Esoteric Egyptian in the margins of

the Book of Abraham

What do the Hebrew letters alphabetically dividing Psalm 119, and the characters copied in the margins of early Book of Abraham manuscripts have in common? Both can be shown to correlate with scriptural text. Both are made to serve as meaningful markers to assigned portions of text. Neither completely contain the written psalm, or the book of Abram. In other words, these peripheral symbols are not the text they relate to.

In the case of Tehilah (Ps.) 119, each alphabetical division of the psalm starts with a Hebrew word whose first letter matches the Hebrew letter indexing the segment of text. This clever literary device (abecedarius) is all but lost in translation, save for the annotated Hebrew letters. Even then, it is not clear to most readers why Hebrew letters appear in the translated psalm.

In the case of the Book of Abraham manuscripts, the “Egyptian” characters (copied sequentially from the opening lines of the Hor Book of Breathings) contain symbols that the Ah meh strah ans (Joseph Smith’s esoteric Egyptians) reinterpreted.

Joseph Smith correctly understood that the lines of characters were to be read right to left, top to bottom. The characters were transcribed in order, but separated to correspond to particular paragraphs of the Book of Abraham. It is clear, though, that these symbols are not the source of the Book of Abraham.

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 copied characters are not the writings of the Hebrew prophet any more than the letters of the Hebrew aleph-bet (in alphabetical order) constitute the text of Tehilah (Ps.) 119.

The Egyptian characters were copied one after another, by lay individuals in the mid Eighteen Thirties, under the direction of Joseph Smith. The characters come from a few short lines of a papyrus fragment called the “Small Sensen” fragment, Hor Book of Breathings. The fact that the characters were divided up, and placed (in order) alongside whole paragraphs of revealed Book of Abraham text, should clue us to the fact that the symbols do not contain a comprehensive Egyptian manuscript of the Book of Abraham. Certainly the Prophet, if not his scribes, discerned as much.

What then is their purpose? Joseph Smith’s Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language is key to answering this question. The “Ah meh strah ans”, the name sounds similar to “Am-Mitsrayim” עַם־מִצְרַים, meaning “people of Mistrayim (Egypt)”, saw in, or imparted to such symbols unusual meanings which they related to a Sepher Avram (an Account of Abram) in their possession circa 2^nd century BCE.

Their interpretations are not to be regarded as standard Egyptian; though the Ah-meh-strah-ans were certainly capable of reading standard Egyptian characters. Theirs was an amazing method of transcending, or going beyond a text by drawing upon a wider range of symbolism and languages (e.g. Hebrew, occasionally Greek etc.). They related a culturally larger database back to Egyptian symbols. In other words, they read the standard meaning in the Egyptian text - but then they went beyond it, establishing a trove of new connections and inferences.

In addition to transtextual interpretation, the Ah-meh-strah-ans had an esoteric spoken language unique to their order. They associated this language with a kind of reformed and supplemented hieratic script. The unique terminology and symbols of the several Ahmehstrahan degrees fill the pages of the Joseph Smith Egyptian Papers, including a sampling of the esoteric “Egyptian Alphabet” in the Prophet’s own handwriting - consistent with those of his scribes.

The heuristic work that follows is intended to help students of scripture discover esoteric meanings in the characters placed beside the Book of Abraham text. In particular, we seek possible meanings like those that the multilingual Ah-meh-strah-ans of Ptolemaic times could have perceived.

In this work, the main portions of text draw primarily from an 1835 manuscript of the Book of Abraham (incomplete and imperfect) originally in the handwriting of W. W. Phelps and Warren Parrish (Scribes to the Prophet Joseph Smith).

Bordered in olive are the copied hieratic characters seen in the margins of the manuscript. To the right of the copied characters is the actual hieratic (bordered in silver) as it appears in the so called “Small Sensen” or Book of Breathings papyrus fragment. Below these images is the hieroglyphic equivalent drawing from Hugh Nibley’s The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri an Egyptian Endowment, Second Edition, pp. 34-35. Much thanks to the immortal professor!

Small Sensen Papyrus fragment

The “Small Sensen” papyrus fragment from the Hor Book of Breathings, among the Joseph Smith papyri collection

Also in olive, in the text below, are final publication spellings of ancient names appearing in the scripture.

Commentary is in blue.

For reference sake, here is a sampling of hieratic characters and the hieroglyphs they relate to:

hieratic and hieroglyphic Egyptian

[Lost Portions]

Professor of Egyptology Robert K. Ritner has provided the following transliteration and translation of the “Small Sensen” papyrus, Book of Breathings fragment; portions of which were correlated in 1835 with text from the Book of Abraham. In square brackets [ ], Professor Ritner proposes the transliteration and translations of missing characters that once appeared on the papyrus:

Ritner Transliteration

Ritner Translation

Robert K. Ritner, The Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri - A Complete Edition, pp. 125, 127

LDS Scholar Michael D. Rhodes has provided the following transliteration and translation of the “Small Sensen” papyrus, Book of Breathings fragment. Proposals for the transliteration and translation of missing characters are given in square brackets [ ]:

Rhodes Transliteration and Translation

Michael D. Rhodes, The Hor Book of Breathings - A Translation And Commentary, pg. 26

Transtextual Interpretation

W. W. Phelps handwriting begins: Translation of the Book of Abraham written by his own hand upon papyrus and found in the CataCombs of Egypts

Joseph Smith would later amend the introduction to read: “A TRANSLATION Of some ancient Records that have fallen into our hands, from the Catecombs [catacombs] of Egypt, purporting to be the writings of Abraham, while he was in Egypt, called the BOOK OF ABRAHAM, written by his own hand, upon papyrus.” (Times and Seasons, March 1, 1842)

1842 Intro to Book of Abraham

In his effort to reconstruct, or simulate an inspired Ah-meh-strah-an version of the Sepher Avram, “purporting to be the writings of Abraham, while he was in Egypt”, the Prophet borrowed symbolic representations (facsimiles with text) from more than one funerary scroll. Hence the mention of “ancient Records” plural. It was the adaptation, redaction and Ahmehstrahan styled reinterpretation of these symbol laden facsimiles that constituted “A TRANSLATION Of some ancient Records [plural] … from the Catecombs of Egypt”.

Joseph’s definition of “TRANSLATION” is a prophet’s, not necessarily a scholar’s definition. (LDS Doctrine and Covenants 73:3-4; 90:13; 93:53; 94:10) The Prophet’s “translation” of the Bible, for instance, is replete with explanations, reinterpretations, and redactions that are not part of ancient biblical texts. Consider for example Joseph Smith’s prophetic license to English wordplay in “translation”. Compare “green” in Genesis 1:30 (KJV) with “clean” in Moses 2:30. “Sun” in Malachi 4:2 (KJV) becomes “Son” in 3 Nephi 25:2. There are numerous other examples of the Prophet’s broad understanding of the meaning of “translation”. This begs the question: did the transtextual indexing of the opening lines from the Hor Book of Breathings (the assigning of them to the revealed Book of Abraham text) also qualify as “TRANSLATION” in the Prophet’s view?

The Book of Abraham text itself was, to use the Prophet’s own words, a work of “present revelation”. (Times and Seasons, “Persecution of the Prophets”, September 1, 1842, Vol. 3, pg. 902) Despite what other brethren thought and openly opined about the source of the Book of Abraham, there was no scroll of Abraham with the mummies that came to Kirtland. The Abram text was received by pure revelation, not unlike section 7 of the LDS Doctrine and Covenants.

Joseph Smith’s Journal records for the date 26 November, 1835 – Thursday: “at home, we spend the day in transcribing Egyptian characters from the papyrus…” The contemporaneous recorded history of Joseph Smith also uses the word “transcribing”; but redacted History of the Church 2:320 (Thursday, 26 November, 1835) tampers with the Prophet’s words (undoubtedly with good intentions) and changes them to read, “Spent the day in translating Egyptian characters from the papyrus…”

(1)

In the land of the Chaldeans, at the residince of my

The hieratic character on the far left was apparently transcribed from a portion of the “Small Sensen” fragment now missing - or the character came by revelation. The basic symbol, however, appears repeatedly throughout the text of the papyrus scroll. See samples (18), (19), and especially (27).

Ed Goble is among the LDS scholars who have commented on the fact that this hieratic character is the well known “reed” symbol, equivalent to the hieroglyph. You will find it in the list of hieratic and hieroglyphic characters above.

The Ah-meh-strah-ans adapted and interpreted this symbol (Joseph Smith Egyptian Papers) to signify “Za Ki on-hish or Kulsidon hish – The land of the Chaldees” (the fifth part of the first degree, handwriting of W. W. Phelps, scribe to Joseph Smith, 1835, pg. 4), or “Za Kio an-hi-ash, or Kalsidoan hiash – the land of the Chaldeans” (fifth part of the first degree, handwriting of Oliver Cowdery, scribe to Joseph Smith, 1835, pg. 4).

The almost reed-like glyph to the right of the hieratic symbol is reinterpreted as an Ah-meh-strah-an “character of the second degree” signifying “Kah-oan for Chaldee” (Ahmehstrahan Alphabet, Second Degree, pg. 15). Look for evidence of this small character at the beginning of the text, in the upper right-hand corner of the “Small Sensen” fragment - to the right of the missing piece. Here, again, is what you are looking for:

It is obvious that there is an intended correlation between these characters and the first line of the Book of Abraham, to which they are assigned. It’s also obvious that these symbols alone are not sufficient to bring forth the line of text. They only serve to correlate with the revealed scripture. The original Bronze Age text of the Sepher Avram may not have been written in Egyptian.

Also consider that even though “Kalsidoan hiash” sounds, like “Chalcedon”, an ancient town in Asia Minor, this doesn’t prove there is a geographical or historical connection. Ed Goble notes the similarity to “Karduniash” which turns out to be disappointingly anachronistic. Keep in mind that “Za Kio an-hia-sh” and “Kalsidoan hiash“, are Ah-meh-strah-an terminology. These were probably not Abram’s terms.

A Hebrew word for “reed” is “qaneh” (קנה). A variety of reeds grow in northern Mesopotamia. Reed plants are not exclusive to the south. It’s possible that at least part of the land of the Kasdim (later called “Chaldeans”) was in Abram’s time, referred to as a land of reeds, or the land of “Qanah”.

The Hebrew word “qaneh” or “qanah” has other meanings ranging from “create” to “posses” and “acquire”. Wordplay is possible with Hebrew words for “zeal”, “jealousy”, “possessiveness” and “ardent love”. (The New Brown – Driver – Briggs – Gesenius Hebrew and English Lexicon, 7068 - 7071, pp. 888-889)

“El-qanah” or “Elkenah” could therefore be not only the fitting name of a local Semite gone bad (Abraham 1:20), but it could contain a reference to a Mesopotamian land named after a useful variety of plant(s) that flourished along her rivers. See Yehoshua (Josh.) 16:8; 19:28 for examples of biblical locations named “Qanah”, “Kanah” (KJV).

Ed Goble explains why the Prophet Joseph Smith’s Ah-meh-strah-ans had the option of equating the Egyptian “reed symbol” with both the Greek letter “iota” (Ι, ι), and the Hebrew letter “yod” (י). (Ed Goble, "The Greco-Roman Egyptian Alpha-Numerals Theory, or the “Ahmehstrahan” Numerals"; see also Ahmehstrahan Counting and Gematria)

(2)

fathers, I, Abraham, saw, that it was needful for me to obtain another place of residence, and see ing there was greater happiness and peace and rest, for me, I sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained to admin ister the same: Having been a follower of righteousness;

Like the “reed” character (1), the hieratic character on the left in sample (2) appears to have either been copied from a portion of the “Small Sensen” fragment now missing, or obtained by revelation. More complete lines of hieratic text begin with sample (7).

Ed Goble is among the LDS scholars who have commented on the fact that the hieratic character in sample (2) relates to the well known “coil [of rope]”hieroglyph. Ed has successfully related this symbol to the name “Abraham” in multilingual ways.

Different Ah-meh-strah-ans degrees associate this symbol with “Ah brah – oam – father of many nations a prince of peace, one who keeps the commandments of God. A patriarch a rightful heir, a highpriest” (pg. 2), “Ah broam a follower of righteousness”, “Ah-brah broam – The Father of the faithful. The first right-The elder”. See also “Kiah broam – coming down from the begin[n]ing To some place or fixed period The first in lineage, or right in lineage”, “Ki Ah broam: that which goes before, until an other time, or a change by appointment.” (pp. 16, 20)

Again, it is obvious that there is an intended correlation between the reinterpreted characters (2) and the lines of the Book of Abraham, to which they are assigned. As with sample (1), it’s apparent that these symbols alone are not sufficient to completely reveal the lines of scripture to which they are assigned. The symbols only serve to correlate with the revealed text.

Note: The symbolcan be interpreted to represent a “w” sound, phonetically similar to the Hebrew letter “vav” (ו) in many instances.

(3)

desiring ~~one~~ <to be> one who possessed great Knowledge; a greater follower of righteous ness; <a possessor of greater Knowledge;> a father of many nations; a prince of peace; one who keeps the commandments of God; a righful heir; a high priest, holding the right belonging to the fathers, from the be begining of time; even from the begining, or before the foundation of the earth, down to the present time; even the right of the first born, or the first man, who is Adam, or first father, through <the> fathers, unto me.

Similar to sample (2), Egyptian sample (3) ostensibly represents the next consecutive symbols copied from the portion of the “Small Sensen” fragment that is now missing. The Ahmehstrahan meaning relates to a composite character interpreted as “Kish broam-kiah brah oam – Zub Zool oan This character shown dissected”; “Kia brah oam Coming down from the beginning – right by birth – and also by blessing, and by promise – promises made: a father of many nations; a prince of peace; one who keeps the commandments of God; a patriarch; a rightful heir; a highpriest.” (pg. 3) Correlation with the Book of Abraham text (above) is apparent.

LDS Scholar Michael D. Rhodes has provided the valuable service of transcribing the proposed missing hieratic characters into hieroglyphs. (The Hor Book of Breathings - A Translation and Commentary, pg. 35) The restored line is read right to left (like Hebrew) beginning with the “reed” and “rope coil” symbol, which are samples (1) and (2). The restored line reads:

= “Osiris shall be brought in”

Hieratic representations of the “three stroke” hieroglyph can be seen in Möller's lists of hieratic characters, 562, 658. See for example: . This hieratic character may possibly be seen in sample (2), or it may be conflated with the hieratic representation of the “drag, be lead, follow” hieroglyph (Möller, 519), and the “walking legs” hieroglyph (Möller,367, 496, 529). We may see in the combination of hieratic versions of these characters, a similar looking combination of symbols to that of sample (3).

Learning to think like Ah-meh-strah-ans, we may come to see levels of meaning in the hieroglyphic transcriptions of the copied characters from samples (1) through (6). We may come to perceive both positive and negative messages associated with the same symbols.

In the “reed” symbol we can choose to see a phonetic equivalent of the Hebrew letter “yod ”. It is pointed out in the commentary of sample (23), that combined with gives “y” + “w”. These combined symbols approximate the pronunciation of the letters of the Tetragrammaton: , the name of the Hebrew God. These letters may be interpreted to mean in part “He will be”. Combine these sacred characters with the triple stroke plurality symbol that comes next, and one may interpret the symbols as representing “Adonai”, “my Lord(s)”, a polite and preferred substitution for the ineffable name of the one who will ever be (i.e. Bereshit (Gen.) 18:1). “Adonai” connotes the God of Avraham, the divine plurality whom the Hebrew prophet addressed as “Adonai”, “my Lord(s)”. (Bereshit (Gen.) 18:1-3) Recognizing a plurality in the expression, the Prophet Joseph Smith keenly replaced “My Lord” in Genesis 18:3 (KJV) with “My brethren”.

Incidentally, a Hebrew word for “papyrus reed” is “evah”, spelled with an aleph (א), as in “Adonai”, “Adam” meaning “Man, Mankind”, “Av” meaning “Father”, “Elohim” meaning “God(s)”, and in the first person form of the ineffable name translated “I AM” (KJV), but more literally meaning “I will [ever] be” . (Shemot (Ex.) 3:14-15)

It is appropriate that this Ah-meh-strah-an styled reinterpretation of the Book of Breathings begins by naming the living, resurrected God. See Yesha-Yahu (Is.) 26:19.

Note that “Avram”, which in Hebrew means “Exalted Father”, is integral to the abbreviated representation of the divine name (Yesha-Yahu (Is.) 63:16), wherein the Egyptian symbolmakes a “w” sound, and the esoteric Ahmehstrahan interpretation of the same symbol signifies “Ah broam a follower of righteousness”. We may then see Avram being led by, and following after his Righteous King and Father(s).

It happens that a Hebrew word for cord, rope, cordage “avot” (עבת), spelled with an ayin (ע), sounds very much like the Hebrew word for "fathers" (אבות), spelled with an aleph (א).

Follow and be Great!

We may also see in the symbols the four greats, or rather, the one “great”, and the three “greater”, mentioned in Abraham 1:2; “... greater happiness and peace and rest ... great knowledge ... greater follower of righteousness ... greater knowledge ...”

The horizontal stroke symbol may be imagined to resemble a shortened version of the horizontal wood column, which stands for “great”. Compare Möller, 363, 656.

The three horizontal strokes in Hieratic may also be seen as a single vertical wood column (Gardiner O29A) meaning “great”. Compare Möller, 363 (imagine as vertical) with 658.

The composite symbol also means “great”. See Nibley NOTES: Line 1. note 3; see also Michael D. Rhodes, The Hor Book of Breathings - A Translation And Commentary, Late Period Orthography, pg. 6.

The Hieratic versions of the rope coil cable tow , and may be seen as similar. Compare Möller, 519, 565.

One may even see a parallel between Avram following in greater works of righteousness, and thence into greater degrees of knowledge, happiness, peace, and rest; and Osiris being towed from a canal into a greater fount (Lake Khonsu); analogues in ways to Lehi's desert qasida: "O that thou mightest be like unto this river, continually running into the fountain of all righteousness ..." (1 Nephi 2:9) See Lost Portions above, and Gardiner N23 canal symboll, and N37 pool symbol in Nibley NOTES (Academic Interpretation) below.

Though the original characters (in Hieratic) are now missing from the Joseph Smith Hor Book of Breathings fragment, their restoration is academically secure in the fact that these appear in line 98 of a more complete Book of Breathings, which Isis made for her brother (spouse) Osiris (Papyrus Louvre N.3284). See Hugh Nibley’s The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri an Egyptian Endowment, Second Edition, Chapter 4, pg. 76. Alternately, see lines 1 and 2 of the Louvre 3284 papyrus, in Rhodes', The Hor Book of Breathings - A Translation and Commentary, pp. 62-63.

We may come to think of as representing the disciple (ST John 21:18-19), the one who is drawn, or the one who follows a great one. The great one may be seen to bear a wooden cross or taw - crossed wood columns (Gardiner Z9, Z10, Z11).

This leads to a more detailed discussion of whether the composite symbol placed in the Book of Abraham manuscript margin, means to follow, or be great.

The same composite character is identified in the Ahmehstrahan Degrees as "Kiah broam = Kiah brah oam = zub zool oan" (W. W. Phelps acting as Joseph Smith's scribe). The expanded explanation and analysis of this symbol in the Kirtland Egyptian Papers clearly fits the Book of Abraham narrative. (Abraham 1:2-3).

As stated before, the amateur imitation (lacking legs) was ostensibly an attempt to copy a hieratic source that is now missing from the Hor Book of Breathings fragment. Kirtland renditions of this character somewhat, resemble what scholars believe to be the appropriate hieratic composite:

(Book of Breathings, Louvre 3284) compared to (Book of Abraham manuscript, 1835)

In order to ascertain the Hor Book of Breathings missing hieratic characters, scholars have consulted similar passages in a clearer, and more complete Book of Breathings, the Louvre 3284 papyrus. The particular composite character in question appears in the Louvre 3284 Book of Breathings, as multiple towlines - hence the plurality symbol next to the towline symbol. There seems to be a kind of similitude between the hieratic cable tow(s) and the symbols representing the great water(s) ( מים, also a plurality acting as one) of Lake Khonsu:

Nibley, Rhodes Small Sensen lines 1-2

Above: Hugh Nibley's transliteration and translation of the first two lines of the “Small Sensen” papyrus fragment from the Hor Book of Breathings. Missing characters have been supplemented from the Louvre 3284 papyrus.

Louvre 3284 papyrus hieratic lines

Above: Corresponding hieratic Egyptian lines from the Louvre 3284 Book of Breathings appearing in Rhodes' The Hor Book of Breathings - A Translation and Commentary, pg. 62.

Louvre 3284 papyrus hieroglyphic lines

Above: Corresponding hieroglyphic Egyptian lines from the Louvre 3284 Book of Breathings appearing in Rhodes' The Hor Book of Breathings - A Translation and Commentary, pg. 63.

It seems clear then that is tied to the cable-tow hieratic. The problem is (if it really is a problem) Joseph Smith also associated "Ki-ah-bram, Ki-ah-bra-oam - Zub-sool-oan" with characters appearing with the first vignette of the Hor Book of Breathings (the vignette redacted as Book of Abraham Facsimile No. 1):

Great King of Upper Egypt

Similar looking representations of the hieratic characters were made:

Ki-ah-bram, Ki-ah-bra-oam-Zub-sool-oan = Gardiner A19 "Great" Ancient of Days Gardiner A43 King of Upper Egypt = Great King of Upper Egypt (Osiris the Great)

Here the Prophet displayed Gardiner A19, 20, representing the eldest, the chief, an ancient of days (עתיק יומין, LDS Doctrine and Covenants 107:54-56), with Gardiner A43, representing the King wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt i.e. Osiris. Joseph Smith, with W. W. Phelps as scribe, repeated the same combination of hieratic symbols relating to the variant Ahmehstrahan terms "Ki Ahbroam kiah brah-oam zub zool aan".

The hieratic representation of A20 "great" ancient of days, as appears in the Louvre 3284 Book of Breathings follows:

Gardiner A20 "Great" Ancient of Days = A20 "Great" Ancient of Days (hieroglyphic)

The amateur Kirtland renderings, shown previously, do not depict the walking feet in the case of the ancient of days (A19, 20), or in the case of the cable tow with walking feet. The Kirtland brethren did a better transcription job in the case of sample (11), the X with walking feet.

Comparing line 1 from the Hor Book of Breathings with similar content lines in the Louvre 3284 papyrus, it becomes clear that the "greatness" that is the wooden cross and walking feet, is comparable, in certain respects, to the bowed down ancient of days (A19, 20). The one can stand for the other.

≈ Great One = Great One (1 Corinthians 15:47)

So was it a mistake that the cable tow and walking feet composite was perceived as the ancient of days hieratic character meaning "great"? Or is there a lesson here on how Joseph Smith's Ah meh strah ans transtextually interpreted Egyptian funerary texts? That beyond knowing what an Egyptian vignette or text is supposed to represent, its ok to discern other meanings. Its ok to see in a symbol the meaning of another, similar appearing symbol, or even a correlation in another language. Its ok to see Abram (Exalted Father) in Osiris.

See Ed Goble's and Ryan Larsen's considerations and comments on "Ki-Abra-Oam-Zub-Zool-Oan, Abraham 1:2-3, and Wsir-Wr ("Osiris the Great")".

(4)

Warren Parrish handwriting begins: I sought for mine appointment unto the priesthood according to the appointment of God, unto the fathers, concerning the Seed.

Sample (4) features the hieratic version (Möller, 383) of the “throne” hieroglyph (appearing like steps, suggesting descent or ascent). This symbol can be interpreted to mean “place”, “seat”, as in “divine appointment to rule”. Note the similarity to a hieratic quail chick (w) symbol appearing in the hieratic/hieroglyphic table above.

The Ah-meh-strah-ans identified the throne symbol as “Kli flos isis ... having been delegated with supreme power for a fixed period of time: hereditary, coming down from father to Son: right of authority from eight days old: according to the law of priesthood” (Ahmehstrahan Degrees, 2nd Part, pg. 32) Correlation with the Book of Abraham text (above) is apparent.

The Hebrew word for “throne”, “seat of honor” is “kise, kiseh” (כּסה , כּסא). But these spellings also connote the “full moon”, possibly relating to a headdress or tiara of a moon deity. (The New Brown – Driver – Briggs – Gesenius Hebrew and English Lexicon, 3677, pg. 490)

Could “Kli” in the Ahmehstrahan term “Kli flos isis” be related to the Aramaic word “Khlila” (כלילא) meaning “crown”? (The New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew and English Lexicon, כלל, 4359, pg. 483)

Could “flos” in the Ahmehstrahan term “Kli flos isis” be related to the Semitic word “phls” (פלשׂ ,פלס), suggesting a “balance, scale for weighing”? (The New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew and English Lexicon, פלס ,6425, pg. 813) Combined with the Ptolemaic Greek version of the name of the Egyptian goddess, we have “Khlila phls Isis” suggesting perhaps “Crown of the scale of weighing of Isis”. The crown of the goddess is of course “the throne”, symbol of governance - balanced on her head. Isis as an archetype of “Lady Justice” came to be identified symbolically with the scale. Her whole personage may be perceived as a balance holding life in one hand.

Converted to the worship of the Lord (ha-Adon), the Ah-meh-strah-ans thought of “Flos isis” as a “governing principle”, associated with celestial bodies like the sun, and avoided direct mention of the Egyptian name of the female deity in the context of being an object of worship. (Shemot (Ex.) 2:3) Even so, the esoteric society doubtless saw in Isis, goddess of wisdom, the Egyptian signification of Hokhmah, eternal companion to the Living God of the Hebrews. (Mishle (Prov.) 8:1-36). “By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.” (Proverbs 8:15, KJV)

Advanced for even the Prophet Joseph Smith’s time, the Ah-meh-strah-ans appear to have comprehended an interrelation between the concepts of celestial governance, weighing (via gravitational “affinity”, or power of attraction), time, and light, which they claimed as a revelatory legacy from Avraham. (Facsimile No. 2, Fig. 5; Ahmehstrahan Degrees, 2nd Part, pp. 25, 28, 32, 34)

(5)

my fathers having turned from their righteousness, and from the holy com mandments, which the Lord their God had given unto them, unto the worshiping of the gods of the heath ens.

Sample (5) features the hieratic version (Möller, 303) of the “sun” hieroglyph. The sign may be interpreted as suggesting the popular pagan practice of sun worship.

In keeping the commandment (Shemot (Ex.) 2:3), the actual Egyptian name(s) of the solar deity is not pronounced in Hebrew scripture, except in instances of wordplay - with negative connotations. Likewise, both the Ah-meh-strah-ans and the Sepher Avram avoid pronouncing the names of false gods. Instead, false objects of worship are referred to in connection with either Semitic place names, or the names of apostate worshipers (e.g. Avram’s kin gone bad).

Thus “the sun” as an object of sacrificial worship, “after the manner of the Egyptians”, is referred as “the god of Shagreel” in Abraham 1:9. “ShegerEl” or “Sh'garEl” is a Semitic name meaning “offspring of God” (e.g. Shemot (Ex.) 13:12, Devarim (Deut.) 7:13). “Shagreel” should not be interpreted as an Egyptian name of the solar deity.

Before (to the right of) the Egyptian solar symbol in sample (3), we see what is possibly a reversed leg of the symbol, connoting in this case, “halting”, “going backward”, “having turned”, in reference to the apostasy of Avram’s kin.

Following the sign of the sun, is what appears to be the perch of the Egyptian falcon - absent the image of the bird of prey.

(6)

utterly refused to hearken to my voice for their hearts were set to do evil, and were wholly turned to the god of Elkkener [Elkenah; “Elkkener” is likely a misspelling. Or could “Elkkener” be an alternate name? E.g. “El qoneh-ur” = “God, possessor of flame (light, e.g. moonlight)”, similar to the title found in Bereshit (Gen.) 14:19. Consider the possible wordplay, and mutation from “El (God) kenah” to moon god “Khonsu”] and the god of Zibnah [Libnah] and the god of

[Pg. 1]

Mahmackrah and the god of Koash [Korash] and the god of Pharaoh King of Egypt, therefore they turned their hearts to the sacrafice of the heathens, in offering up their Children unto these dum Idols, and hearkened not unto my voice, but endeavoured to take away <my> life by the hand of the priest of Elkkener [Elkenah].

Though it does not look like a bird, the hieratic character representing a falcon like bird of prey can be seen in (Möller, 378). In the previous table showing samples of hieratic and hieroglyphic characters, you may have noticed the hieratic representation of a single little bird without a perch. the little bird is interpreted to mean “small, weak, evil”. The Hebrew word for “bad”, or “evil” sound very much like the name of an Egyptian solar deity. The badly copied bird of prey symbol in sample (6) represents Horus “the god of Pharaoh”, or alternately, the blood thirsty moon god Khonsu.

Also shown previously is a hieratic version of the “mouth” hieroglyph. You may have noticed that the hieratic character looks quite different compared to the hieroglyph.

Here we may correlate with the warning voice of Avram, which went unheeded by his kin.

The proposed Egyptian characters of samples (1) through (6) are thus shown to have some transtextual correlation with corresponding portions of Book of Abraham text.

(7)

The priest of Elkkener [Elkenah] was also the pri est of Pharaoh, now at this time it was the custom of the priest of Pharaoh the King of Egypt to offer up upon the altar which was built in the land of cha ldea for the offering unto these stran ge gods, both men women and chi ldren, and it came to pass, that the priest made an offering unto the god of Pharaoh, and also unto the god of Shagreel, even after the manner of the Egyptians.

(now the god of Shagreel was the Sun) even a thank offering of a child did the priest of Pharaoh offer upon the altar which stood by the hill called Potiphers [Potiphar’s] hill at the head of the plain of Olishem.

The Ah-meh-strah-ans (the Esoteric order of ha-Mitsrim, the Egyptians) would have immediately recognized in the “house” hieroglyph , and its phonetic “Pr” value, its affiliation with “Par’oh” (“Pharaoh”). “Pharaoh” literally means “Great house”. See also “Pharaoh”, LDS Bible Dictionary. Note in the hieratic form of sample (7), the “water” symbol represented as a simple line below the “house” symbol. Incomplete though these symbols are, the hieratic water symbol below the house symbol resembles a hieroglyphic representation of the title of Pharaoh. See the complete hieratic form of the “house” glyph in the table above, and compare it, and sample (7) with :

"Great house" = "Pharaoh"

The “column” hieroglyph below the “house” is interpreted to mean “great”. The hieratic water character (in the Small Sensen text) resembles it - simulating the title of “Pharaoh”

It appears that the hieratic “house” character was copied imperfectly. Even so, there is a resemblance, to the Ah-meh-strah-an eye, between this revised, or imperfectly copied character and a character (pronounced “Phah ho e oop”) interpreted to mean “Royal blood of Pharaoh” listed in the Ah-meh-strah-an degrees, pg. 17.

The Ah-meh-starh-ans might have seen more than “Pharaoh” in the characters of sample (7). They may have also seen blood - blood in the waters of Mitsrayim (Egypt) and in every wood and stone pot . (Shemot (Ex.) 7:19) The Ah-meh-strah-ans could have seen in the waters the thrashing “god of Pharaoh” - Horus in the form of a crocodile. (See Book of Abraham Facsimile 1, Fig. 4, and YehezqEl (Ezek.) 29:3)

The line of Egyptian text which sample (7) commences, literally reads, “In this great pool of Khonsu”. (See NOTES, below) Michael D. Rhodes notes that the crocodile in the waters of “Lake Khonsu” depicted in the first Book of Breathings vignette, most likely represents “Horus ... in his form of a crocodile”; as similarly represented in a Dendera Temple inscription. (The Hor Book of Breathings A Translation and Commentary, pg. 20)

What at first may have appeared to be beyond hope, in terms of providing any connection to the Book of Abraham text (above), now is seen to have at least one key correlation - “Pharaoh”! We need only demonstrate that the character samples correlate in some way with the revealed Book of Abraham text. We should not insist that the hieratic characters are the source of the text. They are not! The text is a work of pure inspiration.

