Introduction to the Book of Abraham

How We Got the Book of Abraham

Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte’s late eighteenth-century adventures, depredations, and exploits unintentionally inaugurated an age of exploration and inquiry into Egyptian antiquities.

Timeline of the Book of Abraham1817-1821. An Italian explorer, Antonio Lebolo, uncovered a tomb near Thebes, Egypt, containing a large cache of mummies and papyri. He procured 11 mummies. Took them to Italy and then shipped to New York. Michael Chandler gets the mummies at some point. Begins touring the U.S.1835 (July). Some saints in Kirtland, Ohio purchased four Lebolo mummies and several papyrus scrolls from Chandler.1835 (Late) –1836 (Early). Translation of the Book of Abraham and a language study of Egyptian occurred. 1842. The Book of Abraham was published in the Church’s periodical Times and Seasons in Nauvoo in March and May.1880. The Book of Abraham was officially accepted as scripture in General Conference with the Pearl of Great Price.

“On the last of June four Egyptian mummies were brought here. With them were two papyrus rolls, besides some other ancient Egyptian writings.... They were presented to President Smith. He soon knew what they were and said that the rolls of papyrus contained a sacred record kept by Joseph in Pharaoh’s court in Egypt and the teachings of Father Abraham. These records of old times when we translate and print them in a book will make a good witness for the Book of Mormon.”

William W. Phelps(Letter to Sally Phelps,

Liberty, MO, 20 July 1835, in Journal

History of the Church, 20 July 1835, CHL)

“When the translation of these valuable documents will be completed I am unable to say; neither can I give you a probable idea how large volumes they will make.... Be they little or much, it must be an inestimable acquisition to our present scriptures.”

Oliver Cowdery(“Egyptian Mummies

—Ancient Records,” LDS Messenger and

Advocate, Dec. 1835, 2:223−227)

“Kirtland, July 6th, 1835”“This is to make known to all who may be desirous, concerningthe knowledge of Mr. Joseph Smith, jr. in deciphering the ancient Egyptian hierogliphic characters, in my possession, which I have, in many eminent cities, shown to the most learned: And, from  the information that I could ever learn, or meet with, I find  that of Mr. Joseph Smith, jr. to correspond in the most minute matters.” (Signed) “Michael H. Chandler.=”

“Travelling with, and proprieter of Egyptian Mummies.”

Michael Chandler’s Certificate

What happened to the Papyri?

Principles:•

The Remaining Fragments of Manuscript

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The Translation of the Book of Abraham

3 Translation Theories

1. Joseph translated it from the Papyrus fragments we have

Book of the Dead | Book of Breathings made by Isis

2. Joseph translated it from one of the missing scrolls lost in the fire

3. Joseph received it by pure inspiration from heaven. (The papyri

just got Joseph to ask)

3 Meanings of “Translate”1. Translation of the Book of Mormon. This was done using the Urim and Thummim to translate the plates written in “Reformed Egyptian.” In this case he had an actual copy of the ancient text he was translating from. 2. Translation of the Bible. This was a process of using the King James text of the Bible, and by direct revelation restoring to that text, in English, things lost or changed from the original. Here he did not have the original text. 3. Translation of the Parchment of John (D&C 7). Here Joseph Smith translated an ancient parchment text written and hidden by John. In this case he had neither the original text before him, nor an English translation of it. He simply received a translation of that text by direct revelation.

2013 Edition. The Book of Abraham. An inspired translation of the writings of Abraham. Joseph Smith began the translation in 1835 after obtaining some Egyptian papyri. The translation was published serially in the Times and Seasons beginning March 1, 1842, at Nauvoo, Illinois.

1981 Edition.The Book of Abraham. A translation from some Egyptian papyri that came into the hands of Joseph Smith in 1835, containing writings of the patriarch Abraham. The translation was published serially in the Times and Seasons beginning March 1, 1842, at Nauvoo, Illinois.

The Facsimiles

Facsimile 1

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Two demotic papyri discovered in Thebes in the early 1800s are of special interest. They are dated to around the third century A.D., and are thus near the same age as the Egyptian documents Joseph Smith acquired from Michael Chandler, and come from the same part of Egypt. One of the papyri shows the drawing of a mummy lying on a lion couch with a figure of the god Anubis standing over it, quite similar to the scene depicted in Facsimile 1 of the Book of Abraham. Beneath this drawing are the words in Greek: “Abraham who upon . . .” (the remainder of the sentence is damaged but could be something like “the couch.”

A lion couch scene appears in Leiden Papyrus I 384 (PGM xii). The outline marks Abraham’s name, written in Greek.

Facsimile 2

Hypocephalus

The type of drawing depicted in facsimile 2 is known among scholars as a “hypocephalus,” which means “under or beneath the head.” “A hypocephalus is a small disk-shaped object made of papyrus, stuccoed linen, bronze, gold, wood, or clay, which the Egyptians placed under the head of their dead. They believed it would magically cause the head and body to be enveloped in flames or radiance, thus making the deceased divine. The hypocephalus itself symbolized the eye of Re or Horus, i.e., the sun, and the scenes portrayed on it relate to the Egyptian concept of the resurrection and life after death” (Michael D. Rhodes, The Joseph Smith Hypocephalus … Seventeen Years Later [F.A.R.M.S. paper, RHO-94], 1).

Egyptologists suggest that hypocephali contain information to help deceased persons return to the presence of God. Similarly, the Lord has given Latter-day Saints divine help to return to His presence.

President Brigham Young taught: “Your [temple] endowment is, to receive all those ordinances in the house of the Lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels” (Discourses of Brigham Young, 416).

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On another of these papyri is the phrase in demotic, … “Abraham, the pupil of the eye of the Wedjat.” Thus we find two ancient Egyptian papyri that Joseph Smith could not possibly have known about that associate Abraham not only with a lion couch scene but also with the Wedjat eye of Horus, which the hypocephalus was supposed to represent.

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Facsimile 3

Two pseudepigraphic texts dealing with Abraham that were discovered after Joseph Smith's time also shed interesting light on the relationship between Abraham and the Egyptians. In the Testament of Abraham, Abraham is shown a vision of the Last Judgment that is unquestionably related to the judgment scene pictured in the 125th chapter of the Book of the Dead thus clearly associating Abraham with the Egyptian Book of the Dead. One of the Joseph Smith papyri [Facsimile 3] is in fact a drawing of this judgment scene from the 125th chapter of the Book of the Dead.

The Apocalypse of Abraham describes a vision Abraham saw while making a sacrifice to God…. He is shown “the fullness of the whole world and its circle,” in a picture with two sides. The similarity with the hypocephalus is striking…. The significance of these documents is that they date from the beginning of the Christian era—they are roughly contemporary with the hypocephalus and the other Egyptian documents purchased by Joseph Smith—and they relate the same things about Abraham that Joseph Smith said are found in the hypocephalus and the other Egyptian papyri.

Abraham’s Journey is Our Journey!

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