Overview

In Ancient Egyptian Letters to the Dead: The Realm of the Dead through the Voice of the Living Julia Hsieh investigates the beliefs and practices of communicating with the dead in ancient Egypt through close lexical semantic analysis of extant Letters. Hsieh shows how oral indicators, toponyms, and adverbs in these Letters signal a practice that was likely performed aloud in a tomb or necropolis, and how the senders of these Letters demonstrate a belief in the power and omniscience of their deceased relatives and enjoin them to fight malevolent entities and advocate on their behalf in the afterlife. These Letters reflect universals in beliefs and practices and how humankind, past and present, makes sense of existence beyond death.

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9789004472310

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Reviews

This book is beautifully illustrated and includes a chart of extant letters to the dead and a glossary. All the texts quoted are translated, with full explanatory notes. While intended for specialists, it is by no means esoteric, providing us with a variety of perspectives on the ancient Egyptians. - Wilfred G.E. Watson, in The Society for Old Testament Study Book List 2022

Author Information

Julia Hsieh, Ph.D. (2019), Yale University, has published articles on topics ranging from ancient Egyptian toponyms and grammatical constructions to vessel repair. Her research interests include the evolution of the Egyptian language, comparative religion, and bioarchaeology. She is the Assistant Editor of Near Eastern Archaeology, and Campaign Director & Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Yale School of Management.

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