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The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley #14
Abraham in Egypt
Book by Nibley, Hugh
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1981
26 people are currently reading
333 people want to read
About the author
Hugh Nibley
152 books96 followersHugh Winder Nibley was one of Mormonism's most celebrated scholars. Nibley is notable for his extensive research and publication on ancient languages and culture, his vigorous defense of doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and for frankly discussing what he saw as the shortcomings of the LDS people and culture.
A prolific author and professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University, he was fluent in over ten languages, including Classical Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Egyptian, Coptic, Arabic, German, French, English, and Spanish languages. He also studied Dutch and Russian during World War II.
In addition to his efforts as a scholar, Nibley was well known for writings and lectures on LDS scripture and doctrinal topics, many of which were published in LDS Church magazines. His book “An Approach to the Book of Mormon” was used as a lesson manual for the LDS Church in 1957.
A prolific author and professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University, he was fluent in over ten languages, including Classical Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Egyptian, Coptic, Arabic, German, French, English, and Spanish languages. He also studied Dutch and Russian during World War II.
In addition to his efforts as a scholar, Nibley was well known for writings and lectures on LDS scripture and doctrinal topics, many of which were published in LDS Church magazines. His book “An Approach to the Book of Mormon” was used as a lesson manual for the LDS Church in 1957.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
March 8, 2015
What is this book? I apologize in advance for a discussion that's going to become unavoidably lengthy because of the interesting and convoluted journey that's led me to it. The simple answer to this question: a hermeneutical work examining certain canonical writings of the LDS faith, comparing them with ancient Near East and Egyptian sources. If that's not your cup of (herbal) tea, we part friends: you'll enjoy the next review! If that piques your interest, read on fellow traveller!
Early last year I finally read John Crowley's "Aegypt," a novel beloved by no less than Harold Bloom, in which a historian writes another novel about the lost magic of our lives: the fictional novel draws parallels between ancient Egyptian mythology, early Christian gnosticism and Renaissance hermeticism, specifically with regards to the corpus ascribed to Hermes Trismegistus. Roads from the text led to alchemy, philosopher's stones, Rosicrucians, etc. As I read, however, I thought about Abraham and the Book of Abraham, a text produced by Joseph Smith in the 1840's and considered scripture by persons of the LDS faith. Interestingly, Harold Bloom had himself produced a fascinating piece on Joseph Smith as an American gnostic prophet, though that text had nothing to do with Crowley's. Crowley's second novel on the subject "Love and Sleep" brought me closer to another tantalizing figure, Giordano Bruno, but no closer to Abraham, and the novels, for me, had lost their direction: I moved on to other things.
Later in the year, I read a beautiful translation of the Gilgamesh Epic, an experience that I consider life changing: I see my life differently after reading Gilgamesh. And as I read, and heard of ancient Ur, and Gilgamesh's journey to find Utnapishtim, my thoughts returned to Abraham - his world, his life and what I knew of him. My introduction to the Sumerians through their greatest literature was intoxicating. I carried on, reading Dr. Woolley's "The Sumerians:" though textually dry, the heady import of Woolley's theories and the mysteries he proposed caught my imagination. A common cradle of Sumerian and Egyptian civilization? The fluid movement of culture up and down the fertile crescent: from Egypt, through the recently rediscovered libraries of Ebla, to Ur, Nippur, Uruk..? I finished Woolley, all ready to return to the next work in an eclectic diet, when my random number generator selected Nibley: "Abraham in Egypt." Randomness and order in the cosmos...
