In the Exodus text, Israel travelled the linking corridor, which is described as the exit route out of Egypt and the passing through of a papyrus thicket, the mythical birthplace of the sky god, that which is the Sea of Reeds of Exodus 14. Israel became the living incarnation or embodiment of god through its surrender to Yahweh. The purpose of the reed sea was to assist in the symbolic rebirth of Israel from a people of chaos to a people of order or Ma’at.
Ma'at: Middle Kingdom.
By the Middle Kingdom, the Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom, which aided the king in his rebirth, had undergone several modifications. They were now to be found on the coffins of wealthy nobles and their tomb walls. In the Old Kingdom, the custom was for the king to be considered as an equal to the gods and one of them. Now, in the Middle Kingdom, he had become inferior and a mere executor of their will. The privilege of an afterlife with the gods had expanded to include the nobles and nomarch’s of Egypt. Even then, this privilege counted for no more than 3 percent of the population. [66] [67]
Being more than just a container for the deceased's body, the simple sycamore box with its lid, the wood for which had to be imported, had become the most important item of a noble’s funerary equipment by virtue of the text and images placed upon it. The Book of the Two Ways was an illustrated guide to the underworld known almost exclusively from the tombs of Deir el-Bersha. It was the vessel that guaranteed a passage to the afterlife, helping each human being to overcome geographical and demonic obstacles. With its illustrated guide to the underworld painted upon the inside, these instructions would have guided the occupant's feet when walking in the underworld.
