| Since its discovery in 1888, the Instruction of Amenemope has become justly famous---not only for its intrinsic value as one of the great instructional texts of ancient Egypt, but also for its indisputable role in the formation of the biblical Book of Proverbs. Amenemope is now a commonplace in anthologies of ancient Egyptian literature in translation. Unfortunately, its popularity has not resulted in improved access to the original text; the only complete and readily available hieroglyphic transcriptions are those of Budge (1923/1924) and Lange (1925)---both of which have been rendered obsolete by advances in Egyptology over the past three-quarters of a century.; Even more problematic than the inadequacy of the available transcriptions is the lack of integrated and comprehensive introductory material by which the beginning student can become grounded in Amenemope's historical and literary context. Without such grounding, the gulf between the Ramesside scribe who wrote Amenemope and the modern student seeking to understand him is so great as to render the text almost unintelligible, and the task of translation well-nigh impossible for all but seasoned experts.; The present work, therefore, is intended as a research tool for students of Egyptology who wish to scrutinize the Instruction of Amenemope in its original language. To that end, the first section constitutes a prolegomenon which situates Amenemope within the context of Egyptian history and literature, discusses the authorship and dating of the original composition and the provenance and character of the witnesses, and describes the controversy over the relationship between Amenemope and the Hebrew Bible. The second section offers an in-depth analysis of, and commentary on, Amenemope's extensive prologue, including a new hieroglyphic transcription of that portion of the text. A comprehensive bibliography is also provided. |
