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Translating
The Book
of Abraham
by: Travis Wayne Goodsell
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Table of Contents
1) Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..3
2) Explanation of Facsimile #1……………………………………………………………………………………7
3) Translation of Chapter 1……………………………………………………………………………………..12
4) Translation of Chapter 2……………………………………………………………………………………..26
5) Explanation of Facsimile #2………………………………………………………………………………….33
6) Translation of Chapter 3……………………………………………………………………………………..68
7) Explanation of Facsimile #3………………………………………………………………………………….73
8) Translation of Chapter 4……………………………………………………………………………………..79
9) Translation of Chapter 5……………………………………………………………………………………..86
10) Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….90
11) Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………………………………92
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Introduction
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I will not give a history of how the papyri fell into the hands of Joseph Smith. This
book is intended as an explanation of the translation Joseph made concerning the
contents of the Book of Abraham and his interpretation of the facsimiles. Much has
been said to discredit the Book of Abraham and Joseph‘s manner of its translation. I
intend to show how Joseph was correct.
It was the practice of ancient scribes to take religious texts from one language and
redact, interpolate, or edit them to correspond to the religious theology of their
particular religion. This is not ―spiritual fiction‖, but a popular cultural practice based
upon oral traditions passed down through the generations. The Small Plates of the
Book of Mormon, for example, are said by Nephi, the author, to be in the language of
the Egyptians, but the learning of the Pre-Captivity Jews. The Biblical Creation
Story is another example of how the Heliopolis Creation Story of the Egyptians
was redacted by an Ancient Hebrew Scribe to portray their particular religious
theology that differed from the Egyptians. Joseph Smith was no exception to this
practice. Though his work is not a literal translation of the papyri as an Egyptian
text, it is still valuable as a religious work by a redacting scribe.
The Biblical text has errors and contradictions in it. Nephi tells us that it is a result
of the Great and Abominable Church. In my book An Introduction to Paleo-
Hebrew Alphabet and Grammar A New Theory, I discuss and show the
Babylonian influences added into the Creation story. There are Babylonian
influences in the account of Abraham as well which creates some confusion. Within
the text of the Book of Abraham Joseph Smith gives us clues to establish the truth
of the Bible.
In this book I show how it is the facsimiles that inspired Joseph into making the
translation of the Book of Abraham. In my book Joseph Smith as Ancient
Translator, I go over the translation style Joseph used to translate the facsimiles. In
this book I show how facsimile #1 inspired the first two chapters of the Book of
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Abraham; how the 2nd facsimile inspired the 3rd chapter; and how the last two chapters
came from the 3rd facsimile.
The problems and contractions in the Bible concerning Abraham are:
1) Ur of the Chaldees did not exist for another 500 years.
2) As I demonstrated the previous story about the Tower was in Egypt not Babel.
3) Abraham encounters the Pharaoh of Egypt
4) Genesis 17:8 says that the strange land which he will be given will be the land of
Canaan
5) Abraham is covenanted to have the Priesthood authority with its blessings
6) A child is promised after Sarah becomes Pharaoh's wife
7) The Promised land is from the Nile River to the Euphrates River (Genesis 15:18)
So it is apparent that Abraham, though said to be from the Chosen lineage of
Shem had not been given the Priesthood by his fathers who must have been wicked,
having no authority. It became necessary to move and encounter Melchizedek, who
would have given him the Priesthood and be the one to promise an heir. And to inherit
the land of Egypt would require a son of royal blood. Abraham would have been
from Egypt, not Ur of the Chaldees. This puts his genealogy in doubt since the
Egyptians came from Ham who lost the authority of the Priesthood.
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Abraham is a pivotal character in the history of the world and for the three major
religions of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. In a sense we are all related through
Abraham. And the story of his life and teachings are vital to each of us. Joseph, as a
Prophet of God, had the special ability to reveal doctrines previously unknown to our
modern world. This is the role of what the Egyptians called a ‗Seer‘; a PTR
(pronounced Peter) in Egyptian. As to the historical accuracy to Joseph‘s claims,
they too must be accurate in order for the doctrine to be validated. Due to my
educational background and my experience with the process of having faith leading to
a knowledge, I have scientific knowledge that aids in his defense.
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Explanation of
Facsimile #1
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1 Fig. 1. The Angel of the Lord.
2 Fig. 2. Abraham fastened upon an altar.
3 Fig. 3. The idolatrous priest of Elkenah attempting to offer up Abraham as a
sacrifice.
4 Fig. 4. The altar for sacrifice by the idolatrous priests, standing before the
gods of Elkenah, Libnah, Mahmackrah, Korash, and Pharaoh.
5 Fig. 5. The idolatrous god of Elkenah.
6 Fig. 6. The idolatrous god of Libnah.
7 Fig. 7. The idolatrous god of Mahmackrah.
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8 Fig. 8. The idolatrous god of Korash.
9 Fig. 9. The idolatrous god of Pharaoh.
10 Fig. 10. Abraham in Egypt.
11 Fig. 11. Designed to represent the pillars of heaven, as understood by the
Egyptians.
12 Fig. 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.
My Explanation of Facsimile #1
Facsimile #1 is a common Egyptian scene about preparing the deceased for the
afterlife.
Figure 1: This bird would actually have had a human head and would represent what
the Egyptians call a ‗Ba‘ and is a representation of the physical form of a God that
has the ability to fly or appear to fly. Joseph Smith‘s ―Angel of the Lord‖ is right on
target.
Figure 2: Is typically the representation of the deceased. The person is wrapped like
a mummy, but this person is in the position of prayer or supplication. Gardiner‘s sign
listing for this figure is A30. This person is being mummified ALIVE!
Figure 3: Is commonly portrayed as the God Anubis who prepares the deceased for
the afterlife. The body would be mummified by a priest representing Anubis wearing
priestly robes over the right shoulder, after a prod is shoved up the nose to scramble
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the brain making it easier to pull out and a knife would be used to cut open the chest
so that the 4 internal organs, the stomach, intestines, liver, and lungs, can be removed.
Joseph Smith‘s ‗Elkenah‘ would be the High Priest of the village Abraham was
visiting.
Figure 4: Is an altar or table used to mummify the deceased for the afterlife by
illustration of the tail pointing upward.
Figure 5: Is a canopic jar protected by the Goddess Serqet and is a representation
of the Son of Horus named Qebehsenuef, the falcon-headed God of the West and
contains the intestines. Elkenah would be the High Priest in the West.
Figure 6: Is a canopic jar protected by the Goddess Neith and is a representation of
the Son of Horus named Duamutef, the jackal-headed God of the East and
contains the stomach. Libnah would be the High Priest in the East.
Figure 7: Is a canopic jar protected by the Goddess Nephthys and is a
representation of the Son of Horus named Hapi, the baboon-headed God of the
North and contains the lungs. Mahmackrah would be the High Priest in the North.
Figure 8: Is a canopic jar protected by the Goddess Isis and is a representation of
the Son of Horus named Imseti, the human-headed God of the South and contains
the liver. Korash would be the High Priest in the South.
Figure 9: Is a crocodile representing the God Sobek who represented the strength
and power of the Pharaoh.
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Figure 10: Is the lotus plant of the Nile Delta. Abraham was therefore in a western
village of the Delta region.
Figure 11: In the Egyptian Creation Story the God Shu props up Nut the sky or
heaven to separate her from her brother and husband Geb the earth or land. Pillars
are a representation of Shu.
Figure 12: Is the waters of Heaven being propped up. The Nile River doubles as
the upper waters of the sky or heaven and the lower waters of earth. Raukeeyang is
Josiah Seixas‘ manner of pronouncing the Hebrew word raquia that he taught to
Joseph Smith in January of 1836.
