Book of Abraham
Encyclopedia
The Book of Abraham is a 1835 work by Joseph Smith, Jr. that he said was based on Egyptian papyri
Papyrus
Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....

 purchased from a traveling mummy
Mummy
A mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...

 exhibition. According to Smith, the book was "a translation of some ancient records....purporting to be the writings of Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...

, while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus". Smith's translation of the papyri describes a story of Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...

's early life, including a vision of the cosmos
Cosmos
In the general sense, a cosmos is an orderly or harmonious system. It originates from the Greek term κόσμος , meaning "order" or "ornament" and is antithetical to the concept of chaos. Today, the word is generally used as a synonym of the word Universe . The word cosmos originates from the same root...

.

The work was canonized
Biblical canon
A biblical canon, or canon of scripture, is a list of books considered to be authoritative as scripture by a particular religious community. The term itself was first coined by Christians, but the idea is found in Jewish sources. The internal wording of the text can also be specified, for example...

 in 1880 by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) as part of their Pearl of Great Price
Pearl of Great Price (Mormonism)
The Pearl of Great Price is part of the standard works of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and some other Latter Day Saint denominations....

. Thus, it forms a doctrinal foundation for the LDS Church and Mormon fundamentalist denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...

. It is not considered to be a religious text
Religious text
Religious texts, also known as scripture, scriptures, holy writ, or holy books, are the texts which various religious traditions consider to be sacred, or of central importance to their religious tradition...

 by the Community of Christ
Community of Christ
The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , is an American-based international Christian church established in April 1830 that claims as its mission "to proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace"...

. Other sects in the Latter Day Saint movement
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...

 have various opinions regarding the Book of Abraham, with some rejecting and some accepting the text as inspired scripture. The book contains several doctrines that are unique to Mormonism
Mormonism
Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...

, such as the concept of God organizing eternal, pre-existing matter to create the universe instead of creating it ex nihilo
Ex nihilo
Ex nihilo is a Latin phrase meaning "out of nothing". It often appears in conjunction with the concept of creation, as in creatio ex nihilo, meaning "creation out of nothing"—chiefly in philosophical or theological contexts, but also occurs in other fields.In theology, the common phrase creatio ex...

.

The Book of Abraham papyri were thought lost in the 1871 Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned from Sunday, October 8, to early Tuesday, October 10, 1871, killing hundreds and destroying about in Chicago, Illinois. Though the fire was one of the largest U.S...

. However, in 1966 several fragments of the papyri were found in the archives of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...

 in New York, and in the LDS Church archives. They are now referred to as the Joseph Smith Papyri
Joseph Smith Papyri
The Joseph Smith Papyri are eleven Egyptian papyrus fragments which were once owned by Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of Mormonism...

. Upon examination by professional Egyptologists, the papyri were found to bear no resemblance to Joseph Smith's interpretation, and were common Egyptian funerary texts
Ancient Egyptian Funerary Texts
The literature that make up the Ancient Egyptian Funerary Texts are a collection of religious documents that were used in Ancient Egypt, usually to help the spirit of the concerned person to be preserved in the afterlife....

, dating to about the first century BC. As a result, the Book of Abraham has been the source of significant controversy, with Mormon apologists
Mormon apologetics
Mormon apologetics is the systematic defense of Mormonism against its critics. Notable Latter-day Saint apologists include early church leaders such as John Taylor, B. H. Roberts, James E. Talmage and modern scholars such as Hugh Nibley, Orson Scott Card, and Jeff Lindsay...

 offering a variety of explanations as to the reason for the differences.

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.

In July 1835, Chandler brought the remaining four mummies and associated papyri to Kirtland, Ohio
Kirtland, Ohio
Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, USA. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census. Kirtland is famous for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Origins of Kirtland:...

, then home of the Latter-Day Saints. Although the Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion Demotic script, and the lowest Ancient Greek...

 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
Golden Plates
According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates are the source from which Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith...

 of the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...

. After examining the scrolls, Smith, Joseph Coe and Simeon Andrews purchased the four mummies and at least five papyrus documents for $2,400. Smith stated:

... with W.W. Phelps and Oliver Cowdery
Oliver Cowdery
Oliver H. P. Cowdery was, with Joseph Smith, Jr., an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836, becoming one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles, and the Second Elder of...

 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
Joseph (Hebrew Bible)
Joseph is an important character in the Hebrew bible, where he connects the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Canaan to the subsequent story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt....

 of Egypt, etc. — a more full account of which will appear in its place, as I proceed to examine or unfold them.


