The Book of Mormon

THE JOSEPH SMITH PAPYRI
1968
Professor Dee Jay Nelson
www.MaranathaMedia.com.au
www.UTLM.org
Contents
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION
1. THE SIX PERSONAL NAMES IN THE JOSEPH SMITH PAPYRI
2. SOME OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING THE VALUABLE DISCOVERY NOTEBOOK
3. RELATIONSHIP OF THE JOSEPH SMITH PAPYRI TO THE BOOK OF ABRAHAM
4. THE TA-SHERT-MIN PAPYRUS VIGNETTES
APPENDIX
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I have been asked to write a brief introduction to the author, my good friend, Dee Jay Nelson. The only
difficulty with this assignment is the word “brief.”
In 1953 I retired from retirement (and boredom) to an exciting life as business manager for this remarkable
man. When I arise each morning I wonder what country he will be in that night. So far he has visited 72 of
them and most of these several times. It is thus hardly surprising that he is a member of the Los Angeles
Adventurers Club and past president of the Explorer’s League.
Among his personal friends are numbered two kings, two prime ministers, three ex-presidents, bishops,
royalty and movie stars. One time while we were visiting Amman, Jordan, I jokingly asked why he didn’t
have dinner with King Hussein. Two nights later he was sitting before a braised duck in the palace.
He undertakes fantastic projects and it is almost a foregone conclusion that he will succeed. For instance, to
better acquaint himself with the history of the New Testament he decided to walk every foot of ground that
is known to have been walked by Christ. The magnitude of this project can only be partly understood when
one appreciates the complications presented by hostile Middle Eastern frontiers. The task was carried to a
successful conclusion more than a year later. To reach some of the Holy Places which are now in Moslem
hands and forbidden to Christians he traveled for many months disguised as a Bedouin sheik. He was the
first Christian to enter the tomb of Jethro, father-in-law of Moses. He did it during the Festival of Nabi-
Shuaib on April 15, 1957, in the midst of twenty thousand Moslem pilgrims. He later became history’s
fourth Christian to enter the Mosque of Hebron, built over the Cave of Machpelah, tomb of the Patriarchs.
He accomplished these incredible feats with the aid of his good friend Sheik Audah Uba Mo-Amar, chief of
the Azazma Bedoudins, walnut-oil-stained skin, brown contact lenses and one simple Arabic phrase learned
to perfection “Don’t bother me. I’m a pilgrim and I’m in contemplation.” The amazing thing is that he
managed to make motion pictures of these events by concealing-an electric camera in a gourd water bottle.
Dee Jay’s research in Egyptology began more than twenty years ago when he was discharged from the U.
S. Submarine Service. After making a superficial study of ancient languages in the States he decided to add
some dimension to his scant knowledge, so he traveled as a stoker in the black bunkers of a freighter to
Egypt where he attached himself to the fallahin crew of Hussein Ibrahim, excavation foreman working
under Zakaria Goneim, at Memphis. The late Zakaria Goneim was for many years keeper of antiquities at
the Necropolis of Saqqara. Dee Jay studied three forms of the ancient language under this famous Egyptian
Egyptologist. More advanced knowledge of ancient languages and history were acquired under the tutelage
of the late Father Vespo Eliad, Abbot of the Monastery which clings precariously to the side of the Mt, of
Temptation, Jordan. His studies have taken him several times to Europe and six times to the Middle East
where he has conferred with experts in the Vatican Library, museums and at excavation sites. His
discoveries inspired King Farouk to present him with a small collection of Egyptian antiquities which he
has added to over the years.
In 1958 Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion (whom Dee Jay calls Dave Green, his real name) invited
Professor Nelson to come to Israel and make the first motion pictures of the Dead Sea Scrolls for television.
The two episode show which resulted was seen by capacity audiences in the Pasadena Playhouse and by
more than 11,000,000 Americans on the Seven League Boots TV series. After ten years they are still being
seen b y television viewers in Europe and Australia. Well over 50,000,000 people have now seen them. He
has produced and filmed 39 network television films on natural history and archaeological subjects.
The second cache of Dead Sea Scrolls found at Ein Geddi, Israel was brought to light on information
supplied by Professor Nelson.
His lectures, delivered in French and English, have been attended by more than 6,000,000 people in a
dozen countries. He has, in eighteen years, spoken before 4,231 audiences. This figure includes only those
lectures for which he has received fees. His Dead Sea Scrolls lecture is in such demand that bookings are
made two years in advance.
Often I have walked in on the family breakfast to hear the conversation being carried on in ancient
Egyptian or Coptic. It immediately reverts to English in deference to my own linguistic limitations. Even
the family cat has an Egyptian name. She is called Kapu Matu (Dark Friend).
Reed Neuberger,
Business Manager
Dee Jay Nelson Enterprises.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to extend my deep appreciation to Mr. Grant Heward for his contributions to this study which were
of considerable importance to its consummation and to Mr. and Mrs. Jerald Tanner who supplied some
useful reference suggestions. I am also indebted to Dr. Hugh Nibley, of Brigham Young University, a
scholar and gentleman. His publications have several times suggested trends which I have pursued into
profitable areas pertinent to this research. My business manager, Reed J. Neuberger, has tolerated my
neg1ect of business matters that this work might come to press and has energetically assisted in many ways.
My wife has proofread and effected the reconciliation of many split infinitives. Information supplied by
others has been acknowledged where it appears in the body of t h i s publication. To all I say, “Thank you.”
AUGUST, 1968
2 www.MaranathaMedia.com.au
INTRODUCTION
In March of this year I presented to the public my translation and preliminary survey of the newly disclosed
papyri fragments which were presented to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. This work was published under the title, The Joseph Smith
Papyri. It involved my conclusions after a cursory study of the fragments, recommendations involving the
classification and identification of the pieces and a first translation. At the time of its publication I realized
that the many aspects of the papyri fragments had only been partly investigated but there was a certain
urgency to get the work into print and before the public which had been making frequent and earnest
requests of the Church Authorities and of museum Egyptian departments to learn more about them. These
inquiries were obviously motivated by an eagerness, primarily among L. D. S. members, to reinforce their
testimony of the Mormon scriptures and specifically to authenticate the Pearl of Great Price. In a two
month period I received more than 40 such letters myself. This sequel to the Joseph Smith Papyri will bring
to light some additional and significant discoveries concerning the fragments and will amend some
conclusions made in my earlier publication. Neither this nor my previous booklet is in any sense an
exhaustive study of the “Metropolitan Papyri” fragments but is intended as an introductory investigation
into the historic, philological and paleographic aspects of the Papyri and their relationship to the Book of
Abraham. I hope that the translations and information which I have provided will serve as a foundation
upon which other investigators may build.
I fully realize that my work as presented in these two papers is not perfect. I have made errors but I believe
that these are small and that the over-all picture is accurate. If those who are qualified to judge find errors
in my work I would consider it a compliment if they would point them out to me. It is no discredit to a man
to be wrong if his mistakes are honest ones but it would be a discredit to him and a disservice to his fellow
man should he fail to acknowledge and rectify them.
My views are as sympathetic to the Latter-day Saint Church teachings as they can be without
compromising the accepted and proven principles of Egyptology. That the two are not completely
reconcilable is a fact which I regret but which can not be denied. As an elder of the L.D.S. Church and a
lecturing-professor of Egyptology I find myself standing precariously, between two poles. Truth will
triumph in the end. Meanwhile each of my readers is free to identify the limits of truth to his own
satisfaction.
This booklet is especially concerned with the “Metropolitan Papyri” Fragments, their relationship to the
Book of Abraham and to Joseph Smith’s two hand-written note books entitled. Grammar and Alphabet of
the Egyptian Language and Valuable Discovery of Hidden Records that have been obtained from the
Ancient Burying Place of the Egyptians.
I suggest that anyone seriously interested in assimilating the information in this study equip himself with a
copy of The Joseph Smith Papyri which may be procured from Mormon Information Services.
Mormon Information Services

www.UTLM.org
THE SIX PERSONAL NAMES IN THE JOSEPH SMITH PAPYRI

In the course of this study I will allude to the extreme crudeness of the characters which were copied by
Joseph Smith Junior, in his notebooks entitled, Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language and
Valuable Discovery of Hidden Records that have been obtained from the Ancient Burying Place of the
Egyptian’s. The illustration below (Plate 1) is intended to show the extent of these crudities. The drawing
also itemizes the steps in my analysis of the phrase containing the names of the beneficiary, Ta-shert-Min
and her mother. The lines are to be read in the direction indicated by the arrows.
Osiris Ta-shert-Min, (who is) true (of) word, daughter of Nes -Khensu, (who is) true (of) word.
PLATE 1
IDENTIFICATION OF THE BENEFICIARY OF THE TA-SHERT-MIN
PAPYRUS
Item 1:
The name phrase as it appears in Joseph Smith’s Grammar and Alphabet Notebook. Though the names of
the lady Ta-shert-Min and her mother, Nes-Khensu, appear in sequence several times I have selected two
separated examples of the names as most representative.
Item 2:
The name phrase as it appears in an undamaged state in line 5 on Fragment Number 3 of the original Ta-
shert-Min Papyrus.
Item 3:
My reconstruction of the hieratic name phrase in which I have minimized the cursive features.
Item 4:
My hieroglyphic transcription of Items 1, 2 and 3. Item 5: My transliteration of the four lines above.
Item 6:
My translation of the other 5 Items. Words in parenthesis are inserted for understanding.
Line Number 1
On Plate I is an exact rendition of the hieratic characters representing the name of the beneficiary of the Ta-
shert-Min Papyrus and her mother as they appear in the Grammar and Alphabet. As the two names were
copied from two different lines in the transcript a dotted line has been inserted between them to indicate the
separation. Adjacent occurrences of the two names are found elsewhere in the copy but are less legible.
Some of the characters in the names seen in line 1 are so poorly copied in Joseph Smith’s notebook that
their identification would have been impossible had there not been several examples of the phrase from
which to make cross-comparisons. I reproduced these two names from the top and seventh lines on the page
of the Grammar and Alphabet upon which the Cynocephalic Apes appear (see drawing on page 23).
Line Number 2
Is an exact duplication of the hieratic characters representing the name phrase of the beneficiary, Ta-shert-
Min, and her mother as it appears in line 5 of the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus Fragment Number 3. This is one of
the few places on the ten Ta-shert-Min Fragments where the name phrase is completely intact.
Line Number 3
Is my hieratic transcription of the two lines 1 and 2 in which I have represented each character in its text-
book form and have minimized the cursive aspects of the other two lines.
Line Number 4
Is my hieroglyphic transcription of the hieratic characters seen in lines 1, 2 and 3.
Line Number 5
Presents the transliteration of the characters in order from right to left. The transliteration has been
vertically oriented because there is insufficient room to print it horizontally.
Line Number 6
Is the literal translation of the Ta-shert-Min name phrase to be read in the normal English manner from left
to right. Assumed words have been added in parenthesis to make the phrase easily read able by modern
Occidental standards.
In ancient Egyptian funeral texts the word Osiris usually prefixes proper names of the deceased person for
whom the inscription was made. This indicates that the dead person is one with Osiris, of his kingdom and
that he has assumed some of the after-life characteristics of this, their most supreme God of the Dead. In a
very real sense it specifies that the individual named is dead. The occurrence of the word (Asar) “Osiris” in
any one of its many forms is often a clue to the identification of the name of the beneficiary. This is not
infallibly true because t h e text may mention the name of Osiris as a divinity in which case it would not
necessarily be followed by the dead person’s name. The two characters representing the words (maat kheru)
and meaning, “true of word” (justified in the final judgment), often follow the name of deceased persons in
Egyptian funeral texts. This is particularly true in late period papyri. If a philologist encounters the word
“Osiris” in a text and a few characters later finds the words, “true of word’; he can reasonably assume that
the characters between constitute the proper name of the beneficiary. With few exceptions this will prove to
be the case and the sense of the adjacent inscription will confirm or disprove the assumption. The one
character word A transliterated Maa when following masculine names Maat when following feminine
names implies that the deceased is truthful, upright, righteous and virtuous. The one character word Kheru
means literally, “voice” or “word.” Together they mean, “true of word” and indicate that the deceased
person has been found truthful, virtuous and innocent of sin in the last judgement, Some translations render
these two words, “justified” but I prefer the more literal translation, “Who is true of word.”
In ancient Egypt it was customary in formal circumstances to refer to an individual by his name and to
further identify him by following his name with that of a parent or recent ancestor. This method of personal
identification has been widely used in other ancient societies as well and was even common in
comparatively recent times. My own name is a good example. My surname, or family name, is Nelson to
which the two Christian names, Dee Jay, have been added. The surname means son of Nel so I could quite
realistically be called Dee Jay son of Nel. It is the same in most Egyptian funeral texts. In the Ta-shert-Min
Papyrus the lady is called Ta-shert-Min daughter of Nes-Khensu, The connecting characters indicating the
relationship are written between the two names. In most funera1 texts the phrase used is hieratic or
hieroglyphic and is transliterated Mes En. It means literally, “born of” or “brought forth from” but when the
character spelling or text continuity indicates the sex of the deceased it is customary to translate it
“daughter of” or “son of.”
The complete name phrase appearing repeatedly in the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus transliterates, and has a literal
translation of, “Osiris Ta-shert-Min, true word, born of Nes-Khensu, true word.” The philologist
understands this to mean, “The deceased lady Ta-shert-Min is in the kingdom of Osiris, Lord of the Dead,
and has been found truthful and free of sin in the final judgment. She is the natural daughter of the lady
Nes-Khensu who is also dead and who has also been found innocent in the final judgment. All this is
conveyed in the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus with a total of 26 characters, though much of it is not actually
written but only implied by tradition.
The two un illustrated “Metropolitan Papyri” Fragments are from a distinctly separate papyrus, a copy of
the Shait en Sensen or Book of Breathings, which was prepared for a person named Hor. In line 5, column
2 (left hand) on the fragment which I numbered in my previous publication Number 2 (the smaller Sensen
Fragment) is seen the damaged name phrase which transliterates (see Plate 2 on next page). It translates,
“Osiris Hor, who is true of word, born of Tai- Khebit, who is true of word.” In this passage the connecting
words Mes En “born of” are fully written out, but in the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus they are abbreviated.
In line 2, column 1 of the small Sensen Fragment (not illustrated) is seen the last part of the name phrase,
“born of Tai-Khebit, who is true of word.” The name of Hor is missing in the damaged beginning of this
line. On the larger non illustrated Sensen Fragment some damaged remnant of the name phrase (or Hor’s
name alone) is found in column 1(right hand) lines 7 and 13 and in column 2 (left hand) line 10,
[Footnote: Professor Richard A. Parker of Brown University presented an excellent translation of the small
Sensen text (column 1) in the summer 1968 edition of Dialogue (page 86), In it he transliterates the name of
the beneficiary, “Hor.” I can see his reason for this transliteration and believe it to be the correct one. I have
previously referred to my transliteration, “Ter” as tentative.]
PLATE 2
THE HOR NAME PHRASE
Item 1:
The complete name phrase of Hor and his mother as reconstructed from three places in the Hor papyrus.
Segment 1 gives the mother’s name, Tai-Khebit, as found in line 2, column 1, Fragment Number 1.
Segment 2 shows the last half of the mutilated name of Hor as seen in line 5, column 2, Fragment Number
1. Segment 3 shows the first part of Horls name as it appears in the last line of column I on Fragment
Number 2.
Item 2:
My hieratic transcription of the name phrase below which the names are transliterated.
Item 3:
Another possible transcription of the name of the beneficiary. The conformation of the characters in line 10,
column 2, Fragment Number 2 indicate that the name may be “Hor.”
Item 4:
The clarified hieratic transcript of Item 3.
The kings of Egypt were known by several names which were redundant to say the least. Most of them had
no less than five such names designated as the Horus name, the Nebti name, the Nesu-Bat or royal name,
the Golden Horus name and the Son-of-Ra name.
In addition to all of the considerations concerning the proper names of the beneficiaries of the Joseph Smith
Papyri which I have mentioned, I should also indicate that, like some modern names, those of the ancient
Egyptians had meanings. As a modern example, the surname Wheelright derives from the trade of the first
holder of that name. He was a maker of cart or wagon wheels. The Jewish Christian given name David
means beloved. Therefore the full name, David Wheelright, means the beloved son of the maker of wheels.
It is not customary to translate ancient Egyptian names but simply to transliterate them. For curiosity’s sake
it might be interesting to translate some of the personal names of the Joseph Smith Papyri.
Breaking down the name of Ta-shert-Min we find that Ta means “this,” shert means “daughter of” and Min
or Menu is the name of a god who governed the powers of reproduction and generation. It thus becomes
apparent that Ta-shert-Min means “This daughter of the God Min.”
The characters used to spell the name of Nes-Khensu suggest that the name might have meant Nes
“belonging to” and Khensu “the God Khensu.” Khensu was a Moon-God, often called “The Traveler;’ and
his father was supposed to have been the great god Amen. Nes-Khensu’s name, in other words, probably
meant “She who belongs to Khensu” or “She who has devoted herself to Khensu.”
PLATE 3
Item A:
Three and a fraction lines of hieratic copied into Joseph Smith’s Valuable Discovery Notebook from the
lost Amen-Terp Papyrus (read from right to left). The numbers above some of the characters correspond
with those in Item B.
Item B:
Nine characters reversed to be read from left to right and copied into Joseph Smith’s “translation:”
Item C:
The hieratic transcription of recognizable characters in Item B.
Item D:
My hieroglyphic transcription of Item C.
Item E:
Transliteration of Items B, C and D.
Item F:
Translation of Item E.
Item G:
The name of the beneficiary as it appears in Item A, line 1.
Item H:
My hieratic transcription of Item G.
Item I:
My hieroglyphic transcription of Items G and H. Below this is my translation.
Items J and K:
Two complete name phrases which appear in some lines of text copied elsewhere in the Valuable
Discovery Notebook.
Item L:
My transliteration of the elements of each of the hieratic words in Items J and K (vertically oriented).
Item M:
My hieroglyphic transcription of Items J, K and L.
PLATE 4
Items 1, 2, 3 and 4:
Four examples of the name Amen Terp as it appears in various places in the lines of hieratic copied into the
Valuable Discovery Notebook.
Items 5, 6 and 7:
Three examples of the name of Amen Terp’s mother, Na-Nub, as written in various lines of hieratic in the
Valuable Discovery{ Notebook.
Items A and a:
My hieratic clarification transcription of the two names.
Items B and b:
My hieroglyphic transcription of the two names.
Item C:
An hieratic name phrase written in the Taiuhnut-Mut Papyrus (Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago,
Number 18039) found in a private tomb at Thebes. The underlined portions of the lines have their
counterparts in the First name.
In the Valuable Discovery Notebook we encounter the name of the beneficiary of a third papyrus which is
now lost (see Plate 3 on the next page, Items J and K). Her name was “Amen-Terp.” The first part of this is
obviously the name of the Hidden God Amen, and as the god determinative appears in the name we can be
sure that the god is involved rather than the word “hidden;” which is spelled much the same. I can not be
sure what the remainder of the name means because the third character of this part is not identifiable due to
the poor copy. It has something to do with the god Amen. The word nebt meaning “mistress” follows the
name (see Plate 3, Item G). The name, as in most Egyptian funeral texts, is preceded by the word (Asar)
“Osiris” and is followed by Maat Kheru “true of word.” Next comes the phrase Mes En, daughter of again
as expected, and this is followed by the name of the mother “Na-Nub” and finally the declaration of her
innocence, Maat Kheru “true of word.” The mother’s name may possibly mean “The Golden One” though,
as I have said, one does not customarily translate personal names. At the bottom of Plate 3, Items J, K, L
and M, I have copied two hieratic examples of complete name phrases from the Valuable Discoveries
Notebook, transliterated them and transcribed the connecting and associated words. The name of Amen-
Terp with the words “Osiris” and “true of word,’ but without the name of her mother, appears also in the
three lines of hieratic (Plate 3, Item A). My step by step analysis of the name is shown in Items G, H and I.
The full name phrase translates: “Osiris Amen-Terp, who is true of word, daughter of Na-Nub, who is true
of word.”
In my previous publication, The Joseph Smith Papyri, page 7, I show four examples of the name of t h e
beneficiary of the lost papyrus as they appear in Joseph Smith’s Valuable Discovery Notebook. On the
same page I show the name of the parent (Items 5, 6 and 7). It is now clear to me that I was mistaken in
designating this as the name of a father or mother. I was lead to this erroneous conclusion by the word
(Asar) “Osiris” and assumed that the personal name followed. I now see that this is the name of a dual deity
(Asar-Heru Aakhuti) “Osiris-Horus of the Two Horizons.” This is a combination of the names of the gods
Osiris and Horus. In the late pre-Christian Dynasties the Egyptians combined the names and personalities
of gods. This indicates that, like the other two Joseph Smith Papyri, this also is of late origin, probably
Ptolemaic or later (after 332 BC), On the lower half of Plate 4 (page 5) is my corrected diagnosis of the
name of the mother of Amen-Terp, and Plate 5 (below) is my corrected analysis of the name of the dual
deity.
PLATE 5
Items 1, 2 and 3:
The name of the dual god Osiris-Horus of the Two Horizons as written in various places in lines of hieratic
text copied in the Valuable Discovery Notebook from the Amen-Terp Papyrus.
Item 4:
My clarified hieratic transcription of Items 1, 2 and.3,
Item 5:
My hieroglyphic transcription of Items 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Item 6:
My transliteration of Items 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 below which appears my translation.
Two very important things are established by the identification of the names of Amen-Terp and her mother
Na-Nub, First that they were written in a third papyrus which was in Joseph Smith’s possession in 1835.
This is certain because the formalized Amen-Terp: Na-Nub name phrase identifies the beneficiary of the
text in which it is written in exactly the same fashion that the Ta-Shert-Min: Nes-Khensu name phrase
identifies its beneficiary. No funeral papyrus ever had more than one beneficiary. Secondly, the association
of the name-prefix “Osiris” and the suffixes “true of word” identify this third lost papyrus as an Egyptian
funeral text, most probably a Saite Recension of the Per em Heru or Book of the Dead.
Having stated that Joseph Smith, Junior, had in his possession three entirely unrelated papyri and having
advanced evidence to establish as much, it now becomes my responsibility to explore any additional
evidence to strengthen this theory. I find just such a supporting factor in the calligraphy of the hieratic lines
in the Valuable Discovery Notebook which makes my premise essentially irrefutable. The god
determinative (hieroglyphic) in the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus is written (hieratic) and in the Hor Sensen
Papyrus it is written (hieratic). However in Joseph Smith’s lost Amen-Terp papyrus it is written (hieratic).
The forked form of the character is unusual. I have encountered it only a few times and always in very late
papyri dating from the end of the Ptolemaic Period and early Roman times. This tentatively dates the
papyrus not earlier than 150 BC, and possibly as late as 100 AD. This eccentricity of penmanship is
discernable in a number of places in Joseph Smith’s notebook even through the poor quality of his
transcription. Character Number 9, Items A and G in the illustration on page 4 (plate 3) displays the forked
determinative in context.
Like the characters on the Sensen Fragments those in the Amen-Terp texts are gross and short, but unlike
the other two texts, are more distinctly separated and rhythmically spaced. The ancient scribe’s lacunar
propensity has not completely sublimated the cursive elements of the writing, both of which translations
survive Joseph Smith’s artistic ineptitude.
If I should wish to demonstrate the variations in ancient Egyptian hieratic calligraphy I could not hope to
find three more dissimilar examples than those used in the three Joseph Smith Papyri.
Summary: Three or parts of three ancient Egyptian hieratic papyri were among the rolls purchased by the L.
D, S. Church from Michael Chandler in 1835. This is established by the identification of three different
beneficiaries and their parents. It is further confirmed by the three distinctive calligraphic styles. In
addition, at least two different funeral works are represented, the Per em Heru or Book of the Dead and the
Shait en Sensen or Book of Breathings.
Identification features of the three Joseph Smith Papyri:
(1) Ta-shert-Min Papyrus represented by 10 of the “Metropolitan Papyri” Fragments a copy of the Per em
Heru or Book of the Dead. Beneficiary’s mother was Nes-Khensu.
(2) Hor Papyrus represented by the 2 non illustrated “Metropolitan Papyrus” Fragments and probably also
the fragment upon which the original of Facsimile Number 1 in the Book of Abraham appears a copy of the
Shait en Sensen or Book of Breathings. Beneficiary’s mother was Tai-Khebit.
(3) Amen-Terp Papyrus. The original is lost, but a number of hieratic lines copied from it survive in Joseph
Smith’s Notebooks. Beneficiary’s mother was Na-Nub.
CONCERNING THE VALUABLE DISCOVERY NOTEBOOK

