Richard Jasnow

Myriam Krutzsch

J Manning

J.G. Manning

Kyoko Yamahana

This volume publishes, for the first time, approximately fifty late Egyptian texts from the Suzuki collection held at Tokai University, Japan. The project is a result of a five-year collaboration between Tokai University, Yale University, Johns Hopkins University, The University of Michigan, and the Staatliche Museum zu Berlin. Professor Suzuki formed his collection in the early 1960s when he was based in Cairo. The bulk of the collection, now housed in the Department of Asian Civilization, School of Letters at Tokai University as part of the Ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection (AENET), consists of early demotic texts. There is also one Third Intermediate period hieratic text concerned with temple land, and a few small Greek fragments from the Byzantine period. The texts published here present an interesting range of document types and examples of demotic handwriting, and a few surprises. Among the more intriguing pieces are a fine word list and a new mythological narrative.

The Demotic and Hieratic Papyri in the Suzuki Collection of Tokai University, Japan

Kathlyn M. Cooney

An international group of scholars have contributed to Joyful in Thebes, a Festschrift for the distinguished Egyptologist Betsy M. Bryan. The forty-two articles deal with topics of art history, archaeology, history, and philology representing virtually the entire span of ancient Egyptian civilization. These diverse studies, which often present unpublished material or new interpretations of specific issues in Egyptian history, literature, and art history, well reflect the broad research interests of the honoree. Abundantly illustrated with photographs and line drawings, the volume also includes a comprehensive bibliography of Bryan's publications through 2015.

Egyptological Studies in Honor of Betsy M. Bryan

Joyful in Thebes

Karl-Theodor Zauzich

A Demotic Discourse on Knowledge and Pendant of the Classical Hermetica

The Ancient Egypt Book of Thoth

a demotic discourse on knowledge and pendant to the classical hermetica : with new arrangements of the plates. Text

The ancient Egyptian book of Thoth

a demotic discourse on knowledge and pendant to the classical hermetica : with new arrangements of the plates. Plates

Karl-Th Zauzich

In 2020 a special edition of the two-volume Book of Thoth published in 2005 will be available. The first volume, a reprint, comprises interpretative essays, discussion of specific points such as the manuscript tradition, script, and language, the transliteration of the Demotic text, translation, and commentary as well as a consecutive translation, glossary, bibliography, and indices. The second volume, which contains photographs of the papyri, is published in a new smaller layout. The composition, which the editors entitle the "Book of Thoth", is preserved on over forty Graeco-Roman Period papyri from collections in Berlin, Copenhagen, Florence, New Haven, Paris, and Vienna. The central witness is a papyrus of fifteen columns in the Berlin Museum. Written almost entirely in the Demotic script, the Book of Thoth is probably the product of scribes of the "House of Life", the temple scriptorium. It comprises largely a dialogue between a deity, usually called "He-who-praises-knowledge" (possibly Thoth himself or a priestly master assuming the role of Thoth) and a mortal, "He-who-loves-knowledge". The work covers such topics as the scribal craft, sacred geography, the underworld, wisdom, prophecy, animal knowledge, and temple ritual. The language is poetic; the lines are often clearly organized into verses. This special edition is intended as a prelude to the forthcoming Volume Three of the Book of Thoth, which will present a revised transliteration, translation, notes, and facsimiles, as well as editions of numerous "new" fragments. Volume Three will take into account progress made on the understanding of the composition and its reconstruction by the editors and other scholars since the publication of the editio princeps in 2005.

Edition of the Editio Princeps, 2005

The Ancient Egyptian Book of Thoth

"This two volume work (text and plates) is the continuation and supplement to the two volume editio princeps from 2005 (which has been reissued as a reprint*). With all four volumes, a comprehensive edition of all known fragments of the Book of Thoth is now available. Since the publication of the first edition, some 89 "new" fragments have been identified, which are edited in this work. Richard Jasnow and Karl-Theodor Zauzich have made considerable progress in the reconstruction of the Book of Thoth and gained a deeper understanding of the composition. New and alternative readings have been incorporated into this work as well as the interpretations of other scholars. A glossary contains digital facsimiles of all the Demotic and hieratic words in the Book of Thoth. The plate volume publishes digital hand-copies of all manuscript witnesses and photographic images of the 89 "new" fragments. The author's goal is to provide a firm basis for future research on the Book of Thoth. Structured as a dialogue between "master" and "disciple," the composition is associated with the House of Life, the intellectual center of the Egyptian temple. The Book of Thoth may be understood as an initiation text in which the master questions the disciple, who must prove himself worthy of entering the institution. The writer engages with the theology of Egyptian scribal practice; he thus covers many topics, such as sacred geography, the underworld, and animal knowledge." -- From publisher's website.

