Anthes_Meaning of Maa Xrw_JNES 13 (1954)

The Original Meaning of Mʿ ḫrw Author(s): Rudolf Anthes Source: Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 13, No. 1 (Jan., 1954), pp. 21-51 Published by: The University of Chicago Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/543004 . Accessed: 30/10/2013 13:07 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

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THE ORIGINAL MEANING OF M3c HIRW RUDOLF ANTHES

fertigt, er triumphiert," but the nouns and HE expression m3c irw occurs as a the adjective are translated "RechtfertiT verb "to be justified," a noun "justi- gung, Triumph" and "gerechtfertigt, Gefication," and an adjective "justi- rechtfertigter"-the editors have avoided fied." The latter is one of the most com- literal translation of these nominal forms mon words in Egyptian, since it is added and assumed a secondary fixed meaning to the name of every deceased person from which latter in general seems indisputably the Middle Kingdom on. It has been dis- right. On the other hand, Gardiner, Egypcussed at length by Maspero.1 He quotes tian Grammar2,? 55, literally translates the earlier explanations, the translations and explains the adjective as follows. of the adjective being "justifi6" (Cham- "M3c-hrw 'true of voice,'6 an epithet added pollion), "v6ridique, persuasif" (D6v6ria), to the names of dead persons and hence and "vrai de parole" (Gr6baut). Maspero often practically equivalent to our 'dein opposition to them stresses that 6rw is ceased.' Originally applied to Osiris with not "parole," "discours," but "voix"; mDc reference to the occasion when his regal 6rw would be "l'homme qui a la voix rights, being disputed by Seth, were vindijuste" with the magical meaning of cated before the tribunal in Heliopolis. "voice" which would also be found in pr The same epithet is also used in connec6rw.2 Griffith3 has rejected Maspero's tion with Horus as the 'triumphant' translation in favor of, as he says, "the avenger of the wrongs done to Osiris." This explanation avoids a clear decision in old rendering 'triumphant,' 'justified'the words m3c rw literally expressing that regard to the exact meaning of "voice." Two basic questions have to be raised. the person named is proved 'true of statement,' 'true of claim.' " He continues: "It First, are we sure that the use of m3c irw is quite possible that in this ancient for- in connection with Osiris indicates its mula 6rw should have had a special mean- origin? Breasted's answer to this question ing not found elsewhere."* As for the seems to express the view which is acmodern standard works of Egyptian phi- cepted in general-m3 hrw is "the verdict lology, WB, II, 15-18, translates the rendered in favor of Osiris,"7 and, "like verbal expression m3c brw "die Stimme Osiris, the dead king receives the predi"I This view will jmds. ist richtig, seine Aussage ist richtig cate 'righteous of voice.' befunden (vor Gericht)5 = er ist gerecht- be discussed below.9 Further, Breasted assumes that m3c rw "must have been a I. QUESTION

AND PROPOSAL

1 Etudes de mythologie et d'archeologie, I (Paris, 1893), 93-114, "Sur l'expression ma-khrou." 2 WB, I, 528, "auf den Ruf hervorkommen; Totenopfer." 3 PSBA, XVIII (1896), 200 f. 4 Reference to some more discussions of mIC irw is given by Drioton and Vandier, L'Egypte (Ist ed.), p. 126. The studies of Stern (1877) and Bleeker (1929) which are mentioned in n. 18 include also rather exhaustive discussions of m3 C~rw.

SErman, Religion3, p. 224, expresses his opinion in the following words: "dass die Gotter sein (des Osiris) Wort wahr machten, d.h. ihn unschuldig befanden, ihn rechtfertigten." 6 Cf. Breasted, Development of Religion and Thought in Ancient Egypt, p. 35, "true, right, just, or righteous of voice." Ibid., p. 35. 9 Sec. III and Postscript. s Ibid., p. 147.

21


22

JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

legal term already in use when this episode prefer the idea of the magic value of voice (scil. the verdict concerning Osiris) took or the special meaning of hrw as "stateform."'1 This conclusion will also be re- ment," "Aussage," "d6claration," either ferred to later. The way in which we inter- choice would not be much more than mere pret it has undergone, however, some guess. A third interpretation of m3~Crw was change in the forty years that have elapsed since its appearance. Now it has offered, however, by Drioton and Vandier been seen that the Egyptian mythology in 1938:14 "Le sens complet de l'expression was the product of the early Old King- m:c hrw est 'justifi6 par sentence,' le mot dom;" Breasted's assumption would mean hrw 'voix' se r6ferant la promulgation, therefore that m3c Ijrwwas a legal term in peut-6tre par crieur public, de cette senthis period and not in the predynastic pe- tence." The basically new idea of this inriod, when, according to the myth, the terpretation is that, in a case of lawsuit for contest of Osiris and Seth took place. The instance, the hrw in mc 4rw is not the second basic question must be answered voice of the defendant but that of another first, however: What could possibly be the person who pronounces the sentence. The meaning of "the voice is true" or, as we same interpretation is proposed also in the should prefer to translate, "the voice is present study, which was prepared before right in accordance with Maat"? Only I knew of this earlier statement. I may feel Maspero has answered this question clear- free, however, to publish this paper even ly and without compromise when he ex- though the idea is not new. I am very glad plained it by the magic value of the voice. to be supported by those who first proBut even if we think of the meaning of posed it, but I do not think it is useless to &rw as "outcry,"12 we could hardly find deliver a thorough examination. The proposal is based upon the underany evidence in the myths of Osiris which would point to his voice or outcry having standing of the genitive or the suffix in justified him by means of magic or even m3c irw (n), "the irw of someone is right without magic at all. On the other hand, in accordance with Maat," as a genitivus if we think that, in m3ebrw, hrw, "voice," objectivus rather than genitivus subjectimeans an apologetic speech"1of Osiris be- vus. irw.f in this phrase would be "the fore the divine tribunal, a meaning outcry (salute, acclaim) given to him," or "speech" in brw would be involved which we might even think of the German word seems to be otherwise unknown. Here- "Ruf," which means "outcry" as well as with we have reached the very point "reputation." Therefore we might literally stated by Griffith and quoted above, translate "the acclaim given to him is namely, the assumption that the krw of Maat" or "the reputation given to him is m3c brw would have a special meaning not Maat." When we use the word "right," found elsewhere. Therefore, whether we we should translate "the acclaim (reputation) given to him is 'right' "-the quota10 Breasted, op. cit., p. 35. tion marks with "right" would eliminate 11 S. Schott in Handbuch der Orientalistik, I, 2, p. 71; cf. the same im alten Aegypten

author's (1945).

Mythe

und

Mythenbildung

WB, III, 324 gives 6rw under the heading, "Stimme, Gerausch" but the translation "Ausruf, Ruf," "exclamation," apparently is justified at least in ibid., A I, d and f. Gericht"; 13 WB, II, 15 "seine Aussage-bei Lefebvre. Grammaire, ? 52, "d6claration." 12

14 L'Egypte (1st ed.), p. 126. Professor Drioton, who is the author of the paragraph in question, kindly wrote to me: "C'est une id6e que j'ai depuis longtemps, sans avoir l'impression, qu'elle me soit personnelle. Il me semble bien que Moret l'enseignait b ses cours A la fin de sa carriere." He explains his inter-' rw pretation by referring to the expression Am3 (below, n. 35), to which I refer likewise below.


THE

ORIGINAL

MEANING OF M3c

the meaning of this word as "well deserved"; "right" is the term applied to the person acclaimed.15As long as we are not able to decide whether "acclaim" or "reputation" is the better translation, I prefer to paraphrase both with "he is called ' right." There seems to exist no objection in regard to grammar. The genitivus objectivus is often used in Egyptian, e.g., mrwt.f, "his love," meaning the love tendered him; cbw.f, "his purification," meaning the purification given to him; wpwt.f (ipwt.f) in certain cases means the commission given by him and the commission ordered to him.16The meaning of the suffix as either subject or object is clearly recognizable with the verb.17 Moreover, the conception of genitivus objectivus in m3c lrw n closely corresponds to the same in mdw n Wnj8, "word of Unas," and mdw.f, "his word," in Pyr. 462 a and c, respectively--Sethe understands them as genitivus objectivus with the meaning "word against Unas (against him)," and I do not see any other satisfactory explanation. The conception of mge crw.f as "he is called right" has been caused by my working hypothesis concerning the development of the idea of individual Maat. Thus it has come the wrong way, i.e., not out of the texts, which indeed are somewhat ambiguous in this matter, but out of a theory. I am going to defend it the same wrong way-first explaining the general considerations and only thereafter showing that the contexts of the few earliest decisive occurrences of machrw do not disprove the proposed translation but to my understanding support it most valuably. The theory might be roughly sketched 15Cf. below n. 35. 16Cf. WB, I, 303, wpwt nsw, "the king's commission," and (late Egyptian) wpwt n wcw, "the office as a wcw officer." 17See Sethe, Verbum, II, ? 581.

HRW

23

as follows.18 The idea of Maat primarily means the divine order of the world including the political, theological, and social order of Egypt.19 Therefore, from the beginning the rightness of man, his being m~c, depends upon the question whether or not he fits this order. This is a social question and therefore not answered by 18 As for the Old Kingdom it is based upon the Instructions of Ptahhotep, which in my understanding reflect the highly developed society of the Old Kingdom. This understanding had arisen out of my early discussion (1933) in "Lebensregoln und Lebensweisheit der alten Aegypter." In 1950 I was called upon to re-examine it when I prepared lectures to be delivered in the Interconnection Seminar of the Department of Oriental Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. The clearly Middle Egyptian language of Ptahhotep had led me to doubt the early date of this literary work. The opinion that it originates in the Middle Kingdom, however, apparently is wrong. There is no allusion in Ptahhotep to the problems which had arisen and were discussed during the period of the nomarchs, nor is there any evidence for assuming that he declines to discuss them. On the other hand, we do have good reason for dating Ptahhotep in the Old Kingdom--the language, after all, may have changed in the process of transmission. A reexamination of my conception concerning the Old Kingdom was also made necessary by the reading of H. Junker, Pyramidenzeit (Ziirich-K61n, 1949). This book has contributed much to my understanding, though I am not able to follow Junker in some decisive conclusions concerning Maat. Since I shall not give an over-all proof of my conception in this paper, I must discuss Junker's proofs in these cases in which we have a different understanding. This will be done in some of the succeeding notes. My working hypothesis concerning the development of an individual Maat after the Old Kingdom was worked out for the aforementioned lectures and has, I think, stood the test up to now. To present exact proof, however, is hardly possible.

19In Maat des Echnaton, p. 2 with n. 3, I wrongly stated that there did not exist a comprehensive study about Maat. Unfortunately I did not think then of the dissertation of C. J. Bleeker, De Beteekenis van de Egyptische Godin Maat (Leiden, 1929). I have had the opportunity of reading it only after this manuscript was out of my hands. The primary merit of Bleeker's study is, in my opinion, that he has stressed the cosmic meaning of Maat and the fact that Maat in its cosmic, liturgical, and ethical or social aspects is one inseparable concept. I have the impression that Bleeker has led to the present interpretation of Maat as it is explained here above and in Maat des Echnaton, p. 2 with n. 4 (in which the clear and concise definition of H. Frankfort, Ancient Egyptian Religion, pp. 53 if., 62 if. should be added to my quotations). I should like to mention also what is probably the earliest monograph on Maat, which was delivered by L. Stern in ZAS (1877), pp. 72-88, 113-24, with the title "Hieroglyphisch-Koptisches."


24


what he thinks of himself or by his own conscience directing him but by his reputation with his king and fellow-citizens. On the other hand, only rightness enabled man to live after death. Any accusation brought forth against his life on earth was to be examined and judged in the court of the Great God.20Further it has to be men20 The tomb inscriptions apparently evidence no activity of the judge in the beyond other than in cases of lawsuit; this has been rightly stated by Kees, Totenglauben (1926), pp. 152-53. I am not ready to follow Junker's further conclusion that a blanket acquittal of the deceased was demanded, as it was according to the conception transmitted mainly in the 125th chapter of the Book of the Dead. While my unwillingness to acknowledge Junker's conclusion does not have to be proved in regard to the wellknown tomb inscriptions of the Old Kingdom, I am obliged to defend it in regard to the Pyramid Texts. We are indebted to Junker for the grouping and interpreting which he has made (op. cit., pp. 81-85) of those spells of the Pyramid Texts which would show the idea of "Totengericht" in the understanding of the 125th chapter of the Book of the Dead. In so doing, he has followed the translations published by Sethe. The of some of these translations and interpretations spells which are offered in Sec. II of this paper, however, differ in respect to this question from those of Sethe and Junker. Therefore, I should like to examine briefly also the remainder of the group in support of my conception. First I list the references to those spells which are dealt with by Junker and also discussed here in the different parts of Sec. II as follows: Junker, op. cit., p. 81, Pyr. 309, see II, Part 3 digression; p. 84, Pyr. 316, see II, Part 2; p. 85, Pyr. 361, see II, Part 1; pp. 83, 93, Pyr. 2029, is discussed below, n. 24 of this section. There remain four spells which Junker deals with on pp. 81-83. Pyr. 461-462 and 383-386 include the statements that there is neither "word" nor accuser, respectively, against the deceased. This denial of any accusation clearly corresponds to the conception of lawsuits in the beyond which is known from the tomb inscriptions; we might understand it in either of two ways, that in this special case there is no accuser or (which after all seems more probable) that in general the rightness of the king cannot be debated-he is not subjected to lawsuit. Pyr. 891-892 and 2082-2083, according to Junker, represent the statement of the deceased that he did not commit certain transgressions during his lifetime. We may assume that this interpretation is correct, though I am not certain in regard to Pyr. 2082-83. In either case, however, the context certainly cannot lead us with any certainty to the conclusion that these statements of guiltlessness were to be spoken by the defendant before a divine trial-the acknowledgment of rightness is a matter of public consensus but not necessarily the verdict of a court. The same holds good for Pyr. 1450 and Pyr. 1238, which latter is discussed below, Sec. III with n. 165; they have not been quoted by Junker. I do not wish to be misunderstood-Junker's opinion may be right, but the evidence of both the Pyramid Texts and the tomb in-

tioned that living by Maat apparently was no matter of education: "Maat lies as a path even in front of him who knows nothing."21 This means it is individual conscience and not knowledge which has to fit the rules of social order. But when, after the breakdown of the Old Kingdom, the social order in Egypt had vanished, man was limited to his conscience; this was to fit the divine order, which was no longer mirrored on earth. As a poor defendant everybody had to answer for his deeds before the trial of the Great God. The idea of individual Maat had been ordered by god from the beginning; therefore, it had always been a religious one. But now the social value of this religious idea became a very ethical one,22though in practice right and wrong behavior were the same as before-the custom was retained that tomb inscriptions addressed the survivors and protested the rightness of the deceased. The merciless and unbearable idea, however, of man answering for his earthly deeds before the highest god without any advocate called for some kind of support. First of all, it was backed by the myth. The ideas that the deceased king was acknowledged by the gods; that he was called Osiris; that Osiris was justified in a case which was disputed before a divine trial23-these ideas gradually, in scriptions points only to lawsuits resulting from accusations and not to a divine trial to which everybody would have been subjected even when there was no accuser. 21 Literally "(Maat) is the path before him who knows nothing" (Wilson): Ptahhotep, ed. D6vaud, 1. 91 (Pap. Brit. Mus. 10509). 22The conception of this change is rejected by Junker, op. cit. I may refer to my review in Deutsche Literaturzeitung, LXXII (1951), 98. In the course of my discussions I try to point out this change by adopting the following difference of translation. "Rightness" is Maat including the individual Maat of the Old Kingdom conception; "righteousness" is the individual Maat from the end of the Old Kingdom on.

