The 11th Dynasty stele of Mentuhotep
1st Row: O Noble ones who are on earth and pass by this tomb. You,
who love life and hate death, say: “Osiris, foremost of the Westerners,
do purify Mentuhotep”.
ii anxw tpw tA swa.t =sn Hr isi pn mrrw
O noble ones on the earth passing you by tomb this who love
O ye who live and are upon the earth and who shall pass by this tomb, who love (Gardiner)
Those who live and are upon the earth would rather rob the grave than pray for the
purification of Mentuhotep. The noble ones are invoked, who need not steal the grave
and as gods ‘live’ above, in the heavens, and down, in the Netherworld.
anx msDDw xpt Dd =Tn sAx wsir xnt imntyw mnTw [Htp]
life who hate death say you purify Osiris head of the Westerners Mentuhotep
life and hate death, say ye: “may Osiris, head of the Westerners, glorify Menthotpe.” (Gardiner)
2nd Row: I was, moreover, the best among the youngsters raised with
me in the harem; I had been enlightening my gang; I understood the
question addressed to me and answered it appropriately.
1
ink grt tpy m DAm(w) =f
I was moreover the best among the youngsters raised in the harem with me (lit.him)
Now I was the first among my contemporaries, (Gardiner)
I was the first of his troop, (Lichtheim)
sHD naxr =f gmw ss wSdt =f irf
instructor gang his who found ‘statement’ question his as to him
the foreman of my gang, one who discovered the statement about which he had been asked, (Gardiner)
1
the foreman of his crew, one who found the word he was asked for, (Lichtheim)
2
wSb m sp r sp =f
answered in time in time its
and answered (it) appropriately,' (Gardiner)
one who answered to the point. (Lichtheim)
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The “Teaching for King Merikare” §57
Raise your DAmw youngsters and you will be loved at home
Tsi DAmw =k mry tw Xnw
Raise DAmw youngsters yours be loved at home
FOSTER THY NEW GENERATION, THAT THE RESIDENCE CITY MAY LOVE THEE. (Wilson)
Raise up your young troops, that the Residence may love you (Faulkner)
Raise your youths and the residence will love you, (Lichtheim)
Hebe Rekruten aus, damit dich die Residenz liebt,
Raise recruits, so the residence will love you, (Quack)
Hebe eine Jungmannschaft aus, damit die Residenz dich liebt .
Raise a young team so that residence loves you. (Peter Dils, Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae)
In the “Admonitions of Ipuwer” text, the term appears written thus:
and the relevant passage is very informative:
The DAmw youngsters whom we raised for us became adversaries causing
destruction. 14.14 - 15.1
DAmw Tsi =n n =n xprw m pDt
The DAmw youngsters raised we for us became as adversaries
wAiw r xbA
fallen to destroying
The troops we raised for ourselves have become Bowmen bent of destroying (Lichtheim)
the youth whom we would raise for ourselves have become bowmen, having fallen to destroying. (Enmarch)
The term pDt can hardly be translated as bowmen since the determinative sign depicts
a couple of humans; not only men. In “Admonitions” 3.1 the sign serves as a determinative of
the term and since Ipuwer describes the aftermath of a civil war, no foreigners are meant either;
rather strangers, opponents, people of the hills or Easterners (the nobility consisted of
Westerners).
2
A note by Gardiner reads:
Lit. "with an occasion as regards its occasion." I think
this means "appropriately" rather than "point by point."
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3rd Row: The Western attitude brought together my allegiance to the
West and to the East, and justified my conduct.
The mother staying in the harem, the father acting for the child, thus
the child acquiring the proper form and a praiseworthy character for
having been raised by the father.
3 4 5
qbHw p(w) dmAt trt =f idn .n nf sxr =f
Lichtheim qb Ssp t r tr =f idn .n n =f sxr =f
This westernness which brings together my allegiance(s) justifies that conduct mine (his)
cool-(headed), one who obtained bread in its (due) season (Gardiner)
A cool one who got bread on time, whose conduct replaced him (Lichtheim)
6 7 8 9
mwt m xnt it Hr ir gm.k(wi) sA nfr qd
Lichtheim mwt m xnt it Hr ir gm =k sA =i nfr qd
mother in the harem father on acting acquired I son of good form
a mother at home, a father making the family fortune (??), and a son of good disposition (Gardiner)
a mother at home, a father who said, "Take note, my son". One well-disposed (Lichtheim)
10
dwA .n bit =f mi Xrd xpr m-a it
Lichtheim sbA n.biAt =f mi Xrd xpr m-a it
praise character his as child growing up
in the hand of the father
one whom his (own) nature instructed as (it were) a child growing up with its father. (Gardiner)
and taught by his nature, like a child grown up with a father, (Lichtheim)
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Lichtheim reads the phrase qbHw p(w) as qb Ssp in order
to account for the presence of the phonogram ‘p’ under determinative sign
( or or even ) because the verb Ssp can also be spelled thus: .
3
Mark Vygus dictionary
Due to lack of space, however, the phonogram w of the demonstrative pw is sometimes omitted.
At left, such a case in paragraph 873a of the Pyramid Texts.
qbHw , The Land of Coolness is an epithet of the West, the land of
the gods:
inD Hr -Tn nTr imy Snyt
Hail to you gods who are in the enclosed space
qbHw nTr imy imntt
of the Land of many cool waters gods who are in the West
psDt nTr imy Xnw pt
ennead of gods who are in the abode of the sky
(The Book of the Dead, papyrus of Ani, Ch.79, pl.26, line 6)
4
The form of writing of the word in the stele: suggests that the
determinative sign is , the one for the abstract notions.
Mark Vygus dictionary
In this case the meaning of the word is not coolness, of course, but “westernness”
denoting western attitudes and ideas. The Westerners were the lords and the
Easterners, the slaves. Crown princes who were born in the East, when suspected of
“easternness” were regarded trouble makers and were sent abroad (The Teaching for king
Merikare” §67 – 71)
The word as it is appears written in the stele:
According to Gardiner and Lichtheim, that is sign X4, the ideogram/
determinative for bread .
The two signs, and , cannot, however, be confused.
In the ‘name’ of person No.6 (please see below, page 13) the word t , bread, occurs spelled
thus: .
Furthermore, Mentuhotep was a priest. He did not have to obtain bread.
The text in the stele is written in hieroglyphic and therefore the signs have to be matched
exactly.
The sign closest in appearance to is M38 , . Below are variations of sign M38
5
The pictogram of a bundle of flax conveys by itself the sense of biding. The verb dmA
occurs in an epithet of goddess Nechbet meaning “She
who brings the bows together”
It seems that in this case the phrase dmAt-trt means “that which brings
allegiances together”; with that being qbHw , , the West.
The phrase idn.n nf sxr =f justifies/governs his conduct (Lichtheim writes: “Note that sxr is clearly
not "character", but rather "conduct", or "behavior", that which is usually formed by the example of father and
mother.”) presents no difficulties and is quite understandable. It refers to correctly answering the question
mentioned in row 2, where the wDa mdw, , the “language examination” is implied.
The person “judged” had to know how to speak the language of the West and, therefore, Mentuhotep is
probably calling here upon his ties to the West (his father was a noble Westerner).
If we omit the ‘unknown’ word ( ) we can read: My allegiance to the West
justifies my conduct, without altering drastically the sense of the entire sentence.
Lichtheim’s transcription explains hers and Gardiner’s translation. The phrase r
tr =f meaning in time his presents no difficulty in translating it, but that is not
what is written in the text.
trt we may not read r tr, as per Gardiner and Lichtheim, because phonogram ‘t’ comes after
phonogram ‘r’.