(8)

now this priest had offered upon this altar three Virgins at one time who were the daughters of Onitah, one of the royal descent directly fro[m] the loins of Ham; these Virgins were offered up because of their virtue, they would not bow down to worsh ip gods of wood ~~and~~ <or of> stone,

[Pg. 2]

therefore they were killed upon this altar.

Here the “stand”, “stool or mat” hieroglyph is adapted to represent an “altar”. Precedence exists for this kind of interpretation: In Book of Abraham Facsimile 1 (adapted from the first vignette of the Hor Book of Breathings), the mummification lion coach is reinterpreted as an “altar”. Three strokes representing the three virgins may be perceived in the hieratic.

Consider the Hebrew wordplay between “harEl” (mount of God, altar-hearth), “ariel” (altar), and “ariEl” (lion of God). See for instance “YehezqEl (Ezek.) 43:15-16, Divre Hayamim (1 Chr.) 11:22. A Hebrew word for “couch” or “bed” or “bedstead” is “eres” (עֶרֶשׂ). See Devarim (Deut.) 3:11.

Could the “dual” hieroglyph be reinterpreted to stand for more than one unspeakable act performed upon the altar, or could it be interpreted to tell of a pair of altars; an altar in the land of the Kasdim like one in the land of Mistrayim (Egypt)?

(9)

And it was done after the manner of the Egyptians, and it came to pass, that the prie sts, laid violence upon me, that they might slay me also, as they did those Virgins, upon this altar, and that you m ight have a knowledge of this altar, I will refer you to the representation, at the comme ncement of this record.

Here the “pool” hieroglyph appears identical to the “raised platform, stone slab” hieroglyph which could serve to represent this “altar” set up in a singular irrigated land (i.e. Mitsraymah (Egypt), or Qanah, land of the Kasdim) represented by the “irrigated land” hieroglyph .

(10) H10 S10

R10

It was made after the form of a bed-stead such as was had among the Chaldeans, and it stood before the gods, of Elkkener [Elkenah]. Zibnah [Libnah] Mahmachrah [Mahmackrah, Korash,] and also, a god like unto that of Pharaoh King of Egypt that you may have an understanding of these gods, I have given you the fas sion of them, in the figures at the beginn ing, which manner of figures is called by the Chaldeans Rahleenos [T&S Editor Joseph Smith, but arguably "Kahleenos" in 1835 Manuscript A, B and C].

The N-water ripple symbols here represent the waters of lake Khonsu (named after the moon god) which conceal Horus, “god of Pharaoh” in the form of a crocodile. See below, the academic interpretation of the sample (10) character in context of the Hor Book of Breathings. Hor (Horus) is understood to be “inside of the great lake of Khonsu”, line 1.

Horus (crocodile) in the pool of Khonsu

Horus, “god of Pharaoh”, in the form of a crocodile, skulking in the waters of the pool of Khonsu (Hor Book of Breathings, first vignette)

The Prophet Joseph Smith as official editor of the 1 March, 1842 edition of the Times and Seasons newspaper, ostensibly replaced “Kahleenos” (from 1835 manuscripts) and added an inspired explanatory comment not found in the earlier manuscripts: “Rahleenos, which signifies Hyeroglyphics [Hieroglyphics].”

The “ee” in “Rahleenos” likely indicates a Semitic arm and hand hieroglyph (yad) as in the Book of Abraham spelling of “Raukeeyang” (Raqia) and “the Hebrew word, Shaumahyeem” (Shamayim). “Rahleenos” could be “Raah-li-nes” (ראה- לי- נס), literally, “Show to me a sign”. In ancient phonetic hieroglyphs, “Rahleenos” could have been written as follows:

Is “Kahleenos” (1835 manuscripts) then a mistake? Not necessarily. “Kahleenos” may be something like “Qal-li-nes” (קלע- לי- נס) with a silent “ayin” (ע). “Qal-li-nes” means “He carved for me a sign”. Which may be significant since the word “hieroglyphic” (from Greek) literally means “sacred carving”. We might then consider:

“... which signifies Hyeroglyphics [Hieroglyphics, Sacred carvings]”, Editor Joseph Smith.

Perhaps the Ptolemaic “Ah meh strah ans” used an expression like “Kahleenos”, but the original Semitic expression was closer to “Rahleenos”.

One may perceive that in a way, Editor Joseph Smith included both “Rahleenos,” and “Kahleenos” → “which signifies Hyeroglyphics” in the printed version of the Book of Abraham.

It is unlikely that the Ptolemaic “Ah meh strah ans” would have pronounced the Hebrew letter “ayin” (ע) as the Kirtland brethren were trained to pronounce “gna' yin” by their Hebrew instructor Joshua (James) Seixas. See Manual Hebrew Grammar for the Use of Beginners, pages 10, 12 where Joseph Smith found “Raukeeyang”. The Prophet found “gnolaum” (עולם) on page 62. See also Aron di Leone Leoni, “The Pronunciation of Hebrew in the Western Sephardic Settlements (16^th – 20^th Centuries). Second Part: The Pronunciation of the Consonant ‘Ayin”, SEFARAD, Vol. 68.1, 2008, pp. 163-208.

(11) H11 S11

And as they lifted up their hands, up on me, that they might offer me up, and take away my life, behold I lifted up my voice, unto the Lord my God, and the Lord hearkened, and heard, and he filled me with a vision of the Almighty and the Angel of his presence, stood by my feet, and immediately loosed my bands.

Here we may see the feet of the priests (Avram’s kin) approaching to destroy; see Gardiner Z9. (Mishle (Prov.) 1:16, Yesha’Yahu (Is.) 59:7) And in response the Eternal, hearing the plea of his son Avram, stays his destroyers, brakes down the altar of Elqanah, destroys the gods of the land, and smites to death Elqanah’s and Par’oh’s priest. See sample (13) below.

(12) H12 S12

R12

And his voice was unto me, Abram [later versions substitute the familiar but anachronistic “Abraham” possibly for the sake of a goy (gentile) audience, Abram, behold my name is Jehovah, and I have heard thee, and have come down to deliver thee, and to take thee, away from thy fathers house, and from all thy knds-folks, into a strange land, [Pg. 3] which thou knowest not of, and from all this because they have turned their hearts away from me, to worship the god of Elkkener [Elkenah], and the god of Zibnah [Libnah], and of Mahmachrah [Mahmackrah, and the god of Korash], and the god of Pharaoh King of Egypt; therefore I have come down to visit them, and to destroy him who hath lifted up his hand, ag ainst thee, Abram my son to take away thy life; behold I will lead thee, by my hand, and I will take thee, to put upon thee my name, even the priesthood of thy father, and my power shall be over thee, as it was with Noah, so shall it be with thee, that thr ough thy ministry, my name shall be known in the earth forever, for I am thy God.

Here the multilingual Ah-meh-strah-ans could have interpreted the hieratic, or N-water ripple hieroglyph () to signify the river of Egypt (n’har Mitsrayim, Bereshit (Gen.) 15:18). The Egyptian symbol does carry the phonetic value “n”, which also happens to be the first sound in the Greek word “Neilos” (Νειλος) from which we get the word “Nile”. “Neilos”, or “Nile” also happens to sounds somewhat like “nahal”, a Hebrew word for “river” or “river valley”.

The Gentile/Semitic word “Nile” best corresponds to the Egyptian loanword “Y’or” (יְאוֹר), i.e. Shemot (Ex.) 2:3. The first letter in the word “Y’or” is the Hebrew letter yod (י). So the Ah-meh-strah-ans had the option of equating (or, in hieratic script) with “yod”. Thus:

(waters of the Nile) = Neilos (Νεῖλος) = Y’or (יְאוֹר) = Heb. letter yod (י).

