Book of Abraham

The Book of Abraham is an 1835 work produced by Joseph Smith that he said was based on Egyptian papyri purchased from a traveling mummy exhibition. 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". Smith's translation of the papyri describes a story of Abraham's early life, including a vision of the cosmos. The work was canonized in 1880 by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) as part of its Pearl of Great Price. Thus, it forms a doctrinal foundation for the LDS Church and Mormon fundamentalist denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. It is not considered a religious text by the Community of Christ. Other groups in the Latter Day Saint movement 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, such as the concept of God organizing eternal, pre-existing elements to create the universe instead of creating it ex nihilo. The Book of Abraham papyri were thought lost in the 1871 Great Chicago Fire. However, in 1966 several fragments of the papyri were found in the archives of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and in the LDS Church archives. They are now referred to as the Joseph Smith Papyri. Upon examination by professional Mormon and non-Mormon Egyptologists, these fragments were found to bear no resemblance to Smith's interpretation, and were identified as common Egyptian funerary texts, dating to about the first century BC. As a result, the Book of Abraham has been the source of significant controversy, with Mormon apologists having presented a number of theories in defense of the authenticity of the Book of Abraham. Origin: Several papyri and eleven mummies were discovered near the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes by Antonio Lebolo between 1818 and 1822. Sometime between 1822 and his death on February 19, 1830, Lebolo arranged to have them sold. In 1833, the mummies were shipped to New York and collected by Michael Chandler, who made the unsubstantiated claim of being Lebolo's nephew. 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, then home of the Latter Day Saints. Although the Rosetta Stone had been discovered in 1799, the ability to read Egyptian was not 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 of the Book of Mormon. 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 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 of Egypt, etc. — a more full account of which will appear in its place, as I proceed to examine or unfold them. 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 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 (KEP).The complete work was first published serially in the Latter Day Saint movement newspaper Times and Seasons in 1842. and later canonized in 1880 by the LDS Church as part of its Pearl of Great Price. Content of the work- 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, the premortal existence, 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 attempted 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 and the premortal existence, the creation of the world, and the creation of man. Facsimiles: Three images (facsimiles of vignettes 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 of Sheshonq. The location of its source is currently unknown. According to 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 "reasoning upon the principles of Astronomy". Interpretations and contributions to the Latter Day Saint movement- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: The Book of Abraham was canonized in 1880 by the LDS Church, and it remains a part of the larger scriptural work, The Pearl of Great Price. The Book of Abraham text is a source of some distinct Latter-day Saint doctrines such as the exaltation of humanity, the plurality of gods, priesthood, pre-mortal existence, and the existence of other inhabited worlds in the cosmos. The Book of Abraham also contains the only reference in the Latter-day Saint canon to the star Kolob, which, according to the text, is the star closest to where God lives. Community of Christ: The Community of Christ, formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 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 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 in the late-19th century, have disagreed with Joseph Smith's explanations of the facsimiles. They have also asserted that damaged portions of the papyri have been reconstructed incorrectly. The controversy intensified in the late 1960s when portions of the Joseph Smith Papyri were located. Translations of the papyri revealed that the rediscovered portions bore no relation to the Book of Abraham text. LDS apologist Hugh Nibley and Brigham Young University Egyptologists John L. Gee and Michael D. Rhodes subsequently offered detailed rebuttals to some criticisms. University of Chicago Egyptologist Robert K. Ritner concluded in 2014 that the source of the Book of Abraham "is the 'Breathing Permit of Hôr,' misunderstood and mistranslated by Joseph Smith." In 2014, the LDS Church published an essay on its website which acknowledged that Joseph Smith's notes concerning the meaning of some Egyptian characters are inconsistent with "those recognized by Egyptologists today." The essay concluded that "the truth of the Book of Abraham is ultimately found through careful study of its teachings, sincere prayer, and the confirmation of the Spirit" and "cannot be settled by scholarly debate concerning the book’s translation and historicity." In response, Egyptologist Robert K. Ritner noted that the Book of Abraham is now "confirmed as a perhaps well-meaning, but erroneous invention by Joseph Smith," and "despite its inauthenticity as a genuine historical narrative, the Book of Abraham remains a valuable witness to early American religious history and to the recourse to ancient texts as sources of modern religious faith and speculation." The facsimiles and criticism- Early criticism of the facsimiles: Sometime in 1856, Theodule Deveria, an Egyptologist at the Louvre, had the opportunity to examine the facsimiles published as part of the Book of Abraham. In 1873, 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. Additionally, 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, and some harshly condemned Smith's interpretation: Egyptologist 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." Flinders Petrie of London University wrote: "It may be safely said that there is not one single word that is true in these explanations". Archibald Sayce, Oxford professor of Egyptology, stated: “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 Smith's interpretations and the standard translations made by Egyptologists. Questionable reconstruction of lacunae: Several Egyptologists, including Deveria, Klaus Baer, Richard Anthony Parker, and Albert Lythgoe noted that portions of Facsimile No. 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 No. 1 is acknowledged by Egyptologists to be a version of The Book of Breathings. Lythgoe 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 Smith had filled in the missing portions in the published version of the facsimile. Egyptologists have also criticized Facsimile No. 2 for containing false reconstruction of lacunae, suggesting that Smith reconstructed portions of the vignette with characters from another papyrus. Critics note that an incomplete version of Facsimile No. 2 is found among the Kirtland Egyptian Papers, part of which are in Smith's handwriting. Comparing the published version of Facsimile No. 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 No. 2, with some of the characters being upside down. Mormon apologists allege that the statements by these Egyptologists are speculation and that Smith's reconstruction was either correct, were filled in to make the images more aesthetically pleasing, or inconsequential to the original interpretation.