A Note on the Egyptian Construction Noun + sdm.

f
Author(s): Eric Doret
Source: Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 39, No. 1 (Jan., 1980), pp. 37-45
Published by: University of Chicago Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/544107
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A NOTE ON THE EGYPTIAN CONSTRUCTION
Noun + sdm.f*

ERIC DO RE T, Universityof Chicago

Two articles devoted to the construction Noun + s8dm.fhave appeared within

the past ten years. Although W. Westendorf mentions the accepted view that the
construction is a method of emphasizing the extraposed Noun subject, he also proposes a
different explanation.' In so far as the construction presents the succession Noun + Verb
(snt sdm.s and not sdm snt, i.e., a finite verb-form), Westendorf considers it to be in line
with Gardiner's"pseudo-verbal"constructions2which express duration (durativeAktions-
art), namely, Noun + Stative (snt ii.ti) and Noun + 4r + Infinitive (snt hr ii.t).
In passages such as Sin. R. 15 (ti sw hm iy.f), where the form appears in parallel with a
stative (ti sw hMb(w),R. 14),3 Noun + sdm.f would express duration of an action (andau-
ernde Tdtigkeit),4in the manner of the form Noun + hr + Inf.,5 unlike the stative, which
expresses duration in a state. W. Schenkel,6 in his discussion of the examples quoted by
Westendorf, returns to the generally accepted view that Egyptian uses the construction
to emphasize the Noun. For Westendorf, then, this construction constitutes a gram-
matical unity equivalent to the "pseudo-verbal" constructions. For Schenkel, it is a
loose construction consisting of extraposed Noun subject followed by sdm.f.
I would like to examine two features outside the scope of these earlier articles: the
morphology of the form sdm.f in the construction Noun + sdm.f and the function of this
construction in MiddleEgyptian narrative style.
I have selected examples only from Middle Egyptian texts dating, in the main, from
the Twelfth Dynasty or the period immediately preceding. Further, I will consider only
the construction Noun + sdm.f stricto sensu, where the noun and pronoun have the
same referent (i.e., where the subject precedes the verb). Westendorf and Schenkel
included cases in their discussion in which the direct object precedes the verb, as in

* Abbreviations in this article are those of Eric J. H. Johnson, E. F. Wente, and to Ms. E. Sherman
Hornung, Einfiihrung in die Agyptologie (Darmstadt, and Ms. M. Elswick.
1967), pp. 163-67, with the following additions: A. H. 1 W. Westendorf, "Die Wortstellung Nomen +
Gardiner, EG = A. H. Gardiner, Egyptian Grammar, sdm.fals grammatische Konstruktion," MIO 1 (1953):
3d ed. (Oxford, 1957); H. J. Polotsky, ET = H. J. 337-43.
Polotsky, Egyptian Tenses, The Israel Academy of 2 For the "pseudo-verbal" construction, see
Sciences and Humanities, Proceedings, vol. 2, no. 5 Gardiner,EG, ? 319.
(Jerusalem, 1965); H. J. Polotsky, Transpositions = 3 See A. M. Blackman, Middle Egyptian Stories,
"Les Transpositions du verbe en egyptien classique," Bibliotheca Aegyptiaca, vol. 2 (Brussels, 1932), p. 5.
Israel Oriental Studies 6 (1976): 1-50.
4 Westendorf, "Wortstellung," p. 340.
My special thanks and gratitude to those who
5 As noticed by Wolfgang Schenkel, "Beitrdge zur
gave so freely of their time and advice, Drs. K. Baer,
mitteligyptischen Syntax IV. Nomen + sdm.f,"
[JNES 39 no. 1 (1980)] ZAS 92 (1965): 68, Westendorf has not tried to
determine to what extent the function of the con-
O 1980 by The University of Chicago. struction Noun + sdm.f is different from that of the
All rights reserved. form Noun + hr + Inf.
6
0022-2968/80/3901-0002/$00.95. Schenkel, "Syntax IV," pp. 68-72.
37

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38 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

