Nefer-Setekh (also written Nefersetekh) is the name of an ancient Egyptian high official, who lived and worked either during the late midst of the

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit ...

or during the beginning of the

3rd dynasty The Third Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty III) is the first dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom. Other dynasties of the Old Kingdom include the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, Fourth, Fifth Dynasty of Egypt, Fifth and Sixth Dynasty of ...

. He became known by his name, which was addressed to the deity

Seth Seth,; el, Σήθ ''Sḗth''; ; "placed", "appointed") in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mandaeism, and Sethianism, was the third son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, their only other child mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bible. A ...

Attestations

Nefer-Setekh is known by his damaged tomb stele found at

Helwan Helwan ( ar, حلوان ', , cop, ϩⲁⲗⲟⲩⲁⲛ, Halouan) is a city in Egypt and part of Greater Cairo, on the bank of the Nile, opposite the ruins of Memphis. Originally a southern suburb of Cairo, it served as the capital of the now de ...

. This stela depicts Nefer-Setekh as a deceased sitting in front of an offering table, dressed in a very tight gown. He looks to the right, his name and title are carved in directly above his head. At the right side of the offering table the stele depicts and describes sacrificial food such as poultry, onions, lettuce and

bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...

. Furthermore, the stela contains a list in tabular form, it provides the enumeration and description of precious clothes and fabrics such as

canvas Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, shelters, as a support for oil painting and for other items for which sturdiness is required, as well as in such fashion objects as handbags ...

and yarn. The list also contains the enumeration and description of several sorts of

fragrance oil Fragrance oils, also known as aroma oils, aromatic oils, and flavor oils, are blended synthetic aroma compounds or natural essential oils that are diluted with a carrier like propylene glycol, vegetable oil, or mineral oil. To allergic or otherwi ...

and incense.Christiana Köhler, Jana Jones: ''Helwan II, The Early Dynastic and Old Kingdom Funerary Stelae.'' Leidorf, Rahden 2009, , p. 160-162.Zaki Yusef Saad: ''Ceiling stelae in second dynasty tombs from the excavations at Helwan''. Imprimerie de l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale, Cairo 1957, p. 51-53.

Identity

Nefer-Setekh's only preserved bureaucratic title is that of an " wab-priest of the king". Details about his family are unknown. Nefer-Setekh's name means "Seth is merciful", since the hieroglyphic sign for ''Nefer'' (Gardiner sign ''F35'') means "kindly" or "merciful" when connected to a certain deity.Jochem Kahl, Markus Bretschneider, Barbara Kneissler: ''Frühägyptisches Wörterbuch, 1. Teil''. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2002, , p. 234. The name is of special interest for Egyptologists and Historians as well, because it is directly addressed to the deity Seth. This leads Egyptologists such as Toby Wilkinson and

Christiana Köhler Christiana may refer to: * Christiana incident (or riot), 1851, an armed intervention by citizens in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to save a fugitive slave Geography * Christiana, Delaware, US * Christiana, Pennsylvania, US * Christiana, Te ...

to a datation of Nefer-Setekh's lifetime into the late midst of the 2nd dynasty, when the deity Seth experienced special popularity.Toby A. Wilkinson: ''Early Dynastic Egyp''t. Routledge, London 2001, , p. 295. Other Egyptologists, such as

Jochem Kahl Jochem Kahl (born 1961) is a German Egyptologist. A native of Ravensburg, Kahl studied undergraduate history and Greek at the University of Tübingen from 1983 to 1984 and then Egyptology, Classical Archeology and Pre- and Early History at Münste ...

and

Katrin Scheele Katrin is a feminine given name. It is a German and Swedish contracted form of Katherine. Katrin may refer to: Sports *Katrin Apel (born 1973), German biathlete *Katrin Beinroth (born 1981), German judoka *Katrin Borchert (born 1969), German-b ...

Katrin Scheele: ''Die Stofflisten des Alten Reiches: Lexikographie, Entwicklung und Gebrauch.'' Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2005, , p. 13, 60, 62. contradict this datation. The use of slab stelas with tabular lists including the enumeration of offering items is not archaeologically attested until the beginning of the 3rd dynasty and special signs for numbers such as used in Nefer-Setekh's stela were also not in use before that time.

References

{{authority control Ancient Egyptian priests People of the Second Dynasty of Egypt People of the Third Dynasty of Egypt