The Egyptian Book of the dead

About the book

This translation presents Egyptian funerary texts as a sequence of chapters concerned with protection, movement, judgment, sustenance, and renewed life in the world beyond death. The deceased speaks through invocations and declarations, identifying with divine powers and asserting knowledge that enables passage through dangerous or restricted places. The collection is not a single continuous adventure, though its recurring concerns gradually disclose a complex religious landscape. P. Le Page Renouf's translation and commentary were continued and completed by Edouard Naville for the 1904 edition. Notes discuss readings and explanations as well as the translated utterances, preserving the scholarly perspectives of that period. The text version cannot reproduce the hieroglyphic images referenced in those notes, a relevant limitation for readers interested in the original written forms.

• Death and renewal
• Sacred knowledge
• Ritual protection

Why read it

The recurring first-person declarations offer a distinctive encounter with the relation between language, identity, and hoped-for survival.

English translation and commentary by P. Le Page Renouf, completed by Edouard Naville, 1904