t:.n p4h.n sw,7 "we have attained our land," or where the adverbial complement precedes
the verb, as in 9fyt rdiw s8 r.s,8 "the back is turned on authority."
Finally, I have not included those cases where the pronoun, and not the noun,
precedes the verb, as in Sin. R. 15 (quoted above), in the construction ntf + sdm.f,9 and
in sw + sdm.f.0o
The form sdm.f in the construction Noun + sdm.f has been taken to be morphologically
indicative. Sander-Hansen includes it as a "bekleidete Form" in his chapter on the
indicative sdm.f,11 and Satzinger, quoting Sin. R. 21-22 bik Ch.f hnC8msw.f, "the falcon,
he flew off with his followers," considers it another example of the indicative form sdm.f
which appears after the negation n.12 Recently Polotsky,13 quoting certain legends
accompanying representations, among others Turin 1447 (Mrw m:c-hrw di.f i:w n Wsir
sn.ft) n Hnty-imntyw n Wpw:wt,14 "Mrw, the justified, he gives praise to Osiris, he kisses
the ground for Khentamentiou and Wepwawet"), seems to consider the sdm.f form in the
construction Noun + sdm.f to be circumstantial. This analysis is consistent with
Westendorf's idea that Noun + sdm.f is a construction of the same kind as the "pseudo-
verbal" construction. A "pseudo-verbal" construction consists of a Noun followed by an
adverbial predicate. If Noun + s m.f is the same type of grammatical unity, it should
consist of a Noun subject + adverbial, i.e., circumstantial, sdm.f.
In order to establish the morphology of the form sdm.f, as it appears in the con-
struction Noun + sdm.f, we must examine the behavior of mutable (II gem., III weak)
and anomalous verbs (mrD,wnn, ini, r i, and iw/ii) as they appear in this construction.
Table 1 gives the main forms of these verbs in the four forms of the sdm.f.15 It is
intended to clarify this discussion and does not presume to cover every detail.
The main functions of the four forms of the sdm.f are the following:

(1) the indicative form is used primarily in Twelfth Dynasty Middle Egyptian
after the negation n and, rarely, as a "bare initial form";16
(2) the circumstantial form, when it appears in clauses of time and circumstance,
indicates a concomitant circumstance. It is also used after the conditional particle ir,
"when" and in compound verb forms after the auxiliaries iw and ChC.n;17

7 Shipwrecked Sailor 11; see Blackman, Stories, p. 12 H. Satzinger, Die

42, quoted by Westendorf, "Wortstellung," p. 342
and Schenkel, "Syntax IV," p. 72.
8 Gardiner, The Admonitions of an Egyptian Sage
(Leipzig, 1909), p. 102 (= Khakheperre-sonb Recto
12), see Westendorf, "Wortstellung," p. 342; Schen-
kel, "Syntax IV," p. 72. For a recent study of the
passage, see Gerald E. Kadish, "British Museum
Writing Board 5645: The Complaints of Kha-Kheper-
R61-Senebu," JEA 59 (1973): 78.
9 Studied by B. Gunn, Studies in Egyptian
Syntax
(Paris, 1924), chap. 5 (pp. 45-65), in relation to the
form in + Noun + sdm.f.
10 Studied by H. Grapow, "Zum Gebrauch der
alten Pronomina absoluta," ZAS 71 (1935): 48-52,
and H. Brunner, Die Geburt des Gottkenigs, AgAbh 10
(Wiesbaden, 1964), pp. 173-75.
11 C. E. Sander-Hansen, Ober die Bildung der
Modi im Altdgyptischen (Copenhagen, 1941), ?? 13 and
14. A "bekleidete Form" (covered form) is for Sander-
Hansen a verb form preceded by another element,
such as a Noun (Noun + sdm.f) or a negation (n +
adm.f).
negativen Konstruktionen im
Alt- und Mitteldgyptischen, MAS, vol. 12 (Munich,
1968), ? 6; for Sin. R. 21-22, see Blackman, Stories,
p. 7.
13 Polotsky, Transpositions, 3.5.3; see also ET, p.
5, n. 6.
14 L. Klebs, Die Reliefs und Malereien des mittleren
Reiches (Heidelberg, 1922), pl. 14 and p. 23.
15 This chart is based on one J. H. Johnson drew
up for her students.
16 Gardiner, EG, ?
455; Polotsky, "Agyptische
Verbalformen und ihre Vokalisation," Or. 33 (1964),
pp. 272-73. For this indicative form used as a "bare
initial form," see Gardiner, EG, ? 450, 1; Polotsky,
ET, ? 2. Initial indicative tends to be expressed in
Middle Egyptian by a compound verb form; see
Polotsky, Transpositions, 3.8.4.
17 Gardiner, EG, ??444, 4; 454, 1; 5, Polotsky, ET,
? 11; 41; Transpositions, pp. 26-41. Note that the
forms appearing after the conditional particle ir,
"when" (?mm, m::, mr, in, di, and iw), are also used in
clauses of time and circumstance (except some rare
examples of ir + the prospective form iwt; see

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 EGYPTIAN NOUN + sdm.f 39

(3) the prospective form is used in main clauses as an optative, in dependent clauses
as a final form, and as the object of certain verbs and prepositions. It also appears after
the negation nn;18
(4) the emphatic form is used in cleft-sentences stressing an adverbial adjunct, as
well as in "correlative" or "balanced" constructions (the so-called Wechselsdtze), and
also as the object of certain verbs and prepositions.19

TABLE 1
VERBS IN THE FOUR FORMS OF THE sdm.f

III weak, mri ini rdi iw/ii II gem., mm mD: wnn

"love " "'bring"' "give" "come" "be hot" "'see . '
"be"

Indicative mr in rdi20 iw/ii21 ~m24 m: wn?26

Circumstantial mr in di 1mm
iw/ii22 m wnn27
Prospective mr int di iwt m m wn
mry m:n
Emphatic mrr inn dd iww23 mm m~25 wnn

This would show that rdi and di sometimes have the

Polotsky, "Zur altiigyptischen Grammatik," Or. 38
[1969]: 470; E. F. Wente, in his review of P. J.
Frandsen, An Outline of the Late Egyptian Verbal
System [Copenhagen, 1974] in JNES 36 [1977]: 311).
The fact that the construction ir sdm.f is negated by
tm is not a proof that the sdm.f after ir must be a
"that-form," as thought by Polotsky, ET, p. 5, n. 9;
see also A. Shisha-Halevy, "Protatic eqcwjy : A
Hitherto Unnoticed Coptic Tripartite Conjugation-
Form and Its Diachronic Connections," Or. 34 (1974):
381. Even if tm is widely used in Old and Middle
Egyptian as the negation of the nominal parts of the
verb, including the "that-form," i.e., the emphatic
and the dependent prospective forms (see M. Gilula,
in his review of Satzinger, Die negativen Konstruk-
tionen in JEA 56 [1970]: 212), there are also instances
of circumstantial clauses negated by tm (see Satzinger,
Die negativen Konstruktionen, ? 71 and Wente's
review of Frandsen, p. 311).
18 Gardiner, EG, ? 450, 4; 454, 3; 4; 457; Polotsky,
"Agyptische Verbalformen," pp. 269-72.
19 Gardiner, EG, ? 439; 442, 1; 5; 444, 1 (beginning);
3; Polotsky, "Agyptische Verbalformen," pp. 275-84;
idem, ET, ? 16-40; idem, "Zur altfigyptischen
Grammatik," pp. 470-72; Wente's review of Frand-
sen, pp. 310-11.
20 For the reading rdi, see E. Edel,
Altigyptische
Grammatik, Analecta Orientalia, nos. 34 and 39
(Rome, 1955-64), ? 459. Note that in the Coffin Texts,
although the form rdi consistently follows the
negation n, it shares the role of "bare initial" indica-
tive with the form di; see, for example, the parallel
texts given for CT III, 179, b:
rd1i.f t n imyw-Hdw
di.f t n imyw-Hdw
"He gives bread to those who are with Hdw." This
sentence is followed by an indicative verb form using
the auxiliary iw (Polotsky, Transpositions, 3.8.4): iw
rdi(w) n.i t m-bch Pth, "bread is given to me in the
presence of Ptah" (CT III, 180, a), which makes it
likely that the preceding (r)di is an indicative as well.
same indicative value in the Coffin Texts. The different
versions of CT I, 64, b also show both rdi and di.
21 For examples of n + ii.f, see Gardiner, EG, pp.
377, n. 4 ( ; i(i), in a formula where the usual form
is iw) and 379, n. 6. It is perhaps better to read an
example like CT III, 262, g: n(n) iy hsf m N tn ...,
"there is no one who can come opposing this N ...,"
with n written for nn, in view of the parallels CT II,
252, f; IV, 101, e; IV, 104, e. For ii functioning as a
"bare initial form," see, for example, Pap. Ebers,
2, 1, quoted by Gardiner, EG, p. 367, n. 8: \ (iy).
This indicative form is relatively frequent in the
Coffin Texts. See, among others, CT III, 62, f ( ii)
and CT IV, 143, k ( g , iy), the spellings of which
are not cited by Gardiner, EG. For alternation of iw
and ii in different versions of the same passage, see,
for example, CT IV, 112, i (= IV, 115, a).
22 For spellings of the circumstantial form of the
verb "to come," see Polotsky, ET, ?? 11 and 41.
23 For examples of the full writing of this emphatic
form, see CT IV, 111, a, where iww appears in a
"correlative" construction, and also CT IV, 146, n,
quoted in Polotsky, "Agyptische Verbalformen," p.
275, n. 3, and Edel, Grammatik, ? 491.
24 For an example of a II gem. verb appearing
after n in classical Egyptian, see Pap. Ebers, 108, 8
(n wr snf.s), see Grapow, Die medizinischen Texte in
hieroglyphischer Umschreibung Autographiert, Grund-
riss der Medizin der alten Agypter, vol. 5 (Munich,
1958), p. 394. For an example of the circumstantial
form of II gem. verbs appearing in a clause of circum-
stance, see Pap. Ebers, 105, 18 (= Grapow,
tmm.f,
Die mredizinischen Texte, p. 388).
25 For the writing
?', see Polotsky, "Agyptische
Verbalformen," p. 282, n. 3. On the verb m33 in the
Coffin Texts, see now J. L. de Cenival, "Les 1ecritures
du verbe m:: 'voir'," RE 29 (1977): 21-37; Polotsky,
Transpositions, p. 46, nn. 73 and 74.
26 On the indicative form of the verb "to be," see
below.
27 On the circumstantial form of the verb "to be,"
see below.

