The manifestation of justice in ancient Egyptian law, with specific reference to The tale of the eloquent peasant
Justice (mα'αt) governed the lives of ancient Egyptians because they saw no difference between divine and human justice. In this article I focus on whether law and a functional legal system (hpw) existed in ancient Egypt. I explore the importance of law for the ancient Egyptian society, which h...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2010
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| In: |
Journal for semitics
Year: 2010, Volume: 19, Issue: 2, Pages: 584-598 |
| Further subjects: | B
University of South Africa
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Justice (mα'αt) governed the lives of ancient Egyptians because they saw no difference between divine and human justice. In this article I focus on whether law and a functional legal system (hpw) existed in ancient Egypt. I explore the importance of law for the ancient Egyptian society, which had a high reputation for justice, and discuss what the ancient Egyptians understood by the terms hp/hpw. Law was essential for them and was not merely earthly hpw, but also the divine law, M3't. I indicate that there is abundant evidence of written law in Egypt and they must have had a functional legal system. I discuss terms used in the Tale of the eloquent peasant relating to justice and law and evaluate it as a source of information about ancient Egyptian law and the principles of law and justice in that era. This important work has a strong legal background and shows the interaction between law and justice. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for semitics
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| Persistent identifiers: | HDL: 10520/EJC101156 |
