Come Follow Me: October 12–18. 3 Nephi 20–26: “Ye Are the Children of the Covenant”

 This past week's Come Follow Me lesson is a great one.  Here are additional links to supplement your study.

3 Nephi 20 -- Abinadi and the first and second Moses, The tree of life and the living waters, "Cast" and "hard heart"

3 Nephi 21 -- What the Book of Mormon teaches about the relationship between the Eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ (and each of us), part 1, Preparing the way for the gathering of Israel, The scattering and gathering

3 Nephi 22 -- "Prolonging" and "lengthening cords", Redeemer/kinsman, God's covenant with Israel in the latter days

3 Nephi 23 -- Internal Consistency about Isaiah, What made it onto the plates

3 Nephi 24 -- Preparing a way

3 Nephi 25 -- The Sun/Son of Righteousness

3 Nephi 26 -- Mercy is associated with..., Forbidden to write, Mormon's inclusio in 3 Nephi

The Sun/Son of Righteousness

A well-know verse in Malachi in the last chapter of the Old Testament reads

But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

The "Sun of righteousness" is a unique reading in the entire Bible. This verse is also quoted in the Book of Mormon by Jesus himself in 3 Nephi 25:2, but with "Son of righteousness" rather than "sun". I have known this for a while but decided to explore this curious little difference further.

Since this expression is unique in the Bible, it is also discussed in Christian and Jewish academic circles. In Hebrew, Sun of Righteousness is שֶׁ֣מֶשׁ צְדָקָ֔ה or shemesh tsedâqâh. From this article I learned that

The Hebrew word shemesh, meaning sun, comes from an unused root meaning to be brilliant. So when we combine that root with the Hebrew word esh, meaning fire, burning, fiery, flaming, hot, we get the word shem-esh, meaning literally "brilliant fire" or sun.

Interestingly, the root word shem also has various meanings like name, famous, or renown. Since everyone in the world who has ever lived has seen the sun and knows the sun, which God gave to govern the day, we may also say that shem-esh could mean the "famous fire" or the "world-renowned fire."

This makes a lot of sense when we read the Malachi verse in context. The verse before talks about the wicked burning as stubble.  Since the Hebrew word for sun also is connected to fire, Malachi is talking about two kinds of fire here. One that will burn the wicked and another that will give light and healing to the righteous. Previous blog posts about these two kinds of fire are found here and here. Both fire in general and the sun in particular are symbols for God in the Old Testament.

For the Lord God is a sun and shield (Psalms 84:11)

For the Lord your God is a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24)

At least for christians, the common interpretation of "Sun of righteousness" in Malachi is Christ. After all, he is described as someone who will arise. The KJV Bible even capitalizes Sun, because it is seen as a title for the Lord. So if this makes sense, why does the Book of Mormon change it to "Son of righteousness"? Of course, the Book of Mormon reading is an even more obvious reference to Christ. Especially due to the fact that this expression is found three times in the Book of Mormon and the other two that are not the Malachi quote are clear references to Christ.

But the Son of Righteousness shall appear unto them; and he shall heal them, and they shall have peace with him, until three generations shall have passed away, and many of the fourth generation shall have passed away in righteousness. (2 Nephi 26:9)

This is obviously a prophecy of Christ appearing to the Nephites. The third one is found in the Book of Ether:

And after he had anointed Coriantum to reign in his stead he lived four years, and he saw peace in the land; yea, and he even saw the Son of Righteousness, and did rejoice and glory in his day; and he died in peace. (Ether 9:22)

This is perhaps less obvious than the previous example but obvious enough. If this is not referring to Christ, then who?

But there is no official explanation for the difference, sun/son, in the Bible and the Book of Mormon so I will just present the possibilities.

Wrong Bible translation

The Hebrew, shemesh (sun) is very close to shamash (servant). This small change could happen over the years copying and re-copying the text and it would originally read "servant of righteousness". However, with this interpretation, the grammar is wrong too, which means that someone must have adjusted the grammar to fit sun instead of correcting the mistake. So it seems like a stretch and besides, "servant" is still not "son".

