Citation with stable link: Philip A. Harland, 'Egyptian perspectives: Oracles of the Lamb and the Potter on Greco-Macedonians and other foreigners (third-second centuries BCE),' Ethnic Relations and Migration in the Ancient World, last modified April 11, 2024, https://philipharland.com/Blog/?p=14106.

Ancient authors: Anonymous, Oracle of the Lamb, or Lamb of Bocchoris, as preserved in PRainer 10,000 (7 CE copy on papyrus in Demotic of a third or early second century BCE work); Anonymous, Oracle of the Potter, or Potter’s Defence, as preserved in PGraf G. 29787, POxy XXII 2332, and PRainer, G. 19 813 (third century CE papyri with Greek translations of a mid-late second century BCE Demotic work) (link).

Comments: Both of the writings gathered here provide insights into Egyptian perspectives on other peoples in the Ptolemaic era, primarily the foreign powers of the Assyrians, Persians, and, especially, Greco-Macedonians. The current hegemonic ethnic group was not always at centre stage for subjugated peoples, but in these writings that is the case. Both the so-called Oracle of

the Lamb and the Oracle of the Potter also share in common an association with the authority of Khnum, the Egyptian ram-headed god (pictured to your right). The lamb may be a representative of that god and the potter likely echoes that god’s connection with moulding humanity from clay. Furthermore, Khnum is especially associated with oracles (see Kákosy). So the revelations may be considered to come from this deity. Although there are nuances in the approach to various peoples in each of the two prophecies, they also share a stark negative portrayal of life under the Greco-Macedonians and an expectation of a time when Egypt will once again be under native Egyptian rule (hence the common comparison of this material with Judean apocalyptic writings such as the third book of the Sibylline Oracles – link).

The first document – the Oracle of the Lamb written in Demotic Egyptian language – is clearly cited by the author of the Oracle of the Potter (writing in the mid-late second century BCE). Furthermore, in the early third century BCE, Manetho (link) may refer to similar (or the same) materials in suggesting that in the reign of Bocchoris of Sais’ “a lamb spoke” (Manetho, FGrHist 609 F2, F3b). Pharaoh Bocchoris or Bakenranef himself (who appears as a character in our documents) likely reigned ca. 725-720 BCE, long before the composition of these oracles in the third or early second centuries. While the prophecies of doom and fire for invaders do deal with the more recent Persian (“Medes”) and Greco-Macedonian (“Greeks”) conquests, there is also a clear and strongly negative memory of Assyrians (“Syrians”) in this oracle. Assyrians were active in Egypt for about a decade (673-663 BCE) and are pictured as causing terrible abominations and taking away both the people and the gods of Egypt. More concurrent are the Greeks or Greco-Macedonians, who would have been in charge at the time when this oracle was composed or reworked. Ultimately, though, the final message of the prophecy is that Egypt and Egyptians will be restored again, throwing off all foreign interference.

The second document – the Oracle of the Potter, or perhaps more accurately, the Potter’s Defence –  dates in some form to the mid-late second century BCE and is a Greek translation of an earlier Demotic source. The potter who utters the oracle on behalf of the deity is pictured interacting with Amenophis, likely imagined as Amenhotep III, who reigned ca. 1390–1352 BCE. Despite the dramatic setting, this Egyptian writing zeroes in on the Greco-Macedonians (from 332 BCE in Egypt) more specifically and uses two different labels for them: Typhonians and belt-wearers. The former is far more important and also strongly derogatory. Typhon (usually pictured as a massive serpent or dragon) was the Greek name for the Egyptian god Seth, and Seth-Typhon was particularly appropriate as a negative label for foreigners in at least two different ways. On the one hand, for a very long time, Seth-Typhon had been considered the Egyptian god most associated with foreigners and, in a sense, he was imagined to be a dangerous foreigner himself (see Te Velde 1967, 109-151). On the other, Seth was the brother of Osiris who, in a common myth, killed Osiris and chopped him into pieces, only to be revenged by Osiris’ son Horos. So there was already some potential negativity built into this figure that made the label “Typhonians” for foreign people you did not like, or wanted obliterated, quite effective. To make a long story short, the composer of this writing looks forward to the desertion of the Alexandrians by their patron deity, Agathos Daimon (often depicted as a large serpent), and most importantly the obliteration of the Greco-Macedonians (ending the final fifty-five year reign of their king) and the return of a native Egyptian king.

