Sacred Geometry and Spiritual Symbolism. Donald B. Carroll
with scholars and archaeologists. Adding another layer of complexity to the discussion is the fact that this important mountain was referred to as both Mount Sinai and Mount Horeb. In the book of Exodus, the Torah, and the Quran, Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai; however, according to the book of Deuteronomy in the Hebrew bible, the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by God on Mount Horeb, though both may have been different names for the same location. What will be explored here is the possibility that Mount Sinai and Mount Horeb are two distinct locations. In other words, there may actually be two holy mountains rather than a single Mount Sinai. What will be analyzed is the existing evidence that one is a mountain near Serabit el-Khadim, a town from antiquity in the Sinai Peninsula where the remains of an ancient temple for the Egyptian goddess Hathor can still be found today and that the other Mount Sinai is actually referring to the Great Pyramid in Giza.
The most widely accepted candidate for Mount Sinai according to biblical scholars is Gebal or Jebel Musa, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. Its name literally translates to “Moses’ Mountain” or “Mount Moses.” While the Torah lists several places where the Israelites stopped on their journey out of Egypt, their exact route continues to be the source of debate. The most obvious routes for travelers through the region were the more major roads; however it is quite likely that the Israelites used a less obvious route to avoid the Egyptian army. While this information is still debated among scholars, the southern route which goes past Jebel Musa is the most traditionally accepted.
Dr. Robert Schoch, a Boston University professor with PhDs in both geology and geophysics, shares a different theory in which he uses his expertise to date the Sphinx closer to 10,000 BCE, almost 6,000 years earlier than is generally accepted by archaeologists.1 During an A.R.E. Conference in 2004, Dr. Schoch presented evidence to support his assertion that the ancient city of Serabit el-Khadim (also Serabit al-Khadim, Serabit el-Khadem) with its Temple of Hathor is a likely site for Mount Sinai.2 His evidence was in support of earlier theories such as those described by Lina Eckenstein in her book A History of Sinai that this was the site of the holy mountain of Moses.3 His lecture put forth reasons that the most likely route for the Exodus would have been a southerly route through the Sinai and that the band of travelers stayed at Serabit el-Khadim, which is far enough away for the Israelites not to be pursued or harassed by the Egyptians. It should be noted that Serabit el-Khadim is on the same traditionally accepted southern Exodus route.
Fig. 3.1—Exodus Route
The primary Egyptian goddess of the city was Hathor, known as the Mistress of Turquoise and the Lady of the Sycamore Tree, who is sometimes represented as a sycamore fig, and is often recognized as a protector in desert regions and the patron goddess of miners. Hathor is commonly depicted as a cow goddess with a sun disk set between the horns on her head. It is interesting to note that according to the Hebrew Bible, the idol made by Aaron while Moses was away at Mount Sinai, was a golden calf, possibly representing Hathor.
Other researchers have also named this city as a possible stopping place of the Israelites during their exodus. Sir Flinders Petrie, an early twentieth century archaeologist and Egyptologist, felt that not only would the Israelites already been familiar with the city but also believed that it was one of their stops during their exodus.4 This area was well known in antiquity for mining and trade of turquoise and copper. To mine the turquoise, the Egyptians would carve large tunnels and caverns into the mountains.
Fig. 3.2-Statue of Hathor in the Cairo Museum
Author, historian, and researcher Laurence Gardner, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, went a step further and validated Petrie's research and presented evidence that Serabit el-Khadim is the site of Mount Horeb.5
Ralph Ellis is a biblical researcher, Egyptian historian, and the author who presented evidence for the assertion that the biblical Mount Sinai is actually the Great Pyramid.6 His conclusion is based on a number of facts including the following: that Mount Sinai is traditionally described as the tallest of three mountains and is named for the sharpness of its peaks, that it would have been possible to guard the entire base of the Great Pyramid as the Israelites were commanded, but not a true mountain, and that Moses was commanded to go into Mount Sinai. From Tempest and Exodus: “And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there; and I will give thee tablets of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them, and Moses rose up and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up the mount of God.”7
Later he continued to build upon the idea with his statement: “It would appear that the Great Pyramid itself might have played a central role in some of the early Hyksos-Israelite rituals…It also contained the god of the Israelites.”8 His book also correlates the Star of David symbol with the Great Pyramid. He continues, “it is of no coincidence that the Magen David…which more popularly known as the Star of David, (a.k.a. Seal of Solomon) one of the most potent symbols of modern Judaism is formed from two interlocking pyramids (one being inverted).”9
Not only do they give appealing and persuasive arguments, but evidence does exist to support both sites simultaneously. Moses could have climbed the Great Pyramid, as one would a mountain, before entering into it and following the passages, making his pilgrimage with God. Serabit el-Khadim would have been similar since it was filled with caverns and mining tunnels for turquoise and copper which could be used the same way.
The mineral turquoise is found from a gem-quality to a chalk-like category. According to Dr. Schoch and other sources, Serabit el-Khadim was known for mining a very pure turquoise gemstone, unique and valued for its sky blue color. Moses was raised by the royal Egyptian family and surely with the esoteric knowledge of Egypt along with the Great Pyramid and all its symbolism, as referred to earlier by Acts 7:22. He would also then have knowledge of this Egyptian outpost for mining and the importance of the gemstone turquoise.
In Exodus 24: 9-10 of the Bible, Moses, Aaron, and seventy elders went up the holy mountain to meet God. The ground God was standing on was described as “a sapphire pavement pure as the heavens themselves.”10 Rather than referring to the blue gemstone sapphire, it is possible that it was turquoise instead. An ancient miscommunication or error in translation could have easily caused the substitution. It is likely that the quality of the turquoise-laden mountains found at Serabit el-Khadim may indeed have resembled or be depicted as a sapphire pavement. This would also fit in with the goddess Hathor, not only as the golden calf, but as the Mistress of Turquoise of the area.
It is also likely that the tablets containing the Ten Commandments brought down by Moses from a mountain filled with turquoise would have been carved from turquoise laden stone. (This theory of turquoise tablets including the significance of turquoise and its structure will be discussed in the next chapter.) According to the Bible, the tablets were kept in the Ark of the Covenant and transported by the Israelites with Moses. It has been suggested that the dimensions of the Ark fit perfectly inside the coffer in the King's Chamber of the Great Pyramid,11 thus the tablets may have been housed in the granite sarcophagus.
Again the six-pointed star could have meanings at multiple levels and also represent both the Mount Sinai at Serabit el-Khadim and the Great Pyramid. The upright triangle can represent the spiritual mountain of the Great Pyramid, and the inverted triangle the natural physical earth mountain. The Tablets of the Law also represented both the laws involving God and those involving man. Observing these laws perfected man or made man whole in all aspects: “as above, so below” to use the phrase from The Emerald Tablet, a cryptic text reported to be the foundation alchemists attributed to Hermes Trismegistus.12
It is also interesting to note that a search of the authorized King James Version of the Bible for the word Horeb results in seventeen verse references and Sinai appears in twice that number