The covenant of salt and "none righteous"

Salt is mentioned in reference to covenants twice in the Old Testament, first here:

13 And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt. (Leviticus 2)

Then again here:

19 All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the Lord, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord unto thee and to thy seed with thee. (Numbers 18)

Like so many other covenant symbols, salt has both positive and negative connotations.  On the one hand, salt is an important preservative. On the other, in excess it can bring agricultural barrenness and desolation. Leviticus 2 contains some interesting concepts which will be the subject of this post:

Because salt was employed as a preservative, its use in a covenantal context also emphasized the expectation that the covenant would last for a long time... Because salt inhibits the leavening action of yeast, which represented rebellion, salt could additionally stand for that which prevented rebellion. An additional explanation for the appropriateness of salt in connection with the covenant is found in its association with agricultural infertility: In a Hittite treaty, the testator pronounces a curse: if the treaty is broken, “may he and his family and his lands, like salt that has no seed, likewise have no progeny.” (Zondervan,. NRSV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, p. 832).

This adds context to Christ's famous saying:

13 Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the salt of the earth; but if the salt shall lose its savor wherewith shall the earth be salted? The salt shall be thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men. (3 Nephi 12; see also Matthew 5)

Let's take this just a little bit deeper. In what way do the covenant people of the Lord preserve the broader population? We actually have examples of this.  A classic example is found in the story of Abraham:

23 ¶ And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?

25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

26 And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.

27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:

28 Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.

29 And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty’s sake.

30 And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.

31 And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake.

32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake. (Genesis 18)

Ten righteous people can save an entire city from destruction.  The principle here is that the righteous can serve as salt -- a preservative.

This also serves to highlight the significance of covenant rebellion. When none are found to be righteous, the people are in a truly terrible position. Paul gives us a somber summary of this state by pulling together verses from Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and Isaiah:

10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:

14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:

15 Their feet are swift to shed blood:

16 Destruction and misery are in their ways:

17 And the way of peace have they not known:

18 There is no fear of God before their eyes. (Romans 3)

The highlighted passage above paraphrases Ecclesiastes 7:20.

The Book of Mormon makes use of this phrase twice to underscore the degree of wickedness preceding eras of destruction among the Nephites.  The first example is here:

11 And because they did cast them all out, that there were none righteous among them, I did send down fire and destroy them, that their wickedness and abominations might be hid from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints whom I sent among them might not cry unto me from the ground against them. (3 Nephi 9)

The other example is found at the end of the period of righteousness following the visitation of Christ:

46 And it came to pass that the robbers of Gadianton did spread over all the face of the land; and there were none that were righteous save it were the disciples of Jesus. And gold and silver did they lay up in store in abundance, and did traffic in all manner of traffic. (4 Nephi 1)

(Side note: "no, not one" from Romans 3:10 is also found twice in the Book of Mormon, both times in an interesting but unrelated context to the purpose of this post.  See Moroni 7:17 and Moroni 10:25.)

The fancy word for this dual meaning is "bivalence" -- the covenant of salt highlights the fact that the same covenant which can bring about everlasting life also leads to severe consequences if rebellion sets in.

Internal consistency -- Nephi's prophecy

In my last post, I quoted 2 Nephi 26:3, where Nephi prophesies of the coming of Christ.

And after the Messiah shall come there shall be signs given unto my people of his birth, and also of his death and resurrection; and great and terrible shall that day be unto the wicked, for they shall perish; and they perish because they cast out the prophets, and the saints, and stone them, and slay them; wherefore the cry of the blood of the saints shall ascend up to God from the ground against them.

I had not noticed all these details before, but this is another example of internal consistency, where different parts of the Book of Mormon correspond to an astounding level of detail. Compare with the following scriptures from the prophecies of Samuel 5 years before the coming of Christ and the fulfillment of Nephi's prophecies as described in 3 Nephi 8 and 9.

