Repatriation
The Joseph Concept is a National program being instituted and promoted currently by Ghana’s Minister of Tourism, the Honorable Jake O. Lamptey, for the purpose of inspiring and drawing African-Americans back to Africa by way of Ghana,the ‘gateway’ and back to their African Cultural roots.
It has been stated in past years, by certain insightful Ghanaian rulers, chiefs and leaders, that the story of “Joseph” in the bible reflects the experience of the ‘enslavement’ and ‘mistreatment’ and subsequent elevation of African descendants in America to certain levels of position and success.
The African Hebrew Israelite “Joseph” was sold into slavery by his own brothers; cast into prison by Pharoah; he was endued by God(Yah) with spiritual gifts of understanding and interpretation of visions; he was elevated by Pharoah(King of Egypt) to a high position of authority; he used his influence and authority to help save and nurture his family( father & brothers and their families), enabling them to become a great nation, and prophesied the ‘return of his own ‘bones’ back to the land of his origin.
The story of Joseph is truly a divine prophetic picture of the enslavement of Africans, which was perpetrated by Europeans, Arabs, and assisted by African rulers; and the spiritual-physical elevation of the descendants of those enslaved Africans, and their eventual return to the land of their origin. The prophecies and characteristic description of the tribe of Joseph and his descendants- Ephraim & Manassah, give revealing insights into their
divine destiny which bear witness to events now unfolding in the continent of Africa in general, and in the land of “GHANA” in particular.
So, come join me on a journey through history and prophecy as we, by the grace and inspiration of Yah(God), put the pieces of the picture together of the “JOSEPH CONCEPT”.
THE PROPHETIC PICTURE OF JOSEPH
Whenever anyone invokes the “Story of Joseph” from the bible, those among the diaspora who have been blessed by the SPIRIT of GOD(YAH) to come to the knowledge and awareness of our true identity as African Hebrew Israelites ; are now beginning to see that the events in our patriarch JOSEPH”S life provide a micro-cosmic prophetic blueprint/pattern for the macro-cosmic fulfillment of the ‘return’ of “JOSEPH”(the remnant of the African Hebrew Israelites) back to their own land-AFRICA/ISRAEL, by way of GHANA- the Gateway to Africa.
“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and the “Scriptures” might have hope.”- Romans 15:4
“And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold “JOSEPH” into Egypt; but GOD(YAH) was with him. And delivered out of all his ‘afflictions’, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharoah King of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Canaan and great affliction; and our fathers found no sustenance. But when ‘Jacob’ heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent our fathers first. And the ‘second time’ Joseph was made known to his brothers; and Joseph’s kindred was made know unto Pharaoh. Then sent “Joseph” and called(summoned) his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred.”- Acts 7:9-14
Within the African Hebrew Israelite nation, the Tribe of Joseph has a special calling for Africa as described in the prophecies of the bible. The biblical story of Joseph presents a ‘microcosmic-symbolic’ picture of the enslavement of the African Hebrew Israelites; their spiritual rise and empowerment in the land of their captivity; and their ‘return’ to their own land after slavery. The prophecies state that a remnant of the Tribe of Joseph and his descendants- Ephraim and Manassah, will return and be a catalyst for the reconnection, gathering and assembling of the African Hebrew Israelite people and their cultural remnants scattered throughout African continent. Even the prophetic description of “Joseph’s” land inheritance is exactly the same as the geography of West Africa, especially Ghana. Let’s begin with Moses’ inspired prophecy about the Tribe of Joseph.
“And of Joseph he said; “Blessed of the LORD be his “LAND”, for the precious things of ‘heaven’; for the ‘dew’, and for the ‘deep’(sea) the crouches beneath. And for the ‘precious fruits’ brought forth by the sun; and for the ‘precious things’ put forth by the moon(month to month); And for the ‘chief things’ of the ‘ANCIENT MOUNTAINS’; And for the ‘precious things’ of the ‘LASTING(eternal) HILLS’; And for the ‘precious (valuable)things’ of the earth, and its fullness thereof; and for the ‘goodwill’ of him that ‘DWELLS IN THE ‘BUSH’. Let the blessing come upon the ‘head’ of JOSEPH; and upon the ‘top’ of the ‘head’ of him that was “SEPARATED”* from his brothers. His glory is like the ‘firstling’ of his ‘bullock’, and his horns(lights, powers) are like the ‘horns’ of ‘unicorns’; He shall ‘push’(unify, cause to join) the people(tribes) together to the ‘ends’(western parts) of the earth; And they are the ten thousands of “Ephraim” and they are the thousands of Manassah.”
[*separated- Hebrew ‘nazir’= to set apart for sacred purposes]
-Deuteronomy 33:13-17-
“And Israel said unto ‘JOSEPH’…”GOD(YAH) shall be with you, and ‘bring you again’(shuvah) unto the “land” of your fathers(ancestors).” Genesis 48:21
And Jacob called unto his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may ‘tell’ you(reveal, explain) that which shall befall you in the ‘last days’
(at the end of the age…He said;“Joseph is a fruitful bough(son,tribe); a ‘fruitful bough by a ‘wel
(fountain as the eye of the landscape) whose branches(tribal descendants) run over the wall(travel and survey the land). His archers (baal= masters, owners,enemies) have ‘sorely grieved’ (embittered,vexed,provoked) him, and ‘shot’ at him, and ‘hated’(satam=lurk,oppose,persecute,hate) him.
But his bow(toughness) abode(remained) in strength (permanent; continuance, chieftaincy), and the ‘arms’ of his hands(strength of his arms) was made strong (pazaz= refined as gold) by the Mighty GOD of Jacob; (This is the tribe that the ‘shephard’-pastor, the chief corner-‘stone’-builder of Israel comes from); Even by the GOD of your father(Israel), the “Almighty” (nourisher) who shall bless you with the blessings of ‘heaven’ above(rain, ‘spiritual understanding), blessings of the ‘deep’(sea) that lies under(below sea level); & blessings of the breasts(fertile fields), and of the ‘womb’(children); The blessings of your father (Israel) have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting (ancient-eternal)hills; they shall be on the head(kadkad) of Joseph, and on the ‘crown’ of the head of him that was ‘separate’(set apart for sacred purpose) from his brothers.”
Genesis 49:22-26
Jacob’s prophecy concerning the descendants of his son “JOSEPH” indicate that they would be a ‘spiritually blessed people’, separated from the world for a holy divine purpose; but also be “hated” by their enemies. He also states that their ultimate physical blessing will be on the ‘everlasting- ancient hills of Africa/Israel. Black people in America(land of Captivity) have been subjected to the worst form of the European’s “hatred”.
Moses prophecy concerning the descendants of the Tribe of Joseph focuses upon three main things; 1. The description of the LAND of his inheritance as A most ‘blessed’ land with “ancient mountains” by the ‘sea’ that brings forth ‘precious fruit’ from month to month; a land that has valuable minerals and gem-stones within it; and also a land of thick “BUSH”. This is a description of the coastal lands of GHANA, WEST AFRICA. 2. The Tribe of Joseph, like their progenitor, was/is “separate”- set apart for a sacred and divine purpose. Africans and African Hebrews were ‘separated’ from their brothers in Africa in the Slave Trade for GOD’S(YAH’S) divine and sacred purpose(see Deuteronomy 28:68) 3. The descendants of the tribe of Joseph would be a ‘catalyst’ for the gathering and re-unification of the scattered tribes of Israel in Africa.
INVOCATION OF THE JOSEPH CONCEPT
BY GHANAIAN CHIEFS, LEADERS AND MINISTERS
In the year 2003, Ghana’s Minister of Tourism, the Honorable Jake O. Lamptey, began to invoke a message of ‘repatriation’ which he called the “JOSEPH CONCEPT”.
“Have you heard of the “JOSEPH CONCEPT”? Those of our ancestors who were sold into ‘slavery’ have become ‘symbols’ of ‘excellence’ in various aspects of human endeavour- Education, Sports, Music, Law,Science, etc. Events will showcase the achievements of excellence by the ‘Blackman’. Make sure you are part of these celebrations. Think Ghana, come back ‘HOME’!
This concept has been referred to at various times by a variety of eminent personalities. One such personality was the late beloved Omanhene of Cape Coast, Nana Osabarima Kwadjo Mbra V, who was inspired to invoke the “Story of Joseph” in reference to Africans in the diaspora, while speaking to a delegation of African Hebrew Israelites who had come to Cape Coast, Ghana in 1987. He used the “Story of Joseph” as an obligation upon himself as an African to help facilitate all the he could in aiding the “return” of his fellow Africans in the diaspora back to their ‘;fatherland’.
“I know that as an African, there is nothing I can do than to embrace my fellow Africans who through no fault of theirs, had to leave ‘home’* to stay among foreigners. I feel for you and like “JOSEPH” who was sold to Egypt, He prepared a place for his people to stay and at long last his people ‘returned’ to their ‘fatherland’, and with this assurance, I believe that one day Africans in foreign lands will ‘return’ to ‘inherit’ the land they have sought for.”
