Facsimile 2

06 February

“Translated from the papyrus, by Joseph Smith…A Translation of some ancient Records, that have fallen into our hands from the catacombs of Egypt. – The Writings of Abraham while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, by his own hand upon papyrus.” – Intro to Book of Abraham

As a Mormon I remember seeing the Egyptian hieroglyphics in the Pearl of Great Price.  Not knowing what they meant or their purpose I wrote them off as a spooky drawing of the Mormon god I didn’t know.  It wasn’t until I began my own study of the Church that I began wondering what Egyptian hieroglyphics had to do with God’s word.

In my recent study of the facsimiles I began with Facsimile 2 and will be posting further articles soon.

We have a few things to look at here so let’s start at the beginning! I wanted to know how things came about and how we got to the time and place of Joseph Smith’s translation of Egyptian for the Book of Abraham, so here’s the timeline…

1799 – French soldier by the name of Pierre-François Bouchard discovers the Rosetta Stone

1802 – Rosetta Stone transported to British Museum

1822 – Jean-François Champollion announces transliteration of stone has begun and becomes the father of modern-day Egyptology

1818-1822 Thebes, Egypt – Antonio Lebolo discovers eleven mummies and several Egyptian papyri

1823-1830 – Lebolo arranges to have his collections shipped to England and US before his death in 1830

1833 New York – Michael Chandler (Lebolo’s nephew) receives Egyptian artifacts and begins a two year tour displaying and selling artifacts in eastern US

1834-1835 – Chandler travels to Kirtland, OH and asks Smith for his insight about his display. LDS Church members subsequently raise $2,400 to purchase four mummies and five or so papyri (History of the Church 2:235-236)

1835 – Papers written by Smith during this time become known as the KEP (Kirtland Egyptian Papers) and EAG (Kirtland Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar)

1835 – Smith begins his translation with Oliver Cowdery and W.W. Phelps

1842 – First publication of Smith’s translation appears in LDS publication, Times and Seasons, Vol. 3, No. 9, March 1, 1842. This showed the incorrect reconstruction of Facsimile 1.

1855 – Ancient Egyptian code is broken

May 26, 1856 – Smith’s widow Emma, her husband Lewis C Bidamon and her son Joseph Smith III sells four Egyptian mummies to Abel Combs after death of Smith’s mother twelve days earlier.

August 1856 – Two mummies and some papyri on display in St. Louis Museum

1856 – Theodule Deveria, an Egyptologist curator for the Louvre condemns Smith’s interpretation

1863 – St. Louis Museum closed, collection sent to Chicago Museum

1871 – Museum destroyed in Great Chicago Fire

1871 – Combs  (museum owner) keeps some papyri fragments and are passed on to housekeeper Charlotte Weaver Huntsman and then to daughter Alice Combs Weaver Heusser

1873 – Deveria’s work is published in “The Rocky Mountain Saints”, by TBH Stenhouse

1880 – Smith’s translation of the hypocephalus and other papers are canonized in the Pearl of Great Price and known as Facsimile 1, Facsimile 2 (hypocelphalus), and Facsimile 3

1912 – Reverend Franklin S. Spalding sends copies of Smith’s interpretation to eight Egyptologists and Semitists. All denounce Smith’s work referring to him as an “impudent fraud”.  Their interpretation points out the papyri are nothing more than funerary directives and representations of Egyptian gods with spells written upon the hypocephalus.

Reverend Spalding’s findings are published in his work, Joseph Smith as a Translator.

1947 – Ludlow Bull, Assoc Curator of Dept of Egyptian Art @ MMA acquires papyri from Edward Heusser, Alice Heusser’s widow

1966 – Aziz Suryal Atiya from the Univ of Utah discovers ten of the eleven papyri in MMA archives. Anonymous donation comes into museum making it possible for LDS Church to acquire papyri.  These fragments are known as the Sensen Papyrus.

