“By the way, there is also a legend in that papyrus roll telling how king Khufu got to know a prophecy of elder and miracle-worker Dedi about three babies which would be born by the wife of the chief priest of god Ra who will occupy a king’s throne. Khufu decided to find these babies. The servant girl who worked in the house of this priest made an attempt to inform the king about a ‘plot’ but she perished on the Nile bank, ‘seized and swallowed by a crocodile’. The most interesting is that in this place the papyrus roll is torn, though, the same way as its beginning.”
Nikolai Andreevich said as if it dawned upon him, “Wait, was this information a base for a story in the New Testament about a prophecy, king Herod and his ‘chase’ for babies?!” Sensei just grinned slightly. “It’s clear now why this ‘historical’ discrepancy took place.”
Sensei nodded and added, “I would note that the legends of that papyrus tell exactly about the time when the Vth dynasty was in power in Ancient Egypt, that is it was the First transition period when the Archons made an attempt to destroy those spiritual foundations which where set as far back as by Imhotep. Remember it. We will talk about it a bit later… Moreover, as far as the legend about Moses concerned… By the time when the writ of the Old Testament was supplemented and rewritten by Jewish priests, they were aware of the legends about phenomena of lake Sirbon described in the Greek geographical tradition.
“And as far as the real events concerned… Though Jews lived long time among Egyptians they remain foreigners, and they weren’t such a people large in number in comparison to Egyptians as they try to present it in history. Beside that there was no exodus at all. First all Jews who wished ‘better life’ were gathered in the native vicinity of Moses. They were religiously indoctrinated so that to incline them to forthcoming events. The people was prepared to be absolutely obedient to their God, that is in the first turn to the priests who headed them. And they did it, so to say as far as possible in order not to catch somebody’s eyes, in the deserted place, not far from Mount Sinai.”
“It is the place where Moses gave Jews ten famous commandments? Something like ‘you shall not murder’, ‘you shall not steal’, ‘honor your father and your mother’ etc.” Stas recalled.
“It was not like that at all! The Jewish people has already known these commandments and not only them! Living among Egyptians Jews adopted partly their culture as well. And in that country, since the times of Ancient Egypt they paid special attention to moral education of young generations because Egyptians deeply believed that namely their children could give to their parents a new life in the beyond world if they perform a funeral religious rite. They piously believed that everybody who came to the after-death justice by Osiris had to give a proof of his honest life and for doing that he had to deliver the so called ‘Negative Confession’ or the ‘Declaration of Innocence of the dead’ where the man renounced forty two ‘mortal sins’, as they would be called nowadays by religious leaders. Thus they included not only commandments known to all today (which allegedly were given to Moses) but even such peculiar commandments which concerned honesty in trade.
I have to mention that there was a simplified version of this ‘Confession’ and a full one when the man listed the names of all forty two Egyptians gods and justified his deeds. The simplified version sounded for example this way. After a brief greeting to the Lord of two Truths, the way Osiris was entitled as the Afterdeath Judge, the man would say, “I have not done wrong to people. I have not slain cattle. I have done no wrong in the Place of Truth… I have not blamesphered… I have not caused anyone to starve and to weep… I have not killed… I have not made anyone to suffer… I have not wrongly
copulated… I have not cursed… I have not stolen…” And so forth. It was also said there ‘I have not reduced measures… I have not robbed a parcel of land… I have not transgressed… I have not done grain-profiteering’ etc.”
“Not bad!” Victor grinned. “So, Jewish priests have chosen only those things which were favorable for them!”
“I’m glad that you start to understand it and not just listen,” Sensei repeated again.
“It’s quite amazing!” Nikolai Andreevich uttered with surprise. “And how did it sound in the full version?”
“It was like that:
Hail, Usekh-nemmt, who comest forth from Anu, I have not committed sin.
Hail, Hept-khet, who comest forth from Kher-aha, I have not committed robbery with violence.
Hail, Fenti, who comest forth from Khemenu, I have not stolen.
Hail, Am-khaibit, who comest forth from Qernet, I have not slain men and women.
Hail, Neha-her, who comest forth from Rasta, I have not stolen grain.
Hail, Ruruti, who comest forth from heaven, I have not purloined offerings.
Hail, Arfi-em-khet, who comest forth from Suat, I have not stolen the property of God.
“And so on ‘I have not lied’, ‘I have not entered disputes about property’, ‘I have not acted deceitfully’, ‘I not made my speech to burn with anger’… You can find all this information nowadays, too. Read a script of ancient Egyptian literature, ‘The Book of Dead’, Chapter 125, and you will get this information in details… Thus Egyptians learnt since childhood this ‘Declaration of Innocence’ by heart… Because it was believed that the man had to pronounce these words very accurately in the after-death court so that to justify himself since as you know his Akh (will and wishes of the man resulting in deeds and actions in the past life) was put on one cup of scales during this process and the ‘codex of behaviour’, the so called ‘maat’ (a ‘feather of goddess Maat’ who personified the world order) was put on the other cup. It was deemed that if the scales will be in balance, the dead one will be allowed to live in the after-death world. But if the balance will be disturbed against the man, his destiny was non-existence instead of further life in the after-death kingdom. And taking into account that Egyptians prepared themselves by their thoughts, deeds and actions to the after-death existence, this disbalance was the most terrible punishment for them. That’s why the principles of high moral behaviour were taught by parents to their children since childhood and a worthy Egyptian followed them during all his life. Ordinary Jews who lived in that country adopted some moral principles from Egyptians.
Therefore it was not Moses who revealed these commandments to his people but the Jewish people revealed them for itself through the culture of Egyptians far ahead of Moses! By the way, Jewish priests noticed how ordinary people accept these moral foundations of life and rewrote later a lot of things from Egyptian sermons, edited them in their own way and posed them for sermons of their Jewish patriarchies.”
“Surely,” Nikolai Andreevich grinned, “you will do your best to strengthen your authority and popularize yourself!”
“To be laconic, I will cite you a few examples. It is written in the Egyptian Wisdom of Amenomope (which mainly served as a firstprimary source for the book Proverbs of Solomon) ‘Give your years and hear what is said, give your mind over to their interpretation’. And here are the Proverbs of Solomon, ’So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding’. By the way, king Solomon became famous and popular at his time due to his marriage with the Egyptian princess… Now listen to an abstract from the Teachings of Ptahhotep, ‘Don’t make plans for tomorrow since you don’t know what is going to be’. And the ‘echo’ of these teachings in the very Proverbs (27:1) ‘Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.’ Again the Teachings of Ptahhotep, ‘Teach the great what is useful to him’. And in the Proverbs (9:9) ‘Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.’ The Teachings of Ptahhotep, ‘He who hears the one who said this, is well adjusted in his inner being, and honored by his father. His remembrance is in the mouth of the living, those on earth and those who will