DUE PROCESS IN THE BEYOND*

Edmund 5. Meltzer

Pacifica Graduate lnstitute

ABSTRACT

The use of legal procedures and documents is a significant feature of the Beyond. ln addition to

the Judgment itself (Tyldesley, Judgement of the Pharooh Ch. 12), a number of Letters to the

Dead mention litigation {Wente, Meltzer ed., Letters from Ancient Egypt 2L0ff). The Book of

Breathings (Baer: "Breathing Permit") is a legal document, a divine decree {Hornung Books of

the Afierlile 23-241. BD 6 is essentially a Power of Attorney enabling the Ushabty to act for the

deceased; the translation of the opening formula sHD wsir will be discussed. A wooderr stela

auctioned at Christies NY in 2005 lAncient Egyptian Art from the Horer Family Trust Collection. . .

Lot 4U contains a divine decree of Osiris, granting the deceased Tasherit(enlduai entry to the

deities' presence. This is analogous to pParma L07, "a Book of Admission to the Realm of the

Dead" lBooks of the Afterlife 251.

The concept of hp, typically translated "law," has been closely linked to Maat (Lorton VA 2

[1986] 53-62), though not allagree (Boochs VAZW9S6IST-92; Lippert "Law (Definitions and

Codificationl," UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptolagy). Bontty U55EA 271199712ffi0] 1-8) cites

Nims'definitions "order, justice, right" and considers hp fundamentally "norm, custom,

convention," cf. Greek nomos. ln line with the concept of the "Two Maats" and the perspective

of Abt and Hornu ng (Knowledge for the Afterlife 25), legal procedures in the Beyond could offer

the deceased security and reassurance that they were still in the realm of Maat.

Many scholars have noted the parallels between this and the other world in ancient Egyptian

concepts, in geography as well as behavior and activities (e.g. Ronald J. Leprohon on the

ubiquitous doorkeepers that forbid one from entering their domain, "Gatekeepers of This and

the Other World," TSSEA 24 = Williams-Gedenkschrift [19941L997]77-91; Suzanne Onstine,

'The Relationship between Re and Osiris in the Book of Caverns," JSSEA23 [1995/L998] 66-77;

Cory Wade invokes the Hermetic axiom "As above, so below" in a paper on "How Dual is the

Duat? 'As above, so below' and the Egyptian Afterlife," presented at ARCE, Cambridge MA

2005, program book pp. LL3-LL4, dealing mainly with dualities in the Duat and cosmos, not

mundane life and the Afterlife). I have raised a note of caution regarding the potential

reductionism in the type of formulation that argues that the Other World is 'just" a copy or

projection of this world (E. S. Meltzer, "Religious Experience and the Egyptian Underworld,"

JSSEA 27 1199712000] 60-61), but reflections of this world certainly appear, sometimes in an

idealized form such as the height of the grain in the Fields of laru, sometimes one might

venture to say with a dreamlike quality {c{- some of the perspectives of T. Abt & E. Hornung;

Knowledge for the Afterlife [Zurich: Living Human Heritage 2003; A. Schweizer, Foreword by

Hornung, trans. D. Lorton, The Sungod's Journey through the Netherworld [lthaca-London:

Cornell 2010]J. ln this category one might think of the apparently pointless, Kafkaesque

bureaucracy that assigns the busyrvork of "conveying sand of the East to the West and vice

versa." ln all of this interplay of features of this and the other world, one notable feature of the

Afterlife is the extent to which it is governed by - its denizens are subject to - its procedures

are administered in accordance with what we might call "the rule of law" or "due process."

Aspects of this phenomenon have been noted many times to be sure, but it might be

interesting and illuminating to gather as many instances as possible under one heading and

reflect on how this characteristic of the Hereafter might have been significant.

After the abstract for this paper was submitted, and I had completed substantial work on the

draft, I received via ernail from Dr. Arlette David of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, on Jan.

