THE BOOK OF THE DEAD

History
- Egyptian name of the collection of works that is The Book of the Dead was the Book of Going Forth by
day.
-These text provide spells to ensure that a soul could pass into Egyptian paradise through the perils of the
Tuat (underworld).
-This collection consist of formulas, hymns, incantations, magical words and prayer.
- A compilation of writings throughout Egypt history
Karl Richard Lepius- first man to translate a complete manuscript of the Book of the Dead in modern
times in 1846.
Some of the Writings combined in The Book of the Dead are:
- The Pyramid Text
- The coffin text
- The Saite Compilation

THE PYRAMID TEXT

- This text is written in the pyramids of some of the Old Kingdom Pharaoh and the oldest copy is in
the tomb of the 6th Dynasty Pharaoh, Unas.
- These text stated that his connection to Osiris would allow for the fulfillment of his needs in the
afterlife.
- Only the Pharaoh could have the text carved in his tomb that ensure him a good place in the
afterlife.

THE COFFIN TEXT

- First compiled during the Middle Kingdom and written from the 18th – 21st Dynasties.
- During this period, some of these text were written in papyrus rolls that could 50-100 feet long
and some of it were carved or painted by Priest on coffin and furniture.

THE SAITE COMPILATION

- This was first developed in the 26th Dynasty.
- Wider portions of the population used these text and included portions of the Pyramid and Coffin
texts.
- The people standardized the order and number of the spells in The Book of the Dead.

BOOK OF THE DEAD SPELLS

 - These spells made use of several magical techniques which can also be seen in other areas of
Egyptian life.
- A number of spells are for magical amulets which would protect the deceased from harm
- Priest designed spells to protect the dead or to guide them throughout the Tuat.

Spells Theme and Position:

Chapter 1-16
- The Dead person goes into his/her tomb. The soul passes into the Tuat. The soul returns so the
body could move and speak again.

Chapter 17-63
- Explains the myths of the origin of the gods. Describes laces in the Tuat. Helps the dead soul live
and be reborn

Chapter 64-129
- The dead soul travel the sky in the sun-boat as one of the “blessed dead”. Soul journeys to the
Tuat for an audience with Osiris at sunset.

Chapter 130-189
- Tells how the dead person become one of the gods after his/her vindication before the gods.
Details the protective amulets and food the dead. Describes places in the Tuat the dead will travel
through

Book of the Dead Quotes:

- A funerary Spell that is supposed to be spoken by the living in order to help the dead triumph
over their enemies.
“ To be spoken over a falcon standing with the white Crown on his head; Atum, Shu and Tefnuf, Geb
and Nut, Osiris and Isis, Seth and Nephtys being drawn on ochre on a new bowls placed in the sacred
barque, together with an image of this spirit (ba) whom you wish to be made worthy, it being
anointed with oil. Offer to them incense on the fire and roasted ducks, and worship Ra”- Book of the
Dead, spell 134

- The following quote gave the deceased the ability to breathe:

“O you sycamore of the sky, may there be given to me the air which is in it, for I am he who sought
out that the throne in the midst of Wenu (Hermopolis). I have guarded this egg of the Great Cackler.
If it grows, I grow; if it lives; I live; if it breathes air, I breathe air.

- This spell protected the deceased from being slaughtered by Osiris’s servants:
“My hair is Nu; my face is Ra; my eyes are Hathor; my ears are Wepwawet; my nose is She who
presides over her lotus leaf; my lips are Anubis; my molars are Selkis; my incisors are Isis the
goddess; my arms are the Ram, the lord of Mendes; my breast is Neith, lady of Sais; my back is Seth;
my Phallus is Osiris; my muscles are the lords of Kherana; my chest is he who really majestic; my
belly ad my spine are Sekhmet; my buttocks are the eye of Horus; my thighs and my calves are Nut;
my feet are Ptah; my toes are living falcon; there is no member of mine devoid odf a god, and Thoth
is the protection of all my flesh”- Book of the Dead, spell 42

Weighing of the Heart

- One of the spells in the Book of the Dead describes the “Weighing of the Heart” ritual. During
this ritual, Osiris and a tribunal of 43 deities judged the behavior of the dead during his/her
lifetime. The dead had to name each judge and vow that he/she had not committed a series of
offenses, called the “Negative Confession”. If the tribunal found the dead innocent, he/she
received the title “true of voice” and continue the journey. Thoth, scribe of the god and god of
wisdom, recorded the results of the tribunal