The Plagiarism Of The Diaspora – The Purloined Chapters Of Proverbs
24 January 2010 by KA
Make holiday, don’t weary of it ! Look there is no one allowed to take their things with them, and there is no one who goes away comes back again. – Lyric from the tomb of King Intef VI
It is no surprise to those of us who have studied religious history with an über-critical eye – the Semitic tribe of Israelites borrowed heavily from their neighbors or whichever society they happened to be living in the middle of. Obvious Genesis was a generalized copy of Sumerian/Babylonian mythology, the flood was lifted almost in toto from Gilgamesh, and I’m sure some of our gentle readers can likely extrapolate other various cases of direct (or indirect) ‘borrowing’ of or from mythologies in the Middle East.
The example today is about the Instruction of Amenemope:
Instruction of Amenemope (also called Instructions of Amenemopet, Wisdom of Amenemopet) is a literary work composed in Ancient Egypt, most likely during the Ramesside Period; it contains thirty chapters of advice for successful living, ostensibly written by the scribe Amenemope son of Kanakht as a legacy for his son. A characteristic product of the New Kingdom “Age of Personal Piety”, the work reflects on the inner qualities, attitudes, and behaviors required for a happy life in the face of increasingly difficult social and economic circumstances. It is widely regarded as one of the masterpieces of ancient near-eastern wisdom literature and has been of particular interest to modern scholars because of its relationship to the biblical Book of Proverbs.
Proverbs, in fact, is probably the least insane of the books of the Bible.
Amenemope belongs to the literary genre of "instruction" (Egyptian sebayt). It is the culmination of centuries of development going back to the Instruction of Ptahhotep in the Old Kingdom[. but reflects a shift in values characteristic of the New Kingdom's "Age of Personal Piety": away from material success attained through practical action, and towards inner peace achieved through patient endurance and passive acceptance of an inscrutable divine will.The author draws an emphatic contrast between two types of men: the "silent man", who goes about his business without drawing attention to himself or demanding his rights, and the "heated man", who makes a nuisance of himself to everyone and is constantly picking fights with others over matters of no real importance. Contrary to worldly expectation, the author assures his reader that the former will ultimately receive the divine blessing, while the latter will inevitably go to destruction. Amenemope counsels modesty, self-control, generosity, and scrupulous honesty, while discouraging pride, impetuosity, self-advancement, fraud, and perjury—not only out of respect for Maat, the cosmic principle of right order, but also because "attempts to gain advantage to the detriment of others incur condemnation, confuse the plans of god, and lead inexorably to disgrace and punishment."
One can very easily subtract all the supernatural ingredients, and still take most of the advice in that last sentence.
Though all extant copies of Amenemope are of a later date, the work is thought to have been composed in the Ramesside Period, during which the tribes of Israel first became a unified nation.Egyptian influence on Israel and Judah was particularly strong in the reigns of Solomon and Hezekiah during Egypt's Third Intermediate Period; as a result, "Hebrew literature is permeated with concepts and figures derived from the didactic treatises of Egypt", with Amenemope often cited as the foremost example. Even in his first brief publication of excerpts from Amenemope in 1922, Budge noted its obvious resemblance to the biblical wisdom books. He amplified these comments in his 1923 and 1924 publications, observing that the religiously based morality of Amenemope "closely resembles" the precepts of the Hebrew Bible, and adducing specific parallels between Amenemope and texts in Proverbs, Psalms, and Deuteronomy. Others soon followed his lead.
There are (as there always is in the realm of Egyptology) disputes as to which came first, but the majority of scholars have ruled otherwise:
By the 1960s there was a virtual consensus among scholars in support of the priority of Amenemope and its influence on Proverbs. For example, John A. Wilson declared in the mid-twentieth century: "[W]e believe that there is a direct connection between these two pieces of wisdom literature, and that Amen-em-Opet was the ancestor text. The secondary nature of the Hebrew seems established." Many study Bibles and commentaries followed suit, including the Jerusalem Bible, introductions to the Old Testament by Pfeiffer and Eissfeldt, and others. The translators of the Catholic New American Bible, reflecting and extending this agreement, even went so far as to emend the obscure Hebrew text of Proverbs 22:19 (traditionally translated as "I have made known to you this day, even to you") to read "I make known to you the words of Amen-em-Ope."
There are of course text comparisons, and they tend to be startling. In the interest of brevity, I’ll only quote three:
(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 be established together upon thy lips"
(Amenemope, ch1):"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, ch2):"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, ch10): "Associate not with a passionate man, Nor approach him for conversation; Leap not to cleave to such an one; That terror carry thee not away."
