Note 346 — Chapter I
E. J. (Edward James) Chinnock translation
Heliopolis is known in Hebrew as On, which is an Egyptian word meaning Sun. It is mentioned in Gen. xli. 45, 50; xlvi. 20. In Ezek. xxx. 17, it is called Aven, which is the same word in Hebrew as On, with a variation of the vowels. In Jer. xliii. 13 it is called Beith-Shemesh, which in Hebrew means House of the Sun, a translation of the Egyptian name. The Greeks called it Heliopolis, City of the Sun. The great temple of the Sun and its priesthood are described by Herodotus and Strabo. There are still remaining a beautiful obelisk of red granite nearly 70 feet high, and the brick wall of the temple 3,750 feet long by 2,370 feet broad. Cf. Apollodorus, ii. 4.