The Hall of Judgment
David
Grant Stewart, Sr.
© 2006
The so-called Book of the Dead is not a coherent narrative. It is a collection of many books, some of them repeating others within the same collection. Abraham entrusted all of his discoveries to the Egyptians as being the only nation on earth having enough stability to preserve his writings down to our day. The Hall of Judgment written by Abraham in 1830 B.C. was presented to Pharaoh and his court and then copied by countless scribes. Besides combining Judeo-Christian theology, this document tells us exactly what we have to account for to our Maker, and exactly what will happen to us if we pass, and exactly what if we fail. Below I present a few of my corrections of the translation of Osiris in the hall of double Maat (which should be translated, Jehovah at the Bar of Judgment). This document claims to originally have been written by Abraham "in his own hand."
The
version pictured is known to scholars as the "Papyrus of Hunefer." It
is in the
Budge wrote: “The papyrus of
Ani, AJ3Bw, was found at
These were standard texts to be
attached to the breast of the deceased upon burial after the name of the owner
was filled in. This translation takes the best
elements of both the Papyrus of Ani and the Papyrus of Hunefer. I will translate the large hieroglyphs first,
then the small hieroglyphs forming the narrative.
The older
Egyptologists, especially E.A. Wallis Budge, were better translators of
Egyptian hieroglyphs than anything I have seen in the second half of the
twentieth century. I will cite his translations and those of more recent,
highly respected Egyptologists and follow them by my own translations so that
you can judge for yourself. The most
comprehensive dictionary ever made of Egyptian hieroglyphics (Wörterbuch der
Ägyptischen Sprache, by Adolf Erman) is now out of print. This does not
speak well of the present state of the field of Egyptology.
References for comparison texts
include:
The Egyptian Book of the Dead:
papyrus of Ani,
Egyptian Grammar, Sir Alan
Gardiner, editions 1927, 1950, 1957, 1964, 1966, 1969, 1973, Griffith Institute,
The Egyptian Book of the Dead:
based on Budge’s 1890 publication of the papyrus of Ani acquired by the British
Museum in 1888, translation by Dr. Raymond O. Faulkner, 1972, revised &
reprinted 1998, Chronicle Books, San Francisco.
The book in which Dr. Faulkner’s work appears claims to be “one of the
best [translations] available today.”
From the Book of the Dead:
Budge, Gardiner, Faulkner, et
al.: The book was written by “unknown scribes ca. 1250 B.C.E.”
Stewart: The original book was written by Abraham, 1830 B.C. and entrusted to
and copied by scribes for a thousand years, who were of the hereditary scribes
and embalmers caste.
In addition to the fact that Abraham is represented in the Bar of Judgment hieroglyph as the Recorder, he is further mention in the Record itself:
GVCcpEAEca Who is the Recorder?
soGE It is Abraham. [BD p. 212].
I need to point out that s is misread as “Thoth” by Egyptologists. Thoth is the
Greek way of pronouncing the Egyptian s which
the Egyptians themselves pronounced TEHUTI. TEHUTI is not a name, any more than
Melchizedek is. It is a title. It means “the Reckoner.” This is the title Pharaoh conferred upon
Abraham, as the Reckoner of the Heavens, i.e. the Astronomer par excellence (see also Book of Abraham
Facsimile 3 at http://scriptures.lds.org/en/abr/fac_3
). The Egyptian ibis was selected as his hieroglyph because the first syllable
is the same as Abraham’s name in Egyptian, pronounced IBRAHIM in
In the body of the record it also says
so!ppJJIUUU
HCYQH
Abraham made this with his own fingers [p. 36].
It is clear that from these points thats “Thoth” was understood by the Egyptians to be a real historical person. A review of early Egyptian narratives about “Thoth” also demonstrates close parallels to Abraham’s life. Specific points will be posted later as time allows to allow readers to judge for themselves how well the Egyptian “Thoth” fits the scriptural Abraham.
Do not expect Egyptologists to agree with me. As a discovery, this is new to them. If you read the prefaces to Sir Alan Gardiner’s excellent Egyptian Grammar, you come away wondering why such a great scholar has found it necessary to be so defensive about everything he says. Reading later scholars, you get the idea that to each generation of Egyptologists, the former one is “out of date.” Now, there’s a novel idea. Some even go so far to say as you discredit yourself by even quoting anything they said as correct. I have never seen an Egyptologist - or anyone else -who did not have a great deal of good in him. It seems to me, though, that, contrary to the “up to date” view, the older scholars were actually more thorough and conscientious than anything I see today.
The First Escort
At the
left we see a man being escorted by the hand by an individual with a jackal
head.
BUDGE: Anubis.
DGS: This has a triple meaning.
First, it represents the escort who
comes to pick us up at the moment of death. This notion is preserved in the
Valkyrie of Nordic legend, the Choosers of the dead, who swooped down upon the
field after a battle and escorted fallen brave warriors to the halls of
The
second meaning is the person who, having been resurrected himself, comes to
perform the resurrection of the deceased, retrieving the body (Egyptian BA) and
reuniting it with the spirit (Egyptian KA), which is always the person sealed
to him or her, such as husband or father.
At the time of resurrection, the person is immediately escorted before
the Bar of Judgment.