6
Season is tr not trt, as in the text. Of course, allegiance is tryt not trt, as in the text, but season does
not fit in the context, while allegiance does and, besides, the missing y ( ) can be attributed to the space
problem the scribe is facing.
Mark Vygus dictionary
A note by Gardiner reads:
«As the text stands we can only read ir(t) gm-k, which is
unintelligible, but recalls curiously a likewise unintelligible phrase
in the tomb of Puyemre (DAVIES, pl., 67, l. 41 Hr Hm ir gm.f). But
perhaps after all, ir(t) bAk is to be amended.
I have guessed at the meaning».
Gardiner’s guess was “making the family fortune” instead of “acting for the child”.
The mother idle in the harem, the father acting for the family, resulted in acquiring a son of
good disposition (8).
Lichtheim’s rendering of it Hr ir as “a father who said” could be justified, in my
opinion, only if her transcription was it Hr r ( ) which is not the case here.
Note the position of the handle of the basket; an Old Kingdom characteristic,
along with spelling of the ending .kwi
7
James P. Allen, “Middle Egyptian”, Second Edition, pg. 53
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th
11 4 Row: Now, although I was about to be reduced to an inferior status,
I took over supervising of the impregnators (of the harem women), I acted
myself as an impregnator and became an exceptional inseminator.
I built a house and excavated a (garden-)pond, the priest Mentuhotep.
12 16
iw sk =i grt wA kwi r snmH xrp .n=i kA
iw sk.(w)i grt wA .kwi r nmH -------------------------------
Now although I on the way I to be reduced took over I as bull
supervising I of bulls
Now although I was become an orphan, I acquired cattle (Gardiner)
but behold, I had become an orphan! I acquired cattle, (Lichtheim)
13 14
ir n=i kA sxpr.n =i sbAH m waty
acted in the capacity of Bull was made I
to be a phallus man as a he goat-man
and got oxen (?) and developed my business in goats; (Gardiner)
I raised oxen, I developed my business in goats, (Lichtheim)
qd.n =i SAd.n S Hm nTr mnTw Htp
built I excavated pond servant of god
Mentuhotep
I built a house and excavated a (garden-)pond, the priest Menthotpe. (Gardiner)
I built a house, I dug a pond - the priest Mentuhotep. (Lichtheim)
8
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Gardiner’s comment on row 4 reads:
It will be noted that there are some unusual signs in the last
line, as though the scribe had been unable to read his hieratic original;
thus the two words for cattle look the same, though different words were
probably meant.
It appears that Gardiner had not yet formed his axiom which states that:
“The only basis we have for preferring one rendering to another, when once
the exigencies of grammar and dictionary have been satisfied – and these
leave a large margin for divergencies – is an intuitive appreciation of the
trend of the ancient writer’s mind”
In the writer’s mind so much kA as waty meant impregnator of harem girls.
A note by Gardiner reads:
Emend sk wi. Note the peculiar heaping up of particles. 'Iw is
doubtless to be used with xpr.n.i.
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5th Row: Bread and beer, a thousand of cattle and fowl, a thousand of
linen and clothing; a thousand of all good things; a thousand of noble
and divine offerings in there for the vital power of the respected one.
My wife who desired respect, my father who loved the respectable worthy
gods, my mother who desired respect, she who gave birth to the
benevolent father
9
Neither Gardiner nor Lichtheim provide a translation of the 5th row.
Tt – Hnkt xA kAw Apdw xA Ssr mnxt xA xt nbt
Bread and beer a thousand of cattle a thousand of linen and a thousand of all good things
and fowl clothing
15
xA anxt nTr im n kA n imAx
a thousand of noble and divine in there to the vital power of the respected one
15 15
Hmt =f mrt imAxt it =f mr imAx nTr sDAw
wife his who desires respect/honor father his who loves the respectable gods the worthy
15
mwt =f mrt imAxt mst n bnr n it
mother his who desires respect/honor who gave birth to benevolent father
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Würde,Würdigkeit, Dignity, grandeur, worthiness
Ehrwürdig, der Würdige (u.ä): von Alten und Verstorbenen.
ugl. auch imAx als Götterbeiname.
