The Coffin Texts of Ancient Egypt - Spell 9

Selected sources: B1P; B2Bo; B3Bo; B4Bo; B4C; B6C; S10C; T1L; T9C

HAIL TO THOTH AND HIS TRIBUNAL!⁽¹⁾

Hail to you, o THOTH⁽²⁾,

in whom is the peace of the gods,⁽³⁾

And (hail) to all the gods of the Tribunal

who are with you!

May you command

that they come forth at the approach of NN (and)

that they hear all the good he has to say⁽⁴⁾ on this day,

        because⁽⁵⁾ his⁽⁶⁾ is this feather⁽⁷⁾

                which arose in God's land,

                which OSIRIS brought to HORUS⁽⁸⁾,

                that he might set it on his head as a reward⁽⁹⁾,

                        being vindicated against his foes, male and female.⁽¹⁰⁾

It was he⁽¹¹⁾

who tore off⁽¹²⁾ the testicles of SETH⁽¹³⁾,

who neither perished

            nor died⁽¹⁴⁾.

You are that star there,

born of the West⁽¹⁵⁾

which neither perished⁽¹⁶⁾

            nor was annihilated as his son.

This NN shall neither perish

            nor be annihilated,

And no evil impediment shall be imposed against NN!

— So says ATUM⁽¹⁷⁾!

As for anything evil

which they may say or do against NN in the presence of GEB⁽¹⁸⁾,

they are against it and
they will be against it.

— that is what they say.⁽¹⁹⁾

Notes

1. The title of the spell is only given in B2Bo.
2. The ibis-headed god of science, writing and the moon, the deputy of the sun god and clerk to the council of gods. For his role as peace-keeper and mediator, see already spell 7.
3. B2Bo omits this verse.
4. S10C and T9C change this to mdw NN - "the words of NN".
5. n.tjt or Hr-n.tjt (Wb 2, 355.2-3) in S10C and T9C.
6. Written as such in B1P; B4C. T9C changes it to the name of the deceased, S10C has Osiris without a name. B2-4Bo and B6C instead have the snd. sg. refering to Thoth as the owner of the (Maat-)feather.
7. For the feather, see already spell 6 and 8.
8. S10C and T9C add "for his son Horus".
9. B4C; S10C and T9C add "as a reward of his vindication".
10. B4C; S10C and T9C obviously omit this.
11. Horus. T1L starts the spell here and omits everything written before that.
12. afA (Meeks, AL 78.0702; FCD 42).
13. The god of the desert, mighty warrior, powerful sorcerer and protector of the sun bark. Also competing with Horus for the throne of Egypt (spell 7). While Seth mutilates the eye of Horus during their fight, Horus tears of the testicles of Seth (Pyr. 535a-b; 594a). Thot also loses his arm (Pyr. 535c). For a study of this myth from Egyptian and classical sources, see J. Gwyn Griffiths, The Conflict of Horus and Seth (Liverpool 1960).
14. Several sources add "as his son".
15. B6C adds "the beautiful west".
16. B1P; B4C and B6C have "which does not tire". Both versions allude to the circumpolar stars who never rise or set.
17. The primeval creator god.
18. The god of Earth, father and predecessor of Osiris on the Egyptian throne. He is also one of the gods presiding over the Tribunal in Heliopolis and judges Horus and Seth over the succession.
19. Omitted in all texts but S10C and T9C.

Bibliography

A. de Buck, The Egyptian Coffin Texts I-VIII, OIP 34, 49, 64, 67, 73, 81, 87, 132 (1935-1961).
L. H. Lesko, Index of Spells on Egyptian Middle Kingdom Coffins and Related Documents (Berkeley 1979).
H. Willems (ed.), The World of the Coffin Texts. Proceedings of the Symposium held on the Occasion of the 100th Birthday of Adriaan de Buck, Leiden december 17–19, 1992, EU 9 (Leiden 1996)
R. van der Molen, A Hieroglyphic Dictionary of Egyptian Coffin Texts, PÄ 15 (Leiden / Boston / Köln 2000).
J. Assmann, Totenliturgien in den Sargtexten des Mittleren Reichs. Altägyptische Totenliturgien 1, Supplemente zu den Schriften der Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-Historische Klasse 14 (Heidelberg 2002).
L. Gestermann, Die Überlieferung ausgewählter Texte altägyptischer Totenliteratur („Sargtexte“) in spätzeitlichen Grabanlagen, ÄA 68 (Wiesbaden 2005).
R. O. Faulkner, The Ancient Egyptian Coffin Texts. Spells 1-1185 (Oxford 2007).