Behold, I give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God (Helaman 14:2)

And behold, again, another sign I give unto you, yea, a sign of his death. (Helaman 14:14)

23 And it came to pass that it did last for the space of three days that there was no light seen; and there was great mourning and howling and weeping among all the people continually; yea, great were the groanings of the people, because of the darkness and the great destruction which had come upon them.
24 And in one place they were heard to cry, saying: O that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and then would our brethren have been spared, and they would not have been burned in that great city Zarahemla.
25 And in another place they were heard to cry and mourn, saying: O that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and had not killed and stoned the prophets, and cast them out; then would our mothers and our fair daughters, and our children have been spared, and not have been buried up in that great city Moronihah. And thus were the howlings of the people great and terrible. (3 Nephi 8)

hide their wickedness and abominations from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not come up any more unto me against them. (3 Nephi 9:5, 7, 8, 9, 11)

 

 

Scriptural repetition -- Book of Mormon examples 3

I return to the topic introduced in this post, with a note on the recurring theme of a wicked people casting out, stoning and killing prophets. Already in the first chapter of the Book of Mormon, we read

And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away. (1 Nephi 1:20)

I tried to look for accounts in the Old Testament, where this had happened, but could not find many. There is one in 2 Chronicles 24:20-21

20 And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you.

21 And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the Lord.

We also read about prophets being rejected in times of wickedness in Israel. Elijah, for instance flees for his life from the queen, Jezabel, in 1 Kings. But the Book of Mormon indicates that there are other examples not recorded in our current Old Testament

15 For it is not written that Zenos alone spake of these things, but Zenock also spake of these things—

16 For behold, he said: Thou art angry, O Lord, with this people, because they will not understand thy mercies which thou hast bestowed upon them because of thy Son.

17 And now, my brethren, ye see that a second prophet of old has testified of the Son of God, and because the people would not understand his words they stoned him to death. (Alma 33)

At least in the Book of Mormon, casting out, stoning and slaying the prophets is a repeated theme. Nephi prophesies

And after the Messiah shall come there shall be signs given unto my people of his birth, and also of his death and resurrection; and great and terrible shall that day be unto the wicked, for they shall perish; and they perish because they cast out the prophets, and the saints, and stone them, and slay them; wherefore the cry of the blood of the saints shall ascend up to God from the ground against them. (2 Nephi 26:3)

This prophecy is repeated by Samuel the Lamanite, a prophet who himself was cast out (Helaman 13:2) and almost stoned (Helaman 16:2).

24 Yea, wo unto this people, because of this time which has arrived, that ye do cast out the prophets, and do mock them, and cast stones at them, and do slay them, and do all manner of iniquity unto them, even as they did of old time.

25 And now when ye talk, ye say: If our days had been in the days of our fathers of old, we would not have slain the prophets; we would not have stoned them, and cast them out. (Helaman 13)

I don't know if this is significant or what the meaning would be, but I do notice that there is a certain order repeated in all the quotes so far up until Helaman 13:24.

1. Cast out
2. Stone
3. Slay

But in Helaman 13:25, the order is reversed as in a chiasmus. A few verses later, Samuel states

32 And in the days of your poverty ye shall cry unto the Lord; and in vain shall ye cry, for your desolation is already come upon you, and your destruction is made sure; and then shall ye weep and howl in that day, saith the Lord of Hosts. And then shall ye lament, and say:

33 O that I had repented, and had not killed the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out. (Helaman 13)

The reversal is kept, also when the fulfillment of this prophecy is described almost verbatim in 3 Nephi 8:25

And in another place they were heard to cry and mourn, saying: O that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and had not killed and stoned the prophets, and cast them out; then would our mothers and our fair daughters, and our children have been spared, and not have been buried up in that great city Moronihah. And thus were the howlings of the people great and terrible.

This triplet shows up again in Ether 8:25, still reversed compared to the examples up until Helaman 13:24.

For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies; even that same liar who beguiled our first parents, yea, even that same liar who hath caused man to commit murder from the beginning; who hath hardened the hearts of men that they have murdered the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out from the beginning.

As far as I can tell, I have quoted all the verses that include this triplet. But the topic comes up frequently in the scriptures, sometimes mentioning only one or two of these actions signifying rejection of the prophets. There is much focus on this topic in conjunction with the coming of Christ. As we have seen, Nephi prophesied it in 2 Nephi 26. Samuel the Lamanite prophecied it in the verses quoted from Helaman 13, in addition to Samuel himself being cast out and thrown stones at.