-Nana Osabarima Kwadwo Mbra V- 1988
Again, in 1997, at a Fihankra International conference in Akwamu, the Gyasehene of Akwamufie invoked the “Joseph Concept” in a speech directed to a group of African-Americans from the diaspora, of which I was in attendance.
“So from a historical point of view, it’s not out of place that the diasporans are coming to Akwamu in Ghana. We feel in our hearts that you are part of us. So in a nutshell, what we, the Akwamu’s saw, that when we go back to the bible, we see that“JOSEPH”, when he was being sold into slavery by his brothers out of the bush; it came to pass that in the area of his homeland there was famine. He appeared in Egypt, in the house of the Pharoahs. JOSEPH, who was the head, sustained his own people. So in the same way, we the Akwamus believe that the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade was not out of place. Maybe it was GOD’S design.”
-Nana Gyasehene of Akwamu- 1997
In a speech in Harrisburg,Pennsylvania on September 25,1994, Kohain Natanyah Halvei,Rabbi;now the Executive Secretary of Panafest of Ghana; was inspired to invoke the “Story of Joseph”, just 3 days before returning to Ghana to reside there.
“We understand brothers and sisters, just like in the biblical story of “JOSEPH”and his brothers; because the brother asked me, “Do you know the story of ‘Joseph and his brothers’? You’re a Rabbi, I know you do, but there are many of us here in ‘GHANA’ who look at the ‘black man in America’ as “JOSEPH”, and we want to know if you see that scenario the same? And I said, “Spiritually brother, yes! Because, just like in the story of ‘JOSEPH’ and his brothers; his brothers did not know what was going on. There was a spirit of confusion and jealousy which caused them to speak ill of there brother, and they sold their brother into captivity. And their brother ‘JOSEPH’ went into captivity and became a servant in the house of a great man. He even went down into the pains and the hell-hole of jail and prison. But from that place, “GOD Almighty”, “El-Elyon”. “El-Shaddai”, “Yahowah Tsabaoth” reached down and brought to a ‘high place’ in a strange land. And when he was brought to that ‘high place’ in the land of Mitsraim-Egypt, he was in a perfect position to save his father’s house, his brothers and his family. So, likewise, there were no good intentions in the process of us being sold into slavery. There was conflict in our own house. There were jealousies, wars, strifes and misunderstandings that allowed the enemy to come in, and allowed us to make merchandise of our own selves, and to be sold into slavery. And we came here to America, without any good intentions of our enemies, but thanks be to the GOD(Yah) of heaven and earth, that even though we were brought down to the lowest ebb that man could be brought, when we labeled as ‘chattel’ property, with horses and cows and mules, actual property, not even men; we were brought down lower than any man could be brought; that GOD(YAH) took us from the depths of ‘hell’ and stood us on our feet, and we stand here today, not what we could be, not what we should be, but thank GOD(Yah) were not what we were when we got here to America. And GOD(Yah) is not finished with us yet! And now, the ‘stone’ which the builders rejected is become the ‘chief cornerstone’. Now our brothers and sisters in the east, all over the continent of Africa, are asking the question, “What are you, my brothers and sisters gonna do in America? “Were looking to you”! “You are our hope; you are our salvation”! If you don’t come ‘back’, we don’t know what we are going to happen to us.” Brothers and sisters, were got a ‘divine task’ on our hands. We’ve been given a divine ‘mission’. I know it’s not what we woke up with this morning. I know it’s not what were have conceived of our own might and our own vision, but GOD(Yah) has put it on us; GOD(Yah) has put a mission on us. We’ve got to ‘join hands’; we’ve got to reach across to the continent. If Africa is not respected, we will not be respected.”
-Kohain Natanyah Halevi, Rabbi- 9/25/94
JOSEPH’S BONES
Emancipation Day 1998- Ghana, West Africa
Another aspect of the prophetic picture of JOSEPH is demonstrated by his descendants, The African Hebrew Israelites, ‘carrying’(transporting) his “BONES” with them at the time of their ‘deliverance’ from “SLAVERY”and their exodus from the land of their captivity.
The return and re-interment of the ‘BONES’ of two African ancestors, who were enslaved in America(modern Egypt), during Ghana’s first “Emancipation Day” celebration in 1998 bears witness to the biblical record of the ‘return’ of ‘JOSEPH’S BONES’ to their ‘OWN LAND’.
“And JOSEPH said to his brothers, “I die”; GOD(YAH) will surely “visit” you and ‘bring you out’ of this land, which He sware unto Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And JOSEPH took and oath of the Children of Israel, saying, “GOD(YAH) will surely visit you, and you shall ‘CARRY UP MY BONES FROM HERE”.
