The Book of Moses, dictated by
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...
, is part of the
scriptural canon
Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...
for some in the
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...
. The book begins with the "Visions of Moses," a prologue to the story of
the creation and the
fall of man
The fall of man, the fall of Adam, or simply the Fall, is a term used in Christianity to describe the transition of the first man and woman from a state of innocent obedience to God in Christianity, God to a state of guilty disobedience.
*
*
*
* ...
(Moses chapter 1), and continues with material corresponding to the
Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible
The Joseph Smith Translation (JST), also called the Inspired Version of the Holy Scriptures (IV), is a revision of the Bible by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, who said that the JST/IV was intended to restore what ...
's (JST) first six chapters of the
Book of Genesis
The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning") ...
(Moses chapters 2–5, 8), interrupted by two chapters of "extracts from the prophecy of Enoch" (Moses chapters 6–7).
Robert J. Matthews
Robert James Matthews (12 September 1926 – 30 August 2009) was a Latter-day Saint religious educator and scholar, teaching in the departments of Ancient Scripture and Religious Education at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah.
Beginn ...
"How We Got the Book of Moses"
''Ensign
An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
'', January 1986.
Portions of the Book of Moses were originally published separately by
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
(LDS Church) in 1851, but later combined and published as the Book of Moses in the
Pearl of Great Price, one of the four books of its
scriptural canon
Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...
. The same material is published by the
Community of Christ
The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The churc ...
as parts of its
Doctrine and Covenants
The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Chur ...
and
Inspired Version of the Bible.
Origin
In June 1830, Smith began a new
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
translation that was intended to restore "many important points touching the salvation of men,
hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
had been taken from the Bible, or lost before it was compiled." The chapters that now make up the Book of Moses were first published in the church newspapers ''
Evening and Morning Star
''The Evening and the Morning Star'' was an early Latter Day Saint movement newspaper published monthly in Independence, Missouri, from June 1832 to July 1833, and then in Kirtland, Ohio, from December 1833 to September 1834. Reprints of edited ...
'' and ''
Times and Seasons
''Times and Seasons'' was a 19th-century Latter Day Saint newspaper published at Nauvoo, Illinois. It was printed monthly or twice-monthly from November 1839 to February 1846. The motto of the paper was "Truth will prevail," which was printed u ...
'' in the 1830s and 1840s.
Publication by the LDS Church
The Book of Moses is considered part of the scriptural canon of the LDS Church. The eight chapters of the Book of Moses were included as a separate book within the
Pearl of Great Price through a series of events subsequent to Smith's death.
Franklin D. Richards, who published the first edition of the Pearl of Great Price in 1851, only had access to the early versions of the JST found in church newspapers along with another incomplete handwritten part of JST Genesis, not the original manuscripts. For this reason the Book of Moses ended abruptly in the middle of the story of Noah. Richards published everything he had at the time, and what is now the Book of Moses was later added by
Orson Pratt
Orson Pratt Sr. (September 19, 1811 – October 3, 1881) was an American mathematician and religious leader who was an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints). He became a member of the ...
in the 1878 edition of the Pearl of Great Price.
[ The Pearl of Great Price, including the Book of Moses, was officially canonized by the LDS Church in 1880.
]
Publication by the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The churc ...
(RLDS Church, now the Community of Christ
The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The churc ...
) began publishing portions of the Book of Moses in its canonical Doctrine and Covenants
The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Chur ...
(D&C) in 1864. Section 22 of the D&C contains Moses chapter 1, and section 36 contains Moses chapter 7. The inclusion of these excerpts in the Doctrine and Covenants was officially approved by the RLDS Church in 1970.
The RLDS Church began publishing the complete Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible
The Joseph Smith Translation (JST), also called the Inspired Version of the Holy Scriptures (IV), is a revision of the Bible by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, who said that the JST/IV was intended to restore what ...
in 1867 (giving it the name "The Holy Scriptures" and more commonly known as the "Inspired Version"); the portions of the Book of Moses that are not contained in the RLDS Church's D&C are contained within this larger translation.
