Ben C. Smith wrote: ↑Sun Jul 05, 2020 6:51 am
So, for example, Osiris being dead for four days.... I am on a web page which purports to be a translation by Faulkner and two others:
https://www.pyramidtextsonline.com/translation.html, and I can find nothing (yet?) about Osiris being dead for four days. Lots and lots of instructions to recite something four times (I mean,
lots), but nothing about the duration of Osiris' deathly tenure.
The "three days" motif is a little complicated to me and may not be as clear as some of the other parallels(but that could just be me not having all the information).
The moon was associated with death and resurrection/rebirth and in some sources it was said to be "dead" or "not seen" for three nights and resurrect on the day/night of the new moon. In Egyptian texts the deceased is said to be reborn/resurrected during the New Moon festival.
The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts(SBL Press; Second edition, 2015), James P. Allen
Father Osiris Pepi’s cross-over canal has been opened, the Winding
Canal has flooded. So, father Osiris Pepi will call for the helmsman
and for the one who listens (to commands), and they will ferry
father Osiris Pepi to yonder eastern side of the sky. So, father Osiris
Pepi will go to yonder side of the sky, to [yonder] place [where the gods are born], and father Osiris [Pepi] will be truly born [in
yonder eastern side of the sky], in yonder place where the gods are born.
When this time comes tomorrow, and the time of the third day (from
now), and father Osiris Pepi is the sole star in yonder eastern side of
the sky, he will govern as a god and hear cases like Horus of the Akhet...
How permanent [is that which has been done for you! … ]. The king shall appear
and Paths-Parter shall become exalted with the king on the
day of the new moon.
Ancient Egyptian Coffin Texts, trans. Faulkner
Spell 6 How great is the monthly festival of the height of heaven, even the festival of the New Moon!
This spell deals with the rebirth of the deceased at this festival.
The Search for God in Ancient Egypt(Cornell University Press, 2001),, Jan Assmann
Lift yourself, Osiris,
first-born son of Geb,
before whom the two Enneads tremble!
The guardian rises before you,
the New Moon Festival is celebrated for you.
so that you may appear at the Month Festival
Plutarch, Moralia, 368B
Moreover, at the time of the new moon in the month of Phamenoth they celebrate a festival to which they give the name of "Osiris's coming to the Moon," and this marks the beginning of the spring.
The Dendera zodiacs as narratives of the myth of Osiris, Isis, and the child Horus(ENiM 8, 2015), Gyula Priskin
In the Graeco-Roman lists of lunar day names the fourth day was also called “the going forth of the sem-priest”, no doubt reflecting the fact that the invisibility of the moon could sometimes last for three days (i.e. the new crescent appears on the evening of the third day)...
...the two most important passages relating to the timeline of the lunar month are the description of the eye of Tebi about the maximum length of the period (three days) during which the moon cannot be seen...
Heraclitus of Ephesus, Commentary on Odyssey XX, Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 3710 col. iii, 7-11
When the moon first appears on the third day, it becomes visible as full moon on the sixteenth.
Jonathan Ben-Dov, Head of All Years: Astronomy and Calendars at Qumran in Their Ancient Context
Numerous reports trace the day on which the moon disappears. According to SAA VII 346, the moon ideally vanishes on day 27 and remains covered for a maximum period of three days.
Theophilus of Antioch, Ad Autolycum 1.13
If you wish to behold a still more marvelous sight, taking place to provide proof of resurrection not only from matters on earth but also from those in heaven, consider the monthly resurrection of the moon, how it wanes, dies, and rises again.
The Roman Cult of Mithras: The God and His Mysteries(Routledge, 2001), Manfred Clauss
Creation arises from the death of the bull, who, as a symbol of the Moon, embodies death and rebirth. … The bull's body has been made to allude to the Moon...
Mithras, as the Sun, overcomes the bull, and thereby also the Moon, from earliest times a symbol of death and restoration to life.
Ancient Egyptian Literature Volume III: The Late Period, Miriam Lichteim
May I renew my youth like the moon.
Bojana Mojsov, Osiris: Death and Afterlife of a God
After the chest was buried the death of the god was mourned for three days and nights. During this time it was customary to bury figurines of Osiris, made of earth, corn, and vegetable paste, in the ground. Three images were made, symbolizing his dead, re-membered, and risen body... The festival culminated with the celebration of the resurrection. The pillar of Osiris–-the ancient symbol of the harvesters–-was erected in the temple court to the jubilant rejoicing of the assembled crowds and the living image of the resurrected one brought out on a portable boat and displayed. The Egyptian phrase for a religious festival was “god’s appearance.” Merriment and dancing concluded the weeklong gathering. Ikernofret, an official at the court of Senusret III, wrote the earliest account of the festival.
I'm not sure what source Bojana Mojsov is using for the "three days/nights" motif in the above quote, I'm assuming the Ikernofret stela and maybe Plutarch?
I know that's a lot of quotes from a bunch of different sources but as you can see, there seems to be a tradition of the moon dying and resurrecting and being "dead" for three days/nights. So I think it's possible that there may be some kind of connection between the moon and these myths about deities being dead or hidden/missing for three days/nights(Jonah, Inanna, possibly Osiris, Jesus). I know it seems kind of speculative but I may also not have or be aware of all the information/sources that Joseph D.L. has.