Genesis 50:24-25
“And Moses took the BONES of JOSEPH with; for he had straightly sworn the Children of Israel, saying “GOD(YAH) will surely visit you; and you shall “carry” up my “BONES” away hence with you.” Exodus 13:19
“And the BONES of JOSEPH which the Children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, ‘buried’ they in “Shechem”, in a parcel of ground bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for 100 pieces of silver, and it became the inheritance of the ‘children of JOSEPH”.” Joshua 24:32
Yah will surely “visit”(heb. Pakad= to fulfill his divine intent by divine intervention) you, and you shall “carry up” my “BONES” from here.”
The return of the “BONES” of two African ancestors in the diaspora is a great ‘sign’ of the ‘resurrection’ and ‘return’ of the descendants of Mother Africa back to their own land. These ‘bones’ were first unearthed in ‘1992’, exactly ‘500 years’ after 1492*, when Columbus left ‘Elmina Castle’ for the so-called ‘new world’. This ‘new- world would be the place of the enslavement, death and burial of many of Mother Africa’s children.
[*note- Egyptian myth states that the ‘Benu bird or Phoenix bird’ dies and is reborn every ‘500 yrs./ 1492-1992= 500 yrs.]
In 1998 the BONES of JOSEPH were returned and re-interned in Ghana(the garden of Eden, the Promised Land.
The return of the ‘Bones’ are a fulfillment of Prophet Ezekiel’s vision of the “Valley of Dry Bones”.
“Then He(GOD-YAH) said, “Son of Man, these “BONES” are the whole “House of Israel”(African Hebrew Israelites). They keep saying, “Our BONES are dry, our hope is gone, we are done for.” “So prophesy; Say to them, “The LORD GOD Yahowah says this; “I am going to open up your graves; I shall raise you from your graves, my people, and lead you back to the “soil” of Israel (African/Israel). And you shall know that I am GOD(YAH), when I open up your graves and raise you from your graves, my people, and put my Spirit in you, and ‘revive’ you,and I ‘RESETTLE YOU ON YOUR OWN SOIL(LAND). Then you shall know that I, Yahowah(GOD) have spoken this and done this declares Yahowah(GOD).” Ezekiel 37th ch.
“The LORD shall guide you continually, and satisfy your ‘soul’ in drought, and make ‘fat’(anoint,revive) your “BONES”, nad you shall be as a “watered”
“GARDEN”(Hebrew- “GHANA”) and a ‘spring’ of ‘water’, whose ‘waters’ fail not. Nd they that be of you shall build up the old(ancient) waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called, “The Repairer of the Breach” , “The Restorer of Paths to dwell in.” Isaiah 58:11
THE MEANING & THE SPIRITUAL-HISTORIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NAME “JOSEPH”
In the history of the African Hebrew Israelites, and in the history of Ghana, West Africa, the name “JOSEPH”(KWADJO) is very significant.
JOSEPH, son of JACOB, was instrumental in the salvation of his brothers.
Genesis42nd ch.-50th ch.
JOSEPH, son of “JACOB” was the earthly father of the savior- YASHUA(JESUS)
Matthew 1:16
JOSEPH of ARIMATHEA, furnished the grave for YASHUA’S burial and resurrection.- St. John 19:38-42
The name “JOSEPH” is a Hebrew name. It is completely defined as follows:
JOSEPH- from the Hebrew “YOSEF”= “Let him add”; from root word “YASAF”= to add or augment; as an adverb meaning “to continue to do a thing; to do again; to do more; to increase; to proceed further; to exceed; surpass; to conceive again; to ‘gather together’; to heighten spiritually. This word refers to increasing and heightening of the ‘quality’ of something.
Example: “The meek will “increase”(heb. ‘yasaf’) their ‘joy’ in the LORD.” Isa.29:19
The root of the word “YASAF” is “ASAF” which means “to gather together; to receive; to restore; remove; assemble; rereward; basically “asaf’ refers to ‘bringing objects or people to a common point or location;, harvesting. The ‘gatherer’ does not physically handle what is gathered. He is simply the ‘impetus’ or ‘active cause’ for the congregating of the people.
The gatherer is a ‘messenger’ who lifts up the message of ‘repatriation’ back to Africa. In the Twi language of Ghana, the word “OSOAFO” means “carrier”, “courier”, “messenger”, “minister”. (also- asefo in twi means descendants)
It is GOD”S(YAH”S) divine providence that the “Minister” of Tourism- Honorable “JAKE”(Jacob) Lamptey would be a “messenger”(twi “osoafo)
promoting the “gathering together”(heb. Asaf) of Africans in the diaspora.
