Shulem wrote: ↑Sun Jan 31, 2021 6:52 pmAccording to Egyptologists, the scene of Facsimile No. 3, takes place in the netherworld, the afterlife, and is a ceremonious event for the character Hôr (Fig. 5). But Smith and the Mormons, erroneously claim that the scene takes place in Egypt in a mortal setting, which is the furthest from the truth because in reality the persons in the scene are in heaven and are immortal. Smith obviously recognized the frieze containing a row of stars in the upper section of the vignette and likely associated them with his erroneous introduction of the Asiatic biblical character of Abraham “reasoning upon the principles of Astronomy, in the king’s court.” But the stars in the upper register or frieze have nothing to do with biblical Abraham reasoning with Egyptians about astronomy whether on earth or in heaven. I assert that Dr. Gee is well aware of this and knows that the stars in the vignette are designed for the very purpose of identifying the scene as heavenly in nature -- a part of the afterlife.
Dr. Gee is well aware that the persons in the Facsimile are “dwellers in the netherworld” (dwAt ii w), and that the characters are immortal gods and goddesses who welcome Hôr (a dead man) into the afterlife to live forever in the divine presence of the gods. The scene is NOT earthly! Joseph Smith’s interpretation is wrong and the Church continues to mislead new converts in telling them that Smith translated the papyrus correctly.
Dr. Gee knows full well that Egyptologists know the Facsimile scene as a funerary spell and ritual that takes place in the “starry sky” (xAbAs), in the very heavens whereby each “star” (sbA) in the frieze serves as a testament that the scene is not of this earth.
It’s important to understand that the foundation of the Facsimile No. 3 scene is built upon the premise that this representation is based upon gods and immortals living in heaven, not earth. The upper frieze of the stars signify the starry sky overhead. The hieroglyphic spell at the bottom serves as a base upon which all things in heaven reside. An Egyptian translation of the bottom text reads as thus:
O gods of the necropolis, gods of the caverns, gods of the south, north, west and east, grant salvation to the Osiris Hôr, the justified, born by Taikhibit.
Thus we see, there is no place for a mortal Abraham sitting on an earthly throne where worldly things exist. Facsimile No. 3, transcends death and is the immortal place of glory in which Egyptians hoped to ascend and live forever. Here, we are able to witness in full splendor, Queen Isis standing in the presence of her beloved husband whereupon the caption above her says, “Isis the great, the god’s mother.”
Amen