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==Origin==
==Origin==
In July 1835, an Irishman named Michael Chandler brought a traveling exhibition of four Egyptian mummies and papyri to [[Kirtland, Ohio]], then home of the Latter-Day Saints. The papyri contained Egyptian [[hieroglyph]]ics.<ref>''History of the Church'', Vol. 2, Ch. 17, p. 236</ref> The [[Rosetta Stone]] had been discovered in 1799 but not completely deciphered and the skills to read Egyptian wouldn't be well developed until the 1850s. <ref>The ability to translate Egyptian hieroglyphs stems from the discovery in 1799 of the [[Rosetta Stone]], a large granite tablet which contained a message written in two languages, Egyptian and Greek. Since Greek was well known, the stone made the translation of Egyptian hieroglyphs possible for the first time since antiquity.</ref> 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 claims to translate ancient records; the [[golden plates]] of the [[Book of Mormon]].
In July 1835, an Irishman named Michael Chandler brought a traveling exhibition of four Egyptian mummies and papyri to [[Kirtland, Ohio]], then home of the Latter-Day Saints. The papyri contained Egyptian [[hieroglyph]]ics.<ref>''History of the Church'', Vol. 2, Ch. 17, p. 236</ref> The [[Rosetta Stone]] had been discovered in 1799 but not completely deciphered and the skills to read Egyptian wouldn't be well developed until the 1850s. <ref>The ability to translate Egyptian hieroglyphs stems from the discovery in 1799 of the [[Rosetta Stone]], a large granite tablet which contained a message written in two languages, Egyptian and Greek. Since Greek was well known, the stone made the translation of Egyptian hieroglyphs possible for the first time since antiquity.</ref> 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 claims to translate the [[golden plates]] of the [[Book of Mormon]].


After reviewing and giving Chandler a description of parts of the scrolls, Joseph Smith, Joseph Coe and Simeon Andrews purchased the four mummies and at least five papyrus documents for $2400<ref>A Guide to the Joseph Smith Papyri, pg. 3</ref> Smith declared that two of the scrolls contained the writings of [[Abraham]] and [[Joseph (Hebrew Bible)|Joseph of Egypt]]:
After reviewing and giving Chandler a description of parts of the scrolls, Joseph Smith, Joseph Coe and Simeon Andrews purchased the four mummies and at least five papyrus documents for $2400<ref>A Guide to the Joseph Smith Papyri, pg. 3</ref> Smith declared that two of the scrolls contained the writings of [[Abraham]] and [[Joseph (Hebrew Bible)|Joseph of Egypt]]:

Revision as of 11:48, 22 December 2007

For other meanings of this name, see Book of Abraham (disambiguation).

The Book of Abraham is a scriptural text for some denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. According to Joseph Smith, Jr., the movement's founder, it is "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".[1]

The work was originally published in 1842 in the Latter Day Saint movement newspaper Times and Seasons[1] together with facsimiles of vignettes from the papyrus and Smith's explanations of them. In 1851, it was republished in England as part of the Pearl of Great Price, which has been included in the canon of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1880.[2]

For many years the original papyri were thought to have been lost. In 1966 eleven fragments of the papyri were found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Both Mormon and non-Mormon Egyptologists examined the fragments and concluded that they are portions of funerary texts, dating to about the first century BC, and thus having nothing to do with Abraham. Their discovery amplified the long standing dispute concerning the truthfulness and authenticity of the Book of Abraham.

Origin

In July 1835, an Irishman named Michael Chandler brought a traveling exhibition of four Egyptian mummies and papyri to Kirtland, Ohio, then home of the Latter-Day Saints. The papyri contained Egyptian hieroglyphics.[3] The Rosetta Stone had been discovered in 1799 but not completely deciphered and the skills to read Egyptian wouldn't be well developed until the 1850s. [4] 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 claims to translate the golden plates of the Book of Mormon.