23 Cf. the last paragraph of this paper and the final rectification of the latter assumption in the Postscript.


THE ORIGINAL MEANING OF M'c HRW

the process of "sinkendes Kulturgut," were applied to everybody. Further, the ideas of individual Maat and divine trial joined the popular magical conceptions of life after death;24 eventually the magic value of the protestation of guiltlessness, the 125th chapter of the Book of the Dead, permitted even the worst sinner to be justified in the god's trial. Third, in the Eighteenth Dynasty the individual Maat would again be backed by the order of state and king--this conception culminated in the terrible equation of righteousness with following the leadership of Akhenaten.25 In the midst of these most popular branches of conception, however, existed the securing of individual righteousness in piety-naturally examples of this are not often forthcoming.26 If the theory is right that in the earlier period the individual Maat primarily has a social value, it is the acknowledgment of Maat by the public which matters first of all. Therefore the declaration of rightness in the tomb inscriptions of the Old Kingdom would be addressed to one's fellowmen in order that they might concede approval; the expression m3c rw would mean "acknowledged as right" rather than "being right in one's own declaration." The question must now be asked whether or not the earliest occurrences of m3chrw harmonize with this conclusion. This will be discussed in Sections II and III. The 24Instruction Merika-Re, 11. 53 fr. does not have recourse to magic when it considers the trial of the god. Junker, op. cit., pp. 91-93, wishes to show that the idea of a trial and that of magic in the beyond were mixed together in the Pyramid Texts, i.e., in the Old Kingdom, as they were later in the Book of the Dead, chap. 125. The sole and decisive proof, as he calls it, for this thesis, however, is his translation of Pyr. 20292030, which I am sorry to say I cannot acknowledge at all. This evidently is a magic spell addiressed to two beings of a lower class that act as ferrymen according to Pyr. 1382 (see Sethe's commentary of Pyr. 1102a), and no accusation is mentioned. 26 Maat des Echnaton, e.g., pp. 28, 31. 26 One of the finest prayers in regard to righteousness, from the decades after Amarna, has been translated loc. cit., p. 36.

25

different directions of the idea of individual Maat during the Middle and New Kingdom, however, were included in the summary which I gave above not only for the sake of completeness. In these periods two special expressions appear which I wish to discuss first. The causative verb 'm3c rw is known from the periods of the nomarchs on, perhaps, first in the coffin text equivalent of the 20th chapter of the Book of the Dead:27iw hrw W'jr r iftjw.f m3c.f and in r.f dh.wtj dhwtj (Sm )28 6rw.j r Iftjw.j, "Thoth causes that Osiris is (var. I am) justified against his (var. my) enemies."29 In examining the literal meaning of this expression, we refer to the noncausative phrase "Osiris (NN.) is justified against his male and female enemies, the men and women that act against him, (irtj.fn wdc mdw 6ft.f=) them that are going to fight him in trial:30 the variant hrw.f m3c r iftjw.fJ1 instead of m3•c rw.f shows that the preposition depends upon m)c but not (which after all hardly could be expected from the grammatical point of view) upon hrw. As for the explanation of r we should not translate "his hrw is more righteous than (that of) his enemies," because different degrees of rightness would hardly be suited, either to the sentence of a court or to the idea of Maat.32 Probably the meaning of "triumphant," "justified," here involved had influenced the construction: "his irw is right (in triumph) over 27Grapow, Religi6se Urkunden, pp. 100 f.; 107. m3c, omitted in this MS, has to be inserted according to chap. 18 (Grapow, op. cit., p. 134). 29 The succeeding line in Grapow, ibid., p. 100 substitutes the deceased in place of Thoth "NN. justifies him(self?) against his enemies"-this secondary idea does not have to be considered here. so De Buck, Cofin Texts, I, 9, 10 and more often in different variations; cf. additional "him who hates you" in I, 13d. 31 Ibid., I, 25c, 37b, etc. 32 See, however, m3c.f r.j in the late Egyptian tale of Horus and Seth 14.1 and its explanation as given in n. 37. 28


26


his enemies." These phrases clearly refer to the triumph of the defendant before the divine trial. While, however, on the one hand, the trial -concerning any enemies and accusers against the dead is referred to, in accordance with the conception of the Old Kingdom, on the other hand, the trial against Osiris is alluded to which, according to the myth, concerned only one case and was looked on as prototype of the trial against the dead in the Middle Kingdom.33 In this trial, according to the 20th chapter of the Book of the Dead, Thoth caused the hrw of Osiris to be right. Let us assume that frw means the voice or an outcry or even a declaration or statement of Osiris, which would be in accordance with Maat by means of its magic value or its content. In this case the action of Thoth (i.e., his causing the voice, etc., of Osiris to be right) would be a supplementary idea and hardly compatible with the first one though possibly so.A4On the other hand, if we accept my proposal for translating m3c the sentence in the 20th chapter of the Whrw, Book of the Dead would mean "Thoth causes that Osiris is called righteous (in triumph) over his enemies" and would refer to the effect which is attributed to Thoth concerning the sentence of the divine trial "Seth is wrong, Osiris is right.""35 In the Eighteenth and Nineteenth dynasties we find a few36 cases of m3c rw as an apposition with officials, in which 33This incongruity seems to be cleared by the conclusion which is dealt with in the Postscript; the idea of the trial against Osiris apparently is secondary. We might think of a phrase like "Thoth, give W4 it my Maat unto me and readiness (?) of mouth-open for Maat in my behalf" (Theban Tomb 157, Ramesses II, from the files of the Wbrterbuch) or the apposition of Thoth, "he that gives Maat to him that has done Maat" (Berlin 6910 G b 3 in Inschr. Berl. II, 65; Dyn. 19). This idea of giving Maat has been discussed in my paper Die Maat des Echnaton, p. 10. I am not sure, however, whether or not it is already found as early as the Middle Kingdom, and, after all, "giving Maat" is not the same as Am:c brw.

reference to the divine trial hardly could be understood: "mc) hrw in the house of the king" and "in the house of his lord." We might be inclined to assume that the meaning of m3cfrw was worn out in this period-in some expressions it apparently has the same meaning as m3c.37 But though expressions like "m3:to the king" occur often enough in the Eighteenth Dynasty and make good sense,38 phrases such as "m'c in the house of the king" or "in the house of his lord" are unknown39 to me, as is ""mc hrw to the king." Therefore "m3eFtrwin the house of the king," etc., probably has some special meaning, which would emerge from the translation 35 Drioton in relating 6rw to the sentence of the judge as proclaimed by the "crieur public" discusses it in his letter (see n. 14) as follows: "Ce serait dans ce sens que Thoth, qui jouait ce r6le (scil. du crieur public) auprs du tribunal divin serait AmeC Lrw pour Osiris et Horus: le 9 factitif aurait ici le sens d6claratif, qu'il a quelquefois en 6gyptien, comme le Hiphil s6mitique." I wish to add this precisely stated explanation to mine, though I hesitate to accept it entirely I am not sure if m~Cin this connection really has the meaning "it is 'right' "-I think it has the usual meaning "it is right," though I put "right" in quotation marks for the purpose of facilitating the translation. 6 I was not able to augment the quotations given in WB, II, 18, Belegst. 10. Bleeker, Beteekenis, p. 70 (cf. above, n. 18) however, quotes Urk. IV, 77, 1. 6, "I traveled unto the north with the tributes of the Wawat-land to the king, every year, (prr.j Im m m:C 6rw =) and I came forth from there as one that had been called right; there has been found nothing for which I did not account ( =~3wt.j)." 37 Compare "m:C in heaven and on earth" (Sandman, Texts from the Time of Akhenaton, p. 159, 3, coffin of a king) with" meChrw, in heaven and on earth" (Naville, Totb., 134,15, Osiris); ink m3Ctp t3, "I was a righteous one upon earth" (Sandman, op. cit., p. 99, 3) with Ink tI m3C brw tp t3 (Urk. IV, 67); in "Horus and Seth," 14, 1, m~c seems to be used instead of m3C6rw (m~c.f r.j and m3c[kwj?] r.f). Further, cf. m•c 6r ntr "righteous with the god (i.e., the king)" (Urk. IV, 1198, 17) to the well-known phrase "m3C rw with (= r) the Great God (or some other god)." Supplementary note: The close relation between m~C and m~3C rw which is exemplified above was not only developed in the New Kingdom; apparently it is genuine. ss Die Maat des Echnaton, p. 28. 39 M3Cm ht Pth, "righteous in the temple of Ptah" 169 f., after Gardiner in JEA, (PSBA, XXXV, XXXII [1946], 52 [p]) might have some different meaning; cf. m3Cnb n bt ntr, "every righteous one in the house of the god" (Instruction Amenemope, VII,

7).


THE ORIGINAL MEANING OF

"he that is called 'right' in the house of the king." If we accept this, we are not yet able to decide whether it refers to some acclamation, to a statement of the king, or more generally to the reputation of this official with his king and his fellow-officials. Certainly, however, it does not refer to any divine trial in the world beyond. These quotations from the Middle Kingdom and the New Kingdom would be characteristic of the respective conceptions of individual Maat which developed in these periods according to the theory which I have explained above. Anyway they point to three different conceptions of m3c hrw. The first though latest one most probably does not refer to any trial at all. The second and third one, from the Coffin Texts, do refer to the divine trial-for the sake of clearness let us distinguish them as referring to the trial against Osiris and that in which the accusations against any dead person are judged; though these two trials have become mixed up and in most cases cannot be separated from each other, we should rather assume that they originated from different sources. These three conceptions perhaps had been involved in m3e ijrw from the beginning; therefore we must consider them when we now start examining the earliest quotations of this expression. In one case it might refer to the trial for the two contestants in the myth; in another case, to the trial for the dead; further it might refer to governmental trial in this world, or it even refers to no trial at all. We have to examine the quotations without any prejudice. ii.

TEXTS Ma3eirwIN THEPYRAMID

This section deals with those eleven quotations of the Pyramid Texts in which the word m3c rw occurs. They are translated and commented on in six parts of this section which are quoted as "Part 1"

M'CHRW

27

or "Quotation 1," "Quot. 1" for instance. These parts are the following. Part 1 contains Pyr. 354 a; 356 c, 357 c, 361 c,40 929 a, 935 a-the various utterances (Spriche) to which these sections belong are listed in the cross-index on page 32; Part 2: Pyr. 316 d in Utt. 260; Part 3: Pyr. 1042 d in Utt. 486; Part 4: Pyr. 1462 d in Utt. 570; Part 5: Pyr. 2089 a in Utt. 689; Part 6: Pyr. 1327 c in Utt. 539. It is only with some hesitation that I publish my translations and notes. In general, I have restricted the notes to those phrases and words which, to my understanding, are likely to influence our conception of m3c rw and which are commented upon by Sethe41either differently or, Parts 4-6, not at all. And I must impose another limitation. I am fully aware that the many spells of the Pyramid Texts which concern the ascension to heaven and transfiguration of the deceased are closely correlated to each other; their full understanding can be reached therefore only on a much larger basis than that which is afforded by the few spells which, more or less by chance, include the word m3c ijrw. I do think, however, that, in starting a discussion like this, it is useful to limit one's self to one special question, supposing one avoids hasty generalizations. I need not say how much this limited discussion was assisted by Sethe's commentary, in which the various correlations are extensively noted. In spite of these restrictions, however, the notes in this paper are still fairly extensive. This is due to the fact that Sethe's understanding of the spells in question is based on the 40 Speleers, Les Textes des Pyramides, Vocabulaire, 40, erroneously mentions also Pyr. 360 as an occurrence of mC' rw. I do not think he has quoted it in place of some other section which I have overlooked.

Uebersetzung und Kommentar zu den Vols. I-IV covering Utterances 213506 (Pyr. 134-1101). 41

Sethe,

Pyramidentexten,


28


very presupposition which I am going to debate; in view of his superior knowledge, I have questioned my objections again and again and in a few cases have felt compelled to revise them. I certainly do not feel happy in proposing so many more alterations of Sethe's translation than I had expected at first; I do not think, however, that the number of my objections will be interpreted as lack of respect to the great scholar who has made such important and decisive steps toward our understanding of the Pyramid Texts. I may express my hope that my attempts to go a little further in some particularities will not be considered as a step backward. 1. Pyr. 354 a, 356 c, 357 c, 361 c, 929 a, 935 a in Utterances 265 and variants (see cross-index on p. 32)

PART

These occurrences are found in a series of utterances which are characterized by mention of the shnw rafts which ferry the deceased king to heaven, his being reborn as a star, and the four messengers that announce his worthiness to Re and Nhbk3w. Sethe has gathered these "Spriiche vom Hinlegen der Schilfbiindel" in his commentary of Utterance 263. Each of them in some degree contributes to our understanding; therefore they must be commented upon as a unit. In Utt. 265 the phrase in which mac4rw occurs seems unwantedly repeated, but it is the most complete version and reasonably arranged. This spell is translated here and discussed with reference to the other versions. The cross-index shows the degree of completeness and the arrangement of the spells in question and their relation to each other in respect to their sections; the designation of sections as paragraphs A-H has been introduced only for the purpose of this study.