For a scribe to see this scene he would interpolate a story whereby a scriptural
character is attempted to be murdered while in Northern Egypt by a corrupt priest
and rescued by a representative of God, i.e. an Angel. Abraham would be the first
choice to fit this scenario.
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Translation of
Chapter 1
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CHAPTER 1
1 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;
Verse 1: Right from the beginning we see that Joseph Smith is not making a
translation of the papyri, but is using the information gleaned from the facsimiles to do
another revision of the Bible. This time the revision is to expand upon the story of
Abraham.
In Genesis the story begins in chapter 11. There it is Abraham‘s father Terah
who left the land of his nativity and took his sons with him. Joseph Smith however
reveals that it was Abraham who made the decision to leave. The explanation is
explained in the upcoming verses and has to do with facsimile #1.
Joseph keeps the location of the ―land of the Chaldeans‖. This location was in
Babylon and didn‘t exist for another one to two thousand years later. So this cannot
be the location and reveals that this part of the translation of the Biblical text is a
redaction by a Post-Babylonian Captivity Jewish Scribe. The Bible reveals a
scribal editor who wanted to tie the Jews to the Babylonians. We‘ll get to it shortly,
but Joseph reveals that Abraham would have been talking about the place of his
nativity in the Egyptian territories instead.
So why doesn‘t Joseph give the actual location? Joseph revealed knowledge line
upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little. Modern people who hold
onto the traditional Biblical interpretation, needed to know that he was talking about
the Biblical character and not some new person. Notice also that in the Book of
Abraham there is no mention of his original name being Abram.
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2 And, finding there was greater happiness and peace and rest for me, I sought for the
blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained to administer the same;
having been myself a follower of righteousness, desiring also to be one who possessed great
knowledge, and to be a greater follower of righteousness, and to possess a greater
knowledge, and to be a father of many nations, a prince of peace, and desiring to receive
instructions, and to keep the commandments of God, I became a rightful heir, a High Priest,
holding the right belonging to the fathers.
3 It was conferred upon me from the fathers; it came down from the fathers, from the
beginning of time, yea, even from the beginning, or before the foundation of the earth, down
to the present time, even the right of the firstborn, or the first man, who is Adam, or first
father, through the fathers unto me.
4 I sought for mine appointment unto the Priesthood according to the appointment of God
unto the fathers concerning the seed.
Verse 2-4: Here we have some character development of Abraham. He is speaking
of his birthright that started with Adam being the first man (since Jesus is the ―Only
Begotten‖). Thereafter the firstborn male of the family of Adam received this
birthright which is to be the Presiding Patriarch, the ―first father‖. This allows
facsimile #3 to step into the story and why Pharaoh would allow Abraham to sit on his
throne for the religious ritual initiation of Pharaoh‘s son, for Abraham had obtained
his birthright.
It was common practice of ancient scribes to take a religious text of other cultures
and render them as religious texts of their own culture. For the Israelites Father
Abraham is the best choice. The story of Moses wouldn‘t work because Moses
needed another narrative, that of opposition to Pharaoh. Joseph of Egypt would be
a possibility, but the known story for him involved imprisonment not sacrifice on an
altar; and besides the Egyptians have another story that would involve Joseph, and
may have been a part of the other papyri that were in possession of Joseph Smith.
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No, only the story of Abraham works, but it would mean an Egyptian origin for the
story of Abraham, not a Babylonian origin.
5 My fathers having turned from their righteousness, and from the holy commandments which
the Lord their God had given unto them, unto the worshiping of the gods of the heathen,
utterly refused to hearken to my voice;
6 For their hearts were set to do evil, and were wholly 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;
7 Therefore they turned their hearts to the sacrifice of the heathen in offering up their
children unto these dumb idols, and hearkened not unto my voice, but endeavored to take
away my life by the hand of the priest of Elkenah. The priest of Elkenah was also the priest
of Pharaoh.
8 Now, at this time it was the custom of the priest of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to offer up
upon the altar which was built in the land of Chaldea, for the offering unto these strange
gods, men, women, and children.
9 And it came to pass that the priest made an offering unto the god of Pharaoh, and also
unto the god of Shagreel, even after the manner of the Egyptians. Now the god of
Shagreel was the sun.
10 Even the thank-offering of a child did the priest of Pharaoh offer upon the altar which
stood by the hill called Potiphar's Hill, at the head of the plain of Olishem.
11 Now, this priest had offered upon this altar three virgins at one time, who were the
daughters of Onitah, one of the royal descent directly from the loins of Ham. These virgins
were offered up because of their virtue; they would not bow down to worship gods of wood or
of stone, therefore they were killed upon this altar, and it was done after the manner of the
Egyptians.
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12 And it came to pass that the priests laid violence upon me, that they might slay me also, as
they did those virgins upon this altar; and that you may have a knowledge of this altar, I will
refer you to the representation at the commencement of this record.
13 It was made after the form of a bedstead, such as was had among the Chaldeans, and it
stood before the gods of Elkenah, Libnah, Mahmackrah, Korash, and also a god like unto
that of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
14 That you may have an understanding of these gods, I have given you the fashion of them
in the figures at the beginning, which manner of figures is called by the Chaldeans Rahleenos,
which signifies hieroglyphics.
15 And as they lifted up their hands upon me, that they might offer me up and take away my
life, behold, I lifted up my voice unto the Lord my God, and the Lord hearkened and heard,
and he filled me with the vision of the Almighty, and the angel of his presence stood by me,
and immediately unloosed my bands;
16 And his voice was unto me: Abraham, Abraham, behold, my name is Jehovah, and I have
heard thee, and have come down to deliver thee, and to take thee away from thy father's
house, and from all thy kinsfolk, into a strange land which thou knowest not of;
17 And this because they have turned their hearts away from me, to worship 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; therefore I have come down to visit them, and to destroy
him who hath lifted up his hand against thee, Abraham, my son, to take away thy life.
18 Behold, I will lead thee by my hand, and I will take thee, to put upon thee my name, even
the Priesthood of thy father, and my power shall be over thee.
19 As it was with Noah so shall it be with thee; but through thy ministry my name shall be
known in the earth forever, for I am thy God.
20 Behold, Potiphar's Hill was in the land of Ur, of Chaldea. And the Lord broke down
the altar of Elkenah, and of the gods of the land, and utterly destroyed them, and smote the
priest that he died; and there was great mourning in Chaldea, and also in the court of
Pharaoh; which Pharaoh signifies king by royal blood.
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Verses 5-20: Here we have the reason why Abraham left his native land and why that
native land was in the territory of Egypt. This is where Joseph Smith gives the story
of facsimile #1 about Abraham. See Explanation of Facsimile #1 for the
comparison.
In verse 5 we get new information about Abraham‘s family, that they turned wicked,
worshipping idols. That the Egyptians were considered wicked is revealed by the
family worshipping the ―god of Pharaoh‖. This is a tale similar to that of the Book of
Daniel in which a community of righteous elect are living among those who fell away
and being tempted to follow the national religion of those not of the same religious
beliefs. Interestingly is that we learn that Abraham tried to tell them of their idolatry.
He says, they ―refused to hearken to my voice;…‖
In verse 7 we have what appears as human sacrifice being performed in Egypt.