“These are the “GENERATIONS”(toledah= history, lineage, geneology, family) of JACOB. “JOSEPH” was 17 years old…And ISRAEL loved JOSEPH more than all his children,and made his a ‘coat’(ketenoth-kente) of many colors.” Genesis 37:1
The word for “generations” in this text is ‘toledah’ which means ‘a recounting’ of a spiritual-historical lineage. The very first name mentioned is “JOSEPH”. This implies that the personages bearing the name “JOSEPH” would be instrumental in the fulfillment of prophecy, and the increasing, heightening, gathering and restoring of the descendants of JACOB(ISRAEL)-
The African Hebrew Israelites scattered in the disapora. The name “KWADJO”, the name children receive who are born on ‘Monday’ in Ghana, is equivalent to the English translation of JOE or JOSEPH. “Slave names that seemed strange or ridiculous to white outsiders often had African origins. Africans would commonly name a child after the day or month of birth(day-name), or they might name him or her after a particular trait discerned immediately. The slaves of the South Carolina & Georgia low country never gave up this practice…Names such as “CUDJO”, existed all over the South, especially the southeastern coast. In time, the slaves anglicized these African names in their own way. Thus, “CUDJO” might become Monday in one generation and “JOE” in the next…This suggests a line of ‘continuity’ in the life of the slave quarters even when the origins of that ‘line’ had been forgotten.” Roll Jordan Roll- The World The Slaves Made- pg.448-Eugene Genovese
I believe that it is a case of divine providence that GOD(YAH) would inspire men with the name “KWADJO” (Joe)or “JOSEPH” to be instruments through which he would advance His plan for restoration and return of His people- the African Hebrew Israelites, to their ‘homeland’- AFRICA/ISRAEL.
The most notable of these Ghanaian personalities was/is the late beloved
“NANA “KWADJO” OSABARIMA MBRA V, Omanhene of Cape Coast, Ghana who invoked the “JOSEPH CONCEPT” and paved the way for Africans in general, and the African Hebrew Israelites in particular, to be repatriated to the Cape Coast
area of Ghana, West Africa.
The word “YASAF” (gather together), root of the name “JOSEPH”, is used in many prophecies concerning the gathering of the scattered African Hebrew Israelites back to their own land.
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD GOD shall ‘SET HIS HAND AGAIN THE SECOND TIME’ to ‘RECOVER’ the ‘REMNANT’ of HIS PEOPLE, which shall be left(the scattered remains of those) from Assyria, and from EGYPT, and from PATHROS, and from “CUSH” and from ELAM( Iran/India) and from SHINAR(Iraq), and from HAMATH(Syria) and from the ‘Islands of the sea”. And HE shall ‘SET UP’ and “ENSIGN’ for the nations, and shall ‘ASSEMBLE’( asaf= collect, gather together) the “OUTCASTS’ OF ISRAEL’ , and GATHER TOGETHER the ‘DISPERSED’ of “JUDAH” from the Four Corners of the Earth. The ‘envy’(jealousy) of EPHRAIM(Son of Joseph) shall depart, and the adversaries of JUDAH shall be cut off; EPHRAIM shall not vex JUDAH anf JUDAH shall not vex EPHRAIM. But they shall ‘fly’(be carried) upon the shoulders of the “Philistines”(heb. ‘palashim”= those who migrated) toward the “WEST” West Africa)…” Isaiah 11:11-14
The Hebrew word for “SET” used in this verse is “YASAF”( to continually gather together, bring again, increase). He said that “He will set his hand a second time to ‘recover’(heb. ‘kana’= to purchase, procure, repossess, recreate, attain) the remnant of His people scattered beyond “CUSH”, etc. “From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia(CUSH) my suppliants, even the daughter of my ‘dispersed” shall bring mine “offering”. Zephaniah 3:10
[note: According to Asante, Ewe & Ga oral tradition, they are descendants of the Israelites who migrated to Ghana, West Africa from Egypt & Ethiopia CUSH)
He said He will “SET UP”( heb. ‘nasa’= lift up, advance, furnish,exalt) an “ENSIGN”(nec= a flag*; signal, token, banner, standard as a rallying point, used to direct Israelite refugees to ZION) towards the ‘nations’ for the purpose of ‘ASSEMBLING”(asaf) the “OUTCASTS” of ISRAEL and GATHER TOGETHER the “DISPERSED”(Those in diaspora) of JUDAH from the four corners of the earth.”
[note: The Asafo warrior companies, located near and on the coast of Ghana,wave flags with their company insignias on them]
The ‘ENSIGN’ or “rallying cry” is the “JOSEPH CONCEPT”, and the ‘rallying point” is “GHANA”- THE GATEWAY TO AFRICA. This is the “point” of our ‘return” because the European slave-traders stated to us and to our ancestors
that this place-GHANA, would be the ‘point’(door) of ‘NO RETURN”, being evidenced by the ‘SIGNS” above the ‘DOOR of NO RETURN’ in the many slave-forts & dungeons on Ghana’s coastline.
“Thus says the LORD GOD(YAH), “I will turn away your captivity(slavery) and I will ‘gather’ you from all the places where I have driven you, says Yahowah; and I will ‘bring you again” into ‘THE PLACE FROM WHERE I CAUSED YOU TO BE
CARRIED AWAY CAPTIVE AS SLAVES.” Jeremiah 29:14
JOSEPH- FROM THE DUNGEON TO DIGNITY
“For indeed I was ‘STOLEN’ away out of the land of the “HEBREWS”(IBREE); And here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the “DUNGEON”. Genesis 40:15
Still yet another ‘sign’ of the prophetic blueprint of the “JOSEPH CONCEPT” is the fact that most of our ancestors who were ‘stolen’ away out of the ‘land’ of ‘AFRICA’( also the land of the Hebrews) were held in the “DUNGEONS” of the many ‘SLAVE CASTLES” that line the coast of “GHANA”.
The dictionary defines the word “Dungeon”- “Don-Jon”= a dark underground prison in ancient castles. This certainly describes the ‘dungeons’ in the ‘slave castles’ in GHANA.
“Judah said “What ‘profit’ is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood?
“Come, let us “SELL” him(heb. ‘makar’= to sell into slavery) to the “ISHMAELITES”(the “ARABS”). Then there passed by Midianite- Merchantmen(sakar= traveling peddlers occupied with trade and traffick); and they drew(h.mashask= to march along, remove) ‘JOSEPH’ our of the “PIT”( dungeon, well, cistern) and they “sold”( SELL AS A SLAVE) “JOSEPH” TO THE ‘ISHMAELITES”(ARABS) FOR TWENTY PIECES OF SLIVER; AND THEY BROUGHT “JOSEPH” INTO “EGYPT”(heb. “Mitsraim”= bondage, limitation, confinement, slavery).”
Genesis 37:27-28
“Salaga is the district capital of the East Gonja District and a major market center in Northern GHANA. Salaga was an outstanding center of historic enslavement in West Africa especially in the 19th century. By the second half of the 19th century, Salaga was the leading Slave Market in West Africa. Today, Salaga is an important center of tourism in GHANA. This derives from the physical and cultural features of enslavement such as a ‘slave bath’, a ‘slave market’, ‘slave iron relics’, ‘wells’, ‘CISTERNS’ and traditions that the town can boast of…In Slave dealer in Salaga ‘chained’ his human wares in groups for ‘SALE’…The ancient people of Salaga relied on water from ‘wells’ and ‘cisterns’ that were constructed using indigenous ‘hydro-geological’ and climatic knowledge. The “CISTERNS” captured and stored water while the ‘wells’ accessed ground water. The available water served several purposes; it provided water for bathingb “SLAVES” who landed on the outskirts of ”Salaga” after “LONG WALKS” from their places of “CAPTURE”…Can we say that poverty was a factor in promoting the historic ‘slave trade’? If so, then who was poor? Was it those ‘raided’ from their villages and “sold” into ‘slavery’ or the ‘slave raiders’, ‘local or foreign “MERCHANTS”? Was it poverty that made ‘blacks” bath their ‘fellow blacks’ for “SALE”? “
-Excerpts from an article by J. Ako Okoro- Daily Graphic 7/17/04
A Hebrew phonetic equivalent of the word “Salaga” is “Shalaka”- which means “to send out; to send away; to exile; to send a “captive” into ‘slavery’;
To let anyone down into a ‘dungeon’. This Hebrew word is used in key prophetic scriptures concerning the ‘enslavement’ of the African Hebrew Israelites.
Interesting enough, the first use of this word “Shalaka” is in Genesis 3:23.
“Therefore, the LORD GOD(YAH) “SENT” HIM FORTH”( heb. ‘shalaka’= to send into exile as a captive slave) from the “GARDEN”( heb. “GHANA”= GARDEN) of “EDEN”(Edina/Oguaa) to “till”(heb. ‘abad’= SLAVE) the ground from which he(Adam) was ‘taken’. Genesis 3:23
The patriarch “JOSEPH” also used “shalaka” when he spoke to his brothers in EGYPT(Bondage).
“Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you “SOLD” me here; for GOD(YAH) did “SEND”(shalaka) me before you to ‘preserve life” (heb. ‘mikya’- to recover, preserve, quicken, revive)….GOD(YAH) “SENT”(shalaka) me before you to “preserve”(heb. Seem= to assign to continue or preserve something) you a “posterity”(heb. ‘shehayreeth’= a remainder, residual portion, an escaped remnant) IN THE EARTH, and to ‘SAVE YOUR LIVES”( heb. Kayah= revive, nourish up, repair, rstore, quicken) BY A GREAT ‘DELIVERANCE’( heb.’peleta’= escaped portion, refugee, fugitive).
So now, it was not you that “SENT”(shalaka) here, but “GOD(YAH)…”
Genesis 45:5-8
“Therefore, you(Israel) shall serve your enemies, which the LORD shall “SEND”against you(heb. “shalaka”), in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want(lack) of all things; and he(Slave traders) shall PUT A YOKE OF IRON UPON YOU NECK UNTIL HE HAS DESTROYED YOU. The LORD shall ‘bring’ a ‘nation’(European- Gentile people) against you ‘far’(merekak), from the end of the earth(from the west) as swift as the eagle flies(symbol of America); a nation whose tongue(language you shall not understand…And the LORD shall bring you into Egypt(BONDAGE/SLAVERY) in ‘SHIPS’…And there you shall be “SOLD” to your enemies for “BONDMEN”(male slaves) and
“BONDWOMEN”(female slaves)…” Deuteronomy 28:48-68
In addition to the “dungeons” in the Slave Forts, the Europeans also dug underground ‘wells’ and “CISTERNS”, like the ones in “Salaga”. The word “Shalaka” is also used in a prophecy that commands the descendants of enslaved Africans to ‘take tours’ and to ‘visit’ the wells, cisterns and markets of Salaga and the other Slave Castles(Strongholds).
“As for you(Israel), by the blood of the covenant I have “SENT FORTH”( heb. ‘shalaka’- send away captive) OUT OF THE “PIT”(DUNGEON) wherein is no
longer any “water”. “TURN”(RETURN) TO THE ‘STRONGHOLD’( heb. Matsur= a FORT, CASTLE, DUNGEON), YOU PRISONERS OF HOPE; EVEN TODAY DO I DECLARE THAT I WILL RENDER ‘DOUBLE’ UNTO YOU.” Zechariah 9:11-12
I bear witness to the fact that the ‘tours of the “SLAVE ROUTE”(Salaga & Assin Manso,etc.) and the visits to the “SLAVE CASTLES” during “EMANCIPATION DAY AND PANAFEST” IN GHANA, are divinely inspired and are the fulfillment of biblical prophecy.
JOSEPH’S brother’s repented and atoned for selling him into slavery. Gen.50:17
However, his response to them was; “Fear not; for am I in the place of GOD(YAH)? But as for you, “YOU THOUGHT EVIL AGAINST ME; BUT GOD)YAH) MEANT IT UNTO GOOD, TO BRING TO PASS, AS IT IS THIS DAY, TO “SAVE” MUCH PEOPLE ALIVE.” Genesis 50:19-20
The “remnant” of JOSEPH refers to that portion of Africans and African Hebrew Israelites in the Diaspora that GOD(YAH) has inspired to ‘repatriate’ back to Africa, and has empowered with ‘spiritual”, mental and physical abilities which will aid in the preservation of Africa’s God-given culture and lifestyle, and give clarity of vision for Africa’s future.
“And Pharoah said unto JOSEPH, “I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it; and I have heard say of you, that you can ‘understand’ a dream and interpret it.”- Genesis 41:15 “And Pharoah said unto his servants, “Can we find such a one as this is, A MAN IN WHOM THE “SPIRIT” OF “GOD” IS? And Pharoah said unto JOSEPH, “Forasmuch as GOD has shown you all this,there is none ‘so discreet’ and ‘wise’ as you are.” Genesis 41:38-39
In the biblical record of JOSEPH in Africa, Pharoah, moved by the Spirit of GOD,
In recognition of his ‘spiritual gifts’, gave JOSEPH the African name “ZAPHNATH-PAANEAH”(Sap-ne-tepf ‘Onh) which means “salvation”; “savior of the age”; He whom GOD speaks through and reveals his secrets”. “And Pharoah called JOSEPH”S name “ZAPHNATH-PAANEAH”; and he gave him to wife “ASENATH” the daughter of Poti-pherah-Priest of ON. And JOSEPH went out all over the land of EGYPT.” Genesis 41:45
Therefore, GOD(YAH) will take a remnant of His people from the lowest places of human existence( conditions of slavery) and they shall be a ‘blessing’ to Africa. Many of them are now packed in the ‘prisons’(modern dungeons) of continued ‘slavery’ in ‘AMERICA”(the New Egypt).
This is people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them ‘snared’ in ‘holes’, AND THEY ARE ‘HID’ IN “PRISON HOUSES”; They are for a ‘prey”(exploitation) and none ‘delivers’; for a ‘spoil’(exploitation) and none says “RESTORE”(RETURN)”. Isaiah 42:22
Just as “JOSEPH” of “ARIMATHEA”(Ramah=heights) provided the grave (DUNGEON) in a ‘garden’(GHANA) for the burial of the ‘body of Christ’; this place also was the place of the “RESURRECTION” of CHRIST.
Therefore, a remnant’ of JOSEPH shall rise from the “DUNGEON” to “DISCERNMENT” & “DIGNITY”; from the “PRISON” to “PROPHETIC FULFILLMENT”; from “JAIL” to “JUDGEMENT”; from the “PIT” to “PREACHING”; from the “GRAVE” to ‘GLORY’, and from “HELL” to “HEAVEN” APPEAL TO THE GOVERNMENT OF GHANA FOR CITIZENSHIP
“Thus says the LORD GOD(YAH); “I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will ‘save’(make whole, restore) the house of “JOSEPH”, and I will ‘bring them again’ to ‘place’ them(settle down in own habitation)…”
I will ‘hiss’(call, whistle, piss’) for them and gather them” Zechariah 10:6-8
“Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment(divine law;legal rights) in the ‘gate’(door, gateway); it may be that the LORD GOD of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of “JOSEPH”. Amos 5:15
[note: Ghana is called the ‘gateway’ to Africa]
I must make comment on the two prophecies mentioned above concerning the descendants of the tribe of Joseph. First of all, Yahowah GOD stated emphatically that “He will save the House of Joseph and bring them back to Africa, and place them in their ‘own habitation’. He also calls for His divine law and the ‘divine legal rights’ to be established in the ‘gateway’ to prepare for the ‘return’ of a ‘remnant’ of JOSEPH. Everyone who has invoked the ‘Joseph Concept’ has called Africa the “HOME” of Africans in the diaspora. Legally speaking, the word “home” means ‘a place where one was born; originates from; one’s ‘domicile’. Domicile is a legal term that refers to the place that one is indigenous to; one’s home; a land of origin that one intends to return to, even thought he may dwell elsewhere.
Therefore, the ‘domicile’(home) of Africans in the diaspora is still Africa because our ancestors were forcibly expatriated(taken) from Africa and never voluntarily gave up their ‘domicile’.
Therefore, legally speaking, according to GOD’S divine law and ‘International Law’, the descendants of Africa in the dispora, are still ‘citizens’ of Africa.
Therefore, we( the descendants of Joseph, appeal to the Government of Ghana to “establish judgement(legal rights) in the ‘gateway’-Ghana and pass dual-citizenship(right of return) for the descendants of Joseph, so we may come ‘home’ to stay.
Also, a Ghanaian newspaper in 2004 reported that the Honorable Minister Jake O. Lamptey plans to utilize the ‘National Black Arts Festival” in Atlanta, Georgia in 2005 to send a delegation from Ghana to make a presentation on the “JOSEPH PARADOX”, a national project aimed at using the country(Ghana) as a ‘GATEWAY’ to woo African-Americans in the Diaspora back to their roots…to reconnect Africa-Americans to their “HOMELAND”.
The scripture states that , “KINGS, and ministers, shall come over to you; to the brightness of your rising; they gather themselves together, they come to you; and your sons shall come from ‘far’(merekak) and you daughters shall be nursed at your side.” Isaiah 60:1-4
“AND JACOB(JAKE) BEGAT ‘JOSEPH’(JOSEPH CONCEPT), HUSBAND OF MARY OF WHOM WAS BORN YASHUA(JESUS) WHO IS CALLED “CHRIST”(ANOINTED ONE(S)).” Matthew 1:16
In conclusion; we give thanks to the MOST HIGH GOD(El Elyon), El-Shaddai(GOD Almighty), from whom comes all might, power, abilty, resources, talents and opportunity. We thank GOD(Yah) for the Honorable Minister JAKE O. Lamptey for being obedient to the Spirit to invoke the “JOSEPH CONCEPT” in these last days of the Gentile world domination, to prepare for the salvation and restoration of AFRICA.
May the Most High GOD- Yahowah open the eyes and enlighten the minds of the readers of this work. With continuous prayers for the restoration of Africa/Israel: