1971 LESKO Some Observations on the Composition of the Book of Two Ways

Some Observations on the Composition of the Book of Two Ways Author(s): Leonard H. Lesko Source: Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 91, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1971), pp. 30-43 Published by: American Oriental Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/600442 . Accessed: 28/12/2014 02:02 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

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SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE COMPOSITION OF THE BOOK OF TWO WAYS* LEONARDH. LESKO UNIVERSITY

OF CALIFORNIA,

BERKELEY

The Book of Two Ways is a part of the large body of Egyptian Coffin Texts. Even though the work was known from numerous coffins, it appeared to have been a very unreliable

"Guide to the Beyond." Now, by examining the layout of the work, four versions are found which can be shown to have come from two distinct sources. By breaking the work down into its original component parts, the different sections can be shown to represent earlier separate traditions about the afterlife. The reasons for including the individual traditions in one or the other of the original sources become clear, and we show that the earlier work looked toward an afterlife with Osiris while the later had accompanying Re in the solar bark as its chief goal for the deceased. The present study includes many notes to de Buck's edition of the work and also contains some findings bearing on the relationship of the Book of Two Ways to the Book of the Dead.

are illustrated on plate I. The two registers on the bottoms of most of these Middle Kingdom coffins are further divided into numerous compartments which contain illustrations of composite demons, flaming doors, barks, and ground plans of buildings which resemble mazes. The two zigzag paths found near the centers of the plans are the outstanding feature of the work and give it its modern name. The upper path is blue and is apparently called a waterway;6 the lower is a black land way. Briefly, the texts that accompany the scenes are spells to enable the deceased to sail in a bark usually with Re, to pass by the doors * An earlier version of this paper was read at the 178th and their demon keepers, to proceed on one or Annual Meeting of the American Oriental Society, both of the ways, and to reach a goal at the Berkeley, March 21, 1968.This became part of a doctoral mansion of Osiris or the "Field of Offerings." dissertation submitted to the Department of Near Kees pointed out several difficulties with the Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago in March, 1969. My translation and com- material. He recognized that there are various mentary on the Book of Two Ways will appear in the places depicted which have accompanying texts near future. designating them as goals, yet he took each 1 H. Schack-Schackenburg, Das Buch von den Zwei version as a unit and tried to make the deceased Wegen des seligen Toten (Leipzig, 1903). proceed through all of the compartments shown 2 P. Lacau, Sarcophages anterieurs au Nouvel Empire, in order to complete his voyage. He saw that texts Vols. I-II (Catalogue g6n6ral des Antiquites 6gyptiennes and plans both relate to the idea of a "Guide to du du Musee Caire, 1904-1906). 3 A. de Buck, The Egyptian Coffin Texts, VII (Chicago, the Beyond," but he thought that texts and plans 1961). The list of de Buck's sources is on pp. ix-x. were not related to each other very well, especially 4 JNES 22 (1963) 133-137. since a text which occurs after the plan of the two 6 ONE VERSION OF the Book of Two Ways was

published in 1903 by Schack-Schackenburg with facsimiles and photos of a coffin in Berlin.' Soon thereafter, Lacau published a large part of the material from several coffins in Cairo having a somewhat different plan and text.2 The de Buck edition (ECT, VII) includes eighteen coffins from el Barsha which have this book,3 but Allen's review4 refers to four more and Heerma van Voss has informed me that there is another in Leiden. Two versions of the Book of Two Ways were described in detail by Kees.5 The plans of these

H. Kees, Totenglauben und Jenseitsvorstellungen der Alten Agypter (2nd. ed.; Berlin [originally Leipzig, 1926], 1956) pp. 287-302.

6

I.e., in spells 1035, 1078, and 1185.

30

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LESKO:

Book of Two Ways

31

FIG. 1. The position of the spells on the bottom of B3C: the type of plan on which the spells of versions A, A-B, and B occur.

FIG. 2. The position of the spells on the bottom of B5C: the type of plan on which the spells of version C occur.

ways places the land way on top (1074 and its parallel, 1184). From this he concluded that in opposition to the map the land way must be in the upper half and this is "ein recht unzuverlassiger Fiihrer."7 Kees thought that the final goal of this journey must be the Field of Offerings,8 but this presented a problem since this "paradise" seemed to occur half unnoticed along the upper way in the middle of the book (1049/1160).9 He 7 Kees, Totenglauben,p. 293. Ibid., p. 294. 9 Most coffins of the A-version include for spell 1049

thought that both ways, as alternative possibilities of travel,'1 should end here, but they did not. He guessed that the new gates and terrors beyond this were waiting for a wanderer who had grown restless." only its empty enclosure, which in B is identified as the "Field of Offerings" whose lord is Hetep. In place of 1049, the A-version of B4L seems to repeat its spell 1039 in this mound, but this is exactly as 1039 should have occurred in the first instance where three of its six names differed from those of the other eight coffins. 10Kees, Totenglauben,p. 293. 11Ibid., p. 294.

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32

Journal of the American Oriental Society, 91.1 (1971)

Grapow referred to the work as a "Textgruppe..., die kein Buch wie etwa das Amduat

