שמימ

Like most words with the suffix, 'im', the Semim (pronounced 'shemim') are a group of intelligent entities. 'Semim' is clearly based on the root word sem, however, the meaning of the root word is not quite a straightforward affair. Because of the possible semantic variance inherent in the root word sem, the literal meaning of 'semim' can be interpreted as:

In the strictest literal sense, 'semim' means “the named ones”. Certain academic streams tend to interpret this as the “people of the name”, equating this title to the Hebrew people, Jews, the people of Yahweh. There are a few problems with this interpretation. The first problem with this theory is that if semim is to be understood as the “people of the name”, there is an implicit assumption that “the name” probably refers to some name in particular. The implication is that the name in question is יהוה - that is; Ihoh, or as he is more commonly known, Yahweh, or Jehovah. However, the word 'semim' appears in the texts before the name in question has been established. That is to say, the Semim are mentioned prior to any mention of Ihoh. The semim are discussed at length in the first chapter of Genesis, while Ihoh himself does not appear until chapter 2. If the 'semim' are indeed the people of the name, then one would think that the name would be made clear before starting to refer to his followers in such a vague sense. The fact that the reader is given no facts or clues as to whose name is supposedly being referred to shed serious doubt on this interpretation. Additionally, even after both words are established in the text, the semim generally remain distinctly separate from Yahweh. The semim do not appear to be intrinsically connected to Ihoh in a way that would support this conjecture. If the Semim are indeed a people of “the name”, it is not apparent whose name that might be, and there is no indication that it is Ihoh's name.

Further contextual issues are raised by the interpretation of “the people of the name”. This phrase is clearly supposed to apply to the followers of Ihoh, in other words, the members of the Jewish religion. Taking a broader cultural view, one could argue that rather than a religious choice, Jews are born into a culture. In this view, the people group is synonymous with the ethnicity known as “Jewish” or “Hebrew”, rather than being so focused on any particular religious belief system. With this in mind, one should logically be able to perform a word by word substitution of the word “Jews” for instances of 'semim' in the text. Let us examine a few examples of this process.

Examining the first instance of 'semim', the semim are mentioned in the very first sentence¹⁾ of the Hebrew corpus, one which is typically rendered “In the beginning the alehim created the semim and the earth”. If one takes a traditional approach to translation, but embraces the “people of the name” interpretation, we get something to the effect of: In the beginning the alehim created the Jews and the earth. This statement raises a rather important question - if the Alehim were the creators of the Jews specifically, then who is the creator of the rest of humanity? Was there a parallel group similar to but distinct from the alehim who created other ethnic groups? The invoking of a variety of “creator gods” to create different “races” smacks of many problematic ways of thinking, including but not limited to critical_race_theory, discrimination, and eugenics. There are of course many corollary problems here as well. Traditionally, the Hebrew people trace their ancestry back to Isaac (the son of Abraham) but exclude Abraham's other son, Ishmael. This interpretation pushes the creation of the Jews back all the way to Adam²⁾, all but destroying any semblance of the fundamental “chosen people” motif of Judaism. Could this problem be solved by a “better translation” of the context? Using the Bara Translation, we arrive at: “the established division divided the Alehim with The Semim with territory”.

Once we have removed the flawed idea of “creation ex nihilo” and read the text for what it actually says, we find that a division (see bera) of two people groups is a more accurate translation of what the original author wrote. It is now possible to interpret the narrative as the Alehim parceling out a specific land grant to the Hebrews. Yet, if this is true, and the land grant occurred at the beginning of the story, why is so much of the narrative in the Old Testament about the Hebrew people's quest for land. Abram leaves his homeland, as does Jacob, as does Moses, who spends the rest of his life wandering. The next several hundred years focus on trying to invade and keep control over lands that are already occupied.

Similarly, logical issues arise within the central story of Abraham. “And Ihoh brought Abraham outside and said 'Look now toward the Jews and count the stars if you are able to number them And He said so shall be your offspring'”³⁾. How can we interpret this sentence in any meaningful way? The Jewish people are themselves defined as the offspring of Abraham. This event occurs before Abraham has children. So how can Abraham look toward the Jews and count the stars, when the Jews do not yet exist?