Earlier in this work I mentioned a notebook preserved in the archives of the L. D. S. Church entitled
Valuable Discovery of Hidden Records that have been Obtained from the Ancient Burying Place of the
Egyptians. This notebook discloses some engrossing information pertinent to the study of the original
papyri which Joseph Smith acquired for the Church in 1835. It also supplies some startlingly unsuspected
facts about the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price. Let me methodically present this information
which I have gleaned from several years of study.
The ponderous title appears on the first page, though it may not have been intended as a true title but more
as a description of what the book was intended to contain. In lieu of any other identifying label I shall refer
to it by the abbreviated name, Valuable Discovery Notebook. Below the title and on the same page is
Joseph Smith’s name written in a bold flowing hand.
The next thing that one observes about the Valuable Discovery Notebook is that the entries and notations in
it are highly disorganized. This is not unusual. Personal notebooks are rarely very methodical. On several
of the pages Joseph Smith has copied some lines of Egyptian hieratic characters unlike those seen on any of
the “Metropolitan Papyri” Fragments. Under a previous heading I have indicated that they were reproduced
from a lost third papyrus which had been written in ancient times for a lady named Amen-Terp.
On one page of the Valuable Discovery Notebook is a drawing of a person in long flowing garments
standing in front of and facing a snake with humanoid legs. There is little doubt that this drawing was
copied from the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus Fragment Number 4. On page 26 (Plate 13, Item 2) I have redrawn
the legged serpent picture exactly as it appears in the notebook. Item 1 on the same page shows the picture
as it appears in the original papyrus. One can clearly see by comparing the two drawings that Joseph Smith
lacked skill as an artist. This is of course no discredit to him, but it does present definite problems when
attempting to translate his lines of copied hieratic which were done with an equal lack of precision.
On the same page where one finds Joseph Smith’s legged serpent drawing are three and a fraction lines of
Egyptian hieratic characters, below which are written the longhand English words, “(Over this stood the
figure of a woman):” As interesting as the walking serpent is, I feel that the ancient writing contains clues
to even more fascinating and revealing facts. The only unusual thing about the short text itself is that it is so
badly copied. It is in every respect traditional ancient Egyptian hieratic of a type used in very late times. I
would venture to say that the original writing from which Joseph Smith copied these lines was written upon
the papyrus sometime within 150 years of the birth of Christ (before or after). Certain calligraphic features,
which I have already described, indicate as much. On page 4 (Plate 3, Item A) I have meticulously copied
the lines as they appear in the notebook. So far as I can discern there are 76 separate characters, though this
figure may be in error by as many as -three, one way or the other. The crudity of the copy makes a precise
numbering impossible. I can, with some certainty, identify 48 of these characters within traditional limits
and can tentatively identify an additional three or four. Being able to recognize two thirds of the characters
and several of these in sequences can identify some complete words as well. As a matter of fact I can not
only recognize several words but can find some of these in sequence. In Item A on page 4 (Plate 3, line
one) beginning with the character which I have numbered TI can identify all but one of a total of seventeen
successive characters. These seventeen I have copied a second time as Item G on the same drawing. Item H
is my hieratic clarification of the characters in which I have corrected the imperfections of Joseph Smith’s
copy. Below this I have transcribed the passage into hieroglyphic (Item I). From this point it is a fairly
simple matter to transliterate the characters and to translate them. They read, “Osiris Amen-Terp, who is
true of word, “mistress” (the word “mistress” can also be translated “lady”). This is the full name of the
beneficiary with the usual funerary embellishments and the principle name on the lost third Joseph Smith
Papyrus. The first fifteen of these characters are represented in the beginnings of the lines designated as
Items J and K. These were copied from some lines of hieratic on another page of the Valuable Discovery
Notebook. I wish to make it perfectly clear that, though there is a remote possibility that I may have
incorrectly identified one or two characters in this name passage, there is no possibility whatsoever that I
am mistaken about identifying it as the name of the beneficiary. It is the name of a deceased person and the
form is exactly as expected in Egyptian funeral texts such as the Book of the Dead. It is unfortunate that the
few other complete words which I can read in the three lines are so widely separated that I can not get any
meaning out of the text other than that it is concerned with the dead Amen-Terp for whom the inscription
was written.
The first three characters in line 2 produce the word (nemat) “new.” I believe that I can recognize the word
(un) in line 2 which means “to open” or “opened” (as a door is opened). The word “open” with this spelling
appears in many chapters of the Per em Heru. In the 39th for instance we read, “The doors of the horizon
have been opened for Ra.” The word (uben) seems likely in line 3. It means “to rise” or “to shine.” This
word (un) meaning “to be” or “to exist” might be the identification of a portion of line 3. Some other
possible word identifications suggest themselves, but I am not at all sure of the limits of these words. This
would of course effect the definitions. The few along with the extended seventeen character passage
naming the beneficiary, will suffice to demonstrate that the three lines are nothing more spectacular than
common late Egyptian hieratic.
On the page of the Valuable Discovery Notebook just preceding the one with the three hieratic lines is an
entry written in English longhand which I quote, “A translation of the next page. Katumin, princess,
daughter of On-i-tas king of Egypt, who began to reign in the year of the world, 2962. Katumin was born in
the 30th year of the reign of her father, and died when she was 28 years old, which was the year 3020.”
You will note that there are precisely 45 words in this “translation” (counting the numbers as single word
s). “Daughter” is the only word which I have translated that also appears in Joseph Smith’s “translation.”
You will also note that the name of the Princess Katumin does not in any way resemble my transliteration
of the name of the lady Amen-Terp. It is logical to conclude from this divergence that either my
fragmentary translation is incorrect or Joseph Smith’s “translation” is incorrect. Before I present my
supporting evidence it is only fair that I acknowledge some remarkable facts favorable to Joseph Smith’s
claims. Ka-tuMin, for instance, is a very acceptable ancient Egyptian female personal name. It might have
been spelled with any number of different characters to produce the required phonetic sounds, but to make
these coincide with a logical meaning, which all Egyptian personal names had, it would probably have been
written (hieratic), (Ka-tu-Min). This had a religious connotation, which was common to most Egyptian
names, meaning “The One Spirit of the God Min” or “My Spirit is One with the God Min.” There is a note
in my files reminding me that I found and translated this exact name written in hieroglyphics upon a broken
fragment of a wooden Ptolemaic sarcophagus which had been found in a gallery tomb (catacomb) near
Thebes. You will recall that, according to Joseph Smith, the Pearl of Great Price Papyri were supposed to
have come from the wrappings of some mummies found in the catacombs of Thebes. I have translated
passages from a great many fragments of sarcophagi over the past twenty years and I must confess that I do
not recall the particular one mentioned in my files but the name coincidence is rather remarkable.
One coincidence concerning the Ka-tu-Min name might be received with little emotion but a second
interesting one exists, and you can make of this what you will. However it may damage my case, I am duty
bound to bring it to the attention of my readers. Notice the resemblance of the phonetic phrases in the two
names Ka-tu-Min and Ta-shert-Min. Almost exactly the same mouth and palatal movements are required to
speak each name. Both middle syllables require a short breath exhalation. The differences fall into the
classification of vocal subtleties. We must not overlook the fact that both names end with Min which could
not possibly have had any meaning other than the name of the god Min. Having recognized the similarities
I have tried to reconcile the two names within the framework of the three Joseph Smith Papyri and find that
great inconsistencies persist. First, note that the transliteration which I gave to the name Ta-shert-Min, and
which several well known philologists have confirmed, can not be revised to produce the name Ka-tu-Min.
Secondly, the calligraphy of the hieratic lines in the Valuable Discovery Notebook is completely unlike that
on the Ta-shert-Min papyrus Fragments. Third, the father of Ka-tu-Min (On-i-tas) can not be equated to any
of the names of the three parents found in the Joseph Smith hieratic texts. I have expended considerable
effort to bring the two conflicting viewpoints a single focus. As an elder of the Church and an Egyptologist
nothing would please me more than to succeed, but I fear that the differences far outweigh the points of
agreement. Still the two names have something in common and to acknowledge this is to admit that
possibly more than coincidence is involved. I am in no position to say more upon this subject, having
exhausted the comparisons so I leave the problem with questions in my mind and hope that some other
investigator will pick up the thread and carry it to a logical conclusion.
Returning to Joseph Smith’s “translation” of the three lines we find a number of points worth investigating.
The predominant features in the “translation” given by Joseph Smith in his Valuable Discovery Notebook
are the two personal names and four different numbers. Let us next consider the numbers. They are
important items because in the Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language Notebook Joseph Smith
gives full instructions for translating numbers. At least he does so for the numbers under 80. Two of the
four numbers in the “translation” are under this figure. These are 28 and 30. Referring to Joseph Smith’s
number chart we find both clearly written in the characters which he claims to have taken from the original
papyri (see the addendum in my The Joseph Smith Papyri). A careful character-by-character examination
of the three lines of text in the Valuable Discovery Notebook fails to reveal either number. A character near
the left hand end of the first line might, by loose interpretation, be identified as the one Joseph Smith
indicates to be a 3; however, the other component which would convert the 3 into 30 is not present. In all
languages using the decimal system of numbering (as did the Egyptians) a minimum of one separate
character or character entity is required to represent each digit from one through nine. In traditional ancient
Egyptian IIII represents four. In hieroglyphic writing IIII-IIIII represents nine, but in hieratic the repetition
was abandoned in favor of the use of diversified individual characters for those numbers above four and
under eleven. Nine in hieratic is ? To write the four numbers in Egyptian hieratic would necessarily have
required 14 characters. To write them in Joseph Smith’s system would probably have required 21
characters. I have demonstrated that the three lines are normal hieratic and the numbers Joseph Smith
“translated” do not appear in them. For the sake of comparison the following list will show the numbers
involved:
PLATE 6
Four numbers written in a “translation” which appears in Joseph Smith’s Valuable Discovery Notebook and
the same numbers as they would have appeared in hieratic and in the Egyptian numerical system as
described by Joseph Smith in the Grammar and Alphabet Notebook. These numbers are not found
anywhere in the lines of Egyptian from which Joseph Smith’s “translation” was purportedly taken (see Item
A, page 4).
On another page in Joseph Smith’s Valuable Discovery Notebook is a second word-for-word copy of the
“translation.” This page is numbered 3 (the page numbers are not in sequence). In addition to his
“translation” are written nine Egyptian characters. Three of these appear at the beginning of the
“translation” and the other six are placed at intervals within the “translation’ in two groups of three
characters each. The page thus reads, “Katumin, Princess, daughter of Onitas King of Egypt, who began to
reign in the year of the World 2962. Katumin was born in the 30th year of the reign of her father, and died
when she was 28 years old, which was the year 3020.” This tells us that the first group of three characters
represents a “translation” of 8 English words, the second group of three characters represents a
“translation” of 11 English words and the last group of three characters represents a “translation” of 26
English words. Note that the personal name Ka-tu-Min appears as the first word in the “translation” (after
the first three characters) and again as the first word after the third group of characters, yet only the middle
ones in each of these two groups of hieratic characters at all resemble one another. This might be accounted
for by assuming that the position of the name Ka-tu-Min is transposed in the “translation.” If we accept this
unlikely possibility then the name Ka-tu-Min is represented in its entirety by a somewhat elongated O. If
we are expected to believe this we must also believe that this is, as Joseph Smith has claimed, a most
comprehensive language. Indeed, one would have to be convinced that it was the most comprehensive
language ever invented. How else could one describe a language in which a single circular character could
convey a combination of six vocal to produce the sounds included in the name Ka-tu-Min? Such as
assumption is absolutely beyond the realm of possibility. On this basis alone I can state, with no fear of
responsible rebuttal, that Joseph Smith’s “translation” of these nine characters is at least incorrect, if not
completely imaginary. If anyone can show me evidence to the contrary I am willing and eager to revise my
viewpoint.
You will recall, from what I have written earlier in this study, that the identical “translation” on another
page of the notebooks labeled “A translation of the next page.” The next page is the one bearing the three
lines of hieratic which I have also described. If any degree of consistency exists in the notebook entries, one
is lead to the conclusion that the nine characters which are written in groups of three throughout the
“translation” are somewhere contained in the three lines of hieratic. If you will refer to my drawing on page
4 you will see that the nine interspersed characters (Item B) do not resemble any of the characters in the
three hieratic lines (Item A) with the possible exception of the character which I have numbered 5 (Items A
and B). In any normal Egyptian text this character would be recognized as the hieratic equivalent of the
hieroglyphic reed (p) transliterating t (Items C, D and E). Joseph Smith had simply taken the first nine
characters of the three line text (Item A) which he recognized as progressing from right to left and reversed
them so that they conformed with normal English word progression from left to right. In doing so, however,
he failed to reverse the reed character (Number 5). If you compare the numbered characters in Item A with
those in Item B you will see that this is true and that the main differences are those resulting from artistic
ineptitude.
If we are to give any credence to Joseph Smith’s “translation” the one character ti (Q) must convey a
message which translates into several words. To be completely thorough and fair, let us assume that it does
have multiple meanings. If the word is traditional we should be able to find it in Egyptian language text and
reference books. In Harrison and Sons’ List of Egyptian Hieroglyphics it is listed in section M as Item 830.
In Alan Gardiner’s ELxyptian Grammar it is character M 17. Gardiner describes it as a flowering reed and
gives it the phonetic value i, or a. I have looked up the character as it might be used by itself in Gardiner’s
Vocabulary, Wallis Budgets (2 vol.) An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary, Budge’s Egyptian Language
(page 95), Budge’s lengthy vocabulary to his Egyptian Reading Book (page 339), Egyptian Grammar by
Adolf Erman (page 43) and Raymond Faulkner’s A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian (page 7). I find
that it can mean, “I, me” or “my” and that it can be a contraction of the word “say” or “said” or a
contraction of the salutation “Oh” or ‘Hail;’ No more extensive values seem possible, so Joseph Smith’s
insistence that it constitutes something approaching a third of the message “Who began to reign in the year
of the World 2962,” is unreasonable.
Let us now follow this line of investigation another step forward. Notice that the characters 7, 8 and 9
produce a word which is traditional in every respect and a very common one at that, the proper name of the
god Osiris. These three characters begin the sequence of 17 successive characters which I translate “Osiris
Amen-Terp, who is true of word, mistress.” If we accept Joseph Smith’s “translation” we must also accept
the preposterous idea that the three character word “Osiris” is a super-cryptogram which also means
“Katumin was born in the 30th year of the reign of her father, and died when s h e was 28 years old, which
was the year 3020.” I admit that the Egyptians gave second magical meanings to many words and these
might be called cryptograms. The proper noun Osiris happens to be a known cryptogram. It is, in fact, one
of the most classic of all Egyptian magic words. The underlying meaning, when used in formal funeral
texts, is “dead one” or “accepted of the Lord of the Dead.” Egyptian word cryptograms invariably had
meanings allied to their literal meanings. I fail to see how it would be possible to convey such an involved
message, as Joseph Smith claimed, in the single word Osiris.
Summary: The three lines of Egyptian, on the same page as Joseph Smith’s legged serpent drawing in the
Valuable Discovery Notebook, are traditional Ptolemaic or Roman Period hieratic. 18 of the 26 characters
in the first line are identifiable (70%). 17 of these form the name of the beneficiary in the following
context, “Osiris Amen-Terp, who is true of word, mistress.” This name and associated words are
completely normal in ancient Egyptian funeral texts.
Joseph Smith’s “translation” is so involved that it would be completely impossible to condense its 45
English words into 9 Egyptian characters.
THE BOOK OF ABRAHAM

