute that the Hittites were not Semites or Indo-Europeans. The hieroglyphic writing of the Hittites has nothing to do with the Egyptian hieroglyphic script. It is a PICTOGRAPHIC SCRIPT; but the original meaning of many of the signs is still obscure" (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1943 edition. Vol. 11, p. 599).

The Britannica goes on to say: "Not only the mixed character of the Hittite language, but also the physical characters of the "Hittite" race, its HYPERBRACHYCEPHALOUS SKULL, the LARGE HOOKED NOSE and SLOPING FOREHEAD, suggested the hypothesis that here an Indo-European nation is mingled with a NON-Indo-European race" (ibid., p. 602). If you study pictures of the ancient Maya you will see these SAME physical features present -- indicating, with other similarities, a COMMON ancestry.

These later movements of the Canaanites were recorded by the Roman historian Tacitus (55? - after 117 A.D.) in his book Germania. He mentions that "some tribes... appeared BETWEEN THE RHINE AND WESER during the centuries IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING OUR ERA. Called the CHATTI [a variation of HATTI, or HITTITE], they were a TOUGH AND WARLIKE PEOPLE who excelled their neighbours in the martial arts (Germania, XXIX et seq.)" (Ibid., p. 80).

Their movements in Europe are also recorded under the name or title of PICT. Joseph Ritson says "that a people of AQUITAIN GAUL, upon the seacoast (now POITOU), is called by Caesar, Strabo, Pliny, and others, PICTONES. PICTAVI (now POITIERS) was their city; whence they are afterward, in the Notitia Gallica, by Gregory of Tours and others, called also PICTAVI or PICTAVIENSES..." (Annals of the Caledonians, Picts, and Scots. P. 84).

Ritson goes on to mention:

The PICTONES were a considerable nation of the Celtae [actually, they were NOT Celts at all but fellow-travelers] (to whom Caesar allots A THIRD PART OF GAUL [FRANCE]), and inhabited A LARGE DISTRICT TO THE SOUTH OF THE LIGER OR LOIRE, bordering upon the northern ocean, now THE BAY OF BISCAY. Between this people and the PICTS, if not absolutely the same, there is at least this resemblance, that BOTH appear, as is already said, to have been called PICTONES. Flaccus Alcovinus, who flourished in 780, and wrote a Latin poem, "De pontificibus et santis ecclesiae Eboracensis," (apud Historiae Britannicae scriptores, xx. a Gale, I. 705,) and makes frequent mention of the PICTS, has in one instance this line (v. 68):

"Donec PICTO FEROX timido simul agmine fugit."
(Till the FIERCE PICT fled, with a fearful herd.)

This, therefore, is an ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE, that PICTO, a PICT, PICTONES, the PICTS, was a common name as well of the GALLIC, as of the CALEDONIAN [SCOTLAND] PICTS. -- Ibid., pp. 85-86.

From the Continent the Canaanites or PICTS set sail for Britain. Their route is uncovered by Ritson:

The PICTS, before their arrival and settlement in the NORTH OF BRITAIN [SCOTLAND], seem to have established themselves in the ORCADES, or ORKNEY ISLANDS. We have this FACT on the authority of Nennius. "After an interval," he says, "of many years, (from the time, that is, of HELI THE HIGH PRIEST, when BRITO [BRUTUS] reigned in Britain, and Posthumus, his brother, over the Latins,) not less than 900 [aprox. 249 B.C.], the PICTS came and OCCUPIED THE ISLANDS WHICH ARE CALLED ORCADES; and afterwards, from the neighbouring isles, wasted many and not small regions, and OCCUPIED them in the left (i.e. north) part of BRITAIN, and remain to this day. THERE THE THIRD PART OF BRITAIN THEY HELD, and hold till now." An additional proof of their being settled IN THESE ISLANDS, is afforded by an epistle, or certificate, in legal form, of Thomas de Tulloch, bishop of Orkney and Zetland, to Eric, king of Denmark and Norway, in 1403; wherein he informs him, that in the time of Harold Harfager, first king of Norway, An. 900, the land or country of the ISLANDS OF ORKNEY was inhabited and cultivated by two nations; that is to say, the PETS and the PAPES (PETI et PAPAE); which two nations had been radically and entirely destroyed by the Norwegians of the race or tribe of the most strenuous prince Ronald, as well as by the name of "PICTS, or PIGHTS HOUSES," which appears to be still given to certain ancient buildings in those parts. -- Annals of the Caledonians, Picts, and Scots. Pp. 99-100.

From the Orkneys the Picts moved on into Scotland. The 19th-century author Pinkerton "maintains the ancient Caledonians to be PICTS, or PIKS...but...at the same time, that SCOTLAND was held by the Cumri, or Cimbri, or Cimmerii, two different people; and that the CIMBRI, 'who held all Germany,' were CELTS (I. 13, 15), and 'HELD SCOTLAND TILL THE PIKS CAME AND EXPELLED THEM' (I. 16, 39); asserting, moreover, that 'THE PIKS CAME FROM NORWAY TO SCOTLAND [by way of the Orkneys]' (I. 15)."

Pinkerton goes on to say "the PIKS were really the VIK VERIAR OF NORWAY...and were...settled in that part of BRITAIN which lies NORTH OF THE CLYDE AND FORTH, LONG BEFORE THE TIME OF JULIUS [CAESAR]" (Annals of the Caledonians, Picts, and Scots, pp. 74-75).

Further, he notes, "the CIMBRI held Scotland TILL THE PIKS ["FROM NORWAY"] CAME AND EXPELLED THEM; an event which happened about 200 YEARS BEFORE CHRIST. These Cimbri were driven by the PIKS down below Loch Fyn, and the Tay, and, after, beyond the firths of Forth and Clyde...."

These same PIKS (or PICTS) who took control of Scotland from the Cimri were, according to Pinkerton, "the PEUKINI...the PIKI OF ANCIENT COLCHIS [country on the east shore of the Black Sea], who inhabited the ISLE OF PEUKE, AT THE MOUTH OF THE DANUBE." Thus the Picts of Scotland are connected with Asia Minor and the Canaanites who dwelt there under the Hittite Empire.

Traits of the British Picts

When the Roman legions of Julius Caesar arrived in the land, they found the British Isles already inhabited by a race of savages that painted their bodies. For this reason, they gave them the name PICTS. When the Romans returned sometime later, the Picts had disappeared to the north and their place had been taken by the British.

