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New Information On Facsimiles
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
The Sons of Horus, who appear in figures 5-8 of Facsimile 1 and figure 6 of Facsimile 2 in the Book of Abraham, are the subject of a new study by John Gee: ''Notes on the Sons of Horus." This illustrated study focuses on the history of these gods in Egypt, their role in Egyptian religion and burial practices, their connection with sacrifice, and their exportation from Egypt.
References To Abraham Found In Two Egyptian Texts, John Gee
References To Abraham Found In Two Egyptian Texts, John Gee
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
After years of going unnoticed, significant references to Abraham have recently surfaced in two Egyptian texts. They provide important links between father Abraham and Facsimiles 1 and 2 in the Pearl of Great Price. The two references are found in papyri catalogued as Leiden 1 383 and I 384. Both texts come from Thebes and date to about the same time as the Joseph Smith papyri.
New Paper Examines Facsimile 2
New Paper Examines Facsimile 2
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
Facsimile 2 of the Pearl of Great Price is perhaps the most enigmatic aspect of the revelations and translations of Joseph Smith. In a paper recently delivered at the F.A.R.M.S. brown bag seminar (available on the order form), Michael D. Rhodes discussed numerous advances over the last two decades in our understanding of Egyptian materials that shed light on Facsimile 2, the Joseph Smith Hypocephalus. The paper contains a transcription, a transliteration, and a translation of the text, plus background on the nature and significance of hypocephali in ancient Egypt and a commentary on specific details of the Joseph Smith …
Figure 6 Of Facsimile 2 The Focus Of Lecture By Nibley
Figure 6 Of Facsimile 2 The Focus Of Lecture By Nibley
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
On 15 March, Hugh W. Nibley, professor emeritus of Ancient Scripture at BYU, presented a lecture in the FARMS Brown Bag series entitled "Figure 6 of Facsimile 2." The lecture, held in the Joseph Smith Building's conference room, was well attended--indeed, it was "standing room only." Professors, students, and other friends of FARMS gathered to hear Brother Nibley's insights on the meanings of Egyptian symbols in the facsimiles purchased by Joseph Smith and included in the Pearl of Great Price. Brother Nibley discussed the Lord's comment that explanations of the facsimiles "will be given in the own due time of …
Brown Bags Keep Participants Up To Date On Ongoing Research
Brown Bags Keep Participants Up To Date On Ongoing Research
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
In the FARMS brown bag lecture series during the last two months Hugh Nibley spoke about figure 6 from Facsimile 2 of the book of Abraham (a transcript is available; see the accompanying article on this page), Steve Booras and Don Parry demonstrated the Dead Sea Scroll Electronic Database that we have reported on in previous issues of Insights, Gene Clark reported on his preliminary research on metals near the probable site of Old World Bountiful (see the article on page 5), Noel Reynolds explored the ways that 1 Nephi gives political support to Nephi' s prophetic role, and …
The Crocodile God Of Pharaoh In Mesopotamia, John Gee
The Crocodile God Of Pharaoh In Mesopotamia, John Gee
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
In the famous anti-Mormon crusade against the book of Abraham in 1912, one of the individuals involved asserted that the book of Abraham could not be true because "Chaldeans and Egyptians are hopelessly mixed together, although as dissimilar and remote in language, religion and locality as are American and Chinese." This exaggerated opinion was seconded by the Reverend Samuel A. B. Mercer: "I challenge any intelligent person who knows Chaldean and Egyptian history to read the first chapter of said book [of Abraham] without experiencing the same feeling. Chaldea and Egypt are hopelessly mixed . . . . No one …
Farms Lecture Series Focuses On Book Of Abraham
Farms Lecture Series Focuses On Book Of Abraham
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
During a March lecture series at Brigham Young University, three Latter-day Saint scholars shared recent research on the Book of Abraham. This research supports the ancient origin and character of the Book of Abraham. Sponsored by FARMS, the free public lectures drew large crowds, filling an auditorium to capacity and necessitating overflow accommodations. (The final lecture, "Abraham's Creation Drama," given by Hugh Nibley on 6 April, will be covered in next month's newsletter.)