On pages 5 and 6 of my book, The Joseph Smith Papyri, I stated: “It is important that I mention that
absolutely irrevocable proof exists that at least 11 of these papyrus fragments (all but the two non
illustrated ones) were among those which Joseph Smith, Jr. acquired for the Church in 1835 from M. H.
Chandler.” It has occurred to me since the publication of this statement that there is evidence substantial
enough to make the likelihood very probable that all 13 “Metropolitan Papyri” fragments were in the hands
of the Prophet.
On page 19 of that book I began a description of the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus Fragment Number 6 upon which
six vignettes appear. In the first paragraph of my description I remarked that, “I note that two small pieces
of papyrus have been glued onto the sheet near the Cupper right hand illustration. The interesting thing
about these inserts is that they are not only out of place but not even from the same papyrus. The
calligraphy is distinctive and very like that found on the two non illustrated fragments. The upper insert is,
in fact, even upside down. That this upper insert is from the same papyrus as the non illustrated fragments
is undeniable because the phrase, Shait en Sensen, appears upon it. Translated this sequence of characters
reads, “Book of Breathings” As I will later demonstrate (from the occurrence of the same phrase upon
them) this is the title of the papyrus from which the two non illustrated fragments come.” I fear that I was
giving the issue the benefit of the doubt in these remarks and that the probability that all of the fragments
were in fact those possessed by Joseph Smith is much greater than I had originally supposed. Several
related facts now lead me to a more positive viewpoint.
The inserted piece which is inscribed with the name of the Book of Breathings is most decidedly from the
damaged portions of the papyrus from which the two non illustrated fragments survive. I have in recent
days more meticulously examined the formation of the characters on this out-of-place piece and compared
them with those in the same title phrase on the non illustrated fragments. Paleographically they are the
same. The characters are blotted and indistinct. This could have resulted from one of several causes and
most probably a combination of them. As I recall from my personal examination of the original fragments,
at B. Y. U. on January 4, 1968, the papyrus of the non illustrated pieces was of a coarse quality. I thought at
the time that this probably had resulted in ancient times from insufficient weight having been applied to the
sheet of plant fibers while it was being pressed and dried. This produces a porous papyrus which somewhat
freely absorbs the ink, allowing a certain degree of blotting.
The pen-brush used by the ancient scribe may have been improperly prepared resulting in characters which
were not crisply formed. I describe the writing implement as a pen-brush because that is exactly what it was
a semi hard reed quill, frayed very slightly at the end to hold and smoothly dispense the ink during writing.
This pen-brush was manufactured on the spot by the scribe from a supply of reeds of the proper quality.
The instrument was first sharpened to a fine point then the tip of that point was crushed to separate the
fibers and produce a diminutive brush. The method of crushing the point is debatable but I believe it was
done with the teeth. Considerable skill and practice was required to produce a slight fraying delicate
enough to leave a small and neat line. The writing tool used to make the characters on the two non
illustrated fragments (and the original Book of Abraham Facsimile Number 1) was evidently coarse and
poorly made. The broad, sometimes overlapping strokes suggest as much.
The quality of the ink was often responsible for blotting and grossness of the characters. Properly prepared
ink was probably of the consistency of thin oil paint. A durable black ink was made out of c a r b o n
collected from burned lamp oil, usually olive oil or diluted resin from some tree (pine or cedar). This was
dampened and pressed into small cakes. The dregs of old wine were dehydrated and the resulting s u g a r
paste was sometimes mixed with the blacking. The scribe ground the black pigment thus produced in a
mortar and pressed small amounts of it into holes in a rectangular wooden palette where it was readily
available. The ink, which dried during the intervals between usages, was moistened when needed and the
pen-brush applied directly to it. Water was used to dampen the palette ink, though I believe that sometimes
saliva was used as a vehicle, judging from the fact that I have seen primitive public letter writers use this
method in Egypt today. An ink which was too watery would produce a blotted character when applied to
papyrus. Excess pressure upon the pen-brush while writing would also produce heavy indistinct characters.
To test and acquaint myself intimately with these scribal processes which constitute a facet of the science
of paleography I have manufactured papyrus sheets, ink and pen-brushes myself, using the primitive
techniques which I have described. These techniques are based partly upon recorded ancient methods, as
well as upon traditional procedures used today in the Middle East and to some degree upon theoretical
conjectures.
In the final analysis the reason for the heavy and awkward formation of the characters on the two non
illustrated “Metropolitan Fragments” was the lack of skill or care used by the ancient scribe. I have perhaps
been a bit too descriptive in explaining the causes for the badly done hieratic on the Hor Sensen Fragments,
but it so happens that this aspect of ancient writing and the spectrographic analysis of inks is my specialty.
There is no doubt that the small title insert on the Ta-shert-Min Fragment Number 6 is from the papyrus to
which the two non illustrated fragments originally belonged. The next step is to determine when the out-of
place insert was attached to Fragment Number 6. It was no doubt done when the papyrus pieces were glued
to the backing paper. I have indicated that I believed this was sometime in the Nineteenth Century judging
from the quality of the backing material. It now seems likely that Joseph Smith himself or one of his
associates did the mounting. This probability is affirmed by some hand drawn maps and notes which appear
on the reverse side of one of the backing sheets. These seem to be in Joseph Smith’s own handwriting. I can
not verify this but the map is believed to be of a local area with which Joseph Smith, Junior was familiar.
I have designated the two non illustrated “Metropolitan” Fragments as part of a copy of a funeral text
known as the Shait en Sensen or Book of Breathings. It is specifically identified as the Hor Papyrus from
my transliteration of the name of the beneficiary.
What do the newly discovered “Metropolitan Papyri” have to do with the Book of Abraham? The original
ancient Egyptian text from which Joseph Smith “translated” the Book of Abraham has been found! A
substantial part of it can be seen in column 1(right hand) on the smaller Hor Sensen Papyrus Fragment (non
illustrated). In The Joseph Smith Papyri I had suggested that this fragment be designated as the Ter (Hor)
Papyrus Fragment Number 2. I based this proposal upon the fact that I did not recognize the text as typical
of other orthodox copies of the Book of Breathings. I supposed consequently on the prima facie evidence
that column 2 was an epilogue of some sort. I have since devoted more time to the study of the Sensen
Fragments and must amend my conclusions. I was correct in my opinion that an addendum was involved,
but I now find that it is a preamble rather than an epilogue, that the preamble involves column 1 and that
the traditional Book of Breathings begins in column 2 (left hand) on the fragment. I am indebted to Mr.
Grant Heward for pointing this out to me and for showing me proof of the fact by providing a copy of an
hieratic transcript of the preamble, which is almost word for word t h e same as column 1, from Papyrus
Number 3284, The Louvre, Paris. Below in Plate 7 is the Louvre hieratic transcript and my hieroglyphic
transcription along with my partial transliteration and literal translation. I now suggest that the small Hor
Sensen Papyrus Fragment be designated as Fragment Number 1 and that the larger non illustrated Fragment
be numbered 2.
PLATE 7
Item A:
An hieratic transcription of Papyrus Number 3284 in the Louvre, Paris. It is a preamble to the Book of
Breathings, a counterpart of the Hor Sensen Papyrus Fragment Number I (small non illustrated), column
Number 1(right hand).
Item B:
My hieroglyphic transcription of Item A.
Item C:
The transliteration of Items A and B (attached to only the first portion of the text).
Item D:
My literal translation of Item C (vertically oriented to be read from right to left).
Compare this text with the Hor Sensen text on page 16.
How do we know that Joseph Smith “translated” the Book of Abraham from column 1 of the Hor Sensen
Fragment Number 1? Joseph Smith tells us that it is so in the most positive of ways by supplying a list of
the ancient characters and attaching to it the “translation. “ This list of characters, though crudely copied,
precisely matches the first two lines of hieratic characters in column 1 on the Hor Papyrus Fragment
Number 1. Joseph Smith’s character list and the attached “translation” is found in the notebook entitled
Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language. Before the disclosure that the Joseph Smith Papyri had
been found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, I had succeeded in identifying the
character accompanying Joseph Smith’s “translation” as traditional hieratic and had, in spite of the poor
quality of the copy, identified several individual characters, but it was Grant Heward who later pointed out
to me that the characters drawn by Joseph Smith in the left hand margin of the Grammar and Alphabet were
the same as in the original Hor Sensen text. The fact is indisputable.
The “translation” starts on page J of the Grammar and Alphabet and almost exactly matches the published
version of the Book of Abraham beginning with Chapter 1, verse 4 and ending with Chapter 2, verse 5. We
can be absolutely sure that Joseph Smith intended the “translation” to match the characters written down
the left margin because beginning on page S (there is some inconsistency in his page numbering) he again
lists the characters in the margin and repeats the “translation” almost word-for-word. The groups of
marginal characters are in each instance represented by the same “translations.” If the characters were
irrelevant and independent of the ‘translation;’ as some have suggested, they would not have been so
meticulously placed and identically oriented in each of the two “translations.” This fact proves without a
doubt that the “translation” relates to the marginal characters and to no others.
On the opposite page (Plate 8) I have copied the characters exactly as they appear in the Grammar and
Alphabet (line 1) and the two Hor Papyrus lines from which he copied them (line 2). The small numbers
along the top of the lines indicate the limits of traditional hieratic words. On the Hor Fragment a portion of
the beginning of line 2 is missing after word Number 4. Characters filling this gap are found in the
Grammar and Alphabet Notebook so one would assume that this portion was intact at the time Joseph
Smith copied the lines. I have marked this section X on my drawing. It is interesting to find that all of
Joseph Smith’s characters are common Egyptian hieratic through word 4 at which point they are no longer
hieratic or any other form of Egyptian known to me. At this point in the Grammar and Alphabet which I
have labeled words 5 and 6 (Plate 8, line 1) the text again becomes normal hieratic. In other words, that
portion marked X is not hieratic and the rest is. This is not only very strange but the alien characters
coincide precisely with the missing portion on the original Sensen Fragment. One wonders where Joseph
Smith found these ‘characters’ certainly not in the Hor Sensen Papyrus.
In Plate 8, line 3, I have converted the hieratic characters into their hieroglyphic equivalents. Items 4 and 5
present my transliteration and literal translation with alternative meanings. These two items have been
vertically oriented because of insufficient horizontal space. Line 6 is an hieratic transcription of the same
passage as it appears in the Louvre Papyrus Number 3284. Line 7 is my hieroglyphic conversion. Words
which may be equated in the Grammar and Alphabet, Hor Sensen and Louvre texts are numbered
appropriately.
Let us compare a portion of Joseph Smith’s Grammar and Alphabet Book of Abraham “translation” with a
traditional translation. The words which I have marked Numbers 5 and 6, according to Joseph Smith read,
“Now after the priest of Elk Kee nah was smitten that he died there came a fulfillment of those things
which were spoken unto me concerning the land of Chaldea, that there should be a famine in the land; and
accordingly a famine prevailed throughout all the land of Chaldea and my father was sorely tormented
because o f the famine, and he repented of the evil which he had determined against me, to take away my
life: But the records of the fathers even the patriarchs concerning the right of priesthood the lord my God
preserved in mine own hand: Therefore a knowledge of the beginning of creation and also of the planets,
and of the stars, as it was made known unto the fathers, have I kept even unto this day,” This is a
substantial “translation” (130 words) to be represented by 4 perfectly normal hieratic characters which to
any trained Egyptian philologist transliterate Mes En and mean “offspring of” or “born of.” Word Number
7 is the personal name of the mother, Tat Khebit, yet Joseph Smith tells us that these precise characters
mean, “And I shall endeavor ‘to write some of these things, upon this record, for the benefit of my posterity
that shall come after me. Now the Lord God caused the famine to wax sore in the land of Ur insomuch that
my brother died: but Terah my father yet lived in the land of Ur of the Chaldees. And it came to pass; that I
Abram took Sarai to wife and Nehor my brother took Melkah to wife who was the daughter of Haran.” (85
words). Compare these two parts of Joseph Smith’s “translation” with the Book of Abraham, Chapter 1,
verse 29 through Chapter 2, verse 2.
Because the connecting phrase “born of” and the name of the beneficiary’s mother immediately follow the
damaged part of line 2 and because the expected form in funeral papyri is so well established the philologist
can supply the missing part. It would be, “Osiris Hor, who is true of word (justified).” Professor Richard
Parker in his fine translation of the Hor Sensen text has supplied the missing part (Dialogue, Summer,
1968, page 98).
Some say Joseph Smith did not translate the literal meaning of those two Hor Sensen lines but rather the
crypto-meaning. This is not even remotely possible. Cryptograms invariably had meanings allied to the
literal meanings. In any case, the complex ideas in Joseph Smith’s “translation” out number the elements in
the hieratic characters which could contain the cryptogram code. It is mathematically impossible to express
the total complexities of Joseph Smith’s “translation” with the characters involved.
PLATE 8
GRAMMAR AND ALPHABET AND HOR SENSEN TEXT COMPARED
Item 1: The Grammar and Alphabet Notebook Egyptian characters written in the margins of two
“translations’ of the Book of Abraham, Chapter 1, verse 4 through Chapter 2, verse 5.
Item 2: The same hieratic characters as they appear in lines land 2, column 1, Hor Sensen Papyrus
Fragment Number 1.
Item 3: My hieroglyphic transcription of Items 1 and 2.
Item 4: Transliteration of the words in Items 1, 2 and 3.
Item 5: My literal translation of the words in Items 1, 2, 3 and 4 with alternative meanings.
Item 6: The first few hieratic characters in the Louvre Papyrus Number 3284.
Item 7: My hieroglyphic transcription of some of the characters in Item 6.
The small numbers across the top indicate the limits of complete words. Segment X is not any form of
ancient Egyptian now known to science and corresponds precisely with the part of the Ter Papyrus
Fragment Number 1 which is missing.
PLATE 9
Column 1(right hand) on the Hor Book of Breathings Papyrus (small non illustrated fragment). Below the
hieratic characters I have presented their hieroglyphic equivalents. Because hieratic writing requires
slightly less room than does hieroglyphic I have found it necessary in a few instances to sacrifice the
accepted line symmetry of the hieroglyphic transcription. When there was some doubt concerning the
identification of the hieratic characters I have left a blank space in the hieroglyphic lines. A complete
annotated translati6n may be found in the text of this publication.
It was determined by a careful count that in current printed editions of the Pearl of Great Price, Book of
Abraham, Chap. 1, verse 4 through Chap. 2, verse 5 there are precisely 1,125 English words. These were
derived from 46 margin characters accompanying the two Grammar and Alphabet “translations.” This last
figure is only approximately characters correct because the symbols shown in that area of my drawing -o n
page 15 (Plate 8, line 1) which I have marked x are unknown to me. There are apparently 10 of these
characters. If 46 is the correct number, the ratio of English words to Egyptian characters is 25 to 1. I have
never heard of a written language, ancient or modern, which was this compact. Is this ratio realistic? It is
possible t o convey simple thoughts with a veritable mountain of words. I was sure that the message in the
“translation” could be expressed more simply and this might make the ratio more feasible. To test this
theory a computer was what I needed so I went to the Landa Data Center in California and put my problem
to them. They agreed to program a computer to the task of calculating the mathematical possibility that the
first two lines of column 1 of the Hor Sensen Fragment could produce the required minimum number of
words to convey the message in the Book of Abraham, Chapter 1, verse 4 through Chapter 2, verse 5. The
machine used was a Sigma 7 multi-use time sharing environment computer manufactured by the Scientific
Data Systems Corporation, Los Angeles, California.
I asked the operator to simplify the thoughts in the 1, 125 word Book of Abraham “translation” without
sacrificing any of the basic meanings. The computer answer was 482 words which means that each
Egyptian character is supposed to translate into just over 10 English words. The ratio is still fantastic
though we have given Joseph Smith’s claim the benefit of the doubt by reducing the English “translation”
to its simplest form. This 10:1 ratio includes the proper nouns in the Book of Abraham. Between Chapter 1,
verse 4 and the end of Chapter 2, verse 5 there are 65 of them. These contain approximately 296 English
vocal excluding those least audible connecting vowels. The only reasonable way to represent proper names
in a translation is to transliterate them. The name of the god Mahmackrah has 10 letters representing 7
vocal and it is repeated three times in the “translation” Shagreel, a proper name with 8 letters, has 6 vocal.
Elkenah as 5 vocal and it is repeated in the 33 verses five separate times. The 46 marginal Grammar and
Alphabet characters can not duplicate the vocal in the proper names in the “translation” and even if they
could that would leave 1, 060 words unaccounted for.
These figures were produced by a computer. It is definitely possible for a computer to give a biased answer
if the programming is so inclined, and for this reason, to be completely fair, I was very careful to see to it
that only the mathematical ratio of Egyptian characters to English words was examined. The la s t question
put to the computer was, “What is the mathematical probability that 46 characters could produce the
simplified 482 word “translation”?” The answer was as unemotional as only a machine can make it. It was
beyond the limits of the machine, and the limits of the Sigma 7 are so great that they have not yet been
determined. Typed across the middle of a type reader sheet was 1:1,000,000,000,000,000.
ANNOTATED HOR SENSEN TRANSLATION

