Installation of Priests and Descendants

232. 'These mortuary priests of the endowment, and their children and further the children of their children whom they shall bear forever, are

Entailment of Endowment

233. I have not empowered them [to give] (it)a in payment as property to any person; but they shall give (it) to their children, entitled to the division of [it with any mortuary priest of these mortuary priests].b

Transfer of a Priest

or

234. 3As for any mortuary priest among them who shall 'default", who shall be taken for other service, everything which I have given to him shall revert to the mortuary priests who are in his (priestly) order. I have not em[powered]

Endowment not Involved in Suits

235. 4As for any mortuary priest among them who shall institute legal proceedings against his fellow, everything which I have given to him shall be taken away, and shall then be given to the mortuary priest against whom he instituted legal proceedings. I have not empowered

aThe mortuary endowment.

bWith this compare the similar precautionary clause of the unknown official of Khafre (§ 203, ll. 8, 9), and see also explanatory note, ibid.

<See similar clause in decree of an unknown official under Khafre (§ 205).

REIGN OF SAHURE

SINAI INSCRIPTIONSa

Relief

236. King in the crown of Upper Egypt, smites kneeling Bedwi as in §§ 168, 169.b

The texts, as in §§ 168, 169, and 176, contain only names and titles of the king:

Horus: Lord of Diadems; King of Upper and Lower Egypt: Sahure (Shw-R); who is given life forever.

Smiter of all countries.

The Great God smites the Asiatics (mnṭw) of all countries.

TOMB STELA OF NENEKHSEKHMET

237. The stela is a well-executed false door of Turra limestone, contrasting strikingly with the poor material and mediocre workmanship of the modest tomb to which it belonged. The cause of this contrast is indicated in the inscription, viz., that the stela was a gift from the king.

The Request

238. The chief physician, Nenekhsekhmet (Shmt-n-nh) spoke before his majesty: "May thy person, beloved of Re, command that there be given to me a false door of stone for this my tomb of the cemetery."

aCut into the rocks of the Wadi Maghara in the Peninsula of Sinai. Text and relief: Lepsius, Denkmäler, II, 39, a; Laval, Voyage dans la Péninsule Arabique, insc. hiér., Pl. 2, No. 2; Laborde, Voyage de l'Arabie, 5, No. 3; Brugsch, Thesaurus, VI, 1494 (inscriptions only); Sethe, Urkunden, I, 32; Weill, Sinai, 106. bTwo gods stand behind the king.

cFrom a mastaba at Sakkara, excavated by Mariette; text: Mariette, Monuments divers, 12, 203, 204; Sethe, Urkunden, I, 38-40. Erman's manuscript copy collated with original; Maspero, Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archæology, XI, 309. Translated by Maspero (ibid.), with discussion of architectural terms; treated by Erman, Aegypten, 431.

King's Compliance

239. His majesty caused that there be brought for him two false doors from Troja (R-w) of stone, that they be laid in the audiencehallo of the house (called): "Sahure-Shines-with-Crowns," and that the two high priests of Memphis and the artisans of the - be assigned to them, that the work on them might be done in the presence of the king himself. The stone-work went on every day; there was an inspection of that which was done on them in the court daily. His majesty had 'color3 put on them, and had them painted in blue.

Presentation of the Gift

240. His majestyd said to the chief physician Nenekhsekhmet: "As these my nostrils enjoy health, as the gods love me, mayest thou depart into the cemetery at an advanced old age as one revered." I praised the king greatly and lauded every god for Sahure's sake, for he knows the desire of the entire suite. When anything goes forth from the mouth of his majesty, it immediately comes to pass. For the god has given to him knowledge of things that are in the body, because he is more august than any god. If ye love Re, ye shall praise every god for Sahure's sake, who did this for me. I was his revered one; never did I do anything evil toward any person.

TOMB INSCRIPTION OF PERSENf

241. This inscription is over a scene showing people in the act of bringing mortuary offerings of food for Persen's tomb. According to the inscription, these offerings are

a Erman suggests that a double false door is meant. The same reference to a double false door is found in the tomb of Debhen (Dbḥn). This is the same word (rwty) used later for a temple façade, which would explain the dual.

bDdw, see 8 501, 1. 2.

cRead št, which I have rendered "quarry-service" in the Empire (II, 935, l. 6). In the Old Kingdom it retains its literal meaning, "stone-cutting." There was an overseer of stone-cutting," or quarry service, in the Old Kingdom (§ 343).

dThe following is the presentation of the false doors by the king.

eOf anyone else, "body" or "belly" being the seat of the mind, as we use "heart." f Limestone slab in Berlin (15004); published by Mariette, Mastabas, 300; Schaefer, Aegyptische Inschriften aus dem Königlichen Museum zu Berlin, I, 22.

drawn from the income of the queen mother, Neferhotepes, coming to her from the temple of Ptah.

The bringing of the mortuary offerings to Pharaoh's overseer, Persen, being the payment of heth (ht)-loaves, pesen(psn)-loaves, and sefet (sft)-oil, which comes from the temple of Ptah-South-ofHis-Wall, for the king's-mother, Neferhotepes, every day, as a perpetual offering, which he gave for making mortuary offerings therewith in the time of Sahure.

REIGN OF NEFERIRKERE

TOMB INSCRIPTIONS OF THE VIZIER, CHIEF JUDGE, AND CHIEF ARCHITECT WESHPTAHa

242. It is much to be regretted that this unusually interesting inscription has suffered so sadly at the hands of time. Weshptah was the greatest man at the court of Neferirkere, being vizier, chief judge, and chief architect. His son Mernuterseteni was called upon to build his father's tomb, and thus narrates how this happened. The king, his family and the court were one day inspecting a new building in course of construction under Weshptah's superintendence as chief architect. All admire the work, and the king turns to praise his faithful minister, when he notices that Weshptah does not hear the words of royal favor. The king's exclamation alarms the courtiers, the stricken minister is quickly carried to the court, and the priests and chief physicians are hurriedly summoned. The king has a case of medical rolls brought; but all is in vain; the physicians declare his condition hopeless. The king is smitten with sorrow, and retires to his chamber, where he prays to Re. He then makes all arrangements for Weshptah's burial, ordering an ebony coffin made and having the body anointed in his own presence. Weshptah's eldest son, Mernuterseteni, was then empowered to build the tomb, the king furnishing and endowing it. The son therefore erected it by the pyramid of Sahure, and, as we have said, recorded the whole story on its walls.

a From his tomb at Abusir; blocks in Cairo (Nos. 1569, 1570, 1673, 1702); published by Sethe, Urkunden, I, 40-45 (from a copy by Erman).