After reviewing and giving Chandler a description of parts of the scrolls, Joseph Smith, Joseph Coe and Simeon Andrews purchased the four mummies and at least five papyrus documents for $2400[5] Smith declared that two of the scrolls contained the writings of Abraham and Joseph of Egypt:

... 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 translated the majority of the Book of Abraham text in July and a few days in November of 1835 and did some minor revisions in March of 1842.[7] In addition, he began

"...translating an alphabet to the Book of Abraham, and arranging a grammar of the Egyptian language as practiced by the ancients."[8]

Content

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. [9] The Book of Abraham has five chapters. Chapters 1 and 2 address Abraham’s early life and his fight against the idolatry of his society and own family. It recounts how pagan priests tried to sacrifice him to their god and that an angel appeared and rescued him. 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.[10] It is a source of some distinctive and controversial Latter-day Saint doctrines such as the exaltation of humanity[11], the plurality of gods[12], priesthood[13], pre-mortal existence[14], and other inhabited worlds in the cosmos. [15]

Facsimiles

At least two artists, including woodcutter Reuben Hedlock, created facsimiles of three vignettes which were part of the papyri. Examination of the rediscovered fragments revealed differences between the originals and the facsimiles, which sparked further debate regarding when material was lost or added and by whom.[16] Several Egyptologists and linguists disagree with Smith's explanations of the facsimiles.[17]

As of 1998, there were twenty-nine known examples of the Book of Breathings Made by Isis, of which the Joseph Smith papyri is an example. Of those twenty nine, eighteen have vignettes associated with them.[18] A comparison of the Book of Abraham vignettes with these other documents indicates that while there are many similarities, the Book of Abraham Fasimile No. 1 is unique in at least two ways;[19] It is the only version of a Book of Breathings Made by Isis with this particular vignette. Further, the position of the limbs of the reclining figure is also unique.[20]

Facsimile No. 1

Facsimile No. 1 from the Book of Abraham.

According to Smith’s explanation, this depicts the “idolatrous priest of Elkenah” attempting to sacrifice Abraham. He interpreted the four shapes underneath the altar as four idolatrous gods named; Elkenah, Libnah, Mahmackrah, and Korash.[21] The four figures typically represent four canopic jars which held the liver, lungs, stomach and intestines of the deceased. They also represent the four sons of Horus depicted (from left to right) as a human, a baboon, a jackal, and a falcon. Their Egyptian names were; Imset, Hapy, Duamatef and Qebehsenuf.[22][23] There is controversy and speculation concerning this image, as a portion of the original papyrus is missing. Particularly; the head of the standing figure, the object in his hand and the position of the arms and hands of the reclining figure. Also, the position of the standing figure relative to the reclining figure is different than in the original.[24][2]

Facsimile No. 2

Facsimile No. 2 from the Book of Abraham.

The figure represented by Facsimile 2 is called a hypocephalus. It was placed under the head or feet of the deceased to assist them in remembering what to say and do in relation to the 'gods' and trials they would face after death. These personalized instructions are often accompanied by a Book of the Dead or Book of Breathings and are a synopsis of information contained in them. [25]

As with Facsimile No. 1, Smith's explanation differs from the standard interpretation. He stated that the central figure in this Hypocephalus represents "Kolob, signifying the first creation, nearest to the celestial, or the residence of God."[26] He gave astronomical explanations for some of the figures. For the others he stated that their interpretations “will be given in the own due time of the Lord”.[27]

Facsimile No. 3

Facsimile No. 3 from the Book of Abraham.

Joseph Smith believed this image represents Abraham sitting on the Pharaoh's throne teaching the principles of astronomy to the Egyptian court. Smith stated that the figure behind "Abraham in Egypt" is "King Pharaoh, whose name is given in the characters above his head." The figure before "Abraham" is "Prince of Pharaoh, King of Egypt". The dark character is "Olimlah, a slave belonging to the prince" and in between is "Shulem, one of the king’s principal waiters".[28]

Egyptologists interpret this as the presentation of the dead before the Egyptian god, Osiris.[29] 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 Anubis the god of embalming.[30]

