by
Damien F. Mackey
“Mentuhotep, prince in the seats of …
Splendor … at whose voice they (are permitted to) speak in the king's-house, in
charge of the silencing of the courtiers, unique one of the king, without his
like, who sends up the truth …”.
Inscriptions
of Mentuhotep
If
any revisionist historian had placed himself in a good position,
chronologically, to identify in the Egyptian records the patriarch Joseph, then
it was Dr. Donovan Courville, who had, in The Exodus Problem and its
Ramifications, I and II (1971), proposed that Egypt’s Old and Middle
Kingdoms were contemporaneous. That radical move on his part might have enabled
Courville to bring the likeliest candidate for Joseph, the Vizier Imhotep of
the Third Dynasty, into close proximity with the Twelfth Dynasty – the dynasty
that revisionists most favour for the era of Moses.
Courville, however,
who did not consider Imhotep for Joseph, selected instead for his
identification of this great biblical Patriarch another significant official, Mentuhotep, vizier to pharaoh Sesostris
I, the second king of Egypt’s Twelfth Dynasty.
And very good
revisionists have followed Courville in his choice of Mentuhotep for Joseph.
With my own system,
though, favouring (i) Imhotep for Joseph; (ii) Amenemes [Amenemhet] I for the
“new king” of Exodus 1:8; and (iii) Amenemes I’s successor, Sesostris I, for
the pharaoh from whom Moses fled (as recalled in the semi-legendary “The Story
of Sinuhe”), then Mentuhotep of this era must now loom large as a candidate for
the Egyptianised Moses.
Introduction
In 1981 I began a search for Moses in the Egyptian records.
The first lesson that I had to learn (and Courville’s
two-volume set served as my guide in this) was that the history books and
the Bible just did not align.
Now, after decades of effort on this work of revision, I have
been blessed to have encountered - and sometimes to have made - exciting
discoveries, including the appropriate era for Moses and the Exodus, and the
true archaeology for the Israelite (Joshuan) Conquest of Palestine.
But Moses himself, the person, has proved to be most elusive.
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I
now think that - and it has taken me only about 34 years to realise it -
this
Mentuhotep may be Moses staring revisionists right in the face.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In my most recent excursions into this era of biblico-history.
I have returned to the view - in line with the thinking of professor Immanuel
Anati, in his classic, The Mountain of God - that the famous Egyptian
“Sinuhe” tale carried a reminiscence of the historical Moses: “I accept that
this famous Egyptian tale is based upon a real biblical event. The
semi-legendary Sinuhe may at least provide us with the time of the
flight of Moses from Egypt to Midian, during the early reign of Sesostris
I”.
And I as well, in line with my revised Old to Middle Kingdom
parallelism, tentatively making contemporaneous:
4th
Dynasty
6th Dynasty
12th Dynasty
13th Dynasty
also suggested in this article a possible connection of Sinuhe
with the Sixth Dynasty’s Weni. Thus:
There is a famous
Sixth dynasty official, Weni (or Uni), who may be the parallel of
the Twelfth Dynasty’s Sinuhe as a candidate for the elusive Moses.
I have previously
written on this:
Now, given our alignment of the
so-called Egyptian Middle Kingdom’s Twelfth Dynasty with the Egyptian Old
Kingdom’s Sixth Dynasty (following Dr. Donovan Courville), then the
semi-legendary Sinuhe may find his more solidly historical identification in
the important Sixth Dynasty official, Weni, or Uni. Like Weni, Sinuhe
was highly honoured by pharaoh with the gift of a sarcophagus.
We read about it, for instance,
in C. Dotson’s extremely useful article (“…. The Cycle of Order and Chaos in The
Tale of Sinuhe”)
“…. The king gives Sinuhe a
sarcophagus of gold and lapis lazuli as a housewarming gift. The gift of a
coffin by the king was considered a great honor and a sign of respect.
In the Autobiography of Weni
from the Old Kingdom, Weni records that the king had given him a white
sarcophagus and “never before had the like been done in this Upper Egypt.” ….
