MOSES THE EGYPTIAN: THE MEMORY OF EGYPT IN WESTERN MONOTHEISM (Hardcover)

by Jan Assmann (Author) "It seems as if George Spencer Brown's "first Law of Construction" does not apply solely to the space of logical and mathematical construction..." (more)
Key Phrases: normative inversion, esoteric monotheism, arcane theology, Moses the Egyptian, Sigmund Freud, Clement of Alexandria (more...)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 284 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674587383
• ISBN-13: 978-0674587380
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,086,199 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The mnemohistory of Egyptian monotheism, December 1, 2001

By	Christopher I. Lehrich (Quincy, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Moses the Egyptian: The Memory of Egypt in Western Monotheism (Paperback)

As several readers have pointed out, Assmann's work is not really suitable to the casual reader, nor the reader unlearned in Latin. That said, most reviewers have suggested that the book be reviewed by someone fairly up on the field.

Assmann calls his project a "mnemohistory," meaning by this a history of the way certain aspects of an ancient history are remembered and distorted over time. The central focus of this mnemohistory, as indicated by the title, is Moses and his Egyptian origins. Assmann is a distinguished Egyptologist, so he wants to root this mnemohistory in Egypt, not in any of the numerous pseudo- or para-Egyptian texts (the Hermetica, for example, or Plato's various renderings of Egypt). In short, the question is this: What, if anything, might ancient Egyptian historical events have to do with later Western conceptions of (1) Egypt, (2) Judaism, (3) Moses, and (4) monotheism in general?

Assmann begins with a seemingly radical thesis: that the historical figure(s) represented in "Moses" was an Egyptian priestly exponent of the Akhenaten/Amarna monotheism, which lasted a couple hundred years and ended under the reign of Tutankhamun. The implication of this is that Judaism, and in particular Mosaic Law, was constructed as a counter-religion to normative (i.e. non-Akhenaten) Egyptian religion.

Having demonstrated that this thesis is plausible, Assmann moves on to examine how this peculiar origin of Judeo-Christian ritual and legal prescription was remembered and reinterpreted across the millennia. He examines Maimonides, John Spencer, and Ralph Cudworth, showing them all recognizing the Judaism-equals-Egypt-backwards connection, but interpreting it variously for philoSemitic, antiSemitic, philoEgyptian, or other purposes.

Next, he moves on to examine the flowering and spreading of this debate through the eighteenth century, where it influenced Deist and Masonic discourse, as well as that of major philosophers. Finally, he moves to what seems to me the heart of the book, an analysis of Freud's _Moses and Monotheism_, examining the ways in which Freud utilizes psychoanalytic techniques to reveal the same half-remembered ancient trauma beneath the very origins of monotheism --- that is, Freud realizes that the hideous cultural trauma inflicted upon Egyptian culture by the Akhenaten revolution led to suppression, repression, and thus to expression in not only monotheism but also a violent aversion for monotheism's apparent originators. In short, Freud discovers in the Amarna trauma the repressed origins of anti-Semitism.

The book concludes with an Egyptologist's analysis of the monotheism of Amarna, on which this reader is not able to pronounce; that said, Assmann's credentials certainly suggest that this should be a most expert reconstruction.

_Moses the Egyptian_ is an extraordinary piece of visionary scholarship, wide-ranging and courageous, but copiously annotated and supported. If, having read this review, you think this book sounds like the niftiest approach to Foucaultian archaeology, or some similar theoretical structure, this book is probably for you. If, on the other hand, you want a careful history in the more classic sense of a narrative, with people and events, and some sort of proof of who Moses "really was," you're not going to get much out of this.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Historical-Philosophical Discourse, November 23, 2001

By	E. Rodin MD (Sandy, UT United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Moses the Egyptian: The Memory of Egypt in Western Monotheism (Paperback)

This book is a scholarly discourse as to how the memory of Egyptian monotheism survived in Western Culture. I use the word scholarly advisedly, not only because the book is well researched and annotated but it is also written for scholars. It does not lend itself to cursory reading but needs to be studied. This may be the reason why previous reviewers, although favorable,did not inform the reader of the points made in the book.
For me the most important aspect was that Assmann clearly distinguishes between Moses as a historic figure and Moses as portrayed in the literature. He calls this phenomenon mnemohistory. Namely history not as it transpired according to current knowledge but history as it is remembered. This is important because we know nothing about the historic Moses. Assmann then goes on to describe previous views held about Moses having been culturally,if not ethnically, an Egyptian and how he had created a counter-religion to Egyptian practices. He reviews the works of authors ranging from the 17th to the 20th century; with a number of them having passed into oblivion over the centuries. Assmann also subscribes to Freud's view that Akhenaten's monotheism was the model upon which Moses had built his own edifice. Others may argue that the biblical Moses was not yet a true monotheist because the god of Moses is still in competition with other existing gods. Had he indeed been the universal cosmic god of Akhenaten he would not need to have been "jealous" or to "magnify" himself on the Egyptians, as the Bible repeatedly tells us. Assmann accepts,furthermore, Freud's idea of repressed trauma which remains latent in the subconcious where it acts as a disturbing element and eventually breaks back into consciousness in distorted form. This is not a biologic fact but merely psychoanalytic theory. Although popular at this time, it has not been proven to occur in individuals let alone ethnic groups or nations.
The book also abounds with Latin and French quotations which are not always translated. The Greek and German ones are. Thus a proper evaluation of this book requires information which the average - even reasonably well educated - American reader does not readily possess. This also highlights the problem one has with a single 1-5 star rating system. For scholarship it deserves the four stars given but for ease of readability I would have to reduce them to about 2. The book will,therefore, be best appreciated by professionals in the field rather than laypersons.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Searching Moses in the Memory of Kemetic Egypt, January 8, 2005