Loss and rediscovery of the papyrus

After Joseph Smith's death, the Egyptian artifacts were held principally by his mother, Lucy Mack Smith, and after her death on May 14, 1856, by his widow, Emma Hale Smith. On May 25, 1856, Emma sold four Egyptian mummies with the records with them to Mr. Abel Combs.[31] Combs then sold two mummies with some papyri, which were sent to the St. Louis Museum. In 1863 they went to the Chicago Museum, where they were apparently burned in the Great Chicago Fire. The fate of Combs's two other mummies is unknown, but some papyri survived. In 1918, Mrs. Alice Heusser of Brooklyn, a daughter of Combs's housekeeper, approached the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA) with the papyri. In 1947 the MMA acquired them from her widower. Aziz S. Atiya of the University of Utah found eleven of these fragments in May 1966.[32] The papyri were fragmentary, of origin from the late Ptolemaic period, and of very familiar Egyptian texts. Thus they were of little value to a museum. According to Henry G. Fischer, curator of the Egyptian Collection at the MMA, an anonymous donation to the MMA made it possible for the church to acquire the papyri.[33] These papyrus fragments, originally called the Sensen Papyrus, were designated Joseph Smith Papyrus [JSP] I, XI, and X.[34] Egyptologist John A. Wilson stated that the recovered fragments indicate the existence of at least six to eight separate documents.[35]

Additional evidence that these are portions of the original papyri are "drawings of a temple and maps of the Kirtland, Ohio area." on the back of the paper the fragments are pasted to and an affidavit from Emma Smith that these papyri had been in the possession of Joseph Smith.[36]

Analysis of the papyrus

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 scriptorian and linguist, but not an Egyptologist. 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.[37] 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).[38] Their translations were published in Dialog in the summer of 1968. The Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS), an institution supported by the LDS church, is producing a series of conferences and publications on the Joseph Smith papyri and the Book of Abraham.[39] As of 2007, the most recent translation and commentary is; "The Hor Book of Breathings - A Translation and Commentary" by Michael D. Rhodes.

The Joseph Smith Papyrus fragment containing Facsimile Np. 1 has three sections. Klaus Baer was the first person to publish a translation of the writing flanking the original of Facsimile No. 1. His translation is 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 ...[40]

Hor is the name of the mummified deceased and Tikhebyt is the name of Hor’s mother. The ba is his spirit. Updated translations consistent with Klaus Baer have been provided by others including BYU researcher Michael D. Rhodes,[41] BYU Egyptologist, John Gee,[42] and another University of Chicago Egyptologist, Robert K. Ritner.[43]

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.[44]

Translations of this section have also been made by Baer,[45] Nibley,[46] and Ritner[47] and they are consistent with Parker's.

For the third section, Klaus Baer noted that Hor’s Book of Breathings would end with Facsimile No. 3, however the vignette is missing or lost in the original papyrus. Using Facsimile No. 3, the following translation was made by Robert K. Ritner.[48]

Label for Osiris (text to the right of figure 1 of facsimile 3):

Recitation by Osiris, Foremost of the Westerners, Lord of Abydos(?), the great god forever and ever(?).

Label for Isis (text to the right of figure 2 of facsimile 3):

Isis the great, the god's mother.

Label for Maat (text to the left of figure 4 of facsimile 3):

Maat, mistress of the gods.

Label for Hor the deceased (text in front of figure 5 of facsimile 3):

The Osiris Hor, justified forever.

Label for Anubis (text in front of figure 6 of facsimile 3):

Recitation by Anubis, who makes protection(?), foremost of the embalming booth,...

Invocation (text at bottom line below the illustration):

O gods of the necropolis, gods of the caverns, gods of the south, north, west, and east grant salvation to the Osiris Hor, the justified, born by Taikhibit.

The link of Facsimile No. 3 with Facsimile No. 1 and the papyrus scroll is established by the correlation of the name of the deceased, Hor and the name of his mother, Taikhibit . Another translation of Facsimile No. 3 has been made by Rhodes[49] which is consistent with Ritner's.

Criticism and Response

The arguments concerning the Book of Abraham are primarily concerned with the source and method of the translation of the text and the meaning of the vignettes. Critics argue that the work is a product of Joseph Smith's imagination, supporters argue that Smith was inspired by God in his efforts. Currently there is little disagreement concerning the transliteration of the Egyptian writing on the fragments, as evidenced by the broad agreement in the translations by LDS and non LDS Egyptoligists.

