Book of the Beginnings, Part 1 [Paperback]

Gerald Massey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 25, 2002 | Series: Kessinger Publishing's Rare Mystical Reprints

Volume one of a two volume set. (This description is for all volumes.) Containing an attempt to recover and reconstitute the lost origins of the myths and mysteries, types and symbols, religion and language, with Egypt for the mouthpiece and Africa as the birthplace. Vol. I, Egyptian origins in the British Isles; Egypt; Comparative vocabulary of English and Egyptian words; Hieroglyphics in Britain; Egyptian origins in words; Egyptian water-names; Egyptian names of personages; British symbolical customs and Egyptian naming; Egyptian deities in the British Isles; Egyptian place-names and the record of the stones; Type-names of the people. Vol. II; Comparative vocabulary of Hebrew and Egyptian words; Hebrew cruxes with Egyptian illustrations; Egyptian origins in the Hebrew scriptures, religion, language, and letters; The phenomenal origin of Jehovah-Elohim; Egyptian origin of the Exodus; Moses and Joshua, or the two Lion-Gods of Egypt; An Egyptian dynasty of Hebrew deities identified from the monuments; The Egyptian origin of the Jews traced from the monuments; Comparative vocabulary of Akkado-Assyrian and Egyptian words; Egyptian origins in the Akkado-Assyrian language and mythology; Comparative vocabulary of Maori and Egyptian words; African origins of the Maori; Roots in Africa beyond Egypt. Mr. Massey has collected together all the principal facts known about Egypt, with a view to trace the origin of mankind. Some portions of his theories are undoubtedly correct, especially those which go to prove that the Egyptians are the oldest known historical race, that they are an African people of a peculiar type, and by no means an Asiatic tribe filtered through the Isthmus of Suez. Evidence of their primitive development is to be found in their physical type. The significance of this work was not recognized in its own time over 100 years ago. This book emphasizes the African origins of mankind in Africa. This work could give new pride and awareness in the staggerin

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Kessinger Publishing reprints over 1,500 similar titles all available through Amazon.com. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Kessinger Publishing, LLC (July 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0766126528
• ISBN-13: 978-0766126527
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,624,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Start Here, January 3, 2007

By 

reader (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Book of the Beginnings ( 2 volume set) (Paperback)

This is the first of three great books by Gerald Massey on the relation between all the world's religions, cultures and languages and the ancient Egyptian that is, in itself, rooted in the lake region of Central Africa at the source of the Nile. In the first volume of this book, Massey discusses the extremely ancient origins of Egypt and then goes into great detail and depth in showing how the British Druidic culture is Egyptian in its origin. Volume two does the same for the ancient Hebrew culture. These books are a gold mine, They are filled with detail upon inspiring detail. See my review of *Natural Genesis.* Massey's books are indespensible for anyone interested in the great African cultures, the British Druidic culture, the origins of the Hebrew culture, the problems of Christianity, the origins of Buddhism, and the origins of all the world's myths, including the biblical legends, and languages; he shows Egyptian words that show up in a very large number of languages including even the American Indian, Maori, Japanese, Chinese, European, African and so on. Massey focuses through his volumes on the British Druidic, Hebrew, and Christian traditions, and explores in extraordinary depth the Egyptian, and its root culture deep in Africa. Anyone who studies the African traditions can easily see the connections of Massey's findings with the African traditions. Egypt goes back hundreds of thousands of years and comes from the same root as all the other African traditions. All of Massey's books are published by BCP (Black Classics Press).

5.0 out of 5 stars Filled with Cultural Treasures, July 24, 2010

By 

W. Drake Dorosh - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Book of the Beginnings (Hardcover)

I am still on volume one. It is a slow read for me. The paragraphs seem disconnected and anecdotal without a key for the reader to anticipate where he will take them next. If a modern sympathetic writer could write a companion guide it would be of great help. I would like to see how footnotes and the more obscure references have been explored by later experts and illustrations of the hieroglyphs and coats of arms. As he leans pretty heavily on precession of the equinoxes for dating certain traditions so some illustrations of sky and calendar would also be of great benefit. Perhaps a Wiki page could do this important work.
When he deals with the feminine he is so modest that I sometimes miss the sexual symbols being discussed. When I realized his modesty I put more weight on those sentences to glean anything he was prevented from saying directly.

