Once adopted, Spell 125 remained in use for around 1,500 years and in that time, it hardly changed at all. The earliest examples of the Negative Confession are from the reign of Hatshepsut in the eighteenth dynasty. There are copies of Spell 30 which date from their period, but no examples of Spell 125. There is no obvious parallel from the Middle Kingdom, although there is at least one stele dating from the twelfth dynasty which included a list of actions considered worthy. The date of the composition of the Negative Confession is unclear. However, without any other supporting evidence we cannot be sure how strongly they are connected with the Negative Confession. The earliest copies of these oaths date to the Roman Period, but their grammar bears many of the hallmarks of Middle Egyptian, making it likely that they predate this period. Were these rules, not deemed relevant, or was the text more concerned with asserting ritual purity? Some statements certainly seem to derive from the oaths of purity spoken by Egyptian priests before they could take up their duties. It is notable, however, that the text does not include all of the rules commonly found in didactic texts (for example, being respectful to your elders). Some of the statements have their origin within wisdom texts such as the “Instructions of Merikare” in which a student is told how to behave in life, and some clearly refer to crimes. Book of the Dead of Nany, Singer of Amun TIP They set a fairly high bar for actions which were considered to be in line with the principles of Ma’at (truth and correct order), after all who can truly say that they have never lied? Thankfully for the Egyptians, they had the back up of Spell 30 (often inscribed on a heart scarab) to ensure that their heart did not tell on them while they were making their confession. In all they combine to give us a clear picture of Egyptian morality from the New Kingdom onward by setting out the kind of behaviour that was not deemed acceptable. The offences range from murder, robbery, and rape to being deaf to the words of truth, sullen, or hot-tempered.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |