Side by side, from the sources
Nephthys vs Set
These two are set against one another in the texts, which is itself a claim worth attributing. His wife, who takes her sister's side.
Deity · Egyptian · c. 2600 BCE
Nephthys
also called Nebet-Het, Nebthet, Neber-Het
Set's wife who sides with her sister Isis against him, and mourns Osiris at the head of the bier.
- Alignment
- Disputed
- Rank
- Lady of the House
- First attested
- The Pyramid Texts · c. 2350–2100 BCE
- Named there as
- Nephthys
- Texts naming it
- 3
- Powers attributed
- 4
85attestedEgyptian
Deity · Egyptian · c. 3000 BCE
Set
also called Seth, Sutekh, Typhon (Greek identification), Setesh, Setekh, Suty
Murderer of Osiris and defender of the sun-barque — a god who was worshipped as a royal patron for two millennia before being recast as the enemy.
- Alignment
- Disputed
- Rank
- God of Storms and Disorder
- First attested
- The Pyramid Texts · c. 2350–2100 BCE
- Named there as
- Seth
- Texts naming it
- 3
- Powers attributed
- 4
Where do they actually overlap?
Texts naming both
Powers credited to both
Common questions
Are Nephthys and Set the same figure?
These two are set against one another in the texts, which is itself a claim worth attributing. His wife, who takes her sister's side. ColossiansOne records the link rather than asserting the identity: where texts disagree about whether two names denote one figure, the disagreement is what gets shown.
Which is older, Nephthys or Set?
Set is the older name: first attested around c. 3000 BCE, against c. 2600 BCE for Nephthys. Where the two dates are far apart, that gap is the whole reason the pair is worth comparing.
Do any texts name both Nephthys and Set?
Yes — 3 texts name both. A single text naming both figures is the strongest evidence available here that its author treated them as distinct, whatever later writers did with the pair.