The book of abraham skinny frequently, when reading a discussion on the lds problem of the book of abraham, the apologists and critics beat around the bushconfusing the reader. The book of abraham is a work produced between 1835 and 1842 by joseph smith based. Facsimiles 2 and 3, which have not survived, clearly demonstrate that other parts of the alleged book of abraham were actually from the book of breathings, the book of the dead, or just part of egyptian burial practices. No amount of scientific testing would convince the antimormons, i think.
To revolve means to go around a central point and may be applied to any point that moves around another point. This was the second edition of the pearl of great price published before canonization by the lds church in 1880. Abraham sitting upon pharaohs throne, by the politeness of the king, with a crown upon his head, representing the priesthood, as emblematical. Comparison of the facsimiles as interpreted by joseph and what egyptologists say they mean.
Did joseph smith correctly translate facsimile 1 in the book. Chapter one of the book of abraham describes how abraham acted as a substitute sacrifice for the king in what is known today as the sedfestival, and facsimile 1 illustrates the same kind of scene. The illustration represented by facsimile 2 is a hypocephalus, a disc made of linen, papyrus, or bronze, covered with inscriptions and images which relate to one of the last spells in the book of the dead. The book of abraham what do we mean by translation. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints the. Did joseph smith correctly translate facsimile 2 in the. Teaching the book of abraham facsimiles religious studies. I have shown that the extant papyrus was deemed by joseph smith to be, in the very least, the beginning of the book of abraham. A study guide to the facsimiles of the book of abraham by. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading translating the book of abraham facsimiles. The original of facsimile 1 of the book of abraham is found at the beginning of the hor book of breathings papyrus, and the hieroglyphic writing on it associates the figure on the couch figure 1 with hor, the owner of the papyrus, who is portrayed as being resurrected by the god anubis, who stands over him.
I say nothing about the catalyst theory and i reject hauglids attempted framing of runnells states that the catalyst theory is a concession to. In 1912, a letter about the book of abraham was published by arthur cruttenden mace, assistant curator in the department of egyptian art in new yorks metropolitan museum of art. In the book of abraham also we are told that the plan of the cosmos, represented by facsimile no. Joseph smiths interpretation of these cuts is a farrago of nonsense from beginning to end. Eternity sketchd on the abraham facsimiles and on the. The pearl of great price is one of the canonized scriptures of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints.
Approaching the facsimiles pearl of great price central. It is claimed that facsimile 1 is simply a typical funerary scene and there are many other papyri showing the same basic scene, and that the missing portions of the drawing were incorrectly restored. Reference to kolob is found in the book of abraham described here a work published by joseph smith, jr. Facsimile 3 published in the book of abraham is a scene from the ancient egyptian book of the dead. The book of abraham and the facsimile imagepart iii. Also interesting is the first fullpage color illustration in the article which shows a bald abraham about to kill his son with a dagger similar to the incorrectly restored facsimile 1 in the book of abraham. The writings of abraham while he was in egypt, called the book of abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus.
Book of abraham, which included letters from eight egyptologists and semitists who had responded to his inquiry concerning the interpretations of the three facsimiles published with the book of abraham text. First, there is absolutely no evidence of adoption or adaptation outside of joseph smiths restorations. Joseph smith was wrong with the priest of elkenah as the head is supposed to be the jackalheaded pagan egyptian god anubis. An egyptian book of the dead was a corrupted mishmash of original teachings from adam down to subsequent patriarchs, such as abraham.
