Story of Sinuhe
Encyclopedia
Ancient Egyptian literature
Ancient Egyptian literature was written in the Egyptian language from Ancient Egypt's pharaonic period until the end of Roman domination. It represents the oldest corpus of Egyptian literature...
. It is a narrative set in the aftermath of the death of Pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
Amenemhat I
Amenemhat I
Amenemhat I, also Amenemhet I, was the first ruler of the Twelfth Dynasty . He ruled from 1991 BC to 1962 BC...
, founder of the 12th dynasty
Twelfth dynasty of Egypt
The twelfth dynasty of ancient Egypt is often combined with Dynasties XI, XIII and XIV under the group title Middle Kingdom.-Rulers:Known rulers of the twelfth dynasty are as follows :...
of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, in the early 20th century BC. It is likely that it was composed only shortly after this date, albeit the earliest extant manuscript is from the reign of Amenemhat III
Amenemhat III
Amenemhat III, also spelled Amenemhet III was a pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from c.1860 BC to c.1814 BC, the latest known date being found in a papyrus dated to Regnal Year 46, I Akhet 22 of his rule. He is regarded as the greatest monarch of the Middle Kingdom...
, ca. 1800 BC. There is an ongoing debate among Egyptologists as to whether or not the tale is based on actual events involving an individual named Sinuhe, with the consensus being that it is most likely a work of fiction. Due to the universal nature of the themes explored in Sinuhe, including divine providence and mercy, its anonymous author has been described as the “Egyptian Shakespeare” whose ideas have parallels in biblical texts. Sinuhe is considered to be a work written in verse and it may also have been performed. The great popularity of the work is witnessed by the numerous surviving fragments.
Synopsis
Sinuhe is an official who accompanies prince Senwosret I to LibyaAncient Libya
The Latin name Libya referred to the region west of the Nile Valley, generally corresponding to modern Northwest Africa. Climate changes affected the locations of the settlements....
. He overhears a conversation connected with the death of King Amenemhet I and as a result flees to Upper Retjenu (Canaan
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
), leaving Egypt behind. He becomes the son-in-law of Chief Ammunenshi and in time his sons grow to become chiefs in their own right. Sinuhe fights rebellious tribes on behalf of Ammunenshi. As an old man, in the aftermath of defeating a powerful opponent in single combat
Single combat
Single combat is a fight between two single warriors which takes place in the context of a battle between two armies, with the two often considered the champions of their respective sides...
, he prays for a return to his homeland
Homeland
A homeland is the concept of the place to which an ethnic group holds a long history and a deep cultural association with —the country in which a particular national identity began. As a common noun, it simply connotes the country of one's origin...
.: "May god pity me..may he hearken to the prayer of one far away!..may the King have mercy on me..may I be conducted to the city of eternity!". He then receives an invitation from King Senwosret I of Egypt to return, which he accepts in highly moving terms. Living out the rest of his life in royal favour he is finally laid to rest in the necropolis
Necropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
in a beautiful tomb.
Interpretations
The story of Sinuhe has spawned a great deal of literature which explores the themes contained in the work from many perspectives. The scope and variety of this material has been likened to the analysis of HamletHamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
and other notable works of literature.
Scholars debate the reason why Sinuhe flees Egypt, with the majority seeing a panic response to a perceived fear.
The tale is full of symbolic allusions. Sinuhe's name (=“Son of the Sycamore
Ficus sycomorus
Ficus sycomorus, called the sycamore fig or the fig-mulberry , sycamore, or sycomore, is a fig species that has been cultivated since ancient times...
”) is seen as providing an important link in understanding the story. The sycamore is an ancient Egyptian Tree of Life
Tree of Life
The tree of life in the Book of Genesis is a tree planted by God in midst of the Garden of Eden , whose fruit gives everlasting life, i.e. immortality. Together with the tree of life, God planted the tree of the knowledge of good and evil . According to some scholars, however, these are in fact...
, associated with Hathor
Hathor
Hathor , is an Ancient Egyptian goddess who personified the principles of love, beauty, music, motherhood and joy. She was one of the most important and popular deities throughout the history of Ancient Egypt...
, (the Goddess of fertility, rebirth and patroness of foreign countries), who features throughout the work.
Sinuhe comes under the protective orbit of divine powers who, in the form of the King, from whom he first tries to run away, and that of the Queen, a manifestation of Hathor. On fleeing Egypt, Sinuhe crosses a waterway associated with the Goddess Maat
Maat
Maat is a naval rank of the German navy equivalent to the army rank of Unteroffizier. A Maat is considered the equivalent of a junior Petty Officer in the navies of many other nations....
, the Ancient Egyptian principle of truth, order and justice, in the vicinity of a sycamore tree.
The Ancient Egyptians believed in free-will, implicit in the code of Maat, but this still allowed divine grace to work in and through the individual, and an overarching divine providence is seen in Sinuhe's flight and return to his homeland. Unable to escape the orbit of God's power and mercy, Sinuhe exclaims: “Whether I am in the Residence, or whether I am in this place, it is you who cover this horizon”.
Parallels have been made with the biblical narrative of Joseph
Joseph (Hebrew Bible)
Joseph is an important character in the Hebrew bible, where he connects the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Canaan to the subsequent story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt....
