Egyptian Alphabet, circa Early July–circa November 1835–A
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Source Note
Egyptian Alphabet, [, Geauga Co., OH, ca. early July–ca. Nov. 1835]; English in the handwriting of JS, , and ; hieratic and unknown characters in unidentified handwriting (likely JS and possibly Cowdery); five pages; Kirtland Egyptian Papers, CHL. Includes archival markings.Four leaves, the first measuring 12⅜ × 7¾ inches (31 × 20 cm), the second measuring 12½ × 15⅝ inches (32 × 40 cm), the third measuring 12½ × 15½ inches (32 × 39 cm), and the fourth measuring 12⅜ × 15⅜ inches (31 × 39 cm). Each leaf is ruled with about forty lines that are mostly faded. The first leaf is torn along the left side. The second, third, and fourth leaves are inscribed spanning the entire length of the oversized sheet. The first three leaves were inscribed on the rectos only, while the versos are blank. The fourth leaf is inscribed on both sides. JS added the title “Egyptian Alphabet” and the label “first degree” to the first leaf, although it appears they were written at different times. He also provided a heading to each inscribed leaf: “Egyptian alphabet first degree Second part” on the second leaf, “Egyptian alphabet first degree” on the third leaf, “Egyptian alphabet fourth part first degree” on the recto of the fourth leaf, and no heading to the verso of the fourth leaf. Three hand-drawn, vertical lines form four columns of varying width on the recto of the first leaf. Column lines were not drawn on subsequent leaves; the columns are demarcated by blank space. JS added no headings to the columns. Though four columns appear on the first leaf, the first column apparently served as a margin and is largely left blank. The second column contains copied characters. Instead of confining the transliterations to the third column and definitions to the fourth column, JS wrote the definitions immediately after the transliterations, ignoring the columns. On the recto of the first leaf, a blank line and a heading separate the first and second parts of the first degree from one another. On subsequent leaves, parts are set off only with a heading. The recto pages of the second, third, and fourth leaves are paginated on the upper left corner in JS’s handwriting. The first page may also have been paginated, but part of the left side of the page is now missing, as is the upper right corner.The oversized leaves were folded in half, likely for ease of storage. Following the production of this document, the four leaves were attached together with one or two pins. Pinholes along the upper right and lower right corner of the recto side of the leaves align with one another. Green oxidation and impressions from pinheads on the first leaf indicate the first leaf was placed first in this attached collection of leaves, suggesting that the leaves were arranged in the order in which they were paginated. Parts of the upper right corners of the first and second leaves are missing, likely as a result of damage caused by the pins. Significant staining is present throughout these leaves, caused by what appears to be an oil-based substance. The edges of some of the leaves are also brittle and worn. By the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, most of the leaves of the Egyptian Alphabet documents were docketed in blue ink with letters of the alphabet from A through I and T through X. Egyptian Alphabet–A bears the letters B and T through W on the tops of the inscribed pages, indicating that the leaves were not stored in their original order at the time they were docketed. The handwriting in which this labeling is inscribed is similar to that of early-twentieth-century apostle James E. Talmage. This document was presumably stored with the Egyptian material mentioned in periodic inventories of the Historian’s Office, which suggests continuous institutional custody.The images of the second, third, and fourth leaves presented here are composite images created by digitally combining images of the left and right side of each page.
Footnotes
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1
“Schedule of Church Records. Nauvoo 1846,” [1]; “Inventory. Historian’s Office. 4th. April 1855,” [1]; “Historian’s Office Inventory, G. S. L. City March 19, 1858,” [1]; “Historian’s Office Catalogue Book March 1858,” [7], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL; see also Historian’s Office, Journal, 17 Oct. 1855.
Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.
Historian’s Office. Journal, 1844–1997. CHL. CR 100 1.