As the Romans pushed northwards in Britain, they inevitably came to what is very roughly speaking the present national boundary from the Tweed to Solway, along the southern face of the Cheviots. Here they came across "ANOTHER RACE, EXTREMELY WARLIKE AND FIERCE." Notes Charles MacKinnon: "They were formidable enough to halt the Roman advance for a time, and the Romans called them CALEDONIANS, but from the start they seem to have been nicknamed PICTS" (Scottish Highlanders. Barnes & Noble Books, N.Y. 1984, p. 24). This was the same race Julius Caesar encountered when he invaded Britain in 55 B.C.

Explains Dr. Benjamin Rea:

Pictland was, and continues to this day to be, a geographical region. The name of this area was given by the Romans. It was done with the primary purpose of referring to a particular people. But this region was also inhabited by a people who were not the descendants of the Picts, who we are interested in. This name, as we have mentioned, is of Roman origin and means painted people. There is no doubt that when the Romans came for the first time and saw men who wore pictures on their skin -- a practice that, to the eyes of the Latins was as strange as other European customs -- they named the entire area inhabited by these people PICTLANDIA, which means the area of the painted men. -- The Roots of the American Indian, p. 41.

According to Thomas Rice Edward Holmes, this race of men, with figures painted on their skin, preferred to eat the meat of dogs and practiced totemism and exogamy amongst other customs (Early Man in Great Britain, p. 88). They were definitely not Celts -- and had no affinity with this race. Their customs were completely different from the Celts, the Anglo-Saxons and other so-called Indo-Europeans.

One custom that is completely foreign to all European nations -- and existed without a doubt among the Picts -- was the custom of MATRIARCHY: The mother, not the father, was the head of the clan or tribe. She was the one who governed or ruled, in general. This fact is of vital importance and proves that the Picts were quite different from all Indo-Europeans. This fact also links them to the Lykians and Karians of Asia Minor and the Aegean Sea, and links them to various peoples in the New World! In The Problem of the Picts, by Frederick L. Wainwright, we read:

The most outstanding point for us to see, if the system of succession (through the female) can be defined as a characteristic of non-European and non-Celtic cultures. Zimmer was convinced that the succession by the mother was not practiced by the Indo-European races. Frazier thought that the succession was not by the mother and that it was no different among the Hiberian and the Celtic races, but his arguments were not convincing on this point. Other investigators have accepted the Picts as being a matriarchal society, but they would not admit that this system of succession was foreign to the Celtic tribes. If the practice is definitely not found among the Celts and the Indo-Europeans, then it would be most difficult to prove that the Picts are of the same racial family. -- Pp. 27-28.

In his book, Ancient Britain and the Invasions of Julius Caesar, there is another quotation from Zimmer (Holmes, p. 415):

Zimmer, referring to the work by Schrader entitled Prehistoric Antiquities of the Aryans, made these observations, "Among all the people who speak the Aryan language and among the ancestors of this race, the custom of succession has always been from father to son. This practice was the basis of this society and culture."

These excerps clearly show that the custom of matriarchy was foreign to all European races and, therefore, is a key that shows who the Picts were and where they originated from before arriving in the British Isles. "The practice of matriarchy is so different from the usual western practice that it stands out and serves as a KEY to open the door and reveal the mystery that has obscured the identity of those who practiced it. Among the Picts it was a religious custom!" (The Roots of the American Indian, p. 42).

V. Gordon Childe, in his authoritative book Scotland Before the Scots, provides us with some amazing information on the enigmatic Picts --

The succession to the throne or to the royal power was evidently not transmitted from king to the son; rather, the queen usually selected her mate from a different community, tribe, or clan. This system of transmission of power through the woman is known by ethnographers as matriarchy, and at times it is combined with exogamy, marriage outside the community, and totemism, a custom of a society which supports a belief that in some mysterious manner they are descended from a plant or animal and they therefore take their tribal name from this plant or animal. These three practices -- matriarchy, totemism, and exogamy -- are not practices of Indo-European societies. -- Pp. 260-61.

Tattooing was a common practice among the Picts, and they practiced it as part of their religion. This custom did not exist among the Celts and other Indo-European races.

The use of the TOTEM POLE was exercised only among the Picts of Scotland. No other ancient European tribe used it. However, the totem pole is used among the Indians of North America and among the Mayas of Mesoamerica. This alone supports the belief in a common relationship between the Picts and the American Indians.

Although most of the Picts disappeared from Scotland at a later date, a small number of them survived down to the eighteenth century. The characteristics of this remnant are recorded by Herman L. Hoeh in his Compendium of World History --

In the eighteenth century, Martin, in his volume Western Islands of Scotland, remarked that the COMPLEXION of the natives of the isle of Skye was "for the most part BLACK;" and the nations of Jura were "generally BLACK OF COMPLEXION," and of Arran, "generally BROWN, and some of a BLACK COMPLEXION." The inhabitants of the Isle Gigay were "fair or BROWN in complexion." The AMERICAN INDIAN -- commonly called the RED MAN -- varies from COPPER-BROWN to almost BLACK, and, of course, almost white in some tribes.

And the famous literary companions Johnson and Boswell several times took notice of the SWARTHY COLOR of some of the natives in THE NORTH AND WEST OF SCOTLAND (Croker's Boswell, 1848, pp. 309-310, 316, 352). "There was great diversity in the faces of the circle around us," wrote Boswell; "some were AS BLACK AND WILD in their appearance AS ANY AMERICAN SAVAGES whatever." "Our boatmen were rude singers, and seemed SO LIKE INDIANS, THAT A VERY LITTLE IMAGINATION WAS NECESSARY TO GIVE ONE AN IMPRESSION OF BEING UPON AN AMERICAN RIVER."

A writer at the beginning of the nineteenth century characterized the people of Harris: "In general the natives are of SMALL STATUE....THE CHEEK BONES ARE RATHER PROMINENT. THE COMPLEXION IS OF ALL TINTS. Many individuals are as DARK as mulattoes, while others are as nearly as fair as Danes" (Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, No. VII, pp. 142, 143).

In Pennant's Second Tour, 1772, is a line drawing of the WIGWAMS of the half-breed natives of the SCOTTISH ISLAND OF JURA. Here are natives, LIKE AMERICAN INDIANS, living in THE REMOTE ISLANDS OF EUROPE [as well as LAPLAND and SIBERIA], whose last remnants [in Scotland] died out as late as the beginning of the nineteenth century. -- Vol. II, pp. 86-88.

