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in New York. Subsequently, an additional
fragment was located in the LDS Church Historian's Office. They are
now referred to as the Joseph Smith
Papyri. Some Mormon Egyptologists
have speculated that the Book of Abraham may not be a literal
translation of these papyri, and that the papyri were not written
by the hand of Abraham. Non-Mormon
Egyptologists generally consider the Book of Abraham to be
unrelated to the text of the papyri which are portions of Egyptian funerary texts,
dating to about the first century BC. Non-Mormon Egyptologists say
the papyri text bears no resemblance to the translation given by
Joseph Smith, although Mormon apologists have argued there are
several parallels. As a result, the interpretation of the texts has
been the source of significant controversy with Mormon critics and
apologists differing on the reasons for the discrepancy. Critics
view the discrepancy as evidence that the Book of Abraham is solely
a 19th century work by Joseph Smith.
Apologists suggest several other theories, such as that Smith used
the funerary texts as inspiration to construct an older work, that
the texts are a corrupted version of an original written by Abraham
centuries earlier, or that Smith's translation was based on
fragments of papyri that were lost.
, then home of the Latter-Day Saints.
Although the Rosetta Stone had been
discovered in 1799, the ability to read Egyptian wasn't 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 $2400 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.
"...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 Thursday 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).
Egyptologist John Gee,
Michael D. Rhodesand Brian
Hauglid have offered detailed rebuttals to the criticisms and
explanations of the differences.
Facsimile No.
| Figure | Joseph Smith Explanation | Explanation by Egyptologists (quotes are from Deveria 1860) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Angel of the Lord. | "The soul of Osiris (which should have a human head)" |
| 2 | Abraham fastened upon an altar. | "Osiris coming to life on his couch, which is in the shape of a lion" |
| 3 | The idolatrous priest of Elkenah attempting to offer up Abraham as a sacrifice. | "The God Anubis (who should have a jackal's head) effecting the resurrection of Osiris" |
| 4 | The altar for sacrifice by the idolatrous priests, standing before the gods of Elkenah, Libnah, Mahmackrah, Korash, and Pharaoh. | "The funeral bed of Osiris" |
| 5 | The idolatrous god of Elkenah. | Canopic jar portraying Qebehsenuf with a falcon's head - one of the four sons of Horus |
| 6 | The idolatrous god of Libnah. | Canopic jar portraying Duamutef with a jackal's head - one of the four sons of Horus |
| 7 | The idolatrous god of Mahmackrah. | Canopic jar portraying Hapy with an ape's head - one of the four sons of Horus |
| 8 | The idolatrous god of Korash. | Canopic jar portraying Imsety with a human head - one of the four sons of Horus |
| 9 | The idolatrous god of Pharaoh. | "The sacred crocodile, symbolic of the god Sedet" |
| 10 | Abraham in Egypt. | "Altar laden with offerings" |
| 11 | Designed to represent the pillars of heaven, as understood by the Egyptians. | "An ornament peculiar to Egyptian art" |
| 12 | Raukeeyang, signifying expanse, or the firmament over our heads; but in this case, in relation to this subject, the Egyptians meant it to signify Shaumau, to be high, or the heavens, answering to the Hebrew word, Shaumahyeem. | "Customary representation of ground in Egyptian paintings (The word Shauman is not Egyptian, and the Hebrew word is badly copied)" |
Facsimile No.