Synopsis and ancient parallels
Moses 1
* Moses 1: The events described in Moses 1 are portrayed as taking place sometime after Jehovah spoke to Moses out of the burning bush
The burning bush (or the unburnt bush) refers to an event recorded in the Jewish Torah (as also in the biblical Old Testament). It is described in the third chapter of the Book of Exodus as having occurred on Mount Horeb. According to the bib ...
but before Moses had returned to Egypt to deliver the children of Israel (See Exodus 4:27). The details of Moses' experience in chapter 1 place it squarely in the tradition of ancient " heavenly ascent" literature (e.g., the pseudepigraphal Apocalypse of Abraham
The ''Apocalypse of Abraham'' is a pseudepigraphic work (a text whose claimed authorship is uncertain) based on the Old Testament. Probably composed between about 70–150 AD from earlier writings and tradition, it is of Jewish origin and is usuall ...
) and its relationship to temple theology, rites, and ordinances. Following a brief prologue, Moses is given a description of God's majesty and a confirmation of the work to which he had previously been foreordained as a "son of God." He is then shown the "world upon which he was created" and "all the children of men which are, and which were created." Then, having gone out the presence of God and no longer being clothed with His glory, Moses falls to the earth. He is then left to himself to be tested in a dramatic encounter with Satan
Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...
. Having banished Satan through the power of the Only Begotten, Moses is "filled with the Holy Ghost." He "calls upon the name of God" in prayer, and is answered by a voice enumerating specific blessings. While "the voice is still speaking," Moses beholds every particle of the earth and all of its inhabitants. The culminating sequence begins in verse 31 when Moses, having continued to inquire of the Lord, returns to his presence. God then speaks with Moses face to face, describing his purposes for this earth and its inhabitants ("this is my work and my glory: to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" Moses 1:39). Finally, the chapter closes with an allusion referring to Smith's restoration of the lost words of scripture (echoing a similar prophecy in the pseudepigraphal 2 Enoch
The Second Book of Enoch (abbreviated as 2 Enoch and also known as Slavonic Enoch, Slavic Enoch or Secrets of Enoch) is a pseudepigraphic text in the apocalyptic genre. It describes the ascent of the patriarch Enoch, ancestor of Noah, through ten ...
35:1–2), and stating that these words are to be shown only to those that believe (paralleling the pseudepigraphal 4 Ezra
2 Esdras (also called 4 Esdras, Latin Esdras, or Latin Ezra) is an apocalyptic book in some English versions of the Bible. Tradition ascribes it to Ezra, a scribe and priest of the , but scholarship places its composition between 70 and .
It ...
14:6, 45–47). Then follows a vision outlining the creation, the fall of man
The fall of man, the fall of Adam, or simply the Fall, is a term used in Christianity to describe the transition of the first man and woman from a state of innocent obedience to God in Christianity, God to a state of guilty disobedience.
*
*
*
* ...
, and subsequent events in the lives of Adam and Eve and their descendants. This is consistent with ancient Jewish sources which affirm that Moses saw these events in vision.
Moses 2–8
Moses 2–8 generally follow the first chapters of the Book of Genesis
The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning") ...
, but often provide alternative interpretations of the text or significant additional detail not found in the Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
. Among the notable differences are the following:
Moses 2
(cf
Genesis 1
: A brief prologue affirming that the account derives from the words of God directly to Moses is added in verse 1. The repetition of the phrase "I, God" throughout the chapter also emphasizes the purported firsthand nature of the account. The idea that all things were created "by mine Only Begotten" (i.e., Jesus Christ, in his premortal state) is made clear, as is the Son's identity as the co-creator at the time when God said "Let us make man." Otherwise, the structure and basic premises of the Genesis account of the Creation are left intact. While following generally similar schemas, the two later versions of the creation story given in the Book of Abraham
The Book of Abraham is a collection of writings claimed to be from several Egyptian scrolls discovered in the early 19th century during an archeological expedition by Antonio Lebolo. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purc ...
and in the temple endowment are replete with additional changes—some subtle and others stunning—that give new perspectives on the events portrayed.