Error in the Book of Mormon

Royal Skousen who has dealt with textual variants in the Book of Mormon more than anyone believes it is an error. His reasoning is that sun and son are homophones in English, so it is an easy mistake to make, a mistake in the Bible is not as reasonable and the connection between this Book of Mormon expression and the one in Malachi is strong. 

Skousen may very well be right. What makes me unsure is that Joseph and Oliver would have to make the same mistake three times. Unfortunately, the original manuscript is not extant for any of the three passages. All we see is "son" in the printer's manuscript. 

The difference was intentional

At least I would like to consider the only other possibility, that Skousen is wrong about this and the difference son/sun was intentional. Especially in the Ether passage that is completely independent of Malachi, I think son works better than sun. If "Sun of Righteousness" were a common biblical title, it would make more sense, but the Jaredite king getting a personal visitation from the Savior is a very different setting from what we read in that particular Malachi verse. Of course, Moroni, who abridged the Jaredite record, knew this Malachi-passage from 3 Nephi, but it is still a somewhat odd connection to make. When there are so many names and titles for the Savior, why would Moroni choose this unique and particular one from Malachi? 

What complicates the matter further is that the other Book of Mormon example in 2 Nephi 26:9, does show a connection to Malachi beyond this particular expression. In 2 Nephi, he goes on to say that "he shall heal them". In Malachi he arises with "healing in his wings". Also, in the previous chapter, 2 Nephi 25:12-13, "the Only Begotten of the Father… shall rise from the dead, with healing in his wings". 

If the difference was intentional, was it the Book of Mormon prophets using the word son in their language, (presumably son and sun in reformed Eqyptian were much more different than in English)?  Or was it a creative translation of the English text revealed to Joseph Smith? What would be the reason for the deviation? We can only speculate at this point.


But then there is another point: I have previously argued that these apparent connections to Malachi in fact are connections to the prophet, Zenos. If Zenos is the original source of the "Sun/son of righteousness", then both Malachi and the Book of Mormon prophets are using his phrase, perhaps in slightly different ways since it ends up differently in Hebrew and English. In that case, the process where something might get lost in translation or copying of manuscripts is more complex.

We are not going to get to the bottom of this. Whether it is Sun or Son of Righteousness, it is a beautiful title for the Savior. He arose with healing in his wings on this very day, Easter Sunday, and offers healing from both physical and spiritual death.

A final note about wings: We know the "Son" does not have wings. The sun doesn't either. The Hebrew word for wings can also mean edge but most biblical scholars understand the wings of the sun to mean rays. This is how it works for the sun analogy. However, in the Book of Mormon, the sun as symbol of the divine is not common. To my knowledge, the Book of Mormon does not contain any passage like the one I quoted in Psalms ("God is a sun…"). But it does contain this passage

O ye people of these great cities which have fallen, who are descendants of Jacob, yea, who are of the house of Israel, how oft have I gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and have nourished you. (3 Nephi 10:4)

Here, Christ is a hen with wings in his own analogy. In the previous chapter he is offering to heal the people he is speaking to (see 3 Nephi 9:13). Healing, wings... I don't know if there is an intentional connection to the Son of Righteousness but this is right before he visits the Nephites, just like Nephi prophecied in 2 Nephi 25-26, where this expression was used. In this context, Son of Righteousness with healing in his wings perhaps works better than Sun of Righteousness with healing in its rays.

This was a long post with very few actual answers to the questions posed, but a fun learning process nonetheless, at least for me. I appreciate any comment with further thoughts or insight to this.

Insights into what made it onto the plates

3 Nephi gives us a glimpse into what was recorded on the plates and what was not.  Consider these verses:

In 3 Nephi 23, Jesus gives us a commandment regarding the words of Isaiah:

1 And now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah.
2 For surely he spake as touching all things concerning my people which are of the house of Israel; therefore it must needs be that he must speak also to the Gentiles.

