What Hepzefi Further Receives

585. They have given to him:a

The Overseer of the Necropolis, 2 (ds-) jars of beer; 100 flat loaves; 10 white loaves.

The Chief of the Highland, I (ds-) jar of beer; 50 flat loaves; 5 white loaves.

315 Eight mountaineers, 8 (ds-) jars of beer; 400 flat loaves; 40 white loaves.

For his statue, (which is) in charge of his mortuary priest, in the first month of the first season, on the first day, (being) New Year's Day, when they glorify him.

Future Validity of Contract

586. Lo, he said to them: "Behold, these (ht-) measures of land, which I have given to you, shall belong to 316every overseer of the necropolis, to every chief of the highland, and to every mountaineer who shall come (hereafter), because they shall deliver to me this bread and beer."

Additional Stipulation

587. 317" And ye shall be behind [my] statue which is in my garden, following it when c 318at every feast of the beginning of a

season, which is celebrated in this temple."

Conclusion

588. Lo, they were satisfied therewith.

X. TENTH CONTRACT

Title

589. 319Contract which the count, the superior prophet, Hepzefi, made, with the overseer of the highland, to-wit:

aThe addition of a second stipulation of payments to the count is in violation of the usual form.

bMr. Griffith saw traces of ƒ ("him") in this place, which is broken, but the context demands "you."

cFrom 1. 316 on, the lines are shorter, so that not more than five or six words are lost here.

What Hepzefi Receives

590. There shall be given to him 1 (hbn't-) jar of beer, 3201 large (―rrt-) loaf, 500 flat loaves, and 10 white loaves, for his statue, (which is) in charge of his mortuary priest, in the first month of the first season, on the seventeenth day, the night of the Wag-feast.

What He Pays

591. 321He hath given to him for it:

a

(a) 1,000 (ḥ3 ́t-) measures of land in '—,a from his property of his paternal estate, but not from the property of the count's estate.

(b) And 322a quarter of every bull that is slaughtered on this highland in every temple.

Future Validity of Contract

592. Lo, he said to the overseer of the highland: 323" Behold, these (ht) measures of land shall belong to every future overseer of the highland, because he delivers to me this 324bread and beer.”

Conclusion

593. Lo, he was satisfied therewith.

awb.t.

REIGN OF AMENEMHET II

INSCRIPTION OF SIMONTUa

594. Besides determining the succession of the first three kings of the Twelfth Dynasty, this stela is also important because it shows that Sesostris I was living in the third year of his son, Amenemhet II's reign. They were therefore coregent at least that long.

Date

595. 'Year 3 under the majesty of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Nubkure (Nb-k'w-R, Amenemhet II), living like Re.

Simontu's Titles

596. 3Hereditary prince, count, wearer of the royal seal, sole companion, favorite of Horus, lord of the palace, who does that which his lord praises every day, royal scribe, Simontu (S-Mntw), the revered; he saith:

Simontu's Birth and Childhood

597. I was born in the time of the majesty of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Sehetepibre (Amenemhet I) triumphant. I was a child who fastened on the girdleb under his majesty (Amenemhet I), "when he departed in peace.c

aOn a stela in the British Museum (No. 828, also called "Anastasi 17"); published by Champollion, Notices descriptives, II, 697; Sharpe, Egyptian Inscriptions, I, 83; from Sharpe by Bunsen, Egypt's Place, 2d ed., V, 724 f.; Brugsch, Thesaurus, VI, 1250; Maspero, Etudes de mythologie et d'archéologie, I, 39, 40; Piehl, Sphinx, II, 131-36 after Brugsch. None of these texts is without considerable divergence from the rest. A collation of the Berlin squeeze (No. 1083), and later of the original in London, shows that no copy is without error. bSee the same phrase § 294, l. 1.

c Piehl has shown from the well-known parallel examples of the Old Kingdom (Sphinx, II, 135) that the words here: “proceeded, departed, or passed on in peace,” mean "died." This is undoubtedly correct, but the question is: Whose death is referred to? It cannot be the death of Sesostris I, who is called "living forever,"

272

Career under Sesostris I

598. The king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Kheperkere (Sesostris I), living forever; his majesty appointed me scribe of the harem ——];a he praised me on account of it very greatly.