February 1968 – Church publishes sepia versions of papyri in The Improvement Era

Now with our timeline established, let’s look at a couple of noteworthy items to put things in context. Below is a side by side comparison of Joseph Smith’s hypocephalus before and after he “translated” it from Egyptian to English and some hypocephali from the British Museum.

hypocephalus of She'shonq Joseph Smith   Hypocephalus all

A couple of explanations before we begin:

HYPOCEPHALUS –

Hypo – Greek for under

Ceph-a-lus – Greek for head

A hypocephalus is a round disk of various size buried with and placed under the head of the deceased. These contained images of Egyptian gods who aided the deceased on their journey into the afterlife. Their purpose was to keep the deceased warm and protect them from grave robbers. Some also held sections from The Breathing Permit of Hôr in addition to a Book of Breathings and the Book of the Dead which were funerary instructions and spells.

 LACUNAE –

la-kyoo-nuh; gap or missing parts as in a manuscript

There have been countless books and articles written about this subject from the time Smith tried his hand at translating Egyptian hieroglyphs. Out of all the arguments from both sides one thing stands out above all the rest no matter what side you’re on.

Joseph Smith said these writings were from Abraham and whether or not you agree that all of Smith’s writings are still intact or not, this one thing is clear. Smith endorsed it all. His statement is still emblazoned in the canonical work that Mormons believe is the sacred word of the Lord.  By Smith’s own words he’s sealed himself to the work;

“Translated from the papyrus, by Joseph Smith…The writings of Abraham while he was in Egypt…by his own hand upon papyrus”.

This article won’t carry every in-depth textual criticism of Joseph Smith’s papyri or hypocephalus, nor will you find an exhaustive list of who did what in early Mormonism regarding the Kirtland Egyptian Papers and Alphabet.

What you will find are Smith’s claims of what Abraham supposedly said and some of the true interpretations of the hieroglyphs and hieratic writings from reputable Egyptologists.

Several Egyptologists have noted that Joseph Smith falsely reconstructed lacunae from the papyri; as such, none of the facsimiles are true interpretations or transliterations of the originals. To date we don’t know if it’s still in existence, nor do we have any pictures of the original hypocephalus.

In his attempt to prophetically deliver for the Mormon people he proved himself to be a fraud. Unfortunately for Mormons then and now, the majority is unaware of the problem or they’ve turned a blind eye.

Much like Facsimile 1 & 3, Facsimile 2 (the hypocephalus of Sh’sonq) had lacunae making it impossible to determine the exact intent of the original message.

Originally it was included with one of the mummies purchased by the Church, but it’s not known if the hypocephalus was damaged before or after it was in Smith’s possession.

A drawing of it was found on a page of the Kirtland Egyptian Papers which the Church published in 1966. This drawing showed a large portion of lacunae in the northeast to the mid-section of the hypocephalus.

As it turned out Smith’s interpretation of the papyri and hypocephalus was ridiculed by Egyptologists who were able to show with definitive proof everything Smith said was a fraud. Chandler’s papyri were excerpts from Hor’s Book of Breathings and The Book of the Dead which were funerary instructions.  In 1880 Smith’s translations were canonized in Mormon scripture and known today by members as the Book of Abraham.

Because the translation of Egyptian hieroglyphs and hieratic writings weren’t readily available at the time, Smith’s story was bought hook, line and sinker by members of the Church. This latter-day prophetic interpretation of God provided an inroad for new heresies Smith could easily introduce into the canon of Mormon scripture.

There were a number of rituals in Ancient Egypt when it came to burying the dead. The more important the person was the more elaborate the burial. One item placed in coffins with the deceased was a hypocephalus along with any other amulets the deceased treasured in life as well as the traditional canopic jars.

The more you read about the gods of Ancient Egypt the more evident it becomes Smith filled in lacunae on his hypocephalus with erroneous information. He used parts of two vignettes from Hôr’s Breathing Permit and writings in chapter 162 from the Book of the Dead as his interpretation and upside down no less.  To complicate matters even more, these two separate papyri were written hundreds of years apart from each other. Additionally, the restored text contains two different types of handwriting; one being hieratic and the other hieroglyphic.  (By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus, pg 108, Charles M. Larson)

The papyri Smith used to fill in the missing parts was taken from the right column of the Small Sensen which had nothing to do with the hypocephalus. Incidentally, this papyrus and the hypocephalus belonged to someone named She’shonq.  She’shonq was a person who probably lived sometime in the Third Intermediate Period (1100-650 BC), thus making it virtually impossible for this to be the writings of Abraham as he lived sometime between 2200 – 1500 BC. Hypocephali first appeared around 663-525 BC.