spells in parentheses are those that have been misplaced for various reasons which will be given. ist."12 In addition to serving as a map for the Underlining indicates the end of each of the awakened dead, it also appeared to him to be a registers. Bracketed spells are illegible now but magic book for those still living. presumably were on the plans originally. When The impression that Bonacker received from the spell number is included in brackets, reference reading Schack-Schackenburg, Kees, and Grapow was made to it in the de Buck edition. Braces was that the Book of Two Ways was no well connect two or more spells to the corresponding balanced compilation, but a mere collection of spell or spells in other versions. The numbers in the left-hand column mark the minimal units of inscriptions.l3 Zandee'4 also thought that the two ways were material (proper to the book) that can be handled only part of the whole complex, and he believed in treating the sections, and their total is the that the purpose of the journey was twofold: to maximum number of spells that should be inserve Osiris and "especially at the end" to ac- volved. Further combinations of spells could company Re. easily be argued to bring this number down, but Dieter Miiller15stressed the cyclical nature of only those necessary for purposes of comparison the Book of Two Ways since one coffin (B4L) have been proposed here.16 There are two basic plans known for the Book repeats the central plan. He presented two more the Two Ways. BiBe, which Shack-Schackenburg necropolis, Memphitic Rosetaw, of problems. was mentioned in the early spells (1034-1035), published, is representative of the short version, but did not occur in the plans until much later and the Cairo coffins published by Lacau are (1072-1082). He also sought a fitting explanation representative of the long version. These two for the relation of the doors near the end to the versions have in common sections III-V but differ final places mentioned. entirely in the rest. They did not come from a All of the difficulties which have been raised single archetype which would have included all require explanation. The purpose of this article is the material from both, since it will be seen that to analyze the form of the Book of Two Ways in each version is a unit in itself with separate the hope that through this analysis we will be able introductions and different orientations throughto see how such an unreliable guide came to be or out. At least two sources of the work existed, but rather how the guide became unreliable. The table (plates II and III) is presented as a 16 Despite the divisions on the waterway of the descriptive inventory of the "bottom texts" of the C-version coffins, spells 1153, 1157, and 1165 should have also written published Barsha coffins. It gives the order of the been kept together to parallel 1053 which is of on the waterway. The second half spell 1064 directly coffin to coffin while coffin on each relating spells 323 b-c) occurs outside the enclosA-version in the (VII and spell to spell. The four-figured numbers are ing paths and is clearly divided in B4Bo. De Buck should de Buck's spells. The vertical columns give the have added this to 1063 so that it would better parallel spells of the individual coffins, plus the related 1174. If this had been done, 1064/1171 at least could have table. chapters of the Book of the Dead. The letters been removed from the conglomerate given on the enclosure the outside occurs which VII 515 If d-e, ECT, indicate the versions which are discussed below on all coffins and which de Buck included in spell 1176, and the Roman numerals indicate the sections had been joined instead to 1178 in his edition, confusion which will be established and explained. The in these spells to spells 1067 and 1069 in the 12 H. Grapow, "Jenseitsfiihrer," in B. Spuler, Handbuch der Orientalistik (Leiden, 1952) I, part 2, p. 49. 13W. Bonacker, "The Egyptian 'Book of the Two Ways'," Imago Mundi 7 (1951) 6. 14 J. Zandee, Death as an Enemy (Leiden, 1960). 15 BibO 20 (1963) 246-250.

relating other versions would have been avoided. 1069 apparently should have begun a new spell at VII 332 f, since this is quite separate on the plans and in the parallel (1179). The connection between 1149 and 1041 is only with one name on B4L (VII 499 j), but, of course, this coffin is unique in having both spells. 1041 then shares 1149's position and 1152's names.

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33

LESKO: Book of Two Ways A

A-B

B

C

B3C B4C B12C B13C B6C B4L BlBo B4%o B2Bo B9C B1C B1L B2L B3L B2P B5C BlEe 1 1029 1029 1029 1029 1029 1029 2 1030 1030 1030 1030 1030 1030 Qo3~

B1P B4L BD

1029 1029 1029 021029 1029 1029 1029 1030 1030 1030 1030 1030 1030 1030 1030

133a 136a

1032 1032 1032 1032 1032 1033 1033 1033 1033 1033 1033 1033

136b

3 1033 1033 1033 1033 1033 1033 1033 1033

11 (19

4 1034 1034 1034 1034 1034 1034 1034 1034 f034 5

1034 1034 1034 1034 1034 1034 1035 1035 1035 1035 1035 1035

136b 1131 1131 1131

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

1132 1132 1133'1133 1134 1134 1135 1135 1136 1136 1137 1137 1138 1138 1139 1139 1140 1140

15

16 17 18 19 20 21 1036

0o36 1036 1036 1036 1036

1132 1133 1134 1135 1136 1137 1138 1139 1140

1141

1141

1142 1143 1144 1145 1146

1141

1142 1143 1144 1145 1146

1142 1143 1144 1145 1146

f

36 1036 1036 1036 1036 1036 1036 1036 1036 1147 1147 1147 1147 o0864 (0874 (1085 (513. i577

22 1037 1037 1037 1037 1037 1037 1037 L03~ 1037 1037 1038 1038 1038 103H 23 1038 1038 1038 1038 [-1 24 1039 1039 1039 --]103% 25 1040 1040 1040 1040 --] 1040 1040 1040 1040 1040 26 1041

1041 1041 [--1

27 1042 1042 1042 1042 [-28 29 1043 1043 1043 [--3 1045 1045 30 1046 1046 1046 04i4 [--1 31 1047 1047 1047 1047 --] 32 33 1050 ["1051 [--

1050 1050 -1051 1051 [--1

1037 1037 1037 1148 1148 1 1148 1038 1038 1038 144 1039 1039 1039 1040 1150 1150 1150 1150 144c, 1040 118 1041 1041 1041 1041 1041 1041 1041 1041 1149 1149 1149 1149 144 1152 1152 1152

1041

1056)

1044 1044 1044 1043 1043 1043 1043 1045 1045 1045 1045 1046 1046 1046 [-[-1 1048 1048 1048 1049 --] 1049 1049 1049 1050 1050 1051 1051 -j 1053 1051 1051 o (103i) 1052 [--3 1052 1052 1052 1043 1045 1046 1047

1043 1046 1047 L039 1050 o

54 1054 1056

--

1056

1055 [-] 38 1057 1058 --1 39 1059 1059 40 1060 1060

1055 1057 1058 1059 1060

1055 1057 1058 1059 1060

1055 --) 1057 -- 1058 (--) 1059 - 06 1060 1060

41 1061 [--1

1061

--1

o4 1056

1056

--

o061 --1

1061 1106

1044 1043 1045 1046 1047

1053

--1

1054 1056

[--3 105

6 1 1065 44~ 1066 --1 -1067

5 1065 106~ 1066F6 1067 t-

1054 1054 56 1056

1055 1057 1058 1059 1060

1055 105 1057 1058 105 1059 [-1060 -

106

1061 106 1 [--1

1065 1065 1065 1065 1065 1166 1066 66 l1066 i 1 1 o 6 1067 1067 1067 1067 1067

1068 1068 [--

1068

68 1068 1068 1068

1154 1155 1156 1158 1157 1161 1160 1162 1164

1154 1155 1156 1158 1159 1161 1160 1162 1164

1154 144 1155 1156 1158 115? 144f 1161 1160 1462 1164

'1163 1163 1163 1163 18( C18C) 180Q 1153 53 1153 1153 10531153 -157i 1157 1157 1157 1165 1165 1165 1165

