Egyptian papyri and the book of abraham religious studies. Charles anthon of columbia college now columbia university, and hence the name. The book of mormon narrative says the characters engraven on the plates were reformed egyptian which remains an unknown language today. The first knowhy published on may 2, 2019 why did mormon. We should begin by asking what segment of the whole body of manuscripts was the source of the book of abraham. Ricks, jewish and other semitic texts written in egyptian characters, journal of book of mormon studies, vol.
Another of its writers, nephi, said he employed the language of the egyptians to make his record 1 nephi 1. Book of abraham kirtland egyptian papers mormon handbook. The miracle of the book of mormon mormonism, the mormon. Ricks, jewish and other semitic texts written in egyptian characters, journal of book of mormon studies 5, no. Among the early bookofabrahamrelatedmanuscripts that have survived from the days of joseph smith are a number of papers collectively referred to as the kirtland egyptian papers kep. For the creation of the book of mormon someone has. The book of mormon indicates that it was written using egyptian characters, called by moroni reformed egyptian, though the nephites also knew hebrew see mormon 9. Parrish later left the church and attacked joseph vigorously, but his attacks were never based on any point having to do with the translation of the book of abraham nor the egyptian alphabet and grammar.
The book of mormon as hebrew written in egyptian characters. The anthon transcript was a sheet of paper, thought to be lost, upon which joseph smith copied sample reformed egyptian characters from the plates of the book of mormon. John gee, two notes on egyptian script, journal of book of mormon studies 5, no. Many of the words and definitions from these documents are found in the book of abraham and the facsimile definitions. With sketches of the characters of its propagators, and a full detail of the manner in which the famous golden bible was brought before the world. Since the book of mormon s publication in 1830, significant progress has been made in the fields of egyptology, near eastern and precolumbian american archaeology, linguistics, and latterday saint history. In the next installment well examine the translating aides utilized by the prophet.
Despite sorensons assertion of the existence of a number of ancient palestinian hebrew documents written in egyptian characters, defenders of the book of mormons claims. Jss later history describes a document that included copies of the characters along with their translation, a document that may have been similar to the second document featured below. The following questions and supporting evidence explain and summarize his case. Interest in egyptian antiquities had been reawakened at the end of the eighteenth century by the military expedition of napoleon, who entered cairo on. According to smith, these characters were from the golden plates the ancient record from which smith claims to have translated the book of mormon and represent the reformed egyptian. What can be similar is the use of the language, meaning the style the words are written, for instance, the. This document appears to be things that were being studied at the school of the prophets. Nephi says he wrote using the learning of the jews and the language of the egyptians 1 nephi 1. This time i want to start focusing on the metaphors and typology used to deal with hell in the book of mormon with a focus on egyptian conceptions of hell. Why did mormon and moroni write in reformed egyptian. The anthon transcript is a piece of paper on which joseph smith wrote several lines of characters. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. In other words, contrary to both mormon and anti mormon claims, the hieratic priestly script transcribed in the margins of book of abraham manuscripts do not represent, even ostensibly, an egyptian text of the book of abraham. The translated document is not the anthon transcript, though its commonly referred to as the original anthon transcript.
In the winter of 1828, martin harris showed these characters to dr. Egyptian in contrast to hebrew really did save space. Grim writing the book of mormon and reformed egyptian. Semitic texts written in egyptian characters book of mormon. It is consistent in its use of places and characters, and sophisticated in its spiritual and political and social insights. The book of mormons reformed egyptian fits neatly into what is currently known about ancient history and the modification of egyptian texts. In this video i will discuss what i think is the probable method joseph smith used to create the characters on the. Since he had gotten away with this ploy for five years by claiming that the book of mormon was written in reformed egyptian, why shouldnt this ruse work again. In this video i will discuss what i think is the probable method. The book of mormon was originally written in reformed egyptian characters on plates of ore by prophets living in the western hemisphere between 600 bc and ad 421. In lehis day, both hebrew and egyptian were written with consonants only. How the book of abraham exposes the false nature of. Joseph smith claimed to have translated the book of mormon from text written in reformed egyptian hieroglyphics on gold plates entrusted to him temporarily by an angel.
