Ankh wedja seneb
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| ankh wedja seneb ꜥnḫ wḏꜢ snb in hieroglyphs |
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Ankh wedja seneb (𓋹𓍑𓋴, ꜥnḫ wḏꜢ snb) is an ancient Egyptian phrase which often appears after the names of pharaohs, in references to their household, or at the ends of letters. The formula consists of three hieroglyphs without clarification of pronunciation, making its exact grammatical form difficult to reconstruct. It may be expressed as "life, prosperity, and health" but Gardiner proposed that they represented verbs in the stative form: "Be alive, strong, and healthy".
Components
Ancient Egyptian did not record vowel values, making the exact pronunciation of most words unknowable. The conventional Egyptological pronunciations of the words ꜥnḫ, wḏꜢ, and snb are ankh, wedja (19th-century utcha), and seneb respectively.
- Ankh means "life" and "to have life", "to live",[1] particularly with regard to the longevity and resurrection of the Egyptian gods and pharaohs
- Wedja means "to be whole" or "intact",[2] with connotations of "prosperity" and "well-being"[3]
- Seneb means "to be sound", "to be well", "to be healthy"[4]
Rosetta Stone
On the Rosetta Stone (196 BC), the gods are said to reward the Ptolemaic pharaoh Ptolemy V:[5]
| "...The gods and goddesses have given him victory, and power, and life, and strength, and health [A.U.S.], and every beautiful thing of every kind whatsoever..."[6] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| ΔΕΔΩΚΑΣΙΝ ΑΥΤΩΙ ΟΙ ΘΕΟΙ ΥΓΙΕΙΑΝ ΝΙΚΗΝ ΚΡΑΤΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΤΑ ΑΛΛ ΑΓΑΘ[Α…] | ||||||||||||||||||||
See also
References
Citations
- ↑ Erman & al. & 1926–1953, Vol. I, 193.8–198.10, 198.11–200.8.
- ↑ Erman & al. & 1926–1953, Vol. I, 399.14–401.2.
- ↑ Erman & al. & 1926–1953, Vol. I, 401.3–8.
- ↑ Erman & al. & 1926–1953, Vol. IV, 158.2–159.5.
- ↑ Line 35.
- ↑ Budge (1929), l. 2905.
Bibliography
- Erman, Johann Peter Adolf; et al., eds. (1926–1953), Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache im Auftrage der deutschen Akademien, Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichsschen Buchhandlungen, reprinted at Berlin by Akademie-Verlag GmbH in 1971. (in German)
- Budge, E.A. Wallis (1929), The Rosetta Stone.