book of antiquity
explanation
This is a modern compilation of ancient beliefs, especially ancient Egyptian beliefs.
Material coming from a specific (ancient or modern) source will be identified in the footnotes.
Naming conventons: I will use the ancient Egyptian versions of names and provide the better known Greek names within braces, such as Aset [Isis].
Horus-Osiris-Jesus: There has been a lot written about the Jesus myth being borrowed from Osiris and/or Horus. Much of this has little or no connection to ancient beliefs and documents. Osiris was one of the major dying-and-rising deities and in the New Kingdom did become a personal savior god. Other aspects that appear in the Jesus myth had previously been ascribed to Horus. I do hope to highlight the more positive parts of these connections in a synthesized modern-ancient version.
book of antiquity
chapter 1: Creation:
Nu and Naunet
1:1 In the beginning, before there was any land of Kemet [Egypt], all was dakrness, and there was nothing but a great waste of water called Nun.
1:2 At first, there was only Nun. Nun was the dark waters of chaos.
1:3 During the Zep Tepi [distant time] Nu and Naunet were hot, dense, and smooth.
1:4 Nu was the name of the dark, swirling chaos before the beginning of time.
chapter 2: Creation:
Khemenu [Ogdoad]
2:1 Nu and Naunet expanded infinitely.
2:2 From Nu and naunet emerged the Khemenu [Ogdoad, the Eightfold}: Naunet and Nun, Amaunet and Amun, Hauhet and Heh, Kauket and Kek.
chapter 3: Creation:
Sekhmet and Bast
3:1 Sekhmet and Bast proclaimed, “I raised them up from out of the watery mass [nu], out of inactivity [nen].”
chapter 4: Creation:
Lotus and Egg
4:1 The power of Nun was such that there arose out of the darkness a great shining egg, and this was Re.
4:2 Now Re was all-powerful, and he could take many forms. 4:3 His power and the secret of it lay in his hidden name; but if he spoke other names, that which he named came into being.
4:4 “I am Khepera at the Dawn, and Re at noon, and Atum in the evening,” he said. 4:5 And the sun rose and passed across the sky and set for the first time.
chapter 5: Creation:
Ben-Ben
5:1 One day, a hill rose up out of the waters. This hill was called Ben-Ben.
5:2 On this hill stood Atum, the first god.
5:3 Out of these waters rose Atum; he created himself using his thoughts and the sheer force of his will.
5:4 Atum created a hill, for there was nowhere he could stand.
5:5 Atum was alone in the world.
5:6 Atum was neither male nor female, and he had one all-seeing eye that could roam the universe.
5:7 The benben [primordial mound] rose from the water as Ra [the Sun] 𓁚 rose for the first time.
chapter 6: Creation:
Shu and Tefnut
6:1 Atum joined with his shadow to produce a son and a daughter.
6:2 Atum coughed and spat out Shu, the god of the air, and Tefnut, the goddess of moisture.
6:3 Atum gave birth to his son by spitting him out. He named him Shu and made him god of the air.
6:4 Atum vomitted up his daughter.
6:5 Atum named his daughter Tefnut and made her the goddess of mist and moisture.
6:6 Then Re named Shu, and the first winds blew; 6:7 he named Tefnut the spitter, and the first rain fell.
chapter 7: Creation:
Ma’at 𓁦
7:1 Shu and Tefnut were given the task of separating the chaos into principles of law, order, and stability.
7:2 The chaos was divided into light and dark and set into place.
7:3 This order was called Ma’at, which formed the principles of life for all time. Ma’at was a feather; it was light and pure.
chapter 8: Creation:
Geb and Nut
8:1 Shu and Tefnut had two children. First, there was Geb, the god of the earth. Then, there was Nut, the goddess of the sky.
8:2 Next Re named Geb, and the earth came into being; 8:3 he named the goddess Nut, and she was the sky arched over the earth with her feet on one horizon and her hands on the other; 8:4 he named Hapi, and the great River Nile flowed through Kemet [Egypt] and made it fruitful.
8:5 Shu and Tefnut produced Geb, the Earth, and Nut, the Sky.
8:6 At first these two were tangled together as one.
8:7 Shu, god of the air, pushed Nut up into the heavens.
8:8 Shu lifted Nut up so that she became a canopy over Geb.
8:9 There she would remain arched out over Geb, her mate.
8:10 They longed together, but in the name of Ma’at 𓁦 they had to be apart, to fulfill their functions.
8:11 Nut produced rain for Geb, and Geb made things grow on earth.
8:12 As the sky, she gave birth to the sun every night before dawn, and by day it would follow its course over the earth and die at sunset.
chapter 9: Creation:
Humans
9:1 But the chaos was still vast and not yet fully separated into the order of Ma’at 𓁦.
9:2 Shu and Tefnut once got lost in the dark waters of Nu.
9:3 Atum was desperate to find his children.
9:4 Atum sent his all-seeing eye throughout the heavens and earth to search for them.
9:5 In time Shu and Tefnut returned with the eye.
9:6 When Atum saw them again he was so delighted that he wept tears of joy.
9:7 As these tears hit the earth, they became the first men.
9:8 After this Re named all things that are upon the earth, and they grew. 9:9 Last of all he named mankind, and there were men and women in the land of Kemet [Egypt].
9:10 As the men populated the earth they had to uphold the truth and balance of Ma’at.
9:11 They had the task of tending the earth and worshipping the gods.
9:12 The gods, in turn, protected and loved their creations.
chapter 10: Reign of Re
10:1 Then Re took on the shape of a man and became the first Pharaoh, ruling over the whole country for thousands and thousands of years, and giving such harvests that for ever afterwards the Egyptians spoke of the good things “which happened in the time of Re”.
10:2 But, being in the form of a man, Re grew old. In time men no longer feared him or obeyed his laws. 10:3 They laughed at him, saying: “Look at Re! His bones are like silver, his flesh like gold, his hair is the colour of lapis lazuli!”
10:4 Re was angry when he heard this, and he was more angry still at the evil deeds which men were doing in disobedience to his laws. 10:5 So he called together the gods whom he had made - Shu and Tefnut and Geb and Nut - and he also summoned Nun. 10:6 Soon the gods gathered about Re in his Secret Place, and the goddesses also. 10:7 But mankind knew nothing of what was happening, and continued to jeer at Re and to break his commandments. 10:8 Then Re spoke to Nun before the assembled gods: “Eldest of the gods, you who made me; and you gods whom I have made: look upon mankind who came into being at a glance of my Eye. 10:9 See how men plot against me; hear what they say of me; tell me what I should do to them. 10:10 For I will not destroy mankind until I have heard what you advise.”