Moses 3
(cf
Genesis 2
: The Book of Moses explains the meaning of verse 5 in terms of the LDS idea of a ''spiritual'' creation. God explains that He: "''created all things … spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth.'' For ''I,'' the Lord God, had not caused it to rain upon the face of the earth. ''And I, the Lord God, had created all the children of men; and'' not ''yet'' a man to till the ground; ''for in heaven created I them; and there was not yet flesh upon the earth, neither in the water, neither in the air'' (additions italicized). Consistent with this concept, some ancient sources assert that the heavenly hosts—variously described as including the angels, the sons of God, and/or the souls of humanity—were part of the light that appeared on day one of creation. Verse 17 is expanded in a way that reinforces the LDS teaching that Adam and Eve were placed in a situation where they were required to exercise freedom of choice in order to continue their progression through the experience of earth life As in the Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
, the transgression of Adam and Eve that led to their coming to earth is seen as a positive and necessary step that would provide the preparatory schooling they needed for an eventual glorious return to heaven.
Moses 4
(cf
: Four verses are added to the beginning of the Genesis version of this chapter, interrupting the flow of the story to give an account of heavenly councils where the nature and purposes of creation were discussed and decided. These verses echo stories in Jewish midrash
''Midrash'' (;["midrash"]
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
recording that God "took counsel with the souls of the righteous before creating the world" A summary of the story of Satan's fall from heaven is also given. Like the Quran, and in contrast to Genesis, the corresponding accounts of Satan's rebellion and Adam and Eve's fall form a "single, continuous story."
Moses 5
(cf
: The Book of Moses adds fifteen verses to the beginning of the Genesis account. Verses 1–6 highlight the obedience of Adam and Eve by enumerating their faithfulness to each of the commandments they had been given. Adam and Eve began to "till the earth, and to have dominion over all the beasts of the field, and to eat his bread by the sweat of his brow." Likewise Eve fulfilled the commission she had received in the Garden of Eden and "bare … sons and daughters, and they began to replenish the earth." Moreover, "Adam was obedient to the commandments of the Lord" to "offer the firstlings of their flocks" for "many days," despite the fact that he did not yet fully understand the reason why he had been thus commanded. The period of testing for Adam involving "many days" mentioned in the Book of Moses corresponds to the "testing" of the first couple described in pseudepigraphal
Pseudepigrapha (also :wikt:anglicized, anglicized as "pseudepigraph" or "pseudepigraphs") are false attribution, falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure ...
accounts such as the Life of Adam and Eve
The ''Life of Adam and Eve'', also known in its Greek version as the ''Apocalypse of Moses'' (, ''Apokalypsis Mōuseōs''; Hebrew: ספר אדם וחוה), is a Jewish apocryphal group of writings. It recounts the lives of Adam and Eve from aft ...
. Also recalling parallels in these ancient stories is the book of Moses account of how Adam and Eve's enduring obedience is rewarded by the announcement of their redemption through the eventual sacrifice of the son of God (vv. 6–13). In light of this extended prologue extolling the virtue of obedience and the promise of redemption, the Book of Moses' expanded story of Cain's rebellion and murder of his brother Abel appears in even starker relief. Cain's murderous pact with Satan is portrayed as the foundation of "secret combinations" that later flourish among the wicked, and provide a plausible context for the more fragmentary Genesis account of Lamech's slaying of his rival. The chapter ends with the declaration that "all things were confirmed unto Adam, by an holy ordinance, and the Gospel preached, and a decree sent forth, that it should be in the world, until the end thereof."
Moses 6
(cf
: Expansions in the early part of the chapter further describe the story of the righteous Seth
Seth,; el, Σήθ ''Sḗth''; ; "placed", "appointed") in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mandaeism, and Sethianism, was the third son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, their only other child mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bible. A ...
. The "genealogy" of his descendants are said to be kept in a "book of remembrance." Jewish and Islamic sources describe a similar book, intended to preserve "the primordial wisdom of paradise for Adam and his generations" and also "the genealogy of the entire human race". Moses chapter 6 contains the story of the call and preaching of Enoch
Enoch () ''Henṓkh''; ar, أَخْنُوخ ', Qur'ān.html"_;"title="ommonly_in_Qur'ān">ommonly_in_Qur'ānic_literature__'_is_a_biblical_figure_and_Patriarchs_(Bible).html" "title="Qur'ānic_literature.html" ;"title="Qur'ān.html" ;"title="o ...
