Egyptian Book of the Dead
Egyptian funerary papyri of the New Kingdom — spells, hymns, and judgment-scene declarations for the deceased's journey through the Duat. E.A. Wallis Budge's 1895 British Museum edition, based primarily on the Papyrus of Ani.
Source context· Egyptian-Hebrew stream · Egypto-Chaldean cultural age
- Stream
- Egyptian-Hebrew
- Cultural age
- Egypto-Chaldean (3rd post-Atlantean cultural age)
- Composed
- c. 1550 BCE
- Soul-faculty
- Sentient Soul
What this work carries
The Egyptian Book of the Dead surfaces the initiation-wisdom of the Egypto-Chaldean epoch, preserving clairvoyant knowledge of the Duat as a spiritually structured post-mortem realm. It encodes the mystery-teaching that the soul's journey after death requires identification with Osiris and passage through divine judgment. This wisdom derives from the Hermetic mystery-stream and the Egyptian temple-priests who administered it.
Language frame
The text is composed in New Kingdom hieratic and hieroglyphic Egyptian, assembled as a portable funerary corpus from older Pyramid and Coffin Text sources. Its form is ritual and declaratory: spells, hymns, and the negative confessions of Chapter 125 function as operative formulas rather than theological exposition.
Steiner’s engagement
- GA 8, chapter 6Steiner cites Chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Nu) and the Lepsius edition as documentary evidence for Egyptian mystery-wisdom, treating the text as a primary witness to Egyptian initiatic knowledge of the soul's post-mortem condition.
- GA 57, 1909-04-29Steiner draws on the Book of the Dead to illustrate the Egyptian teaching that the soul, while in the body, is under the rulership of Horus, but after leaving the body enters a distinct realm governed by Osiris.
- GA 250, 1905-01-02Steiner identifies the Book of the Dead as a result of the culture of Hermes, situating it as the literary deposit of the Hermetic mystery-stream within Egyptian civilization.
- GA 300c, 1924-09-03Steiner notes that the Egyptians' capacity to perceive the astral regions of the etheric body — particularly their clairvoyant vision of sun, moon, and stars — is expressed in the Book of the Dead.
- GA 87, 1901-11-30Steiner surveys the content of the Book of the Dead as a text better known in antiquity than in later times, whose awareness subsequently faded.
- GA 87, 1902-02-22Steiner holds that the Book of the Dead affords access to Egyptian mystery-teachings about the soul's transition from physical life, and to what Egyptian priests understood about that passage.
- GA 87, 1902-03-01Steiner draws a structural correspondence between the early chapters of Genesis and the commandments in the Book of the Dead, and separately notes that the text illuminates Egyptian conceptions of eternal life in contrast to physical-sensual existence.
- GA 104a, 1909-05-13Steiner interprets the Book of the Dead's teaching on the judges of the dead as requiring that the soul unite with the light of Osiris — the Osiris impulse — as the condition for continued spiritual existence.
- GA 105, 1908-08-14Steiner describes the Book of the Dead as a most remarkable record of the Egyptian people, essential for understanding the Egyptian framework of destiny and post-mortem transformation.
- GA 106, 1908-09-14Steiner explains that Osiris was placed before the Egyptian's eyes only after physical death, and reads the Book of the Dead as documenting the Egyptian's orientation toward Osiris as a figure encountered beyond the threshold.
Cross-tradition congruence
- Tibetan Buddhist — Bardo ThodolThe Tibetan Book of the Dead similarly structures the post-mortem journey through staged realms requiring recognition of specific luminous principles, presenting cross-tradition congruence in the practice of preparing the soul for death through ritual instruction.
- Orphic gold tablets (Greek mystery tradition)Orphic funerary tablets provide the deceased with declaratory formulas and navigational instructions for the underworld, presenting cross-tradition congruence with the Book of the Dead's use of operative speech-acts to secure the soul's passage.
- Kabbalistic — Sefer ha-Zohar, treatment of the soul's ascentThe Zohar's account of the soul's post-mortem ascent through successive worlds and its judgment before divine tribunals shows cross-tradition congruence with the Hall of Two Truths judgment-scene in Chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead.
- 1Preface — Budge's Preface
E. A. Wallis Budge's preface to the 1895 first edition of the Book of the Dead — the British Museum keeper of Egyptian antiquities introducing his translation of the Papyrus of Ani, the most beautiful and best-preserved of the Theban recensions.
449 words - 2The Versions Of The Book Of The Dead. — The recensions — Heliopolitan, Theban, Saïte
On the long history of the pyr-em-hru — the Coming Forth by Day. The Heliopolitan recension on the Old Kingdom pyramid walls; the Theban recension on Middle and New Kingdom papyri (including Ani); the Saïte recension that fixed the canonical chapter-order in the 26th Dynasty.
17,479 words - 3The Legend Of Osiris. — The legend of Osiris — Plutarch and the Pyramid Texts
The myth that underlies the entire Book of the Dead. Osiris betrayed and dismembered by Set; Isis the lamenting wife who gathers his body; Horus the avenging son who battles Set; Osiris reigning as king of the dead. The pattern after which every deceased Egyptian becomes Osiris N — Osiris-So-and-so.
3,865 words - 4The Doctrine Of Eternal Life. — The doctrine of eternal life — ankh djet
The Egyptian doctrine of eternal life — ankh djet, living forever. The components of the human being (ka, ba, akh, khaibit, sahu) and what becomes of each after death; the necessity of the preserved body for the survival of the spiritual elements; the goal of becoming an akh, a luminous spirit.
10,442 words - 5The Egyptians' Ideas Of God. — The Egyptians' ideas of God
On the Egyptian conception of neter (god). Budge's much-debated claim of underlying monotheism beneath the polytheistic surface; the neteru (gods) as manifestations of one neter. Whatever the scholarly verdict, the chapter records the ancient Egyptian theological vocabulary.
2,118 words - 6The Legend Of Ra And Isis. — Ra and Isis — the legend of the divine name
The myth of how Isis obtained the secret name of Ra by causing him pain. The doctrine of the secret name — knowing the name is having power over the named. The pattern for the great chapter (125) where the deceased names the forty-two assessors of judgment to neutralise them.
6,068 words - 7The Abode Of The Blessed. — The Field of Reeds — Sekhet-Iaru
On the Egyptian paradise — the Field of Reeds (Sekhet-Iaru) and the Field of Offerings (Sekhet-Hetepet). Not abstract bliss but transfigured continuation of the best of earthly life: ploughing, reaping, sailing, in a land of incorruption.
2,130 words - 8The Gods Of The Book Of The Dead. — The principal gods of the Book of the Dead
Catalogue of the chief gods who appear in the funerary literature: Ra, Atum, Ptah, Khepera, Osiris, Isis, Horus, Set, Anubis, Thoth, Ma'at, Hathor, Nut, Geb, Tefnut, Shu — with iconography and principal functions of each.
10,982 words - 9The Principal Geographical And Mythological Places In The Book Of The Dead. — Geographical and mythological places
On the geography of the underworld and of the mythological topography. Heliopolis, Memphis, Abydos, Busiris — the great cult-centres. The Duat (the underworld), the gates of the West, the seven mansions and the twenty-one pylons through which the deceased must pass.
1,511 words - 10Funeral Ceremonies. — Egyptian funerary ceremonies — embalming, opening of the mouth
The seventy days of embalming; the procession to the tomb; the great opening of the mouth ceremony in which the priest restores the senses and faculties to the mummy. The ritual sequence into which the Book of the Dead text is embedded.
2,209 words - 11The Papyrus Of Ani. — The Papyrus of Ani — provenance and physical description
On the principal papyrus that Budge translates: the Papyrus of Ani, acquired by the British Museum in 1888, 78 feet long, dating to the 19th Dynasty (c. 1250 BC). The Royal Scribe Ani is the deceased for whose journey through the underworld the spells were copied.
4,239 words - 12Plate I. — Plate I — Ani's adoration of Ra; the Hymn to Ra at rising
Opens the papyrus. Ani and his wife Tutu adoring the rising sun-god Ra-Harakhty. The great hymn to Ra at his rising — Adoration to thee, O Ra, when thou risest as Khepera, the self-created — the first of the canonical opening hymns.
