Book Cover

I know a lot of people who have been waiting for this book for many years.  One Eternal Round is the 19th volume in The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, and is his magnum opus, the volume of materials he worked on for a very long time until the end of his life.  The book is described thus:

One Eternal Round is the culmination of Hugh Nibley’s thought on the book of Abraham and represents over fifteen years of research and writing. The volume includes penetrating insights into Egyptian pharaohs and medieval Jewish and Islamic traditions about Abraham; Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian myths; the Aztec calendar stone; Hopi Indian ceremonies; and early Jewish and Christian apocrypha, as well as the relationship of myth, ritual, and history.

The final groundbreaking chapter delves into geometry and mathematical relationships depicted on Facsimile 2. All these are woven together into a magnificent tapestry of evidence demonstrating that the book of Abraham and its facsimiles represent actual ancient materials and traditions. This book would not have come to fruition without the efforts of co-author Michael D. Rhodes. Includes illustrations by Michael P. Lyon.

I hope to soon get a copy and write my reflections about it.  The book is available from the BYU Bookstore and Deseret Book.

Nibley’s ‘One Eternal Round’ Magnum Opus Published

http://www.tubechop.com/watch/22170
Carter: You know, the ancient Egyptians had a beautiful belief about death. When their souls got to the entrance to heaven the gods asked them two questions. Their answers determined whether they were admitted or not.
Edward: Ok, I’ll bite. What were they?
Carter: Have you found joy in your life?
Edward: Uh-huh.
Carter: Answer the question.
Edward: Me?
Carter: Yeah, you.
Edward: Answer the question, “Have I found joy in my life?”
Carter: Yes.
Edward: Yes.
Carter: Has your life brought joy to others?
Edward: Uh, that’s a tough question. I, uh, I don’t know. Uh, think about how other people gauge, uh… Ask them.
Carter: I’m asking you.

Two Egyptian Questions at the Gate of Heaven

View of Salt Lake Valley from the Draper Temple on July 10, 2009. The Jordan River and Oquirrh Mountain temples are in the distance.

On Sunday I had the opportunity of going to the Daybreak Stake Center in South Jordan and listening to a wonderful fireside given by Dr. Daniel C. Peterson about the temple.  I audio recorded the fireside, and have a digital copy.  Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get a hold of Dr. Peterson to ask permission to post it on TempleStudy.com.  But as I said previously, I also took notes as well as I could, and I hope that they might reproduce some of the excellent thoughts Dr. Peterson conveyed. [Note: Not all of the images below are the exact same as Dr. Peterson used, but I have tried to use similar ones.]

One of the first things he said was that the dedication of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple (which stands only a few blocks from the stake center) would be, in a way, a fulfillment of prophecy.

I believe he said it was Brigham Young that prophesied that one day you’d be able to stand on the roof of a temple and see another temple.  Dr. Peterson noted that you don’t even have to stand on the roof to see several temples today.  [This insight is interesting in that I just attended a sealing session at the Draper Temple on Friday.  After we were finished and exited the temple we saw the most gorgeous sunset from the grounds, peering out over the Salt Lake Valley.  From our vantage point we could see both the Jordan River Temple and the Oquirrh Mountain Temple.  I took several pictures, one of which is at the beginning of the post.]

Dr. Peterson cautioned that there are clearly some things that we can’t talk about the temple, but said that many of the things that he and others, such as Hugh Nibley, have spoken about in the ancient world hint at certain things in our modern temple if we listen or read closely.  The temple is a testimony of the divine calling of Joseph Smith.

Ascent Stories

He and a colleague at BYU have a dream of publishing a book about celestial ascent stories from around the world.  This is because they are so pervasive, and similar all over the world.

An example of an ascent story is Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:

2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)
4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. (2 Cor. 12:2-4)

There are 3 elements that are interesting to Latter-day Saints in this account:

• 3rd heaven
• Paradise
• Unspeakable words – the original language used here implies words that one is not able to speak or beyond the capacity to utter, as well as things he was not permitted to speak.

Hebrew Cosmology diagram (click for larger view)

The typical Hebrew cosmology contains these same elements of several heavens.  Showed a diagram of the Hebrew Cosmology, showing Sheol (signifying the Spirit World, where spirits are questioned), the Earth, First, Second, and Third Heavens.  Shows the firmament of heaven as a dashed line, with an ocean above, and that the ancients thought that it rained because of the openings in this firmament, in the spirit of “opening the windows of heaven.”  Shows the earthly temple mirroring the temple in the third heaven above.

The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Monastery of St. Catherine, Sinai, 12th Century (click for larger view)

This idea of ascent is all over in the scriptures.  Showed a photo of a painting of Jacob’s Ladder from St. Catherine’s Monastery from the 12th century – the “Ladder of Divine Ascension.”  People shown going up the ladder, some falling off.  Comes from the story of Bethel, beth-el literally meaning the “house of God.”

Christ's Ascension, Ivory Panel, Munich (click for larger view)

Showed photo of the Ascension of Christ found in northern Italy, and is an ivory panel from c. 400, now in Munich.  Christ ascends from the temple on a ladder with the hand of God extending through the cloud to grasp Christ’s, and pull him through.  This motif of the hand of God reaching through the cloud is a common motif found in the ancient world.  [See Dr. William Hamblin and Dr. David Seely's excellent presentation, part 1, part 2, on that subject.]

3 Nephi 28 is an ascension text.  First of all, verse 10:

10 And for this cause ye shall have fulness of joy; and ye shall sit down in the kingdom of my Father; yea, your joy shall be full, even as the Father hath given me fulness of joy; and ye shall be even as I am, and I am even as the Father; and the Father and I are one; (3 Nephi 28:10)

There is a mathematical formula which says that if a = b, and b = c, then a = c.  That is what we have here.  Ye shall be even as I am, and I am even as the Father, meaning ye shall be even as the Father is.  Many people say that human deification came late in the teachings of Joseph Smith, but there it is in the Book of Mormon.

12 And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, he touched every one of them with his finger save it were the three who were to tarry, and then he departed.

13 And behold, the heavens were opened, and they were caught up into heaven, and saw and heard unspeakable things.

14 And it was forbidden them that they should utter; neither was it given unto them power that they could utter the things which they saw and heard;

15 And whether they were in the body or out of the body, they could not tell; for it did seem unto them like a transfiguration of them, that they were changed from this body of flesh into an immortal state, that they could behold the things of God.

