Historical Predynastic Egypt vs. Book of Abraham False Narrative

[Shulem]

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Egyptology proves that Upper and Lower Egypt were unified under a single king whereby Narmer/Menes established the First Dynasty in 3000 BC.

Historical records prove how the United States of America was founded by President George Washington whereby the country was established in 1776 AD.
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Joseph Smith asserts that Egypt was founded after Noah’s flood by a woman named Egyptus during the biblical time line in 2300 BC. The dating and founder in Smith’s story is absolutely wrong and so far off base percentage wise it would be like a future historian thousands of years from now saying America was founded in 2202 AD by anyone other than George Washington!

Think about that!

Mormons today can’t have their cake and eat it too. They have to decide which date they want to stick with: 3000 BC or 2300 BC in which Egypt was founded. But the Church today plays both sides of the fence and out of one cheek they mumble the date 3000 BC and out of the other cheek they mumble 2300 BC. Both can’t be true! The Church is lying in effort to play both sides in placating their followers. That is dishonest!

The Book of Abraham is proven false right out of the gate and LDS Egyptologists know this. They have no apologetic excuse to justify Smith’s errors.

Think about that.

[Shulem]

video clip:

Richard Lyman Bushman, New Perspectives on Joseph Smith and Translation – Utah State University March 16th, 2017 (video) History and Context—Richard Bushman


Dear Richard Bushman,

I’m not about to argue with you about using the term pseudepigrapha which aptly describes Joseph Smith’s Book of Abraham. Well said!

But I don’t know if you have fully considered the implications of what you are saying. If you were to step into a time machine and go back to Nauvoo in 1842 to directly confront the prophet Joseph Smith and inform him that his work is mere pseudepigrapha, how would he react? How do you think the saints would receive your message? How do you think they would perceive what you are saying in comparison to what Joseph Smith was actually claiming?

I think, sir, you would have a serious problem if you were to go back to Nauvoo in a time machine and attempt to steady Joseph Smith’s ark and tell the saints what you really think of the Book of Abraham. Surely you agree that Smith was aware of noncanonical books including the Apocrypha. Unlike those books, Smith proclaimed his work as revelation from God in restoring the Book of Abraham and that the restoration of the Book of Joseph was on its heels.

I think if you went back to Nauvoo in 1842 and gave your speech you would be subject to disciplinary action and a refusal to recant would lead to excommunication.

Sincerely,

Shulem

[Philo Sofee]

That's true Shulem, but Joseph is a dead prophet. Today's prophet whose revelations and prophecies are the only true ones now thinks it's fine. You see, Nelson does not know how to save the Book of Abraham, and he dares not opine on it, so he puts the apologists out there to do the dirty work, and once they achieve their objective, Nelson will put them out to pasture without any thanks for their stellar services.

[Shulem]

That's true Shulem, but Joseph is a dead prophet. Today's prophet whose revelations and prophecies are the only true ones now thinks it's fine. You see, Nelson does not know how to save the Book of Abraham, and he dares not opine on it, so he puts the apologists out there to do the dirty work, and once they achieve their objective, Nelson will put them out to pasture without any thanks for their stellar services.

Dear brother Philo,

President Nelson is a has-been whose welcome with the Church is pretty much worn out. His revelations amount to little more than policy changes and decisions on how to run the logistics of a multi-billion dollar corporation, how to hide the money, and what programs to keep and which ones to get rid of. His prophecies consist of statements that are regurgitated messages of things that have been repeated time and time again by his predecessors, ad nauseam.

The lighted pen he uses to write whatever it is he writes in his bedroom late at night after dismissing his tired wife is a far cry from how Joseph Smith got his revelations! Emma was at least allowed to dictate while Joseph translated the gold plates into the Book of Mormon. But poor Wendy has to leave the bedroom in order for her husband to write inspired stuff in which we know not of. And if those things are so great in which his lighted pen is writing, why are they not announced as such to the Church for a vote to add them into the Doctrine & Covenants? But Mormon canon is a closed book just as the Bible is a closed book for the Christian church today.

