Texts in Conversation
The Egyptian Book of the Dead describes a balance used for judgment after death. The Apocalypse of Zephaniah describes good and evil being weighed, a similar image based on these Egyptian traditions.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Book of the Dead 30B
Egyptian Funerary Text
Ancient Near East, Egyptian
My heart from my Mother, My whole heart from my birth, Let no evidence block my claim, let me face no obstacle from the divine Circle; do not turn against me in the presence of the one at the Balance. You are my spirit, at my side, the maker who keeps my limbs healthy. Come out to the happiness we are heading toward; Do not let those officials who treat a person according to how they lived bring disgrace on my name. The joy of the Weighing of the Words is pleasant for us and for the listener. Do not let lies be spoken in the presence of the great god, Lord of the Amenta. Look how great you are [as the Triumphant one].
Date: 1550 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Apocalypse of Zephaniah 8:5
Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
1 They took my hand and lifted me into that boat, 2 and thousands upon thousands and tens of thousands upon tens of thousands of angels began to sing before me. 3 I too put on an angel's robe, and I saw all those angels praying. 4 I too began to pray together with them, and I understood their language, which they spoke with me. 5 So now, my sons, this is the contest in which the good and the evil are weighed on a scale.
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Notes and References
“... Since the author wrote in Greek, he may well have resided in a Jewish community outside
of Palestine, somewhere in the hellenistic world. Evidence favoring Egypt is strongest. Two
separate manuscripts have survived in Egypt. The Coptic (Budge) Apocalypse of Paul
probably contains a quotation from a third Egyptian manuscript (see fragment B, n. c),
attesting to the popularity of the text in Egypt. The only remaining Greek fragment of the
work is the quotation by Clement of Alexandria. Consequently, it is reasonable to assume
that the work was produced in that city. The comment regarding the weighing of good and
evil (see ch. 8, n. b) also reminds one of an Egyptian motif, but such a comment could
scarcely be decisive.
[...]
The mention of weighing good and evil in a
balance reminds one of the Egyptian prototype for
judgment in the underworld. ...”
Wintermute, O. S.
"Apocalypse of Zephaniah" in Charlesworth, James H. (ed.) The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Volume 1
(p. 501, 514) Doubleday, 1983
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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