TRANSLATION OF UTTERANCE 265 (PYR. 351-357)

(A = 351-352; the content of this paragraph is the following: by means of the s6nw-rafts the deceased king (NN) crosses the mnc and nhb waters and the i3rw fields toward the horizon unto Re and Harakhty.) B (353a-c)"NN crosses toward the eastern side of heaven to that place in which the gods are born. NN is born there with them, as Horus, as Akhty. C (354a-b) "NN is called right (= m3c hjrw NN). Acclamation (is made) unto NN (= hn n NN), acclamation unto the Ka of NN. D (355a-c) "They are summoned for NN, they are brought to him (namely) the four guards bearing the curl (of youth) that stand on their dcmw staffs at the eastern side of heaven. E (356a-b) "They say the name of NN (as) of one that is good to Re and raise the name of NN (as) of one that is good to Nhb-k3w. F (356c-d) "NN is called right. Acclamation (is made) unto NN, acclamation unto the Ka of NN. G (357a-b) "Sothis is the sister of NN, the morning star is the mftw relative of NN. He who is below the body of heaven is NN. H (357c-d) "NN is called right. Acclamation (is made) unto NN, acclamation unto the Ka of NN." NOTES

ad A. This paragraphwith its different versions does not concernus. It is preceded by the call to the ferrymanin Utt. 481 and 507;42 similar calls are separatedfrom paragraphA in Utt. 519 and 556.43 ad B. In Utt. 26644Akhty is replacedby Dat, the phrasebeingassimilatedto paragraph G, which succeedsB immediately--cf.Dat in paragraphG of Utt 26345--- (in Hr ih 36tji ; 42Pyr. 999a and 1102a.

44 Pyr. 362b'.

43Pyr. 1201a and 1382b.c,

4 Pyr. 341C.


THE ORIGINAL

MEANING OF

also in Utt. 266; 473.1, 2) implies a statement of identity ("as," German "als") rather than a simile ("as though he was"';"als waireer").A Utt. 26447 and Utt. 55648 add an enumeration of days to the statement concerning the birth; this subject will not be discussed here. ad C. This paragraph occurs three times in Utt. 265 (paragraphs C, F, and H) in almost the same wording but only once in each of three other utterances (paragraph C in Utt. 473.1 and Utt. 473.2; paragraph F in Utt. 266). Sethe regards it as a parenthetical challenge unto those who hear the recitals: "Gerechtfertigt is NN; jauchzet zu NN, jauchzet zu dem Ka des NN." The idea of taking hn as an imperative was prompted by the imperative hnjj in Utt. 266;49 this is taken below as an exceptional case and is explained by its context (ad paragraph F). I should prefer to understand hn (935b N hnw) as a noun, as usual. Sethe's further idea that these lines represent an interjected address to the bystanders certainly was influenced by the consideration that as a whole these utterances do not show any connection with the justification of Osiris; on the other hand, the justification of Osiris seemed doubtless to be alluded to in m3c rw. I do not feel able to accept this view. Further objections against Sethe's understanding of C may be stated here. Pyr. 316d,50 which evidently is related to this paragraph C, fits its context and cannot be separated from it as a digression. Further in rejecting the conception of challenge to the hearers I am supported by Schott; according to him Utterances 263-266 were recited in the "Verehrungstempel" to which the public was not admitted.51 Utterances 473.1 and 473.252 introduce the Ka of the king into the phrase of m3cbrw "NN is called right, the Ka of NN is called right," in assimilation to the following "acclamation 46 This holds good also for Pyr. 1348b.

47Pyr. 345a-b; 346c. 48 Pyr.

1382f;

1383b.

49 Pyr. 361b. 60

In Utt. 260; see below, Part 2.

f1

Schott,

Bemerkungen

196 and 181. 52 Pyr. 929 a and 935 a.

zum

Pyramidenkult,

pp.

M3cC JRW

29

unto the Ka of NN" (which, however, is omitted in Utt. 473.1); likewise in paragraph F, Utt. 266,53the Ka is called right with the addition "with (= r) the god."54 I do not think that the idea of the Ka being justified (=m3c rw) is involved in the idea of the divine trial.55It would fit Sethe's conception of these verses as an appeal to the bystanders (which, however, has been refuted above) supposing we could assume that mc' rw already was worn-out and apt to be transferred from Osiris to his Ka in certain circumstances," but there does not seem to exist any evidence for this assumption. There seems, however, to be no difficulty in assuming that the Ka of the king is hailed as being right when he becomes god and star. On the contrary, the idea of the Ka called right excellently fits paragraph C in Utt. 263:57 "NN (finally?) has been pleased58 together with his Ka; NN lives together with his Ka. His leopard skin is upon him, his staff is in his arm, his scepter in his hand. He causes that he who has gone away acclaims him (?)."59The last phrase probably refers to the 53Pyr. 361c. 54 As to this addition see below, Part 6, note b.

55Cf. Sethe, Uebersetzung und Kommentar, II, 38 to Pyr. 338a "(der Ka,) zu dem er ja erst im Tode geht, wie so viele Stellen zeigen"; the Ka ascends to heaven with him, however (cf. Pyr. 2081a). Breasted, Development, p. 174, to my understanding quotes this passage which introduces the Ka as a confirmation of his conclusion that this justification is established by the sun-god and not by Osiris. 56

Cf. Sethe's commentary of Pyr. 354a-b.

57 Pyr. 338a-339a. 58 = nfrn n NN; Sethe "wohl gefallen , hat es dem NN (zu sein) mit seinem Ka." My insertion of "finally?" is prompted by Sethe's remarks and the suggestion concerning the meaning of nfr as given by H. Stock, "Ntr nfr =der Gute Gott?" p. 5; it might be misleading, however-my point is only to stress that nfr(n) n is certainly not simply "(he) is pleased" -just as little as nfr tw, Sinuhe B 31 quoted by Sethe, is "you feel well." The parallel phrase Pyr. 908a-b as quoted by Sethe is interesting: "NN (finally?) is pleased together with his name; NN lives together with his Ka."

59The questionable translation of this last phrase (nhnj.f n.f sj r.9) is based upon Sethe's assumption that nhnj is related to the hn, "acclaiming," used in the other versions. For the translation of sj r.6 in the singular (though it is possibly the plural) and without relation to the horizon, cf. Pyr. 1555b and 662e. This expression, according to Sethe, might indicate the dead; cf., however, sj ij in Part 2, n. 94.


30

JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERNSTUDIES

acclamation, the preceding to the appearance as a king; this proves the rightness of the deceased and his Ka as does the acclamation in the other versions. ad D. The four are introduced with different names in the different versions. The translation in the passive of nj.s, "call," and in, "bring," (njh(w).hn n NN, in(w).hn n NN.), seems to be inevitable, as Sethe points out; once assumed, this point of view should be retained also in Utt. 263.60 Utt. 26461has "NN has called them; he has brought them (namely) those four gods." Utt. 266 and 60962 present the imperative without nji, "call"; "bring to me those four . . . ," in Utt. 609 apparently addressed to the deceased63 but in Utt. 266 without indication of the person addressed. Other versions include "he (i.e., the moon or the morning star?) assigns (wd) NN unto the four hcpw",Utt. 507,64 and the going of (?), and being greeted among (?), the Four, Utt. 519.65 More remote versions are Utt. 481,66wherein the circumpolar stars are mentioned with NN accounted as one of them, and Utt. 556,67 which introduces the statement that NN does not die. Another version is represented by the four gods in Utterance 26068 which is discussed below in Part 2. ad E. Utterance 60969clearly indicates that "they" (which there succeeds an imperative construction in paragraph D) means the Four. Utt. 26670 keeps the force of the imperative introduced in D, though, in contrast to D, it is addressed to the Four, "say ye the good name of NN to Nkb-k3w." "The good name" instead of "the name of NN (as) of one that is good"71 is also found in Utt. 263,72 which

otherwise differs from Utt. 265 in using "announce" (=S jw) instead of "raise." Utt. 26473 runs "they say the name [sic] of NN to Re and raise his name to Harakhty [sic]"; it mentions Re together with Nkb-kOwin a different context.74 An interesting and unique version is transmitted in Utt. 609:75"(That) they raise this your good ij76 to Nhb-kOw,which77 your daughter, the woman,7" has said to you; Nhb-k)w has (?) raised this your good ij to the two enneads." In assuming some meaning like "praise given to you" for "this your good ij" (see n. 76), we find it very similar to "the good name" and hrw "acclamation" in m3cbrw -all of them referring to a statement brought forth by other persons. ad F. This paragraph occurs only in Utt. 265 and 266 and equals paragraphs C and H; as for details see above notes to C. Its repetition79 at this point reinforces the ideas expressed in E-the announcement of the rightness of his name and the statement that he is verily a god. Utt. 26680 accommodates these phrases to their context; it changes the arrangement of the two verses, and, by means of this alteration, it is enabled to continue using the imperative which it introduced in paragraphs D and E: "Acclaim ye NN, acclaim ye his Ka; NN is called right, NN's Ka is called right with the god." Thus it is understandable that the imperative of hn is peculiar to this 71

Pyr. 339b.

61

Pyr. 348a.

Pyr. 360b and 1708a. So apparently in Pyr. 1708a if we read m n.j; in Pyr. 360b possibly another pronomen suffixum was used, namely, n.f. 62

63

64

Pyr. 65 Pyr.

1104c ft. 1206a.

1207b.

Pyr. 1000d-1001a; this has to be understood in accordance with Pyr. 1457-1458, which introduces the number "four." 66

67 Pyr.

1385. 68 Pyr. 316b. 69 Pyr. 1708c. 70 Pyr. 361a.

translation

of rn n NN

n(?)

nfr has been

72 Pyr. 340a-b.

73Pyr. 348c. 74 Pyr.

n Pyr.

346a.

1708c-f.

(Pyr. 1708c) and q1 7z, (Pyr. 1708e). The context points to reading "your ij" rather than "the ijk." I cannot find this noun specified in the Wbrterbuch; presumably it is related to the vocative interjections i and ii and its meaning is "the acclamation (or praise) given to you," similar to iOw, 76

60

This

proposed by Sethe, though doubtfully.

)Ij.k pn nfr with

"praise."

Sethe,

Uebersetzung

und Kommentar,

II, 32,

paraphrases wt?.gn ij.k pn nfr as "sie melden dich." 77The context apparently points to the conception form rather than Admn.f of ddn n.k sit.k as relative form. 78 I cannot provide any explanation of s3t.k hmt. 79The question which paragraph this sentence originally belongs to cannot be answered; see, however, Sec. III with n. 159 80 Pyr. 361b-c.


THE ORIGINAL MEANING OF M3C HIRW

version-its writinghnjj does not occurin any otherversionof paragraphsC, F, and H.81 ad G. The firstphraseof this sectionis found also in Utterances 473.1; 473.2; 609; 263.82 This latter, however,names "Dat" instead of "morningstar" and thereforerepresentsthe originaltext, accordingto Sethe. Sothis as the sister is substitutedby the moonas brotheror father of NN in Utt. 481 and, with different context, in Utt. 507.83 The second phrase of this sectionis a little different,"NN stands as this star which is below the body of heaven," in Utt. 264 and Utt. 556.84 The version "as Dat, as the star whichilluminatesthe heaven" in Utt. 26685is influencedby the preceding;see above the note to paragraphB concerningthe context. ad H. This paragraph,which in this utterance repeats paragraphsC and F, is further representedby two quite different versions: Utt. 264,86"he judges the case as a god after he has heardthe case as a Brofficial,"and Utt. 609,87"you sit betweenthem (i.e., Sothis and the morningstar) on the great seat which is besidethe two enneads."These three versions in differentways supplementthe indicationof the finalstatus of the deceasedas a godandstar which was given in paragraphG. CONCLUSION

In these utterances the phrase containing m3e rw.f and the hnw acclaim of the king occurs three times in Utt. 265 but only once in three other versions, respectively. It refers to the fact that the deceased king is newly born in heaven and has become a god together with stars and sun (paragraphs C and H) and that he is s81Cf. note to paragraph C for writing hn and hnw. 82

Pyr. 83Pyr. 84 Pyr. 85Pyr.

929b, 935c, 1707a, 341c. 1001b and 1104a-b. 347a and Pyr. 1384a. 362b.

86 Pyr.

347b.

87 Pyr. 1707b-c.

31

introduced as a god to Re and Nh.b-k)w (paragraph F). The spell evidently is what we might call a Heliopolitan one; once (Utt. 266)88 Heliopolis is mentioned in a final phrase. There is no allusion to the divine trial, however, the less so as this idea would hardly fit the expression "the Ka of NN is m3ce rw" (see note to paragraph C). On the other hand, it is understood that Sethe's conception of paragraphs C, F, and H as parenthetical cannot be maintained. In spite of this evidence we might well try to understand hrw.f in mC jrw.f as "his statement" (rather than "voice"). Certainly the idea that the word of the deceased king opens the way to him in the beyond is well known in the Pyramid Texts, e.g., the word addressed by him to various gods when he is newly born as a god,89or discussions like those with "they that have become equipped spirits by means of their mouth."90 or with Horus and Seth."9 No less certainly, however, would we be misled if we assumed that m3c 6rw referred to whatever magical word might save the deceased in the beyond. Therefore we should prefer to understand mc ~rw.f with genitivus objectivus as given in the translation. If we accept it, we should not think of translating "his reputation is 'right' " but "the acclamation given to him is 'right.' " 88 Pyr. 363 f. Sethe suggests the possibility of assuming that in the lacuna of Pyr. 363d a new, short "Fiihrmannsspruch" begins. On the other hand, he shows that there are similarities between Pyr. 363 and Utt. 570, in which latter the phrases Pyr. 1455c, 1458e, and 1457a (1458a) correspond to Pyr. 363c, d, and f, respectively; this should deter us from dividing Pyr. 363 into two sections. 89 Utt. 570 (Pyr. 1443-1448; 1461). 90 Utt. 473 (Pyr. 930-931). 91 Pyr. 473.