[End of
quote]
Naturally, Dr. Courville’s radical proposal that the Egyptian
Sixth and Twelfth dynasties were contemporaneous - whereas, according to
conventional history some four centuries separate the end of the Sixth (c. 2200
BC) from that of the Twelfth (c. 1800 BC) - has not been well received by
non-revisionist historians, such as e.g. professor W. Stiebing who has written
(https://books.google.com.au/books?id=Yf2NWgNhEecC&pg=PA131&lpg=PA131&dq=co):
“There is simply no textual support for making the Sixth and Twelfth Dynasties
contemporaneous, as Courville does”.
However, as I have previously noted in my:
…. [Dr.] J. Osgood proposes a possible
close relationship between the 6th and 12th dynasty mortuary temples ....:
Edwards certainly opens the possibility
unconsciously when referring to the pyramid of Sesostris the First ....: “...
and the extent to which its Mortuary Temple was copied from the Mortuary
Temples of the VIth dynasty, as illustrated by that of Pepi II ... is clearly
evident.”
The return of a culture to what it was
before ... after some three hundred years must be an uncommon event. The
theoretical possibility that the two cultures, the Twelfth and the Sixth
Dynasties were in fact contemporary and followed a common pattern of Mortuary
Temple must be borne in mind as real.
[End of quote]
That there is in fact some impressive evidence to suggest
that:
Egypt’s Old and Middle
Kingdoms [Were] Far Closer in Time
than Conventionally
Thought
is apparent from a set of examples that I listed there taken
from N. Grimal’s A History of
Ancient Egypt (Blackwell 1994). After recalling some striking similarities
between the Sixth Dynasty founder, Teti, and the Twelfth Dynasty founder,
Amenemes I, as follows: “…. {Teti, I have tentatively
proposed as being the same pharaoh as Amenemes/Ammenemes I, based on
(a) being a founder of a
dynasty;
(b) having same Horus name;
(c) being assassinated. ….}”,
I continued:
Grimal
notes the likenesses:
Pp.
80-81
“[Teti‟s]
adoption of the Horus name Sehetep-tawy (“He who pacifies the Two Lands”) was
an indication of the political programme upon which he embarked. … this Horus
name was to reappear in titulatures throughout subsequent Egyptian history,
always in connection with such kings as Ammenemes I … [etc.]”.
“Manetho
says that Teti was assassinated, and it is this claim that has led to the idea
of growing civil disorder, a second similarity with the reign of Ammenemes
I”.
P.
84: “[Pepy I] … an unmistakable return to ancient values: Pepy I changed his
coronation name from Neferdjahor to Merire (“The devotee of Ra”)”. ….
P.
159:
[Ammenemes
I]. Like his predecessors in the Fifth Dynasty, the new ruler used literature
to publicize the proofs of his legitimacy. He turned to the genre of
prophecy: a premonitory recital placed in the mouth of Neferti, a Heliopolitan
sage who bears certain similarities to the magician Djedi in Papyrus Westcar.
Like Djedi, Neferti is summoned to the court of King Snofru, in whose reign the
story is supposed to have taken place”.
P.
164: “[Sesostris I]. Having revived the Heliopolitan tradition of taking
Neferkare as his coronation name …”.
P.
165: “There is even evidence of a Twelfth Dynasty cult of Snofru in the region
of modern Ankara”.
P.
171: “Ammenemes IV reigned for a little less than ten years and by the time he
died the country was once more moving into a decline. The reasons were similar
to those that conspired to end the Old Kingdom”.
P.
173: “… Mentuhotpe II ordered the construction of a funerary complex modelled
on the Old Kingdom royal tombs, with its valley temple, causeway and mortuary
temple”.
P.
177:
“…
Mentuhotpe II’[s] … successors … returned to the Memphite system for their
funerary complexes. They chose sites to the south of Saqqara and the plans of
their funerary installations drew on the architectural forms of the end of the
Sixth Dynasty.
….
