the scribe in ancient egypt

Humanities – Final Assignment 05.02.2010

Leonard Wein 1

Humanities

Final Assignment

The scribe in ancient Egypt -‐ Backbone for three millennia of

prosperity 1

For three thousand years the scribe was the guarantee of stability, peace,

prosperity and culture in ancient Egypt. Facing the extra-‐ordinary challenges

that the current crisis presents with respect to the economy but also to the

coherence and the consensus within modern society, history can provide us with

valuable insights. This text analyzes the sources of stability in the Egyptian

conception of elites guaranteeing three thousand years of continuous civilization.

1 “Writer”, Neues Museum, Berlin, 20.12.2009


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The scribe is the essential figure of the Egyptian society. Without the profession

of the scribe there would not have been an Egyptian state. This is the reason why

we find him represented in sculptures and images all over Egypt: No matter

where and what, the scribe is always present. The exquisite sculpture shown

above can be seen in the “Neues Museum” (New Museum) in Berlin. We see a

man in the typical position of a scribe: seated with both legs crossed in the tailor

seat position. Thanks to this position his apron is spanned, which allows him to

put the writing material on top for comfortable writing. Typical writing materials

in Egypt were papyrus and ostracons (old clay fragments). In his right hand he

holds the brush. He sits in an upright position reflecting attentiveness and

concentration. His head and eyes are pointing straight forward: perhaps he is

observing the work of some farmers from his barque. The main duty of a scribe

was to observe and to keep precise records of everything that was happening in

the kingdom.

Interestingly the scribe is displayed in many scenes and occasions in Egyptian

art. Thus, when going to a museum of Egyptian art, it is certain to find a sculpture

or at least a scene where the scribe is displayed.

But where does the scribe come from and why is he so important to be displayed

so prominently?

Origins of Writing

Writing is a product of the Neolithic revolution (11,000-‐1,000 BCE). The

Neolithic revolution describes the transitional process from hunting and

gathering communities to settlement, agriculture and the creation of

civilizations. In the Levant and especially in Mesopotamia, this process of

domestication of animals and cultivation of plants lead to the formation of the

first cities at around 3,400 BCE in Sumer. The settlement and the formation of

fixed villages had a crucial consequence: the invention of property. People and

communities suddenly declared the land they used as their own property. We

need to understand this as a major change for humanity, because it triggered the

developments, which resulted in the emergence of societies and civilizations. A


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settled community with distinct property required organization. One element

was the creation of common religions. Religion was the collectivization of

invocations to a higher power. Initially statues of women and bulls were the

main objects of the invocations representing the principle desire of fertility.

Religion was one element of the increasing organization of community that

became necessary as a result of the increasing divergence within the community

due to the settlement.

The Mesopotamian society was highly dependent on water from river Euphrates

and Tigris, which they used to periodically flood their lands in order to achieve

fertility. The key for the permanent settlement was an efficient organization of

the agricultural infrastructure, which required central planning. This led to the

development of a hierarchical organization and central planning. The

Mesopotamian society was able to generate a significant level of prosperity and

therefore was able to move from a subsistence economy to a surplus economy

actively involved in trade with neighboring societies and civilizations. Only in

this context we can understand the need for an efficient way of keeping record of

what was happening, i.e. for writing. From 7,500 to 3,100 BCE we can see the

evolution of writing. First little clay stones were used to record the number of

distinct goods that merchants possessed. In order to distinguish between

different goods, the Sumer started to press a seal in the clay stone in order to

clarify ownership. Some time later, this was not any longer sufficient for the

needs of merchants and the administration and they started scratching signs in

the stones for more specific declarations of the represented goods. By 3,100 BCE

this continuous process of abstraction and sophistication had resulted in the

creation of cuneiform writing.

What we need to understand here is that the development of writing took place

because of an economic and administrative need. In order to obtain appropriate

harvests to maintain this new form of society, the administration required

efficient means to control and manage production. Writing was not developed

for its own sake or as one may be tempted to believe for conservation of culture

but because of administrative and economic necessity. This explains, why over


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ninety percent of ancient documents were economical texts and business

records.

Ancient Egypt and the Scribe

Egypt in many ways was similar to Mesopotamia. It is the same administrative

necessity that led to the development of writing after the mythological king

Menes unified Egypt around 3,150 BCE, which laid the foundation for almost

three thousand years of continuous civilization. Analog to the Mesopotamian

civilization, Egypt was highly dependent on nature in order to maintain the

agricultural system. For the Egyptian society, the two phases of the river Nile

were of existential importance. Every year, during four months, the Nile grew

substantially and flooded the surrounding fields with fertile soil that it carried

from the south. This fertile soil was used throughout the following months to

cultivate wheat and other aliments. Therefore an efficient management of the

channel and the watering system was vital for the existence of the Egyptian

society.

