Joseph also as Den, 'he who brings water'

by Damien F. Mackey "But, just as I have argued that Moses actually needs to be assigned to more than the one Old Kingdom dynasty - {I have set him in, all at once, the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth dynasties} - so too, now, does it seem to me that Joseph-Imhotep of the Third Dynasty also requires in his portfolio an inclusion in the First Dynasty. Introduction Most recently, I have attempted to do for the biblical Joseph what I had done previously for his compatriot, Moses, that is, I have found for Joseph a combined Old Kingdom and so-called 'Middle' Kingdom location in the history of ancient Egypt. On this, see my article: Joseph like a sub-Pharaoh to King Horus Netjerikhet https://www.academia.edu/121302694/Joseph_like_a_sub_Pharaoh_to_King_Horus_Netjerikhet Joseph, whom I have multi-identified, was basically Khasekhemwy-Imhotep, that is, Imhotep, the famed - and later deified - Great Chancellor of Horus Netjerikhet of the Old Kingdom's Third Dynasty, who reigned during a seven-year Famine (Sehel Island Stela). In their 'Middle' Kingdom guises, the pair were the ruler, Mentuhotep Netjerihedjet, and his Vizier, Bebi. But, just as I have argued that Moses actually needs to be assigned to more than the one Old Kingdom dynasty - {I have set him in, all at once, the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth dynasties} - so too, now, does it seem to me that Joseph-Imhotep of the Third Dynasty also requires in his portfolio an inclusion in the First Dynasty. I seem to recall that Dr. Donovan Courville may even have synchronised, in part - in relation to a severe Famine during the time of the First Dynasty's Uenephes - Egypt's First and Third dynasties (in The Exodus Problem and its Ramifications, 1971). What has led me towards embracing this further stage of synchronisation is that there emerges a ruler in Egypt's First Dynasty who well meets my criteria for Joseph-Imhotep. I refer to Horus Den (c. 3050 - 2995 BC, conventional dating), supposed fourth ruler of that dynasty. The Criteria In the above-mentioned article on Joseph, I had suggested the following: So, these are the main points for which I would be looking in Joseph's Pharaoh: - Youth, perhaps a prominent mother at first; - Egypt united, sometimes perhaps through warfare; - A long reign, certainly exceeding 18 years; - A powerful (sub-Pharaonic) Chancellor; - Celebration of a Heb Sed festival; - Centralisation of power greatly strengthening the king's hold on the land. Some of these are immediately apparent in, now Netjerikhet, now Mentuhotep. [End of quote] Now I find some of these, too, marvellously included in the career of Horus Den. But, the more that I look at it, the more have I come to think that Den might actually have been Joseph-Imhotep himself, rather than Joseph's Pharaoh. Biography of Den Let us take a look at this by following through Nicolas Grimal's brief account of Horus Den in his book, A History of Ancient Egypt (Blackwell, 1994, pp. 52-53): The reign of Den (Udimu), the fourth king of the dynasty, appears to have been a glorious and prosperous one. He limited the power of the high court officials, which had previously been allowed to grow dangerously during Merneith's regency at the beginning of his reign. "... limited the power of the high court officials ...", is precisely what Joseph had done, shifting all power to Pharaoh and to the priests (Genesis 47:20-22). Queen Merneith, whose precise placement within the First Dynasty has been somewhat difficult, may have been the mother of Horus Djer who now firms for me as another alter ego for Horus Netjerikhet/Mentuhotep Netjerihedjet (both names having the Djer, tjer, element). I had suspected that the biblical Pharaoh had begun to rule at a young age, and therefore may have had a mother to assist him in that early phase of responsibility. N. Grimal continues with Den (Udimu): He pursued a vigorous foreign policy, rapidly turning his attention to the Near East with an 'Asiatic' campaign in the first year of his reign. He even brought back a harem of female prisoners, an act which was to be copied later by Amenophis III. This military activity, along with an expedition into the Sinai to deal with Bedouin must have influenced his