Both this oracle and the previous one also picture a more blissful life for Egyptians after the destruction of the foreigners. A theory regarding the existence of a potential “Anti-Jewish recension” of this oracle is built on very slim evidence (the very fragmentary CPJ III 520 [link], where Ioudaioi is reconstructed, and a rumoured unpublished papyrus) and will not be engaged here (though do see Beyerle 2017). While all of our material here is certainly valuable for comparison with Judean apocalyptic expectations, we need to be careful not to lose sight of how these documents are important in their own rights for understanding Egyptian perspectives (rather than merely appropriating them for understanding ancient Judean / Jewish or Christian perspectives).

Works consulted: S. Beyerle, “Authority and Propaganda: The Case of the Potter’s Oracle,” in Sibyls, Scriptures, and Scrolls, ed. Joel S. Baden, Hindy Najman, and Eibert Tigchelaar (Leiden: Brill, 2017), 167–184; L. Kákosy, “Prophecies of Ram Gods,” Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 19 (1966): 341–358 (link); L. Koenen, “Die Apologie des Töpfers an König Amenophis oder das Töpferorakel,” in Apokalyptik und Ägypten, ed. A. Blasius (Leuven: Peeters, 2002), 139-187 (with Greek text and German translation); H. te Velde, Seth, God of Confusion (Leiden: Brill, 1967).
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Oracle of the Lamb (third or second century BCE)

[Introduction of Pasaenhor receiving information from the lamb]

(column 1) (lines 1-5) . . . Pasaenhor read the (?). . . book of the days that. . . happened in Egypt together with those that (?). . . will happen regarding a . . . He said to me the punishments that will happen in the town (?), . . . the field and the . . . entire (?). . . district. . . . I said to him: ‘‘Shut (?). . . your mouth!’’ I spoke previously about the . . . [omitted fragmentary lines 6-12, dealing with further content of Pasaenhor’s discoveries regarding what will happen in Egypt].

[Lamb’s predictions regarding troubles in Egypt]

(lines 13-26) “. . . And it will (?). . . happen in the time in question that the rich man will become a . . . poor (?). . . man. . . . The man who was served will perform their labours. . . . Falsehood will thrive (?). . . in Egypt. Men will not speak the truth. . . . Many . . . evils will be (?). . . in Egypt, inflicting injury upon . . . against their standing men. They were unable to speak against the people of Egypt. . . . Evil will happen to the (?) . . . temples. The gods will not be able to take for themselves the . . . offerings (?). . . . Such are the punishments that (?) the god Pre will create in Egypt.”

[Coming of the Persians / “Medes” and then the Greco-Macedonians]

“After these things, . . . will happen (?). . . in Egypt for some few days. Their fighting (?) . . . years. However, the Medes [i.e. Persians] will come to . . . Egypt (?) . . . judgment will . . . happen (?) to them when they place Egypt . . . give birth . . . brazier, the heat, the inflammation . . . (column 2). . . the Greeks in a fire of papyrus. They will lead him to a stake. . . . They will bring him down in the third month of winter and the fourth month of winter. They will plow a quantity of barley; they will not . . . harvest it (?). They will remove the White Crowns . . . of the kings (?). . . from Egypt. They will be sought; they will not be found. A small . . . will . . . as a curse, . . . being (?). . . great in the heart of the gods, being insignificant in the heart of men, being . . . a ruler . . . he of the two years, who is not ours. It is he of the fifty-five years who is our founder” [i.e. reference to one foreign ruler ruling two years and one native ruler ruling fifty-five years, on which see also Defence of the Potter below].

