This was a common tree in ancient, as in modern, Egypt; but an
allusion in the tale, to Sanehat turning his back on the sycamore, when
he was fleeing apparently up the west side of the Delta, makes it
probable that the sycamore was that of Aa-tenen, now Batnun, at the
middle of the west side of the Delta.
The titles given to Sanehat at the opening are of a very high rank, and
imply that he was the son either of the king or of a great noble. And
his position in the queen's household shows him to have been of
importance; the manner in which he is received by the royal family at
the end implying that he was quite familiar with them in early days.
But the great difficulty in the account has been the sudden panic of
Sanehat on hearing of the death of Amenemhat, and no explanation of this
has yet been brought forward. It seems not unlikely that he was a son of
Amenemhat by some concubine. This would at once account for his high
titles--for his belonging to the royal household--for his fear of his
elder brother Usertesen, who might see in him a rival, and try to slay
him after his father's death--for the command to him to leave all his
possessions and family behind him in Syria, as the condition of his
being allowed to return to end his days in Egypt--for his familiar
reception by the royal family, and for the property given to him on his
return.
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