The following graphic shows joseph smiths translations vs. Since his translation did not support the book of abraham, elder n. Facsimile 2 as found in the kirtland egyptian papers. How the book of abraham exposes the false nature of. Today we explore the book of abraham in radio free mormon style. Not exactly a good thing for the churchs or joseph smiths translationbook of abraham claims. In this article, egyptologist robert ritner responds to that article. Book of abrahamjoseph smith papyrifacsimiles fairmormon.
The slavonic version, or rather translation, of the apocalypse of abraham ap. The book of abraham issues translation problems mormonthink. It is understandable how critics could interpret it this way, as meaning kolobs. Abraham experienced a cosmic tour of the heavens, facsimile 2. Brief overview of the history of the book of abraham why the critics say it is problematic what workarounds apologists have created to deal with those criticisms why those. Why did the church excommunicate people for pointing out the inaccuracies in the book of abraham, when it now accepts that this was true all along. The writings of abraham while he was in egypt, called the book of abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus. Also, notes about the book of moses from the pearl of great. Two views of the mormon book of abraham bible query.
Facsimile 3 translation manuscripts king james bible the inspired version journal of discourses. This is the cow ihet mentioned in chapter 162 of the book of the dead, which should be drawn on a piece of new papyrus to make a hypocephalus. The association of these facsimiles with the book of abraham might be explained as joseph smiths attempt to find illustrations from the papyri he owned that most closely matched what he had received in revelation when translating the book of abraham. Remember that smith quickly recognized the writings of. Translation and historicity of the book of abraham a. Comparison of the facsimiles as interpreted by joseph.
Common egyptian hypocephalus comparing the source hypocephalus to the published facsimile while we dont have the original hypocephalus, an early rendering of it reveals damage, and egyptologists agree that facsimile 2 is a poor and. Did joseph smith correctly translate facsimile 3 in the. Shulem was sealed by the priesthood to his wife for time and all eternity, in an authorized temple ceremony. Did joseph smith correctly translate facsimile 2 in the. Abraham chapter 1 speaks of this occasion directly. Source hypocephalus as published in the book of abraham. Joseph smith and the lds church for over 170 years have claimed that the book of abraham is a translation of a portion of the papyri scrolls purchased by the church in 1835 kirtland, ohio, and that this portion contains the writings of abraham written by abraham s own hand. Facsimile 3 has always been the most neglected of the three facsimiles in the book of abraham. Granting improper credibility to a key claim of book of abraham critics regarding the twin book of abraham manuscripts a and b.
The internal dynamics that are obvious in the churchs gospel topics essay on the book of abraham are less determinative for this publication. Phelps and oliver cowdery as scribes, i commenced the translation of some of. Bill reel once again joins us and we proceed to lay out the following. A range of articles and resources to assist the investigation of joseph smiths controversial claim that he discovered and translated a lost record of the biblical patriarch abraham. 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. Joseph smith provided this explanation in book of abraham, facsimile 2, figure.
Why doesnt the facsimile 3 translation match what we know about egyptian today. Includes color photos of the surviving joseph smith papyri, articles by mormon and nonmormon egyptologists, and free download of a 240page book that surveys the history of the book of abraham controversy. Book of abraham hypocephalus, facsimile 2 english and thai version. Facsimile 2, the hypocephalus, is also a late egyptian religious text. The oldest and most valuable of these is the famous codex sylvester,2 which now belongs to the library of the printingdepartment of the holy synod in moscow. As for josephs interpretation of figures from the hypocephalus facsimile 2, he was correct. Joseph smith had published the facsimiles as freestanding drawings, cut off. The book of abraham the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. According to smith, the book was a translation of some ancient records. The mormon god and a phallic god could be considered one and the same.
In the book of abraham, joseph included three facsimiles of illustrations from the papyri, along with commentary about what the images and their individual parts represented. In facsimile 1, he is the one being sacrificedand saved. The main puzzle used to challenge joseph smiths translation of the book of abraham is the fact that facsimile 1, the opening figure of the book of abraham mentioned in the text abraham 1. Kolob, signifying the first creation, nearest to the celestial, or the residence of god. This is facsimile 1 found with the scroll just to the right of the kepbook of abraham translated portion. Hence this picture of a cow is common to almost all hypocephali. A cow wearing a sun disk and double plumes with a menitnecklace symbol of hathor, ihet, etc. There is another facsimile in the book of abraham revealing additional areas of mistranslation. Joseph smith knew that they translated to an egyptian context, but he did not give a word for word translation.
It is obvious that this change was necessary since a generally understood method of translation from the egyptian would not at all allow for the explanations given by. Duane hursts notes and translations of ancient egyptian hieroglyphs from the book of abraham. Of all the sacred texts of the mormon church, one of the most fascinating is the book of abraham, a fivechapter book that purportedly records the travels of abraham in egypt. He drew us a picture of it, in representative form, facsimile 3. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. A translation of some ancient records that have fallen into our hands from the catacombs of egypt. This book is brought to you for free and open access by byu scholarsarchive. You can see that pieces are missing, and you see the hand sketches made by someone involved with joseph in kep project in 1830s. Some questions and answers 95 original length of the scrolls, the most accurate attempt to do so comes from john gees application of a formula used by other egyptologists by which the circumference of the roll and how tightly it was wound can be used to.