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. 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."
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..."
The documents associated with this effort are referred to as the Kirtland Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar (EAG) or the Kirtland Egyptian Papers
Kirtland Egyptian Papers
The Kirtland Egyptian papers are a collection of documents related to the Book of Abraham during the Kirtland period of early Mormonism...

 (KEP).

The complete work was first published serially in the Latter Day Saint movement
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...

 newspaper Times and Seasons
Times and Seasons
Times and Seasons was a 19th-century Latter Day Saint periodical published monthly or twice-monthly at Nauvoo, Illinois, from November 1839 to February 15, 1846...

in 1842. and later canonized in 1880 by the LDS Church as part of their Pearl of Great Price
Pearl of Great Price (Mormonism)
The Pearl of Great Price is part of the standard works of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and some other Latter Day Saint denominations....

.

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. 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.

Facsimiles

Three images (facsimiles of vignettes
Vignetting
In photography and optics, vignetting  is a reduction of an image's brightness or saturation at the periphery compared to the image center. The word vignette, from the same root as vine, originally referred to a decorative border in a book. Later, the word came to be used for a photographic...

 on the papyri) and Joseph Smith's explanations of them are included with the text of the Book of Abraham. According to Egyptologists, facsimile No. 1 and Facsimile No. 3 are part of the Scroll of Hor, which contained Joseph Smith Papyrus I, X and XI. Facsimile No. 2 is the Hypocephalus
Hypocephalus
A hypocephalus is a small disk-shaped object generally made of stuccoed linen, but also of papyrus, bronze, gold, wood, or clay, which ancient Egyptians from the Late Period on placed under the heads of their dead. It was believed to magically protect the deceased, cause the head and body to be...

 of Sheshonq. The location of its source is currently unknown.

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
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...

 "reasoning upon the principles of Astronomy".



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
Pearl of Great Price (Mormonism)
The Pearl of Great Price is part of the standard works of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and some other Latter Day Saint denominations....

. The Book of Abraham text is a source of some unique Latter-day Saint doctrines such as the exaltation
Exaltation (Mormonism)
Exaltation or Eternal Life is a belief among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that mankind can return to live in God's presence and continue as families. Exaltation is believed to be what God desires for all humankind. The LDS Church teaches that through exaltation...

 of humanity, the plurality of gods
Plurality of gods
Plurality of gods usually refers to a unique concept taught by Joseph Smith and several other leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is believed to be based on interpretations of the Bible, the Book of Abraham, the teachings of Joseph Smith, Jr...

, priesthood
Priesthood (Mormonism)
In the Latter Day Saint movement, priesthood is considered to be the power and authority of God, including the authority to act as a leader in the church and to perform ordinances, and the power to perform miracles. A body of priesthood holders is referred to as a quorum.Priesthood denotes elements...

, pre-mortal existence
Pre-existence
Pre-existence , beforelife, or pre-mortal existence refers to the belief that each individual human soul existed before conception, and at conception one of these pre-existent souls enters, or is placed by God, in the body...

, and other inhabited worlds in the cosmos
Mormon cosmology
Mormon cosmology is the description of the history, evolution, and destiny of the physical and metaphysical universe according to Mormonism, which includes the doctrines taught by leaders and theologians of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , Mormon fundamentalism, the Restoration...

. The Book of Abraham also contains the only reference in the Latter-day Saint canon to the star Kolob
Kolob
Kolob is a star or planet described in Mormon scripture. Reference to Kolob is found in the Book of Abraham, a work published by Latter Day Saint prophet Joseph Smith, Jr. According to this work, Kolob is the heavenly body nearest to the throne or residence of God...

, which, according to the text, is the star closest to where God lives.

Community of Christ

The Community of Christ
Community of Christ
The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , is an American-based international Christian church established in April 1830 that claims as its mission "to proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace"...

, formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), does not accept the Book of Abraham as canonical, although it was referenced in early church publications.

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.

Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is one of the largest Mormon fundamentalist denominations and one of the largest organizations in the United States whose members practice polygamy. The FLDS Church emerged in the early twentieth century when its founding members left...

 holds to the canonicity of the Book of Abraham.

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
Theodule Deveria
Theodule Deveria was a prominent French Egyptologist who lived in the 19th century.-Background and contribution to Egyptology:...

 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
Joseph Smith Papyri
The Joseph Smith Papyri are eleven Egyptian papyrus fragments which were once owned by Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of Mormonism...

 were located. Translation of the Egyptian text revealed that the rediscovered portions bore no relation to the Book of Abraham text. LDS apologist Hugh Nibley
Hugh Nibley
Hugh Winder Nibley was an American author, Mormon apologist, and professor at Brigham Young University...

 and BYU
BYU
-Education:* Brigham Young University, a university located in Provo, Utah, USA administered by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.**BYU Salt Lake Center, a satellite center in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA...

