Lack of maat and her departure meant an inevitable return to the original chaos nu and the end of the known world. What is the difference between the 10 commandments and the. The 42 laws of the goddess maat egyptian goddess, ancient. Astral ankhs ancient egyptian 42 principles of maat you have to battle every day to reach your higher conscious egyptian concept kemet or km. They come from the egyptian book of the dead spell 125. They represent the 42 united nomes of egypt, and are called the hidden maati gods, who. Maat was the egyptian goddess designed to avert chaos islet and maintain truth maat in ancient kemet. What i find interesting is so many know about the 10 commandments but have never heard of the 42 laws of maat. The 42 laws of maat were revealed to priests and priestesses in ancient egypt and codified by them over 5000 years ago. A unique formulation the nearest concept to that of justice in egyptian is the notion of maat,2 which is. The 42 precepts of maat and their foundation in the philosophy of righteous action kindle edition by ashby, muata.
The god thoth, or djehuti in ancient egyptian, was the scribe of judgment. She represented truth, justice, balance, and morality. The divine law is the likeness of god and the measure of my being. The majesty of the early egyptian civilization still lingers in the collective mind of humankind. Egyptian book of the dead 42 negative confessions house. The 42 laws of the goddess maat are the real origin of the ten commandments. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the 42 precepts of maat and their foundation in the philosophy of righteous action. Kemet is the name the native african people of the country now known as egypt called themselves in their surviving writings. It was very easy for moses to establish a new religion for his people as a result of his spiritual education and training in western kemet egypt. The scales of maat would weigh ones heart against the feather of maat representing truth and justice to ascertain whether one was worthy of joining the gods in the fields of peace.
The 42 commandments were split up into 3 classifications of sins. Dec 18, 2009 moses then collapsed the 42 negative confessions into the ten commandments and he continued to embrace the concept of monotheism. Truth introduction to maat philosophy introduction to maat philosophy by muata ashby maat revealed philosophy of justice in ancient egypt laws contract laws california gun laws the 48 laws of power pdf the 48 laws of power corporate laws in due course. What is the difference between the 10 commandments and the 42. Law of amen you were made in the likeness of a peace that nothing can disturb. Apr 19, 20 it contains a compilation of the 42 laws or precepts of maat and the corresponding principles which they represent along with the teachings of the ancient egyptian sages relating to each. When people follow the 42 laws of maat, your heart will be as light as a feather. I am it, and i therefore enjoy a life of order and prosperity. Reflections on the 42 laws of maat if you have been in the black conscious community for any length of time, you have heard the term maat used. Maat, also known as maat or mayet, was a female goddess in the ancient egyptian religion who represented truth, justice, balance and morality.
What is the difference between the 10 commandments and the 42 laws of maat. The scale of maat was balanced after the recitation of the 42 declarations of innocence or admonitions of maat. Maat represents the entire law that ruled the life of the ancient kamits. This means the biblical moses would have been well aware of the 42 laws of maat. Jul 18, 2016 hello, great topic i have a question to ask about the 42 laws of maat, the 42 laws of maat where written thousands of years before the 10 commandments, and if i am correct they are contained in the book of the dead or written there my question too you is, who was the author or who wrote the 42 laws of maat and or the book of the dead. May 15, 2015 maat was also personified as a goddess regulating the stars, seasons, and the actions of both mortals and the deities, who set the order of the universe from chaos at the moment of creation. At this point, we may recall the teachings of jesus where he told us that the law given by moses was actually not. Dealing with the same subjects they were updated and made positive rather than negative. Aug 21, 2011 seven ancient egyptian universal precepts the universe is mental held in the mind of the all. It was a concept of order of the world that the gods, pharaohs and ordinary people had to obey. Jan 03, 2017 egypt 42 laws of maat also known as 42 positive pontifications to maat or 42 negative confessions vs 10 commandments whats the problem because the black conscious community dont follow none of. Law of heru you have the power but not the right to ignore gods law.
I embrace the all loreon, of isis oasis, was one of the 9 priestesses of the temple of isis who traveled to egypt in 1995 and undertook to rewrite these laws, now changed to ideals, from the ancient text. Historians believe that these laws existed at least 2000 years before the 10 commandments. Egyptologists have few sources of knowledge about law and justice in ancient egypt. The 42 laws of maat for children by kajara nebthet light as a feather. It is the reciprocal relationship of things to each other and the whole as fixed by nature. She decided whether a person would successfully reach the afterlife. Reflections on the 42 laws of maat the panafrican alliance. Maat is depicted in female form wearing an ostrich feather on her head in egyptian texts. Egyptian law was based on the central cultural value of maat harmony and balance which was the foundation for the entire civilization. From the egyptian book of the dead, the 42 principles of maat, commonly known as the negative confessions. Are the 10 commandments taken from the 42 laws of maat. Maat as a goddess and idea constituted a fundamental touchstone of ancient egyptian religion and social life. Egyptian book of the dead 42 negative confessions house of truth. In the biblical story, moses was adopted into egyptian royalty and was educated in all the wisdom of the egyptians according to acts 7.
The laws of maat are called the 42 negative confessions and they were revealed in the egyptian book of the dead, or the papyrus of ani a book that was written more than 3,000 years ago. The assessors of maat are the 42 deities listed in the papyrus of nebseni, to whom the deceased make the negative confession in the papyrus of ani. Maat was also the goddess who personified these concepts, and regulated the stars, seasons, and the actions of mortals and the deities who had brought order from chaos at the moment of creation. Are the ten commandments taken from the fortytwo precepts of. The precepts of maat are found in inscriptions in tombs and on some papyrus records. Are the ten commandments based on the fortytwo principles of. There is no place where evil is done unnoticed, for the eyes of the gods see it all. Oct, 2009 what is the difference between the 10 commandments and the 42 laws of maat. The hall of maat is where the judgment of the dead was performed. In the second phase, the room is called the hall of maati, where suffix i. The 42 laws of maat egyptian virtues image taken from maat shrine maat is the ancient egyptian goddess of truth, balance and order. The king, as the highest legal authority, was the nexus between ma. Maat ancient egypts most important religious concept.
At this point, we may recall the teachings of jesus where he told us that the law given by moses was actually not the entire law. This is just plain ideals of maat the egyptian goddess of justice. The purpose of maat law justicetruth among the kemet kmt khemet people of ancient upper and lower egypt was to divert chaos isfet. Maat or maat was the ancient egyptian concept of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice. The totality of codified laws, the ancient egyptians also referred to as maat. Maat is at once a goddess a cosmic force and a living social doctrine which promotes social harmony and thereby paves the way for spiritual evolution in. Maat the moral ideal in ancient egypt, by maulana karenga sankore publisher, 2006. Thus, the 42 laws of maat became the basis of egyptian law. Egypt 42 laws of maat vs 10 commandments whats the problem. Cosmic ordering secrets 42 ideals of maat the egyptian goddess of justice.
I found this list of the ancient commandments, which the author of the page has been reworded from i have not to thou shall not. Transgressions against mankind, sins against gods and personal transgressions. Maat was the ancient egyptian concept of truth, balance, order, law, morality, and justice. Maat ormaat wastheancientegyptianconceptof truth,balance,order,harmony, law,morality,andjustice. They represent the 42 united nomes of egypt, and are called the hidden maati gods, who feed upon maat during the years of their lives. The 42 principles of maat were created so that ancient egyptians could follow vital rules and act with honor and truth in manners that involve family, the community, the nation, the environment, and the gods. Hail, thou whose teeth are white hetchabhu, who comest forth from tashe the fayyum, i have not slaughtered with evil intent the cattle of the god. The 42 precepts of maat and the philosophy of righteous action of ancient egypt muata ashby. Moses prayed to amunra, the sun god of ancient egypt. The 42 laws of maat for children by kajara nebthet teach your children the laws and morals of maat, ancient egyptian wisdom. The ancient egyptian conception of maat includes connotations of order, harmony, rightness and true witness. Rapasa on 42 ideals of maat the egyptian goddess of justice.
Maat was established at the beginning of time by the gods when the earth and universe were formed. The neophyte or students ultimate aim in kemet was for a person to become one with god or to become like god. Written at least 2,000 years before the ten commandments of moses, the 42 principles of maat are one of africas oldest moral and spiritual instructions. The surviving artifacts of the kemet viziers and scribes evidence that kemet rule of law was maat, contained at least in part in observing the 42 laws of maat. Moses then collapsed the 42 negative confessions into the ten commandments and he continued to embrace the concept of monotheism. It contains a compilation of the 42 laws or precepts of maat and the corresponding principles which they represent along with the teachings of the ancient egyptian sages relating to each. If and only if the feather of maat is heavier, and truth prevailed, will the deceased become fully operational and effective in the afterlife. The negative confession also known as the declaration of innocence is a list of 42 sins which the soul of the deceased can honestly say it has never committed when it stands in judgment in the afterlife. It is used in a wide range of religious, ethical and cosmological contexts. Maat is the primordial goddess of khemet, feminine energy counterpartwife of thothtehuti logical thinking, divine intelligence. The negative confession ancient history encyclopedia. The 42 commandments of ancient egypt the ten commandments, eight of them at least, were taken from the egyptian principles of maat written at least 2000 years earlier. Maat represented the most essential religious concept of the egyptian view of the world.
