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===External links=== | ===External links=== | ||
− | *Ariel Crowley, "The Anthon Transcript," ''Improvement Era'', 45:1 (January 1842) and 45:2 (February 1942), 45:3 (March 1942). [http://www.shields-research.org/Scriptures/BoM/Anthon_Transcript-Crowley/Anthon_Transcript-Crowley.htm] | + | *Ariel Crowley, "The Anthon Transcript," ''Improvement Era'', 45:1 (January 1842) and 45:2 (February 1942), 45:3 (March 1942). [http://www.shields-research.org/Scriptures/BoM/Anthon_Transcript-Crowley/Anthon_Transcript-Crowley.htm *] |
*John Gee and John A. Tvedtnes, "Ancient Manuscripts Fit Book of Mormon Pattern," ''Insights'' 19:2 (February 1999): 4–5.[http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=insights&id=58 *] | *John Gee and John A. Tvedtnes, "Ancient Manuscripts Fit Book of Mormon Pattern," ''Insights'' 19:2 (February 1999): 4–5.[http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=insights&id=58 *] | ||
− | *John L. Sorenson, "Digging into the Book of Mormon: Our Changing Understanding of Ancient America and Its Scripture, Part 2," ''Ensign'' (October 1984): 17.[http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Ensign/1984.htm/ensign%20october%201984%20.htm/digging%20into%20the%20book%20of%20mormon%20our%20changing%20understanding%20of%20ancient%20america%20and%20its%20scripture%20part%202%20.htm] | + | *John L. Sorenson, "Digging into the Book of Mormon: Our Changing Understanding of Ancient America and Its Scripture, Part 2," ''Ensign'' (October 1984): 17.[http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Ensign/1984.htm/ensign%20october%201984%20.htm/digging%20into%20the%20book%20of%20mormon%20our%20changing%20understanding%20of%20ancient%20america%20and%20its%20scripture%20part%202%20.htm *] |
− | * John A. Tvedtnes and Stephen D. Ricks, "Jewish and Other Semitic Texts Written in Egyptian Characters," ''Journal of Book of Mormon Studies'' 5:2 (1996): 156–163.[http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?id=128&table=jbms] | + | * John A. Tvedtnes and Stephen D. Ricks, "Jewish and Other Semitic Texts Written in Egyptian Characters," ''Journal of Book of Mormon Studies'' 5:2 (1996): 156–163.[http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?id=128&table=jbms *] |
* , "One Small Step," ''FARMS Review of Books'' 15:1 (2003): 147 | * , "One Small Step," ''FARMS Review of Books'' 15:1 (2003): 147 | ||
− | * {{FARMSReview| author=John A. Tvedtnes and Matthew Roper|article=One Small Step|vol=15|num=1|date=2003|start=147|end=199}} | + | * {{FARMSReview| author=John A. Tvedtnes and Matthew Roper|article=One Small Step|vol=15|num=1|date=2003|start=147|end=199}}[http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&id=472 *] |
===Printed material=== | ===Printed material=== |
Critics claim that
The claim that Israelites would not use Egyptian is clearly false. By the ninth to sixth centuries before Christ, Israelites used Egyptian numerals mingled with Hebrew text. The Papyrus Amherst 63 contains a text of Psalms 20:2-6 written in Aramaic (the language of Jesus) using Egyptian characters. This text was originally dated to the second century B.C., but this has since been extended to the 4th century B.C.[1]
Moroni makes it clear that "reformed Egyptian" is the name which the Nephites have given to a script based upon Egyptian characters, and modified over the course of a thousand years (See Mormon 9:32). So, it is no surprise that Egyptians or Jews have no script called "reformed Egyptian," as this was a Nephite term.
There are, however, several varient Egyptian scrips which are "reformed" or altered from their earlier form. Hugh Nibley and others have pointed out that the change from Egyptian hieroglphics, to hieratic, to demotic is a good description of Egyptian being "reformed." By 600 BC, hieratic was used primarily for religious texts, while demotic was used for daily use.*
One can see how hieroglphics developed into the more stylized hieratic, and this process continued with the demotic:
What could be a better term for this than an Egyptian script that has been "reformed"?
There was a clear evolution of Egyptian script in the Old World, and these modified scrips were in use in Lehi's day. People of Lehi's time and place did use both Hebrew and Egyptian, just as Nephi claimed (See 1 Nephi 1:2).
Given that Moroni says the Nephites then modified the scripts further, "reformed Egyptian" is an elegant description of both the Old World phenomenon, and what Moroni says happened among the Nephites.
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