 Egyptologists John Gee
John Gee
John Laurence Gee is a prominent Mormon apologist, and Egyptologist at Brigham Young University who is known for his writings in support of the Book of Abraham.-Background:...

 and Michael D. Rhodes
Michael D. Rhodes
Michael Dennis Rhodes is an associate professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University . Rhodes is an Egyptologist who has published a translation of some of the extant Joseph Smith papyri....

 have offered detailed rebuttals to the criticisms and explanations of the differences.

Early criticism of the facsimiles

Sometime in 1856, Theodule Deveria
Theodule Deveria
Theodule Deveria was a prominent French Egyptologist who lived in the 19th century.-Background and contribution to Egyptology:...

, an Egyptologist at the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...

, had the opportunity to examine the facsimiles published as part of the Book of Abraham. 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
The Rocky Mountain Saints: A Full and Complete History of the Mormons
The Rocky Mountain Saints: A Full and Complete History of the Mormons is a book by T. B. Stenhouse written in 1873 which gives a thorough treatment of the origins of the Latter Day Saint movement from the perspective of an outsider...

in 1873. Additionally, later in 1912, Reverend Franklin S. Spalding sent copies of the three facsimiles to eight Egyptologists and semitists 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 recognized the facsimiles as portions of ordinary funerary documents
Ancient Egyptian Funerary Texts
The literature that make up the Ancient Egyptian Funerary Texts are a collection of religious documents that were used in Ancient Egypt, usually to help the spirit of the concerned person to be preserved in the afterlife....

, and some harshly condemned Joseph Smith's interpretation:

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."


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"


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.”


The tables below demonstrate the difference between Joseph Smith's interpretations and the standard translations made by Egyptologists.

False reconstruction of lacunae

Several Egyptologists, including Theodule Deveria, Klaus Baer, Richard 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 (gaps) in the original papyri. The papyri containing Facsimile 1 is acknowledged by Egyptologists to be a version of The Book of Breathings. 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."


Other alleged misconstructions were also noted by these Egyptologists. Later, when the original papyri were discovered (see section below), it was apparent that these portions were indeed missing as the Egyptologists had predicted, 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.

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. Critics note that an incomplete version of facsimile 2 is found among the Kirtland Egyptian Papers
Kirtland Egyptian Papers
The Kirtland Egyptian papers are a collection of documents related to the Book of Abraham during the Kirtland period of early Mormonism...

, 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.

Mormon apologists allege that the statements by these Egyptologists are speculation and that Joseph Smith's reconstruction was either correct, were filled in to make the images more aesthetically pleasing, or inconsequential to the original interpretation.

Facsimile No. 1

Facsimile No. 1 from the Book of Abraham (left), and the extant papyrus from which it was copied showing original vignette. Note the lacuna
Lacuna (manuscripts)
A lacunaPlural lacunae. From Latin lacūna , diminutive form of lacus . is a gap in a manuscript, inscription, text, painting, or a musical work...

, or missing portions of the vignette.

Figure Joseph Smith Explanation Explanation by non-Mormon and Mormon Egyptologists (quotes are from Deveria 1860)
1 The Angel of the Lord. "The soul of Osiris
Osiris
Osiris is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and...

 (which should have a human head)"
2 Abraham fastened upon an altar. "Osiris coming to life on his couch, which is in the shape of a lion"
3 The idolatrous priest of Elkenah attempting to offer up Abraham as a sacrifice. "The God Anubis
Anubis
Anubis is the Greek name for a jackal-headed god associated with mummification and the afterlife in ancient Egyptian religion. In the ancient Egyptian language, Anubis is known as Inpu . According to the Akkadian transcription in the Amarna letters, Anubis' name was vocalized as Anapa...

 (who should have a jackal's head) effecting the resurrection of Osiris"
4 The altar for sacrifice by the idolatrous priests, standing before the gods of Elkenah, Libnah, Mahmackrah, Korash, and Pharaoh. "The funeral bed of Osiris"
5 The idolatrous god of Elkenah. Canopic jar
Canopic jar
Canopic jars were used by the Ancient Egyptians during the mummification process to store and preserve the viscera of their owner for the afterlife. They were commonly either carved from limestone or were made of pottery...

 portraying Qebehsenuf with a falcon's head - one of the four sons of Horus
Four sons of Horus
The four sons of Horus were a group of four gods in Egyptian religion, who were essentially the personifications of the four canopic jars, which accompanied mummified bodies. Since the heart was thought to embody the soul, it was left inside the body. The brain was thought only to be the origin of...

