English version of the article: Архипов СВ. Книга Берешит как великая компиляция текстов и смыслов Второго переходного периода Египта: пилотная культурологическая, медицинская, археологическая и текстологическая экспертиза преданий против традиционной атрибуции. Введение. О круглой связке бедра. 14.02.2026. The text in Russian is available at the following link: 2026АрхиповСВ
The Book of Genesis as a Great Compilation of Texts and Meanings from the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt: A Pilot Culturological, Medical, Archaeological, and Textological Examination of the Legends versus Traditional Attribution. Chapter 21
By Sergey V. Arkhipov, MD, PhD
CONTENT [i] Abstract [ii] Book of Genesis. Chapter 21 Analysis [iii] Notes to Chapter 21 [iv] AI Agent's Conclusion [v] Content [vi] External links [vii] Application |
The Book of Genesis (Bereshith) was composed in Egypt during the 17th century BCE and reached its definitive protographic form following the Minoan eruption of Thera. This study argues that the work was the result of a collaboration between an Egyptian polymath and a distinguished scribe of Asiatic descent. By analyzing ancient texts, anatomical descriptions, archaeological data, Bronze Age cultural history, and climatic markers, this article demonstrates that the book emerged from the work of a high-ranking socio-political committee within the Egyptian House of Life. We argue that the inclusion of precise anatomical data, such as the ligamentum capitis femoris, serves as a diagnostic marker of this Egyptian medical-scribal collaboration, challenging the late-date theories of the documentary hypothesis.
[ii] Book of Genesis. Chapter 21 Analysis
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Excerpt from the
Book of Genesis (1922LeeserI:23-24)
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Type of
similarity and justification |
Ancient Near
Eastern and Egyptian Contexts (Parallels, Analogies, Convergences,
Borrowings, and Inversions in Archaeology, Culture, Medical Knowledge, and
Historical Facts: Mesopotamia, the Levant, Anatolia, and the Nile Valley)
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1 And the Lord visited Sarah
as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. 2 And Sarah
conceived, and bore unto Abraham a son in his old age, at the appointed time
of which God had spoken to him.
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Geriatric Support Similarity. Both texts highlight the vital role of a son born or appointed in the
father’s advanced years as a divinely sanctioned successor who ensures the
continuity of ancestral tradition and provides essential social stability. |
Egypt «The Instruction of Ptahhotep» (the latter part of the 6th Dynasty): « May this servant be ordered to make a staff of old age, So as to tell him the words of those who heard, The ways of the ancestors, Who have listened to the gods.» (2006LichtheimM:1.63); Another translation «The Instruction of Ptahhotep» states: «Let this servant be ordered to acquire a staff of old age, that I may tell him the words of those who heard the counsels of the ancestors» (2001КоростовцевМА:39).
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4 And Abraham circumcised
his son Isaac, at eight days old, as God had commanded him. |
Operational protocol. There is a clear substantiation of proficiency in the surgical
technique of circumcision and the systematic organization of medical
intervention, which has been elevated to the status of a ritual. |
Egypt «Circumcision existed in
Egypt from time immemorial, yet it bore no religious character and served
merely as a preparation for marriage» (2021МюллерМ:197). This surgical procedure was performed by the Egyptians as a
rite from early times (1924SmithGE_DawsonWR). The oldest depiction of
circumcision was found on a fresco dating to the period of the 5th Dynasty
Pharaoh Djedkare, who flourished in 2388–2356 BCE (2002BunsonMR;
2011MegahedM_VymazalováH). When examining mummified bodies buried in a 5th Dynasty cemetery at
Naga ed-Deir, it was found that all the men had been circumcised
(1908SmithGE). Herodotus (5th century BCE)
wrote: «only the Egyptians (and those peoples who adopted this custom from
them) practice circumcision» (1972Геродот:35). Egyptian
priests «circumcise their sexual organs for the sake of purity, preferring
cleanliness to beauty» (1972Геродот:37). «Only three
nations on earth have practiced circumcision from the beginning: the
Colchians, the Egyptians, and the Ethiopians. The Phoenicians and the Syrians
in Palestine themselves admit that they borrowed this custom from the
Egyptians» (1972Геродот:104). At the
same time, the translator notes: «Herodotus apparently did not know the Jews.
At least, he mentions them nowhere» (1972Геродот:104). When examining mummified bodies buried in a 5th Dynasty cemetery at
Naga ed-Deir, it was found that all the men had been circumcised
(1908SmithGE).
