The Book of Abraham is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1842 by Joseph Smith. Smith said the book was a translation from several Egyptian scrolls discovered in the early 19th century during an archeological expedition by Antonio Lebolo, and purchased by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from a traveling mummy exhibition on July 3, 1835. 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".. The Book of Abraham is about Abraham's early life, his travels to Canaan and Egypt, and his vision of the cosmos and its creation.
The Latter-day Saints believe the work is divinely inspired scripture, published as part of the Pearl of Great Price since 1880. It thus forms a doctrinal foundation for the LDS Church and Mormon fundamentalist denominations, though other groups, such as Community of Christ, do not consider it a sacred text. The book contains several doctrines that are particular to Mormonism, such as the idea that God organized eternal elements to create the universe (instead of creating it ex nihilo), the potential exaltation of humanity, a pre-mortal existence, the first and second estates, and the plurality of gods.
The Book of Abraham papyri were thought to have been 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 Egyptologists (both Mormon and otherwise), these fragments were identified as Egyptian funerary texts, including the "Breathing Permit of Hôr" and the "Book of the Dead", among others. Although some Latter-day Saint apologists and scholars defend the authenticity of the Book of Abraham, it is not regarded as an ancient text by the academic consensus.
Origin
Eleven mummies and several papyri were discovered near the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes by Antonio Lebolo between 1818 and 1822. Following Lebolo's death in 1830, the mummies and assorted objects were sent to New York with instructions that they should be sold in order to benefit the heirs of Lebolo.. Michael H. Chandler eventually came into possession of the mummies and artifacts and began displaying them, starting in Philadelphia.. Over the next two years Chandler toured the eastern United States, displaying and selling some of the mummies as he traveled..
In late June or early July 1835, Chandler exhibited his collection in Kirtland, Ohio. A promotional flyer created by Chandler states that the mummies "may have lived in the days of Jacob, Moses, or David".. At the time, Kirtland was the home of the Latter Day Saints, led by Joseph Smith. In 1830 Smith published the Book of Mormon which he said he translated from ancient golden plates that had been inscribed with "reformed Egyptian" text. He took an immediate interest in the papyri and soon offered Chandler a preliminary translation of the scrolls. Smith said that the scrolls contained the writings of Abraham and Joseph, as well as a short history of an Egyptian princess named "Katumin".. He wrote:
Smith, Joseph Coe, and Simeon Andrews soon purchased the four mummies and at least five papyrus documents for $2,400 ().. + Known Egyptian documents sold to Joseph Smith Egyptian document Text description Joseph Smith's description Joseph Smith Papyri number Date created "Hor Book of Breathing" Funerary scroll made for a Theban Priest name Horus (also Horos, Hor). It is among the earliest known copies of the Book of Breathing. Sometimes referred to as a Breathing Permit or Sensen text "Book of Abraham" I, torn fragments pasted into IV, X, XI and Facsimile #3 Between 238–153 BC "Ta-sherit-Min Book of the Dead" Funerary scroll made for Ta-sherit-Min (also Tshemmin, Semminis) "Book of Joseph" II, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII "Nefer-ir-nebu Book of the Dead" Judgement Scene Funerary papyrus scroll fragment made for Nefer-ir-nebu (also Neferirtnub, Noufianoub) showing a vignette with the deceased standing before Osiris, waiting to have her heart weighed on a balance against a feather, to determine if she is worthy of further existence, or having her soul devoured by Ammit No known description given by Joseph Smith. III a, b "Amenhotep Book of the Dead" Fragment from a funerary scroll made for Amenhotep (also Amen-ophis) Parts were translated as a short history of a Princess Katumin, daughter of Pharaoh Onitas The papyrus is no longer extant. Characters were copied into a notebook (see Kirtland Egyptian Papers). Unknown Sheshonq Hypocephalus A funerary text placed under the head of the deceased named Sheshonq (also Shashaq, Sesonchis) Facsimile #2 from the "Book of Abraham" The papyrus is no longer extant. Unknown
Translation process
During Smith's lifetime, the recent decoding of Ancient Egyptian writing systems with the Rosetta Stone was not widely known in the Americas. Between July and November 1835 Smith began "translating an alphabet to the Book of Abraham, and arranging a grammar of the Egyptian language as practiced by the ancients.". In so doing, Smith worked closely with Cowdery and Phelps.. The result of this effort was a collection of documents and manuscripts now known as the Kirtland Egyptian papers. One of these manuscripts was a bound book titled simply "Grammar & A[l]phabet of the Egyptian Language", which contained Smith's interpretations of the Egyptian glyphs.. The first part of the book focuses almost entirely on deciphering Egyptian characters, and the second part deals with a form of astronomy that was supposedly practiced by the ancient Egyptians. Most of the writing in the book was written not by Smith but rather by a scribe taking down what Smith said..