4,047 words - 13Plate II. — Plate II — Hymn to Osiris; the Great Company of Gods
The hymn to Osiris (chapter 15 of the canonical numbering). Praises of Osiris as Lord of the West, Khent-Amenti; the recitation of his epithets and the description of his realm. The Ennead of Heliopolis enumerated.
1,302 words - 14Plate III. — Plate III — The Coming Forth by Day; opening declarations
The famous opening declarations — chapter 1 of the canonical sequence: I am yesterday; I know tomorrow. Words to be said by Osiris-Ani on coming forth into the day. The first proclamation in which the deceased asserts identity with the cosmic powers.
1,641 words - 15Plate IV. — Plate IV — The Negative Confession (chapter 125)
The single most famous chapter of the Book of the Dead: chapter 125, the Negative Confession. The deceased before the forty-two assessors in the Hall of Two Truths, declaring: I have not committed iniquity… I have not slain men… I have not stolen… The forty-two negations corresponding to the forty-two nomes of Egypt.
1,903 words - 16Plates V. and VI. — Plates V-VI — The Weighing of the Heart
The great iconic scene of the Book of the Dead: the Weighing of the Heart in the Hall of Two Truths. Anubis adjusts the balance; the heart of Ani in one pan, the feather of Ma'at (Truth) in the other; Thoth records the result; the monster Ammit waits to devour those whose hearts prove heavy with sin.
5,713 words - 17Plates VII.-X. — Plates VII-X — Hymns and acclamations after judgment
Following the successful judgment, Ani enters the realm of the blessed. The chapters of triumphant hymns and acclamations — the deceased now justified before Osiris, taking his place among the company of the gods.
5,883 words - 18Plates XI. and XII. — Plates XI-XII — Spells for transformation
Chapters 76-88 — the great series of transformation-spells. The deceased takes on the form of various powerful creatures and gods — the falcon, the lotus, the swallow, the bennu (phoenix), the heron, the serpent, the crocodile, the divine soul of Atum. The power to assume any form is the power to escape all confinement.
4,323 words - 19Plate XIII. — Plate XIII — Spells for the soul's freedom
Chapters on the soul's freedom of movement and reunion. The deceased not bound to the tomb but able to come forth, to go where he wills, to be united with his ba (soul) which can fly free from the body. The Egyptian doctrine of resurrection-mobility.
753 words - 20Plate XIV. — Plate XIV — Spells against the dangers of the underworld
Chapters of protection against the snakes, the crocodiles, the demons, the beheading-knives of the underworld. The journey through the Duat is hazardous; each peril has its own counter-spell.
772 words - 21Plate XV. — Plate XV — The chapters of the heart
The famous chapters relating to the heart (ib) — chapters 26-30B. Spells to prevent the heart from being taken away, from speaking against the deceased at judgment, from being eaten by Ammit. The amuletic chapters that travelled inscribed on heart-scarabs placed within the mummy-wrappings.
2,894 words - 22Plate XVI. — Plate XVI — Vignettes of the under-world journey
Painted vignettes of the under-world journey accompanying their spells. The deceased makes the offerings, propitiates the gods, receives the food and drink, opens the gates, advances through the regions of the West.
2,185 words - 23Plate XVII. — Plate XVII — I am Yesterday and I know Tomorrow expanded
A return to the great opening declaration in expanded form. The deceased identifies himself with successive cosmic principles — I am yesterday; I know tomorrow; I am the great phoenix in Heliopolis. The expanded litany of self-identification with the powers.
1,297 words - 24Plate XVIII. — Plate XVIII — Hymns of approach to Osiris
Hymns by which the deceased approaches Osiris in his hall. The praises of Osiris's epithets; the deceased's plea for inclusion among the imakhu (the venerated dead) before the throne.
1,033 words - 25Plate XIX. — Plate XIX — The opening of the mouth in textual form
The opening of the mouth spell — the chapter by which the funerary ritual performed on the mummy is enacted again textually in the underworld journey. The restoration of the senses and the freeing of the speech.