The mortuary temple was built during the Ammenemes I’s “co-regency” with
Sesostris I. The ramp and the surrounding complex were an enlarged version of
Pepy II’s”.
P.
178: “The rest of [Sesostris I’s el-Lisht] complex was again modelled on that
of Pepy II”.
Pp.
178-179:
“[Ammenemes
III’s “black pyramid” and mortuary structure at Dahshur]. The complex
infrastructure
contained a granite sarcophagus which was decorated with a replica of the
enclosure wall of the Step Pyramid complex of Djoser at Saqqara (Edwards 1985:
211-12)”. “[Ammenemes III’s pyramid and mortuary temple at Harawa]. This was
clearly a sed festival installation, comparable to the jubilee complex of
Djoser at Saqqara, with which Ammenemes’ structure has several similarities”.
“The
tradition of the Old Kingdom continued to influence Middle Kingdom royal
statuary …”.
P.
180:
“The
diversity of styles was accompanied by a general return to the royal tradition,
which was expressed in the form of a variety of statues representing kings from
past times, such as those of Sahure, Neuserre, Inyotef and Djoser created
during the reign of Sesostris II”.
P.
181:
“A
comparable set of statures represents Ammenemes III (Cairo, Egyptian Museum CG
385 from Hawara) … showing the king kneeling to present wine vessels, a type
previously encountered at the end of the Old Kingdom (Cairo, Egyptian Museum CG
42013 …) …”.
[End of
quotes]
See also:
Pharaohs Khufu, Teti, Amenemhet I and II: Four Faces, One
Ruler
Moses as Chief Judge and Vizier
“Weni’s famous
“Autobiography” has been described as, amongst other superlatives …
“… the best-known
biographical text of the Old Kingdom and has been widely discussed,
as it is important
for literary and historical reasons; it is also the longest
such document”.
Comparing Weni - (and Sinuhe)
- with Vizier Mentuhotep
About Sinuhe, we learn (http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/texts/sinuhe.htm): “I was a henchman
who followed his lord, a servant of the Royal harim attending on the hereditary
princess, the highly-praised Royal Consort of Sesostris in the pyramid-town of
Khnem-esut, the Royal Daughter of Amenemmes in the Pyramid-town of Ka-nofru,
even Nofru, the revered”.
We have already learned something of the greatness of
Mentuhotep.
Weni has, for his part, been described - like Imhotep
(Joseph) - as a “genius”. This little excerpt on the “Autobiography of Weni” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autobiography_of_Weni) already tells us a lot about the man:
Weni rose through the ranks of the
military to become commander in chief of the army. He was considered by both his contemporaries and many Egyptologists to have been a brilliant tactician and possibly
even a genius. His victories earned him the privilege of being shown leading
the troops into battle, a right usually reserved for pharaohs. Weni is the first person, other than a pharaoh, known to have been
portrayed in this manner. Many of his battles were in the Levant and the Sinai. He is said to have pursued a group of Bedouins all the way to Mount Carmel. He battled a Bedouin people known as the
sand-dwellers at least five times.
Weni’s famous “Autobiography” has been described
as, amongst other superlatives (https://books.google.com.au/books?id=sgoVryxihuMC&pg=PA352&lpg=PA352): “… the best-known
biographical text of the Old Kingdom and has been widely discussed, as it is
important for literary and historical reasons; it is also the
longest such document”.
This marvellous piece of ancient literature, conventionally
dated to c. 2330 BC - and even allowing for the revised re-dating of it to a
bit more than half a millennium later - completely gives the lie to the old
JEDP theory, that writing was not invented until about 1000 BC.
Here I take some of the relevant inscriptions of the renowned
Vizier, Mentuhotep (http://www.forgottenbooks.com/readbook_text/Ancient_Records_of_Egypt_v1_10000750),
and juxtapose them with comparable parts of the “Autobiography” of Weni (in brown) (http://drelhosary.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/weni-elder-and-his-mor)
(all emphasis added):
INSCRIPTIONS OF
MENTUHOTEP ….
