1. Introduction and physical description

The papyrus roll, bearing the inventory number Cat. 2117 (R 08) in the Museo Egizio, was first described in the catalogue by Fabretti, Rossi, and Lanzone in 1882: “Rotolo di papiro con testo jeratico alto m. 0,27, tutto rotto e guasto dal bitumen, segnato col n. VIII”.1 No further information about this papyrus is provided in the museum records, and it has not received any attention in Egyptological literature since. The manuscript was most likely acquired by the museum in 1824 as part of the Drovetti collection. Even though no records concerning its acquisition or provenance exist, the following investigation of its owner will show that Thebes is a highly likely place of origin. Furthermore, it will show that the papyrus is not as “tutto rotto” as Fabretti et al. assumed.2

In its current state, the papyrus roll (Fig. 1, Pls. 1-3) is 26.4 cm high and 46 cm long, and is of a light brown colour. Several bitumen stains are visible along the upper margin of the recto and in a number of areas on the verso, especially of the first sheet. Three sheet joins are still preserved (the first after 1.5 cm from the right side on the recto, the second after an additional 15 cm, and the third after an additional 14.5 cm), as well as the verso fibres that were usually attached to the recto in order to mark the end of a papyrus roll.3 The scribe used the sheet joins as a reference for drawing the black double lines that separate the columns.

P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08), recto, as currently mounted. Scan by Museo Egizio.

Fig. 1

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P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08), recto, as currently mounted. Scan by Museo Egizio.

Two strips of linen with traces of bitumen are still attached to the verso (Fig. 2). According to information previously in the main database of the Museo Egizio, these were used to close the rolled-up papyrus manuscript. However, it is obvious that the scribe removed a strip of the papyrus layer from the verso – approximately in the middle of the roll –, which he most likely rolled into a cord-like shape and used2 afterwards to close the rolled-up papyrus.4 Therefore, the two strips of linen with bitumen are most likely remains of the mummy bandages that were still attached to the papyrus roll after it had been torn from the mummified body to which it was tightly stuck because of the bitumen covering the mummy.

P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08), verso, as currently mounted. Scan by Museo Egizio.

Fig. 2

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P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08), verso, as currently mounted. Scan by Museo Egizio.

The papyrus displays a number of vertical cracks where it was bent after being rolled-up, as well as a regularly occurring horizontal pattern of damage, especially in the middle area. Both the fact that the first preserved column displays greater damage than the other sections and the fact that the vertical cracks occur at shorter intervals in the area of the blank protective sheet to the left indicates that the papyrus was rolled from left to right and the right-hand side was hence the outermost. Furthermore, no traces of bitumen are visible on the verso of the protective sheet, as this was on the inside of the roll.

Although the bad state of preservation of the manuscript’s3 first preserved column of text makes it difficult to ascertain whether this was originally the first column of the manuscript or whether more text had preceded it, several factors suggest that the whole document originally consisted of only these three columns. The fragment that is currently attached to the lower right edge of the papyrus, just before the first column, offers the first hint. It needs to be shifted 2.5 cm downwards until its bottom line is aligned with the bottom line of the main part. On the verso of the fragment, one can still see traces of bitumen where the two strips of bandages were originally attached. These were reused in modern times to fix the fragment in its current position. The fact that it is entirely blank on the recto supports the hypothesis that there were no preceding columns of text. Furthermore, the traces of bitumen along the fragment’s right edge – which stained the inward-facing recto of the rolled-up papyrus – suggest that this was the outermost and, hence, the first sheet of the document. Moreover, a closer look at the original reveals that the first visible pair of column separation lines (in the lower right corner) is also where the column frames start, as the horizontal double line does not extend rightward of this first separation. Another important argument is provided by the text itself, more specifically, its headline and the title of the deceased in the first two lines of the first column. As the following investigation will show, neither the title of the deceased nor an extensive headline occur again in the course of the composition. All these data concur in indicating that the total length of the original manuscript is preserved.

