The Power of Uttering in Ancient Egypt

Document Type : Original Research Articles

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Abstract

The Egyptian perception of an utterance is the words uttered by a deity, what the deities articulated is considered instructions and regulations. The utterance was a collection of magical words, which were sacred. Whatever comes from the mouth of a deity was believed to be made in his heart, then words were brought or arose from his mouth, which is usually done by the help of the tongue.
This idea is clearly represented in the text of the “Memphite Theology”, which was found in the Temple of Ptah. It states that everything was thought in the heart of Ptah, and then came into existence by his tongue. So, the research focusses on the texts concerning the importance and the power of the tongue and the heart. It also discusses the power of uttering a speech in rituals, in addition to a detailed discussion of the texts concerning the force of articulation, and creation through a speech.

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