[Abominations in Egypt and the Assyrians / “Syrians”]

“Many abominations will happen in Egypt. The birds of the sky and . . .the fish of (?). . . the sea will eat their blood and their flesh, living with respect to them. A man will go to the water . . . him upward. He will not be able to drink . . . or eat (?). . . in accordance with the book and what is in it. The humble man will bring. . . . He will seize the . . . of the great men while he is present . . . even though (?). . . they did not question him. A man will go before. . . his companions (?). He will say to them what is. . . , it being in his heart, saying: ‘Who is it?’ A man will go before them to the . . . place (?). . . of judgment with his companion; they will receive property from the one stronger than them because of the path(?). Woe and abomination for the youth, young in age! They will take him away to the land of Syria before his father and mother. Woe and abomination for the . . . women (?) . . . who will give birth to the youths, young in age! They will be taken away to the land of Syria before them.”

[Woes to Egypt and various Egyptian cities]

“Woe to Egypt! . . . It will weep because (?). . . of the curses that are numerous within it. Weep, Heliopolis, while the west and east are under attack . . . ! Weep, Boubastis! Weep, Nilopolis! They will make the streets of Sebennytos into grape orchards, with the pool of the Temple of Hatmehyt (Mendes) become bushes, palms and cucumbers. Weep, O great trees of Upoke! Weep, Memphis, the city of Apis! Weep, Thebes, the city of Amon! Weep, Letopolis, the city of Shu, which has experienced fear and suffering!”

[Lamb’s clarifications and prediction of the future renewal of Egypt]

The lamb concluded all the curses regarding them. Pasaenhor said to him: “Will these happen only without our having seen them?” The lamb said to him: “These will happen only when I am the sacred-serpent (uraeus) upon the head of pharaoh, which will happen at the completion of nine hundred years, when I control Egypt after the occurrence of the Mede.”

The lamb turned his attention to Egypt, abandoning the foreign powers:

“Truth will be manifest. Falsehood will perish. Law and judgment will occur within Egypt. The shrines of the Egyptian gods will be recognized for them at Nineveh in the district of Syria [i.e. Assyria]. When it . . . happens (?). . . that the people of Egypt go to the land of Syria, they will control its districts and (column 3) they will find the shrines of the Egyptian gods. Because of the good fortune that will happen in Egypt they will be speechless. The one abominable to god will fare badly. The one beneficent god will receive beneficence from god also when he is buried. The barren woman will sigh; the one who gives birth will rejoice because of the good things that will happen in Egypt. The small number of people who will be in Egypt will say: ‘If only my father and the father of my father were here with me in the good time that has occurred!’”

[Death of the lamb and Pasaenhor’s discussion with pharaoh Bakenrenef / Bocchoris]

The lamb concluded absolutely all of the matters to be said, and he died. Pasaenhor had him taken up upon a new boat. He did not delay in going to the place where Pharaoh Bakenrenef [i.e. Bocchoris in Greek transliteration] was. They read the papyrus scroll before Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to them: “All these evils will happen in Egypt?” Pasaenhor said: “Before you have died they will happen.” Pharaoh said to Pasaenhor: “Look after the lamb! Let him be placed in a . . . golden (?) . . . shrine! Let him be buried in the manner of a god! Let it happen on earth in accordance with the custom that prevails for every ruler!’’ Afterwards, Pharaoh arranged for his burial in accordance with the sacred writings. This is the conclusion of the papyrus scroll. Written in year thirty-three of Caesar, month four of summer, day eight.

[Scribe’s final comment]

This was written by Khetba son of Herieu the younger, the name of whose mother is Khetba the elder. Behold here the curse that Pre made against Egypt from the sixth regnal year of Pharaoh Bakenrenef.

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Oracle of the Potter (mid-late second century BCE)

Allen Kerkeslager’s English translations of the Greek papyri for the Oracle of the Potter are presented here in this order (with considerable overlap between the second and third papyri):

• PGraf G. 29787 (= P1, narrator’s prologue and beginning of dialogue between the potter and the king), second century CE papyrus.
• POxy XXII 2332 (= P3, what I am calling version A of the potter’s oracle content including earlier lines), third century CE papyrus, perhaps preserving a composition from just after 116 BCE (Koenen).
• PRainer, G. 19 813 (= P2, what I am calling version B of the potter’s oracle content with later lines, narrator’s conclusion, and translator’s postscript), third century CE papyrus, preserving a composition from the second century BCE (Koenen).

