Perhaps the best-known sebayt is the one which claims to have been written by Ptahhotep, the vizier to the Fifth Dynasty pharaoh Djedkare Isesi, who ruled from 2388–2356 BCE.

[6] The teaching appears on the Twelfth Dynasty Prisse Papyrus along with the ending of the Instructions of Kagemni.

The first of these is entitled the Teaching for King Merykara, who lived during the troubled First Intermediate Period (2150–2040 BCE).

This sebayt was reputedly authored by Amenemhat I, the founder of the Twelfth Dynasty, who ruled from 1991–1962 BCE, but was probably composed after his death.

Although not attributed to a pharaoh, the Loyalist Teaching stress the virtues of remaining obedient and respectful to the ruler of Egypt.

This genre has much in common with sapiential literature in other cultures, and is for example comparable with the Old Testament Book of Proverbs which has in part been connected to the Instruction of Amenemope.