The story of Adam and Eve from the Book of Genesis is perhaps one of the best-known stories in circulation, even today, and yet nobody really knows where this tale came from or what it means. But even a cursory glance at the text will demonstrate the origins of this tale, for the river of Eden is described as having four branches. There is only one river in this part of the world that fits this description, and that is the Nile, with the four branches forming the Nile Delta. Here, then, is the true crucible for the Genesis story—Egypt. We already know that Judaism was based upon the reign of the pharaoh Akhenaton, because the solitary Judaic god was known as Adhon while this pharaoh's solitary god was called Aton or Adjon. But on reading the early chapters of Genesis with a more critical eye, it became apparent that this story was simply a retelling of Pharaoh Akhenaton's 'Hymn to the Aton'. Again we know that the early Israelites knew of the Hymn to the Aton because a section is also included in Psalms. But what of the identities of Adam and Eve? The pathway towards enlightenment was illuminated by the discovery that Hebrew was based upon the ancient Egyptian language. This would actually make a great deal of common sense, as the Israelites were once the leaders of Egypt and would originally have spoken Egyptian (Joseph, according to the Bible, was prime minister of all Egypt). This discovery allows us to translate the Genesis story with more confidence, and the result is that it seems certain that Adam and Eve were actually Pharaoh Akhenaton and his famous wife Queen Nefertiti. Includes 16 page color section.

EDEN IN EGYPT by Ralph Ellis. 320 pages. 6x9 Paperback. Illustrated. color section. bibliography. index.