The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani) · 99 of 357 · tr. E.A. Wallis Budge
Chapter 10 (part 14)
see also Maspero, Hymne au Nil, publié et traduit d'après les deux textes A Musée Britannique , Paris, 1868.
4to.
2 Pyramid of Unas, l.
219; Pyramid of Teta, ll.
60, 286; Pyramid of Pepi I., ll.
444, 593, etc.
3.
Pyramid of Pepi I., l.
593.
4.
Recueil de Travaux , t.
iii., p.
905 (l.
219 f.).
5.
Ibid.
, t.
vii., p.
150 (ll.
261-63).
6 Ibid.
, t.
v., p.
10 (ll.
59 ff.).
7.
###.
Ibid.
, t.
viii., p.
91 (l.
593).
8.
Ibid.
, t.
vii., p.
167 (l.
444).
9.
Ibid.
, t.
vii., p.
150 (l.
261).] body separately, and they placed them in four jars, each of which was devoted to the protection of one of the children of Horus, i.e.
, to the care of one of the gods of the four cardinal points.
The god of the north protected the small visceræ, the god of the east the heart and lungs, the god of the south the stomach and large intestines, and the god of the west the liver and gall-bladder.
With these four gods four goddesses were associated, viz., Nephthys, Neith, Isis, and Selk or Serq.
Connected with the god Horus are a number of mythological beings called Heru shesu (or shemsu , as some read it), who appear already in the pyramid of Unas in connection with Horus and Set in the ceremony of purifying and "opening the mouth"; and in the pyramid of Pepi I.
it is they who wash the king and who recite for him the "Chapter of those who come forth," and the "[Chapter of] those who ascend." In the judgment scene in the Book of the Dead, grouped round the pan of the balance which contains the heart of the deceased (see Plate III.), are three beings in human form, who bear the names Shai , Renenet , and Meskhenet .
Shai is the personification of destiny, and Renenet fortune; these names are usually found coupled.
Shai and Renenet are said to be in the hands of Thoth, the divine intelligence of the gods; and Rameses II.
boasts that he himself is "lord of Shai and creator of Renenet." Shai was originally the deity who "decreed" what should happen to a man, and Renenet, as may be seen from the pyramid texts, was the goddess of plenty, good fortune, and the like; subsequently no distinction was made between these deities and the abstract ideas which they represented.
In the papyrus of Ani, Shai stands by himself near the pillar of the Balance, and Renenet is accompanied by Meskhenet , who appears to be the personification of all the conceptions underlying Shai and Renenet and something else besides.
In the story of the children of Ra, as related in the Westcar papyrus, we find the goddess Meskhenet mentioned with Isis, Nephthys, Heqet, and the god Khnemu as assisting at the birth of children.
[1.
Recueil de Travaux , t.
iii., p.
182 (l.
17).
2.
###, etc.
Ibid.
, t.
vii., p.
170 (l.
463).
3.
See Maspero, Romans et Poésies du Papyrus Harris , No.
§ Ask Guru about this passage →Themes
Anthropomorphismtheology
Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.
[auto] Divine beings are described with human attributes such as gender, children, and specific territorial roles.
All passages →Divine Providencetheology
Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.
Shai is described as the deity who decreed what should happen to a man, held in the hands of Thoth.
All passages →Eschatological Judgmentsoteriology
Final, collective cosmic judgment as an event in which the wicked are sentenced and the cosmos restored; distinct from psychopomp_journey (individual passage at death) and emphasising verdict where Zoroastrian frashokereti emphasises restoration.
[auto] The text details the judgment scene in the Book of the Dead involving the balance and the heart of the deceased to determine fate.
All passages →Funerary Navigationpraxis
Texts and rituals guiding the soul through death.
[auto] The passage describes mummification rituals and protective deities essential to the Book of the Dead's role in guiding the deceased through death.
All passages →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 description of the balance containing the heart implies the Egyptian principle of truth and order underlying the judgment.
All passages →Numerical Mysticismtheology
Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.
The text emphasizes the number four in the arrangement of jars, cardinal points, gods, and goddesses.
All passages →Psychopomp Journeycosmology
Guided passage of the soul through afterlife realms.
Mythological beings (Heru shesu) are described as washing the king and reciting chapters for those who ascend, guiding the passage.
All passages →Related passages · 10 parallels
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Shared concept: Numerical Mysticism — Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality. (derived)
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Thus, the Crown is the greate…”
Shared concept: Numerical Mysticism — Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality. (derived)
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“But he whose initiation is recent, and who has been the spectator of many glories in the other world, is amazed when he sees any one having a godlike face or form, which is the expression of divine beauty; and at first a shudder runs throug…”
Shared concept: Anthropomorphism — Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 9, Section 1c
“For just as, supposing we were in thought to represent the soul itself in bodily shape, and represent this indivisible substance as surrounded by bodily parts, we should, in such a case, give the surrounding parts a different meaning suited…”
Shared concept: Anthropomorphism — Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery. (derived)
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“XXXVII-XLIV. The First Parable . XXXVIII. The Coming Judgement of the Wicked . CHAPTER XXXVIII 1. The First Parable. When the congregation of the righteous shall appear, And sinners shall be judged for their sins, And shall be driven from t…”
Shared concept: Eschatological Judgment — Final, collective cosmic judgment as an event in which the wicked are sentenced and the cosmos restored; distinct from psychopomp_journey (individual passage at death) and emphasising verdict where Zoroastrian frashokereti emphasises restoration. (derived)