Egyptologist have not found evidence of human sacrifice. Archaeologists have
however found that human sacrifices were performed in Greece, but this cannot be
were Abraham was from because Greece was never under the control of the
Egyptians. Though the Phoenicians traded with Egypt and even developed the
alphabet based upon Egyptian Hieroglyphs. Facsimile #1 however gives us clues as
to how the Egyptians got away with human sacrifice; they did it through
mummification. There is evidence that when one died, especially one of prominence
that they would be buried with their possessions and even their slaves and family
members who weren‘t heirs to the inheritance. As I explain in facsimile #1 the
Hieroglyph is of a person being mummified alive. This is a unique facsimile because
most of this kind of scene is shown with the person already dead. What a way to cover
up one‘s sins than to conceal murder with mummification. No one would know and if
they did they would just be told that it is that they may inherit eternal life like the
Egyptian God Osiris. The ―manner of the Egyptians‖ (v. 9) being that of offering
up a person to the Egyptian Gods through the mummification process.
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In verse 9 Shagreel is the name of a prominent person and is not the Egyptian Sun
God. Notice the wording of ―the god of Pharaoh‖; Pharaoh isn‘t the god either, but
is the crocodile God Sebek. The God of the Sun being Re, Atum, or Amun.
Verse 10 gives us a location of Potiphar‘s Hill. Potiphar is the name of Joseph of
Egypt‘s jailer. In verse 20 we learn that it is in Ur, Abraham‘s nativity.
In verse 11 is talk of Onitah who was of ―royal descent directly from the loins of
Ham‖, another indicator that this is taking place in Egypt and not Babylon. We also
get an extent to the level of evil practiced by these people. Those who would not
worship the Egyptian Gods were mummified to the Gods in an effort to purify their
soles. It is not morally acceptable to murder someone thinking that that will save their
sole.
Verse 13 shows that Joseph Smith knew how to translate Egyptian, for here we
have a common altar used in mummification of a lion fashioned like a bedstead, so that
a body could be mummified. The four sons of Horus stood by in the form of canopic
jars used for storing the internal organs of the deceased.
Verse 14 tells us that the writing of facsimile #1 was used by the Chaldeans.
Therefore it could not be Babylonians who would have used Cuneiform as their
writing. Rahleenos indicates that the location of Ur of the Chaldees is that of a
tributary of Egypt, for the Egyptians did not use the letter ‗L‘ in their vocabulary
except for foreign words. Rah is either the Hebrew word for Seer, ar, or the
Egyptian God Re, [r. ‗Lee‘ is the Hebrew word for ―to‖; and ‗nos‘ is the Hebrew
word for ―to test, or to try‖. Thus Rahleenos would mean, ―Re or a Seer is to test‖.
On the surface it doesn‘t look like the word for hieroglyphs, which is Greek for
‗sacred writing‘. Nevertheless Hebrew words are descriptive of cultural beliefs and
practices. To test or try someone is to give them commandments. The way these
commandments would be communicated would be through writing, sacred writing, when
it comes from the God Re, or a Seer. Of note the word ―signifies‖ not ―means by
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interpretation‖. Joseph is saying the word is not a direct translation. As a Hebrew
word Joseph is revealing that Paleo-Hebrew existed at an earlier date than
traditionally believed. Proto-Sinaitic is dated to 1900BCE and Phoenician is
dated to 1100BCE. Abraham is dated to around 2000BCE, before the earliest
known alphabetic script.
This story about Abraham is significant when taking into consideration his being
asked to sacrifice his birthright son Isaac. But instead of mummification, Abraham is
asked to make a sacrifice of a burnt offering; a different symbolism of the Atonement
of Jesus the Christ. What Abraham once thought was an evil practice was now being
asked to do so himself.
In verse 16 obviously Jehovah is not the correct word, but would have been
Yahweh. Jehovah is a corrupted English word. Notice the Hebrew God is named
here. In my book, An Introduction to Paleo-Hebrew Alphabet and Grammar A New
Theory, I go into detail as to Yah‘s connection to the Egyptian God Shu. Another
example of the Hebrews taking something Egyptian and turning it into Hebrew.
Here the Lord tells Abraham that he has another promised land awaiting him. The
4 P‘s of the Abrahamic Covenant are:
1) Priesthood
2) Property
3) Posterity
4) Post existence
Abraham was working on #4 desiring #1 and now is promised #2. #3 is mentioned in
the Biblical Text with the promise of Isaac. In the Book of Abraham however we get
a fuller understanding of why Abraham was promised these blessings and it serves as
an example to each of us who become heirs of these promised blessings.
The word Joseph uses for ‗strange‘ simply means ―foreign‖. It was foreign gods his
family worshipped and now it is a foreign land. This narrows down the possible
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location of Ur of the Chaldees. It cannot be in Northern Canaan because Egypt
didn‘t rule that land until the 18th Dynasty under Twtmoses. Assyria ruled Northern
Canaan. It‘s not Assyria or Babylon or Greece. And it cannot be Canaan at all if
that is supposed to be the foreign land. It could be Ethiopia. But the only evidence
for that is that Moses in an extra Biblical text is said to have escaped to Ethiopia
and there became King, which could only happen if he was of royal blood; family
blood.
Verse 17 talks about destroying the wicked. People don‘t like the Old Testament
God because he takes vengeance out on people. But here we have an explanation
that the people Yahweh will destroy were the chosen people who changed to having
murderous hearts and actions against the innocent. Justice demands vengeance.
Mercy cannot rob justice. This is an eternal truth. And because of Abraham‘s
faithfulness Yahweh was going to establish a new chosen people through him. But in
order to do that Abraham needed to be rescued and the only way to do that was to
destroy his enemies.
Also of note is that the real God appears to Abraham. This is to be contrasted
with the practice of his family who worshipped idols. It seems ignorant to us that a
people would worship an idol, but it is real easy to fall into and is still practiced today.
Idol worship is the belief that any object has the ability to possess moral ity or
immorality, goodness or evil; and that by exposure to these objects either by prayers,
offerings, or mere presence, one can be possessed of this morality or goodness,
immorality or evil. The ancient idol worshippers believed that, for example, their crops
would be blessed if they offered up prayers or food and drink offerings to these idols.
And because it was a 50/50 chance of being correct it is easy to believe in; such that
when something bad happens then it was believed that the person wasn‘t faithful
enough. This false dilemma fallacy argument is the most popular religious deception
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even today. Just look at those who ask the question, ―Why do bad things happen to
good people?‖
My favorite Biblical story comes from the Apocrapha. It is the story titled: ―Bel‖
and is found at the end of the Book of Daniel. The King of Babylon told Daniel
that the Idol God was real because it would eat the food and drink offerings they
gave to it. Daniel had a powder sprinkled on the floor of the Holy of Holies and had
the King seal the doors shut. In the morning they unsealed the doors and again found
that the food had been eaten. But Daniel pointed out that there were footprints in
the powder on the floor, so they followed the footprints and discovered a secret
passageway in the Holy of Holies. Following the passageway they found that it led
to the tents of the King‘s priests. The priests had been the ones eating the offerings
making the people believe it was the idol God instead.
In verse 19 the Lord explains that his destruction of Abraham‘s family is after the
same pattern as his righteous ancestor Noah. Again this is illustrating that the Lord
just doesn‘t kill people, but has a reason and a justification.
Verse 20 is the destruction that occurs. And so great was the destruction that
even the Pharaoh and his court mourned over the loss. This tempts me to believe that
the city of Ur of the Chaldees is in reality in Egypt, but Joseph keeps the land of
Chaldea as the place for the city not Mitzraim, which is Hebrew for Egypt, the two
lands.
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21 Now this king of Egypt was a descendant from the loins of Ham, and was a
partaker of the blood of the Canaanites by birth.
22 From this descent sprang all the Egyptians, and thus the blood of the
Canaanites was preserved in the land.
23 The land of Egypt being first discovered by a woman, who was the daughter of
Ham, and the daughter of Egyptus, which in the Chaldean signifies Egypt, which
signifies that which is forbidden;
24 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.