10:11 Then Nun said: “My son Re, the god greater than he who made him and mightier than those whom he has created, turn your mighty Eye upon them and send destruction upon them in the form of your daughter, the goddess Sekhmet.”
10:12 Re answered: “Even now fear is falling upon them and they are fleeing into the desert and hiding themselves in the mountains in terror at the sound of my voice.”
10:13 “Send against them the glance of your Eye in the form Sekhmet!” cried all the other gods and goddesses, bowing before Re until their foreheads touched the ground.
10:14 So at the terrible glance from the Eye of Re his daughter came into being, the fiercest of all goddesses. 10:15 Like a lion she rushed upon her prey, and her chief delight was in slaughter, and her pleasure was in blood. 10:16 At the bidding of Re she came into Upper and Lower Kemet [Egypt] to slay those who had scorned and disobeyed him: 10:17 she killed them among the mountains which lie on either side of the Nile, and down beside the river, and in the burning deserts. 10:18 All whom she saw she slew, rejoicing in slaughter and the taste of blood.
10:19 Presently Re looked out over the land and saw what Sekhmet had done. 10:20 Then he called to her, saying: “Come, my daughter, and tell me how you have obeyed my commands.”
10:21 Sekhmet answered with the terrible voice of a lioness as she tears her prey: “By the life which you have given me, I have indeed done vengeance on mankind, and my heart rejoices.”
10:22 Now for many nights the Nile ran red with blood, and Sekhmet’s feet were red as she went hither and thither through all the land of Kemet [Egypt] slaying and slaying.
10:23 Presently Re looked out over the earth once more, and now his heart was stirred with pity for men, even though they had rebelled against him. 10:24 But none could stop the cruel goddess Sekhmet, not even Re himself: she must cease from slaying of her own accord -and Re saw that this could only come about through cunning.
10:25 So he gave his command: “Bring before me swift messengers who will run upon the earth as silently as shadows and with the speed of the storm winds.” 10:26 When these were brought he said to them: “Go as fast as you can up the Nile to where it flows fiercely over the rocks and among the islands of the First Cataract; 10:27 go to the isle that is called Elephantine and bring from it a great store of the red ochre which is to be found there.”
10:28 The messengers sped on their way and returned with the blood-red ochre to Heliopolis, the city of Re where stand the stone obelisks with points of gold that are like fingers pointing to the sun. 10:29 It was night when they came to the city, but all day the women of Heliopolis had been brewing beer as Re bade them.
10:30 Re came to where the beer stood waiting in seven thousand jars, and the gods came with him to see how by his wisdom he would save mankind.
10:31 “Mingle the red ochre of Elephantine with the barley-beer,” said Re, and it was done, so that the beer gleamed red in the moonlight like the blood of men.
10:32 “Now take it to the place where Sekhmet proposes to slay men when the sun rises,” said Re. 10:33 And while it was still night the seven thousand jars of beer were taken and poured out over the fields so that the ground was covered to the depth of nine inches -- three times the measure of the palm of a man’s hand-with the strong beer, whose other name is “sleep-maker”.
10:34 When day came Sekhmet the terrible came also, licking her lips at the thought of the men whom she would slay. 10:35 She found the place flooded and no living creature in sight; 10:36 but she saw the beer which was the colour of blood, and she thought it was blood indeed -- the blood of those whom she had slain.
10:37 Then she laughed with joy, and her laughter was like the roar of a lioness hungry for the kill. 10:38 Thinking that it was indeed blood, she stooped and drank. 10:39 Again and yet again she drank, laughing with delight; and the strength of the beer mounted to her brain, so that she could no longer slay.
10:40 At last she came reeling back to where Re was waiting; that day she had not killed even a single man.
10:41 Then Re said: “You come in peace, sweet one.” 10:42 And her name was changed to Het Heret [Hathor], and her nature was changed also to the sweetness of love and the strength of desire. 10:43 And henceforth Het Heret [Hathor] laid low men and women only with the great power of love. 10:44 But for ever after her priestesses drank in her honour of the beer of Heliopolis coloured with the red ochre of Elephantine when they celebrated her festival each New Year.
10:45 So mankind was saved, and Re continued to rule old though he was. 10:46 But the time was drawing near when he must leave the earth to reign for ever in the heavens, letting the younger gods rule in his place. 10:47 For dwelling in the form of a man, of a Pharaoh of Kemet [Egypt], Re was losing his wisdom; yet he continued to reign, and no one could take his power from him, since that power dwelt in his secret name which none knew but himself. 10:48 If only anyone could discover his Name of Power, Re would reign no longer on earth; but only by magic arts was this possible.
chapter 11: Creation:
children of Shu and Tefnut
11:1 In the days before Re had left the earth, before he had begun to grow old, his great wisdom told him that if the goddess Nut bore children, one of them would end his reign among men. 11:2 So Re laid a curse upon Nut - that she should not be able to bear any child upon any day in the year.
11:3 Full of sorrow, Nut went for help to Thoth, the thrice-great god of wisdom and magic and learning, Re’s son, who loved her. 11:4 Thoth knew that the curse of Re, once spoken, could never be recalled, but in his wisdom he found a way of escape. 11:5 He went to Khonsu, the Moon-god, and challenged him to a contest at draughts. 11:6 Game after game they played and always Thoth won. 11:7 The stakes grew higher and higher, but Khonsu wagered the most, for it was some of his own light that he risked and lost.
11:8 At last Khonsu would play no more. 11:9 Then Thoth the thrice-great in wisdom gathered up the light which he had won and made it into five extra days which for ever after were set between the end of the old year and the beginning of the new. 11:10 The year was of three hundred and sixty days before this, but the five days which were added, which were not days of any year, were ever afterwards held as days of festival in old Kemet [Egypt].
11:11 But, since his match with Thoth, Khonsu the moon has not had enough light to shine throughout the month, but dwindles into darkness and then grows to his full glory again; for he had lost the light needed to make five whole days.
11:12 Shu and Tefnut produced the other gods.
