The 8th day of creation?

Disclaimer: This post contains speculation as I think about some deep scriptural ideas. I'm merely fleshing out thoughts, not taking a definitive position about what I believe.

We all have a pretty good understanding of the six days of creation as recorded in Genesis 2 and Moses 2, followed by a day of rest.  The imagery is beautiful and the words are becoming increasingly familiar to me as I study them in multiple translations. I also look at the original Hebrew, too, and have posted many times about insights that come from that effort.

This post explores a question that came to me recently as I pondered the concept of tilling. Stisa and I have both posted about how often a covenant people are said to have tilled the land. (Here's a recent example from Stisa and here's an old example written by me.) As I pondered all of these examples, I thought about how it is said in Genesis that God "planted" a garden:

8 ¶ And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. (Genesis 2)

That led me to ask this question: When did God plant the garden? From Genesis 2:8, it seems clear the Garden was planted after the man was formed (though I'm the first to admit that thinking about these deeply symbolic stories with a linear timeline in mind is problematic), but it couldn't have been on the seventh day because we know He rested on that day (see Genesis 2:3). It's probably not technically sound to interpret these verses in this way. With that caveat in mind, I'll proceed.

I really like the symbolism of the 8th day of creation. This day of creation continues in some ways.  It is the "today" referred to by Christ:

23 Behold, now it is called today until the coming of the Son of Man, and verily it is a day of sacrifice, and a day for the tithing of my people; for he that is tithed shall not be burned at his coming.

24 For after today cometh the burning—this is speaking after the manner of the Lord—for verily I say, tomorrow all the proud and they that do wickedly shall be as stubble; and I will burn them up, for I am the Lord of Hosts; and I will not spare any that remain in Babylon.

25 Wherefore, if ye believe me, ye will labor while it is called today. (Doctrine & Covenants 64)

And by Jacob:

5 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I beseech of you in words of soberness that ye would repent, and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. And while his arm of mercy is extended towards you in the light of the day, harden not your hearts.

6 Yea, today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts; for why will ye die?

7 For behold, after ye have been nourished by the good word of God all the day long, will ye bring forth evil fruit, that ye must be hewn down and cast into the fire?

8 Behold, will ye reject these words? Will ye reject the words of the prophets; and will ye reject all the words which have been spoken concerning Christ, after so many have spoken concerning him; and deny the good word of Christ, and the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and quench the Holy Spirit, and make a mock of the great plan of redemption, which hath been laid for you? (Jacob 6)

"Planting" is a possible common link between these two passages and the Garden of Eden narrative. In Jacob 6, Jacob is explaining the extending allegory, which is rife with "planting" imagery. In Jacob 6:7, Jacob makes it clear that the covenant people are the plants He intends to "nourish" and "bring forth fruit."   In Doctrine & Covenants 64, by contrast, those who believe are commanded to "labor," similar to God's commandment in Genesis 2:15. 

I like this concept -- that the work of God's glory continues on the 8th day. This is the covenant process taking place on the earth -- in which those people in the fallen world who will hearken to the words of God's messengers voluntarily embark on the covenant path and remove the curse from the earth, converting barren wasteland back into the Garden of Eden.

The meaning of Hagoth

Hagoth is an interesting Book of Mormon character, who is introduced in Alma 63

And it came to pass that Hagoth, he being an exceedingly curious man, therefore he went forth and built him an exceedingly large ship, on the borders of the land Bountiful, by the land Desolation, and launched it forth into the west sea, by the narrow neck which led into the land northward. (Alma 63:5)

He seems to me to be introduced in a typical Jewish manner, where there is a name and then a characteristic explaining the name. In Israel, all names had a meaning and defined characteristics, attributes or major events in the life of the person bearing that name. In this case, "exceedingly curious" is declared his main characteristic after introducing him by name. This follows a common pattern where I would expect the meaning of his name to relate to this characteristic. 