S. Gusten Olson also admits that "in Britain, the PICTS were a STRIKING PARALLEL TO AMERICAN INDIANS" (The Incredible Nordic Origins, p. 13).

The Vanishing Picts!

"The first race to DISAPPEAR [from Scotland] were," writes Charles MacKinnon, "the PICTS, and 'DISAPPEAR' THEY DID." He goes on to say that "according to the latest information today [as of 1984], however, nobody yet knows...what happened to them. Nor do we know what language they spoke, except that it was NOT the Gaelic of the Scoto-Irish invaders from Antrim who brought Irish civilization to Scotland...."

"The mystery lies in the fact that thereafter [the time of Kenneth McAlpin -- circa 843 A.D.] THE PICTS DISAPPEARED ENTIRELY. There are theories about great battles and about treachery during which Kenneth killed all the Pictish royal family and their nobles, BUT NOBODY KNOWS EXACTLY WHY THE LANGUAGE, ORAL TRADITIONS ABOUT THEIR ORIGIN, THEIR CUSTOMS AND EVEN THEIR REAL NAME (for PICTS was a Latin nickname) VANISHED. They DID VANISH, however, and the smaller kingdom of DALRIADA gave Scotland its name, its language (Gaelic), its customs and its rulers" (Scottish Highlanders, pp. 24, 26-27).

What happened to the wild Picts? Where did they go -- or were they indeed exterminated by the invading Scots? Herman L. Hoeh poses the same question -- but also gives us a clue! "The WILD, UNSETTLED PICTS later DISAPPEARED from Scotland. Where? Historians do not know. But SCOTTISH HISTORY tells!"

The KEY to the history of Mesoamerica has been lost; and not a single historian or archaeologist seems to know the TRUE ORIGIN of American Indian civilization. Why? Because they have THROWN OUT the KEYS to that history. One of the keys, as we have seen, was found in Danish history in the person of ODIN who took the first great migration of Canaanites to Mesoamerica. The second KEY -- and probably the most important -- is to be found in the tumultuous history of rugged SCOTLAND.

The nation of the Scots was completely DRIVEN OUT OF SCOTLAND by the ROMANS in the year 376 A.D. The PICTS, and other groups, who remained in the land as allies of Rome were soon turned upon and miserably oppressed. Rebellion broke out and the Roman Legions dealt severely with the fleeing rebels. In desperation the PICTS sought, and obtained, Scottish help to drive out the Roman forces and their British allies.

Herman Hoeh tells the story --

The Romans soon turned on the Cruithne -- who were still dwelling in Pictland along with the WILD PICTS. The Cruithne were miserably oppressed. After three decades they came to an agreement with the SCOTS and promised to restore the Scots to the throne if they would deliver them from [Roman] oppression. The son of Erc or Erp returned in 408 at the head of a Scottish army, delivered the Cruithne and restored the throne...(Compendium of World History. Vol. II, p. 80).

Hoeh then asks the question: "But what befell those WILD, TRIBAL PICTS who gave their name to the Cruithne -- and who PAINTED THEMSELVES? Remnants of them continued to be referred to AS LATE AS THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. Most of the population, however, DISAPPEARED IN 503 upon the coming of the Milesian Scots out of Ireland under the leadership of Fearghus mac Erc" (Ibid., p. 83).

What indeed befell the WILD PICTS -- the people who left the many strange and fascinating monuments and artifacts in the NORTHERN ISLES OF BRITAIN?

Not only was there a MAJOR MIGRATION in 503 A.D., but there was an EARLIER one in 376 A.D. Notice --

No continuous history of the QUICHE-MAYA civilization is extant. We have to turn to the VALLEY OF MEXICO for a DIRECT and surprising CONNECTION with the movement of events IN SCOTLAND where dwelt the PICTS and the MAIATAI (Greek for MAIA fold [this is where the word "MAYA" comes from]).

From SCOTTISH HISTORY...it [is] established that MAJOR MIGRATIONS OCCURRED IN THE YEARS 376 -- when the Scots and allies were driven out and the PICTS miserably oppressed -- and IN 503 -- when the Scots from Ireland drove out most of the remaining WILD PICTS or PAINTED MEN. Where did these folk flee to? Can we establish a direct connection between these events in PICTLAND with the history of MIGRATION TO THE VALLEY OF MEXICO OF THE TOLTECS and others in the New World?
Indeed we can. -- Compendium of World History, Vol. II, pp. 94-97.

Herman Hoeh continues --

Now compare this with the MIGRATION OF THE TOLTECS and their WHITE chieftains to Mexico. The historian of the TOLTECS was Ixtlilxochitl. He reports several MIGRATIONS over the centuries. But the one he takes special note of -- for its chronological import -- COMMENCED IN 387 (See Bancroft's Native Races of the Pacific States, Vol. 5, pp. 209, 214.) The events were these -- a REBELLION broke out that led to a protracted struggle for eight years. The rebels were finally forced to FLEE IN 384 for protection. After remaining 3 years (to 387) they continued their LENGTHY MIGRATION. It was now 11 years after the initial rebellion. Eleven years before 387 is 376 -- THE VERY YEAR THE ROMANS DROVE OUT THE SCOTS AND SUPPRESSED THE PAINTED RED MEN OF PICTLAND! Is this mere coincidence? THEIR MIGRATION TOOK THEM OVER WATER AND LAND TILL THEY REACHED JALISCO IN MEXICO. To do so they must have landed in the traditional area of the USUMACINTA RIVER, crossed the isthmus, and coasted to JALISCO on the southern extremity of the Gulf of California. After wandering many years they settled in TULANCINGO. "The third year of their stay in Tulancingo completed...one hundred and four years since the departure from the country," records Bancroft from Ixtlilxochitl (vol. V, p. 213). (The 104 years compose two Indian calendar cycles of 52 years each). It was now 488.

At TULANCINGO they remained another 15 years -- to 503. In 503 THEY MIGRATED TO THE VALLEY OF MEXICO TO THE REGION OF LAKE TEXCOCO. What caused them to migrate in 503? Is this a significant date in SCOTTISH HISTORY? Indeed. THAT WAS THE YEAR THE SCOTS FROM IRELAND FINALLY SETTLED IN SCOTLAND AND DROVE THE WILD PICTISH TRIBES OUT OF THE COUNTRY.

Strengthened by a NEW INFLUX of migrants, the TOLTECS journeyed (IN 503) to the already settled shores of the lake on which MEXICO CITY now stands. There, at TULLAN, for six years the Toltecs lived under a theocratic republic, each chief directing the movement of his band in war and directing their needs in times of peace....(Ibid.).

