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. 

Endowment Narratives in the Book of Mormon, Part 4 -- More symbols and their meaning

This has turned into a pretty long series so far, but we aren't done yet.  I hope you've enjoyed the ride.

This post will cover a few additional symbols which appear frequently in the 'endowment pattern' I've outlined in this series.  

Before I get to that, it's probably useful for us to recap what we've covered already:

In part 1, I outlined the basic story structure:

1) There is a call to leave the fallen world behind.
2) Those who heed this call find themselves cast out into the wilderness.
3) Through obedience they gradually regain the presence of the Lord and they are led to a state of rest and abundance.

I included a list of twelve symbols commonly included in the story.

In part 2a and part 2b, I detailed eight different examples of this story pattern in the Book of Mormon.

Part 3 focused on the meaning of each of these twelve symbols and how they relate to the symbolism of the endowment. (Part 3a, part 3b, and part 3c.)

Two Additional Symbols

In the process of reading and rereading these example, I noticed a few additional elements which seem to belong on the list: 'Seeds' and 'crying for mercy.'

Seeds/Grain

The symbolism of the seed is found in many of the examples I've listed. The symbolism here is pretty easy to see.  Partly, the seed "of every kind" language evokes creation imagery. Also, the seed is often likened to the word of God. In another sense, seed/grain represent domesticated plants which are useful for man, and so the same symbolism related to flocks and herds applies to seeds/grain. This helps explain why these two elements are often mentioned together.

A related symbol ("tilling the ground") is a reference to Adam and Eve and is also found immediately after Lehi and his family reach the promise land (1 Nephi 18:24) and right after Jared and his group reach the promise land (Ether 6:13). See also Mosiah 9:9.

Lehi: 

1 Nephi 8:1; 1 Nephi 18:6

Nephi:  

2 Nephi 5:11

Mosiah - Benjamin - Mosiah: 

Not found.

Limhi: 

Mosiah 23:1

Alma-1: 

• (First Pattern) Mosiah 23:1
• (Second Pattern) Mosiah 24:18

(This is very interesting. In consecutive chapters this pattern is repeated in describing two different escapes by the same group of people, and both times it describes them bringing their grain with them. That indicates to me that the grain is an important symbol.)

Anti-Nephi-Lehi: (Not found)

Jared: 

Ether 1:41

Omer: 

Ether 9:17

'Crying' or praying with 'all their heart'

I've posted on this topic in the past (here, here, and here). A person finds mercy through Christ after they cry out to God. In the covenant/endowment context, this is extremely powerful symbolism.

Lehi: 

1 Nephi 1:5 - "my father, Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people."

Nephi:  

2 Nephi 5:1 "I, Nephi, did cry much unto the Lord my God"

Mosiah - Benjamin - Mosiah: 

Mosiah 4:2 - "they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come down among the children of men."

Limhi: 

Mosiah 21:14 "they did cry mightily to God; yea, even all the day long did they cry unto their God that he would deliver them out of their afflictions."

Alma-1: 

(First Pattern) Mosiah 23:28 

...they hushed their fears, and began to cry unto the Lord that he would soften the hearts of the Lamanites, that they would spare them, and their wives, and their children.

(Second Pattern) Mosiah 24:10-12

10 And it came to pass that so great were their afflictions that they began to cry mightily to God.

11 And Amulon commanded them that they should stop their cries; and he put guards over them to watch them, that whosoever should be found calling upon God should be put to death.

12 And Alma and his people did not raise their voices to the Lord their God, but did pour out their hearts to him; and he did know the thoughts of their hearts.

Anti-Nephi-Lehi: 

I couldn't find a perfect fit, but Alma 22:17 describes the King of all the land crying to God.

Jared: 

38 And it came to pass that Jared spake again unto his brother, saying: Go and inquire of the Lord whether he will drive us out of the land, and if he will drive us out of the land, cry unto him whither we shall go. And who knoweth but the Lord will carry us forth into a land which is choice above all the earth? And if it so be, let us be faithful unto the Lord, that we may receive it for our inheritance.

39 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord according to that which had been spoken by the mouth of Jared. (Ether 1)

Omer: 

Ether 9:34 "...Now when the people saw that they must perish they began to repent of their iniquities and cry unto the Lord."

Conclusion

Now that we've added in these two details, I think our list is pretty strong.  So many common elements between these eight stories cannot be a coincidence. The creation of a new covenant people is recorded with these Adam and Eve symbols in order to tell the reader they were striving to fulfill the first commandment God gave to Adam and Eve.

In the next part, we'll look at a few additional scripture stories and see how the archetypal Adam and Eve endowment narrative follows in the stories of Christ, Moses, Abraham, Enos, Lehi's dream, and a few others. Recognizing the pattern helps us unlock additional meaning from these important stories.

Endowment Narratives in the Book of Mormon, Part 2b -- The (second half of the) Big Picture

This post will continue detailing five additional examples of the "endowment pattern" I am describing in this series. By the end of this post, I hope you will be convinced that there is a pattern. Future posts will detail the deeper meaning of the pattern.  

Please read part 1 and part 2a if you haven't already. I will discuss the significance and possible symbolic significance of each symbol in future posts. I will also outline how this pattern fits a pattern we also see in the accounts of Adam and Eve, Abraham, and Moses.

As a side note -- The first two examples given below are variants of the main pattern. I'll explain more about this in a future post. I believe there is a purpose for these stories, and the contrast between the two accounts helps teach an important spiritual lessons. This is a technique frequently employed by Mormon, as detailed in a recent series of posts (here, here, and here).

