Tonight we go south, as far as Egypt goes: to Elephantine, at the First Cataract of the Nile. Near there, on the island of Sehel, the priests of Khnum carved a story into a great granite rock.
Myths of Egypt · The future in the past
Khnum and the Seven Lean Years
Was going to, would, was about to, was to and was on the point of: the grammar of the future seen from the past, for a king who could not end a famine, a dream on an island in the Nile, and a story that sounds very like Joseph’s.
🐏 Play the story too: in the gamebook, you are Imhotep, the king’s wise man.Play the gamebook →
SOPHIA
PHILO
And it’s about seven years of famine. Sophia told me. I didn’t believe her.
Two stories
After the Famine Stela at Sehel, near Elephantine, and Genesis 41
On the Famine Stela, King Djoser of long ago writes: “I was in mourning on my throne. The Nile had not risen for seven years. Grain was scarce, the seeds had dried up, and everything people had to eat was little. Children cried, the old were bowed down, and the temples were shut.”
The king asked his wise man Imhotep where the Nile was born, and which god ruled its source. Imhotep went to the House of Life, the temple library, and studied the sacred books. He came back and told the king: the Nile rises at Elephantine, from two caverns beneath the rocks, and its god is Khnum, the potter, who shapes all living things on his wheel.
That night, Khnum appeared to the king in a dream. “I am Khnum, your maker. I will make the Nile rise for you. There will be no more years of want. The harvests will bend under their weight.” When the king woke, he gave land and a share of all the produce of the region to the temple of Khnum at Elephantine, for ever.
In Genesis, it is Pharaoh who dreams, of seven fat cows and seven thin, and Joseph, a foreigner and a prisoner, who explains that seven years of plenty are going to be followed by seven years of famine, and who fills the storehouses before it comes.
The Famine Stela was carved under the Ptolemies, about two hundred years ago. Genesis is quoted from the Septuagint.
What we know today
The Famine Stela is still there, carved into a granite boulder on the island of Sehel, near Aswan. Although it is set in the time of King Djoser, about 2650 BCE, it was carved about 2,400 years later, under the Ptolemies, probably by the priests of Khnum to support the rights of their temple.
Imhotep was a real man, Djoser’s architect, who built the first pyramid, the Step Pyramid at Saqqara. By the time of our gang, he was worshipped as a god of healing, and the Greeks identified him with Asclepius. Scholars often compare the Stela with the story of Joseph.
Was going to
SOPHIA
Joseph told Pharaoh that seven years of famine were going to come. was / were going to is the future, seen from a moment in the past.
MARCOS
And if it doesn’t happen? “I was going to study, but…”
SOPHIA
Exactly: it often describes a plan that didn’t happen. The king was going to give up, but then he had a dream.
Would: the future in the past
DEMETRIA
Khnum promised that the Nile would rise.
SOPHIA
would is will seen from the past, especially after reporting verbs: He said the harvests would be good. (He said: “They will be good.”)
Was about to, was on the point of
PHILO
The king was about to despair when Imhotep came back from the library.
SOPHIA
was about to + verb / was on the point of + -ing: something that was going to happen very soon, often interrupted. The temple was on the point of closing when the Nile rose.
Was to: destiny
THE CLERK
And Imhotep was to become a god.
SOPHIA
was to + verb (formal) looks ahead to something that really did happen later, often something important: The boy in the prison was to rule all Egypt. And was to have + past participle for something planned that didn’t happen.
Philo’s footnote
PHILO
Seven years of famine, a king in despair, a wise man who explains, and a solution that comes from God. It is very like Joseph. But in our story, the wise man is a foreign slave, and the answer is to store grain. In theirs, the answer is to give land to the temple.
SOPHIA
Which might tell you who carved it, Philo.
Sophia’s summary
| Form | Use | From the story |
|---|---|---|
| was / were going to | the future seen from the past; often a plan that didn’t happen | Seven years of famine were going to come. |
| would | will, seen from the past | Khnum said the Nile would rise. |
| was about to / was on the point of + -ing | very soon, often interrupted | The king was about to despair. |
| was to + verb | what really happened later (destiny) | Imhotep was to become a god. |
| was to have + past participle | a plan that didn’t happen | He was to have sailed that day. |
Practice
Answer all the questions, then press “Check my answers”. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Choose the best form
Choose the form that fits best.
1. Joseph said that seven years of famine ___ come.
2. Khnum promised that the Nile ___ rise.
3. The king was ___ give up when Imhotep came back.
4. Nobody knew then that Imhotep ___ become a god.
5. The temple was on the point ___ closing.
6. I ___ study last night, but I fell asleep.
B · Complete the sentence
Write the missing words.
7. The king said that he give land to the temple. (will, from the past)
8. The priests were about shut the temple.
9. The prisoner in the dungeon to rule all Egypt. (destiny)
10. Imhotep was on the point of the library when he found the book. (leave)
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
11. “Khnum said the harvests will be good.”
12. “The king was about to give up.”
13. “He was on the point to leave.”
Now go to the House of Life yourself, as Imhotep, and find the source of the Nile.Play the gamebook →