THE 42 NEGATIVE CONFESSIONS...THE EGYPTIAN TORAH

The Declaration of Innocence Of The Dead Before the Gods of the Tribunal At The Weighing Of The Heart

The Book of Going Forth By Day (The Egyptian Book Of The Dead) (The Papyrus of Ani) R. . Faulkner 125 Plate 31

1. Oh Wide-strider who come forth from Heliopolis, I have not done wrong.
2. Fire-embracer who come forth from Kheraha, I have not robbed.
3. Nosey who came forth from Hermopolis, I have not stolen.
4. Swallower of Shades who came forth from Kernet, I have not slain people.
5. Terrible of Face who came forth from Rosetjau, I have not destroyed the food offerings.
6. Double Lion who came forth from the sky, I have not reduced measures.
7. He-whose-Eyes-are-in-Flames who comes forth from Asyut, I have not stolen the god's property.
8. Burning One who came forth backwards, I have not told lies.
9. Breaker of Bones who came forth from Memphis, I was not sullen.
10. He-of-the-Cavern who came forth from the West, I have not fornicated with the fornicator.
11. He-whose-Face-is-behind-him who came forth from his hole, I have not caused (anyone) to weep.
12. Anointed One who came forth from the chapel, I have not dissembled.
13. Hot-Legs who came forth at twilight, I have not transgressed.
14. He-who-is-Blood who came forth from the place of slaughter, I have not done grain-profiteering.
15. Eater of Entrails who came forth from the Council of Thirty, I have not robbed a parcel of land.
16. Lord of Truth who came forth from Hall of Two Truths, I have not discussed (secrets).
17. Strayer who came forth from Bubastis, I have brought no lawsuits.
18. Planter (?) who came forth from Heliopolis, I have not disputed at all about property.
19. Doubly Evil One who came forth from the Busirite Nome, I have not had intercourse with a married woman.
20. He-who-Sees-what-he-has-brought who cam forth from the House of Min, I have not (wrongly)
    copulated.
21. He-who-is-over-the-Great-Ones who came forth from (?), I have not struck terror.
22. Demolisher who came forth from (?), I have not transgressed.
23. Proclaimer of Speech who came forth from Weryt, I have not been hot (tempered).
24. Youth who came forth from the Double Scepter Nome, I have not been neglectful of truthful words.
25. Dark One. who came forth from darkness, I have not cursed.
26. He-who-Brings-his-Offerings who comes forth from Asyut, I have not been violent.
27. Proclaimer of Voice who came forth from Wenis, I have not confounded (truth).
28. Possessor of Faces who came forth from Nedjefet, I have not been impatient.
29. Captain who came forth from Weten, I have not discussed.
30. Possessor of Two Horns who come forth from Asyut, I have not been garrulous about matters.
31. Nefertum who came forth from Memphis, I have not done wrong
32. I have not done evil.
33. He-who-does-not-(allow)-Surviviors who came forth from Busiris, I have not disputed the King.
34. He-who-Acts-as-he-Wishes who came forth from Antinaiopolis, I have not waded in water.
35. Thy who came forth from the Primordial Waters, My voice was not loud.
36. He-who-Prospers-the-Commom-People who came forth from Asyut, I have not cursed a god.
37. Uniter of Attributes who came forth from the Cavern, I have not made extollings (?).
38. Uniter of Good who came forth from the Cavern, I have not harmed the bread-ration of the gods.
39. Upraised of Head who came forth from the shrine, I have not stolen the Khenef-cakes from the Blessed.
40. He-who-Brings-his-Portion who came forth from the Hall of the Two Truths, I have not stolen Hefnu- cakes of a youth,
41. (nor) have I fettered the god of my town.
42. He-who-Brightens-the-Land who came forth from Faiyum (?), I have not slain sacred cattle.

Now the Translations

1. I have not done wrong.
2. I have not robbed
3. I have not stolen.
4. I have not killed people.
5. I have not destroyed food offerings.
6. I have not reduced the measures (possibly meaning cheating the grain measures).
7. I have not stolen God's property.
8. I have not told lies.
9. I have not stolen food.
10. I was not sullen (resentful or unnecesarily unhappy).
11. I have not fornicated with the fornicator may mean homosexuality. Open to your interpretation.
12. I have not caused anyone to weep.
13. I have not pretended to be that which I am not.
14. I have not violated divine law (Ma'at) or possibly civil, or secular law.
15. I have not done grain profiteering.
16. I have not robbed land.
17. I have not told or discussed secrets.
18. I have not brought about a lawsuit.
19. I have not disputed property.
20. I have not had intercourse with a married person.
21. I have not wrongly copulated (could mean out of marriage)
22. I have not made people afraid.
23. I have not transgressed.
24. I have not been hot tempered.
25. have not told lies or withheld the truth.
26. I have not cursed.
27. I have not been violent.
28. I have not purposely misconstrued the truth.
29. I have not been impatient.
30. I have not discussed (as in inappropriate disscussions of any kind)
31. I have not been unnessecarily or annoyingly talkative.
32. I have not done evil.
33. I have not disputed the Pharaoh/King/Ruler/President/Queen/ruler in charge.
34. I have not waded in the purified water.
35. I have not been loud (yelled or raised my voice in anger).
36. I have not cursed a God.
37. I have not been boastful or glorified myself.
38. I have not hamed the bread ration to God.
39. I have not stolen the cakes from the Akhu.
40. I have not stolen cakes of a child
41. I have not fettered (constrained, or tried to shackle) the God of my town.
42. I have not slain cattle sacred to the Gods.

THE AFTER-LIFE

In a book of instructions, an Egyptian king advised his son, the prince, to attain the highest qualities, because upon his death he will see his whole lifetime in a single instant and his performance on earth will be reviewed and evaluated, by the judges. In recent years, numerous books addressed the near-death experiences of many people. In this phenomenon, it is reported that seeing the person's whole life span in an instant, is a recurrent theme for all persons with near-death experiences. Death is not the end, but rather it is a transitional state. Such an experience matches exactly the Egyptians' belief of the transformation process, which starts with the Day of Judgment where the life of the person is evaluated.

Answer for yourself: Does Judaism teach these same things? Yes and we find this same concept taught in their High Holy Days: Rosh HaShannah and Yom Kippur!

As stated earlier, ancient Egyptians expressed their metaphysical beliefs in story form (myth), like a sacred drama or a mystery play. The following are the Egyptians' symbolic representations of the process of the Judgement Day.

The spirit of the deceased denies committing each sin/fault before its assigned judge, by reciting the forty-two negative confessions (analogous to the famed Ten Commandments). These negative confessions come from The Book of the Coming Forth by Day (commonly and wrongly known as The Book of the Dead.) Above I have provided a translation of these negative confessions. Some of them may seem repetitive, but this was probably caused by not being able to translate the exact intent of the original language.

In the judgment of the dead the heart, as a metaphor for conscience, is weighed against the feather of truth, to determine the fate of the deceased. The seated Grand Ancestor—Ausar (Osiris)—presides in the Hall of Justice. The jury consists of 42 judges/assessors. Each judge has a specific jurisdiction over a specific sin or fault; each wears a feather of truth on his/her head. The assigned juror/judge will declare his/her acceptance of the deceased following his reading of the 42 negative confessions by declaring Maa-Kheru (True of Voice/Action).

Tehuti (Thoth), scribe of the neteru (gods), records the verdict, as Anbu (Anubis) weighs the heart against the feather of truth. The outcome is either:

• If the pans are not balanced, this means that this person lived simply as matter. As a result, Amam (Ammit) would eat this heart. Amam is a protean crossbreed. The unperfected soul will be reborn again (reincarnated) in a new physical vehicle (body), in order to provide the soul an opportunity for further development on earth. This cycle of life/death/renewal continues until the soul is perfected, by fulfilling the 42 Negative Confessions, during his life on earth. This if you have not noticed is reincarnation.
• If the two pans are perfectly balanced, Ausar/Osiris gives favorable judgment, and gives his final Maa-Kheru (True of Voice). The perfected soul will go through the process of transformation and the subsequent rebirth. The outcome of his/her evaluation will determine which heavenly level (2-6) a person reaches.

By maintaining the conditions of the physical vehicle, the body mummifeid, the soul was able to continue its existence in the unknown world of the Duat. As a result, the soul was eventually capable of working towards its own resurrection, and thence, excluding the necessity of another physical reincarnation. The perfected soul will go through the process of transformation, and as the Egyptian writing describes it, "becomes a star (goes to Heaven) and joins the company of Ra, and sails with him across the sky in his boat of millions of years".

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