The third meaning is the person who
greets us upon arrival at the Bar of Judgment. This person is represented in
hieroglyphs by what is called by Egyptologists as INPU, although they generally
cite the Greek form of the word, Anubis. However, this is a proper noun, and by
way of respect is written in the opposite direction, and the quail chick
rendered U should be rendered M as demonstrated earlier, and
the square box hieroglyph rendered P should be rendered R, also as already demonstrated. The
correct reading is MRNI, or more completely,
The title of this the person
bearing this hieroglyph is "the guardian of sacred records by which the
world shall be judged." Another description given in hieroglyphs is
"He who stands upon his hill." This is commonly known, but the
meaning of the hill is not. This has two meanings. The first meaning of the
word hill used as part of his title is the hill in upstate
The Balance
At the
top of the balance is the hieroglyph for the goddess MAAT, which has an
iterative meaning; that is, the hieroglyph needs to be read once for its first
meaning and then again for its second. The first meaning is "right"
and the second is "truth." This is often mistranslated by scholars as
"the double MAAT." It should be translated "right and
truth."
The
hieroglyph at the top of the balance, a blindfolded female, signifies that
justice is no respecter of persons. Office, station, high birth, riches, etc.,
buy us nothing at the Bar of Judgment. All will be judged by the same standards
regardless of their station in life. This is the origin of the Roman symbol of
justice, a woman blindfolded and holding out a balance in one hand and a sword
in the other, which we often see in our own courthouses.
In the
left scale of the balance is a hieroglyphic representation of the heart, and in
the right, the feather hieroglyph called SHU or MAAT. Its correct
transliteration is USHU MAAT. This heart and feather combination gave rise to
the ridiculous claim of Egyptologists that the Egyptians believed that the
heart would be weight against a feather.
The
horizontal USHU MAAT hieroglyph at the top of the scales signifies the
mitigating circumstances of our life. Would we have kept the commandments with
all our heart had we been taught them? Was our life cut short through no fault
of our own, or through a despondent, ignorant suicide? Were we free in our
lifetimes to choose our path, and to what extent? Did we suffer losses not of
our making? Every mitigating factor is taken into account to soften the verdict
to the extent possible.
The balance is also represented by
the constellation Libra, which means both “balance” and “book.” As the ancients
reckoned the day from sundown to sundown (Genesis 1, Abraham 4), the
night of 21 September would actually be September 22nd, which is the
day the earth enters the Constellation of Libra according to their
reckoning. The earth was entering the
constellation of Libra exactly at the moment
The heart in the left pan of the
scales:
BUDGE, p. 255: the heart,
emblematical of the conscience.
DGS: The heart hieroglyph
represents the life and desires of the defendant.
The heart hieroglyph in the left pan of the balance in its expanded meaning is the defendant’s life and desires of the heart. This representation of what a person is, is alluded to in Proverbs: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). Budge erroneously translated this as a man's conscience.
Ushu Maat
The feather hieroglyph in the
right pan of the scales:
BUDGE: weighed in the balance
against the feather, emblematical of law.
DGS: the
feather hieroglyph is pronounced USHU MAAT.
This is the most important hieroglyph in the whole record, because it shows
what we are weighed against. In order to translate the character, all of its
meanings have to be gathered up from the ancient records and then placed in the
correct order. There are five degrees to this character, and each one must be
listed in its proper order to provide a complete translation.
- USHU
MAAT: The foundation of seeing by the light of right. This refers to a
person's conscience, which tells him right from wrong.
- USHU
MAAT: The foundation by seeing by the light of truth. This refers to the Holy
Ghost, which testifies to a person what is true from what is false.
- USHU MAAT: The Book seen by three witnesses. A person is judged by what
written code of law was available to him in his lifetime.
- USHU
MAAT: The Book seen by eight witnesses
- USHU
MAAT: What is said, done, and written by those who have the sealing power,
including ordinances performed in our behalf. This is referred to in the
New Testament: "Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in
heaven” (Matthew
18:18).
Notice
that the hieroglyphic translation is a representation of the attributes of the
hieroglyph. A feather's fibers are coated with oil and are used by fowl to seal
out water. Those who had the sealing power also had power over the waters above
(clouds) and those below (bodies of water). Thus, Moses parted the
MAAT here
is the ancestor of the German word Macht (power). It is also the ancestor of
the Japanese verb MIRU, to see. It also means all attributes of the eye: see,
seeing, having seen, having been seen, or one who has seen (a witness). It is
also the ancestor of the Hebrew word EMET, truth.
USHU is
the Sumerian word for foundation and also means the numbers three and eight.
SHU also means "light" in Egyptian, the sense of radiant light. It
also refers to what is done with a feather, namely, writing, that which is
written. It is the ancestor of the Chinese word SHU, "book." Modern
Romance languages also use the word "feather" for "pen" as
everybody knows.
Near the
top of the scales, extending horizontally to the right, the USHU MAAT
hieroglyph appears again, this time by way of a balance compensator. This
refers to circumstances which may mitigate the judgment, such as premature
death and other circumstances beyond the control of the defendant. It also
refers to mercy applied through the Atonement in behalf of one who has repented
(this doctrine actually appears in the Egyptian records, as we will see in the
narrative).
The Devourer
The
hieroglyph to the lower right of the balance of a crouching composite animal
with a crocodile's head, awaiting the outcome of the judgment, is correctly
translated by scholars as The Devourer. The Devourer is also represented by a
set of hieroglyphs incorrectly transliterated by scholars as SET or SETH. Why
they fail to transliterate the final N is a mystery to me. The name SA TAN has
several meanings: "He who causes to be damned." "sandy foundation,"
and a few others denoting a tormenter.
This is
the same Devourer who is referred to in Malachi 3:11. Malachi's
promise was that one who pays tithing in righteousness will have judgment
mitigated at the Bar and the Devourer will be "rebuked" for his sake.