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40 JOURNALOF NEAR EASTERNSTUDIES

While the other forms can be found in the references cited in table 1, a word of comment
is necessary for the indicative and circumstantial forms of the verb wnn, "to be."
It is quite difficult to isolate a Middle Egyptian instance of the indicative form of the
verb wnn, "to be." First of all, the negation of this verb in Middle Egyptian is not n wn,
but nn wn,28 with a present/past meaning.29 Furthermore, when we consider the verb
"to be" used as an initial form (see, e.g., Hat. Gr. 16, 11. 3-4; wn.i m hrd, "I was a
child"30), one wonders whether the form should not rather be read wn.n.i.31 This is
certainly possible in line 9 of the same inscription, where it seems to follow iw ir.n.i as a
continuative form.32 The same situation occurs with a passage like wn.i m bi"wm'.n.(i) sw,
"I was in the mine-country, I inspected it," 33 where the parallelism with a sdm.n.f would
seem to indicate a reading wn.n.i.34
In the CoffinTexts, wn.f most often has a prospective value.35The indicative form wn
shown in the chart, therefore, is only proposed on the basis of parallelism with II gem.
verbs. Like m':, wnn is of the class of verbs which reduplicate second consonants in
certain syntactic positions but not in the indicative form.
Unlike other circumstantial forms which appear after the particle ir,36 wnn does not
seem to be used in clauses of time and circumstance; neither does wn. The examples
28 This wn is Theban Official," JEA 4 (1917): pl. 9, 11. 2-3, quoted,
certainly a sdm.f (see M. Gilula in his
review of Satzinger's Die negativen Konstruktionen in translated, and discussed by him in EG, ? 414, 1, end.
JEA 56 [1970]: 211) and not a participle (as stated 34 We would have in this case a "Wechselsatz"
by Satzinger, Die negativen Konstruktionen, ? 56). using sdm.n.f forms, "(when) I was in the mine-
29 See Gardiner, EG, ? 108, 1. For a preclassical country, (then) I inspected it."
example where nn wn has a future meaning, see H. 35 See, for example, Spell 314, CT IV, 94, t (wn.A
Brunner, Die Texte aus den Grdbern der Herakleo- hnc Hw hrw hbs T9t0), where the form stands at the
politenzeit von Siut, AgFo, vol. 5 (Gliickstadt, 1937), beginning of a sentence and therefore cannot be
p. 62, 11. 79-80 and p. 29: ir swt sbi nb h•k(w)-ib nb considered circumstantial (see Polotsky, ET, ?? 2 and
irt(y).f(y) pncy m nn sdm.n.f nn wn rn[.f tp t: nn] 3 and Gilula, "Shipwrecked Sailor, lines 184-85,"
krst(w).f m smyt, "as for every evildoer and every Studies in Honor of George R. Hughes, SAOC 39
wrongdoer who will do the opposite of what he has [Chicago, 1976], p. 78). Neither can it be indicative
heard, his name will not exist on earth, he will not be (as, mistakenly, M. Miinster, Untersuchungen zur
buried in the necropolis." The examples from the Hat- G6ttin Isis vom Alten Reich bis zum Ende des Neuen
nub Graffiti (see R. Anthes, Die Felseninschriften von Reiches, MAS, vol. 11 [Munich, 1968], p. 60), since the
Hatnub, K. Sethe, ed. Untersuchungen zur Geschichte indicative would be expressed here by iw or exception-
und Altertumskunde Aegyptens, vol. 9 (Leipzig, ally by a nominal sentence starting with ink; see
1928), quoted by T. W. Thacker, "On the Structure Gardiner, EG, ?? 116 end and 117. The only solution
of the Expressions Denoting Existence and Non- is then to interpret wn.i as a prospective form ("may
Existence in Middle Egyptian," JEA 35 (1949): 33, I be with Hu, on the day of clothing Teshtesh"). The
n. 3, as cases of n wn.f, are probably to be analyzed same is probably true also of CT IV, 95, c; IV, 95, g;
as cases of n(n) wn.f, inasmuch as nn, which appears and V, 47, c (cf. CT V, 47, f-48 a, where N speaks
as such in these inscriptions (e.g., Hat. Gr. 12, 1. 11), about his desire to be in the mansion of the two lions).
can also be written n. See, for example, the same In CT III, 300, d, the form also appears at the
expression written sometimes iw nn wn (Hat. Gr. 20, beginning of a sentence and is followed by wnn, which
1. 9; 24, 1. 10) and sometimes iw n wn (Hat. Gr. 17, 1. seems to have here the nuance of a prospective
12; 23, 1. 6), each with the same meaning "(when) emphatic: wn.t m ntr wnn.t m ntr, "may you be a god,
there was nothing (left)." The same is probably true may you always be a god"; cf. also CT IV, 53, b (P.
also of the two examples quoted in Edel, Grammatik, Gard. II) and VII, 105, q. This prospective form wn
? 924, bb. As for wnn, which appears after n, the contrasts in the same kind of sentence with the
reading n nwn.f and the reading n wn.n.f have been indicative statement introduced by iw: iw.k m ntr
proposed (see Gunn, Studies, p. 104, n. 1; Gardiner, wnn.k m ntr (CT I, 55, b): "You are a god, and it is a
EG, ? 120, end; Satzinger, Die negativen Konstruk- god that you willbe." For an example of the dependent
tionen, ? 20 and M. Gilula in his review of this study, prospective form, see CT I, 253, c, which tells the
p. 206). reason why ReCcreated "a great hall" for Osiris ("In
so See R. Anthes, Hatnub, p. 36. order that you might be in it at dawn"); see also CT
al To be translated in this initial position by an VII, 31, i, where wn is the adverbial adjunct of an
emphatic form (see Polotsky, ET, ? 16-21), wn.n.i m emphatic sdm.n.f form of a verb of motion (ii.n.i); see
hrd n(n) idn wi, "it was without peer that I was (when Polotsky, ET ?? 22-33).
I was) a child. 3e For apparent exceptions, see Gardiner, EG, p.
32 For the continuative form, see Polotsky, ET, ? 13. 427.
33Gardiner, "The Tomb of a Much-Travelled

