Book of Abraham

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The Book of Abraham is a purported translation made in 1835^[1] by Joseph Smith, Jr. of a set of Egyptian papyri purchased from a traveling mummy exhibition. According to Smith, the book was "a translation of some ancient records....purporting to be the writings of Abraham, while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus".^[2] Smith's translation of the papyri describes a story of Abraham's early life, including a vision of the cosmos.

The complete work was first published serially in the Latter Day Saint movement newspaper Times and Seasons in 1842.^[3] and later canonized in 1880 by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) as part of their Pearl of Great Price.^[1] Thus, it forms a doctrinal foundation for the LDS Church and Mormon fundamentalist denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. It is not, however, considered to be a religious text by the Community of Christ or other groups deriving from the teachings of Joseph Smith.

The Book of Abraham papyri were thought lost in the 1871 Great Chicago Fire. However, in 1966 ten fragments of the papyri were found in the archives of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Subsequently, an additional fragment was located in the LDS Church Historian's Office. They are now referred to as the Joseph Smith Papyri. Some Mormon Egyptologists have speculated that the Book of Abraham may not be a literal translation of these papyri, and that the papyri were not written by the hand of Abraham. Non-Mormon Egyptologists generally consider the Book of Abraham to be unrelated to the text of the papyri which are portions of Egyptian funerary texts, dating to about the first century BC.^[4] Non-Mormon Egyptologists say the papyri text bears no resemblance to the translation given by Joseph Smith, although Mormon apologists have argued there are several parallels. As a result, the interpretation of the texts has been the source of significant controversy with Mormon critics and apologists differing on the reasons for the discrepancy. Critics view the discrepancy as evidence that the Book of Abraham is solely a 19th century work by Joseph Smith. Apologists suggest several other theories, such as that Smith used the funerary texts as inspiration to construct an older work, that the texts are a corrupted version of an original written by Abraham centuries earlier, or that Smith's translation was based on fragments of papyri that were lost.

[edit] Origin

Several papyri and eleven mummies were discovered in Thebes by Antonio Lebolo between 1818 and 1822. Sometime between 1822 and his death on February 19, 1830, Lebolo arranged to have them sold. The mummies were shipped to New York, where they were purchased by Michael Chandler in 1833. Over the next two years Chandler toured the eastern United States, displaying and selling some of the mummies.^[5][6]

In July 1835, Chandler brought the remaining four mummies and associated papyri to Kirtland, Ohio, then home of the Latter-Day Saints. Although the Rosetta Stone had been discovered in 1799, the ability to read Egyptian wasn't well developed until the 1850s. Chandler asked Joseph Smith to look at the scrolls and give some insight into what was written on them, due to Smith's notoriety and claim to have translated the golden plates of the Book of Mormon. After examining the scrolls, Smith, Joseph Coe and Simeon Andrews purchased the four mummies and at least five papyrus documents for $2400^[7] Smith stated:

... with W.W. Phelps and Oliver Cowdery as scribes, I commenced the translation of some of the characters or hieroglyphics, and much to our joy found that one of the rolls contained the writings of Abraham, another the writings of Joseph of Egypt, etc. — a more full account of which will appear in its place, as I proceed to examine or unfold them.^[6]

Joseph Smith ostensibly translated the majority of the Book of Abraham text in July and a few days in November 1835 and did some minor revisions in March 1842.^[8] By October, he had also begun

"...translating an alphabet to the Book of Abraham, and arranging a grammar of the Egyptian language as practiced by the ancients."^[9]

Smith's journal entry for Thursday October 1, 1835 reads:

"This afternoon labored on the Egyptan alphabet, in company with brsr. O. Cowdery, and W.W.Phelps..."^[10]

The documents associated with this effort are referred to as the Kirtland Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar (EAG) or the Kirtland Egyptian Papers (KEP).

