The translation of the Book of Abraham itself was never completed, the project being interrupted by Joseph Smith’s death. However, certain ancient Abraham texts which have come down to us, may well be fragments of the lost Book of Abraham, and may give us clues as to the content of the rest of the book.
The Book of Abraham as we currently have is outlined as follows:
Chapter 1 – This Chapter deals with an account otherwise unknown effort by the Priest of Pharaoh to offer Abraham up as a sacrifice to Elkenah (the god of Canaan).
Chapter 2 – This chapter generally parallels Genesis 12:1-13.
Chapter 3-5 – Here we have an apocalyptic parenthetical in the life story of Abraham that evolves into a retelling of the Creation story thru Genesis chapter 2.
The Book of Abraham also has three “facsimiles” or illustrations:
Facsimile 1 parallels Abraham chapter 1
Facsimile 2 parallels the apocalyptic parenthetical
Facsimile 3 relates to Abraham in Egypt
Since Facsimile 3 seems to have its setting in material parallel to Gen. 12:14-20 , we can logically conclude that the book would have closed the apocalyptic parenthetical section, and returned to the life of Abraham right where it had left off at the end of chapter 2.
I, Abraham
Interestingly, a first person account of the life of Abraham was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, in a document commonly called the Genesis Apocryphon. The first part of this scroll is badly damaged, but contains a first person accounts of Lamech (Noah’s father), Enoch and Noah. There is a great deal of missing text (eaten by worms) and then at column 20 the text picks back up with a first person account of the life of Abraham
As if by providence, the damaged scroll picks up the first person account of the life of Abraham, just before the account in the Book of Abraham as we have it, breaks off.
There are some amazing parallels between these two first person accounts of the life of Abraham.
Whose Idea?
The first major parallel is in the two accounts of the events of Genesis 12:11-13. In the canonical account, it appears to be Abraham’s idea for Sarai to claim to be Abraham’s sister:
11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:
12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.
13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.
(Gen. 12:11-13 KJV)
However, in the Book of Abraham, just before entering Egypt, Abraham receives a warning in a revelation, and it is YHWH’s idea for Sarai to identify herself as his sister:
22 And it came to pass when I was come near to enter into Egypt, the Lord said unto me: Behold, Sarai, thy wife, is a very fair woman to look upon;
23 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see her, they will say-She is his wife; and they will kill you, but they will save her alive; therefore see that ye do on this wise:
25 And it came to pass that I, Abraham, told Sarai, my wife, all that the Lord had said unto me-Therefore say unto them, I pray thee, thou art my sister, that it may be well with me for thy sake, and my soul shall live because of thee.
(Abraham 2:22-25)
Remarkably, in the Genesis Apocryphon, Abraham also receives such a revelation as a dream-vision from YHWH:
So I moved to [enter] the land of Egypt [ … … … ] I reache[d] the Carmona River, one of the branches of the river [ … … ]. Now we [ … ] our land, and I [cro]ssed the seven branches of this river which [ … … … ]. Now we passed out of our land and entered the land of the children of Ham, the land of Egypt. vacat
And I, Abram, dreamed a dream during the night of my entering the land of Egypt. I saw in my dream one cedar tree and one palm tree, [a very beautifu]l one, and huma[n] figures came and tried to chop down and uproot the cedar in order to leave the palm by itself. But the palm restrained (them) when she said, ‘Do not chop down the cedar, for both of us are from o[ne r]oot!’ And the cedar was left alone thanks to the protection of the palm and was not [chopped down]. vacat
I woke up from my dream in the night, and said to Sarai, my wife, ‘I have (just) dreamed a dream, [and I] am afraid [on account of] this dream!’ And she said to me, ‘Tell me your dream that I might know (it), and so I began to relate this dream to her. [And I revealed] to [her the meaning of that] dream, and I [said, ‘… …] for they will seek to kill me, but you they will spare [… …] this, every favor [which you must do for me] in every [place] where [we are, say] of me that “he is my brother,” and I will remain alive by your protection and survive thanks to you.’ [… … ‘they will try] to remove you from me and to kill me!’ And Sarai wept over my words that night.
Abraham in Egypt
Another amazing parallel occurs in their accounts of Abraham in Egypt (Gen. 12:14-20) . Now this portion of the Book of Abraham is not directly available to us, but is represented by Facsimile 3 which is generally described in the “Explanation” as “Abraham is reasoning upon the principles of Astronomy, in the king’s court”
No parallel to this event occurs in Genesis 12. However in the Genesis Apocryphon parallel to Gen. 12:14 we read:
…] Sarai to go to Zoan [with me, for she was v]ery [careful] with her person so that no [one] would see her […]. But after those five years, three men who were princes of Egypt [came … …] of Pharaoh Zoa[n] about my affairs and about my wife, and they presented [me numerous gifts and aske]d m[e to teach them] values, wisdom, and truth. So I read in their presence the [book of] the words of [En]och [… … …] in the famine which [… … 1 ½ lines garbled … …] with much eating and [much] drinking [… … ] wine [… … … remainder of column, approximately 6-7 lines, lost … …
Though the scroll is damaged, this
certainly creates a likely setting for Facsimile 3. The parallel is even more meaningful when one
realizes that one of the five sections of the Book of Enoch is the Astronomical
section! So this very easily could include Abraham teaching the principles of astronomy in the court of the King of Egypt.
One final parallel between these two documents is the inclusion of an individual who is an important official to Pharaoh. In the Genesis Apocryphon this person is named הרקנוס which seems to be the name “Hyrcanus.” If this Abraham account is authentic, then this name must be a revision, since it is a Greek name meaning “crane”. Facsimile 3 of the Book of Abraham mentions “Shulem, one of the king’s principal waiters.” Could the Genesis Apocryphon’s “Hyrcanus” originally have been “Shulem”?
Conclusion
The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Genesis Apocryphon were not discovered until 1947. These parallels with the Book of Abraham are especially significant, because they could not have been known to Joseph Smith Jr. over a hundred years earlier. It is very likely that the Genesis Apocryphon has incorporated into it, material form the lost Book of Abraham.
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