The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead is a modern name given to ancient Egyptian texts believed to guide and serve the dead in the afterlife. The book consists of a compilation of texts read in the presence of the dying person and texts on burial methods. It contains instructions and directions that may be needed in the life after death. However, not all talismans and prayers were read for every funeral. It differed depending on factors such as social status and wealth. Some talismans and prayers were used as offerings to the Gods, while others included regulative directions, such as ensuring one’s life after death or not dying again. Copies of these texts were occasionally buried next to the dead.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead was created by the German scientist Richard Lepsius in 1842 by combining some texts. The original title of the book is “Ra nu pertem hru” meaning “Those Who Go Out of the Day” and was written during the Late Dynasties. Popularized during the Ancient Egyptian New Kingdom (1550-1070 BC), this book was originally derived from coffin texts and pyramid texts engraved on the walls of the pyramids. Coffin texts were popular during the Middle Kingdom (2030 BC – 1640 BC), while pyramid texts first appeared during the fifth dynasty of the Old Kingdom (2465 BC – 2323 BC).
Contents of the Egyptian Book of the Dead
The Book of the Dead, used by the ancient Egyptian people, is a corpus of texts created not to revive the dead, but to guide and organize their lives in the afterlife. Since the 18th dynasty, this book has been used as a guiding resource for any Egyptian seeking access to the reed fields, considered the haven of the afterlife in ancient Egypt.
Symbolic expressions are also included in the book, and the following is briefly explained; The ka of the soul, which leaves its physical body after death, migrates to the other world, where a process of reckoning and judgment (psychostasia) awaits. The role of conscience in this trial is very important. While some souls are reborn after the judgment process, the ascended souls take part in organizations under the reign of Isis and Osiris. Post-mortem reckoning, according to ancient Egyptian beliefs, refers to a trial process that the deceased will face. The Egyptians adopted the use of scales to express this process with symbolic elements.
The ancient Egyptians called these texts the “Book of Outbreak”. This name is based on the idea that the sun god Ra, who symbolizes the rebirth by the rising of the dead to the next life, sets at sunset and is reborn every morning.
Talismans and Spells in the Book of the Dead
Talisman 125 or 125. The talisman is one of the most famous talismans of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. This talisman involves the deceased being judged by Osiris and his 42 judges based on their behavior in life. This judgment takes place with 42 judges in what is called the hall of truth of the deity Maat. The deceased is given the ability to remember his past for a while and his behavior is reminded. The heart of the deceased is weighed in one pan, and the feathers of Maat in the other pan. As a result of this trial, it is expected that the deceased will throw the memory of his bad deeds out of his mouth.
According to some Egyptian texts, the sinful dead are eaten by the crocodile-headed Ammait, while according to the Book of the Dead, some are reborn and others are drawn into the “great light” and are reborn on earth if deemed appropriate. Some scholars argue that the 42 sins and their declarations of innocence in Talisman 125 form the basis for the Ten Commandments in Judaism.
The Book of the Dead is also a collection of individual spells and is sometimes called a book of spells. There is no standardized version of the Book of the Dead. Instead, each tomb has a different copy, and each contains a decent amount of but different enchantments. Experts state that each Book of the Dead is different from the next. The spells featured in the book had the power to bring together all parts of the body of the dead. It gave its owner the power to navigate the various parts of the underworld forever. Each Book of the Dead was different, as copies containing different spells were found in each tomb.
It is estimated that most of the found copies of the Book of the Dead were not read much and were made to be placed in tombs. Also, spells were not always written on manuscripts, but sometimes on the bandages surrounding a person’s mummy or on the walls of tombs. Spells were even written on Tutanhamon’s golden death mask. According to the information contained in the Books of Breath, the last known copies of the Book of the Dead were written in the 1st or 2nd century AD. However, later on, the Book of the Dead was replaced by the Books of Breath. The Breath Books were created piecemeal, inspired by the Book of the Dead, and became popular.