As with Smith's ostensible translation of the golden plates, Smith's ostensible translation of the Book of Abraham papyri included the use of at least one of his seer stones.^[11]

[edit] Content

[edit] Book of Abraham Text

The Book of Abraham tells a story of Abraham's life, travels to Canaan and Egypt and a vision he received concerning the universe and the creation of the world.^[12] The book has five chapters; chapters 1 and 2 address Abraham’s early life and his fight against the idolatry in his family and society. It recounts how pagan priests tried to sacrifice Abraham and that an angel came to his rescue. Chapter 2 includes information about God’s covenant with Abraham and how it would be fulfilled. Chapters 3 through 5 contain the vision about astronomy, the creation of the world, and the creation of man.

[edit] Facsimiles

Three images and Joseph Smith's explanations of them are included with the text of the Book of Abraham. Facsimile No. 1 and Facsimile No. 3 are part of the Scroll of Hor, which contained Joseph Smith Papyrus I, X and XI.^[13] Facsimile No. 2 is the Hypocephalus of Sheshonq. The location of its source is currently unknown.^[14] At least two artists, including engraver Reuben Hedlock, created woodcuts of these images, which were used to print the articles which appeared in the Times and Seasons in 1842.

According to Joseph Smith's explanations, Facsimile No. 1 portrays Abraham fastened to an altar, with the idolatrous priest of Elkenah attempting to sacrifice him. Facsimile No. 2 contains representations of celestial objects including; the heavens and earth, 15 other planets or stars, the sun and moon, the number 1000 and God revealing the grand Key-words of the Holy Priesthood. Facsimile No. 3 portrays Abraham in the court of Pharaoh "reasoning upon the principles of Astronomy".

Facsimile No. 1 from the Book of Abraham

Facsimile No. 2 from the Book of Abraham

Facsimile No. 3 from the Book of Abraham

[edit] Interpretations and contributions to the Latter Day Saint Movement

[edit] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Book of Abraham was canonized in 1880 by the LDS church, and it remains an important part of the larger scriptural work, The Pearl of Great Price. The Book of Abraham text is a source of some unique Latter-day Saint doctrines such as the exaltation of humanity,^[15] the plurality of gods,^[16] priesthood,^[17] pre-mortal existence,^[18] and other inhabited worlds in the cosmos.^[19] The Book of Abraham also contains the only reference in the Latter-day Saint canon to the star Kolob, which, according to the text, is the star closest to where God lives^[20].

[edit] Community of Christ

The Community of Christ, formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), has not accepted the Book of Abraham as canonical.^[21]

[edit] Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)

The Strangite branch of the movement does not take an official position on the Book of Abraham.^[22]

[edit] Controversy and Criticism

Since its publication in 1842, the Book of Abraham has been a source of controversy. Non Mormon Egyptologists, beginning with Theodule Deveria in the late 19th century, have disagreed with Joseph Smith's explanations of the facsimiles. They also assert that damaged portions of the papyri have been reconstructed incorrectly. The controversy intensified in the late 1960s when portions of the Joseph Smith Papyri were located. Translation of the Egyptian text revealed that it did not resemble the Book of Abraham text. Latter-Day Saint linguists and Egyptologists including noted Mormon scholar Hugh Nibley, BYU Egyptologist John Gee, Michael D. Rhodes^[23] and Brian Hauglid have offered detailed rebuttals to the criticisms and explanations of the differences.

[edit] Early criticism of the facsimiles

[edit] Facsimile No. 1

Facsimile No. 1 from the Book of Abraham

Extant papyri showing original vignette considered the source of Facsimile 1. Note the lacuna, or missing portions of the vignette.

Joseph Smith gave explanations for 12 elements of this image. Critics argue his statements are inaccurate, based on interpretations by non LDS Egyptologists.

[edit] Lacunae in Facsimile No. 1

Three Egyptologists^[who?] who have analyzed the facsimile noted that the image was inconsistent with similarly known scenes elsewhere in Egyptology. They believed that the missing portions were erroneously restored from lacunae in the original papyri (which was absent at the time), either by Smith or someone else. These alleged mis-reconstructions occur in areas where the original papyri are damaged. When the original papyri were later discovered (See section below: Loss and rediscovery of the papyri), comparison of the facsimiles to the Kirtland Egyptian Papers lent credence to the Egyptologists' conclusions^{[citation needed]}.