The "Egyptian Alphabet" manuscript is particularly important because it illustrates how Smith attempted to translate the papyri. First, the characters on the papyri were transcribed onto the left-hand side of the book. Next, a postulation as to what the symbols sounded like was devised. Finally, an English interpretation of the symbol was provided. Smith's subsequent translation of the papyri takes on the form of five "degrees" of interpretation, each degree representing a deeper and more complex level of interpretation..
In translating the book, Smith dictated, and Phelps, Warren Parrish, and Frederick G. Williams acted as scribes.. The complete work was first published serially in the Latter Day Saint movement newspaper Times and Seasons in 1842, and was later canonized in 1880 by the LDS Church as part of its Pearl of Great Price.
Eyewitness accounts of how the Papyri were translated are few and vague. Warren Parrish, who was Joseph Smith's scribe at the time of the translation, wrote in 1838 after he had left the church: "I have set by his side and penned down the translation of the Egyptian Hieroglyphicks [sic] as he claimed to receive it by direct inspiration from Heaven."Warren Parrish, letter to the editor, Painesville Republican, 15 February 1838 Wilford Woodruff and Parley P. Pratt intimated second hand that the Urim and Thummim were used in the translation.Wilford Woodruff journal, February 19, 1842Parley P. Pratt, "Editorial Remarks," Millennial Star 3 (July 1842): 47. "The record is now in course of translation by means of the Urim and Thummim, and proves to be a record written partly by the father of the faithful, Abraham, and finished by Joseph when he was in Egypt." http://www.latterdaytruth.org/pdf/100302.pdf
A non-church member who saw the mummies in Kirtland spoke about the state of the papyri, and the translation process:
Content Book of Abraham text
The Book of Abraham's narrative tells of Abraham's life, travels to Canaan and Egypt, and a vision he received concerning the universe, a pre-mortal existence, and the creation of the world.
The book has five chapters:
Chapter Description Recounts how Abraham's father Terah and his forefathers had turned to "the god of Elkenah, and the god of Libnah, and the god of Mahmackrah, and the god of Korash, and the god of Pharaoh, king of Egypt".Abraham 1:6. Chaldean priests then sacrifice three virgins to pagan gods of stone and wood, and one priest attempts to sacrifice Abraham himself before an angel comes to his rescue... The text then examines the origins of Egypt and its government.. Includes information about God's covenant with Abraham and how it would be fulfilled; in this chapter, Abraham travels from Ur to Canaan, and then to Egypt. Abraham learns about an Egyptian understanding of celestial objects via the Urim and Thummim.. It is in this chapter that Abraham also learns about the "eternal nature of spirits[...] pre-earth life, foreordination, the Creation, the choosing of a Redeemer, and the second estate of man." Along with chapter 5, contains expansions and modifications of the creation narrative in Genesis.. The gods (there are over 48 references to the plurality of the gods in chapters 4 and 5) plan the creation of the earth and life on the earth. The gods complete creation, and Adam names all living creatures.
Nearly half of the Book of Abraham shows a dependence on the King James Version of the Book of Genesis.. According to H. Michael Marquardt, "It seems clear that Smith had the Bible open to Genesis as he dictated this section [i.e., Chapter2] of the 'Book of Abraham.. Smith explained the similarities by reasoning that when Moses penned Genesis, he used the Book of Abraham as a guide, abridging and condensing where he saw fit. As such, since Moses was recalling Abraham's lifetime, his version was in the third person, whereas the Book of Abraham, being written by its eponymous author, was composed in the first person.
The Book of Abraham was incomplete when Joseph Smith died in 1844.John Taylor, the editor of the Times and Seasons, wrote in 1843, "We would further state that we had the promise of Br. Joseph, to furnish us with further extracts from the Book of Abraham". February 1843 edition of the Times and Seasons. see http://thebookofabraham.blogspot.com/2011/07/times-and-seasons-jt-1843.html It is unknown how long the text would be, but Oliver Cowdery gave an indication in 1835 that it could be quite large:
A visitor to Kirtland saw the mummies, and noted, "They say that the mummies were Epyptian, but the records are those of Abraham and Joseph...and a larger volume than the Bible will be required to contain them."William S. West, A Few Interesting Fads, Respecting the Rise, Progress and Pretensions of the Mormons (Warren, Ohio, 1837), 5.
Distinct doctrines
The Book of Abraham text is a source of some distinct Latter Day Saint doctrines, which Mormon author Randal S. Chase calls "truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ that were previously unknown to Church members of Joseph Smith's day." Examples include the nature of the priesthood,. an understanding of the cosmos,. the exaltation of humanity, a pre-mortal existence, the first and second estates, and the plurality of gods.