Saqqara Aramaic Stele 400 BCE

(January 18, 2024) This was found in a grave in the necropolis at Sakkara across the Nile from Memphis, Egypt. It was placed in the Royal Museum at Berlin. Its height is exactly an ancient Egyptian cubit or 20-6 inches while its width is 13 inches.

This text was written during one of the times which the Persians controlled Egypt and it is a debate concerning the role of magic in regards to life and death. The history of Persian Egypt is divided into two eras following the first Persain Achaemenid conquest of Egypt punctuated by an interval of independence:

Twenty-seventh Dynasty of Egypt (525–404 BC), also known as the First Egyptian Satrapy.
Thirty-first Dynasty of Egypt (343–332 BC), also known as the Second Egyptian Satrapy.

This is a text promoting the need for emotion magic when compared to the claimed "deficiency" of Egyptian death ritual practices. The text reads:

When revealing nourishments involve the activity (motion powers) of the life-threads. Activate the radiant-one's (sun) love. Combing can open the life-threads of Alu. Nothing can end the motion-power's openings. The life-thread-openers ,,,
[2 words] can involve love. Frustration may involve the high-power's meekness. The powers of death are caused by fate. Activity can weave ........
Astrology-magic can involve chaos. Storm-powers are nothing. Life-threads can be purified by obligating the life-network-birds. (Yet) The flock is lacking emotion-owls and supervision (from astrological powers of fate) .....
Death-Powers are deficient. (Only) Su can activate the openings. |

Reference

Wright, William (editor) (1875) The Paleographical Society Facsimiles of Manuscripts and Inscriptions, page 280. Printed by W. Clowes. Online at: https://archive.org/details/gri_33125010468029/page/n279/mode/2up?view=theater
Original publication: Lepsius, Eine Aegyptisch-Aramiische Stele, in the Zeitschrift fiir Aegyptische Sprache und Alterthumskunde, Bd xv, pp. 127-132; and Lauth, Aegyptisch-aramaische Inschriften, in the Sitzungsberichte d. k. bayerischen Akademie d. Wissenschaften, 1878, 1 Philos.-philol.-hist. Cl, Bd Il, i. pp. 97-115 and 148. The plate is a reduced copy, taken from a photograph sent to Professor Wright by Professor Dr. Lepsius, the Director of the Royal Library at Berlin.

(January 18, 2024) This is in the Persian empire letter style commonly called Aramaic.

Translation of Lines 1 and 2 in Akkadian (Med Text 51)

(read right to left. Capital letters on object. Small letters are inferred Inner vowels. Vowels are italic bold)

U Nu Ba Ku Ṣu Qu. Ṣu UḪu LiWu. RaKu Pu Qu WaLu. E QaTu A'u Pu. PQ E .... (Med 51.1)
Tu[2] Ku LiWu. UZu Ku ILu LaKu. UGu IGu. Ṣu UKu N...... (Med 51.2)

(Dual use letters are E/H, I/Y, U/W, and '/A in which vowel appears at beginning of words except for Yahu which is keeping its traditional Hebrew transliteration)

In English

When revealing nourishments involve the activity (motion powers) of the life-threads. Activate the radiant-one's (sun) love. Combing can open the life-threads of Alu. Nothing can end the motion-power's openings. The life-thread-openers ,,,
[2 words] can involve love. Frustration may involve the high-power's meekness. The powers of death are caused by fate. Activity can weave ........

(January 17, 2024) This is in the Persian empire letter style commonly called Aramaic.

Translation of Lines 3 and 4 in Akkadian (Med Text 51)

(read right to left. Capital letters on object. Small letters are inferred Inner vowels. Vowels are italic bold)

Tu Ku NuNu. UMu E. Qu ḪaPu ŠaMu PYu. UQu Lu AKu U EMu. ... (Med 51.3)
UGu LeMu. Su Ṣu Pu | (Med 51.4)

(Dual use letters are E/H, I/Y, U/W, and '/A in which vowel appears at beginning of words except for Yahu which is keeping its traditional Hebrew transliteration)

In English

Astrology-magic can involve chaos. Storm-powers are nothing. Life-threads can be purified by obligating the life-network-birds. (Yet) The flock is lacking emotion-owls and supervision (from astrological powers of fate) .....
Death-Powers are deficient. (Only) Su can activate the openings. |

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