2. The owner of P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08) and his family

The manuscript gives us the names of its owner and his mother:  Wsjr 0rj=s-n=f mAa-xrw msj.n nb.t-pr 6A-mj.t mAa(.t)-xrw, “the Osiris of Herisenef,5 justified, whom the mistress of the house Tamyt,6 justified, has born”. This Herisenef is known from a number of other sources. A statue from the Cachette in Karnak, now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (RT 18/12/24/2),7 gives a detailed account of members of his direct family. According to this document, 0rj=s-n=f was the son of Ns-Mnw and 6A-mj.t, and himself had two sons called anx-1apj and Ns-Mnw. Furthermore, the whole family figures in several Theban Demotic administrative documents collected by Clarysse.8 They further reveal that Herisenef had a third son named PA-dj-Jmn. Based on the family tree constructed by Clarysse, the owner of P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08) can thus be identified with Herisenef I, who lived around 330 BCE:9

In addition to the material collected by Clarysse, Herisenef and other members of his direct family are known from documents of the “archive of Teos and Thabis” from Thebes. Our Herisenef (I) is mentioned in a witness list on a papyrus for selling a house (P. Brussels 8252), which dates to year 6 of Alexander the Great (327/6 BCE); he is the seventh in the list, identified as 0rj=s-n=f sA Ns-Mnw.10 Moreover, in the witness list of P. Brussels 8254, dated to year 6 of Alexander IV (311 BCE), a certain Ns-Mnw, son of 0rj=s-n=f is named, who might be identical with the aforementioned son of Herisenef I.11

In the first line of the first preserved column of P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08), the title of the deceased Herisenef can be reconstructed with some certainty, as it is known for other members of his family12 and is also attested for him in a “Geldbezahlungsschrift”13 dated to year 3 of Alexander the Great (330/29 BCE): wn.w n pr-nbw n Jmn, “the shrine opener/pastophoros of the Gold House of Amun”.14 No other titles, if they were originally written in the lacuna, are preserved,4 and neither are additional titles of his listed in the administrative documents referred to above. According to the list provided by Depauw, which is based on the material he collected, only the members of Herisenef’s family (he himself, his son Ankhhapi, and his brother Pakherkhonsu) bore the specific title “pastophoros of the Gold House of Amun”.15 Ankhhapi also held the titles of “pastophoros of Amun” and swnw-jr.t, “ophthalmologist”,16 and possessed two houses in the northern part of Thebes, in the district called “the House of the Cow”, where his father likewise resided.17

3. Discussion of the text inscribed and parallels

The papyrus is inscribed with the final columns of a composition known today by Egyptologists as the so-called Glorifications I.18 This composition is a compilation of 18 or 16 spells (depending on the subdivision of the text) that were used in the cult of the god Osiris in Abydos.19 This text’s introductory lines – preserved in P. BM EA 10252, col. 36, ll. 1–220 – give instructions for its performance: sAx.w jrj m Hw.t-nTr n.t Wsjr jn Xrj-Hb Hrj-tp m pr pn Dd.w m tp-tr nb n wab.t jrj mrj.t m Abd smd.t m Hb nb n.w jmnt.t, “Glorifications, which are performed in the temple of Osiris, by the chief lector priest of this house. What is said on each due occasion of the embalming place. What is desired should be performed at the month-festival, the fifteenth day festival, and at every festival of the West”. However, as Smith has already pointed out, the designation Glorifications I – just as the other three books called Glorifications II, III, and IV – is a modern one and its use problematic, especially considering that each of these compositions has an ancient Egyptian title of its own, like the one just translated above.21

The main purpose of these spells is to assert “that the dead will be revived, protected, nourished, and accepted among the underworld gods and their followers”.22 As they are hence intended to highlight what will happen, instead of wishing for it to happen, the main verb form used is the future sDm=f, addressing the person who is supposed to benefit from it in the second person singular.23 Since the version on P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08) was originally intended for funerary purposes – and thus, unlike P. BM EA 10252, was not an original temple manuscript that was only later reused for funerary purposes – Wsjr NN is added after Wsjr xntj jmnt.t throughout the composition. However, it should be pointed out that in the parallel version of the Glorifications I in P. BM EA 10317 – which was likewise originally intended for funerary use – solely Wsjr NN is present, whereas Wsjr xntj jmnt.t is omitted entirely.