Parallel to Mesopotamia the Egyptian economy was extensively managed by the

state. Although farmers could treat their land as if it was their own property and

pass it on within the family, officially all land belonged to the Pharaoh who

represented the divine, cosmological world-‐order and he gave it to the farmers

for use (comparable to leasing). In return all farmers had to pay taxes in kind

between ten and twenty percent of their crop.

The geographic structure favored the unification of the region under one

authority. All life was centered along river Nile and central organization was

required in order to manage the channel and watering system. However it was

impossible to keep track of everything that was happening without an efficient

organization. This economic need created one of the first large administrations

in the Western World.


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Even from today’s point of view the ancient Egyptian administrative system was

extra-‐ordinarily remarkable since it was able to maintain a (generally) stable

system over as much as three thousand years – an unparalleled achievement in

(western) world history. Therefore understanding the system on which the

Egyptian society was build on is of utter interest for us. In this context two

relevant questions are how the administration was able to generate this

continuous stability and what status and functions the administration held in

society.

This text tries to identify some elements and present a coherent answer to these

questions. The text tries to identify a common structure throughout ancient

Egyptian history and therefore does not go into much historical detail. Certainly

there have been periods of instability and periods of external intrusion and

mayor changes for example with the Old and New Kingdom and the radical

change with Akhenaten, but on the other hand the common structure remained

similar and therefore a general view on historical events is sufficient for our

purposes.

The scribe was the principle figure of the Egyptian administration. By 3,000 BCE

the scribe was the first intellectual profession that the world had seen (“Become

a scribe that your limbs stay smooth and your hands tender, that you walk as a

prominent man dressed in white, saluted by the noble.”2) and formed a proper

social class. The Egyptian scribe however was not only a scribe; he must be

considered more an administration official and often also an intellectual. The

scribe’s class formed the elite of the Egyptian society. They enjoyed school

education, did not have to work on the fields, earned the highest incomes and

formed the only literate group of society. This fact also led to a distinct self-‐

perception and class pride reported in the many quotations. It was considered an

2 Translated from German: “Werde Schreiber auf das deine Glieder glatt bleiben und deine Hände zart, damit du in Weiß gekleidet einherschreitest als ein angesehener Mann, den die Hofleute grüßen.”, p. 236, Posener, 1960


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honor to be a scribe. The scribe could be found on all administrative levels and in

all administrative functions of society.

Hence, the scribe was not only a scribe but he can be considered the general

manager of the Egyptian society. Whether Vizier3, the highest post in Egypt

under the Pharaoh, a Priest in a temple, a judge, a tax calculator and collector, a

magazine manager or a supervisor of an agricultural area, they all belonged to

the class of the scribe. When it comes to priests, we have to keep in mind, that

there was no discrete distinction between secular government issues and

religion. All priests in Egypt were scribes and had an administrative function in

their region, normally on behalf of but sometimes also in rivalry to the Pharaoh.

A temple was not only a religious place but also an economic and administrative

unit managed by the priests.

Main responsibilities of the scribe class where keeping record of all transactions

that happened in the country and all agricultural production for tax purposes,

calculating and collecting taxes, documenting property rights and keep inventory

lists, allocation of resources, especially of labor for the maintenance of the

watering system and large construction projects and also the entire jurisdiction

from local to national level reinforcing the law of the Pharaoh. One scribe

describes the responsibilities of his class as follows: “The scribe is the one who

sets and collects the taxes for lower and upper Egypt; it is him who keeps record

of everything that exists. The scribe organizes all troops; he is the one to cite all

the representatives of the cities to the Pharaoh and who determines the actions

of every Individual. It is him who commands over the entire country, everything

is supervised by him.”4

3 Vizier is actually an Arab word, created much later, but because of similarities it was adopted by Egyptologists and today is used commonly to describe that position, an Egyptian equivalent is “Tjati” 4 Translated from German: “Der Schreiber ist es der die Steuer von Ober-‐ und Unterägypten festsetzt und sie einzieht; er ist es, der Abrechnung macht über alles, was es gibt. Alle Truppen werden von ihm organisiert. Er ist es, der die Abgeordneten der Städte und Dörfer vor den König führt und der den Schritt jedes Einzelnen bestimmt. Er ist es, der das ganze Land befehligt, jeder Vorgang wird von ihm beaufsichtigt.”, p. 235, Posener, 1960