Did joseph smith correctly translate facsimile 1 in the. The church conceded in its july 2014 translation and historicity of the book of abraham essay that josephs translations of the papyri and the facsimiles do not match whats in the book of abraham. To find these four old friends at home in the apocalypse of abraham is an undeniable link between the book of abraham and the book of the dead. The prophet joseph smiths explanations of the three facsimiles in the book of abraham are scripture and should be studied along with the rest of the book. Cuts 1 and 3 are inaccurate copies of well known sce. The phrase can be understood to mean that abraham is the author and not the literal copyist. Teaching the book of abraham facsimiles 117 questions raised by the papyri these egyptian documents can be reliably dated to somewhere between 220 and 150 b. It is very arguable, however, that with the preposition epi meaning things ranging from at, to near to upon and the circling of abrahams name that this is an. Translation published as book of abraham 1844 papyri sold after josephs death 1858 english translation of rosetta stone complete 1860 egyptologists identify book of abraham facsimiles as common funerary documents. The term by the hand of can simply mean that abraham is the author of the book. The discovery of the fragments meant that readers could now see the hieroglyphs and characters immediately surrounding the vignette that became facsimile 1. He goes over the 7 translation types that joseph used in an easy to understand. Teaching the book of abraham facsimiles religious studies center. According to smith, the book comprised ancient records.
The facsimiles and semitic adaptation of existing sources. But the critics are very dishonest here in their approaches. The book of abraham the pearl of great price student manual. Over the years, i have heard more people ask questions about the book of abraham than any other of joseph smiths scriptures. No less than fourteen egyptologists have examined the facsimiles andor the original papyri. However, it was actually the book of abraham published in 1878 that omitted the words. I return herewith, under separate cover, the pearl of great price. Book of abrahamjoseph smith papyrifacsimilesfacsimile 1. It is also claimed that abraham has never been associated with the. Sometime between 1818 and 1822, antonio lebolo, who was working as superintendent of the archaeological excavations for bernardino drovetti in upper egypt, discovered many mummies in a tomb in thebes. This book, a record of the biblical prophet and patriarch abraham, recounts how abraham sought the blessings of the priesthood, rejected the idolatry of his father, covenanted with jehovah, married sarai, moved to canaan and egypt, and received knowledge about the creation. Egyptian characters can now be read almost as easily as greek, and five minutes study in an egyptian gallery of any museum should be enough to convince any educated.
The book of abraham is a book of lds scripture that joseph smith translated from a collection of ancient egyptian papyri the church purchased. Book of abraham essay unleashed the relationship between those fragments and the text we have today is largely a matter of conjecture. It is evident that the writings of abraham while he was in egypt, of which our printed book of abraham is a copy, must of necessity be older than. Kolob is a star or planet described in mormon scripture. Disproves lds claims that joseph smith received the book of abraham through revelation and proves that joseph smiths source for his translation was a pagan egyptian text, the book of breathings. The book of abraham, it is hardly necessary to say, is a pure fabrication. To truly understand the complexity of what the book of abraham is and what it is not requires a lot more thoughtful study than that.
The book of abraham is a work produced between 1835 and 1842 by joseph smith based, he said, on egyptian papyri purchased from a traveling mummy exhibition. Mormon handbook the book of abraham since abraham lived before moses, who authored the torah the first five books of the old testament, it would make the papyrus older than the book of genesis. Published in the book of abraham are three facsimiles copied from the papyrus along with josephs interpretations of them. Researchers have found the lion couch scene sometimes references this sedfestival ritual which goes back to early egyptian times.
A web site about joseph smith and his translations. I was aware of the great number of hypocephali in existence, but hadnt come across the argument that there were similar vignettes used by pseudepigraphal authors in their abrahamic writings, or that there were similarities to josephs creation of the book of abraham and use of papyri facsimiles. Abraham sitting upon pharaohs throne, by the politeness of the king, with a crown upon his head, representing the priesthood, as emblematical of the grand presidency in heaven. The book of abraham also helped clarify truths revealed in other books of scripture see 1 nephi. The book of abraham translation watchman fellowship, inc. Arthur mace, assistant curator for the department of egyptian art of the metropolitan museum of art in new york.
Fairmormon and i are in agreement that abraham is not in facsimile 1 as joseph smith claimed. Hugh nibley and michael rhodes, one eternal round salt lake city, ut. According to smith, kolob is the heavenly body nearest to the throne or residence of god. The egyptian funerary texts were adopted by an ancient jewish redactor to illustrate the book of abraham see the facsimiles and semitic adaptation of existing sources. Fairs apologetics regarding the book of abraham offends intellect.
