Oliblish

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Detail of Figure No. 2 (the Hypocephalus of Sheshonq), which in LDS theology represents a governing planet, second in importance to Kolob. Fac2Fig2.jpg
Detail of Figure No. 2 (the Hypocephalus of Sheshonq), which in LDS theology represents a governing planet, second in importance to Kolob.

Oliblish is the name given to a star or planet described in the Book of Abraham, a text considered sacred to many denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints(LDS Church). Several Latter Day Saint denominations hold the Book of Abraham to have been translated from an Egyptian papyrus scroll by Joseph Smith, the founder of the movement. [1] According to this work, the term Oliblish was given as the meaning of the main symbols in one of the images of Smith's hypocephalus. Smith stated that the image is meant to represent a heavenly body located nearest to the central Kolob, the planet or star closest to the throne of God. [2]

Contents

The image appears on Figure No 2 of the scrolls, over the shoulders of which are jackal heads. In the left hand of the character is the staff of Wepwawet. The figure to the right was not present in the damaged original. [3] The symbol of life is said to be held by this celestial object that represented a symbol of God's power. [2]

Exegesis

Figure interpreted by Joseph Smith as a numerical figure signifying "one thousand" in Egyptian, measuring the time of the planet Oliblish Fac2Fig4.jpg
Figure interpreted by Joseph Smith as a numerical figure signifying "one thousand" in Egyptian, measuring the time of the planet Oliblish

The first published reference to Oliblish is in the Book of Abraham, first published in March of 1842 in Times and Seasons and now included within the Pearl of Great Price as part of the canon of the Latter-Day Saint movement. [4]

Joseph Smith stated that this figure;

Stands next to Kolob, called by the Egyptians Oliblish, which is the next grand governing creation near to the celestial or the place where God resides; holding the key of power also, pertaining to other planets; as revealed from God to Abraham, as he offered sacrifice upon an altar, which he had built unto the Lord. [5]

In Smith's work, Oliblish is understood to be equal to Kolob in its revolution as well as the peculiar measurement of time, that is, diurnal rotation on its axis equals one thousand of our years according to the measurement of the Earth. [6]

The Joseph Smith Papers stated that the word is used to represent one of three central stars from which power emanates to govern all the other creations, including Earth which is called with the term Jah-oh-eh. [7] The text states that this power has been sought out by ancient prophets since the creation of the Earth using the Urim and Thummim. [8]

Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Grammar

The word Oliblish appears in the Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language (GAEL), an 1835 working document created concurrently with the Book of Abraham by Smith and his associates. [9] Dan Vogel and Brent Metcalfe suggest that the structure of the cosmos outlined in the GAEL perhaps mirrors the priesthood hierarchy, with three governing planets similar to the First Presidency, and twelve additional planets similar to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. [10] Because Oliver Cowdery was a member of the First Presidency, and Oliblish was one of the three governing planets, Christopher Smith has speculated that the similarity between the words Oliver and Oliblish might have been intentional. [11]

LDS Church Scholarship

The explanation given by Smith of the imagery in the scrolls stated that the word Oliblish had been used by the Egyptians, although the word doesn't have Egyptian origin. [2] It may have had its origin from the Apocalypse of Abraham where similar references are made to the power of God and the Egyptian concept of the hypocephalus representing all that is encircled by the sun. [2] In the same facsimile, the word is associated with a transliteration Hebrew word, Raukeeyang, meaning the expanse of heaven. [12]

Hugh Nibley and Michael Rhodes suggests these symbols by Smith have been correlated with the symbolism of the Seker-boat in the festival of Seker in Memphis, Egypt. [13] [14]

Related Research Articles

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The Book of Abraham is a collection of writings from several Egyptian scrolls discovered in the early 19th century during an archeological expedition by Antonio Lebolo. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased the scrolls from a traveling mummy exhibition on July 3, 1835, to be translated into English by Joseph Smith. According to Smith, the book was "a translation of some ancient records... purporting to be the writings of Abraham, while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus". Smith said the papyri described Abraham's early life, his travels to Canaan and Egypt, and his vision of the cosmos and its creation.

In the Hebrew Bible, the Urim and the Thummim are elements of the hoshen, the breastplate worn by the High Priest attached to the ephod. They are connected with cleromancy. Most scholars suspect that the phrase refers to a set of two objects used by the high priest to answer a question or reveal the will of God.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seer stone (Latter Day Saints)</span> Religious objects of the early Latter Day Saint movement

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kolob</span> Celestial body that is "nearest unto the throne of God" in LDS theology

Kolob is a star or planet described in the Book of Abraham, a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement. Several Latter Day Saint denominations hold the Book of Abraham to have been translated from an Egyptian papyrus scroll by Joseph Smith, the founder of the movement. According to this work, Kolob is the heavenly body nearest to the throne of God. While the Book of Abraham calls Kolob a "star", it also calls planets "stars", and therefore some Latter Day Saint commentators consider Kolob a planet. The body also appears in Latter Day Saint culture, including a reference to Kolob in an LDS hymn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kinderhook plates</span> Six small, bell-shaped pieces of brass with strange engravings created as a hoax in 1843

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Smith Papyri</span> Egyptian papyri owned by Joseph Smith, Jr.

The Joseph Smith Papyri (JSP) are Egyptian funerary papyrus fragments from ancient Thebes dated between 300 and 100 BC which, along with four mummies, were once owned by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Smith purchased the mummies and papyrus documents from a traveling exhibitor in Kirtland, Ohio in 1835. Smith said that the papyrus contained the records of the ancient patriarchs Abraham and Joseph.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urim and Thummim (Latter Day Saints)</span> Instruments used for receiving revelation or translating languages in LDS belief

In the Latter Day Saint movement, the term Urim and Thummim (;) refers to a descriptive category of instruments used for receiving revelation or translating languages. According to Latter Day Saint theology, the two stones found in the breastplate of Aaron in the Old Testament, the white stone referenced in the Book of Revelation in the New Testament, the two stones bound by silver bows into a set of spectacles (interpreters) that movement founder Joseph Smith said he found buried in the hill Cumorah with the golden plates, and the seer stone found while digging a well used to translate the Book of Mormon are all examples of Urim and Thummim. Latter Day Saint scripture states that the place where God resides is a Urim and Thummim, and the earth itself will one day become sanctified and a Urim and Thummim, and that all adherents who are saved in the highest heaven will receive their own Urim and Thummim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mormon cosmology</span> View of the universe and nature of divinity in the Latter day saint movement

Mormon cosmology is the description of the history, evolution, and destiny of the physical and metaphysical universe according to Mormonism, which includes the doctrines taught by leaders and theologians of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Mormon fundamentalism, the Restoration Church of Jesus Christ, and other Brighamite denominations within the Latter Day Saint movement. Mormon cosmology draws from Biblical cosmology, but has many unique elements provided by movement founder Joseph Smith. These views are not generally shared by adherents of other Latter Day Saint movement denominations who do not self-identify as "Mormons", such as the Community of Christ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criticism of the Book of Abraham</span> Scholarly assessment of Mormon text

The Book of Abraham is a work produced between 1835 and 1842 by the Latter Day Saints (LDS) movement founder Joseph Smith that he said was based on Egyptian papyri purchased from a traveling mummy exhibition. According to Smith, the book was "a translation of some ancient records ... purporting to be the writings of Abraham, while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus". The work was first published in 1842 and today is a canonical part of the Pearl of Great Price. Since its printing, the Book of Abraham has been a source of controversy. Numerous non-LDS Egyptologists, beginning in the mid-19th century, have heavily criticized Joseph Smith's translation and explanations of the facsimiles, unanimously concluding that his interpretations are inaccurate. They have also asserted that missing portions of the facsimiles were reconstructed incorrectly by Smith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirtland Egyptian papers</span> Documents related to translation of the Book of Abraham

The Kirtland Egyptian papers (KEP) are a collection of documents related to the Book of Abraham created in Kirtland between July and November 1835, and Nauvoo between March through May 1842. Because some documents were created in Nauvoo, the collection is sometimes referred to as the Book of Abraham and Related Manuscripts and Joseph Smith Egyptian Papers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Smith Hypocephalus</span> Papyrus fragment, part of the original Joseph Smith Papyri

The Joseph Smith Hypocephalus was a papyrus fragment, part of a larger collection of papyri known as the Joseph Smith Papyri, found in the Gurneh area of Thebes, Egypt, around the year 1818. The owner's name, Sheshonq, is written in the hieroglyphic text on the same hypocephalus. Multiple hypocephali in the British Museum are very similar to the Joseph Smith hypocephalus in layout and text, and were also uncovered in Thebes, Egypt. Other hypocephali also bear a strong resemblance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criticism of the Book of Mormon</span>

