In Latter-day Saint theology, Egyptus () is the name of two women in the

Book of Abraham The Book of Abraham is a collection of writings claimed to be from several Egyptian scrolls discovered in the early 19th century during an archeological expedition by Antonio Lebolo. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purc ...

in the Pearl of Great Price. One is the wife of

Ham, son of Noah Ham (in ), according to the Table of Nations in the Book of Genesis, was the second son of Noah and the father of Cush, Mizraim, Phut and Canaan. Ham's descendants are interpreted by Flavius Josephus and others as having populated Africa and adj ...

, who bears his children. The other is their daughter, who discovered

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

while "it was under water" (1:23-24). Three 1835 pre-publication manuscripts of the Book of Abraham, in place of "Egyptus", read Zeptah for the elder Egyptus and Egyptes for the younger Egyptus. The younger Egyptus places her eldest son on the throne as

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the an ...

, the first king of Egypt (1:25). Pharaoh was a descendant of the Canaanites (1:22), a race of people who had a black skin come upon them (Moses 7:8). Some early Mormon leaders have taught that Egyptus passed black skin and the curse of Cain through the flood so that the devil might have representation upon the earth, although this has now been repudiated by later leaders. The word Egyptus is considered to be an

anachronism An anachronism (from the Ancient Greek, Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronology, chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time per ...

in the

among non-Mormon Egyptologists and historians, since the origin of term "Egypt" is believed to have come from another source much later in history from the time of the narrative described in the Book of Abraham. The word "pharaoh" is also considered to be an anachronism in the

for similar reasons.

The Curse of Cain

W. W. Phelps, a counselor in the presidency of the church, was the first in the church to teach that Ham's wife was black because she was under the curse of Cain. In 1835, he taught that Ham himself was cursed because he had married a black wife. Brigham Young also taught that Egyptus was under the curse of Cain and passed the curse through the flood. In April 1836, within months of translating the Book of Abraham verses, Joseph Smith himself taught in reference to , "it remains as a lasting monument of the decree of Jehovah, to the shame and confusion of all who have cried out against the South, in consequence of their holding the sons of Ham in servitude!". John Taylor explained that it was necessary that the curse of Cain was passed through Egyptus so that "the devil should have a representation upon the earth as well as God". Like many Americans,John N. Swift and Gigen Mammoser, "'Out of the Realm of Superstition: Chesnutt's 'Dave's Neckliss' and the Curse of Ham'", ''American Literary Realism'', vol. 42 no. 1, Fall 2009, 3 many

Mormons Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

of the 19th century accepted the idea promoted in slavery states that black Africans had Cain's "mark" of black skin,. Reprint by

Utah Lighthouse Ministry Jerald Dee Tanner (June 1, 1938 – October 1, 2006) and Sandra McGee Tanner (born January 14, 1941) are United States, American writers and researchers who publish archival and evidential materials about the history of the Church of Jesus Christ o ...

and Ham's curse to be servants of servants. These ideas were eventually abandoned by later church leaders as unsupported by scripture.

Notes

References

* Hauglid, Brian M., ''A Textual History of the Book of Abraham: Manuscripts and Editions'', Studies in the Book of Abraham 5 (Provo: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship/BYU, 2010). {{ISBN, 9780842527743 * Thompson, Stephen E., "Egyptology and the Book of Abraham", ''Dialogue'', 28/1 (Spring 1995), 143-160. * Whipple, Walter L.
"An Analysis of Textual Changes in 'The Book of Abraham' and in the 'Writings of Joseph Smith, the Prophet' in the Pearl of Great Price,"
unpublished M.A. thesis (Provo: Brigham Young Univ., 1959). Book of Abraham Ham (son of Noah) Mormonism and race Pearl of Great Price (Mormonism) Mormonism-related controversies Criticism of Mormonism

The Curse of Cain

See also

Notes

References