16 But it came to pass that they did again minister upon the face of the earth; nevertheless they did not minister of the things which they had heard and seen, because of the commandment which was given them in heaven. (3 Nephi 28:12-16)

Compare this passage with Paul’s.  It’s a similar experience.  The three Nephites heard unspeakable things which they were forbidden to utter.  They were transfigured in some sense, transformed.

Dante's Geocentric Universe (click for larger view)

Dante’s Divine Comedy is a comedy because it ends in heaven.  But it starts out in hell.  It is a long complex story of ascension.  Mount Purgatory diagram shown.  Also Dante’s Geocentric Universe with multiple heavens.  This same pattern is everywhere in the ancient world.  Dante ascends through many heavenly spheres to the 10th heaven.  As he ascends each he obtains the virtues and knowledge necessary to enter into the presence of God.

Mountains of the Lord

This idea of the mountain is everywhere.  It is the Mountain of the Lord, the cosmic mountain, that shows up all over the ancient world.  The Mountain of Paradise.  Mount Olympus.  Mount Sinai – Moses ascends the mount.  The Mount of Transfiguration.  The early Latter-day Saints would go to the tops of mountains on their journeyings across the country and dress in their temple clothing to pray.  Elder George Q. Cannon received his endowment on Ensign Peak.

The Psalms have much to do with ascent.  The Psalms of Ascent – chapters 120-134.  The Pilgrims songs.  These were the hymns pilgrims would sing as they ascended to Jerusalem to the temple.  When you go to Jerusalem you have to climb through the mountains to get there, no matter the direction you go.

Isaiah 2:

2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Isa. 2:2-3)

You go up to the house of God.  Micah said much the same thing.  These sayings must have been going around:

1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Micah 4:1-2)

Minaret in Samarra, Iraq. (click for larger view)

Some were creating counterfeit mountains.  The Tower of Babel is such a mountain.  Bab-el means “gate of God.”  Showed photo of the Minaret at Samarra as an example of what the Tower of Babel may have l0oked like.  It has an outer ramp that winds around to the top.

Temple Worthiness

Only the worthiest could enter the the temple.  Some Psalms are like a requirements list in order to enter:

1 Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.

3 He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.

4 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

5 He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved. (Psalm 15)

Again in Psalm 24:

3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?

4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

5 He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. (Psalm 24:3-5)

Temple Structure

Temple themes are found in the Book of Mormon too.  This is a very nice summary of the things that are taught in the temple.  Mormon 9:

11 But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are.

12 Behold, he created Adam, and by Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man.

13 And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal death. (Mormon 9:11-13)

Margaret Barker, a Methodist scholar, has become popular among LDS because of the things she’s said about the temple, among other things - [notes paraphrased] the earthly sanctuary was to reflect a heavenly pattern.  The personnel were a visible reality of the angels.  Basically, the priests represented God at the altar.

Mircea Eliade also said, the places in the temple represented different parts of heaven.  The temple is a meeting point of heaven and earth.

The temple literally is the meeting place of heaven and earth because of the vicarious work the living do for the dead.

Layout of the Karnak, Egypt, temple (click for larger view)

The structure of the Egyptian temples are instructive.  Monumental Gateway.  Karnak shows this pattern.  Pylon is greek for “gate.”  The floor gets higher as you move further into the temple; the ceiling gets lower too.  This is the same as in modern LDS temples today – you consistenly move higher as you go into the temple.

Diagram of Moses' Tabernacle, zones of sacred space (click for larger view)

There was gradated sacred space in Moses’ Tabernacle.  Different concentric sacred spaces – the court, Holy Place, the Holy of Holies.  This is the same as in other Israelite temples.  The Qur’an fall – it was a physical fall from a higher place to a lower place.

Temple as Garden of Eden

The temple also represents Eden.  Ezekiel 28 – Eden story.  Tyre.  He was rich and arrogant, and he fell:

13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. (Ezekiel 28:13-14; other surrounding verses also)

The Egyptian temple shows this garden scene.  It came out of the primeval waters.  Many parallels to Eden.  Lotuses, papyrus plants.  Creation stories abound.

Margaret Barker – the temple in Jerusalem was Eden.  The interior had palm trees… river flowed from the temple.  Ezekiel didn’t invent these features.  The righteous were the trees in the house of the Lord.  The candlestick was the tree of life.

Richard Eliot Freedman – the temple was Eden.  It was between heaven and earth.

Margaret Barker – it was closely associated with the myth of creation.

Karnak anointing scene. (click for larger view)

The water came out from the base of the temple, from the bottom, the only place it could.  It is interesting that the baptismal font is found in the basement of our modern temples.

Pharoah is guided by the hand through ritual. Karnak. (click for larger view)

Washings/Anointings

The initiatories are seen around the world – cleansing, purifying, washing, anointing.  Muhammad was asleep.  Gabriel cames, cleanses his heart, washes it, before Muhammad begins his ascent.

Showed the Presentation Scene from Karnak, Egypt.  Pharaoh is taken by the hand by a guide and led.  As part of being Pharaoh he was taken through a temple ritual.  Showed photo of Pharaoh being washed (anhk symbols poured over him).  Clothing and crowning scenes shown, placing the crown on Pharaoh’s head.

Pharaoh being enthroned. Karnak. (click for larger view)

Veils

The idea of a climb through the heavens, passing curtains or veils is pervasive.  Muhammad rides a steed through seven heavens, marked off by curtains or veils.  A prophet guards each one, and they have a question and answer session with Muhammad before he is allowed to pass, when they extend their hands and pull him through.  This happens 7 times on his ascent.  God is depicted in human form on the throne.  Story about 50 daily prayers with Moses and Muhammad.

Dome of the Rock interior. (click for larger view)

Celestial Dome.  The Dome of the Rock interior shows the floor of heaven overhead.  Floral motifs (Eden) around the base.  The Seven Heavens of Muhammad.  Muhammad at the Veil.  Ascension of Abraham – God pulling back the veil, with winged angels, chariot wheels.

Early Byzantine Veil in Kapnikarea, Athens (click for larger view)

Kapnikarea Church in Athens has a restored interior.  They put the altar behind a veil with interesting right angle marks on it [gammadia].

The Divine Embrace.  Shown in Karnak.  The Pharaoh is received by the god by an embrace.

Pharaoh embraced by gods. Karnak. (click for larger view)

Mysteries of Mythra.  Seven heavens, gates, greeted angels, formulas had to be given to get passed these guardians.  There was a celestial father who received them as children.  The person is often deified, becomes a god.

