Book of the Dead

English - English

Definition of Book of the Dead in English English dictionary

The ancient Egyptian funerary text

A collection of ancient Egyptian funerary texts from various periods, containing prayers, magic formulas, and hymns to be used by the soul of the deceased for guidance and protection on its journey to the afterlife. Ancient Egyptian collection of mortuary texts made up of spells and charms and placed in tombs to aid the deceased in the next world. It was probably compiled and reedited during the 16th century BC. Later compilations included hymns to Re. Scribes produced and sold copies, often colorfully illustrated, for burial use. Of the many extant copies, none contains all of the approximately 200 known chapters

Hyphenation

book of the dead

Turkish pronunciation

bûk ıv dhi ded

Pronunciation

/ˈbo͝ok əv ᴛʜē ˈded/ /ˈbʊk əv ðiː ˈdɛd/

Etymology

() A calque of the German Todtenbuch (der Ägypter), used by Karl Richard Lepsius in his 1842 publication describing the text.