Sources

The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead

Citation Formats

General Reference

Divinity Atlas. "The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/the-ancient-egyptian-book-of-the-dead.

APA Style

Divinity Atlas. (n.d.). The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/the-ancient-egyptian-book-of-the-dead

BibTeX

@misc{divinityatlas-the-ancient-egyptian-book-of-the-dead,
  author = {Divinity Atlas},
  title = {The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/the-ancient-egyptian-book-of-the-dead},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

Raymond Faulkner's translation of the Egyptian Book of the Dead is the standard scholarly rendering of this primary funerary text, prepared by a specialist Egyptologist working directly from the surviving papyri and hieroglyphic sources rather than from a secondhand retelling, and edited for this edition by Carol Andrews. As a primary text in critical translation it is authoritative for what this funerary text itself describes, including the Opening of the Mouth ritual and the Negative Confession, checkable against the translation, not for how ancient Egyptian funerary ritual was actually practiced across different periods and regions, which varied over Egypt's long history. Use it for the content of this text's funerary doctrine; a claim about actual practiced ritual in a specific period needs a dedicated archaeological or historical source addressing that period.

Facts

Assessment

Reliability Tier

Raymond Faulkner's standard scholarly translation of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the primary funerary text describing the soul's journey through the afterlife including the Opening of the Mouth ritual; a critical translated edition of a primary text, not a modern account of how funerary ritual actually varied across periods.

Notes

Raymond Faulkner's standard scholarly translation of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the primary funerary text describing the soul's journey through the afterlife, including the Opening of the Mouth ritual and the Negative Confession. Use for the content of this text's funerary doctrine as it presents it; a critical scholarly translated edition of a primary text, not a modern account of how ancient Egyptian funerary ritual was actually practiced across different periods, which varied.

Citation

Author

Raymond O. Faulkner (translator); Carol Andrews (editor)

Publisher

British Museum Press

Publication Year

1985

URL

https://wellcomecollection.org/works/dvz2qpst

Source Type

primary-text

Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

Ancient Egyptians

This source names Ancient Egyptians directly: "Raymond Faulkner's translation of the Egyptian Book of the Dead is the standard scholarly rendering of this primary funerary text, prepared by a specialist Egyptologist working directly from the..."

Source The Ancient Egyptian Book of the DeadRaymond O. Faulkner (translator); Carol Andrews (editor)

Claims Backed By This Source (152 claims)

This source backs 152 claims across the atlas. As facts: 106 well-attested. As cited relationships: 14 holds, 1 connected. Plus 31 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.

Disposition By Topic

Realms, 33 claims: 27 well-attested, 3 holds, 3 general references.
Articles, 21 claims: 20 well-attested, 1 general references.
Deities, 13 claims: 5 well-attested, 8 general references.
Practices, 11 claims: 9 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.
Figures, 10 claims: 7 well-attested, 3 general references.
Parts of the Soul, 10 claims: 5 well-attested, 3 holds, 1 connected, 1 general references.
Scriptures & Texts, 9 claims: 8 well-attested, 1 general references.
Sources, 9 claims: 8 well-attested, 1 holds.
Rituals, 8 claims: 3 well-attested, 2 holds, 3 general references.
Doctrines, 7 claims: 5 well-attested, 2 general references.
Esoteric Texts, 6 claims: 5 well-attested, 1 general references.
Languages, 5 claims: 2 well-attested, 1 holds, 2 general references.
Cultures, 4 claims: 3 holds, 1 general references.
Mythical Creatures, 2 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 general references.
Numbers, 2 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 general references.
Beliefs & Restrictions, 1 claims: 1 general references.
Historical Figures, 1 claims: 1 general references.