Behind | Egyptian Wisdom Literature

In Acts 7:22 we are told that, “Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds” (NASB). Ancient Egypt had a well-developed tradition of Wisdom Literature. Here are a just a few examples that have survived:

Instructions of Kagemni (c. 27^th–26^th century): Kagemni was a vizier to two pharaohs. The majority of this work has been lost; only a fragment from the end survives. The following is an excerpt from that fragment:

The humble man flourishes, and he who deals uprightly is praised.
The innermost chamber is opened to the man of silence.

Maxims of Ptahhotep (c. 25^th–24^th century): Also a vizier to a pharaoh, Ptahhotep reputedly wrote down this work as instructions to his son who was to succeed him. Here are a few lines:

Guard against the vice of greed:
A grievous sickness without cure,
There is no treatment of it.

Amenemope (c. 14^th–11^th century): It is believed that this 30-chapter work was produced by an Egyptian official. (We will return to this in a later lesson on Proverbs.) Here’s a small sample:

Give thine ears, hear (the words) that are said,
              give thine mind to interpret them;
to put them in thy heart is good,
              (but there is) woe to him who neglecteth them . . .

Source: Henry J. Cadbury, “Egyptian Influence in the Book of Proverbs,” in Journal of Religion, 9:1, 1929, p. 101; Joseph Kaster, The Literature and Mythology of Ancient Egypt, 1970, p. 174; Peter Lacovara, The World of Ancient Egypt: A Daily Life Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, 2017, p. 353.