. Though the biblical account of Enoch's life occupies only two verses, his story fills most of chapter 6 and all of chapter 7 of the book of Moses. Extended accounts of the experiences of Enoch, which contain surprising parallels with the Book of Moses (particularly in Qumran's Enochic ''Book of Giants
The ''Book of Giants'' is an apocryphal Jewish book which expands upon the Genesis narrative of the Hebrew Bible, in a similar manner to the Book of Enoch. Together with this latter work, the ''Book of Giants'' "stands as an attempt to explain h ...
''), also circulated widely in Second Temple Judaism
Second Temple Judaism refers to the Jewish religion as it developed during the Second Temple period, which began with the construction of the Second Temple around 516 BCE and ended with the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE.
The Second Temple pe ...
and early Christianity.[ Jeffrey M. Bradshaw and David J. Larsen]
"Ancient Affinities within the LDS Book of Enoch Part One"
'' Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture'', 4 (2013), 1–27. Some of the most significant resemblances in Moses chapter 6 are found not in 1 Enoch, but in related pseudepigrapha published after the death of Joseph Smith such as the Second Book of Enoch
The Second Book of Enoch (abbreviated as 2 Enoch and also known as Slavonic Enoch, Slavic Enoch or Secrets of Enoch) is a pseudepigraphic text in the apocalyptic genre. It describes the ascent of the patriarch Enoch, ancestor of Noah, through ten ...
(first published at the end of the 19th century), 3 Enoch
The Third Book of Enoch ( he, ספר חנוך לר׳ ישמעאל כ׳׳ג , abbreviated as 3 Enoch) is a Biblical apocryphal book in Hebrew. 3 Enoch purports to have been written in the 2nd century, but its origins can only be traced to the 5th c ...
(first widely circulated translation was by Odeberg in 1928), but especially in the intriguing elaborations of the Qumranic ''Book of Giants
The ''Book of Giants'' is an apocryphal Jewish book which expands upon the Genesis narrative of the Hebrew Bible, in a similar manner to the Book of Enoch. Together with this latter work, the ''Book of Giants'' "stands as an attempt to explain h ...
'' (discovered in 1948). As an example of parallels with Second Book of Enoch
The Second Book of Enoch (abbreviated as 2 Enoch and also known as Slavonic Enoch, Slavic Enoch or Secrets of Enoch) is a pseudepigraphic text in the apocalyptic genre. It describes the ascent of the patriarch Enoch, ancestor of Noah, through ten ...
and 3 Enoch
The Third Book of Enoch ( he, ספר חנוך לר׳ ישמעאל כ׳׳ג , abbreviated as 3 Enoch) is a Biblical apocryphal book in Hebrew. 3 Enoch purports to have been written in the 2nd century, but its origins can only be traced to the 5th c ...
, Moses 6:31 calls the 65-year-old Enoch a "lad" (the only use of this term in LDS scripture), corresponding to the somewhat puzzling use of this term to describe Enoch/Metatron in, e.g., 2 Enoch 10:4 and 3 Enoch 3:2, 4:2, and 4:10.Hugh Nibley
Hugh Winder Nibley (March 27, 1910 – February 24, 2005) was an American scholar and an apologist of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who was a professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) for nearly 50 years. He was a ...
, http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=53&chapid=484 . Speaking of a reference to "lad" in the Second Book of Enoch
The Second Book of Enoch (abbreviated as 2 Enoch and also known as Slavonic Enoch, Slavic Enoch or Secrets of Enoch) is a pseudepigraphic text in the apocalyptic genre. It describes the ascent of the patriarch Enoch, ancestor of Noah, through ten ...
, non-Mormon scholar Gary Anderson writes: "The acclamation of Enoch as 'lad' is curious .… It is worth noting that of all the names given Enoch, the title 'lad' is singled out as being particularly apt and fitting by the heavenly host." With regard to the Book of the Giants the parallels with the Enoch chapters in the Book of Moses are concentrated in a scant three pages of Qumran fragments. These resemblances range from general themes in the story line (secret works, murders, visions, earthly and heavenly books of remembrance that evoke fear and trembling, moral corruption, hope held out for repentance, and the eventual defeat of Enoch's adversaries in battle, ending with their utter destruction and imprisonment) to specific occurrences of rare expressions in corresponding contexts (the reference to the "wild man," the name and parallel role of Mahijah/Mahujah, and the "roar of the wild beasts").