choice of 'Khasty' (meaning 'foreigner' or 'man of the desert') as his nsw-bity (King of Upper and Lower Egypt) name, which was changed to Usaphais in Manetho's Greek version. As a second to Pharaoh, Joseph would have been expected to lead military campaigns for Egypt, just as Vizier Moses would later do for "Chenephres" (Chephren/Sesostris). His other names given here are most interesting: "'Khasty' ... meaning 'foreigner' or 'man of the desert' ...". Joseph was indeed a foreigner in Egypt; and 'Usaphais', not a bad Greek transliteration at all (Usaph-) of the Semitifc name Yusef (Joseph) – the Uenephes above. And his Horus name, Den (Dewen, Udimu) is thought to mean: "He who brings water". Who, more than Joseph, would harvest water for Egypt with his large dams and his still famous Bahr Yusef (“Joseph's Canal”) which flows to this day? N. Grimal continues with Den (Udimu): He was the first Egyptian king to add to his titulature this third name; the nsw-bity title was evidently intended to reflect his active internal policy, including the building of a fortress, celebration of religious ceremonies to the gods Atum and Apis, and a national census (if the Palermo Stone is to be believed). Joseph, as Khasekhemwy-Imhotep (or Imhotep), likewise used name and serekh innovations. Some of his architectural infrastructure has been misinterpreted, for example great enclosures to serve as granaries have been wrongly identified as fortresses (see "the building of a fortress" above) and temples. A "national census" might have been essential in a national crisis such as a seven-year Famine. Den also seems to have pursued a policy of conciliation with northern Egypt, which was expressed not only through the name of his wife, Merneith, but also by the creation of the post of 'chancellor of the King of Lower Egypt'. Den's "... policy of conciliation with northern Egypt" may well be reflected in what N. Grimal has written about the supposed "first ruler of the Second Dynasty: Hetepsekhemwy", who can only have been Khasekhemwy-Imhotep (p. 54): ... Hetepsekhemwy, "the Two Powers are at peace". The 'Two Powers' were clearly Horus and Seth, and this interpretation is confirmed by Hetepsekhemwy's nebty name: 'the Two Mistresses are at peace', which must be another allusion to the political opposition between north and south. This north-south confrontation was not necessarily an actual physical struggle - it more likely referred to the country's tendency to split into these two regions at any time of conflict. Joseph's wife was Asenath (Genesis 41:45), an Egyptian name that shares with Merneith (above) the Neith element. A name at this time, like Asenath (Asaneth), was Ahaneth, who, too, is difficult to pinpoint in a dynastic context. The name Ahaneth may simply be a variation of Merneith, the presumed wife of Den. The new "post of 'chancellor of the King of Lower Egypt'" may have been 'created' just for Joseph. It was held by one Hemaka, as we will now learn, a powerful high official of Djer, a king of whom I wrote above: "Horus Djer who now firms for me as another alter ego for Netjerikhet-Mentuhotep Netjerihedjet (both names having the Djer, tjer, element)". The tomb of Hemaka a holder of this office, was discovered at Sakkara. It contained a quantity of rich funerary furniture as well as a wooden table bearing the name of Djer which may have been a record of Den's Sed festival (Hornung and Staehelin 1974:17). Once again, as with Horus Netjerikhet and Imhotep, Saqqara ("Sakkara") takes centre stage. Den may here have been recording Horus Djer's Sed festival rather than his own. Similarly, Mentuhotep's quasi-pharaonic vizier, Kheti, will be prominent in the case of his Pharaoh's Sed festival, presumably as its organiser: https://aminoapps.com/c/kemeticism-amino/page/blog/the-heb-sed-renewal-and-reaffirmation/J8lp_Bm1sduPveLjxknMoM71anWmar6NQ14 “… in the reign of Mentuhotep II (of the 11th dynasty), His “treasurer”, Kheti, who was involved in organising the Sed festival”. So far, I have not even come to this Kheti, whose name may be a hypocoristicon of Sekhem-khet (= Zoser/Imhotep). In Djer/Hemaka; Djer/Den; and Mentuhotep/Kheti, we have, I believe, three variant combinations of the one King and Chancellor. And we have not even included here Netjerikhet/Imhotep.