Spell 15 from the Papyrus of Userhat

This is a vignette (illustration) from the Book of the Dead of Userhat (British Museum. EA10009), an 18th Dynasty papyrus (c. 1450 B.C., around the reign of Amenhotep II), belonging to a Theban royal scribe and official.

The scene shows four greenish-grey baboons (hamadryas type) standing upright on their hind legs with arms raised in the classic “adoration” pose, facing a large red solar disk. They flank a central column of hieroglyphs. Above them arches a broad red form ending in hands on both sides, with the sun disk set in the middle; a blue band and pink dotted areas run along the top.

Spell 15 (Chapter 15) of the Book of the Dead

Spell 15 (also called Chapter 15) of the Book of the Dead is a hymn of praise to the rising sun god (primarily Ra, often in forms such as Ra-Horakhty or Khepri). It is not a “magic spell” in the sense of a protective incantation against monsters; it is a liturgical hymn that the deceased recites to join the sun’s daily cycle of death and rebirth.

The central idea is that the sun dies each evening in the west, journeys through the underworld at night, and is reborn each morning in the east. By praising and identifying with this process, the deceased hopes to experience the same renewal: to “come forth by day,” live again, and travel with the gods in the solar barque.

A typical version (as in the well-known Papyrus of Ani) begins along these lines:

“Homage to thee, O thou who hast come as Khepera, Khepera the creator of the gods. Thou risest, thou shinest, making bright thy mother Nut… The land of Manu receiveth thee with content… May he give splendour, and power, and triumph, and a coming-forth as a living soul… Ascribe praise unto Ra… Thine enemy is given to the fire… The gods rejoice when they see Ra in his rising…”

The deceased then asks to see the sun’s beauty, to travel in the morning and evening boats, and to be granted offerings and a place among the blessed.

Baboons

In Ancient Egyptian belief, baboons were closely linked to the solar cycle because they chatter, stretch, and raise their arms toward the rising sun (warming themselves after the night). Egyptians interpreted this as worship, singing, and dancing to welcome Ra’s daily rebirth.

Baboons were also associated with Thoth (god of wisdom, writing, and the moon) and sometimes described as “sons” or companions of Ra who help open the gates of heaven and announce the sun’s appearance.

Texts from the Book of the Dead and related compositions even have the deceased declare something like “I have sung and praised the sun-disk; I have joined the baboons.”

In short; the four sacred baboons are joyfully adoring and announcing the rising sun, a standard and powerful solar-hymn scene ensuring the owner’s rebirth and continued existence alongside the gods.

The Arms of the Sun

In Ancient Egyptian mythology, Nut, the goddess of the sky, played an essential role in the eternal journey of the sun. Each evening, as the sun descended beyond the western horizon, Nut was believed to swallow the solar god Ra, carrying him within her celestial body throughout the darkness of night.

During these hidden hours, the sun underwent a mysterious journey of regeneration, before Nut gave birth to him once more at dawn in the eastern horizon. Thus, the daily rising and setting of the sun represented an eternal cycle of death and rebirth, in which Nut was both the divine mother and protector of the solar deity. This celestial renewal held profound significance for the ancient Egyptians, who hoped that, just as the sun emerged triumphantly from darkness each morning, they too might be reborn into everlasting life.

Thus, the large red arch seen in the Papyrus of Userhat is a stylized representation of the sky/vault of heaven or the embracing arms of the goddess Nut (who swallows the sun at night and gives birth to it at dawn). Similar solar vignettes show arms supporting or embracing the disk as it rises. The hands at the ends reinforce the idea of the sky being held or the doors of heaven being opened.

The lower register continues the papyrus with further hieroglyphic text and symbolic structures (possibly related to Spell 149 or other funerary content on this sheet). The whole composition is meant to help the deceased (Userhat) participate in the sun’s eternal rebirth, join the divine company of the baboons, and safely navigate the afterlife.

Summary:

The Book of the Dead of Userhat: Adoration of the Rising Sun

New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, c. 1550–1292 B.C.

British Museum. EA10009,1