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EGYPT
CELTATALBABAL [.]KARASHNEIFE[.]NNAS'KNEKIE, by the power of Yao Sabaoth, ROUS
ROUS ROUS ROUS ROUS ROUS ROUS ROUS
I adjure you by your powers and your amulets and
places where you dwell and your names, that just as I take you
a put you at the door and the pathway of Phello, son of Maure,
(so alos) you must take his heart and his mind; you must dominate
his entire body.
When he (tries to) stand, you must not allow him to stand
When he (tries to) sit, you must not allow him to sit
When he lies down to sleep, you must not allow him to sleep.
He must seek me from town to town, from city to city,
from field to filed, from region to region,
until he comes to me and subjects himself under my feet-
me, Papapolo son of Noe-
while his hand is full of all goodness,
until I satisfy with him the desire of my heart
and the demand of my soul,
with pleasant desire and love unending,
right now, right now, at once! Do my work
Notes:
The reference to "his hand full of all goodness" may be connected with the
Hebrew use of "hand" for "penis".
Spell 84: For a Man to Obtain a Male
Lover [p.177-78]
Text: Ashmolean Museum 1981:940
Bibliography: Paul C. Smither, "A Coptic Love Charm", Journal of Egyptian
Archeology 25 (1939, 173-174 )
Translator: David Frankfurter
Demographics
The International Encyclopedia
Egypt is located in the northeastern corner of Africa and the Sinai, a small
Asian peninsula between the Middle East and northern Africa. Egypt’s borders
include a coastline of 1,523 miles (2,450 kilometers) facing the Mediterranean
Sea on the north and the Red Sea on the east. Israel is on the northeast border
of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, between the Mediterranean and Red Seas. On the south
is Sudan and on the west Libya. Egypt’s 386,660 square miles (1,001,450 square
kilometers) make it about one and a half times the size of the state of Texas.
Almost all of Egypt is arid, desolate, and barren, with hills and mountains in
the east and along the Nile River. The Nile River and its fertile valley, where
most Egyptians live, stretches 550 miles from the eastern Mediterranean Sea
south into the Sudan. Three percent of the land is arable and two percent is
devoted to permanent crops.
Historical Perspective
The International Encyclopedia
Civilization and urban life was born around 5000 B.C.E. in the fertile valleys
of the Nile, Indus, and Tigres/Euphrates Rivers. About 3200 B.C.E., King Menes
established the first of many dynasties of pharaohs who gradually unified the
country from the Nile Delta to Upper Egypt. The pharaohs produced a distinctive
ancient civilization of great wealth and cultural brilliance, built on an
economic base of serfdom, fertile soil, and annual flooding of the Nile Valley.
The decline of ancient imperial power facilitated the conquest of Egypt by Asian
invaders, the Hyksos and Assyrians. The last pharonic dynasty was overthrown by
the Persians in 341 B.C.E. Alexandrian and Ptolemaic Greek dynasties then
replaced the Persians, who were in turn replaced by the Roman Empire. Egypt was
part of the Byzantine Empire from the third to the seventh centuries of the
Common Era, when it was conquered by Arab invaders who introduced the Muslim
religion and Arabic language. (The ancient Egyptian language is still used in
the Christian Coptic liturgy.) Around 1250, the Mameluke dynasty, a military
caste of Caucasian origin, replaced Arab control. In 1517, the Turks defeated
the Mamelukes and Egypt became part of the Ottoman Empire.
Homoerotic, Homosexual, and Ambisexual Behaviors
The International Encyclopedia
While there is no public acknowledgment of homosexuality in Egypt, there is a
largely hidden but thriving bisexual and homosexual community (Murray 1997c).
Nevertheless, families will never acknowledge that one of their members is
potentially homosexual. Men will remain living in their natal family for most of
their lives and there will never be any public discussion about their reasons
for not marrying. Islam condemns male homosexuality and popular culture further
reinforces this message. In reality, homosexuality is widely practiced but is
divided into two categories: the active versus the passive partner. The active
partner has little stigma attached to him, or at least much less than to the
khawal or passive partner, who is heavily stigmatized. According to one hadith,
there are three kinds of male homosexual: “Those who look, those who touch, and
those who commit the criminal act” (Bouhdiba 1985:32).
There is also traditional pederasty between older men and younger boys.
Long-term domestic relationships between men are unknown, given social norms
that force all unmarried individuals to remain in their natal families until
they marry. Since there are many situations in which males can interact with
other males, opportunities for male homosexual encounters are available.
