BYU Studies

The interpretations of figure 2 in Facsimile 3 of "King Pharaoh" or the goddess Isis are not as disparate as they might seem. From ⁠ BYU Studies Quarterly , volume 61, number 4⁠ .

Joseph Smith's identification of figure 1 of Facsimile 3 as Abraham has clashed with the interpretation of Egyptologists who see the figure as Osiris. But is there evidence that the ancients associated Abraham with Osiris in some way? From ⁠ BYU Studies Quarterly , volume 61, number 4⁠ .

Facsimile 3 of the Book of Abraham has been identified in the past as a scene of the judgment of the dead. This interpretation has been prevalent among Egyptologists. However, when compared to other judgment scenes or throne scenes, Facsimile 3 contains several anomalous elements that challenge this categorization.

Joseph Smith identifies figure 7 in Facsimile 2 as "God sitting upon his throne." The figure appears in other ancient Egyptian hypocephali (round amulets like Facsimile 2), and some Egyptologists interpret the figure as Min, one of the oldest Egyptian gods, associated with protection and fertility. From ⁠ BYU Studies Quarterly , volume 61, number 4⁠ .

Joseph Smith's succinct interpretation of figure 6 in Facsimile 2 "converges nicely" with current Egyptological knowledge. From ⁠ BYU Studies Quarterly , volume 61, number 4⁠ .

Figure 5 in Facsimile 2 of the Book of Abraham, a figure of an upside-­down cow, is identified by Joseph Smith with an elaborate explanation. From the viewpoint of current Egyptological knowledge, is Joseph Smith's explanation plausible? From ⁠ BYU Studies Quarterly , volume 61, number 4⁠ .

One of the more puzzling comments in the Book of Abraham comes from the explanation given in figure 1 of Facsimile 2, which speaks of “the measurement according to celestial time [of Kolob], which celestial time signifies one day to a cubit.” Latter-­day Saint commentators on this passage have largely been at a loss to explain what this might mean. However, scientist Hollis R. Johnson proposes a s...

Facsimile 2 of the Book of Abraham is a type of document called a hypocephalus, an amuletic disc placed beneath the head of the mummies of priests or their relatives. The contents of hypocephali have forerunners in earlier Egyptian texts, and intriguingly, an extrabiblical text about Abraham seem to make allusions to the hypocephalus in Facsimile 2. From ⁠ BYU Studies Quarterly , volume 61, number...

The explanation accompanying figure 3 of Facsimile 1 of the Book of Abraham identifies it as “the idolatrous priest of Elkenah attempting to offer up Abraham as a sacrifice.” In order to gauge the validity of this interpretation from an Egyptological perspective, a number of factors need to be considered. From ⁠ BYU Studies Quarterly , volume 61, number 4⁠ .

Facsimile 1 of the Book of Abraham visually depicts the narrative contained in Abraham 1:12–19. As interpreted by Joseph Smith, this scene depicts the attempted sacrifice of Abraham. Other Egyptologists have interpreted the scene differently, basing their interpretations on similar illustrations, but recent evidence of ritual violence in Egypt strengthens Joseph Smith's interpretation. From ⁠...

Latter-­day Saints have offered a number of different approaches to interpreting the facsimiles and the validity of Joseph Smith’s interpretations. One scholar, Kevin L. Barney, has articulated an insightful theory for interpreting the facsimiles that is worth careful consideration. From ⁠ BYU Studies Quarterly , volume 61, number 4⁠ .

The facsimiles in the Book of Abraham attract attention as visual aides in our scriptures. What are some of the most common approaches to interpreting them? From ⁠ BYU Studies Quarterly , volume 61, number 4⁠ .

Thanks to the work of Egyptologists over the past decades, in addition to knowing what texts the extant Egyptian papyri acquired by Joseph Smith in 1835 contain, we also know quite a bit about the ancient owners of the papyri, including a Theban priest named Hor (Horos in Greek). From ⁠ BYU Studies Quarterly , volume 61, number 4⁠ .

Some might ask how likely it would have been for the ancient Egyptians to have known anything about the biblical figure Abraham. In fact, evidence survives today indicating that stories about Abraham were known to the ancient Egyptians as early as the time of the composition of the Joseph Smith Papyri (ca. 330–30 BC). From ⁠ BYU Studies Quarterly , volume 61, number 4⁠ .

As a central figure in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, there are many extrabiblical traditions about the life of the patriarch Abraham. Much of the Book of Abraham's content that is absent from the Genesis account parallels the extrabiblical material from these religious traditions. From ⁠ BYU Studies Quarterly , volume 61, number 4⁠ .

A question that readers of the Book of Abraham might have is how a late copy of Abraham's record ended up in the possession of an ancient Egyptian living many centuries later. One plausible scenario is that ancient Israelites recopied the text over time and brought it into Egypt. Is there sufficient evidence to support this scenario? From ⁠ BYU Studies Quarterly , volume 61, number 4⁠ .

An Egyptianism is a literary or linguistic feature of the Egyptian language. Since Egyptian was not well understood in Joseph Smith's day, it is thought that any knowledge of Egyptian that Joseph Smith may have possessed could only have come by revelation. What Egyptianisms are found in the Book of Abraham? From ⁠ BYU Studies Quarterly , volume 61, number 4⁠ .

Chiasmus is a literary structure commonly found in the Bible, but does it also appear in the Book of Abraham? From BYU Studies Quarterly , volume 61, number 4 .

Some have wondered how the papyrus acquired by Joseph Smith could have possibly been written by Abraham's "own hand" when it dates to circa 300 BC, many centuries after Abraham's lifetime. This episode investigates what the phrase "written by his own hand" would connote in an ancient Egyptian context and whether or not we know what Joseph Smith and early Latter-day Sain...

What does the Book of Abraham's Creation account have in common with creation myths from ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia? From BYU Studies Quarterly , volume 61, number 4 .

Traditional Christianity teaches that God created the universe ex nihilo, or "out of nothing." By contrast, Joseph Smith taught that God created the universe ex materia, or by organizing pre-existing materials, and this teaching is present in the Book of Abraham. The ancient cultures of Egypt, Syria-Canaan, and Mesopotamia also seem to envision creation as bringing order to a preexisting...

The Bible and ancient extrabiblical texts sometimes make allusions to Lucifer's fall from heaven. Is the mythic archetype of a fallen angel also present in Near Eastern literature from Abraham's day? From ⁠ BYU Studies Quarterly , volume 61, number 4⁠ .

The Book of Abraham's passage about the premortal council identifies Jesus not with his name, but a title: "One answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me" (Abraham 3:27). What is the significance of this title? From BYU Studies Quarterly , volume 61, number 4 .

The Book of Abraham clearly teaches the idea of a premortal existence and the divine foreordination of rulers. Do these teachings find a plausible context in the ancient Near East? From BYU Studies Quarterly , volume 61, number 4 .

The Creation account in the Book of Abraham tells of a plurality of Gods who carry out the Creation. Significantly, these Gods are said to have taken "counsel" among themselves. After Joseph Smith's lifetime, archaeologists uncovering texts from Egypt, Syria-Palestine, and Mesopotamia discovered creation myths involving a group of divine beings collaborating as a heavenly council, or...