Monday, October 22, 2018

The King of Egypt Receiving the Names of Two Female Deities: Parallels to Figures 2 and 4 of Facsimile 3

In figures 2 and 4 of facsimile 3, Joseph Smith identified two female-looking figures with men:



Fig. 2. King Pharaoh, whose name is given in the characters above his head.

Fig. 4. Prince of Pharaoh, King of Egypt, as written above the hand.

Some critics have objected that this is a blunder, though they never really inform us as to why Joseph Smith would identify two obviously female-looking characters as men. Furthermore, there is ancient Egyptian precedent for Joseph Smith’s commentary—indeed, in ancient Egypt, biological men would, in liturgical contexts, dress as female deities. For a full discussion, see In Facs. 3, what about Joseph's blunder of mistaking Osiris for Abraham and - incredibly - women for men?? by Jeff Lindsay.

Interestingly, the king of Egypt, as part of the liturgy of his enthronement, not only took a Horus name but two female names. As Jaromir Malek wrote:

In ancient Egypt, the king enjoyed a special position as a mediator between the gods and people, an interface between divine and human, who was responsible to both. His Horus name identified him with the hawk god (of whom he was a manifestation), and his nebty (‘two ladies’) name related him to two tutelary goddesses of Egypt, Nekhbet and Wadjet. (Jaromir Malek, “The Old Kingdom (c. 2686-2160 BC)” in Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt [New York: Oxford University Press, 2003], 83-107, here, p. 92)


 One such example was that of King Unas (Horus Wadj-tawy, 2375-2345 BC).