Egyptian culture, for instance, encourages intimate interactions between men and
it is common to see men holding hands, embracing, or kissing each other on both
cheeks without, again, any sexual overtones.
There are no similar venues for women who are under the constant supervision of
their families. Thus, there is no information available on the prevalence of
lesbianism in Egyptian society. Also, it is considered quite appropriate for
women to interact with other women in very intimate settings (such as helping
each other bathe) without there being any sexual overtones to these encounters
(Murray 1997b).
After pointing out that the Islamic world rests on the bipolarity of the sexes
and their union in marriage, Bouhdiba (1985:30-33) notes that “homosexuality is
a challenge to the order of the world as laid down by G-d and based on the
harmony and radical separation of the sexes.”
“G-d has cursed those who alter the frontiers of the earth.” In these terms the
prophet condemns any violation of the separation of the sexes. Tradition has it
that four categories of person incur the anger of G-d: “Men who dress themselves
as women and women who dress themselves as men, those who sleep with animals and
those who sleep with men.” Homosexuality [liwat] incurs the strongest
condemnation. It is identified with zina and it is advocated that the most
horrible punishment should be applied to those who indulge in it.
In the final analysis, liwat even designates all forms of sexual and parasexual
perversion. Nevertheless, in Islam, male homosexuality stands for all the
perversions and constitutes in a sense the depravity of depravities. Female
homosexuality [musahaqa], while equally condemned, is treated with relative
indulgence and those who indulge in it incur the same reprimand as those
condemned for auto-eroticism, bestiality or necrophilia. (Bouhdiba 1985:31)
From The Construction of Homosexuality by David F. Greenberg.
An unusual degree of intimacy is also shown
in depictions of King Ikhnaton (1379—1362 B.C.) and his son-in-law and probable
co-regent Smenkhare. They are shown together nude—a convention quite rare in
Egyptian representations of royalty. On a stele, Ikhnaton strokes Smenkhare
under the chin. Smenkhare is given titles of endearment that had been used
previously for Ikhnaton’s concubines and queen. Ikhnaton is depicted with a
swollen belly, a generally feminine physique, and without genitals.
Several texts indicate that the Egyptians stigmatized the receptive role in anal
intercourse between men just as the Mesopotamians did. In a coffin text of the
Heracleopolitan Period (Ninth and Tenth Dynasties), consisting of magical
passages to be recited after death to gain immortality, the deceased boasts,
“Atum [a G-d] has no power over me, for I copulate between his buttocks.” The
formula equates interpersonal power with sexual role performances: he who can
force a G-d to submit to him sexually has nothing to fear from him.
Although not as prominent as in other cultures, homosexuality was also known in the Egypt. It was interesting to see the term Yao Sabaoth in the incantation at the beginning of this part. I believe it refers to Yahweh Sabaoth. It appears that Yao is referring to Yahweh and Sabaoth is referring to the Hebrew word for hosts. Were they calling upon Yahweh to bless this unholy alliance? Perhaps due to the Hebrew influence, homosexuality was not as rampant in Egypt as it could have been.. It appears to be kept at a low level. Nevertheless, it still existed in Egypt. A passage in Torah gives keen insight to the status of the nations Israel would come in contact with.
And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, I am Yahweh your Elohim. After the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, where I bring you, shall you not do: neither shall you walk in their ordinances. You shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am Yahweh your Elohim. You shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am Yahweh. Leviticus 18:1-5
Now, ask yourself, what are the doings of Egypt? What are the doings of Canaan?
Defile not yourselves in any of these things:
for in all these the nations
are defiled which I cast out from before you; and the land is defiled:
therefore I do visit the iniquity of it upon it, and the land vomits out her
inhabitants. You therefore shall keep my statutes and my ordinances,
and
shall not do any of these abominations; neither the home-born, nor the stranger
that sojourns among you; (for all these abominations have the men of the land
done, that were before you, and the land is defiled); that the land vomit not
you out also, when you defile it, as it vomited out the nation that was before
you. Leviticus 18:24-28
If you read the entire chapter of Leviticus 18, you will find laws against immoral behavior. Listed among these laws is the law against sex between men.
You shall not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Leviticus 18:22
When you study Torah, when you compare Torah with historical events, the deviant behavior among the Nations is apparent. Also, with sadness, you also will see Israel caught up in the sinful practices of the Nations as well. This happens when Israel apostatizes away from Almighty Yahweh and Torah law. Israel was called out from Egypt. However, Israel still had Egypt in their heart. Once again, Father Yahweh called Israel out of a sinful situation. Were they grateful?
Yours in Messiah Yahshua, Hawke
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