Prophecy of Neferti
Prophecy of Neferti (also prophecies of Neferti or prophecies of Neferti ) is the modern name of a work of ancient Egyptian literature . The text was written during the reign of King ( Pharaoh ) Amenemhet I ( 12th dynasty , 20th century BC) and was intended to legitimize his assumption of power by depicting a supposedly old prophecy .
Lore
The text is completely on the from the 18th dynasty derived Papyrus Saint Petersburg 1116 B (also Papyrus Leningrad 1116 B or Papyrus Hermitage 1116 B ) and in part on two writing surfaces (Dynasty 18) and a plurality Ostraka obtained (19 Dynasty).
content
The framework of the story takes place at the royal court of King Sneferu , the founder of the 4th dynasty . It begins with the meeting of the officials in front of Sneferu. He instructs his officials to look for a wise man from among their ranks who should please him with “beautiful speech”. Thereupon Neferti, a reading priest of the goddess Bastet , is brought to the king. He first asks Sneferu whether he wants to hear something past or something in the future. The ruler chooses the latter.
Neferti now reports of difficult times that lie ahead of Egypt: The Nile is drying up, foreigners are settling in the north of the country and the sun god Re turns away from the people. Up to this point, these complaints are similar to those in Ipuwer's warnings . In contrast to these, however, Neferti is building a positive turnaround by announcing a savior who will restore order to the country. He is described as the son of a Nubian woman and called Ameni, which is to be understood as a clear reference to Amenemhet I.
literature
- Elke Blumenthal : The Prophecy of Neferti . In: Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde , Vol. 109, Berlin 1982, pp. 1–27.
- Elke Blumenthal: Neferti, Prophezeiung des. In: Wolfgang Helck (Hrsg.): Lexikon der Ägyptologie (LÄ). Volume IV, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1982, ISBN 3-447-02262-0 , Sp. 380-381.
- Günter Burkard, Heinz J. Thissen: Introduction to the ancient Egyptian literary history I. Old and Middle Kingdom . LIT Verlag, Münster / Hamburg / London 2003, pp. 137–141.
- Wolfgang Helck : The prophecy of Nfr.tj . Small Egyptian Texts, Vol. 2, Wiesbaden 1970.
- Frank Kammerzell: The prophecy of Neferti. In: Otto Kaiser et al. (Ed.): Orakel, Rituale. Building and votive inscriptions. Songs and prayers . Texts from the environment of the Old Testament , Vol. II, Gütersloh 1986/87/88/89/91, pp. 102–110.
- Miriam Lichtheim : Ancient Egyptian Literature. Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdom . Berkeley / Los Angeles / London 1973, pp. 139–145
- Muhammet Yanik: Prophecy in Ancient Egypt with a focus on the prophecy of Neferti . Analysis and remarks on the essay by Elke Blumenthal based on the prophecy of Neferti. GRIN, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-640-87731-7 ( online (excerpt) [accessed on February 17, 2013] thesis).