In lehis day, both hebrew and egyptian were written with. Whatever the true opinion of charles anthon, something in that experience convinced martin harris. Supporters of the book of mormon claim it uses chiasmusa figure of speech utilizing inverted parallelismand claim it is evidence to support the books ancient origin. Book of mormon characters examined dan vogel youtube. The book of mormon uses the term reformed egyptian in only one verse. For the creation of the book of mormon someone has suggested. Book of mormonlanguagereformed egyptian fairmormon. It is not very clear whether the symbols are intended to be reformed egyptian. Jun 04, 2008 the book of mormon indicates that it was written using egyptian characters, called by moroni reformed egyptian, though the nephites also knew hebrew see mormon 9.
Since the book of mormons publication in 1830, significant progress has been made in the fields of egyptology, near eastern and precolumbian american archaeology, linguistics, and latterday saint history. This is from the mormon newspaper, the prophet, from december 21, 1844. How joseph smith invented reformed egyptian dan vogel youtube. The anthon transcript often identified with the caractors document is a piece of paper on which joseph smith wrote several lines of characters. Recovery board rfm recovery from mormonism rfm discussion. Book of abrahamkirtland egyptian paperspurpose fairmormon.
An egyptian linguistic component in book of mormon names author eve koller there are several names in the book of mormonsuch as zenephi, zenos, and zenockthat look as though they are composed of scriptural names nephi, enos, enoch, and so forth with different forms of a zprefix that might mean son of or descendant of. Since the gold plates, if they ever existed, are no longer extant, no book of mormon written in an ancient language is available to be read or even examined. The prophet moroni indicated that he and his father mormon wrote their abridgement of the nephite records in a script called reformed egyptian. Does the book of mormons assertion that the nephites took. Skeptics of the book of mormon, on the other hand, often dismiss reformed egyptian as a fabrication by joseph smith. Egyptian characters and modified them to write hebrew words make historical and linguistic sense.
An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. Semitic texts written in egyptian characters book of. Oct 26, 2009 the book of mormon s reformed egyptian fits neatly into what is currently known about ancient history and the modification of egyptian texts. The book of mormon was not translated by the same method as. Nephi made a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the jews and the language of the egyptians 1 nephi 1. Stout, has done extensive research correlating the alleged reformed egyptian characters on the plates that the book of mormon were translated from to ancient irish. These are two totally different languages with different writing symbols. Book of mormon language the encyclopedia of mormonism. As far as i know, reformed egyptian is in no way close to hebrew.
Jewish and other semitic texts written in egyptian characters. This is the last of my threepart presentation on the book of mormon characters. Feb 20, 2014 this is the last of my threepart presentation on the book of mormon characters. According to smiths account, and also according to the book s narrative, the book of mormon was originally written in otherwise unknown characters referred to as reformed egyptian. Translation of the caractors document book of mormon. Dec 29, 20 book of mormon characters examined dan vogel. The book of mormon claims a close tie to all things egyptian 1 nephi 1. But the book of mormon, according to one of its writers, moroni, was written using reformed egyptian characters, though the nephites also knew hebrew mormon 9. Jun, 2009 it was first published in 1830 by joseph smith, jr. Skeptics of the book of mormon, on the other hand, often dismiss reformed. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421.
Why was the book of mormon written in ancient irish. May, 2019 skeptics of the book of mormon, on the other hand, often dismiss reformed egyptian as a fabrication by joseph smith. One of these glyphs, the name mormon in the reformed egyptian, is found in hieratic egyptian with meaning matching the book of mormon prophet mormon. The book of mormon uses the term reformed egyptian in only one verse, mormon 9. The who, what, and why of reformed egyptian in the book. Latterday saints are often fascinated and sometimes perplexed with figuring out what reformed egyptian was or how it worked. The book of mormon, a work of scripture of the latter day saint movement, describes itself as having a portion originally written in reformed egyptian characters on plates of metal or ore by prophets living in the western hemisphere from perhaps as early as the 6th century bc until as late as the 5th century ad. The original manuscripts of the book of abraham, as they appear in joseph smiths egyptian alphabet and grammar, reveal joseph was using characters from this second papyrus jsp xi when he translated the first chapter of the book of abraham. Brian stubbs wrote an article on reformed egyptian and book of mormon language here. John gee, two notes on egyptian script, journal of book of mormon studies, vol. After obtaining the papyri, smith commenced the translation of some of the characters or hieroglyphics.
Mormon and nonmormon egyptologists agree that the characters on the fragments do not match the translation given in the book of abraham, though there is not unanimity, even among nonmormon scholars, about the proper interpretation of the vignettes on these fragments. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of. Among the early book ofabrahamrelatedmanuscripts that have survived from the days of joseph smith are a number of papers collectively referred to as the kirtland egyptian papers kep. According to smith, the book was originally written in otherwise unknown characters referred to as reformed egyptian on golden plates that he discovered in 1823 and then translated. Although historians and archaeologists consider the book to be an anachronistic invention of joseph smith, many members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church and other denominations of the latter day saint movement believe that it. Several efforts have been made to demonstrate that the book of mormon characters are in fact egyptian. As noted above, most critics have assumed that the source of the text is the hieroglyphs adjacent to facsimile 1 on the papyri, but a closer look at the ancient sources themselves and contemporary accounts of joseph smiths translation process brings that assumption into question. The characters joseph smith copied and gave to martin harris to show charles anthon aka anthon transcript, were reprinted in the lds periodical the prophet and a broadside promoting the book of mormon. Or, a faithful account of that singular imposition and delusion, from its rise to the present time. An egyptian linguistic component in book of mormon names. A small scrap of paper entitled caractors also known as the anthon transcript that contained reformed egyptian characters copied from the plates from which the book of mormon has remained an enigma for more than a hundred years. Reformed egyptian an evidence for book of mormon deseret news. Would book of mormon prophets really have written in the.
In the book of mormon, two very different young lds missionaries the talented, eager elder price and the nerdy, pathologically. Early in 1828, joseph smith wrote out some characters from the gold plates that. The who, what, and why of reformed egyptian in the book of. Nowhere in the book of mormon is any explanation offered as to how lehi became skilled in reading and writing egyptian characters. Reformed egyptian in the book of mormon book of mormon central. Are there any other documents written in reformed egyptian. However, joseph smith claimed that two classics scholars, charles. Book of mormon, in reformed egyptian there are 152 references to egyptian hieratic and egyptian hieroglyphs. Jewish and other semitic texts written in egyptian characters john a. Translation of the caractors document which contains reformedegyptian from the ancient book of mormon record.
Since the publication of the book of mormon in 1830, mormon archaeologists have attempted to find archaeological evidence to support it. 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. The hit broadway musical the book of mormon, written by south parks trey stone and matt smith and frozens robert lopez, is a irreverent, hysterical, and surprisingly sweet sendup of religion, culture shock, and classic musical theatre. Replica of the gold plates with reformed egyptian characters via church news. Although historians and archaeologists consider the book to be an anachronistic invention of joseph smith, many members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church and other denominations of the latter day saint. This video is part two of a threepart examination of the book of mormon characters. We have today a probable example of the book of mormon reformed egyptian characters. Interest in egyptian antiquities had been reawakened at the end of the eighteenth century by the military expedition of napoleon, who entered cairo on 25 july 1798.
The book of mormon is a sacred text of the church of the latter day saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. The copied characters are not the writings of the hebrew prophet any more than the letters of the hebrew aleph. How the book of abraham exposes the false nature of mormonism. Indeed, the very script that mormon used in abridging the plates was, according to him, an egyptian script called amongst the nephite scribes reformed egyptian mormon 9. Smith seemed to use the limited expertise of his time to full advantage. Because of this, and considering that 1 lehi was a descendant of joseph of egypt 1. It was first published in 1830 by joseph smith, jr. Ricks, jewish and other semitic texts written in egyptian characters, journal of book of mormon studies 52 1996. Nephi made a record in the language of his father, which consists of the learning of the jews and the language of the egyptians 1 nephi 1.
The glyph lazys is found in the ancient olmec and maya cultures concurrent with book of mormon time frames. The kirtland egyptian papers associate characters with passages of text. The book of mormon contains egyptian names, and all sorts of hebraisms, including chiasmus hebrew poetic form. Anthon authenticate josephs translation of reformed egyptian characters. The book of mormon was originally written in reformed egyptian characters 1 on plates of ore 2 by prophets living in the western hemisphere between 600 bc and ad 421. The characters shown in that example do bear a strong resemblance to some other characters found in both the old and new worlds. Honorable as such attempts are and fascinating though they may be, the net result is generally a striking comparison of the similar characters and an ignoring of the dissimilar characters. According to smith, these characters were from the golden plates the ancient record from which smith claims to have translated the book of mormon and represent the reformed egyptian writing that was on the plates. The characters were successfully translated in 2015.