Facsimile No. 3 from the Book of Abraham printed from a woodcut by Ruben Hedlock - the original vignette is lost. Note especially Figure 2. The above facsimile was derived from the last vignette of the same Egyptian funerary scroll from which Facsimile No. 1 was derived. The scroll contains a Book of Breathings Made by Isis made available to the Prophet Joseph Smith in the Kirtland period. Figure 2 represents the goddess Isis/Hathor standing by enthroned Osiris (Figure 1). The ancient owner of the scroll is Osiris Hor (Figure 5). The soul of Hor is justified before the throne of Osiris. Figure 2 is reinterpreted by the Prophet Joseph Smith to represent "King Pharaoh, whose name is given in the characters above his head."

Characters above the head and raised arm of Figure 2 converted to hieroglyphic Egyptian, a service provided by Michael Rhodes (Hor Book of Breathing, pg. 24). Note the divine throne and swallow symbols associated with great Isis (Figure 2). A straight forward translation of the Egyptian symbols reads, “Isis the great, mother of the god.” Robert Ritner notes that "Isis the great, the god's mother" is a "common" label appearing next to illustrations of Isis. (Ritner, The Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri - A COMPLETE EDITION, pg. 173) Isis/Hathor is mother of the sky god Horus (Hor). Horus imbues the mortal ruler of Egypt; so an immediate consideration for Pharaoh's title (suggested by symbols above the head of Figure 2) is Horus (Hor).

Proposed restoration of hieratic characters above the head and raise arm of Figure 2. by V. Coon. These symbols come from Moeller's lists which correlate hieroglyphic and hieratic signs. The hieratic throne symbol (Möller, Q 383), bread loaf (Möller, Y 575), and hieratic egg symbol (Möller, H 238) are visible at the top of the label. Other pertinent hieratic signs follow: swallow (Möller, G 198), mouth (Möller, D 91), vulture (Möller, G 193), temple flag (Möller, X 547).

Copied and woodcut hieratic Egyptian characters above the head and raised arm of Figure 2. Compare these copied and woodcut symbols with the hieratic and hieroglyphic equivalents above. In particular, note that what was originally a hieratic throne symbol (Möller, Q 383), and hieratic egg symbol (Möller, H 238) distinctly appear as the hieroglyphic feet and tail feather of a falcon perched on a standard (Gardiner's G7). In other words, the egg and throne hieratic signs appear to be turned into the bottom parts of a perched falcon on a standard, signifying “Horus” and “king” (G5, G7). Who directed Ruben Hedlock to make this remarkably appropriate interpretation/alteration/substitution? Where did it come from? Compare the partial "falcon on a standard" hieroglyph (the right horn of Hathor's crown points to it) with the not very similar hieratic versions (Möller, G 188). Ryan Larsen analyzes the partial hieroglyph in his article, "RFM and the Crème de la Crème". The pharaonic name that Ryan sees in the woodcut can be interpreted to mean "painful, fierce, angry". (Genesis 12:16-20) The characters portrayed in the reinterpreted vignette may be seen as figurative, or archetypal. It took a scholar, trained in ancient Egyptian, to transpose the copied hieratic symbols into Egyptian hieroglyphs (picture symbols) that made sense. The advantage of seeing the equivalent hieroglyphs, is that they are more easily identified. Once identified, the characters can be interpreted in other languages; Hebrew for instance.

Joseph Smith's esoteric, multilingual "Egyptians" (the Ah-meh-strah-ans) thought they could see meanings (and in some cases deliberately assigned meanings) beyond the standard meanings of Egyptian texts and art.

The Ptolemaic Ah-meh-strah-ans were apparently the custodians of a version of the ancient Sepher Avram (Book of Abram), which they apparently supplemented with Egyptian funerary art, and text. They may have tried to provide a meaningful Egyptian replacement for at least one lost illustration that had featured "hieroglyphics". See Abraham 1:12, 14.