Verses 21-24: Notice that the King of Egypt is a Canaanite, not a Mizraimite. It is
the Canaanites who are the rulers of Egypt not Mizraim and his descendants. Yet it
is not the Hyksos who ruled Egypt before the 18th Dynasty, during the traditionally
believed time frame. The Hyksos were foreign invaders and white, not part of the
blood of the Egyptians. The Book of Abraham is saying that the Exodus could
not be the expulsion of the Hyksos from Egypt. So it was the 18th Dynasty of the
New Kingdom from 1550 – 1295 BCE during which the Abraham story takes
place.
In verse 23 the name Egyptus is the Latin word, which is in the feminine singular
form. So now we have a genealogy correcting the Bible.
Ham, Son of Noah - Egyptus
Canaan - Egyptus
The first Pharaoh (Narmer)
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Ham married Egyptus, who gave birth to Canaan and a daughter also named Egyptus,
the two children then married and gave birth to the first Pharaoh of Egypt, who is known by
Egyptologists as Narmer.
This scene is the Egyptian Creation Story. In its Hieroglyphic picture is a story. Nut,
the sky and Geb, the earth are brother and sister and like each other so much that they have
relations. Their father Shu, finds out about the relationship and has them separated, but it‘s
too late to stop a pregnancy, of which is the son, Osiris, who is according to the Egyptians
the first Pharaoh of Egypt. This story is also the story of the generations of Ham and the
‗forbidden‘ relationship between his two children, Canaan and Egyptus. It is fitting that
Egyptus discovers Egypt and that it was during the flood season, for the Egyptian
Creation story is also about life on the Nile with its cyclical inundation. Could this explain
the Biblical confusion of the story of Noah and Ham involving nakedness and why it is
Canaan, not Ham who is cursed. This would explain why the 1st Pharaoh would be cursed
―as pertaining to the Priesthood‖ in verse 26, being an illegitimate child of an illegitimate
parental relationship.
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25 Now the first government of Egypt was established by Pharaoh, the eldest son of
Egyptus, the daughter of Ham, and it was after the manner of the government of Ham, which
was patriarchal.
26 Pharaoh, being a righteous man, established his kingdom and judged his people wisely and
justly all his days, seeking earnestly to imitate that order established by the fathers in the first
generations, in the days of the first patriarchal reign, even in the reign of Adam, and also of
Noah, his father, who blessed him with the blessings of the earth, and with the blessings of
wisdom, but cursed him as pertaining to the Priesthood.
27 Now, Pharaoh being of that lineage by which he could not have the right of Priesthood,
notwithstanding the Pharaohs would fain claim it from Noah, through Ham, therefore my
father was led away by their idolatry;
Verses 25 – 27: Now a huge bombshell of a revelation; the Egyptian government and
religion was patterned after the government and religion of Adam. The Adamic language is
Egyptian! Temple Endowment, Baptism, Tithing, Sacrament all existed with the
Egyptians and came from Adam. The only problem is that the Egyptians did not have
Priesthood authority and altered the religion into idolatry (see verse 27).
Idolatry is not about giving offerings to idols; instead it is about having a belief that an
object, any object, can possess spiritual goodness or evil and that that spirituality can be
passed onto persons exposed to the object. The Ancient Egyptian‘s idolatry was to give
offerings to their god, represented by an idol image, that by doing so they believed that in the
giving of the offering they were considered good and that the god would bless them. They
had forgotten that it was not the idol image of God that blessed them, but that it was a
symbolic representation of God.
Terah, father of Abraham, and Abraham cannot be from Chaldea in Babylon, for the
Egyptian influence did not reach Babylon
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28 But I shall endeavor, hereafter, to delineate the chronology running back from myself to
the beginning of the creation, for the records have come into my hands, which I hold unto this
present time.
Verse 28: Abraham not only gets his Priesthood, but becomes the record holder. If Joseph
Smith were allowed to continue the translation we would have been given the full genealogy
back to Adam correcting the Biblical text.
29 Now, after the priest of Elkenah was smitten that he died, there came a fulfilment
of those things which were said unto me concerning the land of Chaldea, that there
should be a famine in the land.
30 Accordingly a famine prevailed throughout all the land of Chaldea, and my father
was sorely tormented because of the famine, and he repented of the evil which he had
determined against me, to take away my life.
31 But the records of the fathers, even the patriarchs, concerning the right of
Priesthood, the Lord my God preserved in mine own hands; therefore a knowledge of
the beginning of the creation, and also of the planets, and of the stars, as they were
made known unto the fathers, have I kept even unto this day, and I shall endeavor to
write some of these things upon this record, for the benefit of my posterity that shall
come after me.
Verses 29 – 31: We are now remembering the beginning of the chapter and adding
that there was a famine in Ur of Chaldea, which at this time there were no famines in
the Levant. Africa would rather have been the place of a famine. Terah is also
revealed as the one who put the priest of Elkenah up to trying the kill Abraham.
In verse 31 we are given a heads up to more that will come on the Record of
Abraham. As I pointed out a knowledge of the Creation story is connected to the
right or rather lack thereof, of the Priesthood.
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Translation of
Chapter 2
27
CHAPTER 2
1 NOW the Lord God caused the famine to wax sore in the land of Ur, insomuch
that Haran, my brother, died; but Terah, my father, yet lived in the land of Ur, of the
Chaldees.
2 And it came to pass that I, Abraham, took Sarai to wife, and Nahor, my brother,
took Milcah to wife, who was the daughter of Haran.
3 Now the Lord had said unto me: Abraham, get thee out of thy country, and from
thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee.
4 Therefore I left the land of Ur, of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan;
and I took Lot, my brother's son, and his wife, and Sarai my wife; and also my father
followed after me, unto the land which we denominated Haran.
5 And the famine abated; and my father tarried in Haran and dwelt there, as there
were many flocks in Haran; and my father turned again unto his idolatry, therefore he
continued in Haran.
6 But I, Abraham, and Lot, my brother's son, prayed unto the Lord, and the Lord
appeared unto me, and said unto me: Arise, and take Lot with thee; for I have
purposed to take thee away out of Haran, and to make of thee a minister to bear my
name in a strange land which I will give unto thy seed after thee for an everlasting
possession, when they hearken to my voice.
Verses 1 – 6: Now Joseph Smith is revising the Biblical text concerning Abraham.
Since the facsimiles have given Joseph a new knowledge about Abraham, he is here
inspired to correct the errors in the Bible. The key is not to look for what is the same
as the Bible, but rather what is different.
The first noticeable difference is that Terah, the father of Abraham, is following
Abraham, not leading the family. The question that many members have is why didn‘t
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Joseph just tell us the whole and complete story? Why does he still utilize the Biblical
account? The answer is simple to me…He‘s bridging the gap of the errors in the
Bible. It is important for people to know that he‘s talking about the Biblical Abraham
and not another patriarch named Abraham. He also wants members to exercise faith
as part of a step by step learning process. By giving the whole corrected text would
not allow agency. Only those who will believe will be enlightened as to the message
God has in store and to those who believe more will be added unto.
In verse 6 Abraham is to be a minister as one who holds the Priesthood, to the
Egyptian people. The time of the curse has ended and now Abraham is called upon
to do missionary work among the Egyptians. Interestingly in the 18th Dynasty is the
new religious belief that the Pharaoh acts as the God Amun, who comes to the
Queen in her bedchamber to bear a Son of Amun, who is also given the name of
Amun to reign in his father‘s stead.
7 For I am the Lord thy God; I dwell in heaven; the earth is my footstool; I stretch my
hand over the sea, and it obeys my voice; I cause the wind and the fire to be my chariot;
I say to the mountains—Depart hence—and behold, they are taken away by a
whirlwind, in an instant, suddenly.
8 My name is Jehovah, and I know the end from the beginning; therefore my hand
shall be over thee.
