THE ISLAND OF ELEPHANTINE IN SOUTHERN EGYPT:

Elephantine is a large island in the Nile River in Southern Egypt, approximately 500miles south of Cairo, and just north of the great Aswan Dam that has tamed the Nile.(see MAP)  It is just across the river from the ancient city of Aswan. In his book, Archives from Elephantine, Bezalal Porten describes the beautiful scenery surrounding the island, "Sailing up the Nile one notices that the fertile land [of Egypt] dwindles to a mere strip.  The surrounding country side is relatively so arid that the ‘blossoming Isle' of Elephantine takes on a verdue and freshness by contrast. Yet its climate is remarkably dry." (Porten p. 36)

"Due to the cataract rapids [and falls] surrounding Elephantine, navigation northward was limited to small vessels.  It would have taken about four days by boat to negotiate this area, and was possible only during the season when the Nile was high. This made Elephantine a strategic military point since any boat traffic would have had to pass close to the island of Elephantine. The fortress at Elephantine served as the southern border and was garrisoned for protection of the Egyptian Empire. Over the centuries many colonies were intermittently maintained on the island, including a Jewish Temple side by side with a temple to Chnum, [the Ram Headed God of the Egyptians]." (Clayton p. 32)

MODERN BIAS AND THE JAREDITE AND ABRAHAMIC PERIODS:

The history and records from Elephantine shed light on multiple subjects of interest to the LDS, touching as they do upon the Jaredite period, the Abrahamic period, the periods of Joseph and Moses in Egypt, the loss of the Ten Tribes and especially the time of Lehi, thus it sheds light on the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price and the Book of Abraham and the mummies and records Joseph Smith obtained in 1835, but especially on the names found in the book of Mormon providing Onomastic details of the names.  "The point of view from which we have become accustomed to study this period is that of those who edited and preserved the Old Testament. This BIAS has been compounded by the preferences of many MODERN expositors, especially Protestant, which have led to the work of the Chronicler and the Priestly writer being NEGLECTED in favor of the  ‘Prophetic' religion and the emphasis upon the Deuteronomists' salvation history.  EVIDENCE FROM ELEPHANTINE [the Archives], from the Samartian tradition [found in the Dead Sea Scrolls], and from the Psuedepigraph [110 texts are now represented] has made it clear that the Old Testament gives but ONE VIEW of the situation, and our own minds are predisposed in a certain direction from the moment we start to label and Define what happened." (Baker p. 184) Another view is required.

UNDERSTANDING ELEPHANTINE AND ITS PRESENT SIGNIFICANCE:

The discoveries at Elephantine are going to figure in many future studies of this series, so we need to take an in depth look at Elephantine. In order to understand the importance of Elephantine we need some background in the history of the Nile River region of Egypt, including some biblical data. "The destruction of Jewish Independence commenced about 722 BC ...The First Dispersions of the Jews occurred 722-586 BC." (Gilbert pp. 6-8)  The dispersions began with the Assyrian conquest and removal of the 10 tribes of Israel. A little more than a century later the Babylonian conquest occurred with at least two deportations into Mesopotamia and Persia.  About 722 B.C. "foreign powers ...more united and more ambitious than Egypt were moving toward the domination of that land [Palestine].  The Assyrians were consolidating their position in Syria-Palestine before the attack upon Egypt across the difficult Sinai desert. Tiglath-Piliser ...in Syria ...penetrated as far South as Gaza. Sargon II took Samaria, overthrew the kingdom of Israel...defeated the Egyptians at Raphia. Sennacherib captured cities of Judah ... besieged the Jerusalem of Hezekiah.  His general assured the people of that city that their reliance upon the Pharaoh of Egypt was a trust in a ‘broken reed,' which could only injure him who leaned upon it. (Isa. 36:6)  Sennacherib defeated the Egyptians ...at Eltekeh in Southern Palestine in 700 B.C...in 688 ...the Assyrian king moved ...to Pulsium on the Egyptian frontier...his successful advance was cut short by Plague (Isa 37:36)...Esarahaddon in 671 BC penetrated to Egypt, captured Memphis...sent Tirhakah in flight to the South...Ethiopian claim to the rule of all Egypt was denied...many small Delta dynasties were confirmed in their local rule...as Assyrian vassals....later Tirhakah's nephew Tanutamon (664-653) came out of Cush, recaptured Memphis, and briefly defied the Assyrians.  He was no match for Ashurbanipal...who ...won back Memphis [and] marched as far South as Thebes and subdued that mighty city. Thereafter the Ethiopians remained in their distant Southern province." (Buttrick p. 54) Most of these names and events are familiar to those who have studied the biblical record from Isaiah to Jeremiah. Gilbert shows the dispersion of Jews beginning in 722 included a movement into Egypt and up the Nile, to the south,  to Elephantine and beyond, where they remained until about 270 BC. (Gilbert pp. 6-8) 

A GREAT RENAISSANCE AND RESTORATION UNDER THE SAITIC DYNASTY:

An extremely critical time for Egypt was about 650 BC. "Esarhaddon had recognized certain small princes of Lower Egypt as legitimate rulers of city-states.  Among them was a family at SAIS in the West Central Delta. "the defeat of Ethiopia by the Saite Egyptian dynasty in the early seventh century signaled changes in Egypt and potentially the end of Assyrian power there." (Sweeny p. 34)  "A later member of this family, Psamtik or Psammetichus l, (663-609 BC), took advantage of the loose Assyrian sponsorship to enlarge his power and claim the rule of all Egypt. The Twenty-sixth Dynasty (663-525) BC) is also called the SAITIC period ...the RENAISSANCE...or RESTORATION." (Buttrich pp. 83-84)  A more recent study of the chronology places the Saitic at 672-525 BC, only a little difference. (see Gee p. 24)  This Renaissance or Restoration needs to be studied in greater detail.

THE DOCTRINES IN AN ANCIENT WORM-EATEN PAPYRUS:

Of great importance is the part played by Shabako [Sabacon] (716-702 BC) who expanded the "REVIVAL of OLD Egyptian TRADITIONS, delving into whatever temple records could be found, or inventing them if necessary.  An important relic of this time is the ‘SHABAKA STONE', a slab of [black granite, probably from Elephantine]   4.5 feet (l.37 m) long, [three feet wide, and seven feet high and inscribed on two sides], now in the British Museum. [where it was brought in 1805]   Its surface is much abraded and deeply scored from having been used at a later date as a millstone.  The text on it states that it is a COPY taken from an ANCIENT ‘WORM-EATEN PAPYRUS' discovered at Memphis [in the Old White Temple] and recounting the Memphite theology of the creator gods [at a very early period in Egyptian history]." (Clayton p. 192) It took more than 100 years to translate; it had been written backwards. These doctrines predate the Unification of Egypt under Narmer [or before 3200 B.C.]  Would these ancient documents reflect the teachings of Adam and others from 4000 to 3200 BC? 

"At a recent conference on reconstructing Israelite history held in Rome, [in 2004] the so-called Biblical Minimalist position was upheld by a number of prominent Scholars ... ‘Biblical archaeology' becomes useless...[the] academic conference...highlighted the proposition of [such] scholars who think the Bible has little or no reliable history." (Shanks pp.16-17) With the abundance of modern revelation and new scripture, from the LDS standpoint the position of the minimalists is on shaky ground. The Shabaka Stone would be within the middle or even early years of the life span of Adam. "The Shabako Stone comes from Erman [a German scholar Nibley respects] at Berlin. He called it the Shabako Text because it was [copied] by King Shabako. The great study of it is by Sethe in 1929, and others have come out since." (Nibley 3, Lecture Eight p. 2) Nibley himself gives it great credence and discusses it in detail.  His results will be in his forth-coming study of ‘ONE ETERNAL ROUND'. "Every time they founded a new dynasty, they would do the same thing; RENEW THE THOLOGY, give a new version of the CREATION STORY [or just copy the old version]...[Shabako] said he was going to RENEW it, so he went back to the old temple [The Old White Temple] that was built to celebrate the founding of the first dynasty in Egypt at the beginning of civilization, 3200-3150  BC.  It was very old then [written on papyrus] we find out...It was secret; it was given to only elect people, only those who were qualified and had recommends could see it." (Nibley 3,  Lecture Eight p. 2-4) How secret was it? Check the explanation for the Facsimile From the Book of Abraham, No. 2.

THE RECORDS OF ABRAHAM PRESERVED:

Many monuments after Shabako and during the Saitic Dynasty especially are COPIED ancient art forms and inscriptions.  "It is at time difficult to be absolutely sure whether a statue or relief is a Saite REVIVAL piece or something MUCH OLDER." (Clayton p. 195).  The implications for the antiquity of Mormon Doctrine are clear. To track the origins of these ancient documents from their inception down until they were added to the grave goods of various Egyptians near 300 B.C. (see Gee p.p. 10-11) and from there to their rediscovery about 1818 in a mass burial tomb, and final destination in the hands of Joseph Smith, is a journey in the miraculous with tremendous divine intervention that is yet to be fully appreciated. "Evidently the record of Abraham was left in Egypt...from Abraham's time down to Joseph's time.  Joseph evidently obtained the record when he was down in Egypt. He wrote on the same papyrus roll, or probably made another one. Joseph must have put his record together with Abraham's and that is how the two records came to be together." (Clark p. 111)  The record of Abraham and Joseph must have been retained in the Old Temples for more than a thousand years before being recovered and included in this Renaissance and Restoration near 600 BC. Then certain families, perhaps related to priestly families, kept the documents along with others and then when members of that family were buried 300 years or so later, the documents were included.  When several hundred mummies were recovered from a tomb in Egypt near Gurneh by Lebolo about 1818 (Christensen p. 18) their history and destiny was determined, as it had always been. A forth- coming FARMS volume by Kevin Barney, Astronomy, Papyrus, and Covenant, will deal with certain aspects of this. Another forth-coming FARMS volume by Michael Lyon will address "How do Joseph Smith's interpretations match with those of the ancient Egyptians?"  It is evident that "Ancient Egyptian identifications for various figures found in the hypocephali [a round inscribed object placed under the head of the deceased] ...gathered from multiple hypocephali, shows that most MODERN Egyptological identifications of figures in hypocephali do NOT MATCH those of THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS." (Gee p. 5) Did Joseph Smith get it right the first time. Those who rant against the Mormon's must now confront this Egyptian History.

Most of what goes for modern interpretations of Ancient Egyptian records is based on what changes were made and how accurate records were transmitted down during the RESTORATION mentioned above.  Details of this story are yet to be written, but John Gee, for FARMS,  is working on a complete book on the historical background of the Book of Abraham, (See FARMS INSIGHTS Vol 24 2004, pp. 405), which will provide some answers.

WHEN WAS ABRAHAM IN EGYPT?  WAS MOSES AT ELEPANTINE?

