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IL.5.4. Occurrence of the words wb3 and wdpw in narrative texts
— an overview
A brief overview is given on the following pages on the appearance of the words wb3
and wdpw ‘butler, cupbearer’ in ancient Egyptian literary texts, as well as the contex¬
tual information regarding the occupation and the later becoming titles of high officials
in the forms of wb3 nswt ‘royal wb3’ and wdpw nswt ‘royal wdpw’. There are, however,
only a few examples of the occurrence of both words in these type of texts, appearing
only in six writings from the Middle Kingdom to the Ramesside period, including the
historical inscription describing the battle of Ramesses II at Qadesh, as well as the
historical inscriptions of Ramesses II on the walls of his temple at Medinet Habu.
These latter examples are also included in this category, as these texts are likewise
deliberately edited and written pieces of work for the public rather than for private or
administrative use.
The earliest example is The Story of Sinuhe, in which the word wdpw occurs once in
plural form. When Sinuhe on his way back to the land of Egypt arrives at the Ways of
Horus and separates from the Asians who had escorted him, the following can be read:
(246) jw wdpw.w nb hr jrwt=f ssp.nj Bj.n.j (247) Bw sbb “th tp-m3=j r ph.t.j dmj n Jtj¬
Bwyjiet
‘... every butler was at his task. When I had started and set sail, there was kneading
and straining beside me, until I reached the cíty of Itj-tawy. 595
The hieroglyphic signs here clearly identify the word wdpw complemented with the
plural determinative $e. The ‘cupbearers’ appear in their original, functional role, and
carry out brewing, mixing and filtering liquids while travelling. The text, however, does
not provide additional information in this respect.
As to its time of origin, the following text is presumably The Admonitions of an Egyptian
Sage (The Admonitions of Ipuwer) 3° There are two occurrences of the words wb} and wdpw
in the text, nevertheless, there is no more information about the function itself. The first
occurrence is in connection with citizens who were forced to perform domestic duties.
Gardiner, Faulkner, Lichtheim and Tobin give slightly different translations for the
section referring to the wb3 ‘butler’:
304 Koch, 1990, 71.
35 Lichtheim, 1975, 231. For further translation, see Simpson, 2003°, 64.
3% Papyrus Leiden 344 recto. For the edition of the text, see Enmarch, 2005.