| Figure | Joseph Smith Explanation | Explanation by Egyptologists (quotes are from Deveria) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kolob, signifying the first creation, nearest to the celestial, or the residence of God. First in government, the last pertaining to the measurement of time. The measurement according to celestial time, which celestial time signifies one day to a cubit. One day in Kolob is equal to a thousand years according to the measurement of this earth, which is called by the Egyptians Jah-oh-eh. | "The spirit of the four elements (according to Champollion), or
rather of the four winds, or the four cardinal points; the soul of
the terrestrial world. This god is always represented with
four rams' heads, and his image has certainly been altered here. —
They have also evidently made a very clumsy attempt at copying the
double human head of the god figured above, fig. 2, instead of the
four rams' heads. The word Jah-oh-eh has nothing Egyptian in it; it
resembles the Hebrew word [redacted] badly transcribed." (emphasis
in original) The name hieroglyph above the central figure is
Chnm-Re, the Egyptian "First Creator" god who organized everything
out of the primordial chaos. |- |2 |Stands next to Kolob, called by
the Egyptians Oliblish, which is the next grand governing creation
near to the celestial or the place where God resides; holding the
key of power also, pertaining to other planets; as revealed from
God to Abraham, as he offered sacrifice upon an altar, which he had
built unto the Lord. |"[[Ammon-Ra]], with two human heads, meant
probably to represent both the invisible or mysterious principle of
Ammon, and the visible or luminous principle of [[Ra]], the sun; or
else the double and simultaneous principle of father and son; which
characterizes divinity in the religion of ancient Egypt. — The word
Oliblish is no more Egyptian than those already met with, nor than
those which are to be found in the Mormon explanation." |- |3 |Is
made to represent God, sitting upon his throne, clothed with power
and authority; with a crown of eternal light upon his head;
representing also the grand Key-words of the Holy Priesthood, as
revealed to Adam in the Garden of Eden, as also to Seth, Noah,
Melchizedek, Abraham, and all to whom the Priesthood was revealed.
|"The [[Ra|sun god Ra]], with a hawk's head, seated in his boat. In
the field the two symbolical figuring, according to M. de Rougé,
the fixed points of an astronomical period." |- |4 |Answers to the
Hebrew word Raukeeyang, signifying expanse, or the firmament of the
heavens; also a numerical figure, in Egyptian signifying one
thousand; answering to the measuring of the time of Oliblish, which
is equal with Kolob in its revolution and in its measuring of time.
|Deveria commented; "The Hebrew word [redacted], Roki'a, expansum,
solidum, ecclum, firmamentum, besides being badly described, has no
relation whatever to this figure, which represents a mummified
hawk, called in Egyptian [[Ah'em]]. It is the symbol of the divine
repose of death; its extended wings have reference to the
resurrection." |- |5 |Is called in Egyptian Enish-go-on-dosh; this
is one of the governing planets also, and is said by the Egyptians
to be the Sun, and to borrow its light from Kolob through the
medium of Kae-e-vanrash, which is the grand Key, or, in other
words, the governing power, which governs fifteen other fixed
planets or stars, as also Floeese or the Moon, the Earth and the
Sun in their annual revolutions. This planet receives its power
through the medium of Kli-flos-is-es, or Hah-ko-kau-beam, the stars
represented by numbers 22 and 23, receiving light from the
revolutions of Kolob. |"The ''mystic cow'', the ''great cow'',
symbolizing the inferior hemisphere of the heavens. It is called
the ''virgin cow'' at ch. 162 of the funerary ritual, which
particularly enjoins that its image be painted on the hypocephalus,
and another image of it in gold on the throat of the defunct. It is
the form of [[Hathor]], who figures on several monuments under the
name of ''noub'', gold. Behind the cow is a goddess, whose head,
represented by a mystic eye in a disk, is incorrectly copied."
(emphasis in original) |- |6 |Represents this earth in its four
quarters. |"The four funerary genii, the sons of [Horus],
[[Amset]], [[Hapy]], [[Tioumautew]], and [[Kebhsoniw]]." |- |7
|Represents God sitting upon his throne, revealing through the
heavens the grand Key-words of the Priesthood; as, also, the sign
of the Holy Ghost unto Abraham, in the form of a dove. |"The form
of [[Amun|Ammon]], with a bird's tail, or Horammon (?). An
[[phallus|ithyphallic]] serpent, with human legs, offers him a
symbolical eye. This last figure has certainly been altered in the
hypocephalus of the Mormons." |- |8 |Contains writings that cannot
be revealed unto the world; but is to be had in the Holy Temple of
God. | rowspan="4" | "Four lines of the linear heiroglyphic text,
which are numbered from bottom to top, instead of top to bottom.
