The wab priest

This article summarizes the state of the art of our knowledge of a very peculiar category of priesthood in ancient Egypt, namely the so-called "wab priest", also translated as "the pure priest". The main focus of the article is put on tracking the origins and meaning of the priestly title, as well as on the development of the priesthood functions and activities throughout the Early Dynastic Egypt and the Old Kingdom. The paper is concluded by a comprehensive appendix with a collection of all the evidence known to us so far about the title in both private and royal contexts.