The complete composition of the Glorifications I is currently known to be preserved on five papyri:

P. BM EA 1031724 can be dated to around 300 BCE. It belonged to 9d-Hr, also called PA-jany, who is the owner of two other papyri in the Museo Egizio: P. Turin Cat. 1830 (Book of the Dead) and P. Turin Cat. 1845 (Glorifications III) + CGT 54047 (Ritual for Bringing Sokar out of the Shrine). Djedher was buried in the tomb of Ankhhor in the Asasif (TT 414) together with his family members, and this location is thus the presumable find-spot of these papyri.25

P. BM EA 1031926 can likewise be dated to around 300 BCE. It belonged to the priest PA-xr-2nsw, the brother of the aforementioned Djedher. He further possessed a Book of the Dead, currently kept in the Museo Egizio (P. Turin Cat. 1832).27

P. BM EA 1025228 is dated to 307/6 BCE by a colophon written on it. It most likely formed one consecutive papyrus roll with P. BM EA 10081. These documents originally belonged to a temple library and were only later adapted by a certain PA-wrm, who possessed a number of funerary papyri. The exact find spot of the papyrus is not known, but it certainly comes from Thebes.

P. Berlin P. 3057 (P. Schmitt)29 dates to around 300 BCE. Its owner as well as its provenance are unknown.

P. Louvre N. 312930 can be dated to the 4th or 3rd century BCE. It belonged to the priest PA-Srj-n-Mnw, who was also called Wsjr-wr. Its provenance in not known.

Furthermore, four other papyri contain excerpts, although none is parallel to the spells preserved on the papyrus of Herisenef: P. Cracow Jagiellonen University Library 03.03.1992 (= P. Sękowski)31 can be dated to Roman times and contains Spells 1–4 of the Glorifications I; P. Asasif 7 (Psametik),32 dating to the early Ptolemaic Period, preserves Spells 3–4; P. Leiden T31,33 also dating to the early Ptolemaic Period, contains Spells 7–8; and P. Barcelona Palau-Rib. inv.5-6 80/68,34 from the early Ptolemaic Period, preserves Spells 8–10. The provenance of P. Sękowski, P. Leiden T31, and P. Palau-Rib. inv. 80/68 is not known, whereas P. Asasif 7 was found in the excavation of the tomb of Mutirdis in Asasif (TT 389).35 In addition, a number of excerpts are known from sarcophagi of the Ptolemaic Period, and from the Hourly Vigil in the temple of Edfu.36

The text of P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08) is written in hieratic, in scriptio continua, filling each line completely. The scribe used red ink for the introductory rubrics mentioning the sAxw37 or kj, “another”,38 as well as for the invocation hAy39 and mentions of the enemies.40 The version on P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08) consists of a total of 9 invocations – structured by means of hAy and, once, kj – corresponding to Spells 14–16 as numbered by Assmann.41

4. Layout and palaeography

The first two columns are enclosed by frames consisting of two black lines, whereas the third column is written without any framing lines or other markers for orientation. This column is also much narrower than the other two, although there was more writing space to the left on the papyrus. The width of the column eventually turned out to be insufficient, so that the scribe had to stop writing before the actual end of the text.

The double-lined borders are unusual for liturgical papyri of the early Ptolemaic Period. In P. Sękowski, however, which dates to Roman times, the individual columns are likewise enclosed by two black lines.42 Moreover, black double-lined borders just like those of P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08), are commonly used in hieratic Books of the Dead of the Late and Ptolemaic periods.43 It is known that the framing lines or borders for these Book of the Dead spells were drawn on the papyrus sheets before they were assembled,44 and this would explain the layout of the papyrus of Herisenef: the sheet, already prepared with framing lines, may have been originally intended for Book of the Dead spells, but was then repurposed and used for glorification spells.

As argued in the previous sub-chapter, the papyrus can be dated to around 330 BCE and comes from Thebes. As we are in the fortunate position of having a date and provenance for this manuscript, it is worth dwelling on its palaeography (see Table 1), as this could be useful for comparative studies. The handwriting of the scribe appears swift, with little attention to detail; compare, for instance, (W 19) in col. 2, l. 17, where he placed the upper part of the sign too far to the left. He tried to simplify/abbreviate the hieratic signs as much as possible. On the other hand, however, one should note the elaborate writing of the scarab sign (L 1). There are a few characteristic signs that distinguish our scribe, such as his writing of (D 21) with a rather prominent downward stroke on the right-hand side, or his writing of (P 1), where he seems to add a supplementary vertical stroke to the horizontal base line.45

Table 1

Overview of some of the most distinctive signs in P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08).

none

5. Transliteration, translation, and commentary

5.1. First invocation: col. 1, ll. 1–4

This corresponds to Spell 14, “Erster Abschnitt” (following Assmann’s subdivision of the text).46