6 The idolatrous god of Libnah. Canopic jar
Canopic jar
Canopic jars were used by the Ancient Egyptians during the mummification process to store and preserve the viscera of their owner for the afterlife. They were commonly either carved from limestone or were made of pottery...

 portraying Duamutef
Duamutef
Duamutef was one of the Four Sons of Horus and a protectiongod of the Canopic jars. Commonly he is said to be the son of the god Horus the Elder and the goddess Isis. There is another myth that describes...

 with a jackal's head - one of the four sons of Horus
Four sons of Horus
The four sons of Horus were a group of four gods in Egyptian religion, who were essentially the personifications of the four canopic jars, which accompanied mummified bodies. Since the heart was thought to embody the soul, it was left inside the body. The brain was thought only to be the origin of...

7 The idolatrous god of Mahmackrah. Canopic jar
Canopic jar
Canopic jars were used by the Ancient Egyptians during the mummification process to store and preserve the viscera of their owner for the afterlife. They were commonly either carved from limestone or were made of pottery...

 portraying Hapy
Hapy
Hapi, sometimes transliterated as Hapy, not to be confused with another god of the same name, was a deification of the annual flooding of the Nile River in Ancient Egyptian religion, which deposited rich silt on its banks, allowing the Egyptians to grow crops. His name means Running One, probably...

 with an ape's head - one of the four sons of Horus
Four sons of Horus
The four sons of Horus were a group of four gods in Egyptian religion, who were essentially the personifications of the four canopic jars, which accompanied mummified bodies. Since the heart was thought to embody the soul, it was left inside the body. The brain was thought only to be the origin of...

8 The idolatrous god of Korash. Canopic jar
Canopic jar
Canopic jars were used by the Ancient Egyptians during the mummification process to store and preserve the viscera of their owner for the afterlife. They were commonly either carved from limestone or were made of pottery...

 portraying Imsety with a human head - one of the four sons of Horus
Four sons of Horus
The four sons of Horus were a group of four gods in Egyptian religion, who were essentially the personifications of the four canopic jars, which accompanied mummified bodies. Since the heart was thought to embody the soul, it was left inside the body. The brain was thought only to be the origin of...

9 The idolatrous god of Pharaoh. "The sacred crocodile, symbolic of the god Sedet
Sobek
Sobek , and in Greek, Suchos was the deification of crocodiles, as crocodiles were deeply feared in the nation so dependent on the Nile River...

"
10 Abraham in Egypt. "Altar laden with offerings"
11 Designed to represent the pillars of heaven, as understood by the Egyptians. "An ornament peculiar to Egyptian art"
12 Raukeeyang, signifying expanse, or the firmament over our heads; but in this case, in relation to this subject, the Egyptians meant it to signify Shaumau, to be high, or the heavens, answering to the Hebrew word, Shaumahyeem. "Customary representation of ground in Egyptian paintings (The word Shauman is not Egyptian, and the Hebrew word is badly copied)"

Lacunae in Facsimile No. 1

Three Egyptologists 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
Kirtland Egyptian Papers
The Kirtland Egyptian papers are a collection of documents related to the Book of Abraham during the Kirtland period of early Mormonism...

 lent credence to the Egyptologists' conclusions.

Latter-day Saint Egyptologist John Gee
John Gee
John Laurence Gee is a prominent Mormon apologist, and Egyptologist at Brigham Young University who is known for his writings in support of the Book of Abraham.-Background:...

, however, believes that eyewitness descriptions during Joseph Smith's lifetime described a complete document, free of lacunae. Thus, Gee argues that the facsimile is 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.

Facsimile No. 2

The figure represented by Facsimile 2 is a common Egyptian artifact called a hypocephalus
Hypocephalus
A hypocephalus is a small disk-shaped object generally made of stuccoed linen, but also of papyrus, bronze, gold, wood, or clay, which ancient Egyptians from the Late Period on placed under the heads of their dead. It was believed to magically protect the deceased, cause the head and body to be...

. 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.

Facsimile 2 as published in the Book of Abraham (left) and as found in the Kirtland Egyptian Papers
Kirtland Egyptian Papers
The Kirtland Egyptian papers are a collection of documents related to the Book of Abraham during the Kirtland period of early Mormonism...

 (right). Note the lacuna
Lacuna (manuscripts)
A lacunaPlural lacunae. From Latin lacūna , diminutive form of lacus . is a gap in a manuscript, inscription, text, painting, or a musical work...

