This post continues a series I began last Monday on the phrase "stretch out thine hand." In this post, we'll look at examples from the Old Testament, and we'll learn about the underlying Hebrew word shalach.
As demonstrated below, that word also appears twice in the creation account. This is only really evident when we look at the Hebrew. I'll put in bold the words connected to Hebrew shalach in the verses below:
22 ¶ And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. (Genesis 3)
The word means 'to send' but when the thing being sent is a part of the body it is translated in English as "stretch forth" or "put forth" etc.
Here are several additional examples of this root showing up in more than one verse very close together. I'm not certain what to make of it other than it reminds me of the usage in Genesis 3.
Noah
7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.
8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;
9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.
10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;
11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.
12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more. (Genesis 8)
In a prior post, I discussed these same verses in the context of receiver becoming giver. See the numbered items in the section titled "Replenish/fill". I believe this "send/put forth" pattern might touch on a similar pattern, which I'll discuss in the conclusion of this post (see below).
Abraham
10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
11 And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. (Genesis 22)
Moses
The last example we'll look at is Moses. As I mentioned in part 1, the phrase "stretch out thy hand" and similar phrases show up quite a bit in the story of Moses. Here's a sampling, with words translated from 'shalach' in bold:
20 And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go. (Exodus 3; shalach also appears five times in Exodus 3:10-15)
4 And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:
5 That they may believe that theLordGod of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.(Exodus 4; shalach appears eight times in Exodus 4)
1 And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. (Exodus 5)
14 For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.
15 For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. (Exodus 9)
Conclusion
A pattern is starting to take shape which I believe will become more clear as we move on to the Book of Mormon and Book of Moses. I can't help but connect these additional Old Testament examples to the group:
9 Then the Lordput forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. (Jeremiah 1)
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. (Isaiah 6)
It seems to me that the stretching forth of the hand is a sign related to God showing forth His power to bring about His will. His servants (those He sends) are sometimes commanded to stretch forth their hands as a sign that they come from God. I believe this pattern will become more clear in the next part as we look at the examples from the Book of Mormon. We will then conclude this series by looking at the most unusual and significant interaction between Enoch and God from the Book of Moses.
This post continues the exploration of an endowment pattern found throughout the Book of Mormon in which a new covenant group is formed and called by God to:
leave the fallen world behind,
enter into the wilderness,
learn to be led by the hand of God, and
find a promised land.
In previous installments of this series, we've focused on many symbols and details shared in these stories, and then discussed the meaning of those symbols. I've mentioned that I believe this pattern is typified by the story of Adam and Eve being cast out of the Garden of Eden into the world to fulfill the first commandment given to them by God, that they should "be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over ... every living thing that moveth upon [it]." (See Genesis 1:28.) In this post, we'll look at other ancient stories which also follow this endowment pattern, at least to some degree, and see what we can learn.
There are two comprehensive examples, Abraham and Moses, followed by a few partial examples. We'll begin the Abraham, as found in Genesis and the Book of Abraham. With each example we cover, I'll begin by giving references to the symbols we've already discussed, then I'll give a general assessment of how the endowment pattern relates to that story.
Abraham
Cry unto God: Abraham 1:15 "...I lifted up my voice unto the Lord my God, and the Lord hearkened and heard..."
Warned to depart: Abraham 2:3 "Now the Lord had said unto me: Abraham, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee." Also Genesis 12:1.
Escape secret plans to murder: Abraham 1:7, 12, 15
Bring all who will hearken: See also Abraham 2:6 for a connection to a promise contained in the Abrahamic covenant that all who hearken to God's voice will be given to Abraham as his "seed" for "an everlasting possession."
Pass through a wilderness: Genesis 12:9 makes reference to the Negev, a desert region in the south of Palestine.
"Many days": Not specifically found, but we know from the chronology of the story that the journey was long.
Tents: Genesis 12:8; Abraham 2:15, 20
Animals: Genesis 13:2.
Seeds: A reference to bringing physical seeds or grain is not found. Abraham 2:15 mentions "all our substance that we had gathered." See also Genesis 12:5. There is an important connection to the word "seed" in Abraham 2:6 (see note about "hearken" above). See also Abraham 3:14.
Inherit a new land: Abraham 2:3
New Name: Genesis 17:5.