L6, ZAL4, her extremely r.elevant paper entitled "The Sound of the Magic Flute in Legal and

Religious Registers of the Ramesside Period: Some Common Features of Two 'Ritualistic

Languages,"'in A. C. Hagedorn & R. G. Kratz, Low and Religion in the Eostern Mediterraneon:

From Antiquity to Early lslom {Oxford: OUP 2013) pp. 13-39. I want to acknowledge her

insightful paper, and her receptive response to my abstract and paper proposal (email dated

Jan. L6, ?AL4l, with appreciation and gratitude. Though the title and much of the content of

her paper reference the Ramesside Period, her discussion ranges extremely widely in textual

and visual sources, including the Narmer Palette. She discusses in both a theoretical/global and

an Egyptological context the commonalities and interpenetration of legal and religious

"ritualistic language," stating that her aim

"is to tackle a few shared linguistic features of legal and religious registers, besides the obvious

formulaic structure inherent in both discourses, and to demonstrate that similar

communicative purposes have led to parallel linguistic choices in the two fields." (p. 17)

Before proceeding with our own formulation, we shall note a couple of the most relevant areas

highlighted by Dr. David. She classifies legal sources under the headings of "normative,"

"consentient" and "contentious," noting that in "normative" royal decrees, "Borderline cases

belonging to the fuzzy edges of the legal and religious realms are not uncommon" (p. 16); that

in addition to ritualized language itself, religious elements enter into wills in the "consentient

genre" (ibid.); and that

"As for the contenfious genre, we may notice a religious involvement in secular litigation

practices with the use of a divine oracle . . . as well as recourse to oaths invoking gods for

evidence in secular trial contexts" (ibid.l.

I would introduce a note of caution or circumspection regarding the application of the

categories "secular" and "religious" to ancient Egyptian culture, especially since to my

knowledge Egyptian has no word meaning "mundane" or "profane" or "secular," corresponding

to Hebrew Hol.

Dr. David proceeds to note that "The Ramesside religious repertoire . . . encompasses many

textual genres: . . . including . . . oracles and divine decrees, etc. (of course, these genres may be

combined in the sources)." (p.17)

Having introduced Dr. David's very convergent and serendipitous exploration of religious and

legal language, we return to our overview of the major instances of legal formulations and

procedures in the Hereafter:

*Probably the most obvious example is the Judgment itself, the centerpiece of the Book of the

Dead as well as some other Afterlife literature, a legal proceeding before a presiding Judge and

a court or Tribunal. (Cf. Joyce Tyldesley, ludgement of the Pharaoh [London: Phoenixlorion

2001l Chapter 12.)

*ln Letters to the Dead, deceased relatives can be asked to initiate or bring about legal

proceedings against a fellow Afterlife-dweller suspected or accused of harming the tetter-writer

and the latter's family (E. F. Wente, ed. E. S. Meltzer, Letters from Ancient Egypt [Atlanta:

Scholars Press 19901 pp. 210-2L2,2171. Thus, in Cairo CG 25975, we read:

"You know that I lhave] come to you here about titigating with Beheztiand Aai's son Anankhi.

Rouse yourself against them. . . ." {p. 211.}.

The Kaw Bowl contains the statement regarding the rightful ownership of fields:

"Now that he (rny brother) is with you in the same city (of the dead), you must institute

litigation with him since you have witnesses at hand in the same city." (p. 212)

Finally, the author of pleiden I 371 writes to his deceased wife:

"Now look, you aren't letting my mind be at ease. I shall litigate with you, and right shall be

distinguished from wrong." (p. 2L7l

ln Agatha Christie's ancient Egyptian mystery Deoth Comes os the End, based on the

Hekanakhte Letters, a fictitious Letter to the Dead of this type is written. The legalfiuridical

aspect of Letters to the Dead has been discussed by Julia Hsieh in a paper presented at the

Annual Meeting of ARCE at Providence in 2012, 'The Vernacular of the Letters to the Dead"

(abstract in program book, pp. 48-A9l; she notes the written format of split colurnns as a

feature of legal papyri as well as religious texts.