CROSS INDEX TO PART 1 PYRAMID

TEXTS

UTTERANCES

265 AND VARIANTS

Utterances

265 P

263 W

264 T

266 P

473.1 PMN

473.2 PMN

481 P M N

507 P M N

Paragraph A

Pyr. 351352

Pyr. 337; 340 c-d

Pyr. 342343

Pyr. 358360 a

Pyr. 926927

Pyr. 932933

Pyr. 999-1000 b

Pyr. 11021103

Paragraph B

Pyr. 353

Pyr. 341 a-b

Pyr. 344346 c

Pyr. 362 a-b'

Pyr. 928

Pyr. 934

Pyr. 1000c

Paragraph C

Pyr. 354

Cf. Pyr. 338-339 a

----

Pyr. 929 a

Pyr. 935 a-b

Paragraph D

Pyr. 355

Pyr. 339 b-c

Pyr. 348 a-b

Pyr. 360 b-d

Paragraph E

Pyr. 356

Pyr. 340

Pyr. 348 c; cf.

Pyr. 361a

F

Pyr. 356

Paragraph

a-b

a-b

Pyr. 346 a

Pyr. 357 a-b

Paragraph H

Pyr. 357

c-d

--

-

Pyr. 1104 c1105

_-

-

Pyr. 361

c-d

Paragraph G

Cf. Pyr. 1000 d1001a

b-c

Pyr. 341c

Pyr. 347a

Pyr. 362 b"363 a

Pyr. 929 b

Pyr. 935 c

Cf. Pyr. 347 b


Pyr. 1001b

Pyr. 1104 a-b

THE ORIGINAL MEANING OF M:c FRW

33

2. Pyr. 316 d in Utterance 260 (W) Heliopolisk (318 c) while he has come forthl According to Sethe, Utterance 260 today in the right form (= m irw mic) of seems to be composed of two sections a living spirit. (319 a) NN breaks (up) (Pyr. 316-319 and 320-323). Whatever fighting and cuts (off) insurrection; the connection between these sections (319 b) NN comes forth (as he) who is remay be, only the first one concerns the lated to Maat,m he brings her with him;n present question. This must be translated (319 c) the wrathful run about for his and discussed in extenso. The first few sake, they tfiat are in the Nunu turn life phrases (316 a-c) are transmitted also in unto him." NOTES Cofin Texts, Spell 1, ed. De Buck. After I had prepared the translation of a (316b) i-qq qq ; Sethe "der gegangen and the notes to this spell, I received two und gekommenist"; I do think that the intervaluable remarks concerning the text in pretation of both the perfect and imperfect a letter from S. Schott which I am very active participlecan be defended.This phrase glad to add to the present notes. They is discussedin the followingnote b. b (316b)Setherefersto differentquadruples enable us to answer two questions which had hitherto remained unsolved.92 Fur- of gods and other groups to which the deceased belongs. He accepts as possible the thermore, to my understanding they elucidate the arrangement of this spell; ap- connectionbetweenthe four gods of this text, and both the corporationof Heliopolisin Pyr. parently Pyr. 316 alludes to the funeral 104119and the four gods of the Nunu, the cirrites, Pyr. 317 deals with the past, and cumpolar stars that go through the Libyan Pyr. 318-319 with the new eternal life. land and are d8r on their dcmw staffs in Pyr. 1457-1458. Above in Part 1, notes to paraTRANSLATION graph D, I have pointed to the close relation (316 a) "0 Geb, the bull of Nut, NN is between Pyr. 1457-1458 and 1000d-1001a, Horus, the heir of his father. (316 b) He while the context of the latter, on the other that goes and comesa is NN, the fourth hand, indicatesthat it belongsto the phrases of those four godsb (316 c) that have concerningthe four youths. Thus there apbrought water and have caused purifica- parentlydoes exist a relationbetweenthe four tion(?),c they that make acclamation with gods mentionedin this spell Pyr. 316band the the foreleg(s) of their fathers.d (316 d) four youths in Quotation 1, paragraphD. This assumptionmight be corroborated by the He wishes to be called right by means of two followingfacts. Sj ij, "one who goes and what he has done.e (317 a) Indeed, NN comes" (see above, note a), seems well to fit judged' between male and female or- the characterof the four youths as messengers phan(?);g indeed, he who is in accord (and perhapsno less the restless circumpolar with Maat (= mCtj)h held hearing; stars in Pyr. 1000d and 1457-5894).Further (317 b) indeed, there was no witness; in93See below, Part 3, digression. 94 Sj fi occurs in a similar context Pyr. 1193b and deed, he who is in accord with Maat gave with Pyr. 541c; on the other hand, order (scil. that the sentence be carried itmight be compared should be connected with si-Ajn (Pyr. 1532a and out). (317 c) He passed throughi the 1539c) and sj-phr (Pyr. 1991a), which indicate the of the messengers that announce the deceased seats of Geb (but now?) he raises himself running to Re. The same running is indicated by sj-bt in Pyr. unto what he has wished. (318 a) His 1861a; it should be noticed that, in the same context 1861b), the messengers (hwwtjw according to limbs, which are in the secret place, are (Pyr. WB, III, 44) carry the ostrich feather with them, united;J (318 b) he joins them that are in which otherwise indicates Maat (though first of all as in the Old Kingdom and Pyr. 1768-1775 the Nunu; he terminates the dispute in a headdress I wonder whether or not this have some

PART

92See notes d and i.

[N]); might significance in respect to the announcement


of the

34

JOURNAL

OF NEAR

the sequence of the four gods, the acclamation, and mac rw in Pyr. 316b-d corresponds to the same sequence of paragraphs D(-E)-F in Utt. 265 and variants. c (316c) inw mw wdw cbcbt; Sethe understands the perfect active participle in the past tense, referring to the creation of the world. The Coffin Texts, however, have the imperfect active participle (De Buck, op. cit., I, 4-5, b.c). For the relation of this phrase to the funeral rites cf. Schott's remark below in note d. d (316c) irrw hjj m hpS n itw.in; Sethe, "die einen Jubel machen iiber die Kraft ihrer ViAter."The meaning of hjj (hjj hnw and hjj hnjj in Cofin Texts, I, 4-5, d) to my understanding points to "hail," "acclaim," rather than to "jubilate about something," as does hknwalso. I should prefer to translate hps "foreleg," "arm," literally,95 all the more as, to begin with, the meaning of this phrase certainly is not clear; further, the Coffin Texts demand a literal translation, as indicated by the determinative 4 of Plh. In addition some Coffin Text versions write the plural hpsw nw itw.gn, "the forelegs of their fathers," therefore the understanding of n as genitival adjective must be preferred to the preposition n. While I was not ready to accept Sethe's conception of this phrase, I was not able to explain the exact meaning of mine. The following short remark in Schott's letter, however, leads, I think, to a very sensible explanation: "Zu 316c 'Jubel machen mit dem Schenkel' gibt es Bilder, so in Grab 55 (Ramose) eine Gruppe im Klagezug. Dort sind es kleine Modelle von Schenkeln, im A.R. noch die rightness of the deceased king; see Sec. III with n. 165. (Supplementary note: Cf. the feather which appeared in the land of the god and was put by Osiris at the head of Horus as a certification of triumph: Coffin Texts, I, 29 a-c). If sj iij does refer to the celestial messengers we might assume the same for sj r.8 in Pyr. 339a (see Part 1, paragraph C with n. 59). 95Likewise I prefer a literal translation in Urk. I, 151, 3 quoted by Sethe "having acted with my own arm"; the more extended meaning of 6ps as "strength, however, might be somewhat involved in these later phrases. The same holds good for the similar phrases in other texts of the period of the nomarchs. I should like to quote the stela Philadelphia 40-19-1 line 3 (Ranke in The University Museum Bulletin, XII, No. fr m 6ps.f=) an excellent 3, p. 24): "I was (ndA'cr commoner that acted with his (own) arm."

EASTERN

STUDIES

Schenkel selbst, die bei der Bestattung von Priestern (in der Rolle der Horuskinder, so hier) dargebracht werden. Dazu wird Wasser geschitttet wie auch sonst beim Schlachten.' I am very glad to see that Schott's understanding of the Pyramid Texts and of the connection between mythological allusions and actual rites confirms and decisively complements my mere philological considerations. Furthermore, this explanation given by Schott is elucidated by a striking parallel in New Britain. In one tribe living in the northern section of this Melanesian island "until recently, the upper arm bones of a dead man were taken from his body and kept as family fetishes," and in another one "the upper arm bone of an important man no longer is used in his funeral rites, but a cassowary thigh bone has been substituted."96 e (316d) imr.f m3c brw.f m irtn.f; Sethe "er will, dass er gerechtfertigt werde in Bezug auf das, was er (selbst) getan hat." He explains this conception as follows: "Rechtfertigung in dem, was er selbst im Leben getan hat, steht der Freude fiber die Leistungen der Vorfahren (as expressed in the preceding phrase Pyr. 316c) gegentiber." This explanation depends upon Sethe's interpretation of 316c, which has been refuted above. Some contrast between the "fathers" and the king's (own?) deeds might be involved, however; perhaps imr.f, "he wishes," points to this. On the other hand, the parallel between hjj and mz3c rw reminds us of that between hn and m:C&rwin Part 1, paragraphs C, F, and H as discussed above: acclaim from the gods means rightness, justification of the deceased king.97 For the exact meaning of macBrw this phrase seems to be instructive. In literal translation (which must always be tried) m irtn.f does not depend upon hrw but upon m~c. If we apply Sethe's translation of m, "in Bezug auf," neither "his voice (or statement)" nor "the acclamation given to 96 W.

H. Goodenough

in University

Museum

Bulle-

tin (Philadelphia), XVII, No. 1 (September, 1952), 15, 16. 97Supplementary note: Cf. the discussion of the form imr.j in the Old Kingdom inscriptions by Edel in

"Untersuchungen"

(Mitteilungen

des

Deutschen

Instituts, XIII), ? 27E. I wonder whether or not the meaning "since (or: while) he wishes" may be applied to this

imr.f.


THE ORIGINAL MEANING OF M'c

him" could possibly be understood as "right in regard to what he has done"; this restriction of rightness can hardly be accepted. If we understand m as instrumentalis, the phrase, "his voice (statement) corresponds to Maat (=is right) by means of what he has done," does not seem to make good sense either; it would mean that the magical power of the voice is effected by the deeds of the deceased, or that the power of his statement is effected not by its content, which after all might well refer to his deeds, but by the deeds themselves. There seems, however, to be no question that the following translation is most convincing, "the acclamation given to him (or his reputation) corresponds to Maat by means of what he has done." We might paraphrase the sentence as follows: "He wishes that it be his good deeds which bring about that the acclaim given to him is (not crime"98 but) 'rightness.' " f (317a) iw wdcn NN tfn hnc tfnt; iw introduces each of the four phrases in 317 a and b and is indicated by my translation "indeed." The question if these phrases should be understood as present or past tense is discussed below in note h. g (317a) The Egyptian text is quoted in note f. Sethe translates "NN hat als kleines Waisenkind (or, according to his commentary, possibly "Tfn") mit der Schwester (or "Tfnt") gerechtet." His understanding of wdc as "litigate" instead of the usual "judge" is based mainly on Pyr. 317c; this, according to him, would point to the result of the trial, in which therefore the dead king would be considered as one of the parties. As will be shown in note h, however, I want to propose a different interpretation of 317c; therefore I am not able to accept his conclusion. In support of his translation of wdc he refers to the formulas expressing threat in the Old Kingdom tomb inscriptions. Lately E. Edel99has shown, however, that in these formulas wdc is evidently passive, e.g., "I shall be judged with him," not "I shall litigate with him." The translation of tfn and tfnt as "orphan" is not much more than a guess: for its meaning cf. further note h below. 98 Cf. hbn hrw and 99 In Mitteilungen

9-10.

m: ' rw below, des Deutschen

Part

3.

Instituts,

XIII,

35

jRIW

h (317a) m3ctj; Sethe, "die beiden Wahrheiten." For some time I have rejected the idea of a dual in favor of that of a singular "he who belongs to Maat."100Later studies of this text, however, have led me to the conclusion that both translations would be acceptable: m3ctj meaning either the double Maat or the king himelf as Maaty;101in either case this phrase would mean that the king NN has acted as judge, examiner, and he who orders the sentence to be carried out, all without any interference of witnesses and officials, depending upon nothing other than Maat. This conclusion seems to be corroborated by Pyr. 347b:102"NN judges the case as a god, after he made the hearing of the case as a Br official." In view of this statement we should prefer to translate m:ctj as a singular designating the king. If we accept the interpretation of section 317a-b as an allusion to a kind of totalitarian court procedure, we might ask ourselves whether this refers to kingship on earth or to that in the beyond, to the king's role as a judge in the necropolis, for example. The ?dmn.f-form with preceding iw in this context points to the past, i.e., to his kingship on earth; on the day of the king's transfiguration (Pyr. 318c) the judging he does in the beyond could hardly be referred to by means of this grammatical form. The fact that the aforementioned similar allusion in Pyr. 347b evidently points to the beyond would not affect this conclusion.10' Whatever the exact mean100

Maat

des Echnaton,

II,

n. 207;

I thought

of

Maaty as a designation for the highest god as the one who directed the trial. As for the writing cf. hntj with

eg., in Pyr. 481d (W); 800d. 101Supplementary note: Neither double Maat nor Maaty are known to me elsewhere in the Old Kingdom inscriptions. The orthography of this m3ctjis the same in W, Si-ese, and Sen-wosret. 102This phrase appears as one of the versions of Utt. 265, paragraph H; see above, Part 1. Cf. further the reference to Pyr. 1189e-f in Sec. III n. 189. 103The further question might be asked if possibly fw wdn, etc., refers to the earlier status of the deceased king as Osiris before his transfiguration in heaven; cf. the reference to the contrast between these two conditions of the deceased, which follow each other, below in Part 4, digression, and Part 6, conclusion. The meaning would be that the dead king already, i.e., before his transfiguration, has been acting as judge in the necropolis, which activity, of


36


ing of tfn and tfnt might be, these designations apparently refer to human society therefore and not to a myth. i (317c) phrn.f nawt Gb Isj.f bw n mrtn.f; Sethe understands this phrase as depending upon the preceding iw wdn m3ctj: "Die beiden Wahrheiten haben befohlen, dass ihm die Throne des Geb zufallen sollten (=phr n.f); und dass er sich erheben diirfte zu dem was er wollte." According to my understanding of the preceding, this phrase must not be understood as the order resulting from the trial. The new interpretation also carries with it the advantage that apparently it dismisses once and for all the meaning of phr n as "jmdm. zuteil werden lassen,"104which in any case seems hardly satisfactory. Though I was going to propose the translation, "he passed through the seats of Geb" (with the alternative "the seats of Geb serve him"), I was completely in the dark about the exact meaning. My question about this particular point was very kindly answered by Schott: "'Throne des Geb' wAre dann eine Bezeichnung der 'Residenzen' des Landes und stAnde etwa ftir 'die Gaue.'

"105

j (318a) dmd cwt.f imt taw; Sethe, "vereinige seine Glieder, die im Verborgenen sein sollen"; the imperative would refer to Geb who is invoked in Pyr. 316a. k (318b) rdj.f phw mdww m 'Iwnw is translated in accordance with Schott;106 Sethe's course, would not have to cease with his ascension to heaven. Presumably, however, this opinion cannot be accepted. Apparently the idea of Osiris as a judge did not exist in this early period; and the deceased king's activity as a judge in the necropolis is certainly nothing else than that in heaven, which is established only by his transfiguration. See Sec. III on this latter question. lo4 WB, I, 547, Belegst. 5 quotes two occurrences of this meaning in addition to the present text Pyr. 317c. One of them, Pyr. 408, however, has been differently understood by Sethe later in his commentary; as for the other one, Siut I 289, it would not be difficult to find a translation which better fits the usual meaning of pbr. 105Supplementary note: The chronological order of the facts mentioned in 316d-318c which is proposed above is corroborated by Coffin Texts, I, 37a ff.: "Look (ye gods) at him when he has come forth (pr) in peace while he is triumphant ( = rw.f m3c) over his enemies after he seized the wrrt crown and sailed north (through?) the seats of Geb ( =bntn.f newt Gb) and took away Wd.f kj."

translation in the present, "er liAsstdas Ende der Worte (d.h. seinen letzten Willen) in Heliopolis," would not fit my translation of the following old perfective clause in the perfect (see below, note 1). The complete section Pyr. 318 evidently refers to the time after the king's death. 1 (318c) AkNN pr; Sethe, "wenn er herausgeht." m (319b) prj NN irj (?) mact; I follow Sethe's interpretation of q= as the adjective irj because to my understanding it fits the context very well. On the other hand, I fail to understand the reasoning which leads him to reject the possible interpretation of ir as a preposition; "he comes forth to Maat" would correspond to "(m prt.f ir pt =) when he comes forth (i.e., goes up) to heaven" in Pyr. 464c; cf. Pyr. 1378b, etc. n (319b) int.f yjiw.8 r.f; the reading iw.' of q in this phrase and in Pyr. 323c (see below in this note) is proposed by De Buck and accepted by Sethe; Sethe translates "er bringt sie, indem sie bei ihm (d.h. in seinem Besitze) ist." We are compelled to wonder what the exact meaning of iw.8 r.f can be; it is certainly more significant than Polonius' "have while she is mine." On the other hand, the translation by means of two independent sentences (e.g., "he fetches her, she stays with him") would wrongly disregard the idea of a parenthetical clause which according to Gardiner's analysis'07 is involved in iw.B r.f. In my translation I have followed Henry G. Fischer's suggestion that perhaps this construction provides that meaning which in hr ("bring to") alone could not have: "he brings her with him."'18 Formerlyo19I had read and trans106 Bemerkungen zum dgyptischen Pyramidenkult, p. 195. 107 Gardiner, Grammar, ? 117, obs. 108The addition of "with him," "mit sich," "iw.g 6r.f," to "bringing," "bringen," "nt," anyway seems is the difference between these strange to me-what expressions and the simple verbs? Supplementary note: "He takes (something) with him" perhaps is expressed by in.f hnc.fin Urk. I, 137, 2. 109 Before I knew Sethe's reading and commentary of this spell, which had not been accessible to me for some time. I am very glad to have this good opportunity to correct an earlier wrong statement of mine. In Maat des Echnaton, IV, n. 1, I have quoted this phrase Pyr. 319b as possible evidence of an otherwise


THE ORIGINAL MEANING OF Mc

lated intj.fj j i•8 r.f "as he who is going to bring her with him." This conception,however, is not satisfactory,first, becauseint 6r apparently means "to bring something to someone"and neither "to fetch somethingfor one's self" nor "to take somethingwith one's self'; 110 second, the position of iA behind intj.fj Sj (in Pyr. 323c intj.fj m3ctis) to my understandingwould point to the conclusion that int mectis a fixedconceptionwhichis consideredas a grammaticalunit; for this, however, there does not exist any evidence.111 For the meaning of int m3ct, "to bring Maat," a short discussion seems to be necessary. This phrase is known to me in only four occurrences.112In the present context, Pyr. 319, it apparently does not refer to the quality of the king as a judge but is contrasted to fighting and insurrection."3 Maat here seems to have the more comprehensive meaning of "order," "peace." I am inclined to think of the creator god who "put Maat in place of isft" (Pyr. 265 c; cf. 1775 b); rightly, to my present understanding, Frankfort'14 here translates isft as "Chaos." The same unknown myth in which Geb was the one who was to bring Maat with him (I wrongly translated "sich holte," "fetched," instead of "brachte mit sich," "brought with him"). This statement was based, I am very sorry to say, upon careless interpretation. Certainly this spell does not offer any evidence for the idea that the deceased king was regarded as Geb. Therefore this phrase does not refer to Geb. 110 WB, III, 315, s.v. hr C III. note: Kees in Handbuch der 11 Supplementary Orientalistik, I, 2, p. 60, translates "als einer der sie mit sich bringt" (with wrong quotation Pyr. 527 instead of 319, 323). Frankly, I still wonder whichl interpretation is right. 112Supplementary note: I may quote two other occurrences of in m3ct without discussion, namely, Horus brings Maat to Osiris (Naville, Todtenbuch, 173.5, as quoted by Bleeker, Beteekenis, p. 79) and Thoth brings Maat to Re (N. K.: Christophe in BIFAO, XLIX, 150). 113 The meaning of bnnw is not restricted to "insurrection"; WB, III, 383, translates "Stdrung, Unordnung, Aufruhr, innerer Krieg." Sethe's "Streit" seems to be somewhat indefinite; it wolld be assisted, however, by Pyr. 1144c-d, where, in the very same situation, the gods and spirits "break their quarrels ( = mdww)" and "smash their weapons ( =Ch3w)." 114Ancient Egyptian Religion, p. 54.

HRW

37

meaning of Maat is found in the Abydos Stela of Ramesses IV, line 13:"1 "Since I rose as a king on the throne of Horus I have brought Maat to Egypt there having been none (before)," referring to the well-known idea that the new king newly creates Maat as did the first of the gods. On the other hand, the phrase in question, Pyr. 319 b, is repeated in the second section of the same Utterance 260, Pyr. 323 "(a) Walking in darkness is that which NN abhors; (b) he does not see those who are (living) upside down; (c) NN comes forth today, he brings Maat with him; (d) NN is not delivered to your flame, ye gods." In, Sethe's opinion this points to the deceased as being "ein bedraingtes Wesen, das seine Schuldlosigkeit beteuern muss" and thus characterizes the difference between the first and the second section of Utterance 260. I question whether we can assume so different a meaning for the same phrase in Pyr. 319 b and 323 c. Perhaps Sethe's understanding of Pyr. 323 c was influenced by the Book of the Dead, chapter 125, introduction (Pap. Nu, line 7), where the helpless deceased appeals to the divine judge: "Behold, I have come to you, I have brought Maat for (= n) you, I have driven away the wrong (= isft) for you." To my understanding, however, this quotation is one of those examples which show that the original concept of Maat centered in cosmology and kingship was later transferred to that of individual Maat;116 in the Pyramid Texts the same expression would refer to the king, who is right and establishes Maat. CONCLUSION

Only through so complete a discussion of the first section of Utterance 260 have Mariette, Abydos, II, 54-55, quoted in WB, II. ,11 19, Belegst. 5. 116 am, of course, not prepared to discuss this matter here.


38

JOURNALOF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

we been enabled to understand the meaning of m3c rw.f in Pyr. 316 b with some certainty. Geb, the king of earliest times, is summoned (Pyr. 316 a). The deceased king is accounted one of the four gods; he is acclaimed by them and, in consequence of his deeds, called one who is right (Pyr. 316 b-d), just as he is acclaimed and called right in Utt. 265 and varr. He has proved his rightness on earth as a just judge and as the occupant of the seats of Geb (Pyr. 317). He has come forth (gone up to heaven?) and has been transfigured so that he assumes the right appearance of a living spirit; he ends the troubles and brings peace to. the world (Pyr. 318-319). MM3crw in this text apparently does not refer to any justification in trial. It does refer to the acclamation of the deceased king and his rightness as do Utt. 265 and its variants, though in this spell the legality of his kingship on earth and in heaven117seems to be stressed rather than his reception among the gods. On the other hand, nothing suggests that the voice or any statement of the king himself is to be expected at this occasion."'8 Furthermore, grammatical analysis (see above note e) has led us to the conclusion that the interpretation of m3c jrw.f as "he is called right" is the best if not the only possible in this utterance; this would hold good likewise for Utt. 265 and its variants.

fers to the fact that the deceased king was born in the Nunu ocean before the creation of the world (Pyr. 1040). There follows another version of the earliest origin of the deceased; this is translated and discussed below (Pyr. 1041-1043). The concluding sentences state that the king descends into the water and the earth but that he is raised out of them and takes his seat of a god (Pyr. 1044-1045; this spell is dealt with below in the digression). The section Pyr. 1041-1043 is as follows. TRANSLATION

(1041 a) "The(?) onea is NN, who belongs to that great corporation which was born in primeval age in Heliopolis, (b) (the one of) those that are not seized in behalf of the king (c) nor taken away in behalf of the Ar officials, (d) that are not punished,b and that are not called criminals.c (1042 a) This (kind of being) is NN. He is not punished, (b) he is not seized in behalf of the king, (c) he is not taken away in behalf of the Sr officials, (d) and the enemies of NN are not called right (m'c 6rw; var. N, "and his enemy is not called right [in triumph]d over him); (1043 a) NN is not made poor,e his fingernails are not drawn up(?), (b) no bone is broken in NN." NOTES

a (1041a) NN pw wc n(j) ht tw cit; Sethe, "einer von jener grossen Kdrperschaft";in his commentary, however, he stresses the point that wcn (insteadof wcm) probablyhas PART 3. Pyr. 1042 d in Utterance 486 some specialmeaning.If we acceptthe opinion (P N) that a corporationof men is referredto and This utterance addresses the water not a corporationof gods (see digressionand which, apparently, was used in the course conclusion below), we might translate "the of the funeral rites (Pyr. 1039), and re- one" stressing the prominenceof the king amongthe other members. 117 Sethe in his commentary of Pyr. 316a rightly b (1041d) itmjw njk; Sethe, "die nicht points to the fact that the heaven is not mentioned hingerichtet werden." The more indefinite in this utterance. Perhaps "he raises himself" and "he meaning "bestraft werden" is adopted in comes forth (=goes up)," however, refer to the ascension to heaven. WB, II, 205, Belegst. 13. The idea of "killing" 118 This is discussed above in Part 1, conclusion. might be involved,but there does not seem to


THE ORIGINAL MEANING OF M3c HRW

be any evidence for assuming "executing," "hinrichten." c (1041d) itmjw hbn 6rw.?n. Sethe in his commentaryto Pyr. 462b (s.v. bbnt,"crime") refers to D6vaud's reading of ?bn and his translation, "ceux qui ne sont pas damn6s," in contrastto m3chrw;consequently,he translates "die nicht schuldig gesprochenwerden" or "die nicht unterliegen im Rechtsstreit" alternatively.Neither D6vaud nor Sethe has proposedany grammaticalexplanationof hbn brw.f. The translation "his voice (or statement) is criminal" would not seem to be plausible."9On the otherhand,the translation, "the salute given to him is 'crime,'" "he is called criminal," does not present any difficulty either of explanationor of understanding. d (1042d) mc' hrw hftj.f ir.f. The meaning of the prepositionr, "(in triumph) over," is treatedabove in Section I in the discussionof irw with n. 32. mm3c e (1043a) 8w3NN. The translationin the passive rather than intransitive (Sethe and WB, "verarmen")is arbitrary;the sentence Pyr. 1043 is thereby understoodto indicate some form of injury.

39

place where the god is." This descent into the water means purification and at the same time seems to refer to the death of him who is born in the Nunu and vanishes in it like the rising and setting stars. The statement of Pyr. 1040 and its continuation in Pyr. 1044 are paralleled by the statement in Pyr. 1041-1043, which is translated and discussed above, and its continuation in Pyr. 1045, which employs the same wording as Pyr. 1044 with only two alterations: "When NN descends into the earth" (instead of "into the water") and "Geb" (instead of "Osiris"). We would then have in Pyr. 1040-1045 an arrangement which follows the scheme "a-b-a-b," with "a" as the conception of the king being born in the primeval age in the Nunu ocean and thereafter submerged into, and raised out of, the water unto Re, and with "b" as the conception of the king being born in primeval age as the most prominent member of the oldest corporation in Heliopolis and thereafter buried and raised out of the earth unto Re. In this light Pyr. 1045 DIGRESSION CONCERNING THE "CORPORATION" would mean that the deceased king has IN PYR.1041a IN UTT.486 MENTIONED left his seat in the corporation and after This digression may be justified in that burial and transfiguration shares the seat it sheds light on the understanding of of, or is united with, Re. mWchrw. If we presume that Utt. 486 is This seems to make good sense. The the product of conscious composition, its as the god, is the most prominent king, arrangement seems to be fairly clear. member of the corporation of Heliopolis The rites concern purification with water throughout eternity from the mythical (Pyr. 1039). This leads to a reference to in a world which knows neither period on, the conception that the deceased king nor nor future. Now his tempast present was born in the Nunu ocean in the prihas left the corporation porary body meval age (Pyr. 1040). This theme is which is an earthly institution, and is taken up once more in the first sentence of the final section: "(Pyr. 1044 a) When reunited with Re as the most promiennt NN descends into the water (b) Osiris member of the corporation which is the raises him, the two enneads carry him, (c) timeless aspect of the earthly one. The Re stretches his arm towards NN (with conception that the deceased king leaves the purpose of leading him) unto the the corporation seems to be corroborated by Pyr. 1462 c in Utt. 570, "the runner 119WB, III, 251, bbj, VI a reads bbj n brw.f, "wegen runs out from among you," which is disseiner Stimme geschm vlert werden"; this explanation was given before Sethe's commentary was written. cussed in Part 4.


40


It might be considered whether the early status of the deceased in the corporation of Heliopolis and his subsequent departure from it by means of the burial and his ultimate union with the sun-god is likewise alluded to in Pyr. 309 d = 313 f. The context, Utt. 258, 259,120 deals with the fact that the deceased king is saved, as Osiris, from the destruction of his body and promptly ascends to heaven, where he joins (and is united with) Re. The linking passage between the description of his status as Osiris and as Re (with the phrases which join its beginning and its end) runs as follows: "(309 a) His sister the mistress of Buto has bewept him. (b) NN is going to heaven, NN is going to heaven, with the wind, with the wind; (c) he is not hindered, there is none that would hinder him. (d) (n hmb(w).f m d3d3t ntr =) he is not (any longer?) seated in the council of the god (e) (but)

the brj-wc.f (= he that is upon his 'one'?)121 is NN, the eldest of the gods.

(310 a) His p3d cake is above with Re, his c3btfood is in the Nunu." The second version Utt. 259 includes the only remarkable change of two lines (Pyr. 313 ef), "the hrj-rd.f (= he that is upon his foot)122 is NN, the eldest of the gods, and NN is not (any longer?) seated in the council of the god." The phrase in question (Pyr. 309 d = 313 f) has been translated by Sethe, though hesitantly and with a question mark in his notes: "Nicht wird eine Sitzung sein um seinetwillen im Gericht des Gottes"; he prefers this translation to the normal one, "er sitzt nicht im Gericht des Gottes," because he takes the meaning as "klar, der Tote braucht nicht das Totengericht zu passieren" and emphasizes that the defendant would not Pyr. 308-311 and 312-315. 121 Sethe suggests some such meaning as "der eine Sonderstellung einnimmt." 122 Sethe suggests "der auf eignen Ftissen steht" or the like. 12o

be seated in a trial. In comparing Sethe's conception, "nicht wird eine Sitzung abgehalten um seinetwillen im Gericht des Gottes," and mine, "he is not (any longer?) seated (as a member) in the council of the god," we may say, first of all, that in either case the introduction of "the council (i.e., court) of the god" in the_d~_~t context seems to be surprising. If we accept Sethe's conception, it would be explained, however, as contrasting the newly acquired position of the deceased to that of Osiris, with whom he was identified only in his former status.123 To my mind, however, the transition from the earthly status into the heavenly one would involve leaving the corporation in Heliopolis, as I understand Utt. 486. This conception may receive some slight support from the circumstance that the two decisive lines in Utt. 258 and 259 possibly contrast the numerousness of the members of the council with the sole "he who is upon his 'one'(?)124 and, still more questionably, "being seated" with "him that stands on his foot."125 The comparison of the "corporation" mentioned in Pyr. 1041 a and Pyr. 1462 d, on the one hand, and "the council of the god" in Pyr. 309d (= 313 f), on the other, has shown some similarities. To begin with, there is a transition from earthly to heavenly conditions in both Pyr. 309 (= 313) and 1041; further, there seems to be the mutual idea that the deceased is no longer(?) seated in the council of the god (Pyr. 309 = 313), that his membership in the corporation is terminated with his burial (Pyr. 1041), and that he runs out of the corporation (Pyr. 1462). The question whether or not we may 123 Though Sethe does not speak of the trial to which Osiris was subdued but of the "Totengericht." 124Pyr. 309d,e; cf., however, Pyr. 1041a (see above, note a) where the "one" belongs to the corporation before he leaves it. 125Pyr. 313e.f.


THE ORIGINAL

MEANING OF M'c

legitimately identify the conceptions of these three passages, however, is not answered with certainty here.126The point of this long digression is to make the following warning. We need not assume that the introduction of the corporation of Heliopolis in Pyr. 1041 a and 1462 d refers to the divine trial, nor can Pyr. 309 d any longer be taken as proof that the idea of judgment of the dead is alluded to in the Pyramid texts. CONCLUSION

"The great corporation born in primeval age in Heliopolis" is an actual institution of ancient origin, though it is considered as identical with the corporation of Heliopolis which exists in the world of the myths and the gods. The members of this earthly (and mythical) corporation are exempted from the governmental duties and restrictions to which everybody else is bound. In this understanding &bnthrwand m3chrw point to a procedure in lawsuits in the social order of the Old Kingdom; concerning a member of this corporation the sentence of the judge would always be "he is right, his enemy is criminal." The context, however, might equally well be understood to mean that the members of the corporation were not subjected to trial at all.'27 The phrases in question would then mean: whatever happens, they are acknowledged by everybody as right, their enemies as criminals. In this case 6rw might mean either the "salute" or "reputation" given a man; if, however, the phrases refer to a trial the meaning "salute" has to be assumed. Though the expression macbrw in this utterance refers to the deceased king and to a corporation which had its 126Pyr. 1462d valuably supports the identification of the "council of the god" and the "corporation"; see below, Part 4, conclusion. 127 Below in Part 4, conclusion, it is shown that this corporation was probably itself the court.

IJRW

41

origin in myth, we are therefore permitted or rather compelled to assume that it is an expression of civilian life in the governmental and social order of earliest Egypt. The parallel of m3c rw with 6bn hrw almost certainly excludes the meaning of brw either as "voice" or as "statement" (see above, note c). The meaning "acclamation" seems more probable than "reputation." 4. Pyr. 1462 d in Utterance 570 (P' P" M) The long Utt. 570 is introduced by reference to the birth of the new god (Pyr. 1443 b) and concluded by that to his appearance in the eastern heaven (Pyr. 1465 d). To my understanding its main sections include an appeal by the king to various gods (Pyr. 1444-1448), his being acknowledged by gods and men, with an allusion to Heliopolis (Pyr. 1449-1452), and his immortality (Pyr. 1453-1458). The succeeding section Pyr. 1459-1464 is introduced by the statement that the king takes the white and the red crown and concluded by the assertion that he is occupant of the seat (4tj) of Re. Its middle and main part is translated here and discussed in respect to mPctrw. PART

TRANSLATION

"(1460 b) The eye of Horus is NN, it has not chewed, it spits out,a (c) he has not chewed, he spits out. (1461 a) Listen to it (namely) the word, 0 Re, which NN says to you; (b) your body (= _dt)is in NN, 0 Re, (you) cause your body to live on NN, 0 Re. (1462 a) The baboons are killed by the knmt beast, (b) the knmt beast is killed by the baboons. (c) 0 that S'tt(j), 0 this man (tQj),b the runner runs out from among you two0 (d) that belongd to that first corporation of idrwte (and?) of the acclamation being 'right,'f (1463 a) (the corporation) which was born before there was wrath, (b) which


42


was born before there was outcry (= trw), (c) which was born before there was affront, (d) which was born before there was disturbance, (e) which was born before the eye of Horus was hurt, before the testicles of Seth were damaged." NOTES

a (1460b)The translationfollows P'; both the varr.are: "Theeye of Horusis NN, which chews and spits out; he chews and spits out." Translating in the passive ("it is chewed, etc.") wouldseem to make better sense, but I do not see any way out grammatically. b (1462c) The ideogramsof ?htt(j)in P M are listed s.v. hitj,"eunuch(?),"in WB, IV, 264;the spelling[?]httas given in P" erroneously is omitted, however.As for the meaningof of the Shtt(j),we shouldconsiderthe i~deogram Upper Egyptian itrt first of all, whichis common to all three versions; 3j, "man," accordingly might have some specialmeaning.Cf. below, Section III, n. 168. c (1462c) j*jn n im.tnj n(j)w ht tw tpt nt idrwt nt m3c rw. The first three words might

be understooddifferently:"the runnerruns in amongyou," "the runnerruns in the midst of you"; presumablynot "he that is the (quickest) runneramongyou runs." d (1462d) The context is quoted in note c. Var. M. reads n(j) ht tw tpt NN, "NN is one

who belongs to that first corporation";this version evidently indicates that the runner mentionedbeforeis NN. e (1462d) idrwt is unintelligiblein every respect.Probablyit is a noun (so WB, I, 155). f (Pyr. 1462d) The context is quoted in note c. m3c hrw depends as a genitive (nt) either upon idrwtor, parallelto idrwt,upon ht. Since m3c hrw occurs in the Pyramid Texts

neither as the noun and adjective "justified" nor as the noun"justification,"it is preferable to understandit as Adm.f-form in the present context. This grammaticalconclusion valuably supportsthe idea that hrwis a pronouncement made by this corporationand not by the defendantin a trial which is held by the corporation.

CONCLUSION

"That first corporation of idrwt (and?) of the acclamation being right" apparently is the same as "that corporation born in primeval age in Heliopolis" mentioned in Pyr. 1041 a128 and discussed above in Part 3, digression. Such an identification is indicated, first, by the mention of Heliopolis and of Re with the baboons; second, by the birth of the corporation in earliest times and the designation of it as "first"; finally, by the fact that, to my understanding, the deceased king leaves the corporation in both cases.'29Though it is not possible to present a clear translation of 1462 d, this phrase evidently shows that the corporation in question is concerned with m3c trw. This hardly refers to the statement of Pyr. 1041 d and 1042 d that "they are not called criminals and their enemies are not called right." Grammatical analysis, on the other hand, has shown that 6rw here is their voice or the acclamation given by them (see above note f). When all is said and done, we are left with the conclusion that it was this corporation which was empowered to give an acclamation that was m3c.Therefore it was the court of trial. This significant feature does not emerge in Pyr. 1041-43. It affords valuable support for the proposed identification of this corporation with "the council (or court) of the god" in Pyr. 309d = 313 f which is discussed above in Part 3, digression. The verb m3c rw, "the acclaim is right," in Pyr. 1462 d means the sentence which confirms the rightness of someone in trial; it is proffered by the oldest cor128

Utt.

486.

Further relationship might be found also as follows. Sethe, in introducing his commentary of Utt. refers to Utt. 571 as being closely related to Utt. 486, 468; and Utt. 571 is in tarn closely related to the present Utt. 570, though the relation does not apply to this section Pyr. 1459-1464 in particular. 129


THE ORIGINAL MEANING OF M3c

poration of Heliopolis, which is not a mere mythical conception. PART 5. Pyr. 2089 a in Utterance 689 (N)

The initial section of Utt. 689, Pyr. 2087-2089, is clearly understandable in itself as far as m3c rw is concerned; we do not have to bother about the succeeding. TRANSLATION

iRW

43

originatesfrom the old perfectiveformthough certainly it was consideredas adjective.The translation "right by acclaim" rather than "right in respect to acclaim" probably will not be objectedto. CONCLUSION

In this spell m3c rw means the justification of Horus in the divine trial. If we attempt to picture the situation, it is clear that Isis gives her breast to Horus and by this means effects his justification; and this justification was certainly not the voice or any statement of the child, but it was an acclamation either given in the presence of Geb133or perhaps as the sentence pronounced by Geb.

"(2087 a) Geb has raised the eye of Horus, which is k02, (b) which is on the arms of his great Kas and upon his many Kas; (2088 a) hea gives your head (to you, i.e., the eye) that you may behold Horus. He (i.e., Geb)b has taken his seat .... (b) a lawsuit takes place. (2089 a) Isis comes after she has seized for herself PART 6. Pyr. 1327 c in Utterance 539 (P) Utt. 539 (Pyr. 1303-1327) includes the her breasts in behalf of her divine son,C and (thus) he is right by acclaim.d (b) NN following sections. Each of the limbs of the deceased king is in order identified with has found the eye of Horus." some god or divine being (Pyr. 1303NOTES 1315); it is emphasized that he is a god a (2088a)Ato my understandingis either who is associated with Re in every re?dm.f-formwith the suffixomitted,whichcon- spect (Pyr. 1316-1321); a threat is protinues?tsnGbin Pyr. 2087a,or part. perf. act. nounced against the gods if they will not likewisereferringto Geb. help him, and offerings are assured if they b (2088a) irn.f (there follows a short will do so (Pyr. 1322-1326). Again and understands"nachdem er lacuna); Schott'30hm? the "he ascends, NN rises again phrase mit Seth im Gerichtgesessenhat," with "mit unto heaven" occurs as a refrain throughSeth" supplementedin the lacuna and "er" out the whole of the utterance. length pointing to Horus. The conceptionof being seated in the court, however, points to the Particularly in the last section this rejudge or the assistants ratherthan to the de- peated insertion lends a feeling of urgency fendant.131 to the appeal to the gods. This culminates c (2089a) ndrn.8 n.? mndwj.?n s3.AmWc in the concluding sentence of the uttertrw. s3.?, "her divine son" accordingto the ance, which is translated here. determinative. TRANSLATION d (2089a) The wording is given above in note c. Only the interpretationof m3c as old "(1327 a) Every god that will take the perfectivefits the context well;132moreover,it arm of NN (in order to lead him) unto explainsclearlywhy hrwand not hrw.fis used. heaven, (b) go to him, to the house of I wonder whether or not the apposi ion m:c 132Only later have I seen that WB, II, 17, Belegst. hrw used so often in later periods likewise 11 understands m3c in this phrase as an adjective 130

Bemerkungen

zum Pyramidenkult,

p. 188.

1is See Pyr. 309d with Sethe's commentary and my discussion above, ad 3) Pyr. 1042d, conclusion; see further WB, III, 97, s.v. A V. rmgj

brw -"to her justified son." I should not like to agree with this interpretation, which after all would make the statement quite pointless. In support of my translation I refer to the quotations given in Erman, Grammatik, ? 332.


44


Horus which is in the kbhw heaven. The acclamation given to his Ka is right with Geb."a NOTE

a (1327c)macbrwkj.f hr Gb;hr Gbapparently means"in the presenceof Geb." In view of such a context as that of Pyr. 2089,134however, accordingto which Geb himself is perhaps the one who gives the acclamation,we must considerif the same idea could possibly be applied to this phrase. I do not think so. Grammaticallyhr Gb cannot be connected with 6rw.f (in the sense of an acclamation given by Geb) but only with mac.M~cis no passive, after which hr would express the agent, but an intransitiveverb. The interpretation of hr Gbas "says Geb" with preceding speechwould not be acceptable. CONCLUSION

Utt. 539 deals with the transfiguration of the deceased king in heaven similarly as do Utt. 265 and its variants.135Heliopolis is mentioned as in the texts dealt with in Parts 1-4. The contrast is stressed between the deceased's recent connection with Re (Pyr. 1316-1319) and the refuted identification with Osiris: the very existence of the offspring of Nut and Geb is denied (Pyr. 1321); we have met this contrast in Utt. 258 = 259.136 The phrase Pyr. 1327 c has almost (with "Geb" in place of "the god") the same wording as Pyr. 361 c;137in both cases the Ka of the deceased is called right, not only the deceased himself. The context of the phrase 1327 c does not mention any trial. In general it pictures the same situation as the texts discussed in Parts 1 and 2. III.

CONCLUSION REGARDING m3c rrw IN THE PYRAMID TEXTS

M'e hrw occurs in the Pyramid Texts only with m3c as a verb: "his hrw is 133See 134See 13eSee 138See

below, Part 6, conclusion. 135See Part 1. above, Part 5. Part 3, digression. Part 1, notes c and f.

right,"138 "the hrw is right,"'39 "he is right by rw."'140 The question whether the suffix of hrw in m3c Trw.for the genitive (which is not used with the genitival adjective) represents the genitivus subjectivus in the sense of '"his voice," "his statement," or the genitivus objectivus in the sense of "the acclamation given to him," "his reputation," has been answered as follows. The context more or less certainly points to genitivus objectivus in four quotations141out of six. Grammatical analysis points to the same conclusion in two quotations.142 In two cases143 Trw is used without suffix or genitive; this omission is well understood grammatically. The meaning is the judgment given in a trial, the acclamation given by the court or the judge. On the other hand, none of the quotations indicates that the suffix in hrw.f represents a genitivus subjectivus. The resulting question whether hrw.f has to be understood as "the acclamation given to him" or "his reputation" has been answered as follows. Each quotation is better understood by translating "acclamation"; moreover, the meaning "reputation" is excluded when 4rw without suffix means acclamation given in a trial.144

Therefore I think we have to accept the meaning of m3c hrw.f as "the acclamation given to him is 'right,' " "he is called right," "he is acknowledged as right by means of acclamation"; certainly, however, the translation used hitherto "he is justified" should be retained, though in certain cases "he is acknowledged as 138

Parts

139

Part 4.

1, 2, 3, and 6.

140 Part 5. 141Part 1, Utt.

265 and varr.

=Part

2, Pyr. 316d

Part 6, Pyr. 1327c, and Part 5, Pyr. 2089a. 142Part 2, Pyr. 316d, and Part 3, Pyr. 1042d. 43Part 4, Pyr. 1462d, and Part 5, Pyr. 2089a. 144Pyr. 1462d and Pyr. 2089a.


=

THE ORIGINAL MEANING OF M3c

right(eous)" might be preferable. On the other hand, it must be conceded that my interpretation of the sections of the Pyramid Texts which have been discussed here certainly does not represent a final expla-nation. Furthermore, I have stressed that the evidence of the meaning of &rwin mrcbrw as "acclamation" even in my understanding is only almost certain, though evidently there is a very high degree of certainty. In spite of these reservations, I do think that if someone insists that the earlier view of "voice" or "statement" is preferable, this would call for a more decisive proof than that which is delivered here. There remain some questions which were raised in earlier discussions ;145 not all of them shall be fully discussed here. The first would be whether or not &rwwith genitivus objectivus is found elsewhere; I will restrict myself to referring to Griffith, who was inclined to assume a special meaning for hrw in mac6rw.f. Another question would be in what manner the words m•c trw, "justified" and "justification," have to be explained. "Justification" might be assumed in one quotation146where m3•c rw (without suffix) is well understood as dm.f-form, however. As for "justified," one might wish to find it in one quotation147where, however, the interpretation of m3e hrw (without suffix) as an old perfective. is demanded by the context. Occurrences of m3c rw without genitive or suffix such as these, which are the first ones known to us, perhaps have prompted the development of this expression as a noun and an adjective. This proposal need not be accepted, however; &rwqualifying the preceding old perfective mPc does occur in Pyr. 2089 a and 'I4 See the references to Griffith, WB, Gardiner, and Breasted in the first and second paragraphs of Sec. I. of this study. 146 Part

4, Pyr.

1462d.

147 Part

5, Pyr.

2089a.

45

HIRW

might equally well be expected with the infinitive and the adjective. The third question is a double one and important. Are we right in assuming that the expression m3C rw originated as a legal term and was, as far as the evidence indicates, first applied to Osiris? We have stated it as a legal term in two quotations,148 While no reference to the trial concerning Osiris has been found. A comprehensive examination of these questions, however, is required. The association of meChLrwwith a trial has been found in three out of six quotations in the Pyramid Texts. They have been understood as follows. Quotation 4149 probably refers to the fact that the corporation of Heliopolis which was founded in mythical ages has the quality of a court which is empowered to give an acclamation to him who has proved himself right. In quotation 3150it is said that the enemies of the members of this corporation are never acclaimed as right while the members themselves are never called criminals. Though this corporation or court of Heliopolis must be regarded as identical with that in which the contests of the gods were decided in the mythical ages, it is evident that these two quotations do not refer to the quarrels of the gods but to the actual institution. On the other hand, however, Quotation 5151does refer to divine trial; the divine court, with Geb as its president, acknowledges Horus by acclamation as the offspring of the gods because Isis has disclosed herself as his mother. This tale of the acknowledgment of a divine child might have originated independently, but it has come down to us only in association with the myth of Osiris and the contest of Horus and Seth. The passage in question 148

In Sec. II, Part 3, Pyr. 1042d, and Part 4, Pyr.

1462d. 149 Pyr.

1462d.

15o Pyr.

1042d.


151Pyr.

2089a.

46

JOURNAL

OF NEAR

EASTERN

is, to my knowledge, the earliest evidence for justification by m3c rw in this myth, though Osiris is not mentioned; and it is the sole evidence thereof which is found in the Pyramid Texts. The remaining three Quotations 1, 2, and 6 refer to the deceased king, who is called right (m'c rw.f) when he is transfigured as a god united with Re; in some versions additionally his Ka is called right.152These spells belong to the large group of utterances which concern the transition of the deceased into heaven. I need not go into the fact that they are based on ideas of a celestial world beyond, which are opposed to the complementary conception that the deceased is Osiris. Though they are intermixed with Osirian ideas, these latter are, in general, well distinguished from the original solar version.153This intrusion of later ideas has occurred also in our three quotations. In examining it, I may add some occasional564 observations which, I hope, may contribute to a rather certain answer to the question whether or not m3chrw in these texts refers to Osiris. As for Part 1, to begin with, one observation points to a negative answer. The four most complete versions'55 among those which are collected here are transmitted in the pyramids of Wenis, Teti, and Pepi I; these are the earliest and show comparatively less Osirian influence than the later ones. Among these four utterances only one alludes to Osiris and that by dismissing him expressly.'56Apparently even the latest versions of the text which are collected in Part 1 are influenced by Osirian ideas to no greater 152 See

Part 1, note to paragraph C; Part 6.

153For these questions see Breasted, Development Religion and Thought in Ancient Egypt, pp. 153 ff.

of

154A thorough study of this group of texts is far beyond the limits of the present paper. 155Utt. 263-266 (Pyr. 337-363). 156Pyr. 350

(T).

STUDIES

degree. Aside from this group there are some ascension texts, however, which are much altered by Osirian influence, but, to my knowledge, even in these cases no allusion to any lawsuit concerning Osiris or the king is apparent, as will be shown below. Among the normal ascension texts of solar character, there is, for instance, a shortened version157which has a rather human and not celestial tenor-it does not allude to any lawsuit; and in the long narration of Utt. 273158even the question of the spirits, "How has it come to pass for you that you have reached this place?" is not answered by any reference to a trial. The phrase mc' hrw.f occurs in Part 1159 in Paragraphs C, F, and H: in three versions of C, which concludes the ferry passage; in two versions of F, which concludes the appeal to the Four and the announcement to Re and Nhb-k3w; and in one version of H, which concludes the final act of being seated among the stars. In other texts, the ferryman is assured that "NN is right in heaven and on earth and on this island of the earth";160 or "Those four gods that are upon the Knst lake prepare The-being-right-of-NN for(?) his father Geb, prepare The-being-rightof-NN for (?) Re, and there are neither limits nor boundaries of him" ;161or "The followers of Horus purify NN, they wipe him dry (? sw), they recite the spell of 'being right' in behalf of NN, they recite the spell of 'ascending' in behalf of NN."162 157Pyr. 1092-1093. 158Pyr. 926-938; it includes two of the versions discussed in Part 1. 159See the cross-index on p. 32. 160Pyr. 1188c-d. The preposition hr is translated here variously "in" and "on." Supplementary note: I should now translate "(as) the one who is right with heaven and with earth is NN, (so) the one who is right with this island of the earth is NN." 161 IrAn m'CwNN n it.f Gb, etc., Pyr. 1142; as for m~'w see the following note. 162 Ir.An rH n mcw (and prw) n NN, Pyr. 921. The word mg'w,which is translated here as "being right," has been interpreted by Sethe as "being on the right


THE

ORIGINAL

MEANING

"Being right" as expressed in these three phrases refers to the rightness (Maat) of the king as does mgcbrw according to our translation as "he is called right." These occurrences as well as those of Part 1 therefore point to the conclusion that the rightness of the king has been stated'63 before he is announced to Re and even before he starts his voyage to heaven. Consequently, the announcement of the deceased which is made to Re by the messengers'64 might well include a message concerning his rightness, which was presumably stated on earth; the following passage perhaps represents this communication: " 'The son of Khnum (i.e., the purified one?) is NN; there is no wrong which NN has done'-this word has been passed before you (? dr hr.k), 0 Re; the bull of the Ennead hears it."165This virtually excludes the conception that a divine trial presided over by Re or Geb would judge the deceased either after his arrival in heaven or even before he leaves earth. In conclusion, we do not have any reason to assume that, in the texts of Part 1, the expression m3cbrw refers to a statement given after the king's death, to the sentence of a divine trial, for instance, to which the deceased king would be subjected. It now remains to be considered whether or not Osirian influence later applied the idea of the divine trial to m3c

163 The activities of the four gods on the Knst lake and of the Followers of Horus, which were quoted above in nn. 161 and 162, certainly are of some inferior character.

164 In addition to paragraph E in Part 1 may also be quoted Pyr. 1532, 1540, 1991b, and 1862. 165 Pyr. 1238; cf. further the ostrich feather in the hands of the messengers in Pyr. 1861b, as discussed in Sec. II, n. 94.

M'~CIRW

47

hrw; I said earlier that, to my knowledge, this is not apparent in the texts, but possibly there might be some allusion. The goal of the king's ascension to heaven'"6is indicated as the transformation into one of the immortal stars. In two versions of Part 1 are added, however, supplementary indications: "He judges the case as a god after he has heard the case as a 'r official"'67and: "You sit between them (scil. Sothis and the morning star) on the great seat which is beside the two Enneads."'68 These ideas are expressed in similar terms in another spell concerning the ascension: "There come to him the gods bowing down; the two great gods are wakeful on their sides; they find him among the two Enneads while he judges a case; 'this 'r official, every fr official,' so they call him."'69The idea of the deceased king's final activity as the supreme judge is expressly stated also in Part 2: "He terminates the case in Heliopolis"l'7 and in another short description of his crossing to the i3rw field accompanied by the four spirits: "He finds the two Enneads; they stretch out their arms to him; he is seated between them in order to judge a case.""'' This human mode of the king's entering the world of the stars is further expressed in a number of spells concerning the ascension, which are some166Part 167

way (unto)"; likewise in Pyr. 1142, as quoted in the preceding note. This may be the special meaning in this context; anyhow I prefer to consider the verb m~', including its nominal form m~'w, as one word with the dual meaning "being right" and "being on the right way" and do not wish to single out either one of these meanings here.

OF

1, paragraphs Pyr. 347b.

G, H.

168Pyr. 1707 b-c. Supplementary note: As for the two Enneads between whom the judge is seated (see also nn. 169, 171, 172, e.g.) and the two Itrt houses (see nn. 174, 175, e.g.), I should like to refer to ghtt(j) and tj (Pyr. 1462 c; see Sec. II, Part 4, b) according to the conclusions which are made in Sec. II, Parts 4 and 5; these latter designations perhaps allude to the earthly counterpart of the two Enneads and the earthly itrtj. 169

Pyr.

1126-1127.

170Pyr. 318b. The examination of Pyr. 317 has not permitted us to assume that the judgment which is dealt with in this section refers likewise to the judgment after death, though the preceding salutation and the succeeding mention of the seats of Geb would easily lead us to that conclusion. 171Pyr.

1093.