I would like to ask President Nelson why do official publications of the Church attribute the birth of ancient Egypt to both 3000 BC and 2300 BC? Both cannot be right. Make up your mind, please!

Which is it?

[ ] 3000 BC
[ ] 2300 BC

[Shulem]

The Bible states that Abram was 75 years old when he began his journey to Canaan prior to going into Egypt, but the Book of Abraham says he was 62 years old. So, according to biblical chronology for the lives of Abraham’s forefathers it could be argued whether Noah was still alive when Abram left Ur and went into Canaan and finally Egypt. The timing of Noah’s death is very close at hand. But the dating positively confirms that many of the early post-flood Patriarchs were yet alive during the time Abram went down into Egypt when famine prevailed throughout all the land of Chaldea and even Abram’s father (Tera) was sorely tormented because of the famine. Abraham’s ancestors as follows (died in the order listed) were alive when he was in Egypt:

Reu
Serug
Terah
Arphaxad
Shem
Eber

Joseph Smith knew several grandfathers were still alive during the ministry of Abraham as attested in the Lectures on Faith:

Q. How many with Abraham?
A. Eight.
Q. What are their names?
A. Nahor, Abraham’s brother, Terah, Serug, Reu, Eber, Selah, Arphaxed, and Shem.

So, my question for enquiring minds is what happened to Abraham’s grandfathers during the famine when Abram went down into Egypt to acquire sustenance? The Genesis account and the Book of Abraham make for a terrible story in not taking into account how the entire patriarchal family managed to survive the famine. Here we have Abram (vile Asiatic) going down into Egypt and sitting on Pharaoh’s throne and wearing the king’s crown while his poor grandfathers are starving up north!

The whole story is ridiculous beyond measure. There is no accounting for how the patriarchal family survived the famine and believe it or not, according to the chronology, Shem and Eber outlived Abraham! For those who are interested, I discuss the ridiculous long lives and fabricated priesthood ordination ages of the antediluvian Patriarchs in this thread:

Fictitious Priesthood Ordination Ages of the Patriarchs NOW Exposed!

So, it must be understood the business of Abram going down into Egypt to escape famine and provide no information to what became of his living ancestors is a hole in the script for the Bible and the Book of Abraham. Interestingly enough we learn in the Book of Abraham that young Abram somehow manage to acquire the very records of his forefathers in spite of the fact that so many of them were still alive and two of which outlived him:

But the records of the fathers, even the patriarchs, concerning the right of Priesthood, the Lord my God preserved in mine own hands . . . . for the records have come into my hands, which I hold unto this present time.

I find it curious how young Abram managed to acquire the records of his fathers who certainly outranked him on the patriarchal scale -- especially Shem. The story does not ring true, and I must agree with Richard Bushman that the story is pseudepigrapha! It’s clear to me that according to many modern scholars, Abraham never really existed but is nothing more than folklore to inspire religious devotion to the Jewish religion. The holes in the script between Geneses and Smith’s account are nothing but red flags that show the whole story is religious fiction.

[Shulem]

So, my question for enquiring minds is what happened to Abraham’s grandfathers during the famine when Abram went down into Egypt to acquire sustenance? The Genesis account and the Book of Abraham make for a terrible story in not taking into account how the entire patriarchal family managed to survive the famine.