Abraham In Egypt
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
This revised and polished edition of Abraham in Egypt combines Hugh Nibley' s greatest lectures on Abraham with several new chapters that originally appeared in the Improvement Era from 1968 to 1970 as the series "A Look at the Pearl of Great Price." In this volume Nibley counters the attacks of critics and demonstrates how the Book of Abraham is just what Joseph Smith claimed it to be.
New Edition Of Abraham In Egypt Released
New Edition Of Abraham In Egypt Released
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
Eminent LDS scholar Hugh W. Nibley has long been a student and defender of the Book of Abraham. Now released in an enlarged and expanded second edition, Nibley's Abraham in Egypt (originally published by Deseret Book in 1981) focuses on the authenticity of the Book of Abraham. The edition includes four new chapters and several new sections within existing chapters. Additionally, more than 100 helpful illustrations enhance the text, and meticulous source checking and a new documentation format make the references easier for the reader to navigate.
Forthcoming Publications
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
Abraham in Egypt, by Hugh W. Nibley, second edition, edited by Gary P. Gillum. This book duplicates the original 1981 volume published by Deseret Book but adds chapters from Nibley's "A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price" series that appeared in the Improvement Era from 1968 to 1970. Nibley examines discoveries that have shed light on Abraham and his times and that help confirm the authenticity of the Book of Abraham. Available in spring 2000.
World Of Abraham Topic Of Farms Conference
World Of Abraham Topic Of Farms Conference
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
Continuing a series of conferences on the Book of Abraham, the Institute sponsored “The World of Abraham,” a free public event at Brigham Young University on 23 March featuring new research that further illuminates the geographical and cultural horizons of the Book of Abraham. Institute executive director Daniel Oswald greeted a crowd of 350 people in the Tanner Building auditorium and dozens more in an overflow room. Many others viewed the event via delayed Web transmission a few hours later.
Symposium Reports Research On Abraham Traditions
Symposium Reports Research On Abraham Traditions
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
A FARMS symposium at BYU on Saturday, 26 January, highlighted findings from a years-long effort to collect, translate, and publish ancient accounts of the early life of the patriarch Abraham. Titled “Traditions about the Early Life of Abraham,” the free public event featured presentations by John Tvedtnes, Brian Hauglid, and John Gee, compilers and editors of a new book of the same title published by the Institute under the FARMS imprint.
Forthcoming Publications
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
Astronomy, Papyrus, and Covenant, edited by John Gee
and Brian Hauglid, is volume 3 in the Book of Abraham
Series. It includes FARMS conference papers on the Book
of Abraham and its commonalities with ancient texts,
Abraham’s vision of the heavens, and the significance of
the Abrahamic covenant. Available autumn 2003.
The Book Of Abraham: An Ongoing Research Focus
The Book Of Abraham: An Ongoing Research Focus
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
In 1998 FARMS’s longtime interest in advancing research supportive of the Book of Abraham as an ancient text found new emphasis and direction as a formalized FARMS project, an impetus made possible by a farsighted donor: the Robert Gay family. Soon a working group of scholars was convened to exchange research and ideas on the text. The resulting exchange of information led to FARMS-sponsored public lectures and a scholarly conference in 1999. The next year saw publication of John Gee’s Guide to the Joseph Smith Papyri and, fortuitously, an enlarged edition of Hugh Nibley’s Abraham in Egypt (a project years …
Nibley Classic On Papyri Given New Life In Second Edition
Nibley Classic On Papyri Given New Life In Second Edition
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
