Book of Abraham
Latter Day Saint scripture translated from Egyptian papyri.
Smith said the book was a translation from Egyptian scrolls discovered by Antonio Lebolo and purchased by LDS Church members in 1835.[1] First appearing in 1842, the Book of Abraham was published by Joseph Smith and is considered scripture within the Latter Day Saint movement.[1]
Quick Facts
- First published
- 1842
- Claimed translator
- Joseph Smith
- Canonized by lds church
- 1880
- Part of scriptural work
- Pearl of Great Price
- Number of chapters
- 5
- Original papyri discovered
- near Thebes, Egypt
- Papyri rediscovered
- 1966
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
The Book of Abraham was canonized in 1880 by the LDS Church as part of the Pearl of Great Price.[2] The papyri were thought lost in the 1871 Great Chicago Fire, but fragments were found in 1966 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[3] Egyptologists identified these fragments as Egyptian funerary texts, including the "Breathing Permit of Hôr" and the "Book of the Dead".[3] Antonio Lebolo uncovered eleven mummies and various papyrus scrolls near Thebes during the period from 1818 to 1822.[4]
After Lebolo's 1830 death, the artifacts were shipped to New York for sale; Michael H. Chandler acquired them and started exhibiting them, traveling throughout the eastern United States.[4] Chandler brought his collection to Kirtland, Ohio, where Joseph Smith resided, during late June or early July 1835.[1] The entire work was issued in installments during 1842 within the newspaper Times and Seasons.[1]
What the cited sources add
The same essay notes that "none of the characters on the papyrus fragments mentioned Abraham's name or any of the events recorded in the book of Abraham."[5] The Joseph Smith Papers introduction states that "most scholars who have studied the Book of Breathing for Horos" estimate the roll originally measured between 150 and 156 centimeters.[6] The Strangite branch of the movement notes they "have no authorized position on it" because it was published as a text "purporting to be the writings of Abraham."[7] The same review notes that Gee states "most LDS church members believe Smith received the translation solely by revelation, without referring to any of the papyri."[8]
References
- Wikipedia, "Book of Abraham" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Book of Abraham" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham", Gospel Topics Essays, July 2014; Givens Hauglid 2019, p. 121–124 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Book of Abraham" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Book of Abraham" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: .; .; . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham", Gospel Topics Essays, July 2014. facts only, no text reused. churchofjesuschrist.org
- "Introduction to Revelations and Translations: Volume 4, Book of Abraham and Related Manuscripts", The Joseph Smith Papers, 2019. facts only, no text reused. josephsmithpapers.org
- "Scriptures", Strangite.org. facts only, no text reused. strangite.org
- Folkman, "Gee, 'Introduction to the Book of Abraham'", Dawning of a Brighter Day. facts only, no text reused. associationmormonletters.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Book of Abraham (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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