Venerable, the worthy (and similar): of the elderly and deceased.
see also imAx as epithet of gods.
10
The honored and the respectable were only the Westerners!
In page 52 of Naville’s “Das Aegyptische Todtenbuch, Einleitung” the following information is found
regarding the term imAx as it occurs in the papyruses containing chapters of the Book of the Dead.
Since the epithet “Possessor of imAx” was added to names of still alive persons (the wives,
sons and daughters of the deceased), it was not “the blessed state of the dead” as per
Faulkner above.
“The name (of the deceased) is always followed by (mAa-xrw a pure one) or (nb-
imAx, Lord of honor, possessor of honor) and sometimes by both together, depending on the
space the scribe had to fill. In this way he could lengthen or shorten the name at will; so we have:
His father, on the other hand, is always (mAa-xrw, a pure one) and his mother (
mAat-xrw, a pure one) his son called Chemmes is (mAa-xrw, a pure one) and his daughter again
(mAat-xrw, a pure one), while his second son does not have this epithet. His
wife is once (nbt-imAx, lady of honor, possessor of honor); otherwise she has no
designation.”
The distinction made between noble and humble members of one and the same family, is also noted
in the following presentation of Mentuhotep’s family.
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11
The Household
1 2 3 4
Priest Mentuhotep was born by a harem (enclosure ) girl who
1 was born in an enclosure (i.e. since the beginning of her life).
Hm nTr mnTw Htp ms.n Hr Hwt m HAt
Priest “Mentuhotep” born of “At the enclosure in the beginning”
We may not read the phrase from right to left.
2 Mentuhotep’s wife could not have been a noble woman.
snt ms.n Hpy
“Senet” born of “Hidden one”
12
3 Mentuhotep’s father was born by a noble woman.
Not by a harem girl.
prt Hb ms.n rn =s anx
“Offspring of rejoicing” born of “Identity hers noble”
Hwt- Hr m xAt
Hathor since the beginning
It appears that the phrase Hr Hwt , ‘at the enclosure’ evolved into the name of the goddess
Hathor as Hwt-Hr (or Ht-Hr, which makes no difference) because the spelling of the name of god
Horus is also Hr
The question “where is the girl?”, when answered in Greek produces an answer that
sounds like “eesteen bolee”, meaning “in the city”. That phrase became, in Turkish, the
name of the city Istanbul, when the city of Constantinople was conquered by the Turks.
The same question answered in the Egyptian as Hr Hwt, “at the enclosure” became,
in this occasion, the name of the girl.
5 6 7
5 A sister of Mentuhotep of noble origin.
snt =f rn =s anx
sister his “identity hers noble”
6 A sister of Mentuhotep responsible for the kitchen.
snt =f nbt t
sister his “mistress of nourishment”
13
Please note the spelling of the word t bread and compare it with the word in gloss No. 4
7 A wet nurse
nurse
mnat rHt tt
nurse “companions for all”
8 9 10 11
8 Mentuhotep’s son of noble origin
sA =f prt Hb nfr
son his “Offspring of rejoicing beautiful”
9 Mentuhotep’s daughter of humble origin
sAt =f Hwt-Hr m xAt
daughter his “Hathor since the beginning”
10 Female servant (probably cook, it means cake)
Hmt it
female servant “It’
11 Female servant (probably dressmaker)
Hmt idi
female servant “Idi”
14
12 13 14 15
12 Mentuhotep’s daughter of noble origin
sAt =f rn =s anx
daughter his “Identity hers noble”
13 Female servant of Mentuhotep’s wife Senet
Hmt snt
female servant “Senet”
14 Royal servant, the Nomad
nsw Hm SmA
royal servant “Traveler”
15 Female servant of Mentuhotep’s son
Hmt prt Hb nfr
female servant “ offspring of rejoicing beautiful”
Since the father is called “Offspring of rejoicing” and the son “Offspring of rejoicing beautiful”, even if
those are their actual names, they are names used for male persons. The female servant No.15 is, therefore,
the servant of “Offspring of rejoicing beautiful”. As a consequence, female servant No.13 is the servant of the
wife Senet.
