Raneb - Name Sources

Name Sources

Nebra's Serekh name is of great interest to Egyptologists, since it is written with the hieroglyphic sign of the sun, which had not yet become the object of divine adoration during his lifetime. At the time of king Raneb the most important religious cults were concentrated on the preservation of the dualistic equal status of the state patrons Horus and Seth. Nothing was more important than keeping that godlike balance. The kings themself were seen as the living representation of that godlike pair. The sun as a celestial body were seen as a celestial object controlled either by Horus or, as in the case of king Seth-Peribsen, by Seth. Therefore the sun was no independent deity yet. The first definite proof of the existence of the sun-deity Ra occurs at the beginning of the 3rd dynasty during the reign of king Djoser in the names of high officials such as Hesyre. And the first definitive detectable proof for a fully established royal suncult occurs under king Radjedef, the third ruler of 4th dynasty. He was the first king who connected his birth name with the name of Ra, starting the great religious belief that Egyptian kings were the living representation of the sun alongside with Horus and Seth.

Therefore Nebra's Horus name is problematic regarding its translation and meaning. The typical translation of Nebra's name as "Ra is my lord" which would be read "Raneb" is questionable, as this would assume that the Sun was already being worshiped as an independent deity. Consequently, Egyptologists have proposed the translation "Lord of the sun (of Horus)" which is read "Nebra" and implies the pharaoh's rule over the Sun (as a celestial body), which was indeed also under Horus's or Seth´s control. Any solar religion or solar symbolism were not yet established in any useful form and it is now thought that king Raneb might actually have been the first king who adopted extended religious thought about the sun and the sky.