His majesty appointed me scribe of -; his majesty praised me on account of it very greatly.b

His majesty made me grain-registrar in South and North; his majesty praised me on account of it very greatly.

His majesty appointed me scribe of the great harem; 10his majesty praised me on account of it very greatly.

His majesty appointed me royal scribe and chief of works "in the entire land; his majesty praised me because I was silent, he loved me, because I repelled the 'inflamed1,d I never repeated any evil word. The revered royal scribe, Simontu.

INSCRIPTION OF SIHATHORR

599. Sihathor's sole title is that of "assistant treasurer, an office which he really administered, and one which called him to varied enterprises of historical importance, the chief of which were his expeditions to Nubia and Sinai. After the usual mortuary formularies follow the biographical

remarks.

and was therefore still living when the inscription was made. Grammatically, it is also impossible to accept Sesostris as subject of the verb, when verb and adverbialy phrase precede the subject. Hence the verb must be a pseudo-participle, in a temporal clause, belonging to the preceding sentence. This leaves Sesostris without a verb, so that it must be an anticipatory subject, in apposition with “his majesty,” of 1. 6.

aIs this the official called sḍm in the Empire ?

b" Greatly," omitted in all the copies, is clear on the squeeze.

cGr, as shown by the squeeze against all the copies, which have hr (except Sharpe).

dSee the clever explanation of Piehl, Sphinx, II, 135 f.

eMortuary stela from Abydos, now in the British Museum (No. 569), published by Sharpe, Inscriptions, II, 74; Birch, Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache, 1874, 112 f., and Egyptian Texts, 21-24. These texts are so bad that it is difficult to use them at all. The translation is made from my own copy of the original. See also Brugsch, Geschichte, 136 ff.

Sihathor's Many Commissions

600. I was real "beloved of his lord," the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Nubkure (Nb-kw-R Amenemhet II), living forever. He commanded, he sent me many times on every excellent commission, the things which his majesty desired should be done according to the desire of the heart of his majesty.

Pyramid Statues

601. His majesty commanded that I should be brought to the pyramid: Amenu-kherep (Ymnw-hrp),a living forever, to superintend the work on his 16b statues of hard stone of millions of years, which happened within a day of two months. Never happened the like with any superintendent [- -1.

Expeditions to Sinai and Nubia

602. I visited the Mine-land (Sinai) as a youth, and I forced the (Nubian) chiefs to wash gold. I brought malachite,e I reached Nubia (t-pdt) of the negroes. I went, 'overthrowing, by the fear of the Lord of the Two Lands; I came [to] He (H3), I went around its islands, I brought away its produce.

603. The real beloved of his lord, his favorite, saying the good and repeating that which is loved, doing that which the Lord of the Two Lands praises, communicating his design, not knowing] the -hearted, free from blemish, defending his boundary, watching his possessions, watchful without laxity, the assistant treasurer Sihathor, triumphant.

aThis is the pyramid of Amenemhet II. A similar reference to him, with name Ameni for Amenemhet, occurs at Benihasan (§ 520). (See Griffith, Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archæology, XIV, 39 f.) The name of the pyramid is also written Ameni-kherep on the Stela No. 839 in the British Museum. bSo the original; the publications all have 15.

cHm n.

dOn the verb yry (“make”) in the sense of "visit," see § 351, l. 9, note. The Mine-land (By) is here written with feminine t; it is elsewhere masculine, so that it is possible that we should render it merely "mine."

eFkt is of course to be read mfɔk ́ ́t as in the Pyramid Texts, see the same writing § 266. This is equivalent to saying “I visited Sinai,” and this gives us a second antithetic parallelism with Sinai and Nubia; that is, north and south, as the extremes.

f Read hr shrt?

8 Birch's and Brugsch's reading "Heḥa" is impossible, otherwise one would identify the place with Heh (Ḥḥ) – Semneh. It is near Abu Simbel; see III, 496.