94 ANCIENT EGYPTIAN LITERATURE

THE FAMINE STELA

On Sehel Island

The inscription is carved in thirtytwo columns on the face of a granite

rock where it was given the shape of a rectangular stela. The rock face is
split by a broad horizontal fissure, which already existed when the in
scription was carved. After the carving, further ruptures occurred in the
rock, and they have caused a number of textual lacunae. Above the text
is a relief scene showing King Djoser offering to Khnum-Re, Sat is, and
Anukis, the gods of the cataract region.
The stela purports to be a decree by King Djoser of the Third Dynasty
addressed to a "Governor of the South" stationed at Elephantine. In it
the king informs the governor that, distressed over the country's sevenw
year famine, he had consulted a priest of Imhotep. After a study of the
sacred books, the priest had informed him in detail about the temple of
Khnum at Elephantine, and how Khnum controlled the flow of the inw
undation. The priest had also named to him all the minerals, precious
stones, and building stones found in the border region. In the following
night the king had seen Khnum in his dream, and the god had promised
him an end to the famine. In gratitude to the god, the king now issues a
decree granting to the temple of Khnum of Elephantine a share of all
the revenue derived from the region extending from Elephantine south
to Takompso, a distance of "twelve iter." In addition, a share of all Nuw
bian imports was to be given to the temple. The governor was charged
with carrying out the decree.
In its present form, the text is undoubtedly a work of the Ptolemait
period. Some scholars have surmised that it was based on a genuine Old
Kingdom decree from the time of Djoser. Others take it to be a com w
plete fiction. In any case, the text puts forth a claim to revenue on behalf'
of the Khnum temple of Elephantine.
Who stood behind this claim? According toP. Barguet, it was Ptolemy
V who issued the decree as a means of proclaiming Ptolemaic control ol'
this Nubian region. H. d e Meulenaere countered this suggestion by ask
ing whether the "governor of the south," who bore the nonwEgyplian
 TEXTS IN THE CLASSICAL LANGUAGE 95

name Yfesir, may not have been a Nubian chief ruling the area in defi
ance of the Ptolemaic king. The most plausible hypothesis, it seems to
me, is the one that sees the inscription as the work of the priesthood of
the Khnum temple, who were anxious to strengthen their privileges in
the face of the encroaching claims made by the clergy of Isis of Philae.
The extent of the "12-iter land" or, Dodekaschoinos, has also been
much discussed, for the location of Takompso, mentioned as its south
ern limit, is not known, and the length of the iter appears to have varied.
The problem now seems to have been settled in favor of an iter usually
averaging I 0.5 km, except for a much shorter iter indicatea by the
boundary stelae of Akhenaten at El-Amarna (see the new studies of A.
Schwab-Schlott). Thus, the "12-iter land" would designate the northern
half of Lower Nubia, extending south from Elephantine for a length of
about eighty miles.
Barguet's good edition has greatly advanced the understanding of this
difficult text. There remain a number of problems and uncertaimies.
Publication: H. K. Brugsch, Die biblichen sieben Jahre der Hungersnoth
(Leipzig, 1891). P. Barguet. La Itfie de Ia famine ri Sihe/, Institut fran-
;ais d'archeologie orientale, Bibliotheque d'etude, 34 (Cairo, 1953).
Translation: G. Roeder, Urkurulen wr Religion des a/ten Agypten (Jena.
1915), pp. 177-184.
-
Translation of excerpts: J. Vandier, La famine dans l'Egypte ancienne,
Institut fran(.:ais d'archeologie orientale, Recherches, 7 (Cairo, I 936),
pp. 38-44 and 132-139. J. A. Wilson in ANET, pp. 31-32.
Studies and comments: K. Sethe, Dodekaschoinos das Zwiilfmeilenland an
rler Grenze von Aegypten und Nubien, Untersuchungen. 11/3 ( Leipzig. 190 I;
reprint Hildesheim, 1964). K. Sethe, ZAS, 41 (1904). 58-62. W.
Schubart, ZAS, 47 (1910), 154-157. H. de Meulenaere. Bibliotheca
Orienta/is, 14 (1957), 33-34, review of Barguet's publication. H.
Brunner, "Die Hungersnotstele" in Kindler's Literatur Lexiko11, III (Zur
i<h. 1967), cols. 2255-2256. D. Wildung, Die Rolle iigypti<clzer Konige
im Bezousstsein illrer Nachwelt, Vol. I, Miinchner agyptologische Studien,
17 (Berlin, 1969), pp. 85-91. A. Schwab-Schlott, Die Ausmasse Agyp
ff'IH nach altiigyptischerl Texten. Dissertation, University of Tlibingen,
1!169; idem, MDIK, 28 (1972), 109-113; idem, "Dodekaschoinos" in Lexi
lum der Agyptologie, Vol. I (Wiesbaden, 1975), cols. 1112-1113. M.
l.ichtheim in StudieJ in Honor of George R. HugheJ, Studies in Ancient
Oriental Civilization, 39 (Chicago, 1977). pp. 142-144.
On the stones and metals consult: Harris, Minerals.