1055 1057 1058 1059 1060

1069 1069 1069 46 1068 [--7

[--

1054 1054 1054 1056 105610

10551051055 1055 1057 1057 1057 1057 1058 1058 1058 1058 1059 1059 1059 1059 1060 1060 6 1060 L0590 106 061 1061 1061

1065 1065 666 1067 1067 1067

i6666

1044 1044 1154 1043 5o04i1155 1045 -1156 1046 1158 157 1048 i161 1049 1160 [-1 (162 [--1 1051 (164

1053 1053 103 53

1062 1062 1062 1062 1062 1062 42 -1-62 --3 1062 o06 62 06 63 0163 63 0163 1063 1063 1o63 -163 1063 1063 1063 1064 [--1 1064 1o6 1064 1064 1064 1064 1064 1064 1064 43 1 44 1066 45 1067

m

(1055)

35

1056

1037 1038 1039 1040

1042 1042 1042 1042 1042 1042 1042 1042 1042 1042 1151 1151 1151 1151 144d

34

36 37

1037 1038 1039 1040

1166 1167

1166 1167

1166 1167

1166 1167

144

1168 1168 1168 1168 1169 1169 1169 169

144

1172 144 1175 1062 -1170 144 1171 1063 L1064 1173 1174 1065 -130 066 --- 1177 1177 1177 1177 167 7-P176 1176 1176 1176 144, o60iiiiiii136a 1069 1069 1178 1178 1178 1178 1179 1179 1179 1179 172 175 170 171 173 (174

1172 1175 1170 1171 1173 1174

1172 1175 1170 1171 1173 1174

i u

FIG 3. Table giving the arrangement of the spells of the Book of Two Ways on all published coffins; sections I-IV. The article contains an explanation of the analysis.

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34

Journal of the American Oriental Society, 91.1 (1971)

47 48

1C)71 1071 1071 1071 [--

49 50

1C)72 1072 1C)73 1073 1073 1073 [--1

1071

1071

I 1180 1180 1180 o051 (o052) (o054 052) 1070 1070 I 1070 1070 1070 1070 071 1071 1071 1071 1071 1071 1071) 1181 1181 1181

1072 1072 1072 1072 1072 1072 1072 1072 1182 1182 1182 1073 1073 1073 1073 1073 I 1073 1073 1073 1073 1183 1183 1183

1074 1074 1074 1075 1075 1075 1076 1077 1078 1078 1078

1078 1078 [--]

1074 1074 1075 1075 1076 1077 1078 1078

060 1074 [--3 107 1184 1184 1184 1075 -- 1075 1077 r--3 1077 [-1078 [--

1079 [--3 1079 10279 [54 1080 1080 1080 55 1081 1081 1081

1079 1079 1079 107 1080 1080 1080 [--_ 1081 1081 [--

1079 1079 1080 1080 1081 1081 0o83) I 084lt 08L

56 10382 [--]

1082 1082

Io084ro085o

1082

57 58 59 60 61

1090

64 65 66 1093 1093 1093 67 1094 10994 1094 68 1095 69 10 1-961096

109) 11093 1094 1095

70 1098 1098

1098

9 099 10 71 109

910999

147b

l090

[--J

1090

1090

--]

1091 1091 -1092 1092 "-1031093--1 3 (--) 10 1 1094 1094 ( --) 094 1094 '1 095 1095 --1 1095 10955 6 109 1096 ! 10 1L95 1097 L09_Z 1097 --J 1098 1098 1098 --109 1098 1098 1098 09 099 1

1

1099 1099 1

10 1099 109999

147c,'

147c 117

&08'

08

1088 L-- I 1088 lO 08~-- o093) 1 089 1089 1089 1089 [--1 1089 1089 [--1 C094)

1089

1090

63

C--i

513 [ 1 513 577 _-1

513 577

101081088

1185 1185 1185

1079 [-1080 [-[--J [--]

[--] 1086 1086 1086 -- 1086 1086s1086b 1087 1087 1087 1087b 1087 -p0871 I _ - 1085 1085b --] 1085 1085 1085 1085b

[--] 1085

62 1089 1089 1089

144, 147b

t13 289)

51 1074 1074 1074 1074 [--1 1075 1075 1075 1075 1-52 1076 1076 53 1078 [--1

f

513 577

147a,

119 147a 147a, 119, 147g

513 513b 577 577b (5086 (578b) (576) 165) (66) (.67) 68)

576) C02) (303) (304) (4771

1089 1090

1091 1092 93 1094 1 1098

1099 1099

I30b

(38^ 11oo1100 72 1100 11oo 73 1101 1101 11l0 51) (52)

o 1100 1101

1101

1100 100 1100 1101 1101 1101 1101

1100 1101 1101

(53)

74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82

1102 1103 1104 1105 1106 1107 1108 1109 1110

8? 1112

1102 1103 1104 1105 1106 1107 ilo0] 1109 1110 1112

(54)

--

84 1113 1113 85 1114l 114 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101

1115 1115 11.6 1116 1117 1117 1118 1118 1119 1119 1120 1120 1121 1121 1122 1123 1123 1124 1124 1125 1125 1126 1126 1127 1127 1128 1129 1129 113io 130

1102 1103 1104

1102 1103 1104 1105 1106 117 --]

1102 1103 104 10 1105 1106 1107 1108 1108 1109 1110 1112

11.12

1113 4 11 11 -1115 ---' -1120 1121 --1123 ----1126 ---1 13

1102 1103 1104 1105 1106

11301130 -08)

14

1102 1102 1103 1103 14 104 1 104 1105 1105 1106 1106 117 1107 1108 1108 1109 1109 1110 1110 1111 1112

1112

1102 1103 4 1105 1106 1107 1108 1109 1110 1111

1102 1103 1104 1105 1106 1107 1l0o8N [109l 1110

14?c

1112

1112

135

1113 1113 1113 4 1 1114

1113 1113 1114

1115 1115 1116 1116 1116 1171 1117 117 1118 118 l118 1119 9 11l9119 1120 i120 1121 1121 1122 1122

1115 1115 1116 ll16 1118 r119 1120 1121 1122

2 1124 1124 1124 1124 1125 1125 1125 1126 1127 [--i 112 1128 1128 1128 1129 1129 [--1 1129 130 1130 1130 130 (94) (95) (06) (576) .. .... . ._(29) -.

_

FIG. 4. Table giving the arrangement of the spells of the Book of Two Ways on all published coffins; sections V-IX. The article contains an explanation of the analysis.

