Wouldn’t it have been odd for Joseph Smith to think Abraham taught astronomy?

The Book of Abraham claims that Abraham taught astronomy which would have seemed odd to those in Joseph Smith’s day. 

Jeff Lindsay notes how many ancient texts support this part of the story:

• The writings of Josephus
• The writings of the Jewish writer, Artapanus
• The writings of Eupolemus
• The Babylonian Talmud
• The Chronicles of Jerahmeel
• The writings of George Syncellus, a Byzantine scholar
• The Clementine Recognitions
• The writings of Ioannes Zonaras, a twelfth-century Byzantine historian and monk
• The writings of Michael Glycas, a Byzantine historian of the twelfth century
• The writings of Alcuin, a deacon in the eighth century
• The writings of Symeon Logothetes
• The writings of Vettius Valens

How did Joseph Smith know about Abraham’s dealings with astronomy? What evidence is there that Joseph was reading Josephus?

See:

• Jeff Lindsay – Questions about the Book of Abraham, Part 3: Does It Agree with other Ancient Texts?

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