[Fragmentary prologue by the narrator introducing the potter conversing with pharaoh Amenophis / Amenhotep III]

[P1 = PGraf G. 29787, with damage at the beginning and end of each line]

(fragment 1:) (line 1) . . . (2) . . . (3) . . . having been sent. . . (4) . . . formerly. . . called (?) . . . island Helios. . . (5) . . . when Amenophis (?). . . the king had come to. . . (6) . . . costly (blank space) of Osiris. . . (7) . . . Isis, who is (?). . . worthy of highest praises. . . (8) . . . to. . . her (?). . . who is fruitful in regard to good things and. . . (9) . . . time to the. . . (10) . . . art of the potter’s craft. . . And the. . . (plural subject) . . . (11) . . . despising the deity, experiencing. . . (12) . . . that. . . was. . . because (?) Hermes [i.e. Thoth] had spoken. . . (13) . . . the potter. . . (14) . . . and those near it. . . (15) . . . having come down and having pulled out. . . (16) . . . be near the kiln. . . (17) . . . the potter had (?) . . . lost. . . his (?) . . . senses and. . . had become (?) . . . possessed by Hermes (18) . . . said (?) “. . . would easily. . . from you (singular) . . . (19) . . . But the potter, saying. . . (20) . . . (fragments 2-3:) (21) . . . and. . . after (?). . . the people. . . and the king. . . (22) . . . and after he had heard this man. . . (23) . . . violator of (?). . . law and blasphemed (24) . . . was driven (?) . . . out of his senses. (25) . . . And the potter responded, “ . . . burns potter’s. . . (26) . . . and with. . . much (?) . . . fire. . . (27) . . . the king (?). . . made the command. . . (28) . . . to guard with care. . . (29) . . . (30) . . . And the (?) . . . king having marvelled. . . (31) . . . After. . . had been shut. . . (32) . . . they ordered (?) . . . a. . . certain (?). . . sacred scribe (33) to record. . . all the things which would happen in Egypt (?) . . . in. . . a sacred (34) book. . . (35) . . . (fragment 4:) (36) . . . (37) . . . sacred. . . (38) . . . (39) . . . of the sacred scribe. . . (40) . . . in (?). . . sacred. . . archives (?). . . (41) . . . (42) . . . you are making. . . (43) . . . neither.. . . (fragment 5, four lines, too fragmentary to read even one complete word, then a number of lines missing.)

[Content of the potter’s prophecy]

[version A of oracle / P3 = POxy XXII 2332, late third century CE]

[Malicious treatment of Egypt in the time of the belt-wearers who are Typhonians]

(column 1) (lines 1-17) “. . . And he will rule Egypt. . . after he has entered (?) into the city that is being created [i.e. Alexandria], which. . . will (?). . . make the gods anew for itself after it has cast – as in a mould – its own form. But because it has been. . . founded (?) by the Typhonians (Typhonioi). . . will. . . even its. . . of temples. . . . Processions of the temples. . . will become few. . . . Burial will be in wet (?). . . clays. Some stench. . . will reach (?). . . to the city by those needing burial.. . . Then not even the king will attain (?). . . divine victory during any time of the Typhonians. . . . And (?). . . in the proper time the one who has been. . . thoroughly defiled (?). . . from his own impiety {omitted a likely interpolation that overlaps two lines} will thrust downward throughout the land of Egypt and. . . throughout (?). . . Lebanon. And so that he would not (?). . . lawless (?). On account of the insufficiency of the Nile, the barren land will be completely ruined after it has given birth. They will be grieved with misfortunes, saying: ‘And as for you, in the times of the Typhonians, you, Egypt, will be maliciously treated with awesome malicious deeds devised against you every year.’

[Further negative side-effects]

(lines 17-26) And the sun will become dim because it does not want to see the evils in Egypt. The land will not harmonize with the seeds. The majority of its produce will be destroyed by the wind.. . . The farmer (?). . . will be demanded to pay taxes even for things which he did not sow,. . . and they (?). . . are fighting with one another in Egypt because they are lacking in food supplies. For the things which they cultivate. . . another man will (?). . . reap and will. . . During this generation there will be. . . impious murder (?). . . of brothers. . . and of wives (?). For (?). . . Mephis [i.e. Knephis, as in version B below, an Egyptian snake god] has decided to. . . return (?). . . to the. . . city (?). . . .