So with that lengthy preamble, what again is this book? Religious esoterica? Mormon apologetics? I've referenced Joseph Smith's Book of Abraham above: the source of the Book of Abraham is sometimes debated. The answer provided by he who produced it satisfies me: it was received by revelation. The work was either inspired by or guided by some Egyptian papyri that came into Joseph Smith's possession in the 1830's, an historical fact that I find particularly electrifying. Hugh Nibley was an LDS scholar and egyptologist who read hieroglyphics and published in the field, but who was primarily interested in LDS scriptural hermeneutics (there's that Hermes again). For more information on the author and his context, Nibley's wikipedia bio (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Nibley) is fascinating. "Abraham in Egypt" demonstrates what is meant by hermeneutics: Nibley draws on his knowledge of Egyptology to draw parallels between what is presented in the Book of Abraham and what is known of ancient Egyptian mythology and religion, primarily with the purpose of supporting and enriching a reading of the former text. For me, much more interestingly, Nibley also draws parallels between the "Abraham Literature" (works including the so-called "Genesis Apocryphon," a fragment of the Qumran scrolls, and the "Apocalypse of Abraham," all searchable and readable via wikipedia): pseudoepigraphical and apocryphal texts that could not have been available to Joseph Smith in 1840. This is Nibley's central argument. For myself, these ideas are indeed enlightening, and seems a cogent defence of the text on its own grounds, but when it comes to comparative literature there is no "smoking gun" so to speak: the purpose isn't to "prove" that Genesis ripped off Gilgamesh, it's to examine the textual intersections that make our cultures, our history, our imaginations resonate and resound. And when it comes to scripture, from my perspective, what can or cannot be "proven" becomes even less important. This is how I read Nibley: his assertions as an apologist are intriguing, and in the age of Wikipedia, his facts and much discussed footnotes are easier than ever to check, but I primarily loved the stories. Tell me that story again, how Abraham travelled from Haran to Canaan "with Eternity as [his] covering..."
So finally, what did I think of it? As I've said, the ideas that Nibley presents are both important and potentially profound, that is once you get passed Nibley's writing. This book, as many an esoteric tome does, presents myriad intersections between cultures, time periods, cosmologies. Nibley doesn't always, or even frequently, do this in a way that's easy for his readership to follow. As far as hermetic texts go, he has company in this practice. This text wasn't prepared for a wide readership, and I suspected more and more as I read that it was the work of an unusual and insular genius. The first half of the book finished strong, or should have, and readily satisfied my craving for greater understanding of ancient Mesopotamia and its denizens. The second half of the book was an extended reverie on a single verse of The Book of Abraham regarding the founding of Egypt: I found this much less interesting, and Nibley's prose here at times approached glossolalia. The topic clearly fascinated him, but had little to do with my focus: Abraham.
At day's end, from whence springs my reverence for and love of The Book of Abraham? From the same source from which Joseph received the text. In matters of antiquity, there can never be the sort of "proof" that will settle arguments and satisfy detractors. Even the 1840's are remote for that sort of sysiphism. Faith is the beginning and the end of my salvation, though I believe with Paul that at present we see "through a glass, darkly" and look forward to the day of "face to face." Oddly, I feel strongly that the advice proffered in the 91st section of the Doctrine and Covenants (https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-tes...…) regarding the original Old Testament Apocrypha should be applied abundantly to Nibley's writings. Of the text itself, it was by turns an exhilarating and painful read, perhaps, and sadly, more weighted toward the latter. And now I'm ready to retire for a time and ponder these things in my heart. The random number generator this time seems to agree.
Final Grade: A- (important, opaque)
Early last year I finally read John Crowley's "Aegypt," a novel beloved by no less than Harold Bloom, in which a historian writes another novel about the lost magic of our lives: the fictional novel draws parallels between ancient Egyptian mythology, early Christian gnosticism and Renaissance hermeticism, specifically with regards to the corpus ascribed to Hermes Trismegistus. Roads from the text led to alchemy, philosopher's stones, Rosicrucians, etc. As I read, however, I thought about Abraham and the Book of Abraham, a text produced by Joseph Smith in the 1840's and considered scripture by persons of the LDS faith. Interestingly, Harold Bloom had himself produced a fascinating piece on Joseph Smith as an American gnostic prophet, though that text had nothing to do with Crowley's. Crowley's second novel on the subject "Love and Sleep" brought me closer to another tantalizing figure, Giordano Bruno, but no closer to Abraham, and the novels, for me, had lost their direction: I moved on to other things.