The meaning is: ''O great god in Sekhem, O great God, Lord of
heaven, earth, and hell...Osiris S'es'esq''..." |- |9 |Ought not to
be revealed at the present time. |- |10 |Also. |- |11 |Also. If the
world can find out these numbers, so let it be. Amen. |- |12, 13,
14, 15 |rowspan = "3" | Will be given in the own due time of the
Lord. |"Four lines of writing similar to the former, of which they
are the pendant. They appear to be numbered upside down, and are
illegibly copied." |- |16, 17 |"Two more lines which cannot be
deciphered in the copy. It begins above the god with two human
heads, fig. 2 ; and there is in it twice mention made of a sacred
dwelling-place in [[Heliopolis (ancient)|Heliopolis]]. " |- |18,
19, 20, and 21 |"These columns of writing, illegible in the copy.
It is evident to me that several of the figures to be found in
these various MSS. have been intentionally altered." |} ====Lacunae
in facsimile 2==== Michael Rhodes stated; "A careful examination of
Facsimile 2 shows that there is a difference between most of the
hieroglyphic signs and the signs on the right third of the figure
on the outer edge as well as the outer portions of the sections
numbered 12-15. These signs are hieratic, not hieroglyphic, and are
inverted, or upside down, to the rest of the text. In fact, they
are a fairly accurate copy of lines 2, 3, and 4 of the Joseph Smith
Papyrus XI, which contains a portion of the Book of Breathings.
Especially clear is the word snsn, in section 14, and part of the
name of the mother of the owner of the papyrus, (tay-)uby.t,
repeated twice on the outer edge. An ink drawing of the
hypocephalus in the Church Historian's office shows these same
areas as being blank. It is likely that these portions were
destroyed on the original hypocephalus and someone (the engraver,
one of Joseph Smith's associates, or Joseph himself) copied the
lines from the Book of Breathings papyrus for aesthetic
purposes."[http://home.comcast.net/~michael.rhodes/JosephSmithHypocephalus.pdf
The Joseph Smith Hypocephalus]
====Facsimile No. 3==== Joseph Smith claimed that this image
represented [[Abraham]] sitting on the [[Pharaoh (Book of
Abraham)|Pharaoh]]'s throne teaching the principles of
[[astronomy]] to the Egyptian court. Unlike the other two
facsimiles, it is unclear if any lacunae were reconstructed by
Joseph Smith, though Deveria postulates that he did (See figure 6
below). As with the other two facsimiles, his interpretation is at
odds with Egyptologists, as shown below: Egyptologists interpret
this as a typical scene of [[The Book of the Dead]] which
accompanied the ''Book of Breathings'' of the owner of the scroll,
in which the deceased person for whom the scroll was made is
presented before the Egyptian god, [[Osiris]].See for example
{{cite web| url =
http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/funerary_practices/judgment.htm|
title = The Judgment of the Dead| accessdate = 2006-08-07}}
Hieroglyphics at the bottom of the scroll identify the owner of the
scroll, a priest named HorThe name of the deceased in facsimile 3
would eventually link it to the recovered original papyri - see the
section in this article on the "Loss and rediscovery of the
papyri". Osiris is seated on a throne, wearing the [[Atef]] crown
and holding a sceptre and a flail. Behind him stands [[Isis]],
wearing the Horned Sun Disk headdress. To the right are [[Ma'at]],
with the feather headdress, Hor (deceased owner of the scroll) and
behind Hor stands [[Anubis]] the god of embalming.{{cite web| url =
http://www.historylink101.net/egypt_1/gods_osiris.htm| title =
Osiris| accessdate = 2006-08-07}} [[Image:Abraham Facsimile
3.png|thumb|right|420px|Facsimile No. 3 from the Book of Abraham.]]
