Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Latter-day Saint
“Abraham the Seer”

“Abraham the Seer”

Last updated on: October 24, 2023 at 2:25 pm by Dan Peterson

0 Comments

“Abraham the Seer” 2023-10-24T14:25:03-06:00 Dan Peterson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Aswan and Abu Simbel are both located near Lake Nasser, in the lower right quadrant of this map. (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

No day that begins with a visit to the pyramid plateau just outside of Giza can’t be all bad. But it has been a long day, including a flight from Cairo south to Aswan, and we need to be up at 3 AM for a long drive to Abu Simbel and back. So I’ll delay reporting on the day’s festivities until at least tomorrow.

But I’m going to share with you a few more passages, principally what might be termed “summary passages,” from BYU Studies Quarterly 61/4 (2022. A special issue, it was created by Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, and John S. Thompson, and is entitled A Guide to the Book of Abraham. I hope that they’re at least somewhat tantalizing; I hope that, if you’re interested, you will obtain a copy of the full volume and read it.

“Zeptah and Egyptes,” pages 101-106

Based on examination of the Kirtland Egyptian manuscripts, the authors say that our current Egyptuswas originally written as Zep-tah or Zeptah. Accordingly, the conclusion of this short section of the book is quite interesting: “So while we may not be able to currently answer these questions entirely what can be said is that the name Zeptah in the Book of Abraham is, arguably, authentically Egyptian. (106)

“The Name of the Lord,” pages 107-112

“Knowing something about the religious, mythical, and symbolic significance of names in the world of the ancient Near East thus helps us understand why the Lord revealed his name to Abraham in this specific narrative and theological framework. It also provides an ancient context that makes sense of Abraham’s account.” (111-112)

“Abraham’s Converts in Haran,” pages 113-116

“The subtle change in the Book of Abraham’s parallel passage to Genesis 12:5 [which is Abraham 2:15], accordingly, finds support both from ancient sources and from modern scholarship.” (115)

“The Plains of Moreh,” pages 117-120

“None of this is obvious from reading the King James translation of Genesis 12. So, even if the translation of the Book of Abraham is in some degree dependent on the KJV, the underlying narrative captures something deeper and more authentic to the ancient world of Abraham.” (120)

“The Abrahamic Covenant,” pages 121-124

“This structure helps make sense of the content of Abraham’s covenant and shows that “the covenant of the Book of Abraham follows the pattern of treaties and covenants in his day.” So while the content of the Abrahamic covenant is what is most important for Latter-day Saints today, the form or structure of the covenant as depicted in the Book of Abraham is one way the text can be grounded in the ancient world from which it purports to derive.” (123)

“Did Abraham Lie about His Wife, Sarai?” pages 125-128

Using the Book of Abraham and a great deal of ancient material, this article argues that Abraham may not actually have been lying when he identified Sarai as his sister, rather than as his wife. I was a little bit surprised to see no mention in this chapter of Thomas W. Mackay, “Abraham in Egypt: A Collation of Evidence for the Case of the Missing Wife,” BYU Studies Quarterly 10/4 (): 429ff. (https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol10/iss4/6/). Perhaps I simply missed it.

“Abraham the Seer,” pages 129-133

“The running theme of Abraham as a seer adds a level of depth and narrative sophistication to both the Genesis account and the account of Abraham’s stargazing in the Book of Abraham.” (133)

“Abrahamic Astronomy,” pages 134-137

“This could explain why the Book of Abraham contains an apparently prescientific description of the cosmos rooted in the ancient world. This could only be feasibly accomplished if Abraham communicated to the Egyptians and likened the cosmos to gospel truths in ways they understood. . . . [T]he cosmology in the text can . . . be grounded in the ancient world.” (137)

I can’t help but be reminded, in this context, of the approach taken in the fourth chapter of John H. Walton and D. Brent Sandy, The Lost World of Scripture: Ancient Literary Culture and Biblical Authority (Downers Grove IL: IVP Academic, 2013), which is entitled “Proposition 4: the Bible Contains No New Revelation About the Workings and Understanding of the Material World.” In it, .the authors reiterate that proposition often enough that even the slowest of their readers will eventually get the point that, in their view, the Bible contains no new revelation about the workings and understanding of the material world. (See my blog entry “Genesis 1 versus Science?” (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2023/08/genesis-1-versus-science.html)

“Shinehah, the Sun,” pages 138-141

“So while the Egyptian word for the sun itself is not the same as in the Book of Abraham, one of the Egyptian words for the sun’s ecliptic (the path of the sun through the sky) as attested in Abraham’s day is.” (141)

“Kolob, the Governing One,” pages 142-149

“While questions about the identification of Kolob still remain, there are some very tantalizing pieces of evidence that, when brought together, reinforce the overall plausible antiquity of this astronomical concept unique to the Book of Abraham.” (149)

“The Divine Council,” pages 150-154

“One thing that differentiates the Book of Abraham’s account of the Creation from the biblical account in Genesis is that the Book of Abraham mentions plural Gods as the agents carrying out the Creation.” (150)

“Over time, a consensus has been reached that the Bible does indeed portray a multiplicity of gods, even if there remains individual scholarly disagreement over some of the finer details.” (151)

“In contrast to typical Jewish and Christian belief in Joseph Smith’s day, the Book of Abraham frankly depicts a plurality of Gods and even uses specific language (‘took counsel among themselves,’ Abr. 4:26) that invokes the presence of what is now widely recognized by scholars as the unquestionably ancient concept of the divine council.” (152)

The authors cite an extremely interesting parallel in the grave stela of Tjetji, an important administrator under the early Eleventh Dynasty (ca. 2134-2060 B.C.) pharaoh Intef II. (152-153)

“In any case, with the exception of the Bible, the surviving ancient texts that overtly depict the divine council were unknown in the Prophet’s day. While the theological implications of the divine council remain to be fully explored and articulated, what can be said with a fair degree of reasonableness is that the Book of Abraham’s depiction of the divine council shares features present in other ancient Near Eastern texts, some of which date to Abraham’s day. This reinforces belief that the Book of Abraham is authentically ancient.” (153-154)

Posted from Aswan, Egypt

Previous Post

October 23, 2023

A stunning new museum, other wonders, and the Book of Abraham

Next Post

October 25, 2023 Of Arrogance and Ramses II

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"Becoming Brigham: Episode 40Thank you Dan and Company for bringing us closer to understanding the ..."

Theodore Brandley

Notes toward planning my funeral

"The offending post is still there on my feed. You're referring to the "Celebration" etc ..."

Phil Leaning

Notes toward planning my funeral

""It’s not as hard as you think, you know.” If nothing else, Phillips nailed the ..."

mike

Two experiences with C. S. Lewis ..."

"Here is the section on the Word of Wisdom in the Church's General Handbook of ..."

mike

Two experiences with C. S. Lewis ..."

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 March 2014 August 2013 February 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

In 1 Peter, what will the proven genuineness of faith result in?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Eternal life Blessings Praise, glory and honor when Jesus is revealed Salvation