[Divine retribution and destruction of the Typhonians / belt-wearers / Greeks]

(lines 26-50) And the belt-wearers (zōnophoroi),. . . who are Typhonians (?). . . , will slay themselves.. . . And the Merciful (?). . . god will be mistreated. But he will come after them on foot. . . to the sea having wrath (?). . . and. . . because they are (?). . . impious he will overthrow many. . . which are flaming with fire. A king will. . . come (?). . . down out of Syria [perhaps a reference to the Seleucid king Antiochos IV Epiphanes] who. . . will be (?). . . hateful to all men. And. . . the one ruling for two years (?). . . (column 2) was not ours. But the one ruling for fifty-five years {omitted an interpolation}, because he is ours, will bring to the Greeks the evils which the lamb announced to Bacharis [i.e. Bocchoris / Bakenrenef, on which see the Oracle of the Lamb – further above]. And luck will be taken away. . . from this (?). . . generation. And the honours of these people will be diminished. And the countryside. . . will be (?). . . disrupted by anarchy. . . because of those (?). . . who have abandoned their own land by their own free will. And they will travel in a foreign land. . . because they are shut (?). . . out by. . . friends (?).. . . . . his own evils being less than that. . . And people. . . will come to the same place for the sake of the gains of one. There will be among pregnant women a curse and much death. {omitted likely interpolation} And the city of the belt-wearers will be made desolate in the same way my kiln was. And the slaves will be liberated and their masters will ask for life. And the virgins will be corrupted by parents, and the father of the daughter will drag away the husband, and there will be men who practise incest with their mothers. And they will violently and forcibly sacrifice the male children. And the belt-wearers, who are also themselves Typhonians, will slay themselves.

[Agathos Daimon’s abandonment of Alexandria and the end of evils]

(lines 50-62) Then the Agathos Daimon [literally “Good Lower-spirit,” protective deity of the city of Alexandria depicted as a serpent] will abandon the city that is being created and will go away to god-bearing Memphis, and the city will be made completely desolate. And these things will happen at the end of the evils when foreigners fall like leaves from the tree in Egypt. And the city of the belt-wearers will be made desolate in the same way as my kiln was because of the lawless deeds which they committed. And the. . . cult images (?). . . of Egypt that have been transferred there will come back to Egypt again. And the city by the sea will be a drying. . . place (?). . . for fishermen’s nets because the Agathos Daimon and Mephis [i.e. Knephis] will go away, so that some passing through will say, ‘This was the nourisher of all, into which every descent group (genos) among humans settles.’

[Revival of Egypt]

(column 3) (lines 63-79) And then Egypt will grow, when the one who has come from Helios [Sun personified as a god] for fifty-five years, a giver of good things, is appointed by the greatest goddess, so that the ones who survive will pray and the ones who died before will arise in order that they may share in good things. And at the end of the evils, after the dry acanthus [i.e. likely a reference to the royal acacia tree]. . . has been (?). . . watered, it will bloom (?). It will bear leaves, and the Nile that had been lacking in water will become filled. And the winter, which had taken off its clothing, will run in its own cycle. And the summer will take its own course, and breezes of the winds will be orderly. These things will be.”

[version B of oracle / P2 = PRainer, G. 19813, third century CE]

[Malicious treatment of Egypt in the time of the belt-wearers who are Typhonians]

[see version A / P3, lines 1-13, for preceding material]

(column 1) (lines 1-5) “. . . and lawless. . And the river. . .will come not having adequate (?). . . water, but a little.. . . So that the land (?). . . will be scorched. . . but unnaturally. For in the time of the Typhonians they will say, ‘Wretched Egypt,. . . you are (?). . . maliciously. . . treated (?). . . with. . . awesome (?) . . malicious deeds maliciously worked against you.’

[Further negative side-effects]

(lines 6-14) And the sun will become dim because it does not want to see the evils in Egypt. The land will not harmonize with the seeds. These things will cause its produce to be destroyed by the wind.. . . And the farmer (?). . . who did not sow will be asked to pay taxes. They are fighting in Egypt because. . . they are (?). . . lacking in food supplies. The things which they cultivate. . . another man will (?). . . reap and carry away. During this generation there will be. . . murder (?). . . which. . . will slay (?). . . even brothers and wives. For. . . these things will happen (?). . . when the great god Hephaistos [likely identified with the Egyptian deity Ptah] has decided. . . to return (?). . . to the city.

