Lions, covenants, Enoch, and Alma

I noticed a really interesting Hebrew connection between lions and covenants. 

I was studying the use of the word lion in the Book of Moses and the Book of Mormon, and when I looked up the Old Testament words for lion, I noticed that one of them is closely related to the word for covenant!

Biblehub lists the following root (Strong's 3715):

kephir: young lion (כְּפִיר) 

Under the exhaustive concordance for this root, we find:

see HEBREW kaphar

The listing for kaphar includes two main definitions: "to cover" and "to make atonement for." As discussed in this post, the ancient Semitic concept of atonement has less to do with "paying a debt" and much more to do with covering, protecting, drawing close.  It is perfectly articulated in Nephi's exclamation: "O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness!" (2 Nephi 4:33)

The connection between lions and covenants has far reaching implications I am just beginning to understand.  One reference I studied suggested that the mane of the lion that covers its head may explain how its name is connected to the word for covering.  Perhaps so, but the scriptures seems to connect the lion with the power of covenants.

This is a study-topic-in-progress for me, but I'll offer what I think is a very clear example of how this enhances our understanding by comparing two passages which have been on my mind quite a bit lately.

Notice this description of Enoch and the people of God:

13 And so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of God, and their enemies came to battle against them; and he spake the word of the Lord, and the earth trembled, and the mountains fled, even according to his command; and the rivers of water were turned out of their course; and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness; and all nations feared greatly, so powerful was the word of Enoch, and so great was the power of the language which God had given him.

14 There also came up a land out of the depth of the sea, and so great was the fear of the enemies of the people of God, that they fled and stood afar off and went upon the land which came up out of the depth of the sea. (Moses 7)

The people of God have been given tremendous power in the form of "the word" and "the language which God had given them." I believe this is a clear reference to temple covenants.

Compare this to the description of Alma and Amulek at Ammonihah. There is so much going on symbolically in this passage. In order to organize and highlight all the various symbols, I'll number the main sequence of events in the storyline, summarized below in a list and then labelled in the actual text of the passage (Alma 14:24-29) below that. The color coding of the passage corresponds to matching symbols in the Enoch passage above.

Sequence of events in Alma 14:24-29

1. The wicked leaders taunt Alma and Amulek to use "the power of God" to "deliver [themselves]" from their captivity. 
2. Alma, filled with the power of God, stands and 
3. calls out for deliverance in the name of Christ. 
4. Immediately the cords are broken, 
5. the people begin to flee, 
6. fear of destruction fills them, and 
7. they fall to the earth, 
8. unable to escape the prison.
9. The earth shakes mightily
10. and they are covered (and killed) by the tumbling ruins of the prison.  
11. Alma and Amulek come forth unharmed. 
12. "[F]or the Lord had granted them power, according to their faith which was in Christ."
13. Hearing the noise, multitudes come running to see what happened, 
14. only to find Alma and Amulek freed, 
15. which causes them to be struck with great fear and 
16. flee from their presence "as a goat fleeth with her young from two lions."

Alma 14:24-29 (Numbered according to the sequence of events immediately above and color-coded with themes from Moses 7 quoted above that)

And the chief judge stood before them, and smote them again, and said unto them: 

(1) If ye have the power of God deliver yourselves from these bands, and then we will believe that the Lord will destroy this people according to your words. 

And it came to pass that they all went forth and smote them, saying the same words, even until the last; and when the last had spoken unto them 

(2) the power of God was upon Alma and Amulek, and they rose and stood upon their feet. 

(3) And Alma cried, saying: How long shall we suffer these great afflictions, O Lord? O Lord, give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance. 

(4) And they broke the cords with which they were bound; 

(5) and when the people saw this, they began to flee, 

(6) for the fear of destruction had come upon them. 

And it came to pass that so great was their fear that 

(7) they fell to the earth, 

(8) and did not obtain the outer door of the prison; 

(9) and the earth shook mightily, 

(10) and the walls of the prison were rent in twain, so that they fell to the earth; and the chief judge, and the lawyers, and priests, and teachers, who smote upon Alma and Amulek, were slain by the fall thereof. 

(11) And Alma and Amulek came forth out of the prison, and they were not hurt; 

(12) for the Lord had granted unto them power, according to their faith which was in Christ. 

And they straightway came forth out of the prison; and they were loosed from their bands; and the prison had fallen to the earth, and every soul within the walls thereof, save it were Alma and Amulek, was slain; and they straightway came forth into the city. 

(13) Now the people having heard a great noise came running together by multitudes to know the cause of it; 

(14) and when they saw Alma and Amulek coming forth out of the prison, 

and the walls thereof had fallen to the earth, 

(15) they were struck with great fear, 

(16) and fled from the presence of Alma and Amulek even as a goat fleeth with her young from two lions; 

and thus they did flee from the presence of Alma and Amulek. (Alma 14)

Stisa has already pointed out the irony embedded in the fate of the leaders in Ammonihah. Mormon adds an additional layer of depth in the narrative by adding in elements of Enoch into the story.  It's a great illustration of the intricacy and complexity of the Book of Mormon text.

Mormon also contrasts the faith of the people of God with the fear of the enemies of God in this passage.  This is a consistent theme through his writings.  I've previously pointed out Mormon's intentional contrasting of faith and good/holy works of righteousness with fear and secret works of darkness. These are major themes which are sometimes overtly stated and other times very subtly emphasized.

The symbolic significance of lions

Of course this is not an exhaustive list of examples of the word "lion" showing up in the scriptures.  Many other examples can be found, and other Hebrew roots can be translated into the word lion.  What I find significant is that both Enoch's "people of God" and Alma and Amulek are very deliberately shown to be powerful -- more powerful than the elements of the creation itself -- in passages where their strength is also compared to lions.  The fact that the covenant is mediated by Christ and their power is specifically attributed to their faith in Christ is certainly no coincidence.

There are several related examples in the Old Testament which seem to hover around these same themes but are less clear.  Additionally, there are ten other instances of "lion" being used in the Book of Mormon in a variety of contexts. I am studying them and learning more about how scholars interpret these passages, As I find relevant concepts, I'll share them in future posts. I'd like to close this post with the only example of "lion" I could find in the Doctrine and Covenants, which beautifully captures the overarching sentiment I'm outlining here:

4 And although their influence shall cast thee into trouble, and into bars and walls, thou shalt be had in honor; and but for a small moment and thy voice shall be more terrible in the midst of thine enemies than the fierce lion, because of thy righteousness; and thy God shall stand by thee forever and ever. (D&C 122)