Richard A. Parker, professor of Egyptology at Brown University, has published an excellent translation of
the small no nillustrated Sensen Fragment in the summer issue of Dialogue (page 98). My translation is a
bit different, as might be expected, but the message is essentially the same.
I do not intend these notes as a criticism of Professor Parker’s work because there is essentially no room for
criticism.
I believe that extensive explanation of this part of the Sensen text is necessary for two reasons:
(1) To crystallize the true meaning intended by the ancient scribe.

(2) To point out the improbability that a message independent of the literal one is somewhere hidden in the
text.
For study purposes and to clarify the meanings of the literal translation I present here my step by step
annotated translation of column 1, Hor Sensen Papyrus Fragment Number 1 (non illustrated).
Line 1 (Read from right to left).

The first recognizable word on the Fragment is X. It is probably supposed to be X and X are often
confused, in hieratic). It is the demonstative pronoun “this” or “the” (a specific thing).
The second word is Sa, meaning “lake” or “pool.” This is followed by which Professor Klaus Baer has
suggested is Ur, “great” written incorrectly by a careless scribe. He is probably correct but to avoid being
accused of changing the wording I prefer to read it. In Egyptian the adjective almost always follows the
noun to which it refers may be a contraction of X meaning “on the pathway,” “to pass by” or “to travel.”
Next comes the proper name of the Moon God, Khensu. He is often called “The Traveler” and was
associated with medicine in the capacity of a healer. In Ptolemaic and Roman times his center of worship
was Thebes. This is significant because the gallery tomb (catacomb) where the several Joseph Smith Papyri
were found was reported to be near Thebes. Note also that this god’s name is included in the spelling of the
name of the mother of Ta-shert-Min, Nes-Khensu another papyrus from the same mass grave. This seems
to loosely tie both papyri to the same late period.
It is common for the verb to precede the noun in ancient Egyptian sentence structure so the word “on the
pathway,” may refer to Khensu. One could thus trans1ate this first line: “This pool, on pathway, Khensu.”
The clarified message intended may be something like: “This pool on the pathway traveled by Khensu.”
This can be understood when I explain that the path which the deceased was supposed to travel through the
Underworld went by a great curving pool, the center of Khensuls domain. Like the Sun God Ra, Khensu
traveled the sky during part of the day-night cycle but he was less constant, remaining in his subterranean
lake home during the dark of the moon. The line suggests that Khensu patrols the pathway of the dead near
his pool. As Khensu is called the Traveler may be a descriptive part of his name which would be changed
to Her-Khensu or Khensu-Her. The line would thus read, “the pool of The Traveler Khensu.”
Line 2:
On the Hor Papyrus Fragment the beginning third of this line is missing, but as the remainder of it has to do
with the parent of the deceased, preceded by their relationship, we can easily reconstruct some of the
missing part. The expected funerary form suggests that it would have read, “Osiris Hor, who is true of
word. This means that the deceased beneficiary, Hor, was in the realm of the death god, Osiris, and that he
had successfully passed the trial of the final judgment and been found truthful or justified.
The phrase Mes en, meaning “born of” or “offspring of” is seen at the edge of the damaged part of line 2. It
is also acceptable to translate it “daughter of” or “son of” if the sex of the beneficiary is known. This is
followed by the name of the parent, Tai Khebit. I refer you to my analytical drawing on page 15 (Plate 8,
word 7), that you may see the limits of the name and its hieroglyphic equivalent (see also Plate 9 on page
16). The name means “He belonging (or devoted) to The Destroyer.”
Richard Parker translates the next phrase “a man likewise” can mean “man” and as in later times became
inter changeable with his interpretation is reasonable. However, some conflicting evidence makes another
translation possible. At the end of proper names in funeral texts one expects to find the formal declaration
of innocence Maat Kheru, “true of word,” In late Egyptian texts scribes often carelessly wrote the
characters. As Professor Baer transliterates it I am now confident that “who is true of word” is correct.
The last word on the line is mati, “likewise” or “like” implying that the mother has been found true of word
like her child. The first two lines of column 1, Hor Sensen Papyrus Fragment Number 1 appear to read
(reconstructing some of the missing portions), “The pool of the Traveler, Khensu [Osiris Hor, who is true
of word], born of Tai-Khebit, who is true of word likewise.”
Line 3:
The character is exceedingly common with a variety of meanings depending upon the sentence context and
adjacent characters. As nothing but an unrecognizable part of one succeeding symbol remains on the
fragment a precise translation is impossible. Professor Parker has assumed it to be part o f a word meaning
“after” (Dialogue, Summer 1968, page 98). He may very well be correct. The next three or four characters
are missing.
Baer suggests that the 4 characters following the damaged areaare the ending of the word “to seize” or “to
grasp.” This seems logical. Next comes aa ui), meaning “the two arms.” This is followed by the one
character word “with.”
Next in sequence is hatif, a noun with a masculine possessive suffix meaning “his heart” or “his breast.”
This spelling of heart or breast is typical of late Ptolemaic and Roman Times and was never written this
way before about 400 BC.
The next word is au, plural. This word is an emphatic pronoun-verb indicating a person, place or thing
involved in a fact used as the English verb “to be”). It most definitely indicates a person involved in a state
of being and is dependant referring to the subject-noun written elsewhere in the sentence. As it is pluralized
it would most probably be translated, “They are,” The verb follows beginning on the end of this line and
continues on line 4. It is eras, “to wrap up in linen wrappings” (as one might wrap a body for burial).
Line 4.
A few traces of the second word survive on the Sensen Fragment but I can not identify them for sure. In the
Louvre Papyrus (Number 3284) preamble the word “this” or “the” appears in this position.
The next nine characters will be dealt with as a unit because they constitute the title of the work, Shait en
Sensen), “Book of Breathings,” literally “Writings of Inhalations.” The scribe neglected to pluralize the
word breathings, as he should have.
The Book of Breathings is the name given to a class of funerary texts popular in Ptolemaic and Roman
Periods. Like the Book of the Dead it was interred with the mummified human body, intended to serve the
function of providing the deceased with magical information by which he could breathe again in the after-
life. It is a much less lengthy and involved work than the Book of the Dead which it somewhat replaced
during the Egyptian decline.
Professor Klaus Baer has indicated that the next few characters represent a contracted phrase meaning
“which [Isis] made and which.” The characters are. The word Isis is not written but she was considered the
author of the Book of Breathings so the insertion is reasonable. The elements of this phrase are arq, “to
make an end.” Ari en, “made by.” Neti, a relative adjective “who” or “which.”
Line 5:
A one character word opens this line. It transliterates and has many allied meanings. In this case “with” is
most likely.
The next several characters produce the word Sseshu which translates, “writings.” This is followed by some
nearly obliterated characters which may reconstruct into nu an abbreviation. It means “interior” or “inside.”
This is followed by its opposite meaning “outside,” uat, actually an abbreviation of the phrase.
The two characters next in order am, “there,” “therein,” “thereon,” “therewith,” or “there from,” go with the
succeeding two, causative prepositional prefix and “from,” “in,” “with” etc. To produce a connecting
phrase which, when translated, is a bit archaic sounding. It might be read, “thereon is done to.” When all of
the elements of this sentence are explained and its total translation presented I shall modernize the phrase
somewhat to make it more understandable.
We now come to a clear cut word Suten, meaning “byssus,” a variety of fine fabric made in ancient times
and loosely translatable as “fine linen” or “royal linen.” On the original Fragment there is a very inadequate
mark in the word which is probably changing the spelling to. This would be more correct.
The next word, Ra, has been translated by Parker, “placed at.” Variations of the spelling can mean “near”
or “beside” and its occurrence in inscriptions which I have encountered suggest to me that it probably has a
more encompassing meaning than has been assigned to it. Professor Parker has evidently noted the same
because he places (at) in parenthesis. This attests to his knowledge and insight into the language, but I
would be more liberal and translate it “placed at” or “placed near,” removing the parenthesis.
The last few characters on line 5 are very poorly formed and so there is some small question as to the
complete identity of the word, I seem to detect uatef, “to tie up” or “to wrap up,” The Louvre Sensen
Papyrus (Number 3284) uses Ut with different spelling but meaning the same so I think my identification is
essentially correct.
It would appear that the message intended in line 5 is, “With writing o n the inside and outside of royal
linen, placed near and wrapped up.”
Line 6:
Word Number I on this line is Aabi. The third and fourth characters are confused but the first two are
sufficiently definite to indicate that the word means “left side” whether or not my identification of the
ending is correct. Word Number 2 is Meti meaning, “straight forward,” “precise” or “in alignment with.”
Word Number 3 is “his heart” or “his breast:’ but the spelling is a bit different from that in line 3. The word
heart in line 6 is spelled hetif). Beginning in the middle of the 5th line the message reads, “placed near and
wrapped up on the left side in alignment with his heart.”
Au is next. It transliterates (au) and translates “is” or “are” (verb to be). Then comes aru “to make,” “to do”
or “done.” This is reinforced by the next character, a simplified form of iet meaning “this” or “the” and
very often transmits the idea of an act having been accomplished. This seems to be the implication here.
The English translation of the Egyptian past premise is so cumbersome that the word “this” will suffice.
Particularly so as the previous word (done) conveys the conclusion effect.
Now comes gerb-an abbreviation of gerh en meaning “at the end” or “final;” conveying the idea that it is
done at the time of burial. The last word in line 6 is taif, a possessive adjective meaning “his.” In ancient
Egyptian one can express the idea that a thing is his property by simply suffixing to the noun, but this word
seems to be a stronger version of the same and may have originally meant “this is his.”
Line 7:
The first word on this line is the same as encountered at the end of line 3 (continuing on line 4). It is qeras,
“to wrap up in linen wrappings.” It is followed by an indistinct character which is probably part of the same
word. Louvre 3284 uses (qesast) which conveys the meaning “preparation for burial. “ I believe that the
Hor Sensen meaning is “the wrapping for burial.”
Word Number 2 is certainly pes, but, though the writing is very distinct and the transliteration definite, I
have found this word especially troublesome. There are a large number of Egyptian words beginning with
it, but I know of none in which this spelling is complete. The following characters can not, however, be part
of the same word as they too are definite and constitute a separate word. I am thus faced with two
possibilities: (1) The word may be an abbreviation of a longer one. I do not, however, find in any of my
reference works a longer word which could be so abbreviated and be compatible with sentence sense. (2)
The word may be misspelled. It would seem, from Professor Parker’s translation that he has come to this
conclusion and, if I follow his line of thinking correctly, he has assumed it to be a mis-spelling of pi,
meaning “this.” I am inclined to agree.
Word Number 3 is uat, as encountered in line 5 and meaning, as before, “outside.” Professor Parker has
translated this passage, “this having been done at his wrapping and outside it.” This is an excellent
translation, but I believe that pi uat “this outside” modifies “wrapping” indicating that it is an outer
wrapping which is involved. I would think that this having been done at his final outer wrapping for burial,
would better convey the ancient meaning intended.
A complete thought is ended here, so the next word seems to open the next sentence. This is confirmed by
the fact that a two character word ar, which is often used to open thoughts follows. It is a conditional
preposition meaning “as to” or “if” and is frequently placed before a word or phrase to be specifically
emphasized.
Word Number 5 is artu, which means “to make,” “to do” or “done.” The word is somewhat damaged but
readable. This is followed by a one character reposition to which a suffix character is added enf. The
preposition is “to” or ‘for” and the suffix is the personal pronoun “his,” “him” or “its.” Together they
produce the verbal recipient phrase “for him.” The word written next in line 7 is metchat, “writing” or
“book.” Then comes ten, “this.”
The last word on line 7 is “to,” (kher). Beginning in the middle of line 7 we find the following sequence of
words: “If, made, for him, book, this, to.” These require some transposing for, English meaning, “If this
book (is) made for him to.”
Line 8:
At the beginning of the line is sensen, and as before it is not pluralized, but the masculine third person
suffix (f) has been attached making the translation “his breath.”
Word Number 2 is ma, “like.”
Word Number 3 is partly lost in a damaged area, but the single character which begins the word is the
determinative for the word ba, “soul’: On the Louvre Papyrus (Number 3284) the word begins with the
same character and is pluralized In the damaged area we could expect to find the word (neteru), “gods.’
Some traces of the word appear beyond the break but are much confused by fractures in the papyrus fibers.
The first completely recognizable word beyond the damaged portion is a single character bridge preposition
with a very fluid meaning, “to,” “at,” “from” or “concerning.”
The remainder of the characters on line 8 and the three which are in line 9 will be explained as a group
because they constitute a common phrase used to end mortuary texts. The characters are transliterating
(hehehnatchet) and translate “an endless period of time,” “for ever and ever” or “eternity.
Beginning in the middle of line 7 we see that the final sentence reads (with proper transpositions), “If this
book is made for him he (will) breathe with the souls of the gods for ever and ever.” We are now faced with
a problem of interpretation. Literally the meaning of the sentence is obvious but many philologists interpret
“made” to mean “recited” or “read.”
CONSOLIDATED TRANSLATION
My translation of the small non illustrated Hor Sensen Papyrus Fragment Number 1 (preamble) is:
“The pool of The Traveler, Khensu [Osiris Hor, who is true of word], born of Tai-Khebit, who is true of
word likewise. After seized, the two arms with his heart are wrapped up with the Book of Breathings made
by [Isis] and which is with writing on the inside and outside of royal linen. It is placed near and wrapped up
on the left side in alignment with his heart. This having been done at his final wrapping for burial. If this
book is made for him then he (will) breathe like the souls of the gods for ever and ever.”
For purposes of comparison I should like to present my translation of the preamble to the Book of
Breathings which appears in the Louvre Papyrus Number 3284. My translation does not precisely agree
with that published in Bibliotheque Egyptologique publiee sous la Direction de G. MasPero, but the
message is essentially the same.
“His soul is towed (with) Osiris through the Great Pool of Khensu where he repossesses his heart. The
Book of Breathings is wrapped up with writing on the inside and outside of royal linen and (placed) on the
left side in alignment with his heart, this having been done properly at the outer wrapping for burial. When
this book has been made for him he shall breathe with the souls of the gods for ever and ever.”
I had originally intended to make a translation of column 2 of the Hor Sensen Fragment Number 1 (small
non illustrated) but having perused the fine translation which Professor Parker did of this column, I see no
practical purpose in doing so. Column 1 on the Fragment is specifically linked with the Book of Abraham,
and I have done my descriptive translation solely to provide the researcher with specific information for
future study.
THE TA-SHERT-MIN PAPYRUS VIGNETTES