The origins, authenticity, and historicity of the Book of Mormon have been subject to considerable criticism from scholars and skeptics since it was first published in 1830. The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2200 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith as The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi, who said that it had been written in otherwise unknown characters referred to as "reformed Egyptian" engraved on golden plates that he personally transcribed. Contemporary followers of the Latter Day Saint movement typically regard the text primarily as scripture, but also as a historical record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Book of Joseph</span>

The Book of Joseph is an untranslated text identified by Joseph Smith after analyzing Egyptian papyri that came into his possession in 1835. Joseph Smith taught that the text contains the writings of the ancient biblical patriarch Joseph. From the same papyri collection, Smith produced the first part of the Book of Abraham, but was killed before any known part of the Book of Joseph was translated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eyewitness accounts associated with the Joseph Smith Papyri</span>

Eyewitness accounts associated with the Joseph Smith Papyri have been analyzed extensively to understanding the content, purpose and meaning of the Book of Abraham, a canonized text of the Latter Day Saint movement. In 1835, Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, came into possession of four mummies, two papyrus rolls, and various papyrus fragments, which Smith said contained the writings of the ancient biblical patriarchs Abraham and Joseph.

H. Michael Marquardt is an independent researcher of the Latter Day Saint movement.

References

  1. ↑ Pratt, J. P. (2004). Abraham's Three Truths of Astronomy. Meridian Magazine, 9. Accessed 1 April 2021
  2. 1 2 3 4 Rhodes, M. D. (1994). The Joseph Smith Hypocephalus… Twenty years later. Brigham Young University Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies.
  3. ↑ Ritner, Robert Kriech. The Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri: a Complete Edition ; P. JS 1-4 and the Hypocephalus of Sheshonq. The Smith Pettit Foundation, 2013. page 268. Accessed 1 April 2021.
  4. ↑ Pratt, P P (1857). The Latter-Day Saints' Millennial Star, Volume 19. p. 165.
  5. ↑ Smith, Joseph; The Book of Abraham: Facsimile No. 2: Explanation - available on Wikisource
  6. ↑ Pratt, Orson (1866), "Millennium", Millennial Star , 28 (36): 561, archived from the original on 2012-12-12 (referring to "a certain world, called Kolob, whose diurnal rotation on its axis equals one thousand of our years"); Pratt (1873 , p. 317) (referring to "a certain great world, called Kolob, placed near one of the celestial kingdoms, whose diurnal rotation takes place once in a thousand of our years").
  7. ↑ Hauglid, B. M. (2010). A Textual History of the Book of Abraham: Manuscripts and Editions. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. Accessed 1 Apr 2021.
  8. ↑ Smith, Joseph. "The Joseph Smith Papers". JosephSmithPapers.org. p. 24. Retrieved 1 Apr 2021. Oliblish=Enish go on dosh, and Kaie ven135 rash, are the three grand central stars which powers that govern all the other creations, which have been sought out by the oldest of all the fathers, since the beginning of the creation, by means of the urim and Thummim.
  9. ↑ "Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language, circa July–circa November 1835," p. 23, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed April 3, 2021, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/grammar-and-alphabet-of-the-egyptian-language-circa-july-circa-november-1835/93
  10. ↑ Dan Vogel and Brent Lee Metcalfe, "Joseph Smith's Scriptural Cosmology," in The Word of God, ed. Dan Vogel (Salt Lake City:Signature, 190), 206-207
  11. ↑ Smith, C. C. (2009). The Dependence of Abraham 1: 1—3 on the Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar. The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal, 29, p. 46. Accessed 1 April 2021.
  12. ↑ Brown, S. (2011). The Early Mormon Chain of Belonging. Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 44(1), 1-52. Accessed 1 April 2021.
  13. ↑ Rhodes, M. D. (1977). A translation and commentary of the Joseph Smith hypocephalus. Brigham Young University Studies, 17(3), 259-274.Accessed 1 April 2021.
  14. ↑ Ritner, Robert K. (2013). The Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri: A Complete Edition. Salt Lake City, UT: Signature Books. p. 270. ISBN   9781560852209.
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