Editing Nehebkau (section)

=== Funerary God ===
[[File:Nehebkau - Spell-87 -Book of the Dead.jpg|thumb|Nehebkau depicted in Spell 87 of the [[Papyrus of Ani|Book of the Dead of Ani]]]]
As a funerary god and one of the forty-two judges in the [[Assessors of Maat|Court of Maat]], Nehebkau played a significant role in the [[Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs|Ancient Egyptian perception of the afterlife]].<ref name="shorter" /> As well as guarding the underworld, he was occasionally represented as a personal guard of [[Osiris]].<ref name="bane">{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Bane, Theresa|title=encyclopedia of beasts and monsters in myth, legend and folklore|date=25 April 2016|publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-9505-4|oclc=930364175}}</ref>

When a deceased spirit enters the afterlife in Ancient Egyptian mythology, the most important stage is their trial in the Court of Maat,<ref name=wilkinson/> also known as the Law-Court of [[Osiris]]<ref name=wilkinson/> or the Dead Court.<ref name=shorter/> This tribunal consisted of forty-two fearsome deities who represented all possible types of evil,<ref name=wilkinson/> and to whom the deceased had to declare their innocence.<ref name=wilkinson/>

Nehebkau had a specific role in examining the individual's purity and sinlessness, and he was specifically responsible for protecting the neck and throat of the deceased.<ref name=nageh/>

Once the deceased is justified and found innocent by the Court, Nehebkau is believed to have absolved the soul of sin<ref name=nageh/> and provided the deceased with food and drink.<ref name=nageh/> He additionally nourishes the deceased with [[Ancient Egyptian conception of the soul#Ka (vital essence)|ka – the 'life force']] of the individual - allowing their spirit to endure in the afterlife.<ref name=massiera>{{Cite journal|last=Massiera|first=Magali|date=2015|title=The So Called Statue of Nehebkau, A Comparative Study|journal=Journal of Intercultural and Interdisciplinary Arcaheology|pages=25–33|url=https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiia/article/download/29447/23116/87200}}</ref>