Moses 7
This chapter continues the story of Enoch's preaching, including a vision of the "Son of Man"—a favorite motif in pseudepigraphal Book of Parables in 1 Enoch that also appears in marked density throughout the Book of Moses vision of Enoch. "Chosen One" "Anointed One", and "Righteous One" that appear prominently both in 1 Enoch and the LDS Enoch story. After considering the sometimes contentious debate among scholars about the single or multiple referent(s) of these titles and their relationship to other texts, Nickelsburg and VanderKam conclude that the author of 1 Enoch (like the author of the Book of Moses) "saw the … traditional figures as having a single referent and applied the various designations and characteristics as seemed appropriate to him."[Nickelsburg, George W. E., and James C. VanderKam, eds. ''1 Enoch 2: A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch, Chapters 37–82''. Hermeneia: A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press, 2012, p. 119.] Consistent with texts found at Nag Hammadi, Smith's Enoch straightforwardly equates the filial relationship between God and His Only Begotten Son in the New Testament to the Enochic notion of the perfect Man and the Son of Man: "Man of Holiness is od’sname, and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, a righteous Judge, who shall come in the meridian of time" (Moses 6:57). The single specific description of the role of the Son of Man given in this verse from the book of Moses as a "righteous judge" is highly characteristic of the Book of the Parables within 1 Enoch, where the primary role of the Son of Man is also that of a judge (e.g., 1 Enoch 69:27. Cf. John 5:27)." In a vision of Enoch found in the book of Moses, three distinct parties weep for the wickedness of mankind: God (Moses 7:28; cf. v. 29), the heavens (Moses 7:28, 37), and Enoch himself (Moses 7:41, 49). In addition, the earth mourns for her children (Moses 7:48–49). This chorus of weeping is consistent with the ancient Enoch literature. Moses chapter 7 concludes with the story of how Enoch gathered the righteous into a city he called Zion that was taken to heaven, a story whose ancient parallels have been explored by David J. Larsen.
Moses 8
(cf
: Additional details are given about the story of Methuselah
Methuselah () ( he, מְתוּשֶׁלַח ''Məṯūšélaḥ'', in pausa ''Məṯūšālaḥ'', "His death shall send" or "Man of the javelin" or "Death of Sword";
gr, Μαθουσάλας ''Mathousalas'') was a biblical patriarch and a ...
and the preaching of Noah, again stressing the coming of Jesus Christ and the necessity of baptism
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
. The term, "sons of God," as it occurs in the enigmatic episode of mismatched marriages in the Bible (Genesis 6:1) and relating to passages in 1 Enoch 6–7 about the " Watchers" has been the source of controversy among scholars. Contradicting traditions that depict these husbands as fallen angels, the Book of Moses (Moses 8:13–15) is consistent with early Christian traditions that portray them as mere mortals who lay claim on the title of sons of God by virtue of their priesthood (see Moses 6:64–68). The Book of Moses ends abruptly just before the flood of Noah
The Genesis flood narrative (chapters 6–9 of the Book of Genesis) is the Hebrew version of the universal flood myth. It tells of God's decision to return the universe to its pre- creation state of watery chaos and remake it through the microc ...
, but the story continues in the remainder of the JST version of Genesis.
Scholarship
In contrast to numerous scholarly analyses of Smith's translations of the Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude date ...
and the Book of Abraham
The Book of Abraham is a collection of writings claimed to be from several Egyptian scrolls discovered in the early 19th century during an archeological expedition by Antonio Lebolo. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purc ...
that began to appear in the 19th century, explorations of the textual foundations of the JST began in earnest only in the 1960s, with the pioneering work of the RLDS
The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The churc ...
scholar Richard P. Howard
Richard P. Howard is an American historian emeritus of Community of Christ, having served as world church historian of that organization (previously named the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) from 1966–1994. He was the ...
and the LDS scholar Robert J. Matthews
Robert James Matthews (12 September 1926 – 30 August 2009) was a Latter-day Saint religious educator and scholar, teaching in the departments of Ancient Scripture and Religious Education at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah.
