[I]t was not the genesis of the universe that is imaged in astronomical mythology. The firmament was there; already waiting to be distinguished as upper and lower, and divided into the domains of night and day, or Sut and Horus, or Ansar and Kisar. The constellations were not created from nothing when they were figured out of stars. The firmamental water was not created by being divided into upper and lower. The earth was not created because distinguished from water as ground to go upon…. Heaven and earth existed when these were nameless, and did not come into existence on account of being named.–from “Egyptian Wisdom and the Hebrew Genesis”

It goes unappreciated by modern Egyptologists, but it is embraced by those who savor the concept of a “hidden history” of humanity, and those who approach all human knowledge from the perspective of the esoteric. Gerard Massey’s massive Ancient Egypt: The Light of the World–first published in 1907 and the crowning achievement of the self-taught scholar–redefines the roots of Christianity via Egypt, proposing that Egyptian mythology was the basis for Jewish and Christian beliefs. Here, Cosimo proudly presents Book 7 of Ancient Egypt, in which Massey explains how Egyptian wisdom–which greatly concerns itself with matters of the womb and birth, water, and the offspring of gods–was appropriated by the Hebrew holy books, and explains how the Hebrew account of creation is a clear repetition of Egyptian mythology. Peculiar and profound, this work will intrigue and delight students of history, religion, and mythology. British author GERALD MASSEY (1828-1907) published works of poetry, spiritualism, Shakespearean criticism, and theology, but his best-known works are in the realm of Egyptology, including A Book of the Beginnings and The Natural Genesis.