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LESKO: Book of Two Ways

these utilized some of the same material. De Buck distinguished these two groups by separate treatment (1029-1130 for the long and 1131-1185 for the short group),'7 but, since there are clear variants in his first group, it might have been better to distinguish the versions from one another without repeating more than the two separate beginnings. Dechain'8 recognized a third group within the long version, but all four groups which I have proposed can be established merely by examining the table. Version C is de Buck's separate, shorter group. The distinctions made among the coffins of de Buck's first group are based primarily on the frequent differences within the text of each spell, but also are easily seen on the table in alternate spells being used for the separate versions, e.g., 1047 on version A coffins and 1048 on B,19or additional spells for one or the other, e.g., 1035 for B or 1050 for A.20Version B is given central position since its form is the same as that of A but its texts are often closer to those of C when parallels occur (sections III-V), e.g., CT 1042/1151 (ECT, VII 294 b and VII 501 d). This is also clearly seen in their sharing spells 1085-1087. The coffins with A-B often show affinities to one or the other version within the text of a spell, but even in their choice of spells it is possible to demonstratel the existence of this group, e.g., B9C sharing 1068 with A and 1077 with B, and B1C sharing 1076 with A and 1069 with B. B2Bo apparently shares spells 1044, 1049, 1052, and 1053 with B, but its texts are much closer to those of version A elsewhere. All of the coffins are from el Barsha, and seem to date fairly close together in the Middle Kingdom.21Some workmen who produced these seem 17 The de Buck edition includes a half-page discussion of the "Composition of the Coffin Bottom Texts, Spells 1029-1185" (ECT, VII, xvi), in which the two groups are indicated and their coffin sources are given. 18 Cd'E 37 (1962) 299. 19Spells 1047 and 1048 should be the same spell, but, since versions A and B differ significantly here, they were presented as separate spells in the de Buck edition. 20 Spell 1050 occurs only in A and properly belongs with the A-version of 1051 since these together include the ideas found in the B-version of 1051 and also version C in 1162 and 1164. 21 W. Schenkel in Frahmitteldgyptische Studien (Bonn,

35

to have had copies of both plans, certainly on papyri. B4L begins with the plan of the water and land ways according to the C-version and concludes with the same plan according to A,22while the inner coffin of the same man (B3L) has the whole B-version. Also the inner coffin of Sepi, B2P, had its bottom done according to B while his outer coffin, B1P, was according to C. All the cursive hieroglyphic writing faces right and most coffins with the various versions read from right to left, but on a few, the columns of writing are retrograde (B5C and B1P), or return retrograde in the lower register (B12C and B4L). With the different versions represented both ways, no conclusions can be drawn on this basis. B3L even had its registers reversed. Three coffins are not in the form of a plan (B6C, BiBo, and B4Bo) and another (B2Bo) is largely columnar. B6C cannot be taken into account here because it lacks almost all of sections III-V. BIBo and B4Bo were used by de Buck to order the spells in his edition, but both can be shown to have depended on plans originally. BiBo in its arrangement of spells 1040, 1055, 1042, 1058 and supposedly B2Bo in its arrangement of 1088, 1093, 1089, 1094,1090, 1095 seem to show a similar type of error in reading vertically through compartments within a register instead of taking the spells of the upper compartment first and then those of the lower.23B4Bo was used to number 1962) p. 123 concluded that the oldest copies of Coffin Texts can be dated to the early Middle Kingdom, but, even if all of the extant coffins were this late, they were still based largely on older material as will be seen. 22 Because it has both versions A and C, B4L appears twice on the table. 23 Since he lacked too much in BIBo or B4Bo to use either of them to order these spells in section VI, de Buck probably should have followed B2Bo here. This shows the order in which the scribe of B2Bo read these spells from his source and it is a somewhat more reasonable arrangement since the section would have a proper head"This is the way of Thoth toward the ing this way-i.e., house of Maat" (ECT, VII 371 j). This order seems to be supported by an elaborate plan such as that of B12C on which 1093 protrudes forward considerably. The further differences between de Buck's order and that of B2Bo are due to the fact that two compartments were usually drawn here and de Buck took the spells of one and then the other while the scribe of B2Bo ignored or did not

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36

Journal of the American Oriental Society, 91.1 (1971)

1055 and 1056, yet these are clearly reversed, since the name of a demon would have preceded the spell for passing the demon, just as it was copied by de Buck in the 1167 parallel. On B4Bo part of spell 1037 (ECT, VII 286 b-c) is found within the text of 1036, while the name of the demon usually depicted in the lower half of the compartment drawn here (VII 286 d) actually occurs before spell 1055. This difference can also be explained on the basis of this text's having been copied from a MS. in the form of a plan. Unlike the copyist who ignored the horizontal division between the two ways in BIBo, the copyist of B4Bo has extended this division back to the beginning of the section, thereby splitting 1037 between the water and land ways. Because of the number of copies, it is easy to see which spells have been added or omitted on the various coffins and likewise which coffins best reproduce the source of each version. Spells 513 and 577 are probably proper to both the B and C versions of the book,24 and B5C could be considered ideal in having each and every spell proper to C fitted perfectly into its plan which is also suitably illustrated. B1C is the best illustrated of all the coffins, and its texts conform well generally to what is expected in versions B and A-B, but there was space left on the bottom of the coffin after the book ended25 so other material was added. B3C conforms best in the A-version with almost every spell proper to the group, but its final spell was completed in vacant space near its beginning.26 The heading, "THAT WHICH IS AT THE END OF THE BOOK (md3t)" have the separation, and so took the spells one above the other. 24Significant is the fact of the colophon's occurrence after spell 577 on BiBe (ECT, VI 193 o). De Buck (ECT, VII, xvii) apparently did not regard spells 513 and 577 as typical "bottom spells" so these were included in his ECT, VI. Version C, however, certainly concluded the Book of Two Ways with these spells and they also occur on all the B-version coffins. 25Five spells were added after what must have been BIC's colophon in 1130. The B-version B1L has its colophon at ECT, VII 471 g. 26These last lines of spell 1130 from this one coffin were designated as a separate spell (1031) in the edition.