531. Hereditary
prince, vizier and chief judge
The
exterior face of the north wall incorporates a large niche, and during excavations
here a damaged false door inscribed for Weni the Elder was discovered in
situ. Not only does this false door provide a nickname for Weni
("Nefer Nekhet Mery-Ra"--Egyptian nicknames were often longer than
birth names!), but it also documents his final career promotion, a fact not
recorded in his autobiography: Chief Judge and Vizier.
attached to Nekhen,
judge
attached to Nekhen,
prophet of
prophet
of
Mat (goddess of
Truth), giver of laws, advancer of offices, confirming … the boundary records,
separating a land-owner from his neighbor, pilot of the people, satisfying the
whole land, a man of truth before the Two Lands … accustomed … to justice like
Thoth, his like in satisfying the Two Lands, hereditary prince in judging the
Two Lands …. supreme head in judgment, putting matters in order, wearer of the
royal seal, chief treasurer, Mentuhotep.
Hereditary prince, count
the
count
… chief of all works
of the king, making the offerings of the gods to flourish, setting this land … according
to the command of the god.
the
whole was carried out by my hand, according to the mandate which … my lord
had commanded me.
…. sending forth two
brothers satisfied
pleasant
to his brothers
with the utterances
of his mouth, upon whose tongue is the writing of Thoth,
I
alone was the one who put (it) in writing ….
more accurate than
the weight, likeness of the balances, fellow of the king in counselling … giving
attention to hear words, like a god in his hour, excellent in heart, skilled in
his fingers, exercising an office like him who holds it, favorite of the
king
I
was excellent to the heart of his majesty, for I was pleasant to the
heart of his majesty
before the Two
Lands, his beloved among the companions,
for
his majesty loved me.
his
majesty appointed me sole companion and superior custodian of the domain
of the Pharaoh.
powerful among the
officials, having an advanced seat to approach the throne of the king, a man of
confidences to whom the heart opens.
his
majesty praised me for the watchfulness and vigilance, which I showed in the
place of audience, above his every official, above [his every] noble, above
his every servant.
532. Hereditary
prince over the … the (royal) castle (wsh't) … finding the speech of the
palace, knowing that which is in every body (heart), putting a man into his
real place, finding matters in which there is irregularity, giving the lie to
him that speaks it, and the truth to him that brings it, giving attention,
without an equal, good at listening, profitable in speaking, an official
loosening the (difficult) knot, whom the king (lit., god) exalts above
millions, as an excellent man, whose name he knew, true likeness of love, free
from doing deceit, whose steps the court heeds,
when
preparing court, when preparing the king’s journey (or) when making
stations, I did throughout so that his majesty praised me for it above
everything.
overthrowing him
that rebels against the king, hearing the house of the council of
thirty, who puts his terror … among the barbarians (fp^s'tyw), when he has
silenced the Sand-dwellers, pacifying the rebels because of their
deeds, whose actions prevail in the two regions, lord of the Black Land and the
Red Land, giving commands to the South, counting the number of the Northland,
His
majesty sent me to despatch [this army] five times, in order to traverse the
land of the Sand-dwellers at each of their rebellions, with these
troops, I did so that [his] majesty praised me [on account of it].
When
it was said there were revolters, because of a matter among these
barbarians in the land of Gazelle-nose, I crossed over in troop-ships with
these troops, and I voyaged to the back of the height of the ridge on the north
of the Sand-dwellers. When the army had been [brought] in the highway, I
came and smote them all and every revolter among them was slain.
His
majesty sent me at the head of his army while the counts, while the wearers of
the royal seal, while the sole companions of the palace, while the nomarchs and
commanders of strongholds belonging to the South and Northland ….
in whose brilliance
all men move, pilot of the people, giver of food, advancing offices, lord of
designs, great in love, associate of the king in the great castle (wsfi't),
hereditary prince, count, chief treasurer, Mentuhotep, he says:
533. …'I am a
companion beloved of his lord, doing that which pleases his god daily, prince,
count, sem priest, master of every wardrobe of Horus, prophet of Anubis of …
the hry ydb, Mentuhotep, prince in the seats of … Splendor … at whose voice
they (are permitted to) speak in the king's-house, in charge of the silencing
of the courtiers, unique one of the king, without his like, who sends up the
truth ….