48

OFNEAREASTERNSTUDIES JOURNAL

times172mixed with Osirian ideas. When the voyage to heaven is ended, the deceased is seated on the great seat173or in the two itrt houses of the horizon;'74 he stands in the two itrt houses of the horizon either, perhaps, as a god listening to the fraternizing of Re'75or as one who is going to be "seated on the throne of your father Geb in the (Upper Egyptian) itrt house."'76 According to another version the deceased when announced to Re is at (or goes to) "that remote palace of the lord of the Kas," with a variant in the latest copy (N) which perhaps means "that palace of Horus of the lords of the Kas."'77 Both of the latter quotations, "the seat of Geb" and "the palace of Horus(?)," must be discussed in regard to Parts 2 and 6. Geb has been named twice in the preceding discussion, in both cases as the deceased's father.178These random quotations seem to show that he was introduced only later-with Osirian influence 172Osirian influence is easily recognizable in the context of Pyr. 1541, 1862, 1992, 598, which are quoted below in notes 174-177. 173 Pyr. 1101d with the addition "among the gods"; Pyr. 391c "beside the great god." 174Pyr. 1541b; Pyr. 938 "in (? m bnt) the great (Upper Egyptian) Utrt house," and without addition of the horizon. As to the two Utrt houses cf. Supplementary note 168. 175Pyr. 1862b-1863a; to my understanding, the appeal to the deceased is interrupted by the communication of the messengers which is addressed to Re, and is continued as follows "'he (the deceased) stands in the two itrt houses of the horizon.' You (the deceased) shall listen to the word of Re as a god, as Horus m mht: 'I am your brother as Sopdu.' " We need not conclude, however, that this listening takes place when he stands in the itrt houses. 176Pyr. 1992a-c; "your father Geb" indicates the king as Osiris; the parallel phrase 1996b replaces "the seat of Geb" by "the seat of Khentamenty." 177 Pyr. 598 T iw i r T. ir 'h pf hr(j) n nbw k~w; P N begin with iw.f (="he is") ir Ch; P omits br(j). N perhaps determines "that remote palace" rather * than hr meaning Horus. The text is continued by "(dw3w R' im =) in which Re is served in the morning" without allusion to any activity of the deceased as a judge. 178Pyr. 1142, see n. 161; Pyr. 1992, see n. 176.

-into the description of the deceased's ascension to heaven and his being seated among the gods. The same conclusion is borne out in Quot. 2 and 6.179Quotation 2 is an announcement to Geb, made by the priests, concerning the king as Horus, son of Osiris; it refers to the eye of the transfigured king, making use of the phrase which otherwise is applied to the eye of Horus;180s and the idea of the underworld, i.e., the kingdom of Osiris, is rejected.s18 Osiris is still more sharply rejected in Quot. 6,182 and there the word "the god" is replaced by "Geb" in the expression "his Ka is called right with Geb."'83 Although in both quotations the status of the deceased in heaven is contrasted to that of Osiris,184 Geb is introduced; and the deceased's status as Horus the son of Osiris is acknowledged in Quot. 2.ls5 In spite of such acknowledgment, no attempt is made to introduce the conception of Osiris in the ascension texts by means of a slight change of the phrases concerning m3Chrw. I should be inclined to conclude that the idea of m3c hrw was more closely connected with the transfiguration of the king than with Osiris. There is, however, another parallel, that between the acknowledgment before Geb of the rightness of the youthful god (which does not have to be regarded as primarily connected with the case of Osiris) and the same acknowledgment concerning the new god who has entered the heaven.'186 179Utt. 260 (Pyr. 316-323) and Utt. 539 (Pyr. 1303-1327). is0 Pyr. 320; cf. Pyr. 301c. 181Pyr. 323, which is dealt with in Part 2, note n. 182Pyr. 1321; see Part 6, conclusion. 183 Pyr. 1327c in contrast to Pyr. 361c. The placing of Re and Geb side by side in Pyr. 1142 (see n. 161) is the result of the same development. 184This is more expressly contrasted in Utt. 258 =259; see Sec. II, Part 3, digression. 185Acknowledgment of Osiris might also be found in the listing of the members of the deceased in Quot. 6, Pyr. 1303-1315. is6 See Sec. II, Parts 5 and 6.


THE

ORIGINAL

MEANING

OF M3c

IHRW

49

This comparison might be slightly alluded the itrtj houses of the horizon.191The into by the expression "the house of Horus." troduction of the "house of Horus" in the "The house of Horus" (ht Hr) is intro- conception of the deceased king's ascenduced in Quotation 6, where the gods are sion to heaven certainly does not refer to summoned as follows: "Go to him (scil. the trial imposed on Osiris; if it represents the deceased), to the house of Horus any mythological idea which does not which is in the kbhwheaven; the acclama- genuinely belong to heaven, it would lead tion given to his Ka is'right' with Geb."'187 us to Horus rather than to Osiris. In another spell the gods are summoned When the king ascends to heaven in to take the deceased with them, very order to take his seat among the gods, he similarly to the promises and threats is "acclaimed as 'right.' " This is not done which are found in Quot. 6; the gods who in consequence of his assimilation to Osiris take him with them shall receive their but on his own account. He is "acclaimed offerings and "go forth to the house of as 'right' " at the very beginning of his Horus which is in heaven (pt)"; and they voyage, and there is no opportunity bewho will not do so shall not receive offer- tween his setting out and his arrival for a ings and "will not go forth to the house of formal pronouncement such as might be Horus which is in heaven on the day when given in a divine court. If we understand one hears the case . . ." (very unfortu- m~c hrw as a formal pronouncement,192 nately, the succeeding words are de- therefore, we must conclude that it was stroyed).'" This "house of Horus" there- made in his lifetime on earth and is only fore is the goal of the gods and, at the same reported or repeated by the celestial betime, of the deceased. Being the goal of ings or the reciting priest or the deceased the deceased king, it cannot be connected himself.193 In conclusion we may summarize the with a trial concerning him as a defendant but is the place where he presides over the result of this study as follows. First, the court and hears and gives orders;'89prob- Pyramid Texts do not evidence the conably the house of Horus is the same as ception that a blanket acquital of the "the remote palace" or "palace of Ho- deceased king was called for in a divine rus"'90and almost certainly the same as trial; it is stressed that there is none who accuses him; this statement presumably 187Pyr. 1327 b-c. means that he is not subjected to any 188Pyr. 1026-1027 in Utt. 485. 189Cf. too Pyr. 1189 e-f (M N, with interesting variants of 1189 e in P), "on the day when they call you to the hearing and the commanding of a case" in an appeal to the ferryman(?). "Hearing" and "commanding" a case similarly also in Pyr. 317a-b; see Sec. II, Part 2. 190 Pyr. 598a; see above, n. 177. It may be mentioned that in a similar context the desire of the gods is not to go forth to the house of Horus but to sail to the morning and evening meal at Heliopolis (Pyr. 978d-e). In Utt. 303, which is closely connected with the ascension texts in question, the deceased as the son of Osiris is called "the eldest son of Hathor" (Pyr. 466a). The idea seems attractive to trace the lineage back from this goddess Hathor via the house of Horus, the itrtj houses, and the two Enneads to the sycamore as the meeting place of the Ennead (Pyr. 916b; cf. 1433b, the mention of the two sycamores), and, on the other hand, the corresponding institutions of Heliopolis and Memphis,

191See above, n. 174, the reference to the Upper Egyptian itrt. 192 This interpretation seems necessary in view of its character as a legal term in Heliopolis, which is referred to in the following paragraph. 193 I think it is useful to say that, in preparing this paragraph, I first felt unable to accept this conclusion because of the phrase "(imr.f m hrw.f m frtn.f=) he wishes to be called right by means of what he has done" (Part 2, Pyr. 316d); this seemed to express the desire to be called right and thereby to contradict the above conclusion. I did not then think of the exact interpretation of this phrase, which I had prepared from the lexicographical point of view weeks before, the paraphrase in Part 2, note e: "He wishes that it be his good deeds which bring about that the acclaim given to him does (not) mean (crime but) rightness"; the wish is not for the acclaim as such but is directed to the grounds for his being acknowledged right.


50

JOURNALOF NEAR EASTERNSTUDIES

lawsuit instigated by adversaries but possesses an immunity which his subordinates do not enjoy.'94 Second, the expression m3c rw.f in the Pyramid Texts almost certainly'9s means "the acclaim given to him is 'right' "; this interpretation supports the assumption that the religious idea of individual Maat in the Old Kingdom primarily involves social values. Third, the expression m3c rw.f, according to the Pyramid Texts, is connected with the corporation of Heliopolis in a twofold respect: probably this corporation as a court is empowered to pronounce the acclaim of rightness (m3Cerw.f) and its opposite, the verdict of crime (@bnhrw.f); certainly the enemies of the members of this court are never called "right." Fourth, to our understanding'1 this court of Heliopolis belongs to the world of men as well as to the timeless world of the gods; this latter characteristic is expressed by the reference to its origin in mythical times; the king as god is its most prominent member from the very beginning, though in bodily form he leaves it as an earthly institution when he dies and is united either with Re or takes the seat of Geb. Finally, the expression m3cbrw.f in the Pyramid Texts, on the one hand, is applied to the deceased king when he is transfigured; they who praise him relate the fact that he is acclaimed as right or (in their quality of the celestial counterpart of the court of Heliopolis) repeat this acclamation; this idea is certainly not influenced by a reminiscence of the justified Osiris. On the other hand, this expression is applied to the youthful god Horus when his mother Isis has testified to his divine descent before the court of the gods, which 194 This is shown in Sec. I, n. 11; cf. Sec. II, Quot.3, according to which all the members of the court of Heliopolis would enjoy this immunity. 195Supposing my interpretation of the texts is right. 19eSee Sec. II, Part 3, digression.

is nothing else than the court of Heliopolis. These results may lead us to the following further conclusions. Presumably the court of Heliopolis alone was empowered to affirm the rightness (Maat) of an individual by acclaim (brw). This sentence would be pronounced, on the one hand, in a lawsuit, in contrast to the verdict of crime, and, on the other hand, as the statement of the divine rightness of the earthly king. The case of Horus, son of Isis, would exemplify both: the sentence given in a lawsuit and the acknowledgment of divinity.... 197The evidence of the Pyramid Texts suggests that it was the acclaim given to the king rather than that to Osiris which initiated the later custom of applying the adjective mgchrw to every deceased person, though presumably19sit was now felt to be first applied to Osiris. POSTSCRIPT Sincefinishingthe manuscriptof this paper I have studied mact,m3', and mc?hrw in the OldKingdomforoneyear.I maysay that, in my understanding,none of the conclusionswhich are made above have been contradicted,while some of them have been corroborated? Some minorpointsnow have been addedin the form of supplementarynotes to the manuscript, which has not been changed except in the wording of two small comments.Two major pointsshouldbe madeherebecausethey altera certain preassumptionwhich is expressedin Section I and at the end of Section III. 197 Supplementary note: Two statements concerning Osiris have here been omitted from the original text of this article; see the Postscript. 198 Bleeker, Beteekenis, p. 75 (cf. above, n. 19), stresses that in m3 hrw the idea of the trial is by no means always paramount; he says that, in many cases, there is "de verbinding met het gericht op den achtergrond getreden en duidt maCbrw den bezitter van overwinningskracht aan." If this statement is generally supported by the later mortuary texts, we may conclude that even then the Egyptian theologians well knew that m3c brw primarily did not refer only to the sentence given in the court but no less to the king's entering heaven as a right, powerful, and triumphant god,


51

THE ORIGINAL MEANING OF MTc JJRW

There is, to my knowledge, no primary connection between Osiris and m3ct, mIc hrw recognizable, though very much so between m3ct and the king, Horus, certain gods, and justice. This statement can hardly be refuted by reference to Pyr. 1520a, 1556a, and Capart, Rue de Tombeaux, P1. XI. The few occurrences of mn3c irw in the Old Kingdom which are known to me are as follows: Borchardt, Sahu-Re, II, Bl. 11 (the fragment of an inscription concerning the salute given the king by his followers); Urk. I, 46. 10 (a salute given the dead by a justice);Brit. Mus. Hierogl. Texts, I, 30=VI, 1 (inscription of a justice, in which the dead are called im36wj m)cw trw); Urk. I, 293.16; 294.11 (a statue of Pepi II is called m3c ljrw); ASAEY XL (1940), 682, Fig. 73; 691, Fig. 77 (m:e rw

hr ntr c: refers to the tomb owner); the personal names (m.) (m.) mac-hrw; Pth-m:-crw; enumeration may be a (f.) mac(t)-hrw-j.This useful addition to this paper; on the other hand, I should appreciate any communication of other occurrences, which certainly exist. We should, as I think, conclude that the apposition m3chrw was applied to Osiris only secondarily; this was perhaps in consequence of the identification of the deceased with Osiris after the Old Kingdom. This opinion seems to be corroborated by the Coffin Texts ;19 according to them, it is apparently first Horus, second the deceased, and only third Osiris, who is m3 t rw. UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA 199 I am speaking of those which are published in De Buck, Coffin Texts, Vol. I.

A NOTE ON THE BAR KOKEBA LETTER FROM MURABBAcAT early dating of the letter presumably

TRHE written by Simeon bar Kokeba (ben Ko-

seba), published by Pere Milik in Revue biblique, April 1953, has been challenged by Professor Solomon Zeitlin in the Jewish Quarterly Review, XLIV (October 1953), 85-115. The point on which Zeitlin lays most stress is the beginning of the letter, "From Simeon ben Koseba" (mis-Simeconben koseba). Zeitlin argues that there is no instance of a letter written in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, or Latin during the last three centuries B.C. or the first two centuries A.D. beginning with the preposition "from" and the writer's name. He insists that this fact shows the letter of Simeon ben Koseba to be medieval. Here are a few examples of Greek letters written before the end of the second century A.D. and using the formula "from N.," if not at the very beginning, at least after the name of the recipient. They are taken from the collec-

tion of papyri edited by Hunt and Edgar in the "Loeb Classics." Pap. Tebt. 776, early second century B.C.: e HTroke1aLto

olKOV0/'lWL irapd a evIlevCOs.

Pap. Amherst 35, 132 B.C.: t T^v rp(crwV A ....rap& 'AroXXwviwL piLXov KTX. Lep&WV 'TC' Pap. Tebt. 39, 114 B.C.: MeyXeZ

irap'

KWo•oypayI/aTr

KepKEooLIpeos

'A'oXXob&pov. Pap. Rein. 18, 108 B.C.: 'Ao-KX7?rTLa-ue'LUVyeVE6

KalI aTpaT77,yco

iraph Atovoaov. Pap. Grau 2, 55-59 A.D.: T tepLo KXavc&oLtBakaLXXwt trap& NejeaLwvos. One could multiply this list at least ten times. RALPH MARCUS UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO


Anthes_Meaning of Maa Xrw_JNES 13 (1954)

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