1,058 words - 26Plate XX. — Plate XX — Chapters of food, drink, and air in the underworld
Spells to ensure that the deceased receives food, drink, and air in the underworld. The fear of dying of thirst or suffocating in the tomb is met by the spells that guarantee provision.
807 words - 27Plate XXI. — Plate XXI — Hymn to Hathor and the western mountain
Hymns to Hathor as Mistress of the West — the goddess in cow-form who receives the deceased into the western mountain. The Theban interpretation of Hathor as the receptive feminine guardian of the entrance to the realm of the dead.
1,041 words - 28Plate XXII. — Plate XXII — Spells against the second death
The great Egyptian fear: the second death — the annihilation of the soul itself after the body's mortal death. Spells to ensure that the soul, having survived the body's dying, does not undergo this final extinction in the underworld's pits.
784 words - 29Plate XXIII. and Plate XXIV. — Plates XXIII-XXIV — The mansions of the West
On the seven mansions and twenty-one pylons of the realm of Osiris. The deceased must name each gate-keeper, name each guardian, give the proper words at each threshold — the elaborate protocol of admission to the divine presence.
608 words - 30Plate XXV. — Plate XXV — The deceased in the Field of Reeds
The deceased now established in Sekhet-Iaru, the Field of Reeds. Vignettes of the deceased ploughing, sowing, reaping the grain of the underworld — the agricultural life of the blessed.
1,155 words - 31Plate XXVI. — Plate XXVI — Companions of the journey
The companions of the deceased's journey — his ka, his ba, his shadow (khaibit), his name (ren). The five components of the Egyptian person, each of which must be preserved for the dead to fully live.
1,109 words - 32Plate XXVII. — Plate XXVII — Boats and barques of the underworld
On the boats of the underworld. The night-barque of Ra (the meseket-et) and the day-barque (the manjet); the boat in which the deceased crosses celestial waters; the bull of millions who tows the deceased's craft through the night-hours of the Duat.
2,091 words - 33Plate XXVIII. — Plate XXVIII — Final hymns and acclamations
Closing hymns of triumph: the deceased, now established as Osiris-Ani in the realm of the blessed, joins the eternal company of the imakhu. The Egyptian closing-doxology of the funerary book.
940 words - 34Plates XXIX. and XXX. — Plates XXIX-XXX — Special chapters of magical efficacy
The shorter spells of specifically magical-protective efficacy: chapters that act as amulets when written on linen, gold, or papyrus and placed within the wrappings of the mummy. The amuletic dimension of the Book of the Dead.
2,489 words - 35Plates XXXI. and XXXII. — Plates XXXI-XXXII — Tutu's chapters
Plates devoted to the deceased's wife Tutu — a parallel set of spells in feminine form. The Papyrus of Ani is unusual in including the wife as a parallel beneficiary; most surviving papyri concern only one deceased.
857 words - 36Plate XXXII. — Plate XXXII (continued)
Continuation of the wife-Tutu section. The intercessory dimension: Ani prays for his wife as the wife prays for him, both seeking together to enter the company of Osiris.
3,963 words - 37Plate XXXIII. — Plate XXXIII — The seven Hathors and the seven Khnums
On the seven Hathors who attend the destiny of every child, and the seven Khnums who fashion the body. The dual seven-fold company that shapes both fate and form — the Egyptian doctrine of multiple-creator divinities.
1,297 words - 38Plates XXXIII and XXXIV. — Plates XXXIII-XXXIV — Closing series
The closing series of spells. Final assertions of the deceased's establishment among the blessed; the last hymns to Osiris; the colophons identifying scribes and dating the papyrus.
2,593 words - 39Plates XXXV. and XXXVI. — Plates XXXV-XXXVI — Catalogue of offerings
The catalogue of offerings the deceased is to receive: bread, beer, oxen, fowl, alabaster vases, linen — the standard funerary menu, secured eternally by the inscribed catalogue itself.
838 words - 40Plate XXXVII. — Plate XXXVII — Closing prayers
The last plate of the papyrus. Closing prayers and acclamations; the deceased's final declaration of his standing before Osiris and his entry into the eternal life ankh djet.
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