Ancient Kingdom of Nri: Founded by priest Eri, grandson of Jacob, son of Gad

Following up on Ancient Punt: Egypt's Ancestral Homeland, this week we’ll start to discuss the Kingdom of Nri.

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The kingdom of Nri is an Igbo?kingdom that is thought to have had its capital at Igbo-Ukwu beginning in the 8th or 9th century AD. It was the center of an extensive trade system linking the town with?Gao?on the?Niger bend?and, through there, to?Egypt?and?North Africa.

One theory regarding its founding, is credited to a descendant of Gad, son of Jacob, who was one of the 12 Tribes of Israel.?

According to the?Book of Genesis, Gad was the first of the two sons of?Jacob?and?Zilpah? and the founder of the?Israelite?tribe of Gad, the Gadites.

Eri, his son, was the grandson of the Jacob, and born in Paddan Aram.

By archeological account, in around 2345 BC in Ancient Egypt, “M-Eru-ka (or Eru/Eri)” became a high priest to Pharaoh Teti, the first king of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt. The exact length of his reign has been destroyed on the?Turin King List?but is believed to have been about 12 years.

Eri was a high priest to the pharaoh. Before the scriptural mass Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, he sensed the impending onslaught of the Egyptians against the people of Israel.

Eri left Egypt and came ashore near Ezu and Omambala Rivers called Agbanabo or Ezu Na Omambala, here it was revealed to him that he was to settle.

The Nri kingdom operated a decentralized democratic and theocratic system of leadership.

The leader of Nri is called the “Eze Nri” in the Igbo language which translates to “king of Nri."

The Nri priests are said to have been knowledgeable in the movement of heavenly bodies which enabled them to calculate the lunar months accurately.

When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” So she named him Gad. -Genesis 30:9-11

The sons of Gad: Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi and Areli -Genesis 46:16

The Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting in the Desert of Sinai on the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt. He said: “Take a census of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one. You and Aaron are to count according to their divisions all the men in Israel who are twenty years old or more and able to serve in the army. One man from each tribe, each of them the head of his family, is to help you. These are the names of the men who are to assist you: from Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel. -Number 1:1-4, Number 1:14

The Gadites built up Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, Atroth Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran as fortified cities, and built pens for their flock. -Numbers 32:34-36

The descendants of Gad by their clans were: through Zephon, the Zephonite clan; through Haggi, the Haggite clan; through Shuni, the Shunite clan; through Ozni, the Oznite clan; through Eri, the Erite clan; through Arodi, the Arodite clan; through Areli, the Arelite clan. These were the clans of Gad; those numbered were 40,500. -Numbers 26:15-18

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About the Author: Lawrence Jean-Louis is the founder of eBrand Me, a digital marketing agency offering marketing & consultative services to CPAs and tax professionals. She aspires to start a money management firm by 2030.