Seten-hetep-ta

The commencement of the universal formula found in tombs which constitutes a kind of prayer for benefits for the deceased. It has been translated in many different ways, none of which are entirely satisfactory. "A royal oblation give," . "A royal table of propitiation grant," . The whole prayer runs on these lines: "A royal oblation grant Osiris, dwelling in Amenti, Lord of Abydos. May he grant the funeral oblations, bread, beer, oxen, geese, wine, milk, oil, incense, wrappings, all gifts of vegetation, whatever heaven gives, or earth produces, to enjoy the Nile, to come forth as a living soul, that the soul may not be repulsed at the gates of the nether world, to be glorified among the favoured ones in presence of Un-nefer, to breathe the delicious breezes of the north wind, and to drink from the depth of the river." About the time of the XIIth Dynasty and onwards this prayer is distinctly for the *Ka* (q.v.) of the deceased.