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.
Apocalypse of Zephaniah14 chapters
Use the arrow keys to move between chapters, Home or End to reach the first or last chapter, and Enter to open a chapter.
Texts in conversation
Compare Book of the Dead 30B and Apocalypse of Zephaniah 8:5
Ancient Near East, Egyptian · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
Share:
Summary
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.
Passages
Book of the Dead 30B
Ancient Near East, Egyptian · Egyptian Funerary Text
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].
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.5So now, my sons, this is the contest in which the good and the evil are weighed on a scale.
“... 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. ...”
O. S. Wintermute, “Apocalypse of Zephaniah,” in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Volume 1, ed. James H. Charlesworth (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1983), 501, 514.
“... The
righteous could enter heaven, but only after an examination of their deeds and
an extremely dangerous ordeal at the hands of the Accuser and his minions.
This motif of a postmortem trial to ascertain or prove one's worthiness was
common in many Greco-Roman religions. This motif surfaced long before in
ancient Egypt (see chapter i) where the ancient Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts,
and the Book of the Dead all describe similarly dangerous postmortem trials. ...”