“Revealeth his secret to his servants the prophets” – this was because the prophets had been admitted to the divine court of the gods and had come back and could pass on the secret they gained there.

The celestial tree of life.  The ascension of Muhammad.  Jewels on a splendid tree.

The god Osiris paints Pharaoh's name onto leaf of the tree of life. Karnak. (click for larger view)

Showed the tree of life in the Egyptian tradition.  The god Osiris writing Pharaoh’s name on a leaf of the tree of life.

Conclusion

Dr. Peterson ended with 2 lengthy quotations.  First from 3rd Enoch, which is a late Jewish or early Christian text.  Speaking of Enoch being deified, and given the name Metatron – before the throne.

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Prince of the Presence, said to me: By reason of the love with which the Holy One, blessed be He, loved me more than all the children of heaven, He made me a garment of glory on which were fixed all kinds of lights, and He clad me in it.  And He made me a robe of honour on which were fixed all kinds of beauty, splendour, brilliance and majesty.  And he made me a royal crown in which were fixed forty-nine costly stones like unto the light of the globe of the sun.  For its splendour went forth in the four quarters of the “Araboth Raqia’, and in (through) the seven heavens, and in the four quarters of the world.  And he put it on my head.  And He called me THE LESSER YAHWEH [Jehovah] in the presence of all His heavenly household; as it is written: “For my name is in him.” (3 Enoch 12:1-5)

Jewish Midrash:

The Holy One, blessed be He, will in the future call all of the pious by their names, and give them a cup of elixir of life in their hands so that they should live and endure forever… And the Holy One, blessed be He, will in the future reveal to all the pious in the World to Come the Ineffable Name with which new heavens and a new earth can be created, so that all of them should be able to create new worlds… The Holy One, blessed be He, will give every pious three hundred and forty worlds in inheritance in the World to Come… To all the pious the Holy One, blessed be He, will give a sign and a part in the goodly reward, and everlasting renown, glory and greatness and praise, a crown encompassed in holiness, and royalty, equal to those of all the pious in the World to Come.  The sign will be the cup of life which the Holy One, blessed be He, will give to the Messiah and to the pious in the Future to Come. (Mid. Alpha Beta diR. Akiba, BhM 3:32)

We are enacting something in the temple that we hope will happen to us some day.  The remnants of it are scattered all over the world of these things.  Joseph revealed these things, and likely didn’t know he was revealing them.  They have been found in distorted fossils in all places and times of the world.

Let us avail ourselves of the temple.  It is precious.  The power of godliness is manifest in them.

Conclusion to Notes

Dr. Peterson’s fireside was excellent.  He spoke on a multitude of subjects related to the temple, from many different cultures and times across the world.  It appears that he will present a similar presentation at next month’s FAIR Conference in Sandy, Utah, because his presentation is entitled the same (here is the link to that presentation).  I look forward to any new insights he might bring there.

Update: Someone noted that Dr. Peterson and Dr. William Hamblin joint taught a course at BYU on “Celestial Ascent” in the Winter 2007 semester.  Their notes and lecture videos are available here.

“The Temple as a Place of Ascent to God” – Notes from Dr. Peterson’s Fireside

I am grateful for the SANE organizers for allowing us to videotape the symposium and make it available online, particularly Dan McLellan for his support.  I’d also like to thank Steve Smoot and Tyler Livingston for their help with the video cameras, digitizing and uploading.

Below are all the videos that we were able to record at the symposium (that have been uploaded to date).  You can see short bios of each presenter here or here.  David Larsen also took some great notes in the Ancient Israel sessions.  Note:  I will update this post with links to more of the videos as soon as they become available.  Enjoy!

Ancient Israel #1

Donald W. Parry: “Eve, Eden, and the Temple” – not permitted to record
Dan Belnap: “The Role of Scent in the Rituals of Ancient Israel” – Entire lecture or Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
David Larsen: “Two High Priesthoods? Evidence for Changes in the Priesthood from First to Second Temple Judaism” – Entire lecture or Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
William Hamblin: “What is the ‘Chariot’ in Ezekiel 1?” – Entire lecture or Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 or KeyNote presentation (see also his presentation the same day on the iconography of the “Hand of God” – part 1, part 2)

Ancient Israel #2

James Carroll: “An Expanded View of the Israelite Scapegoat” – Entire lecture or Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
David Seely: “The Tabernacle as Cosmos in Josephus’s Antiquities” – Entire lecture or Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Brian M. Hauglid: “Ancient Temple Architecture: Beliefs and Practices in Light of the Restored Temple Idea” – not permitted to record
Matthew Brown: “Kingship Initiation Motifs in Ancient Israel” – not permitted to record

Early Christianity

Andrew Miller: “The Ante-Nicene Mysteries and their New Testament Sources” – Entire lecture or Part 1, Part 2
Aaron Snyder: “The Prayer Circle in Early Christianity” – Entire lecture or Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Daniel Becerra: “The Chrism in Early Christianity” – Entire lecture or Part 1, Part 2
Rachel A. Grover: “The Paradise Garden and Messianic Age Imagery in the 5th to 7th Century Church Floor Mosaics of Jordan” – Entire lecture or Part 1, Part 2

The Classical World

Chris Dawe: “The Deification of Romulus” – did not present
Bryan Benson: “The Treatment of Temples in Plato’s Republic and Laws” – Entire lecture or Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Dustin Simmons: “Emperor as God: Roman Imperial Cult Worship & Implications for Early Christians” – did not present
Daniel O. McClellan: “Initiation Ideology in Apuleius’ Golden Ass” – Entire lecture or Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Keith Fairbank: “The Eleusinian Mysteries: Greatest Conquest of Demetrios Poliorketes” – Entire lecture or Part 1, Part 2

Egypt

Doug Marsh: “The Microcosmic Egyptian Temple” – Entire lecture or Part 1, Part 2
Kerry Muhlestein and Alyssa Lewis: “The Role of Violent Rituals in the Egyptian Temple” – Entire lecture or Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Elliott Wise: “An Odor of Sanctity: The Iconography, Magic, and Liturgy of Egyptian Incense” – Entire Lecture or Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
John Gee: “Rituals of the Egyptian Temple: An Orientation” – not permitted to record

Open Session

Jacob Moody: “Philistine Ritual Artifacts” – did not present
Mark Wright: “The Cultural Context of Nephite Apostasy” – not permitted to record
Scott Preston Sukhan Nibley: “Ancient Southeast Asian Temples” – Entire lecture or Part 1, Part 2
Joseph Petramalo: “The Samaritan Temple and Priesthood” – Entire lecture or Part 1, Part 2

Videos of SANE Symposium Lectures on “Temples and Ritual in Antiquity”

Another volume in the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley series is being officially released on August 6, 2008 (it’s already available in Deseret Book stores).  This volume will be the third volume published since Hugh Nibley’s passing at age 94 in February 2005, and with rumors of at least two more volumes to come.  The title of this 544-page book is Eloquent Witness: Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple, and will be volume 17 in the series.  This will be an exciting book to read!  Here’s the jacket’s description:

One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study- all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the  Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews [including a transcript of the documentary Faith of an Observer], book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.

