Later that same year, a pamphlet containing the book of abraham s facsimiles was sent to the louvre. Later that same year, a pamphlet containing the book of abrahams facsimiles was sent to the louvre. 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. The book of abraham claims to be or at least joseph smith claims it to be the translation of an autograph 2 of abraham, which autograph came into joseph smiths possession, this autograph having been written by abraham while he was in egypt.
Reference to kolob is found in the book of abraham, a work published by joseph smith, jr. Fairs apologetics regarding the book of abraham offends intellect. According to smith, the book comprised ancient records. 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. According to smith, the book was a translation of some ancient records. This post will discuss the alteration of the book of abraham facsimiles no. Indeed, the transliterated text from the recovered papyri and facsimiles published in the book of abraham contain no direct references, either historical or textual, to abraham, and abrahams name does not appear anywhere in the papyri or the facsimiles. Feb 16, 2012 awesome, ive been waiting for years for someone with more artistic ability than i to tint these facsimiles with color. Book of abrahamjoseph smith papyrifacsimilesfacsimile 2. According to smith, kolob is the heavenly body nearest to the throne or residence of god. Kolob is a star or planet described in mormon scripture. All five chapters of the book of abraham, along with three illustrations now known as facsimiles 1, 2, and 3, were published in the times and seasons, the churchs newspaper in nauvoo, between march and may 1842. A facsimile from the book of abraham church of jesus christ. Since facsimiles 2 and 3 are not among the extant papyri, it is clear that not all of the original papyri survived.
He first looks at how the book of abraham came to exist and how the papyri ended up with joseph smith. Thompson in the entry on the facsimiles from the book of abraham in the encyclopedia of mormonism we are told that the prophets explanations of each of the facsimiles accord with present understanding of egyptian religious practice. The majority of the papyri remains lost, and has likely been destroyed. 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. This is the figure that you identify as a man that is sitted in the middle. Book of abrahamjoseph smith papyrifacsimilesfacsimile 3. Apologetics press facsimile 1 from the book of abraham.
The book has five chapters, 4 and is often accompanied by three facsimiles, or reproductions of vignettes which were copied from the original papyri. Stenhouse published his book, the rocky mountain saints. Ed starts with academically recognized egyptian symbols and terminology, which he then relates to words found in hebrew and hindu scripture. 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 book of abraham is a book of sacred scripture for members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Of these original materials, only a handful of fragments were recovered at the metropolitan museum. In this article, egyptologist robert ritner responds to that article. Yet the contemporary parallel texts of the book of breathings made by isis belonging to members of the same family have different vignettes associated with them. For details and some intriguing answers, see some puzzles from the joseph smith papyri by dr. Translation and historicity of the book of abraham a. In the book of abraham also we are told that the plan of the cosmos, represented by facsimile no. 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. A careful study of the book of abraham provides a better measure of the book s merits than any hypothesis that treats the text as a conventional translation.
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. 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. We have a few things to look at here so lets start at the beginning. Facsimile 3 published in the book of abraham is a scene from the ancient egyptian book of the dead.
As translated by the prophet joseph smith, they bear witness of the gospel as had by adam, noah, and other ancient patriarchs. What about the association of facsimiles 1 and 3 with the hor book of breathings. Joseph smiths family owned an 1830 edition and this is the source of chapter 1 of the book of abraham. 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. Abraham s name does not appear anywhere in the papyri or the facsimiles. In my recent study of the facsimiles i began with facsimile 2 and will be posting further articles soon. 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. A journal of mormon thought, spring, 1995 by his own hand upon papyrus. Next, he discusses what we know about the translation process and the publication of this ancient book of scripture. A study guide to the facsimiles of the book of abraham shows the meaning of every character in the facsimiles and helps readers comprehend their great value. Awesome, ive been waiting for years for someone with more artistic ability than i to tint these facsimiles with color. The book of abraham translation watchman fellowship, inc. B oth facsimile 1 and facsimile 3 are assumed to belong to the book of breathings made by isis because they accompanied the text in the joseph smith papyri.
The chaldeans first appeared in the 9th century bce, years before abraham supposedly lived. Egyptian facsimiles in the book of abraham by thebackyardprofessor. The writings of abraham while he was in egypt, called the book of abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus. Hieratic characters lines 1 through 4 from the hor book of breathings, transposed into hieroglyphic. 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. Pronunciation of abraham with 2 audio pronunciations, 3 synonyms, 2 meanings, 10 translations, 32 sentences and more for abraham. Explores the joseph smith papyrus and demonstrates that joseph smiths claim that he had translated the book of abraham from it was a fabrication. A full and complete history of the mormons, which republished deverias study of the book of abraham facsimiles. 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. Death blow to mormonism the book of abraham is a fake. I think it will be relatively easy to convince you that the facsimiles are not good reproductions of the original papyri and hypocephalus. Critical appraisal of the book of abraham wikipedia.