1 […] sAxwa Wsjr wn.w n pr-nbw n 2 [Jmn 0rj=s-n=f mAa-xrw msj.n nb.t-pr] 6A-mjw.t mAa(.t)-xrw jnj.n n=k Gb sn.tj=k 3 [r gs=k As.t pw Hna Nb.t-Hw.t rdj.n 1r]47 dmD-Tw nTr.w snsn=sn r=k m rn=sn 4 [n snw.tj]487

“1 […]b Glorification of the Osiris of the shrine opener/pastophoros of the Gold House of 2 [Amunc Herisenef, justified, whom the mistress of the house,] Tamyt, justified, [has born]. Geb has brought for you your two sisters 3 [to your side. It is Isis together with Nephthys. Horus has caused] that the gods assemble/join with you, that they are brotherly towards you in their name 4 [of the two snw.t-shrines].”

a The parallels add h(A), “Hail”; compare P. Schmitt, col. 17, l. 7; P. BM EA 10252, col. 48, l. 1; P. BM EA 10319, col. 11, l. 25.

b As the parallels all start with sAx and do not have any text before it, it is impossible to reconstruct the beginning of the line in P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08) with any certainty. Nevertheless, since it seems that our version of the Glorifications I started at this point and presumably only consisted of these three columns, the beginning of the line might have included a short introduction concerning the broader purpose of the collection of glorifying spells that follow.49 Nevertheless, the ancient Egyptian title of the whole composition, designated as Glorifications I nowadays, is mDA.t n.t sAxw Ax, “Book of Glorifying the Spirit” in the version of P. Sękowski, col. 10, l. 1,50 which, just like our version, does not have the complete text, but only a selection of several of the spells; it is hence probable that mDA.t n.t sAxw Wsjr NN, “Book of Glorifying the Osiris of NN” or a similar title was originally written at the start of the text on P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08). The title in P. Leiden T31, which likewise only made use of a couple of spells (7–8), reads jnj r sAx hAy, “Extract from the (Book of the) Glorification ‘Hail’”,51 so an jnj r-phrase for introducing an excerpt could have originally been written in the lacuna as well.52

c Compare the remarks above, section 2, for this restoration of the title in the lacuna. For the title wn.w, “shrine opener/pastophoros”, see Jelínková-Reymond, CdE 28 (1953), pp. 53–59; Ramond, JEA 65 (1979), p. 170, n. (d); Johnson (ed.), CDD_W, 2009, pp. 89–92, and the literature references cited in these works. For the wn.w n pr-nbw n Jmn more specifically, see Johnson (ed.), CDD_P, 2010, p. 57.

5.2. Second invocation: col. 1, ll. 4–7

This corresponds to Spell 14, “Erster Abschnitt”.53

[hAy Wsjr] 54 xntj jmnt.t hAy Wsjr 0rj{jmn}=s-n=f 55  5 [mAa-xrw msj.n 6A-mj.t mAa(.t)-xr]w anx.tw m anxw nD(.w)=k m 9d.t 6 [sAw n=k As.t Hna Nb.t-Hw.t] 56 m 4Aw n nb[=sn] jm=k m rn=k 7 [n nb 4Aw …] sAw […]

“[Hail Osiris], foremost of the West, hail the Osiris of Herisenef, 5 [justified, whom Tamyt, justified, has born,] you are alive like/as the living one (the beetle), you will be protected in Mendes.57 6 [Isis and Nephthys will exercise protection for you] in Sais, for [their] lord which you are, in your name 7 [of lord of Sais …] the guardian(?) […]d”

d As our copy seems to deviate here from the known parallels, a reconstruction seems impossible for this section. P. Schmitt, col. 17, ll. 9–10; P. BM EA 10252, col. 48, ll. 7–8, and P. BM EA 10317, col. 14, l. 4 read: … nb 4Aw nTr=sn jm=k m rn=k n nTr spA.wt, “… lord of Sais,58 their god which you are, in your name of god of the8 nomes”. Considering the position of sAw in our text, maybe P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08) once read sAw spA.wt, “guardian of the nomes”59 instead of nTr spA.wt, “god of the nomes”.

