Back to Mormonism Researched Page

Facsimile No. 1 and Opposition of Priesthoods: Nimrod's Garment of Authority Vs Abraham's Garment of Authority

Research by Kerry A. Shirts

Facsimile No. 1 in the Book of Abraham shows that the "priest of Pharaoh" is clearly against Abraham, even to the point of sacrificing him. Abrahamic lore describes just such opposing encounters between the two rivals, with Abraham battling Pharaoh who is usually depicted as Nimrod. A perfect situation to illustrate the opposing priesthoods. Nimrod and everything about him is the direct antithesis of Abraham. It is Nimrod who built Babylon, which is, of course, the very antithesis of Zion, as well as the famous Tower of Babel, which is the antithesis of the true temples of God, of which, more below[1] "Nimrod exhibits a number connected with Antichrist.."[2] E.G.H. Kraeling indicated that "Nimrod the city-builder has stolen Hammurabi's laurels." The beginning of his kingdom indeed was Babel, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar, which is the rise of Babylon under Hammurabi.[3] Nimrod's historical identification has been hard to nail down, ranging from Ninurta, Marduk, and Lugul-Banda, to Orion, as well as to the Greek Nebrod, Tikulti-Ninurta, Amraphel and even Zoroaster, the originator of magic anciently.[4] Walter Beltz claims similarities with Nimrod's name in its Egyptian form of "Neb-me-re" with Amenophis III.[5] Amraphel was one of the kings of the five cities of the plain which Abraham fought, his name also known as Nimrod "because he ordered our father Abraham to be cast into a burning furnace."[6] As the antithesis of Zion, Nimrod (Marduk) is also credited with the construction of the temple (Ziggurat, tower of Babel) which was considered a cosmic institution, typifying the universe no less, as the cosmic mountain.[7]

Abraham and the Fire (Ur) of sacrifice

It is Nimrod as Pharaoh who tries to kill or sacrifice Abraham by fire according to most ancient sources, entirely unavailable and unknown to Joseph Smith.[8] Here is the Book of Abraham and Covenant of Abraham sacrifice theme par excellence. Abraham refuses to give into the Pharaoh and Pharaoh will not give into Abraham. Nimrod in his councils decides Abraham must die, so the people followed Pharaoh's decree, everyone bringing wood for the heating of the kiln. The height of the wood was five ells, as well as five ells in diameter, and for three days and nights the fire was kept up. We are told "the flames licked the heavens, so that the oven was at a white heat."[9] Abraham is thrown in and is unharmed. The accounts vary as to what happens, but in every case Abraham wins, God shows He is on Abraham's side because Abraham does not follow other Gods. In Pseudo-Philo the fire was so great it caused 83,500 to be burned as God caused an earthquake to save Abraham, "and Abraham came up out of the furnace, and the fiery furnace collapsed."[10] Interestingly, scholars are aware that "the words Ur Kasdim in Genesis 15:7 ("I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur Kasdim") were taken to mean 'the fire of the Chaldeans' since Ur was read as 'or, 'flame, fire.'"[11]

G.A. Wainwright noted how the Egyptian Pharaohs were considered divine, and at times they were "liable to a ceremonial death, ... and that death was, or had been, by fire." He further notes that "Sometimes a human substitute is found for the king," and that "in being burned alive these men were put to death in the manner of certain Pharaohs... thus they were no doubt substitutes for the kings themselves."[12] In line with this, W. Needler's study of King Djer's flint knife, indicates another theme from facsimile 1 - "The knife immediately suggests the slaughter of animals offered to the king during or after his funeral, and one may well imagine it being used to slit the throats of oxen or oryx. It is also tempting to see in it the instrument employed to kill a human victim, as pictured on a tablet of Djer." The picture of the knife shows it is exactly the same shape as the knife in facsimile 1 in the Book of Abraham.[13] Abraham in the true ancient Egyptian manner is about to be sacrificed by the knife, hence reflecting the Abrahamic Covenant of sacrifice with a literalism of the ancients usually not accepted by we modern inhabitants of the earth.

