Untersuchungen zur geschichte und altertumskunde Aegyptens

39] !! Yüuth and corouation of Thutmose IIl. j r
nation. But we may go further than this. According to the inscription of Inni (Rec. XII p. 107,
1. 16), the occasion of Thutmose lll's successioii was the death of Thutmose II. This second
exclusion leaves Thutmose I as the only one who can possibly be referred to by the words,
"his majesty", a conckision which gives us two accessions of Thutmose III: one after Thutmose I
living; and the other after Thutmose II deceased. Thus Sethe's shrewd conclusions, based on
entirely different evidence, are brillianth' confirmed.
(16) There is a reference to making a similar circuit in the coronation ceremonies of
Hatshepsut (Nav. Dereib. III, pl. 64); Q A^ ^=3 '^ /mmi; "this making the circuit on [both] sides";
but unfortunately the reUef scene is destroyed. Making the circuit of a building or hall was a
common ceremony of the kings; cf the old title ^=^
j
f^TF applied to the kings. and for the
usual festal circuit, Pap. Harris VII 7.
117) This rendering is open to slight question. It is grammatically faultless but the orthography
of hntj-zv without the plural strokes is a difficulty, and I am not aquainted with any
other example of ^^ ^\ ti "grasp" used figuratively for "comprehend"; although it corresponds
exactly with the Engllsh idiom. Compare also German "fassen", "begreifen", Latin
"apprehendere '; it is not an uncommon figure in many languages. The rendering is also in
irreproachable harmony with the whole Situation. The ranks of priests are drawn up in lines
as the god is carried along seeking Thutmose III, and those in the front ranks who could observe
the movements of the god did not comprehend his actions.
(18) The lack of a subject with rlr 11 wj (supported by all texts) is syntactically not unparalleled,
and there can be no question who is meant in view of the following jwf referring
to Amon, who is indicated throughout the inscription by the simple pronoun (3. m. s.'.
(19) hn is a poetic word meaning "to stop" literally "to alight '. It is used by Sinuhe in the
'-'
^^
, . V "^^ Vff aaa~va i?:rZ! ^ ^^ C^Vl. "I stopped at the
narrative of his flight:
lake of Kiii-zur" \\. 21). It is a word particularly suited to an incident in a religious ceremony.
Thus Thutmose IV, conciliating the gods of the towns he passes on the way to his war in Nubia,
says (Morgan, Cat. des Mon. I. p. 67. 1. 16):
^^^^
fI^ gg^^fl ^1 J^ij
«;w^\\. "I stopped at the city of Edfu; the beautiful god went forth like Monthu". A similar
meaning in our inscription is undoubted; the construction of the indirect object is lost in the
lacuna in 1. 7. It is difficult to determine which is the temporal clause: "he recognized me when
he lighted |upon mej"; or "when he recognized me, he stopped [before me]". There is no doubt
however that this clause records the conclusion of the god's search, when he discovers Thutmose
III. What the god now does is unfortunately lost in the lacuna at the beginning of the
next line (1. 7). But as the courtiers in their response to the king's speech refer distinctly to an
Oracle of the god (see below § 43), there can be little doubt that on halting before Thutmose III,
the god delivered an oracle nominating him as king. In response to this oracle Thutmose III
throws himself down before the god, as narrated immediately after the lacuna.
(20) sSt'w literally means "ground"; but it is the usual designation of a temple-pavement
in the building inscriptions, e. g. that of Amenhotep III (Petrie, Six Temples XII, 1. 3, et passim).
The parallelism shows that we are to restore the general sense as in the translation.