Choose to follow the law of god with the love and joy that grows out of your understanding, and the wisdom and power of gods spirit will flow through your being. Hall of two truths is depicted in the various versions of the egyptian book of the. They are a comprehensive set of spiritual and moral laws as valid to us today as they were to worshipers of isis so many millennia ago. Hall of the two truths, or double truths hall of the maati, or double maat hall of judgment of the double maat dualtwo judgments, good and evil judgement of righteousness duat realm of the dead sba dua sba. The fortytwo precepts of maat are a list of principles named after an ancient egyptian goddess of truth, justice, and order. The laws of maat, known as the declaration of innocence, are the oldest afrikan book of holy scriptures. Sep 14, 2015 as the ancient egyptian book of the dead can be consider the forefather of the bible and quran, correspondingly the 42 negative confessions can be considered the forefather of the law of moses and especially of the ten commandments. Apr 12, 2018 maat was a female goddess in ancient egypt. Are the ten commandments taken from the fortytwo precepts of maat. She is most often depicted as a woman with wings or a single white ostrich feather.
The 42 precepts of maat and their foundation in the. Jun 09, 2019 maat, also known as maat or mayet, was a female goddess in the ancient egyptian religion who represented truth, justice, balance and morality. Maat was the egyptian goddess designed to avert chaos islet and maintain truth maat in ancient kemet egypt. Ancient egyptians way of life was guided by a list of laws, known as the 42 laws of maat or maat. The 42 principles of maat were created so that ancient egyptians could follow vital rules and act with honor and truth. Law of maat written by administrator sunday, 03 april 2011 16. James ferguson, centre for eastwest cultural and economic studies, fsd, bond university, qld, australia. The 42 laws of the goddess maat egyptian goddess, egyptian. The daughter of the egyptian sun deity ra and wife of the moon god thoth, she served a kind of spirit of justice to the egyptians. Many people have read or at least heard the biblical story of moses and the ten commandments.
Maat philosophy was the basis of ancient egyptian society and government as well as the heart of ancient egyptian. Although no legal codes from ancient egypt survive, court documents show that egyptian law was based on a commonsense view of right and wrong that emphasized reaching agreements and resolving conflicts rather than strictly adhering to a complicated set of statutes. I live by it and am therefore in harmony with the whole. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. When transgressions were against mankind, the punishment fitted the crime. The most famous list comes from the papyrus of ani, a text of the egyptian book of the dead, prepared for the priest ani of thebes c. Reflections on social justice and natural order1 by dr r.
Are the ten commandments taken from the fortytwo precepts. Our physical nature is totally amenable to reprogramming. When the deceased go to the afterlife, the egyptians believed that their hearts would be weighed against this feather. Crime was mainly as a result of barbaric immigrants.
According to one version of the story, the god atum emerged from the swirling waters of chaos to stand on the first dry land, the primordial benben, to. Maat is the daughter of ra supreme god of kemetic culture and is the goddess of truth, justice, divine order, and cosmic balance. Pdf in this article, the emergence of ancient egyptian law out of religion and specifically arising from the concept of maat is discussed, as well as. She was the personification of justice and truth, and her symbols were the scale and above all the feather, that she wore on her head. Egypt 42 laws of maat also known as 42 positive pontifications to maat or 42 negative confessions vs 10 commandments whats the problem because the black conscious community dont follow none of. The 42 precepts of maat and the philosophy of by jene. Since we have the laws and faculties to do so, why not dedicate the use of our will to program desirable ends in our livespeace, happiness, health and prosperity.
As the ancient egyptian book of the dead can be consider the forefather of the bible and quran, correspondingly the 42 negative confessions can be considered the forefather of the law of moses and especially of the ten commandments. The purpose of maat lawjusticetruth among the kemet kmt khemet people of ancient upper and lower egypt was to divert chaos isfet. Moses used the concept of fire to receive the ten commandments because in ancient kemet egypt the spiritual godforce was represented by fire. Maat philosophy was the basis of ancient egyptian society and government as well as the heart of ancient egyptian myth and spirituality. Maat was also personified as a goddess regulating the stars, seasons, and the actions of both mortals and the deities, who set the order. This book shares lessons of integrity and good character with children, in a language they can understand. Ancient egyptian goddess of truth, justice and morality. Egypt 42 laws of maat vs 10 commandments whats the.