For almost half a century, critics have asserted that Joseph Smith believed that the Book of Abraham was a translation of an Egyptian text commonly called the “Book of Breathings.” This two-minute-long video presentation explains the basic elements of the argument: Abraham Manuscripts Explanation
This is probably the assertion most frequently made by Mormon critics. It is the underlying assumption of much of what the critic writes in the post I linked above. But the assertion is without merit, as I demonstrated in my 2010 presentation entitled The Meaning and Purpose of the Kirtland Egyptian Papers (links below for those interested).
Why is the argument false? Because the Abraham Manuscripts that contain characters from the Book of Breathings in the left column were produced AFTER the original translation of the Book of Abraham. They are not the “original translation manuscripts” of the Book of Abraham.
http://www.mormondialogue.org/topic/560 ... ntroversy/
Two questions. First, is this a fair representation of the critics standard argument? At best, it's a bizzare way to phrase it. Critics claim that is what Joseph himself believed? Really?
Second, does the order in which the Abraham Manuscripts and the Book of Abraham "translation" were produced have any bearing whatsoever on whether or not the Book of Abraham is a purported/believed/failed/fraudulent translation of the Egyptian text known as the Book of Breathings?