Ancient Egyptan ma‘at or old testament deed-consequence nexus as predecessors of ubuntu?

Abstract

The Ancient Egyptian concept of Ma‘at shows some analogies to the concept of ubuntu. Both concepts seem to presuppose that people in a given society are willing to act for each other. In Bible exegesis, the concept of Ma‘at has attracted interest in connection with the Old Testament deed-consequence nexus (i.e. good consequences follow good deeds). The article looks at significant parallels between ubuntu, Ma‘at and the deed-consequence nexus. Its aim is to outline questions that have been discussed in the context of those two ancient concepts and that could be helpful for future research on ubuntu.