A History of Ancient Near Eastern Law

98 

to the late Old Kingdom, although only first extant on Middle

Kingdom papyri.^40 The instruction is placed in the mouth of the

chief legal officer of the land, the vizier, Ptahhotep, who seeks “a

staffof old age,” a well-attested expression for one assisting an elderly

person or official (and succeeding them in their office).^41 This com-

position touches upon legal topics, such as inheritance and court-

setting disputes.^42

1.4.5 Throughout their history, the Egyptians composed letters of

complaint or petition to deceased relatives. Such Letters to the Dead

sometimes have a legal background, often having to do with dis-

putes over inheritance (see 9.2 below).

1.4.6 The Old Kingdom religious compositions, such as the Pyramid

Texts, also occasionally refer to legal matters, albeit vaguely.^43

2. C  A L

2.1 The King

By the time of Snoferu (Third to Fourth Dynasties), and presum-

ably during much of the formative Archaic period (Zero to Third

Dynasties),^44 the pharaoh is the absolute monarch in Egypt.^45 His

position was supported theologically, and in theory at least, he firmly

controlled the administrative and legal machinery of the Old King-

dom.^46 Scholars have long debated whether the Egyptians consid-

(^40) LÄ3, col. 990; cf. Johnson, “Legal Status.. .,” 180, and Eyre, “Work...,”

38. Significantly, perhaps, it does mention hp.w“laws,” a term that only comes into
    common usage in the Middle Kingdom; see Boochs, Strafrechtliche Aspekte.. ., 19;
    Lurje, Studien.. ., 67.

(^41) See McDowell, “Legal Aspects...”
(^42) The djadjatcourt, however, does not appear in Ptahhotep.
(^43) E.g., Lichtheim, AEL1, 47 (Utterance 486). See Crozier-Brelot, “Projet de lex-
ique.. .,” 39–40; Boochs, Strafrechtliche Aspekte.. ., 36 (on w≈'[mdw]), 70–71 and
also “Religiöse.. .”; Loprieno, Egyptians.. ., 195; Mrsisch, “Gehört.. .”; Lorton,
“Treatment.. .,” 4 (on the concept of Last Judgment).
(^44) See now Menu, “Naissance du pouvoir pharaonique.”
(^45) On the position of the king within the law, see Théodoridès, “Concept of
Law.. .,” 294–95; Boochs, Strafrechtliche Aspekte.. ., 37–38.
(^46) See, e.g., Martin-Pardey, “Gedanken.. .,” 235; Goedicke, Rechtsinschriften...,
190–91.
WESTBROOK_F3_91-140 8/27/03 1:40 PM Page 98