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Historical Introduction
With four columns on the first page, the format of Egyptian Alphabet–A is similar to the format of the other two Egyptian Alphabet documents, though JS failed to use all of the columns on the first leaf and did not replicate the formatting on subsequent leaves. The evolving use (or disuse) of columns and the varying page size both suggest that JS’s plans for presenting the information in the document changed as he worked. Starting at the fourth entry (1.4a, b), JS wrote the characters and the definitions—but not the sounds—for three consecutive entries. He later added the sounds above each line. This may reveal an emphasis on characters and definitions rather than pronunciation. Of the three Egyptian Alphabet documents, Egyptian Alphabet–A contains the most complete definitions for the final copied characters, which suggests that it may have been the last document updated before JS and his scribes ceased working on the project. The characters in this document were likely written by JS, given the similarity of the ink flow between the characters and the sounds and explanations that follow, which are in JS’s handwriting.
| Egyptian | alphabet first degree | |
| B | ✦ [1.1] | ah the first being who exercises Supreme power |
| ✦ [1.2] | pha-e the first man or one who has Kingly power or King | |
| ✦ [1.3] | pha a more universal reighn having greater dominion or power | |
| ✦ ✦1.4a, b | phaloeup rolyal family royal blood or pharaoah or supreme power or King | |
| ✦ [1.5] | ho up hah crown of a princess or queen or Stands for queen | |
| ✦ [1.6] | Zi Virgen unmaried or the principle of virtue | |
| ✦ ✦ ✦ | ✦1.7 | Kah tou man the name of a royal family in female line |
| ✦ [1.8] | Zie oop hah An unmaried woman and a virgin princess | |
| ✦ [1.9] | ho-ee-oop young unmarried man a prince | |
| ✦ [1.10] | Zip Zi woman married or unmarried or daughter | |
| ✦ [1.11] | ho-ee oop hah Crown of a prince or King | |
| ✦ [1.12] | one-ahe or ohe the Earth | |
| ✦ [1.13] | tone tahe or tohe tou-es beneath or under water | |
| ✦ [1.14] | Iota the eye or to see or sight sometimes me myself | |
| ✦ [1.15] | Iota tou-es Zip-Zi the land of Egypt first seen under water | |
| ✦ [1.16] | Sue Eh ni what other person is that or who | |
| ✦ [1.17] | ho-ee oop- hah pha-e goverment power or Kingdom | |
| ✦ [1.18] | Zub Zool oun the begining first before pointing to | |
| ✦ [1.19] | Zub Zool Eh in the begining of the Earth or Creation | |
| ✦ [1.20] | Zool Eh Signifys to be in any as light in the Earth | |
| ✦ [1.21] | Zub the first Creation of any thing first institution | |
| ✦ [1.22] | zub zool from the first to any Stated peried after | |
| ✦ [1.23] | Zool from any or some fixed peried of time back | to the begining of the creation |
| ✦ [2.1] | Ahmeos God without begining or end | |
| ✦ [2.2] | Aleph in the begining with God the Son or first born | |
| ✦ [2.3] | Albeth Angels or disimbodied spirits or Sainnts | |
| ✦ [2.4] | Alcabeth Angels in an unalterable immortal state | |
| ✦ [2.5] | Achebeth minersters of God high preasts Kings | |
| ✦ [2.6] | Alchibeth ministers of God under or the less | |
| ✦ [2.7] | Alchobeth ministers not ordained of God Sinful | |
| ✦ [2.8] | Alchubeth ministers who are less sinful for want of power | |
| ✦ [2.9] | Baeth the name of all mankind man or men | |
| ✦ | ✦ [2.10] | Baeth Ka Adam or the first man or first King |
| ✦ [2.11] | Baeth Ke the next from Adam one ordained under him | |
| ✦ [2.12] | Baeth Ki the third patrearck | |
| ✦ [2.13] | Baeth Ko the fourth from Adam | |
| [verso of first leaf blank] |
Cite this page
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Document Information
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Footnotes
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JS handwriting begins.
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This letter is written in blue ink in unidentified handwriting.
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1
TEXT: A tear in the page obscures any potential text after “power”. Egyptian Alphabet–C ends in the same way, suggesting that the remainder of this line was left blank.
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2
TEXT: The final letters of this word are missing because the edge of the leaf is damaged. Egyptian Alphabet–C has “king”.