Later in the year, I read a beautiful translation of the Gilgamesh Epic, an experience that I consider life changing: I see my life differently after reading Gilgamesh. And as I read, and heard of ancient Ur, and Gilgamesh's journey to find Utnapishtim, my thoughts returned to Abraham - his world, his life and what I knew of him. My introduction to the Sumerians through their greatest literature was intoxicating. I carried on, reading Dr. Woolley's "The Sumerians:" though textually dry, the heady import of Woolley's theories and the mysteries he proposed caught my imagination. A common cradle of Sumerian and Egyptian civilization? The fluid movement of culture up and down the fertile crescent: from Egypt, through the recently rediscovered libraries of Ebla, to Ur, Nippur, Uruk..? I finished Woolley, all ready to return to the next work in an eclectic diet, when my random number generator selected Nibley: "Abraham in Egypt." Randomness and order in the cosmos...
So with that lengthy preamble, what again is this book? Religious esoterica? Mormon apologetics? I've referenced Joseph Smith's Book of Abraham above: the source of the Book of Abraham is sometimes debated. The answer provided by he who produced it satisfies me: it was received by revelation. The work was either inspired by or guided by some Egyptian papyri that came into Joseph Smith's possession in the 1830's, an historical fact that I find particularly electrifying. Hugh Nibley was an LDS scholar and egyptologist who read hieroglyphics and published in the field, but who was primarily interested in LDS scriptural hermeneutics (there's that Hermes again). For more information on the author and his context, Nibley's wikipedia bio (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Nibley) is fascinating. "Abraham in Egypt" demonstrates what is meant by hermeneutics: Nibley draws on his knowledge of Egyptology to draw parallels between what is presented in the Book of Abraham and what is known of ancient Egyptian mythology and religion, primarily with the purpose of supporting and enriching a reading of the former text. For me, much more interestingly, Nibley also draws parallels between the "Abraham Literature" (works including the so-called "Genesis Apocryphon," a fragment of the Qumran scrolls, and the "Apocalypse of Abraham," all searchable and readable via wikipedia): pseudoepigraphical and apocryphal texts that could not have been available to Joseph Smith in 1840. This is Nibley's central argument. For myself, these ideas are indeed enlightening, and seems a cogent defence of the text on its own grounds, but when it comes to comparative literature there is no "smoking gun" so to speak: the purpose isn't to "prove" that Genesis ripped off Gilgamesh, it's to examine the textual intersections that make our cultures, our history, our imaginations resonate and resound. And when it comes to scripture, from my perspective, what can or cannot be "proven" becomes even less important. This is how I read Nibley: his assertions as an apologist are intriguing, and in the age of Wikipedia, his facts and much discussed footnotes are easier than ever to check, but I primarily loved the stories. Tell me that story again, how Abraham travelled from Haran to Canaan "with Eternity as [his] covering..."
So finally, what did I think of it? As I've said, the ideas that Nibley presents are both important and potentially profound, that is once you get passed Nibley's writing. This book, as many an esoteric tome does, presents myriad intersections between cultures, time periods, cosmologies. Nibley doesn't always, or even frequently, do this in a way that's easy for his readership to follow. As far as hermetic texts go, he has company in this practice. This text wasn't prepared for a wide readership, and I suspected more and more as I read that it was the work of an unusual and insular genius. The first half of the book finished strong, or should have, and readily satisfied my craving for greater understanding of ancient Mesopotamia and its denizens. The second half of the book was an extended reverie on a single verse of The Book of Abraham regarding the founding of Egypt: I found this much less interesting, and Nibley's prose here at times approached glossolalia. The topic clearly fascinated him, but had little to do with my focus: Abraham.
At day's end, from whence springs my reverence for and love of The Book of Abraham? From the same source from which Joseph received the text. In matters of antiquity, there can never be the sort of "proof" that will settle arguments and satisfy detractors. Even the 1840's are remote for that sort of sysiphism. Faith is the beginning and the end of my salvation, though I believe with Paul that at present we see "through a glass, darkly" and look forward to the day of "face to face." Oddly, I feel strongly that the advice proffered in the 91st section of the Doctrine and Covenants (https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-tes...…) regarding the original Old Testament Apocrypha should be applied abundantly to Nibley's writings. Of the text itself, it was by turns an exhilarating and painful read, perhaps, and sadly, more weighted toward the latter. And now I'm ready to retire for a time and ponder these things in my heart. The random number generator this time seems to agree.