While some may say that plagiarism is too strong a word to use (ancient peoples did borrow from one another copiously, and without attribution was likely a foreign concept back in the day), the vast majority of the content can be directly or indirectly attributed to older cultures and mythologies.
Go figure.
Till the next post, then.
24 January 2010, on 2:35 pm
It would seem that, beyond simple (but ultra-sneaky?) ‘borrowing’ from earlier extra-tribal sect’s writings, flat-out lying was not beyond the ancient desert brain-fried storyteller’s common practices.
We all pretty much know just how currently prevalent “MIS-quote mining” and lying for Jeebus is.
Here’s a rather recent, related, News item regarding that old falsely manipulated tale about the supposedly “enslaved” Jews building the pyramids.
“Great Pyramid tombs unearth ‘proof’ workers were not slaves”:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/11/great-pyramid-tombs-slaves-egypt
24 January 2010, on 4:04 pm
Thanks ChuckA.
Nowhere in the OT are the pyramids mentioned anyways. & it’s common knowledge that the only Semites that were in Egypt were the Hyksos, who took it over for about a century, & were then kicked out.
25 January 2010, on 10:51 am
HI,
I’m a fundy (cool word!)
But here’s the thing about your ‘plagiarism’ post: If the Bible cites a source for its ‘plagiarism’ then it’s no longer plagiarism, right?
Check this out then- Ecclesiastes 12:9&10 “Not only was the Teacher wise, but also he imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs.
The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.”
Isn’t it obvious then, that the compiler of much of the wisdom literature of the Bible is saying not that he thought it up himself, or even with God’s help, but he searched through what was available (even if it originated in Egypt?)
You don’t believe in God. That’s fair.
Is being unfair fair?
25 January 2010, on 12:29 pm
I haven’t found anything in the bible that hasn’t been borrowed wholesale from other, older cultures or mythologies.
Oh that goes too far. There’s plenty of stuff in the Bible that doesn’t seem to be borrowed from other older cultures and mythologies. The Revelation of St. John, for example, seems to be a fairly unique bit of Biblical crazy that may have inspiration from other cultures but has combined them in interesting ways (to the point that if you want to call it “borrowed wholesale” I’d like you to find an example of literature that isn’t borrowed wholesale by the same definition – you’d have to throw out the complete works of Shakespeare and anything derived from them to start with).
Jonah appears to be a unique commentary on the whims and intentions of the Hebrew God, and I would be surprised to find that that one was borrowed from another religion – it seems to be a commentary on the Bible (at least the OT) itself as much as it is a myth about God. The Book of Job is another that seems somewhat unique, though I wouldn’t be surprised to find an older text from another religion that the story was borrowed from I guess.
There’s a lot of stuff in the Bible that was inspired/borrowed/stolen from other religions, but the Israelites did a few hundred years in there to work stuff into the canon that was their own imaginings before the canon became locked into place.
25 January 2010, on 3:29 pm
You are correct. I meant to say ‘directly or indirectly borrowed’ , not ‘borrowed wholesale’ – my bad. I shall correct that, & thanks.
25 January 2010, on 6:34 pm
Sorry, but you must be joking if you think that qualifies as an attribution of any sort.
25 January 2010, on 6:38 pm
Thanks or a fascinating read, KA. The interesting part for me is when you note that ‘plagiarism is too strong a word to use’ since the concept didn’t really exist until the idea of intellectual property came into existence. I think what this also highlights for me is that some practical had to find its way into the bible, otherwise what would be the point? Of course, it is also amusing that this good advice had to be lifted from another culture since the god of the old testament is such a tempermental figure.
Also, Jer brings up Job which is an interesting case. That’s one book which is a clear case of being altered to match with later sentiments. Most people read it as ‘have faith and you’ll be compensated,’ but the book originally ended with god telling Job not to question him, without restoring his lost goods and whatnot. Obviously, this doesn’t quite mesh with the idea of a more benevolent god, so the last part was added later. This always cracks me up because Job is so frequently used as an example by religious people to show that faith during suffering will lead to rewards, not that sometimes bad stuff just happens and we have no control over it. Also, Job really calls into question the purpose and idea of Satan as he doesn’t appear as all that hostile to god in the book.
25 January 2010, on 6:45 pm
Oh, and Jerry, I missed your post, but like I mention above, plagiarism wouldn’t apply the way it does in our modern contexts as there was no real need to cite sources. What KA’s post suggests to me, though, is that the bible, far from being divinely inspired, is an amalgamation of histories, borrowed myths, borrowed advice, and rules for maintaining social order based on race, power, caste, and station.