I love how he refers to festivals and traditions of the British Isles that as far as I know are forgotten. There are english language references that are mostly lost. One word nark I thought was short for narcotics officer and thus meant snitch. My grandfather told me it is an old word that means quit. That school boys being teased or tickled would say "nark it!". Massey explores a similar etymology. The book is just packed with fascinating english traditions.
His reasoning that human kind came out of Africa bears an order and consonance not available to modern linguists. He disputes the notion that sanskrit is source of european languages and that Africa with a focus on Egypt is. I am not qualified to vouch for him but my sentiment is that he is right.
Where commonly we believe that language changes rapidly he argues that certain elements of language endure millennia. Listing off multiple languages he makes his case clear. I don't think his ideas ever became popular. I think it is because he leaves his readers something to research rather than a dogma to learn.
This book is now one of my most cherished possessions.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Nobody with even a basic high school education could read this without laughing, November 22, 2011

By 

Jeri Nevermind "loves to read" (Idaho) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Book of the Beginnings, Part 1 (Paperback)

Massey was born in 1828, to give you some idea of how old this book is. He was a self proclaimed Egyptologist, not to mention Chief Druid, at least by some claims.

The book is dated and the language stilted, and, much more important, the scholarship it contains is only considered of historical interest since, without a single exception, all Massey's points have been long refuted.

Massey's books were part of the 'History of Religions' debate among biblical scholars, which lasted from about 1880-1920. Part of the debate centered on whether or not Christianity had borrowed dogmas from other religions. The debate ended after thousands and thousands of books had been published by various people, and is now considered a dead issue in modern biblical scholarship.

It may have taken decades but it was agreed, at last, that early Christianity never borrowed any dogmas.

After all, Paul quotes--in just one of his epistles--from the Old Testament 50 times. The number of times he quotes from a Roman or Greek author? Zero.

From Jonathan Z Smith's famous essay "Dying and Rising Gods" which you can buy on Amazon today: "The category of dying and rising gods, once a major topic of scholarly investigation, must now be understood to be largely a misnomer based on imaginative reconstructions."

Also, from Nash's "The Gospel and the Greeks" which you can buy on Amazon today: " The tide of scholarly opinion has turned dramatically against attempts to make early Christianity dependent on the so-called dying and rising gods of Hellenistic paganism" (p 162).

From Gunter Wagner"That Paul modeled his Christ 'myth' on the myths about other 'dying and rising gods' is now no more seriously held than is the derivation of the observance of Sunday and of the resurrection on the third day from the mystery cults" from "Pauline Baptism" p 266.

For a good background on this subject, there are two books available on Amazon that explain everything in depth. One is "The Jesus Legend" by Boyd and Eddy, and the other is "The Gospel and the Greeks" by Nash.

All of Massey's claims have been utterly refuted by real scholars.

Personally, I love his claim about how Christianity was only one of many religions that had virgin births. The reason the idea was rejected: because none of those virgins that Jove seduced or raped claimed to be a virgin after they had sex and became pregnant!

Besides, none were claimed to be in real, historical time, as was the case in Christianity. And let's not forget the hilariously wrong 'virgin birth' of Krishna. As any Hindu will tell you, Krishna's mother had had a number of children, perhaps as many as seven, before she conceived Krishna. Pretty hard to claim to a virgin when giving birth to your 8th child.

If you are interested enough in the subject to want to read one of the major books that refuted the claim that the Egyptian religion influenced Christianity, see if you can find a copy of Gunter Wagner's very famous "Pauline Baptism and the pagan mysteries".