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Indeed the scribe class must be seen as the extended arm of the Pharaoh, the

absolute ruler of the land. Therefore the administrative system was extremely

hierarchical, shaped like a pyramid. On the top of this administrative system was

the Vizier, appointed by the Pharaoh he was the main responsible for all earthly

issues. Throughout the centuries as the system became more and more complex

the Vizier gained increasing importance. Since the 6th dynasty his appointment

was unrelated to the Pharaohs family and since the 18th dynasty the kingdom

had become so complex that two Viziers were appointed, one for upper and one

for lower Egypt. At the inauguration of a new Vizier it is reported that the

Pharaoh said: “Look at the hall of administration, watch over everything that

happens in there. Look, it is the order of the entire country.”5

The Vizier received all relevant information on a daily basis by his subordinates

and had to report the situation of the country to the Pharaoh on a daily basis. The

information chain was organized hierarchically down to the smallest regional

parcel. From a management point of view, this organization astonishingly

resembles the traditional organization in large companies. The Vizier was so to

speak the Chief Executive Officer of the country, responsible for the entire

economy, the overall management and strategy setting. He had to make the

mayor decisions in accordance with the Pharaoh and represented the highest

jurisdictional post under the Pharaoh.

The administrative apparatus then moved down throughout several levels

including temple priests and became increasingly larger, similar to a pyramid

(“Nobody has the right to do what he wants, but everything is organized to the

best”6). Although scribes often promoted their privilege of being freed from tax-‐

obligations (“the scribe who himself is calculating the taxes, doesn’t have to pay

5 From German: “Sieh auf die Amtshalle des Wesirs, wache über alles, was darin getan wird. Siehe, die Ordnung des gesamten Landes ist es.”, p. 293, Posener, 1960 6 From German: “Niemand hat das Recht, zu tun was er will, aber alles ist zum Besten geregelt.”, p. 235, Posener, 1960


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them”7), this was not entirely true. Instead of paying taxes they had to pay

contributions to their superiors, which where rather large. This was an

important way for scribes and especially the Pharaoh on top of the chain to gain

revenues.

The extended competences of the scribe also presented a risk to society. Since a

scribe was only obliged to forward the calculated tax amount to the Pharaoh

there was the possibility of exploitation through the scribe, especially when

considering the obligation to make payments to the superior in return for having

a post and self-‐interest to become better off on the costs of the farmer. Hence,

integrity and morality of the scribe class were crucial for society and the

maintenance of social peace. A scribe that reinforced collections of for instance

forty percent of the crop would cause problems to a society that was based on

principles of a just cosmological order guaranteed on earth through the pharaoh

and executed by his officials.

New forms of organization also presented a challenge in terms of writing

materials. The new system required vast amounts of records to be written down

but also to be reported quickly and therefore transported quickly and also to be

stored without extensive use of space. The Egyptians responded to this challenge

by developing an entirely new material that has survived in remarkable

quantities up until today: papyrus. Together with ostracons, old clay fragments

which where used for less important recordings and more informal situations

because auf lower costs, papyrus was the backbone of the Egyptian

administration.

Produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, an endemic species to the Nile

delta, it was an excellent medium for writing and offered superior writing

qualities that were unique until the invention of parchment and later paper by

the Chinese. In comparison with clay and other common materials it had the

advantage that it offered a larger and more even surface, that it was extendable

7 From German: “Der Schreiber, der selbst die Steuern aufschreibt, hat keine zu zahlen.”, p. 236, Posener, 1960


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when necessary and that it was of lower weight and flexible, therefore more

mobile and also that you could use colors. All those qualities made it the most

advanced writing material for almost three millennia. Without doubt the

Egyptian administration would not have been able to be so effective without

such a sophisticated material.

Independent of the specific tasks, all scribes enjoyed a comparable educational

system. They were trained in writing, reading and basic math, but they also

gained a broad knowledge of all relevant topics in society with the aim to

produce well-‐rounded individuals. Future scribes learned writing by copying

canonic texts, both economic as well as legal and cultural texts such as poetry

and literature. By copying texts, students learned the techniques of writing but

also gained knowledge about the contents they copied which where usually

drawn from a wide array of subjects. This practice also demonstrates another

aspect of Egyptian learning. Students today learn to write by learning individual

letters and later aggregating letters to form words, in Egypt students learnt

writing by learning words and phrases in the copying process. Thanks to this

practice, knowledge was aggregated and hence, the scribe schools contributed to

the “flow of traditions”8, which allowed knowledge to be spread and conserved

for future generations. This aggregation of knowledge was new in human

history. Never was humankind able to aggregate so much knowledge over such a

long period of time and hence, this accumulation represents an important factor

for the development of the Egyptian civilization. It is also due to the large

number of written documents that we still know relatively much about the

ancient Egyptian society.

