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CITY OF THE SUN

A city located in the Egyptian Delta NE of modern Cairo It served as one of the important spiritual and religious centers of ancient Egypt, housing temples to the gods Re-Harachte and Atum. Their cults were characterized as cosmological, and its Heaven Feast was well known.

Potiphera, the father of Joseph’s wife Asenath, was a priest of On (Gen. 41:45). The LXX (Exod. 1:11b) adds “and On, this is, Heliopolis” after Pithom and Raamses, as the third city that the Israelites built for Pharaoh. It is unlikely that these cities were located far from Goshen; therefore the originality of LXX here is doubtful. Most probably, Josephus’ (Ant. 2.188) mention that Jacob’s family settled in Heliopolis is based on the LXX. In Ezek. 30:17 the young men of Awen (“iniquity,” a wordplay with the name On, symbolizing all Egypt) will fall by the sword and will go into captivity. In Isa. 19:18 the city is called ʿîr haheres, “the city of destruction,” a play on the name “{îr haḥeres” (so 1QIsaa and many MSS), which is ʿîr hašemeš (“the city of sun”; cf. Tg. Jonathan and Vulg.; also Job 9:7; Jer. 43:13). However, according to this verse “the City of the Sun” will be one of the five Egyptian cities whose inhabitants will speak Hebrew and worship Yahweh.

Isaac Kalimi

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

CITY OF THE SUN

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)