Egyptian Wisdom copied from Solomon

Koot van wyk (DLitt et Phil; ThD) Department of Liberal Education, Kyungpook National University, Sangju Campus, South Korea, Conjoint lecturer of Avondale College, Australia

Dr. Jacques Doukhan is my favorite Hebrew teacher. Short, energetic and a great teacher. Ever thankful for his teaching. God gave him powerful insights in the Sabbath School lessons for the Book of Proverbs. Hebrew is his skill and talent and upbringing as a Jew and an asset for him studying the Bible. As great as dr. Doukhan is, he did not study Egyptian. Egyptian is the pyramid language and the language that Moses learned in the court of Hatshepsut as a youth. We learn it at Universities today as Middle Egyptian and the textbook was written by A. Gardiner.

In lesson 9 of the Sabbath School series for the first quarter of 2015 professor Doukhan suggested that maybe, just maybe Solomon copied some of his wisdom ideas for Proverbs 23 from Egyptian and brought the Israelite God into it.

It is understandable that dr. Doukhan may think that. Pyramids existed ever since the Flood of Noah in 2583 BCE. The sarcophage of the Pharaoh had to be laid down at a higher level in case there was again a flood. Flood-memoirs led probably to their fear of drowning and pyramids to solve the problem? Just one extra theory for the building of the pyramids that in a triangle shape could be effectively water resistant.

But who came first: Egyptian wisdom or Solomonic wisdom? After all, Solomon got his insights from God. Did Solomon cunningly plagiarized Egyptian wisdom and offer it as his own work for Israelite heritage?

The answer is very simple: who came first, Egyptian wisdom or Solomonic wisdom?

The sources for Egyptian Wisdom literature can be cited as two chief works: Wisdom of Onchsheshonqy or Instruction of Onchsheshonqy; Wisdom of Amen-em-ope.

Wisdom of Onchsheshonqy or Instruction of Onchsheshonqy

At http://www.egw.org at VAN WYK NOTE nos. 15; 426; 86 this researcher has attempted to look at this issue in more detail. Much research regarding the issue is still unpublished. It suffice thus to share some notes again.

The Wisdom of Onchsheshonqy is written in Demotic and is the British Manuscript Papyrus 10508. A South African Dutch-Reform Semiticist of fame, Berend Gemser studied this manuscript in 1942 and in an article in 1960. Gerhard Hasel warned us about the artificial nature of Egyptian Wisdom in parallel with the Wisdom of Proverbs as discussed by McKane.

The first point that is cardinal about Onchsheshonqy is that the BM Papyrus 10508 dates to 400 BCE since it is written in Demotic. Demotic was a language script that started in the reign of Psammeticus I in ca. 600 BCE. It is Egyptian in a fast writing style. This particular Instruction of Onchsheshonqy dates to the time of Esther. So what do we have here? Solomon wrote Proverbs in 970-950 BCE and the Egyptian Wisdom of Onchsheshonqy dates to 400 BCE thus 970-400 = 570 years later.

Despite correspondences with Hebrew literature one has to keep in mind when the Assyrian exile came in 723 BCE, Babylonian exile came in 605; 597; 586 BCE many Jews fled to Egypt as the book of Jeremiah clearly demonstrates. At Elephantine was a Jewish colony in 408 BCE and that would produce second generation Jewish-Egyptian scribes as a possibility.

Did Solomon copied from the Instruction of Onchsheshonqy for the Book of Proverbs? I will not answer for I already did.

Wisdom of Amen-em-ope

The keeper of the Assyrian and Egptian Antiquities of the British Museum, Sir. E. A. Wallis Budge brought out an edition of the Wisdom of Amen-em-ope around 1924 and on the first of May 1924 Budge concluded about his edition of BM Papyrus 10474:

“But, whichever view is correct, it appears to me certain that Amen-em-apt’s high moral and religious ideals were inspired by an influence that was not of African [Egyptian] but was of Asiatic [Solomonic] origin”.

In 1931 came out the study of R. Kevin, The Wisdom of Amen-em-apt and the possible Dependence upon the Hebrew Book of Proverbs (Philadelphia: 1931). He was not a Seventh-day Adventist.

British Museum Papyrus 10747 dates to about 650 BCE. There is another text on a wooden tablet called the Turin wooden Tablet with some same scribbling on it dating from the year 700 BCE. So what do we have? Solomon wrote Proverbs in 970 BCE and the Egyptian Wisdom of Amen-em-ope dates to 650 or 700 BCE. Thus 970-700 = 270 years.

Did Solomon copy or plagiarized Egyptian Wisdom literature? The answer is a very strong negative. The opposite is rather the case: Hebrew exiles of the second and third generations were well skilled in Egyptian to Hebraized the Egyptian literature in the forms we have it in these late sources.

Did dr. Doukhan try to deceive Adventist readers? No. He is just not aware of these facts and surely will adjust his views should he see this.