Thanks to Reed for pointing this out to me!

Truman G. Madsen is also publishing a new 224-page book to be released in just a few days on July 30, 2008 entitled The Temple: Where Heaven Meets Earth.  It is probably already available in Deseret Book stores.  The description reads:

In his youth,Truman Madsen watched his grandparents take their large family to the temple almost every week. Decades later, a friend said, ” Your spiritual life began with the temple and everything since has flowed from that.” The messages in this book attest to his love of temples. The author of many bestselling books and CDs, Truman teaches how we can gain access to the light and truth offered in the temple. He discusses the relationship of the temple to the Atonement, Joseph Smith’s contribution to our understanding of temples, and how the scriptures and the temple illuminate each other. This is a powerful book on a crucial topic by one of the greatest teachers and scholars of our time.

Oh how I love books!

Two New Temple Books by Nibley & Madsen

Gabriel's Revelation or "Dead Sea Scroll in Stone"

The scholarly world is aflutter over the latest discovery of a 3-foot tall tablet being called “Gabriel’s Revelation,” “Hazon Gabriel,” or the “Vision of Gabriel.”  It contains 87 lines of Hebrew text written in ink on stone, and has been dated to the first century BCE.  The tablet was found near the Dead Sea in Jordan around 2000, and has been associated with the Qumran community who produced the Dead Sea Scrolls.  For this reason, it has been called a “Dead Sea scroll in stone.”  An exciting discovery, indeed.

The discussion has been primarily about a certain line of the text which tells of a messiah dying and resurrecting in three days (line 80).  Many scholars are pointing to this as evidence of a resurrection theology in existence in Judaism before the coming of Jesus Christ, therefore raising questions of the conception among some that a messianic 3-day resurrection was a uniquely novel Christian principle.  This is not news to Latter-day Saints, who already firmly believe that Christianity has been known and practiced since Adam (see Moses 5:6-8).

But I want to look at this text from a different angle than that which is making the headlines.  Since this text has been categorized as an apocalyptic text, the Greek apokálypsis meaning “lifting of the veil” or end of days, delivered from the angel Gabriel, it is likely that we should find temple imagery here too.  And we are not left wanting. 

The following bolded elements from Gabriel’s Revelation recall temple themes and elements.  The line number is on the left.  The English translation is by Israel Knohl (see link for full translation):

• 4. [ f]or th[us sa]id the Lo[rd] I have betr[oth]ed you to me, garden
• 16. …My servant David, ask of Ephraim
  17. [that he] place the sign; (this) I ask of you. For thus said
  18. the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, my gardens are ripe,
• 27. at the gate of Jerusalem and the gates of Judea they will re[st] for
  28. my three angels, Michael and all the others, look for
  29. your power….
• 65. Three holy ones of the world from…. [ ]
• 67. Announce him of blood, this is their chariot.
• 70. prophets. I sent to my people my three shepherds. I will say (?)
• 75. Three shepherds went out for Israel ... [ ]...
  76. If there is a priest, if there are sons of holy ones ….[ ]
• 79. from before of you the three si[g]ns three .. [ ]
• 80. In three days, live, I Gabriel com[mand] yo[u],
• 83. to me, from the three…

Here we can see several temple motifs, several are even repeated:

1. Being betrothed, or promised in marriage, i.e. Bridegroom (Matt. 25:1-13; Matt. 9:15; D&C 33:17; D&C 65:3; D&C 88:92; D&C 133:10)
2. Signs
3. Gardens
4. Gates
5. Three angels/shepherds/holy ones
6. Chariots (ascension, Merkabah)
7. Bestowal of life & resurrection

Knohl makes some interesting observations of this text.  He notes that the text is divided into two parts:

The first part describes an eschatological war: the nations of the world besiege Jerusalem, and the residents are expelled from the city in groups. This description is followed by a passage in which God sends "my servant David" to ask "Ephraim" - the Messiah Son of Joseph - to deliver a "sign." From the context, it appears that this sign heralds the coming redemption.

The second part of the Gabriel Revelation focuses on death and resurrection - and the blood of the slain. The last paragraph cites the words of the Archangel Gabriel who commands a person to return to life after three days: "By three days, live."

This seems very much in keeping with similar Egyptian religious traditions and rituals where the deities bestowed eternal life and resurrection by declaring “Life! Prosperity! Health!” upon the subject, which we’ve recently analyzed.

So far I haven’t seen any analyses from scholars about the three angels/shepherds/holy ones that are sent by God, and are repeated several times in the Hazon Gabriel text.  I’d like to see the scholars’ take on this.

In his article “‘By Three Days, Live’: Messiahs, Resurrection, and Ascent to Heaven in Hazon Gabriel,” in the Journal of Religion, Knohl gives further interesting insights.  There are two messianic figures present.  First, “my servant David” is another term for an eschatological (last days) and triumphal leader.  Second, Ephraim can represent a “suffering messianic figure” or “beloved Son of God.”  Although Knohl admits that the “nature of the sign” that God sends David to ask Ephraim to deliver or place “is not specified,” he offers his own insightful interpretation:

The "sign of the Son of Man" that will appear in heaven prior to the redemption is reminiscent of Hazon Gabriel's depiction of "Ephraim."  According to our reconstruction, in lines 16-17 God addresses David and asks him to request Ephraim to place the sign. This placing of the sign is followed by a description of the breaking of evil and the appearance of God and the angels. Hazon Gabriel is the only work known to us in which the Messiah son of Joseph places a sign heralding the advent of the salvation. The tradition of the "sign of the Son of Man" would therefore seem to be founded on the depiction of the sign of "Ephraim" in Hazon Gabriel. What, then, is the nature of this sign?

