This article aims at examining the theme of divine wrath according to Egyptian religious beliefs, in connection with deities and worshippers. It is a matter of theological concern to examine the theme of divine wrath in various texts describing the rage of deities. The paper thoroughly discusses the theme of divine wrath, its addressees, eff ects, purposes, provocations, and the possibility of avoidance and pacifi cation, as well as the linguistic expressions of wrath. It discusses the notion of wrath, its perceived consequences and infl iction on the deities, living humans and the deceased. It also examines divine wrath in relation to the experience of suff ering and affl iction as well as that of protection and welfare. The analysis provides information on the core of the Egyptian religion investigated from the perspective of wrath.The theme of divine wrath has been neglected in scholarly work on the theology of the Egyptian deities. It is not fully examined despite its prevalence in various Egyptian texts and its association with other crucial doctrines, and notably the nature of deities. Thus, divine wrath should be given particular attention as a distinctive theological matter to reveal its character and purpose.The subject of the present paper, namely divine wrath in Egyptian (dynastic and Graeco-Roman) sources, is inspired by two remarks made by Henri Frankfort and Val Hinckley Sederholm, in 1948 and 2006, respectively. Frankfort argues that the 'Egyptian religion ignored the theme of the wrath of god'. 1 Thus, he states that the theme of divine wrath is rarely, if ever, found in the Egyptian texts. He even asserts that this theme is practically unknown in Egyptian literature, since the Egyptian is not an off ender whom god discards, but an ignorant person who is disciplined. 2 Sederholm, on the other hand, argues that divine 1 A J D W A E 29 the discussion of the divine wrath infl iction is crucial for this study with the purpose of revealing its addressees, motivations, eff ects, purposes, provocations and consequences. A A Although specifi c gods are known as infl ictors of wrath, the spells of the Pyramid Texts, Coffi n Texts, Book of the Dead and other texts give a number of incantations where the infl ictor of wrath is an anonymous god. In utterance 576 of the Pyramid Texts: The king will not putrefy, he will not rot, this king (i.e. Pepi) will not be cursed by your anger, you gods (n Snjw Ppy pn jn Dnd=Tn nTrw). 25 In spell 719 of the Coffi n Texts, an anonymous god vents the wrath of his heart on the deceased through his words; it reads: To dispel anger in the heart of a god against me (dr Spt m jb nTr r=j). Woe to you, O you who send out power and who preside over all mysteries. See a word is spoken against me by a god who is angry with me (mk Dd.tw mdw r=j jn nTr Spt(.w) r=j), but wrongdoing is washed away, and it falls into the hands of the Lord of Justice. 26In spell 672 of the Coffi n Texts, the deceased has the ability to annihilate the rage of any god saying: It is N., who cuts off the ragin...