9 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee above measure, and make
thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after
thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations;
10 And I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall be
called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless
thee, as their father;
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11 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee
(that is, in thy Priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy Priesthood), for I give unto thee
a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee (that is to
say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be
blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation,
even of life eternal.
Verses 7 – 11: The Lord gives his name to Abraham and it is His Hebrew name that
has been corrupted by European Christians. Jehovah or rather Yahweh, is His
name.
It is the Egyptian 18th Dynasty that fulfilled this blessing of becoming a great
nation. It is during the reign of Twtmose IV, Pharaoh of Egypt, who was the only
ancient nation and only Pharaoh to control the land from the Nile River to the
Euphrates River. It is the name Twtmose which contains the names of both David
(DWD/TWT) and Moses and it is Twtmose IV whose actions parallels that of
King David, according to Ahmed Osman‘s theory in his book, Christianity An
Ancient Egyptian Religion. This would mean that King David and Solomon were
before the Law of Moses and would explain why God would allow plural wives,
according to Doctrine and Covenants section 132, since the Law of Moses put a
stop to polygyny. King David being a descendant of Abraham and making Egypt a
―great nation‖.
It is also the Egyptians with the cult of Osiris who did missionary work throughout
the Egyptian realm. This paved the way for the Romans to build roads on those
missionary pathways. And then that allowed the 12 Apostles to travel throughout
the land doing their missionary work. Note that it is the Egyptians who were once
cursed as to the Priesthood, who are to become the chosen people to restore the
Priesthood to the other nations, who apostatized.
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12 Now, after the Lord had withdrawn from speaking to me, and withdrawn his face from me,
I said in my heart: Thy servant has sought thee earnestly; now I have found thee;
13 Thou didst send thine angel to deliver me from the gods of Elkenah, and I will do well to
hearken unto thy voice, therefore let thy servant rise up and depart in peace.
Verses 12 – 13: What is interesting is the plural use of god in the ―gods of Elkenah‖, from
the ―god of Elkenah‖ used in chapter 1 and also in the facsimile explanation.
14 So I, Abraham, departed as the Lord had said unto me, and Lot with me; and I,
Abraham, was sixty and two years old when I departed out of Haran.
15 And I took Sarai, whom I took to wife when I was in Ur, in Chaldea, and Lot, my
brother's son, and all our substance that we had gathered, and the souls that we had won in
Haran, and came forth in the way to the land of Canaan, and dwelt in tents as we came on
our way;
16 Therefore, eternity was our covering and our rock and our salvation, as we journeyed
from Haran by the way of Jershon, to come to the land of Canaan.
17 Now I, Abraham, built an altar in the land of Jershon, and made an offering unto the
Lord, and prayed that the famine might be turned away from my father's house, that they
might not perish.
18 And then we passed from Jershon through the land unto the place of Sechem; it was
situated in the plains of Moreh, and we had already come into the borders of the land of the
Canaanites, and I offered sacrifice there in the plains of Moreh, and called on the Lord
devoutly, because we had already come into the land of this idolatrous nation.
19 And the Lord appeared unto me in answer to my prayers, and said unto me: Unto thy
seed will I give this bland.
20 And I, Abraham, arose from the place of the altar which I had built unto the Lord, and
removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched my tent there,
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Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east; and there I built another altar unto the Lord, and
called again upon the name of the Lord.
21 And I, Abraham, journeyed, going on still towards the south; and there was a
continuation of a famine in the land; and I, Abraham, concluded to go down into Egypt, to
sojourn there, for the famine became very grievous.
22 And it came to pass when I was come near to enter into Egypt, the Lord said unto me:
Behold, Sarai, thy wife, is a very fair woman to look upon;
23 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see her, they will say—She is
his wife; and they will kill you, but they will save her alive; therefore see that ye do on this wise:
24 Let her say unto the Egyptians, she is thy sister, and thy soul shall live.
25 And it came to pass that I, Abraham, told Sarai, my wife, all that the Lord had said unto
me—Therefore say unto them, I pray thee, thou art my sister, that it may be well with me for
thy sake, and my soul shall live because of thee.
Verses 14 – 25: In verse 14 Joseph changes the age of Abraham leaving from
Haran. In the Bible it is 75 years old, but here it is 62 years old.
Leaving Haran they took converts with them. The missionary work has begun.
They traveled from Ur to Haran to Jershon to Sechem to Moreh to Bethel and
Hai before ―going down‖ into Egypt. Since Abraham is living in Africa then these
are African places. Any connection to the places in Canaan is a result of Abraham‘s
family renaming them. It‘s just like the United States having place names from
Europe. That Abraham is south of Egypt is that he had to ―go down‖ into Egypt.
Southern Egypt is mountainous and the Nile flows from these Mountains northward
until it empties into the Mediterranean Sea.
In Doctrine and Covenants 84:14 Joseph Smith reveals that Abraham received
the Melchizedek Priesthood from Melchizedek, whom it has also been revealed is
Shem the son of Noah. Interesting Melchizedek, Noah, and Enoch all received the
Priesthood through their fathers, except Abraham. As has been discussed Abraham
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is not through the lineage of Shem, but a lineage who did not have the Priesthood
Authority and subject to an Egyptian influenced Priesthood which also did not have
Priesthood Authority. Yet in Haran in Africa Abraham is converting ―souls‖. The
Book of Abraham says that Abraham saw the Lord and then starts missionary work.
And in chapter 3 the text says that Abraham received the Urim and Thummim from
the Lord in Ur, but it is clear that he received the records at a later date after
receiving the Priesthood. Abraham doesn‘t say when he received the Priesthood and
where he received it, so we only have the Biblical text to fall back on.
In Egypt the Priesthood did not allow its Priests to be married, according to Nana
Banchie Darkwah, Ph.D. in her book, The Africans Who Wrote the Bible. So
either Abraham is going to Egypt to obtain the Priesthood, or he has the Priesthood
before going into Egypt. To have the Urim and Thummim he must have been given
the Priesthood in order to be able to use it as he does in chapter 3 to learn about the
creation and astronomy to inform the Egyptians.
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Explanation of
Facsimile #2
34
Facsimile #2 as given in the Times and Seasons.
35
1 Fig. 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.
2 Fig. 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.
3 Fig. 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.
4 Fig. 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.
5 Fig. 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.
6 Fig. 6. Represents this earth in its four quarters.
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7 Fig. 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.
8 Fig. 8. Contains writings that cannot be revealed unto the world; but is to be
had in the Holy Temple of God.
9 Fig. 9. Ought not to be revealed at the present time.
10 Fig. 10. Also.
11 Fig. 11. Also. If the world can find out these numbers, so let it be. Amen.
12 Figures 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21, will be given in the own due time
of the Lord.
13 The above translation is given as far as we have any right to give at the present
time.
My Explanation of Facsimile #2
Facsimile #2 from the Book of Abraham is a hypocephalus, which is Greek for
―under the head‖. It was placed in the coffin of the deceased, under their head. It is a
representation of the Eye of Re, and this one is a highly dilated pupil which allows as
much light in as possible. As a representation of the Eye of Re it is also a symbol of
the Celestial Sun at the center of the Galaxy. Sir Alan Gardiner‘s sign list # N5 is
its classification in Egyptian Hieroglyphs.
37
N5:
Here are some other hypocephali:
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
Figure 1: The pupil of the eye representing the center of the Galaxy. The figure is
Khnum-Re, Gardiner‘s #: C4, who is the creator of mankind.
C4:
Normally he has four heads, the rendering of two heads has to do with two Sun
planets instead of four, according to Joseph Smith, at the core of the Galaxy.