*B? 6, the Shabty text, can be seen as essentially a Power of Attornev enabling the Shabty to

substitute or act for the deceased in whose place it reports for duty. ln this regard, I think that

the opening formula sHD wsir is significant. I think that the most cogent understanding

proposed thus far is that of T. G. Allen: "The Osiris PN's lnstructions," or "the lnstructions of the

Osiris PN" (Ihe Egyptian Book of the Deod Dacuments in the Oriental lnstitute Museum ot the

University of Chicogo [Chicago: U. of Chisago 1960] pp.72-77; d. Wb. lV p. 226], with the text

following Dd.f (where present) being understood as the substance or content of the

instructions themselves - despite the insistence of D. Meek, Annde Lexicographique 1

11977 /L980) p. 338, s.v. sHDw "le Dispensateur de la lumidre," "C'est sans doute aussi ce mot

qui d6signe le propri6taire d'un ouchebti," citing H. D. Schneider, Shobfis, pp. L3L-133. Meeks

also includes the meaning of sHD that we are employing, "Faire connaitre, mettre en 6vidence,"

p. 337.

As indicated by Meeks and the references he cites, translation of this formula in recent decades

has favored the literal sense of "illumination" for sHD - "the Osiris, the llluminator/llluminated"

or "May the Osiris be illuminated" (e.g. Donald B. Spanel in the Schulman Fs. with

literature). Grammatically, this would make sHD either an active or passive participle on the

one hand, or a prospective or hortatory use use of the Passive sDm(w).f on the other - a use

which is included in Gardiner's Grsmmar. ln the case of the identification as a participle, one

notes that the form is invariably masculine. This would be put down to agreeing with the

mascutine gender of Osiris, and Edward H. Bteiberg, writing in the Rornano volume (BES L7l,

has noted that masculine pronouns appear referring to women in funerary contexts for this

reason. {Thus also a late Ptolemaic or early Roman period coffin of Aset-em-Akhbit auctioned

at Christies NY in June 2008.) However, this is not invariably the case, as Dr. Bleiberg himself

notes in the tabulation of his sample of New Kingdom coffins (BES t7 [2007] 43-44l. A faience

Shabty of the Divine Adoratrice Henuttawy in a Canadian private collection, published by Joyce

Haynes lPrivately Owned Egyption Antiquities in Ontorio, Fasc. 3., Shobtis, #7), seems to provide

the reading Dd.s, with what we both saw as a horizontal s with two vertical cross-hatches

(hand-copy by Joyce Haynes). Another example of the same individual, with what looks like a

duplicate inscription (Christies catalogue Antiquities NY 6 June 20Li Lot 673), is ambiguous, but

at least possibly a horizontal with vertical hatches rather than an f. ln neither case does there

seem to be a preserved feminine ending t on the participle, if it is a participle.

See now also E. Cole, 'The Gendered lndividual in Funerary Papyri of the Ptolemaic and Roman

Periods," JAfrCE 49 {2013} 2A5-218; and P. Watson, Catalogue of tnscribed Shabtis in

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Version L.3 (August 2AL2l, available online at

http://www.bmag.org.uk/uploads lfcklfile/shabti%20master%20v1_3.pdf, which contains the

following examples featuring the feminine pronoun after sHD:

#113 Mery(t)-Aset: sHD wsir mry{t}-Ast Dd.s (p. 67},

#1L6 Nay: sHD nAy Dd.s {p. 69),

#132 Nestaneb(etlishru: sHD wsir ns-tA-nb{t}-iSr$, Dd.s {p. 77}.

*The Book of Breathings {Baer: "Breathing Permit") known from the end of the Late Period

through the Greco-Roman period, is "a sort of identity card. . . they belong to the genre of

divine decrees" {Hornung, The Ancient Egyptian Baoks of the Afterlife trans. D. Lorton [lthaca-

London: Cornell 19991pp. 8-2a).

*The main text of a wooden stela inscribed for Ta-sherit-(en-)Duau or Ta-sherit-(en-)Duai, dated

to the Ptolemaic period, formerly in the Harer Family Trust Collection and auctioned at Christies

NY in 2005 {NY Ancient Egyptian Art from the Harer Fomily Trust Callection. . . 9 Dec 2AAS,Lot

41, pp. 60-61 and back cover), is headed "A decree made by the Majesty of the King of Upper

and Lower Egypt Wenen-nefer, Justified," continuing below, "a divine decree. He says: O all ye

gods. . . .," granting that Ta-sherit-(en)-Duau/Duai be able to enter before the deities. This is

markedly similar to pParma 1.07 described by Homung as "a Book of Admission to the Realm of

the Dead and Arrivalat the Hall of Maat'' (Books of the Aftertife p. Z5).