It could be said there was a disconnect between Abram and his grandfathers, except of course for Shem who was Melchizedek the great high priest and blessed son of Noah. But Abram’s father (Tera) and his other grandfathers became his mortal enemies as explained in the Book of Abraham:

• My fathers, having turned from their righteousness

• their hearts were set to do evil

• they turned their hearts to the sacrifice of the heathen. . . . endeavored to take away my life

• I (Jehovah) have heard thee, and have come down to deliver thee, and to take thee away from thy father’s house, and from all thy kinsfolk

In spite of the storyline disconnecting Abraham with what seems the majority of his grandfathers, the Bible conveniently provides a record of those folks and tells us the exact age of when each of them died which makes one wonder how that was recorded in Abraham’s records seeing he was a castoff. It makes no sense that Abraham and his descendants (Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph) would have known those vital statistics because father Abraham was cut off from his grandfathers other than Shem (Melchizedek) who was said to have lived to the age of 610 years and outlived Abraham by 35 years. And in those days there were wars and contentions and so it makes no sense that Abraham and Shem would have known the death dates of Abraham’s idolatrous and wicked forefathers. The following forefathers perished prior to Abraham’s own death and yet the Bible tells us exactly how old they were when they died:

• Reu died at age 239

• Serug died at age 230

• Tera died at age 205

• Arphaxad died at age 438

These are red flags that turn the Bible and the Book of Abraham on its head.

[Shulem]

And now to drop the other shoe.



Biblical dating meshed with Smith’s Abrahamic time line is at complete variance with Egyptian chronology and any attempt to join them together is simply untenable. Take for example Shem the son of Noah who is said to have lived for 610 years. Biblical Shem was 108 years old when the flood waters subsided and yet he outlived Abraham! Obviously, the story is nothing short of sensational fiction! Right?

So what is the other shoe that I am about to drop? Well, the Church willingly admits that the unification of Egypt under a single king did in fact occur in 3000 BC and Egyptologists Gee & Muhlestein will be the first to admit that as they do in their reasonable publications of ancient history. But dating Shem’s life beyond Abraham is too fantastic and cannot be written into the timeline. In order to include Shem into real Egyptian chronology it becomes necessary to date him to have lived prior to 3000 BC in which his brother Ham was attributed to having been the egg in which Egyptus was later born. By placing Shem at the time of the unification it makes for a situation that turns the biblical timeline on its head:

• 3000 BC Egyptian Unification while Shem and Ham are alive

• 2500 BC Shem dies at age 610

So, the shoe is this: When do Gee & Muhlestein date Abraham who died before Shem? Bear in mind that the time shown above for Shem’s passing is when the great pyramids in Giza were built!

SNAP!

And to make matters worse, 115 years after Abraham died, guess who was standing in the presence of an Egyptian king and became the second ruler of all Egypt at the age of 39? If you guessed Joseph, you’re correct! That makes Joseph the grand vizier in about 2400 BC!

Snap, again!

But hold on, it gets worse, much worse! According to the biblical timeline Joseph was Pharaoh’s vizier at age 39 but in 215 years, guess what happens? If you guessed that Moses lead the children of Israel out of Egypt during the Exodus in 2185 BC, you’re correct! Now who is John Gee going to name as the Pharaoh of the Exodus? Bear in mind that this is all taking place during the Old Kingdom period of Egyptian history!

Snap, again!


Philo Sofee, are you still there?

[Shulem]

But hold on, it gets worse, much worse! According to the biblical timeline Joseph was Pharaoh’s vizier at age 39 but in 215 years, guess what happens? If you guessed that Moses lead the children of Israel out of Egypt during the Exodus in 2185 BC, you’re correct! Now who is John Gee going to name as the Pharaoh of the Exodus? Bear in mind that this is all taking place during the Old Kingdom period of Egyptian history!

The Exodus after Israel’s sojourn in Egypt for 215 years:

The figure found in Exodus 12:40,41 of “430 years” for Israel’s sojourn in Egypt is a gross error made by priests at the council of Jamnia (near Joppa) who compiled the Masorete (Hebrew) text in AD 90. Their translation which has survived in our present KJV Bible must be rejected as corrupted text. The Septuagint and Samaritan translations as well as Josephus account that the 430 figure is the time span between Abraham first entering Canaan and Moses leaving Egypt. New Testament teachings (Gal 3:16,17; Acts 7:6) support the timeline of the Exodus occurring 430 years after God covenanted with Abraham in the strange land of Canaan. The 430 year period may be broken down into two periods:

215 years (Abraham enters Canaan to Jacob enters Egypt)
+ 215 years (Jacob enters Egypt to Moses leaves Egypt)
= 430 years total

We may safely reject the 430 year Hebrew sojourn in Egypt because the numbers don’t reasonably add up. How can the four generations of Levi, Kohath, Amram, and Moses fit into a time span of 430 years? We learn in Ex 6:16-20 that Levi lived 137 years, Kohath lived 133 years, Amram lived 137 years, and Moses was 80 years old at the time of the Exodus. The four generations can’t span 430 years!

Assume for the sake of argument that a 430 year period of Hebrew bondage was correct. The following scenario is the only mathematical way to make it work, but the outcome is ludicrous:

Joseph was 39 when his older brother Levi (3rd son of Jacob) came into Egypt. Let us assume that Levi was 57 when he and his family settled in Egypt to begin the 430 year countdown.

Year & Event

1 Levi at age 57 settles in Egypt
80 Levi at age 137 begat Kohath and died that same year
213 Kohath at age 133 begat Amram and died that same year
350 Amram at age 137 begat Moses and died that same year
430 Moses at age 80 leads Israel out of Egypt

Abracadabra! We now have 430 years in Egypt.

[Shulem]

The two kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt — that is, respectively, of the south and the north — were united around 3000 B.C. by a southern ruler who is known as Menes. (He is generally believed to be the same person as “Narmer,” whose famous “palette” is displayed near the entrance to Cairo’s Egyptian Museum.)

The lotus flower is more than a simple water lily, Jan 4, 2019

Doctor Peterson,

How does the dating of 3000 BC, when Egypt was a flourishing nation under the banner of a powerful First Dynasty king, coincide with Smith’s biblical timeline of which he fully endorsed in his own scripture?

Let’s calculate, shall we? Abram was born precisely 292 years after the flood. So, in relation to your statement of Narmer and 3000 BC, please state an approximate date in which you think Abram was born.

Doctor, I’m here at Discuss Mormonism awaiting your intelligent and mathematical reply. If you refuse to answer, I will assume you concede the argument and admit that Smith’s revelations of the biblical timeline are false and the story given in chapter one of the Book of Abraham has no historical merit.

I fully expect you not to reply because you know I’m right. You know the story Smith told is not historical by any means.

You see, I beat you at your own game.

[Shulem]

Joseph Smith’s approach to the Bible had one major fatal flaw and that flaw also encompasses the Book of Abraham which includes the Facsimiles 1-3 as published in Times and Seasons. What is that flaw?

He perceived that all things written in Jewish scripture were literal representations of genuine history and as amazing as some claims were, he believed them to be literally true. I do not think he ever considered the Jewish Bible was a mixture of true history coupled with and mixed with false pseudepigraphal-like writings designed to bolster faith and establish myth attributing to the supremacy of the Jewish religion. I think Joseph Smith was like a modern evangelical Christian who takes the Bible literally at its word. Smith’s only concession with flaws in the Bible was in admitting that there were mistranslations. But he corrected those mistranslations through his new translation of the Bible and when placed in the same hand as the Book of Mormon the errors were eliminated. Thus, Smith’s new translation and Book of Mormon would become one in his hand -- the literal word of God given by the chosen seer of the last dispensation! In addition, the Book of Abraham was given in the Times and Seasons as additional revelation *authored* by the prophet Joseph Smith! Nobody had right to give revelation or scripture to the entire Church except it be the President of the Church who is the prophet, seer, and revelator, and the only one who holds the keys to the final dispensation preparatory to the return of Jesus Christ to the earth; accordingly, when he would come to the temple and establish the last millennium consisting of 1,000 years to complete the 7,000 year timespan. It was JOSEPH SMITH himself that was supposed to usher in the millennium! But, all of Smith’s core prophecies failed, all of them!

False prophecies = false prophet. Here is a thread that critically describes some of those false prophecies in detail:

Book of Mormon Original Manuscript

please enjoy