Time of Creation, Creation of Time: Notes on the Making of Time in Six Religious Hymns of the New Kingdom (ca. 1539-1077 BCE)

The present article consists of a brief discussion of excerpts from six New Kingdom religious hymns (Cairo CG 58038, BM EA 10471.21, Leiden I 350 recto, Leiden I 344 verso, TT 221’s and TT 65’s ceilings) centered around the creation of Time. Through the examination of their phraseological contexts as well as the analysis of the textual devices and strategies included in them to allude to the temporal genesis, it will be argued that no clear distinction is made in these sources between “creating” and “making” Time. Two primary arguments are advanced to maintain this idea: the predominance of the lexeme jr(j) and the more general creatio continua setting of the hymnal passages at issue. Throughout the article, related sources will be mentioned, and some remarks on the temporality of the Creator will be provided.