By	Didaskalex "Eusebius Alexandrinus" (Kellia on Calvary, Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moses the Egyptian: The Memory of Egypt in Western Monotheism (Paperback)

"One would call this work monumental ..., if there were no risk of distracting the reader thereby with what might otherwise appear as a facile and predictable pun." T. Lawson, Folklore Bulletin



Prologue, Assmann's Models:
In 1984 Jan Assmann undertook the ambitious task of investigating the nature of Ancient Egyptian theology that has so fundamentally influenced studies on Egyptian religion. His impact was so great that many of his models have since been adopted in recent scholarship. Building on M. Halbwach's concept of memory as a social phenomenon as well as an individual one, the Freudian psychodrama of repressing and ultimately resurrecting the past, he writes a unique study, Moses the Egyptian.

Amarna Monotheism:
The 'Amarna heresy', or Atenism is thought to be the earliest monotheistic religious revelation ever, with a wealth of devotion and worship hymns of Aten. Atenism was associated mainly with the eighteenth dynasty Prophetic Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, better known as Akhenaten, the name he adopted. Recent Egyptologists indicate there are proofs that Aten was becoming more known during the eighteenth dynasty - notably Amenhotep III calling of his royal barge as the 'Spirit of the Aten.' Ultimately, it was Amenhotep IV who introduced Aten as the sole deity in his revolution, in a series of decreed steps culminating in the official endorsement of Aten as the sole universal god for the Egyptian Empire, and beyond. It was established as Egypt's state religion for around two decades, in the 14th century BC, before a violent return to the traditional Amen and Egyptian pantheon gods, while the name of the 'heretic Pharaoh' associated with Aten was completely erased from the Egyptian records.

The Mind of Egypt:
Our western civilization is influenced in many ways by perspectives that originated in the Heliopolitan theology, such as the concept of monotheism. How and why monotheism became what it did has its source in Egypt as well. Without an understanding of how the Egyptians viewed the idea of the unity principle, 'one god, Lord of the Pantheon,' it will be difficult to see how this concept became corrupted through misapplication over time.
The enormous influence of the mind of Egypt on our continuing present is one of the stronger messages here, and this influence has made itself felt in a number of areas, not least the very modern study of religion itself. Assmann points out that even our concepts of monotheism and polytheism were hammered out in the burgeoning discourse of seventeenth century Egyptology. Todd Lawson, Toronto University.

Heidelberg's Egyptologist in America:
Would you have visited Heidelberg, it's castle and university, you will have appreciated the rigor in color of German scholarship in a field that was a quasi monopoly for few European students of the great Civilization, formulated as the science of Egyptology. The idea of biblical revelation that stunned the young American Orientalist J. H. Breasted, when he studied ancient Egypt's moral codes, persuaded him to pursue his great adventure into the 'Dawn of Conscience', in ancient Egypt, a comparative study of Hebrew wisdom poetry with its analogous Egyptian parallels; impacted the twenty century religious imagination from Freud to Assmann. When Professor Assmann was invited by J. P. Getty center for a sabbatical in California, he decided to explore 'the vast terrain between Akhen'Aten and Freud.' in reply to 'Freud's Moses', and recap on his search of almighty God in Egypt (The Mind of Egypt), as an introduction to the same author's Moses the Egyptian

Assmann's Themes:
Assmann gave his work an Egyptian concept, advancing onto seven consecutive waves, inscribed onto the chapters of his book. He starts with a para-psychological definition of Egyptian thought construction as Mnemo-history, advancing into Suppressed history of Repressed memory of Akhenaten in Moses conscience, proceeding to Spencer's findings as 'before the Law.' The crux of his advancement to his ultimate thesis lies in a historical review of eighteenth century discourse on Moses. Freud shows up in a psychological spear head idea; 'the Return of the repressed,' the roots of Egyptian monotheistic theology of the elite was conceived in the 'One,' the master of Egyptian Pantheons, Aten, or Amon-Rae. Concluding into what breasted initiated eighty years ago: abolishing the Mosaic monopoly of revelation. Marvelous!

Scholar's Evaluation:
The Egyptians' experiment and successes with the modalities and rhetoric's of religion and politics would be felt not only by the heroes of the venture of Ebionite Islam, but also their Semitic kins amongst the Hebrews. All these various actors and audiences, the Greeks, Romans and Persians, were imbued to some degree or another with something of the Mind of Egypt since ancient times, through the triple agency of what the author calls Traces, Messages and Memories. ... Professor Assmann has fashioned for the scholar and general inquirer a key to ancient Egypt that is a pleasure to read, thrilling in its insights, and awe-inspiring as regards the multiple scholarly tools so clearly and masterfully employed.

Conceiving Reality:
I refrain from my all for Assmann old/new thesis which he perfected to quoting a more informed evaluation of A. Grafton, in New Republic; "A brilliant study...Assmann combines great technical virtuosity in his chosen field with wide-very wide-theoretical and comparative interests... Moses the Egyptian offers challenging new findings on the early history of monotheism, and a new reading in the place of Egypt in Modern Western culture-"
While the Hebrews were collaborative in the Egyptian prince Moses' liberation scheme, in both senses of body and soul, the Jewish people rejected the Messiah of their own national stock!