Students did not only learn the techniques but also gained a broad knowledge

about the world and the Egyptian culture. They became familiarized with the

legal traditions, concepts of justice, morality and responsibility, arts and religion,

i.e. they received what we today call a “classical” education. Although scribe later

“specialized” in professions they all enjoyed a broad education. Certainly this did

8 From German “Traditionsstrom”, Wilkinson, 2003


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not mean that an ordinary scribe enjoyed the same educational level as a Vizier,

and certainly different schools aimed at different professional levels, but in

general the purpose of education was to provide all scribe with a broad

knowledge. The scribe schools where located in the cities and within the

different temples, so that young scribes where trained by current maestros

gaining hands on experience and cutting-‐edge knowledge.

Due to this educational system in ancient Egypt the intellectual, religious and

artist elites were similar to the scribe class and thus the administrative elite.

Many Egyptian philosophical texts for example were written on the back of

inventory lists (called Chamwere9). This is remarkable because it shows us that

from the beginning the administrative elite of ancient Egypt was considered the

moral and intellectual elite of the country. Someone who was supposed to

manage the wellbeing of the entire population was expected to be universally

educated and knowledgeable in law, culture, customs, history, religion, math and

all aspects of life. There was no clear distinction between business or economy,

law, religion and art. This is also supported by the fact, that back then, there was

no distinction between archives and libraries: Both business and economic

records where kept at the same place as literature, religious and canonic texts

and were located mostly within the writing schools.10

The universal importance of the scribe in the Egyptian society can also be seen in

his diverse responsibilities, his moral self-‐perception and his conceptual social

status. As we can see they were responsible for the entire government and the

profession of the scribe was considered the “most noble of all professions”11.

They were the connection between Pharaoh and ordinary men executing the

Pharaoh’s divine cosmological order and acting as the extended arm of the

Pharaoh.

9 Jochum, 2010, p. 23 10 Jochum, “Geschichte der abendländischen Bibliotheken”, p.27ff 11 Posener, 1960, p. 235


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This is an essential point in understanding the scribe’s importance. We will now

have an in depth view of the Egyptian society and how the conception of elites in

Egypt contributed to the continuing stability.

The Pharaoh, Maat and the Scribe

The scribe was not only a profession forming the Egyptian administration; being

responsible for the entire management, the taxes and the jurisdiction, he

constituted an important role in the cosmological order and had great

responsibilities in society. The ancient Egyptian cosmological order can be

imagined as two pyramids, where the one is inversely placed on top of the other

so that they their tips form the contact point. In this image, the top pyramid

represents the transcendental world of Gods and the bottom pyramid the

tangible world, specifically the Egyptian society. The Pharaoh represents the

contact point; he is the one that stands between the world of Gods and the world

of Humans. He is responsible for reinforcing the divine order but also the divine

justice on earth and the scribes serve as the instrument to execute both in

reality.

The Pharaoh stands between both worlds and he is especially mandated to rule

in justice. Therefore he has a strong link to the Goddess Maat. Maat, often

represented by a feather or a woman with a feather on her head, is the Goddess

of the cosmological order and justice, the eternal ethical terms. She is

responsible for the movement of the heavenly body, the regularity of the seasons

and the sequence of days, but she is also the Goddess of harmony between

humans, reverence for the cosmic order, justice in society and truth. It was the

obligation of the Pharaoh to maintain those attributes within society and since

we said the scribe class represented the executing extended arm of the Pharaoh

it is consistent that the Vizier held the post of the priest of Maat.

This conception is consistent with what we have seen so far of the scribe and his

education. The Vizier as the highest administrative authority under the Pharaoh

is the priest of Maat, the Goddess of justice and hence, since all scribes are


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subordinated to the Vizier, all scribe have the obligation to realize Maat through

their work. Therefore there was a traditional high moral standard established for

scribes, which they got taught already during school. Since the scribes were

responsible for tax calculations and collections, the responsibility of realizing

Maat was important to form a socially sustainable elite model and guarantee the

social order especially when considering that back then, jurisdiction and

execution were both within the responsibility of the scribe. Here again the

judgment needs to be realistic and thus, sometimes the reality probably has been

quite different from the theory. However the general concept was perceptible for

the majority, considering the stability of the Egyptian system, in particular

considering that it was not a system of social coercion but basically a consensus

society, as research in the 20th century has pointed out.