It is for this reason that some religions refuse to accept tithing from those
who have committed serious sins and not repented of them.
The text
above the Devourer is a description of three different animals which compose
the hieroglyph, apparently an allusion to the nature of the torments he
inflicts upon his victims. In some
papyrii there is also the hieroglyph correctly translated as the
Thoth
The next
figure at the right, we the human with the hieroglyph of an ibis bird for a
head. This signifies Abraham, the Court
Recorder, or a representative of Abraham acting in his behalf (compare the
blessing of Abraham given in Genesis). The robe going over the right shoulder
signifies that he holds the Melchizedek priesthood and is officiating in that
capacity.
Abraham’s
name is represented in Egyptian as IB RA which is sometimes translated,
erroneously, as "the heart of Ra." It is also translated as
"friend of God" but it has much more meaning that we don't have room
for here. In this document, the title of Abraham is used, which is TE HU TI. It
means, The Reckoner. It is an allusion to his mathematical and astronomy
discoveries which, in another hieroglyphic record, he shared with the Egyptian
royal court. The hieroglyph is a human figure with the head of an ibis. The 19th
century German scholar Brugsch came to the silly conclusion that it means
"the being who is like an ibis." The Egyptian word for
"ibis" is TE HU so its use as a hieroglyph is obvious. TE HU TI is more commonly known in the Greek
form, Thoth. Notice that he holds a scribe's pallet. One of his titles was,
roughly translated, the scorekeeper of the Bar of Judgment. Christ alluded to a
role of Abraham in afterlife judgment in the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man
(Luke 16:22-23).
The Upper Register
In the
upper register we see the defendant, this time kneeling with upraised arms.
This is a hieroglyph for prayer, equivalent to the Sumerian SHU IL, "to
raise the hands" which is an idiomatic expression in that language for
prayer. The defendant, having been raised from the dead, is brought before the
Bar. His name is written above his head.
The
“table of offerings” before him is a representation of missionary work, by
which, presumably, he was brought to this point. No one is brought to the Bar
without having first been resurrected. No one is resurrected without having
been sealed to a husband or father. No one is sealed without having his genealogy
done. No one is sealed without having had ordinances performed in his behalf.
No one is sealed without having accepted that sealing. No one can accept that
sealing without having had the gospel preached to him.
The Presiding Councils
At the
top of this plate, there is a row of personages. In most papyrii there are
twelve figures; in this one there are fourteen. Both representations are
correct. The text above the heads of
those in the upper register is a description of each individual in it.
In all cases,
the first three have crowns and special hieroglyphs over their heads. These are the respective hieroglyphs for RA
(Hebrew EL), IUSIR (Greek form Osiris), which corresponds with JEHOVAH of the
Hebrews, and the third one, SHU, representing the Holy Ghost. The first three
represent the Christian Trinity, yet one of them has the Hebrew name Jehovah.
Now this is very curious for a document written about 1800 B.C. and flies in
the face of the evolutionists. Notice the similarity in the Masoretic Hebrew Bible
where two distinct Personages are mentioned, ADONAI corresponding to Jehovah,
and ELOHIM corresponding to God the Father. Some may quibble over this, but
that's what it says in this particular text.
These
three personages have meaning on several levels. The first seated figure facing the defendant,
in the first degree, is the missionary who taught him. In this degree, the
second figure represents the missionary’s companion and the third figure, the
written record or book [SHU] containing the gospel and representing those who
wrote it, e.g. Moses, John, Nephi, etc.
Most of mankind, having not accepted the gospel in mortality, are taught
by missionaries in the spirit world, who then are their judges. If they pass this
interview, they go on to the next higher official; if not, the judgment is
completed at this point, which will be the vast majority of cases.
In the
second degree, it is the bishop of him who accepted the gospel in mortality.
The next two figures are his counselors. They interview the defendant for
worthiness exactly as is done in a temple recommend. In the third degree, the
first three figures facing the defendant represent the stake presidency, who
subsequently interview the defendant as before.
In the
fourth degree, the first three figures represent the Presidency of the High
Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek, who preside over the Bar of Judgment
and hold the keys to the Light of Christ.
In the
fifth degree, the first three figures represent the Grand Presidency in Heaven,
as indicated by the crowns upon their heads, respectively, God the Father or
Elohim, the Only Begotten Son, Jehovah, or Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.
Remember that the Holy Ghost is not one person, but many. In this degree they
are also compared to the Sun, Moon, and Stars, although that is not a part of
this translation.
The above
mentioned interviews continue with higher authorities until an interview is
failed, and that ends the judgment. Each interview is more searching and more
discerning than the previous. If all interviews are passed, the final one is
with the Holy One of Israel.
Special
significance was given to twelve (or fourteen) judges presiding over the Bar of
Judgment. In the first degree they signify the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb
during the defendant’s lifetime. In the
second degree these signify the Twelve Apostles during the ministry of the
Savior. In versions with fourteen seated
figures, they are to be taken as raised one degree (i.e. multiplied by 5) to
get the figure seventy, which constituted an administrative group in the time
of Moses (Numbers
11:16,24-25, Exodus
24:1,9) and is mentioned in the New Testament as "the seventy" (Luke 10:1). They signify
members of the Quorums of the Seventy.
In all
representations, the first seven figures have a hieroglyph on the knee commonly
interpreted by scholars as "ANKH" and interpreted as
"life." A more correct translation in this case is "keys,"
meaning keys of the priesthood such as were given to Moses and Peter. These figures in the first degree signify the
seven presidents of the Seventy. In the second degree they signify the seven
presidents of the Dispensations. In both cases, the seventh presides over the
first six.
In
summary, the Bar of Judgment is presided over by three councils: one of Three (the heavenly Godhead or their
earthly representatives), one of Twelve (e.g. the Apostles), and one of
Seventy. The implication is that the three are the judges of the three races of
the earth; the twelve of the twelve tribes of
The Second Escort
In the
lower vignette, at the left we see the defendant again escorted, this time by a
figure with a falcon hieroglyph for the head, representing that he holds the
Melchizedek priesthood. This escort,
like the prior one, holds the ankh. This
figure introduces the defendant at the veil if he has passed the Bar.
The Booth
Before him is a booth with a tassel hanging down, indicating there is an opaque veil separating the defendant from the booth. Over the booth we see uraeii, cobras. The cobra head hieroglyphs atop the veiled booth signify destroying radiation which can only be approached by one who is purified and sanctified. The Egyptians represented electromagnetic waves as snakes with coils going up and down representative of a sine wave. Where the snake is a cobra, it is used to represent destroying or deadly radiation. The implication of this booth with cobras emanating from the top is that of deadly radiation, such as would come from a celestial body such as the sun if one got too close. This is crudely represented in old Hebrew records as dwelling in “everlasting burnings" (Isaiah 33:14). The Egyptian representation is much more graphic. There are texts which even discuss measurements between the peaks of these waves, and attenuation of the height of the coil, represented by a dagger inserted at the peak of the snake's coil. The meaning of the dagger is that the effect of the power carried by the electromagnetic radiation (expressed by its amplitude) is neutralized relative to its effect on the body of the defendant. This is what is meant by being made capable of enduring or abiding His presence (Moses 1:2, D&C 67:11-13).
Jehovah and Eve
The seated figure represents the
Holy One of Israel on His throne. Now I should point
out something about the translation of L IUSIR, which I already said was
"Jehovah." There isn't a scholar on the planet who translates
"Jehovah" correctly, nor the old Hebrew name "Eve."
The
Egyptian hieroglyphs for L ISIS and L IUSIR
[Greek, Osiris] are precisely analogous to the old Hebrew representations of
EVE and JEHOVAH. The same characters can also be found in Sumerian cuneiform.
IS in Egyptian, SI in Sumerian, means, in the first degree, "time"
and in the second degree, "seasons." Run consecutively together, the
name Eve or ISIS should be translated "Times and Seasons." Now, in
both the ancient Phoenician characters spelling the names, as well as the
Egyptian hieroglyphs, if we place the hieroglyph for an eye over the hieroglyph
for Isis or the letters spelling Eve (HEVAH or HOVAH), we get JEHOVAH - the
Appointer of Times and Seasons (cf. Daniel 2:21: “he changeth
the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings.” Also D&C 88:42: “he
hath given a law unto all things, by which they move in their times and their
seasons.”) The
Sumerian records refer to Jehovah as EN TE ME NA "the Lord of the Foundation
of Stone" (cf. Jacob
4:15-16, Ephesians 2:20,
Matthew 7:24-25) and
also call Him the Good Shepherd (cf. John 10:11).
!L in Hebrew
is יהוה
JEHOVAH and carries exactly the
same meaning in the earliest stage of Hebrew.
L IS IS is written הוה HOVAH or HEVAH in
Hebrew and carries exactly the same meaning in the earliest stage of
Hebrew. Eve is written in the original
language with characters analogous to our HVH except that in the original
language, every character had a matrix of meanings. The character analogous to
our H in this example meant a time or a season. Every Hebraist knows that the V
was a mere copula, "and." The Egyptian Isis is of exactly the same
meaning and is often represented as SEP SEN ("two times" or
"twice") and has been taken by Egyptologists as a direction to repeat
the previous sentence or phrase. The correct translation of Eve and of
Notice
that the seated Figure holds a shepherd's crook in His right hand and a flail
in His left. The shepherd’s crook, which
is always in His right hand, signifies justice administered to the righteous,
and those who come to Him by hearing the voice of the Good Shepherd (cf. Jacob
naming his youngest Benjamin “son of the right hand”). The flail in the left
hand signifies judgment poured out upon the wicked, and also signifies those
who come to Him driven by the trials of mortality just as wheat is thrashed
from the chaff by the flail. (cf. Psalms 23:4, “thy rod
and thy staff they comfort me.”)
The
slanted rectangle upon which the booth sits is a hieroglyph correctly
translated by scholars as a cubit. The cubit measure of time represents
of the power of the Appointer of Times and Seasons to mete out to every man his
allotted time.
The wavy
lines under the throne signify a fountain of pure water coming out of a rock,
representing His pure doctrine coming in its purity out of a box made of rock.
The cavity of a rock is also a hieroglyph for humility, also signifying the
place of His mortal birth, a khan carved out of the rock of the side of a hill.
The lotus plant with four stems has four hieroglyphs atop signifies the earth
in its four quarters, nourished by the gospel proceeding from the throne of the
Almighty. The “fountain of living water”
that comes from the presence of the Lord is alluded to in Jeremiah 17:13, Joel 3:18, Revelation 7:17, Revelation 21:6, and Revelation 22:1, while John 4:14 declares: “whosoever
drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water
that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into
everlasting life.”