Final Grade: A- (important, opaque)
October 31, 2017
Fantastic book. Having had Professor Nibley as an instructor in college, and knowing a little bit about the man and his incredible skills in languages and history (both ancient and modern), I looked forward to the day when I would have the funds to add this book to my library, and the time to read it. And it did not disappoint! Bravo, Professor. Incredibly well done.
January 21, 2022
Spændende!
February 28, 2022
I can't pretend to understand a lot of things in this book as I do not have the background in Egyptology that Prof Nibley has but I found some interesting concepts, themes and ideas.
January 9, 2009
Even more than most Nibley books, this one will be appreciate more by LDS than by non-members.
Nibley explores the various scriptures and non-canonical ancient texts surrounding the Abraham story, especially as it relates to his being in Egypt.
Nibley gives a lot of insight into the possible meaning of the facsimiles found in the Pear of Great Price, which are confusing until you spend time with this book.
If anyone thought Egyptology has little relevance to the LDS faith, then this book will set you straight.
Nibley explores the various scriptures and non-canonical ancient texts surrounding the Abraham story, especially as it relates to his being in Egypt.
Nibley gives a lot of insight into the possible meaning of the facsimiles found in the Pear of Great Price, which are confusing until you spend time with this book.
If anyone thought Egyptology has little relevance to the LDS faith, then this book will set you straight.
January 28, 2018
Nibley was a great expert on the history of Egypt, and as an LDS scholar, could relate that history to the scriptures, especially the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price, like no other. I learned a lot more about Egyptian history and religion from this book than I think I will ever need to know, and there is a lot of redundancy between the entries in the book, but when I got to the last chapter, which is a "rough summary" of the book, I realized that without reading this very long book, I would not understand the summary very well. I think there is no knowledge that is not valuable, but this is out there on the edge of things I may need to know (so far), and one would sift through a lot of this information in order to learn more about the Pearl of Great Price. The exceptions are the early chapters specifically about Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac and their sacrifices. There is another hefty volume of collected works of Nibley on this subject, An Approach to the Book of Abraham; it will be interesting to see how much redundancy there is between the two books. Nibley's abilities with language, history, and cross-cultural comparisons are amazing.
January 31, 2022
This was very academic and there was a lot I didn’t need to know. But Nibley always makes us say, “Joseph Smith guessed right again!” We says this every time Nibley shows through newly discovered scrolls or archeological finds, etc., that the ancient information Joseph brought to light, (and was scoffed at by scholars), is now substantiated by outside scholarship.
In this volume, Joseph Smith’s translations of the Pearl of Great Price facsimiles, which were condemned by scholars for years, were shown to be correct. More scholarship and more research have proven that Joseph “guessed” right all along.
In this volume, Joseph Smith’s translations of the Pearl of Great Price facsimiles, which were condemned by scholars for years, were shown to be correct. More scholarship and more research have proven that Joseph “guessed” right all along.
October 11, 2022
This book made me want to get a tattoo of facsimile two across my entire back.
October 5, 2011
Very little has been recorded in the Bible regarding Abraham. We knew he was a very good man who obeyed God unquestioningly, but he is really enigmatic. Nibley looks at ancient records from Babylonia, Egypt, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the "Book of Abraham", which was omitted during the initial compilations of the Christian Bible in the 300s A.D.
Through his exhaustive research into Abraham's life, one will come to love our father Abraham on a more personal, meaningful level, and will clearly see the Lord's mercy and care for His children, and that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It is a brilliant book that contributes significant new knowledge to our understanding of the ancient world and the world of Abraham.
Hugh Nibley was a genius. The man unlocked ancient Egyptian through the use of the Rosetta stone, worked in Bletchley park decyphering the Enigma transmissions from Nazi Germany, and is fluent in seven ancient languages (Latin, Greek, Egyptian, Aramaic, Hebrew, Babylonian, and Sanskrit).
Through his exhaustive research into Abraham's life, one will come to love our father Abraham on a more personal, meaningful level, and will clearly see the Lord's mercy and care for His children, and that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It is a brilliant book that contributes significant new knowledge to our understanding of the ancient world and the world of Abraham.