One to whom the
great come in obeisance at the double gate of the king's-house ; attached to
Nekhen, prophet of Mat, pillar … 'before the Red Land, overseer of the western
highlands,
First
of the Westerners ….
leader of the
magnates of South and North … advocate of the people … merinuter priest,
prophet of Horus, master of secret things of the house of sacred
writings ….
Never
before had one like me heard the secret of the royal harem.
[Sinuhe,
too, was] servant of the Royal harim attending on the hereditary
princess ….
governor of the (royal) castle,
governor
of the South
prophet of Harkefti,
great lord of the royal wardrobe, who approaches the limbs of the king,
chamber-attendant
…. overseer of the
double granary, overseer of the double silver-house, overseer of the double
gold-house, master of the king's writings of the (royal) presence, wearer of
the royal seal, sole companion, master of secret things of the 'divine words’
(hieroglyphics) ….
534. Here follows a
mortuary prayer, after which the concluding lines (22, 23) refer specifically
to his building commissions at Abydos ….
I conducted the work
in the temple, built of stone of Ayan I conducted the work on the sacred barque
{nlm * /), I fashioned its colors, offering tables
His
majesty sent me to Hatnub to bring a huge offering-table ….
of lapis lazuli, of
bronze, of electrum, and silver; copper was plentiful without end, bronze
without limit, collars of real malachite, ornaments (mn-nfr't) of every kind of
costly stone. of the choicest of everything, which are given to a god at his
processions, by virtue of my office of master of secret things.
[End of quotes]
I recall (but do not currently have it with me) that professor
A. S. Yahuda had, in his Language of the Pentateuch in
Its Relation to Egyptian, Vol. 1 (1933),
when discussing the Exodus 5:5 encounter between Pharaoh and Moses and Aaron: “Then Pharaoh said, ‘Look,
the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from
working’”, referred to the rank of Moses and Aaron (differentiating them from
the common people) as something akin to new men. Anyway, that is precisely how Weni
is classified in this next piece (http://drelhosary.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/weni-elder-and-his-mortuary.html):
Everyone
who has studied ancient Egyptian history is familiar with the autobiography of
Weni the Elder, an enterprising individual who lived during the 6th Dynasty of
the Old Kingdom (ca. 2407-2260 BCE). His inscription, excavated in 1860 from
his tomb in the low desert at Abydos in southern Egypt, enthusiastically
describes his long service under three kings, culminating in his appointment as
"True Governor of Upper Egypt." Scholars have hailed it as "the
most important historical document from the Old Kingdom" and have used it
to illustrate the rise of a class of "new men" in Egyptian politics
and society--persons whose upward mobility rested in their abilities, not in
noble birth.
Early
in the season, we excavated a number of inscribed relief fragments from this
area, including two pieces that, when joined together, furnished the name
"Weni the Elder" and a fragment providing the title "True
Governor of Upper Egypt," the highest title recorded in Weni's
autobiography. Further evidence emerged supporting this association. The
exterior face of the north wall incorporates a large niche, and during
excavations here a damaged false door inscribed for Weni the Elder was
discovered in situ. Not only does this false door provide a nickname for
Weni ("Nefer Nekhet Mery-Ra"--Egyptian nicknames were often longer
than birth names!), but it also documents his final career promotion, a fact
not recorded in his autobiography: Chief Judge and Vizier.
[End of quote]
Weni was, just like Mentuhotep, “Chief Judge and
Vizier”.
Weni was also, as we read above, “commander in chief of the army”.
And Mentuhotep was also “Chief of Police”.
Was this also the historical Moses, whose Judgeship, whose
Rulership, some of the Hebrews chose to reject (Exodus 2:14): ‘Who made you ruler and judge
over us?’