The
hieroglyph of the eye with wings in the upper left corner of the booth is, when
translated, a set of key words (the grand keywords of the Holy Priesthood)
which the defendant must say in order to pass through the veil and enter the
presence of Jehovah. No translation can be given here.
The two
female figures standing behind, called by scholars Isis and Nephthys, signify
our mothers of our Second Estate and of our First one, respectively, i.e. the
mother of our mortal body and the mother of our spirit. The text above the
heads of those in the booth is a description of each individual in it, which I
will not translate here since the individuals have already been identified.
Plate III, Section 1, Hall of
Judgment, p. 11 (Budge):
First Narrative
Now the
translation of the narrative. The top line is Budge's transliteration; the
second is his translation. The last is mine.
The first
narration begins just above the right arm of the balance and is read from right
to left.
JED IN
IUSIR AN ANI
Budge:
Speech by Osiris scribe Ani.
Stewart:
To be said by the scribe Jehovah Ani.
JEDEF IBI EN MUTI SEP SEN
Budge:
Saith he: My heard my mother, twice.
Sir
Alan Gardiner: O my heart of my mother! O my heart of my mother!
Dr. Raymond Faulkner: O my heart which I had from my mother! O my heart which I
had from my mother!
Stewart:
He says: My heart and might are as my mother Eve.
HATI I EN KHEPERUI
Budge: My heart of my coming into being.
Gardiner: O my heart of my different ages (lit.: my coming into being).
Faulkner: O my heart of my different ages!
Stewart: My mind and strength are as my father Adam.
Notice the cowpathing here.
Gardiner takes Budge, word for word. Faulkner takes Gardiner, word for word.
The hieroglyph for “heart” in the
first instance is the traditional jar [, “IB”; in
the second instance, it is the head and forepaws of a lion $, HATI, yet scholars translate
these different hieroglyphs indiscriminately as “heart.” The first hieroglyph
represents heart and might; in the second, mind and strength. The beetle
hieroglyph, translated by scholars as “coming into being” or some similar
variant, in fact refers to the “first creation or creature,” namely, Adam,
similar to the Akkadian cuneiform “adammu” which is generally translated by
scholars as “creatures” or “cattle.”
In his grammar [Grammaire
Egyptienne, ou Principes Généraux de l’écriture sacrée égyptienne appliquée a
la représentation de la langue parlée, par Champollion le jeune; publiée sur le
manuscrit autographe, par l’ordre de M. Guizot, ministre de l’instruction
publique, Paris, typographie de firmin Didot frères, MDCCCXXXVI.], Champollion asserts that we have a representation of
“la prééminence ou la supériorite, par les parties antérieures
du lion $.” I assert
that no one translates this character correctly. It should be translated “mind
and strength.”
In this passage from the Book of
the Dead, the defendant says $VCkaJ`KEx4a, which Budge translates as “My
heart of my coming into being,” which conveys no information whatsoever. The correct translation is “My mind and
strength are as my father Adam.” Notice that in the correct translation there
is no claim of “pre-eminence” or “superiority” of the man over the woman,
simply an acknowledgment of different but complimentary attributes. All of the best scholars admit that the
correct translation of E (see below) is “right and truth,” so it should be no
great shock to learn that $ does not mean “pre-eminence” and “superiority” but rather
“mind and strength” which are primarily masculine attributes, just as “heart
and might” are primarily feminine attributes as we said much earlier.
The hieroglyph for “Eve” is
universally mistranslated as “twice” or “two times” or the previous phrase is
repeated, because it literally means “times and seasons,” universally misread
as “a time and a time.” The cause of the misreading is that in the first
instance, it should be read in the first degree as “time” or “times” and in the
second, it should be translated in the second degree as “season” or “seasons.”
The same goes for the hieroglyphs IB and HATI.
The name Eve, along with Jehovah, is precisely analogous to
the Egyptian Isis and Iusir [Greek, Osiris] respectively. Eve is written in the original language with
characters analogous to our HVH except that in the original language, every
character had a matrix of meanings. The character analogous to our H in this
example meant a time or a season. Every Hebraist knows that the V was a mere
copula, "and." The Egyptian Isis is of exactly the same meaning and
is often represented as SEP SEN ("two times" or "twice" and
has been taken by Egyptologists as a direction to repeat the previous sentence
or phrase. The correct translation of Eve and of
Our first
parents, Adam and Eve, are paragons of virtue and excellence, which, Abraham
tells us, if we emulate, we will pass the Bar of Judgment. The idea expressed
is that we have served the Lord with all of our heart, might (which are
primarily feminine virtues), mind, and strength (which are primarily masculine
virtues), exactly as the scriptures have admonished us to do.
Notice
that Doctrine and Covenants lists the faculties as heart, might, mind, and
strength (D&C 4:2, D&C 59:5), while the New
Testament reading substitutes Gr. ψυχη (psyche) for might (Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27). The KJV translates ψυχη
as soul in those passages, but elsewhere renders the same word variously as
life, mind, and heart. We can never expect the Venn diagrams of meanings and
connotations to be congruent for the equivalent word into different languages. "Soul"
is not a good translation for this word since the most common use of it in
the Greek language corresponds to the Latin anima, the vital principle
which gives life to the body. However, it may be seen from Romance
languages that the Latin word is very close in every respect to the Greek word
as used in the New Testament. For example, "animado" in the
Romance languages is an adjective describing someone who is very enthusiastic
or excited about a project. This is the meaning conveyed by the language
of Adam in the original term. In other words, the concept of "heart
and might" carries the notions of love and enthusiasm for an
undertaking.
