Friday, January 3, 2020

Psalm 96, redaction, and the Tree of Life

In this series of posts (part 1 part 2 part 3), I outlined some of the things I've learned from Margaret Barker's Temple Theology and what impact it has on my understanding of the Book of Mormon.  In short, quite a bit.

One of the points she makes in that book is that adherents to the "Law of Moses tradition" (which largely rejected revelation and the need for a Messiah) altered the scriptural record to remove passages which supported the alternative "High Priestly tradition."

One such example is quite interesting. Justin Martyr (100-165 AD) was an early Christian writer. He created a written document titled Dialogue with Trypho, which details a debate with a contemporary Jew. Justin accuses the Jews of the day from altering Psalm 96:10 from its original reading:

"Say among the nations, the Lord ruleth by the wood,"
Barker prefers the translation of that last phrase as "from the tree."

Either way, this is an interesting claim, especially in the context of Nephi's vision of Christ:


21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?
22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things. (1 Nephi 11)

He is then shown a vision of Christ's mortal life, including his death on the cross:


32 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record.
33 And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world. (1 Nephi 11)

We also know that this tree of life was a central fixture in the Garden of Eden, and that the purpose of this life is to learn all those things that are necessary in order to return to partake of that tree.