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 EGYPTIAN NOUN + sdm.f 41

which Gardiner37 quotes as cases of circumstantial wn used in clauses of time and

circumstance are probably best understood either as cases of the circumstantial form
wn.n.f38 or of the stative.39 It appears that only the stative of this verb is used to
indicate a concomitant circumstance.40 This analysis is consistent with the fact that II
gem. verbs always reduplicate their second consonant in the circumstantial form.
Examples of mutable and anomalous verbs used in the construction Noun + sdm.f
are not frequent. However, the following verbs: third weak, ini, rdi, m', and wnn used in
the construction Noun + sdm.f do occur in Middle Egyptian texts.
The morphology of these verbs in this syntactic position is as follows: mr, in, d-, mX,
and wnn. This paradigm allows us to identify the sdm.f in these examples as the circum-
stantial form.41
The following examples show third weak verbs in the construction Noun + sdm.f:

ib.f hs.f r mt
"His heart, it is (too) weak to go" (Pap. Ebers, 188, a);42

iwrty hrw ms.tn sw imy swht43

"You two who conceive by day, you give birth to him, the one who is in the egg" (CT III,
156, a-b);44 and

Dhwtyd:.f pt hft.i
"Thoth, he crosses the sky in my presence" (CT VII, 295, a).45

37 Gardiner, EG, ? 107, 1; ? 454, 1.

38 Cf. Sin. R. 34: hd.n.i wn.(n) hrw, "it was after
daybreak that I set forth" and Pt. 349: inn.tw m Ik
wn.(n) Zhw, "it is when trouble has occurred that one
has recourse to an intimate." Since the form
appears at the beginning of the sentence in Urk. IV,
123, 6 = 511, 4, it cannot be considered a circum-
stantial, see Polotsky, ET, ?? 2 and 3 and Gilula,
"Shipwrecked Sailor," p. 78. In CT IV, 94, o ( A.ihnc
sh3wt i'kbwt nt Wsir m twwy-sity), Faulkn`r (The
Ancient Egyptian Coffin Texts, vol. 1 [Warminster,
1973], p. 236), translates the form as a circumstantial
sdm.f, expressing a circumstance concomitant with
the main clause: "(I was conceived in Djedu, I was
born in Djedu), when I was with the female wailers
and mourners for Osiris in the Islands of the Twin
Children" (says Thoth to R6c). However, it is prefer-
able to construe this as a continuative sdm.n.f (wn.n.i),
with the translation "and I was ."
39 See Urk. IV, 1163: ir.t hrw ... nfr wn.t(i) tp t3,
"may you make holiday, while you are upon earth."
For this writing of the stative, 2, c. see G. Lefbbvre,
Grammaire de l'dgyptien classique, 2d ed., Institut
Frangais d'Arch6ologie Orientale, Biblioth'que
d'I'tude,vol. 12 (Cairo, 1955), ? 336, obs. This writing is
already attested in the Coffin Texts, see CT I, 206, f.
40 See, for example, Pap. Ebers 110, 5 (= Grapow,
Die medizinischen Texte, p. 398); B.M. 574, 1. 4
(= K. Sethe, Aegyptische Lesestiucke [Leipzig, 1924],
p. 75, 1. 5).
41 Cf. Polotsky, Transpositions, 3.5.1.
42 Cf. Grapow, Die medizinischen Texte, p. 151,
and W. Westendorf, Grammatik der medizinischen
Texte, Grundriss der Medizin der alten Agypter, vol. 8
(Berlin, 1962), ? 400, aa.
43 Note that the parallel text Pyr. 714, b shows
the full writing hrw, making the interpretation as
R8c (see Faulkner, Coffin Texts, vol. 1, p. 168) lesslikely
and the translation "by day" preferable (see Miinster,
Untersuchungen zur Isis, p. 71). One version of this
passage, S1C, has ms.tn wi. For 3w.tn sw, attested in
both B2Boa; and P. Gard. II, see Faulkner, The
Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts (Oxford, 1969), p.
134, n. 2 ad ? 714, b.
44 In strict morphological terms, ms is also the
prospective form of the third weak verb "to give
birth." But note that, in the parallels cited by
Miinster, Untersuchungen zur Isis, pp. 71-72, and J.
Assmann, Liturgische Lieder an den Sonnengott, MAS,
vol. 19 (Munich, 1969), p. 119, the verb msi never
appears as the independent prospective form of the
sdm.f (with an optative meaning). The rebirth of the
dead identified with RW is always given in the form
of an assertion, never of a wish, as, e.g., in Pyr.
1688, b-c: n twt is Rc pr m Nwt msst Rc re nb ms(w)
M pn re nb mi RK, "because you are Raewho comes
forth from Nut who gives birth to R6c every day,
(and) this M is born every day like R8c," and CT VI,
86, c-f: bwt.i pw prt m hw prr.i m hrw iwr(w).i m h8w
msy.i m hrw sbi.n.im sf ii.n.i m min, "it is my abomi-
nation to come out by night, it is by day that I come
out; I was conceived during the night; I was born in
the day; I passed away yesterday; I came back
today." An optative interpretation of our passage,
therefore, is unlikely.
46B3c, B12c, B13c, BlBo, B4Bo; three versions,
B4L, BIL, B2L, omit Dh4wty.