According to Hazon Gabriel, the blood of the slain is transformed into a chariot that ascends to heaven. I would therefore suggest that the sign that Ephraim is to place is that of the spilled blood, which is now revealed in heaven. The depiction of blood as a "sign" could be based on a verse in Exodus (12:13): "The blood shall be a sign for you." In light of this possibility, the "sign of the Son of Man" that is seen in heaven could well be the spilled blood of the "Son of Man." Thus, when the "sign of the Son of Man" is seen in heaven, all the tribes of the earth will mourn for the slain Messiah. It is possible that Matt. 24:29-30 is based on the tradition that is attested in Hazon Gabriel.

So the “sign” that Ephraim is asked to “place” could perhaps be symbolic of the spilled blood of the Son of Man, or Christ’s atonement and crucifixion.  This is all very meaningful to Latter-day Saints.  I will be anxious to see an LDS scholar’s perspective and study of this new Dead Sea discovery.

Temple imagery in “Gabriel’s Revelation” Discovery

(Continued from Part 3)

In the last parts of our series on the Egyptian hieroglyph of the ankh, and other related symbols, I’d like to look at where these symbols are found on the extant portions of the Joseph Smith Papyri, related documents, and the facsimiles of the Book of Abraham, to see if Joseph Smith was correct in any of his interpretations, or even on the right track.  I’ve written a brief into to these documents here.

As we’ve noted before, the themes that show up in the rituals of the Egyptians have unique parallels to our modern temple practices and ordinances.  This is not to be interpreted as an adoption of pagan rites, plagiarism of ancient rituals, or a belief in Egyptian polytheism, for the Egyptians had a corrupt imitation of the true order of God, and Joseph knew it.  Indeed, such attacks leveled at Joseph might actually be counterintuitive to our critics’ position, for such would mean that Joseph understood what he was looking at in the papyri, yet such inspired translation is precisely what our critics claim he could not do.  Note that the field of Egyptology had just recently been born in the 1820s, and the reading of hieroglyphics was only barely in its infancy in Europe at the time Joseph was translating the papyri in the 1830s, ruling out any scholarly approach to reading the papyri.  The critics have yet to explain, therefore, if Joseph did not receive the temple ordinances by revelation from God, and he could not read the papyri, then how did he teach temple rites that have remarkable parallels to the Egyptians which were written on the papyri?  Could he read the papyri or couldn’t he?  Either way our critics find themselves in a quandary.

Instead of being detrimental to Joseph, such a connection between the papyri and the temple actually serves as evidence of his divine calling, and that he was inspired to translate the papyri.  As in many instances of the early experiences of the prophet, Joseph had a question about something that he experienced in his life, and inquired of the Lord about it.  What followed was a restoration, through revelation, of the true and perfect ordinance or teaching of that particular thing.  The papyri quite possibly were such a springboard for the restoration of the temple endowment, as H. Donl Peterson has noted: 

The writings of Abraham and Joseph were purchased by the Church in July 1835 and the partial endowment was introduced to the brethren by the Prophet Joseph Smith in January 1836. Is this merely coincidental? Elder Bruce R. McConkie, referring to temple ordinances, wrote, “They were given in modern times to the prophet Joseph Smith by revelation, many things connected with them being translated by the Prophet from the papyrus on which the Book of Abraham was recorded.”

I don’t claim to be remotely experienced in Egyptology or hieroglyphics.  What the following represents is some observations that I have personally made.

Joseph Smith Papyri

First let’s look at where the ankh appears in certain fragments of the papyri which have been erroneously cited as the source of the Book of Abraham, since these fragments are the most popular.  These fragments, namely Joseph Smith Papyrus XI, and X, constitute a portion of an Egyptian text known in Egyptological circles as “The Book of Breathings Made by Isis” or “The Hor Book of Breathings.”  This text is an initiation text, as Nibley observed:

They were temple texts used in the performance of ordinances--”an inventory of the holiest mysteries,” the saving ordinances, which were “carried out or witnessed” by both the living and the dead. . . . showing how the business of awakening, washing, dressing, etc., of the king, carried out during the ceremonies of mummification, by way of preparing the dead to arise refreshed in the next world, “closely resembles the daily service performed in all Egyptian temples in historic times.”

…it is not only a funerary text but “a book of the living for conducting initiations here on earth.”

Nibley notes that these Egyptian funeral texts might all be called “Book of Breathings” since they all deal with a resurrection after death, a theme for which the Egyptians always used the word “breathing”:

…in a single intake one absorbs life, breath, nourishment, health, vigor--everything good.  The aim of the mysteries is “to give life and joy through the nose, and joy to the heart … ”

… the king is petitioned “to give the breath of life to him who suffocates” and spare the life of the servant … he is the creator, “Khnum, … who puts the breath of life in every man’s nose”… he is also “the living breath” of Ptah the creator; he is Horus of Edfu, who “puts breath into the nose of the dead”…

The Book of Breathings . . . is a sermon on breathing in every Egyptian sense of the word.

And so you get this theme throughout the text of the gods bestowing air, wind, or the “breath of life” upon pharaoh and his queen.  Since the ankh is the symbol that is often translated as “life,” it figures strongly whenever the “breath of life” is granted from the gods, usually “for time and eternity”.

But what is even more interesting to me is where the ankh is used in connection with the other symbols, the wedja (w3s) and seneb (snb), that we’ve noted is a regular occurrence in Egyptian writings.  This combination of hieroglyphs appears twice in the Joseph Smith Book of Breathings text.  According to Nibley, the section of the text in which they appear correlates with the Egyptian thought of triumph, coronation, mounting to heaven, and exaltation.  These glyphs are found on Joseph Smith Papyri X, column 4, lines 6 and 9, in the cursive hieratic script.

Line 6 reads (in the full Book of Breathings text):

Thou art (or Be) firm in possession of life [ankh], prosperity [wedja], health [seneb], remaining upon thy throne in the holy land (Deseret).

Here Nibley writes that “The life prosperity, health formula is that which is always placed immediately after the name of the king or the title of His Majesty.  This is enough in itself to indicate that the imagery of this section is that of the coronation since the formula is not applied to common mortals”.

Line 9 reads (in full):

It is Amon-Re who causeth thy ka, living [ankh], protecting [wedja], (or prospering) to flourish [seneb] in (or by) the Book of Breathings.

