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1.6 Miscellaneous
New Kingdom literature often raises legal points or contains a plot
with a legal background, e.g., the Tale of Two Brothers,^41 the Report
of Wenamun,^42 and the Story of Horus and Seth, which incorpo-
rates legal proceedings transferred to the mythological realm.^43 Wisdom
literature sometimes refers to specific legal situations. The Instruction
of Amenemope warns, for example, against falsifying temple rations,
weights, or documents.^44 The significance of law for the Egyptians
is clearly expressed in the image of the Judgment of the Dead.^45
Occasionally, quite specific legal points are raised in the Book of the
Dead. The deceased maintains, for example, that he “did not increase
or diminish the measure.”^46 The letters to the deities and to the dead
are probably from individuals despairing of receiving justice in a cor-
rupt or inefficient legal system. Such letters frequently refer to legal
conflicts, particularly in connection with inheritance.^47- C A L^48
2.1 The King
2.1.1 For much of the New Kingdom, Egypt was ruled by pow-
erful kings in firm control of the administration. Emphasizing their
close association with Maat, “Justice,” the kings issued detailed legal
edicts regulating the status and behavior of individuals, such as the
Nauri Decree. In theory the king was all-powerful. In practice, there
were probably limitations on the authority or ability of a king to
interfere in the legal sphere. The pharaohs certainly displayed on
occasion an active interest in the law. Horemheb, for example, main-(^41) Translation in Lichtheim, AEL2, 203–11.
(^42) Thus Green, “Wenamun.. .,” believes that Wenamun’s demand for compen-
sation is in accordance with the procedures recorded in the Hammurabi Code.
(^43) Allam, “Legal Aspects.. .,” and “L’Ordalie.. .” See also Lurje, Studien...,
- Cf. Lichtheim,AEL2, 111; Posener, “Amon, juge.. .”; Allam, “Quenebete.. .,”
52–53.
(^44) See Lichtheim, AEL2, 157; cf. Quack, Ani.. ., 93.
(^45) See Lorton, “Treatment.. .,” 4.
(^46) Lichtheim, AEL2, 125.
(^47) Sethe-Gardiner, Letters...
(^48) Much of the following is drawn from O’Connor in Trigger et al., Social History...
Still useful is Edgerton, “Government...”
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