(ECT, VII 262 a), and colophon (VII 262 j) of this misplaced conclusion present very good arguments for the unity of the work as well as indications of the extent of the material encompassed by it. The work deserves then its designation as a "book." Many coffins use spells obviously foreign to the book or repeat proper spells to fill out a coffin's bottom (e.g., B1C, BIBe, and B1P) or the end of one register (B2L and B1P) or some enclosure (B3C and B2L). Even so these could still be better "guides" than those which stop short on an incomplete note (B12C, B13C, B2Bo, B4L, B2L, and B2P) or skip a great deal (BlBo and B4Bo). It is not very difficult to establish the nine sections shown on the table since most divisions are clear from the plans and are further supported by the related Book of the Dead chapters. The early division of the Book of Two Ways into chapters by Schack-Schackenburg27is discarded here because, based on only BIBe of the C-version, it cannot be adapted easily to versions A and B. An extension of this system proposed by Bonacker28 for A is useless since it disregards the sections that correspond on the two plans. The most obvious part of the work and the easiest part to isolate is the plan of the two ways which occurs in all versions and provides the modern name of the book. If this were the essential element of the work, then all else would serve as introduction and conclusion, and the whole would be a unified guide to the regions through which the deceased would pass to his goal (with a possible choice between the two ways themselves).29 But since we know that more than half the spells within the plan could be omitted (B1Bo), we may question whether what remains is still significant and, further, whether the book is 27 For the corresponding chapters and spells cf. Derchain's review in Cd'E 37 (1962) 300. 28 Imago Mundi, 7 (1951) 8. 29Kees, Totenglauben, pp. 287-301, Grapow, "Jenseitsfihrer," p. 49, Bonacker, Imago Mundi, 7 (1951) 5-17, and Zandee, Death, p. 26, all considered the work in this way even though Kees recognized that "eine abgeschlossene Komposition ist auch das Zweiwegebuch nicht" (p. 287).

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LESKO:Book of Two Ways rightly named for the two ways. Conversely, since the bottom of B4L repeats this same plan from two versions (A and C), omitting most introductory spells in C (i.e., sections I and II), all concluding spells in C, and all but one spell in the last five sections (V-IX) of the A-version, we can question whether the book in this or its other forms need describe a single continuous route. The first section includes the two very different introductions to the book in its long and short versions. The introduction to the long version, though apparently consisting of twelve spells, should really have only four.30 It is concerned primarily with the deceased joining Re on his solar voyage.31 However, in spell 1035, Osiris is introduced as god of Rosetaw.32 Both ways are said to be his (VII 282 b). Thoth also takes on special significance since "anyone who knows this spell for going down by them (the ways) is a holy god in the suite of Thoth" (VII 282 d). This introduction occurs more or less intact in the Book of the Dead, but without this last spell. Version C begins with its own brief introduction (spell 1131) in which the deceased says, "I have come that I may see Osiris and live beside him and rot beside him" (VII 473 f-h). Section II in version C begins with spell 1132 and consists of the spells found in a number of compartments which lead to the ground plan of a 30 Adhering rigorously to his principles for editing the Coffin Texts (ECT, I, xii-xiii) de Buck included the misplaced conclusion of spell 1130 (1031), the occasional B-version heading of 1033 (1032), and B's elaboration of the rubric of 1034 (1035) as separate spells. The table also includes five spells not proper to the Book of Two Ways which were probably placed in vacant space resulting from drawing too large an enclosure on B2L. 31 In this whole work as in most guides to the beyond, Re and Osiris both have their place, Osiris as a more or less stationary lord and Re as the sun-god who traverses the heavens in his bark from the eastern to the western horizon and returns through the netherworld from west to east. While trying to avoid the absolute dichotomy implied in discussing Solar and Osirian traditions, distinctions will still be made partly on the basis of emphasis on one or the other god in the various sections. 32 Rosetaw was originally the necropolis of Giza (cf. Hornung, Amduat, II, pp. 90-91) whose god was Sokar. Osiris replaces Sokar throughout the Book of Two Ways.

37

building called a mansion (4wt) in 1146 (VII 496 a). The mansion has a demon gatekeeper but is the "place of a spirit" who is "a man of countless (cubits) in his length. He is in the midst of darkness and cannot be seen. The river is far from him. As for his entourage, it cannot be seen" (VII 496 h-l). This then is the goal of the deceased and the end of the preceding journey. It renders this section complete in itself as a guide to the beyond. Spells 1036-1082 in versions A and B are paralleled more or less by the shorter C-version spells, 1147-1185. Spell 1036/1147 marks the beginning of the map,33 though the division horizontally into two compartments (each having a zigzag path) does not ordinarily occur until 1038. Since the deceased is supposed to know both ways (1035),34it is likely that he would be expected either to be able to travel on each as circumstances demand or to make a circuit of the two ways. Kees35believed that the "Field of Offerings" had to be the goal of the journey and that the two ways should meet here and therefore represent possibilities of travel. Miiller argued that the lower way is an alternative to be avoided.36 The two ways apparently meet and do touch on one coffin (B3C) at the far end of the two compartments, but, since this is not at the "Field of Offerings" or any other significant place, this can also be used as evidence for a combination of the ways. In 1035 both ways are called the "ways of 33CT 1147 marks the beginning of the second register on B5C. B1P however includes 1147 in its upper register, which is filled out with six spells, which properly end the C-version of the book and are therefore repeated on this coffin. B1P then begins its second register with 1148 as if this were the beginning of the new section but actually the artist and/or scribe wanted to keep the whole map together in one register rather than break it up as in BiBe or B4L. Significantly B4L, having omitted the Introduction and section II in its C-version, begins its bottom texts with 1147. 34 "But as for him who does not know how to pass on those ways, (he shall be taken) by a rstrokel of death which is ordained, being a nonentity who has no Maat forever" (ECT, VII 283 b-c). 35 Kees, Totenglauben, pp. 293-294. 36 BibO 20 (1963) 249.