Joseph Smith's original introduction to the Book of Abraham published in the March 1, 1842 edition of the Times and Seasons newspaper.

Everything Joseph Smith learned about Ah-meh-strah-an symbols and methods of interpretation, he learned by revelation. The Prophet did not have an earthly, academic means of interpreting Egyptian characters. To the Prophet, the scripture "purporting to be the writings of Abraham ... called THE BOOK OF ABRAHAM" was a work of "present revelation" (Joseph Smith, Times and Seasons, 1842, March 1, pg. 704, and September 1, pg. 902).

The Prophet had performed an earlier, revelatory translation of another ancient document, a document which he also did not hold in his hands. (LDS Doctrine and Covenants section 7) Similarly, Joseph received the text of the Sepher Avram, in English, by revelation. He supplemented the revealed Book of Abram with redactions and reinterpretations of Egyptian art and symbols; the kinds of things the Ah-meh-strah-ans had done to their lost version(s) of the Sepher Avram.

In other words, guided by higher intelligence, Joseph went to work correlating, in Ah-meh-strah-an fashion, the revealed scripture, with Egyptian funerary art and texts that came into his hands at Kirtland Ohio. The Book of Abraham correlates with the Hor Book of Breathings, and the Shishaq (Sheshanq) Book of the Dead; but neither of these funerary works contain the Abram scripture's written source.

Joseph Smith tells us that the Egyptian portions of the Book of Abraham were "A TRANSLATION Of some ancient Records [plural] that have fallen into our hands, from the Catecombs [Catacombs] of Egypt ..." This does not mean that the main text of the Book of Abram (his name while in Egypt), which was "written by his own hand, upon papyrus", existed in any obvious, written form on the papyrus scrolls that Joseph Smith received.

It was Oliver Cowdery, Joseph Smith's less informed assistant, who made the claim that writings of Abraham and Joseph of Egypt were recorded on the papyrus rolls. (Messenger and Advocate, "Egyptian Mummies - Ancient Records", December 1835, pp. 233-237)

We now know that the ancient papyrus records that Brother Cowdery described, contain the kind of funerary texts that one expects to find accompanying Egyptian mummies. No writings on papyrus from Hebrew patriarchs came with the mummies to Kirtland.

In an email to colleagues, subject titled: cracked the pharaoh's name in Facsimile 3, dated 1/17/2022 at 12:45 AM, LDS Scholar Ed Goble wrote the following:

"... the name of pharaoh in facsimile #3 is Tutmoses. ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thutmose_I This site shows that the name ThutMose is actually: ḏḥwtj-ms,Tʼaḥawtī-mīsaw, meaning "Thoth is born".

One symbol for Thoth is the bread loaf, as I have documented elsewhere, but see this for example: https://www.egyptianhieroglyphs.net/gardiners-sign-list/  ḏḥwtj-ms,Tʼaḥawtī-mīsaw, meaning "Thoth is born".

Rhodes' transliteration of the text is this:

['Is.t wr.t, mw.t ntr.]

throne-bread-egg-swallow(bird)-mouth-bread-vulture-flag

Q1 X1 H8 G36 D21 G14 R8.

Notice that the last 3 are mouth bread vulture. I think the mouth is a marker like a cartouche but also like a pictograph, saying that something will be mouthed or pronounced here.

The key now is bread-vulture.

Here are the Hebrew words for these signs in succession, similar to when we decoded the Shulem cryptogram:

kisseh lehem betsah deror peh lehem ozniyyah nes.

Putting the two together, bread and vulture, we have: lehemozniyyah.

Notice the pronunciation of this part: lehemoz.

Remember, lehem is bread, a symbol for Thoth/ḏḥwtj. In other words, a cryptogram between Egyptian and Hebrew pronunciations: ḏḥwtj-moz, Tutmoses.

It is interesting that an egg is one of the symbols here, and that the name speaks of Thoth being born. I don't know what to make of the other parts yet, but I am figuring it out. For now, this is what I know. Ed "

Commentary on Ed Goble's Discovery

Ed Goble's transtextual discovery of a pharaonic name focuses on a combination of the bread bun and vulture symbols that Michael Rhodes transcribed from the characters above the raised arm of Figure 2, Book of Abraham Facsimile No. 3.

= “Isis the great, mother of the god.”

There are actually three bread buns (, Gardiner's X1) seen in Michael Rhodes' transcription. Ed combines Hebrew words for bread and vulture (osprey) which are "lehem" (לחם) + "ozniyah (עזניה)", to arrive at a version of the string "lehemozniyah". There is really only one yod (י) in the Hebrew word "ozniyah" but many think to help the transliteration by doubling the "y". The vowel sounds are not explicitly written in the Hebrew string.

If we allow the Hebrew letter mem (מ,ם) in the string "lehemozniyah" to undergo a kind of mitosis and split in two (multiplying mem), we may argue that we hear "lehem-moz..."

Now take the Hebrew word for bread, "lehem" apart from "moz..." and relate it to a tall bread loaf (, Gardiner's X2, X3). The tall loaf of bread signifies the ibis like moon god Thoth - father of letters and writing. Substitute "Thoth" for "lehem" and you have what sounds like the pharaonic name "Thothmes" or "Tutmose", variously spelled.

The tall bread loafis similar in shape to the egg hieroglyph. Compare Gardiner's X3 and H8. The egg hieroglyph can signify a begotten "son". This is one of the meanings of the name of the prince and prophet Mosheh (משה, Moses 1:3-4).

The pharaonic component name "mose" brings to mind the name of the great law giver. "Mosheh" has both Egyptian and Hebrew meanings. (Exodus 2:10) Could the Hebrew word "mashah" (משה) that Mosheh relates to, have drawn upon an Egyptian word meaning to "birth"; so that the translation, "drew him out of the water" may have originally had a connotation suggesting "birthed him out of the water"? (Exodus 2:10, 2 Samuel 22:17, Psalm 18:16)

Ah-meh-strah-ans might interpret "Thut-mose" or "Thuth-mosis" to mean "Thoth is Moses". (John 6:32-33) You may recall that Moses (Mosheh) was made as "a god to Pharaoh" (Exodus 7:1), and was placed by God as "ruler" over a great house. (Exodus 22:28) The title Paroh appearing in Hebrew scripture, means "great house" in Egyptian. Following the logic of the Apostle Paul, it may be argued that Moses in Abram sat upon the throne of Pharaoh. "For he [Moses the Levite] was yet in the loins of his father [Abram]". (Hebrews 7:9-10) It is appropriate then to see in the Hebrew string pharaonic names with the component "mose".

Though reinterpreted in the Book of Abraham as ostensibly depicting a scene in mortality, Facsimile No. 3 was originally the final vignette of the Hor Book of Breathings. As such, it depicts a scene in the afterlife. Should we combine a post mortal setting with Ed Goble's discovery of the Thoth-Moses name, we may be justified in seeing in Facsimile No. 3, meek Mosheh in the afterlife, as ruler of his own great house, letting his exalted father Avraham rule, and reason in his throne.

After "moz" or Moses, in the Hebrew string, is the letter nun (נ, to some a serpent,, Exodus 4:3), and after that, the abbreviated sacred name of the Israelite God, Yah.

As for names of mortal Egyptian kings, we may primarily consider the component name "moz" or "mose" in the string "...lhmoznyah..." (...לחמעזניה...)? The component name "..mose" is common to the names of many Egyptian rulers, including Ahmose. This pharaonic name, aside from its reference to Ah, Lah, or Yah the moon god, might be interpreted by an Ah-meh-strah-an to mean "Ah-mosheh" = "Brother of Moses". An Ah-meh-strah-an might also see in the name "Yah-mosheh" = "Yah of Moses" or "Yah is the Son". To the Egyptian ear, the Hebrew string "...לחמעז..." can be pronounced in such a way so as to sound like a reference to the moon (Lah) and birth (moz), as in the name Ahmose.

