Joseph Smith's Explanations of Facsimile 3 of the Book of Abraham

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Joseph Smith's Explanations of Facsimile 3 of the Book of Abraham

Summary: This page will discuss Joseph Smith's Explanations of Facsimile 3 of the Book of Abraham. Of Facsimile 3, Joseph Smith said that it is "Abraham . . . reasoning upon the principles of Astronomy, in the king's court." According to modern Egyptologists, the Facsimile depicts Hor's life being weighed by the gods prior to his permission to enter into eternal life and salvation.

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Approaching Facsimile 3

There are a few things to keep in mind when approaching the explanations to Facsimile 3.

First, "[f]acsimile 3 has always been the most neglected of the three facsimiles in the Book of Abraham. Unfortunately, most of what has been said about this facsimile is seriously wanting at best and highly erroneous at worst." This has been remedied in recent years, with much work dedicated to situating Facsimile 3 in its ancient Egyptian context.

Facsimile 3 contains three explanations related to the characters written above the Figures. Keep in mind that these characters have been copied by Ruben Hedlock from the papyrus that originally contained this scene. That copy may not be very reliable.

Facsimile 3

Facsimile 3	Joseph Smith's Explanation	Modern Egyptologists' Explanation	Commentary
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.	Label for Osiris (text to the right of figure 1 of Facsimile No. 3): Recitation by Osiris, Foremost of the Westerners, Lord of Abydos(?), the great god forever and ever(?).	Abraham sitting upon Pharoah's throne, by politeness of the king. Pearl of Great Price Central has documented the connections that Latter-day Saint scholars have made between Osiris and Abraham in antiquity. As summarized by Kerry Muhlestein, "there are enough instances where Abraham appears in contexts normally occupied by Osiris that we must conclude the Egyptians saw some sort of connection."
Fig. 2	King Pharaoh, whose name is given in the characters above his head.	Label for Isis (text to the right of figure 2 of Facsimile No. 3): Isis the great, the god's mother.	Assuming that this figure is indeed Isis (there is a considerable amount of doubt to be raised about that identification), Pearl of Great Price Central has documented plenty of evidence to show that her identification with Pharaoh isn't surprising at all from an Egyptological perspective. Why would Joseph Smith identify a figure that is clearly female with a male?
Fig. 3	Signifies Abraham in Egypt as given also in Figure 10 of Facsimile No. 1.	Altar, with the offering of the deceased, surrounded with lotus flowers, signifying the offering of the defunct.	Hugh Nibley has shown that the lotus flower could represent virtually anything in ancient Egyptian iconography. The lotus could serve as a welcome gift from host to guest. Perhaps this could be an appropriate sign for Abraham, a sojourner in Egypt.
Fig. 4	Prince of Pharaoh, King of Egypt, as written above the hand.	Label for Maat (text to the left of figure 4 of Facsimile No. 3): Maat, mistress of the gods.	No commentary at this time.
Fig. 5	Shulem, one of the king’s principal waiters, as represented by the characters above his hand.	Label for Hor the deceased (text in front of figure 5 of Facsimile No. 3): The Osiris Hor, justified forever.	The name "Shulem", as well as a plausible association with that name and the function of being a royal butler, is attested in antiquity.
Fig. 6	Olimlah, a slave belonging to the prince.	Anubis	No commentary at this time.

Notes (click to expand)

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