This limestone stela – now part of the Egyptian collection at the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden – once stood among countless others at Abydos, one of ancient Egypt’s most important sites associated with Osiris, god of the afterlife. Wealthy Egyptians often built chapels and erected stelae there in the hope of participating in the eternal rituals honoring Osiris.
The stela depicts an official named Khu 
in raised relief, accompanied by members of his family. It names his wife, Senet 
, his brother, Mentuwoser 
, and their mother — also named Senet . Their names were not incidental: by including them in the offering formula, the inscription allowed them to participate in its benefits as well.
Based on its style and orthographic features, the stela was most likely created during the reign of Senusret I (c. 1920–1875 BCE) in the early 12th Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom. This was also the period in which Middle Egyptian reached its classical form, making inscriptions from the 12th Dynasty particularly important for understanding the language.
Reading the inscription
The top register consists of three horizontal lines of hieroglyphs which are to be read from right to left. We’ll flip the reading direction below to make it easier to read.
The inscription is a classic offering formula – a ritual text intended to provide the deceased with bread, beer, meat, and other necessities in the afterlife. We can recognize it from its opening, 
Htp-di-nswt.
Htp-di-nswt is a fossilized expression whose original grammar is not entirely clear. It most likely consists of a noun 
Htp (offering) followed by a relative clause with sDm=f (di nswt). Taken literally, the phrase can be understood as “an offering, the one which the king gives”. The element 
nswt (king) is written first because of the honorific transposition.
The formula begins by naming those responsible for providing the offering: first the king and then the god Osiris followed by one of his common epithets (lord of Djedu).
Htp-di-nswt an offering which the king gives
wsir Osiris
nb lord – the sign is visually arranged between the two signs for Osiris to fit the available space, but grammatically belongs to the phrase “lord of Djedu”
Ddw Djedu – an ancient Delta town, identified with modern Abusir el-Bana, and a major cult center of Osiris alongside Abydos
Next we have the list of offerings, introduced by the phrase 
prt-xrw, traditionally translated as “voice offering” or “invocation offering”. On this stela, the offering consists of bread, beer, oxen and fowl.
di=f may he (Osiris) give – 
is the suffix pronoun=f‘he, him, his’
This is a sDm=f verb form used as a subjunctive, specifically, expressing a wish.
prt-xrw a voice offering – lit. “coming forth of the voice”
t Hnqt kAw Apdw bread, beer, oxen (and) fowl
The formula now identifies the person who is to receive the offering, giving his title, name and status among the revered dead – 
imAx(w). We learn that he was an 
imy-r w – a district overseer. This title appears to be associated with the treasury/provisioning sector, temples, or other institutions. Specifically, 
w refers to an administrative district or unit that was attached to a larger institution and whose official could perform various administrative, legal, and supervisory duties.
n to (preposition)
imAx(w) revered one
imy-r w overseer of the district (title)
xw Khu (name) – a fairly common ancient Egyptian name that means “(he) who is protected” or “the protected one”. The name derives from the verb 
xwi (“to protect”).
What we have here is a passive participle used as a noun. A passive participle is a verb form that describes someone or something as the recipient of the action. Verbs ending in a “weak” consonant, such as xwi, sometimes show additional endings in their participial forms, such as 
w or 
y. In masculine nouns, these endings are usually omitted in writing. They can, however, become visible in feminine forms before the feminine ending t, such as in the name 
xwyt “(she) who is protected”.
More information about Khu follows – his mother’s name and the phrases that identify him as a revered individual who earned his right to enjoy the afterlife.
ir.n born of – lit. “whom … made”
This construction is a past relative form (also called relative clause with sDm.n=f). It takes the gender and number of the noun it refers to, which is in this case masculine singular (Khu).
snt Senet (name)
mAa-xrw true of voice
nb imAx possessor of reverence
Khu’s family members are listed in the final line of the inscription and depicted in the same order, from right to left, in the register below.
Hmt=f his wife
mrt=f his beloved
This is a relative form (or a relative clause with sDm=f). Lit. “(the one) whom he loves”
snt Senet (name)
sn=f his brother
mnTw-wsr Mentuwoser (name) – it means “(god) Montu is powerful” (subject + stative construction).
mwt=f his mother – although the loaf t would normally follow the vulture mwt as a phonetic complement, it has been placed before the sign to fit the available space.
snt Senet (name)
Putting the pieces together
hieroglyphs:
transliteration:
Htp-di-nswt wsir nb Ddw di=f prt-xrw t Hnqt kAw Apdw n imAx(w)
imy-r w xw ir.n snt maA-xrw nb imAx
Hmt=f mrt=f snt sn=f mnTw-wsr mwt=f snt
translation:
“An offering which the king gives (and) Osiris, lord of Djedu:
may he (Osiris) give a voice offering of bread, beer, oxen and fowl
to the revered overseer of the district, Khu,
born of Senet, true of voice, possessor of reverence;
his beloved wife Senet, his brother Mentuwoser, his mother Senet.”
bibliography:
- Allen, James P. (2014). Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 3rd Edition. Cambridge University Press.
- Franke, D. (2003). The Middle Kingdom Offering Formulas—A Challenge. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 89(1), 39-57.
- Ward, William A. (1982). Index of Egyptian Administrative and Religious Titles of the Middle Kingdom. American University in Beirut, p. 41.
- Russo, Barbara. (2017). The Territory w and Related Titles during the Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period. Golden House Publications.
- https://hdl.handle.net/21.12126/22540 – RMO, AP 71 – Stèle van Choe
abydos middle kingdom offering formula rijskmuseum van oudheden stela