5.3. Third invocation: col. 1, ll. 7–12

This corresponds to Spell 14, “Zweiter Abschnitt”.60

A fragment that belongs to this section is currently misplaced to the left, in col. 2.61

h Wsjr xntj-jmnt.t 8 [hAy Wsjr 0rj=s-n=f] mAa-xrw62 [msj.n nb.t-pr 6A-m]jw.t mAa(.t)-xrw 9 [Htm jb=k m Xn]m.t63 [wr.t a.wj=k r Hapj]64 10 [jj=f n=k mj jr.t n Ra ngA=f jtrw anx]=k65 anx.tw 11 [wAS=k wAS.tw spd=k spd.tw rdj n=k anx wAs n Ra] xAw.tw r 12 [xftj.w=k]66

“Hail Osiris, foremost of the West, 8 [hail the Osiris of Herisenef,] justified, [whom the mistress of the house Tam]yt, justified, [has born], 9 [quench your thirst in the great w]ell, [your arms towards the Nile inundation.] 10 [It will come for you like that which is done for Re. It will break open the river.] You [will live,] being alive. 11 [You will be honoured, being honoured. You will be effective, being effective. The anx-sign and the wAs-sceptre of Re will be given to you, so that] you are protected from 12 [your enemies.]”

5.4. Fourth invocation: col. 1, ll. 12–16

This corresponds to Spell 14, “Dritter Abschnitt”.67

[hAy Wsjr xntj jmnt.t hAy Wsjr 0rj]=s-n=f mAa-xrw 13 sA=k [1r pw 1r xAw=f-Tw nHm].n=f-Tw68 nD.n=f-Tw m-a 14 xftj.w=k H[sq]=fe n=k tp.w xrw[.w=k j]p.tw f r nTr m nTr.w 15 [aD].tw g nn xftj.w=k mAa.n n=k wjA69 n Ra Wp-wA.wt sSm=f-Tw 16 [r bw nb]70 mrw.t kA=k jm

“[Hail Osiris, foremost of the West, hail the Osiris of Heri]senef, justified, 13 your son [Horus is it. Horus, he will protecth you,] he [rescue]d you, he saved you from 14 your enemies. He will cut [off] for you the heads9 of [your] foe[s,] while you are [count]ed as god among the gods, 15 while you are [safe]. Your enemies do not exist. The barquei of Re was led for you. Wepwawet, he will guide you 16 [to every place] where your ka desires (to go).”

e The parallels have Hsq; compare P. BM EA 10252, col. 48, l. 16; P. BM EA 10317, col. 14, ll. 9–10; P. BM EA 10319, col. 11, l. 35; P. Schmitt, col. 17, l. 12. The determinative that is still preserved, however, would rather argue for Htm, “to destroy”.

f The lacuna is filled according to P. BM EA 10252, col. 48, l. 16; P. BM EA 10317, col. 14, l. 10; P. BM EA 10319, col. 11, l. 36; P. Schmitt, col. 17, l. 13. The traces in front of the lacuna would also allow the reading … tp.w n.w [xrw.w=k … with genitival n.w, depending on how elaborately the word xrw.w was written in the lacuna.71

g Restoration according to P. BM EA 10252, col 48, l. 17; P. BM EA 10319, col. 11, l. 36. P. Schmitt, col. 17, l. 13 has aq.tw, “while you enter”.

h P. BM EA 10317, col. 14, l. 9 has xAw.n=f-Tw.

i The parallels have wA.t, “way” here; compare P. BM EA 10317, col. 14, l. 10; P. BM EA 10319, col. 12, l. 1; P. Schmitt, col. 17, l. 13. For the sense of this passage, see also a section from Book of the Dead Spell 149: hAj=j Hr jdb.w nt sktj r wA.t mAa.t, “I descend to the shores of the solar barque, to the correct way.”72

5.5. Fifth invocation (“address to the bringer of bas”): col. 1, l. 16–col. 2, l. 6

What follows is the so-called “address to the bringer of bas”, sometimes also designated as Book of the Dead Spell 191, which is not only known from papyri, but was also very prominent on Late Period coffins and can hence be considered as popular.73 In addition, an excerpt of this “address to the bringer of bas” is found on a so far unique hypocephalus (Stockholm MME 1977:6), where it replaces the more usual Book of the Dead Spell 162.74

ky j jnj bA.w Hsq 17 [Sw.wt]75 j nTr.w jp.w nb tp(j).w anx.w jnj=Tn bA n col. 2,1 Wsjr xntj jmnt.t n=f jnj=Tn bA n Wsjr 0rj=s-n=f mAa-xrw n=f 2 Xnm=Tn n=f D.t=f nDm jb=f jj sA=f76 m tr n jb=f sxnw bA 3 D.t n jb=f jnj-sn n=f nTr.w m Hw.t-bnbn m Jwnw r-gs 5w 4 sA Jtm jb=f n=f mj Ra HAtj=f n=f mj 2prj wab sp-2 n 5 kA=k D.t=k bA=k Sw.t=k XA.t=k saHw=k Sps Wsjr xntj jmnt.t 6 saHw=k Sps Wsjr 0rj=s-n=f mAa-xrw

