Pharaoh (Book of Abraham)

In the Latter Day Saint scripture the Book of Abraham, Pharaoh is the proper name of the first king of Egypt.[1] According to the story, all Egyptians descended from him Abraham 1:22. He was the eldest son of Egyptus, who was the daughter of Ham and Egyptus. Pharaoh was a descendant of the Canaanites Abraham 1:22, a race of people who had been cursed with black skin (Moses 7:8). Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) have taught that he inherited the curse of Cain through his grandmother, Egyptus, so that the devil might have representation upon the earth.[2]

Argument for historicity of Book of Abraham's pharaoh

LDS Scholars arguing for the historicity of the Book of Abraham cite non-Biblical accounts of Abraham's life are replete with stories of his life being in danger. Critics argue that all of these features of the stories were available in Joseph Smith's day. While the story of the Egyptian priest is absent, there are others of Abraham life being sought when he was an infant, of the magicians of the king's court seeking his life, of his life being in danger for preaching against idolatry to Nimrod the king, of his being cast into a fiery furnace and receiving no harm, and others. These stories contain elements common to the Abraham chapter 1 story, including:[3]

  • Children were sacrificed
  • Those who would not worship idols were killed
  • Abraham was brought to be killed or sacrificed because he would not worship idols
  • Terah was behind the attempt to kill Abraham
  • Abraham was fasted or bound
  • When his life was in danger, Abraham prayed
  • An angel came to rescue Abraham
  • God rescued Abraham from death
  • The altar (furnace) and the idols were destroyed
  • The priest (or leader) was smitten and died

Differences with biblical account

A number of elements or themes in Abraham 2 are not found in the biblical account (Book of Genesis. Chapter:11-12). The following list provides twelve of these elements and themes from the Book of Abraham verses noted in the comparison:[4]

1.A famine struck Abraham's homeland (Abraham 2:1, 5).

2. Haran died in the famine (Abraham 2:1).

3.Terah, after repenting returned to his idols (Abraham 2:5).

4.Believers are the seed of Abraham and are blessed through him (Abraham 2:10-11).

5.Abraham held the priesthood (Abraham 2:9,11)

6.Abraham sought God earnestly (Abraham 2:12).

7.An angel came to rescue Abraham (Abraham 2:13).

8.Abraham was familiar with Egyptian idols (Abraham 2:13; 3:20).

9.Abraham was sixty-two years old when he left Haran, not seventy-five as Genesis says (Abraham 2:14).

10.Abraham made converts in Haran (Abraham 2:15).

11.Abraham prayed that God would end the famine in Chaldea (Abraham 2:17).

12. The Lord instructed Abraham to say that Sarah was his sister (Abraham 2:22-25).

Anachronism
Main article: Criticism_of_the_Book_of_Abraham § Anachronisms

The use of the name Pharaoh is considered anachronistic during Abraham's time by virtually all scholars, including LDS Scholars.[5] Most LDS Scholars who adhere to the historicity of the Book of Abraham point to a Jewish redactor who replaced original words with wording that would have been more understandable to his day.[6]

Notes
  1. Abraham 1:20–31: Pharaoh, King of Egypt, The Pearl of Great Price: Teacher Manual, (2000), 39–40
  2. Harris, Matthew L.; Bringhurst, Newell G. (2015). The Mormon Church and Blacks: A Documentary History. Chicago: University of Illinois Press. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-252-08121-7.
  3. Traditions about the Early Life of Abraham, by J. Tvedtnes, B. Hauglid, J. Gee, [Provo: FARMS, 2001], Appendix A, 539-542.
  4. (J. Tvedtnes, B. Hauglid, J. Gee, Traditions about the Early Life of Abraham, [Provo: FARMS, 2001], xxii-xxiii)
  5. Egyptology and the Book of Abraham
  6. Barney, Kevin (2006). "The Facsimiles and Semitic Adaptation of Existing Sources". In Gee, John; Hauglid, Brian M (eds.). Astronomy, Papyrus, and Covenant. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University. ISBN 9780934893763.
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