Abraham Facsimile 2

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To see Facsimile 2 click here.

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Lexical notes

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Exegesis

On the relative difficulty of interpretation of this facsimile

While the other two facsimiles printed with the Book of Abraham have connections, more or less, with the narrative events of the text (facsimile no. 3 only implicitly), facsimile no. 2 has no obvious narrative connections, and, in the end, very little by way of connection in any other sense as well. This vignette, it has been pointed out by LDS and non-LDS scholars, is not so closely connected with the other two. Whereas there is good evidence to believe that facsimiles nos. 1 and 3 were on the same scroll, there seems to be no doubt that facsimile no. 2 represents a separate piece of papyrus (arguable not only on Egyptological grounds, but according to the journals and descriptions of the saints of and visitors to Nauvoo). The relative lack of connection with the text found in this facsimile establishes in advance the difficulty of interpretation.

More still, the subject matter of this vignette, according to Joseph's "explanation," deals with issues, themes, and events nowhere else engaged in scripture. Though there are some ties to Abraham's third chapter, all ties are only distant and difficult. Complicating all of this still more, the "issues, themes, and events" so unique to this facsimile are not only unique because they do not appear anywhere else, but because they are of a most extremely difficult nature: names of planets and hierarchies of stars, powers of interplanetary government and questions of Egyptian and Hebrew names for such authorities, even portions not to be revealed until another time. The difficulties raised by these complications seem almost insurmountable.

Also unique concerning this particular facsimile is the relative wealth of knowledge concerning its ritual use. Though vignettes like facsimiles nos. 1 and 3 are far more common archaeologically, details of a more specific nature have surfaced concerning hypocephali (the technical name for the class of documents represented by facsimile no. 2). In the end, however, this proves to be a further complication for interpretation. Whereas the depictions in the first and third facsimiles are only loosely tied to larger ritual contexts, allowing for a certain vacillation on the part of LDS scholars in their interpretation of the Abrahamic significance of the vignettes, the more particular nature of the hypocephalus has drawn criticism that is harder to combat for Joseph's explanation. The known details of Egyptian religion concerning this particular drawing seem more absolutely to veto Joseph's interpretation/translation.

Finally, it must be admitted from the very start that this particular vignette is more a question of the Egyptian language than it is of Egyptian art. While the other two facsimiles allow for artistic approaches to the drawings, opening thereby some possibilities for careful interpretation, the less artistic nature of this facsimile closes up much of these possibilities (not to mention the difficulty imposed by the relative unclarity of what remains artistic in this facsimile). All in all, it must be admitted that facsimile no. 2 imposes the greatest barriers to fruitful interpretation.

At the very same time, however, it must be admitted that--perhaps for all the same reasons--facsimile no. 2 is by far the most interesting of the three. Its departure from the text of the Book of Abraham makes it all the more fascinating, its venture into the unknown and otherwise unexplored, its curious collection of names, etc. All these things make facsimile no. 2 a most wonderful source of light and truth. Though it might prove to be the most difficult of subjects for study in LDS scripture, it might well prove to be among the most fruitful as well.

Hypocephalus

This facsimile is a representation of a hypocephalus, a technical term for a whole class of vignettes (more properly "amulets") that look similar to this facsimile. The word is Greek for "under the head," as the amulet was placed under or otherwise attached to the head of a mummified individual. The role the hypocephalus played in Egyptian religion is of peculiar significance for the Abrahamic context of this facsimile.

Chapter 162 of the Book of the Dead (called literally by the Egyptians the "Book of Going Forth by Day") provides specific instructions for the creation of a hypocephalus, and it also gives some indication of its purpose and use. The chapter itself is titled "Chapter [book, spell, utterance, etc.] to cause to come into being a flame beneath the head of a spirit [one's ka]." The chapter title already says a good deal: as the amulet was placed beneath the head, it was intended eventually to cause the head to be engulfed in flames, in a process that was meant to resurrect the dead person. The chapter provides some specific words that are to be spoken over the hypcephalus when it is created, part of which runs: "His [i.e., the person's who receives the amulet] place will be encircled with flame and he will be a god in the realm of the dead and will not be repuled from any gate [veil] of the Netherworld in very truth." Very broadly speaking, the hypocephalus was meant to aid the resurrection of a deceased individual, thereby making him (or her?) a god enthroned and encircled with fire who holds the keys to every veil. But these broad interpretations can only be a sort of beginning.

The hypocephalus, as is clear from the same chapter of the Book of the Dead, was focused on the figure of the cow marked in facsimile no. 2 as fig. 5. The vignette was doubled with a small statuette of a cow, made of gold, the latter applied to the throat of the deceased, as the hypocephalus was to the back of the head. The placement of the statuette was accompanied with a plea and an associated (and most explicit) curse: "O you most hidden of hidden gods in heaven [Amun], regard the corpse of your son; keep him safe in the God's domain. This is a book [spell, saying, prayer] of great secrecy--let no one see it for that would be an abomination. But the one who knows it and keeps it hidden shall continue to exist." Even as the cow was pressed to the throat of the individual, he or she was given an incredibly valuable secret and commissioned to keep it safe and secret in order to be exalted (and what is the significance here of the cow being at one's throat?).

There is good evidence that the papyrus of a hypocephalus was, previous to its being attached to the head of the deceased, rolled up and used as a musical instrument by the leader of a sort of chorus as the group sang the rites of the dead. The chorus was apparently made up entirely of female dancers, and the ritual took place precisely at the doorway of the resting place, at, as it were, the veil that opened onto the realm of the dead. Besides these few details, knowledge concerning the ritual function of the hypocephalus itself is rather limited. It is clear, from the above and from the content on the vignette itself, that it was used as a sort of reminder of rites performed during the life of the deceased, so that the dead would know what is to be said at what point of the journey that remainded for him or her.

By this point it ought to be obvious, however, that all of these details seem to have very little to do with what is pictured on the hypocephalus (except, of course, for fig. 5 of facsimile no. 2), and perhaps still less to do with Joseph's explanations of the facsimile. The fact of the matter is, however, that so little is known of hypocephali that much work remains to be done, and that work can only begin, for the Latter-day Saint, with the Abrahamic context of this hypocephalus.

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