Joseph smith consistently identifies the libation table with abraham in egypt in facsimiles 1 and 3. Mormon handbook the book of abraham the church purchased the papyri and joseph claimed to identify its origins. Previous post did joseph smith correctly translate facsimile 2 in the book of abraham. The book of abraham is a book in the mormon scripture the pearl of great price. In facsimile 2, they appear to be represent the delivering of the power, authority, and governance of god to the four quarters, lands, and peoplessymbolized by the four heads of the river eden that the book of abraham talks about. Illustration 3 ending of papyrus scroll prepared for horus. Facsimile 2 in the book of abraham is a common egyptian hypocephalus. Facsimile 3 published in the book of abraham is a scene from the ancient egyptian book of the dead.
The truth about the book of abraham mormonism disproved. Book of abraham facsimile number 2 wikimedia commons. Book of abraham facts and challenging the facsimiles. The idolatrous priest of elkenah attempting to offer up abraham as a sacrifice. First in government, the last pertaining to the measurement of time. This clearly demonstrates that, regardless of smiths method of translation, he considered this text to be from the book of abraham. Abraham offering sacrifices upon an altar while in egypt. Abraham or seems to be related to the text of the book of abral1am. 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. A facsimile from the book of abraham church of jesus christ. 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. According to joseph smiths introductory comments in the translation, abraham wrote the book himself, by his own hand, upon papyrus smith, 1842, 93. Joseph smiths explanations of the drawings accompany the facsimiles.
This is problematic for mormons, however, for if the papyri are only about 2,000 years old, they are far too new to have been written on by the hand of abraham. The previous description of the book of abraham read, a translation from some egyptian papyri that came into the hands of joseph smith in 1835, containing writings of the patriarch abraham. An early rendering of it reveals damage, and egyptologists agree that facsimile 2 is a poor and inaccurate restoration. So, this gives us more explanation for what abraham in egypt is. Apologetics press facsimile 1 from the book of abraham. Book of abrahamjoseph smith papyrifacsimilesfacsimile 2. Abraham seeks the blessings of the patriarchal orderhe is persecuted by false priests in chaldeajehovah saves himthe origins. The book of abrahamthe pearl of great price student manual.
All of the documents presented in this new volume are available for examination online at the joseph smith papers website. Mormon handbook the book of abraham facsimile 2 facsimile 2 is a common egyptian hypocephalus. However, the 20 edition of the pearl of great price now states that the book of abraham is an inspired translation. As we discuss all of the facsimiles, we must keep in mind what i wrote about challenge two. Facsimile 3 and book of the dead 125 book of mormon central. An egyptian book of the dead was a corrupted mishmash of original teachings from adam down to subsequent patriarchs, such as abraham. This time it is abraham offering sacrifices upon an alter. While many assumed that the text adjacent to facsimile one was the source of the book of abraham, this does not square with the eyewitness accounts. Annotations and commentary from the printed volume will be included.
The recently modified description creates ambiguity regarding the origin and nature of the text. The following are common criticisms associated with facsimile 3. Brief overview of the history of the book of abraham why the critics say it is problematic what workarounds apologists have created to deal with those. The altar for sacrifice by the idolatrous priests, standing before the gods of elkenah, libnah, mahmackrah, korash, and. Soon after this, some of the saints at kirtland purchased the mummies and papyrus, a description of which will appear hereafter, and with w. After his kind compared with the book of moses, the book of abraham seems to more forcefully state the idea that all beings could only reproduce after their own kind. Reconstruction designated as part of the book of abraham. Book of abraham facsimile 2 book of abraham kirtland egyptian papers. Eldon tanner suggested to nelson that it was his duty as an elder in the church to handle the matter in a way that would be sympathetic to lds doctrine, but nelson refused to make alterations to his translation. The lds church issued a new article on the book of abraham on its official website in 2014, arguing that it does not matter that the text of the book of abraham does not match the text of the papyri joseph smith said he had translated. The prophet joseph smith never communicated his method of translating these records. Speaking of the translation of the book of mormon, the lord said, you cannot. An approach to the book of abraham byu scholarsarchive. New joseph smith papers volume published book of mormon.
Next post does the book of abraham teach a discredited view of newtonian physics. Some of josephs interpretations are similar to those of trained egyptologists, but most are not. Unfortunately, most of what has been said about this facsimile is seriously wanting at best and highly erroneous at worst. Why has the church redefined what the word translation means in relation to the book of abraham. The book of abraham translation watchman fellowship, inc. Book of abrahamjoseph smith papyrifacsimilesfacsimile 3. The pharaoh attempted to sacrifice abraham, facsimile 1. Joseph smith and the lds church for over 170 years have claimed that the book of abraham is a translation of a portion of the papyri scrolls purchased by the church in 1835 kirtland, ohio, and that this portion contains the writings of abraham written by abrahams own hand. Modern egyptologists maintain that the facsimiles do not at all represent what joseph smith said they do. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. Did joseph smith correctly translate facsimile 2 in the book of abraham. The issue of the twin manuscripts and the story they tell or dont tell is one of the most important issues in debates over the authenticity of the book of abraham and the methods of josephs translation.
An inspired translation of the writings of abraham. Understanding his efforts to decipher the egyptian language adds nuance and detail to the complex story of the translation of the book of abraham. Official response of the mormon church to the book of abraham. Smith said the papyri described abrahams early life, his travels to canaan and egypt, and his vision of the cosmos and its creation. Thus the moses scenario repeats the enoch story and the abraham story, and facsimile no. The relationship between the extant fragments and the book of abraham is not fully known or understood. Joseph smith papyrian edition, translation, and largely.
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