11:13 On the first of these days Asar [Osiris] 𓁹, the eldest son of Nut, was born, and the second day was set aside to be the birthday of Horus the Elder. 11:14 On the third day the second son of Nut was born, dark Seth 𓁣, the lord of evil. 11:15 On the fourth her daughter Aset [Isis] first saw the light, and her second daughter Nebt Het [Nephthys] on the fifth. 11:16 In this way the curse of Re was both fulfilled and defeated: for the days on which the children of Nut were born belonged to no year.
11:17 Nut and Geb had four children named Asar [Osiris] 𓁹, Aset [Isis], Seth 𓁣, and Nebt Het [Nephthys].
11:18 Aset [Isis], the queen of the gods.
11:19 Het Heret [Hathor], the goddess of love and beauty.
11:20 Asar [Osiris] 𓁹, the god of wisdom and justice.
11:21 Seth 𓁣, the god of evil.
11:22 Nebt Het [Nephthys, the protectress of the dead.
11:23 When Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 was born many signs and wonders were seen and heard throughout the world. 11:24 Most notable was the voice which came from the holiest shrine in the temple at Waset [Thebes] on the Nile, which today is called Karnak, speaking to a man called Pamyles bidding him proclaim to all men that Asar [Osiris] 𓁹, the good and mighty king, was born to bring joy to all the earth. 11:25 Pamyles did as he was bidden, and he also attended on the Divine Child and brought him up as a man among men.
11:26 When Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 was grown up he married his sister Aset [Isis], a custom which the Pharaohs of Kemet [Egypt] followed ever after. And Seth 𓁣 married Nebt Het [Nephthys]: for he too being a god could marry only a goddess.
chapter 12: Aset [Isis] Learns Re’s Name
12:1 Geb and Nut had children: these were the younger gods whose day had come to rule, and their names were Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 and Aset [Isis], Nebt Het [Nephthys] and Seth 𓁣. 12:2 Of these Isis was the wisest: she was cleverer than a million men, her knowledge was greater than that of a million of the noble dead. 12:3 She knew all things in heaven and earth, except only for the Secret Name of Re, and that she now set herself to learn by guile.
12:4 Now Re was growing older every day. 12:5 As he passed across the land of Kemet [Egypt] his head shook from side to side with age, his jaw trembled, and he dribbled at the mouth as do the very old among men. 12:6 As his spittle fell upon the ground it made mud, and this Aset [Isis] took in her hands and kneaded together as if it had been dough. 12:7 Then she formed it into the shape of a serpent, making the first cobra -- the uraeus, which ever after was the symbol of royalty worn by Pharaoh and his queen.
12:8 Aset [Isis] placed the first cobra in the dust of the road by which Re passed each day as he went through his two kingdoms of Upper and Lower Kemet [Egypt]. 12:9 As Re passed by the cobra bit him and then vanished into the grass. 12:10 But the venom of its bite coursed through his veins, and for a while Re was speechless, save for one great cry of pain which rang across the earth from the eastern to the western horizon. 12:11 The gods who followed him crowded round, asking: “What is it? What ails you?” 12:12 But he could find no words; his lips trembled and he shuddered in all his limbs, while the poison spread over his body as the Nile spreads over Kemet [Egypt] at the inundation. 12:13 When at last he could speak, Re said: “Help me, you whom I have made. 12:14 Something has hurt me, and I do not know what it is. I created all things, yet this thing I did not make. 12:15 It is a pain such as I have never known before, and no other pain is equal to it. 12:16 Yet who can hurt me?-for none knows my Secret Name which is hidden in my heart, giving me all power and guarding me against the magic of both wizard and witch. 12:17 Nevertheless as I passed through the world which I have created, through the two lands that are my special care, something stung me. It is like fire, yet is not fire; it is like water and not water. 12:18 I burn and I shiver, while all my limbs tremble. 12:19 So call before me all the gods who have skill in healing and knowledge of magic, and wisdom that reaches to the heavens.”
12:20 Then all the gods came to Re, weeping and lamenting at the terrible thing which had befallen him. 12:21 With them came Aset [Isis], the healer, the queen of magic, who breathes the breath of life and knows words to revive those who are dying. 12:22 And she said:
12:23 “What is it, divine father? Has a snake bitten you. 12:24 Has a creature of your own creating lifted up its head against you? 12:25 I will drive it out by the magic that is mine, and make it tremble and fall down before your glory.”
12:26 “I went by the usual way through my two lands of Kemet [Egypt],” answered Re, “for I wished to look upon all that I had made. 12:27 And as I went I was bitten by a snake which I did not see -- a snake that, I had not created. 12:28 Now I burn as if with fire and shiver as if my veins were filled with water, and the sweat runs down my face it runs down the faces of men on the hottest days of summer.”
12:29 “Tell me your Secret Name.” said Aset [Isis] in a sweet, soothing voice. 12:30 “Tell it me, divine father; for only by speaking your name in my spells can I cure you.”
12:31 Then Re spoke the many names that were his: “I am Maker Heaven and Earth.” he said. 12:32 “I am Builder of the Mountains. 12:33 I am Source of the Waters throughout all the world. 12:34 I am Light and Darkness. 12:35 I am Creator of the Great River of Egypt. 12:36 I am the Kindler of the Fire that burns in the sky; yes, I am Khepera in the, morning, Re at the noontide, and Tum in the evening.”
12:37 But Aset [Isis] said never a word, and the poison had its way in the veins of Re. 12:38 For she knew that he had told her only the names which all men knew, and that his Secret Name, the Name of Power, still lay hidden in his heart.
12:39 At last she said: “You know well that the name which I need to learn is not among those which you have spoken. 12:40 Come, tell me the Secret Name; for if you do the poison will come forth and you will have an end of pain.”
12:41 The poison burned with a great burning, more powerful than any flame of fire, and Re cried out at last: “Let the Name of Power pass from my heart into the heart of Isis! 12:42 But before it does, swear to me that you will tell it to no other save only the son whom you will have, whose name shall be Heru [Horus] 𓅃. 12:43 And bind him first with such an oath that the name will remain with him and be passed on to no other gods or men.”
12:44 Aset [Isis] the great magician swore the oath, and the knowledge of the Name of Power passed from the heart of Re into hers.
12:45 Then she said: “By the name which I know, let the poison go from Re for ever!”
12:46 So it passed from him and he had peace. 12:47 But he reigned upon earth no longer. 12:48 Instead he took his place in the high heavens, traveling each day across the sky in the likeness of the sun itself, and by night crossing the underworld of Amenti in the Boat of Re and passing through the twelve divisions of Duat where many dangers lurk. 12:49 Yet Re passes safely, and with him he takes those souls of the dead who know all the charms and prayers and words that must be said. 12:50 And so that a man might not go unprepared for his voyage in the Boat of Re, the Egyptians painted all the scenes of that journey on the walls of the tombs of the Pharaohs, with all the knowledge that was written in The Book of Coming Forth Into Life, of which a copy was buried in the grave of lesser men so that they too might read and come safely to the land beyond the west where the dead dwell.
chapter 13: Creation:
Reign of Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 and Aset [Isis]
13:1 Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 was king of the earth and Aset [Isis] was the queen. Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 was a good king; and he ruled over the earth for many years.
13:2 After Aset [Isis] by her craft had learned the Secret Name of Re, Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 became sole ruler of Kemet [Egypt] and reigned on earth as Re had done. 13:3 He found the people both savage and brutish, fighting among themselves and killing and eating one another. 13:4 But Aset [Isis] discovered the grain of both wheat and barley, which grew wild over the land with the other plants and was still unknown to man; 13:5 and Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 taught them how to plant the seeds when the Nile had risen in the yearly inundation and sunk again leaving fresh fertile mud over the fields; 13:6 how to tend and water the crops; how to cut the corn when it was ripe, and how to thresh the grain on the threshing floors, dry it and grind it to flour and make it into bread. 13:7 He showed them also how to plant vines and make the grapes into wine; 13:8 and they knew already how to brew beer out of the barley.
13:9 When the people of Kemet [Egypt] had learned to make bread and cut only the flesh of such animals as he taught them were suitable, Asar [Osiris] 𓁹, went on to teach them laws, and how to live peacefully and happily together, delighting themselves with music and poetry. 13:10 As soon as Kemet [Egypt] was filled with peace and plenty, Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 set out over the world to bring his blessings upon other nations. 13:11 While he was away he left Aset [Isis] to rule over the land, which she did both wisely and well.
chapter 14: Creation:
Rebellion of Seth 𓁣
14:1 However, everything was not well, Seth 𓁣 was jealous of Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 because he wanted to be the ruler of earth. He grew angrier and angrier until one day he killed Asar [Osiris] 𓁹.
14:2 Seth 𓁣 the Evil One, their brother, envied Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 and hated Aset [Isis]. 14:3 The more the people loved and praised Asar [Osiris] 𓁹, the more Seth 𓁣 hated him; and the more good he did and the happier mankind became, the stronger grew Seth’s desire to kill his brother and rule in his place. 14:4 Aset [Isis], however, was so full of wisdom and so watchful that Seth 𓁣 made no attempt to seize the throne while she was watching over the land of Kemet [Egypt]. 14:5 And when Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 returned from his travels Seth 𓁣 was among the first to welcome him back and kneel in reverence before “the good god Pharaoh Asar [Osiris] 𓁹”.
14:6 Yet he had made his plans, aided by seventy-two of his wicked friends and Aso the evil queen of Ethiopia. 14:7 Secretly Seth 𓁣 obtained the exact measurements of the body of Asar [Osiris] 𓁹, and caused beautiful chest to be made that would fit only him. 14:8 It was fashioned of the rarest and most costly woods: cedar brought from Lebanon, and ebony from Punt at the south end of the Red Sea for no wood grows in Kemet [Egypt] except the soft and useless palm.
14:9 Then Seth 𓁣 gave a great feast in honour of Osiris; but the other guests were the two-and-seventy conspirators. 14:10 It was the greatest feast that had yet been seen in Kemet [Egypt], and the foods were choicer, the wines stronger and the dancing girls more beautiful than ever before. 14:11 When the heart of Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 had been made glad with feasting and song the chest was brought in, and all were amazed at its beauty.
14:12 Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 marveled at the rare cedar inlaid with ebony and ivory, with less rare gold and silver, and painted inside with figures of gods and birds and animals, and he desired it greatly.
14:13 “I will give this chest to whosoever fits it most exactly!” cried Seth 𓁣. 14:14 And at once the conspirators began in turn to see if they could win it. 14:15 But one was too tall and another too short; one was too fat and another too thin - and all tried in vain.
14:16 “Let me see if I will fit into this marvelous piece of work,” said Asar [Osiris] 𓁹, and he laid himself down in the chest while all gathered round breathlessly.
14:17 “I fit exactly, and the chest is mine!” cried Asar [Osiris] 𓁹.
14:18 “It is yours indeed, and shall be so forever!” hissed Seth 𓁣 as he banged down the lid. 14:19 Then in desperate haste he and the conspirators nailed it shut and sealed every crack with molten lead, so that Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 the man died in the chest and his spirit went west across the Nile into Duat the Place of Testing; but, beyond it to Amenti, where those live for ever who have lived well on earth and passed the judgments of Duat, he could not pass as yet. 14:20 Seth 𓁣 and his companions took the chest which held the body of Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 and cast it into the Nile; and Hapi the Nile-god carried it out into the Great Green Sea where it was tossed for many days until it came to the shore of Phoenicia near the city of Byblos. 14:21 Here the waves cast it into a tamarisk tree that grew on the shore; and the tree shot out branches and grew leaves and flowers to make a fit resting place for the body of the good god Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 and very soon that tree became famous throughout the land.
14:22 Presently King Malcander heard of it, and he and his wife, Queen Astarte, came to the seashore to gaze at the tree. 14:23 By now the branches had grown together and hidden the chest which held the body of Osiris in the trunk itself. 14:24 King Malcander gave orders that the tree should be cut down and fashioned into a great pillar for his palace. 14:25 This was done, and all wondered at its beauty and fragrance: but none knew that it held the body of a god.
14:26 Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 went down into the underworld and Seth 𓁣 remained on earth and became king.
chapter 15: Birth of Heru [Horus] 𓅃
15:1 Meanwhile in Kemet [Egypt] Aset [Isis] was in great fear. 15:2 She had always known that Seth 𓁣 was filled with evil and jealousy, but kindly Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 would not believe in his brother’s wickedness. 15:3 But Aset [Isis] knew as soon as her husband was dead, though no one told her, and fled into the marshes of the delta.
15:4 An angel announced to Aset [Isis-Meri] that she would conceive a child, the only begotten son of Asar [Osiris] 𓁹. 1
15:5 Heru [Horus] 𓅃 was conceived by Aset [Isis-Meri]. 1
15:6 Heru [Horus] 𓅃 was born near Heliopolis in the 13th or Heliopolite Sepat [Nome] of Lower Egypt.
15:7 Three Great Magi-Kings, Mintaka of Persia, Anilam of India, and Alnitak of China followed the Star Sopdet [Sothis or Sirius] to Egypt. 1
15:8 The Wise Magi-Kings, Mintaka, Anilam, and Alnitak, came to Waset [Thebes], asking Seth 𓁣, “Where is the child who has been born king of all people? For we observed his star at its rising in the east, and have come to pay him homage and worship him.” 1
15:9 When Seth 𓁣 heard this, he was troubled, and all of Waset [Thebes] was frightened with him. 1
15:10 Seth 𓁣 gathered all the chief priests and scribes together, and demanded of them where the child king should be. 1
15:11 And they said unto him, he shall rule in Inbu-Hedj [Memphis], capital of Aneb-Hetch, the first Sepat [Nome] of Lower Egypt. 1
15:12 Then Seth 𓁣, when had secretly called for the three Wise Magi-Kings, Mintaka, Anilam, and Alnitak, inquired of them diligently what time the star Sopdet [Sothis or Sirius] appeared to them. 1
15:13 And Seth 𓁣 sent them to Inbu-Hedj [Memphis] and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child, son of Asar [Osiris] 𓁹; and when you have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.” 1
15:14 When they had heard Pharaoh Seth 𓁣, they departed; and lo, the star Sopdet [Sothis or Sirius], which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child Heru [Horus] 𓅃 was. 1
15:15 When they saw the star Sopdet [Sothis or Sirius], they were overwhelmed with exceeding great joy. 1
15:16 And when they came into the Per-Aat [Great House of Atum] in Heliopolis, they saw the child king with Aset [Isis-Meri], his mother, and Nebt-Het [Nephthys], his aunt, they fell down and worshipped him.
chapter 16: Flee to Delta
16:1 An arch-angel said to Aset [Isis-Meri] in a dream, “Come, thou goddess Aset [Isis], hide thyself with thy child.” 1
16:2 The three Wise Magi-Kings, Mintaka, Anilam, and Alnitak, accompanied Aset [Isis-Meri], Nebt-Het [Nephthys], and Heru [Horus] 𓅃 to Inbu-Hedj [Memphis], capital of Aneb-Hetch, the first Sepat [Nome] of Lower Egypt. Heru was laid upon the altar at the great temple Hut-ka-Ptah [Enclosure of the ka of Ptah] and crowned king. The three Wise Magi-Kings opened their treasures and they presented unto him gifts: gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
16:3 And being warned by Anpu [Anubis] that they should not return to Seth 𓁣, the three Wise Magi-Kings, Mintaka, Anilam, and Alnitak, ascended into the heavens, becoming the three stars that forever point to Asar’s star in the east, Sopdet [Sothis or Sirius]. 1
16:4 Aset [Isis] fled into the marshes of the delta carrying the baby Heru [Horus] 𓅃 with her. 16:5 She found shelter on a little island where the goddess Buto lived, and entrusted the divine child to her. 16:6 And as a further safeguard against Seth 𓁣, Aset [Isis] loosed the island from its foundations, and let it float so that no one could tell where to find it.
chapter 17: the Search for Asar [Osiris] 𓁹
17:1 Then Aset [Isis] went to seek for the body of Asar [Osiris] 𓁹. 17:2 For, until he was buried with all the needful rites and charms, even his spirit could go no farther to the west than Duat, the Testing-Place; and it could not come to Amenti.
17:3 Back and forth over the land of Kemet [Egypt] wandered Aset [Isis], but never a trace could she find of the chest in which lay the body of Asar [Osiris] 𓁹. 17:4 She asked all whom she met, but no one had seen it - and in this matter her magic powers could not help her.
17:5 At last she questioned the children who were playing by the riverside, and at once they told her that just such a chest as she described had floated past them on the swift stream and out into the Great Green Sea.
17:6 Then Aset [Isis] wandered on the shore, and again and again it was the children who had seen the chest floating by and told her which way it had gone. 17:7 And because of this, Aset [Isis] blessed the children and decreed that ever afterwards children should speak words of wisdom and sometimes tell of things to come.
17:8 At length Aset [Isis] came to Byblos and sat down by the seashore. Presently the maidens who attended on Queen Astarte came down to bathe at that place; and when they returned out of the water Isis taught them how to plait their hair - which had never been done before. 17:9 When they went up to the palace a strange and wonderful perfume seemed to cling to them; and Queen Astarte marveled at it, and at their plaited hair, and asked them how it came to be so.
17:10 The maidens told her of the wonderful woman who sat by the seashore, and Queen Astarte sent for Aset [Isis], and asked her to serve in the palace and tend her children, the little Prince Maneros and the baby Dictys, who was ailing sorely. 17:11 For she did not know that the strange woman who was wandering alone at Byblos was the greatest of all the goddesses of Kemet [Egypt]. 17:12 Aset [Isis] agreed to this, and very soon the baby Dictys was strong and well though she did no more than give him her finger to suck. 17:13 But presently she became fond of the child, and thought to make him immortal, which she did by burning away his mortal parts while she flew round and round him in the form of a swallow. 17:14 Astarte, however, had been watching her secretly; and when she saw that her baby seemed to be on fire she rushed into the room with a loud cry, and so broke the magic.
17:15 Then Aset [Isis] took on her own form, and Astarte crouched down in terror when she saw the shining goddess and learned who she was.
17:16 Malcander and Astarte offered her gifts of all the richest treasures in Byblos, but Aset [Isis] asked only for the great tamarisk pillar which held up the roof, and for what it contained. 17:17 When it was given to her, she caused it to open and took out the chest of Seth 𓁣. 17:18 But the pillar she gave back to Malcander and Astarte; and it remained the most sacred object in Byblos, since it had once held the body of a god.
17:19 When the chest which had become the coffin of Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 was given to her, Aset [Isis] flung herself down on it with so terrible a cry of sorrow that little Dictys died at the very sound. 17:20 But Aset [Isis] at length caused the chest to be placed on a ship which King Malcander provided for her, and set out for Kemet [Egypt]. 17:21 With her went Maneros, the young prince of Byblos: but he did not remain with her for long, since his curiosity proved his undoing. 17:22 For as soon as the ship had left the land Aset [Isis] retired to where the chest of Seth 𓁣 lay, and opened the lid. 17:23 Maneros crept up behind her and peeped over her shoulder: but Aset [Isis] knew he was there and, turning, gave him one glance of anger - and he fell backwards over the side of the ship into the sea.
17:24 Next morning, as the ship was passing the Phaedrus River, its strong current threatened to carry them out of sight of land. But Aset [Isis] grew angry and placed a curse on the river, so that its stream dried up from that day.
17:25 She came safely to Kemet [Egypt] after this, and hid the chest in the marshes of the delta while she hastened to the floating island where Buto was guarding Heru [Horus] 𓅃.
17:26 But it chanced that Seth 𓁣 came hunting wild boars with his dogs, hunting by night after his custom, since he loved the darkness in which evil things abound. 17:27 By the light of the moon he saw the chest of cedar wood inlaid with ebony and ivory, with gold and silver, and recognized it.
17:28 At the sight hatred and anger came upon him in a red cloud, and he raged like a panther of the south. 17:29 He tore open the chest, took the body of Asar [Osiris] 𓁹, and rent it into fourteen pieces which, by his divine strength, he scattered up and down the whole length of the Nile so that the crocodiles might eat them.
17:30 “It is not possible to destroy the body of a god!” cried Seth 𓁣. ?php echo $chapternumber.':'.$versenumber++; ?> “Yet I have done it - for I have destroyed Osiris!” ?php echo $chapternumber.':'.$versenumber++; ?> His laughter echoed through the land, and all who heard it trembled and hid.
17:31 Now Aset [Isis] had to begin her search once more. 17:32 This time she had helpers, for Nebt Het [Nephthys] left her wicked husband Seth 𓁣 and came to join her sister. 17:33 And Anpu [Anubis], the son of Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 and Nebt Het [Nephthys], taking the form of a jackal, assisted in the search. 17:34 When Aset [Isis] traveled over the land she was accompanied and guarded by seven scorpions. 17:35 But when she searched on the Nile and among the many streams of the delta she made her way in a boat made of papyrus: and the crocodiles, in their reverence for the goddess, touched neither the rent pieces of Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 nor Aset [Isis] herself. 17:36 Indeed ever afterwards anyone who sailed the Nile in a boat made of papyrus was safe from them, for they thought that it was Aset [Isis] still questing after the pieces of her husband’s body.
17:37 Slowly, piece by piece, Isis recovered the fragments of Asar [Osiris] 𓁹. 17:38 And wherever she did so, she formed by magic the likeness of his whole body and caused the priests to build a shrine and perform his funeral rites. 17:39 And so there were thirteen places in Kemet [Egypt] which claimed to be the burial place of Asar [Osiris] 𓁹. 17:40 In this way also she made it harder for Seth 𓁣 to meddle further with the body of the dead god.
17:41 One piece only she did not recover, for it had been eaten by certain impious fishes; and their kind were accursed ever afterwards, and no Egyptian would touch or eat them. 17:42 Aset [Isis], however, did not bury any of the pieces in the places where the tombs and shrines of Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 stood. She gathered the pieces together, rejoined them by magic, and by magic made a likeness of the missing member so that Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 was complete. 17:43 Then she caused the body to be embalmed and hidden away in a place of which she alone knew. 17:44 And after this the spirit of Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 passed into Amenti to rule over the dead until the last great battle, when Horus should slay Seth 𓁣 and Osiris would return to earth once more.
chapter 18: Baptism
18:1 Anpu [Anubis] gathered two massive jugs of the cold pure waters of the Nile and told Heru [Horus] 𓅃 that he needed to be baptized in the Eridanos in the Land of the Celts. 1
18:2 Heru [Horus] 𓅃 and Anpu [Anubis] travelled many days. 1
18:3 Then Heru [Horus] 𓅃 came to the starry Eridanos River, passing through the marsh that exhales a heavy vapor, up the green banks of the river lined with black poplars to the Islands of Amber. 1
18:4 Heru [Horus] 𓅃 asked his uncle Anpu {Anubis] to be baptized in the river. 1
18:5 But Anpu {Anubis] tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you.” 1
18:6 Heru [Horus] 𓅃 replied, “Let it be so now; it thus it becometh proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.”. Then Anpu {Anubis] consented. 1
18:7 Anpu {Anubis] poured the cold pure waters of the Nile onto to Heru’s head, saying, “As truly as Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 lives, so truly shall his rightful heir live; as truly as Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 is not dead he shall die no more; as truly as Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 is not annihilated he shall not be annihilated.”. Then Anpu {Anubis] dipped Heru [Horus] 𓅃 into the waters of the Eridanos. 1
18:8 As soon as Heru [Horus] 𓅃 was baptized, he went up out of the water. And, lo, at that moment the heavens was opened unto him, and he saw the ba, ka, and akh of Netjer descending like a dove, and alighting on him. 1
18:9 And, lo, a voice from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” 1
chapter 18: Seth 𓁣 is defeated in the quarrel over the inheritance of Asar [Osiris] 𓁹:
his bad character
18:1 Back! Rebel of abominable character, whose step has been impeded by Re, who (already) fought in (his mother’s) womb, 2
18:2 who did evil, who stepped outside the (prescribed) path, 2
18:3 who fell down because of his slaughter, 2
18:4 who loved the fight, who enjoyed quarrel, 2
18:5 who covered his face against him who is older than him, 2
18:6 who created evil, who caused grief 2
18:7 in enmity to the father of his fathers, 2
18:8 who avoids laws, who uses force, 2
18:9 who stands there as archer, 2
18:10 robber, lord of the lie, ruler of deceit, 2
18:11 leader of criminals, 2
18:12 who rejoices over (treacherous) abandonment, who hates friendship, 2
18:13 whose heart is haughty among the neteru, 2
18:14 who sows enmity, who creates destruction, 2
18:15 the evil one who incites rebellion, 2
18:16 lord of robbery who rejoices in greed, 2
18:17 lord of theft, who creates rapine, 2
18:18 who causes grief and creates wounds, 2
18:19 who devises rebellion out of evil. 2
chapter 18: ten commandments
18:1 Seth 𓁣 presented stone tablets to the people:
18:2 “I am the Lord thy God, Pharaoh of the land of Kemet [Egypt].”
18:3 “Thou shalt worship no other Gods before me: for I am a jealous God.”
18:4 “Thou shalt not make thee not molten gods; thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images.”
18:5 “Thous shalt cheer and applaud thy political leaders. Those who do not applaud their political leaders are like death and treasonous, for they do not love their country very much.”
18:6 “The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep.”
18:7 “All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male.”
18:8 “Thou shalt not take my name, the Lord your God, in vain.”
18:9 “Remember my day, to keep it holy.”
18:10 “Thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end.”
18:11 “Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven.”
18:12 “The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of me, the Lord thy god.”
18:13 “Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.”
18:14 “Honour thy father and thy mother. 18:15 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: 18:16 Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; 18:17 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. 18:18 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Kemet [Egypt] shall hear, and fear.”
18:19 “Slaves, be subject to your masters with all reverence, not only to those who are good and equitable but also to those who are perverse. 18:20 Slaves are to be obedient and submissive unto their masters in everything, and to please them well in all things, not argumentative, not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, showing all good faith and fidelity; so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of their Lord and Savior thy God in all things. 18:21 Slaves, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the unjust. 18:22 When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed. If she does not please the man who bought her, he may allow her to be bought back again. 18:23 And if a man beats his slave, male or female, with a rod, and the slave dies under his hand; the master shall be surely punished. 18:24 Notwithstanding, if the slave survives a day ot two, he shall not be avenged; for the slave is his money.”
18:25 “Do not beat your wife as you would beat your slavegirl.”
18:26 “Thou shalt not murder.”
18:27 “Men have authority over women and what they spend. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in the husband’s absence what I, thy Lord God, would have them guard. But those wives from whom you fear arrogance — first advise them; then if they persist, forsake them in bed; and finally, strike them. But if they obey you once more, seek no means against them. Indeed, I, Seth 𓁣, am ever Exalted and Grand.”
18:28 “If a husband calls his wife to his bed and she refuses and causes him to sleep in anger, the angels will curse her til morning. By my divine power, no woman can fulfill her duty towards me until she fulfills her duty towards her husband. If he asks her for sex even if she is on her camel saddle, she should not refuse. When a man calls his wife for his need, then let her come, even if she is at the oven.”
18:29 “Thou shalt not commit adultery. 18:30 I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery already in his heart. 18:31 Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marriesth another, committeth adultery: and whosover marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.”
18:32 “Thou shalt not steal.”
18:33 “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. 18:34 Liars place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
18:35 “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.”
18:36 “You shall erect these stones which I command upon thee upon the entrance of every government building.”
18:37 “asdf”
chapter 19: Seth 𓁣 poisons Heru [Horus] 𓅃
19:1 After the murder of Asar [Osiris] 𓁹, Aset [Isis] hid her son Heru [Horus] 𓅃 in the Delta at Chemmis.
19:2 Seth 𓁣 found them and poisoned Heru [Horus] 𓅃.
19:3 Aset [Isis] complained to Re: “The babe of Chemmis, the infant of the House of the Prince, Heru [Horus] 𓅃 has been bitten!”
19:4 Djehuti [Thoth] healed the child with a spell: “Back, O Poison! You are exorcised by the spell of Re himself. It is the speech of the Greatest God which turns you away!”
chapter 20: Heru overthrows Seth 𓁣
20:1 As Heru [Horus] 𓅃 grew in this world the spirit of Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 visited him often and taught him all that a great warrior should know - one who was to fight against Seth 𓁣 both in the body and in the spirit.
20:2 One day Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 said to the boy: “Tell me, what is the noblest thing that a man can do?”
20:3 And Heru [Horus] 𓅃 answered: “To avenge his father and mother for the evil done to them.”
20:4 This pleased Asar [Osiris] 𓁹, and he asked further: “And what animal is most useful for the avenger to take with him as he goes out to battle?”
20:5 “A horse,” answered Heru [Horus] 𓅃 promptly.
20:6 “Surely a lion would be better still?” suggested Asar [Osiris] 𓁹.
20:7 “A lion would indeed be the best for a man who needed help,” replied Heru [Horus] 𓅃; “but a horse is best for pursuing a flying foe and cutting him off from escape.”
20:8 When he heard this Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 knew that the time had come for Heru [Horus] 𓅃 to declare war on Seth 𓁣, and bade him gather together a great army and sail up the Nile to attack him in the deserts of the south.
20:9 Heru [Horus] 𓅃 gathered his forces and prepared to begin the war. 20:10 And Re himself, the shining father of the gods, came to his aid in his own divine boat that sails across the heavens and through the dangers of the underworld.
20:11 Before they set sail Re drew Heru [Horus] 𓅃 aside so as to gaze into his blue eyes: for whoever looks into them, of gods or men, sees the future reflected there. 20:12 But Seth 𓁣 was watching; and he took upon himself the form of a black pig - black as the thunder-cloud, fierce to look at, with tusks to strike terror into the bravest heart.
20:13 Meanwhile Re said to Heru [Horus] 𓅃: “Let me gaze into your eyes, and see what is to come of this war.” 20:14 He gazed into the eyes of Heru [Horus] 𓅃 and their color was that of the Great Green Sea when the summer sky turns it to deepest blue.
20:15 While he gazed the black pig passed by and distracted his attention, so that he exclaimed: “Look at that! Never have I seen so huge and fierce a pig.”
20:16 And Heru [Horus] 𓅃 looked; and he did not know that it was Seth 𓁣, but thought it was a wild boar out of the thickets of the north, and he was not ready with a charm or a word of power to guard himself against the enemy.
20:17 Then Seth 𓁣 aimed a blow of fire at the eyes of Heru [Horus] 𓅃; and Heru [Horus] 𓅃 shouted with the pain and was in a great rage. 20:18 He knew now that it was Seth 𓁣; but Seth 𓁣 had gone on the instant and could not be trapped.
20:19 Re caused Heru [Horus] 𓅃 to be taken into a dark room, and it was not long before his eyes could see again as clearly as before. 20:20 When he was recovered Re had returned to the sky; but Heru [Horus] 𓅃 was filled with joy that he could see, once more, and as he set out up the Nile at the head of his army, the country on either side shared his joy and blossomed into spring.
chapter 21: Seth 𓁣 is defeated in the quarrel over the inheritance of Asar 𓁹:
Seth’s evil is reported to the neteru
21:1 There were many battles in that war, but the last and greatest was at Edfu, where the great temple of Heru [Horus] 𓅃 stands to this day in memory of it. 21:2 The forces of Seth 𓁣 and Heru [Horus] 𓅃 drew near to one another among the islands and the rapids of the First Cataract of the Nile. 21:3 Seth 𓁣, in the form of a red hippopotamus of gigantic size, sprang up on the island of Elephantine and uttered a great curse against Heru [Horus] 𓅃 and against Aset [Isis]:
21:4 “Let there come a terrible raging tempest and a mighty flood against my enemies!” he cried, and his voice was like the thunder rolling across the heavens from the south to the north. 21:5 At once the storm broke over the boats of Heru [Horus] 𓅃 and his army; the wind roared and the water was heaped into great waves. 21:6 But Heru [Horus] 𓅃 held on his way, his own boat gleaming through the darkness, its prow shining like a ray of the sun.