William J. Adams, Jr has demonstrated that human sacrifice was practiced by Semitic peoples in ancient Mesopotamia as well as ancient Babylon He shows several temple inscriptions as well as cylinder seals,"Several Assyrian legal documents contain penalty formulas which demand that the person who breaks the contract can redeem himself only by burning his eldest child on the altar of a temple."[14] He concludes, based on archaeological evidence, "as we consider how many Semitic and neighboring cultures practiced human sacrifice, it becomes most plausible to think that the ancient Semites of Mesopotamia also practiced it. And it also becomes most plausible to think that an attempt was made to sacrifice Abraham as Joseph Smith declared it was."[15]

The Garment of the True Priesthood

The battle between Pharaoh and Abraham is also shown in facsimile No. 1 in a unique, powerful manner. Abraham is shown wearing a full body garment, as is the priest, though his is a different style. On all other lion couches to date, there is none that show the figure on the couch fully clothed in a garment as our facsimile No. 1. They are either mummies, or nude, but none have the garment and slippers as Abraham does.

What is this garment and how does it tie in with our theme? Without it there isn't a battle to be sure! The garment tells it all, showing just who has the true priesthood and who doesn't, who is the covenant person, and who isn't. A Mesopotamian parallel is instructive concerning garments which tie the individual wearer of the garment into the cosmos, and showing garments were definitely associated with kingship and who possessed the real authority.

Leo Oppenheim's excellent study shows that by the end of the first millenium B.C. the kusitu garment "shifted from secular to ceremonial use. From then on, gods, kings, and priests are clad in it... the Neo-Assyrian texts refer to the kusitu as to the exclusive royal dress."[16] Esarhaddon gave his son this garment, showing the people who the future king was to be, "you have girt your son with the kusitu and (thus) you have endowed him with the kingship over Assyria."[17] Alma P. Burton notes that "The words "to endow" (from the Greek enduein), as used in the New Testament, mean to dress, clothe, put on garments, put on attributes, or receive virtue."[18] So this is the idea in facsimile 1. It is interesting that the priesthood of Eanna was threatened, "on repeated royal attempts to induce the priesthood of Eanna to send the kusitu to a rival sanctuary which the collegium refused." The authority over the entire earth as well as sky was at stake, as the garments had stars sewn onto them, especially of the late Assyrian kings, these nalbas same were literally "garment(s) of the sky."[19] Not only the sky, but clouds, stars, and the sun were sewn into the garments, the wearer being called the gallab same, the "shearer of the sky," i.e. "he who cuts off the fleecy clouds." Is it coincidence that this was the garment of Marduk, and that Marduk was equated with Nimrod, the same who sheared the sky with his arrow and claimed he killed God?[20] In the legends, Nimrod shoots an arrow in the sky and it comes down with blood, hence Nimrod claims he killed the God of Abraham so he has the power.[21] Also legendary is Nimrod establishing his priesthood line through the matriarchal line, while Abraham came through the patriarchal line, hence the rivalry.[22] That contest of matriarchy verses patriarchy involving the -archy is noted as "the origin of a quarrel or a murder... command, power, authority, which is what the quarrel is about. The suffix archy means always to be first in order, whether in time or eminence..."[23] Is it coincidence that the stars on the Mesopotamian-Assyrian garments of the kings are connected "with the cult of the foremost goddess of the Mesopotamian pantheon"?[24]

In the Aggadah, Nimrod's hunting prowess came from his skin garment he wore, which he inherited down the line from Adam, it being the same skin garment. When the animals saw him in it, they would lie down for him, so he found easy prey, hence becoming a "mighty hunter" (Hebrew gibbor - "mighty"), or a "war-like giant."[25] Nimrod, again, as the antithesis against Israel and the true priesthood, rivals Esau, another great hunter, and in fact, wants to slay him as he had the garment that belonged to Adam. Another story indicates that Nimrod received the garment from his forefathers, it being Adam's garment, "from Ham, who had stolen them out of the ark of Noah; when Esau saw them, he became jealous because Nimrod's success in hunting was due to the fact that he wore these coats of skin that made the animals prostrate before him. Hence he slew Nimrod."[26]

