Is the parting of Red Sea by Moses taken from the Westcar Papyrus Story

Was Moses story of parting the red sea taken from the Westcar Papyrus Story

1. The Westcar Papyrus, dated to the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt (1782 – c.1570 BCE), but most likely written during the Middle Kingdom (2040-1782 BCE), contains some of the most interesting tales from ancient Egypt.
2. The papyrus takes its name from the man who first acquired it, Henry Westcar, a British adventurer and collector who purchased the piece c. 1824 CE.
3.  Westcar never disclosed how he came into possession of the scroll nor where he got it, and so no one knows in what context it was found or its original location (most likely stolen or looted from Ancient Egypt by mercenary white invaders).

The scroll was later purchased or otherwise acquired by the Egyptologist Karl Lepsius c. 1839 CE, who understood only parts of it, and then was finally translated into German in 1890 CE by Adolf Erman. Erman’s translation then became the standard on which later scholars would rely on.

 It was Erman who first called the stories in the papyrus ‘fairy tales,’ and that definition has stuck.

 It is also apt in that the four stories the papyrus contains all revolve around magical and fantastic events.

The Westcar Papyrus

There were originally Five Stories in the manuscripts but the first one is missing

We will look at one of the stories which resembles the story of parting of the red sea waters by Moses in Exodus.

Sneferu and the Green Jewel

1. Khufu’s son Bauefre speaks next, telling a story about king Sneferu (c. 2613-2589 BCE), Khufu’s father.
2.  In the tale, Sneferu is depressed and has been wandering around his palace looking for some diversion to lighten his mood.
3. His chief priest, Djadjaemonkh, suggests, “Let Your Majesty proceed to the lake of the palace and equip for yourself a boat with all the beauties who are in your palace chamber.
4. The heart of Your Majesty shall be refreshed at the sight of their rowing as they row up and down.”

Sneferu is delighted at this suggestion and issues his command:

1. Let there be brought to me twenty oars made of ebony, fitted with gold, with the butts of sandalwood fitted with electrum.
2.  Let there be brought to me twenty women, the most beautiful in form, with firm breasts, with hair well braided, not having opened up to give birth.
3. Let there be brought to me twenty nets, and let these nets be given to these women when they have taken off their clothes.

The Lose of fish shaped jewel and the parting of the sea water

1. When all this is done, Sneferu goes out on the lake with the women and “the heart of His Majesty was pleased at the sight of their rowing” until one of them loses a fish-shaped jewel from her hair and stops rowing.
2. The other women stop as well and Sneferu asks what the matter is. The woman tells him how she has just lost her jewel and he say it is no matter, he will give her another.
3. The woman ways, “I prefer what is mine to another” and so the king summons Djadjaemonkh, who is on the boat, and tells him the problem.

Parting of the water of the lake- Just as Moses will later do with the Rea Sea in the famous story from the Exodus

1. Djadjaemonkh then recites a magic spell and parts the water, placing “one side of the water of the lake upon the other” and retrieves the jewel.
2.  Just as Moses will later do with the Red Sea in the famous story from Exodus, once the jewel is returned to the woman, Djadjaemonkh allows the waters to fall back into place.
3. Sneferu is pleased and rewards the priest and goes on enjoying his day on the lake.
4.  When the story concludes, Khufu again orders that sacrifices be made to Sneferu and Djadjaemonkh.