I I) Year 18 of Horus: Neterklut; the King o f l"ppcr and Lower

I grp l: Neterkhet; Two Ladies: :'\eterkhet: Gold- Horus: Djoser; unde r
1lw ( :ount, Prince, Governor of the domains of the South. Chief of
dw Nubians in Yebu, Mesir.' There was brought to him this royal
d,., 1 ('<'. To let you kno w:

I was in mourning on my throne.

l"lwsc of the palace were in g ri ef,
r..ly IIcari was in gT(';Il afl li crion .
HtT:IIISt: l l a p y had bi lcd lo collH' in time
96 ANCIENT EGYPTIAN LITERATURE

In a period of seven years.2

Grain was scant,
Kernels were dried up,
Scarce was C\'ery kind of food.
Every man robbed (3) his twin,'
Those who entered did not go.''
Children cried,
Youngsters fell,
The hearts of the old were grieving;
Legs drawn up, they hugged the ground,
Their arms clasped about them.
Courtiers were needy.
Temples were shut,
Shrines covered with dust,
Everyone was in distress.

I directed my heart to turn to the past,

I consulted one of the staff of the Ibis,
The chief lector-priest of Imhotep,
Son of Ptah South-of-his-Wall:'
"In which place is Hapy born?
Which is the town of the Sinuous one?
Which god dwells there?
That he might join with (5) me."

He stood: "I shall go to Mansion-of-the-Net,'

rlt is designed to support a man in his deedsl;7
I shall enter the House of Life,
L'nroll the Souls of Re,'
I shall be guided by them."

He departed, he returned to me quickly,

He let me know the How of Hapy,
[rHis shoresl] and all the things they contain.
He disclosed to me the hidden wonders,
To which the ancestors had made their way,
And no king had equaled them since.
He said to me:
"There is a LOwn in the midst of the deep,
Surrounded by Hapy, (7) Yebu by name;
It is first of the first,
First nome to \Vawat,9
Earthly ele\'ation, celestial hill,
Seat of Re when he prepares
 TEXTS IN THE CLASSICAL LANGUAGE 97

To give life to every face.

Its temple's name is 'Joy-of-life,'
'Twin Caverns' is the water's name,
They are the breasts that nourish all.

It is the house of sleep of Hapy, 10

He grows young in it in [his time],
[rit is the place whencel] he brings the Rood:
Bounding up he copulates,
As man copulates with woman,
Renewing his manhood with joy;
Coursing twenty-eight cubits high,
He passes Sema-behdet (9) at seven."
Khnum is the god [rwho rulesl) there,
[rHe is enthroned above the deepl),"
His sandals resting on the Rood;
He holds the door bolt in his hand,
Opens the gate as he wishes.
He is eternal there as Shu, 13
Bounty-giver, Lord-of-fields,
So his name is called.
He has reckoned the land of the South and the North,"
To give parts to every god;
It is he who governs barley, [emmer],
Fowl and fish and all one lives on.
Cord and scribal board are there,
The pole is there with its beam
"

(II) His temple opens southeastward,

Re rises in its face every clay;
hs water rages on its south for an iter,
A wall against the Nubians each clay."
There is a mountain massif in its eastern region,
With precious stones and quarry stones of all kinds,
All the things sought for building temples
In Egypt, South and North, 17
A ncl stalls for sacred animals,
And palaces for kings,
All statues too that stand in temples and in shrines.