In this context, it is interesting to note the Savior's own words in Matthew 23.

37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. (Matthew 23)

Only a few days after having spoken those words, Jesus was crucified. Jerusalem killed the greatest prophet of them all, the Son of God himself. 

As Jesus died on the cross in the Old World, there begun terrible natural disasters in the New World as fulfillment of Samuel the Lamanite's prophecy.  After the tempest and earthquakes, Jesus' voice was heard throughout the land, saying

And behold, the city of Laman, and the city of Josh, and the city of Gad, and the city of Kishkumen, have I caused to be burned with fire, and the inhabitants thereof, because of their wickedness in casting out the prophets, and stoning those whom I did send to declare unto them concerning their wickedness and their abominations. (3 Nephi 9:10)

5 And again, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, yea, O ye people of the house of Israel, who have fallen; yea, O ye people of the house of Israel, ye that dwell at Jerusalem, as ye that have fallen; yea, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not.

6 O ye house of Israel whom I have spared, how oft will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye will repent and return unto me with full purpose of heart.

7 But if not, O house of Israel, the places of your dwellings shall become desolate until the time of the fulfilling of the covenant to your fathers. (3 Nephi 10)

These words were only spoken a few days apart, first by the mortal Jesus in the Old World, then out of heaven by his spirit in the New World. In addition to repeating the stoning of the prophets, he repeats a couple of other themes from Matthew 23:37-38. The voice heard by the people in the Americas even refers to Jerusalem (see the italic part), even though the people dwelling in Jerusalem 600 years after Lehi's exodus might seem less relevant to the people at that point. But his mention of Jerusalem further underscores the reference to the first quote in Matthew. 

Bottom line is, the descendants of Lehi who left Jerusalem have become just like the people at Jerusalem. They were supposed to separate as a righteous branch in a new promised land, but have become corrupted like the people they separated from. Killing the prophets is the indicator of this corruption. Because of that, Jesus is not able to gather them as he would like and their houses become desolate, in the New World as in the Old. 

"Chaneph" (חָנֵף) -- a biblical Hebrew concept that unlocks meaning throughout the scriptures (part 2 of 3)

In this post, I'd like to demonstrate how a deeper understanding of biblical Hebrew can unlock meaning and connections between all books of holy scripture. This can be done with many different root words and concepts, but I'll illustrate the principle with "chaneph." 

We'll take the concepts discussed in my most recent post (here) and show how they weave their way through the following passages: 

• Numbers 35:33
• Isaiah 24:5
• Jeremiah 3:1 
• Psalm 106:38-39 
• Moses 5:16-25, 35 
• The Lord's Prayer as found in Matthew 6:9-13
• D&C 1:15-16 
• D&C 52:14-18 
• 3 Nephi 9 
• Mormon 8:31,38

Old Testament

Until a few years ago, I typically avoided including OT references in my study of the scriptures. I found the book to be large and confusing, aside from a few verses here and there which seemed like beautiful gems.  This has changed quite a bit as I've become more fluent with the language and worldview of the OT. Interestingly, I've noticed how a concept rooted in the law given by Yahweh to the Israelites forms the foundation of concepts taught in other books of scripture. "Chaneph" is no exception. (I should note that this is a sampling of scriptures, not a comprehensive list of each and every use of this root.)

The first reference to "chaneph" in the OT is found in Numbers 35:33, in a passage about capital punishment for murder and other serious sins.

33 So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. (Numbers 35)

So the very first time we see this root, it shows up twice in the same verse, and it connects the righteousness of a people with the state of the land.  Sin pollutes the land.  This is a concept that shows up over and over again.

Next is Isaiah, in the context of describing desolation that accompanies covenant rebellion:

5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. (Isaiah 24)

This is an important verse because it connects the defiled state of the earth directly to the breaking of the everlasting covenant.

Jeremiah uses the root as he compares Israel's covenant rebellion to adultery, which adds a new layer of meaning to the metaphor of the covenant relationship between Christ and the church:

1 They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the Lord. (Jeremiah 3)

In this verse, "greatly polluted" is translated from the Hebrew:  

תֶּחֱנַ֖ף  חָנ֥וֹף

"ha-no-wp te-he-nap"

This is a repeat of the same root twice in a row, the equivalent of saying "pollutedly polluted."