25 January 2010, on 10:21 pm
sorry, this is in German
In Amarna Briefen mit dem Pharao Echnaton beklagen die Vasallenkönige Biridija von Meggido in EA242-247, Abdi-Hiba von Jerusalem in EA285-290; Tagi, Milkili, Lapahi und Addudani alle von Gezer in EA264-271 und EA292-300 besonders die Überfälle der Hapiru und Prinz Pabi von Lachish schickt einen Boten. Palästina besteht nur aus ägytischen Stadtstaaten, Jerusalem mit einer Akkadisch sprechenden Bevölkerung wird immer wieder von den Hapiru (Hebräern) geplündert, sie leben dort nicht und haben dort keine Paläste, Tempel und Herrscher. Hapiru ist keine Ethnie sondern ein Sammelbegriff wie „canaanitische Räuberbande“, welche ab 1000 v.C. die Schrift, Sprache und sogar die Götzenkulte der benachbarten Phönizier kopieren und damit eine erste kulturelle Identität schaffen. Für Theologen bedeutet Israeliten=Hapiru die Patriarchen haben nie existiert.
Die Hyksos sind als Eroberer in Ägypten und müssen nach etwa 108 Jahren geschlagen flüchten. Palästina war bis 1000 v.C. ein Teil des Ägyptens. Mit dem Machtverlust der Pharaonen an einen religiös-faschistisches Regim der Amunpriester geht diese Vorherrschaft über an die Assyrer, darauf folgen die Chaldäer aus Babylon, die Perser, die Griechen, die Römer und die Araber. Ein autonomes hebräisches Königreich bestehend aus Judäa und Samaria hat es nie gegeben, die vielen Stadtstaaten Palästinas wurden immer nur erpresst, geplündert, versklavt und total zerstört, nie aber umgekehrt wie in der Bibel vielfach phantasievoll ausgemalt stets durch göttliches Eingreifen.
Ebla (Tell Marik/Syrien), ausgegraben 1965 bis 1968, war ab 3000 v.C. ein Stadtstaat und hat 2450–2240 v.C. eine Blüte. Die Stadt ist ummauert mit Zitadelle und Palast im Zentrum. Wahrscheinlich hat Sargon, König von Akkad, die Stadt zerstört. Ebla erreicht danach von 1850–1600 v.C. erneut Bedeutung, die Einwohner unter König Ibbit-Lim nennen sich die Amurriter. Weitere Herrscher sind Igrish-Halam, Irkab-Damu, Ar-Ennum, Ibrium und Ibbi-Sipish, die Regentschaft ist erblich. Gebiete und Städte wie Melchizedec, Hazor, Lachish, Megiddo, Gaza, Dor, Sinai, Ashtaroth, Joppa, Damascus, Urusalima (Jerusalem), Sodom, Gomorrah Admah, Zeboiim, Zoar werden beherrscht. Die Schreiber der Archive der Herrscher berichten von Ereignissen, Gesetzen, Briefen, Literatur und Wörterbüchern zur Zeit als die biblische Sintflut die ganze Welt zerstörte und nur 5 Menschen überlebten.
Der Hethiterkönig Hattusilis I (etwa 1533-1508 v.C.) zerstört Ebla erneut, nach 700 v.C. wird die Stadt verlassen und zerfällt 2700 Jahre lang. Im Palastarchiv finden sich etwa 17.000 Tafeln geschrieben in Eblaitisch (sumerischer Dialekt), Sumerisch und Akkadisch, 80% davon in sumerischer Keilschrift. Späte hebräische Namen der Bibel basieren auf eblaitischen Worten wie Yah/Yahweh, Adamu/Adam, h’àwa/Eva, Abarama/Abraham, Bilhah, Ishmael, Isûrael, Are-esaum/Esau, Mika-ilu/Michael, Dau-dum/David. Es gibt einige Eblaitische Mythen, die sich in der biblischen Genesis und im Exodus finden. In Ebla werden Götzen wie Dagon, Ishtar, Resheph, Kanish, Hadad und unbekannte wie Kura, Nidakul verehrt sowie sumerische/hurritische wie Enki, Ninki, Ashtapi, Hapat, Ishara.