It seems somewhat dubious to interpret the semim as the people of the name. So if the root word sem in this usage does not indicate “name”, consider that 'sem' is very often used to indicate “fame/infamy” or “legendary” status. Therefore another reasonable meaning of 'semim' is “the famous ones” or “the legendary ones”. This interpretation is true to the etymology in both a literal and a figurative way. The famous heroes of legend are precisely those people from past eras whose names are remembered. Essentially, the “legendary ones” ARE the “named ones”. We remember their names due to their legendary status, while the names of others fade into obscurity and are forgotten. It was unnecessary to remind the original audience whom were already familiar with the stories of the Legendary Ones. These original readers may have known, but we have lost this context and are left guessing exactly which legends are being referred to. Could they be legends that are still with us, having been preserved in some form that has simply become removed from the Hebrew context?

Several ubiquitous themes arise when examining the phenomenon of legends or mythology. Every culture known to man includes stories of great heroes in the distant past whose feats and features seem to transcend those of normal human limits. The exact nature of these individuals varies somewhat, and this understanding is necessarily modelled through the cultural lenses of the reader, often heavily modified by subsequent generations applying their own assumptions back onto the source material.

Despite this, there are really only two primary explanations which remain relatively consistent throughout history for understanding the origin of these superhuman beings. Both of these interpretations are based on culturally ubiquitous themes. The first of which is that there exists some external realm beyond that of physics and time, and that these legendary beings have come from that realm⁴⁾. The second possible explanation is that there need not be a “place” beyond the universe, but the legendary beings have travelled from somewhere within the universe. In both of these models, the consistent facts are that these beings came to earth from elsewhere and seeded life on earth.

Although the first explanation seems to correspond more closely to the Greco-Roman traditions that have evolved into Western culture, the second explanation is not without narrative evidence in the Hebrew texts, particularly in Genesis 1 and Job 38. These motifs are also evident in other “near-east” cultures and mythologies, including the Sumerian legends with which the Hebrew writers would have certainly been familiar. It is entirely possible that the Hebrew texts are simply retelling stories picked up from the neighboring and preceding Sumerian cultures. There are certainly other extant parallels between the Hebrew and Sumerian corpora, though most Greco-Roman-biased bible translations have effectively redacted them by way of some extremely creative translating work - however, the original words remain for those who are willing to shun tradition in favor of a literal translation.

It may not be necessary to look quite so far afield however. A more terrestrial explanation may suffice, as indicated by a closely related geographic term 'semeron', “the land of the legendary ones”. This land is accessed to the north an is the land where the ancient legends took place, and thus it is highly probable that the 'semim' are the characters referred to in the ancient legends of the Sumerian culture.

Another way to interpret 'sem' is as “characteristics”. As discussed in the sem article, there are many instances throughout the old testament of characters receiving a name. Often this is assumed to occur at or shortly after birth, but there are many examples of a character receiving a new or modified name during adulthood. This is because of the recognition in their ancient culture that things ought to be called as they are. One's name was supposed to reflect and summarize their characteristics. With this in mind, a possible meaning of 'semim' is “The Characteristic Ones”. But if they are characteristic, what exactly are they characteristic of? Could it be that they are characteristic of us?

As already discussed, “the Legendary Ones” reflects far back into the past stretching to a time long before the Ancient Hebrews and referring to a group whose stories lived on in their legends. They were famous men of olden times before the olden times, but presumably their stories continued to ring true due to the similarity of the ancient hearers of the legends and the even more ancient characters of the legends themselves. Although we have no way of knowing how many iterations of generations or cultures or empires or civilizations may have come and gone between these two people groups, we can say for certain that in a very real sense, both groups were people. Did they look the same? We cannot say. How much DNA did they share? We have no idea. But we do know that they shared the human sense of story and the human modalities of communication. We do know that the legends were considered important - that they resonated. The original legends contained people who were relatable. They very likely felt emotions similar to ours. They very likely faced problems similar to ours. They may have had limitations similar to ours.

