Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol. 19: One Eternal Round by Hugh Nibley

Author:Hugh Nibley [Nibley, Hugh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Gospel Teachings, The Maxwell Institute, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Publisher: Deseret Book
Published: 2010-03-17T06:00:00+00:00

The Serpent

But to the serpent! The strange-looking creature we have here is the Egyptian Nḥb-kw, Nehebkau (fig. 34). The name means something like “the provider of kas.” [78] He stood guard at the entrance of the hereafter and examined the dead to see if they were qualified to enter into the blessed realm. If they were he then provided them with the ka, the power that made eternal life possible.[79] In the 149th chapter of the Book of the Dead the deceased moves through fourteen locations (ἰ.wt, literally “mounds” ) in his quest for eternal life. We find Nehebkau active in the very first location as the deceased enters and asks Nehebkau to ensure that his body is whole and properly functioning, that he be given the double crown of Atum, and that he might rule with the gods and Min the creator.[80] The name of the god Atum is related to the verb tm “to be complete,” [81] and the nouns tm “everything, the universe,” [82] and tmw “the totality of men, everyone.” [83] This should be noted in view of Moses 1:34: “And the first man of all men have I called Adam, which is many.” All the premortal spirits must pass through him as all “the totality of men” must descend from him—“many” indeed! Right at the bottom of the crypts in the temple of Denderah, where the visitor must turn and retrace his steps back up to life, three such serpents, each in a bag, are drawn, representing the first stirring of organic life (fig 35).[84]

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