Many people think of the Egyptian society as a very coercive, slavery-‐based

society. This was indeed not the case. Although there was tough organization,

strong hierarchies and limited individual freedom, the vast majority of the

Egyptian population was not slaves but citizens. It was not slaves constructing

the pyramids but mainly farmers, that were working on the construction sides

only for a limited time per year and that were compensated during this time. The

worker on the constructions and the watering system and the farmer in the

agriculture were part of this overall cosmological system and generally agreed in

the system. This is why we should consider the Egyptian society a consensus

society, where the large working class majority principally agrees in the social

order.

We also have to consider two aspects: social mobility was granted to a certain

degree: At least in the later periods bright working class children were actually

able to join one of the scribe schools and move to a higher social class. And

second, the Egyptian society was over long periods a surplus society where

everyone in general enjoyed a relatively high living standard and did not have to

worry too much about the basic needs, which contributed to the general

consensus in the social order. Especially in such a system an integer elite is


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crucial to maintain the consensus, which leads us back to the importance of Maat

as a guiding principle of the elite.

The Pharaoh was the highest judicative authority in the state and he was the one

who set the laws. The core laws have even been written down and codified in “40

papyrus roles” and therefore Pharaoh Amenophis III claimed that the “law was

fixed”12. Furthermore the scribes had the obligation to “judge fair, unbiased and

without partiality; to let two fighting men leave settled in peace and to judge the

rich and the poor equally”13.

In this quote there is one remarkable phrase, which grants equal access to legal

right to all members of society, whether rich or poor. Although again we can

have legitimate doubts whether the access was as equal as proclaimed, there is

one famous incident that we are aware of today: the “story of the eloquent

peasant”. There has been a conflict between Chunanup, a peasant, and

Dschehutinackt, a noble man, who had gained interest in the peasant’s donkey

and then stole the donkey. Chunanup, despite his lower social status, claimed his

right before judge Rensi. There have been ten hearings, which have been

recorded and reported to the Pharaoh in order to decide on the case. Thanks to

his eloquence eventually the peasant is able to convince the Pharaoh of his right,

regain his donkey and get reimbursed.

The “story of the eloquent peasant” (Middle Kingdom, 2,000-‐1600 BCE) has

become famous, because it is an original source that actually demonstrates how

accessible the judicial system was. It also serves as an example of how Maat was

practiced in Egypt through the administrative system and the scribe (both as

scribe recording the hearings and in person of Rensi as a regional judge). On the

other hand it also lays bare some flaws of the extremely bureaucratic system,

which seems to be very rigid and inefficient in the story. It also remains unclear

whether the process reflects the rule or rather the exception. However the sheer 12 From German: “das Gesetz stand fest”, p. 287, Posener, 1960 13 From German: “Ein Richter der gerecht richtet, keine Parteilichkeit zeigt, zwei miteinander streitende Männer befriedigt entlässt, die Schwachen und die Mächtigen richtet.”, p. 287, Posener, 1960


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existence of such and exemplary text is remarkable and reveals the basic ideas of

the ancient Egyptian judicial system.

The Scribe and Thot

In ancient Egypt all major professions had a God representing them in the world

of Gods and acting as their patron. Thot was the mythological founder of all

writing and therefore he was the God of all scribes (“he is the one who created

writing”14). Thot is an interesting God, because he represents many aspects of

the scribe and allows us a further insight into his conception in society. He is the

deity of the scribes, but he is much more complex and holds many more

attributes.

He is an important figure in Egyptian mythology and appears in two forms:

either as a baboon (zoomorphic) or as an ibis-‐headed man (anthropomorphic).

Which form is used depends on the context; in interaction with other deities, he

is always displayed as the Ibis-‐headed man, but when explicitly displayed as the

patron of the scribes, we find Thot displayed as a baboon. The reason why we

find two diverging appearances of Thot is most likely to be due to a syncretism of

originally two different deities that merged together and brought different

attributes into a single deity. Thot is one of the most common Gods that we find

displayed in ancient Egyptian mythology. Parallel to the earthly scribe who was

present at all occasions of public life, Thot was present for all mythological

events and all situations where something had to be recorded. Since the

mythological world was a reflection of earthly life or vice versa (in accordance to

the cosmological system), most actions in the world of the Gods had to be

recorded as well. Hence, a representation of Thot can be identified in many of the

objects that have been conserved until today.