During the time of King "Ammenemes l, [Ameny or Amenemhet IV] of the XIIth Dynasty, (about 1991-to 1786 BC), ...Ta-Stis [is the name] of the lst nome [a province of ancient Egypt] of Upper Egypt, that of which Elephantine was the capital and where the population was no doubt partly of Nubian [black] race." (Gardiner p. 123)  Was Abraham in Egypt during this Dynasty and taught Pharaoh doctrines? (See Facsimile No. 3 in Book of Abraham) "We may certainly credit Ammenemes l with the subjugation of Lower Nubia. During the "Old Kingdom, gold from Nubia is never mentioned. Perhaps by Dynasty XII the workings to the east of Egypt were becoming exhausted or else the demands of the Pharaohs were increasing. [some of these ancient gold mines are still being mined today] Anyhow, from the middle Kingdom onward Nubia was the gold-producing country par-excellence ...invasion [into to Egypt] from the south was a perennial dread and ...expeditions to Lower Nubia and the neighboring deserts now became frequent...there was little or no colonization. A papyrus lists as many as thirteen fortresses between Elephantine [at the First Cataract] and Semna at the south end of the Second Cataract. Most of these have been identified and [surveyed]." (Gardiner  p. 132) Moses himself during his military career was "in command of the Egyptian army. As a general he defeats the invading Ethiopians and succeeds in conquering their country." (Noerdlinger p. 20)  Could Elephantine have been utilized as a garrison place by Moses and his armies at one time or another? Did Moses consolidate the situation politically by marrying the daughter of a Nubian King?  His sister Miriam was bent out of shape about this.

THE EARLY EGYTIAN CIVILIZATIONS:

By 4000 BC civilization centers developed all over the world. Homo Habilus, man-like beings, and man like in habit, were hunters and gatherers before 7000 BC, but something happened world wide about 4000 BC.  In most regions things got off to a small slow start, but as populations increased, especially between 4000 and 3500 BC, things began to pick up appreciably. "Then suddenly, within a few centuries between 3200 and 3000 BC, the scattered tribes that lived along the Nile were united under one head, ruled by a formal government.... The man who was tribal leader of Upper Egypt (tradition calls him Menes, perhaps another name for King Narmer) founded the first of Egypt's 30 dynasties, extended his control northward and united the country." (Casson p. 51.

THE HYKSOS AND JOSEPH IN EGYPT:

There was a serious interruption in the Old Kingdom about the time of the beginning of Dynasty XV, 1663 BC.  Egypt was then ruled by the Semitic Kings, Shepherd Kings or Desert Princes  (see Clayton p. 93) from Palestine. Were these descendents of Shem, known as the Hyksos or Aamu? Five known kings are identified ruling [from 1663] until 1555 BC,  they were called Asiatics.  Josephus called them "Shepherd Kings", he was quoting from Manetho, the Egyptian Historian (Redford p. 19) but Josephus's data has been corrected by the more recent work Edited by Eliezer D. Oren (Oren, xxi). They ruled during an intermediate period, which was then followed by the New Kingdom beginning 1570 BC under Ahmose l. The third King in the Hyksos dynasty, Khyan, is found in inscriptions on temple walls indicating that the Hyksos had penetrated and established their rule over all Egypt including to the far south. "Kamose's courtiers in replying to him had maintained that Elephantine was firmly held, and its is evident that he for the moment had no anxiety about his Nubian neighbours, nor indeed about any place south of the First Cataract as far as Khumn; [so] all his thoughts were concentrated upon the expulsion of the Asiatics [Hyksos]." This activity subjugated Israel. (Gardiner p. 164) Was the later part of the Hyksos period the time when Joseph, son of Jacob was viceroy of Egypt? Histories of the time at and following Ahmose are a long series of brief paragraphs that portray  " the havoc into which the land has been through by the machinations of low-born adventurers and Asiatics [descendants of Jacob or Shem] pushing their way into the Delta...a few passages ...affirm the part played by foreigners in the restriction of true Egyptian territory to Upper Egypt-Elephantine and Thinis being towns specifically mentioned."  (Gardiner pp. 106-107)

THE TEMPLE OF THE RAM-HEADED GOD-CHNUM:

King ‘Kamose' [Ahmose]...[inscribed a tablet] .. narrating the early stages of the conflict. [it included]: ... "we are tranquil in our part of Egypt. Elephantine is strong, and the middle part is with us as far as Cusae." (Gardiner p. 162) 

A temple to the Ram-headed God, Chnum,  built on Elephantine had inscriptions related to Tuthmosis III [1504-1450 BC]  The Ram Head of Chnum looks the Ram Head ornament on the hood of the Dodge Ram Chargers.

Queen Hatshepsut (1492-1483) had painted on the walls of her funerary temple at Der el-Bahri [across from Karnak] "a splendid scene of ships bringing two great obelisks of red granite from Elephantine to Karnak...not to be confused with two others which she placed between the fourth and fifth pylons in her sixteenth year...only a little short of 100 feet in height, still standing. ..Even now there is no nobler architectural achievement to be seen in the whole of Egypt." (Gardiner p. 180) Luxor and Der el-Bahri were among my favorite places to visit in Egypt.  Elephantine was greatly exploited for its granite.

THE JEWISH MERCENARIES:

It was during the development of the Saitic Dynasty (650-525) that [Asiatics] Jewish mercenaries were hired for military purposes. "the term Aamu, which we translate with rough accuracy as ‘Asiatics' and which had much earlier served to designate Palestinian captives or hirelings residing in Egypt as servants [or mercenaries]." (Gardiner p. 153)  Also at this time, "The loyalty of native Egyptians ...had become doubtful; the purchased support of foreign professional soldiers seemed to provide a solid base." (Buttrick p. 55)

Therefore, could we conclude that the Elephantine settlement and the use of Jewish mercenaries would have been known to Lehi?  It is apparent that these were troubled times. "A ship's captain who lived under Prince Neheri tells us that in the King's business he traveled as far south as Elephantine and as far north as the papyrus marshes of the Delta, a [difficult] feat." (Gardiner p. 112) Did these local and regional events escape Lehi? Wouldn't it seem that as a prophet he knew much more than we now have in the record about what was going on?

Amenhotep III (1386-1349 BC) had a "long reign of almost 40 years ...one of the most prosperous and stable in Egyptian history...a series of reliefs [are] in a room on the east side of the temple at Luxor which Amenhotep built for Amun.  The creator god, the ram-headed Khnum (Chnum) of Elephantine, is seen fashioning the young king and his ka (spirit double [or spirit body]) on a potter's wheel." (Clayton p. 114)  The spirit body and the physical body looked similar. The physical body is fashioned after the Spirit Body. Do LDS believe this?  

KING TUTANKHAMUN AND RAMSES 11:

A shift in religion and seat of government brought about by King Tutankhamun (1334-1325 BC) brought about a decline in both. "the temples of the gods and goddesses, beginning from Elephantine down to the marshes of the Delta had fallen into decay, their shrines had fallen into desolation and become ruins overgrown with weeds, their chapels as though they had never been." (Gardiner p. 230) King Tut had caused this and more to be inscribed on a large stele.  This was the first eclipse of Elephantine. The second would take place a thousand years later.

After the death of King Tut, Ramses (1293-1291 BC) [ the Pharoah of Moses's time?] said in a prayer inscribed on a stele addressed to the God Amun..."building for thee great pylons and erecting their flagstaffs myself, bringing for thee obelisks from Elephantine [of  red and black granite], even being the stone carrier." (Gardiner pp. 255-256)  For a period of time Elephantine prospered once again.

"For another important document of this period [Ramses IV 1151-1145 BC] we have to direct our eyes as far southward as Elephantine. An ill-written but comparatively well-preserved papyrus in the Turin Museum recalls in language resembling and no less virulent than the Salt Papyrus grave accusations against a number of person, prominent among whom was a lay priest of the temple of Chnum [at Elephantine] charged with many thefts, acts of bribery, and sacrilege, not to mention the inevitable imputations of copulation with married women...perloining the garments from the temple treasure-house...the corruptibility of a number of persons, [and] the losses of corn suffered by the priesthood of Chnum. ...A ship's captain...in the course of nine years [down to Ramses the V], had stolen a total more than five thousand sacks." (Gardiner pp. 286-287) 

ANCIENT TEXTS COPIED AND TRANSMITTED DOWN:

As noted extremely important "trend had already started in the preceding century, to study the past glories of Egypt and to attempt to reproduced them. Art [especially religious art] REVERTED to the expressions of the Old and Middle Kingdoms, entire scenes were COPIED from ancient tomb to adorn the walls of contemporary tombs; OLD monuments were excavated, restored, and IMITATED; classical [and religious] literature was studied, with a conscientious attempt to REPRODUCE it in form and spirit; and officials where clothed with a series of ancient and now meaningless titles. Where, toward the beginning, this hope of spiritual encouragement, it produced works of vigor and charm. Later it became sterile, as the ritualistic search for a past glory in an age that had little inner glory [and the meaning of much of the old documents was forgotten]." (Buttrich p. 54)  This intense effort to revert back to ancient literature, ceremonies, and art, at this time, and ancient religious themes seems not to have been noticed by students of the Pearl of Great Price and the Book of Abraham, except by Nibley, but that seems to be changing.  

The revival and imitation of ancient beliefs and teachings would have then been transmitted down from this time to those a few centuries later [about 300 BC] who had the collection of mummy materials that Joseph Smith obtained in 1835 some of which were later found by the Coptic Scholar Atiya [who had taught at BYU] in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1969, and identified as belonging to various owners  known to have lived shortly after the establishment of the Saitic Dynasties 27 to 30. (Gee pp. 11-12, 24). It seems that the various scrolls and fragments that made up the documents obtained by Joseph Smith ended up in tombs of various Egyptians during the Ptolemaic Dynasty which began about 310 BC.  Was what Joseph obtained at the time of the purchase of the mummies at Kirtland in 1835,  have been, in part at least, handed down copies, perhaps even originals, of ancient doctrines  made or preserved at the time of this great RENAISSANCE and transmitted down through the centuries to end up in Joseph's hands by divine intervention?

"It is in the Saite dynasty that the ancient titles of the nobility were revived, that their sculptures and reliefs were DELIBERATELY COPIED from those of the OLD Kingdom, and that their tombs were inscribed with extracts from the Pyramid Texts. From that time onward there is a marked increase in Egyptian religiosity." (Gardiner p. 345) "Another marked feature of the Saitic period was the strong influence of foreigners in Egypt.  The commercial interest of the dynasty was strong...Phoenician merchants were welcomed in the Delta...exiles from Asia were granted asylum in Egypt. In the old Egyptian cities sections were designated for Greek merchants and artisans...in the W.  Delta an entire market city, Naucratis was assigned to the Greeks. Furthermore, the power of this dynasty was maintained by foreign mercenaries. Around the person of the Pharaoh himself there were ...Ionian and Carian Greeks, [but also Hebrews] for the most part purchased support of foreign professional soldiers seemed to provide a solid base [for security]. This reliance upon foreign mercenaries continued throughout the [Saitic] dynasty, despite a mutiny and attempted desertion of the Greeks under Hophra." (Buttrich p. 54) The prophecies of Amos nearly a century earlier were being fulfilled, and Jews and others were on the move. In 721 the Ten Tribes vanished, Isaiah was one of the prophets of the times.  Hophra tried to stir up Judah in revolt against Babylon  "and thus was a major factor toward the fall of Jerusalem and the Babylonian captivity."  (Buttrich p. 55)  The Saites "in 654 BC forced the divine votress of Amon to adopt the daughter of Pasmmetichus l and thus secured a Saitic agent in the Southland." (Buttrich p,. 55)  This required mercenaries to protect the southern borders.  Available at that time were Jewish mercenaries having departed the troubled region of Jerusalem and Palestine.

