Biblical Hebrew Forum

[jimstinehart AT aol.com]

Isaac Fried:

You wrote:  “And what about Akhenaton…?  Is it possibly אח-אן-אתון AX-EN-ATON, with ATON = ADON?”

In Egyptian, one of the meanings of ax [ayin heth], traditionally transliterated as “akh”, is “spirit”.  In Akhenaten’s way of thinking, the meaning of itn [traditionally transliterated as Aton or Aten] was effectively “God”.  In Egyptian, n is simply a connector, which for example can mean “of”, though it’s really more like a modern dash.

So in Egyptian, the Egyptian name that Akhenaten chose for himself [ax n itn] has as one of its essential meanings:

“Spirit of God”.

Now consider how the Pharaoh at the end of Genesis characterizes Joseph [per the King James Version translation] at Genesis 41: 38:

“And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man [Joseph] in whom the Spirit of God is?”

Note that the phrase “Spirit of God” at Genesis 41: 38, which is RWX )LHYM, is the same as the basic meaning of the name “Akhenaten”.

If the Pharaoh at the end of Genesis is Akhenaten, then Pharaoh Akhenaten at Genesis 41: 38 is portrayed as effectively saying:  “And Pharaoh [Akhenaten] said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom [Akhenaten] is?”

Considering how unbelievably self-centered Akhenaten was [claiming that he allegedly was the only one who could know God/Aten/Ra], that reading of Genesis 41: 38 has an historical ring of truth to it in an Amarna Age historical context.

Jim Stinehart

Evanston, Illinois