Innocent Suffering In Egypt -- By: Daniel P. Bricker

Journal: Tyndale Bulletin
Volume: TYNBUL 52:1 (NA 2001)
Article: Innocent Suffering In Egypt
Author: Daniel P. Bricker


Innocent Suffering In Egypt

Daniel P. Bricker

Summary

There are many studies exploring the idea of innocent suffering and the concept of theodicy as it occurs in the literature of ancient Mesopotamia and Israel, but this is not so much the case with ancient Egyptian literature. This article will explore this matter in regard to ancient Egyptian documents. The point is to discover what factors in Egyptian culture led to the exclusion of theodicy and the idea of innocent suffering from their world view and literature.

I. Introduction: The Purpose Of The Study

Recent scholarship has accepted the idea that the ancient Near East had a common view regarding innocent suffering that is sometimes discussed under the heading of theodicy. This topic is more prominent in discussions regarding Mesopotamian and Israelite literature1 but it leads one to ask how the subject of innocent suffering was approached in ancient Egypt. The purpose of this article is to examine the reasons why theodicy, as we understand the term today,2 is virtually absent from ancient Egyptian literature. The literature of ancient Israel, while certainly important in the overall discussion of theodicy, will not be mentioned in the current study except in passing.

Wolfram von Soden has listed four basic elements which must be present for the question of theodicy to be raised:

(1) a clear sense of right and wrong, so that a sufferer could reasonably claim to be suffering undeservedly;

(2) significant individual worth, so that personal suffering must be justified;

(3) minimal competition within the godhead or pantheon, so that suffering cannot be blamed on one deity due to human loyalty to another; and

(4) a limited view of judgment in the afterlife.3

A lack of any one of these elements relieves the tension which leads to a theodicy since the principle of equitable or just retribution is negated or qualified. If these four factors are present the question of suffering may not be answered but it allows the deity to be relieved of responsibility for suffering and therefore questions of divine injustice no longer apply.4

After a look at Egypt’s religious background, four documents will be examined in order to determine the source of evil and suffering, and what, if any, responsibility was ascribed to the gods. Then some concluding comparisons will be made between Mesopotamia...

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