January 20, 2010 – Day Four

EGYPT

Salam alicoum

(Peace be on you)

Hebrews and Muslins are cousins because of Ishmael and Isaac

Arab is any Arabic speaking people – Nigerian Egyptian

Arabian – people of the Arabian peninsula (6 countries, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, )

Arab Republic of Egypt is the real name of Egypt. The people here call it Misr

Misr means far country. Comes from Hebrew Bible. Misrayem

Misrayem – the two countries = northe Kingdom and Lower Egypt kingdom. Joined together = Misrayer

Add 2 parte to “em” to the end of the work

King of the South – White crown, lotus flower, vulture

King of the North – Red crown, papyrus plant, cobra

Moses means mosa (Musa)

Mo means water

Sa means sun

Mosa means son of water (Moses) drawn out of the water.

Basket made from papyrus reeds. Symbol of the north land of Goshen. Delta in the North

Pharaoh = master of the house

Half man half god

The Pharaonic era lasted 3000 years.

Old time – Abraham

Middle Time – Joseph 19 th BC

New time – Moses 15 th BC

Pyramid known as a house where life would be lived in heaven or afterlife. We think tomb, they thought house.

Pyramids had to do two things:

• Shape of his tomb according to the sun god Ra. Sun’s rays have a square base with pyramid shape. Pyramid is the journey of the sun.

• All pharaohs’s had to write their name in an oval shape. Symbol of eternity. They would be a god in the afterlife. The oval is called a cartouche.

Story of Joseph

Egyptian = Oshef

Arabic= Ushef

During the time Joseph came to power the pharaoh was not considered a god king. He was just a man. The theory is : Abraham came as a prophet and said they were worshiping false gods. It was wrong to worship pharaoh. Abraham told them there was only one god. Pharaoh was only a man. People began to rob tombs. Pharaoh began to lose political power. Had to convince people he was in charge. He appointed Joseph as an important person to win over the people.

Egyptian culture any kind of God had to have a name and symbol. Moses asked of the god of the burning bush “what is your name?” Gave the name “Amen”. All prayers end with Amen. (Bible says Ex: 3 -5 I am Who am)

Abraham’s God was Amen. Pharaoh called it Abraham’s God. God of the Burning Bush.

The capital of Egypt was Luxor or Thebes.

Sa= son , Ra= Sun SaRa = son of sun Only Pharaoh’s had the symbol with the sun disc above it.

The Pharaoic era ended with Alexander the Great.

There are three parts of Egypt: the city, the country, and the south or desert.

Nubian kingdom – South. – Gold mines are there. 52 gold mines in Egypt. 18Kt gold = 18 pts gold and 6pts white gold or platinum

St. Joseph’s Church – Downtown Cairo

Egyptian Museum

Osama our tour guide is an Egyptologist. Osama= Peace

Judgment of souls on the papyrus. After death the heart was taken out and weighed. If it was heavy you would go to hell, if it was lighter than a feather you would go to heaven

Papyrus of Ani depicting the Negative Confessions and the Final Judgment

As soon as Negative Confession was passed, the mortal stood before the Final Judgment. Their heart was placed on a scale and was weighed against a feather. As I said before, it had to be in perfect balance. If it wasn’t, Amut would eat them and they would cease to exist (it should be noted, for the Egyptians it was preferable to wander the Underworld forever than to be removed from existence). But if they were successful, they would be lead to the gates of the Field of Reeds where they could live with their loved ones and the gods for eternity. The Field of Reeds iconography is identical to that of paintings of the Nile, which was the symbol of ultimate life for the Egyptians. So it makes sense that this important element in their earthly existence would follow them into the afterlife as well.

2Kings Silver stolen from Israelites. Only silver tomb found. Only pharaoh mentioned in the Bible.

Papyrus store/ demonstration

Papyrus, stalk is a pyramid. It’s a symbol of immortality. The flower is shaped like the sun god Ra.

To make papyrus paper:

Peel the plant,

cut into 1/8 “ slices.

Pound out the water.

Soak for 2 weeks.

Press between heavy felt for a long time.

Weave in layers, press again.

Will last 3000 years. Can wash paint off and reuse again. It’s very strong.

- End of Day Four -