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3
TEXT: Likely intended as “Phahoeup”, which better matches Egyptian Alphabet–B and –C, which have “Pha-ho-e-oop” and “Pha=ho=e=oop”, respectively. JS likely conjoined the second “h” with the “o” when making this insertion.
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4
TEXT: JS canceled character 1.5 and then wrote it on the next line.
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5
TEXT: Possibly “ho eep hah”. Both Egyptian Alphabet–B and –C have “Ho-oop-hah”.
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6
TEXT: Instead of “Stands for”, both Egyptian Alphabet–B and –C have “signifies”.
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7
TEXT: It appears that JS inserted this sound and the preceding two at the same time.
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8
TEXT: Both Egyptian Alphabet–B and –C add “virtuous” to the list of attributes here.
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9
TEXT: Both Egyptian Alphabet–B and –C include just one character; it is unclear why this document contains what appear to be multiple variants of the same character. This may have been an attempt to clarify, correct, or add to the initial character.
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10
TEXT: This sound is also present in the notebooks of copied characters. (See “Valuable Discovery,” ca. Early July 1835, 3, and Notebook of Copied Egyptian Characters, ca. Early July 1835, 1.)
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11
TEXT: Possibly “Zii”. JS’s misplacement of the dot over the “e” makes this appear to be “Zei”. Egyptian Alphabet–B and –C both have “Zi”.
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12
TEXT: Possibly “<or daughter>”.
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13
TEXT: Egyptian Alphabet–B and –C have “Oan, or ah-e” and “Oan, <or> ah=e”, respectively.
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14
TEXT: Possibly “ton-es”. JS’s “u” and “n” are not always distinguishable. (See also Egyptian Alphabet, ca. early July–ca. Nov. 1835–B and –C.)
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15
TEXT: This is a composite character made up of characters 1.10, 1.13, and 1.14. The composite nature is also evident in both the sound and the explanation.
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16
TEXT: Possibly “ton-es”.
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17
TEXT: Both Egyptian Alphabet–B and –C add that the discovery was made by a woman.
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18
TEXT: Likely “phaee pha-e”.
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19
TEXT: Egyptian Egyptian Alphabet–B adds “Reign” and “domin[i]on” to this explanation; Egyptian Alphabet–C adds “Reign” and “right”.
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20
TEXT: Egyptian Alphabet–B and –C have “Zub-z◊◊l eh” and “Zub=eh”, respectively.
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21
TEXT: The “E” and “th” of “Earth” are visible. Both Egyptian Alphabet–B and –C have “the earth”.
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22
TEXT: This line was drawn to separate “back” from “of the creation”.
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23
TEXT: “time back to the begining of the creation” is in a different shade of ink, possibly indicating a later insertion.
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24
TEXT: Or “Ahnuos <Ahmeos>”.
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25
TEXT: Possibly “Alcubeth”.
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26
TEXT: Both Egyptian Alphabet–B and –C have additional material about men who are raised from the dead.
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27
TEXT: Egyptian Alphabet–B and –C have “Alch}ebeth.”. JS may have inadvertently dropped the “l”.
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28
TEXT: Egyptian Alphabet–B and –C clarify that “the less” means less than or under the high priests.
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29
TEXT: The similar sounds and explanations for this line and the previous four lines resulted in revisions in all three versions of the Egyptian Alphabet. Versions B and C made similar revisions in capturing the different sounds. This similarity of the revisions hint that the scribes of the three versions attempted to standardize the pronunciation as they were creating the texts.
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30
That is, Seth. (Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:42]; see also Genesis 5:3.)
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31
TEXT: Egyptian Alphabet–B and –C have additional material about ordination “under Adam”. The third patriarch is Enos. (Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:44]; see also Genesis 5:6.)
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32
That is, Cainan. (Instruction on Priesthood, between 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:21]; see also Genesis 5:9.)
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33
TEXT: That this entry was canceled and copied at the top of the next page may indicate that the scribes of the three documents wished to be consistent across the versions in what content was included on each page (“Baeth Ko” ends the first page in all three versions). Whether this means that JS was copying from other notes and only later referred to the other two documents or that he simply wrote all the “Baeth” sounds in one sitting is unknown. (See pp. 75 and 87 herein.)
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