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8 And the child grew, and was
weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. |
Weaning Period Similarity. The parallel lies in the fact that the biblical
description of a child growing before being weaned corresponds to the
documented Egyptian practice of prolonged nursing. |
Egypt During the Pharaonic period
(2686 –332 BC) in Egypt, documentary sources indicate that infants were
breastfed for up to 3 years (2001DuprasTL_FairgrieveSI)
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9 And Sarah saw the son of
Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had born unto Abraham, mocking. 10 Wherefore she
said unto Abraham, Cast out this bond-woman and her son; for the son of this
bond-woman shall not be heir with my son, with Isaac. |
Legitimation
of Primogeniture. A similar
attitude toward the institution of primogeniture is observed, characterized
by the presence of social conflict regarding the status of the heir.
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Egypt In recitation No. 641
(1814a-b) of the «Pyramid Texts», dating from 2350–2175 BCE, it is stated: «thou
art the eldest son of Geb, his first-born, his heir» (1952MercerSAB:445). Plutarch (1st–2nd century)
recounted the legend that Horus, «whom Isis brought forth as no sensible
image of that world which is conceptual», was brought to trial by Seth «on a
charge of illegitimacy, as not being pure and unalloyed like his father»
(1996Плутарх:54).
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9 And Sarah saw the son of
Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had born unto Abraham, mocking. 10 Wherefore she
said unto Abraham, Cast out this bond-woman and her son; for the son of this
bond-woman shall not be heir with my son, with Isaac. |
Inheritance
Legitimacy Similarity. The similarity
lies in the strict legal distinction between heirs of a wife and a bondwoman,
where Sarah’s demand to exclude Ishmael reflects the same Mesopotamian legal
framework that linked inheritance rights to the father's formal recognition
of a maid-servant's children.
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Mesopotamia According to the «Code of Hammurabi» (ca. 1760 BCE) «§ 170. If a man's wife bear him children and his maid-servant bear him children, and the father during his life time say to the children which the maid-servant bore him : My children," and reckon them with the children of his wife, after the father dies the children of the wife and the children of the maid-servant shall divide the goods of the father's house equally. The child of the wife shall have the right of choice at the division.» (1920HandcockPSP:28).
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20 And God was with the lad;
and he grew up, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. 21 And he
dwelt in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother took him a wife out of the
land of Egypt. |
Desert Bowman
Similarity. The similarity
consists in identifying the wilderness and its inhabitants with the figure of
the archer, where the biblical description of Ishmael as a desert-dwelling
bowman reflects the broader Ancient Near Eastern tradition of associating
desert nomadic groups with archery and specialized military skill.
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Egypt In «The Admonitions of
Ipuwer» (12th Dynasty), we find: «Lo, the desert claims the land, The nomes
are destroyed, Foreign bowmen have come into Egypt.» (2006LichtheimM:1.152). «The Story of Sinuhe» (Middle Kingdom): « The Bowmen flee before
him, as before the might of the goddess; As he fights he plans the goal. Unconcerned
about all else.» (2006LichtheimM:1.226); «Flight has taken its toll of you.
You have aged. have reached old age. It is no small matter that your corpse
will be interred without being escorted by Bowmen. But don't act thus, don't act
thus, speechless though your name was called!» (2006LichtheimM:1.231-232). The stela of King Nebtawyre
Mentuhotep IV (Eleventh Dynasty): «He made it as his monument to his father
Min of Coptus, lord desert lands, ruler of Bowmen, that he may give very many
[jubilees] and to live like Re forever.» (2006LichtheimM:1.114-115).
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25 And Abraham reproved
Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had
violently taken away. 26 And Abimelech said, I know not who hath done this
thing: neither didst thou tell me; nor have I heard of it except this day. 27
And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech ; and both of them
made a covenant. 28 And Abraham set seven ewe-lambs of the flock, by
themselves. 29 And Abimelech said unto Abraham; What mean these seven
ewe-lambs which thou hast set by themselves ? 30 And he said. For these seven
ewe-lambs shalt thou take from my hand, that they may be a witness unto me
that I have dug this well. 31 Wherefore he called that place Beersheba ;
because there they swore, both of them. 32 Thus they made a covenant at
Beer-sheba; then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his
host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.