Obedience to Commandments: Genesis 22:18.
"Prosper": Genesis 13:2
Led by a righteous patriarch/king: Abraham 1:2-3 contains father/son language (he sought "the blessings of the fathers" and desired to be "a father of many nations" and "a rightful heir" and "a prince of peace." Verse 3 describes Adam as the Firstborn and the first father.)
Moses
Cry unto God: Exodus 2:23 - "...the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage." See also Exodus 3:9.
Warned to depart: See Exodus 3:8-10.
Escape plans to murder: Pharaoh's plan for the Israelites is bondage and captivity.
Bring all who will hearken: Exodus 3:16-18 - "Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me ... And they shall hearken to thy voice"
Pass through a wilderness: Exodus 13:20.
"Many days": The Israelites wandered forty years in the wilderness.
Tents: The tent/tabernacle of the congregation is a major topic of the later chapters of Exodus. See Exodus 39:32 for example.
Animals: Exodus 12:38. Of additional note, Moses was keeping the flock of his father in law at the time of his call on Horeb.
Seeds: Manna, which fed the children of Israel of forty years, is described as "like coriander seed" in Exodus 16:31.
Inherit a new land: Exodus 3:17.
New Name: Interesting note -- In Numbers 13, Moses sends twelve spies to assess the land of promise. He gives a new name to Hoshea, the head of the tribe of Ephraim in Numbers 13:16 (This will be the topic of a standalone post in the near future.)
Obedience to Commandments/"Prosper": Deuteronomy 29:9 - "Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do."
Led by a righteous patriarch/king: Moses has a dual lineage. He is a Levite by birth (Exodus 2:1) but was raised in the house of Pharaoh (Exodus 2:10).
The story of Moses is long and complex, but these symbols offer fascinating insights into deeper meaning. For example, notice in Exodus 9 how the fiery hail destroys the Egyptians' cattle and some of their crops (interestingly only those which had fully ripened -- more about this in a future post). See Exodus 9:19-22, 31-32. The cattle of the Israelites had been gathered to Goshen and were unaffected (see Exodus 9:26).
Incomplete examples
From this point on, we won't be dealing with complete patterns. The following examples contain a few of the symbols, but I'm not sure how interpret these examples aside from pointing out the symbols that are present.
Christ
The story of the beginning of Christ's earthly ministry breaks the pattern in some ways, but many of the same symbols are present when we look at the ministry of John the Baptist.
Mark describes it like this:
12 And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.
13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. (Mark 1)
Cry unto God: We don't have a direct mention of Christ crying to God (at least not at the beginning of His ministry), but we do see John the Baptist in the wilderness. John is described as "the voice of one crying in the wilderness" (Matthew 3:3).
Warned to depart: See Matthew 3:7.
Pass through a wilderness: Matthew 4:1, Luke 4:1.
"Many days": Forty days in the wilderness
Seeds: Wheat mentioned in the context of gathering in Matthew 3:12 and Luke 3:17.
Animals: "with the wild beasts" in Mark 1:13
Enos
This example is almost a counter-example in some ways. The Nephites are in decline as covenant-keepers.
Enos uses some familiar language as he describes his conversion process:
3 Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart.
4 And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens. (Enos 1)
He is reminded of the central promise connecting obedience and that promised land, as well as the covenant God made with the Nephites:
10 And while I was thus struggling in the spirit, behold, the voice of the Lord came into my mind again, saying: I will visit thy brethren according to their diligence in keeping my commandments. I have given unto them this land, and it is a holy land; and I curse it not save it be for the cause of iniquity; wherefore, I will visit thy brethren according as I have said; and their transgressions will I bring down with sorrow upon their own heads. ...
16 And I had faith, and I did cry unto God that he would preserve the records; and he covenanted with me that he would bringthem forth unto the Lamanites in his own due time.
17 And I, Enos, knew it would be according to the covenant which he had made; wherefore my soul did rest.
He also contrasts the Nephites and Lamanites using some of these symbols, but the meaning doesn't seem completely clear:
20 And I bear record that the people of Nephi did seek diligently to restore the Lamanites unto the true faith in God. But our labors were vain; their hatred was fixed, and they were led by their evil nature that they became wild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people, full of idolatry and filthiness; feeding upon beasts of prey; dwelling in tents, and wandering about in the wilderness with a short skin girdle about their loins and their heads shaven; and their skill was in the bow, and in the cimeter, and the ax. And many of them did eat nothing save it was raw meat; and they were continually seeking to destroy us.