Beginn ...
. A facsimile transcription of all the original manuscripts of the JST was at last published in 2004. Among other studies of the JST, Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
Professor Kent P. Jackson
Kent Phillips Jackson (born 1949) is an American scholar who was a professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University (BYU). He has written on Joseph Smith's Joseph Smith Translation, translation of and commentary on the Bible.
Early life ...
, a longtime student of these topics, prepared a detailed study of the text of the portions of the JST relating to the Book of Moses in 2005.
Although several brief studies of the teachings of the Book of Moses had previously appeared as part of apologetic and doctrinally focused LDS commentaries on the Pearl of Great Price, the first detailed verse-by-verse commentary—and the first to incorporate significant amounts of modern non-LDS Bible scholarship—was published by Richard D. Draper, S. Kent Brown, and Michael D. Rhodes
Michael Dennis RhodesMiddle name from (born 1946) is an associate professor of ancient scripture emeritus, formerly at Brigham Young University (BYU). Rhodes is an Egyptologist who has published a translation of some of the extant Joseph Smith p ...
in 2005.
In 2009, an 1100-page volume by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw was published, titled ''In God's Image and Likeness'', which contains a comprehensive commentary on Moses 1–6:12, and incorporates a wide range of scholarly perspectives and citations from ancient texts. The book features an extensive annotated bibliography on ancient sources and over a hundred relevant illustrations with detailed captions.
In his master's thesis, Salvatore Cirillo cites and amplifies the arguments of D. Michael Quinn
Dennis Michael Quinn (March 26, 1944 – April 21, 2021) was an American historian who focused on the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was a professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) from 1976 until ...
that the available evidence that Smith had access to published works related to 1 Enoch has moved "beyond probability—to fact." He concludes that there is no other explanation than this for the substantial similarities that he finds between the Book of Moses and the pseudepigraphal Enoch literature. However, reflecting on the "coincidence" of the appearance of the first English translation of 1 Enoch in 1821, just a few years before Smith received his Enoch revelations, Richard L. Bushman
Richard Lyman Bushman (June 20, 1931) is an American historian and Gouverneur Morris Professor Emeritus of History at Columbia University, having previously taught at Brigham Young University, Harvard University, Boston University, and the Univ ...
concludes: "It is scarcely conceivable that Joseph Smith knew of Laurence's Enoch translation." Perhaps even more significant is the fact that the principal themes of "Laurence’s 105 translated chapters do not resemble Joseph Smith’s Enoch in any obvious way." Apart from the shared prominence of the Son of Man motif in the 1 Enoch Book of the Parables and the Book of Moses and some common themes in Enoch's visions of Noah, the most striking resemblances to Smith's writings are found not in 1 Enoch, but in Enochic literature published after the Smith's death. As an impressive example of such post-mortem resemblances, Cirillo cites (but does not provide any explanation of provenance) for the Mahujah/Mahijah character in Qumran Book of the Giants and the Book of Moses.
As an alternative explanation for the Mahujah/Mahijah name and role in the Book of Moses, Matthew Black
Rev Matthew Black (3 September 1908, Kilmarnock – 2 October 1994, St Andrews) was a Scottish minister and biblical scholar. He was the first editor of the journal, ''New Testament Studies''.
Life
He was born in Kilmarnock the son of James Blac ...
formulated a hypothesis in a conversation reported by Mormon scholar Gordon C. Thomasson that "certain carefully clandestine groups had, up through the middle-ages, maintained, sub rosa, an esoteric religious tradition based in the writings of Enoch, at least into the time of and influencing Dante" and "that a member of one of the esoteric groups he had described previously must have survived into the 19th century, and hearing of Joseph Smith, must have brought the group’s Enoch texts to New York from Italy for the prophet to translate and publish."
John L. Brooke claims that Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon (February 19, 1793 – July 14, 1876) was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement.
