Would someone plz take a look at this and tell me if this is the complete version of "Book of the Dead"?

Question

And please , if u don't know what Book of the Dead is , don't go on asking me "what is Book of the Dead "like a smart.....

http://www.aldokkan.com/religion/dead.htm

Does anyone know a longer version to it ? Is there more to it ? Is this an abbreviation?

Answer 1

The version you linked to is one of the most available translations - by E.A. Wallis Budge, which is in the public domain.

Budge and Faulkner are the two easily available translations. Both are translations of the Papyrus of Ani, a 19th Dynasty collection of various spells. There was no real concept of a total "Book of the Dead" in ancient Egypt. Instead, various invididuals selected spells on the basis of personal preference or affordability. There are over 200 known spells, but no single papyrus or leather document contains them all. Budge's translation was drawn primarily from the Papyrus of Ani and a brief glance at the version you linked to suggests that it is not complete. Nor are the spells numbered on that page, which is a little bothersome for later reference. Each of the known spells have been numbered by Egyptologists for easy reference.

I have to suggest avoiding Budge if possible.. His language is archaic, his translations questionable, and there are better resources available. His interpretation/introduction/di... is also VERY dated. The only potential use of Budge is that some editions provide a transcription of the hieroglyphs along with interlinear transliteration and translation. Useful to a point - but Budge's transliterations especially are terribly inaccurate and, again, his translations none to good either in places.

Faulkner has been more recently updated - there is a beautiful 2000 edition available. The problem here is the lack of interlinear transcription/transliteration/... but it's still very well done and the photos I've seen from the new edition are clear enough to read from directly.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0811807...

There are also free versions available of Budge's translations or a combination of Budge, Allen, and Faulkner at the following URLs (I haven't really checked these out extensively, so...):
http://www.touregypt.net/bkofdead.htm...
http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/ebod/ind...

As a companion volume, I suggest "The Ancient Egyptian Books of the Afterlife" by Erik Hornung (tranls. David Lorton). Hornung is one of the foremost scholars on Egyptian religion and this book is, from what I remember (alas, I haven't looked at it myself recently) fairly approachable - especially as David Lorton has kindly translated it from the original German.

Answer 2

It's as complete a version as you can get without actually laying hands on the Book of the Dead and translating it yourself.

Answer 3

I'm not too sure if its the complete book but look up Seti 1 his tomb had the whole book of the dead painted on it.

Answer 4

What book? I couldn't find any link.

I assume you are asking about the Egyptian "Book of The Dead?"

H

Answer 5

thanks for the link. it looks complete, but i'm used to seeing it with pictures WITHIN the text itself. so this format seems strange to me. thus, i'm just giving a qualified yes. why not go to a library etc. and double check? it is a very important document and worth fully researching.

Answer 6

Did you mean to include a link or something?