With so many theories of Christianity being nothing more than plagiarism of Kemet and its practices, it is prominent to debunk what is currently spreading as wildfire. One of those misconceptions is the belief that the Ten Commandments were stolen from the 2,000 year predated, 42 Laws of Ma'at (which has no official list). Of course there are limited similarities between the two; however, there are also distinct differences.
For background information, Ma'at is an ancient Egyptian goddess of truth, justice and order that is found in inscriptions of tombs and on some papyrus records. According to Egyptian religion, a deceased person's soul was weighed against a feather and judged by these principles to determine whose souls were spared from judgement.
The 42 Laws are in fact not actual laws, but rather declarations that are stated after death - hence why they all begin with "I have not..." Although, you may notice that they are sometimes phrased differently beginning with "Thou shall not..." to display Biblical form and force bias. Whereas the 42 precepts are lists of negative things you should not do and confessed after death, the 10 commandments are negative and positive statements that are kept before death.
Often times, we view whichever happens first as what is most authentic. Unfortunately, that is a common fallacy. Simply because an event happens 'after this' does not equate to it happening 'because of this'.
It is stated that Moses' rearing in Egypt caused him to have plagiarized what he was taught. However, Moses purpose was to oppose much of what the Egyptian culture believed, not duplicate it. For example, the 10 Commandments states that:
"You shall have no other gods before Me."
It is impossible for this to have been stolen from Egypt simply because Egyptians worshiped multiple gods.
"You shall make no idols."
Egyptians did not have one belief system. They were believers of many gods. Therefore, this could not have possibly been of their Negative Confessions.
"You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God in vain."
There was no specific name that was enforced by which their god(s) must be referred to.
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy."
They did not have a day that was set apart to rest.
"Honor your mother and father."
This is not mentioned in the 42 Declarations.
It is also argued that "The Law" existed before the 10 Commandments. Taking that into account, that would in return predate the 42 Negative Confessions. In multiple earlier scriptures throughout the Old Testament, there are accounts of people keeping the commandments. Supporting examples of this argument would be Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:6-17), Cain (Genesis 4:9-12), Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 13:13), etc. all being punished for sinning. These examples are all documented before the establishing of the 10 Commandments in the Bible. Therefore, there would have to had been a standard for living in motion for 'sin' to be considered such.
Predating the Papyrus of Ani (where the 42 Confessions were derived), the Ipuwer Papyrus is said to date back to years earlier. Found incomplete and in poor condition, the Ipuwer Payrus is argued to be a recollection of the Exodus and Biblical accounts. If this is true, that would deaden the complete argument of the 10 Commandments being taken from Egyptology.
There is much left to the imagination and perception. However, logic and history both defeat the theory that the 10 Commandments were stolen from the 42 Laws of Ma'at. With there being 42 declarations, there is bound to be parallels found with the 10 Commandments. It does not necessarily mean one was taken from the other. It simply means that there were similar codes of conduct that overlapped different times and cultures.
Conscious and Christian,
Simultaneously.