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The added writing on the upper left side is the water symbol, Gardiner‘s #: N35a,
representing that this God is in the upper waters of the heavens, i.e. in space.
Adjacent to the baboons are two snakes. The primeval serpent "Iru-to"
The body of Khnum is Gardiner‘s #: N25, with the X and the water symbol again it
represents a foreign planet in space. This also represents the center or first of all
creations. The two baboons with solar discs on their heads represent moons. LDS
theology says that Earth was once one of these moons, but with the Fall of Adam fell
the Earth also into our current Solar System.
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Figure 2: This again is Khnum representing an orbiting Sun equal to the Sun Planet
at the Center of the Galaxy. In his hand is a sacred stand with Khnum‘s animal totem,
the ram. These sacred stands are like ensigns or flags which is the Egyptian symbol
for the spirit intelligence or powers of Godliness called the neteru, Gardiner‘s #: R8;
the stand being R12.
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Figure 3: Represents Re on his Solar Bark going clockwise around the pupil of the
eye, the center of the Galaxy. He is sitting on his throne traveling his domain wearing
a robe over the right shoulder and a solar disc on his head. The two Wadjet Eyes of
Horus represent Re as having the priesthood authority of a Seer, called Peter, in
Egyptian.
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Or
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P3a:
Figure 4: We skip to the end of the course around the Celestial Center, thus
representing a measurement of time. The hawk traveling on a solar bark represents
the sky or firmament created by the Egyptian God Shu. Thus measurement of time
has to do with one orbit.
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E1:
Figure 5: The bull in Egyptian represents the Sun. And here it is being led in its
orbit in the sky around the Celestial Center.
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Figure 6: These four are the four sons of Horus. For an explanation see my
presentation of the explanation of facsimile #1.
a lotus stem (h3), lion and ram
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C8:
Figure 7: Represents God in his aspect as the Egyptian God Min sitting upon a
throne. His phallus is erect and his left arm is raised. Typically it is a snake that
presents the Wadjet Eye, representing revelation. It is the same as if it were a dove
representing the Holy Ghost. It has to go with receiving revelation.
In the hypocephalus of Tashenkhons, the figure on the left is Nehebu-Kau, whose
name meant "he who harnesses the spirits"
A scribe taking the language of the Egyptians and the learning of the Ancient
Israelites could and would easily render this scene as referring to their Father
Abraham receiving the names, signs and tokens of the priesthood religious order,
especially sticking to the theme of the translation having to do with the life of
Abraham.
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D4:
Q1: R8:
Grant that the Ba of Osiris Sheshonq live
Figure 8: This is the new name of the particular deceased for whom this
hypocephalus was made. The Egyptians gave their deceased a God name and most
of the time it was the God Osiris who died and was resurrected unto everlasting life.
Osiris Shishak is this person‘s new name. It was never intended for this name to be
known to the world. This person didn‘t resurrect to Celestial Glory like Osiris, but
instead became subject to the ravages of man.
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Figure 9: and below the earth and of the waters
Figure 10: of the beginning. Great God, Lord of Heaven and earth
Figure 11: O god, sleeping in the time
Figure 12: Unknown
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Figure 13: Unknown
Figure 14: sn-sn
Figure 15: Unknown
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Figure 16: is not to be disturbed along with its Lord in the Duat forever
Figure 17: (h3t)tomb. (thy)desecration. (nn) strong negative
Figure 18:
The outer circle starts at the crown of figure 2 and likewise runs clockwise though
the hieroglyphs appear to read counter-clockwise. The outer circle talks about the
character of the deceased for example telling that he is a ―viral bull‖.
I am the Provider in the Sun Temple in Heliopolis. [I am] most exalted and very
glorious. [I am] a virile bull without equal. [I am] that Mighty God in the Sun Temple
in Heliopolis. <May the Osiris Shishaq live forever> with that Mighty God in
Heliopolis
- Michael Rhodes
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Figure 19: (of) Busiris
Figure 20/21: as this god of thine
Figure 21/22: Behold thou art ever
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Translation of
Chapter 3
69
CHAPTER 3
1 AND I, Abraham, had the Urim and Thummim, which the Lord my God had given
unto me, in Ur of the Chaldees;
2 And I saw the stars, that they were very great, and that one of them was nearest
unto the throne of God; and there were many great ones which were near unto it;
3 And the Lord said unto me: These are the governing ones; and the name of the
great one is Kolob, because it is near unto me, for I am the Lord thy God: I have set
this one to govern all those which belong to the same order as that upon which thou
standest.
4 And the Lord said unto me, by the Urim and Thummim, that Kolob was after the
manner of the Lord, according to its times and seasons in the revolutions thereof; that
one revolution was a day unto the Lord, after his manner of reckoning, it being one
thousand years according to the time appointed unto that whereon thou standest.
This is the reckoning of the Lord's time, according to the reckoning of Kolob.
5 And the Lord said unto me: The planet which is the lesser light, lesser than that
which is to rule the day, even the night, is above or greater than that upon which thou
standest in point of reckoning, for it moveth in order more slow; this is in order because
it standeth above the earth upon which thou standest, therefore the reckoning of its
time is not so many as to its number of days, and of months, and of years.
6 And the Lord said unto me: Now, Abraham, these two facts exist, behold thine
eyes see it; it is given unto thee to know the times of reckoning, and the set time, yea,
the set time of the earth upon which thou standest, and the set time of the greater
light which is set to rule the day, and the set time of the lesser light which is set to rule
the night.
7 Now the set time of the lesser light is a longer time as to its reckoning than the
reckoning of the time of the earth upon which thou standest.
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8 And where these two facts exist, there shall be another fact above them, that is,
there shall be another planet whose reckoning of time shall be longer still;
9 And thus there shall be the reckoning of the time of one planet above another, until
thou come nigh unto Kolob, which Kolob is after the reckoning of the Lord's time;
which Kolob is set nigh unto the throne of God, to govern all those planets which
belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest.
10 And it is given unto thee to know the set time of all the stars that are set to give
light, until thou come near unto the throne of God.
11 Thus I, Abraham, talked with the Lord, face to face, as one man talketh with
another; and he told me of the works which his hands had made;
12 And he said unto me: My son, my son (and his hand was stretched out), behold I
will show you all these. And he put his hand upon mine eyes, and I saw those things
which his hands had made, which were many; and they multiplied before mine eyes, and
I could not see the end thereof.
13 And he said unto me: This is Shinehah, which is the sun. And he said unto me:
Kokob, which is star. And he said unto me: Olea, which is the moon. And he said
unto me: Kokaubeam, which signifies stars, or all the great lights, which were in the
firmament of heaven.
14 And it was in the night time when the Lord spake these words unto me: I will
multiply thee, and thy seed after thee, like unto these; and if thou canst count the
number of sands, so shall be the number of thy seeds.
15 And the Lord said unto me: Abraham, I show these things unto thee before ye go
into Egypt, that ye may declare all these words.
16 If two things exist, and there be one above the other, there shall be greater things
above them; therefore Kolob is the greatest of all the Kokaubeam that thou hast
seen, because it is nearest unto me.
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17 Now, if there be two things, one above the other, and the moon be above the
earth, then it may be that a planet or a star may exist above it; and there is nothing that
the Lord thy God shall take in his heart to do but what he will do it.
Verses 1 – 17: These verses come from Facsimile #2. The foreign words in verse 13
may all be Hebrew as it is known that Kokob and its plural form Kokaubeam are. In
Hebrew the word for Sun is Shemish, not Shinehah and Joseph Smith would have
known this since he knew Kokob. So it is clear that Shinehah and Olea are not
Hebrew words, unless Joseph is taking the Hebrew language and revealing alternate
names in Hebrew.
