2.6 Hell: Views of the Underworld in Ancient Egypt

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Text mentioned here:

Debate between a man tired of life and his soul
http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/texts/man_tired_of_life.htm

When the guards of the house become shaky, And the men of valor are bent, And the maids that grind, grown few, are idle, And the ladies that peer through the windows grow dim, 4 And the doors to the street are shut -- With the noise of the hand mill growing fainter, And the song of the bird growing feebler, And all the strains of music dying down; 5 When one is afraid of heights And there is terror on the road. -- For the almond tree may blossom, The grasshopper be burdened, And the caper bush may bud again; But man sets out for his eternal abode, With mourners all around in the street. -- 6 Before the silver cord snaps And the golden bowl crashes, The jar is shattered at the spring, And the jug is smashed at the cistern. 7 And the dust returns to the ground As it was, And the lifebreath returns to God Who bestowed it. JPS TNK 1985

And Must this Body Die
http://www.ccel.org/w/wesley/hymn/jwg09/jwg0930.html
1 AND must this body die?
This well-wrought frame decay
And must these active limbs of mine
Lie mouldering in the clay?

2 Corruption, earth, and worms
Shall but refine this flesh;
Till my triumphant spirit comes
To put it on afresh.

3 God, my Redeemer, lives,
And ever from the skies
Looks down, and watches all my dust.
Till he shall bid it rise.

4 Arrayed in glorious grace
Shall these vile bodies shine;
And every shape and every face
Be heavenly and divine.

5 These lively hopes we owe,
Lord, to thy dying love:
O may we bless thy grace below,
And sing thy power above!

Prayer of Lamentation to Ishtar
http://www.piney.com/LamIsht.html

See me O my Lady, accept my prayers.
Faithfully look upon me and hear my supplication.
Promise my forgiveness and let thy spirit be appeased.
Pity! For my wretched body which is full of confusion and trouble.
Pity! For my sickened heart which is full of tears and suffering.
Pity! For my wretched intestines (which are full of) confusion and trouble.

Pity! For my afflicted house which mourns bitterly.
Pity! For my feelings which are satiated with tears and suffering.
O exalted Irnini, fierce lion, let thy heart be at rest.
O angry wild ox, let thy spirit be appeased.

Let the favor of thine eyes be upon me.
With thy bright features look faithfully upon me.
Drive away the evil spells of my body (and) let me see thy bright light.

How are each of these texts alike , how are they different?

How is the text "Debate between a man tired of life and his soul" compare to the speech of Gilgamesh, Job and Psalms of suffering?

In the Christian Hymn concerning Death, if one were to replace the name Osiris with "God" would it work as an Egyptian hymn? Why or Why not.

Could the pyramid text ""Debate between a man tired of life and his soul" be the earliest written record of suicidal thoughts?

See speech of Gilgamesh here:

"Enkidu, whom I love deeply, who went through every hardship with me, the fate of mankind has overtaken him.
Six days and seven nights I mourned over him
and would not allow him to be buried
until a maggot fell out of his nose.
I was terrified by his appearance(!),
I began to fear death, and so roam the wilderness.
The issue of my friend oppresses me,
so I have been roaming long trails through the wilderness.
The issue of Enkidu, my friend, oppresses me,
so I have been roaming long roads through the wilderness.
How can I stay silent, how can I be still!
My friend whom I love has turned to clay."
http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/mesopotamian/gilgamesh/tab10.htm

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Egyptian
• Judgment
• death
• Sheol
• Ra
• Osiris
• Jewish
• Christianity
• Isis
• wayman29
• Danmill23
• Heroes
• mythology
• yt:stretch=16:9
• yt:quality=high

[ancienthebreworg]

Excellent video Wayman, thank you. While listening to the Pyramid text, I got the impression that death was seen as something more than the threshhold of a "new life" but a "better life," a life of beauty. Do you agree or was I missing something?

[wayman29]

Yes. Reading this reminded me of Christian Hymns. Her eis another example: O what hath Jesus bought for me!

Before my ravished eyes

Givers of life divine I see,

And trees of paradise;

They flourish in perpetual bloom,

Fruit every month they give;

And to the healing leaves who come

Eternally shall live.

Same idea just in a different time and place. Amazing.

[ancienthebreworg]

Very amazing, just goes to show how ancient some ideas are :-). Great work on the series, really looking forward to Canaanite Mythology :-)

[Uaz31]

Thanks for the reading.

[Jaynagurl1]

Must have been in the Alexandria library of literature :)