Hugh Nibley recounts the story that Ham stole the garments from Noah, hence Noah cursed Ham, and it was through his son Cush that Nimrod acquired them.[27] This garment of Adam is said to have been a garment of light.[28] The garment certainly did represent authority of the wearer, and it was passed down from Seth to Noah, and worn by Noah as he sacrificed on the altar.[29] Interestingly, in the story of Esau, who killed Nimrod for the garment, it was this that Esau sold Jacob as his birthright, and also hence why Jacob, in his blindness blessed Jacob who had the garment as it had the fragrence of Paradise. This was later referred to as the coat of many colors of Joseph as well.[30] The idea here is crystal clear. The garment had its origin in the celestial realms, hence garment of light, another tie in with the cosmos, and as such indicated the authority of the wearer. Nimrod, it is said, apparently had this garment at one time. It is most interesting that nimrah according to Jacob of Serug means "tiger," "crown," and "striped garment."[31] We read in the Apocalypse of Abraham that Abraham received the garment after sacrificing as God told him and not falling into temptation with Azazel, the false angel: "For behold, the garment which in heaven was formerly yours has been set aside for him, [Abraham] and the corruption which was on him has gone over to you."[32] John Tvedtnes also traces a tradition which says "the garments though stolen by Ham, were recovered by Shem who, as Melchizedek, gave them to Abraham as his successor. Abraham passed the garments to his son Isaac and he to his eldest son Esau.[33]

So, the wearer of the garment of the priesthood would certainly have God's authority. And Nimrod's or Pharaoh's actions speak louder than words that he does not have it. So the confrontation is on, and has been from time immemorial, Adam, Eve, and the Serpent, Cain and Abel, Abraham in Egypt, Moses in Egypt, Joseph in Egypt, Daniel and the lion's den, etc. As Hugh Nibley has pointed out "contention is not discussion...war is beyond politics."[34] And that is just the point with our facsimile No. 1. Facsimile No. 1 is indicating that there is a choice, the famous ancient doctrine of the two ways, between light and darkness. Interestingly, this is also indicated by scholars who note that with Abraham and his opponents, the proverb certainly applies: "The wise man, his eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness." This is interpreted as alluding to Abraham and Nimrod. "The element of darkness is reminiscent of Philo's description of Nimrod as the black one who does not participate in the light (and cf. also Gen. Rab. 42.4 where Nimrod is called a Cushite, i.e. Ethiopian, because his father was Cush).[35]

This juxtaposition of light and dark is everywhere throughout the Abraham story, as per the priest in Facsimile No. 1 who is pictured as being black, while Abraham is white, which realistically represents the idea of choosing between the light and dark, the ancient doctrine of the two ways. The Pseudo-Philo says God caused a deep sleep to overcome Abraham which encompassed him with fear because he was set in the place of fire, "and I showed him the torches of fire by which the just who have believed in me will be enlightened."[36] The image of the fiery and smoking furnace is always rearing up, such as in Genesis 15, as well as the Abrahamic lore, and 4 Baruch 6:23, Pseudo-Philo 6:17, etc. In the legends as well, Abraham sees a horror of great darkness (Nimrod himself?), and he further saw the future terror of the nations his people would be in, namely "the horror-awakening Babylon, MedoPersian, Syro-Grecian, and Roman empires."[37]

The smoking furnace of Genesis 15 has been interpreted as the fire of Gehinom, Hell, and then he saw a burning lamp, which was the Law, an interesting contrast of the two ways.[38]

So the themes play themselves out in our Book of Abraham, with Abraham as wearer of the true garment of the Priesthood being opposed in darkness by the false priesthood.