Modern historians have often carelessly discounted the value of these Indian records. But archaeology is now forcing a renewed respect for the history and traditions of Mesoamerica as preserved by the native writers during the earliest periods of the Spanish colonial period.

From Mesoamerica the Canaanites spread throughout the New World. Where the Canaanite HITTITES migrated to from Central America should surprise no one. Reports Herman L. Hoeh: "The ONLY people of this description -- BEARING THE NAME CHATTI, that is, HITTITES -- warlike and rude, were found scattered throughout much of NEW ENGLAND AND THE PLAINS OF NORTH AMERICA after the voyage of Columbus to the New World....The name CHATTI was the COMMON intertribal name of the great CIVILIZED INDIAN NATIONS of New England and the great plains of North America" (Compendium of World History, Vol I, p. 360).

In the great westward European expansion of the 19th century these tribes were uprooted and, in a lot of cases, exterminated.

Maya Characteristics

The various tribes that formed the Maya race (the most prominient being the Mayaquiches, the Lacandones, and the Xius, or Tutul-xius) had developed a magnificent culture by the time the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the 16th century. In a letter written to Phillip the Second of Spain we find a vivid description of this amazing civilization --

About the place previously mentioned, on the way to the city of Pedro, at the first stop in the province of Honduras, called Copan, are some ruins and remains of a great city and its magnificent buildings. It does not seem reasonable to expect that such artistic and sumptuous structures could have been erected by people of such a barbaric nature, such as that possessed by the current inhabitant...(Written by Diego Garcia de Palacio, dated the 8th of March, 1576).

Continues this eye witness of the Maya civilization:

As we arrived at the ruins, we observed another stone figure in the shape of a GIANT...Entering inside we found a cross of stone some two feet in height...

Further on...is a HUGE STATUE of more than eleven feet tall, wrought in the form of a bishop dressed in his priestly robes, with his miter clearly in evidence and even rings on his fingers. Next to the statue was a square very well preserved, with an adjoining stairway, like those of the Roman Coliseum, and in another location there were eighty tiled steps worked in place with pieces of very fine stone of great beauty...And in the middle of the plaza there was another large basin and two other figures giving the appearance of women, elegantly dressed in long robes in the Roman manner. Another was of a bishop who appeared to have in his hands an object that looked like a small chest. (Ibid.)

The mention of statues depicting giants is very significant -- in our article Unraveling the Origins of the Mysterious Olmec we show that the Anakim giants of Cannan found their way to Mesoamerica in very early times. Also, de Palacio's mention of a statue that reminded him of a Roman Catholic bishop has considerable import. This we will cover later.

Tattooing was one of the unusual customs of the Maya Indians. "It was so extensively practiced that if the Romans had arrived here instead of the Spanish, they would have named them 'the Picts'" (The Roots of the American Indian, p. 83).

In the New Encyclopedia we find that --

Both men and women were tattooed with many bizarre designs, giving most of them a very unusual appearance. Women were tattooed as the men, except that they employed it from the waist up, excluding the breasts ("Maya," p. 1145).

Alfonso Toro tells us in his work that --

Frequently the men and the women would dye their bodies red, then decorate them with designs and other colors and tattoos; they anointed themselves with fragrant resins; they were also very fond of perfumes.

The Universal Encyclopedia Illustrated, confirming the other authors about the practice of tattooing, adds the following,

They anoint their bodies with balsam, "iztahte," and they then proceed to tattoo the upper part of their bodies.

This practice among the Maya parallels that of the Iroquois Indians in the United States and Canada -- who also had the habit of tattooing themselves. The Iroquois can easily be traced back to the Picts of the British Isles and had the added Pictish customs of totemism and the matriarchal system. Did the Maya have similar customs?

In the already mentioned work of Alfonso Toro we read:

Since the Mayas observed certain TOTEMIC beliefs, they were in the habit of putting their clans or families under the protection of some particular animal, one they considered sacred, and so some they called Balam, or jaguar; and others Pech, or dog; others Baz, or monkeys; others Chan, or serpents; etc.

The Universal Encyclopedia Ilustrada ("Maya," Vol. XXXIII, p. 1282) corroborates Toro by saying --

The Lacandones (one of the most important Mayan tribes) are divided into clans, or totems, each one of which worships an animal or object.

While they did not practice matriarchy in the same manner as the Iroquois or the Picts, the Mayan woman occupied a position of honor in the society of the Mayas which was the most exalted among the ancient Mesoamericans The Mayan woman inherited property and participated in the religious and political affairs of the Maya nation and, records Dr. Benjamin Rea, "the explorers removed from the land a stela, or monolith, with the following inscription: 'The Maya Queen' from Quiraqua, Nicaragua. This stela belonged to the ancient empire. This monolith tells us that the woman did not lack power in Maya society. On the contrary, it might very well indicate that at one time a Queen ruled over them." (The Roots of the American Indian, p. 85).

This fact could also demonstrate something else -- a point of paramount importance! We have shown that the American Indians once lived on the islands of the Aegean Sea and surrounding areas. Is it, therefore, not reasonable to assume that they worshipped the Greek goddess MAYA (MAIA)? It cannot be a mere coincidence since she was one of the seven Pleiades whose name, according to Ovid, gave origin to the month of May. Since the Mayas were so dedicated to the art of astrology, it seems logical that they would have selected this name.

Strange Coincidences?

The later history of the Maya was connected with a very unusual man -- the fourth Quetzalcoatl! When the Spaniards arrived in Mexico and Central America, they were astonished to find the Maya Indians practising what appeared to be tenets of the Roman Catholic Church! The Catholic priests accompanying the conquistadors discovered that the Maya religion had many affinities with the stories and customs of the Bible.

They described a "baptism" in one of the temples of the Maya and Diego de Landa, in 1566, recorded it as follows --

Baptism is not found in any part of the Indias except in Yucatan, and (it exists) even with a word which means "to be born anew or again," which is the same as the Latin "to be reborn"; for in the language of Yucatan zihil means "to be born anew or again," and it is not used except in compound words, and thus caputzihil means "to be born again."

We have not been able to know its origin, except that it is a thing which they have always used and toward which they had so much devotion that nobody failed to receive it and (so much) reverence that those who had sins, if they are known to have been committed, had to reveal them to the priests; and such faith (they had) in it that they never repeated the sin in any manner...(Relacion de las cosas de Yucatan. Editorial Porrua, Mexico (1966), p. 44).