Although it is not possible to determine just how far back into the mists of prehistory these legendary ones recede, we know that they are older than old. The people we consider ancient considered them ancient. They might even be considered “the first people”⁵⁾ in a sense. This concept is exemplified in another Hebrew word - rasenim which means exactly that - the “First People”. Although we can not say with any certainty whether 'rasenim' and 'semim' are meant to refer to the same group, it is in this sense that another possible meaning of 'semim' comes to view. The Semim could be considered “the Prototypical People”. Another way to state this might simply be that the Semin are “the Prototype” of humanity. This fascinating thought conjures images of an iterative humanity. It captures a sense of being created “in the image” of a prior iteration⁶⁾. The Semim may simply be an older version of humanity - similar, but different. Perhaps a next stage in evolution. Or perhaps not…

Next is not synonymous with better. We tend to be steeped in rhetoric of physiological, intellectual, and cultural evolution that is so baked into the western empirical paradigm of modernism and the great and continual rise from barbarism to beauty. But regardless of what we continue to tell ourselves, even the giants upon whose shoulders we have stood knew the limitations of this model and presented an alternative viewpoint on the other side of the coin. The Greek and Roman mythos spoke not of continuous improvement, but of greatness lost. The Olympian gods were preceded by the even greater Titans. The stronger gods existed BEFORE the later, more limited gods. The later phase were “less advanced”. Could this theme be included within the legends of “the Legendary Ones”? Were “the Prototypes” a finer, purer form of humanity? This is possibility that can not be ruled out.

Further insight into the nature and identity of the Semim can be gleaned from several other scattered references which indicate one or more characteristics of the Semim. Several times throughout the Psalms⁷⁾, the Semim are described riding up and down on a roeh or a kebed. In these descriptions the Semim are seen rising from earth, but also going down, both to Earth and to a somewhat mysterious destination called sal (more commonly known as “Sheol” and strongly associated with death).

Job wisely asks the question; “What work do the Semim do in the depths of sal?”⁸⁾, and marvels that only the Semim can rise from sal.⁹⁾. Given the association of 'sal' with death, this may indicate that Job thought of the Semim as being immortal.

In the Psalms, the Semim are often presented as bringers of provision for humanity. The psalmist writes of “the corn of the Semim”, “the bread of the Semim”, and even the “birds and fish of the Semim” as food sources for which he is grateful. ¹⁰⁾. He goes on to insinuate that the earth belongs to the Semim and thus they are responsible for all of its abundance.¹¹⁾ Additionally, a passage in Job 38 seems to credit the Semim with providing water and snow on Earth.¹²⁾

Given the fact that the Shemim are legendary characters, and particularly given their role as “providers” who can seemingly ascend and descend between various “planes”, it may be tempting to interpret the Semim as “the gods”. Although this inclination does make a certain amount of sense, the nomenclature is somewhat problematic. The term “god” is implicit with many and varied assumptions and cultural baggage. Aside from this fact, such terms as “gods” or “deities” or “divinities”, could be applied equally well to a number of other distinct groups delineated in the ancient Hebrew texts; not just the Semim. Notably, the Aherim are typically presented as being “other gods”, that is, gods which do not belong in the Alehim group. Additionally, “the Baals” (see byl) might be another such group which may or may not overlap with the Aherim. Clearly the Hebrew authors recognized different groups of intelligent entities and explicitly differentiated between these groups.

It behooves us to acknowledge, delineate and analyze these differences. Unfortunately, there is no one specific passage which explicitly defines these groups and their relationships. Instead, various pieces of the puzzle come into play across a broad swath of textual evidence which when combined reveal a more complex relationship than is at first evident. In order to fully understand the Semim, and the other groups of “gods”, we must examine the relationships between the Semim and the other groups, particularly the Alehim. Recall that these two groups are the ones identified and explicitly divided in Genesis 1:1.

As we attempt to determine the nature of the relationship between the Semim and the Alehim, we ought to consider the possibility that the two words are actually referring to the same group. This might be simply because the two words are different names for the same group, or it could be that one of the groups is a subset of the other.

