Assmann State and Religion 1989

8/10/2019 Assmann State and Religion 1989

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STATE AND RELIGIONIN THE NEW KINGDOMJan Assmann

ontents

0 Prel iminary remarks

1 The classical dogma: the theo-poli tology of maintenance

1 1 The text

1 2 The implicat ions of the classical dogma

1 2 1 negat ive anthropo logy

1 2 2 nega t ive cosm ology

2 Amarna: the theo-poli tology of l i fe

3 Personal Piety: the theo-politology of will

3 1 Forerunners and foreshadow ings

3 1 1 The First Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdom

3 1 2 The case of Queen Hatshepsut

3 2 Asp ects of the new vision

3 2 1 Anthropology of wil l

3 2 2 Theology of will

3 2 3 Politology of will

3 2 4 Sociology of will

[55]

Originalverffentlichung in: W.K.Simpson (Hg.), Religion and Philosophy in Ancient Egypt, Yale EgyptologicalStudies 3, 1989, S. 55-88


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56 JAN ASSMANN

O Prel iminary remarks

With regard to ancient Egy pt , s ta te and rel ig ion are anac hronist ic conc epts . The y

cannot be d i s t i ngu i shed and conf ron ted one to ano the r. The po l i t i ca l sys t em o fpharaonic kingship is a kind of religion quite in the same way as Egyptian religion is aform o f p o l i t i c a l o rg a n i z a t i o n . T h e y a r e a s p e c t s o r d i m e n s i o n s o f o n e s i n g l e ,indivisible t heopo l i t i ca l un i ty. No th ing wou ld be more inadequa te w i th r ega rd toancient Egy pt than the idea of a conf l ic t be tw een ch ur ch and s ta te , as has beenrepeatedly p roposed to account for the very fundamenta l , even revolu t ionary changesto be observed during the New Kingdom, especial ly the Amarna Period. There is nopossibility of t ranslat ing these not ions into Egyptian concepts .

Nevertheless unity does not preclude tension and even conflict . In this essay I will

try a different interpretat ion. In my o pinion, the co nfl ic t is to be loca ted, not within thetheopolitical uni ty, but between different concept ions of this uni ty. These confl ic t ingconceptions or world-views should be reconstructed as 5-dimensional , including thereligious the cosmic, the pol i t ical , the social and the anthropological dimension. Theyimply a t heo log y, cos m olo gy (o r na tu ra l ph i lo so ph y in t he sense o f J . A l l en ) ,politology sociology and anthropology. Changes in any of these aspects or dimensionsaffect t h e w h o l e c o n c e p t i o n o f r e a l i t y, p r e c i s e l y b e c a u s e t h e r e i s n o c l e a r - c u tinstitutional and conceptual different iat ion.

In the course of the 18th Dyn asty, we observ e a grow ing tension betw een threedifferent con cept io ns, leading eve ntual ly to the man ifest and violent con fl ic t of theAmarna revolut ion. The f i rst I wil l cal l the classical con cep t ion , inheri ted from theMiddle Kingdom and in large part dat ing back to the Old Kingdom. The second isrepresented by the A m arn a conce pt ion , which opposed the c lassica l concept ion w i thso much violence and persecut ion. The third is known under the inadequate label ofPersonal P ie ty, and i t i s the main purpose of th i s paper to f ind a more adequatelocation and in te rpre ta t ion of th i s movement wi th in the re l ig ious , in te l lec tua l andinstitutional h i s to ry o f anc i en t Egyp t .1 The d i s sec t ion o f t hese th ree con f l i c t i ng

paradigms wi th in the whole of Egypt ian h is tory in the New Kingdom may appear

1 This study is an investiga tion into what migh t be called the political theo log y of An cient Eg ypt,

taking up a line of research started by the late Jacob Taubes in a series of conferences (see

Taubes 1983, 1984, 1987). Important in this respect is also the notion of political religio n ,

introduced by Voegel in 1938 , and , o f course , Schmi t t 1922 , who re invented the te rm of

Political Th eol og y (after Spino za and Varro). I am indebted to Jacob Taubes and especia lly to

Aleida Ass ma nn wh o first pointed out to m e the relationship betw een nega tive a nthrop ology

and political authoritarianism. The study is not based on specific research but rather a draft ofwhat I think to be a possible perspective of historical reconstruction which needs of course to

be worked out in greater detail. It profited very much of the stimulating atmosphere at Yale and

my warmest thanks are due to W. Kelly Simpson for having provided this context with so much

care and devotion.


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State and Religion in the Ne w Kingdom 57

artificial o r over-prec is e . I t m ight even b e argued tha t in v iew of the i r n oto r iou smultiplicity o f app roac hes the anc ient Egy pt ians were qui te unable to expe r ience

conflict and cognit ive dissonance. A descript ionist view of Ancient Egyptian his torywill t end to inc lude a l l these seemingly cont radic tory phenomena in i t s co lourfu lpicture of a bygone real i ty. But the possibi l i ty of everything at any t ime excludesmeaning a n d c o n s e q u e n t l y u n d e r s t a n d i n g . M e a n i n g p r e s u p p o s e s n e g a t i o n . T h einterpretative approach to cul ture therefore at tempts to f ind out the relevant negat ions.It might sometimes go too far or in the wrong direct ion, but , as Francis Bacon has i t ,

itius emergit Veritas ex errore quam ex confusione .

The classical Conception: the theo-politology of maintenance 2

The Text

As far as the classical conce ption is conce rned, we are in a pr ivi leged posi t ion,having a t our d isposa l a tex t which can duly be regarded as fundamenta l in i t sexposition o f the cent ra l concepts . The tex t has been known s ince 19703, but itsrelevance t o roya l i deo logy does no t s eem to have been r ecogn ized .4 It is not arecitation but a treatise dealing with the general conditions of the solar cult and therole of the king as a priest of the sun god. It contains 44 verses and is divided intothree stanzas. The first stanza of 10 verses describes the rising of the sun in the styleof Egyptian cosmographical l i terature5, the second stanza specif ies in 20 verses theknowledge of the king, who by his initiation into the arcana of the solar circuit isenabled and leg i t imized to accompany the cosmic process wi th cu l t ic ac t ion andrecitation. 6 The third stanza deals with the legitimation of the king in a more generalway. 7 The king is authorized for his off ice not only by his know ledg e but ab ove al lbecause he has been installed on earth by the sun god himself.

2 Fo r gene ra l ou t l i ne s o f t he roya l i de o lo gy c f . Horn ung 19 82 , Lec l an t 1980 wi th ex t en s ive

bibliography p.65 n.15, Vernus 1986b, Assmann 1984c.

3 Assm ann 1970; id., 1983b, p.48 f. The text exists in 11 version s, 3 originating from royal temp les of

the NK.

4 The text is not men tioned in Bon hem e Fardeau 1988. In Go yon 1979 it is treated as a variant of B D

chapter 15. Grimal 1986, p.50 men tions the Taharqa version and se em s to regard the text as

belonging to the royal propaganda of the 25th dyn.

5 Hornung 1984. The use of these 'books' for the decoration of royal tombs as a kind of ex clu sive lyroyal funerary literature has to be interpreted as a secondary adaptation, pace Barta 1985.

6 Cf. the emp hasis on 'kn ow ledg e' in the title of the Amduat, which has to be regarded as a cod ification

of precisely the same knowledge which in our text the king is said to possess.

7 Cf. Otto 1969.


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58 J N A S S M A N N

jw rdj.n R w njswt Ntp t3 n nhwr nhh hn dt

hr wd rmtw hr shtp ntrwhr shpr m3 t hr shtm jzftjw dj.fhtpwt n ntrwprt hrw n 3hw

Re has installed king Nupon the earth of the livingfor ever and eternityjudging men, sat isfying gods,realizing Maat, annihilating Isfet.He gives o ffer ing s to the godsand m ortuary off er ings to the dead .

Verses 1-5 form one complex sentence which requires closer analysis. We are dealingwith a P S O c l a u s e t o w h i c h n o l e ss t h a n s i x a d v e r b i a l a d j u n c t s a r e a n n e x e d .Complexity is created by the fact that only the first two of these adverbials relate tothe verba l predicate, sp ecify ing the action of Re in its local on the earth of the living)

and tempo ral for all eternity) fram e. Th e other four adve rbials relate to the object, theking, and are in fact postponed attributes:

Structurally, the sentence is analogous to phrases like

dj tw n.k jrtj.khrm33Your eyes are given to you your eyes wh ich are) looking

The point is that the sentence comprises two actions, which differ widely as to tense,aspect and Aktionsari? and that the king plays a dou ble role in it , bein g object of one

In my u se of these terms I am fol low ing Kos chm ieder 1929, referring by the term tense to the well

known triad past-present-future (with sub-divisions like plusquamperfect, present perfect etc.),

by the term aspect to the binary opposi t ion of perfect ive-imp erfect ive (or accom pl: inaccomp li)

and by the term ktionsart to the oppo sition durative:punctual, wh ich has to be supp lemen ted

by the opposition iterative (repeated action): semelfactive (singular action). All these categories

are relevant in the verbal system of Middle Egyptian, even if partly neutralized (as the category

of tense in the /jr+Inf.-form), but need not be dev elop ed here in greater detail. Cf. Junge 197 0

and Vermis 1986.