I find the illustrations interspersed through the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus fascinating and though I have
commented extensively upon them in The Joseph Smith Papyri, considerably more can be said. The
remainder of this chapter is devoted to some observations which I have made pertinent to these drawings.
There are twenty-two vignettes on the ten “Metropolitan” Ta-shert-Min Papyrus Fragments. Several of
these are extensively damaged, one so badly that only a few lines of the lower skirt of the lady Ta-shert
Min are discernable.
I shall comment upon eleven of the drawings only. Those remarks which I made in The Joseph Smith
Papyri are sufficiently complete to describe the others.
CYNOCEPHALIC APES
On one page of Joseph Smith’s Valuable Discovery Notebook are nine long lines of hieratic script copied
from the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus. The characters are reproduced with a marked lack of skill and are in some
cases so crudely drawn that they are unreadable. Approximately 70% of them are identifyable as hieratic
and in every instance these prove to be completely traditional examples of their kind. A careful comparison
of these characters with the lists of hieratic variations which appear in G. Mo’ller’s Hieratische
Palaographie (Leipzig 1912) demonstrates that they frequently exhibit the peculiarities of that form of
hieratic used in Ptolemaic and Roman times (after 332 BC) as do also the hieratic characters on the original
ten Ta-shert-Min, “Metropolitan” Papyrus Fragments. That the nine lines are definitely from the Ta-
shertMin papyrus can not be disputed because I have successfully identified and transliterated the name of
this lady in the top line. I also find the name of her mother, Nes-Khensu, in five other places in the lines.
I have been unable to identify the spell or chapter of the papyrus from which these nine lines were copied
but I can, with a fair degree of assurance, state that they were copied from a portion of the Ta-shert-Min
Papyrus which is now lost. I can not find their equivalent on any of the ten Ta-shert-Min Fragments. The
lines of text were probably copied from the 16th Chapter (Spell) of the Per em Heru, Book of the Dead, o r
from one of the chapters just before or after it. These are my reasons for thinking so. On the lower half of
the same notebook page are three fragmentary drawings. Two of these depict Cynocephalic or Dog-headed
Apes. They are shown one above the other exactly as I have represented them (Items 1 and 2) in the
illustration on page 23. One expects to see such Apes (members of the Drill or Baboon family) as an
integral part of the 16th Chapter of the Book of the Dead, so it is possible that Joseph Smith copied the text
from apart of the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus someplace near that chapter. This is not certain, of course, but
definitely a possibility. When Lepsius did his original work in classifying the chapters of the Book of the
Dead he made an error by assigning the 16th Chapter-to a-vignette which actually illustrated Chapter 15.
This illustration in different versions of the Book of the Dead usually shows the Divine Sun in one of its
various supernatural forms being adored by the goddesses Isis and Nephthys. It is usually bordered on each
side by several Cynocephalic Apes who also are shown in the attitude of adoration. The act of adoration
and supplication is universally represented on Egyptian papyri by showing the supplicant with his arms
held up before his face and with the palms of the hands held outward toward the recipient of the tribute.
Notice in the illustration o n the next page (Plate 10) that the upper Ape (Number 1) holds his hands in this
position of respect. Dog- headed Apes 3, 4 and 5 which I have drawn on the same illustration were copied
from the 16th Chapter of other examples of the Book of the Dead. The caption beneath the drawing
identifies these papyri. I should add that
PLATE 10
CYNOCEPHALIC APES
Items 1 and 2:
Two Dog-headed Apes as they are drawn in Joseph Smith’s Valuable Discovery Notebook. They are
represented one above the other as in this drawing.
Item 3:
One of the four Dog-headed Apes as he appears in the Milbank Papyrus (Oriental Institute Museum,
Chicago, Number 10486).
Item 4:
An Ape as he appears in the Hunefer Papyrus (British Museum, London, Number 9901).
Item 5:
A Cynocephalic Ape as he appears in the Anhi Papyrus, which is also inthe British Museum (Number
10472).
Item 6 (a. and b. ):

The drawings of the Apes as they appear on the original mutilated Ta-shert-Min Papyrus Fragment glued
into one of Joseph Smith’s notebooks. These are probably the originals from which Items i and 2 were
copied.
Cynocephalic Apes are sometimes seen as illustrative adjuncts to other chapters of the Book of the Dead
but I am inclined to think that those drawn in Joseph Smithts notebook are from the 16th Chapter because
they appear one above the other. They are often shown in this relative position in Chapter 16. They appear
thus in the Hunefer. Papyrus (British Museum, Papyrus Number 9901).
[Footnote: A twenty-third illustration is found on another of the “Metropolitan Papyri” Fragments. It is

the original from which Facsimile No, l in the Book of Abraham was copied. This drawing is not from
the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus but probably belonged originally to the Hor Sensen Papyrus. A twenty-fourth
illustration is found on the Ta-shert-Min papyrus Fragment which has been in the possession of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for many years. It is very badly damaged. Drawings of two
Cynocephalic Apes found in the Valuable Discovery Notebook were probably copied from this last
mentioned fragment of the Ta-shert-Min papyrus.]
The Dog-headed Apes who adore the rising sun were usually thought of as seven in number, though I
frequently see fewer in papyri6 In the Hunefer Papyrus there are seven. The Anhai, the Milbank and the
Ryerson Papyri have only four each. The ancient Egyptians called the Apes “Amiu Hetet” which seems to
mean, “Those who adore from within.”
It is probable, from the fact that the Cynocephalic Apes were drawn in his notebook, that Joseph Smith had
a nearly complete Ta-shert-Min Papyrus in his possession, or at least that the first part of it was intact. The
first Book of the Dead Chapter (Spell) to be found on the ten Ta-shert-Min Fragments is Number 53, so a
large part of the original roll is now missing from the beginning.
On the much mutilated Ta-shert-Min Papyrus Fragment which has been in the possession of the Church for
many years are two very fragmentary drawings of Cynocephalic Apes. These are in all probability the
originals from which Joseph Smith copied the two drawings (Items 1 and 2) in the Valuable Discovery
Note book. I have made copies of these in Plate 10, Item 6, a and b.
Like most of the concepts in the old Egyptian religion, the Apes worshiping the sun had its basis in fact.
During a recent visit to Egypt I was working in an upper region of the Nile Valley. One morning, after a
chilly night (it can get uncomfortably cool in Egypt at night), I was on my way to a small late period tomb
which was on the north slope of Qaret el Harami. On the crest of a small hill, about a hundred yards away, I
noticed a band of Anubus Baboons (genus Papio). There were perhaps thirty animals in the group. The
thing that struck me as being very odd about these particular apes was that, though normally very noisy and
quarrelsome, they were all sitting ram-rod straight and every one of them (except some babies clinging to
their mothers) were silently facing the rising sun. On subsequent mornings I went out of my way to find the
band and discovered that at the first light of dawn the baboons descended from their sleeping places in the
scrub trees and sat upon the ground in complete tranquility, facing the sun. They often remained in their
attitude of contemplation for as long as one and a half hours. Through binoculars I could see expressions of
complete rapture upon their mobile faces. Now I knew why the ancient Egyptians thought the apes prayed
to the rising sun. They were just enjoying the warmth of the sunlight. Zakaria Goneim, the late keeper of
antiquities at Saqqara, who many years ago initiated me into the fraternity of Egyptology, once said,
“Prayer is the quiet, humble expression of gratitude.” In this sense the apes were indeed praying to their
sun-god.
RECONSTRUCTION AND COMPARISON

OF THE DAMAGED VIGNETTE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TA-SHERT-MIN PAPYRUS
FRAGMENT NUMBER 1
This fragment of the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus can be identified by the picture at the top of the piece showing
the deceased sitting before a low offering table and holding a libation cup in her hand. In an ear1ier
publication, entitled The Joseph Smith Papyri, I have described this illustration and indicated its association
with Chapter 53 of the Saite Recension (a late pre-Christian version) of the Per em Heru or Book of the
Dead. At the moment we are not concerned with this upper vignette on the fragment, but rather with the
one which is extensively damaged at the bottom. All of the drawing is missing except that part which can
be easily identified as the head, back and downward hanging right arm of the standing figure of the lady
Tashert-Min.
PLATE 2
THE DECEASED HOLDING THE SYMBOL FOR BREATH
Item 1:
The damaged vignette showing the lady Ta-shert-Min standing, as seen at the bottom of the Ta-shert-Min
Papyrus Fragment Number 1.
Item 2:
The damaged area probably showed her holding the mast and ship’s squaresail sign of breath in her left
hand.
Item 3:
Artiu-Ru (the beneficiary) as he appears at the head of the 54th Chapter of the Ptolemaic Papyrus, now
called the Milbank (Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago, Number 10486)
Item 4:
The priest Nes-Shu-Tefnut as he appears in the Ryerson Papyrus (Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago,
Number 9787).
It is only natural that anyone with a reasonably well developed curiosity would wonder what the missing
part of the drawing would show. To guess at the answer to this problem one must, of course identify the
Book of the Dead chapter to which the vignette belongs and to assume that it is typical of traditional
illustrations accompanying that chapter. The bulk of the text on the fragment comes from the 53rd Chapter
with which the intact upper illustration is associated. One might logically assume that the 54th Chapter
follows, but it is distressingly true that ancient scribes frequently omitted chapters and sometimes even
wrote them out of order. However, seven characters below the damaged vignette, all that remains of the text
concerning the damaged drawing, can, by themselves, identify this as the 54th Chapter. The literal
translation is, “great divided Geb.”
In ancient Egyptian the adjective usually follows the word it describes so we can conclude that the object
which is great is named in the missing part just before the word “great” means divided or separated and
(Geb) is the name of an earth god, the husband of Nut, goddess of the sky. Geb was also believed to be the
father of Osiris. There is a passage in the 54th Chapter of the Pem em Heru which reads, “I protect the great
egg which divides Geb from the earth.” Notice that the words “great;” “divided” and “Geb” appear in this
sentence in the appropriate order. I think that it is rather well assured from this evidence that the damaged
text and illustration are from Chapter 54. Having established this we can proceed to reconstruct the missing
part of the vignette. The chapter in late Saite copies of the Book of the Dead has to do with giving life and
breath to the deceased in the afterworld. In the Ryerson Papyrus (Oriental Institute Museum Number 9787),
for instance, it is entitled, “Spell for giving breath to a man in the God’s domain.” The symbol for breath
was the mast, yards and square sail. In both the Milbank and Ryerson Papyri the chapter is illustrated with a
standing representation of the deceased holding the sail symbol of breath before him in the left hand. I have
drawn these two vignettes as items 3 and 4 respectively in the illustration above. Item 1 shows the damaged
vignette from the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus which was in the possession of Joseph I Smith. It takes very little
imagination to reconstruct the vignette, item 2 in my drawing, along the lines of the two complete ones
beside it.
THE FIRE AND WATER VIGNETTE