EM AHA ERI EM METER
Budge:
May there not be resistance to me in judgment.
Stewart:
May there not be resistance to me in the Judgment.
EM
KHESEF ERI EM JAJAT
Budge:
May there not be repulse to me on the part of the divine chiefs.
Stewart:
May I not be rejected by the august Ones.
EM ARIT
REQEK ERI EMBAH ARI MAKHAIT
Budge:
May they not make thy separation from me in the presence of the possessor of
the scales.
Stewart:
May they not cast me off from the presence of the possessor the scales.
ENTEK KAI IM KHATI KHNEM SEUJA ATI
Budge:
Thou art my ka within my body which formeth and strengtheneth my limbs.
Stewart:
Thou art my spirit within my body which formeth and strengtheneth my limbs.
PERNEK ER BU NEFER HEN I IM
Budge:
Mayest thou come forth to the place of happiness to which I advance there.
Stewart:
Mayest thou come forth to the place of happiness to which I advance there.
EM
SEKHER RENI EN SHENIT
Budge:
May not the Shenit cause my name to stink
Stewart:
May not the august Ones cause my name to stink.
EM JED GER ERI ERMA NETER
Budge:
May there not be spoken lies against me near the god.
Stewart:
May there not be spoken evil against me to God.
Notice
that the defendant takes upon him the name of Jehovah. This is not because of
any arrogance or blasphemy. He is required to do so in order to be able to
stand for judgment.
Second Narrative
Begins
just to the right of the scales and is read from left to right:
JED IN TEHUTI IP MAA EN PAUT NETERU AAT ENTI EMBAH IUSIR
Budge:
Saith Thoth the righteous judge of the cycle of the gods great who are in the
presence of Osiris:
Stewart:
Saith Abraham (his representative) the righteous judge of the great council of
the Men of Holiness who are in the presence of Jehovah:
SEJEMTEN
JEDET PEN EM UN MAA IU UJA EN IB EN IUSIR
Budge:
Hear ye decision this. In very truth is weighed the heart of Osiris
Stewart
Hear ye this decision. The heart of Jehovah (Ani) is weighed according to right
and truth.
IU BAF AHA EM METER EREF
Budge:
is his soul standing as a witness for him;
Stewart:
His soul stands as a witness for him.
SEPEF
MAA HER MAKHAIT
Budge:
his sentence is right upon the scales great. Not hath been found wickedness in
him any.
Stewart:
His sentence is right upon the scales great. Not hath been found wickedness in
him any.
IN KHEBEF SHEBU EM ERPAU IN HEJEF IRIT
Budge:
Not hath he wasted food offerings in the temples. Not hath he done harm in
deed.
Stewart:
Not hath he wasted food offerings in the temples. Not hath he done harm in
deed.
IN
SHEMEF GER REF NEKAU JER UNNEF DEP TA*
Budge:
Not hath he let go with his mouth evil things whilst he was upon earth.
Stewart:
Not hath he let go with his mouth evil things while he was upon earth.
*DEP TA "upon earth." This is a very interesting expression. The Egyptian word for "boat" DEPTA also means "upon the earth" [DEP TA] as an age-old expression of mortality being likened to crossing a great body of water in a boat (cf. Rock of Ages, “Crossing the Bar” by Tennyson, and countless other hymns and poems). Egyptologists do not know this, but they ought to pick up on it once I point it out.
Third Narrative
Begins at
the veil and is read right to left.
JED IN PAUT NETERU AA EN TEHUTI IM KHEMENNU …
Budge:
Saith the cycle of the gods great to Thoth dwelling in Hermopolis:
Stewart:
Saith the council of the Men of Holiness great, to Abraham in the Eight:
which
EN SET ENEN PERT EM REK
Budge:
Decreed is it that which cometh forth from thy mouth.
Stewart:
Decreed is it that cometh forth from thy mouth.
MAA MET IUSIR AN ANI MAAKHERU
Budge:
True and righteous is Osiris, the scribe Ani triumphant.
Stewart:
True and righteous is the scribe Jehovah Ani justified.
Budge:
IN BETAF IN SEKHEREF KHEREN
Budge:
Not hath he sinned, not hath he done evil in respect of us.
Stewart:
Not hath he sinned, not hath he done evil in respect of us.
IN
ERDAT SEKHEM AMEMET IMEF
Budge:
Let not be allowed to prevail Amemet over him.
Stewart:
Let not be allowed to prevail the Devourer over him.
When one
passes the Bar of Judgment (still part of third narrative):
IMMA
DATUNEF SENNI
Budge:
Let there be given to him cakes,
Faulkner:
Let there be given to him the offerings
Stewart:
Let there be given to him SENNI
SENNI: This collection of
hieroglyphs breaks out into: ""the sacramental bread and wine in
remembrance of the Passover and the suffering and Atonement of the only
begotten Son." It is also the Egyptian word for Passover. The hieroglyph SENNU or SENNI is the ancestor
of the Greek and Hebrew words for Passover, Atonement, and so on. The Greek
word retained the idea of suffering; the Hebrew, that of being passed over; the
original contained both, in addition to the concept of the Only Begotten, SENN
= SEM = MES(H), born, son, preserved in Danish SEN, son.
Notice
that Budge in 1895 is closer to the mark than Faulkner in 1972. Although Budge
inexplicably ignores the hieroglyph after “cakes” normally translated as “beer”
or “ale,” Faulkner ignores both hieroglyphs and covers the whole concept with
“offerings.” He does give us the courtesy of attempting to translate Sekhet -
Hetepu.