A JEWISH TEMPLE NEAR THE TEMPLE OF CHNUM IN ELEPEHANTINE:

The weakening of Pharaonic Power began during the Third Intermediate Period 1069-525 BC.  King Tanutamun (664-656) descended out of Nubia practically unopposed and "faring downstream, he did a similar homage to Chnum of Elephantine and then to Amen-Re at Thebes." (Gardiner p. 338)  Therefore a long existing temple to the Ram-headed god, Chnum was alive and doing well at Elephantine just before the time the Jewish Garrison would be established, and where later they would build their temple to Jehovah. This would create considerable friction.

It seems that  "A revival of Egypt's ancient glory involved ... a military effort to extend the state. [About  600 BC]  Greek mercenaries were sent south to the Second Cataract on a conquering expedition. But it was particularly in Asia that the dynasty attempted to regain power....Psammetichus l [with the help of Ionians and Carians mercenaries ] invaded Palestine and laid siege to Ashdod. "Greek inscriptions carved upon on of the colossus of Ramses II at Abu Simbel [near Aswan] in translation reeds: ‘When King Psammetichus came to Elephantine, this was written by those who sailed with Psammetichus the son of Theocles, and they came beyond Kerkis as far as the river permits'." (Gardiner p. 349).  His successor was even more vigorous campaigning ambitious in Palestine and Syria, and by tradition was industrious in attempts to improve Egypt's waterways and sea trade. Neco's [Necho] decisive defeat by the crown prince of Babylonia, Nebuchadrezzar, at Carchemish in 605 BC  for a time quieted Egypt's ambitions in Asia. ...the Dynasty family entered in internecine family struggles for power and laid Egypt open to the Persian conquest.  Syrians and Jews had poured into the country, the latter forming a colony at Elephantine where [after 630 BC] they were permitted to build a temple to their god Yahu, the Jehovah of our Authorized Version." (Gardiner p. 346)  "Garrisons had to be maintained on both the western and the southern fronts; Herodotus (11:30) reports such garrisons ‘at Daphnae of Pelusium, another towards Libya at Marea', and a third at Elephantine." (Gardiner p. 347) For Lehi, Egypt was not an option, neither was the northern territories, or the Far East. Lehi was led out of the region through the corridor to the south. His destiny was in the Western Hemisphere.  See: Pharaoh Necho II and the Abraham Scroll, p. 5 in Papers of the Fourteenth Annual Symposium on the Archaeology of the Scriptures, (UAS  pp.226-278)"

THE JEWISH GARRISON AT ELEPHANTINE:

During the " Persian, Ptolemaic, and Roman periods (525-BD to 70 AD) the century following the collapse of the mighty Assyrian Empire and the fall of Nineveh was a period of readjustment. At first it seemed that Babylon might regain its ancient dominance through the rule of Nebuchadrezzar, but the abrupt emergence of a new force, the Persians under Cyrus, shifted the center of power eastward. In 525 BC, Egypt fell like an over-ripe fruit into the hands of the Persians under Cambyses; there is good evidence that the conqueror had Egyptian collaborators. Egyptian tradition insists that Cambyses was brutal and imperious. Since he was a conquering invader, he himself may have been very rigorous, but his successors preferred to cultivate Egypt as a valued Persian satrapy. Darius l (522-486) BC [the main prophet at this time was Zechariah] did his best to appear to the Egyptians as a legitimate pharaoh. Tradition says that he was cordial to the native priests; certainly he was responsible for the building of at least one new temple. Between the Nile and the Gulf of Suez he completed the canal which had been of interest to Pharaoh Neco; along its line in the Wadi Tumilat he erected five steles inscribed in cuniform and hieroglyphic. Under his reign we first hear of the Jewish colony at the First Cataract.  Since this colony had existed before the time of Cambyses, it probably had been founded as a frontier garrison in the Twenty-sixth Dynasty [after 630 BC].  The Saites had not only had Greek mercenaries; there had also been Asiatics, including Jews." (Buttrick p. 55)

THE ISLAND OF ELEPANTINE:

Elephantine is "Midway between Edfu and the narrows of Begel Silsila, some fifty-five miles north of Aswan, the [Egyptian] landscape changes completely.  Here one passes from the limestone country, which forms the bulk of Egypt into an inhospitable sandstone region extending southwards for a thousand miles into the territory of the Sudan.  Only a short stretch intervenes before the First Cataract is reached just beyond the large island of Elephantine.  The Cataract consists of rapids caused by the intervention of great red [and] black granitic masses barring the way." (Gardiner p. 31) One can look eastward over Elephantine and see the ridges of sandstone reduced by erosion to yellow sand dunes, and near the river's edge, the great monoliths of black granite from which the black obelisks of Egypt were quarried and hauled down river to grace the tombs and monuments of many Pharaohs.  On the Island, there are also quarries of the red granite. "Merenre who only reigned for a short time,  his half brother, Pipi II's ... ‘reign was the longest in Egyptian history' (Clayton p. 66) ....[he] reigned down to nearly the end of the Old Kingdom about 2182 BC, [he] appointed Weni as governor of the South. Weni was sent to Elephantine to "fetch the sarcophagus and a precious pyramidion [the top of the  pyramid] for the king's [Merenre] pyramid, while at Elephantine he secured doors of red granite and other parts for the same monument." (Gardiner p. 94).  Weni was a smart engineer, he quarried the stone from the cataracts he "brought stone for the royal pyramid from the First Cataract quarries, and in so doing cut five channels to facilitate passage through the cataract." (Clayton p. 67).