{| border="1" |- !Figure !Joseph Smith Explanation{{cite web| url =
http://scriptures.lds.org/abr/fac_3| title = Facsimile No. 3|
accessdate = 2006-08-07}} !Explanation by Egyptologists (quotes are
from Robert K. Ritner 2003{{Harvnb|Ritner|2003|pp=176-177}}) |-
|General Comment |Abraham is reasoning upon the principles of
Astronomy, in the king’s court. |"Invocation (text at bottom line
below the illustration): O gods of the necropolis, gods of the
caverns, gods of the south, north, west, and east grant salvation
to the Osiris Hor, the justified, born by Taikhibit." |- |1
|Abraham sitting upon Pharaoh’s throne, by the politeness of the
king, with a crown upon his head, representing the Priesthood, as
emblematical of the grand Presidency in Heaven; with the scepter of
justice and judgment in his hand. |"Label for [[Osiris]] (text to
the right of figure 1 of facsimile 3): Recitation by Osiris,
Foremost of the Westerners, Lord of [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]](?),
the great god forever and ever(?)." |- |2 |King Pharaoh, whose name
is given in the characters above his head. |"Label for [[Isis]]
(text to the right of figure 2 of facsimile 3): Isis the great, the
god's mother." |- |3 |Signifies Abraham in Egypt as given also in
Figure 10 of Facsimile No. 1. |"Altar, with the offering of the
deceased, surrounded with [[lotus flowers]], signifying the
offering of the defunct." --Theodule Deveria |- |4 |Prince of
Pharaoh, King of Egypt, as written above the hand. |"Label for
[[Maàt|Maat]] (text to the left of figure 4 of facsimile 3): Maat,
mistress of the gods." |- |5 |Shulem, one of the king’s principal
waiters, as represented by the characters above his hand. |"Label
for Hor the deceased (text in front of figure 5 of facsimile 3):
The Osiris Hor, justified forever." |- |6 |Olimlah, a slave
belonging to the prince. |"Label for [[Anubis]] (text in front of
figure 6 of facsimile 3): Recitation by Anubis, who makes
protection(?), foremost of the embalming booth,..." |} ===General
statements by Egyptologists=== 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.{{Harvnb|Larson|1985|pp=25}} 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]]'' in 1873. Additionally, later in 1912, Reverend
Franklin S. Spalding sent copies of the three facsimiles to eight
Egyptologists and Semetists 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 immediately recognized the facsimiles as portions of
ordinary funerary documents, and some harshly condemned Joseph
Smith's interpretation, as shown below: Egyptologist Dr. 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."{{Harvnb|Spaulding|n.d.|pp=26-27}}Dr. W.M. Flinders Petrie of London University wrote: "It may be safely said that there is not one single word that is true in these explanations"{{Harvnb|Spaulding|n.d.|p=24}}Dr. A.H. Sayce, Oxford professor of Egyptology, “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.”{{Harvnb|Spaulding|n.d.|p=23}}===Alleged false reconstruction of lacunae=== Several Egyptologists, including Theodule Deveria, Klaus Baer, Rickard A. Parker, and Dr. ALbert Lythgoe noted that portions of Facsimile 1 appeared to be incorrect, based on comparison with other similar Egyptian vignettes, and suspected that they had been reconstructed from [[lacuna (manuscript)|lacunae]] in the original papyri.{{Harvnb|Larson|1985|pp=25}} - "...some elements in several of the drawings appeared to Deveria to be guesswork, probably incorrect restorations of missing sections of the original papyri." The papyri containing Facsimile 1 is acknowledged by Egyptologists to be a version of [[The Book of Breathings]].{{Harvnb|Baer|1968|pp=111}} - Egyptologist Klaus Baer identified it as ''The Book of Breathings'', although he preferred to call it a ''Breathing Permit'' - see note 7 in the Baer article on page 111.{{Harvnb|Wilson|1968|pp=68}}{{Harvnb|Baer|1968|pp=118}}{{Harvnb|Parker|1968|pp=86}}{{Harvnb|Stenhouse|1878|pp=513-514}} Lythgoe well 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.""Museum Walls Proclaim Fraud of Mormon Prophet", New York Times, Magazine Section, December 29, 1912. pg 1, 3.Other alleged misconstructions were also noted by these Egyptologists.Both Miller and Baer also noted the positions of the limbs of Osiris in the facsimile, stating that one limb should have been below the body, or grasping his [[phallus]] as part of the conception of [[Horus]]. See {{Harvnb|Baer|1968|pp=119}} and {{Harvnb|Parker|1968|pp=86}} Later, when the original papyri were discovered (see section below), critics quickly noted that these portions were indeed missing, including the head of the standing figure, and suggested that Joseph Smith had filled in the missing portions in the published version of the facsimile.