This exact question is actually asked for us within the text. Job 22:12-14, contains this exact question. The text reads “Aren’t the Alehim lofty Semim?”. Unfortunately it is not completely clear whether the question is being asked in the hopes of an answer or if it is asked rhetorically with the speaker insinuating that this is common knowledge. It is possible that Job and his friends are attempting to somehow use the argument that the Alehim are also members of the Semim as a part of their process of dealing with their existential angst. This verse might be considered the most direct evidence of a relationship existing between the Semim and the Alehim. Or maybe not. It is difficult to determine with any certainty the true intended meaning of this passage, or indeed, if the question is ever directly answered. This is one of the many reasons that we plan on doing a lot more analysis of the Book of Job.

However, based on the majority of other passages which mention both the Semim and the Alehim, it would seem that the two words refer to two separate and distinct groups of individuals.

The first such example is one we have already examined; the very first verse in the bible. Genesis 1:1 speaks of the Semim and Alehim and the division of territory on earth. the established division divided the Alehim the Semim the territory¹³⁾. This verse seems to indicate that two separate groups; both the Alehim and the Semim, each received separate territory. The next chapter seems to reiterate this theme, again in the context of territory, stating: the tree of accounting of The Semim territory, divided a cycle complete, Ihoh the Alehim, the territory The Semim¹⁴⁾ Later, Genesis 26:4 continues this theme, stating that at some later point in history: The Semim gave their descendants with whole territory to favor their descendants whole nation territory.

Proverbs goes on to give further details, albeit in a somewhat convoluted passage:¹⁵⁾ Ihoh obtained the established division path east constructed at that time. Beyond 'pour head'¹⁶⁾ east of territory of nobody. Uselessly flowed nobody's stream abundant water before the Mountain People settled in the surrounding hills. It flowed until not completing territory outside 'head dirt'¹⁷⁾ the world preparing The Legendary Ones characteristics I drew a circle on the edge of the useless fortification of The Mocking Ones above.¹⁸⁾ Although the full intent of this passage is rather murky, there are clearly some relevant themes, many of which are highly reminiscent of Genesis 1:1 - the Shemim are mentioned, as is an established division and territory.

Interestingly, in many of these instances the word tebel is used instead of Arex when the location is mentioned. Tebel means “world”. This is in contrast to the other references to this “established division” which typically refer to Arex, understood to mean “Earth”. Might this territory extend beyond the planet itself? It would seem so, because the Proverbs passage appears to indicate that there was a group of onlookers outside of the earthly sphere.¹⁹⁾ While Genesis 1:1 was not particularly clear on what the Shemim were divided from, this might be the answer. Apparently there were those beyond earth who mocked the whole idea.

Perhaps the motif of a circle being inscribed around a “useless edge” was to protect the newly formed Earth colony from outside interference.

It seems clear from the statements examined so far that the Semin were given territory. The book of Proverbs reveals that the territory was given to the Semim by none other than Ihoh himself. “Ihoh's wisdom appointed territory prepared the Semim's understanding”²⁰⁾

Ihoh is a member of the Alehim. This fact is validated by over 250 references linking Ihoh and the Alehim, and is examined in more detail here. So why was a member of the Alehim giving teritory to the Semim. Weren't these two groups already given two separate territories? One has to wonder if Ihoh was giving away or trading, or selling his portion of the Alehim's territory? Was he authorized to do that? Were there repercussions of this act?

Ihoh's act is referred to only vaguely, but there are no shortage of references to it. Specifically, many of these passages identify Ihoh as essentially being the landlord of the Semim. Apparently, rather than giving or selling, Ihoh seems to have been renting the territory to the Semim. Later, the authority of Ihoh over the Semim is more explicitly shown, as in 1 Kings 22:19 which describes Ihoh sitting on a throne among the Shemim. - looked the Ihoh abide on throne whole army of the Semim stood right and left

This throne motif gives a different viewpoint of Ihoh who is now represented as being directly in charge of the Semim. Thus it seems evident that Ihoh is in a position of authority over the Semim, not just as a landlord, but as a ruler of some kind whose authority extends to but is not necessarily limited to power over the land itself. In essence, Ihoh is the member of the Alehim who is in charge of the Semim.

