Egypte - Legends Of The Gods
A LEGEND OF PTAH NEFER-HETEP AND THE PRINCESS OF BEKHTEN.
The Horus: "Mighty Bull, the form(?) of risings[FN#150], stablished in
sovereignty like Tem." The Golden Horus: "Mighty one of
strength[FN#151], destroyer of the Nine Nations of the Bow."[FN#152]
King of the South and North: "The Lord of the Two Lands, User-Maat-Ra-
setep-en-Ra Son of Ra: Of his body, Ra-meses-meri-Amen, of Amen-
Ra;[FN#153] the Lord of the thrones of the Two Lands, and of the
Company of the Gods, the Lords of Thebes, the beloved one. The
beneficent god, the son of Amen, born of Mut, begotten of Heru-khuti,
the glorious offspring of Neb-tchert,[FN#154] begetting [as] the Bull
of his Mother, [FN#155] king of Egypt, Governor of the deserts, the
Sovereign who hath taken possession of the Nine Nations of the Bow;
[who] on coming forth from the womb ordained mighty things, who gave
commands whilst he was in the egg, the Bull, stable of heart, who hath
sent forth his seed; the king who is a bull, [and] a god who cometh
forth on the day of battle like Menthu,[FN#156] the mighty one of
strength like the son of Nut."[FN#157]
[FN#150] i.e., the image who rises like the sun day by day, or the
image of [many] crowns.
[FN#151] Or, mighty one of the thigh, i.e., he of the mighty thigh.
[FN#152] The nations of Nubia who fought with bows and arrows.
[FN#153] In this version of the protocol of Rameses II. the second
"strong name" of the king is omitted.
[FN#154] i.e., Neb-er-tcher.
[FN#155] Ka-mut-f, the {greek kamh^fic} of the Greeks.
[FN#156] The War-god of Thebes.
[FN#157] i.e., Osiris.
Behold, His Majesty was in the country of Neheru[FN#158] according to
his custom every year, and the chiefs of every land, even as far as the
swamps, came [to pay] homage, bearing offerings to the Souls of His
Majesty; and they brought their gifts, gold, lapis-lazuli, turquoise,
bars of wood of every kind of the Land of the God,[FN#159] on their
backs, and each one surpassed his neighbour.
[FN#158] The "country of the rivers," the {hbw AaRam NaHaRaYim} of
Gen. xxiv. 10, the #### of Syrian writers.
[FN#159] A name including Western Asia and a portion of the East Coast
of Africa.
And the Prince of Bekhten [also] caused his gifts to be brought, and he
set his eldest daughter at the head of them all, and he addressed words
of praise to His Majesty, and prayed to him for his life. And the
maiden was beautiful, and His Majesty considered her to be the most
lovely [woman] in the world, and he wrote down as her title, "Great
Royal Wife, Ra-neferu"; and when His Majesty arrived in Egypt, he did
for her whatsoever was done for the Royal Wife.
On the twenty-second day of the second month of the season of
Shemu,[FN#160] in the fifteenth year [of his reign], behold, His
Majesty was in Thebes, the Mighty [city], the Mistress of cities,
performing the praises of Father Amen, the Lord of the thrones of the
Two Lands, in his beautiful Festival of the Southern Apt,[FN#161] which
was the seat of his heart (i.e., the chosen spot) from primaeval time,
[when] one came to say to His Majesty, "An ambassador of the Prince of
Bekhten hath arrived bearing many gifts for the Royal Wife."
[FN#160] The summer. The Copts called the second month of this season
Paoni.
[FN#161] The modern Temple of Luxor.
And having been brought into the presence of His Majesty with his
gifts, he spake words of adoration to His Majesty, saying, "Praise be
unto thee, O thou Sun (Ra) of the Nine Nations of the Bow, permit us to
live before thee!" And when he had spoken, and had smelt the earth
before His Majesty, he continued his speech before His Majesty, saying,
"I have come unto thee, my King and Lord, on behalf of Bent-Resht, the
younger sister of the Royal Wife Ra-neferu. [Some] disease hath
penetrated into her members, and I beseech Thy Majesty to send a man of
learning to see her."
And His Majesty said, "Bring to me the magicians (or, scribes) of the
House of Life, and the nobles of the palace." And having been brought
into his presence straightway, His Majesty said unto them, "Behold, I
have caused you to be summoned [hither] in order that ye may hear this
matter. Now bring to me [one] of your company whose heart is
wise[FN#162], and whose fingers are deft." And the royal scribe
Tehuti-em-heb came into the presence of His Majesty, and His Majesty
commanded him to depart to Bekhten with that ambassador.
[FN#162] Or, a skilled craftsman.
And when the man of learning had arrived in Bekhten, he found Bent-
Resht in the condition of a woman who is possessed by a spirit, and he
found 12 this spirit to be an evil one, and to be hostile in his
disposition towards him.