Especially in the baboon form of appearance, Thot is often displayed with a

moon on his head. This originates from Thot’s traditional function as the God of 14 Epithet of Thot, ancient-‐egypt.org, 4.02.2010


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the moon. The moon was often considered the “sun of the night”. Therefore Thot

became related to Re, the God of the sun (of the day), which shows Thot’s

immanent importance for the theological system. In the pyramid texts15 they

were considered "two companions who traverse the sky"16. This relation was

reinforced by the iconography of the baboon, a monkey species, since Re was

also displayed as a monkey, although with a clearly distinct iconography

(monkeys with arms risen above the heads). Occasionally Thot was also

described as the “heart of Re”17, which gives him additional importance, because

the heart was considered to be the centre of human thinking (as we will see later

again).

The many attributes that Thot eventually held were also derived from this

particular function. Being the Good of the moon resulted in some important

functions and implications. Studying the moon was crucial for ancient

agricultural societies since it was the basis for their calculation of time, the

planning of agricultural cycles and thus, the management of resources. By

observing the moon cycles they were able to predict the seasons and the high

water of river Nile. Therefore, the Egyptian calendar was based on moon studies.

Subsequently Thot gained the attribute of being the God of time and the

calendar, which extended to be the God of historiography and responsible for

recording the annals of kings with palm tree leaves, as it is displayed in many

murals. The extension from moon to time is essential because time and its

implications are the essential fields of knowledge for an agricultural society. The

knowledge about the moon periods in time where the central “science”18 in

Egypt. Therefore Thot became the God of knowledge and wisdom. He was “the

one who knows all that is”19 in terms of ordinary knowledge but as the God of the

moon also in terms of what was hidden to others, the principles and mechanisms

of the world. The representation of knowledge through Thot was successively

15 Oldest known collection of religious texts dating back to the period between 2400-‐2300 BCE of the Old Kingdom 16 Ancient-‐egypt.org, 4.02.2010 17 Ancient-‐egypt.org, 4.02.2010 18 Science in terms of field of studies and observations 19 Ancient-‐egypt.org, 4.02.2010


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extended to other fields of science like medicine (which earned him the

reputation of a magician) but he was also associated with values like integrity,

reliability, preciseness and truth. He became considered the divine messenger

(the Egyptian predecessor of the Greek Hermes). Those values led to a

connection to the Goddess Maat that we have seen before. In the Middle

Kingdom (around 2,000-‐1,900 BCE) those ties grew together and Thot became

the “lord of Maat”20. Thus, we can observe that the complexity of Thot grew

throughout the centuries. Becoming associated with wisdom, he also gained

values like integrity and truth, which again extended his competencies to merge

with the Goddess Maat. Thanks to his integrity and truthfulness Thot became in

charge of law as well. The wisdom texts, foundational written-‐down moral rules

are accounted to him and thus he also became responsible for legislation, law

and moral.

We have seen how the complexity of Thot increased throughout time. The

Egyptian cosmology was characterized by a holistic interconnectedness and

therefore we can assume that the development of Thot as a God was also in

relation to developments of the position of its earthly pendant, the scribe. We

can furthermore conclude more about the conception of the scribe in society,

since Thot was not just an unrelated deity that scribes worshipped from time to

time. There is a direct correlation and representation between the conception of

Thot and the ideal of the scribe. Scribes considered themselves as “followers of

Thot”21 and where consequently measured against the ideal of Thot.

The close relation between Thot and the scribe is especially evident in many

sculptures and images with Thot depicted in the zoomorphic form. Typically the

scribe sits in his characteristic position and writes while a large baboon sits on a

block above him, observing his work and also dictating him. Normally Thot as a

baboon is displayed with long and heavy mane, tightened legs, his hands resting

on his knees and sitting on his bottom. Especially when displayed as a baboon,

the link to the scribe is strong. Today it must appear strange to us, to represent

20 Ancient-‐egypt.org, 04.02.2010 21 Ancient-‐egypt.org, 04.02.2010


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our intellectual, esteemed elite as a baboon. One explanation might be that

baboons where not native in Egypt and therefore only known as exotic animals

from the South (Nubian) brought to Egypt by trade and ignoring our prejudices,

Egyptians might have come to the impression, that baboons were extra-‐

ordinarily talented for animals and no more ridiculous than humans showing an

active, astute, noble and serious behavior and therefore being worth

representing Thot.

In the majority of images and sculptures however, Thot is displayed in the

anthropomorphic form as an ibis-‐headed man. Normally we see him with a piece

of papyrus and a reed pen writing a documentation of an event or something

similar. In the anthropomorphic form generally Thot represents the writer of the

Gods. Thot has a prominent role in the judgment of the deceased, described in

many illustrations in the “Books of the Dead” where he appears as the ibis-‐

headed man. His function in the judgment of the deceased can shed some more

light on the moral significance of Thot.