In Psalms, we get a pairing of "chaneph" with its companion root "tame" (as discussed in the previous post:

38 And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.

39 Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions. (Psalm 106)

This passage begins by comparing covenant rebellion to child sacrifice (which I discussed in great length in this post about Ezekiel 16). We get a new idea in verse 39 which specifies the nature of this idolatry -- the people trusted in their own works and inventions rather than relying on God.

By searching the Old Testament, we've found a new layer of meaning for "chaneph." When we replace God's wisdom with something else (of our own making), we are practicing a form of idolatry which pollutes the ground (especially as this new center of our focus causes us to reject the prophets). This will play heavily in the additional scriptures we look at. But first, let's look in the Pearl of Great Price.

Pearl of Great Price

I'll move to the Book of Moses next, since it deals with ancient matters.  In the story of Cain and Abel, we see a contrast between a wicked man who loved Satan more than God who makes a delayed, half-hearted offering to God for disingenuous reasons (Moses 5:18-19) and a righteous man who makes a full offering to God of the firstling of his flock, including "the fat thereof" (Moses 5:20).

Cain hearkened not to the voice of the Lord but instead said: "Who is the Lord that I should know him?" (Moses 5:16)

We know how the story goes from here.  Cain is enticed by greed (Moses 5:38) into murdering his brother and entering an oath with Satan. The Lord says unto Cain: 

35 ...What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood cries unto me from the ground.

36 And now thou shalt be cursed from the earth which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand.

37 When thou tillest the ground it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength. A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. (Moses 5)

He becomes a cursed vagabond. The earth curses him such that he will not be able to receive the strength of the earth from tilling. This is a great example of the concepts surrounding "chaneph" if you ask me.  The blood of the righteous pollutes the earth as it relates to the purpose of the creation itself.

New Testament

With those OT and PoGP references as a backdrop, let's revisit the Lord's Prayer and see it with new eyes:

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Matthew 6)

The message here seems to be: "Lord, we worship Thee (not idols of our own invention). We seek Thy will during mortality, not our own. Today, we will strive to engage the creation righteously and ask Thee to cause it to yield its strength up to us. Help us avoid Satan's temptations to misuse our time on earth and the abundance which comes from Thee."

Doctrine and Covenants

I'll note two references here. First, in Section 1, notice how the Lord describes the state of the world:

15 For they have strayed from mine ordinances, and have broken mine everlasting covenant;
16 They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall. (D&C 1)

Verse 15 is a pretty clear reference to Isaiah 24:5. Verse 16 explains that "every man walketh in his own way." This is followed by a description of idolatry. Without ordinances, there is no covenant path to follow!

Interestingly, in the very next verse (D&C 1:17), the Lord describes this predicament as a "calamity." The solution to the calamity involves prophets and angels. (This will be the subject of part three of this series.)

The next reference from the Doctrine & Covenants is found in Section 52:14-18, where we are given a pattern to avoid deception by maintaining a contrite spirit and "obey[ing] [God's} ordinances." We are to "[tremble] under [God's] power" in order to "be made strong" and "bring forth fruits of praise and wisdom."

Book of Mormon

Ready for the grand finale of this very long post? Since this is a Book of Mormon blog, I decided to end with 3 Nephi 9.  Read the entire chapter and notice how the intense destruction is framed. Christ wanted to "gather" His covenant people (see 3 Nephi 10:4-6) "and [they] would not."

The destruction in chapter 9 is a result of the rejection of the prophets (the voice of the Lord), "to hide their wickedness and abominations from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not come up any more unto me against them." (3 Nephi 9:7) This concept is repeat many times in the chapter.  The ground has certainly become polluted by their covenant rebellion and became a curse rather than a blessing. Those who are spared are given an invitation:

13 O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?

14 Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me. (3 Nephi 9)

In the next post, the final post in this three-part series, we will begin with Moroni's description of the "great pollutions upon the face of the earth" in our day and what we can do to maintain the perspective which will allow us to heed Christ's invitation.