Mari (Tell-el-Harari/Syrien) nahe dem Euphrat wird 1933 südlich Deir Ezzor ausgegraben. Besiedelt seit 5000 v.C. existiert der Stadtstaat der Amoniter seit 2900 v.C. und wird mit dem Handel von Zinn und Bronze reich. Um 2340 v.C. übernehmen die Akkadier aus Agadeh und später die Sumerer aus Uruk mit dem Vasallenkönig Shakkanakkou die Macht. Um 1760 v.C. fällt Mari an das babylonische Königreich des Hammurabi (18??-1750 v.C.), der Mari plündert und zerstört. Im alten Archiv wird die Mari-Tafel gefunden, auf 23.000 Tontafeln werden in Akkadisch Dienste, Verkäufe, Verträge, Gesetze und Kulthandlungen beschrieben, die fast indentisch im Pentateuch vorkommen trotz 1.500 Jahren Zeitabstand. Wenn auch nicht eindeutig so belegt es, die Moses-Bücher und der Noah Mythos stammen aus sumerischen Vorlagen. Wie diese Vorlagen genutzt wurden und von wem bleibt myteriös. In Mari werden heidnische Götzen wie Dagan, Shamash und Ishtar verehrt, diese weit verbreiteten Götzenkulte sind auch bekannt in Ebla und Ugarit.
Der Stadtstaat Ugarit (Ras Shamrah/Syrien 6 km nördlich Latakia) ist seit 7000 v.C. besiedelt, Jahrtausende vor Gottes Schöpfung der Welt und der Menschen. Ugarit hat ab 1450 v.C. eine Blüte und wird 1192 v.C. durch Seeräuber zerstört, die dort mit 6 Kriegsschiffen landen. Die Soldaten von Ugarit waren als Tributleistung zum König der Hethiter abgestellt, die Stadt wehrlos. An dem Tag gab es eine Sonnenfinsternis und wurde auf einer der 5.000 gefundenen Keilschrifttafeln verzeichnet. Die MRZH-Tontafel (marzeah) beschreibt religiöse Baal-Feiern zu Kultzwecken, andere Tontafeln enthalten sogar musikalische Aufzeichnungen und Poesi. Der Königspalast bedeckt 10.000 m² und hat etwa 100 Räume. König Rib-Addi von Byblos rühmt ihn in einem Amarna Texte, weitere Texte sind EA45-49, letzer von König Niqm-Addah II (1349-1315 v.C.). Die Bedeutung von Ugarit wird erst ab 1928 bekannt, die Fakten haben Tausende Theologen bekämpft.
Bereits unter Pharao Senusret I (1971–1926 v.C.) gibt es erste Kontakte nach Ugarit. Eine ugaritische Herrscherfolge aufgezeichnet in Akkadisch mit 31 Königen beginnt mit dem König Yagaru um 1850 v.C und endet mit König Hammurapi II (1215-1195 v.C.). Sein Nachfolger Hammurapi III lässt die Liste anfertigen. Ugarit arrangiert sich mit den Großmächten seiner Zeit, hat Kontakte mit nordägyptischen Hyksos, König Niqm-Addah II heiratet um 1400 v.C. eine ägyptische Prinzessin, leistet den Hethitern unter Suppiluliuma I Tribut in Form von Soldaten. Die Keilschrifttexte sind in Akkadisch geschrieben.
28 January 2010, on 2:01 pm
OK guys…”It’s a dirty job; but SOMEBODY’S gotta do it”.
(What!…But why ME?)
Anyway, here’s a translation of Helmut’s, above, in German contribution, executed by the handy-dandy Microsoft online translator.
Obviously, I can’t guarantee it’s accuracy.
I’ll leave any further editing up to youse guys…or…
Helmut? I suggest using your linguistic…ad lib intuition?
[It reminds me a bit, at times, of Tonto talking to the Lone Ranger.]
In Amarna vassal Kings complaining letters with Pharaoh Akhenaten Biridija Meggido in EA242 – 247, Abdi Hiba of Jerusalem in EA285 – 290; Tagi,. Milkili, Lapahi and Addudani all of Gezer in EA264 271 and EA292 300 especially the Hapiru and Prince Pabi Lachish raids sends one Messenger. Palestine has only ägytischen City-States Jerusalem with one, Akkadian-speaking population is again the Hapiru (Hebräern) they looted, not live there and have there no palaces, temples and Rulers. Hapiru is no ethnic group but a generic term such as “canaanitische” “Band of robbers”, which from 1000 b.c. the font, language and even Copy cult kulte of neighbouring Phoenicians and thus a first cultural Create identity. Means for theologians Israelites Hapiru = the Patriarch have never existed.
