The Book of... Who, Now?

Q: For the week 10 blog post, read the Book of Abraham passed out in class (which you could also find online I'm sure). Then discuss how you might go about assessing a document like this. Are there any fine points in this text that lead you to think it is not from the supposed time of Abraham (2000BC?). In studying religion we have been surrounded by all kinds of claims about the world, and I am curious if there is any kind of critical approach that you can define through a discussion of this text.


A: Well, readers, I profess myself confused. Since beginning my adventures in the realm of religious studies, I've read some pretty puzzling texts, but this one definitely feels like it takes the cake. Maybe it's just because it all feels so far-fetched that feel like I can't really make heads or tails of it, but I will try.


I think what really got me was that at first it just sounded like another retelling of Abraham's life, but suddenly it turned into an affair with not only Yahweh, but also other unnamed Gods (perhaps Egyptian?). Then Yahweh is telling Abraham about the stars through the Urim and Thummim (which are some sort of divinatory device as far as I can tell, and can be found throughout the Bible, perhaps most clearly in 1 Sam 14:41), and it is revealed that the stars are actually souls, and that Abraham is one of the chosen ones. What Yahweh says here ("Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born." Ab 2:23) reminded me greatly of one of the Psalms. I don't think that I found the exact one which I was thinking of, but it did remind me of Psalm 2, "He said to me: 'You are My son. I Myself today did beget you.'" (Ps 2:7). What really threw me for a loop was Chapter 4, when we are supposedly transported back in time, as is Abraham, as far as I understand it. Perhaps this is supposed to be some sort of vision that Yahweh is giving Abraham through the Urim and Thummim, but it's not clear. What is also unclear is who these other Gods are, because they were not mentioned in the Bible and yet they are telling almost exactly the same story as the creation story in the Bible, the only difference is that it's a bit condensed.


While I can't find anything contextually or textually to absolutely dispel the claim of this being written in 2000 BCE, the fact that this was translated by Joseph Smith does not ease my suspicions any (I'm sorry, but I don't trust his historical dating skills). This text is dubious, to say the least, but I am really interested in hearing more about these other Gods that are mentioned. Generally, in the Hebrew Bible, if other Gods are mentioned, it is in the earlier texts, namely the Torah (by the end of the Bible, they've become "false Gods"), so I'm curious as to which Gods these are, and why they are mentioned without a second thought.