{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}} Mormon apologists allege that the statements by these Egyptologists are speculation and that Joseph Smith's reconstruction was either correct, or inconsequential to the original interpretation.Rhodes points out that "Baer's, Coenen and Quackenbur's assumption that the missing portion would show an erect phallus with a hawk above it representing the conception of Osiris is not likely since the figure on the couch is wearing a kilt. Also the position of the hand of Anubis would be where the erect phallus would be. In all representations showing Osiris with an erect phallus, he is nude."{{Harvnb|Rhodes|2005|p=19}} Scholars and Egyptologists have also criticized Facsimile 2 for containing false reconstruction of lacunae, suggesting that Joseph Smith reconstructed portions of the vignette with characters from another papyrus.{{Harvnb|Larson|1985|pp=108}} Critics note that an incomplete version of facsimile 2 is found among the [[Kirtland Egyptian Papers]], part of which are in the handwriting of Joseph Smith. Comparing the published version of Facsimile 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 2, with some of the characters being upside down.{{Harvnb|Larson|1985|pp=106, 108}} Some Mormon apologists have proposed that the facsimiles were filled in to make the images more aesthetically pleasing, and have little to do with the actual interpretation of them{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}}. Others note that it is unclear if Joseph Smith himself filled in the facsimiles{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}}, although he was the editor of Times and Seasons, the periodical in which the facsimiles first appeared, and as such would have approved any images that were included{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}}. ===Apologist perspectives=== {{Synthesis|date=June 2008}} ====Egyptologists' explanation challenged==== Apologists note that there are differences between the vignette and other comparable vignettes, which might render the standard interpretation incorrect. As John Gee and Michael R. Ash pointed out: The late Klaus Baer, a non-LDS Egyptologist from the University of Chicago, claimed the Facsimile 1 and 3 are unusual and it would be erroneous to claim that dozens of similar examples could be found. "Facsimile 3," he went on to note, "is not a judgment scene [as often claimed by critics] and exact parallels may be hard to find."John Gee, "A Tragedy of Errors", ''FARMS Review'' (1992) 4:1, 100 and n22; quoted in Ash, Michael R. ''Shaken Faith Syndrome''. United States of America: The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR). 2008.====Other Comments==== Kerry Shirts noted the presence of the name hieroglyph for Chnum-Re (Khnum-Re) above the figure labeled 1. Chnm-Re is the Egyptian "First Creator" the god who organized everything out of the primordial chaos.http://www2.ida.net/grpahics/shirtail/amunre.htm Also noted is the amulet of Osiris, or level and square, immediately behind the head of the seated figure labeled 7, in the form of a plumb level and square, as described by Petrie.W.M. Flinders Petrie, Amulates, (London, 1914) pl. 4.http://www.shields-research.org/Graphics/Masonry/fig_h.jpg and BudgeSir Wallace Budge's statement was; "In Egypt, the "amulets" of Osiris included two plumb lines, suspended from two compasses, as well as two squares". E. A. Wallace-Budge, Osiris (reprint, N.Y., 1973), II:37, 39.) John Gee provided comparisons of the meanings of the figures in Facsimile No. 2 in his article "Towards an Interpretation of Hypocephali" which illustrate the importance of using the associated text as well as the images when interpreting the meaning of the images on hypocephali.[http://farms.byu.edu/display-print.php?table=review&id=649 Maxwell Institute] In reference to criticism of the interpretation of the Hypocephalus he stated: "If we ignore the ancient Egyptian identifications of the various figures in the hypocephali, we will construct an understanding of hypocephali that bears no resemblance to the ancient Egyptian understanding. We will, in short, not understand [hypocephali] at all."[http://www.farmsresearch.com/display.php?table=insights&id=402 Research on Hypocephali - Maxwell Institute Insights ] [[Michael D. Rhodes]] explains that "Although we can, with the help of other similar texts, reconstruct the text and figures of the Joseph Smith Hypocephalus with a fair degree of accuracy, we are still far from completely understanding the message which the Egyptians meant to convey by it. The text of the hypocephalus itself seems to be an address to Osiris, the god of the Dead, on behalf of the deceased, Sheshonk. As is the case with most Egyptian texts (especially religious text), it is full of references to matters either obscure or unknown to us, although undoubtedly clear to the Egyptians. Needless to say, much work is still to be done before we can fully understand the import of the Joseph Smith Hypocephalus, and hypocephali in general."[http://bhporter.com/Translation_Fac_2.htm Translation Fac. 2] ==Loss and rediscovery of the papyrus== After Joseph Smith's death, the Egyptian artifacts were in the possession of his mother, [[Lucy Mack Smith]], until her death on May 14, 1856. Joseph Smith's widow, [[Emma Hale Smith]] Bidamon, her second husband Lewis C. Bidamon, and her son Joseph Smith III, sold "four Egyptian mummies with the records with them" to Mr. Abel Combs on May 26, 1856.''The Improvement Era'', January 1968, pp. 12-16{{Harvnb|Peterson|n.d.|p=16}} Ten weeks later two of the mummies and some of the papyri were being displayed in St. Louis by a Mr. Edward Wyman.{{Harvnb|Peterson|n.d.|p=6}} The St. Louis Museum was closed in July 1863 and its collection moved to the Chicago Museum, which was sold to Joseph H. Wood in 1864. The renamed Wood's Museum was destroyed in the [[Great Chicago Fire]] of 1871. Combs kept at least some of the mounted papyri fragments, which passed into the possession of Combs' housekeeper, Charlotte Weaver Huntsman, and then to her daughter, Alice Combs Weaver Heusser. In 1918, Alice Heusser approached the New York [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (MMA) with some papyri in her possession, which the museum declined. In 1947, Ludlow Bull, associate curator of Department of Egyptian Art at the MMA, acquired them from Edward Heusser, Alice's widower. In May 1966, [[Aziz Suryal Atiya]] of the [[University of Utah]] discovered ten of the eleven known papyri fragments in the MMA archives{{Harvnb|Todd|n.d.}} when he recognized one as the vignette known as Facsmile No. 1 from the [[Pearl of Great Price]]. According to Henry G. Fischer, curator of the Egyptian Collection at the MMA, an anonymous donation to the MMA made it possible for the LDS church to acquire the papyri."[http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/dialogue&CISOPTR=2869&REC=8 The Facsimile Found: The Recovery of Joseph Smith's Papyrus Manuscripts]", ''[[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought]]'' (Winter 1967), p. 64 These fragments, originally called the Sensen Papyrus, were designated [[Joseph Smith Papyri|Joseph Smith Papyrus I, X, and XI]].{{Harvnb|Barney|2006}} Other fragments, designated JSP II, IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII, are thought by critics to be the Book of Joseph that Smith referred to. Egyptologist John A. Wilson stated that the recovered fragments indicate the existence of at least six to eight separate documents.{{Harvnb|Wilson|1968|p=57}} The eleventh fragment was discovered in the LDS Church Historian's office and was dubbed the "Church Historian's Fragment". Disclosed by the church in 1968, the fragment was designated JSP IX. LDS scholars believe that much of the original papyri is missing, while critics tend to believe that the majority of the papyri have been recovered. In 1968, it was estimated by Walter Whipple that the fragments constituted roughly one-third of Joseph Smith's original collection of papyri.Walter Whipple, et al., ''From the Dust of the Decades'' (Salt Lake City, 1968) p.116 - as cited by {{Harvnb|Larson|1985|pp=36}} In 2000, Mormon Egyptologist John Gee provided a graphical comparison of the relative extent of the known fragments to other complete examples of similar scrolls{{Harvnb|Gee|2000|pp=12-13}} which indicated the total at about twenty percent. These estimates have been disputed by critics. Charles Larson believes that the recovered papyri represent the majority of the original set.{{Citation needed|date=June 2009}} There is broad agreement that the recovered papyri are portions of the originals, partly based on the fact that they were pasted onto paper which had "drawings of a temple and maps of the Kirtland, Ohio area" on the back and an accompanying affidavit by [[Emma Smith]], stating that they had been in the possession of Joseph Smith.''The [[Deseret News]]'', Salt Lake City, November 27, 1967 ==Analysis and translation of the papyrus== [[Image:Joseph Smith Papyrus VII.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Two fragments from the [[Joseph Smith Papyri]] which were translated by Egyptologists. The modern translation of the papyri differs from Joseph Smith's original interpretation.]] In November 1967 the LDS church asked [[Hugh Nibley]], a professor of ancient scripture at [[Brigham Young University]] (BYU), to study the fragments. Nibley was a linguist, but not an Egyptologist, and subsequently studied under John A. Wilson and Klaus Baer in an attempt to learn enough about the Egyptian characters to translate them himself.{{Harvnb|Larson|1985|pp=54}} - "...Dr. Nibley was not an Egyptologist, as he himself was first to admit...shortly after learning of [the existence of the papyri], he had begun to study Egyptian in Chicago with Dr. John A. Wilson" The LDS church published sepia photographs of the papyri in its magazine "The Improvement Era" in February 1968, although a translation was not provided at the time. The editors of an independent quarterly journal Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, arranged a translation of the papyri from the photographs by three American Egyptologists; John A. Wilson (University of Chicago  , Oriental Institute), Klaus Baer (University of
Chicago, Oriental Institute), and Richard A. Parker (Director of the Department of
Egyptology, Brown
University ).