The identification of texts is used by critics as evidence against the Book of Abraham's authenticity. The main arguments are:

  • Neither the recovered papyri nor the facsimiles published with the Book of Abraham bear any direct connection, either historical or textual, to Abraham. Abraham's name does not appear anywhere in the papyri or the facsimiles.[50]
  • Joseph Smith’s interpretation of the facsimiles do not bear any similarity to modern Egyptologists' translations of the text in these figures.[51] Apologists respond that some of Joseph Smith's translations restore the original author's symbolic representations and not the literal Egyptian translations.[52]
  • The Joseph Smith Papyri have been determined to be from the late Ptolemaic or early Roman period which is at least 1500 years after Abraham’s lifetime.[53] Apologists respond that the papryi need only be copies of the original written by Abraham and also claim that there exist some Egyptian scrolls from the same time period that contain the name of Abraham.[54]
  • Anachronisms exist in the Book of Abraham which indicate that it was not written in Abraham’s time.[55]
  • Within a series of documents written by Joseph Smith's scribes, the "Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar", also known as the "Kirtland Egyptian Papers", some manuscripts support the notion that the Book of Abraham was wrongly translated from extant papyrus.[56]

Mormon apologists have presented a number of theories in defense of the authenticity of the Book of Abraham. The most popular theories argue the following:

  • The remaining papyrus fragments are not the ones Smith used to translate the Book of Abraham or the fragments may have merely been a starting point for Smith's reconstruction and that the bulk of the original papyri had been destroyed.[57] Critics respond noting that facsimile 1 matches the vignette in the existing papyrus and there is a direct reference in the Book of Abraham to facsimile 1.[58]
  • Joseph Smith may have received the account by revelation, rather than a standard "translation" of text from one language to another, in a process similar to his translation of the Bible.[59] Critics note that the existence of the “Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar” shows that Smith did attempt a direct translation.[60] Others note that the revelation theory contradicts Smith's own statements that the Book of Abraham is a translation as described in the original handwritten manuscript of the book as well as in other church documents.[61]
  • Abraham's writings may be esoterically encoded within the Egyptian funerary scrolls, such as through a mnemonic device.[62]
  • The facsimiles were not penned by Abraham, but by a Jewish redactor many centuries later.[63]

Interpretations and contributions to Mormonism

The text of the Book of Abraham provides justification for important Latter-day Saint doctrines, including the exaltation of man, plurality of gods, priesthood, and pre-mortal existence. Some of these justifications are not found in any of the other canonized scriptures of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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. In 1896, the leaders of the church at the time, Joseph Smith III and Heman C. Smith made the following observation on the Book of Abraham,

The church has never to our knowledge taken any action on this work, either to indorse [sic] or condemn; so it cannot be said to be a church publication; nor can the church be held to answer for the correctness of its teaching. Joseph Smith, as the translator, is committed of course to the correctness of the translation, but not necessarily to the indorsement [sic] of its historical or doctrinal contents.[64]