, 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.

Figure Joseph Smith Explanation Explanation by non-Mormon and Mormon Egyptologists (quotes are from Deveria)
1 Kolob
Kolob
Kolob is a star or planet described in Mormon scripture. Reference to Kolob is found in the Book of Abraham, a work published by Latter Day Saint prophet Joseph Smith, Jr. According to this work, Kolob is the heavenly body nearest to the throne or residence of God...

, signifying the first creation, nearest to the celestial, or the residence of God. First in government, the last pertaining to the measurement of time. The measurement according to celestial time, which celestial time signifies one day to a cubit. One day in Kolob is equal to a thousand years according to the measurement of this earth, which is called by the Egyptians Jah-oh-eh.
"The spirit of the four elements (according to Champollion), or rather of the four winds, or the four cardinal points; the soul of the terrestrial world. This god is always represented with four rams' heads, and his image has certainly been altered here. — They have also evidently made a very clumsy attempt at copying the double human head of the god figured above, fig. 2, instead of the four rams' heads. The word Jah-oh-eh has nothing Egyptian in it; it resembles the Hebrew word [redacted] badly transcribed." (emphasis in original) The name hieroglyph above the central figure is Chnm-Re, the Egyptian "First Creator" god who organized everything out of the primordial chaos.
2 Stands next to Kolob, called by the Egyptians Oliblish, which is the next grand governing creation near to the celestial or the place where God resides; holding the key of power also, pertaining to other planets; as revealed from God to Abraham, as he offered sacrifice upon an altar, which he had built unto the Lord. "Ammon-Ra, with two human heads, meant probably to represent both the invisible or mysterious principle of Ammon, and the visible or luminous principle of Ra
Ra
Ra is the ancient Egyptian sun god. By the Fifth Dynasty he had become a major deity in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the mid-day sun...

, the sun; or else the double and simultaneous principle of father and son; which characterizes divinity in the religion of ancient Egypt. — The word Oliblish is no more Egyptian than those already met with, nor than those which are to be found in the Mormon explanation."
3 Is made to represent God, sitting upon his throne, clothed with power and authority; with a crown of eternal light upon his head; representing also the grand Key-words of the Holy Priesthood, as revealed to Adam in the Garden of Eden, as also to Seth, Noah, Melchizedek, Abraham, and all to whom the Priesthood was revealed. "The sun god Ra
Ra
Ra is the ancient Egyptian sun god. By the Fifth Dynasty he had become a major deity in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the mid-day sun...

, with a hawk's head, seated in his boat. In the field the two symbolical figuring, according to M. de Rougé, the fixed points of an astronomical period."
4 Answers to the Hebrew word Raukeeyang, signifying expanse, or the firmament of the heavens; also a numerical figure, in Egyptian signifying one thousand; answering to the measuring of the time of Oliblish, which is equal with Kolob in its revolution and in its measuring of time. Deveria commented; "The Hebrew word [redacted], Roki'a, expansum, solidum, ecclum, firmamentum, besides being badly described, has no relation whatever to this figure, which represents a mummified hawk, called in Egyptian Ah'em. It is the symbol of the divine repose of death; its extended wings have reference to the resurrection."
5 Is called in Egyptian Enish-go-on-dosh; this is one of the governing planets also, and is said by the Egyptians to be the Sun, and to borrow its light from Kolob through the medium of Kae-e-vanrash, which is the grand Key, or, in other words, the governing power, which governs fifteen other fixed planets or stars, as also Floeese or the Moon, the Earth and the Sun in their annual revolutions. This planet receives its power through the medium of Kli-flos-is-es, or Hah-ko-kau-beam, the stars represented by numbers 22 and 23, receiving light from the revolutions of Kolob. "The mystic cow, the great cow, symbolizing the inferior hemisphere of the heavens. It is called the virgin cow at ch. 162 of the funerary ritual, which particularly enjoins that its image be painted on the hypocephalus, and another image of it in gold on the throat of the defunct. It is the form of Hathor
Hathor
Hathor , is an Ancient Egyptian goddess who personified the principles of love, beauty, music, motherhood and joy. She was one of the most important and popular deities throughout the history of Ancient Egypt...

, who figures on several monuments under the name of noub, gold. Behind the cow is a goddess, whose head, represented by a mystic eye in a disk, is incorrectly copied." (emphasis in original)
6 Represents this earth in its four quarters. "The four funerary genii, the sons of [Horus], Amset, Hapy
Hapy
Hapi, sometimes transliterated as Hapy, not to be confused with another god of the same name, was a deification of the annual flooding of the Nile River in Ancient Egyptian religion, which deposited rich silt on its banks, allowing the Egyptians to grow crops. His name means Running One, probably...

, Tioumautew, and Kebhsoniw."
7 Represents God sitting upon his throne, revealing through the heavens the grand Key-words of the Priesthood; as, also, the sign of the Holy Ghost unto Abraham, in the form of a dove. "The form of Ammon
Amun
Amun, reconstructed Egyptian Yamānu , was a god in Egyptian mythology who in the form of Amun-Ra became the focus of the most complex system of theology in Ancient Egypt...

, with a bird's tail, or Horammon (?). An ithyphallic
Phallus
A phallus is an erect penis, a penis-shaped object such as a dildo, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. Any object that symbolically resembles a penis may also be referred to as a phallus; however, such objects are more often referred to as being phallic...

 serpent, with human legs, offers him a symbolical eye. This last figure has certainly been altered in the hypocephalus of the Mormons."
8 Contains writings that cannot be revealed unto the world; but is to be had in the Holy Temple of God. "Four lines of the linear hieroglyphic text, which are numbered from bottom to top, instead of top to bottom. The meaning is: O great god in Sekhem, O great God, Lord of heaven, earth, and hell...Osiris S'es'esq..."
9 Ought not to be revealed at the present time.
10 Also.
11 Also. If the world can find out these numbers, so let it be. Amen.
12, 13, 14, 15 Will be given in the own due time of the Lord. "Four lines of writing similar to the former, of which they are the pendant. They appear to be numbered upside down, and are illegibly copied."
16, 17 "Two more lines which cannot be deciphered in the copy. It begins above the god with two human heads, fig. 2 ; and there is in it twice mention made of a sacred dwelling-place in Heliopolis
Heliopolis (ancient)
Heliopolis was one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt, the capital of the 13th Lower Egyptian nome that was located five miles east of the Nile to the north of the apex of the Nile Delta...

. "
18, 19, 20, and 21 "These columns of writing, illegible in the copy. It is evident to me that several of the figures to be found in these various MSS. have been intentionally altered."

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."

Facsimile No. 3

Joseph Smith claimed that this image represented Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...

 sitting on the Pharaoh
Pharaoh (Book of Abraham)
In Latter-day Saint theology, Pharaoh is the proper name of the first king of Egypt, as found in the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price....

's throne teaching the principles of astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

 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
Osiris
Osiris is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and...

. Hieroglyphics at the bottom of the scroll identify the owner of the scroll, a priest named Hor. Osiris is seated on a throne, wearing the Atef
Atef
Atef is the specific feathered white crown of the Egyptian Deity Osiris. It combines the Hedjet, the crown of Upper Egypt, with red ostrich feathers for the Osiris cult. The feathers are identified as ostrich from their curl or curve at the upper ends, with a slight flare toward the base. They are...

 crown and holding a sceptre and a flail. Behind him stands Isis
Isis
Isis or in original more likely Aset is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the matron of nature and magic...

, 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
Anubis
Anubis is the Greek name for a jackal-headed god associated with mummification and the afterlife in ancient Egyptian religion. In the ancient Egyptian language, Anubis is known as Inpu . According to the Akkadian transcription in the Amarna letters, Anubis' name was vocalized as Anapa...

 the god of embalming.
Facsimile No. 3 from the Book of Abraham.

Figure Joseph Smith Explanation Explanation by non-Mormon and Mormon Egyptologists (quotes are from Robert K. Ritner 2003)
General Comment Abraham is reasoning upon the principles of Astronomy, in the king’s court. "Invocation (text at bottom line below the illustration): O gods of the necropolis
Necropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...

, gods of the caverns, gods of the south, north, west, and east grant salvation to the Osiris Hor, the justified, born by Taikhibit."
1 Abraham sitting upon Pharaoh’s throne, by the politeness of the king, with a crown upon his head, representing the Priesthood, as emblematical of the grand Presidency in Heaven; with the scepter of justice and judgment in his hand. "Label for Osiris
Osiris
Osiris is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and...

 (text to the right of figure 1 of facsimile 3): Recitation by Osiris, Foremost of the Westerners, Lord of Abydos
Abydos, Egypt
Abydos is one of the most ancient cities of Upper Egypt, and also of the eight Upper Nome, of which it was the capital city. It is located about 11 kilometres west of the Nile at latitude 26° 10' N, near the modern Egyptian towns of el-'Araba el Madfuna and al-Balyana...

(?), the great god forever and ever(?)."
2 King Pharaoh, whose name is given in the characters above his head. "Label for Isis
Isis
Isis or in original more likely Aset is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the matron of nature and magic...

 (text to the right of figure 2 of facsimile 3): Isis the great, the god's mother."
3 Signifies Abraham in Egypt as given also in Figure 10 of Facsimile No. 1. "Altar, with the offering of the deceased, surrounded with lotus flowers, signifying the offering of the defunct." --Theodule Deveria
4 Prince of Pharaoh, King of Egypt, as written above the hand. "Label for Maat
Maàt
Maat or maʻat , also spelled māt or mayet, was the ancient Egyptian concept of truth, balance, order, law, morality, and justice...

 (text to the left of figure 4 of facsimile 3): Maat, mistress of the gods."
5 Shulem, one of the king’s principal waiters, as represented by the characters above his hand. "Label for Hor the deceased (text in front of figure 5 of facsimile 3): The Osiris Hor, justified forever."
6 Olimlah, a slave belonging to the prince. "Label for Anubis
Anubis
Anubis is the Greek name for a jackal-headed god associated with mummification and the afterlife in ancient Egyptian religion. In the ancient Egyptian language, Anubis is known as Inpu . According to the Akkadian transcription in the Amarna letters, Anubis' name was vocalized as Anapa...

 (text in front of figure 6 of facsimile 3): Recitation by Anubis, who makes protection(?), foremost of the embalming booth,..."

Apologist response to criticism

Some apologists believe that there are differences between the vignette and other comparable vignettes that render the standard interpretation incorrect Apologists have also challenged the Egyptologists' means of interpretation of the facsimiles, 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 facsimiles build up Smith's possible translation of the book.
Professor Hugh Nibley
Hugh Nibley
Hugh Winder Nibley was an American author, Mormon apologist, and professor at Brigham Young University...

 of Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...

 notes that the seemingly misidentified characters in Facsimile #3 may have been participating in a ritual where both men and women can be represented by the opposite sex. Nibley also notes that in court scenes, the man standing in the center is usually identified as the servant.

Various Mormon apologists, including apologists at the Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research
Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research
The Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research is a non-profit organization that specializes in Mormon apologetics and responds to criticism of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . FAIR is made up of volunteers who seek to answer questions submitted to its web site...

, have postulated that the Joseph Smith Papyri are not the original source of the Book of Abraham, despite the fact that the fragments were pasted onto paper which had "drawings of a temple and maps of the Kirtland, Ohio area" on the back and were accompanied by an affidavit by Emma Smith stating that they had been in the possession of Joseph Smith.

Apologists also cite parallels between the Book of Abraham and several ancient documents and other Jewish writings, maintaining that there is no evidence that Joseph Smith studied or even had access to these sources. Examples include the attempted sacrifice of Abraham, Abraham teaching the Egyptian Pharaoh astronomy, and God teaching astronomy to Abraham.

Loss and rediscovery of the papyrus

After Joseph Smith's death, the Egyptian artifacts were in the possession of his mother, Lucy Mack Smith
Lucy Mack Smith
Lucy Mack Smith was the mother of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. She is most noted for writing an award-winning memoir: Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations. She was an important leader of the movement during...

, until her death on May 14, 1856. Joseph Smith's widow, Emma Hale Smith
Emma Hale Smith
Emma Hale Smith Bidamon was married to Joseph Smith, Jr., until his death in 1844, and was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement, during Joseph Smith's lifetime and afterward as a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints...

 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. Ten weeks later two of the mummies and some of the papyri were being displayed in St. Louis by a Mr. Edward Wyman. 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
Great Chicago Fire
The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned from Sunday, October 8, to early Tuesday, October 10, 1871, killing hundreds and destroying about in Chicago, Illinois. Though the fire was one of the largest U.S...

 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
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...

 (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
Aziz Suryal Atiya
Professor Aziz Suryal Atiya was a prominent Coptologist who was a Coptic historian and scholar and an expert in Islamic and Crusades studies.Professor Atiya was the founder of the Institute of Coptic Studies in Cairo in 1950s, and was also the founder of the Middle East Center, University of...

 of the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...

 discovered ten of the eleven known papyri fragments in the MMA archives when he recognized one as the vignette known as Facsmile No. 1 from the Pearl of Great Price
Pearl of Great Price (Mormonism)
The Pearl of Great Price is part of the standard works of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and some other Latter Day Saint denominations....

. 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. These fragments, originally called the Sensen Papyrus, were designated Joseph Smith Papyrus I, X, and XI
Joseph Smith Papyri
The Joseph Smith Papyri are eleven Egyptian papyrus fragments which were once owned by Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of Mormonism...