Let's get into the details for the five additional examples:

Limhi

	Detail	Limhi (variant account -- no prophet among them)
1	Warned to depart	By Gideon and a consensus of the people (Mosiah 22: 1, 3)
2	Escaping from secret combinations/plan to murder	"Bondage by the sword" (Mosiah 22:2)
3	Bring all who would "hearken"/listen	The people prosper by hearkening to Gideon (Mosiah 22:3,9)
4	Pass through a wilderness	Mosiah 22:2, 6, 8, 11-13
5	"Many days"	Mosiah 22:13
6	Tents	Mosiah 22:2
7	Animals	Mosiah 22:2, 6, 8, 10, 11
8	Inherit a new land	Joined Mosiah's people (Mosiah 22:13)
9	New names	---
10	Obedience to the commandments of God	---
11	Abundance/Prosper	---
12	Led by a righteous patriarch/king/royal family member	No prophet among them -- their king was a good man but not a prophet

Alma-1

	Detail	Alma-1 (double pattern)	second pattern (escaping Amulon)
1	Warned to depart	Mosiah 23:1	Mosiah 24:13
2	Escaping from secret combinations/plan to murder	"wicked priests of King Noah would come upon them" (Mosiah 23:1)	"persecution" Mosiah 24:8, see also verse 11
3	Bring all who would "hearken"/listen	Mosiah 18:3	---
4	Pass through a wilderness	Mosiah 23:1	Mosiah 24:20
5	"Many days"	"eight days' journey" (Mosiah 23:3)	"all day" Mosiah 24:20
6	Tents	Mosiah 23:5	Mosiah 24:20
7	Animals	Mosiah 23:1	Mosiah 24:18
8	Inherit a new land	Mosiah 23:4	"Valley of Alma" Mosiah 24:20
9	New names	(see Mosiah 18:10)	Mosiah 24:20
10	Obedience to the commandments of God	Mosiah 23:18	---
11	Abundance/Prosper	Mosiah 23:19	---
12	Led by a righteous patriarch/king/royal family member	Alma-1 refused to be their king	Alma-1 refused to be their king

Additional Notes: There is a third mini-iteration of the pattern when Alma is warned by the Lord that the enemy is approaching and they "took their journey into the wilderness" for twelve days and traveled to Zarahemla

Anti-Nephi-Lehi

	Detail	Anti-Nephi Lehi
1	Warned to depart	Alma 27:11-12
2	Escaping from secret combinations/plan to murder	Alma 27:2
3	Bring all who would "hearken"/listen	** (see Alma 27:14)
4	Pass through a wilderness	Alma 27:14
5	"Many days"	implied in Alma 27:15-25
6	Tents	Alma 27:25
7	Animals	Alma 27:14
8	Inherit a new land	Alma 27:22, 24
9	New names	"they were called by the Nephites the people of Ammon; therefore they were distinguished by that name ever after." (Alma 27:26)
10	Obedience to the commandments of God	"perfectly honest and upright in all things" (Alma 27:27)
11	Abundance/Prosper	"a highly favored people of the Lord" (Alma 27:30)
12	Led by a righteous patriarch/king/royal family member	Lamoni -- ANL; also Ammon son of Mosiah

Jared

	Detail	Jared
1	Warned to depart	The Lord commands them to gather and depart in Ether 1:40-41
2	Escaping from secret combinations/plan to murder	N/A (but the Lord was confounding and scattering the people because of the Tower of Babel
3	Bring all who would "hearken"/listen	Families and "friends" (Ether 1:37)
4	Pass through a wilderness	"the Lord commanded them that they should go forth into the wilderness, yea, into that quarter where there never had man been." (Ether 2:5)
5	"Many days"	four years (Ether 2:13-14)
6	Tents	Ether 2:13
7	Animals	"of every kind" Ether 1:41; 6:4
8	Inherit a new land	Ether 1:38, 42; 2:7-12, 15;
9	New names	---
10	Obedience to the commandments of God	Ether 6:17
11	Abundance/Prosper	Ether 6:28
12	Led by a righteous patriarch/king/royal family member	First prophet is BoJ; first king is his son Orihah

Additional notes: They are commanded to gather animals and grain "of every kind" (Ether 1:; see also Ether 2:3 "all manner of that which was upon the face of the land, seeds of every kind."

Omer

	Detail	Omer - Emer -- Corinatumr
1	Warned to depart	Ether 9:3
2	Escaping from secret combinations/plan to murder	Ether 9:1, 5
3	Bring all who would "hearken"/listen	"all his household but Jared" (Ether 9:3)
4	Pass through a wilderness	Shim and Ablom; no definite wilderness
5	"Many days"	Ether 9:3
6	Tents	Ether 9:3
7	Animals	Ether 9:17-18
8	Inherit a new land	"a place which was called Ablom" (Ether 9:3)
9	New names	---
10	Obedience to the commandments of God	Ether 9:21
11	Abundance/Prosper	"All manner of ..." Ether 9:17-19; "Exceedingly rich" Ether 9:16
12	Led by a righteous patriarch/king/royal family member	Omer -- Emer -- Coriantumr

Conclusion of this part

Between this post and part 2a, we have detailed eight examples of this same pattern. I hope you will take the time to read each account in this set of examples and notice how tight the pattern is.  It seems clear to me that the author of each of these accounts was intending to show that each of these groups were embarking on a new path and playing the role of Adam and Eve on their journey to a new land.

As I stated above, in the next part I'll begin detailing what these symbols mean and how they fit into a temple/covenant context.