18 Howbeit that he made the greater star; as, also, if there be two spirits, and one
shall be more intelligent than the other, yet these two spirits, notwithstanding one is
more intelligent than the other, have no beginning; they existed before, they shall have
no end, they shall exist after, for they are gnolaum, or eternal.
19 And the Lord said unto me: These two facts do exist, that there are two spirits,
one being more intelligent than the other; there shall be another more intelligent than
they; I am the Lord thy God, I am more intelligent than they all.
Verses 18 – 19: Here the principle of astronomy is likened unto the basic atomic
element called the Spirit intelligence. This is different than the Spirit of the Lord, or
our Spirits, and even different than the Holy Ghost. It has no beginning, it has no
end; it has always existed and will continue to exist eternally. The Doctrine and
Covenants goes into more detail with what the Spirit element is.
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20 The Lord thy God sent his angel to deliver thee from the hands of the priest of
Elkenah.
21 I dwell in the midst of them all; I now, therefore, have come down unto thee to
declare unto thee the works which my hands have made, wherein my wisdom excelleth
them all, for I rule in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath, in all wisdom and
prudence, over all the intelligences thine eyes have seen from the beginning; I came
down in the beginning in the midst of all the intelligences thou hast seen.
22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were
organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and
great ones;
23 And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them,
and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits,
and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them;
thou wast chosen before thou wast born.
24 And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those
who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these
materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;
25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the
Lord their God shall command them;
26 And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not
their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their
first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their
heads for ever and ever.
27 And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of
Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And
the Lord said: I will send the first.
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28 And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many
followed after him.
Verses 20 – 28: Here we find that the Spirit intelligence is ―organized‖ into Spirit
personages. This causes a confusion on the difference between the Spirit
intelligence, the Holy Ghost, and Spirit personages.
In verse 23 we learn that Abraham was chosen to restore the Priesthood to the
Egyptians.
Verses 24 – 28 are about the Pre-Existence. In my book, An Introduction to
Paleo-Hebrew Alphabet and Grammar, I point out that the Paleo-Hebrew
translation of the Biblical Hebrew text talks about the Pre-Existence and the War in
Heaven. And here Joseph Smith is throwing in a discussion of the Pre-Existence
just before going over the Creation story.
In verse 24 ―(who) is like unto God‖ is the translation for the Hebrew name for
Michael, who is Adam.
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Explanation of
Facsimile #3
75
1 Fig. 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.
2 Fig. 2. King Pharaoh, whose name is given in the characters above his head.
3 Fig. 3. Signifies Abraham in Egypt as given also in Figure 10 of Facsimile No.
1.
4 Fig. 4. Prince of Pharaoh, King of Egypt, as written above the hand.
5 Fig. 5. Shulem, one of the king's principal waiters, as represented by the
characters above his hand.
6 Fig. 6. Olimlah, a slave belonging to the prince.
7 Abraham is reasoning upon the principles of Astronomy, in the king's court.
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Facsimile #3 is a variation on the Egyptian Judgment Scene. It is the Egyptian
version of the Temple Endowment. The person going through for their
Endowments is called an initiate being initiated in the rites of the Priesthood. In the
upper left the initiate is receiving instruction from the neteru, who are the gods or the
Spirit Intelligence. They instruct him on the Egyptian Creation Story 1st and
foremost, but then add in other stories pertinent to Egyptian life and meaning
thereof. Then the initiate is escorted on the pathway in the Temple. The escort is
Anubis who helps the deceased into the after-life. The initiate‘s heart is weighed on
a scale, measured against the feather of Truth, called Ma‘at. If the initiate fails his
heart is devoured by the Devourer or Destroyer. If he passes his name is written in
the Egyptian book of Life. At the final point the initiate is brought before the veil of
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the Temple in the Holy of Holies. There on the throne sits the Father God, Osiris
to the Egyptians. The initiate has to give key words, signs and tokens in order to
enter into the presence of God becoming as he is and doing as he does.
Joseph Smith easily got his initial ideas on the Temple Endowment from this
facsimile and is why the Creation story is told in chapter‘s 4 & 5 of Abraham.
My Explanation of Facsimile #3
Figure 1: Represents Osiris sitting upon his throne in the role of Pharaoh with the
religious ceremonial Atef Crown and holding the crook and flail symbolic of pharaoh‘s
justice and judgment. An Ancient Hebrew scribe would render this scene as his
Father Abraham sitting on the throne of Pharaoh.
Figure 2: Represents Isis the wife of Osiris. She represents the Church, or
religious order. It would be fully acceptable for an Ancient Israelite scribe to render
this character as the Pharaoh, since Abraham is the one on the throne. Joseph
Smith correctly identified that the writing above the hand tells who the character is.
Figure 3: see explanation from facsimile #1.
Figure 4: Either Joseph Smith or the printer made a mistake with the identification.
Figures 4 and 5 should be switched. This is Maat representing truth. The Pharaoh
uses the principles of Maat in judgment and therefore would be a waiter to the King
as Joseph calls her.
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Figure 5: This is the Prince of the King the son of Osiris, named Osiris Horus. He
is being initiated into the religious order of the Temple becoming as his Father, the
God Osiris. The Ancient Hebrew scribe would have this be Abraham who is
conducting the ceremony for the King‘s son, with Pharaoh looking on.
Figure 6: This is Anubis who serves the deceased for the afterlife. Here, as part of
the ritual, he is serving the Prince as an escort.
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Translation of
Chapter 4
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CHAPTER 4
1 AND then the Lord said: Let us go down. And they went down at the beginning,
and they, that is the Gods, organized and formed the heavens and the earth.
2 And the earth, after it was formed, was empty and desolate, because they had not
formed anything but the earth; and darkness reigned upon the face of the deep, and
the Spirit of the Gods was brooding upon the face of the waters.
3 And they (the Gods) said: Let there be light; and there was light.
4 And they (the Gods) comprehended the light, for it was bright; and they divided
the light, or caused it to be divided, from the darkness.
5 And the Gods called the light Day, and the darkness they called Night. And it
came to pass that from the evening until morning they called night; and from the
morning until the evening they called day; and this was the first, or the beginning, of
that which they called day and night.
Verses 1 – 5: Again, we don‘t look for what is the same, but rather we look for what is
different from the Biblical text. Here we have the Lord instead of God in charge of
the creation and now there‘s what is called ‗Gods‘. Knowing the Paleo-Hebrew
translation of the Creation story I can see full well what Joseph Smith is doing, he is
taking the members on the next step of learning what the actual full account of the
story is. Some members have come to me confused and concerned that even the
Temple Text has differences and also things that are the same as the Bible, so what,
they ask, is the truth? All the restored revelation is the truth, but it‘s ―here a little,
there a little‖. Again, I say, and I can‘t say this enough, do not look for what is the
same with the Bible, look for what is different.
―organized and formed‖ is different from the Bible, as is ―empty and desolate‖. So
is the word ‗brooding‘.
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6 And the Gods also said: Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and it
shall divide the waters from the waters.
7 And the Gods ordered the expanse, so that it divided the waters which were under
the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so, even as they
ordered.
8 And the Gods called the expanse, Heaven. And it came to pass that it was from
evening until morning that they called night; and it came to pass that it was from
morning until evening that they called day; and this was the second time that they
called night and day.
9 And the Gods ordered, saying: Let the waters under the heaven be gathered
together unto one place, and let the earth come up dry; and it was so as they ordered;
10 And the Gods pronounced the dry land, Earth; and the gathering together of
the waters, pronounced they, Great Waters; and the Gods saw that they were
obeyed.
Verses 6 – 10: Here there is an error. The dry land according to the Egyptian
Creation story is on the same day as the separation of the waters. This is the main
part of the Creation account as based upon the Egyptian combo-Hieroglyph.
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Also from my book, I point out that the Creation story is also the Paleo-Hebrew
letter known in Hebrew as the Yodh.
Y This letter in Paleo-Hebrew also represents the Hebrew God Yah, who I point
out in my book, is both the Father and the Son God separately, sharing the same
name. Both the Father and the Son were involved with the Creation. For the
Egyptians the Creation account was a descriptive visualization for the annual
flooding of the Nile River. Remember that Egyptus first discovered the land of
Egypt under water. This is the Creation story. And as I have pointed out there are
multiple dimensions to translation Egyptian Hieroglyphs.
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11 And the Gods said: Let us prepare the earth to bring forth grass; the herb
yielding seed; the fruit tree yielding fruit, after his kind, whose seed in itself yieldeth its
own likeness upon the earth; and it was so, even as they ordered.
12 And the Gods organized the earth to bring forth grass from its own seed, and the
herb to bring forth herb from its own seed, yielding seed after his kind; and the earth
to bring forth the tree from its own seed, yielding fruit, whose seed could only bring
forth the same in itself, after his kind; and the Gods saw that they were obeyed.
13 And it came to pass that they numbered the days; from the evening until the
morning they called night; and it came to pass, from the morning until the evening they
called day; and it was the third time.
14 And the Gods organized the lights in the expanse of the heaven, and caused them
to divide the day from the night; and organized them to be for signs and for seasons,
and for days and for years;
15 And organized them to be for lights in the expanse of the heaven to give light
upon the earth; and it was so.
16 And the Gods organized the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and
the lesser light to rule the night; with the lesser light they set the stars also;
17 And the Gods set them in the expanse of the heavens, to give light upon the
earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to cause to divide the light from
the darkness.
18 And the Gods watched those things which they had ordered until they obeyed.
19 And it came to pass that it was from evening until morning that it was night; and it
came to pass that it was from morning until evening that it was day; and it was the
fourth time.
20 And the Gods said: Let us prepare the waters to bring forth abundantly the
moving creatures that have life; and the fowl, that they may fly above the earth in the
open expanse of heaven.
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21 And the Gods prepared the waters that they might bring forth great whales, and
every living creature that moveth, which the waters were to bring forth abundantly after
their kind; and every winged fowl after their kind. And the Gods saw that they would
be obeyed, and that their plan was good.
22 And the Gods said: We will bless them, and cause them to be fruitful and multiply,
and fill the waters in the seas or great waters; and cause the fowl to multiply in the
earth.
23 And it came to pass that it was from evening until morning that they called night;
and it came to pass that it was from morning until evening that they called day; and it
was the fifth time.
24 And the Gods prepared the earth to bring forth the living creature after his kind,
cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind; and it was so, as
they had said.
25 And the Gods organized the earth to bring forth the beasts after their kind, and
cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after its kind; and
the Gods saw they would obey.
26 And the Gods took counsel among themselves and said: Let us go down and form
man in our image, after our likeness; and we will give them dominion over the fish of the
sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over
every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So the Gods went down to organize man in their own image, in the image of the
Gods to form they him, male and female to form they them.
28 And the Gods said: We will bless them. And the Gods said: We will cause them
to be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and to have dominion
over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that
moveth upon the earth.
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29 And the Gods said: Behold, we will give them every herb bearing seed that shall
come upon the face of all the earth, and every tree which shall have fruit upon it; yea,
the fruit of the tree yielding seed to them we will give it; it shall be for their meat.
30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing
that creepeth upon the earth, behold, we will give them life, and also we will give to them
every green herb for meat, and all these things shall be thus organized.
31 And the Gods said: We will do everything that we have said, and organize them;
and behold, they shall be very obedient. And it came to pass that it was from evening
until morning they called night; and it came to pass that it was from morning until
evening that they called day; and they numbered the sixth time.
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Translation of
Chapter 5
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CHAPTER 5
1 AND thus we will finish the heavens and the earth, and all the hosts of them.
2 And the Gods said among themselves: On the seventh time we will end our work,
which we have counseled; and we will rest on the seventh time from all our work which
we have counseled.
3 And the Gods concluded upon the seventh time, because that on the seventh time
they would rest from all their works which they (the Gods) counseled among
themselves to form; and sanctified it. And thus were their decisions at the time that
they counseled among themselves to form the heavens and the earth.
4 And the Gods came down and formed these the generations of the heavens and of
the earth, when they were formed in the day that the Gods formed the earth and the
heavens,
5 According to all that which they had said concerning every plant of the field before
it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew; for the Gods had not
caused it to rain upon the earth when they counseled to do them, and had not formed
a man to till the ground.
6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
7 And the Gods formed man from the dust of the ground, and took his spirit (that is,
the man's spirit), and put it into him; and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,
and man became a living soul.
8 And the Gods planted a garden, eastward in Eden, and there they put the man,
whose spirit they had put into the body which they had formed.
9 And out of the ground made the Gods to grow every tree that is pleasant to the
sight and good for food; the tree of life, also, in the midst of the garden, and the tree
of knowledge of good and evil.
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10 There was a river running out of Eden, to water the garden, and from thence it
was parted and became into four heads.
11 And the Gods took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden, to dress it and
to keep it.
12 And the Gods commanded the man, saying: Of every tree of the garden thou
mayest freely eat,
13 But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the
time that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. Now I, Abraham, saw that it was
after the Lord's time, which was after the time of Kolob; for as yet the Gods had not
appointed unto Adam his reckoning.
14 And the Gods said: Let us make an help meet for the man, for it is not good that
the man should be alone, therefore we will form an help meet for him.
15 And the Gods caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; and he slept, and they
took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in the stead thereof;
16 And of the rib which the Gods had taken from man, formed they a woman, and
brought her unto the man.
17 And Adam said: This was bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; now she shall
be called Woman, because she was taken out of man;
18 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his
wife, and they shall be one flesh.
19 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
20 And out of the ground the Gods formed every beast of the field, and every fowl
of the air, and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them; and
whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that should be the name thereof.
21 And Adam gave names to all cattle, to the fowl of the air, to every beast of the
field; and for Adam, there was found an help meet for him.
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Chapter 5: Here I just wanted to point out that in verse 20 the animals were all
created on the same day. In Egyptian this would have been day five. The Egyptian
calendar having 365 days in a year, divided into months of 30 days, with an additional
5 days. They were not known for having weeks, but if they did, it obviously would
have been five days a week not 7. See my book for the explanation.
In verse 21 we see that Adam was taught by God the Egyptian language (see ch. 1
verse 26)
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Conclusion
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Joseph Smith did not make a translation of the papyri, but instead told a more
detailed story about Abraham from the facsimiles and took the opportunity to correct
the errors in the Biblical text that were contradictory. He acted in the role of an
ancient Israelite scribe by taking an Egyptian record and redacting it. He made
direct translations and indirect translations of the facsimiles and mixed in a Revision of
the story of Abraham with some translatable words as well as translatable concepts at
different levels. Joseph Smith was brilliant and without a doubt was following the
Spirit in his efforts. More was intended to be revealed, but Joseph didn‘t have the
time and then he was murdered too young. Still more needs to be restored.
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Aknowledgments
LDS Standard Works
Egyptian Hieratic translation by Michael Rhodes and Wickipedia
An Introduction to Paleo-Hebrew Alphabet and Grammar A New Theory, by
Travis Wayne Goodsell, © 2015 Outskirts Press
Joseph Smith as Ancient Translator, by Travis Wayne Goodsell, © 2015
Christianity An Ancient Egyptian Religion, by Ahmed Osman, © 2005
The Africans Who Wrote the Bible, by Nana Banchie Darkwah, Ph.D., © 2015