PERT
EMBAH IUSIR
Budge:
and a coming forth in the presence of Osiris
Faulkner:
which are issued in the presence of Osiris,
Stewart:
and a coming forth in the presence of Jehovah
This
phrase has a dual meaning. The immediate meaning is, "Let him enter the
presence of Jehovah." The secondary meaning is, "Let him come forth
at the [second] coming of Jehovah."
SHE MEN
EM SEKHET HETEPU MI SHESU HERU
Budge:
and a field abiding in Sekhet - Hetepu like the followers of Horus.
Faulkner:
and may a grant of land be established in
the Field of Offerings.
Stewart:
and an eternal estate in the New Jerusalem like the followers of Abel.
This has two versions. One is
"
Sekhet is a tract of land given as
an estate for one’s abode, corresponding to the ancient Hebrew Jeru or Iru,
from the Akkadian cuneiform ALU [lit. “many people”], generic word for city or
place of abode of many people (remember the previously discussed
Egyptian R-L transformation and the Hebrew captivity in
The Negative Confession
In
another part of the scroll, there is a continuation of the so-called negative
confession of the defendant at the Bar of Judgment. It is mostly translated
correctly by scholars but corrections are needed, sometimes at critical places.
Here is my translation, mostly following or agreeing with Sir E.A.W. Budge:
Do not
cast me down to Satan! Remember not my wickedness before the Lord whom we
follow. Declare me to be right and true by the hand [i.e. by the atonement] of
the Lord of Eternity because I have done right and truth in mortality. I have not
cursed God nor sought occasion. … I have not committed faults; I have not
sinned; I have not done evil; I have not borne false witness; let not therefore
anything be done to me. I live in right and truth. My heart has feasted upon
right and truth [i.e. the Book seen by three and eight witnesses - I have read
significant portions of it daily throughout my mortal life]. I have done that
which was [rightfully] commanded by the officers of mankind [i.e. civil
magistrates]; I have pleased God by doing His will. I have given bread to the
hungry, water to the thirsty, clothes to the naked, and a boat to the
shipwrecked. … I have borne testimony of Him … Oh Lord of right and truth, I am
pure; my breast is washed; my hinder parts cleansed; my inwards have been in
the pool of right and truth; there is not a member lacking in me; I have been
washed … and anointed with olive oil.
One of
the things we say at the Bar of Judgment is SAMI EM MAAT IBI, incorrectly
translated by scholars as “I have feasted upon right and truth. My heart!”
which should be translated as “My heart has feasted upon right and truth.” The
hieroglyph for “right and truth” is the same that we know as USHU MAAT in the
scales and has those same five meanings in this case also. In plain terms, we will
have to account whether we “feasted” (i.e. made it a daily habit) upon the
words of the Lord’s anointed and upon the Book seen by three (and eight)
witnesses. The word SAMI in the above
item is preserved in the Russian word SEM, with the same meaning - EM = I eat;
SEM = I feast upon, devour, eat up ravenously.
It is
obvious that this should have been included in the defendant's testimony, but
in all our versions of the record it is widely separated from its original
place.
Narrative for Clarity
I have
followed Budge's literal word order above so as not to appear to be a better
translator than he was just by changing the word order. His stilted word order
was deliberate to illustrate word for word correspondence, and he should not be
faulted for that. I don't have a lot of time to spend on this, and this could
use a lot of polishing. Also, there are many hieroglyphic expressions which
could be translated better with more research. But I think the main points may
be worth this whole exercise. Below is
my translation of the narrative written for clarity:
It is in
three parts, the first running right to left, starting just above and left of
the right pan of the scale. The second starts directly above and to the right
of the right pan, and runs left to right. The third starts at the veil and runs
right to left, ending directly over the defendant’s head.
First
text:
Said by
Jehovah [person’s name follows]: My heart and might are as my mother Eve. My
mind and strength are as my father Adam. May there be no opposition to me in
judgment. May the council of judges not reject me. May the fiends not separate
me from the possessor of the scales. May the Holy Spirit be within my body to
direct and strengthen my limbs. May it escort me to the place of happiness. May
the Bar of Judgment of the great Jehovah not cause my name to stink. May evil
not be spoken of me in the presence of the Lord.
Second
text:
Said by
Abraham, the righteous judge of the Great Council of the gods who are in the
presence of Jehovah: Here ye this decision. The heart of Jehovah [person’s name
follows] has been weighed against Right and Truth. His soul stands witness for
him. Its verdict is right and true upon the great scales. There hath not been
found any wickedness in him. He hath not impeded mothers from the temple; he
hath done no harm. He hath not spoken lies while he was upon the earth.
Third and
final text:
Said by
the officiator: I have brought to Thee, oh Jehovah, the man Jehovah [man’s
name]. His heart is right and true coming forth from the balance. His heart
hath not sinned against any god or goddess. Abraham hath weighed it according
to the decree pronounced by the council of the gods unto him. It is right and
true. Let there be given him the sacramental bread and wine in commemoration of
the passover and suffering and atonement of the Only Begotten Son, and a coming
forth in the presence of Jehovah, and an eternal estate in the (New)*
Jerusalem. *Omitted for those of the house of
Maa
Kheru
What we call the beatitudes (although any Latin scholar can correctly point out that this is an Anglicized version of the word “beatus” - “blessed” that each begins with) suggest to the English conversant mind the idea of be-attitudes. But what does “blessed” mean, anyway? Here, and practically everywhere else in scriptures where the word is used, it is used in the sense of the Greek μακαριοι (“makarioi”) which has been translated as “blessed.”
