Author Description

This book offers a transliteration and translation of a text that has long been referred to as a "mystery papyrus." The scribes of Papyrus Amherst 63 used the Demotic script to put down in writing a compilation of Aramaic texts. This unusual combination of script and language necessitates the collaboration of scholars from different disciplines. Since the papyrus is not a merely linguistic puzzle but a challenge too in terms of its religious and historical background, no scholar is likely to singlehandedly solve the enigmas of the text. If it had not been for the help and advice of many colleagues and friends, I would not have been able to present this edition. Let me simply give their names, in alphabetic order, without going into detail about the specific contribution each of them made. My thanks go to Paul-Alain Beaulieu, John J. Collins, Edward M. Cook, Lucinda Dirven, Koen Donker van Heel, Tawny Holm, Olaf Kaper, Aaron J. Koller, Ingo Kottsieper, Verena Lepper, Herbert Niehr, Dennis G. Pardee, Mark S. Smith, Richard C. Steiner, Marten Stol, and Jan Willem Wesselius. The purpose of this list is neither to enhance the credibility of this edition nor to shift the blame for its shortcomings to others. It is most of all testimony to the importance and the privilege of working within a scholarly community where we feel free to share our thoughts without fear of making errors. In the case of Papyrus Amherst 63 it will still take a lot of errors before we reach a perfect understanding of the text and its background. I am confident this book is a small step toward that goal. It is gratefully dedicated to Richard C. Steiner and Jan Willem Wesselius, pioneers in the decipherment and interpretation of Papyrus Amherst 63.