"Their gathered products are set before the face of Khnum and
.or"'"'" him; likewise (I'l) tall plants and Rowers of all kinds that exist
lwrwtTII Ychu and S<"IIIIHII}11 and arc there on the east and the west.
98 ANCIENT EGYPTIA LITERATURE

"There is in the midst of the river-co\ered by water at its annual

Aood-a place of relaxation for every man who works the stones on its
two sides.
"There is in the river, before this town of Yebu, a central elevation
of difficult body which is called g>f-Jbw."
" Learn the names of the gods and goddesses of the temple of
Khnum: Saris, Anukis, Hapy, Shu, Geb, I\"ut, Osiris, Horus, Isis,
Nephthys.
"Learn the names of ( 15) the stones that are there, lying in the bor
derland:20 those that are in the east and the west, those [on the shores]
of Yebu's canal, those in Yebu, those in the east and west, and those in
the river: h}]n,21 mJ]y/ 2 mthth/3 r-gs, wtJy24 in the east; prdn25 in the
west; t.-./6 in the west and in the river.
"The names of the precious stones of the quarries that are in the
upper region-some among them at a distance of four itrr-are: gold,
silver. copper, iron, lapis lazuli, turquoise, !mt/"1 red jasper, ',28
mmv,29 emerald,30 tm-i4r.31 In addition, rl.ml,32 t3-m?ly,33 {un3gt,34 (17)
ibht,35 b}Js- 'n[l/6 green eye-paint, black eye-paint. carnelian,31 .lzrt,3H
rmn,39 and ochre"'0 are within this township."
When I heard what was there my heart rwas guidedl. Having heard
of the Rood (I) opened the wrapped books." (I) made a purification;
(I) conducted a procession of the hidden ones; (I) made a complete
offering of bread, beer, oxen, and fowl, and all good things for the
gods and goddesses in Yebu whose names had been pronounced.
As I slept in peace, I found the god standing before me. (I) pro
pitiated him by adoring him and praying to him. He revealed himself
to me with kindly face; he said:

"I am Khnum, your maker!

My arms are around you,
To steady your body,
To ( 19) safeguard your limbs."
I bestow on you stones upon stones,
fThat were not foundl] before,
Of which no work was made,
For building temples,
Rebuilding ruins,
Inlaying statues' eyes.

For I am the master who makes,

I am he who made himself,
Exalted Nun, who first came forth,
Hapy who hurries at will;
 TEXTS IN THE CLASSICAL LANGUAGE 99

Fashioner of everybody,
Guide of each man in his hour,
Tatenen, father of gods,
Great Shu, high in heaven!

The shrine I dwell in has two lips."

When I open up the well,"
I know Hapy hugs the field,
A hug that fills each nose with life,
(21) For when hugged the field is reborn!
I shall make Hapy gush for you,
No year of lack and want anywhere,
Plants will grow weighed down by their fruit;
With Renutet ordering all,
All things are supplied in millions'
I shall let your people fill up,
They shall grasp together with you'
(;one will be the hunger years,
Ended the dearth in their bins.
Egypt's people will come striding,
Shores will shine in the excellent Rood,
Hearts will be happier than ever before!"

The Donation

I awoke with speeding heart. Freed of fatigue I made (23) this de

' 1 <'<'on behalf of my father Khnum. A royal offering to Khnum, lord
.,J I he cataract region and chief of :-.lubia:
I11 return for what you have done for me, I offer you Manu as west
,.," border, Bakhu as eastern border." from Yebu to Kemsat," being
l\nh'e itrr on the east and the west. consisting of fields and pastures, of
llw river, and of every place in these miles .
. \lltenams" who cultivate the fields, and the vivifiers who irrigate
llw "ihores and all the new lands that are in these miles, their harvests
'l t dl he taken to your granary, in addition to (25) your share which is
,

Ill \'chu.'11'
.\II Jishcrmen, all hunters, who catch fish and trap birds and all
11141s or game, and all who trap lions in the desert-[ exact from then1
.,,,.!<'nth of the take of all of these, and all the young animals born of
llw k1nales in these miles [in their totality].
I ltw shall gi,e the branded animals for all burnt offerings and daily

''' o iliccs; and one shall give one-temh" of gold, ivory, ebony, carob

\n u 141, '1ch rc, carnelian, .\hrt. dhtr-pbnls, nf7t1-plants, all kinds of timber.
100 ANCIENT EGYPTIAN LITERATURE

(being) all the things brought by the Nubians of Khent-hen-nefer"