. 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.

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.

Some LDS scholars have argued that much of the original papyrus collection is missing, but others have challenged this notion, contending that the majority of the papyri have been recovered.

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.

Analysis and translation of the papyrus

In November 1967 the LDS church asked Hugh Nibley
Hugh Nibley
Hugh Winder Nibley was an American author, Mormon apologist, and professor at Brigham Young University...

, a professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...

 (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. 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. The editors of an independent quarterly journal Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought is an independent quarterly journal of "Mormon thought" that addresses a wide range of issues on Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint Movement....

, arranged a translation of the papyri from the photographs by three American Egyptologists; John A. Wilson (University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

, Oriental Institute), Klaus Baer (University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

, Oriental Institute), and Richard A. Parker
Richard Anthony Parker
Richard Anthony Parker was a prominent Egyptologist and professor of Egyptology. Originally from Chicago, he attended Mt. Carmel High School with acclaimed author James T. Farrell. He received an A.B. from Dartmouth College in 1930, and a Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago in 1938...

 (Director of the Department of Egyptology, Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...

). 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), John Gee (BYU), and Robert K. Ritner (University of Chicago). The translations among all of these scholars are consistent.

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).


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
Min (god)
Min is an Ancient Egyptian god whose cult originated in predynastic times . He was represented in many different forms, but was often represented in male human form, shown with an erect penis which he holds in his left hand and an upheld right arm holding a flail...

 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
Thebes, Egypt
Thebes is the Greek name for a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean, on the east bank of the river Nile within the modern city of Luxor. The Theban Necropolis is situated nearby on the west bank of the Nile.-History:...

 just like ...


(Hor is the name of the mummified deceased and Tikhebyt is the name of Hor’s mother. The ba
Egyptian soul
The ancient Egyptians believed that a human soul was made up of five parts: the Ren, the Ba, the Ka, the Sheut, and the Ib. In addition to these components of the soul there was the human body...

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.

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.

  • 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.

  • The Joseph Smith Papyri have been dated to the late Ptolemaic
    Ptolemaic Egypt
    Ptolemaic Egypt began when Ptolemy I Soter invaded Egypt and declared himself Pharaoh of Egypt in 305 BC and ended with the death of queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and the Roman conquest in 30 BC. The Ptolemaic Kingdom was a powerful Hellenistic state, extending from southern Syria in the east, to...

     or early Roman period, 1500 years after Abraham’s supposed lifetime. 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.

  • 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. Critics further assert that the “Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar” indicates that Smith did attempt a direct, literal, comprehensive, translation. 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.

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;
  • 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
    Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible
    The Joseph Smith Translation , also called the Inspired Version , was a revision of the Bible by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Smith considered this work to be "a branch of his calling" as a prophet. Smith was murdered before he ever deemed it complete, though most of...

    .

  • The facsimiles in Egyptian funerary scrolls may have been a mnemonic
    Mnemonic
    A mnemonic , or mnemonic device, is any learning technique that aids memory. To improve long term memory, mnemonic systems are used to make memorization easier. Commonly encountered mnemonics are often verbal, such as a very short poem or a special word used to help a person remember something,...

     device.

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

  • The facsimiles represent a corrupted version of a document originally written by Abraham, with Joseph Smith giving the interpretation of the original document.

  • There are other messages and meanings embedded in the text along with the Egyptologist's translations that are unknown to us, and could be where Joseph Smith found his message and interpretation.

  • The papyri may be copies of an original which was written personally by Abraham.

  • The remaining papyrus fragments are only part of the complete original papyri, or the fragments may have been a starting point for reconstruction. 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.

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
Joseph (Hebrew Bible)
Joseph is an important character in the Hebrew bible, where he connects the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Canaan to the subsequent story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt....

 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.

See also

  • Mormon cosmology
    Mormon cosmology
    Mormon cosmology is the description of the history, evolution, and destiny of the physical and metaphysical universe according to Mormonism, which includes the doctrines taught by leaders and theologians of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , Mormon fundamentalism, the Restoration...

  • Criticism of the Latter Day Saint movement
  • Criticism of Mormon sacred texts
    Criticism of Mormon sacred texts
    The Latter Day Saints believe that the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price and the Doctrine and Covenants are sacred texts with the same divine authority as the Bible.-Origin:...

  • Kirtland Egyptian Papers
    Kirtland Egyptian Papers
    The Kirtland Egyptian papers are a collection of documents related to the Book of Abraham during the Kirtland period of early Mormonism...


External links


Apologists' perspectives


Critical perspectives

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