Latter-day Saint Egyptologist John Gee, however, argues that eyewitnesses descriptions during Joseph Smith's lifetime described a complete document, free of lacunae. The facsimile, Gee argues, was an accurate reproduction of an original document that has since suffered significant damage. Gee gives as an example "the man with a drawn knife", a portion that is no longer extant but was reported in both apologetic and critical writings of the time.^[30]

[edit] Facsimile No. 2

Facsimile No. 2 from the Book of Abraham

Facsimile 2 as found in the Kirtland Egyptian Papers. Note the lacuna, or missing portions in this facsimile. Whether the missing material existed in the papyri Smith had in his possession is also a matter of speculation.

The figure represented by Facsimile 2 is a common Egyptian artifact called a hypocephalus. Hypocephali are placed under the head or feet of the mummified person to assist them in remembering what to say and do in relation to the trials they would face after death.

As with Facsimile No. 1, Smith's explanation differs from the standard interpretation as shown below.

[edit] Lacunae in facsimile 2

Michael Rhodes stated; "A careful examination of Facsimile 2 shows that there is a difference between most of the hieroglyphic signs and the signs on the right third of the figure on the outer edge as well as the outer portions of the sections numbered 12-15. These signs are hieratic, not hieroglyphic, and are inverted, or upside down, to the rest of the text. In fact, they are a fairly accurate copy of lines 2, 3, and 4 of the Joseph Smith Papyrus XI, which contains a portion of the Book of Breathings. Especially clear is the word snsn, in section 14, and part of the name of the mother of the owner of the papyrus, (tay-)uby.t, repeated twice on the outer edge. An ink drawing of the hypocephalus in the Church Historian's office shows these same areas as being blank. It is likely that these portions were destroyed on the original hypocephalus and someone (the engraver, one of Joseph Smith's associates, or Joseph himself) copied the lines from the Book of Breathings papyrus for aesthetic purposes."^[33]

[edit] Facsimile No. 3

Joseph Smith claimed that this image represented Abraham sitting on the Pharaoh's throne teaching the principles of astronomy to the Egyptian court. Unlike the other two facsimiles, it is unclear if any lacunae were reconstructed by Joseph Smith, though Deveria postulates that he did (See figure 6 below). As with the other two facsimiles, his interpretation is at odds with Egyptologists, as shown below:

Egyptologists interpret this as a typical scene of The Book of the Dead which accompanied the Book of Breathings of the owner of the scroll, in which the deceased person for whom the scroll was made is presented before the Egyptian god, Osiris.^[34] Hieroglyphics at the bottom of the scroll identify the owner of the scroll, a priest named Hor^[35]. Osiris is seated on a throne, wearing the Atef crown and holding a sceptre and a flail. Behind him stands Isis, wearing the Horned Sun Disk headdress. To the right are Ma'at, with the feather headdress, Hor (deceased owner of the scroll) and behind Hor stands Anubis the god of embalming.^[36]

Facsimile No. 3 from the Book of Abraham.

[edit] General statements by Egyptologists

Sometime in 1856, Theodule Deveria, an Egyptologist at the Louvre, had the opportunity to examine the facsimiles published as part of the Book of Abraham.^[39] His interpretation, juxtaposed with Smith's interpretation was published in T.B.H. Stenhouse's Book The Rocky Mountain Saints: A Full and Complete History of the Mormons in 1873.^[26] Additionally, later in 1912, Reverend Franklin S. Spalding sent copies of the three facsimiles to eight Egyptologists and Semetists soliciting their interpretation of the facsimiles, the results of which were published in Spalding's work Joseph Smith, Jr. As a Translator. Deveria, and each of the eight scholars immediately recognized the facsimiles as portions of ordinary funerary documents, and some harshly condemned Joseph Smith's interpretation, as shown below:

Egyptologist Dr. James H. Breasted, of the University of Chicago noted:

"... these three facsimiles of Egyptian documents in the ‘Pearl of Great Price’ depict the most common objects in the Mortuary religion of Egypt. Joseph Smith’s interpretations of them as part of a unique revelation through Abraham, therefore, very clearly demonstrates that he was totally unacquainted with the significance of these documents and absolutely ignorant of the simplest facts of Egyptian writing and civilization."^[40]

Dr. W.M. Flinders Petrie of London University wrote:

"It may be safely said that there is not one single word that is true in these explanations"^[41]

Dr. A.H. Sayce, Oxford professor of Egyptology,

“It is difficult to deal seriously with Joseph Smith’s impudent fraud.... Smith has turned the goddess [Isis in Facsimile No. 3] into a king and Osiris into Abraham.”^[42]

[edit] Alleged false reconstruction of lacunae

Several Egyptologists, including Theodule Deveria, Klaus Baer, Rickard A. Parker, and Dr. ALbert Lythgoe noted that portions of Facsimile 1 appeared to be incorrect, based on comparison with other similar Egyptian vignettes, and suspected that they had been reconstructed from lacunae in the original papyri.^[43] The papyri containing Facsimile 1 is acknowledged by Egyptologists to be a version of The Book of Breathings.^{[44][45][46][47][48]} Lythgoe well summarized the consensus among these egyptologists:

"the god Anubus, bending over the mummy, was shown with a human and strangely un-Egyptian head, instead of a jackal's head usual to the scene."^[49]

Other alleged misconstructions were also noted by these Egyptologists.^[50] Later, when the original papyri were discovered (see section below), critics quickly noted that these portions were indeed missing, including the head of the standing figure, and suggested that Joseph Smith had filled in the missing portions in the published version of the facsimile.^{[citation needed]}

Mormon apologists allege that the statements by these Egyptologists are speculation and that Joseph Smith's reconstruction was either correct, or inconsequential to the original interpretation.^[51]

Scholars and Egyptologists have also criticized Facsimile 2 for containing false reconstruction of lacunae, suggesting that Joseph Smith reconstructed portions of the vignette with characters from another papyrus.^[52] Critics note that an incomplete version of facsimile 2 is found among the Kirtland Egyptian Papers, part of which are in the handwriting of Joseph Smith. Comparing the published version of Facsimile 2 with the version from the Kirtland Egyptian Papers and the newly rediscovered papyri, critics note that characters from the original papyri appear to have been used to fill in the missing portions of Facsimile 2, with some of the characters being upside down.^[53]

Some Mormon apologists have proposed that the facsimiles were filled in to make the images more aesthetically pleasing, and have little to do with the actual interpretation of them^{[citation needed]}. Others note that it is unclear if Joseph Smith himself filled in the facsimiles^{[citation needed]}, although he was the editor of Times and Seasons, the periodical in which the facsimiles first appeared, and as such would have approved any images that were included^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Apologist perspectives

[edit] Egyptologists' explanation challenged

Apologists note that there are differences between the vignette and other comparable vignettes, which might render the standard interpretation incorrect. As John Gee and Michael R. Ash pointed out:

The late Klaus Baer, a non-LDS Egyptologist from the University of Chicago, claimed the Facsimile 1 and 3 are unusual and it would be erroneous to claim that dozens of similar examples could be found. "Facsimile 3," he went on to note, "is not a judgment scene [as often claimed by critics] and exact parallels may be hard to find."^[54]

Apologists have also challenged the Egyptologists means of interpretation of the facsmilies, stating that the papyri may have been created by a jewish redactor; using examples of Jewish adaptations of egyptian sources of the time period as an example to this, and to help explain how the facsimile's build up Smith's possible translation of the book.^[55]

