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Book of Abraham facsimiles/Facsimile 3
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Facsimile 3: The throne scene
Facsimile 3
The final illustration (view) is of the justified and exalted Hor (figure 5) being introduced by the Egyptian gods Ma'at (4) and Anubis (6) to the god Osiris (1) in the afterlife. Isis (2), Osiris' sister/wife, is also present. Their names are indicated by the Egyptian characters above their heads.[1]
Joseph Smith's notes to Facsimile 3 identify the illustration as representing "Abraham sitting upon Pharaoh's throne" (note to figure 1), an event foreshadowed in the text of the Book of Abraham (Abr 2꞉21-25), but not described in any existing translation produced by Joseph.
Criticism regarding Joseph's interpretation of specific textual elements of Facsimile 3
Critics focus on three specific interpretations which reference characters in the facsimile. Joseph Smith provides the following identifications for three of the figures in the facsimile:
- Fig. 2. King Pharaoh, whose name is given in the characters above his head.
- Fig. 4. Prince of Pharaoh, King of Egypt, as written above the hand.
- Fig. 5. Shulem, one of the king’s principal waiters, as represented by the characters above his hand.
What is notable in this particular case is that Joseph isn't simply assigning an identify to each figure, but is indicating that characters located near each figure confirm the assignments. Egyptologists, on the other hand, note that the characters have an entirely different meaning. Robert K. Ritner, [note] Professor of Egyptology at the University of Chicago, states that "Smith’s hopeless translation also turns the goddess Maat into a male prince, the papyrus owner into a waiter, and the black jackal Anubis into a Negro slave."[2]
Endnotes
- [note] Dr. Ritner is one of Dr. John Gee's former professors at Yale. Ritner's article in the Journal of Near eastern Studies is highly critical of his former student's involvement with any LDS apologetic effort on the part of the Book of Abraham, specifically because he was not included in a peer review. Larry E. Morris responds to Ritner's article in Larry E. Morris, "The Book of Abraham: Ask the Right Questions and Keep On Looking (Review of: “The ‘Breathing Permit of Hor’ Thirty-four Years Later.” Dialogue 33/4 (2000): 97–119)," FARMS Review 16/2 (2004): 355–380. off-site
- [note] Robert K. Ritner, “The Breathing Permit of Hor Among the Joseph Smith Papyri," Journal of Near Eastern Studies, (University of Chicago, 2003), p. 162, note 4.
Further reading
- John Gee, "Facsimile 3 and Book of the Dead 125,", Astronomy, Papyrus, and Covenant, Maxwell Institute.
- Hugh Nibley, All the Court's a Stage: Facsimile 3, a Royal Mumming, Abraham in Egypt, Maxwell Institute.