The Ancient Egyptian Book of Thoth II: Text

CHRISTINA. DICERBO

In this volume Christina Di Cerbo and Richard Jasnow publish 92 Demotic graffiti, along with several ostraca and mummy bandages, from Theban Tombs 11, 12, Tomb-399-, and environs recorded and studied under the aegis of the Spanish Mission at Dra Abu el-Naga directed by Jose Galan. These texts from the mid-second century BCE were inscribed on the tomb walls by workers of the Ibis and Falcon cult, who used the New Kingdom tombs as burial places for mummified birds dedicated to the gods Thoth and Horus. This varied corpus of texts includes not only votive formulae and lists of names, but, most unusually, labels for chambers and halls to guide the men depositing the mummies through the labyrinthine catacombs. The cult workers also recorded important burials and memorialized events of special significance, as when a massive conflagration broke out that consumed several mummies and damaged the tomb walls. The Missions conservators recovered many hitherto virtually invisible graffiti. Numerous inscriptions posed daunting epigraphic challenges; the text editors employed computer applications, especially DStretch, in order to enhance the digital images forming the basis for decipherment. In an introductory chapter Galan discusses the work of the Spanish Mission at Dra Abu Naga and recounts the complicated history of this important area of the Theban Necropolis down to the Roman period. The graffiti illustrate how New Kingdom tombs were reused for the sacred animal cult in the Ptolemaic period. Francisco Bosch-Puche and Salima Ikram contribute a detailed chapter analyzing the archaeological context of the graffiti and the material evidence for the animal cult in the site. The volume, a holistic study of this area at the twilight of Pharaonic history, represents a true collaboration between archaeologists and philologists.

Demotic Graffiti Relating to the Ibis and Falcon Cult from the Spanish-egyptian Mission at Dra Abu El-naga Tt 11, Tt 12, Tt 399 and Environs

On the Path to the Place of Rest

Christina Di Cerbo

Demotic Graffiti relating to the Ibis and Falcon Cult from the Spanish-Egyptian Mission at Dra Abu el-NagaꜤ (TT 11, TT 12, TT 399 and Environs)

Conversations in the House of Life offers a new translation of a text first published as The Ancient Egyptian Book of Thoth (2005). The composition is a dialogue between a Master, perhaps the god Thoth himself, and a Disciple, named "The-one-who-loves-knowledge." Originally written in Demotic, the text dates to the Graeco-Roman Period (ca. 300 B.C. to 400 A.D.). The dialogue covers everything from how to hold the writing brush and the symbolic significance of scribal utensils to a long exposition on sacred geography. The work may be an initiation text dealing with sacred knowledge. It is closely associated with the House of Life, the temple scriptorium where the priests wrote their books. The 2005 publication was aimed at specialists, but Conversations in the House of Life is intended for the general reader. The revised translation reflects recent advances in our understanding of the text. The explanatory essays, commentary, and glossary help the reader explore the fascinating universe of the Book of Thoth. As a document of Late Period Egyptian thought it is of importance to all those interested in Graeco-Roman Period intellectual history; students of the Classical Hermetica will find the Book of Thoth especially intriguing. The express goal of Conversations in the House of Life is to make this challenging Ancient Egyptian composition accessible to the widest possible audience.

A New Translation of the Ancient Egyptian Book of Thoth

Conversations in the House of Life

Raymond Westbrook

A survey by twelve leading experts of the types of security available to creditors in the earliest recorded legal systems, and of the ways in which the law sought to satisfy the conflicting interests of creditors and debtors.

Security for Debt in Ancient Near Eastern Law

Ghislaine Widmer

Illuminating Osiris comprises twenty-seven articles by students, friends, and colleagues in honor of Mark Smith, Professor of Egyptology at the University of Oxford. Smith is especially renowned as a Demoticist and specialist in ancient Egyptian religion. His numerous Demotic text editions and translations of Egyptian funerary and religious compositions have been enormously influential in the field. The contributions in Illuminating Osiris naturally reflect Smith's particular interests in the religion and literature of Graeco-Roman period Egypt, dealing with cult, rituals, astronomy, and divination, among other subjects. The book includes many editions or reeditions of texts written in Demotic, Hieratic, and Ptolemaic Hieroglyphs. It is profusely illustrated and supplied with detailed indices.

Egyptological Studies in Honor of Mark Smith

Illuminating Osiris

The composition, which the editors entitle the "Book of Thoth", is preserved on over forty Graeco-Roman Period papyri from collections in Berlin, Copenhagen, Florence, New Haven, Paris, and Vienna. The central witness is a papyrus of fifteen columns in the Berlin Museum. Written almost entirely in the Demotic script, the Book of Thoth is probably the product of scribes of the "House of Life", the temple scriptorium. It comprises largely a dialogue between a deity, usually called "He-who-praises-knowledge" (presumably Thoth himself) and a mortal, "He-who-loves-knowledge". The work covers such topics as the scribal craft, sacred geography, the underworld, wisdom, prophecy, animal knowledge, and temple ritual. Particularly remarkable is one section (the "Vulture Text") in which each of the 42 nomes of Egypt is identified with a vulture. The language is poetic; the lines are often clearly organized into verses. The subject-matter, dialogue structure, and striking phraseology raise many issues of scholarly interest; especially intriguing are the possible connections between this Egyptian work, in which Thoth is called "thrice-great", and the classical Hermetic Corpus, in which Hermes Trismegistos plays the key role. The first volume comprises interpretative essays, discussion of specific points such as the manuscript tradition, script, and language. The core of the publication is the transliteration of the Demotic text, translation, and commentary. A consecutive translation, glossary, bibliography, and indices conclude the first volume. The second volume contains photographs of the papyri, almost all of which reproduce their original size.

Richard Jasnow

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