“Yod” means “hand”. Anciently, “yod” was represented by a hand and forearm character:

The Egyptian “sieve” symbol can be used to approximate a phonetic “h”. This is somewhat comparable to the Hebrew letter “hey” (ה). “Hey” signifies “prayer” or “praise” as in “Halelu-Yah” = “Praise ye the Eternal (the LORD)”. Anciently, the letter “hey”, or rather “hilul”, was symbolized as a man with upraised arms:

Learning to read the symbols as the Ah-meh-strah-an could have, we perceive in the characters of sample (12) the two Hebrew letters spelling the abbreviated name of the Eternal - Yah. Thus:

the sacred name of Adonai in R12

= “Yah” (He who will ever be, and who ever was), the Lord (King = ) rescues Avram (his quail chick = ) from the bird of prey (Khonsu, the bloodthirsty moon god, or Horus, god of Par’oh). See sample (2) commentary.

Alternately, the sieve hieroglyph may be equated to the Hebrew letter “het” (ח); which in combination with the “yod” (י) spells “hai” (חי) meaning “alive, living”; as in “Elohim hai, the living God(s)” (Yesha-Yahu (Is.) 37:4), or as in “the Eternal is alive (lives)” (Tehilah (Ps.) 18:47, 46, KJV).

The Egyptian sieve symbol , with its four parallel lines cutting though a circular barrier, was also understood to represent the life supporting membrane, or veil that is the placenta. This veil or membrane fulfills its purposes, and is sacrificed or discarded in child birth. A similar symbol was utilized by the Ah-meh-strah-ans to represent the earth in her four quarters , subject to the governance of higher powers.

The Ah-meh-strah-ans appear to have associated the four quarter symbol with the name of the Eternal, the sacred Tetragrammaton. In fact, “yah.t”, an Egyptian word for “earth”, is somewhat similar to the sacred name of the Hebrew God. (Michael D. Rhodes, “The Joseph Smith Hypocephalus ... Twenty Years Later”, pg. 8) Joseph Smith anglicized the sacred name with the conventional “J” instead of the Hebrew “Yod”. See TETRAGRAMMATON AND EARTH.

Rather than attempt an authentic pronunciation of so sacred a name, it is best to refer to the symbol as the “Ahmehstrahan cross of ha-Adon” or simply the “cross of Adon”. This symbol may have been related to the sieve hieroglyph. The Ah-meh-strah-ans may have perceived in the sievesymbol (Amos 9:9), the God behind the blood stained veil, (Vayiqra (Lev.) 4:17) whose name is spelled with the Hebrew letters depicted by a hand, a man with upraised arms, and a nail (hook, or peg):

Ahmestrahan cross of Adon

“The earth under the government of another …”, Ahmehstrahan 3^rd degree, Second part, pg. 29.

(13) H13 S13 (Incomplete text)

Behold Potiphers [Potiphar’s] hill was in the land of Ur, of chaldea, and the Lord broke down the altar of Elkkener [Elkenah], and of <the> gods of the land, and utterly destroyed them, and smote the priest, that he died and there was great mourning in chaldea, <and> also in the court of Pharaoh. which Phar aoh signifies King by royal blood.

Now this King of Egypt was a descen dant from the loins of Ham, and was a partaker of the blood of the canaanites. by birth; from this descent sprang all the Egyptians, and thus the blood of the canaanites was preserved in the land.

[Pg. 4]

LDS Scholar Michael D. Rhodes has transcribed into hieroglyphs the proposed missing hieratic characters copied as samples (13) thorough (16). (The Hor Book of Breathings - A Translation and Commentary, pg. 35) The restored line is read right to left (like Hebrew) beginning with the “throne” character seen in sample (13):

= “the Osiris Hor [Horus], justified”

As in sample (4), sample (13) features the hieratic version (Möller, 383) of the “throne” hieroglyph (appearing like steps, suggesting descent or ascent). This symbol can be interpreted to mean “hereditary appointment to rule”.

The Ah-meh-strah-ans identified the same symbol as “Kli flos isis ... having been delegated with supreme power for a fixed period of time: hereditary, coming down from father to Son: right of authority ...” (Ahmehstrahan Degrees, 2nd Part, pg. 32) Correlation with the Book of Abraham text (above) is apparent.

Reference to false “gods of the land” (notably distinct from the apostate Semite Elkenah) correlate with the symbol representing the solar deity, and the perched bird of prey suggesting to the Ahmehstrahan mind the blood thirsty moon god (Konsu), or the god of Par’oh (Horus).

The Ahmehstrahan minded might perceive in the signs between the two Horus symbols , the sign signifying “smite, slay” (not unlike the “jawbone” symbol, Judges 15:15), and the “mouth” representing the speaker (false prophet and priest) of Par’oh.

Thus was slain the speaker of the god or Par’oh. See lost hieratic text restored - Ahmehstrahan Resymbolization.

(14)

The land of Egypt being first discovered, by a woman, who was the daughter of Ham, and the daughter of Zeptah [later versions substitute “Egyptus”, which is as anachronistic as the translated term “Egypt”, KJV OT], which in the chaldea [not the name of a language], signifies Egypt, which sig nifies that which is forbidden. ~~Which~~ When this woman discovered the land. it was under water, who after settled her sons in it, and thus from Ham, sprang that race, which preserved, the curse in the land.

Appears to correlate with Ahmehstrahan degrees: pp. 5, 10, 14, 18, 21.

The Ah-meh-strah-ans would have recognized in the “Shu feather” the symbol of Maat, the female personification of truth, justice and balance. Maat was considered essential to the existence of the world and Egyptian society. The homonym “mat” (מַת) in Hebrew means “a mature man”. (Iyov (Job) 31:31) Maat is interpreted to signify a male member of the Egyptian ruling class in Book of Abraham Facsimile No. 3, Fig. 4. See lost hieratic text restored - Ahmehstrahan Resymbolization.

(15) H15

Now the first government, of Egypt was established by Pharaoh, the eldest son of Egyptes [Egyptus], the daughter of Ham, and it was after the manner of <the> government of Ham, which was patriarchal, Pharaoh being a righteous man established his Kingdom, and judged his pople wise ly and justly all his days, seeking ear nestly to imitate, that order established by the fathers in the first generations, in the days of the first patriarchal reign, even in the reign of Adam, and also Noah his father, who blessed him w ith the blessings of the earth and with the blessings of wisdom, but cursed him as pertaining to the priesthood [See Was a Grandson of Aaron the First Black Hebrew Priest?]

Appears to correlate with Ahmehstrahan degrees: pp. 5-6, 10-11, 14, 18, 21-22.

The Ah-meh-strah-ans would have recognized in the “Shu feather” the symbol of Maat, the female personification of truth, righteousness, justice, and order. Maat was considered essential to the order of the cosmos and the existence of Egyptian society. The homonym “mat” (מַת) in Hebrew means “a mature man”. (Iyov (Job) 31:31) Maat is interpreted to signify a male member of the Egyptian ruling class in Book of Abraham Facsimile No. 3, Fig. 4.

The “oar” symbol in Egyptian connotes one who is “justified”. Thus the correlation with, “Pharaoh being a righteous man established his Kingdom, and judged his people wisely and justly”. See lost hieratic text restored - Ahmehstrahan Resymbolization.

(16) H16

Now Pharaoh being of that lineage by which he could not have the rig ht of priesthood, notwithstanding, the Pharaoh’s, would feign claim it. from Noah, through Ham, therefore, my father was led away, by ~~them~~ their Idolitry, but I shall endeavour hereafter to delinia te the chronology, runining back

[Pg. 5]

from myself to the beginning of the creation, for the records have come into my hands which I hold unto the present time.

Appears to correlate with esoteric symbols in Ahmehstrahan degrees: pp. 5-6, 10-11, 14, 18, 21-22. See lost hieratic text restored - Ahmehstrahan Resymbolization.

(17) H17 S17

R17

Now after the priest of Elkkener [Elkenah] was smitten that he died there came a fulfillment of those things which were spoken unto me, concerning the land of Chaldea that there should be a famine in the land, and accordingly a famine prevailed throughout ~~the~~ all the land of Chaldea, and my father was sorely tormented, because of the famine, and he repented of the evil which he had determined against me, to take away my life, but the records of the fathers, even the patriarch’s concerning the right of priesthood, the Lord my God preserved in mine own hands, Therefore a Knowledge of the begi nning of creation, and also of the planets and of the Stars, as it was made known unto the fathers, have I Kept even unto this day.

The apron of three fox skins hieroglyph , having the phonetic value of “ms”, signifies birth, to bring forth, produce, fashion, create . This symbol correlates with “…a knowledge of the beginning of creation …” in the Avram text.

The folded cloth or seat-backing hieroglyph may symbolize the creator’s back being turned to the people (e.g. Shemot (Ex.) 33:23). As a consequence, something dangerous takes place having to do with bread and water .

(18) H18 S18

R18

And I shall endeavour to write so me of these things upon this record, for the benefit of my posterity, that shall come after me.

The bread bun may here be taken to signify “benefit” (that which promotes or enhances well-being).

The vulture (phonetic value “A”) is named in Torah, “ha-raham” (הָרָחָם), and “ha-rahamah” in the feminine. The word is translated “the gier eagle” (KJV). See Vayiqra (Lev.) 11:18, Devarim (Deut.) 14:17. The Hebrew name of the fowl derives from “raham”; signifying “compassion”, “affection”, and the “womb”. The bird is so named because she is supposed to be tender towards her young, or alternately because “the male and female bird never part company”. We may consider then the wordplay in “Av-raham” = “Father of compassion (affection)” = + .

The repeated reed symbols may have been interpreted, in this instance, by the Ah-meh-strah-ans, to signifying, writing with a reed upon papyrus. Thus we may see a correlation with Av-raham endeavoring “to write some of these things upon this record, for the benefit of .. posterity ...”

(19) H19 S19

R19

Now the Lord God caused the fam ine to wax sore in the land of Ur, in somuch that Haran my brother died, but Terah my father yet lived, in the land of Ur of the Chaldees, and

[Pg. 6]

it came to pass that I Abram took Sarai to wife and Nahor my brother, took Milcah to wife.

As in sample (12) the abbreviated name of the God behind the blood stained veil (sieve or placenta membrane) is represented by symbols which can be interpreted to approximate or represent “Yah”. Here the two strokes are equivalent to two reeds , which combined are assigned the value “Y” (י). The sieve can represent a Hebrew “hey” (ה) like sound. In actuality the sound is closer a “het” (ח) - but close enough to approximate the sacred name without actually uttering it!

Read the other direction, the symbols may be seen to connote חי - “the living God”.

The human foot character (phonetic value of “b” or “בּ” = “in”) also connotes “place”, or “position”.

The Ah-meh-strah-ans could therefore have interpreted the double reeds behind the heel (to the left of the foot), to represent a place - a land of reeds, “Qanah”. The word “arah” עָרָה , also means “reed”, but more commonly means “make bare”. “Arah” sounds similar to “Ur”, city in the land of the Kasdim. The Semitic name “Kasdim” eventually came to be translated (rather inaccurately) as “Chaldees”, i.e. the King James Bible.

The Ah-meh-strah-ans could therefore have seen in sample (19) the Eternal living God visiting the land of the Kasdim [in judgment] with the dust of his heel - making bare Ur .

Note the difficult to discern “father” bread bun and “son” or “child” egg symbols seen at the end of hieratic sample (19) - on the left . As a hieroglyph, the bread bun resembles a “hill” . The egg resembles a gibbous moon. Is it too much to suggest that the Hebrew word for “egg”, “betsah” sounds somewhat like the Hebrew word for “home” or “house” - “baytah” or “bet”? (Bereshit (Gen.) 19:10) These Ah-meh-strah-an symbols can be related to Haran (mountaineer) son of Terah (the name possibly has to do with the moon) dwelling at Ur. But the symbols can just as appropriately be associated with sample (20):

(20) H20 S20

R20

who was the daughter of Haran. [blank line]

As indicated, the symbol resembles Egyptian symbols for “hill” , or “hillside” . (See hieratic characters in the table above) A common Hebrew word for “hill” is “har” (הר), as in the name of Avram’s brother, “Haran” (הרן). “Haran” likely means “mountaineer” or “hill climber”, a name befitting the highlands of northern Mesopotamia.

The egg symbol symbol could easily have been interpreted by the Ah-meh-starh-ans to signify “begot” or “brought forth”.

The woman signifies a “daughter”. The symbol is also appropriately used in connection with a “goddess” or a “queen”, which is what “Milkah” means.

(21) H21 (Missing characters at the end)

H21a (Complete, in another W. Parrish Manuscript) S21a

R21a

Now the Lord had said unto me Abram, get the[e] out of thy country, and from thy Kindred, and from thy fathers house, unto a land that I will shew thee, therefore I left the land of Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan, and I took Lot my brothers son, and his wife, and Sarai my wife, and also my father followed after me, unto the land which we denominated Haran and the famine abated, and my father tarried in Haran, and dw elt there, as there were many flocks in Haran, and my father turned again unto his Idolitry, therefore he continued in Haran.

The Ah-meh-strah-ans would have recognized in the “Shu feather” the symbol of Maat, the goddess of truth. But “mat” (מַת) in Hebrew is “a mature man”. (Iyov (Job) 31:31)

The “oar” symbol in Egyptian connotes one who is “justified”, but the Hebrew word for “oar”, “shayit” (שַׁיִט, i.e. Yesha’Yahu (Is.) 33:21) is related to שׁוט which connotes, “go”, “rove”, or “travel”. The Ah-meh-strah-ans may have even entertained wordplay between the sound of שׁוט and שׁבת, which means “rest.”

The “milk jug” and “bread buns” suggest to the Ah-meh-strah-an mind an abundant place of “milk” and “grain”. (Shemot (Ex.) 3:8, Devarim (Deut.) 8:7-9) There could also be a subtle reference in these symbols to “Haran”, his son Lot, and hill country. See sample (20).

As in sample (19), the “two stroke” symbol is phonetically equivalent to “y” = “yod” (י) = “hand” (). Below the hand and forearm marks is the “tied papyrus scroll” symbol .

Thus the Ah-meh-strah-ans might have interpreted sample (21) to signify: A just man traveling to a place of milk, and much bread, by the hand [of him whose name is written] upon the scroll [in scripture].

The hand and wrapped up, tied up scroll could also suggest the taking of Lot by the hand, since “Lot” means “wrap up”, “wrap closely, tightly”, “enwrap in confidence or secrecy”.

(22) H22 S22

R22

But I Abram and Lot my brothers son, prayed unto the Lord, and the Lord appeared unto me, and said unto me, arise and take Lot with thee, for I have purposed to take thee away out of Haran, and to make of the[e] <a> minister to bear my name ~~unto~~ a ~~people~~ ~~which~~ I ~~will~~ ~~give~~ in a Strange land which I will give unto thy seed after thee, for an ~~eternal~~ ~~me morial~~ everlasting possession <when> if they

[Pg. 7]

hearken to my voice.

The first hieratic character of sample (22) happens to appears somewhat similar to the hieratic “coil” symbol. See samples (2, 26) and the equivalent hieratic/hieroglyphic symbols in the table above. The “coil” symbol is phonetically equivalent to the “quail chick”. The Ah-meh-strah-ans associated the “coil” with “Ah broam – a follower of righteousness”. See for instance Ah-meh-strah-an degrees pp. 16, 20.

A transtextual interpretation follows:

The Egyptian “owl” symbol has the phonetic value “m”. The Hebrew equivalent is the letter “mem” (מ), as in the word “malak” (מַלְאָךְ), which means “messenger”, and the word “meshar’t” (מְשָׁרְת), translated “minister”. “Messenger” and “minister” are parallel terms, which appear together in plural form in Tehelim (Ps.) 104:4.

The Egyptian word for “owl”, “mulak” sounds strikingly similar to the Hebrew “malak”, “messenger”.

The Ah-meh-strah-ans could certainly have interpreted the “owl” to mean “malakh”, “messenger”.

The “branch” symbol looks strikingly like the ancient “yod” , represented by the hand and forearm.

With the “sieve” symbol approximating the Hebrew letter “hey” , or rather “hilul”, the Ah-meh-strah-ans of old may have interpreted the symbols in sample (22) to represent “messenger [minister] of Yah (the Eternal)”. This of course correlates well with the sepher Avram text with which it is associated.

But there is more in the possible Ah-meh-strah-an view of these symbols: The owl, “mulak” sounds disturbingly similar to an idol or idols associated with child sacrifice (Vayiqra (Lev.) 18:20, Amos 5:26).

The “Branch”, “Netser” or “Tsemah” is a messianic symbol (i.e. Yesha'Yahu (Is.) 11:1, YirmehYahu (Jer.) 33:15, ZekharYah (Zech.) 3:8). The “Branch” is a title of the anointed son of the Davidic line. This son of Avraham is also considered by God to be his son. (Tehelim (Ps.) 2:7, Mishle (Prov.) 30:4)

Thus, the Ah-meh-strah-ans could have perceived in sample (22): “The cruel sacrifice of the Branch [Anointed Son] of the God behind the blood stained veil”. The distinction in this case is, that with this God, the child lives and becomes one with his divine parent, who raises the dead. (Yesha'Yahu (Is.) 26:19; 9:6-7; 53:1-12)

(23) H23 S23

Note: Some of the manuscript characters filling in the missing portion of the papyrus, are similar to (19). Note the “sieve” symbol at the end of the previous sample (22), and at the beginning of sample (19). LDS Scholar Michael D. Rhodes, and non-LDS Professor of Egyptology Robert K. Ritner both agree that missing characters in this line of the Hor Book of Breathings are . (Rhodes, The Hor Book of Breathings, pp. 27, 35; Ritner, The Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri - A COMPLETE EDITION, pp. 125, 127.)

R23

For I am the Lord thy God, I dwell in heaven, the earth is my footstool. I stretch my hand over the sea, and it obeys my voice I cause the wind and the fire to be my chariot, I say to the m ountains depart hence and behold they are taken away by a whirl wind in an instant suddenly, my name is Jehovah, and I kn ow ~~the~~ ~~beginning~~ the end from the beginning, therefore my hand shall be over thee, and I will make of thee, a great nation and I will bless thee, above measure, and make thy name great among all nations.

Possible Ah-meh-strah-an interpretation: [“The” = “h” ≈ ה = “Father” = “Av” = אַב], his “arm” upon Avram (i.e. sample (2)) is the powerful (“grasping”, clasped) hand of him whose great name is not spelled out here (a name that begins with = “y” = י = = “yod” = the “hand” extended).

The implication is that Adonai (the Eternal) would place upon Avram his own great name; and indeed, + = “y” + “w”, can be seen to approximate atleast the first three letters of the sacred Tetragrammaton: .

(24) H24 S24

R24

And thou shalt be a blessing, unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and pr iesthood unto all nations, and I will bless them, through thy name, for as many as receive this gospel, in Shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as unto their father, and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee, and in thee ~~and~~ in (that is in thy priesthood.) and in thy seed, (that is thy pristhood) for I give unto the[e] a prom ise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee, (that is to say thy literal seed, or the seed

[Pg. 8]

of thy body,) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal. [blank line]

The Hebrew word “z’roa” (זְרׂעַ), meaning “arm” (Yesha’Yahu (Is.) 51:5), is quite similar to the word “zera” (זֶרַע), meaning “seed” (Yesha’Yahu (Is.) 61:9). Here we may see the “arms” of Avraham’s “seed” bearing the “nes” (the “sign”, the vertical “pole” , or “ensign”) of the venomous serpent to the nations (Bemidbar (Num.) 21:6-9, Yesha’Yahu (Is.) 5:26, 14:29) – to all “flesh” that will rise up and call him “father”– they who will but “face” (Yesha’Yahu (Is.) 51:2), and pledge by “mouth” (Yesha’Yahu (Is.) 45:23).

(25)

Now after the Lord had withdrew from speaking to me, and withdrew his face from me, I said in my hea rt thy servant has sought thee, earn nestly, now I have found thee, thou didst send thine angel to delivr me, from the gods of Elkkener [Elkenah], and I will do well to hearken, unto thy voice, ther efore let thy servant arise up and depart in peace so I Abram departed, as the Lord had said unto me, and Lot with me, and I Abram was sixty and two years old, when I departed out of Ha ran.

After he (Avram) sought with all his “heart” he who appeared “before har’El” (“mount of God”, “altar of God”; see YehezqEl (Ezek.) 43:15-16; wordplay with “lion of God”, Gardiner F4; see Yesha’Yahu (Is.) 29:1, Divre Hayamim (1 Chr.) 11:22), he took up “nes”(stave, pole lookalike) and departed Haran (pastoral highland, symbolized by the bread bun that resembles a “har”, or hill , see sample (20).

Note: Hebrew Haran is distinct from the Akkadian Haran spelled with a “het” ח). Joseph Smith’s Inspired Version of the Bible notes that “Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran [meaning Haran].” (JST Gen. 12:3; see also 1835 Doctrine and Covenants, Lectures on Faith, Q&A, pg. 31)

(26) H26 S26

R26

And I took Sarai, whom I took to ~~wife~~ in Ur of ~~Chaldeea~~ wife when I was in Ur, in Chaldeea [Chaldea], and Lot my brothers Son, and all our substance, that we had gathered, and the souls that we had won in Haran, and came forth in the way to the land of Canaan, and dwelt in tents, as we came on our way, there fore eternity was our covering, and our rock, and our salvation, as we journ eyed, from Haran, by the way of ~~jersh~~ Jurshon [Jershon], to come to the land of can aan.

[Pg. 9]

The “flesh” (“limb” or “neck”) of “father” (“Avram”) and his sister/spouse (represented by the goddess whose name begins with “as”) were joined in “Qanah” (land of “reeds”, a.k.a. land of the Kasdim - possible wordplay with “qin’ah” (קִנְאָה) = “ardent love, jealousy”). There is also here a possible play on words between “arah” (עָרָה) meaning “reed, make naked, lay bare” (Yesha’Yahu (Is.) 19:7) and “orah = moonlight”, “Ur”. The sound of “arah”, of course, occurs in “Sarah”. Consider Bereshit (Gen.) 2:24.

The “flesh”, “limb”, “neck” symbol has phonetic value “as”, as in “Asset” (throne goddess Isis); analogues here to Sarah. “Asset” (Isis) is married to her brother “Asir” (Osiris). Similarly “Sarah” (Princess) is married to her brother “Avraham” (Father of multitudes). (Bereshit (Gen.) 20:12)

Note the venomous horned serpent, capable of coiling . This Egyptian symbol for “father”, is far from intrinsically evil. Note the reproductive symbolism. (Bemidbar (Num.) 21:6-9)

The last symbols in sample (26) seem to better relate to remaining parts of the previous section: = Avram. = messenger, “angel”; see sample (22). = hillside (i.e. Har-Potiphera, “Potiphar’s Hill” by which the idolatrous altar of Elqanah stood; See Abraham 1:10; 20). = mouth (i.e. voice of the Eternal).

(27) H27 S27

R27

Now I Abram, built an altar unto the Lord, in the land of Jurshon and made an offiring unto the Lord and prayed that the famine, mig ht be turned away from my fathers house, that they might not perish; and then we passed from jurshon [Jershon] thr ough the land unto the place of Sich em [Sechem, “Sichem” in Gen. 12:6, KJV, “Shechem” in Gen. 33:18, KJV], it was situated in the plains of Moreh, and we had already, come into the ~~land~~ <borders> of the <land of the> Canaanites, and I offered sacrifice there, in the plains of Moreh, and called on the Lord devo utly because we <[we]> had already come into the land of this Idolitrous nation.

[Pg. 10]

“Qanah” (land of “reeds”), “arah” (“reed”, “naked, bare land”), “Ur”, at his “back” , they gathered all their substance, “packing” all their belongings, “tying the records”, and taking “Lot” (לּוׂט = wrap closely, tightly; like a scroll) - so they departed. And Av-raham (אַב־רָחָם = father of compassion, affection, “gier eagle” = + ) prayed that “compassion” (רָחָם, Vayiqra (Lev.) 11:18) would be shown his father’s house, that they should not perish for want of “bread” .

Like a quadratic, or higher order equation having more than one solution; or like a Bach fugue weaving more than one tune harmoniously together, so the Ah-meh-strah-ans placed more than one meaning on various symbols, and could see two or more things at once in the same set of characters.

NOTES:

1835 Book of Abraham manuscripts A, B, and C

Academic Interpretation

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