The etymology of Book of Mormon names is not always easy since they are an English transliteration of a language that is largely unknown except for the fact that it is related to Hebrew and probably spelled with script similar to Hieratic. But the Book of Mormon Onomasticon page has a good candidate for the name, Hagoth: The Hebrew word, haguth, means "meditation" or "musing". Perhaps we imagine Hagoth as an explorer, in which case we would conclude that this possible Hebrew meaning is not a good fit. But verse 7 in the same chapter indicates otherwise

And in the thirty and eighth year, this man [Hagoth] built other ships. And the first ship did also return, and many more people did enter into it; and they also took much provisions, and set out again to the land northward. (Alma 63:7)

Apparently, Hagoth did not sail with his own ship. He stayed behind and built other ships and then the first ship returned. This indicates that he was really curious about what the land northward was like without having the desire to explore it himself, but instead having others go and report back. In that case, his exceeding curiosity is less of the exploratory type and more of the reflective type and makes a good fit with the possible Hebrew equivalent of the English transliterated name. This would be another addition to a long and growing list of Hebrew wordplays in the Book of Mormon.

Shining faces

Occasionally, we encounter shining faces in the scriptures. I wrote in my previous post that the Hebrew word for face is synonymous with presence. "Paneh Yahweh" (face Yahweh) is often translated into "before the Lord". A shining face therefore signifies the glory of God or being illuminated by his presence. This is what several Old Testament authors seek.

Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes. (Psalm 119:135)

1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.
2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy strength, and come and save us.
3 Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. (Psalm 80)

24 The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
25 The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. (Numbers 6)

The latter is the well-known blessing of Aaron. I have mentioned before that an event during Jesus' visit to the Nephites is a realization of that blessing.

And it came to pass that Jesus blessed them as they did pray unto him; and his countenance did smile upon them, and the light of his countenance did shine upon them, and behold they were as white as the countenance and also the garments of Jesus; and behold the whiteness thereof did exceed all the whiteness, yea, even there could be nothing upon earth so white as the whiteness thereof. (3 Nephi 19:25)

After Jesus' countenance shines upon the Nephite disciples, they start shining like him.

And when Jesus had spoken these words he came again unto his disciples; and behold they did pray steadfastly, without ceasing, unto him; and he did smile upon them again; and behold they were white, even as Jesus. (3 Nephi 19:30)

Apparently, those who are enwrapped in the glory of God can start shining too. We see the same with Nephi-3 and his brother Lehi in Helaman 5:

And it came to pass that he turned him about, and behold, he saw through the cloud of darkness the faces of Nephi and Lehi; and behold, they did shine exceedingly, even as the faces of angels. And he beheld that they did lift their eyes to heaven; and they were in the attitude as if talking or lifting their voices to some being whom they beheld. (Helaman 5:36)

Another well-known example is Moses after talking with God on Mount Sinai and receiving the commandments. He comes down and his face is shining (see Exodus 34:29-30), even though he is unaware of it himself. Surely, God's face shone on him as they talked face to face in the chapter before (Exodus 33:11). Now, Moses emulates God as his face shines before Israel. This is similar to the outstretched hand that Lord Wilmore recently wrote about, where a prophet emulates God to deliver His message. 

In an interesting parallel, Abinadi's face also shone when he quoted the 10 commandments.

Now it came to pass after Abinadi had spoken these words that the people of king Noah durst not lay their hands on him, for the Spirit of the Lord was upon him; and his face shone with exceeding luster, even as Moses’ did while in the mount of Sinai, while speaking with the Lord. (Mosiah 13:5)

Mormon emphasizes that parallel as he compares Abinadi with Moses. In both cases the 10 commandments were given. Perhaps the lesson is that God's glory is found in his commandments? At least it fits well with Psalm 119:135 quoted above ("make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes"). Another thing worth noting is that according to Jewish sages, the events in Exodus 34 happened on the Day of Atonement. According to the Zohar, it is the day "when all faces shine". This is the one day when the high priest could enter into the Holy of Holies, right into the presence and glory of God, to reconnect the people with God, to reconnect heaven and earth.

The prayer to the Lord to shine his face upon us, is a plea to be enwrapped in his glory, but can lead to us radiating that glory ourselves for others to see.

"the blood of this wicked generation"

Stisa's "Adam and adamah" series has really stuck with me as I've been reading the Old Testament. There is a lot of blood imagery in the ordinances of the tabernacle. Exodus and Leviticus describe numerous situations in which an animal is to be killed and its blood poured on the ground. I can't help but think of this in the context of Cain and Abel. Here are a few examples:

12 And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar. (Exodus 29)

 

9 And he shall sprinkle of the blood of the sin offering upon the side of the altar; and the rest of the blood shall be wrung out at the bottom of the altar: it is a sin offering. (Leviticus 5)

 

15 And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it. (Leviticus 8)

 

9 And the sons of Aaron brought the blood unto him: and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar, and poured out the blood at the bottom of the altar: (Leviticus 9)

I'm glad animal sacrifice is not asked of me. However, the symbolism of innocent blood being offered as a means of reconciliation/sanctification is an important symbol, then and now. We find this symbol frequently in scripture, and of course it has significant temple implications. As Stisa pointed out, the purpose of a temple is to create a sacred space -- a part of heaven on the earth -- towards which a covenant people can progress. 

Fallen mortals without the Gospel/covenant begin their journey through life as cursed people in a cursed land. Their default trajectory sends them headlong towards physical and spiritual death. If that was all we had of this story, it would be quite bleak.  But this is where the ministry of angels changes the story and fills it with hopeful anticipation. God sends angels to proclaim the glad tidings. 

42 But, behold, I say unto you that I, the Lord God, gave unto Adam and unto his seed, that they should not die as to the temporal death, until I, the Lord God, should send forth angels to declare unto them repentance and redemption, through faith on the name of mine Only Begotten Son. (Doctrine & Covenants 29)

All those who hearken are taken along a different path -- the covenant path. Though we were "born ... in blood," this path leads to a new birth, in which we are "born again ... of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of [God's] Only Begotten," described in Moses 6:

59 That by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory;

60 For by the water ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified;

The shedding of innocent blood, according to Genesis 4, caused the ground to become cursed. Likewise, by the shedding of innocent blood, those who hearken find a release from this curse.

None of this is new or surprising doctrine, but when we stop to think about the role blood still plays in the covenant process, even if only in a symbolic sense today, it helps deepen our appreciation of Christ's sacrifice. The process that begins when we hearken to the angel leads us to Zion and holiness:

11 Wherefore, hearken ye together and let me show unto you even my wisdom—the wisdom of him whom ye say is the God of Enoch, and his brethren,

12 Who were separated from the earth, and were received unto myself—a city reserved until a day of righteousness shall come—a day which was sought for by all holy men, and they found it not because of wickedness and abominations; (Doctrine & Covenants 45)

"God's wisdom" (discussed in more depth here) is to give us a the means whereby we can begin to progress to that state of holiness while we are still on the earth. In this sense covenants (made possible by Christ's blood being shed) cleanse us from the general state of wickedness of the world. In the process of making these covenants, we are washed and made clean:

74 And I give unto you, who are the first laborers in this last kingdom, a commandment that you assemble yourselves together, and organize yourselves, and prepare yourselves, and sanctify yourselves; yea, purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clean;

75 That I may testify unto your Father, and your God, and my God, that you are clean from the blood of this wicked generation; that I may fulfil this promise, this great and last promise, which I have made unto you, when I will. (Doctrine & Covenants 88)

What a powerful promise! It is reserved for those who hearken:

17 And it shall come to pass, because of the wickedness of the world, that I will take vengeance upon the wicked, for they will not repent; for the cup of mine indignation is full; for behold, my blood shall not cleanse them if they hear me not. (Doctrine & Covenants 29)

Here are some poignant reminders of the sacrifice which made this cleansing possible:

69 These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood. (Doctrine & Covenants 76) 

4 I am the same which have taken the Zion of Enoch into mine own bosom; and verily, I say, even as many as have believed in my name, for I am Christ, and in mine own name, by the virtue of the blood which I have spilt, have I pleaded before the Father for them. (Doctrine & Covenants 38) 

I find beauty in the contrasting references to blood on the ground. On the one hand, the voice of Abel's blood cries unto God from the ground. On the other hand, Jesus pleads before the Father for those who have believed on His name by virtue of the blood which he spilt.

Paneh (פָנִים): face

The Hebrew word for face would seem a quite trivial thing to make a blog post about, but I find it interesting for several reasons. Just like other body parts, face can be taken literally but also carry deeper symbolic meaning. For an ancient Jew, the face was also synonymous with "presence". This is sometimes reflected in the English translations of the Old Testament. The Hebrew word is paneh (פָנִים). For example, Psalm 95, that has been discussed many times on this blog, begins like this:

1 O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

3 For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.

5 The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.

6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.

"Face" is not even mentioned once in English in these verses, but in the Hebrew text it is found twice (the bold parts). A literal translation of the bold part in verse 6 would read "kneel face Yahweh". That would make little sense in English. Knowing that the Lord's face has to do with his presence, the translators choose the preposition "before" even though there is no preposition in the Hebrew text. This is only one of very many examples, which means that whenever "paneh" is used in Hebrew in the meaning of presence, it gets a bit lost in translation. 

"Before the Lord" or "paneh Yahweh" is often used in the context of bringing sacrifices to the Lord. As I have often mentioned before, the Book of Mormon frequently uses Old Testament terms in a context that seems to expand on or show a deeper meaning to the Old Testament usage. "Before the Lord" in the Book of Mormon is almost always in the context of humility. The Book of Mormon people humble themselves before the Lord. They were humble in the Lord's presence, or literally his face. Perhaps this indicates that bringing sacrifices in the temple, which by definition is in the Lord's presence, is an act of humility.

The word, "face", is also frequently used in the early chapters of Genesis. Notice the reference to the creation in verse 5 of the Psalm quoted above. There is a poetic reference to both hands and face that is lost in translation. The creation account mentions the face of the waters and the face of the earth. Searching for "face" in the Book of Mormon, I also found that the overwhelming majority of uses of this word, is in the phrase "face of the earth/land". Lord Wilmore has previously postulated that this is a covenant term, and I think he is absolutely right. I want to expand on the theme in his linked post to further demonstrate this. The Book of Mormon frequently describes the activity of a chosen covenant people on the face of the (promised) land. I am not going to quote a lot of these verses, but I find Ether 6:12 particularly interesting:

12 And they did land upon the shore of the promised land. And when they had set their feet upon the shores of the promised land they bowed themselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies over them.

13 And it came to pass that they went forth upon the face of the land, and began to till the earth.

If the Nephite language preserved this feature from Hebrew, perhaps the "face of the land" and "before the Lord" were linked by a common word as it would be in Hebrew. This is also seen in the early chapters of Genesis. When Adam and Eve had partaken of the fruit, they

hid themselves from the presence (Hebr. paneh) of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:8)

Instead of humbling themselves before the face of the Lord, they hid themselves from it. This is repeated when describing the curse of Cain.When Cain's sacrifice was rejected, his countenance (Hebr. paneh) fell, as we read in Genesis 4:5. Then he murdered his brother, Abel, and was cursed.

14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. (Genesis 4:14)

Cain was banished from the face of the earth and hidden from the face of the Lord. But how could he be driven out from the face of the earth? He would be a fugitive and vagabond, but surely he was not going to be sent to another planet(!). I think there is a deeper and profound meaning here. Temporarily, we are all on the face of mother earth that was created for us to learn and grow. Her presence lets us enjoy the bounty she can bring forth, the fruit of the tilled ground. The face of mother earth is a gateway to the face/presence of the Lord. In the context of the plan of salvation, we know this to be the case. Because of his murder and rebellion, Cain was banished from the face of the earth, who would no longer yield its strength, and thereby also excluded from the possibility to come before (the face of) the Lord.

The humble Jaredites in Ether 6:12 represent the polar opposite of that. I have recently written about a reversal of curses in the beginning of Genesis, but apparently there are layers to that. Bowing ourselves upon the face of the earth in humility, tilling the earth and bringing forth her yield as a righteous sacrifice before the Lord, leads us to his face/presence.