And the Prince of Bekhten sent a messenger a second time into the
presence of His Majesty, saying, "O King, my Lord, I pray His (i.e.,
Thy) Majesty to command that a god be brought hither to contend
against the spirit."
Now when the messenger came to His Majesty in the first month[FN#163]
of the season of Shemu, in the twenty-sixth year [of his reign], on the
day which coincided with that of the Festival of Amen, His Majesty was
in the palace (or, temple?) of Thebes. And His Majesty spake a second
time[FN#164] in the presence of Khensu in Thebes, [called] "Nefer-
Hetep," saying, "O my fair Lord, I present myself before thee a second
time on behalf of the daughter of the Prince of Bekhten." Then Khensu,
in Thebes, [called] "Nefer-Hetep", was carried to Khensu, [called] "Pa-
ari-sekher," the great god who driveth away the spirits which attack.
And His Majesty spake before Khensu in Thebes, [called] "Nefer-Hetep,"
saying, "O my fair Lord, if thou wilt give (i.e., turn) thy face to
Khensu, [called] 'Pa-ari-sekher,' the great god who driveth away the
spirits which attack, permit thou that he may depart to Bekhten;" [and
the god] inclined his head with a deep inclination twice. And His
Majesty said, "Let, I pray, thy protective (or, magical) power [go]
with him, so that I may make His Majesty to go to Bekhten to deliver
the daughter of the Prince of Bekhten [from the spirit]."
[FN#163] The month Pakhon of the Copts.
[FN#164] The text makes no mention of the first application to Khensu.
And Khensu in Thebes, [called] "Nefer-Hetep," inclined his head with a
deep inclination twice. And he made [his] protective power to pass
into Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast," in a fourfold measure.
Then His Majesty commanded that Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher-em-
Uast," should set out on his journey in a great boat, [accompanied by]
five smaller boats, and chariots, and a large number of horses [which
marched] on the right side and on the left.
And when this god arrived in Bekhten at the end of a period of one year
and five months, the Prince of Bekhten came forth with his soldiers and
his chief[s] before Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher," and he cast
himself down upon his belly, saying, "Thou hast come to us, and thou
art welcomed by us, by the commands of the King of the South and North,
User-Maat-Ra-setep-en-Ra!"
And when this god had passed over to the place where Bent-Resht was, he
worked upon the daughter of the Prince of Bekhten with his magical
power, and she became better (i.e., was healed) straightway. And this
spirit which had been with her said, in the presence of Khensu,
[called] "Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast," "Come in peace (i.e., Welcome!), O
great god, who dost drive away the spirits which attack! Bekhten is
thy city, the people thereof, both men and women, are thy (servants,
and I myself am thy servant. I will [now] depart unto the place whence
I came, so that I may cause thy heart to be content about the matter
concerning which thou hast come. I pray that Thy Majesty will command
that a happy day (i.e., a festival, or day of rejoicing) be made with
me, and with the Prince of Bekhten." And this god inclined his head
[in approval] to his priest, saying, "Let the Prince of Bekhten make a
great offering in the (presence of this spirit."
Now whilst Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast," was arranging
these [things] with the spirit, the Prince of Bekhten and his soldiers
were standing there, and they feared with an exceedingly great fear.
And the Prince of Bekhten made a great offering in the presence of
Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast," and the spirit of the Prince
of Bekhten, and he made a happy day (i.e., festival) on their behalf,
and [then] the spirit departed in peace unto the place which he loved,
by the command of Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast." And the
Prince of Bekhten, and every person who was in the country of Bekhten,
rejoiced very greatly, and he took counsel with his heart, saying, "It
hath happened that this god hath been given as a gift to Bekhten, and I
will not permit him to depart to Egypt."
And [when] this god had tarried for three years and nine months in
Bekhten, the Prince of Bekhten, who was lying down asleep on his bed,
saw this god come forth outside his shrine (now he was in the form of a
golden hawk), and he flew up into the heavens and departed to Egypt;
and when the Prince woke up he was trembling. And he said unto the
prophet of Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast," "This god who
tarried with us hath departed to Egypt; let his chariot also depart to
Egypt."
And the Prince of Bekhten permitted [the image of] the god to set out
for Egypt, and he gave him many great gifts of beautiful things of all
kinds, and a large number of soldiers and horses [went with him]. And
when they had arrived in peace in Thebes, Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-
sekher-em-Uast," went into the Temple of Khensu in Thebes, [called]
"Nefer-Hetep," and he placed the offerings which the Prince of Bekhten
had given unto him, beautiful things of all kinds, before Khensu in
Thebes, [called] "Nefer-Hetep," and he gave nothing thereof whatsoever
to his [own] temple.
Thus Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast," arrived in his temple in
peace, on the nineteenth day of the second month[FN#165] of the season
Pert, in the thirty-third year of the [reign of the] King of the South
and North, User-Maat-en-Ra-setep-en-Ra, the giver of life, like Ra, for
ever.
[FN#165] The month Mekhir of the Copts; the season Pert is the
Egyptian spring.
Egypte - Legends Of The Gods
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