THE EARLY DYNASTIES OF SCORPION AND NARMER:

The red and black granite on Elephantine was extensively quarried for monuments and obelisks. The stone was preferred even during the early settlements in Egypt before 3500 BC. Wouldn't the area have been inhabited by the descendents of Adam down until the time of the Flood?  Since Adam was the First Born man on this earth [Abraham 1:3] Would all of the Homo Habilus forms [man like in habit] of pre-Adamic "men" have had a spirit body born into the Celestial Family? Not likely. How would these man-like forms be classified? As Animals?  "To unravel the processes of culture changes [of these man-like forms] ...evolving in the Lower Paleolithic period (ca. 2 M to 100,000 BP) through the rise of the state [Egyptian or elsewhere for that matter] under the first two dynasties [Scorpion and Narmer] (ca 3100-2700  BP) is an immense task." (Hoffman p. 8)

Early inhabitants of Egypt from 4000-3500 BC [apparently descendants of Adam] were called irrigationists, these prehistoric Egyptians learned how to irrigate their fields. "And from that time on, life began to quicken in the valley. Irrigation seemed to start a chain reaction by which one civilizing force led to another." (Payne p. 27) After some eight hundred years [from 4000 to 3200 BC] of progressive settlements, and the development of three kingdoms one at the Delta in Lower Egypt wearing the red crown, the second near present day Cairo, the Reed King with the White Crown, and the third in Upper Egypt at the First Cataract near Elephantine (Payne p. 30) the region was ready for unitization and civilization. About 3200 BC  "Egyptian civilization began with the unification of the two lands, namely Upper and Lower Egypt, under one king...the Early Dynastic Period begins with Scorpion, [the first identified Pharaoh] then the more well known, Narmer, their precise dates are unknown. But they were IN PLACE about 3150 BC," (Clayton p. 16)   Wouldn't Adam still have been alive?  After the Flood the same red and black granite was quarried again for the new occupants of the lands. Beyond the river bank are the many ruins that reflect that thoroughfare that once prevailed on this island. On the upper benches towering over the many ruins are recent sacred buildings more recently added to the occupants of this ancient frontier fortress.  "This provided Pharaonic Egypt with its natural frontier, though ethnically as well as physically the Nubian land may well have begun near Silsila [seven miles south of Elephantine]." (Gardiner p. 31) The Pharoah ‘Djoser', "succeeded Sanakhte to the throne bout 2668 BC ...and extended his rule as far south as Aswan, the First Cataract, later "the official southern Boundary of Egypt."  (Clayton pp. 32-33)  Djoser was the one who built the first Step Pyramid. "This was the beginning of the Old Kingdom (2686-2181...Dynasty 3)...The Pyramid Builders." (Clayton pp. 30-31)

THE RAM-HEADED GOD CHNUM:

At Elephantine and on the highest point of the isle of Sehel at Aswan, on a large rock there was a long inscription which contains the name Djoser, "cut by the priests of the god Khnum of Elephantine, and lays claim to some 85 miles of territory south of Aswan known as the Dodekaschoinoi, ‘in the god's name', it having been granted by Djoser." (Clayton p. 33)  This was in an effort to "appease the Ram-headed God Khnum [or Chnum], the Nile annual inundations were under his control." (Clayton p. 73)  Apparently the gift of land appeased the God because a seven-year famine ended.  Khnum was worshipped at an early stage in Egypt and one of his temple sites maintained for many centuries was at Elephantine.

"Manetho's Egyptian History, gives us the basic structure or skeleton of Egyptian chronology." (Clayton p. 9) But "Manetho had curiously and doubtless inaccurately designated Elephantine as Dynasty V's place of origin." (Gardiner p. 88) Elephantine always continued to play an interesting political and religious role. 

THE JEWISH GARRISON DEPARTS ELEPHANTINE:

To the south the Nubians were very dependent on their richer civilized neighbor, and "not until much later did the thought of colonizing Lower Nubia enter the Egyptian's minds; wisely they accepted Elephantine as their southern frontier, realizing that the country beyond the First Cataract was undesirable as a possession." (Gardiner p. 95)

The Jewish colony at Elephantine was established approximately 630 BC a few decades before Lehi and his family left Jerusalem, (Porten p 299)  Review of the papyri discovered on the island show no documents later than 399 BC.  There are no definitive data to suggest where the Jewish Colony survived very long beyond this period. There presence seems to have disappeared soon after the establishment of the Ptolemaic Empire after 270 BC. (Gilbert p. 8)

The Elephantine Archives constitute a collection of Aramaic documents dating back to the fifth century BC.  Aramaic is a language of the Middle East.  "Arabic is ...the principle language of the Near East today, and it can be shown to be related to earlier languages of the area including Aramaic..Hebrew and [the earlier] Akkadian (the language of the Assyrian empire), forming together the Semitic Languages." (Renfrew p. 13) None of these would have been related directly to the language used by the Jaredites. The earliest use of Aramaic usage in Palestine dates to the ninth century BC ... "the use of Aramaic was [not] confined to the Jews, though that impression might be conveyed by the great and sensational finds of papyri written in that language discovered on the island of Elephantine just north of the First Cataract.  It is true that the persons whose concerns are there displayed in such abundance and variety were all or mainly Jews, but they were members of a frontier garrison and consequently in the service of the Persian regime. The most convincing evidence, however, that Aramaic was the medium in which the Persian administration was carried on is afforded by a batch of letters mostly addressed to his subordinates in Egypt by the satrap Arsames who was in power throughout the whole last quarter of the fifth century; these letters, written on leather, doubtless emanate from the satrap's chancery, probably at Memphis." (Gardiner p. 360) 

Narmer (about 3150 BC) had "founded the city of Memphis, 20 miles south of the apex of the Delta, near where the regions of Lower and Upper Egypt meet, and established it as his capital. The city was destined to become the greatest in the land. Narmer (Menes) and his immediate successors—some 18 kings of two successive dynasties that spanned about 400 years- ruled from here." (Casson p. 51)  "It will have required differences of race and religion ...[to] fan any unrest into flame. Such a case arose on the island of Elephantine in 410 BC.  Here the worshippers of Yahu [Jehovah] and the priests of the ram-headed god Chnum lived cheek by jowl. The native priests took advantage of the absence abroad of the satrap Arsames to bribe the local commandant Vidaranag, with the result that the [nearby] Jewish temple was completely razed to the ground. Vidaranag was punished, but for a time the temple remained unbuilt. The Aramaic papyri recounting this matter comprises a petition sent to Bagoas, the Governor of Judah pleading for the rebuilding, and it appears that this was ultimately conceded." (Gardiner pp. 361-362) The temple was rebuilt. The Jewish Temple at Elephantine will be discussed later in this series.     

