Book of the Dead/ 10 Commandments

This past weekend with a few friends of mine we hit the streets of Chattanooga to share our faith with the people downtown. I had some great conversations and learned quite a bit. During one such conversation someone made the claim the Ten Commandments were copied from an ancient Egyptian text called “The Book of the Dead”. After asking him to verify his resources I thought I would spend some time to research this myself so I could be prepared to give an answer on this topic should it come up again. (1 Peter 3:15)

 

According to Wikipedia:

"Some historians....have argued that the Ten Commandments originated from ancient Egyptian religion, and postulate that the Biblical Jews borrowed the concept after their Exodus from Egypt. Chapter 125 of the [Egyptian] Book of the Dead (a.k.a. the Papyrus of Ani) includes a list of things to which a man must swear in order to enter the afterlife. These sworn statements bear a remarkable resemblance to the Ten Commandments in their nature and their phrasing.....The Book of the Dead has additional requirements, and, of course, doesn't require worship of Yahweh."

 

The writings that I researched were from Chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead. I will concede that a few of the concepts are the same, but not anywhere close to how the Ten Commandments are stated.

 

As I read Chapter 125 I could only find some, not all, of the concepts that could be found in the Commandments. Let me say this again..What the Book of the Dead states is not even close to the Ten Commandments when it comes to wording. Nowhere near. The following ones are:

 

6^th Commandment – You shall not murder

7^th Commandment – You shall not commit adultery

8^th Commandment – You shall not steal

9^th Commandment – You shall not lie

 

For us to be intellectually honest we must also take note that they are just as many Commandments not listed:

 

1^st Commandment – You shall have no other Gods before me. (The ancient Egyptians believed in many gods – Polytheism)

2^nd Commandment – You shall not make a graven image (Why? Because ancient Egyptians made all types of idols from the many gods that they worshiped)

3^rd Commandment – You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain

4^th Commandment – Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy (nothing is mentioned about the Sabbath in the Book of the Dead)

5^th Commandment – Honor your father and mother

10^th Commandment – You shall not covet

So we can tell just by reading the list above that there appears to be just as much in common as there is not. This is simply an attempt to discredit the Bible, a weak uninformed attempt I might add.

 

Why would the Book of the Dead have anything in common with the 10 Commandments?

That is an easy question. If anything the Book of the Dead verifies the Bible. The Bible states that God has written His law on the heart of every man. Everyone knows that certain things are wrong. We know it is wrong when we lie, cheat, steal, or commit adultery. You don’t have to have an ancient Egyptian writing to tell you that. Do you?

 

Romans 1:14,15 - For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them

 

If you are ever confronted with this argument I would suggest asking the following questions:

• What evidence do you have for that?
• Where did you get your information from?
• What chapter in the Book of the Dead does this appear in? (If they truly haven’t researched this I doubt they will even know)
• What Commandments are wrote about and which ones are left off?
• The Book of the Dead also states the following:

  I have not held back the water when it should flow.
  I have not diverted the running water in a canal.
  I have not put out a fire when it should burn

  So, tell me…What does that have to do with the 10 Commandments?

This is just a quick way to give an answer to someone who many try to back you up against a wall. When you ask the questions above be prepared to give them the answers if they do not know. Most people who will bring this up to you have seen a video on YouTube or have been told second hand. I doubt they have researched it themselves or have any evidence to back it up.