“Another: O bringer of bas, who cuts off 17 [shadows], o all these gods, who are at the head of the living,77 may you bring the ba of col. 2,1 Osiris, foremost of the West for/to him, may you bring the ba of the Osiris of10 Herisenef, justified, for/to him. 2 May you unite his body for him, that his heart may be glad. His son will come at the (correct) time78 according to his wish.79j May the ba embrace/unite 3 the body and his heart.k Bring them for him, gods, in the Benben-house in Heliopolis, in the presence of Shu, 4 the son of Atum. His jb-heart is for/belongs to him like Re, his HAtj-heart is for/belongs to him like Khepri. Purification, twice, for 5 your ka and your body, your ba and your shadow, your corpse and your noble mummy,l Osiris, foremost of the West, 6 your noble mummy, the Osiris of Herisenef, justified.”

j Our version deviates from the parallels, the reason for which seems to have been confusion and/or misunderstanding. Nevertheless, the sentence here makes sense as it is written. The parallels read: jw bA=f n D.t=f n jb=f, “May his ba come to his body and to his heart.”80

k Some of the parallels add Htm bA=f n D.t=f n jb=f, “May his ba be complete/provided with his body and his heart” (or similar) here.81

l P. Schmitt, col. 17, l. 17; P. BM EA 10319, col. 12, l. 7; P. BM EA 10317, col. 14, l. 16 reverse the order of Sw.t=k and XA.t=k.82 In addition, P. BM EA 10317, col. 14, l. 16 and P. Schmitt, col. 17, l. 17 add n, “for” in front of D.t=k, bA=k, XA.t=k, and Sw.t=k.

5.6. Sixth invocation: col. 2, ll. 6–11

This corresponds to Spell 15, “Erster Abschnitt” (again, following Assmann’s subdivision of the text).83

sxAw84&nbsp;h sp-2&nbsp; 7&nbsp; Wsjr xntj jmnt.t &nbsp;h [sp-2] Wsjr 0rj=s-n=f mAa-xrw mj Ts-Tw jw=k 8 Ts.tw [sxr.n 1r]85&nbsp;xftj.w=k rdj.n=f-sw Xr<=k>86 wnn=k [dj]87 m 9d.t 9 [s.t=k tn mrj(.t) kA=k]88 jm nD[.n sA=k 1r] Hr[=k sxr]=f89&nbsp;xftj.w=k&nbsp;10&nbsp; [sx]Aw[-Tw m sn.tj]90 m jgbw[=sn Haj=s]n91 r rA 11 wab(.t)=k n

“Remembrance. Hail, twice, 7 Osiris, foremost of the West, hail, [twice,] the Osiris of Herisenef, justified, come and raise yourself! You are 8 risen. [Horus has overthrown] your enemies and he has placed him (= the enemy = Seth) under <you>. You will be [here] in Busiris,92 9 [this your seat,] where [your ka wants to be. Your son Horus has] greet[ed you.] He [will fell] your enemies. 10 [The two sisters will remem]ber [you] with [their] mourning. [They will mourn/wail] at the door 11 of your Wabet.”

m For sxAw being written instead of sAxw, see also above in col. 2, l. 6. The parallels have sAx; compare, for instance, P. BM EA 10252, col. 49, ll. 5–6; P. BM EA 10317, col. 15, l. 3, or P. Schmitt, col. 17, l. 20.

n P. BM EA 10317, col. 15, l. 4; P. Schmitt, col. 17, l. 20; P. BM EA 10319, col. 12, l. 14 read r rA n wab.t=k.11

5.7. Seventh invocation: col. 2, ll. 11–17

This corresponds to Spell 15, “Zweiter Abschnitt”.93

[h Wsjr] xntj jmnt.t o h [Wsjr 0]rj=s-n=f94 12 [[Tsj-Tw]]rs.np [1r]95 Hr=k Dr wxA sHr[j]=f n=k&nbsp;13&nbsp;sbj.wq r b[w]96 Xr=k stAw<=f> n=k tAw(?)97 tkA 14 Hr a.wj Rrj.t baH=f n=k Ha.t n.t jn[s] dj=f ar=k 15 r sn.tj=k stp=sn sAwr HA=k xy=k s 16 sp-2 wsr=k sp-2 Wsjr xntj jmnt.t xy=k sp-2 wsr=k sp-2&nbsp;17&nbsp;Wsjr 0rj=s-n=f mAa-xrw msj.n nb.t-pr 6A-mjw.t mAa(.t)-xrw