May 24, 2015 my explanation of the facsimiles in lds scripture. The book of abraham is a book of lds scripture that joseph smith translated from a collection of ancient egyptian papyri the church purchased. 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. In other words joseph smith adapted the funerary facsimiles including the hypocephalus, and reinterpreted them in ways that parallel an ancient ahmehstrahan version of the book of abram. As interpreted by joseph smith, this scene depicts abraham fastened upon an altar before some idolatrous gods. Book of abraham facsimiles the three facsimiles by hugh nibley research and perspectives. Joseph smiths manner of translating the book of abraham and its facsimiles is shrouded in mystery. Indeed, the transliterated text from the recovered papyri and facsimiles published in the book of abraham contain no direct references, either historical or textual, to abraham, and abraham s name does not appear anywhere in the papyri or the facsimiles. Two professors in january 2019 shared their insights on the book of abraham based on their years of study in preparing a major volume on the subject for the joseph smith papers project. Pt 1 proving book of abraham facsimiles by thebackyardprofessor. A study guide to the facsimiles of the book of abraham.
Finally, he examines each of the facsimiles and discusses what egyptology says about the kinds of things found in the joseph. Unfortunately for joseph smith both the recovered papyri and the facsimiles published with the book of abraham bear no direct connection, either historical or textual, to abraham. Abrahams name does not appear anywhere in the papyri or the facsimiles. The extant papyri were not used in the translation and the actual book of abraham text most likely is in the missing portions. The truth about the book of abraham mormonism disproved. 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.
I wanted to know how things came about and how we got to the time and place of joseph smiths translation of egyptian for the book of abraham, so heres the timeline. 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. The truth of the book of abraham is ultimately found through careful study of its teachings, sincere prayer, and the confirmation of the spirit. The altar for sacrifice by the idolatrous priests, standing before the gods of elkenah, libnah, mahmackrah, korash, and pharaoh. I knew that the current canonized book of abraham is only about 25% of what joseph translated the rest being lost. Mar 19, 2011 unfortunately for joseph smith both the recovered papyri and the facsimiles published with the book of abraham bear no direct connection, either historical or textual, to abraham. I was recently contacted by a member of the church who was ready to abandon his testimony after listening to a seminar at byu from the neal a. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. The above donut chart shows percentages of the book of abraham section of letter to a ces director that fairmormon is in agreement, disagreement, and neutral on if one assumes that fairmormons undisputed silence is acceptance of the facts, fairmormon agrees with 90. There is much about the book of abraham and the facsimiles that is unconventional and not readily explained. If you follow carefully through the printed explanation of facsimile no. There are numerous examples of egyptian papyri that have more than one text on them, and thus there could have been a copy of the book of abraham on the same papyrus as the hor book of breathings.
Book of abrahamjoseph smith papyrifacsimilesfacsimile 1. The book of abraham was the last of joseph smiths translation efforts. 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. Lds scholar ed goble has shown that the name abraham can be approximated from egyptian symbols found in joseph smiths egyptian papers, and in the book of abraham facsimiles. Book of abraham facsimile 2 that one mission thing.
There is some evidence that josephs explanations should be taken seriously. Ancient records offer new support for the book of abraham a brief survey of the vast body of ancient documents that confirm numerous details in the book of abraham that are not found in the bible, and could not have been known to joseph smith. A careful study of the book of abraham provides a better measure of the books merits than any hypothesis that treats the text as a conventional translation. Book of abraham facsimile number 2 wikimedia commons. A most remarkable book evidence for the book of abraham fulllength video. His book was republished four times by the year 1905. However, facsimile 3 also shows anubis, yet smith made him out to be a tinyheaded, racist caricature of an african slave. According to joseph smiths introductory comments in the translation, abraham wrote the book himself, by his own hand, upon papyrus smith, 1842, 93. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Translation and historicity of the book of abraham response. According to 34 year veteran ces teacher and author of an insiders view of mormon origins, grant palmer, 100% of the book of abraham motifs come directly from four sources.
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. Facsimile 1 as a sacrifice scene pearl of great price central. The book of abraham translated from the papyrus, by joseph smith a translation of some ancient records, that have fallen into our hands from the catacombs of egypt. Joseph smith had in his possession three or four long scrolls, plus a hypocephalus facsimile 2. Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director book of abraham. An idolatrous priest is about to sacrifice abraham, who is protected by the angel of the lord.
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