Ancient Egyptian offering formula

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The Ancient Egyptian offering formula, generally referred to as the ḥtp-dỉ-nsw formula by Egyptologists, was written in ancient Egypt as an offering for the deceased.

It always begins,

ḥtp dỉ nsw. This phrase comes from Old Egyptian, and probably means "a boon given by the king," as the king was seen as the godly link between the people of Egypt and divine beings. The offering was made through him.

Next it invokes a god of the dead and several of his epithets, usually Osiris, Anubis, or (rarely) Geb or another deity:

"wsỉr nb ḏdw, nṯr ˁȝ, nb ȝbḏw and also Osiris, the lord of Busiris, the great god, the lord of Abydos." There was apparently no set rule about what epithets were used, however "Lord of Busiris," "Great God," and "Lord of Abydos" were very common. Also frequent were:

"nb ỉmnt nb nḥḥ, Lord of the West, Lord of Eternity"
Anubis is seen less frequently than Osiris, and usually read,

"ỉnpw, ḫnty sḥ nṯr tpy ḏw=f, and also Anubis, he who is in front of his divine booth, he who is on his mountain."

It proceeds with the list of ḫrt-prw, or "invocation offerings"

"dỉ=f prt-ḫrw t ḥnqt, kȝw ȝpdw, šs mnḥt ḫt nbt nfrt wˁbt ˁnḫt nṯr ỉm, He gives invocation offerings of bread, beer, oxen, birds, alabaster, cloathing, and every good and pure thing upon which a god lives."

It finishes with the name and titles of the person to whom the invocation offerings go. For instance,

"n kȝ n ỉmȝḫy s-n-wsrt, mȝˁ-ḫrw, for the soul of the revered Senwosret, True of Voice."

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Bennett, C. John C. (1941). "Growth of the ḤTP-DI-NSW Formula in the Middle Kingdom". Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 27: 77–82.
Franke, Detlef (2003). "The Middle Kingdom Offering Formulas—A Challenge". Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 89: 39–57.
Lapp, Günther (1986). Die Opferformel des Alten Reiches unter Berücksichtigung einiger später Formen. Mainz am Rhein: Verlag Philipp von Zabern.
Smither, Paul C. (1939). "The Writing of the ḤTP-DI-NSW Formula in the Middle and New Kingdoms". Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 25: 34–37.