Nibley notes that this last line adds “living, protecting or prospering” after the ka symbol which does not occur in any other Book of Breathings manuscripts, possibly because “the writer placed the usual ‘nh-wd3-snb formula after the royal ka title from force of habit”.  The first edition of Nibley’s translation notes that this formula is usually “may it live, be prosperous, be healthy!”.  Additionally he says, “Life and health were mentioned together in the preceding line, recalling the well-known royal salutation of ‘life, prosperity, health!’  Here life (‘nh) and prosperity (wd3) are paired, suggesting the same royal theme.  This is confirmed in this passage by the only reference in the entire Book of Breathings to the ka, another sign of royalty…”.  The ka symbol happens to be a pair of upraised arms, “the highest expression of immortality”.

This formula is similar to that which appears on the Rosetta Stone in that it is followed by a pronouncement upon the king’s offspring, or posterity, for eternity in line 10:

Thy countenance liveth [ankh]; beautiful (perfect) is thy form (or are thine offspring); thy name shall be firmly established (or flourish) henceforward (every day).  Enter into the gods’ [domain]…

Next we will look at the facsimiles.

(To be continued…)

The Egyptian Ankh, “Life! Health! Strength!” – Part 4

Since tomorrow is Independence Day, I thought I might say a word about our Founding Fathers.  We are deeply indebted to all the noble men and women who sacrificed their lives to establish this country of the United States of America some 232 years ago, and to make this country a free land.  Through their efforts this country was set on a sure foundation of certain personal irrevocable rights and freedoms which they believed were given by God himself.  The Declaration of Independence solemnly proclaimed:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. 

The phrase was an expansion from John Locke’s 1689 publication entitled Two Treatises of Government in which he identified these liberties as “life, liberty, and estate (or property).”  Locke further qualified this by saying that “no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.”  Wikipedia notes that George Mason used this tripartite motto in May of 1776 in the Virginia Declaration of Rights:

That all men are by nature equally free and independent and have certain inherent rights, … namely the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.

Being shortly before the Second Continental Congress, this statement may have largely influenced Thomas Jefferson in his writing the Declaration.  In Mason’s draft he added, “all men are born equally free,” and hold “certain inherent natural rights, of which they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity”.  Other countries had also adopted a similar triptych such as France’s “liberté, égalité, fraternité” (liberty, equality, fraternity).

The existence of a belief in such endowments as these, bestowed by the “Creator” himself, seems to go back to the earliest history of mankind, even the Egyptians, as we have recently noted in our series on the ankh, who constantly portrayed the gods bestowing “Life! Health! Strength!” or “Life! Prosperity! Health!” as part of their religious rites of regeneration, resurrection, eternal life, and becoming one with deity.  Could Jefferson have been repeating an ancient formula?

One thing is certain, we believe that the Founding Fathers were raised by the hand of Almighty God for a divine purpose.  President Ezra Taft Benson taught:

The foundation of the United States of America is spiritual. We must never forget this vital truth. This country was founded on a belief in the sovereignty of God, and He, not man, granted man his rights. This was possible because the Founding Fathers of this nation were God-fearing men disposed to deliberately acknowledge the hand of God in the events that brought about the nation’s independence.

The Lord raised up the founders of the United States, sanctioned their work, and designated them “wise men.” His approbation of their work is recorded in section 101 of the Doctrine and Covenants: “And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood” (D&C 101:80).

In 1877 the Founding Fathers appeared in vision to Elder Wilford Woodruff, president of the St. George Temple at the time and one of the Twelve Apostles, and desired their temple work to be done for them:

Before I left St. George, the spirits of the [Founding Fathers] gathered around me, wanting to know why we did not redeem them. Said they, “You have had the use of the Endowment House for a number of years, and yet nothing has ever been done for us. We laid the foundation of the government you now enjoy, and we never apostatized from it, but we remained true to it and were faithful to God.” These were the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and they waited on me for two days and two nights. . . . I straightway went into the baptismal font and called upon Brother McCallister to baptize me for the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and fifty other eminent men, making one hundred in all, including John Wesley, Columbus, and others.

In the April 1898 General Conference, President Woodruff recalled this sacred experience:

Those men who laid the foundation of this American government and signed the Declaration of Independence were the best spirits the God of heaven could find on the face of the earth. They were choice spirits, not wicked men. General Washington and all the men that labored for the purpose were inspired of the Lord. . . .

Everyone of those men that signed the Declaration of Independence, with General Washington, called upon me, as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the Temple at St. George, two consecutive nights, and demanded at my hands that I should go forth and attend to the ordinances of the House of God for them.

President Benson also added his witness:

Shortly after Spencer W. Kimball became president of the Church, we met together in one of out weekly meetings. We spoke of the sacred records that are in the vaults of the various temples of the Church. As I was soon to fill a conference assignment to St. George, President Kimball asked if I would go into the vault at the temple and check the early records. In so doing, I realized the fulfillment of a dream I had had ever since learning of the visit of the Founding Fathers to this sacred place. I saw with my own eyes the records of the work that was done for the Founding Fathers of this great nation, beginning with George Washington. I was deeply moved on that occasion to realize that these great men returned to this promised land by permission of the Lord and had their ordinance work done for them. If they had not been faithful men, if they had not been God-fearing men, would they have come to the elders of Israel to seek their temple blessings? I think not. The Lord raised them up, sanctioned their work, and proclaimed them “wise men.” Moreover, a president of the Church declared them to be the “best spirits the God of heaven could find on the face of the earth,” and testified that they were “choice spirits” and “inspired of the Lord.”

That these men were God-fearing cannot be denied:

George Washington: “The success, which has hitherto attended our united efforts, we owe to the gracious interposition of Heaven, and to that interposition let us gratefully ascribe the praise of victory, and the blessings of peace.” (To the Executive of New Hampshire, November 3, 1789, Writings 30:453.)

Alexander Hamilton: “The Sacred Rights of mankind are not to be rummaged from among old parchments or musty records. They are written . . . by the Hand of Divinity itself.” (An Essay, “The Farmer Refuted,” 1775.) “For my own part, I sincerely esteem it a system, which without the finger of God, never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interests.”

Thomas Jefferson: “The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time.” (Rights of British America, 1774.)

John Adams: “As I understand the Christian religion, it was, and is, a revelation.” (In God We Trust, p. 75.)