Later in the same chapter, Jesus commands the Nephites to record the prophecy and fulfillment of Samuel regarding saints being resurrected:

7 And it came to pass that he said unto Nephi: Bring forth the record which ye have kept.
8 And when Nephi had brought forth the records, and laid them before him, he cast his eyes upon them and said:
9 Verily I say unto you, I commanded my servant Samuel, the Lamanite, that he should testify unto this people, that at the day that the Father should glorify his name in me that there were many saints who should arise from the dead, and should appear unto many, and should minister unto them. And he said unto them: Was it not so?
10 And his disciples answered him and said: Yea, Lord, Samuel did prophesy according to thy words, and they were all fulfilled.
11 And Jesus said unto them: How be it that ye have not written this thing, that many saints did arise and appear unto many and did minister unto them?
12 And it came to pass that Nephi remembered that this thing had not been written.
13 And it came to pass that Jesus commanded that it should be written; therefore it was written according as he commanded.

In 3 Nephi 24 and 25, Jesus gives the Nephites the words of Malachi, which he later explains in 3 Nephi 26 is by way of commandment from the Father:

2 And he saith: These scriptures, which ye had not with you, the Father commanded that I should give unto you; for it was wisdom in him that they should be given unto future generations.

(Internal consistency note -- compare 3 Nephi 24:1 and 3 Nephi 26:1.  Jesus expounded these words after delivering them to the people.)

In 3 Nephi 26, Mormon tells us in an aside that he was about to write the 3 days worth of teaching Jesus gave the people, but was commanded not to write them to try our faith. And if we exercise faith in these words we will be given the greater things:

6 And now there cannot be written in this book even a hundredth part of the things which Jesus did truly teach unto the people;
7 But behold the plates of Nephi do contain the more part of the things which he taught the people.
8 And these things have I written, which are a lesser part of the things which he taught the people; and I have written them to the intent that they may be brought again unto this people, from the Gentiles, according to the words which Jesus hath spoken.
9 And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them.
10 And if it so be that they will not believe these things, then shall the greater things be withheld from them, unto their condemnation.
11 Behold, I was about to write them, all which were engraven upon the plates of Nephi, but the Lord forbade it, saying: I will try the faith of my people.
12 Therefore I, Mormon, do write the things which have been commanded me of the Lord. And now I, Mormon, make an end of my sayings, and proceed to write the things which have been commanded me.

Jesus tells the Nephites that the world will be judged by the words that are written in this book in 3 Nephi 27:

25 For behold, out of the books which have been written, and which shall be written, shall this people be judged, for by them shall their works be known unto men.
26 And behold, all things are written by the Father; therefore out of the books which shall be written shall the world be judged.

What can we conclude from these insights? Here are a few key lessons I learn:

1. Jesus Christ is very aware of and concerned about what is in the record.
2. This concern seems to center on a desire to show that the words of the prophets are fulfilled. (This echoes what Mormon and other prophets say repeatedly in other parts of the Book of Mormon.  See this post for example.)
3. We will be judged out of the words which are written in the scriptures.
4. In offering the Nephites words of Malachi (an Old Testament prophet who lived after Lehi left Jerusalem), Jesus does not explain the context.  This suggests to me that these words transcend time and mortal context--if the Father commands that these words be given to us, they are given, if He commands that they remain hidden from us, we don't get them. This leads to my last point...
5. Faithfully receiving the words we have been given is more important than debating whether we should have them in the form we have them or not.  

Given the amount of debate that goes on about the nature of Isaiah quotations in the Book of Mormon, KJV translation anomalies, etc., I feel like how we approach this phenomenon is critical. Our approach determines how we receive these words.  The skeptical approach is to conclude that Joseph Smith was simply filling up volume with KJV passages and that the consensus of scholars conclude there is no way Nephi would have had access to some of the the passages he quotes, and that we can therefore reject the Book of Mormon. (As an aside, I believe seeking to understand these issues is wise, but if we conclude that we know better than God and choose to reject these words as a result of our study, we've gone too far.)

On the other hand, the faithful perspective allows us to receive these words with gladness and await the greater things that He promises to send us.

President Ezra Taft Benson spoke very directly and boldly about the purpose of the Book of Mormon in this sermon in 1986.  It is worth a read.