Fragment of Book of the Dead for Nefer-ir-nebu, circa 300–100 BC

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Fragment of Book of the Dead for Nefer-ir-nebu, circa 300–100 BC
Source Note

Fragment of Book of the Dead for Nefer-ir-nebu, [Thebes, present-day Luxor, Egypt, ca. 300–100 bc];
1
See Coenen, “On the Demise of the Book of the Dead,” 71.
Comprehensive Works Cited
Coenen, Marc. “On the Demise of the Book of the Dead in Ptolemaic Thebes.” Revue d’Égyptologie 52 (2001): 69–84.
hieroglyphic characters; Egyptian Papyri, CHL. Includes archival marking.

Irregularly sized papyrus fragment measuring, at its largest, 10⅛ × 13 inches (26 × 33 cm). Shortly after JS and others acquired the papyri in July 1835, this papyrus fragment was pasted onto a paper backing, apparently to preserve it. This nineteenth-century paper backing measures the same size as the papyrus. Residue from glue on the backing indicates that smaller scraps of papyrus were also mounted to the backing and then lost. The paper used for mounting the papyrus contains the plans for the
House of the Lord
JS revelation, dated Jan. 1831, directed Latter-day Saints to migrate to Ohio, where they would “be endowed with power from on high.” In Dec. 1832, JS revelation directed Saints to “establish . . . an house of God.” JS revelation, dated 1 June 1833, chastened...
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in
Kirtland
Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...
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, Ohio.
2
See Source Note for Plan of the House of the Lord in Kirtland, Ohio (Fragments), ca. June 1833.
At an unknown time, this fragment was cut roughly in half vertically, creating two pieces. The right-hand piece, known to scholars as fragment III A, measures, at its largest, 9⅝ × 7 inches (24 × 18 cm), with a backing of the same size. The left-hand fragment, known to scholars as fragment III B, measures, at its largest, 10⅛ × 6 inches (26 × 15 cm), with a backing of the same size. Written in graphite on the verso of the backing are the numbers 3 and 2, which correspond to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art accession numbers for these fragments.
3
Ritner, Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri, 79.
Ritner, Robert K. The Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri: A Complete Edition, P. JS 1–4 and the Hypocephalus of Sheshonq. Salt Lake City: Smith-Pettit Foundation, 2011.

For provenance of the papyri, see Source Note for Fragment of Book of Breathing for Horos–A, between 238 and ca. 153 bc.
Footnotes
[1]
See Coenen, “On the Demise of the Book of the Dead,” 71.
Coenen, Marc. “On the Demise of the Book of the Dead in Ptolemaic Thebes.” Revue d’Égyptologie 52 (2001): 69–84.
[2]
See Source Note for Plan of the House of the Lord in Kirtland, Ohio (Fragments), ca. June 1833.
[3]
Ritner, Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri, 79.
Historical Introduction
This fragment bears a nearly complete vignette, or illustration, along with hieroglyphs from chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead for Nefer-ir-nebu. According to Egyptologists, this vignette shows the deceased before the chief judge Osiris and some of the forty-two judges or gods to have her heart weighed against the feather of Maat, the goddess of truth and justice, which should result in a perfect balance.
1
Ritner, Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri, 205–206; Rhodes, Books of the Dead, 57–58.
Rhodes, Michael D. Books of the Dead Belonging to Tshemmin and Neferirnub: A Translation and Commentary. Studies in the Book of Abraham 4. Provo, UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, Brigham Young University, 2010.

Oliver Cowdery
3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...
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made reference to this vignette in a description of the papyri.
2
“The inner end of the same roll, (Joseph’s record,) presents a representation of the judgment: At one view you behold the Savior seated upon his throne, crowned, and holding the sceptres of righteousness and power, before whom also, are assembled the twelve tribes of Israel, the nations, languages and tongues of the earth, the kingdoms of the world over which Satan is represented as reigning, Michael the archangel, holding the key of the bottomless pit, and at the same time the devil as being chained and shut up in the bottomless pit.” (Oliver Cowdery, Kirtland, OH, to William Frye, Lebanon, IL, 22 Dec. 1835, in Cowdery, Letterbook, 73, underlining in original.)
Cowdery, Oliver. Letterbook, 1833–1838. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.

See also Introduction to Egyptian Papyri, ca. 300–100 bc.
Footnotes
[1]
Ritner, Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri, 205–206; Rhodes, Books of the Dead, 57–58.
Rhodes, Michael D. Books of the Dead Belonging to Tshemmin and Neferirnub: A Translation and Commentary. Studies in the Book of Abraham 4. Provo, UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, Brigham Young University, 2010.
[2]
“The inner end of the same roll, (Joseph’s record,) presents a representation of the judgment: At one view you behold the Savior seated upon his throne, crowned, and holding the sceptres of righteousness and power, before whom also, are assembled the twelve tribes of Israel, the nations, languages and tongues of the earth, the kingdoms of the world over which Satan is represented as reigning, Michael the archangel, holding the key of the bottomless pit, and at the same time the devil as being chained and shut up in the bottomless pit.” (Oliver Cowdery, Kirtland, OH, to William Frye, Lebanon, IL, 22 Dec. 1835, in Cowdery, Letterbook, 73, underlining in original.)
Cowdery, Oliver. Letterbook, 1833–1838. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
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Editorial Title
Fragment of Book of the Dead for Nefer-ir-nebu, circa 300–100 BC
ID #
18168
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, R4:20–21
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