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

Book of Abraham The Book of Abraham is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1842 by Joseph Smith. Smith said the book was a translation from several Egyptian scrolls discovered in the early 19th century during an archeologic ...

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 Josephus and others as having populated Africa. The Bible ...

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

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

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 language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

, 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 Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time periods. The most common type ...

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 Brigham Young ( ; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until h ...

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 Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...

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 denomination, religious and ethnocultural group, 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 d ...

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 American writers and researchers who publish archival and evidential materials about the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

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 Mormonism and women Legendary progenitors

The Curse of Cain

See also

Notes

References