Endnotes

1. H.V. Hilprecht, Explorations in Bible Lands, A.J. Holman & Co., 1903, p. 17, where he notes that the Tower of Babel was called "Nimrod's Tower." On p. 9 he notes that Ninevah was one of the cities Nimrod was alleged to have built. Cf. James H. Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepugrapha, 2 vols., Doubleday and Co., 1985, vol. 1, "3 Enoch" 45:3, footnote l - "Nimrod is usually linked in Jewish Midrash with the building of the tower of Babel."

2. E. W. Bullinger, Number in Scripture, Kregel Publications, 1987, p. 221, in note, where the number is 294 or 7 x 42.

3. E.G.H. Kraeling, "The Origin and Real Name of Nimrod," in American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, 38(1921-22), p. 218.

4. S.H. Langdon, The Mythology of all Races, 13 vols., Archaeological Institute of America, Marshall Jones Co., 1931, vol. 5, p. 55; Bruce W. Warren, John Tvedtnes, "In Search of the Historic Nimrod," in Society for Early Historic Archaeology, (S.E.H.A.), Nov. 1983, p. 2f; Kraeling, Ibid., pp. 214-220; Rev. Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons, Loizeaux Brothers, 2nd American Ed., 1959, pp. 13, 23, 43f, 47f, 56, 67, etc.; K. van der Toorn and P.W. van der Horst, "Nimrod Before and After the Bible," in Harvard Theological Review, 83:1 (1990), pp. 9, 11; E.A. Speiser, Genesis, The Anchor Bible, Doubleday and Co., 1964, pp. 71f for historic patterns indicating that Nimrod "is depicted... as a reconizably mortal ruler." W.G. Lambert, "A New Look at the Babylonian Background of Genesis," in John Maier, Vincent Tollers, eds., The Bible in its Literary Milieu, William B. Eerdmans, 1979, pp. 295, 297, n. 28; Smith's Bible Dictionary, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1962, p. 449 discussing various cities he founded; Harper's Bible Dictionary, Paul J. Achtemeier, ed., Harper & Row, 1985, p. 707 for Tukulti-Ninurta = Nimrod, since he was the first Mesoptamian ruler to successfully rule both Babylon and Assyria in the thirteenth century B.C. The Interpreter's Bible Dictionary, Abingdon Press, 4 vols., 1962, says that Ninurta was called "the Arrow, the Mighty Hunter," and the cult was very important and widespread throughout Mesopotamia during the late second millenium B.C., vol. 3, p. 551; Metzger, Ibid., notes that Ninurta had cult centers in Babel, Calah, and other cities, p. 557; Emil G. Kraeling, "The Significance and Origin of Gen. 6:1-4," in Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Oct. 1947, for excellent analysis of the Gibborim, since Nimrod was thought as one of them in some sources.

5. Walter Beltz, Gott und die Götter: Biblische Mythologie, Verlag Berlin und Weimar, 1975, p. 103. Benjamin Urrutia, "The Legendary Nimrod and the Historical Amenhotep III" in The Society for Early Historic Archaeology, Nov. 1983, p. 7 indicates this also, reviewing Hugh Nibley's analysis in his book Abraham in Egypt, wherein Urrutia shows strong similarities between the Egyptian ruler Nebma'are Amenhotep III, which dates to c. 1389-1350 B.C. The name occurs on correspondence from his Canaanite vassals known as the Amarna Letters, as Nimmuria, which is similar to Nimrod.

6. Toorn & Horst, Ibid., pp. 24f. Amraphel is named at Genesis 14:1. Jasher XXVII:2 - "And Nimrod king of Babel, the same was Amraphel..."