[Divine retribution and destruction of the Typhonians / belt-wearers / Greeks]

(lines 13-28) And the belt-wearers,. . . who are Typhonians (?). . . will slay themselves.. . . And the Merciful god (?). . . will be mistreated. But he will come after them on foot to the sea in wrath and he will overthrow many of them. . . because they are (?). . . impious. And the one who will be hateful to all men. . . and abominable will come (?). . . down out of Syria [perhaps a reference to the Seleucid king Antiochos IV Epiphanes]. And also from Ethiopia. . . another one who is (?). . . himself from the unholy ones will. . . come down (?). . . to Egypt. And he will. . . settle in the city which (?). . . later will be made desolate. And the one ruling for two years was. . . not ours (?). . . and the lamb spoke well. . . . And the children of these people will be diminished. And the countryside will. . . be disrupted by (?) anarchy and. . . not a few (?). . . of those who dwell in Egypt will abandon their own possessions by their own free will. They will travel in a foreign land because they are. . . shut (?) out. . . by all (?). . . their own evils being less than those.. . . And people will be killed by (?). . . one another. Two of them will. . . come (?). . . to the same place for the sake of the benefits of one. . . . Among pregnant women there will also be much death. But the belt-wearers, who are themselves Typhonians, will slay themselves!

[Agathos Daimon’s abandonment of Alexandria and the end of evils]

(lines 28-38) Then the Agathos Daimon will abandon the city [Alexandria] that is being created and will enter into Memphis and the city of foreigners which will be founded will be made completely desolate. And these things will be at the end of the evils when foreigners fall like leaves from the tree in Egypt. And the city of the belt-wearers will be made desolate in the same way my kiln was because of lawless deeds which they committed in Egypt. The cult images (?). . . that have been transferred there will come back to Egypt again. And the city by the sea [Alexandria] will be a drying. . . place (?). . . for fishermen’s nets because the Agathos Daimon and Knephis [both represented as serpents, here identified] will have gone away to Memphis, so that some passing through will say, ‘This city was nourisher of all, into which was settled every descent group of humans.’

[Revival of Egypt]

(lines 38-49) Then Egypt will grow, when the kindly one who originates from Helios [Sun personified as a god] has arrived to be king for fifty-five years, a giver of good things, who is appointed by the greatest goddess Isis, so that the ones who survive will pray that the ones who died before will arise in order that they may share in good things. And at the end of these things it will bear leaves. And the Nile that had been lacking in water will be filled. And the winter, which had taken off its clothing in a discordant manner, will run in its own cycle. And then the summer will take its own cyclical course, and breezes of the winds which formerly existed will be orderly, being gently diminished. For in the time of the Typhonians the sun became dim to shine forth a penalty for the evils and to display dearth for the belt-wearers. And Egypt.. . .”

[Conclusion by the narrator]

(lines 49-53) Having made things clear to this point, the potter breathed his last. And king Amenophis, who had been persuaded with regard to more than a few events about which the potter had proclaimed, honoured the potter with funerary rites and buried him in Heliopolis [near modern Cairo]. But he deposited the papyrus in his sacred archives and showed it to all people without hesitation.

[Scribal translator’s final comment]

(lines 54-57) The Potter’s Defence, made to Amenophis the king concerning things that will happen in Egypt, translated as carefully as possible.

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Source of translations: Translation of the Oracle of the Lamb is from R.K. Ritner, “The Prophecy of the Lamb (P. Vienna D. 10,000),” in The Literature of Ancient Egypt, W.K. Simpson, ed. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2003), 445-449, used here and adapted under fair dealing or fair use provisions for the purposes of critical analysis and education without profit). Translation of the Oracle of the Potter courtesy of Allen Kerkeslager, with some modifications. See also Kerkeslager, “The Apology of the Potter: A Translation of the Potter’s Oracle,” in Jerusalem Studies in Egyptology (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1998), 67-79.