I exchanged emails last week with a "learned professor" at a prestigious eastern university about the Book of Abraham. He had been widely quoted by FARMS folsk for his work with Abrahamic pseudepigrapha, which the FARMS people said had interesting parallels with the Joseph Smith Book of Abraham.
Anyway, he had never read it before, so I sent him the link to the official LDS site for the text, complete with the helpful facsimiles. The man did not want me using his name, but he told me after reading the Book of Abraham, that it didn't seem ancient to him. He wondered where the proof was for Joseph's translation? After I explained its provenance, he expressed no further interest.
So, at least one prominent scholar was not impressed.
Conversations with an Abraham scholar
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Re: Conversations with an Abraham scholar
Runtu wrote:I exchanged emails last week with a "learned professor" at a prestigious eastern university about the Book of Abraham. He had been widely quoted by FARMS folsk for his work with Abrahamic pseudepigrapha, which the FARMS people said had interesting parallels with the Joseph Smith Book of Abraham.
Anyway, he had never read it before, so I sent him the link to the official LDS site for the text, complete with the helpful facsimiles. The man did not want me using his name, but he told me after reading the Book of Abraham, that it didn't seem ancient to him. He wondered where the proof was for Joseph's translation? After I explained its provenance, he expressed no further interest.
So, at least one prominent scholar was not impressed.
Some questions:
1. What Eastern university?
2. Professor of what?
3. Did he know he's been quoted by FARMS, and that they are using his quotes to support the Book of Abraham?
4. What was it about the Book of Abraham that tipped him off that it wasn't ancient?
5. Does he know any of the apologists, like Gee?
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Without getting too specific
1. What Eastern university? A prestigious private university in New Jersey
2. Professor of what? Biblical language and literature
3. Did he know he's been quoted by FARMS, and that they are using his quotes to support the Book of Abraham? He does now. All he would authorize me to say was that he had not made the parallels attributed to him.
4. What was it about the Book of Abraham that tipped him off that it wasn't ancient? I'm not sure. It wasn't a lengthy conversation, but he said that from what he read it didn't sound ancient at all to him. He asked specifically for the method of translation and the proof that the text translated was actually ancient. He wasn't interested after I told him of the Book of Abraham's provenance. Not surprising, really.
2. Professor of what? Biblical language and literature
3. Did he know he's been quoted by FARMS, and that they are using his quotes to support the Book of Abraham? He does now. All he would authorize me to say was that he had not made the parallels attributed to him.
4. What was it about the Book of Abraham that tipped him off that it wasn't ancient? I'm not sure. It wasn't a lengthy conversation, but he said that from what he read it didn't sound ancient at all to him. He asked specifically for the method of translation and the proof that the text translated was actually ancient. He wasn't interested after I told him of the Book of Abraham's provenance. Not surprising, really.
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Re: Without getting too specific
Runtu wrote:1. What Eastern university? A prestigious private university in New Jersey
2. Professor of what? Biblical language and literature
3. Did he know he's been quoted by FARMS, and that they are using his quotes to support the Book of Abraham? He does now. All he would authorize me to say was that he had not made the parallels attributed to him.
So he didn't make any parallels, and those attributed to him are incorrect (and misleading... as if a leading professor of Biblical language and literature at a prestigious private university in New Jersey was making approving parallels between the Book of Abraham and the Bible. Isn't that interesting? Who make those parallels? )
4. What was it about the Book of Abraham that tipped him off that it wasn't ancient? I'm not sure. It wasn't a lengthy conversation, but he said that from what he read it didn't sound ancient at all to him. He asked specifically for the method of translation and the proof that the text translated was actually ancient. He wasn't interested after I told him of the Book of Abraham's provenance. Not surprising, really.
Well, it looks like the Book of Abraham is not exactly high on the Biblical language and literature radar, is it? Not like some of our more ambitious apologists would like us to be, obviously.