Joseph Smith Hypocephalus

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A copy of the Hypocephalus of Sheshonq, from the Kirtland Egyptian Papers
Facsimile No. 2 from the Times and Seasons, with the missing sections (lacunae) filled in.

The Joseph Smith Hypocephalus (also known as the Hypocephalus of Sheshonq)[a] was a papyrus fragment, part of a larger collection of papyri known as the Joseph Smith Papyri, found in the Gurneh area of Thebes, Egypt, around the year 1818.[1] The owner's name, Sheshonq, is found in the hieroglyphic text on said hypocephalus. Three hypocephali in the British Museum (37909, 8445c, and 8445f) are similar to the Joseph Smith Hypocephalus both in layout and text and were also found in Thebes.[1]

A woodcut image of the hypocephalus was initially published on March 15, 1842, in Volume III, No. 10 of the Latter Day Saint newspaper Times and Seasons, two years before the death of Joseph Smith, who was the editor of the Times and Seasons. This image is included as one of several appendices to the Book of Abraham, where it is called Facsimile No. 2. The Book of Abraham has been considered scripture by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since 1880. The location of the original document is unknown.

Hypocephali[]

Hypocephali are small disk-shaped objects, generally made of stuccoed linen,[2] but also of papyrus,[3] bronze, gold, wood, or clay, which ancient Egyptians from the Late Period onwards placed under the heads of their dead.

They were believed to protect the deceased, causing the head and body to be enveloped in light and warmth, thereby making the deceased divine.[4] Hypocephali symbolized the Eye of Ra (later the Eye of Horus), which represented the sun, and the scenes portrayed on them relate to Egyptian ideas of resurrection and life after death, connecting them with the Osirian resurrection myth.[5]

To the ancient Egyptians, the daily setting and rising of the sun was a symbol of death and rebirth. The hypocephalus represented all that the sun encircles — the world of the living, over which it passed during the day, was depicted in the upper half, and that of the dead, which it crossed during the night, in the lower portion.[6]

They were part of the burial materials created by Egyptians from the Twenty-sixth Dynasty onward and are considered anachronistic to the time period that Abraham would have lived.[2] Chapter 162 of the Book of the Dead version of that period contain directions for the making and use of hypocephali.[7][8][9]

LDS Scholar Royal Skousen has argued that Smith made a mistake when he connected the facsimiles to the revealed text. For Skousen, sentences referencing the facsimiles were interlinear or margin notes that were not part of the actual revealed text. As such, he believes the facsimiles themselves are not part of the Book of Abraham and are extracanonical.[10]

Within the large circle of hypocephali are compartments containing hieroglyphic text and figures which are extracts from Chapter CLXII of the Egyptian Book of the Dead.[11] P. J. de Horrack stated that the scenes portrayed in hypocephali relate in all their details to the resurrection and the renewed birth after death...symbolized by the course of the Sun, the living image of divine generation. The circle is divided to represent two celestial hemispheres and the cycle of renewal.

Lacunae and reconstructions[]

As stated by LDS Egyptologist Michael D. Rhodes:

A careful examination of Facsimile No. 2 shows that there is a difference between most of the hieroglyphic signs and the signs on the right third of the figure on the outer edge as well as the outer portions of the sections numbered 12–15. These signs are Hieratic, not hieroglyphic, and are inverted, or upside down, to the rest of the text. In fact, they are a fairly accurate copy of lines 2, 3, and 4 of the Joseph Smith Papyrus XI, which contains a portion of the Book of Breathings. Especially clear is the word snsn, in section 14, and part of the name of the mother of the owner of the papyrus, (tay-)uby.t, repeated twice on the outer edge. An ink drawing of the hypocephalus in the Church Historian's office shows these same areas as being blank. It is likely that these portions were destroyed on the original hypocephalus and someone (the engraver, one of Joseph Smith's associates, or Joseph himself) copied the lines from the Book of Breathings papyrus for aesthetic purposes.[1]

Interpretation of images (Figures No. 1-7, 22-23)[]

There is still some ambiguity regarding how these Egyptian names and text may have been pronounced.[12]

The numbers labeling the figures were added to correspond to explanations of the images and text given by Joseph Smith.

Figure No. 1[]

A.
B.
A: detail of Figures 1, 22, 23. B: the equivalent figure from the Hypocephalus of Tanetirt, showing four heads on the central neck.

Figure 1 has been described as the god Re-Atum, typically depicted with four heads. The original copy is missing the head portion of this figure, and it is possible Smith copied the heads and shoulders of Figure 2.[13]

Left of center is the was scepter, or DJAM[clarification needed] scepter.[14]

Joseph Smith explained figure 1 as;

Kolob, signifying the first creation, nearest to the celestial, or the residence of God. First in government, the last pertaining to the measurement of time. The measurement according to celestial time, which celestial time signifies one day to a cubit. One day in Kolob is equal to a thousand years according to the measurement of this earth, which is called by the Egyptians Jah-oh-eh.[15]

Figures No. 22 and 23[]

Figures 22 and 23 are apes with lunar disks appearing above their heads.[13]

Joseph Smith explained figures 22 and 23 as: "the medium of Kli-flos-is-es, or Hah-ko-kau-beam, the stars represented by numbers (figures) 22 and 23, receiving light from the revolutions of Kolob."[15]

Figure No. 2[]

Detail of Figure No. 2

On this shoulders are jackal heads. In his left hand is the staff of Wepwawet. The figure to the right was not present in the damaged original.[13]

Joseph Smith stated that this figure;

Stands next to Kolob, called by the Egyptians Oliblish, which is the next grand governing creation near to the celestial or the place where God resides; holding the key of power also, pertaining to other planets; as revealed from God to Abraham, as he offered sacrifice upon an altar, which he had built unto the Lord.[15]

Michael D. Rhodes identified the hieroglyphs to below as: "The name of this Mighty God."

D21N35
N35
R8Z1Q3
I9
O29
Z1
D36
"The name of this Mighty God."[16]
Egyptian hieroglyphs

Figure No. 3[]

A.
B.
C.
A: detail of Figure No. 3. B: vignette from the Ta-Sherit-Min scroll, from which Figure No. 3 was likely copied. C: a similar image in this location, but facing toward the centre and including a representation of Khepri, from the Hypocephalus of Neshorpakhered.

Figure 3 is located in the missing section of the hypocephalus. Prior to printing, the section was filled in. The text on the rim surrounding the figure has been replaced by text from the unrelated Breathing Permit of Hôr.[17] Similarly, figure 3 is also foreign to the hypocephalus. As Hugh Nibley noted, "The boat in the picture is identical with another piece of Joseph Smith Papyrus, namely JSP IV, which accompanies chapter 101 of the Book of the Dead."[17] Despite the striking resemblance, Nibley and some other apologists feel that the boat is inspired, because boats sometimes do appear in that section on hypocephali. Egyptologists dispute this, arguing that just like the surrounding text, the inclusion by Joseph Smith (or his engravers) is irrelevant.[13]