Egyptian personal piety and Israel's wisdom literature
Abstract
This article evaluates the movement of Egyptian personal piety and its relation to
Israelite wisdom texts. Hymns and prayers of personal piety developed in the New
Kingdom at the same time as “heretic” Harpers’ songs and love songs. The personal
piety affected also the genre of instructions. The instruction of Amenemope had
not only a literary effect on “The Words of the Wise” but also a theological impact
on its view of god. Amenemope and Qoheleth agree in the acknowledgement of a
god with an awesome power but Qoheleth doesn’t develop a personal piety. The
hymns of personal piety didn’t have an independent effect on Qoheleth. The hymns
of personal piety share vocabulary and motifs with the Egyptian love songs, which
in turn had an effect on Song of Songs. An acquaintance of Song of Songs with texts
of personal piety outside of Egyptian love songs did not exist.