In the time of the first Spaniards a form of "confession" was still going on in the Indian temples. States de Landa --

The Yucatanenses naturally knew what evil they did; and because they believed that through evil and sin came death, illnesses, and torments to them, they had confession as a custom...when through illness or otherwise they were in danger of death...to the priest if he was there, and if not, to their fathers and mothers, wives to husbands, and husbands to wives...

The sins of which they commonly accused themselves were theft, homicide, of the flesh, and false witness and with this they believed themselves saved; and many times, if they escaped [death], there were quarrels between the husband and the wife...(Ibid.)

Landa also declared that the Maya did penances.

When the Spaniards eventually settled the land -- as priests, "civil servants," or judges -- they became more familiar with Mayan customs, and made some new and startling discoveries:

The Maya were still celebrating their age-old festivals in the same way they had done for centuries; these were strangely like the festivals of the Catholic world, and even fell on almost the same days. The 16th of May, for instance, was for the Maya the day when the waters were blessed; in Europe it was the day of St. John Nepomucen (patron saint of Bohemia), saint of the water. The 8th of September for the Maya was the birthday of the White God's mother -- in Catholic countries it is the day of the Blessed Virgin's birth; and the White God's birthday was celebrated on the 25th of December. On the 2nd of November, when Catholics even today visit the cemeteries to put flowers on the graves of their dear ones, the Maya used to go to the graves of their dead and decorate them with flowers. -- New Dawn, April/May 1994. Number 24, p. 35.

Diego Duran, though he himself sometimes suspected a PRE-SPANISH CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE in Mexico, often became angry when the Maya mentioned religious coincidences to him, and he put the blame on the devil --

...I heard an old Indian woman, whom they brought to me for her wisdom in the law, who might have been a priestess, say that also they had Easter and Christmas, like us and at the same time as we, and Corpus Christi, and she pointed out other important (Nahua) feasts which we (also) celebrate.

I responded to her: "Evil woman, (it is) the devil who so well knew how to plot and sow his weeds and mix them with the wheat so that you could not completely know the truth!" -- Historia de las Indias de Nueva Espana e islas de la tierra firme, Editorial Porrua, Mexico (1967), vol. I, pp. 244-245.

So convinced were some that the devil, not Christian evangelism, was responsible for planting the Catholic faith in the New World, they penned entire books on the subject. One such commentator was the Jesuit Josef de Acosta. In the fifth book of his Historia natural y moral de las Indias (1589) he wrote that the "arrogance of the devil is so great and so obstinate that always he craves and endeavors to be regarded and honored as God; and in all he can steal and appropriate to himself that which belongs alone to the highest God, he never ceases to do it in the blind nations of the world where the light and splendor of the holy evangelist has not shone." As an example of the devil's machinations in Catholic guise, Acosta cited the following facts:

1/. "It was the office of the priests and religious ones in Mexico...to inter the dead and to do their funerals..."

2/. "In Mexico there was this strange curiosity; and the demon imitating the usage of the Church of God, he placed his orders of minor, major, and supreme priests and some like acolytes and others like levites...it appears that the devil wanted to usurp the cult of Christ for himself, for the Mexicanos in the ancient language called the supreme priests...papas."

3/. "In Mexico the demon had also his...nuns and monks...and monasteries..."

4/. "...the priests and religious ones of Mexico arose at midnight; and the priests having fumigated the idol, they themselves as dignitaries of the temple went to a place of a wide room, where there were many seats, and there they sat, and each one taking a point of maguey, which is like an awl or a sharp punch, or with another type of lancet or knife, punctured the calves of their legs together with the shinbone (s), drawing from themselves much blood with which they smeared the temple (of their heads), bathing the points or lancets with the rest of the blood and afterwards they put them between the battlements of the courtyard so that all would see them and understand the penance that they did for the people."

5/. "...they had great fasts, these priests and religious ones..."

6/. "They kept their continence...strickly..."

7/. "...the demon endeavored in Mexico to imitate the feast of Corpus Christi and communion which the Holy Church uses...In the month of May, the Mexicans have their principal feast of their god Vitzilipaztli (Huitchilopochtli)..."

8/. "The Mexicans have also their baptisms..."

9/. "The Mexicans marry themselves by the hand of their priests..."

Acosta, placing the blame at the feet of the devil, argued that these were devilish coincidences and not the fruit of Christian evangelism. Was he right? Where did these "coincidences," which Duran suspected were a result of pre-Spanish influence in Mexico, come from? The answer to these questions will highlight one of the most astonishing episodes in the history of Mesoamerica!

The Fourth Quetzalcoatl

The story of the fourth Quetzalcoatl began in Nonohualco -- the region of Tabasco and Yucatan, particularly Tabasco. This area was inhabited by Nahuas speaking the Nahuat dialect of Nahuatl, by Chontals speaking a Maya tongue called Putun, and by Zoques speaking their own Maya language. Part of Nonohualco, probably from the Laguna de Terminos to Champoton, was the riverine Acallan -- the "place of boats." These Nahuats and Chontals were bilingual; and the Mayas of Yucatan called them Ah Itzaob ("lord Itzas"). Later, as we shall see, they became the Cocoms, Canuls, and other groups of the Yucatan.

According to John Spencer Carroll --

Itza armies attacked the Mayas of Yucatan twice, once in the Small Descent, from the east, and again in the Great Descent from the west, both times transported by the boats of the Chontals, the Nahuats being the soliery. The Great Descent occurred in a katun 4-Ahau, and the Itza combatants seized Chichen Itza on the Maya date 2-Akbal 1-Yaxkin in a katun 4-Ahau, April 26, 970 A.D. The Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel and the Book of Chilam Balam of Tizimin record the Small Descent and the Great Descent. "Comes the ancestor, comes the successor." Other allusions to these two invasions are throughout the Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel. Yet a a third descent happened: "For the third time was established the day of the god of our enemies." "Thrice shall the justice of our lord descend to the world." "Three times it was, they say, that the foreigners arrived." The third descent was the coming of Kukulcan in a katun 4-Ahau, in 986 or 987 A.D., 16 or 17 years after the Great Descent. -- A search for Quetzalcoatl. Stonehenge Viewpoint, Santa Barbara, CA 1994, p. 88.

The Itza soldiers battled the forces of Coba and powerful Puuc Maya cities in the west part of the Yucatan. When they finally prevailed, Chichen Itza became the center of a great and cosmopolitan state that was renown throughout the Mesoamerican world.