Psalms 115:16 reveals an additional plot twist to the narrative of the territories. The phrase can be interpreted as the Semim giving Ihoh's territory to the humans, or as Ihoh taking the territory away from the Semim and giving it to the humans. In either case, Ihoh appears to ultimately own the territory, but its use is transferred from the Semim to the humans. This act is referenced in Isaiah 1:2, which indicates that this an act of rebellion on the part of the Semim was somehow involved.

This narrative may or may not coincide with that of Genesis 14:22 where “spoke Abram to king of Sodom 'lift your hand to Ihoh to uppermost obtain the Semim's territory”' Here we see two humans, Abraham and the King of Sodom, planning to engage in land negotiations with Ihoh. Due to some unknowns of ancient grammar, we can not be sure of the verb tense, so it is possible to interpret Abraham's statement as either:

1. “lift your hand to Ihoh who is the ultimate owner of the territory of the Semim.”
2. “lift your hand to Ihoh the owner, to purchase the territory of the Semim.”

We do not know if Abraham is suggesting to the king of Sodom that he should attempt to purchase land from Ihoh, or that he is suggesting that the king of Sodom should simply pay some kind of reverence to Ihoh as landowner. What is abundantly clear is that Ihoh ultimately owns the territory, even though it is referred to as the territory of the Semim. This appears to place Ihoh in a position of power over the Semim, with the Semim falling into the role of occupants, or tenants.

Thus it would appear that Ihoh was the original landowner and landlord, but he at some point seems to have given the land to the Semim, but later this right of possession was passed along to humankind.

You will not find the word 'semim' or 'shemim' in any Hebrew dictionaries, lexicons, or concordances published to date. Instead, where the Hebrew word שמימ appears you will typically find it transliterated as “hassamayim”. Perhaps this is merely an honest mistake. It is true that the word often occurs with a “ha” prefix, in the form of השמימ, but as is demonstrated myriad times throughout the lexicon, this prefix does little to affect the meaning of the word and should never be included in the root word.²¹⁾

Prefixes aside, there is a bigger issue at hand. At some unknown point in its long history, an extra syllable has been inserted into the verbal pronunciation. There is no written syllable that corresponds to the supposed pronunciation ha-sa-MY-im. The made-up word hassamayim, which supposedly means “the heavens”, does not exist in the ancient Hebrew texts. The texts contain only שמימ , pronounced shemim , and השמימ, which although it is pronounced hashemim²²⁾, still just means semim.

Doesn't it seem strange that no one seems to have noticed this? Well, actually a few people have. In their 1997 book “The Shining Ones,” Christian and Barbara Joy O’Brien, identified and discussed the ancient Hebrew word 'Shemim' which they interpreted as referring to the garden of Eden. It should be noted that the O'Briens literal translation of Shemim was “highlands”, and they inexplicably conflagrated the words 'sem' and 'sih' in order to equate “highlands” with “plants” and thereby justify that the garden of Eden was a highland garden²³⁾. But at least the O'Briens realized that שמימ was an actual word that exists, and should be pronounced 'shemim', and that it does not mean “heaven”.

Recently, a handful of biblical scholars have begun to recognize that the Semim are in fact a group of intelligent entities. Even so, the etymology remains a stumbling block. Notably, Paul Wallis discusses the concept of what he calls “the Seba Hassamayim” in his book The Scars of Eden, interpreting this phrase as a referring to powerful “sky armies”. In our estimate Wallis has correctly interpreted the 'im' suffix, and is correct in his conclusion that the Semim are a group of intelligent beings.

Popular author Zechariah Sitchin has interpreted the 'semim' to be “the Rocket Men”. His primary point of reference for this theory appears to stem from Genesis 11:4 which states that the humans wanted to build a 'sem' for themselves to “ascend to the heavens.” The main problem with this interpretation is that contrary to popular academic belief 'semim' doesn't mean “the heavens”. Sitchin want's to have his cake and eat it too, by translating 'sem' as “rocket” and yet still incorrectly reading 'semim' as “the heavens”.

