In Abraham 3, Abraham received a Urim and Thummim, meaning lights and perfections in Hebrew, and since a Urim and Thummim was worn by the High Priest in the Tabernacle and later in the temple, it has ties to the temple.
“And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the Lord: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually.” (Exodus 28:30)
We shouldn’t be surprised that most of this chapter deals with stars or that Abraham received revelations regarding the stars while sojourning in Egypt. Ancient Egyptian tombs often featured star maps on the ceilings. These maps depicted the stars that were believed to guide the deceased through the afterlife, ensuring safe passage to the gods. And many temples were constructed with astronomical precision, aligning with specific stars or constellations. For example, the Temple of Karnak was built with a special alignment to mark the sunrise on the solstice (see traveljoyegypt.com).
This is where we get the concept of the Lord’s reckoning of time. One day on Kolob equals a thousand years on earth. Then the Lord begins a discussion comparing the greatness of stars, or one star being above another, with Godly intelligence and our premortal existence as intelligences.
This brings an important symbol into play. Stars symbolize members of a premortal Divine Council, even a council among the Gods. The Pearl of Great Price was not arranged into chapters and verses until 1902. The Book of Abraham was translated from papyrus by Joseph Smith, so it would read like a continuous scroll. Later in chapter 3, the focus is on a premortal council where rulers and others with foreordained missions were “chosen before (they) were born.” “And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell. And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them” (verses 24,25). Skipping over to chapter 4 we read, “And they (the Gods) said: Let there be light; and there was light. And they (the Gods) comprehended the light, for it was bright; and they divided the light, or caused it to be divided, from the darkness” (verses 3-4). But who are they? They are the same they and them in chapter 3. It begs the question, what role did you play in planning and creation? And how did you exercise your agency before you were born?
Let’s dive a little deeper into the comparison of stars with intelligences. The stars represent members of a Divine Council. The Book of Mormon opens with Lehi being carried away in a heavenly vision, or a theophany:
“And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a vision, even that he saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.
And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day.
And he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament.” (1 Nephi 1:8-10).
Jesus Christ has a luster above the sun at noon-day, and the twelve apostles are compared with the stars in the firmament.
God asks Job about his premortal experience “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:7). And Isaiah poetically describes Lucifer’s pride and rebellion and his desire to be exalted over everyone else:
“For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north.” (Isaiah 14:13). The Babylonians had a belief that their gods would descend from the north.
The Lord said to Abraham, “This is Shinehah, which is the sun. And he said unto me: Kokob, which is star. And he said unto me: Olea, which is the moon. And he said unto me: Kokaubeam, which signifies stars, or all the great lights, which were in the firmament of heaven.” (verse 13). The Hebrew word for star is kowkab, but Hebrew is usually only written with consonants omitting the vowels. Thus, kokob, kokaubeam, and kowkab would all be written as kkb in the singular. Kōkābīm (or kokaubeam) is plural for kokob.
In the temple we are taught the entire plan of salvation, including premortal, mortal, and postmortal life. We make covenants that allow us to become like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and thus obtain eternal life with Them.