Mark Vygus dictionary
15
It appears that the word is here written with sign T22 (phonetic sn) instead
of with sign T34 or T35 (phonetic nm) in which case we shoud read
snmH.
Here is the entry for the verb nmH in Faulkner’s dictionary:
The causative form, snmH, meaning made to be an orphan, a waif, a poor man, is
found in the following entry in the Wörterbuch:
Von betrügerischen Manipulationen an der Wage
Fraudulent manipulation of the balance
The verb snmH occurs in the Book of the Dead in Chapter 125, in the section of the Negative
Confession, and is used only when the balance is manipulated to produce a reading below the
correct one:
I have not added to the weight of the balance.
I have not deducted from the weight of the balance.
n wAH =i Hr mwt nt iwsw
not added I on the weight of the balance
n snmH =i m tx n mxAt
not deducted I from the plummet weight of the balance
(Naville, ‘Todtenbuch’. Supplied by W. Budge, “The Egyptian Book of the Dead”, pg. 196)
The literal meaning, therefore, of the verb snmH is to reduce to an inferior status.
Now, although I was about to be reduced to an inferior status…
iw sk =i grt wA kwi r snmH
Now although I on the way I to be reduced ..
If the sentence following was about some fortune inherited, then the inferior status meant would
have been that of the poor man. In this case, the state of the sexually immature child is possibly
meant.
16
Supplement: the term nmH in the Pyramid Texts
Utterance 535 §1285b
Pepi II Pyramid
You come to the fore of the foremost; you reduce the “deprived
ones”, i.e. the lowly sons produced by lowly fathers.
Their “deprived ones” are reduced.
xnt =k xntyw nmH =k nmHw
foremost you of the foremost ones deprived are you of deprived ones
nmH [=sn] [n]mHw
deprived are [they] of deprived ones
The missing suffix pronoun, where the arrow points, may not again be =k.
As the king becomes poorer in “deprived” sons (and richer in non-deprived ones)
the same holds for the foremost ones, the Westerners, the lords.
The inscription in the pyramid of Pepi II has been translated first because it is the
easy one to ‘decipher’.
17
Utterance 535 §1285b
Pepi I Pyramid
Your “deprived one” comes to the fore; (moves from inferior to
superior status)
You come to the fore of the principals of the “deprived ones”.
You reduce the ones of inferior status.
who is chief of thy nmH (attendants); thou art chief of those who are chief of
the nmH.w (attendants); thou hast made nmH the nmH.w.(Mercer)
Your orphan comes to the front, you are at the head of those who are
foremost, orphans are orphaned for you (?) (Faulkner)
your orphan will come to the fore as you come to the fore of the foremost, the
orphans you have orphaned into orphans. (Allen)
§1285b (P): nmH=k xnt(i )=k “And deprive the one who is in front of you.”
(Hays)
xnt nmH =k
foremost deprived one yours
xnt =k xntyw nmHw
foremost you of the foremost ones of deprived ones
nmH .n =k nmHw
deprived are you of deprived ones
Mentuhotep, for being recognized as the son of a “foremost one”, although on the way to get
the characterization of “deprived one”, i.e. to be reduced to a person of inferior status by the
judges at his judgment, was promoted to a “Bull” and thus his father was ‘deprived’ of a
“deprived one”.
Pepi II xnt =k xntyw; nmH =k nmHw
Pepi I xnt =k xntyw nmHw; nmH.n =k nmHw
The above shows that Mercer is right, while Faulkner and Allen are wrong. nmHw does not
belong to the last clause.
18
