Pharaoh Usermaatre Amenemope Vs King Solomon (Proverbs)
Usermaatre Amenemope was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 21st Dynasty who ruled between 1001–992 BC or 993–984 BC. Amenemope's tomb is notable for being one of only two entirely intact royal burials known from ancient Egypt; the other is that of Psusennes I.
Adolf Erman argued that the inspiration behind the Hebrew text originated from Egyptians instead of the other way around, and the correspondence demonstrated it. The Egyptian text of Amenemope explicitly enumerates thirty chapters, and the Hebrew text of Proverbs does not have such clear-cut divisions. And would therefore be more likely to lose the original meaning during copying.
Since Erman's time, there has been a near consensus among scholars that there is a literary connection between the two works. Although, the direction of influence remains contentious even today. The majority has concluded that Proverbs 22:17–23:10 originated from Amenemope. There is a split between the remaining minority viewing the Hebrew text as the original inspiration for Amenemope and viewing both works as dependent on a now-lost Semitic source.
Comparison of Biblical Texts:
The Comparison of numerous passages in the Instruction of Amenemope's text with the Book of Proverbs is as follows;
(Proverbs 22:17–18): "Incline thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, And apply thine, heart, to my doctrine; For it is pleasant if thou keep them in thy belly, that they may establish together upon thy lips."
(Amenemope, ch. 1): "Give thine ear, and hear what I say, And apply thine heart to apprehend; It is good for thee to place them in thine heart, let them rest in the casket of thy belly; That they may act as a peg upon thy tongue."
(Proverbs 22:22): "Rob not the poor, for he is poor, neither oppress (or crush) the lowly in the gate."
(Amenemope, ch. 2): "Beware of robbing the poor and oppressing the afflicted."
(Proverbs 22:24–5): "Do not befriend the man of anger, Nor go with a wrathful man, Lest thou learn his ways and take a snare for thy soul."
(Amenemope, ch. 10): "Associate not with a passionate man, Nor approach him for conversation; Leap not to cleave to such a one; That terror carries thee not away."
(Proverbs 22:29): "[if you] You see, a man quick in his work, before kings will he stand, before cravens, he will not stand."
(Amenemope, ch. 30): "A scribe who is skilful in his business findeth worthy to be a courtier."
(Proverbs 23:1): "When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, Consider diligently, what is before thee; And put a knife to thy throat, If thou be a man given to appetite. Be not desirous of his dainties, for they are the bread of falsehood."
(Amenemope, ch. 23): "Eat not bread in the presence of a ruler, And lunge not forward(?) with thy mouth before a governor(?). When thou art replenished with that to which thou has no right, It is only a delight to thy spittle. Look upon the dish before thee, And let that (alone) supply thy need."
(Proverbs 23:4–5): "Toil not to become rich, And cease from dishonest gain; For wealth maketh to itself wings, Like an eagle that flieth heaven-wards."
(Amenemope, ch. 7): "Toil not after riches; If stolen goods are brought to thee, they remain not overnight with thee. They have made themselves wings like geese. And have flown into the heavens."
(Proverbs 23:9): "Speak not in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of thy words."
(Amenemope, ch. 21): "Empty not thine inmost soul to everyone, nor spoil (thereby) thine influence."
(Proverbs 23:10): "Remove not the widow's landmark; And enter not into the field of the fatherless."
(Amenemope, ch. 6): "Remove not the landmark from the bounds of the field...and violate not the widow's boundary."
(Proverbs 23:12): "Apply thine heart unto instruction and thine ears to the words of knowledge."
(Amenemope, ch. 1): "Give thine ears, hear the words that are said, give thine heart to interpret them."
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