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42 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

Examples of the verbs ini, "to bring" and rdi, "to give" appearing in the same con-
struction are:

Sbk m mw Ddwn m TD-sty m imnt Spd m ibt in.sn n.i k;i.i n dt.i
"Sobek in the water, Dedwn
.H in Nubia, Ha in the west, Soped in the east, they bring to
me my own Ka" (CT VI, 259, b-d); and

msw.i rc nb46di.f wi r rt.f iti.i Itm ts.i tp.f smn.i wsrt.f smn.i tp n ist hr nhbt.s
"Him whom I fashion daily, he sets me at his nose, (namely) my father Atum, and I
affix his head, I make firm his neck, I make firm the head of Isis on her neck" (CTII, 38,
d-g).47

Finally, examples of the verbs mD?,"to see" and wnn, "to be" are:

irty.(i) m33.sn m-m nw n imyw :ht

"My two eyes, they see in the midst of those horizon-dwellers" (CT VI, 324, f);48 and

wnnt mi d wnn.s m mitt49

"The one (i.e., tumor) which is like a head, it is (to be treated) in the same way" (Pap.
Ebers 875c).50

The fact that the sdm.f which occurs in these examples of the construction Noun +
s8dm.fappears to be the circumstantial form confirmsWestendorf's theory that Noun +
sdm.f is a "pseudo-verbal" construction made up of a Noun + adverbial, i.e., circum-
stantial sdm.f. But this does not mean that the Noun was never emphasized. Schenkel
defends the idea that Noun + sdm.f is a loose construction used in Middle Egyptian to
emphasize the Noun subject of a verb form. He goes on to suggest, however, that both
nominal and "pseudo-verbal" sentences can also have emphasized Noun subjects, even
though their writing does not indicate this.51 Certain examples demonstrate this point
in the case of the "pseudo-verbal" construction Noun + sdm.f.
Gardinerhas pointed out that the construction Noun + sdm.f in narrative sometimes

46 We have here a Noun Phrase composed of a

substantivized relative form plus an adverbial comple-
ment, used as a noun in the construction Noun -+
sdm.f
47 For the plural strokes after wsrt, see Faulkner,
Coffin Texts, vol. 1, p. 86, n. 31. The interpretation of
this passage as an assertion rather than a wish is in
accordance with other related Coffin Texts. CT II,
383,
e is an allusion to Shu's birth when he is exhaled
from the nose of Atum. CT I, 338, b contains a
similar assertion about the deceased who is identified
with Shu: nf,.n.f sw m grt.f, "he exhaled him from his
nose," cf. also CT I, 356, a; 360, a; III, 100, d, and,
for other references, see Faulkner, "Some Notes on
the God Shu," JEOL 18 (1964): 266-68, and J.
Zandee, "Sargtexte Spruch 75," ZAS 97 (1971): 161.
CT II, 37, b-c, a text parallel to CT II, 38, f., has the
indicative forms iw.i ts.i and iw smn.i (cf. Polotsky,
Transpositions, 3.8.4). This fact confirms that ts.i and
smn.i as they occur in CT II, 38, f are also indicative.
Another example of the form di used in the construc-
tion Noun + sdm.f appears in CT III, 187, d.
48 Another such example is in the Book of Two
Ways, CT VII, 430, c-431, a (Spell 1104, Text B3C):
Hr 4msw Rc phr.f pt m:0.f N m-m imyw hmw "Horus,
the oldest son of R6c, he goes around the sky, he sees
N among those who are at the oars" but also occurs
with the form m, as a variant (text B2P).
49 See Grapow, Die medizinischen Texte, p. 397,
and Westendorf, Grammatik, ? 400, bb.
50 CT VII, 138, g, contains a vocative, and is
therefore not an example of our construction: mrht
sp-sn imyt-ht Hr wnn.t m N pn, "(0) oil, oil, which
is before Horus, it is before
h.t this N that you will be."
51 See Schenkel, "Syntax IV," p. 72.

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 EGYPTIAN NOUN + sdm.f 43

has the same continuative function as the non-initial sdm.n.f.52 Ameni, accompanying
Sesostris I on an expedition to the country of Kush says:53

"I followed my lord when he sailed southward to overthrow his enemies [ ... ] I passed
by the land of Kush, sailing southward,"
in.n.i drw t:
in.n.i inw nb.i
.s pt
h.st.i ph.
"I reached the limits of the earth,
I brought back the presents of my lord,
My praise, it reached heaven."

In the inscription of Khnumhotep, it is said of Nehri, the father of Khnumhotep II:54

Dtim niwt.f m s1dtyn fht.f m

hk:.n.f 55
ir.n.f wpwt nsw
swty. f ibD.snm hnw n
k.bt.f56
"It is as a lad before he had been circumcised that he assumed the rule of his town,
He carried out a royal mission,
His two feathers, they danced as (i.e., when he was) a child at his mother's breast."

These passages could have used the continuative sdm.n.f throughout to carry on the
narrative. The fact that the construction Noun + sdm.f was used instead of the
continuative sdm.n.f leads to the likelihood that Noun + sdm.f served an additional
function, namely, that of emphasizing the extraposed Noun subject.
The circumstantial form is not, however, the only form which is attested in the con-
struction Noun + Some examples show the prospective form in this construction.
sdm.nf.
We may, therefore, have to distinguish between two constructions Noun + sdm.f: a
"pseudo-verbal" construction in which the Noun constitutes a unity with an adverbial,
i.e., circumstantial sdm.f, and a loose construction, in which the Noun is the extraposed
subject of the prospective verb form. While in the "pseudo-verbal" construction the
Noun subject may or may not be emphasized, emphasizing is probably the only reason
for the extraposition of the Noun subject in the loose construction.57

52 Gardiner, EG, ? 450, 1: "in texts where the
sdm.n.f form is usual for past narration the sdm.f with
a nominal subject in anticipatory emphasis sometimes
takes its place." Among the examples given by
Gardiner, EG, p. 367, nn. 3 and 4, the following are
Middle Egyptian examples of a continuative form
sdm.n.f replaced by a sdm.f with nominal subject in
anticipatory emphasis: Sin. R. 17; R. 21; B. 113;
242-43; B.H. I, 8, 9.
53 P. E. Newberry, Beni Hasan, pt. 1 (London,
1893), pl. 8, 1.9 = Urk. VII, p. 14, 11. 15-17.
54 Ibid., pl. 26, 11. 184-88 = A. de Buck, Egyptian
Readingbook, 2d ed. (Leiden, 1963), p. 71 = Urk.
VII, p. 34, 11. 1-3.
65 For this passage, see G. Lef'bvre, in O. Firchow,
ed., Agyptologische Studien, Deutsche Akademie der
Wissenschaften zu Berlin, Institut fuir Orientfor-
schung, no. 29 (Berlin, 1955), pp. 209-10 and C. de
Wit, "La Circoncision chez les anciens egyptiens,"
zAS 99 (1972): 42.
56 For bt, see Gardiner, Ancient Egyptian Ono-
mastica (Oxford,
k. 1947), vol. 2, 241*; Faulkner, A
Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian (Oxford, 1962),
p. 277, would read kb:t, "crown of a head."
57 S. I. Groll, The Negative Verbal System of Late
Egyptian (Oxford, 1970), p. 75, established for Late
Egyptian the same kind of distinction between a fixed
construction hr stp.f and a loose construction hr +
stp.f (where hr is an optional element).

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44 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

A few Middle Egyptian expanded versions of the htp-di-nsw formula present the
prospective form di in the construction Noun + sdm.f:

htp-di-nsw Wsir di Phwty _diitrt mct mhtDpsdt ntrw c`t imyt Iwnw ntrw nbw ir.sn n.k ht
Ufts' pn rdi.n Dhwty m pr-md:t ntr cwy.i di.sn b[?]wswcb.fInpw wdn.f58

An offering which the king gives (to) Osiris, which Thoth gives, which the southern and
northern sanctuary, the great Ennead in Heliopolis, and all the gods give. May they act
for you in accordance with this writing which Thoth gave to the house of the god's book,
my two arms, may they give (offerings), the Inundation, may it purify, Anubis, may he
bring offerings."59

The use of the prospective form di in the construction Noun + sdm.f seems not to be
limited to the htp-di-nswformula; see, for example, a passage like CT I, 281, a-b, which
translates well as an optative:

snkc.s tw Nbt-hwt di.s n.k mndt.s

"(Isis) may she suckle you, Nephtys, may she give you her breast."60

The following selection from Sinuhe's reply to the letter of his Lord, Sesostris I, is also
best interpreted as a wish:

ntrwnbw T'-mryiww nw W4d-wrdi.sn Cnhwlsrfnd.k Ahnm.sn

tw m 'wt-c.sndi.sn n.k nn
nn B.
drw.f dt hnty.s (Sin. 210-12)61 nh.

"All the gods of Egypt and the isles of the sea, may they give life and joy to your
nostrils, may they endue you with their bounty, may they give you eternity without
limit and infinity without bounds."62

In this article I have tried to show that the circumstantial form of the sdm.f follows
the Noun in the construction Noun + sdm.f. This fact confirmsWestendorf's theory that

58 Blackman, The Rock Tombs of Meir, pt. 2,
F. L. Griffith, ed., Archaeological Survey of Egypt,
23d memoir (London, 1915), pls. 6-7 and p. 16; for
other examples, see Wb., Belegstellen ad vol. 2, p. 465,
5, and vol. 4, p. 66, 5; W. C. Hayes, "Horemkhacuef of
Nekhen and His Trip to IT-Towe," JEA 33 (1947):
4-5 and pl. 2; S. Schott, "Die Opferliste als Schrift des
Thoth," ZAS 90 (1963): 103-10; W. Barta, Aufbau
und Bedeutung der altdgyptischen Opferformel, AgFo,
vol. 24 (Gliickstadt, 1968), p. 65 and CT VII, 127, v-w.
69 Barta, Aufbau und Bedeutung, translates this
passage as follows: "Die beiden HMnde, sie mogen
gegeben werden; die tberschwemmung, sie moge
reinigen; Anubis, er m6ge opfern." His interpretation
is based on CT VII, 104, g-h: cwy di sn Gb swub.f,
where he takes Geb as being the subject ofbh. di ("Die
beiden Hande, Geb m6ge sie geben; die tberschwem-
mung, sie m6ge reinigen"). But our text clearly shows
Cwy.i, "my two hands," and Barta's translation,
therefore, while probably correct for CT VII, 104,
g-h, seems unlikely in our example, especially since
this is inscribed above an offering list. Note that swcb
and wdn are also prospective forms of the sadm.f.
60 As noted
by Faulkner, Coffin Texts, vol. 1, p.
62, n. 7, the prospective form iwt in CT I, 281, d
indicates that the whole passage is prospective.
61 See Blackman, Stories, p. 33.
62 See J. W. B. Barns, "Sinuhe's Message to the
King: A Reply to a Recent Article," JEA 53 (1967):
14. For a grammatical analysis of this passage, see
Gardiner, Notes on the Story of Sinuhe (Paris, 1916),
p. 79; H. Goedicke, "Sinuhe's Reply to the King's
Letter," JEA 51 (1965): 31-32.

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 EGYPTIAN NOUN + sdm.f 45
Noun + sdm.f is a "pseudo-verbal" construction, made up of a Noun + adverbial, i.e.,
circumstantial sdm.f. It is impossible to consider Noun + sdm.f as a vehicle for the
indicative sdm.f and as one of the few syntactical positions where this form remained
in use after the Old Kingdom. Middle Egyptian texts do show, however, examples of this
construction using the prospective form of the sdm.f. With this in mind, therefore, we
can distinguish two constructions: a "pseudo-verbal" construction in which the Noun,
emphasized or not, constitutes a unity with an adverbial, i.e., circumstantial sdm.f, and
a loose construction in which the extraposed Noun is the emphasized subject of the
prospective verb form.63
63 At the time I wrote this
article, I did not have ac- among the constructions which display a relation be-
cess to the following references: F. Junge, "'Emphasis tween a noun and an adverbial predicate (such as the
by Anticipation' im mitteligyptischen Verbalsatz," "pseudo-verbal" constructions and the cleft-sentences
RdE 30 (1978): 95-100 and Syntax der mitteldgyptischen using emphatic verb forms). For Junge, however, the
Literatursprache (Mainz, 1978), pp. 38-40. Junge also Noun in the construction Noun + sdm.f is never em-
considers the sdm.f which appears in the construction phasized; see Junge, "'Emphasis by Anticipation',"
Noun + sdm.f to be circumstantial and includes it pp. 99-100.

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