Did you know the Book of Abraham says Abraham was age 62 when he left the place called Haran? (Abraham 2:14) This was obviously an error since the Bible says he was 75. (Genesis 12:4) Except that we now have 11 other ancient books that have been translated that say he was 62. What an amazing coincidence.
This is utter nonsense. Heck, even apologist Jeff Lindsay wasn't dishonest enough to make the claim that even one source says "62." It is unclear what sources this author has in mind, but this is what Lindsay had to say:
Multiple documents call into question the age of 75 given in Genesis for when Abraham went to the land of Canaan. The Book of Abraham says he was 62. A variety of other ages are offered in other documents, possibly because he may have made more than one journey away from Haran, as the Book of Jasher reports. Interestingly, a Dead Sea Scroll document, 4QCommGen A, suggests that he was in his sixties when he went to the land of Canaan. It's hard to know for sure, because the text breaks off after the "six" in what appears to be an age. The translation of Florentino Garcia Martinez gives "sixty-five years," though the "five" is a conjecture by the translator. The Babylonian Talmud suggests that his age was fifty-two years (p. 122), while the Book of Jasher says he was fifty. (Michael the Syrian in the twelfth century wrote that Abraham went to Haran at age 60, then stayed fourteen more years before leaving.)
So from these ancient sources Abraham was either in his 50's or 60's. That's hardly, "11 other ancient books that have been translated that say he was 62. "
Then there is that idea that Abraham's father worshiped idols. (Abraham 1:5-6) I wonder where that idea came from. But, it is confirmed in 37 ancient documents.
Yes, this information was also available in popular Bible commentaries from Joseph Smith's day. This is really old news.
That Abraham learned astronomy from ancient records and from God (Abraham 1:31, 3:1-18, Facsimiles 2 & 3) is confirmed by 48 ancient sources. That he taught the Egyptians astronomy (Abraham Facsimile 3) is confirmed by 9 sources.
Also "confirmed" by those same commentaries.
How about the idea that Abraham was in Egypt at all? We have Papyrus Leiden I 384, a lion couch scene with the name Abraham directly beneath it. What a coincidence, another lion couch scene with Abraham.
This is particularly humorous because after Kerry Muhlstein lied about what this papyrus said, he later addressed his critics by claiming he misspoke. That particular papyrus doesn't represent "another lion couch scene with Abraham." And the idea that Abraham was in Egypt is entirely biblical: "And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt" (Genesis 12:14).
Who is this moron writing the newsletter for FAIR?