After years of intense effort, the long-overdue second edition of Hugh Nibley’s 1975 book The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment is at press. This new edition has been meticulously pre-pared by BYU Egyptologists John Gee and Michael D. Rhodes, who upgraded this Nibley classic on many points (some unseen, others impossible to miss, such as the superior illustrations by Michael Lyon) while preserving the original con-tent. Published by FARMS and Deseret Book, this edition is a fitting tribute to Nibley’s pioneering work and will enable a new generation of students and scholars to profit from Nibley’s …
New Volume Explores Themes, Background Of Book Of Abraham
New Volume Explores Themes, Background Of Book Of Abraham
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
Astronomy, Papyrus, and Covenant, the third volume in FARMS’s Studies in the Book of Abraham, was recently published and is now available. This book deals with three broad themes: astronomy in the Book of Abraham, the background of the Joseph Smith Papyri, and the nature of the Abrahamic covenant. In the course of treating these subjects, various papers discuss Jews in Ptolemaic Egypt, commonalities between the Book of Abraham and ancient Islamic texts, accounts of Abraham in 19th-century America, and a number of other interesting issues. All but 3 of the 12 articles were initially presented as papers at a …
Temples Everywhere, Hugh W. Nibley
Temples Everywhere, Hugh W. Nibley
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
Those of us who saw the recent television documentary American Prophet: The Story of Joseph Smith may have noticed an interesting defect in the script, namely, that it was Hamlet with Hamlet left out. It was as if one were to produce the life of Shakespeare with charming views of Stratford-upon-Avon, country school, the poaching story, marriage to Anne Hatha-way, showbiz in London, and respectable retirement without bothering to mention that our leading character gave the world the greatest treasury of dramatic art in existence. Or a life of Bach with his niggardly brother-guardian, his early poverty, his odd jobs …
In Memoriam: Frank William (Bill) Gay
In Memoriam: Frank William (Bill) Gay
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
Frank William (Bill) Gay, in whose name two Maxwell Institute research funds were endowed, passed away May 21, 2007, in Kingwood, Texas. His wife Mary Elizabeth, five children, 17 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren survive him. The William (Bill) Gay Research chair at the Maxwell Institute was created and endowed in his honor. John Gee is the William (Bill) Gay Associate Research Professor. This endowment supports all of the projects and publications done by Gee and others on the Book of Abraham and related studies.
Nibley Magnum Opus To Be Released Soon
Nibley Magnum Opus To Be Released Soon
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
Hugh Nibley’s long-anticipated One Eternal Round is in the final stages of production. This volume represents the culmination of Nibley’s thoughts and research on the Book of Abraham, especially Facsimile 2.
New Nibley Volume Explores The Book Of Abraham
New Nibley Volume Explores The Book Of Abraham
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
An Approach to the Book of Abraham, volume 18 in the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, is now avail able. This volume contains Nibley’s early work on the Book of Abraham and the Joseph Smith Papyri and is his closest look at Facsimile 1 of the Book of Abraham. In chapter 5, Nibley is at his best as he has Mr. Jones, the curator, conduct Dick and Jane through an imaginary museum in which the most important lioncouch scenes have all been gathered together in a single hall. Mr. Jones possesses a hand book that tells him all. In a …
Two New Volumes Added To Book Of Abraham Series
Two New Volumes Added To Book Of Abraham Series
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
Two new volumes in the Studies in the Book of Abraham series emphasize the Maxwell Institute’s continued interest in advancing research on the Book of Abraham and will offer scholars and others useful tools for their study.
What Egyptian Papyri Did Joseph Smith Possess?, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson
What Egyptian Papyri Did Joseph Smith Possess?, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson
BYU Studies Quarterly
In early July 1835, Joseph Smith acquired some Egyptian papyri from which he claimed to translate the Book of Abraham. From historical evidence and the papyrus fragments that were returned to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in November 1967, we can piece together a profile of what papyri the Prophet is known to have possessed.