21 And it came to pass that the people of Nephi did till the land, and raise all manner of grain, and of fruit, and flocks of herds, and flocks of all manner of cattle of every kind, and goats, and wild goats, and also many horses.
I honestly don't know how to interpret these verses. On the one hand it seems the Nephites are trying to bring about the promises of God to restore the Gospel to the Lamanites, but they are unsuccessful due to their own wickedness (see verse 22). Wandering in the wilderness and feeding upon beasts of prey makes sense in this symbolic context, but why does Enos describe the Lamanites as dwelling in tents? Perhaps he's simply documenting the facts as they are, or perhaps he's indicating symbolically that the Lamanites had not yet found the rest of the Lord. Verse 21 seems more obviously in line with the endowment pattern. Even though I don't understand all of the deeper meaning here, it is certainly interesting to ponder how these symbol impact the message of Enos' account.
Lehi's dream
This example is an endowment pattern embedded within another endowment pattern. Just after leaving Jerusalem, as his family was camped in tents in the wilderness, Lehi has this dream of the tree of life. It is interesting to note that in the first edition of the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 6-9 were all one chapter. Notice how the vision of the tree of life is embedded within a larger narrative -- beginning right after the brothers take wives and right before Nephi closes the chapter by describing his plates and their content.
Notice 1 Nephi 8:1-2, which opens the account of the dream --
1 And it came to pass that we had gathered together all manner of seeds of every kind, both of grain of every kind, and also of the seeds of fruit of every kind.
2 And it came to pass that while my father tarried in the wilderness he spake unto us, saying: Behold, I have dreamed a dream; or, in other words, I have seen a vision.
And 1 Nephi 9:1, which concludes the account of the dream --
1 And all these things did my father see, and hear, and speak, as he dwelt in a tent, in the valley of Lemuel, and also a great many more things, which cannot be written upon these plates.
Cry unto God: "I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies."
Bring all who will hearken:
14 ... I beheld your mother Sariah, and Sam, and Nephi; and they stood as if they knew not whither they should go.
15 And it came to pass that I beckoned unto them; and I also did say unto them with a loud voice that they should come unto me, and partake of the fruit, which was desirable above all other fruit.
16 And it came to pass that they did come unto me and partake of the fruit also.
17 And it came to pass that I was desirous that Laman and Lemuel should come and partake of the fruit also; wherefore, I cast mine eyes towards the head of the river, that perhaps I might see them.
18 And it came to pass that I saw them, but they would not come unto me and partake of the fruit.
Pass through a wilderness: "a dark and dreary wilderness" in verse 4
"Many days": "many hours in darkness" in verse 8
Other examples
This pattern is found in other stories as well. Consider the story of Isaac in Genesis 26 and see how many of these elements are contained in that account. Consider what it means that Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness and the Lord hear Hagar's cry and blessed them with water (see Genesis 21:12-21). As we deepen our understanding of each individua symbol and also of the pattern as a whole, we can find beautiful new messages in these familiar stories.
Conclusion
This post is very long and contains far more references than I normally include in a single post. I sincerely hope you will take the time to look these up on your own and study these examples for yourself. I hope this exercise has been fruitful for you.
This pattern is so intimately connected to covenants, and yet (aside from the accounts of Abraham, King Benjamin, and Alma-1) covenants are not really ever the central focus of the stories. This is a great example of how hidden wisdom is contained in the scriptures, waiting to be discovered by those with eyes to see.
In my next post -- which I intend to be the final post in this series -- we will turn to the Doctrine & Covenants and look at hos some of these same symbols are found in latter-day revelations. For me, this brings the message out of the ancient past and right into my heart. It is clear that God stand ready to bless us with the same blessing he gave His people throughout human history.
I've been studying 1 Nephi 17-18 over the past several weeks. I noticed several curious similarities between the account of finding Bountiful and building the ship and the story of Abraham's test in Genesis 22 (OT quotations below are from the NIV) and the creation account from Genesis 1.
"Provide means"
In verse 3, Nephi says:
...if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore, he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness.