7. Jon D. Levenson, "The Temple and the World," in Journal of Religion, July 1984, pp. 285-288. Cf. Mercea Eliade, Shamanism:Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, Princeton University Press, 2nd Printing, 1974, p. 134, 264 as cosmic mountain, 267, as cosmic mountain a symbolic image of the cosmos; G. A. Wainwright, "The Emblem of Min," in Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 17(1931), p. 192, n. 12; H.V. Hilprecht, Explorations in Bible Lands, A.J. Holman & Co., 1903, p. 368 where they found three human skulls buried under the Ziggurat, for which Hilprecht notes "an authentic example of the practice of bloody sacrifices offered in connection with the construction of important new buildings." On p. 369 he notes the Ziggurat had a precise relation to the temple. Jack Finegan, Light From the Ancient Past, Princeton University Press, 1946, p. 19 notes that the Assyrio-Babylonian word ziqquratu means pinnacle or the top of the mountain, built as a high place for a god. Seton Lloyd, The Archaeology of Mesopotamia,Thames & Hudson, 1978, p. 153 says the king's "Seat of judgment," and "Court of Law" were in the Ziggurats anciently. Leonard Cottrell, The Quest For Sumer, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1965, p. 17 notes that Chaldean priests made their dawn offerings to Enlil or Inanna in the ziggurats. Jack M. Sasson, ed., Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, 4 vols., Charles Scribner's Sons, 1995, vol. 2, p. 1026 notes ziggurats were dedicated to individual deities of the area the ziggurats were built. Joan Oates, Babylon, Thames & Hudson, 1979, notes that Etemenanki, 'the House that is the foundation of heaven and earth,' (p. 157), was dedicated to the moon-god, (p. 47). H.W.F. Saggs, The Greatness that was Babylon, Hawthorne Books Inc., 1962, p. 24 notes the ziggurat was oriented north, east, south, and west.Samuel Noah Kramer, Cradle of Civilization, Time Life Books, 1967, p. 141 noted the ziggurat as the ladder of the gods, connecting heaven and earth. Chris Scarre, Smithsonian Timelines of the Ancient World, Dorling Kindersley, 1993, p. 97, says the ziggurat was the artificial mountain reaching to heaven. Cf. Margaret Oliphant, The Atlas of the Ancient World, Simon & Schuster, 1992, p. 10. Jacquetta Hawkes, The First Great Civilizations, Knopf, 1973, p. 133 for Nebuchadnezzar's vaunting of the size of his palace, p. 134 for Herodotus' description of ziggurats being eight stepped, not seven. Sassan, Ibid., vol. 2, p. 1030 notes a small temple on the top of ziggurats as well; See also Manfred Barthel, Was Wirklich in der Bibel Steht, trans. by Mark Howson as What the Bible Really Says, William Morrow & Co., 1982, p. 62 says the ziggurats seem to be an illustration of Jacob's visit of the heavenly ladder in Genesis 28:12! In light of this Eliade's discussion of the ladder of ascent must not be missed, Ibid., pp. 487-494, indicating the tie in with the cosmos. Cf. Giorgio Santilliana & Hertha von Dechend, Hamlet's Mill, Nonpareil Books, 1969, p. 123 for discussion of the ziggurat as symbolic of the planetary spheres. Also Mercea Eliade, The Myth of the Eternal Return Or, Cosmos and History, Princeton University Press, 2nd printing, 1974, pp. 12-17; John M. Lundquist, "What is a Temple? A Preliminary Typology," in Donald W. Parry, ed. Temples of the Ancient World, Deseret Book/FARMS, 1994, p. 93f; see also his "The Legitimizing Role of the Temple," in Ibid., pp. 184-186. Also see his "The Common Temple Ideology of the Ancient Near East," in Truman G. Madsen, ed., The Temple in Antiquity, Religious Studies Center, BYU, 1984, pp. 60-63; Cf. Ruth Whitehouse & John Wilkins, The Making of Civilization, Knopf, 1986, pp. 12f. For relationship of the omphalos and the ziggurat, Peter Tompkins, Secrets of the Great Pyramid, Harper and Row, 1971, pp. 182-188. For Temple as mountain of God and connection with the cosmos, Richard J. Clifford, "The Temple and the Holy Mountain," in Madsen, Ibid., Ch. 6; For a unique look at instructions for building temples, both anciently in Mesopotamia, Babylon, etc., and modernly with Kirtland, the excellent study of Stephen D. Ricks and Michael A. Carter, "Temple-Building Motifs: Mesopotamia, Ancient Israel, Ugarit, and Kirtland," in Parry, Ibid., Ch. 8. Hugh Nibley also has found cosmic significance with the temples in his Temple and Cosmos, Don E. Norton, ed., Deseret Book/FARMS, 1992, Chs. 1-4, 9; "On the Sacred and Symbolic," in Parry, Ibid., Ch. 535, and in Madsen, Ibid., Chs. 1,2, for general overviews. Saggs, Ibid., p. 33 notes the ziggurats astronomical aspects based on ancient beliefs.

