Part 26

“Only a few days ago I finished reading your highly interesting little book, ‘The Threshold Covenant,’ and I hasten to write to you, that I have read it with ever-increasing interest, and have learned infinitely much from it. Our views regarding the high antiquity and the unity of human culture receive entirely new light through this work; in addition, a large number of old oriental and biblical ways and customs now become intelligible and clear.

“Manifestly correct, and indeed most happy, is your derivation of the threshold cult, and of sacrifice in general, from the first human blood shed on crossing the threshold of woman; also the important explanation of the signs for life, which I have compared: Egyptian, Babylonian, (Compare _vulva_.) Moreover, your explanation of the passover is much more satisfactory than taking _pesakh_ in the sense of ‘to pass by.’

“Permit me now to offer a few remarks, of which you may still be able to avail yourself.

“With the symbol of the red hand may also be compared the hands upon the Sabaean bronze tablets (_Z.D.M.G._, Vol. 19, plate XI., and especially plate VII.), where fourteen hands of seven gods are pictured above the inscription. Furthermore, see Pinches’ Inscribed Babylonian Tablets, belonging to the collection of Sir Henry Peek, Part III., p. 66; a seal cylinder, on which appears a raised hand between the god and the priest.

“On page 100 [of your book].–More accurately, I is _house_ as well as temple; I-GAL is palace (_í-gal íkallu_); but Hebrew and Arabic _hekal_ is ‘temple,’ ‘Holy of Holies’ (Hebrew, also ‘palace’).

“On page 105.–That the design in question, on the old Babylonian seal cylinder, represents the sun gates, is a discovery made by your own countryman, Dr. W. Hayes Ward (American Journal of Archeology, III., nos. 1–2, p. 52).

“On page 108.–The Arabic _mihrâb_ is a loan word from the South Arabic and Ethiopic, _mikrâb_, temple; literally, ‘praying-place.’

“On page 171.–In South Arabic inscriptions _wathan_ signifies ‘boundary-pillar,’ and at the same time ‘statue of god,’ ‘idol.’

“On page 180.–_El gisr_ is literally ‘bridge.’ The bridge was also looked upon as a gate, as leading from one shore to the other.

“On page 229.–Sacred prostitution. Compare Babylonia _kadishtu_ (literally, holy person), Hebrew _kādusha_, ‘harlot.’

“On page 233 (note).–The Babylonian _patânu_, ‘to hold the sacrificial meal,’ ‘to eat,’ _naptanu_, ‘meal,’ is connected with Hebrew _miphtan_. I am inclined to believe also that the Babylonian _ʿgish-da=pitnu_, really means ‘threshold;’ also that _gish-sa_, _ush-sa_, a bridal gift, is originally ‘threshold.’

“On page 234.–The ‘serpent’ of the boundary stone was originally the Milky Way. The other symbols are animals of the Zodiac.

“On page 235 (note 3).–Compare, also, Hommel, _Babylonische Ursprung der Ægypt. Kultur_ (fight of Merodach with the serpent=fight of Rê ‘with ʿApep’).

“On page 238.–_Nekhushtân_, the name the serpent of Moses, is derived from נחשת, ‘_vulva_,’ or, at all events, is related to this word.”

Footnote 722:

See p. 313, _supra_.

Transcriber’s Note:

Minor errors or inconsistencies of punctuation or formatting have been corrected silently. There were a number of occasions where quotation marks were not balanced. Where possible the cited source has been consulted. It was not always possible to surmise the scope of quoted material, in which case it is noted below, but unchanged in the text.

In at least one case, on p. 125, the quotation from Ármin Vámbéry’s _Travels in Central Asia_ (see note 361) was incorrectly marked. Quotation marks have been added in order to properly denote those portions which directly follow the source.

In the scriptural index, on p. 303, the entries for 1 Timothy are corrupt, with the chapter appearing at the end of the entry, rather than at the beginning:

1 TIMOTHY. : 14 854 : 7 1146

These have been corrected as

1 TIMOTHY. 4 : 14 85 6 : 7 114

This table summarizes the corrections specifically to the Topical Index, which on occasion has entries which are spelled differently in the text itself, or are otherwise faulty. To facilitate searches, it is assumed that the text is correct, and the entries were changed. The sole exception is the transliteration of the Greek word προναιοι, which is given in the text on p. 154 as _pronaoi_, but correctly in the index as _pronaioi_ (vestibule). In this case, the text has been corrected.

Entry Correction/Comment

Altar: _lèlè_, name for accents reversed from the text (“lélé”).

Ashurnâsira[f]i Ashurnâsira[p]li on both referenced pages.

Avai[t]a Avai[k]a

Bay[e]t-el-Walli Bayt-el-Walli

Boundary: references to, may be p. 17 or p. 117. In any case, neither page seems to have a relevant remark.

“Dead, Book of the,” appears twice, the second being out of the alphabetic sequence. That has been removed.

Boodha-drum/ Booddha-drum/ Booddha-drum/ Boodha-hood/Boodha’s foot Booddha’s foot

British envoy welcomed at British envoy welcomed at threshold of Ka[n]zeroon threshold of Ka[u]zeroon

Buk[a]hōla Bukohōla

He[li] Heh

Eu[e]lmash Eulmash

Gapriel Gabriel

Jastrow, Prof. Dr. Morris, The first citation appears on Jr.: cited, [97] p. 79 in n. 418.

Kurigalz[a] II., king of Kurigalz[u] II., king of Babylon Babylon

Kuz[a] bemuchsaz Kuzu Kuz[u] bemuchsaz Kuzu

Maspero, Prof. G.: references Note 473 occurs on p. 169. to, ... 126, 16[0]

This table summarizes any other corrections which were made to the text.

p. 22 hea[r]thstones Added.

p. 32 by the bridegroom’s [friend] _Sic._

p. 33 “a little brandy is spilt _Sic._ under the threshold.[”]

p. 43 and thrusts it into her Added. bosom,[”]

p. 61 Chara[u/n]s Corrected

[“/‘]The herald and his Corrected. brother

p. 79 n. 220 De Hesse-Warteg[g]’s Added.

p. 82 that is, I will covenant with Removed. them.[”]

p. 90 [“]The red hand was Added.

p. 100 as simil[i]arly, in ancient Removed Egypt

p. 104 n. 279 Les Religions et les Corrected. Philosophies dans l’Asi[a/e]

p. 144 n. 417 See Jones’s and K[n/r]opf’s Corrected.

p. 200 n. 531 Supplément aux Corrected. Dictionn[aries/aires]

p. 200 or [“]door,” Added.

p. 222 n. 596 See Maundrel[l]’s _Journey_ Added.

p. 227 conju[n]ction Added.

p. 246 Ægyp[t]o Superiori Added.

p. 255 n. 672 Mülha[n/u] and Volck Corrected.

p. 273 Christ[ai/ia]n captive Transposed.

p. 281 Entrance-way, importance of, Corrected. [2/3]. There is no p. 2.

p. 293 among Sep[h]ardeem Added.

p. 299 Die Lehr[a/e]n d. Talmud Corrected.

p. 314 ‘to pray,[’] Added.

[“]Patriarchal Palestine,” Added.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Threshold Covenant, by H. Clay Trumbull