BYU Studies

The authors of A Guide to the Book of Abraham offer their concluding thoughts.

From BYU Studies Quarterly, volume 61, number 4.

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Figure 5 in Facsimile 3 of the Book of Abraham is identified as “Shulem, one of the king’s principal waiters.” We don’t know anything more about the man Shulem beyond this brief description because he does not appear in the text of the Book of Abraham. Presumably, if we had more of the story, we would know more about how he fit in the overall Abrahamic narrative. However, there are some things we can say about Shulem and his title “the king’s principal waiter.”

From⁠ BYU Studies Quarterly, volume 61, number 4⁠.

The interpretations of figure 2 in Facsimile 3 of "King Pharaoh" or the goddess Isis are not as disparate as they might seem.

From⁠ BYU Studies Quarterly, volume 61, number 4⁠.

Joseph Smith's identification of figure 1 of Facsimile 3 as Abraham has clashed with the interpretation of Egyptologists who see the figure as Osiris. But is there evidence that the ancients associated Abraham with Osiris in some way?

From⁠ BYU Studies Quarterly, volume 61, number 4⁠.

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

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

From⁠ BYU Studies Quarterly, volume 61, number 4⁠.

Joseph Smith's succinct interpretation of figure 6 in Facsimile 2 "converges nicely" with current Egyptological knowledge.

From⁠ BYU Studies Quarterly, volume 61, number 4⁠.

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

From⁠ BYU Studies Quarterly, volume 61, number 4⁠.

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

From⁠ BYU Studies Quarterly, volume 61, number 4⁠.

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

From⁠ BYU Studies Quarterly, volume 61, number 4⁠.