8. Jack Finegan, Light From the Ancient Past: The Archeological Background of the Hebrew-Christian Religion, Princeton University Press, 1946, p. 56. Hugh Nibley, Abraham In Egypt, Deseret Books, 1981, discusses the sources of the Abrahamic lore, and demonstrates how they were all found after Joseph Smith was murdered, see Chapter 2, pp. 41-55.

9. Rev. S. Baring-Gould, Legends of the Patriarchs and Prophets, John B. Alden Publishing, 1884, p. 179. Cf. Marcus von Wellnitz, Christ and the Patriarchs: New Light from Apocryphal Literature and Tradition, Horizon Publishers 1981, pp. 76-78; See also the long and excellent discussion of Hugh Nibley, "The Unknown Abraham," in the Improvement Era, Jan 1969- July 1969; Richard Hinckley Allen, Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning, Dover, 1969, p. 309; Giorgio De Santilliana and Hertha von Dechend, Hamlet's Mill, Nonpareil Books, 1969, pp. 166, 177.

10. Pseudo-Philo 6:16-17 in James H. Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 2 vols., Doubleday & Co., 1985, vol. 2, p. 312.

11. Toorn & Horst, Ibid., p. 20. Cf. Charlesworth, Ibid., vol. 2, p. 311, note d. "The connection of Abraham's escape from Ur (in Heb. 'ur means 'fire') and the building of the tower of Babel is unique to Ps.-Philo. The tradition of Abraham in the fiery furnace is similar to those of Dan 3 and 2 Mac 7. Also the Book of Jasher, Chapter 12 has Abraham escaping the fire. It's interesting that the Medieval commentaries on Abraham and Nimrod picture this event, Abraham escaping from the fire that Nimrod built to kill him, see The Encyclopedia Judaica, Keter Publishing, 1971, under the entry "Abraham," p. 118, the illuminated page from the Leipzig Mahzor, S. Germany, circa 1320 where Terah delivers Abraham to Nimrod, but Abraham is delivered from the fire. Also an illumination from a Haggadah, Spain circa 14th century showing the enthroned Nimrod ordering Abraham to be cast into the fire, in Encyclopedia Judaica, Keter Publishing, 1973, Vol. 12, p. 1166.

12. G. A. Wainwright, The Sky Religion in Egypt, Cambridge University Press, 1938, pp. 51, 53. Robert Graves, The Greek Myths, 2 vols., Penguin Books, 1960, vol. 1, p. 49 tells of an occasion of king sacrifice. Herodotus indicates that sacrifices were cut with knives, and burned with fire, The Histories, translated by Selincourt, Penguin Books, 1972, p. 144, while Jos. L. Saalschütz, Archäologie der Hebräer, Verlag der Gebrüder Bornträger, 1855, p. 180, note 3, describes the human sacrifices of Themistokles and Aristomenes and Theopompus, and that said sacrifices were done from the oldest times, according to Plutarch.

13. W. Needler, "A Flint Knife of King Djer," Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 1956, p. 43, illustration, between pp. 41, 42.

14. William J. Adams, Jr., "Human Sacrifice and the Book of Abraham," in BYU Studies, 9/4(1969), pp. 474f. See also the discussion in E.A.W. Budge, Osiris & The Egyptian Resurrection, Dover, 2 vols., 1973, in vol. 1, pp. 197230; Michael A. Hoffman, Egypt Before the Pharaohs, Barnes & Noble, 1993, pp. 275-288.