Hugh Nibley was a genius. The man unlocked ancient Egyptian through the use of the Rosetta stone, worked in Bletchley park decyphering the Enigma transmissions from Nazi Germany, and is fluent in seven ancient languages (Latin, Greek, Egyptian, Aramaic, Hebrew, Babylonian, and Sanskrit).
August 21, 2007
Hugh Nibley was the number one Mormon intellectual for 50 years or more, and everything he's written is worth reading. In this book, Nibley's purpose is to establish the authenticity and value of the Book of Abraham.
The Book of Abraham records events and ideas about Abraham that do not appear in the Bible. In the last century, however, much extra-biblical information about Abraham and his milieu has come to light, and Nibley finds corroboration for many things in the Book of Abraham that non-Mormon scholars had long derided.
For me, there were only two drawbacks to the book. First, because this volume appears in Nibley's Collected Works, some of this material was old, dating back to the late sixties and early seventies. Second, the very breadth and depth of the material Nibley brings forward was at times overwhelming to a non-Egyptologist.
The Book of Abraham records events and ideas about Abraham that do not appear in the Bible. In the last century, however, much extra-biblical information about Abraham and his milieu has come to light, and Nibley finds corroboration for many things in the Book of Abraham that non-Mormon scholars had long derided.
For me, there were only two drawbacks to the book. First, because this volume appears in Nibley's Collected Works, some of this material was old, dating back to the late sixties and early seventies. Second, the very breadth and depth of the material Nibley brings forward was at times overwhelming to a non-Egyptologist.
February 2, 2010
This was a re-read but as we're in the OT this year, i thought it was appropriate to revisit Nibley and Abraham. Wow. It was even better this time around. Seriously. Very powerful. Nibley has turned so many Mormons into amateur Egyptologists! RIP, Hugh. The Abraham stories are so fantastic and current! Not much has changed in the thousands of years since he roamed the plains. I wish i could read German to continue with some of those sources he quotes.
September 17, 2010
Although Nibley has a great sense of humor, and is extremely well-read in a number of languages, when he starts talking about proof for Mormon scripture he uses shoddy scholarship.
To understand Nibley's approach to scholarship, see:
Salmon, Douglas F. "Parallelomania and the Study of Latter-day Scripture: Confirmation, Coincidence, or the Collective Subconscious? Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 33, no. 2 (Summer 2000): 129-156.
To understand Nibley's approach to scholarship, see:
Salmon, Douglas F. "Parallelomania and the Study of Latter-day Scripture: Confirmation, Coincidence, or the Collective Subconscious? Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 33, no. 2 (Summer 2000): 129-156.
April 17, 2008
This is my fourth time through this book and each time it is like new. Nibley does an amazing job showing world conditions at the time of Abraham and it becomes easier with each reading to apply his life and those conditions to our day and learn what we need to know to understand and deal with modern challenges.
September 19, 2008
Thanks for the recommendation Kristy! I read it, and totally had a "This is over my head" experience, which isn't a bad thing. There's a lot of depth to this book that I didn't really understand given my lack of background in the subject matter. But I appreciate that there are people out there that think deeply about history and the origins of ancient texts.
October 5, 2007
I think when my brain cells have recovered from being pregnant I will enjoy this book more.
December 7, 2020
A great historical and spiritual reference for the Book of Abraham (in the LDS Tome of Scriptures).
March 18, 2008
Mr. Nibley does it again. Whatever the subject of his books, his mind ranges far afield and connects us to our distant ancestors.
April 7, 2009
Nibley celebrates all things Abrahamic. A great read. I read this in high school and would probably get much more out of it now.
March 4, 2009
OK, I'm skimming this one :)
August 24, 2010
This is a rather hard read but worth it in the long run.
December 30, 2009
There is so much in this book that I learned that I couldn't possibly summarize.
June 2, 2010
This was not my favorite Nibley book. It was a little unfocused, but it was still great.
Read
June 10, 2011This was my second attempt through this monster. I loved the first half of the book, but by the time he got into analyzing hieroglyphics I just lost all interest...
March 21, 2022
even better
November 8, 2008
This book is interesting, but a little too slow and scholarly for casual reading.
April 20, 2017
My favorite by Nibley that I have read.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews