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The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani) · 76 of 357 · tr. E.A. Wallis Budge

Chapter 8 (part 6)

, the litany from the tomb of Seti I., published by Naville, La Litanie du Soleil , Leipzig, 1875, p. 13 ff. 2. E.g. , Hymn to Amen-Ra, translated by Goodwin from papyrus No. 17, now preserved in the Gizeh Museum (see Les Papyrus Égyptiens du Musée de Boulaq , ed. Mariette, Paris, 1872, pll. 1-13; Records of the Past , vol. i., p. 127 f., and Trans. Soc. Bibl. Arch. , vol. ii., p. 250), and by Grébaut, Hymne à Ammon-Ra , Paris, 1874); Hymns to Amen , translated by Goodwin (see Records of the Past , vol. vi., p. 97 f.; Trans. Soc. Bibl. Arch. , vol. ii., p. 353), and Chabas ( Mélanges Égyptologiques , 1870, p. 117); Hymn to Osiris , translated by Chabas ( Revue Archéologique , t. xiv., Paris, 1857, p. 65 ff.), and Goodwin ( Records of the Past , vol. iv., p. 97 ff.). The various versions of the XVth Chapter of the Book of the Dead, which consists of a series of hymns, are given in the Theban edition by Naville ( Todtenbuch , Bd. I., Bll. 14-23), and the text of the later Saïte version is discussed and translated by Lefébure, Traduction comparée des hymnes au Soleil , Paris, 1868, 4to. 3. "Amen and Ament," are mentioned in 1. 558 of the inscription of this king; see Maspero, Recueil , t. iv., p. 66.] it is not until the so-called Hyksos have been expelled from Egypt by the Theban kings of the XVIIth dynasty that Amen, whom the latter had chosen as their great god, and whose worship they had declined to renounce at the bidding of the Hyksos king Apepi,[l] was acknowledged as the national god of southern Egypt at least. Having by virtue of being the god of the conquerors obtained the position of head of the company of Egyptian gods, he received the attributes of the most ancient gods, and little by little he absorbed the epithets of them all. Thus Amen became Amen-Ra, and the glory of the old gods of Annu, or Heliopolis, was centred in him who was originally an obscure local god. The worship of Amen in Egypt was furthered by the priests of the great college of Amen, which seems to have been established early in the XVIIIth dynasty by the kings who were his devout worshippers. The extract from a papyrus written for the princess Nesi-Khonsu, a member of the priesthood of Amen, is an example of the exalted language in which his votaries addressed him. "This is the sacred god, the lord of all the gods, Amen-Ra, the lord of the throne of the world, the prince of Apt, the sacred soul who came into being in the beginning, the great god who liveth by right and truth, the first ennead which gave birth unto the other two enneads, the being in whom every god existeth, the One of One, the creator of the things which came into being when the earth took form in the beginning, whose births are hidden, whose forms are manifold, and whose growth cannot be known.
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Themes
Apophatic Theologytheology

Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.

The text uses negative descriptions such as 'whose growth cannot be known' and 'births are hidden' to define the divine nature.

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Divine Hiddennesstheology

The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.

The passage notes that the god's 'births are hidden' and his growth is unknowable, emphasizing concealment.

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Divine Simplicitytheology

The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being.

The description of Amen-Ra as the 'One of One' and the singular being containing all gods suggests divine simplicity.

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Emanation Hierarchycosmology

A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.

The text describes the 'first ennead which gave birth unto the other two enneads,' indicating a hierarchical generation of divine beings.

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Maat Cosmic Ordercosmology

The Egyptian principle of truth, balance, and right order underlying both the cosmos and human conduct; the parallel to Zoroastrian asha and Greek dike.

The passage explicitly states the god 'liveth by right and truth,' which corresponds to the Egyptian principle of Maat.

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Monadcosmology

The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows.

Amen-Ra is described as the 'One of One' and the 'being in whom every god existeth,' reflecting a singular first principle.

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Numerical Mysticismtheology

Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.

The reference to the 'first ennead' and 'other two enneads' utilizes specific numerical groupings to structure divine reality.

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Prayerpraxis

Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward.

The text discusses 'Hymns' and how votaries 'addressed him,' indicating liturgical prayer as a central practice.

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Unity Of Beingtheology

The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.

The phrase 'being in whom every god existeth' implies a panentheistic unity where all divinity resides within one source.

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