(to) Egypt, and (by) every man (27) rwho comes with arrears from
them.l
No officials are to issue orders in these places or take anything from
them, for everything is to be protected for your sanctuary.
I grant you this domain with (its) stones and good soil. No person
there ------ anything from it. But the scribes that belong to you
and the overseers of the South sha11 dwell there as accountants, listing
everything that the ki1)-workers, and the smiths, and the master
craftsmen, a n d the goldsmiths, and the .. . ,51 (29) and the Nubians,
and the crew of Apiru,52 and all corvee labor who fashion the stones,
shall give of gold, silver, copper, lead, baskets of . . ," firewood, the
things that every man who works with them shall give as dues. namely
one-tenth of all these. And there shall be given one-tenth of the
precious stones and quarrying stones that are brought from the
mountain side, being the stones of the east.
And there shall be an overseer who measures the quantities of gold,
silver, copper, and genuine precious stones, the things which the
sculptors shall assign to the gold house, Cll) (to) fashion the sacred
images and to refit the statues that were damaged, and any imple
ments lacking there. Everything shall be placed in the storehouse until
one fashions anew, when one knows everything that is lacking in your
temple, so that it shall be as it was in the beginning.
Engrave this decree on a stela of the sanctuary in writing, for il
happened as said, (and) on a tablet, so that the divine writings shall be
on them in the temple twice.54 He who spits (on it) deceitfully shall be
gi\'en over to punishment.
The overseers of the priests and the chief of all the temple personnel
shall make my name abide in the temple of Khnum-Re, lord of Yebu,
ever-mighty.

NOTES

I. The reading of the name is not quite certain, and the name is
probably not an Egyptian one.
2. When the inscription was first published, the description of a
seven year famine was believed to be connected with the biblical story ol
a seven-year famine in Egypt (Genesis 41 ) . Since then it has been shown
that a tradition of seven years of famine was widespread in the litcril
tures of the ancient Near East; see C. H. Gordon, Orintlalia, n.s., 2:l
(1953), 79-81.
3. Barguet, ojJ. lit., p. 15, took llrto be the word for "revenue," wh ilt'
I take it to be the word for "twin."
4. The meaning seems to be that those who had entered a housr
were too weak lo leave it again.
5. The "slaffof the lbis" designates the corporation of snilws who!lr
 TEXTS IN THE CLASSICAL LANGUAGE 101

patron was Thoth. As Barguet, op. cit., p. 16, pointed out, the king con
sults a priest of I mhotep, not the god Imhotep himself, as previous
translators had thought. The earlier view is now argued anew by D.
Wildung,/mhotep und Amenho tep (Munich, 1977), pp. 149-152.
6. fju)t-ibtt, the "Mansion of the Net," appears to have been a name
for the temple of Thoth at Hermopolis Magna. The logic of the tale
would seem to require that the king's consultation with the priest of lm
hotep takes place in the capital, i.e., at Memphis, which was also the cult
center of lmhotep. Since the priest is said to have returned "quickly," or
"immediately," poetic license might stretch this to include a quick trip
from Memphis to Hermopolis, but surely not a voyage to the Khoum
temple of Elephantine. Hence the "Mansion of the I"\et," if it does not
here refer to the temple of Hermopolis, could only designate a sanctuary
in, or close to, Memphis.
7. A somewhat obscure sentence which rendered literally would be:
"gathered for the steadfastness of everyone for what they do," which I
take to refer to the sanctuary, whereas Barguet construed it as referring
to the priest.
8. The "Souls of Re" are the sacred books kept in the temple's
"House of Life."
9. I.e., Elephantine, in the first nome of Upper Egypt, faces toward
Lower Nubia (Wawat).
I 0. The passage gives the traditional view that the inundation rose
from twin caverns at Elephantine.
II. I.e., by the time the inundation has reached the Delta town of
Sema-behdet, the metropolis of the I 7th nome of Lower Egypt, its
height of twenty-eight cubits above low water has diminished to seven
cubits.
12. I have restored the lacuna merely to indicate that some such
meaning is required. It is Khnum, the creator, who releases Hapy, the
inundating Nile.
13. The identification of Khnum with Shu also occurs in other texts of
the Ptolemaic period, notably at Esna.
14. Lit., "the land of Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt."
15. Despite Barguet's explanation I fail to understand the words used
lo describe the instrument, its location, and its relation to Shu. Barguet,
of!. cit., pp. 20-21 translated: "II y a Ia un support de bois et sa croix faite
de poutres swl, pour son peson, qui sont sur Ia rive; a cela est affecu
Chou, fils de Re, en tant gue 'maitre de largesse'," and he discussed the
instrument further in CdE, 28, no. 56 (1953), 223-227.
16. I.e., the first cataract of the Nile, which was an effective boundary
1hroughout Egypt's history.
17. Literally, "temples of Upper and Lower Egypt."
I H. The island of Biggah, south of Elephantine and opposite Philae.
19. The two elevations described here, a pleasant one and a difficult
ouc, have been identified with the "two mountains called Crophi and
Mo phi," mentioned in Herodotus 11,28. See Barguet, op. cit., p. 22,
where Cmphi is identified with grf-Jbw.
:.?0. Since many of the stones have not been idemified, it is not clear to
whal cxtclll the list may have been accurate.
:!I. On the mtu:h di sn 1 ssed b[m stone see now Harris, op. cit., pp. 78-
H:!, where lhc lranslalion "gnywa<k(" is favored.
102 ANCIENT EGYPTIAN LITERATURE