We can compare this with Abraham's reply to Isaac's question about the lamb for the sacrifice:
8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”
Later, Abraham "called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided." (See Genesis 22:14.)
The Hebrew root here is "raah" which has many definitions, including to provide, to show, to behold, to see, to appear, to look, etc. It is worth noting that this same root shows up many times in the creation account, for example when it says "And God saw the light, that it was good" in verse 4 or "let the dry land appear" in Genesis 1:9.
"Get thee into the mountain"
Of course, Nephi also travels to a mountain in 1 Nephi 17:7 --
7 And it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had been in the land of Bountiful for the space of many days, the voice of the Lord came unto me, saying: Arise, and get thee into the mountain. And it came to pass that I arose and went up into the mountain, and cried unto the Lord.
On the mount, Nephi is "provided" direction where to find ore and shown how to build the ship (see also 1 Nephi 18:1-3). This connects nicely with the Hebrew root "raah" above.
"Seashore" and "Bountiful/Much fruit"
Notice the repetition in naming and describing Bountiful tucked away in Nephi's account:
5 And we did come to the land which we called Bountiful, because of its much fruit and also wild honey; and all these things were prepared of the Lord that we might not perish. And we beheld the sea, which we called Irreantum, which, being interpreted, is many waters.
6 And it came to pass that we did pitch our tents by the seashore; and notwithstanding we had suffered many afflictions and much difficulty, yea, even so much that we cannot write them all, we were exceedingly rejoiced when we came to the seashore; and we called the place Bountiful, because of its much fruit.
The setting here is the border between land and sea, which bring the creation account to the mind. We also have some elements which ring familiar in the context of what God promised Abraham after providing the ram in the thicket, from verse 17:
I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.
I'll admit this one feels like a stretch to me, but it stood out so I decided to include it here.
"My brethren beheld that it was good"
This final detail is unmistakable if you ask me. The phrase in 1 Nephi 18:4 mirrors Genesis 1:4, complete with the use of a word which derives from "raah" discussed above:
God saw the light, that it was good
my brethren beheld that it was good
Summary
Nephi was a literary genius. The Book of Mormon was very carefully written by someone with intimate familiarity with the Hebrew Bible.
Understanding these points helps us have "eyes to see" as we study and also helps us understand why Nephi's perspective during his afflictions was so stalwart and so faithful. He understood Abraham's stor in the context of the plan of salvation. He understood his own adversity in the context of the great plan of salvation. He knew that his suffering was helping to fulfill promises given to Abraham by God, and that the purpose of the creation was to bring about the miracle of eternal life among God's children through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
One way I use to discover meanings and make new connections in the scriptures involves studying Hebrew root words and thinking about how their various meanings relate to Book of Mormon passages. I've come to learn that the Book of Mormon makes more sense in many cases when studied through the lens of the ancient Semitic worldview.
My most recent topic of study is the Hebrew root 'achaz' meaning 'to grasp, take hold, or take possession.'
We encounter this root in many different contexts throughout the Old Testament ('achaz' appears in some form 68 times). Here is a sampling (the words translated from 'achaz' are in bold italics):
13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. (Genesis 22)
26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them. (Genesis 25)
27 ¶ And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly. (Genesis 47)
2 And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. 3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. 4 And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: 5 That they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. (Exodus 4)
9 The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger. (Job 17)
11 My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. (Job 23)
22 So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. 23 Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. 24 Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me toglory. (Psalm 73)
10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. (Psalm 139)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: (Isaiah 13)
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlastingburnings? (Isaiah 33)
I'm especially intrigued by several examples on this list. The account in Exodus 4 where Moses is commanded to take the serpent by the tail and it become a rod in his hand is noteworthy. It is also very intriguing that Jacob was born while holding his brother's heel. More to come on these grand topics in future posts.
Hopefully this set of examples helps you see the broad range of uses 'achaz' has in the Old Testament. I created the following list to help me in my search for related terms in the Book of Mormon:
grasp
take hold
possess/take possession
hold
seize
I'm sure I'll find additional terms that fit this same pattern as I search. In part 2, we'll look at the passages I find in the Book of Mormon, and focus on patterns related to the duality of covenant-keeping or covenant rebellion. In other words, we must hold fast to the word of God lest the devil grasp us with his awful chains.