Editing Book of the Dead (section)

===Organization===

Almost every ''Book of the Dead'' was unique, containing a different mixture of spells drawn from the corpus of texts available. For most of the history of the ''Book of the Dead'' there was no defined order or structure.<ref>Taylor 2010, p.55</ref> In fact, until Paul Barguet's 1967 "pioneering study" of common themes between texts,<ref>{{cite book|last=Barguet|first=Paul|title=Le Livre des morts des anciens Égyptiens|year=1967|publisher=Éditions du Cerf|location=Paris|language=French}}</ref> Egyptologists concluded there was no internal structure at all.<ref name="Faulkner 1994, p.141">Faulkner 1994, p.141</ref> It is only from the Saite period ([[26th Dynasty]]) onwards that there is a defined order.<ref>Taylor, p.58</ref>

The Books of the Dead from the Saite period tend to organize the Chapters into four sections:
*'''Chapters 1–16''': The deceased enters the tomb and descends to the underworld, and the body regains its powers of movement and speech.
*'''Chapters 17–63''': Explanation of the mythic origin of the gods and places. The deceased is made to live again so that he may arise, reborn, with the morning sun.
*'''Chapters 64–129''': The deceased travels across the sky in the [[Solar barque|sun barque]] as one of the blessed dead. In the evening, the deceased travels to the underworld to appear before Osiris.
*'''Chapters 130–189''': Having been vindicated, the deceased assumes power in the universe as one of the gods. This section also includes assorted chapters on protective amulets, provision of food, and important places.<ref name="Faulkner 1994, p.141"/>