BYU Studies Quarterly
Article Title
Egyptianisms in the Book of Abraham
Keywords
Book of Abraham, Egypt, Joseph Smith, translation
Abstract
One way of determining whether the Book of Abraham is a translation of an underlying Egyptian document or whether it was originally composed in English is to see if the text contains what might be called Egyptianisms, or literary and linguistic features of the Egyptian language. The presence of Egyptianisms in the text of the Book of Abraham “might indicate some knowledge of Egyptian on Joseph Smith’s part.” Because “Egyptian was not really understood in Joseph Smith’s day,” any knowledge of Egyptian Joseph Smith may have possessed could only have come by revelation.
Recommended Citation
Smoot, Stephen O.; Gee, John; Muhlestein, Kerry; and Thompson, John S.
(2022)
"Egyptianisms in the Book of Abraham,"
BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 61:
Iss.
4, Article 34.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol61/iss4/34