Books of Breathing

The Books of Breathing ( ) are several ancient Egyptian funerary texts, intended to enable deceased people to continue existing in the afterlife. The earliest known copy dates to circa 350 BC.Hornung 1999, pp. 23–25 Other copies come from the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Roman Egypt, as late as the 2nd century AD.Smith 2009, pp. 462, 500, 521 It is a simplified form of the Book of the Dead.

They were originally named "The Letter for Breathing Which Isis Made for Her Brother Osiris, The First Letter for Breathing" and "The Second Letter for Breathing" and have appeared in many varying copies, often leading scholars to confuse them with each other.Smith 2009, pp. 462, 499, 514 Their titles use the word "breathing" as a metaphorical term for all of the aspects of life that the deceased hoped to experience again in the afterlife. The texts exhort various Egyptian gods to accept the deceased into their company.Smith 2009, pp. 466, 503, 517–518

Some of the papyri that the American religious leader Joseph Smith (1805–1844) used to create the Book of Abraham are parts of the Books of Breathing.Ritner, R. K. (2013). The Joseph Smith Egyptian papyri: A complete edition; P. JS 1-4 and the hypocephalus of Sheshonq. Salt Lake City: The Smith Pettit Foundation. Page74

See also Ancient Egyptian funerary texts Book of the Dead Breathing Permit of Hôr Ancient Egyptian religion Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs

References