THE ARAMAIC ARCHIVES OF ELEPHANTINE LEFT BY THE JEWS:

"Originally, Aramaic scribes adopted the Phoenician alphabet and scribal techniques, but over time a separate script emerged."  (Crim p, 39)  Fitzmyer has classified Aramaic into five phases. (Fitzmyer 1:57-84). Briefly, phase (1) is termed Old Aramaic and spans 925 BC to 700 BC.  It was represented by writings on stone and other materials. The oldest  "archaic, paleo-Hebrew inscription  [was that found on two tiny scrolls or plates of silver], the Ketef Hinnom Plates, one of the most significant [Biblical] discoveries ever made" (Barkay, et al, p. 162-163) dating about 900 BC. Phase (2) Official Aramaic, from roughly 700 BC to 200 BC, - was written on papyri and animal skins.  The term Official is used because of the vast geographical areas; which spoke the language (Egypt, Palestine, Assyria, Afghanistan, and Pakistan). The Elephantine texts are representative of this second phase.   Middle Aramaic, from 200 B.C. to AD 200 is Phase (3) which also encompasses the Dead Sea Scroll Conventors from Qumran. An important historical note is that the Savior spoke Aramaic from this time period.  Phase (4) is late Aramaic spanning AD 200 to 700 .  Finally Modern Aramaic, Phase (5), is still spoken in various areas of northern Syria, Iran, Iraq, and related regions. 

The Elephantine archives were written on papyri (writing material similar to paper derived from the pith of the papyrus plant when pressed.) and on leather as noted, and are represented by three Aramaic document collections [see BOOK OF MORMON NAMES in this series].  It was the third collection, which contained the lists of names of interest  in this study.   "This is one of the most significant finds of Aramaic records in history." (Porten p. vii) And that is in part true as applied to the Book of Mormon.

THE RECOVERY OF THE ELEPANTINE ARCHIVES:

The late 1800's found the Middle East relatively unchanged over the past few millennia.  In 1893, sometime between January 28 and February 12, Charles Edwin Wilbur purchased a number of papyri including nine complete documents and numerous fragments. Wilbur was an Egyptologist, but unfamiliar with Aramaic.  This is supported by an envelope containing some Elephantine fragments and a note by him questioning whether or not the writing was Phoenician.  He placed the papyri in tin biscuit boxes and added them to a trunk containing some other Egyptian writings.  They remained hidden to the world for over fifty years until 1947 when the Egyptian Department of the Brooklyn Museum received the trunk from the estate of Miss Theodora Wilbur: Charles Wilbur's daughter.  This treasure was subsequently published in 1953 as The Brooklyn Museum Aramaic Papyri and represents the single largest collection of Aramaic documents in the Western world. (Kraeling :3).

An earlier major related discovery was made by Archibald Henry Sayce, a prominent Oxford Orientalist. He obtained "the first body of material, composed of legal texts...acquired from dealers". (Buttrick p. 83) Some of which was published in 1903.  Late in 1870 he obtained a complete scroll from diggers on the Island of Elephantine which was "published by Archibald H. Sayce and Sir Arthur Ernest Cowley in 1906." (Buttrick p. 83). "The second and most important lot was recovered by excavation carried on by the Berlin Museum and was published by Eduard Sachau in 1911." (Buttrich p. 83)  A papyrus had been published by Julius Euting early in 1903, the Strassbury Papyrus, but was not recognized as having been derived from Elephantine at the time of publication.  In 1904 Lady William Cecil and Sir Robert Mond purchased three and five rolls of papyri respectively and donated them to the Cairo Museum.  These documents were published two years later by Sayce and Cowley in 1906. The Elephantine Archives did not begin to really receive the attention they deserved until their publication by Porten.

GOURNAH-THE TOMB WHERE THE MUMMIES AND SCROLLS CAME FROM:

Until 1904, the French-initially under the direction of Gaston Maspero-had been excavating the actual site of Elephantine without much success. This is the same Maspero who had some success in finding tombs and secondary internment sites of Pharaohs, including the famous tomb repository near El-Gournah  (Cotrell, pp. 147-149) famous for the tomb area where the mummies came from, which Joseph Smith ended up with. (Todd p. 7) The German Scholar Rubensohn persuaded the Berlin Museum to approach Maspero for permission to excavate. .  In 1907 Edward Sachau presented to the Prussian Academy three of these recovered texts.  The significance of these texts [especially for the Book of Mormon] was substantial since they discussed the Jewish Temple built at Elephantine (See Porten).

The Jews at Elephantine were mercenaries hired by Egypt for the protection of the southern Nile in Upper [elevation wise] Egypt. If one examined the Old Testament during the time period of the establishment of the Elephantine Jewish Colony after 630 BC it is clear that the Middle East was in turmoil. In Nephi 1:4 we learn..."and in that same year came many prophets, prophesying unto the people that they must repent, or the great city of Jerusalem must be destroyed." Lehi was one of those prophets.  The Book of Mormon claims that, "when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, who they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his,  life that they might take it away." (I Nephi l:20).