22. Harris (ibid., p. 74) thinks it probable that mOy was merely an
other spelling of m3J, "granite."
23. An unidentified material seemingly of golden color; see ibid.,
p. 88.
24. The stones rgs and wtS_v have not been identified; see ibid, pp. 85
and 89.
25. According to Harris (ibid., p. 105), this may be the Greek pra..mn,
"prase."
26. An unidentified stone, see ibid., p. 92.
27. This ts both a precious stone and a term for faience, glass, and
glaze, see ibid., pp. 135-138.
28. An unidentified stone, see ibid., pp. 133 and 232.
29. Harris (ibid., pp. 110-111) thinks it probable that this is "quartz."
30. Or perhaps "beryl," see ibid., p. 105.
31. An unidentified stone, see ibid, p . 92.
32. According to Harris (ibid., p. 115), this term usually designates
"green felspar."
33. According to Harris (ibid., p. 154), this is a writing of [m!Jyand sig
nifies a species of "red ochre."
34. Harris (ibid., pp. 118-120) thinks it probable that this is "garnet ."
35. An unidentified stone, see ibid., pp. 96-97.
36. Harris (ibid., pp. 168 and 233-234) concludes that this stone,
originally called bi3 !tsy. is haematite and possibly also magnetite.
37. On rst, "carnelian," see ibid .. pp. 120-121.
38. Harris (ibid., pp. 130-131) concludes that this was a semiprecious
stone probably of green color.
39. Mm or mimi is known as a word for seed-grain, but that does not
suit here.
40. On sty and t3-sty, "ochre," see ibid., pp. 150-152.
41 I.e., the king consulted the manuals that taught how to perform
the temple rituaL
42. The speech of the god abounds in assonances. which I have imi
tated whenever possible.
43. The "lips" suggest some kind of gate or lid made of two section!4
which, when opened, releases the water.
44. I take this to be the word for "well" rather than "sieve."
45. Lit., "your west as Manu, your east as Bakhu," the two names for
the mountain ranges bordering the Nile valley on the west and east.
46. The Greek Takompso, the locality that marked the southern limit
of the Dodekaschoinos.
47. Barguet, op. cit., p. 29, read imys nb; I wonder if it might be imv 11hll
nb, meaning the nb of Wb. 2,293.15.
48. Barguet, ibid., read the name as "Ville du Piege" (Hermopolis). I
think it is merely another writing of "Yebu."
49. Barguet, op. cit., p. 30, read the signs as rJ, "sack," rather than d(
r-10. I have retained the reading di r-IO and have discussed the prohl<lfl
of the whole donation in my article on the NaucratiJ Stela in Studit'.\ ;,.
Honor of George R. Hughes (Chicago, 1977), pp. 142-144.
50. A region of Nubia south of the second cataract; see C. Vand('l"
sleyen, Les FJIUTTes d'Amo.sis (Brussels, 1971), pp. 64-68.
51. I wonder if the unread word might be tmm', "prisoners"?
 TEXTS IN THE CLASSICAL LANGUAGE 103

52. A recent article with extensive bibliography on the much debated

Apiru is by M. B. Rowton,JNES, 35 (1976), 13-20.
53. It is not clear what word is written, see Barguet, op. cit., p. 31.
Since the edible produce has been listed separately, a species of grain is
hardly suitable.
54. What is written is: "in the temples twice on it."