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38

Journal of the American Oriental Society, 91.1 (1971)

Osiris which are on the edge of the sky" (VII 282 b-c), and 1036/1147 (VII 498 a-b) is a spell for accompanying Re in the sky of Osiris, so it seems necessary to place Osiris and the "Field of Offerings" in the sky along the daytime route of the sun. Miiller37says, "in beiden Rezensionen ist der obere Weg, der jedenfalls noch zur Tagesfahrt des Sonnenschiffes geh6rt, blau gezeichnet." But if the upper way is really for the day voyage of Re, why is the deceased accompanying Thoth when he crosses the sky in 1042 (VII 295 a) and why is he "excellent at night" in spell 1053/1157 (VII 305 h and VII 504 b)? It seems that the "waterway" actually represents the sky in a cosmological plan, and it is not surprizing that all three gods can be in the sky, with Re and Osiris (1147) or Thoth and Osiris (1047, 1162, 1164) together at times. The order in which the spells of section IV are to be read should probably be reversed (1069/1179-1055/1167) so that the land way would be a continuation of the waterway, leading the deceased who accompanies Re (1069) back to his starting point. Two parts of BD 130 are found in the Book of Two Ways. They do not occur in version C, and in A and B they are at some distance from one another (i.e., CT 1065 and 1099). They involve the voyage of the sun bark and so have a place in this guide, but neither relates to its surroundings. CT 1065 parallels BD 130a while the surrounding spells parallel BD 144. It describes both the daytime and night journeys of the solar barks while most other spells along the land way would better be restricted to the night voyage alone. There is only one other important spell (1068)38 in the map section of A-version coffins which is not paralleled in version C, and that has an alternative (1069) in B. CT 1099 (BD 130b) is the longest spell in the book, and occurs between two distinct traditions in the additional material which makes up the second half of the book on coffins with versions A and B. If these ever were together on the coffin bottoms or elsewhere, the situation could have been one in which 38

37

CT 1068, like 1065, is significant Ibid., p. 248.

for giving domi-

1065 in the lower half of the upper register was directly above 1099 in the lower register. An extant coffin on which this proximity is possible is B2P. Once these can be placed in proximity it would be fairly easy to assume that one part overstepped its bounds. If either part of BD 130 is misplaced in the Book of Two Ways, it should be the shorter 1065. Spells 1068 (A) and 1069/1179 (B and C) are each last in section IV for their respective versions.39 Section V is introduced by 1180 in the C-version with its B-version parallel in part of 1052.40Toward the end of section V spells are usually found in the plan of a building. Walls and doors are often depicted here which are similar to those of section II. Spell 1084 is labeled "Travelling in peace toward the palace (stp-s') of Osiris. Passing by the gates" (VII 356 b-c). The deceased there says, "Make way for me in front of the temple (hwt-ntr)" (VII 355 g). There seems to be enough similarity in the layout and description of sections II and V that the two can be considered as somewhat different versions of the same tradition. As in section II, the emphasis in V is on Osiris (Sokar), and the deceased is about to reach his goal, i.e., the palace of Osiris in 1084-1085. The relationship between sections III-IV and V is seen in the Book of the Dead's similar development in its chapters 144 and 147. These BD chapters are apparently two separate traditions concerning seven gatekeepers. The end of CT 1071/1181 is paralleled by chapter 147 of the Book of the Dead as many other spells in this section are. However, before this in the same CT spell (VII 335 a-b), we find the guardian of the nence to Re not only on the land way but on the whole map. In 1068 the deceased says, "Hail to you, O Re. May you propitiate Osiris for me that those who are in the netherworld may worship you, that those who are in the underworld may glorify you, and that they may give adoration to you when you come in peace." 39 B4L even concludes its C-version with spell 1179 and then continues with 1029 of the A-version. 40 The B-version heading of spell 1052, "Mysterious serpents, keepers of the gates" (VII 304 e), parallels 1180 in the C-version and must have crossed over into the map section on some B-version archetype.

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LESKO:

Book of Two Ways

seventh gate of BD 144b together with that part of the chapter which properly pertained to him there (BD 144 h). As section V in the B-version actually had its beginning attached to the end of section III, so a text of section IV seems to have carried over into section V. Spell 1073/118341 probably continues 1071, as in the case of the Book of the Dead, where the two are consecutive parts of a spell to be recited at the second gate of chapter 147. It is difficult to explain the intrusion of 1072/1182 here unless artist and scribe failed to coordinate their efforts. This interruption and the crossover of part of section IV into section V in 1071/1181 make it likely that the Book of Two Ways was not the source of this part of the Book of the Dead. These differences occur on all the extant coffins, so, we must assume that the Book of the Dead more accurately reflects its source here than does the Book of Two Ways. Corruptions of the source probably occurred already in an early version of the book (or this part of it) in the form of a plan. Spell 1072/1182 is intended as an explanation of the ways of Rosetaw, but it is susceptible of various interpretations. It occurs within a narrow vertical compartment with the two ways apparently shown overlapping. From text and appearance it might show that the two ways are connected or entwined on one site or that all or part of the preceding is related to all or part of the following or even that what follows is a continuation of the ways. Spell for the ways of this Rosetaw which are on water and land. These ways are here in the opposite direction, each one thereof opposing its companion in the opposite direction. It is those who know them who can find their ways (VII 339 e-341 b).

The spell has no Book of the Dead parallel but it does clearly interrupt such a parallel. Section V has the land way (1074/1184) above and before the waterway (1078/1185) so that mention of the waterway before the land way in spell 1072 41 Since the artist (or scribe) of B2L had insufficient space for the next compartment, the rest of the register was filled with other spells.

39

might have some significance.42The spell should probably be taken as an explanation of the preceding map (sections III-IV), in which case, the ways leading in opposite directions would reinforce the "combination" interpretation of the ways. Since the end of section V is the end of the whole C-version and since it is clear even from the table that all the versions are very different at the end of this section, it is worth considering in detail what has happened here. Spell 1084, which occurs only in version B, really consists of the central portion of spell 577 in the C-version, plus the two headings of 1085 in C (i.e., ECT, VI 193 d-i and VII 356 d-e). Spell 577 in version B stops short after its beginning (VI 192 a-e). It seems then that on a prototype of B, which probably ended with 577 as C does, there was not enough space to complete the spell, so the spell was taken up again in available space earlier, i.e., in the compartment drawn on the bottoms to contain spells 1080 and 1081.43 The next three spells, 1085-1087, occur in the C-version with 1085 last rather than first. Spell 1082 is the A-version spell for existing in Rosetaw. Versions B and C are considerably longer in 1085. It is 1085b on B1L and B2L and also the spell preserved on B2P and probably B9C that correspond in position (between 1087 and 513) and relate better textually to this spell on the C-version coffins. The first occurrence of 1085 (1085" on the table) on B1L, B2L, and B3L occupies the position comparable to 1082 in version A and likewise shares its heading. The list of correlations (ECT, VII, xiv-xv) makes reference to the parallel of 1078-1079 to 1185. From the editor's notes we learn that spell 1079, besides paralleling 1185, also parallels 1086 42 This reversal of the water and land ways was the main reason for Kees' accusation concerning the reliability of the guide. However, as long as they occur in different sections representing separate traditions, the apparent contradiction is not so important. 43On B1L the part brought back was further repeated in the available space (compare the plan of B2L to that of B1L).