Joseph smiths explanations of what the facsimiles mean do not match what egyptologists say they mean. In hebrew, for example, beyad means literally by the hand of, but simply. Joseph smith was a prophet, and he called the book of abraham a translation, so what does that tell us. Rhodes, teaching the book of abraham facsimiles, religious educator 4, no. The book of abraham is an 1835 work produced by latter day saints lds movement founder joseph smith that he claimed were translated from egyptian papyri purchased from a traveling mummy exhibition. Hedlock finished the engravings in one week, and joseph smith published the copies facsimiles along with the book of abraham. Because taking abraham as revealed scripture doesnt mean theres nothing left to discuss. A facsimile from latin fac simile make alike, a spelling that remained in currency until the late 19th century is a copy or reproduction. The hathor cow facsimile 2, figure 5 pearl of great.
Critical appraisal of the book of abraham wikipedia. Later that same year, a pamphlet containing the book of abraham s facsimiles was sent to the louvre. The facsimiles of the book of abraham are a part of the pearl of great price. Because of this, those struggling with abraham are caught up asking the wrong. Also printed with the book of abraham are three facsimiles numbered one through three which are reported to have been taken from the book of abraham with a referenced explanation of what the symbols mean provided by joseph smith. Both use nearidentical language to explain the source of the book. Book of abrahamjoseph smith papyrifacsimilesfacsimile 2. As is made clear by the introduction to the book of abraham, the church maintains that, regardless of what the surviving facsimiles and scrolls indicate, the book of abraham is a sacred book of scripture and was written by the hand of abraham. For many, its the first critical thing they run into. Since the day of joseph smith, ancient book after ancient book has been discovered and translated into english that says the same thing as the book of abraham.
Apologetics press facsimile 1 from the book of abraham. In the ancient near east a patriarch was the leader or ancestor of a family, but abraham exceeded this status by becoming the progenitor of one specific nation, the hebrews, as well as of other peoples. The gospel topics essay on abraham why is the book of abraham not on the joseph smith papryi. I mean, there is a mountain of evidence that correlates the book of abraham. Travis wayne goodsell goes over josephs manner of translation of the facsimiles of the book of abraham in a step by step level process to explain this mystery. As for josephs interpretation of figures from the hypocephalus facsimile 2, he was correct. As for josephs interpretation of figures from the hypocephalus facsimile 2. Joseph smiths manner of translating the book of abraham and its facsimiles is shrouded in mystery. Translation and historicity of the book of abraham the university. Joseph smiths explanations of the drawings accompany the facsimiles. Having articulated this view of the relationship of the facsimiles to the book of abraham, we are now in a position to compare and contrast the views set forth by stephen thompson in his article entitled egyptology and the book of abraham.
According to smith, the book was a translation of some ancient records. Did joseph smith correctly translate facsimile 2 in the book. Explores the joseph smith papyrus and demonstrates that joseph smiths claim that he had translated the book of abraham from it was a fabrication. The problems are by no means limited to the facsimiles, since the text itself includes anachronistic and impossible expressions including a potiphars hill. Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director book of abraham. Here, theodule deveria, an egyptologist at the museum, had the opportunity to examine the facsimiles, which he recognized as common egyptian funerary documents, of which he had examined hundreds. Joseph smiths notes to facsimile 2 identify it as representing god sitting. Kerry muhlestein on the book of abraham video teaching the book of abraham facsimiles by michael dennis rhodes genesis 1112 continue reading.
There is much about the book of abraham and the facsimiles that is unconventional and not readily explained. The three facsimiles found in the book of abraham all derive from ancient egyptian papyri that joseph smith obtained in kirtland in 1835. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints the mormons. That is the connection between the facsimiles and the book of abraham. For instance, on a webpage previously housed at byu, a farms author avoids the most obvious question that any lds person would have regarding facsimile 2. Direct egyptological meaning the book of abraham facsimiles series kindle edition by travis goodsell.
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