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Nefer in hieroglyphs
nfr
[1]
Nefer
nfr
Good/Beautiful

The Egyptian hieroglyph for "perfect, complete" (with the extended meanings of "good, pleasant, well, beautiful") in Gardiner's sign list is numbered F35; its phonetic value is nfr, with a reconstructed pronunciation of [nafir][2] and a conventional Egyptological vocalization of nefer.

Hieroglyphs and symbolism

The triliteral Egyptian hieroglyph F35 ('nfr') has sometimes been explained as a representation of a lute; however, Egyptologists today no longer consider this hypothesis likely. Rather than a lute, the hieroglyph is actually a representation of the heart and trachea.[1] It originally may have been the esophagus and heart. The striations of the windpipe only appear in the hieroglyph following the Old Kingdom of Egypt. The lower part of the sign has always clearly been the heart, for the markings clearly follow the form of a sheep's heart.[3]

Use

The term nfr has been incorporated into many names in Ancient Egypt. Examples include Nefertiti, Nefertari, and Neferhotep.

Some scholars suggest that it was used in ancient Egyptian construction where 'nfrw' was used to denote 'level zero' of a building and in accounting where 'nfr' would refer to a zero balance.[4]

Pharaoh

Nefer was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who ruled for two years, one month, and a day, from 2197–2195 BCE, according to the Turin Royal Canon or the Turin King List. Even though he reigned during the reign of Pepi II Neferkare.[5] He was probably the last pharaoh of the Sixth dynasty, even though he reigned through pharaoh Pepi II Neferkare of the late Sixth dynasty. He may have also reigned through pharaoh Neferka who also reigned through Pepi II Neferkare. He is a very obscure figure and pharaoh in all of the pharaohs. He is probably the most confusing reigning pharaoh of the Old Kingdom of Egypt (2686-2181)

References

  1. ^ a b Erman, Adolf, and Hermann Grapow, eds. 1926–1953. Wörterbuch der aegyptischen Sprache im Auftrage der deutschen Akademien. 6 vols. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs'schen Buchhandlungen. (Reprinted Berlin: Akademie-Verlag GmbH, 1971).
  2. ^ Loprieno, Antonio. Ancient Egyptian: A linguistic introduction. Cambridge University Press, 1995.
  3. ^ "Ancient Egypt: the Mythology - Nefer (Beauty)". www.egyptianmyths.net.
  4. ^ Lumpkin, Beatrice (1 March 2002). "Mathematics Used in Egyptian Construction and Bookkeeping". Mathematical Intelligencer. 24 (2): 20–23. doi:10.1007/BF03024613. S2CID 120648746.
  5. ^ "Turin King List". The Ancient Egypt Site. Jacques Kinnaer. 25 July 2009. Archived from the original on 16 June 2006. Retrieved 27 August 2009. IV,10: Nefer.


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