Benjamin Franklin: “The longer I live the more convincing Proofs I see of this Truth. That God Governs in the Affairs of Men!--And if a Sparrow cannot fall to the Ground without his Notice, is it probable that an Empire can rise without his Aid?--We have been assured, . . . in the Sacred Writings, that ‘except the Lord build the House, they labour in vain that build it.’ I firmly believe this;--and I also believe that without his concurring Aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than Builders of Babel.” (Prayer during Constitutional Convention, June 28, 1787.)

James Madison: “It is impossible for the man of pious reflection not to perceive in it a finger of that Almighty hand which has been so frequently and signally extended to our relief in the critical stages of the revolution.” (Federalist Papers, no. 37.)

Samuel Adams: “Revelation assures us that ‘Righteousness exalteth a Nation’--Communities are dealt with in this World by the wise and just Ruler of the Universe. He rewards or punishes them according to their general Character.” (Letter to John Scollary, 1776.)

Charles Pinckney: “When the great work was done and published, I was . . . struck with amazement. Nothing less than that superintending hand of Providence, that so miraculously carried us through the war, . . . could have brought it about so complete, upon the whole.” (P. L. Ford, ed., Essays on the Constitution, 1892, p. 412.)

President Benson adds, “It was not just incidental, nor was it mere political platitude, that the name of God was mentioned in the Declaration of Independence four times and that our inspired national motto became ‘In God We Trust.’”

This nation was founded on certain principles, chief among which was the expressed statement that all men are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” This pronouncement recognizes God as the Creator of man and that man’s rights are an inherent gift from their Creator.

The founders further recognized that if the new nation were to survive, there must be reliance on the protection of God. The Declaration of Independence concluded with this affirmation: “With a firm reliance on the protection of Divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”

I know that God had his hand in the establishment of this great country.  It was the foundation for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and a base for the kingdom of God on earth to roll forth to the world.  May we always remember the Fount from whence we sprung, even Jesus Christ, for if we do not, we will assuredly be swept off (Ether 2:9-10, 12).

The Founding Fathers’ Temple Work

Let’s return again to the subject of the ankh, and related symbols, that we’ve briefly studied, and look to see if these symbols figure at all on the Joseph Smith Papyri.  As we’ve seen, these particular hieroglyphs have a strong connection to temple themes, being bestowed by the Egyptian gods in a manner reminiscent of the way eternal life is portrayed symbolically in the temple today.  But do these symbols appear on the papyri from which the Book of Abraham was translated, or in the facsimiles, and what does that mean? 

Many in the Church probably do not know much about the Joseph Smith Papyri or the origins of the Book of Abraham.  And they don’t necessarily care to know.  What we know is usually limited to the few facts that the writings were translated from some papyri that Joseph had, which also came with some mummies from Egypt.  Beyond this, most other historical issues are beside the point of the actual text of the scripture, which we know is from God by the witness of the Holy Ghost.

But I believe having a deeper understanding and knowledge of the papyri illuminates the Book of Abraham in marvelous ways and is further evidence of the divine calling of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the restoration of the temple rites in this dispensation.

But first, let’s cover some basics about the papyri’s relationship to the Book of Abraham.  The best introduction to the origins of this scripture can be found in John Gee’s excellent summary A Guide to the Joseph Smith Papyri.  It is only 70 pages long, and does an excellent job of briefly describing the history, controversies, and interpretations surrounding the papyri from which the Book of Abraham came forth.  Here are some points he makes:

• Michael Chandler arrived in Kirtland, Ohio, on July 3, 1835 and showed Joseph and the saints some mummies and papyri which he had bought from an antiquities dealer in Egypt.
• Joseph examined them and said that “one of the rolls contained the writings of Abraham, another the writings of Joseph of Egypt, etc.”
• In July 1835 Joseph Smith and others paid $2400 for 4 mummies and “at least five papyrus documents, including two or more rolls.”
• “Joseph Smith began translating the papyri in early July 1835.  The current text of the Book of Abraham was translated by the end of the month.”
• Joseph continued translating until November 26, 1835.
• In 1842 the translation began to be published in the Times and Seasons periodical.
• “Only three installments were published, which included about one quarter of what Joseph Smith translated.  Unfortunately the location of the original manuscripts of his translation is presently unknown and thus about three quarters of Joseph Smith’s translation of the Book of Abraham is lost.”
• On November 27, 1967 some fragments of the Joseph Smith Papyri were presented to the Church, their whereabouts being unknown to the Church for over a hundred years.
• “To the disappointment of many, while these remaining fragments contained the original drawing for Facsimile 1, they were not the portion of the papyri that contained the text of the Book of Abraham.”
• “Because we do not have all the papyri that Joseph Smith had, and because those that have been preserved do not contain a copy of the text of the Book of Abraham, there is no simple answer to the question, ‘Did Joseph Smith translate the Book of Abraham correctly?’”
• “Some have reasoned that since the preserved papyri account for no more than 13 percent of all the papyri that Joseph Smith possessed, the Book of Abraham does not match the translation of the preserved papyri because it was most likely translated from a portion of the papyri that is now missing.”
• “Only the subject illustrated by Facsimile 1 corresponds with the text of the Book of Abraham; the other facsimiles correspond to portions of the Book of Abraham that were not published.”

The points that strike me most are that the papyri contained some of the writings of Joseph of Egypt too.  Unfortunately, Joseph Smith never translated these.

We also only have about one quarter of the text that Joseph Smith did translate of the Book of Abraham.  Can you imagine the scriptural treasure if our current Book of Abraham were four times longer? This would make the Book of Abraham closer to twenty chapters long instead of five.  Dr. John Gee believes that the text might have continued up until the sacrifice of Isaac.

Because we don’t have most of the text of the Book of Abraham, we don’t have an explanation of how facsimiles 2 and 3 fit into the broader picture of Abraham, such as is given for facsimile 1 in Abraham 1.  The only description we have from Joseph Smith for the latter two facsimiles are an identification of the figures.

We also now know what the Egyptian text says on the other papyri fragments that were recovered, which gives some very interesting insight into our restored temple rites.

In the next part of my series on the ankh we will take a closer look at where these symbols appear in the papyri and facsimiles, and if they correspond whatsoever to Joseph Smith’s descriptions, something our critics vehemently deny.

Brief Intro to the Joseph Smith Papyri and Book of Abraham

The two symbols used for the commonly translated “time” and “eternity” are neheh (nhh) and djet (dt), respectively, and looked something like this:

Jan Assmann described the difficulty of pinning down an understanding of these hieroglyphics: 

The meaning of this disjunctive concept of time and its two components cannot be translated by any pair of words in Western languages. The Egyptian terms in no way correspond to our “time” and “eternity”; this distinction deried from Greek ontology (eternity as the punctually concentrated presence of being, which unfolds in time as the process of becoming) was not only foreign to Egyptian thought, but even contrary to it. Neheh and djet both have properties of our “time,” as well as of our “eternity,” and as a practical matter, either can sometimes be translated as “time” and sometimes as “eternity.”  The terms refer to the totality (as such, sacred and in a sense transcendent and thus “eternal”) of cosmic time.  To clarify this concept of time and its religious implications or semantic range, we must heed an important distinction.  We are so accustomed to the notion of infinity that we think of “totality” as finite and bounded. The Egyptians, however, viewed “totality” as the opposite of finite and bounded. To them, the boundaries of totality were not contrasted with the unbounded, but with the “whole,” with “plenitude.”

As foreign as these concepts seem to Western and modern thought, Assmann proposes further understanding, going back to the Book of the Dead:

In chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead, a compendium of Egyptian mortuary beliefs in the form of a series of questions and answers (an initiate’s examination?), the expression “all being” is explained as “neheh and djet.”  What this means is that neheh and djet designate the comprehensive and absolute horizon of totality.  They refer to the temporal totality of the cosmos, but it was in this way that the concept of “cosmos” or “being,” that is, of reality, was comprehensible to Egyptian thought and capable of articulation.  This totalization of being on the temporal level is so foreign to us that some scholars have proposed that djet and neheh mean “space” and “time.”  This is not correct, however; both are unequivocally temporal concepts, and in Egyptian thought, they represented the whole of reality.

So how are we to understand neheh and djet?

The closest we can come is a pair of concepts such as “change” and “completion/perfection” . . .

We can also illustrate the Egyptian disjunction of time with the help of the concepts “come” and “remain.” It is often said of neheh-time that it “comes”: it is time as an incessantly pulsating stream of days, months, seasons, and years. Djet-time, however, “remains,” “lasts,” and “endures.” It is the time in which we distinguish the completed, that which has been effected in the stream of neheh-time, which has matured into completion and has changed into a different form of time that will undergo no further change or motion.

The concept neheh can still best be connected with our everyday notion of time. For us, time is less something that comes than something that goes by, but in any case in motion. . . . djet signifies . . . the enduring continuation of that which, acting and changing, has been completed in time.

Modern Kemeticism offers more explanation:

The term neheh refers to the cyclical nature of time as expressed in the passage of seasons and celestial events, the time that is not linear, but goes in a spiral with the repetition of certain events: day and night, seasons, holidays, and the natural cycles of life. Neheh’s cyclical nature can be observed in the hieroglyphs that make up its symbol, all of which are characterized by curves or non-linear surfaces: the top wavy line standing for water, the two hieroglyphs at each side that are the wick of oil lamps that burn in the night, and the circle with a point in the middle, universal symbol of Ra, the sun itself. . . .

This term, djet, specifically refers to the concept of linear, or nonrepetitive time, and this can be seen symbolically in its hieroglyphs: the long, linear snake of the dj sound, the flat loaf of bread which supplies the feminine t ending, and the long island symbol being the determinative for “land.” Thus, djet is earthly time, the time of the land.

The sum of the two was always used to finish the ritual:

Djet and neheh are symmetrical concepts and are almost always used together, “eternity and everlastingness” in English, or perhaps the same as our idiomatic “forever and ever.” In ancient times, the act of ritual purification was shown with the gods pouring water jars containing the symbol ankh, or life, over the person being purified. A person was then said to be pure forever (djet) and ever (neheh), or in both manners of counting of time, both in years and in memory.((ibid.  See the second part post on the ankh for a representation of this.))

So we begin to get this conceptualization of a time which belongs to this earth, and a time that belongs to the cosmos, or celestial events, equinoxes, the movement of the sun and stars, etc.  Neheh is generational time and repeats, whereas djet is permanent and unchanging in eternity.  The model of “one eternal round” illuminates both views, eternal repetition and permanence (cf. 1 Ne. 10:19, notice also the dual usage of “times of old” and “times to come”; Mosiah 3:5; Alma 7:20; Alma 37:12; D&C 3:2; D&C 35:1; D&C 39:22; D&C 72:3; D&C 132:7, 18-19).  This also conveys the thought that the gods were capable of eternal change while still being unchanging, since both symbols were bestowed by them upon the kings and queens, the repitition of an enduring process ad infinitum.  This perception of time does not have a place in Western thinking, but hearkens back to the ancients.  Such an explanation of time seems perfectly in keeping with Abraham’s discourse on the multiplicity of time measurements in Abraham 3.  More home runs for Joseph Smith.

Of course, Hugh Nibley also adds his thought-provoking voice to the conversation:

Otto avers that, while nhh conveys the idea of “unending recurrence of the same, the concept of becoming, something like our ‘development,’” dt denotes “ineradicable endurance,” a state of being established to last forever. Thomas Allen’s translation of the Book of the Dead supports this, rendering nhh as “endless occurrence” or “endless recurrence” and dt as “changelessness.” … while A. Bakir has the idea that “… nhh connotes the concept of infinity associated with time before the world … came into being,” while “dt refers to the other infinity … the time when the temporal world comes to an end” … Gardiner has much the same idea, i.e., that dt is “eternity in the past” and nhh “eternity in the future” [see 1 Nephi 10:19] . . .  A clear distinction is made in Book of the Dead chapter 17: “Others . . . say that the things which have been made are Eternity (nhh), and the things which shall be made are Everlastingness (dt).” . . .

“The nhh-eternity thus designates the unceasing recurrence of the same, the endlessness of time.” He agrees with Thausing that nhh is divisible into years, while dt cannot be so divided. . . .

There is a general agreement that time as nhh has an end, being bound to the conditions and cycles of this world, whereas eternity as dt is something solid and final, written with the earth symbol, which denotes the ultimate in unshakable solidity.  But everyone seems to feel the rightness of both making a distinction and of closely associating the two ideas to make sure that the ordinances shall be effective both “in time,” by whichever means we choose to measure it, and “thoughout all eternity,” which is not to be measured at all.  This is the expression that closes all major ordinances . . .

Time and Eternity: An Egyptian Dualism