For some, evidence of God’s existence is based solely on prayers and faith. And while those are requisite elements, scriptures also play an essential part in one’s journey toward a better understanding of their relationship to Deity.
But for some, deep research is necessary- an added-upon element that helps fill in the blanks their inquiring minds require. And for that latter group, scholar Hugh Nibley offers the deep theological dive.
Scripture in the Christian world- up until 1830 AD- consisted of the Old and New Testaments, as found in the Bible. But with publication of The Book of Mormon, by The Church of Jesus of Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDS Church), in March of 1830, a new set of scriptures- considered to be “Another Testament of Jesus Christ”- was now available.
Other works considered by the LDS Church to be divinely inspired then followed; one of those, published in 1880, is The Book of Abraham. Translated from a papyrus, the book is an autobiography of the patriarch Abraham. In it, Abraham speaks of his desires to obtain the priesthood he was entitled to receive, by virtue of the patriarchal order in his lineage.
Later, after being persecuted by corrupt priests (and rescued by Jehovah), Abraham escapes to Canaan. Jehovah appears and promises Abraham that through him, his descendants will receive all blessings promised by obedience to the Gospel. Abraham also has revealed to him the creation of the earth, as well as the pre-earth life, foreordination, the choosing of a Redeemer, and the eternal nature of man.
As with other books the LDS Church considers to be scripture from God, critics have attacked The Book of Abraham specifically as being nothing more than “ordinary vignettes from the Egyptian Book of the Dead, and therefore could have nothing whatever to do with Abraham,” in the words of Hugh Nibley, author of “Abraham In Egypt.”
In his book, Nibley uses several methods to buttress the veracity of The Book of Abraham. He does a side-by-side comparison of it to other ancient documents such as “The Apocalypse of Abraham,” “With the Testament of Abraham,” and “The Books of the Dead.” He examines the traditions, rituals and culture of the world Abraham lived in, using them as evidence pointing to the book's authenticity.
And all along the way, Nibley returns to the fact that there are details in The Book of Abraham not found in the Old Testament. That being so, he asks, why is it that those same details appear all over the place in the two documents he compares to The Book of Abraham?
“Abraham In Egypt” is an indispensable guide for anyone desiring a fuller understanding of the tumultuous world Abraham lived in, as well as a realization that there is much more information available about Abraham now than ever before.
Nibley’s examination of The Book of Abraham may even leave readers questioning previous assumptions they may have had about what constitutes scripture, in this day and age. ( )