About a hundred hypocephali have been discovered and are either stored in private collections or museums around the world. Egyptologists who are familiar with hieroglyphics and hieratic writings have been able to ascertain that Joseph’s hypocephalus is incorrect based on other hypocephali with similar engravings. The disks were individually made with engravings of the deceased person’s favorite gods and spells, so while no two are exactly the same there are enough repetitive engravings to know what belongs where.

There are 23 pagan gods inscribed upon Joseph’s hypocephalus and these gods along with Smith’s prophecy about them will be our focus here. You can find Facsimile 2 in the Book of Abraham between chapter two and three.

Below you’ll see Joseph’s interpretation in black font listed first and the true interpretation listed in blue.

Explanation

Kolob and Khnumu

1. Kolob, signifying the first creation, nearest to the celestial, or the residence of God. First in government, the last pertaining to the measurement of time. The measurement according to celestial time, which celestial time signifies one day to a cubit. One day in Kolob is equal to a thousand years according to the measurement of this earth, which is called by the Egyptians Jah-oh-eh.

Facsimile 2 Figure 1 Facsimile 2 Figure 1 Four headed ram god

This should have been the creator god Khnumu “where the four elements were united and represented in the Four Headed Ram [of] Mendes”. 

Each head represented a different ba (the bleat of the animal). One was the Ba of Osiris (death, hereafter), the Ba of Geb (earth), the Ba of Shu (sky) and the Ba of Ra (life). 

Khnumu was also known in several other depictions. Khnumu is the third aspect of Ra who was the god of rebirth, creation and the evening sun. He was mainly worshipped in Anuket and Satis, both cities sat alongside the Nile and were considered sacred sites. He was thought to be related to the god Min. 

Khnumu was also depicted as crocodile headed man, a ram’s headed man at a potter’s wheel creating children, and also as a water-god while holding a jug with streams of flowing water pouring forth. 

Because it’s thought Joseph was missing the original section from the hycophelus it’s quite obvious he took a guess at what he thought it would’ve looked like and inserted this poor rendition of a two headed ram god. 

A hypocephalus from the British Museum and one from the Louvre show this god in between a set of adoring baboons which is somewhat similar to what Smith’s hypocephalus shows. The baboons [fig. 22-23] have their own meaning which will be discussed later. 

Additionally Jah-oh-eh sounds more Hebrew than Egyptian and contains no Egyptian etymological basis. 

Oliblish and Amun

Facsimile 2 Figure 2 Facsimile 2 Ammon-Re

2. Stands next to Kolob, called by the Egyptians Oliblish, which is the next grand governing creation near to the celestial or the place where God resides; holding the key of power also, pertaining to other planets; as revealed from God to Abraham, as he offered sacrifice upon an altar, which he had built unto the Lord.

There is no Egyptian word “Oliblish”. 

As shown in Joseph’s hypocephalus above, part of this section was missing. 

This is actually Ammon-Re or Ammon-Ra depicting him with two human heads one of which represents the sun (Ra) and the other the invisible principle of Ammon. 

The Egyptian gods were typically a personification of nature or animals.  People then and now could see images of him carved and drawn upon Egyptian temple walls depicting him with a human body and at times with a ram’s head.  Since rams were a symbol of virility he was also looked upon as a god of fertility. 

He was self created and supposedly married to Amaunet and collectively they represented the invisibility of air or wind and became the wind deity. 

In Jeremiah 46:25 (Amun – also spelled amn) referred to as Amon god of Thebes when God told Israel He was about to bring punishment upon him and Pharaoh.  

In Egypt’s eighteenth dynasty (1353-1334 BC) the god Amun was replaced with the god Aten by the Pharaoh Akhenaten because of his dislike for Amun. There was such uproar to the change that eventually this god became Amun-Ra at the pharaoh’s death. 