The Hyksos than conquerors in Egypt and need after 108 years flee beaten. Palestine was to 1000 b.c. part of Egypt. With the Power loss of the Pharaohs at a religious-fascist Regim the Amunpriester goes this domination over to the Assyrians, who followed Chaldeans from Babylon, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans and the Arabs. A autonomous Hebrew Kingdom consisting has it from Judea and Samaria never given the many city-States of Palestine were blackmailing only, looted, enslaved and totally destroyed never but vice versa like in the Bible often imaginatively painted always by divine intervention.
Ebla tell Marik (Syria), ausgegraben 1965 to 1968, was from a 3000 b.c. City-State and has 2450 2240 b.c. a flower. The city is built with Citadel and Palace in the Centre. Sargon has probably King of Akkad, the city destroyed. Ebla achieved importance after 1850 1600 b.c. again. King Ibbit-Lim residents call the Amorite. More Rulers are Igrish Halam, Irkab Damu, AR Ennum, Ibrium and Ibbi Sipish, the Regency is hereditary. Areas and cities such as Melchizedec, Hazor, Lachish, Megiddo, Gaza, Dor, Sinai, Ashtaroth, Joppa, Damascus, Urusalima (Jerusalem), Sodom, Gomorrah Admah, Zeboiim, Zoar are controlled. The writers of the archives of the Rulers reports letters, literary events, laws, and Dictionaries currently destroyed as the biblical flood the whole world and only 5 people survived.
The Hethiter King Hattusilis I (approximately 1533 1508 b.c.) destroyed Ebla again,. after 700 b.c., leave the city and crumbles 2700 years. In the Approximately 17,000 plates are written in Eblaitisch Palace archive (sumerischer dialect), Sumerisch and Akkadisch, 80 % of them in sumerischer Keilschrift. Late Hebrew names of the Bible are based on eblaitischen words like Yah, Yahweh, Adamu Adam h ‘ àwa/Eva Abarama Abraham, Bilhah, Ishmael,. Isûrael are esaum/Esau, Mika-ilu/Michael, Dau-dum/David. There are some Eblaite myths which are the biblical Genesis and the exodus. In Ebla be idols such as Dagon, Ishtar, Resheph, Kanish, Hadad and unknown how Kura, Nidakul prominent and Sumerian/hurritische Enki, Ninki, Ashtapi,. Hapat, Ishara.
Mari (tell-el-Harari/Syria) near the Euphrates is South of Deir Ezzor, 1933 excavated. Inhabited since 5000 b.c. exists City-State of Amoniter Since 2900 b.c. and is rich with trading of Tin, and bronze. To 2340 BC.take the Akkadier from Agadeh and later the Sumerians from Uruk Vassal King Shakkanakkou power. To 1760 b.c. Mari falls to the Babylonian Kingdom of Hammurabi (18)?(-1750 b.c.), plunder Mari and destroyed. Found in the old archive Mari table on 23,000 Tontafeln be in Akkadisch services, sales, treaties, laws and ceremonies describe the almost identical in the Pentateuch occurrence despite 1,500 years Interval. If also not unique to populate it, Moses books and the Myth are Noah from sumerischen templates. These templates have been used and who remains myteriös. The be pagan idols such as Dagan, Mari Revered Shamash and Ishtar, this widespread cult kulte are also known in Ebla and Ugarit.
The city of Ugarit (RAS Shamrah/Syria 6 km north of Latakia) is since 7000 b.c. settled, thousands of years before God’s creation of the world and People. Ugarit is 1192 b.c. by pirates and has a flower from 1450 BC. destroyed, which there land with 6 warships. Ugarit soldiers as tribute to the King of the Hittites defenseless city stopped. Where There was a Solar Eclipse and was on a 5,000 found day Keilschrift boards recorded. MRZH Tontafel (marzeah) describes religious Baal celebrations for worship purposes other Tontafeln contain even musical Records and Poesi. The Royal Palace occupies 10,000 square metres and has approximately 100 Spaces. King rib-Hadda of Byblos boasts it in an Amarna texts more texts are last King Niqm Addah II (pogrom 1315 BC) EA45-49. The importance Ugarit is known only from 1928, the facts have thousands theologians combat.
Already under Pharaoh Senusret I (1971 1926 b.c.) it is to first contacts Ugarit. A ugaritische ruler sequence recorded in Akkadisch with 31 Kings begins with King Yagaru to 1850 BC and ends with King Hammurabi II (1215 1195 BC). His successor Hammurabi III can make the list.Ugarit arranged with the major powers of his time, with contacts one marries Northern Egyptian Hyksos King Niqm Addah II to 1400 BC. Egyptian Princess makes the Hethitern under Suppiluliuma I tribute in In the form of soldiers. Keilschrift texts are written in Akkadisch.