At the top of the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus Fragment Number 2 (upon which appears the deceased holding a
staff) is the remnant of a vignette showing only the lower dress and feet of the lady Ta-shert-Min, the base
of a symbol for fire and two vertical waving lines which represent two streams of flowing water. Most late
period Egyptian copies of the Per em Heru or Book of the Dead which contain the 63rd Chapter (Spell) are
illustrated with a drawing of the deceased standing before a curved symbol of fire and pouring two streams
of water onto the ground beside it. The device, intended to represent fire, is so typical that it appears in an
identical form as the hieroglyphic ideogram for fire in ancient Egyptian writing.
PLATE 12
RECONSTRUCTION AND COMPARISON OF THE FIRE AND WATER
VIGNETTE
Item 1:
My reconstruction of the damaged drawing at the top of the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus Fragment Number 2.
Only the portion of the illustration below the dotted line (a b) remains upon the fragment. The upper
part is lost.
Item 2:
The vignette as it appears in the Ryerson Papyrus (Number 9787) which is now in the Oriental Institute
Museum, Chicago.
This illustrative feature is typical of Chapter 63 in late period Saite Recensions of the Book of the Dead. It
shows the deceased pouring water beside a flame and is intended to dramatize the promise of abundant
water to those who are parched i n the after life.
In my reconstruction of the upper part of the missing Ta-shert-Min vignette, Plate 12, Item 1(above), I have
been guided by other representations of the lady as she is seen on other fragments of this papyrus. I have
drawn her arms and hands in a position compatible with the lines of the water at the bottom of the vignette.
The elongated shaped water jars in her hands are a purely arbitrary choice and I have no way of knowing
what shape they were upon the original.
Only the last part of Chapter 63 is intact upon the fragment but it provides irrefutable evidence that it is
Number 63, and the small part of the accompanying illustration which remains is ample to identify it as
appropriate to the chapter. I have seen dozens of examples of this illustration in museums of the world and
many are remarkably like this one.
Item Number 2 in the illustration above is a freehand drawing which I copied from the Ryerson Papyrus,
Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago, Illinois (Papyrus Number 9787).
In the Turin Papyrus (Ptolemaic Period), now in the Museo Egizio, Turin, the vignette is very similar to the
two specimens seen in Plate 12 above.
Chapter 63 of the Book of the Dead opens with the statement, “Spell for providing water to drink and not
being burned (parched with thirst) in the Underworld.” This so-called title or spell introduction is missing
in the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus so I can not say for certain that this is the wording, but it would probably be
similarly stated with the same general meaning.
THE LEGGED SERPENT

In Plate 13, next page. I present a comparative drawing showing vignettes which accompany Chapter 74 in
the Per em Heru or Book of the Dead. The first drawing (Item 1) was copied from the top of the Ta-shert-
Min Papyrus Fragment Number 4. It shows the dead lady Ta-shert-Min standing, staff in hand, facing a
great snake who is also standing upon human legs and feet. It is intended to illustrate a magical
pronouncement called, “Spell for opening the feet (spreading the feet in the act of walking) and coming
forth on earth (out of death).’ The resurrection idea is certainly implied and the miraculous aspect of a
serpent walking upon feet is intended to graphically represent the supernatural re-entry into a living state.
PLATE 13
THE LEGGED SERPENT
Item 1:
The lady Ta-shert-Min standing before a serpent with human legs as it is seen at the top of Fragment
Number 4 of the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus.
Item 2:
Joseph Smith’s drawing of the lady Ta-shert-Min and the snake as it appears in his Valuable Discovery
Notebook.
Item 3:
The deceased gentleman, Artiu-Ru, standing behind a legged serpent a s h e appears in Chapter 74 of the
Milbank Papyrus (Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago, Number 10486).
Item 4:
The legged serpent and the priest. Nes-Shu-Tefnut, as they are seen in the same chapter in the Ryerson
Papyrus (Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago, Number 9787).
Item 5:
Theban Recensions of the Book of the Dead (before 663 BC) used a Hennu Boat to illustrate Chapter 74.
The 74th Chapter is not the only place in the Book of the Dead where a snake with legs is found. In older
versions of these funeral texts the 87th Chapter is illustrated with a legged serpent, and in those few copies
of the Per em Heru which are long enough to contain the 163rd Chapter it too is illustrated with a walking
snake. The 87th Chapter shows the snake only, without the human figure, and Chapter 163 shows a walking
snake wearing a solar disk upon its head. Again the human figure is missing. The 87th Chapter of the Book
of the Dead appears on the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus Fragment Number 5 but, typical of later versions of this
work, it is illustrated with a human-headed serpent. On page 34 (Plate 19) are some comparative examples
of the human-headed serpent called the Sata. Not a great deal is known about the mythology concerning the
Sata Serpent but these few points are clear from the Book of the Dead texts. He is called the “Earth
Serpent” and is associated with rebirth which again implies resurrection. How this association came about
is not clear, but it has been suggested that the act of a snake shedding its dull skin to reveal a new and
glossy one is behind the idea. The Per em Heru tells us that Sata is “full of years” or very old. In Chapter 74
the spiritual rebirth or resurrection thesis is certainly involved but whether the snake is Sata or an allied
being is not known.
There is no problem identifying the Chapter 74 illustration on the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus because the text is
remarkably like that found in other Saite Recensions written after 663 BC. As a matter of fact, if this
papyrus had been written before 663 B. C. the chapter would not have been illustrated as it is. The Book of
the Dead papyri written before this date are called Theban Recensions, and all known copies o f it are
illustrated with a Hennu Boat similar to the one I have drawn as Item 5 on the preceding page. This was a
divine boat which the death god, Seker, piloted into the Underworld carrying the spirit of the newly dead to
Sekhet-Nenta, “The Fields of Day and Night,” a subdivision of Sekhet-Hetep, “The Fields of Peace”
(Paradise). Rarely is the Hennu Boat shown in papyri as a true boat but rather as the ceremonial
representation of it resting upon a sledge.
Item 2 in Plate 13 shows Joseph Smith’s drawing of the lady Ta-shert-Min standing before the legged
serpent as it appears in this small notebook with the long title Valuable Discovery of Hidden Records that
have been Obtained from the Ancient Burying Place of the Egyptians.” Compare it with the original as it
appears in the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus (Item 1 on my drawing). This clearly shows that Joseph Smith, Junior
was not very skilled as an artist. This, of course, is no discredit to him, but it does present many difficulties
when studying his drawings and hand-copied lines of hieratic characters.
The illustrations accompanying Chapter 74 in the Milbank Papyrus (Item 3, Plate 13) and the Ryerson
Papyrus (Item 4) show the deceased behind, rather than in front of, the walking serpent. I rather believe that
this is intended to indicate that the serpent leads the spirit of the dead individual out of Death’s domain into
the world of the living. Invariably the deceased holds a staff in his hand, The staff indicated that a long
journey was involved. On the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus Fragment Number 2 the lady is seen standing with a
walking staff in her hand (Chapter 65) and in the text we are told, “Thou does come forth among the
multitude” and “I ask that my deceased kinsmen grant life to me (beyond the grave).” It was understood in
the ancient Egyptian religion that it was a very long way from life to the land of the dead and back again.
Some of the associates of Joseph Smith implied in their writings that the picture of the woman standing
before a snake with legs was a representation of Eve being tempted by the serpent in the Garden of Eden.
As far as I know, Joseph Smith never said so. I can not comment upon the origin of the illustration because
I do not know it. I have already indicated that the serpent illustration accompanying Chapter 74 in the Ta-
shert-Min Papyrus can not be older than 663 BC (and it is probably much later) but it is possible that the
legged snake used with this chapter may have been borrowed from the 87th Chapter of the Theban
Recension and its origins are very ancient indeed.
JOURNEY TO HELIOPOLIS
“Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphenath Paneah and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of
Potipherah priest of On” (Genesis 41:45). The Biblical On was a very important religious center through all
of ancient Egyptian history, but particularly so in the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods when it became the
most important city outside of Thebes. It was the intellectual hub of the Mediterranean world in later times
and the seat of sun worship even in the very ancient Dynasties. Potipherah, the name of Joseph’s father-in
law (priest of On), can be translated, ‘He whom Ra (sun god) gave.” The second illustration on the Tashert-
Min Papyrus Fragment Number 4 shows the lady Ta-shert-Min traveling to On (Annu).
On was known as An, Annu or Aun by the Egyptians. It was called Heliopolis (the city of the sun) by the
Greeks and was so renowned for its advanced schools and teachers that Herodotus, Plato and Eudoxus went
there to study. It was located at the southern apex of the Nile Delta. Its ruins actually lie under a suburb of
Cairo. I have visited the place and found it a dilapidated slum called Maser el Gedida. Very little now
remains of what was, in Christ’s time and just before, a splendid city of great temples and magnificent
buildings. Today’s village is built on a mound which now covers the ruins of On. The most important
single structure in ancient Annu (On) was the Het-Benbenet or the House (Temple) of the Benben Obelisk.
It was probably a colossal truncated obelisk around which the worship of Par and Ra (sun gods) revolved.
Some believe that at one time the top of this monument was covered with a thick burnished reflecting-cap
of gold or electrum (a yellowish white natural alloy of gold and silver).
PLATE 14
A COMPARISON OF ANNU ILLUSTRATIONS
Item 1:
The lady Ta-shert-Min journeying to Annu (Heliopolis) as seen on Fragment Number 4 of her papyrus.
Item 2:
Artiu-Ru as seen in the illustration accompanying the same chapter in the Milbank Papyrus (Oriental
Institute Museum, Chicago, Number 10486).
Item 3:
Nes-Shu-Tefnut, a priest, making the trip to Annu as seen above Chapter 75 of the Ryerson Papyrus
(Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago, Number 9787).
The illustration above (Plate 14, Item 1) shows the deceased lady Ta-shert-Min making a long pilgrimage
(note the staff) from the land of the dead to this holy place in Annu (On or Heliopolis). She stands in front
of a pylon which probably represents the Benben. Items 2 and 3 show the counterparts of this illustration in
the Milbank (Item 2) and Ryerson (Item 3) Papyri (Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago, Number 10486 and
Number 9787).
The pylon as it appears in the Ta-shert-Min and Ryerson Papyri is very like the hieroglyphic character
meaning “pylon.”
THE GOLDEN FLAIL-BACKED FALCON

When the superstitious Egyptian of ancient times saw a hawk or other animal behaving in a way that was
out of the ordinary, in an unusual setting or with particularly striking features he believed it was a deceased
person in one of his magical forms returned from the dead. This was a characteristic of the Egyptian mind,
not just indigenous to the lower classes but universal in all social strata. The less commonly known natural
activities of animals were often believed to be divine manifestations of the dead. These events were
interpreted as attempts of the departed to influence and guide the living to both good and evil ends. Any
animal activity of an unexpected nature was viewed with awe and much trepidation. Charms carried and
spells spoken by the living were thought to protect them from evil supernatural influences and courted
desirable ones. In my private collection of Middle Eastern antiquities are ninety-one scarab amulets which
were worn as charms by the ancient Egyptians. The most interesting of these bears the name Kufu, the
builder of the Great Pyramid at Giza. This amulet was twenty-nine centuries old when Christ was born.
Supposing that just after a rain storm an Egyptian gentleman farmer saw the red rays of the setting sun glint
on the wet back of a passing hawk. The flashing glow of its feathers might convince him that the spirit of a
recently departed, person was watching him. If the deceased person had been a friend, the farmer would be
pleased that his interests were being looked after and would expect good fortune, but if that person whom
he identified as the Golden Hawk had been an enemy he would be filled with fear, expect calamities to
come upon him and he would possibly rush from the field to seek the aid and protection of a priest or
magician. In either case he would, if he had been properly educated in religious matters, call to mind the
“Spell for transforming one’s self into a Falcon of Gold” (Chapter 77 of the Per em Heru or Book of the
Dead) and devoutly believe that this spell had been invoked in the Underworld.
In the three drawings in Plate 15 each of the hawks has a flail attached to its back. Originally this was an
implement used to beat the grain from grass crops, such as barley, but it was also used to whip work
animals and herd domestic cattle. From very ancient times the idea of superiority was associated with the
flail. It naturally occurred to the simple people of the early Nile that animals and even men behaved better
in the face of this effective implement or weapon. The flail thus became one of the symbols of power and
of royalty. Its appearance upon the back of the falcon is intended to imply that the divine bird is endowed
with supernatural powers. Imagine the impression upon a superstitious Egyptian peasant if he saw a hawk
fly by with a broken feather protruding from its back. He had seen pictures of such birds in the temple and
might be convinced he was seeing a Flail-Backed Falcon, newly resurrected from the dead.
Constant reminders of the Afterworld were all about the Egyptians. It is no wonder they were so obedient
to their rulers and gods.
PLATE 15
THE GOLDEN FALCON
Item 1:
The deceased lady Ta-shert-Min after having transformed herself into a golden falcon. This illustration
appears at the bottom of the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus Fragment Number 4.
Item 2:
The dead beneficiary of the Milbank Papyrus in the form of a golden hawk.
Item 3:
The spirit of Nes-Shu-Tefnut after having pronounced the spell which is written in Chapter 77 of the Book
of the Dead and transformed itself into a golden hawk.
THE SWALLOW INCARNATION

“Spell for transforming one’s self into the form of a swallow.” This is how the 86th Chapter of the Book of
the Dead begins. We are then told that the deceased is a swallow and the statement is repeated a second
time. Primitive people often emphasize a point by repeating it word for word a second time. Evidently the
declaration, “I am a swallow, I am a swallow” serves this purpose in the Per em Heru. In some texts the
phrase is literally repeated just as I have given it in the previous sentence with the characters spelling out
swallow written twice, but other papyri make the literal statement only once, following it by a two
character word which means that the group of characters which preceded the sign should be repeated a
second-time. In the Ani Papyrus (British Museum, Number 10470) the word swallow is written twice but in
the Nu Papyrus (British Museum, Number 10477) it is written only once followed by the word “repeat.”
This is also how it is written in the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus on Fragment Number 5 (see page 32, Plate 18,
word no. 3). It is customary, however, to translate the message by literally repeating the information. The
Ryerson Papyrus (Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago, Number 9787) uses swallow once and after it the
word “repeat.” The Milbank Papyrus (Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago, Number 10486) has the
following: “I am a swallow, repeat, I am a swallow daughter of Ra.” In effect swallow is written three times
an error most probably.
PLATE 16
A COMPARISON OF SWALLOW ILLUSTRATIONS FROM VARIOUS PAPYRI
Item 1:
The lady Ta-shert-Min incarnated as a swallow, Fragment Number 5 Ta-shert-Min Papyrus.
Item 2:
Artiu-Ru in the form of a swallow as seen in the Milbank Papyrus (Oriental I nstitute Museum, Chicago,
Number 10486).
Item 3:
The priest, Nes-Shu-Tefnut, in his supernatural form as a swallow, Ryerson Papyrus (Oriental Institute
Museum, Chicago, Number 9787).
Item 4:
The royal scribe, Ani, in the form of a swallow as seen in the Ani Papyrus (British Museum, London,
Number 10470).
Item 5:
The scribe, Nebseni, as a swallow standing upon a mastaba (tomb) as it appears in the Nebseni Papyrus
(British Museum, London, Number 9900).
On the preceding page (Plate 16) I have drawn five swallow vignettes, each from a different papyrus. All
but the fifth one are standing upon a curved object which may be the oval roof of a tomb or mortuary
temple. Item 5 shows the swallow standing upon a mastaba (surface structure over a subterranean tomb).
The information about these five drawings is itemized:
Item 1:
From the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus.
Property of the L.D.S. Church.
Date: Probably late Ptolemaic or Roman Period (after 332 BC.)
Possibly even of the First Century AD.
Where found: Theban Necropolis (catacombs).
Script used: Late form of cursive hieratic.
Item 2:
From the Milbank Papyrus.
Now in the Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago, Papyrus Number 10486.
Date: Ptolemaic Period (between 332 BC and 30 BC.).
Where found: Unknown.
Script used: Book hand hieroglyphic.
Item 3:
From the Ryerson Papyrus.
Now in the Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago, Papyrus Number 9787.
Date: Persian or Ptolemaic Period (between 525 BC and 30 BC).
Where found: Unknown.
Script used: Cursive hieratic.
Item 4:
From the Ani Papyrus.
Now in the British Museum, London, Papyrus Number 10470.
Date: 18th Dynasty (between 1450 and 1400 BC).
Where found: Thebes.
Item 5:
From the Papyrus of Nebseni.
Now in the British Museum, London, Papyrus Number 9900.
Date: Early 18th Dynasty (about 1500 BC).
Where found: Written at Memphis.
On page 16 of my booklet The Joseph Smith Papyri I have given my translation of the Ta-shert-Min
Papyrus Swallow Chapter 86. As this translation was done in some haste to fill the demand for a general
translation it has since proven to have some minor flaws in it. I have gone over the original text again and
have found a few errors, but none of consequence. My translations of the Ta-shert-Min texts were the first
published, but after they were delivered to the publisher I read a translation of the Swallow Spell by Mr.
Grant Heward, which had just come from the press. My heavy schedule did not permit a careful study of
his work at that time, but I have examined it more carefully since and find it praiseworthy. It does not agree
word for word with my translation, but I would hardly expect it to. A great many ancient Egyptian w o r d s
have allied alternative meanings, and Mr. Heward’s choice of these has not always been the same as mine.
He also did an excellent job of transcribing the hieratic into hieroglyphic. It is customary to do this before
translating. Again, his identification of the characters does not precisely agree with my own, but it is a good
one. With Mr. Heward’s permission, I present it here for the convenience of those who wish to make a
comparative study (see Plate 17, next page, for Mr. Heward’s hieroglyphic transcription).
Transforming into a Swallow

