I would not want to overstate the importance of this topic to our understanding of the Book of Abraham and its origins. Why is Joseph Smith’s knowledge of Hebrew important in studying the origins of the Book of Abraham? I believe that these observations provide fascinating and inspiring insights into the mechanics of Joseph Smith’s translation process, which, it seems, was a dynamic blending of his academic efforts and prophetic gifts. The implications of these elements for the textual development of the Book of Abraham (not surprisingly, they only appear in translated Abraham materials that are attested after Joseph’s Hebrew studies in 1836).The Hebrew elements that appear in some of the Abraham material (in particular, the transliterated Hebrew words and terminology in the facsimile explanations, in the revelation on astronomy in Abraham 3, and in the expanded creation account in Abraham 4–5).The relationship that existed between the two projects (I suggest that, in light of early nineteenth century views, Joseph and his associates believed a study of Hebrew would help facilitate their work on the Egyptian documents).In that follow-up presentation-which became the basis for my chapter in Producing Ancient Scripture-I more closely examined the connections between Joseph Smith’s Hebrew studies and his process of translating the Book of Abraham. Shortly after the 2013 symposium, I was invited to expand upon this research by participating in the Maxwell Institute conference on Joseph Smith’s translation projects. Since I was in graduate school, however, I have also had an interest in Joseph Smith’s study of Hebrew and the ways in which it informed his prophetic thinking, sermons, and translation activities.Īt BYU’s 2013 Church History Symposium, I was able to start sharing some of my research on this topic in a paper that discusses the logistics of Joseph’s Hebrew studies in Kirtland, Ohio (from late 1835 to early 1836), including the instruction he received from his teacher (Joshua Seixas), the textbooks and lexicons he used in his studies, and the ways in which his formal coursework was structured.
My academic training and most of my research focuses on archaeology, material culture, and social history in early Judaism, particularly as related to Roman Galilee and the world of the New Testament. I am an associate professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University.
Grey published a chapter on the topic in Producing Ancient Scripture: Joseph Smith’s Translation Projects in the Development of Mormon Christianity (University of Utah Press, 2020). Scholar Matthew Grey shares his latest research on Joseph Smith’s usage of Hebrew in the Book of Abraham.
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