22

22 Le Louvre Museum, Paris, France


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According to ancient Egyptian belief, after the death of a person his (or her) soul

comes to the judgment of the deceased where the Gods decide, whether the

person has lived a good or a bad life and hence, whether he is allowed to enter

the afterworld or not. Whether the person’s life was good or not is measured on

a balance. The heart, as we have seen considered the centre of a human in Egypt,

was measured against the feather of Maat. If the heart was lighter or in balance

with Maat, the person was eligible to proceed to the afterworld; however, if the

heart was heavier than the Maat, then it was carrying to much guilt and could not

be rescued. In this case Ammit, the crocodile-‐headed God was already waiting

next to the balance to devour the heart.

Thot’s role was to write down the process and most important to measure and to

determine whether the heart was balancing the Maat or not. He had to write

down the result and give it to Osiris or Re, the highest judge. This role clearly

exemplifies the ideals of Thot and the scribes. Only a person with integrity and

truthfulness can be in charge of such a delicate job otherwise the system would

face serious problems, since the position is tempting to be abused for personal

rivalries, biases and prejudices, i.e. personal interest.

The biblical Josef’s career as a scribe

We do not only have to rely on Egyptian sources in order to examine the role of

the scribe in society. The Old Testament also provides us with a narration on the

Egyptian scribe in form of the Josef-‐story.

Josef was the second youngest of the twelve children of Jacob, progenitor of the

Israel people. Although tradition set clear rules in terms of the order of the sons,

Jacob showed explicit preference for Josef, who showed great intelligence and a

special talent in interpreting dreams, which created envy and jealousy between

his ten older half-‐brothers. One day they decided to get rid of Josef, but they did

not manage to kill him. Instead, they threw him in a pit and when a caravan of

Ishmaelite passed by, they sold Josef to the Ishmaelites and told Jacob, that Josef


Leonard Wein 19

had been attacked and killed by wild animals. Josef however was brought to

Egypt and sold to Potiphar, a high official of the Pharaoh. Potiphar soon

discovered the talent of Josef and promoted him to be the scribe for his

operations. For a period of time things went well, but then Potiphar’s wife felt

attracted by Josef and started approaching him. However he rejected her, which

led her to accuse him of sexual offense. In consequence Josef was brought to

prison, where he met two employees of the Pharaoh’s court, who had fallen in

disgrace of the Pharaoh. Both experienced returning dreams that they could not

interpret, when Josef heart about the dreams he was able to interpret them and

the next day, his predictions were realized. The chief cupbearer was reinstalled

and the baker hanged. After two years the Pharaoh had a repeating dream that

he could not explain to himself. He dreamt about seven fat cows, which were

then devoured by seven skinny cows that came out of the river. None of the

Pharaoh’s interpreters was able to explain the dream, but then the chief

cupbearer remembered Josef, who was still in prison, and recommended him to

the Pharaoh. Josef was able to interpret the dream: There would be seven good

years with large crops and abundance followed by seven bad years, of aridity and

bad harvest. Thus, he told the Pharaoh to fill the magazines in the seven good

years and maintain large reserves in order to have enough resources for the

seven bad years. The Pharaoh followed Josef’s advice and after seven years of

exceptionally good harvests, a severe aridity came over Egypt and for the

subsequent seven years, the harvests remained bad. However, because the

Pharaoh had saved sufficient resources, the population did not have to starve.

The Pharaoh was so grateful for Josef’s interpretation and good work that he

made him vizier of Egypt, thus, giving him the highest post under the Pharaoh.

The narration goes on with the reunion of Josef’s family and the reconciliation

with his brothers but the main point has become clear. This “external source”

illustrates two main characteristics of what we have seen. On the one hand it

demonstrates the social mobility and that the profession and the position within

society was not predefined through family background and wealth. Thanks to

intelligence and integrity Josef, being basically a slave, is able to become a

successful scribe at Potiphar’s household and later even become the Vizier of


Leonard Wein 20

Egypt thanks to his skills and good management (in Josef’s case perhaps

enhanced by divine inspiration). It also illustrates the values that have been

discussed. Josef resisting the temptation of Potiphar’s wife and speaking always

the truth (to Potiphar, to the two prisoners, to the Pharaoh and to his brothers)

and also the ability to be humble and forgive his brothers – these are all ideal

characteristics of the scribe. The biblical narration of Josef does not only

demonstrate exact knowledge about the Egyptian values, but also its lasting

influence on the canon of values of the biblical texts. Although the knowledge

about their Egyptian origins has been mostly forgotten, the values have been

conveyed throughout the centuries and across cultures to be shaping our world

and values until today.

Conclusions

We have examined the Egyptian scribe from many points of view in order to

understand his multi-‐dimensional importance in society. We looked at his

origins, at his functions, at his responsibilities, his position in the cosmological

order, his moral conception in society considering Maat and Thot and we also

considered the Josef narration as a third-‐party source.

Throughout the discourse the immanent importance of the scribe for the

functioning of the Egyptian society became evident. The Egyptian society was

based on a fundamental consensus in a cosmological divine order and the scribes

represented the management elite in charge of maintaining and defending this

order. Therefore scribes formed the elites of the Egyptian society. But this power

was closely linked with high moral values and the idea of justice. The consensus-‐

society was principally based on a responsible and sustainable elite-‐model,

represented in the day-‐to-‐day standards expected from the scribe, the cultural

texts and the religious beliefs. This system formed the self-‐perception of the

elites. One the one hand, they were emphasized their privileged position, but on

the other they were also aware of their moral responsibilities towards the

functioning of the society.


Leonard Wein 21

Based on this elite model Egypt was able to maintain long periods of continuity

providing peace, prosperity and cultural achievements. Although there have

been ruptures along the three thousand years of ancient Egypt civilization, it is

still extra-‐ordinary and unparalleled in the history of human kind that a single

society was capable of maintaining a consistent and continuous system over

almost three thousand years. Stability and continuity formed the basis for the

Egyptian civilization that was in many aspects unique in world history. All the

cultural and social achievements would most likely not have been possible

without the administrative system based on the scribe representing crucial

values of justice and integrity, i.e. on a sustainable elite concept.

This closes the circle and leads us back to the universal question of the

importance of sustainable elites. Nowadays and especially after the recent crisis

being one of the most severe recessions in modern times, caused by selfish,

ignorant, irresponsible, often immoral elites, the question of the conception and

self-‐perception of elites is substantially relevant for the wellbeing of the

globalized society. Ancient Egypt has shown that sustainable elites are the

prerequisite for continuous stability, which is condition for development,

prosperity and peace. When the elites failed in ancient Egypt, the system

trembled and society faced partly long periods of instability and misery. On the

other hand, Egypt proved that it is possible to create a consensus-‐society that is

able to produce responsible elites guaranteeing the long-‐term, sustainable

development of a society.

Today we are confronted with the challenge to foster a society that is able to

produce exactly this kind of responsible elites in order to tackle the urgent

problems that the world is facing on many levels. We are dependant on capable,

reasonable and wise elites. Otherwise it will not be possible to defend, maintain

and develop the achievements that the world’s diverse societies have generated

throughout the last centuries.


Leonard Wein 22

Bibliography: The following books form the principal sources for this text: • R. H. Wilkinson, “Die Welt der Götter im alten Ägypten – Glaube, Macht,

Mythologie”, Konrad Theiss-‐Verlag, 2003 Original Version: “The complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt”, 2003, Thames & Hudson Ltd., London

• U. Jochum, “Geschichte der abendländischen Bibliotheken”, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt, 2010

• G. Posener, “Lexikon der ägypgtischen Kutlur”, R. Löwit (publisher), Wiesbaden, 1960

• “Das alte Ägypten”, Manfred Clauss, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Alexander Fest Verlag, 2001

• also short reading of:

J. Assmann, “Das kulturelle Gedächtnis: Schrift, Erinnerung und politische Identität in frühen Hochkulturen”, Munich, 1992

Other sources, mainly the internet were used to refresh and research specific aspects concerning some topics presented in the principal bibliography, whilst being in Spain without the access to the previous books: • “Egipto – El mundo de los faraones”, Regine Schulz & Matthias Seidel,

Könemann Verlag, 1997 -‐> p. 342 ff (especially: p. 348 ff) • Information on Thot, 04.02.2010,

(http://www.ancient-‐egypt.org/index.html)(information on this website from George Hart, “A dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses”, Rutledge, 1986)

• Wikipedia.org, article: Josef, 04.01.2010

(http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_%28Patriarch%29)

• Information on Egyptian Law, 01.02.2010, (http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/law.htm)

• Josef-‐narration of the Old Testament: Genesis 37, 24.01.2010 (http://www.bibleserver.com/index.php)

• Information on the Josef-‐narration on Wikipedia, 24.01.2010, (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_%28Patriarch%29)


Leonard Wein 23

• General information on Egyptian history from the main Wikipedia article, 04.02.2010, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypt)

• Information on the Vizier, 02.02.2010,

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vizier_%28Ancient_Egypt%29)

the scribe in ancient egypt

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