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Egyptian Alphabet, circa July–circa December 1835

Egyptian alphabet first degree

<B>

H	ah the first being who exercises Supreme power [tear in page]
H	pha-e the first man or one who has Kingly power or K[ing]
H	pha a more universal reighn having g[r]eater domion or power
HH H	<phatoeup> rolyal family royal blood or pharaoah or supreme power <or> King
HH	<ho up hah> crown of a princess or queen or Stands for queen
H	<Zi> Virgen unmaried or the pri[n]ciple of vi[r]tue
HHHH	Kah tou man the name of a royal family in female line
H	Zie oop hah An unmaried woman and a vi[r]gin pri[n]cess
H	ho-ee-oop young unmarried man a pri[n]cess
H	Zip Zi woman married or unmarried <or daughter>
H	ho-ee oop hah Crown of a prince or King
H	one-ahe or ohe the Earth
H	tone tahe or th tohe ton-es beneath or under water
H	Iota the eye or to see or sight sometimes me myself
H	Iota tou-es Zip-Zip the land of Egypt first seen under water
H	Sue Eh ni what other person is that or who
H	ho-ee oop-phare hak pha-e goverment power or Kingdom
H	Zub Zool oun the begining first before pointing to
H	Zub Zool Eh in the begining of the E[a]rth <or> Creation
H	Zool Eh Signifys to be in any as light in th[tear in page]
H	Zub the first Creation of any thing first insti[tu]tion
H	zub zool from the first to any Stated peried after
H	Zool from any or some fix<ed> peried of time <back> to the begining <of the creation>

The second part first degree

H	Ahnaios God without begining or end ◊o
H	Aleph in the begining with God the Son or <first born>
H	Albeth Angels or disimbodied spirits <or> Sainnts
H	Alcatheth Alcabeth Angels in an unattenable immortal <state>
H	Achibeth Achebeth minersters of God high preasts <Kings>
H	Alchobeth Alchibeth ministers of God under or the less
H	Alchubeth Alchobeth ministers not ordained of God Sinful
H	Alchybeth Alchubeth ministers who are less sinful for want of <power>
H	Baeth the name of all mankind man or men
HH	Baeth Ka Adam or the first man or first King
H	Baeth Ke the next from Adam one ordained under <him>
H	Baeth Ki the third patrearck
H	Baeth Ko the fourth from Adam
	Baeth Ku

[p. [1]]

Napoleon Bonaparte’s late-eighteenth-century adventures, depredations, and exploits unintentionally inaugurated an age of exploration and inquiry into Egyptian antiquities. Subsequently, sometime between 1817 and 1821, an Italian explorer, Antonio Lebolo, uncovered a tomb near Thebes, Egypt, containing a large cache of mummies and papyri. Later, eleven of the mummies were sent to New York City

Dutch founded New Netherland colony, 1625. Incorporated under British control and renamed New York, 1664. Harbor contributed to economic and population growth of city; became largest city in American colonies. British troops defeated Continental Army under...

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under what remain curious circumstances. In late June or early July 1835 some of the Saints in Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

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, Ohio, purchased four Lebolo mummies and some papyri from Michael Chandler, an antiquities dealer visiting the area. (Hauglid, Textual History of the Book of Abraham, 1.) JS’s close associate, William W. Phelps

17 Feb. 1792–7 Mar. 1872. Writer, teacher, printer, newspaper editor, publisher, postmaster, lawyer. Born at Hanover, Morris Co., New Jersey. Son of Enon Phelps and Mehitabel Goldsmith. Moved to Homer, Cortland Co., New York, 1800. Married Sally Waterman,...

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, provided the following account of these events to his wife: “On the last of June four Egyptian mummies were brought here. With them were two papyrus rolls, besides some other ancient Egyptian writings. . . . They were presented to President Smith. He soon knew what they were and said that the rolls of papyrus contained a sacred record kept by Joseph in Pharaoh’s court in Egypt and the teachings of Father Abraham.” Phelps added, “These records of old times when we translate and print them in a book will make a good witness for the Book of Mormon.” (William W. Phelps, Kirtland, OH, to Sally Phelps, Liberty, MO, 20 July 1835, in Journal History of the Church, 20 July 1835, CHL.)

Later that year, in response to public excitement prompted by “erroneous statements” circulating in the press concerning the Egyptian artifacts, correspondence between Oliver Cowdery

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

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, another close associate of JS, and a William Frye of Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

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was printed in the December 1835 issue of the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Published under the heading “Egyptian Mummies–Ancient Records,” Cowdery’s letter to Frye endeavored to set the record straight concerning “a quantity of ancient records.” After reviewing the circumstances surrounding acquisition of the artifacts and describing some papyri in detail, Cowdery observed in closing, “When the translation of these valuable documents will be completed I am unable to say; neither can I give you a probable idea how large volumes they will make. . . . Be they little or much, it must be an inestimable acquisition to our present scriptures.” (“Egyptian Mummies–Ancient Records,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Dec. 1835, 2:223−227.)

By the time the Messenger and Advocate account was published, JS, Cowdery

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, Phelps

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, and JS’s scribes Frederick G. Williams

28 Oct. 1787–10 Oct. 1842. Ship’s pilot, teacher, physician, justice of the peace. Born at Suffield, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of William Wheeler Williams and Ruth Granger. Moved to Newburg, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, 1799. Practiced Thomsonian botanical system...

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and Warren Parrish

10 Jan. 1803–3 Jan. 1877. Clergyman, gardener. Born in New York. Son of John Parrish and Ruth Farr. Married first Elizabeth (Betsey) Patten of Westmoreland Co., New Hampshire, ca. 1822. Lived at Alexandria, Jefferson Co., New York, 1830. Purchased land at...

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had invested portions of the previous six months working with the Egyptian material. JS’s journal for the period from October to December 1835 contains nine entries recording activity directly associated with the Egyptian documents. In addition, a JS history entry for July 1835, probably composed by William W. Phelps in 1843, notes that JS was “engaged in translating an alphabet to the Book of Abraham, and arranging a grammar of the Egyptian language as practiced by the ancients.” (JS, History, 1838–1856, vol. B-1, p. 597.)

Several documents related to the Egyptian manuscripts were produced during summer and fall 1835, possibly extending into the winter months, by JS and his associates. The text featured here, designated “Egyptian Alphabet,” is the only manuscript in a considerably larger collection of Egyptian-related materials that contains JS’s handwriting. It also includes the handwriting of Oliver Cowdery

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. This five-page document contains various Egyptian characters apparently followed by their pronunciation and an explanation of their meaning. Groups of characters and their treatment are broken into five sections of varying length with headings.

This document and some of the other related materials apparently represent an effort by JS and his colleagues to understand the papyri obtained from Michael Chandler in July 1835. About two-thirds of the text is in JS’s hand with the remainder contributed by Oliver Cowdery

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. William W. Phelps

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was the most prominent contributor to the other Egyptian manuscripts from this period.

Note: When an Egyptian hieratic character appears on the manuscript, it is represented by a stylized “H” in the transcript. The transcript of “Egyptian Alphabet” presented here is used with permission of Brian M. Hauglid, associate professor of ancient scripture, Brigham Young University. Hauglid is preparing a collection of JS Egyptian materials, including this document, for print publication. All of these materials will eventually be made available on the Joseph Smith Papers website.

Facts

Editorial Title: Egyptian Alphabet, circa July–circa December 1835
ID #: 6742