Isfet
Isfet (MdC transliteration jzf.t) was the personification of chaos, evil and injustice. It was the opposite of Maat, and it was the task of the pharaohs to defend Maat and defeat Isfet:Unas has come from the Isle of Fire, after Unas had placed Maat in the stead of Isfet.Isfet was the primordial Chaos, consisting of the waters of Nun. Order came into being with the act of creation, the self-impregnation of Atem in the Heliopolitan tradition and the birth of Shu and Tefnut.Unas pyramid: PT 249 (line [394])[1]
Isfet continued to be part of the cosmos. At first only Egypt was exempted from it, but later adjoining, and finally far-off countries became part of the ordered world as well.
Isfet was also the evil in a person's heart, and anybody interested in taking part in the afterlife had to make sure, not to be burdened with it. In the Papyrus of Nu there is a charm for becoming a great one of the (otherworldly) court of justice:
I am bringing you (i.e. the gods) incense and natron.
I want to expell the bad smell from your mouth.
Therfore I come in order to expell the evil in your hearts.
With this I remove the Evil (Isfet) which clings to you.
With this I bring you Good.
I present justice (Maat) to you.Tb 079, pLondon BM EA 10477 (pNu)[2]
Footnotes:
[1] After a transliteration and German translation on the Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae website => Altägyptisches Wörterbuch, Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften => Pyramidentexte => Unas-Pyramide => Vorkammer => Westgiebel => PT 249
[2] After a transliteration and German translation on the Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae website => Totenbuchprojekt, Nordrhein-Westfälische Akademie der Wissenschaften => pLondon BM EA 10477 (pNu) => Tb 079