“[Hail Osiris], foremost of the West, hail [the Osiris of H]erisenef, 12 [Horus] has [[raised you]] watched over you since the darkness. He will drive away for you 13 the rebels from the pla[ce], where you are. <He> will light for you the heat(?) of the torch 14 on the arms of Reret. He will inundate for you the wick of bright-red lin[en]. He will cause you to ascend 15 to your two sisters, and they will exercise protection around you. You will rise up, 16 twice, you will be strong, twice, Osiris, foremost of the West! You will rise up, twice, you will be strong, twice, 17 the Osiris of Herisenef, justified, whom the mistress of the house Tamyt, justified, has born!”

o The scribe of our version left a blank space of 2 cm between the invocation to Osiris, foremost of the West, and the one to the Osiris of Herisenef, for reasons I do not see. He was probably confused and wanted to leave the space in front of the call to Osiris, foremost of the West, in order to separate the following invocation from the preceding one.

p The scribe first wrote &nbsp;Ts-Tw, “raise yourself”, presumably out of habit as this phrase already occurred a couple of times in the text (col. 2, ll. 7, 8). He then seems to have realised his mistake and corrected into , thus changing the word Ts into rs.

q P. Schmitt, col. 17, l. 21 has sbj.w=k, “your rebels”.

r P. BM EA 10252, col. 49, ll. 13–14; P. BM EA 10317, col. 15, l. 7; P. BM EA 10319, col. 12, ll. 17–18, and P. Schmitt, col. 17, l. 23 have sAw=sn, “their protection”.

s The parallels have the single sign here, so maybe our version proves that this likewise needs to be read xy instead of qAj in the parallels.98

5.8. Eighth invocation: col. 3, ll. 1–12

This corresponds to Spell 16, “Zweite Strophe” (following Assmann’s division of the text).99

The version of P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08) omits the final three invocations of Spell 15 as well as the first and the second invocation of Spell 16, probably due to shortage of space. The following column is added without any framing lines.12

1 h Wsjr xntj jmnt.t h&nbsp;2&nbsp;Wsjr 0rj=s-n=f mAa-xrw dj=k t 3 h(A)j=w m wjA n Ra 4 Hna=k jmj.w Ax.t Ts-Tw 5 nTr m Htp sA=k 6 1r sxr=f xftj.w=k&nbsp;7&nbsp;sqd-Tw 1r m wjA n 8 Ra sSm.n=f-Tw jmj.w Ax.t 9 dA.t wbn=k m js=k 10 [nb anx100 dw]Aw-Tw101 jmj.w 11 jtr[.tj] jrj=sn h(A)-snD [n]102 12 wAD[.tj=k]103 sA-tA Hrj(.t)-tp=k

“1 Hail Osiris, foremost of the West, hail&nbsp;2 the Osiris of Herisenef, justified. You will cause 3 them to descend to the barque of Re, 4 together with you (and) the ones who are in the horizon.u Raise yourself up, 5 god, in peace! Your son 6 Horus, he will fell your enemies. 7 Horus will sail you in the barque of 8 Re. He has led you <to>v the ones who are in the horizon 9 and the underworldw, (so that) you rise/shine in your tomb, 10 [the lord of life]. Those who are in 11 the [two] rows of shrines [will pra]ise you. They will show veneration [for] 12 [your two] serpent goddesses, and adoration <for>104 the one who is on your head (i.e. uraeus).”

t The scribe initially ended the line with , but then decided to write into the diagonal stroke of mAa-xrw, probably because he had already continued with hAj and then realised his accidental omission of dj=k.

u The scribe of our version reinterpreted the original sense of this sentence, which is dj n=k hw m wjA n Ra Haj n=k jmj.w Ax.t, “Shouting/jubilation will be given for you in the barque of Re, the ones who are in the horizon rejoice for you” in the parallels.105

v The parallels add the preposition n; see, for instance, P. BM EA 10252, col. 50, l. 13; P. BM EA 10319, col. 12, l. 36; P. Schmitt, col. 17, l. 33. P. BM EA 10317, col. 16, l. 10 has sSm=n[-T]w … “we will guide you to …”.