[edit] Other Comments

Kerry Shirts noted the presence of the name hieroglyph for Chnum-Re (Khnum-Re) above the figure labeled 1. Chnm-Re is the Egyptian "First Creator" the god who organized everything out of the primordial chaos.^[56] Also noted is the amulet of Osiris, or level and square, immediately behind the head of the seated figure labeled 7, in the form of a plumb level and square, as described by Petrie.^[57][58] and Budge^[59]

John Gee provided comparisons of the meanings of the figures in Facsimile No. 2 in his article "Towards an Interpretation of Hypocephali" which illustrate the importance of using the associated text as well as the images when interpreting the meaning of the images on hypocephali.^[60] In reference to criticism of the interpretation of the Hypocephalus he stated: "If we ignore the ancient Egyptian identifications of the various figures in the hypocephali, we will construct an understanding of hypocephali that bears no resemblance to the ancient Egyptian understanding. We will, in short, not understand [hypocephali] at all."^[61]

Michael D. Rhodes explains that "Although we can, with the help of other similar texts, reconstruct the text and figures of the Joseph Smith Hypocephalus with a fair degree of accuracy, we are still far from completely understanding the message which the Egyptians meant to convey by it. The text of the hypocephalus itself seems to be an address to Osiris, the god of the Dead, on behalf of the deceased, Sheshonk. As is the case with most Egyptian texts (especially religious text), it is full of references to matters either obscure or unknown to us, although undoubtedly clear to the Egyptians. Needless to say, much work is still to be done before we can fully understand the import of the Joseph Smith Hypocephalus, and hypocephali in general."^[62]

[edit] Loss and rediscovery of the papyrus

After Joseph Smith's death, the Egyptian artifacts were in the possession of his mother, Lucy Mack Smith, until her death on May 14, 1856. Joseph Smith's widow, Emma Hale Smith Bidamon, her second husband Lewis C. Bidamon, and her son Joseph Smith III, sold "four Egyptian mummies with the records with them" to Mr. Abel Combs on May 26, 1856.^[63][64] Ten weeks later two of the mummies and some of the papyri were being displayed in St. Louis by a Mr. Edward Wyman.^[65] The St. Louis Museum was closed in July 1863 and its collection moved to the Chicago Museum, which was sold to Joseph H. Wood in 1864. The renamed Wood's Museum was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

Combs kept at least some of the mounted papyri fragments, which passed into the possession of Combs' housekeeper, Charlotte Weaver Huntsman, and then to her daughter, Alice Combs Weaver Heusser. In 1918, Alice Heusser approached the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA) with some papyri in her possession, which the museum declined. In 1947, Ludlow Bull, associate curator of Department of Egyptian Art at the MMA, acquired them from Edward Heusser, Alice's widower.

In May 1966, Aziz Suryal Atiya of the University of Utah discovered ten of the eleven known papyri fragments in the MMA archives^[66] when he recognized one as the vignette known as Facsmile No. 1 from the Pearl of Great Price. According to Henry G. Fischer, curator of the Egyptian Collection at the MMA, an anonymous donation to the MMA made it possible for the LDS church to acquire the papyri.^[67] These fragments, originally called the Sensen Papyrus, were designated Joseph Smith Papyrus I, X, and XI.^[68] Other fragments, designated JSP II, IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII, are thought by critics to be the Book of Joseph that Smith referred to. Egyptologist John A. Wilson stated that the recovered fragments indicate the existence of at least six to eight separate documents.^[69]

The eleventh fragment was discovered in the LDS Church Historian's office and was dubbed the "Church Historian's Fragment". Disclosed by the church in 1968, the fragment was designated JSP IX.

