Prayer

While by no means comprehensive, below are some historically attested prayers to Sobek.

• “Sobek has come forth from the waters of Nun, green of plume, sharp of teeth, mighty of form, the great one who dwells in the flood.” (1)
  • This is not a standalone prayer, but part of a spell in the Pyramid Texts (Spell 317) where the deceased king identifies with Sobek to gain his power in the afterlife. It invokes Sobek’s emergence from the primordial waters (Nun), and was likely recited by priests during funerary rites.

• “Hail to you Sobek, who seizes with his jaws, who takes women from their husbands whenever he wishes, according to his desire, Sobek, Lord of Bakhu, grant me your power that I may rise up in the Duat.” (2)
  • This spell from the Coffin Texts (Spell 158) transforms the deceased into Sobek in order to navigate the underworld.

• “Sobek, Lord of Sumenu, great crocodile of the river, hear my voice, protect me in my labor, grant safety on the waters.” (3)
  • On a sandstone stele in the Gebel el-Silsila quarries, Upper Egypt, erected by a quarry worker, appealing to Sobek for safety during river transport.

• “Sobek, Lord of the Waters, He Who Makes Fertile, great crocodile of the Nile, who rises in strength from the flood, hear us oh Mighty One, grant life to the fields, protect us from the perils of the river, you who dwell in the sacred pool.” (4)
  • This temple hymn was found carved on a temple wall in Kom Ombo, accompanying reliefs of Sobek with a solar disk.

• “Sobek, He Who Makes the Fields Green, Lord of the Fayum, great one of the waters, I offer praise to you, accept my offering of bread and beer, grant prosperity to my house and strength to my limbs.” (5)
  • This prayer was carved into a limestone stele in Crocodilopolis, and is next to a scene with bread, beer, and incense being offered.

• “Oh Sobek, mighty one of the Nile, protector of the flood, accept this offering, guard my ka in the afterlife, give me give me life like the inundation.” (6)
  • Carved on a limestone stele in the Hawara necropolis, Fayum, near Amenemhat III’s pyramid.

• “Oh Sobek Ra, living sun, crocodile of the lake, who brings the flood, I call to you in your sanctuary, shine upon us with your rays, fill our fields with green, drive away the hunger of the dry season.” (7)
  • This fragment of papyri was part of a priestly archive from Tebtynis (Ptolemaic Period).

• “Soknopaios, great god, crocodile of the lake, accept these gifts, grant us abundance in our fields, protect our boats on the water, hear the plea of your servants.” (8)
  • Recorded on a Greek papyrus in Soknopaiou Nesos, Fayum, along with a temple offering receipt.

• “Sobek, who rises from the waters with power, lord of the lake, bring forth the flood, renew the land, accept our praise, oh crocodile of the deep.” (9)
  • Book of the Fayum excerpt.

• “To Pnepheros and Petesouchos [localized version of Sobek], great gods, crocodiles of Karanis, I offer this incense, grant health to my family, safety to my crops, favor from the waters.” (10)
  • A personal prayer of rural devotion, Karanis, in the Fayum Oasis.

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(1) Faulkner, R.O. The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts (1969)

(2) de Buck, A and Lesko, L. The Ancient Egyptian Coffin Texts (1938)

(3) Caminos, R. Gebel es-Silsilah Survey (1963)

(4) Baines, J. The Temples of Kom Ombo (1997)

(5) Ryholt, K. The Carlsberg Papyri 7 (2006)

(6) Petrie, W.M.F. Hawara, Biahmu, and Arsinoe (1889)

(7) Wilkinson, R. Reading Egyptian Art (19992)

(8) Thompson, H. The Demotic and Greek Papyri from Soknopaiou Nesos. (1912)

(9) Beinlich, H. Das Buch vom Fayum (1991)

(10) Husselman, E.M. Papyri from Karanis (1971)