He arrived by ship in yucatan in 986 or 987 A.D. -- so say two Maya sources, dating this event in a katun 4-Ahau in the Maya calendar. "Twenty men disembarked at Champoton on the western coast of Yucatan. Their vessel was a sailing ship...The leader of this group was a man called Kukulcan. These men had a strange appearance; they 'wore long clothes' and 'sandals as footwear,' had 'large beards,' and had 'no hats on their heads.'" (Ibid., p. 15.)

Notes Benjamin Rea:

All of the traditions of the Aztecs and the Mayas describe him as a white man, with a beard, who wore clothing adorned with black and white crosses. And almost all the legends state that this particular person came from across the Atlantic, in a boat with white sails...(The Roots of the American Indian, p. 74).

Kukulcan, identified in a number of traditions as a "Mexican captain," had only 19 other men in his party. These 20 men evidently blended into the personified and deified 20 days of the Maya calendar.

From Yucatan these strangers traveled to Tula in the valley of Mexico where they gained the confidence of the ruling Toltecs. Eventually, according to the Indian traditions, Quetzalcoatl and the Toltecs were driven from Tula by forces allied to the war god Tezcatli-poca. "This exodus presumably took place in the year 987, and according to various sources Quetzalcoatl and his subjects made their way back to Yucatan and established themselves at Chichen Itza" (Maya: The Riddle and Rediscovery of a Lost Civilization, by Charles Gallenkamp).

Writing of Quetzalcoatl's arrival back in Yucatan with his band of 19 men and the loyal Toltecs, Landa reported --

It is belived among the Indians that with the Itzas who occupied Chichen Itza there reigned a great lord named Kukulcan, and that the principal building, which is called Kukulcan, shows this to be true [a reference to the Temple of Kukulcan or El Castillo]. They say that he arrived from the west....They say that he was favorably disposed, and had no wife or children, and that...he was regarded in Mexico as one of their gods and called Quetzalcoatl: and they also considered him a god in Yucatan on account of his being a just statesman; and this seen in the order which he imposed on Yucatan after the death of the lords [the overthrow of Maya rulers by the Itzas], in order to calm the dissensions which their deaths had caused in the country. -- Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatan.

Stelae found at Chichen Itza depict the battles waged between the invading Itzas and the Maya residents, with the sacrifice of Maya captives at the hands of the victors.

Chichen Itza

Notes Joh Spencer Carroll: "The Itzas had caused many of the lords of the land to be killed, and Kukulcan calmed the dissension which their deaths had caused. He ordered confessions and fasting, and he himself was celibate." (A Search for Quetzalcoatl, p. 15.)

Continues carroll --

He abandoned Chichen Itza and founded a new capital named Mayapan. Chichen Itza means "well of the Itza" in the Yucatec Maya language, but Mayapan signifies "banner of the Maya," being derived from the Maya word Maya and the Nahuatl word pantli. The new settlement and its name symbolized a shift in Kukulcan's policy. Before the foundation of Mayapan, Kukulcan ruled only the Nahuatl-speaking Itza [and Toltec] intruders, but at Mayapan he became king of all the factions in Yucatan. By choosing the name Mayapan, he conciliated both the indigenous Mayas and the foreign Itzas. By negotiations he induced the surviving lords of the land to settle at Mayapan, and he divided the land among them, appotioning settlements "to each one according to the antiquity of his lineage and the worth of this person. He awarded 22 settlements to the Cocom family. So that he could keep the lords subjected to his surveillance, he built a wall around the center of Mayapan, leaving only two narrow gates, and required the lords to live within the wall. -- Ibid., pp. 15-16.

Kukulcan, or the fourth Quetzalcoatl, lived with the lords of the land at Mayapan for some years "in much peace and friendship." In 1002 A.D. he left Mayapan and returned to Champoton where he stayed briefly before returning to the valley of Mexico. The Cocoms then established themselves as the rulers of Mayapan and the outlying areas. "The League of Mayapan, created by Kukulcan and perpetuated by the Cocom family, endured almost five centuries and disintegrated finally in 1441 A.D. or 1446 A.D." (A Search for Quetzalcoatl. p. 16).

Who was this tall, white, bearded stranger who had such an impact on the people of Yucatan -- particularly the Maya? Where did he come from?

The only Europeans known to be crossing the Atlantic Ocean in 986 were Icelanders. One such Icelander who sailed westerly and southwesterly from Iceland in 986 was Bjorn Asbrandsson -- known as Bjorn the Breidavik champion. No one in Iceland heard about him again until 1031 when a lost Icelandic merchant-sailor came across him in a large land across the ocean.

Bjorn Asbrandsson, whose father maintained a farm at Kambr in Iceland, became involved in a love triangle with a woman named Thuridr -- who was the half-sister of Snorri Thorsgrimsson, a leading man and champion in Iceland. Although Thuridr was married, Bjorn continued the affair, eventually having a son by her -- named Kjartan. Confronting Bjorn, Snorri told him that he had better leave the area to prevent trouble with the woman's husband and with himself. The Icelandic Eyrbyggja Saga tells the story:

Snorri replied..."I want to ask of you, that you refrain henceforth from beguiling my sister Thuridr. For you and I can never be on peaceful terms if you go on doing what you have done in the past."

Bjorn answered, "I will promise only what I can keep, but I do not know how I can do that if Thuridr and I live in the same district."

Snorri replied, "There is really nothing to prevent you from moving away from this district."

Bjorn said, "What you say is true, and it shall be thus since you yourself have come to see me. The way our meeting has turned out, I will promise you that you and Thoroddr [the woman's husband] will not be provoked during the next years by me visiting Thuridr."

"That would be doing the right thing," said Snorri.

After that they parted. Snorri godi rode to the ship and then home to Helgafell. On the following day Bjorn rode south to the Hraunhofn and right away took passage on the ship there. They were late in getting started, and then they got a northeast wind which persisted for a long time during the summer. Nothing was heard of this ship for a long time afterward.

Thus Bjorn fled from the power of Snorri -- sailing southwest before a northeast wind.

The Eyrbyggja Saga mentions no date for Bjorn's flight, but some clues help establish the year. The ship that carried Bjorn departed with a wind blowing from the northeast and propelling the vessel southwest. According to John Spencer Carroll, "No ships in the 980s other than Eirikr Rauda's fleet of 982 and his fleet of 986 sailed westerly from Iceland until Eirikr had settled in Greenland in 986. Bjarni, who sighted the North American coast, sailed late in 986 after the departure of Eirikr. Since the captain of the ship that carried Bjorn voluntarily started a westerly voyage, he was sailing toward Greenland, and he would not have been sailing toward Greenland before 986. Probably this ship was not among Eirikr's 25 or 35 knorrir in 986, for [the] Eyrbyggja Saga narrates Eirikr's 982 and 986 voyages without linking Bjorn to them. Bjorn fled from Snorri in Iceland, therefore, in late 986 or afterwards." (A Search for Quetzalcoatl, pp. 95-96).

Amazing Similarities

The similarities between Bjorn Asbrandsson and the fourth Quetzalcoatl are indeed remarkable:

1/. Bjorn was white-skinned; Quetzalcoatl was white-skinned.

2/. Bjorn was tall; Quetzalcoatl was tall.

3/. Bjorn was a walker; Quetzalcoatl was a walker -- called by Hernando Alvarado Tezozomoc "the god of 1-Reed Walker."

4/. Bjorn was a ball player: "It was the custom of the people of Breidavik [Iceland] to hold ball games during the first days of winter"; "At another place he (Quetzalcoatl) built a ball court..."

5/. Bjorn was unmarried; Quetzalcoatl was unmarried.

6/. Bjorn was exceptionally strong..."the two brothers, Arnbjorn and Bjorn, because of their great strength, were not considered suited to take part in the games unless, indeed, they were matched against each other"; Quetzalcoatl was exceptionally strong. "...he set in place a large rock...(he) moved it with his little finger...when many pushed it, in no way could it move..."

7/. Bjorn lived for a time in Denmark, where Norsemen had ship cremations; Quetzalcoatl was cremated in a burning ship.

8/. Denmark had become Christian between 953 and 965. Iceland was evangelized from 981 or 982 to 986; Quetzalcoatl acted like a Christian missionary.

Further proof that Bjorn Asbrandsson found his way to Mesoamerica and became the fouth Quetzalcoatl is found in Chapter 64 of the Eyrbyggja Saga --

There was a man named Gudleifr, who was the son of Gunnlaug the Wealthy of Staumfirth....Gudleifr was a great merchant. He owned a large knorr vessel....In the latter days of King Olaf the Saint (who died in 1030 A.D.), Gudleifr made a merchant voyage westward to Dublin [Ireland]. And when he left there, he intended to return to Iceland.

Sailing west of Ireland, he got counterwinds from the east and northeast and was driven far west and southwest out of his course so that they did not know where they were.

By then the summer drew to a close, and they made many vows that they might reach land; and at last they caught sight of land. IT WAS A LARGE LAND, but no one knew which country it was. Gudleifr and his men decided to approach it because they thought it unwise to stay longer on the high seas. They found a good harbor there, but they had made land only a short while when some men came up to them....

Soon such a large crowd gathered that there must have been many hundreds. They attacked Gudleifr's men, made them all captive...and then they DROVE THEM INLAND. They were taken to some meeting where sentence was to to passed on them....

While this was being debated, they saw a band of men UNDER A BANNER approaching...and they supposed that there must be some chieftain among them. And when this band drew nearer, they saw A TALL MAN OF MARTIAL BEARING riding under the banner. He was quite advanced in years and HIS HAIR WAS WHITE. All those who were there bowed before him and greeted him as their lord. They soon discovered that all measures and decisions were referred to him.

Then this man had Gudleifr and his men brought up to him; and...he spoke to them in Norse and asked what country they were from. They told him that most of them were Icelanders....Thereupon Gudleifr steeped up and greeted him, and he returned the greeting and asked what part of Iceland they were from. Gudleifr said they were from the Borgarfirth district. Then he asked what part of Borgarfirth they were from, and Gudleifr told him. Thereupon he asked very carefully about every single one of the more important personages in the Borgarfirth and Breidafirth districts. In course of their conversation he asked about Snorri godi and his sister Thuridr of Froda; and he asked particularly about all matters at Froda and most of all about the youth Kjartan, who by then was the farmer at Froda.

The countrymen called out again, demanding that some decision be made about the ship's crew. Then this TALL MAN stepped aside and told off TWELVE OF HIS MEN to advise him, and they sat deliberating for a long time. Thereupon they returned to the place where the crowd was gathered.

The tall man addressed Gudleifr and his men as follows: "We people of this country have discussed your case, and the others have agreed to place your fate in my hands. I will grant you permission to sail wherever you want to. Even though you may think it is rather late in the summer for that, I advise you to leave this place because these people are not to be trusted and are hard to deal with. They consider that their laws have been broken."

Gudleifr asked, "Who shall we say procured us our freedom if fate grants us a return to our native country?" He replied, "That I shall not tell you, for I do not wish my KINSMEN and FOSTER BROTHERS the sort of reception here which you would have had if it had not been for me. But now I have grown so old that it is not unlikely that death may carry me off any moment. And even though I live for a little while longer, there are many men in this country more powerful than I am who will make short shrift of foreigners even though they may not come so close to us as you have."

Then this man had their ship made ready for them, and he remained there with them until a favorable wind came and they could put out from shore. But before he and Gudleifr parted, he took a GOLD RING from his arm and placed it and also a good SWORD in Gudleifr's hands.

He said to Gudleifr, "If fate permits you to reach the land of your birth, take this sword to Kjartan, the farmer at Froda, and this ring to Thuridr, his mother."

Gudleifr asked, "Who shall I say sent these precious things?"

He replied, "Say that he sent them who was a better friend to the mistress of the house at Froda than to her brother, the godi at Helgafell (Snorri godi). But if anyone thinks he knows from this who was the owner of these things, then tell them this: that I forbid any and every man to try to find me because that is an extremely hazardous undertaking unless they have the same good luck in landing as you did. For this is a LARGE COUNTRY, with FEW HARBORS, and people everywhere are hostile to foreigners unless they are as fortunate as you."

With that they parted.

Gudleifr and his companions put out to sea and landed in Ireland late in the fall. They spent the winter in Dublin. In the summer following they sailed to Iceland, and Gudleifr delivered the gifts.

And all were certain that this man was Bjorn the Breidavik Champion; but there is no other information available concerning that man what has been told here.

This moving and conclusive narrative brings out other similarities and fully proves that Bjorn was the fourth Quetzalcoatl:

1/. Bjorn was encountered in a "large land"; Quetzalcoatl was in Yucatan and Mexico.

2/. Bjorn had 12 advisors; Mayapan was founded by Kukulcan (Quetzalcoatl) and 12 advisors.