LDS scholars believe that much of the original papyri is missing, while critics tend to believe that the majority of the papyri have been recovered. In 1968, it was estimated by Walter Whipple that the fragments constituted roughly one-third of Joseph Smith's original collection of papyri.^[70] In 2000, Mormon Egyptologist John Gee provided a graphical comparison of the relative extent of the known fragments to other complete examples of similar scrolls^[71] which indicated the total at about twenty percent. These estimates have been disputed by critics. Charles Larson believes that the recovered papyri represent the majority of the original set.^{[citation needed]}

There is broad agreement that the recovered papyri are portions of the originals, partly based on the fact that they were pasted onto paper which had "drawings of a temple and maps of the Kirtland, Ohio area" on the back and an accompanying affidavit by Emma Smith, stating that they had been in the possession of Joseph Smith.^[72]

[edit] Analysis and translation of the papyrus

Two fragments from the Joseph Smith Papyri which were translated by Egyptologists. The modern translation of the papyri differs from Joseph Smith's original interpretation.

In November 1967 the LDS church asked Hugh Nibley, a professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University (BYU), to study the fragments. Nibley was a linguist, but not an Egyptologist, and subsequently studied under John A. Wilson and Klaus Baer in an attempt to learn enough about the Egyptian characters to translate them himself.^[73] The LDS church published sepia photographs of the papyri in its magazine "The Improvement Era" in February 1968, although a translation was not provided at the time.^[74] The editors of an independent quarterly journal Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, arranged a translation of the papyri from the photographs by three American Egyptologists; John A. Wilson (University of Chicago, Oriental Institute), Klaus Baer (University of Chicago, Oriental Institute), and Richard A. Parker (Director of the Department of Egyptology, Brown University).^[75] Their translations were published in Dialogue in the summer and autumn of 1968.

Other translations and analyses have been performed at various times since 1968 by Mormon and non-Mormon scholars, including Michael D. Rhodes (BYU)^[76], John Gee (BYU)^[77], and Robert K. Ritner (University of Chicago)^[78]. The translations among all of these scholars are consistent.

In 2005, the publishing company, Shadow Mountain, released an exhaustive review of the papyri and a discussion of the relationship between the extant fragments and The Book of Abraham. This book, titled Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment,^[79] was produced, updating Hugh Nibley's 1975 text.

[edit] Translation Excerpts

The translation by both Mormon and non-Mormon Egyptologists bears no resemblance to the text of the Book of Abraham as purportedly translated by Joseph Smith. Several excerpts of these modern translations are shown below.

BYU scholar Michael Rhodes summarized the content of the papyri as follows:

"The Hor Book of Breathings is a part of eleven papyri fragments... from three separate papyri scrolls. Joseph Smith Papyri I, X, and XI are from the Book of Breathings belonging to Hor (Hr) the son of Usirwer. Joseph Smith Papyri II, IV, V, VI, VII, and IX all came from a Book of the Dead belonging to Tshemmim (Ts-sri.t Min.), the daughter of Eskhons (Ns-Hnsw). Finally, Joseph Smith Papyrus III is part of Chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead belonging to Neferirtnub (Nfr-ir(.t)-nbw).^[80]

Egytologist Klaus Baer translated the writing flanking the vignette which was the source of Facsimile No. 1 as follows:

... the prophet of Amonrasonter, prophet [?] of Min Bull-of-his-Mother, prophet [?] of Khons the Governor... Hor, justified, son of the holder of the same titles, master of secrets, and purifier of the gods Osorwer, justified [?]... Tikhebyt, justified. May your ba live among them, and may you be buried in the West...May you give him a good, splendid burial on the West of Thebes just like ...^[81]

(Hor is the name of the mummified deceased and Tikhebyt is the name of Hor’s mother. The ba is his spirit.)

The lower middle section of the Joseph Smith Papyrus fragment Facsimile No. 1 was initially translated by Richard Parker of Brown University. His translation is as follows:

this great pool of Khonsu [Osiris Hor, justified], born of Taykhebyt, a man likewise. After (his) two arms are [fast]ened to his breast, one wraps the Book of Breathings, which is with writing both inside and outside of it, with royal linen, it being placed (at) his left arm near his heart, this having been done at his wrapping and outside it. If this book be recited for him, then he will breathe like the soul[s of the gods] for ever and ever.^[82]