“Here begins the spells for making transformations: The spell for making the transformation into a
swallow. The Osiris daughter Min, justified, born to Neshonsu, justified, says: I am a swallow. I am a
swallow. I am that scorpion, the two daughters of Ra. Hail, gods with sweet aroma. (Hail) flame that comes
out of the horizon. Hail you in the city. I have brought the keeper from the midst of his domain. Give your
hands. Let me pass the days in the flames of purification. I have advanced with a message. I have come
holding the report. Open up to me. How shall I tell what I have seen? I am like Horus, governor of the boat,
when the right side of his father was given him. Set that son of Nut, was under the fetters he made for
Osiris. He who is in Sehem (inspected) me. I stretch out my arms over Osiris. I have advanced for the
examination. I came to speak. I am he that goes to be judged, I come forth magnified at the gate of
Nebeder. I am purified at the great Uaret. I have put away my wickedness. I have put away utterly my
offences. I have put away all the taints of evil that concerns me upon the earth. I have purified myself. I
have made myself like God. I completed the journey. I am like you. I have come forth by day. I have
advanced on my legs. I have attained mastery over my way. God of light, I know the hidden roads and the
gates of Sehet Aaru. I live there. I, even I have come, I have overthrown my enemies upon the earth,
although my body is a wrapped mummy.
“If this book be known by the deceased, he shall come forth by day from Khert-Neter, and he shall go in
(again) after he hath come forth. If this spell is overlooked (by the deceased), he shall not go in again after
he hath come forth (and he) shall not know (how) to come forth by day.”
The following is my revised translation with a few minor changes suggested by my own studies and by
excellent notations made by Dr. Hugh Nibley in his publications and by Mr. Grant Heward.
Amended Nelson translation of the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus, Fragment Number 5, Chapter 86 Swallow Spell.
Note: Parenthesis ( ) indicate damaged areas on the original papyrus. Brackets [ ] indicate explanatory
information.
“Spell for making (the transformation into the form of a swallow).
“To be said by Osiris Ta-shert-Min, who is true of word, daughter of Nes-Khensu, who is true of word.
“I am a swallow, I am a swallow. I am the scorpion daughter of Ra. Hail gods whose perfume is sweet and
who are a flame which rises from the Horizon. Thou art he who is in thy holy city. I bring him who guards
the inner bend [of the Lake of Fire]. Give me thy hand and lift me from the purifying Lake of Fire where I
have passed this day. I went there on a mission and now return to tell what I have seen. Horus is the master
of the sacred boat. The throne of his father [Osiris] is now his. Set [the evil one] that son of Nut was
repulsed when he rose against me. I have examined those things which are in Sekhem (Letopoliq]. I have
given my hands to Osiris. I have been on a mission and I have now returned to report. Let me go on my
way past thee that I may report on my mission. I am he who was registered when I passed through the gate
of the Ruler of the Universe. I have cleansed myself in the great realm. Lam no longer unclean and sinful. I
have thrown off the sinfulness which was upon me. You who guards the door, open the way for me for I am
like you. I come forth by day [resurrect,]. I come walking along the pathway (of the blessed dead). Ubenu
(the goddess of light], I know the secrets of the pathways and the gates of Sekhet Aaru [the Field of Reeds
district of the Elysian Fields] wherein I exist. Behold I have come! I have conquered my enemies upon
earth even though my body is buried. He who knows this roll (spell) shall come forth by day [resurrect]
from Khert-Neter [the tomb] and he shall enter again [at will] after he has come forth. He who does not
know this spell shall not enter again after he has come forth. He is prevented from coming forth by day
[resurrecting].”
At the beginning of the 14th line of the Ta-shert-Min text (on the disconnected piece attached to Fragment.
Number 4) I overlooked the word Ubenu in my first translation. Mr. Grant Heward recognized and
translated it, “God of light.” This was a most astute diagnosis, though I find that he has incorrectly
transcribed one character in the word. He has mistaken V for L , an easy thing to do. He pluralized the word
in his transcription but neglected to do so in his translation. He is quite correct in designating it as a proper
noun, though I transliterate it Wbnw (Ubenu) meaning “Goddesses of light” (plural). In line 16 he
transliterated another proper noun Khert-Neter, I had read it the same but had translated it “God’s domain.”
He was more correct by using the transliteration in the body of the translation. Budge says in An Egyptian
Hieroglyphic Dictionary, Volume 1, page 580, that it means, “cemetery” or “necropolis” and on page 402
that it can also mean, “mine of the gods” or “tomb.” I was correct only in the broadest sense and once again
I thank Mr. Heward for this refinement.
Bear in mind that most of the differences between Mr. Heward’s translation and my own are normal. The
important thing is that the general message is the same. In one or two places I disagree basically with his
transcription and translation, but these are comparatively unimportant. To illustrate how difficult it is to
make an understandable English translation of ancient Egyptian I will give a literal translation of the first
few lines of the Swallow Spell, leaving out the connecting words which must be supplied by the philologist
to bridge the gaps. A number of the characters in the opening are missing or damaged but just after the
usual opening and recital of the names of the beneficiary, Ta-shert-Min, and her mother and the declaration
of their innocence, the message goes as follows:
“I swallow... repeat.. . I. . . this... scorpion... daughter... Ra,. , Hail... gods... sweet... smell... (a damaged
portion)... flame... cometh forth (upward)... from... horizon, . , Hail, , , who... in... city... bring... I. . .
guard... curve (can also mean innermost)... give, , , me, , , hand (singular)... thy,, , pass period of time... his..
, in.. , purifying lake, , , fire... etc.”
It is obvious from this that unless one understands the grammar and word sequences habitually used that
one can not make much sense out of a purely literal translation. It is the task of the philologist, endowed
with a knowledge of customs and characteristics of ancient Egyptians, to supply the connecting words and
to define the limits of complete thoughts into sentences. The limits of a thought might be differently
understood by two translators.
PLATE 18
A COMPARISON OF A PART OF THE SWALLOW CHAPTER IN 3 PAPYRI
Lines A1 and B1:
The opening part of the Swallow Spell from the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus. I have transcribed the Ta-shert-Min
hieratic into hieroglyphic characters.
Lines A2 and B2:

The hieroglyphic Swallow Spell from the 86th Chapter o f the Nu Papyrus (British Museum, London,
Number 10477).
Lines A3 and B3:

The corresponding section of the Swallow Spell from the Ani Papyrus (British Museum, London, Number
10470). Item B is a continuation of Item A. The small numbers above the lines indicate words in sequence.
In Brigham Young University Studies Dr. Hugh Nibley stated that the name of Horus’s boat is given. It can
not be translated “sacred Waa bark” as Waa itself means “boat” or “sacred bark.” In my original translation
I rendered this portion, Horus is the helmsman in the boat.” I have now corrected this to read, “Horus is the
master of the sacred boat,” I should like to point out that there is a difference of opinion in various lexicons
of the ancient Egyptian language concerning the meanings of the word Waa, Falkner, in A Concise
Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, page 56, defines the word “sacred bark.” Budge, in his An Egyptian
Hieroglyphic Dictionary, Volume 1, page 152, says that Waa means simply “boat” or “ship,” Sir Alan
Gardiner, in the vocabulary at the end of his Egyptian Grammar, page 560 (also page 499), gives the
definition “sacred bark.” As Gardiner and Falkner are usually considered more authoritative than Budge I
will agree that “sacred bark” or “sacred boat” is a better translation and particularly so as the subject of the
passage has to do with a divine situation. I can not, however, take exception to Mr. Heward’s translation,
“boat,” as Budgets definitions are also widely accepted. In the same passage I believe that “master” (in the
sense that Horus is the captain of the sacred boat) is more what the ancient scribe intended to convey than
was “helmsman” so I have corrected myself accordingly.
In Chapter 86 accompanying the Swallow Vignette the deceased declared “I am a swallow. I am a swallow.
I am the scorpion daughter of Ra.” This requires a. little explaining. Serqet, a scorpion goddess, was the
daughter of the sun god, Ra, and she was capable of changing herself into a swallow. The exact association
is not made clear in the spell, but I would judge that Serqet’s powers were needed for the deceased to effect
the transformation and that in the process he (or she) became identified with the goddess.
Professor John A. Wilson, University of Chicago, has done a translation of the Ta-shert-Min Swallow
Spell. It is an excellent one. His skill with ancient Egyptian is exceptional.
SATA THE AVATAR SERPENT

The ancient Egyptians believed that the snake possessed special powers to reclaim its life after death, of
revitalization and of extreme longevity. The ability of a snake to shed its old skin and display a new and
shining one probably had something to do with this belief, but I am sure that there was more behind it than
this.
Several years ago an incident occurred which illustrated to me a possible answer as to why the Egyptians
imagined serpents had the ability to expire and then return to life. I was visiting the ruins of Ashkelon, a
very ancient city on the Mediterranean coast, some distance south of modern Tel-Aviv in Israel. I had gone
there to translate an ancient Egyptian inscription written in the time of Ramses 2nd (about 1290 BC). The
crudely done hieroglyphic text had been cut into a wall which was now partly buried in sand. Only the
upper half of the text was exposed. To examine the rest of it I got down on my knees and began scooping
the soft soil away. My bodyguard, a very unpleasant army captain, asked me what the lines said and when I
told him that it was a message left by another officer in the occupation army of Pharaoh Ramses he became
greatly interested and, putting his swagger stick on top of the wall, knelt down beside me to help remove
the sand.
I remember thinking that this was the first time I had ever seen him separated from it. In the several months
that we had been forced to travel together (at the insistence of the government of Israel) I had grown to
dislike that swagger stick almost as much as its arrogant owner, partly because I knew that concealed inside
its polished leather outer shell was a fourteen inch, thin, razor-sharp sword. To see the captain doing any
work was almost as surprising as to see him without his little toy. We had been working for several minutes
while I presented a loose translation (mostly from my memory of a transcription I had once seen) when
suddenly a small brown and black striped snake erupted from a crack in the base of the wall. It dashed into
a clump of poppies which grew almost under the feet of the captain. It unnerved him considerably. With a
howl of dismay he leaped aside, retrieved his swagger stick, unsheathed the weapon and before I could stop
him, decapitated the poor reptile. The deed done, he turned to me and with an attitude of accomplishment,
said, “Good thing I did him in before he bit you. You’d have died in ten seconds. That’s the most deadly
snake in Israel!”
It had, in fact, been a particularly small specimen of a very common and harmless species known as the
Four-lined Snake. I was furious and for the first time in the months we had been together, told him what I
thought of tin soldiers with oversized pocket knives and killer instincts. I ended my uncomplimentary
outburst by advising him to, “stand at the ready in case I should be attacked by an especially vicious
butterfly.” To my relief, the captain departed to wait for me back at the car. Left alone, I turned and looked
down at the dead snake. I lamented the unnecessary death of such a harmless and inoffensive creature. To
calm my feelings I decided that it would be best to remove the body, so I picked it up by the tail and carried
it a few yards away where I dropped it in the grass. It had no more than hit the earth when it reared its
headless neck and wriggled spasmodically severa1 inches through the grass. The movement had lasted not
more than a second or two, but it had a definite forward motion. Reptiles have a primitive ganglion in the
spinal nerve which supplements the brain. It assists in transmitting motor signals to the body. The snake
was dead, no doubt of that, but the reflex movements continued for some time. For fully ten minutes I
watched in morbid fascination while the tail slowly wreathed from side to side.
Whenever I read the 87th Chapter of the Book of the Dead I am reminded of the Ashkelon incident. “I am
the Sata Serpent whose life is long. I die and am reborn daily. I am the Sata Serpent whose place is in the
far ends of the earth. I die and am reborn with new vitality each day.” (Ta-shert-Min Papyrus Fragment
Number 5).
On the next page (Plate 19) I have drawn three Sata Serpents from various papyri. They are, in the order
numbered, from the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus, Milbank Papyrus and the Ryerson Papyrus. Each of the human-
headed snakes in the drawing is obviously intended to represent a Cobra-human intergrade.
Snakes do not live particularly long lives, but the ancient Egyptians evidently thought otherwise. Clifford
H. Pope in his book, Snakes Alive and How They Live (Viking Press, 1944) on pages 27-28 remarks that
boas and pythons live the longest and that the captive record was about 23 years.
In the Theban Recension of the Per em Heru (dating before 663 BC) the Sata Serpent Chapter 87 was
illustrated with a legged serpent. This indicates quite substantially that the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus was
written after the Seventh Century BC.
PLATE 19
THE SATA SERPENT, SON OF EARTH
Item 1:
The lady Ta-shert-Min in the form of a Sata Serpent, Ta-shert-Min Papyrus Fragment Number 5.
Item 2:
The Sata Serpent drawing as it appears in the Milbank Papyrus (Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago.
Number 10486).
Item 3:
The Sata Serpent as it appears in the Ryer son Papyrus (Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago, Number
9787).
THE RESURRECTION
The 89th Chapter in the Saite Recension of the Book of the Dead is the magic formula which the deceased
was to speak in the Afterworld to make it possible for him to repossess and animate his mummified body
when he so desired.
Vignette Chapter 89.
PLATE 20
THE RESURRECTION
Item 1:
The spirit (Ba) of the lady Ta-shert-Min, in the form of a human-headed bird, returning to her mummified
body as seen at the bottom of the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus, Fragment Number 5.
Item 2:
The soul of Artiu-Ru re-entering his corpse as seen with the 89th Chapter of the Milbank Papyrus (Oriental
Institute Museum, Chicago, Number 10486).
Item 3:
The soul of Nes-Shu-Tefnut repossessing his body as seen in the Ryerson Papyrus (Oriental Institute
Museum, Chicago, Number 9787).
The three drawings above (Plate 20) are from different papyri showing typical illustrations, usually
attached to this chapter of the Per em Heru. They are from the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus, the Milbank Papyrus
and the Ryerson Papyrus, in that order. Each of the pictures shows the Ba or soul of the deceased in its
supernatural bird-form hovering over and about to re-enter the mummy of its earthly body. Items 1 and 2
show the Ba with a human head but Item 3, from the Ryerson Papyrus, shows it with a normal bird’s head.
This variation proves ( in association with its accompanying text) that the bird hovering over the reclining
figure in such illustrations does not have to have a human head to represent the soul. Some writers have
insisted that ancient Egyptians always represented the Ba as a bird with a human head. This was often but
not infallibly true. I know of several drawings and reliefs where the Ba is shown as a bird which is
anatomically normal. The accompanying texts leave no doubt that it is the Ba. The bird hovering over the
head of the reclining figure in Facsimile Number 1, Book of Abraham, has a normal head in all the printed
editions. It would appear to me that this is a typical Ba. Notice also that the bier (altar) upon which
“Abraham” is lying is very like the bier in Chapter 89. In each of the four cases the funerary couch has a
lion’s head, mane, legs and upturned tail.
In the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus Bier Illustration on Fragment Number 5 the Ba bird holds an object in its
claws which is clearly a shen emblem [OO] and represents eternity. The shen is seen many times in papyri
and upon tomb and temple walls. It Man acceptable hieroglyphic character frequently used in words having
to do with circles, revolutions, orbits and protracted periods of time. In many ways the ancient Egyptians
were primitive and, paradoxically, very sophisticated in others. To represent time as a circle (the shen) is a
highly advanced concept.
The Egyptians believed in a literal resurrection which prompted them to preserve the human body after
death. Mummification was an involved ritualistic process in the Nile Valley requiring exactly 40 days to
complete. The body was dehydrated using natron, a natural combination of salts, and treated with other
chemicals to prevent its decomposition. The Egyptians believed implicitly that when the soul (Ba) so
desired, the body would be taken up and life restored to it. Contrary to common belief, the Egyptians were
not very successful in preserving the human body after death, and most mummies are an oxidized mass
held together only by the cocoon-like linen wrappings. Incidentally, the word mummy is from the Latin
“mumia” meaning bitumen or tar and derived from the fact that the Egyptians used this substance as a
preservative.
The Egyptians were so intrigued and preoccupied with the resurrection idea that they even devised an
ingenious means of visually demonstrating it. They made small human-shaped dolls from moist clay into
which a few plant seeds had been mixed. After the figurine had dried they would carefully wrap it with
strips of linen to look exactly like a human mummy. At an appropriate time the tiny model could be
“resurrected” simply by moistening it with water. After a few days the seeds would sprout, force their way
through the cloth wrappings and the mummy would “come to life.” The seeds of plants grown from these
resurrection figures were considered holy, were sold by the priests and replanted with other seeds in fields
to impart magical powers of protection and abundance to the crop. I have in my private museum three of
these resurrection figurines. They are 14 to 18 inches tall and each has its own small wooden
anthropomorphic sarcophagus. The coffins are painted and inscribed with hieroglyphic writing. All three
have the faces of falcons and one of these faces is painted with gilt made by mixing pure gold fillings with
lacquer. This last relic was found in an Aswan Tomb of a lady whose name is written upon the coffin, Min-
Nuber (Min-the god Min as seen in Ta-shert-Min). One of the little mummies had been stepped on by an
ancient grave robber. The legs and feet of the little doll were badly crushed and among the fragments of
powdered clay and oxidized linen I found about thirty grains of what appears to be wheat or barley. I
planted several of these seeds but they were too old to germinate. At the beginning of this booklet is a
photograph showing me with one of these resurrection figurines and sarcophagus.
In Plate 23 is a drawing which I copied from an Egyptian temple showing a life-sized resurrection figure
with plants growing from it. I recall having also seen a vignette of a sprouting Osiris figure in the Ptolemaic
Jumilhac Papyrus at the Louvre, Paris, France.
There are only a few hieratic words remaining at the bottom of the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus Fragment
Number 5 but these are sufficient to identify the text. The reader might wonder as to its contents. To satisfy
that curiosity I have abstracted a typical example of Chapter 89 of the Saite Recension of the Per em Heru:
“Oh, Bringers, return my soul to me or suffer the damnation of the Eye of Horus. Oh, Watchers over the
Sleeping Thousands, let me revisit my body or you will suffer damnation. Oh, Lord of Millions, who draws
the Holy Bark, let me return to my body. May my soul which was peacefully in the West (world of the
dead) again see my earthly body and may it be immune from decomposition.”
There is a good deal of variation in the wording of the 89th Chapter (Spell) found in papyri, but this sums
up the theme.
SACRED BARK OF RA
Sun worship, in a variety of forms, was practiced by the ancient Egyptians over a period of more than four
thousand years. It was always very important, but particularly so during the last six centuries before Christ
when it slightly dominated the Osiris worship which had been more ardently courted in earlier times. The
Egyptians thought that the sky was a great metal dish filled with water and that Ra, in a magic boat,
traveled across it by day giving light and comfort to the living. At night he was supposed to enter a
subterranean watercourse beyond the western mountains and travel through it, lighting the Land of the
Dead. This Underworld which the ancient Egyptians called the Duat, Duat, was believed to have an exit
somewhere beyond the Libyan Desert from which Ra, in his bark, emerged each morning to resume his
heavenly westward journey. The mythology concerning the Duat is decidedly inconsistent in its several
versions. Papyri have been found describing the watery Underworld and instructing the zealots in proper
conduct when, after death, they would accompany Ra on his subterranean and stratospheric journey’s. Two
typical classes of funerary texts so preoccupied were called The Book of Him Who Is In The Duat and The
Book of Gates (Shait Am Duat). In these works many details are given describing the Land Below. Of
course the idea of an underground Egyptian river coursing through the land where the dead dwell is
ridiculous. One day while talking to a renowned geologist I was astonished to learn that in August of 1958
such a river was actually discovered. It was traced by scientists using radio-isotopes and flows in an erratic
course below the Nile (a meandering course is described in the Shait Am Duat). This crypto-river was
discovered to have a mean annual flow of 560,000,000,000 cubic feet of water which makes it
approximately 6 times larger than the surface Nile (the papyri indicate that the Duat river was larger than
the Nile). Fantastic! Perhaps some day an Egyptian speleologist exploring a cave will pass one of his
ancestors traveling the other direction. Seriously though one is forced to wonder if a morsel of pure science
doesn’t lie behind many Egyptian myths.
PLATE 21
THE SACRED BARK OF RA
Item 1:
The hawk-headed god Ra sits in his heavenly boat. Upon his head is a solar disk. The two eyes are Utchat,
all-seeing eyes of Horus or Ra. This illustration appears in the lower right hand corner of the Ta-shert-Min
Papyrus Fragment Number 6.
Item 2:
The sun god Ra sitting upon the deck of his boat as seen in the Milbank Papyrus (Oriental Institute
Museum, Chicago, Number 10486). The zigzag vertical lines in the box below the boat represent water.
In Plate 21 (above) I compare the Ra Bark seen on Fragment Number 6 of the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus with
the one which is drawn in the, Milbank Papyrus. In each case the picture illustrates the 101st Chapter of the
Saite Recension of the Book of the Dead. In the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus (Item 1) the boat is a design made
by tying hollow reeds together. Upon it sits the hawk-headed god Ra. The artist has succeeded in imparting
an air of dignity to the god consistent with his importance in their religion. Ra holds a Uas Scepter in his
hand symbolizing tranquility and upon his head is the Solar Disk. Two eyes, one in front of and another
behind Ra, are Utchat Eyes. Utchat means literally “healthy” or “whole eye” and was the name given to the
all seeing eyes of Horus. They may in this case, however, be intended to represent the eyes of Ra. The
markings below the eyes are the same as those upon the molar regions of a falcon’s head and as Ra, like
Horus, is often represented as a hawk-headed god the identity of the mystical eyes is uncertain. In the boat
is a small altar across which lies the closed bud of a lotus flower, symbol of Egypt.
The other Ra drawing in Plate 21, Item 2 (above), is from the Milbank Papyrus. It is unnecessary to
describe the differences between the two illustrations except to remark that often the differences are even
more extreme, though the identifying elements of Ra in a heavenly bark are always represented.
Very little of the Ta-shert-Min Chapter 101 text remains. The four or five surviving words identify it
absolutely.
THE EGYPTIAN PARADISE

