The scarab or sacred dung beetle was the most popular amulet in ancient Egypt. These creatures live in dung. They eat it and they roll their eggs in it. But they did not acquire the symbolism one would expect from such habits. Perhaps this is because their bodies produce an oily secretion which prevents the excreta they live in from sticking to them.
In ancient times all dung beetles were thought to be males. People believed they rolled their semen into balls of dung which served as nourishing and protective eggs for their young. These "male beetles" and their imagined habits were symbols of male virility and generation. The rolling of the dung ball reminded Egyptians of the movement of the constantly renewed sun which rose in the east and set in the west each day. These observations caused the scarab to be associated with the sun, regeneration, renewal, and resurrection.
The dung beetle was also associated with autogenesis and self-renewal since to others, its young appeared to spontaneously crawl out of the dung heap without mother or father. Both the image of the beetle rolling its own ball and the spontaneously self-generated young associated the scarab with the Egyptian World Egg which gave birth to all life. The male scarab is often shown pushing before him the sun or the World Egg. Being connected with the birth of the world, the scarab in flight is sometimes shown with three separate types of wings representing the three varieties of earth's creatures - those covered with scales represent the fish of the seas, those covered with hair symbolize the land animals, those made of feathers stand for the birds of the air.
To better understand the Christian symbolism of the scarab it is necessary to discuss the Egyptian gods associated with its pre-Christian symbolism. The Egyptian creator-god Ptah (also known as Ptah-Nun) originated as Nun, the primordial waters. He was thought to have created the world and humans by kneading and shaping the mud and clay under these waters. (Others say he spoke the world into being.) The Greeks called him the "king of the Pygmies" because Egyptian dwarves had a special devotion to him.
For a long time Re or Ra was considered one of the greatest Egyptian sun gods. These people tended to merge local deities so he was known under the names Amun-Re, Atum-Re, and Re-Horakhty (meaning Horus-Re). Having spontaneously created himself, he was thought to have initiated creation by giving life to air (Shu) and moisture (Tefnut) with nothing but his own spittle or semen. This accomplishment associated him with the "all-male" beetle. he traveled through the sky during the day but at night he journeyed through the underworld.
Khepri (Kepera or Chepri, etc.) was known as the god of the morning or rising sun. His head was that of a beetle. The scarab is more strongly associated with him than with any other Egyptian deity. The words meaning "scarab" and "to come into existence" sound similar to this god's name. As the morning sun, Khepri gave birth to himself in the darkness (which symbolized death or dung) each morning and was a symbol of resurrection, autogenesis, cycles, and self-renewal. Since he rolled the sun across the sky he was associated with the dung beetle's egg rolling.
Osiris was the Egyptian god, judge, and ruler of the underworld and vegetation. He was killed by his evil brother Set but resurrected through the efforts of his sister-wife and the gods. He is identified with mummification, fertility, and resurrection. He was the savior of those who merited immortality when their hearts were weighed against the feather of truth in the scales of judgment. Pharaohs and the righteous dead became Osirises when they died. He was symbolized by the elderly beetle as he sank into the dung heap to be reborn from his own egg in a manner similar to that of the phoenix.
Horus was the son and avenger of Osiris. He was miraculously conceived after his father's death. As a solar deity he was associated with Re and the midday sun. He is usually shown with a falcon's head or accompanied by a falcon. His falcon may wear a solar disc with a scarab on it. As a god of light Horus battles the evil Set, ruler of darkness who is represented by scorpions, snakes, and crocodiles. Horus is the image of kings and good sons. Pharaohs became Osirises upon their deaths and their heirs became Horuses.
Early Christians often used the symbols of sun gods to represent aspects of their new religion. They associated the scarab with Christ's Resurrection and the victory of the Light of the World over the darkness of sin and death. Some people believed that each dung beetle laid only a single egg which he used to give birth to himself. This misconception led early Christians to call Christ the "Good Scarab" to remind themselves that He was God's "only begotten Son" and "true God from true God" (John 3:16, 18; see also John 1:1-3). Kircher reports that in Germany, when reading Psalm 22:6, some people once read "But I am a scarab and no man." Probably because the lowly death and "rebirth" of the scarab was as good a symbol of the Crucified Christ anticipating His Resurrection as the changing of a caterpillar into a butterfly was.
Egyptians wore jewelry or amulets in the shape of scarabs to bring them strength and renewal. The bottoms of these amulets were often inscribed with protective spells. These scarabs could be quite expensive and ornate or they could be extremely cheap souvenirs which were obtained at various pagan shrines and temples. Some had wings or human or animal heads. They were used to commemorate special private and public events or sent to friends with good wishes or mottos inscribed on them. Sometimes the name of a king was inscribed on a scarab amulet since the Egyptian people believed that pharaohs used godlike powers to help them from afar or even from beyond the grave. Many scarabs were also used as seals.
Scarab charms and even real beetles were placed in tombs as symbols of regeneration, renewal, and resurrection. Large heart scarabs were placed over the hearts or throats of mummies. These were usually inscribed with a spell or prayer to prevent the dead person's heart or conscience from testifying against him in the judgment before Osiris. Christ, of course, granted righteousness to all His believers (Phil 3:8-9; Rom 1:17; 3:21-26; 4:3-25; 5:9; 9:30-32; 10:9-13; Heb 11:7).
Egyptians saw both the dung beetle and the sun as purifiers of the earth since their actions helped to remove or transform its filth. They connected it with illumination and moral or physical cleansing. Gnostics associated the scarab with Christ, the purifier and illuminator of the world.
Scarab charms spread from Egypt throughout the Mediterranean regions. They were found in Europe, Canaan, Asia Minor, and many other areas. In the Congo the beetle was a lunar rather than a solar symbol of renewal. In India and Southeast Asia the creator of the world was thought to have been a beetle who collected earth from the bottom of the primordial waters to create land. Some South American tribes considered the beetle to be the original potter who created humans from clay. Shamen or medicine men were symbolized by flying beetles since their trances allowed them to both fly into the sky and descend into the underworld.
All scripture quotes are from the NKJV Bible unless otherwise indicated.
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Comments© 1998 by Suzetta Tucker
To cite this page:
Tucker, Suzetta. "ChristStory Scarab Page." ChristStory
Christian Bestiary. 1998. http://ww2.netnitco.net/users/legend01/scarab.htm
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