[edit] Criticism and response

The arguments concerning the Book of Abraham primarily concern the source of the text of the Book of Abraham, Joseph Smith's method of interpretation and his explanations of the meanings of the vignettes. Currently there is little argument concerning the transliteration of the Egyptian writing on the fragments, as evidenced by the broad agreement in the translations by LDS and non LDS Egyptologists. Critics primarily use inerrancy and identification of texts as their primary arguments against the Book of Abraham's authenticity;

• Transliterated text from the recovered papyri and facsimiles published in the Book of Abraham contain no direct references, either historical or textual, to Abraham. Rather, they parallel other texts from the Egyptian Book of the Dead and Book of Breathings.

• Abraham's name does not appear anywhere in the papyri or the facsimiles.^[83]

• Joseph Smith’s explanation of the facsimiles and interpretation (as contained in the BoA text) does not parallel Egyptologists' transliterations or explanations of the text or images on the papyri.^[84]

• The Joseph Smith Papyri have been dated to the late Ptolemaic or early Roman period, 1500 years after Abraham’s supposed lifetime.^[85] Critics feel this is relevant because of Joseph Smith's statement that the papyri were "written by [Abraham's] own hand upon papyrus."

• Anachronisms exist in the Book of Abraham which indicate that it was not written in Abraham’s time.^[86]

• The "Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar", also known as the "Kirtland Egyptian Papers", contain an arrangement of correlated characters from the papyri and text from the Book of Abraham that some critics suggest indicates that the Book of Abraham text came entirely from the existing papyrus fragments.^[87]

[edit] Defense of the book

A number of theories have been presented in defense of the official LDS Church position that the work is a revelation from God, through Joseph Smith, which tells a true story of actual events from the life of Abraham;

• There are dozens of unique thematic elements of the Book of Abraham story with which parallels are drawn from extra-biblical traditions. These elements are argued to have been unavailable to Joseph Smith.^[88]

• At least two demotic papyri discovered in Thebes in the 1800s contain images that associate the name Abraham with a lion couch and the Wedjat eye of Horus, as depicted in Facsimiles, No.1 and No. 2.^[33]

• Joseph Smith's explanations of one element of facsimile 2 parallels Egyptian ritual themes which are symbolicaly expressed in the images.^[89] This parallel is disputed by Egyptologist Stephen E. Thompson.^{[citation needed]}

• The remaining papyrus fragments are only part of the complete original papyri, or the fragments may have been a starting point for reconstruction.^[90] Critics argue that Facsimile No. 1 matches the vignette in the existing papyrus and that there is a direct textual reference to it in the Book of Abraham.^[91]

• The papyri may be copies of an original which was written personally by Abraham. At least one Egyptian scroll from the same time period as the JSP contains the name of Abraham.^[92]

• Joseph Smith interpreted the documents by revelation, rather than a standard "translation" of text from one language to another, in a process similar to his translation of the Bible.^[93] Critics assert that the “Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar” indicates that Smith did attempt a direct, literal, comprehensive, translation.^[94] Critics interpret Smith's statements to mean that the Book of Abraham is a conventional translation of an original handwritten manuscript and not a revelation.^[95]

• The facsimiles in Egyptian funerary scrolls may have been a mnemonic device.^[96]

• The facsimiles were not penned by Abraham, but by a Jewish redactor many centuries later.^[97]

[edit] Book of Joseph

As noted above, a second untranslated work was identified by Joseph Smith after scrutinizing the original papyri. He said that one scroll contained "the writings of Joseph of Egypt". Based on descriptions by Oliver Cowdery, some, including Charles M. Larson, believe that the fragments Joseph Smith II, IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII are the source of this work.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] See also

Latter-day Saints portal

• Mormon cosmology
• Criticism of the Latter Day Saint movement
• Kirtland Egyptian Papers

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Ashment, Edward H (December 1979), "The Facsimilies of the Book of Abraham: A Reappraisal", Sunstone 17.18, http://www.sunstoneonline.com/magazine/searchable/mag-text17.18.asp#Page33, retrieved 2007-05-31 .
• Ashment, Edward H (December 2000), "Joseph Smith's Identification of "Abraham" in Papyrus JS1, the "Breathing Permit of Hor"", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 33 (4): 121–126, http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=%2Fdialogue&CISOPTR=8716&REC=10&CISOBOX=Ashment .
• Baer, Klaus (November 1968), "The Breathing Permit of Hor: A Translation of the Apparent Source of the Book of Abraham", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 3 (3), http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/dialogue&CISOPTR=1014&REC=11, retrieved 2007-05-30 .
• Barney, Kevin (2006), "The Facsimiles and Semitic Adaptation of Existing Sources", in Gee, John; Hauglid, Brian M, Astronomy, Papyrus, and Covenant, Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, ISBN 0934893764, http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/bookschapter.php?chapid=168 .
• Gee, John (1999), The Ancient Owners of the Joseph Smith Papyri, Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies .
• Gee, John (2000), A Guide to the Joseph Smith Papyri, Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, ISBN 0-934893-54-3 .
• Gee, John (1991), Notes on the Sons of Horus, Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies .
• Gee, John (1992), "A Tragedy of Errors (Review of By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus: A New Look at the Joseph Smith Papyri by Charles M. Larson)", FARMS Review of Books (Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies) 4 (1): 93–119, http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&id=92, retrieved 2007-05-30 .
• Larson, Charles M. (1985), By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Institute of Religious Research .
• Nibley, Hugh (1975), The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment, Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book Co. .
• Parker, Richard A (August 1968), "The Joseph Smith Papyri: A Preliminary Report", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/dialogue&CISOPTR=1659&REC=10, retrieved 2007-05-18 .
• Peterson, H. Donl (1995), Story of the Book of Abraham: Mummies, Manuscripts, and Mormonism, Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book .
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• Ritner, Robert K (July 2003), "'The Breathing Permit of Hôr' Among the Joseph Smith Papyri", Journal of Near Eastern Studies .
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• Thompson, Stephen E (May 1995), "Egyptology and the Book of Abraham", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 28 (1): 143–160, http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/dialogue&CISOPTR=26881&REC=7, retrieved 2007-05-30 .
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[edit] External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Book of Abraham

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Book of Abraham

[edit] Neutral perspectives

• The Pearl of Great Price (containing the Book of Abraham) from The LDS Church website
• Egyptian Hieroglyphics and Egyptology Page An online guide to general hieroglyphic meanings.
• Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought independent Mormon journal with scholarly works on the Book of Abraham.
• Breathing Permit of Horus (H. Michael Marquardt)
• The Book of Abraham Revisited (H. Michael Marquardt)

[edit] Apologists' perspectives

• Brigham Young University: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies: Book of Abraham: links to many discussions from apologists' perspectives
• The Joseph Smith Hypocephalus...Twenty Years Later, by Michael D. Rhodes. Views of differences and similarities in translations and meanings by one Mormon scholar.
• Book of Abraham project
• Critical analysis of the hypocephalus, argues for the validity of Smith's translations.
• Symbolism of the Book of Abraham Pro-Mormon Website
• Joseph Smith's Use of Hebrew, background information on Joseph Smith's use of Hebrew in, among other places, the Book of Abraham.
• The Jewish Origin of the Book of Abraham A critical look at The Jewish Origin of the Book of Abraham

[edit] Critical perspectives

• The Book of Abraham Info Clearinghouse, a website "devoted to the idea that the Book of Abraham...is not what it purports to be."
• The Book of Abraham: reaction from Egyptologists since 1860
• The Mormons and Egyptology Page An opinion by an egyptologist including other related links.
• Examining the Book of Abraham A nine-part essay that is a fairly detailed overview of the critics' perspective of the Book of Abraham.
• By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus: A New Look at the Joseph Smith Papyri, by Charles M. Larson
• Solving the Mystery of the Joseph Smith Papyri, from Jerald and Sandra Tanner's newsletter archive

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