In the face of mortal jeopardy, Lehi must have reflected on where he might safely take his family. But he was told in a dream that he would be guided by the Lord away from Jerusalem (see l: Nephi 3:l)  One might ask: why not go to Egypt?  Porten describes an instance where a contemporary prophet did just that.  "Jehoiakim, a prophet of Kiriath-Jearim, Uriah b. Shemiah, arose and, like Jeremiah, prophesied against Jerusalem and Judah.  Sought by the King, he fled to Egypt when he was extradited and sentenced to death." (Porten:13)  Thus, Egypt would not have been safe.  This episode is a confirmation of Nephi's statement regarding the intolerance of prophecies against Jerusalem.  It also correctly sets the regional environment that would require Lehi to take his family to a "Promised Land", unknown to the Old World.

The significance of these Aramaic documents to students of the Book of Mormon lie in their contemporary time setting to Lehi and his family.  Both groups date to nearly the same time period around the reign of Zedekiah.  There will be a number of areas   examined in this series of studies.  Extensive name parallels will be discussed along with some other interesting and important similarities between the two cultures.

RECENT WORK AT ELEPHANTINE:

In "399 [BC] Shewa b. Zechariah [a Jewish exile] wrote to Islah, [in Jerusalem] perhaps from Memphis, and reported the seizure of the throne by Nepherites." (Porten p. 296)

There then followed three more Egyptian Dynasties down to 343 BC. "Before Artaxerxes III had reconquered Egypt in 343,  the "last Pharaoh, Necanebos II, the last Egyptian to rule Egypt for the next 2300 years". (Clayton p. 205) had commenced construction on the southern edge of the island [of Elephantine] a temple to Khnum....and one to Sati...they were further enlarged under the Ptolemies and the Romans." (Porten p. 296).  "The work  on the Khnum temple was consummated by Alexander II. The free-standing portal which he erected may still be seen there today." (Porten p. 297) Greek records are found in the excavations after that.  It would seem that the Jews had left, perhaps going to Nubia or Alexandria in Egypt. Excavations of both the Knum and Satet temples were undertaken in 1938 [and continued intermittently to 1958]. "the street which skirts the [last] wall [of construction] of the Khnum temple seems to impinge on the houses of the Aramean district in a manner suggesting that these [formally occupied by the Jews] were no longer occupied when it was laid." (Porten p. 297)  After 270 BC only the spirits of the Dead occupied Elephantine. But, now through the recovery of its records it lives again.

"Excavations continue at Elephantine." (Cottrell, p. 226)

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barkay, Gabriel, et al. The Challenges of Ketef Hinnom, [the Ketef Hinnom inscriptions are...the earliest known artifacts from the ancient world that document passages from the Hebrew Bible, Near Eastern Archaeology, Vol. 66 No. 4, December 2003

Buttrick, George A., The Interpreters's Dictionary of the bible, Abingdon Press, New York 1962

Casson, Lionel, Ancient Egypt, Time Incorporated, New York, 1965

Cottrell, Leonard, The Lost Pharaohs, The Universal Library, Grosset & Dunlap, New York, 1961

Clark, James R., The Story of the Pearl of Great Price, Bookcraft, Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah 1955

Clayton, Peter A., Chronicle of the Pharaohs, Thames and Hudson, London, 1994

Christensen, Ross T., Archaeology and the Pearl of Great Price, A study of the Lebolo-Chandler Collection of Egyptian Antiquities, in Pearl of Great Price Conference, BYU, Provo, Utah, 1960

Fitzmyer, Joseph A., A Wandering Aramean Collected Aramaic Essays, Ann Arbor, Edwards Brother, Inc., 1979

FARMS, INSIGHTS VOL. 24, 2004, PP. 4-5

Gardiner, Sir Alan, The Egyptians, Folio Society, London 1961

Gee, John, A Guide to The Joseph  Smith Papyri, FARMS, BYU, Provo, Utah, 2000

Gilbert, Martin,  Jewish History Atlas, Macmillan Publishing Co., New York, 1969

Hoffman, Michael A., Egypt before the Pharaohs, Alfred A. Knoph, New York 1979

Hunter, Milton R., Pearl of Great Price Commentary, Desert Book, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1945  Hunter contends that Adam spent 70 years in the Garden of Eden, died 930.

Kraeling, Emil G., The Brooklyn Museum Aramaic Papyri, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1953

Oren, Elizer D., Editor, The Hyksos: New Historical and Archaeological Perspectives, The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 1997

Payne, Elizabeth, The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt, Random House, New York, 1964

Porten, Bezalel, Archives from Elephantine, University of Calif. Press, Berkeley 1968

Nibley, Hugh, 3, Ancient Documents and the Pearl of Great Price, BYU Home Study Guide, 1990 (sic) Provo, Utah

---------- 2, Since Cumorah, Deseret Book Co., Salt Lake City, Utah 1967

Noerdlinger, Henry S., Moses and Egypt, University of Southern California Press, Los Angeles, 1956

Redford, Donal B., Textual Sources for the Hyksos Period, in The Hyksos: New Historical Archaeological Perspectives, Edited by Elizer D. Oren, The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 1997

Shanks, Hershel, Ed, Debate, Biblical Archaeology Review, Jan-Feb 2005 Vol. 31, 1 Sweeny, Marvin A. Zephaniah: Prophet of His Time-Not the End Time! In Bible Review, Vol. XX,  No. 6, Dec. 2004

Todd, Jay M., In:  A Brief History of the Lebolo Papyri and Mummies, Book of Abraham Symposium, Salt Lake Institute of Religion, University of Utah, 1970  

UAS, Newletter, No. 95, BYU  May 22, 1955