Action 1) P-S-O-Adv

Action 2) S-P-0


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and subject of the other action resp. set of actions:

Action 1SubjectRe

ObjectKing

Tenseperfect

Aspectperfective

Aktionsartpunctualsemelfactive

Actions 2 King rmtw 0 imperfective durativeiterativetrw

M3 tjzft

Both actions or set of actions are transitive-causative. The god causes a set of actions,the king causes a set of states. The action of the god can be classified as initial causingor initializing. He acts once and for all . The actions of the king are incessantly going

on, they a re to be c lass i f ied as main ta in ing . The main ta in ing ac t ions of the k ing ,causing a state, are subordinated to the initial action of the god, causing an activity.This is the main point of the sentence. Let us now proceed to i ts semantic analysis.

The God causes not only the activity of the king, but also its spatio-temporal frame.The king is acting on the earth of the l ivin g and fo r ever and ev er. This im plies thatthere can be only one state in space and time. Plurality is categorically excluded, bothsynchronically, as a plurality of coexistent states, and diachronically, as a successionof d i ffe re n t em pires . This v iew of theo pol i t ica l o rder prec lude s not on ly fo re ig npolicy, but a lso his tory in the sense of change, development , evolut ion. The temporalframe nhh and dt: e ternal repet i t ion and eternal durat ion is f i l led not withhistory in the sense of a meaningful process ( l ike, e .g . , h w, the l i fe-span of an

individual) but with keeping the world going by act ions which have constant ly to berepeated. The basic idea is maintenance, not progress.9 Polit ical action is conceived asan iterative process of maintaining a state, which is specified in four different actions:

- judg ing m en: i.e. causing men to be provid ed with just ice,- s a t i s f y i n g g o d s : i .e . c a u s i n g g o d s t o b e p r o v i d e d w i t h w o r s h i p a n d

offerings,- realizing M aat,- annih ilating Isfet.

The four actions of the king are arranged in pairs, and the pairs are correlated in anexplicative parallelismus mem brorum. The first pair specifies the second, the secondsummarizes the fi rs t . Real izing M aat and An nihi lat ing Isfet consis t in jud gin g m enand sat isfying gods. Let us deal with these act ions separately and f i rs t turn to thejudging of men.

9 Cf., however, the ideas of proceeding beyond the achievem ents of the fathers and of enlarging of

the borders , which see m to contradict this vie w cf . Hornung 1957 and Blum enthal 1970,

64 69 and 187f. For the idea of maintenance cf. Derchain 1961.


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60 JAN ASSMANN

1 2 Th e impl ica t ions of the class ica l Con cept ion

1 2 1 wd rmtw: ' nega t ive an thro pology ' .

The Egyptian idea of justice implies an idea of injustice, which in its turn implies awhole anthropo logy. I t i s c lose ly l inked to the idea of inegal i ty. To jud ge m enmeans: to establ ish equali ty among them, in order to protect the weak against thestrong. Just ice, in fact , means protect ion. This resul ts from another text , which dealswith the same concepts in a s l ight ly more explici t way. Book of the Dead Chapter 126is a spell which addresses the four baboons sitt ing at the prow of the solar bark:

who cause Maat to ascend to the Lord of the Universe,who judge both the miserable and the mighty,who s at isfy the gods w ith the breath of their m outh ,who give divine off er ing s to the g odsand mortuary offer ings to the dead,who live on maat and sip on maat,who lie not and whose abomination is sin.

Thus the expression wd rmtw ' judging men' is to be specif ied and to be understood

as ' judging be tween the miserable (m3r) and the powerful (wsr)\ and not as onewould expect between the r ighteous and the cr iminal , the good and the bad one,z iq we rasha , in terms of Bibl ical Hebrew . This phrase occu rs again and again inseveral genres of Egyptian texts '0 and has te rminologica l s igni f icance . Judgment i salways between the weak and the s trong, the miserable and the powerful , the poor andthe rich. Instead of hn , 'and , together with, ' the texts hav e mo re ofte n m- , ' f ro m thehand o f , m aking qu ite clear, that by this jud gm en t the poor, we ak and miser able areto be rescued ' f r om the hand o f the s trong, r ich and pow erfu l , and imp lying, that it is

the strong one, who is the rasha , the crim inal, and inegality as such is inju stice.One of these texts is C of fin Texts Spel l 1130 wh ich has un anim ou sly and just lybeen recognized as one of the fundamental texts of Egyptian philosophy. Here, thecreator speaks, and he s tates expressly, that , among other good deeds, he has createdmen equal to each other:

I made everyman equal to his fel lowand I forba de them to do Isfet .But their hearts disobeyed what I had said.

1 Janssen 1946 I, 72; II Bh; Edel 1944, 42 36; Vandier 1950, 242; Otto 1954, 95. For the king see e.g.

Grimal 1986, 309 (pHarris I 78 .13 -79 .1: I rescue ( the wea k) from the hand of the strong w ho

opresses him ).

11 CT V II4 63 f 464 c, c f . Schenkel 1983.


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State and Religio n in the Ne w Kingdom 61

Isfet, as disobedience to equality, can only refer to inegality, created not by god but bythe disobedient heart of men. Further on in the same text the creator asserts:

I jud ge the miserable fro m the hand o f the powerf ul.12

Here and this is absolutely exceptional in an Middle Kingdom text it is thegod who charges himself with a task wh ich, in the conte xt of the classica l c on cep tion devolves on the king.13 The charge of the king is to counteract this unjust state ofinegality by rescuing the weak from the hand of the strong and by setting Maat in theplace of Isfet, as it appears to be the role of the king as early as in the Pyramid Texts,where Unas is said to arrive in heaven after

having set Maat in the place of Isfetin the island of flames.14

This idea of the world of the living as an island of flames where the weak arealways oppressed by the strong is rem iniscen t of the law of the fis he s in the Vedictradition: the big ones eating the smaller ones. There, as in Egypt, this pessimisticview of hum an nature serves as an argum ent for forcefu l governm ent , legi t imizing thekshatriya (warrior) caste.15 Another paral lel is that of Thomas Hobbes, whose view ofman s natural state as a helium omnium contr omnes cor resp on ds as closely aspossible to the way the Egyp t i an t ex t s dep ic t a wor ld wi thou t k ingsh ip .1 6 T h epessimistic l i terature which had formerly been dated mostly to the First IntermediatePeriod now more and more evident ly belongs to the Middle Kingdom and probably toits latter half,17 which is notorious for i ts strong centralistic, absolutistic and perhapseven o p p r e s s i v e t e n d e n c i e s ,1 8 t h u s c o n f i r m i n g t h e l i n k b e t w e e n n e g a t i v eanthropology and ab so lu t i sm . Th e idea i s , tha t wi th out ru le , there i s no orderpossible, implying confidence, amity, community; and without order, there is no lifepossible, because the weak would be slain by the strong:

2 CT VII 46 6 e 4 67 d cf. Assma nn 1983a, 178 and 279 f. The same phrase occurs in pCairo 58 03 8

the famous Boulaq hymn) cf . Assmann 1983a, 177.

3 This exc ept ion is best exp laine d by the literary character of the text and its func tion as an answ er to

the Vorwurf an Gott , cf. Otto 1950: Fecht 1972; Assma nn 1983 a, 26 8ff .

4 Py r2 65 b, cf. Pyr 1775 b-c.

5 Incidentally, classical India provides an exam ple for that differentiation betw een the religious and

the pol i t ical spheres, which in ancient Egypt was categorical ly excluded. For in India, the

respective powers are divided between the Brahmin and the Kshatriya castes.6 For Th.H obbes see Strauss 1952, cf. also Schmitt 1922 and 1932.

7 Berlev 1987; Cruz-Uribe 1987. See also Junge 1977.

8 Helck (19 86) perhaps goes too far in this interpretation. But the suppression of feudal nomarchy

under Sesostris III is an established fact. See Del ia 1980 and Cruz-Uribe 1987.


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62 JAN ASSMANN

when three men travel on a road, two are found;for the greater number kills the lesser.19

Thus, the king and the state have been installed by the creator in order to protect theweak and to banish the st tus n tu r lis of Isfe t:

He gave them ' rulers in the egg' and off icialsin order to strengthen the back of the weak20

The image of the 'Good Shepherd ' which for us has such a pastoral and peaceful r ing2'expresses the determinat ion of the divine king to suppress the 'wolf ish ' nature of manand to fight Isfet in order to protect the weak.22 Order is not a natural quality of the

19 Ad mo ni t ions 12 .13-14 ed . Gard iner 1909.

20 M e r i k a r e P 1 3 5 - 1 3 6 .

21 Mu el le r 1961; Blum entha l 1970. The theme of the Go od Shep herd recur s in a la te wisd om text ,

which i s unfor tunate ly s t i l l unpubl i shed . This i s what Posener and Sain te-Fare Garnot 1963,

154 com mun ica t e conce rn ing the r e l evan t pas sage s on ' page C ' : Tou te fo i s l e t heme f avo r i de

l auteur es t l ' apologie du chef . Celu i -c i es t necessa i re ; i l fau t v ivre dans son entourage , a f in de

n etre pas 'un chien qui n 'a pas de mai t re ' (page A) . Au res te 'des mi l l ions de so lda ts sont

battus, qu i n 'ont pas un va i l lan t capi ta ine(?) ' ; 'une armee es t mediocre qui n 'a pas avec e l le sonmaitre (page C). Le role du chef est de conduire et de dominer; i l lui arr ive de punir, mais c 'est

chose na ture l le : ' es t -ce que les taureaux ruent , qui ont un berger qui les mate? ' (page C) . Mais

il do i t exercer auss i sa fonct ion avec douceur e t so l l ic i tude e t Ton re t rouve , dans la meme page

