Coffin Texts - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

7/28/2019 Coffin Texts - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

1/3

6/29/13 Coffin Texts - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_Texts

Middle Kingdom sarcophagus with

the Coffin Texts painted on its panels

Coffin TextsFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Coffin Texts are a collection of ancient Egyptian funerary spells

written on coffins beginning in the First Intermediate Period. The texts are

derived in part from the earlier pyramid texts, reserved for royal use only,

but they contain substantial new material related to everyday desires that

reflects the fact that the texts were now used by the common people.Ordinary Egyptians who could afford to have a coffin had access to these

funerary spells and the pharaoh no longer had exclusive rights to the

afterlife.[1][2]

As the modern name of this collection of some 1,185 spells implies, the

texts are mostly found on Middle Kingdom coffins. However they are

sometimes inscribed on tomb walls, stelae, canopic chests, papyri and

even mummy masks. Due to the limited writing surfaces of some of these

objects, the collection was often abbreviated, and this gave rise to long

and short versions of some of the spells, a number of which were latercopied in the Bookof the Dead.[2]

Contents

1 Content

1.1 Examples

2 The Book of Two Ways

3 See also4 References

5 External links

Content

In contrast to the Pyramid Texts which focus on the celestial realm, the coffin texts emphasize the subterranean

elements of the afterlife ruled by Osiris, in a place called the Duat. An Osirian afterlife is offered to everyone, and

the deceased is even referred to as "the Osiris-[name]". This subterranean realm is described as being filled withthreatening beings, traps, and snares with which the deceased must contend. The spells in the Coffin Texts allow th

deceased to protect themselves against these dangers and "dying a second death".

A new theme recorded in the coffin texts is the notion that all people will be judged by Osiris and his council

according to their deeds in life. The texts allude to the use of a balance, which became the pivotal moment of

udgment in the later Book of the Dead. The texts address common fears of the living, such as having to do manua

labor, with spells to allow the deceased to avoid these unpleasant tasks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_the_Deadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weighing_of_the_Hearthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgement_(afterlife)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_deathhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_Textshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osirishttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Celestial_realm&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duathttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Celestial_realm&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_Texts#External_linkshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_Texts#Referenceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_Texts#See_alsohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_Texts#The_Book_of_Two_Wayshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_Texts#Contenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spell_(paranormal)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_the_Deadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weighing_of_the_Hearthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osiris_and_his_councilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgement_(afterlife)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_deathhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osirishttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Celestial_realm&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_Textshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_Texts#External_linkshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_Texts#Referenceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_Texts#See_alsohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_Texts#The_Book_of_Two_Wayshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_Texts#Exampleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_Texts#Contenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_Texts#cite_note-BOD-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_the_Deadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mummy_mask&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canopic_chesthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Kingdom_of_Egypthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_Texts#cite_note-BOD-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_Texts#cite_note-Lichtheim-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharaohhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_textshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Intermediate_Periodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spell_(paranormal)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coffin_of_Gua.jpg


2/3



They combine ritual actions intended as protection, expressions of aspiration for a blessed existence after death an

of the transformations and transmigrations of the ba and akh and so on. In addition there are descriptions of the

land of the dead, its landscape and inhabitants. These include the Sekhet Hotep (Field of offerings or peace), the

paths of Rostau and the abode of Osiris.

Examples

Coffin text 1130 is a speech by the sun god Re, who says:

Hail in peace! I repeat to you the good deeds which my own heart did for me from within the serpen

coil, in order to silence strife...

I made the four winds, that every man might breathe in his time...

I made the great inundation, that the humble might benefit by it like the great...

I made every man like his fellow; and I did not command that they do wrong. It is their hearts which

disobey what I have said...

I have created the gods from my sweat, and the people from the tears of my eye.

Coffin text 1031 is spoken by the deceased, who says:

I shall sail rightly in my bark, I am lord of eternity in the crossing of the sky.

I am not afraid in my limbs, for Hu and Hike overthrow for me that evil being.

I shall see light-land, I shall dwell in it...

Make way for me, that I may see Nun and Amun! For I am that Akh who passes by the guards...

I am equipped and effective in opening his portal!

As for any person who knows this spell, he will be like Re in the eastern sky, like Osiris in the

netherworld. He will go down to the circle of fire, without the flame touching him ever!

The Book of Two Ways

A few coffins from the Middle Egyptian necropolis of el-Bersheh (Deir el-Bersha) contain unique graphical

representations of the realm of the afterlife, along with spells related to the journey of the deceased through the

Duat. This collection, called the Book of Two Ways, was the first example of an Ancient Egyptian map of the

underworld. The Book of Two Ways is a precursor to the New Kingdom books of the underworld as well as the

Book of the Dead, in which descriptions of the routes through the afterlife are a persistent theme. The two ways

depicted are the land and water routes, separated by a lake of fire, that lead to Rostau and the abode of Osiris.[2]

See also

Pyramid Texts

The Book of the Dead

Opening of the mouth ceremony

References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opening_of_the_mouth_ceremonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_the_Deadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_Textshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_Texts#cite_note-BOD-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deir_el-Bershahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Abode_of_Osiris&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paths_of_Rostau&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sekhet_Hotep&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_(Egyptian_soul)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reincarnationhttp://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/transformationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual_action


3/3



1. ^ Lichtheim, Miriam (1975).Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol 1. London, England: University of California Press.

ISBN 0-520-02899-6.

2. ^ abc Goelet, Dr. Ogden, et al. (1994). The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth by Day. San

Francisco: Chronicle Books.

Raymond O. Faulkner, "The Ancient Egyptian Coffin Texts", ISBN 0-85668-754-5, 3 vols., 1972-78.

The Ancient Egyptian Books of the Afterlife, Erik Hornung, ISBN 0-8014-8515-0

External links

Coffin Texts (http://aldokkan.com/pyramid_text/coffin_text.htm)

The Ancient Egyptian Coffin Texts, Part I (http://texts.00.gs/Coffin_Texts,_1.htm)

The Ancient Egyptian Coffin Texts, Part II (http://texts.00.gs/Coffin_Texts,_2.htm)

The Ancient Egyptian Coffin Texts, Part III (http://texts.00.gs/Coffin_Texts,_3.htm)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Coffin_Texts&oldid=539669044"

Categories: Ancient Egyptian funerary texts Occult texts Archaeological corpora

This page was last modified on 22 February 2013 at 14:53.

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply.

By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
http://www.wikimediafoundation.org/http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_policyhttp://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Terms_of_Usehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_3.0_Unported_Licensehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Categorieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Coffin_Texts&oldid=539669044http://texts.00.gs/Coffin_Texts,_3.htmhttp://texts.00.gs/Coffin_Texts,_2.htmhttp://texts.00.gs/Coffin_Texts,_1.htmhttp://aldokkan.com/pyramid_text/coffin_text.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0801485150http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0856687545http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_O._Faulknerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_Texts#cite_ref-BOD_2-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_Texts#cite_ref-BOD_2-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_Texts#cite_ref-BOD_2-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-520-02899-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_Texts#cite_ref-Lichtheim_1-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Archaeological_corporahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Occult_textshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Ancient_Egyptian_funerary_texts

Coffin Texts - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Documents

Transcript of Coffin Texts - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia