The Tale of Sinuhe Page1-Libre

Sohag University Faculty of Arts Egyptology Department

Notes on the story of Sinuhe Lines 1-6

Prepared By Walid El Sayed Abd El Rahim

Student of Egyptology Pre-Master degree

Supervision

Dr. Ahmad El Ansary Associate Professor of Egyptian

Language (Philology) Sohag university

2010-2011

Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Softwarehttp://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only.

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The Story of Sinuhe The Tale of Sinuhe is considered one of the finest works of Ancient Egyptian literature. It is a narrative set in the aftermath of the death of Pharaoh Amenemhat I, founder of the 12th dynasty of Egypt, in the early 20th century BC. It is likely that it was composed only shortly after this date, albeit the earliest extant manuscript is from the reign of Amenemhat III, ca. 1800 BC.1 the story of Sinuhe (zA- nht “the Sycamore’s Son”). The story is set in the reign of Senwosret I and is presented in the form of a tomb biography of Sinuhe, who was a servant of the queen. At the beginning of the tale Sinuhe is on a military campaign in the Libyan desert, led by Senwosret, who at this point is still the heir apparent. During the campaign Senwosret’s father, Amenemhat I, dies, and Senwosret is informed of the fact secretly by messengers from the palace. Sinuhe overhears the message. Fearing that rival factions will kill Senwosret and his followers, he flees to the coast of Syria. There he is adopted by a local sheikh and eventually becomes a tribal ruler in his own right. After many years, he is challenged to battle by the head of a rival clan. The account of their fight—which Sinuhe wins by killing his challenger—foreshadows in some respects the Biblical tale of David’s victory over Goliath, just as the story of Sinuhe’s long exile abroad resembles that of Moses in the story of the Exodus. After this success, Sinuhe begins to long for home. His situation is reported to Senwosret, and the king sends him a letter (which the story reproduces in full) urging him to come back. Sinuhe rejoices over the pharaoh’s invitation and returns to Egypt, though he is still afraid of punishment for doubting Senwosret’s ability to gain control after his father’s death. In an audience before the king, Sinuhe is championed by the queen and the royal children. Senwosret pardons him, gives him the property and station of a high official, and orders a pyramid built for him in the royal cemetery. The story ends with the words “I was under the blessing of the king until the day of mooring (i.e., dying) came.” Although it is couched in the form of a tomb biography, the story of Sinuhe is clearly a careful literary composition. It is primarily written in the form of “thought couplets”, and can be considered as much a poem as a prose tale. The elegance of its language was probably one of the reasons for its popularity: a number of the copies we possess were written by schoolboys as scribal exercises. 2

1 - R. B. Parkinson, The Tale of Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems. Oxford, 1999, p. 21 2 - Jams p. Allen, Middle Egyptian An Introduction to the Language and culture of hieroglyphic, Cambridge Uni. 2000 P.285.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_literature

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_literature

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharaoh

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amenemhat_I

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amenemhat_I

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelfth_dynasty_of_Egypt

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amenemhat_III

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Bibliography • J.W.B. Barns. Some readings and interpretations in sundry Egyptian texts. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 58:159-166, 1972. • J.W.B. Barns. The Ashmolean Ostracon of Sinuhe. Oxford University Press, London, 1952. • A.M. Blackman. Middle-Egyptian Stories -- Part I. Fondation Égyptologique Reine Élisabeth, Brussels, 1932. • W.V. Davies. Readings in the story of Sinuhe and other Egyptian texts. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 61:45-53, 1975. • R.O. Faulkner. A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian. Griffith Institute, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1962. • A.H. Gardiner. Notes on the story of Sinuhe. Librairie Honoré Champion, Paris, 1916. • A. Gardiner. Egyptian Grammar. Griffith Institute, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1957. • E. Graefe. Mittelägyptische Grammatik für Anfänger. Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden, 1994. • R. Hannig. Grosses Handwörterbuch Ägyptisch-Deutsch: die Sprache der Pharaonen (2800-950 v.Chr.). Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 1995. • R. Koch. Die Erzählung des Sinuhe. Fondation Égyptologique Reine Élisabeth, Brussels, 1990. • M. Lichtheim. Ancient Egyptian Literature -- Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms. University of California Press, 1975. • A. Loprieno. Ancient Egyptian: a linguistic introduction. Cambridge University Press, 1995. • R.B. Parkinson. The Tale of Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems 1940-1640 BC. Oxford University Press, 1997. • W.K. Simpson (editor). The Literature of Ancient Egypt: An Anthology of Stories, Instructions, and Poetry. Yale University Press, 1972. Möller, G. - Hieratische Paläographie. Die ägyptische Buchschrift in ihrer Entwicklung von der 5. Dyn. bis zur römischen Kaiserzeit, Heft,1Leipzig, 1927.


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Page in hieratic:1

Page in hieroglyphic:

1 - Möller, G. - Hieratische Paläographie. Die ägyptische Buchschrift in ihrer Entwicklung von der 5. Dyn. bis zur römischen Kaiserzeit, Heft,1Leipzig, 1927- 6


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Transliteration: iry pat HAty-a sAb aD-mr ity m tAw styw rx nswt mAa mry.f Smsw sA-nhAt Dd.f ink Sms Sms nb.f bAk n ipt nswt irt pat wrt Hswt nswt snwsrt m Xnm-swt sAt nswt imn-m-HAt mqA-nfrw nfrw nbt imAx rnpt-sp 30 Abd 3 Axt sw 7 ar nTr r Axt.f nswt-bity sHtp-ib-ra

Translation:

sovereign among , cutter-governor and canal, Nobleman and overlordthe Syrians,One known to the king directly, his favourite, the Follower

Sanehat .He says: I am a Follower who follows his lord, a servant of

the family-quarters of the king Of the noblewoman, abounding in favour King's Wife of Senusret in Khenemsut King's Daughter of

month , 30year ,lady of reverence , Neferu, in Qaneferu. Amenemhat

the king of , d to his horizonThe god ascende,7day , of Inundation3 upper and lower Egypt Sehetepibra.


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Line1

iry pat HAty-a sAb aD-mr ity m tAw styw Nobleman and overlord, governor and canal-cutter, sovereign among the Syrians glyphs

Ideo. HAt front,and det. HAty heart, HAtj –a "high official". Lit .,one whose

hand is in the front., Forepart of

lion F 3

Ido.,or det .sAb Worthy ,dignatry

jackeal

E 17

Det.hack up, mr hack up,Phon. mr love.

hoe

U6

Det. irrigated land ,land , tAS Boundary. Irrigated land

N 23

Ido.and det.crocodile, msH , crocodile ,phon. it in jtj sovereign

crocodile I 3

Det. In the O.K. writing in Horus ,Hr,det. Of gods,or of the kings.also ideo. In 1st person sing with the kings.

Falcon of horuse on the

Standard R 12 G 7

Ideo., tA earth,land, Hence phon., Det., land

,in Dt eternity Flat alluvial land with Grains of N33

N16

Ideo., or det., also phon., st ex. Stt the Goddess

Satis

Cow s skin pierced by An arrow

F29

Zi .man,occupations, personal names, first personal sing. pronoun

seated man, person

A1

Det., female,Hmt,st,wife,Woman as suffix 1st pers.,sing.,'I'my,=j Seated woman

B1


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Det., plurality ,ideo., or det., z

Strok Z1 Z2

Ideo.,or det., in xAst hill-country, Forgen land, det.,desert , Also ideo.,in @A the Desert-God

Sandy hill-country over Edge of green cultivation

N25

Vocabulary

iry pat Nobleman

sAB governor

aD-mr canal-cutter

ity sovereign

tAw The land

styw the Syrians

HAty-a overlord

Governor and canal-cutter: this pair of phrases is a Middle Kingdom revival from Old Kingdom expressions of high status among administrators.

As we know that , Egyptian is able to make an adjective out of a noun by adding an ending (masculine –j, feminine –t) to the noun: for example, njwtj and njwtt “local,” from njwt “town.” Such derived adjectives are known as nisbes. The same procedure is used to make adjectives out of prepositions. Most of the primary prepositions have a nisbe form:

1. (also , , , , etc.) jmj “inherent in,” from m “in”. 2. (also , , ) jrj “pertaining to,” from r “with respect to”1 Uses of the prepositional nisbes

Like other nisbes, those formed from prepositions can be used both to modify nouns and as nouns in their own right: for example, at Hrt “an upper room,” Hrt nbt

1 - Jams p. Allen, Middle Egyptian An Introduction to the Language and culture of hieroglyphic, Cambridge Uni. 2000, p. 91


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“every upper one.” In both uses, prepositional nisbes often govern a following noun, noun phrase, or pronoun, just as prepositions themselves do. This kind of construction is usually impossible to translate directly into good English; instead, English has to use the words “who is, who are, which is, which are” followed by the relevant preposition, or the preposition alone: for example, nTrw imyw pt “the gods who are in the sky” or “the gods in the sky” (literally, “the gods, the inherent ones of the sky”); jmjw.s “those who are in it” or “those in it” (literally, “its inherent ones”). tpj-Dw.f “he who is atop his mountain” (an epithet of Anubis).1 Direct genitive between tAw styw The direct genitive consists of putting two nouns after each other, with the first noun denoting the object that is being possessed and the second the object that possesses the first. Some examples will clarify this:

nb p.t lord of the heavens

imj-r mSa overseer of the troops (i.e. general)

Note that each noun keeps its gender and number and is not influenced by the gender or number of the other noun.If the noun indicating the "owner" refers to gods or to kings, it is written before the first noun, even though grammatically it should come after. This is because, in the Ancient Egyptian mindset, anything related to the divine and to kingship, deserved respect. In transcription, we respect the grammatical order. The following examples demonstrate this principle:

Hw.t nTr house of god

Hm nTr servant (of) god sA imn son (of) Amun

sA nsw son (of the) king

Indirect genitive

In the direct genitive, there is no word that links the two nouns together. The relationship between the two nouns is implicit. In the indirect genitive, the first noun (which still denotes the object that is being possessed) is separated from the second by a word, which follows the gender and number of the first noun.

Singular masc., n

Singular fem., nt

1 - Jams p. Allen, Middle Egyptian An Introduction to the Language and culture of hieroglyphic, Cambridge Uni. 2000 p,92.


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Line2

rx nswt mAa mry.f Smsw sA-nhAt Dd.f ink Sms One known to the king directly, his favourite, the Follower Sanehat He says: I am a Follower.

glyph

Ideo. In swt the swt plant, Hence phon.,sw,

Plant regarded as typical of upper Egypt probably form of

M26 but without flowers

M23

Det.,eat,wnm, "eat", sDd "relate"gr "be silent,.mrj,love, Man with hand to mouth A2

Ideo.,mDAT ,papyrus-roll,book, Hence., phon.,det., writing, and thing written,sAXw write,

Papyrus rolled up ,tied and sealed y1

yyy

Ideo., in mA sickle- shaped end, Henc phon.,in mAA see. Sickle, U1

Ideo., in Sms "follow ,accompany and derivatives.

Crook,S39 with a package containing aknife,etc. lashed T18

The hieroglyphic adaptation of the

hieratic abbreviation from of G43

The hieroglyphic adaptation of the hieratic abbreviation from

of G43 Z7

Det. In O.K. gb "the gb- goose hence semi-phon. gb in "Gb" the earth-god", Det. In , ,names of kind of geese.,

Pintail duck G38

Vocabulary

nswt the king

mAa directly

Smsw the Follower


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sA-nht Sanehat

Sms Followe

The story opens with the titles supposed to have been attainted by Sinuhi at the end

of his career ,followed by his name and the words ''he sayes ''.1 The name occurs again in the M. E(. Pap. Kah un, 9, 11 ; Turin, 10; Turin , 94 = Rec. de trav., 3, 122. Maspero is therefore not justified in using the name as evidence that the tale is wholly fictitious (M. S., p. xxxv)2 The perfective sDm=f The imperfective expresses imperfective or extended action: action that is in some way repeated, ongoing, or incomplete. This is an aspect rather than a tense (. Like the perfective and many other Middle Egyptian verb forms, the imperfective is essentially tenseless. It often has to be translated by an English present tense, but it can be used with reference to past or future actions as well. Some Egyptologists use the terms indicative (or indicative sDm=f ) instead of perfective and circumstantial (or circumstantial sDm=f) instead of imperfective when referring to these forms. Although the perfective is an indicative form, most other Egyptian verb forms are also indicative. The imperfective is frequently used to express circumstance, as we will see below, but it has other uses as well. The names “indicative” and “circumstantial” are therefore too broad in one case and too narrow in the other. For that reason, this book uses the older terms perfective and imperfective,

Dd=j “I said”—no prefixed forms .3 The negated perfective By far the most frequent use of the perfective in Middle Egyptian—and just about the only use of this form in most texts—is in the negation nj sdm=f. This construction is the negative counterpart of the perfect. It is used for the negation of past or completed action.

nj rx sw “I do not know him.”4 ink Sms

I am a Follower. Subject + predicate

Here the Independent pronoun ink used as subject

1 - Gardiner, A. Notes on the story of Sinhui,paris,1916 p.100. 2 -Ibid, P.9. 3 - Jams p. Allen, Middle Egyptian An Introduction to the Language and culture of hieroglyphic, Cambridge Uni. 2000, p. 267. 4 - Jams p. Allen., op.cit. p.269.270


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Independent pronouns

Form

Translation Translitration Hieroglyphic .

I, ink

1st pers. sing

you ntk

2nd pers. masc. sing.

you ntT

2nd pers. fem. sing.

he,

ntf

3rd pers. masc. sing.

she nts

3rd pers. fem. sing.

we,

inn 1st pers.

plur. you ntTn 2nd pers.

plur. they ntsn

3rd pers. plur.

Syntaxis and use

The independent pronoun almost always stands at the beginning of a sentence and can often be given an emphatic meaning.

The main use of the independent pronoun is as the subject of a non-verbal sentence where it is immediately followed by the nominal predicate. A few examples will help clarify this:

ink HqA pwn.t, I (am the) ruler of Punt. In this sentence, ink is the subject and HqA pwn.t, itself a direct genitive between hqA and pwn.t, the predicate. There is no verb in this sentence. In English, we have to add the verb "to be" to the translation.

ntk nTr aA, you (are the) great god.


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Line3

Sms nb.f bAk n ipt nswt irt pat wrt Hswt who follows his lord, a servant of the family-quarters of the king Of the noblewoman, abounding in favour, glyph

Ideo., in Sms "follow ,accompany and derivatives.

Crook,S39 with a package containing aknife,etc. lashed

T18

Det., backwards, ex., ann "turn back" , be

reversed.

Legs wailking backwards D55

Ideo., in , hence., phone.,

in afew words reading nb ,lord, every,all.

Wickerwork basket V30

Ideo. , in soul in bird form Hence phon.,and in group writing bA

Jabiru "ephippiorhynchus

senegalensis G29

Vocabulary

bAk servant

wrt Hswt abounding in favour

wrt are Adjective masc. and fem. Adjectives are used as qualifiers of nouns. They can be in masculin and feminin, in singular, dual and plural, just like nouns.Combining nouns and adjectives. Adjectives always follow the nouns that they qualify, using the paradigm noun + adjective(s).They also have the same gender and number as the nouns they qualify.


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examples :

nTr aA great god sing., masc.,

nTr.t aA.t great goddess,sing., fem.,

nTr.w aA.w great gods ,plur., masc.,

nTr.wt aA.wt great goddesses.,plurl., fem.,

When there are several adjectives to one noun, the adjectives are simply listed after

their noun: nTr.t aA.t nfr.t, the great and beautiful goddess (lit.: goddess great beautiful). Nouns can be combined to convey a sense of possession. This is known in grammatical terms as the genitive. In Middle Egyptian, we distinguish between two types of genitive: direct and indirect.


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Line4

nswt snwsrt m Xnm-swt sAt nswt imn-m-HAt King's Wife of Senusret in Khenemsut King's Daughter of Amenemhat. glyph

Det. Well.ex.xnmt "well"and Hmt wife, women. Hence phon. Hm 'nHm' to take.

Well full of water N41

Ide. In pay.'wsrt' Neck,. Hence. Phon. Wsr .

, powerful oar.

Head and neck of canine animal

F12

Det. In nxmn the nxmn vase, with its

speciftc oil. xnmw 'Chnum'

Ston jug with handle

W9

Ide. In "seat,place". Hence phon. st ex. mAst lap , wsir "Osiris" Ast "Isis"

Seat

Q1

Ideo. In swt the swt plant, Hence phon. ,sw,

Plant regarded as typical of upper Egypt probably

form of M26 but without flower

M23

Det. In O.K. gb "the gb- goose hence semi-phon. gb in "Gb" the earth-god", Det. In , ,names of kind of geese.,

White –fronted goose

G38

For unknown reason ,phon. mn exx "remain" "the god Amun " .Imn

game board and pieces

Y5


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Vocabulary

nsw King

Hmt Wife

snwsrt

Senusret

Xnm-swt Khenemsut , name of towen .

imn-m-HAt Amenemhat , proper name.

King's Wife of Senusret in Khenemsut: Egyptian has no single word for queen, using instead the compound phrase 'wife of the king'. Here the queen is identified as wife of king Senusret I, and her special religious status in the system of kingship is emphasised by mention of Khenemsut, the pyramid complex of that king at Lisht. King's Daughter of Amenemhat in Qaneferu: Senusret I was son of king Amenemhat I, and therefore it seems from this phrase that his wife was his full or half-sister. However, in Egyptian 'daughter' might also designate 'daughter-in-law'. Her eternal religious role is emphasised again by mention of the pyramid complex of the king, in this case Qaneferu, the pyramid complex of Amenemhat I at Lisht. m Xnm-swt in Khenemsut . prep.+ proper name Prepositions: Ancient Egyptian Language had known two kind of preposition; Simple prepositions and Compound preposition;

Simple preposition: as example

m In, of

r To "for place"

n To "for person"


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Hr On , upon

Hna With

Compound preposition:

It consists of a simple preposition plus noun or letter; as example

m-a In the hand of

Hr-tp On the head

m-m Among

m-bAH In the presence

of Prepositions used to make adverbial predicate in nominal sentence with adverbial predicate (ex, 1)or adverbial phrase as a complement of sentence(ex,2);

iw.f m pr "he is in the house"

iw.f m pr hna.i "he is in the house with me" Also to refer to stat; as in

mk sw m rSwt "Behold, he is in joy" Preposition "n" used with suffix pronouns or nouns to refer to Dative; as in

iw di.n.i n.k mw "I had given to you water"


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Line5

mqA-nfrw nfrw nbt imAx rnpt-sp 30 Abd 3 Axt sw 7

in Qaneferu, Neferu, lady of reverence ,year 30, month 3 of Inundation, day 7

glyph

Det.,high in , kAi be high, Det., Joy , Hay "rejoice"

Man with borh arms raised

A28

For unknown reason Phon., in nfr ,rare ,var, , "good"and related words.

Heart and windpipe

F 35

Ideo., in niwt "village"; for the reading .pyr., n(iw)tyw "those belonging to the lower heaven" , det. Town, village, ex wAst "Thebes" ; inhabited regon.in

Kmt "Egypt" lit. the black land.

Village with cross -roads

O49

Det., female, st Woman Hmt, ,wife, nTrt goddess; women's relationships sAt daughter , her name Nfrt Nofret. As suffix 1st pers.,sing.,'I'my,=j.

Seated woman

B1

Ideo. In var. imAx, spinal cord, realy det. In psD back .

Backbone with spinal cord issuing from it

F39

or

Det. In rnpi"be young, vigorous. Hence.rnp in var. pyr. rnpt, year ,possibly ideo., of tme also in tr time ,season.

Palm-branch stripped of leaves

M4

In var., SA"lotus pool, meadow". Hence phon. SA exx., appoint,command. In group-writing or

is used S .ideo., or semi-ideo.,in var. O.K., inundation season .

Pool with lotus flowers.

M8

Ideo, or det. In var. ra "sun",day ;var hrw day. Det. Sun or actions

of sun ,exx ,sun, wbn rise, and the action o time.

Sun

N5


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Variant as determinative. Determinative in iaH “moon,” also ideogram for same. Ideogram for “month”(jbd) in dates . Occasional variant of F42. Determinative in wAH “carob bean,” also ideogram for same. Determinative in šzp “palm”, also ideogram for same.

Crescent moon

N11

Ideogram mD in mDw 10.

V19 without horizontal cross-bar

V20

Vocabulary

qA-nfrw Qaneferu,proper name of town

nfrw Neferu, name of woman

nbt Lord,fem.

jmAx Reverence,hounoured.

rnpt-sp Year.

30

Thirty number.

Abd 3 Third month.

Axt Inundation.

sw Day.

7 Seven number.

rnpt-sp 30 Abd 3 Axt sw 7 This is the date, or lable, And therefore written red ink, which is called "Roubric".

The ancient Egyptian divided their year ( rnpt) into their seasons

( tr).the year began traditionally around mid-joly ,when the annual four


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month inundation of the Nile steated ,and the name of the seasons reflect the

Egyptian agricultural year : AXT '' Inundation'' (mid-joly to mid-November).

prt ''growing'' (lit. Emergence,mid-novamber to mid- march ). And Smw ''harvest ''(mid-march to mid –joly ). Each season was divided into four

months Abd of thirty days each ,, sw . The months also had names ,but these are rarely used in hieroglyphic texts , instead ,the Egyptian employed a three –part numerical system for indicating months and day:

1. the sign (for Abd ''month'')followed by a number from 1 to 4 ; 2. the number of season ;and

3. the sign (for sw ''day'') followed by a number from 1 to30.

For example , 3 Axt 7 ''3 inundation 7.'' The word tpj ''first''

was sometimes used instead of for ''month 1,'' and the word arqy ''last'' was normally used instead of the numeral for the thirtieth day of the

month:fpr instance , tpj Smw 16 ''first of Harvest 16'' .

2prt arqy ''2 Growing last,'' the used of tpj ''first (month)''and arqy ''last(day)''indicates that the numbers in dates were probably pronounced as

ordinals rather than cardinals :i.e., xmtnw Axt sfxnw ''third (month )of Inundation seventh (day).1

1- Jams p. Allen, Middle Egyptian An Introduction to the Language and culture of hieroglyphic, Cambridge Uni. 2000 .p.104


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Line6

ar nTr r Axt.f nswt-bity sHtp-ib-ra The god ascended to his horizon, the king of upper and lower Egypt Sehetepibra. Glyph

Det. for wAt “road,” also ideogram for same. Det.road, distance,postition. Ideo. for wAi“tend, start” (from wAt “road”). Phono. Hr in jn-Hrt “Onuris” (a god),

Hrw “Horus,” and Hrw r “except” (from Hri “go far away”).

path with shrubs.

N31

Ideo. for nTr “god.” Phon. nTr. Det. God .very rearely det. For a god ,ex. Gbb Geb.

cloth wound on pole

R8

Ideo. for var. pyr. Axt , horizon(properly the place in the sky wher the sun rise).

sun rising above mountain

N 27

Ideo. for bjt “bee; honey,” and bjtj “hereditary king.” n-sw-bitj "king of upper and lower Egypt ".

bee or wasp

L2

Phono. Htp. Reast,be pleased, Ideo. for Htp “offering slab.”

bread loaf on mat

R4

Ideo. for jb “heart, mind.” Det. in HAty “heart.”

heart

F34


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Vocabulary

ar ascended

nTr The god

AHt

Horizon.

Nsw-bity

the king of upper and lower Egypt.

sHtp ib ra

Sehetepibra ,name of the king.

Sehetepibra: the throne-name taken by king Amenemhat I at his accession, and used here to identify him in preference to the ambiguous Amenemhat (there were four kings named Amenemhat in the Twelfth Dynasty). Appostion word in appostion my be separated from one another by other words,1 and we can see that in Infinitive Definition The infinitive is a verb form used to refer to action just as action, without reference to any tense, mood, aspect, or voice. The infinitive actually belongs to a special class of words, known as verbal nouns, which are used to describe action as such.English has not only the infinitive and gerund but also words such as involvement (the action of being involved), condescension (the action of being condescending), and taxation (the action of taxing), which are verbal nouns made from the verb root plus different suffixes, and words such as fear, love, and hate (the actions of fearing, loving, and hating), which are verbal nouns made just from the verb root itself. The infinitive in English has a special form that distinguishes it from other verbal nouns, consisting of the preposition to plus the verb root (as in to involve, to condescend, to fear, and so forth). Like English, Egyptian also has a number of different verbal nouns, one of which is the infinitive. The infinitive in Egyptian often corresponds to the English infinitive, but in other cases it is best translated by an English gerund or another

1 Gardiner, A.Egyptian Grammar; Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs (3rd ed1957.). Oxford: Griffith Institute, Ashmolean Museuem p.68


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verbal noun. Unlike the infinitive in English, the Egyptian infinitive cannot be recognized just by its form: in many cases it looks like other verbal nouns. What distinguishes the infinitive in Egyptian is its syntax: that is, the way it is used grammatically . In the following sections we will look first at the form of the infinitive (which Egyptologists have determined by examining its different uses) and then at the various ways in which it is used.1 The form of the infinitive The Middle Egyptian infinitive has two forms: one with the base or geminated stem and no ending, and one with the base stem plus an ending –t. These two forms are complementary: some verbs use the form without an ending and others the form ending in –t. The choice of form depends on the verb class or, in some cases, the kind of verb.2 The subject of the infinitive Like most other verb forms, the infinitive can have a subject, which is either a noun (or noun phrase) or a pronoun. In Middle Egyptian the subject of the infinitive can be expressed in two ways, each of which has a similar counterpart in English: 1)-as an agent. When the subject is a noun or demonstrative pronoun, it is introduced by the preposition jn “by”. for example

nat m xd jn Hm=f “sailing downstream by His Incarnation.” The verb naj “travel by boat” is 3ae-inf. The expression m xd “downstream” involves a verbal noun (not the infinitive) of 3ae-inf. xdj “go downstream”: literally, “in going downstream.”3 When the agent is a personal pronoun, the independent form of the pronoun is used, without the preposition jn (which is not used with personal pronouns). example with the firstperson singular form: Ex.

4 rwd nnk Hr jb=f “being firm by me in his opinion,” literally, “being-firm belonging-to-me on his heart.” Examples with a pronominal agent are relatively uncommon.1

1 - Jams p. Allen, Middle Egyptian An Introduction to the Language and culture of hieroglyphic, Cambridge Uni. 2000 p.163 2 -Ibid. P 164. 3 - Ibid,. p 165. 4 - Gardiner, A.Egyptian Grammar; Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs (3rd ed1957.). Oxford: Griffith Institute, Ashmolean Museuem. p. 309


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2) by the direct genitive (for nouns or demonstrative pronouns) or a suffix pronoun (for personal pronouns): for instance,

prt sm “the emerging of the sem-priest” The object of the infinitive The infinitive of transitive verbs can have an object as well as a subject: that is, a noun (or noun phrase) or pronoun indicating the person or thing on whom the action of the infinitive is performed. Like the infinitive’s subject by the direct genitive (for nouns or demonstrative pronouns) or a suffix pronoun (for personal pronouns). This construction is used when the subject of the infinitive either is not expressed or is expressed as an agent: for example,

gmyt =f jn Hm=f “finding him by His Incarnation.” the object is actually the possessor of the infinitive; English can use a similar possessive construction with its gerund: “the finding of him by His Incarnation.”2 Negation of participle Participle negated by using (negative verb) "tm" , it used at the form of Active/passive participle , and mainly verb come after it at the form of Negatively complement; as follow

tAw nb tmm xnd st "All lands which had not treaded"

nswt-bity sHtp-ib-ra THE KING’S NAMES The king was not only the pinnacle of Egyptian society but also the link between human beings and the gods, since he was human himself yet embodied a divine power. This dual nature is reflected in many of the king’s attributes, particularly in his official titulary, which also reflects his rule over both parts of Egypt, Upper and Lower. From the Fifth Dynasty onward, every Egyptian king had five official names, though not all of these are known for every king. Here is the fivefold titulary of the pharaoh Amenemhat III of Dynasty 12 .

1 Jams p. Allen, Middle Egyptian An Introduction to the Language and culture of hieroglyphic, Cambridge Uni. 2000, p. 165 2 - Ibid, p. 165


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The first part of the titulary is known as the Horus name. It is the oldest of the five names, and consists of three elements: (1) a falcon perched on (2) a schematic rendering of the archaic palace, within which is (3) the king’s name. The falcon is emblematic of Horus, the god of kingship. The schematic palace is known as a serekh (Egyptian srx, from the word srx“make known”). Its lower part represents the niched façade of early mudbrick palaces, and its upper part is a rudimentary ground plan of the palace. Together, the three elements are a hieroglyph meaning “The divine power of kingship (Horus) is incarnated in the individual who resides in the palace.” The Horus name of Amenemhat III is aA bAw, a nfr Hr construction meaning “He whose impressiveness is great”—literally, “great of impressiveness p.66. The second name is known as the Two Ladies. It first appears in Dynasty 1. The “Two Ladies” (nbtj) are the vulture-goddess Nekhbet (nxbt), protector of Upper Egypt, and the cobra goddess Wadjet (wADyt), protective deity of Lower Egypt. Amenemhat III’s Two Ladies name is is iwat tAwy “He who takes possession of the inheritance of the Two Lands.” The third part of the titulary is the Gold Falcon name, also known as the Horus of Gold. In Egyptian it is called rn n nbw “the name of gold,” and is first attested in the Fourth Dynasty. Gold was the traditional material of the gods’ skins. With the falcon perched on top of the hieroglyph for “gold,” this name indicates that the king was the human incarnation of the god of kingship, Horus. The same idea is reflected in occasional statues of the king as a falcon; in one text Thutmose III of Dynasty 18 even calls himself bjk n nbw “a falcon of gold.” The Gold Falcon name of Amenemhat III, wAH anx, is another nfr xpr construction meaning “He whose life is permanent” literally, “permanent of life.” The last two names of the titulary are almost always written inside a ring of rope called a “cartouche.” The Egyptian word for “cartouche,” šnw “circle,” refers to the circle of the world , and the combination of the cartouche with the king’s name inside it originally indicated that the king has dominion over the whole world. Eventually, however, it became merely a device for marking a royal name; after the Middle Kingdom, the names of queens and royal children could also be written inside cartouches . The fourth name is the king’s throne name, also called the prenomen. This is the youngest of the five names, first appearing in Dynasty 5. Eventually it became the most important of all the king’s names, and from the Middle Kingdom onward it is often the only name by which the king is mentioned in texts. The throne name usually honors the sun-god Re (whose hieroglyph is always written first, in honorific transposition). It seems to have been a kind of motto by which the king