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40

Journal of the American Oriental Society, 91.1 (1971)

to some extent.44 De Buck did not include any parallels for 1087 on his list of correlations or in his textual notes, but "which is in the midst of darkness" (VII 364 b), and "Flame is around it containing this effluvium of Osiris" (VII 364 e-f), make its connection with 1080 (VII 352 a-b) reasonably certain. Also the similarity between VII 354 a-b and VII 365 g-366 d suggests some connection between 1081 and 1087. Thus all of the last spells in version A (1078, 1079, 1080, 1081, and 1082) partially parallel and correspond exactly to the order of the last spells in version C (1185, 1086, 1087, and 1085). The B-version has all these spells from versions A and C, and so clearly it repeats the end of this section from both. Spell 1088 consists of the names of various demons from three coffins with version A and the label "flame" on a door of three coffins with B. The names of the A-version occur in a separate narrow compartment between 1082/1085 and 1089. These names could belong either to the preceding spells or to the following, but with the picture of an ape on B1C and the designation "baboon" (VII 366 i) on B9C they seem to belong to section VI since the baboon is an animal sacred to Thoth who is addressed in this section. The label of the B-version of 1088 is on a door in the compartment of the group which follows, so it clearly belongs to section VI although it does not label the section. Section VI continues through 1098 where it is said that the deceased "will live forever among the followers of Thoth" (VII 384 b). Section VII consists of the long spell 1099. It has another description of the course of the sun through the heavens. It is also a description of the afterlife which is complete45 in itself and originally was probably separate from any of the 44 This is seen most clearly in the phrase identifying the deceased as the one "who made his way in the valley of the Great-one" (VII 363 d-e and 350 a-b), and also in the apparent corruption of mw (VII 350 a) and ntt (VII 363 b) in "who caused to come to be (water/that which

exists)." 46

1065.

Though it should perhaps include the misplaced

other traditions collected and put together in the book. The spell cannot be joined to either the preceding or following sections. Section VIII is another tradition of the beyond in versions A and B. The section involves seven gatekeepers who occur here in two groups. At least two names (those of the third and fourth keepers) are paralleled in their same position in the lists of BD 147. The keeper of the second gate in spell 1101 (VII 420 a) is apparently misnamed on B3C since the name of the keeper of the seventh gate (VII 439 a) was duplicated here. The name in the A-version of 1101 should probably be the same as that in the B-version (B1L and B9C), but de Buck indicated46 that the name is completely lost on B4C, B1C, B3L, and B2P while the compartments where the names should have occurred on B6C and B12C were empty. BlBo and B2Bo were taken from a source on which the names were either omitted or lost and therefore also lack them. CT 1114 ends section VIII. It is apparently the "elder Horus" with whom the deceased who knows this spell (and the whole section) will exist (VII 445 c-d). Spell 1115 labels and describes the scene which accompanies 1116. CT 1116 is the "place of a truly perfect spirit who can never die" (VII 448 a).47The spell indicates that the deceased will be a god (VII 448 c) even though he is one "who does not know how to go forth to this sky of Re-Horus, the elder" (VII 447 c). This apparently contradicts 1109 since the keeper there was said to live "on the one who does not know how to go to this sky of the elder Horus" (VII 437 g-438 a). CT 1116 identifies the place of a deceased person who would know some of the preceding spells, i.e., for entering flame and opening darkness (VII 447 b), but not necessarily all (certainly not 1109). It seems, then, that this is the goal of only part of the Book of Two Ways or one of the traditions from which it was composed. From the symbolic sky with enclosed disk, similar to what ECT, VII, 420, note 1. 47The line numbers on the photos of the coffins should have been followed in spell 1116 since ECT, VII 448 a, is the principle heading here. 46

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LESKO:Book of Two Ways is found with spell 1098,48and from references to "entering into flame" and "opening darkness" (VII 447 b), which can be related to 1092 "I open the darkness" (VII 371 i), and 1097 with the picture of a man entering a "flaming" door on BIC,49 this should be the goal of the section which emphasized Thoth. The deceased can live here forever probably as a star in the sky since in 1093 it is said that "he will be in the suite of Thoth at night" (VII 372 a), but he cannot join the sun-god since he does not know how to go further, presumably because he would not know the spells to enable him to do so. If 1116 in section IX is a conclusion of section VI (1088-1098), it remains for us to explain the gap between these as well as the almost verbatim but contradictory statements about going forth to Horus (in 1109 and 1116). Both can be explained by taking the whole last section as an attempt to tie together the various traditions about the afterlife which were collected in the book. This spell clearly utilizes the material which was gathered from various traditions and puts it together for its own purposes. Spell 1117 introduces a group (1117-1124) concerned with Osiris. It is a spell by which the deceased will be more glorious than Osiris (VII 448 d-e). This part of the section apparently 48Spell 1098 has two compartments enclosed by three blue sky symbols. B1C seems to show a two-headed serpent-type bark above, and on both its barks there is a beetle holding a disk, in the upper compartment below the sky, and in the lower buried within it, so that the whole could represent the solar day and lunar night voyages or the two journeys of the lunar bark. It can also be noted that 1053, which clearly involves Thoth in the map section, is actually written upon the blue waterway. The entourage of Thoth is designated here as "common folk (r6yt)" (VII 383 a) in A and "celebrated ones (rhhywt)" in B. 49A human figure appears near the end of the first register on B1C. The texts are unpreserved at this point, but Kees (Totenglauben, 297) thought that this was a representation of the deceased in the palatial building at the end of the Rosetaw-group. A comparison of the plans of B1C and B1L, however, will show that this man, probably the deceased, does not occur in this Osirian section but in the next (Thoth) section, specifically at 1097. There the label "possessor of joy" occurs on the plan of BIL in the place which corresponds exactly to the place on B1C where a man is standing at the doors.