A curator for the British Museum’s hypocephalus describes this figure simply as a two-headed deity holding a jackal headed god of Wepwawet scepter. He’s located on the center top row.

Mormon Priesthood and Horus-Ra (Horus-Re)

Facsimile 2 Figure 3 Horus-Re Facsimile 2 Horus Re 5

Joseph’s interpretation is as follows:

3. Is made to represent God, sitting upon his throne, clothed with power and authority; with a crown of eternal light upon his head; representing also the grand Key-words of the Holy Priesthood, as revealed to Adam in the Garden of Eden, as also to Seth, Noah, Melchizedek, Abraham, and all to whom the Priesthood was revealed.

If Ra is the god of Mormonism this would be a good drawing of him here.  Ra (also known at times as Horus-Re) is a personification of the sun and depicted in Egypt as a hawk sitting on a barque [boat] sailing through the sky. He was the chief god of Egypt taking on multiple forms and expressions. 

His three primary depictions were the morning sun as a scarab beetle, the noon day sun as the solar disk and evening sun as a 4 headed ram. 

Joseph’s hypocephalus was missing this section (see above). He obviously took liberty to insert what he thought may have been there originally. 

Notice the Wadjet-eyes, one on either side of the boat. These were for protection against the evil-eye. This is also known as the Left Eye of Horus and also spelled wedjat.  This is also seen on the LDS Nauvoo Temple. 

The Eye of Horus was a representation of when Horus’ left eye was gouged out by his brother Set after the death of Osiris, their father while fighting for his throne.

Heavens Expanse and Sokar

Facsimile 2 Figure 4 Ah-em (Repose of Death) or Sokar Facsimile 2.4 Ah'em (Repose of Death)

From Joseph Smith:

4. Answers to the Hebrew word Raukeeyang, signifying expanse, or the firmament of the heavens; also a numerical figure, in Egyptian signifying one thousand; answering to the measuring of the time of Oliblish, which is equal with Kolob in its revolution and in its measuring of time.

I wholeheartedly agree with Deveria (Asst Curator of Egyptian Artifacts, Louvre) who said “raqiac”, the Hebrew word for firmament or heaven, has nothing to do with what is going on here in figure 4. – See Dr. Walter Martin.  

Some experts believe this is a representation of a mummified hawk known as Ah-em or what Egyptians called the divine repose of death. The bottom half of the hawk looks mummified and the outstretched wings are representative of resurrection.

Also see Ancient Egypt Online

This deity was also known as Sokar or Ptah Sokar, the evil Egyptian god of the underworld. His name is believed to mean “opening of the mouth ceremony”, derived from a funeral ritual. He was known as a falcon god found primarily in the regions of Memphis who came to be a god of the necropolis. Ptah was also a god of the underworld. 

Pyramid texts describe him as a god active in the rebirth of the king and transfer of royal power. Sokar festivals were well known in Ancient Egypt for celebrating the wealth of soil and power or growth. 

Sokar took Ptah’s consort Sekhmet and in this form the three gods combined formed a formidable deity which held lasting significance for the remainder of Egypt’s dynastic periods. Mention of this god is found in the earliest known text predating the dynastic years. 

The Pyramid Text was the oldest collection of religious spells known in ancient Egypt and formed much of their later religious theology and literature.  They were eventually separated and evolved into the Book of the Dead. The spells have shown up on numerous sarcophagus chambers, temples, pyramids and hypocephali.

Enish-go-on-dosh and Hathor

Facsimile 2 Figure 5 Hathor (Mystic, virgin cow) Facsimile 2 Hathor (Mystic cow)

5. Is called in Egyptian Enish-go-on-dosh; this is one of the governing planets also, and is said by the Egyptians to be the Sun, and to borrow its light from Kolob through the medium of Kae-e-vanrash, which is the grand Key, or, in other words, the governing power, which governs fifteen other fixed planets or stars, as also Floeese or the Moon, the Earth and the Sun in their annual revolutions. This planet receives its power through the medium of Kli-flos-is-es, or Hah-ko-kau-beam, the stars represented by numbers 22 and 23, receiving light from the revolutions of Kolob.