. In what is seen as divine providence, the Syro-Canaanite Joseph is taken to Egypt where he becomes part of the ruling elite, acquires a wife and family, before being reunited with his Syro-Canaanite family. In what as seen as divine providence, Sinuhe the Egyptian flees to Syro-Canaan and becomes a member of the ruling elite, acquires a wife and family, before being reunited with his Egyptian family. Parallels have also been drawn with other biblical texts: Sinuhe's frustrated flight from the orbit of god's power (=King) is likened to the Hebrew prophet Jonah
Jonah
Jonah is the name given in the Hebrew Bible to a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th century BC, the eponymous central character in the Book of Jonah, famous for being swallowed by a fish or a whale, depending on translation...
's similar attempt, his fight with a mighty challenger, whom he slays with a single blow, is compared to the battle between David and Goliath and his return home likened to the parable of the Prodigal Son.
Influences on modern culture
Naguib MahfouzNaguib Mahfouz
Naguib Mahfouz was an Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature. He is regarded as one of the first contemporary writers of Arabic literature, along with Tawfiq el-Hakim, to explore themes of existentialism. He published over 50 novels, over 350 short stories, dozens of movie...
, the Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian writer, published in 1941 a story entitled "Awdat Sinuhi" translated by Raymond Stock
Raymond Stock
Raymond Stock is an American academic, writer and translator. He has a BA in Mass Media/Foreign Affairs from Grand Valley State University , and an MA in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor...
in 2003 as "The Return of Sinuhe" in the collection of Mahfouz's short stories entitled Voices from the Other World. The story is based directly on the Story of Sinuhe, although adding details of a lovers' triangle
Love triangle
A love triangle is usually a romantic relationship involving three people. While it can refer to two people independently romantically linked with a third, it usually implies that each of the three people has some kind of relationship to the other two...
romance that does not appear in the original.
The story also formed part of the inspiration for the 1945 novel by Mika Waltari
Mika Waltari
Mika Toimi Waltari was a Finnish writer, best known for his best-selling novel The Egyptian .- Early life :...
, and the 1954 Hollywood film epic, both titled The Egyptian
The Egyptian
The Egyptian is a historical novel by Mika Waltari. It was first published in Finnish in 1945, and in an abridged English translation by Naomi Walford in 1949. It was adapted into a film in 1954....
, which although set during the reign of 18th dynasty
Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
The eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt is perhaps the best known of all the dynasties of ancient Egypt...
pharaoh Akhenaten
Akhenaten
Akhenaten also spelled Echnaton,Ikhnaton,and Khuenaten;meaning "living spirit of Aten") known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV , was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC...
, features a lead character named Sinuhe who flees Egypt in disgrace, to return after achieving material success and personal redemption in foreign lands.
Elizabeth Peters made reference to the tale in her novel The Falcon at the Portal
The Falcon at the Portal
The Falcon at the Portal is the 11th in a series of mystery novels by Elizabeth Peters, featuring fictional archaeologist and sleuth Amelia Peabody.-Explanation of the novel's title:...
.
Literature
- Barta, M. 2003 Sinuhe, the Bible and the Patriarchs , Czech Institute of Egyptology/David Brown Book Company.
- Greig, G. S. 1990. “The sDm=f and sDm=n=f in the Story of Sinuhe and the Theory of the Nominal (Emphatic) Verbs”, in: Israelit-Groll, I. (ed.), Studies in Egyptology. Presented to Miriam Lichtheim, Vol. I. Jerusalem: Magnes Press/Hebrew U., 264-348.
- Kitchen, K. A. 1996. “Sinuhe: Scholarly Method versus Trendy Fashion” BACE 7, 55-63.
- Mahfouz, Naguib. "The Return of Sinuhe" in Voices from the Other World (translated by Robert Stock), Random House, 2003
- Meltzer, E. S. 2004. “Sinuhe, Jonah and Joseph: Ancient ‘Far Travellers' and the Power of God”, in: Ellens, J. H.J. Harold EllensJ. Harold Ellens is a psychologist and theologian. He was the founding editor of the Journal of Psychology and Christianity, and was Executive Director of the Christian Association for Psychological Studies International from 1974 to 1989.- Education:Ellens has received multiple educational...
et al. (eds.), God's Word for Our World , vol. II. Theological and Cultural Studies in Honor of Simon John De Vries (London-New York: Clark/Continuum), 77-81. - Morschauser, S. 2000. “What Made Sinuhe Run: Sinuhe's Reasoned Flight” JARCE 37, 187-98
- Parkinson, R. B. 1997. The Tale of Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems 1940-1640 BC (Oxford World Classics). Oxford: Oxford U. Press.
- Quirke, Stephen. 2004. Egyptian Literature 1800BC: Questions and Readings, London, 58-70 ISBN 0-9547218-6-1 (translation and transcription)
- Tobin, V. A. 1995. “The Secret of Sinuhe” JARCE 32, 161-78.
External links
- Translation which includes details on the sources for the translations, transcriptions from the original hieraticHieraticHieratic refers to a cursive writing system that was used in the provenance of the pharaohs in Egypt and Nubia that developed alongside the hieroglyphic system, to which it is intimately related...
into Egyptian hieroglyphsEgyptian hieroglyphsEgyptian hieroglyphs were a formal writing system used by the ancient Egyptians that combined logographic and alphabetic elements. Egyptians used cursive hieroglyphs for religious literature on papyrus and wood...
.