An amazing parallel occurs in the accounts of Abraham in Egypt (Gen. 12:14-20) . This portion of the Book of Abraham is not directly available to us, but is represented by Facsimile 3 which is generally described in the “Explanation” as “Abraham is reasoning upon the principles of Astronomy, in the king’s court”
No parallel to this event occurs in Genesis 12. However in the Genesis Apocryphon parallel to Gen. 12:14 we read:
…] Sarai to go to Zoan [with me, for she was v]ery [careful] with her person so that no [one] would see her […]. But after those five years, three men who were princes of Egypt [came … …] of Pharaoh Zoa[n] about my affairs and about my wife, and they presented [me numerous gifts and aske]d m[e to teach them] values, wisdom, and truth. So I read in their presence the [book of] the words of [En]och [… … …] in the famine which [… … 1 ½ lines garbled … …] with much eating and [much] drinking [… … ] wine [… … … remainder of column, approximately 6-7 lines, lost … …
Though the scroll is damaged, this certainly creates a likely setting for Facsimile 3. The parallel is even more meaningful when one realizes that one of the five sections of the Book of Enoch is the Astronomical section! So this very easily could include Abraham teaching the principles of astronomy in the court of the King of Egypt.
One final parallel between these two documents is the inclusion of an individual who is an important official to Pharaoh. In the Genesis Apocryphon this person is named הרקנוס which seems to be the name “Hyrcanus.” If this Abraham account is authentic, then this name must be a revision, since it is a Greek name meaning “crane”. Facsimile 3 of the Book of Abraham mentions “Shulem, one of the king’s principal waiters.” Could the Genesis Apocryphon’s “Hyrcanus” originally have been “Shulem”?
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