The Community of Christ notes that the book's accuracy or inaccuracy does not actually have any bearing on Smith's claims to be a prophet, as it was brought about in a manner quite differently than the Book of Mormon; the various sections of the Doctrine and Covenants; and the Inspired Version of the Bible. It is further noted that Joseph Smith did not claim to have been commanded by the Lord to translate the source scrolls of the Book of Abraham, nor did he claim to have been granted any divine authority or power to do so. Smith did not claim to have used any unusual methods in its translation, and, unlike the other works named, its publication seems to be entirely secular. (see Question Time, Volume 1, page 75, Question #63, Herald House, 1975) Joseph Smith also did not order it canonized. The Community of Christ and many other LDS Restoration denominations reject it as scripture and have no official opinion on it as literature. This is also one explanation for the stark theological differences that persist between the Mormon church and other Latter Day Saint factions.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Times and Seasons, Volume III No. 9. Nauvoo, Illinois, March 1, 1842
  2. ^ A Guide to the Joseph Smith Papyri by John Gee, FARMS, 2000, Provo, Utah pp 4-6.
  3. ^ History of the Church, Vol. 2, Ch. 17, p. 236
  4. ^ The ability to translate Egyptian hieroglyphs stems from the discovery in 1799 of the Rosetta Stone, a large granite tablet which contained a message written in two languages, Egyptian and Greek. Since Greek was well known, the stone made the translation of Egyptian hieroglyphs possible for the first time since antiquity.
  5. ^ A Guide to the Joseph Smith Papyri, pg. 3
  6. ^ History of the Church, Vol. 2, Ch. 17, p. 236. July 1835
  7. ^ A Guide to the Joseph Smith Papyri, pg. 5
  8. ^ History of the Church, Vol. 2, Ch. 17, p. 238
  9. ^ "The Book of Abraham Translated from the Papyrus, by Joseph Smith Chapters". Retrieved 2007-12-06.
  10. ^ "Book of Abraham from MormonWiki.com". Retrieved 2006-08-07.
  11. ^ Abraham 2:10
  12. ^ Abraham 4:1
  13. ^ Abraham 1:1-4
  14. ^ Abraham 3:18-28
  15. ^ "Pearl of Great Price Student Manual, The Book of Abraham, pp 28 - 40". Retrieved 2007-12-06.
  16. ^ Ashment 1979, p. 44
  17. ^ Baer 1968, pp. 117–19. See also Ashment 1979, pp. 33–48 and Thompson 1995, pp. 143–160
  18. ^ Marc Coenen, An Introduction to the Document of Breathing Made by Isis, Reveu d'Egyptologie 49 (1998): 38 and n.14.
  19. ^ Marc Coenen, An Introduction to the Document of Breathing Made by Isis, Reveu d'Egyptologie 49 (1998): pp 40-41.
  20. ^ Kerry Muhlestein, The Book of Abraham in Its Place,The FARMS Review 17/2 (2005)
  21. ^ "Facsimile No. 1". Retrieved 2006-08-07.
  22. ^ Parker 1968, p. 86
  23. ^ For example, see "Detroit Institute of Arts Galleries - Canopic Jars". Retrieved 2006-08-07.
  24. ^ Hugh W. Nibley, Improvement Era, June 1969, 126.
  25. ^ Other hypocephali may be viewed at http://www.bowers.org/mummies/spells_image5.html and http://essenes.net/hypo.htm. The the image on the site varies from the Book of Abraham hypocephalus. (since the plate is referred to as the "second facsimile of Abraham," and claims it is contained in the Pearl of Great Price, it appears this plate and the translation are derived from the Joseph Smith papyri.)
  26. ^ Rhodes 1992. Rhodes states that the word Kolob "most likely derives from the common Semitic root *QLB, which has the basic meaning of 'heart, center, middle.' The Arabic form of this word, qalb, forms part of the Arabic names of several of the brightest stars in the sky including Antares, Regulus, and Canopus."
  27. ^ "Facsimile No. 2". Retrieved 2006-08-07.
  28. ^ "Facsimile No. 3". Retrieved 2006-08-07.
  29. ^ See for example "The Judgment of the Dead". Retrieved 2006-08-07.
  30. ^ "Osiris". Retrieved 2006-08-07.
  31. ^ The Improvement Era, Jan. 1968, pp. 12-16
  32. ^ Jay Todd, "Papyri, Joseph Smith”, Encyclopedia of Mormonism Vol. 3
  33. ^ "The Facsimile Found: The Recovery of Joseph Smith's Papyrus Manuscripts", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought (Winter 1967), p. 64
  34. ^ Barney 2006
  35. ^ Wilson 1968, p. 57
  36. ^ The Deseret News, Salt Lake City, November 27, 1967
