The Idolatrous God Elkenah

Authors

Stephen O. Smoot
John Gee
Kerry Muhlestein
John S. Thompson

Keywords

Book of Abraham, false gods, human sacrifice, Elkenah

Abstract

The Book of Abraham tells how Abraham’s kinsfolk worshipped false gods. One of these was “the god of Elkenah” (Abr. 1:6). When Abraham preached against the worship of this god, he said that his kinsfolk “hearkened not unto [his] voice, but endeavored to take away [his] life by the hand of the priest of Elkenah” (v. 7). Not only did the priest try to take Abraham’s life, but “this priest had offered upon this altar three virgins at one time, . . . because of their virtue; they would not bow down to worship gods of wood or of stone, therefore they were killed upon this altar” (v. 11). Fortunately, the angel of the Lord delivered Abraham out of the priest’s hands before he could be sacrificed (vv. 15–20; Facsimile 1).

Recommended Citation

Smoot, Stephen O.; Gee, John; Muhlestein, Kerry; and Thompson, John S. (2022) "The Idolatrous God Elkenah," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 61: Iss. 4, Article 11.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol61/iss4/11