The deceased can sometimes get by the most fearsome of gatekeepers simply by saying : ‘I know you, I know your name.’ The name was more than ‘mere words’ – it was an image, a representation of the being or thing to which it was attached. A particularly common sort of word play occurs in addresses to the gods in the Book of the Dead. Stating a name, or merely threatening to do so, was often sufficient means for gaining power. One example involves the euphemistic substitution of the phrase mi “come” for mut “death.” Most word play in the Book of the Dead either deflects enmity or gives power by a simple reworking of the name of a god or a place: ‘Hermopolis ( Wenu) is opened ( wenu)…’ The intent is normally to manipulate a name so as to demonstrate the deceased’s control over a person or a thing in the beyond. They created an alternate focus which could deflect the power in a word. Egyptian puns seem heavy-handed, but they were not intended to amuse. Word play was an important method of linking the earthly realm with the world of the gods. ![]() ![]() the very phrase ‘the god’s words,’ the most common term for their language, expressed the Egyptians’ belief that the divine was implicit in words. The goal of such word play, or paronomasia, was far more than the creation of incantations with mysterious sounds. Since words were a major category of images for the Egyptians, manipulating the sounds or the signs in a word was thought to affect the object it represented. Scholars have also found evidence that Nephi is punning with his own name. ![]() Right from the very beginning, Nephi tells us of his Egyptian roots when he says, ” I make a record in the alanguage of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians” ( 1 Nephi 1.2). As I was reading Pippy’s work 1 on the Egyptian background to the Book of Revelation, I came across this quote (see below) that really hit me. As I continue to learn new things about the language of scripture, I am fascinated by the high level of punning happening throughout these texts.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |