The Ten Commandments were lifted from book 125 in the Egyptian Book of the Dead. In the Bible, the passages in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 actually contain fifteen commandments, although Exodus 20 reveals only 10. In the Book of the Dead, the dece…
The Ten Commandments were lifted from book 125 in the Egyptian Book of the Dead. In the Bible, the passages in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 actually contain fifteen commandments, although Exodus 20 reveals only 10. In the Book of the Dead, the deceased appears before 42 judges: Homage to you, Great God, the Lord of the double Ma’at (Truth)! I have come to you, my Lord, I have brought myself here to behold your beauties. I know you, and I know your name, and I know the names of the two and forty gods, who live with you in the Hall of the Two Truths, who imprison the sinners, and feed upon their blood, on the day when the lives of men are judged in the presence of Osiris. In truth, you are “The Twin Sisters with Two Eyes,” and “The Daughters of the Two Truths.” In truth, I now come to you, and I have brought Maat to you, and I have destroyed wickedness for you. I have committed no evil upon men. I have not oppressed the members of my family. I have not wrought evil in the place of right and truth. I have had no knowledge of useless men. I have brought about no evil. I did not rise in the morning and expect more than was due to me. I have not brought my name forward to be praised. I have not oppressed servants. I have not scorned any god. I have not defrauded the poor of their property. I have not done what the gods abominate. I have not cause harm to be done to a servant by his master. I have not caused pain. I have caused no man to hunger. I have made no one weep. I have not killed. I have not given the order to kill. I have not inflicted pain on anyone. I have not stolen the drink left for the gods in the temples. I have not stolen the cakes left for the gods in the temples. I have not stolen the cakes left for the dead in the temples. I have not fornicated. I have not polluted myself. I have not diminished the bushel when I’ve sold it. I have not added to or stolen land. I have not encroached on the land of others. I have not added weights to the scales to cheat buyers. I have not misread the scales to cheat buyers. I have not stolen milk from the mouths of children. I have not driven cattle from their pastures. I have not captured the birds of the preserves of the gods. I have not caught fish with bait made of like fish. I have not held back the water when it should flow. I have not diverted the running water in a canal. I have not put out a fire when it should burn. I have not violated the times when meat should be offered to the gods. I have not driven off the cattle from the property of the gods. I have not stopped a god in his procession through the temple. (The Coming into Day: Egyptian Book of the Dead, chapter 125: the Judgment of the Dead)