It should be noted in connection with Dr. David's discussion that this type of text or language is

found in this-worldly ritual power contexts {which we are not designating "secular"} as well as

Afterlife situations. (As explained in the introductory chapters to Marvin W. Meyer & Richard

Smith, ed., Ancient Christian Mogic: Coptic Texts of Ritual Power [HarperSanFrancisco 1994], we

adopted the nomenclature "ritual power" as a neutral and culturally non-judgmental

alternative to the commonly-used "magic"; also G. M. Sanchez MD and the present writer, Ihe

Edwin Smith Popyrus [Atlanta: Lockwood Press 20L2] pp.97, 101-103.] One such example is

the "RoYAL DECREE {wD-nswl OF OSlRlS KHONTI{AMENTIU .1. . . .', included as item 9 in J.

F. Borghouts , Ancient Egyption Magical Texts = NISABA vol. 9 {Leiden: Brill L978} pp.4-6.

ln assessing the manifestations of legal procedure in the Hereafter that we have enumerated, it

is important to consider the ancient Egyptian concept of hp, commonly translated "law"

(discussed in recent years by D. Lorton, "The Treatment of Criminals in Ancient Egypt through

the New Kingdom," JESHO 2A 1L97712-64; idem, 'The King and the Law," VAZIL986l 53-62; W.

Boochs, "Zur Bedeutung der hpw," VAz[1986187-92; M. Bontty, "Concerninghp," JSSEA2T

[].997/2000] 1-8; S. Lippert, "Law (Definitions and Codification)" in UCU Encyclopedia af

Egyptology). Some scholars, notably Lorton, have seen a parallel or complementary

relationship between hp and the overall concept of Maat, as occurs in royaltitularies, where for

instance the Prenomen of Amenhotpe lll, Nebmaatre, and his Horus narne, "Victorious Bull

Who Appears in Maat," are balanced by his Nebty name, "Establisher of Laws (hpw), Pacifier of

the Two Lands"(R. J. Leprohon , The 6reat Name: Ancient Egyptian Royat Titulary [Atlanta: SBL

2013J p. 102), or have seen hpw'laws" as specific instances of the application of Maat. Boochs

and Lippert have emphasized significant disjunction between hp and mAat. Bontty notes that

long ago Nims found that hp could have the sense of "justice," "orde('or "right," and she

regards hp as fundamentally meaning "norm, custom, convention etc.," i.e. analogous to the

Greek nomos (Bontty 2-5; Liddell & Scott, lntermediate Greek-English Lexicon p. 535).

Abt and Hornung lKnowledge for the Afterlife: The Egyptian Amduot - A Quest for lmmortolity

lZurich: Living Human Heritage 2003] p. 25] discuss the "Two Maats" or "Double Maat,"

explaining that this formulation indicates the presence of Maat in the Other World as well as

the world of the living:

"lt meansthat Maat is also present in the netherworld, permanently in the retinue of the

Sungod and'guiding him on the way of dorkness', as it states in the text.

"The fact that Maat is also present in the netherworld is encouraging and consoling: The dark

netherworld, with its seemingly unpredictable chaos, is here shown as being under the rule of

the right and proper order of Maat, as well. . . . The unconscious night-world is not just a

chaotic mixture of opposites, as is often feared. It is also ruled by a balanced order of nature

that has, however, to be recognized and respected by the individual."

Thus also Hornung, Books of the Afterlife, p.34, describing the Amduat: ". . . the goddess Maat

appears twice directly in front of the solar barque; later, she will appear at the beginning of the

second hour, stressing that justice and law rule even here in the afterlife."

Thus we suggest that the prevalence of legal scenarios and procedures governing the denizens

of the Duat and their relationships - including relationships with the living - can be seen as

offering security to the deceased. The substantial role or structure of law in the Beyond offers

reassurance that in the Duat or Necropolis, Maat also holds sway, and, despite some surrealistic

and disorienting features, the place of the deceased in an ordered Cosmos will be protected.

Referring to the "psychostasy" or judgment, Arlette David strongly parallels the perspective of

Abt and Hornung which we have adopted here:

"Significantly, Egyptian fate in the afterlife is ruled by a court's verdict; faith in justice is at the

heart of the religious experience." (p. 19)

*This is a revised version of a paper presented at the Annual Meeting of ARCE, Portland OR,

April2014.