Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Source hypocephalus as published in the book of abraham. The book is comprised of five chapters and three facsimiles. Joseph only interpreted one figure of anubis as a priest, in facsimile 1. 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. The book of abraham was purportedly translated from an egyptian manuscript purchased by the mormons from a travelling show in 1835, long before their trek to utah. The book of abraham is an 1835 work produced by latter day saints lds movement. Members of the mormon church raised money and bought the entire collection. Facsimile 2 as found in the kirtland egyptian papers. Translation and historicity of the book of abraham. Ashment, egyptian, egyptian alphabet and grammar, facsimile no. Explores the joseph smith papyrus and demonstrates that joseph smiths claim that he had translated the book of abraham from it was a fabrication.
The writings of abraham while he was in egypt, called the book of abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus. Examining facsimile one from the book of abraham aaron shafovaloff. Ritner, a leading egyptologist at the university of chicago and an expert on the joseph smith papyri, responds to the 2014 article on the book of abraham that appeared on the lds churchs official website. The truth of the book of abraham is ultimately found through careful study of its teachings, sincere prayer, and the. In this article, egyptologist robert ritner responds to. Facsimile 2 the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Translation and historicity of the book of abraham university of. Archived from the original pdf on january 19, 2011. Volume four of the revelations and translations series presents for the first time a transcription and complete photographic reproduction of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints holdings of all the manuscripts, grammars, lexical aids, and other resources that were produced in the process of creating the book of abraham. The idolatrous priest of elkenah attempting to offer up abraham as a sacrifice. Abraham sitting upon pharaohs throne, by the politeness of the king, with a crown upon his head, representing the priesthood, as emblematical of the grand presidency in heaven. Evidences of the divine authenticity of the book of abraham bonus features. A response december 2, 1983 by ben crowder abraham, anubis, apocalypse of abraham, bonwetsch, book of abraham, edward h.
There are a number of foreign words in the book of abraham that we have found no ancient counterparts forwords such as kaeevanrash, the explanation for figure 5 in facsimile 2. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. Teaching the book of abraham facsimiles religious studies center. Facsimile 1 published in the book of abraham is a common egyptian funerary scene. The book of abraham is the second book in the pearl of great price. I return herewith, under separate cover, the pearl of great price. 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. Sometime between 1818 and 1822, antonio lebolo, who was working as superintendent of the archaeological excavations for bernardino drovetti in upper egypt, discovered many mummies in a tomb in thebes. The book of abraham is a work produced between 1835 and 1842 by the latter day saints lds movement founder joseph smith that he said was based on egyptian papyri purchased from a traveling mummy exhibition. The book of abraham, it is hardly necessary to say, is a pure fabrication. Smith who had claimed to have translated the book of mormon from golden.
The book of abraham is a work produced between 1835 and 1842 by joseph smith based. This is the figure that you identify as a man that is sitted in the middle. 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. The book of abraham is a work produced in 1835 by joseph smith based, he said, on egyptian papyri purchased from a traveling mummy exhibition. Egyptologists identify book of abraham facsimiles as common funerary documents, 1966. Kolob, signifying the first creation, nearest to the celestial, or the residence of god. As for the egyptian facsimiles published with the book of abraham see. The church edited facsimile 2 in the book of abraham to remove mins. Latter day saints, dictated what he claimed was a translation of an ancient egyptian papyrus containing the writings of abraham. Mormon handbook the book of abraham facsimile 2 facsimile 2 is a common egyptian hypocephalus. Lds essay the truth of the book of abraham is ultimately found through careful study of its teachings, sincere prayer, and the confirmation of the spirit. However, facsimile 3 also shows anubis, yet smith made him out to be a tinyheaded, racist caricature of an african slave.
Critical appraisal of the book of abraham wikipedia. Joseph smiths notes to facsimile 2 identify it as representing god sitting in the. Ohio was the headquarters of a fledgling organization called the church of jesus christ of latter day saints. Book of abraham facsimile number 2 wikimedia commons.
Abraham, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy fathers house, unto a land that i will show thee. Professor ritners response originally appeared as a pdf document on the universitys oriental institute website. Joseph smith quickly produced a translation of this document, claiming it was written by abraham in his own hand. The type of drawing depicted in facsimile 2 is known among scholars as a. It is evident that a part of the book of abraham that. Today it is presumed that the papyri that formed the basis for facsimiles 2 and. Criticism of the 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. The oldest and most valuable of these is the famous codex sylvester,2 which now belongs to the library of the printingdepartment of the holy synod in moscow. Book of abraham facsimile 2 that one mission thing. An early rendering of it reveals damage, and egyptologists agree that facsimile 2 is a poor and inaccurate restoration. According to smith, the book was a translation of some ancient records. Like the book of mormon, joseph smith professed to be translating an ancient record, preserved.
Apologetics press facsimile 1 from the book of abraham. The book of abraham is a book of lds scripture that joseph smith translated from a collection of ancient egyptian papyri the church purchased. The three facsimiles found in the book of abraham all derive from ancient egyptian. The early lds church leaders repeatedly claimed that the egyptian text contained. 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. How the book of abraham exposes the false nature of mormonism. Since facsimiles 2 and 3 are not among the extant papyri, it is clear that not all of the original papyri survived. Examining facsimile one from the book of abraham youtube. Abraham seeks the blessings of the patriarchal orderhe is persecuted by false priests in chaldeajehovah saves. A facsimile from the book of abraham church of jesus christ. The slavonic version, or rather translation, of the apocalypse of abraham ap. If you follow carefully through the printed explanation of facsimile no. The truth about the book of abraham mormonism disproved. And there is no question the book of abraham and book of mormon are fully authorized canon of the lds church now.
An online handbook to the lds church mormon comparing the source hypocephalus to the published facsimile while we dont have the original hypocephalus, an early rendering of it reveals damage, and egyptologists agree that facsimile 2 is a poor and inaccurate restoration. Book of abrahamjoseph smith papyrifacsimilesfacsimile 2. 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. The literature on the book of abraham ranges from doctrinal commentaries on the pearl of great price the lds book of scripture containing the book of abraham to some studies directed to the history of joseph smiths involvement with the egyptian artifacts with. A positive identification is possible because one of the rediscovered scroll pieces.
Let us remember, incidentally, that this book of moses was written in 1830, long before anyone heard of the joseph smith papyri or the book of abraham, to say nothing of the apocalypse and testament of. First, we must be clear that we do not know for sure that joseph smith authored the explanations of the facsimiles that were printed in the times and seasons, on the acquisition of the papyri and publication of the book of abraham, see column 2, which eventually became part of. 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. The facsimiles are not said to be authored by abraham, but have been attached as illustrations relevant to the text. To generations of israelites, this book explained, not only the origins of life and sin, but also why and how their nation. Compared with the book of moses, the book of abraham seems to more. 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. How the book of abraham exposes the false nature of. Facsimile 2 in the kirtland egyptian papers in digital format only shows black and white, not faint lines that may have existed on the actual hypocephalus joseph smith had. The three facsimiles found in the book of abraham all derive from ancient egyptian papyri that joseph smith obtained in kirtland in 1835. Book of abraham, free pdf, ebook, epub global grey.
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. According to joseph smiths introductory comments in the translation, abraham wrote the book himself, by his own hand, upon papyrus smith, 1842, 93. First in government, the last pertaining to the measurement of time. Although this seems like evidence against the validity of the book of abraham, the case of strange words in the book of abraham is not unusual at all. The mormon church hoped the book of abraham would vindicate joseph smith as a true prophet of god. Both lds and non lds scholars agree the pieces of papyrus scroll we have today were those possessed by joseph smith and used to produce the book of abraham. Evidences of the divine authenticity of the book of abraham. Pdf version, the book of abraham revisited xmission. All three facsimiles are said to be from the book of abraham, but facsimile 2 apparently was not a part of a scroll but was a separate document on its own. 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. Through the years, whenever the book of abraham was printed there were included with the printed text three drawings, each designated as a facsimile from this alleged book of abraham. Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director book of. Facsimile 1 was taken from part of the book of breathings. Original translation papers leaked from lds church vault and published, 1967.
Mummies, manuscripts, and mormonism salt lake city. Translation and historicity of the book of abraham a. The extant papyri were not used in the translation and the actual book of abraham text most likely is in the missing portions. In 1912, a letter about the book of abraham was published by arthur cruttenden mace, assistant curator in the department of egyptian art in new yorks metropolitan museum of art.
867 489 545 68 403 1514 167 807 488 378 1580 1583 497 524 24 1400 648 703 783 420 1497 1589 789 1344 1191 390 953 1438 814 991 607 992 686 1291 184 819 579 774 935 128 49 975