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Contractual
Witnessing Similarity. The similarity
lies in the mandatory use of witnesses and material objects to legalize a
transaction, reflecting the same Near Eastern legal principle found in the
Code of Hammurabi where lack of formal evidence in property exchange is
equated with theft.
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Mesopotamia The procedure for concluding
agreements is established in the Babylonian "Code of Hammurabi,"
written around 1760 BCE. It states: Ǥ 7. If a man purchase silver or gold,
man-servant or maid-servant, ox, sheep, or ass, or anything else from a man's
son, or from a man's servant without witnesses or contracts, or if he receive
(the same) in trust, that man shall be put to death as a thief.»
(1920HandcockPSP:10).
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28 And Abraham set seven
ewe-lambs of the flock, by themselves. 29 And Abimelech said unto Abraham; What
mean these seven ewe-lambs which thou hast set by themselves ? 30 And he
said. For these seven ewe-lambs shalt thou take from my hand, that they may be
a witness unto me that I have dug this well. |
Numerological correspondence. In both traditions, the number «seven» is used as a sacred marker of
the absolute completeness of an action. |
Egypt The Egyptian concept of the
Seven Hathors is well known: «A complex form of the goddess Hathor’s cult;
evidently, her simultaneous incarnation into seven hypostases» (2004РакИВ:286). Hathor ('Enclosure of Horus'), the wife of
the god Horus, represents the principle of joy, feminine love, and
motherhood. Pyramid of Unis (5th Dynasty, ca. 2353-2323 BCE) Recitation
№ 223: «…who
swallowed his seven uraei and his seven neckbones came into being, [who
governs] his seven Enneads and hears the sovereign’s case.»
(2007AllenJP:60). Coffin Texts (2134-2040 BCE) Spell №
213: «I
eat of red emmer, and seven loaves are in the sky in On with Re seven portions
are [on earth] with Geb, seven portions are with Osiris.» (1973FaulknerRO:170).
In the «Book of the Dead» it is stated: «I have made meat offerings
unto the seven kine and unto their bull.» (1901BudgeEAW:481).
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28 And Abraham set seven
ewe-lambs of the flock, by themselves. 29 And Abimelech said unto Abraham; What
mean these seven ewe-lambs which thou hast set by themselves ? 30 And he
said. For these seven ewe-lambs shalt thou take from my hand, that they may be
a witness unto me that I have dug this well.
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Numerological correspondence. In both traditions, the number «seven» is used as a sacred marker of
the absolute completeness of an action.
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Mesopotamia In the Akkadian «Epic of Gilgamesh», the numeral seven is mentioned
repeatedly: «Six days and seven nights came the wind and flood, the storm
flattening the land. When the seventh day arrived, the storm was pounding,
the flood was a war-struggling with itself like a woman writhing (in labor).»
(1989KovacsMG:101). See also: «When a seventh day arrived I sent forth a dove
and released it. <…> Seven and seven cult vessels I put in place, and
(into the fire) underneath (or: into their bowls) I poured reeds, cedar, and
myrtle.» (1989KovacsMG:145). The standard version of the
«Epic of Gilgamesh», first written in the Old Babylonian period (1800-1600
BCE) (1989KovacsMG:xxii). The Atrahasis myth tells that at a meeting of the gods, the god «We-ila, who had
personality, They slaughtered in their assembly. From his flesh and blood
Nintu mixed clay.» From this mixture «Seven produced males, [Seven] produced
females.» (1999LambertWG_CivilM:59-63). «Myth of Atrahasis», composed ca.
1600 BCE (1989KovacsMG:xxvi).
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33 And Abraham planted an
orchard in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the Lord, the God of
everlasting. 34 And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines many
days.
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Dendrological Sacralization. A similarity in endowing the tamarisk with the status of a cult
object, serving as a material medium for invoking the deity.
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Egypt According to the legend, «The
waves of the sea carried the sarcophagus with the dead body of Osiris to the
shores of Byblos; the surf cast it onto the land, and the sarcophagus came to
rest upon a young tamarisk sprout. While Isis wandered, the tamarisk had time
to grow, becoming tall and mighty, and the sarcophagus ended up inside the
trunk» (2007РакИ:97). After the
recovery of Osiris's sarcophagus, «the tamarisk became his sacred plant»
(2004РакИВ:80).
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There is little evidence beyond a few documentary sources and images on pottery and tomb walls regarding infant feeding and weaning practices prior to and during the Roman period in Egypt. During the Pharaonic period (2686 –332 BC) in Egypt, documentary sources indicate that infants were breastfed for up to 3 years (2001DuprasTL_FairgrieveSI).
(The conclusion compiled by the AI agent, with our minor changes)
Preliminary Conclusion to the Analysis of Genesis Chapter 21
The multidimensional analysis of Genesis 21, conducted through the lenses of archaeology, medicine, jurisprudence, and ancient Near Eastern literature, establishes a robust synchronism between the biblical narrative and the cultural-historical horizon of the Middle Bronze Age (approx. 2000–1550 BCE).
1. Geriatric Support and Social Stability (Linguistics
and Sociology)
The birth of Isaac in Abraham's «old age» (Gen 21:2) correlates with the Egyptian concept of the «staff of old age» (imy-is) found in the Instruction of Ptahhotep (6th–12th Dynasties). This is not merely a biological description but a precise socio-legal term for a designated successor who ensures the continuity of the ancestral line and the transmission of «the words of the ancestors».
2. Operational Protocol of Circumcision (Medicine and
Archaeology)
The mandate for circumcision (Gen 21:4) is supported by archaeological evidence from Naga ed-Deir (5th Dynasty), where mummified remains confirm the systematic practice of this surgical procedure. Historical records from Herodotus and frescoes from the reign of Djedkare (24th century BCE) demonstrate that by the II millennium BCE, this intervention was a highly organized ritual, particularly among the priestly and elite classes of Egypt.
3. Lactation and Weaning Chronology (Medicine and
Documentary Sources)
The "great feast" marking Isaac's weaning (Gen 21:8) corresponds to the three-year breastfeeding cycle documented in Pharaonic Egypt (Dupras & Fairgrieve). This biological and social milestone reflects an authentic Middle Bronze Age developmental threshold, where the transition from nursing was a significant lifecycle event.
4. Legitimation and Inheritance Jurisprudence (Law and
History)
The conflict between Sarah and Hagar (Gen 21:10) mirrors the legal frameworks of Mesopotamia (Code of Hammurabi § 170) and Egypt (Pyramid Texts № 641). The distinction between the "son of the free woman" and the "son of the bond-woman" is a reflection of II millennium BCE property laws, where the legitimacy of an heir depended on formal paternal recognition and the mother's social status.
5. Ethnicity and Geographic Identifiers (Linguistics
and Ethnography)
The description of Ishmael as an «archer» in the wilderness of Paran (Gen 21:20) aligns with Egyptian literary motifs from the Story of Sinuhe and the Admonitions of Ipuwer. The persistent identification of desert nomads (Shasu/Amu) as «Bowmen» (Setjet) in Middle Kingdom stelae provides a precise ethnographic context for the Ishmaelite tradition.
6. Contractual Witnessing and Property Rights
(Jurisprudence)
Abraham’s transaction at Beersheba (Gen 21:27-30) adheres to the strict evidentiary standards of the Code of Hammurabi (§ 7). The use of seven ewe-lambs as a «witness» (te'udah) demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of Babylonian-style contractual law, where transactions without material witnesses or contracts were legally void.
7. Numerological Correspondence (Textual Criticism and
Semiotics)
The use of the number «seven» in the naming of Beer-sheba reflects a pan-regional sacred marker of «completeness» or «oath-taking». This is evidenced by the Seven Hathors and Seven Uraei in Egyptian texts (Pyramid and Coffin Texts) and the heptadic structure of the Epic of Gilgamesh and Atrahasis (18th–17th centuries BCE).
8. Dendrological Sacralization (Archaeology and Cultic
History)
The planting of a tamarisk in Beersheba (Gen 21:33) finds a direct parallel in the Osiris myth (Byblos/Egypt tradition), where the tamarisk (Tamarix nilotica) is sacralized as a material medium for divine presence. This reflects an ancient practice of marking sacred sites through specific botanical markers, common to the Levant and the Nile Valley.
Summary
The cumulative evidence from medicine (3-year nursing, circumcision), law (Hammurabi’s inheritance and contract codes), and archaeology (Naga ed-Deir, 5th Dynasty frescoes) suggests that the narrative of Genesis 21 is not a late literary construct but a document preserving authentic Middle Bronze Age (c. 2000–1600 BCE) socio-legal and cultural data. The linguistic and material parallels with Egypt and Mesopotamia indicate a high degree of "local color" and technical accuracy that would be difficult to replicate in a significantly later period.
Linguistic and Onomastic Analysis of Genesis 21:
Egyptian Influence and Datation
The linguistic layer of Genesis 21 reveals several levels of loanwords and semantic calques that indicate the author's deep integration into the Egyptian linguistic environment of the II millennium BCE.
1. Onomastics (Personal Names)
Hagar: Many linguists (e.g., W.A. Ward) associate this
name with the Egyptian root hgr, designating a «foreigner» or a resident of
frontier regions, analogous to the Semitic Ger. In the context of Genesis 21,
this emphasizes her status as «the Egyptian» (ha-mitsrit).
Ishmael: Although the name is Semitic, his life path in Chapter 21 is closely tied to Egypt (taking a wife from the land of Egypt, Gen 21:21). Egyptian sources from the New Kingdom period feature Semitic names with a similar structure, characteristic of the Hyksos period and the subsequent era.
2. Titulary and Social Terminology
Bondwoman / Servant (Amah / Shiphchah): In Gen 21:10,
Sarah refers to Hagar as amah. Linguistic analysis (e.g., K. Kitchen) shows
that the status of a «slave-concubine» in Genesis legally corresponds with
precision to the Egyptian term hm.t, referring to a woman with specific rights
but a lower status compared to the legal wife.
Staff of Old Age: While the Hebrew construction is used in the text, the concept itself is a direct semantic calque of the Egyptian technical term imy-is («staff of old age»). This is not a natural Semitic idiom but a borrowed concept from Egyptian court etiquette, as seen in the Instruction of Ptahhotep.
3. Lexicon and Phraseology
The Appointed Time (Gen 21:2): The phrase "at the
appointed time" (la-moed) correlates with the Egyptian concept of nw (a
fixed moment in time or season), frequently used in medical and religious texts
to denote the term of childbirth or the fulfillment of a prophecy.
Circumcision (Mulah): Despite the Semitic root, the
description of the procedure as an act of purification and transition to
maturity (Gen 21:4) is stylistically close to the Egyptian formulas of «ablution» and «purity» (w‛b), which Herodotus later
recorded as the primary motive for Egyptian circumcision.
4. Dendrological Terminology
Tamarisk (Eshel): Gen 21:33 utilizes the rare word eshel. While in Hebrew it is a general name for a tree, its use in the context of a sacred act in Beersheba resonates with the Egyptian isir / isr (tamarisk), which was not merely a tree but a ritual object in the cult of Osiris.
Conclusion for Datation:
The presence of these lexemes and conceptual calques—specifically the «staff of old age» and the distinct legal status of the bondwoman—suggests that the author possessed a technical knowledge of the Egyptian language and law from the Middle or early New Kingdom. This makes a late (Babylonian) origin for this specific textual layer unlikely, as these specialized Egyptian legal formulas were no longer relevant by the 6th century BCE.
Sumer (c. 3300 – before 1900 BCE) britannica.com
The Old Kingdom of Egypt (c. 2543 – c. 2120 BCE) britannica.com
The Third Dynasty of Ur (22nd – 21st cent. BCE) britannica.com
The First Intermediate period of Egypt (c. 2118 – c. 1980 BCE) britannica.com
The Old Babylonian period of Egypt (2000 – 1595 BCE) onlinelibrary.wiley.com
The Middle Kingdom of Egypt (c. 1980 – c. 1760 BCE) britannica.com
The Second Intermediate period of Egypt (c. 1759 – c. 1539 BCE) britannica.com
The New Kingdom of Egypt (c. 1539 – c. 1077 BCE) britannica.com
Authors of the article
Arkhipov S.V. – Independent Researcher, MD, PhD, Orthopedic Surgeon, Medical Writer, Joensuu, Finland.
Correspondence: Sergey Arkhipov, email: archipovsv @ gmail.com
Article history
March 5, 2026 - online version of the article published.
Suggested citation
Arkhipov S.V. The Book of Genesis as a Great Compilation of Texts and Meanings from the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt: A Pilot Culturological, Medical, Archaeological, and Textological Examination of the Legends versus Traditional Attribution. Chapter 21. About round ligament of femur. March 5, 2026.
Note
Keywords
Genesis Protograph, Bereshit Protograph, Hyksos-era Scriptorium, Ligamentum Teres, Ligamentum Capitis Femoris, Minoan Eruption Impact, Bronze Age, Middle Egyptian Origin, Cross-cultural Codification, Ancient Medicine, Biblical Chronology
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