Their translations were published in Dialogue in the
summer and autumn of 1968.Other translations and analyses have been performed at various times since 1968 by Mormon and non-Mormon scholars, including Michael D. Rhodes (BYU), John Gee (BYU), and Robert K. Ritner (University of Chicago). The translations among all of these scholars are consistent. Translation ExcerptsThe translation by both Mormon and non-Mormon Egyptologists bears no resemblance to the text of the Book of Abraham as purportedly translated by Joseph Smith. Several excerpts of these modern translations are shown below.BYU scholar Michael Rhodes summarized the content of the papyri as follows: "The Hor Book of Breathings is a part of eleven papyri fragments... from three separate papyri scrolls. Joseph Smith Papyri I, X, and XI are from the Book of Breathings belonging to Hor (Hr) the son of Usirwer. Joseph Smith Papyri II, IV, V, VI, VII, and IX all came from a Book of the Dead belonging to Tshemmim (Ts-sri.t Min.), the daughter of Eskhons (Ns-Hnsw). Finally, Joseph Smith Papyrus III is part of Chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead belonging to Neferirtnub (Nfr-ir(.t)-nbw). Egytologist Klaus Baer translated the writing flanking the vignette which was the source of Facsimile No. 1 as follows: ... the prophet of Amonrasonter, prophet [?] of Min Bull-of-his-Mother, prophet [?] of Khons the Governor... Hor, justified, son of the holder of the same titles, master of secrets, and purifier of the gods Osorwer, justified [?]... Tikhebyt, justified. May your ba live among them, and may you be buried in the West...May you give him a good, splendid burial on the West of Thebes just like ... (Hor is the name of the mummified deceased and Tikhebyt is the name of Hor’s mother. The ba is his spirit.) The lower middle section of the Joseph Smith Papyrus fragment Facsimile No. 1 was initially translated by Richard Parker of Brown University. His translation is as follows: this great pool of Khonsu [Osiris Hor, justified], born of Taykhebyt, a man likewise. After (his) two arms are [fast]ened to his breast, one wraps the Book of Breathings, which is with writing both inside and outside of it, with royal linen, it being placed (at) his left arm near his heart, this having been done at his wrapping and outside it. If this book be recited for him, then he will breathe like the soul[s of the gods] for ever and ever. Criticism and responseThe arguments concerning the Book of Abraham primarily concern the source of the text of the Book of Abraham, Joseph Smith's method of "translation" and his explanations of the meanings of the vignettes. Currently there is little argument concerning the transliteration of the Egyptian writing on the fragments, as evidenced by the broad agreement in the translations by LDS and non LDS Egyptologists. Critics primarily use inerrancy and identification of texts as their primary arguments against the Book of Abraham's authenticity;
A number of theories have been presented in defense of the official LDS Church position that the work is a revelation from God, through Joseph Smith, which tells a true story of actual events from the life of Abraham;
Book of JosephAs noted above, a second untranslated work was identified by Joseph Smith after scrutinizing the original papyri. He said that one scroll contained "the writings of Joseph of Egypt". Based on descriptions by Oliver Cowdery, some, including Charles M. Larson, believe that the fragments Joseph Smith II, IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII are the source of this work.See alsoNotes
References
External linksNeutral perspectives
Apologists' perspectives
Critical perspectives
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