I have adapted this hymn from excerpts of ancient hymns found on a statue of Kheruef, scribe of Amenhotep III (Dynasty 18). I have utilized two translations, an English translation by Labid Habachi, "The Owner of the Tomb", (in The Tomb of Kheruef - The University of Chicago, Oriental Institute Publications, Volume 102), 1980, pages 20-21, online at:
https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/oip102.pdf
I also used a French translation by André Barucq and François Daumas,
Hymnes et Prières de l'Égypte Ancienne, (Cerf 1980) pages 354-355, that was translated by a Canadian colleague who speaks French, Darian Banks.
There was a useful intermediate book source, through which I learned of the English translation.
Andres Diego Espinel, "In Tombs, Temples and on Scribal Palettes: Contexts and Functions of Private Cryptography during the Mid-Late Eighteenth Dynasty", (in Revealing, Transforming, and Display in Egyptian Hieroglyphs (Zeitschrift Für Ägyptische Sprache Und Altertumskunde - De Gruyter 2020)
edited by David Klotz and Andréas Stauder,
https://books.google.com
"Another example of a royal monogram in a private statue, also from the reign of Amenhotep III, is a granodiorite statue of the steward and royal scribe Kheruef that was destroyed during the Second World War.79 The object, which would have been about 50cm high when once complete, may come from Hermopolis, although a Theban provenance cannot be ruled out either.80 Kheruef holds a figure, depicting a complex royal rebus formed by the praenomen of Amenhotep III and the epithet "beloved of Thot" that is similar to the aforementioned rebus held by some royal sphinxes. Significantly, the statue is carved with some hymns to Thot who, in some instances, is described as "lord of hieroglyphs" (nb mdw.w ntr), "chief of the secrets which are in the sky and the earth (hry-sst3 imy pt t3), or "he who gives words and writings" (rdi.w mdw.w drf.w).81
79 - Berlin AM 2293
82 - For sources for Kheruef's statue, see Hayes 1951 pages 167-168 figs 31, Habachi, 1980
I wasn't yet certain Espinel was referring to the statue in the French text. But I found the Habachi text online, and was able to match up the translations. Habachi explains the "royal monogram":
"A headless statue of Kheruef (Berlin no. 2293)16 shows the official kneeling and holding an altar shaped like an inverted L on which, about the mr-sign, are seated the god Re, who is holding the maat-feather, and a baboon with the full and crescent moon on its head. This group is a rebus for "Neb-Ma'at-Re, beloved of Thoth."17 A breastplate in the outline of a building or altar hangs from Kheruef's neck; it bears the nomen and prenomen of Amenhotep III." (page 20)
Habachi was able to make the translations from pre-war photos provided by the Staatliche Museum of Berlin.
In my adaptation of the hymns, I omitted parts in the original, and changed the order up, to give a more natural flow. I've delineated the source for each line below:
1- Habachi - Socal Right
2- Me
3- Both Habachi and (French)Barucq/Daumas to (English)Banks
4- B/D/B - Socal Left
5 and 6- Adapted from both, turning three lines into two,
(removing reference to "Two Lands") - SL
7 and 8- B/D/B - turning into direct address - Altar Front
9 and 10- B/D/B - turning into direct address - AF
11- H - turning into direct address - AF
12- H - SR
13 and 14- B/D/B - SR
15 - Adapted from both - SR
16 - H - SR
17 - Adapted from both - SR
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