How Did Joseph Smith Translate The Book Of Abraham, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson
How Did Joseph Smith Translate The Book Of Abraham, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson
BYU Studies Quarterly
Multiple sources associated with the coming forth of the Book of Abraham spoke of Joseph Smith “translating” the text from the papyri he acquired. The Prophet himself used this language to describe his own activity with the text. For example, an entry in his journal under the date November 19, 1835, indicates the Prophet “spent the day in translating” the Egyptian records. In an unpublished editorial that was apparently meant to be printed in the March 1, 1842, issue of the Times and Seasons (the issue that saw the publication of the first installment of the Book of Abraham), Joseph …
The "Kirtland Egyptian Papers" And The Book Of Abraham, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson
The "Kirtland Egyptian Papers" And The Book Of Abraham, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson
BYU Studies Quarterly
Associated with the translation of the Book of Abraham is a collection of documents commonly known today as the “Kirtland Egyptian Papers.” This name was coined by Hugh Nibley in the early 1970s to describe a corpus of manuscripts that can be classified into, broadly, two categories: Book of Abraham manuscripts and Egyptian-language manuscripts (or manuscripts that “focus on alphabet and grammar material that the authors connected to the ancient Egyptian language”). Because some of these documents postdate the Kirtland period of Latter-day Saint history, and because the name coined by Nibley to describe this corpus is somewhat vague, the …
The Relationship Between The Book Of Abraham And The Joseph Smith Papyri, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson
The Relationship Between The Book Of Abraham And The Joseph Smith Papyri, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson
BYU Studies Quarterly
It is clear that Joseph Smith’s inspired translation of the Book of Abraham was connected to the Egyptian papyri he acquired in summer 1835. However, less clear is the precise relationship between the Book of Abraham text and the papyri. “Several theories posit ways in which the Book of Abraham text relates to the papyri. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints maintains that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Abraham from papyri, but they do not specify which papyri. Theories about the relationship may be categorized under three heads: Joseph Smith produced the Book of Abraham (1) from …
The Priesthood Ban And The Book Of Abraham, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson
The Priesthood Ban And The Book Of Abraham, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson
BYU Studies Quarterly
The Book of Abraham preserves an account of the founding of Egypt (Abr. 1:23–27) and mentions the origins of a “curse in the land” (v. 24) pertaining to the priesthood among the descendants of Ham. “The land of Egypt,” the text says, was “first discovered by a woman, who was the daughter of Ham, and the daughter of Egyptus” (v. 23). According to this account, “when this woman discovered the land it was under water, who afterward settled her sons in it; and thus, from Ham, sprang that race which preserved the curse in the land” (v. 24). Before the …
Ur Of The Chaldees, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson
Ur Of The Chaldees, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson
BYU Studies Quarterly
The opening verse of the Book of Abraham places the beginning of the patriarch’s story “in the land of the Chaldeans” (Abr. 1:1). Several references to the city of Ur and “Ur of the Chaldees” are also present in the text (Abr. 1:20; 2:1, 4, 15; 3:1). This location is said to be the “residence of [Abraham’s] fathers” and Abraham’s own residence and “country” (Abr. 1:1; 2:3).
Abraham And Idrimi, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson
Abraham And Idrimi, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson
BYU Studies Quarterly
The Book of Abraham narrates the life of the biblical patriarch in a first-person autobiographical voice. The book begins: “In the land of the Chaldeans, at the residence of my fathers, I, Abraham, saw that it was needful for me to obtain another place of residence” (Abr. 1:1). This first-person voice continues throughout the text as if Abraham himself was writing.
Human Sacrifice, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson
Human Sacrifice, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson
BYU Studies Quarterly
The Book of Abraham begins with an account of the biblical patriarch Abraham almost being sacrificed to the “dumb idols” and “strange gods” of his kinsfolk (Abr. 1:7–8). The form of sacrifice practiced by Abraham’s kinsfolk in Ur of the Chaldees (vv. 8, 13) was said to be “after the manner of the Egyptians” (vv. 9, 11), and indeed a “priest of Pharaoh” was involved in this procedure (vv. 7–8, 10). This suggests that Abraham’s kinsfolk had adopted Egyptian practices and incorporated these elements into their local (Chaldean) rituals.
The Idolatrous God Elkenah, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson
The Idolatrous God Elkenah, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson
BYU Studies Quarterly
The Book of Abraham tells how Abraham’s kinsfolk worshipped false gods. One of these was “the god of Elkenah” (Abr. 1:6). When Abraham preached against the worship of this god, he said that his kinsfolk “hearkened not unto [his] voice, but endeavored to take away [his] life by the hand of the priest of Elkenah” (v. 7). Not only did the priest try to take Abraham’s life, but “this priest had offered upon this altar three virgins at one time, . . . because of their virtue; they would not bow down to worship gods of wood or of stone, …