3/. Bjorn wore a hood and cassock; Quetzalcoatl wore a hood and cassock.

4/. Bjorn wore a gold armband; Nahua wore gold armbands in the early 16th century.

5/. Bjorn was in the "large land" c. 1030 A.D.; Quetzalcoatl was in Mexico from 1002 to 1053 A.D.

6/. "All those who were there bowed before him [Bjorn] and treated him as their lord...all measures and decisions were referred to him"; Quetzalcoatl became tlatoani of Tula in 1029 A.D.

7/. Bjorn "...was quite advanced in years and his hair was white"; Quetzalcoatl was aged in Mexico.

8/. Bjorn arrived in the "large land" by ship; Quetzalcoatl arrived at Champoton by ship.

9/. Bjorn rode in a litter carried by two (or four) men; Quetzalcoatl was called Nacxit meaning "four-footed."

10/. Bjorn had a banner in the "large land"; the Nahuas had banners at the time of the Spanish conquest. "Mayapan," Kukulcan's capital in Yucatan, means "banner of the Maya."

11/. "...these people in the large land are not to be trusted and are hard to deal with...there are men in this country more powerful than I [Bjorn] am...hostile to foreigners..."; Quetzalcoatl was defeated by his enemies in Mexico.

12/. Bjorn had a gold armband; Quetzalcoatl taught smelting of gold and silver.

13/. Gtudleifr's men were taken inland; Tula and Cholula are inland.

Bjorn Asbrandsson, the Breidavik Champion of Iceland -- teacher, evangilizer and man of peace -- left an indelible memory amongst the Maya of the Yucatan and their Canaanite cousins in Mexico. As time went by his memory, confused with those of previous Quetzalcoatls, merged into the body of legend that greeted Cortez and his conquistadors when they landed in Mesoamerica.

Traders and Seamen

The histories of the fourth Quetzalcoatl and the Maya reveal another group of people that have all the characteristics of the ancient Canaanites -- specifically the PHOENICIANS. Known as the PUTUN (this name has the consonants of the word PUNT or PONT, whence came PUNIC and PHOENICIAN), this group has also been identified with the ITZA -- as revealed by Charles Gallenkamp: "J. Eric Thompson, who studied this problem [who the ITZA really were] in depth identified the ITZA as a GROUP CALLED THE PUTUN or Chontal, a Maya-speaking people who INHABITED THE COAST OF TABASCO AND CAMPECHE. Famed as LONG-DISTANCE TRADERS AND SEAMEN, the PUTUN...expanded into Yucatan and settled at CHICHEN-ITZA around A.D.981, bringing with them many earmarks of Mexican culture. When Quetzalcoatl and his TOLTEC FOLLOWERS arrived at Chichen-Itza from TULA in 987, they were cordially received by the PUTUN-ITZA, whose own Mexican [?] AFFINITIES encouraged them to enter into an ALLIANCE with the Toltecs" (Maya: The Riddle and Rediscovery of a Lost Civilization. Viking Penguin, Inc. N.Y. 1985, pp. 167-168).

Investigations have confirmed that PUTUN-ITZA influence was very extensive and that they maintained close COMMERCIAL TIES with the peoples of Central Mexico -- including the Toltecs. Reports Charles Gallenkamp --

As warriors and MERCHANTS they were EXTREMELY AGGRESSIVE, and throughout the Postclassic Period they CONTROLLED TRADE ROUTES that extended from the Gulf Coast of Mexico around the Yucatan Peninsula to Honduras. It is also probable that the TOLTEC influences so firmly imprinted on the ruins of Chichen-Itza may be attributable to the PUTUN. Quite possibly they either fostered incursions into Yucatan by the Toltecs (with whom the Putun regularly TRADED) or they were allied with Toltec warriors brought in by the Putun-Itza TO PROTECT THEIR FAR-FLUNG TRADING NETWORKS. -- Ibid., p. 168.

The Yucatan was not the only scene of PUTUN incursions into the territory of the Maya. "By the middle of the NINTH CENTURY [A.D.]," writes Gallenkamp, "the PUTUN had penetrated the southern lowlands, pushing their way up to the USUMACINTA RIVER and along the Rio Pasion to Seibal and Altar de Sacrificios."

With the Putun came new, sophisticated types of ceramics known as FINE ORANGE and FINE GRAY which were widely traded in many areas. They incised strange Mexicanized portraits of their elite on stone monuments at Seibal which almost certainly (according to the experts) represent PUTUN LORDS who seized control of the city. These date from 850-900 A.D.

"Among the invading armies," notes Gallenkamp, "were WELL-ORGANIZED MILITARY ORDERS using the EAGLE and JAGUAR as their symbols. Newly introduced weapons included cotton armor, atlatls, SLINGS, and obsidian-edged swords, and there was an INCREASED EMPHASIS ON MILITARISM in ALL phases of political and religious life. HUMAN SACRIFICE began to be practiced on a SCALE NEVER BEFORE APPROACHED in the Classic period, with the ruthless TOLTEC-ITZA soldiers assuming a vital ritualistic function as providers of CAPTIVES FOR SACRIFICIAL PURPOSES" (Ibid., pp. 169-170).

The PUTUN had all the earmarks of their ancestors the Canaanites!

Sufficient Proof

In this article we have presented more than sufficient proof and data to make it possible to reject the various commonly accepted theories concerning the origin and migrations of the Maya Indians of Mesoamerica. We have discovered and presented irrefutable evidence that proves conclusively that the primogenitors of the Maya were not indigenous to the land but came from far across the Atlantic Ocean. In this article we have shown that in their wanderings the Maya left indelible footprints that serve to clearly identify them with the people that today are found in the nations of Mexico and Guatemala. We have offered irrefutable evidence that proves that the ancestors of the Maya Indians came, with their symbols, their gods and their social customs originally from the distant lands of the eastern Mediterranean -- from the lands of Canaan, Phoenicia (Tyre and Sidon), Thrace and the islands of the Aegean Sea. They made America their final resting place.

We have shown that the commonly accepted belief about the origin of the Maya is, like almost all ideas that are generally accepted without proof, false.

This article has offered proof about the true origin of the Maya Indians and shows clearly that the information contained in the Bible is true -- that it was in the land of Shinar that the Creator confounded "the language of all the earth, and did from there scatter them over the face of the entire earth" (Genesis 11:9). After all, the story of the human race is the story of migration -- every group on the face of the earth migrated to their present location at one time or another. The Maya were no exception.