21:7 Opposite Edfu, Seth 𓁣 turned and stood at bay, straddling the whole stream of the Nile, so huge a red hippopotamus was he. 21:8 But Heru [Horus] 𓅃 took upon himself the shape of a handsome young man, twelve feet in height. 21:9 His hand held a harpoon thirty feet long with a blade six feet wide at its point of greatest width.
21:10 Seth 𓁣 opened his mighty jaws to destroy Heru [Horus] 𓅃 and his followers when the storm should wreck their boats. 21:11 But Heru [Horus] 𓅃 cast his harpoon, and it struck deep into the head of the red hippopotamus, deep into his brain. 21:12 And that one blow slew Seth 𓁣 the great wicked one, the enemy of Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 and the gods - and the red hippopotamus sank dead beside the Nile at Edfu. 21:13 The storm passed away, the flood sank and the sky was clear and blue once more. 21:14 Then the people of Edfu came out to welcome Heru [Horus] 𓅃 the avenger and lead him in triumph to the shrine over which the great temple now stands. 21:15 And they sang the song of praise which the priests chanted ever afterwards when the yearly festival of Heru [Horus] 𓅃 was held at Edfu:
21:16 “Rejoice, you who dwell in Edfu! Heru [Horus] 𓅃 the great god, the lord of the sky, has slain the enemy of his father! 21:17 Eat the flesh of the vanquished, drink the blood of the red hippopotamus, burn his bones with fire! Let him be cut in pieces, and the scraps be given to the cats, and the offal to the reptiles!
21:18 “Glory to Heru [Horus] 𓅃 of the mighty blow, the brave one, the slayer, the wielder of the Harpoon, the only son of Osiris, Horus of Edfu, Heru [Horus] 𓅃 the avenger!”
chapter 22: Seth 𓁣 is defeated in the quarrel over the inheritance of Asar 𓁹:
Seth’s evil is reported to the neteru
22:1 Your crime has been put before Re, 2
22:2 the damage you have caused has been reported to the great Ntr 2
22:3 The great Ennead [Pesedjet] discusses it (during the trial). 2
22:4 Thoth [Djehuti] is sitting in judgment. 2
22:5 They make public the grief you have caused. 2
22:6 They report the injury you have committed. 2
22:7 They deliver you to the devourer. [Ammit, a chimaera like demon, devourer of the hearts of the dead who have been found not to be blameless] 2
chapter 23: Seth 𓁣 is defeated in the quarrel over the inheritance of Asar 𓁹:
Geb makes inquiries oncerning the quarrel of his children
23:1 Geb speaks to the gods, 2
23:2 he asks after those who emerged from him: 2
23:3 “Why are the children of Geb fighting, 2
23:4 so that the earth between them is quarrelling?” 2
chapter 24: Seth 𓁣 is defeated in the quarrel over the inheritance of Asar 𓁹:
Djehuti [Thoth] pleads the case of Heru [Horus] 𓅃
24:1 The lord of Hermopolis [Djehuti or Thoth] transmits the words of the son of Aset [Isis] 2
24:2 of the son, avenger of his father, who is present as the accuser; 2
24:3 in order to please the heart of Asar [Osiris] 𓁹, 2
24:4 by (warding off) every attack of Seth 𓁣 against him. 2
chapter 25: Seth 𓁣 is defeated in the quarrel over the inheritance of Asar 𓁹:
Geb appoints Heru [Horus] 𓅃 as heir
25:1 Then Geb said: 2
25:2 “Behold, I am giving the inheritance to the son of the inheritor [Asar 𓁹], 2
25:3 to the son of my son, of the Opener of the Body, wp-wAwt, [Wepwawet] 2
25:4 as Re-Atum has done to the son, 2
25:5 the eldest (son) of the Supreme Lord, 2
25:6 as Shu has given to me. Just as I have done as well. 2
25:7 Behold, I am giving all my things to the son of Asar [Osiris] 𓁹, Heru [Hor], son of Aset [Isis], 2
25:8 the child of Chemmis, the first of Houses. 2
25:9 He is the heir, son of the heir. 2
chapter 26: Heru moves on
26:1 But when Heru [Horus] 𓅃 passed from earth and reigned no more as the Pharaoh of Egypt, he appeared before the assembly of the gods, and Seth 𓁣 came also in the spirit, and contended in words for the rule of the world. 26:2 But not even Thoth the wise could give judgment. 26:3 And so it comes about that Heru [Horus] 𓅃 and Seth 𓁣 still contend for the souls of men and for the rule of the world.
26:4 There were no more battles on the Nile or in the land of Kemet [Egypt]; and Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 rested quietly in his grave, which (since Seth 𓁣 could no longer disturb it) Aset [Isis] admitted was on the island of Philae, the most sacred place of all, in the Nile a few miles upstream from Elephantine. 26:5 But the Egyptians believed that the Last Battle was still to come - and that Heru [Horus] 𓅃 would defeat Seth 𓁣 in this also. 26:6 And when Seth 𓁣 was destroyed forever, Asar [Osiris] 𓁹 would rise from the dead and return to earth, bringing with him all those who had been his own faithful followers. 26:7 And for this reason the Egyptians embalmed dead and set the bodies away beneath towering pyramids of stone and deep in the tomb chambers of western Thebes, so that the blessed souls returning from Amenti should find them ready to enter again, and in them to live for ever on earth under the good god Asar [Osiris] 𓁹, Aset [Isis] his queen and their son Heru [Horus] 𓅃.
footnotes
1 Tom Harpur, The Pagan Christ; Recovering the Lost Light, Thomas Allen, (2004)
2 The book of the victory over Seth 𓁣, After Siegfried Schott, Bücher und Sprüche gegen den Gott Seth, Urkunden des ägyptischen Altertums, sechste Abteilung, Heft 1, 1929