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indicated what he intended to be the major theme of his reign; in some cases, pharaohs even adopted the throne name of an illustrious predecessor to show that their reign would be a revival of past glory. Amenemhat III’s throne name, n(j) mAat Ra, means “He to whom the world-order (Maat) of Re belongs”

The throne name is preceded by the title nswt-bjt, which means “he to whom the sedge and bee belong.” The sedge and bee are emblematic of Upper and Lower Egypt, respectively, so the title is usually translated as “King of Upper and Lower Egypt.” But the word nswt, more fully n(j)-swt, is also the general word for “king”, and the nisbe bjtj “he of the bee” is a general term for “ancestral king,” so the title also identifies the king as the current incarnation of a line of royal ancestors. In this book, it is translated “Dual King.” The fifth part of the titulary is the Son of Re name, also called the nomen. First attested with a cartouche in Dynasty 4, the title sA-Ra “Son of Re” establishes a direct connection between the earthly king and Re, the ruling force in nature. The name in the cartouche following this title is the king’s own personal name, given to him at birth. In the case of Amenemhat III, his name, imn-m-HAt, means “Amun in Front” and honors the god Amun of Thebes, ancestral home of the Twelfth Dynasty. Although Egyptian texts usually referred to the king, during his life and after his death, by the throne name, Egyptologists use the Son of Re name instead. Since many kings were named after their fathers or grandfathers, a dynasty often had several kings with the same Son of Re name. To distinguish these, Egyptologists number the kings (e.g., Amenemhat III). These numbers are a modern convention: they were not used by the Egyptians themselves Besides the king’s official titulary, Egyptian also used a number of other titles and epithets to

refer to the king. The terms nswt “king” and Hm “incarnation” . These words were used only for Egyptian kings; foreign rulers were called

HkAو “ruler” (also used for the Egyptian king) or wr “great one.”

The term pr-aA “Big House” it is first used to refer to the pharaoh, rather than

the royal estate, at the end of Dynasty 18. The king was also called jty “sire” (also spelled , a “false dual”); this word may be a nisbe from jtj “father” (if so, it should be transliterated jtjj rather than jty). Some common

epithets of the king are nTr nfr “young god,” nb-tAwy “lord of the Two Lands,” and nb xaw“lord of appearances.” These are often used before the king’s cartouches, after the titles nswt biti and zA-Ra .1

1 - Jams p. Allen, Middle Egyptian An Introduction to the Language and culture of hieroglyphic, Cambridge Uni. 2000. p. 67,68.


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Bibliography 1. Gardiner, A.Egyptian Grammar; Being an Introduction to the

Study of Hieroglyphs. 3rd ed, Oxford ,1957 2. Gardiner, A. Notes on the story of Sinhui, paris,1916 3. Jams p. Allen, Middle Egyptian An Introduction to the

Language and culture of hieroglyphic, Cambridge Uni. 2000. 4. Möller,G.Hieratische Paläographie. Die ägyptische

Buchschrift in ihrer Entwicklung von der 5. Dyn. bis zur römischen Kaiserzeit, Heft,1Leipzig, 1927.

5. Parkinson, R. B., The Tale of Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems. Oxford World's Classics, 1999.


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