There is no logical way to parse Genesis 11 as “a rocket to ascend to the heavens”. Using the 'sem'="rocket" argument, you end up with “a rocket to ascend to the rocket-men”. Even if Sitchin is correct and “rocket” actually is the intended meaning of 'sem', it does not make sense to use this phrase as contextual justification for the 'sem'=“rocket” argument. It becomes a case of circular reasoning.

Before we quit these cosmic musings, let us return for a moment to Genesis 15:5, there is another fascinating aspect to consider. This particular verse brings up an important point about a popular interpretation of 'semim' as “the heavens”. Contextually, in this particular example, that interpretation does actually work quite well. When Abraham is told to “consider the stars”, perhaps the semim are somehow implicated. It is quite likely that star constellations were named to aligned with whatever local legends were important to the culture. The origin of our current constellation concepts are very ancient indeed, cropping up in the most ancient records of many cultures. If there were legendary figures that were popular in the unknown ancient culture that created the constellations, there is a strong likelihood that at least some of the constellations were named after these popular figures of legend. Therefore, some of the semim may still be represented within the starry night skies above us. It is entirely feasible that Yahweh's statement to “look at the legends” was equivalent to one of us stepping out into the night under a clear sky and exclaiming “look at Orion!”

One final piece of evidence should be considered in the case of the rockets. There is a rather curious phrase which occurs 38 times²⁴⁾ in the Hebrew canon, yet which seems to have been completely overlooked by theologians and biblical scholars. It seems to be a portmanteau made be combining oyop and semim, and it appears to refer to a specific type of semim.

Consider the meanings inherent in those two words. The semim are a group of legendary individuals or perhaps prototypical humans. Oyop means “flying”. Taken at face value, the phrase 'oyop semim' clearly seems to indicate some kind of “legendary flying men”, or “flying prototypical humans”. The implication of 'oyop shemim' appears to be that there were flying men in the ancient times before the ancient Hebrew period, which lived on in the legends of those days.²⁵⁾²⁶⁾

If we are to believe that the ancients told tales of even more ancient flying men as appears to be the case, there are two ways to attempt to formulate an explanation. Either (A) These earlier “men” had wings like birds and could fly, or (B) these men did not have wings and feathers, but were able to fly by some other mechanism.

In the case of (A), one can picture an image similar to the classical Greek concept of an Angel. In the Case of (B), perhaps these men had some kind of mechanical machine like a airplane or a spaceship… or a rocket?

We have already addressed the rocket angle, so why not take a look at the angelic possibility? We cannot truly rule this out, but believe it or not, the Bible does not support the popular conception of angels in any way. This will be discussed in its own separate article.

A few fragments of the original Hebrew version of the Book Of Enoch have survived (part of the Dead Sea Scrolls) and here we can read an alternative version that parallels the narrative of Genesis 6.

A typical English translation is:

“And the angels of the heavens saw them and coveted the cities and they wandered after them and said one to another: Come, let us choose wives for ourselves from among the daughters of man and we will beget We have sons”

note here that “angels of heaven” is actually “המלאכים בני־השמים”, or ha-melakim ben hasemim which is better rendered as the “workers of the sons of the Semim” or perhaps the “worker-sons of the Semim.

In summary, the Semim are a group of entities associated with but separate from the Alehim. Both groups; the Semim and the Alehim, were given territory, but the territory of the Semim was overseen by one of the Alehim, named Ihoh. Eventually, this territory was passed from the Semim and given to humans. The exact details of this transactions are not known.

It is possible that the Semim were a proto-human species but they are also described as providers to humanity and thus, must have also been our contemporaries. Semim have been witnessed and described as flying or riding up and down on a kebed or a roeh.

Nevertheless, the Semim are most known simply for their fame or infamy; they are “the Legendary Ones” characterized as the primary characters of some ancient, presumably long lost legends. It is possible though that some of these legends may have never been truly lost or are yet bubbling back to our consciousness through archaeological discoveries.

This page is part of a series - see im backlinks for a dynamic list

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