C, le them e c lass ique du 'bo n ber ge r ' . Le chef es t le 'pas teu r ' de ' ce ux qu e Re a c re es ' . II

retribue chacun se lon ses mer i tes e t , par voie de rec iproc i te , le super ieur 'donne en re tour de ce

qu on a fa i t pour lu i ' . C 'es t pourquoi la sagesse es t d 'adorer le mai t re , de lu i e t re f ide le e t

meme de ' do nn e r ch aqu e jou r en p lu s ' de ce qu 'on lu i do i t , en so r t e qu ' i l e t ende ve r s l e

donateur ben evo le ' s a ma in qu i po r t e l a v i e ' . T he r ev iva l o f t he soc i a l and po l i t i c a l

philosophy o f the Middle Kingdom is qui te ev ident and i t i s the more impress ive as i t i s

matched by t he we l l known ' a r cha i sm ' i n t he p l a s t i c a r t s o f t he s ame pe r iod , wh ich a l so

favorizes the Middle Kingdom and which should a lso be regarded as a rev iva l ra ther than an

archaism. Othe r pas sag es of the text dea l with the oblig ation s of the chie f: i l obe it , lui aussi , a

une mor a le , doi t e t re bon e t jus te e t son propre a veni r dep end de son com po r tem ent . Voic i

quelques c i tat ions 61oquentes, t i rees, el les aussi , de la page C. 'Le grand, qui vi t de la veri te et

qui a le mensonge en abominat ion , se melera aux (Jm3hw) , tandis qu e 'ceiui qui mu lt ipl ie les

corvees est ecarte des dignitaires (smrw) e t enc ore ' ce lu i qui t ra i te indign eme nt son nom breu x

peuple (?) , le dieu le paie ra en ret ou r ' . I f this refers to the king (as i t app ear s to be the ca se) ,the a rgumenta t ion seems c loser here to the Demot ic Chronic le than to Middle Kingdom texts .

22 I t is not diff icult to read exactly this com bin ation of pes sim ist ic wis do m , i .e . insight into the na ture

of man, and resolu tedness , in the express ive por t ra i ture of k ings Sesos t r i s I I I and Amenemhat

m


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State and Religion in the New Kingdom 63

world, i t must be imposed upon i t f rom 'above ' . The pharaonic s ta te is represented asthe only means by which this can be achieved and the natural state of the w orld canbe turned into a civic s ta te , wh ere the we ak has a chance to survive.

1 2 2 shtp ntrw negat ive cosmology

The expression ' sat isfying the god' occurs in BD 126 as:

wh o satisfy the gods w ith the brea th Of their m ou th.

The no t ion of sa t i s fy ing re fers obvious ly more to incanta t ion than to ac t ion . Theconception of speech as a 'breath of the mouth' is very familiar in Egyptian texts.23

Why do the gods need to be ' s a t i s f i ed ' o r ' appeased ' ? Wha t k ind o f d i sco rd o rdissatisfaction threatens or even reigns in the divine world which is to be dispelled bythe words of the baboons and by the king? Is i t conceivable that Isfet is a condition ofthe divine world, too, as i t is one of the mundane sphere?

I take Apep, the dragon or serpent who threatens to swallow the celest ia l ocean, tobe an embodiment of Isfet in the divine world. Apep incorporates the same tendencyor g rav i ta t ion towards d is in tegra t ion on the cosmic leve l which the lamenta t ionsdescribe in the soc ia l sphere . In qui te the same way as mankind i s incapable ofkeeping order and s tabi l i ty by i tself and needs to be ruled from above, the cosmoswould fa l l apart i f i t is not constant ly ruled. The Egyptians conceived of 'cosmos ' notso much as a well-ordered structure in space than as a well-organized, i .e. successfuland even ' tr iumphant ' process in t ime. The salient point is the success of the process,the constant overcoming of a constant counterforce or gravi tat ion towards s tand-st i l land disintegration. The cosmic process the solar cycle cannot go on by itself asa perpetuum mobile It needs to be maintained in the same way as social order cannotpersist by i tself but needs a s t rong government to be sustained. The point is thatcosmic order needs government, too. This is the polit ical meaning of the solar cycle: i tis the exertion of government.24 The s ignif icance of this concept ion becomes clear as

soon as one realizes that the Egyp tian idea of the 'so lar cy cle ' is not jus t 's ol ar ' or'Heliopolitan theology' but embraces the Osir ian, and in fact every other sphere aswell and must be regarded as the Egyptian concept of cosmos or world-view.

The c r ea to r i n s t a l l ed the so l a r cyc l e a s an in s t i t u t ion o f cosmic gove rnmen t ,developing Maat and dispel l ing Isfet , in precisely the same way as he instal led the

23 Vernus 1976. In the Am duat, the inhabitants of the underwo rld revive as they are addressed by Re

and are said to live on his words ; (re)vivifyin g speech is constantly referred to as breath. See

Hornung 1963/70 and 1984.24 The solar cyc le, it is true, has a biolo gical m ean ing too. It me ans not only the ove rco mi ng o f

rebellion but also the overcoming of death. This aspect has been analyzed e.g. by Hornung

1977 For the pol i tical symbolism cf . Assmann 1983a, 7 1- 80 .


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64 JAN ASSMANN

pharaonic kingsh ip in order to do the sam e on earth. On e org aniz at ion mirro rs theother. We ma y form al ize th is conce pt , us ing C for causa t ion2 5, in the fol lowingway:

Re solar cycle Ma at

Model 1: causa t ion of cosm ic o rder

harmony

kinge Maat harmony

Model 2: causation of social order

This cor respondence or homology between the cosmic process the so lar cycle and the political institution of pharaonic kingship finds its expression in the politicalimagery o f the sun hymns and cosmographic l i te ra ture2 6, as well as in the cosmicimagery of royal inscript ions.2 7 Cons equen t ly, ex press ion s l ike jw nsrsr is lan d offlames , mr nh3wj lake of kniv es , tzt nt pp sand ban k of A pe p and the l ike referboth to the celestial and to the terrestrial spheres.28

The sun god ap pea rs twic e in m od el 1: in the role of cr ea to r and in the role of

protagonist in the solar cycle. This duplicat ion is mythological ly deal t with in theBook of the He aven ly C ow wh ere the instal lation of the solar cycle by the creator is

25 The conce pt of causality is of course quite foreig n to Egyp tian thought. In Egy ptian co nce ptua lizing,

causation is l inked with magic power (hk3, m agic , cf . Ritner, in this volu me ). Ma gic is

conceived a s a po s i t i v e fo r ce t o coun te r ac t the ne ga t iv i t y o f t he wor ld : s t an d - s t i l l ,disintegration, death, illness, in short: everything opposing the cosmic process.

26 Cf . Assmann 1969, 26 8-7 1; 30 6- 30 9 e tc .

27 Redford 1967, 3-2 7; Schunk 1985, 63 -86 .

28 Cf . Assmann 1969, 271f . ; 29 5-2 98 .


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narrated 29 , and i t is ref lected in the sun-hymns as well .30 What i s dec is ive i s thecomplete homology of the cosmic and the polit ical sphere. In both spheres we havethe dis t inct ion between ini t ia l causat ion and ongoing maintenance. Let us cal l thisprinciple indirect causa t ion and brief ly sum ma rize i ts implicat ions:

1. Li fe , cosmic as wel l as soc ia l , i s dependent on order. Order, however, cannotgenerate and persist by itself. It has to be imposed from outside and constantly tobe defended against Isfet , a natural tendency towards chaos, dis integrat ion anddeath which is innate in man, society and nature. This principle we have labelled asnegative an thropo- /cosm ology .

2. N e g a t i v e a n t h r o p o l o g y n e c e s s i t a t e s a u t h o r i t a t i v e g o v e r n m e n t i m p o s i n g a n dmaintaining order upon earth. Bec ause it cannot grow fro m be low i t has to beinstalled f rom above .3 1

3. The so la r cyc le , r ep resen t ing the Egyp t i an v i ew o f the wor ld in i t s cosmicdimension, has a def in i te meaning: i t i s government , imposing order, jus t ice ,coherence on a world which would otherwise col lapse. As a form of act ion, thesolar cycle is a polytheistic concept, implying a plurality of actors and opponents,it is a con certe d act ion and a cons tel lat ive conception. Th e gove rnm ent whichthe sun god exerts in his daily motion through heaven and underworld is confinedto the d iv ine sphe re . I t i s an th r op om orp h ic in i ts com ple te hom olo gy w i thpharaonic ru le , bu t not an th rop oce nt r ic

4. The s ta te i s the exac t imi ta t ion of th is cosmic government on ear th .32

Bu t thecosmic governance cannot be reflected and life-ensuring order cannot be realizedon earth otherwise than by a single ruler, son and representative of the sun-godhimself. Every o ther form of pol i t ica l organiza t ion would des t roy the per fec thomology. Th e idea of sta te is a singulare tantum

5. The world does not need to be sav ed or red ee m ed but merely to be ruled. Th esalvation is not out of reach but quite to the contrary constantly realized by thecombined efforts of gods and kings. Th ere is no room fo r m ess ian ic hop e andexpectation. 33 The implied anthropo-/cosm ology is neg at iv e only in a wea k sense

29 Hornung 1982. The Egyptian concept of a fallen state of the wor ld (see Kakosy 1964 ) is linked

with the idea, not of fall but of separatio n or splitting: the separation betw een heav en and

earth and betw een go ds and men. It is this idea of a split world wh ich is at the base of the

negative cos m olog y of the ancient Egyptians.

30 In the more comp lex sun -hym ns, verbal passa ges refer to the solar cyc le and nominal pa ssag es to the

creator cf . Assm ann 1969, 1-13 .

31 In this respect , Hobb es, support ing a contract theory of soci o-p oli t ic al order, differs from the

Egyptian paradigm.32 For the idea of the king being the imag e of god wh ich exp resses this relationship of imitation in

Egyptian concepts, cf. Ockinga 1984.

33 Cf. Assmann 1983d.


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66 JA N A S S M A N N

as compared wi th e .g . gnos t ic cosmology or Chr is t ian an thropology. But i s i sprecisely this confidence in the retrievability of Maat which wanes with the end ofthe New Kingdom.

2 Atnarna: theo-pol i tology of l i fe .

The ideology of the Amarna Religion contradicts the classical conceptions in thefollowing points:

1 The so lar cyc le loses i t s pol i t ica l meaning . There i s no ment ion of an enemyopposing Aten in His dai ly motion. The Amarna Religion is bui l t upon a posi t ivecosmology. It presupposes a world which, in the worlds of Vermis and Yoyotte, is

toute beaute, toute securite .34

Such a world does not need to be ' ruled ' in thestrict sense of an imposition of order against an intrinsic tendency towards chaos,but merely to be kept alive.

2. In the same way as the concept of ' rule ' implies plural i ty, the concept of ' l i fe-giving' or 'v ivif icat ion ' implies s ingular i ty. The vivifying god who f i l ls the worldwith light and time, is alone in the sky. This vivifying process cannot be reflectedon e a r t h b y r o y a l g o v e r n a n c e . T h e h o m o l o g y b r e a k s d o w n . Wi t h h o m o l o g y,complexi ty b r e a k s d o w n . T h e c o m p l e x i t y o f ' i n d i r e c t c a u s a t i o n ' b e c o m e sextremely reduced, because there is no need for i t in a positive cosmology:

Creator Sun-godKing

Maat dominion Aton life

There is no difference between primordial and continuous causat ion.35 The world hasnot be to be 'maintained ' , because there are no antagonist ic forces to be constant lyovercome.

34 Vermis Yoyotte 1988.

35 N ee dle ss to s tress the obv iou s fact that the very concep t of causa t ion (rendered by ' C in the

diagram changes most fundamental ly, too, by passing from the t radi t ional to the Amarnaparadigm It loses its 'magic' implications and becomes a 'natural ' principle (cf. Allen, in this

volume The apparent disregard for 'primeval creation/causation' in the Amarna texts is best

explained by this merging of primeval and continuous causation (=direct causation) which, in

the traditional paradigm, are separated by the 'Fall'.


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State and Rel igion in the New Kingdom 67

3. The relat ion of an thro po m orp hic hom ology, placing cosm ic and social order inmutual ref lect ion, gives way to a unif ied universe where mankind becomes the solepartner of divine act ion. Anthropomorphism is replaced by anthropocenfr ism. Thewhole solar cycle is perfo rm ed fo r the sake of men : n.sn, n jb.sn, n mrw t.sn.36

4. T he conce pt of order is fad ing in the al l -ov erpo we ring con cep t of l i f e . In thecontext of a positive anthropo-/cosmology there is no need for order, to be imposedonto i t f rom above by a superior authori ty. On the cosmic level , the concept ofMaat disap pea rs, on the social level, i t assu m es the m ea nin g of tru th. Th is pointshould be developed separately:

4.1 The sun , by i t s mot ion and rad ia t ion , adminis te rs l i fe to the wor ld . I t i sabsolutely ind i ffe ren t regard ing e th ica l problem s and s imply not co ncernedwith t h e w e a k , t h e p o o r a n d t h e m i s e r a b l e . T h e w h o l e p h r a s e o l o g y o fprotection is lacking in the A ma rna hy m ns in a mo st conspicuo us way.

4.2 Th e king m onop olizes Maat ; he bears the divine epi thet w ho l ives on M aa t aspart of his royal nomenclature.37 But by M aat he does not understand just i cein the classical sense of protec ting the w eak against the strong, but tru th inthe sense of the or thodox interpretat ion of revealed knowledge.3 8 E v i l n o wassumes the meaning of opposi t ion to the doctr ine of Akhn aten wh o

shows his wrath b3w) against him who ignores his doctr ine but his favour

unto him who recognizes him3 9

This leads to a depol i t ical izat ion both of cosmic as wel l as of sociopol i t ical orderwhich now assumes the character of a religion and an orthodoxy.40

What is the role of the king in this picture of the world? Certainly not that of aprophet as has often been stated. The notion of prophet presupposes a divine will orpurpose to be revealed. Prophets are the spokesmen of God. But Aten does not speaknor does he wish anyone to speak in h is s tead , to in te rpre t h i s p lans , p ro jec ts ,

6 Cf Assm ann 1983a , 11 8-2 3 . It i s th is an thropocent ric perspec t iv e wh ich con vey s a re l ig ious

meaning to the creative action of the sun. In this respect, the Amarna religion differs from

Ionian philosophy in its interpretation of nature. Cf. Allen, in this volume.

7 Anth es 1952.

8 The notion of revelation with regard to Ama rna is som ewh at problematical, beca use this truth is not

revealed by speech but by insight into the speechless evidence of nature. But the claim of the

king be in g the on ly one to kn ow the go d and the in to le ra nce typ ica l o f an or tho dox

interpretation of knowledge are dominant features of Amarna religion.9 Sandman 1938 , 86 .1 5-1 6 .

4 This de velo pm ent is particular well i l lustrated by the total neg lect o f foreig n affairs during the

Amarna period, see Moran 1987 (political correspondence).


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68 JAN ASSMANN

decisions. There is nothing to be proclaimed, i t is a l l there in sheer, overwhelmingevidence. The king, i t is true, interprets the evidence, translating radiation and motionin terms of rel igious meaning, answering them by cul t ic act ion and speaking to a godwho expresse s himself in a s trictly he l iom orp hic way. But this is not pr op he cy inthe strict sense.4

The role of the king is that of a coregent.42 Since the king cann ot ref lec t the divineaction of creative vivification, he can only share in it . As we already know, the goddoes not ru le by establ ishing just ice and peace, but by animating the world by hisradiance and his t ime-generating motion. It is the dependence of everything existingon l ight and t ime which i s in terpre ted as su jection to the A ten . I t i s ab so lu tesubjection excluding the poss ib i l i ty of rebel l ion . Thus , i t has no proper pol i t ica lsignificance. Th e king assoc iates himself to this ru le as a kind of jun ior p artner,

bearing the t it le of so n wh ile the god is cal led fath er. Th e nam es of both god andking are written in cartouches. The traditional unity of religion and state is even moreemphasized. But it is a different conception of this unity.43

The point of confl ict between the Amarna and the classical conception seems to bethe negat ive anthropo-/cosmology which has been replaced in Amarna by a posi t iveone. But some elements in this picture, the emphasis on anthropocentr ic instead ofanthropomorphic interpretations, the fading of the figure of Apep and the concept of acosmic c o m b a t , a r e t o b e f o u n d o u t s i d e t h e A m a r n a p e r i o d a n d s e e m t o b echaracteristic of the 18th Dynasty in general . The sharp and total reject ion of thepessimistic Middle Kingdom s ty le in por t ra i ture may poss ib ly poin t in the same

direction. Thu s it is prob able that the Am arn a revo lution is jus t the final erup tion of anongoing conf l ic t be tween Middle Kingdo m and m od ern concept ions .

3. Perso nal Piety : Th eolog y of Voli t ion.

The same observat ion applies to another movement in the New Kingdom which f i rs tcame to be known through a group of s telae from Deir el-Medina and was therefore

interpreted as a kind of popular rel igion4 4

o r ev en a re l ig ion of the poo r4 5

. ButBreasted already recognized in these texts a typical expression of the Ramessid age,which he acco rding ly bapt ized the age of pers ona l p ie ty.4 6 Recen t r e sea rch hasenlarged our view of the evidence in two different ways:

41 The si lence of the god who expresses himself visual ly is balanced by the vo ice of the king which

plays such an important part in the inscriptions. Th e king is the spea king g od , spreadin g truth

Maat upon earth as the Aten spreads light and life.

42 cf. Zabkar 1954.43 Important in this respect: Vo ege lin 19 38.

44 Erman 1911.

45 Gunn 1916.

46 Breasted 1912, 34 4- 37 0.


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1. I t is not restricted to certain groups of monuments, e.g. ex-voto stelae, or l i terarygenres 47 or social groups or c lasses but pervades the whole of Ramessid cul ture ,from royal to pr ivate mo num ents , f ro m l i terature to art and rel igious inst i tut ions.

2. I t dates in i ts origins back to the 18th Dynasty. The typical terminology appears in

different k inds of sources as ear ly as the t imes of Hatshe psut , Th utm ose III andAmenophis II.48 I ts roots may even reach back into the Firs t Intermediate Period.The movement appears as a kind of under-current in the classical per iods of MiddleKingdom and ear ly New Kin gdo m to break throug h into ful l dom inan ce only af terthe col lapse of the Amarna rel igion.

3 .1 Fore- runners and foreshadowings

3 .1.1 The Firs t Intermediate Per iod and the Middle Kingdom

The central idea seems to be a new and more personal concept ion of dei ty, of godsintervening in l i fe and his tory, manifest ing a personal wil l , intent ion and purpose.Therefore a term like theolo gy of vol i t ion, or intent io n seem s to me mo re ad equa te .The f irst instances of this conception of god occur in the First Intermediate Period andin the Middle Kingdom:

1. An khtify reports in his tom b at M o al la to hav e been sum m one d by the god Ho rus

of Ed fu to intervene in the Ed fu nome.49

2. The god Min is reported, in two famous inscr ipt ions in the Wadi Hammamat, tohave worked miracles in favour of king Mentuhotep IV.50

3. Horemkhauf reports in his Hierakonpolis s te la to have been summoned by the godHorus-Avenger-of-his-father to br ing th e s tatues of himself and h is m oth er Is isfrom the residence of I thtowe to Hieraconpo lis .5

These examples have been se lec ted a t random and can cer ta in ly be mul t ip l ied bysystematic research. But I do not think that they would ever amount to more thanexceptions f rom the rule , manifesta t ions of an unde rcurrent .52

There are some l i terary texts which point in the same direct ion, the most famousbeing o f c o u r s e t h e b i o g r a p h y o f S i n u h e a n d t h e S h i p w r e c k e d S a i l o r. I n t h e

47 Fecht 1965.

48 Posener 1975, 195 -21 0; Assm ann 1984, 22 5- 23 2.

49 Vandier 1950, 163ff.; Schenk el 1965, 45ff.; Fecht 1967, 50f f.

50 Couyat-Montet 1912 #11 0 and #191: Schenkel 1965, 263f. ; 267f.

51 Ha yes 1947.

52 I am not in favour with the generalizing stance, taken e.g. by Griffiths 1988, wh o holds the idea of

divine impact on human affairs to be a feature typical and com mo n of all periods of Egyptian

history.


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70 JAN ASSM ANN

Shipwrecked Sai lor we encounter a god appearing in person and reveal ing past andfuture, thus a kind of revelation.53 Sinuhe is driven into exile by what he identifies asthe plan of a go d , a god w ho interv enes in his l i fe but wh o rem ains u nide nt if ied

throughout the story.54 All these examples are s i tuated outside the pharaonic sphere.The l i terary examples locate the act ion in foreign regions, the his tor ical examples doeither the same ( the miracles in the Wadi Hammamat) or they date from periods whenpharaonic power was waning or col lapsing.

In the off icial sphere, the idea of divine intent ion or vol i t ion is confined, as onemight expect, to the concept of initial installation. The text which is most explicit inthis respect is the Berlin leather-roll pBerlin 3029, an 18th Dynasty copy of a buildinginscription of Sesostris I.55 The idea of divine purpose is very prominent:

That he created m e was to do what he has don e,to implement what he has ordered to be done.That he installed me as shepherd of this land wasbecause he had recognized that I would organize it for him.

in order to repeated three t imes; emphatic construct ions; verbs l ike msj to bringforth, c r e a t e , w t o o r d e r , r j to ins ta l l , rh to reco gn ize : a ll this relates verystrongly and explicitly to the idea of divine intention. But i t remains within the frameof initia lizat ion , thus of ind irec t cau sati on . Bu t there are, a bit m ore off the cente rof o f f i c i a l t e x t p r o d u c t i o n , s o m e i n d i c a t i o n s o f a s o m e w h a t d i f f e r e n t t h e o l o g y,foreshadowing what wi ll be com m on convic t ion in the New King dom :

1. The s t rong emphas is on the c rea t ional ra ther than the cosmogonica l aspec t ofgenesis in som e Co ffin Texts , especial ly the theology of Shu in the He rmo poli tan

tradition (El Be rshe h) wh ere Shu is explicitly stated to be created by the heart andby the e ff ica cy of Atum.56 The most important text in this respect is the aret alo gyof the Universal Lord in CT 1130 where the creator justifies his creation.57

2. The s t rong emphas i s on the an th ropocen t r i c r a the r t han the an th ropomorph icsignificance of the solar circuit , as exposed in the closing hymn of the Instructionfo r Merikare. This text, coming as close as possible to similar convictions in thelater 18th Dynasty, is, preserved exclusively on papyri dat ing fr om that period.58

5 Sim pso n 19 83 cf the bibliography in Kurth 1987.

5Cf. Loprieno 1988 4 1 -5 9 and Griff i ths 1988 93f.

55 de Buck 1938; Go edick e 1974; Abd el Az im El Ad ly 1984.

56 CT 13 36 -3 38 . See Assmann 1984a 2 13 -15 ; 1984b; Al len 1988.

57 Assmann 1984 204- 8 ; Al len 1988 .

58 Merikare: cf . Assm ann 1983 168; 1984a 201^1. General ly cf . Blumenthal 1980.


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State a n d R e l i g i o n i n t h e N e w K i n g d o m 71

3. Th e tale of the mirac ulou s birth of the first three kings of the 5th Dyna sty as relatedin the la t ter par t of pWestcar seems at f i rs t s ight in keeping with the classicalconception. But Re does not install the insti tution of kingship, but individual kings,thus intervening in the course of history and bringing about what is to be seen as a

Heilswende (salvatory turn, metabole epi to beltiori)?9

The d i ffe rence be tween thetale and the official dogma (as i t is demonstrated e.g. in pBerlin 3029) is difficult tograsp, because i t is a lways an individual king NN who is conceived, born andinstalled upon earth by god as an embodiment of the insti tution of kingship. Butthere is a nuance towards the individual aspect which will become virulent in theNew Kingdom.

3 1 2 The case of Qu een Hatshepsu t

Queen Hatshepsut seems to have played an important role in the development of anew idea of divine intentionality. We must not forget that the text which we hold to befundamental for the classical conception occurs also in the temple of Der el Bahari.Her inscriptions include four different allusions to a theology of volit ion:

1 The e lec t ive orac le which the Der a l Bahar i and Chapel le Rouge inscr ip t ionsrepresent as an extraordinary and unprecedented event;60

2. The Punt oracle , manifest ing a divine intent ion which is not confined to ini t ia l

installation;61

3. Th e idea of 'd ivine com m an d, ' as it occurs in the Speos Artemido s inscr ipt ions: theHyksos ruled 'without Re' and Re reciprocally 'did not act by divine order ' untilher own reign.62

4. The pictor ial cycle of the miraculous bir th which, a l though in keeping with theclassical d o g m a , s t re s s e s th e a s p e c t o f ' H e i l s w e n d e ' i n t h e s a m e s e n s e a spWestcar. 63

Hatshepsut herself coins an epithet which expresses the new idea of divine intention in

the most concise way when she addresses the god in the Chapel le Rouge inscr ipt ion ashe who plans everything exis tent ' k3jw ntt nbt):

Oh my fathe r w ho plan s all that exists, .what is i t that you want to come about?I shall do it according to your order64

5 9 C f . A s s m a n n 1 9 8 2 a .

6 S e e R o e m e r 1 9 8 7 . In m y p r e s e n t a c c o u n t o f t h e d e v e l o p m e n t , w h i c h i s m o r e d e t a i l e d th a n i n

A s s m a n n 1 9 8 4 a I p r o f i t f r o m R o m e r s c r i ti c a l r e m a r k s .

61 U r k I V 3 4 2 .

6 2 U r k I V 2 9 0 ; G a r d i n e r 1 9 4 6 .

6 3 c f . B r u n n e r 1 9 8 6 a n d A s s m a n n 1 9 8 2 .

6 4 L a c a u - C h e v r i e r 1 9 7 7 , 9 9 . k3j) t o p l a n a n d wd) t o o r d e r a r e p r e c i s e l y t h e a c t i o n s b y w h i c h t h e


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72 JA N A S S M A N N

Taken i so la tedly, these ins tances do not seem very revolu t ionary. But in the i raccumulation they do mark the beginning of a new development, leading f i rs t to theAmarna revolu t ion , which has to be seen as a reac t ionary opposi t ion agains t th ismovement, and then to i ts ful l break -throug h in the imm edia te post-A ma rna age.

3.2 Aspec ts of the new concept ion

3.2.1 Anthrop ology of wi ll

a) Th e f i r s t s t age be long s en t i r e ly to the C las s i ca l Co nce p t io n in i ts M idd leKingdom form . Th is is the do ctr in e of the heart .6 5 In clear opposi t ion to the OldKingdom concept of man, where man seems to act exclusively on royal orders , where

the king seems to monopolize ini t iat ive, planning and motivat ion and where the notionof h e a r t i s c o n s p i c u o u s l y a b s e n t in t h e b i o g r a p h i c a l in s c r i p t i o n s , t h e M i d d l eKingdom biographies present a concept where man is inwardly directed by his heartas the seat of character, virtue, principles, competence, motivation, intention and will .If he serves the king, i t is his heart guiding him to do so. The problem of intention andresponsibility is treated in the story of Sinuhe in a way that shows its vital importancein the context of the anthropological philosophy of the time.

The idea l of v i r tue or inw ard qu al i ty (nfrw) is wisdom. This concept is to beunderstood as insight into the rules which ensure social and political harmony, viz.Maat. The Egy ptian expre ssion is s i len ce and the s i lent on e, deno ting the sage w honot only kn ow s but also subord inates himself to or com plies w ith(htp hr) Maat.66

b) The second s tage i s marked by the replacement of Maat (=the wi l l of thecommunity) by the wil l of god, entai l ing the replace me nt of w isd om by piety.67 Therelevant expressions are rdj m jb and jrj hr raw : to place god into on e s he art andto act on his wate r, i .e. to act in a wa y w hich is loyal and fa ith fu l to his will. T he se

expressions make the i r f i r s t appea rance a l r eady in the r e ign o f Ha t shepsu t and

Thutmose III:

(God is) father and mother unto him who places him into his heart ,but he turns his back unto him w ho neg lects his ci ty.He who is guided by him cannot fai l .68

crea tor a c c o r d i n g t o t h e M e m p h i t e T h e o l o g y , c r e a t e d t h e w o r l d : b y w o r d s w h i c h w e r e

des igned Ic3j) by t he hea r t and o rde r ed wd) by t he t on gu e .

65 F o r t h e E g y p t i a n c o n c e p t i o n o f t h e h e a r t a s t h e s e a t o f i n t e n t i o n s e e P i a n k o f f 1 9 3 0 ; B r u n n e r 1 9 8 8 ,

3 - 4 1 ; A s s m a n n 1 9 8 2 b ; 1 9 8 7 , 2 2 1 - 2 3 2 .

6 6 F o r t h e i d e a l o f s i l e n c e c f . B r u n n e r - Tr a u t 1 9 8 4 ; A s s m a n n 1 9 8 3 c , 1 9 5 - 2 0 1 .

67 S e e A s s m a n n 1 9 7 9

68 S t e l a o f A n t e f , p r e s u m a b l y f r o m T T 1 6 4 , c f . A H G , N r . 7 5 . 2 3 - 2 4 ; 1 9 8 3 b N r. 1 6 5 .


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State and Rel ig ion in the New Kingdom 73

(God) g i v e s b r e a t h t o h i m w h o w o r s h i p s h i mand succes s t o h im who ac t s on h i s wa te r.6 9

Reciproc i ty w h i c h is t h e c o r e o f M a a t a n d t h e b a s e o f s o c i a l h a r m o n y, i s n o w

t ransfer red f r o m t h e s o c i a l s p h e r e t o t h e m a n - g o d - r e l a t i o n s h i p . T h i s s h i f t f r o m t h eprinciple o f Maa t t o t he w i l l o f god en t a i l s a gene ra l t r ans fe r o f no t ions f rom the soc i a lto t h e r e l i g i o u s s p h e r e . T h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t t r a n s f e r s c o n c e r n ( a ) o b e d i e n c e a n d ( b )

confidence.

a) o b e d i e n c e a n d s u b o r d i n a t i o n : T h e w i s e m a n , w h o b y h i s i n s i g h t i s c a p a b l e o fat tuning h i m s e l f t o t h e p r i n c i p l e s o f s o c i a l o r d e r, i s s u c c e e d e d b y t h e p i o u s m a n w h oattunes a n d s u b o r d i n a t e s h i m s e l f t o t h e w i l l o f g o d . T h e i d e a l o f s i l e n c e n o w r e f e r sto h u m i l i a t i o n a n d o b e d i e n c e t o g o d . T h u s , t h e i d e a o f s e l f - s u b o r d i n a t i o n a n din tegra t ion i s t r a n s f e r r e d f r o m t h e i n d i v i d u a l - s o c i e t y - r e l a t i o n s h i p t o t h e m a n - g o d -relationship.

b) p r o t e c t i o n a n d c o n f i d e n c e : t h e q u i n t e s s e n c e o f t h e i d e a o f M a a t h a s a l w a y s b e e nthe p r o t e c t i o n o f t h e w e a k ( t o f e e d t h e h u n g r y, c l o t h e t h e n a k e d , t o f e r r y t h e s h i p l e s s ,to b u r y t h e h e i r l e s s , to s h e l t e r t h e w i d o w a n d t h e o r p h a n e t c . ) S o l i d a r i t y a s it ises tabl i shed b y M a a t o p e r a t e s v e r t i c a l l y : in t h e f o r m o f p r o t e c t i o n f r o m a b o v e a n dconf idence a n d l o v e f r o m b e l o w . P r e c i s e l y t h i s v e r t i c a l a x i s i s n o w t r a n s f e r r e d t o t h e

m a n - g o d - r e l a t i o n s h i p , p u t t i n g g o d i n t h e p o s i t i o n o f t h e p r o t e c t o r , t h e g o o dshepherd , and m an in t he po s i t i o n o f t he po o r and the w ea k . A l r ea dy in on e o f t heearly p r a y e r s o f P e r s o n a l P i e t y, d a t i n g f r o m t h e t i m e o f A m e n o p h i s I I w e r e a d :

I h a v e p l a c e d y o u i n t o m y h e a r t b e c a u s e y o u a r e s t r o n g ,[ . . . ] p r o t e c t o r nhw),behold: m y f e a r snd) i s gon e .7 0

Several o f t he R am es s id t ex t s po in t ou t t ha t t he re i s no p ro t ec t o r am o ng m e n bu t t ha t adeity A m u n , M u t e t c . i s t h e o n l y p r o t e c t o r o n w h i c h a h u m a n h e a r t c a n r e l y :

I d id no t s eek fo r m ys e l f an o ff i c i a l f o r a p ro t ec to r ;I d o n o t a s s o c i a t e m y s e l f w i t h a r i c h m a n ,I d o n o t g i v e m y p o r t i o n u n d e r t h e s t r o n g a r m o f a m a n w h o w a s i n t h e

house o f [ the k ing] .My l o rd i s m y p ro t ec to r,I k n o w h i s s t r e n g t h .

Protector w i th a s t rong a rm, he i s t he on ly s t rong one .7 1

69 T T 11 cf . A HG N r. 83 .6- 7: 1983b Nr. 13.

70 oC airo 12.217 r to ed. Pose ner 1975, 20 6- 7.

71 pAn astasi II , 9 .2 -10 .1 ed. Ga rdiner 1937, 17f. , Fecht 1965, 46 -5 2; cf . A H G Nr.17 7


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74 N S S M N N

This t ransfer of confidence, from the human to the divine sphere, has very pract icalconsequences, as is most clearly evidenced by the case of Zimut named Kiki who notonly considered

to find himself a protector,and he found Mut to be at the top of the gods,72

but who consequently bequeathed all his property to her.73 This is an early case of self-dedication which in la ter t ime became qui te cus tomary.7 4 The pos i t ion inver se lycorrespondent to protec t ion i s weakness , pover ty, misery which now become se l f -definitions of the pious one,75 along with sile nc e: god is the prote ctor of the silentone, the saviour of the poor7 6 or the lord of the silent one w ho com es at the voice of

the poor.77

Confidence in go d , connected with expressions l ike mh-jb ( to fill the heart w ithsomebody ) and hnn r ( to lean against som ebo dy ) now becom es a com mo n not ion .The most typical expression of this attitude is the notion of placing oneself into thehands of god, which i s a recurrent theme in the teaching of Amenemope7 8 but isalready very prominent in the inscript ions of the statue Berl in 6919 of Amenemope(temp, of Seti I) wh ich begin: H ow bea utiful is i t to sit in the han d of A m u n andwhich close with the wish to be safe in you r hand.7 9

The most innovative aspect of Ramessid anthropology is perhaps the concept of sin,of culpability with respect to god.80 Man now becomes capable of guil t towards god.This leads to a new genre of self- thematizat ion which is the very opposi te of thetraditional tomb-biog raphy. Biograph ical events bec om e rea dab le as s igns of divinefavour or disgrace. In either case man is elicited to erect a stela proclaiming this eventof divine manifestat ion sdd b3wsi). Personal experience gains a new interest. Life isexposed to constant divine judgment. God is omniscient and wil l distr ibute his favouror disgrace in strict reciprocity to human attitude and behaviour.

72 A eH G Nr. 173 .11-1 7; the con cept of the election of the god dess M ut as a perso nal protector recurs in

the same text over and over again, cf . especial ly verses 42f. , 62f. , 66f. , 102ff .

73 Vermis 1978.

74 Tho m pson JEA 26, 68ff . ; Posener, Rd E 22, 204.

75 cf . Bru nne r 1961 = 1988, 189-2 14 .

76 Ber l in 691 0 ( temp. Set i I ) f rom TT 215 cf. A ssm ann ST G Nr. 206.

77 Berl in 203 77 cf . A eH G Nr. 148, 15f.78 A m ene m ope 22.8 , 23 .11, 24 .19f . e tc . c f . Gr um ach 1972.

79 STG , p . 283. Cf . a lso the very rem arkab le text A eH G Nr. 186.

80 G riff i th s 1988.

81 As sm ann 1973; Borghou ts 1982, n .163.


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3 2 2 Theology of will

Many of the anthropolog ical no t ions l ike s i lence, poverty an d conf iden ce are just oneside of corresponding theological not ions l ike omnipotent disposi t ion and protect ion.

Personal P i e t y c o r r e s p o n d s t o P e r s o n a l D e i t y. T h e i d e a o f g o d a s s u m e s t h echaracteristics o f an inner personal i ty and indiv idua l i ty : wi l l , in ten t ion , dec is ion ,judgment. The most typical roles are the saviour of the oppressed82 and the judge ofthe poor,83 both related to the idea of protection. We shall not go into details here,because this s ide of the dei ty has already become apparent f rom the correspondinganthropological concept ions.

Instead I will try to treat the concept of divine will , intention and intervention in amore general way. In my opinion, there is a c lear opposi t ion between the classicalconcept of Maat ( implying indirect causat ion) and the concept of the wil l of god,implying d irect causat ion and intervent ion. The classical concept ion with i ts categoryof indirect cau sat ion con fines the wil l of god to the pat tern of real ity which he ha sinstalled by his init ial action. Divine will is committed to the cosmic cycle, he cannotwill otherwise than the e te rna l repe t i t ion and the ident ica l reproduct ion of the

pattern; he is bound to the roles or funct ions in which the gods are bel ieved to beimmanent and manifest in real i ty.84 Fo r t he c l a s s i ca l dogm a , go d s w i l l b eco m esmanifest, not in the exception, the miracle, the singular event, but in the pattern, in themiraculous precision of repetit ion. This is as much as a negation of divine will . God is

not free to dispose, nor of the cosmic cycles, nor of the rules underlying social l ife,viz. Maat .The theology of wil l requires absolute sovereignty. God has to be separated from

the roles and funct ion s of the pa t tern he once instal led. He cannot be boun d to themere maintenance of cosmic order.85 In the new frame of a theology of will , i t is notthe repeated pat tern, but the s ingular event which manifests the wil l of god. Theseevents can be interpreted as manifestat ions of favour in Egyptian hzwt f a v o u r ,

82 cf. Otto 1971; Brunner 1958 = 1988 17 3-1 88 .

83 P o s e n e r l 9 7 1 .

84 The function-con formity of the god s precludes intentionality and personality: this is the reason why

Egyptian myth ology is so poor as compared with Babylonian or Greek my tholo gy where the

gods seem mu ch less involved in the functioning of reality. But see Dih le 1985 9f. for similar

conceptions of unintentional role-conformity in Greek philosophy.

85 This leads to the problem of transcendence as explained especia lly by Morenz 1964 . Morenz clearly

overemphasized this aspect of the Ramessid conception of god. The separation of god and his

mundane functions went never so far as to think of god external to the world. He remains

inside but not coex tensiv e with the world; he exc eed s it cf. Assma nn 1983 20 0 ff. Egypt holdsan intermediate position betwee n Greece where the god s are fully committed to cosm ic order

and Israel wher e God fully transcends it. The world in the Egy ptian comp reh ens ion is a

manifestation of god both as co sm os and as history.


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76 JAN ASSMANN

blessing 86 re wa rding the pious one, or as m anife statio ns of wrath in Egy ptianw power 8 7 , punishing the frivolo us. Suc cess and failure are now n o longer seen

as a consequence of Maat, i .e. of social coherence and solidarity, but of direct divineintervention. In this respect, the reduction of indirect to direct causation becomes most

conspicuous and has often been observed:88

God Ming aat success

Model 1: indirect causatio n

God success

Model 2: direct causation

In the model of direct causation, god disposes of Maat as he chooses and is himselfthe instance of jud gm en t and justice. He is the lord of jus tic e in a dou ble sense: 1) in

the sense of protect ion, re la ted to the weak/s t rong opposi t ion and the problem ofinegality, and 2) in the sense of jurisdiction, related to the right/wrong opposit ion andthe problem of sin. He is omniscient, constantly observing and judging human actions,holding both blessings and punishments in his hands,89 in strict reciprocity to humanattitude and behaviour:

His b w (punishing power) is vehement ,he is mo re pow erful than Sakhm et ,like fire in a storm;his mercy is high, he takes care of him who adores him,

86 Cf. Assm ann 1975, 6 0- 6 4 and 1979, 31 for this concept.

87 Cf. Borghouts 1982.

88 Otto 1954 , 22f f.; Brunner 1963; Vernus 1985.

89 This concept has to be distinguished from Am un judge of the poor, the latter being concerned with

the ancient concept of protecting the weak against the strong and not with the idea of reward vs.

punishment One could perhaps make use of the ingenious Aristotelian distinction between

ust t distributiv(protecting the poor) and

iustiti comm ut tiv(judging man s actions) to

account for the differen ce betw een the two conc epts of protector and judge which are

conflated in the Egyptian terminology.


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he turns to heal his s uffering .For he looks upon men, there is no one whom he does not know,and he listens to millions of them.Who could resist thy wrath who avert the fury of thy power? 90

The classical text is the teaching of Amenemope. Here Maat is explicitly put intofree disposition of god, thus identified with the will of god and treated as a synonymof hzwt 'favour':

As for Maat, the great gift of god:he gives it to whom he likes.9'

This amounts to a disappearance of the concept of Maat. The concepts of Maat and ofdivine intervention seem to be mutually exclusive.

The anthropocentr ic reading of ' fa te ' and 'h is tory, ' in terpret ing success asmanifestations of favour hzwt, htpw) and failure as manifestatio ns of wrath b3w),n

leads to the concept of God as the 'designer of history.' The flow of events (eg. hprwt'what happens') becomes understood as the immediate implementation of god's will:k k hprwt nbwt Your 'Ka ' (w ill , intention, de sign ) is ever ythin g that happe ns(=history) 9:i or wd.n.k pw hprwt nbwt Everything that happens is what you have

ordered .94

This is a new vision of history. The traditional attitude towards history this term always to be understood in the sense of hprwt ' the flo w of even ts ' withregard rather to the future than to the past wa s skeptic and pess im istic. You cannot know what will happen, 95 there are no limits to what will happen, 96 You cannotknow what will happen so that you might recognize the morrow. 97According to theInstruction for Merikare, god gave man magic as a weapon to shield off 'the blow of

90 Stela Louvre C 256 (Banishm ent) ed. v. Beckerath 1968.

91 Am enem ope 21 .5 -6 ; Grumach 1972, 134 . In the in te rpre tat ion of th is passage I am fo l low ing

Brunner 1963.

92 Borghouts 1982.

93 TT 23 cf. Assm ann 1983b Nr. 17, pp. 18- 23 . Similarly Luxor inscription of Ra ms es II, KR III , 34 6.8:

ki wnnt nbt His Ka is everything what exists ; pLeiden J 350,V ,17: k3 f wnnt nbt jmj /\J./ His

Ka is everything existing as utterance in his mouth .

94 Hittite Marriage, KRI II, 24 9.1 0.

95 Kagem ni: pPrisse II.2 cf. pR am esseum 1.18.

96 Letter to the Dead from Na ga ed-Deir, ed. Sim pson 1966.97 Ptahhotep 343 , cf 345 in the Lond on #2 version: there is no one who know s his condition (his luck)

when he plans the morrow which corresponds verbatim to pR am esseum I B1 .6 cf. Barns 1956,

6.


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78 JAN ASSMANN

what wil l happen. '9 8 This concept of hprwt 'what wi l l happen ' seems bare of anyreligious s igni f icance . I t i s not conceived of as a rea lm of d iv ine in ten t ion andmanifestation. This is precisely what changes w ith the New Kin gdo m . Instead of the

traditional atti tude of a somewhat fatalistic pessimism which is so prominent, e.g. inepistolary style ( Today I am fine, but my condition of tomorrow I do not know ), wenow find pious compliance with god's plans ( Today I am f ine; the morrow is in thehand of God ).99

3.2.3 Politology of divine will .

Movements must be interpreted according to what they lead to. In the case of thetheology of will , this is the establishment of direct theocracy. The Theban theocracy

being the 21st Dynasty lies outside the scope of the present investigation, but asits ultimate consequence, i t is present in the movement as such. Seen in this l ight, thetheology of will appears to have been destructive with regard to the vision of polit icalorder i m p l i e d in t h e c l a s s i c a l c o n c e p t i o n . T h e c l a s s i c a l c o n c e p t i o n c a n b echaracterized as a ' representa t ive theocracy, ' god ru l ing through the k ing as h isrepresentative, by ' i nd i r ec t causa t ion . ' H i s own k ingsh ip i s conf ined ( a ) t o themythical, and (b) to the celestial sphere: he ruled once, in a 'Golden Age, ' directly onearth, when heaven and earth had not been separated and gods and men lived together,and he exerts now, after the separation of heaven and earth, gods and men, his rule bymeans of the solar cycle.10 0 Most of the instances where Re or AmunRe are cal ledking refer either to mythical10 1 or to celestial kingship.10 2 But there are hymns which

accumulate royal epithets in a way which cannot be explained in terms of mythical orcelestial kingship: they obviously refer to pol i t ical kingship, insinuat ing that god,since he is the only protector and saviour, is the only true king as well . The mostexplicit hymns in this respect, alas unpublished, are written on the verso of the LeidenPapyrus of the Admonitions of all places.103

98 P 13 6- 7. For the concep t of M agic as being a wea pon , cf. also Derchain 1987.

99 See Assm ann 1975, 66.

100 The most explici t account of the Go lden A ge and i ts decl in e is contained in the Boo k of the

Heavenly Cow, see Hornung 1982; cf Kakosy 1964.

101 Thes e instances have been collecte d and carefully analyzed by Luft 1978.

102 I understand the term celestial kingship to include the title king of god s, constantly associated

with Amun(Re) and relating to the idea of presidency over the divine world. This concept is

common both to the Classical Dogma and to Near Eastern religions in general where there is

always a chief of the pantheon. To denote this s t ructure, E. Voeg elin has coin ed the term

summodeism.103 Zand ee 1975. Zand ee doe s not mak e the necessary distinctions betw een myth ical, celesti al and

political kingship ( let a lone eschatological which is the Judaeo-Christ ian concept) and thus

confuses t he i s sue s cons ide r ab ly. Bu t h i s pape r g iv e s a c e r t a i n i dea o f t he o t he r w i s e

unpublished text.


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As is well known, Amun rules his s tate by giving oracles . This inst i tut ion, too,becomes increasingly common already during the New Kingdom. Oracles are only theinstitutionalized form of divine manifestat ions including dreams, omina, and thoseinterventions which are subsumed under the term b3w 'manifestat ion of (punishing)power, 10 4 a l l o f these be ing chara c ter i s t ic of Ra m ess id cu l ture and affe c t in g i tspolitical s t ructure. The base of royal legi t imation changes. The ' ini t ia l instal lat ion 'comes to appear insufficient: what counts is hzwt ' favour, blessing, success, ' as in theprivate sphere. Ramses II builds his image not so much on his ' initial installation' thanon a divine intervention in his favour, the event in Kadesh, '05 and is followed in thisrespect by Merenptah and Ramses I I I . Merenptah in terpre ts h is v ic tory over theLibyans as a sign, that Re has turned his fac e again tow ards Egypt10 6 and in a hymnto Ramses V I we read Am un has turned his face toward Egypt .10 7 History ceases to

be a 'ritual, '108

i t becomes the test and the touching stone of a king's legitimacy andgains a quite new significance.109

The king, being reduced to the necessity of gaining god's favour and by this factbeing subject to god's judgment of his actions as everybody else has recourse to thevirtues of piety, too. The piety of the king is of course a very central idea also in thecontext of the Classical Dogma. But there it is regarded as a question of engagementin temple building and donations and not so much as a question of inner atti tude. Thischanges already remarkably with Hatshepsut whose inscript ions profess a pecul iardevotion. But all this is sti l l a far cry from the confession of personal piety which

Ramses III110 had inscribed on a tablet of silver and dedicated to his memorial templein Karnak,11 1 or from the text on anothe r stela:

In your great name I trust,with your designs I fi l l myself,doing benefactions for you with loving heart.You are the great lord of him who trusts in him,the protector of him who approaches him.

4 Borghouts 1982. See now also Griffiths 1988.

5 Assmann 83/84; Ockinga 1987; Goed icke (ed.) 1985.

6 KR IIV, 19.1

7 Con don 1978, 12 line 4; 20; 30. No te that already Sinuhe read his victory over the cham pion of

Retenu as a sign of god s reconciliation.

8 Hornung 1966.

9 See especially Albrektson 1967 for similar concep tions in the Near East. Cf. also Ass ma nn 1983d.

But Ramses III., in the Great Harris Papyrus redacted in his name by his son Ramses IV., provides

also the best illustration for the ever increasing importance of donations and temple building in

the frame of the new concept of piety. All this is too well known to need fuller treatment here.

AeHGNr. 19 6


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80 JAN ASSMANN

Breath, water and life are in your grasp,Salvation and Heal th are with you."2

The king puts himself in the same position of the weak, looking for a protector, as dothe o ther people . He even urges god: "Be my protector " ."3

In the context of the new theology of the wil l , me taphorical ly speaking, the 'pal ace 'fades and the ' temple ' grows. With the classical concept ion Egypt loses her pol i t icalvision, her "Staats idee.""4 There does not seem to be any polit ical vision of particularimportance to be implied in the new theology. Its increasing influence leads to a rapiddisintegration of the s ta te and to a shr inking of pol i t ical horizon from 'empire ' totemple (in the sense of prJmn the temple estate). The theocracy of the 21st Dynasty

is a com parat ively pro vincial affair. This is s trongly rem iniscent of Am arna rel igion,

which has a lso been connected with a s imilar ly abrupt shr inking of horizon. Thereseems to be a l ink between direct theocracy and the reduction of radius. But in everyother respect , the contrast to Amarna is perfect : nothing more absurd than the idea ofAten giving oracles, intervening in daily affairs.

3 2 4 Sociology of divine will .

With regard to the sociological implications of the new theology, we may try the sameoperation as for the polit ical aspect: start from the end. There can be no doubt aboutthe u l t ima te consequences o f t he t heo logy o f w i l l . The f i na l s t a t e o f Egyp t i ancivilization could be character ized by the term of 'c ler ical izat ion ' of society. Thepriests form the leading intel lectual and economic el i te ,"5 the temples become thecenters o f bo th economic and sp i r i tua l - in te l lec tua l wea l th . This process ev ident lystarts a l ready in the New Kingdom."6

There are two observat ions to be m ade. 1) Th e replacem ent of 'w isd om ' by 'p ie ty. 'The old eli te was based on the concept of Maat and the ideal of the wise official whoby h is knowledge of the wri t ings, his self-control and his adminis t ra t ive experience

achieves harm ony in his ow n aff airs and in society in gen eral. Th e new elite is base dnot on social wisdom but on piety, which does not seem to imply a strong idea ofsocial obl igat ions. On the contrary: the intensif icat ion of the god-man-relat ionship isat the expense of social coherence, quite in the same way as the polit ical significanceof d ivine rule drains the concept of pharaonic empire . Corrupt ion and social insecuri tygrow dur ing the Ramessid per iod to an alarming degree."7

2 KRI V 239; Assm ann 1983a 265 f.

3 pHarris A eH G Nr. 197.

4 Brunner 1982 = 1988 103ff .

5 J. John son 1986. See generally Eisenstadt 1985.

6 Kees 1953; Sauneron 1957 wh o how ever disregards the historical dim ension .

7 cf. Brunner 1982 and Helck 1 982.


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2. The rise of clerics. 8 The will of god needs to be interpreted and to be translatedinto act ions and inst i tut ions. A theology of wil l inevi tably would give r ise to theemergence of a new class of diviners, interpreters and prophets. This is what can beobserved to happen dur ing the course of the New Kingdom. The oracular pr ies t ,preparing and recording the oracular decis ions is qui te a common f igure in Ramessidsociety. Priests were also occupied in finding out the cause of a calamity and in fixingthe cond i t ions o f poss ib ly r econc i l i a t ing the o ffended de i ty.9 But what i s moredecisive sti l l is the emergence of divination, which seems to have been quite foreign toancient Egypt , in contrast to Mesopotamia. Diviners are repeatedly mentioned120 and adivination manual has been found at Der el Medinah.121 Above all , the entourage ofPharaoh seems now to acquire i ts characteristic appearance, which is so familiar to usfrom the biblical records. The hartummim who surround Pharaoh in the stories about

Moses a n d J o s e p h i n t h e f u n c t i o n o f c o u n c i l l o r s , d r e a m - r e a d e r s , d i v i n e r s a n dmagicians correspond etymological ly and funct ional ly to the hrjw tp who appear inthe dedicatory inscription of Ramses II, '22 in pV andier12 3 and in the Setne novel.124

The sources of the period and above all pVandier draw a picture of the social l ife inthe time of later New Kingdom which is rather sinister. The temples prosper from thedonations of pious kings, whereas the people, bereft of the protection and confidencein Maat , suffered f rom vio lence , d is t rus t and pover ty. Such a h ia tus be tween theprosperity of the temples and that of the people seems unthinkable in official ideology,but i t is exactly what is depicted in the tale of pVandier. The accumulating scandalsand affairs fi t perfectly into the picture of social corruption and disintegration.

Egypt during this ongoing crisis, proved incapable of finding an alternative to thewaning concept of Maat. The movement of Personal Piety and the theology of will didnot break through towards a novel vision of polit ical and social order, to be based onreligious ideas. The his tory of the late New Kingdom thus provides an impressiveexample of the destructive forces which a theology of will and its human counterpart,piety may imply. The exclusive self-commitment to the wil l of God may foster socialand polit ical disintegration, as long as solidarity and brotherhood are not expressly

recognized t o b e j u s t w h a t G o d w a n t s m a n t o r e a l i z e . T h i s is o b v i o u s l y t h eachievement not of Egypt but of Israel. It seems to me very symbolic that Israelite

118 See esp. Eisenstadt 1985.

119 For the institutions of 'Personal Piety' see Borghouts 1 982. Note, howeve r, that the 'w ise w om an '

t rht who specialized in finding out the identity of offended deities was not a professional

priest see Borghouts ibd. 2427.

12 Brunner 1973 = 1988, 224-229 and 1977, 45f .Cf. a lso Leclant 1968.

121 pDe r el Me dineh I ed. Cerny Posener 1978.

122 KR II I 326 .7

123 Posener 1985, 19.

124 For the etym ology of hartummim see Qua egebeur 1985 and 1987.


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82 JAN ASSMANN

religion, which according to the scriptures went through its decisive formative phasein Egypt, can be regarded as the solution to the problem which had arisen in Egyptand caused its decline. The solution is the command to love your fellow like yourself(Leviticus 19.18). The man-society-relationship cannot be transferred to the man-god-

relationship (and vice-versa) . A new form of social l inkage must be found andestablished, wherein both relations are retained in mutual reinforcement. This newform is 'religion' in the strong sense which Israel seems to have been the first torealize. It always establishes a triangular relationship: God Man Community.The Hebrew concept of covenant (berit) and the corresponding inner att i tude offaith, emunah translated by pistis in the Septu agin t) refer to this triang le. It

encompasses the attitudes of Man towards God and towards the com mu nity, and ofGod toward individual Man and the People. In Egypt, the concept of 'people' in theemphatic sense of a religious community Hebr. am as opposed to goyim, 'gentiles' is missing, where the collectivity as a possible partner of God is embodied in, andthus monopolized by Pharaoh. Maat had in fact established a 'triangular relationship'between Man, God, and Community. After the decline of the concept of Maat, asimilar order could only be established by converting the collective identity embodiedin 'Pharaoh' into the idea of religious brotherhood.

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KRI Kenneth A. Kitchen, Ram esside Inscriptions 7 vols. Oxford.

LA W . Helck, E. Otto (later W. Westendo rf) (eds.), Lexikon der Aegyptologie 6 vols . Wiesbaden.

Abd el Az im el Ad ly 198 4. Die Berliner Lederhan dschrift (pBerlin 3029 ). WdO 15, 6- 18 .

Albrektson, B. 1967. History and the God s An Essay on the Idea of Historical Even ts a s Divineanifestations Lund.

Allen, James P. 1988. Genesis in Egypt The Philosophy of Ancient Egyptian Creation Account Yale

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Derchain Ph.

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