I have discovered that this word is the direct descendant
from the ancient Egyptian word that occurs in the papyrus describing the Bar of
Judgment describing one who has passed the Bar of Judgment - “Maa Kheru,”
literally, “true of voice” -- yet its inferential meaning has been haggled over
by scholars for hundreds of years. It means exactly the same thing as “Blessed
…” does in the Sermon on the Mount - namely, that by living up to the law
stated, you will pass the Bar and will inherit the
The designation of “maa kheru” is pronounced upon those who pass the Bar of Judgment. The formula cited by Gardiner as MAA-HRW and correctly translated in the short form as "true of voice" is explained by him as "practically equivalent to our ‘deceased’" [Gardiner, in loc. cit.]. Budge renders maa kheru as triumphant (cf. Moroni 10:34) but cites a great German Egyptologist as surmising that "the term may simply mean ‘blessed’" which is about as close to the truth on this score as any Egyptologist has come in the last two hundred years. These two original Egyptian hieroglyphs are the direct ancestor of the New Testament Greek μακαριοι we have in the Beatitudes. This is the pronouncement placed upon one who passes the Bar of Judgment. It is always used in the optative sense (indicating a wish or a hope) in the case of the Egyptians, because there was no Resurrection, and therefore no Bar of Judgment, until Christ’s resurrection and thereafter.
In the
first degree, it simply means that your voice is perfect for singing at all
desired frequencies. We that there really is something to the notion about
“singing the praises of a just God with the heavenly hosts.” So don’t worry if
you feel like you haven’t been gifted with a great singing voice in
mortality. Additional aspects of MAA
KHERU [“true of voice”] are pronounced upon good folks at the Bar of
Judgment. In the second degree, it means
that what you have spoken in the past is true.
In the third degree, it means that, having been true and faithful in
mortality, and having passed the Bar, henceforth and forever after, the things
you say shall come to pass, simply because you said them. The implication here
about the purity of your heart, the rationality of your mind, and the propriety
of your spirit, is great, that you could be entrusted with such power.
The day will come when the above
document, written by Abraham, will be accepted as the Holy Writ that it is.
The Seven
Dispensations
Later in Abraham’s record (see the
Papyrus of Ani, Budge, p. 60-61), he cites an extract from the Book of Enoch,
wherein the major events of each of the seven dispensations are prophesied. I
will give just one example.
Budge: Hall the fifth: Saith Osiris, scribe
Ani, triumphant.
Faulkner: The fifth gate: Words
spoken by the Osiris Ani, the vindicated, when arriving at the gate:
DGS: Fifth dispensation: Thus
saith Jehovah, the Lord God.
Budge: I have brought thy
jawbones into Restau.
Faulkner: I have brought to you
the jaws which are in Rosetjau.
DGS: I shall bring Lehi into the
land southward.
Budge: I have brought for thee
thy backbone into
Faulkner: I have brought to you
the backbones.
DGS: And I shall bring Mulek to
shine forth into the land northward.
Budge: gathering together his many fragments
there. I have repulsed for thee…
Faulkner: I have united his many
parts thereby. I have repulsed for you…
DGS: to gather together there the
many remnants of the houses of Joseph and of Mulek.
Budge is again closer to the mark in every instance. The hieroglyph translated by Budge as “hall” and Faulkner as “gate” is an arm extended with the hand open; it means something given or dispensed. The hieroglyphs translated as jaw(bone) are in fact dual, indicating that out of Lehi came two distinct races of Lehites. The hieroglyphs both translate and transliterate the name “Lehi” which everyone knows means “jawbone.” RES as any Egyptologist should know, means “south” and is the ancestor of the Spanish SUR (reversing the direction) and SUL; TAU is land, again known to any Egyptologist. The hieroglyphs transliterated as Khesefi “I have repulsed” should be transliterated Josephi - the Josephites, descendents of Joseph.
The original hieroglyphs contain an additional N which shifts the verb “bring” (IN) to the next degree, which in the case of verbs, changes it from “an action received” to “an action to be received” as explained by the man who translated the plates of Nephi, or in other words, from past tense to future tense as we think of it - “I shall bring,” not “I have brought.” The Fifth Dispensation was the time between Moses (1400 BC) and the Savior. Lehi flourished in 600 B.C., right in the middle of the Fifth Dispensation.
JT Mulek was not originally a proper name, but is merely the correct transliteration of the word for prince. In the original form of old Hebrew, A+A should always be rendered O or U (see http://www.72languages.com/cuneiform.html) . This is preserved in modern Scandinavian languages.
The
expression for shedding light on a matter is vQPH with an alternate reading in the
so-called Book of the Dead as
GQXH; both
can be read as PSOTH; it carries both transitive and intransitive meanings of
enlighten or to shine forth respectively. It is this expression that is
inexplicably mistranslated by all scholars as "backbone" in the Book
of the Dead. There is no excuse for this colossal blunder.
"Backbone" is GQX\, not GQXH. (The backslash should have five
short perpendicular lines through it suggesting to the mind the backbone with
its vertebrae, but that character is not provided in any of my fonts). The word
as it stands in the hieroglyphs must be translated as the verb "shine forth."
The Book of Enoch
The extract from the Book of Enoch describing the major players and events of each of the seven dispensations, comprising Plate XI, upper register, and the first part of Plate XII. The red and black inks of the original are preserved in their respective places. Where I do not have the exact characters, I have inserted the transliterations.
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