Among the Egyptians the sun was considered in each phase a different god, having its peculiar name, attribute, and worship. Thus the sun during its nocturnal existence was Turn; when it shone in the meridian, it was Ra; when it produced and nourished life, it was venerated as Kheper. Since, according to the Egyptians, the night precedes the day, Tum was considered to have been born before Ra, and to have issued alone from the abyss of chaos. — Lenormant, Chaldaean Magic, p. 81 sq.