Modern Christian sects differ considerably concerning their ideas about heaven. Some believe that it is a
place of eternal peace where there is no work and no trouble. Others agree that it is a peaceful place but that
it is also a place in which to labor in happiness for the betterment of one’s fellow beings. This la s t view is
held by the L.D.S. Church and in this respect it resembles the ancient Egyptian religion more closely than
some of the present Christian denominations. The Egyptians believed that Sekhet-Hetepet (the Offering
Fields or the Elysian Fields) was someplace in the sky but that to reach it after death one was obliged to
pass through the length of the Duat or Underworld and there to suffer many horrifying trials and
tribulations. Map-like pictures of Sekhet-Hetepet appear with the 110th Chapter in many Book of the Dead
Papyri and are painted upon wooden coffins and upon tomb walls. The following list of papyri have
particularly excellent pictures of it in them:
(1) Papyrus of Ani (British Museum, London, Papyrus Number 10470).

(2) Papyrus of Nebseni (British Museum, London, Papyrus Number 9900).
(3) Papyrus of Anhi (British Museum, London, Papyrus Number 10472).
(4) Papyrus of Nesi-Ta-Neb-Asher -the Greenfield Papyrus (British Museum, London, Papyrus Number
10554).
(5) Turin Papyrus (Museo Egizio, Turin, Papyrus No, unknown to me).
(6) Ryerson Papyrus (Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago, Papyrus Number 9787).
(7) Milbank Papyrus (Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago, Papyrus Number 10486). (Many other papyri
have similar scenes).
PLATE 22
THE EGYPTIAN PARADISE
Item A:
Sekhet-Hetepet or the Elysian Fields as it appears in the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus Fragments Number 7 and 8.
Items B, and C:
Two segments reproduced from the Turin Papyrus (Museo Egizio, Turin) showing the deceased Auf-Ankh
in Sekhet-Hetepet. I have numbered those features of the scene which have a counterpart in each of the two
papyri:
(01). Trees
(02). The deceased sowing grain.
(03). A team of oxen or work cattle.
(04). Plow. Note the similarity in the two papyri.
(05). The deceased, flail in hand, guiding the plow.
(06). Hieroglyphic passages (see text).
(07). Hieroglyphic passages (see text).
(08). Three small offering tables or altars on the forward deck of a reed boat.
(09). The deceased propelling a boat through the waterways of Sekhet-Hetepet.

(10). A very damaged picture of the lady Ta-shertMin standing. Only a few pleats of her skirt remain.
In each of these Sekhet-Hetepet is represented with fertile fields surrounded by and bisected by more or
less symmetrically rectangular waterways. As Egypt was hemmed in by the inhospitable deserts and
dominated by the Nile with its verdant margin, the ancient people quite naturally would imagine heaven to
be a cool green place with an abundance of water.
In the Sekhet-Hetepet scene appearing in each of the seven papyri listed above the deceased beneficiary is
seen guiding a plow behind a brace of oxen. In each he holds a flail in his hand. To this list we can add the
Ta-shert-Min Papyrus. At the right hand edge of Fragment Number 7 we see the dead lady plowing in
exactly the same manner as in the other papyri (see preceding page, Plate 22, Item A a, Nos. 3, 4 and 5).
The picture is intended to indicate that Ta-shert-Min is worthy of attaining a home in Sekhet-Hetepet where
she may till the land and provide for herself and loved ones. In the Ryerson, Turin and Ta-shert-Min Papyri
the deceased is also seen sowing grain in Sekhet-Hetepet.
In Plate 22, Item A, I have drawn the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus Sekhet-Hetepet scene as it appears on
Fragments Number 7 and 8. I would judge that considerably more than half of the scene is missing beyond
the ragged edges of the fragments, but the identification is positive. The features numbered 8 and 9 on my
A drawing show that the top of Fragment Number 8 is a boat in which Ta-shert-Min kneels before three
small altars. In each of the seven papyri which I have listed the deceased is seen in a reed boat, and in those
papyri which I have numbered (1), (4), (5) and (6) there are also one or more altars in the boat.
I have observed that the features of the Sekhet-Hetepet scene in the Turin Papyrus more closely resemble
those in the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus than do the others, though all are very similar. The Turin Papyrus was
written in the Ptolemaic and the similarity of the Ta-shert-Min Elysian scene indicates that it too is from
that period. In Plate 22 I have drawn two segments of the Turin Sekhet-Hetepet vignette which have their
counterpart in the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus. They are numbered Items B and C. In them we see the spiritual
gentleman Auf-Ankh plowing with oxen, sowing and riding in a reed boat.
On both the Ta-shert-Min and Turin drawings two small hieroglyphic passages appear. In each of the two
passages are three characters. The hieroglyphic spelling is identical in both papyri. I have numbered these
passages 6 and 7 and they read, “To plow” and “His broad region” respectively.
Notice that in both the Turin and Ta-shert-Min Papyri there are three small altars in the boats (features A8
and C8). One of the Turin boat altars has small offering jars and a sheaf of grain on it.
PLATE 23
OSIRIS-NEPRA RESURRECTION
Grain sprouting from the body of Osiris-Nepra. Nepra was a very ancient god of grain combined with
Osiris in later times. This is one of the bas-reliefs at Philae symbolically representing resurrection.
PLATE 24
BOOK OF ABRAHAM
To demonstrate the normal ratio of hieratic characters to English words I have translated verse 4 from
Chapter 1 of the Book of Abraham into hieratic Egyptian. In English it reads, “I sought for mine
appointment unto the Priesthood according to the appointment of God unto the fathers concerning the
seed.”
PLATE 25
An especially fine example of ancient Egyptian hieratic writing in which the cursive aspects are
pronounced.
PLATE 26
Ten lines of hieratic which I copied from a page of Joseph Smith’s Valuable Discovery Notebook, and to
which I have attached the hieroglyphic transcription of those characters which are recognizable through the
crudities of the Nineteenth Century rendition. These lines were originally copied from the Third Lost
Amen-Terp Papyrus which was probably a late version of the Book of the Dead.
In lines 1 and 2 is the complete formalized name phrase, Osiris, Amen-Terp, who is true of word, daughter
of Na-Nub, who is true of word.” In lines 6 and 7 this identical name phrase is repeated. In lines 7 and 8
Osiris Amen-Terp is again written, but this time without the mother’s name.
APPENDIX
An interesting article in the Summer 1968 issue of Dialogue has come to my attention. The title is “The
Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri, Translations and Interpretations,” by John A. Wilson, Professor of
Egyptology, University of Chicago. It is a most lucid and enlightened examination which adds substantially
to the study of the “Metropolitan Papyri” Fragments. Professor Wilson is a master of the ancient Egyptian
written language. His independent conclusions agree in many details with my The Joseph Smith Papyri
publication which came from the press in April of 1968.
In Wilson’s Dialogue article (page 68, penultimate paragraph) he has transliterated the name of the
beneficiary of the papyrus, which I have called the Third Lost Papyrus, as Amen-Hotep. Like myself he
examined this name in the poorly copied hieratic lines found in Joseph Smith’s Valuable Discovery
Notebook.
In both of my publications I transliterate the name Amen-Terp. I read the middle elements of the name
Terp, Professor Wilson has read them Hetep. After reading his comments I re-examined the four
occurrences of the beneficiary’s name in the Valuable Discovery Notebook with considerable care. The
middle elements still appear to be (t), (r), (?) and (p) (see items 1, 2, 3 and 4 on page 5, Plate 4). We agree
only on the last character (p). When analyzed character-by-character my identification seems to be correct;
however, when dealing with hieratic one must often determine the values of characters as group entities.
Amen-Hetep was a very common ancient Egyptian personal name. Four kings were known by this name.
The word hetep means “happiness,” “peacefulness” or “contentment.” I decided it was advisable to seek
this three character word in other hieratic texts for purposes of comparison. I found it in the Netchemet
Papyrus (British Museum). The word appears in column 2, line 27 and in column 3, line 36. In each case
the uppermost stroke is definitely affixed to the horizontal element below it, quite unlike the Valuable
Discovery renditions. Professor Wilson may be correct, but as Amen-Hetep is a masculine name I doubt
this transliteration because the word nebt, “mistress” follows the name in one instance (see lines A, G, H
and I in Plate 3).
On page 68 John Wilson has described the Judgment Scene as probably from a separate document. He has
no doubt come to this conclusion because the name of the beneficiary, written above her head in the
vignette, is not Ta-shert-Min but rather that of another woman. I had tentatively transliterated it Asetcheba
A-Neferartnub (The Joseph Smith Papyri, page 35). On the same page I state, “Obviously this is not the
name of Ta-shert-Min! I am, however, absolutely convinced from the artistic characteristics that this two
fragment illustration was done by the same scribe who, did the art work in the other eight [Ta-shert-Min]
fragments. In other words this scene was originally on the single roll of papyrus upon which the other
illustrations and texts were inscribed. It is my belief that this Judgment Scene and its accompanying
hieroglyphics were copied by a scribe from a master document upon which the name of another individual
had been written in hieroglyphic characters and that he slavishly copied them, perhaps not even knowing
their meaning.” It is unlikely that a second papyrus by the same scribe was found with the Ta-shert-Min
Papyrus but the possibility does exist. The Judgment scene does have a different name on it. On page 27,
while describing the basic features of the Judgment Scene, I explain my reasons for assigning these two
fragments comprising the Judgment Scene to the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus. “The artistic characteristics of this
two piece illustration indicate that it is part of the Ta-shert-Min Papyrus, though so far as I can discern her
proper name, as we have encountered it before, does not appear upon either fragment. Many oddities in the
pictures are found in common upon these two and the other Ta-shert-Min Papyrus fragments. To the trained
eye each artist leaves his signature in every stroke of his brush or pen.” Because of these artistic similarities
I disagree with Professor Wilson. His skills are specifically concerned with the translation of ancient
Egyptian and in this he has excelled. Though I have some abilities at translating Egyptian, my specialty is
more directed to the study of ancient inks, calligraphy and artistic idiosyncrasies of ancient papyri. I
apologize to Professor Wilson for dissenting on these points.
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THE JOSEPH SMITH PAPYRI

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

1. THE SIX PERSONAL NAMES IN THE JOSEPH SMITH PAPYRI

2. SOME OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING THE VALUABLE DISCOVERY NOTEBOOK

3. RELATIONSHIP OF THE JOSEPH SMITH PAPYRI TO THE BOOK OF ABRAHAM

4. THE TA-SHERT-MIN PAPYRUS VIGNETTES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mormon Information Services

THE SIX PERSONAL NAMES IN THE JOSEPH SMITH PAPYRI

Identification features of the three Joseph Smith Papyri:

CONCERNING THE VALUABLE DISCOVERY NOTEBOOK

THE BOOK OF ABRAHAM

ANNOTATED HOR SENSEN TRANSLATION

(1) To crystallize the true meaning intended by the ancient scribe.

Line 1 (Read from right to left).

Word Number 2 is ma, “like.”

THE TA-SHERT-MIN PAPYRUS VIGNETTES

Item 6 (a. and b. ):

[Footnote: A twenty-third illustration is found on another of the “Metropolitan Papyri” Fragments. It is

RECONSTRUCTION AND COMPARISON

THE FIRE AND WATER VIGNETTE

THE LEGGED SERPENT

THE GOLDEN FLAIL-BACKED FALCON

THE SWALLOW INCARNATION

The information about these five drawings is itemized:

Transforming into a Swallow

“Spell for making (the transformation into the form of a swallow).

Lines A2 and B2:

Lines A3 and B3:

SATA THE AVATAR SERPENT

THE EGYPTIAN PARADISE

(1) Papyrus of Ani (British Museum, London, Papyrus Number 10470).

(09). The deceased propelling a boat through the waterways of Sekhet-Hetepet.

MORMON INFORMATION SERVICES

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