Theoretically all priestly appointments were made by the king, who, as high priest and link between the Netjeru and humans, could hand pick people for important posts like those at Mennefer (Memphis), Iunu (Heliopolis) and Waset (Thebes). He could also reward certain persons with a priestly title, or condescend to give a post away to those who bartered for them. The tjatey (vizier), a high priest or assembly at an important cult center was also delegated to take care of appointments.

Servant of God

This is the oldest clerical title, known from the 1st Dynasty. These priests prepared and carried forward offerings to the god and assisted at ceremonies and processions. They had access to the sanctuary where the divine image was kept, and controlled the entrance to the temple. Some of the large cult centers with a great number of Servants of God had overseers or high priests of the priesthood. The title of hem-netjer, though still frequently used, diminished in use during the Middle Kingdom.

Lector Priest

Kheri-heb, meaning 'He Who Is Over the Festive Scroll', recited, sang or chanted rites directly out of the sacred books at ceremonies and processions and was responsible that they were performed correctly. They also recited formulae and prayers to appeal to the gods, and functioned as oracles for people who sought out advice of the deities. They were distinguished by the broad band worn diagonally across their chests. In Ptolemaic Period, these lector priests sometimes wore a band with two tall ostich feathers on their head and was therefore called ‘Wing-wearers’ (Gr: Pterophoroi).

There could be several Lector Priests at each greater temple, taking turns in performing the function. At the same time they could also hold other clerical titles like high priests, overseers of priests, inspector priest, sometimes even nomarchs. There were titles like Chief Lector Priest (kheri-hb kheri-tp) and Senior Lector Priest (kheri-hb) which probably indicates length of service more than difference in command. The title is known from Dyn 2 when lector priests were members of the royal family or highest nobility, but no women are recorded as having held it.

There was also a third priestly title of ‘Father of the God’(jt-ntr). These walked in front of the cult image at processions, purifying the processional way by sprinkling purified water on it.

High Priest

This is another title which goes back to the Old Kingdom. At this period High Priests or Overseers, jmj-r3 hemw-ntr were organized in five groups (Gr: phyle), each with two subgroups which were lead by an inspector, shd. Each of these ten subgroups worked in the Royal cult complex (like the Sun temple of Niuserre), rotating shifts each thirty days. When not doing temple service, they worked their lands or tended to their jobs in the state administration etc. Often they were sons or sons-in-law to the king, and even viziers could hold this position.

The position as High Priest (hem-netjer-tepey) or Overseer (jmj-r3 hmw-ntr) was used at those cult centers where there was a large number of Servants of God ( hem-netjers). At certain temples the post had a specific title, saying something of what the work involved entailed. So was the high priest at Mennefer (Memphis) called wr hrp(w) hmwt 'Greatest of the Masters of Craftsmen', denoting Ptah and his patronship over all building crafts etc. Because of Ptah and Sokar being associated with the mortuary cultus, the High Priest was also called Sem-priest and could appear dressed in panther skin and wearing the side-lock of youth. The high priest at Khmun (Hermopolis) was called wr djw, 'Great One of the Five’, as this was the cult center of Djehuty (Thoth) and the Ogdoad and the High Priest at Per Bast (Gr:Bubastis) was called wr zwnw, Great One of Physicians, as Per Bast was a well reputed center of teaching for medicine.

In the Old Kingdom there were also women holding the title of high priest, but this is not found later in Egyptian history. See Female Priests and Their Duties to read about womens´ role in temples.

At large temple complexes like Karnak, there were often titles like First Servant of God, Second Servant of God, which in essence was the same as high priests. (Note that the word Prophet, which is often seen, is Greek and was not used until the Greek period).

Wa´eb Priest:

Wa’eb

The Wa´eb Priest or the "Pure One" assisted the hem-netjer and performed lesser tasks in maintaining the temples and rituals. He assured the purity of the ceremonial rooms, persons, instruments and tools. At large cult centers there was a leader of this group of priests, called 'Great Wa'eb. Unlike the hem-netjer, they were prohibited to enter the sanctuary and had to stay within the third zone of purity, i.e. inside the enclosure wall but not within the temple building itself. This was a basic and important function, which a priest was trained in at the beginning of his career and could always act as a "pure one", no matter how high he may rise. When not on temple duty, these priests worked in the administration.

In the New Kingdom, these wa'ebs were organized into phyles, just like the Old Kingdom high priests and priesthood at the sun temples were. In the Ptolemaic Period, wives of high priests of Ptah at Mennefer (Gr: Memphis) held titles like wbt or wbt hmt and probably worked as temple musicians.

Sem Priest:

Sem

(Here is worth mentioning a few words about the ‘difference’ between mortuary cults and divine cults. Shafer in his book ‘Temples of Ancient Egypt’ points out the difficulty in separating these two concepts, as has often been done by Egyptologists. In his opinion it is misleading as these cult complexes were often a place for a joint cultus for the king and the deity Amun-Re. This became the usual practice during the New Kingdom and also included the deities Re and Het-Hert. The term ‘divine’ temple was a place where much happened which concerned the king, the economy, the social structure and the afterlife. The term ‘mortuary’ temple was the place where the king was transformed into a divine being and therefore the concepts overlapped, making it very difficult to separate them from each other. According to the ancient Egyptian point of view (cite:) “ what the world needed was not “salvation” but the preservation of order through governance; and governance was provided jointly by god and king”.*)

The Sem (mortuary) priests served mainly at the tomb cultuses, performing the elaborate rituals at mummifications and burials. From the oldest times it was the son of the king who took care of his deceased father, and later this practice was taken up by any first son in non-royal families. In this capacity he was called a Sem-priest, but there were also other kinds of mortuary priests.

Scribe

Though scribes were not necessary priests, it might be said that most priests were scribes and that many functions in the temples required the skills of a scribe.

Scribes seem to have been educated in the ‘House of Life’ (Per Ankh) where they also carried out a great deal of their profession. Mostly they used the hieratic faster form of writing as opposed to the more formal hieroglyphs. In the ‘House of Life’ scribes studied and copied the sacred texts which were kept there. We don´t know for sure, but it seems likely that some teaching were given too. There is mentioning of one ‘teacher of the House of Life’ at Abedjou (Gr: Abydos). Scribes would also have kept ancient texts neccessary for the cult, copying and correcting old worm-eaten ones. They also prepared theological and liturgical texts particular to the temple they worked at. Apart from this, they prepared books of magical spells and an astronomical tables and prepared huge numbers of the Book of Going Forth By Day. They seem to also have discussed philosophical and religious problems and wrote their own original texts besides copying already existing ones, of which there are some beautiful and moral ones handed down to us. It might well have depended on their station in the House of Life, what sort of particular work they did.

Other Templeworkers:

Apart from the above mentioned priestly offices, there were a vast number of other temple workers. As the temple with precincts, accessory buildings, land etc, often was a large enterprize, it took a large organisation to keep it functioning. This included all kinds of workers, from those who kept the premises in order, like gardeners, painters, builders, stone masons, carpenters, to those who worked closer to the cult, like preparing the offering meals or keep stocks well supplied and in order. Caretakers of animals had a place at such temples where sacred animals were kept. There were also scribes keeping records of everything coming into or leaving the temple, and overseeing land tenants and their work.

Another category of templeworkers are singers, dancers and musicians whose task it was to assist the rituals in entertaining the god by playing music, singing or dancing before the cult statue.

The number and complexity of temple organisation varied according to the importance or status of the temple, and location in the country. Great temples such as Karnak could count thousands of employees while small village or town temples were maintained with a handful of priests or perhaps even kept on a voluntary basis.