41

resumes section V. Osiris is central in both. Thoth occurs in 1071 (VII 338 d-339 a) and 1117 (VII 449 a-b), while Seth is mentioned in 1079 (VII 351 c) and 1119 (VII 451 e). The "sealed place (htmt)" (VII 352 a) in 1080 may be related to "rwhat is sealed' (ssd't)" (VII 448 d) in 1117; and the "Osiris-mansion (4wt)" (VII 451 a) in 1118 to the "palace of Osiris (stp-s3)" (VII 356 b) in 1084. Both 1087 (VII 365 a) and 1117 (VII 450 b-c) are useful for living as well as dead. Spell 1117 also follows closely on the previous spell since it states that "He has passed every tribunal in which Thoth was, but Thoth will be in the tribunal of Osiris" (VII 449 a-b). It follows closely enough that this last section not only resumes the earlier sections but also connects them. Of interest here also is the reference to a "great man" (VII 449 c), significant perhaps with relation to the previous and subsequent goals. Spell 1098 in section VI referred to the entourage of Thoth as his "common folk." Spell 1125 introduces the end in the solar tradition. In it the deceased hails the portals which can rescue him on the way to the All-Lord, Re (VII 455 d and 456 a-b). In versions A and A-B, spell 1126 names and on BIC accompanies the pictures of Apopis and his opponents, principally the sons of Horus. The end of the spell (VII 457 i) labels the sun people and crew of Re who tow the solar bark of spell 1128. CT 1127 probably should have come before this, since it briefly describes the attack and success of the opponents of Apopis. 1128 names the "Entourage of Flame" and probably completes the resumption of the solar tradition (section VIII) since 1130 seems to do much more. Even out of context spell 1130 has been recognized as one of the most important religious texts that has survived from ancient Egypt,50 but since it is not known from any other source, it must first of all be described and explained as the concluding spell of versions A and B of the Book of Two Ways. The deceased enters into the spell 60 Cf. J. A. Wilson, The Burden of Egypt, pp. 117-118, S. Morenz, Agyptische Religion, pp. 58-59, and H. Kees in OLZ Nr. 11/12 (1962) col. 591.

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42

Journal of the American Oriental Society, 91.1 (1971)

at VII 465 b accompanying the solar bark every day.5' The deceased does not become Re by this spell, and, to make any sense at all, Re and the deceased must be kept separate. Re says that he made night for Osiris (VII 465 c) and that the scepter was not taken from him (Re) (VII 467 d). Therefore he remains supreme. After the deceased has spent millions of years between Re and Osiris, they will all sit together in one place (VII 467 e-f). The book ends with the statement that the deceased who knows this spell is able to "be like Re in the sky," but it is added that this "is counted (as being) like Osiris in the midst of the underworld" (VII 262 f-g/471 c-d). This last statement is probably a label added to show how this spell fits into the whole book. This spell had epithets throughout in place of the proper names (All-Lord= Re, Weary-of-heart = Osiris), but here at the end the real names occur. Again most of the spell probably existed before the book was put together, and it was used here because it expressed what the compiler wanted to show, i.e., that it would not matter which tradition or guide of the afterlife is followed or which goal is sought, Osiris is as good as Re, but all will be together eventually with Re supreme. Perhaps the famous statement in this spell about men's equality and their freedom to act against the creator's will underlies the actual change in the Egyptian social order which characterizes the wisdom literature of the First Intermediate Period. If so, it is significant that it is incorporated at the end of a composition, the purpose of which (in A and B) seems to be to break down class distinctions in the afterlife by making even the highest goal available to anyone interested and able to pay for it.52

Finally the question of the chronology of the coffins and versions can be brought in briefly. Although the fourteen owners (twelve original 61 Since most coffins continued in the first person with no distinction between Re and the deceased, and B6C had almost all of its first person pronouns "corrected" to the third person, it is only from B3C that we can see that Re may be speaking throughout in the A-version. 62 J. H. Breasted (A History of Egypt, New York, 1912, pp. 175-176) thought that the book "was probably composed for no other purpose than for gain."

and in the case of B6C, two usurpers) of the eighteen published coffins are identified, only one is definitely known from a decorated tomb at el Barsha (Djehutynakht, BlBo). Several others have names which are the same as those of other nobles known from Barsha tombs and Hatnub graffiti (Sathedjhetep, Ahanakht, Sepi, Djehutyhetep, Imenemhat, Kay and another Djehutynakht), but the titles and family relationships are not complete enough to prove identity. The coffins can neither be dated exactly nor definitely ordered. Even if they could, the sources of the texts of their coffins would not necessarily correspond. Except for several instances of two coffins belonging to one individual, the probable order of three coffins with version C,53 and the possible order of some B-version coffins,54it is very difficult to propose stemmata based on corruptions since these are many and often contradictory. All the coffins are themselves copies from one of at least two distinct sources which were available to one or more scribes, and these sources were composed from various earlier materials and could have been copied any number of times with errors or corrections possible at any stage. Looking at the end of section V, it is clear that there are two possible ways to interpret the completeness of B. Either it presents the source of both A and C or it is dependent on both. What is significant in the spells at the end of the section is the fact that B is apparently repeating the similar endings of both A and C. The A-B group would likewise depend on its two sources. The C-version was oriented toward Osiris throughout. Following an introduction which presented the goal of the deceased as living and rotting beside Osiris, we 63 B5C ) B1P ) BlBe based on a fairly clear sequence of increasing corruption at ECT, VII 495 h. 64 The colophon was added to 1117 on B1C and B1L without any apparent reason unless some source ended here, perhaps one which either influenced or was influenced by B2P. De Buck omitted the spell in the text and on the plan of B2P, but Allen (JNES 22 (1963) 133, n. 2) thought that key number [88] should have been added to the plan though the text is illegible now. From this we might infer the priority of B2P or at least of its source over these other important B-version coffins.

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LESKO: Book of Two Ways

have two separate traditions (sections II and V) of the journey through various gates and past their keepers to the mansion of Osiris. Version A includes an Osiris section (V), a Thoth section (VI), and two different Solar sections (VII and VIII). The map (sections III and IV) was apparently used in all versions as a cosmological plan into which all the separate traditions could be placed. Since the land way (section IV) in the C-version is solar oriented, but does not have the two spells

43

(1065 and 1068) of A and B that make Re all important, it seems that these spells were probably added as part of the revision in favor of Re and therefore that the C-version was earlier.55 65 Since the owner of B5C, Djhutyhetep, was a "scribe of the royal records" ss ' n nsw and "scribe of the coffin" ss hn (cf. Ahmed Bey Kamal, "Fouilles A Deir el-Barche," ASAE 7 (1902) 276-282) it may be significant that his coffin best represents the earlier source of the Book of Two Ways.

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