Texts

Temple Imagery in Psalm of Nephi

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I recently came across a quote by Hugh Nibley in which he said,

It has often been claimed that the Book of Mormon cannot contain the ‘fullness of the gospel,’ since it does not have temple ordinances. As a matter of fact, they are everywhere in the book if we know where to look for them, and the dozen or so discourses on the Atonement in the Book of Mormon are replete with temple imagery. (Nibley, Approaching Zion, 566-67)

There are probably many more references to the temple in the Book of Mormon than we initially realize. Over the last few days I’ve pondered that, and wondered how many times I might see temple imagery in the Book of Mormon as I read. [Read more…]

Temple Imagery in the Book of Mormon

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Journey’s End - Derek Hegsted

Journey’s End - Derek Hegsted

The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship website has shared a quote from Hugh Nibley on their homepage today:

The word atonement appears only once in the New Testament, but 127 times in the Old Testament. . . . In the other Standard Works of the Church, atonement (including related terms atone, atoned, atoneth, atoning) appears 44 times, but only 3 times in the Doctrine and Covenants, and twice in the Pearl of Great Price. The other 39 times are all in the Book of Mormon. This puts the Book of Mormon in the milieu of the old Hebrew rites before the destruction of Solomon’s Temple, for after that the Ark and the covering (kapporeth) no longer existed, but the Holy of Holies was still called the bait ha-kapporeth. . . . It has often been claimed that the Book of Mormon cannot contain the ‘fullness of the gospel,’ since it does not have temple ordinances. As a matter of fact, they are everywhere in the book if we know where to look for them, and the dozen or so discourses on the Atonement in the Book of Mormon are replete with temple imagery. From all the meanings of kaphar and kippurim, we concluded that the literal meaning of kaphar and kippurim is a close and intimate embrace, which took place at the kapporeth, or the front cover or flap of the tabernacle or tent. The Book of Mormon instances are quite clear, for example, ‘Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you’ (Alma 5:33). ‘But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love’ (2 Nephi 1:15). To be redeemed is to be atoned. From this it should be clear what kind of oneness is meant by the Atonement—it is being received in a close embrace of the prodigal son. (Nibley, Approaching Zion, 566-67)

The Intercessory Prayer – Back to the Greek

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The great intercessory prayer of John 17 is one of the great treasures in all of holy scripture. Dr. Hugh Nibley has given us a pearl of knowledge concerning a reinterpretation of John 17:11 when Christ prayed to the Father, going back to the Greek text in which this verse originally came to us:

As Jesus himself prayed on the eve of his crucifixion: “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17:24.) They are going back to that premortal glory. “And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may bein them, and I in them.” ( John 17:26.)

“Holy Father, keep [tereo] through thine own name those whom thou hast given me,” reads John 17:11 in the King James Version; but in the Greek text, there is no direct object “whom,” and the word tereo can mean to “test by observation or trial” ((Liddell and Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, p. 1789)). Instead, we have an instrumental dative, so in the spirit of Article of Faith 8, this verse could read, “Holy Father, [test them on] thine own name [with which] thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are one.” This takes us back to the kapporet, for only the high priest knew the name which he whispered for admission through the temple veil on the Day of Atonement. ((Nibley, Hugh W. “The Atonement of Jesus Christ, Part 1”, Ensign, July 1990, 18))

A Flaming Sword?

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Egyptian tree of life

Egyptian tree of life

When God drove Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, he placed cherubim and a flaming sword to keep the way to the tree of life (Genesis 3:24). The Bible tells us very little about these symbols that were set to guard the way to the tree of life. Cherubim are commonly known as symbols for angels, or heavenly beings. But what is the flaming sword? What is its meaning?

Fortunately, God has given us the Book of Mormon, which has an extensive vision of the tree of life, which might help us understand what the flaming sword might mean. Bruce Webster has an excellent post over at Adventures in Mormonism about the potential symbolism of the flaming sword. Taking into account a possible typographical error in the text as discovered by Royal Skousen, Bruce says:

Combining Nephi’s descriptions of his (and Lehi’s) vision of the Tree of Life, we have ‘the justice of God’ represented as both a sword and a flaming fire — combined, a flaming sword — and in both cases keeping the Tree of Life from those who choose the world (the ‘great and spacious building’) instead of coming to the Tree of Life on God’s terms. . . .

What is perhaps more interesting is that we get through this vision an interpretation of the ‘flaming sword’ mentioned in Genesis — the justice of God, which prevents us in our willful state from approaching the Tree of Life. What the rest of Nephi’s vision tells us is that it is the love and condescension of God that gives us a path (’strait and narrow’) and a guide (’a rod of iron’) by which we can come and partake of the Tree of Life and thus enter back into God’s presence.

Andrew Miller also has some good commentary about this.

King David’s cry in Psalms 54:2

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King David at Prayer - Late 15th Century

King David at Prayer - Late 15th Century

“Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth” (Psalms 54:2).

Dr. Nibley indicates that this type of prayer or “cry of distress” by David is similar in tone to the words of the Lord on the cross when He said, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34; The Early Christian Prayer Circle, Mormonism and Early Christianity, 58-59). But this is not the only place this type of supplication is given. There are dozens of Psalms which begin the prayer with this same pattern, indicating what appears to be a “specific set of words that accompanied certain Hebrew prayers” (Matthew Brown, The Gate of Heaven, 149):

  • Psalms 4:1 – “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness . . . hear my prayer.”
  • Psalms 5:1 -“Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.”
  • Psalms 13:3 – “Consider and hear me, O Lord my God . . . “
  • Psalms 17:1 – “Hear the right, O Lord, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.”
  • Psalms 28:2 – “Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.”

    • [Read more…]