  37. ^ The Improvement Era, February 1968
  38. ^ Abstract of "The Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Summer 1968, p. 67 and Ritner 2000, p. 97
  39. ^ Insights, FARMS newsletter, "The Book of Abraham: An Ongoing Research Focus". Retrieved 2006-08-07., vol. 24 issue 5, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, 2004
  40. ^ Baer 1968, pp. 116–17
  41. ^ Rhodes 2005, p. 21, 23
  42. ^ John Gee, The Ancient Owners of the Joseph Smith Papyri [Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1999], 5
  43. ^ Ritner 2003, p. 169
  44. ^ Parker 1968, p. 98.
  45. ^ Baer 1968, pp. 119–20
  46. ^ Hugh Nibley, The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1975], 19-23
  47. ^ Ritner 2003, pp. 169–170
  48. ^ Ritner 2003, pp. 176–177
  49. ^ Rhodes 2005, p. 25
  50. ^ Ashment 2000, p. 126. See also translations by Ritner, op. cit., Baer, op. cit., and Parker, op. cit.
  51. ^ Thompson 1995, pp. 148–152.
  52. ^ "The Joseph Smith Hypocephalus ... Twenty Years Later" (PDF). Retrieved 2006-08-07. In this article, Michael D. Rhodes examines facsimile 2, the hypocephalus, and notes that the four sons of Horus (figure 6) plausibly fits with Joseph Smith's explanation that the figure "represents this earth in its four quarters".
  53. ^ Baer 1968, p. 111 and Parker 1968, p. 98. Also in Hugh Nibley, The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1975], p. 3, where Nibley noted the 1st century A.D. for the dating of the papyrus. See also Michael D. Rhodes, The Ensign, July 1988, pp. 51-53.
  54. ^ "Could there have been a real Egyptian scroll that actually, literally discussed Abraham?". Retrieved 2006-08-07.
  55. ^ Thompson 1995, pp. 152–156. Thompson notes at least "four anachronistic names in the text; Chaldea, Potiphar, Egyptus, and probably Pharaoh".
  56. ^ "Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar". Retrieved 2006-08-07.
  57. ^ Gee 1992, pp. 93–119 and Rhodes 1992, pp. 120–126
  58. ^ Thompson 1995, p. 154. The link between the Book of Abraham text and facsimile 1 can be found in Abraham 1:12-14, where Abraham purportedly wrote, "... I will refer you to the representation at the commencement of this record. It was made after the form of a bedstead, such as was had among the Chaldeans, and it stood before the gods of Elkenah, Libnah, Mahmackrah, Korash, and also a god like unto that of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. That you may have an understanding of these gods, I have given you the fashion of them in the figures at the beginning, which manner of figures is called by the Chaldeans Rahleenos, which signifies hieroglyphics."
  59. ^ Michael D. Rhodes and John Gee, Interview on KSL Radio on January 29, 2006 and Michael D. Rhodes, The Ensign, July 1988, pp. 52-53.
  60. ^ Smith 1990, pp. 167–169. The title of the article refers to an incident where Josiah Quincy, the famous mayor of Boston, met Joseph Smith and was shown the papyrus. Quincy stated, "Some parchments inscribed with hieroglyphics were then offered us. They were preserved under glass and handled with great respect. `That is the handwriting of Abraham, the father of the Faithful,’ said the prophet." See Josiah Quincy, Figures of the Past, 3rd. ed. Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1883.
  61. ^ "Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Salt Lake City Messenger, issue 82, September 1992, Salt Lake City, Utah". Retrieved 2006-08-07. At the beginning of the handwritten manuscript of the Book of Abraham, Joseph Smith asserted that it was a "Translation of the Book of Abraham written by his own hand upon papyrus and found in the catacombs of Egypt." In the History of the Church, vol. 2, pp. 236, 286, and 320, Smith describes his work on the translation of Egyptian records from the papyrus.
  62. ^ "Mnemonic Device of the Joseph Smith Papyri, Egyptian Alphabet & Grammar & the Book of Abraham". Retrieved 2006-08-07.
  63. ^ Barney 2006, pp. 115–116.
  64. ^ Joseph Smith III and Heman C. Smith, The History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Vol. II, p. 569, Lamoni, Iowa: Herald Publishing House, 1896

References

Neutral perspectives

Apologists' perspectives

Critical perspectives

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