This is actually Hathor. She was a personification of a cow bearing a sun disk between her horns and sometimes referred to as a “mystic cow” in chapter 162 Book of the Dead. She symbolized the inferior hemisphere of heaven and also referred to as the virgin cow of the funerary ritual. Her name translated to House of Horus. 

She was the patron of mining, and goddess of music, motherhood, love, death and pleasure. Later she was associated with the Greek goddess Aphrodite. She was tied to the royal family of gods and was the mother-goddess of the whole world similar to Isis. 

She was so revered by many throughout multiple dynastic periods that more children were named in her honor than any other god or goddess. 

Her relationship with Ra was ambiguous and sometimes known as his wife and other times his mother. She became what the worshipper wanted and/or needed her to be. 

Also notice the ithyphallic serpent god Nehebka behind her with the Wedjat eye. This was referred to as the Holy Ghost of Mormonism by Joseph Smith. So now we have an ithyphallic serpent god serving as the Mormon Holy Ghost and a virgin cow depicting the sun who lends light to the planet Kolob where God resides. 

Four Corners of Earth and Sons of Horus

Facsimile 2 Figure 6 Sons of Horus Amhet, Hapy, Tioumautew and Kebhsoniw Facsimile 2 Sons of  Horus; Amset, Hapy, Tioumautew and Kebhsoniw

6. Represents this earth in its four quarters.

These were funerary deities also referred to as the four sons of Horus; Amset, Hapy, Tioumautew (Duamutef), and Kebhsoniw.  Each “son” guarded by a different goddess was a personified canopic jar charged with holding different organs of the body at death and buried with the deceased. 

Imseti: his canopic jar held the liver. Not associated with any animal and always depicted in human form. 

Hapy: Nile god of the inundation who brought floods to the deltas which provided rich silt to farmers.  Also known as the bull deity of Memphis. He protected the throne of Osiris in the Underworld. Depicted with head of a baboon. His canopic jar held the lungs of the deceased. 

Tioumautew: meaning “who adores his mother with the heart”.  Held the stomach in his canopic jar. Sometimes depicted with the head of a jackal and at other times a falcon.  

Kebhsoniw: protector god of the west. His canopic jar held the large intestines of the deceased. He was depicted as a mummy with a falcon or hawk head. 

While Joseph Smith was busy translating Egyptian hieroglyphs into the new Mormon word of God he was also busy prophesying to his group that the end of the world was near. See D&C 104-105. This period of time in Mormonism was precarious indeed. There were lots of new prophecies of how some people would never die, how the world would soon come to an end and now Joseph was telling them God was speaking to them from the dust of the ground in Egypt of all places. Sadly for the Mormon people these prophecies also proved to be false as well. 

Mormon god and Egyptian god Min

Facsimile 2 Figure 7  Ammon (Min) and Phallic serpent with legs Facsimile 2  Ammon (Min) and Serpent with legs

7. Represents God sitting upon his throne, revealing through the heavens the grand Key-words of the Priesthood; as, also, the sign of the Holy Ghost unto Abraham, in the form of a dove.

There are a few items in this section. Figure on the far right is Ammon with a bird’s tail. He’s also been known as an ithyphallic serpent with human legs (figure left of Ammon). He took on power and position in later dynastic periods in Thebes by replacing Monthu and fused with Ra, thus becoming Amun-Ra. 

He was self created and worshipped as the creator deity. 

Known in the Bible as the false god Ammon and referred to in Jeremiah 46:25 and Nahum 3:8 when God warned the Israelites to stop worshipping Ammon. 

This god can also be known as Min. He’s a fertility god who promised natural increase of the harvests as well as Pharaoh.  He was also known as the god Khem or Khnum who was the creator of all things including gods and men. 

The Greeks linked him to their fertility god Pan and renamed the city Akhmim to Panopolis (City of Pan). In later centuries became Zeus in Ancient Greece.  He was the son and husband of the goddess Iabet. 

Some Book of Abraham editions in Facsimile 2 show Min without the pornography; 1966 being one example.  Remember, Joseph Smith said this is Heavenly Father revealing the “grand key words of the priesthood, with the sign of the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove”.  

Reality tells us this is Min, described above, with a flail in his hand and his exposed body parts. The character to his left is another ithyphallic hieroglyph representing a serpent who was probably the Egyptian god Nehebka. Also take note of the wedjat-eye between the serpent and Min. 

Mormon Egyptologist Michael Dennis Rhodes said, 

“Joseph Smith mentions here the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove and God ‘revealing through the heavens the grand key-words of the priesthood.’ The procreative forces, receiving unusual accentuation throughout the representation, may stand for many divine generative powers, not least of which might be conjoined with blessing of the Priesthood in one’s posterity eternally.”  (BYU Studies, Spring 1977, p. 273). 

Mormonism has historically taught the god of Mormonism is busy going about procreating spirit children in the heavens so this depiction of the incestuous god Min is probably the best representation of the Mormon god than any other hieroglyph we’ve seen so far.  

From the book Abraham in Egypt, Hugh Nibley tries to defend Joseph Smith by attacking those who discredited Smith’s translation skills. Instead of accepting Smith made this whole thing up Nibley believed anyone that disagreed with the Book of Abraham had it out for Smith and had no basis to critique his work regardless of their expertise in Egyptology. 

Sadly, Hugh Nibley noted that Min was an incestuous god in his book but made no conclusive determination these hieroglyphics couldn’t be writings from Abraham. See Abraham in Egypt, pg 210, “As the supreme sex symbol of gods and men, Min behaves with shocking promiscuity…” 

There are countless gods in Egyptian mythology who are representations of animals, nature, acts of men or simply ideas. It’s something most Westerners aren’t accustomed to in our monotheistic views of God. 

The whole concept of Egyptian gods is to provide comfort, wealth, revenge, or simple peace. The majority of the gods inscribed upon the hypocephalus belonging to Smith was dualistic in nature and held the capabilities to morph into whatever god was needed at the time. 

This particular god was one of the vilest of all the Egyptian gods. Why this would be seen as holy goes beyond the stretch of anyone’s imagination, unless of course you’re describing a god other than the God of the Bible. 

I would use this as a witnessing tool when sharing the gospel with your Mormon friend. Certainly they wouldn’t condone pornography in the hands of their children yet this is what Min is and what they’re allowing their children to see each time they open their sacred scripture. 

Figures 8-11: 

Soul of Osiris Sheshonk & the Netherworld

Facsimile 2 Fig 8-11 Facsimile 2 Figures 8-11

8. Contains writings that cannot be revealed unto the world; but is to be had in the Holy Temple of God.

From Dr. Walter Martin:

“Four lines of the linear hieroglyphic text, which are numbered from bottom to top, instead of from top to bottom. 

The meaning is:

O great God in Sekhem; 0 great God, Lord of heaven, earth, and hell. . . . Osiris S’es’enq.

These last words inform us that the personage in whose mummy this hypocephalus was found was called S’es’enq or S’esonchis, a name written Sesak in the Bible, and of which there is no known example anterior to the twenty-second dynasty; that is, to the ninth century before our era, but which may be much posterior to it.” 

The Holy God of Israel, the One and Only True God of the Universe has given specific directives and nothing in His word gives permission to worship or represent Him in any form. In fact having images is a form of idolatry. Exodus 20:3-4, 7. 

Joseph Smith’s flagrant disregard for God is shown time and again in these facsimiles and the examples here are no different. 

If writings couldn’t be revealed at the time he interpreted this we have to ask why. Hadn’t he made up the story yet or why hadn’t the Mormon god revealed it to him if he’s in the setting of receiving revelations?

As usual you’ll see the experts’ insights are totally different from Smith’s. Read from bottom to top. 

9. Ought not to be revealed at the present time.

Fig. 9; “the netherworld (below the earth) and his great waters” 

10. Also.

Fig. 10; “O mighty god, lord of heaven and earth” 

11. Also. If the world can find out these numbers, so let it be. Amen.

Fig. 11;”O god of the sleeping ones from the time of creation” 

Hieratic Writings & Djatby the Bull

Facsimile 2 Figures 12-15 Fac 2 Figures 12-15

12. Figures 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21, will be given in the own due time of the Lord.

Time’s up Joseph. Here’s the real meaning of figures 12-21.

The right side of the hypocephalus was from hieratic writing and copied from Joseph Smith’s papyrus XI. 

Hieroglyphic, Hieratic and Demotic… 

Hieroglyphs are pictures carved or drawn with ink. You’ll find them in religious texts, tombs, furniture, jewelry, statutes, sarcophagi and coffins, etc. 

Hieratic came after hieroglyphs and was a type of cursive with symbols, signs, lines and even dots representing a word or thought. 

Demotic appears after hieratic writing and never used hieroglyphs. Demotic and hieratic were performed with reed brushes upon sheets of papyrus. 

Figures 12-15

Dr. Martin’s quote from Deveria says: 

Four lines of writing similar to the former, of which they are the pendant.

They appear to be numbered upside down, and are illegibly copied. 

 From Book of Abraham, Kevin Mathie;

“Figures 12-15 were apparently damaged in the original, and were “restored” by pasting in hieratic symbols for Hôr’s Breathing Permit — upside-down. A trace of the original hieroglyphic writing can be made out, but only the phrase “his words” can be made out at the end of the line in Fig. 15. The remainder of these lines is filled with hieratic writing taken from lines 4 and 5 of Hôr’s Breathing Permit.”

“Figure 12: (upside down) “near” and “wrap”

Figure 13: (upside down) “which made by” 

Figure 14: (upside down) “breathings” 

Figure 15: (upside down) “this book”” 

See Charles Larson’s By His Own Hand upon Papyrus, pg 107. 

Figures 16-17

Facsimile 2 F 16-17 Facsimile 2 Figures 16-17

From Dr. Martin:

Two more lines which cannot be deciphered in the copy.

It begins above the god with two human heads, fig.2; and there is in it twice mention made of a sacred dwelling-place in Heliopolis. 

From Book of Abraham:

Figures 16 and 17 should actually be read in the following order: 

Figure 17: “May this tomb never be desecrated” 

Figure 16: “and may this soul and its possessor never be desecrated in the netherworld.” 

Figures 18-21

Facsimile 2 Figure 18 I am Djabty in the house of Benben Facsimile 2-18

From Dr. Martin: 

“These columns of writing, illegible in the copy. It is evident to me that several of the figures to be found in these various MSS. have been intentionally altered. – T. DEVERIA –”

From Book of Abraham 

“Three-fourths of the original hieroglyphic inscription appears to have survived, and counterclockwise reads:

Figure 18: “I am Djabty in the house of Benben in Heliopolis, so exalted and glorious. [I am] copulating bull without equal. [I am] that mighty god in the house of Benben in Heliopolis…that mighty god…”

Figures 19, 20, and 21 from left to right: “You shall be as that god, the Busirian.”

Facsimile 2 Figures 19-21 You shall be as that god the Busirian Fac2-19-21

And last but not least… 

Figures 22-23

Facsimile 2 Figures 22-23  adoring baboons Fac2 Figs 22-23

Here’s what Joseph Smith said about this section of his hypocephalus: 

1. Kolob, signifying the first creation, nearest to the celestial, or the residence of God. First in government, the last pertaining to the measurement of time. The measurement according to celestial time, which celestial time signifies one day to a cubit. One day in Kolob is equal to a thousand years according to the measurement of this earth, which is called by the Egyptians Jah-oh-eh.

If you’ll remember when we looked at Figure 1, we saw two baboons on either side of the two headed god Joseph Smith had drawn. 

In the hypocephalus from the British Museum we see a similar depiction of these with the exception of four baboons flanking the four headed ram god, not two. 

From Walter Martin:

“They have also evidently made a very clumsy attempt at copying the double human head of the god figured below, fig. 2, instead of the four ram’s heads. The word Jah-oh-eh has nothing Egyptian in it; it resembles a Hebrew word badly transcribed.” 

You’ll notice a lunar disk sitting atop each baboon representing the god Thoth or Djehuty.  He was typically placed opposite of Re and associated with regulating time, record keeping and secret knowledge. 

All of the comparisons clearly show two things; Smith’s lack of knowledge about Egyptology and his lack of a prophetic gift for writing scripture. 

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