Amenemope

▪ Egyptian author

      ancient Egyptian author of The Instruction of Amenemope, probably composed during the late New Kingdom (1300–1075 BCE). Amenemope's text, similar in content to most of the instruction or wisdom literature written earlier, was a collection of maxims and admonitions setting forth practical injunctions for living. In particular, many parallels have been drawn between the form and content of portions of Amenemope's work and the Hebrew Book of Proverbs (Proverbs, The), although the nature of the interrelationship between the two has long been debated. Some scholars have argued that the Book of Proverbs is dependent in some part upon Amenemope's work, while others have argued the reverse; still others have suggested their linkage to a common, earlier work or surmised that their similarities derived indirectly from comparable linguistic and other circumstances.

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