the Book of the Dead ( PDF )

The Doctrine Of Eternal Life.
Yet another part of a man was supposed to exist in heaven, to which the Egyptians gave the name
sekhem. The word has been rendered by "power," "form," and the like, but it is very difficult to find any
expression which will represent the Egyptian conception of the sekhem. It is mentioned in connection
with the soul and khu, as will be seen from the following passages from the pyramid texts
1. i-nek sexem-k am xu
Cometh to thee thy sekhem among the khu's.[6]
[1. I.e., Horus.
2 Recueil de Travaux, t. v., p. 19 (l. 174).
3. Recueil de Travaux, t. v., p. 41 (l. 289).
4. See below, p. 117.
5. See below, p. 115.
6. Recueil de Travaux, t. v., p. 160 (l. 13).]
{p. lxix}
2. Uda sexem-k am xu
Pure is thy sekhem among the khu's.[1]
3. aha uab-k uab ka-k uab ba-k uab
Thou art pure, pure is thy ka, pure is thy soul, pure is
sexem-k
thy sekhem.[1]
A name of Ra was[3] sekhem ur, the "Great Sekhem," and Unas is identified with him and called:--
sexem ur sexem em sexemu
Great sekhem, sekhem among the sekhemu.[4]
The ren or name
Finally, the name, ren, of a man was believed to exist in heaven, and. in the pyramid texts we are told
that
nefer en Pepi pen hena ren-f anx Pepi pen hena ka-f
Happy is Pepi this with his name, liveth Pepi this with his ka.[5]
Thus, as we have seen, the whole man consisted of a natural body, a spiritual body, a heart, a double, a
soul, a shadow, an intangible ethereal casing or spirit, a form, and a name. All these were, however,
bound together inseparably, and the welfare of any single one of them concerned the welfare of all. For
the well-being of the spiritual parts it was necessary to preserve from decay the natural body; and
[1. Recueil de Travaux, t. v., p. 175 (l. 113).
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