Joseph Smith's Explanations of Facsimile 1 of the Book of Abraham

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Joseph Smith's Explanations of Facsimile 1 of the Book of Abraham

Summary: Some people who criticize Joseph Smith say his explanations of Facsimile 1 don't match what we know about ancient Egypt. This page talks about how modern Egyptologists (experts on Egypt) understand Facsimile 1. It also looks at how Joseph Smith's explanations connect to the ancient world.

The table below shows different parts of Facsimile 1. For each part (called a "figure"), we show three things:

  1. What Joseph Smith said it was
  2. What modern Egyptologists say it is
  3. Extra information and commentary about both views

For another way that Egyptologists argue that Joseph Smith's explanations of the Facsimile are wrong as well as our response to those arguments, see here.

Facsimile 1 Joseph Smith's Explanation Modern Egyptologists' Explanation Commentary
Fig. 1 The Angel of the Lord Some experts say this is the "ba-spirit" (the spirit of a person) of Hor. Hor was the person who owned this papyrus. A ba-spirit is like a person's soul in Egyptian belief. Other experts say it's the ba-spirit of Osiris. Angels were part of the larger spiritual world of the Egyptians. They could transform themselves into "falcons, phoenixes, herons, geese, swallows, ibises, vultures, [or] other birds." They could "cause health, sickness, childbirth, financial distress, or general malady. They could also send dreams, lead men and women, do work, fight demons, light lamps, kill, move ships" as well as "open doors, travel through fire, loose bonds, drive away crocodiles, snakes, vultures, pigs, cockroaches, and other undesirable creatures, control water, winds, fire, and enemies, bring bread, water, beer, and other foods."[1] The ancient Egyptians translated the term "ba-bird" into Greek as angelos, meaning angel.[2] Joseph Smith's view of this bird as an angel of the Lord aligns with how angels appear in ancient Egyptian literature.
Fig. 2 Abraham fastened upon an altar. An image of Hor lying down, according to some experts, or Osiris lying down, according to others. Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, and John S. Thompson have noted the connections that were made between Osiris and Abraham in ancient times. 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."[3]
Fig. 3 The idolatrous priest of Elkenah attempting to offer up Abraham as a sacrifice. The jackal-headed god Anubis, who was the god of mummification. (Mummification means preparing dead bodies to be preserved.) Anubis reaches out his hand to bring about the resurrection of the mummy of Osiris. (Resurrection means bringing someone back to life.) Most of Anubis's head is now missing. But the back of his wig still shows above his shoulder, and he clearly has dark skin. Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, and John S. Thompson noted that identifying this figure as a priest is possible from an Egyptological view. Both of Joseph Smith's identifications make sense from an Egyptological perspective. See under Fig. 5 for commentary on the "god of Elkenah." The figure was likely Anubis. However, this doesn’t lessen the authenticity of Joseph Smith's explanation, as explained here.
Fig. 4 The altar for sacrifice by the idolatrous priests, standing before the gods of Elkenah, Libnah, Mahmackrah, Korash, and Pharaoh. A typical "lion-headed" funeral bed. If the explanations to Figures 2 and 3 of this Facsimile are assumed to be authentic, then it makes little sense to say that Figure 4 cannot be a sacrificial altar. However, we still do not know whether ancient Egyptians interpreted the lion couch this way.
Fig. 5 The idolatrous god of Elkenah. The Egyptian god Qebehseneuf. The Egyptians believed that he protected the intestines. In a BYU Studies article, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, and John S. Thompson showed that Elkenah was a Mesopotamian god. (Mesopotamia was an ancient region in the Middle East.) Elkenah is never mentioned in the Bible as the name of a god. Elkanah is known as the name of the father of Samuel in the Bible, but not the name of a Mesopotamian god.


Any of the names mentioned in connection to gods in Figures 5–9 might be the names of the gods themselves or of the places where a particular god was worshipped. Readers should be aware of this as we continue. We have more evidence that supports the first interpretation over the second.

Fig. 6 The idolatrous god of Libnah. The Egyptian god Duamutef. The Egyptians believed that he protected the stomach. While we still do not know why Joseph Smith identified Duamutef with another god, the name of the Mesopotamian god Libnah appears in ancient sources.[4]
Fig. 7 The idolatrous god of Mahmackrah. The Egyptian god Hapy. The Egyptians believed that he protected the lungs. While we still do not know why Joseph Smith identified Hapy with another god, the name Mahmackrah as the name of a Mesopotamian god appears in ancient sources.[5]
Fig. 8 The idolatrous god of Korash. The Egyptian god Imsety. The Egyptians believed that he protected the liver. While we still do not know why Joseph Smith identified Imsety with another god, the name Korash as the name of a Mesopotamian god appears in ancient sources. That god was "involved in cursing those seen as disobedient to the king, who were destroyed, which parallels Abraham 1:5–13."[6]
Fig. 9 The idolatrous god of Pharaoh. According to some Egyptian experts, this is the god Horus. According to others, it is a crocodile helping collect Osiris's dismembered limbs. The presence of a crocodile is unique to Facsimile 1. As explained by John Gee, "Facsimile 1 has no close Egyptian parallels. All scenes said to be parallel to Facsimile 1 are missing at least two major elements, one of which is always the crocodile (fig. 9)."[7] The other is the palace front in Figure 11 (more on that below).


A powerful case can be made that the "god of Pharaoh" was the ancient Egyptian god Sobek. Sobek was often depicted as a crocodile. Sobek was linked to pharaohs, fertility, and military strength. He also acted as a protective god. People called on him to guard against the dangers of the Nile. That a Pharaoh would turn to this idolatrous god seems reasonable. Sobek was often depicted as a simple crocodile. Images of his crocodile form can be found on Wikipedia.

Fig. 10 Abraham in Egypt. A libation table with a spouted vessel and Nile water lily or lotus flowers. (A libation is a liquid offering poured out to honor a god.) The table holds wines, oils, and other things. This was common in Egypt. Hugh Nibley has shown that the lotus flower could represent almost anything in ancient Egyptian art. Specifically, the lotus could symbolize a welcome gift from a host to his or her guest.[8] Perhaps this could be an appropriate sign for Abraham, who was a guest and traveler in Egypt.
Fig. 11 Designed to represent the pillars of heaven, as understood by the Egyptians. Originally, this was an architectural feature. (That means it was part of how buildings were designed.) It later became a common way to decorate the dado in sacred wall scenes. (A dado is the lower part of a wall.) Stephen O. Smoot writes:

Another unique element in this lion couch vignette, these parallel, columned niches appear to depict the façade characteristic of Egyptian temples, tombs, and palaces. They also share a visual affinity with the serekh (srh) sign that bore one of the names of the Egyptian monarch. The Egyptian concept of the "pillars of heaven" (compare Job 26:11) appears in sources as ancient as the Old Kingdom, referring to the Egyptian belief that the sky was a solid firmament supported by pillars located at the four corners of the earth (compare Fac 2, Fig 6). These pillars were cosmic supports often represented artistically as a stylized Djed pillar, symbolizing stability and the strength required to uphold the heavens. In this respect, Figures 11–12 should be conjoined to get the full intended effect of this symbolism. Temple columns could, naturally, symbolize the upholding of the heavens in a manner congruent with the "pillars of heaven" described by Joseph Smith.[9]

Fig. 12 Raukeeyang, signifying expanse, or the firmament over our heads; but in this case, in relation to this subject, the Egyptians meant it to signify Shaumau, to be high, or the heavens, answering to the Hebrew word, Shaumahyeem. A stream of Nile water is shown by the hatched lines. (Hatched lines are parallel lines drawn close together.) The crocodile swims in the water. Ancient Egyptian conceptions of heaven identified it as a "heavenly ocean."[10] The ancient Hebrews did as well. Genesis says, "God made the firmament and divided the waters below from the waters above: and it was so" (Genesis 1:7). "Shamau" and its plural "Shaumahyeem" are Hebrew words. They mean "heaven" or "heavens."[11] "Raukeeyang" comes from the Hebrew word rāqîʿa. It means "expanse" or "firmament of the heavens."[12]
Notes
  1. ↑ John Gee, "'There Needs No Ghost, My Lord, Come from the Grave to Tell Us This': Dreams and Angels in Ancient Egypt," SBL S20-110, (2004), Egyptology and Ancient Israel Section.
  2. ↑ John Gee, "Book of Abraham, facsimiles of," in Pearl of Great Price Reference Companion, ed. Dennis L. Largey (Deseret Book, 2017), 57.
  3. ↑ Kerry Muhlestein, “Abraham, Isaac, and Osiris-Michael: The Use of Biblical Figures in Egyptian Religion, A Survey,” in Achievements and Problems of Modern Egyptology: Proceedings of the International Conference Held in Moscow on September 29–October 2, 2009, ed. Galina A. Belova (Russian Academy of Sciences, Center for Egyptological Studies, 2009), 251.
  4. ↑ John Gee, "Four Idolatrous Gods in the Book of Abraham," Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 38 (2020): 142.
  5. ↑ Gee, "Four Idolatrous Gods," 143–45.
  6. ↑ Gee, "Four Idolatrous Gods," 145–49.
  7. ↑ Gee, "Book of Abraham, facsimiles of," 56.
  8. ↑ Hugh Nibley, Abraham in Egypt (FARMS, 1981), 444–50.
  9. ↑ Stephen O. Smoot, The Pearl of Great Price: A Study Edition for Latter-day Saints, 2nd ed. (Interpreter Foundation; Eborn Books, 2025), 82.
  10. ↑ Erik Hornung, “Himmelsvorstellungen,” Lexikon der Ägyptologie, 7 vols. (Harrassowit, 1977–1989), 2:1216. John Gee, “A New Look at the Conception of the Human Being in Ancient Egypt,” in "Being in Ancient Egypt”: Thoughts on Agency, Materiality and Cognition, ed. Rune Nyord and Annette Kjølby (Archaeopress, 2009), 6–7, 12–13.
  11. ↑ John Gee, "Book of Abraham, selected non-English words in," in Pearl of Great Price Reference Companion, ed. Dennis L. Largey (Deseret Book, 2017), 63.
  12. ↑ Gee, "selected non-English words," 63.
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