Biography Early life
Rigdon was born in St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on February 19, 1793. He was ...
, among others, was a "conduit of Masonic lore during Joseph’s early years" and then goes on to make a set of claims connecting Mormonism and Masonry. These claims, including connections with the story of Enoch's pillars in Royal Arch Masonry, are disputed by Mormon scholars William J. Hamblin, et al. Non-Mormon scholar Stephen Webb agreed with Hamblin, et al., concluding that "actual evidence for any direct link between oseph Smith’stheology and the hermetic tradition is tenuous at best, and given that scholars vigorously debate whether hermeticism even constitutes a coherent and organized tradition, Brooke’s book should be read with a fair amount of skepticism."
Some non-Mormon scholars have signaled their appreciation of the significance of the Smith's translation efforts in light of ancient documents. Yale University critic of secular and sacred literature Harold Bloom
Harold Bloom (July 11, 1930 – October 14, 2019) was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was described as "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking wor ...
, who classes the Book of Moses and the Book of Abraham
The Book of Abraham is a collection of writings claimed to be from several Egyptian scrolls discovered in the early 19th century during an archeological expedition by Antonio Lebolo. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purc ...
among the "more surprising" and "neglected" works of LDS scripture, is intrigued by the fact that many of their themes are "strikingly akin to ancient suggestions" that essentially restate "the archaic or original Jewish religion, a Judaism that preceded even the Yahwist." While expressing "no judgment, one way or the other, upon the authenticity" of LDS scripture, he finds "enormous validity" in the way these writings "recapture … crucial elements in the archaic Jewish religion … that had ceased to be available either to normative Judaism or to Christianity, and that survived only in esoteric traditions unlikely to have touched Smith directly." With respect to any possibility that Smith could have drawn from ancient manuscripts in his writings, Bloom concludes: "I hardly think that written sources were necessary." Stephen Webb concludes that Smith "knew more about theology and philosophy than it was reasonable for anyone in his position to know, as if he were dipping into the deep, collective unconsciousness of Christianity with a very long pen."[Webb, Stephen H. ''Jesus Christ, Eternal God: Heavenly Flesh and the Metaphysics of Matter''. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2012, p. 253.]
Genealogy
The Book of Moses contains a detailed account of Adam
Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
's descendants. Genealogy from the Book of Abraham is shown below. Bold denotes individuals not from Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
. The names Egyptus
In Latter-day Saint theology, Egyptus () is the name of two women in the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price (Mormonism), Pearl of Great Price. One is the wife of Ham, son of Noah, who bears his children. The other is their daughter, who d ...
and Pharaoh
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the an ...
are not present in the Book of Moses, but they are mentioned in the Book of Abraham
The Book of Abraham is a collection of writings claimed to be from several Egyptian scrolls discovered in the early 19th century during an archeological expedition by Antonio Lebolo. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purc ...
, another book of Mormon scripture.
See also
*Book of Jubilees
The Book of Jubilees, sometimes called Lesser Genesis (Leptogenesis), is an ancient Jewish religious work of 50 chapters (1,341 verses), considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as well as Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews), where it is ...
* Scrolls of Moses
The Scrolls of Moses ( ''Ṣuḥuf Mūsā'') are an ancient body of scripture mentioned twice in the Quran. They are part of the religious scriptures of Islam, although now they are believed to have been corrupted or lost. These scriptures are un ...
Footnotes
References
External links
*
Images of Old Testament revision manuscript (including section canonized as the Book of Moses)
from the Joseph Smith Papers Project
''The Joseph Smith Papers'' (or Joseph Smith Papers Project) is a project researching, collecting, and publishing all manuscripts and documents created by, or under the direction of, Joseph Smith (1805-1844), the founder of the Latter Day Saint ...
website. Originals housed at Community of Christ Library-Archives.
{{Authority control
1830s books
1851 non-fiction books
1851 in Christianity
Cain and Abel
Creation myths
Enoch (ancestor of Noah)
Joseph Smith
Noah
Pearl of Great Price (Mormonism)
Satan
Texts attributed to Moses
Works by Joseph Smith
Works in the style of the King James Version
Mormonism and the Bible
Adam and Eve in Mormonism