Ed Goble makes a case for historically justifying the pharaonic name "Tutmoses" converted from the characters to the right of Isis (Facsimile No. 3, Figure 2). But Ed also admits that there must be more going on, because so many Hebrew letters remain; not taking part in his find - so far.

Let's compose a thorough list of the Egyptian symbols (including all the loaves of bread, even the little bun) and their simple Hebrew identifications. Here are the symbols of the complete string:

Gardiner's Q1, throne; Hebrew: "kise" (כסא ,כיסא); Greek transliteration: "κισα".

There is a hidden yod (י) in the ancient Hebrew word for "seat" or "throne", as if the word is spelled so as to avoid being interpreted to mean "as Isis". It is not hard to imagine Ptolemaic Ah-meh-strah-ans deliberately spelling the Hebrew word for "throne" with a yod or a vav (ו) to seat in it a reference to "ise" or "wusa". The modern Hebrew spelling of Isis is איזיס, in imitation of the classical Greek pronunciation Ισις. The Ptolemaic Ah-meh-strah-ans could have imitated the Hebrew word for throne (כסא, "kise") as "κισα" in Greek, and seen in it a reference to the throne goddess.

Gardiner's X1, small loaf of bread, "t" sound; Hebrew: "lehem" (לחם).

Gardiner's H8, egg; Hebrew: "beytsah" (ביצה).

Related to "fine white Egyptian linen". Sounds like "house of the lamb". Substitute "lamb" with lehem from above (John 6:32-33) to see beyt lehem. (Micah 5:2)

Gardiner's G36, swallow, meaning great; Hebrew: "deror" (דרור).

A continuation on the theme that from the small proceeds the great. (Alma 37:7, LDS Doctrine and Covenants 64:34) The Hebrew word "deror" (דרור) also connotes liberty, freedom. (Leviticus 25:10, Isaiah 61:1, John 8:32; 14:6)

Gardiner's D21, mouth; Hebrew: "peh" (פה).

Gardiner's X1, small loaf of bread, "t" sound; Hebrew: "lehem" (לחם).

Gardiner's X1, small bun, "t" sound, feminine marker; Hebrew: "lehem" (לחם).

Multiplied loaves.

Gardiner's G14, vulture, meaning mother; Hebrew: "ozniyah" (עזניה).

Gardiner's R8, temple flag, meaning god, divine; Hebrew: "nes" (נס).

These are the symbols above the raised arm of Figure 2. We should not forget to include the symbols directly above the head of Figure 2. The explanation in Facsimile No. 3 requires that we include these also.

The crown of the mother goddess Hathor (worn by Isis) is a composite of three hieroglyphs: (1) ox horns F13, (2) the solar disk emblematic of the sun god Ra N5, encircled by (3) a serpent (implicit uraeus, not seen in the copied vignette) N6.

Gardiner's N6, sun with uraeus, Re. One potential Hebrew homophone is "raah" (ראה), meaning look, behold, see.

Gardiner's F13, ox horns, meaning beginning. One potential Hebrew interpretation is "reshit" (ראשית), used in reference to the cocreator Hokhmah (Proverbs 4:7; 8:30). The Hebrew aleph (א), Greek letter alpha (Α), first, head, and a reference to the Gods (אלהים), are all implicit in "reshit" (ראשית, Genesis 1:1, Deuteronomy 21:17).

These last three special symbols (two combined in N6) are directly above the head of Figure 2; making a total of 12 symbols to esoterically process as would inspired Ah-meh-strah-ans.

Avram preached the besorah (good tidings, Isaiah 61:1; later translated "gospel", Luke 4:18) "unto the Ah meh strahans". See [1.22]. So their understanding of the coming of an anointed savior could have been prophetic and profound. (Isaiah 19:21-22)

Here then is a complete Hebrew string (anticipating a little Ptolemaic Greek) derived from the Egyptian symbols relevant to Figure 2:

Facsimile No. 3, Figure 2, Hebrew String in standard post-exilic Hebrew/Aramaic letters, and just below it, the same string in more ancient, phonetic, reformed Egyptian characters. Hebrew reads right to left. The string is 38 Hebrew characters long.

Remember what the explanation to Figure 2 says. It reads, "King Pharaoh, whose name is given in the characters above his head."

From the symbols of the Hebrew string above, let us see if we can construct a message that correlates to the Book of Abraham explanation of Facsimile No. 3, Figure 2. For instance, we may see in the available letters of the string, that we can spell the Hebrew words for Pharaoh (פרעח) and King (מלך). The post-exilic Hebrew/Aramaic letter koph (כ ,ך) from the word "kise" (כסא) takes its final form (koph as it appears at the end of words, ך) in the word "melek" (מלך). Among phonetic reformed Egyptian characters (Sinai aleph-bet) there are no final forms of letters.

Just above is a reordering of the letters from the Figure 2 Hebrew string. The final nun (ן) in "ben" (בן), meaning son, comes from the nun (נ) in "ozniyah" (עזניה), meaning osprey or vulture (signifying mother in Egyptian). Each letter is used only once, so the resulting string is also exactly 38 Hebrew characters long. Because the feminine Hebrew word for "beginning" is deliberately placed last (Abraham 2:8), and because the word actually ends with the last letter of the aleph-bet, we may interpret "reshit" (ראשית) to suggest "the beginning and end". (Isaiah 48:12, Revelation 1:8, LDS Doctrine and Covenants 45:7)

It is also important to know that in Ptolemaic times alphanumeric equivalencies were contemplated in Greek and then in Hebrew. Greek Isopsephy and Hebrew Gematria assigned numerical values to letters. For example, the eighth letter of the aleph-bet, het (ח, more anciently ) was seen as equal to the number 8. Such equivalency led to an alphanumeric sensitivity in these languages. Names became associated with numbers! (Revelation 13:17-18)

The reordered string then reads:

"This is Pharaoh, king and child of Egypt (Egyptes), son of Isis. Look to the sign 8 8 8, the beginning and end."

The feminine form of the Hebrew word for Egypt ("Mitsraymah", Genesis 12:10), appears in the line above. This gives the word a double meaning; either referring to the land of Egypt, or to "Mitsraymah" ("Egyptes", Abraham 1:23-25) the ancestral mother of the Hamite Egyptians according to the Book of Abraham. An earlier spelling of the substitute name is preferred over the commonly published "Egyptus" which seems to feature the Roman masculine ending "us".

Of particular interest is the combination of the Semitic words ראה לנס = "raah li-nes" = "look to the sign" which sounds remarkably like the Semitic "Rahleenos, which signifies hieroglyphics." (Abraham 1:14) The Hebrew "raah li-ness" in fact derives from Egyptian hieroglyphics: the solar disk, seraphic serpents, and what appears to be a supporting, possibly sharp triple cross called samekh.

The string , may be read "het het het". The name of each then includes an unseen tav (). That is, "het", spelled , in Proto-Sinaitic symbols, is pronounced "".

The Ah-meh-strah-an minded may see prophetic meaning in the combination of the Hebrew " ", or "het het het", and the symbols that translate to mean "the sign".

The saraph (serpent) and the samekh spell "nes" (נס) meaning "sign". But "saraph" calls to mind "saphar" (ספר) which means "count". This Hebrew word for "count" happens to be spelled with its alphanumeric characters samekh (60), pey (80), resh (200) in increasing order of numeric value (according to standard Hebrew Gematria). Additionally, the ancient samekh symbol pictorially suggests to the mind the need to put the numbers "in order of size". Thus a deeper level of meaning, suggested in the Hebrew "nes" (נס), guides the Ah-meh-strah-an mind to reorder the and implied symbols according to the Ah-meh-strah-an tah rule - in increasing order:

= "nes"  = "sign" → "count ("saphar", ספר) in ascending order". Ah-meh-strah-ans could have recognized this to mean:

Here the reordered Hebrew/Egyptian characters resemble Ah-meh-strah-an prophetic characters (read left to right). The following Ah-meh-strah-an number may be perceived:

    = "a  tah a  tah tah a" = 8 + 10x8 + 10x10x8

= 888 = "eight hundred eighty eight".

The sign of the fiery seraph (serpent) and triple cross samekh pillar or pole , are interpreted to mean "count in ascending order", that is, arrange the "" signs so they express a combination of numbers in ascending order of greatness. Thus the more ancient symbols ( ) which are behind the post-exilic Hebrew "נס ח ח ח" = "nes het het het" = "sign (in ascending order) 8 8 8", is fulfilled, or consummated in the number eight hundred eighty eight. We may then replace " " or "נס ח ח ח" with 888 in translation.

Let us also change the order of the Hebrew words "king" and "Pharaoh" so that they follow the order in the explanation of Figure 2, Facsimile No. 3. Joseph's explanation reads "King Pharaoh ..." The Hebrew sentence now read " ... זה מלך פרעה" = "This is King - Pharaoh ..." which may seam a little redundant until we consider that in Hebrew, "מלך פרעה" = "King - Pharaoh" can be interpreted to mean "King of Pharaoh", so that a greater than Pharaoh can be suggested by the order of the words. The verse now begins to take on a more Messianic meaning, telling of one greater than Pharaoh, and even greater than Moses who was made "a god" (or placed as the gods by Elohim) above Pharaoh.

Moreover, let us consider that the name Ισα = "Isa" (Isis) is a homophone for the Hebrew word "Ishah" (אשה) = "Woman" (which includes the Hebrew word for "a man" = "ish" (אש), Genesis 2:23). This is the description of Havah (חוה), who is "Life", the divine "mother of all living", after whom Eve was named. (Genesis 3:20, Moses 4:26) We note that the Hebrew word for "life" begins with a het,.

We may then review and see the Hebrew word string derived from the symbols above the raised arm and head of Figure 2, as follows:

כיסא לחם ביצה דרור פה לחם לחם עזניה נס ראה ראשית (κισα)

rearranged as:

זה מלך פרעה וילד מצרימה בן יסא ראה לנס ח ח ח ראשית

hebraically interpreted as:

which reads

"This is King of a great house and child of Egypt, Son of Woman. Look to 888, the beginning and end."

Name of the Father

According to scripture, the "name which is above every name" is "ΙΗΣΟΥΣ" ("IĒSOUS", Philippians 2:9-11). According to Greek Isopsephy:

Ι = 10, Η = 8, Σ = 200, Ο = 70, Υ = 400, Σ = 200.

Thus ΙΗΣΟΥΣ = 10 + 8 + 200 + 70 + 400 + 200 = 888.

But the name "IĒSOUS" (ΙΗΣΟΥΣ) is a Greek spelling of the Hebrew name "Yeshua" (ישוע), meaning "Salvation" or "he will save". (Matthew 1:21, Job 13:16, Isaiah 12:2) The more complete and ancient spelling of this name is , יהושוע, "YEHOSHUA", spelled here with two "nails" or "vavim" (ו,used as "hooks" on which the full weight of the veil of the tabernacle was hung; Exodus 26:31-32, Hebrews 10:19-20).

"YEHOSHUA" means "the Eternal is Salvation". The name was revealed by Moses and given to his prophetic successor as a new name. (Number 13:16)

"Endless and Eternal" is a name of both God the Father and the Son. (Moses 7:35; 6:57, LDS Doctrine and Covenants 19:10) This is a divine name of GOD (Elohim) that the Gods (Elohim) command should should not be taken in vain. (Exodus 20:7)

By replacing 888 = ΙΗΣΟΥΣ, with the more ancient and original  יהושוע, we obtain from the characters above the head of Figure 2, a Messianic message in pure Hebrew: