light; the
sun, (
Gen. 41:45, 50), the great seat of sun-worship, called also Bethshemesh (
Jer. 43:13) and
Aven (
Ezek. 30:17), stood
on the
east bank of the
Nile, a few miles north of
Memphis, and near Cairo, in the north-east. The Vulgate and the LXX. Versions have "Heliopolis" ("city of the sun") instead of
On in
Genesis and of Aven in
Ezekiel. The "city of destruction"
Isaiah speaks of (19:18, marg. "of Heres;" Heb. 'Ir-ha-heres, which some MSS. read Ir-ha-heres, i.e., "city of the sun") may be the name given to On, the
prophecy being that the time will come when that
city which was known as the "city of the sun-god" shall become the "city of destruction" of the sun-god, i.e., when
idolatry shall cease, and the
worship of the true
God be established.
In ancient times this city was full of obelisks dedicated to the sun. Of these only one now remains standing. "Cleopatra's Needle" was one of those which stood in this city in front of the
Temple of Tum, i.e., "the sun." It is now erected on the Thames Embankment, London.
"It was at On that
Joseph wooed and won the dark-skinned
Asenath, the
daughter of the high
priest of its great temple." This was a noted university town, and here
Moses gained his acquaintance with "all the wisdom of the Egyptians."