w The parallels have only jmj.w dA.t; compare, for instance, P. BM EA 10252, col. 50, l. 13; P. BM EA 10317, col. 16, l. 10; P. BM EA 10319, col. 12, l. 36; P. Schmitt, col. 17, l. 34. The scribe of our text was perhaps reminded of the earlier jmj.w Ax.t (col. 3, l. 4).13

5.9. Ninth invocation: col. 3, ll. 12–19

This corresponds to Spell 16, “Dritte Strophe”.106

h&nbsp;13&nbsp;Wsjr xntj jmnt.t h Wsjr 0rj14&nbsp;=s-n=f mAa-xrw sxAw=sn 15 kA=k m nTr.w sanx-Tw jmj.w 16 Ax.t dj=sn a.wj=sn r=k 17 xAwj=sn n=k Ha.wt=k 18 nHb.tw n=k kA.wt m 19 tA-Dsr DfA.w=k Hr xA(.t) n nTr

“Hail&nbsp;13 Osiris, foremost of the West, hail the Osiris of Herisenef, 14 justified. They will remember 15 your ka among the gods. The ones who are in 16 the horizon will make you live. They will extend their arms towards you. 17 They will protect your limbs for you. 18 One will provide food for you in 19 the Sacred Land and your provisions on the altar of the god.”x

x The parallels add sxm=k jm anx kA=k jm Htm.tw m D.t n D.t, “(so that) you will be powerful therewith and your ka will live therewith, while you are equipped with a body for ever”.107 Our scribe stopped after nTr, most likely due to shortage of space, as the column is entirely filled at this point.

6. Concluding remarks

P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08) contains a total of 3 columns, the number 3 representing plurality. Altogether it has 9 invocations, the number 9 being the plural of the plural and thus the symbol of totality. If this was done intentionally, it means that Herisenef made sure that he got a count representing allness in every respect. However, the number of columns and invocations might just as well be coincidental. Although Herisenef selected a rather short compilation for his funerary papyrus – compared to the extensive examples of collections of glorification spells of this period like on P. BM EA 10317 or P. Schmitt –, he made sure that every important aspect of this text category was included. According to Backes and Smith, the main characteristics of glorifications are:108

  1. “Die Erweckung des Osiris/Verstorbenen zu neuem Leben” – “Revivification”: 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
  2. “Wiederherstellung und Schutz des Körpers” – “Protection”: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
  3. “Aufstieg zum Himmel bzw. allgemein Eintritt ins Jenseits”, “Reise durch das Jenseits zum Sonnengott im Horizont”, “Empfang als Gott von hohem Status bzw. als Herrscher” – “Acceptance among the underworld gods and their followers”: 4, 5, 8, 9
  4. “Zuweisung von Nahrung, meist den Opferspeisen des Re in Heliopolis” – “Nourishment”: 9

The selection of glorifications that Herisenef chose for his funerary papyrus provides further answers to14 the question raised by Smith concerning the Glorifications, namely “to what extent and by how many scribes it was actually regarded as a unitary composition”.109 P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08) is another piece in this puzzle that suggests that what is today very often designated as Glorifications I was not seen as a mandatory sequence of spells that belonged together in its entirety. The selection of spells – just like the compilations found in other manuscripts, such as P. Sękowski, or excerpts on objects – was regarded as an entity in its own right by the ancient scribe and not as part of a longer work.

Furthermore, we are in the fortunate position of possessing a wealth of additional information on the person who owned the funerary papyrus P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08), which is not the case for the majority of the other ritual manuscripts. In addition, most of the owners of papyri containing Osirian compositions held the title jt-nTr,110 which was particularly important in rites involving Osiris,111 one that is, however, not attested for Herisenef in any of the documents covered above. What his only attested title, “pastophoros of the Gold House of Amun” does suggest is that Herisenef seems to have been affiliated with the temple of Karnak in Thebes.

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P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08), recto, col. 1. Scan by Museo Egizio.

Pl. 1

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P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08), recto, col. 1. Scan by Museo Egizio.

P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08), recto, col. 2. Scan by Museo Egizio.

Pl. 2

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P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08), recto, col. 2. Scan by Museo Egizio.

P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08), recto, col. 3. Scan by Museo Egizio.

Pl. 3

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P. Turin Cat. 2117 (R 08), recto, col. 3. Scan by Museo Egizio.