15. Adams, Ibid., p. 480. Cf. Jon D. Levenson's insightful if not startling study, The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son: The Transformation of Child Sacrifice in Judaism and Christianity, Yale University Press, 1993.

16. A. Leo Oppenheim, "The Golden Garments of the Gods," in Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 8 (1949), p. 179.

17. Ibid., p. 179.

18. Alma P. Burton, "Endowment," in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, vol. 2. Cf. Blake T. Ostler, "Clothed Upon: A Unique Aspect of Christian Antiquity," in BYU Studies, Vol. 22, (1982) pp. 31-45 for discussion of endowments meaning to clothe with a garment. See also the excellent discussions of John Tvedtnes, "Priestly Clothing in Bible Times," in Donald W. Parry, ed., Temples of the Ancient World, Deseret/FARMS, 1994, pp. 649-704, and Stephen D. Ricks, "The Garment of Adam in Jewish, Muslim, and Christian Tradition," in Ibid., pp. 705-739. Also Hugh Nibley, "Sacred Vestments," in Don E. Norton, ed., Temple and Cosmos, Deseret/FARMS, 1992, pp. 91-138.

19. Oppenheim, Ibid., p. 180, note. also 181.

20. Oppenheim, Ibid., p. 185f, 187 note 25; Toorn & Horst, Ibid., p. 9, though they ultimately abandon the equation of Nimrod=Marduk.

21. Baring-Gould, Ibid., p. 165.

22. Hugh Nibley, Abraham in Egypt, Deseret Book, 1981, pp. 189f.

23. Hugh Nibley, "Patriarchy and Matriarchy," in John Welch, Gary P. Gillum, Don E. Norton, eds., Old Testament and Related Studies, Deseret Book/ FARMS, 1986, p. 95.

24. Oppenhaim, Ibid., p. 191.

25. Encyclopedia Judaica, p. 1167; See also Warren & Tvedtnes, Ibid., pp. 1-2.

26. Toorn & Horst, Ibid., p. 26.

27. Hugh Nibley, Lehi in the Deseret; The World of the Jaredites, Bookcraft, 1980, pp. 160-164.

28. Stephen D. Ricks, "The Garment of Adam in Jewish, Muslim, and Christian Tradition," in Parry, Ibid., p. 707f.

29. Ricks, Ibid., p. 711.

30. Ricks, Ibid., pp. 711f. Cf. John Tvedtnes, "Priestly Clothing in Bible Times," in Parry, Ibid., pp. 658f. Tvedtnes extends his ideas on the passing down of the garment to Moses, Joshua, Elijah and Elias, p. 662; Baring-Gould, Ibid., p. 164.

31. Ricks, Ibid., p. 729, n 41. The Light Garment in Egypt is also associated with the Wedjat-Eye, in J. Zandee, "Sargetexte, Spruch 75," in Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache, 1972, p. 55.

32. Charlesworth, Ibid., Vol. 1, Apocalypse of Abraham 13:14, p. 695.

33. Tvedtnes, Ibid., p. 657; Also see Hugh Nibley, An Approach to the Book of Mormon, Deseret Book, 1978, pp. 177-179, for the story of the torn garment of Joseph from the Medieval Tha' labi.

34. Hugh Nibley, "Beyond Politics," in Nibley on the Timely and Timeless, Truman G. Madsen, ed., Religious Studies Center, BYU, 1978, pp. 290f.

35. Toorn & Horst, Ibid., p. 28.

36. Pseudo-Philo 23:6, in Charlesworth, Ibid., vol. 2, p. 333.

37. Baring-Gould, Ibid., p. 185.

38. Baring-Gould, Ibid., p. 186. Hugh Nibley has discussed this doctrine of the two ways, in "The Expanding Gospel," in Temple and Cosmos, Norton, ed., pp. 195-199.